Bloomsbury Academic Archaeology, the Bible, and Sex: A Psychological Analysis of Sex, Sexuality, and Gender in the Ancient Near East

In Archaeology, the Bible, and Sex: A Psychological Analysis of Sex, Sexuality, and Gender in the Ancient Near East, Caleb Jacobson reinterprets biblical texts and archaeological artifacts to explore how ancient societies imagined, regulated, and ritualized sexuality. Moving beyond traditional readings that frame biblical laws as static moral codes, the book presents sex as a culturally embedded and psychologically meaningful construct—deeply tied to concerns of fertility, inheritance, kinship, power, and social order. Employing an interdisciplinary approach that integrates biblical studies, archaeology, and cognitive psychology, Jacobson draws on figurines, plaques, legal codes, and narrative texts to examine how concepts of gender and desire were visually encoded, socially enforced, and symbolically expressed. This cognitive-archaeological framework allows for a richer interpretation of biblical sexuality—one that acknowledges its complexity, its cultural logic, and its enduring influence. Written for scholars, clergy, therapists, and general readers alike, this book offers a compelling narrative of ancient sexual imagination. Through psychological insight and material analysis, Archaeology, the Bible, and Sex invites readers to confront ancient assumptions with clarity and curiosity—ultimately reframing how we understand the intersections of sex, sexuality, and gender.