BAMAH (Hebrew "height"; plural bamoth). — In biblical language, these are places of worship—both idolatrous and Yahwistic—often erected on natural or artificial heights.
The Septuagint renders "ἀγίλην" in the Pentateuch, "ἀγίλην" "ἀγίλην" in the historical books, and βωμός in the prophetic books; the Vulgate: *Excelsum*, *famus*. By extension, the areas erected in the valley of Ben-Hinnom (Topheth), in the streets and gates of Jerusalem, are called bamoth (Jer. 7:31; 2 Kings 23:8).
The earliest bamoth, of Canaanite origin from the Neolithic period, consisted of basin-shaped hollows in rock, perhaps to receive libations and the blood of victims. Those discovered at Megiddo, Ta'anak, Tell es-Safi, 'Ajn-Shems, Beisan, 'Abdeh, on Mount Gerizim, and especially those at Gezer, share the following common elements: a spacious area (ca. 30 m.), perhaps chosen for its proximity to the heavens, on a height with wide vistas, intended for public use; a simple or double cave (the *adyton* to the deity), reserved for priests; gigantic stone stelae (cf. *masseboth*) (the 8 at Gezer are from 1.65 to 3.28 m. high: though it is uncertain whether they had religious significance), sometimes phallic, symbols of life, with hollows at the top and conventional signs on the walls, erected around a smaller stele that may have represented the object of ancient worship, the *bethel*; a stone block (the altar?) beside the *masseboth*; a green branch or roughly hewn pole stuck in the ground, a stylization of the sacred grove symbolizing *Asherah* (the feminine principle); pits to receive the remains of victims; water cisterns, in the absence of springs; and an enclosing wall for the sacred precinct considered *herem*. A bamah seems to be depicted on the bronze of Susa, called the *Sit Šamši* ("sunrise"), dedicated by Šilḥah-in-Šuśinak (Elamite king, late 11th century BCE).
The Bible mentions *Asherah*, pl. *Asherim* (Deut. 12:4; 7:5, etc.), the *hammannim* (Lev. 26:30; 2 Chron. 14:4) (cf. Baal), tents (Ezek. 16:18), altars erected on high hills and mountain peaks, beneath leafy trees, where incense was burned to idols and food offerings were made (Hos. 4:13; Ezek. 6:13) and banquets held (Ezek. 22:9). Among the finds in the bamoth are bronze daggers, libation cups, burnt vessels, perfumes, votive objects of every kind, terracotta figurines depicting people, animals, bronze serpents (connected with fertility rites), etc.; in the caves, jars containing the bodies of infants (seven days old) and animal bones, including those of pigs and some with traces of fire.
The prophets refer to such bamoth as places of impiety (Hos. 4:13-14; 10:8; Mic. 1:5). Human sacrifices are recalled, e.g., in Jer. 7:31; 19:5; Ezek. 6:4, 13; 16:20-21. Idolatrous bamoth are indeed relentlessly condemned to destruction by Mosaic legislation (Deut. 12:2-5; 7:5; Exod. 23:24; Num. 33:52); yet the Israelites frequently revered them, even promoting them in the northern kingdom (Hos. 10:8, 9; Amos 8:14; 1 Kings 12:31; 13:32; 2 Kings 17:29, 32; 23:7, 19; Ezek. 6:3-6).
The Yahwistic bamoth, whose worship was in harmony with monotheism and erected in places sanctified by theophanies or the presence of the Mosaic tabernacle (that of Gibeon: "the great bamah," cf. 1 Kings 3:2-5; 1 Chron. 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3, 13) or the Ark, or designated by prophets or tradition (Shiloh, Ramah, Gilgal, Bethel, Gibeah, Hebron, Carmel: cf. 1 Sam. 9:12-14; 19:25; 10:5, 13; etc.), were not condemned, at least initially (cf. 1 Kings 3:2, 5; 19:10), also due to the lesser centralization of worship (cf. 1 Kings 8:16; 2 Sam. 7:6-7); but as the centralization of worship grew stronger, passages in the books of Kings and Chronicles praise the attempts made by Hezekiah and Josiah to eradicate them, while reproaching Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, and Jotham for tolerating them. Perhaps the efforts of Asa and Jehoshaphat were without result. Josiah brought back to Jerusalem the Levitical priests who had transferred their service to the bamoth, though forbidding them to ascend the altar of the Lord (2 Kings 23:5-9; 2 Chron. 34:3-7, 32-33). After the exile, no further mention is made of bamoth.