This anthology explores the fruitful encounters between deities and humans, drawing on a broad spectrum of research and discoveries ranging from ancient Levantine archaeology and iconography to history. It also includes studies from Assyriology and Egyptology as well as several contributions from Hebrew Bible studies, New Testament studies, Jewish studies as well as from dogmatic and practical theology. Taking Angelika Berlejung’s 2021-article “Refreshed Cultic Kisses: Forms of Encounter Between Gods and Humans” as a starting point, this anthology deepens our understanding of how fruitful encounters between deities and humans have looked like in the past or may look like today.
