The present study looks at various cult practices within Iron Age Israel that took place outside the environs of the Temple in Jerusalem. The focus will be on rituals not characterized by syncretism, but which on the whole lie within the parameters of Israelite orthodoxy. Chapters one and two give an overview of the problem and provide a synopsis of the history of research into the Deuteronomist, the biblical writer/editor most responsible for a negative view of the high places. Chapters three through six examine typical non-centralized rites, starting at the domestic setting and moving inward through township and regional practices to those cultic ceremonies performed just outside the Temple precincts. Chapters seven through ten outline the origins of the dominant priestly line and the tensions between that priesthood and the Davidic dynasty, the northern cult, and the Writing Prophets, arising from differences concerning faithfulness to the covenant with YHWH.