American Schools Of Oriental Research Books Series
American Schools of Oriental ResearchBooks SeriesBrian B. SchmidteditorN u m b e r 10Billie Jean Collins, Director of Publications
CULT IMAGE AND DIVINE REPRESENTATIONIN THE ANCIENT NEAR EASTedited by Neal H. WallsAmerican Schools of Oriental ResearchBoston, M A
CULT IMAGE AND DIVINE REPRESENTATIONIN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST 2005 by the American Schools of Oriental ResearchAll rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying andrecording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, exceptas may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from thepublisher. Requests for permission shuld be addressed in writing to the PublicationsOffice, American Schools of Oriental Research, 825 Houston Mill Road, Atlanta,GA 30329, USA.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataCult image and divine representation in the ancient Near East /edited by Neal H. Walls.p. cm. — (ASOR books ; 10)Includes bibliographical references and index.ISBN 0-89757-068-5 (alk. paper)1. Idols and images—Middle East—History. I. Walls, Neal H., 1962- II. Series.BL1060.C86 2005202M8'09394-dc222005014700Printed in the United States on acid-free paper.
ContentsPrefaceviiAbbreviationsixList of IllustrationsxiChapter OneCult Statues in Ancient EgyptGay RobinsChapter TwoA Statue for the Deity: Cult Images in HittiteAnatoliaBillie Jean Collins13The Mesopotamian Cult Statue: A SacramentalEncounter with DivinityMichael B. Dick43Chapter ThreeChapter FourSyro-Palestinian Iconography and Divine ImagesTheodore J. LewisIndex169109V
PrefaceThis collection of essays originated in a group of invited papers for the"Israelite Religion in its West Asian Environment" section at the annualmeeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in November, 2000. The pre vious decade had witnessed a resurgence of scholarly interest and activityin the study of divine representation in ancient Israel and the Near East.The section's steering committee therefore decided that the time was ripeto reexamine the complex issue of Israel's aniconic tradition within thecontext of other ancient Near Eastern iconic religions. Each of the follow ing scholars was invited to comment upon the current state of research inhis or her respective field of expertise and to engage the difficult task ofreconstructing ancient religious ideology. While biblical prophets ridiculedthe notion of humans fashioning an idol that they would then worship, an cient Near Eastern theologians developed a sophisticated religious systemin which divine beings could be physically manifest within the materialof a cultic image without being limited by that embodiment. In the essayscollected below, the four authors reflect on the intriguing subject of culticimages and divine iconography from divergent scholarly perspectives. Theresult is an interesting and eclectic group of essays that explores the textualand artifactual evidence for the creation and veneration of divine imagesin the ancient Near East.The Egyptologist and art historian Gay Robins introduces the volumewith an engaging examination of cult statues in ancient Egypt. Housed withinthe temple's inner shrine, the Egyptian cult statue functioned as the embodi ment of the divine and the focus of cultic ritual. Robins accomplishes thedifficult task of explaining ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and practicesin a concise and insightful study.Billie Jean Collins presents a careful and methodologically sensitiveessay on the identity and significance of cult statues in Hittite Anatolia.Her detailed study summarizes the previous work of Hittite specialists andexplores the available textual evidence to present her own insights into anoften obscure subject.The third essay, by Michael B. Dick, examines the theological and sac ramental implications of divine incarnation in Mesopotamian cult images.Vll
vmPrefaceDick's contribution to the volume builds upon his earlier, ground-breakingstudies of the Mesopotamian ritual designed to enliven a cult statue (the mispi). In a more speculative mode, Dick here employs a phenomenologicaland comparative approach to trace the similarities and differences betweenthe ancient Mesopotamian evidence and the Eucharistic theology of theRoman Catholic Church.Theodore J. Lewis is given the final word on the subject in this collec tion's fourth chapter. Lewis presents a comprehensive survey of the meth odological problems in the study of Syro-Palestinian divine iconography.Lewis's chapter is especially informative in its conscientious methodologyand forward-looking perspective on the analysis of Syro-Palestinian divineimages.Special thanks go to each of the contributors, series editor Brian B.Schmidt, Billie Jean Collins and the editorial staff at ASOR, and my re search assistant, Jessica Margrave Schirm, for their fine work in bringingthis project to completion.
SThe Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. D. N. Freedman et al. (6vols.; New York: Doubleday, 1992)W. von Soden, Akkadisches Handwdrterbuch (3 vols.;Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1965-81)R. Borger, Die Inschriften Asarhaddons, Konigs von Assyrien (Archiv fur Orientforschung Beiheft 9; Graz, 1956)British MuseumcircaThe Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of theUniversity of Chicago (Chicago: The Oriental Institute,1956-)Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, ed. J. M. Sasson (4vols.; New York: Scribner's, 1995)The Hittite Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, ed. H. G. Giiterbock and H. A. Hofner,Jr. (Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 1989-)The Context of Scripture, ed. W. W. Hallo and K. L.Younger, Jr., vol. 1, Canonical Compositions from theBiblical World (Leiden: Brill, 1997); vol. 2, Monumen tal Inscriptions from the Biblical World (Leiden: Brill,2000)E. Laroche, Catalogue des textes hittites, 2 ed. (Paris,1971)Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2 ed.,ed. K. van der Toorn et al. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,1999)Enchiridion Symbolomm: Definitionum et Declarationumde Rebus Fidei et Morum, 33 ed., ed. A. S. H. Denzigerand A. Schonmetzer (Barcelona: Herder, 1965)El-Amarna TabletsndndrdEAix
AbbreviationsJPSKBoKTUJewish Publication SocietyKeilschrifttexte aus Boghazkoi, ed. H. Otten and C. Riister(Leipzig: Hinrichs [vols. 1-22]; Berlin: Gebr. Mann Verlag, 1916-)Die Keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit, ed. M. Dietrich,O. Loretz, and J. Sanmartin (Alter Orient und Altes Testa ment 24/1; Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1976). 2 enlarged editionof KTU: The Cuneiform Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, RasIbnHani and Other Places, ed. M. Dietrich, O. Loretz, andJ. Sanmartin (Miinster: Ugarit-Verlag, 1995).Keilschrifturkundenaus Boghazkoi (Berlin: AkademieVerlag, 1921-)The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations inthe Holy Land, ed. E. Stern (4 vols.; Carta, 1993)New Revised Standard VersionOrbis biblicus et orientalisPublications of the Babylonian Section, University Mu seum, University of PennsylvaniaReallexikon der Assyriologie, ed. E. Ebeling et al. (Berlin:Walter de Gruyter, 1928-)The Sultantepe Tablets, vol. 1, ed. O. R. Gurney and J. J.Finkelstein (Occasional Publications of the British Instituteof Archaeology at Ankara 3; London: British Institute ofArchaeology at Ankara, 1957); The Sultantepe Tablets, vol.2, ed. O. R. Gurney and P. Hulin (Occasional Publicationsof the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara 3; London:British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, 1957)E. Ebeling, Tod und Leben nach den Vorstellungen derBabylonier (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1931)Ugarit-F orschungenA. Gotze, Verstreute Boghazhoi-Texte (Marburg: A. Gotze,1930)Writings from the Ancient WorldndKUBNEAEHLNRSVOBOPBSRIASTTTuLUFVBoTWAW
List of IllustrationsChapter One — Cult Statues in Ancient EgyptFig. 1.1The pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti make offeringsto Aten, the sun god. He is portrayed as a sun disk with raysradiating downward. Each ray ends with a small hand, two ofwhich hold the ankh life symbol. Aten is referred to in literatureas "light." Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Photo by Erich Lessing,courtesy of Art Resource, NY.Fig. 1.2Shrine for the cult statue of Horus, dedicated by Nectanebo II,in the sanctuary of the temple of Horus at Edfu. Photo by theauthor.Fig. 1.3Depiction of the sacred boat of Amun carried in procession bypriests during the opef-festival, when the statue of the god wastaken from the temple of Karnak to the temple of Luxor. FromHatshepsut's dismantled shrine for the sacred boat of Amun atKarnak. Photo by the author.Chapter Two — Cult Images in Hittite AnatoliaFig. 2.1One of the cellas of the Great Temple at Hattusa. Photo by theauthor.Fig. 2.2Bronze statue found in the vicinity of Ahurhisar. Drawing fromA. Ilash, "A Hittite Statue Found in the Area of Ahurhisar," fig.1.Fig. 2.3Relief from Malatya showing a king pouring a libation before aseated deity. From E. Akurgal, The Art of the Hittites (London:Thames and Hudson, 1962), fig. 105.Fig. 2.4Base of a life-sized statue of Tudhaliya IV from Yazihkaya. Photoby the author.Fig. 2.5Animal "standard" from Early Bronze Age Alaca Hoytik. FromK. Bittel, Die Hethiter (Munich: Beck, 1976), fig. 17.xi
xiiIllustrationsFig. 2.6A silver vessel in the form of a fist. Courtesy of the Museum ofFine Arts, Boston.Fig. 2.7The "Dagger God" in Chamber B at Yazihkaya. From K. Bittel,Die Hethiter, fig. 254.Fig. 2.8Standing stone from Karahoyuk engraved with Luwian hiero glyphs. From T. Ozgiic and N. Ozgiic, Karahoyuk, pi. X 2.Fig. 2.9Scene in relief on the stag rhyton in the Schimmel Collection ofthe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.Fig. 2.10 Anthropomorphic pillar from Nevah Cori. From M. J. Mellink,"Archaeology in Anatolia," American Journal of Archaeology94 (1990): 128, fig. 1.Fig. 2.11 "Goddess" from Catal Hoyiik seated between two lions. Courtesyof the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Ankara. From Mellaart,Catal Hoyiik, pi. IX.Fig. 2.12 Orthostat relief from the city gate at Alaca Hoyiik showing theking worshiping before a theriomorphic representation of theStorm God. From K. Bittel, Die Hethiter, fig. 214.Chapter Three — The Mesopotamian Cult StatueFig. 3.1Tiglath-Pileser Ill's soldiers carrying away the statues of thegods of a conquered city. From A. H. Layard, The Monumentsof Nineveh (London: J. Murray, 1853), pi. 65.Fig. 3.2Procession of Corpus Christi, a fifteenth-century illuminationin a Catalan breviary of Martin of Aragon. From BibliothequeNationale de France, Roth 2529, fol. 248V, with permission.Fig. 3.3Cylinder Seal from the time of Naram-Sin (2550 B . C . E . ) engravedat Girsu. From L. Delaporte, Musee du Louvre, Catalogue descylindres, cachets et pierres gravies de style oriental (Paris:Hachette, 1920), t. 103.Fig. 3.4Mass of St. Gregory from the Book of Hours (84.ML.83 [Ms 3]leaf lv) by Simon Bening (illuminator). Used with permissionof the J. Paul Getty Museum.Fig. 3.5Miracle of the Child in the Host Revealed to Edward the Confes sor from f. 21 r of Ee. 3.59. Used with permission of the CambridgeUniversity Library.
IllustrationsChapter Four — Syro-Palestinian Iconography and Divine ImagesFig. 4.1The bottom register of the terracotta tenth-century B . C . E . Taanach cult stand depicts a nude female holding lions by the ears.Scholars commonly identify her as the goddess Asherah. Thepresence of the cherub, calf (some say horse) and sun imagessuggest to some that Yahweh is depicted on the stand, but this isquestionable. Courtesy Israel Museum, Jerusalem.Fig. 4.2A lid of an ivory round box from Late Bronze Age Ugarit (Minetel Beida) depicting "the mistress of animals." Courtesy Missionto Ras Shamra-Ougarit.Fig. 4.3Gold pendant from Late Bronze Age Ugarit (Minet el Beida) de picting a nude female with Hathor-stylized hair holding gazellesby their feet. Serpents are at her waist, their tails descendingalongside her legs. She is standing on what appears to be a lion.Courtesy Mission to Ras Shamra-Ougarit.Fig. 4.4A situla supposedly from the time of Psammetichus I depicting thegoddess Anat wielding a mace/axe with her left hand and holdinga spear and shield in her right hand. Courtesy Orbis biblicus etorientalis, from I. Cornelius, The Many Faces of the Goddess,fig- 4-Fig. 4.5A well-known uninscribed stela depicting the goddess Anat.Though now lost, it once was a part of the Michaelidis collectionin Cairo. Courtesy of The Hebrew University Magnes Press.Fig. 4.6A Bes figurine carved in ivory from Late Bronze Age Megiddo.Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY.Fig. 4.7A Late Bronze Age limestone stela from Ugarit with a divinearcher, perhaps the god Reshep. Courtesy Mission to Ras ShamraOugarit.Fig. 4.8The so-called Mekal Stela comes from the cultic complex inStratum IXA at Beth-Shean (fourteenth century B . C . E . ) . It depictsa cultic scene with an Egyptian official in front of the Canaanitedeity Mekal. From A. Mazar, Archaeology of the Land of theBible, 289, fig. 7.33.Fig. 4.9The Iron Age n bull-headed stela found in a gate shrine at Bethsaida is thought to represent the moon god. Courtesy BethsaidaExcavations Project.
XIVIllustrationsFig. 4.10 Three of the numerous so-called pillar-figurines. Scholars debatewhether these are cult images of a goddess (perhaps Asherah) ora cult object used in some type of sympathetic magic rite. IsraelMuseum, Jerusalem. Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY.Fig. 4.11 This Iron Age II terracotta figurine depicts a woman with a circu lar shaped object that is most likely a frame drum of some kind.Courtesy of the Harvard Semitic Museum.Fig. 4.12 A drinking mug from Late Bronze Age Ugarit found in the socalled house of the magician priest in the south acropolis. Thedecoration depicts an offering scene before an enthroned beardedindividual, perhaps the deity El. The officiant could be the king.The horse, fish and bird seem to symbolize land, sea, and air.Restored drawing by C. Florimont. Courtesy Mission to RasShamra-Ougarit.Fig. 4.13 A scene from the temple in Edfu that depicts the god Horus andthe pharaoh hunting both a hippopotamus and a crocodile. Owingto the mention of God defeating both Behemoth and Leviathan inJob 40-41, scholars have thought that Leviathan might be depictedhere. From E. Chassinat, he temple d'Edfou, vol. 3 (Cairo, 1928),fig. 82.Fig. 4.14 From Tell Asmar (Eshnunna) comes this depiction of two dei ties (or one deity in a linear sequence) attacking a seven-headeddragon. From H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals (London: MacMillan, 1939), pi. XXIIIj. Courtesy of The Oriental Institute of theUniversity of Chicago.Fig. 4.15 Early Dynastic plaque depicting the slaying of a seven-headeddragon by a deity. Courtesy of the Bible Lands Museum, Jerusa lem. J. B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East in Pictures (Princeton:Princeton University, 1969), fig. 671.Fig. 4.16 A Late Bronze Age figurine from Hazor (Area B, Stratum XI)that some scholars have misidentified as Yahweh. CourtesyAmnon Ben-Tor and Hazor Excavations. From A. Ben-Tor, TheArchaeology of Ancient Israel, fig. 8.25.Fig. 4.17 A miniature limestone altar from Gezer thought to date to thetenth century B . C . E . Courtesy William G. Dever and the HebrewUnion College-Jewish Institute of Religion. From W. G. Dever,ed., Gezer II: Report of the 1967-70 Seasons in Fields I and II(Jerusalem: Hebrew Union College, 1974), figs 41.2,75.
IllustrationsXVFig. 4.18 Bronze statuette with gold foil from Ugarit depicting the en throned god El. Drill holes appear above the ears giving evidencethat the figure originally had horns, a common symbol of divinityin the ancient Near East. Compare the line drawing of the Ugaritic deity El published by C. Schaeffer {Syria 43 [1966]: fig. 3).Courtesy Mission to Ras Shamra-Ougarit and Ebla to DamascusExhibition, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Ingrid Striiben.Fig. 4.19 Serpentine stela from Ugarit depicting the god El. Note, by com paring the line drawing to the photograph (especially the creaturein the attendant's hand), how interpretation (and the possibility ofmisrepresentation) is involved in the drawing process. CourtesyMission to Ras Shamra-Ougarit and Ebla to Damascus Exhibi tion, Smithsonian Institution, Photo by Ingrid Striiben. Drawingcourtesy of T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, fig. 8.Fig. 4.20 Silver statuette of a male deity wielding a mace found at Ugarit.In contrast to the propensity to use bronze for such figurines, thisone was cast in silver. Courtesy Mission to Ras Shamra-Ougaritand the Musee de la civilisation de Quebec. Photo by JacquesLessard.Fig. 4.21 Terracotta relief from Emar (Meskene) of a goddess on a throne.Courtesy Ebla to Damascus Exhibition, Smithsonian Institution.Photo by Ingrid Striiben.Fig. 4.22 These Middle Bronze Age figurines in gold foil from Gezerdepict goddesses of unknown identity. Photo courtesy of ZevRadovan.Fig. 4.23 A drawing of a Late Bronze Age gold plaque (from the Lachish Acropolis Temple) depicting a nude goddess on horseback,holding lotus flowers. Courtesy of the Expedition to Lachish, D.Ussishkin, Director. From NEAEHL, 3:902, fig. 46.Fig. 4.24 Uncleaned large bronze (approximately one foot tall) from LateBronze Age Hazor. Courtesy Amnon Ben-Tor and Hazor Exca vations. From Biblical Archaeology Review 23(1) (1997): 27.Fig. 4.25 The Tell Balatah Bronze. Photo by Lee C. Ellenberger. Courtesyof the Joint Expedition to Tell Balatah/Shechem and E. F. Camp bell.
xviIllustrationsFig. 4.26 Silver medallion from Tel Miqne-Ekron showing a figure withupraised arms praying to the goddess Ishtar who is standing on alion. Courtesy Tel Miqne-Ekron Excavations. From P. King andL. Stager, Life in Biblical Israel (Louisville, KY: WestminsterJohn Knox, 2001), fig. 219.Fig. 4.27 A triple-horned terracotta Edomite deity from the excavationsat Horvat Qitmit in the Negev. P. Beck concluded that this fig ure is that of a goddess rather than a god. Courtesy Institute ofArchaeology, Tel Aviv University. From Biblical ArchaeologyReview 22(6) (1996): 28.Fig. 4.28 A procession of deities mounted on various animals comingbefore an Assyrian king. From Maltaya, located approximately70 km north of Mosul. From V. Place, Ninive et I'Assyrie, vol. 3(Paris: Imprimerie imperiale, 1867), pi. 45. Special Collections,The Sheridan Libraries of The Johns Hopkins University.Fig. 4.29 Among the ivories found at Sebastiyeh (biblical Samaria) is thiswinged cherub dating to the Iron Age II. Courtesy Israel Museum,Jerusalem.Fig. 4.30 A carved ivory panel from Megiddo (thirteenth-twelfth centu ries B . C . E . ) showing a sphinx throne. Courtesy Israel Museum,Jerusalem.Fig. 4.31 The common motif of the winged sun disk appears here on a Imlkstorage jar from Lachish. Courtesy of the Expedition to Lachish,D. Ussishkin, Director. From King and Stager, Life in BiblicalIsrael, fig. 182.Fig. 4.32 An ivory panel from Late Bronze Age Ugarit showing a wingedgoddess with bull's horns and a Hathor-style headdress sur mounted by a disk. She is suckling two (royal?) individuals.Courtesy Mission to Ras Shamra-Ougarit.Fig. 4.33 A copper serpent approximately five inches long was found atTimna, 18.5 miles north of the Gulf of Eilat. This site was knownfor its copper mining activities, especially those of the EgyptianNew Kingdom in the Late Bronze Age. The gilded serpentcomes from a reused shrine often attributed to the Midianitesafter the Egyptians had abandoned the site. Photo courtesy ofZev Radovan.
IllustrationsXVtlFig. 4.34 A hoard of Late Bronze Age implements was found in this jarunderneath the floor of a later Iron Age (Israelite?) cultic areaat Hazor. Among these bronzes was the figurine in fig. 4.16.Courtesy Hazor Excavations and The Hebrew University MagnesPress.Fig. 4.35 According to biblical tradition (1 Kgs 6:23-28; 8:6-7; 1 Sam 4:4;Isa 37:16), Yahweh is invisibly enthroned on two large cherubimin Solomon's temple. Drawing courtesy of Met
images and divine iconography from divergent scholarly perspectives. The result is an interesting and eclectic group of essays that explores the textual . DDD Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd ed., ed. K.
2016 The Archaeology of the Ostraca House at Israelite Samaria: Epigraphic Discoveries in Complicated Contexts. The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Vol. 70. Boston, MA: American Schools of Oriental Research (nominated for the George Ernest Wright Award through the American Schools of Oriental Research).
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