The Tabernacle Menorah: A Synthetic Study of a Symbol from the Biblical Cult 9781463209292

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THE TABERNACLE MENORAH: A SYNTHETIC STUDY OF A SYMBOL FROM THE BIBLICAL CULT

THE TABERNACLE MENORAH: A SYNTHETIC STUDY OF A SYMBOL FROM THE BIBLICAL CULT by Carol L. Meyers

Second Edition With a New Introduction

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GORGIAS PRESS 2003

First Gorgias Press Edition, 2003. The special contents of this edition are copyright €> 2003 by Gorgias Press LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by Gorgias Press LLC, New Jersey. This edition is a facsimile reprint of the original edition published by Scholars Press in American Schools of Oriental Research Dissertation Series (Number 2), 1976.

ISBN 1-59333-073-1

GORGIAS PRESS

46 Orris Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA www.gorgiaspress.com

Printed and bound simultaneously in the United States of America and Great Britain.

PREFACE TO THE REPRINT EDITION

More than a quarter century has passed since the publication of The Tabernacle Menorah, and this reprint edition offers an opportunity for me to comment on some developments in the study of ancient Israel and its cultic structures and symbolism that would affect what is contained in this book. Its arguments might be modified in at least three ways. First, the context suggested for the lampstand is the wilderness sanctuary; because the existence of such an edifice would be contested today, another postulated setting must be considered. Second, the double-bowl (or "cup-and-saucer") vessel proposed as a form that is represented by the term gavia' (SP31) in the description of the lampstand may not be appropriate in light of current archaeological analyses. Third, the lamp stand's symbolic value is related to Yahweh traditions in relation to ancient iconography; the range of symbolic meaning must now be broadened with respect to ideas of God and gender. Let me explain each of these issues. A generation ago, the biblical narratives presenting the ancestors of ancient Israel were recognized to be highly legendary if not fictive tales. Yet the stories of the exodus and the wilderness wandering, even if stylized and exaggerated, were taken as essentially historical. Today, because the archaeology and ecology of the Sinai Peninsula are much better known and because the literary features of origins narratives are much better understood, the historicity of the account of the departure from Egypt and the long trek towards the Promised Land is no longer accepted at face value by most biblical scholars. Although some few

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PREFACE TO THE REPRINT EDITION

"minimalists" take the exodus-wilderness account (along with the settlement and monarchy narratives) as a fictional product of Second Temple Judaism, many more of us believe that it contains a core of historical authenticity surrounded by layers of mythic motifs and literary structures. In this scenario, the events underlying the biblical story involve a relatively small group of Semites, who had been conscripted or captured to work on pharaonic building projects in the eastern delta and then escaped their servitude and managed to retrace their steps to their ancestral lands. Their memories of servitude and liberation were ultimately expanded and dramatized to reflect the larger experience of oppression and hope for freedom of the peasantry in the highlands of Eretz Israel. Given this new understanding of the exoduswilderness stage in the story of ancient Israel, it is no longer possible to posit the reality of a substantial and elaborate temporary cultic structure—the tabernacle—as part of the Late Bronze Age culture of a handful of émigrés from Egypt. A small portable set of cultic paraphernalia may indeed have been possible and even likely, but the large and costly shrine described in the tabernacle texts cannot be viewed as an historic possibility. Thus I would no longer situate the tabernacle menorah, as described primarily in Exodus 25 and 37, in a wilderness cultic structure. However, the single "wilderness" menorah still remains quite distinct from the ten lamp stands of the monarchic temple; and its decorative elements are still best associated with Near Eastern art and technology of the Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages and not with the postexilic period. Hence a more likely candidate for the context of the lampstand mentioned in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers is the central shrine of the proto-Israelite tribal groups before the establishment of monarchic rule. According to traditions in the Former Prophets, the ark, the tent of meeting, and an altar as well as the Aaronic priesthood are all associated with Shiloh for the pre-monarchic period. Thus it is certainly possible to suggest that the typical

PREFACE TO THE REPRINT EDITION

vii*

furnishings of a shrine of that period—including a light source such as the lampstand and lamps appearing in the tabernacle texts—would have been part of the Shilonic shrine. Its costly nature and elaborate elements, though perhaps exaggerated in the texts, would have been conceivable in such a setting. Another adjustment in the book would involve the discussion of the term gavia' (SP31), which appears in the plural and is translated "cups" in the NRSV and the NJPS. I had suggested that these parts of the lampstand might be related to the cup-and-bowl vessel known from archaeological contexts in Syria-Palestine, especially from the Late Bronze and early Iron Ages. Many hypotheses for the use of that odd vessel—actually two vessels joined together, with an inner deep cup attached at its external base to a shallow bowl—had been suggested; and the theory that it was a lamp, which had strong support at the time, appears in Tabernacle Menorah. These vessels may have sometimes served secondarily as lamps, but a compelling case has recently been made for their primary use as specialized receptacles intended for the burning of fumigants, either in cultic or household contexts. Certain features of the vessels' manufacture along with close cross-cultural analogues, especially from the Aegean, point in this direction. Identifying the cup-and-bowl vessels as censers rather than lamps precludes their value in understanding the D'Saj of the lampstand. That term, it seems, represents some sort of container other than a vessel that served as a lamp. But rendering it "cup" does not do justice to the fact that the word denotes a special cup, not an ordinary everyday drinking vessel. At the least, it signifies a goblet or chalice for special occasions; and it may even reflect cultic use as a libation vessel. How it figures in the design of the lampstand is not clear, but its nature as a vessel that served elite purposes and thus was probably larger and more elegant than an ordinary drinking cup seems to be its salient aspect.

VIII*

PREFACE TO THE REPRINT EDITION

Finally, the way the symbolism of the floral and arboreal motifs of the lamp stand is presented in the book might benefit from biblical scholarship of the last three decades. In particular, in addition to the proposed symbolic associations with Yahweh, those motifs can also now be associated with fertility in relationship to female divine power among the Israelites. The discovery of two inscriptions—at el Qom near Hebron in 1967-68 and at Kuntillet 'Ajrud in the Sinai in 1975-76—mentioning Asherah along with Yahweh reawakened scholarly interest in the Canaanite goddess Asherah and her role in the Bible and in Israelite religion. And feminist biblical scholarship has added to the burgeoning interest in the existence and meaning of goddess worship in the biblical past. There is no longer much doubt about the presence of Asherah in the pantheon of many Israelites, including the royal family of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, for much of the biblical period. Moreover, representations on archaeologically recovered materials, such as an elaborate four-tiered stand from Taanach with rampant animals flanking a branched pole/tree, suggest the iconographic presence of Asherah in Late Bronze and early Iron Age representations of sacred trees. Thus the tree motif subsumed in the language describing the lamp stand and related to the biblical terminology for Yahweh's revelatory power and messianic rule may encode levels of meaning in which female fertility is likewise present. In other words, mythic elements associating trees/plants with female as well as male deities can be found in the iconographic vocabulary of the ancient Near East, more specifically in Syria-Palestine at the time of early Israel, and are perhaps conveyed by the arboreal details of the lamp stand's graphic design and form. The presence of those visual or material motifs in an Israelite cultic appurtenance does not, however, mean that the myths themselves were appropriated by the designers of the lampstand and/or the authors of the texts describing it. Symbols, I would still maintain, migrate across cultures,

PREFACE TO THE REPRINT EDITION

ix*

retaining their power but not necessarily their "explanations." But even if the myths were part of the "authorial intent" of the artisans or authors, it is hardly the case that they were understood as such by all of those who knew of their existence in the shrine. The control over meaning ascribed to a graphic or textual idea at its origin is surrendered once the image or word reaches another eye or ear. Thus the general power of a cultic object expressing notions of fertility and life might well transcend the specific myths or deities that give rise to such representations. In any case, consideration of goddess materials in addition to Yahweh signifiers in relation to the botanic properties of the lampstand only serves to enrich the range of its possible meanings, making it all the more comprehensible that it was a major artifact in the biblical cult and has endured for millennia as a symbol in post-biblical tradition.

Carol Meyers Duke University May 2003

FOREWORD The conception for this work came originally from my association with two people, and my gratitude to them knows no bounds. My interest in the biblical cult, as an entry into the vast territory of Israelite religion, grew out of what I began to study in my very first semester of graduate school under the expert tutelage of Professor Baruch Levine. Through his wisdom and knowledge, the landmarks within that territory have become visible and familiar to me. Just as important, his encouragement, his support, and his advice over the years have constituted a crucial factor in my ability to bring this project to completion. My introduction to the world of symbols and ways of dealing with them, though ultimately informed by the contributions of E. R. Goodenough, was effected through my special relationship with a student of his, Professor Eric Meyers. I am uniquely fortunate in having a source of both scholarly advice and human concern in the person of my husband. His utter and complete cooperation in helping me with my responsibilities as parent and homemaker as well as with my academic pursuits has enabled me to persevere in my work. It is to his credit that I have been able to do this with great joy and without a sense of struggle. In addition, Professor Nahum Sarna has read this manuscript at every stage of its preparation. I am deeply grateful for his comments and criticisms, and I have tried to take them into account in my reworking of my materials. The assistance of Professor Jonas Greenfield, especially in philological matters, has also been invaluable. I am much indebted to him for his incisive responses to my work. One further fact should be mentioned here. Virtually all of the research and writing involved in this dissertation was carried out quite removed from Brandeis University and its library. Under such circumstances, it has been my good fortune to have been able to use the libraries of Duke University. I should like to thank, in particular, Mr. Donn Michael Ferris,

v

Head Librarian of the Divinity School of Duke University, for making available to me the extensive facilities and resources of the Divinity Library. He willingly assigned a carrel for my use and allowed me full borrowing privileges. Needless to say, such cooperation has been vital in enabling me to gather my materials and produce this work.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD

v

LIST OF FIGURES

xi

ABBREVIATIONS

XV

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION—METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS I. II. III.

Cult Objects as Artifacts Artifacts from the Cult as Symbols A. Iconographic evaluation B. Symbolic process Procedures

CHAPTER II BIBLICAL SOURCES Terminology According to the Priestly Sources . . A. Architectonic terms 1. m u D 2. nap 3. -p-> 4. y n n 5. mns3 6. ms 7. m i a B. Material and workmanship 1. -nnta ant 2. nrm nti/pn II. Biblical Usage and Literary Sources Outside the Tabernacle Texts A. Solomonic B. Second Temple III. Conclusions EXCURSUS: Some Details of Ancient Gold Technology . . . CHAPTER III ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

III.

1 4 4 5 9

17

I.

I. II.

1

17 18

26

34 35 36 38 41

57

Introduction: the Matter of Function Comparative Archaeology A. Mesopotamian materials B. Egyptian data C. Syro-Palestinian remains Lamps Stands D. Aegean evidence Conclusions

vii

57 59 59 65 69 77 81

Page CHAPTER IV THE SACRED TREE IN ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ICONOGRAPHY . . I. II.

III.

Introduction: General Considerations Comparative Material A. Mesopotamia B. Egypt C. Syria-Palestine D. Aegean Conclusions

CHAPTER V A TYPOLOGY OF TREE MOTIFS IN ANCIENT ISRAEL I. Introduction II. The Eclipse of the Fertility and Immortality Themes A. The fertility theme B. The immortality theme Summary III. Theophanous Events Within the Temporal and Geographic Sphere A. Patriarchal events B. Post-patriarchal events Summary IV. Cosmic Motifs Within the Imagistic Sphere . . . . A. Arborescent presentations of deity B. Arborescent Israel C. Arborescent Messiah Summary V. Conclusions CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS

95 95 98 98 107 Ill 116 118 133 133 135 135 137 138 139 140 141 143 143 144 148 151 153 154 165

PART ONE. THE MENORAH IN THE ISRAELITE CULT I. Evaluation of the Motif A. Menorah as motif rather than apparatus . . . B. Levels of meaning of the motif II. Spatial Location of the Motif A. Sacred space in the ancient Near East . . . . B. Sacred place in Israel--the tabernacle . . . III. The Function of the Motif A. In the tabernacle setting The Form The Instrument B. Consecutive imagery IV. Summary

16 5 165 166 168 170 171 172 174 174

PART TWO. HISTORICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS I. Chronological Information A. The wilderness period B. Subsequent history II. Cultural Affinities III. Towards a New "Biblical Archaeology"

181 181 182 185 188 191

viii

178 179

Page FIGURES

205

SOURCES OF FIGURES

223

BIBLIOGRAPHY

227

ix

LIST OF FIGURES (Provenance and date are given when known) 1.

High cylindrical stand with bowl; Lachish, LB I.

2.

Simple cylindrical stand, flaring at top and bottom; upper register of limestone plaque from Ur, Early Dynastic period.

3.

Simple cylindrical stand, flaring at top and bottom; "Mother Goose" relief from Nippur, Old Akkadian period.

4.

High cylindrical (earthenware ?) stand with single molding on constricted portion; relief from Lagash, neo-Sumerian.

5.

Flaring cylindrical stand with single molding, stylized branch, and drooping fruit; relief from Susa, neo-Sumerian or later.

6.

Tall cylindrical altar stand, with bowl-shaped receptacle on top and flaring base; seal cylinder of Tukulti-Ninurta I.

7.

High stand with flaring bowl containing a conical form (burning incense ?); Late Assyrian seal from Assur.

8.

High offering stand with flaring bottom, single molding, dish, and stylized cone; plaque of Shalmaneser III.

9.

Shoulder-high stand with flaring base, ledge, bowl, and flaming cone; obelisk of Assurnasirpal II.

10.

Tall stand with flaring bottom, triple molding, bowl, and seven-pointed flame; painted ceramic bucket from Assur, 8th century.

11.

Elaborate stand with fluted shaft, two capitals with inverted leaf decoration, bowl, and conical top; one of two identical stands shown on garden relief of Assurbanipal from Nineveh.

12.

Offering stand with slightly flaring bottom, platter top supported by a single molding; wooden panel of Hesy-ra, Third Dynasty.

13.

Offering stand with platter top, constricted center, single molding, and flaring bottom; slab-stele of Wepemnofret. Fourth Dynasty.

14.

Offering stand with single molding, bowl-shaped receptacle; primitive niche-stone of Sehefener, Second Dynasty.

15.

Cylindrical stand with campanaform capital; pillar relief of Sesostris I at Karnak, Twelfth Dynasty.

16.

Low offering stand with constricted center, single molding; commemorative stone of Araosis I, Eighteenth Dynasty.

17.

High offering stand with platter, flaring upper and lower portions, convex ring at constriction; grave relief, Eighteenth Dynasty.

xi

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37.

38.

Simple stand with flared top and bottom, supporting a libation vessel and a lotus branch; limestone stele of the Late Period. Hand-held censer in the shape of a miniature offering stand with flaring top and bottom; grave stele, Eleventh Dynasty. Decorated stand with two elaborate down-turned capitals and platter top; throne of Tutankhamon, Eighteenth Dynasty. Four-spout lamps: A. el-Husn, MB I; B. Megiddo, MB IIA. Seven-spout lamp; Tell e?-§Sfi, Iron I. a,b. Two examples of double-bowl lamps; Tell el-Hesy. Hand-held cylindrical stands supporting double-bowl lamps with central flames; Temple T at Kawa, 7th century. Pottery stand with bowl, flaring bottom, conventionalized down-turned petal decoration, two narrow convex rings; Megiddo, Iron I. Painted incense stand with bowl, down-turned petal capitals, convex moldings; Megiddo, Iron II (?). Upper portion of tall stand with triple down-turned petal decoration; bas-relief from Tyre, 6th (?) century. Pottery stand with flaring bottom and attached double-bowl lamp; Megiddo, pre-Iron I. Pottery stand with attached quatrefoil bowl lamp; Beth Shan, EB II. Knobbed bowl with basal projection; Gezer, LB II/Iron I. Lamp with basal projection fitted into ceramic stand; el Jib, Iron I. Tomb group with stand, bowl, and lamp; Gezer, LB II. Miniature lamp modeled into three "branches" at the top of a ceramic stand; Tell Beit Mirsim, Iron II. Purple gypsum stone "lotus lamp" with quatrefoil fluting, lotus bowl capital, foliated rim, and petal molding; Knossos, MM III. Stone pedestalled lamp with bulging elaborate molding, petal rim; Palaikastro, LM I (?). Bronze lampstand with triple volute lamp support and three rows of lotus petals on the shaft; Cyprus, 6th century. Incense stand with flaring bottom, three rows of downturned petals, three horizontal ledges (presumably representing support and bowl); Phoenician seal, 9th-7th century. High stand with flaring bottom, three stylized (petal) decorations, two ledges (representing support and bowl), flaming incense; Phoenician seal, 6th (?) century.

xii

39.

High incense stand with flaring bottom, triple inverted petal decoration, ledge and bowl; Carthaginian grave stele, 4th-3rd century.

40.

Tall incense stand with stylized triple (petal) decorations, bowl and ledge; Carthaginian grave stele, 4th-3rd century.

41.

Incense stand with flaring bottom, triple conventionalized (petal) design, bowl, conical flame; Punic stele from Lilybaeum, 4th century.

42.

Naturalistic tree, with slight tendency towards stylization, flanked by birds; painted bowl from Susa, 4th millennium.

43.

Stylized tree with regularly-arranged branches and leaves, antithetical birds; stone vase from Khafaje, 4th millennium.

44.

Triple theme of tree, animal, and astral form; seal from Susa, Elamite.

45.

Two trees in cult scene, one with two bands on the trunk and resting on a stand, animals in lower register; archaic cylinder (4th millennium).

46.

Stand with two spiked branches before seated deity with worshipper bearing a goat; archaic cylinder (4th millennium) .

47.

Tree on mountain with flanking animals and astral symbols; Akkadian seal.

48.

Seated goddess with three branches sprouting from each shoulder; cylinder.

49.

God seated on a mountain with three rays emanating from each shoulder; cylinder.

50.

Ishtar with horned headdress and three pairs of weapons rising from her shoulders; cylinder.

51.

Seated god with three pairs of stream banks flowing from his shoulders; facing Ishtar with three pairs of weapons rising from her shoulders; cylinder.

52.

Composite plant and two antithetical animals; detail from a Nuzian cylinder seal.

53.

Hand-held Mitanni "ball branch"; cylinder from Nuzi.

54.

Artificial tree composed of a column with three bands and a network of fruit-bearing branches, flanked by cultic figures, with a winged disc and other astral symbols overhead; Assyrian cylinder seal.

55.

Bundle lotiform column and capital, quatrefoil in section; Beni Hassan tomb, Twelfth Dynasty.

56.

Djed column with four superimposed capitals.

57.

A typical form of the Djed column with four superimposed capitals.

xiii

58.

Antithetical human figures flanking a conventionalized plant design and surmounted by a winged symbol; Egyptianizing scarab from Gaza.

59.

Conventionalized tree or branch with single animal; Egyptianizing scarab from Tell Fara, Sixteenth Dynasty.

60.

Typical example of a group of Mitanni-style local Palestinian seals depicting antithetical animals and a sevenball branch; Lachish, LB II.

61.

Mitanni-type theme of seven-ball branch on triangular (mountain ?) base; seal, cut and laid out like a scaraboid, from Lachish, LB II.

62.

Metopic design on Ajjul ware showing tree and antithetical animals; Lachish, LB II.

63.

Metope showing antithetical animals flanking a stylized tree consisting of three pairs of branches on a central axis; ceramic ewer from Lachish, LB II.

64.

Composite tree form and Egyptianizing elements; Cypriote elaborate-style seal, LB II.

65.

Six-branched tree with ledged stem plus human figure and assorted symbols; Cypriote common-style seal, LB II.

66.

Six-branched tree with ledged stem plus human figure and assorted symbols; Cypriote common-style seal, LB II.

67.

Tree with worshippers and assorted symbols; Cypriote common-style seal, LB II.

xiv

ABBREVIATIONS AASOR

Annual of the American Research

AD

W. Muss-Arnoldt, Concise Assyrian Language

AEL

E. W. Lane, Arabic-English

AfO

Archiv

fur

Orientforschung

AH

Akkadisches

Handaorterbuch,

AJ

Antiquaries

AJA

American

Journal

of

AJSL

American

Journal

of Semitic

AJSLL

American Journal Literature

of Semitic

ANEP

J. Pritchard, ed. Pictures

The Ancient

ANET

J. Pritchard, ed.

Ancient

AOB

H. Gressman, Altorientalische Testament

ARI

W. F. Albright, Archaeology IsraeI

BA

The Biblical

BANE

The Bible and the Ancient Wright

BAR

The Biblical Archaeologist Reader I, eds. G. E. Wright and D. N. Freedman; III, eds. E. F. Campbell and D. N. Freedman

BASOR

Bulletin Research

BDB

F. Brown, S. R. Driver, C. A. Briggs, Hebrew English Lexicon of the Old Testament

BH

Biblica

Hebraica

BJ

Bonner

Jahrbucher

BJRL

Bulletin

Schools

of

Oriental

Dictionary

of the

Lexicon

ed. W. von Soden

Journal Archaeology Languages Languages

and

Near East in

Near Eastern Bilder

Texts

zum Alten

and the Religion

of

Archaeologist

of the American

Near East, ed. G. E.

Schools

of the John Rylands

of

Library

Oriental and

BLS

C. Brockelman, Lexicon

Syriaoum

BSAE

British School of Archaeology in Egypt

BSOS

Bulletin

CAD

Chicago heim

CBQ

Catholic

CPP

J. Darrow Duncan, Corpus Pottery

of Dated

DB

Dictionary

ed. J. Hastings

EB

Encyclopedia Black

Biblica,

ed. T. K. Cheyne and J. S.

EJ

Encyclopedia

Judaiaa,

ed. Cecil Roth

HLD

Harper's

HT

History

HTR

Harvard

HUCA

Hebrew

ICC

International

IEJ

Israel

JAOS

Journal

Jastrow

M. Jastrow,

JBL

Journal

of Biblical

Literature

JHS

Journal

of Hellenic

Studies

JJS

Journal

of Jewish

JNES

Journal

of Near Eastern

JPOS

Journal

of the Palestine

JSGRP

E. R. Goodenough, Jewish Roman Period

JSS

Journal

of Semitic

JWI

Journal

of the Warburg

JWCI

Journal

of the Warburg

of the School Assyrian

of Oriental

Dictionary,

Biblical

Dictionary,

of Technology, Theological Union

ed. A. Leo Oppen-

Quarterly

of the Bible,

Latin

Studies

Palestinian

ed. E. A. Andrews

ed. C. Singer et al.

Review

College

Annual

Critical

Exploration

Commentary

Journal

of the American

Oriental

Society

Dictionary

Studies

xvi

Studies Oriental Symbols

Society in the

Greco-

Studies Institute and Courtauld

Institutes

KB

L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, Lexicon in Veteris Testamenti Libras

LS

H. G. Liddell and R. Scott, Greek-English Lexicon

MJ

Museum

OIP

Oriental Institute Publications

Payne Smith

Syriac Dictionary , ed. J. Payne Smith

PEF,QS

Palestine Exploration Fund, Quarterly

PMK

Arthur J. Evans, Palace of Minos at Knossos

PSBA

Proceedings of the Society for Biblical Archaeology

RB

Revue Biblique

RHR

Revue de l'Histoire des Religions

RSV

Revised Standard Version: The Holy Bible

SAT

R. J. Forbes, Studies in Ancient Technology

SCWA

W. H. Ward, Seal Cylinders of Hestern Asia

Journal

SH

Scripta

VT

Vetus Testamentum

ZAW

Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche schaf t

ZDP

Zeitschrift des deutschen

ZNW

Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche schaft

Statement

Hierosolymitana

xvii

Wissen-

Palästina-Vereins Wissen-

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION—METHODOLOGICAL I.

Cult Objects

as

CONSIDERATIONS

Artifacts

The tabernacle texts of the Pentateuch are rich in detail. In verse after verse and chapter after chapter, the biblical account contains a precise and technical record of the setting and mode of worship for the children of Israel.

The elaborate

tabernacle with its special furnishings, the priestly

apparel

with its varied accoutrements, and the ritual offerings with their appropriate instructions—these are all laid out in the priestly sections of the book of Exodus. It seems ironic, then, that we are able to learn so little from this wealth of information.

One brief verse from a psalm

or a prophetic book, approached with the help of all the vast information that modern biblical research can supply, can often be understood with great clarity and thus can provide us with a nuanced meaning that allows deep insight into the verse and its function.

But what happens when we turn to cultic texts?

Why

do whole chapters leave us with little more understanding or knowledge than might be gleaned from a list of metals or gemstones known in antiquity? The strictly cultic texts, it must be recognized, are a unique type of scriptural literature.'1"

All the rest of the

Bible deals directly with historical and theological matters. Man's relationships with his fellow men and with his God are chronicled; his reactions to his environment and his heritage are recorded.

Likewise, God's position vis a vis the children

of Israel is described and explored in all its aspects. In contrast, the cultic texts—prescriptive, l e g a l — d e a l with the material sphere of life.

descriptive,

It is precisely

because of the non-human nature of the subject of these texts that they are so difficult to penetrate, that they yield so little.

In dealing with other sorts of literature, our very

position as human beings confronting the products of human experience in the past can, once all properly scholarly avenues have been pursued, provide us with the spark of insight that 1

2

makes tenable interpretations and fruitful explanations possible. Such a possibility is rare or non-existent for cultic texts. To be sure, the recognition in one of the technical terms of the cognate of another ancient Semitic word is very helpful; and the identification of certain cultic practices with rituals found elsewhere in the ancient Near East is invaluable. But, in dealing with specific items in the cult (as opposed to trends and patterns in the cult as a whole), such advances are often of little value. Somehow, despite the most careful scholarly scrutiny, the cultic texts in the Bible remain lifeless and unreal. However, this situation can be relieved by viewing the cultic texts, or at least the objects enumerated therein, in a somewhat different manner from the way they are usually approached. As part of ancient literature these texts are, in 2

the broadest sense of the term, archaeological data. But in addition, by their concern with material, non-human matters, they constitute archaeological data in the most direct artifactual way. The problems that beset an archaeologist when he unearths a cultic device are of the same order as the problems that must be dealt with in the examination of the textual description of a cultic device. The description of some appurtenance in the tabernacle texts must be considered as belonging to the same order of evidence as the published plate of some such object in an excavation report. We should not be concerned if the verbal description found in the biblical account does not always provide us with an accurate mental image or an exactly reproduceable object; for the possession of such an image or object in itself would tell us no more than does the possession of an actual artifact. The ultimate goal of archaeological research is not the dating of a pot nor the reconstruction on paper or in actuality of an ancient shrine nor the relating of an object to a close parallel; these are only the necessary steps in making the products of excavations useful. In the final analysis, however, archaeology is truly valuable only when its artifactual materials lead us closer to the people who produced them and give us a glimpse of the function that these artifacts performed in the lives and thoughts of their possessors.

3 Similarly, in approaching "biblical artifacts" 4 —those buried in texts rather than in dirt—our hope is not solely to date the usage of a particular altar nor to construct a model of the Tent of Meeting nor to produce parallels to the cherubim, though such endeavors are necessary as preliminary research. The ultimate aims are, as in dirt archaeology, an understanding of how objects, especially those of more than instrumental value,^ functioned for the people who made and used them and consequently a deeper understanding of the human factor reflected in them. Thus the ultimate aims of archaeology coincide with those present in dealing with various aspects of biblical literature. However, the methodological approach to an understanding of biblical artifacts must take into account the specific material, non-verbal nature of the evidence even though that evidence reaches us through written archival traditions.

Arti-

facts exist first and foremost in the world of forms and consequently have their own unique properties.

Since forms are

created primarily for the sense of sight and exist within space, their vigor is separated by a profound difference from the vigor of ideas that are expressed in words.

Their ways of

relating to and expressing the needs and potentials of the human psyche differ fundamentally from the ways in which concepts expressed in words reflect human response to the world. An artifact, especially a cultic artifact, operates in this world of forms.

And forms activate feelings directly;

they express at once innermost activity whereas ideas expressed in words emanate from the processes of rational thought.

To

put it even more sharply, in order to exist at all, a work of art must be tangible. It must renounce thought, must become dimensional, must both measure and qualify space. It is in this very turning outward that its inmost principle resides. g

Thus, while writers and artisans

living at one time and one

place both bear the sensibilities of occupants of the same cultural moment from which their creative efforts emerge, they are really producing independent systems of expression that occasionally may converge and at points appear to be interchangeable

4 but are in essense independent modes of human interaction with the world. II.

Art-ifacts from

the Cult as

Symbols

A. Iconographic evaluation A general approach to the objects found in cultic texts has been established: they are to be considered artifacts existing within space. be emphasized.

At this point another crucial fact must

These biblical artifacts are not merely remains

of "secular" every-day life.

Their presence in the biblical

record is not an arbitrary fact.

They appear in the descrip-

tion of the material cult not as random decorations but as essential religious objects to be executed in a specific way. The very fact of the elaborate detail in which cultic appurtenances are presented is an indication to us that such objects are important at a level beyond their literal shape and physical function.

They are, in fact, artistic f o r m s — a s has been

suggested a l r e a d y — w h i c h operate as religious symbols and as such bring to us a whole new realm of possibility for investigation. Of course it is incumbent upon all who deal with artifactual remains to attempt to relate them to the literary data. In the case of the artifacts of the biblical cult, there certainly are clues in the Bible and other ancient literatures that are helpful to us in our attempts to comprehend these artifacts.

However, in trying to set them into their living con-

texts, the philological-historical approach must be set into a methodological framework which recognizes and is appropriate to the material nature of the artifacts.

Only in this way can we

come closer to understanding their function and thus their 9 meaning to the people who used them

than we would by philo-

logical-historical method alone. Artifacts insofar as they operate within the material realm must be treated within the iconographic sphere if their ultimate meanings are to be ascertained.

Actually, three suc-

cessive levels of meaning'''® can be associated with a given object for which matters of design and form are at least as important, if not more important, than matters of usage.

The

5 first level is concerned with the physical shape or form of which an object is composed and what that reflects on at a natural level; it is a matter of the object's graphic history and identity.

The second level deals with the conventional and

thematic meaning associated with a given graphic form within a particular cultural tradition; it is a matter of identifying themes with graphic motifs.

The third level concerns the in-

trinsic way in which the existence of an object within a thematic frame of reference works upon the minds of the individuals to which it is exposed; it is a matter of its symbolic value. B. Symbolic process It is this third level of meaning which benefits from an understanding of the symbolic process.

Scholarship in the 20th

century is replete with interest in this subject.1'''

Indeed, if

any intellectual approach can be said to characterize this age, it is the recognition, largely as the result of developments in mathematics (the data of which are "symbols") of the importance 12 of symbolization as the key to understanding human response. No matter what the individual slant of the various disciplines that deal with symbolism, it is widely agreed by psychologists, philosophers, theologians, anthropologists, and neurologists that symbolization is the fundamental process of the human mind, that "symbolism is the recognized key to that mental life which is characteristically human and above the level of sheer animality.

Symbol and meaning make man's world."'''''

However, beyond the articulation of the crucial position of symbolization on human mental processes, the many different approaches to symbolic thought cannot be of much help in our task at hand, the study of biblical artifacts qua religious symbols.

Perhaps depth psychology and psychoanalytic theory,

which have dealt with specific symbolic forms more directly than have other disciplines cannot be ignored; but it must be remembered that psychological interpretations are based for the most part upon dream analyses, which are concerned with private, individual, symbolic representations rather than with the public symbols of religious art.

The social aspect of

6 religious symbols must not be overlooked; religious

symbols

would not function at all did they not call up common attitudes 14 and feelings.

Thus, while psychology is invaluable as we

shall see in assisting our comprehension of the dynamics and properties of symbols, its usefulness in the actual interpretation of specific symbols must be balanced carefully by historical

research.^

How then can our specific subject matter be approached? No foray into the field of symbolism in religion can fail to recognize the monumental contribution of Erwin R. Goodenough. In studying the artifactual remains of Jews in the Greco-Roman period, he was forced by the nature of his evidence to evolve a method for dealing with it.^'

Insofar as our evidence is of

the same order as Goodenough 1 s, his discoveries and conclusions concerning the nature and behavior of symbols are especially pertinent. To begin with, we must make it clear what we mean by a symbol.

Assuredly there is no universal definition which would

satisfy all those concerned.

The simple statement by Ovid that 18 a symbol is a form which means more than what we actually see is as good a place to begin as any. A symbol is thus an image or design with a significance, to the one who uses it, quite beyond its manifest content....A symbol is an object or pattern which, whatever the reason may be, operates upon men, and causes effect in them, beyond recognition of what is literally presented in the given form. Further, since symbols mean more

to us than what meets the eye,

they have the power to move us, to arouse our emotions.

They

connote to the beholder more than what is visible in their literal forms. This power to arouse us, this emotional impact, represents 20 what Goodenough calls the "meaning or value of a symbol. This characteristic of symbols is of central concern from the standpoint of studying religious symbols in ancient art.

His-

torically, it is obvious that certain symbols can be found in many cultures.

Where these cultures are contiguous in space

and/or time, the appearance of the same symbols is hardly accidental.

The fact that a symbol can make the transition from

7 one culture to the next is a result of the continuity of value 21 inherent m

symbols.

This migration of symbols is predicated upon the fact that all symbols arise from a universal inner need of man, namely, his need to respond to the conditions of life by the symbolization of experience.

Thus the "perennity of symbols, which sur-

vive their various and passing explanations, is conditioned by the perennity of man's condition." 2 2 Inasmuch as symbols arise from man's confrontation with reality, they can neither be in23 vented nor abolished.

This retention of value, of emotional

clout, is what enables symbols to be transferred from one religion to the next; it is the continuity of value in a symbol that makes it "live," or "active," in the terminology of Goodu 24 enough. At this point it is important to note that a distinction must be made between borrowing a live symbol and borrowing the explanation that may have accompanied it.

The theory that sur-

rounds a symbol is secondary to the emotional value that it carries; indeed, the explanation is of a different order entirely.

This becomes obvious when one observes that a single

symbol may have markedly variant explanations attached to it, even within a single religious tradition, to say nothing of the new and often elaborate explanations that develop in the crosscultural migration of symbols. As a matter of fact, the appearance and growth of value in a symbol as a visual stimulus occurs originally in a non-verbal 25 setting.

Though verbal explanations may eventually and in-

evitably be attached to symbols, the words are really symbols in themselves and as such are essentially independent of the material form.

Even when the artist or designer himself ela-

borates upon a product of his creativity which utilizes cultural symbols, the resulting texts are, often as not, failures in the sense of not being true reflections of the intrinsic meaning of the design. This seems to be the case from the earliest examples of artistic self-commentary.

Goff, in a study of Egyptian art of

the Twenty-First Dynasty in which explanatory texts at times accompanied symbolic scenes, found that on the second level of

8

meaning, where a thematic identification was sought, the texts seemed to be very general and could be applied to a number of art forms.2®

Even on the third level, where a more elaborate

text, often mythological, was offered, such texts in fact "were not necessarily companions of the design.

Like the designs,

they were often capable of accomplishing their purpose quite 27

independently. " In short, visual forms are extremely active entities, manifesting themselves with exceptional vigor, 2 8 translating into space a whole range of movements of the mind. All the strata of subject matter inherent in a symbolic form are inseparable aspects of the artifact, having merged into one organic whole which is the tangible product of these combined levels of meaning. That this phenomenon can occur in a way which results in the emotional commonality of certain symbols, whereby they can move from one culture to a contiguous one, regardless of the names or myths or aetiologies connected with them in their various settings, provided Goodenough with the impetus to develop 29 The

a psychological framework for his studies of symbolism.

ultimate validity or relevance of his psychology of religion cannot be dealt with here.'*"

It is his psychological under-

standing of the dynamics of religious symbols rather than their relation to primordial life urges which has been most helpful. Yet we cannot escape the question of what gives certain religious symbols their perennity, their continuing emotional value. Throughout the millennia of human history, religiosity in man has been a consequence of his need for security.

Ancient

religious texts repeatedly reflect man's anxiety about his food supply and his concern for his health and safety.

In seeking

sustenance and protection, man must variously please or appease his deities in his attempt to assure their cooperation.

The

world of religious symbols, then, is the realm of forms which, because of their emotional impact, can aid in man's striving to approach the source of material survival and safety.

The

emotional value comes from the ultimate relation of symbols to life-giving and life-sustaining forces.

9 However, there seems to be an inherent danger of triviality which accompanies this understanding of the emotional value of symbols.

Indeed, as Henri Frankfort has pointed out, ^ both

Frazer and Freud, who were contemporaries and whose works bear a certain family resemblance, "attempted to penetrate beyond the complexity and variety of cultural symbols; both reduced them to the outcome of an essentially simple process."

For

Frazer and for much of the history of religions that followed in his wake, the whole range of things dealt with in the Bough

Golden

develops from the universal preoccupation with food and

fertility.

For Freud and for much of modern psychology, the

related and equally universal preoccupation with the the sexual appetite, is the key dynamic.

libido,

Thus both Freud and

Frazer "reduced the complexities of civilization to something 32 essentially natural, s i m p l e — a n d , we may add, trivial." In the realm of psychoanalytic theory, Jung has to some extent "rescued the dignity of man by rediscovering the metaphysical depth of his imaginative symbols.

In the realm of

history of religions, a similar balance to the Frazerian perspective has been achieved to some extent by a recognition of the depths of human strivings which go beyond life preoccupations, strivings which relate to the quality of that life within this world and to the place of that

(moral) quality within a

hieratic reality. III.

Procedures This work will have as its aim the study of an artifact

from the biblical cult, namely the tabernacle menorah as it is set forth in the priestly portions of the Pentateuch.

It

should be clear from what has been presented above that several stages of investigation must be pursued if we are to progress towards an understanding of how this biblical artifact operated within the cult of ancient Israel.

In actuality, we shall pro-

cede along the lines of scrutiny that are necessary for the comprehension of any object that is something more than an instrument of usage.

In other words, the three levels at which

such an object operate need to be identified if the way in which they are integrated into a whole is to be understood.

10 To begin with, on the primary level, an attempt must be made to discover as closely as possible the form assumed by our object and the details and techniques which characterize its construction.

Chapter II is devoted to this task of recovering

the real object from the textual traditions in which it is preserved.

Philology is of its greatest assistance in this en-

deavor, which involves a study of all the various terms which together serve to present this object in the biblical sources. In addition, the other references to menoroth in non-priestly biblical passages will be scrutinized. Once the literary sources have been examined thoroughly, archaeological sources will be consulted for further illumination of the physical properties of the object.

This step in

our investigation, which constitutes Chapter III, might more accurately be designated "comparative archaeology." into the texts will have uncovered for us an object.

Delving The in-

formation made available in that way will then be related to what has been unearthed in other—and in this case actual— excavations.

That is to say, the form of the tabernacle me-

norah as well as the details of its execution will be related to comparable forms and details as they appear in the cultures that surround ancient Israel, namely, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Canaan (Syria-Palestine, in archaeological terms), and the Aegean (or, to be more accurate, the islands of the east Mediterranean, especially Cyprus but also Crete and to some extent the Greek islands). It will become clear as a result of the study of biblical and archaeological sources that the details of form and fabricature alone do not complete our understanding of the object. Thus the peculiar seven-branched shape as well as the general vegetative and repetitive characteristics will be scrutinized also in Chapter IV, as they appear in the above-mentioned cultures of the ancient Near East.

In this way the second level

of meaning, the thematic identification of the object, can be determined insofar as Israel's history is rooted in these cultures in more than just a material way.

For her religious tra-

ditions were influenced, both positively and negatively, by the milieu from which they emerged.

There existed a lingua franca

11 of cultural expression from which Israel drew her own particular characteristics. Finally, at the third level of meaning, the symbolic value of the object within the biblical cult, as a specific historical manifestation of that object, must be approached. Chapter V will be a prelude to this task, setting forth the way in which ancient Israel perceived the motif inherent in the second level of meaning. And Chapter VI, by way of conclusion, will deal with the tabernacle menorah within the Israelite cult. As its emotional overtones become clear, the manner and purpose of its integration into the Israelite religious experience can be understood. In addition to the evaluation of this object as a symbolic motif within the cult, the concluding chapter also will deal with the historical implications produced by the weight of all the comparative data amassed along the way. As an authentic biblical artifact, the tabernacle menorah was subjected to the same forces of development of style and technique as were other archaeological realia. Therefore, insofar as its features can be identified, its relation to similar features which can be localized in time and space in the surrounding cultures can inform the specific historio-cultural context in which it was integrated into the Israelite cult.

NOTES CHAPTER I For an identification of the genre of certain of the cultic texts, see Baruch A. Levine, "The Descriptive Tabernacle Texts of the Pentateuch," J AOS 85 (1965), pp. 307-18. 2

It xs in the Albright tradition to include epigraphic materials among the data of archaeology. See, e.g., W. F. Albright, "The Impact of Archaeology on Biblical Research-1966," pp. 1-3, and G. Ernest Wright, "Biblical Archaeology Today," pp. 170-71, both in New Directions in Biblical Archaeology, ed. David Noel Freedman and Jonas C. Greenfield, Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1971. 3 According to de Vaux (among others), "On Right and Wrong Uses of Archaeology," Near Eastern Archaeology in the Twentieth Century (Glueck festschrift), ed. James A. Sanders, Garden City, New York: Doubleday S Company, Inc., 1970, p. 65, archaeology is limited to the realia, or material remains, as distinct from written sources even if the latter are provided by excavations. 4 We use this term in a unique sense, sis. , to note realia of biblical life, whether or not their nature or existence outside the biblical text can be identified from the findings of actual excavations. ^See George Kubler, The Shape of Time, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1962, p. 16, for a differentiation between objects of use, or instrumental value, and objects of more penetrating significance. He asserts that "when the technical organization of a thing overwhelms our attention, it is an object of use." Conversely, when the technical organization of a thing is diminished in relation to its design, it becomes a work of art. ®See Henri Focillon, The Life of Forms in Art, trans. C. B. Hogan and G. Kubler, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1942, p. 55. 'Ibid. , p. 3. Q

On the relations and discontinuities between poets and artists, see Kubler, pp. 27-28. g See F. C. Grant's case for the "Psychological Study of the Bible," Religions in Antiquity (supplement to Numen, XIV), ed. Jacob Neusner, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968, pp. 107-24, and Herbert G. May's "Prolegomenon" to Farbridge's Studies in Biblical and Semitic Symbolism, New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1970, pp. XI-LIX. ^^Kubler, p. 26. Kubler is following the classic work of Erwin Panofsky, Studies in Iconology , New York: Harper and Row, 13

14 2 Publishers, 1962 . See the chart in Panofsky, pp. 14-15, for an analysis of the three levels of meaning of an object and how they can be identified and evaluated. ^ A good indication of the vast work and variety of approaches to symbolism can be found in Stephan Wisse, Das Religiose Symbol, Essen: Ludgerus-Verlag Hubert Wingen KG, 1963. See especially Wisse 1 s extensive bibliography, pp. XI-XLIX. Two examples of the collections which deal specifically with religious symbolism are Religious Symbolism, ed. F. Ernest Johnson, New York: Institute for Religious and Social Studies, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1955, and Symbolism in Religion and Literature , ed. Rollo May, New York: George Braziller, 1960. 12

Susanne Langer, Philosophy in a New Key, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1957, pp. 6-24, identifies symbolization as the "generative idea," the main concept in which theories are conceived and questions articulated, of our epoch. On this point see also the view of Mircea Eliade in the Forward (pp. 9-25) to his Images and Symbols, trans. Philip Mairet, New York: Sheed and Ward, 1961. 13 Langer, p. 28. See also pp. 41-49. 14 See R. M. Maclver, "Signs and Symbols," Journal of Religious Thought X (1953), p. 103. •^Rollo May, himself a practicing psychologist, distinguishes man's archetypal and personal symbolizing from symbols which obtain in his culture. See "The Significance of Symbols," Symbolism in Religion and Literature, ed. Rollo May, p. 22. ^Specifically, his Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, 13 vols., New York: Bollingen Foundation, Inc., 1953-1968. 17

His method is delineated in Chapter Two, "Method in Evaluating Symbols," pp. 25-62 of Vol. IV, and is condensed and summarized in Chapter Five, "Jewish Symbols: The Method of Evaluation," pp. 64-77 of Vol. XII. Ip Heroides, Epist. XIII,155, quoted in JSGRP IV: 28.

20

Ibid.,

Vol. IV: 36 and XII: 70.

21 Goodenough has eminently demonstrated this in his whole study of Jewish symbols. See also Daniel J. Fleming, "Religious Symbols Crossing Cultural Boundaries," pp. 81-106, in Religious Symbolism, ed. F. Ernest Johnson. 22 Elias Bickerman (HIR 58), quoted in Paul Friedman, "On the Universality of Symbols," p. 610, in Religions in Antiquity, ed. Jacob Neusner.

15 23 See on this point Paul Tillich, "Theology and Symbolism," p. 109, in Religious Symbolism, ed. F. Ernest Johnson. Also note Eliade's concern with the "survival of images," pp. 16-20. 2i

JSGRP

IV: 33 and XII: 72-73.

25 Beatrice Goff, Symbols of Prehistoric Mesopotamia, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965, p. xxxvii and pp. 210-11, posits three levels in the development of a symbol within a culture whereby the appearance of an elaborate explanation, sometimes in the form of a myth, is the last and not the essential level. Her three levels are equivalent to the three levels of iconographic meaning discussed above. 26 Beatrice Goff, "The 'Significance' of Symbols: A Hypothesis Tested with Relation to Egyptian Symbols," Religions in Antiquity, ed. Jacob Neusner, p. 476. 21

Ibid.,

28

99

p. 505.

See Focillon, pp. 5, 16.

JSGRP IV: 48-62.

^®See Jacob Neusner's appraisal of this problem in his "Notes on Goodenough's Jewish Symbols," Conservative Judaism 17 (1963), pp. 86-7. 31

In The Problem of Similarity tn Ancient Near Eastern Religion, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951, p. 19. 32 Ibid. Frazer himself sometimes doubted whether that result was worth achieving. 33 Ibid. However, in Frankfort's opinion, p. 20, Jung has gone too far in that much of his work tends not only to elucidate but also to create myth.

CHAPTER II BIBLICAL SOURCES The seven-branched lampstand or menorah assumes a unique position within the symbolic language of the Bible and of later Jewish tradition.

For the Second Temple period, a variety of

extra-canonical sources testify to its importance as well as to its appearance. 1 the present day,

2

During the Greco-Roman period and even until it became the most frequently occurring Jew-

ish symbol, despite the Talmudic injunction forbidding its reproduction."^

The complex details of its fabrication are set 4

forth in Exodus

along with various instructions for its place-

ment,^ its consecration,® its usage,' and its transport.®

This

abundance of information clearly attests to the position of the menorah among the major appurtenances of the tabernacle and to its being an integral part of the ritual.

The very fact of the

attention paid to its details along with the phenomenon of its enduring nature in biblical and Judaic tradition indicates that it embodied at its outset a highly significant religious symbolism. Much has been written concerning the meaning of the meno9 rah as a Jewish symbol.

But this information hardly can be

used to ascertain its significance at the time of its inception into the biblical cult.1®

Instead, in order to examine the

place of the menorah in the early cult, 1 1 we must proceed along the lines of investigation described in our Introduction and attempt to understand its form, relate it to the lingua franca of Near Eastern symbolism, and then consider its entry into Israelite religion. I. Terminology According to the Priestly Sources The biblical language which prescribes and describes the fabrication of the menorah in the tabernacle account employs a very technical vocabulary which must be examined closely.

The

purpose of such an examination is not to afford the possibility of a physical reconstruction.

Many of the terms, despite what

may be said to illuminate them, must remain obscure as to what 17

18 they actually, visually, might represent.

Moreover, their

structural relationships with each other are often very difficult to comprehend.

Nonetheless, a thorough study of the terms

which describe the menorah and its components is the only way in which we can enter the world of its physical reality and approach an understanding of its essence. Insofar as the understanding and translation of technical terms involves the various versions of the Hebrew Bible, a word might be said here concerning the peculiar characteristics of the Septuagint in this respect.

The manner of treatment of

technical words in the description of the tabernacle is quite 12 remarkable in this version. Whereas a competent translation would be expected to choose its technical renderings accurately, even though its non-technical vocabulary might be varied legitimately, the Greek Pentateuch-indeed, the Septuagint as a whole whenever technical terms are i n v o l v e d — i s replete with inconsistency and variety in its translation of technical terms.

This type of variation is spread throughout the priest13 and constitutes a rather cur-

ly portions of the Pentateuch

ious phenomenon in an otherwise competent translation.

Since

precise renderings were not made, for whatever reason in antiquity, the possibility for modern man to do so is that much more remote. A. Architectonic terms 1. illDD 14 The word for "lampstand" in the Hebrew Bible is m i J D (English "candlestick" in the AV and RV is anachronistic), a nominal form from the common root, 1 ^ ( 1 1 3 ) = nyr

{nur) .

This

is a good Semitic word which probably meant, originally, "to flame."

It can be compared with Ugaritic nyr and Akkadian

nuru, both of which have celestian associations; Arabic and Aramaic traditions are similar. 1 5

The lampstand is thus, with

the mem-preformative added to the verbal stem, the repository or support of the lamp, the latter object being the thing which flames.

An interesting and perhaps parallel development is the

related mnhrt,

or "torch," in M i n a e a n . ^

19 2.

mp

The main structural parts of the menorah, its branches and presumably its shaft, are indicated by another common Semitic word, rnp. Found in Ugaritic as qn{m) and in Akkadian as qanu, it also appears in Phoenician, Syriac, and Aramaic and passes into Greek as navva and Latin as oanna (and eventually into 17 English, "cane"). It is a generic term for reed and generally refers to the tall, slender arundo donax or "Persian 18 reed." This plant is actually a gigantic grass growing to a height of eight to eighteen feet and a diameter of two to three inches at its base.

It is common throughout Syria, Palestine,

and the Sinai Peninsula particularly along the margins of 19 watercourses or bodies of water. Because of its strength, it was put to all sorts of uses in antiquity.

It was utilized as

some sort of measuring rod, as in Ezekiel 40, 41, and 42, where it seems to be an instrument of measurement rather than a unit 20

of measure. It denotes the beam of a set of scales in Isa 46:6. And it no doubt served various other derivative functions, such as staffs, spears, and arrow shafts, as well as basic structural purposes such as thatching or wattling. Aside from its derived uses, the reed itself is mentioned in various biblical passages. In such instances, HJP overwhelmingly appears in Egyptian contexts. Reeds, growing in the swamps and marshes of the Nile, came to symbolize the nation itself. In Isaiah 19, an oracle against Egypt, we are told that "the of Egypt's Nile diminish andagainst dry up, reeds and branches rushes will rot away." 21 will Another oracle Egypt in Ezekiel 29 portrays Egypt as a "staff of reed," unre22

liable, breaking (vntl) when relied upon by Israel. This verse seems to rely upon the parallel passages in Isa 36:6 and 2 Kgs 18:21, in which Hezekiah is rebuked for depending upon "Egypt, that broken reed (Y"l2nn m p n ) of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who rely on him." Even when Egypt is not specifically named, the context conjures up a vivid picture of 23 Nile marshlands. In general, the Egyptian background of the imagery of these passages is most striking. The choice of H3P to identify the branches of the menorah is quite reasonable.

It certainly reflects a reed-like shape;

20 it may even reflect a non-metallic prototype, made of actual reeds, which existed as a model in the mind of its designer. A link between the plant itself and its structural use in the lampstand can perhaps be found in a verse in Isaiah referring to the Servant of the Lord: "a bruised reed (V"i2f"l HJJp) he will 24 not break/ and a dimly burning wick he will not quench." "Bruised reed" reflects the sort of natural image contained in Isa 36:6, 2 Kgs 18:21, and Ezek 29:6-7.

But in juxtaposition

with "dimly burning wick," it can convey also the idea of a damaged lampstand.

In this case, it would represent Israel as

a damaged support for a nearly extinguished light which would nonetheless survive.

She is injured but not broken, dimmed but

not put out. That m p is clear.

represents the six side branches of the menorah

That it also refers to the central shaft of the

lampstand is less certain.

In Exod 25:31 and 37:17, the cen-

tral part of the menorah is described almost as an entity in itself, with its own features; the branches and their ornamentation are presented subsequently. Ftipl P D V , etc.

The lampstand is made with

It is as if these two terms refer to the main

structural elements of the lampstand, which is then completed with the addition of the bowl-capitals-flowers unit.

The idea

of a seven-branched lampstand per se does not appear in the text.

Rather what does appear is the description of a lamp-

stand with its components and then the description of six branches with components that project from the lampstand, i.e., the central part.

In other words, there seems to be a confu-

sion between m i 3D used to represent the whole, composite construction and the same word used to represent the central element thereof. 3. -pi This confusion is reflected in the phrase F1JP1 PD"1">.

The

Hebrew obviously refers to single items, one nip and one IT 1 , which are part of the menorah.

¡Up in this sense can hardly

represent "branch" but instead would mean "shaft" or "stem," neither of which would be inconsistent with the vegetative connotations of nip translated "branch."

However, the Samaritan

21 Pentateuch transmits this phrase with plural 26 rPJpT rPDT>.

constituents,

The Septuagint strikes an intermediate ground

with a singular rendering of T P

and a plural rendering of rup.

It is our understanding that the Masoretic text is correct, with this phrase indicating the main lampstand

(without its

branches), and that the LXX and Samaritan versions have confused this with the composite structure. TP

in itself is a difficult term.

If i"QP means "stem,"

with regard to the central lampstand, then T P could hardly mean "shaft," which is what both the Greek and the Latin offer. 27 Only the Syriac would provide the translation selected by the RSV, "base." Elsewhere in the Bible, T P is an anatomi28 cal term referring to the thigh. That "thigh" could come to represent a structural feature is certainly possible; in many instances the names of parts of the body are transferred to in29 animate objects (such as table leg, handle, etc.). Insofar as the thigh indicates the thick, fleshy part of the leg, we can well imagine that T P

could refer structurally to some sup-

portive element in a lampstand, something which in effect could enable it to "stand." That it actually was a distinct base is questionable though not impossible.

Wherever in the Bible T P

is found in

reference to inanimate objects, the idea of "side" or "flank" is conveyed.^"

It is not inconceivable that the lampstand

originally had no base at all"'''' and that this T p / n ^ p

combina-

tion was structurally capable of 32 standing on its own, without the addition of a distinct base. Whereas ¡"Up alone would convey the impression of a shaft

(or branch) of uniform diam-

eter, the appearance of T"P along with it could well represent 33 a thickened segment of the H3P element towards the bottom. In short, H3pT T P

together are used to present the idea of an

unusual HJp, not of equal thickness throughout its length but rather of wider diameter at its lower portion to enable the structure it supports to be free-standing.

The phrase thus

would mean "thickened shaft." Much of the remainder of the parallel menorah passages in Exodus is concerned with the design, or ornamentation, of each branch and of the central stand.

In effect, this ornamentation

22

is the combination of three elements—cup, knob, and flower— repeated three times on each of the branches and four times on the main stand.

However, ornamentation is a word to be used

guardedly in reference to these combined forms.

Certainly they

were quite decorative; but they also were functional inasmuch as they (or at least those of the central shaft) were used to 34 hold the lamps. In this respect they cannot be considered strictly ornamental anymore than an elaborate capital surmounting a column can be seen as purely decorative. 4. y n n The word rendered "cup" by the RSV is Hebrew V 1 3 . is perhaps an Egyptian loanword from kbh.w "libation vessel.

(or qbhw)

This

meaning

In addition to its appearance in the

menorah passages, y>23 appears several times in the Joseph cycle to denote the silver vessel which was placed in the sack of Benjamin as he and his brothers were leaving

Egypt.One 37 other occurrence is the Rechabite section in Jeremiah, where it seems to be a vessel containing wine; it is followed by the ordinary Hebrew word for cups, mD"l3, from which the Rechabites are ordered to drink. Another biblical word, n y a p , seems to 38 come from the same root.

It appears in Isa 51:17 (and 22) to

indicate some sort of vessel, parallel to D13. The Greek renditions of V i a

are different 39 in each place. is used; that

In the Joseph story, K6V6U, "drinking vessel,"

this indicates distinctly a cup or goblet is not clear.

The

Rechabite passage employs Hepaiuov, which is a general term for 40 "earthenware vessel or jar." Finally, the menorah passages of Exodus contain the word MpaTiip, which is specifically a bowl or basin for the mixing of (and sometimes the drinking of) 41 wine. A Ugaritic equivalent, qb't, parallel to ks;

appears in I Aqhat 216, 218,

it refers to a vessel required for the drinking

of a wine mixture by Pgt. 4 2

This Ugaritic example is analogous

to the usage of nynp in Isaiah and y a j in Jeremiah.

In all

these instances, the word in question is parallel to "cup."

It

is not necessarily synonymous with "cup" but perhaps indicates a somewhat different vessel which was involved in the mixing and/or serving of wine.

23 There also seems to be an Akkadian cognate, qabuati (plu43 ral of qabTXtu) . The locus alassiaus of this word is the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III.

The caption to the relief

depicting Jehu's homage contains a list of the golden vessels, among which are 44 the qabuSti " hurasi,

offered as tribute by the

Israelite king. The AV rendition "bowl" is perhaps to be preferred for y a : insofar as "cup" brew word is DID.

(RSV) gives the impression that the He-

V33

undoubtedly was a vessel of a somewhat

different shape from D13 used in wine consumption.

That it was

broader and more bowl-shaped may be inferred by noting45 that the corresponding feature on the lampstand of Zechariah 4 is 46 This word can be related to Akkadian gullatu,

which

means "ewer" or, probably in a derivative sense, some sort of curved architectural of a column its base, volutes, astragal, or feature bowl-shaped capital.such 47 as Indeed, the shafts of the two pillars flanking the main entrance to the 48 temple were crowned with or bowl-shaped objects which were part of the capitals.

And in Josh 15:19 = Judg 1:

15, n>3 appear as receptacles for water, perhaps playing upon 49 the toponyms appearing later in the verses. One further feature of the D ^ V ^ J must be considered. They are said to be D">1pti/D, commonly taken from the root "Tpifl and rendered "made like almonds"

(RSV) or "almond blossoms." 5 "

It is difficult to understand exactly what is meant by such a term. The almond tree, being the first to bloom in the spring, 5 1 did seem to hold some fascination and hence signi52 ficance in antiquity.

One other possibility which must not

be overlooked is that the word is a technical term referring to some sort of repousee work or perhaps to a type of inlay work in the shape of almonds.5"' Thus the word y>23 has a very interesting background in relation to the tabernacle menorah.

Its usage, despite the

fact that an equivalent Hebrew term (n>3)

might have been

equally accurate, perhaps indicates a separate architectonic tradition.

It denotes a bowl-shaped object which, if it be

considered together with its analogue in Zechariah, seems to have a distinct structural function (which will become clearer

24 when archaeological and technical considerations are presented below, pp. 70-72, 81-82) . Finally, a vegetal term (TptiiD) , if not also a term from the vocabulary of metal crafts, appears as a feature in its construction. 5. nnsD Two other items are listed in the biblical passages as being related to the construction of the "bowls." One is the TinB3 and the other is the m s . Tins:) (inS3) is used elsewhere 54 in the Bible to denote some structural feature, judging from its occurrence in conjunction with "threshold" and "window." This architectural designation is perhaps not so far removed from its seemingly ornamental intent in the menorah passages. The Greek and Latin versions both render TinSD with words con55 veying its spherical or round shape. However, the Targuitt and the Peshitta both preserve a vegetative meaning by translating it with KTiTn. These words indicate "apple" or, in a derivative sense, something round or apple-shaped.^® This Syriac/ Aramaic word can be traced to Akkadian haShuru, a 57variety of apple tree or the fruit which such a tree bears. The Akkadian word also is found in its derived sense 5to 8 indicate beads or stone ornaments in the shape of an apple. Significantly, in the Peshitta is used in addition to the menorah passages to translate nnsD of Amos 9:1. Further, it is found in Eccl 12:6 to indicate . "Capital," therefore, may be a derived meaning from a term representing a kind of fruit. In this connection, the sugges59 tion that Tin£D can be related to Syriac ,rfiJtajcx^or rf-ik^ (kmtr') can be considered.®0 kmtr' refers to the pear and is related to Akkadian kamiSSaru. Furthermore, in Egypt this somewhat rare type of pear is called kummatra. If this be the case, the key to the transition from the fruit to the designation of an architectural member would lie in the vegetable columns and floral capitals of ancient architecture and will be discussed below, pp. 110-11, 121-22. 6. m s m s likewise represents a vegetative form translated into architectural design. That it denotes the "lily" seems most

25 likely.

The Targum, Peshitta, and Vulgate all take it as such.

The Septuagint renders it Hpivov, which can have the general meaning of "flowers."®"*

However, xpt.vov is also the word em-

ployed to translate ^tilts or its variants wherever they occur in the Bible.

Both npt-vov and '¡tintii are in fact words as general

as the English word "lily," w h i c h is applied to flowers of a number of various gena of the botanical order 64 as to some not of that order.

liliaoeae

as well

Of course, ins has all sorts of floral meanings in the Bible.

But in addition to the fact of its being

rendered

"lily" by all the versions, we find that in settings related to the architectural context of the menorah descriptions, nlS is often accompanied by '¡tinta.

In the account of the fabrica-

tion of the molten sea, the edge of that structure is said to b e like '¡tíntíí m s

at the edge of a cup.®®

Moreover, the tops

of the pillars Jachin and Boaz are said to be of "lily work," •¡bib ntovn. 67 In this latter case be a •pars pro

toto

(1 Kgs 7:19, 22), "¡tin» ntayn seems to

designation.

In v. 19 it is used to de-

scribe more generally the decoration of the m m , of which appear in the preceding verse.

found with the even more general term 0">"TlDVn nina) as a summary description of the pillars. pro

the details

And in v. 22, it is (instead of Another

pars

toto

usage of m 3 occurs in the description of the lamp68 stands for the Solomonic temple. Very few details are given.

Only m s

is listed along with the lamps and the snuffers.

No

doubt it represents a more involved construction in the same w a y that "¡tint!/ nfflVQ conveys the elaborate arrangement of the capitals of Jachin and Boaz.®®

Comparable also is the refer-

ence to the tabernacle menorah in Num 8:4: the workmanship is 70 summed up by the phrase "from its base (roT 1 ) to its flower." The juxtaposition of m s

and n n S D

in the Exodus menorah

passages is really to be understood as a hendiadys.

The two

terms taken together denote a floral, or more specifically, a lily capital.

This arrangement, repeated three times, is part

of each of the six branches proceeding from the central In addition, the stand itself features four such

stand.

arrangements,

three of which project beneath the place from w h i c h issue each

26 pair of branches. The fourth presumably is at the top of the lampstand with its bowl serving as receptacle for the lamps. 7. m * u It is to be noted that lamps, nTili , has a singular feminine suffix, of which m i 3 D is the antecedent. Whether it refers to the composite lampstand including all of the branches or only to the central portion thereof cannot be determined. The placement of the lamps is thus ambiguous. Are the seven lamps distributed over the six branches and the central stand? Or are all seven to be found within the bowl of the central 71 stand as is the case for the Zecharxah menorah? The matter of the lamps is a complicated one for which no easy solution exists. Not only is there difficulty concerning the arrangement of the lamps, but also there seems to be a confusion relating to the lighting of one lamp as opposed to seven. Exod 27:20 and Lev 24:2 both contain instructions for bringing pure olive oil, that a lamp (singular) may burn continually CPDn) . Elsewhere, the priestly writer states that lamps (plural) are to be set up to give light before the lampstand (the composite stand or the central part?). 72 It has been suggested that where "U occurs in the singular it is being 73 used in a collective sense. However, the two instances m which the singular occurs also make reference to the "tent of meeting." This raises the possibility that there is a single lamp tradition stemming from the 'Ohel Mo'ed tradition which becomes merged with the tabernacle tradition by the priestly writer. 74 B. Material and workmanship The description of the tabernacle menorah is concluded with provisions for the material of which it is to be made as 75 well as the manner in which it is to be fashioned. These two matters, material and workmanship, are not elaborated upon. However, details of ancient technology are well enough known to enable us to understand quite adequately what is meant by Tinii 3PIT, "pure gold," and nrm ntspn n^n, "the whole of it one piece of hammered work" (RSV).

27 i. mnta

am

The terra Tints 3HT or "pure gold" is consistent with the priestly vocabulary with its emphasis on ritual fitness and purity.

However, in this case, since it is part of a passage

which preserves many ancient technological and/or architectonic details, we must be receptive to the possibility that it reflects at the same time some aspects of metallurgical procedure.

An Excursus dealing with methods of gold recovery and

processing in antiquity has been included at the end of this chapter for reference on the subject.

Our treatment of the

term itself will focus on its philological nature and also on its place against the technical backdrop of other biblical references to gold. The word Tina is an adjective from the root "intD which has the general sense "to be clean, pure." This word exhibits a number of special connotations, ranging from the notion of "brightness" to the concept of ritual "purity. In this respect it is similar to the way in which ellu functions in Ak78 kadian.

Ellu can be used in both a secular and a cultic

sense to indicate the purity of objects, materials, and animals as well as water.

It can also refer to "shining" purity, as of

certain gems, or brilliant light, or shining features. Typical biblical occurs in 79 priestly documents and a concerns the matter of usage ritual purity. Such purity is not hygienic category and does not reflect the presence or absence 80

of dirt.

However, this does not mean that washing with wa-

ter could not be a way to effect purity, even though such a process might be symbolic or magical rather than a means for removing visible contaminatory materials. 81 The cognates of "linta in South-West Semitic seem to be related to this concept 82

of purity. The idea of "brightness" is also conveyed in a number of biblical passages, notably Exodus 2 4 and Psalm 19, in which brightness is part of a cosmic vocabulary relating to the Lord 83 in his heavenly dwelling. In this sense, the Ugaritic evidence is relevant.

Thr appears in Ugaritic in only one con84 This phrase

text, in reference to lapis lazuli, thrrn iqnim. also occurs in a variant form, zhrm iqnim.

The quality of

28

the gemstone that is indicated in the Ugaritic occurrences is part of a description of the habitation to be built for Baal. As such, along with Exodus 24 and Psalm 19 and other ancient 86 Near Eastern descriptions of shrines, it seems to be part of a stereotyped way to portray a temple or divine dwelling, built of gold and lapis lazuli. Hebrew "intD accommodates both senses, that of utter cleanliness or freedom from contamination, i.e., "purity" and also "brightness."

Usually one or the other of these possibilities

is clearly appropriate. notably where "lino

However, there may be instances,

is used in relation to metals, gold in par-

ticular, in which both connotations can be understood.

There-

fore, m n u must be examined now as it appears together with 3PIT. This combination of words can be seen as a metallurgical 87 term when viewed in relationship to the treatment of gold elsewhere in biblical sources. To begin with, it must be noted that biblical Hebrew preserves a metallurgical vocabularly that is firmly rooted in ancient technology. 8 8 Although the terms used to describe gold are not nearly so varied as in the more technologically orient89 ed societies of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Bible nonetheless preserves a variety of words for gold which can only be seen as precise terms, the meanings of which cannot always be recov90 ered. Some of these words deal strictly with the geographical origins of metal, such as gold from Ophir, Havilah, Sheba, and perhaps Parvaiim and Uphaz. 91 Others describe the proper92 ties or qualities of gold or denote certain kinds of gold. In strictly non-cultic passages in the Bible, nnt!l 2PIT belongs to the group of terms for gold which describe certain technical properties or characteristics of the metal.

The

geological tract of Job 28:1-19 is instrumental in revealing the technical attribute carried by lint).

The search for wisdom

is likened to the prospecting for and recovery of metals and gems, and gold is found several times as would be expected. V. 6 mentions ant m s y , which is somewhat difficult and 93 or

may refer either to the earth as source of gold dust

rather to alluvial soils containing gold, or perhaps it indicates the red-gray color of dry earth which may characterize

29 94 certain varieties of impure gold. Gold from Ophir appears 95 in v. 16. V. 17 refers to ts, which may be a variety of 96 gold. Finally, gold appears again in v. 19, and nnia is its 97 qualifier. In the midst of all this specialized discussion of metals and minerals, the attribute lino adds a technical dimension and hardly presupposes a matter of ritual fitness. A clue concerning the nature of the specific technical dimension reflected in Tinta nnT as a terminus teahniaus can be found in a passage in Malachi: t]"12fD BSO K-in-rro

3:2b

D^DnDD r m n r n CID:D -intam cnxn n a m

3:3

nncn C1DDT••"]>-•':n-nK 2HT3 DDK ppTI n p i m n m n •'Ecid rnrr>>

v m

The "smelter's fire" of 3:2 refers to the process of refinement of the metal, which of course involves heating it.

The paral-

lel phrase "fuller's soap" (lye or alum) reflects some sort of washing process.

In the next verse, 3:3a, the two processes

are noted again; the one who performs the first is the cpSD, whereas the one who carried out the second is called the "intlD. Thus the root "ino, in the sense of purity, is firmly associated with actual washing and also with metals.

In the following

stichoi the same two concepts are repeated a third time, only in reverse order and this time in the extended and abstract sense of the chosen words. The sons of Levi will be purified and refined 98 like gold and silver. Clearly, some processing operating concerned with "washing" of the metal is indicated by the verses in Malachi. Such a procedure is technically related to either the natural or mechanical methods of obtaining a quality of gold that is relatively free from impurities. These methods are described below 99 in our Excursus

and reflect in particular the type of re-

sources available to the ancient Egyptians in the securing of supplies of "washed gold." Therefore, though the usual priestly use of lino expresses matters of ritual or cultic purity, the likelihood is strong that when it refers to gold it also conveys a technical meaning

30 relating to methods for procuring pure gold by "washing."

An

examination of Tint) 2HT in cultic contexts in the Bible outside the Pentateuch seems to bear this out.

For if Tint) were an in-

dication of the required cultic purity of gold, one might expect it to appear to describe the character of gold wherever gold is found in a cultic context.

As it happens, while the

tabernacle texts and other priestly sections of the Pentateuch use mntD exclusively to describe the gold of the menorah and other appurtenances, the description of the construction of the temple in Kings nowhere speaks of Tint) ant.

Yet the Chroni-

cler, under the influence of both Priestly and Deuteronomic traditions, records lint) 2nT as well as other types of gold in a revealing manner. To begin with 1 Kings, the main type of gold utilized in Solomon's building project is designated TI3D 3nT.

It is found

in 1 Kgs 7:49-50 in relation to the lampstands for the house of the Lord; in 1 Kgs 6:20-21 it represents the gold used to plate (nss) the cedar beams of the inner sanctuary; and in 1 Kgs 10: 21 it refers to the gold plating on King Solomon's ivory throne.

This designation of gold, "113D 3nT, seems to be the

exact equivalent of hura.su sakru

or sagru,

of which has long eluded the experts.''"''0

the precise meaning In any case, T12D nnT

is intimately connected with Solomon's building projects, which are carried out with material and technical assistance from the north

(via Hiram of Tyre). As far as the Chronicler is concerned, whenever he repeats

a passage of Kings dealing with Tiao ant, he sometimes retains it.^1

In other instances he replaces it with

anT.'1"02

In

yet another passage the Chronicler understands TBTO ant of Kings to be 1130 n n T . 1 0 3

And in one final passage, Chronicles 104 changes 11JD nnT of Kings to lino inT. However, where Chronicles expands upon the Kings account

(as in 2 Chr 3:4 and

perhaps, with several Greek manuscripts, v. 5) or reports a golden utensil uniformly employed.

independently

(2 Chr 28:17), the phrase Tint) 3nT is

What this leads us to believe is that the

Chronicler was strongly influenced by the term associated with the priestly passages.

When elaborating upon the Deuteronomic

historical work, his own choice is 11 no 3HT; and when directly

31 reporting Kings material, he cannot bring himself to retain "HDD but sometimes changes it to "lino or another qualifier. In any case, the technical precision of all these terms seems to be meaningless to the Chronicler.

In contrast, the

independent consistency of Kings and of the priestly

passages

might be said to indicate a cognizance of the metallurgical nuances involved.

The latter source thus is making use of a word

which bears, in relation to the menorah, a full complement of the possibilities inherent in T i n t a ,

viz.,

purity, brightness,

and technical source. This technical meaning also may be indicative of geographic origin.

There is a tendency in the Bible for gold which is

imported from some distance to be designated by its geographical source.

Yet Egypt, the greatest producer of gold in anti-

quity and also the one nearest to Israel, is never mentioned as the origin of gold even though other, more distant African sources are sometimes indicated.

Thus the use of "lino a n t ,

in-

sofar as it reflects the technical washing process for the recovery of the "pure" metal, perhaps can be understood as referring to the gold closest at hand, the gold retrieved from the rich alluvial deposits of Egypt for which the term "washed gold" singularly is appropriate.

2 . nrw rtopD n>3 The matter of workmanship alluded to by the phrase n>D nnK ntBpn needs finally to be examined.

Actually, there are two

separate issues involved in this phrase, the first being the matter of the form in which the raw material was presented to the craftsman 1 "

as he began his task of giving shape to the

object, and the second being the technique he employed in executing a finished product from the material he utilized. The first matter relates to the fact that the malleability of gold is one of its outstanding features.

Because of this

malleability, gold became valued from earliest times above all other metals for jewelry, ornamentation, and architectural decoration.

The words tT?D and nnht are our clues concerning the

form in which the craftsman began to work with his material. An object that is to be made entirely of g o l d — a n d this perhaps

32 is the sense of n>3—would be formed either from gold leaf or gold foil.

Certainly ancient technology, while not capable of

producing the degree of thinness possible with modern techniques, did indeed produce both gold leaf and gold foil as thin and as workable for such purposes as any produced in Europe until as recently as the 18th century.'''0® It seems impossible at first to determine whether the menorah of gold was fashioned from gold leaf or gold foil.

The

use of nrm may indicate that the gold from one unit (ingot) was hammered thin enough to supply sufficient material for the construction of the entire object.

Even more to the point is the

force of nr« as suggesting that one large sheet of gold was to be used.

This may be clue enough that sheet gold or foil is

the material in question.

Gold leaf, in contrast, is too thin

to remain in large pieces without tearing.

As the English word

"leaf" suggests, gold leaf was prepared in small phylloform portions for application to a (wooden) form.

In this case,

nnK...n>D would be the technical designation for sheet gold as opposed to gold leaf. This brings us to the matter of the method of construction and to the meaning of the word ntBpO; and as far as the method can be determined, this too indicates the use of sheet gold. The text does not indicate that the gold was used to overlay a form made of wood, in contrast to the directions for other appurtenances of the t a b e r n a c l e . T h e r e

seems to be no explan-

ation for this unless we assume that the thinner gold leaf was used to overlay (HSli) objects of wood, such as the ark and table, which were angular objects, relatively simple in shape, and that the slightly thicker sheet gold or gold foil was employed when intricately-shaped and curved objects were to be fashioned.

In the latter case, the existence of a wooden model

is prerequisite.

As a rule, sheet gold is molded into the de-

sired shape by rubbing it over the model of the object to be ,

made.

108

Thus, while no mention of a wooden form appears in the 109

text, for technical reasons a model, probably of acacia, must be posited.

Technically, it was not overlaid with gold

leaf as were many other furnishings of the tabernacle.

33 Instead, being a rather complicated

form, it had to b e

over a model and hence had to be made of the thicker gold.

shaped

sheet

Many objects made in this fashion, such as bowls or hel-

m e t s , w e r e used upon completion quite apart from the models upon w h i c h they were hammered.

Other objects, such as sculp-

tural representations of animal or human figures and such as the m e n o r a h , probably could n o t b e self-standing w i t h o u t

their

m o d e l s ; indeed, the model hardly could be removed from the finished

product. Only one other item in the Bible is mentioned as being

made of ¡TOpD gold w o r k , viz.,

the cherubim.

Technological-

ly, they too would need to be constructed over a wooden

form.

On the other h a n d , none of the various vessels of the tabern a c l e , such as the plates and dishes for incense, the and bowls for libations, and the snuffers and trays lamps?)

for the lampstand, ^ ^

flagons

(and

are said to b e ntiipn; nor are

they said to be made of wood and overlaid with gold leaf.

The

possibility remains that they were fabricated by the one method of gold w o r k not yet noted, that of casting the metal in m o l d s , a method w h i c h would b e uniquely suited to the manufacture of numerous items of a given shape.

On the other h a n d , since such

items were more in the line of accessories rather than of major appurtenances, perhaps there w a s deemed no need to specify manner of

the

construction.

In any case, establishing

that sheet gold is the

appro-

priate material and that the technique involved is that of shaping it over a wooden

form allows the word HtflpD to be

stood w i t h greater clarity.

Of course, it is possible

under-

that

this word refers to the preparation of the m a t e r i a l , i.e., the flattening out of the gold into sheets.

In this sense it would

b e the parallel operation of that w h i c h is indicated by the root y p i , which seems to describe the preparation of gold leaf 112 to b e used in overlay (i1S2f). However, Vp"l may in fact designate the preparation of all gold that is beaten out

into

flattened shapes as a prelude to its utilization by a craftsman either for overlay or for molding.

In this case, PIBPD would

refer to the process to which the sheet gold is subjected n o t the process for obtaining

the sheet gold.

and

34 Analysis of the word ntiipQ itself cannot at this point offer definitive corroboration of this fact but it does seem to point in that direction.

The Hebrew root ntBP, "to be hard,

severe, fierce," is not a satisfactory derivation; and the lexicons posit a separate root, ntffp , as the source of HBpD, but 114 then cannot locate or define such a root. However, in Aramaic there exists a series of related verbs in the pilpel— ti/ptap, Bonn, and tint»3 — all of which convey the notion of striking or knocking.'''15

Interestingly, the literal movement at the

basis of these meanings is the to-and-fro motion of an animal's tail; similarly, the ringing of a bell as a result of the toand-fro swinging of the clapper can thus be conveyed. It may be noted that the back-and-forth motion indicated by these words, which of course do not in themselves imply rubbing, would convey the sort of motion involved in the rubbing process by which gold foil was shaped over a wooden form into the desired object.

This conclusion about process of manufac-

ture, viz., that the menorah was molded by rubbing the metallic foil over a form, has been reached from a technological perspective . II.

Biblical Usage and Literary Sources Outside the Tabernacle Texts The foregoing examination of the terminology denoting the

components and fabrication of the menorah according to the tabernacle texts has shown that those texts have preserved a delineation of the object that is firmly rooted in ancient architectonic design and technical execution.

While our under-

standing of the visual appearance of the object may not be at a point whereby we could hope to reproduce a theoretical model of this artifact, that has hardly been our goal.

Instead, the

cultural reality of the object has been demonstrated by the fact that the details of its construction are technologically precise even though the specific aspects of that precision may be lost to us.

Only a consideration of archaeological mater-

ials, which will be effected in the subsequent chapter, can bring us closer to the possibilities that exist for identifying specifically what the terms indicate in a physical sense.

35 Meanwhile, the fact cannot be ignored that menorahs appear in the Bible outside the tabernacle texts to say nothing of the multitude of references in post-biblical literature. Such occurrences reflect the cult objects existing in the central sanctuary during the First and Second Temple periods.

We

turn briefly to such references now to determine in what position these menorahs as physical realities stood in the relation to the tabernacle menorah.

The matter of their symbolic rela-

tionship to the menorah of the priestly writings will be dealt with below in Chapter V I . 1 1 6 A. Solomonic Very little detail is given concerning the menorahs of Solomon's temple.

It is merely stated in 1 Kgs 7:49 that Solo-

mon made "the lampstands (

m

o

f

pure gold ("HID 1HT), five

on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary: the flowers and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold." There can be no question of the plural tiniJD in this verse; the addition of the "five on the north" and "five on the south" leaves no doubt that ten menorahs were fashioned for the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. The description of these lampstands does not allow for any comparison of them with the tabernacle lampstand.

There is no

reason to assume that they were in any way similar except in the generic sense that they all supported lamps.

To suppose

that the Solomonic stands were branched, although that is not impossible,'''"''^ would be reading into the text something that simply does not exist.

As a matter of fact, if the artistic

tradition in which they stand is that of the northern coast, as would be expected because of the Tyrian role in the construction of the temple as a whole and also, in the case of the menorahs because of the use of the term "113D ant , then the lampstands would be expected to be quite different from the tabernacle example, which demonstrates a more southerly influence (see below, p. 39). The Chronicler seems to have realized the discrepancy between the lampstand of God's dwelling in the wilderness and those of his Jerusalem abode.

In 2 Chr 4:7 and 20, he properly

36 reports the construction of the ten Solomonic menorahs.

How-

ever, in 2 Chr 13:11, Abijah, in describing the priestly service, clearly refers to the single lampstand of the tabernacle: "(the priests) care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may burn every evening." very strong.

The Pentateuchal tradition is evidently

This discrepancy between the ten lampstands of

the temple and the single lampstand of the tabernacle was also of concern to the rabbis, who try to reconcile the two traditions by placing the Mosaic menorah in the middle: "You must therefore say that [candlestick] of Moses stood in the middle with five [candlesticks] to the right of it and five to the 'u ..US n left of* it." B. Second Temple 119 The identification of the menorah of the Second Temple is infinitely more complicated, perhaps because so many more scattered and often opposing bits of literary information exist.

In addition, there are extant pictorial representations,

which often contain contradictory evidence, from the end of the Second Temple period.

There is no text which asserts directly

that the Second Temple possessed a single menorah among its furnishings from the outset.

However, indirect references, 170

such as that found in Ben Sira, HTip

>V "PHD 13,

as

well as the Zechariah vision of a sole lampstand, indicate the existence of a single menorah within that edifice.

Yet, there

is no assurance that the same lampstand continued to be used throughout the duration of the Second Temple.

The repeated

plunderings by the Greeks and the repeated renewals and refurbishings by the Hasmoneans and by Herod certainly resulted in the loss and replacement of the menorah on a number of occa121 sions. The existence of more than one rendition of the lampstand during the Second Temple period may indeed be the cause of the bewildering array of artistic representations, ranging from the highly detailed to the starkly stylized.

It is the matter of

the base which has received most attention.

The Arch of Titus,

supposedly an eye-witness reproduction, features a thick shaft upon a stepped pedestal, whereas the preponderance of

37 subsequent renditions feature three-legged supports in tri122 podal or tridentate arrangement. While the problem of the appearance of the lampstand in the Second Temple and in its later reproductions is beyond our scope, the matter of some of the literary references to it from the post-destruction period are of interest. Josephus 1

description of the menorah

In particular,

(ostensibly the Mosaic

one, but undoubtedly the Second Temple example to which he was witness) needs to be examined: Facing the table, near the south wall, stood a candelabrum of cast gold, hollow, and of the weight of a hundred minae....It was made up of globules and lilies, pomegranates and little bowls, numbering seventy in all; of these it was composed from its single base right up to the top....It terminated in seven branches, regularly disposed in a row. Each branch bore one lamp.-'-2'' The menorah he is describing differs in several respects from the Exodus version. mered work. (Vm

It is made of cast gold as opposed to ham-

The three-part decoration of the tabernacle stand

plus Tin S3 and m s )

TlflEO and m s "little bowls"

becomes a four-part arrangement:

remain (as ocpaupia and xpuva) ; but "bowls" become (KpaTnpi.6ioi.s) and are paired with "pomegran-

ates" (f>oiaxoiQ) .

Clearly the architectonic elements presented

in Exodus have not been properly understood, or at least have been freely interpreted, in the construction of this lamp4- ^ 124 stand. Furthermore, it presumes certain features, such as the uniform height of the branches and the disposition of the lamps, which the biblical account does not specify; and it mentions seven branches, which is contrary to the Pentateuchal description of a central stand plus six branches. may seem to be merely a semantic nicety.

This last item

Yet to speak of a

seven-branched menorah in contradistinction to a (central) lampstand that has six branches reflects quite a different arrangement.

Only in the matter of a single as opposed to a

three-footed base does Josephus' description seem to accord with the Pentateuch.

But even in this aspect, Josephus uses

the word ESooecos for base and in so doing implies a distinct base and hence a different appearance from the "thickened stem"

38 of the Exodus account.

In short, whichever Second Temple men-

orah Josephus is referring to, it can hardly be identified with that which is delineated in the tabernacle texts. One further literary source from the post-biblical period is relevant.

Of all the various talmudic discussions of as-

pects of the menorah's fabrication and history, one passage is remarkable in that it seems to preserve some very old material. Within a discussion of the size and number of elements comprising the lampstand appears the following description of the "cups, knops, and flowers": a^Tnoa'?« m o i n

-pon • p n n

oiT)-on "»men ' p M .•pnDyn i m s

T>Dn

-¡n

Qiyaai

in

a i n n so

'¡idd • p c m

'¡n

aims

The cups were like Alexandrian goblets; the knops like Cretan apples, and the flowers like the blossoms around the capitals of columns.125 The "¡lyaD are associated with Alexandria and thus given an Egyptian connection reminiscent of the purported origin of biblical V 3 3 .

The rendition of biblical TinBD by

imBn

Diin-Dn is most interesting in indicating what the Syriac and Aramaic versions translate "apples" as well as bringing in the biblical name for Crete, "Caphtor," which happens to be the same word as this feature of the menorah.

Finally, }i"T"lDyn in"lS

preserves the architectural flavor of the elements which comprise the decoration of the lampstand.

Yet, while some ancient

material is reflected in this passage, the very fact of the separation of n n E D

from m s

in this text indicates a concep-

tion of the artifact which does not coincide with the priestly description in which the two terms stand together as a hendiadys.

In general, the separate treatment of the components of

the menorah in the Talmudic discussions tends to give them the quality of decorative elements in a way that is not consonant with the architectonic tone set by the tabernacle texts. III.

Conclusions Our discussion of the terminology involved in the presen-

tation of the menorah in the tabernacle account has shown a technical precision which is striking throughout.

If anywhere

39

the language employed in the instructions for its fabrication seems imprecise or vague, we are only to presume that we do not yet have enough information about ancient technology to comprehend it. Surely those involved in preparing the ancient translations of the Hebrew text were faced with much the same difficulties, and the varied and inconsistent language of the versions reflects the problems of dealing with a technologicallyoriented document. Yet in juxtaposing our analysis of the terminology with a consideration of procedures for the recovery of metal and of processes for its usage in architectonic design and embellishment, we have seen that at least some of the terms which have previously seemed obscure can be viewed with greater understanding. This will become even more apparent when the relevant archaeological materials are introduced below. The matter of vocabulary choice has revealed some trends. Most of the words are common enough Hebrew words, although one word is perhaps Egyptian, and H3p stands contextually and botanically in close relationship to Egypt. Also, the theoretical use of acacia wood indicates a leaning toward the desert areas to the south and southwest of Palestine. In addition, with respect to technological influences, it would seem that the highly-developed Egyptian procedures are the frame of reference for the Hebrew craftsman. Moreover, in the area of artistic expression as evidenced in the leanings towards vegetal terms (mp, •->7ptBD, m n s a ?, m s ) trademarks of Egyptian art can be discerned.

The very combination "Hnsm rns may be de126 rived from an Egyptian development in columnation. In short, our analysis of the biblical sources for the tabernacle menorah—that is, the priestly portions of the Pentateuch—has indicated that this artifact is firmly grounded in ancient artistic and technological traditions. In this way, its authenticity as a cult object becomes affirmed even though its appearance may not be recoverable given our present limited knowledge of the procedures and shapes reflected by the text. Furthermore, our inquiry into the nature of the menorah in biblical and post-biblical texts dealing with the sanctuaries in Jerusalem has shown that the tabernacle menorah is to be considered a discrete object which cannot be equated with those

40 depicted as existing in either the First or the Second Temple. Points of contact among these artifacts cannot be denied; and we shall return to the significance of the connecting relationships in our concluding chapter. However, it is evident that the objects called menorahs which stood in Solomon's Temple as well as the one which Zechariah envisioned and the series which were introduced into the Second Temple cannot be identified with the one which appears in the tabernacle texts despite the attempts of some of the ancient writers to reconcile the information which was available to them.

EXCURSUS SOME DETAILS OF ANCIENT GOLD TECHNOLOGY Most of our knowledge of gold working in antiquity comes from Egypt and with good reason.

The source of gold in the an-

cient Near East was, almost without exception, Egypt.

In fact,

the mining of gold was so extensive in Egypt as to constitute 127 almost a monopoly of its production in ancient times. Nubia alone, which means "land of gold," possesses the remains of 12 8 over 100 gold mines or areas that were worked in antiquity. In the Amarna letters, the phrase "gold in thy land is (as) dust" or "gold is as plentiful/abundant 129 as dust" occurs repeatedly, referring to the wealth of Egypt. It is also to be noted that the mining of gold was a state enterprise in Egypt and not a private affair.

Thus artisans who specialized in

gold work could do so in only two ways, either by purchasing their materials from the state or by working in the temples un, ... . . 130 der priestly supervision. The ability of a goldsmith to obtain or produce "pure" gold is somewhat complicated.

Certainly the ability to purify

and refine gold does not go back to the earliest history of the metallurgy of that commodity.

Gold in its natural state con-

tains impurities which were manifested in ancient gold by its various colors, ranging from bright yellow through dull yellow, green, and various shades of red and reddish-brown to dull 131 purple and rose-pink. Experts in ancient metallurgy are not in full accord as to when the ability to refine gold first appeared.

Some say that by the Amarna period 132 gold purification However, ¡judging

and refinement were carried out in Egypt.

from the results of analysis of Egyptian gold objects, it is doubtful that gold could have been chemically refined on any meaningful scale until the Persian period, or during the 5th century B.C.E. 1 3 3 Still, various ancient texts, such as the Amarna letters and the Harris papyrus and other Twentieth Dynasty texts as well as the Bible do give the impression that various grades of gold did exist.

These can best be understood as referring to 41

42

various grades of natural gold rather than to gold that has in 134

any way been refined. Thus "pure" gold could conceivably be that which contained the fewest traces of other metals. As it happens, Egypt has many sources of relatively pure natural gold in which silver may be the only impurity and even then in small amounts; gold of glittering yellow color, easily separated from its matrix, was in relatively plentiful supply. A glance at ancient techniques of gold recovery can be helpful here. Gold is found in nature in one or two forms, either as alluvial, or placer gold, derived from the breaking down of gold-bearing rocks and the washing of such debris into watercourses (often dry), or as gold ore occurring as irregular masses in veins in quartz rock.^® Both Egyptian and Akkadian seem to preserve words which denote these alternate sources of the precious metal. 137 Furthermore, in Egyptian there is frequent mention of the 138 washing of both gold and silver. This possibly can refer to 139

the recovery of alluvial gold by one of the two methods in use before Roman times, both of which rely on the high density of gold which enables it to be separated from its matrix by rinsing it with water. The first method is known as panning or pan-washing and consists simply of agitating the auriferous alluvium in a pan or trough until the rocky material floats off and the gold particles collect on the bottom as gold dust or nuggets. The second process is called placer mining. The sand or gravel containing the gold is allowed to stream through sluices with transverse ridges or riffles along the bottom. When water is allowed to stream through the sluice, which may even be covered with fat or with the fatty skins of certain animals (cf. the Golden Fleece) which help retain the particles, the gold collects in the crevices between the riffles. It is also possible that the references to gold washing in ancient literature convey a feature of the process necessary for the extraction of reef gold from its ore. This process involved the cracking and breaking of the quartz rock by means of fire and then hammers; next the broken rock was crushed in mortars and then pulverized in hand mills; finally, the powdered ore was tediously washed on a sloping surface or table to

43 141

separate the metal. This procedure in essence achieves in a short period of time what is accomplished in nature over long epochs in the form of placer gold. However, most of the gold used throughout the ancient world seems to have been placer 141

gold. This was the case for Mesopotamia as well as for Egypt and seems quite logical insofar as alluvial gold was plentiful enough in nature and infinitely simpler and cheaper to recover than reef gold. Therefore, ancient references to washed gold more than likely indicate the removal by water of sand and gravel from alluvial materials rather than the equivalent process at the terminus of the reef mining procedure.

NOTES CHAPTER II See, e.g., the accounts of 1 Mac 1:21-22 and of Josephus (Jewish War VII: 148-9) concerning the lootings of the Temple by Antiochus and Titus respectively. In addition to textual references, there are also some early (pre-70 C.E.) representations of the menorah, as in the coinage of Antigonus, last of the Hasmonean kings; see Ya'akov Meshorer, Jewish Coins of the Second Temple Period (trans. I. H. Levine), Tel Aviv: Am Hassofer, 1962, PI. V: nos. 36, 36A, and pp. 61-62. A discussion of these early representations can be found in Daniel Sperber, "History of the Menorah," JJS 16 (1965), pp. 140ff. 2

The use and symbolism of the menorah in the Greco-Roman period is discussed at great length in JSGRP IV: 77-92, and XII: 79-83. Its appearance after the seventh century, chiefly in manuscript illumination, is examined by Zofja Ameisenowa, "The Tree of Life in Jewish Iconography" (trans. W. F. Mainland), JWT II (1938), pp. 326-45. Since 1948, it has been adopted on the coat-of-arms of the State of Israel. 3 Menahot 23b, Abodah Zarah 43a, and Rosh Hashonah 24a,b. These sources merely may refer to its actual reproduction as a cult object and not to its representational usages. However, the not infrequent use of non-seven-branched forms seems to indicate that at least part of the population understood this injunction in its wider sense. 4

Exod 25:31-40 and 37:17-24.

5

Exod 25:37; 26:35; 40:4, 24; Num 8:2-3.

6

Exod 30:27; 40:9.

7

Exod 35:14; 39:27; 40:25; Lev 24:1-4.

8

Num 3:31; 4:9. 9 In antiquity, Josephus attributed astral significance to it (Ant. Ill: 146); so did Philo (Quest. Ev. II: 73, 74, 75, 80, 81). Modern scholarly discussions are legion, e.g., JSGRP, ad loo.-, W. Wirgin, "The Menorah as Symbol of Judaism," IEJ 12 (1962), pp. 140-41; L. Yarden, The Tree of Light, Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1971. ^ N o t e Goff's warning, Symbols of Prehistoric Mesopotamia, p. xxxvi: "The greatest circumspection should be used in drawing inferences about early periods from knowledge about later periods. The primary source of information about a culture comes from the material produced by that culture." ^ W e assume, for the moment, that the tabernacle traditions are not wholly a reflection of Second Temple practices. 45

46 This will be discussed below in our conclusions to this chapter and again in our concluding chapter. 12 So D. W. Gooding, The Account of the Tabernacle , Cambridge: University Press, 1959, p. 8. Gooding's work deals specifically with the textual problems of the Greek of Exodus. ^ S e e the example in ibid., pp. 9-10. 14 One other biblical word may indicate "lampstand" and that is Kntfl-D:J (Dan 5:5), which corresponds to Mishnaic Hebrew n W D } . The origin of this word is somewhat obscure; see the linguistic discussion by Montgomery in Daniel (ICC), Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1927, p. 255, and, more recently, Franz Rosenthal, A Grammar of Biblical Aramaic (Porta Linguarum Orientalium, V), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1963, p. 59. Rosenthal tentatively suggests an eastern origin through a Persian word meaning "to shine." "'""'So R. H. Smith, "Household Lamps of Palestine in Old Testament Times," BA 27 (1964), p. 3. 1 6 s . A. Cook, "Lamp, Lantern," EB III: 2 7 0 6 , n. 1 , refers to an inscription reported in Joseph Halevy, Rapport sur une Mission Archéologique dans le Yemen ( 1 8 7 2 ) , p. 353. The translation "torch" is that of Hômmel in S'ùd-arabische Chrestomathie, p. 1 2 8 . Both this word and m i 3D are noun formations of the same root; the D-prefix transforms the root into a noun indicating the instrument or place implied in the action of the verb. See Sabatino Moscati, Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1 9 6 4 , pp. 8 0 - 8 1 .

17

See KB, p. 843.

18

See Immanuel Low, Die Flora der Juden, Wien: R. Lowit Verlag, 1928, Vol. I, pt. 2, pp. 662-63, and Harold N. and Alma L. Moldenke, Plants of the Bible, Waltham: Chronica Botanica Company, 1952, pp. 50, 215. In the Bible, in addition to indicating "reed," HJp also refers to a related plant, the "sweet cane" or "calamus," so Moldenke, p. 40, and also to a sweetsmelling cane, so Moldenke, p. 214. See Isa 43:24, Jer 6:20, Ezek 27:19, Cant 4:14, Exod 30:23, and also Josh 16:8 and 19: 28. 19

Moldenke, p. 50.

20

Cf. R. B. Y. Scott, "Weights and Measures in the Bible, BAR III: 348. This use is also indicated in Akkadian, AH II: 898, and in the Greek equivalent, LS, p. 645. Compare English "rod." 21

See Isa 19:6. n? Ezek 29:6 and 7. When broken, the reed breaks into thin, sharp slivers, which can be very dangerous. See Moldenke, p. 50.

47 23 S e e Job 40:21, 1 Kgs 14:15, Ps 68:31, and Isa 35:7. One further Egyptian setting is that of Gen 41:5 and 22, where PUP is used in Joseph's dream in its generic sense, meaning "stalk" rather than "reed." 24

Isa

42:3.

25

E x o d 25:33, m U D n 'pD D^KST! D^pPI ntatff> p , refers to "menorah" in the latter sense, as the central portion of a composite. Whenever 3HT m i 3D appears, the composite object seems to be indicated. A similar conclusion regarding the use of "menorah" in the Exodus texts to refer principally to the central element has been reached by Rahel Hachlili and Rivka Merhav in an unpublished article (Hebrew), "Menorath Hamishkan" 26

B H , note a-a to Exod 25:31 and 37:17.

27

Strangely, the Greek and Latin words for "]T> would seem to be more appropriate translations of H3p. Greek wauAoc can refer to the "stem of a plant" (LS, p. 931); Latin hastile (Exod 25) refers to "shaft" or "piece of wood in the form of a staff" (HLD, p. 842) , and stipes (Exod 37) is translated "branch" or "trunk" [HLD, p. 1760). po E.g., Exod 32:37, Judg 3:16, Gen 32:26, etc. 29

For other examples of the transposition of anatomical features to architectural t e r m i n o l o g y — t h e "vocabulary of the c r a f t s " — s e e Baruch A. Levine, In the Presence of the Lord, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1974, p. 119, n. 3. 30 As in the side of the altar, 2 Kgs 16:14, Lev 1:11, or the side of the tabernacle, Exod 40:22, 24. ^ T h e widely divergent types of bases depicted in the numerous representations of the menorah in Roman-Byzantine times in part reflect this difficulty. If there was no distinct base in the original, perhaps the ancient artist or artisan, from the 5th century onwards, felt free to depict it as he wished, in accordance with the various kinds of bases that contemporary metal stands might employ. 32

Ceramic stands in fact usually do not have functionally or artistically distinct bases. See below. Chapter III, pp. 65, 68, 76, 80. 33 The characteristic thickened lower portions of ceramic stands come to mind. See our fig. 1 and below, pp. 73-75. 34 Nowhere does the biblical tradition indicate where the lamps were to be placed on the composite lampstand. However, we can offer suggestions based on archaeological evidence; see below, pp. 81-82. Apart from the functional nature of the ornamentation with respect to lamps, Hachlili and Merhav have pointed out, on the basis of some Urartu metallic stands, that the "cup, knob, flower" element would be used to strengthen the places where the metallic segments of which the branches might be composed would be joined.

48 35 Ludwig Koehler, "Hebräische Egymologien, JBL 59 (1940), p. 36; cf. Raymond 0. Faulkner, Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: University Press, 1962, p. 278. A derivative form, based on the same Egyptian word, is Hebrew meaning "bud" or "pod" of the flax plant in Exod 9:31. 36

G e n 44:2, 12, 16.

37

Jer 35; see v. 5.

3 ft So Koehler, p. 36. 39 40

LS, p. 977.

L S , p. 940.

41

LS, p. 991. It is to be noted that wine in antiquity was generally cut with water before it was consumed; hence there often existed special containers for the mixing of wine. 4 ^Cyrus H. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook (Analecta Orientalia, 38), Rome: Pontificium Biblicum Institutum, 1965, p. 247. See also Phoenician qb', in A. M. Honeyman, "La troisième inscription phénicienne de Larnaka (Chypre)," Le Muséon 51, pp. 285ff. 43

AH,

Vol. II, p. 890.

44 For the text and translation, see Eberhard Schräder, Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament (trans. Owen C. Whitehouse), London: Williams and Norgate, 1885, p. 199, and more recently Ernst Michel, "Die Assur-Texte Salmanassars III," Die Welt des Orients II (1955), pp. 140-45, and also ANET, p. 281. 45 For further comments on this lampstand, see below, pp. 70, 187. 46 Zech 4:2, 3. Eccl 12:6 n m n i7

CAD

MT preserves , as if from >3; but cf. See BDB, p. 165.

V: 128-129.

48

1 Kgs 7:41 = 2 Chr 4:12, 13. See the discussion in ARI, p. 147, in H. G. May, "The Two Pillars before the Temple of Solomon," BAS0R 88 (1942), pp. 23-25, and in Robert North, "Zechariah's Seven-Spout Lampstand," Biblica 51 (1970), p. 184. 49

n"P>V

and m T i n n n"?3; see BDB, p. 165.

50

T h e almond tree is botanically identified with "amygdallus communis." See Low I: 142. 51 In Palestine it blooms already in January and February, so Low I: 145. cp The rod of Aaron in Num 17:23 miraculously blossoms and bears ripe almonds. Note also the portent of the ripe almond tree in Jer 1:11.

49 Moldenke, p. 36, notes that the glass or crystal drops used by English lapidaries and craftsmen to ornament candlesticks are called "almonds." 54

Amos 9:1 and Zeph 2:14. these places. 55 Greek ocpaipajxi^p; Latin 56

RSV renders "capital" in both

sphaerulas.

S e e Jastrow, p. 442 and BLS, p. 226.

57

CAD

VI: 139-140.

59 G e o r g Hoffman, "Versuche zu Amos," ZAW 3 (1883), p. 124. Hoffman speculates that m n B D can be identified with "pear" and so can m r D , which is the biblical designation for the "capitals" of the pillars Jachin and Boaz (see 1 Kings 7, 2 Kings 25, Jeremiah 52, and 2 Chronicles 4).

®^The linguistic interchange between bilabial consonants, in this case m > p, is not impossible. See Moscati, pp. 25f. 61 S o BLS, p. 333. See CAD VIII: 122; the identification of this word as "pear" or "pear tree" is based on the Arabic kummatra.

62

Arabic. 63

64

Low III: 239.

This probably refers to modern Egyptian

S o S. A. Cook, "Candlestick," EB I: 645. So G. E. Post, "Lily," DB III: 122.

is tempting to see in '¡ti/iti/ a reflection of "six," referring to the six segments, whether they be erect, spreading, fused, or recurved, which characterize the many varieties of lilies. However, cf. Th. O. Lambdin, "Egyptian Loan-words in the Old Testament," J AOS 73 (1953), p. 154; Lambdin proposes that '¡tintif is derived from an Egyptian word, sSen in the Old and Middle Kingdoms, sin from the Middle Kingdom onwards (one s having been lost by haplology), which is a name for a flower, probably the lily. 66 1 Kgs 7:26 and 2 Chr 4:5. DTD in this instance no doubt belongs to the same architectonic realm as and V 2 3 . 67

1 Kgs 7:19, 22.

68

1 Kgs 7:49.

69 This possibility has been pointed out by Kurt Mohlenbrink in "Der Leuchter in fiinften Nachtgesicht des Propheten Sacharja," ZDP 52 (1929), pp. 281f. Mohlenbrink also suggests that in the Zechariah passage is another pars pro toto designation for an elaborate bowl construction of the Zechariah lampstand.

50 The Masoretic text has the singular, n m s . Samaritan, which has the plural (so BH, ad loo.), which reads npiva. 71

Z e c h 4:2.

72

Compare the and LXX,

Cf. above, n. 34, and below, p. 72.

E.g., Exod 30:7-8, Num 8:2-3, and Lev 24:4.

73

Menahem Haran, "The Complex of Ritual Acts inside the Tabernacle," SH 8 (Studies in the Bible), Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1961, p. 277, n. 8. 74 . See Menahem Haran, "The OHEL MO ED in the Pentateuchal Sources," JSS V (I960), pp. 50-65. Compare the tradition of one lamp in the Shiloh sanctuary, 1 Sam 3:3. See also the MT of Exod 25:37, which has a singular verb (-pKn) referring to the illumination provided by the lamps (plural). Exod 25:36; 37:22. These verses pick up the instructions set forth at the outset, Exod 25:31 and 37:17. 16

BDB,

p. 372; KB, p. 347.

77 See Levine, In the Presence of the Lord, 78

pp. 66-67, n. 35.

S e e CAD IV: 106.

79

For a discussion of this concept, see Jacob Neusner, The Idea of Purity in Ancient Judaism (Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity, I), Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1973, especially Chap. I on "The Biblical Legacy." Neusner, p. 1, chooses to avoid the term "ritual purity." 80 So Neusner, ibid. o1 See, for example, Lev 13:6, 14:8-9, 22:6-7, etc. 82 A S Arabic thr (AEL Bk. I, pt. 5, pp. 1186-88) and also {BUB, p. 372) Ethiopic, Sabaean, and Old South Arabic. pT On Exod 24:10, see below. Chap. VI, p. 173 and n. 37 and also pp. 167-68. On Psalm 19, see Nahum Sarna, "Psalm XIX and the Near Eastern Sun-God Literature," Papers, Fourth World Jeuish Congress, 2 vols., Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1967, Vol. I: 171-75. 84 T e x t 51:V:81, 96-97. See Gordon, p. 172. lates it "gems of lapis lazuli," p. 406. 85 8

T e x t 77:21-22.

See ibid.,

Gordon trans-

pp. 183 and 406.

® T h e Ugaritic passage reads: "And build a house of silver and gold/ a house of lapis gems" (or "shining lapis"). Cf. the Sumerian hymn celebrating the construction of Enki's dwelling of gold and uknu stone, Charles F. Jean, "La grande triade divine," RHR 110 (1934), p. 135. For similar language in connection with other ancient shrines, see Michael A. Fishbane, "The

51 Sacred Center: the Symbolic Structure of the Bible," Texts and Responses (Glatzer festschrift), ed. Michael A. Fishbane and Paul R. Flohr, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1974, n. 27. 87 Especially in certain passages dealing with the menorah; see below, pp. 167-68. 88

•

See Uri Würzburger, "Metals and Mining. In the Bible," EJ 11: 1428-34. 89 CAD VI: 246 lists no less than twenty-three adjectival qualifications that express varieties of gold in terms of color, appearance, purity, method of attainment. Egypt, as one would expect, has an extensive vocabulary dealing with gold; see the terminology presented by J. R. Harris, Lexicographical Studies in Ancient Egyptian Minerals (Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaft zu Berlin, Nr 54) Berlin: AkademieVerlag, 1961, pp. 32-41. Forbes in SAT VIII: 167-168 presents tables of terms for gold in Egyptian and Akkadian. 90 The Talmud (Yoma 45a) counts seven kinds of gold, but its list is far from complete. 91 The precise identification of all these terms is a matter of scholarly interest but has yet to be achieved. See, for example, some of the discussions of Ophir and Parvaiim: H. Grelot, "Parvaim des chroniques de l'Apochryphe de la Genese," VT 11 (1961), pp. 37-38; Robert North, "Ophir/Parvaim and Petra/Joktheel," Papers, Fourth World Jewish Congress, 2 vols., Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1967, Vol. I: 197202; and B. Maisler, "The Excavations at Tell Qasile: Preliminary R e p o r t — I l l , " IE J 1 (1950-51), pp. 209-10. Maisler reports an ostracon in which "gold of Ophir" appears. 92 E . g . , tnntß nnt, mta nnt, i d d nrii, int m s y , and nnt PPTD. Various words which seem to be synonyms for gold also appear, namely, D!"D, TS, and y n n .

93 Compare "gold [is plentiful] as the dust of the earth" in the Amarna letters, below, n. 129. 94 See KB, p. 724. The varied colors of impure gold are transmitted in both Egyptian and Akkadian metallurgical vocabularies. E.g., in Akkadian, hura?u is found together with words for yellow-green {arqu) , red (huSSu, russu), white or light (.pesü, pu$$u) , red-brown (samu), etc. 95 See above, n. 91. 96 S e e Isa 13:12, where it is parallel to Dro, Cant 5:11, where it is an attribute of urn, and Prov 8:19, where it appears with y n n (= Akkadian huräsu) .

97 The word for gold in this instance is on-, which, though found in Egypt from the Twentieth Dynasty on, is of unknown origin (see Harris, pp. 37-38). Since in Egyptian it seems to specify a type of gold brought from the south, the "probabilities are that tne name came with the thing from some African

52 dialect," so Maximilian Ellenbogen, Foreign Words in the Old Testament, London: Luzac & Company, Ltd., 1962, p. 95. 98 The word for refine is PPT, which seems to refer to the refinement of metal in the technical sense, viz., the chemical removal of impurities. It is interesting in view of Lucas' suppositions, in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries, London: Edward Arnold LTD, 1962 4 , about the 6th-5th century date of the invention of gold-refining (see below, p. 41 and nn. 132, 133) that the root PPT in the metallurgical sense does not occur in any demonstrably older passages in the Bible. Its derivation can be seen in an Akkadian word zaqu, meaning "to blow" as of the wind (as opposed to zaqaqu, proposed by Marvin Pope, Job [Anchor Bible, 15], Garden City, New York: Doubleday S Company, Inc., 1965, p. 177, which does not mean wind, so CAD XXI: 60). Evidently a strong air current was required in the refining process; cf. Arabic ziqq, which is applied to the bellows of a forge (Pope, p. 177). 99

See pp. 41-43.

0

"*" ®The Talmud (and Rashi) , obviously unsure of what to do with the term, understood it as gold that had to be locked up because of its great value or as gold that is so valuable that all other metal shops are locked up when it is on sale; so Yoma 45a. Assyriologists are equally uncertain; it may refer to a certain quality of gold (see AH II: 1003) or it may designate a geographical origin (see Ellenbogen, p. 119) since gold is often named for its source (cf. in addition to ancient examples, Rheingold, Klondike gold). 101

2 Chr 4:20, 22 = 1 Kgs 7:49, 50.

102

2 Chr 3:8 = 1 Kgs 6:20 (and 21).

103

1 Kgs 10:18 = 2 Chr 9:20. The only usage of 11)D outside the Kings-Chronicles passages dealing with the temple adornment is the geological chapter of Job, where 1T3D stands alone for 1130 1HT (Job 28:15). 104

2 Chr 9:17 = 1 Kgs 10:21.

^"^The craftsman who shaped the object in fact also may have been the goldsmith who transformed the gold from its commercial state (of ingots, dust, or nuggets) into an artistically workable form. ^ 0 6 Lucas, p. 231. Specimens of ancient sheet gold (foil) have been measured from .17 mm. to .54 mm. in thickness; specimens of ancient gold leaf range from .01 mm. to .001 mm. thick. 1 07 E.g., the ark of acacia wood, Exod 25:11, the table of acacia wood, Exod 25:24, the pillars of acacia that support the parohet, Exod 26:32, the incense altar of acacia wood, Exod 20:31

53 108 See the analysis by H. J. Plenderleith, "Metals and Metal Technique," Ur Excavations II. The Royal Cemetery (Text), London and Philadelphia: British Museum and University Museum, 1934, p. 295, of the mode of construction of various objects from Ur such as the famous goats and the gold heads of the harps. In Mesopotamia, bitumen as well as wood was used for such models. 109 The use of acacia wood for the model seems certain m light of its use elsewhere in the tabernacle. It bears mentioning that acacia trees are trees of barren regions, able to flourish where no other trees find subsistence. This wood is very hard and durable, "splendid for and still highly valued in cabinet-work," Moldenke, p. 24. Acacias in general are found only in the Sinai and Negev regions except where they have straggled up the Jordan Valley; they increase in abundance south of the Dead Sea. It is decidedly not a tree of northern Palestine or of the Syria-Lebanon hills. Contrast the use of other woods (cedar, etc.) for construction in the Deuteronomic books (except for Deut 10:3, which refers to the ark in the wilderness), which have the hill country of Palestine as their setting and which are more oriented northward. "Acacia" may even be an Egyptian loanword; see Lambdin, p. 154. 110 E x o d 25:18; 37:7. also of "hammered work." 1:L1

The silver clarions of Num 10:2 are

Exod 25:29, 38 = Exod 37:16, 23.

112

Cf. Num 17:4; see also Exod 39:3, where the leaf is cut into threadlike strips. 113 Note that the Phoenician word VP"lD signifies some sort of metal vessel (Charles-F. Jean and Jacob Hoftijzer, Dictionnaire des Inscriptions Sémitique de l'Ouest, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1965, p. 168). As a designation of a modeled form, as such an object would have to be, it is an indication that the root ypl refers to beaten-out metal in general, whether of a thickness suitable for molding or for overlay. 114 See BDB, p. 904, and KB, p. 859. The ancient versions are also not much help. E.g., the Vulgate's ductilia is more akin to the process for obtaining gold leaf or wire (see HLD, p. 616) ; and the LXX, while reflecting a utilization of sheet gold, employs the word topeuti^, which signifies repousée rather than molding (see LS, p. 1565). 115

S e e Jastrow I: 274, 676, and II: 143.

^ ® S e e especially the section in Chap. VI on the "subsequent history" of the menorah, pp. 185-88. 117 M . Haran, "Menorah," EJ 11: 1355, supposes that they were. Sperber, p. 135, assumes that they were "more or less identical in appearance to the Mosaic one."

54 118 tion .

Menahot 98b.

Translation is that of the Soncino edi-

119 The fate of the Solomonic menorahs is unclear, but see the theory of M. Haran, "The Disappearance of the Ark," IEJ 13 (1963), pp. 56-57. In any case, new appurtenances were required for the rebuilt sanctuary. 120 Sir 26:17, "Like a shining lamp on the holy lampstand/ so is a beautiful face on a stately figure" (RSV). Hebrew text is that of M. Z. Segal, Sepher ben Sira Hashalem, Jerusalem: Mosad Bialik, 1959. 121 The literature on this complicated problem for which Josephus is the main source is extensive. See Sperber's nearly year-by-year account of the Maccabean and Herodian periods, pp. 137-55; his references to the Talmudic sources as well as to Josephus are very helpful. 122 Again, see Sperber, pp. 144-52, for a detailed discussion of the Titus Arch menorah; he favors the authenticity of that representation. Contrast Yarden, pp. 5, 7, 9-10, who implies that the actual sanctuary menorah was not among the treasures carried off to Rome. H. Strauss, "History and Form of the Seven-Branched Candlestick of the Hasmonean Kings," JWCI XXII (1959), pp. 6-16, argues that the three-legged base is the most historical. See also, among many other studies, Walter Eltester, "Der Siebenarmige Leuchter und der Titusbogen," in Judentum, Urohristentum, Kirehe (Joachim Jeremias festschrift), ed. W. Eltester, Berlin: Verlag Alfred Topelmann, 1960, pp. 62-76. 123

A n t . Ill: 144-46.

124

The entry of pomegranates into the array of menorah traditions is very interesting. Note the presence of the pomegranates in the complicated capitals surmounting Jachin and Boaz, 1 Kgs 7:18, 20 and 2 Chr 3:16. Pomegranates were common symbols of fertility in antiquity and appear frequently on ancient Jewish coins (so W. Wirgin, The History of Coins and Symbols in Ancient Israel, New York: Exposition Press, 1958, p. 200). They also appear, alternating with flowers, on one of the most famous renditions of the menorah from late antiquity, viz., the stone menorah from Hammath Tiberias. See L. H. Vincent, "Les Fouilles Juives d'el yammam, a Tib^riade," RB 31 (1922), p. 119 and PI. VI:3. This example, in that it contains seven small hollows on top in which lamps could be set, generated much excitement, being the first if not the only functional menorah ever found. The existence of the pomegranates on this artifact as well as in the Josephus description makes it impossible to tell whether the numerous stylized circles on other Roman-Byzantine representations are meant to indicate "knobs" (globules) or pomegranates. 12 5 Menahot 28b; Soncino translation. ^^®This matter of the translation of vegetal elements into structural forms is treated below, pp. 107-11.

55 127 So R. J. Forbes, "Extracting, Smelting, and Alloying," in If I: 580. Forbes' conclusions are in the most part based on actual analysis of ancient gold samples found throughout the ancient Near East. Egypt was not only the main producer but also the only ancient power ever to remain permanently in control of gold sources, so SAT VIII: 163.

129 E.g., Letters 16:14; 19:61; 27:106; 29:164. The basic phrase, according to Knudtzon's transcription, is hura§e ki-i e-be-ri; see J. A. Knudtzon, Die El-Amarna-Tafeln, 2 vols., Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs 1 sche Buchhandlung, 1915, Vol. I, ad loo. 130 Forbes, HT I: 581. See also SAT VIII: 84. This was not true of ordinary metal workers, whose status was no different from that of other craftsmen. Only goldsmiths were organized under temple supervision.

131t ,,, Lucas, p. 233. 132 H. Quiring, Gesahiahte des Gold (cited in Lucas, p. 229), argues that Egyptians could refine gold well before the New Kingdom, as early as the Eleventh or Sixth Dynasties. 133 So Lucas, p. 229, and his Appendix, p. 490, which summarizes his gold analyses. R. J. Forbes, perhaps the leading expert in ancient technology, originally (1954) suggested an early date in HT I: 582. However, in his later works, as SAT VIII: 166, he concurs that refinement is a relatively late procedure. X-ray analysis has made possible the testing of museum treasures without destroying them, as would be the case in chemical analysis, and these treasures all seem to be gold alloys until the 6th century. As a matter of fact, the desirability of purifying gold is questionable in that natural gold, with impurities, is stronger, harder, and less apt to tear than pure gold (ibid., p. 170). Moreover, gold is always workable in its natural state; i.e., it occurs naturally in the metallic state. While a few compounds of gold do exist, they play no role in the production of gold. Unlike other metals such as copper, which must be obtained by the smelting of ores, there was no need for such treatment of gold {ibid., p. 155). Forbes does contend (ibid., p. 170) that the refining process was known prior to the Persian period but that the cupellation it entailed was too difficult and too expensive for widespread use. Nonetheless, it may have been used on a small scale for assaying, and this would explain the early literary references to the "testing" or "assaying" of gold in the Amarna letters. Furthermore, it is possible that cupellation may have been practiced for the removal of base impurities (such as lead or tin or iron) but that the more complicated process for the removal of the ever-present silver was not developed before the 6th century. For a description of these techniques, see ibid., pp. 172-77, and HT I: 581. T 34 So Lucas, p. 229.

56 X35

Ibid.,

pp. 214, 233.

Lucas, p. 224. 137

In Akkadian, contrast huràsu sa abnisu, gold from stone or ore (CAD I: 55), with hura§u la ma'i (Su), gold from water (AH II: 664). In Egyptian, nbu n ma refers to alluvial gold (Harris, p. 33) and nbw m km denotes gold obtained by mining (ibid.).

139

S e e SAT VIII: 15.

1 4(1 Lucas, p. 228, and SAT VIII: 156. This Egyptian method is known only from descriptions by the Greek historians. 141 In one of the richest collections of Mesopotamian fine metalwork, that of the royal cemetery of Ur, all the gold is apparently alluvial, so Plenderleith, p. 298. In SAT VIII: 156, Forbes says the same of Egyptian gold objects. Similar source analyses of other collections of ancient gold, such as from Anatolia or from Mari, do not seem to have been carried out.

CHAPTER III ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES I.

Introduction:

the Matter

of

Function

In turning to the archaeological materials which may have relevance for our comprehension of the tabernacle menorah, we must emphasize at the outset that the very nature of this artifact as a receptacle brings with it a certain amount of ambiguity of function. It is unquestionable that lamps supported by lampstands nearly always constituted separate and removable entities. The priestly passages are quite clear about this: the fabrication of the lamps is prescribed separately from that of the lampstand.^ It also seems certain from the Kings and Chronicles passages that the lamps of the Solomonic lampstands 2 are objects in themselves, separate from their supports. Furthermore, not only are the lamps (or lamp) distinct from the lampstand upon which they are placed, it cannot even be assumed that the lamps of the tabernacle were to be made of gold. The utensils—"snuffers and trays"—are to be golden (Exod 25:38), but it is nowhere directly stated that the lamps also must be metallic. This fact is not to be taken lightly in view of the demonstrated precision of the description of the lampstand. In Exodus 25 the lampstand is described first; subsidiary to it are a) its lamps (v. 37) and then b) its utensils (v. 38). Only the latter are said to be of gold, like the menorah itself. The parallel account of Exodus 37 seems to indicate golden lamps. But vv. 23 and 24 are a somewhat condensed version of vv. 37, 38, and 39 of the Exodus 25 text. Hence, the utensils, which are of gold, are put immediately following the lamps, giving the impression that the latter are also golden. However, note that the subsequent verse (37:24) mentions that the "lampstand and all its utensils" are to be of gold. But the lamps are not to be included among the utensils.^ Wherever else in the priestly writings the "golden lampstand" 4 is specified, the lamps themselves are never so described. In 5 contrast, the Solomonic lamps are decidedly of gold.

57

58 This strong probability that the lamps were totally separate from the lampstand shows the necessity for considering the lampstand by itself as an artifact. However, there is almost no way to identify such an artifact archaeologically unless it is found in direct association with a lamp. The fact is that a class of artifacts exists which must be known simply as "stands." They can be made of pottery, wood, stone, or metal. And they can serve as a support for any sort of vessel, either attached or detached, which contains a source of light and/or heat and/or fragrance at a level above the ground. Being hollow, without the use of a vessel they can also be used as a sort of vase. In other words, insofar as a distinct vessel which could contain oil or resinous wood or incense must be placed upon the stand or incorporated into it, lampstands merge functionally with other items known variously as thymiateria and cressets.' It is even theoretically possible that one and the same stand could, at successive intervals, serve as a support for lamps, incense dishes, and fire pans as well as for libations or other offerings. It is even feasible that the same surmounting vessel could serve more than one of these purposes. The legislation in Exod 30:9 against just such a multiple usage certainly indicates that at certain times a single appurtenance could in o fact perform varied functions. Actually, some of the uses to which a stand is put may coincide; the burning coals of a pitchy wood indeed would supply heat, light, and even fragrance. Because of this functional equivalency, similarity of design and style as well as of basic form is to be expected within a broad cultural tradition. The relationship of various architectonic elements of the menorah with those of the pillars Jachin and Boaz is a case in point. In light of this functional fluidity of "stands," comparative archaeology must be approached with an eye for the recognition of form and design more so 9 than for the identification of objects of identical purpose. In so doing, several elements of the design of the tabernacle menorah which can now be understood in light of the foregoing discussion of the descriptions in Exodus must be kept in mind. One of course is the

59 shape of the support, i.e., a thickened shaft with no distinct base.

Another is the quadruple floral capital-and-bowl motif

on the central stand, which must be seen as a discrete entity while at the same time part of the composite form.

Finally,

the branches of the structure must be sought. II.

Comparative

Archaeology A. Mesopotamian materials

Beginning our comparative survey with Mesopotamia is somewhat disappointing at first.

Although Mesopotamia offers an

abundance of religious constructions, including elaborate temples, from the earliest history of its civilization, there is no evidence of a lampstand of any kind in any cultic context. From earliest times and lasting throughout, only two cultic features stand out within the shrines of sanctuaries: the niche for the god and the offering t a b l e . T o

be sure, lampstands

per se really would not be expected before the Iron A g e . ^

In-

stead, torches or cressets undoubtedly provided illumination 12 for both domestic and cultic purposes. For ritual use, they were hand held during at least part of the ceremonies.

Even-

tually they would have had to be set down; surely domestic torches would need to be supported somehow.

Unfortunately, no

recognizable examples of such seem to have been retrieved archaeologically. Therefore, while the ground-plan and architectural details of numerous Mesopotamian sanctuaries can be recovered, information concerning sacred objects must come from certain pictorial representations, viz., the stone reliefs of the Sumerian and Akkadian periods, the mural reliefs of the Assyrian period, and 13 especially glyptic art from all periods. Already in the oldest Sumerian period there appears a simple stand, the basic form of which is to endure for the millennia following.

Two limestone plaques dating from ca. 3000

B.C.E. depict such an object. plaques

Both registers of one of these

(fig. 2) from U r ^ with two rows of relief show the

pouring of libations into a stand which resembles nothing so much as a high cylindrical vase which is constricted somewhat in the middle sector, giving it the appearance of having a

60 flaring top as well as a flaring or thickened lower portion. There is no distinct base and the whole object is at least 1 m. high. The other plaque, from Tello, shows an almost identical stand, called a "vase altar," though probably only about half as high, into which a naked priest is pouring water and from which is "growing" a palm branch and two clusters of dates. Likewise, from the Old Akkadian period come representations of stands nearly identical to the Old Sumerian examples just mentioned. A calcite lunar disc presents the daughter of Sargon in the act of pouring a libation onto a simple stand, called an "offering table" by the excavator, which seems to be waist high although the bottom of the disc is mutilated and the extent of the lower portion of the stand cannot be determined exactly.'''® Also from this period is the famous "Mother Goose" limestone relief (fig. 3) from Nippur. The curious designation for this artifact derives from the fact that the goddess (perhaps Nina) is seated on a "throne" which is really a goose. She is lifting a ritual cup and in front of her is a small stand which has been called variously an offering table, 18

a flaming brazier, or a vase with branches. Whatever its function, there is no doubt that formally it belongs to our class of simple stands, cylindrical in shape with a narrowed waist. From the neo-Suraerian period come two more examples which offer for the first time the mere hint of decoration. On a relief found in the temple of Ningirsu at Lagash from the time of Gudea appears a scene (fig. 4) of a drink offering being 19 poured into a container (here called a pottery chalice ). This container is a stand of 50-75 cm. in height with a tree issuing forth while the liquid is being poured. The narrowest part of its constricted center portion is adorned with a simple, somewhat bulging, ring or convex molding. This molding is 20 found again on a stele of Urnammu of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Interestingly enough, two nearly identical "vase altars" are depicted, both containing palm branches and date clusters; the one on the right has a distinct central molding, whereas the one on the left seems to have none. The appearance of fruit and branches (fig. 5) is typical of this period.

61 In summing up what can be learned from the iconography of the Sumerian and Old Babylonian periods, we must draw attention to the very useful work of Kurt Galling, Der Altar in den Kul21 turen dee Alten Orients. In a very systematic way, he has collected all the representations of all types of altars known to him.

This work remains useful today in that a good portion

of the monumental buildings from both Egypt and Mesopotamia which contained reliefs already had been discovered; and also a sizeable and representative portion of the countless cylinder seals from the ancient Near East had already been catalogued. The subsequent development of careful stratigraphic excavation has not produced in any great quantity, except perhaps for Syria-Palestine, for which his work is somewhat sketchy, materials that would have been directly relevant to his scholarly task. In Galling's study of what he calls the Old Babylonian (really Early Dynastic through neo-Sumerian) period, his typology ranks the form we are considering—and which he calls in this period "vase altar" (vasenaltar)—in 22 a class by itself on This form, the high

formal grounds, regardless of function.

cylindrical vase with narrowed central portion, is by far the most prevalent cultic apparatus of this long era.

It is not a

massive object but rather is slender and probably was hollow throughout.

No doubt the earliest examples were made of pot-

tery; later on metal was employed.

Galling 1 s plate 7, #53, is

a catalogue of the variations of this type and shows quite plainly the endurance of the basic simple form.

Only the addi-

tion of the molding has allowed him to subdivide the type, according to the location of the ring in relation to the center of the object.

He also recognizes that a variable function ac-

crues to this stand from the earliest times: it supports flowering branches that are being watered; it is a receptacle for libations even where branches are not present; it is also a stand for certain bread or cake offerings. The next group of representations of the tall slender stand comes from the Assyrian period.

Unfortunately, little is

available from the early Assyrian period, in which the emergence of a distinct Assyrian art takes place.

Perhaps one

62 example from the early period is a seal cylinder of red marmor 23 that probably dates from the time of Tukulti-Ninurta I. It depicts (fig. 6) on the right, a ziggurat and on the left, an attendant priest. Between these two representations are two cultic accessories, an offering table on animal feet and a tall stand, at least 1.50 m. high. The priest is engaged in placing something (indeterminable) upon the stand. The stand is completely plain, with no molding where it is constricted. However, at the top it flares out in a way not ever seen in the Sumerian group. This flare seems to constitute a bowl-shaped container which, in this scene, seems to be of one piece with the stand but which will, in later Assyrian times, have evolved into a distinct unit. This simple stand from Assur, along with the earlier Sumerian examples, is a clear prototype of the somewhat more developed group of stands found commonly on the famous wall reliefs, as well as on the cylinder seals, of the Late Assyrian period, mainly from the 9th-7th centuries. One porphyry seal (fig. 7) from Assur is undated and in style is very close to 24 the one just described. The high stand has a flaring bowl on the top. The outline is nearly the same as the earlier example, except that now the bowl is clearly demarcated as a separate entity. The contexts of the bowl also seem clear—a conically-shaped form represents burning incense. This conical form becomes very characteristic of incense stands. In some instances it represents the heaped-up coals, often flaming, upon which incense (probably in the form of pellets) was placed; or it represents a conically-shaped lid, often with many small performations, which was placed over the burning 25 coals. Sometimes, in the more stylized examples, it conceivably may represent either or both circumstances. In addition to the contents of the bowl, there appears a decorative (or functional, as a handle?) addition of some sort of small bar three quarters of the way up the shaft. It also might be noted that above the flaming incense fire are seven stars; the astral significance of the flames is thus evident. Two clearly 9th century examples of shoulder-high stands, both in association with offering tables, show two parallel

63 developments from the basic form. One (fig. 8), from the time of Shalmaneser III, depicts a tall, slender stand; a molding at the top supports a stylized dish surmounted by a stylized cone.^ The other (fig. 9) from an obelisk of Assurnasirpal II, features a shoulder-high stand in somewhat more realistic 27 fashion. A ledge or bar protrudes from the top (again, a handle?); a shallow basin rests on the stand; and flames issue forth from a bed of coals. From 8th century Assur come two ceramic buckets with handles. These may even be containers in which incense offerings were carried. They are decorated with well-preserved colored 28

enameled paintings. The more intact of the two paintings shows a tall, simple, shoulder-high stand (fig. 10) in conjunction with an offering table, two kneeling supplicants, and a priest. The priest is holding a bucket akin to the one upon which the painting occurs and is adding something to the "fire." Atop the stand is a large bowl with a seven-pointed flame rising from it. Part-way down the shaft is a triple rounded molding. The stand itself is painted white, undoubtedly representing silver, and the flames are gold-colored. The other bucket shows a similar scene except for the fact that the stand is somewhat smaller and that the triple molding has merged into an indented bulbous shape. The painting is broken at the point where the flames emerge; only two points are discernible but no doubt seven existed originally, judging from the amount of room remaining and from analogy with the other painting. Andrae points out that both these metal stands go back to the archaic slender pottery stand. Finally, in the 7th century appears an example of the more stylized shoulder-high incense stand, with a bowl on top sur29 mounted by a cone, and also two very interesting stands, supposedly secular, on a bas-relief from Nineveh.^® The latter relief shows a richly decorated garden scene of Assurbanipal and his consort drinking wine. Two smallish (knee-high) stands (fig. 11) are shown, executed in an architectonic style quite different from that of the typical tall stand. The shaft seems to be fluted; and two convex rings near the top have taken the form of successive capitals with inverted leaf decoration.

64 Surmounting this stand is a bowl not unlike those found on the more usual stands. A conical shape emerging from the bowl completes the picture. There seems to be a foreign artistic influence at work here, perhaps from the western Aegean-Phoenician-Egyptian sphere, which will more fully be dealt with below. In connection with the conical shape surmounting many Assyrian stands, it might be noted that the stylized form appearing on some cylinders as a slender shaft, narrower at the top and with some sort of ledge or bar, occasionally turned down on each side into an almost Ionic form, and having a cone resting upon it, may not be the spear point, symbol of Marduk, 31 that it has been supposed to be. Because the slender shaft is not of uniform thickness through its length, as a spear shaft would certainly be, and because the conical shape on top is much more related to the lids of incense stands than to known weaponry of the period, these "symbols" might better be interpreted as auxiliary incense stands. Summary The Mesopotamian materials from the end of the second millennium and the beginning of the first appear schematically 32 in Galling. He has confused the issue somewhat by referring to the tall slender object as "incense altar" and no longer "vase altar," which is more of a description of form than of function. As a matter of fact, he calls it a "candelabraform" (kandelaberformig) incense altar, though he does not establish the basis for such a denotation. In any case, like the vase altar of early times, this high stand is the most common form of Assyrian offering table. A proportionately small round bowl rests upon a long, plain columnar shaft which flares at the bottom. The only decoration, not present in all cases, is a bulging ring or rings, giving the appearance of a capital, at the point where the shaft narrows. The stand must be made of metal, or perhaps of pottery, though the latter would be less likely for special royal or cultic use. It certainly would have been too slender to have been carved from stone. The basin nearly always

65 contains fire, presumably for the incense, which is represented either by a stylized conical shape, perhaps a lid, or by a pyramid of fire, often with individual flames—frequently numbering seven—darting out. This cursory survey of cultic stands from the Mesopotamian provenance has revealed that a basic form was established in the Early Dynastic period and continued relatively unchanged far into the 1st millennium. shape throughout.

The shaft itself retains the same

A separate receptacle placed on the stand

does not appear in the early periods but becomes common by the 1st millennium.

Decoration remains simple throughout and con-

sists, if it appears at all, of a curved ring or series of rings at the constricted portion of the shaft.

Finally, the

particular function of the stand is determined, whatever the period, by that which is depicted atop the stand.

Palm

branches are common in the early periods; conical fires, often with seven flames, are common in later times. B. Egyptian data In turning to Egyptian archaeological sources, we face much the same difficulty as in dealing with those at the other end of the Fertile Crescent.

Whereas our knowledge of Egyptian

religion is very extensive, especially in terms of sacred architecture, certain types of funerary procedures, and iconography, our knowledge of the specifics of the ritual is rather incomplete.

Unfortunately, despite the remarkable preservation

of stone buildings, there is a marked paucity of cult objects 33 to go with them. Thus our knowledge of the cult must derive from wall paintings and reliefs in addition to what little information can be gleaned from texts. As in Mesopotamia, lamps cannot be expected until late in Egyptian history. Indeed, there seems to be no conclusive evidence for the use of lamps in Egypt in dynastic times. Stone lamps may have been used, but 34no ordinary clay lamps or pictures of them seem to exist.

Instead, torches seem to have

been commonly used as a source of light.

Thus there can be

no possibility for discerning a lampstand per se.

Yet, if

"stand" be considered in its generic sense, regardless of the

66 specific function it serves, Egyptian examples are hardly lacking. While the columnar stand is not so prevalent as in Mesopotamia—for in Egypt the copiously-supplied offering table seems to predominate—it is certainly possible to identify a class of objects which serve as stands for various purposes. Already in the Archaic Period and the Old Kingdom there appears a type of object that takes the place of the fourlegged offering table. This type consists of a slender stand, very simple, with a somewhat flared lower portion. Some of the examples (fig. 12) become progressively narrower towards the top,^® and others are constricted in the center portion.^ Among the latter variation is a lovely stand (fig. 13) from the Fourth Dynasty depicted on the slab stele of Wepemnofret; it 38 has a convex molding or ring in the center portion. All of the early examples are low stands, placed before a seated figure. They all contain loaves of bread from as few as six up to as many as about sixteen. These loaves are typically placed upon a perfectly flat, round platter which the stand supports. Only in one instance (fig. 14) among those we have examined, the bowl-shaped platter resting on a stand shown on the39primitive niche-stone of Princess Sehefener of Dynasty Two, does the platter vary from this form. This basic form, remarkably similar to that found in the Tigris-Euphrates area, continues throughout the First Intermediate Period into the Middle Kingdom. In one notable example from the First Intermediate Period, the slender stand flares at the top, to form a sturdy 40 base for the offering platter, as well as at the bottom. All the Middle Kingdom stands continue this tradition; however, there is a slight alteration of function. The simple arrangement of a series of loaves of bread is now replaced by 41 a wide assortment of food products heaped upon the stand. In all cases, the stand remains low, ca. .50 m., and is usually placed before a seated figure, the deceased god-king, who is partaking of a funerary repast. One exception to the typical form deserves notice. On a pillar relief from Sesostris I's Twelfth Dynasty temple at Karnak appears a scene of Sesostris presenting a votive gift to the god Min. Beside him is a low stand (knee-high) in the form

67 of a simple pillar with a campanaform capital (fig. 15). The stand is used to support a flowering branch or standard. It is interesting to find the stand employing this type of capital, which is rarely if ever used structurally as a free-standing architectural support until the New Kingdom, when it becomes 42 very popular. And of course the use of the stand to support something besides the ubiquitous food offering is also notable. In the New Kingdom there are several developments upon the offering table theme which hitherto predominated. We still find reliefs depicting the slender stand supporting a flat offering platter, such as that4from the temple of Ptah at Memphis 3 from the Nineteenth Dynasty. Even in this instance, a libation is being poured onto the low stand, and a hand-held censer is in position above it. The appearance of a libation, or poured-offering, in conjunction with the stand is indicative of the more usual function served by these stands in New Kingdom times. When the stand no longer serves to support a large flat platter, two minor changes take place in its basic form. For one thing, when it does not need to be at an appropriate low level to hold food for a seated figure, the New Kingdom stand becomes noticeably taller. Some remain in the .50 m. range, such as one (fig. 16) depicted on a stele of Amosis I, very early in the Eighteenth Dynasty. 44 But more typical (fig. 17) is the stand that reaches to thigh-high or chest-high dimen45 sions, in the 1 to 1.50 m. range. The second change is that the upper portion of the stand, no longer lost under a large platter, develops a more distinct and often bowl-shaped flare. The beginning of this upper flare is often delineated with a n convex ring. . 4 6 small This taller stand serves not only as a receptacle for libations but also often as a support for the actual jar containing the liquid offered. Ofttimes a lotus blossom or other product of the fructifying liquid is draped over the top of the stand. And in yet another variation (fig. 18) both a libation 47 jar and a flowering branch are placed upon the stand. None of these stands seem to be used as incense stands. Yet it must be noted that the burning of incense in hand-held censers is a

68

frequently associated occurrence in the total scenes in which the stands appear. Many of these censers consist of long handles ending in the representation of a human hand which grasps an incense bowl. However, there are a few examples (fig. 19) 48 of hand-held censers in the shape of miniature stands. Before concluding the discussion of the Egyptian materto the ials, one somewhat different stand (fig. 20) belonging 49 era of Tutankhamen must be described. The throne of this ruler depicts the seated king being ministered unto by his wife. Behind the Queen, in this richly designed scene, is a stand which is rather ornate in comparison with the others under consideration. The basic familiar form is that of a plain, waist-high, truncated cone, supporting a platter which evidently holds some sort of vessel from which the Consort is drawing perfume to apply to Tutankhamen. But the stand is ornately decorated with what seem to be two successive, downward-flaring capitals. Summary Despite such (secular?) exceptions, the pattern in Egypt is overwhelmingly that of a very simple, slender, and movable stand, undoubtedly made of metal, though perhaps in some instances of wood or pottery rather than of stone, and sometimes decorated with a convex ring. This fundamental type continues throughout ancient Egyptian history. Though our inquiry has left off with the New Kingdom, similar evidence could be offered for the subsequent periods, at least until the end of the dynastic periods. Typological classification in terms of function is difficult insofar as a variety of rites are associated with the same form. Bread offerings constitute the earliest usages; but libations, all sorts of food offerings, incense offerings in extended fashion, floral offerings, and even burnt offerings50 are associated individually or in combination with the same stand. Decoration, consisting of the addition of a narrow convex band, remains minimal or non-existent. The size shifts gradually into a taller stand as its early role as a stand for a funerary meal table diminishes.

69 C. Syro-Palestinian remains In turning to the Syro-Palestinian area, the possibility for dealing directly with artifactual objects rather than with their monumental or glyptic representations becomes a reality. However, even here, cultic objects that come directly from one of the many excavated sanctuaries do not provide the information we are seeking. Actually, despite the heavy concentration of archaeological work in the Canaanite sphere, there have been few cult objects found which can be understood with any confidence.5 On the basis of archaeology alone, there is scant possibility for recovery of Canaanite ritual practices. The best example of this situation is the Late Bronze temple of Hazor. Even more than the one at Lachish, this building is considered by its excavator to contain "the most complete set 52 of ritual elements and furniture as yet found" in Palestine. Because of its almost exact similarity to the contemporary Syrian temple at Alalakh, this statement can be extended to the Syrian area as well. But not only is there no identifiable lampstand at Hazor, most of the existing objects hardly can be understood. Even when related ritual texts are available, it is still not easy to identify and explain the archaeological realia. The mid-2nd millennium cuneiform inventories of the treasures of the temple of the moon goddess Nin-gal at Qatna, for example, show that the temple boasted a wealth of appurtenances. However, not only are they largely inexplicable from the texts alone, the excavation of the temple53itself could not provide artifacts to illuminate the texts. Because of such circumstances, archaeological material from purely cultic contexts can be of little help. Many of the artifacts that will be considered do derive from clearly cultic sources, from tombs as well as shrines; but others are undoubtedly from domestic areas. However, such "secular" material is no less relevant for two reasons. First, domestic provenance does not always indicate strictly secular usage; household shrines or worship seem to have been part of the local religious pattern. Second, the appearance of many types of "ordinary" household vessels in temples and tombs indicates that

70 there was often no clear-cut demarcation between cultic vessel and domestic vessel. One and the same vessel could serve both purposes at different moments. An ordinary lamp becomes "cultic" when carried into an area used for ceremonial purposes. This is not to deny, of course, that special cult objects, different in form if not in function from their mundane analogues, 54 could be designed and fabricated for strictly ritual usage. Whether or not there could exist a class of cultic objects that did not derive ultimately from domestic practice is a moot point. In any case, it is not an effective disadvantage to be dealing with objects from questionable contexts in contrast to the unmistakable temple scenes on monuments and seals which have provided the preceding materials. Lamps Although our primary concern is with stands rather than lamps, some information about lamps must be inserted here insofar as the origin of the saucer lamp lies within the SyroPalestinian sphere. Lamps appear in Palestine at least from the beginning of the 2nd millennium. Their basic shape, that of a simple saucer with a narrow or pinched lip to hold the wick, continued with few variations or modifications until late in the first millennium. Even when the closed type of lamp was known, ca. 500, it was several centuries more before it was 55 executed by native Palestinian potters. Among the variations of the lamp was the occasional but never prevalent practice of adding more than one wick, presumably to increase the intensity of the light. The typical multi-spouted lamp, found mainly in the Middle Bronze I and II periods, has four spouts (fig. 21). One special variety of the multi-spouted lamp is the seven-spouted saucer lamp, which appears to be Syrian in origin, the earliest known example coming from Ras Shamra."^ These lamps (fig. 22), which tend to be found in cultic contexts, have been uncovered in Nahariyah, 58 Dan, Lachish, Taanach, Gezer, Megiddo, etc. Much has been made, of course, of the possible relationship of this sort of 59 vessel to the lampstand of Zechariah. One other, more radical and rarer variation of the basic saucer lamp is the curious object known variously as the

71 "cup-and-saucer" or "double-bowl" lamp, which consists of a bowl containing a smaller cylindrical form of one piece with it (fig. 23a and b).

By virtue of its shape alone, the latter

designation seems more appropriate. a lamp is not certain.

However, that it is indeed

As Ruth Amiran has noted, it is a type

that is "well-known but not fully understood."®"

In addition

to "lamp," it has been identified by a wide assortment of designations, including "candlestick,"

flower vase

liba-

tion cut,®^ stand for pointed-base juglets,®"* and incense burners or torch holders.®"'

It has been found at various places in

Palestine from the end of the Late Bronze Age until its usage dies out in the 6th century.®®

It is also found in Egypt and

Crete in earlier periods and in later Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman lamps with central wick tubes in later periods.® 7

It is

assumed to be of Egyptian origin though perhaps disseminated from the Syrian coast. Despite the various conjectures concerning the purpose served by this object, the consensus seems to be that it is some sort of lamp.

The objection of some®® that there is no

trace of burning and therefore it cannot be a lamp does not hold true for all examples.®®

Furthermore, many of the un-

marred examples come from tombs.

Since vessels that are placed

in tombs or foundation deposits are often characterized by the fact of never having been utilized, the lack of evidence of burning would not necessarily indicate that they were not ever intended to be used as lamps. If indeed they are to be considered lamps, why the peculiar structure?

One can only conjecture.

All other lamps have

devices—pinched lips or spouts—which place the wick and hence the flame on the edge of the lamp.

It is conceivable that for

some special (cultic?) purposes it might be desirable to have the flame issuing forth from the center of the lamp. double-bowl lamp would in fact achieve this.7®

The

There is an in-

teresting representation on the south wall of the hypostyle 71 hall of Temple T (Temple of Taharqa) at Kawa which may demonstrate such a desire for a central flame instead of the asymmetrical appearance of a flame on one side.

Four priests are

carrying lighted "braziers," which are actually double-bowl

72 lamps supported by hand-held stands

(fig. 24).

boldly up from the center of the inner bowl.

The flames

leap

What a different

impression would be created if the flames rose from the side of a saucer

lamp!

If we have dwelt at some length on the phenomenon of the double-bowl lamp, it is because we are struck by two aspects of its history which may be relevant to the history of the menorah.

The first is that the shape, unlike that of the common

saucer lamp, is distinctly bowl-like.

If this shape be consid-

ered in conjunction with the fact that the [ p y a i ,

"bowls," are

integral parts of the menorah, constituting the uppermost part of both the central stand and the branches

(and also being re-

peated below) , as well as with the fact that the m u

of the

tabernacle menorah are, more so than those of Solomon's or of Zechariah's vision, quite separate, the only t h a t — o f an UPform

temple

possibility—and

with attached double-bowl lamp(s) as

opposed to separate pottery lamps, emerges. 72 Indeed, if one lamp

(or seven lamps) is to be lit

"be-

fore the Lord," a central flame would seem appropriate.

Note

that in the two passages mentioned above, p. 26, which refer to a single lamp, the lamp seems to be in permanent position fore the Lord."

Elsewhere, where seven lamps are

ably prescribed, the terminology, such as P 37) and H T U D n

''J3

P

(

"be-

unquestionE

x

o

d

25:

(Num 8:2, 3), seems to indicate a

concern for the direction in which the pinched lip or nozzle of a separate lamp would be pointed. The second aspect of the double-bowl lamp which should be reiterated is its probable Egyptian origin.

This is certainly

consonant with what already has been noted about the technical and linguistic affinities of the Exodus description of the menorah.

That Egypt does not seem to have possessed the oil lamp

until well into the Iron Age is not really a problem. been suggested that bitumen may have been used,

It has

somewhat of a

luxury for everyday use but possible for ceremonial

purposes.

If in fact this vessel was designed for a fuel other than oil, its peculiar shape would seem less problematic.

73 Stands The evidence for actual stands from the Syro-Palestinian area, while not extensive, allows for the possibility of a single-unit stand with bowl attached.

Ruth Amiran's tripartite

classification of what she calls "incense-burners" or "incense74 stands is helpful in this respect. The house-shaped stand, an interesting form in itself,^ is of little concern here. However, all remaining forms belong to the same basic type and are separated by Amiran only on the basis of whether or not the bowl-shaped container surmounting the stand is made of one piece with the stand itself.

Regardless of whether or not the

bowl is attached, this type of stand assumes a form early in its history which persists with few modifications. It appears as a defined form already in the Chalcolithic period, the classic example being a somewhat crude, handmodeled stand from B e e r - S h e b a . I t continues through the 77 Bronze Age and into the Iron I period. No examples seem to be forthcoming from later than Iron II; perhaps at that point 7 8 the tripodal metal stands found rarely in the earlier periods begin to gain the currency they exhibit mainly after the 6th century. The stand

79 is basically a high, cylindrical one, flaring

somewhat at the bottom and again at the top, where the flare becomes a bowl-shaped receptacle (fig. 1).

In many but cer-

tainly not all cases these cylindrical stands are fenestrated. This feature may not be indigenous to the cylindrical form itself but rather may derive from the functional relationship with the often elaborately-fenestrated, house-shaped type.

In

terms of the typology of decoration, therefore, fenestration should probably not be a consideration.

The earliest examples

tend to be quite simple and unadorned.

Occasionally two small,

80

almost vestigial knob handles appear.

When decoration does

appear, mainly by g n the end of the Late Bronze Age, it takes two distinct forms. One is a ring or molding decoration, already familiar to us from Egyptian and Mesopotamian counterparts. The other is a motif of downward-curving leaf ornaments. The excavations of Megiddo provide us with the best examples of both these features.

In fact, they both appear on a

74 fine, red-washed stand (fig. 25) with a separate bowl that has a funnel-shaped projection on the bottom to fit it into the top 82

of the stand.

There are two narrow rings, just above the

central portion of the stand.

Above the upper ring is a series

of conventionalized, down-turned leaves or petals called "lotus-leaf decoration" by the excavator. peated below the rim of the bowl.

This motif is re-

On a similar stand from

Taanach, the leaf motif is found around the bottom of the bowl. 8 3 By far the most spectacular rendition of the two types of decoration is found on the painted stand from Megiddo (fig. 8 26) 4 unearthed by G. Schumacher at the beginning of this century. Unfortunately the lower part of the stand is missing.

But the

upper portion of the stand exhibits two simple ring moldings. Between them and below the lower one are two series of graceful, downward-curving leaf ornaments, interpreted by May as "adaptations of an Egyptian architectural detail taken from a 85 pillar or capital." Surmounting this decoration is an attached wide bowl, also decorated with petal ornaments.

Below

the lower petal decoration the stand is broken, and it is impossible to discern whether or not the ring and petal designs would have been repeated further. The possibility that this Megiddo stand was bedecked with a series of three rather than two ring and leaf decorations is raised by the existence of several such representations on Phoenician seals or stelae.

Most of the examples are not found

in Phoenicia proper, however, and hence will be considered below with the Aegean material.

Furthermore, because of several

Egyptianizing artistic tendencies associated with them, as on the painted Megiddo stand, their provenance is properly outside the Syro-Palestinian region.

A case in point is the fragment

of a slab from the vicinity of Tyre, one of the few of this type actually found in coastal Phoenicia.®®

A flaring, pede-

stalled incense bowl surmounts a tall, slender stand decorated near the top with a series of three inverted lilies (fig. 27). The god seated before the stand wears a characteristic Egyptian headdress. That many of these pottery stands found throughout the Syro-Palestinian area functioned as incense burners is

75 unquestionable.

However, it seems equally possible for several

reasons that at least some of the stands served as supports for lamps.

To begin with, there is at least one example (fig. 28), 87 again from Megiddo, of a double-bowl lamp attached to a tall cylindrical pedestal with flaring bottom.

In addition, an

Early Bronze II stand from 8 8 Beth Shan (fig. 29) which Amiran calls an incense-burner has an attached bowl in quatrefoil form.

The bowl portion of the stand, with four projections

around the rim, bears a morphological similarity to certain early four-spouted lamps and thus indicates that this particular object certainly could have been used as a lamp rather than for incense. Hence, it equally could be called a pedestalled lamp, a lamp of which the base has been extended in pedestal 89 form. As such, it bears a resemblance to a group of small, cylindrical ceramic stands from "Iron Age deposits" of the Bucheum in the Nile Delta in which the bowls built into the upper part of the stands are spouted, giving the distinct impres, 90 sion ofe lamps. Furthermore, just as some bowls have basal projections (fig. 30) so that they can be fitted into stands, there are some lamps (fig. 31) with analogous projections for insertion 91 into stands. Thus stands found without attached bowls could receive either lamps or bowls with such projections.

Another

type of92evidence comes from a unique ceramic tomb group from Gezer, in which a stand ending in an attached bowl contains another bowl which in turn contains a saucer lamp (fig. 32). This series of objects in close relationship in effect creates a lampstand with a detached double-bowl lamp, of which the inner bowl is itself detached.

One final type of artifact is

also relevant here (fig. 33), to wit, the miniature (ca. 10 cm. high) ceramic pedestals with slightly flared bottoms, the tops of which 93 end in stubby prongs and in which nestle tiny, spouted lamps. All these examples tend to show that the distinction between stands used for incense and stands used for lamps is decidedly blurred.

No doubt there are stands with receptacles

designed for specifically one purpose.

However, stands without

attached containers could be used for either purpose; there is

76 no typological differentiation.

And even the bowls themselves,

albeit with no spouts, could be used either as incense burners or lamps, in the latter case with wicks draped over the 94 edges.

That Galling describes the cylindrical incense altars

from Syria-Palestine with the term "kandelaberformig"

may have

more truth than irony to it (if we understand that candelabra is used

anachronistically). Summary

This rather extensive treatment of Syro-Palestinian materials has produced information consistent with what has already been learned from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

A basic form, a

cylindrical shaft flaring somewhat at the bottom and again at the top, either as an attached bowl or as a receptacle for such, appears already in the Chalcolithic Period and continues relatively unchanged at least until the end of the Iron age, in the 6th century, when tripodal bronze or iron stands predominate.

If these stands appear to be somewhat shorter, squatter,

and less graceful than their Mesopotamian or Egyptian counterparts, it must be remembered that all of them are made of pottery, which would be less conducive to the construction of a slender stand than would be a precious metal, which clearly seems to be the material of many of the royal/cultic

examples

depicted on the monuments of either end of the Fertile Crescent. In terms of ornamentation, the ring molding which is the ubiquitous decoration elsewhere on ancient Near Eastern stands appears also in Syria-Palestine. leaves

In addition, downward-turned

(lotus or lily petals?), giving the impression of floral

capitals, occasionally appear.

Such occurrence, however, is

infrequent and tends to be linked to archaeological contexts under Aegeo-Egyptian

influences.

Unlike seals and sculpture, which invariably convey at least the general idea of the role intended for a particular object, actual artifacts recovered through archaeological excavation are not so readily identified with respect to function. If any impression at all can be gained, it is the feeling that the various objects described as stands cannot and should not

77 always be assigned to a specific job.

The functional fluidity

that we supposed above, p. 58, does in fact exist and prevents exact identification except under special circumstances. D. Aegean evidence The appearance of certain elements in the Syro-Palestinian area with relationships to the Aegeo-Egyptian world, such as the double-bowl lamp and the downward-turned petal motif, indicate that this comparative survey cannot be completed without an inquiry into relevant material, if there be such, from the Mediterranean island and coastal areas.

At the outset it can

be noted that mainly Cyprus and Crete, in addition to certain Punic settlements, have produced artifactual data which are pertinent to our concerns.

In other words, such information

exists only in those regions subject to direct exposure to Egyptian and/or Semitic culture. While excavations on Crete have produced lamps of various sizes and types from the Minoan period, surely the "aristocrat" of Minoan lamps is the tall stone stand with lamp often of one 95 piece with it. The earliest examples seem to come from the Middle Minoan III period towards the beginning of the 2nd quarter of the 2nd millennium.

They continue through the Late

Minoan period, in the middle of the 2nd millennium, at least until the destruction of Knossos. From some basement rooms of the palace of Minos at Knossos come a series of these stone lamps from the Middle Minoan III period which the excavator supposes, though he does not say why, were intended for ritual use. considered "secular."

They could equally be

One of the finest examples (fig. 34) is

a purple gypsum stand with a fluted quatrefoil shaft, a capital of sorts somewhere below the top of the shaft, and a foliated rim on the bowl-shaped receptacle (with no spout or nozzle) formed above the capital. The capital itself is adorned with 97 stylized leaves or flower petals. A similar object (fig. 35) 98 comes from Palaikastro m the Cyclades. In this instance, the "capital" appears as a bulge in the center or most constricted portion of the shaft, which flares at both ends. From the same group as the Knossos 99 example comes a steatite stand with similar decoration. This stand is

78 interesting in that the shaft, like that in fig. 34, assumes a quatrefoil form which passes upwards into the bowl, giving it a shape that is strikingly reminiscent of the pottery stand from Beth Shan described above, p. 75.

In the Late Minoan I period,

the same type of stand is found, though the decoration has become somewhat more conventionalized.

Stands with quatrefoil

bowls and fluting as well as ones with round bowls and normallyfluted shafts are represented.''''"' Unfortunately, most of the occurrences cited are published without scale; we can only guess that they appear to be around .50 m. in height though some may be as high as a meter.

There

can be no mistake, however, about the basic form, that of a small column with a spreading lower portion but rarely a distinct base, a decorated or fluted shaft, and a distinct capital.

The floral and leaf motifs appearing on the capital and/

or around the rim of the lamp bowl exhibit distinct Egyptian influences."'"®"''

Evans goes even further and relates the quatre-

foil form specifically to the four-stemmed, bunched lotiform 102 column (fig. 55) of the Twelfth Dynasty. Not until the 6th century in Cyprus do we find additional pertinent artifactual material.

This century marks the begin-

ning of a form of metal stand, either bronze or iron, widely found in the Aegean area.

Richter has usefully classified

these stands according to two t y p e s . H e r

Type I (fig. 36)

is characterized by the appearance of one or 104 more--often three—rows of lotus petals turned downward.

The decorated

shaft is surmounted by three scrolled supports or prongs, joined together by a ring which serves as a holder for a saucer lamp.'''®"'

This type typically does not have its own extended

shaft but rather is fitted, below the petals, with a tubular socket for the insertion of a wooden shaft."''®®

This type is

found mainly in Cyprus and shows 107 a noticeably oriental, specifically Egyptian, influence. Richter's Type II has a plain, unornamented shaft which typically ends in a tripodal base consisting of three hoofed feet.

These are more widely found, occurring in Etruria (main-

ly as candlestands of the 6th century and later) and in the Roman Empire (mainly preserved in a large group of over 100

79 examples from Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as in Cyprus). However, the Cypriote examples are distinct in often being sur108 mounted by a volute capital or Cypriote-Ionic form. Clearly, Cyprus has its own artistic traditions in which EgyptoOriental influences are much stronger than in Aegean mainland areas. Turning from the excavated materials themselves to representations on slabs, stelae, and seals, we find depicted a distinctive type of stand.

A Tyrian example with three rows of

downward-curving petals has already been cited (fig. 27 and p. 74).

A similar object (fig. 37), placed before a deity seated

upon a throne supported by a winged sphinx, is shown on a seal that can be dated only roughly to somewhere between the 9th and 109 the 7th centuries. Three inverted lilies and three horizontal ledges appear on the upper portion of a cylindrical stand, flaring at the bottom and standing about a meter in A fire flares forth from the uppermost ledge, which is

height.

presumably an incense bowl. scene.

A winged disc appears above the

Another seal (fig. 38) shows an almost identical object

before a standing god dressed in Egyptian style.''""'"''

In this

case the petal decorations have become completely stylized.

No

demarcation of individual petals is discernible; the three rows of petals appear as bulbous projections beginning at the point towards the center of the stand where constriction is the greatest.

Above these projections are two ledges which have

merged, indicating a container for incense.

Above this con-

tainer is a high conical shape, much like that found on Assyrian seals.

An astral symbol is in the field above.

This seal

seems to be transitional to the next group of representations. This somewhat later group, from the 4th-3rd centuries, appears on Punic stone sculptures.

Two stelae from Carthage

(figs. 39 and 40) show tall, slender stands with flaring bottoms, almost identical except for the squaring-off of the flared bottom on one of them.

Both have three substantial

bulbous projections surmounted by footed or pedestalled bowls with a flame issuing forth.

And on the famous Lilybaeum lime-

stone votive tablet from Sicily

(fig. 41) is carved a shoulder-

high stand with three very conventionalized projections above

80

which is a bowl-within-a-bowl and from which a stylized coneshaped fire or lid emerges. The oldest of the representations of this type of stand occur on seals of archaic style with obvious Egyptianizing tendencies.

The earliest of them also depict the characteristic

series of three projections in the unmistakable form of downward-curved leaves or flowers, clearly surmounted by a bowl which often has a high foot, giving it the appearance of a chalice.

In all cases the base is the by now familiar cylin-

drical shaft with flaring lower portion. are mostly incised reliefs.

The later depictions

On them, the individual character

of the down-turned petals is lost.

Perhaps because of the

flatness of such reliefs that sort of detail could not be presented so successfully as on seals, which are carved in low relief.

In any case, the floral motif is now stylized into a

series of three projections surmounted by a flaming bowl.

It

is interesting to note that this convention passes directly to 113 Etruscan and Greek thymiateria. Summary From the Aegean area we have seen a variety of stands occuring over an extended period of time, executed in stone and in metal and carved on seals and slabs.

Just as in the ancient

Near East itself, a basic form appears, be it used for incense and/or light, and continues throughout.

If the earliest Minoan

stands do not seem as slender as their Near Eastern counterparts, that is merely a function of their being executed in stone.

The cylindrically-shafted pedestal, from Minoan to Pun-

ic times, flares at the bottom and is decorated by a floral capital or by a series of such "capitals" in petal form or as stylized projections.

It is precisely the earliest Phoenician

examples from the Aegean that bear the greatest Egyptian influence and that first contain the projections in series, usually of three, with the surmounting bowl constituting a fourth projection.

When this type of decoration is widely applied to

metal forms beginning in the 6th century, it is not the tripodal stand which commonly receives such a decoration but rather the stand which consists of a wooden shaft surmounted by a decorated metal support for a lamp.

81 III.

Conclusions This extensive consideration of the archaeological

sources

which bear upon an understanding of the menorah has made it abundantly clear that the basic shape of a stand used for any of a variety of purposes in the ancient Near East is one which is quite consistent with the Exodus descriptions.

The

"thick-

ened stem" indicated by the biblical terminology can undoubtedly be understood as a reference to the flaring or thickened lower portion of the stand.

It is also obvious that none of

the ancient versions of the Hebrew Bible comprehended this. Perhaps what has happened is that, with the widespread use of base metal stands beginning in the 6th century, the old cylindrical stand executed generally in wood or pottery for secular or local cultic use and in precious metals or fine stone for royal or official-cult ceremonial purposes, passed out of usage.

By the time of the Second Temple, therefore, this ancient

tradition had been superseded by the introduction of solid metal stands with distinct and usually three-footed bases. Furthermore, with respect to the stand, the impression given by the text that m i J D denotes at least in some instances only the central or main part of a composite, branched object and not the object as a whole must be recalled.

The validity

of this impression becomes apparent with the realization that the Urform

for any lampstand would indeed be a stand that is

simple in shape and outline, regardless of its decoration.

The

projection of three branches from either side of the central stand would be morphologically secondary, though no less important, to the construction of the basic form. The ambiguity of the texts in the matter of lamps is also more comprehensible in the light of archaeological data.

The

chief receptacle of the priestly stand and its branches is clearly the V 2 3 , or bowl; the ~linS3 and m s tinctly subsidiary.

elements are dis-

Throughout the ancient Near East, includ-

ing the Aegean, the uppermost feature of all types of stands is bowl-shaped.

Sometimes it is a separate object, detachable

from the supporting pedestal.

Other times it is attached to

the stand itself, forming one continuous object, complete by itself.

In the latter case, the bowl is often still an

82

identifiable shape, as if it in fact could be removed. many times it merges totally into the stand.

But

If the stand is

completely hollow, as may be suspected in the case of some of the "Vasenaltare" from Early Mesopotamia, stand and receptacle in fact become one and the same. Insofar as the bowl on the central stand is analogous to the bowl-shaped receptacles typically found on ancient stands, including certain Palestinian pottery stands which supported lamps, the possibility exists that the Urform of the menorah, as a support for a light, did in fact have a single light source upon the central stand.

The single lamp tradition dis-

cernible in the biblical text indeed would reflect such a circumstance.

On the other hand, the appearance of the seven-lamp

tradition is also consonant with our knowledge of certain seven-spouted Palestinian lamps and perhaps also with the seven-pointed flames of Assyrian incense stands.

Yet even in

this case, all the lamps would be associated with the central bowl.

Thus far we have come across no reason to believe that

seven separate lamps were distributed on the ends of seven branches, especially since the concept of a seuen-branched object does not appear in the biblical sources and since the fabrication of lamps is not an integral part of the menorah's construction. The complex decoration on the tabernacle menorah can be related to certain decorative elements in ancient stands. Whereas the basic shape of the stand is widespread in time and place in the ancient Near East, the appearance of certain features of design that are analogous to those found on the tabernacle menorah can be somewhat localized geographically and temporally.

The rather ubiquitous ring or series of rings found

on stands from earliest times becomes, in the Aegeo-EgyptoCanaanite sphere a series of downward-turned floral capitals. The earliest evidence for such decoration is found on pottery stands from the end of the Late Bronze Age in Palestine, precisely when the cultural connections of the Syro-Palestinian area with Cyprus and the Aegean are most marked and when Egypt dominates politically.

However, prototypes can be seen earlier

in the elegant Minoan stone stands and in certain secular examples from Egypt and Assyria.

83 Actually, it is not so much the actual detail of the decoration, such as the use of a triple floral form, which strikes us as most important.

Rather it is the shift in conception of

the stand from a simple and functional device to an object which assumes architectonic elements and thereby becomes important in and of itself.

We can never assume that details of

construction are included for purely decorative and aesthetic motivations.

On the contrary, despite whatever aesthetic ex-

pressiveness is achieved by the incorporation of ornamental features, the transition from the simple archaic support to a stand with architectural forms embodied in it must be accompanied by a change in focus. longer its sole raison d'etre.

The function of the stand is no The shape, now rooted in Aegeo-

Egyptian columnar traditions, must be seen as being equally significant. In this way, an object which had been primarily an apparatus—witness the wide range of purposes it served—became at the same time a vehicle of communication.

Of course the ele-

ment of "form" is present in every object without exception inasmuch as all things are comprised of both matter and form. Unfortunately, there is no way of recovering with any sort of accuracy to what degree in a given case the element of form takes precedence.

However, the marked shift from a simple ob-

ject to one which incorporates certain embellishing features in a consistent fashion cannot be seen as an arbitrary occurrence. The noted art historian Erwin Panofsky has pointed out that where the sphere of practical object leaves off and that of symbolic artistic object begins depends upon the intention of its creator, an intention which never can be defined precisely, given its subjective nature, but which nonetheless can be recognized as being conditioned by the standards of the ar114 tisan's period and environment. He goes on to say that 'Intentions' can only be formulated in terms of alternatives: a situation has to be presumed in which the maker of the work had more than one possibility of procedure, that is to say, in which he found himself confronted with a problem of choice between various modes of emphasis. 1 1 5 The use of architectonic decorative elements for the tabernacle menorah must be viewed against this backdrop.

If in

84 fact there was an Urform of a simple stand with a single light in hoary Israelite tradition as well as in ancient Near Eastern tradition, the object presented by the text is highly elaborate in comparison.

It distinctly contains a series of embellish-

ments which bring to this appurtenance not only the value of a practical cult object but also artistic and therefore symbolic value of some kind.

At this point it must be recalled that the

six branches issuing forth from the central stand have incorporated the same features into its construction.

Thus the ex-

istence of the branches must be confronted along with the columnar features if the symbolic value of the object as a whole is to be approached. The appearance of the triple capital decoration in stylized form, which in fact creates three projections on either side of the central stand in Phoenician art, might be seen as relevant to the branched object of the tabernacle.

However,

the full-blown nature of the branches, each with its own series of ornamentation, cannot be properly understood on such a basis alone.

Yet none of the archaeological evidence already pre-

sented can provide assistance in this respect.

Nothing in the

realm of stands, cultic or otherwise, can be related to the branched form of the menorah.

Evidently we must look in other

directions for an understanding of this aspect of the menorah. It has long been recognized that because of the language employed to describe the menorah and because of its assumed appearance as a thickened stem or shaft from which branches project that the whole shape strongly resembles that of a stylized tree.

S. A. Cook pointed this out some time ago, largely on

the basis of its representation in later Jewish art. have it "laid down as a rule that the candlestick

He would

[sic] and

sacred tree inevitably tend to merge into one another."''''''® Goodenough also suggests this, pointing out that the vision of Zechariah, with trees flanking the menorah, perhaps preserve the original meaning of plant form imbued with sanctity. 1 1 7 Therefore, the next step in this study of the menorah must consist of determining to what extent the iconography of sacred trees in the ancient Near East can inform our task.

NOTES CHAPTER III •""Exod 25: 37; 35:14; 37:23; 39:14. 2

1 Kgs 7:49 and 2 Chr 4:21.

^Cf. Exod 39: 37, "the lampstand of pure gold and (a) its lamps with the lamps set and (b) all its utensils." 4 See Lev 24:4 and Num 8:4, where the m i J D and not its lamps are described as being of hammered work of gold. The actual material of the lamps is nowhere specified. Possibly they were clay lamps—if not of gold they would hardly be of another metal; cf. Gen. R. 20:7, m a Din >10 2HT >t!f r i l M , 5

So 1 Kgs 7:49, 1 Chr 28:14, and 2 Chr 4:3.

^Cultically, such stands also might be called offering stands if they supported a bowl or plate containing some material, liquid or solid, presented as an offering. Furthermore, on a purely cultic level, such stands might exist as pillars alone, with no functional value, only a symbolic one. ^The typological confusion that results from this merger lies behind much of the discussion of Jachin and Boaz. See especially the article of W. F. Albright, "Two Cressets from Marisa and the Pillars of Jachin and Boaz," BASOR 85 (1942), pp. 18-27 (and also Alii, pp. 144-47) and that of May, "Two Pillars," pp. 19-27. Part of Albright's argument revolves around trying to identify the objects of the Marisa paintings as cressets, as opposed to lampstands; actually, we cannot agree with his arguments, but that is a separate matter. o Exod 30:9 refers to the incense altar: "You shall offer no unholy incense therein, nor burnt offering, nor cereal offering; and you shall pour no libation thereon." g Perhaps it was the failure to do so that led G. E. Wright to conclude that while many other utensils of the sanctuary could be archaeologically identified, the "golden candlesticks" (of the Solomonic temple) found little by the way of archaeological corroboration. See his "Solomon's Temple Resurrected," BA 4 (1941), p. 29. ''""so Henri Frankfort, The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient, London: Penguin Books, 1956, p. 2. See also Samuel N. Kramer, The Sumerians, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963, p. 70. •^Saucer lamps are a Canaanite development and are commonly found in Syria-Palestine beginning in the early part of the 2nd millennium. For unknown reasons, this usage did not spread beyond this area until the Iron Age, so Smith, "Household Lamps," p. 4. 85

86 12 At the New Year's festival at Babylon, for example, there are instructions for the uses of torches, gizilli. See F. Thureau-Dangin, Rituels Aeeadiens, Paris: Editions Ernest Leroux, 1921, pp. 12 and 13, 346 and 347. 13

The carved designs on cylinder seals are the source of most of our knowledge of Mesopotamian religious iconography and symbolism. See AEI, pp. 48-49. 14 See C. Leonard Wooley, "The Excavations at Ur, 1925-26," AJ 6 (1926) , p. 376 and PI. L U I a , for a discussion of the artifact and an illustration of both registers. 15

Pictured in AOB, PI., CCXII, #530; cf. p. 153.

16

Woolley, AJ 6 (1926), PI. LIVb and pp. 376ff.

17

L . Legrain, "Boudoir of Queen Shubab," MJ 20 (1929), cf. p. 226. 18

James Pritchard, ANEP, pp. 321-22 (#601) summarizes the various understandings of the object as well as of the enigmatic figure to its right. 19

I n AOB, p. 128. 9n AOB, PI. CCLIII, #661, and pp. 188f. For similar stands on cylinder seals, see SCWA, figs. 1241, 1242. 21

Berlin: Karl Curtius Verlag, 1925.

22

Pp.

33-34.

23 Anton Moortgat, Vorderasiatisehe Verlag Gebr Mann, 1940, p. 139. 24 Moortgat, p. 144.

Rollsiegel,

Berlin:

25 We only can speculate as to the use of this lid. Perhaps it was to prevent the coals from spilling out when the stand was being carried, this whole class of stands being notably portable. In addition, the lid may have absorbed some of the heat of the incense fire, a consideration not unimportant to a heavily-garbed priest during the hot months. 26

pp. 154-55.

21

p. 154.

A0B, AOB,

2

®This is beautifully reproduced in Walter Andrae, Farbige Keramik aus Assur, Berlin: Scarabaeus Verlag, 1923, Pis. 26 and 29, and pp. 23 and 25. A very similar stand, undated but stylistically very close to these examples, is found on a stone relief shown in C. J. Gadd, The Stones of Assyria, London: Chatto and Windus, 1936, PI. 42 and p. 194. This may be one of very few "secular" depictions of such a stand, which appears at the entrance of a building in a royal park. However, this building very well may be a shrine within a temple grove.

87 29 AOB, PI. CCXIII, #535, and p. 155. wall relief of Assurbanipal from Nineveh. 30

AOB,

This appears on a

PI. LXVII, #148 and #149, and p. 50.

^^"AOB, PI. CIX, #257 is an example. On the same seal mentioned above, n. 24, there appear two such "symbols" alongside the very similar, though larger, incense stand. 32 49. 33

PI. 10, figs. 21 and 22.

See the discussion on pp. 48-

Cf. ARI, pp. 49-53.

34

So Albert Neuburger, The Teahniaal Arts and Sciences of the Anaients, trans. Henry L. Blose, London: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1930, p. 236. This may be a somewhat extreme view, but it is nonetheless true that saucer lamps were rare outside Syria-Palestine before the Iron Age. See above, n. 11. 35 See H. S. Harrison, "Fire-Making, Fuel, and Lighting," HT I: 234. ^ F o r other examples, see William Stevenson Smith, History of Egyptian Sculpture and Painting in the Old Kingdom, London: Oxford University Press, 1946, Pis. 32a and 45b. 37 Ibid., Pi. 33a and PI. 32b. The former has a very curious design, perhaps a fenestration, on its shaft. oo Ibid., p. 160; this is one of the best-preserved slabstelae of this period. 9 Ibid., pp. 142, 143; this is one of the earliest private slabs perhaps dating to the end of the Second Dynasty. 40 See William Stevenson Smith, The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt, Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1958, PI. 57. 4 ^See, e.g., Georg Steindorff, Die Kunst der Agypter, Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1928, p. 209; Georges Perrot and Charles Chipiez, History of Art in Ancient Egypt, 2 vols., trans. Walter Armstrong, London: Chapman and Hall, Limited, 1883, Vol. I, fig. 115, p. 175; and Irmgard Woldering, The Arts of Egypt, London: Thames and Hudson, 1967, PI. 53. 42 See E. Baldwin Smith, Egyptian Architecture as Cultural Expression, New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1938, p. 77. 43

Steindorff, p. 252.

ii

A0B,

45

p. 157.

Cf. AOB, PI. CCXVI, #539, which shows a pair of thighhigh stands in a scene of Akhenaten and his wife before the sun.

88 46

See the example noted above, n. 45, and our fig. 17.

47

The example shown in fig. 16 supports a blossom alone, as does the example in n. 45. Both jars and blossoms appear on A OB, PI. CXV, #271 and on two stelae of Sethos I, one found at Hauran (AOB, PI. XL, #90) and one at Beth Shan (Alan Rowe, "The Two Royal Stelae of Beth Shan," MJ 20 [1929], p. 88). 48 For several examples grouped together, see Karl Wigand, "Thymiateria," BJ 122 (1912), PI. I: 6, 7, 8. The first example is from the Middle Kingdom, the second from the New Kingdom, and the third from a later Ethiopic relief. 49 For general views of the front and side of the throne, see W. S. Smith, Art and Architecture, Pis. 148a, 149. 50

See Galling, PI. 2, #20.

^ W . F. Albright, lahweh and the Gods of Canaan, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1968, p. 151. He further points out that despite all the excavation, surprisingly few clear-cut temple plans have been recovered. 52 Yigael Yadin, "The Third Season of Excavation at Hazor, 1957," BA 21 (1958), p. 35. 53 See John Gray, The Canaanites (Ancient Peoples and Places, vol. 38), London: Thames and Hudson, 1964, pp. 71-73. ^ N o t e Josephus1 comment, War VII: 148-149, concerning the lampstand carried off by Titus: "a lampstand, likewise made of gold, but constructed on a different pattern from those of ordinary life." 55 ; G- Ernest Wright, "Lamps, Politics, and the Jewish Religion," BA 2 (1939), p. 23. See Smith, "Household Lamps," for a comprehensive treatment of the development of lamps in Palestine . 56 See Ruth Amiran, Ancient Pottery of the Holy Land, Jerusalem: Masada Press, 1969, Photo. 82 (p. 81) and Pis. 22:11, 23:9, 24:13, and 59:1. 57

See Smith, "Household Lamps," p. 14.

58

See the illustrations collected by North, pp. 189, 195,

201.

59 By North and Mohlenbrink, already mentioned, as well as by Kurt Galling, Biblisches Reallexicon (Handbuch zum Alten Testament I), Tubingen: Verlag von J.C.B. Mohr, 1937, cols. 348:10 and 349. 60 61

P . 303.

See PMK I: 577, 579. It does bear a resemblance, especially the handled specimens, to low colonial candleholders. See Smith, "Household Lamps," Fig. 7, upper right.

89 62 William Frederic Bade, Excavations at Tell en-Nasbeh (Palestine Institute Publication, no. 1), Berkeley: Professional Press, 1928, p. 49. 6Z

Ibid.,

p. 50.

64 Frederick Jones Bliss, A Mound of Many Cities, London: A. P. Watt & Son, 1894, p. 84. W. Crowfoot et al, The Objects from Samaria (SamariaSebaste, vol. Ill), London: Palestine Exploration Fund, 1957, p. 182. ®®For a partial collection of Palestinian examples, see CPP, PI. 91. There seems to be only one occurrence in the northern, Syrian area, at Ras Shamra; see Claude F. A. Schaeffer, Ugaritica II (Bibliothèque Archéologique et Historique, 47), Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Guethner, 1949, Fig. Ill: 2, 6. ^PMK I, gives a Fourth Dynasty Egyptian example, Fig. 423a, as well as a similar Early Minoan II specimen, Fig. 423b. John L. Myres, "Excavations in Cyprus in 1894: IV - Larnaka: Graeco-Phoenician and Hellenic Tombs," JHS 17 (1897), Fig. 12: 12, 13, shows some "Graeco-Phoenician" examples from a tomb, No. 56, with many Egyptian affinities. fi 8

Such as P. L. 0. Guy and Robert Engberg, Megiddo Tombs (OIP, XXXIII), Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938, p. 5. ^ E l i h u Grant and G. Ernest Wright, Ain Shems Excavations Part IV (Pottery), Haverford: Biblical and Kindred Studies (No. 7), 1938, PI. XL: 29 shows a double-bowl lamp of which the interior is blackened by smoke. See also Crowfoot et al, p. 106, Q4 741, which likewise bears traces of burning. ^®For other more technical considerations, see Smith, "Household Lamps," pp. 16-17. ^ M . F. Laming Macadam, Temples of Kawa II. History and Archaeology of the Site, London: Oxford University Press, 1955, Pl. XV. Temple T is from the 7th century, but it is carefully and consciously modeled on Old Kingdom architecture and decoration. 72 The repeated use of n>V, in the Hiphil, with , seems to suggest the lighting of the lamp, causing a light or flame to ascend. Whereas there are biblical expressions for the burning or shining of a light or lamp ("1V3, m J ) and the extinguishing of a lamp ( m 3 , "]VT) , there seems to be no term for the lighting of a lamp unless we take ÏÏ>V in this sense. In this case U would be used not so much as a lamp vessel but rather as a "light" equivalent to Tin or T1KO. This is not an uncommon usage of ~U in the Bible; see, e.g., Prov 13:9.

90 73 Smith, Household Lamps," p. 16. Could the biblical insistence upon pure olive oil be to dissociate it from the use of other fuel? 74

See Chapter Fourteen, "Cult Vessels," pp. 302-303.

^Bernard Goldman, The Sacred. Portal, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1966, deals with the iconographic motifs represented in this form; see especially pp. 94-100. 76

See Amiran, Photo 331.

11

Ibid.., Photos 332, 333, 334, 339, 341, 342; this is only a partial selection. 78 See, e.g., Herbert Gordon May, Material Remains of the Megiddo Cult (OIP, 26), Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935, PI. XVII, M2702. The Late Bronze II date given by May is tentative and perhaps too early, as is the provisional 12th century date given for a similar stand from Beth Shan. 79 We also shall not consider here the bulging, handled, often painted and fenestrated objects (see Amiran, Photos 336, 343, 344, 345) which seem to have a separate typology and development. 80

See Amiran, Photos 332, 334. OT Cf. Galling 1 s analysis, Der Altar, p. 70 and PI. 14. 82

May, Material Remains, PI. XX, P6056, shows the funnelshaped projection; cf. pp. 21-22. 83

A0B,

PI. CLXXXV, #446.

84 A full-size color reproduction can be found in his Tell et Mutesellim I, Leipzig: Rudolf Haupt, 1908, frontispiece. See p. 128, Fig. 190, for a section drawing. 8 5Material Remains, p. 21. O f: Albright, "Two Cressets," p. 22, prefers a 6th century date to the "subjective" 4th century one proposed by its excavator, Dussaud. o7 See May, Material Remains, p. 22. It comes from an Iron I "sacred area" and it bears remarkable similarity to those Egyptian examples mentioned above, pp. 71-72 and n. 71. 89 Smith, "Household Lamps," p. 23, makes the entirely credible suggestion that Elisha's lampstand, 2 Kgs 4:8-10, was just such a pedestalled lamp insofar as the text mentions only the stand, or m i 3D, and not a separate lamp to go with it.

91 90 See Robert Mond and Oliver Myers, The Buaheum, 3 vols., London: Egypt Exploration Society, 1934, Vol. Ill, Pl. CXL, no. 57. 91 Smith, "Household Lamps," p. 9, supposes that the few examples of this type probably served a cultic function. 92 See R. A. S. MacAlister, The Excavation of Gezer, 3 vols., London: John Murray, 1912, Vol. I: 322. It is obvious from this group that lamps or bowls do not need basal projections in order to be inserted in stands or other vessels. 93 The best-known examples come from Tell Beit Mirsim (William Foxwell Albright, The Excavation of Tell Beit Mirsim III [AASOR XXI-XXII for 1941-43], New Haven: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1943, Pis. 57:b, 2 and 32:2) and Tell enNasbeh (Joseph Carson Wampler, Tell en-Nasbeh II, Berkeley: Palestine Institute of the Pacific School of Religion, 1947, PI. 71:1645). Smith, "Household Lamps," p. 23, sees these 7th century stands as stylized trees, with the stubs representing branches. That is possible, but I rather would see the stubs as prongs, prototypical of the graceful, pronged bronze stands, or rather attachments for wooden shafts, of the 6th century or later. Of course, the resemblance to a tree may derive from the fact that this form derives ultimately from a simple wooden prototype, such as a trimmed, forked tree branch. 94

See, e.g., the tall chalice, really a stand with attached bowl, from Megiddo, in May, Material Remains, Pl. XIV: P5824, which is discolored by fire and which May thinks may have been used as a lamp. 95 See James Walter Graham, The Palaces of Crete, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1962, pp. 214-15. 9è

PMK

III: 26.

97

PME II: 321 and III: 26. See also Vol. II, Part II: 480-81 and fig. 288a for an elegant pedestalled lamp with campanaform capital and spiral "sacred ivy" fluting, both features bearing Egyptian influence. 98 R. Dussaud, Les civilizations préhelleniques dans le basin de la Mer Egée, Paris: Geuthner, 1914, p. 116, notes that similar examples have been found at Mycenae and Phylacopi. PMK III, Fig. 14b. 100

Ibid., Fig. 325.

II, pt. 1, Fig. 62a and b, Fig. 174, and pt. 2,

101 S e e Graham, Palaces of Crete, p. 215, Raymond Matton, La Crète Antique, Athens: Institut Français d'Athènes, 1955, p. 100, and PMK II, pt. 2, pp. 522 and 480.

102 Ibid. Cf. E. B. Smith, Egyptian Architecture as Cultural Expression, Pl. XXX: 2, which shows such a capital from the

92 Twelfth Dynasty Beni Hasan tombs. Such columns imitated bundles of four reeds or palm branches, bound together as supports of houses. ^"^Gisela M. A. Richter, Greek, Etrusoan, and Roman Bronzes, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1915, p. 366. 104

S e e ibid., Pis. 1270, 1272, 1277.

^"""see above, n. 93, with respect to the miniature pottery stands from Palestine. "'"^Compare the curious existence in a verse found only in the Greek, Exod 38:16 (following the Greek translation of Hebrew 37:19), of the use of "sockets" (évôêvua) for the placement of the lamps of the menorah. 107 There are 57 known examples of this type in existence, the largest number (32) having been found on Cyprus. They are so similar in style and manufacture that a common origin for them has been postulated; see Isabelle Raubitschek, "Phoenician Bronze Lamp Stands or Thymiateria" (abstract), AJA 78 (1974), p. 175. Ms. Raubitschek's designation Phoenician may need to be qualified somewhat—they are of the type of Phoenician workmanship that flourished chiefly on Cyprus and Samos. 108 The ultimate origin of this form, first appearing structurally as the Proto-Ionic capitals of Palestine in the 10th century, is uncertain. Some have suggested, as Dussaud, p. 280, a Cypriote origin. Others, such as Robert Engberg, "Tree Designs on Pottery with Suggestions concerning the Origin of the Proto-Ionic Capital," in May, Material Remains, pp. 3542, suggest a North Syrian origin. 109 So Albright, Two Cressets, p. 22. The seal presumably is Cypriot. Cf. the stand from Sardinia depicted in Wigand, Pl. II, #52. According to Wigand, this stand is also before a god seated on a sphinx throne. Wigand dates it to the 7th or 6th century; Albright, "Two Cressets," p. 23, would raise it to the 9th century because of its archaic style. "'"''"^Albright, ibid., p. 23, tentatively dates it to the 6th century. •'••''''"Georges Perrot and Charles Chipiez, Histoire de l'art dans l'antiquité , Vol. III: Phénioie-Chypre, Paris: Libraire Hachette et Cie, 1885, p. 134, connect these representations with the bronze stands from Cyprus because of the triple inverted petal decoration. 11 ? Ibid., p. 309. Albright, "Two Cressets," p. 23, gives this a 4th century date. 113 See Wigand, Pis. II and III. Wigand, while beginning his study with Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Palestinian examples, is most interested in the Greek-Hellenistic and Etruscan-Roman worlds; thus his work is useful in following the post-Phoenician developments.

93 114 Meaning in the Visual Arts, Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1955, p. 12. Ibid. , p. 21. 116

" N o t e s and Queries," PEF,QS

1903, p. 186.

JSGRP IV: 73. A similar reaction comes from the discipline of botany: Nogah Hareureni, in Ecology in the Bible, Kiryat Ono, Israel: Neot Kedumim, Ltd., 1974, p. 48, posits a direct relationship between the menorah and a specific plant, viz., a type of sage or salvia called "Moriah" in Hebrew. A photograph of the Moriah plant appears on the cover of this book.

CHAPTER IV THE SACRED TREE IN ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN ICONOGRAPHY I.

Introduction:

General

Considerations

It is hardly an exaggeration to indicate that the sacredness of vegetation and trees has been a recurrent and integral theme in a wide range of cultures spanning most areas of the globe and most epochs of human history.

Indeed, no symbol en-

joys such a widespread and influential position as the sacred tree.

As a result, in every culture in which the sanctity of

vegetal life is a potent factor, a whole constellation of beliefs and customs have accrued to the symbol of the tree.

The

characteristics of such a constellation are conditioned by the localized environment in which it appears and are expressed best by the mythic and ritualistic traditions which surround and preserve its sanctity within a given civilization.

Tracing

these various expressions is the domain par excellence of comparative religion.^ Insofar as we have eschewed already the propriety of searching out the mythology connected with a symbol as a means 2 of approaching its value within a neighboring culture, the particular mythological cycles adjoined to the sacred tree concept among Israel's neighbors cannot be a concern here.

How-

ever, we cannot continue without recognizing that certain basic life themes are found transmitted within this symbol regardless of the particular mythic way in which such themes are embedded in the primary symbol. The sacred quality of trees lies in the fact of their embodiment of the life principle.

They serve as the remarkable

and unfailing proof of the persistent renewal of life, of the periodic revivification of vegetative life upon which mankind is dependent for sustenance.

Since the ultimate source of this

life that renews is found within divine creation, trees become imbued with the divine power that has deigned to impart life and regeneration within the mundane sphere.

At least in the

Semitic world, sanctity of place thus becomes marked frequently if not invariably by the existence of a living tree or, in more 95

96

developed sanctuaries, some sort of surrogate plant life.

The

sacred tree thus stands at the center as indication of the 3 hieros topos. Indeed, Eliade has called it the most widely distributed variant of the symbolism of the center whereby all sacred trees, whether natural or artificial, are projected into and assimilated by the cosmic tree at the omphalos of the uni4

verse. The widespread association of vegetal life with the generative power of the divinity has resulted in the common phenomenon of the manifestation of deity within or at certain trees. The god, often a fertility deity, who would favor the exceptional growth and fecundity of particular trees, indicates his presence or the possibility of his presence at such locations. The god thus demonstrates his favorite haunts; the tree points the worshipper in the direction in which he likely is to encounter the deity he seeks. Furthermore, the divinity revealed in the tree is also the source of the hoped-for life without death, to whom man turns in search of his own immortality.

Thus the theophany motif of

the sacred tree becomes blended inextricably with the concept of life eternal.

The tree of life in the sense of immortal

life becomes an inseparable aspect of the regenerative principle contained within plant life."* The close association of divinity with tree is a frequently-expressed theme in the plastic art of the ancient Near East, throughout the whole "Indo-Mesopotamo-Egypto-Aegean" area.

A

divinity manifested in a tree can appear by means of the depiction of a dendromorphic deity with anthropomorphic arms outstretched from the tree, or through the depiction of fruitful branches extending from an anthropomorphic representation of the deity.

However, in either case it is doubtful that such

treatment renders the tree as an object sacred unto itself. Even in its most explicit identification with deity, the tree must have remained a vehicle, holy only in that it shared and 7

signified a transcendent reality.

It becomes a religious ob-

ject only by virtue of its unique ability to express something beyond itself.

In this sense it is truly a symbol, with all

the power that is contained in such an expression.

97 If, then, the mythology attached to the appearance of sacred trees is beyond our purview, the graphic morphology of tree symbols as they appear on the monuments and artifacts of Near Eastern antiquity is very much 'the concern of our investigation here.

We turn to graphic representations of vegetation-

al themes in the hopes that they can divulge information relevant to the tabernacle menorah that our philological and typological examinations could not supply. Specifically, we are interested in the opposite verticillate form assumed by the composite lampstand—the datum of the branches as pedicels extending in pairs from a rachis or primary axis indicates this particular botanical analogy, an Q

analogy that is useful if we are to deal with plant forms.

In

addition, the repetitive nature of the combined architectonic embellishments has yet to be properly illuminated.

Finally,

the seven-fold (or six-plus-one) nature of the arrangement of the branches has not been approached satisfactorily. It has been demonstrated already in Chapter III that the typological development of altar stands in the ancient Near East is grounded in a basic form that was established in the earliest historical sources and which continued relatively unchanged throughout the existence of the high cultures of preHellenic antiquity, or for as long as the cultural integrity was maintained.

This perhaps can be said about literary and

artistic patterns in general.

Certain forms and themes are es-

tablished early in the 3rd millennium and remain relatively 9 fixed thereafter,

allowing for secondary and regional influ-

ences throughout Near Eastern history to create recognizable and definable developments and variations in style. In any case, it is not illogical to search throughout the ancient Near East for forms which are part of the symbolic lingua franca and which therefore are relevant to the object we are trying to understand.

Our initial search, of course, lies

in the great civilizations of the Tigris-Euphrates and the Nile basins.

The peripheral regions of the Levant and of the east-

ern Mediterranean also draw our attention, but it must be remembered that these areas are dominated throughout most of their history by the surrounding cultures.

Their indigenous

98 artistic productions, except for periodic outbursts of purely native inspiration, always are colored by their contacts with the larger political powers with which they come in contact. II.

Comparative

Material A. Mesopotamia

It must be stated at the outset that there is an enormous wealth of material, chiefly in glyptic art but also in stone reliefs, for the study of the depictions of the sacred tree throughout Mesopotamian history.

Concomitant with this situa-

tion is a rather large literature on the subject.

Thus in no

way is it intended here to traverse the length and breadth of this subject.

The aim is rather to touch upon the overriding

trends anil prominent characteristics of arboreal representations that may inform our subject.

This will be done in a

chronological context, beginning with the earliest materials. The work of Nell Perrot'''1 must be credited with establishing the priority of the Elamite expression of the sacred tree for the subsequent diffusion of this motif throughout the ancient Near East.

In the earliest examples the fructifying

theme is present already in the typical appearance of an antithetical pair of animals flanking a tree. are found, but capridae are most prevalent.

Birds and serpents Strikingly enough,

in even the earliest representations the tree overwhelmingly appears in stylized form. Take, for example, the little tableau (fig. 42) found on a 12 bowl from Susa. The tree is partly naturalistic but the tendency towards stylization already is strong, as evidenced in the angular treatment of the branches and in the completely conventionalized depiction of the fruit as capitulae, or rounded terminal protuberances.

And on a large stone vase from

Protodynastic Mesopotamia (Khafaje), there is a tree (fig. 43) with six beautiful stylized branches appearing in corymbous fashion along a central trunk, with the leaves regularly ar13 ranged. However, it must be noted that the species of tree in the mind of the Elamite artist is not fixed; and various types of arrangements representing all three dendritic types as well as unrecognizable, fanciful forms do occur.

99 In addition to the tree thereby a third element also inders, namely, some sort of cent (moon), or disc (sun).

and the animal life nourished appears very early on Susian cylastral form (fig. 44): star, cresPerrot thus talks of a triple

theme—"capride-astre-arbre"—which typifies the Elamite 14 seals. The theme of the nourishing quality of the tree, indicated by the nibbling animals, is completed by the appearance of light sources necessary for vegetal growth. The oldest Mesopotamian depictions per se present themes that are very close to those of Elam,''"5 though in some cases the eagle replaces the tree.

For the first time, with the ap-

pearance of divine figures and human figures in worshipful positions, this theme takes us directly into the cultic sphere. The trees are very conventionalized and crude.

They may not be

intended to represent natural trees at all; in at least one instance (fig. 45) a tree situated between a suppliant and a deity is resting on a table-like support, and two bands around the upper portion of the trunk further contribute to the sense of artificiality. The last-mentioned arrangement brings to mind the series of altar stands discussed in Chapter III from the neo-Sumerian and also from the Early Dynastic period in which an upright branch and sometimes also two clusters of dates issue forth from the top of the stand.

The artificiality of the combina-

tion is revealed by the fact that it is never a palm tree that is depicted rising from the stand, despite the appearance of the date clusters.

In the earliest examples, only the branches

(usually two) are found, witness one very archaic seal (fig. 46) in which a typical cylindrical stand before the seated Ishtar has two spiked shoots, perhaps stalks of grain, projecting upwards from its t o p . ^ With the onset of the Akkadian period, the typical occurrence of the sacred tree places it in close association with the sacred mountain, thus bringing the cosmic force of the tree into the foreground. 18 In certain worship scenes, a tree serves first as a terminal motif on cylinders and then figures 19 as the focus of attention of the seated figure. Sometimes the trees are recognizable as conifers or as palms; otherwise, they are notably schematic and unidentifiable.

100

Even more interesting than the reproductions of trees, however, is the occurrence in the Akkadian period of the anthropomorphic deity of vegetation with branches sprouting from the body of the god. This is perhaps the fullest characterization possible of the divine power associated with the produc20 tion of plant life. The life-producing nature of the god is visually expressed by the vegetation growing from his/her corporeal form. In the most typical examples (fig. 48), the body of the deity serves as a sort 21 of central stem from which branch three pairs of grain stalks. One remarkable seal cylinder of Naram-Sin, son of Sargon, depicts a seated goddess from whose shoulders presumably (since the seal is damaged at her left shoulder) three pairs of wheat stalks come forth. But what is so striking is that behind the goddess is the unusual presence of a statue or idol of the same goddess, standing on a pedestal with the same three pairs of grain sprouting upwards from her 22

body. These are all very agricultural scenes, with the worshipper with plow in hand often represented before the sprouting deity. Also from the Akkadian period comes a group of seals expressing the nature of Shamash. These seals are fascinating when viewed in conjunction with the vegetation scenes just described. The sun god appears with one foot upon the cosmic mountain. In some cases the cosmic tree also is present, in a few instances the tree or branch on a stand appears, and in other instances Shamash appears to replace the tree in the arrangements of the elements of the tableau. What is significant is that the essence of the god in these scenes is revealed by 23 rays emanating from his shoulders. The arrangement of the rays (fig. 49) is exactly the same as the positioning of the grain stalks in the agricultural scenes mentioned above. Further, while four pairs or asymetrical groupings of the rays do exist, the overwhelming majority of seals feature six rays in pairs of two extending from the shoulders of the god with the head of the god as the central, seventh element between the three pairs. The essence of the deity as supplier of the sustaining light of the sun is expressed iconographically in a way that exactly parallels the expression of the deity as the source of vegetative sustenance.

101

This device of picturing emanations from the shoulders of gods seems to be a conscious artistic convention, employed to indicate the particular aspect of divine nature appropriate to the content of the seal design. The fact that at least two additional manifestations of such a convention can be isolated would support this contention. First, the part of Ishtar's nature which finds expression in her characterization as a huntress or warrior goddess is sometimes represented iconographically by the device of placing her upon a lion-throne. In addition, she is periodically shown (fig. 50) with a series of weapons, three or four pairs of them, rising from her shoul24 ders. Second, the well-known theme of the water god, or god with streams, is portrayed either by the god holding a vase from which two streams issue forth—a stream on each side of the god, each delineated by two lines standing for the two banks or edges of the rivers—or by the streams gushing forth from the body of the god himself, specifically from his shoul25 ders. Interestingly, in some instances (fig. 51), the convention as applied to vegetation or sun rays or weapons, in which usually three pairs of emanations appear, was so strong as to cause the gem cutter to defy the normal portrayal of streams by their banks and instead cut three pairs of lines to indicate the flowing water. On occasion, some of these themes are combined on the same seal. In at least one instance, both streams and 27 stalks issue forth in dendritic fashion from a vegetation god. A solar deity with flames projecting from his shoulders also appears on this cylinder. It is more usual, however, to find only one "branched deity" but to find him in juxtaposition with a nonanthropomorphic symbol of another of these themes. In particular, the flaming god appears, as already noted, upon the cosmic mountain either in addition to or instead of the cosmic tree. This specific association of themes of fertility and light must be seen, like the animal-tree-star/disc/crescent motif of earlier times, as an expression of the awareness of the dependence of nourishing organic life upon the light of the sun as well as upon the water of life absorbed by the roots of the 28

tree.

All these needs are supplied as the result of divine

beneficence.

102

With the advent of the neo-Sumerian period, many of the tree themes associated with the Susian monuments and artifacts reappear in similar form, namely the pair of animals flanking a schematic tree. Evidence that these Ur III examples follow close upon the Akkadian period comes from the fact that the sacred tree which nourishes the beasts—now largely bovidae 29 rather than capridae—grows from a stylized mountain. Otherwise from the neo-Sumerian period, the already mentioned appearance of the tall slender vase stand containing foliage and fruits is notable; the libations frequently attendant upon such scenes reinforce the conveyed notion of hoped-for fecundity. The iconography of the Old Babylonian period continues in the tradition of the Akkadian period, with many of the motifs discussed above represented. However, forms become conventionalized even more. The sacred mountain, for example, is reduced 30 to a mere footstool in some cases. This simplification of design tends to destroy the main theme and results in the composition becoming a conglomeration of isolated 31 figures rather than a coherent and integrated arrangement. As a result, both the strong cultic presentations of the Sumerian types and the forceful mythological portrayals of the Sargonid seals were weakened and diffused. It is Frankfort's tempting hypothesis— which certainly needs to be re-examined and tested in light of subsequently available materials—that the degeneration of the earlier coherent scenes into conglomerations of individual figures and objects is the result of an interest in symbolizing 32 astrological aspects of the universe. In any case, there is no new pertinent information available from Mesopotamian glyptic art until the influences of the Kassites in the south and the Hurri-Mitannians in the north are felt in the middle of the 2nd millennium. Particularly in the north, the sacred tree enjoys a resurgence of popularity which is paralleled in glyptic developments in the Syro-Hittite sphere and in the Aegean, particularly Cyprus. There are three ways in which the tree is used in Mitanni designs:33 1) as the central motif in an arrangement of antithetical animals of all sorts; 2) as an emblem, in the form of either a stylized pole or a schematic fruit-bearing staff, held by the deity or by two

103 human figures; and 3) as an accessory emblem in the field of design rather than as the center of a tableau. The first variety (fig. 52) is one with which we are familiar already; it merely might be said that the stylized form assumed by the tree in these cases tends to be that of a composite flowering plant, with the uppermost element depicted in clear umbellate or compound umbellate fashion. In the third variety, the tree is a subsidiary, more naturalistic element and offers no special information. It is the second type that constitutes the most frequent motif and which offers fresh material . This type of design is found chiefly in the corpus produced by the artisans of Nuzi from the 16th to the 14th centuries, but it is in evidence wherever the Hurrian influence is exerted, in Syria, in the Levant, and in the Kassite regime. In these seals the sacred tree appears in a distinct stylized shape which is not a tree at all but rather is a rod or branch adorned with a series of globular objects or "balls" no doubt representing in stylized form either the fruit and/or the flow34 ers of the branch. These artificial-appearing branches are 35 often hand held and usually consist of six "balls" joined to the rod by secondary axes generally of equal length, three on each side of the central axis plus a seventh at the top (fig. 53). Whenever this object is to be free-standing, the branch does not usually become elongated into a trunk. Instead, it appears, in rather schematic fashion, to be resting on a slender stand, the upper portion of which 3 6 is demarcated by one, two, or three exaggerated moldings. The symbolic associations and political implications of the rod as a branch broken offwith fromby the "Tree of 37 Life" "Sacred Tree" have been dealt Widengren. In or an ap38 pendix to his main thesis he discusses the so-called "ballstaff" described above and concludes that this object is indeed a seven-branched life-tree (or branch thereof) with its fruits. He points to the existence of these seven balls as a motif independent of the staff with which it came to be associated and eventually connected, in the literal sense. As independent elements, these balls, or seven dots, originally were scattered about as vague, undefined, and even

104 u n o b t r u s i v e — b u t always seven in n u m b e r — e l e m e n t s in the field 39 of seal designs.

With the advent of the interest in astron-

omy in the Old Babylonian period, the meaning of these dots seems to be transferred to a celestial framework in that they now are arranged carefully in rosettes, sun-like, or in astral formations like the constellation Pleiades.

If in fact it is

these seven dots which are incorporated into the pedicular arrangement of the branch of Mitanni seals, we would then have another example of the coalescence of a fertility symbol with a group imbued with celestial

significance.

This survey of the tree motif in Mesopotamia cannot be concluded without reference to its treatment in Assyrian art. The sacred tree becomes a dominant motif, ubiquitous and uncountable, appearing on stone monuments, on brick edifices, on cylinders, and on fabrics.

The artistic origins are to be

sought in the Mitannian portrayal of the composite plant form between antithetical animals.

This is evident in the earliest

Middle Assyrian seals of the 14th century, where the typical animals accompanying the tree are fanciful

creations—winged

griffons, sphinxes, and lion-griffons as opposed to capridae or herbidae. In the developed style of the neo-Assyrian period, when Assyria dominated western Asia, an artificial tree

(fig.41 54) is Cul-

the focus of innumerable seals of cultic preoccupation.

tic figures replace the antithetical animals, and the appearance of the fruit produced by the tree becomes of paramount importance.

The trunk of the tree, which certainly seems to have 42 is rendered as an

been derived originally from the date palm, artificial column.

The naturalistic tendencies which were

present in the earlier Assyrian designs are reserved now for non-cultic matters such as hunting scenes.

The artificiality

of the trunk is indicated by the three sets of triple molding, reminiscent of capitals, which characterize many of the trees.43

Even when the foliage is treated somewhat 44

the architectonic nature of the trunk persists.

naturally, The usual

treatment of the foliage and fruit, of course, is totally conventionalized and in many cases is extremely elaborate, giving full expression to the concerns for detail, symmetry, and

105 geometry which are present in Assyrian art in its most developed state. In keeping with the astral interests of the Assyrians, there are present also many celestial signs in the fields of scenes presenting the life-tree and attendant figures.

The one

which comes to dominate, however, is the winged solar disc, 45 symbol of Assur. This symbol occurs very frequently as an important part of the ritual tree scenes, positioned directly above the tree in a prominent way.

Its intimate symbolic con-

nection as supplier of light with the fecundity expressed by the tree is apparent. It might be added that neo-Babylonian and to a lesser extent some later Achaemenid seals are dependent to a large extent upon the themes and workmanship of Assyrian glyptic. Their subjects, style, and technique are all nearly 46 indistinguishable from contemporary Assyrian productions. Even after the fall of Nineveh and the accession of Babylon to political ascendancy, the traditions of the preceding age by and large are retained. Summary This conspectus of Mesopotamian arboreal themes has been somewhat extensive because the corpus is so large and also because of the importance of presenting the trends of the Mesopotamian material insofar as they tend to dominate much of the peripheral regions of the ancient Near East.

Whatever shall be

said subsequently about motifs in Syro-Hittite, Palestinian, and even Aegean productions cannot be understood properly without reference to the dominant force of the series of cultures which flourished in the Tigris-Euphrates basin.

Yet it must be

emphasized that in selecting the material deemed relevant to our task, unavoidably we have cut it off from its rich matrix. Further, even within the theme we are following, we only have touched in schematic fashion as dictated by our particular interests upon the vast possibilities for its elucidation. In terms of morphology, several interesting phenomena have been observed.

For one thing, the general tendency among Meso-

potamian artists or artisans is towards conventionalization and

106

stylization of their subjects. A desire to duplicate nature is consistently absent. Even the most detailed renditions of trees, for example, tend to be fanciful in conception with no regard for species. The second observation concerns the fact that as long as mythological or "secular" scenes are presented, a whole tree, no matter how stylized, appears. However, once the cultic sphere is entered and ritual scenes become the subject matter, tree branches are found in place of depictions of living arborescences. Furthermore, in such cultic scenes the importance of depicting fruit tends to increase, since the absence of attendant animals removes the usual device for conveying the fruitfulness of plant life. A third observation concerns our discovery that there exists a convention for expressing the essence of deity which assumes the typical form of six upward-reaching branches, in three pairs, extending from a central element which happens in Mesopotamian iconography to be the body of the god. The total figure thus created is the formal equivalent with respect to arrangement of elements of the branches occurring in ritual scenes. With respect to context, one unanticipated but striking development has been noted repeatedly, viz., the occurrence of some celestial symbol in close relationship with the arboreal representation. This combination is not limited to mythological or to "secular" or to cultic scenes but rather can be found in any arrangement in which a tree or branch is featured. In some instances, the tree and light motifs are even visually combined, such as in the Akkadian mythological seals in which the flaming god assumes the graphic position usually reserved for the cosmic tree, or in the Mitanni seals where celestial dots become attached to the cultic rod and thus merge with the fructifying elements thereof. Thus does a triple theme already present in Susian designs find subtle but powerful expression. The recurring existence of seven-fold arrangements hardly needs to be pointed out. Wherever and as soon as stylization takes place, that is, whenever man imposes his subjective conception of reality upon what actually occurs in nature, we find

107 gravitation towards the utilization of seven elements as the mechanism for the transmission of complex natural forms as well as for indicating the attributes and hence the essence of certain divinities.

The ultimate reasons for the widespread

Semitic selection of seven as a symbolic vehicle are not understood fully, though some sort of astronomical basis may be assumed, at least in part. 47 B. Egypt The overlying concern of Egyptian artistic and architectural expression is the desire to ensure some measure of permanence. The very invention of stone architecture, an accomplishment of immense and far-reaching importance, has been attributed to the Egyptian wish to secure the durability of 48 buildings.

The success of this venture is evidenced in the

continued existence until today of the earliest stone structure, Djoser's Pyramid of the Third Dynasty at Saqqara, as well as of countless subsequent monumental edifices. One of the most striking aspects of the work of the architect Imhotep at Saqqara is the manner in which perishable materials which had no doubt been in long use as architectural elements were imitated with almost slavish precision.

In this

way, plant forms which had traditionally been used to construct buildings of reed and wood were translated into large scale 49 stone masonry. In other words, the peculiar situation was created whereby the stone structures were intended to differ from the age-old traditional habitations in terms of durability alone.These

enduring stone forms were reserved chiefly for

the building of temples and tombs, structures related to Egyptian beliefs in life after death.

Thus the transience of secu-

lar, domestic architecture, in which huts and houses could vanish easily with the periodic flooding of the Nile, was avoided. Continuation of afterlife was insured by the achievement of the permanence of the dwellings reserved for the dead. This "happy Egyptian facility" for the adaptation of plant forms to conventionalized architectural design is exemplified by the shapes of the columnar supports (fig. 55) introduced into the medium of masonry construction.

Egyptian columnation

108 from the outset was the result of ideas which were totally different from the ordinary concept of supportive elements in later classical and European architecture.

Columns could be

seen primarily either as supports or as ideographic forms.

It

is the latter consideration which dominated the Egyptian treatment of columns; the symbolic statement made by the particular use of a plant form column prevailed over purely tectonic reflections.

Columns were always pregnant with religious symbol-

ism whether used in overtly religious structures or for "secu52 lar

purposes. This attitude towards columnation arises from the basic

conception of columns as fertility emblems.

They embody plant

life, rising out of the fertile soil to bring sustenance, protection, and continued existence to the people and the land. Columns no doubt originated structurally as poles or bundles of reeds, with lotus or papyrus flowers tied to the top, used to support the thatching of the earliest huts. As a result, back in the inner recesses of Egyptian memory, which never seems to have forgotten anything, was always a mental image of the earliest fertility shafts, made for the first shrine by binding together the growing stalks of the marshes, and before which their ancestors had worshipped as they did before the dedu emblem of Osiris.... They saw not stone but symbol. Consequently, columnation was of singular importance; a wide variety of Egyptian plant and floral f o r m s — l i l y , papyrus, lotus, palm, e t c . — w e r e given continuity and permanence in stone as the architect strove to thwart time, destruction, and . . . 54 death. The actual translation of vegetal life into architectonic forms was carried out with an eye for the preservation of as much detail as possible.

It was a naturalistic approach which

was not so much an effort to copy nature exactly as it was a selection of the most memorable and significant aspect of the natural object being committed to artistic or architectural presentation.Thus

even when submitting to formalizing ten-

dencies, the underlying naturalization was never

threatened.

The naturalistic preoccupation of the Egyptian

treatment

of plant forms in columns can likewise be perceived in the depiction of plants, trees, and flowers in the countless wall

109 paintings and monumental reliefs which have survived.

Sir

Flinders Petrie conveniently has collected many of these reproductions of arboreal and floral themes from Egypt as well as from other areas of the ancient Near East.^®

It is readily ap-

parent that the Egyptian plant and tree designs are presented with a natural and flowing grace that is found outside Egypt only where Egyptian cultural influence is exerted strongly, as in the Aegean.

Even when actual inflorescences are

shown,^

the details and variations of each type are conveyed meticulously. Another graphic expression of the quest for permanence and certainty, of the effort to conquer death and destruction, is found in the proclivity of the Egyptian artist to repeat units of a design over and over a g a i n ^ in much the same way that the architect arranged rows and rows of columns in the hypostyle halls of the great temples.

By sheer repetition, the continu-

ity of the object could be assured.

This mode of reiteration

finds prolific expression in the fine arts of the New Kingdom, especially in the second half of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

For

example, the inlaid lid of a chest of Tutankhamen depicts a series of plant columns with four detailed floral capitals; an ivory ointment spoon with a quatrefoil columnar handle has a series of four flowers and fruits with leaves along the u 59 shaft. The sacredness of vegetation in Egypt is expressed mythologically and ritually in the characterization of Osiris, who is perhaps basically a water deity in the special sense of the water as source of fertility for the soil.®®

In this way he

becomes associated intimately with vegetative life itself and variously is linked with grain, with the persea and the sycamore, and with the acacia trees that grow in the eastern Delta. The most ancient symbol of this deity, who almost can be called a tree god, is the so-called Djed or "Stability" column.

This

emblem, presumably arising in the Delta home of Osiris, was perhaps his only embodiment in the earliest periods.®"'" The Djed a sacred post.

symbol represents the transformation of a tree to In its classic form

(figs. 56, 57), supposedly

representing a tree with lopped-off branches, it has the

110 appearance of a pillar with four superimposed ledges or capi-

62

tals, one above the other.

The idea it presents is that in

standing firmly upright, it affirms the existence of living plants and of all life; to be upright is to be alive, to defy the inert forces of death and decay. the Djed Djed

The cultic setting of

symbol is related closely to the myth of Osiris; the

is set upright on the day of his rebirth, at the time of

the annual renewal of nature. Osiris and the Djed are not the only theomorphic expressions of vegetative life in Egypt.

At least three goddesses,

Nut, Nathor, and Isis, have the satiation of the living with 64 fruit and water amongst their roles. This particular function of the goddesses takes inconographic form beginning in the Eighteenth Dynasty in the peculiar-looking tableaux in which the partly dendromorphic goddesses stretch out their arms from the midst of the branches of a tree, proferring food and drink.® 5

The trees in such renderings are naturalistic, with

no sense of artificiality being conveyed; in other words, a mythological rather than a cultic statement is being made. Summary Throughout its long and illustrious history, Egypt developed and maintained a culture that was typified by conservativism and conventionalism in its methods of artistic and architectural expression.

Because of the essential unity

of

this culture, subject to relatively little change or deviation as the result of foreign incursions, we have been able to view the Egypt material as something of an organic whole, despite the obvious limitations of such an approach in terms of missing the distinctive developments and nuances of each definable phase within the whole.

Even so, it has been possible to cap-

ture the ways in which the Egyptians treated plant life. The outstanding Egyptian reaction to the problem of the transience of vegetative existence was to render such existence permanent by executing trees and plants and flowers in stonework, specifically in the columnation which was an important and symbolic part of all the enduring stone edifices of the Nile Valley.

A column became a tree or plant rendered eternal.

Ill In the same way, repetition of elements can be recognized as a contribution towards a sense of permanency. The naturalistic style of Egyptian art precluded the formation of an identifiable stereotyped way to depict the essential fructifying nature of divinity, witness the manner in which vegetative goddesses are portrayed.

The one exception to

this is the Osirian Djed symbol, which may have possibly a Semitic origin.

In any case, the vegetative aspect of the nature

of this god is captured in a tree-pillar emblem, composed of a column with four superimposed capitals, perhaps representing lopped-off branches. C. Syria-Palestine In turning to the Syro-Palestinian and then the eastern Mediterranean area, we are dealing with what can be termed peripheral regions with respect to many aspects of the material culture.

In glyptic matters especially, indigenous productions

can rarely if ever be said to have developed a purely native style unaffected by trends in Mesopotamia, the true homeland of the cylinder seal.®^

Of course, the further one moves from the

epicenter of origin, the more localized in nature do the glyptic styles become.

They also become more susceptible to artis-

tic influences from foreign sources other than those which gave rise to the prototypical forms in their home territory. Syria, because of its proximity to the source, had a long and rich tradition of cylinder art.

There is even one point in

the history of Syrian glyptic when it achieved its own distinctive properties and refinements, viz., during the cultural vacuum created by the collapse of the First Dynasty of Akkad. The sequence of seal groups produced in Syria has been designated by the somewhat unfortunate and misleading term "Syrofi 8

Hittite."

Palestine, on the other hand, generally adopted

foreign styles, either by way of actual imports or by means of local copies.^®

The locally-made seals generally can be dif-

ferentiated from imported ones by the greater occurrence of Egyptianizing t e n d e n c i e s . T h i s

is especially true during the

Hyksos period, in which the linear style employed in Hyksos scarabs was imitated in Palestinian cylinders.

112

Without reviewing the full scope of Syro-Hittite seals, it can be brought out that as a derivative style it developed and changed at a pace with its Mesopotamian source. Therefore, all the innovations and variations discussed above concerning the portrayal of the sacred tree in Mesopotamia can be found to be mirrored in the contemporary glyptic of the Syro-Palestinian region. The local culture asserted itself mainly in details of dress or equipment or in purely decorative additions, while thematic formulations consistently remained much as they appeared in their Mesopotamian prototypes. There is relatively little in the Syro-Hittite group itself that is of direct interest to our theme. A variety of the contemporary expressions of the sacred tree theme on Mesopotamian seals can be found. For example, in the first Syrian group (early 2nd millennium) an offering scene includes a Sumerian 72 type stand holding a branch and fruit, and a presentation scene includes a subsidiary tableau of two antithetical animals 73 In the second Syrian period (mid-2nd flanking a sacred tree. millennium), we find artificial-looking columns, some with foliage in the form of six upward-reaching pedicels and a central axis as well as some with no foliage at all; a pair of human or part-human figures flanks such columns and a winged solar disc 74 surmounts them. Similar seals appear :n the third Syrian group (end of 2nd millennium), with Egyptianizing tendencies being stronger and a return to animals rather than humans or 75 deities in the heraldic groupings. The much more limited corpus of Palestinian seals can likewise be divided into three types, on purely stylistic rather than chronological criteria, however.76 First are the SyroHittite seals of all periods described above. Next come the seals with Egyptianized designs formed by the same techniques used for cutting scarabs and no doubt engraved by the same craftsmen responsible for the countless debased scarabs and scaraboids found on Palestinian sites especially from strata dating to the Hyksos period. These Egyptianized seals and scarabs show some interesting variations from their purely Egyptian models. Plant forms on true Egyptian scarabs tend to be naturalistic portrayals of lotiform, 77 However, papyriform, or composite floral types.

113 beginning in the Hyksos period, scarabs and scarab-type seals in Egypt and in Palestine (fig. 58) begin to exhibit plant designs in combination with antithetical figures, usually ani78 mals, and occasionally even with a winged solar symbol. Because of the limited size of the available field in scarabs, the designs are frequently reduced (fig. 59) to a single animal 79 and a branch. The plant forms on such seals invariably are stylized, consisting of a longish axis with a series of pedicels in pairs extending along its length. The third type consists of Mitannian seals which are not identifiably different from Mitannian seals found in Syria. This group constitutes by far the largest proportion of seals produced by excavations of Palestinian sites.

The majority of

them tend to be from the 14th and 13th centuries, i.e., the Late Bronze II period, though a few 8 0 are somewhat earlier. Among the Palestinian group executed in common Mitannian style, by far the most popular theme (fig. 60) is that of two antithetical animals (antelopes?), often with heads reversed, flanking a branch with (usually) seven globular objects representing fruit.

The branch often appears to be resting upon a

stand with two or three bands or 81 molding at the top. Two interesting examples from Lachish, obviously cut in Palestine because of the scaraboid technique and layout but treating a Mitanni-type theme, depict the seven-ball branch resting on a triangular base, perhaps a much-reduced mountain (fig. 61). In 82

another Lachish seal,

the familiar Mitanni-type animals flank

a debased branch surmounted by a winged solar disc.

Finally, a

purely local type based on Mitannian style appears in two other oT Lachish seals which picture a single caprid of the ibex family, an extremely roughly-drawn figure, and schematic infloresences, in one case verticillate and the other case decussate. Contemporary with the interest in the fructifying theme of animal and tree expressed in seals of the Late Bronze Age comes another expression of much the same theme.

The motif of tree

flanked by two antithetical animals (fig. 62) is the most characteristic decoration of painted Palestinian pottery of the same period, appearing on a wide and varied range of ceramic forms. 8 4 The very limited repertoire of designs—chiefly the

114 animal/tree motif—indicates that the artisans were not drawing impartially on natural themes but rather were intent upon conveying the particular theme of the fruitfulness of plant life by showing animals being nourished thereby. 86

It was L. H. Vincent

who first pointed out that the or-

igins of this theme, appearing on pottery designs of Egypt and the Aegean as well as of Syria-Palestine, must be sought in the heraldic Chaldeo-Elamite presentations of the beginning of the 3rd millennium.

Its appearance upon Palestinian pottery is

thus seen as the result of a slow, steady diffusion of ChaldeoElamitic graphic ideas from the Persian Gulf area towards the Mediterranean.

Even the appearance of this motif 8 7 in Egypt and the Aegeo-Cretan sphere seems to be intrusive. The motif makes its first appearance on the wares of the Bichrome Style of LB I. The shoulders of these vessels bear metopic divisions enclosing panels upon which the designs are executed. This ware has sometimes been called 'Ajjul Ware because of its abundance at Tell el 'Ajjul, south of Gaza, its patterns of distribution, and its not infrequent incorporation of sea motifs (water birds and fish) into the basic tree-caprid OQ design. The ware continues into the LB II period, with the designs becoming somewhat more schematic. In one case a solar 89 symbol appears next to the tree. Some examples of the motif persist on pottery in the Iron I and even the Iron II periods. In general, the forms from the end of the LB II and later are quite debased. Just as in the Egyptianized seals and scarabs that bear this motif, the degenerate designs appear in an abbreviated pars pro toto manner. In such cases, usually the tree stands alone as the conveyor of the message. Just what message this motif is intended to carry is a moot point. As a general indicator of fertility, its meaning is quite clear: the tree providing nourishment can hardly be interpreted otherwise. The flourishing of plant life, the basis for the survival of animal and human life, was understood as signifying divine presence and favor. However, any attempt to set this motif within a specific mythological or 90 ritual or cultic context can be misleading. This is not to

115 deny that it had such significance but rather to warn against trying to identify the particular context without direct literary evidence, something which is essentially non-existent. With respect to the actual graphic form taken by the tree on Palestinian pottery, it must be said that representations of the date palm—albeit highly conventionalized in most instances 91 —predominate; linear or curvilinear representations of date clusters more than the depictions of foliage (as in fig. 62) make that clear.

However, there are examples in which a gener-

al statement of the existence of plant life is made without regard to particular species.

In such cases the usual styliza-

tion (fig. 63) consists of three (or more) pairs of "branches" 92 arranged in opposite verticillate fashion on a central axis. Even when palm trees seem to be clearly intended, i.e., when clusters of fruit appear, the foliation is nonetheless often indicated by such a device.

This last datum raises the possi-

bility that date palms per se are not necessarily the model. Rather, the chief concern is the portrayal of plant life with fruit, and the indicator of plant life is non-specific 93 even though the indicator of fruit may be species-specific. Summary The Syro-Palestinian evidence is limited insofar as remains of artistic expression in general are scanty indeed when compared with the legacy of Mesopotamia and Egypt.

However, in

the northern Syrian area, a style that is derivative and yet individualistic appeared and evolved over an extended period of time in the form of Syro-Hittite glyptic. ment can be claimed for Palestine.

But no such develop-

It cannot be taken lightly,

therefore, that whenever the local population undertook to produce depictive art of its own—albeit under influence of foreign cultural contacts—the motif that dominates, whether on seals, scarabs, or ceramics, is that of fructifying plant life. The Mitannian influence, vehicle of the more ancient ChaldeoElamite theme, was particularly strong.

The branch with seven

balls appears frequently on Palestinian seals.

This cannot be

separated ideographically from the stylized forms appearing on the painted pottery of the Late Bronze Age.

The scene as a

116

whole bears the same theme; the tree or branch, when stylized, is expressed in similar fashion. D. Aegean The history of glyptic art on Cyprus closely parallels the development in the Levant. Cylinders rarely appear at all until the intensification of contacts with Syria and Palestine during the Late Bronze Age. During this period of some fourfive hundred years, the seals that are found are of two main 94 types: 1) those of Syro-Hittite or Mitanni style, either imported or locally produced, and 2) those of distinctive Cypriote style though incorporating foreign elements. The former type has been dealt with sufficiently above, so we concentrate on the specifically Cypriot productions. These can be further subdivided into an elaborate style, characterized by the care with which they are designed and executed, and a common style, consisting of archaic-looking, very angular designs. Both the imported seals and the elaborate Cypriot ones bear the familiar tree design positioned between antithetical 95 animals or animal-human figures. The trees m such examples are often fanciful composite types. Egyptianizing forces perhaps may be seen in the preference (fig. 64) for composite animals and in one peculiar form of the life-plant marked by curving branches at the bottom and middle and surmounted by short radiating lines.9 The Cypriot common style (figs. 65, 66, 67) is a class by 97 itself. The art is very crude and archaic-appearing in its treatment of forms. The groupings of objects rarely are integrated into a coherent pattern; rather an assortment of symbols floats somewhat haphazardly in the field. The human figures which are present in every case seem very archaic and rudely engraved: the frequent occurrence of a bird-shaped head is reminiscent of Egyptian tendencies. That a worship scene is intended is indicated by 1) the fact that the human figure—or one of them, if two are present—is frequently in a seated position much like the seated deities known in Mesopotamian glyptic, 2) the commonly uplifted position of the arms of the standing figures, and 3) the appearance of a tree alone, without heraldic animals.

117 The rendering of the sacred tree is fairly uniform on 98 these seals

and bears close resemblance to the more stylized

examples on Palestinian ceramics.

A series of paired branches

— t h r e e pairs are most common, but as many as eight pairs can be f o u n d — r i s e from a central axis.

The lower branches tend to

be somewhat longer than the upper ones in the instances when they are not all of equal length, but in no case do all terminate at the same level.

The appearance of as many as eight

pairs gives the impression of a stalk of grain rather than a tree; if such is the case, those with fewer pairs may be abbreviated stalks, especially on those seals where no extended axis or stem projecting downward is indicated. The treatment of the stem, where one appears, is somewhat varied: there is one example of a bulbous base common to many of the Mitanni ball-branches; there is one tripodal root-like arrangement

(fig. 67) perhaps prefiguring developments in metal

stands in later Cypriot tradition; but the most usual depiction outside of an utterly plain axis is the appearance of a series of ledges or projections

(figs. 65 and 66), often four in num-

ber, on a stand-like stem. That the fruitful nature of the tree is to be conveyed can be determined by the not infrequent occurrence of extremely stylized fruit clusters and by the 99 one rare occurrence on an example of much more refined style

of antithetical c a p n d a e .

However, unlike the development in Palestinian ceramics in which the animals are omitted in a degenerate pars pro toto trend, the omission in Cypriot seals of the zoologic element of the heraldic grouping seems to occur because a cultic scene and hence an artificial tree is intended. Some of the other elements "floating" in a somewhat random manner in the field of these seals bear mention figs. 65, 66, 67).

(again, see

Bucrania and snakes are nearly ubiquitous,

perhaps indicating ties toward the west with Crete.

Various

strange-looking but probably celestial symbols appear, viz., concentric circles like those that denote the sun on Egyptian scarabs, and a curious four-pointed object that appears to be astral. 1 0 0

Other emblems are even more obscure, though one

shovel-shaped object has been interpreted as an Egyptian hiero, v. sam, meaning • i.union. • ..101 glyph,

118 In treating the Aegean evidence we have dealt exclusively with Cyprus, the iconographic material there being directly relevant to the Syro-Palestinian data in the treatment of arboreal themes.

However, in both Mycenean and Minoan cults the

sacred tree seems to have occupied some sort of important position which was expressed in the post and pillar.

Arthur Evans,

in his study and evaluation of this theme, suggested close correspondences with Semitic practices associated with asherim and 102

maf^eboth.

Certainly the appearance of paired animals along

with the tree or pillar''"®^ would support an eastern origin for at least the graphic expression of Minoan-Mycenean ideas. Summary The information from the eastern Mediterranean area comes chiefly from Cyprus, where a glyptic group from the Cypriot Late Bronze Age furnishes evidence of a tradition for portraying plant life that is closely related to the Syro-Palestine evidence.

Stylized trees, often similar to those painted on

Late Bronze Age ceramics from Palestine, constitute ubiquitous motifs on seals of the common Cypriot style.

Unlike the pot-

tery designs, the Cypriot seals depict cultic scenes in which the plant form seems to represent an artificial device.

How-

ever, given its relationship to the heraldic arrangements on Cypriot elaborate and imported seals, the fructifying theme can be assumed to be present just the same.

The presence of celes-

tial symbols in the Cypriot cultic scenes likewise is to be noted. III.

Conclusions The foregoing inquiry into the iconographic representa-

tions of the sacred tree in the ancient Near East has revealed a remarkable persistence of certain themes.

These themes as-

sumed graphic forms which likewise persisted for millennia, constituting a symbolic expression of the creative and sustaining divine principles which could be found in plant life.

The

widespread and long-lived nature of such forms indicate their valid position within the symbolic lingua franca of the ancient Semitic world.

119 A consideration of some of the details of such forms has revealed that there is a close morphological connection between the arboreal expressions on ancient seals and monuments and the branched form assumed by the superstructure, as it were, of the tabernacle menorah, which consisted of three pairs of branches issuing forth in pairs of two from a central axis.

This is

precisely the form taken by the quintessential stylized tree or branch in the Mesopotamian, Aegean, and Syro-Palestinian regions.

Whereas there are various modes for expressing stylized

plant life throughout Mesopotamian history, it is precisely in the Late Bronze Age that a specific six-branches-plus-one-axis form not only comes to dominate, with the ascendancy of Mitanni culture, but is also disseminated throughout the eastern Mediterranean island and coastal areas. These areas produced native glyptic art almost exclusively during the Late Bronze period; and the dominant motif in these native productions is unquestionably the "sacred tree" as developed from Mitanni prototypes.

The same can be said for the

decoration which flourished on a type of painted pottery which appears in Palestine and also in Egypt and the Aegean to some extent in the Late Bronze Age.

Again, the chief motif is a

stylized tree or plant, often expressed as six branches plus a central axis. The context of such dendritic appearances varied with the type of scene portrayed.

The prototypical arrangement, going

back to the Elamite pottery and reliefs, consisted of a tree in association with antithetical animals and also with celestial symbols.

The animals, in feeding on the foliage or fruit pro-

duced by the tree, conveyed the notion of sustenance provided by vegetal life, and the celestial emblems indicated the dependence upon light sources in combination with vegetation rooted in moist soil in order for fertility to be achieved.

This

basic triple motif was frequently altered in pars pro toto fashion to suit mythological or cultic purposes.

In other

words, the animals and/or the solar or astral signs would be eliminated, leaving the plant form alone as conveyor of the total message.

However, the habitual reoccurrence of the total

scene, even in the same periods in which abbreviated scenes

120

were more common, surely implies that the full significance of the theme was in no way diluted or forgotten by the employment of only part of the whole. Despite our tendency to try to identify the stylized shapes assumed by the tree throughout the history of its appearance on Near Eastern artifacts with actual species of living trees or plants, it is apparent that there is no consistent way to achieve this.

The basic stylized, branched form that

recurs time and again contains within itself the possibility for representing a whole continuum of botanical species, from trees to floral forms, from branches to stalks of grain.

This

is a measure of the success of the Mesopotamian artist and those who derived inspiration from him; the stylization of plant life captured its importance qua living thing.

As a re-

sult, the more stylized the form becomes, notably in cultic contexts and especially during the Late Bronze period, the less likely it is to indicate a tree per se and the more likely it is to represent a branch or folious element thereof.

Hence,

whatever species may have been the natural model at some point in its artistic history, it is clear that the evolved form is "supra-specific"; it goes beyond species and in so doing makes a generalized statement about plant life as a totality. The six-branch-plus-central-axis arrangement can thus be seen as a symbolic expression of the existence of sustaining plant life.

That divine power is intimately associated with

and manifested in such life can be assumed from the central place it occupies in many mythological and cultic tableaux. One particularly vivid example is found in the convention of using pairs of branches (usually three plus three) on a central element, namely, the deity itself, to express the essence of certain divinities.

The particular nature of the deity was

conveyed graphically by vegetal branches, sun rays, water streams, or weapons protruding in dendritic fashion from the body of the god or from his image. Not only does the opposite verticillate arrangement of the branches of the tabernacle menorah find extensive analogy among plant representations of the ancient Near East, but the very number of branches, six-plus-one, turns out to be the preferred

121

arrangement of its parallels.

That there is some solar signi-

ficance to this number in the earliest examples cannot be determined.

However, by the time of the Mitanni ball-branches

and the coalescence of the seven celestial dots with the sevenbranched staff, the possibility for a solar association expressed numerically and hence internally, without the addition of an external symbol such as a winged disc or a crescent, becomes strong.

The biblical combination of tree form with ac-

tual lamps, i.e. the tabernacle menorah, must be seen against this background of continued association of plant life and celestial light. This study of the treatment of arboreal motifs in Mesopotamian art and in the related derivative styles of the peripheral areas has provided a great deal of enlightenment with respect to the six-plus-one form of the tabernacle menorah.

But

the Mesopotamian tendency towards stylization of forms and avoidance of naturalism has failed to contribute any understanding of the three-fold repetition of the architectonic elements on the branches themselves and the four-fold repetition on the central stand.

This is precisely the area in which an

understanding of Egyptian modes of treating natural themes can be most helpful. The geographic and climatic situation in Egypt was such that the continued production of sustaining vegetation was never the gnawing concern that it was in Mesopotamia and Canaan.

It may have been a fact to be commented upon artisti-

cally, but it never became an overriding issue.

Instead, the

problem of man's continued enjoyment of life's blessings in the period after death made the preservation of plant life in stone forms, particularly in mortuary temples and in tombs, the chief way in which Egyptian artistic impulses reacted to the transiency of plant life. Therefore, the very existence of the ¡¡1ST n n s D element of the tabernacle menorah as sort of a floral capital reflects this essentially Egyptian concern.

Likewise, the repetition of

elements must be seen against the backdrop of the Egyptian predilection for repeating themes over and over again as another way of achieving permanence.

Finally, the four-fold

122 sequence of decorative segments of the central stand of the menorah, which has been shown to have a unity of its own apart from the branches, can be seen as belonging to the same variety of ideographic expression as the Djed symbol with its four recurring capitals, an expression which already has been encountered as have the floral capitals as architectonic elements, in developments among cylindrical stands where Egyptian influence was greatest.

NOTES CHAPTER IV 1 E. 0. James, The Tree of Life (Studies in the History of Religions, XI), Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1966, is just such a broad collection, with ample bibliography, of the mythologies and imageries connected with the sacred tree the world over. See also Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion, trans. Rosemary Sheed, New York: Sheed and Ward, 1958, especially Chapter VIII, pp. 265-326, and bibliography on pp. 327-30. On a more popular level, Roger Cook's The Tree of Life, London: Thames and Hudson, 1974, illustrates the various forms taken by the sacred tree in artistic productions throughout the world.

2 See above, pp. 7-8. 3 Early studies which recognized the sacred power of vegetation such as W. Robertson Smith, The Religion of the Semites, New York: The Meridian Library, 1956 (orig. d.p. 1889), especially Lecture V, pp. 165-212, and Maurice Farbridge, Studies in Biblical and Semitic Symbolism, New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1970 (orig. d.p. 1923), especially Chapter II, pp. 27-52, failed to see the cosmic implications of the tree. Since then, historians of religion such as James and Eliade have written widely about this matter, see above, n. 1, and below, n. 4. E. A. S. Butterworth, The Tree at the Havel of the Universe, Berlin: Wlater de Gruyter, 1970, also treats this subject extensively. 4 Images and Symbols, p. 44. ^The more general term "sacred tree" will be employed herein with the demurrer that it need not always refer to a tree as such but rather can indicate any plant form. Also, the possibility always exists that the Tree of Life motif is to be subsumed under that designation. ®This designation is applied by Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion, p. 278. We shall omit the Indian sphere. 7 See ibid., p. 324. Eliade also points out, p. 265, that the important role of the tree at the level of popular piety does not exhaust its depth and wealth of meaning at higher ideational and cultic levels. Q We adopt botanical terminology for purely descriptive reasons at this point. The classification of inflorescences is particularly useful because by its very nature it is more detailed than the tripartite typology of the branching structure of tree crowns. Any good handbook of botany can be consulted for description and illustration of the common types of inflorescences; see, e.g., Lyman Benson, Plant Classification, Boston: D. C. Heath & Company, Inc., 1957, especially Chapter VII. For comparison, a description of crown formation can be found 123

124 in Fred W. Emerson, Basic Botany, Inc., 1954 (2nd ed.), p. 114.

New York: Blakiston Company,

9 Helene Danthine, Le palmier-dattier et les arbres sacres dans l'iconographie de l'Asie occidentale ancienne (Bibliothèque archéologique et historique, XXV), Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1937, p. 29, draws on the axiom of the persistence of themes to propose that earlier monuments can be elucidated by later ones. But note the cautionary remarks of Goff, Symbols of Prehistoric Mesopotamia, p. xxxvi, who urges the greatest circumspection in using materials of the later periods to draw inferences concerning earlier ones. The remarks of both these scholars, however, seem to relate to the mythological contexts of symbols, which indeed cannot be treated uniformly. ^Ameisenova, p. 326, observes that "no other symbol (except the Cross, itself a tree), has been the subject of so much published research." In one seventeen year period alone, twelve monographs on the subject appeared. Danthine has an encompassing bibliography, pp. 215-23, that is concerned with all aspects of representations of the date palm and also with representations of trees in general. Works dealing with some of the problems of relating monuments to texts can be found in the extensive bibliography of Geo Widengren, The King and the Tree of Life in Ancient Near Eastern Religion: King and Savior, IV (Uppsala Universitets Arsskrift 1951:4), Uppsala: A.-B. Lundequistska Bokhandeln, 1951:4, pp. 71-77. "'""'""Les representations de l'arbre sacré sur les monuments de Mésopotamie et de l'Élam," Babyloniaca XVII (1937), pp. 5144. 12

See ibid., pp. 23-24.

13 Discussed in ibid., p. 27. 14

Ibid., p. 30. See examples 8-11 on PI. 3 and 15a and b on PI. 4, where the eagle with outspread wings above or near the tree replaces the explicit astral sign. 15

A 1 1 three symbols appear in SCWA, figs. 59 and 66.

16

N o t e that the animals (perhaps antelopes, so SCWA, p. 38) do not appear in the cult scene but that the lower register preserves their presence. "^It is interesting to see how Ward (SCWA) at first interprets such projections as flames, perhaps because of their association in some seals (see below, p. 100 and n. 23), with the flaming god Shamash. Eventually, however, he tends—correctly, we b e l i e v e — t o regard such cases as the plant of life; see pp. 235 and 362. 18

In fig. 47, astral symbols are present, along with animals, mountain, and tree. See also Perrot, "Les representations de l'arbre sacré," Pl. 6:20, 21, 22, and H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, London: Macmillan and Co., 1939, PI. XVII:h.

125 19 For the tree as terminal motif, see Briggs Buchanan, Catalogue of Ancient Near Eastern Seals in the Ashmolean Museum, Vol. I. Cylinder Seals, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966, PI. 28:360-3 and p. 67; as a central motif, see Buchanan, PI. 28:364-66 and p. 67. 20 Cf. Edith Porada, Corpus of Ancient Near Eastern Seals in North American Collections, Vol. I. Collection of the Pierpont Morgan Library (Bollingen Series, XIV), Washington: Pantheon Books, 1948 (2 pts., text and plates), p. 26. 21 Pairs of two or four branches, or asymetrical combinations, also exist. See, e.g., SCWA, fig. 374, L. Legrain, "Gem Cutters in Ancient Ur," MJ XX (1929), PI. XXXVI:77, 78, and Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, PI. XX:e,k. 22 SCWA, fig. 386. The goddess may be Xshtar or one of her Great Mother prototypes, Gula or Bau. 23 There are countless examples. See SCWA, figs. 251-54; Legrain, "Gem Cutters," PI. XXIV: 65, 66, 69, PI. XXV.-74, 75; Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, PI. XVIII:a, b, g, k; and Porada, PI. XXVIII:178-183, PI. XXIX:184-194. 24 See also Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, PI. XXV:f. This example is from the Ur III Dynasty, only slightly later than the Akkadian period. SCWA preserves a host of other examples from all periods (figs. 407-417), all with six weapons in pairs of two rising from the goddess' shoulders and terminating on either side of her face. 25

SCWA, figs. 283-290, is a series of such depletions, mostly from the Akkadian period. See also Porada, Pis. XXX: 196-198, XXXI:199-204, all from the period of Akkad. ^ 6 Seated Ishtar, with three pairs of weapons, also appears in this scene. 27 The god is identified as Enki by Legrain, p. 291; see PI. XXXV:76.

. . . . Gem Cutters,

28 Cf. Ameisenowa, p. 335. It also can be seen as a manifestation of the upper extension of the cosmic tree into the heavens. 29 , See Perrot, "Les representations de l'arbre sacre," PI. 5:17 (a playing box from Ur of shell inlaid upon bitumen and containing five separate animal-mountain-tree scenes), 18, 19, and p. 37. 30

E . g . , SCWA,

31 32

fig. 264.

See Frankfort, Cylinder

Ibid.,

pp. 156-68.

Seals,

pp. 147-55.

126 33 See the classification of Perrot, "Les representations de l'arbre sacre," p. 70, and the examples on Pis. 12, 13, and 14. See also Porada, PI. LXXXII: 592, 594. 34 We say branch as opposed to tree because the deposition of fruit or flowers only can be achieved in relation to a branch of the tree and not to the tree as a whole, as is the deposition of leaves. 35 E.g., Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, Pis. XXX:c, d, XXXI:e, and text-fig. 50, p. 184; Porada, Pis. CLIII: 1006, CLIV.-1012, 1013, CLV:1016; and G. Contenau, La Glyptique Syro-Hittite, Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1922, PI. XXXVI: 259, 273. 3 ®E.g., Moortgat, PI. 68:568, 569; Contenau, La Glyptique, PI. XXXVI:264, 270, 271; and Porada, PI. CLIII: 1007, 1008.

37 lo

See n. 10 and below, Chap. V, p. 147 and n. 57. Pp. 62-63.

39

So E. Douglas Van Buren, The Seven Dots in Mesopotamian Art and Their Meaning," AfO 13 (1939-41), p. 277. She proposes that their pre-Babylonian existence was related to the use of seven incantation stones for casting lots or for divination; see p. 278 and textual references in nn. 12-15. 40 *°E.g., SCWA, fig. 665; Porada, PI. LXXXII: 592, 594; and Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, PI. XXXII: b, c, d. 41 The ritual nature of the tree, which has been the subject of much scholarly discussion, was perhaps first pointed out by Sidney Smith, "Notes on the Assyrian Tree," BSOS 4 (1926), pp. 69-76. 4 ^This tree is the fruit tree par exaellenae of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. In addition, the palm is the only tree which, with one exception, is entirely unbranched. See E. J. H. Corner, The Natural History of Palms, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966, p. 82. Thus the columnar nature of its trunk stands out sharply, and the variety of inflorescences as well as the foliage and fruit it produces provide ample models for the fanciful artistic developments which ensued. 43 E . g . , SCWA, figs. 679, 688, 689, 696, 707; and Perrot, "Les representations de l'arbre sacre," Pis. 18, 19, 20, 21, etc. 44 As in SCWA, fig. 697.

45 The appearance of Assur in a winged sun disc has been explained by Frankfort, Art and Architecture, pp. 66-67, as being derived from the Egyptian iconography of Horus, or alternately as a derivation from the Sumerian lion-headed eagle "Once Imdugud. Perhaps both divine forces are present. again," as Frankfort remarks, "the complex origins of Assyrian

127 art present a problem which cannot as yet be solved." For examples of this symbol hovering over the sacred tree, see Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, PI. XXXIII: a, e, h; and Porada, Pis. XCIII and XCIV. 46 See the evaluation of Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, especially Chapter III, "The Neo-Babylonian and Persian Cylinders," pp. 217-23. 47 For a discussion of seven," see Farbridge, pp. 119-39; see also the brief update, pp. XLI-XLV and nn. 102-112, given by May in his "Prolegomenon" to Farbridge. 48 Cf. Frankfort, Ancient Egyptian Religion, New York: Columbia University Press, 1948, p. 150. 49 Cf. W. S. Smith, Art and Architecture, ""^Frankfort, Ancient

Egyptian

Religion,

p. 33. p. 151.

^ 52S e e W. S. Smith, Art and Architecture , p. 2. See Alexander Badawy, Architecture in Ancient Egypt and the Near East, Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1966, p. 69. Because of this triumph of ideographic significance, the Egyptian architect could never look critically at the organic relationship between the columns and the structural load they carried. As a result, in the eyes of many architectural critics, Egyptian buildings must be deemed aesthetic failures despite their quintessential elegance and their technological achievements. For an excellent discussion of the ideographic concerns that dominated Egyptian architecture, see E. B. Smith, Egyptian Architecture as Cultural Expression, especially Chapter XI, pp. 240-56. 53 E. B. Smith, Egyptian Architecture as Cultural Expression, p. 249. Further, p. 253, Smith calls this attitude a petrification of the animistic stage of cultural development in which man is convinced of the potency of his imagery. 54 Badawy, Fig. 10, illustrages some of the varieties of columnation. pression,

. E. B. Smith, Egyptian p. 241.

Architecture

as Cultural

Ex-

Decorative Patterns of the Ancient World, London: BSAE and Bernard Quaritch, 1930. See especially Pis. IX, X, XI. Ibid., PI. IX, lower left, a series of drawings from Amratian Egypt. 58 So E. B. Smith, Egyptian Architecture as Cultural Expression, p. 247. 59 The inlaid chest is PI. 151 and the spoon is PI. 152b in W. S. Smith, Art and Architecture.

128

A classic discussion of Osiris' characterization can be of Religion and found in James Henry Breasted, Development Thought in Ancient Egypt (Harper Torchbook, TB 57), New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1959 (orig. ed. 1912), pp. 18-28. Osirian ritual is described in Margaret A. Murray, The Osireion at Abydos (Egyptian Research Account, IX), London: Bernard Quaritch, 1904, especially Chapter VI, "The Worship of Osiris," pp. 25-34. Perhaps the most extensive treatment of Osiris can be found in E. A. Wallis Budge, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, 2 vols., London: Medici Society Ltd., 1911. 6 ^"So Budge, 1:37. The Delta home of Osiris, along with some details of his mythology, has led some scholars to posit a Syrian origin; see, e.g., Samuel A. B. Mercer, The Religion of Ancient Egypt, London: Luzac and Co., 1948, pp. 99, 107. See also James, p. 38. 62 S e e Budge, Vol. I, pp. 51:1, 2, 3; 52:1, 2, 3; 53:2; and 56: top. In many cases, Osiris' body is incorporated into the symbol: his arms come out of it; it constitutes the trunk of his body; it is superimposed upon his head, or his eyes peer out from one of the capitals.

®^So T. Rundle Clark, Myth and Symbol London: Thames and Hudson, 1959, p. 236.

in Ancient

Egypt,

64

JNES

See M. L. Buhl, "Goddesses of the Egyptian Tree Cult," 6 (1947), pp. 96-97. 65

E . g . , Danthine, Pis. 158:955 and 159:956.

®®We use this term only in a relative sense, i.e., in comparing Egyptian culture with its great continuity to the more convulsed history of other areas of the ancient world; we in no way mean to detract from the diversity of the culture or minimize the upheavals that did occur. Such difficulties in forming a coherent perception of Egyptian civilization, especially in the last thirty-forty years, are noted by John A. Wilson, "Egyptian Culture and Religion," BANE, pp. 298f. ®^See Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, p. 224. Because of the primal influence of Mesopotamian technique and design, he calls all seals not produced in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley "derivative. " ® 8 See ibid., p. 225, for a discussion of this term and its ethno-historical implications. A rather complete classification and analysis of this group may be found in Contenau, La Glyptique. Of course the treatment in Frankfort, Chapter VI ("The Derivative Styles of the Ancient Near East"), is programmatic . 69 M o s t cylinders found in Palestine are of Syrian or Mitanni style; see the study of Jean Nougayrol, Cylindres sceaux et empreintes de cylindres trouvés en Palestine (Bibliothèques archéologiques et historiques, XXXIII), Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1939.

129 70 Porada, p. 118, states that she uses this consideration in the classification as Palestinian of certain seals of dubious provenance. ^ S y r o - H i t t i t e seals are divided into three groups on stylistic and chronological grounds related to varying Mesopotamian influences at various periods. See the discussions of Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, pp. 252-58 and Porada, pp. 11718 and 123-24. The third group is admittedly ill-defined and perhaps is better assigned, with Porada, to the group of uncertain provenance. 72

Frankfort, Cylinder Ibid.,

Seals,

PI. XLI:i.

PI. XLI:f.

7i

Ibid., Pis. XLII:e, i, k and XLIV:h, k. of Mitannian glyptic is already present. 7S

Ibid.,

The influence

PI. XLV:i, k, n.

76 S e e Barbara Parker, "Cylinder Seals: PI. XXXIII: Notes," Lachish II, The Fosse Temple, by Olga Tufnell et al, London: Oxford University Press, 1940, pp. 71-72.

77

See Sir Flinders Petrie, Buttons and Design Scarabs (BSAE, 38), London: Bernard Quaritch, 1925, Pis. VIII:172-196, X ("Scarabs with Plants and Signs"): 375-422. 78 E . g . , Flinders Petrie, Beth Pelet I (BSAE, 48), London: Bernard Quaritch, 1930, Pis. VII:18, 21, XII:148, XLVIII:549, 564. Alan Rowe 1 s work, A Catalogue of Egyptian Scarabs (in the Palestine Archaeological Museum), Cairo: Imprimerie de l'lnstitut Francais, 1936, is helpful here; see Pis. VII:294, 295, XXV:SO.2 3.

79 Rowe, Catalogue of Egyptian Scarabs, SO.21, SO.31, and VIII:301, 308, 309, 313.

Pis. XXV:S0.8,

80 T u f n e l l , Lachish II, PI. XXXIIIA S B ; 43 & 49; Gezer III, Pis. cciia:12, cciib:5, ccxiv:ll, 20, 21; Alan Rowe, "The Palestine Expedition," MJ 20 (1929), text-fig., p. 42; Gordon Loud, Megiddo II (OIP, LXII), Plates, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948, PI. 161:11, 15, 16. 81 Tufnell, Lachish II, PI. XXXIIIA & B: 47 & 53. The transformation of the balls into concentric circles, symbols of the sun, is a probable example of Egyptian influence. B2

PI. XXXIIIA & B:51.

83

PI. XXXIIIA S, B: 40, 41.

Ibid., Ibid.,

84

S e e Amiran, pp. 161-62, Pis. 48, 50, Photos 162-66. Another convenient collection of examples appears in CPP, pottery pis. 27:D9, 31:X2, 44:R2, and decorated fragments pis. 7, 10, 16, and 17.

130 85

S e e Engberg, p. 35.

86

"La peinture ceramiques Palestinienne," Syria V (1924), pp. 81-107. Perrot, "Les representations de l'arbre sacre," develops Vincent's thesis. 87 See Vincent's convincing discussion, pp. 94-98, 98-100. The Aegeo-Cretan portrayals seem to have priority, with the Egyptian examples showing signs of being copies rather than analogues! Vincent's whole discussion of the problem of determining in which way cultural influences are moving is extremely perceptive and provocative. QO So John Gray, The Canaanites (Ancient Peoples and Places, 38), London: Thames and Hudson, 1964, p. 99. Its relation to Mycenean pottery and the movements of the Sea Peoples needs also to be taken into account. 89

On a jar from Megiddo; see Loud, PI. 84:5.

90

H. G. May, "The Sacred Tree on Palestinian Painted Pottery," JAOS LIX (1939), pp. 251-59, attempts to show that the tree on the ceramics of Palestine is a symbol of the Mother Goddess. 91 The origin of the representation of the date palm on this corpus of pottery may be Egyptian. See the series of depictions in Danthine, Pis. 152:937 and 153:939-42. 92 However, even on the ewer of our fig. 63, other metopes show highly conventionalized palm trees. See J. L. Starkey, "Excavations at Tell el Duweir, 1933-34," PEF,QS (1934), PI. IX. ^ C o m p a r e the similar phenomenon on the neo-Sumerian libation altars, where two bunches of dates plus an unidentified branch are depicted as the essence of fruitfulness. 94 Compare the classifications of Porada, p. 148, and Buchanan, pp. 186-87. 95

SCWA,

Buchanan, PI. 59:958, 959; Porada, PI. CLXIII:1070-1073; fig. 1170.

96 T h i s was originally taken by Sayce to be the symbol of the Paphian goddess, so SCWA, p. 347. As a composite plant form, an Egyptian origin seems likely; the radiating lines indicating leaves are perhaps the stimulus for the elaborate raquette developments in Assyrian life-tree iconography. A group of such designs can be found collected in Max OhnefalschRichter, Kypros, 2 vols, (text and plates), London: Asher and Co., 1893, p. 30, figs. 14-21. This type is nearly always associated with heraldic fanciful animals; i.e., it seems to be a purely Cypriot treatment, under Egyptian influence, of a Mesopotamian theme!

97 See Alexander Palma diCesnola, Salaminia, London: Whiting & Co., Ltd., 1884 (2nd ed.). Pis. XIII:17, 18, 20, 21, 23,

CHAPTER V A TYPOLOGY OF TREE MOTIFS IN ANCIENT ISRAEL I.

Introduction The foregoing chapter has shown that the tabernacle me-

norah in form and detail belongs to the conventional way for the sanctity of vegetal life to be depicted at the end of the Late Bronze Age.

The morphological identification of the me-

norah's seven-branched—or rather six-plus-one—form with arboreal expressions on ancient seals and monuments puts it into the context of the symbolic lingua franca which is concerned with life themes as they are related to plant life and fertility.

Similarly, the repetition of certain architectonic fea-

tures which are themselves derived from plant forms places the menorah within the cultural tradition in which the transitory nature of existence is confronted symbolically by giving artistic permanence to plant forms. Insofar as the menorah is a cultural expression derived from conventional themes of Near Eastern symbolic language that deal with the existence and sanctity of plant life, it is incumbent upon us now to put this information, provided by our analysis of the menorah's physical attributes—its form and design—into an ideational setting.

The meaning of such life

themes, based on conceptions of vegetal life, must be evaluated in their biblical setting.

That is, the attitude towards plant

life and its particular force upon the mind of biblical man must be ascertained as a necessary prelude to our ultimate task of approaching the menorah as a symbol functioning within the Israelite cult, a task which shall be undertaken in our final chapter. There is no direct way in which the thematic value of the tree motif can be measured.

As has already been stated, the

migration of symbols from one culture to the next rarely is accompanied by the mythology that originally surrounded it. This is true above all in Israelite religion, with its strong demythologizing tendencies.

Thus we can expect to find no

133

134

texts in which a direct verbal commentary upon the sanctity of tree life or a symbol thereof is the focus. Furthermore, by their very nature, the tabernacle texts in which the graphic tradition of our artifact is conveyed in no way addresses itself to the ideational tradition lying behind a cultic symbol. For after all, the mark of a live symbol is its ability to carry a message on a non-verbal, emotional level; any explanations which theoretically might attach themselves are therefore subsidiary to the immediate impact of the symbol and cannot truly present the full range of associations carried by the symbol at its primary sensate level. In some sense, the existence of a potent symbol precludes the existence of an accurate and contemporary commentary thereon. However, in an indirect way, there is adequate material in the biblical record as a whole to provide a working understanding of the Israelite conception of and attitude towards plant life in general and the "sacred tree" specifically. To do this, we begin with what we have seen to be the crucial theme of the tree motif in the pagan religions of the ancient Near East, namely, the life theme, whether it be concentrated upon the fructifying value of plant life in providing sustenance in this life or upon the extended value of providing for or representing continued existence in the hereafter. The primeval cycle of the beginning of Genesis is the chief literary ground for such matters as they are confronted in Israelite religion. But these matters alone do not tell the whole of the story as it unfolds in biblical literature. And as we turn to the full scope of the canon as a source, we find that arboreal motifs are manifested in either of two spheres of presentation, corresponding to the double dimension which characterizes the kind of religious history which appears in the Hebrew Bible.1 On the one hand, the formative historical events which Israel underwent throughout its prehistory and history are catalogued in the various biblical literary expressions and firmly are rooted in the geographical and temporal sphere. On the other hand, these events are filtered through a lens of archetypal structures so that the facts of historical experience are at the same time seen in the imagistic sphere.

135 Insofar as the "sacred tree" belongs to the cosmic paradigm of the sacred geography of the center,^ it behooves us to point out the complex of images contained within that paradigm. The various elements that make up the sacred center, the navel of the universe, are a cosmic mountain, a paradisiacal garden on top of that mountain, w a t e r s — u s u a l l y

rivers—emanating

from

this cosmic source, a sacred tree or trees at the very center 4 of this center, and a guardian. Most of these elements are found integrated together in the Edenic episodes of Genesis 2-3.

They appear repeatedly elsewhere throughout the Bible,

alone or in different combinations; but even where only one or two elements of the paradigm are found, the power of the total image lying behind the parts which do appear is expressed in full force.

Furthermore, any one of these constituent parts

can be developed by itself in various ways, as we shall see in the case of the tree element, and yet by virtue of its grounding in the total paradigm carry with it a full measure of the cosmic force contained in the complete image. II. The Eclipse

of the Fertility

and Immortality

Themes

A. The fertility theme The Bible is basically the product of an agricultural society, whatever its pastoral underpinnings may have been.

Even

the seminomadic existence which seems to have characterized

the

patriarchal era was in every way dependent upon the seasonal appearance of vegetal growth in the various parts of the Egyptian-Palestinian-Mesopotamian paths that the patriarchs traversed.

Thus natural imagery is abundant in the Bible and ap-

pears as a frequent metaphoric vehicle serving all sorts of purposes.

However, in all these instances

there is never any

magical or fructifying power associated with plant life itself. There is no question but that the Lord is the divine power behind the flourishing or non-flourishing of vegetation, and there is no appeal to any natural aspect of God's being as a force to be confronted or dealt with in order to secure fertility.

In other words, God has been completely separated from

nature. 6

There is no mythological language involved in the

treatment of natural or fertility

themes.

136 This concept is expressed best in the

carefully-arranged

creation story of Genesis 1, in which creation by divine fiat removes the primal generative force from the physical sphere and places it squarely within God's power.

However, in the de-

tails of the creation events of the third day, we can see the strength that the pagan motifs of the origins of vegetation must have exerted.

Note Gen 1:10-11:

And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its own kind, upon the earth." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation....And God saw that it was good. The unusual situation exists in this account whereby the immediate subject of God's command is not the object of creation, vegetation, but rather an intermediary force, earth: KtB7 VTKH KS1H1 . . . .Kttn y-|Kn Ktinn.

This is to be compared with

the modes of expression on all other days of creation in which God's word acts directly upon the thing to be called into existence.

Even on the fourth day, when the "waters" would seem

to be a mediate force

(y-|ffl CPDn lint»-', v. 20; also note 1t»K

D^DH TXIItf in v. 21) , the next verse has God acting directly upon the creatures of the deep

(...CPn^K

Likewise, on

the fifth day when the earth is exhorted to produce animal life

(nvi 0S3 y-lKn NSin, v. 24), the following verse makes it

clear that God himself performs the creative act

(tBVI

. . .uTl>K) . Thus the creation of vegetal life stands out in the creative sequence as being inextricably bound up with the "dry land Earth," which is not merely a habitat but which somehow shares intimately with the creative process.'

However, despite this

unusual mode of presentation, there is no question but that God's command is the ultimate source of the creative power; earth itself has appeared as the result of the utterance of God's will and is only a vehicle for the presentation of vegetation.

Indeed, the creation of earth and vegetation on the

same day serves to relegate them to equal positions in the scheme of creation, both equally dependent upon God's word for their existence.

Thus, the unique situation of the nature of

137 vegetal of

life nonetheless

is f i t t e d

However, tal

the e x i s t e n c e

life under

Genesis

the overall

framework

strong

setting

1, s h o u l d p e r h a p s b e t a k e n a s a n i n d i c a t i o n pull

that the nature

the strong anti-Baal polemics

worship of YHWH. raelite

for

religions

of Israel. polemics

in the

fertility practices

Likewise,

festivals,

The other

a s p e c t of the

in the r e l i g i o n s

life eternal,

dealt with

in the E d e n e p i s o d e . the ability

However,

with the

in

such the

with

in

Is-

represent

theme

life theme borne by

sacred

A miraculous

vegeta-

v v z ., t h e

in the p r i m e v a l

to live

center of the g a r d e n a l o n g w i t h the and evil."

elements

of the a n c i e n t N e a r E a s t ,

is l i k e w i s e

which one can attain

deniably

in association

the agricultural

immortality

to

Bible, whether

despite

B. The

of

the

is amply e v i d e n t

their historicization, g to f e r t i l i t y themes.

accommodations

of G e n e s i s ,

vege-

of C a n a a n c o n t i n u e d

This pull

found

of

r e f e r to the a c t u a l w o r s h i p of p a g a n g o d s or to

i l l i c i t u s e of p a g a n

tion

of a mythological

the s u r f a c e , e v e n in the d e v e l o p e d c o s m o g o n y

exert upon the people

of

into

creation.

LP T I M YV

forever

theme

cycle from

appears

in

"tree of k n o w l e d g e of

the focus of the e n s u i n g

"tree of knowledge,"

story

rests

a tree totally

the

good un-

distinct

9 from the life-tree. a prohibition

of the narrative, itself

reflects

the

fruit of the

the biblical

from any preoccupation w i t h

Nevertheless, that there existed own

T h i s s h i f t of e m p h a s i s ,

against eating

traditions,

Cassuto,

part

a t t e m p t to

is

dissociate

immortality.''' 0

in e m p h a s i s

forces which were working

in itself

indicates

in h i s c o m p a r i s o n of G e n e s i s

of E z e k i e l ,

has proposed

of w h i c h the

very manner of its p r e s e n t a t i o n

her

to the c o n t r a r y . the thesis

one or more epic poems concerning

G a r d e n of E d e n , 1 1

even

life-tree

in I s r a e l ' s m i l i e u and no d o u b t w i t h i n

for e x a m p l e ,

Edenic passages possessed

this shift

in w h i c h n o t

with that

the story of

life-tree was a feature. in the G e n e s i s

account,

the definite article, serves to indicate a concept which w e l l k n o w n a n d c u r r e n t t o t h e a u d i e n c e o f t h e t a l e . 12

U.

the Israel the The with was

138 In addition to the appearance of the life-tree in the opening chapters of the Pentateuch, it is found elsewhere in the biblical corpus only in Proverbs.

There it has been

called variously a "secularized term or faded metaphor" or a 14 "pale figure of speech. Such characterizations, however, do not do justice to the fact that the "tree of life" in later biblical and post-biblical times remained a vivid image as is evident from its literary preservation in Jewish and Christian eschatology and wisdom, as in Enoch, Ben Sira, Revelation, 4 Esdras, as well as in certain Mandaean and Manichean sources. Thus the somewhat dulled impression given in the Proverbs occurrences may result from the controlled literary style of this wisdom source as well as from a reluctance to invoke the full vividness of the imagery, which certainly carried mythological overtones. In any case, the concept presented in Proverbs is part of the widespread idea, contained in the sapiential sources of antiquity, in which the life aspect of CPTI W

is focused upon

a sense of well-being or health as much as upon immortality.'''6 Note that in Prov 3:18, the use of LPTi YV follows closely upon the use of DTJii, or well-being, in the previous verse.

And in-

deed, the other uses of Q^TI VV in 17 Proverbs certainly deal with the preservation of health/life. This concept undoubtedly is presupposed by the "leaves for healing" attribute of the cosmic trees of Ezekiel 47 (v. 12), which will be further discussed below. Summary This brief treatment of fertility and immortality as expressed in plant life has shown that both themes seem to be minimized consciously in biblical literature.

Vegetal life in

general is found widely, but only in very natural imagery.

It

is chiefly in the primeval cycle of Genesis that the powerful mythological forces represented by the life-giving nature of plant life, as known from the religious expressions of Israel's neighbors, are confronted in any sort of direct way.

With re-

spect to fertility, the primacy of God, separate from nature, is the clear message.

In the case of immortality, an emphasis

139 on the "knowledge of good and evil" and the possession of a human moral sensibility takes undenied precedence. Nevertheless, it is apparent that the unique non-mythic Israelite expression of the forces that the pagan life and fertility trees epitomize is not totally and immediately successful.

There is not a radical and permanent breaking-off of such

ideas.

The power of the underlying mythic ideas was enormous 18 and is not to be underestimated. It evidently lay beneath the surface, ready to materialize, for a long time during Israel's history. Investigation of life and fertility themes alone, however, does not exhaust the possibility for exploring tree motifs in biblical sources.

On the contrary, there are other aspects

which are removed from the life/fertility confrontation and which can appear in the open and in a full-blown, developed manner.

When mythological forces of fertility and life are not

in the near background, arboreal motifs in the Bible become the vehicle for the expression of a variety of concepts in the temporal and imagistic spheres. III.

Theophanous Events Within the Temporal and Geographic Sphere We have indicated already that the non-Israelite cultures

of the ancient Near East did not go necessarily so far as to identify the fertility deity with actual living trees.

Even in

their most dendritic iconographic appearances, the deities are not mistaken for the vehicle of their manifestation.

Thus

trees as special places of divine appearance evidently were not odious to Israelite sensibilities.

Rather the cosmic imagery

of the tree at the center came into play.

Hence any large

tree, of necessity near a spring or perennial underground source of water, automatically signified two of the elements of the cosmic paradigm, of the axis mundi pointing towards God's presence.

In ancient Israel, therefore, divine theophany at or 19 near a large tree was a recurring event. And while we treat the following events as belonging to the temporal sphere, we

must remember that our typology is not rigid and that these events would not have "occurred" at all did they not take part

140 in the paradigmatic

structure which conditioned the locales of

theophanies. A. Patriarchal

events

The recorded theophanies of the patriarchal period

epito-

mize a sort of n a t u r a l — h i s t o r i c a l

if you will--theophanous

theme.

is the great oak of Moreh

The example par

at the place

(DIpD)

20

excellence

at Shechem.

This is Abraham's first 21 stopping place upon entering the land of Canaan. The Lord

appears to him there and promises the land to his descendants, and in response A b r a h a m builds an altar.

The tree there

like-

wise held some sort of sacral significance for Jacob, who is said to have hid the foreign gods of his household oak which w a s near

"under the

Shechem."^2

The Shechem tradition continues in the Conquest and M o n a r chy periods. The famous covenant ceremony held there under 23 Joshua

is culminated by the recording of the covenant and

setting up of a commemorative stone "under the oak in the

the

sanc-

tuary of the Lord" (verse 26). Later, Abimelech, son of Jerubbaal, is proclaimed king "by the oak of the pillar at She24 chem."

Thus, while theophany at Shechem is explicitly

evi-

dent only in the Abraham passage, the continued awareness of the immanence of God at this site is indicated by the repeated choice of this location for the execution of portentous

events

at which God's presence and presumably his sanction would

be

desirable. In addition to the oak of Shechem, Genesis records

theoph-

anous events in conjunction with exceptional trees at several other locales.

A b r a h a m is connected w i t h the oak of Mamre at

Hebron where he builds an altar, 25 sojourns, and eventually experier.ces a revelation of God. Further, following his covenant w i t h A b i m e l e c h at Beersheba, Abraham plants

(yu'n) a

tamarisk tree there and calls upon the name of the Lord, whose invoked presence seems to be the concluding touch to the covenant just e n a c t e d . 2 6

Finally, Jacob establishes an altar and

later a pillar at Bethel and calls the place El-Bethel, because 27 God had revealed himself to Jacob there. The oak of Bethel parenthetically

is introduced to this episode by the

insertion

141 at this point of the brief notice concerning the death of Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, and her burial under an oak called henceforth Allon-bacuth, Oak of Weeping.

28

B. Post-patriarchal events The theophanous theme associated with trees continues to appear in much the same mode of presentation in the historical books of the Bible dealing with the post-Conquest periods of the Judges and the Monarchies.

The figure of Deborah the

prophetess, sitting under a palm in the hill country of Ephraim 29

and judging Israel surely belongs to this category.

The epi-

sode of Gideon, to whom the Lord appeared at the oak of Ophrah, 30 under which Gideon then built an altar, is another instance. Also associated with the theophany at the oak of Ophrah is the appearance of a consuming fire, an image associated with the manifestation of the glory (T13D) of the Lord at Sinai. There are several cases in which Saul is associated with trees, such as the pomegranate tree at Migron near Gibeah and 32 the tamarisk tree on the height at Gibeah.

There is no

record of theophany at these places, but the use of the definite article in introducing the trees indicates that they were well-known places and implies that Saul located himself near them for good reason, that is, to draw himself near to the divine presence which was associated with them.

It is interest-

ing to note that in the case of the tree at Gibeah, the additional information "on the height" is presented, i.e., another element in the cosmic paradigm is introduced consciously by way of suggesting the sanctity of the spot. David, too, is recorded as having experienced God's presence in conjunction with a location at a certain group of 33

trees.

Before the second conflict with the Philistines in

the valley of Rephaim, David inquires of the Lord and receives military instructions concerning an attack on the Philistines from the rear.

David is to lead his forces to a position "op-

posite the balsam trees (LPK33 >TDD)."

When he hears the sound

of "marching" 34 in the tops of the trees, he can be assured of the Lord's presence with him in battle and thus of his ability to vanquish the enemy.

142 One further example from the Former Prophets is found in the account of Elijah in the wilderness.

Elijah sat down and

slept under a broom tree at which point the angel of the Lord appears to him and reappears a second t i m e . ^

There are two

divergent items to be noted about this episode: first, the broom tree is not preceded by the definite article and thus there is no indication that this location previously had been sanctified by God's revealing power; and second, the story is an immediate prelude to a Sinai-like event on a mountain involving storm and fire in which Elijah participates

following

a Mosaic-like period of forty days and forty nights. In addition to the specific theophanous events chronicled in the Deuteronomic history, we have the condemning prophetic reaction to certain cultic practices taking place in Israel "on every high hill and under every green tree."^®

This phrase or

its variants occurs sixteen times in the Bible and appears to have originated in Hosea, whence it came to Deut 12:2 and 37 thence to Jer 2:20 where it acquired standardized form.

The

prophetic response is directed, however, not to the tree/hill paradigm itself but rather to the practices which were carried out at such numinous locales.

The potency of the site is not

called into question; only the character of the religious experience taking place there is called to account. The nature of the cultic practices being carried out "under every green tree" surely was related to the fertility cults inherent in the popular religion of Canaan. The use of the 38 ) is an indication of

word '¡JVl (or less commonly, nay or Hilly such a situation.

This word mistakenly is translated

by the RSV and other English and German versions.

"green"

The ancient

versions variously indicate the description of a tree that is 39 thick with leaves, dense, fruitful, luxuriant, or flourxshing. However, the lexicons have no satisfactory etymology for the root, presumably a qatlal

form, nor is Winton Thomas' sugges- 40 tion any more convincing than others that have been proferred. In any case, a rendition "thick with leaves" or

"flourishing"

conveys the essential meaning of extreme productivity and fertility perhaps better than does the usual "green"

translation.

Thus the performance of sympathetic fertility rites, whether

143 in the name of YHWH or Baal or one of the Canaanite goddesses naturally would be held at such places. Summary Tree theophanies by definition are possible only because of their relation to the cosmic paradigm of the axis mundi.

A

large tree near a source of "living waters" was thus a common Semitic locale for revelations and for the subsequent establishment of a sanctuary or a holy place.

This is a recurring

motif in the literature of the patriarchal period.

Both Abra-

ham and Jacob were involved in theophanous events at notable trees.

The Genesis narrative treats such events without em-

bellishment, and there is no tendency to invoke the larger cosmic image to validate the divine presence. Similar events are recorded in the post-Sinaitic history of Israel.

It is evident that the basic narrative presentation

remains much the same.

However, there is a tendency for the

account to include some additional information which more pointedly relates the theophany to the cosmic paradigm.

This

is most explicit in the Elijah episode, where the Mosaic, mountain-of-God prototype strongly is felt.

At the same time

that temporal revelations are being subsumed into the imagistic archetype, another development is occurring, namely, the strength of the indigenous fertility rites carried out at certain numinous spots is being felt.

The simple theophany of the

earlier age is enriched by association with the fertility-life theme.

IV.

Cosmic

Motifs

Within

the Imagistio

Sphere

Beginning with the Mosaic revelation, "ordinary" historical theophany came more and more to be seen through an imagistic lens.

Acts of revelation came to be viewed in relation to

archetypal structures and these structures became metaphoric expressions of Israel's place in the land and in the cosmos. Thus we turn now to a conspectus of cosmic tree motifs as they developed uniquely within Israel.

We shall begin with presen-

tations of God's immanence in arborescent metaphor as part of

144 the cosmic paradigm.

We shall then see how the metaphor is

extended to the people Israel and finally to the Messianic vision. It must be pointed out that the focal point of the cosmic motif in biblical imagery is often as not the cosmic mountain, undoubtedly because of the Sinai event.

The cosmic tree rarely

if ever appears apart from its mountainous base.

The paramount

position of the mountain imagery, especially in early poetic texts of the Bible, must be seen in relation to ancient Near Eastern and especially Canaanite epic poetry of the Late Bronze Age.

Specifically, the mountainous character of El's abode 41

sets the cosmic pattern.

The cosmic tree by integration into

the mountain imagery thus partakes of the same sort of symbolic value carried by that paradigm. A. Arborescent presentations of deity YHWH, in appearing via a plant form, earns the attribute "arborescent" in the same way that his association with Sinai and Horeb has earned him the appellation "mountain G o d . " ^

It

does not limit him but only signifies a mode of his revelatory power.

God's original revelation to Moses occurs at the "moun-

tain of God

from the midst of a sneh.

43

This encounter,

44

with its covenantal implications, occurs at a place that is explicitly "holy ground."

Yet there is no indication that this

spot was already hallowed by theophanies nor that any existing 45

cult had already established the sanctity of the place.

The

sneh bush, whatever its botanical identification might be, seems in itself to be a rather undistinguished plant form.

Its

outstanding feature is not its size or its leafiness, as with the theophanous trees of the land of Canaan.

Rather the thing

that attracts the attention of Moses and heralds the appearance of God is the fact that a flame in the midst of the bush does not constitute a consuming fire, i.e., the bush is not burnt. The behavior of the fire in the sneh pericope is in contrast to the more usual notion of fire, 46 terizes the appearance of YHWH at Sinai.

tiK, which characThe devouring fire

at Sinai, which is developed in biblical poetry as a weapon of YHWH the warrior God,

47

is part of the widespread motif of gods

145 using fire against their enemies. 48 This idea has its roots in the elements of theophany associated with the storm gods, elements which have their origin in the natural phenomena of lightning and fire, smoke and shining clouds, playing about high points and especially about isolated trees during a 49 storm. However, in the concretization of the communication between God and Moses at the sneh, fire behaves in a way contrary to its usual function. There is no direct information in the sneh episode by which we can ascribe any special significance to this fact. However, it is possible to see in this non-consumptive, nondestructive fire a relation to the concept of God which stands opposite to that of the flaming warrior, to wit, the concept of God as the "light" of Israel, a beacon in the darkness."^ The explicit identification of YHWH or his countenance (LP.3B) with light (TlX) is found chiefly in Psalms and First and Second Isaiah."'''' Yet it is also part of the Sinai tradition to identify God's fire with the solar light. The beginning of Deuteronomy 33 is a case in point. Despite some textual difficulties, 52 the solar imagery is clear: 53 to ijidd m m myem m n •pxs inn y s i n »Tp n n m n nnto TO"? mtiw U1D1D (Deut 33:2) The words HIT and V S i n are certainly part of the vocabulary associated with the sun. The context of m m o is less clear, but the myriad of celestial objects accompnaying the sun could easily be the implication. The last stichos particularly is unclear, but UPD^D may indicate that some sort of solar symbol or weapon is being held in the hand of the (sun) deity, 54 as can be seen in Shamash depictions. The next few verses, dealing with the giving of the law to Israel, would complete the solar imagery of flaming god, source of light and law/ truth.55 That there are indeed two separate but related notions— flames as solar light and flame as stormy, consuming fire—is

146 demonstrated in Isa 10:17, where the "light of Israel" in fact becomes a consuming flame: >K-it£p-mK

m m

mn>'? itimpi irpB

myai

TiIK DT>3 1 -pDEn The tendency to combine the two notions also is evident in another passage where God as source of light (T1K) is equated specifically with m r P - T i a a signified by n>DK tt)K.

which in the Sinai typology is

The hymn in Psalm 50 also seems to mix

the image of YHWH, source of light, with the language of the storm theophany. The fire of God is perhaps best understood as a continuum, drawn from mythic images of both storm and solar deities, expressing Light and Truth, the antitheses of Darkness, at one end and destruction and devastation as the awful evidence of God's power at the other.

In any case, it exists in the Exodus

3 revelation as an essential element, along with the sneh itself and the mountain of God.

Its solar connotations, in con-

junction with plant form, place it within the context of the tree and associated astral symbol motif found in Near Eastern iconography. The Sinai event itself we pass over; there is no cosmic tree associated with the divine-human encounter in the second cycle of Mosaic events.

Hence it is not a matter of direct

concern, though the cosmic typology it represents is of course of crucial importance insofar as it colors the subsequent history of the Israelite tribes. However, from the repertoire of Mosaic materials, the incident of the battle with Amalek in Exodus 17 is extremely revealing with respect to the tree element of the cosmic paradigm.

Moses with his lieutenants went to the top of the hill

at Rephidim. vailed.

As long as his hand was held aloft, Israel pre-

The key to the success of Israel was the presence of

the Lord; the commemorative altar built afterwards by Moses (v. 15), in being called "the Lord is my banner," attests to this.

But the device employed in achieving God's presence was

not Moses' raised hand alone.

Rather the staff of God

147 (UTl>Kn HUD) which he held in his uplifted hand was the crucial factor. The staff or rod, portable symbol of the tree, was raised on high to complete the sacred imagery of the center and to assure God's presence. That a staff, a branch of a tree, partakes fully of the power of the whole is evident from what we have seen in Mesopotamian glyptic and will be encountered again below when the metaphoric presentations of the arborescent Messiah are discussed. The sneh motif occurs in one other place in the Bible in addition to the Exodus passage.

The setting this time is the

Blessing of Moses of Deuteronomy 33, a very old and somewhat 58 enigmatic poetic passage related at certain points to the Blessing of Jacob in Genesis 49, especially in the verses which concern us here, namely those dealing with Joseph. The blessings bestowed upon Joseph in both the Genesis and Deuteronomy 59 versions heavily are endowed with fertility imagery. Joseph evidently is well ensconced in the hill country of Palestine, which in itself was understood, as we shall see, to represent God's holy mountain.

The cosmic background of the blessing is

evident in the geographical setting of Joseph's land, easily accessible to the life-giving waters above and below: i2nn mil1 ro-na

no«

>DD QiDltf T3DD nnn r m n mnriDi (v. 13) 60 Joseph's land is equated, v. 15, with the "eternal mountains" (Dip • m n ) and "everlasting hills" (D>")V m y m ) , phrases full of cosmic portent. In v. 16 comes the phrase, absent in the pre-Sinai Genesis version, fUD •>t> "the favor of him that dwelt in the bush" as the crowning blessing, literally ("Let these come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crowns of the head of him that is prince among his brothers"). Although Cross and Freedman, with a number of other scholars and with several Samaritan manuscripts read "Sinai" for rUD,®''" we see no reason for such a change in the Masoretic Text. Particularly in association with Sknwhich in archaic contexts such as this indicate

148 YHWH's immanence in his shrine—in this case the hills of Canaan are YHWH's holy sanctuary 6 3 —the occurrence of the sneh as the cosmic plant in the center of God's shrine/mountain and thus the locus of his contact with man (Joseph) is singularly appropriate.

God's immanence and the sustaining favor bestowed

upon Joseph in the form of material blessings is conveyed by a portion of the imagistic paradigm. B. Arborescent Israel The locus alassiaus for the portrayal of Israel as a tree upon God's holy mountain is the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15, a lengthy poetic section rivaling if not surpassing the Blessings 64 of Jacob and Moses in archaism and antiquity. Israel, having survived the trauma of the Exodus from Egypt through the saving acts of YHWH, is led into the southern wilderness and the site of YHWH's heavenly or mythic habitation, as described in v. 13 and again in v. 17:

i n w u inn mrr- nvys T>-P

m y o m inton irata1? p a n •'JTK B7pD

The verb, ytDJ , used to describe the establishment of Israel at the mountain, is a clear agricultural term, used espe65 cially to convey the notion of planting trees or vines. It is the word used in the episode mentioned above (p. 140), in which Abraham plants a tamarisk at Beersheba.

Thus in the Song

of the Sea, Israel becomes metaphorically a vine or a tree. The rest of the verse is replete with cosmic imagery derived from Canaanite epic.

The phrase "thy own mountain," perhaps

better rendered "mount of your inheritance" or "your mountain possession,"® 6 does not at this point indicate Mount Zion.

In

fact, it may not even refer as yet to the hill country of Canaan.

As part of an extremely ancient poem which originates

in pre-Conquest Israel, YHWH's mountain in this poem could very well be the holy wilderness mountain in Sinai, the immediate destination of the people in their march from

Egypt.Fur-

ther, "jmtSV 1130, translated "dais of your throne" by Cross, 6 ® is part of the divine-royal vocabulary of Canaanite poetry,

149 here used to indicate YHWH's sovereignty and enthronement in his enpD, either cosmic sanctuary or earthly representation of the divine temple-palace. The symbolic association of Israel with a cosmic plant established forever on the mountain of the Lord is an image that appears repeatedly in biblical sources.

In another frag-

ment of ancient Hebrew poetry, the third oracle of Balaam, the dwellings of Israel ( m a n d Di>rm) are equated to trees 70 planted (V02) by God. The cosmic imagery xs present in other details: the water flowing around the projected heights of Israel's kingdom. Similarly in Nathan's vision, the Deuteronomic prose account makes use of the plant terminology to stress the permanence of Israel's existence in Canaan: I will appoint a place (DIpD) for my people Israel, and will plant them (1T]yi33) that they may dwell ("¡3D) in their own place... 2 Sam 7:10=1 Chr 17:9 The pivotal words '¡3ti/, DTpn, and VD3 contribute a sacral and cosmic dimension to God's promise to David. However, it is in the poetic imagination of Israel that the theme put forth in the Song of the Sea is developed most widely.

We can cite only a few examples.

Psalm 80, a Joseph

psalm, contains a particularly striking passage: Thou didst bring a vine out of Egypt, ^ thou didst drive out the nations and plant it. Thou didst clear the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; It sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots^ 2 to the River. (vv. 9-12) Israel (Joseph) is depicted as a vine which God brought forth from Egypt and "planted."

It takes strong root and covers the

mountains; it sends its branches to the sea and its roots to the "River."

Thus three elements of the cosmic scene—plant/

tree, mountain, water—are poetically invoked to stress Israel's rightful place in the land and thus to justify the hoped-for restoration.

150 Elsewhere, especially in eschatological settings, the tree idea alone conveys the message of restoration: Amos 9:15 ("I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land which I have given them"), Jer 24:6

("I will bring them back to this land...I will plant them, 73

and not uproot them"),

Hos 14:6, 7, 8 (Israel "shall blossom

as the lily, he shall strike root as the poplar, his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive...they shall blossom as the vine..."), 7 4 Isa 37:31 = 2 Kgs 19:30

("the

surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward"), Isa 65:22 ("Like the days of 75 a tree shall the days of my people be"), Isa 61:3 ("that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord"), etc. In the visions of Ezekiel the tree image as an expression of Israel's existence appears in its fullest form with an extravagant supply of cosmic trappings.

We refer specifically

to the conclusion in chapter 47 of Ezekiel's extensive temple vision.

The temple itself is in the land of Israel "upon a

very high mountain."

Life-giving77 streams issue forth from And, in Edenic style, all

below the threshold of the temple.

sorts of trees for food grow there, bearing fruit all the time because they are not dependent upon rains but rather have their roots in the perpetual cosmic waters which flow from the sanc78 tuary. This vivid presentation of cosmic trees in a wellwatered garden on the high mountain indicates the currency for Ezekiel and his audience of the paradigmatic image of the magical trees at the sacred center. What is so fascinating about the appearance of this image at this point in Ezekiel is its immediate and abrupt juxtaposition with the description of the boundaries of the land which 79 Israel shall inherit

and the apportionment of the tribal

territories within that land.

In other words, the twelve 8 0

tribes are distributed geographically throughout the land just as the Otrees on the mountain of God's inheritance flourish 1 Israel's restoration to the land thus is seen m

everywhere.

the same cosmic terms as her original conquest-habitation of the land of Canaan, which is presented as a hieros ning in the earliest poetic portions of the Bible.

topos begin-

151 C. Arborescent Messiah The concept of naturally, i.e., in of Israel as a vine sibilities for this terms in Job:

the Messianic restorer of Israel follows line with natural imagery, from the figure or tree upon God's holy mountain. The posdevelopment are expressed in purely natural

For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant. (Job 14:7-9)

The disaster or impending disaster of Israel, its destruction and exile, are seen in terms of the destruction of all the vegetation of the land. Formerly an Edenic garden, the land utterly will be laid waste. 8 2 The strongest stem of the vine, 83

which was the ruler of Israel, will be burnt completely. It follows from this that if the restoration of Israel is to be effected, she will have to be replanted on the mountain of God. In the burnt-out, cut-down stump lies the possibility for regeneration: 'And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains standing when it is felled.' The holy seed is its stump. (Isa 6:13)

If Israel is the destroyed tree, it nonetheless has not perished completely but contains within itself the potential for regermination. As a corollary to the reestablishment of the people comes the theme of the restoration of the Davidic throne, also cut off but not dead. This theme likewise is expressed in arborescent terms: a shoot or new growth will sprout 84

forth from the Davidic stump. A parade example is found in Isa 11:1, in which a shoot ("11311) comes forth from the "stump of Jesse" and a branch ("1X3) goes out from its roots. Further, in v. 9 the scene of o c;this new Davidic growth is God's holy mountain, ">ttnrp "in. And in the following prose verse, in

152 terms reminiscent of Exodus 17, the "root of Jesse" is called an "ensign to the peoples" as prelude to the "ensign for the 86

nations" oracle which ensues.

Thus the cosmic paradigm is

invoiced. This theme also appears in Isa 4:2 where, with no specific identification of a Davidic scion, "the branch (PiDIf) of the 87 Lord"

is equated with the fruitfulness of the land, the glor-

ious pride of the remnant of Israel. Jeremiah likewise uses 88 89 riDX with reference to a righteous (P^TS) to the Davidic shoot. Zechariah the restoration of Zerubbabel Davidic throne In is seen in terms of a shoot

(riDS)

90

growing up in Jerusalem and

building the temple of the Lord. The vision of Zechariah 4, already mentioned above in Chapter II because of the menorah contained therein also presents a Messianic theme expressed in terms of trees, rather than branches or shoots.

In v. 3, it is noted that there are

two olive trees flanking the menorah. The explanation of these trees comes in vv. 11-14 where the angel of the Lord reveals 91 that the trees represent the "two anointed" of the Lord, presumably Joshua and Zerubbabel, who are to be co-rulers in the theocracy of Zechariah's prophecy. In this particular vision, between the establishment of the objects of the prophetic vision in vv. 1-6 and the elaboration of their portent in w .

11-14 comes an inserted element

relating the building of the temple from which Joshua and Zerubbabel are to reign together.

Even the "great mountain"

upon which Zerubbabel is building God's house shall be flattened out to facilitate the completion of the building project. Thus the concept of the Messianic ruler (s) , expressed in arborescent terms, is joined to the mountainous element of the cosmic picture. As with the metaphoric presentation of Israel in its fullest cosmic setting, the arborescent expression of the Messianic hope also is found in its most vivid cosmic terms in the prophet Ezekiel.

The whole of chapter 17 revolves around the

comparison of Israel and its ruler to branches removed from their trees in the land of Israel and transplanted to Babylon. The redemption of Israel will come when God himself will effect

153 a new "conquest" of the land by taking I s r a e l — a twig

(ripJI1) —

and rerooting it in the land: I myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain; on the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear fruit, and become a noble cedar. (Ezek 17:22-23) The elements of tree and mountain are explicit.

Implicit

because of the relationship of the language to that of Ezekiel 31 are the elements of flowing waters and Edenic garden.

That

passage, though referring to Pharaoh, develops the same imagery of the mighty cedar in greater detail.

Birds nest in its 92 The source of

branches and beasts seek refuge in its shade.

moisture for such a flourishing tree is the waters of the deep (Dinn) and the rivers which flow from the place of its planting (nVDD). 93 This exceptional tree is beyond the rivalry of the 94 "trees of Eden, that were in "the garden of God. Thus, though not all of these elements are present in chapter 17, there is enough similarity of terminology to indicate that both passages are drawn from a common source describing the Edenic paradigm. 95 Summary The presentation of deity in arborescent terms is part of the cosmic typology of the sacred center.

The sneh episode has

YHWH appearing in the midst of a plant form and also in the midst of a non-consuming flame, which may serve to introduce solar imagery and prefigure the law-giving acts to follow.

In

any case, it is clear that flame/light and plant form are two important and integral elements of what transpired on the mountain of God in Exodus 3, just as they are commonly

associated

elements in Near Eastern glyptic portrayals of the arboreal motif.96 The episode of Exodus 17 presents another variation whereby a branch of a tree, "the rod of God," is used on a hill to attain the active presence of God.

In the Blessing of Moses,

the sneh motif is joined to the constellation of values surrounding the root pta, which denotes the impermanent visitations of YHWH to his sacred mountain

(Israel) or his sanctuary.

154 The relation of God's presence to the fertility of the land, in this case the mountain country inhabited by Joseph, is concretized in the cosmic imagery surrounding the phrase lixn rUD 13 Dili. It is in the shift of the image of plant life to an understanding of Israel's place in Canaan and subsequently to the Davidic Messiah's place in Israel that the biblical writers make fullest use of the tree portion of the cosmic paradigm. From some of the earliest poetic passages, such as the Song of the Sea and Balaam's oracle, comes evidence that Israel's place in the land was viewed in cosmic terms and expressed in the epic language of the Late Bronze Age.

Biblical poetry in gen-

eral is a fertile source for the discovery of tree motifs in which Israel is the tree or vine planted on God's mountain. Once the prospect of Israel's destruction and/or exile enters the prophetic sensibilities, the metaphor is vividly applied to the reestablishment of the people in their homeland. As a development of this, the Davidic scion likewise is seen in arborescent terms.

If Israel is a form of plant life to be re-

rooted or replanted in the land of God's inheritance, then a shoot of the stump of the burnt or felled tree is to be the descendant of the royal line who will reestablish his throne on God's holy mountain, meaning Mt. Zion as well as the hill country as a whole.

Whereas cosmic allusions surrounding the ar-

borescent imagery are more or less visible in most of the prophetic passages cited, the visions of Ezekiel preserve the imagistic paradigm in its richest form, with a full measure of the component elements. V.

Conclusions It should be clear from this study of arboreal motifs in

the Hebrew Bible that there is an abundance of relevant materials.

The properties of vegetal life lent themselves to their

employment in Israel, no less than among her neighbors, for the expression of certain central concerns.

However, the concerns

that seem to be supreme in the representations of tree motifs in the ancient Near East, i.e., the themes of fertility and immortality, are largely replaced—consciously in the case of the

155 primeval cycle of Genesis—in the biblical record by other concepts.

The primacy of God as creator and hence the source of

the fecundity of plant life is proclaimed; the complete deemphasis of the preoccupation with life eternal is achieved. This is not to say that the mythological forces being opposed were not still active to some extent for a long time during Israel's occupation in Canaan; the corruption of the basic theophanous tree/mountain motif by the emphasis on "pin YV is ample testimony to that fact. In any case, with such matters disposed of, the biblical sources still contain rich evidence for the vital presence of tree motifs in Israelite thought.

Our typology of the expres-

sion of these motifs makes this clear, though in a way it does a disservice to the conceptual images we are dealing with; for there can be no distinct divisions in a paradigm which has as its source the ancient Semitic, if not universal, belief that an outstanding tree usually upon a mountain and near a water supply was somehow evidence of the presence of deity. tree signified a hieros

topos

Such a

and thus constituted a sacred

center, a point of contact between the divine and human spheres. Consequently, in the pre-Mosaic theophanies recorded in the patriarchal narratives of Genesis, the cosmic underpinnings which allow the experience of revelation to occur must not be minimized.

This becomes especially true in the theophanous

events of the same ilk which transpire following the entry into Canaan.

It seems that the Sinai event resulted in the trans-

formation of the mythopoeic traditions current at that time into a paradigm that particularly denoted YHWH's unique relationship with his people Israel.

Hence the episodes involving

Moses and tree motifs, while fitting perfectly well into the "temporal" mold, have been subsumed under the imagistic type insofar as they belong to the pivotal traditions which shift the common Semitic expressions of divine manifestation to the unique Israelite relationship with the one God. manifests himself in a sneh,

YHWH, who

is at the same time the trans-

cendent source of the blessings which flow to the inhabitants of God's mountain.

156 It would seem to follow, then, that in the subsequent transferral of the plant motif from the divinity itself to the people Israel and eventually to the Messianic figure that Israel could now and in the end of days be assured of a permanent position at the axis mundi and, as a result, a perpetual point of contact with the divine sphere.

Of course, this transferral

did not remove the concept of divinity from association with the cosmic tree; it merely added the dimension of assuring Israel a continuing place in relation to that focus of divine presence. At the same time, the reorganization of the cosmic paradigm to a conception of Israel as the tree on God's mountain can be seen as the ultimate challenge to the pagan fertility and immortality themes.

The people Israel and their Davidic

ruler, as seen in cosmic terms, achieve collective immortality, existing forever on their inherited land, and in this sense share the eternal attributes of the arborescent deity.

The

concomitant theme of the perpetual flourishing of the people at the hand of the Lord--after all, it is clearly and repeatedly the merciful God who effects their planting and growth in the land—gives the nation as a whole the status of the fruit of 97 the soil, produced by God's supreme power. In short, our typology of tree motifs in Israel has shown that while the tree-life concept may have originally emerged in pre-Israel as a direct derivative of current concepts in the ancient Near East, it underwent a transformation that enabled it to supersede such notions but at the same time retain all the potency contained therein.

Entering wholly into the cosmic

paradigm, it existed as part of a symbolic structure whereby Israel and/or her Messianic ruler would exist securely at the center, in direct contact with God, assured of both continued productivity and sustained existence.

NOTES CHAPTER V

See the discussion of Fishbane, pp. 2, 26, and passim. Frank Moore Cross, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1973, pp. 24-25, describes the same phenomena in terms of the role of Canaanite myth. 2

This has been pointed out by Fxshbane, p. 7.

^ Ibid., pp. 8-10. 4 In addition, in Near Eastern mythology a god or goddess frequently is enthroned on the cosmic mountain in the midst of the garden. See below, p. 144, and n. 41. ^A graduate student at Duke University, Douglas Mannes, has made a study of all the occurrences of "trees" in the Bible (both in the generic sense and in terms of particular species) and has begun an analysis of their contexts. I am extremely grateful to him for sharing his information with me. ®Cf. Nahum Sarna, Understanding Hill Book Company, 1966, p. 11.

Genesis,

New York: McGraw

^Gerhard von Rad, Genesis (Old Testament Library), trans. John H. Marks, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1961, p. 53, calls this fact the "maternal participation" of earth and in so doing reverts to the very mythological concept that the text is negating. Q In this context the dual symbols of fruit and branches (Lev 23:40) of the Festival of the Ingathering can be related to the fruit and branch/tree motif common in Near Eastern iconography. 9 On the mythic background of the knowledge-tree, not so separate from the tree of life as in the Genesis account, see William Foxwell Albright, "The Goddess of Life and Wisdom," AJSL 36 (1920), pp. 258-94. ''""see Sarna, Understanding

Genesis,

pp. 23-27.

^From Adam to Noah (Commentary on the Book of Genesis), trans. Israel Abraham, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1961, pp. 7296. 3:22.

12 Ibid., p. 109. 13

The textual references are Gen 2:9 and

P r o v 3:18, 11:30, 13:12, 15:4.

157

158 14 The former is the description of Ralph Marcus, "The Tree of Life in Proverbs," JBL 62 (1943), p. 120; the latter appears in von Rad, p. 76. •*"5For references see Marcus, p. 118, and Albright, "Goddess of Life and Wisdom," pp. 283-85. •*"®See Marcus, pp. 119-20, though we do not necessarily agree on a non-mythological background for a this-worldly metaphor. ^ I t is in this almost medicinal context that the comparison with the rabbinic term uiifl-UD becomes valid; see ibid., p. 119, and cf. Akkadian sammu. 18

See Cross, Canaanite Myth, p. 25.

19

See Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, trans. John McHugh, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1961, pp. 278-79. 20

"Place" (tnpD) often is a technical term for "cult site." This fact was brought to my attention in a personal communique from Prof. Baruch Levine, dated 18 May 1974. Cf. deVaux, ibid., who translates it "holy place," pp. 279, 289, 291, 309, and 339. 21 Gen 12:6. This was perhaps already a Canaanite high place since the text adds immediately: "at that time the Canaanites were in the land." On the textual confusion between "oak" and "terebinth" here and elsewhere, see G. Ernest Wright, Sheohem, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1964, p. 135 and n. 21, and deVaux, Ancient Israel, p. 279, who believes that the two words are virtually synonymous and simply mean "any large tree." See also Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, pp. 189-91. 22 Gen 35:4. 23

Joshua 24. Perhaps the first sanctuary of the twelve tribes is located at Shechem. For a discussion, with bibliography, of the "Sacred Area of Shechem in Early Biblical Tradition," see Chapter 8 of Wright, Shechem. However, note that the LXX records "Shiloh" for "Shechem" in Josh 24:1 and 25; perhaps the patriarchal attachment to Shechem is here merging with the importance of Shiloh as the chief sanctuary during the period of the Judges. Prof. Orlinsky has commented on the textual problem in n. 19 of Chapter 8. If one were to react to Orlinsky's analysis in the way opposite to that of Wright, i.e., if Shiloh were to be understood as original, then we would have Shiloh as another specified locus of a cult place with a tree. 24 Judg 9:6. The pillar (mXD) no doubt refers to the one erected by Joshua. Later in Judges 9 (vs. 37), the "Diviner's Oak" (LPJJiyD 'p>X) is mentioned in the vicinity of Shechem; this is probably another reference to the oak of Shechem, perhaps indicative of its original oracular nature. Note that this Diviner's Oak is located "at the center of the land," i.e., at the omphalos or sacred center.

159 25

G e n 13:18, 14:13, and 18:1.

26

Gen

27

G e n 35:7 and 14.

28

G e n 35:8.

29 30

21:33.

Judg 4:4-5.

J u d g 6:11, 12, 19, 21, 24.

31 Cf. Exod 24:17. 144-46.

On fire and theophany, see below, pp.

32 1 Sam 14:2, 22:6. Further, in 31:13, Saul's burial place is given: "under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh." 33

2 Sam 5:22-25.

34

The word for marching is iliys; cf. Judg 5:4, Ps 68:8. Isa 63:1, and Hab 3:12, where this word is part of the vocabulary of YHWH's theophany. 35

1 Kgs 19:4, 5, 7.

3

®This has been called a Deuteronomic "set-phrase"; see John Bright, "The Date of the Prose Sermons of Jeremiah," JBL 70 (1951), Appendix B, p. 35, and Moshe Weinfeld, Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomic School, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972, Appendix A, p. 322. 37

So the analysis of William Holladay, "On Every High Hill and Under Every Green Tree," VT 11 (1961), pp. 170-76. See also Weinfeld, Appendix B ("Hosea and Deuteronomy"), p. 366. 3P Ezek 6:13, 20: 28; Neh 8:15; Lev 23:40. nay/rimy is not synonymous with 'py'l but rather seems to describe the tree as "twisted" or "having intertwined foliage" (see BOB, p. 721); Prof. Nahum Sarna, in a personal note dated 4 June 1974, suggests "gnarled." 39 See D. Winton Thomas, Some Observations on the Hebrew Word •¡nyi," Hebraische Wortforschung (Baumgartner Festschrift, VI supplement, SVI), Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1967, pp. 388-89. 40 See ibid., pp. 393-94. Note the rendering of IJVT modifying '¡Dii in Ps 92:11 by "freshening" in The Book of Psalms, Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1972, p. 96. 41 See Richard Clifford, "The Cosmic Mountain m the Ancient Near East and Early Hebrew Literature," Hebrew 200, seminar of Harvard University, Oct. 19, 1967, p. 7, and Cross, Canaanite Myth, pp. 38-9. For a full discussion, with bibliography, of the cosmic mountain, see Clifford's The Cosmic Mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament (Harvard Semitic

160 Monographs, Vol. 4), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1972. Ideas of kingship and dominion are involved also in the mountain imagery in Canaanite sources. 42 The term "mountain god" or "one of the mountains" derives from an analysis of Shaddai. This designation and its related mountainous epithets has been scrutinized by many scholars. Perhaps the basic treatment is in W. F. Albright, "The Name Shaddai and Abram," JBL 54 (1935), pp. 180-93; Albright gives credit, p. 192, to Torczyner (Die Bundelade, 1922) for stressing YHWH's role as a mountain god in early Hebrew literature. The cosmic or Weltberg background of the Shaddai epithet is noted more recently by, among others, Frank Moore Cross, Jr., "Yahweh and the God of the Patriarchs," HTR 55 (1962), pp. 245-50. See also the discussion of this epithet and of lis in David Noel Freedman, "Divine Names and Titles in Early Hebrew Poetry," Hagnalia Dei (Essays in honor of G. Ernest Wright), ed. F. M. Cross, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1976. 43

Exod 3:1-6 contains the kernel of the episode.

44

For analysis of the encounter in terms of the symbolism of the center, see Fishbane, pp. 14-15. 45 Cf. U. Cassuto, Commentary on the Book of Exodus, trans. Israel Abraham, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1967, p. 31, and Y. Kaufmann, The Religion of Israel, trans, and abr. Moshe Greenberg, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960, p. 224. 46 See above, n. 31. 47

7-14.

E.g., Isa 30:27, 30; Ps 144:5, 6; 2 Sam 22:8-15=Ps 18:

48

See Patrick D. Miller, "Fire in the Mythology of Canaan and Israel," CBQ 27 (1965), p. 257. 49 See Cross, Canaanite Myth, p. 169. ^ T h e r e may be some indirect evidence relating YHWH as light (11K) with his appearance at the sneh. The passage in Deuteronomy 33 (Blessing of Moses; see our discussion below, pp. 147-48) containing the blessing of Joseph and the association of YHWH with the sneh is in the background of several passages in Psalms in which YHWH as 11K is also present. In Ps 44:4, Israel's conquest of the land is related to the light of God's countenance ("pJB 11»| and God's favor (DrpKl) , cf. Deut 33:16 ( m o iJ3t£) p i n ) . In Ps 89:16, the light of God's countenance is again associated with God's favor ("plSl) , again cf. Deut 33:16, and also with "our horn" (1331p), cf. Deut 33:17 (T'Jlp UKl ">31p) . The similarity of terminology in these passages seems to point to a common source, perhaps Deuteronomy 33 or an expanded version or Vorlage thereof, relating YHWH, the sneh, his light (11X), his favor (psi) , and the horns (Qiijlp) of the people. On the complex relationship between "light" and "horns" see Hab 3:3, admittedly a difficult text, and Jack M. Sasson, "Bovine Symbolism in the Exodus Narrative," VT 18 (1968), pp. 385-87.

161 51 P s 4:7, 27:1, 44:4, 89:16,- Isa 2:5, 60:1-3, 19. see 2 Sam 22:29 = Ps 18:28.

52

For textual analysis, see Cross, Canaanite and the literature cited in nn. 36 and 37.

Myth,

Also

p. 101,

^Contra Cross, Canaanite Myth, pp. 86 and 101, who sees this as part of the Divine Warrior motif; but it seems to me that it reflects a different imagery than does a passage like Judg 5:4-5, though in other poetic passages the images (of sun god and storm/warrior god) may coalesce. 54 S e e , e.g., SCWA, 274, 281, etc.

figs. 248, 253, 257, 260, 270a, 272,

55 C f . Isa 51.4, "a light will go forth from me, and my justice for a light to the peoples." Sarna's treatment of these two themes, light and law, in connection with "Psalm XIX and Near Eastern Sun Literature" is particularly pertinent here. See above, Chapter II, pp. 27-28 and n. 83. 56

Isa

60:1-3.

^ S e e above, pp. 119-20 and Widengren, pp. 20-22. The rod of Aaron episode of Numbers 17 and the rods of Moses and Aaron in Exodus 4 and the plague accounts also belong to this phenomenological setting. 58 For reasons of orthography, archaic poetic structure, and affinities with Canaanite literature, it must have been composed no later than the 11th century, so Frank M. Cross, Jr., and David Noel Freedman, "The blessing of Moses," JBL 67 (1948), p. 192. More recently, Freedman in "Divine Names and Titles" upholds the 11th century date and points to some possible hints of the beginning of the Israelite monarchy. W. J. Phythian-Adams, "On the Date of the 'Blessing of Moses' (Deut. XXXIII)," JPOS 3 (1923), pp. 158-66, had earlier reached the same conclusion on the basis of historical analysis of internal data. 59

G e n 49:22-26 and Deut 33:13-17.

^ G e n 49:25 adds here "blessings of the breasts and womb," bringing the fertility aspect even more forcefully to the fore. ^ W r i t t e n 3D in their orthographic reconstruction, "Blessing of Moses," p. 206. However, in Freedman's latest discussions of Deuteronomy 33, the phrase in question is translated "dweller of the bush" and is treated as an archaic reference to the Exodus 3 episode of the burning bush. See "Divine Names and Titles," p. 23, and also "Early Israelite Poetry and Historical Reconstructions," The Era of Israelite Origins: Proband History at the Beginning of the lems in the Archaeology Early Iron Age (Seventy-fifth Anniversary Symposium of the American Schools of Oriental Research), ed. F. M. Cross, Cambridge: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1976, p. 12.

162 For a discussion of the root 73tB, see Frank M. Cross, Jr., "The Priestly Tabernacle," BAH I: 224-27, and Canaanite Myth, pp. 245-46. See also Freedman, "Divine Names and Titles," p. 23. the following discussion of Exod 15:17. 64 An extensive discussion of this poem and its date towards the beginning of the 12th century can be found in David Noel Freedman, "Early Israelite History in the Light of Early Israelite Poetry," Unity and Diversity: Essays in the History, Literature , and Religion of the Ancient Near East, ed. H. Goedicke and J.J.M. Roberts, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1975, pp. 3-12. See also Cross, Canaanite Myth, pp. 121-26, for a discussion of the antiquity of its poetic structure, and his n. 29, on p. 121, for bibliography. 65 E.g., for trees, see Lev 19:23, Isa 44:14, Eccl 2:5, etc.; of vineyards, see Gen 9:20 (Noah, first farmer), Amos 5:11, 9:14, Eccl 2:4, etc.

^ T h e former is the suggestion of Cross, Canaanite Myth, p. 131. The latter is the rendering of Freedman, "Early Israelite History," p. 6. The mythological context of nh.1, as territory owned by the god, is described by Clifford, The Cosmic Mountain, pp. 29-73. ® 7 Freedman's analysis of Israelite history in relation to this poem, in "Early Israelite History," pp. 6-9, not only sees the southern wilderness mountain as the frame of reference for this verse but also proposes that this holy mountain constituted a sacral center of YHWH. Cf. Ps 78:54 and also Freedman 1 s analysis of it, ibid.-, this verse seems to contain another reference to the southern sacred region of the Lord. 68

Canaanite Myth, pp. 131 and 246. "Early Israelite History," pp. 6-7.

See also Freedman,

®®Clifford, Cosmic Mountain, p. 139, would like to identify the reference to miqdas here with the sanctuary at Gilgal. But Freedman, ibid., would see miqda5 along with "dias of your throne" and the other Late Bronze terminology of this poem as reflecting the heavenly palace of YHWH at the summit of the sacred mountain rather than any earthly construction. ^ N u m 24:5-7. The word that is the subject of "planted" is "aloes" in the MT, a lofty tree properly paralleled by cedar in the following strophe. However, the Septuagint and other ancient versions preserve "tents," perhaps influenced by the tents of Jacob in the preceding verse; and some scholars prefer (see the notes in Kittel, ad loo) "oaks" or "terebinths." '^"The Hebrew word is VtsJ; it recurs in v. 16. 72

The Hebrew is ripil1; cf. Ezek 17:22 and below, pp. 152-

73

A1SO in Jeremiah, see 2:21, 11:16, 17, 32:41, 42:10.

53.

163 74 Cf. also Hos 10:1, where Israel is a vine, the fertility of which leads her, presumably, to fertility cults, and Hos 14:9, where the Lord is likened to a tree, i.e., he is the source of Israel's fruits. "^The cosmic image is picked up in v. 25, which gives the setting "in all my holy mountain," and in the following verse (65:1), where God proclaims heaven as his throne and the earth as his footstool. ^ T h e scene is thus set in Ezek 40:2. ^ E z e k 47:1-2. The rivers are filled, in the terminology of Genesis 1, with "every living creature which swarms," v. 9. 78 Ezek 47:12. The fruit of these life-trees shall be for fruit and healing, cf. above, p. 138. 79 The root appears repeatedly in chapter 47: three times in vv. 13-14, three times in vv. 22-23. Cf. p. 148, nn. 66 and 67. 80 Only on the west bank, between the Mediterranean and the Jordan rift, and not in Transjordan. 81 Not on both sides of the river as the RSV implies, but only on one bank, the west bank, as in the tribal inheritances, cf. n. 80. nstfl appears only in the singular; HTDT HTD would then have to mean "everywhere, in every direction," rather than "on both sides." That "?rn refers to the Jordan rift seems clear; cf. William R. Farmer, "The Geography of Ezekiel's River of Life," BAR I: 284-89. ft 9 See Joel 2:3, Jer 9:9-11, Isa 5:5-7, Ezek 19:12. The personification of the ground (HOIK) mourning its destroyed vegetation is reminiscent of the unique situation of the earth mediating God's creation of vegetation in Gen 1:11-12. 83 Ezek 19:11, 14; the Monarch is equated with his staff, nan. 84

In one place, Isa 60:21, the shoot motif refers to all Israel, but elsewhere the idiom is overwhelmingly applied to a Messianic ruler. The royal imagery of the biblical and postbiblical passages is discussed in Widengren, pp. 50-55. 85 Cf. Ezek 20:40; God's holy mountain = "the mountain height of Israel." 86 The use of DJ in these vv. (Isa 11:10, 12) for the Davidic root or shoot is to be compared with the altar as built by Moses in commemoration of YHWH's presence via the "staff of God"; cf. above, pp. 146-47. Thus the Davidic Messiah is symbolic of God's presence in Israel. In addition, arborescent ensign to D^IDV and D"11T3 is to be compared to the luminescent terms • ">•>•) 3 -)1K> (Isa 42:6, 49:6) and 0">Dy (Isa 51:4); cf. above, n. 54.

164 87 "Branch" (RSV and most E W ) might better be rendered "shoot," which contains the notion of new or renewed growth not present in "branch." 88 On the introduction of this term (P^TX) in relation to the scion of David and its possible connection with Zedekiah (irPpTi") , see John Bright, Jeremiah (Anchor Bible, 21) , Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965, pp. 143-44. 89

J e r 23:5 and 33:15.

90

Zech 3:8, 6:12.

91

In v. 11, the two olive trees are the symbols in question; in the reiteration of v. 12, it is the "branches of the olive trees," LprpTn Perhaps the prevailing notions of the Messianic "shoot" expressed by Zechariah himself in 3:8 and 6:12 caused the prophet to adjust the tree figure in this way. 92 Ezek 31:6; cf. 17:23 and also Hos 14:7, a somewhat shortened reference to the protective shade of the tree, which according to the Hebrew text seems to be referring to God. The shift in number, from singular to plural, has caused a confusion of antecedents. 93 Ezek 31:4. Cf. u">m d ^ D in vv. 5 and 7 and also in 17:5 and 8. On the cosmic background of this term, see Herbert G. May, "Some Cosmic Connotations of Mayirn Rabbim, 'Many Waters,'" JBL 74 (1955), pp. 19-21. 94

E z e k 31:8 and 9.

95

See above, n. 11.

9

®The symbolic importance of the confluence of these two images, flame/light and plant form, will be treated below in our concluding chapter, pp. 176-78. 97

The recurrent notion of the fertility of Joseph in particular, as in the Blessings of Jacob and Moses and in Hosea and Psalm 80, is no doubt related to the choice location of the Joseph tribes on the fertile mountain heights of Israel. Thus Joseph epitomizes the flourishing of Israel.

CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS PART ONE. I.

THE MENORAH IN THE ISRAELITE CULT

Evaluation of the Motif This study has undertaken from the outset to comprehend

the tabernacle menorah as an artifact of biblical religion by first investigating its physical form, as far as such is accessible on the basis of the available textual descriptions along with pertinent archaeological data, and then by turning to the meaning of that form to the extent that it is a part of the symbolic lingua franca of the ancient Near East.

The task re-

maining for us at this point, then, is to ascertain as closely as possible the function that this object served within the context of the biblical cult.

The preceding chapter has al-

ready determined the ideational background existing within Israel with regard to the arborescent meaning conveyed by the form that the object assumes, by the vegetative terminology used to describe its components, and by the vegetal nature of the architectonic elements themselves.

Thus the culminative

step in this work involves confronting the issue of the position of the object as a totality within its cultic setting. To begin with, it is crucial to differentiate between cultic setting in its broadest sense, namely, the spatial location of the object, and cultic setting in terms of ritual usage. There can be no doubt but that in the tabernacle descriptions of P as we have them, the menorah was an integral part of a complex of ritual objects, carefully arranged according to sanctity and intimately connected with a structured series of regularly-performed ritual acts.

The work of Menahem Haran has

been eminently successful in establishing this."L

However,

while Haran unhesitatingly affirms that the Israelite cult did not create its institutions from nothing but rather adapted its usages from existing forms and practices and imbued them with new meaning, his analysis of the integrated structure of the tabernacle ritual tends to blur the possibility of the original 165

166

individuality of the items within the complex and to ignore the variety of symbolic significations which are amalgamated in the preserved tradition. A. Menorah as motif rather than apparatus Specifically with respect to the menorah, our inquiry has shown in a number of ways that this object cannot be relegated to the status of an appurtenance alone, even though that is its manifest function in the traditions as we have them.

We shall

review the bases for such a conclusion: To begin with, the somewhat ambiguous usage of the word m i 3 D to describe the central "functional" portion of the arti2 fact and/or the composite branched object is indication that the branches are not crucial to the provision of light in the ritual complex. Second, the basic, simple, cylindrical stand with flaring lower portion can be shown to belong to an extremely common class of cultic stands serving a wide range of ritual purposes in the ancient Near East.

Yet in the Israelite cult this ar-

chaic type of support underwent a shift in conception, incorporating a complicated and repetitive series of embellishments which cannot be seen as mere decoration and which must be taken as an indication of an alteration in focus.^

The primary func-

tion of the stand or receptacle was preempted in the process of its absorption of certain architectonic elements. Third, as if to corroborate this, we confront the odd manner in which the lamps, the raison d'être for any lampstand qua lampstand, are presented.

Despite the tendency for all uten-

sils of the furnishings of the sanctuary to be specified as golden, the lamps themselves somehow escape this designation, 4

unlike those of Solomon's temple, for example.

In addition,

there exists the confusion, which cannot be resolved easily, about the number and arrangement of the lamps.^ Finally, there is by contrast with the uncertain nature of the nil] the integral nature of the y ">2 3 in conjunction with the phenomenon of the double-bowl lamp in the Egypto-AegeoPalestinian region. 6 These facts taken conjointly serve as evidence that the menorah 1 s apparent role as bearer of lights does not grow out

167 of a single and consistent tradition and that there remain traces in the tradition we have that the object at some hoary point did not serve this sole purpose.

One almost can say that

the lamps as they appear in the priestly account are quite secondary. Along with these data several other observations can be made which further support our conclusion that the menorah cannot be equated with the other furnishings of the tabernacle despite P's incorporation of it into the ritual complex.

In

other words, not only is it more than a lampstand in instrumental terms but also it bears remnants of a special status even within the context of the priestly texts. For one thing, a special schesis is afforded to its fabricature by the repetition in Exod 25:40 of the general direction given in 25:9 for the construction of the tabernacle and its appurtenances.

At the conclusion of the prescriptive presenta-

tion of the menorah with all its details, the text asserts: "And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is shown you on the mountain (1H3)."

Not even for the ark and

the cherubim, which occupy the inner sanctum, is this reiterative dictum deemed necessary; nor is it repeated for any other of the furnishings of the outer sanctum.

In addition, in

slightly different form, the fact of Moses' being shown the pattern for the menorah is repeated once more in Num 8:4.' One further feature of the presentation of the menorah in the priestly source likewise deserves mention.

In the summa-

tion of the prescriptive texts given in Exodus 31, the tent, the ark, the furnishings and altars, the garments, the oil and incense are listed seriatim. However, only for the menorah is o the attribute mnt3 added, even though other items of the apparatus are specified elsewhere to have been made of "pure gold." The same is true for the parallel summation of Exod 39:37; only 10 9 the menorah is amplified in this way. It has been assumed that the epithet "pure" before menorah in these listings is a variation of the expression "line 3DT and hence denotes the golden workmanship that characterizes the menorah.

At the very

least, then, the menorah seems to be accorded special status thereby, since no other item within the same gradation is so singled out.

However, the possibility also must be considered

168 that "IHD in these instances does not refer to gold in the metallurgical sense, since 3HT is not mentioned, and so does not indicate "pure" in the cultic or technological sense; instead, it may be related in these vv. to Ugaritic thr/zhr

which

connotes "brightness" in the visual sense and perhaps in the . i 11 cosmic sense as well. In any case, it is clear that the tabernacle menorah, despite its integration into a carefully-arranged ritual complex in which it serves as an instrument for bearing light as part of the ritual, retains certain distinctive

characteristics

which remove it from the category of apparatus.

Its organizing

principles do not reside in the concern for its instrumental value, though that value may well have resided within it from the outset.

Even in its literary setting within the structure

of the priestly tabernacle texts, for which ritual function is the overriding interest, the fact that the inherent qualities of its form and design nonetheless achieve preeminence is good indication that we are dealing not primarily with a tool or a cultic apparatus but rather with a symbolic form, a work of 12 art

which carries with it far more than what may be conveyed

by its instrumental usage. B. Levels of meaning of the motif Therefore, because of the supremacy of matters of form and design in the structure of our object, it is necessary to approach its meaning in the iconographic sphere.

This we have

done, according to the three successive levels of meaning which can be associated with a given form.'''3

The first level of in-

terpretation is the natural level, whereby the primary graphic identification of a form is effected.

This has been accom-

plished in Chapter IV, where our formal analysis of the branched shape and the repetitive elements of the menorah, seen in conjunction with the vegetative nature of the description of the elements as discerned in Chapter II, resulted in our understanding of the object as an artistic motif expressing vegetal life. At the same time, in Chapter IV, we strove to comprehend the secondary level of meaning of this artistic motif.

That is

169 to say, the conventional themes associated with this motif in the ancient Near East were established.

Normally, stories and

allegories contained in the contemporary literary sources provide the equipment for such interpretation.

While not ignoring

such data, we found it more direct if not more accurate to analyze the immediate artistic context of this motif.

The

direct use of literary sources to understand the conventional meanings of motifs, undertaken by such scholars as Widengren, seems to us to be a somewhat risky matter for high antiquity, when we are necessarily dealing with a severely restricted portion of the material products of a given civilization.

While

Widengren seems to succeed, it must be pointed out that there is no certain way to know that the graphic objects under scrutiny are truly homologous with those alluded to in the texts. Therefore, by concentrating upon the graphic context of our motif we have been able to isolate the conceptual themes which accompany it.

Paradigmatic for this interest is the ubi-

quitous appearance of the tree motif in association with nurturant animals and also celestial emblems.

The reoccurrence of

this triple theme is so persistent that the appearance of the tree without one or both of the accompanying features still bears the thrust of the total scene.

The force of the motif,

set in such a context, revolves around the fructifying value of the vegetative object.

Hence it is a life theme, to state it

in its most general terms, that is being presented.

At the

Mesopotamian end of the Fertile Crescent, this theme tended to center upon the regeneration of nature as a source of sustenance in this life, whereas at the Egyptian end, the permanence of life even beyond death was the prominent issue.

But these

two aspects are not mutually exclusive; in both cases divine power and presence were associated intimately with the life theme, whatever its particular expression. The nature of its appearance in certain cultic and mythological contexts indicates that the essence of the divinity itself could be conveyed by this motif.

This phenomenon is pre-

dicated upon the existence in ancient prelogical societies of the sense that form is somehow identical with content, that a given form presupposes a given content, that a form in some

170 sense is the same as that which it signifies. 14

This may be

called "primitive thought" by some, but given the highly sophisticated nature of the civilizations in which such processes occur, the evaluation "immediate unanalyzed total reaction" 15 seems more appropriate. Yet if the expression of divinity by metaphor means that the metaphor becomes divine, it does not mean that its status as metaphor simultaneously could not be apprehended. The final stage in evaluating a motif is the most difficult of all and concerns the attempt to arrive at its intrinsic meaning, to look at the object as a cultural symbol and to determine what "essential tendencies of the human mind"'''® were expressed under a given set of historical circumstances by the theme that that object bears.

In literary terms, full-blown

mythological treatment might be considered the source for such analysis, though all available cultural documents need to be examined.

We have begun in Chapter V to investigate this ul-

timately symbolic level of meaning in our object by considering the place of arboreal motifs in biblical thought. While the thematic associations of the life-tree are consistently present, else the metaphoric transposition would lose its significance, the tree motif in its most vital form in the Bible is found in expressions of the cosmic awareness of man. Beginning with the concept of divinity somehow residing in or manifesting itself in plant life as part of the cosmic structure, Israel developed the notion of its corporate existence within sanctified space, the land of Israel, as homologous with the existence of the cosmic t r e e — t h e world tree or Weltenbaum — a t the center of God's realm, the cosmos. II.

Spatial Location of the Motif It remains for us, then, by way of concluding our study

and in order to enhance our comprehension of this third level of meaning, to return to our object as it stands within the texts that preserve it for us, viz., within the tabernacle or •ptilD of early Israel.

As a tangible object it was located in

space and involved with space.

As an imposing movable object''"''

it was an intimate part of its immediate environment, namely

171 the sacred space within the sanctuary wherein its mass could expand and its volume spread out, as do forms of life them18 selves. Thus an understanding of its environment is a critical aspect of understanding the object itself. A. Sacred space in the ancient Near East An analysis of the space occupied by the tabernacle menorah is best approached from a phenomenological viewpoint.

From

this stance, it is axiomatic that every sanctuary is constitu19 ted as an imago mundi, with the cosmos as paradigmatic model. In this way it can provide the desired link between heaven and earth and ensure the irruption of the sacred, that which is preeminently real—the power, efficacity, and source of life 20 and fecundity — a t a specified location. In his desire to remain near that numinous locale and the benefits that accrued therefrom, homo religiosus devised ways of reactualizing the cosmogony on a multiplicity of scales.

With one or more ele-

ments of the cosmic paradigm reproduced, the totality of the cosmos could be invoked and the divine presence in the cosmos approached. Specifically, a series of images which we already have en21 countered serve the purpose of creating a sacred center which makes communication with heaven possible.

Within this imagis-

tic complex, certain figures such as the pillar, ladder, tree, pole, vine, etc., refer in graphic terms to the axis mundi which has its top in the heavens, the world of the gods.

Thus

sanctuaries are structures which, in attempting to render permanent the experience of the holy, are characterized by the homologizing of their architectural features to the cosmos. The space by the structure thus 22 shares the same sacred reality as enclosed the primeval world structure. This concept of sanctuary as imago mundi receives another 23 important valorization which must be noted: the sanctuary exists as an earthly replica of a heavenly model.

There is a

transcendent pattern, the supramundane abode of the deity, which is reproduced on earth.

It thus provides a "home" for

him on earth where he is accessible to man.

Of course this

transpires on a symbolic level, with the imagined features of

172 the god's abode approximated according to the techniques available to man.

Thus in the mythological understanding of the

sanctuary as cosmos and in the symbolic understanding of cosmos as replica, the needs of the worshipper to locate the god as 24

closely as possible to himself could be met.

In a series of articles concerning "The Significance of 25 the Temple in the Ancient Near East," the particular expressions of these conceptions of sanctuary in Egypt and in Mesopotamia as well as in Canaan and Israel are investigated.

In

Egypt, the temple clearly was imbued with cosmological significance and interpreted as a microcosm of the universe, though this process seems to have been secondary to the evolution of the building structure. 26

Insofar as the temple as dwelling of

the god reflected the world, various features of its design embodied the natural order: its ceiling was blue and starstudded, plant-form columns grew out of its earth-floor, a dado of plants and figures ran along the walls, the two pylon towers 27 were the hills of the horizon, and so on. In Mesopotamia, the degree to which the sanctuary homologized the cosmic center is indicated by the importance of the ziggurat. Temples were in this way assimilated to the cosmic 2 8 mountain and created the connection between heaven and earth. Further, the model for the construction of temples was ofttimes 29 thought to exist in the divine realm. A similar situation obtained in Syria-Palestine,^ where the temple was the abode of the deity and the sacred mountain as site of a shrine provided the cosmic connection between the cult site and the heavenly abode of the g o d . ^ B. Sacred place in Israel—the tabernacle The tabernacle shrine of YHWH exhibits much the same function as that of shrines in the surrounding cultures.

The ela-

borate tabernacle texts are not meant to instruct us in antiquities but to present a catalogue of whatever is essential to 32 achieve God's presence in the Israelite camp. Just as the abode of Baal or El required certain furnishings, so the 'ptiiD of the Lord required a complement of equipment and provisions 33 to enable him to "dwell in their midst.

173 While the tabernacle is a portable shrine, which could not have a permanent resting place upon a mountain top, the directions for its fabrication were given upon the mountain and the materials for its construction were assembled and fashioned while the people were encamped at the mountain at the conclusion of the covenant ceremony. 34 The whole scene is enacted underneath the God of Israel in his cosmic shrine: 35 >mttP Tl^K n« 1KT 1 ! - p s o n run"? ntt/yDD T > > m

nam

n n o > ••-Dtan D x y m (Exod 24:10) The languagè of this passage is akin to that describing cosmic shrines of gods in both Canaan and Mesopotamia.

"PBC,

probably lapis lazuli,^® symbolizes the clear blueness of the heavens and is the conventional partner of "IHU, meaning "brightness" or "clearness" in describing the abode of the 37 gods. The immediately following instructions for the tabernacle give it the orientation of being the earthly counterpart of God's cosmic abode, just as the careful attention to furnishings and service serve to accommodate, at least symbolically, the living God, even though he was in essence independent of the material environment.

Furthermore, the stipulation that

the tabernacle is to be fashioned "according to all that I show you concerning the pattern (rpjan) of the3 8tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it" is further indication that the tabernacle in its conception is homologized to a cosmic counterpart, the model of which is presented to Moses. All these data establish the cosmological scene of the tabernacle as drawn from the same imagistic milieu as the sanctuaries of Canaan and Mesopotamia.

The points of contact with

Egypt exist in a general way but do not bear the closeness of orientation that characterize the relationship of the Israelite pattern with that of her neighbors to the north and east.

How-

ever, the fact that Israel 39 has the same cosmological setting for her portable sanctuary as do the contiguous cultures does not mean that she shared the mythological basis for such a setting. 40 In fact, Israel despite her usage of mythological language to convey the cosmic setting had broken the essential mythological framework. 41

174 III.

The Function

of the

Motif

Having established the cosmological conception of the t a b e r n a c l e — w h i c h fact does not preclude its operation at other l e v e l s — a s well as the currency of arborescent motifs within the cosmic sphere in Israel, we are in a position to attempt to evaluate the symbolic value of the tabernacle menorah within the Israelite cult.

Again, we reiterate that literary data

only can be used in the most circumspect way in confronting a motif which operates as an iconographic form.

Even a written

commentary, contemporary with its inception into the biblical cult, could not identify properly for us the immediate signification that the graphic motif possessed. A. In the tabernacle

setting

The form In a way, the question of how the menorah operated, as more than an apparatus, within its tabernacle setting already has been resolved.

In identifying the various levels of mean-

ing of its graphic identity, the modalities of its operation within the minds of those who conceived of its design and who witnessed its appearance within the shrine have been established.

Its primary morphological value as a representation of

arboreal or vegetal life has led the way to a comprehension of the potency of such a representation as a symbolic theme. In a seemingly universal way, the tree stands for the mystery or secret of life.

With its leaves and blossoms and

fruit, with its capacity to remain ever green or to bud anew each spring, it captures the essence of man's most fundamental strivings for survival and sustenance in this world and in the hereafter.''2

The appearance of this theme within Israel cannot

be separated from such life matters.

The affective value of

this motif as a life theme must have remained strong, for Israel existed in cultural time and could not divorce herself fully from the contemporary world to enter completely the rarified world of Yahwistic values and Mosaic faith.

Even if it is

in a diminished way, the life theme has a part in the whole tree typology evident from the biblical sources.

How much of

175 this was an accommodation to the needs of the general populace and how much of it was inherent in the peak conceptions of the creative minds responsible for the literary materials is a matter for speculation. Yet the emphasis in the literary s o u r c e s — t h e biblical c o r p u s — i s on the cosmological modality.

This need not imply

that the immediate life-value was superseded; rather another dimension was incorporated into or around that value.

In its

homologous relation to the world tree at the sacred center, our motif helped to solve the problem for the Israelite tribes of securing the presence of YHWH.

Especially under the transi-

tional circumstances of a movable shrine, the tent/tabernacle, the necessity for achieving the presence of a deity not located 43 at or connected with a geographic focus was acute. The establishment of fixed sanctuaries, each with some visible, permanent symbol, whether natural or artificial, at or through which the worshipper could come into direct contact with the god, was an accommodation to the innermost needs of homo reli44 gvosus. The Mosaic transition to the concept of a transcendent non-located deity did not obviate such needs.

The notion of

God's omnipotence and omnipresence was not emotionally convinc45 ing, and in cult and prayer the proximity of God was sought. And insofar as minds are metaphoric by nature, God's nearness could be expressed symbolically to provide the necessary emotional reassurance.

Hence the life theme of the tree motif of

the menorah, in entering the cosmic sphere, can be seen as performing the function within the tabernacle shrine of establishing the center of the center, bringing the organizing principle of God's presence in the cosmos into visible focus in the midst of the people.

It carried on a process of hierophanization on

an emotional level as only a symbol can.

Thus in the reitera-

tion of the command for the divine model to be followed in the construction of the menorah, the addition of "on the mountain"^® not present in the original injunction has the force of setting this artifact into its imagistic setting as representative of God's holy tree on the holy mountain, the pinnacle of God's presence in the world.

176 The cosmological perspective which characterizes the third or intrinsic level of meaning of our motif perhaps allowed it 47 to avoid the tendency towards triviality which seems to accompany the meaning of the symbol at least at its thematic level, that is, the life theme.

In other words, its cosmic

implications served to help it transcend such trivialities by bridging the gap between Israel's cultural location on the one hand and her prophetic faith oriented towards an omnipresent God and his Law on the other hand.

By taking a motif the the-

matic value of which operated ultimately on an iconographic level, in which deity was equated with symbol, and placing it within a cult with an essentially aniconographic orientation, Israel succeeded—at least in its idealistic p e a k s — i n effecting a crucial shift in the unfolding pattern of human response to the numinous. The instrument The menorah as it appears in the tabernacle, whatever the depths of meaning of its formal existence, never ceases to be at the same time the bearer of light(s) even in the remote 48 49 stage of a hypothetical Upform. We have already explored in a limited way in connection with the sneh-event some of the possibilities for understanding the symbolic value of the lights, beyond their literal function of providing illumination for the abode of the deity.

The fire of God is seen to reflect

notions both of stormy (destructive) power and of Light and Truth, with the latter, non-destructive notions prevailing in Exodus 3."^ By way of addition, the cosmic dimension subsumed into the light of God motif can be examined.

God as source of light is

equated with m P P - n 23 , which in the Sinai typology is represented by a "consuming fire."

Likewise, in Ps 78:14, God's

guiding presence in the wilderness is manifest, by night, in a "fiery light." 51

In Ezek 1:27-28 and 8:2-4, the "glory of God"

appears in the form of fire: (BS-riKIDD ( m m ) .

The context in

Ezekiel 1 is closely reminiscent of the celestial image of 52 God's abode found in Exodus 24. And in the temple vision in Ezek 43:2, when the "glory of the God of Israel" appears, the

177 sound is like that of "many waters," a demonstrably cosmic term;"'3 the visual effect is that "the earth shone with his glory (111330 nT'Kn VIKH) ," that is, God's glory illuminated the land as would a light or fire. All these aspects of light, seen as part of the cosmic scene, no doubt played a role in establishing a symbolic portent to the lights on the menorah.

The very celestial connota-

tions of the root of m i 3D discussed in Chapter II are likewise relevant.

In addition, the celestial element ubiquitous to the

classic heraldic presentation of the tree motif in Semitic iconography is to be recalled, along with the astral value of "seven" and the conventional representations of Shamash in which the flaming god assumes the position usually reserved for 54 the sacred tree. The merger of astral light and arboreal life is a not infrequent event on the thematic level. In phenomenological terms, the evidence seems to indicate that the cosmic paradigm of the center, as point of contact between heaven and earth, includes not only the mountain and tree among its elements but also a range of supernal images which complete the axis mundi at its uppermost extent.

In this sense

the sneh-pericope belongs to a group of cosmic images which combine tree with luminous phenomena.

Perhaps the most rele-

vant example of this group in terms of literary sources is the tale of the olive tree on the Ambrosian rocks of Tyre; this tree is self-rooted, at the navel of the earth, has a bowl (=moon) and an eagle (=sun) on top of it, and is in flames but is not consumed.^ In any case, the lights supported by the menorah partake of the imagistic paradigm equally with the tree motif.

In com-

bination, the symbolic potency of each thereby is enhanced.

In

addition, the explicit identification in the biblical sources of fiery light with God's glory or his very appearance brings the presence of the lights, no less than the arboreal shape of their support, very close to symbolizing the deity directly.^ If we consider the fact that the tabernacle, as the first shrine of the Israelite alliance, was also the first shrine to reject the presence of an actual image of the deity, then the presence of our artifact within that shrine served an important

178 function in making the transition from the condition of the cultus in Israel's milieu, where the ever-present image is the deity or at least the vehicle for the deity's approach, 5 ^ to the condition attaining in Israel in which that ultimate medium for effecting divine presence is expressly forbidden. B. Consecutive imagery So much attention has been devoted towards understanding the significance of the menorah as a symbol in later periods when its representations proliferate that a brief conspectus of such scrutiny is appropriate here to round out our inquiry. While we may mention some of the theories of its meaning, the phenomenon of its continuation as a potent symbol is our chief interest.

The interpretations offered tend to be grounded in

the literary sources, of which there is a fairly abundant supply.

However, by very dint of their being products of the

world of ideas rather than of forms, their usefulness in a direct way tends to be mitigated. Yet the scholarly corpus has not grasped fully that fact. Even Goodenough, whose voluminous work is based upon the premise that symbols must be understood as part of a lingua franaa of graphic religious expression, directed his analysis of the meaning of the menorah towards a survey of relevant textual 58 references. This was especially true for his treatment of "Jewish" symbols as opposed to pagan ones, for which he could readily turn to contemporary artistic forms for elucidation. His conclusions vis a vis the menorah, that its potency derived from its association with light, should have been the starting point for an investigation of the intrinsic meaning of the formal expressions of that commodity in the Greco-Roman world rather than the culmination of his work with that symbol. It is interesting to note that, according to Goodenough, it is the "Light" aspect of the menorah's import which achieves prominence in the later periods and which seems to be identi59 fied with God himself. Morton Smith confirms this comprehension of the light symbolism being an image of God and adduces some additional texts, all of which allegorically relate the menorah to l i g h t . B o t h Goodenough and Smith are cognizant

179 of the formal relation to the tree motif.

Goodenough only

could advance parallels for that aspect from remote antiquity whereas Smith offers for consideration some more contemporary materials.

However, the thrust of the evidence points to the

tree motif as vestigial and the light motif as paramount.®^ In any case, the fact of its continuing existence as a powerful symbol points to the potency it exhibited as a symbol from its inception.

Such forms, once they exist in matter, be-

come like a mold in which successively different materials may be cast, each capable of imbuing the original form with a wholly new import.® 2

"Once created," as Frankfort puts it,

"their lasting forms challenge the imagination.

They may be

charged with a new significance which they themselves call forth, and stimulate a new integration in alien surroundings."®^ In this sense, the "invention" of archetypal forms within Israelite culture represented a solution to some crucial problem and as far as it was successful, opened the possibility for successive solutions which used that form but yet altered it in the sense that the successive problems which call it forth are ^u never the same. 64 IV.

Summary The force of this chapter up to this point has been to ar-

rive as closely as possible at the symbolic function served by the presence of the menorah in the Israelite cult.

To begin

with, this object, while part of a carefully-balanced

ritual

arrangement, must be treated as an artistic motif rather than a cult instrument if its significance is to be determined. only do the details of its fabrication and its morphology cate a status which supersedes the requirements dictated by instrumental needs, but even within the priestly

Not indi-

solely

texts,

which are oriented towards its instrumentality, it exhibits a special position not called for were it an apparatus alone. As a symbolic motif, the tabernacle menorah can be evaluated on a series of levels befitting its character as an artistic form operating in the realm of iconography, in which ideas are presented by graphic means.

The basic interpretation of

this motif lies in the conventional ways, as has been

180 determined by an examination of comparable manifestations in ancient Near Eastern cultures, for the expression of vegetal life. An understanding of the second level of meaning, the thematic values associated with the depiction of vegetal life, also has been achieved through comparative methods.

The life

theme, whether it be the sustaining of life in this world or the securing of life in the next world, is the crucial aspect of this symbol in the cultural milieu from which Israel emerged.

In this way, the essence of divinity itself as the

ultimate source or grantor or guarantor of life is conveyed by this particular artistic form.

Our evaluation of the thematic

value attached to vegetal life in biblical literature has shown that the life theme is indeed present in reference to the tree motif. However, it is on the third and ultimately symbolic level of evaluation that the particular Israelite response to the presence of the motif can be educed.

The difficulty in exam-

ining this response lies in the fact that any reaction to a form existing in space is of necessity an affective one, a matter of feelings and so not lending itself to rational description.

Yet, as a form it existed within a particular atmos-

phere.

By identifying this atmosphere, namely, the cosraologi-

cal setting of the tabernacle, we are in a position to approach the symbolic function of the menorah within that setting. It is the cosmological modality of the tree motif which constitutes the most vital and pervasive way in which it appears in the biblical sources and which provides the means for our attempts to comprehend its symbolic position within the cult.

The most profound development of the life theme, in

which divinity itself could be expressed in arborescent terms, opens the possibility for a symbol of the cosmic tree within the tabernacle precinct to contribute towards securing the reality of God's presence.

Precisely because its physical

properties and dimensions were familiar and active could it achieve the potency as a symbol that contributed to the assurance of divine accessibility yet, because of its participation in the cosmic paradigm, did not have to symbolize God himself.

181 In addition, the presence of the lights, with their own cosmic portent, increased the symbolic value of the total object. PART TWO. I.

Chronological

HISTORICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS Information

It has become obvious that in discussing the role of the menorah in the Israelite cult we have assumed that it in fact can be located in the cultus of the wilderness period.

This

assumption flies in the face of the older variety of biblical criticism, exemplified by the statement of Cook: "There is no critical evidence to support the supposition that the temple [sic] candelabrum described by P in Exod 25:31ff. 37:17ff. existed before the e x i l e . E v e n

today, some scholars hold to

the notion that the entire description of the tabernacle is an invention of the Second Temple period intended to give Mosaic sanctity to an elaborate temple cult and also to glorify the past;®'' the menorah in this view is a projection into the wilderness period in an effort to legitimize the restoration cult.

Even Haran, much of whose work tends to validate the

antiquity of the tabernacle traditions, supposes that the menorah of the tabernacle was patterned after those of the Solo68 i monic temple. While we shall avoid the issue of the date of the priestly

traditions from a literary standpoint,

we must point out the

corrective tendency in contemporary scholarship which now sees preserved in P a cultic tradition deriving from the desert era. The wilderness period, being the "creative and normative period of Israel's political and religious history,"^® is the era to which the tabernacle tradition is attributed; the cultic organization of the tribal groups, albeit schematized and idealized, is to be seen as taking place under Mosaic leadership no less than the politico-legal organization.

The very nature of the

shrine, as a portable enclosure, bespeaks its essential antiquity.

Furthermore, certain careful studies of individual

aspects of priestly tradition have been programmatic in establishing their pre-monarchic antiquity.

A case in point is

Jacob Milgrom's work in demonstrating that the concept of the

182

Levitic and priestly duty of guarding reaches back to the earliest tribal memories of a guarded cultic shrine in the 72 wilderness. In addition, Freedman's work on early Israelite poetry, specifically the Song of the Sea, shows the setting for the earliest evidence of Yahwistic religion to be at a southern wilderness sanctuary, a sacred area at YHWH's mountain at Sinai or Horeb. 73 A. The wilderness period With respect to the tabernacle menorah, its authentic place in the traditions of the wilderness period has been assumed in this study because the archaeological data that have been adduced in preceding chapters cannot allow us to do otherwise. On every level, the details of its fabricature and form point to it as a manifestation of a material culture that can be located in time at the end of the Late Bronze Age. Specifically: 1) The six-branch-plus-central-axis arrangement which is its chief morphological characteristic and also the essence of its symbolic value is to be located in the particular stylized expression of the tree motif of the Late Bronze period. This motif exists in graphic form throughout the history of the ancient Near East, but it is precisely during the LB II period, which coincides with the wilderness period of Israel, that its treatment becomes the direct parallel of that found in the tabernacle menorah. Furthermore, this particular treatment of the motif can be localized in the geographic areas from which 74 the proto-Israelite tribes emerged. 2) In addition, various details of the menorah's fabrication have been shown to have been drawn from artistic tendencies current—in the Syro-Palestinian area especially under Egyptian influence—in the Late Bronze Age during Egyptian hegemony over Canaanite territory. The development of the simple ring molding, ubiquitous on cultic stands for millennia of history in both Egypt and Mesopotamia, into a repetitive motif and simultaneously into an architectonic floral capital is concentrated at the eastern Mediterranean at the end of the Late Bronze Age.7^

183 3) Similarly, the appearance of the double-bowl lamp, which bears some relation to the V 3 J , is most common in Palestinian contexts dating to LB II, though its extra-Palestinian antecedents are earlier and its subsequent evolution, chiefly outside of Palestine, into a closed lamp with central wick tube -, ^ 76 is later. 4) Finally, as a member of the category of cultic stands, the menorah belongs to the nearly omnipresent form of cylindrical stand with flaring or thickened lower portion which goes back to earliest times in the ancient Near East but which does not survive past the Iron Age.

At that point, tripodal metal

stands, perhaps tentatively present already early in the Iron Age, become the v o g u e . " One of the chief objections to the possibility, which the above evidence brings to the brink of certitude, of the existence in the wilderness period of an artifact such as described in the parallel accounts in Exodus is that such a costly and intricate object would be grossly out of context with both the economy and the technical capabilities of a semi-nomadic exis78 tence. While not insisting on the golden reality of the object, two considerations that may mitigate the tendency to preclude this reality need to be offered. For one thing, the "semi-nomadic" concept of tribal life in the wilderness is an exaggeration if not a distortion of the actual facts.

The very discontent reflected by the constant

murmurings during this period indicates that the tribes were distinctly not at ease with the environment forced upon them. Those tribes that had been in Egypt had been settled in the Delta region in an agricultural milieu, and the contrasting uncertainties of a wandering existence were not congenial.

Tri-

bal organization per se is not to be taken as a manifestation of a bedouin existence; tribal configurations continue to exist long after a transition to an agronomic or even an urban pat79 tern has been effected. Thus the concept of a circumscribed sort of artistic tradition or a poverty of means that may to some extent be associated with a semi-nomadic existence does not apply necessarily to the post-Exodus Israelite tribes. even if the tribes should be identified with a bedouin-like

And

184 existence, that in itself does not preclude metallurgical artistry; on the contrary, certain nomadic tribes of tinkers were quite specialized in such matters. The second consideration is a technical one.

There is a

tradition in the book of Exodus that a fair modicum of silver and gold, perhaps by way of despoiling the oppressors or perhaps by way of representing the only method for transporting material possessions on a journey, was taken with the children 80

of Israel out of Egypt.

The strength of this tradition is

displayed in Psalm 105, an Exodus motif psalm, which fails to record the Sinai event yet includes the possession of silver and gold among its catalogue of memorable events of the Exodus period: "Then he led forth Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribes who stumbled" (v. 37). In conjunction with this, it is to be recalled that while the original lot of the proto-Israelite tribes in the Delta region may have been an agricultural existence, at least part of the group in the immediate pre-Exodus period was involved in technological labor in connection with the Pharoah's building projects.

Further, the technological and artistic skills re-

quired to follow the blueprint for the tabernacle is seen as

81

arising from within Israel, with Bezalel and his assistants. This is to be contrasted with the Solomonic necessity for importing Tyrian craftsmen.

The implication that indigenous

technical skill, acquired while sojourning in the midst of a technically advanced society and lost by the time of the Solomonic project, accords well with the Egyptian orientation of 82 the procedures involved in the construction of the menorah. In short, we must conclude that the evidence points overwhelmingly to the existence during the end of the Late Bronze Age of the specific combination of details of form and manufacture which characterize the tabernacle menorah.

Insofar as

this coincides with the Exodus-Wilderness period of at least some portion of the Israelite tribes, the very period to which tradition ascribes the inception of the tabernacle/tent as an Israelite institution, the traditions concerning the fabrication of the menorah within that sanctuary must be seen as an authentic part of the Exodus narratives.

185 B. Subsequent history Although the tabernacle menorah is demonstrably a part of the cultic tradition of the wilderness period, its subsequent history within the biblical tradition is of considerable interest.

Assuming that the ultimate fate of the "original" arti83 fact is linked with the history of the Shiloh shrine, the

next major expression of this artifact would be in the temple of Solomon. There is no evidence, however, that a menorah of the sort connected with the wilderness shrine existed in that 84 edifice. The ten menorahs seem to be related only instrumentally, though of course that has implications for the symbolic continuity, to the tabernacle artifact.

And if Zechar-

iah's vision has any reliability for the First Temple, it informs us that the menorahs were not branched but were lampstands supporting seven-spouted lamps, typical of those found in cultic contexts in Palestine from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron A g e . ^

In this case, the arborescent motif borne by

the branched shape would have been diminished, and the light motif borne by the lamps would have been intensified. For some reason, the menorah as bearer of the tree motif was no longer needed in the Israelite sanctuary.

It only can

be conjecture, but the possibility is to be entertained that once a fixed location for YHWH's shrine was established on God's holy mountain in Jerusalem, a grove of living trees replaced the menorah as the vehicle for that part of the cosmic imagery of the sanctuary.

Note the language of the psalmist in

this respect: But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. (Ps 52:8) and:

The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord, they flourish in the courts of our God. to show that the Lord is upright. (Ps 92:12-13, 15)

Or, just as the living trees in the old patriarchal sanctuaries precluded the necessity for symbolic ones, perhaps the frieze of palm trees and flowers and cherubim as well as the extensive

186 use of cedar wood®® in the house of God in Jerusalem contributed sufficiently to the cosmic imagery and obviated the necessity for an artificial apparatus, especially one that might be uncomfortably close to undesirable features of Canaanite ,. . 87 religion. In short, we cannot be certain of the fate of the tabernacle artifact during the First Temple period.

But the subse-

quent emergence of the centrality of the light motif—albeit in a branched form no doubt inspired by the Exodus texts—leads us to believe that the symbolic force of the arborescent motif was either not present in the Solomonic lampstands, especially if their form was akin to the seven-spouted lamps resting on cylindrical stands of the Iron Age (and reflected in Zechariah), or, if present, was diminished or overshadowed by the presence of other vegetal expressions which could not have been incorporated into a portable sanctuary but which were present in the Jerusalem temple. After the rupture of the exile, the rebuilding of the temple was effected with considerable urgency to help restore the bruised tradition of God's presence in Israel.

The seemingly

excessive emphasis upon the temple vessels themselves can be seen as a way of coping with the need to establish continuity between the situation preceding the disaster and the state of 88

affairs following it.

In the process of cataloguing the ma-

terials and remaking the vessels, the "reality link" was achieved, joining the order which is traced back continually into the past with the present order and thus authenticating 89 the present experience. The same phenomenon no doubt lies at the basis of the continuing refabrication of the temple vessels following each minor rupture within the Second Temple period as well as, to some extent, the proliferation of representations of objects from the cult, notably the menorah, after 70 C.E. The renewed interest in P traditions during the 6th century can best be related to this concern for the replacement of the temple structure and vessels.

Thus, the refabrication

of the menorah would be expected to follow the directions, as best as they could be understood, as they appeared in the priestly archives, the tabernacle texts.

Indeed, the various

187 sources for the renditions of the raenorah in Second Temple times give the impression of attempts which were made to reproduce the tabernacle archetype—the return of the use of a single lampstand as opposed to the Solomonic ten is prima faeie evidence of that attempt—but which could not replicate that model because of the alterations in technology and artistic fashion, to say nothing of language, that had transpired in the centuries that had elapsed between the composition of the core of the Pentateuchal descriptions and the endeavors of craftsmen 90 from the 6th century onwards. The preponderance of tripodal bases, for example, reflects the utilization of the available post-6th century typology of metal stands as a class of objects and thus the failure to comprehend the earlier typology of cultic stands. The symbolism of the Second Temple menorah derives from the light motif as representing God's presence, as we already have seen.

The understanding of the menorah in Zechariah, who

stood at a pivotal point between the two Jerusalem temples, is particularly pertinent here.

The shape of the lampstand in his

vision reflects what he had seen in Solomon's temple.

But the

single object of the Priestly tradition is what he projects into the still uncompleted temple of Zerubbabel and Joshua. The seven lamps have celestial import.

The two trees do not

mirror the form of the lampstand—it did not have that branched form—but rather present the cosmic image of joint arborescent Messiahs.

In flanking the menorah (4:14), the two royal

princes of Israel are standing alongside God, the Lord of the whole earth (yiKn->3 p i K - ^ v D^Tnyn -irt2f">n-'':i:i •'it»).

Thus the

lampstand in this vision represents God and the lamps are his eyes.

This conception is to be related to the biblical connec91

tion of the God of light with fire.

This sequence of representations of the menorah belongs to the phenomenon of consecutive imagery discussed above.

The

tabernacle menorah initiated a potent symbol in the biblical cult which, for the sake of continuity and all that was at stake in achieving that, repeatedly was reintroduced into the official shrine and eventually, following the cessation of that

188

central cult, irrupted into the "everyday" symbolic vocabulary of the people, in synagogues and tombs, on amulets and lamps. The survival of the symbol represents a continuity theme, to be 92 sure; but it is a continuity m change and never a survival of the original meaning itself but only of the meaning as it is recharged to fit the moment. Thus the application of the name "menorah" to a succession of artifacts in itself achieves the goal of an unbroken chain of tradition, no matter how different in appearance or in mean93 ing the various artifacts so designated may be. With this in mind, the confusion created by scholars in trying to reconcile various biblical and post-biblical descriptions of the menorah should be dissipated; successive descriptions have the name in common but not the artifact. II.

Cultural

Affinities

At this point it is possible to make some observations on the amalgamation of cultural attributes that the tabernacle menorah represents.

The overwhelming result of the evidence

adduced in Chapters II and IV is to place the technological and "decorative" aspects of its fabrication in close relationship with the artistic achievements of Egyptian civilization.

The

general principles of architectonic design by which plant forms are translated into structural elements are reflected in the vegetal aspect of much of the terminology used to describe the artifact.

The repetitive nature of the elements can likewise

be linked with values inherent in Egyptian art; the four-fold grouping of motifs on the central portion of the artifact is 94 morphologically related to the Djed. In addition, specific features of its embellishment, such as the mnSDT iHS element, seem to be related to developments in Egyptian columnation.

These developments influenced styles

among pottery and stone stands, and presumably metal ones as well, in the Aegeo-Egypto-Canaanite sphere, particularly during 95 the Late Bronze period. Furthermore, the nature of the V m ,

itself purported to

be an Egyptian loan word, can be linked tentatively with the archaeological reality of the double-bowl lamp, for which an

189 Egyptian origin seems possible.®®

The contextual relationship

of PDP with Egyptian marshes also is to be noted.

And in a

general sense, Egyptian superiority over a very long period of time in matters of metallurgical technology can be seen as the background for the precise technical directions, appropriate to the exigencies of form of our artifact, for the usage of sheet gold. However, if in matters of technology and in details of design the tabernacle menorah bears the imprint of Egyptian influence, its intimate connection with light, its numerical connection with seven (in the form of six-plus-one), and its symbolic value deriving from its vegetal form ail put it in close relationship with Semitic culture.

While there are points of

contact with features of Mesopotamian culture that were present as early as the 3rd millennium, it is within the particular iconographic expressions disseminating from a northern Mesopotamian epicenter into Syria, Palestine, and Cyprus at the end of the Late Bronze Age that the closest parallels can be identified.

Thus, just as the chronological evidence evinced above

places the tabernacle menorah within the time-setting of the wilderness period, the cultural affinities here evaluated tend to do the same. The whole matter of Egyptian influence upon the Israelite 97 cult has been a somewhat open question. Yet there has been considerable scholarly movement towards dealing with the reality of the sojourn for a portion of the proto-Israelite tribes 9 8 as well as with the technical affinities with Egypt of 99 such items as musical instruments and weights and measures. Even more important has been the willingness to accept a strong Egyptianizing background for Moses and the Aaronides and Levites with the concomitant implications for formative influence upon both prophetic religion and cultic organization. There is also the weight of language study, such as that of Hurvitz, which concludes that certain "Egyptianisms" in the tabernacle descriptions are independent of the terminology of the "theocratic circles" of the restoration and later and should instead be considered as evidence of very early material, going back to an Egyptian environment, preserved in the • 101 priestly writings.

190

Our discoveries with respect to the tabernacle menorah lend support towards the trend for the recognition of an Egyptianizing background for the cult, which no doubt is derived from patterns to which the people were accustomed.

The Exodus

period, unquestionably the moment when such Egyptian influences most strongly were felt, coincided with the creation of the 102

central institutions of the Israelite cult.

However, no

matter how deeply the proto-Israelite tribes may have been assimilated into Ramesside culture, the fact remains that a goodly portion if not all of proto-Israel remained at the same time firmly grounded in Semitic culture.

The Mesopotamian epic

and legal traditions reflected in the Bible were transmitted largely in Akkadian, the lingua franaa of the ancient Near East even for Egypt.

Similarly, the lingua franaa of symbolic and

graphic expression of cultural ideas was that of Mesopotamian culture.

In the case of literary influences, much of Israel's

heritage from the wider Near Eastern104 patterns can be seen as mediated through Canaanite culture. Similarly, we have seen that in the case of the tree motif embodied in the menorah, the local glyptic and ceramic arts of LB Canaan, and also in a limited way of Cyrpus,^®"' provide the medium of transmission^"® Yet the end result of all this cultural input into the beginnings of the Israelite cult is a product that is distinct from all these influences.

The tabernacle menorah, for all its

crucial points of contact or identity with Egyptian or Mesopotamian or Canaanite or Aegean motifs and techniques, as a total object is not rooted in any of these cultures nor is it rooted in the psyche of a Moses or an Aaron or a Bezalel.

Rather it

is grounded in the corporate experience of Israel as it came to be expressed in the structures and forms of the tabernacle institution during the wilderness period. To view it in this manner is to come to grips with the problem stated by Frankfort: do similar manifestations repre108 sent similar themes, institutions, processes of thought? The similarities, no matter how striking, do not tell the whole story.

In coming into existence as a total object, an artifact

attains a uniqueness which is predicated upon the fact that it differs in some ways, which may be minute or extensive, from

191 even its closest parallels.

Thus the existence of similari-

ties may presuppose some agreements, but the production of an object that in its totality is like no other object affirms that it has emerged from its cultural matrix and has achieved its own intrinsic symbolic value. III.

Towards

a New "Biblical

Archaeology"

It is appropriate that since this investigation began with the assertion that biblical a r t i f a c t s — t h o s e buried in texts rather than in d e b r i s — d e m a n d

the same sort of treatment which

is accorded to objects unearthed in the course of regular excavations or explorations, it should conclude with a reconsid109 eration of that approach. Doubts have been raised as to the availability of sufficient materials either in the texts themselves or in the world of material remains to permit the acquisition of an adequate understanding of the nature of an object and subsequently to carry out the ultimate goal of archaeological research, namely, determining the usage or function of the object in the lives of those for whom it was a material reality and also, in the special matter of "cultic" objects, attaining an insight into the ideational framework within which the object operated. While we would not want to say that such doubts about the availability of data are i l l - f o u n d e d — f o r

in reality there is a

great deal of validity to such a p p r e h e n s i o n — i t seems that this basically archaeological methodology, even though applied to an object that can never be visually reconstructed, has succeeded in bringing us very close indeed to its phenomenological reality, its symbolic power.

As a matter of fact, its very sym-

bolic nature, which means that it operates on a non-verbal level and hence ultimately defies verbal explanation, demands that it be approached in the first instance and as far as possible as a visual, material reality. Still, we are at some advantage in dealing with the particular object which has been the subject of this work as opposed to various other biblical artifacts.

Because it evident-

ly was such a vital symbol, its existence was the center of unusual literary concern.

This has provided us with an

192 inordinately large amount of textual material for a starting point.

Similarly, since it was drawn from a milieu in which

its specific form represented a matter of deep concern, there happens to be an overabundance of archaeological materials with which to work.

Such fortuitous conditions hardly would apply

to every artifact appearing in the biblical corpus.

However,

surely there are others, especially within the priestly

texts

of the Pentateuch, for which a fair measure of both basic textual information and relevant comparative data would be accessible and which would thus be candidates for the sort of analysis to which the tabernacle menorah has been subjected. The scholarly rewards of such analysis should be evident. The quest for the technological, artistic, and

iconographic

origins of the tabernacle menorah has enabled us to ascertain its role in the biblical cult at its outset and to appreciate its force as a continuing motif.

At the same time, our close

scrutiny of its form and details in a comparative

sense—and

this is an indispensable step in all archaeological

research—

has afforded us the opportunity, based on the information retrieved in this way, to make cogent suggestions regarding chronological and cultural relationships. In so doing, perhaps we can put an end to the argument currently raging, albeit in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek

fashion,

among soul-searching archaeologists as to what is meant by the term "biblical archaeology."'''''''' cause of all the dissension.

The epithet "biblical" is the

Does it impose theological or

chronological or geographical limitations upon a scientific endeavor which legitimately cannot accede to any such restraints? Therefore, if we were to use "biblical" before archaeology as an indication of the specific literary source,

i.e. the Bible,

of artifactual data rather than as a description of a special kind of field archaeology appropriate to the biblical period or biblical lands, the imprecision and inaccuracy of the phrase which has so troubled contemporary Palestinian archaeologists would vanish. Instead, "biblical archaeology" would designate the possibilities of a procedure such as has been followed in this investigation.

It would indicate a discipline

intimately

193 related to field archaeology and its techniques yet distant in that its "field" is the biblical text.

It would describe a

process which takes artifacts from that biblical text and which, with the utilization of all the tools available for dealing with them as physical forms, enables us to enter the human world in which they existed.

NOTES CHAPTER VI "''See especially "The Priestly Image of the Tabernacle," HUCA 36 (1965), pp. 191-226, and "The Complex of Ritual Acts Performed inside the Tabernacle," pp. 272-302. 2

See above, p. 20.

^See above, pp. 83-84. 4 See above, pp. 57-58. ^See above, p. 26. ®See above, pp. 70-72. ^There is no question that the statement in Num 8:4 refers exclusively to the menorah and to no other gold appurtenance. However, it should be noted that there is a certain ambiguity in Exod 25:40 in which the antecedent may well be the menorah and its utensils; but it could alternately, in the phrase "all these utensils," recapitulate the directions of Exod 25:9 and refer to all of the golden objects. Compare Exod 37: 24 in which "vessels" (rT>>3) , because of the feminine suffix, indicates the menorah; perhaps this is the original intent and Exod 25:39 is generalized because of the association of the following verse with Exod 25:9. 8

Exod 31:8. 9 The expression m n o n n u o n is found also m Lev 24:4. Then, in v. 6, reference is made to m n o n '¡n>Hn. However, the •¡n>B is not so described in the summations in Exodus, and the appearance here of that quality seems to be from the influence of the immediately preceding mode of presentation of the menorah. "''"as by Haran, "Priestly Image of the Tabernacle," p. 205. "^As in Exod 24:10. On "ints, see above, pp. 27-28 and below, p. 173 and n. 46. Note the description of the kiikanutree (cited in Widengren, pp. 6, 8), "its appearance is lapis lazuli," i.e. it shines; this is part of the stereotyped combination of "lapis lazuli" and "shining brightness." 12

Cf. the distinction made by Kubler, quoted above in Chap. I, n. 5, between an object of use and a work of art. 13

S e e Chap. I, pp. 4-5 and n. 10.

14

. . . On this point see Thorkild Jacobsen, Seminar in Ancient Near Eastern Religions: "The Data, Continuity and Change," Seminar on Religions in Antiquity, ed. Jacob Neusner, Hanover, 195

196 New Hampshire: Dartmouth College Cooperative Studies Center, 1966, p. 3.

Panofsky, Studies in laonology, p. 15. This stage of evaluation can be said to constitute the study called iconology, which is a variety of cultural history; see Kubler, pp. 26-27. 17

The tree motif is inseparable from its "archaeological" classification as a stand, just as in Sumerian and neo-Sumerian culture and in Mitanni culture and the cultures directly influenced by Mitanni culture, the stylized tree or branch rests on The Egyptian Djed as or is part of a classic cultic stand. well as the Egyptian stand with the lotus blossom can be seen as part of the same scheme of arrangement. See above, pp. 59-60, 61, 67, 99, 102, 103 and 109-10. 1 ff Cf. Focillon, p. 27. 19 See Mircea Eliade, The Saared and the Profane {Harper Torchbooks, Cloister Library TB 814) , trans. Willard R. Trunk, New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1961, p. 45. His first chapter, pp. 20-67, deals particularly with sacred space; see also his selected bibliography, pp. 234-43. 20

Ibid.,

21

p. 28.

See above, Chap. Ill, p. 135 and

passim.

22 Cf. Brevard Childs, Myth and Reality in the Old Testament (Studies in Biblical Theology, 27), London: SCM Press, Ltd., 1960, p. 85; Childs calls this "mythical space" in that it recalls the cosmogenic act which is expressed in mythical terms. 23 Only in the "great oriental religions," according to Eliade, The Saered and the Profane, p. 58. 2< *See on this point, the needs of the worshipper for the divine presence, Baruch A. Levine, "On the Presence of God in Biblical Religion," Religions in Antiquity (Supplement to Hitmen, XIV), ed, Jacob Neusner, Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968, pp. 71-87; R. E. Clements, God and Temple, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1965, pp. 1-11; and also Menahem Haran's critique of Clements, "The Divine Presence in the Israelite Cult and the Cultic Institutions," Bibliaa 50 (1969), pp. 251-67. 25

I n BAR I, Chapter 12.

26

H a r o l d A. Nelson, "The Egyptian Temple," BAR I: 150-51.

21

Ibid.,

pp. 151-52.

28 Cf. Frankfort, Art and Architecture, pp. 6-7; A. Leo Oppenheim, "The Mesopotamian Temple," BAR I: 159; and Kramer, p. 136.

197 29 See Eliade, The Saered

and the Profane,

pp. 59-60.

3

®For a summary of the evidence see G. Ernest Wright, "The Temple in Syria-Palestine," BAR Is 169-84. For Canaan in particular, see Cross, BAR I: 220. See also above, Chap. V, n. 41. 3 ^Cf. Clements, pp. 3-17. In addition, the "high hill/ green tree" combination discussed above, pp. 142-43, surely reflects the cultic application of the cosmic paradigm in Canaanite religion.

32

So U. Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, trans. Israel Abrahams, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1967, p. 320, and also Peter Ackroyd, "The Temple V e s s e l s — a continuity theme," Studies in the Religion of Ancient Israel (Supplement to VT, XXIII), Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1972, p. 170. 33 E x o d 25:8. 147-48 and n. 62.

On "dwell" and pffl, see above, Chap. V, pp.

34 For the relationship of tent/tabernacle and mountain with reference to Ugaritic material, see Richard J. Clifford, "The Tent of El and the Israelite Tent of Meeting," CBQ 33 (1971), pp. 221-25. 35

E x o d u s 24.

Cf. Fishbane, p. 17.

36

S o BOB, p. 705, and KB, p. 664. Cf. Ezek 1:26, which is in a similar context describing the enthroned glory of the Lord. 3 ^See above in this chapter, pp. 167-68 and nn. 9 and 11, and pp. 27-28 in Chapter II. int3 here bears the connotation "brightness" more so than "purity."

38 Exod 25:9. See above, p. 167, and Levine, "Descriptive Tabernacle Texts," p. 308, for additional comment on the tabnit typology. Further information on this typology from Mesopotamia is produced by W. L. Moran, "A New Fragment of DIN.TIR. KI = BABILU and ENUMA ELIS vi: 61-66," Analeota Bibliaa 12 (1959), pp. 257-65. on As well as for her temple; cf. Clements, p. 65, and ARI, pp. 148-55. 4 ® S e e Walter Harrelson, "The Significance of Cosmology in the Ancient Near East," Translating and Understanding the Old Testament (May festschrift), ed. Harry Thomas Frank and William L. Reed, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1970, pp. 246-47. 41 S e e Childs, pp. 85-92, for a detailed discussion of the biblical demythologization of mythical space. See also Menahem Haran, "The Ark and the Cherubim: Their Symbolic Significance in Biblical Ritual," IEJ 9 (1955), p. 92.

198 42 Again, see James, The Tree of Life, pp. 285-88 and also his "The Tree of Life and the Water of Life," Religion und Religionen (Mensching festschrift), Bonn: Ludwig Rohrsheid Verlag, 1967, p. 130. 43 At the same time, the non-location" of God can be seen as part of the dynamics for the achievement of the rejection of the natural world as a framework for meaning and structure. On this point, see the interesting analysis of Denis Baly, "The Geography of Monotheism," Translating and Understanding the Old Testament (May festschrift), ed. Harry Thomas Frank and William L. Reed, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1970, pp. 268-72. 44 W. R. Smith, The Religion of the Semites, pp. 116-17. 45

See L e v m e ,

On the Presence of God."

46

See above, pp. 167-68. In addition, the epithet m i n i a in Exod 31:8 and 39:37, if we can remove it from the notion of "pure gold," also belongs to the cosmic vocabulary of heavenly shrines; see above, pp. 167-68, 173. 47 See above, p. 9. 48

See above, p. 26.

49 Above, pp. 145-46. Ibid. 51

Hebrew t»K U K . The RSV understands this combination, correctly we believe, as a hendiadys. 52 Discussed above, p. 173. 53

S e e above, Chap. V, n. 93.

54 All these features are dealt with in Chapter IV. Note also in Chapter III, pp. 63, 82, the association of stand, bowl, and seven-pointed flame. 5 ^Butterworth, pp. 85-6; the source is the Dionysiaaa of Nonnos, a 5th century C.E. mythological poem. Also note the traditions in Africanus and Eusthathius, cited (second hand) in Smith, The Religion of the Semites, p. 193, that the terebinth at Mamre was on fire but did not burn. The iconographic sources for such combinations already have been touched upon in Chapters III and IV.

^ C o m p a r e Widengren's analysis of the sacred tree in Mesopotamian religion, p. 19; he believes it was in fact the visible symbol of the deity. 57 An incisive discussion of the relation of deity to image in Mesopotamia can be found in A. Leo Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1964, pp. 18398.

199 CO See JSGRP XII: 79-83. 59

Ibid.,

60,,

ad

IV (Chapter IV, "The Menorah"), pp. 71-98, and loo.

The Image of God," BJRL XL

(1957-1958), pp. 497-512.

however, the studies of W. Wirgin, "The Menorah as Symbol of After-Life," IE J 14 (1964), pp. 102-104, and "The Menorah as Symbol of Judaism," IEJ 12 (1962), pp. 140-42. In the latter article, he places the menorah's value after the destruction of the temple in relation to its symbolizing the Edenic paradigm and hence the concept of immortality. Unfortunately, both these articles are so cursory that it is impossible to evaluate them properly. 62 The analogy is that of Focillon, p. 5. He also suggests that a form can even survive, devoid of meaning, for a long period of time and then richly renew itself under new stimuli. ^Problem

of Similarity , p. 22.

64

Kubler would call this phenomenon "linked solutions," in which each new serial position is really both a replica and an invention; see pp. 33-53, 63-70. I: 644. See also the partial bibliography in MenaIjem Haran, "Shiloh and Jerusalem: the Origin of the Priestly Tradition of the Pentateuch," JBL 81 (1962), p. 5. 66 E.g., Joseph Gutmann, "The 'Second Commandment 1 and the Image in Judaism," No Graven Images, ed. Joseph Gutmann, New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1971, p. 5. ®^Joseph Gutmann, "A Note on the Temple Menorah," ZNU 60 (1969), p. 290. 68

"Shiloh and Jerusalem," p. 14, and EJ 11: 1357, 1359.

this subject see, among many treatments, Moshe Greenberg, "A New Approach to the History of the Israelite Priesthood," JAOS 70 (1950), pp. 41-45; this is really a summary of Y. Kaufmann's case for the pre-exilic composition of P in its entirety. Also important in this matter is the work of Cross in BAR I: 215-16 and more recently Canaanite Myth, pp. 293-325 (ch. 11, "The Priestly Work"). '"cross, BAR I: 208. 71

Cf. M. H. Segal, The Pentateuch, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1967, pp. 43-44; Kaufmann, pp. 180-83; and Hans-Joachim Kraus, Worship in Israel, trans. Geoffrey Buswell, Richmond: John Knox Press, 1965, pp. 129-34. 72 I: The Eneroaaher and Studies in Levitioal Terminology, the Levite. The Term 'Aboda (Near Eastern Studies, 14), Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970, p. 56. His

200

study of 'aboda brings him to the same conclusion, p. 87, that this too belongs to the "fast-growing portfolio" of authentic artifacts of the earliest levels of Israelite history. 73

"Early Israelite History ," pp. 4-12.

74

See above. pp.. 103, 112, 113-14, 117, 119.

75

See above, pp.. 73, 79, 82.

76

See above, pp.. 70-72.

77

See above, pp., 73, 78-79

78 E.g.,, Haran, ''Shiloh and Jerusalem," pp. 17 mann, "The 'Second Commandment,'" p. 5; and Kaufmann, p. 328, n. 13.

79

This seems to be the case on the basis of biblical traditions. See Raphael Patai, The Arab Mind, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973, pp. 73-76, for a description of how this is true even in contemporary Arab society. 80 Exod 3:22, 12:35-36, and also 35:22; only the gold from earrings among the collection was involved in Exod 32:2-3 for the fabrication of the molten calf.

81 Exod 31:1-6; in addition, the golden calf is fashioned by Aaron himself, Exod 32:4. 82 83

See above, pp. 31, 39.

See Cross, BAR I: 213-14.

84

See above, pp. 35-36.

8

^See above, pp. 26, 70. o f: Cf. the name of Solomon's palace, which makes even more extensive use of cedar wood: The House of the Forest of Lebanon (1 Kgs 7:2). 87 Ironically, such features may have entered the official Israelite cult, though perhaps not in Jerusalem, in the form of asherim; cf. 2 Kgs 13:6 and Hos 4:12. That the expectation for a temple grove or sacred plant still existed in the Second Temple period can be seen in the citation of Hecateus in Josephus, Contra Apionem 1:22: 198-199, concerning the temple in Jerusalem: "a great edifice, containing an altar and a lampstand, both made of gold, and weighing two talents; upon these is a light which is never extinguished by night or day. There is not a single statue or votive offering, no trace of a plant, in the form of a sacred grove or the like." Note the equivalence of plant and statue in this passage. 88

Peter Ackroyd deals with this phenomenon in his perspicacious article, pp. 166-81.

201

"ibid., 90

pp. 167-68.

See above, pp. 18, 36-37.

91

Cf. Zech 2:9, where God's glory (presence) = fire, and above, pp. 176-77. That this concept was already associated in some way with the menoroth of Solomon's temple may be reflected in the enigmatic passage of Solomon's dedicatory speech, 1 Kgs 8:12-13, where the building of the sanctuary seems to contrast God's usual heavenly dwelling of darkness with an earthly abode, presumably of light; cf. 2 Sam 22:29: "Yea, thou art my lamp, 0 Lord,/ and my God lightens my darkness." 92

Frankfort, Problem

of Similarity,

p. 23.

93 A similar situation attains with respect to the ark, as has been pointed out by Joseph Gutmann, "The History of the Ark," ZAW 83 (1971), pp. 22-29; his point is well taken though we do not necessarily agree with his disregard of some of the early traditions of the ark. 94

S e e above, pp. 109-110.

95

S e e above, pp. 66-67, 73-75, 82-83.

96

S e e above, pp. 70-72.

97 An extreme and probably unbalanced opinion is that of (Analecta Aelred Cody, History of the Old Testament Priesthood Biblica, 35), Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1969, p. 8. Cody would deny the existence of even traces of Egyptian influence upon the Hebrew tribes that dwelt in the land of Goshen. Cf. Segal, pp. 141-45, who would restrict Egyptian influence to the "handicrafts." 98 As J. Vergote, Joseph en Egypt (Orientalia et Biblica Lovaniensia, III), Louvain: Publications Universitaires, 1959. 99 See Stephen L. Caiger, Bible and Spade, London: Oxford University Press, 1936, pp. 82-83, and Scott, pp. 347-48. 100 s e e Kaufmann, pp. 228, 229-40; Cross, BAR I: 205-206, 212; Theophile James Meek, "Moses and the Levites," AJSLL LVI (1939), pp. 113-20; and most recently, William F. Albright, "From the Patriarchs to Moses: II. Moses out of Egypt," 36 (1973), pp. 55-58, 73. See also J. Milgrom, "The Alleged WaveOffering in Israel and in the Ancient Near East," IEJ 22 (1972), pp. 33-38, for a specific instance of a cultic practice that can be philologically and typologically identified with an Egyptian rite. 101 A v i Hurvitz, "The Usage of Sit» and Tin in the Bible and its Implication for the date of P," HTR 60 (1967), p. 20. Note also the work of John Fogarty, communicated to me orally, which has produced evidence for an Egyptian (Ramesside) model for the tabernacle itself.

202 102

S e e Cross, BAR I: 212.

103

See William F. Albright, From the Patriarchs to Moses: I. From Abraham to Joseph," BA 36 (1973), pp. 8, 11, for an astute analysis of the pre-Israelite tribes, a complex pattern of shifting alliances and movement, of "constant integration... and disintegration." 104 See Clements, p. 4, and Cross, Canaamte Myth, p. 24. 105 Cyprus, however, must be considered with Israel as a parallel cultural heir to the Canaanite traditions rather than as a forebear of Israelite culture. Similarly, it is in this context that it may be understood why the Assyrian sacred tree, which is such a dominant pattern in the whole of Assyrian art, bears so little formal resemblance to the tree motif embodied in the menorah while at the same time representing a similar combination of cult stand and tree form. The Assyrian tree can be seen as a parallel development to that of the Israelite motif; both emerged in the LB culture of the ancient Near East, both were influenced to some degree by Egyptian culture, but the end results markedly were different, as befits the individual development of separate cultural sub-groups. literary references to the world tree or tree of life or plant of life seem to be exclusively Mesopotamian (see Widengren). The cosmic imagery of Ugaritic literature seems to omit this motif. However, note the recent contribution of B. Margulis, "A Weltbaum in Ugaritic Literature?" JBL 90 (1971), pp. 481-82. 107

On this point compare the monumental work of Th. A. Busink, Der Temple von Jerusalem. I. Band. Der Tempel Salomis (Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Osten, Studii Francisci Scholten Memoriae Dicata, 3), Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1970. Busink brings his long specialization in architectural history into an authoritative treatment of his subject. The outcome of his search in Egypt, North Syria, Assyria, Canaan, and even the ta:bernacle for the origins of the temple structure in Jerusalem is that there is no architectural Vorlage for the total building and that it must be considered "not even a product of Solomon but of Israel" (p. 617). 108

Problem

of Similarity,

p. 5.

109

As by Ackroyd, p. 166, with respect to the temple vessels in general. 1 "''0The most comprehensive contribution to this debate is William G. Dever 1 s recent monograph devoted entirely to this problem, Archaeology and Biblical Studies: Retrospects and Prospects, Evanston, Illinois: Western-Seabury Theological Seminary, 1974; Dever presents a historical perspective on the argument as well as taking a stance of his own. Other recent discussions include Frank M. Cross, "W. F. Albright's View of Biblical Archaeology and its Methodology," BA 36 (1973), pp. 25; Wright, "What Archaeology Can and Cannot Do"; and D. L. Holland, "'Biblical Archaeology 1 : An Onomastic Perplexity," BA 37 (1974), pp. 19-23.

FIGURES

205

Fig. 1

206

207

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

208

1 Fig. 12 Fig. 10

Fig. 11

M

Fig. 14

» I Im

n Fig. 13

Fig. 15

Fig. 22

Fig. 23

211

Fig. 24

Fig. 25

Fig. 26

212

Fig. 27

Fig. 29

Pia. 30

214

Fig. 37

Fig. 38

4

o

A Fig. 39

Fig. 40

Fig. 41

216

217

Fig. 45

Fig. 46

Fig. 47

Fig. 48

218

Fig. 49

Fig. 53

219

Fig. 54

• • • • •

O Fig. 55

Fig. 56

Fig. 57

Fig. 58

Fig. 59

Fig. 61

Fig. 60

Fig. 62

Fig. 63

221

1M

M

f

Fig. 64

Wm m Fig. 65

i Fig. 66

Imm Fig. 67

SOURCE OF FIGURES (In most cases, the illustrations are copies made by this author of published photographs or drawings for which the sources are listed below.) 1.

Amiran, Ancient

2.

Wooley, AJ 6 (1926), PI.

Pottery

3.

Legrain, MJ 20 (1929), Pl. VIIIB.

4.

Galling, Der Altar,

PI. 3:8.

5.

Galling, Der Altar,

PI. 4:13.

6.

Moortgat, Vorderasiatische

Rollsiegel,

Pl. 70:591.

7.

Moortgat, Vorderasiatische

Rollsiegel,

Pl. 78:655.

8.

A OB, Pl. CCXIII: 534.

9.

AOB, Pl. CCXIII: 533.

of the Holy Land,

Keramik

Photo 339.

LUIa.

10.

Andrae, Farbige

11.

AOB,

aus Assur,

Pl. 29.

12.

W. S. Smith, History of Egyptian in the Old Kingdom, PI. 31b.

Painting

and

Sculpture

13.

W. S. Smith, History of Egyptian in the Old Kingdom, PI. 32b.

Painting

and

Sculpture

14.

W. S. Smith, History of Egyptian in the Old Kingdom, PI. 32a.

Painting

and

Sculpture

15.

Woldering, /.rts of Egypt,

16.

AOB, Pl. CCXVIII: 544.

Pl. LXVII:148-149.

PI. 51.

17.

Steindorff, Die Kunst

18.

AOB,

der Ägypter,

19.

Wigand, BJ 122 (1912), Pl. 1:6.

P. 244.

Pl. CXV:271.

20.

Steindorff, Die Kunst

21a.

Amiran, Ancient

Pottery

der Ägypter,

of the Holy Land,

P. 241. PI. 23:9.

21b.

Amiran, Ancient

Pottery

of the Holy Land,

PI. 59:1.

22.

Bliss and Macalister, Excavations 66:7s.

23a.

Bliss and Macalister, Excavations

in Palestine,

PI. 46:6.

23b.

Bliss and Macalister, Excavations

in Palestine,

PI. 46:7.

in Palestine,

PI.

24.

Macadam, Temples

25.

May, Material

Remains

of Kawa II, PI. XV:c. of the Megiddo

Cult, Pl. XX; P6065.

26.

May, Material

Remains

of the Megiddo

Cult,

27.

Albright, BASOR

28.

May, Material

Fig. 6.

85 (1942), Fig. 4.

Remains

of the Megiddo 223

Cult, PI. XIX:2802.

224 29.

Amiran, Ancient

30.

Macalister, The Excavation

Pottery

of the Holy Land, of Gezer

Photo 334.

III, PI. CLXII:9.

31.

R. H. Smith, BA 27 (1964), Fig. 4.

32.

Macalister, The Excavation

33.

Albright, AASOR

34.

PMK III, PI. 14al.

35.

Dussaud, Les civilizations

36.

Richter, Greek,

37.

Ohnefalsch-Richter, Kypros,

38.

Ohnefalsch-Richter, Kypros,

PI. LXXXII:2.

39.

Ohnefalsch-Richter, Kypros,

PI. LXXXII:4.

40.

Ohnefalsch-Richter, Kypros,

PI. LXXXII:5.

41.

Ohnefalsch-Richter, Kypros,

PI. LXXXII:1.

42.

N. Perrot, Les representations

de l'arbre

sacré,

Pl. 1:2.

43.

N. Perrot, Les representations

de l'arbre

sacré,

Pl. 1:3.

44.

N. Perrot, Les representations

de l'arbre

sacré.

Pl. 3:11.

45.

SCWA,

Fig. 94.

46.

SCWA,

Fig. 104.

47.

Danthine, Le palmier-dattier 693.

48.

SCWA,

Fig. 383.

49.

SCWA,

Fig. 271.

50.

SCWA,

Fig. 409.

51.

SCWA,

Fig. 290.

52.

N. Perrot, Les representations 12:55.

53.

Contenau, La glyptique

54.

SCWA,

55.

E. B. Smith, Egyptian sion, Pl. XXX: 2.

56.

Clark, Myth

XXI-XXII

Roman,

of Gezer

III, Pl. LXXXI: 6.

(1941-43), P. 141. préhelléniques,

and Etruscan

Fig. 87.

Bronzes,

#1270.

PI. LXXXII:3.

et les arbres

de l'arbre

syro-hittite,

sacré,

sacré

Fig.

, Pl.

Pl. XXXVI:259.

Fig. 691. Architecture

as Cultural

Expres-

and Symbol

in Ancient

Egypt,

Fig. 35 (cf. Pl.

and Symbol

in Ancient

Egypt,

Fig. 35.

6) .

57.

Clark, Myth

58.

Petrie, Ancient

59.

Petrie, Beth-Pelet

60.

Tufnell, Lachish

II, Pl. XXXIII:43.

61.

Tufnell, Lachish

II, Pl. XXXIIIA:53.

62.

Tufnell, Lachish

63.

Starkey, PEF,QS

64.

SCWA,

Fig. 1176.

Gaza

IV, #224.

I, Pl. X:105.

II, Pl. LX:1. 33 (1934), Pl. IX.

225 65.

diCesnola, Salaminia, Pl. XII:16.

66.

diCesnola, Salaminia, PI. XIII:24

67.

diCesnola, Salaminia, PI. XIII:2.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Texts Biblia Hebraica, ed. Rud. Kittel. Bibelanstalt, 1952. 7 Biblia

Vulgata. 1965.

Matriti: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos,

The Book of Psalms. 1972.. Josephus. Philo.

Stuttgart: Wiirttembergischen

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