The Samaria Ivories, Marzeaḥ, and Biblical Text

How important was the visual dimension of ancient texts to their signification? A comparative study of the renowned Samaria ivories helps to reconstruct the lost visual context of several Hebrew biblical texts. As the symbolic backdrop of the marzeaḥ, these carvings inform us about the meaning of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Biblical archaeologist 1993-06, Vol.56 (2), p.94-104
Main Author: Beach, Eleanor Ferris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allusion
Banquets
Bronzes
Carving
Chalices
Design
Kings
Motifs
Palaces
Rebirth
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Summary:How important was the visual dimension of ancient texts to their signification? A comparative study of the renowned Samaria ivories helps to reconstruct the lost visual context of several Hebrew biblical texts. As the symbolic backdrop of the marzeaḥ, these carvings inform us about the meaning of this elite institution, and direct our attention to its powerful iconographic significance for the literature of the Hebrew Bible. Among other examples, the power of the visual image preserved in the ivory carving of the "woman at the window" facilitated and ironically undermined the 2 Kings account of the usurper Jehu's encounter with Queen Jezebel.
ISSN:0006-0895
2325-534X
DOI:10.2307/3210252