‘FaceofYahweh’ClaimSetsO ArchaeologicalBrouhaha
Israeliarchaeologistsayshefound3,000-year-oldclayheaddepictingthe biblicalGodofIsrael Colleaguesrespondtheimagedoesn’trepresent Yahweh,adeityandmaybenotevenaman
Anarchaeologist’scontroversialassertionthatanearly3,000year-oldclayheadmaydepictthefaceofthebiblicaldeityYahweh hassparkedafuriousresponsefromfellowresearchers,whoare callingthetheoryunfoundedandirresponsible
Thespatsurroundingthe gurinefoundamongtheruinsof KhirbetQeiyafa,anancientsettlementsouthofJerusalem,isonly thelatestroundinabroaderdebateoverthehistoricityofthe BibleandparticularlytheexistenceofthegreatIsraelitekingdom ofDavidandSolomon
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ProfessorYosefGar nkel,aprominentarchaeologistfromthe HebrewUniversityinJerusalemwhohasledthedigatQeiyafa, madewaveswhenhepublishedhistheoryaboutthe gurinein themagazineBiblicalArchaeologyReviewearlierthismonth.
Gar nkel’sstunningconclusionwasthatthisgravenimageanda handfulofother gurinesfoundintheregionsurrounding JerusalemarerepresentationsoftheGodoftheBible
TheQeiyafafigurineCredit:ClaraAmit,IsraelAntiquitiesAuthority
Datedtothe10thcenturyBCE,thebug-eyed gurinefrom Qeiyafa,withitsprominentnose,piercedearsandwhatlookslike a atheaddress,issimilartotwoclayheadsfoundina10th-9th centuryBCE templeunearthedatMotza,anancienttownsome 10kilometerswestofJerusalem,Gar nkelclaimsinhisstudy
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Hegroupsthesethree gurineswithtwomoreartifactsthatwere partoftheprivatecollectionofIsrael’sformerdefenseminister, legendarygeneralandamateurarchaeologistMosheDayan The twoobjects,ajugintheshapeofahorseandriderandastrainer jugwithahumanface,camefromtheantiquitiesmarketandwere likelylooted,sotheirprovenanceisunknown,butaccordingto Dayan’srecordstheysupposedlycamefromsomewhereinthe Hebronarea,Gar nkelrelates
HorsefigurinefoundatMotzatempleCredit:ClaraAmit,IsraelAntiquitiesAuthority
ClayheadfoundatMotza:depressionsalongjawlinesimulateabeardCredit:ClaraAmit,Israel AntiquitiesA
Thearchaeologist’sinterpretationofthe gurinesasdepicting YahwehrestsheavilyonthefactthattheMotzaheadswerefound inadepositonthe oortogetherwithseveralotherculticobjects, includingtwohorse gurines
Gar nkelspeculatesthattheheadswereoncepartofstatuettes mountedonthetwohorses Hethengoesontoclaimthatthe “Canaanitesdidnotdepictamalegodonahorse”andthe “iconographicelementsofthe gurinescorrespondwith descriptionsofYahwehinthebiblicaltradition”IntheBible,he says,Godisdescribedasariderinseveralpassages,forexample inPsalm68:4,whereheiscalled“Himwhoridesontheclouds” orinHabbakuk3:8,whichinvokes“You[who]rodeonYour horses,Yourchariotsofsalvation”
MysteriousGiantMoundsinJerusalemBa eArchaeologists
ArchaeologistsFindAssyrianSiegeRampatBiblicalCityof Azekah
ArchaeologistIdenti esBattle eldWhereCrusadersDefeated Saladin
Fromthis,thearchaeologistdrawsthebroadconclusionthat Yahwehwascommonlydepictedintheanthropomorphicformof ariderduringtheearlydaysoftheKingdomofJudah,andthe biblicalbanonmakingimagesofGodwasintroducedshortlyafter thisperiod
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“Thisisbecausethese gurines,resemblingtheliteratureof ancientCanaanandIsrael,havebeendiscoveredincontexts datingtothe10thandninthcenturiesBCE,butnotintheeighth centuryandafterward,”Gar nkelwrites
Where’sthebeard?
Gar nkelisapolarizing gureinIsraeliarchaeology,beingoneof themostprominentscholarswhotendtotreatthebiblical narrativeasclosetohistoricalfact,particularlywhenitcomesto theexistenceandextentofKingDavid’skingdom,whichwould havebeenaroundthe10thcenturyBCE,thesameperiodofthe putativeYahweh gurine Criticshaveoftenaccusedhimof creativelyinterpretingarchaeological ndsto tbiblical narratives,forexamplewithhisexcavationofQeiyafa,which Gar nkelidenti esasthebiblicaltownofShaarayimandwhere heclaimstohaveunearthedapalacethatwouldhavehousedthe kingsofJudahwhentheycametovisit
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Evenbyhisnormallycontroversialstandards,hislatesttheoryon thepresumed“faceofYahweh” gurineshasru edmany feathers,particularlythoseofarchaeologistswhohaveexcavated thesiteatMotza,onwhichGar nkel’sclaimreliesheavily On TuesdaysomeoftheseresearcherspublishedaresponseinBARto Gar nkel’soriginalstudy,sayinghehadmisrepresentedthe gurinesfromtheMotzatempleandmadepatentlyfalse argumentsinbuildinghiscasetoidentifythemasdepictionsof God
Firstofall,oneoftheheadsfromMotzahaspuncturesonthechin tosimulateabeard,whiletheotherdoesnot–meaningthatwe cannotevenbesuretheybothrepresentmale gures,the
responsepointsout
ThesameproblemariseswiththeQeiyafa gurine,whosechinismissing,leavingusinthedarkastoits gender,notesShuaKisilevitz,theleadauthoronthepaper
Manorwoman?ClayheadfoundatMotzaCredit:ClaraAmit,IsraelAntiquitiesAuthority
Andwhethertheyaremaleorfemale,thereisnoreasonto interpretthemasdepictionsofadeity,sincetheylackanydivine attributesthatwouldbeexpectedtoaccompanysucha representation,saysKisilevitz,anarchaeologistwiththeIsrael AntiquitiesAuthorityanddoctoralcandidateatTelAviv University,whoparticipatedintheIAAdigthatuncoveredthe Motzatemplein2012 Forexample,thestormgodBaal, worshippedbytheCanaanitesbutalsobytheearlyIsraelites,had abullashismainattributeandwasusuallydepictedwiththis animaloratleastwithsymbolichorns,sheexplains
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“Giventhelackofdivineattributes,the gurinesfromMotza seemmorelikevotiveo eringsbroughtbytheworshippers,just liketheothervesselsthatwerefoundinthesamedeposit,” Kisilevitzsays “Itisawayofcommunicatingwiththegodsbut thereisnoreasontobelievetheyaredepictionsofdeities”
Godridesachariot
ItistruethatatleastoneoftheMotzaheadsmayhavebeen originallytheriderofoneofthetwohorse gurinesthatwere foundinthesamedeposit–butthatdoesnotaYahwehstatuette make That’sbecausetheBibleneveractuallydepictsYahwehas ridingonahorse,notesthearticle,whichKisilevitzco-authored withTelAvivUniversityarchaeologistsProfessorOdedLipschits andIdoKochandDavidVanderhooft,aprofessorofHebrewBible atBostonCollege EventheversesthatGar nkelcitestosupport suchaniconographydescribetheGodofIsraelasridingonclouds orachariot–butnotonthequadrupeditself
Moreover, gurinesofhorseridersbecomeverycommoninlater periods,fromtheeighthcenturyBCE onwards Hundredshave beenfoundnotonlywithinthebordersoftheKingdomofJudah, butacrosstheLevantandeventheAegean,Kisilevitzsays
“Ifit’senoughto ndarideronahorsetosayit’sadeity,then theentireregionwasdepictingthesamedeity,”shetellsHaaretz
Manyoftheobjectionsraisedbytherespondentsaresharedby ProfessorTallayOrnan,aHebrewUniversityexpertonNearEast religiousimageryintheBronzeandIronages
“Wehavegodsridingonchariots,butnowheredowehave representationsofgodsridingonhorses,”saysOrnan,whowas notinvolvedineitheroftheBARarticles CallingGar nkel’s originalpublication“irresponsible,”shesaystheQeiyafahead wasprobablynotevena gurine Givenitsrelativelylargesizeand
Email SignUp KhirbetQeiyafaCredit:YuvalGesserthefactthatitappearsto areoutattheneckitwasmorelikely partofavessel,possiblyabigbowloraculticstand
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“Younever nddepictionsofmajordeitiesthatareshownas attachmentsonotherobjects Usuallythose guresrepresent secondarydivinitiesthatwerecalledupontoprotecttheartifact itselforitsowner,”shesays “Thistooprecludestheideathat thisisanimageofYahweh.”
TherespondentsintheBARarticlealsorejecttheideathatthe Qeiyafahead,whateveritdepicts,shouldbespeci callygrouped togetherwiththeMotza ndsandthetwoartifactsfromthe Dayancollection,whichsupposedlyhailedfromHebron While gurativeartinthe10th-9thcenturiesBCE isindeedfairlyrare, thereareafewotherclayheadsthatsharesimilarfeatureswith theonesfromQeiyafaandMotza,butwhichwerefoundmuch fartherfromtheputativebordersofJudah,forexampleinport cityofAshdod,thenaPhilistinesettlement,oratTelKinrot,on theSeaofGalilee,theresponsesays
“TryingtosecludeMotzaandQeiyafafromeverythingelseinthe regionmakesnosense,”Kisilevitzsays Bydoingso,Gar nkel maybetryingtoshoreuphisinterpretationoftherealityofthe 10thcenturyBCE inconnectiontothebroaderdebateonthe historicityoftheBible AssertingthatbetweenMotza,Qeiyafaand HebrontherewasauniformwayofdepictingthefaceofGodisa waytobackuphisviewthattheseregionswerealreadythenpart ofthevastkingdomofDavidandSolomondescribedintheBible, ruledfromJerusalemandworshippingasingledeity
Mostscholarstoday,however,agreethattheBiblewaswritten centuriesafterthetimeofDavidandthebiblicaldescriptionofhis kingdomisnotsupportedbyarchaeological nds “Our knowledgeaboutJudahasakingdomandJerusalemasitscapital isalmostnilforthisperiod,”Kisilevitzsays “Thereisalmost nothinginJerusalemtosupporttheideaofakingdomrunfrom thereuntiltheendoftheninthcenturyBCE,”thatis,morethan acenturyafterthetimewhenDavidandSolomonsupposedly reigned
HorsefigurinefoundatMotzaCredit:ClaraAmit,IsraelAntiquitiesAuthority
Itismorelikelythatinthe10thcenturyBCE Motzaandother townsintheregionweresmall,independentpolitiesthatwere onlyincorporatedintotheKingdomofJudahatalaterstage,she says
Asforthereligiouspracticesinthisperiod,weshouldremember thattheearlyIsraeliteswerenotparticularlyinclinedto monotheism Theveryname“Israel”marksthesepeople,atleast initially,asworshippersofthegodEl,thechiefdeityofthe Canaanitepantheon Archaeologically,Yahwehmakeshis rst extrabiblicalappearanceonlyattheendoftheninthcentury BCE,inaninscriptionbytheMoabiteKingMesha So,wedon’t knowiftherewasaYahwisticcultinthe10thcenturyBCE and howprominentitwas EveninthelaterpartoftheFirstTemple period,theIsraelitescontinuedtobelieveinmultiplegods Yahwehhimself,forexample,wasthoughttohaveadivine companion,afemaledeitynamedAsherah,asattestedby invocationstothesetwogodsfoundatKuntilletAjrud,anIsraelite shrineintheSinaidesertfromtheearlyeighthcenturyBCE
Symbolicdepictions
IrrespectiveofwhattheQeiyafaheadreallydepicts,itremainsan openquestionwhethertheIsraelitesintheFirstTempleperiod didmakeimagesofYahwehatall Theplethoraof anthropomorphic gurinesfromthisregiondoessupporttheidea thatthebiblicalcommandmentagainstmakinggravenimages wasalateraddition,probablydevelopedduringtheBabylonian exileandtheSecondTempleperiod Evenafterthereturnfrom theexiletheprohibitionwasclearlynotstrictlyenforced,asthe imagethatismostwidelyacceptedasa gurativedepictionof Yahwehcomesfromcoinsfromthislaterperiod Thesecoins, mintedwhenJudahwaspartofthePersianEmpire,displaythe imageofadeityseatedonawingedwheel,whichmanyscholars haveinterpretedasadepictionofYahweh.
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Ontheotherhand,thereisnoclearanduncontestedimageofthe GodofIsraelfromtheFirstTempleperiod,notesOrnan,the expertonreligiousiconography Cognitively,theancient Israelitesde nitelyimaginedYahwehasananthropomorphic gure,astheBibleoftendescribeshimaspossessinghuman-like features,buttheyseemtohaverarely,ifatall,depictedhimas such,shesays Instead,theyrepresentedhimthroughsymbols, likethewingedsundiskontheroyalstampsoftheKingdomof Judah,oralion,orapalmtree,Ornansays
KingHezekiah'ssealCredit:UriahTadmor,courtesyofEilatMazar
Thisbehaviorwasnotananomalyinthewiderregion ThroughouttheLevantandespeciallyinBabylon,duringtheIron Agetherewasageneraltendencytoavoidanthropomorphic depictionsofgodsandusesymbolicstand-ins,Ornantells
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Overthecenturies,andparticularlyduringtheBabylonianexile, thistrendwouldevolveandtransformtheGodofIsraelintowhat heisforJewstoday:anabstract,invisibleentitythatcannotbe representedorevenconceivedinhumanform Butbackinthe FirstTempleperiod,Ornansays,Yahwehwasconceivedasa human-likegod,eventhoughthe gurinefromQeiyafaismost probablynotadepictionofhim
TheQeiyafafigurine:ThepostulatedfaceofYahweh,fromthesideCredit:ClaraAmit,IsraelAntiquities
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