Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

IVORY

Ivory carving of a sphinx in a thicket, showing Syrian and Egyptian influence; Samaria (Iron Age) (Courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority)

A luxury good used in a variety of ways beginning in the Chalcolithic period and continuing throughout the biblical period. The use of ivory in the Levant is especially well attested in the Late Bronze II (1350-1200 b.c.) and Iron II periods (9th-8th century). The Hebrew term (šēn) means “tooth,” a reference to the major sources for ivory — the tusk of the African and Asian elephant. The African elephant produces a larger and harder tusk preferred by ancient craftsmen. Herds of Asian (sometimes termed “Syrian”) elephants were found in northwest Mesopotamia and Syria until they were hunted to extinction ca. 700. The lower teeth of hippopotami were a rare source of ivory noted for its high quality and brilliance.

Ivory was used for figurines, furniture, paneling, inlays, cosmetic boxes, spoons, gameboards and game pieces, writing tablets, combs, and pins. The ivory craftsmen utilized a variety of tools to carve, incise, saw, drill, and polish the raw material. A few workshops have been reported in excavations, but likely ivory craftsmen were mobile, moving to and from various centers known for the ivory trade. Large caches of ivory have been found in Palestine (Megiddo, Samaria), Syria and northwestern Mesopotamia (Ugarit, Arslan Tash, Tell Tainat, and Zincirli), and Assyria (Nimrud, Khorsabad, and Nineveh).

In the Levant, ivory carving can be traced back to the late 4th millennium through a remarkable group of ivory statues recovered near Beer-sheba at Tell Abu Matar/Beʾer Abu Matar and Bir eṣ-Òafadi/Beʾer Òafad. However, the evidence is sparse for the use of ivory in the 3rd millennium until the last third of the 2nd millennium. A hoard of ca. 300 objects found at Megiddo, including panels carved in low relief depicting scenes of banquets and military victories, suggests a blend of Egyptian, Mycenaean, and Hittite elements combined with Canaanite traditions.

By the 9th and 8th centuries two, possibly three ivory carving traditions or schools emerged, defined by the prevalence of Egyptianizing features, regional stylistic traits, and techniques. The Phoenician school adapted a variety of Egyptian motifs (e.g., a variety of Egyptian deities, sphinx figures) to Canaanite-Phoenician themes. The style is elegant, fluid, and given to Egyptian concepts of symmetry and proportion. Several non-Egyptian motifs, such as the “woman appearing in the window,” also were widely utilized. The North Syrian school, by contrast, employed no Egyptian motifs and was characterized by squatter figures with unusual facial features — large eyes, receding foreheads, diminished chins — and scenes charged with action. It has yet to be proven that a South Syrian school centered on Damascus can be distinguished.

The 500 ivory fragments found at Samaria dating from either the 9th or 8th centuries reflect the Phoenician school, not surprising given the contact between Israel and Phoenicia beginning at least in Solomon’s reign. Solomon imported raw ivory by means of a fleet operated jointly with Hiram, king of Tyre (1 Kgs. 10:22). Phoenician craftsmen likely fashioned Solomon’s ivory and gold throne (1 Kgs. 10:18). Ezek. 27:6, 15 alludes to Tyre’s association with the ivory trade.

Ivory appears frequently in Assyrian booty and tribute lists throughout the 9th and 8th centuries. Menahem included ivory as tribute to Tiglath-pileser III while Sennacherib received ivory from Hezekiah in 701. Assyrian kings utilized ivory in their palaces, perhaps as paneling, but more often as decorative inlays for furniture, a fact richly confirmed by the wealth of ivory carvings recovered from Nineveh, Nimrud, and Khorsabad. Assyrian kings stockpiled ivory as a much prized measure of status and wealth. Ahab’s “ivory house” (1 Kgs. 22:39) at Samaria symbolized the corrupt luxury of a pagan court condemned by Amos (Amos 3:15). Amos’ condemnation of “those who recline on beds of ivory” may be a reference to a marzēaḥ, a pagan ritual involving sacred meals and drinking (Amos 6:4-7; cf. Jer. 16:5-9); Amos viewed them as a symptom of the callous disregard on the part of Israel’s privileged class for the social abuse perpetrated upon the poor.

Bibliography. R. D. Barnett, Ancient Ivories in the Middle East. Qedem 14 (Jerusalem, 1982); P. R. S. Moorey, Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries (Oxford, 1994).

Thomas V. Brisco

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

IVORY

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)