Digging Up the Bible: A Phoenician Ivory

DIGGING UP THE BIBLE
Important Archeological Finds that help Us Understand Scripture
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Linda Manuel—1996
 

Phoenician Ivory Panel
(8^th century BC)

This face surfaced from the bottom of a well in Nimrud (biblical Calah). The artist carved the mask (approximately 6" x 4.5") from a single section of ivory tusk and used it to adorn a piece of furniture. The portrait may be a likeness of the Assyrian goddess Ishtar, whom the Phoenicians called Astarte. Alternatively, it could be a picture of the furniture's owner.

 

 

The prophet Amos disapproved of expensive ivory ornamentation, and he denounced its ostentatious display—"houses adorned with ivory" (Amos 3:15) and "beds inlaid with ivory" (Amos 6:4). At this time, ivory was as valuable as gold and, for the very rich, more popular. (The uncontrolled demand for ivory eventually drove the Syrian elephant into extinction.) Although there are several references to ivory in the Bible, there is no mention of elephant hunting or of ivory carving (i.e., as an Israelite craft). Apparently, ivory decorations were something rich Israelites bought from Syria or Phoenicia.

 

The largest collections of ivory found in Israel thus far are from the ancient cities of Megiddo and Samaria; both served as residences for the king.

 

 

At Megiddo, the palace treasury yielded over three hundred items dating from the beginning of the 12^th century B.C. At Samaria, archaeologists discovered over five hundred pieces from the 9^th and 8^th centuries B.C. The Samarian hoard is from the time of Amos and illustrates a reason for the prophet's outrage beyond Israel's opulent lifestyle. The ivories reflect Egyptian influence, including reliefs of deities such as Horus, Ra, Heh, Isis, Nephthys, and Osiris. These symbols compounded the sin of God's people by violating His repeated prohibition against graven images:

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything (Exod 20:4).

Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves (Lev 26:1).

Do not become corrupt [by] an idol, an image of any shape (Deut 4:16).

Israel's embracing of pagan culture, with the destructive effect it had on the social and political structure, eventually led to the fall of the Northern Kingdom:

All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God.... They worshiped other gods.... They imitated the nations around them although the LORD had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the LORD had forbidden them to do.... So the people of Israel were taken from their homeland into exile in Assyria.... (2 Kgs 17:7, 15, 23)

Significance for Biblical Studies: The Phoenician Ivory Panel was typical of an ostentatious lifestyle among the wealthy in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. While God does not oppose wealth, using it at times to express His favor, He prefers a reserved way of life, one characterized by "modestly...decency, and propriety" (1 Tim 2:9).

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