Introduction
The cultural milieu of any particular ancient society creates a retroactive version of empathy that places the reader inside the shoes of individuals from thousands of years ago. Iconography provides a similar experience but provides images that act as a time machine allowing readers to travel into the past through the use of virtual art galleries. The question is exactly what was the ancient culture of the Israelites that sets up the time period of the Judges, and how exactly does the extant ancient Near Eastern iconographical evidence support the thematic initiatives of the book of Judges? Without an understanding of the Israelite culture and iconographical evidence, the reader may miss crucial interpretive elements within the narrative. A recognition of the cultural elements of settlement, domestication, technology, and religion combined with an awareness of the iconography that supports the thematic initiatives of the book of Judges provide a framework for enhanced understanding of the famous narratives. Accordingly, the following analysis provides a brief summary of the pertinent cultural components of ancient Israel followed by a summary of the relevant iconographical data.
Cultural Overview
Sometime, likely in the early fourteenth century BC, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan came to an end. However, it was clear to the Israelites that despite the land allotment to the tribes, the entirety of the land had not been conquered. Specifically, Carl Rasmussen explains that the southwestern portion eventually controlled by the Philistines, the coastal plain, the Jezreel Valley, and the land of Canaan north of Dan all remained unconquered.[1] Thus, the Israelite settlement consisted primarily of the extended hill country of Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh, portions of Galilee, and parts of Gilead and Moab. The dating of the oppression of Israel, according to Robert Chisolm, likely began around 1330 BC and the final Samson narrative ends around 1130 BC.[2]
Domestically, the Israelites likely lived primarily as farmers among the more sparsely populated areas growing crops such as grapes, olives, figs, almonds, and wheat. Technologically, Rasmussen notes a recent invention of rock-hew, plaster-line cisterns that created the opportunity for families to live further away from springs, which opened the possibility of territorial expansion.[3] However, without question, the most important aspect of the Israelites’ cultural milieu for purposes of evaluating the book of Judges was the religious beliefs of their neighbors.
The Israelites struggled with the Canaanite religion from the start. and unfortunately, the threat lasted right up to the time of the Babylonian captivity in 586 BC. The risks associated with the Canaanite religion can be summarized into four categories: (1) polytheism, (2) Baalism, (3) fertility cults, and (4) syncretism. According to Joel Burnett, polytheism was particularly evident in the Transjordanian neighbors east of the Jordan, which included the Ammonites, Edomites, and Moabites who worshipped Baal, Bel, Mot, and Adad in addition to other national deities.[4] Although polytheistic, Baalism was the most prominent opponent of Yahweh during the time of Judges. Wilhelm Herrmann describes the situation as an environment where the worship of Baal pervaded the entire Canaanite area spreading throughout the Mediterranean region.[5] Baal appealed to the Israelites as the lord of the earth because Baalism promised blessings such as rain to nourish the crops. Likewise, according to Thomas Brisco, the fertility aspects of the Canaanite religion appealed to the Israelites, which, once again, promised blessing.[6] Finally, the unfortunate temptation to some faithful Israelites was to engage both Yahwehism and Baalism, which led to various forms of syncretism. It was within a cultural environment of recently established rural settlements deeply influenced by the religious beliefs of its neighbors that Israel’s story engages Yahweh’s appointed judges.
Iconographic Overview
An iconographic survey of the book of Judges first requires a brief definition and then an explanation of scope. First, according to Daniel Bodi, iconographical analysis examines visual representations such as ancient reliefs relevant to the book or time period under investigation.[7] Next, the extent of ancient Near Eastern iconography pertaining to the Former Prophets and the book of Judges in particular prevents a comprehensive examination of the visual representations. Accordingly, the following analysis focuses on iconography that supports the basic thematic framework of the book of Judges.
Figure 1. Relief: Luxor: First court of columns, first year of Ramses II.
The first visually represented motif in the ancient Near East is the power of God over enemies. The enemy oppressors of the Israelites during the time of Judges were numerous and included kings such as Cushan-Rishathaim of Aram-Naharaim, Eglon of Moab, Jabin of Hazor, as well as the Midianites, Ammonites, and Philistines. John Walton, Victor Matthews, and Mark Chavalas identify the time of Shamgar and Jael as a period of lawlessness characterized by dangerous roads requiring travelers to boycott normal thoroughfares and, instead, travel through the back woods and hillsides.[8] The song of Deborah recognizes the risk in Judges 5:6-7 and states, “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways. The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel.”[9]
The Symbolism of the Biblical World
However, with the power of Yahweh on the side of Israel, it is not Israel running but, instead, Israel’s enemies as shown in the limestone relief (fig. 1) where, according to Othmar Keel, military troops from a Canaanite city are retreating into the woods.[10]
Figure 2. Cylindrical Seal: Assyria.
The power of Yahweh over enemies extends beyond the foreign nations to beasts. Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas acknowledge that lion hunting was a sport for heroes and kings, and a relief from Tel Halaf pictorially displays an image of a warrior fighting a lion, and the story of the Sumerian king, Gilgamesh, killing a lion with bare hands was common knowledge.[11] However, in Judges 14:5-6, Yahweh’s power is credited for Samson’s ability to tear a lion to pieces with his hands, a concept that is, according to Keel, similarly represented on an Assyrian cylindrical seal (fig. 2).[12]
Figure 3. Ivory carving Megiddo.
The second visually represented motif is the power of God over Israel’s enemies in general, and more specifically, God’s power over a specific type of Canaanite weaponry. Although the cycle of disintegration continues throughout the book of Judges, the Israelites and, specifically, Deborah would have agreed with the Psalmist’s words, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Ps 20:7). In Judges 4:12-13,
Figure 4. Temple relief
at Tell el-Retaba.
Sisera calls upon 900 chariots of iron as represented by the ancient Near Eastern ivory carving of the chariot likely leading captives into exile (fig. 3). According to Keel, war chariots had been used by the Canaanites for centuries, but the valuable weapons were no match for Yahweh (Judg 4:14; 5:23).[13]
Figure 5. Basalt Relief: Carchemish.
The third visually represented motif is God’s mercy and grace. In Judges 6:9-10, Yahweh reminds the Israelites just before exhorting them to not fear the gods of the Amorites that He had delivered them from the “hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed.” Daniel Block explains that the phrase “from the hand of Egypt” is appropriate in light of the prevalent use of the hand and the raised arm in iconographic portrayals of pharaoh’s control over his enemies such as represented in
a temple relief at Tell el-Retaba (fig. 4).[14] Moreover, Brent Strawn suggests that the outstretched arm represents military action and power; thus it is reasonable to conclude that the outstretched arm imagery also is applicable to Yahweh and the defeat of His enemies (cf. Exod 6:6).[15]
Figure 6. Terra-cotta
The fourth motif is God’s presence and victories represented by musical imagery. First, a horn or trumpet was a common instrument, along with tambourines and cymbals, in the ancient Near East. In Exodus 20:18, it is Yahweh who blows the trumpet and appears amid the lightning or torchlight, which announces to the Israelites they are to join Him on the mountain. However, in the book of Judges, Gideon provides trumpets and jars with torchlights to all his men (Judge 7:16).
Figure 7. Relief Armana.
The horn is visually represented in ancient Near Eastern iconography in a basalt relief (fig. 5), and, according to Keel, similar to the event on the mountain, God’s “presence could be ensured by blowing the ram’s horn and burning torches.”[16] Furthermore, music also played a celebratory role. Although a tragic ending ensues, after Yahweh intervenes, Jephthah comes home victoriously and his daughter celebrates with tambourines, represented by an ancient terra-cotta figure (fig. 6), and dancing, which is represented by an ancient relief from Armana (fig. 7) (Judg 11:34). Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas note that tambourines have been identified in archaeological reliefs as a small drum with leather stretched over a hoop without the modern-day rattle.[17] The fifth motif is God’s safety and refuge as represented by rocks and mountains. For example, in Judges 20:44, the Benjamites seek safety by turning and fleeing “toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon.” Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas explain that the rock of Rimmon is likely with the el-Jaia cave in the Wadi es-Swenit about one mile outside of Gibeah, the location of limestone cliffs that could hide hundreds of men.[18] Likewise, in Judges 6:2, when the Midianites defeated Israel, the Israelites hid in the mountains.
Figure 8. Relief Karnak
According to Keel, mountaintops, represented by men climbing a mountain to safety on a limestone relief from Karnak (fig. 8), would not only have been understood practically by the Israelites but also would often have been understood spiritually as cosmic symbolism for Yahweh’s protection.[19]
Figure 9. Dolerite Zinjirli.
The final visually represented motif is God’s kingship. Granted, Israel has a bittersweet relationship with the concept of kingship, but, without question, Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors influenced the nation’s ideology of kingship. The incompetence of rulers and the lack of kings is evident throughout the book of Judges (cf. 8:27-28; 9:7-15; 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). However, although Yahweh is ultimately the king of Israel, human kingship is never completely ruled out. Accordingly,
Keel explains that not only does Israel finally move toward a monarchy, but also, Israelite kingship bears some resemblance to the divinized kings of Egypt and Akkad, which is reflected in ancient Near Eastern iconography such as the dolerite image from Zinjirli (fig. 9).
Conclusion
By imagining a travel through time into the ancient past, an opportunity arises to move the ancient cultural elements and iconographic data representing real people and places into the present. Culturally, the Israelites experienced an unconquered foreign people group within an agrarian society while, simultaneously, facing the daily temptation of the Canaanite religion. Iconographically, modern readers have access to imagery that represents many of the motifs within the book of Judges including God’s power, sovereignty, mercy, grace, presence, victory, safety, refuge, and kingship. A recognition of the cultural elements of settlement, domestication, technology, and religion combined with an awareness of the iconography that supports the thematic initiatives of the book of Judges provide a framework for enhanced understanding of the famous narratives. From a practical perspective, when a student, teacher, or expositor of the stories of the Judges engages in ancient empathy, he offers his listeners the opportunity to travel back through time into a deep river of understanding.
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[1] Carl G. Rasmussen, Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 121.
[2] Robert B Chisholm, “The Chronology of the Book of Judges: A Linguistic Clue to Solving a Pesky Problem,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 2 (June 2009): 252.
[3] Rasmussen, Zondervan Atlas of the Bible, 121.
[4] Joel Burnett, “Transjordan: The Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites,” in The World around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East, ed. Bill T. Arnold and Brent A. Strawn (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), 347–348.
[5] Wilhelm Herrmann, “Baal,” ed. Karel van der Toorn, Pieter W. van der Horst, and Bob Becking, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (Grand Rapids: Brill, 1999), 133.
[6] Thomas V. Brisco, Holman Bible Atlas, Holman Reference (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998), 91.
[7] Daniel Bodi, “Mesopotamian and Anatolian Iconography,” in Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts, ed. Jonathan S. Greer, John W. Hilber, and John H. Walton (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018), 165.
[8] John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2000), 251.
[9] Ibid., 275.
[10] Othmar Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms, trans. Timothy J. Hallett (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997), 101.
[11] Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, 266–267.
[12] Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World, 58–59.
[13] Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World, 238.
[14] Daniel I. Block, Judges, vol. 2 of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, ed. John H. Walton (Zondervan, 2009), 151–152.
[15] Brent A. Strawn, “‘With a Strong Hand and an Outstretched Arm’: On the Meaning(s) of the Exodus Tradition(s),” in Iconographic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament: An Introduction to Its Theory, Method, and Practice, ed. Isaak J. De Hulster, Brent A. Strawn, and Ryan P. Bonfiglio (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015), 107.
[16] Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World, 341.
[17] Walton, Matthews, and Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, 263.
[18] Ibid., 275.
[19] Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World, 181.
Bibliography
- Block, Daniel I. Judges. Vol. 2 of Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. Edited by John H. Walton. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
- Bodi, Daniel. “Mesopotamian and Anatolian Iconography.” In Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts, edited by Jonathan S. Greer, John W. Hilber, and John H. Walton. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.
- Brisco, Thomas V. Holman Bible Atlas. Holman Reference. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998.
- Burnett, Joel. “Transjordan: The Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites.” In The World around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East, edited by Bill T. Arnold and Brent A. Strawn. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016.
- Chisholm, Robert B. “The Chronology of the Book of Judges: A Linguistic Clue to Solving a Pesky Problem.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 2 (June 2009): 247–255.
- Herrmann, Wilhelm. “Baal.” Edited by Karel van der Toorn, Pieter W. van der Horst, and Bob Becking. Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. Grand Rapids: Brill, 1999.
- Keel, Othmar. Symbolism of the Biblical World: Ancient Near Eastern Iconography and the Book of Psalms. Translated by Timothy J. Hallett. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1997.
- Rasmussen, Carl G. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
- Strawn, Brent A. “‘With a Strong Hand and an Outstretched Arm’: On the Meaning(s) of the Exodus Tradition(s).” In Iconographic Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament: An Introduction to Its Theory, Method, and Practice, edited by Isaak J. De Hulster, Brent A. Strawn, and Ryan P. Bonfiglio. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2015.
- Walton, John H., Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2000.
