Cult Image and Divine Representation in the Ancient Near East (ASOR Books)

While biblical prophets ridiculed the notion of humans fashioning an idol that they would then worship, ancient Near Eastern theologians developed a sophisticated religious system in which divine beings could be physically manifest within the material of a cultic image without being limited by that embodiment. The four essays in this compact volume examine the intriguing subject of cultic images and divine iconography in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and Syria-Palestine. This interesting and eclectic group of essays explores the textual and artifactual evidence for the creation and veneration of divine images in the ancient Near East. The recent resurgence of scholarly interest in the study of divine representation in ancient Israel and the Near East makes this comprehensive reexamination especially timely. Contents: Cult Statues in Ancient Egypt (Gay Robins, Emory University); "A Statue for the Deity": Cult Images in Hittite Anatolia (Billie Jean Collins, Emory University); The Mesopotamian Cult Statue: A Sacramental Encounter with Divinity (Michael B. Dick, Siena College); Syro-Palestinian Iconography and Divine Images (Theodore J. Lewis, Johns Hopkins University).