“Tree of Life” Decoration on Iron Age Pottery from the Southern Levant
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“Tree of Life” Decoration on Iron Age Pottery from the Southern Levant “Tree of Life” Decoration on Iron Age Pottery from the Southern Levant David T. SUGIMOTO* This paper aims at clarifying the significance of the “tree of life” decoration engraved or painted on large jars found from Iron Age strata in Israel. They are anomalies because most Iron Age pottery is red washed with little paint or engraving. During the Late Bronze Age a “tree of life” decoration appears quite often on the pottery, and at first glance these Iron Age decorations appear to suggest the continuation of the Canaanite tradition of a fertility goddess and a polytheistic worldview. However, the writer shows that with the passage of time the meaning of the “tree of life” changed from representing a fertility goddess to representing the blessings of Yahweh on the basis of (1) a study of the change in the symbolic world of the “tree of life” as reflected in iconographic artifacts from MBII to Iron Age IIC, and (2) interpretation of inscriptions and drawings from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud. Keywords: Tree of Life, Pottery, Iron Age, the Southern Levant, Monotheism I. Introduction The “Tree of Life” is one of the most popular motifs used for bichrome or monochrome decoration on Late Bronze Age local pottery in Israel. The “tree of life” is typically expressed by a vertical stem with leaves spreading from its top, just like a palm tree (Fig. 1).1 Around the tree, ibexes and/or birds are often arranged, and water, expressed by meandering lines, descends from the leaves. Such a figure is generally understood as a symbol of the blessings of the fertility goddess. On the other hand, during the Iron Age, painted pottery disappears almost completely and is replaced by red-washed pottery with no painted decoration.2 However, in recent years, several pottery sherds that do not fit this description have been unearthed, and in this paper we discuss how they fit into the general developmental scheme of pottery and religious expressions. There are three such exceptions:3 *Professor, Department of Archaeology and Ethnology, Faculty of Letters, Keio University Vol. XLVII 2012 125 a. b. Fig. 1 “Tree of Life” painted on Late Bronze Age Pottery a. A jar from Megiddo Str. VIIB (Amiran 1970, fig. 50-7) b. An ewer from Fosse Temple, Lachish (Tufnell 1940, pls. 51. 287; 60: 3) a. b. c. Fig. 2 “Tree of Life” engraved on Iron Age pottery sherds a. Tel Rekhesh (photo by the author) b. Jerusalem (E. Mazar 2002, 13 upper right) c. Tel ‘En Gev (B. Mazar et al. 1964, fig. 11-10) 126 ORIENT “Tree of Life” Decoration on Iron Age Pottery from the Southern Levant (1) A large storage jar from Tel Rekhesh; a “tree of life” is inscribed on its handle (Fig. 2a. 11th century BCE, Kuwabara 2008 Fig. 8).4 (2) A large storage jar from Ophel, Jerusalem; a “tree of life” is inscribed on its shoulder (Fig. 2b. 7th century BCE, Mazar 2002, 13 right above).5 (3) Two pithoi from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud, located between the Negev and Sinai; on the body of both pithoi, inscriptions and multiple figures are painted, including a “tree of life” figure (our Fig. 7. 8th century BCE Beck 1982, Fig. 4). The inscriptions from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud include a phrase “Yahweh and his A/ asherah.” Since Asherah is known as a Canaanite fertility goddess, this is often quoted as evidence that the cult of a fertility goddess continued until the time of the Judahite kingdom. The combination of Yahweh and Asherah is also often suggested as evidence that Asherah was a consort of Yahweh and that Israelite (at least Judahite) society was polytheistic until its last stage.6 However, can these figures on Iron Age pottery really be evidence for the continuation of the cult of the Late Bronze Age goddess?7 In order to make such a claim, the symbolic meaning of the “tree of life” in different periods should be carefully analyzed. In this paper, we study it from the following two perspectives: (1) Identifying the changes in the “tree of life” iconography in the entire set of religious artifacts from each period and by setting these three jars in that scheme. (2) Analyzing the meaning of the “Yahweh and his A/asherah” inscriptions written on the pithoi from Kuntillet ‘Ajrud. Such research will be a valuable window for looking into the changing atmosphere of Israelite religion during the Iron Age. II. Chronological Changes in the “Tree of Life” Iconography in Israel 1. Keel’s Scheme of Iconographical Development With regard to the iconography of the “tree of life,” there is a thick accumulation of scholarly discussions, such as the ones by Winter (1986), Schroer (1987), and Frevel (1995). Employing the results of these studies, Keel (1996) collected the iconography of the “tree of life” from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age and suggested that its meaning changed greatly over time. Keel suggested three stages in its development: (1) the Middle Bronze Age II to the Late Bronze Age (c. 1800~1200 BCE), (2) Iron Age I-IIA (c. 1200~900 BCE), and (3) Iron Age IIB-IIC (c. 900~586 BCE). During the Middle Bronze Age II, Canaanite city-states were established Vol. XLVII 2012 127 throughout the southern Levant. Keel argued that, during this period, the motif of the “tree of life” was used together with a female genital as a symbol of a fertility goddess on various artifacts, such as gold pendants,8 scarabs, and cylinder seals during this period (Figs. 3a-b). The same iconographic tradition continued into the Late Bronze Age, although the communicating media was changed to clay figurines and painted pottery (Figs. 3e-f and 1a-b). Keel indicated that the “tree of life” is clearly related to female genitals and the fertility goddess, and that the first two functioned as the symbols for the blessings of the fertility goddess. This mythological worldview is aptly reflected in the relief on the Ishtar temple at Mari, a contemporary Amorite city state in Syria (Fig. 3d, c. 1750 BCE). A pair of palm trees are painted on both sides of the temple façade and birds and winged quadrupeds are arranged around them. Inside the temple, water is shown as flowing out from trees grown out of pots. From the temple itself, a sculpture of a goddess with a similar vessel was unearthed. It is evident that there was a close link between the goddess Ishtar, trees, water, and fertility at Mari in this period.9 During Iron Age I (twelfth to eleventh centuries BCE), Canaanite city- states collapsed and the identity of the Israelites became evident, and both changing and unchanging aspects of material culture can be observed. Forms of daily pottery such as bowls and cooking pots continued from the Late Bronze Age, but imported pottery and painted pottery reduced drastically, and the figure of the “tree of life” became rather rare in this period. Keel indicated that there are still a few pottery sherds and seals with the figure of the “tree of life,” but its relationship with the goddess or female genitals became ambiguous (Fig. 4a-b). During Iron Age IIA (tenth century BCE), the motif of the “tree of life” also became rare. Keel listed two scaraboids from Bethel and Beth Shemesh (Fig. 4c), on which two figures (male?) are standing on both sides of a tree, as such examples. He also deals with a clay cult stand from Ta‘anach (Fig. 4d) as a typical artifact from the period.10 This cult stand is likened to a four-story building: on the first floor, a naked female figure and two lions at her sides are portrayed; on the second floor, a void window in the center and two cherubim are shown; on the third floor, a tree flanked by ibexes in the center and two lions on its sides are depicted; and on the top floor, a winged disk and a horse, two pillars and two cherubim are portrayed. Hestrin (1989) interpreted this as meaning that Yahweh, God of Israel, took Asherah, a Canaanite goddess of fertility, as his consort; however, Keel (1998, 41-42) and Hadley (2000, 169- 176) interpreted it as meaning the situation that Yahweh took fertility nature from a Canaanite goddess. Although both interpretations of the iconography 128 ORIENT “Tree of Life” Decoration on Iron Age Pottery from the Southern Levant a.b. c. d. e. f. Fig. 3 Figures of the “Tree of Life” during the Middle-Late Bronze Age a. A gold pendant from Tell el-Ajjul (Keel 1998, fig. 17); b. Hyksos scarab (Keel 1998, fig. 22); c. A cylinder seal from Mari (Keel 1998, fig. 7); d. A wall painting of Ishtar Temple, Mari (Keel 1998, fig. 8); e. A lid of an ivory box from Ugarit (Keel 1998, fig. 43); f. A clay figurine with Hathor Locks (Keel 1998, fig. 52) Vol. XLVII 2012 129 may be possible,11 the latter interpretation seems to be more probable in view of the fact that the Hebrew Bible speaks of the fertility nature of Yahweh himself (Hosea 2, Ps. 65:9-13, etc.), and that the relationship between a male god and the “tree of life” became clearer during Iron Age IIB-C, as will become evident below. Thus, it became rather ambiguous which god the “tree of life” figure on Iron Age I-IIA artifacts represented.12 Considering the previous tradition, these artifacts might be related to the Canaanite goddess, but no such indication is found clearly in their iconography; moreover, it is also possible that the Israelite male god had already absorbed her fertility nature.