Artifacts: The Temple of Artemis

 

Remains of the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus

Ephesians 3:18 may allude to the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Eight Wonders of the Ancient World, which was roughly four times the size of the Parthenon of Athens and boasted the largest interior space of any building in the ancient world.  

Enterprises and wealthy individuals from across the Mediterranean world stored their wealth there where it was protected by the vengeful wrath of the goddess Artemis while accruing interest from loans made by temple officials, such that the temple treasury functioned as the largest banking institution of the Eastern Mediterranean in Paul's day.  

Travelers who had seen the Pyramids of Egypt, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Colossus of Rhodes were more impressed with the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus; but the glory of our riches in Christ greatly exceeds those of this now bygone temple, and precisely that implication is likely what provoked the riot that forced Paul to leave the city (Acts 19:23-31). 

Artifacts: The Greek Scriptures

 

Chester Beatty Biblical Papyrus BP II (P46) folios 13 & 92

Papyrus P46 is a partial codex (ca. 200 BCE) containing most of Romans, Hebrews, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, and 1 Thessalonians. Note that folio 13 (Romans 10.12-11.12) and folio 92 (Colossians 1.16-2.7) were part of a single sheet, which indicates that these folios form part of a codex. The folios containing the text of everything between Romans 11.12 and Colossians 2.7 was similarly matched and folded into nested leaves with folios 13 and 92 making up the outer pages of the surviving codex. The seven outermost leaves are missing and would had contained the first 5 chapters of Romans and presumably 2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Corinthians, Titus, and possibly Philemon. 

Note too the lack of spaces or punctuation between words, sentences, or paragraphs. This was the standard format for all writing in antiquity, which is why texts were always read aloud to hear what they said. The habit of silent reading only became commonplace in the early Middle Ages when Irish monks added spaces and punctuation to the manuscripts that they produced. This innovation allowed people to understand the text by sight without having to hear it sounded out by reading aloud. The advent of the printing press (which made books affordable) and public education (which created a broad demand for books) would have led to a cacophony of voices had not the invention of silent reading preceded them.

Artifacts: The Bronze Serpent

 

Canaanite Bronze Serpents (Eretz Israel Museum)

Many bronze serpents associated with temples dating to the period of Canaanite and Midianite occupation have been found in Israel. The significance of these cultic figures remains obscure, and it complicated by the fact that most surviving examples clearly represent cobras though the earliest examples are of snakes without hoods.

Nissim Amzallag proposes that earlier forms represent the painted carpet viper, a venomous species that invests the rocks and bushes of mountainous areas where copper was mined and smelted in ancient times. The most significant center of both mining and smelting of copper in the region was Punon, through which the Israelites passed in defiance of the the express prohibition of Edom (Numbers 20:14-21; 21:4-9; 33:5) and Yahweh's own warning: "Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession" (Deuteronomy 2:5). The Edomites likely regraded carpet vipers as guardians of the shamanistic art of metallurgy, but what are we to make of Numbers 21:8, which states: "And the Lord said to Moses: 'Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live'"? 

Leaving aside the regional connection of snakes with smelting and furnaces with Yahweh, the simplest explanation is that the bronze serpent forces an association of the people's transgression with their restoration by the one who punishes them for their transgression, which is tantamount to recognizing the one against whom they have transgressed is God. This would seem to be the sense in which Jesus applies the image to himself:

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes fin him may have eternal life. (John 3:13-15)

So Jesus said to them, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me." (John 8:28)

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. (John 12:32)

Artifacts: The Site of Golgotha

 

Photograph of the Bluffs of Northern Jerusalem

The cave-like opening at the top left, just north of the old city walls, is known as Jeremiah's Grotto. To the right are two smaller openings resembling eyes that presumably identify the site as Golgotha (meaning "Skull" in Aramaic). Christians call this place "Calvary" from the Latin word for skull, "Calvaria."

Artifacts: The Ketef Hinnom Scroll

 

The Ketef Hinnom Birkat Kohanim 22

The Ketef Hinnom Birkat Kohanim 22 scroll, found in a Jerusalem grave from the time of King Josiah, contains the oldest portion of scripture found to date. The scroll, which is only 2 cm long and was originally encased in an amulet, quotes the priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24-26:

The LORD bless you and keep you.
The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Artifacts: The Baruch Bulla

 

The Baruch Bulla

The Baruch Bulla, purchased from a antiquities merchant, dates from the reign of Zedekiah, during which Jeremiah prophesied. The inscription reads: "[Belonging to] Berakhyahu / son of Neriyahu / the Scribe." The prophesies dictated to Baruch by Jeremiah would have borne such seals as this one: “So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote down in the scroll, at Jeremiah’s dictation, all the words which the Lord had spoken to him.” (Jeremiah 36-4)

Artifacts: The Jeroboam Bulla

 

The Jeroboam Bulla (Ben Gurion University)

The Jeroboam Bulla, purchased from a antiquities merchant, dates from the reign of Jeroboam II, a godless king whose reign witnessed both the expansion of Israel's borders as far north as Hamath on the Orontes in central Syria and also a devastating earthquake, the largest ever recorded along the Dead Sea Transform (2 Kings 14:24; Zachariah 14:5; Amos 3:14, 6:11, 8:8, 9:1). The inscription reads: "Belonging to Shema the minister of Jeroboam."

Artifacts: The Khirbet Qeiyafa Ostracon

 

The Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon

The Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon with ancient Hebrew writing from the time of King David. The inscription reads:

You shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord]. Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an] [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and] the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king. Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.

Artifacts: Cherubim and Seraphim

 

Edomite Cherub from Horvat Qitmit

Ancient near-eastern peoples imagined Cherubim (blessed ones?) as lions or bulls with human heads and eagle wings. We see hints of this in Ezekiel 1:5–11 and Revelation 4:1-11. These were understood as guardians of thrones or sacred entrances who sometimes served as flying thrones for high gods. 

Bulla with Seraph from Jerusalem 

Ancient near-eastern peoples imagined seraphim (burning ones) as cobras whose hoods were reimagined as drooping wings, then lifted wings, then two pairs of wings, then three pairs of wings. These were understood as righteous persecutors.

Artifacts: The Canaanite God Ba'al

 

Sandstone Stele of Ba'al (Louvre Museum)

Ba'al is often called the "Son of Dagan," the latter being the equivalent of El in the Syrian pantheon, which implies that Ba'al ("Lord") was an imported deity, namely the Syrian storm god Hadad. Though El and his equivalents in other pantheons were prominent in the Early Bronze Age, during which time their primary function would have been to validate the authority of rulers of the early city states, Ba'al and other storm gods (Marduk, Zeus, etc.) were more directly associated with Justice (symbolized by the mace) and Fertility (symbolized by the lightning tree), which would have had more relevance for the daily lives of the general population and may explain the rise to prominence of the various storm gods in the Middle Bronze Age. 

By the end of the Bronze Age, only Israel and some Ishmaelite Kingdoms still venerated El—the Agur and Lemuel of Proverbs 30:1 and 31:1 are mentioned as being of the Ishmaelite kingdom of Massa in the northeastern Arabian Peninsula.

The (114 cm) stele of Ba'al from Ras Sharna shows Ba'al (Storm) standing victorious over Yam (Sea), whom he has defeated with a magical mace and lightning tree in a triumph of "water" (i.e. fresh fresh) over "the waters" (i.e. saltwater). The unusual headdress differs slightly from the one normally associated with Ba'al, which resembles the Hedjet or White Crown of Upper Egypt, which itself resembles a penis (specifically, an uncircumcised penis) that connotes virility. Much more unusual are the bull's horns, long hair and long beard, which are attributes of El. The smaller figure to the right of Ba'al's sword is Anat, the warrior queen of heaven, who contends for Ba'al in his conflicts with Yam (the Sea) and Mot (Sheol).

Artifacts: The Tree of Life

 

Slab B-23 of the throne room of Ashurnasirpal II (British Museum)

The Asherah mentioned in scripture is generally understood to correspond to the Canaanite goddess Athirat (Goddess of the Depths) the consort of El (God of Time and Creation) by whom she bore the 70 sons of El who rule the 70 nations. Her cult was associated with the adoration of a stylized wooden pole representing a tree, perhaps the sacred tree of Assyrian iconography. These poles may originally have been cropped trunks which sprouted new growth, a phenomenon not uncommon with untreated lumber in the deep South. What is astonishing is that there was an Asherah pole in the Temple throughout most of Israel's history up until the exile to Babylon despite reforms by several kings of Judah.

Artifacts: The Canaanite God El

 

Limestone Figure of El from Ras Sharna (National Museum, Latakia)

The Canaanites had originally worshipped the collective heavens, whom they called Elohim (i.e. "Mighty Ones"), but they came to conceive of a single being, whom they referred to as El (i.e. "Mighty One"): an embodiment of Time, by whom all things are engendered and governed and sustained. The Canaanites envisioned El as having long white and beard, clothed in shinning white, and seated on a throne. Nothing could gaze directly at him.

El was said to dwell in the tent of the heavens, surrounded by a vast host of flaming chariots (i.e. the stars); and he was said to sometimes also frequent the mountains of Aratta in the Land of Eden "between the two seas" (i.e. the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) in the northwest corner of present day Iran.

El (Time) brought forth the World from between Ashtaroth > Anat (Heavens) and Athirat > Ashera (Depths). Ashtaroth and Athirat bore him Shalim (Dawn) and Shahar (Dusk) respectively, such that there was light but no sun (Shapash), moon (Yarikh) or stars. Ashtaroth subsequently bore Ba'al (Sky, lord of mountains & storms); and Athirat bore Yam (Sea, lord where no human dwells), Mot (Earth, lord of the underworld), and the seventy sons of El, who rule over the seventy nations.

The above conception of the cosmos underlies many passages of scripture, which demythologize Canaanite religion by presenting elements of heaven and earth as purely material domains and objects created by God. Scripture in other cases demythologizes Canaanite religion by coopting mythological imagery for use as poetic metaphor.