Abstract
This essay explores Ezekiel 23 as a text about art and aesthetics. As an aesthetic response to an artistic endeavour, it argues that the description of Oholibah’s act of viewing must be placed within the context of strategies for verbalizing visual phenomenon in biblical literature. And as a work of art, the carved Chaldean officers must be understood within larger ancient Near Eastern artistic conventions. The convergence of these distinct but related focuses allows us to reassess Oholibah’s act of viewing art and its role in Ezekiel 23.
Highlights
For a tradition known for its aniconism, there are a surprising number of references to the plastic arts in the Hebrew Bible
Relates to a definition of art common in modern Western aesthetics in which a work must be divorced from any contextual function or utility
Since the works of visual culture that have been recovered from the ancient milieu have clear functional contexts, be these religious or otherwise, scholars have found it problematic to approach these remains in terms of “art” or “aesthetics.” Yet as Irene Winter has argued, this specific evaluation of art is itself largely a product of eighteenth-century philosophical inquiry, and we must endeavour to instead recover contemporary values and experiences when assessing ancient visual culture.[7]
Summary
For a tradition known for its aniconism, there are a surprising number of references to the plastic arts in the Hebrew Bible. One important exception is found in Oholibah’s response to the carved images of Chaldean officers in Ezekiel 23 Whereas her sister Oholah sees and engages in sexual activity with real Assyrian warriors, Oholibah is attracted and responds to a work of plastic art: 3:479–97; and James A. As an aesthetic response to an artistic endeavour, I argue that the description of Oholibah’s act of viewing must be placed within the larger context of strategies for verbalizing visual phenomena in biblical literature and especially the book of Ezekiel. As a work of art, the carved Chaldean officers must be understood within larger ancient Near Eastern artistic conventions These artistic conventions help us to unpack what the ancient audience would have understood Oholibah to have viewed and responded to, and are important for properly comprehending her actions and their implications. The convergence of these distinct but related focuses allows us to reassess Oholibah’s act of viewing art and its role in Ezekiel 23
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