Entre art et exégèse : le sacrifice au mont Carmel dans deux panneaux de la synagogue de Doura Europos

Abstract

The article analyses two panels from the Dura Europos’s synagogue in which the sacrifice on Mount Carmel is depicted. What is particularly interesting is that in these two pieces of frescoes the artist has expanded the biblical story with an extra-biblical legend relating to the figure of Hiel. This legend is preserved in some late midrashim such as Midrash Devarim Rabbah, Midrash Shemot Rabbah and Yalkut Shimoni as well as in some Christian sources such as Commentary on the Books of the Kings attributed to Ephrem, and in Homily SS Petrum and Elijah attributed to John Chrysostom. Many scholars have used rabbinic sources to explain some of the scenes depicted in the frescoes of the Syrian synagogue. However, as W. G. Moon and U. Leibner have demonstrated, it is possible that these traditions circulated orally and were only later incorporated into rabbinic midrashim. This hypothesis is also corroborated by the fact that the legend of Hiel was known by Christian authors. Indeed, Syrian Christianity was developed within the Jewish communities and the first Christians probably attended and participated in the activities of the synagogues where, from the first century ce, the reading and commentary of the Hebrew Bible were some of the main activities. The article hypothesizes that the legend of Hiel was known to Syrian Judaism and it is likely that Christians would have learned about this tradition in the synagogue environment. It should be remembered that at Dura Europos itself, the church and the synagogue were only a few hundred meters apart. It may be assumed that Christians visited or attended the synagogue at Dura Europos where the legend of Hiel was discovered.