Figural Art

Abstract

This chapter explores the question of when Judeans began to observe a prohibition against the graphic depiction of humans and animals in profane artwork in fulfillment of what understood to be the “second commandment” of the Decalogue. Literary sources from the first century CE describe a commonly held belief among Judeans that Torah law forbids the artistic representation of living creatures. That this ban was observed almost universally among Judeans at this time is demonstrated by the almost complete lack of figural representations in contemporary archaeological and numismatic remains. Observance of this prohibition is in evidence as early as the first century BCE, as well as in the final three decades of the second century BCE. Prior to this time, we lack evidence that Judeans avoided figural art in any way. Coins minted in Judea in the first half of the third century BCE displayed portraits of the Ptolemaic monarchs and the image of an eagle, and all Judean coins from the late Persian period displayed images of animals and humans. Figurines from sites in Persian Yehud and Judean seals featuring figural art from Persian Babylonia also suggest that figural art was not eschewed by Judeans during Achaemenid times.