Two Biblical Architectural Images in Light of Cuneiform Sources (Lexicographical Note X)

Abstract

Biblical translators have traditionally rendered the lexeme ? uniformly throughout the Tanakh as denoting completeness, despite ambiguities in some occurrences that point to the possibility of alternative definitions. This paper seeks to assist in elucidating the verses in question, shedding light on previously misunderstood biblical texts utilizing ancient Near Eastern evidence, particularly where epigraphic corroborations of the innovated biblical Hebrew definitions converge with iconographic depictions. The crowns of ancient royalty are illustrated as microcosmic versions of battlemented ancient city walls, lending the nebulous usages of ? newfound significance. Our thesis is further supported by the continuum of terminology and understanding of ? apparent in post-biblical and rabbinic literature. An identical approach is applied to the ? metaphors found in the Song of Songs. These were normally understood as somewhat awkward images describing the female body. Here too, two forms of ancient evidence-epigraphic and archaeological-converge, illuminating an architectural reference that serves to sharpen the anatomical metaphor. We hope to assert the utmost necessity of examining Akkadian parallels to biblical Hebrew, as the Bible is a body of literature that has a pronounced lack of formal architectural terminology.