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242 / Yahweh's Winged Form in the Psalms
LeMon, Joel M.
Exploring Congruent Iconography and Texts
2010 XIV-238 S.
Fr. 68.-
ISBN 978-3-7278-1670-3
Joel M. LeMon
Yahweh's Winged Form in the Psalms
Exploring
Congruent Iconography and Texts
Collection:
Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis (OBO), volume 242
The striking image of the winged
Yahweh occurs in six psalms (e. g., Ps 17:8 "Hide me in the shadow of
your wings”). Scholars have disagreed on the background, meaning, and
significance of the image, arguing that it: (1) likens the Israelite deity
to a bird; (2) alludes to the winged sun disk; (3) draws from general
Egyptian symbolism for protection; (4) evokes images of winged goddesses;
or (5) refers to winged cherubim in the temple and/or on the ark of the
covenant. These divergent proposals signal a need for clearer methods
of interpreting biblical imagery in light of visual-artistic material
from the ancient Near East. This volume refines iconographic methodologies
by treating the image of the winged Yahweh as one among a constellation
of literary images in each psalm. Since the portrayals of Yahweh in each
psalm have distinct contours, one finds several congruencies in Syro-Palestinian
iconographic material. The congruent iconographic motifs for Yahweh’s
winged form include (1) the winged sun disk (in multiple forms and variations),
(2) the Horus falcon, (3) winged suckling goddesses, and (4) winged deities
in combat. No single image stands behind the portrayals of Yahweh. In
fact, even within a single psalm, more than one iconographic trope can
provide congruency with the literary imagery and inform the interpretation
of the text. Thus, the winged Yahweh in the Psalms provides an example
of a ‘multistable’ literary image, one which simultaneously evokes multiple
iconographical motifs.
Joel M. LeMon was born in Richmond, Virginia on June 25,
1976. He studied at the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester,
Virginia (1994–1998) before earning the M.Div. degree from Princeton Theological
Seminary (2001) and a Ph.D. in the Hebrew Bible program at Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia (2007). He is currently Assistant Professor of Old
Testament at the Candler School of Theology and the Graduate Division
of Religion at Emory University.
XIV-238
pages, bound,
Fr. 68.-
ISBN 978-3-7278-1670-3
