Anyone who reads the Bible is struck by the imagery used by the authors, whether you approach it as a religious text, historical source or both. But where did they come from?
The answer: the world around them.
Many forget that the Bible was written by real people, in a real country, in a real ancient world. We are all products of our own society; the prophets were no different. They lived and spoke and wrote. Whilst the text itself is encoded with their mission and has been translated and redacted over and over, we still get glimpses of the real, historical world behind it. Isaiah 36-39 is one clear instance of the historical meeting the theological - Sennacherib's invasion is recorded here and in his own accounts! But that's a story for another time. Back to the images!
The images used in the Bible can be traced to reliefs and images put forward by royals and elites across the ancient Near East, from Assyria to Egypt, the iconographic language influences the Biblical text.
Let's take a look at the images in Isaiah 14-24...
This section has been dubbed the 'Oracles against the Nations' (OAN) because it contains messages about Babylon, Assyria, Jerusalem and its neighbours (watch the above video to learn more!). Approximately 63% of these verses contain images that can be linked to ancient Near Eastern iconography, demonstrating how Isaiah was inspired by the world around him. This was a visual and illiterate world, meaning images were the most effective means of communicating messages. These could appear on palace or tomb walls, high up in the mountains as well as stele erected at specific sites. They could even be in miniature, circulating across the ancient world on coins and seals through trade. Isaiah would have encountered a vast array of these images; thus they found their way into his text.
By looking at the images themselves, we can reinterpret the biblical texts through a process of iconographic exegesis (literally critically interpreting the biblical text with ancient iconography/images). This lets us place the book in its historical context and offers new approaches to the text itself! Here's an example:
Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you,
that the rod that struck you is broken,
for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder,
and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.
Isaiah 14:29
The reference to a broken rod appears straight forward - it's just a broken stick right? Well, the ancient iconography demonstrates that a staff (or rod) actually represented authority and power.
The image above shows the exchange of power (symbolised by the staff) between Sargon II and Sennacherib. This image means we can suggest Isaiah's message in 14:29 is about the fragmentation of Assyrian power.
We can take this even further by looking at any smiting scene from across the ancient Near East. In these scenes, a rod, whip or flail is used to punish or kill the enemy, placing the rod as a symbol of the imperial power over the defeated. See the image below for just one example of how this worked. Therefore, Isaiah 14:29 can be interpreted as inverting the power dynamic by breaking this very weapon.
This iconography allows us to reinterpret the Biblical verse using the historical context.
This is just one example of how ancient iconography can help us interpret the Biblical texts, an approach that, I hope, will continue to prosper in academia.