Ancient Iconic Texts and Scholarly Expertise
Issued Date: 27 Jun 2012
Abstract
This essay probes the origins of iconic textuality in the ancient Near East, informed by post-colonial perspectives on iconic texts. The surviving art and texts from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia exhibit at least four forms of iconic textuality: monumental inscriptions, portraits of scribes, displays and manipulations of ritual texts, and beliefs in heavenly texts. The spread of literacy did not displace the social prestige of scribal expertise that was established in antiquity. The every-growing number and complexity of texts accounts for the continuing cultural authority of scholarly expertise. The tension between expert and non-specialist uses of texts, however, explains scholarship’s avoidance of the subject of iconic books and texts while drawing constant attention to their semantic interpretation instead.
Download Media
PDF (Price: £17.50 )
References
Arnold, Philip P. 1995. “Paper Ties to Land: Indigenous and Colonial Material Orientations to the Valley of Mexico.” History of Religions 35: 27–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/463406
———. 2002. “Paper Rituals and the Mexican Landscape.” In Representing Aztec Ritual: Performance, Text, and Image in the Work of Sahagún, edited by Eloise Quiñones Keber, 227–250. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
Assmann, Jan. 1997. Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen. Munich: Beck.
———. 2006. Religion and Cultural Memory, translated by R. Livingstone. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Carr, David M. 2005. Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cohen, Shaye J. D. 1987. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster.
Dalley, Stephanie. 1998. The Legacy of Mesopotamia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Foster, Benjamin R. 2005. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature, 3rd ed. Bethesda, MD: CDL.
Goody, Jack. 1986. The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Graham, William A. 1987. Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hengel, Martin. 1974. Judaism and Hellenism. Philadelphia: Fortress.
Iconic Books Blog. http://iconicbooks.blogspot.com/ (accessed April 5, 2011).
Kosso, Peter. 1992. Reading the Book of Nature: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lieberman, Stephen J. 1990. “Canonical and Official Cuneiform Texts: Towards an Understanding of Assurbanipal’s Personal Tablet Collection.” In Lingering Over Words: Studies … in Honor of William J. Moran, Harvard Semitic Monographs 37, edited by Tzvi Abusch et al., 305–336. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.
Liverani, Mario. 1995. “The Deeds of Ancient Mesopotamian Kings.” In Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, edited by J. M. Sasson, 2353–2365. New York: Scribners.
Malley, Brian. 2006. “The Bible in British Folklore.” Postscripts 2: 241–272.
Myrvold, Kristina, ed. 2010. The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in the World Religions. Farnham: Ashgate.
Parmenter, Dorina Miller. 2006. “The Iconic Book: The Image of the Bible in Early Christian Rituals.” Postscripts 2: 160–189.
———. 2009a. “The Bible as Icon: Myths of the Divine Origins of Scripture,” In Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon, edited by Craig A. Evans and H. Daniel Zacharias, 298–310. London: T. & T. Clark.
———. 2009b. The Iconic Book: The Image of the Christian Bible in Myth and Ritual. Ph.D. Dissertation, Syracuse University, 2009.
Paul, Shalom. 1973. “Heavenly Tablets and Books of Life.” Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society 5: 343–353.
Rothberg-Halton, Francesca. 1984. “Canonicity in Cuneiform Texts.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 36: 127–144. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1360053
Schaper, Joachim. 2004. “The Theology of Writing: The Oral and the Written, God as Scribe, and the Book of Deuteronomy.” In Anthropology and Biblical Studies: Avenues of Approach, edited by Louise J. Lawrence and Mario I. Aguilar, 97–119. London: T. & T. Clark.
———. 2005. “Exilic and Post-Exilic Prophecy and the Orality/Literacy Problem.” Vetus Testamentum 55: 324–342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568533054359850
Schott, Siegfried. 1972. “Thoth als Verfasser heiliger Schriften.” Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumsurkunde 99: 20–25.
Watts, James W. 2005. “Ritual Legitimacy and Scriptural Authority.” Journal of Biblical Literature 124(3): 401–417 = “The Rhetoric of Scripture,” Ritual and Rhetoric in Leviticus, 193–217. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
———. 2006. “The Three Dimensions of Scriptures.” Postscripts 2: 135–159.
———. 2009. “Desecrating Scriptures,” a case study for the Luce Project in Religion, Media and International Relations at Syracuse University. http://sites.maxwell.syr.edu/luce/jameswatts.html (accessed April 11, 2011).
———. 2011. “Using Ezra’s Time as a Methodological Pivot for Understanding the Rhetoric and Functions of the Pentateuch.” In The Pentateuch, edited by Thomas Dozeman, Konrad Schmid, and Baruch Schwartz, 489–506. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
Wimbush, Vincent L. 2012. White Men‘s Magic: Scripturalization as Slavery. New York: Oxford University Press.
Yoo, Yohan. 2006. “Public Scripture Reading Rituals in Early Korean Protestantism: A Comparative Perspective.” Postscripts 2: 226–240.
———. 2002. “Paper Rituals and the Mexican Landscape.” In Representing Aztec Ritual: Performance, Text, and Image in the Work of Sahagún, edited by Eloise Quiñones Keber, 227–250. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
Assmann, Jan. 1997. Das kulturelle Gedächtnis: Schrift, Erinnerung und politische Identität in frühen Hochkulturen. Munich: Beck.
———. 2006. Religion and Cultural Memory, translated by R. Livingstone. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Carr, David M. 2005. Writing on the Tablet of the Heart: Origins of Scripture and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cohen, Shaye J. D. 1987. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster.
Dalley, Stephanie. 1998. The Legacy of Mesopotamia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Foster, Benjamin R. 2005. Before the Muses: An Anthology of Akkadian Literature, 3rd ed. Bethesda, MD: CDL.
Goody, Jack. 1986. The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Graham, William A. 1987. Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hengel, Martin. 1974. Judaism and Hellenism. Philadelphia: Fortress.
Iconic Books Blog. http://iconicbooks.blogspot.com/ (accessed April 5, 2011).
Kosso, Peter. 1992. Reading the Book of Nature: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lieberman, Stephen J. 1990. “Canonical and Official Cuneiform Texts: Towards an Understanding of Assurbanipal’s Personal Tablet Collection.” In Lingering Over Words: Studies … in Honor of William J. Moran, Harvard Semitic Monographs 37, edited by Tzvi Abusch et al., 305–336. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.
Liverani, Mario. 1995. “The Deeds of Ancient Mesopotamian Kings.” In Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, edited by J. M. Sasson, 2353–2365. New York: Scribners.
Malley, Brian. 2006. “The Bible in British Folklore.” Postscripts 2: 241–272.
Myrvold, Kristina, ed. 2010. The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in the World Religions. Farnham: Ashgate.
Parmenter, Dorina Miller. 2006. “The Iconic Book: The Image of the Bible in Early Christian Rituals.” Postscripts 2: 160–189.
———. 2009a. “The Bible as Icon: Myths of the Divine Origins of Scripture,” In Jewish and Christian Scripture as Artifact and Canon, edited by Craig A. Evans and H. Daniel Zacharias, 298–310. London: T. & T. Clark.
———. 2009b. The Iconic Book: The Image of the Christian Bible in Myth and Ritual. Ph.D. Dissertation, Syracuse University, 2009.
Paul, Shalom. 1973. “Heavenly Tablets and Books of Life.” Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society 5: 343–353.
Rothberg-Halton, Francesca. 1984. “Canonicity in Cuneiform Texts.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 36: 127–144. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1360053
Schaper, Joachim. 2004. “The Theology of Writing: The Oral and the Written, God as Scribe, and the Book of Deuteronomy.” In Anthropology and Biblical Studies: Avenues of Approach, edited by Louise J. Lawrence and Mario I. Aguilar, 97–119. London: T. & T. Clark.
———. 2005. “Exilic and Post-Exilic Prophecy and the Orality/Literacy Problem.” Vetus Testamentum 55: 324–342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568533054359850
Schott, Siegfried. 1972. “Thoth als Verfasser heiliger Schriften.” Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumsurkunde 99: 20–25.
Watts, James W. 2005. “Ritual Legitimacy and Scriptural Authority.” Journal of Biblical Literature 124(3): 401–417 = “The Rhetoric of Scripture,” Ritual and Rhetoric in Leviticus, 193–217. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
———. 2006. “The Three Dimensions of Scriptures.” Postscripts 2: 135–159.
———. 2009. “Desecrating Scriptures,” a case study for the Luce Project in Religion, Media and International Relations at Syracuse University. http://sites.maxwell.syr.edu/luce/jameswatts.html (accessed April 11, 2011).
———. 2011. “Using Ezra’s Time as a Methodological Pivot for Understanding the Rhetoric and Functions of the Pentateuch.” In The Pentateuch, edited by Thomas Dozeman, Konrad Schmid, and Baruch Schwartz, 489–506. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.
Wimbush, Vincent L. 2012. White Men‘s Magic: Scripturalization as Slavery. New York: Oxford University Press.
Yoo, Yohan. 2006. “Public Scripture Reading Rituals in Early Korean Protestantism: A Comparative Perspective.” Postscripts 2: 226–240.
