Pottery
From Psalms: Layer by Layer
Key Words
| Word/Phrase | Gloss | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| כְּלִי יוֹצֵר | "pottery" | Ps. 2:9 |
Ancient Setting
“Clay pots were the primary containers for cooking, processing, and storing foods. Potters working in the courtyards of their homes, in workshops, and in factory settings made cookware, bowls, plates, jugs, jars, incense burners, stands, decorative pieces, and more. The porous pottery had surfaces that were plain, incised, or painted in various patterns. Glazed ceramics were not used until early medieval times”[1] “In addition to the many daily uses of clay vessels, artisans used to make molds in which to cast metal objects. Its physical properties – pliable in one form, brittle in another – as well as its practical uses make clay a powerful biblical metaphor.”[2]
Target Domains
Nations
- In Psalm 2, the image of fragile pottery maps onto the nations under the rule of Israel's powerful king. Kleber argues that the background for this image is “the oriental custom of declaring the intention of destroying one's enemies, in particular of the king proclaiming his intention of crushing the enemies of the realm by means of a ceremonious breaking and pounding to small pieces.”[3] The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery instead proposes a connection to the Levitical laws about the breaking of unclean vessels (Lev. 6:28; 11:33; 15:12).[4] The image of broken pottery may bear one or both of these connotations. On the other hand, it may be that pottery is here nothing more than an image of fragility set in contrast to the king’s devastating power.
References
- ↑ Gloria London, BSOT
- ↑ DBI, clay
- ↑ Albert Kleber, “Ps. 2:9 in the Light of an Ancient Oriental Ceremony,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 5, no. 1 (January 1943): 63–67.
- ↑ Leland Ryken, James Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, “Clay,” in Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998).