The origin and evolution of the saraph symbol

Abstract: The abundance of uraeus iconography in Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Canaan has led most scholars to interpret the saraph, a winged and/or burning serpent evoked in the Bible, as an Egyptian religious symbol borrowed by the Canaanites and thereafter integrated in the Yahwistic sphere. The s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Amzallag, Nissim
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente 2019
Materias:
ICONOGRAFIA
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
BIBLIA A.T. Isaías
HISTORIA ANTIGUA
SIMBOLOGIA
Acceso en línea:https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/6622
Aporte de:
Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) de Universidad Católica Argentina
id I33-R139123456789-6622
record_format dspace
institution Universidad Católica Argentina
institution_str I-33
repository_str R-139
collection Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA)
language Inglés
topic ICONOGRAFIA
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
BIBLIA A.T. Isaías
HISTORIA ANTIGUA
SIMBOLOGIA
spellingShingle ICONOGRAFIA
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
BIBLIA A.T. Isaías
HISTORIA ANTIGUA
SIMBOLOGIA
Amzallag, Nissim
The origin and evolution of the saraph symbol
topic_facet ICONOGRAFIA
EDAD DE BRONCE
EDAD DE HIERRO
BIBLIA A.T. Isaías
HISTORIA ANTIGUA
SIMBOLOGIA
description Abstract: The abundance of uraeus iconography in Late Bronze Age and Iron Age Canaan has led most scholars to interpret the saraph, a winged and/or burning serpent evoked in the Bible, as an Egyptian religious symbol borrowed by the Canaanites and thereafter integrated in the Yahwistic sphere. The strong affinity of the saraph symbol with a local serpent species, Echis coloratus, however, challenges this view. It reveals that the saraph was an indigenous Canaanite symbol later influenced in its representation by the Egyptian glyptic. Comparison of the biology of Echis coloratus and the literary source relating to the saraph suggests that the latter was once approached as an animal that guarded the copper mining areas of the Arabah and Sinai against access by unauthorized persons. By extension, it became the privileged symbol of copper metallurgy and its proximate spheres of influence. It is concluded that the essential relation between YHWH and the seraph is probably rooted in the metallurgical background of the god of Israel. Furthermore, the closer affinities of the properties of the uraeus with Echis coloratus rather than with the cobra species that symbolize it suggest that this Egyptian symbol had been borrowed from Canaan as early as the pre-Dynastic period before influencing it in the reverse direction in the Late Bronze Age.
format Artículo
author Amzallag, Nissim
author_facet Amzallag, Nissim
author_sort Amzallag, Nissim
title The origin and evolution of the saraph symbol
title_short The origin and evolution of the saraph symbol
title_full The origin and evolution of the saraph symbol
title_fullStr The origin and evolution of the saraph symbol
title_full_unstemmed The origin and evolution of the saraph symbol
title_sort origin and evolution of the saraph symbol
publisher Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente
publishDate 2019
url https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/6622
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