IVORY

The Bible usually designates an elephant's tusk as shen (Heb. שֵׁן, lit. "tooth"), a term indicating both raw and finished ivory (e.g., I Kings 10:18; Ezek. 27: 15; II Chron. 9:17). In connection with the importation of this item from distant places, the Bible (I Kings 10:22; II Chron. 9:21; cf. Ezek. 27:15) uses the term shenhabbim (Heb. שֶׁנְהַבִּים), from shen and habbim, plural of hav, possibly from Egyptian \!ejud\_0002\_0010\_0\_img1136 bw, "elephant." It is possible, therefore, that shenhav indicates only the raw material. Because it is as rare as it is beautiful, ivory is used in the Bible to personify human beauty. Thus, "your neck is like an ivory tower" (Song 7:5 (4); or "his body is ivory work encrusted with sapphires" (ibid. 5:14). Since the use of ivory was limited to the very wealthy, the prophets use ivory as a symbol of great wealth (Amos 3:15). The raw materials were brought to Palestine by land or sea from such distant places as India, Upper Egypt, and, to a lesser degree, from Syria and Libya. Considered of great value – in a class with spices, gold, and precious stones – ivory was used for creating tiny art objects, and small but valuable utensils. Objects of ivory have been found in Palestine in a Chalcolithic cave in the Judean Desert (Wadi Ḥever), and small statuettes dating from the same period have been discovered in the northern Negev. Ivory was used to make pendants, small idols, elegant sheaths for swords, cosmetic vessels, and combs, examples of each having been found in excavations at Megiddo, Ḥazor, Samaria, and Tell al-Farica. Carved ivory was also used as a decorative finish for the walls of houses, especially the interior, and as adornments on furniture. Both uses enhanced the beauty of Ahab's palace at Samaria (I Kings 22:39). Thrones, beds, and other furniture might also be thus decorated (e.g., I Kings 10:18; Amos 6:4). Motifs for designs ranged from geometric patterns and shapes from nature – especially those of animals and plants – to mythology and great feats of heroism. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J.W. Crowfoot and G.M. Crowfoot, Early Ivories from Samaria (1938); G. Loud, The Megiddo Ivories (1939); Y. Yadin et al., Ḥazor, 1 (1958), pls. cl, cli; 3–4 (1961), pl. ccxl, no. 10. (Ze'ev Yeivin)