Thoughts on the Judean Pillar Figurine

Over 3,000 fired clay pillar figurines in female form with pinched or molded heads, bare breasts supported by arms, and a pillar-like lower body, have been found in archeological contexts in Israel, mostly from the southern kingdom of Judah, and mostly from the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. The most common theory regarding their identification and function is that they represent a goddess like Asherah or Ashtart and were a focus of domestic cult for child birth and lactation (cf. W.G. Dever 2005 - Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel, and R. Kletter 1996 - Judaean Pillar-Figurines and the Archaeology of Asherah). Recently, much has been made of the clay fabric, the domestic refuse context of the majority of the figurines, and lack of distinctive attributes to argue that they could not represent major deities (cf. E. Darby 2014 - Interpreting Judean Pillar Figurines: Gender and Empire in Judean Apotropaic Ritual). Instead, it has been suggested that they represent minor guardian figures used in specific rituals for healing and protection.

That clay could be used for major deities is suggested by Egyptian rituals that likely represent Isis in clay figurines (cf. E.A. Waraksa 2009 - Female Figurines from the Mut Precinct: Context and Ritual Function). Logically, refuse contexts would be a problem for even minor divine or semi-divine guardian figurines unless the figurines no longer contained that presence. After the ritual has been completed, the presence would be gone and the figurine could be discarded. But in such a case, there is no obstacle to a major deity having been present in or through the figurine during ritual.

The lack of distinctive attributes may be explained by seeing them not as representing a deity, but as expressions of Y-H-V-H's “feminine” aspect or activity of life force (“Ruach” or breath), which I associated in a previous post with the Freedom to assume any definition, not as a separate personality with its own attributes. Given that women are the ones in whom a new form grows and from whom new life emerges, it would have been only natural to characterize this aspect of the Divine as "feminine".

The only attributes of the figurine are its feminine form, breasts, and the red and yellow colors of paint applied to it (along with black paint for certain details).  Most are connected to the life force – the “feminine” breath of G-d, breasts as source of life sustaining milk, and the red color of blood as a vehicle for the life force. In addition, the red color may have symbolized, along with the yellow, the terebinth tree - designated as "elah" ("goddess") in Hebrew since the flowers and fruit of that tree are red and its resin yellow.

The presence of these figurines in tombs need not be regarded as evidence against them as representatives of the Divine life force. The Tanach provides ample evidence for G-d's presence even in Sheol (e.g., Tehillim 139:8) and the hope for being raised back to life from Sheol (e.g., 1 Shmuel 2:6). And the reference to G-d and His Asherah in the inscription at the Khirbet el-Qom tomb (8th century BCE) show this as well. To place a figurine of this type in a tomb, an apparently rare occurrence, would reflect a hope for being returned to the realm of the living by G-d's “feminine” life force that remains available even in Sheol for such a restoration.

Finally, it is worth noting that a now lost seal from Judean Lachish shows a feminine figure with hands at the breasts like the figurines but which certainly had major Divine status since the seal shows an adjacent worshiper, branch or tree, and solar disk (cf. T. Romer, 2015, The Invention of God, p. 171), but the figure itself lacks any attributes beyond a diadem, which also appears painted on some of the figurines.