Jeremiah and the Assyrian Sacred Tree

What is it about?

I argue that the author of Jeremiah 10:5 was acquainted with the ancient artistic motif that we call the "Assyrian sacred tree". He referred to it with the term תמר מקשה, which has been given a variety of interpretations ranging from "scarecrow in a cucumber field" to "plated pillar" but which should actually be interpreted literally as "palm sculpture".

Featured Image

Why is it important?

If I'm correct, we have now recovered the original meaning of a biblical verse that has been misunderstood or not understood at all for the vast majority of its existence. We also have a slightly better understanding of how the biblical authors interacted with the sophisticated domain of ancient Near Eastern visual art.