Bildeforbudet i Det gamle testamente
The article analyzes the Old Testament prohibition of images from two perspectives. Firstly, from a broad perspective, where relevant texts from legal, narrative, and prophetic genres are briefly presented, and where it is demonstrated that some texts - not the least within the Deuteronomistic tradition - draw iconoclastic conclusions from the prohibition. Secondly, from a more in-depth perspective, where three sets of texts are analyzed more thoroughly. One is the Decalogue version of the prohibition of images (Exodus 20 / Deuteronomy 5), with a focus on its relationship to the first Decalogue commandment, the prohibition of other gods than YHWH. Another is the discourse on images in Deuteronomy 4, with attention to its interaction with two other theological traditions within the Old Testament, the Horeb theophany and the Priestly creation theology. And a third is Second Isaiah's polemics against fabrication of images, where the rhetorical contrast between YHWH and the idol-fabricators is pointed out. In conclusion it is argued that heirs of the religion of the ancient Israelites - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - have emphasized various aspects of the Old Testament prohibition of images, including that of iconoclasm.
Publisert i DIN - Tidsskrift for religion og kultur, 2010
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