Promise, Protection, & Prosperity
Aspects of the "Shield" as a Religious Relational
Metaphor in an Ancient Near Eastern Perspective.
An Iconographical & Textual Analysis

By Arne Wiig
September, 2000
Lund University / Almqvist & Wiksell International
ISBN: 91-628-3554-8
271 pages Illustrated
$63.00 Paper Original

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Based on modern metaphor theory, this study analyzes aspects of the shield metaphor for the first time in a major ancient Near Eastern perspective.

This study begins by observing the appearance, symbolic patterns, and use of shields in the chaotic battle situation, where relationships are put to the test and the shield forms the boundary between life and death.

With this background, the text goes on to analyze the shield in iconography and shield words as metaphors for divine protection in the Hebrew Bible and Egyptian and Assyrian literature. These literary contexts contain many outward similarities.

Religion; Ancient History
Lund Studies in History of Religions: Volume 9

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