Palace and Temple

A Study of Architectural and Verbal Icons

Clifford Mark McCormick

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9783110172775
• eBook ISBN: 9783110907940
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Ancient Religion

This book is a critical study of the role played by architecture and texts in promoting political and religious ideologies in the ancient world.

It explains a palace as an element in royal propaganda seeking to influence social concepts about kingship, and a text about a temple as influencing social concepts about the relationship between God and human beings.

Applying the methods of analysis developed in built environment studies, the author interprets the palace and temple building programs of Sennacherib, King of Assyria, and Solomon, King of Israel. The physical evidence for the palace and the verbal evidence for the temple are explained as presenting communicative icons intended to influence contemporary political and religious concepts. The volume concludes with innovative interpretations of the contributions of architectural and verbal icons to religious and political reform.

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Method of Architectural and Textual Study
• Architecture and the Built Environment
• Sennacherib’s Palace in Nineveh
• Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem
• Conclusion
• Chapter 2: Sennacherib’s Palace In Nineveh
• The Texts
• The Building
• Conclusion
• Chapter 3: Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem
• Issues of Historicity
• Previous Approaches to Solomon’s Temple
• Literary Approaches to Temple Descriptions
• Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings: The Text
• Built Environment Analysis of the Temple Description
• Interpretation of the Verbal Icon
• Context of the Verbal Icon
• Chapter 4: Palace and Temple: Architectural Icons, Verbal Icons, And Religious Reform
• Sennacherib’s Palace without Rival at Nineveh
• Sennacherib’s Unique Use of Creation Imagery
• Sennacherib’s Reform and the Counter Reformation That Ended His Reign
• Solomon’s Temple without Rival in Jerusalem
• The Temple and the Ark in the Deuteronomistic Reform
• Priestly Counter Reform
• The Ark and Religious Reform
• Reform and the Verbal Icon
• Chapter 5: Conclusion
• Abbreviations
• Bibliography
• Indices