Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
Elephantine Letter (Request about the Rebuilding of the Elephantine Temple)
Elephantine letter, dated to year 17 of King Darius II (November 25, 407 BCE). See Request about the Rebuilding of the Elephantine Temple) and Darius and Xerxes, Kings of Persia. The letter is…
Hybrid Creatures with Four Wings Supporting Deity in Persian Seal Impression
Hybrid creatures with four wings supporting deity in Persian seal impression, 6th or 5th century BCE. Biblical imagery and ancient Near Eastern iconography offer some parallels to the creatures…
Philistine (?), "Asiatics," and Other Captives
Philistine (?), “Asiatics,” and other captives, Medinet-Habu, Egypt, 12th century BCE. The relief depicts captives of Ramses III (reigned 1187–1156 BCE). The second man from the right is one of the…
Cult statues in Assyrian relief
Cult statues in Assyrian relief from the Palace of Tiglath-pileser III (reigned 745–727 BCE) in Kalhu/Calah (today’s Nimrud, Iraq). Although no Mesopotamian cult statues have been found, reliefs such…
Embracing Couple in Ivory Inlay
Embracing couple in ivory inlay, Ugarit, 14th century BCE. This ivory inlay decorated the royal bed from the court of the kings of Ugarit (Syria). The woman has her left arm around the man and with…
Child Sacrifice in Relief
Child sacrifice in relief, Pozo Moro, Spain, ca. 500 BCE. The relief shows a two-headed monster receiving offerings in bowls. One bowl holds a child. Because the site shows Phoenician influence, the…
Cake in Shape of Nude Female (Replica)
Cake mold in shape of nude female (replica), Cyprus, ca. 980–500 BCE. The mold, probably dating to the Iron Age II or a century later, emphasizes the nose, breasts, and genital region and likely would…
Idol-quickening Instructions
Idol-quickening instructions, Babylonia, 6th century BCE. The “mouth-washing” ritual was a ceremony for transforming a newly manufactured idol into a living deity. The instructions include these…
Chariots Trampling Enemies and Burning City in Assyrian Relief
Chariots trampling enemies and burning city in drawing of late 8th century BCE Assyrian relief in Sargon’s palace in Khorsabad, Iraq. One of Sargon’s horse-drawn chariots, its driver holding a whip…
Cyrus Cylinder
Cyrus Cylinder, Babylonia. In the inscription, Cyrus, the king of Persia (reigned 559–530 BCE), declares that he was chosen by Marduk, the god of Babylon, to free its citizens from the tyranny and…
Idol Manufacturing
Idol manufacturing, Thebes, Egypt, 15th century BCE. This is a modern artist’s rendering of a mural from the tomb of the vizier Rekh-me-re. It shows craftsmen making idols, much like the idol…
Song at the Sea (Exodus 15), Leningrad Codex
Song at the Sea (Exodus 15), Leningrad Codex, 1009 CE. The photo shows the first fourteen verses of the poem (Exodus 15:1–14) and a few prose verses from the end of the preceding chapter. The text of…