עֲטָרָה ʿaṭārāh – wreath, crown
Semantic Fields:
Headdress Honour
Author(s):
Alison Salvesen
First published: 2024-10-31
Citation: Alison Salvesen, עֲטָרָה ʿaṭārāh – wreath, crown,
Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2024
Introduction
Grammatical Type: noun fem.
Occurrences: 23x HB (0/11/12); 3x Sir; 4x Qum; 0x inscr. (Total: 30).
- Nebiim: 2 Sam 12:30; Isa 28:1, 3, 5; 62:3; Jer 13:18; Ezek 16:12; 21:31; 23:42; Zech 6:11, 14;
- Ketubim: Ps 21:4; Job 19:9; 31:36; Prov 4:9; 12:4; 14:24; 16:31; 17:6; Song 3:11; Lam 5:16; Est 8:15; 1 Chron 20:2;
- Sira: Sir 6:31A; 45:12B; 50:12B;
- Qumran: 1Q28b (1QSb) 4:3; 4Q381 fr31:7; 11Q19 (11QTemplea) 17:1 (עטׄ[רות); 40:11 (עטׄרותׄיׄוׄ).
Art and Archaeology
A.1 There are many representations of royal and divine figures wearing headdresses marking their high status, but it is hard to say what exactly could be considered an עֲטָרָה by a writer in Ancient Hebrew. Roughly contemporaneous with the biblical period in Israel are the pictures of Assyrian royal headdresses (ANEP 441-54), Aramaean regal caps (ANEP 455, 460), Persian crowns (ANEP 462), and there are many depictions from the same period of Syrian, Assyrian and Babylonian gods and goddesses in special headgear (ANEP 529, 531-36, 538). This is in sharp contrast to the absence of literary references to any sort of crown for Yahweh, except for the עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת held in his hand (Isa 62:3).
A.2 Several Ammonite plaques and busts depicting heads wearing crowns have been found. They date from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron II Period, and usually have the Egyptian Atef crown, the white crown of upper Egypt with ostrich plumes on each side or a reed crown bound at the top and flanked by ostrich feathers. A clay plaque found near Amman is identified by Abou Assaf (1980:76-79, 85) as the deity Milkom, partly on the basis of 2 Sam 12:30/1 Chron 20:2. Younker (1989:378) equates Milkom with Baʿal Hammon and Canaanite El, and onomastic data (Israel 1990:333-34; Herr 1989:369-70; 1992:187-200) have led Daviau and Dion (1994:164) to argue that it was El who was the god of the Ammonites, that Milkom may have been an epithet for him as head of the pantheon, and that the Amman plaque of a crowned deity depicts El.
For one of the Iron Age statue heads of a deity from Amman, see https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/
For an Ammonite limestone statue representing (King?) Yeraḥʿazar (end 8th cent. BCE), see https://bibleplaces.photoshelter.com/ and https://www.worldhistory.org/ The band that holds the hair together is fastened crosswise at the back of the head (Zayadine 1974: plate III; Abou Assaf 1980:25, 36, 91).
Conclusion
A.1 עֲטָרָה is not an unequivocal emblem of monarchy, given that it is worn not only by the king but by commoners and women, unlike נֵזֶר. Even a gold עֲטָרָה is not restricted to the king or royal family, since both Mordecai and Joshua are given them, though in these contexts significant honour must be indicated. Ezek 21:31, where the word is coupled with מִצְנֶפֶת, does not seem to point to עֲטָרָה being a sign of kingship, but even that passage seems to have more to do with utter humiliation than with loss of kingship per se.
A.2 Altogether, the word is used in non-royal contexts more frequently than royal, especially to indicate ceremony and/or rejoicing. In Song 3:11 it is likely that the עֲטָרָה, with which Solomon was crowned by his mother, was part of his marriage celebrations, not part of royal insignia. עֲטָרָה is a symbol of distinction or rejoicing, but not connected with the cult of Yahweh, though it may be a feature of an Ammonite idol.
A.3 An עֲטָרָה can be made of flowers if a wreath, or of precious metal if a crown, and can contain gems. It has many similarities with the Greek word στέφανος, which also means a crown or a wreath, and connotes victory and celebration.
A.4 Both the meanings ‘garland’ and ‘crown’ are frequently used in a figurative sense, and in this way עֲטָרָה differs from the other words for royal headdresses, נֵזֶר and כֶּתֶר.
For this entry, see further Alison Salvesen, ‘עֲטָרָה’, in: T. Muraoka (ed.), Semantics of Ancient Hebrew (AbrNSup, 6), Leuven: Peeters, 1998, 106-13 (Printed publications).
Bibliography
Ali Abou Assaf, ‘Untersuchungen zur ammonitischen Rundbildkunst’, UF 12:7-102.
P.M. Michèle Daviau and Paul E. Dion, ‘El, the God of the Ammonites? The Atef-Crowned Head from Tell Jawa, Jordan’, ZDPV 110:158-67.
Larry G. Herr, ‘The Inscribed Seal Impression’, in: Lawrence T. Geraty et al. (eds.), The Madaba Plains Project: The 1984 Season at Tell el-ʿUmeiri and Vicinity, and Subsequent Studies, Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 369-74.
Larry G. Herr, ‘Epigraphic Finds from Tell el-ʿUmeiri during the 1989 Season’, Andrews University Seminary Studies 30:187-200.
Felice Israel, ‘Note Ammonite II: La religione degli ammoniti attraverso le fonti epigraphiche’, Studi e Materiali di Storia delle Religioni 56:307-37.
Randall W. Younker, ‘Historical Background and Motifs of a Royal Seal Impression’, in: Lawrence T. Geraty et al. (eds.) The Madaba Plains Project: The 1984 Season at Tell el-ʿUmeiri and Vicinity, and Subsequent Studies, Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 375-80.
Fawzi Zayadine, ‘Note sur l'inscription de la statue d'Amman J. 1656’, Syria 51:129-36.