attīma nannarat šamê u erṣetim—“You Are the Light of Heaven and Earth”

Abstract

This article is an in-depth study of two cylinders seals with the goddess in a nimbus from the Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem. It is commonly accepted that the goddess in a nimbus is Ishtar (Inana in Sumerian), the goddess of love and war. Although Ishtar is one of the best-attested motifs on ancient Mesopotamian seals, the appearance of the goddess surrounded by rays of light—reminiscent of Roman Catholic imagery of the Virgin Mary surrounded by sunshine—is limited primarily to the period between the eighth and seventh centuries BCE. This article offers an insight into the iconography of this mysterious goddess, as well as a glimpse of a small portion of the Bible Lands Museum Seal Collection, probably one of the largest such collections in the world.