Endnote 6 – Return to the Cave of Letters: What Still Lies Buried?

This depiction is unusual in another respect: Human beings are shown on one of the most sacred Jewish cult objects, at a time when such depictions were thought to be a violation of the Second Commandment’s prohibition of graven images. See Hershel Shanks, Judaism in Stone: The Archaeology of Ancient Synagogues (New York: Harper and Row, 1979), p. 150. The caption to the picture of the Temple menorah raises the question as to whether the depiction on the Arch of Titus is an accurate copy of the menorah it purports to represent. Some readers may also question the accuracy of the drawing made by one of the members of the current excavation team, based on what can be seen in the photograph and on ancient parallels; some readers may have difficulty seeing what the artist sees in the drawing of the scene from the Temple menorah. In the drawing are Thetis and the leg of another figure to the right. On the other hand, many people also see a second leg in the photograph of the scene. In any event, it seems rather clear that human beings are depicted on the menorah base.—Ed.