ON THE COVER: This eighth-century B.C.E. mythical griffin, delicately carved in ivory, was an inlay for an unknown object. It displays a lion’s body and eagle’s wings and beak. Hybrid creatures, frequently found in ancient myths, often guarded sacred places. Reminiscent of the winged human cherubim in the Bible, the guardians of the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:17–22), this piece from Nimrud in today’s Iraq is exhibited at the newly open Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. See
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