Abstract
Based on the iconographic analysis of stamp seals from the Benjamin Plateau region in Iron I-IIB, the paper examines the presence of kingship concepts. Recognized in political literature throughout history for the “biblical” personalities it housed, the region has not seen a dedicated study of royal ideology done exclusively with primary visual sources from the constrained area. The study grows in importance once it is noted that, even in the Judaic context, the iconography of the border region of Benjamin likely served as a link between the royal imagery of Israel and Judah. It is argued that in the Iron I-IIA period, the iconography emphasizes aspects of vigor and divine sonship of the kings, these created in the shadow of Egyptian rule. In late Iron IIA-IIB, it shifts to emphasizing the kings’ aggressiveness and victorious profile.
Klein Cardoso, Silas