Ivory

Opaque dentine substance, often mentioned along with precious metals and gems in the Bible and ancient Near Eastern writings. As such, ivory was used for combs, small boxes, jars, and other cosmetic articles; for figurines and amulets; for games; and for the adornment of articles of furniture, buildings, and perhaps even ships (Ez 27:6). It is frequently mentioned in Egyptian and Assyrian annals of conquest as part of the spoils of war. Some excellent examples of work with ivory can be found in the famed collection of Tutankhamen.

In the Bible ivory is spoken of as the adornment of Solomon’s throne (1 Kgs 10:18; 2 Chr 9:17) and of beds in the time of Amos (Am 6:4). Both references are probably to ivory inlay. The ivory palaces of 1 Kings 22:39, Psalm 45:8, and Amos 3:15, however, may refer to forms of decoration other than inlay. Whether Ezekiel 27:6 actually implies that ships were decorated with ivory is debatable, since that passage forms part of the whole picture of Tyre as an extravagant ship. The articles of ivory that earth’s merchants can no longer sell to Babylon (Rv 18:12) include smaller objects of the kind found at various archaeological sites (Megiddo, Samaria, Nimrud).

Originally ivory was available in northern Syria, where Assyrian monarchs hunted elephants. By Solomon’s time, however, it was imported (1 Kgs 10:22; 2 Chr 9:21), probably from the east (India) or south (Africa), while the ships of Tarshish may represent the seagoing capability of the ships rather than the source of the ivory. Tyre received its ivory in trade from the “coastlands” (Ez 27:15).