The Divine Face in Biblical Texts: Religious Assets and Contexts

[fr]

– Jeudi 22 février 2018 de 16h à 18h
Conférence et vidéo conférence de Stéphanie Anthonioz, Université catholique de Lille
_ Sur place au CNRS d’Ivry sur Seine, 27 rue Paul Bert, métro Porte de Choisy/Porte d’Ivry, salle C en sous-sol
ou à distance par vidéo-conférence
[en]
– Thursday, february 22, 2018 4 p.m.-6 p.m.(Paris time)
A lecture by Stéphanie Anthonioz, Catholic University of Lille
CNRS building, 27 rue Paul Bert, Porte de Choisy/Porte d’Ivry subway station, room C in the basement or by distance through video-conference


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[fr]
Cette conférence est la 16e séance mensuelle du séminaire interdisciplinaire :
“The Individual and his Body in the Ancient Mediterranean Basin” organisé par Alice Mouton.

Résumé : Contrary to the Platonic and Cartesian traditions of a dichotomy between body and spirit, both Sumerians and Akkadians understood the person as the assemblage of its parts. In biblical studies, this approach has permitted to give back to the physical person all its importance. This conception of the unity of the person, widespread in the ancient Near East, also applies to the divine world: the gods are also their objects, their places and their attributes. I would like to pursue a reflection that has long been engaged about the divine face in biblical texts and its representation. Among all the bodily parts, the face represents the interface between the interior and the exterior of the person. But it also stands for the statue of the deity. My aim is to examine the various references to the face in the prophetic book of Isaiah, and to show how they not only confirm the essential function of the face in religious communication, but also enable us to seize major diachronic evolutions and understand the historical assets of representing or not the deity in its temple.