Investiture of King Zimri-Lim

Investiture of King Zimri-Lim

This past week the Interpreter published a fascinating article online by Jeff Bradshaw entitled "Freemasonry and the Origins of Modern Temple Ceremonies". The article is well worth reading in its entirety but there was a brief extract that I wanted to share regarding the image shown above. Here is the excerpt:

"In the depiction of the culminating rites shown [above], the king, accompanied by a guardian with arms raised in the traditional attitude of prayer and worship, comes into the most sacred space of the palace where he would have received royal insignia from the hand of a representation of Ishtar, in the presence of other gods and divinized ancestors. The king’s hand is extended to receive these insignia while his arm is raised in a gesture of oath making. As also seen in biblical practice, the solemn nature of the oath was confirmed by touching the throat. Note that the Mesopotamian royal insignia of the rod and the coil as they were depicted here in 1800 bce, had a basic function of measurement similar to the square and compass in later times."