Pottery in the Bible

The Bible contains numerous references to pottery, pottery making, and potters. Clay pottery was the most common and easiest way to cook food and to carry liquids throughout biblical times. Only pots used for very special occasions and locations (such as the temple) were made out of a material (usually some metal) other than clay (Exod. 38:3). Clay was the preferable material because it was freely obtained, easy to manipulate, and required little technology to make. The downside of pottery is that it is easily broken and thus rendered useless. Evidence of the abundance and affordability of pottery is seen in the instructions to break ceremonially unclean pottery rather than wash it (Lev. 15:12). Although cooking was the primary purpose for pottery, it could be used for a variety of applications, including storing items, carrying water, making lamps, and forming idols.

Pottery and the manufacture of pottery occasionally took on symbolic connotations in the Bible. For example, in the psalms broken pottery symbolizes the life of the psalmist as he cries to God for help (Ps. 31:12). In another psalm the psalmist envisions God destroying the nations that plot against God like someone who shatters pottery (2:9). Isaiah likens Egypt’s strength, in which Judah trusts more than in God, to pottery ready to be shattered (Isa. 30:14). Similarly, Jeremiah says that the leaders of Judah will be punished and will “fall and be shattered like fine pottery” (Jer. 25:34 NIV mg.). Isaiah also uses several other metaphors related to pottery. He says that God treads on rulers like a potter treads on clay, getting it soft and prepared for making pottery (Isa. 41:25). Isaiah also likens those who complain to God to pieces of broken pottery trying to tell the potter how to make pots (45:9).

Both Isaiah and Jeremiah liken people to clay in God’s hand. Isaiah says, “We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isa. 64:8). Jeremiah says essentially the same thing, but instead of using Isaiah’s positive tone, he sees the human molding process to be a difficult and dangerous one that can result in the potter rejecting the creation (Jer. 18:1–10). Jeremiah buys a pot, takes it to a gate in the city, the Potsherd Gate (a potsherd is a broken and useless piece of pottery), and smashes the pot symbolically to demonstrate how God feels about Judah (Jer. 19). Jeremiah’s choice of the Potsherd Gate was also part of the symbolism, as it is likely that most of the pottery in Jerusalem was made near or at the Potsherd Gate. The apostle Paul creates a similar metaphor, describing how a potter is able to take the same lump of clay and make different kinds of pots, some of which have special uses, and others common uses. Paul implies that God has the right to determine how and for what purpose he creates humans because he is like the potter with the clay (Rom. 9:21). Paul also refers to humans as clay jars with treasure in them (2 Cor. 4:7).

In another example, after the destruction of Jerusalem the people in captivity lament that they are simply like earthen pots before God (Lam. 4:2), suggesting that they are ready to receive the punishment that God has chosen for them to endure. Job also wonders if God has molded him like clay only then to turn him back into dust (Job 10:9).

Manufacture of Pottery

Preparing the clay. Before any pottery can be made, the clay must be gathered and prepared for use. Clay collected from different geographical areas will have different levels of pure clay and other earthen materials. Pure clay is very difficult to work with, but it produces some of the smoothest and strongest pots. Most of the clay used in Palestine was not of superior quality, and so most often imperfections developed in the pots as they were being made. We also know that during the time of the late monarchy, potters in Israel tended to mix clay with different kinds of sand to produce better results. With today’s advanced forensic technology, it often can be determined where the clay used to make a pot was harvested. Because it was generally impractical to transport clay any long distance, this sort of analysis can also be helpful in determining the origin of the pot. Once the clay was harvested, depending on its quality and use, it was often necessary to prepare the clay by kneading or treading it. This process was vital for removing any impurities in the clay as well as making it malleable.

Shaping. Historically, the first pottery molded was made by hand and dried in the sun. Nothing is known about the role of these early potters and whether they were highly regarded in society. Many scholars believe that early pottery was made by women, to be used for very practical purposes such as cooking and carrying water. It is fairly easy to determine the gender of the potter by measuring the natural hand and finger marks left in the clay and comparing their size in relationship to the average size of both men’s and women’s hands. These rudimentary pots usually were made by laying coils of clay one upon another.

Although it is not certain, the profession of being a potter likely did not develop until the invention of the potter’s wheel. The potter’s wheel allowed the potter to create more-sophisticated pottery and also gave the potter the ability to mass-produce pots. Several examples of potter’s wheels have been excavated dating to around 3500–3000 BC in Sumer and Ur. Most potter’s wheels during biblical times consisted of two wheels. A larger and heavier wheel was placed close to the ground, with a pole in the center of this wheel going up to a second, smaller, and lighter wheel supported by a table. The potter used his or her foot to move the larger wheel, which turned the smaller wheel. It is also possible that an apprentice turned the larger wheel. As the technology developed, sometimes two potter’s wheels were connected to one larger wheel so that two pots could be created at the same time.

Another method for making clay items was the use of press molds. Press molds were used to fashion clay by pushing the clay into the mold and then allowing it to dry. As the clay dried, it shrank and pulled away from the mold and could easily be removed from the mold. This method was used for molding figurines (most often used as household idols) and small oil lamps, which often were made of two molded pieces fused together.

Decorating and firing. Once a pot was finished being shaped, either on a wheel or in a mold, it often was decorated. The pot often was painted with pigment made from earth. Different painting styles can help in identifying a pot’s place of origin. Another common decoration method was to imprint the pot with different seals, symbols, or patterns. This was done by using a wooden or metal tool and pressing it into the wet clay. Examples of this method include several pots found at Gibeon stamped with what appear to be royal seals, which likely indicate that the pots and their contents belonged to the king. Much of the pottery from in and around Jerusalem has a red burnish applied to seal the pot and to add a smooth finish to the outside. By the time of the monarchy, potters were very sophisticated in their choice of materials and often had some of the materials, such as special sands, imported from a considerable distance. These sands added to the smoothness of the fired pot by creating a glaze on it.

Once the decoration of the pot was finished, the pot was dried in order to reveal any imperfections. If any imperfections were observed during drying, the pot was discarded. If no imperfections were seen, the pot was then fired. Depending on the potter’s resources and the technology the potter knew, the firing process could be as simple as placing the pot in a hot fire or could include the use of sophisticated kilns capable of producing extremely high and even heat. Firing a pot was extremely difficult, because ideally the heat is kept at a constant temperature throughout the process, which was not an easy task when using an open flame for the heating source. Because the process of firing pots was a well-guarded trade secret, we know few details of how pots were fired during biblical times.

Types of Pottery

There are several general categories of pottery, which are based on their characteristics and intended uses. Of course, for some extant examples of pottery from archaeological digs, their usage cannot be determined. Tableware included cups, plates, bowls, and jugs. These items tended to be more decorated than other pottery, much like tableware today tends to be more decorative than cooking pots. Cooking pots included pots with small, narrow rims and flat, open pans for frying and uncovered cooking. Storage vessels came in all sizes: pithoi, jars (two-handled), jugs (one-handled), smaller jugs (with no handles), and very small vessels for perfumes and other valuable liquids. Also, it is not unusual to find various sizes of lamps.

Importance of Pottery for Archaeology

Pottery has become an important dating tool for archaeologists. While written texts do provide more archaeological data than pottery and religious or cultural artifacts can be more visually interesting, it is pottery that helps the archaeologist piece all the information together.

History of dating pottery. While doing archaeological work in Egypt, Flinders Petrie noticed that for different time periods of Egyptian history there were different kinds of pottery, with very distinct and identifiable characteristics. These identifiable pottery characteristics included things such as the thickness of the wall of the pot, the type of rim or lip on the pot, the pot’s handles, and any special decorative elements. These characteristics, Petrie discovered, could be used to date sites that had no other dating information. Petrie carefully logged each piece of pottery found at each site and over time developed an extensive catalog of pottery types and their respective dating. Later, while digging at Tell el-Hesi in Palestine, Petrie noticed that each layer, or stratum, of the tell (archaeological mound) had a different type of pottery, much like the different kinds of pottery he had noticed in Egypt. Because of his careful and painstaking work in Egypt, Petrie also noticed that the different types of pottery in Palestine were similar to those that he had uncovered in Egypt. As a result, Petrie was able to develop a chronology of pottery that could be used to date different archaeological digs and strata in the entire ancient Near East. Later, W. F. Albright expanded on Petrie’s work by adding several sublayers and further refining the dating of each time period of pottery.

To help explain this significant discovery, L. E. Stager uses the example of how bottles for soft drinks have changed over the years. For example, he notes that when soda bottles were first mass-marketed, the writing on the bottle was part of the glass with raised letters. Over time the bottle changed and evolved; different types of writing were used on glass bottles until ultimately the bottles were smooth and the words were painted on them. In more recent years soda bottles have been made of plastic. This evolution of the soda bottle can roughly illustrate the changes in pottery over time. Because this method of dating depends on a catalog of documented pottery, it requires that all pottery found, no matter how insignificant, be cataloged and recorded so that others can compare the pottery finds from one place with those in other places.

Time periods. In the dating of ancient Near Eastern pottery, history is divided into broad time periods that are then further subdivided. The Middle Bronze Age (c. 2200–1550 BC) encompasses the time of the earliest biblical stories, including perhaps the stories of the patriarchs. During this period and the Early Bronze Age (c. 3300–2200 BC), the artisanship evident in the pottery was limited, and pots had little or no decoration; however, the skill applied to the vessels had improved dramatically from the prior period, the Chalcolithic (4500–3300 BC). These vessels show thin walls and evidence of mass production.

The Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1200 BC), which likely includes the time of Moses and perhaps Joshua, shows an unusual and dramatic decrease in the quality of local Canaanite pottery. There is no known explanation for this deterioration, but it is evident. At the same time, pottery from other coastal regions, especially Mycenaean Greece and Crete, is very common, and pots from these locations are quite sophisticated and highly decorated. This indicates that during this time there was a strong cultural influence from these areas. Some have suggested that this is due to the colonization of parts of Palestine by the Sea Peoples, who perhaps are the Philistines of biblical history.

The Iron Age (c. 1200–586 BC), which encompasses the time period from the Israelite conquest and settlement through the monarchy, demonstrates more low-quality pottery, especially early in this period. In contrast with the examples of pottery manufactured locally at Israelite sites, Philistine pottery is quite sophisticated, highly decorated with red and black duotones in geometric patterns. The later pottery of the monarchy shows much more skill and sophistication.

The Persian (539–332 BC), Hellenistic (332–63 BC), and Roman periods (after 63 BC) conclude the biblical periods. Each of these periods is dominated by the aesthetics and quality of the invading countries’ pottery. By this time, trade routes were strongly established, and so the invaders, it appears, flooded the markets with their pottery, often to the detriment of the local potters.