Aniconism in Judaism

The strongest source is based on what Judaism counts as the second of the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any manner of likeness, of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down unto them, nor serve them; for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.Leviticus 26:1 reads: Ye shall make you no idols, neither shall ye rear you up a graven image, or a pillar, neither shall ye place any figured stone in your land, to bow down unto it; for I am the LORD your God.

[citation needed] (An important exception is צלם tselem, used in such verses as Genesis 1:26: "let us make man in our image", where this word for 'image' was not associated with idols.

[citation needed] Examples of the later works include the Joshua Roll and, more controversially, the Utrecht Psalter.The 3rd century CE Dura-Europos synagogue in Syria has large areas of wall paintings with figures of the prophets and others, and narrative scenes.

Some of these, notably at Naaran in the West Bank, have had the living figures removed, leaving inanimate symbols such as the Temple menorah intact.

An alternative explanation for the removals is that they were done after the Muslim conquest, and related to the decree of Caliph Yazid II in 721 (although this referred to Christian images).

[10] The decoration of cave walls and sarcophagi at the Beit She'arim necropolis also uses images, some drawn from Hellenistic pagan mythology, in the 2nd to 4th centuries CE.

Some illustrations from the Middle Ages feature fantastic creatures—usually animal-headed humanoids, even when the depictions are quite clearly meant to be those of historical or mythological humans, known as zoocephalic figures.

14th century hagaddah , depicting Moses leading the people (David Kaufmann collection)
Golden Calf , miracle of Elijah , 244-256 CE, fresco from Dura Europos synagogue
Detail of Dayenu in the Birds' Head Haggadah
Crossing the Red Sea , from Dura Europos synagogue , with two Hands of God , 3rd century
Shofar-Blower Chasing Away Satan, Mahzor, c. 1270–90, South Germany. Budapest: Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Kaufmann, Ms. A388, vol. II, f. 12v)
Leipzig Mahzor , hand of God delivering Abraham from the fiery furnace , 1320
Sacrifice of Isaac, The Hammelburg Mahzor , 1347–48, Hammelburg, Germany. University and State Library Darmstadt.
Sarajevo Haggadah, Moses and Burning Bush, top, 15th c. Spain, National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina
13th c. image from Parma Psalter. The main figure is Asaph, the presumed author of the psalm, who beseeches: "O God, do not keep silence"
people dancing, Rothschild Miscellany , Mid 15th century