Barker described her background: "I was classically trained at Cambridge, U.K. During the nappy (diaper) washing years I read the Septuagint." Females in the audience were noticeably impressed when Dever, trained as a Biblical archaeologist at Harvard, gallantly said, "I call my wife my Lady."
I attended the conference with V. Garth Norman who is keenly interested in the subject because one of the two divine figures attending the tree of life on Izapa Stela 5 is female. We took notes of motifs, images and symbols associated with the divine lady in near Eastern texts, artifacts & iconography so we could compare them with what Garth has found on the Izapa monuments. Norman is convinced Izapa was a Nephite (and Lamanite) temple center. If that is true, one would reasonably expect to find similar motifs, images and symbols on Stela 5 and the other Izapa stelae.
My notes on motifs, images & symbols associated with the Lady of the Temple.
Barker 49 motifs in alphabetic order: altar, angels, animals, ark of the covenant, army, baptism by water, being hidden which could also mean remote or eternal, bovine with horns & hooves, bread, bride, cherubim, childbirth, cloud, crown, dragon, earthquake, fire, fish, garments, hail, healing, holy of holies, incense, Jerusalem, lightning, lioness, Melchizedek, moon, pools of water, rod of iron, shields, stars, storm, sun, sunrise, table, the Holy Spirit, the number 12, throne, thunder, tower, tree, virgin, water, wilderness, wine, winged sun, wings, wisdom. Barker's sources were ancient Judeo-Christian texts.
Dever 13 additional motifs in alphabetic order: anthropomorphic trees, courtyards, death, doves, four horned altars, gates, goats, life, lions, olive oil, Pleiades, sustenance, winged lion. Dever's sources came from Levantine archaeology.
Thompson 12 additional motifs in alphabetic order: ascent, cleanliness or purity, east, guide, horizon, journey to the netherworld, lamp, light, path, sunset, tree branches, west. Thompson's sources came from Egyptian archaeology.
Book of Mormon passages referencing these same motifs, images & symbols, although some are in dissimilar contexts compared with their Near Eastern counterparts:
- altar 2 Nephi 16:6 (referenciing Isaiah 6:6)
- angels 1 Nephi 1:8
- animals 1 Nephi 18:25
- anthropomorphic trees Alma 33:23
- ark of the covenant (phrase not attested in the Book of Mormon)
- army 1 Nephi 4:2
- ascent Mosiah 15:19
- baptism by water 1 Nephi 10:9
- being hidden, remote or eternal Alma 26:36 (Ammon's words are "lost ... in a strange land")
- bovine with horns & hooves 3 Nephi 25:2 (referencing Malachi 4:2)
- bread Alma 5:34
- bride 1 Nephi 21:18 (referencing Isaiah 49:18)
- cherubim Alma 12:21
- childbirth 1 Nephi 11:20
- cleanliness or purity 2 Nephi 25:16
- cloud 2 Nephi 14:5 (referencing Isaiah 4:5)
- courtyards (word not attested in the Book of Mormon) The text does say the Nephites constructed a temple patterned after the tripartite Temple of Solomon 2 Nephi 5:16 which would have included a courtyard
- crown 2 Nephi 13:17 (referencing Isaiah 3:17)
- death 1 Nephi 15:31
- doves 1 Nephi 11:27
- dragon 2 Nephi 8:9 (referencing Isaiah 51:9)
- earthquake 2 Nephi 27:2 (referencing Isaiah 29:6)
- east 1 Nephi 21:13 (referencing Isaiah 49:13)
- fire 2 Nephi 27:2 (referencing Isaiah 29:6)
- fish 2 Nephi 7:2 (referencing Isaiah 50:2)
- four horned altars (phrase not attested in the Book of Mormon)
- garments 1 Nephi 12:10
- gates 2 Nephi 9:41
- goats 1 Nephi 18:25
- guide Mosiah 2:36
- hail Mosiah 12:6
- healing Mosiah 3:5
- holy of holies (phrase not attested in the Book of Mormon) The text does say the Nephites constructed a temple patterned after the tripartite Temple of Solomon 2 Nephi 5:16 which would have included a holy of holies
- horizon (word not attested in the Book of Mormon)
- incense 2 Nephi 13:24 (referencing Isaiah 3:24) (Isaiah's words are "sweet smell")
- Jerusalem 1 Nephi 11:13
- journey to the netherworld 2 Nephi 1:14 (Lehi's words are "traveler" and "go the way")
- lamp (word not attested in the Book of Mormon)
- life 1 Nephi 14:7
- light 1 Nephi 17:13
- lightning 1 Nephi 19:11
- lioness (word not attested in the Book of Mormon)
- lions 2 Nephi 15:29 (referencing Isaiah 5:29)
- Melchizedek Alma 13:14
- moon 2 Nephi 23:10 (referencing Isaiah 13:10)
- olive oil (phrase not attested in the Book of Mormon) The text does mention olive trees & fruit e.g. Jacob 5:17
- path 1 Nephi 8:20
- Pleiades (aka Seven Sisters) (word not attested in the Book of Mormon) The text does mention "stars of heaven and the constellations thereof" in 2 Nephi 23:10 (referencing Isaiah 13:10)
- pools of water 2 Nephi 24:23 (referencing Isaiah 14:23)
- rod of iron 1 Nephi 8:19
- shields Alma 46:13
- stars 1 Nephi 1:10
- storm 2 Nephi 27:2 (referencing Isaiah 29:6)
- sun 1 Nephi 1:9
- sunrise Helaman 14:4 (Samuel's words are "rising of the sun")
- sunset Helaman 14:4 (Samuel's words are "its setting")
- sustenance Mosiah 2:21 (Benjamin's words are "preserving you from day to day"
- table (word not attested in the Book of Mormon)
- the Holy Spirit Jacob 6:8
- the number 12 1 Nephi 11:29
- throne 1 Nephi 1:8
- thunder 2 Nephi 27:2 (referencing Isaiah 29:6)
- tower Helaman 7:14
- tree 1 Nephi 8:10
- tree branches1 Nephi 10:12
- virgin 1 Nephi 11:15
- water 1 Nephi 11:25
- west 2 Nephi 29:11
- wilderness 1 Nephi 2:2
- wine Moroni 5:2
- winged lion (phrase not attested in the Book of Mormon)
- winged sun (phrase not attested in the Book of Mormon) The text does include 3 Nephi 25:2 (referencing Malachi 4:2) where the risen Lord invokes winged solar imagery
- wings 2 Nephi 25:13
- wisdom 2 Nephi 2:24
For more on Book of Mormon - Temple relationships, see the blog article "Sermon at the Temple."