Description
This is the second compartment from the bottom on the right side of the inner archivolt of the central tympanum. It contains two figures wearing long flowing garments with many folds. The one to the left is larger, and has a short beard and an elaborate, headdress reaching to his shoulders in the back. His left sleeve is empty and reaches well below his knees. His other arm crosses his chest as his hand points to the elongated sleeve. The figure on the right is smaller and slighter. Its head is turned toward the other figure and its feet are hidden in the frame of the compartment. One hand is raised to its chest with the palm facing the viewer. With its other the figure points to the Christ figure at the center of the tympanum.
Most scholars agree that these figures represent the Jews in the "Peoples of the World" program in this archivolt. However, there is some disagreement about exactly what the figures represent and how they symbolize the Jews. Salet suggests that the larger figure is Jeroboam, the Old Testament king whose arm was withered because of his infidelity (I Kings XIII:4). His sleeve would be long because suddenly there was no flesh to support the shape of the folds of the fabric. Others, such as Terret see it as the Doctors of the Law, Meyer identified it as David and Bathsheba, but this interpretation is generally discounted.
