It has long been replaced by various photographic processes in its commercial applications and, partly because of the difficulty of learning the technique, is much less common in printmaking, where it has been largely replaced by etching and other techniques. It could be a statue of a person or animal, or a relief carving in a wall or pole. Engraving was a historically important method of producing images on paper in artistic printmaking, in mapmaking, and also for commercial reproductions and illustrations for books and magazines. A graven image is an image carved out of stone, wood, or metal. (Avodah Zara 43a) The prohibition comes from a concern that even two-dimensional images could be worshipped, or could represent idols. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing images on paper as prints or illustrations these images are also called engravings. The Talmud comments on the second commandment, and takes a very strict stance against producing images of faces, ruling it forbidden, but sanctioning owning images of faces that were created by non-Jews.

In subsequent passages, pesel was applied to images of metal. Engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The difference appears to be that a graven image is a carved idol whereas a molten image is an idol molded out of a substance such as silver or gold. The word is pesel, translated in modern Hebrew as sculpture indicating something carved or hewn.

Graven image definition