Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
PAINT, PAINTING, and PICTURE. Paint was well known as a cosmetic in Egypt and Assyria, and universally applied by the women of those countries to the eyes. Also among the Hebrews the custom obtained, though it must be noticed that it is always spoken of in terms of contempt. 2 Kgs 9:30; Jer 4:30; Eze 23:40, See Eve. Painting as a decoration was much practised. In the houses the walls and beams were colored, Jer 22:14; also idols, either in the form of sculptures or in the form of drawings on the walls of temples, were colored. Wisd. 13:14; Eze 23:14.
But pictures, in the modern sense of the word, as products of free art, were unknown to the ancient Jews, and would perhaps have been regarded as violations of the second commandment. The drawings upon mummy cases were, however, doubtless familiar to them.