Aramaic Inscriptions and Documents of the Roman Period 9780191554841, 9780199252565

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ARAMAIC INSCRIPTIONS AND DOCUMENTS O F T H E RO M A N P E R I O D (T S S I I V )

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Aramaic Inscriptions and Documents of the Roman Period Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, Volume IV

By J O H N F. H E A L EY

1

3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With oYces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York q John F. Healey 2009 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 76023681 Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire ISBN 978–0–19–925256–5 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Preface This volume was originally conceived of as a fourth in the series of the late John C. L. Gibson’s Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions I–III (1971–82) (TSSI), which in turn was meant to replace G. A. Cooke’s Textbook of NorthSemitic Inscriptions (1903). The latter included later Aramaic inscriptions (Nabataean, Palmyrene) as well as Punic inscriptions, but these were not covered in TSSI. It is the former of these lacunae which is addressed in the present volume. (The Punic lacuna has now been in part Wlled by Jongeling and Kerr 2005 and Jongeling 2008.) In concept this book is similar to the TSSI volumes and aims to present an introductory collection of inscriptions with a commentary limited to major issues involved. There is no intention here to re-edit, though in some sections, especially those on Nabataean and Syriac, the texts presented here arise from the author’s own more deWnitive studies. The fact that this is not a re-edition is also reXected in certain practical decisions which have been made about presentation, since only signiWcant doubts about readings are generally marked in the texts presented. The Hatran inscriptions are particularly uncertain in readings, but in all cases it will be necessary for the user of this volume to check the primary publications in order to get full information on the status (in terms of certainty) of the readings given. It is not, therefore, intended for the specialist in any of the particular dialects covered, though it may help those engaged in the study of one dialect to become more familiar with the others. There is also quite a major diVerence of scale in the selectiveness of this collection by comparison with the material chosen for inclusion in the earlier TSSI volumes. The earlier volumes were fairly comprehensive, containing all the then known inscriptions in early Hebrew, early Aramaic and Phoenician. Only fragmentary materials and certain special categories (such as seals and sealings) were excluded. In the present volume it would neither be realistic nor useful to try to be comprehensive. There are over 2,800 Palmyrene inscriptions in a recently published corpus and the number of Nabataean inscriptions is over 5,000. There is, therefore, no plan to be comprehensive and this volume will not in any sense replace the existing corpora. On the other hand, another decision of the author may seem to imply a move in the opposite direction. In TSSI II the many Aramaic papyri were excluded. They would have overwhelmed the volume and since adequate compendia of them existed (such as Cowley 1923, now replaced by Porten

vi

Preface

and Yardeni 1986–99) little would have been gained. There was also the convention of separating things written on hard materials from those written on soft, a convention with which I have little sympathy. So far as the material covered in the present volume is concerned, apart from the Jewish materials from the Judaean desert and associated with the Qumran community, there have survived extremely few texts on soft materials and their importance is enormous in relation to the linguistic and cultural understanding of the corresponding writings on stone. Thus in early Syriac there are only three legal documents; in Nabataean there are about ten; in Palmyrene there are two fragments and in Hatran none. It has, therefore, seemed sensible to include examples of the texts on parchment and papyrus. So far as Jewish Aramaic is concerned, the situation is really the reverse of that of the other corpora in that there is far more literary and documentary Aramaic on papyrus and parchment from the period in question than inscriptions on stone and in mosaic. Most surviving examples of the latter date from the Byzantine period and the literary texts would not Wt into the present volume (any more than Biblical Hebrew literature could have been included in the Hebrew volume of TSSI). Hence another practical limitation. Only a few examples of documentary texts in Jewish Aramaic are included here and a few inscriptions on stone which seem to fall within the relevant period. (The material of both types is worth including because there are interesting comparisons with the non-Jewish material.) The Jewish Aramaic materials are in any case much better known by students of the period because of the connection with the Dead Sea Scrolls and later Jewish legal traditions and they are well covered in handbooks like Naveh 1978 and 1992, Fitzmyer and Harrington 1994, and Yardeni 2000a. Therefore, the scope of the present work is to provide an introductory selection of materials written on stone (including mosaic) and on soft materials in the ‘Middle Aramaic’ dialects (for the precise terminology see Chapter II) of Nabataean and Syriac and of the materials on stone in Palmyrene and Hatran, with examples in both categories from Jewish Aramaic. Since the collection is meant to be representative and introductory, items which are very fragmentary, unless they hold some special historical or religious signiWcance, have been avoided. This slightly complicated deWnition of the scope of the volume corresponds much more simply with its principal aim, since it allows for the reading of continuous and comprehensible texts in all the main dialects. A student who understands this material, and can add to it a competence in Jewish Aramaic and/or (Christian) Syriac, will be able to make use of the Aramaic corpus in the study of the Near East in the Roman period. Even without too much linguistic competence, whoever has worked through this book will, I hope,

Preface

vii

have gained an insight into the nature of the Aramaic materials of this period which will facilitate their careful use in historical and cultural studies, even if inscriptions are normally cited in translation. More emphasis has been placed in this volume than the others on the introductory matter; the speciWc reason for this is the fact that the inscriptions are very widespread geographically and come from disparate political entities. There is, however, a certain degree of cultural similarity between the diVerent groups. In religion this is true, with due allowance for regional variation, for the whole corpus apart from the Jewish inscriptions. These latter belong in a diVerent religious world, though they share, even in religious inscriptions, many of the features of the ‘pagan’ inscriptions (for example the use of memorial formulae which appear to have been part of a common religious language). Outside the speciWc sphere of religion, there is much shared in terms of legal tradition, since all the texts with a legal content come from what has been called the Aramaic ‘Common Law’ tradition. Again the Jewish texts share in this to a large extent: indeed the Aramaic Common Law is best represented at an earlier date by the Jewish papyri from Elephantine. The diVerences between the diVerent corpora are, perhaps, most evident in script. The Wve sub-corpora have Wve diVerent scripts, though they are all derived ultimately from the Aramaic scripts of the Achaemenid period. All the texts in this volume are presented in transliteration, though in the case of the Jewish Aramaic and Syriac texts a version in ‘Hebrew’ (i.e. Jewish Aramaic) script and est: rangela is also provided. The reason for making this distinction is that in the case of Nabataean, Palmyrene, and Hatran no direct descendant of the script in question survived in later use. It would have been possible to create fonts for Nabataean, Palmyrene, and Hatran (as in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum for the Wrst two and in Beyer 1998 for the last), but especially in the Nabataean case there is such variability in the script—several diVerent basic scripts are involved, not to mention the frequent variations in the forms of individual letters—that to choose particular letter-forms as the norm for printing would be an artiWcial procedure. On the same basis readers of the Syriac and Jewish Aramaic texts need to be fully aware that the originals only vaguely resemble the printed forms of the fonts we now use. I have thus avoided the practice of my predecessors, Cooke and Gibson (also Donner and Ro¨llig 1968–71), of using the Hebrew script for inscriptions which are not Jewish. Apart from the argument from continuity (above), there is also a matter of principle here, the principle that it is inappropriate in this day and age to treat the epigraphic heritage of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iraq as a branch of Hebrew and Biblical study. I have every

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Preface

sympathy with my many Arab colleagues who regard the presentation of ‘their’ inscriptions in the Hebrew script as an aspect of an outdated orientalism and biblicism. In the case of the Nabataean materials there might have been a case for using the Arabic script, since the Nabataean script led ultimately to the Arabic script now used. This would, however, have involved an artiWcial and etymologically confusing restriction of the Arabic alphabet to the consonantal repertoire of Aramaic (i.e. certain Arabic letters would have to be ignored because they did not exist in Aramaic). In the case of ‘Arabic’ loans this would have led to bizarre results, so that, for example, ayr would be transcribed as _ is not represented in the rather than the etymologically correct , since g/ Nabataean alphabet. I am aware that this is often done, and with good reason, when books on Aramaic epigraphy are published in Arabic, and it could be done if an Arabic version of this book were ever produced. For the present purpose, however, the use of transliteration as the basic mode has the advantage of presenting all the texts on an equal basis suitable for comparison without making the false assumption that only students and researchers already familiar with the Hebrew script are likely to be interested. Many of the inscriptions, especially those from Palmyra, are bilingual. The Greek is included here, but only translated separately if it is very brief or if it adds signiWcantly to the Aramaic. No attempt has been made to discuss the Greek from an epigraphic or philological point of view. In the Palmyrene TariV (text 37 in the present volume) the Greek takes up a substantial amount of space and in this case translation is limited to the main sections of the Greek text. Finally it may be worth noting that the Dictionary of North-West Semitic Inscriptions of Hoftijzer and Jongeling (1995) covers everything in this volume except the early Syriac texts and the recently published Nabataean papyri (and these are in fact largely covered because of earlier partial publications, e.g. in Fitzmyer and Harrington 1994). The deWciency with regard to Syriac was made up for by Drijvers and Healey 1999, but more generally recourse can be had to the Payne Smith dictionaries (1879–1901; 1903) and Brockelmann (1928).

Acknowledgements This publication has been much delayed because of my administrative and teaching commitments in the University of Manchester. That it has come to fruition is due in no small measure to The Leverhulme Trust, which awarded me a Research Fellowship in 2002/3, and to All Souls College, Oxford, which appointed me a Visiting Fellow in 2003. Oxford University Press, in the person of Hilary O’Shea, showed patience. The help of the OUP scholar-editor, Leofranc Holford-Strevens, was invaluable, while the assistance of Dorothy McCarthy and Kathleen Fearn, also of OUP, is gratefully acknowledged. The John Rylands University Library in Manchester and the Bodleian, Sackler, and Oriental Institute libraries in Oxford provided the foundation for the work involved in preparing the text. My colleagues in Manchester University, Dr Polly Low and Professor Tim Parkin, have generously helped me with Palmyrene Greek and drawn my attention to important publications (in connection with Palmyra’s relationship with the Roman Empire) which would otherwise have been overlooked. Remaining errors and omissions in this area, as in others, are my own. My friends Professor Kevin Cathcart and Professor Rex Smith have encouraged me at times when I thought the book might never get Wnished. A third friend, Dr Hamad Bin Seray (United Arab Emirates University, al- aAin), played an invaluable role in cheering me up from time to time. Elizabeth, my wife, has put up with this temperamental academic for over 35 years. Her own devotion to research has created a domestic atmosphere in which the completion of this project was possible. She also helped with many practical matters. As always, I thank her the most. John Healey June 2009

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Contents List of Illustrations Abbreviations and Other Conventions

xiii xv

I. HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL INTRODUCTION

1

II. EPIGRAPHIC AND LINGUISTIC INTRODUCTION

26

III. NABATAEAN ARAMAIC INSCRIPTIONS AND PAPYRI 1–2. Early Inscriptions 3–9. The First Century ce: Petra, H : egra, and Madeba 10–11. Papyri from Nah: al H ever : 12–13. Post-Nabataean Inscriptions 14–18. Inscriptions from Peripheral Areas (Egypt, Syria, Miletus)

52 52 55 79 107 113

IV. JEWISH (PALESTINIAN) ARAMAIC INSCRIPTIONS AND PAPYRI 19–21. Administrative and Legal Documents 22. An Early Synagogue Inscription 23–7. Tomb and Ossuary Inscriptions

122 122 136 137

V. PALMYRENE INSCRIPTIONS 28–36. HonoriWc and Dedicatory Inscriptions 37. The Palmyrene TariV 38–42. Religious Dedications 43–5. Funerary Inscriptions

144 144 164 205 214

VI. EARLY SYRIAC (EDESSAN ARAMAIC) INSCRIPTIONS AND PARCHMENTS 46–7. Early Inscriptions: Birecik and Serrin 48–52. Inscriptions from Sumatar 53–60. Funerary Inscriptions in Mosaic and on Stone from Edessa 61. Dedication from Edessa’s Citadel 62–3. Legal Parchments

223 223 228 237 250 252

xii

Contents

VII. HATRAN INSCRIPTIONS 64–6. Building Inscriptions 67–9. Religious Inscriptions 70–5. Statue Dedications 76–80. Legal Inscriptions

276 276 282 289 300

Figures and Plates Lexical Indexes Bibliography

311 329 349

List of Illustrations Figures 1 Turkma¯niyyah tomb-inscription, Petra (courtesy of A. Yardeni, from Yardeni 2000a: A 314) [6]

311

2 Kamkam tomb-inscription, H : egra, dated 1 bce/ce (drawing J. F. Healey, Healey 1993: H16) [7]

312

3 Deed of Sale dated 97 ce (Nah: al H : ever papyrus 2), Cave of Letters (courtesy of A. Yardeni, from Yardeni 2000a: A 282) [11]

313

4 Raqu¯sh burial inscription, H : egra, dated 267/8 ce (Healey and Smith 1989: pl. 46) [12]

314

5 Letter of Simon bar Kosibah (p. Yadin 50) (courtesy of A. Yardeni, from Yardeni 2000a: A 166) [19]

315

6 Sale papyrus dated 134/5 ce (courtesy of A. Yardeni, from Yardeni 2000a: A 166) [21] 7 Dedication to the gods ArZu and aAzı¯zu, Palmyra (from Littmann 1905: 77) [41] 8 Dedication of altars to the god Shay aa alqawm dated 132 ce, Palmyra (from Littmann 1905: 70) [42]

318

9 Royal statue dedication, H : at:ra (courtesy of J. Kh. Ibrahim, from Ibrahim 1986: pl. 228) [71]

319

316 317

10 A temple regulation, H : at:ra (courtesy of J. Kh. Ibrahim, from Ibrahim 1986: pl. 226) [77]

320

11 A law on theft, H : at:ra, dated 151 ce (courtesy of J. Kh. Ibrahim, from Ibrahim 1986: pl. 224) [79]

321

Plates 1 Kamkam tomb-inscription, H : egra, dated 1 bce/ce (photograph J. Simpson, Healey 1993: H16) [7]

322

2 The Palmyrene TariV, dated 137 ce (The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) [37]

322

3 The Palmyrene TariV (panel i), dated 137 ce (The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) [37]

323

4 Early Syriac tomb-inscription, Birecik, dated 6 ce (H. J. W. Drijvers; Drijvers and Healey 1999: pl. 40) [46]

324

xiv

List of Illustrations

5 Orpheus mosaic, Urfa (?), dated 194 ce (courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of David T. Owsley via the Alconda-Owsley Foundation, and two anonymous donors, in honour of Nancy B. Hamon; photograph J. F. Healey) [58]

324

6 Orpheus mosaic inscription, Urfa (?), dated 194 ce (courtesy of Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of David T. Owsley via the Alconda-Owsley Foundation, and two anonymous donors, in honour of Nancy B. Hamon; photograph J. F. Healey) [58]

325

7 Inscription on a pillar, Urfa (H. J. W. Drijvers; Drijvers and Healey 1999: pl. 1) [61]

325

8 Legal document (parchment), region of Dura-Europos, dated 240 ce (q Colle`ge de France; image provided by J. Gascou) [62]

326

9 Sale of a slave (parchment), from Dura-Europos, dated 243 ce (courtesy of Yale University Press, from Welles et al. 1959: pl. lxix) [63]

327

10 Building inscription, H : at:ra (from Safar and Mustafa 1974: 417) [64]

328

Every eVort has been made to obtain permissions to reproduce images. Rights rest ultimately in all cases with the acknowledged source.

Map Map 1. Near Eastern cities in Hellenistic and Roman times

4

Abbreviations and Other Conventions Ant.

Josephus, The Antiquities

ATTM 1

K. Beyer, Die arama¨ischen Texte vom Toten Meer 1 (Go¨ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1984; Erga¨nzungsband 1994)

ATTM 2

K. Beyer, Die arama¨ischen Texte vom Toten Meer 2 (Go¨ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2004)

CAD

The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (1958– ) J. Cantineau, Le Nabate´en, 2 vols. (Paris: Presses Universitaires, 1930–2; repr. Osnabru¨ck: O. Zeller, 1978)

Cant. i–ii CDA

J. Black, A. George, and N. Postgate, A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian (Santag 5) (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1999)

CIG

A. Boeckh, Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, 4 vols. (Berlin: Ko¨niglich Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1828–77)

CII

J.-B. Frey, Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaicarum: Recueil des inscriptions juives qui vont du IIIe sie`cle avant Je´sus-Christ au VIIe sie`cle de notre e`re, 2 vols. (Vatican City: PontiWcio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana, 1936–52)

CIS

Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, Pars Secunda, Inscriptiones Aramaicas Continens (Paris: Acade´mie des inscription et belles-lettres, 1889– )

CSD

J. Payne Smith (ed.), A Compendious Syriac Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903)

D

H. J. W. Drijvers, Old-Syriac (Edessean) Inscriptions (Semitic Studies Series 3; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1972)

DDD2

K. van der Toorn, B. Becking, and P. W. van der Horst, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (Leiden: E. J. Brill; Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans, 19992)

DN(N)

Divine Name(s)

DNWSI

J. Hoftijzer and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West Semitic Inscriptions, 2 vols. (Handbuch der Orientalistik I/XXI.1–2; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995)

HALOT

L. Koehler and W. Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 5 vols. (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994–2000)

xvi

Abbreviations and Other Conventions

IGRR III

R. Cagnat and G. Lafaye, Inscriptiones Graecae ad res Romanas pertinentes. III. Inscriptiones Asiae (Paris: E. Leroux, 1906)

Inv.

Inventaire des inscriptions de Palmyre (series)

Jastrow

M. Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (London: Luzac; New York: G. P. Puttnam’s Sons, 1903; repr. New York: Pardes, 1950) A. Jaussen and R. Savignac, Mission arche´ologique en Arabie, 2 vols. (Paris: E. Leroux, 1909–14)

JS KAI

H. Donner and W. Ro¨llig, Kanaana¨ische und arama¨ische Inscriften, 3 vols. (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1969–71; rev. edns. of various dates)

L&S

C. T. Lewis and C. Short, A Latin Dictionary (New York: Harper, 1879; Oxford: frequent reprints by the Clarendon Press, Oxford)

Lane

E. W. Lane, An Arabic–English Lexicon, 8 pts. (London: Williams and Norgate, 1863–93)

LSJ

H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, and H. S. Jones, A Greek–English Lexicon. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 19409)

MPAT

J. A. Fitzmyer and D. J. Harrington, A Manual of Palestinian Aramaic Texts (Biblica et Orientalia, 34; Rome: PontiWcio Istituto Biblico, 1994)

NSI

G. A. Cooke, A Text-Book of North-Semitic Inscriptions (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903)

OSI

H. J. W. Drijvers and J. F. Healey, The Old Syriac Inscriptions of Edessa and Osrhoene (Handbuch der Orientalistik, I/XLII; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1999)

PAT

D. R. Hillers and E. Cussini, Palmyrene Aramaic Texts (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996)

PIR2

Prosopographia Imperii Romani (1933– )

PN(N)

Personal Name(s)

PW

Paulys Real-Encyclopa¨die der classischen Altertumswissenschaft

Quellen

U. Hackl, H. Jenni, and Ch. Schneider, Quellen zur Geschichte der Naba¨ bersetzung und Kommentar (NTOA 51; Freita¨er: Textsammlung mit U burg: Universita¨tsverlag; Go¨ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2003) Re´pertoire d’e´pigraphie se´mitique

RES SD

A. F. L. Beeston, M. A. Ghul, W. W. Mu¨ller, and J. Ryckmans, Sabaic Dictionary/Dictionnaire sabe´en (Louvain-la-Neuve/ Peeters; Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1982)

TS

R. Payne Smith, Thesaurus Syriacus, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879–1901)

TSSI I–III

J. C. L. Gibson, Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, 3 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971–82)

Abbreviations and Other Conventions

xvii

WdM

H. W. Haussig (ed.), Wo¨rterbuch der Mythologie, i: Go¨tter und Mythen im vorderen Orient (Stuttgart: Ernst Klett, 1965)

Wehr

H. Wehr, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, trans. J. M. Cowan (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1971)

Forms of Reference References to inscriptions in existing corpora use the siglum of the corpus or preWx the inscription number with ‘no.’ Otherwise the numbers following the abbreviation or date refer to pages. ‘p.’ and ‘pp.’ are used if there is any ambiguity. Numbers in bold type refer to other inscriptions included in this book.

Symbols used [] [. . . . ] {} < > /

mark damaged portions of text and restorations dots mark gaps where there is no restoration suggested (with no speciWc number of letters implied) in Aramaic texts enclose scribal errors which should be omitted in reading; in linguistic discussions they enclose written letters of the alphabet (as opposed to phonemes or phonetic realizations) enclose letters supplied to facilitate reading (e.g. for abbreviations) or to correct scribal errors and omissions as in d/r indicates alternative readings

Transliteration SimpliWed transliterations of the names of the various verbal stems are used: p aal, p a¯ıl, etp ael, pa ael, ap ael, etc. The ‘root’ of verbs is indicated by using capital letters. Roots like that of bna , ‘build’, are standardized as BNa /Y irrespective of the prevailing form for the 3rd masculine singular in the particular dialect: western dialects, especially Nabataean, preferred spelling with {h}. The vocalizations of personal names are to be regarded as approximations based on comparison with names whose vocalization is known from Aramaic, Arabic, and Greek sources. Diacritics are used to reXect the Aramaic spelling, but except in italicized transliteration name-endings {a } and {w} are normally rendered without macrons; occasionally conventions in previous studies are allowed to prevail (e.g. Malku¯ in Palmyrene).

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I Historical and Cultural Introduction INTRODUCTION The world in which the inscriptions and documents found in this volume were produced is marked by a weaving of Greek and Roman threads into the Semitic cultural fabric. The period involved, roughly the period of Roman interest in the Near East, was one of intense contact between two great civilizational foci. Inevitably, scholars have looked for and found convenient terms to summarize what was involved. The terms ‘Hellenization’ and ‘Romanization’ were favoured in earlier decades, though it is clear that they can easily become misleading. They imply a degree of passivity on the Near Eastern side: static ancient Near Eastern traditions being aVected by (superior) western concepts and practices. Certainly new things were brought into the Near East in the period after the conquests of Alexander, but new things Xowed into the Roman world too, to the extent that the Roman satirist Juvenal (Satires 3. 62) decried in exaggerated terms the Greek and oriental inXuences in Rome. It is much better to conceive of the contact between East and West and its consequences as ‘assimilation’ or, even better, ‘acculturation’. These terms imply change on both sides, so that the new culture which emerged was no mere adaptation of one to the other but an organic growth leading to a new species. The new species had an organic coherence. In religion, for example, each element, whether its historical origins were eastern or western, was articulated to each other element in a system, diVerent from anything evidenced earlier, but none the less coherent. The inscriptions and other written documents in this volume are divided into Wve corpora: Nabataean, Jewish, Palmyrene, Syriac (Edessan) and Hatran. As we shall see in Ch. II, they diVer to some extent linguistically; more dramatically they diVer in their scripts, though all the local scripts involved have their origin in the Aramaic script used by the Achaemenid Persians. They diVer also in the historical environments of their production, while their geographical spread and the diverse cultural substrates from which

2

Historical and Cultural Introduction

they arose led inevitably to considerable diVerences in religion. On the other hand, as will become clear, there was much in common. The remainder of this chapter will provide (a) an outline of the historical framework which aVected all Wve centres along with a brief account of what we know of their speciWc histories and (b) an outline of religious and other cultural features they held broadly in common. The chapter concludes with a note on dating.

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT Achaemenid rule, roughly from 539 to 330 bce, embraced the whole of western Asia, including all the territories held by the later states we are concerned with. In modern terms territorially we are talking about southern Turkey (Edessa/Osrhoene), northern Iraq (H : at:ra), Syria (Palmyra), Palestine (Judaea), and the settled areas of Jordan and Saudi Arabia (Nabataea). Such information as we have on Achaemenid rule tends to conWrm the biblical view that the Persians were tolerant of other peoples’ cultures, including their religions. While we are ill-informed on details of circumstances in, for example, Palmyra during this period, there are some valuable pockets of evidence of Achaemenid relations with the various peoples of the West. The Elephantine papyri and other documents from Achaemenid Egypt (5th c. bce) and the Samaria (Wa¯dı¯ ed-Da¯lı¯yeh) documents (4th c. bce) are invaluable in this respect. The Achaemenid Empire exercised a unifying inXuence with regard to language (and script) when it adopted the already widespread Aramaic as a lingua franca for its dealings with its satrapies and in trade. The uniformity of this Achaemenid Aramaic should not be exaggerated: there is good evidence of local variation (Folmer 1995), and in any case there can be no doubt that over such a vast area there was considerable variation of dialect. It was the oYcial language which remained largely uniform and it is often called OYcial or Imperial Aramaic. This unifying oYcialness was lost when the Achaemenid Empire came to an end in 330 bce. Aramaic was replaced by the Seleucids with Greek as the oYcial language of their realms and cities. As a result, both where the Seleucids ruled (e.g. Palestine and Edessa) and where they did not (Nabataea and H : at:ra, probably), the local dialectal features of spoken Aramaic were able to come to the fore and these varieties of Aramaic began to be written down and used as local oYcial languages.

Historical and Cultural Introduction

3

In Ch. II (Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction) we shall see that this process is complex and may involve in at least one case (Nabataea) the use of Aramaic only for writing. The Roman involvement in the Semitic-speaking Near East began in earnest in the Wrst century bce. Syria came under Roman control in 64 bce, Palestine became a Roman procuratorial province in 6 ce. The process of incorporation into the Roman Empire was slow, so that it was not until the second and third centuries ce that direct Roman rule of Nabataean Petra and then Edessa/Osrhoene was established. H : at:ra remained basically beyond the pale, though it did come under Roman attack from time to time in the context of Roman campaigns directed towards southern Mesopotamia. The extent of Roman inXuence in the diVerent provinces and protectorates is hard to quantify. Already, before the Romans arrived, the Seleucids had had an enormous impact on the life of the region in everything from architecture to religion and law. One of the consequences of this is the fact that it is not always easy to distinguish Roman inXuence in the Near East from earlier Hellenization. Direct Roman impact can, however, be easily discerned in the sphere of law, where Roman dating systems and other aspects become incorporated into traditional Aramaic documents. As Roman rule became more direct there was a tendency to use Greek rather than Aramaic for legal purposes, since the documents might well have to be used in a Roman court (though it is clear that Aramaic could be used in the Roman legal context: Oudshoorn 2007). The limit of Roman power in the Middle East was eVectively set by the Arsacid Parthians and subsequently the Sasanian Persians. The Parthians in particular had a deep eVect on the Semitic-speaking areas because of repeated incursions, which appear to have reinforced some of the earlier Achaemenid traditions of the area. This applies to the realms of technical vocabulary and art. In vocabulary we see a persistent layer of Iranian loanwords in almost all the Aramaic dialects. Some certainly date back to the Achaemenids, others may be of later appearance. They often concern technical aspects of administration and architecture. The case of Parthian artistic inXuence is more problematic, but what is certainly clear is that centres like Edessa and Palmyra maintained their own artistic traditions (e.g. in mosaics and sculpture) which are interpretable as the result in part of Parthian, Iranian, or even north Indian contact. The cities mentioned in this book are shown on Map 1.

4

Historical and Cultural Introduction BLACK SEA

Constantinople

CASPIAN SEA Edessa Harran

Antioch

Hamath Dura-Europos

Hatra

Palmyra

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Seleucia-Ctesiphon

Damascus

Jerusalem

Babylon

Petra

ARABIAN Mada>in Salih . .

0km 50 100 150 200 250

GULF

RED SEA

Medina

Elephantine

Map 1. Near Eastern cities in Hellenistic and Roman times

NA BATA EA The Nabataean kingdom existed from an indeterminate date probably in Achaemenid times until 106 ce, when Nabataea was incorporated into the new Roman Province of Arabia. There is no certainty about the origin of the Nabataeans. They may have been native to southern Jordan, though the Arabian aspects of their culture have suggested to some that they were immigrants to the area. They Wrst emerge into the light of history through reports of Seleucid campaigns in the area. Diodorus Siculus tells us there was a confrontation between Antigonus Monophthalmos and the Nabataeans in 312 bce and that the latter resisted direct Seleucid control. There is also, incidentally, in Diodorus’ report an implication that the Nabataeans were already literate, using some form of Aramaic.

Historical and Cultural Introduction

5

Early Nabataean history can also be reconstructed from the Books of Maccabees and Josephus’ accounts of contact between the Judaeans and their close Nabataean neighbours. The two kingdoms were often in conXict, especially over control of areas to the east and north-east of the Dead Sea. There were, however, also periods of quiet co-existence and, indeed, intermarriage, though the most famous instance of intermarriage ended up in divorce and war. This is the case of the daughter of Aretas IV, who in c.27 ce was forced to Xee to her father’s court (Ant. 18. 5. 1, §112). There are no surviving Nabataean literary sources comparable to these Jewish historical works, but we are fortunate in having a large number of Nabataean inscriptions which mention the names of kings and members of the royal family (as well as other notables in the kingdom, with their titles, etc.). The coins, too, are a valuable source. Both coins and inscriptions come fully on stream c.100 bce and it is approximately from that date that we are in a position to reconstruct the list of Nabataean kings. Some details are still subject to revision, but the king-list established by R. Wenning is used in this volume for the dating (Wenning 1993): Aretas (h: rtt) I Aretas II Obodas ( abdt) I Rabel (rba l) I Aretas III Philhellen Obodas II (?) Malichus (ml/nkw) I Obodas III [Syllaios Aretas IV Philopatris Malichus II Rabel II

mid-2nd c. bce c.120–96 bce c.96–85 bce c.85 bce 84–62 or 60 bce c.60 bce 59–30 bce 30–9 bce 9–6 bce] 9 bce–40 ce 40–70 ce 70–106 ce

Little is known about the earlier kings in this list: indeed the existence of Obodas II is not certain. But Greek sources and archaeological evidence allow us to create a tentative narrative account from the time of Obodas III. This Obodas—this is the Greek form of the Nabataean name abdt (unvocalized of course, but probably pronounced aObodat or aOboda)—may have been regarded in retrospect as the great hero of the dynasty. This is suggested by the fact that there arose a cult of Obodas as a god. Apart from inscriptions referring explicitly to this cult (4), there is also a series of personal names, one of the most common being abd abdt, literally ‘servant of Obodas’, perhaps implying divinization (compare abda lga in 14: 2 and abdmnwtw in 12: 3). The

6

Historical and Cultural Introduction

evidence of this cult is not unambiguous, however, and some hold that the royal name came from a pre-existing divine name (see Healey 2001a: 147–51). What is tolerably clear is that Obodas III had a daughter but no son and his vizier, Syllaios (sˇly), attempted to usurp the throne, probably on the basis of a family link with Obodas. This Syllaios had already appeared in the historical record in connection with a Roman campaign against the Sabaean kingdom of South Arabia under Aelius Gallus in 25 bce. Strabo tells us in some detail about this campaign and the blame for its failure (or at least for the high cost of its very modest success) was placed on the Nabataean minister who had acted as guide to the Romans but in fact led them astray. Whatever the facts of this campaign, the same Syllaios later attempted to get Roman support for his candidacy for the crown, apparently going to Rome to advance his cause. He did not succeed, but the story reXects the fact that even in 9 bce the Nabataean kingdom was a client of Rome. Instead, Aretas IV became king, possibly having married Obodas’ daughter, H uldu (see Zayadine 1999: 52; al-Fassi 2007: 39–41). He too must have had : Roman support, but he appears to have instituted a remarkable period of Nabataean self-assertion and success. It may have been Aretas who promoted the cult of Obodas as a heroic ancestor (and to Wrm up his right to the throne, which he also did by having H : uldu appear with him on his coins). He took the title ‘lover of his people’ (rh: m amh), which sounds nationalistic by comparison with the previous Aretas’ title, ‘lover of Greek culture’. But most of all Aretas IV is remarkable for the elaborate building programmes which took place in Petra during his long reign. Most of the major monuments of the city were built or re-built during his reign and the southern city of H : egra, where there are many dated Nabataean tombs, also Xourished in the Wrst century ce. We have few details of the history of Nabataea during the Wrst century ce, but some things can be reasonably concluded from silence. Nabataea does not appear to play any major role in any of the known political upheavals in Judaea (such as the First Jewish Revolt of 65–70 ce: Vespasian had Malichus II’s support when he was sent to suppress the revolt). The few allusions to Nabataea in Roman literature mostly refer to its commercial prosperity and say nothing of revolts. Malichus II is mentioned in passing in the Wrst-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, but simply as the head of a kingdom on one of the trade-routes from the South. We can assume that he and his successor, like Aretas IV, obtained conWrmation from the Romans. The circumstances of Nabataean trade were, however, changing and there is evidence of decline from the Wrst century ce onwards. The basis of the commercial role of the Nabataeans had been the overland trade in aromatics from South Arabia and beyond. This led to the expansion of Nabataean

Historical and Cultural Introduction

7

control into northern Arabia (with a major settlement at H : egra, see 7–8) and involvement in the Syrian H : awra¯n (15–17). But the Periplus shows a Roman familiarity with the coasts of Arabia and Egypt which rendered the overland routes superXuous. Egypt had become a Roman province in 30 bce and arrangements were made for transporting goods from the Red Sea to the Nile. The long land-route was on the wane and this decline may be reXected in the reduction of the silver-content in Nabataean coins during the Wrst century ce. Another factor, harder to estimate, is the rise of Palmyra and the Arabian Gulf trade at this time: it appears that this had a signiWcant impact on other routes into the Roman world. The Wnal years of the Nabataean kingdom and the speciWc reasons for its absorption into the Arabian Province are not clear. We know that Rabel II had a son called Obodas who should have become Obodas IV, but he did not succeed to the throne. Instead the Romans took over and centred the new Province on Bos: ra¯, now in southern Syria. Petra did not, however, suVer any obvious diminution of its importance. Its temples continued in use and its law-courts continued to function under Roman administration. SpeciWcally to be noted in the present context is the fact that Nabataean inscriptions continued to be written all over the old Nabataean realm, while, so far as we can tell, Greek began to have the dominant role in legal documents (though Nabataeans might witness documents in Nabataean). Gradually Petra became a minor Roman provincial centre. It produced at least two named philosophers, Callinicos and Genethlicos, and in due course welcomed Christianity. By 325 ce it had a bishop who attended the Council of Nicaea; in 363 it was half destroyed by a famous earthquake (Brock 1977: 271, 276); c.420 it was visited by the monk Bars: awma, who threatened the still pagan inhabitants (see The Life of Bars: awma: Nau 1913: 383). Its later history and archaeology hardly concern us, but Greek had become the main administrative language by the time of the Byzantine archive discovered in the great Petra Church which has been uncovered in recent years (Fro¨se´n et al. 2002). The last dated Nabataean inscription is from 356 ce and comes from H : egra in the H ija z (13). By this date, however, there is little connection with the ¯ : Nabataeans themselves: it is the script which survives. Some of the later texts written in this script are either partly or wholly in a form of Arabic and this progress towards the writing of Arabic using the Nabataean script Wnds its fulWlment in the Nama¯ra inscription of the Arab king Imrulqays dated 328 ce. The early Arabic script represented in seventh-century documents from Egypt clearly developed from the Nabataean script, which had probably continued in extensive use on papyrus: few fragments later than c.130 ce have survived (see Healey 2004).

8

Historical and Cultural Introduction

Major sources Quellen; Starcky 1966; Bowersock 1983; Hammond 1973; Negev 1977.

JUDAEA The history of Judaea in this period is easily accessible and needs little rehearsal in this introduction. Jewish history in the period of the Seleucids and Romans is better documented than that of any of the other centres we are concerned with. The Books of Maccabees and Josephus provide us with much detail and mainly focus on the uniquely Judaean unwillingness to cooperate in religious matters with the newcomers. Hellenization or acculturation took a diVerent form in Judaea. Under the Seleucids there began a long period of acceptance of Greek and Roman styles and practices. Greek language and names began to be widespread, even when Aramaic remained the main vernacular. Hebrew came to be restricted in use to religious contexts and would probably have died out completely if it had not been for its religious and to some extent nationalistic symbolism. Even the religious tradition was not immune to Greek inXuence as is clear from the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek and the rebuilding of the Temple in Greek style under Herod the Great (37–4 bce). Under the Herodian dynasty a kind of separation of powers of temple and state allowed the building of bridges with the Romans. The state became highly Romanized and produced scholars like Josephus, writing in Greek, who tried to be loyal to Rome and to Judaism. The salient events in the history of Palestine in the Wrst three centuries ce, i.e. the period of relevance in the present context, arose from the fact that from the reign of Augustus onwards (27 bce–14 ce), Roman imperial power became Wrmly established and consolidated in Palestine, as in the rest of the East. It was part of imperial policy to co-opt local elites to the Roman interest and this resulted in Palestine in internal conXict between those who would cooperate and those who would not. Agrippa I (41–4 ce), grandson of Herod the Great, was closely associated with the imperial family. Educated in Rome, he was a friend of Caligula (37–41) and beneWted from the emperor’s bestowal of territorial gifts, including lands previously ruled by Philip (4 bce–33/4 ce) and Herod Antipas (4 bce–39 ce), who was banished to Gaul. Agrippa also played a role in the coming to power of Claudius (41–54) and was duly rewarded with further territorial expansion. Whether out of genuine piety or not, he played the role of the

Historical and Cultural Introduction

9

pious Jew, at least when he was in Jerusalem, and thus maintained the peace between Rome and the uncooperative Jews (Josephus, Ant. 19. 7. 3, §331). When he died (Acts 12: 19–23), Claudius appointed a procurator and Judaea began to be treated as a minor province. The procurators (44–66), with few exceptions, were incompetent, venal, and cruel. Jewish sensibilities were continuously being oVended. All this encouraged the further growth of nationalist sentiment, focused on the so-called Zealots (also the assassins called sicarii). Finally a full-scale revolt, the First Jewish Revolt, broke out in 66 ce under Gessius Florus (64–6), provoked by the plundering of the Temple treasury. It soon involved Judaea, Galilee, and a variety of groups of the disaVected—there is evidence of widespread indebtedness and poverty, though the more prosperous members of society tended to be pro-Roman, hence the splits in Jewish society. At the beginning of the revolt, Florus had to withdraw from Jerusalem to Caesarea. The rebels held sway and the daily sacriWce for the emperor was stopped. (Josephus’ Bellum Judaicum is the major source here.) The governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, began the Wrst unsuccessful countercampaign in late 66. Josephus, who belonged to the moderate Jewish party, was put in charge of troops in Galilee, but he was in an ambiguous position, being accused of pro-Roman views and a certain defeatism. Vespasian was sent by Nero to restore order in 67, with three legions and various auxiliaries and allies (including Malichus II of Nabataea: 3: 3). The Jewish troops were gradually forced back, retreating to Jerusalem. Josephus was defeated in June/ July 67. After a pause, during which Nero died and Vespasian became emperor (in 69), Vespasian’s son Titus took over command and besieged Jerusalem in 70 (with Josephus now on his side!). The Temple was captured ¯ b, the city was totally destroyed, and 700 young men and destroyed on 9/10 A
were sent to Rome to appear in a triumph. Certain fortresses held out a little longer, notably Masada, which fell in 74 to Flavius Silva, the new governor, many of its occupants committing suicide rather than surrendering. Palestine became a Roman province in the full sense, with a military occupation in the form of a permanently stationed legion, legio X Fretensis, in Jerusalem and the governor in Caesarea. There followed a long period of imperial consolidation of the East, especially under Trajan (98–117) and Hadrian (117–38). Nabataea became the province of Arabia. Palestine became a very diVerent place by comparison with what went before. The Temple and its ritual had gone, the temple tax being now paid to Rome. Jews were expelled from many cities, new Roman cities were founded and the economy and social conditions declined. Most Jewish agriculturalists became tenant farmers. Applebaum (1976: 10–14) argues that Roman landowners and their

10

Historical and Cultural Introduction

agents were oppressive and that this is reXected in the Murabba aa¯t and Nah: al H : ever documents (Mur. 24 A–F, Milik in Benoit et al. 1961: 122–34, Hebrew and dated 133; p.Yadin 42, 43 [Aramaic], 44, 45, 46 [Hebrew] dated 132–5, all in Yadin et al. 2002). These conditions, Roman plans for the total rebuilding of Jerusalem as a Roman city (to become Aelia Capitolina), and possibly a ban on circumcision, led ultimately to the Second Jewish Revolt (132–5) (see Scha¨fer 2003 for a recent review), the leader of which was Simon bar Kosiba (Koziba in Jewish sources, Kokhba in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 4. 6. 2). Remarkably, a number of letters written by this leader have been found among the documents from Wa¯dı¯ Murabba aa¯t (Mur. 43, 44) and Nah: al H : ever (see 19–20). He was called na¯s¯ı, ‘prince’ (on coins and in dating formulae in Murabba aa¯t documents, e.g. Mur. 24B, Milik in Benoit et al. 1961: 124–8 and see Yadin et al. 2002: 369–72), and associated, e.g. by the famous Rabbi Aqiba (c.50– 132), with messianic expectations (Scha¨fer 2003: 149–51, referring to the Jerusalem Talmud, Ta aanit 4.8 fol. 68d, with reference to Num. 24:17). The documents show that he had authority over property, perhaps having taken this from Roman control (Mur. 24), and in military matters and in upholding religious traditions (Mur. 24B–D referring to the sabbatical year, allusion to the Festival of Sukkoth in p.Yadin 57 [Aramaic]). He had the authority to seize wheat in 20 (p.Yadin 54, and see also 55). It is not clear whether this revolt was very localized rather than large-scale. The rebels may have held a number of strongholds. Hadrian put Julius Severus, his senior general, in charge of the situation and he isolated the rebels, pinning them down in caves. Hence the Wnds of documents in the caves in Nah: al H : ever, both Simon bar Kosiba documents (19–20) and, of course, the Babatha archive (11). Engedi and Bethar were important strongholds. Babatha had Xed there c.132 from her native Mah: o¯za at the southern tip of the Dead Sea: she would have been safer staying put (Lewis 1989: 4–5). She then hid her archive in the so-called Cave of Letters before, presumably, losing her life. At Bethar both Bar Kosiba and Rabbi Aqiba died, when it fell on 9 A¯b 135. After
the revolt the province of Syria Palaestina came into existence and Hadrian established in Jerusalem the Roman colony of Aelia Capitolina (135). Dio Cassius’ report indicates the razing of hundreds of towns and villages, with the whole of Judaea desolate (Roman History 69. 13–14). There followed mass enslavement of Jews. Jerusalem was made into a Gentile city from which Jews were banned and rebuilt in Roman style with cardo maximus, baths, theatre, forum, arches, stadium, and temples, including probably the Capitol on the Temple Mount (Bahat 1997).

Historical and Cultural Introduction

11

Judaea was no longer the focus of Judaism and many Jews Xed to Galilee, with religious leadership focused on Usha, then Beth She aarim (175þ). Jewish religious life became almost impossible, at least in major centres, though Hadrian’s ban on circumcision was later relaxed by Antoninus Pius (139–61). The community did not, however, disappear completely and many tomb inscriptions and synagogue inscriptions testify to its continued existence, in places such as Capernaum (22) and Beth She aarim, where a major necropolis has produced many inscriptions (23–4). It is important to note, however, that the Graeco-Roman inXuence was very strong and most inscriptions are in Greek rather than Hebrew and Aramaic. The third century ce saw a crisis in the Roman Empire, with a weakening of central control, a rapid turnover of emperors, decline of traditional religion (including the imperial cult), and underlying all this socio-economic conditions of extreme poverty and crushing taxation (including now the taxation raised to support the military permanently stationed in the province). It was only later in the century that Diocletian (284þ) restored stability. In 313, under Constantine, Christianity became a religio licita, putting it on a par with Judaism. At the same time Palestine became a focus of pilgrimage and, hand in hand with pilgrimage, came a massive building programme, especially church building. Palestine, divided into three dioceses, became largely Christian and part of the Byzantine Empire. It was represented by bishops at the Council of Nicaea (325). There was a minor Jewish revolt during the rule of the East by Gallus (351þ) under the imperial rule of Constantius II (337–61). Palestine was captured by the Persians in 614 and the Muslim Arabs in 638.

Major sources Scha¨fer 2003; Goodman 1997; 2007; Bahat 1997; Applebaum 1976; Schwartz 2001 (reviewed by Millar 2006).

PA LM YR A Palmyra, whose Semitic name was and remains Tadmu¯r, is a natural oasis of the Syrian desert which is mentioned in early texts from Ku¨ltepe and Mari and was attacked as an Aramaean centre by Tiglath-Pileser I c.1110 bce. Very little of this earlier history is known, but the fame of the city was already great in the late biblical period, when its building was ascribed to Solomon (2 Chron.

12

Historical and Cultural Introduction

8: 4: Tadmu¯r in the desert, cf. 1 Kgs. 9: 18 [Qere]). Its trading importance increased in the Achaemenid period and it came to be central to the caravan route of the Syrian desert, becoming independent during the decline of the Seleucid kingdom and prior to the Roman expansion eastwards. The city began its dramatic development as a result of the pax Romana in Syria from the mid-Wrst century bce and speciWcally the formation of the Syrian Province (64 bce). Appian (who lived in Roman Alexandria at the end of the Wrst century ce) refers to its intermediate role between the Romans and Parthians and its semi-nomadic population when the Romans attacked it under Mark Anthony in 41 bce (Civil Wars 5. 9). From the later Wrst century bce it had good relations with Rome; Germanicus, Augustus’ adopted son, who used a Palmyrene envoy c.17–19 ce in an embassy to the Gulf, appears to have incorporated Palmyra into the Empire, regulating taxes, etc. (37 ii 102 V.). Palmyra, as it was now called, became a portus and there were Palmyrene trade colonies in Mesopotamia and in the Gulf. The trade between Parthia and Rome Xourished and Palmyrene soldiers protected it. There are numerous inscriptions from the city which record thanks to military oYcers who guided caravans to the Gulf and brought them back safely. The city was developed during this time and much that survives marks it as Hellenistic–Roman, though with certain Parthian features in art (notably the feature of ‘frontality’, as at Edessa and H : at:ra). Greek came into widespread use and bilinguals became commonplace, though Aramaic was the predominant local language, Wrst attested in an inscription dated 44 bce (28: for a possibly earlier inscription see Milik 1972: 172–3; Teixidor 1984: 9 with regard to PAT 1511 ¼ Inv. xi. 87). From c.18 ce, when Palmyra had been annexed to the Roman province of Syria, we are better informed on its history. The city enjoyed a large degree of independence under Treasurers and an Assembly, though there remained an element of tribal organization which must have been a continuation of its earlier government. There were four main tribes and each was responsible for a major temple and a substantial part of the population can be regarded as Arab in background (compare Nabataea). The title ‘collectivity of the Palmyrenes’ (gbl tdmrya: gbl ¼
B is of Arabic origin: Maraqten 1995: 94–5) refers to the local city council (PAT 1353: 3; 0269: 3). The temple of Be¯l was built and inaugurated during this period (32 ce according to PAT 1347, itself dated 45 ce), with Be¯l becoming the uniWer of the religious life of the city (Teixidor 1984: 9). In the second century ce building works continued and the Roman involvement increased. Hadrian visited Palmyra in 129 ce, giving it a sort of independence under a local constitution (but note Teixidor 1984: 91–2; Millar 1993: 324– 5). The Roman-style temple of Baalshamin was built (130/1 ce: PAT 0305 refers to Hadrian’s visit), along with an agora, colonnaded street, and tetrapylon. The

Historical and Cultural Introduction

13

immensely important Palmyrene TariV text (37) reXects this constitutional position and prior Roman decisions aVecting the city. This TariV, dated 137 ce, is concerned with local taxes on goods being brought into the markets of the city rather than with the caravan trade, but the latter was extremely proWtable and it is on this trade, which Palmyra organized and policed, that the city Xourished. Its soldiers were also widely employed in the Roman army and they left evidence of their presence in far-Xung corners of the Empire (including Britain, in the form of the tombstone erected by the Palmyrene Barates found at South Shields near Hadrian’s Wall [PAT 0246]; see recently Cussini 2004). In 212 ce Caracalla granted all Palmyra’s free citizens full Roman citizenship, but in the third century Rome’s control declined and eventually the Palmyrenes pushed for independence. Odainat, a local leader, was regarded as a Wrm ally by the Romans. His precise oYcial status in their eyes is unclear: he may have been given the speciWc Roman title of corrector orientis (34: 3; 35: 2, but see Swain 1993). After some victories against the Sasanians in 260 ce, however, he proclaimed himself king, but he was assassinated in 267/8 ce. He was followed by his widow, Zenobia, who reigned on behalf of their infant son, Wahballa¯t, and in 271–2 ce attacked Egypt and Anatolia with temporary success. She called her son Augustus, a title with imperial pretensions, and struck coinage in Antioch (see 34–6). The revolt was put down in 272 ce by Emperor Aurelian; Palmyra was captured and Zenobia sent as a prisoner to Rome. There was a second revolt in 273, after which the city was violently destroyed. Though later refurbished as a way-station under Diocletian (c.300) and then Christianized (remains of churches survive), Palmyra never regained its lost glory. The actual area of settlement at the site shifted in the Islamic period and the modern town is a pale reXection of the ancient city.

Major sources Teixidor 1984; Bowersock 1983; Kaizer 2002.

ED ESSA Edessa was essentially a Seleucid foundation of Seleucus I Nicator c.303/302 bce, though there is good evidence of an earlier city at the site, called Adme. The name Edessa is of Macedonian origin; the local Semitic name in later times was a urha¯y. After the decline of Seleucid control of the area Edessa achieved independence under an Arab dynasty, that of Aryu or a Urha¯y, from c.133 bce (see the Chronicle of Edessa, c.540 ce, and Chronicle of Zuqnin, c.775

14

Historical and Cultural Introduction

ce). Pliny (Nat. Hist. 6. 117) and Tacitus (Ann. 12. 12) mention the inhabitants as Arabes and inscriptions at Sumatar Harabesi near Edessa of c.165 ce refer frequently to ‘commanders of aArab’, but it is diYcult to know what this means. It appears that a particular region of upper Mesopotamia was called aArab: there was later a church province of aAraba¯yya. Apart from the names of kings, the early history of the new dynasty is obscure, though we know that a King Abgar, conventionally numbered Abgar II Pı¯qa (68–53 bce [in the revised chronology of the Edessan kings created by Luther 1999a, 1999b, his dates are 75/4–49]) managed through negotiation with Pompey in 64 bce to keep his independent kingdom (Roman frontier roughly at the Euphrates: there is an important early inscription [44] from Birecik). Although he adopted the stance of a Roman ally, he was blamed by Roman authors for his pro-Parthian intrigues and treated as culpable in the defeat of Crassus in 53 bce (Dio Cassius, Roman History 40. 20). Edessa became a buVer state between Rome and Parthia, and Parthian inXuence was considerable, both in politics and in art. One of the best-known early Edessan kings is Abgar Ukka¯ma, normally treated as Abgar V (4 bce–7 ce and 13–50 ce [Luther: c.22–5 and 31/2–65/6 ce, with interruption]): this was the Abgar who was credited by Edessan legend with having introduced Christianity to the city. In fact the Doctrina Addai is a pious fraud full of anachronisms and when this credit is removed there is little we can say about this Abgar’s reign. The Wrst dated Syriac inscription (6 ce; 44), however, belongs to this period. The following centuries were marked historically by a series of involvements of Edessa in Parthian-inspired anti-Roman revolts. Thus although Abgar VII (109–116 ce [Luther: 101/2–16 with a diVerent Abgar reigning 110–16, so that it is not Abgar VII who dealt with Trajan]) hesitantly supported the emperor Trajan during his campaign against the Parthians in 114–16, he then took part in the Parthian revolt against him of 116. The Roman general Lusius Quietus attacked and captured Edessa, sacked the city, and deposed Abgar, who may have died in battle (Dio Cassius, Roman History 68. 30. 2). The city was then occupied by the Romans, who allowed a client king to rule. In 118 ce [121/2] the dynasty was reinstated by the emperor Hadrian, as the Romans at least temporarily gave up their Mesopotamian ambitions. About 161 ce the Parthians conquered Edessa and installed a puppet king, Wa¯a el bar Sahru (162/3–164/5 ce). The existing king, Ma anu (VIII) bar Ma anu (139–63 [Luther: Ma anu bar Izat:, 125/6–165/6]), took refuge with the Romans. It is possible that it was under this Wa¯a el that the inscriptions at Sumatar Harabesi dated 165 (48–51) were written: i.e. during a pro-Parthian interlude. In 165, a general of the Emperor Lucius Verus, either Avidius Cassius or M. Claudius Fronto, reconquered Edessa and restored Ma anu

Historical and Cultural Introduction

15

(Ma anu bar Ma anu [165/6–177/8] according to Luther). Edessa and surrounding territory, by now called Osrhoene (a name based on the Semitic name of the city, a urha¯y), became a client-state of the Romans. Abgar VIII bar Ma anu (176–211 [177/8–212]), also known as Abgar the Great (probably earlier, i.e. in 165–76, the ‘ruler of aArab’ referred to at Sumatar: see OSI 135–6 on As51), appears to have joined a revolt against the emperor Septimius Severus, who faced a rebellion led by Gaius Pescennius Niger (proclaimed emperor in the East in 193) and this probably led to a reduction of Abgar’s territory. His submission is depicted on the Arch of Severus in Rome (see Sommer 2003: 20, Wg. 22) though he was not deposed and later became reconciled to Septimius Severus, being received with honour in Rome. As a result he added the name of Septimius to his own. It was probably under this Abgar rather than Abgar Ukka¯ma that Christianity came to Edessa. An early chronicle (Chronicle of Edessa, c.540 ce) records damage to a Christian church in the city in the Xood of 201 ce and it was under Abgar the Great that the earliest known Syriac writer was active, the philosopher Bardais: an (154–222). The Book of the Laws of Countries records a dialogue with Bardais: an which shows that the latter was a Christian (Drijvers 1965). Soon after this the Roman province of Osrhoene came into existence, though the kings continued to rule Edessa itself. Abgar Severus bar Abgar reigned for one year and seven months in 211–12 ce [212–13]. In January 213 ce the Emperor Caracalla annexed the kingdom, although Ma anu the crownprince (pas: grı¯ba¯: the title is of Parthian origin and appears in our corpus of texts: 61: 7; 62:
4) kept a semi-oYcial position (213–39 [with interruption]). There was a brief reinstatement of the dynasty (Aelius Septimius Abgar [X] bar Ma anu as king in 239–241/2), seen in the fact that he is called ‘king’ in 62: 3 dated 240, but his father was only pas: grı¯ba¯. Edessa became a colony,
texts of 240–3 ce: see 63: called Edessa Antoniana Colonia Metropolis in legal 4 of 243 ce, which is dated by the ‘liberation’ of the city, i.e. its full incorporation into the Empire. The dynasty was abolished in c.248. The large-scale Christianization of Edessa, whatever the date of its beginning, must certainly have been eVected by c.300, when a bishop of the city, Qo¯na, established the cathedral (and probably the Addai legend). In 325 there was a bishop of Edessa at the Council of Nicaea. There is evidence, however, that pagan religious traditions persisted: several later writers comment upon them unfavourably. The city then became the beating heart of Syriac-speaking, and, to an extent, all Aramaic-speaking, Christianity. The Bible was translated into Syriac and schools of theology ensured that a massive Syriac literature developed up to, and more weakly after, the capitulation of Edessa (along with nearby Harran) to Islamic forces in 639.

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Historical and Cultural Introduction

Major sources OSI; Segal 1970; Ross 2001; Luther 1999a, 1999b.

H : AT: RA H : at:ra (Arabic al-H: ad: r) is located in northern Iraq c.50 km west of Ashur and 80 km south of Mosul, beside an intermittent water-source. During the Roman period it was a principality subordinate and loosely connected to the Arsacid Parthian Empire, but it had a series of independent rulers and a key role in international relations and trade (though there is no evidence that the city itself had a role anything like Palmyra’s). It occupied a strategic position and may have been built up with Parthian encouragement as a military buVer against the Romans. It also became a commercial centre and the focus for desert tribes. It is described by Roman historians such as Dio Cassius (Roman History 68. 31. 1) and Herodian (3. 9. 3) as ‘Arabian’, but Hellenistic and Parthian inXuences are very clear in art and architecture. The city is well preserved because it is isolated in the desert and was never built over in later times. Something of its history has been recovered from the Hatran Aramaic inscriptions and from references in classical sources: the Roman interest in H : at:ra arose, of course, in the context of the conXict with Parthia. There are also some coins bearing the legend ‘H : at:ra of the Sun-god’: it was famous as a centre of the worship of the Mesopotamian sun-god Shamash. There are, however, some unresolved problems of chronology arising from the ambiguity of the era used in dating inscriptions, Seleucid or Arsacid (Bertolino 1995: 3–11). Most scholars assume the Seleucid era, which Wts better with external evidence on the fall of H : at:ra (below) and this Seleucid dating is accepted here. Some early buildings and other evidence may go back to Achaemenid and Seleucid times, and the Wrst dated text may come from 44 bce (H416 in the established numbering system used for the Hatran inscriptions: the reading of its date is not certain). This is followed by one dated 6/7 ce (H1017) and one from 97/8 ce (H214). The oYcial inscriptions suggest H : at:ra was originally ruled by a kind of sheikh called a mrya , literally ‘Lord’. The title is already used, of a ruler called Alku¯d or Alku¯r, in the inscription ascribed to 44 bce. Later inscriptions begin to use the title mlka , ‘king’, which suggests a change of concept, though not a change of ruling family. H : at:ra had to balance the interests of Parthia and Rome. This caused it some diYculties. During Trajan’s Mesopotamian campaign leading to the capture

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of Ctesiphon in 116 ce, the Parthian-inspired revolt involving H : at:ra, Edessa, and Nisibis c.117 led to the conquest of Edessa by Lusius Quietus. Dio Cassius refers to this campaign: ‘Next he [Trajan] came into Arabia and began operations against the people of H : at:ra, since they, too, had revolted.’ (Roman History 68. 31. 1). According to this Roman historian H : at:ra was protected by the Sun-god: This city is neither large nor prosperous, and the surrounding country is mostly desert and has neither water (save a small amount and that poor in quality) nor timber nor fodder. These very disadvantages, however, aVord it protection, making impossible a siege by a large multitude, as does also the Sun-god [Helios], to whom it is consecrated; for it was taken neither at this time by Trajan nor later by Severus, although they both overthrew parts of its wall. Trajan sent the cavalry forward against the wall, but failed in his attempt, and the attackers were hurled back into the camp. Indeed the emperor himself barely missed being wounded as he was riding past . . . (Loeb translation by E. Cary).

Trajan failed and withdrew. Dio Cassius reports that the place was full of Xies which landed on the food and drink; and Trajan died soon after. It is from the early second century that the names of some of the rulers of the city are known to us and referred to in classical and epigraphic sources, but almost nothing is known of speciWc historical events (for the chronology here see Sommer 2003: 19–34; earlier Safar 1973 and Bertolino 1995): Woro¯d Ma anu (Woro¯d’s son) Alku¯d/Alku¯r Nashryhab (Alku¯d/r’s son) Nas: ru (Nashryhab’s son)

mrya mrya mrya mrya mrya

c.110 c.115–16/17 (see Dio Cassius 78. 21.1) c.116/17–120 c.120–5 c.128/9–137/8

There then followed a possible period of co-regency, also involving a transition from use of the traditional title ‘Lord’ to the use of the title ‘King’ (mlka ): Wolgash (Nas: ru’s son) mrya /mlka Sanat:ru¯q I (also Nas: ru’s son) mlka/mrya aAbdsamiya (Sanat:ru¯q’s son) mlka Sanat:ru¯q II ( aAbdsamiya’s son)mlka

c.140–70, but outlived by c.140–76/7 c.180–97/9 (Barsemios of Herodian 3. 1. 3) c.200–40 (¼ D : ayzan: see below)

In 198 the emperor Septimius Severus attacked H : at:ra because of the help given by aAbdsamiya/Barsemios to the insurrection in the East under Pescennius Niger (Herodian 3. 1. 3). At the same time he overran Osrhoene/ Edessa (above). There were two attacks according to Dio Cassius (76. 11), but bad tactics led to a revolt among the Roman soldiers and the Romans withdrew. They had breached the great circular wall of the city (still visible), but, instead of charging in as might have been expected, they waited for the

18

Historical and Cultural Introduction

Hatrans to surrender. Instead the Hatrans (playing by diVerent rules!) rebuilt the wall during the night while the Romans waited outside. After the end of the Arsacid Empire the Sasanians under Ardashir I (224–42) attempted to capture H : at:ra, but they too are said to have failed (Dio Cassius 80. 3. 2). The Hatrans may have turned to the Romans for help (Ibrahim 1986: 106–7). Eventually the city was captured in 240 by the Sasanians, by Ardashir I (224–42) or his son Shapur I (240–73) during their co-regency (240–2) (Gardner and Lieu 2004: 50, for a reference to it in the Cologne Mani Codex). According to Arabic poetic tradition, at the time of its capture the city was ruled by D: ayzan as recorded by Yaqut al-Hamawı¯ (and see al-T: abarı¯ in Bosworth 1999: 31–7). This Hatran king had fought against the Sasanians, defeating them in 232 at Shahrazur. He appears to be identical with Sanat:ru¯q II and is also called al-Sa¯t:iru¯n in Arabic sources (and Sanat:ru in Syriac, by Ishodad of Merv). Legend had it that D: ayzan’s daughter, al-Nad: ¯ırah, betrayed the city because of her love for Shapur. H : at:ra was then abandoned, as it was found when visited by Ammianus Marcellinus c.363 (25. 8. 5).

Major sources Beyer 1998; al-Salihi 1978a; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Milik 1972; Safar and Mustafa 1974; Drijvers 1977; Tubach 1986; Bertolino 1995; Sommer 2003.

CULTURE: LITERACY, ETHNICITY, LAW, AND RELIGION The inscriptions sampled in this book come from environments of contact between the Near Eastern world, with its cultural roots documented as far back as the Sumerians of the fourth millennium bce, and the world of the Seleucid and then Roman Empires. When the Greeks (initially Macedonians) and subsequently the Romans conquered and colonized the Near East, the local peoples with their local languages did not disappear any more than they did in other areas of the Roman Empire. What is remarkable about the Near East, however, is that because of a long and established tradition of literacy and indeed ‘high’ culture, not only did local culture survive, but it remains visible through epigraphy as well as through art, architecture, and other manifestations accessible to archaeology and related disciplines. Nor did Greek, the language imported under Seleucid rule and used later by the Romans, both in administration and as the prime vehicle of ‘Roman’ culture (i.e. in the schools set up in cities like Edessa), simply command the higher

Historical and Cultural Introduction

19

ground while local languages were restricted to the mundane sphere of everyday life. The most important of the local languages, Aramaic, in a variety of dialects, continued in use as a literary and legal language, and it was especially favoured in religious contexts. Greek did, however, have its own importance in areas like Syria. Indeed the region from southern Anatolia to northern Arabia became a zone of contact in which boundaries were negotiated, boundaries which allowed for the acceptance of Greek in some spheres of life while Aramaic was retained in others. And inevitably language diVerence played a part (though in no simple one-to-one equivalence) in the establishment of what we today call ethnicity. SigniWcant areas of contact merit brief comment: literacy and bilingualism, ethnicity, law and religious syncretism.

Literacy and Bilingualism Levels of literacy in ancient societies are very diYcult to assess and for some ancient societies have been extensively discussed in recent years, e.g. in relation to Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. There has been less discussion in relation the Levant, though note may be made of recent publications by Millard (2000) and Hezser (2001) speciWcally in connection with Palestine and therefore relevant to the Jewish Aramaic inscriptions. Palestine is in fact an interesting case, because we have extensive literature and documentary (i.e. non-literary writing for legal and other purposes) evidence which can be combined with literary references to the signiWcance of writing. The nature of the Jewish religion, with its emphasis on the written word and its legal and literary exposition, may have created an unusual situation in which literacy at some level was very widespread, at least among the male population. It is noteworthy, however, in the context of epigraphy that Judaea does not seem to have acquired the so-called ‘epigraphic habit’ Wrst noted by MacMullen (1982; cf. Meyer 1990), i.e. the fondness for erecting inscriptions which is characteristic of the Roman Empire and which reached a peak c.150 ce. Of course, by that date Jerusalem had been overrun, but it remains the fact that the number of inscriptions in any language from Roman Palestine is remarkably small. Discussions after MacMullen have suggested that the adoption of the epigraphic habit was an expression of Romanitas and the Judaeans were reluctant on the whole in this regard (though there were enough who did become supporters of Rome to make it slightly surprising that more inscriptions have not been found). What has been found is a limited quantity of tomb inscriptions: they become slightly more numerous as one moves into the Byzantine period.

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Historical and Cultural Introduction

Palmyra provides an extremely strong contrast. There the epigraphic habit caught on in a dramatic way and the city was full of inscriptions both in Greek and in Palmyrene Aramaic. We can reasonably assume, in the absence of anything more, that practical documents abounded in both languages. There is indirect support for this assumption in the survival of Greek texts at Dura-Europos nearby and in the three surviving early Syriac legal texts. Bilingualism at Palmyra has been analysed in a recent study which suggests that Aramaic and Greek had equally high status, though with Aramaic being used especially in the spheres of religion and burials, while Greek is important in oYcial inscriptions related to the city and the state (Taylor 2002). In the bilingual inscriptions there is an increasing tendency into the third century ce for the Greek version to become more important (compare 30 and 33), though there is still much disagreement about whether Aramaic translations were based on the Greek or vice versa. Taylor argues that the two versions were produced independently by bilingual scribes seeking to express the same ideas in two diVerent cultural contexts. In any case it seems likely that literacy was restricted to contexts of practical need (trade, law) and to elites and it is not clear that those who acquired the epigraphic habit or those who made use of written legal documents were necessarily literate themselves.

Sources Harris 1989; Bowman 1991; Beard et al. 1991.

Ethnicity Earlier research on the topic of ethnicity (Barth 1969; Horowitz 1975; Gellner 1983) established clearly the notion that ethnic identity cannot be tied to features such as race (a much-disputed concept in any case) or language or religion, though some of these features can be regarded as secondary indicia of ethnicity. The central issue in the creation and sustaining of an ethnic identity is the fact that a particular individual identiWes him- or herself with a particular ethnie (‘ethnic group’) and distinguishes him- or herself from others. In other words it is an issue of negotiated boundaries and entirely subjective (even if an issue of implausibility attaches itself to any individual who claims an ethnic identity totally unconnected with language-group, religion, family origins, etc.). It was a widely held view in earlier studies (Gellner 1983) that there was no such thing as ethnicity in ancient societies. In fact, this is not at all the case

Historical and Cultural Introduction

21

and is particularly well dealt with by Sparks (1998; also S. Jones 1997): the latter deWnes ethnicity in terms of evidence of ethnic sentiments. The ancient Israelites provide a paradigmatic example of an ancient people with a strong ethnicity, i.e. both a consciousness of diVerence and indicia of diVerence like language, religion, and (no doubt socially constructed) race. Armenia provides another case in point. It does not follow from the abandonment of the dogma, however, that it is easy to apply the term ‘nation’ to all ancient collectivities. Nabataea, Palmyra, Edessa, and H : at:ra can only with considerable stretching of terminology be described in such terms. The writers of the inscriptions are clearly aware of some notions of political and cultural identity which lead them to use ‘ethnic’ terms in describing themselves, or at least terms which are most obviously to be regarded as ethnic (see Healey 2001b). To take the Nabataean example, there are writers of Nabataean inscriptions who refer to themselves as Nabataean in circumstances in which the meaning cannot be simply one of being a subject within the Nabataean state. Thus the author of an inscription from Palmyra dated 132 ce (42: 2) describes himself as Nabataean even though the Nabataean state had ceased to exist several decades earlier. This suggests a notion of belonging to something we might call the Nabataean ethnos. The Nabataean kings are also called ‘kings of the Nabat:u’. While in this case there is some ambiguity in that it is not impossible that nbt: w referred to the geographic region rather than its inhabitants, this can hardly be the case with the phrase kh: lyqt nbt: w wsˇlmw, ‘according to the customary law of the Nabat:u and Shalamu’, since the latter is clearly a tribal designation. In addition, other people, noticeably the authors writing in Greek who describe the Near East, refer to the people of Petra and its region as Nabataeans. So the term ‘Nabataean’ functions both in terms of selfidentiWcation and identiWcation by outsiders as a label for a visible collectivity. This is not to overlook or play down at all the many insights into ethnicity which have arisen in modern study. It goes without saying, for example, that the ethnic boundaries were permeable. Indeed there is good reason to think that people who wrote in what is called Safaitic were half in and half outside the Nabataean group. And there were certainly Nabataeans who aspired to power and success in the Roman world who expressed their non-Nabataean ethnicity, such as the author of the bilingual inscription from the Ba¯b es-Sı¯q at Petra (Sartre 1993: 89–91, no. 54). And a Judaean (or Jew) distinguishes himself from other inhabitants of H : egra by using an ethnic term, yhwdya (Healey 1993: 95–100, no. H4: 2).

22

Historical and Cultural Introduction

Law The legal practice of the communities who wrote the diVerent groups of inscriptions in our corpus has only begun to emerge into the light of day in very recent years (though there was a good deal of Judaean/Jewish material to go on earlier). Both in the case of Nabataean and that of Old Syriac the last few years have seen a signiWcant expansion of our database. With regard to the former, we now have fully published about a dozen legal texts on papyrus (Yadin et al. 2002) instead of the solitary document published in 1954 (Starcky 1954 ¼ 10). With regard to the latter, Syriac, two additional legal texts, adding signiWcantly to the single text from the Dura-Europos excavations (Welles et al. 1959: 142–9 [no. 28] ¼ 63), are now available to us (Teixidor 1990, 1991–2; Drijvers and Healey 2000: P2 and 3; P2 ¼ 62). It is now possible to see these legal texts in a wider context, both with regard to basic legal concepts and formulae (repeated basic formulae, e.g. for the transfer of property) and with regard to praxis (the use of scribes, subscriptions, witnessing, and double documents). This shows that the Jewish, Nabataean, and Syriac legal texts belong in the tradition of Aramaic ‘common law’, which has its ancient roots in Neo-Assyrian law. The unsurpassed treatment of the earlier legal traditions of Elephantine (Egypt) remains that of MuVs (1969, recently reprinted in 2003 with a new and lengthy introduction by B. Levine which rightly stresses that the book has been seminal). Earlier, and excellent on details, is Rabinowitz (1956). Other, newer, treatments of the legal tradition are found in publications by H. Cotton, J. C. GreenWeld, and A. Yardeni. Noteworthy features which show the continuity and common basis of the law practised in these diVerent centres include: formulae relating to transfer of absolute ownership, typically with the phrase ‘to do with it whatever he wishes’; guarantees (often clearance statements declaring that there is no prior claim on the property in question and there will be no reneging on the contract); promises of defension (willingness to stand up in court to defend the title of the new owner if it is challenged); subscribed declarations of agreement to the text of the document, with, if necessary, substitutes for illiterates; witnesses. The so-called ‘double document’ (with a sealed inner copy of the text which could be consulted if the outer document were challenged or damaged) became common and then, when archive registries became the norm, reference could be made to a second copy of the text deposited in such an archive. Where the Romans became dominant there was a switch from the use of Aramaic to the use of Greek, since documents might have to be defended in a

Historical and Cultural Introduction

23

Roman court, but on the Euphrates Aramaic (in the form of Syriac) persisted and was in use in the 240s ce alongside Greek: evidently the courts at Edessa at least operated in Syriac, despite the evident Roman impact on the Syriac legal texts (e.g. in the dating formulae). A number of legal documents are included in this collection, Nabataean (10–11), Jewish (21), and Syriac (62–3). While no documentary material has come to us from Palmyra (apart from a few fragments) or H : at:ra some of the inscriptions are of legal import (especially 37, 43–5, and 76–80).

Sources Healey 2005a; KatzoV and Schaps 2005; Cotton and GreenWeld 1994; A. Yardeni in Cotton and Yardeni 1997: 5–17; Cotton 1997; Levine 2000; SchiVmann 2003; Gropp 2003.

Religious Syncretism The term ‘syncretism’ has fallen out of favour because it has been used in the past too freely and often with one or both of two unfortunate implications. The Wrst, perhaps most easily dismissed, is the implication of disapproval of contaminated religious traditions contrasted with pure religious traditions. Thus modern authors with an implicit Jewish or Christian outlook have sometimes regarded Hellenistic-period syncretism as part of the negative backdrop to the emergence of the pure monotheistic religions. In the modern context, Christian missionaries have sometimes expressed their disapproval of the adaptation of Christianity to African and Indian cultural contexts by stigmatizing the adapted version of the pure Christian faith as syncretistic. This is easily dismissed because it is obvious that scholars who allow such prejudices to interfere with their study of ‘other’ religions are conducting subtle polemics rather than study of religions. In fact all religions are syncretistic in this sense, i.e. in the sense that elements from historically and culturally diVerent backgrounds are incorporated into them, and no serious scholar could deny this is true of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. The second unfortunate implication which often, though not inevitably, accompanies the use of the term ‘syncretism’ is that religious traditions described as syncretistic are an incoherent mishmash of ideas and beliefs borrowed from diVerent sources. This is more diYcult to answer and can only be answered on the basis of detailed examination of each religious tradition. What seems from the outside to be a random collection of beliefs

24

Historical and Cultural Introduction

and practices which have no internal coherence, in fact often emerges as surprisingly coherent and systematic. The best approach, in my view, remains that of Geertz (1993) and, in the Near Eastern context, Drijvers (1980: 16–18). This emphasizes the poly-interpretability of Near Eastern religion in the Graeco-Roman period and avoids the common implication that the syncretism of this period is simply a matter of borrowing from the West. The term ‘acculturation’ is preferred to ‘syncretism’, which is almost always loaded with implications of superiority on one side. In fact the term ‘syncretism’ can be used neutrally and appropriately to refer to broad phenomena of intense cultural contact leading to consequential borrowings (in both directions) and change, i.e. the re-formation of cultural items into a new coherence. The historian of religion is conscious also of the fact that all religions, including the book-religions which have had such a profound historical impact, are the result of this kind of process of borrowing, innovation, and the formation of new wholes. If we observe such a usage of the term ‘syncretism’ we can avoid the traps referred to above: (a) disapproval becomes meaningless and irrelevant in the academic context (though it will always have a place for adherents of a particular religion or sect), and (b) the accusation of eclecticism could only be justiWed in the unlikely case of a community adopting elements from a plurality of sources without any regard whatsoever for these elements’ integration. In fact, experience suggests that coherence is diYcult for the outsider to perceive, but that does not mean that it does not exist (and the same applies to the outsider looking at Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). Several publications have appeared recently which deal with religions and syncretism in the individual states we are concerned with (e.g. Kaizer 2002 on Palmyra; Ross 2001 on Edessa; Healey 2001a on Nabataea).

Sources Herskovits 1938; Grant 1953; Pye 1971, 1993; Martin 1983; Stewart and Shaw 1994; Leopold and Jensen 2004.

NOTE ON DATING AND CAL ENDA RS The region in which the inscriptions and documents in this volume originated had been part of the Seleucid domain and the Seleucid era, based on a year beginning on 1 October 312 bce, remained in use well into the Christian period. It is often called ‘the former reckoning’ (63: 3) or ‘the reckoning of the

Historical and Cultural Introduction

25

Greeks’. The Nabataeans used regnal years for dating, but when the kingship was abolished there was a change to dating according to the era of the Province of Arabia (12–13). In the case of the Hatran inscriptions the era is uncertain (see on 65: 1). So far as month-names are concerned, the older Babylonian month-names were used in Aramaic (with some slight variations), while in Greek the Macedonian names prevailed. Details of the calendar, especially with regard to intercalations to compensate for the diVerence between the lunar and solar years, varied considerably and under this lunisolar system there is no exact equivalence with western (Julian) months. The commentaries below follow the convention of using approximate equivalents for Nabataea and H : at:ra (and also for the one dated text from Judaea, 21), as listed in Schu¨rer (1972: 587; for H : at:ra Beyer 1998: 144). The eastward spread of the Roman Empire and the passage of time added the complication of the use in some places of the Julian calendar, though it was sometimes combined with the Babylonian month-names, as in the later Syriac tradition (CSD, TS). It seems safe to assume that the earliest Syriac inscriptions are using the old system (46–7), but it is less certain as we enter the period of Romanization; the Julian calendar (in its Antiochene form) was used in Greek documents at Dura Europos by the third century ce (Welles et al. 1959: 10) and it may be assumed to operate in the Syriac legal documents of the 240s ce (62–3). The absence of evidence of intercalation at Palmyra has led some to suspect it too was using the Julian calendar, at least later in its history, though the position remains uncertain (Samuel 1972: 179– 80). In the commentaries on Palmyrene and Syriac texts in this volume (apart from the earliest inscriptions, where alternatives are noted) the standard direct equivalences with Julian months are given (cf. for Palmyra the list in Hillers and Cussini 1996: 443).

II Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction THE M ATE R IAL The main surviving materials in Nabataean Aramaic are inscriptions on stone and papyri. The latter, mostly published quite recently, are connected with the so-called Babatha Archive found in a cave on the west side of the Dead Sea and dated to the late Wrst century and early second century ce. These papyri (about ten in number) are legal in character and written in a rather formulaic style (legalese), though the fact that they are quite long means that they are an invaluable resource for the study of the language (see 10–11). That other papyri may eventually be found is suggested by the survival of a Nabataean papyrus fragment from Oxyrhynchus (Healey 2004). The inscriptions on stone have been known since the early 19th century and are very numerous (over 5,000, though diYcult to estimate because of the scattered nature of their publication: see CIS ii). Although the large majority of the inscriptions contain little more than personal names, there are around a hundred inscriptions which are more substantial, including a whole series of dated tomb inscriptions from the Nabataean site of H : egra (Mada¯a in S: a¯lih: ) in Saudi Arabia. There are also many dedicatory and commemorative inscriptions from Petra and other sites from Egypt to southern Syria (and a few from diVerent locations in the Mediterranean world with which the Nabataeans had trading links). The title Jewish Aramaic is imprecise and the material is very varied, including for example letters of Bar Kosiba (19–20) and legal documents such as 21. As in the Nabataean case we have inscriptions (not numerous in this period), papyri (extensive—a large part of the so-called ‘Dead Sea’ documents, including Babatha material, documents from Wa¯dı¯ Seiya¯l, etc.), and, making this dialect unique among those covered in this book, a substantial literature (Qumran Aramaic literature, ‘Galilean Targumic’ material, the Aramaic of the Palestinian Talmud, midrashic literature, etc.). The Palmyrene material is purely epigraphic (apart from two fragments of Palmyrene written on parchment and papyrus from Dura-Europos: Welles et al. 1959: Dura 27d, 225–40 ce; Dura 152). The nature of the inscriptions (which number just less than 3,000) is rather distinctive, being the product of

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

27

what had become a Roman city with Roman institutions and an ‘epigraphic habit’ (MacMullen 1982). Many of the inscriptions honour important citizens, caravan-leaders, etc. Importantly, many of these are bilingual, in Aramaic and in Greek, and dated. There are also tomb inscriptions which have a legal content (as do the Nabataean tomb texts). Apart from these rather short inscriptions, Palmyra provides us with one blockbuster, the so-called TariV text of 137 ce (also bilingual) of which about 150 lines in Aramaic survive (37). This is a unique document even within the context of Roman Empire studies, giving detail about local taxes. The Old Syriac material is meagre, at least with regard to inscriptions, which are mostly commemorative and to a limited extent connected with rituals. All are very short. Note may be made of the fact that the tomb inscriptions are mostly set in mosaics which decorated tombs. To these c.100 inscriptions can be added, however, three legal parchments from the 240s ce which do much to compensate for the deWciencies of the epigraphy (62–3). It is also to be borne in mind that by the third century ce classical Syriac literature was coming into existence (with early poetry, translations from Greek and Hebrew and authors like Bardais: an). The Hatran material is much more restricted and at the moment we do not have any compensating help from documentary materials (as in Nabataean and Syriac). There are some 450 inscriptions and graYti on stone from H : at:ra itself and a number of others from nearby, notably from Ashur (also some dipinti) (Aggoula 1985) and other less important sites (e.g. Tille: C. S. Lightfoot and Healey 1991). The inscriptions are mostly commemorative, but often contain reference to the rulers and religion of H : at:ra. A few texts (76–80) are legal, having been set up as regulations connected with temples and building works (Healey 2005b; Kaizer 2006a).

S C R IP TS The scripts of the Wve groups of Aramaic inscriptions represented in this volume appear to be quite diVerent from each other. The Jewish Aramaic script has been in continuous use since the Second Temple period. The Old Syriac script is similar to the classical Syriac est: rangela script, which has also been in continuous use in the Syriac-speaking churches, so that it could be read as soon as the texts were found in the late 19th century. But Palmyrene needed deciphering (Barthe´lemy 1754) and Nabataean was only deciphered after considerable dispute (Beer 1840; see discussion in Healey 1994). The importance of the Hatran script was only slowly recognized despite the arrival

28

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

of copies of the inscriptions in Europe in the nineteenth century. The Wrst real attention was not given to the material until the mid-twentieth century, when F. Safar (articles in Sumer 1951 onwards) was able to use earlier publications by P. Jensen and S. Ronzevalle to decipher the script without serious diYculty (see the account in Aggoula 1991: ix–xiii). Once deciphered it is fair to say that the Nabataean, Palmyrene, and Hatran scripts have recognizable links with the well-known Jewish Aramaic and est: rangela scripts. All Wve scripts are descended ultimately from the Achaemenid Aramaic script well known to us from the Elephantine texts, though they have developed in diVerent contexts (Naveh 1982; Klugkist 1982).

Nabataean Script The Nabataean script appears in several diVerent forms, the most important of which are the monumental script used on stone (typically the H : egra tomb inscriptions) and the cursive script used on papyrus (typically for legal documents). Although it would be desirable to have more evidence of this distinct cursive, there is no doubt that it existed, just as cursive forms of early Syriac and Palmyrene existed (against Macdonald 2003: 52; the diVerence of opinion hinges mainly on deWnitions). The monumental script shows the inXuence of cursive usage and the formal inscriptions were probably often copied from prototypes on papyrus. Such joining of letters as exists in the monumental script is accidental, though Wnal forms of certain letters are used more or less systematically. The cursive by contrast is fully ligatured and the essential shapes of several letters are so similar that they can be diYcult to distinguish. There is, for example, no way of distinguishing {d} and {r} in either form of the script and this results in ambiguity which can only be resolved by the context. Diacritics are only used at a late stage in the development of the Nabataean script (Healey 1990–1). It should be noted that the term ‘Nabataean script’ has been used rather loosely in the past. Some of the inscriptions from the H : awra¯n area of southern Syria, even inscriptions dated by the regnal years of Nabataean kings, are in fact in a somewhat diVerent form of script (Healey 2001a: 62; Macdonald 2003). Milik (2003: 269–70) associates some of these inscriptions with what he calls ‘Hellenistic’ Aramaic script, preferring this broader description to Naveh’s ‘Seleucid Aramaic Script’ (see below on Palmyrene). For H : awra¯n inscriptions see 15–17 and Starcky 1985.

Jewish Script(s) The history of the ‘Jewish’ form of the Aramaic script is very complex, just as the surviving materials are very varied. The ancestor of the script used in the

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

29

period we are concerned with is a local version of the Achaemenid script which developed into a widely used cursive from the Wrst century bce. From it was created a book-hand which adhered to more standardized forms in order to ensure legibility. Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls material is written in this formal script in its ‘Herodian’ form (37 bce to 70 ce). This is a very conservative script form which survives to the present day in printed, ‘square’ Hebrew script. The cursive continued to be used for non-literary purposes at least until the time of the Second Jewish Revolt (c.135 ce), in this volume to be found in use in the Bar Kosiba letters (19–20) and the sale document of 135 ce (21). There is some evidence of inXuence from the Nabataean script (Yardeni 2000a: B 216) and indeed some of our surviving materials, notably the Cave of Letters texts, come from Jews who were living originally in Nabataea and familiar with the Nabataean legal and scribal establishment. The more formal monumental script, apart from being used for literary texts, was also used for the rather limited number of inscriptions on stone (typically funerary inscriptions) and continued in use to the seventh century (e.g. at Zoar). This is represented here by 23–7.

Palmyrene Script The Palmyrene script (dated materials 44 bce—possible earlier date noted above—to c.272 ce) belongs, with that of Syriac and Hatran, to an eastern script-type. It is known in a monumental form and, much more rarely, in a handful of examples, in a cursive form (fragments of parchment, dipinti, and graYti from Dura-Europos, which had a strong Palmyrene presence). The script is particularly close to the old Syriac script and there are some inscriptions in which there are letter-forms typical of both traditions (Sadan, CIS ii. 156; Amashamash, OSI As62). Palmyrene and Syriac script apparently shared a common ancestor in the form of what Naveh called the ‘Seleucid Aramaic Script’ which is not known directly but must have existed in northern Mesopotamia c.250–100 bce (Naveh 1982: 149–50). Milik (2003: 269–70) broadens this category to include some of the archaic Nabataean inscriptions (1) and some of the Aramaic inscriptions from the H : awra¯n (see discussion of 15).

Syriac Script The script of the early Syriac inscriptions on stone is similar to what is known later as est: rangela (Wrst dated literary usage in British Library manuscript Add 12150 of 411 ce), but more cursive forms are found in the mosaic inscriptions, and the parchments have a form of script rather similar to the sert: a, the main script used by the later Syrian Orthodox tradition as a book-hand. It has been

30

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

Hatran

Syriac estrangela

Early Syriac Cursive

Early Syriac Monumental

Palmyrene

Jewish (Judaean)

‘Hebrew’

Nabataean Cursive

y

t.

h.

z

w

h

d

g

Egyptian Aramaic

b

Table 1. Aramaic script chart

Nabataean Monumental

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

31

Hatran

Syriac estrangela

Early Syriac Cursive

Early Syriac Monumental

Palmyrene

Jewish (Judaean)

‘Hebrew’

Nabataean Cursive

Nabataean Monumental

t

s´/š

r

q

s.

p

s

n

m

l

k

Egyptian Aramaic

32

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

argued (Healey 2000) that this sert: a form existed earlier as a cursive, so that both script-forms were used side by side. The situation would be analogous to that of Nabataean, Jewish Aramaic, and Palmyrene.

Hatran Script The Hatran script is less well known and understood. Only one rather cursive form of script is attested and it is known to us from H : at:ra itself (6/7 ce— possibly 44 bce: see Ch. I—to 238 ce) and from Ashur and some other sites to the north of H : at:ra. Naveh (1972) designated it ‘North Mesopotamian’ and it is clearly the descendant of an eastern Achaemenid script, showing some aYnities with the much earlier Asoka inscriptions (King Asoka 268–233 bce: Naveh 1982: 143). Some of the letter-forms are very distinct, e.g. {a } and {sˇ}, the latter forming a triangle. (See Bertolino 1995: 13–30.) It is not likely that the Wve scripts were mutually intelligible, at least not easily intelligible. Even the scripts of linguistically similar dialects diVer markedly and the experience of modern European decipherment suggests that knowledge of one is of little help in the decipherment of another. In Table 1 we exhibit letter-forms from the following scripts: Egyptian Aramaic Nabataean Monumental Nabataean Cursive Jewish (Judaean) Palmyrene Early Syriac Monumental Early Syriac Cursive Hatran

Naveh 1970a Healey 1993 Healey 2000 Yardeni 2000a Cooke 1903 and CIS ii OSI Healey 2000 Ibrahim 1986

Only representative samples of letter-forms can be given here. Where additional forms are given, the one to the right is normally a Wnal form, i.e. the form the letter takes in Wnal position in a word. Final forms exist also, of course, in square ‘Hebrew’ script and in classical Syriac (est: rangela).

L A N G UAG E Terminology used in the classiWcation of the diVerent phases of Aramaic is confusing and not only the terminology, since some of the diYculties arise from diVering perceptions of the history of the language. However, in the

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

33

present context, rather than succumb to the temptation to create yet another set of terms it seems wiser to stick to one of the most widely accepted categorizations while pointing out the subtleties and complexities which it hides. The outline provided by Joseph Fitzmyer has enjoyed increasing popularity since it was created and this will be used below (Fitzmyer 1979: 57–84). Aramaic is attested from approximately 900 bce and continued to Xourish, reaching a peak of popularity in terms of widespread use as a vernacular and as a literary tongue from approximately 500 bce to 700 ce. Thereafter it declined but it is still used to a limited extent today in pockets of the Middle East where it has not been overwhelmed by Arabic, Turkish, and Kurdish. As has often been pointed out, this implies an unusually long period of welldocumented linguistic history. Inevitably Aramaic underwent many major changes during this long period. There are several important factors which impose caution in the classiWcatory enterprise: 1. Aramaic is not only documented over a long period, but also over a wide geographical area. In the era of its most extensive use, the Achaemenid period, its presence was felt at points as distant from each other as Elephantine in southern Egypt, the Bosphorus, Iran itself, and northern India. So far as we can tell, Aramaic was being used as a lingua franca, especially in written communications concerning diplomacy and commerce, rather than as a vernacular, though undoubtedly some of the groups who used Aramaic for public aVairs may well have also spoken a local version of it in everyday life (Folmer 1995). 2. It is linguistically inevitable that a language used over such a wide area will vary and undergo local inXuences. In the past it was assumed too readily that Aramaic in the Achaemenid period was uniform and that it was only when the Achaemenid Empire fell that local varieties of Aramaic began to emerge. 3. Despite the rich documentation of Aramaic over a long history there are many periods for which we have no evidence relating to particular regions. In period A we may only have evidence from region Y, but from the following period B we have no evidence from region Y but are well informed on region Z. There is a danger of building too much on assumptions about how the gaps are to be Wlled. These three conditioning factors play a prominent role in the problem of understanding the forms of Aramaic covered in this book. Syriac emerges into the light of day in the Wrst century ce and is well understood from then onwards, but there is nothing in Aramaic from the Syriac-speaking area for centuries before the earliest Syriac inscription (dated 6 ce; 46). This makes it quite diYcult to account for the emergence of Syriac in relation to earlier

34

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

Aramaic. There is material for this earlier period from Palestine (e.g. the Samaria papyri: Gropp et al. 2001) and, earlier still, from Egypt (Elephantine: Porten and Yardeni 1986–99), but these are quite remote. There is no basis for assuming that something like Elephantine Aramaic was used in the Edessa region in the pre-Syriac period. Nabataean, as we shall see, is regarded by many specialists in the Weld as a Schriftsprache, i.e. a language only used in writing, and a hangover from Achaemenid times. The common assumption is that the Nabataeans actually spoke some form of Arabic, only using Aramaic for oYcial documents. This idea is supported by evidence of Arabic-type inXuence found in some Nabataean inscriptions. But the Nabataean kingdom was very large and many of its inhabitants certainly did speak some form of Aramaic, though not the ‘Nabataean Aramaic’ of the inscriptions, which displays conservative features arising from the scribal tradition going back to Achaemenid times. It will be clear, therefore, that writing a history of Aramaic on the basis of the isolated scraps of evidence, however numerous, is a far from easy matter. With these cautionary remarks we may note Fitzmyer’s broad categorization of Aramaic into Wve main phases (Fitzmyer 1979: 57–84, 2004: 30–2; similarly Creason 2008):

1. Old Aramaic (925–700 bce) Subsumed under this category are the very early inscriptions, such as those from Tell Fekheriye and Hama (ancient Hamath) in Syria. Old Aramaic was used in the geographical heartland of the Aramaeans and many of the inscriptions come from the Aramaean states. It is extremely diYcult to know how far Aramaic spread beyond this area in this early period, though we do know that the Assyrians began to use Aramaean scribes and the Aramaic lingua franca in their dealings with people further to the west, such as the Israelites: 2 Kgs. 18: 26.

2. OYcial Aramaic (700–200 bce) OYcial Aramaic is the somewhat standardized literary and oYcial language used under the late Assyrian, Babylonian, and especially Persian Empires. The Assyrian use of Aramaic was continued (evidently much facilitated by the fact that Aramaeans, the Chaldaeans, had gradually spread through southern Mesopotamia) and the Achaemenid Persians found it convenient as the language of administration throughout their vast empire. Thus there have been found many administrative papyri from Egypt (Elephantine and other sites) and widespread inscriptions, e.g. those from Tayma¯ in Saudi Arabia and

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

35

documents from as far away as Bactria. It is important to note that this OYcial Aramaic was not completely uniform: the inXuence of local languages, including local dialects of Aramaic can be detected in it. Note, for example, the Hermopolis papyri in a local variant of Aramaic. In this period we have our Wrst evidence of Aramaic being used as a literary language. There are, for instance, a few literary papyri from Elephantine. And the Biblical Aramaic of Ezra and Daniel belongs here in Fitzmyer’s classiWcation, though it is important to note the diYculties surrounding Biblical Aramaic: the vowels in the received biblical text and some aspects of orthography are much later in date. (For discussion of some of the problems see Geller 2006.) There is also evidence of the impact of later spoken Jewish Aramaic on Biblical Aramaic (Morgenstern 1999: 136*, e.g. in the use of yt). Biblical Aramaic is, therefore, a hybrid. And some regard it as an artiWcial creation meant to impress readers with its archaisms.

3. Middle Aramaic (200 bce–200 ce) At the demise of the Achaemenid Empire, OYcial Aramaic had become so well established, for example in legal and literary contexts, that its importance did not immediately disappear. In this respect it had shifted, as did Latin, from being an oYcial language to being a prestige language with a strong literary tradition. GreenWeld identiWed a Standard Literary Aramaic which was not exactly the same as the local dialects where the literature was produced (GreenWeld 1974a), though the widespread existence of this ‘high’ variety (as linguists would call it) has been doubted by some (Cook 1992). Gradually, however, the local dialects began to assert themselves and have an impact on the lingua franca. The disappearance of the Achaemenid Empire meant that an essential factor imposing relative uniformity on Aramaic also disappeared and in its diVerent regions it began to break up into local dialects. In some regions, where Aramaic was never a spoken language of the native population, it disappeared completely (such as southern Egypt). In others, such as Nabataea, it continued in use for oYcial purposes even though the dominant elite of the society was non-Aramaic-speaking. In Palestine it at Wrst cohabited with Hebrew, though there is evidence that Aramaic was increasingly the normal vernacular, as it was Jesus’ vernacular. Literature began to be written in Aramaic (notably the Dead Sea Scrolls: on the Qumran dialect and its relation to other dialects in this period see Cook 1992) and even the Bible was translated into it (the Targums), because many less-educated Jews knew little Hebrew. In the regions where Aramaic was ‘native’ the situation which developed was not uniform, since local spoken forms of Aramaic reasserted themselves.

36

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

Jews in Babylonia had their own dialect of Aramaic which produced its own literature. In H : at:ra, Palmyra, and Edessa we are in the heartland of Aramaic, but the dialects which emerged did so in slightly diVering forms because circumstances diVered. H : at:ra was under heavy Parthian inXuence. Edessa had become a Greek-using Seleucid city before the local Aramaic dialect, Syriac, came to the fore under a local dynasty. In Palmyra the higher levels of society appear to have been bilingual in Aramaic and Greek: Palmyra was the most hellenized and romanized of all the centres we are dealing with in this book.

4. Late Aramaic (200–700 ce) Moving beyond the dialects covered in this volume, not all of the ‘Middle Aramaic’ forms of the language survived. Nabataean disappeared with the Nabataean state (though not immediately: there are later inscriptions extending to the mid-fourth century and the Nabataean script had an important inXuence in the development of the Arabic script). Palmyrene and Hatran disappeared completely at the end of the third century. Jewish Aramaic survived, however, as did Syriac, undergoing certain changes which separate classical Syriac from the Syriac of the earliest inscriptions. Mandaic is a new actor on the scene, evidently arising as a major literary language from one of the local dialects of southern Mesopotamia. As we enter what is called ‘Late Aramaic’, western and eastern divisions can be distinguished and are well known through extensive literary remains. In the West, for example, there is Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (JPA) (Targums, Palestinian Talmud and Midrashic literature); in the East there are classical Syriac, Babylonian Jewish Aramaic, and Mandaic. One of the more obvious grammatical divergences is between the western use of a y- preWx for the masculine imperfect verb form and the eastern use of n- and l-. (The l-imperfect is interpreted by Cook 1992: 12–13 as arising from an earlier eastern ‘short’ imperfect.) Other eastern characteristics are the loss of deWniteness of the so-called emphatic state (malka¯ ceasing to mean speciWcally ‘the king’ and being used for both ‘the king’ and ‘a king’) and the masculine plural noun ending in -e¯ instead of -ayya¯. How this east–west division is to be interpreted is beyond the scope of this discussion, though we may note the contribution of D. Boyarin (1981), who argued against the employment of a family-tree model (with two branches splitting from each other at some speciWc point in time) and emphasized instead the vast variety of forms of Aramaic in a dialect continuum with no watertight east–west division. (See also Cook 1992; Healey 2007, 2008a.)

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

37

5. Modern Aramaic (700 ce–Present) So far as eastern Aramaic is concerned, until c.1300 Syriac was still an important literary language, but it was in decline because of the growing importance of Arabic and other languages even among Christians. The classical language continued to be important in theology and liturgy, while the spoken form of the language continued to develop. The spoken dialects Xourished in south-eastern Turkey until political events of the twentieth century led to the destruction of the Christian and Jewish communities of that area. The remnants of this tradition still exist and are struggling to maintain the linguistic tradition, but they are mainly represented by ageing diaspora populations in Europe, the USA, and Israel (Jewish speakers of these dialects). There is also a western Aramaic remnant spoken in Christian and Muslim villages in the area of Ma alula near Damascus. This too is in decline, though not, apparently, in danger of rapid extinction. In addition, classical Syriac, Jewish Aramaic, and Mandaic continue as religious languages of prayer respectively for some Christians of Middle Eastern origin (Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Church of the East, Chaldaean, and Maronite) and for Jews and Mandaeans throughout the world. In terms of this terminology the subject of the present volume is the ‘Middle Aramaic’ of inscriptions from the Roman period, with some slight overlap into the ‘Late Aramaic’ phase. In the more complex terminology of Klaus Beyer (ATTM 1: 3–71; Beyer 1986) what Fitzmyer calls Middle Aramaic involves three distinct types of Aramaic:1 1. Post-Achaemenid Imperial Aramaic, to which Nabataean and Palmyrene are assigned (along with some of the legal formularies found in the Judaean texts such as 21). It may be noted that Beyer assigns Biblical Aramaic to this category, because the Biblical Aramaic texts, originally composed in OYcial or Imperial Aramaic, were then updated in the post-Persian period, both consonantally and, of course, with regard to vowels. Here belongs also the Qumran literary Aramaic. 2. Old Western Aramaic, to which he assigns the Judaean inscriptions and legal texts covered in the present volume (though with some archaic legal formularies). 1 The translation of Professor Beyer’s terminology created some problems in English. Mittelostarama¨isch, if translated ‘Middle East(ern) Aramaic’, would create a false impression in English, implying ‘Aramaic of the Middle East’: it had to be changed to ‘Eastern Middle Aramaic’, while if Altostarama¨isch were translated ‘Eastern Old Aramaic’ for consistency, it would be misleading in a diVerent way, implying reference to a branch of ‘Old Aramaic’ (which is not what is meant).

38

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

3. Old Eastern Aramaic, to which he assigns the early Syriac inscriptions covered in the present volume and the Hatran and related inscriptions (called ‘East Mesopotamian’). Classical Syriac is located by Beyer in his later category of Middle Aramaic. The fact that the Old Syriac inscriptions and the Nabataean inscriptions are assigned by Beyer to two diVerent categories but are in the same category in Fitzmyer reXects the detailed diVerences between them, some of which will be discussed in what follows. There is no intention here to give a full linguistic description of any of the Wve types of Aramaic represented in this book. For most of them there exist adequate reference grammars and dictionaries, noted below. What we will do here is attempt to characterize the diVerent dialects by presenting contrasts between them and between them and major earlier and later forms of Aramaic, especially Biblical Aramaic and Syriac. Features are listed according to the conventional order of orthography and phonology (often interconnected in the discussions), morphology, syntax, and ‘other’. A note on the lexicon of each dialect is added separately. Bibliographical information is summarized at the end of the chapter, where a summary list of salient features will also be found (Table 2). Here we may note the very useful survey by Gzella (2006) and the attempt at a ‘dialect geography’ of Middle Aramaic by Cook (1992).

Nabataean Aramaic Nabataean Aramaic is very close to the OYcial Aramaic of the Achaemenid Empire, reXected pre-eminently in Egyptian Aramaic (Beyer 1986: 27). It does, however, reveal features which must have been imported from later spoken Aramaic, as a comparison with Jewish Aramaic of the time shows (Morgenstern 1999). The following features are particularly worthy of note: 1. Orthographic conservatism is represented by the use of the graph {sˇ} for proto-Semitic s (see aˇsr, aˇsryn, ˇshd) as well as proto-Semitic ˇs. Both sounds had been represented by {sˇ} in the oldest Aramaic orthography and the graph {sˇ} continued to be used for etymological s (now pronounced /s/). We see this also in Jewish Aramaic, Palmyrene, and the early Syriac inscriptions, though not in classical Syriac, which uses the graphic form {s} for etymological s . We are dealing here merely with a matter of traditional spelling and no linguistic signiWcance is attached to it. 2. The prevalent orthography for verbal roots ending in -a¯, such as BNa /Y, uses a Wnal {h}. See hwh 10: 22, 29; mt: h 11: 8. 3. Early inscriptions have zy for the standard later dy/d- and znh for dnh (1: 1, 2, 5; 2: 1, though 2: 2 has dnh and dy; see also Cant. ii. 2, no. 2).

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

4.

5.

6.

7.

8. 9.

10. 11.

12. 13.

39

It appears that Achaemenid orthography is in the process of being updated to reXect a phonetic change. n is preserved, in writing at least, before consonants in verb forms such as ynpq and yntn, as against assimilation in Qumran Aramaic, Targumic, and Palmyrene. This may be merely a matter of historical spelling, as in classical Syriac examples, where the linea occultans indicates that the consonant is not actually pronounced. In favour of this view we may note alternative spellings a ntt (8: 6) and a tt (13: 3): the latter is very late in date and may represent an updated orthography. Such historical spellings are attested already in OYcial Aramaic (ATTM 1: 89–95, 483–4). The alternative explanation is to assume that ynpq etc. reXect a secondary dissimilation (see Kutscher 1958: 5 in relation to the Genesis Apocryphon). The forms mn al and mnpq (10: 6 etc.) are probably dissimilated. A shift of a¯ >o¯ is reXected in anwsˇ (6: 5, etc., but compare 11: 16 ansˇ), tmwna (11: 1, 18, but compare 13: 8 tmny). This is a shared late feature found also in Qumran Aramaic (Morgenstern 1999: 137*; Cook 1992: 3). The relative particle has the form dy (/dı¯/) (compare Biblical Aramaic) as against the later form d- (/da-/) which is found alongside dy in Qumran and Palmyrene and is the only form in the early Syriac inscriptions. Nabataean can be regarded as a relic area in this respect (Cook 1992: 9–10). Turning to morphology proper, the third person plural suYx is -hm (/-ho¯m/-hu¯m/) (used for both masculine and feminine), as in the Aramaic of Elephantine, a few times in Ezra, and in Jer. 10: 11, and occasionally in the Palestinian Targum, as against -hn in Daniel, elsewhere in Ezra, in Qumran, the Onqelos Targum, and in Palmyrene. By comparison with the other dialects, Nabataean is here uniquely conservative. The 1st person plural suYx is -na , presumably representing /-na¯/ (compare Biblical Aramaic), as against Syriac and Palmyrene -n (/-an/). The masculine singular near demonstrative is dnh, ‘this’ (compare Biblical Aramaic), as against the common Qumran form dn. The plural is usually alh, a uniquely conservative feature by comparison with al(y)n/hl(y)n in the other dialects (Cook 1992: 10). But note also the innovative plural demonstrative anw (6: 4–5; cf. anwn in Biblical Aramaic and Qumran). The masculine plural emphatic noun ending is -ya (/-ayya¯/). The common-gender form abdw is used for the feminine plural of the perfect tense (7: 1). This is an archaic feature: see Biblical Aramaic (kt¯ıb

forms). Compare Palmyrene below. The third person masculine imperfect preformative is y-. A p a¯ıl passive of the simple verb stem is possibly operative (9: 8), as in the Genesis Apocryphon (Kutscher 1958: 5), and probably in Palmyrene (Cant. i. 74–5; 1935: 81–4; F. Rosenthal 1936: 56; 37 i 8).

40

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

14. Note also certain non-metathesized verb forms with a t- preWx: ytzbn against expected *yzdbn. This may result from Arabic inXuence, though some such forms are also found in Jewish Aramaic (including Qumran Aramaic) (Healey 1993: 103–4; Morgenstern 1999: 139*). 15. A hap ael verbal stem appears in Nabataean as well as an ap ael, though very rarely. One of the instances of hap ael is in a very archaic Petra text of c.70 bce (hqym). One later example (also hqym) comes from near Damascus and is dated 94 ce (CIS ii. 161 i 1). (Another example appears in an inscription which is about to be published by G. Bevan.) The shift to ap ael, which began at an early date, is reXected in the Aramaic of Qumran, the Targums, and Palmyrene, as well as Syriac. 16. The object-marker yt, widely used in western Aramaic (ATTM 1: 601), appears also quite commonly in Nabataean with pronouns (7: 5). 17. We may note the unusual imperfect yhb (against normal yntn or ytn) (Cant. i. 82). 18. a yty, ‘there is’, is common (7: 7, etc.). Several of these features are ‘conservative’ and have contributed to a widespread view that Nabataean is to be regarded as a traditional language of writing which was not used in everyday speech. This view is normally combined with the hypothesis that the Nabataeans spoke an early form of Arabic, the evidence of which is mainly the intrusion of Arabisms in the Aramaic they wrote. The syntactical Arabisms are especially signiWcant here, suggesting a spoken Arabic substrate. The implication would be that the conservative elements found in the inscriptions were preserved in a scribal environment isolated from the ongoing development of the Aramaic language reXected more fully in the other dialects. If this is correct, it becomes very diYcult to know how Nabataean Aramaic was actually pronounced: presumably the Nabataean scribes would have handed down an artiWcial archaic form of pronunciation. The sporadic appearance of apparent lexical Arabisms is a characteristic feature of Nabataean Aramaic, though these are diYcult to evaluate, since many of them are technical and relate to speciWc social contexts (such as law and family structures). It is also noteworthy that similar Arabisms appear in the Jewish legal texts from the Babatha archive and there are also Arabisms in Palmyrene.

Jewish Aramaic It is diYcult to make simple linguistic statements about ‘Jewish’ Aramaic, since the term has been used to embrace a number of diVering dialects over a long period. There is also a major factor of interference between dialects,

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

41

especially in literary texts of Palestinian origin which were later overlaid with Babylonian Aramaic features and even features of Biblical Aramaic. The texts involved in this volume are non-literary and therefore less subject to cross-contamination, but nevertheless they include letters (19–20) and a legal document (21) which, though practically contemporary, clearly reXect diVering linguistic registers. Synagogue and funerary inscriptions (22, 23–7) may be more subject to literary inXuences. For the purposes of comparison with the other contemporary Aramaic dialects, it is essential to distinguish the features of: 1. vernacular materials such as those covered in this volume (Jewish or Judaeo-Galilean Documentary Aramaic¼JDA), which correspond in content with that of many of the other inscriptions and documents in this collection; 2. Qumran literary texts; 3. the generally later Jewish Palestinian and Targumic Aramaic, as described in works such as those of Dalman (1905) and Stevenson (1962) (JPA). Both these authors had it in mind to get close to the language of Jesus through the Targums: this approach is now rendered redundant, on the linguistic level at least, by the fact that we now have so much documentary and literary material which gives us much more direct access to the dialect(s) of Palestine in the period 200 bce to 200 ce, principally Qumran Aramaic (on which see speciWcally Muraoka 1992b; Schattner-Rieser 2004; 2005) and JDA. That older approach was made very diYcult in any case because the Onqelos and Jonathan Targums, while having a Palestinian origin, were vocalized in Babylonia and the language was overlaid with Babylonian features. In the classiWcation of Klaus Beyer, the Bar Kosiba letters and the tomb inscriptions count as ‘Jewish Old Palestinian’, while the Qumran literature and the sale document of 134/5 ce (21), more or less contemporary with Bar Kosiba, are classiWed as ‘Hasmonaean’ (a dialect of a more archaic type) (ATTM 1: 50–2, 34; Beyer 1986: 35–7, 20). The synagogue inscriptions are ‘Western Middle Aramaic’, speciWcally Galilean, and the dialect developed later than that of the items just mentioned. The later Jewish Palestinian Aramaic (JPA) texts and the Judaeo-Galilean Documentary Aramaic (JDA) of the texts in this volume share key features which are listed in the accompanying chart, but note may be made of the following aspects of the texts in this volume: 1. s is represented by {s} (cf. asrh 21: 1) or {sˇ} (s hd 21: 17). 2. /n/ generally assimilates to a following consonant (ttnwn 20: 5). h: ntya in 20: 3 may reXect conservative retention of the /n/, conservative orthography or secondary dissimilation.

42

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction 3. The relative particle is normally dy, more rarely d- (in mn d- 23: 1, 3 and cf. Lewis 1989: 145, no. 20: 41 dytma ). dy is common, but d- is not rare at Qumran (Cook 1992: 8–10: the change /dı¯/ > /d-/ was happening over a wide area). 4. The 3rd plural pronoun suYx is -hwn (25: 4; 20: 4, 5, 12). It may be noted that in the documentary dialect this is used for both masculine and feminine, as in Nabataean, though there appears to be also a separate feminine -hn (-he¯n) (ATTM 1: 424 and further references there). 5. The Targumic dialect uses as the main masculine singular demonstrative hdyn (substantival dyn; fem. hda , plural ha lyn, substantival a lyn). In JDA the norm is represented by dnh/dna , dh/a (but note hda in p.Yadin 47B: 7 gnta hda ) and a l(y)n and these are found widely in literary texts too, though dn/hda /a l(y)n are the commonest forms in the Qumran literature (Genesis Apocryphon, Henoch, Job Targum) (cf. Kutscher 1958: 4, 17–18; Schattner-Rieser 2004: 61–3; 2005: 28). hdn and hdyn appear in 22: 2, 24: 1 and in 23: 2 we have hdh (fem., see hda above). The remote demonstrative dk appears in 21: 5 etc. 6. Masculine plural emphatic state ending -ya (for /-ayya¯/): 20: 3 h: ntya ; 21: 7 a bnya . So Nabataean; contrast the eastern dialects, which tend to have -a for /-e¯/. 7. Imperfect preformative y- (though note that forms of the imperfect are rare in the JDA texts). So far as the literary dialects are concerned it may be noted that l- appears in the Palestinian Talmud and Midrash (Stevenson 19622: 49), perhaps indicating purpose and a Babylonianism. 8. There are possible G-stem passives in, e.g., 25: 1; 26: 4. 9. Non-metathesis in a t- preWx verb forms is a distinctive feature in 20: 6, and see Nabataean above. Note, however, tdhrwn in 19: 6, with metathesis as an intermediate stage prior to assimilation. 10. JDA retains a causative h- in an early document of c.120 bce (ATTM 1: M72: 11) and in the Uzziah ossuary inscription of c.50 ce (ATTM 1: yJE20) and 20: 3 (hyty). In some literary texts from Qumran (Job Targum) it is common, though this can be interpreted as purely graphic (ATTM 1: 148; Schattner-Rieser 2004: 73–4; 2005: 29). In the Genesis Apocryphon (Kutscher 1958: 4, 18–19) and the standard Targums it has given way to a in all but fossils (such as hymn, hwd a). See the ap ael also in 26: 5 (asq). 11. As an object-marker, (Hebraizing) yt appears in Onqelos, Jonathan, and Qumran literary texts (ATTM 1: M21: 19 [Heavenly Jerusalem]; Y40: 30, Y42: 12 [Job Targum]) (Muraoka 1992b: 101; Nebe 1993: 311). l- is not rare in such materials (e.g. Genesis Apocryphon xii: 17), but it is often diYcult to distinguish accusatival and datival usages (Muraoka 1992b: 100–2). In JDA too yt appears (19: 4, 10; 20: 3, 5 etc.;

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

43

ATTM 1: M21: 19; XH : ev/Se 7: 9; Lewis 1989: 142, no. 18: 68) and quite often too l- (e.g. 21: 3; 26: 5; 21: 3; also Masada 554: 2, yMS2, and yJE35: 1, ossuary dating from the turn of the Christian era). See also Schattner-Rieser 2004: 103, with other occurrences at Qumran. Lexically, note Hebraisms, which are to be expected (e.g. hnsy 20: 1; a m 20: 6; ad 21: 16; gla 26: 5; on Hebraisms in Qumran Aramaic see Fassberg 1992; Stadel 2008), and Arabisms, as in Nabataean (GreenWeld 1992; Yadin et al. 2002: 105 etc.; s: h: b 19: 8, 11).

Palmyrene Aramaic The relationship of written to spoken Palmyrene remains unresolved, but the links of Palmyrene to more westerly dialects is fairly clear. F. Rosenthal (1939: 100–3, resuming his earlier work, e.g. 1936: 99–105) thought that written Palmyrene was a continuation of OYcial Aramaic and a close reXection of the spoken language of the Palmyrene region, with eastern Aramaic features increasingly borrowed from adjacent areas. Ginsberg (1942: 233–7) set Palmyrene in the context of his view that OYcial Aramaic (Reichsarama¨isch), which was itself one of several dialects (Samalian being another), was from the Greek period onwards increasingly coloured by vernaculars. Palmyrene was for him an ‘attempt by a population which spoke all along a Syriac-like form of Aramaic’ to write standard Achaemenid Aramaic. This would have a parallel in the clearer case of Nabataean Aramaic, where Arabic vernacular colouring has aVected the attempt of the scribes to produce standard Achaemenid Aramaic (Healey 1993: 55–63). For Beyer (1986: 27–8) there was an uninterrupted development from OYcial Aramaic with some retentions of earlier forms. These retentions explain a number of the peculiarities of Palmyrene orthography: a nt (see also Syriac), a ntth (Syriac), dy for /da-/ (d- also occurs, i.e. in an updated orthography), brt (Syriac; bt also occurs), hp al (but perhaps archaic in PAT 2774: 12), masculine plural emphatic ending -ya (also -a ). We may note the following features: 1. {sˇ} for /s/: 37 i 7, etc. as rta ; ii 13, etc. bs yma ; s hd, PAT: 0197: 7; 1624: 13, 14. 2. /n/ is generally assimilated before consonants. Cf. forms of NTN and NPQ in 37 ii 6, 81, etc. 3. The /t/ of the a et - verb preWx is assimilated in yktb in 37 i 8, yzbn in ii 4 and mzbn in ii
136 (but contrast mtzbna in l. 132). 4. Both dy and d- appear for the relative pronoun, but Beyer regards both as representing /da-/ (orthographical issue). 5. The 3rd masculine plural pronoun suYx is -hwn, -hn.

44

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

6. The masculine singular demonstrative is dnh (plural a ln, hlyn). The archaic dnh is shared with Nabataean. 7. The masculine plural emphatic noun ending is found both as -ya and -a (above). That the diVerence may be purely orthographic is suggested by the fact that the plurals tgra and mksya appear in the same line, 37 i 7. For the vocalization note plural rba syra ¼ æÆ ÆØæÅ in 37 i 10 (Greek i 11). 8. a sqw and hww with feminine subject in 37 i 5 show that the plural perfect ending was common, as also in Nabataean above. 9. The 3rd masculine imperfect verbal preWx is y- (with western dialects). 10. The existence of a p a¯ıl passive is uncertain: yktb in 37 i 8 is better understood as an assimilated etp ael. 11. The causative preWx is a -. The single exception with h- (PAT: 2774: 12) may be archaic or purely orthographic. 12. Use of the object-marker is rare, but there is one case of yt (33: 4) and there are possible traces of l- (F. Rosenthal 1936: 68 n. 3). Lexically we may note the impact of Greek (Cantineau 1935: 154–7; F. Rosenthal 1936: 91–4; Brock 2005) and Arabic (Maraqten 1995; Cantineau 1935: 149–52; F. Rosenthal 1936: 94–6; e.g. gbl ¼
B, see Ch. I; ph: d ¼ Arabic fahad ; a pkla ). ˘


Syriac So far as the Syriac material is concerned, it is natural to compare the Syriac of the inscriptions with the later Classical Syriac, which, despite van Rompay (1994), who points out that ‘Classical’ Syriac is not totally standardized from its earliest phases, is a more standardized language and is diVerent in a number of respects from the Syriac of the inscriptions. Also the features which separate ‘Old Syriac’ from Classical Syriac are features which Old Syriac shares with Achaemenid and immediately post-Achaemenid Aramaic. What makes us call Old Syriac by this title are in fact the non-linguistic facts of the script which is used and the undoubted historical relationship between these inscriptions, the pagan kingdom of Edessa and the emergence of Edessa at the heart of Syriac Christianity, as a result of which the Edessan dialect of Aramaic became a major literary language. Note the following in Old Syriac (OSI 21–34; cf. Jenni 1965; Beyer 1966) in comparison with the position in other dialects: 1. Continued and systematic distinction between s and s by use of the graph {sˇ} for the latter ( aˇsryn, ˇsmt, ˇshd, etc.). This is historical spelling as in Nabataean.

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

45

2. In personal names (perhaps reXecting local colouring) we note weakening of / a/ to /a / or zero (a bdnh: y, etc.); assimilation of /d/, /t/ and /l/ to following sibilants ( absˇlm); weakening of initial /a / to zero, even when there is no preWx, in personal names (mtsyn: 63: ii). 3. Pre-consonantal /n/ is normally retained in writing at least (a ntta , a ntt, etc.), but we Wnd once a tt for a ntt (OSI Am3: 7), which suggests that written forms like a ntt and a nt, as in Classical Syriac, had already assimilated the /n/ (this being marked with the linea occultans later). 4. The form of the relative pronoun is universally d-. 5. -hwn, in Classical Syriac -hu¯n, for the 3rd plural pronoun suYx (63: 17 bynthwn; 46: 7 k]lhwn). No feminine occurs in Old Syriac: in Classical Syriac it is represented as -he¯n. 6. Demonstrative hna /hda /hlyn (46: 4, 6; 47: 6 etc.; feminine hda in 47: 4; 48: 3 etc. and plural in 47: 7; 50: 1 etc.); Classical Syriac ha¯na¯/ha¯de¯/ha¯le¯n. 7. Masculine plural ending -a , representing, as always in Classical Syriac, -e¯ (and see Palmyrene above). 8. The only important morphological peculiarity of this phase of Syriac is the appearance of y- as the masculine preWx of the 3rd person imperfect in many of the inscriptions and documents, rather than n- as in Classical Syriac. It thus follows the earlier formation retained in Western Aramaic (so Biblical Aramaic, Nabataean, etc.). There are diYculties in some cases of being sure of readings, since {y} and {n} are often hard to distinguish in writing, but there are about 20 clear cases of the y- preWx. On the other hand n- preWx forms are not unknown and occur 4 times in inscriptions and repeatedly in the parchments. 9. a - is universal in the causative (e.g. 49: 5 a qymn; 60: 4, 5 t/nzy a). 10. l- as object-marker appears rarely (63: 9[probably], 26; 49: 7; OSI As28: 5, 10). It is very common, though not compulsory, in Classical Syriac, whereas ya¯t is rare, largely conWned to imitation of Hebrew aet - in the Peshitta.

The change to the n-/l- preWx for the 3rd person masculine imperfect is characteristic of Eastern Aramaic, though it should be noted that both y- and n- forms are found in the mixed dialect of the magic bowls (Harviainen 1981: 24; Juusola 1999). We may be dealing here with a situation in which the written language was gradually adapting itself to the spoken forms in this area, when the inXuence of the post-Achaemenid orthographic tradition was weakening. While both forms of imperfect preWx are found in the corpus of Syriac inscriptions and parchments, a chronological pattern can be discerned. The imperfect preWx is y- except in OSI As20, Am5, and the legal parchments (P1–3). The latter are precisely dated to 240, 242, and 243 ce. As20 is not dated, though an inscription in a nearby cave, As16, dates to 201–2 ce. Am5 is on a

46

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

mosaic datable to the Wrst quarter of the third century. The earliest dated example of n- appears in a newly published mosaic inscription dated 194 ce (Healey 2006). Three of the inscriptions in which y- appears are securely dated: As55 to 6 ce, Bs2 to 73 ce and As37 to 165 ce. It seems, therefore, that the dividing line is to be drawn c.180–90 ce. Lexically, the fairly high incidence in the inscriptions and parchments of Greek and Iranian loans is remarkable. This is not to imply that this is uncharacteristic of Classical Syriac, but the level of incidence is noteworthy in these very early texts (see Healey 1995). On the other hand it is important not to exaggerate the signiWcance of this: most of the Greek loans are in the parchments and even then largely conWned to the Roman-style dating formulae (referring to emperors and consuls, etc.). The language of the Old Syriac corpus is particularly interesting because it reveals evidence of the coming into existence of what eventually became ‘Classical Syriac’, the standardized Syriac of the extensive Christian literature of the Syriacspeaking churches. It stands ‘between OYcial Aramaic—the language of the chancelleries of the Achaemenid Empire . . . and later Syriac’ (Drijvers 1980: 20–1), though we must bear in mind that its history may be very complex and we know little about the language of the Edessa region in earlier periods. Beyer’s view (1986: 31–2) is that the Old Syriac we have reXects a literary revival after the intrusion of Greek had temporarily interrupted the continuity of Reichsarama¨isch as a written language in the Edessa area. The script and orthography owe much to the continued Arsacid use of literary Aramaic. The revival was based on and close to the spoken Aramaic of Edessa. Although argued from silence (the absence of Old Syriac from before 6 ce and note also the paucity of evidence of Achaemenid-period use of Aramaic in the region), this seems to be plausible enough. GreenWeld (1974a: 289) argues for the importance of ‘native linguistic elements’, suggesting closer attention should be given to the texts of our corpus. It seems that the general pattern for the various Aramaic dialects in this period and area can provide the model for an understanding of the emergence of Syriac. Whether Beyer’s view that there was a complete hiatus in the tradition of writing Aramaic in the Edessa area is correct cannot be determined, but it is likely that with the founding of the Edessene dynasty in the mid-second century bce, the dynamic of national consciousness eventually led to the use of Aramaic for public purposes. The particular form of Aramaic adopted for this purpose, as reXected in our corpus, was a mixture of (a) Reichsarama¨isch, perhaps in a surviving local form or a borrowed form, with Arsacid colouring, and (b) the local spoken colloquial. Under (a) Reichsarama¨isch/Arsacid, we can note such features as the 3rd masculine imperfect preformative y- (until the n- preWx began to impose itself from

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

47

the colloquial c.180–90 ce), some weakening of gutturals, Iranian loans, and some features of orthography (e.g. {sˇ} for /s/); the survival of Reichsarama¨isch orthographies locally would imply there was no complete hiatus. Under (b) local colloquial, we can note some of the features listed above: assimilations (/d/, /t/, /l/), loss of initial /a /, as well as a whole host of features later regarded as distinctively ‘Syriac’ or at least distinctively eastern, such as the n- imperfect, the form ha¯na¯ for the masculine singular demonstrative, -e¯ for the masculine plural noun ending, apparent loss of signiWcance of the status emphaticus. The situation with regard to this last change is not easy to evaluate, but the emphatic seems to have already lost its implication of deWniteness. We can adduce the following arguments: (a) Where an indeWnite meaning is clearly or very probably required, we Wnd the emphatic used: h: rta in 55: 16; 60: 5. (b) h: d is sometimes added to a noun in the emphatic to indicate that it is to be regarded as indeWnite, in other words as an indeWnite article (TS col. 1194; CSD 126). So in 62 iv 10 ˇs:tra h: d; vii 13 ˇswya h: d; 18 yrh: a h: d. This looks like the introduction of an indeWnite article as the result of the decline of the deWnition function of the absolute as against the emphatic. The language of the corpus is, therefore, to be regarded as the Wrst stage in the formation of Classical Syriac, reXecting a revival in the fortunes of Aramaic as a prestige language in the Edessa region (with parallels to this revival at Palmyra and H : at:ra). The language presents transitional features: it clearly has its roots in Reichsarama¨isch, whether of a local variety or a variety borrowed from an area where Arsacid Aramaic was in written use, but with local features which in the end made Syriac into a distinctive branch of the Aramaic tree.

Hatran Aramaic Beyer (1986: 32–3; ATTM 1: 46–7) calls the Hatran dialect ‘East Mesopotamian’, regarding it as a northern version of ‘Old Eastern Aramaic’ (alongside Syriac). It is, however, the most distinctive of the dialects covered here. (Note the standard numbering of Hatran inscriptions with an H-preWx, seen most fully in Beyer 1998.) 1. Orthographic peculiarity of use of {y} as a mater lectionis to represent short /e/: adryt ¼ aed ret in 64: 3. (This feature is also found in Melkite
early
Christian Syriac inscriptions: see with referMSS of Syriac and in ences Brock 2003: 100 and n. 22; 2004: 31; cf. also Littmann 1934: 44–5.) 2. Matres lectionis are used somewhat indiscriminately: -hwn/-hn, dy/d-, etc.

48

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction 3. Dissimilation of geminated consonants is evidenced by ˇsnpyr for ˇsappı¯r (67: 2, 5, etc.), gnda for gadda¯ (70: 1, 4, 9, etc.). 4. bylda bne¯ for masculine plural construct above. 12. l- is used to mark objects: 65: 2; 66: 5; 67: 5; 74: 8. See Beyer 1998: 140.

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

49

Lexically there is clear Akkadian and Iranian/Parthian impact, though in most cases the words in question are also occasionally attested in Classical Syriac. Thus: Akkadian a rdkla 69: 4, 8 (CSD 27–8); Iranian dh: ˇspt: a 78: 1–2; (see Syriac dh: ˇsa CSD 89); a sppt: a H382; aˇskpa H212: 2 (compare CSD 31). For a summary of the chief grammatical features of the dialects discussed see Table 2 at the end of this chapter.

G R A M M AT I C A L DE SC R IP TI O N S Only major works devoted to or with important sections devoted to the individual dialect are listed.

Nabataean J. Cantineau, Le Nabate´en, 2 vols. (Paris, 1930–2; repr. Osnabru¨ck, 1978). J. F. Healey, The Nabataean Tomb Inscriptions of Madaa in Salih (Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement, 1; Oxford, 1993): 55–63.

Jewish Aramaic (Palestine) K. Beyer, Die arama¨ischen Texte vom Toten Meer, 2 vols. (Go¨ttingen, 1984– 2004; Erga¨nzungsband 1994). G. Dalman, Grammatik des ju¨disch-pala¨stinischen Arama¨isch (Leipzig, 19052, repr. Darmstadt, 1960). E. Y. Kutscher, ‘The Language of the Hebrew and Aramaic Letters of Bar-Koseva and his Contemporaries: A: The Aramaic Letters’ (Hebrew), Leshonenu, 25 (1961): 117–33 (repr. Kutscher 1977: 36–53). U. Schattner-Rieser, L’Arame´en des manuscrits de la Mer Morte, i: Grammaire (Instruments pour l’e´tude des langues de l’Orient ancien, 5; Lausanne, 2004). W. B. Stevenson, Grammar of Palestinian Jewish Aramaic (Oxford, 19622).

Palmyrene J. Cantineau, Grammaire du palmyre´nien ´epigraphique (Cairo, 1935, repr. Osnabru¨ck, 1987). F. Rosenthal, Die Sprache der palmyrenischen Inschriften und ihre Stellung innerhalb des Arama¨ischen (Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatisch-Aegyptischen Gesellschaft, 41/1; Leipzig, 1936). —— Die aramaistische Forschung seit Th. No¨ldeke’s Vero¨Ventlichungen (Leiden, 1939), 93–103.

50

Epigraphic and Linguistic Introduction

Although it does not include a grammatical section, note may be made of the following work, which contains a mass of implicit and explicit grammatical comment: D. R. Hillers and E. Cussini, Palmyrene Aramaic Texts (Baltimore and London, 1996).

Old Syriac K. Beyer, ‘Der reichsarama¨ische Einschlag in der a¨ltesten syrischen Literatur’, ZDMG 116 (1996): 242–54. H. J. W. Drijvers and J. F. Healey, The Old Syriac Inscriptions of Edessa and Osrhoene (Leiden, 1999), 21–34. A. H. al-Jadir, ‘A Comparative Study of the Script, Language and Proper Names of the Old Syriac Inscriptions’ (Ph.D. diss., University of Wales, 1983). Unfortunately unpublished; though now in need of updating in the light of newer discoveries, this is an invaluable comprehensive account. T. No¨ldeke, Kurzgefaßte syrische Grammatik (Leipzig, 18982, repr. Darmstadt, 1977; English tr. London, 1904, repr. Winona Lake, 2001), in the absence of a speciWc grammar of the Old Syriac epigraphy.

Hatran K. Beyer, Die arama¨ischen Inschriften aus Assur, Hatra und dem u¨brigen Ostmesopotamien (Go¨ttingen, 1998), 121–40. A. Caquot, ‘L’arame´en de Hatra’, GLECS 1960–3: 87–9. Kh. Ismail, Qawa¯ aid kita¯ba¯t al-H: ad: r (Irbid, 1998).

DICTIONARIES DNWSI covers all the epigraphic material in Nabataean, Palmyrene, and Hatran, except for very recently published texts including most of the Nabataean papyri: see especially Yadin et al. 2002, which also includes important grammatical notes and glossaries. For the early Syriac inscriptions, omitted from DNWSI, OSI provides a full index and glosses, with discussions incorporated into the comment on particular texts. (Note that new texts are continually being published: e.g. Healey 2006; Desreumaux 2000 and in Abadie-Reynal et al. 1999: 363–6; Balty and Briquel-Chatonnet 2000). DNWSI and the dictionary in Beyer’s Die arama¨ischen Texte, 1984–2004 (above) cover almost everything in Jewish Aramaic. SpeciWcally for Judaean Aramaic see M. SokoloV, A Dictionary of Judean Aramaic (Ramat Gan, 2003).

Table 2. Key features of Aramaic dialects

For original /s/

Biblical

Egyptian

Nabataean

Jewish Literary

Jewish Documentary

Palmyrene

Old Syriac

Classical Syriac

Hatran

{sˇ}

{sˇ} ({s} rarely)

{sˇ}

{sˇ}, {s}

{sˇ}, {s}

{sˇ}

{sˇ}

{s}

{sˇ}

/n/ before consonant

assimilated assimilated (sometimes (rare preserved in exceptions) spelling)

preserved

assimilated (sometimes preserved in spelling)

assimilated

assimilated

assimilated (preserved in spelling)

Relative particle

dy (d- once) zy (dy later)

dy

dy/d-

dy/(rare d-)

dy/d-

d-

d-

Masc. plur. emphatic noun ending Imperfect verb preWx (masc.) Simple-stem passive Causative-stem preWx Object-marker

assimilated assimilated (preserved (usually in spelling) preserved in spelling) dy/d(historical spelling)

-ayya¯

-ya

-ya

-ya

-ya

-ya -a

-a

-a (¼ -e¯)

y- (l- in lhwa )

y-

y-

y- l- (for purpose?)

y- (rare)

y-

y- n-

n-

rare

attested

rare

attested

rare

uncertain

not attested

ha- a a-

h- a - (less common)

a-

a-

a-

l- (rare)

l- yt (rare Hebraism)

l-

l- (restricted) yt (once, with pronoun)

l-

a - h- (rare, a - h- (rare, some

a - h- (rare,

a - h- (rare,

archaic)

Qumran texts)

archaic)

dubious)

yt (only with pronouns)

l-, yt

l- (rare)

l- (rare) yt (once?)

-a (¼ -e¯)

l-

not attested not attested

The information given in this table is simpliWed: in almost all cases there is room for diVerence of opinion and there are exceptions. The identiWcation of historical spellings which do not represent actual pronunciation is problematic.

III Nabataean Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri
: AH 1. THE INSCRIPTION FROM KHAL US ( A N C I E N T E LU S A ) This is probably the oldest Nabataean inscription published to date; it was found in ancient Elusa, which became an important Nabataean staging-post on the Petra–Gaza road. (There is an unpublished inscription of an earlier date: Starcky 1966: col. 930). The inscription is explicitly dated to the reign of a king Aretas and the archaic script suggests that the king may be Aretas I (mid 2nd c. bce). The script has much in common with earlier scripts of the area, including the contemporary version of the Jewish Aramaic script, though there are some distinctively Nabataean features (see Milik 2003: 269–70 and Ch. II). There are also linguistic features of the text which set it apart from standard Nabataean: z rather than d in znh, ‘this’, and zy, ‘which/ of ’. These forms were superseded by the Wrst century ce.

Main publications A. Cowley in Woolley and Lawrence 1914–15: 160–1 and Wg. 59 on pl. xxxix (see also p. 123); Cant. ii. 43–4; Wenning 1993: 28–9; Dijkstra 1995: 48–50; Yardeni 2000a: A 306; B [99]; Quellen 394–5. 1. znh a tra 2. zy abd 3. ntyrw 4. al h: ywhy 5. zy h: [r]tt 6. mlk 7. nbt:w This is the (cult-)place which Notayru made for the life of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans.

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

53

The formula of the inscription is well known from Nabataea, Palmyra (34: 1, 5, etc.), Edessa (48: 4 etc.) and H : at:ra (64: 7–8). Fully studied by Dijkstra 1995, the key phrase is ‘for the life of . . .’ and dedications of this kind express a subject’s loyalty and devotion to a superior, normally a ruler. The pious act (costing the dedicant some expense) is carried out in honour of the ruler named, with al h: yy introducing the name of the honorand. znh appears as dnh in the other dialects covered in this volume (21: 3 etc.; see also 2: 2). Where it appears in Nabataean it is archaic, with /z/ for /d/ as also in the word zy (below). The forms with /z/ are widespread in older Aramaic (DNWSI 333–7, 310–18; Degen 1969: 59; Hug 1993: 59). a tra , literally ‘place’, though the word must have a narrower meaning here (with the verb abd) (Healey 2001a: 76–7). 6: 3. zy: see above and 2: 1. Spellings with {z} for the later {d} appear in several early Nabataean inscriptions (Morgenstern 1999: 136*–7* and see Ch. II). abd, ‘he made’, 3rd masc. sing. perfect of aBD. ntyrw is a PN not found elsewhere in Nabataean and the reading is dubious: wtyrw is a possibility (Starcky 1956: 523 n. 1, citing Milik for wtyrw; cf. wtrw in al-Khraysheh 1986: 71–2). The ending of the name in -w is typically Nabataean. al h: ywhy, ‘for his life’ (h: yya , ‘life’, with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx anticipating the following PN). The formula involved is known in Nabataean, Palmyrene, Syriac, and Hatran. The context is usually of a subject, a grateful recipient of patronage, dedicating a religious object to honour and bless his lord, usually a king (Dijkstra 1995). There are, however, occasions when it can mean ‘during the life of ’ (11: 1 and Dijkstra 1995: 308–9). h: rtt is the name of several Nabataean kings. Given the archaic character of the script and phonology, only Aretas I (c.168 bce) and Aretas II (c.120–96 bce) would Wt, though there might also have been an earlier Aretas and Cross (1955: 160 n. 25) used palaeography to argue for a date in the third century bce. The Nabataean form of the name was probably /h: a¯rita/ (by
analogy with the later Arabic name) (Healey 1993: 78). The title mlk nbt:w, ‘king of the Nabataeans’, makes it clear that the king in question is a Nabataean (and this is the main reason for counting the inscription as Nabataean). nbt:w is a singular tribal name (sometimes paired with the tribe name ˇslmw). The vocalization/nabat:u/ is supported by contemporary Greek ˝ÆÆÆEØ (e.g. Diodorus Siculus 3. 43. 4) and later Arabic. The emphatic /t:/ tells against identifying the Nabataeans with the Biblical Nebaioth and others (Healey 1993: 14 n. 63).

54

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri 2. THE AS: LA H : I N S C R I P T I O N F RO M A T R I C L I N I U M AT P E TR A

This inscription comes from a triclinium, i.e. a cultic banqueting chamber. Most such triclinia are related to tombs and may have been used in funerary and commemorative rituals. The script is archaic, there are some archaic linguistic features, and it is dated about 96 bce. Some regard the inscription as having two parts written at diVerent times, l. 1 and ll. 2–4 (see further below).

Main publications Dalman 1912: 99–101, no. 90 (drawing p. 172); Savignac 1913: 441–2; RES §1432; Cant. ii. 2–3; Dijkstra 1995: 50–3; Yardeni 2000a: A 306; B [99]; Quellen 219–20. 1. a ln s: ryh: a wgba zy abd a s: lh: br a s: lh: 2. dnh s: ryh: a dy abd a s: lh: br a s: lh: 3. ldwsˇra a lh mnbtw al h: yy abdt mlk 4. nbt:w br h: rtt mlk nbt:w ˇsnt 1 These are the chambers and cistern which As: lah: son of As: lah: made. This is the chamber which As: lah: son of As: lah: made for Dushara, the god of Manbatu, for the life of aObodat, king of the Nabataeans, son of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans. Year 1. a ln, ‘these’ (cf. Palmyrene 32: 1 etc.). For this reading cf. Starcky 1956: 523 n. 3. The older reading a lk would be unique and should now be discarded. The meaning is in any case clear. a lh is more common (6: 3 etc.). s: ryh: a , ‘chamber, burial-chamber’ (6: 1 and Healey 1993: H24: 3; Arabic

d: arı¯h: ). The chambers involved are described by Dalman (1912: 100) as being each side of the triclinium. gba , ‘cistern, well’ (also in Palmyrene: PAT glossary). Cantineau thought it an Arabic loan, but this is rejected by F. Rosenthal 1939: 90; O’Connor 1986: 216–17 (cf. Biblical and Jewish Aramaic and Syriac gubba¯, HALOT 1841; CSD 62). See 78: 9. zy: 1: 2. Note that in this inscription zy and dy are used side by side (l. 2). Cant. ii. 3 suggested that this and the repetition in ll. 1–2 might be explained by regarding ll. 2–4 as a later addition (see also Dijkstra 1995: 51–2). Morgenstern 1999: 136*–7* takes the opposite view, dating l. 1 after ll. 2–4, but there is nothing to support this and he admits that l. 1 has older letter-forms.

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

55

A name like As: lah: , a s: lh: w, is found in Sinai Nabataean (al-Khraysheh 1986: 42) and in Safaitic. It appears to be an elative based on a form like Arabic s: a¯lih: , meaning ‘most pious’. dnh: 1: 1. Dushara is the main and distinctive Nabataean god, usually thought to be the god of the Qas: r al-Bint temple in Petra, though also associated with other locations, including the location of the present inscription. Manbatu is probably a place-name (Healey 2001a: 90), since at least later Dushara was treated as the god of the royal family. It would be incongruous for As: lah: to describe him as his own family god. However, in view of the Nabataean cults of personal and tribal gods a personal or tribal name cannot be excluded. If it is a personal name, Manbatu would presumably refer to an ancestor of As: lah: . The reading is not certain: Quellen 219–20 reads mnktw, following Starcky 1956: 523 n. 3 (referring back to Savignac 1913: 442 n. 1). Milik added the possibility of reading mlktw. a lh: a lha , ‘god’ (sing. construct), see 29: 6 etc. Syriac a ala¯ha¯ (CSD 17). al h: yy: 1: 4. The recipient of the dedication here is a Nabataean king, aObodat, either aObodat I (c.96–85 bce) or II (c.60 bce), most likely the former. The date would, therefore, be c.96 bce. See Starcky 1966: col. 906; Bowersock 1983: 23 n. 43, 34 n. 27; Fiema and Jones 1990: 244. mlk nbt:w: 1: 6–7. ˇsnt, ‘year’ (formally a construct sing. before the number), see 21: 1 etc. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac ˇsna¯.

¯ D ¯I M U ¯ SA¯ DE DI C AT ED 3 . I NS C R I P T I O N F RO M WA TO THE GOD BAALSHAMIN (15/16c e) This is another inscription of the al h: yy type, important for its detail on the Nabataean royal family and for the dedication to Baalshamin.

Main publications Khairy 1981 (with note by Milik); Dijkstra 1995: 55–7; Quellen 274–8. 1. [ . . . ] dy [ . . . ] lb aˇsmyn a lh mnkw [ . . . al] 2. [h: yy h: rtt] mlk nbt:w rh: m amh w al h: yy ˇsqylt a h: th mlkt nbt:[w] 3. [w al h: yy] mnkw w abdt wrba l wps: a l wsˇ adt bnyhm w al h: yy ˇsqyl[t] 4. [a ntt mnkw] br h: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: m amh w al h: yy gmlt mlk[t]

56

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri 5. [nbt:w w al h: y]y hgrw brth wh: rtt brh br hna ktbsa lw [byrh: ] 6. [ as r]yn wa rb a lh: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: m amh

. . . which . . . for Baalshamin, god of Maliku, . . . for the life of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people, and for the life of Shaqı¯lat his sister, queen of the Nabataeans, and for the life of Maliku and aObodat and Rabel and Pas: ia el (female) and Su au¯dat (female) their children, and for the life of Shaqı¯lat, wife of Maliku son of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people, and for the life of Gamilat, princess of the Nabataeans, and for the life of Hagaru, her (?) daughter, and H : aretat, her (Hagaru’s) son, son of H . . . In the month of . . . year twenty-four of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people. Dijkstra (1995: 55) notes, correctly, that there is room on the left of the stone for signiWcant additions: this undermines the conWdence with which Milik restored the text. In l. 6, for example, the name of a month and ˇsnt as ryn need to be Wtted in. Baalshamin was a god of Syrian origin (Niehr 2003) who became naturalized in Nabataea (Healey 2001a: 124–6; Niehr 2003: 265–79), though this must have happened quite early. Note the spelling of the name: b aˇsmyn also in 67: 1, 3, and b alsˇmn in 38: 1; 39: 2; 72: 7). He is here described as alh mnkw, ‘the god of Maliku’, phrases of which kind normally reXect the Nabataean concern with family deities (Healey 2001a: 151–5: cf. alh mrana 6: 3). It is most likely that Maliku is a king and the best candidate is Maliku I (62–30 bce), whose attachment to Baalshamin is, therefore, here recorded by Aretas IV (9 bce– 40 ce). This name Maliku frequently appears with /n/ for /l/, which suggests interchange of pronunciation between these two consonants (see Cant. i. 45). al h: yy: 1: 4. h: rtt: from the following titulature, clearly Aretas IV. Note repetitions of the full title in ll. 4 and 6. mlk nbt:w: 1: 6–7 etc. rh: m: p aal active participle of RH : M, ‘love’, in construct, hence ‘lover of . . .’ amh: ama , ‘people’: ‘his people’. The title appears here for the Wrst time, but is regular for Aretas IV. It is a calque on çغ ÆæØ. Shaqı¯lat is mentioned in other texts as wife and queen of Aretas IV (4: 2–3, restored, cf. CIS ii. 351: ˇsqylt mlkt nbt:w). Controversy surrounds the question of whether the Nabataeans adopted the Ptolemaic tradition of dynastic sister-marriage (see Dijkstra 1995: 315–18). The term a h: wta , ‘sisters’, appears in Dalman 1912: no. 92/RES §1434/Cant. ii. 9–10, l. 7, to describe Gamilat and Hagaru as genuine siblings of Rabel II. They are also called mlkta , ‘princesses’ (which translation is clearly better than ‘queens’),

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

57

both there and in 11: 2. All this suggests that the term ‘sister’ was used more loosely for ‘kinswoman’ (Dijkstra). We appear to have a list of persons in six categories: 1. Aretas IV (9 bce–40 ce), king of the Nabataeans; 2. Shaqı¯lat his wife, queen of the Nabataeans (called ‘sister’ but perhaps just ‘kinswoman’, though the failure to name her father might suggest she really was his sister); 3. Their sons Maliku (later Maliku II, 40–70 ce), aObodat, and Rabel, and daughters Pas: ia el and Su au¯dat (vocalized after 4: 3; for meaning see discussion under 8: 1). In 4: 3 another daughter, Hagaru, appears, evidently born after 3 was written. Wenning regards the Shaqı¯lat mentioned here in ll. 3–4 as a further daughter, but that depends on Milik’s restoration of a h: t mlkw after her name: it would be odd to list such a daughter separately in this way and it is better to restore a ntt mlkw (Dijkstra 1995: 55–6); 4. Shaqı¯lat, wife (probably) of Maliku; not one of H : aretat’s daughters and hence not in the grouping of those called mlkta ; 5. Gamilat, who, despite not being a daughter of H : aretat, or not a daughter a of equal standing, is called mlkt . She must have had some other claim to the title, such as being the daughter of another wife; 6. Hagaru and H : aretat. This Hagaru is not the child of H : aretat listed in 4: 3 and mentioned under 3 above: her lack of high status makes that clear. She could be Maliku’s daughter, as one possible restoration of 4: 3 suggests, though this is uncertain and not accepted as our reading. Given the sequence here, it is most probable that this Hagaru is the daughter of Gamilat (‘her daughter’). The H : aretat mentioned is Hagaru’s son (‘her son’), as is clear in 4: 3. His father is named separately. Much ambiguity is caused by the ambiguous -h suYx on brth and brh. For the name Shaqı¯lat see al-Khraysheh 1986: 184. For the other personal names see also al-Khraysheh: Pas: ia el (152): probably female (Milik and Starcky 1975: 112–15); Su au¯dat (182–3). bnyhm, construct plur. of bra , ‘son’, with pronoun suYx: ‘their children’. brth, brta , ‘daughter’, with 3rd, probably fem., pronoun: ‘her daughter’. brh, ‘her son’. Given that Aretas IV is the king involved, the numeral ending in -yn wa rb a must be 24, 34, or 44 and the date would then be 15/16, 25/6, or 35/6 ce. Since 4 is dated 20/1 ce and lists an extra child of H : aretat, Hagaru, who must have been born after 3 was written but before 20/1, it follows that the date of our inscription must have been 15/16 ce and the text can be restored accordingly.

58

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri 4 . I N S C R I P T I O N F RO M T H E C H A P E L O F THE D IVINE aOB O DAT (2 0/1 c e )

The inscription from a cave-chapel in a fairly remote part of Petra is connected with a special religious cult of the god aObodat, regarded by many as a divinized king.

Main publications CIS ii. 354; Clermont-Ganneau 1898: 372; NSI no. 95; Bru¨nnow and Domaszewski 1904–5: i, no. 290; Cant. ii. 5–6; Milik 1959: 559–60; Marchetti 1992; Dijkstra 1995: 57–60; Wenning 1997: 187; Yardeni 2000a: A 313; B [103]; Quellen 250–5. 1. dnh s: lma dy abdt a lha dy abdw bny h: nynw br h: t: ysˇw br pt:mwn [. . . .] 2. dy lwt dwtra a lh h: t:ysˇw dy bs: hwt pt:mwn amhm al h: yy h: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: m am[h wsˇ 3. qylt a]ntth mlkt nbt: w wmlkw w abdt wrba l wps:a l wsˇ awdt whgrw bnwhy wh: rtt br h[grw brt . . .] 4. [byrh: . . . ˇs]nt 29 lh: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: m amh bla ˇslm This is the statue of the god aObodat which the sons of H : unaynu son of H ot ayshu son of Pet ammo n made . . . which is with (that of) Dutara, the god ¯ : : : of H : ot:ayshu, who is in the chapel of Pet:ammo¯n, their ancestor, for the life of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people, and Shaqı¯lat, his wife, queen of the Nabataeans, and Maliku and aObodat and Rabel and Pas: ia el and Su au¯dat and Hagaru, his children, and H : aretat, son of Hagaru daughter of. . . . In the month of . . . of the year 29 of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people. Indeed, peace! dnh, ‘this’: 2: 2 etc. s: lma , ‘image, statue’. 15: 1; Jewish Aramaic and Syriac s: alma¯ (Jastrow 1284–5; CSD 480). No trace of the statue survives. dy, ‘of ’. a lha , ‘god’. 2: 3. aObodat is the name of a divinity, and it is often supposed that he is a divinized king, since the name aObodat is a royal one among the Nabataeans (Healey 2001a: 147–51). Against this idea stands the fact that his cult is a ‘specialized’ one, conducted (here) in an out-of-the-way place. On the other hand we may be dealing with an obscure chapel with a statue of a well-known god placed beside its normal resident dwtra . The evidence is inconclusive.

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

59

abdw: 3rd masc. plur. perfect of aBD, ‘make’. 1: 2 etc.

bny h: nynw: this is the family for whom this cult was of importance. For the names see al-Khraysheh 1986 (89: h: nynw; 80: h: t:ysˇw; 152: pt:mwn, of Egyptian origin). lwt dwtra was initially read as lwtr wtra , which did not make any sense. The corrected reading comes from Milik 1959, though there are still diYculties: lwt, ‘with, in the presence of ’, cf. 10: 18 and Jewish Aramaic 20: 11; Palmyrene PAT glossary. It is characteristic of Syriac (lwa¯t ): 63: 20. dwtra is an otherwise unknown divine name. It
might be a variant of dwsˇra (see Healey 2001a: 141). In any case he is the family god, the god adopted originally or especially by H : ot:ayshu. Family gods were an important part of Nabataean religion. Alt made analogies with the biblical ‘god of the fathers’ (Healey 2001a: 151–2; Alt 1966). The location with which this deity is associated is s: hwt pt:mwn, the latter being the family ancestor mentioned earlier. s: hwta is very obscure. Milik 1959: 559 drew attention to Arabic s: ahwah in Lane 1739 (cf. Healey 1993: 240–1). It occurs also in the Turkma¯niyyah inscription (6: 2) in a series of terms between ‘wells’ and (possibly) ‘surrounding walls’. Dijkstra (1995: 58) was surely right in seeing it as a building of some sort (rather than an ‘altar’, Cant. ii. 139); DNWSI 964. It must be a building which could Wt into the context of a cult or a funeral ritual. On the other hand dy b- usually refers to the geographical location where the deity is normally venerated (14: 3; 17: 2). amhm, describing Pet:ammo¯n, means ‘their grandfather’ or ‘ancestor’ (ClermontGanneau 1898: 372–3; Dijkstra 1995: 58). Cf. Hebrew and Arabic aam (HALOT 837; DNWSI 866–7). al h: yy: 1. For the names and kinship terms see 3. Note that Hagaru is added to the list of H : aretat’s children by comparison with 3: see discussion there. Note that the restoration of her parentage is dubious. bnwhy, ‘his children’. H : aretat son of Hagaru is mentioned also in 3. There are alternative restorations of the end of l. 3. CIS and Cantineau had h: rtt br h[grw brbrh]—brbrh means ‘his grandson’, viz. grandson of H : aretat—but better is h[grw brt mlkw] (Dijkstra 1995: 57). See 3. Year 29 of Aretas IV is 20/1 ce. For the Wnal formulary see 3: 2. bla ˇslm: ˇslm is especially common in graYti and rare in formal inscriptions of this kind: ‘peace’. bla , normally bly, means ‘indeed’, an expression of exclamation (Cant. ii. 71; compare Arabic bala¯: Wehr 76).

60

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri 5 . I N SC R IP TI O N F ROM TH E ‘ W IN G E D LIONS TEMP LE’ AT PETRA

This inscription, found in the Winged Lions Temple is damaged, but gives insight into the rules governing priests in the temple.

Main publications Hammond et al. 1986; R. N. Jones 1989; Yardeni 2000a: A 312; B [103]; Quellen 237–8 1. mh dy ya ta lh mn ksp wdhb wqrbwn wzwn klh wmn kspa wnh: [sˇa . . . 2. wlkmrya plga a h: rna am a klta kdy hwy qdm dnh pyth: lqwn [. . . 3. alwhy dy abd k ayr kl dy ala ktyb pypr a mh dy ysˇtkh: a[lwhy . . . 4. bywma rb ah ba b ˇsnt tltyn wsˇb a lh: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: m a mh wtw[. . . Whatever he receives of silver or gold or oVerings or any provisions, or of silver coin or bronze coin (to . . . half . . . ) and to the priests the other half with the foodstuVs, as they were before (the time of) this person, so that they are divided . . . (has cause) against him that he has done other than all that is written above, he shall pay whatever shall be found against him . . . On the fourth day of A¯b in the year thirty-seven of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people. And . . . mh dy, ‘what, whatever’, 8: 2; 10: 23 etc.; cf. Syriac ma¯ d- (CSD 246; Jastrow 736), Palmyrene 37 ii 15, 70. ya ta : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of a Ta /Y, ‘come’. With lh, ‘to him’, the eVective meaning is ‘receive’. We appear to be dealing with the receipt of oVerings or tithes by the temple: the pronoun on lh might refer to a particular oYcial mentioned earlier in the inscription (Jones). mn (fundamentally ‘from’) here as elsewhere (8: 2; 10: 23) has an explicative meaning, with a list of possible types of income; cf. Arabic: Wright 1896–8: ii. 45(g). ksp, ‘silver’. The term is also used for silver coinage (8: 8), though here the reference seems to be to the metal. The terms in the list are in the absolute state and the switch to the emphatic at the end of the line may imply coinage (so Hammond et al. 1986: 78; R. N. Jones 1989: 42, though the matter is not really clear). dhb, ‘gold’. Jewish Aramaic dahaba¯ (Jastrow 281); Nabataean p.Yad. 1: 25
CSD 84; DNWSI 306–7. (Yadin et al. 2002: 178–9); Syriac,

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

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qrbwn, ‘oVering’ (sing., but here generic). The verb qrb is often used for religious oVerings, but this is the only Nabataean occurrence of the noun (common in later Syriac: qurba¯na¯, CSD 498; Jewish Aramaic: qorba¯na¯, Jastrow 1411–12; and Arabic: qurba¯n); DNWSI 1031–2. zwn, zwna , ‘provisions’ (nominal forms of this root, ZWN, normally have a m- preWx cf. Jewish Aramaic ma¯zo¯na¯, Jastrow 754, ZWN 387; Syriac ma¯zu¯na¯, CSD 262, ZWN 113; DNWSI 308 and mzwn 608; Cowley 1923: 29–32, no. 10: 10, 17). klh, ‘all of it’, i.e. ‘any at all’ (see Fitzmyer 1979: 205–17). For kl cf. DNWSI 500–7. kspa and nh: ˇsa (‘bronze’ 37 ii 128, 128; 40: 2) are both emphatic. Hammond et al. 1986 and R. N. Jones 1989: 42 state that the emphatic indicates coinage, comparing Cowley 1923: 142–43, no. 42: 6–7, but this does not prove the point. It is however a plausible suggestion, since the switch to the emphatic and the contrast of ksp/kspa must have some signiWcance. kmrya : kmra , ‘priest’. Cf. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac ku¯mra¯ (Jastrow 621; CSD 209). The term is widely used in Aramaic: cf. DNWSI 515–16; Palmyra (28: 2; 29: 2); Syriac (63: 4 kwmrwta ); H : at:ra (74: 5); Cowley 1923: nos. 13: 15; 27: 3, 8; 30: 5 etc.; KAI 225: 1; 226: 1. In Nabataean the terms khna , kmra , and a pkla appear (Healey 2001a: 103–4). plga , ‘half’ (29: 4; 37 ii 130, 138 plgwta ). Cf. Jewish Aramaic palga¯, Jastrow 1176; Syriac pelga¯, CSD 446–7. a h: rna , ‘other’ (masc. sing.). am, ‘with’, perhaps here ‘including’. Note al used in this way in the papyri (10: 15). a klta : only here, but likely to mean ‘foods’ in the plural, subject of hwy, referring to some part of the zwna . The reading in the middle of l. 2, kryz hww, and its translation by Jones as ‘they are assigned’, entail major grammatical problems: kryz does not agree in number with the subject of hww and the perfect tense of hww would not Wt the proposed translation. Also the supposed word-order is irregular. However, on this reading, kryz would be the passive participle krz, ‘proclaim’, and it appears as a verb and in nominal derivatives in the Nabataean papyri (10: 16–18; p.Yadin 1: 24 in Yadin et al. 2002). Proclamation in the legal context appears to be a precursor to disposal of property. We prefer the reading of Yardeni 2000a: kdy hwh qdm dnh, or even better kdy hwy qdm dnh, in which hwy is 3rd fem. plural perfect of HWa /Y, ‘be’, with a klta as subject: ‘as they were before this (person)’. (Hammond et al. think the ‘before’ might be temporal, while Jones thinks dnh refers to a speciWc oYcial, the ‘he’ of l. 1). For hwy cf. Syriac hway and Jewish Aramaic hwyh (as in ATTM 1: H7: 2; ii. A 13, 15 (Genesis Apocryphon)). kdy is a common

62

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

combination of k- (‘as’) and the relative pronoun dy: 6: 4; 7: 7; 10: 9 etc.; 11: 3 etc. p- is a coordinating conjunction which introduces a subsequent action in a series, often with implied causation in conditional sentences. It is an Arabism. The Arabic equivalent, fa-, is called fa- of apodosis (Healey 1993: 76). 7: 7 etc. yth: lqwn: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect etp ael of H : LQ, ‘divide, allot’. DNWSI 378; a ATTM 1: 580, II 397–8. See 11: 5 etc. h: lq . alwhy is obscure because of the lacuna: literally ‘against him’. Certainly there is an element of blame or wrongdoing involved here (note especially pr a). For al implying blame or obligation 10: 8, 9, 29; 11: 12 etc. It is improbable and would, I think, be syntactically unique for alwhy to be joined with dy, meaning ‘against him who’ (against Jones). abd: aBD 1: 2 etc. k ayr in k ayr kl dy ala ktyb is found in the tomb inscriptions (e.g. Healey 1993: H31: 6 and 8: 7). It combines k-, ‘in accordance with’, with ayr, which is _ derived from Arabic gayr, ‘without, not’ (Healey 1993: 73–4). Literally ‘in accordance with not everything which is written above’. ala : adverb ‘above’ (Healey 1993: 74). 7: 7 etc. Cf. ATTM 1: 656; Dan. 6: 3 ae¯lla ¯; Cowley 1923: no. 13: 7, 10, etc. ktyb: p aal passive participle of KTB, ‘write’. 7: 7 etc. p-: see above, l. 2. ypr a: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of PR a, ‘pay, repay, be charged’ (10: 18; Jewish Aramaic 19: 9; ATTM 1: 671; Jastrow 1235–6; Palmyrene 37 ii 71 etc.; Syriac pra a 49: 7). mh dy: see above, l. 1. ysˇtkh: . The root is SˇKH : , used in other dialects in the ap ael (in Syriac, 47: 9, in a a modiWed form: esˇkah: ) to mean ‘Wnd’ (Jewish Aramaic, 20: 6, 10 a asˇkah: ; Palmyrene PAT glossary; Milik 1972: 310–11, rereading PAT 2769). Here we have an ettap aal form: ‘he will be found’. al: see above. ywm, ‘day’ (construct). a rb ah, ‘four’ (masc. form). Note Wnal -h in these forms where they occur. Nabataean uses the month-names current in Aramaic throughout the former Seleucid territories (see Chapter I). How the annual cycle operated (with or without intercalations) is unclear (Stern 2001: 38-42). A¯b (a a¯b in Jewish
to July/ Aramaic, Jastrow 1; Syriac CSD 1; PAT glossary etc.) corresponds August. tltyn wsˇb a, thirty-seven’ (fem. form). The thirty-seventh year of Aretas IV was 28/9 ce. For the titulature 3: 2.

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¯ NIY YA H TO M B-IN SCRIPTION 6. THE TURKMA AT P ET RA ( F IG . 1 ) This Wnely carved, calligraphic tomb-inscription is located on a beautiful tomb almost in the centre of the city of Petra, the Qabr at-Turkma¯niyyah. Unusual is the fact that it does not contain a date or name anyone as owner or donor of the tomb. On palaeographic grounds Starcky (1966: col. 931) assigned it to about 50 ce; its location among the grander monuments of Petra, most of which are from the Wrst century ce, is consistent with such a dating.

Main publications CIS ii. 350; No¨ldeke 1897; NSI no. 94; Cant. i. 3–5; Milik 1959: 555–60; Healey 1993: 238–42; Conklin 2004; Yardeni 2000a A 319; B [106]; Quellen 259–63. 1. qbra dnh ws: ryh: a rba dy bh ws: ryh: a z ayra dy gwa mnh dy bh bty mqbryn abydt gwh: yn 2. wkrka dy qdmyhm w arkwta wbtya dy bh wgnya wgnt smka wba rwt mya ws: hwta wt:wrya 3. wsˇa ryt kl a s: la dy ba trya a lh h: rm wh: rg dwsˇra a lh mra na wmwtbh h: rysˇa wa lhya klhm 4. bsˇt:ry h: rmyn kdy bhm ppqdwn dwsˇra wmwtbh wa lhya klhm dy kdy bsˇt:ry h: rmya a nw yt abd wla ytsˇna 5. wla ytps: s: mn kl dy bhm mnd am wla ytqbr bqbra dnh a nwsˇ klh lhn mn dy ktyb lh tna mqbr bsˇt:ry h: rmya a nw ad alm This tomb and the large burial-chamber within it and the small burialchamber beyond it, in which are burial-places—niche-arrangements—and the enclosure in front of them and the porticoes and structures within it [i.e. the enclosure] and the seats and triclinium-garden (?) and the wells of water and the chapel (?) and courtyards (?) and all the rest of the property which is in these places are sacred and dedicated to Dushara, the god of our lord, and his sacred throne and all the gods, through the documents of consecration according to their contents. And it is the order of Dushara and his throne and all the gods that it should be done as in the said documents of consecration and nothing of all that is in them shall be changed or removed and none shall be buried in this tomb except anyone for whom an authorization for burial has been written in the said documents of consecration for ever. The inscription is odd in not naming an owner, but it is also unusual in the details it gives regarding structures attached to the tomb. There is a partial

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parallel in Healey 1993: H1: 1, which lists kpra , bssa , and krka , ‘tomb’, ‘platform’, and ‘enclosure’. qbra , ‘tomb’ (cf. Cant. ii. 141 and see e.g. Healey 1993: 111–12, on H7: 1; Syriac qbwra , 46: 4, 6, etc.). Jastrow 1313; ATTM 1: 679; CSD 489, 487. The word is interchangeable with kpra (7: 1, 5, etc.), which is a local north Arabian word (see Healey 1993: 11–12). s: ryh: a 2: 1–2. rba , here adjective ‘great’ (masc. singular). See 9: 4; 62: 5 etc. dy bh, ‘which is in it’, i.e. inside the tomb. There are in fact three chambers in the tomb, the main one and then two others leading oV it at the back (one leading oV the other) (see illustration in CIS). z ayra , ‘small’ (cf. Biblical Aramaic z ae¯r in Dan. 7: 8 and other dialects, DNWSI 337–8; Syriac z au¯ra¯). Jewish Aramaic z ae¯r, Jastrow 407. 10: 28, 29, etc. gwa mnh, ‘inside it’. gwa , ‘interior’, is also used in the construct before a noun, as in bgw wgra in Healey 1993: H11: 2. In the present context the meaning is ‘beyond’, since the smaller chamber leads oV the larger. (Cf. Syriac gaw; 37 ii 106, 146; Jewish Aramaic gwa used as a construct: MPAT index and 10: 12; 20: 12). The emphatic state here is paralleled by the form of ala 5: 3 (see Cant. i. 99). dy introduces a relative clause elaborating on the ‘small burial-chamber’. bty mqbryn, literally ‘houses of tombs’, i.e. ‘burial chambers, burial-places’. byta 8: 9 etc. Jastrow 168: be¯ta¯, plural ba¯ttaya¯, construct plural ba¯tte¯. mqbr (inWnitive: Healey 1993: H3: 5) can mean exactly the same as qbra (above), as is clear from RES §805: 7. mqbryn is absolute plur. abydt, abydta , ‘work, product’ (9: 7; 37 i 4; Cowley 1923: no. 9: 10), strictly a passive participle used as a noun, ‘made thing’. Hence ‘work of (niches)’, in apposition to what goes before. For Jewish Aramaic a¯ıb¯ıd ta¯, Jastrow 1066.

1993: 82). It is in gwh: yn: gwh: a , ‘niche, loculus’ (absolute plur.; see Healey common use in relation to Nabataean tombs and also in Palmyrene (45: 1, gwmh: a ; PAT glossary) and Jewish Aramaic (kwka : 25: 1, on which Kutscher 1967). Note also Syriac byt gmh: a (TS col. 736). The word has an Akkadian origin: kimahu (Kaufman 1974: 64; M. Macdonald and L. Nehme´ in Dentzer et al.˘ 2002: 114–19). krka , ‘enclosure’. This occurs in a similar context in another Nabataean tomb inscription: Healey 1993: H1: 1 and also in an obscure context, possibly religious, on a Palmyrene tessera: PAT 2015. Cf. Syriac karka¯, ‘walled city’. See 62: v, 6, etc. Jastrow 669. Milik regarded the Wrst large chamber, immediately behind the fac¸ade as the krka . It is simpler to think in terms of an ‘enclosure’ outside the door over which the inscription is written. dy qdmyhm: qdm, ‘before, in front of ’, with 3rd plur. suYx. See 5: 2 qdm.

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arkwta , possibly ‘pillars, porticoes’, explained from the root aRK (cf. Hebrew:

‘arrange, set in order’, so NSI 242; Cant. ii. 134–5; DNWSI 888). It is likely that a rkh in RES §471: 1 is a variant (Healey 2001a: 79; DNWSI 109). See 16: 1. Milik read ad kwta , ‘en plus, les ouvertures’, referring to windows in the fac¸ade, but this is implausible; Knauf 1990: 176: adkwta , ‘aedicula’. btya , ‘houses, chambers’ (emphatic plur. of byta ). See above. gnya and gnt smka are diYcult. gnya was translated as ‘gardens’ by NSI 241. Milik’s ‘seats, couchettes’ is better, based on Syriac gna¯ and magnya¯ and possibly a Palmyrene tessera, PAT 2210: 1 and at H : at:ra 66: 6. ‘garden of rest’ is suggested for gnt smka (gnta , ‘garden’, 10: 14; 11: 5; etc.; DNWSI 228–9; and Syriac sma¯ka¯, ‘banquet, feasting’, and gny bsmka in TS col. 2662). Hence ‘triclinium-garden’. Syriac sma¯k- a¯ is used in similar contexts in Bible translation: TS col. 2662. ba rwt mya , ‘wells of water’ (Cant. ii. 5, 70; ATTM 1: 528; Jastrow 136, 165). The ending -wt is odd: perhaps a plural bı¯rwa¯t (Syriac bı¯rawa¯ta¯, Brockelmann
of a¯ > o¯ (see
Ch. II). For mya 1928: 56) but Cant. i. 92 has it as an example 11: 3 etc. s: hwta : 4: 2, there in the context of ancestral cult. Some architectural term is implied. Milik: ‘les parois de rocher’. t:wrya could theoretically be ‘mountains’ (cf. Syriac t:u¯ra¯), but a built item is again better. Hence Cantineau has ‘surrounding walls’ (cf. NSI 242; Cant. ii. 101; Arabic t:u¯r/t:awr, ‘yard of a house’, Lane 1890, etc.). ˇsa ryt, ‘remainder, rest’, also in Nabataean in JS I: no. 57: 1 and possibly RES §2025. Jewish Aramaic 19: 7; Jastrow 1509, 1561 (various forms); DNWSI 1099; Cowley 1923: no. 30: 11. as: la was previously obscure, though ‘property’ was guessed at on the basis of Arabic as: l, ‘root, landed property’ (NSI 243; Cant. ii. 64). The word now occurs in idioms in p.Yadin 1: 7, 22, 36 meaning ‘the property itself and its produce’, contrasting the two in a legal context. Yadin et al. 2002: 188–9 translate it as ‘roots and branches’ (a s: l wpr a) and ‘roots and fruits’. This conWrms the etymology and meaning ‘property’ even though the Arabic seemed a little remote. a trya : a tra 1: 1. a lh, ‘these’ (see a ln in 1: 1). h: rm wh: rg dwsˇra is the predicate describing all the listed property—they are h: rm wh: rg. For h: rm see Healey 1993: H1: 3; 8: 8; 19: 2 and p. 72. The word occurs a number of times referring to the inviolability of tombs. It is best understood (cf. Cant. ii. 99; DNWSI 405) as a noun, ‘consecrated thing’. In Syriac we have h: erma¯, ‘banned thing’, and h: arma¯, ‘banned’ (adjective). The syntax is a little uncertain depending on whether a noun or an adjective is understood, but the meaning is little aVected. If h: rm is a noun it is in the

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construct form before the name Dushara (despite the separation from it). h: rg means similarly ‘prohibited’ or ‘prohibited thing’ (Arabic h: araj, h: arija). Note the possible restoration of h: ryg in a H : egra inscription (Healey 1993: 201–2, on H30: 4, 6) and also mh: rm for ‘banned’ in H19: 3. The genitive relation would mean ‘sacred to’ or ‘in his sacred possession’. There follows a short list of deities. Dushara, the main Nabataean god (2: 3 etc.), is described as a lh mra na , ‘god of our lord (the king)’ (mra , ‘lord’, with 1st plur. suYx). The locution involved can be seen in Healey 1993: H1: 8: mra na h: rtt. The dynastic royal god is also to be noted in other inscriptions (Healey 2001a: 154). mwtbh (also l. 4 and 7: 4): mwtba , ‘his throne’ (Healey 1993: 156–8). There has been much discussion of this, but ‘throne’ is certainly the meaning and the idea of the separate veneration of the throne or base on which Dushara’s image was placed Wnds some support in other sources (Healey 2001a: 96–7). Cf. Syriac mawtba¯; Jewish Aramaic mo¯t ba¯ (Jastrow 752).
Milik 1959: 560), but

a masc. adjective h: rysˇa , not a name (against, e.g., describing the mwtba as ‘protected, holy’ (cf. Arabic h: arasa, ‘guard’, Arabic mah: ru¯s and DNWSI 408). a lhya , ‘gods’. (2: 3 etc.). Note that this text suggests the elements of a pantheon (Healey 2001a: 80–5). b- in bsˇt:ry means ‘through’. ˇst:ry: ˇst:ra , ‘document’ (Healey 1993: H20: 5; 27: 3; Cowley 1923: no. 81: 5 etc.; 10: 2 etc.; Syriac ˇst:a¯ra¯, 62: iv, 6 etc.; Palmyrene 37 i 8). Construct plural. h: rmyn: see h: rma above, here absolute plur. The phrase means ‘documents related to consecrated things’ (Parrot 1939: 85). kdy: 5: 2. p-: 5: 2 etc. pqdwn was at Wrst and frequently translated as ‘order’ (NSI 241; Cant. ii. 5, 137), though a proposal by Milik to translate it rather as ‘responsibility, charge’ (Milik 1959: 556, followed by Healey 1993: 238) has subsequently been widely accepted. It is accepted by Nehme´ in her publication of a new inscription containing an identical formula (2003a: 224–32). However, as is well demonstrated by Conklin (2004), it is better to stick to the older translation as ‘order’. What is at issue is a responsibility which Dushara imposes, not one that is placed on his shoulders. Conklin also introduces new suggestions as to the syntax of what follows. He suggests that dy kdy . . .a nw is a relative clause with the ‘command’ as the antecedent: ‘the order . . . which is in accordance with . . .’. pqdwn becomes the subject of the verb yt abd (rather than an undeWned ‘it’ as in ‘it should be done’). Against this is the word-order, with the fronting of pqdwn: pyt abd pqdwn would be much more natural. We therefore here retain the more

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67

traditional syntactical interpretation taking the dy to introduce the indirect command: ‘it is the order of Dushara . . . that it should be done’ (possible inexact parallels in Peshitta 1 John 3: 11; 4: 22.), though it has to be admitted that kdy . . . a nw is rather oddly placed before yt abd. pqdwna : Jewish Aramaic puqda¯na¯, piqdo¯na¯ (Jastrow 1145, 1207); Syriac puqda¯na¯ (CSD 438). kdy b-, ‘as in . . .’. a nw: plur. demonstrative, cf. Biblical Aramaic a innu¯n (HALOT 1817–18), Syriac a enı¯n; ATTM 1: 563. See Morgenstern 1999: 138*. Here, as often in the inscriptions and papyri, the demonstratives are used to refer to ‘the said, the aforementioned (person or thing)’ (Cant. i. 60). 10: 12, 13. yt abd: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect etp ael of aBD, ‘do’ (1: 2 etc.), with la , ‘not’. ytsˇna : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect etpa aal of SˇNa /Y (see Healey 1993: 141 on H12: 8; 12: 7; 11: 14, 38). The verb is used in the pa ael in Jewish Aramaic and Syriac (sˇan(n)ı¯) (Cant. ii. 152). Jastrow 1606. ytps: s: : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect etp ael (or etpa aal) of PS: S: (cf. Healey 1993: 241; Conklin 2004: ‘will be undone’). It is probably an Arabism (NSI 213): ‘be divided, removed’ (Cant. ii. 137: infas: s: a, istafas: s: a, Lane 2402). mn kl dy, literally ‘from all which’. mnd am, ‘anything’ (11: 7, 28; Palmyrene 17 i 5, 8 etc. md an/m, cf. PAT glossary; Syriac medem; Hatran md an 68: 8). Note dissimilation in the intrusive /n/ (see Ch. II). This on our interpretation is the subject of yt abd and ytps: s: . la mnd am means ‘nothing’. ytqbr: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of QBR, ‘bury’; 7: 6 etc. DNWSI 983–4. qbra : see above, l. 1. a nwsˇ, ‘man, anyone’ (Healey 1993: 89). Cf. Biblical Aramaic a ena¯ˇs (kt¯ıb: a nwsˇ),
a Syriac (a )na¯ˇsa¯; HALOT 1818–19. The spelling with /w/ appears to
indicate shift of /a¯/ to /o¯/ (Cant. i. 47–8) and is found in a number of other words. (See Ch. II.) klh: kl with pronoun referring to the accompanying noun, a nwsˇ, regular in all branches of Aramaic (Fitzmyer 1979: 214–15). lhn, ‘except’ (cf. Biblical Aramaic, Elephantine la¯he¯n). Cf. HALOT 1907–8. mn dy, ‘whoever’ 7: 4, 5 etc. Jewish Aramaic ATTM 1: 625–6; Syriac man d- (CSD 280). ktyb: 5: 3. tna , ‘agreement, contract, permission’, apparently construct (root TNa /Y), otherwise only in CIS ii. 69 (Syriac tanway; Jewish Aramaic tna¯a a¯/tnaay, Jastrow 1679; Cant. ii. 157; 63: 17). mqbr: see above, l. 1. ˇst:ry h: rmya : see above, l. 4. a nw: see above, l. 4.

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ad alm, ‘for ever’ (Cant. ii. 127). See 8: 3; 11: 10 etc., and see also l alm 63: 11 etc. and l almyn 11: 9.

7. THE KAMKAM TOMB-INSCRIPTION FROM H : EGRA DAT ED 1 b ce / c e ( FI G. 2, PL. 1 ) This is the inscription on the exterior of monumental tomb B 19/IGN 39 at Mada¯’in S: a¯lih: /H : egra. Like the other inscriptions in the same group it is legal in character.

Main publications CIS ii. 198; JS I: no. 16; NSI no. 80; Cant. ii. 26–8; Healey 1993: H16, pp. 154–62; Quellen 310–12. 1. dnh kpra dy abdw kmkm brt wa lt brt h: rmw 2. wklybt brth lnpsˇhm wa h: rhm byrh: t:bt ˇsnt 3. tsˇ a lh: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: m amh wyl an dwsˇra 4. wmwtbh wa lt mn amnd wmnwtw wqysˇh mn yzbn 5. kpra dnh aw mn yzbn aw yrhn aw yntn yth aw ynpq 6. mnh gt aw ˇslw aw mn yqbr bh ayr kmkm wbrth 7. wa h: rhm wmn dy la y abd kdy ala ktyb pa yty amh 8. ldwsˇra whblw wlmnwtw ˇsmdyn 5 wla pkla qns 9. sl ayn a lp h: rty bl ad mn dy ynpq bydh ktb mn yd 10. kmkm aw klybt brth bkpra hw pqym ktba hw 11. whba lhy br abd abdt 12. abd This is the tomb which Kamkam daughter of Wa¯a ilat daughter of H : aramu and Kulaybat, her daughter, made for themselves and their descendants. In the month of T: e¯be¯t, the ninth year of H : aretat, King of the Nabataeans, lover of his people. And may Dushara and his throne and Alla¯t of aAmnad and Mano¯tu and (her?) Qaysha curse anyone who sells this tomb or who buys it or gives it in pledge or makes a gift of it or removes from it body or limb or who buries in it anyone other than Kamkam and her daughter and their descendants. And whoever does not act according to what is written above shall be liable to Dushara and Hubalu and to Mano¯tu in the sum of 5 shamads and to the exorcist-priest for a Wne of a thousand sela as, H : aretite, except that whoever produces in his hand a document from the hand of Kamkam or Kulaybat, her daughter, regarding this tomb, the said document shall be valid. Wahballahi son of aAbd aobodat made it.

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kpra, ‘tomb’. This is particularly common at H : egra (8: 1 etc.) and probably a loan from Lih: yanite or Arabic (NSI 219; Healey 1993: 69), though Arabic kafr normally means ‘village’. kpra occurs in one of the early Syriac inscriptions (47: 7). dnh, ‘this’ (1: 1; 2: 2). dy, ‘which’. abdw: 3rd common plur. perfect p aal of aBD. 1: 2. The name Kamkam appears only here (al-Khraysheh 1986: 101). The name of the daughter, Wa¯a ilat, is more common and occurs both as a male and a female name (al-Khraysheh: 65; note also walw, 54–65). In Syriac inscriptions wal appears several times (50: 2 etc.). These names are hypocoristics: ‘she who takes refuge in DN’ (see OSI 80–1). Her grandmother was called H : aramu, again a hypocoristic: ‘devoted to DN’ (al-Khraysheh: 91–2). Finally Kamkam’s daughter is called Kulaybat, a diminutive based on klbt, ‘bitch’ (cf. also klbw, klybw: al-Khraysheh: 100). It is notable here that the tomb was made by a woman and her daughter and the woman gives her genealogy through the female line. brth: 3: 5. npsˇhm: npsˇa , ‘self ’, (with 3rd common plur. suYx) 8: 1 etc. and Syriac 46: 4 etc. a h: rhm, a h: ra , ‘descendants’ (collective). See 8: 2, etc., and Healey 1993: 116–17. Here it is used vaguely: sometimes it appears to exclude one’s own children (e.g., Healey 1993: H10: 1). For the dating formula 3: 5–6; 4: 4. The month is T: e¯be¯t, corresponding approximately to December/January. The ninth year of Aretas IV (whose titulature identiWes him) began in 1 bce and ended in 1 ce. For the titulature 3: 2 etc. a yl n: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect pe aal of L aN, ‘curse’, eVectively a jussive here. The verb is an Arabism (both verb and derived noun occur in the tomb texts: Healey 1993: 73, on H1: 4; 2: 4; 8: 5, etc., and cf. JS I: no. 17). Note the singular verb despite the following list of subjects. dwsˇra : 2: 3. mwtbh: 6: 3. a lt is the name of the Arabian goddess Alla¯t, who was popular in certain areas of Nabataea (Ramm and the H : awra¯n), though her name does not appear at Petra, where she may have been venerated under the name of al- aUzza¯ (Healey 2001a: 108–14). Here she is associated with an unknown location, aAmnad, though other inscriptions link her with S: al had (17) and Bos: ra¯ in the H : awra¯n and with Iram (Wa¯dı¯ Ramm). The reading could be corrected to amnr or amnw ( aAmma¯n?). mnwtw is the goddess known in early Islamic tradition as Mana¯t (Qura an 53: 20–1; Healey 2001a: 132–6). Her name appears in Nabataean only in texts from northern Arabia, where she Ð

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is linked with Dushara. The vocalization of her name in Nabataean may be /mano¯tu/ (Healey 1993: 118–19). qysˇh (in the light of qysˇa in 8: 9; also Healey 1993: H8: 5) appears to be suYxed: ‘her qysˇa ’, though there is no clear etymology of the word as a common noun. The qysˇa might be a symbol or piece of equipment belonging to Mano¯tu (cf. dwsˇra wmwtbh, a lt wwgrh in an inscription from the H : awra¯n, Milik 1958: 227–31, no. 1: 2, probably ‘Alla¯t and her stele’). Starcky (1966: col. 1001) and others connected the word with Arabic QYS, ‘measure’, and understood the qysˇa as the measuring instrument of Mano¯tu (bearing in mind that Mano¯tu may be goddess of fate). On this basis byt qysˇa in 8: 9 would be ‘house of measurement’. However, it may be simpler to regard qysˇh as a simple variant spelling of qysˇa as a divine name and byt qysˇa as his temple. mn yzbn is clear from the context: ‘whoever sells’ (for zbn—pa ael, cf. Syriac zab(b)en: CSD 109; Jastrow 379—cf. DNWSI 303–5), but note the omission of dy from the more correct Aramaic mn dy. The omission is an Arabism (No¨ldeke in Euting 1885: 79). 12: 7. The verbal root ZBN appears twice because it means ‘sell’ in the pa ael and ‘buy’ in the p aal. Selling is the most likely forbidden action in relation to the tomb (Healey 1993: 74). aw, ‘or’. yrhn: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of RHN, ‘give in pledge’ (Healey 1993: 121). 11: 9, 31. This verb is an alternative to the Aramaic verb msˇkn, which has the same meaning and is sometimes used in Nabataean (10: 11 and Healey 1993: H1: 5, etc.) and is always used in the other Aramaic dialects (e.g., the Syriac parchments: see OSI P3 iii, 8). RHN is to be regarded as an Arabism, though it does occur very occasionally in other forms of Aramaic (Healey 1993: 121). yntn: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of NTN, ‘give’. The retention of the initial root-letter /n/ (contrast Hebrew, Syriac, etc.) has been explained in diVerent ways: as a historical spelling, as a reXection of a very archaic unassimilated form, or as the result of secondary dissimilation (see Ch. II). Note also the example of ynpq from NPQ below. yth: yt, with 3rd masc. sing. suYx, is the accusative marker (see Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1894), Jewish Aramaic (19: 4 etc.), rarely in Palmyrene (33: 4). There are a few examples of pronouns being added directly to Nabataean verbs (e.g., h: dth, ‘he restored it’ in CIS ii. 349: 3 and 11: 49). ynpq: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect ap ael (for retained /n/ see above) from NPQ, ‘go out’, hence ‘remove’. 10: 2 etc. In the legal context ‘produce a document’ (see l. 9 and 10: 2).

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gt aw ˇslw is clearly an Arabic phrase (cf. juttah, ‘body, corpse’, Lane 379, and ˇsilw, ‘corpse, remains of a body’, Lane 1592–3), thus ‘body and limb’, meaning ‘any human remains at all’ (Healey 1993: 159). Only gt occurs elsewhere in Nabataean: Nehme´ 2003a: 212–16, MP16: 4; 224, MP325.1: 1 and 2: 1, referring to bodies in tombs. mn: see above, l. 4. yqbr: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of QBR, ‘bury’. 6: 5. ayr: 4: 3. mn dy: note the full Aramaic phrase here with dy, by contrast with its omission in l. 4: ‘whoever . . .’ y abd: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of aBD, ‘do, make’ (l. 1 above). kdy: literally ‘in accordance with what . . .’. See 5: 2. ala ktyb: 5: 3. p-: 5: 2. ayty amh l-. The idiom here means literally ‘there is with him to . . .’ and it expresses obligation or liability: ‘he has a liability to . . . , he is liable to . . .’ (Healey 1993: 76). For ayty, ‘there is’, cf. Biblical Aramaic a¯ıtay; Syriac a¯ıt .
H31: 7; 34:
The preposition am is sometimes replaced by al (cf. Healey 1993: 11). See 5: 3 for al implying obligation and 21: 5 for a very similar usage in Jewish Aramaic law. For the deities Dushara and Mano¯tu, see above. Hubalu is added. This divine name is only with certainty found here in Nabataean, but he is well known as a deity of pre-Islamic Mecca (Healey 2001a: 127–32). The failure to repeat the l- before his name is probably accidental, though it might imply a special link with Dushara. ˇsmdyn is apparently the absolute plur. of ˇsmda (sˇmra is also possible). There is no satisfactory etymology, since Syriac ˇsma¯d a¯, ‘curse’, cannot really help
of currency or quantity is here (against NSI and others), and some unit clearly required (Healey 1993: 159–60). Part of the diYculty is the numeral 5 (written as a cipher), which is low compared with other Wnes, which are expressed in hundreds and thousands. This low number suggests the value of the ˇsmda would be at least the equivalent of 100 sela as. a pkla , ‘afkal-priest’, frequent in Nabataean (Healey 1993: 160–3). The word is an Akkadian loan (apkallu, ultimately Sumerian: Kaufman 1974: 34), but has passed into many other languages (Palmyrene 41: 2; Hatran 71: 4; Sabaic, etc.), including early Arabic (afkal). DNWSI 95–6. qns: qnsa , ‘Wne’, appears here and in 8: 8. It is a loan from Greek ŒB (see GreenWeld 1974b: 75–6), but it occurs in Targumic Aramaic as qna¯sa¯, Jastrow 1393–4 (Healey 1993: 162). Although No¨ldeke (in Euting 1885) doubted whether it was a Greek loan because ŒB means ‘census’, in Matt. 17: 25 it refers clearly to a tax and this Wts well in the present context.

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sl ayn: sl aa , ‘sela a, drachma’, is a speciWc Nabataean silver coin, the main unit of currency. For Jewish Aramaic see 21: 6. The word appears rarely in Palmyrene: PAT glossary. The meaning diVers in diVerent languages but in Targumic Aramaic it is the equivalent of the ˇseqel (cf. also Syriac sal aa¯) (see DNWSI 788; Weiser and Cotton 1996: 268–78; Yadin et al. 2002: 9–10). a lp, ‘thousand’ (common gender). h: rty is indeclinable, an absolute, eVectively indicating the character of the coinage (comparable to ‘sterling’ in ‘pounds sterling’) (No¨ldeke in Euting 1885: 32). In form it is a nisbah-type adjective from the royal name H : aretat (h: rtt), probably Aretas III (84–60 bce): ‘of Aretas’, but it never agrees with sl ayn, being used as an absolute singular (Healey 1993: 78). On the pronunciation of h: rtt as /h: a¯rita/ (fem. ending as in Arabic represented in
ha¯ritah > ha¯rit¯ı) see 1: 2. The reference is writing by -t, nisbah formation : : to a particular type of coin or silver
standard.
bl ad: here and 8: 6, as in Elephantine bl ady and Syriac bel aa¯d , Hebrew bil aad e¯,

‘except, without’ (DNWSI 167). bydh, ‘in his hand’ (yda , ‘hand’). yd in the following phrase is construct. ktb, ktba , ‘document, book’ (absolute and indeWnite: Cant. i. 110). See here l. 10; 8: 7; Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 679; Syriac kta¯ba¯.

bkpra , ‘regarding the tomb’ (kpra above). hw: demonstrative, here, as elsewhere (see above) in legal contexts meaning ‘the said (tomb which is being discussed)’. See 10: 2, 5 etc. p-: 5: 2. qym (here and in other H : egra texts, Healey 1993: H8: 3; 19: 6), ‘valid, legitimate, Wrm, enduring’ (adjective) (DNWSI 1008; see also in Qumran Hebrew: Benoit et al. 1961: no. 24 C18, D19, E14). qym al PN means ‘It is incumbent upon PN, PN is obliged with’. Jewish Aramaic qayya¯m, Jastrow 1359; Healey 1993: H9: 5; 12: 5. Root QWM. The inscription ends (like many from H : egra) with the name of the mason: Wahballahi (al-Khraysheh 1986: 67–8; 14: 1) son of aAbd aobodat (alKhraysheh: 131; 8: 10 etc.). These names are traditional names among the mason families of H : egra (see Healey 1993: 290).

8. THE H : ALAFU TOMB-INSCRIPTION F RO M H : EGRA DATED 31/2 c e This is another of the Mada¯’in S: a¯lih: tomb-inscriptions, located on the fac¸ade of tomb E 18/IGN 93. It is noteworthy for its reference to an archival copy of the inscription, which is legal in character.

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Main publications CIS ii. 209; JS I: no. 36; NSI no. 89; Cant. ii. 33–35; Healey 1993: 226–31, H36; Quellen 322–3. 1. dnh kpra dy abd h: lpw br qsntn lnpsˇh wlsˇ aydw brh 2. wa h: why mh dy ytyld lh: lpw dnh mn dkryn wlbnyhm wa h: rhm 3. a s: dq ba s: dq ad alm wdy ytqbrwn bkpra dnh wldh ˇs aydw dnh 4. wmnw at ws: nkw wrybmt wa myt wsˇlymt bnt h: lpw dnh wla rsˇy 5. a nwsˇ klh mn ˇs aydw wa h: why dkryn wbnyhm wa h: rhm dy yzbn kpra dnh 6. aw yktb mwhbh aw ayrh la nwsˇ klh bl ad hn yktb h: d mnhm la ntth 7. aw lbnth aw lnsˇyb aw lh: tn ktb lmqbr blh: d wmn y abd k ayr dnh payty 8. amh qns ldwsˇra a lh m[ra na ks]p sl ayn h: msˇ ma h h: rty 9. wlmra na kwt knsh: t dnh yhyb[ta bb]yt qysˇa byrh: nysn ˇsnt a rb ayn 10. lh: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: m amh rwma w abd abdt pslya This is the tomb which H : alafu son of Qosnatan made for himself and for Su aaydu, his son, and his brothers, whatever male children may be born to this H : alafu, and for their sons and their descendants by hereditary title for ever. And his descendants may be buried in this tomb: the said Su aaydu and Manu aat and S: anaku and Ribamat and Umayyat and Salimat, daughters of the said H : alafu. And none at all of Su aaydu and his brothers, (i.e.) the male (children), and their sons and their descendants has the right to sell this tomb or write a deed of gift or anything else for anyone at all, except if one of them writes for his wife or for his daughters or for a father-in-law or for a son-inlaw a document for burial only. And anyone who does other than this will be liable for a Wne to Dushara the god of our lord in the sum of Wve hundred sela as, H : aretite, and to our lord similarly, according to the copy of this deposited in the temple of Qaysha. In the month of Nı¯sa¯n, the fortieth year of H : aretat, King of the Nabataeans, lover of his people. Ru¯ma and aAbd aobodat, the masons. kpra : 7: 1. abd: 1: 2. For the name H : alafu (transliteration assuming pronunciation of etymological p as /f/ as in Arabic) cf. al-Khraysheh 1986: 84; see also h: lypw (83), h: lpa lhy (84)) (a hypocoristic). His father’s name, Qosnatan (‘Qos has given’), is interesting because it is based on the name of the Edomite god Qos (alKhraysheh: 161 and cf. qws adr, 158), who enjoyed a certain popularity in Nabataea, especially at Khirbet Tannu¯r (Healey 2001a: 126–27). npsˇh: 7: 2. H : alafu’s son is Su aaydu (written with {sˇ}, for s ), the name being a diminutive of ˇs adw and appearing in Greek form as ÆØ
. Sa adu, a name still in use

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in Arabic, means ‘luck’. There are several Nabataean derivatives (alKhraysheh 1986: 180–3; cf. ˇs adt 3: 3). a h: why: a h: ya , ‘brothers’, with 3rd masc. sing. suYx. 1: 4. The word could be singular, since a h: a , along with a ba , as in other dialects, adds a link-vowel before the pronoun suYx (cf. Jewish Aramaic Stevenson 1962: 38, Syriac a ah: u¯(h)y). There is only one son at the time of writing, but more may be born in the future: the ‘his’ refers to the son. mh dy, ‘whatever’, introduces an indeWnite relative clause, 5: 1. ytyld: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect etp ael (Jewish Aramaic a tylyd, Stevenson 1962: 64, Syriac a et¯ıled ) of YLD, ‘bear’, hence ‘will be born’. See 26: 14.

‘from males’ (dkra in masc. plur. absolute form; see also mn dkryn, literally Healey 1993: H12: 6; Jewish Aramaic dik- ra¯ and Syriac dek- ra¯). The mn is explicative as in Arabic; see Wright 1896–8: ii. 48(g). Cf. also l. 5 and 5: 1. Note the restriction to male descendants (though there is subsequently provision for exception). bnyhm, ‘their sons’ (probably ‘sons’ rather than ‘children’ in view of the restriction to males). a h: rhm: 7: 2. a s: dq ba s: dq. This is a recurrent legal phrase (cf. Healey 1993: 91–2, on H3: 6 etc.; 10: 20, 21). The precise legal meaning is not clear, but the word a s: dq clearly derives from S: DQ, ‘be righteous, just’. Since the word appears in Lih: yanite inscriptions, with a form like that of the Arabic elative (af aal), and is not found in normal Aramaic, it is assumed to be an Arabism. It appears in the Nabataean legal formulary of one of the Nah: al H : ever documents: 10: 20: a nh a l azr dnh a s: dq wyrt nyqrks a by (cf. also l. 21). Here a s: dq and yrt, ‘heir’, appear to be synonyms, as also in Healey 1993: H19: 3. Derived forms of the root also appear: s: dq in 11: 5, 25 etc. (‘entitlement’), s: dyq in 10: 1 (‘legal heir’). The full phrase a s: dq ba s: dq probably means ‘legitimate heir after legitimate heir’, i.e. ‘by hereditary title’ or ‘succession’. ad alm, ‘until eternity’. See 6: 5. dy here and elsewhere introduces a jussive stipulation (see Healey 1993: H4: 6; 13: 2; 20: 2), here allowing H : alafu’s daughters to be buried in the tomb. It is as if preceded by ‘It is decided that . . .’. See 19: 4; 10: 20 and discussion by Naveh in Yadin et al. 2002: 382. ytqbrwn: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect etp ael of QBR. 7: 6. wldh. The reading here is uncertain: wldh gives the fewest problems. (The stone appears to have wldyh, see Healey 1993: 226–7: alternatives wldyhm or wldhm.) wlda is a collective for ‘children’. 12: 9. The form, with initial w, is an Arabism: both wld and yld appear in Nabataean (Healey 1993: H1: 2 yld; 10: 1 wld).

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The female children are listed with his son: mnw at (al-Khraysheh 1986: 109); s: nkw (not otherwise attested); rybmt (165); a myt (39; diminutive of a mt, ‘handmaid’); ˇslymt (175; diminutive, cf. Arabic Sulaym, diminutive of Salam, ‘acacia’). bnt, ‘daughters of . . .’ (construct plur. of brta ). Jewish Aramaic and Syriac bna¯t . la rsˇy,
‘he is not permitted, empowered’. rsˇy is an adjective (plur. rsˇyn; cf. Healey 1993: 88–9—in origin a passive participle?) from the root RSˇa /Y, used as a verb meaning ‘have power’ (p aal), ‘permit’ (pa ael) (cf. Jastrow 1500; DNWSI 1086–7). Note also the Jewish Aramaic rasˇˇsaay, ‘having power’ (Jastrow 1498). la rsˇy corresponds to la ˇslyt: in Egyptian Aramaic (Cowley 1923: no. 9: 6 etc.) and Syriac (63: 11, 15). According to Gropp (Gropp et al. 2001: 39–40) ˇsallı¯t: is the older form, later replaced by rasˇˇsay. Note also DNWSI 1143–4; Healey 1993: 88–9. See also related nominal forms of rsˇy in 11: 5, 15, 16, 25, 39, 40; p.Yadin 4: 18 (Yadin et al. 2002); Jewish Aramaic, 21: 5, 6, 9, etc. a nwsˇ klh: 6: 5. mn: see l. 2 above. a h: why: see l. 2 above. dkryn: see l. 2 above. a h: rhm: see l. 2 above. dy near the end of l. 5 introduces an indirect statement. yzbn: 7: 4. yktb: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of KTB, ‘write’. 5: 3. mwhbh, mwhbta , ‘gift, deed of gift’ (here fem. absolute; see Healey 1993: 98– 9). Jewish Aramaic mo¯habta¯, Jastrow 739; Syriac mawhabta¯, CSD 256.
‘its other thing’: 5: 3. The suYx
ayrh, ‘anything else’, literally is fem. sing., referring to mwhbta . bl ad: 7: 9. hn, ‘if ’ (see 11: 14 etc.; Palmyrene 37 ii 6 etc.; Syriac a en 49: 8 etc.). h: d mnhm, ‘one from them’ (numeral h: ad , ‘one’). a ntth: a ntta , ‘wife, woman’ (cf. 13: 3 a tth;
Palmyrene a tta , 37 ii 48), with 3rd sing pronoun suYx: ‘his wife’. The spelling in 13: 3 and the Palmyrene spelling and the Syriac a a(n)tta¯ (linea occultans with the n) suggest the Nabataean spelling with {n} is either archaic or a historical spelling similar to the Syriac. In the Syriac inscriptions we Wnd both a ntt and a tt. See 21: 12 a n[tt]. (See also Ch. II.) bnth: fem. plur. with 3rd masc. sing. suYx: ‘his daughters’. nsˇyb, only here, is another Arabism, explained from Arabic nası¯b, ‘relation, kinsman’, here, as in modern Arabic, a kinsman by marriage, hence ‘fatherin-law’, since it is followed by h: tn, ‘son-in-law’ (also only here, and

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comparable with Jewish Aramaic h: atna¯: Jastrow 514; Syriac h: atna¯, ‘son-in
hatan).
law, brother-in-law’ (CSD 164) (Arabic ˘ a ktb, ktb : 7: 9. mqbr, probably a noun, ‘burial’, rather than an inWnitive: mqbra 6: 1. blh: d, ‘only’ (Jewish Aramaic bilh: o¯d, Jastrow 702; Syriac: balh: u¯d ). Only burial
(not other rights).
can be the subject of an exception mn, ‘whoever’: 7: 4. k ayr: 5: 3. p-: 5: 2. ayty amh: 7: 7. qns: 7 : 8. dwsˇra a lh mra na : 2: 3; 6: 3. ksp: 5: 1; 10: 9; 11: 8–9 etc. It appears to mean ‘the sum of money’, probably to be understood as absolute (‘in silver’, DNWSI 524–6), though it has been interpreted as construct in Jewish Aramaic in similar expressions of price: MPAT index; cf. ATTM 1: 608. 21: 5–6. a sl yn: 7: 9. h: msˇ ma h, ‘Wve hundred’ (h: msˇ in fem. form). h: rty: 7: 9. mra na : 6: 3. Here the reference is to the king or the royal treasury. kwt, ‘similarly’: 11: 11; also 30: 6 in Palmyrene, Syriac akwa¯t (CSD 15); Jewish
kwt must mean Aramaic kwa¯t (Jastrow 626). Despite Yadin et al. 2002: 116
‘in a similar amount’ at least in the present context. k-, ‘in accordance with’. 5: 3. nsh: t, nsh: ta , ‘copy’ (construct before dnh). The word occurs in various forms in Mandaic, Syriac, etc., but is a loan from Akkadian: nishu, nisihtu, ‘excerpt, ˘ ˘ 78). Only oYcial copy’ (see Healey 1993: 229–30; CDA 255; Kaufman 1974: here in Nabataean. yhyb: passive participle of the p aal of YHB, ‘give, place’. (Although the feminine form is required, note that the fem. emphatic ending would barely have Wtted into the lacuna and the b of yhyb looks Wnal.) byt qysˇa , ‘the temple of Qaysha’: 7: 4. byta , ‘house’, is widely used with the meaning ‘temple’: DNWSI 156–63, especially 159: 64: 5 etc. at H : at:ra. This detail about the copy is particularly important. It proves that the tomb texts existed as legal documents placed in an archive. Cf. in Syriac 63: 19. The month of Nı¯sa¯n corresponds approximately to March/April. a rb ayn, ‘forty’. The fortieth year of Aretas IV was 31/2 ce. For his title 3: 2. Again the masons are named: Ru¯ma (al-Khraysheh 1986: 165) and aAbd aobodat (131; 7: 11 etc.).

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pslya , psla , ‘masons, stone-cutters’, common in Nabataean (Healey 1993: 93; Jewish Aramaic psal, Jastrow 1197–8; Syriac pa¯so¯la¯, CSD 451 and the root is widespread in Semitic).

9. THE MADEBA INSCRIPTIONS (37/8 ce ) There are two almost identical copies of this inscription from Madeba (Vatican Museums and Louvre). One may have been placed out of sight of the other, perhaps inside the tomb referred to.

Main publications CIS ii. 196 (Vatican text); Clermont-Ganneau 1906a; NSI no. 96; RES §674; Cant. ii. 44–5; J. Starcky, in Home`s-Fredericq 1980: 76–7; Healey 1993: 247–8; Yardeni 2000a: A 317; B [105]; Quellen 210–12. 1. da mqbrta wtrty npsˇta dy [ al]a 2. mnh dy abd abd abdt a srtga 3. laytybl a srtga a bwhy wlaytybl 4. rb msˇryta dy blh: ytw w abrta br abd abdt 5. a srtga dnh bbyt ˇslt:wnhm dy ˇslt:w 6. zmnyn tryn ˇsnyn tltyn wsˇt al ˇsny h: rtt 7. mlk nbt:w rh: m amh w abydta dy 8. ala abydt bsˇnt a rb ayn wsˇt lh This is the tomb and the two funeral monuments above it which aAbd aobodat the governor made for ¯Itaybe¯l the governor, his father, and for ¯Itaybe¯l the camp commandant who is in Luh: ¯ıtu and aAbarta, son of the said aAbd aobodat the governor, in the territory of their rule, which they exercised twice for thirty-six years during the time of H : aretat, King of the Nabataeans, lover of his people. And the above work was executed in his forty-sixth year. da , ‘this’ (fem. equivalent of dnh, 11: 5 etc. Cf. Palmyrene dh, 29: 5 etc.). mqbrta , ‘tomb’, the fem. form of mqbra (6: 1); cf. DNWSI 678; RES §1090 (Sı¯ a); CIS ii. 181 (Bos: ra¯); Palmyrene PAT 0527, which refers to burial-places within a tomb. trty, trtyn, ‘two’, here in the construct form before the numbered noun (fem.). npsˇta , npsˇa (plur. emphatic). Apart from meaning ‘self’ (7: 2 etc.), the noun is used for ‘funeral monument’ (13: 1, restored; DNWSI 748). A Greek version is ÅE (RES §1093: 1 from Sı¯ a). A npsˇa had a distinctive pyramidal

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shape among the Nabataeans: engraved npsˇta are found inside and outside tombs at Petra, but the physical arrangements referred to in this inscription are unknown. ala mn, ‘above’ (5: 3 and Dan. 6: 3; Palmyrene l al mn, 40: 2; 37 ii 68, 42). The suYx on mnh is fem. sing. abd: 1: 2, etc. aAbd aobodat (7: 11 for the name) is described as a srtga , ‘strategos, governor’ (also ll. 3 and 5; 10: 35; 11: 3, 21), and he built the tomb for his father, also a strategos. The Greek loan a srtga appears many times in Nabataean (Healey 1993: 108), having been used in Ptolemaic Egypt as the title of military governors. Cf. Jewish Aramaic a st:rt: ygws, Jastrow 92; Palmyrene a st:rt:ga , 33: 2. The father’s name is ¯Itaybe¯l (al-Khraysheh 1986: 31; cf. Palmyrene Stark 1971: 4, 67), possibly meaning ‘Be¯l exists’. a bwhy, ‘his father’: 8: 2 a h: why. There was a second dedicant, also called ¯Itaybe¯l, son of the dedicator. The sharing of names by grandfather and grandson (papponymy) was a common feature in this area at this period (and later). rb msˇryta . For rb, rba , ‘great, great one, chief, head’ 6: 1. For msˇryta , ‘camp’, Palmyrene 42: 3 and cf. Inv. xi 70: 2 and Syriac masˇrı¯ta¯. rb is used in Palmyrene and other dialects in idioms of this kind
(PAT glossary: rb ˇsyrta , rb h: yla ). The particular title here is the equivalent of praefectus castrorum or æÆ 
æåÅ (Quellen 211 and cf. Macdonald 1995: 99–100 for Safaitic etc.). dy b-, ‘which is in’. The phrase is used in referring to the location of cults (e.g. a lktba dy bgya : Healey 2001a: 120). Here it locates the oYcial residence of the rb msˇryta . See 4: 2; 14: 3; 17: 2. Luh: ¯ıtu and aAbarta (‘crossing’) were evidently located within the area controlled by aAbd aobodat. The vocalizations are conjectural and the locations are uncertain: see discussion in NSI 248. Note halluh: ¯ıt in Isa. 15: 5; Jer. 48: 5
the Hebrew deWnite and in the Hebrew p.Yadin 44: 5. In both the name has article and the word may have a common-noun meaning (‘table-land’?). We are probably dealing with two diVerent places (see Savignac and Starcky 1957: 200–2; Yadin et al. 2002: 9). (It may be noted that Yardeni 2000a: A 137; B [105] read abdta for abrta , taking it to be a personal name referring to a third recipient of the dedication. Against this is the omission of l- before the word. Also the name abdta is unknown and in fact Yardeni changes it to a known name, abdt.) As noted by Cooke, the Herodian castle of Machaerus would have been close to the territory of aAbd aobodat’s governorate, though there was another governorate nearby, as we know from an inscription from Umm ar-Ras: a¯s: dated 39 ce, almost contemporary with the present

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inscription (CIS ii. 195). According to Josephus it was to Machaerus and thence to Nabataea that Herod Antipas’ Nabataean wife Xed (Ant. 18.112; see Ch. I). dnh, ‘this’, as often meaning ‘the aforementioned, the said’. The two named locations are said to be bbyt ˇslt:wnhm. byta can mean ‘territory, terrain’ as well as ‘house, temple’: 64: 2, 9 byt pwryn. ˇslt:wna , ‘authority, possession’, appears also in one of the Nabataean papyri (p.Yadin 1: 40 in Yadin et al. 2002) eVectively meaning ‘property’, but also has the sense ‘authority’ in Palmyrene (PAT glossary under ˇslt:na ) and Syriac (sˇult:a¯na¯). Translations of the whole phrase diVer: DNWSI 1142: ‘in their governmental oYce’ would be more abstract than Cooke: ‘in the seat of their jurisdiction’. It must refer to space rather than to time, since reference to the time follows. ˇslt:w, ‘they exercised power’ (p aal or pa ael), see 11: 16, 40. ˇslat:, Jastrow 1581; CSD 579; DNWSI 1142. zmnyn, zmna , ‘time, period’, plur. absolute (see Healey 1993: 190, referring to mn zmn ˇst:r mwhbta in H27: 3 and 10: 16 zmn ˇst:ra ; cf. OYcial Aramaic zmna ; Jewish Aramaic zman, Jastrow 404–5; MPAT index; Syriac zabna¯; see
DNWSI 332). tryn, ‘two’ (masc.). Cf. trtyn in l. 1. ˇsnyn tltyn wsˇt, ‘for thirty-six years’ (sˇnyn, ˇsnta : 2: 4). al ˇsny, ‘during the years of . . .’ (sˇny: construct plur. of ˇsnta ). The use of al in this kind of idiom is paralleled in Nabataean in al h: yy, ‘during the life of . . .’ (11: 1) and al ywmwhy, ‘during his days . . .’ (Healey 1993: H34: 5). For Aretas IV and his titulature 3: 2. abydta , ‘work, produce’: 6: 1 and Palmyrene 37 i 4. ala : 5: 3 etc. abydt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect p a¯ıl of aBD, ‘make, do’, hence ‘it was done’. 1: 2. Note the passive of the simple stem: see Ch. II. The date, expressed in words, a rb ayn wsˇt, ‘forty-six’, is connected to Aretas IV by lh, ‘belonging to him’. His forty-sixth year was 37/8 ce.

10. RE D EMPTION OF A W RIT OF SE I ZURE (58–68 ce ) Published by Starcky as originating in Wa¯dı¯ Seiya¯l, fragments of this papyrus were subsequently found in the Cave of Letters in Nah: al H : ever (now numbered Nah: al H : ever nab. or p.Yadin 36). The full text was re-edited by Yardeni

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2001a (who also indicates uncertain letters and suggested restorations more fully than appears here).

Main publications Starcky 1954; Rabinowitz 1955; MPAT no. 64; Yardeni 2000a: A: 265–70, B [85–6]; Yardeni 2001; Quellen 368–76; ATTM 2: 244–7 (replacing his earlier treatment). Upper text (on verso, beginning missing) 1. a ]l azr dnh s: dyq b . . . d/rt . . . h..[. . . 2. d]y tnpq ly ˇst:r adwa hw wa qr[b 3. ˇst:]r adwa hw wa tqry w arpt wh: [sˇbt 4. . . . . . . .ll . . . Recto 5. . . .] ˇst:r adwa hw . . . . . . . [ 6. . . .]. mn alhm wmnpqhm . . . . . . [ Lower text 7. [b . . . la lw]l ˇsnt as ry[n . . . lmnkw mlka mlk nbt:w] 8. [. . . . .a sml]k br abdy al nyqrks a by a nh a l azr 9. dnh w al bny dd[y b]r nbyma [ksp sl] ayn a rb a ma h kps raˇs rbyn mn dmnh kdy bh a 10. [. . . . .] as ryn lt:bt [sˇn]t a rb a lmnkw mlka mlk nbt:w dy ˇs[t:]ra hw ktyb 11. [. . . . .]y wbqs: t msˇkwny ˇst:r adwa hw msˇknw nyqrks wbny 12. a nw trty h: nwta wtwnya dy gwa mnhm [. . .] dy bsˇwq mh: wz agltyn wmn alhm wmnpqhm 13. kdy a nw nqybyn bsˇmhn wth: wmyn [b]sˇt:r adwa hw. . . . mtna [ . . . ]qm.. 14. [. . . . . ad]wa hw gnt tmrya w.[. . .]a [. . .] 15. al ˇsqya bmh: wz agltyn kdy gnta hy wth: wmyh ktybyn bsˇt:r adwa hw wmn ba tr 16. zmn ˇst:r adwa hw kryzt gnta h[y wk]tb krwz b..h: t..n . . .a dy ktb krwza pnpq 17. bsˇm a [p]th: br tyma lhy wktyb [..]kkl ktb krwza ktyb dy a smlk br abdy krz gnta 18. hy wpr a dmy krwza hw wdy lwth [q]rb kdy bh wd[y] a ktb krwza hw lwtk a nt a smlk 19. dnh [. . .k]tyb..m.n . . . n . . . ˇsh: d/r wh: d[. . .]. . . . . .] myt n[y]qrks a by 20. wmyt bny ddy br nb[y]ma wdy a nh a l azr dnh a s: dq wyrt nyqrks a by wla ˇsbq bny ddy 21. wla ayty lh yld wa nh a l azr dnh a s: dq wyrt bny ddy hw wdy bywm dy ktyb ˇst:ra 22. dnh hwh ma tyy a nh a l azr dnh lwtk a nt a smlk dnh wb ayt mnk dy tnpq ly ˇst:r

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23. adwa hw wa qrb mh dy lk amy mn pr awn h: qq wth: ˇsb bty bpr awna wa prq mnk ˇst:r 24. adwa hw wanpqt ˇst:r adwa h[w] wa tqry w arpt wh: ˇsbt bty wmnyt ly bpr awna hw 25. kl dy qblt w abdy a bwk a s[.. . . .]k a gr wq[ . . . ]ll trty h: nwta 26. [. . .mn alhm wmnpqhm . . . ]t: a sp[. . .]k wslq kla nh: ˇsb byny lbynyk wsˇbqt ly 27. [. . . . . . . .]l[. . . . . . . .] l[a ] 28. z ayr wla s gya wdy[. . . . .a l a]zr dnh mn kl dy a b ay wdy [y]tb ay 29. bsˇmy alyk wkl dy [. . . . .z] ayr ws gya wbkl dy hwh bynyk 30. [. . . . . . . .]wbny ddy hw [. . .] mn mnsb 31. [. . . . . . . .].b ah wtly w[. . .]yn wktbyn wkrwzyn 32. [. . . . . . . .]r wbl awnyn wmt:y wh: ˇsb 33. [.. . . . . . .]n wsklw wsˇl[.]l wqs: s: wn/b ay 34. [. . . . . .]qq wq[ . . . . . .] wklb/p wb/ns: a wh: lyqh wnsˇwmh 35. [. . . . . .]b/p[. . .] ˇsm a wqblt mlk wdyn wptwr wa srtg 36. [.. . . . . . .]a dy b[. . .]sˇ l[.]ta b/nr[. . . . . . . .]a 37. [. . . . . . . . . ]w[.. . . . . . . ] 38. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 39. yhwsp br yhwdh k[tb ydh] Upper text (I,) the said El aa¯za¯r, am entitled regarding . . . that you will produce for me the said writ of seizure and I will pay . . . the said writ of seizure and it was read and you did an account and reckoned . . . (5) . . . the said writ of seizure . . . their entries and their exits . . . —— Lower text (7) On . . . of Elu¯l in the year twenty- . . . of Maliku the king, king of the Nabataeans . . . (you,) Isimalik son of aAbday, against Nikarchos my father, mine, the said El aa¯za¯r, and against Banay, my uncle, son of Nabı¯ma, in the sum of four hundred silver sela as, increasing in proportion to the principal from what is from it (?) according to what is in it. —— (10) . . . twentieth of T: e¯be¯t in the fourth year of king Maliku, king of the Nabataeans, that the said writ was written . . . And for part of the pledges of the said writ of seizure the said Nikarchos and Banay mortgaged two shops and the rooms inside them . . . which are in the market of Mah: o¯z aEglatayin, and their entries and exits, as these are designated by names and boundaries in the said writ of seizure . . . that writ of seizure: a grove of palms and . . . with the irrigation channel in Mah: o¯z aEglatayin just as the said grove and its boundaries are written in the said writ of seizure.

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—— (15) And after the time of the said writ of seizure that grove was proclaimed (for sale) and a writ of proclamation . . . of the writ of proclamation and it went out in the name of Aftah: son of Taymallahi and it was written in accordance with every document of proclamation. It was written that Isimalik son of aAbday proclaimed the said grove (for sale) and he paid the price of the said proclamation and that which he had he presented in accordance with what was in it and what was written. The said proclamation is with you, you, the said Isimalik. This was written . . . —— (19) Nikarchos my father died and Banay my uncle, son of Nabı¯ma, died. And it is the fact that I, the said El aa¯za¯r, am the legitimate heir and inheritor of Nikarchos my father and Banay my uncle did not leave and does not have children. And I, the said El aa¯za¯r, am the legitimate heir and inheritor of the said Banay my uncle, and that on the day that this document has been written was my coming, me, the said El aa¯za¯r, to you, you, the said Isimalik, and I requested from you that you should produce the said document of seizure and I would pay whatever I owe you as correct payment, and you would reckon my houses in the payment and I would redeem from you the said writ of seizure. —— (24) And you produced the writ of seizure and it was read and you produced an account and reckoned my buildings and you counted for me in the said payment everything which you had received. —— (25) and aAbday your father . . . rented and . . . the two shops . . . their entries and exits . . . and all the . . . we shall reckon between me and you. And you have released (them) for me . . . neither small or large and which . . . the said El aa¯za¯r of everything which I seek and which may be sought in my name against you and everything which . . . small or large and in everything which has been between you (and me) and Banay, my uncle, . . . of removal (?) . . . (31) and documents and proclamations . . . and . . . (34) customary law and . . . complaint before (?) king or judge or interpreter (?) or governor . . . —— (39) Yeho¯seph son of Yehu¯dah: his (own) handwriting.

The legal situation El aa¯za¯r hereby redeems property seized as the result of his father and uncle having failed to fulWl the conditions of an earlier agreement. The creditor, Isimalik, had

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issued a writ of seizure and he had also sold oV part of the complicated property. Now El aa¯za¯r, the heir of his father and uncle, exercises his right to reclaim what is left of the property, adjustment probably being made for parts already sold oV. The document is of the ‘double’ type, with an ‘upper’ summary followed by the full lower text. The upper text is in very poor condition, but much of the lower text starting in l. 7 is intact and can be understood. Upper text The name El aa¯za¯r is probably Jewish (cf. Hebrew a el aa¯za¯r; Negev 1991: 12). The property ended up in the possession of one Yehu¯dah son of El aa¯za¯r, as we know from a Greek document of 130 ce (p.Yadin 21: 10; cf. 22: 11, Lewis 1989: 95, 98). Also one of the signatories of the document has the name Yeho¯seph son of Yehu¯dah, and the signature is written in a Jewish form of the script (see l. 39). However, there is nothing Jewish about the document itself: it is very much a Nabataean document. dnh, ‘this, the aforementioned’ (2: 2 etc.). s: dyq, ‘justiWed, righteous, entitled’ (cf. a s: dq in ll. 20, 21 and 8: 3). For s: addı¯qa¯, ‘righteous’, cf. Jastrow 1262. b- can mean ‘regarding’ (7: 10). tnpq: 2nd sing. masc. imperfect of the ap ael of NPQ, hence ‘you will bring out, produce’. 7: 5, 9. ˇst:r, ˇst:ra : 6: 4 etc. adwa , unknown outside this text, has been interpreted after Rabinowitz (1955) as meaning ‘seizure’, i.e. legal seizure of property forfeited as security for a loan or mortgage. Rabinowitz oVered no etymology, but the root appears to be aDa /Y, used in the hap ael in Biblical Aramaic and Syriac to mean ‘remove’. HALOT 1944; CSD 400; Jastrow 1040–3; SokoloV 2003: 69 ( ady, ‘be annulled, removed’); DNWSI 828–9. hw: demonstrative ‘that, the said’. a qrb: 1st sing. imperfect of the pa ael of QRB, ‘I will present, give, bring near’, here ‘pay’, cf. below, ll. 18, 23. (DNWSI 1028–30; Jastrow 1410–11). 19: 13. a tqry: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the etp ael of QRa /Y, ‘it was read’. Cf. l. 24 below and Jastrow 1418; CSD 516–17. arpt: 2nd masc. sing. perfect of aRP (also l. 24; see Yardeni 2001: 131, translating this as ‘acknowledged, approved’, apparently on the basis of Arabic aarafa). Another possibility would be an association with arpn in Palmyrene (37 ii 107) and Syriac aarep (pa ael), ‘change money’ ( aurpa¯na¯, ‘small change’, CSD 429, 408) connected with money-changing and loose change. This might give ‘you produced an account’ (followed by h: ˇsbt). h: ˇsbt (restored: cf. l. 24): 2nd masc. sing. perfect of H : SˇB, ‘reckon, count’ (37 ii a a 103). p al or pa el cf. Syriac CSD 160–1; Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 508–9.

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(6) mn alhm: mn ala , ‘entrance’ (here probably collective), with 3rd plur. suYx (see also Starcky 1954: 179): Palmyrene m alna , 37 ii 8; m ala , 43: 3. Jewish Aramaic ma aala¯na¯, Jastrow 817 and cf. MPAT index. mnpqhm: mnpqa , ‘exit’ (collective). The retention of the /n/ in this word might be thought an archaism (historical spelling), but mn ala shows that it must rather be the result of secondary dissimilation (see Ch. II). The word is also found in l. 12 and restored in 26. Jewish Aramaic mappqa¯na¯, Jastrow 821. Lower text (7) The lower or outer text begins with l. 7. The month of Elu¯l corresponds approximately to August/September. as ryn, ‘twenty’, followed by an indeterminate unit number (so 21 to 29). Maliku II (see 3: 1 on spelling and 1: 6–7 on title) reigned 40–70 ce. His twentieth year was 58/9 ce; his twenty-ninth 67/8 ce. Elu¯l is the last month of the year, so the date range is 58–68 ce. Note that the other document referred to later is dated to the fourth year of Maliku in T: e¯be¯t (December/ January)—i.e. 43 ce. Isimalik’s name is founded on the name of the goddess Isis (who enjoyed a limited popularity among the Nabataeans: Healey 2001a: 137–40). His father is aAbday (al-Khraysheh 1986: abda 125, abdw 128–9, other related names 126–33), probably a hypocoristic of an aAbd- name. El aa¯za¯r’s father has a Greek name: ˝ŒÆæå. For a by, a ba 9: 3 etc. a nh a l azr dnh which follows serves to clarify to whom the preceding pronoun on a by refers: ‘me, the said El aa¯za¯r’. a nh, ‘I’. The al which precedes Nikarchos’ name suggests a debt standing ‘against’ him: 5: 3 etc. The second person against ( al) whom Isimalik issued the writ of seizure was Banay, El aa¯za¯r’s uncle. For Banay see Negev 1991: 16. The name is common in Safaitic. ddy, ‘my (paternal) uncle’ (cf. OYcial Aramaic dwda , Palmyrene, PAT glossary; Hatran; Syriac da¯d a¯, CSD 83; Hebrew do¯d : DNWSI 241).
(Negev 1991: 43, appears
Banay’s father was Nabı¯ma to have read nbwma , cf. a Palmyrene nbwm in Stark 1971: 38, 98). ksp sl ayn: 8: 8. a rb a ma h, ‘four hundred’. k-, ‘according to’. ps, psa , ‘part, portion’ (DNWSI 921; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1191; Syriac pesa¯, ‘allotted portion’, CSD 451; MPAT 324, read kps as one word meaning ‘interest’). kps appears to mean ‘proportionately to . . .’ raˇs, raˇsa , ‘head, principal’. For use for Wnancial ‘capital’ cf. Cowley 1923: no. 10: 6; 11: 5.

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rbyn: fem. plur. absolute p aal participle (ra¯bya¯n) of RBa /Y, ‘increase (said of
explains sl ayn. Note that sl a is interest)’ (DNWSI 1053). It agrees with and feminine, as is clear from sl ayn trtn in 21: 6. mn dmnh: mn d-, ‘whatever’ with mnh, ‘from it’. Yardeni 2000a: B [85]; 2001: 132 interprets it as ‘our price’. kdy bh: ‘according to what is in it’. (10) We now have reference to the date of the earlier writ of seizure. For the date see above. as ryn, ‘twenty’. ˇst:ra hw, ‘the aforementioned writ’. ktyb: 5: 3. qs: t, qs: ta , probably ‘part’ (with preposition b-), cf. p.Yadin 7: 19 etc. (Yadin et al. 2002); Syriac qs: a¯t a¯, CSD 516; Jastrow 1409; DNWSI 1023–4. msˇkwny, msˇkwna , msˇkna
, ‘pledge, pledged item’ (Jewish Aramaic masˇko¯na¯, Jastrow 854, including ‘seized items’; DNWSI 702), here construct plur. The verb msˇkn (following in the 3rd plur. form msˇknw) means ‘give in pledge’ and is an alternative to rhn (7: 5; p.Yadin 1: 6 etc.; cf. Jewish Aramaic masˇke¯n. Jastrow 854–5; CSD 306). a nw, ‘these, the said’. 6: 4, 5. trty h: nwta , ‘two shops’. Cf. Palmyrene 37 ii 55; Jewish Aramaic h: anu¯t a¯, Jastrow
482; Syriac h: a¯nu¯ta¯, CSD 149.
twnya , twna , ‘little room’ (DNWSI 1206–7; OYcial Aramaic: Cowley 1923: no. 21: 9), Palmyrene (PAT glossary), Syriac tawa¯na¯ (CSD 606, 608). gwa mnhm, ‘inside them’. For gwa mn 6: 1. ˇswq, ˇswqa (construct), ‘market, agora, street’ (DNWSI 1185–6: Deir aAlla, Elephantine: Cowley 1923: no. 5: 12, etc., ‘street’; Palmyrene 33: 5). Mah: o¯z aEglatayin was a local administrative district near Zo aar (s: ar). mh: wza means ‘town, city’ in Palmyrene (cf. PAT glossary, but note its connection with taxation: Teixidor 1983a). It may be an Akkadian loan (Kaufman 1974: 68, 149), but an old one, since the word is found in Ugaritic, where it equals ka¯ru (see in detail Yadin et al. 2002: 8–9). This place is mentioned frequently in the Babatha archive in Greek as ÆøÇÆ. mn alhm wmnpqhm: see above, l. 6. kdy, ‘just as’. a nw: see above, l. 12. nqybyn: passive participle masc. plur. absolute of NQB, ‘pierce, mark, designate’. Rabinowitz 1955: 14 cites Hebrew parallels in Num. 1: 7; Ezra 8: 10; 1 Chron. 12: 32. Cf. HALOT 719. ˇsmhn, ˇsma , ‘name’, here absolute plur. ‘names’ (cf. Syriac ˇsma¯hı¯n, CSD 583; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1591).

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th: wmyn, th: wma , ‘boundary’ (absolute plural): Palmyrene 37 ii 3, 64; see also 11: 4 etc. and MPAT index and 21: 8. th: u¯ma¯, Jastrow 1660–1; CSD 609. gnt, gnta , ‘garden, grove’, 6: 2. tmrya , tmra , ‘date, date-palm’ here plur. (DNWSI 1222; cf. Lewis 1989: no. 22: 31 in a Nabataean subscription; 11: 3 etc. Syriac tamre¯ (plural: CSD 615); Jewish Aramaic tamra¯, Jastrow 1679.) Note gn tmryn in one of the Samaria papyri: Gropp et al. 2001: no. 7: 6. al, apparently here ‘together with, in addition to’: cf. p.Yadin 7: 48. ˇsqya : see above, l. 12 for ˇswqa , to which this may be related on the basis of a meaning ‘alley’. Thus Beyer understands it as the plural of ˇswqa , meaning ‘streets’. However the word also appears in 11: 22; p.Yadin 3: 3, 24, with reference to ‘irrigation-ditches’, which would suit the context here. Note Arabic sa¯qiyyah, ‘irrigation channel’ from the root SQY, ‘to irrigate, give to drink’. Cf. Jewish Aramaic ˇsiqya¯, Jastrow 1622; Syriac ˇseqya¯, CSD 593. hy: fem. demonstrative. th: wmyh, ‘its boundaries’ (fem. suYx). ktybyn: 5: 3, here masc. plur. absolute passive participle. (15) A new paragraph begins with wmn ba tr, for which 49: 6 and Syriac men ba¯tar (CSD 57) and Palmyrene 37 ii 95. zmn,
zmna : 9: 6. kryzt: p a¯ıl 3rd fem. sing. perfect of KRZ, ‘proclaim’, hence ‘it (the garden) was proclaimed’. (See Ch. II.) Cf. active krz in l. 17. For KRZ cf. Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1902; Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 665; Syriac CSD 225–6. The reference seems to be to the sale or seizure of property preceded by a ak- razta¯, ‘proclamation announcing public sale’ in Talmudic law (Rabinowitz 1955: 12 and cf. Jastrow 65). Note the dubious reading of the same root in 5: 2. Beyer gives it the meaning of ‘appropriation’, which is the end result of the proclamation. ktb, ktba : 7: 9 etc. krwz, krwza , ‘proclamation’ (absolute). Cf. kru¯za¯ ¼ a ak- razta¯, Jastrow 664–5. p-: 5: 2 etc. npq, ‘it went out’ 7: 5 etc. bsˇm, ‘in the name of . . .’ (sˇma above, l. 13). The precise role of Aftah: is unclear. He may have been a local oYcial or scribe and is mentioned again in one of the additional fragments (below). The name Aftah: is especially common at H : egra (al-Khraysheh 1986: 42). For Taymallahi (and Taymu): al-Khraysheh 1986: 186–88. ktyb is probably a p a¯ıl perfect. pr a: 5: 3. dmy, dmya , ‘price’ (plurale tantum: construct plur.). Cf. 11: 8 etc. and Jewish Aramaic 21: 6; Syriac 62: ix, 16 dma¯ya¯; Palmyrene 37 ii 91. dy lwth, ‘what (was) with him, what he had’. For lwt 4: 2. The reference is possibly to whatever documents he possesses relating to the property.

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qrb: see above, l. 2, but here probably not ‘pay’ but ‘oVer, present’. a ktb: The syntax is very unclear in this passage. The verb form is either ap ael (so Beyer) or an assimilated etp ael. The former would give the meaning ‘he had caused to be written’, the latter ‘it was written’: KTB: 5: 3 etc. (19) A new paragraph begins from myt nyqrks, indicating a new legal circumstance which arose. myt, ‘he died’, 3rd masc. sing. perfect p aal from the root MWT. DNWSI 605–7. The same form occurs in Palmyrene (myt: DNWSI 606 and PAT glossary). For other forms see 23: 4; 24: 5; 72: 4 (mytt). dy (middle of l. 20), ‘it is the fact that . . .’, introducing implied indirect statement: 8: 3. a s: dq: 8: 3 (also l. 21). yrt, yrta , ‘heir’ (root YRT). Cf. Healey 1993: 168 on H19: 3; also used in early Syriac inscriptions 53: 5 etc. yrt and a s: dq appear to be synonyms, or at least to carry only a narrow nuance of legal diVerence. Beyer distinguishes ‘testamentary heir’ (a s: dq) and ‘natural heir’ (yrt) (see Healey, loc. cit.). ˇsbq, ‘he left’ (see also l. 26; 11: 11, 33; 78: 6). ˇsbaq Jastrow 1516–17, CSD 557.
ayty l-, ‘there is to . . .’, i.e. ‘he has’. yld, ylda , ‘child’. Cf. Healey 1993: 72. For wlda 8: 3. bywm dy, ‘on the day that’. ywm is construct (MPAT index implies absolute). In fact the idiom is analogous to Hebrew mqo¯m a aˇser: e.g. Gen. 39: 20. ma tyy (ma tny is also possible) is unclear in meaning, probably from a Ta /Y, ‘come’, perhaps ‘arrival’ (with 1st sing. SuYx: metyay): cf. Syriac metya¯,
at ‘coming, arrival’ CSD 248. With a diVerent reading
MPAT and Beyer (m by) found reference again to the death: ‘on the day that this document was written he (Banay) was already dead’. This leaves by . . . lwtk meaning ‘I came to you’ (an idiom which is unparalleled). hwh, ‘was’. Note the Wnal /h/. Also bnh in 15: 3. These spellings suggest this is the basic form in Nabataean, rather than hwa /bna (Cant. i. 83). ktyb hwh, ‘has been written’. lwt: l. 18 above. b ayt: 1st sing. perfect of B aa /Y, ‘seek, ask’. Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1836; Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 181 (b ae¯); Syriac CSD 50 (b aa¯). tnpq: ap ael of NPQ: 7: 5. a qrb: 1st sing. imperfect pa ael of QRB, ‘oVer, pay’: see above, l. 2. mh dy lk amy, ‘whatever is to you with me’, i.e. ‘what I owe you’ (cf. ayty am þ PN l- þ DN: 7: 7). mn, ‘consisting of ’ (explicative, see 8: 2 etc.). pr awn, pr awna , ‘payment’ (ll. 23, 24): p.Yadin 1: 22, 39; 19: 11; 49: 7. h: qq: root meaning ‘engrave, prescribe, determine’ (DNWSI 401; for Hebrew H : QQ: HALOT 347), but the Aramaic evidence is slight. A better

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explanation would be based on Arabic h: aqq, ‘truth, correctness, legitimacy’. Hence ‘correct, rightful payment’. th: ˇsb: H : SˇB (2nd sing. imperfect): cf. l. 3 above. bty, ‘my houses’: cf. byta 6: 1. The reference to the houses or buildings is not explained. a prq: PRQ, ‘redeem’ (only here epigraphically), but note Hebrew in p.Yadin 10: 10. Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 1239; cf. Syriac praq, Syriac CSD 464–5. (24) a npqt: 2nd sing. perfect ap ael of NPQ: 7: 5 etc. a tqry: 3rd sing. perfect of the etp ael of QRa /Y, ‘read’. See l. 3 above. arpt: l. 3 above. mnyt: 2nd sing. perfect p aal of MNa /Y, ‘count, measure’. See 11: 14, 38. mna¯, Jastrow 800; CSD 281. qblt: 2nd sing. perfect pa ael of QBL, ‘receive’. CSD 487–8; Jastrow 1309; SokoloV 2003: 76. (This is a distinctive item of legal vocabulary and helps in identifying the Bodleian Nabataean fragment as a sale: Healey 2002). (25) An additional detail about the shops follows, though it is not clear what is meant. a bwk, ‘your father’. Cf. a bwhy, 9: 3. a gr, ‘he rented’ 37 ii 65, 77. Jastrow 14 (a agar); Syriac a egar: CSD 3. trty h: nwta : see above, l. 12, which also supplies the restoration. slq is obscure. The verb slq means ‘go up’ (Syriac sleq: CSD 379: note use in mathematical contexts), though a noun would Wt better here, perhaps ‘increase’ or ‘removal’. See 37 i 5, 8 for a possibly related usage of this root. Note also in a legal context OSI P3: vii 19. nh: ˇsb: (1st plural imperfect) ‘we shall reckon’. See above, l. 3. byny lbynyk, literally ‘between me and to between you’. For the same basic idiom see 37 i 7; 62: 25; 63: 17. Jastrow 163; CSD 42. ˇsbqt: l. 20 above. Here 2nd sing. perfect p aal ‘release, leave, bequeath’: 11: 11, 33; p.Yadin 7: 16, 22 etc., cf. discussion in Yadin et al. 2002: 100. (28) z ayr, ‘small’, 6: 1. s gy: 11: 7, 28: also the same idiom there; cf. discussion in Yadin et al. 2002: 224, with parallels in Arabic, etc. 33: 5. a b ay: 1st sing. imperfect p aal of B aY, ‘seek’: see l. 22. ytb ay: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect etp ael of B aY. bsˇmy, ‘in my name’. mnsb, possibly from a noun mnsba , ‘taking, removal’: cf. Syriac masba¯, CSD
283; Jastrow 777. a bl awnyn, bl awn . This is unexplained, perhaps ‘losses’ (cf. Jewish Aramaic _ which has derivatives BL a). Yardeni 2000a: B: 24 cites Arabic balaga, which could Wt the context (Wehr 73–4). Beyer reads wkl adnyn, ‘and all periods of time’.

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h: ˇsb, h: ˇsba , ‘reckoning’. h: lyqh, h: lyqta , ‘customary law’ 11: 13, 36; used in tomb inscriptions of the Nabataean law protecting tombs: Healey 1993: 72 in relation to no. 1: 3. Cf. Arabic h: alı¯qah, ‘nature, character’. It is not clear that it has the same meaning here. nsˇwma : obscure. Cf. Yardeni 2000a: B 106. qblt, qblta : possibly ‘complaint’ (cf. other dialects, especially Elephantine Aramaic: DNWSI 983–4, QBL and derivatives in Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1309; Syriac CSD 487–8). See MPAT 167. dyn, dyna , ‘judge’ or ‘case’ (as in 11: 10, 32), but alongside mlk and ptwr the former seems to be better (cf. dayya¯na¯, Jastrow 298; CSD 90). ptwr, ptwra : either a kind of priest or a ‘money-changer’ (cf. Healey 1993: 197–98 in relation to no. 29: 1). a srtg: 9: 2. (39) Note that the surviving signature is in a Jewish form of script and the names are Jewish. ktb ydh: this is formulaic: ‘writing of his hand’, meaning ‘he himself signed’. See 11: 48 and repeatedly in the Yadin texts, p.Yadin 1: 55–8, 62, 65; 3: 51, 54; 9: 13. See Beyer, ATTM 2: 209, 422, and note Qumran Tobit 9: 2: hb lh ktb ydh (ATTM 2: 182) and for ktba , ‘signature’, ktb ydy, ‘my handwriting’, in PAT 1624: 3–4. Yardeni added some very small fragments to her edition of the text, mainly consisting of scattered words: tny trty, h: nwta , mnpqhm (see above), qym (on which 7: 10), and names: aAbd aobodat and Aftah: son of Taymallahi. The latter seems to be the person associated with the proclamation referred to in l. 17.

¯Z 11. D EED OF SALE FOR A DATE-PALM GROVE IN MAH :O aEGLATAY I N ( NAH : AL H : EV ER PAP YRU S 2) . DATE D 9 7 c e (FIG. 3) This well-preserved legal papyrus records the sale of a date-palm grove. In fact there are two near-identical copies of the sale document, since the Wrst transaction was never completed (see Nah: al H : ever p.Yadin 3). It is odd that the redundant document was kept in the archive.

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Main publications Yadin et al. 2002: 205–44, p.Yadin 2 and 3; Yardeni 2000a: A 278–83, B [89–94]; 2000b; ATTM 2: 208–15. It is worth noting especially here that the text below is not an edition. Choices have been made in readings on the basis of Yadin et al. 2002 and only the most important disputed readings are noted here. Line 15 follows ATTM 2: 209. Upper text (on lower verso) 1. btlth b[k]slw ˇsnt a[s r]yn wtmwna lrba l mlka mlk nbt:w dy a h: yy wsˇyzb amh w al h: yy abdt br r{r}ba l mlka mlk nbt:w dy a h: yy wsˇyzb amh 2. wdy gmlt [wh]grw a h: wth ml[kt] nbt:w [bny] mnkw mlka mlk nbt:w br h: rtt mlk [nb]t:w rh: m amh bmh: wz agltyn ywma hw zbn a rkls br abd amnw 3. l[. . . . ]l[. . .] a s[rt]ga m[ny a nh a by] adn brt a pth: br mnygrs [gnt t]mr[y]a [dy bgl]gla dy bmh: wz agl[ty]n al [sˇqya w any] myh kdy 4. h: za dy m[. . .a r]kls mn h: nh bhdryta [.. . . .]l[.]a wa lh th: wmyh lmdnh: a a rh: a wlm arba bty th: a brt abdh: rtt wlymy{y}na a r a mr[a n]a rba l mlka mlk 5. nbt:w dy a [h: y]y wsˇyzb amh [wl]s ma la rqqa gnta hy klh bkl th: wmyh wkl dy ayty la by adn da bh mn s: dq wr{w}sˇw wth: wm wh: lq wtqp Upper text continued (on recto) 6. wtbt [wqsˇ]m wh: dd wgn wnb a wsˇ[..]d/r w ala k/ny wtm(r)yn wsˇqmyn wayln klh w as: {y}h rt: ybh wybysˇh a r a h: rrh kdy bh w any myn 7. wmyn w[. . .]s: y/bd/r/w[. . . . . .wsˇ]wtpw wnh: lh wm[.]h[.]h w[. . .]l[.]h wdryn bgw lkl a [t]r wkl mnd am z ayr ws [gy]a dy h: [z]h lh 8. bzbny[a a lh ˇsmsˇ w]h: nh [t:ll] —— zbn a [rkls ]dnh bksp sl ayn ma h h: dh w a[s r]h wtrtyn prs kspa dnh klh dmy zbnya a lh m[t:]h [ aly] a nh a 9. by adn [da ˇs]y h: rs: dmyn [. . .]n gmryn bsˇlyn h: lt:yn l almyn lmqna wlzbnh wlmrhn wlmnh: l wlmntn wlm abd bzbnya a lh kl dy ys: bh a 10. rkls dn[h mn yw]m dy kty[b ˇst:ra dnh w ad al]m dy la dyn wla d[b]b wla mwm[a . . .]n wdy a s: pa a nh a by adn da zbnya a lh mn kl a nwsˇ 11. klh rh: yq w[qry]b waˇsbq lk a nt a rkls dnh lk wlbnyk mn a h: ryk ad alm w{w}kwt dky wm[. . .]a a nt a rkls dnh mny a nh a by adn da mn 12. kl dy a b aa wytb aa bsˇmy alyk bzbnya a lh mn btyn wdryn wh: ls: wt ayn w ady wmwtr dy ad ytb ah bhgyn w[dry]n wts: dyq kh: lypyn wm anmyn 13. [. . . . . . . ]lh [.. . . . . . . . . . . . .lh [..] zbnyn wbrawn kh: lyqt [zbnya ] wbrawna dy mtktb l[ alm] ——

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kdnh [p]lqt a by adn da a[l gnta da ] h: lq 14. mra n{n}a a kry lsˇnta kwt bh sayn as rh ad yhwa a sr h: dt wttmna gnta da ba tr a rkls dnh —— whn a nh a by adn da a [. . . .] waˇsn{n}a mn dnh 15. [dy] l[a brsˇa ] a h: wb lk a nt a rkls [dnh. . .]kl dmy zbnya a lh wbklkl dy a b aa wytb[ aa ] bsˇmy alyk bhm wlmra na rba l mlka kwt wy ada dyn 16. la brsˇa wsˇlyt: wdky wm[. . .]a a rkls dnh wbnwhy mn a h: rwhy wa nsˇ a h: rn dy ˇst:[ra dn]h yh: sn mn ml[my]h bzb{y}nya a lh kdy bh ad alm 17. wla mtnw bkl s hd{y}h ktbw —— Lower text 18. [b]tlth bksl[w] ˇsnt as [ryn] wtmwna l[rb]a l mlka ml[k] nbt:w dy a h: yy wsˇyzb amh w al 19. [h: yy abd]t [br rba ]l [m]l[k]a [m]l[k nbt:w dy a h: yy wsˇyzb amh wdy gm]l[t whgrw a h: wth m]l[kt] 20. [nbt:]w bny mnk[w mlka mlk nbt:w br h: rtt mlka mlk nbt:w rh: m amh bmh: wz agltyn ywm]a hw zbn 21. [a rk]ls br a[bd] amnw [. . . . . . . ]a srtga mny a nh a by adn brt a pth: br mnygrs 22. [gn]t tm[r]ya [. . .]l[. . . . . . .]l[ . . . dy bg]l[g]l[a dy bmh: wz ag]l[tyn al ˇsqy]a [w any myh kdy h: zh dy m[..a rk]ls 23. mn h: nh bhdryta [..]t al[. . .wa l]h [th: wmyh lmdnh: a a rh: a wlm arba bty th: a brt a]bdh: rtt 24. [w]l[ymyna a r] a mra na [rba ]l[ m]l[ka m]lk nbt:w [dy a h: y]y wsˇy[zb am]h [wl]s m[a la rqqa g]nta hy 25. [klh bkl th: ]wmyh wkl dy ayty la by adn da [b]h mn s: dq wrsˇw wth: wm wh: lq wtqp wtbt wqsˇm 26. [wh: r]r wgn wnb a wsˇ. .d/r w ala [k/ny] wtmryn wsˇq[myn way]ln [k]lh w as: h rt: ybh [wy]by[sˇh] wa r a h: rrh 27. [kdy bh w any myn wmyn wsˇwtpw wnh: lh. . . .]h wdryn 28. [. . . . . .] bgw lkl a tr wkwl mnd am z[ a]yr ws [gy]a dy h: zh lh bzbnya a lh ˇsmsˇ wh: nh t:ll —— 29. zbn a rkls dnh bksp sl ayn ma h h: dh w a[s r]h [w]trtyn prs wkspa dnh klh dmy [zb]nya a lh 30. [mt:h ] aly a nh[ a by adn da ˇsy ]h: rs: dmyn [. . .n gm]ryn [b]sˇl[yn h: ]lt:yn l al[my]n l[mqn]a [w]lzbnh 31. [wlmrhn w]l[mnh: l wlmnt]n[ wlm abd bzbnya a lh kl dy ys: bh a rkls dnh m]n [yw]m[ dy ktyb ˇst:ra ]

92

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri 32. [dnh w ad al]m dy la dyn wla dbb wla mwma [. . .] wd[y a s: p]a a [nh] a by adn da zbnya a lh mn kl a nwsˇ 33. [klh r]h: yq wqryb waˇsbq lk a nt a rkls [dnh l]k wlbnyk mn a h: ryk [ ad a]lm wkw[t] dky 34. [wm..]a a nt a rkl[s dnh mny a n]h a by adn da [mn k]l dy a [b aa wytb aa bsˇmy alyk] bzbnya a lh 35. mn [btyn wdryn wh: l]s: [wt ay]n [w ady wmwtr dy ad ytb aa bhgy]n [wts: dy]q [kh: lypy]n [wm anmy]n 36. [. . . . . .]h kt[. . . . . .]y [. . . . . .]n[. . .]m[. . .] zbnyn wbrawn kh: lyqt zbnya wbrawna dy 37. [mtk]tb l alm

—— kdnh plqt a by adn da al gnt[a da h: lq] mra na a kry lsˇnta kwt bh sayn as rh 38. [ ad dy yh]wa a sr h: dt tt[mna gn]ta da ba tr a rkls dnh[ —— whn a nh ]a by adn da a [. . . .] waˇsna mn 39. [dnh dy la brsˇa a h: wb l]k [a nt a rkls dnh k]l[ dmy zbnya a lh wbklkl dy a b aa wytb ah bsˇmy] 40. alyk bhm [w]lm[ra ]na [rba ]l [mlk]a [kw]t[ wy ad]a [dy]n la brsˇa [wsˇlyt: w] dky wm[..]a a rkls dnh 41. wbnwhy mn a h: rwhy wa nsˇ a h: rn dy ˇst:ra dnh yh: [sn mn mlmy]h [b]zbnya a lh kdy bh ad alm wla 42. [mtnw] bkwl s hdh kt[bw] Signatures (on verso) 43. [. . . . . . . . .] 44. [. . . . . . .] br zydw 45. [. . . . . . . ]a 46. a[. . .]h[. . . . . . . .] 47. [.. . . .k]tb ydh 48. ˇsl[ . . .]a lhy kt[b ydh] 49. azw[r br a]wtw sp[ra ktb]h

Upper text On the third of Kisle¯w in the year twenty-eight of Rabel the king, king of the Nabataeans, who has revived and saved his people, and during the life of aObodat son of Rabel the king, king of the Nabataeans, who has revived and saved his people, and of Gamilat and Hagaru his sisters, princesses of the

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Nabataeans, children of Maliku the king, king of the Nabataeans, son of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people, in Mah: o¯z aEglatayin, on that day Archelaos son of aAbd aama¯nu son of . . . , the strategos, purchased from me, me Abı¯ aadan daughter of Aftah: son of Manigares, a grove of datepalms in Galgala which is in Mah: o¯z aEglatayin, including the irrigation channels and its watering rights as appropriate . . . Archelaos from the settlement (?) in Hadrı¯ta (?) . . . (4) And these are its boundaries: to the east the road and to the west the houses of Tah: a daughter of aAbdh: aretat and to the south the land of our lord Rabel the king, king of the Nabataeans, who has revived and saved his people, and to the north the marshland. The said grove, all of it, in all its boundaries and everything in it which belongs to the said Abı¯ aadan, by inheritance and by permission, and boundary and share and valid document and Wrm writ and portion and . . . and boundary, hidden and manifest and public (?) . . . And the date-palms and fruit trees and every type of tree and its wet and dry timber, open land such as is in it and irrigation rights and water . . . and partnership rights and inheritance rights and . . . and courtyards inside every place and anything, small or large, which is appropriate for him regarding these purchases—sunshine and shadow, —— the said Archelaos has purchased for the sum of one hundred and twelve sela as exactly. The whole of this sum, the price of these purchases, has reached me, me Abı¯ aadan, Wxed price, full, mature, absolute price for ever, to possess or to sell or to pledge or to bequeath or to give as a gift or to do with these purchases whatever he wishes, the said Archelaos, from the day this document was written and for ever, without suit or contest or oath . . . (10) And (it is agreed that) I, the said Abı¯ aadan, will clear these purchases with respect to anyone at all, distant or near, and I will free them for you, you the said Archelaos, for you and your children after you for ever. And similarly clean and . . . are you, the said Archelaos, with regard to me, me the said Abı¯ aadan, from all I might claim and might be claimed in my name against you regarding these purchases, in the form of houses and courtyards and clearance and stipulation and payment et cetera which might still be claimed regarding . . . and agreement in accordance with exchanges and proWts . . . purchases and clearance according to the customary law of purchases and clearance which is written, for ever. (13) In accordance with this the said Abı¯ aadan apportioned for this grove the portion of our lord, the renting-tax, for the year similarly, in it ten sea ahs, until there is a new binding agreement and this grove is counted in the territory of the said Archelaos.

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—— (14) And if I, the said Abı¯ aadan, . . . or cause a change from this without authority, I shall be liable to you, you the said Archelaos, . . . (for) the whole price of these purchases and for everything that I might claim or might be claimed in my name against you with regard to them. And to our lord Rabel the king similarly. And a case will be invalid without authority. And authorized and free of liability and obligation is the said Archelaos and his children after him and anyone else who has possession of this document by right of possession (?) regarding these purchases in accordance with what is in it for ever. (17) And they have not waited for any (further) witness: they have signed.

Lower text Practically identical; the above translation suYces.

Signatures . . . son of Zaydu . . . his handwriting . . . his handwriting aAzu ¯ r son of aAwtu, the scribe: his (own) handwriting.

The legal situation This is a straightforward sale document, with typical guarantees promising the purchaser that the vendor will defend his rights if necessary and promising no change of mind. Note that the complete text is repeated twice in the papyrus. Normally the upper text is shorter, but not in this case. The upper text in these so-called double documents was folded, sewn and signed. The remains of signatures can be traced on the top of the verso. Another unusual feature is the fact that the upper text is begun on the lower part of the verso, perhaps for extra security. Finally, the transaction recorded here was never completed, since the same grove was sold a few months later to another purchaser and at a higher price (p. Yadin 3). The fact that the main clauses are repeated in both papyri and twice in the present papyrus greatly facilitates the reconstruction of damaged portions. The text appears here in full, but the translation only once.

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Upper text tlth, ‘three’ (masc. with ellipsis of ywm, ‘day’). bkslw, ‘in Kisle¯w’ (the word ‘month’ elided). Kisle¯w corresponds to approximately to November/December. as ryn wtmwna , ‘twenty-eight’ (fem. form of ‘eight’). Rabel II reigned from 70/ 1–106 ce. His twenty-eighth year was 97/8 ce and Kisle¯w fell in 97 ce. The titulature of Rabel, oft repeated, is dy a h: yy wsˇyzb amh, ‘who gave life and deliverance to his people’. a h: yy is the ap ael perfect of H : Ya /Y, ‘live’. ˇsyzb is a loan from Akkadian (sˇu¯zubu, CDA 391; Kaufman 1974: 105), but well established in Aramaic (Biblical Aramaic ˇse¯zib; DNWSI 1119–20). For the name Rabel cf. al-Khraysheh 1986: 163 (‘God is great’). For amh see 3: 2 etc. al h: yy. Despite superWcial similarity to the idiom used in religious dedications (1: 4 etc.), where the meaning is ‘for the life of . . .’, the meaning here is probably ‘during the lifetime of . . .’. This corresponds to a variety of other phrases: al ywmwhy, Healey 1993: H34: 5; al ˇsny, see 9: 6; bh: yy CIS ii. 186, etc. (Elephantine Cowley 1923: no. 8: 3, 8; Palmyrene bh: ywhy PAT 0465: 5; 0468: 6; 0591: 2). See Dijkstra 1995: 308–9. The expansion of the dating to give reference to other members of the royal family is unusual. The family relationships are complicated (3 on this). For the names: aObodat (2: 3), Rabel (above), Gamilat (3: 4), Hagaru (3: 5), Maniku (3: 1), H : aretat (1: 5). It may be noted that aObodat was not to become crown-prince, but another son of Rabel, Maliku. Maliku, and aObodat may be named together in Dalman 1912: no. 92/RES §1434/ Cant. ii. 9–10, l. 10 with aObodat the elder of the two (but the name aObodat has to be restored). In CIS ii. 256 (Quellen 343–5/JS I: no. 39) we may have reference to Maliku III. a h: wth, ‘his sisters’: 3: 2, here plur. (cf. Syriac a ah: wa¯ta¯; Jewish Aramaic a ah: wa¯teh; Elephantine a h: wth in Cowley 1923: no. 75: 8,
Healey 1993: 72).
a , ‘queen, princess’ (here construct plur. malkat ). The term is clearly mlkt, mlkt ¯ not restricted to the wife-queen of the reigning king.
The list is of children of Maliku (bny mnkw), not wives of Rabel. rh: m amh: 3: 2 etc. Mah: o¯z aEglatayin, see 10: 12. ywma hw, ‘that day’, i.e. ‘on that day’. zbn, ‘he bought’ (p aal): 7: 4 etc. The purchaser, Archelaos, has a Greek name (`æåºÆ), but his father’s name is Semitic, aAbd aama¯nu (also in a Bos: ra¯ inscription; RES §2100: the Greek version is `  
Æı, Negev 1991: 47). a srtga : 9: 2 etc. mny, ‘from me’. .

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a nh 10: 8 etc. Here for emphasis and clariWcation before the PN.

The name of the vendor is Abı¯ aadan (‘My father has prospered’, with parallels in earlier epigraphy: see Yadin et al. 2002: 218). For her father’s name, Aftah: , 10: 17. His father is mnygrs: if Semitic, it would probably be connected with MNa /Y, ‘count, reward, requite’. Otherwise obscure. gnt tmrya , ‘grove of date-palms’: 10: 14 etc. dy b-, ‘which is in’: 9: 14. glgla is located in Mah: o¯z aEglatayin and appears also in a Greek text (p.Yadin 16: 25), but as ´ÆªÆºªÆºÆ. Lewis 1989: 70 notes that the preposition b- has been incorporated into the Greek. This is an error which suggests that the scribe did not have accurate knowledge of the area. We may note other named regions within Mah: o¯z aEglatayin including Luh: ¯ıt in p.Yadin 44: 5 (Hebrew), for which see also the Madeba inscription: 9: 4. al in l. 3 means ‘in addition to, with’: 10: 15 etc. ˇsqya : 10: 15 and p.Yadin 7: 13. The form could be singular or plural. (bnya can be sing. or plur.: Cant. i. 89; 12: 13, bnya sing.). any myh or possibly as one word anymyh is interpreted by Yadin et al. 2002: 6 as a compound noun meaning ‘times of water’ ( any, ‘times of’, related to Hebrew ae¯t, root aNH I). This is ingenious but not certain. The reference is, however, to watering-rights, as is clearer in p.Yadin 3: 24–25. The ‘its’ refers to the grove. Note reference to irrigation rights also in p.XH : ev/Se 64: 8, 27 (Cotton and Yardeni 1997: 203–23) and cf. Yadin et al. 2002: 6–7 and Jewish Aramaic p.Yadin 7: 43. kdy: 5: 2. h: za , ‘Wtting, seeming suitable’ (active participle of p aal of H : Za /Y. ‘see, seem good’). Cf. especially Palmyrene 35 i 7 and quite often in the Nah: al H : ever texts (cf. Yadin et al. 2002: indexes). See Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 443. mn h: nh bhdryta might refer to Archelaos’ place of origin or residence. Yadin et al. 2002: 219 has ‘from the encampment at HDRYTa ’ (cf. Jewish Aramaic a h: anya¯, ‘camp’, Jastrow 483; Hebrew H : NH, mah: neh, ‘camp’). ‘Settlement’ might be just as likely, since ‘be at rest, incline, bend down’ is the basic meaning of the root (HALOT 332) and see l. 8. hdryta is completely unknown. Beyer (ATTM 2: 399) takes mn h: nh to mean ‘freely’ (root H : NN). (4) After a break the text turns to a description of the boundaries of the land being sold. a lh, ‘these’: 6: 3. th: wmyh, th: wma : 10: 13 etc. mdnh: a , ‘east’ (cf. in Nabataean in Healey 1993: 183 and H24: 5–6; Jewish Aramaic and Syriac mad nh: a¯: Jastrow 734 and 21: 8 and CSD 253–4;
Palmyrene 34: 3; 35: 2; DNWSI 597–8).

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a rh: a , ‘road, street’ (DNWSI 106; Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 33; Syriac a urh: a¯/a u¯rh: a¯, CSD 8; p.Yadin 3: 25). m arba : ‘west’ (DNWSI 671; Cowley 1923: no. 8: 5, 7., etc.; p.Yadin 3: 26);

Jewish Aramaic ma aarba¯, Jastrow 819; Syriac ma aarba¯, CSD 290.
bty, byta : construct plur.
6: 1. The name Tah: a is unparalleled, but her father’s name is well attested: alKhraysheh 1986: 129. ymyna , ‘right, south’. It is probable that the meaning is ‘south’: see ymyna and mdnh: a in Healey 1993: H24: 6 (Healey 1993: 149 is too cautious!). (Also l. 24; p.Yadin 3: 5, 26). However, see 21: 8, where drwma is restored for ‘south’ and cf. Jewish Aramaic p.Yadin 7: 6 etc. and Hebrew p.Yadin 45: 15; drm, DNWSI 262; Biblical Hebrew da¯ro¯m, HALOT 230. a r a, a r aa , ‘land’, construct before mra na , ‘our lord’, i.e. the king. See 6: 3 and for Rabel and his title see above. a ar aa¯, Jastrow 125; CSD 30. s ma la , ‘left, north’ (see also l. 24 and p.Yadin 3: 5, 27). Again more usual in the Jewish Nah: al H : ever documents is s: a¯po¯n. Yadin et al. 2002: 219 note the possibility that s ma la is an Arabism (sˇama¯l), but it is used in Palmyrene to mean ‘north’ (DNWSI 1162; 43: 4; 44: 7, ‘left’). rqqa , ‘marsh, swampy land’ (also p.Yadin 3: 27). Yadin et al. 2002: 219 discuss the evidence: note Syriac rqa¯qa¯, ‘a shallow marsh’ (CSD 550; Brockelmann 1928: 748; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1498; Kaufman 1974: 88). See Levine 2000: 844–7. On boundary descriptions see Porten 2000. hy: fem. demonstrative, ‘that’. th: wmyh: above, l. 4. ayty l-: 10: 21. da , ‘this, the said’ (fem.). mn s: dq, ‘by legal inheritance, right’. Discussed in Yadin et al. 2002: 220. Cf. related s: dyq (10: 1); also here l. 25; p.Yadin 3: 6, 28), a s: dq (Arabic form, 8: 3). rsˇw (erroneously written rwsˇw) is paired with s: dq and appears to mean ‘legal permission’ (also l. 25; p.Yadin 3: 28 and frequently in tomb inscriptions: Healey 1993: H3: 3 etc.; 8: 4). Jewish Aramaic rsˇu¯ta¯ Jastrow 1499–1500. So
s: dq and rsˇw cover absolute rights and conceded rights. The other terms which follow are part of a legal merism of the same general type as ‘lock, stock, and barrel’ and ‘for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health’: it indicates comprehensiveness, covering all possible aspects. Yadin et al. 2002: 220–2 note both Aramaic and ‘Arabic’ terms in this merism. th: wm: 10: 13. Here absolute. h: lq, ‘share’ (Yadin 2002: 220; Healey 1993: 99 on the noun in H4: 7. etc.; Jewish Aramaic h: elqa¯, Jastrow 474; CSD 145; 5: 2 for the verb h: lq). tqp, tqpa , ‘valid document’ (Yadin et al. 2002: 220–1; Healey 1993: 90 on H3: 4–5). The word (root meaning ‘be strong’) may originally be a loan-

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translation of Akkadian dannatu, ‘valid (tablet)’. Cf. Healey 1993: H8: 3: ktb tqp, ‘valid document’. tbt is a virtual translation into Arabic of tqp: see Arabic ta¯bit, ‘Wxed, Wrm’ (Yadin et al. 2002: 221; also at l. 25; p.Yadin 3: 6, 28).
qsˇm (perhaps qs m) is Arabic, meaning ‘share, part’ (qism), an equivalent of h: lq (also 25; p.Yad. 3: 28). The last item in the list is of uncertain reading: h: dr, h: rr, h: rd, h: dd (discussed by Yadin et al. 2002: 221; see also 26; p.Yadin 3: 29). Yadin Wnds a connection with Arabic h: add, ‘border, boundary’ (Lane 528), which provides the transition to references to parts of the property: h: dd, gn, nb a. It would be the equivalent of th: wm. gn. ‘garden’ is normally gnta , but a masc. form meaning ‘settee, couch’ appears in 6: 2. It is better (Yadin et al. 2002: 222) to assume a link with Arabic janna, ‘conceal’ (in fact GNN is also the root of gnta ). GNN in Syriac (CSD 73) and Hebrew (HALOT 199) means ‘conceal’, hence perhaps ‘hidden’, _ ‘appear’. Hence ‘hidden and maniwith nb a explained from Arabic nabaga, a fest’. gn wnb are translated ‘garden and spring’ by Yadin et al. 2002: 222. ‘Garden’ is, however, normally gnta (6: 2). See discussion in Levine 2000: 844–6. Beyer restores ˇspyr after nb a: 30: 5; 32: 4, etc. ala ky or ala ny: Yadin et al. 2002: 222. The former would perhaps be ala þ ky ‘as above’, eVectively ‘et cetera’. The latter could be Arabic, cf. aala¯nı¯, ‘public’. tmryn (erroneously written tmyn), tmra : 10: 14. ˇsqmyn, ˇsqmh, ‘sycamore-Wg’ (also l. 26). The traditional English translation, ‘sycamore’ is confusing, since the tree in question is not a sycamore (a term which refers to certain types of plane tree). Jewish Aramaic ˇsiqma¯, Lo¨w 1881: 386–7; Jastrow 1623; Syriac ˇseqma¯, CSD 594. The series here, tmryn wsˇqmyn wayln, seems to be a list meant to cover all types of trees without implying that all were actually present. ayln, aylna , ‘tree’ (absolute sing.) (also l. 26) (DNWSI 46; Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 49–50; Syriac CSD 13 a¯ıla¯na¯), see 19: 11. as: h (written erroneously as as: yh: cf. l. 26; p.Yadin 3: 29), as: a or as: ta , ‘tree, wood’. While the meaning is fairly certain, the form is odd in that the Aramaic for ‘tree’ is normally aq (Egyptian Aramaic: Cowley 1923: no. 30: 11 etc.) or a a (Biblical and Jewish Aramaic: Jastrow 99, a a¯ aa¯), and the word may occur in Nabataean in this latter form (Naveh 1979: 112: 9). There are two possibilities: this is either a Hebraism (Hebrew ae¯s: ) or an Arabism (cf. Arabic aid: a¯h, Lane 2076): discussion Yadin et al. 2002: 222–3. The Wnal -h in our text seems to be a suYx referring to ‘tree’. rt: ybh, ‘moist’ (fem. absolute), from RT: B: cf. RT: B2 in DNWSI 1074. ra¯t:¯ıb,
Jastrow 1471; Syriac rat:¯ıb, ‘moist’. CSD 538–9. See l. 26 below.


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ybysˇh, ‘dry’ (fem. absolute), from YBSˇ: Jewish Aramaic yabbı¯ˇs, Jastrow 562; Syriac yab¯ıˇs, CSD 185; Palmyrene 37 ii 7. See 26 below. a r a: above, l.
4. h: rrh is very uncertain: (1) perhaps ‘hot, arid’ (fem. absolute adjective; also l. 26; p.Yad. 3: 29) according to Yadin et al. 2002: 223, but this seems out of place; (2) h: rr appears in some other documents (e.g. p.XH : ev/Se 9: 9) in the phrase h: rr wtgr referring to ‘dispute and challenge’ (Cotton and Yardeni 1997: 50). The meaning here might be ‘contested land’; (3) ‘free land, open land’ is, however, better in what is a generalized listing: cf. H : RR ‘free’; Arabic h: urr. For the root see 21: 1; 63: 3. Beyer (ATTM 2: 393) reads a r a h: wrh, ‘white (¼ treeless) land’. kdy bh: 6: 4; 10: 9 etc. any myn: see l. 3 above. myn, ‘water’, listed separately: 6: 2. After a gap other legal rights being transferred are listed: ˇswtpw, ‘partnership’ (cf. also l. 27; p.Yadin 3: 7, 30 and see 43: 9; 37 ii 79). Jewish Aramaic ˇsu¯ta¯pu¯t a¯, Jastrow 1544; Syriac ˇsawta¯pu¯t a¯, CSD 570 (cf. verb -

-
See in other papyri etc. DNWSI ˇsawtep, CSD 569–70). 110; PAT glossary and 37 ii 79; p.XH : ev/Se 32 þ 4Q347, l. 6; Judean Desert Hebrew p.Yadin 45: 9. We are apparently dealing with the right to enter into partnership agreements or to have beneWts from such agreements as might already exist. Also right of disposal. nh: lh, ‘inheritance, testamentary rights’. (‘Estate rights’ in Yadin et al. 2002: 223 is rather ambiguous in English.) The use of the term appears to be a Hebraism (Yadin et al. 2002: 101; see HALOT 687–8), though note lmnh: l in ll. 9, 31. dryn (the alternative reading drwn would be hard to explain): a masc.-type plural of drta . Cf. Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 326; Syriac da¯rta¯, plur. da¯rı¯n, CSD 97. In one of the Syriac parchments we Wnd the term used for ‘farmyard, courtyard’ (OSI P3: ii, 8, 17, 19, 23). bgw: 6: 1. a tr, a tra : 1: 1. We now move to a concluding formula: mnd am, ‘anything’: 6: 5. z ayr, ‘small’: 6: 1. s gya , ‘great’: 10: 28—also for the whole phrase. For various parallels to the phrase see Yadin et al. 2002: 224. h: zh: see above, l. 4.

100

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

zbnya , zbna , ‘purchase, sale’ (common in the Nah: al H : ever documents: 21: 7 etc.). Cf. Syriac 63: 1, and zebna¯, ‘thing bought or sold’ (cf. Peshitta of Lev.
this sense of ‘purchased item’ cf. p.Yadin 8: 7 25: 25, 33: cf. TS col. 1076). In and in Nabataean here and in p.Yadin 4: 12, 16; 6: 13; 9: 7, 8. Cf. MPAT index; DNWSI 305; SokoloV 2003: 46: ‘sale transaction’. a lh, ‘these’: 6: 3 and l. 4 above. A further legal merism: ‘sunshine and shadows’ follows (also in p.Yadin 1: 5). ˇsmsˇ, ˇsmsˇa , ‘sun’ (also l. 28). Note the divine name in Hatran 64: 4 etc.; Jewish Aramaic ˇsimsˇa¯, Jastrow 1602; Syriac ˇsemsˇa¯, CSD 586. h: nh t:ll, literally ‘descent of shade’. The syntax is diYcult, since it cannot really be a construct phrase. For H : Na /Y, ‘decline, bend’ see above, l. 4. Cf. Hebrew of Judg. 19: 9: hnh h: nwt hywm (referred to by Yadin et al. 2002: 224). In Yadin et al. 2002: 224 and index h: nh is taken to be a verbal form (participle?). The whole phrase is literally, perhaps, ‘sun and falling shade’. There appears to be a close, though inexact, parallel with an Egyptian Aramaic text Porten and Yardeni 1986–99: B3.6: 8–9 (a testamentary manumission): wa nty ˇsbyqh mn t:la lsˇmsˇa , ‘and you are released from the shade to the sun’. (T: LL Palmyrene, 30: 4 etc.). After all the above we come to the operative statement in this document, to the eVect that Archelaos has bought the property. zbn: see l. 2 above. ksp, kspa , ‘silver, sum’, normally precedes a quantity of sl ayn: 8: 8. ma h h: dh, ‘one hundred’ (h: dh in fem. form, since sl a is fem.). as rh wtrtyn, ‘twelve’ (fem. form since sl ayn is fem., though Beyer notes that as rh masc. should be as r fem.). prs (also here l. 29; p.Yadin 1: 15; 3: 9, 32) is placed after the sum. See discussion in Yadin et al. 2002: 190–1. From PRS, ‘cut, split oV’ (cf. especially Akkadian para¯su, ‘decide’), and so ‘decided, Wxed’: CDA 265; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1232–3, with various meanings including ‘publish’, hence ‘Wxed price’ and equivalent to ˇsy h: rs: in l. 9; Syriac pra¯sa¯, ‘measured allowance’, CSD 462–3 and a possible reading at 49: 54. In Elephantine the prs is a portion of a minah of currency (DNWSI 940–1; cf. Syriac pra¯sa¯, ‘portion’). There are several possibilities here, including ‘in coins’ (Arabic Wls), but preferred is ‘exactly, Wxed’ (parı¯s): cf. Akkadian harı¯s: from H : RS: , ˘ ‘cut’; see also below. dmy, dmya : 10: 18 (construct). mt:h, ‘reached, arrived’ (MT: a /Y) cf. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac mt:a¯ Jastrow 767; CSD 266. For similar context of Wnancial satisfaction see Cowley 1923: no. 28: 3, 5, 7, etc. and 1: 4 and especially 10: 6. This spelling of the 3rd masc. singular perfect, with {h} is the norm in Nabataean (Cant. i. 83–4).

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ˇsy h: rs: is a loan from Akkadian ˇs¯ım harı¯s: , ‘Wxed price’ (also p.Yad. 3: 32); CDA ˘ (Yadin et al. 2002: 225, where other 109, ˇsy being an abbreviated form related forms are also noted). It is suggested the ˇsy arose from an intermediate form ˇs¯ıw. Note that a related form ˇsh: rs: appears in the Samaria papyri of the fourth century bce (Gropp et al. 2001: 22 etc.). dmyn, ‘price’, is followed by a series of adjectives (Wrst one missing): gmryn, ‘full’ (cf. dmy mgmr in Healey 1993: H1: 8 and p. 77 and 21: 6). Cf. Akkadian kaspu gammur, etc. cf. CDA 89; gmyr in Ezra 7: 12; Jastrow 255 etc.; CSD 72–3. The following adjectives turn this into a formulaic list: bsˇlyn, apparently ‘ripe, mature’ (BSˇL, ‘ripen’; Jewish Aramaic basˇla¯ (adjective), Jastrow 199; Syriac bsˇel, CSD 56). h: lt:yn, ‘Wnal, beyond reclaim’: cf. Targumic h: alu¯t:¯ın (Jastrow 465, 467). Note also, however, H : LT: , ‘mix, etc.’ (H : LT: 2 in DNWSI 374, ‘mixed, brewed’). There may be a culinary image involved here (with bsˇlyn!). l almyn, ‘for ever’: 6: 5. There is then a list of permitted actions (contrast lists of forbidden actions in tomb-inscriptions, 7: 4 V., and a longer list of permitted actions in p.Yadin 7: 17–19). These are in form inWnitives: mqna , ‘possess’. The translation ‘buy’, theoretically possible, does not really Wt (against Yadin et al. 2002: 209 and in p.Yadin 7 and elsewhere, e.g. p.XH : ev/ Se 21: 8; MPAT index; 63: 12). That ‘buy’ is not always possible is clear from p.XH : ec/Se 50d: 12 (Cotton and Yardeni 1997), where the buyers have the right lmqnh—it cannot mean ‘to buy’ the property. Cf. qna¯, CDS 509; Jastrow 1391–2, ‘purchase, possess’. If ‘buy’ is retained the meaning would have to be purely formulaic, where ‘buying and selling’ is a hendiadys for ‘enter into transactions over’. zbnh, ‘sell’ (pa ael; see also here l. 30; p.Yadin 3: 10, 33). These are clearly inWnitives though one might expect lmzbh as in p.XH : ev/Se 50d. The form appears to be a more archaic form of the pa ael inWnitive (cf. Egyptian Aramaic: Muraoka and Porten 1998: 108–10 and Cowley 1923: no. 9: 6 etc.). mrhn, ‘pledge’: 7: 5. mnh: l, ‘bequeath’ (ap ael inWnitive of NH : L, against Yadin et al. 2002: 226 and 101, p.Yadin 7: 17, though their translation is correct on p. 209). Possibly a Hebraism (see nh: lh l. 7 above). mntn, ‘give (as a gift)’ (p aal inWnitive of NTN): 7: 5. m abd, ‘do’ ( aBD). 1: 2. zbnya : see above, l. 8. kl dy, ‘anything which’.

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ys: bh: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of S: Ba /Y, ‘wish’. Cf. ys: ba in Healey 1993: H5: 7; 7: 5 and ts: ba in H27: 4. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac s: ba¯ (Jastrow 1258, CSD 472). mn ywm dy ktyb ˇst:ra dnh: for the whole phrase see 10: 21–2. For elements 5: 4; 5: 3; 6: 4. ad alm: 6: 5. dy la , literally ‘which not’, eVectively ‘without’, as in Syriac and widely in Aramaic (ATTM 1: 615). This is followed by a series of things which cannot arise: dyn, dbb, mwma . (Cf. dyn wdbb in p.Yadin 7: 21 and discussion at Yadin et al. 2002: 103, referring to Akkadian dı¯nam daba¯bum etc., CDA 60; see also here l. 32 and p.Yadin 3: 35; 4: 15). More exactly cf. Cowley 1923: no. 6: 12 etc. ‘suit or process’ and CAD D, 3: ˇsa la dı¯ni u daba¯bi. dyna , ‘lawsuit’. Jewish Aramaic ‘law, decision, cause’, Jastrow 301–2; Syriac dı¯na¯, ‘judgment, law, lawsuit’, CSD 90. dbba , ‘contest’, Jewish Aramaic ‘evil speech’ (Jastrow 276); Jewish Aramaic and Syriac b aeldba¯ba¯, ‘opponent’. For Akkadian ‘speech, litigation’ cf. CDA 52;

42–3—an Akkadian loan which did not really survive in Kaufman 1974: later Aramaic except in fossils like b aeldba¯ba¯ etc.: Jastrow 276, CSD 51.

1603–04 in relation to mwma , ‘oath’, so usually understood (DNWSI Elephantine, e.g. Cowley 1923: no. 8: 24). Another possibility might be ‘fault’ (Jewish Aramaic: and Syriac mu¯ma¯, notably in dla¯ mu¯m, ‘without fault’, Jastrow 743; CSD 257–8). (See also here l. 32; p.Yadin 3: 11, 35: 4: 15). (10) dy implicitly introduces a quotation, the defension clause promising to defend the purchaser’s rights. The dy may fall into the same category as that of 8: 3 and 10: 10. a s: pa : 1st sing. imperfect, probably pa ael, of S: Pa /Y, an Arabism derived from Arabic s: afawa, ‘be pure’. There is a Greek version in the Greek legal texts, ŒÆŁÆæ Øø: all details in Yadin et al. 2002: 226. It was GreenWeld (1992) who noticed this Arabism based on s: afawa, s: afa¯. The meaning is ‘clear from all indebtedness or claims’ (cf. also here l. 32; p.Yadin 3: 35). The Arabic fa aaala form can mean ‘settle (a problem), rectify’ and the af aala ‘forfeit, bestow’ (Wehr 519; Lane 1703). a nwsˇ: 6: 5 etc. rh: yq, ‘distant’ (RH : Q, ‘be far’); cf. Healey 1993: H3: 6 and p. 90 meaning ‘nonrelative’. There are other occurrences in Nah: al H : ever material, e.g. p.Yadin 7: 23 and discussion Yadin et al. 2002: 104–5, where it is noted that there is a possibility that it really means physically distant; 62: 21, where qryb is certainly physical and not a matter of kinship. For rah: ¯ıq Jastrow 1466; CSD 537. qryb, ‘close, near’ (cf. l. 33): qarı¯b Jastrow 1419, CSD 519.


Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

103

aˇsbq, 1st singular imperfect ‘I shall free, leave unencumbered’, possibly ‘declare

free’: 10: 26 (also p.Yadin 7: 22; and see Yadin et al. 2002: 100 for discussion). lk, ‘for you’. a nt: 10: 18 etc. mna h: ry, ‘after’ (here l. 16 etc.). ATTM 1: 507–8; DNWSI 39–40; Cowley 1923: no. 13: 8 etc. kwt: 8: 9. dky, ‘clean’ (Jewish Aramaic and Syriac dk- e, dak- ya¯, Jastrow 307; CSD 91). The context is damaged and the following adjective is also damaged in l. 16. Beyer reads zky and restores wmzdka after it (also l. 16). The text is almost illegible and the editors prefer dky which is perfectly plausible and would give dky wmtdka , ‘clean and puriWed’. mny, ‘from me’, perhaps ‘with regard to me’. a b aa : 1st sing. imperfect pf B aa : 10: 22, 28 etc. ytb aa : 10: 28. alyk, ‘against you’ (implying obligation: 5: 3). ˇsmy: 10: 29. mn (middle of l. 12) is explicative, an Arabism, ‘regarding, as far as concerns’: 5: 1 etc. btyn: 6: 1. A series of (sometimes rather obscure) terms follows forming a legal merism, apparently referring to other possible claims: dryn: see l. 7 above. h: ls: : Yadin et al. 2002: 227 assume an origin in Arabic hala¯s: , ‘clearance’ (referring to Arabic usage on the basis of Khan 1994: ˘210, 214–22; cf. GreenWeld 1992): halas: a, ‘be pure, free’ (Lane 785–7 ‘settlement, etc.’; Wehr 254–5). This ˘Wts the wider context, but it is a little odd after ‘houses’. t ayn: Yadin et al. 2002: 227, ‘speciWcation’: cf. Arabic ta ayı¯n, ‘itemization’. Wehr 663: ‘stipulation, itemization, apportionment etc.’ Cf. the verb in Lane 2213–14. Possible connection with 20: 4. ady, possibly ‘treaty’: cf. Yadin et al. 2002: 193; DNWSI aD1 824–5; Akkadian aduˆ. Thus in p.Yadin 1: 18 ady mhr appears to refer to ‘agreement with regard to the mo¯har (dowry)’, though there it is construct. Here it has no following noun and in fact Beyer (ATTM 2: 451, 210) translates it as ‘Auszahlung’, i.e. ‘payment’, relating it not to Akkadian aduˆ (thus Yadin et al.), but to aDY ‘depart’: this is better. mwtr is a better reading than mwtw (so Beyer, ATTM 2: 209, against Yadin et al. 2002: ad loc.; cf. also p.Yadin 1: 33; 3: 38). The latter was understood as possibly a contraction of mwmta , ‘oath’, but this is dubious and the Beyer reading is better: mwtr, ‘rest, remainder’, hence ‘et cetera’.

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ad, ‘still, yet’, ATTM 2: 432 ‘noch’. Cf. Hebrew ao¯d and Cowley 1923: no. 28: 13;


34: 7; DNWSI 831–2. ytb ah: see above (noting spelling variation). b-, ‘with regard to’. hgyn wdryn here restored, clearer in p.Yadin 3: 14. Beyer’s explanation is based on two Arabic words, hajuna, ‘be faulty, failing’ (Wehr: 1020: hajı¯n, ‘lowly, base’) and darı¯n, ‘drought’ (‘dry herbiage’, Lane 875). Thus he has ‘in relation to something faulty and drought’: this is not convincing and the meaning is obscure. If dryn means ‘courtyards’ as elsewhere (l. 7 above, also interpreted as ‘courtyards’ by Beyer), hgyn must have a comparable meaning. Yadin et al. 2002: 227–8 have ‘thornbushes’, based on he¯gı¯n, Jastrow 343. ts: dyq, ‘agreement’: cf. Arabic tas: dı¯q (Lane 666–9; Wehr 509). See also here l. 35 and p.Yadin 3: 14, 39. h: lypyn, ‘exchanged things’ (possibly changes in the agreement). See Yadin et al, 2002: 228 for parallels. H : LP appears both in Aramaic and Arabic (HLP), but the form of the word is Aramaic.  _ _ m anma . Yet another Arabism from ganima, ‘gain, acquire’, magnam, m anmyn, ‘proWt’ (Wehr 686). Beyer Wlls the lacuna at the beginning of l. 13: wkdb wnzq wqblh wtbyr wrsˇy wnyh: , ‘forgery and injury and complaint and destruction and defect and settlement’, though only the odd letter can be made out in the parallel passages (p.Yadin 3: 1, 39). brawn is a nominal derivative of Arabic baria a (II barraa a, ‘clear’): Wehr: 49. The meaning here appears to be ‘clearance’. See p.Yadin 7: 22, as well as l. 36 here and p.Yadin 3: 40; GreenWeld 1992: 17–18 and Yadin et al. 2002: 104. The corresponding verb appears in p.Yadin 7: 22, 69. h: lyqt: 10: 34. mtktb: etp ael participle, ‘written’. For KTB see 5: 3. l alm, ‘for ever’. This seems to be a rounding-oV phrase with no speciWc reference. (13) We now have a section dealing with apportionment of tax-liability in the current year between the former and the new owner. plqt, ‘she split, apportioned’ (Arabic falaqa): Wehr: 727. For the reading of gnta see l. 37. h: lq, h: lqa , ‘portion, allocation’. See l. 5 above. mra na refers to the king, l. 4 above. a kry, possibly ‘leasing-fee, rent’ according to Yadin et al. 2002: 192 (cf. p.Yadin 1: 16), vocalized as a ikra¯a , and referring to Arabic (kara¯, af aala, ‘lease out’, and the noun a ikra¯a : Wehr: 82–4), but this must refer to some kind of tax. ˇsnta , ‘year’: 2: 4 etc.

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

105

bh: the fem. pronoun refers to ˇsnta . sayn, ‘seah’. Most commonly a measure of grain, there is some evidence of the word sa h, sa ta meaning ‘rent (for land)’ (DNWSI 772), but ‘seah’ as a measure Wts here (Hebraism: HALOT 737–8). For other occurrences see l. 37 here and p.Yadin 3: 15, 41; 20: 5 and XH : ev/Se 50: 5 (sayn). as rh, ‘ten’. See here l. 8. Again the form as r is expected since sa h is feminine. ad, ‘until’: 6: 5. yhwa : 3rd sing. imperfect of HWa /Y: 5: 2. a sr, ‘binding agreement’ (cf. other Nah: al H : ever documents: Hebrew p.Yadin 44: 16; here l. 38 and p.Yadin 3: 42; Jewish Aramaic p.Yadin 7: 14 etc.; a e¯sar, Jastrow 57, Syriac a asu¯ra¯, CSD 22, with diVerent meanings. See Yadin et al. 2002: 50–1. h: dt, ‘new’: 62: 5 etc. (Jastrow 428; CSD 128). ttmna : 3rd fem. sing. imperfect of the etp ael of MNa /Y, ‘count, measure’: 10: 24. ba tr, literally ‘in the place of ’, here ‘in the territory of ’, though the word came to mean ‘after’ and this could Wt here, 1: 1. (14b) There follows a guarantee not to alter the terms of the contract on pain of paying the whole price back to the purchaser. hn, ‘if ’. See 8: 6 etc. aˇsna : 1st sing. imperfect of the pa ael of SˇNa /Y, ‘deviate from, alter’: 6: 4. dy la : see above, l. 10. rsˇa , ‘authority’ (see also ll. 16, 40; p.Yadin 3: 44, 46; 4: 18 and rsˇw in l. 5). The phrase means ‘without authority’. a h: wb, ‘I shall be liable’ (H : WB: DNWSI 351–52). Cf. here l. 39 (restored), Palmyrene 37 i 4 etc.: h: yb, ‘liable’. Cf. Jastrow 428, CSD 129. klkl, ‘all and everything’ (see p.Yadin 1: 9; 3: 45; 4: 16). It appears to be written as kl kl in p.Yadin 1: 42. The grammatical structure is not clear, but it is probably a distributive phrase. The clauses appended in ll. 15–16 are obscure. The Wrst implies a payment to the king (of what size? the same as the tax?). The second, as read by Yadin et al., is ara ryn la brsˇa (also here l. 40; p.Yadin _ ‘be 3: 46; 4: 18) and this has been explained on the basis of Arabic grr, _ deceptive’, hence ‘deceptions’ (cf. gira¯r, ‘deWciency’, Lane 2239). There is also aRR, ‘grievance, contest, obligation’, in Hebrew (Jastrow 1124), the form being harder to explain in this case. But the conclusion would be that the phrase means something like ‘ ara rym are not authorized’. However Beyer in ATTM 2: 209 has a completely diVerent reading which is to be preferred: y ada dyn la brsˇa wsˇlyt: wzky wmzdka , the Wrst part of which could be interpreted as ‘a judgement (or case) will be invalid (literally ‘depart’)

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unless with . . .’. rsˇa ¼ rsˇh in 21: 5, 9. (Beyer: la brsˇa ¼ ‘without creditors’, cf. Kaufman 1974: 88–89). ˇslyt:, ‘empowered’: 9: 5 (here passive p aal participle). dky: see above, l. 11; here ‘free of liability’. mzdka , if correctly read, would be the etpa aal participle of ZKa /Y, ‘freed of obligation’ (Beyer, ATTM 2: 209, 390). mn a h: rwhy: see above, l. 11. a nsˇ/a nwsˇ: 6: 5. a h: rn, ‘other’: 5: 2. h: sn, ‘hold possession of ’ (ap ael) DNWSI 391–2 (see also here l. 44; p.Yadin 1: 44; 3: 47). Jastrow 488–9. mlmyh (also p.Yadin 1: 44 and discussed there in Yadin et al. 2002: 199; also here l. 41; p.Yadin 3: 47). Yadin et al. assume Arabic lamaa a, ‘get possession’ (Lane 2671–2) and interpret it as ‘by right of seizure or possession’. This is not entirely plausible. Beyer, ATTM 2: 209 (and 483), read mrmyh from RMY and translated ‘Ablage’, i.e. ‘place something is deposited’, so that the meaning is ‘from its place of deposit’. kdy bh, ‘in accordance with what is in it’. (17) mtnw: MTN, ‘allow to delay’ (see p.Yadin 1: 10, 45; 3; 48; 4: 18): Jastrow 863; CSD 319. s hdh, ‘witness’. This Wnal statement is very uncertain: there are alternative readings and interpretations (Yadin et al. 2002: 230–1). For s hd as a noun see p.Yadin 1: 55, etc.; 6: 19, 20; 9: 11 etc. Jastrow 959; CSD 362.

Lower text The lower text is word for word identical with the upper text, except for a few variant spellings: h: zh in l. 22 for h: za in l. 4; kwl in ll. 28 and 42 for kl in ll. 7 and 17; ytb aa in l. 35 for ytb ah in l. 12. (Note also misspellings noted earlier.)

Verso ll. 43–9 Little is preserved. The name Zaydu is a hypocoristic of zyda lhy etc. (al-Khraysheh 1986: 73–4). ktb ydh: 10: 39. aAzu ¯ r may mean ‘Helped’. aAwtu is easier to parallel (al-Khraysheh 1986: 137). spra , ‘scribe’. 62: 29; 63: 30.

Nabataean Inscriptions and Papyri

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12. T HE RAQUSH BURIAL INSCRIPTION FROM H : EGRA DAT E D 2 6 7 / 8 ce (FIG. 4) This is a bilingual in Nabataean script and Thamudic from Mada¯a in S: a¯lih: (ancient H : egra), though much later in date than the main tombs. It is marked by Arabisms.

Main publications JS I: no. 17; RES §1175; Winnett and Reed 1970: 154 (nos 89–90); Healey and Smith 1989; Healey 2002; Yardeni 2000a: A 336, B [115]; Quellen 336–8. A. 1. th qbrw s: n ah k abw br 2. h: rtt lrqwsˇ brt 3. abdmnwtw a mh why 4. hlkt py a lh: grw 5. ˇsnt ma h wsˇtyn 6. wtryn byrh: tmwz wl an 7. mry alma mn ysˇna a lqbrw 8. dawmn ypth: h h: ˇsy {w} 9. wldh wl an mn yqbr w[y a]ly mnh B. 10. d n rqsˇ bnt abdmnt (Thamudic)
admn hwa C. 11. wdkyr a 12. ktb ktb da bt:b wbsˇlm 13. dkyr bnya hnaw wa h: brw 14. h dy bnw qbrw a m k abw (A) This is the tomb which Ka abu son of H : aretat built for Raqu¯sh daughter of aAbdmana¯tu his mother. She died in al-H : ijr in the year one hundred and sixty-two in the month of Tammu¯z. And may the Lord of the World curse anyone who alters this tomb or opens it apart from his oVspring and may he curse anyone who buries and (then) removes (a body) from it. (B: Thamudic) This is (the grave of) Raqu¯sh daughter of aAbdmana¯t (C) And remembered be aAdman, who wrote this inscription, for good and for peace. Remembered be the builder, Hania u, and his companions, who built the tomb of the mother of Ka abu. This is a bilingual, but with only one summary line in Thamudic D script. There are numerous peculiarities of language, both lexica and syntax, which suggest strong Arabic-type inXuence on a rather weak Aramaic framework. In fact the text can be regarded as being in Arabic, at least in part (Healey and

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Smith 1989; Healey 2002). Equally, however, there are some parts which are unambiguously Aramaic. One must therefore regard the text as mixed. It may have arisen from an attempt by a speaker of a language akin to Arabic to draw up a Nabataean Aramaic inscription comparable to the older inscriptions at the site: he chose the Nabataean script and certain Aramaic formulae. th (reading not certain: ? dnh) is not found elsewhere in Nabataean, but may be an Arabic-type demonstrative. Wright (1896–98: i. 265) records fem. ta¯ and tı¯ as alternatives to d¯ı. Also cf. alla¯ti. In the Nama¯ra inscription (which is in Arabic but uses the
Nabataean script) we Wnd ty (Cant. i. 49–50). The gender presents a slight problem: qbrw appears with masc. da (again Arabic, not the Nabataean Aramaic da , which is feminine) in ll. 7–8. qbrw might have diVerent vocalization and therefore diVerent genders in the two instances (Smith in Healey and Smith 1989: 80). qbrw (see ll. 7 and 14) appears to be an equivalent of Nabataean qbra (6: 1), but with the distinctive Nabataean-looking ending -w, which is so common on Nabataean personal names. Only here is it found on common nouns. Note that the syntax in ll. 7 and 14 rules out any suggestion that it might represent a ‘living’ case-ending like Arabic -u, though it might be a fossilized case-ending. s: n ah. The verb here is clearly s: n a, not found elsewhere in Nabataean or other Aramaic, but common in Arabic: s: ana aa, ‘make, design, build’ (Wehr 526), possibly ‘take care of ’ (Smith in Healey and Smith 1989: 80). The pronoun on it refers back to qbrw. The syntax is very distinctive: an asyndetic relative clause. This is regular in Classical Arabic in the case of indeWnite antecedents, but it is also found in Arabic and in other Semitic languages after deWnite nouns, and here the noun could be either deWnite or indeWnite. The tomb seems to be by nature deWnite (being a deWnite tomb!). In l. 7 qbrw is preceded by the Arabic deWnite article (see Healey 2002). The name Ka abu is common in Arabic sources; H : aretat 1: 5 etc.; Raqu¯sh (alKhraysheh 1986: 168; cf. also Hadrami: Harding 1971: 285, RES §4852); note the spelling rqsˇ in the Thamudic. aAbdmano¯tu means ‘servant of Mano¯tu/Mana¯t’ (al-Khraysheh 1986: 130–1. Note also abdmnwty in Winnett and Reed 1970: 154, nab. 86; RES §1161). a m could be Aramaic or Arabic, meaning ‘mother’ (with the suYx the Arabic would be ummihi). hy: again Aramaic hı¯ or Arabic hiya, ‘she’. The separate expression of the subject of the sentence in this way is odd, but it recurs in l. 11 (according to the interpretation presented here).

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hlkt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect of the verbal root HLK, but this verb is unknown in Nabataean and rare in other Aramaic dialects (so Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1860; Palmyrene 37 ii 139) and it only has the meaning it has here, ‘die, pass away’, in Arabic (halaka). Contrast myt 10: 20; mytt 13: 5. py, ‘in’, only here in an Aramaic context (apart from very late Syriac under Arabic inXuence), but common in Arabic: fı¯. a lh: grw is the name of H : egra/Mada¯a in S: a¯lih: , which appears in Nabataean as a h: gr in Healey 1993: H9: 6 and H38: 8, but here with Wnal -w (a genitive would be needed if it were a case-ending) and remarkably the deWnite article a l (cf. Classical Arabic al-). ˇsnt (2: 4), ma h (8: 8) and ˇstyn, ‘sixty’ (cf. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac) could all be Aramaic or Arabic, but tryn (9: 1) is distinctively Aramaic, as are the following words in the date formula. It is sensible to view the whole of the date as Aramaic. The year one hundred and sixty-two is recorded in the Provincial Era (the era of the Province of Arabia, which began in March 106 ce). This gives the year as 267/8 ce. yrh: : 3: 5. tmwz: the Aramaic month-name Tammu¯z normally refers approximately to June/July (see on A¯b in 5: 4). a l n: 7: 3. The word is in any case an Arabism where it occurs in Nabataean, but here and in some other cases it has the form of a precative or optative perfect, which is an Arabic feature (see Healey 1993: H1: 4; 8: 5; 11: 6 and p. 73). mry alma , the subject of the verb l an, is again unambiguously Aramaic, ‘Lord of the World’ (mra : 6: 3; here apparently construct—mra and mr are also attested, Cant. ii. 117–18); alma , most commonly means ‘eternity’ (8: 3 etc.), but ‘world’ is well attested: DNWSI 862; PAT glossary: mra alma . The main curser in earlier Nabataean tomb inscriptions is Dushara, and it was long assumed (e.g. JS) that Dushara was meant here. However, Teixidor 1977: 84–85 (cf. Healey 2001a: 95–6) thought the reference was to Baalshamin, since the title is used of him at Palmyra (CIS ii. 3912 dated 134 ce: mra alma ). mn instead of mn dy has been noted elsewhere and is regarded as un-Aramaic: 7: 5. ysˇna : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect pa ael of SˇNa /Y, ‘change’: 6: 4 in tomb contexts, though there is also an Arabic cognate, sanaa a/sania a, which might mean ‘spoil’ (Smith in Healey and Smith 1989: 81). da . To judge from the appearance of the same word with another masc. noun in l. 12 this must be masc. and Arabic rather than fem. and Aramaic. This suggests that qbrw in l. 1 is either to be vocalized diVerently (as a masdar?)

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or regarded as masc., in which case the initial demonstrative, whatever the reading, must be masc. ypth: h: 3rd sing. masc. imperfect p aal of PTH : , ‘open’ (see Healey 1993: H11: 3; 13: 2: etp ael). See 21: 4 etc. h: ˇsy brings us back to a clear Arabism. Found uniquely here, the word can only be explained from Arabic h: a¯ˇsa¯ (written with a Wnal {y} or {a }), ‘except’ (followed in Arabic by the genitive). wld: 8: 3. This is an Arabism where it occurs in Nabataean, see 8: 3. The syntax of l. 9 is awkward. We must presume that the ‘Lord of the World’ continues as subject (though the mn yqbr clause could be the subject, with the verb interpreted as some sort of p aal passive). mn for mn dy: see above. yqbr: QBR, ‘bury’. We have to regard the object as understood (‘body’ or ‘anyone’). y aly. The reading is extremely uncertain, but the word might be derived from a verb aLY, ‘be high’ and in the pa ael or ap ael ‘remove’. ‘Remove’ is one of the possible meanings in some forms of this verb in Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1082, and Syriac, CSD 413–14. mnh, ‘from it’. The Thamudic is very brief, hardly requiring comment in this context, though note may be made of the defective spelling of rqsˇ and abdmnt. The third part of the text records the names of the artisans: dkyr: ‘remembered be . . .’ (passive participle). See 41: 4 and for the verb DKR cf. Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 307–8 and Syriac, CSD 92. For discussion of the formula ‘Remembered be PN’ see Healey 1996a. The PN aAdman is not otherwise attested. hwa instead of the normal Nabataean hw appears to reXect an Arabic-type pronunciation as hu¯wa, ‘he’ (this spelling is not unknown in Nabataean: Healey 1993: H38: 8). ktb: 5: 3. This again seems to form an asyndetic relative clause. ktba da : see da above. ktba is clearly Aramaic in form and the Aramaic word is normally masc. Hence da must be masc. bt:b, ‘for good’ (often found with dkyr in memorial formulae; see Healey 1996a). See 42: 10–11. bsˇlm, ‘for peace’. See 4: 4. bnya , ‘builder’ (JS I: no. 171, ii. no. 291, etc.; Cant. ii. 72). Nominal form derived from BNa /Y. Cf. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac bana¯ya¯, Jastrow 177; CSD 48. For the verb see below and 47: 2 (bna¯ Jastrow 177; CSD 48). Hania u is a fairly common name (al-Khraysheh 1986: 63).

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a h: brwh: apparently a broken plural from h: bra , ‘companion’, in Aramaic

(DNWSI 346–47; Jastrow 422; CSD 125), with a slightly unusual form of the 3rd masc. sing. suYx. bnw: 3rd plur. perfect of BNa /Y, ‘build’. See 15: 3; 47: 2. qbrw: see above. It may be noted that this inscription is one of the Wrst to show the use of diacritics on {d} and {r}, on top of {r} in h: rtt, {d} in abdmnwtw, da (8), wldh. There may also be a dot on the {sˇ} of rqwsˇ, though it might be a pre-existing mark on the rock-face.

13. THE LATEST DATED NABATAEAN-SCRIPT INSCRIPTION, FROM H : EG R A ( 356 c e) Originally from H : egra, but last located in Jeddah.

Main publications Stiehl 1969; R. Stiehl in Altheim and Stiehl 1968: 305–9 (and plate); Noja 1979: 291–3; Teixidor 1986: 481–2; Yardeni 2000: A 338, B [116]; Quellen 338–40. 1. dnh n[psˇa . . .]wta dy [ abd l]h 2. ady[wn] br h: ny br ˇsmwa l ry[sˇ 3. h: gra al mwnh a tth brt 4. amrw br adywn br ˇsmwa l 5. rysˇ tyma dy mytt byrh: 6. a b bsˇnt ma tyn wh: msˇyn 7. wa h: dy brt ˇsnyn tltyn 8. wtmny This is the funerary monument . . . which aAdyo¯n son of H : annay son of Shemu¯a e¯l, head of H : egra, himself made on behalf of Mu¯nah, his wife, daughter of aAmru son of aAdyo¯n son of Shemu¯a e¯l, head of Tayma¯, who died in the month of A¯b in the year two hundred and Wfty-one, aged thirtyeight. The script is a developed one with cursive features of the kind often found in graYti. Particularly noteworthy is the presence of a diacritic dot on the top of {d}. This is consistent (ll. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7: the {d} in dy in l. 1 has no visible dot, but

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the stone is damaged), 12. Although it is late in date the language of the inscription is mostly straight Aramaic. dnh: 2: 2 etc. The following noun is normally feminine, however. One might suppose that dnh had become fossilized. Cant. ii. 83 notes several instances where it is used with a feminine noun (e.g. CIS ii. 158: 1). npsˇa , ‘funerary monument’: 9: 1 etc. The restoration is probable but not certain and clearly a word is missing. Stiehl restored qbrta in the gap, but this seems to be at variance with the drawing. abd: 1: 2 etc. Again a probable restoration. It may have been followed by lh, normally ‘for himself ’, but this is awkward here since the main person for whom the tomb was made is clearly Mu¯nah, and her name is preceded by al without an ‘and’. The lh may, therefore, be an ethic dative (as often in Syriac). This is represented by ‘himself ’ in the translation: more accurate might be ‘he took it upon himself to make’. Alternatively in this late inscription we may have a degree of fossilization so that abd lh had become a set phrase. The name aAdyo¯n (read as aAdno¯n by Stiehl, as in JS: II, 328, but the drawing tells against this) is hard to parallel: cf. aAdiyu (al-Khraysheh 1986: 135). H : annay might be an abbreviation of known Nabataean names h: na lw or h: nynw (al-Khraysheh 1986: 88–89). The name Shemu¯a e¯l is intriguing because it is commonly a Jewish name (as in 20: 12), but there is nothing else in the inscription to suggest Jewishness. The presence of Jews in the pre-Islamic H : ija¯z is well attested (see in a Nabataean inscription from H : egra itself: Healey 1993: H4: 2). For Jews in Arabia cf. Noja 1979. rysˇ h: gra , ‘chief, head of H : egra’ (rysˇa , raˇsa 10: 9; H : egra: 12: 4 and Healey 1993: nos. 9: 6; 38: 8). For the meaning ‘prince, chief’ see Palmyrene, PAT glossary: rsˇ tdmwr, ‘ruler of Tadmor’. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac have the same usage (Jastrow 1478; CSD 540). The title is that of aAdyo¯n. In the mid-third century we have no historical framework within which to make sense of this title, or the fact that a relative is head of Tayma¯ (but see discussion in Quellen 339–40). al as the preposition before the dedicatee of a tomb is unusual. It may mean ‘on behalf of ’ (cf. Healey 1993: H24: 2; 29: 2 and discussion pp. 181–82). The phrase may be used when the tomb is being made for someone who is already dead. The name Mu¯nah is unknown in Nabataean, but well known in Arabic. al-Najem and Macdonald (forthcoming) have suggested reading mwyh, ‘Mavia’. a tth, a ntta : 8: 6 (a ntt). Her father’s name, aAmr or aAmru, is well known in Nabataean (al-Khraysheh 1986: 144–5) and Arabic. Her great-grandfather is clearly the same person

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as the grandfather of her husband: she was the daughter of his cousin. Her father was rysˇ tyma , ‘head of Tayma¯’ to the north-east of H : egra (cf. references to Taymanites in Wrst-century Nabataean inscriptions, Healey 1993: H1: 2; 12: 2 and p. 71). mytt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect of MYT, ‘die’ (10: 20, myt). yrh: : 3: 5. The month is A¯b, July/August (5: 4). ˇsnt: 2: 4 etc. ma tyn wh: msˇyn wa h: dy, ‘two hundred and Wfty-one’. ma tyn is an old dual which occurs also in CIS ii. 333: 7; JS ii. no. 386: 5. h: msˇyn, ‘Wfty’. a h: dy is a little odd. The number ‘one’ normally appears as h: d/h: dh (8: 6), but here and in JS ii. 386: 5 as a h: dy (Cant. ii. 59 regarding the form as an Arabism: cf. ih: da¯, classically restricted in use to ‘one person’, fem.). The year 251 appears to be of the Roman Provincial era and corresponds to 356/7 ce. brt ˇsnyn, ‘daughter of years’, is an idiom common to Aramaic dialects (47: 4; 63: ii and10; PAT 1316: 4) and also Arabic meaning ‘aged . . .’. Thus Arabic ibn h: amsı¯n sanah, ‘aged Wfty’. tltyn wtmny, ‘thirty-eight’. ‘Eight’ in Nabataean is normally tmwna (Healey 1993: H33: 6; 32: 4 and p. 213), but the spelling here is more like the normal Aramaic spelling (Jewish Aramaic tma¯na¯ [tmna ], tma¯ne¯ [tmny] Jastrow 1678; Syriac tma¯ne¯ CSD 615). On the vowel in tmwna see Cant. i. 47–8 and discussion in Ch. II.

14 . DE DI C AT I ON TO D U SH A R A F ROM TE L L ASH-SHUQA¯ FIYYAH DATE D 3 4 b ce This was found in a museum at Zigazig in 1982 and is recorded as originating from Tell ash-Shuqa¯Wyyah (the place of origin of another important inscription: Clermont-Ganneau 1924b and see Healey 2001a: 70 in the context of discussion of the site). It is on a small stone block.

Main publications R. N. Jones et al. 1988; Fiema and Jones 1990; Quellen 358–61. 1. da rb ata dy abd whba lh[y] 2. br abda lga br a wsˇa lhy 3. ldwsˇra a lha dy bdpna 4. ms: ryt ˇsnt 10 þ 5 þ 3 lmlkt 5. qlptrw dy ˇsnt 10 þ 10 þ 3 þ 3

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6. [l]mnkw mlk nbt:w dy hy ˇsnt 7. 2 la t:lh byrh: nysn This is the cultic couch (?) which Wahballahi son of aAbdalga son of Awsallahi made for the god Dushara who is in Daphne, (as it is called) in Egyptian. The year 18 of Queen Cleopatra, which is the year 26 of Maliku, king of the Nabataeans, which is the year 2 of At: lah, in the month of Nı¯sa¯n. da , ‘this’ (fem.). rb ata is the subject of a detailed study by Nehme´ (2003b). It was formerly interpreted as derived from the Common Semitic root RB a, with a meaning like ‘quadrangular shrine’. It occurs in a number of similar, but equally imprecise contexts: CIS ii. 160 (Sidon); RES §88 (near Bos: ra¯); RES §2092 (Bos: ra¯); Levi della Vida 1938 (Cos). Nehme´, following a hint in R. N. Jones et al. 1988: 49, argues in favour of a link rather with the root RBD: , ‘sit down, lie down’, and suggests this noun, rb ah is some kind of ‘bed’ or ‘couch’ dedicated to the divinity in the context of ritual banquets. For a listing of views before Nehme´ see Healey 2001a: 76, now in need of some modiWcation. However, the etymology based on RB a cannot be completely ruled out, especially in the light of a rb ana , which may in RES §2036 mean ‘quadrangular shrine’ (so also Nehme´). abd: 1: 2 etc. The three PNs are well known in Nabataean: Wahballahi (7: 11; al-Khraysheh 1986: 67–68); aAbdalga (127; cf. Healey 2001a: 90); Awsallahi (alKhraysheh: 28). dwsˇra a lha : 2: 3. dy b- is a standard formula introducing the name of a cult location: 4: 2; 17: 2. dpna is ancient Daphne, modern Tell ed-Defenneh in the eastern Nile Delta (24 km south-west of Pelusium). For details see R. N. Jones et al. 1988: 52–4. ms: ryt: fem. adjective (nisbah): ‘Egyptian’. The original editors in their translation assumed it meant ‘in Egyptian’, as in Egyptian Aramaic (Porten and Yardeni 1986–99: B3.7: 5; B3.10: 4), but another possibility is that it means ‘of Egypt’, to distinguish this Daphne from the more famous Daphne near Antioch (Zayadine 1990: 156). 18 was originally read as 14 (R. N. Jones et al. 1988), but revised by Fiema and Jones 1990. Here and in l. 5 the numbers are written as ciphers: see list in Healey 1993: 298. Cf. also 28: 1–2 etc. For ciphers 7: 8. qlptrw, ‘Cleopatra’, is the famous Cleopatra VII Philopator, whose eighteenth year was 35/4 bce. The form of her name is noteworthy: the typically Nabataean Wnal -w has been used to represent the a-vowel. This may be a

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helpful clue in understanding its normal Nabataean value; see on 1: 3, etc.; Healey 1993: 59. 26: the two 10s are written one above the other. Maliku here must be Maliku I (59–30 bce). The synchronism indicated here is important in the establishing of regnal dates at this period (see Wenning 1993: 32–3) and gives weight to the suggestion that Maliku I was preceded by a king called aObodas (Quellen 359). mlk nbt:w: 1: 6–7. hy: 3rd singular feminine pronoun, 10: 15 etc. At:lah is not identiWable and is presumably the name of a local priest or oYcial. The name could be Egyptian, but might also be explicable from Arabic t:alı¯y, ‘pleasant’ (T: LW). yrh: : 3: 5 etc. nysn: 8: 9. Nı¯sa¯n approximates to March/April. For historical context see Quellen 358–61.

1 5 . D E D I C ATI O N O F A S TAT U T E F ROM SI¯ a ( H : AWR A¯ N) This inscription, included here for illustrative purposes, belongs to a group of inscriptions from the elaborate temple complex at Sı¯ a near Qanawa¯t, some of which are written in an angular script perhaps better classiWed simply as ‘Aramaic’ (see on this and on the site Starcky 1985, who notes, however, that the script of this particular inscription is of a classical Nabataean type; Healey 2001: 65–7; also Macdonald 2003: 44–6). The dated inscriptions of the series (such as CIS ii. 163 from the end of the Wrst century bce) are not dated according to the reigns of Nabataean kings, but in the Seleucid era.

Main publications CIS ii. 164; Vogu¨e´ 1968–77: 94–6, no. 3; Cant. ii. 13–14; Grushevoi 1985; Yardeni 2000: A 309, B [101]; Quellen 174–6. 1. dnh s: lma dy a qymw a l abysˇt 2. lmlykt br m ayrw br mlykt 3. lqbl dy hw bnh byrta alyta 4. kdw br abysˇt a mna ˇslm 5.  ˇ
B  H  ˇÆØÅH KÅ ƺåÆŁ ÆØæı  æØŒ
ƽÆ
e ƒæe IæB  ŒÆd PÆ å æØ

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Aramaic This is the statue which the tribe of aUbayshat erected for Malı¯kat son of Mu aayru son of Malı¯kat because it was he who built the upper part of the temple. Kadu son of aUbayshat, the artisan. Peace.

Greek The people of the Obaisenes honoured Maleichathos son of Moaieros who built upon the top of the temple on account of his virtue and piety. dnh: 2: 2 etc. s: lma , ‘statue’: 4: 1. a qymw: 3rd plur. perfect of the ap ael of QWM, ‘stand, arise’, hence ‘erect’. 28: 2 and frequently in Palmyrene and Syriac 49: 4. QWM: Jastrow 1330–2; CSD 494–5. a l, ‘tribe’. This word is well known in Arabic (a¯l) and occurs sporadically in H : awra¯n inscriptions: see CIS ii. 165; RES §2042 (a l qs: yw), 2065 (a l rwh: w), 2066 (a l ˇslmw), 53 (a l bny wtrw?); Milik 1958: 244, no. 6: 4 (a l amrt). More rarely elsewhere (Winnett and Reed 1970: Nab. no. 130, a l qmyrw, from Wa¯dı¯ Sirh: a¯n). Cantineau regarded it as an Arabism (Cant. ii. 62). DNWSI 55. The tribe-name aUbayshat is found also in several Safaitic inscriptions and the Malı¯kat mentioned in this inscription as the grandfather of the recipient is probably the Malı¯kat son of a Awsu in CIS ii. 164. We thus have a series of materials related to this tribe and its association with Sı¯ a (cf. Grushevoi 1985). The PNs: Malı¯kat (al-Khraysheh 1986: 108); Mu aayru (110). lqbl dy, ‘since’, not used in Nabataean with this meaning (though see p.Yadin 1: 40 for lqbl meaning ‘before’, cf. Palmyrene ‘opposite’ in 37 i 10). For meanings more like the present one, cf. Biblical Aramaic klqbl dy (HALOT 1966); Egyptian Aramaic lqbl zy (Porten and Yardeni 1986–99: B3.10: 17); DNWSI 982; 21: 13. hw, ‘he’, expressed separately from the verb and placed Wrst, probably implies emphasis. bnh: 12: 14 etc. byrta , evidently ‘temple’ (or part thereof), though the basic Aramaic meaning of the word is ‘fortress’ (DNWSI 155–6, as in Elephantine: cf. Cant. ii. 70). The same word appears with the same meaning in the main temple dedication from Sı¯ a (CIS ii. 163, cf. reconstruction in Cant. ii. 11–13). There there is reference to the ‘inner’ and ‘outer byrta ’. The meaning is made certain by the Greek parallel in the present text: e Ø æ , but the

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distinction between parts of the temple both there and here, seems to imply that it does not refer to the whole thing. alyta , ‘upper’ (fem.), is the meaning made clear also by the Greek verb  æØŒ
ø, ‘build on top of’ or ‘build the upper part of’. The precise meaning is not in the end clear: perhaps a vertical extension, or an extension on higher ground? For alya (adjective) see DNWSI 853; Syriac aela¯ya¯, CSD 414; 64: 5. The name of the builder, Kadu, is otherwise unattested in Nabataean (alKhraysheh 1986: 98: possible Thamudic parallel). It appears that his father’s name was aUbayshat (cf. RES §1093), though one might suspect that br abysˇt is a tribal designation, singular of bny abysˇt, ‘member of the tribe of aUbayshat’. amna , ‘artisan, craftsman’. This is another word restricted in epigraphic use to the H : awra¯n and comparable with Jewish Aramaic and Syriac au¯ma¯na¯ (Jastrow 27; CSD 6). Cf. CIS ii. 166, 172; RES §§53, 1093, 2117, 2118; DNWSI 71–2. It is, however, found in Jewish Aramaic inscriptions (MPAT nos A9 and 14).

1 6 . DE D IC AT I ON TO S H AY aa A LQAW M F RO M ¯ RIYYA H ( H ¯ N) DATED 95/6 ce T E L L A L- G H A : AWR A Found on two basalt stones in the courtyard of a house.

Main publications Dussaud and Macler 1901: 186–8, Nabataean nos. 62a–b; Clermont-Ganneau 1901a: 173–9; Dussaud and Macler 1903: 309–10, Nabataean no. 8; RES §§86, 471; Cant. ii. 20–1; Quellen 193–5. 1. dnh a rkta dy abd adwrw 2. br gsˇm[w] lsˇy aa lqwm a lh 3. a bsˇnt as ryn wsˇt lrba l mlka ml 4. k nbt:w dy a h: yy wsˇzb amh This is the portico (?) which aAdu¯ru son of Gashmu made for the god Shay aa alqawm, in the year twenty-six of King Rabel, king of the Nabataeans, who gave life and deliverance to his people. dnh: 2: 2 etc. (note masculine, 13: 1). a rkta was initially translated ‘sarcophagus’ and linked to Latin arca (Dussaud and Macler 1901: 197), but this is impossible: a coYn would not be dedicated to a god. Rather, a cultic or architectural Wtting seems to be needed, hence ‘portico’ (Cant. ii. 67) or ‘aedicula’; Knauf 1990: 176 comes to this via new readings here (a d(!)kta ) and in 6: 2 ( adkwta ). Quellen 194 notes Arabic a arı¯kah, a kind of curtained canopy (Lane 50–1; cf. Wehr 13, ‘couch,

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throne’). This is a possible explanation, though the actual translation in Quellen, ‘Kissensattel’ (cushion-saddle), links it speciWcally (and speculatively) with arrangements for portable betyls (121–22). Clearly the inscription is exactly analogous to 14. In the absence of a plausible etymology, a probable connection may be noted with arkta , arkwta in 6: 2 (see also Knauf above). The spelling would result from weakening of the a, a feature known elsewhere in Nabataean (Cant. i. 45–46) and in early Syriac (OSI 1999: 24). The root would then be aRK (cf. Hebrew, ‘set in order’ and ae¯rek- , used for ‘row’). Another possibility is a link with Jewish Aramaic a arka¯, ‘restoration work’, in Targum 2 Chron. 24: 13 (Jastrow 121), but this is slender evidence. abd: 1: 2 etc. The personal names are both of uncertain reading: aAdu¯ru (Negev 1991: nos 839, 847), alternatively aAru¯ru, aAru¯du; Quellen abwdw; Gashmu or Gashum (without Wnal -w) (Negev 1991: no. 259; al-Khraysheh 1986: 57–8). ˇsy aa lqwm was a deity popular among the writers of the Safaitic inscriptions, but also worshipped over a wide area of Nabataean inXuence (H : egra to H : awra¯n). His name is of Arabic origin and possibly means ‘He who accompanies the caravan/people’. See 42: 4, 9 for an expatriate Nabataean in Palmyra erecting altars to him and the same text mentions that he disapproved of wine. In this role he may have been regarded as a polar counterpart to Dushara, who came to be identiWed with Dionysus. See details in Healey 2001a: 143–7. a lha : 2: 3 etc. as ryn wsˇt, ‘twenty-six’ (sˇt fem.). The twenty-sixth year of Rabel II (whose speciWc titulature identiWes him: 11: 1 etc.; ˇszb defective for ˇsyzb) was 95/6 ce.

1 7 . D E D I C ATI O N O F T H E TE M P L E O F A L L A¯T AT S: AL H A D ( H : AWR A¯ N) ˘ This basalt plaque was found reused in a church building at S: alhad in the ˘ H : awra¯n. Some inscriptions from the site, even when dated according to the regnal year of a Nabataean king, employ a local version of the Aramaic script (so CIS ii. 184, 183 and compare 15). (For discussion in the context of early exploration: Lewis and Macdonald 2003: 72–3.)

Main publications CIS ii. 182; Vogu¨e´ 1868–77: 107–12, Nabataean no. 6; Cant. ii. 16–17; Milik 1958: 228; Quellen 187–8.

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1. dnh byta dy bnh rwh: w br mlkw br a klbw br rwh: w la lt a lhthm 2. dy bs: lh: d wdy ns: b rwh: w br qs: yw am rwh: w dnh dy ala 3. byrh: a b ˇsnt as r wsˇb a lmnkw mlk nbt:w br h: rtt mlk nbt:w rh: [m] 4. amh This is the temple which Rawh: u son of Maliku son of Aklabu son of Rawh: u rebuilt for Alla¯t, their goddess, who is in S: alh: ad and which Rawh: u son of Qas: iyu, great-grandfather of the said Rawh: u mentioned above, founded. In the month of A¯b of the year seventeen of Maliku, king of the Nabataeans, son of H : aretat, king of the Nabataeans, lover of his people. byta , ‘temple’: 8: 9 in this meaning. The same temple is being referred to in a later inscription, CIS ii. 183 and 184 dated 95 ce. bnh: 12: 14. Since it was founded much earlier, we may translate ‘rebuilt’. Rawh: u is both a personal name (al-Khraysheh 1986: 164–65) and a tribal name (RES §2065: a l rwh: w at Umm al-Jima¯l; cf. rwh: ya 42: 2). The name Maliku (al-Khraysheh 1986: 108) normally appears as mnkw, as it does in l. 3 here (3: 1 etc.), but in l. 1 the l is clear. The only clear example of a spelling with l in the H : egra tomb inscriptions is Healey 1993: H34: 7 and there, as here, the reference is not to the king. Aklabu (an elative based on the root KLB) appears to mean ‘rabid, enraged’ (al-Khraysheh 1986: 31–2). This may seem strange, but it is also found in Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 4, 67: a klb). a lt: Alla¯t, the north Arabian goddess, was popular in the H : awra¯n and at Iram (Healey 2001a: 108–14, where she may be identiWed with al- aUzza¯, ‘the Mighty Goddess’). a lhthm, ‘their goddess’ (DNWSI 57–60), puts her cult into the category of family religion (Healey 2001a: 151–2). Her cult at S: alhad and in its area is ˘ known through other inscriptions: CIS ii. 183, 184 (Milik 1958: 227–31, no. 1), 185; RES §2052. She was identiWed in the H awra n with Athena. ¯ : dy b-: 4: 2; 9: 4; 14: 3; 17: 2. s: lh: d: modern S: alhad, south-east of Bos: ra¯. ˘ perfect of NSB, ‘found, erect’. The root occurs otherwise ns: b: 3rd masc. sing. : in nominal forms in Nabataean: ns: yba , ns: bta , ms: ba (Healey 2001a: 156) and also in Palmyrene (PAT glossary). For Syriac 48: 3; 49: 4, 9. DNWSI 749–50; ns: ab Jastrow 927; CSD 347.
The name Qas: iyu appears as a H : awra¯n personal name (al-Khraysheh 1986: 161–2: CIS ii. 170: 4; 174: 2; 183: 1), but also as a tribe name (CIS ii. 165). am, ama (here construct) ‘grandfather’, 4: 2 and Clermont-Ganneau 1898: 372–4; DNWSI 866–7. Otherwise ‘kinsman’ or ‘paternal uncle’, as in Arabic. dnh: used to mean ‘the said’, as often in the legal texts. dy ala : 5: 3; 7: 7, etc. (usually dy ala ktyb).

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The month of A¯b corresponds to August (5: 4 etc.). as r wsˇb a, ‘seventeen’ (fem.). mnkw and h: rtt and titulature: 11: 2 etc. The seventeenth year of Maliku II was 55/56 ce.

18. FRAGMENTARY INSCRIPTION O F HISTORICAL SIGNIF IC ANC E F ROM MIL ETUS This fragmentary inscription was found by the German excavators of the Apollo temple of Miletus. It is bilingual, in Nabataean and Greek, but neither text yields very much beyond a tantalizing reference to a person important in Nabataean history.

Main publications Rehm and Kawerau 1914: 387–9, no. 165, and pl. 94; Clermont-Ganneau 1906b; 1924a; Cant. ii. 45–6; RES §§675, 1100; Dijkstra 1995: 70–2; Roche 1996: 80–3, no. 9; Quellen 127–8. 1. ˇsly a h: mlka br tym . . . 2. mdta al h: yy abdt mlka byrh: t:[bt] 3. [ ıºº]ÆE I
ºçe Æغ[ø. . .] 4. IŁÅŒ ˜Ød ˜ı[ æØ. . .] Shullay, brother of the king, son of Taym . . . city (?), for the life of aObodat the king, in the month of T: e¯be¯t . . . Syllaios, brother of the king . . . set up (this) for Zeus-Dusares . . . The person making this dedication at Miletus appears to be Syllaios ( ıººÆE), the vizier of King aObodat III (30–9 bce: note that some call him aObodat II; see Ch. I). We know about Syllaios in connection with the campaign of Aelius Gallus in 24 bce. He was politically ambitious and attempted to succeed his master to the throne, travelling to Rome to advance his case. It may have been while passing through Miletus that he wrote this inscription, though it is undated and was written while aObodat was still alive, so it could be earlier. However, most commentators have suggested dates around 10 bce (cf. Josephus, Ant. 16. 220 V.; 271 V., 294 V.; on the Aelius Gallus campaign see Strabo, Geography 16. 4. 23), partly in the light of another Syllaios inscription from Delos dated 10 or 9 bce (Bruneau 1970: 244–45; Roussel and Launey 1937: 292, no. 2: 5: ID 2315).

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For the name Shullay, see al-Khraysheh 1986: 174–75. The name also appears in Palmyrene, Hatran etc. and Safaitic (sly). a h: , a h: a , ‘brother’, (Greek I
ºç ) is used here not speciWcally to indicate a close family relationship but vaguer kinship or oYcial relationship. Thus in CIS ii. 351: anysˇw a h: ˇsqylt mlkt nbt:w br . . . , ‘ aUnayshu, ‘brother’ of Shaqı¯lat, queen of the Nabataeans, son of . . .’ (see Clermont-Ganneau 1906b: 309–11 and 3: 2, 4 etc.). The name tym- can be completed by several possible names (al-Khraysheh 1986: 186–8). mdta is not at all certain, but it could be the word for ‘city’ referring to Miletus. The spelling mdta (against mdynta or mdyta ) is found in Palmyrene (33: 7, though perhaps an error of the mason, DNWSI 597). Cf. Syriac md¯ıtta¯, CSD 252. al h: yy: 1: 4 etc.
Only the month-name T: e¯be¯t begins with t:: hence the restoration (¼ December/ January). The Greek is important because it appears to associate Dushara with the cult of Zeus, though we have to be aware that this might be an ad hoc bit of theologizing. However, see Healey 2001a: 101–2.

IV Jewish (Palestinian) Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri 19. LET TER OF SIMON BAR KOSIBAH (SECOND J EW I S H R EVO LT 1 3 2– 5 C E ) ( FI G. 5 ) This letter, on papyrus, conveys an order for the arrest of an individual and other instructions related to the protection of trees and spices.

Main publications Yadin et al. 2002: 287–92, p.Yadin 50; Yadin 1961: 44–5; MPAT no. 56; ATTM 1: 351; 2: 284; Naveh 1992: 115–16; Schattner-Rieser 2005: 130–1; Martone 2006: 471.

ebuk tb wfpmu wjpb tb wvnfejl wfpmu tb elbumlf tgpla vj jl wfhluv jd zds efu eih tb ejlmpb wftedvf ebu jd wmf ejtq lk taubf wdk jd lp wknbhrj ptqva enaf jdl tcu vj wbthj al jd etpbf vnptq bhrj jd wmf enla emilf ebt xnm efev una eb btsj al jd edfej tb wfpmu ebvk

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

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ˇsm awn br ks bh lyhwntn br b ayn wlms blh br ˇsm awn dy tsˇlh: wn ly yt a l azr br h: t:h ˇswh qdm ˇsbh wtdhrwn b amlyh wbsˇa r kl pryh wmn dy ys: h: bnkn al dy kdn ˇsgr ldy wanh a tpr a wb arh dy la yh: rbn yt a lnh wmn dy ys: h: b pr ant thwh mnk rbh wlt:mh dy la yqrb bh a nsˇ ˇsm awn br yhwdh ktbh

Shim au¯n son of Kosibah to Yeho¯na¯tha¯n son of Ba ayan and to Mesabalah son of Shim au¯n: (Order) that you should send to me El aa¯za¯r son of H : at:ah directly (?) before the Sabbath and be careful with his produce and with the rest of his fruit. And whoever raises an objection to you concerning this sort of thing send to me and I will exact punishment. And regarding the cattle, let them not destroy the trees. And whoever raises an objection, recompense taken from you will be great. And as for the spice produce, let nobody touch it. Shim au¯n son of Yehu¯dah wrote it. This is a letter from Simon bar Kosibah, leader of the Second Jewish Revolt of 132–5 ce, though the letter itself is not dated. It instructs Simon’s agents to send a particular person to him and also to take care of certain property. The personal names here and in the following materials are Jewish and mostly biblical. They are not discussed in any detail. dy in dy tsˇlh: wn introduces an order (cf. French que). This phenomenon of beginning with ‘that’ introducing a statement or order is discussed by J. Naveh (in Yadin et al. 2002: 380–2), who concludes that there is ellipsis of a verb of saying or commanding such as a MR or of a noun such as a grta, ‘letter’. This is a regular feature of these Judaean Desert documents (dy in Aramaic, ˇs- in Hebrew): here ll. 10, 13. Cf. Pardee 1982: 149–50; Qimron 1982; 8: 3 in Nabataean, 63: 11 introducing a legal clause in Syriac (though the verb ‘declare’ precedes it there) and a similar usage is found in Palmyrene (37 ii 104). ˇ tslh: wn: 2nd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of SˇLH : , ‘send’, see 20: 4, 8. ly, ‘to me’.

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yt is the accusative particle (also l. 10), mostly restricted to western Aramaic (including Nabataean, 7: 5) and to Bible translations (where it stands for Hebrew a et-), but it does occur in Palmyrene (33: 4). (See Ch. II.) The name h: t:h may be a variant spelling of h: yt:a in p.Yadin 44, 45, 46 (Yadin et al. 2002). ˇswh is interpreted to mean ‘immediately’ (MPAT no. 56), but the etymology is not clear. The root SˇWH/a /Y means ‘be equal, even’ (62 vii, etc. and other possible forms, e.g. in Nabataean in the Rawwa¯fah inscription: Milik 1971: 4). For a possible occurrence of the root in Palmyrene see PAT 2632: 7. Cf. DNWSI 1116–17; MPAT 338. Note also ˇswy dla bssta , ‘immediately’, cited by Yadin 1961: 45 and Kutscher 1961: 124–5. qdm, ‘before’. ˇsbh, ‘sabbath’. This spelling (t > h) is distinctively Aramaic (cf. Syriac ˇsabba¯, ‘sabbath, week’). See repeatedly in p.Yadin 7 and Nabataean p.Yadin 3: 4, 25 for ‘week’ and discussion Yadin et al. 2002: 96. tdhrwn: 2nd masc. plur., imperfect of the itp ael of ZHR, ‘attend to’, contracted (a itz e har > a izt e har > a izd e har > idd e har) from tzdhrwn. For similar forms in Palmyrene see 37 i 8; ii 4; Syriac a ezd e haru¯n. In Egyptian Aramaic Porten and Yardeni 1986–99: A2.1: 18; 2.2: 17. DNWSI 307. amlyh, amla , ‘work, product’ (with 3rd masc. sing. suYx). Cf. Palmyrene PAT 2709: 5; DNWSI 871; MPAT index, especially synagogue inscription A39: 3. ˇsa r, ˇsa ra , ‘remainder’ (Jewish Aramaic ˇs e a a¯ra¯, Jastrow 1509, and p.Yadin 7: 4: wsˇa r kl mnd am, ‘and whatever else’), 6: 3 ˇsa ryt. pryh, pra , ‘fruit’ (Syriac pı¯ra¯), cf. p.Yadin 42: 4, 5. mn dy: 7: 4, 9 etc. ys: h: bnkn: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of the pa ael of S: H : B, ‘object’. The word appears also in Arabic (s: ahiba, ‘clamour, be enraged’), but very rarely in • et al. 2002: 291). Here it has a 2nd plur. suYx Aramaic (Samaritan) (Yadin with the preceding n retained. al dy kdn, ‘concerning what is like this’. ˇsgr: 2nd masc. sing. (inconsistently) imperative of the pa ael of SˇGR, ‘send’ (cf. also p.Yadin 54: 14, 16: tsˇgrwn). Cf. HALOT 1416; Jastrow 1522. ldy is composed of l þ yd þ y, ‘to my hand’, cf. bd, more frequently: 77: 8 and Masada ostracon 554: 3 bdkwn, Yadin and Naveh 1989: 49–50, referring to this papyrus. a nh: 10: 8 etc. a tpr a: 1st sing. imperfect of the itp ael of PR a, ‘pay’, literally ‘I will be paid, exact what is due’. See also l. 11. For PR a 5: 3; 10: 18 in Nabataean; Syriac 49: 7. wb arh introduces a change of topic. b arh, ‘cattle’ (emphatic sing. ending in -h as commonly in this branch of Aramaic; cf. Syriac b a¯ıra¯). Cf. DNWSI 185; Hebrew b e a¯ır.

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dy introduces an instruction again, as above. yh: rbn: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect of the ap ael of H : RB, in the ap ael meaning ‘destroy’. Cf. Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 498 and Naveh and Shaked 1987: no. 8: 8; Nabataean DNWSI 402. (Schattner-Rieser 2005: 130 n.171 interprets the verb as p aal.) yt: see above. a lnh, ‘trees (collective)’. See 11: 12 and Jewish Aramaic a¯ıla¯na¯, Jastrow 49–50, and Syriac a¯ıla¯na¯, CSD 13. ys: h: b: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of the pa ael of S: H : B (above). pr ant, pr anta, ‘payment, recompense’ (various spellings occur in the Bar Kokhba material: p.Yadin 54: 7, 13; 55: 8; 56: 4; see the verb above in l. 9 and 49: 7. thwh: 3rd fem. sing. imperfect of the p aal of HWa . 5: 2 etc. mnk, ‘from you’, in a change to 2nd person sing. It is not quite clear whether the ‘you’ is the putative complainant or one of the recipients of the letter. rbh: fem. absolute agreeing with pr ant. The syntax is a little awkward but we seem to have here the complement: ‘recompense (will be) great’. wlt:ma again changes the topic (see wb arh above). lt:ma , ‘spices (collective)’ (cf. Yadin et al. 2002: 292, where the meaning is extended to ‘spice garden’: SokoloV 1990: 281). However, a better interpretation may be based on Syriac la¯t:ma¯, ‘pistachio’ (Lo¨w 1881: 44). dy: see above. la . . .a nsˇ, ‘nobody’. yqrb: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of QRB, ‘touch, draw near’: 10: 2 etc. ktbh, ‘he wrote it’ (21: 14; 11: 49(?), etc. and cf. MPAT index). The reference is to the person who had it written, not necessarily the scribe.

2 0. L E T T E R O F S IM O N B A R KO SI B A H WR I T TE N O N WOO D This is another letter giving speciWc instructions (19). It is written on wood in two columns.

Main publications Yadin et al. 2002: 305–11, p.Yadin 54; MPAT no. 53; ATTM 1: 251; II: 284; Naveh 1992: 116; Schattner-Rieser 2005: 132-3; Martone 2006: 472.

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Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri Col. i latuj lp jone ebofk tb wfpmu 1 wfnhbv jd zlo elbomlf wvnfejl 2 wfnh jvje jd ajinh vj wfdhvf 3 wdp=wjp wenm jl wfhluvf lapmuj tb 4 ajlqoab wevj wfnvvf adh eao 5 al zaf wjbjnc fkuve jd 6 avfnptq wknm jd wfdbpjv wk 7 jl wfhluv etbc vjf dbpvv 8 ajlqoab 9 Col. ii hkuvj jd jpfsv tbc lfkf 10 wjtu wfna jd ejvb wkvfl 11 dbpa wknmf wfdsj wefcb 12 pfuj vjf evfnptq vj 13 wftcuv wfdhv ejtmdv tb 14 wftobv alf ejlqoab jl 15 wftcuv jflp jd eqjo vj dhml 16 jmp tb lafmu 17

Col. i 1. ˇsm awn br kwsbh hnsy al ys ra l 2. lyhwntn wlmsblh slm dy tbh: nwn 3. wth: dwn yt h: nt:ya dy hyty h: nwn 4. br ysˇm aa l wtsˇlh: wn ly mnhn ay/dn 5. sa h h: da wttnwn ythn ba splya 6. dy htsˇkw gnybyn wa m la 7. kn ty abdwn dy mnkn pr anwta 8. tt abd wyt gbrh tsˇlh: wn ly 9. ba splya Col. ii 10. wkwl gbr tqw ay dy ytsˇkh: 11. lwtkn btyh dy a nwn ˇsryn 12. bgwhn yqdwn wmnkn a abd 13. yt pr anwth wyt ysˇw a 14. br tdmryh th: dwn tsˇgrwn 15. ly ba splya wla tbsrwn 16. lmh: d yt syph dy alwy tsˇgrwn 17. ˇsmwa l br amy

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Shim au¯n son of Kosibah, the prince over Israel, to Yeho¯na¯tha¯n and to Mesabalah, peace. (Order) that you should examine and seize the wheat which H : anu¯n son of Yishma¯ ae¯l brought and send some of it, speciWcally one sea ah. And place it under guard since it was found having been stolen. And if you do not do so, then recompense will be exacted from you. And as for the man, you are to send him to me under guard. And any Tekoan man who is found with you, let the houses they are dwelling in burn and from you I will exact recompense. And Yeshu¯ a son of the Palmyrene you will seize and dispatch to me under guard. And do not scorn to take the sword which is on him—send it (too)! Shemu¯a el son of aAmmı¯. For the names and the person of Bar Kosibah see 19: 4. The title of Shim au¯n, hnsy al ys ral, is Hebrew (deWnite article ha-). For full discussion see Yadin et al. 2002: 369–72. Note the spelling of nsy with {s} against the regular nsy found in p.Yadin 44: 1–2, where the date of a document is given as ‘year three of Simon bar Kosibah, han-na¯s¯ı’. nsy appears also in (Hebrew) p.XH : ev/Se 30: 1 (Cotton and Yardeni 1997: 103–4). slm, ‘peace’. The greeting here is unusual in that the expected Aramaic (or Hebrew) would be ˇslm. Beyer regards this as a scribal error, but it is possible that it is an Arabism, given that there are many Arabisms in the Cave of Letters material (see Ch. II). dy introduces an order (19: 4). tbh: nwn: 2nd masc. plur. imperfect of the p aal of BH : N, ‘inspect, examine’ Jewish Aramaic: Jastrow 155; Syriac bh: an, CSD 41. th: dwn: 2nd masc. plur. imperfect of the p aal of a H : D, ‘take’, with the a elided (cf. also ll. 14 and 16). yt: 19: 4. h: nt:ya , ‘wheat’ (plur.; Syriac h: et:t:e¯, CSD 138). Cf. DNWSI 363 (also Egyptian Aramaic); Jewish Aramaic h: int:ayya¯, h: ¯ıt:t:ayya¯, Jastrow 453, 482 and MPAT no. 52: 2: h: nt:yn. (Note dissimilation: see Ch. II.) hyty is not a certain reading. The editors have as alternatives hh: t (from NH : T) and hgs (NGS or denominative from gyys, ‘troop, legion’). hyty would be 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the hap ael of a Ta, ‘come’: hence ‘brought’. For the h- preWx of the hap ael form see also htsˇkh: w in l. 6 and Ch. II. For a Ta 5: 1, etc. tsˇlh: wn: 19: 4. mnhn: partitive use of mn, ‘some of it’ (lit. them, since h: nt:ya is plur.). ayn too is very uncertain. Here we accept the suggestion of Naveh (Yadin et al. 2002: 310) of a link to later usage of aYN for ‘weigh precisely’, based on the idiom ayn b ayn, ‘in precise balance’. Note also t ayn, ‘speciWcation’, in one of the Nabataean papyri (11: 12, 35): Arabic ta ayı¯n. From this the suggestion is

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that the word here means ‘correctly weighed’ or ‘speciWcally’. The measure follows. (Alternative reading: adn, ‘time’, hence perhaps ‘now’; Beyer: ‘most luxuriant’, i.e. of the best quality.) sa h h: da , ‘one sea ah’ (11: 14; cf. MPAT 7: iv 4; 52: 2, etc.). ttnwn: 2nd masc. plur. imperfect p aal of NTN, ‘give, place’. 7: 5. ythn: yt plus suYx (above). a splya (also ll. 9 and 15) is a Greek loan: Iç ºØÆ, ‘security, guard’. dy (beginning of l. 6) may mean ‘since’. The corrected reading htsˇkh: w is conWrmed by ytsˇkh: in l. 10. The active form of this verb is hsˇkh: (Syriac a esˇkah: ), the passive hsˇtkh: or here htsˇkh: with no metathesis, reXecting the consistent failure to implement metathesis in this dialect (see Yadin et al. 2002: 23). See Ch. II. The active meaning is ‘Wnd’ (here 3rd plur. perfect passive, with h: nt:ya as subject). gnybyn: masc. plur. absolute passive participle of the p aal of GNB, ‘steal’, hence ‘stolen’ (agreeing with h: nt:ya ), 79: 5. a m, ‘if ’, a Hebraism; cf. also p.Yadin 10: 10, 14 (ATTM 1: 512; 2: 347). kn, ‘thus’ (cf. hkyn, etc. 63: 17 etc.; ATTM 1: 607), perhaps also a Hebraism. ty abdwn is an unusual spelling for t abdwn, but is clearly 2nd masc. plur. imperfect of the p aal of aBD. 1: 2 etc. Note the unusual use of {y} as a mater lectionis in some spellings in Hatran Aramaic: see 64: 8 and Ch. II. dy which follows appears to introduce the apodosis, though note use to introduce instructions above. mnkn, ‘from you’. pr anwta , ‘recompense’: 19: 11. tt abd: 3rd fem. sing. imperfect of the itp ael of aBD, ‘it will be done’, here ‘exacted’. yt: object marker above. gbrh, ‘man’ (emphatic with -h): Jewish Aramaic (Jastrow 208–9) and Syriac gabra¯, CSD 59. The man is the accused, the thief.
above, l. 4 and 19: 4. tsˇlh: wn: There is an implication that the thief is a Tekoan, since collective punishment is imposed on Tekoans, tqw ay, ‘Tekoan’ (absolute). Biblical form t eqo¯ a¯ı. ytsˇkh: : above, l. 6. Here imperfect. lwtkn, lwt, ‘with, near’, with 2nd plur. suYx: Nabataean 4: 2; Syriac 63: 20. btyh, despite appearances, is best understood as an unsuYxed emphatic form plur., ‘houses’. Jewish Aramaic ba¯ttaya¯, Jastrow 168. a nwn: 70: 7, 12; Syriac a enu¯n. Cf. also p.Yadin 7: 52; 10: 6; 47b: 6, 7. ˇsryn: masc. plur. active participle of the p aal of SˇRa . ‘settle, dwell’. The participle could be passive in view of Biblical Aramaic Dan. 2: 22; 3: 25; Bauer and Leander 1927: 297; No¨ldeke 1904: §280. bgwhn, ‘within them: gw 6: 1 etc.

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

129

yqdwn: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect of the p aal of YQD, ‘burn, be on Wre’ (subject ‘the houses’), Jastrow 591; CSD 195. The syntax is a little awkward: ‘the houses will burn.’ The meaning is jussive. a abd: 1st sing. imperfect of the p aal of aBD: ‘exact’ (see above, l. 8). pr anwth: above. Here emphatic in -h (see byth above and tdmryh below). (13) Unless this is repetition, a further culprit is then named. It might, however, be further detail on the culprit in l. 8. tdmryh is clearly ‘Palmyrene’ (37 ii 73, etc.): tadmu¯rayya¯ (Jastrow 1648). It is odd as a statement of descent, but implies that ‘the Palmyrene’ was some well-known Wgure (presumably a Jewish Palmyrene). th: dwn: see above, l. 3. tsˇgrwn: 19: 9. tbsrwn looks like a by-form of tbs: rwn: 2nd plur, imperfect of BS: R, ‘fail, be short’ (so Yadin et al. 2002: 311), but less problematic would be BSR, ‘scorn, despise, reject’ (bsar, Jastrow 180; CSD 49). So ATTM 2: 362: ‘verachten’. lmh: d: inWnitive of a H : D above. a syph, syp , ‘sword’. Cf. Syriac saypa¯ (CSD 375–6), often assumed to be an Arabism in Syriac, but its presence here, in Qumran Targum Job 33: 5 (GreenWeld and SokoloV 1992: 90) and in a related form in an Elephantine ostracon (RES §§1301: 6) implies it is genuine Aramaic: DNWSI 784; Lidzbarski 1915: 25–6. It appears also in Targum Onqelos (cf. Gen. 27: 3: sypk) and in Peshitta Matt. 26: 52 (Brown 1989: 212). alwy, ‘upon him’. tsˇgrwn: see above and 19: 9. A signature in a diVerent hand follows, that of the person who had the letter written for Simon (Beyer: ‘dictated’).

21. SALE PAPYRUS DATED 134/5

CE

(FIG. 6)

This deed of sale is one of a whole group of such documents among the Judaean Desert materials. This document is a ‘simple’ one, i.e. not of the double-document type (for which see p.Yadin 7; Nabataean 10–11; Syriac 62–3).

Main publications Milik 1954; Abramson and Ginsberg 1954; Rabinowitz 1954; Milik 1955; Birnbaum 1957; Hestrin et al. 1973: no. 192; MPAT no. 51; Naveh 1990; Naveh 1992: 98–102; Yardeni 1995: 101–4; 2000a: A 71–3, B [34–5]; Cotton

130

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

and Yardeni 1997: 34–7, no. 8a with Wgs 4–5 and pl. III ¼ p.XH : ev/Se papDeed of Sale C ar; ATTM 1: 320–1; 2: 249.

latuj vthl vlv vnu tj=dal ½e
topb 1 fjtb tqkb tgplal tma fjtb tqk wm edfej tb ddh 2 atiu tgpla tb vnbg fend amfjg jvfpt wm ena wmv wm 3 jljd evbl end emj xl xvb ecl enhvqv jd jvtd ecl wqr hjvq jd 4 evtd fcb jmp fxlg xl jvja al eutf 5 Þokb xl vnbg xd wjmd wvtv wjplo wjgfg 6 jut zlpl wjtmc ½a
vjtuf ajnba xd evb wbgb tgpla 7 eb jd lfk ajdf xd evb amhv apstsf ½e
jn½b
8 ahndm enbg tg½pla amftd
dd½h
abtpm evtd enqrl pfu½j w
vnfej 9 al eutf enbgm ½a
lf lpm alf jljd evtd fcb jmp xl jvja 10 ddh efvgna jlp sqm wb½gb x
l btpf jtha enaf zlplf end emj w½m
11 end emj wm xd evb ddh ½vv
na wfpmu vtb zlu enaf zlplf 12 jvjal wjlm end ev½ml
uvf zlplf xd evb wbgb zlplf jl 13 xlbsfl ensn jdf ½enjokn wm
v½tb
zflu=efcb zvhf ijuq end a½bv
k 14 bvk euqn lp wfpmu tgpla=euq< n > lp ed½f
ej tb ddh 15 etmm avvm tb dp Þofej tb wfpmu 16 deu wfpmu tb tgpla 17 deu edfej tb edfej 18

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14a. 15a. 16. 17. 18.

131

b asr[h] la d/yr ˇsnt tlt lh: rt ys ra l bkpr bryw h: dd br yhwdh mn kpr bryw a mr la l azr br a l azr ˇst:ra mn tmn a nh mn r awty {ywma dnh} zbnt lk ymh dnh lbth dyly dy ptyh: s: pn lgh drty dy tpth: nh lgh btk wrsˇh la ayty lk {lk} amy bgw drth dk zbnt lk bksp zwzyn sl ayn trtn dmyn gmryn l alm rsˇy a l azr bzbn bth dk a bnya wsˇryt[a ] wdrgya kwl dy bh [b]ny[h] wqrq aa th: ma bth dk [drwma a l a]zr zbnh mdnh: a yhwnt[n
y]sˇw a ls: pnh drth m arba [h: ]dd mzbnh wrsˇh la ayty lk amy bgw drth dyly wla m al wl[a ] mpq aly a nh h: dd [m]n ymh dnh wl alm wa nh a h: ry w arb l[k bz]bn bth dk mn ymh dnh wl alm wa nh ˇslm brt ˇsm awn a n[tt] h: dd dnh mlyn layty ly wl alm bzbn bth dk wl alm wtsˇ[lm]th wdy nqnh lwqblk k[tb]a dnh psˇyt: wh: tm bgwh 14b. ˇslwm [br]t ˇsm awn al npsˇh ktb 15b. a l azr br mtta mmrh h: dd br yh[w]dh al psˇh ˇsm awn br yhwsp ad a l azr br ˇsm awn s hd yhwdh br yhwdh s hd

¯ da¯r (?) in the year three of the freedom of Israel in Kefar Bariyu, On the tenth of A H adad son of Yehu¯dah of Kefar Bariyu said to El aa¯za¯r son of El aa¯za¯r the : administrator from there: I, of my free will, sold to you this day the house belonging to me which opens north into my courtyard so that you may open it into your house. But there is no authorization for you against me inside the said courtyard. I have sold (the house) to you for eight silver zu¯z, which is two sela as, full price. El aa¯za¯r is empowered for ever through the sale of this house—the stones and beams and steps, everything that is in it, buildings (?) and land. The boundaries of this house—(to the) south El aa¯za¯r the purchaser, (to the) east Yeho¯na¯tha¯n son of Yeshu¯ a, and to the north the courtyard, (to the) west H : adad the vendor. And you will have no right against me inside my courtyard, and no entry or exit over me (¼ my property), me H : adad, from this day and for ever. And I am guarantor and surety to you in the sale of that house from today and for ever. And I, Sha¯lu¯m daughter of Shim au¯n, wife of the same H : adad, have from this day and for ever no claims regarding the sale of that house (now) and for ever. And the indemnity will be available to you from our property and what we may acquire. This document is a simple one and the signature is inside it. H : adad son of Yehu¯dah on his own behalf. Sha¯lu¯m daughter of Shim au¯n on her own behalf. El aa¯za¯r son of Matata wrote her word.

132

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

Shim au¯n son of Yeho¯se¯ph, he witness. El aa¯za¯r son of Shim au¯n, he witnesses. Yehu¯dah son of Yehu¯dah, he witnesses. There are a number of scribal errors in this document. Note that ‘{ . . . }’ enclose letters that should be ignored. Corrections given here are mainly based on Beyer and Cotton and Yardeni 1997 (which does not, however, indicate a number of essential corrections which it assumes in its translation). b asrh, ‘on the tenth’ could be read as b asryn, ‘on the twentieth’. The month too is ambiguous: either adr (February/March) or ayr (April/May). tlt, ‘three’ (fem. form). For the preWxed l- with a date see DNWSI 553, l- 5(b). The era used refers to h: rt ys ra l, ‘the freedom of Israel’, in reference to the Second Jewish Revolt and the date is therefore 134/5 ce. Cf. in Syriac the ‘liberation of Edessa’: 63: 3: h: ru¯re¯. The same expression appears in MPAT no. 43: 1 and is found on coins of both Jewish Revolts in Hebrew (DNWSI 403–4: h: rwt, cf. Syriac h: ¯ıru¯t-a¯). ATTM 1: 585. The place Kefar Bariyu is otherwise unknown, but it appears also in another papyrus (Cotton and Yardeni 1997: 26–33, no. 8) and was probably local to the western Dead Sea. Naveh 1990 renders it as Kefar Baro¯ or Bero¯. The vendor’s name could be H : adad or H : adar. a mr: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the p aal of a MR, ‘say, declare’, 42: 10; 62: 20. ˇst:ra (alternative reading ˇst:ya ) must be an oYcial title and hence ‘administrator, lawyer’ (one who produces ˇst:rya and basically a participle of SˇT: R). For the noun ˇst:ra see 6: 4 etc. tmn, ‘there’: MPAT no. 49 i 10 and Syriac tama¯n. (3) a nh begins the declaration. mn r awty, ‘from my free will’. Cf. DNWSI 1079–80 and also MPAT no. 50: f; 40: 2. Jewish Aramaic r e au¯t-a¯, Jastrow 1486; ATTM 1: 696–7; 2: 483–4. ywma dnh just about makes sense but is probably best omitted as one of the many scribal errors and minor confusions in this text. zbnt: 1st sing. perfect of the pa ael of ZBN, meaning ‘sell’ in the pa ael (7: 4 etc.). ymh dna : defective spelling of ywmh. For various idioms see ATTM 1: 596; 2: 408–9. l-: accusative particle: 26: 5. ATTM 1: 613; DNWSI 555; Dalman 1905: 226; HALOT 1905. Note especially in the H : at:ra inscriptions: 65: 2, etc. See Ch. II. bth: defective spelling (also l. 4), emphatic form in -h, ‘house’: 6: 1, 2, etc. dyly, ‘belonging to me’: 48: 5; 62: vi, etc. ptyh: : masc, sing. absolute adjective (passive participle), ‘open’. ATTM 1: 673. s: pn: directions are expressed in a rather abbreviated way. Here ‘north’ clearly means ‘to the north’ (cf. l. 9). Cf. ATTM 1: 677: s: pwn also occurs, cf. s: pwna in MPAT no. 52: 5. See in general on boundaries Porten 2000.

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

133

lgh evidently represents the normal lgw, ‘inside’ (also in l. 4). ATTM 1: 541–42; 6: 1, etc. drty, drta , ‘courtyard, enclosure’ (with 1st sing. suYx): ATTM 1: 548; 2: 373; 11: 7 etc. for Nabataean and in the third Syriac parchment (Drijvers and Healey 1999: P3 ii, 8, etc.). tpth: nh: 2nd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of PTH : , ‘open’, with 3rd masc. sing. suYx referring to the house. (5) rsˇh, ‘authorization, power’: here and l. 9. Adjectival rsˇy in 8: 4; feminine noun-form in 15: 5, etc.; MPAT nos. 51: 6; 52: 9, etc. See also rsˇa in 11: 16, 40. ayty, ‘there is’ (7: 7, etc. for Nabataean usage). amy, literally ‘with me’, eVectively ‘in connection with me’, ‘over me’, ‘over my rights’. EVectively ‘no claim on me’. Cf. Nabataean idiom, 7: 7. bgw, ‘inside’, see above. Note here more usual spelling. dk, ‘that’ (here fem, da¯k- , v. masc. de¯k- ): cf. Biblical Aramaic, HALOT 1853. This demonstrative is used sometimes for ‘the said’, as zk in MPAT no. 48: 3: yhwdh zk, yhwntn zk. See Ch. II. zbnt: see above. bksp in prices: 11: 8 (also in 4: 1, etc.). zwzyn: the zu¯z is the Roman tetradrachm (3.4g of silver). Cf. OYcial Aramaic and Jewish Aramaic: MPAT index; DNWSI 308–09; Healey 1993: 78. The text is corrected from zwzyn dy hmwn tmnya wsl ayn trtn which makes no sense. We know there were 4 zu¯z in a sela a (discussion in Healey 1993: 78). hmwn: independent pronoun, ‘they’, used as a copula (ATTM 1: 562). Cf. MPAT index, in same kind of context. sl ayn: 7: 9, etc. (fem. noun; discussion Healey 1993: 78). trtn, ‘two’ (fem. form). dmyn gmryn, ‘full price’: 11: 9, 30 and elsewhere in Nabataean (e.g. Healey 1993: 77 and H1: 8). For dmyn alone 10: 18. l alm could be associated with what goes before. rsˇy, ‘authorized’, i.e. ‘having right of disposal’, masc. sing. absolute (ATTM 1: 698; 8: 4). zbn, zbna , ‘sale’ (here construct; cf. below 11, 13): 63: 1; MPAT nos 50 c 1; 52: 12; Syriac zebna¯, TS col. 1076.
A formulaic summary statement of the assets acquired is provided: a bnya , ‘stones’: Jewish Aramaic a abna¯, etc., Jastrow 7, and earlier Aramaic
(DNWSI 6–7), though rare in Syriac. ˇsryta , ‘beams’ (fem. plur.): 38: 1: an Akkadian loanword: ˇsa¯rı¯tu, ‘entablature’. PAT glossary. drgya is a correction for dgrya which makes no sense. drga means ‘step’ (Jewish Aramaic and Syriac darga¯, Jastrow 320–1; CSD 97). kl dy bh, ‘everything that is in it’.

134

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

(8) Line 8 begins with a further summary phrase, but the Wrst word of the phrase is poorly preserved. Something like ‘buildings and land’ is required and we have followed some earlier commentators restoring bnyh, ‘buildings’ (MPAT; ATTM 1: 320). The second word, qrq aa , means ‘land’. Apart from here in Aramaic it may occur in Cowley 1923: no. 75: 1 and is known in Samaritan Aramaic (Tal 2000: 802, qrq aa , ‘soil’) and Targum 2 Chron 21: 3. It was also used in later Hebrew (Jastrow 1426), with a meaning pointing to a legal sense of ‘land’ v. ‘buildings’: cf. Baba Bathra V: 4. There follows a description of the boundaries. Several restorations have been attempted (e.g. Milik 1954). Here that of Cotton and Yardeni 1997 is followed: it makes the best sense and suggests the following plan of the immediate vicinity of the property being sold: NORTH " H : adad’s courtyard H : adad’s property

H : adad’s house being sold to El aa¯za¯r

Yeho¯na¯tha¯n’s property

El aa¯za¯r’s property

th: ma : 10: 13, here plur. construct (cf. Hatran forms of construct plur. such as bna : see Ch. II). ATTM 1: 723; Kaufman 1974: 105–6. On boundaries and directions see Porten 2000. drwma (restored), ‘south’: DNWSI 262, mostly used in Hebrew (HALOT 230) and Jewish Aramaic (Jastrow 322). Cf. MPAT nos 52: 4; 44 frag. 9–10, in similar context, 11: 4. zbnh, ‘the purchaser’: 63: 11 etc. Syriac za¯bo¯na¯ (CSD 109) but here probably
za¯bna¯, cf. ATTM 1: 567.
mdnh: a , ‘east’, 11: 4, 23. Yeho¯na¯tha¯n’s name is followed immediately by Yeshu¯ a with no room for br, but we may assume that this is a scribal error and Yeshu¯ a is the father. ls: pnh, ‘to the north’: above, l. 4. drth, ‘the courtyard’ (emphatic), i.e. the one mentioned already. m arba , ‘west’. cf. MPAT no. 52: 3 in a similar context and 11: 4, 23. mzbnh, ‘vendor’: see 63: 14 etc. for Syriac fem. form; MPAT nos. 44 frag. 1: 6; 52: 11. rsˇh la ayty lk amy: see above, l. 5. bgw: above, l. 5.

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

135

m al, ‘entry’ (absolute): 43: 4; 10: 6, etc.; ATTM 1: 658. mpq, ‘going out, exit’: 10: 6; 37 ii 35 (probably with diVerent vocalization: the context there is ‘import’ and ‘export’). ATTM 1: 639. aly, literally ‘over me’, meaning ‘over my land’. A further most confusing error by the scribe is his a nth, ‘you’, when a nh, ‘I’ is unquestionably correct. H : adad is the speaker, not the one spoken to. mn ymh dnh : see above, l. 3. a h: ry, ‘guarantee, substitute’: the word is used repeatedly, cf. ATTM 1: 508; DNWSI 40–1; MPAT index. It could be understood as an adjective: cf. Jastrow 41: a ah: ara¯yı¯, ‘substitute, guarantor’ (adjective). arb, ‘acting as surety’ (p aal participle), see 62: 2. bzbn bth dk mn ymh . . . : see above. (12) We then have a statement from H : adad’s wife to the eVect that she has no claim or objection. This might relate to dowry arrangements (Satlow 2005: 61). a ntt: 8: 6, etc. (construct). dnh: 2: 2 etc. (1: 1 znh). mlyn, mlta , ‘word’ (plur. absolute), 63: 15; Syriac melta¯, emphatic plural mele¯. layty: la þ ayty (note Jewish Aramaic layit-, Jastrow 710; Syriac layt, CSD 14–15). For ayty 7: 7. The second l alm later in the line is probably to be suppressed as a scribal error. The Wnal detail (tsˇlmth . . . ) is a little obscure and mn nksynh is restored on the basis of MPAT nos. 39: 7–8; 45: 6. The reference is to an indemnity. It is not obvious what eventuality might be in mind, but hidden liabilities are covered (e.g. if the property is discovered to be subject to a mortgage). ˇ tslmth, ‘payment, compensation, indemnity’: ATTM 1: 712; Jastrow 1704. nksynh: nksya /h, with 1st plur. suYx. Cf. Jewish Aramaic niksayya¯ (plur. only): Jastrow 911; MPAT index, ‘property’; Syriac nek- se¯ (CSD 340). nqnh: 1st plur. imperfect of the p aal of QNa , ‘possess, obtain’. Perhaps the reference is to liability extending not only to H : adad’s existing property, but to such property as he might acquire in the future. See DNWSI 1015–16 and possibly 70: 8. lwqblk, ‘towards you’: 15: 3. The meaning appears to be ‘is at your disposal’. Cf. MPAT index. Lines 14 and 15 have unrelated halves. 14a and 15a belong together, as do 14b and 15b, so the order of treatment is 14a, 15a, 14b, 15b. ktba , ‘document’: 7: 9, etc.; MPAT index. psˇyt:, ‘simple’ (masc. sing. absolute). Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1246 and Syriac psˇ¯ıt: (CSD 467). The word can mean ‘unfolded’ and it here refers to the legal type of the document: it is not a ‘double document’ (contrast Nabataean 10–11 and other Judaean Desert documents such as p.Yadin 7).

136

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

h: tm: according to Beyer (ATTM 1: 320) to be taken to be a passive participle, ‘sealed, signed’ (though an absolute noun, ‘sealing’, might be possible: cf. Jewish Aramaic h: atı¯ma¯, Jastrow 512; Syriac h: t-a¯ma¯, CSD 164). bgwh, ‘inside it’: see above. al npsˇh, literally ‘for himself/herself ’. For npsˇa 7: 2, etc.; for the whole phrase see 62: v1, v5; 63: v1, v5. It is not clear precisely what this means, since there are cases where an illiterate is said to ‘witness for him/herself ’ (63: v1). Here El aa¯za¯r signed for Sha¯lu¯m. The phrase indicates approval in person and even an illiterate could signify this approval. ktb: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the p aal of KTB (El aa¯za¯r is the subject, not Sha¯lu¯m). mmrh, mmra , ‘word, speech’ (with 3rd fem. sing suYx). Cf. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac me¯mra¯ (Jastrow 775; CSD 247; MPAT index, but only here in a legal context). (16) ad, ‘witness’, is Hebrew ( ae¯d ).
, is best understood as a participle: ‘(he is) s hd from the root SHD, ‘witness’ witnessing’. Suggesting this is the fact that there is an instance in Syriac of a female witness with the word appearing apparently as a feminine participle (63: v1, v5). However, a noun in the absolute is not impossible (ATTM 1: 703).

2 2 . SY NAG O G U E BU I L DI N G I N SC RI P T I O N F ROM C A P E RNAU M This inscription, on a column, was found in 1924 in the Capernaum synagogue and records the donation of the pillar. It has been dated to the third century ce (but see LoVreda 1973 for a fourth/Wfth century date, and attached rejoinder by M. Avi-Yonah).

Main publications Orfali 1926: 401–7, pl. I; CII: §982; Sukenik 1934: 72; Naveh 1978: 38–9; MPAT no. A15; ATTM 1: 389–90, no. ggKN 1.

wnhfj tb edjbg tb jqlh 1 edfmp wde dbp 2 evktb l jv 3 1. 2. 3.

h: lpy br zbydh br ywh: nn abd hdn amwdh ty l brkth

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

137

H : alpay son of Zebı¯dah son of Yo¯h: a¯na¯n made this pillar. May he receive blessing. For the personal names H : alpay and Zebı¯da note the forms in the New Testament `ºçÆE and ˘
ÆE (Sukenik 1934: 72). abd: 3rd masc. sing. perfect 1: 2, etc. hdn, ‘this’ (masc.), a variant of dn (ATTM 1: 556), fairly common in these inscriptions (24: 1, MPAT index: Ma aon synagogue, Alma synagogue, etc.). It always precedes its noun. See Ch. II. amwdh, ‘pillar’ (emphatic -h). This occurs in a number of inscriptions (MPAT nos. A12, Beth Gubrin synagogue, A17, Dabbura synagogue): Jewish Aramaic aammu¯d a¯ in Jastrow 1987; Palmyrene 38: 1 and PAT glossary;
ATTM 1: 660; DNWSI 869–70. thy (note that the h was accidentally omitted): 3rd fem. sing. imperfect/ jussive of the p aal of HWa : ‘may it be’. Cf. tha in 60: 5. For HWa 5: 2 etc. The appearance of y instead of w in some forms may be a Hebraism (MPAT 350), but the apocopated form found here is also found in other inscriptions: 24: 4; MPAT no. A16: 3; A30: 1, etc.), especially where there is a jussive meaning, and in Syriac (No¨ldeke 1904: 134). lh (corrected from la ): ‘to him’. brkth, ‘blessing’ (ATTM 1: 538–9) (cf. Beth Shean synagogue inscription MPAT no. A13: 3, etc.). Cf. Jewish Aramaic birkt-a¯, Jastrow 196.

2 3. TO M B I N SC R IP TI O N F ROM B E T H S H E aA RI M ( 3 RD / 4 T H C . ) From a third/fourth-century necropolis at Beth She aarim, located above an arcosolium (no. 3 in Hall A, room III).

Main publications Avigad 1954: 95; 1976: 233–4, no. 1, with Wg. 104 and pl. III/4; MPAT no. A45; ATTM 390, no. ggNB1; Naveh 1992: 195.

hvqjd wm lk evtfbs ede efcbd wm flpg lp ujb Þfob vfmj

1 2 3 4

138 1. 2. 3. 4.

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

kl mn dypth: hdh qbwrth al { al} mn dbgwh ymwt bswp bysˇ

May anyone who opens this grave from upon whoever is in it die with a bad end. kl mn d-: cf. MPAT nos. A22: 2; A30: 1; A47: 1. Cf. kl a nsˇ dy in Syriac 46: 5–6; Nabataean, Healey 1993: H1: 3, etc. Syriac more commonly has mn dy . . . as here l. 3; 47: 5; 58: 6. ypth: : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of the p aal of PTH : , ‘open’. 21: 4; 24; 4; 25: 4; 12: 8. hdh, ‘this’ (fem., related to da /h: ATTM 1: 546; 22: 2 for dn/hdn). Cf. Syriac ha¯d a¯.
‘burial, grave’ (emphatic): Jastrow 1308; ATTM 1: 679: Syriac qbu¯rta¯, qbwrth, CSD 487. al, ‘upon’, clearly here has a privative meaning, ‘from over, from upon’, referring to the body lying underneath (cf. Nabataean Healey 1993: H13: 3, also with PTH : : discussion p. 145; 24: 4). mn dbgwh, ‘whoever is inside it’: gw, 21: 4, etc. ymwt: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect/jussive of the p aal of MWT, ‘die’. See in Hatran 72: 4; 77: 12; 78: 10 (lmwt). swp, swpa , ‘end’ (cf. Syriac su¯p, sawpa¯, CSD 369). Jewish Aramaic so¯pa¯, Jastrow 968. See 24: 5–6; MPAT index. The word h: rta is the equivalent in Syriac: 60: 5 (discussion in Drijvers and Healey 1999: 79–80); 55: 16. bysˇ, ‘bad’ (masc. sing. absolute): 62: 23, Palmyrene PAT glossary and Syriac bı¯ˇs, CSD 43).

2 4. D I P I N TO F RO M A TO M B I N B E T H S H E aA RI M From the same tomb-cave as no. 23, this is a dipinto painted in red above a loculus.

Main publications Avigad 1954: 95; 1976: 234–5, no. 2 and Wg. 105 and pl. IV/4; MPAT no. A46; ATTM 1: 390, no. ggNB2; Naveh 1992: 195–6

wjdeb tjbsd 1 wnhfj tb wfpmu 2 lkd epfbubf 3

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

139

jej jflp hvqjd 4 Þfob vjam 5 ujb 6 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

dqbyr bhdyn ˇsm awn br ywh: nn wbsˇbw ah dkl dypth: alwy yhy mayt bswp bysˇ

He who is buried in this is Shim au¯n son of Yo¯h: a¯na¯n and with the oath (it is enjoined) that anyone who opens (it) from over him, let him die with a bad end. d-: note the beginning with the independent relative without preceding referent: ‘he who . . . , the one who . . .’. Cf. dyd a ˇsmhtwn, ‘He who knows their names . . . will . . .’ (MPAT no. A34). qbyr: masc. sing. passive participle of the p aal of QBR, 7: 6 etc.; 26: 6. hdyn, ‘this’: cf. ATTM 1: 556, preWxed demonstrative: 22: 2. See Ch. II. ˇsbw ah, ‘oath’: ˇsbu¯ aat-a¯, Jastrow 1510. (Cf. other late inscriptions: ATTM 1: 366,
1). 701, no. yyHG kl dy: cf. kl mn d- 23: 1. ypth: alwy: see 23: 1–3. alwy: suYxed form of al, ‘upon him’ (privative): MPAT no. 53: 4. yhy: 3rd masc. sing. jussive of the p aal of HWa : 22: 3. mayt: masc. sing. active participle of MWT (23: 4). The verbal expression is thus analytical: ‘let him be dying’ (cf. Jastrow 780). swp bysˇ: 23: 4.

25. D IPINTO FROM A CAVE-TOMB IN JERUSALEM (1ST C. C E ) This is a dipinto from a Wrst-century-ce cave-tomb in the Kidron valley in Jerusalem. Dated palaeographically by Avigad 1958: 77–8 to the Wrst half of the Wrst century ce.

Main publications Sukenik 1934–5; Ginsberg 1935–6; Kutscher 1967; ATTM 1: 340; MPAT no. 67.

140

Jewish Aramaic Inscriptions and Papyri

djbp end ekfk enveba jmtcl wjvtv wjma hta wfejlp hvqml alf 1. 2. 3. 4.

1 2 3 4

kwkh dnh abyd lgrmy a bhtnh a rk a myn trtyn wla lmpth: alyhwn

This burial-niche was made for the bones of our fathers. The length is two cubits. And it is not (permitted) to open from over them. kwkh, ‘burial-niche, -chamber’: see Nabataean gwh: a 6: 1 and for discussion Healey 1993: 82 on H2: 1; see also Kutscher 1967. The Akkadian origin is in kimahu; cf. Palmyrene gwmh: a (45: 2, PAT glossary), as noted already by • 1934–5: 193. Sukenik dnh: 2: 2; 21: 3, etc. abyd: possibly 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the p a¯ıl of aBD, 1: 2; 20: 7. The G-stem passive is a possibility (ATTM 1: 649), but in view of the word-order it might be better to take the word as a passive participle. grmy: construct plur. or grma , ‘bone’. Jewish Aramaic garma¯, Jastrow 270 (Targum Onqelos Gen. 2: 23: garma¯ miggarmay), 60: 4, 5. a bhtnh, a ba , plural a abaha¯ta¯, with 1st plur. pronoun suYx. Cf. Ezra 5: 12.
- (ATTM 1: 522). Jewish Aramaic a arka, Jastrow a rk, a rka , ‘length’ (absolute) ¯ 121; Syriac a urka¯, CSD 8. a myn, a mta , ‘cubit’ (fem.). Note that the cubit here seems to be larger than the normal 50 cm: see ATTM 1: 513 (78 cm) and Healey 1993: 150. trtyn, ‘two’ (fem.). The last line is highly elliptical: lmpth: : inWnitive of the p aal of PTH : (23: 1). alyhwn: 23: 3, etc.; here with 3rd plur. suYx.

2 6 . T H E A B B A I N S C R I P TI O N Estimated to date from the late Wrst century bce or Wrst century ce, this was found on a wall opposite a cave-tomb in Giv aat ha-Mivt:ar in Jerusalem. It is unusual because it is in the palaeo-Hebrew script, though the language is Aramaic. Naveh 1973 thought it might be Samaritan (since the Samaritans retained the old script), but concluded that the location in Jerusalem indicates it is Jewish.

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141

Main publications E. S. Rosenthal 1973; Naveh 1973; 1982: 120–1; MPAT no. 68; Hestrin et al. 1974: no. 263; ATTM 1: 346–7, no. yJE 80; Hezser 2001: 370–1.

a enek tb eba na ebt wtea tb gpl dtm ejnpm eba e zluftjb djlj jd eq vvml soaf lbbl alcf mb evtbsf dfej tb j eicb vnbgd evtp 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

a bh br khnh a l az br a hrn rbh a n h a bh m anyh mrd

ph dy ylyd byrwsˇlm wgla lbbl wa sq lmtt y br yhwd wqbrth bm arth dzbnt bgt:h

Abba, son of the priest El aa¯za¯r son of Aharon the elder, I, Abba, aZicted, persecuted, who was born in Jerusalem and went into exile to Babylon, and brought back Mattathayah son of Yehu¯dah, and I buried him in the cave which I bought by contract of purchase. The Wrst-person formulation and concentration on the person who conducted the burial (rather than the dead man) are most unusual (Hezser 2001: 370–1; Naveh 1982: 120–1). khnh, ‘priest’: DNWSI 490–2. The placing of this word is odd; professions almost invariably come after names (MPAT no. A2: 1; A56: 1; 139: 1). It could be for emphasis, to draw attention to the status of Abba’s father. rbh, ‘great, elder’: 6: 1, etc. (ATTM 1: 689–90). a nh: 10: 8 etc.; 19: 9; 21: 3 etc. m anyh: passive participle of the pa ael of aNY, ‘aZict’ (possibly a Hebraism, but it does occur in Jewish Aramaic: m aanne¯, Jastrow 1094). mrdph: ditto of RDP, ‘persecute, pursue’, Jastrow 1453. ylyd: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the p a¯ıl of YLD. See 8: 2 and also in Syriac in p.Euphr. 6: 32 and 7: 28: ylyda (fem.), ‘born’ (Feissel et al. 1997: 11, 16). yrwsˇlm: Jewish Aramaic yru¯ˇsle¯m, Jastrow 595. gla: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the p aal of GLa , ‘go into exile’: Jewish Aramaic Jastrow 248. The usage of the root may be a Hebraism, though it does occur in Syriac.

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bbl, ‘Babylon’ (Biblical Aramaic ba¯bel).
to be corrected to a sqt: MPAT) appears to a sq (possibly, though not necessarily, be 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the ap ael of SLQ, ‘go up’. a sqt would be 1st sing. Cf. Bibical Aramaic and 31: 4; 37 i 5, 8. l-: object marker: 21: 3. qbrth: 1st sing. perfect p aal of QBR with 3rd masc. sing. suYx: 24: 1, etc. m arth, ‘cave’, m aarta¯, Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 819; Syriac m aarta¯, CSD 290. zbnt: 1st sing. perfect of the p aal of ZBN, ‘buy’ (pa ael means ‘sell’): 7: 4; 21: 3, etc. gt:a , ‘document’, ge¯t:, git:t:a¯, Jastrow 233; DNWSI 221. The word has an Akkadian origin in git:t:u, but appears only in OYcial Aramaic and Jewish Aramaic (Samaria papyri: 3: 12, Gropp et al. 2001: 64; MPAT no. 40: 8, 21, in a divorce context).

2 7 . O S S UA RY F RO M J E RU S A L E M Ossuary from Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem, bearing an inscription on the right side. The remains of a woman and an infant were found in the ossuary. Possibly Wrst century ce.

Main publications Naveh 1970b; ATTM 1: 345: no. yJE 27; MPAT no. 88 (with discussion); Hestrin et al. 1974: no. 261; Rahmani 1994: 134, no. 226 and pl. 32 and Wg. 112.

lfau vtb zflu vlh 1 evtb zflu vtbu jd 2 1. h: lt ˇslwm brt ˇsawl 2. dy ˇsbrt ˇslwm brth Ossuary of Sha¯lu¯m daughter of Sha¯a u¯l, who gave birth to Sha¯lu¯m, her daughter. h: lt, h: lth, ‘ossuary’: ATTM 1: 579; 2: 397 (root H : LL); DNWSI 373; Marcus 1975: 90–1; Naveh 1992: 198–9; cf. MPAT no. 69: 1. Note Phoenician h: lt, ‘coYn’. ˇsbrt is disputed. Fitzmyer and Harrington (MPAT) suggested it was alternative orthography for sbrt, ‘she hoped’: ‘she hoped for Salome, her daughter’, but this is a very strange idea. Naveh suggested a connection with Syriac ˇsabra¯,
‘infant’, and suggests ‘she failed to give birth’ (and died in childbirth). This

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143

too seems a convoluted etymology. It also leaves ˇslwm brth as a greeting at the end of the line. Much simpler, following Naveh’s line of thought might be ‘she gave birth to Salome her daughter’. This guesses that ˇsbr had become a transitive verb, ‘to bear a child’ (denominative?). See summary in DNWSI 1106. For ˇsbr, ‘suVer, pains, tribulations’, 55: 14 and tsˇbr in Qumran Targum Job 30: 16.

V Palmyrene Inscriptions 2 8. S TAT U E I N SC RI P T I O N O F E A RLY 4 4 b ce This inscription, now in the Palmyra Museum, is on a stone block from the wall of the Be¯l Temple at Palmyra, inscribed within a decorative border.

Main publications1 PAT 1524; Inv. xi, 100 and pl. xiii. Starcky 1956: 514–16; Milik 1972: 31 and pl. ii, 3; As’ad and Yon 2001: 32. 1. byrh: tsˇry ˇsnt 2100 2. þ 60 þ 5 þ 4 a qym kmrya 3. dy bl s: lma dnh lgrymy 4. br nbwzbd dy mn ph: d 5. bny khnbw In the month of Teshrı¯ in the year 269, the priests of Be¯l set up this statue for Garı¯may son of Nabu¯zabad, who is of the tribe of the Bene¯ Ka¯hne¯bo¯. The dating formula is standard, with the year number according to the Seleucid era introduced by the construct ˇsnt: 7: 2 etc.; 46: 1 etc. The numbers are written in ciphers (for Nabataean 14: 4–5 etc.) and the number combines multiplicative (2100) and additional principles. Sometimes the 100s are omitted and have to be supplied The Palmyrene month-names correspond exactly with those of the Seleucid calendar, though there are uncertainties about how the Palmyrene calendar worked (Samuel 1972: 18–80). It is possible that at some point the Julian solar calendar was adopted, while the old month-names were retained (see Chap. I). Where the month-names occur in this chapter they are given conventional direct equivalents (Hillers and Cussini 1996: 443; Taylor 2001: 205–8). The month of Teshrı¯ corresponds to October in the Julian calendar, though in this early inscription it is possible that the Babylonian equivalent September/October is intended. The 1 The first reference in this chapter is always to PAT.

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inscription is thus dated to the very beginning of the year 269, which began on 1 October 44 bce (note the correction by Taylor 2001 to the date given in PAT). The inscription is, therefore, the earliest dated Palmyrene text. a qym : 3rd plur. perf. ap ael of QWM: ‘cause to arise, erect, set up’. See 29: 1 etc. and Nabataean 15: 1. The editors’ restoration of the {w} is not strictly essential, since the -w ending of the plur. perf. is sometimes omitted: Cantineau 1936: 56–7, 75 and see Ch. II; 35: 4; 43: 4; 45: 3, 9. (Note that it is not pronounced in classical Syriac.) kmrya , kmra , ‘priest’, 29: 2; Nabataean 5: 2. Be¯l, whose name has a form derived from the title of Marduk in Babylon (though it is also used of other Mesopotamian deities), was the god of Palmyra’s main temple (for which see Kaizer 2002: 67–79). This particular inscription is important because it shows that the temple existed in some form as early as the mid-Wrst century bce. (See also Kaizer 2006b: 102–3.) s: lma , ‘statue, image’, 29: 2 and frequently and also for Nabataean see 4: 1; Syriac 50: 1; Hatran 71: 1. dnh: 29: 2 and frequently, Nabataean 2: 2 etc., Jewish Aramaic 21: 3 etc. The names Garı¯may (Stark 1971: 14, 82) and Nabu¯zabad(38, 98, 85)are paralleled elsewhere. Nabu¯zabad means ‘Nabu¯ has given’: Nabu¯ was popular at Palmyra (Kaizer 2002: 89–99, though reXecting the complexity of the situation). ph: d is an Arabic loan into the Palmyrene dialect (an occurrence at Deir aAllah is dubious: Hackett 1980: 62–3) and it has various spellings: ph: d, ph: z, and ph: wz (PAT glossary). The Arabic word is fahid, fahd meaning ‘subdivision of a tribe’
˘
(see Cantineau 1935: 150–1; F. (Wehr 699), though more literally ˘‘thigh’ Rosenthal 1936: 94–5; Hillers 1972a; DNWSI 905–6 HALOT 923, Job 40: 17?). The ‘tribal’ aspect of Palmyrene society is well known (Gawlikowski 1973: 26–48). Particular temples were the responsibility of particular tribes, though the term ‘tribe’ may well have been a conventional term for a municipal unit rather than have much to do with tribal background. The tribe in question here, the Bene¯ Ka¯hne¯bo¯ (Gawlikowski 1973: 35–6), is known otherwise only in Inv. xi 83. The form of the name is unclear. It is either based on the DN Bo¯l with loss of the Wnal consonant (‘priests of Bo¯l’) or on Nabu¯ (cf. Milik 1972: 31 against Starcky 1956: 514–15). khna does not appear in Palmyrene for ‘priest’, however. It is much more in use in Nabataean (especially in Sinai) and in Hebrew and other Canaanite languages and Arabic (DNWSI 490–2). In Syriac its use is probably the result of Hebrew inXuence in the biblical context.

29. STAT UE INSCRIPTION OF 6/5 bc e Found in the ruins of the Be¯l Temple (registration number Palmyra A 361), this inscription is dated to 6/5 bce. The corrected readings in ll. 5 and 6 are those of Milik 1972: 219–21.

146

Palmyrene Inscriptions

Main publications PAT 2766; Cantineau 1936: 268–71, no. 17; Milik 1972: 219–21; Gawlikowski 1973: 61–3; Teixidor 1979: 111–12; Kaizer 2002: 76. 1. byrh: knwn ˇsnt 3100 þ 5 þ1 a qymw 2. kmrya dy h: rta s: lma dnh 3. l agylw br ayd an dy mn bny kmra 4. dy abd wqrb hw wbnwhy plgwt 5. [mt: ]lta dh wmsˇla wbt nh: rya w 6. [a ]drna lh: rta wlnny wlrsˇpa lhya In the month of Ka¯nu¯n in the year 306, the priests of H : ¯ırta set up this statue for aOgaylu son of Ayda aan of the Bene¯ Komare, who, he and his sons, made and oVered half of this portico and the place of rest and the place for slaughter and the banqueting-room for the deities H : ¯ırta and Nannay and Resheph. For the dating formula see 28: 1–2. The month of Ka¯nu¯n corresponds to November (or October/November for the Babylonian month), while the year, 306, corresponds to 6/5 bce. Milik notes that there is a blank after the ‘1’, but others restore a second ‘1’ (hence 5/4 bce). a qymw: 28: 2. kmrya : 28: 2. The deity H : ¯ırta is here the principal dedicatee, but associated in l. 6 with Nannay and Reshef and with Nannay on tesserae (PAT 2140; 2231–5). h¯ırtu¯ is an Akkadian epithet of Ishtar and means ‘wife’ (CDA 117). In PAT ˘2139 she is associated with Be¯l and Teixidor (1979: 111) takes this to indicate she is partnered by Be¯l. s: lma dnh: 28: 3. For the names aOgaylu and Ayda aan see Stark 1971: 43–4, 104; 4, 67. The Bene¯ Komare were one of the most prominent tribes in Palmyra and appear frequently in inscriptions (Milik 1972: 37–41; Gawlikowski 1973: 36–7). abd: 30: 2, 3, 6 etc. and in Nabataean 1: 2. qrb: 38: 1; 39: 1 etc. and in Nabataean 10: 2, 18, 23. hw, independent personal pronoun. Cf. Syriac, Jewish Aramaic, etc., hu¯. bnwhy, ‘his children’, 38: 2, etc. There follow architectural terms, some of which are known elsewhere; the Wrst is preceded by plgwt, construct singular of plgwta , ‘half of ’ or possibly ‘part of’: 37 ii 130, 138 and Nabataean 4: 2. mt: lta , ‘portico’ (from T: LL): see 38: 1; PAT glossary; DNWSI 618. On the sense see Gawlikowski 1973: 61–2; Dunant 1971: 13–14, arguing that the term was later replaced by a st: wa ( ) (40: 1) and bslqa (Æغ،) (PAT 0260: 4, etc.). Note also Gaster 1937 for comparative material. There is a possible

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occurrence of the word in Nabataean: RES §2023 (restored); CIS ii. 163; cf. Healey 2001a: 66. (Cantineau 1936: 268 read alta for mt: lta v. Milik 1972: 219–21.) dh: feminine singular demonstrative, see 38: 1; Nabataean da 9: 1. msˇla . This is a hapax legomenon and unclear in meaning. Originally translated as ‘fork’ (for meat-oVerings) (Cantineau 1936: 269—cf. Targum 1 Sam. 2: 13), Milik (1972: 220–1) reinterpreted it as something to do with water channels, referring to Akkadian masˇallu, etc. (CDA 201). Perhaps the best explanation is that preferred by Kaizer (2002: 76) following Gawlikowski (1973: 61–2) from SˇLY, ‘be at rest’: something like ‘place of rest’ would Wt the context well. bt nh: rya , also a hapax, appears to mean ‘place of slaughter’ (see Aramaic and later Hebrew, Cantineau 1936: 269 and Jastrow 896; DNWSI 725). a drna (the reading is not certain: Cantineau 1936: 268 a d/rna ) appears as a drwna elsewhere (PAT glossary), a term for a room for meals associated with rituals (compare triclinia). The meaning is assured by Syriac a edru¯na¯ (CSD 4) and Mandaic andiruna/andruna, a ritual chamber (Drower and Macuch 1963: 26), but it is not clear whether it is a Greek loan (I
æ, ‘men’s banqueting-room’: Starcky 1949: 55–9) or Persian (andaro¯n: Cantineau 1935: 154) or Akkadian (idraˆnu: F. Rosenthal 1936: 90, who is open to the Greek explanation, n. 5, though there is no obviously relevant meaning of this word in CAD: I/J, 9–10 and Dalley 1995: 140 argues rather on the basis of Sumerian anduruna, ‘heavenly abode’). As for the other divine names, Nannay was originally the consort of Nabu¯ at Borsippa (Teixidor 1979: 112), while Resheph is Canaanite and well known already at Ugarit (ibid. 112–13). The latter appears only here in Palmyrene; the former appears quite often (see the tesserae cited above) and was associated with Artemis (M. Stol in DDD2: 612–14; WdM 108). a lhya : 32: 3, 4 etc; Nabataean 2: 3. The masculine word is used even though two of the three deities are female: hence ‘deities’.

30. STAT UE INSCRIPTION OF 108 c e This is a bilingual inscription on a column console from the Temple of Be¯l in Palmyra and remains in situ. It is dated 108 ce. The restoration in l. 2 of the Aramaic is far from certain and aVects the interpretation of the personal name.

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Palmyrene Inscriptions

Main publications PAT 0263; CIS ii, 3917 (and pl. VI); RES: §2128; Inv. ix, 15; Milik 1972: 307; Drijvers 1988: 168–9. 1. @ŒŒ ˝ÆæÆı F ŒŒÆı 2. ƒ ˆÆ

غØØ ØB å æØ 1. s: lma dnh dy a qyh: b[r n ar]y br a qyh: 2. dy abdw lh bny gdybwl bdyl dy abd lhn 3. bba wtr awhy wa p abd ba lgsˇya h: mna 4. klh hw wa trh wa p :tll a drwna 5. klh wsˇpr lhwn bkl s: bw klh 6. bdyl kwt abdw lh s: lma dnh lyqrh 7. byrh: knwn ˇsnt 4100 þ 20

Greek For Akkeos son of Noaraios son of Akkeos, the Gaddı¯bo¯lians, to honour him.

Aramaic This statue is that of Aqayh: son of Nu aaray son of Aqayh: which the Bene¯ Gaddı¯bo¯l made for him because he made for them the doorway and its doors and also he made in Vologesias a complete chapel, both it and its sacred precinct, and also roofed over the whole banqueting-room and he did good to them in every respect. Hence they made for him this statue in his honour. In the month of Ka¯nu¯n in the year 420. s: lma dnh: 28: 3. It may be noted that this cannot strictly be translated as ‘This is the statue of . . .’, since the placing of dnh (masc. sing. demonstrative) after the noun indicates attributive use, ‘this image’ (cf. Cantineau 1935: 129). It follows that we must understand dy here as ‘that of . . .’. The names Aqayh: and Nu aaray can be vocalized in part on the basis of the Greek version. Aqayh: is paralleled only in CIS ii. 4615 (Stark 1971: 7, 72). For Nu aaray cf. Stark 40, 100. abdw: 29: 4 etc. The Bene¯ Gaddı¯bo¯l (for vocalization see Greek; meaning: ‘Bo¯l is my fortune’, Stark 1971: 57, 81) are one of the main tribes of Palmyra (Milik 1972: 17; Gawlikowski 1973: 34). bdyl dy (b þ dy þ l þdy) means ‘because’, literally something like ‘regarding that which belongs to the fact that . . .’ (PAT glossary; F. Rosenthal 1936: 86–7; here also l. 6; 32: 4; 37 i 4, ii 89 etc.).

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hn in lhn is the 3rd masc. plur. pronoun suYx -ho¯n, which is also written hwn (see l. 5; Cantineau 1935: 68–9). At this point in the text it becomes clear that Aqayh: is being honoured with a statue because of his contribution to the building works in the temple. He evidently covered the expenses of: bba , ‘the doorway’. The word is of Akkadian origin and found mainly in eastern dialects of Aramaic (though also in Elephantine): Kaufman 1974: 40–1; DNWSI 142–3. tr awhy, ‘its doors’, here the plural of tr aa with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx. See 40: 2. Cf. Jewish Aramaic and Syriac tar aa¯, Jastrow 1700–1; CSD 621; PAT glossary; DNWSI 1232–3. a p, ‘also’, found in Egyptian Aramaic (DNWSI 192–3), but mostly Palmyrene (l. 4 here and 33: 7 etc.) and Syriac (a a¯p, CSD 25). In addition Aqayh: had built a h: mna in Vologesias, the Parthian city in southern Mesopotamia to which Palmyrene caravans travelled and where there was a Palmyrene colony (Healey 1996b). h: mna clearly means ‘chapel’ or ‘cella’ (DNWSI 382; see Drijvers 1988; Milik 1972: 306–7): it was formerly translated ‘incense altar’ (cf. Hebrew h: amma¯n, HALOT 329). The term also appears in Nabataean (Healey 2001a: 76). hw, ‘it’. a trh, a tra , ‘place’, often ‘sacred place’, see 1: 1 etc.; 37 ii 131, 132. In addition (a p, ‘also’), he was responsible for building the roof of a ritual dining-room (a drwna 29: 6). The verb used is :tll, ‘he covered’ (probably pa ael, CSD 174): there is a corresponding noun, mt: lta (29: 5). This a drwna too seems to be in Vologesias. ˇspr (3rd masc. sing. p aal perfect) is the conventional verb used in such inscriptions for ‘do good, act pleasantly’: PAT glossary; DNWSI 1184; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 1619; Syriac, CSD 592. There is in Palmyrene also an adjective, ˇspyr (cf. Syriac ˇsappı¯r, CSD 590–1) and in Hatran the dissimilated/nasalized form ˇsnpyr 67: 2 etc. (See Ch. II.) Where the root appears in Hebrew it is an Aramaism (HALOT 1636; Ps. 16: 6). s: bw, s: bwta , ‘thing’, is quite common in Egyptian Aramaic and Palmyrene (DNWSI 956–7; PAT glossary; 32: 4; 37 i 6), rarer in Jewish Aramaic (MPAT no. A22: 4). Cf. Syriac s: b-u¯t-a¯ (CSD 472). bkl s: bw corresponds to Greek Æd æ fiø in bilinguals (PAT 0276: 4 Greek, 4 Palmyrene ¼ CIS ii. 3930: 4). bdyl kwt (compare bdyl dy above) means ‘accordingly’ (cf. Syriac kwa¯t-): PAT glossary; 33: 6 etc.; 8: 9 etc.

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Palmyrene Inscriptions

lyqrh: yqra , ‘honour’, is used in this phrase, ‘for his honour’, to correspond with Greek ØB å æØ, ‘for the sake of honour’. Cf. Jewish Aramaic yqa¯ra¯, Jastrow 593; Syriac a¯ıqa¯ra¯, CSD 14. The month is Ka¯nu¯n/November and the year 420 is equivalent to 108/9 ce. Hence November 108 ce.

3 1 . S TAT UE I N S C R I P T IO N DAT E D 1 3 5 c e R E F E R R I N G TO A C A R AVAN This is a bilingual written on a wall console from the agora at Palmyra and is in situ.

Main publications PAT 1397; Inv. x. 81. For the Greek Seyrig 1941b: 242, no. 12; Will 1957: 267–8. 1. ½ ºØ  Ø ðŒÆ ÆæåÞ ºªðØH)..] 2. AæŒ ˇhº Ø @ªÆæ 3. `ƒæ ı ıƒe ŒÆd ƒ I e Æı 4. æÆŒ; ØB å æØ. 1. s: lma dnh 2. dy ywlys mksms qt: ryna dy lgywna 3. dy abdw lh mrqs a lpys a bgr br 4. h: yrn a bgr wbny ˇsyrta dy slqt amh 5. mn krk mysˇn lyqrh bkslw ˇsnt 40 þ 5 þ 2

Greek Julius Maximus, centurion of a legion: Marcus Ulpius Abgaros son of Airanos and those (who came) from Spasinou Charax (set up) in his honour.

Aramaic This statue is that of Julius Maximus, centurion of a legion, which Marcus Ulpius Abgar son of H : ayran Abgar and the men of the caravan which came up with him from Kerak of Mayshan made for him in his honour. In Kisle¯w in the year 47 (¼ 447).

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s: lma dnh: 28: 3. Julius Maximus must be a Roman citizen, though Palmyrenes who were Roman citizens often had full tripartite Roman names, as did Marcus Ulpius Abgaros, the dedicant mentioned in ll. 3–4. The latter’s Palmyrene descent is revealed by the name of his father, H : ayran. qt: ryna , ‘centurion’. Although we are Wrmly in the Roman period at Palmyra, it is by no means certain that qt: ryna , obviously a loan-word from Greek Œıæø (ultimately Latin centurio), refers to a Roman oYcer. This title was used in Nabataean of Nabataean oYcials, military terminology being borrowed (see Healey 1993: 209, referring to H31: 1). The addition of ‘of a legion’ does, perhaps, make the Roman interpretation more likely (see PAT 0308: 1 ¼ CIS ii. 3962: 1; Inv. x, 17: qt: rywna dy mn lgywna dy a rb ata , ‘centurion of the fourth legion (i.e. IV Scythica)’; cf. also Inv. xii. 33: 1). lgywna , Greek ºª (ultimately Latin legio), occurs several times in Palmyrene (see CIS ii. 3962: 2; 3932: 4; 3944: 5; PAT glossary). abdw: 30: 2; 29: 4. The Semitic parts of the main dedicant’s name, Abgar and H : ayran, are common in the Palmyrene onomasticon. Abgar (Stark 1971: 1, 63) is particularly well known also in early Syriac (46: 2 etc.), since it is a name used by the Edessan royal family (57: 5). The name H : ayran (Stark 1971: 21– 22, 88) is probably the most frequent of all Palmyrene PNs. bny, const. plur. of bra , ‘son’ (often used in tribe names: 28: 5), has here a generic meaning ‘the men of . . .’. ˇsyrta , ‘caravan’ (PAT glossary; DNWSI 1130) is related to Syriac ˇsya¯rta¯ (CSD 574) and Arabic sayya¯rah, ‘journeying’ (Lane 1484, modern meaning ‘automobile’). In bilinguals it corresponds to Greek ı
Æ (LSJ: 1720) (e.g. PAT 0197: 16 Greek; 10 Aramaic). slqt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect of slq, ‘go up’, with subject ˇsyrta (cf. Elephantine Aramaic DNWSI 788–90 and Syriac), 26: 5; 37 i 5, 8. amh: preposition ‘with’, followed by 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx, 4: 6; 37 i 9). krk mysˇn (Greek Æı æÆ) was an important trade centre at the head of the Arabian Gulf. Numerous Palmyrene inscriptions refer to trade contacts with it (Healey 1996b). krk means ‘(walled) city’ (cf. Syriac, including 62: v, etc., and elsewhere in Semitic, Hebrew KRK: Jastrow 668–9; CDA 148; Nabataean krka in 6: 2 has a diVerent meaning.) lyqrh: 30: 6. The date follows the usual pattern, though with the word yrh: omitted. The month name kslw (11: 1, 8 for Nabataean and see PAT glossary and p. 443; Jastrow 654) is usually found in the form kslwl at Palmyra. It corresponds to December. As often, the hundreds Wgure is omitted: (4)47 ¼ 135/6 ce. See Brock 1992; 256. Note omissions also in 53: 2–3. Hence December 135 ce.

152

Palmyrene Inscriptions 3 2 . B I L I N G UA L S TATU E I N S C R IP TI O N D E D I C AT E D BY THE CITY OF PALMYRA AND DATED 139 c e

This bilingual inscription carved within a tabula ansata comes from a column at Palmyra and is in situ.

Main publications PAT 0276; CIS ii. 3930; Inv. ii, 2; NSI no. 110; Vogu¨e´ 1868–77: 5–6, no. 1 and pl. 1; for Greek CIG §4479 ¼ Waddington 1870: §2586. 1.  ˙ ıºc ŒÆd ›
B Æغ Ø `ƒæ ı 2. F Œı F `ƒæ ı F ÆŁŁA; ŒÆd 3. `ƒæ Å e ÆæÆ ÆPF; PE 4. ŒÆd çغ

æØ
Æ ŒÆd Æd æ fiø çغ5. ø IæÆÆ fiB Ææ
Ø ŒÆd 6. E ÆæØ ŁE; ØB å æØ, 7. "ı ı; Åe ˛Æ
ØŒF. 1. bwla wdms abdw s: lmya a ln trwyhwn 2. la aylmy br h: yrn br mqymw br h: yrn mta 3. wlh: yrn a bwhy rh: my mdythwn wdh: ly a lhya 4. bdyl dy ˇsprw lhwn wla lhyhwn bkl s: bw klh 5. lyqrhwn byrh: nysn ˇsnt 4100 þ40 þ10

Greek The Council and People, for Aailameis son of Airanos son of Mokimos son of Airanos son of Matta and for Airane his father, pious men and patriotic and in every way generously pleasing to homeland and ancestral gods, for the sake of honour. In the year 450, the month of Xandikos.

Aramaic The Council and People made these two statues for A aaylmay son of H : ayran son of Muqı¯mu son of H : ayran (son of) Matta and for H : ayran his father, friends of their city and fearers of the gods, because they did good to them and to their gods in every respect, in their honour. In the month of Nı¯sa¯n in the year 450. bwla , ‘council, senate’, and dms, ‘people’, are Greek loans (ıº,
B). The Wrst refers to the Council or Senate of the city, which had independence

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under Roman tutelage. It is frequently mentioned in oYcial inscriptions issuing from the city administration (such as the Tax TariV: 37 i 1, 2, 3, 7; 33: 8). Although it can appear alone, it is sometimes combined as here with dms (also spelled dmws) (33: 8; 37 i 2, ii 137) and the combination appears to imply ultimate authority at the local level. For bwla cf. Syriac and Jewish Aramaic bu¯la¯, bu¯lı¯, CSD 38; Jastrow 146 and DNWSI 147; PAT glossary. For dm(w)s: Syriac dı¯mo¯s, CSD 90; Jastrow 300; DNWSI 253; PAT glossary. Brock 2005: 13, 14. The word-order is rather odd from an Aramaic point of view, with the subjects Wrst. This might suggest that the Greek was being followed. There are diVerent views on this issue: Taylor 2002: 317–24 (against Drijvers 1995: 33, who takes the view that the Greek is primary). abdw: 30: 2 etc. s: lmya : plur. of s: lma (28: 3 etc.). a ln is the plur. demonstrative ‘these’: 39: 1, 3 etc.; Nabataean 2: 1 (cf. Biblical Aramaic ille¯n, HALOT 1814). trwyhwn: the numeral ‘two’ with 3rd masc. plur. suYx, meaning ‘their two, the two of them’ (analogous to Jewish Aramaic, Syriac, etc.). The spelling varies a little: tryhwn, trwyhn. Cantineau 1935: 6 suggests vocalization as tarwe¯ho¯n; F. Rosenthal 1936: 41 notes this lengthened form in Jewish Aramaic: cf. Jastrow 1698; Dalman 1905: 130; 66: 2 (tryhwn). The PNs h: yrn (31: 4) and mqymw (40: 1; 37 i 3; 63: 30) are common. a aylmy is less common (Stark 1971: 6, 71: af aal diminutive). mta may be a hypocoristic from mtbwl, ‘gift of Bo¯l’ (Stark 38, 98 and cf. mty 62: 25, v2). a bwhy: a b, ‘father’, with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx. 9: 3. The two recipients of the dedication are described as rh: my mdythwn and dh: ly a lhya . The former is ‘lovers of their city’, rh: my being a const. plur. p aal active participle (see Nabataean rh: m amh 3: 2 etc.). PAT glossary notes also rh: ym, an adjectival form with the same meaning. That they are not just orthographic variants is clear from the construct plural rh: ymy (rah: ¯ımay/e¯) v. rh: my (ra¯h: may/e¯). In fact the present phrase occurs using both: rh: my mdythwn and rh: yma mdythwn (PAT 0260: 3, alongside dh: la a lhya —note here the orthography in which the -a is a construct plural ending suggesting a pronunciation as -e¯: Cantineau 1935: 122 and see Ch. II, especially in relation to Hatran orthography). mdyta is an assimilated form of mdynta (see const. mdynt and Syriac mdı¯tta¯: it is noteworthy that the Syriac orthography retains the n eliding it in pronunciation, while the Palmyrene does not even write it). The word meant ‘province’ in earlier Aramaic (e.g. Biblical Aramaic), but later came to mean ‘city’; 33: 7; 37 ii 4, 57 etc.; PAT glossary; Nabataean 18: 2 (?). The corresponding Greek is çغ ÆæØ.

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dh: ly too is a const. plur. active participle, from dh: l, ‘fear’ (Jewish Aramaic and Syriac, Jastrow 292, CSD 88–9), here combined with a lhya , ‘the gods’ (29: 6). The phrase corresponds very closely to the meaning of the Greek P. bdyl dy: 30: 2. ˇsprw: 3rd masc. plur. perfect, 30: 5. lhwn: ‘to them’. a lhyhwn: plur. of a lha with 3rd masc. plural suYx, ‘their gods’. bkl s: bw (30: 5) is an exact parallel of Æd æ fiø. yqrhwn: yqra with 3rd masc. plur. pronoun suYx, 30: 6. The dating formula is standard. Nı¯sa¯n corresponds to April and the year 450 corresponds to 138/9 ce. Hence April 139 ce.

3 3 . S TATU E I N S C R IP TI O N F RO M T H E G R E AT C O LON NA DE AT PA L M Y R A , DATE D 2 4 2– 3 ce This is a historically important inscription, though with some obscurities in details.

Main publications PAT 0278; CIS ii. 3932; Inv. iii. 22; NSI no. 121; RES: §841; Dodgeon and Lieu 1991: 22–3; Millar 1993: 327; Vogu¨e´ 1868–77: 17–19, no. 15 and pl. 3; for the Greek CIG §4483 ¼ Waddington 1870: §2598 ¼ Dittenberger 1903–5: §640 ¼ IGRR iii §1033; Swain 1993: 159 n. 6; As’ad and Yon 2001: 66–7. 1.  ˙ ıºc ŒÆd ›
B 2.  ºØ `PæºØ ˘Å Ø 3. e ŒÆd ˘Æ
ºÆ;
d  º4. åı F ˝Æı; æÆÅ5. ªÆÆ K K Ø
Åfi Æ ŁF 6. `  º 
æı ŒÆd  Åæ7. ÆÆ Ææıfi Æ
ØÅŒE 8.  $ıغºı ˚æØ ı F 9. &ªÅÆı ŒÆd ÆE K Ø
Å10. Å ÆØ PÅغºÆØ; I11. ªæÆÆ  ŒÆd PŒ Oº12. ªø IçØ
ÆÆ åæÅ ø 13. ŒÆd ŒÆºH ºØı , 14. ‰
Øa Æıa ÆæıæÅŁBÆØ

Palmyrene Inscriptions 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

155

  ŁF  Ææغı ŒÆd  e  ıºı F Kåø ı K

æåı F ƒæF æÆØøæı; ŒÆd B Ææ
 e çغ ÆæØ; ØB å æØ: "ı
ç s: lm ywlys awrlys zbdla br mlkw br mlkw nsˇwm dy hwa a st: rt: g lqlnya bmytwyta dy a lha a lksndrws qsr wsˇmsˇ kdy hwa tnn q[r]spynws hygmwna wkdy a ty lka yt lgynya zbnyn sgya n whwa rb ˇswq wh: sk rzayn s gyayn wdbr amrh ˇskytyt mt: l kwt shd lh yrh: bwl a lha wa p ywlys dy spa wrh: ym mdth dy a qym lh bwla wdmws lyqrh ˇsnt 5100 þ 40 þ10 þ 4

Greek The Council and People, for Julius Aurelius Zenobios also called Zabdila, twice son of Malchos son of Nassoumos, who was strategos at the time of the visitation of the divine Alexander and served throughout the residency of the governor Rutilius Crispinus and for the visiting vexillations, who acted as agoranomos [market officer] and was generous over many expenses and conducted himself honourably, so that he was testiWed to by the god Yarh: ibo¯l and by Julius , the most excellent prefect of the sacred praetorium, and who was a lover of his own homeland. To honour (him). In the year 554.

Aramaic Statue of Julius Aurelius Zabdila son of Malku¯ son of Malku¯ (son of) Nashshu¯m, who was strategos of the colony during the visit of the divine Alexander Caesar and served when Crispinus the governor was here and when he brought here the legions many times, and he was head of the market and saved (the city) many expenditures and conducted his career quietly. Therefore Yarh: ibol the god testiWed to him and also Julius of the praetorium, and (who) loved his (own) city, which the Council and People set up for him. In his honour. The year 554. It may be noted that the Greek and the Aramaic are drafted diVerently. The Greek begins with reference to the Council and People, as is normal, while the Aramaic reserves this to the end. It is hard to see how one can be the translation of the other: Taylor 2002: 317–24. The Greek can be interpreted

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in slightly diVerent ways: the Aramaic is fairly clear in meaning. Both are rather laconic. s: lm: const. of s: lma , see 28: 3 etc. Of the Semitic names, Zabdila (which the Greek implies is not the oYcial or formal name of the person concerned, which is Zenobios) is a shortened form of zbda lha meaning ‘gift of the god’ (Stark 1971: 17–18, 85–6). It is possible that he was the father of Zenobia (see Ch. I and 34 and Sartre 2005: 352). The name Malku¯ is very common (Stark 1971: 32–4, 95) and may be presumed to be based on the noun mlka , ‘king’. Nashshu¯m is much rarer (Stark 1971: 40, 100). (Note the Greek
d  ºåı, an abbreviation.) The dedicatee’s great services to Palmyra are listed: he was strategos when the Emperor Severus Alexander visited in c.230–1 ce, continued in public oYce during the activities of a governor of Syria called Rutilius Pudens Crispinus (Rutilius Pudens Crispinus (PIR2 vii/1, no. 257, legatus Augusti pro praetore provinciae Syriae in 232/3 CE; PW: Rutilius 32; Peachin 1990: 106–7; Gilliam 1958: 228 n. 12), and was in charge of the market. He was also noted for public works (euergetism) which saved the public purse much expenditure. In the Greek he spent a lot; in the Aramaic he saved a lot! hwa : ‘he was’. a st: rt: g, a st: rt: ga : ‘general’ (const.) (a Greek loan, also found in other Aramaic dialects: 9: 2). lqlnya : ‘for the colony’. Greek ŒºøÆ (Latin colonia). Note that the const. of a st: rt: ga is followed by the preposition l-. This is the equivalent of a st: rt: ga dy qlnya in PAT 0285: 4. mytwyta : clearly ‘coming’ and comparable with Syriac mea t-¯ıt-a¯, maytyu¯t-a¯: CSD 248, 270, from the verbal root a Ta /Y, though the spelling suggests the diphthong /u¯i/ to No¨ldeke (1870: 94 and n. 2): me¯t-u¯yt-a¯. Another possible vocalization (Inv. iii, 22) might be mayto¯wı¯t-a¯: cf. Dalman 1905: 180. Severus Alexander (reigned 222–35 ce) is by this date dead and so described as ‘divine’—a lha . qsr, ‘Caesar’: 51: 7 etc.; qysr 37 ii 1 etc. (Greek, ultimately Latin). ˇsmsˇ: pa ael perfect, 3rd masc. sing. ‘he served, assisted’ (see Jewish Aramaic and Syriac ˇsammesˇ, Jastrow 1602; CSD 585–6). kdy: ‘when’: 44: 4, 7; 37 ii 61. Cf. Egyptian and Biblical Aramaic kd¯ı, ‘when’ (DNWSI 316–17; HALOT 1852; Syriac kad , for which see 37 i 3).

hwa : above, l. 2. tnn: ‘here’ (see Syriac tna¯n). hygmwna ‘governor’ (Greek &ª), though on his status see above. kdy: above. a ty: 3rd masc. sing. perfect, clearly ap ael, of a TY. A more predictable spelling would be ayty, which occurs in PAT 2743: 6 (cf. Syriac a aytı¯ CSD 32; Jewish

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Aramaic a e¯t-¯ı, Jastrow 132; Dalman 1905: 302; Stevenson 1962: 64). The meaning is ‘he caused to come, brought’, see 20: 3. lka : ‘to here’ (cf. Syriac lka¯, CSD 242 and DNWSI 483 ka ), see 60: 4. yt is the object-marker analogous to Hebrew a et- (also Phoenician/Punic). It appears only here in Palmyrene, but it is used in Nabataean (7: 5) with pronoun suYxes and it is more common generally in western Aramaic (19: 4). (See Ch. II.) lgyna : for lgywna see 31: 2. (Note that the Greek has ‘vexillations’, a term used for particular detachments of soldiers.) zbnyn sgya n (abs. plurals) means ‘many times’ (if correctly read). zbna : 37 i 4, 6 (same idiom), 10; 62 viii, 15; 63: 7; CSD 109–10; DNWSI 305). The sole Nabataean occurrence of zbna (CIS ii. 186: 3) is in an inscription of peculiar script and dialect. For sgya n, ‘many’, see 10: 28 etc. It may be noted that the word is spelt with {s} and with {sˇ/s} even in the same line. The pronunciation was undoubtedly /s/. See Ch. II. Syriac sagı¯ can mean ‘much’, so that a possible sense here is ‘much time, a long time’. This might correspond to the Greek
ØÅŒ (l. 7). rb ˇswq: ‘chief of the market’. In another Palmyrene inscription this oYce is referred to as the rbnsˇqwta , ‘the headship of the market’ (PAT 1415: 2). The Greek name of this oYcial is IªæÆ . For ˇswqa , ‘market’, see 10: 12 etc. h: sk clearly means ‘he spared, saved’ (see Syriac h: sak, CSD 151, p aal or pa ael; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 488) and contra PAT glossary (which follows the Greek). The corresponding Greek is IçØ
ÆÆ from IçØ
E, ‘to be lavishly generous’. The idiom here in the Aramaic seems to be ‘he saved (the people) many expenses’. See also PAT 0294: 3. a rz : ‘expenditure’, appears only here. The etymology is to be sought in Arabic razaa a and razı¯a ah, ‘loss’ (see Cantineau 1936: 151; Maraqten 1995: 99 and see Epigraphic South Arabian, SD: 120). dbr: literally ‘he led’, possibly pa ael (cf. Syriac). The root is used of leading a particular way of life, behaviour. So in Syriac dub-a¯ra¯, ‘way of life’ (CSD 84–5, 82–3). amra is here ‘life, manner of life’. See Syriac aumra ¯ CSD 405, Arabic aumr, ‘life, period of life’ (Wehr: 643). ˇskytyt. This is clearly an adverb, with the adverbial ending -a¯yit- (cf. Syriac) and the meaning must be ‘honourably’ or the like (Greek ŒÆºH). The only etymology which has been suggested is Syriac ˇsk- a¯t-a¯, ‘repose’ (CSD 578), meaning ‘repose, quiet’, and hence ‘quietly’, though this is rather weaksounding as a commendation of a public servant of this importance! NSI 280 preferred to read ˇspyryt, 30: 5 etc.

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mt: l kwt: ‘on account of such (things)’. Cf. Syriac and Jewish Aramaic met: :tu¯l (CSD 267, Jastrow 766; 37 i 6; 62: 20) and kwa¯t (on which 30: 6). shd (also s hd): ‘he witnessed, testiWed, gave a testimonial’, here ‘showed approval’ (11: 17 etc.). The idea of a god showing approval of a man and making a dedication to him is common in Palmyra (see Milik 1972; Kaizer 2002, especially 146–8). yrh: bwl is the name of one of the main Palmyrene gods. See Teixidor 1979: 29–34; Kaizer 2002: 143–8. Alongside the god recognizing the merits of Julius Aurelius Zabdila is Julius Priscus (second name erased both in Greek and Aramaic, probably for political reasons: Inv. iii, p. 30 for references). Other restorations are possible. His title is restored as rba dy spa . In the Greek version we have F Kåø ı K

æåı F ƒæF æÆØøæı, ‘the most eminent prefect of the sacred praetorium’. It is not clear what the word spa means (PAT glossary): it only appears here. SPa , ‘feed, nourish’, does not seem to Wt. See DNWSI 796–7: sp3, ‘threshold’ and possibly, hence, ‘praetorium’. Swain 1993: 160: ‘vestibule, court’. The person involved here appears to be Gaius Julius Priscus, brother of Philip the Arab (emperor 244–9). On his brother’s death he proclaimed himself emperor in the East as a rival to Decius. rh: ym, in form a passive participle: 32: 3, equivalent to rh: m (active participle), is commonly used with an active meaning ‘loving’ and therefore ‘friend’ (active use of passive forms being well known in Syriac). mdth: 32: 3 mdyta . Possibly a scribal error: DNWSI 597. dy appears to refer back to s: lma . a qym: 28: 2 etc. bwla /dmws: 32: 1. lyqrh: 30: 6. The year is 554 ¼ 242/3 ce.

3 4 . U N DATE D D ED IC ATION TO WA H B A LLA¯T AND ZENOBIA This bilingual inscription had an unrelated Latin inscription added to it later. It is located on a 132 cm-high pillar found at al-Kerasi, west of Palmyra. It appears to have been used as a milestone also. The Greek is badly damaged, but the Aramaic is mostly clear (with some restorations).

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Main publications PAT 0317; CIS ii. 3971; Dodgeon and Lieu 1991: 84–5; Dijkstra 1995: 167–70; Clermont-Ganneau 1920: 394–9, no. 29; Swain 1993. 1. [ . . . . . . ] 2. [. . . . .Œ]Æ[d  bæ ø-] 3. ÅæÆ  ØÆ ˘Å4. Æ B ºÆ æ Å 5. ÆغÅ Åæe F 6. Æغø, [ . . . ]ı[ . . . ] 1. al h: [ywhy] wz[kwth dy] spt: ymyws 2. whblt a tndr[ws nhy]ra mlk mlka 3. wa pnrtt: a dy mdnh: a klh br 4. spt: [ymy]ws [a dynt mlk] mlka w al 5. h: yh dy spt: ymya btzby nhyrta 6. mlkta a mh dy mlk mlka 7. bt a nt: ywkws m 10 þ 4 DN AVR VAL DIOCLE V COI PAL XIII

Greek . . . and for the wellbeing of Septimia Zenobia, the illustrious queen, mother of the king . . .

Aramaic For the life and victory of the illustrious Septimius Wahballa¯t Athenodoros, king of kings and commissioner of all the East, son of Septimius Odainat, king of kings, and for the life of the illustrious Septimia Batzabbay, the queen, the mother of the king of kings, daughter of Antiochus. M 14. Although the Latin was added secondarily, it seems that this column was even originally set up as a milestone, as l. 7 suggests (though it is not certainly interpreted). As a public inscription it is historically important and comes from the last days of Palmyra (c.268–70 ce), when Odainat was dead and his son Wahballa¯t and his widow Zenobia reigned. The titles given to them are rather grandiose and reXect the period of Palmyra’s rebellion against Rome.

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al h: yy: 1: 4 etc. For full discussion cf. Dijkstra 1995: 167–70, who notes

that this example is a little unusual: there is no dedicator named—possibly the city of Palmyra is the implied dedicator. Also unusual is the reference to ‘victory’, indicating a political background not normally connected with inscriptions of this genre. Spellings of the suYxed form vary: h: ywhy (PAT 0403: 5), h: yw (PAT 0355: 5), h: wh (PAT 0409: 6), h: yyhy (PAT 2752: 3). Since h: ywh is not one of these, it seems odd to restore this form here as do CIS and Dijkstra 1995: 168! h: ywhy is a better restoration, despite a shortage of space. zkwta : ‘victory’, a probable restoration here. It would have a pronoun attached. Cf. Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1865; Jastrow 398 ‘innocence, acquittal’; Syriac za¯k- u¯t-a¯, CSD 113; zkya 70 ii 1. Septimius Wahballa¯t Athenodoros became ruler of Palmyra after the death of his father Odainat in 267/8 ce. As often, Roman names and a Semitic name are combined. Wahballa¯t is quite common (Stark 1971: 15–16, 85). It can reasonably be regarded as an Arab name (‘gift of Alla¯t’: Arabic wahb with an un-Aramaic initial w-, and the divinity Alla¯t, much worshipped in Syria in this period, though certainly of Arabian origin). Athenodoros is a Greek version of the same name. For historical background see Ch. I and Sartre 2005: 356–8. The revolt of Palmyra against Rome was eventually put down in 272 ce. nhyra : in form a passive participle, this adjective means ‘illustrious, splendid’ (root NHR, ‘shine’); cf. Palmyrene nhwryt, ‘splendidly’ (restored in Milik 1972: 13: 4). DNWSI 720–1; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 882 and Syriac nahı¯ra¯, CSD 329. It corresponds to Greek ºÆ æ Æ. mlk mlka : ‘king of kings’. This is a title particularly associated with the Achaemenids and their successors (cf. Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1916–17 and Persian). It is used in several inscriptions referring to the dynasty of Odainat (e.g. 35: 1). a pnrtt: a : Greek K ÆæŁø, Latin corrector, used in the title corrector (totius) orientis. The title had been used by Odainat (Sartre 2005: 356), though Swain casts doubt on its having a technical sense (Swain 1993). A Semitic word, mtqnna , is used for the same title in 35: 2 (even less technical according to Swain). Cf. Brock 2005: 15–16. mdnh: a : ‘East’: 11: 4 etc. klh, ‘all of it’, follows, as is normal. Odainat’s name is not common: it may mean ‘little ear’ (Stark 1971: 2, 65). It is found in Nabataean Aramaic (al-Khraysheh 1986: 27; cf. Arabic diminutive a ud aynat).
the 3rd fem. sing. pronoun suYx, referring forward to Septimia h: yh carries Batzabbay. This last is a composite PN. The name of Zenobia’s actual father

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appears in l. 7. The name Batzabbay is used in correspondence with the Greek name, Zenobia, and this Zenobia is by far the most famous Wgure in Palmyrene history. nhyrta : fem. see nhyra above, l. 2. mlkta , ‘queen’. Cf. PAT glossary and 3: 2 etc. a mh: a ma , ‘mother’, with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx anticipating the title ‘king of kings’, see 12: 3. bt a nt: ywkws: the spelling of bt (not brt, but reXecting pronunciation; cf. Syriac bat-, written bart) tells against Milik’s theory (1972: 258–9) that bt is used speciWcally for tribal designations. It is found elsewhere: PAT 0739: 2. m appears to be an abbreviation for myla , ‘mile’ (Latin mille) and this implies that the stone was used as a milestone. This is, however, a unique occurrence of the abbreviation. The Latin inscription added later has the numeral 13 rather than 14: the object in question was certainly later used as a milestone.

3 5. S TATU E D E D I C AT I O N DATE D 2 7 1, SE T U P P O ST H U M O U S LY I N H O NO U R O F K IN G O DAI NAT Dated to 271 ce, the inscription comes from a column in the Grand Colonnade of Palmyra and is in situ. It is monolingual, but was probably originally bilingual, the Greek having been lost. This inscription forms a pair with 36.

Main publications PAT 0292; CIS ii. 3946; Inv. iii, 19; Vogu¨e´ 1868–77: 28, no. 28 and pl. 4; NSI no. 130; Dodgeon and Lieu 1991: 88; Swain 1993; As’ad and Yon 2001: 68. 1. s: lm spt: myws a dy[nt] mlk mlka 2. wmtqnna dy mdnh: a klh spt: mya 3. zbda rb h: yla rba wzby rb h: yla 4. dy tdmwr qrt: st: a a qym lmrhwn 5. byrh: a b dy ˇsnt 5100 þ 80 þ 2 Statue of Septimius Odainat, king of kings and corrector (or: restorer) of the whole of the East: the Septimii, Zabda, commander-in-chief of the army, and Zabbay, general of Tadmu¯r, most excellent, set (it) up for their lord. In the month of A¯b in the year 582. s: lm: 28: 3 (here construct). spt: myws a dynt: 34: 4.

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mlk mlka : 34: 2. mtqnna . This has been understood as an Aramaic version of the oYcial Roman title corrector, as in corrector totius orientis, avoiding, perhaps on purpose, the Greek loan a pnrtt: a (34: 3). The Aramaic root is TQN, ‘put in order’ (pa ael verb CSD 618; Jastrow 1692). Literally, therefore, the word means ‘the one who puts right, restorer’. Cf. Syriac mt-aqna¯na¯, CSD 322; TS col. 4489; DNWSI 709. Swain (1993), however, doubts whether it is a formal title. mdnh: a klh: 34: 3. spt: mya , a homograph of spt: mya , ‘Septimia’ (34: 5), must here be a masc. plur. for  ØØ. The form may imply an Aramaic plur. ending -e¯ (contrast spt: mywa , 36: 2). The plural avoids repetition with both names which follow. Zabda is a hypocoristic of Zabdila (33: 1; Stark 1971: 16, 85) and for Zabbay (Stark 18, 86) cf. btzby 34: 5. Zabda was rb h: yla rba , ‘the great general (literally ‘head of the army’)’, hence ‘commander-in-chief ’, while Zabbay was simply rb h: yla dy tdmwr, ‘general of Tadmu¯r’, i.e. local commander. rba , see 33: 5 etc.; h: yla , ‘army’, used in Egyptian Aramaic (DNWSI 369–70) and Syriac (CSD 140). Tadmu¯r is the Semitic name of Palmyra Wrst attested in Old Assyrian documents (Teixidor 1984: 8) and continuing down to the present. 37 ii 1, 2, etc. and the nisbah form in 37 ii 73 etc. and note 20: 14. Both soldiers are given the title qrt: st: a (again a plural, perhaps with Aramaic ending -e¯; contrast qrt: st: wa , 36: 3), which is Greek Œæ ØØ, ‘most excellent, powerful’. A singular, more Greek form qrt: st: ws appears inn PAT 0286: 1 and cf. PAT 0288: 1. Brock 2005: 18. a qym: cf. 28: 2, noting that the form is sing. despite the plur. subject; 35: 4; 43: 4; 45: 3. lmrhwn: mra , ‘lord’, with 3rd masc. plur. pronoun suYx, ‘for their lord’. Nabataean 6: 3 etc.; Syriac 48: 4 etc. and Hatran 69: 12 etc. The month is A¯b (5: 4 etc.), corresponding to August and the year 582. A¯b of that year fell in 271 ce. Odainat was dead by this date, so the honour is posthumous; his widow Zenobia was Xourishing.

3 6 . D E D I C ATI O N O F S TATU E O F Q U E E N ZE NOBIA DAT ED 271 ce This inscription, like 35, with which it forms a pair, comes from a column in the Grand Colonnade. It is in situ and in this case the Greek has survived.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

163

Main publications PAT 0293; Vogu¨e´ 1868–77: 29–35, no. 29 and pl. 4; CIS ii. 3947; Inv. iii, 20; NSI no. 131; Dodgeon and Lieu 1991: 88; As’ad and Yon 2001: 69–70. 1.  ØÆ ˘ÅÆ c ºÆ2. æ Å PB ƺØÆ 3.  ØØ ˘ 
Æ › ªÆ æÆ4. ź Å ŒÆd ˘ÆÆE › KŁ
 5. æÆź Å; ƒ Œæ ØØ; c 6.
 ØÆ; "ı  ç; Åd ¸fiø 1. s: lmt spt: mya btzby nhyrta wzdqt[a ] 2. mlkta spt: mywa zbda rb h: yla 3. rba wzby rb h: yla dy tdmwr qrt: st: wa 4. a qym lmrthwn byrh: a b dy ˇsnt 5100 þ 80 þ 2

Greek Septimia Zenobia, the illustrious, pious queen: the most excellent Septimii, Zabdas, the great general, and Zabbaios, the local general, the lady. The year 582, in the month of Lo¯os.

Aramaic Statue of the illustrious and pious Septimia Batzabbay, queen, the excellent Septimii Zabda, commander in chief of the army, and Zabbay, general of Tadmu¯r, set up for their lady. In the month of A¯b in the year 582. This inscription is very similar to 35 (see for most details) and was set up at the same time by the same dedicants. Note is made here of the diVerences: s: lmta : a fem. form of the noun s: lma , used for statues of females (PAT pp. 402–3), as in Hatran and Edessan (cf. OSI nos As6, As13). Sometimes the noun retains a masc. grammatical gender despite this (so PAT 0300: 1; contrast PAT 0315: 1). zdqta : root ZDQ, here meaning ‘righteous’ and corresponding to Greek P. zdqta appears to be a defective spelling for zdyqta (cf. Syriac zadı¯qta¯, CSD 110). It only occurs here. mrthwn, ‘their mistress’: mrta , fem. of mra (46: 5 etc. for Syriac; note the DN mrtn in Hatran, 68: 1 etc.). A further title of Zenobia,
 ØÆ, ‘lady’, is added at the end of the Greek. For all other aspects see 35.

164

Palmyrene Inscriptions 3 7 . T H E PA L M Y RE N E TA R IF F DAT E D 1 3 7 c e (PLS. 2–3)

This is by far the longest Palmyrene inscription, and the longest in any of the Aramaic dialects covered in this volume. It is also ‘one of the most important single items of evidence for the economic life of any part of the Roman Empire’ (Matthews 1984: 157). Now in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, the bilingual text in Aramaic and Greek is set out on four stone panels (i–iv) as in Table 3. For convenience the Greek is presented separately Wrst (apart from two Greek lines inserted into the Aramaic of panel i). The Greek of panels iii and iv is not translated. As will be seen, it is frequently fragmentary, though it is important for comparison with the Aramaic.

Main publications PAT 0259; CIS ii. 3913; Seyrig 1941a; Shifman 1980; Matthews 1984 (for translations of the Greek, with minor modiWcations); NSI no. 147; Teixidor 1983b, 1984. Table 3. Palmyrene tariV layout and line-numbers Panel i

Panel ii

Panel iii

Greek Heading (Greek ii 1–2)

?

Panel iv

Aramaic Heading (Aramaic ii 1) Main Greek Text (Greek i 1–13)

Main Aramaic Text (Aramaic i 1–11)

Aramaic ii c 100–148

Aramaic ii b 51–99

Aramaic ii a 2–50

Greek i 14–15 inserted in Aramaic after line 11; Aramaic i 12–13 follow

Aramaic ii 149

Greek Greek iii a iii b 1–47 48–93

Greek iii c 49–140

Greek Greek iv a iv b 141–97 198–237

Palmyrene Inscriptions

165

Structure of the text The text is concerned with the local economy of Palmyra rather than its international trading role (Matthews 1984: 158; Chabot 1922: 38). It has a complicated structure, uniWed but disorganized (Teixidor 1983b: 235). The following indicates the main sections (Teixidor 1983b; Matthews 1984): Section

Content

Heading

ii 1 Greek includes dating to reign of Hadrian (117–38 ce); Aramaic is abbreviated and obscure Includes details of oYcials i 1–11 in post and dating of whole to 137 ce

ii 1–2

New Law

SpeciWc taxes, with Wnal reference to an earlier regime (Kilix, a tax oYcial)

ii 2–62

iii 1–93

General Ordinance

About equivalences of wagon- and camel-loads

i 12–13

i 14–15

Old Law

SpeciWc taxes with a heading referring to what was agreed under Marinus or Marianus (unknown governor of Syria) On acceptance of sureties by tax contractor

ii 63–73

iii 94–120

Absent

iii 121–49

ii 74–149

iii 150–237

Decree of Palmyrene Council

Old Edict

Old Tax Edict

Edict of C. Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria 67–9 ce, including reference to earlier decisions under Germanicus (in Syria c.18–19 ce) and Domitius Corbulo (legate to Syria 60–3 ce)

Palmyrene

Greek

i 1–13

166

Palmyrene Inscriptions

It may be noted that Teixidor suspected a Latin original, though the evidence for this is insubstantial (Teixidor 1983b: 236; Matthews 1984: 174 n. 5). Note: In order to make the text easier to read, restorations in the translations which follow are not marked: they can be seen in the corresponding original.

Text and translation Panel ii: Greek heading 1. [¯ d ÆPŒæ æ ˚ÆÆæ ŁF 'æ]ÆØÆ[F —ÆæŁØ]ŒF ıƒ[F; Ł][F ˝æıÆ ıƒøF; 'æÆØÆF 
æØÆF ÆF; IæåØæø ªı;
ÅÆæåØŒB KıÆ 2. e ŒÆ; ÆPŒæ æ e ;  ] ı e ª; [Æ]æe Ææ
; 

ø[ ¸: `Nºı ˚Æ]Ææ [e —ı]ºı ˚غ[ı ´Æºı] Panel i (Pl. 3) i 1–13: Decree of the Council (Greek) 1. [  ‚]ı Åı; Åe ˛Æ
ØŒF ØÅ: ˜ ªÆ ıºB. 2.  ¯ d ´øı ´øı F `ƒæ ı æ
æı; º 
æı º 
æı F 3. (غ

æ ªæÆÆø ıºB ŒÆd
ı; ƺåı  ˇºÆØF ŒÆd ˘
ı ˝A Iæå 4. ø; ıºB[] ı IªÅ; KłÅçŁÅ a  ƪÆ: K Ø
c [K ]E

ºÆØ åæ Ø 5. K fiH [ºø]ØŒfiH  fiø ºEÆ H  ºH PŒ IºçŁÅ; K æ []
[b K]Œ ıÅŁÆ; K6. ªæÆç[ı] fiB ØŁØ e ºøFÆ c æAØ ØEŁØ IŒºŁ[ø] fiH  fiø ŒÆd fiB 7. ıÅŁfi Æ; ıÆØ
b ºØ ŒØ æd ı ÇÅØ ªŁ[ÆØ ]Æf H K æø 8. æe f ºÆ:

åŁÆØ f KHÆ ¼æåÆ ŒÆd
[ŒÆ] æı
ØÆŒæÆ 9. a c IغÅÆ fiH fiH Kªæ łÆØ fiB "ªØÆ ØŁØ ŒÆd   ÆØ Œ fiø Y
Ø e 10. KŒ ıÅŁÆ º; ŒÆd K Ø
a ŒıæøŁfiB fiH ØŁıfiø; KªæÆçBÆØ a F æı  11. ı ºfiÅ ºØŁfiÅ fiB hfiÅ IØŒæf ƒæ[F] ºªı  $ÆÆæÅ; K غEŁÆØ
b f ıªå 12. Æ ŒÆa ŒÆØæe ¼æåÆ ŒÆd
ŒÆ æı ŒÆd ı
Œ½ı F
Å
b ÆæÆ æ Ø 13. e ØŁ. Remainder of Greek of (i) is inserted in Aramaic.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

167

Panel ii: Greek heading In the reign of the Emperor Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, son of the deiWed Traianus Parthicus, grandson of the deiWed Nerva, Pontifex Maximus, holding tribunician power for the twenty-Wrst time, twice hailed imperator, three times consul, pater patriae, in the consulships of L. Aelius Caesar for the second time and Publius Coelius Balbinus. i 1–13: Decree of the Council (Greek) In the year 448, on the 18th of the month of Xandikos. Decree of the Council. In the presidency of Bonnes son of Bonnes son of Hairanos, the secretary of the Council and People being Alexandros son of Alexandros son of Philopator, in the magistracies of Malichos son of Olaies and Zebeidas son of Nesa, at a statutory meeting of the Council, it was decreed as follows: Whereas in former times most of the dues were not set down in the tax law but were exacted by convention, it being written into the contract that the tax collector should make his exactions in accordance with the law and with custom, and it frequently happened that disputes arose on this matter between the merchants and the tax collectors, it is resolved that the magistrates in oYce and the dekaprotoi shall determine the dues not set down in the law and write them into the next contract, and assign to each class of goods the tax laid down by custom; and that when they have been conWrmed by the contractor they shall be written down together with the Wrst law on the stone column opposite the temple called Rabaseire; and that the magistrates who are in oYce at any time and the dekaprotoi and the syndics shall take care to see that the contactor does not exact any excess charge.

168

Palmyrene Inscriptions

iii 1–140: Greek a 1. —Ææa [H ÆE
Æ N — ºıæÆ] 2. j N a ‹[æØÆ —ƺıæÅH N-] – Œ] 3. ƪ ø[ æ Ø Œ ı Æ X 4. —Ææ y
[b. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] – Ø] 5. [. . . . . . . . . Œ ]ı [Æ X – Ø] 6. —Ææ y [. . . . . .]Æ PæÆ[a X 7. ˚i a Æ[Æ]:[. . . . . . . . . :K-] – Ø] 8. ªÅÆØ Œ ı Æ[ æ Ø X 9.  ˇ ÆPe
ÅØÅ[ Åæç æı] 10. æ Ø Œ ı ª [ı ŒÆź،F] – ª] 11. NŒØ[Ł] [X 12. ¯ ŒŒØŁ[] [ª ı ŒÆź،F] – ª] 13. Œ ı [X – ] 14. ˆ ı OØŒ[F Œ ]ı N[ŒØŁ X – ] 15. ¯ ŒŒØŁ[ X 16. —æçæÆ źøB[]; Œ [ı
æÆ-] 17.  NŒØŁ[] [ æ Ø I æØÆ Å] 18. ¯ ŒŒØŁ[] [I æØÆ Å] 19. ˆ ı Œ[Æź،F] æı [F K IºÆ -] – Œ] 20. æØ [NŒØŁ æ Ø X 21. ˚Æd  [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] – ت] 22. KŒ[ŒØŁ æ Ø X 23. ˆ[ ı ŒÆź،F Fæı F K IŒØ] – ت] 24. ÆNªØ [NŒØŁ æ Ø X – 25. [¯ Œ]Œ[ØŁ XÇ] 26. [ˆ ı OØŒF ]æı F K[ IºÆ æØ] – ت] 27. N[ŒØ]Ł[] æ Ø X – Ç] 28. [ ¯ ŒŒØ]Ł[ X 29. ˆ ı OØŒF [æı F K IŒE] –Ç] 30. ÆNªØ NŒ[ØŁ] æ[ Ø X –
] 31. ¯ ŒŒØŁ [æ] [Ø X 32. ˆ ı KºÅæF [F K IŒ]E [Ææ-] 33. Ø ÆNªØ K d ŒÆº[ı NŒØŁ-] – ت
 34.  X – ت] 35. ¯ ŒŒØŁ[ X 36. ˆ ı KºÆØÅæF F K[ IŒE
ıd ÆN-] 37. ªØ K d ŒÆº[ı NŒØŁ] – Ç] 38. æ Ø [X

Palmyrene Inscriptions 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47.

– Ç] ¯ ŒŒØŁ[ [X ˆ ı Kº[ÅæF F K  Z]ı [NŒØŁ-] – Ç]  [æ Ø X – Ç] ¯ Œ[ŒØŁ X ˆ [ı Œ: . . . :F K IŒE ][ÆæØ] – ت ÆNªØ [NŒØŁ æ ]Ø X – ت ¯ ŒŒØ[]Ł[] X ˆ ı Œ[: . . . :F K] I[]ŒE
ıd ÆNªØ – Ç K Ø Œ[ƺı N]ŒØŁ æ Ø X

b – Ç] 48. [¯ ŒŒØ]Ł [X 49. ˆ ı O][ØŒF Œ. . . . . .NŒ-] – Ç] 50. [ØŁ æ Ø X – Ç] 51. [ ¯ ŒŒØŁ][ X 52. [ . . . . . .] [:]Œı [. . . . . . . . . . .] –.] 53. [ ¯ ŒŒ][ØŁ][ æ ]Ø [X 54–63. eVaced 64. [. . . . . . . . . . .] ç[. . . . . . . . . . . . .] 65. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 66. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ][. . . . . . . .] 67. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . .] ººÅ[. . . .] 68. [ŒÆ]ºı [. . . . . .]ŒÅ [. . . . . .] 69. [Ł]æÆ [:][. . .]ı [. . . . . .] 70. [. . . . ]
[. . . . . . . . .]Ł[. . . .] 71. [..]ŒÆ
Ø[::]ŁıÅ [. . . . . . . .] 72.  ˇ ÆPe
[Å]ØÅ Œ [ı] Å[e] 73. Ææ Œ[ ]ı H[ e] "ºÆØ ŒÆÆ . . . 74. [:][: . . . :]Ø [ øº]ø [. . . . .] 75.  ˇ ÆP[e
ÅØÅ] æ [Ø: . . . . . .]ºØ 76. [..H ÆØæ]H ‹ÆØ [. . . . . . . . . . . . . ] 77. [..ºÆ ]ıØ [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 78. [. . . . . . I] æØÆ OŒ [: . . . . . . . . . :]ÆØÅ 79. [. . . . . . I] æØÆ £ K [. . .]ŒÆ[. . . . . .]Æ  80. [ ˇ ÆPe
Å]ØÅ æ½ ]Ø KæªÆÅæø 81. [. . . . . . . . . . . .] Æ øº½]ø ŒıØŒH 82. [. . . . . . . .] KŒ ıÅŁÆ Œ ı Åe – Æ 83. ŒÆd KªÆÅæı Œ ı, X 84. —Ææa H
æÆÆ NŒØÇ [ø j ø-] 85. ºø; Œ ı
æÆ I [æØÆ ] 86.  ˇø ƒÆØÆ HºÆØ  ºØ øº[F-]

169

170

Palmyrene Inscriptions 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93.

 K fiB ºØ fiH
ÅØfiÅ e ƒŒÆe [:]Ø[. . .] – ø æ ŪH Œ ı "ı X  ˇ ÆPe æ []Ø ª ı ıæØŒF; NØŒı; Iåæø ŒÆd Øı ªı; Œ ı ª ı – Æ ŒÆź،F ŒÆŁ ›
 Œ Å X – Æ ˚ƺı n Œe NÆåŁfiB æ Ø X ŒÆŁg ˚ºØ ˚ÆÆæ I ºŁæ " æÆ.

c 94. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 95. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 96. B ª[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 97. Œ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 98. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] 99. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] 100. [ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] 101. —æç[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 102. [. . . . .]Œ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 103–13. indecipherable 114. [. . . . . . . . .][::]Å[:]ª[ . . . . . . . . . . . .] 115. [. . . . . . . . .]Øø 116.  …
 i –ºÆ[ "å]fi Å K —ƺæØ j [K ‹æØ] 117. —ƺıæÅ[]H ÆæÆæÅ ø [fiH
Å-] 118. ØfiÅ [N )Œ]Æ 
Ø; I [æØ. . . . ] 119. ‹
 i P [: . . .] ÆæÆæ[fi Å . . . . . .] 120. Å "åø  [: . . . :]
Å[Ø. . . .] 121. —Ææ y i ›
[ÅØ]Å [. . . . . . . . .K-] 122. åıæÆ º [fiÅ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 123. I 
[ŁH]Ø  [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] ÆæØ 124.
Å[ØfiÅ] F
Ø [ºF] e ƒŒÆe ºÆÆ125. ø æd []ı æe e
ÅØÅ 126. F
Ø ºF [NÆ]ªŁø 127. —æd y i ›
Å[]ØÅ Øa I ÆØfiB; æ  128. y i ›
ÅØ[Å I] Ø I ÆØBÆØ; æd 129. ı
ØŒÆØ
[]Łø Ææa fiH K —ƺ130. æØ ƪfiø 131. 'fiH
ÅØfiÅ ŒæØ[] "[]ø Ææa H c I 132. º[ı ø K]åıæÆ [º]Æ[

Ø]
Ø ÆıF j
Ø[a] 133. [H  Å]æ[H: Œi Æ]FÆ a [K]åıæÆ &æÆØ 134. [æØ c ºıŁfi B; Kø fiH
Å]ØfiÅ øºE 135. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . K  fiø
Å]fiø åøæd

Palmyrene Inscriptions 136. 137. 138. 139. 140.


ºı [ÅæF: . . . . . .]ø[. . . . . .] K æ ŁÅ j
ŁBÆØ "
Ø [æ ]Ø fiH
Å[ØfiÅ] ŒÆŁg ŒÆd [: . . . :]Ø [: . . . :] F  ı [K]ø ¸Ø [. . . . . . . . . Å]ªH 
ø ˚ÆÆæ fiH ØŁøfiB [. . . . . .] [: . . . . . . :] ÆæÆå[ŁÆØ]

iv 141–237: Greek a 141. ¼ººfiø Å
d æ Ø
Ø
ÆØ ºÆ[ Ø] 142. Kø  [. . .][: . . .]øç[::] IŁæ[ø ::] 143.  ØØ [O] ÆØ  [: . . .][::]ı [. . . . . .] 144. ø N ØfiÅ j [: . . . . . . . . . æÆå-] 145. [Łø e]
Ø ºF [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 146. [. . . . . . . . . .]Å[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]Ø[..] 147. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 148. ˚[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 149. ŒÆ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] 150. ˆÆØ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 151. ÆØ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 152. Æf —ƺ[ıæÅH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 153. ªı KØ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 154. ªŁÆØ ŒÆŁ Ø[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 155. P[: . . .] Æ [ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 156. [. . . . . .]Æ
b K[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 157. [. . . . . .]ø 158. `P[E] [. . .]Æ[: . . .]ºØ [ . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 159. ø[ ]Æ[. . . . . .]øı[ . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 160. fiH º[fi Å
Ø
]Łø 161. Q
 i [::]Æ[. . .]Æø[: . . .] KÆ[ª. . . . . . . .] 162. [. . . .]Ø[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 163. [.][. . . . . . . . . . . . . .]
[ . . . ] 164. ˚ÆŁ w IƺØ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 165. 'F
b Kƪø[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] ÆØ[. . . .] 166. Æ
ø[. . .][. . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 167.  ¯ æø[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 168. ŁÆæ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 169. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]Ø[. . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 170. [.]æ[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]
Øƪ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 171. [. . . . ]çæ[. . . . . . . . .]Æı[. . . . . .]çæØ[..] – F
b [. . . . . . . .X –] Ł 172. [. . . . ]ƪøªÅ [. . . . . . . .] X

171

172

Palmyrene Inscriptions

173. 174. 175. 176. 177. 178. 179. 180. 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193. 194. 195. 196. 197.

IØF [: . . .]ı N ŒÆd c [. . . . . . . .] [N]ƺ،H Kƪ[ø] æ Ø o[æ ‰ ı-] çøŁÅ [c I e ]ø Kƪ[ø e º
-]
ŁÆØ Fæı F K IŒ[E ÆNª]Ø æ [Ø › ºÅ] ŒÆa e  [. . . . . . . . . .] h[. . . . . . ..] ±[ æ-] ÅÆ ªª fiH æŁØ [:]ØŒ[. . . . . . fiH ı-] çæƪØfiø  fiø ÆŒÆØ 'e F ç Œæı º N
Å æØ OçºØ º[ªŁÆØ] ŒÆd ˆæÆØŒF ˚ÆÆæ
Øa B æe ƺØ[ K Ø-] ºB
ØÆÆçÆ ‹Ø
E æe I æØ NÆ[ºØŒ ] a ºÅ ºªŁÆØ: e
b Ke
ÅÆæı º[] ıÅŁfi Æ › ºÅ æe ŒæÆ æ Ø: H[
b]
Øa e ŒæØÆEÆ r ÆØ ÞðØ ıø e º[ PŒ OçºÆØ.] 'H æøH e ŒÆðaÞ e   F ª ı
Å[ æØ] ¥ÅØ æ ŁÆØ ‹Æ "øŁ H ‹æø N [ªÅÆØ] j K ªÅÆØ: 'f
b N åøæÆ j I e H [åø-] æø ŒÆÆŒÇÆ IºE r ÆØ; ‰ ŒÆd ıçÅ ÆPE: ˚ı ŒÆd H ›ø "
[-]  ‹Æ N K æÆ çæÆØ e º N e Åæ çæ I ªŁÆØ; ‰ ŒÆd K ÆE ºØ ÆE ªÆØ ºØ ˚ƺø K   ŒÆd K   "ªØ N ªøÆØ "øŁ H ‹æø OçºÆØ
Å æØ Œ Å ŒÆa e   ‰ ŒÆd ˚ıæºø › Œæ Ø KÅØÆ K fiB æe ´ æÆæ K غfiB.

198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209. 210. 211.

[. . . . . . . . . . . . . ]æº[.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] [. . .]Ø[.. . . . . . .][. . . . . . . . .]ÇÅ[.. . . . . . .]

ª[ŁÆØ . . . . . . ]ðÆÞ[. . . . . . .] [ . . . . . .] [.. . . . . . . . . .] [æ][ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] [. . . . ]ı[ . . .] [.. . . . . . . . . . . . .] [—Ææa H] ÆØæH[ ÆQ
Å æØ j º ºÆ -] [ıØ::]Œ Å[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]Æ[:]Æ [.. . . . . . . . . .]ı[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ]ÆºÆ [. . . . . . . . . . . .][ . . . . . . . . . . . . æ] Ø [.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] Ł[. . .]Æ [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] [. . . . . .] [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]ı[. . . .] [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]Ø[. . . . . . .] indecipherable

b

Palmyrene Inscriptions 212. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]Ø[. . .][. . . .] 213. [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]Ø[. . . . . . . . .] 214. [.]Ø Ø[.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 215.   [:][.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 216–27. indecipherable 228. [.. . . .] Æ[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 229. [. . . . . . .] ø [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 230. [ . . . ] Æ ıçø [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] 231. º[]Å ªŁÆØ:  Ø [. . . . . .e KŒ F] 232.  [ı] º æe
Å [æ]Ø ç[æØ] 233.  ¯  Ø ıçøŁÅ c
E æ [Ø KŒe H
234. ºH: []H
b K d c ƪø [N —ƺ-] 235. ıæÅc Łæ ø OçºŁÆØ: åÆæÆ[ŒÅ-] 236. æÆŁÆØ a ŁæÆÆ Ka ŁºfiÅ ›
Å[ØHÅ] 237. Kø.

173

174

Palmyrene Inscriptions

Panel ii: Aramaic heading 1. nmwsa dy mksa dy lmna dy hdryna tdmr w aynta dy mya [dy ay]ls qysr i 1–11: Decree of the Council (Aramaic) 1. dgma dy bwla byrh: nysn ywm 10 þ 5 þ3 ˇsnt 4100 þ 40 þ 5 þ 3 bplhdrwta dy bwna br 2. bwna br h: yrn wgrmt: ya dy a lksdrs br a lksdrs br plpt: r grmt: ws dy bwla wdms wa rkwnya 3. mlkw br alyy br mqymw wzbyda br nsˇa kd hwt bwla knysˇa mn nmwsa aˇsrt 4. mdy ktyb mn lth: t bdyl dy bzbnya qdmya bnmwsa dy mksa abydn s gyn h: ybn 5. mksa la a sqw whww mtgbyn mn ayda bmd an dy hwa mtktb ba gwrya dy 6. mksa whwa gba hyk bnmwsa wb ayda wmt: l kwt zbnyn s gyn al s: bwta a ln 7. srbnyn hww byny tgra lbyny mksya a th: zy lbwla dy a rkwnya a ln w{l} as rta 8. {dy} ybn[w]n md am dy la msq bnmwsa wyktb bsˇ:tr a grya h: dta wyktb lmd ama 9. md ama mksh dy mn ayda wmdy aˇsr la gwra ktb am nmwsa qdmya bglla 10. dy lqbl hykla dy rba syra wyhwa mbt: l la rkwnya dy hwn bzbn zbn w as rta 11. wsdqya dy la yhwa gba a gwra mn a nsˇ md am ytyr General Ordinance (Greek and Aramaic) 14. ˆ  ŒÆææØŒe Æe ªı  æø ª ø ŒÆź،H 15. º K æ åŁÅ. 12. :t awn qrs dy klma gns klh la rb aa :t awnyn dy gmlyn 13. mksa gby

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175

Panel ii: Aramaic heading The Tax Law of the Portus of Hadriana Tadmu¯r and of the Water-springs of Aelius Caesar. i 1–13: Decree of the Council (Aramaic) Decree of the Council. In the month of Nı¯sa¯n on the 18th day, in the year 448, during the presidency of Bu¯na son of Bu¯na son of H : ayran and the secretaryship of Alexander son of Alexander son of Philopator, secretary of the Council and People, the archons being Malku¯ son of aAlı¯ son of Muqı¯mu and Zabı¯da son of Nashsha, when the Council was assembled in accordance with law, it established what is written below: Whereas in former times many items subject to tax were not entered in the tax law and were charged according to custom with whatever (rate) was being written in the contracts of the tax collector and he was collecting according to the law and according to custom, and therefore many times there were disputes concerning these things between the merchants and tax collectors, it seemed good to the Council that the said archons and {to} the Ten {that they} should determine whatever was not entered in the law and it should be written in the new tax contract and there should be written for each thing its customary tax. And whatever has been established for the tax contract shall be written down with the former law on the stele which is opposite the temple of Rabası¯re¯. And it is made the responsibility of the archons who are (in being) at any time and the Ten and the Syndics that the tax collector should not be collecting from anyone anything more. General Ordinance (Greek and Aramaic) (Greek) For one wagon-load of any merchandise, the tax has been assessed at the rate of four camel-loads. (Aramaic) A wagon-load of any kind at all, the tax is collected for four camel-loads.

176

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ii 2–62: New Law (Aramaic) a 2. mn m aly alymya dy mta alyn ltdmr 3. aw lth: wmyh [ygba mks]a lkl rgl[y] [..] d 20 þ 2 4. mn alm dy y[zb]n b[mdy]t[a ..] [d] 10 þ 2 5. mn alm wt: r[n] dy yzbn [ . . . ] [d] [ . . . ] 6. whn zbwna [ypq] alymyn ytn lkl rgly [d] 10 þ 2 7. hw m[ksa yg]ba [m]n :t awn gmla dy yby[sˇyn] 8. lm alna [ . . . . . . ] dy :t awn gmla d [3] 9. mn [t: awn gmla ] lm[pqna ] d 3 10. mn :t[ awn] h: mra lm alna w[lmpqna d 2] 11. mn a [rg]wna mlt: a lkl m[sˇk lm alna ] 12. wlm[p]qna a sryn 5 þ 3 13. mn :t a[wn g]ml[a ] dy msˇh: a bs yma [dy] 14. mta al [b]sˇ[t: ypt]a d 20 þ 5 15. wlma d[ . . . msˇh: ]a dnh 16. lmpqn[a . . . . . .] gml lt: awna d 10 þ 3 17. mn :t awn gmla dy [m]sˇh: a bs yma [dy yta al] 18. bzqy[n dy] a[z l]m[ al]na d 10 þ3 wlmpq[na d 5 þ2] 19. mn :t[ awn h: mr dy m]sˇh: a bs [yma d]y yta al 20. bsˇ[t: yp]ya [d] 10 þ 3 wlmpqna d 5 þ 2 21. mn :t awn h: m[r d]y msˇh: a b[s y]ma dy 22. yta al bzqy[n dy a]z d 5 þ 2 [wlm]pqn d 4 23. mn :t awn dy msˇ[h: a dy bzq]yn a rb a 24. dy az lm aln :t awn g[m]l d 10 þ 3 25. lmpqna d [10 þ3] 26. mn :t awn dy msˇ[h: a ] dy bzqyn trtn dy az 27. lm al[n] :t[ awn]a dy gmla d [5 þ 2] wlmpqna d [5 þ 2] 28. mn :t aw[n] h: mr dy msˇh: lm a[lna] d 5 þ 2 wlpqna [d 5 þ 2] 29. mn :t awn dhna dy bzqyn a [rb a] dy az dy 30. :t awn gml m alna d 10 þ 3 wl[mpq]na d 10 þ 3

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177

ii 2–62: New Law (Aramaic) (2) From the importers of slaves imported into Tadmu¯r or into its territories the tax collector shall collect for every individual 22 denarii. For the slave who is sold in the city 12 d. For the veteran slave who is sold . . . d. And if the buyer exports slaves, he shall give for each individual 12 d. (7) The said tax collector shall collect for a camel-load of dry goods, for import . . . , for a camel-load 3 d., for a camel-load for export 3 d. For a donkey-load for import and for export 2 d. For purple wool, for every skin, for import and for export 8 assarii. (13) For a camel-load of perfumed oil which is imported in alabaster jars, 25 d. and for what . . . this oil for export . . . camel, for the load, 13 d. (17) For the camel-load of perfumed oil which is imported in goat-skins, for import 13 d. and for export 7 d. For the donkey-load of perfumed oil which is imported in alabaster jars, 13 d., and for export 7 d. (21) For the donkey-load of perfumed oil which is imported in goat-skins, 7 d., and for export 4 d. For the load of olive oil in four goat-skins, for import, the camel-load 13 d., for export 13 d. (26) For the load of olive oil in two goatskins, for import, the camel-load 7 d., and for export 7 d. For the donkey-load of olive oil for import 7 d., and for export 7 d. (29) For the load of fat in four goat-skins, which is a camel-load, for import 13 d., and for export 13 d.

178

Palmyrene Inscriptions

31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

mn :t awn dhna dy bzqyn t[rtn dy] az lt: awn gml lm alna d 5 þ 2 wlm[pqna d] 5 þ2 mn :t awn [dh]na dy h: mr lm alna [d 5 þ 2 wlmpqna d 5 þ2] mn :t awn n[wny]a mlyh: ya lt: awna dy [gmla ] [lm a]lna d] 10 wmn mpq mnhwn [. . .] [. . . . . . . . .]a lt: awna dy gmla lm[. . . . ] [. . . . . .]a dy :t awn h: mra lm aln[a ] d[..] [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]na ygba mksa d 3 mn [. . . . . . . . . .]ya d 10 wlkwdn[a ..] [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]l mn [. . .]a m[..]a [. . .] [. . . . . . . . . . . .]ya [. . .a s]ryn 2 m[. . . . . .] a mrya lm a[ln wlmpqn] lrsˇa h: d a sra h: d mn[..]a gmla a [sry]n 3 mn[..]a rba [. . . . . .] [a ]sryn 2 mn[..]w[.]d[. m]k[sa a sr]a h: d a p [y]g[b]a mk[sa lkl yr]h: mn dy yh[wa ] mzbn msˇh: a bs yma a sryn 2 a p ygba mksa mn znyta mn mn dy ˇsqla dynr [aw] ytyr dnra h: d mn a tta wmn mn dy ˇsqla a sryn tmnya ygba a sryn tmnya

51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62.

wmn mn dy ˇsql[a ] a sry[n ˇs]ta ygba a sryn [sˇ]t[a ] a p ygba m[ksa mn. . . . .]yw[..]wpt: ply [..]ypa [. . .]h: [. . .]a hyk adta [lkl] yr[h: ] mn h: nwta d 1 [mn k]l msˇk dy [y]ta al aw yzbn lmsˇka a sryn 2 [mzbn]y nh: tya dy hpkyn bmdyta yhn mwt: mksa [ltsˇ]mysˇ aynn trtn dy m[y] dy bmdyta d 8100 [y]gba mksa lt: awna dy h: :ta wh: mra wtbna w[k]l mdy dma [lhwn lk]l gml la rh: h: da d 1 lgmla kdy ytay al sryq ygba d 1 hyk [dy gba ] qlqys br h: ry qysr

b

Palmyrene Inscriptions

179

(31) For the load of fat in two goat-skins, for the camel-load, for import 7 d., and for export 7 d. For the donkey-load of fat, for import 7 d. and for export 7 d. (34) For the load of salted Wsh, for the camel-load, for import 10 d. and for the export of them(?) . . . . . . for the camel-load for im[port . . . . . . which is a donkey-load, for import . . . . . . the tax collector shall collect 3 d. . . . 10 d. and for a mule . . . . . . . from . . . . . . 2 assarii (42) . . . lambs, for import and for export, one assarius per head. For . . . the camel 3 assarii. For . . . big . . . . . . 2 assarii. For . . . . . . the tax collector, one assarius. (46) Also the tax collector shall collect every month from the one who shall be selling perfumed oil 2 assarii. Also the tax collector shall collect from prostitutes, from whichever receives a denarius or more, one denarius each woman, and from whichever receives eight assarii he shall collect eight assarii. (51) and from whichever takes six assarii he shall collect six assarii. (53) Also the tax collector shall collect from . . . . and the bazaar . . . according to custom every month from each shop, 1 d. (56) For every hide which is imported or sold, for each hide 2 assarii. Vendors of garments who circulate in the city shall be (charged) a reduced amount of tax (?). (58) For use of the two springs of water which are in the city, 800 d. The tax collector shall collect for a load of wheat or wine or straw or suchlike, for every camel, for one journey 1 d. For the camel when it is imported unloaded he shall collect 1 d., just as Kilix, freedman of Caesar, did.

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Palmyrene Inscriptions

ii 63–73: Old Law (Aramaic) 63. nm[wsa dy mk]sa dy tdmr w aynta dy mya 64. wml[h: a d]y b[m]dyta wth: wmyh hyk 65. a [gwrya d]y a [t]a gr qdm mryns hygmwna 66. m[n . . . . . .]lk[l] :t awn dy gml m aln d 4 wmpqn d 4 67. m[n a ]r[gwna ] mlt: a lkl msˇk lm alna d 4 wlmpqna d 4 68. a p ygba [mks]a mn gnsya klhwn hyk dy ktyb mn l al 69. [ml]h: :tb [ytg]ba a sra h: d lmdya dy qst: wn 70. as r w[sˇ]t [w]ma dy ytb aa ytn [lh]n ltsˇmysˇa 71. w[dy] la y[ . . . y]pr a lkl mda mn nm[ws]a dnh sst: rt: yn [trn] 72. mn dy yhwa lh mlh: btd[mr aw bth: w]ma d[y] 73. t[dmry]a ykylnh l[mks]a [a ]py mdya ba sra h: d ii 74–149 Old Tax Edict 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83.

m[. . . .]gys[. . . . . .]qyns hygmwna [ a l] h: ˇsbn mk[s. . . . .] byny tdmrya l[byny] [..]q[.]t mksy[a a ]qy[m]t dy [..] [m]ksa h: yb lmhwa [hyk mk]sa [dy] a gr bh a lqms wh: [brh hyk] nmwsa md am lhn msˇttp wm[. . . .]a dy [..] yhwa pr a lmksa mn dy m al rglyn ltdmr [a ]w lth: [wm]yh wmpq lkl rgly d 20 þ 2 w[m]n dy [. . . . . . .m]pq ypr a lmk[sa d] 10 þ 2 w[mn] dy y[zbn al]m wt: rn ypr a d [5 þ 3]

Palmyrene Inscriptions

181

ii 63–73: Old Law (Aramaic) (63) The Tax Law of Tadmu¯r and the water-springs and salt which are in the city and its territories according to the contracts which were drawn up before the governor Marinus. For . . . , for every camel-load, import 4 d. and export 4 d. For purple wool, for every skin, for import 4 d. and for export 4 d. Also the tax collector shall collect for all kinds (of goods) as is written above. (69) Good-quality salt: one assarius shall be collected per modius of sixteen sextarii and whatever is required he shall give to them for use and whoever does not . . . shall pay for every modius according to this law two sestertii. (72) Whoever has salt in Tadmu¯r or in the territory of the Tadmu¯rians shall measure it out for the tax collector according to the modius at one assarius [per modius]. ii 74–149: Old Tax Edict (74) . . . . . . governor . . . concerning the tax . . . between the Tadmu¯rians and . . . of the taxes, I established that . . . the tax must be according to the tax for which (78) Alkimos and his associate contracted according to the law, . . . anything to them, being made partner . . . he shall be paying to the tax collector. Whoever imports individuals into Tadmu¯r or into its territories or exports any individual, 22 d. And whoever . . . exports, shall pay to the tax collector 12 d. (83) And whoever sells a veteran slave shall pay 8 d.

182 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99.

Palmyrene Inscriptions [. . .]l kl [. . . .]mya dnh [. . . .] w[d]y m al[. . . .]hw d 10 wmpq [d] 10 þ 2 [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .] mn dy mpq alm wt: rn [..] h: ˇsb[n] [. . . . . . . .hyk dy] ktyb bnmwsa [mn] dy yz[bn. . . .] ypr a d 5 þ 4 w[dy m]pq [. . .]la ktyb bdyl [dy] md am la [..]a wk[. . . . . . . . .] la dmya [. . . . . . . . . .]y[. . . .] wm aln mk[. . . . ]b[. . . . ]y m[..] wdy amra [. . . . . . . .]sa dy a p m[. . .] tdm[r] l[a m]ks[. . . . .] pr aa thwa amra dy ayt: [lya . . . . .] mksa lmpqna btr kwt hww spw[n . . .]la amra ayt: lyq[a ] [t]hwa pr aa [mk]s[a ] lmpqa msˇh: a b[s yma dy] bzqyn dy az yhwa mksa mt[gba hyk nmws]a bdyl dy bt: awn dy

c 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117.

ktb dy :t aa mks[a ..]bl[. . . . . .] [.]k[..]sˇ wbnmwsa rs: yp d 10 þ 3 mksa dy qs: ba a py dnr h: yb lmth: ˇsbw hyk dy a p grmnqws qysr ba grta dy ktb lst::tyls psˇq dy ha ksˇr dy [yh]n mksya a py a sr ayt: lq[a ] gbn wmdy gw mn dnr h: yb mksa hyk adta a[r]pn yha gba pgryn dy msˇtdn mks la h: ybyn lt: amta hy bnm[w]sa lt: awna a qymt dy yhwa [m]t[gb]a dnr mdy yhwa mt[a a]l br mn th: wma a w ma pq mn dy mpq l[qry]a [aw m]a al mn qrya mks la h: yb hyk dy a p hww spwn a st: rbylya wmdy dma lhwn a th: zy dy lkl dy all lh: ˇsbn tgra yhwa mksa hyk lybysˇ hyk dy hwa a p bmdynta a h: rnyta

Palmyrene Inscriptions

183

(84) . . . any . . . this And he who imports . . . 10 d. and exports 12 d. (86) . . . and whoever exports a veteran slave . . . account . . . as is written in the law. Anyone who sells . . . shall pay 9 d. and who exports . . . written because nothing . . . . . . not the price . . . and import . . . and of wool . . . which also (94) Tadmu¯r, the tax collector . . . Italic wool shall not pay tax . . . for export later. (96) Similarly they were agreed (?) . . . Italic wool shall not pay tax for export. (98) Perfumed oil in goat-skins, there shall be tax collected according to the law because by an error (100) of writing which the tax collector made . . . . . . and in the law it is established: 13 d. (102) The tax on animals for slaughter is liable to be reckoned according to the denarius, as also Germanicus Caesar made clear in the letter he wrote to Statilius: Now it is right that the taxes should be collected according to the Italic assarius. And whatever is due less than a denarius, the tax collector, according to custom, shall collect (as) small coins. (108) Bodies (of animals) which are rejected are not liable to tax. (109) Regarding foodstuVs, as in the law, I have decreed for a load that a denarius will be collected whenever it is being imported from outside the territory or exported (?). (112) Whoever exports to the villages or imports from the villages is not liable to tax as they also agreed. (114) Pine nuts and suchlike: it seemed good that for everything which enters the reckoning of the merchants, tax should be as for dry goods, as it was also in other cities.

184

Palmyrene Inscriptions

118. gmlya hn :t aynyn whn sryqyn yhn 119. mta alyn br mn th: wma h: yb kl 120. gml dnr hyk bnmwsa whyk dy aˇsr 121. qrblwn ksˇyra ba grta dy ktb lbrbrs 122. al gldya dy gmly[a ] a p a ln kprw dy mks 123. la gbn aˇsb[y]a w[nt]yrta a th: zy dy yhwn 124. yhbyn mk[sa ] bdyl dy ayt bhwn tgrta 125. mksa dy alymta hyk dy nmwsa ma psˇqt 126. hw mksa yg[ba mk]sa mn alymta dy ˇsqln dnr 127. aw ytyr la t[ta dn]r whn h: syr thwh ˇsqla 128. mdy hy ˇsq[la ygba al] s: lmy nh: ˇsa a drt: ya 129. a th: zy dy ytgb[wn] hyk [nh: ]sˇa wyhwa pr a s: lm 130. bplgwt [t: aw]n ws: lmyn trn :t awn al mlh: a 131. qsˇ:t[a a ]th: zy ly dy ba tr dy dms thwa 132. mtzbna ba tr dy mtknsˇyn wmn mn tdmrya 133. yzbn lh: ˇs[h: ]th yhwa yhb lmdya a sr ayt: lq[a ] 134. hyk bnmwsa wa p mksa [m]lh: a dy hwya 135. btdmr hyk bh[w nmws]a a py a sr yhwa 136. mtqbl wl[tdmry]a yhwa mzbn hyk ayda 137. [. . . . . . . mk]sa dy a rgwna bdyl dy 138. [. . . . . .]a rb aa wplgw [. . .]b[..] 139. [.. . . . . . .] m[h]lkyn b[md]yt wh: yt: a 140. [. . . . . . .]d dy yhwa 141. [..]a [. . . . . . . . . . . . ..] yhwa mtgba 142. mksa hyk dy k[tyb mn l] al lm aln ˇslh: a 143. a sryn 2 aˇsl [. . . ..] mtgba wlm{m}pqna 144. lt: awn[a . . .]a [hyk dy a ]p hww spwn 145. ana t[h]w[a m]ta ala m[n br] mn th: wma a p hn 146. [. . . . . . .mt]a ala mksa h: yba whn lgw mn 147. [. . . . . . .mt]a ala lmdyta lmgz mks la h: yb[a ] 148. m[. . . . . . . . .]nwta wmn dy hyk y hwn hwn 149 (below ii a–c). [s]pwn mksa[.. . . .]a hyk bnmwsa dnr yhwa mtgba [ap] mn [. . . . mdy] pr a mksa la yhwa mtgba ala l an dy thwa m a a la l[ . . . . th: w]m tdmr an ys: ba mksa yhwa [. . .]a lh

Palmyrene Inscriptions

185

(118) Camels: whether they are imported loaded or unloaded from outside the territory, each camel is liable for a denarius, as in the law and as the noble Corbulo established in the letter he wrote to Barbarus. (122) Concerning camel-hides: these too they [the archons, etc.] deleted, they were not collecting tax. (123) Hay and windfalls: it seemed good that they should pay tax since there is trading in them. (125) The tax on serving-girls: as the law shows, I have made clear, the said tax collector shall collect tax from female slaves who receive a denarius or more, for each woman a denarius. And if she is receiving less, whatever she takes he shall collect. (128) Concerning bronze images, statues: it seemed good that they should be taxed (collected) as bronze and an image should pay half weight (?) and two images the weight (of one). (130) Concerning salt: it seemed the right thing to me that it should be put on sale in a public place in the place where they gather and whoever from the Tadmu¯rians buys (it) for his (own) needs shall pay for a modius an Italic assarius, as in the law, and also the tax-salt (?) which is in Tadmu¯r as in the said law, it shall be received according to the assarius and it shall be sold to the Tadmu¯rians according to custom. (137) . . . tax on purple since . . . four and a half . . . . . . going about in the city and tailors . . . which shall be . . . . . . tax shall be collected as written above, for import, a skin 2 assarii . . . being collected and for export, for the load . . . in accordance with the fact that they were also in agreement. (145) Sheep may be imported from outside the territory, also if . . . imported, are liable to tax and if inside . . . brought into the city for shearing (?), they shall not be liable to tax . . . and whoever, according to what they are, are agreed . . . The tax collector . . . as in the law a denarius shall be collected. Also, whatever is due, no tax shall be collected, but for sheep which are brought in . . . territory of Tadmu¯r, if the tax collector wishes, he shall be . . . .

186

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Commentary ii 1–2 Aramaic heading nmwsa , ‘law’, appearing frequently in this text (Greek  ); PAT glossary, DNWSI 733, MPAT no. 42: 11, Syriac na¯mu¯sa¯, CSD 340–1 and 63: 16, Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 905. mksa , ‘tax’, frequent here (Akkadian miksu: CDA 210; Kaufman 1974: 72); PAT glossary; DNWSI 625; Egyptian Aramaic, Cowley 1923: no. 84: 112; Segal 1983a; no. 19: 4, 6; Syriac maksa¯, CSD 272, Jastrow 284. lmna , ‘emporium, portus’ (Greek ºØ) (Syriac lmı¯na¯, CSD 243, Jastrow 713). The term refers to a place where the portarium (transit-tax) was exacted: Matthews 1984: 172, 175 n. 9. hdryna tdmr, ‘Hadriana Palmyra’. Tadmu¯r (35: 4) was given the Hadrianic epithet after the visit of Hadrian in c.129 ce. aynta : ayna , ‘spring’ (fem. emphatic. plural: the noun has a masculine form in the singular); PAT glossary, DNWSI 835–40; CSD 411; Jastrow 1071–2. Cf. here ii 58, 63. mya , ‘water’ (plur. noun). See here ii 63 (cf. 58?) and 6: 2 etc. L. Aelius Caesar is one of the consuls (cf. Greek ii 12). This is an odd way of describing the springs, elsewhere called ŪH 
ø ˚ÆÆæ (iii 139). The wording of the heading associates him with the whole text. He was adopted son of Hadrian and consul for the second time in 137 ce, the date of this decree. i 1–13: Decree of the Council (1) dgma dy bwla , ‘decree of the Council’. Both terms are Greek:
ªÆ and ıº. For other occurrences in Palmyrene see 32: 1 etc., PAT glossary; cf. DNWSI 241; Syriac du
gma¯, CSD 85. Brock 2005: 15, 13. The date within the month (yrh: : 3: 5 etc.) is speciWed. The month is Nı¯sa¯n (nysn) corresponding to April: 8: 9 etc., see 32: 5. ywm (absolute of ywma ) works like ˇsnt (5: 4 etc.). The year 448 is 136/7 ce and hence April 137 ce. plhdrwta , ‘presidency’ (only here): see Greek æ 
æ. with Aramaic abstract ending -u¯t added. DNWSI glossary. Bu¯na¯: for the name see Stark 1971: 8–9, 75. H : ayran: 31: 4 etc. grmt: ya , ‘secretaryship, scribal oYce, oYce of the grmt: ws’ (see later in line) (Greek ªæÆÆÆ, ªæÆÆ). Cf. PAT 1370: 4. dms: 32: 1; 33: 8. a rkwnya : a rkwna , ‘archon, magistrate, oYcial’ (Greek ¼æåø). For the names: Malku¯ 33: 1 etc.; aAlı¯ (Stark 1971: 44, 105–6: a diminutive); Muqı¯mu 32: 2 etc.; Zabı¯da 42: 7 etc. (Stark 18–19, 86); Nashsha (Stark 40, 100). kd, ‘when’ (cf. kdy, 33: 3 etc.). hwt: 3rd fem. sing. of HWa /Y, ‘be’. 33: 2 etc. and Nabataean 5: 2 etc.

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knysˇa , ‘gathered’ (fem. absolute passive participle p aal from KNSˇ). Here in ii 132 and 62: 23; DNWSI 520; CSD 219; Jastrow 651. Note the analytical syntax (‘to be’ combined with participle; see 24: 4–5). mn, usually ‘from’, appears here to have the meaning ‘in accordance with’. Cf. mn ayda in l. 5, ‘from custom’. PAT glossary; DNWSI 654–5. aˇsrt 3rd fem. sing. perfect of the ap ael of SˇRR (a asˇrat), ‘be Wrm’, and hence ‘it established’. Cf. here ii 9, ii 120 and PAT 0991: 10, 12. Cf. hsˇrt (3rd fem. sing.) in Lewis 1989: no. 15: 36. CSD 595. mdy: mh þ dy, ‘that which, whatever’. ktyb: passive participle (masc. sing.) from KTB, ‘write’ (5: 3 etc. and several times here). mn lth: t, ‘below’ (only here: mn þ l þ th: t). For lth: t see CSD 610; Jastrow 1662. Compare mn l al in ii 68, 142. What follows from this point of the text is the new tax decree. bdyl dy: 30: 2 etc. zbnya : zbna , ‘time’ (plural), see 33: 5. qdmya , ‘Wrst, former’. PAT glossary and 55: 15; 63: 3. CSD 490; Jastrow 1317. abydn: abydta , ‘product, thing’ (plur. absolute). See 6: 1; 9: 7. s gyn, ‘many’ (fem. plur. absolute; also spelt sgy), 33: 5 (twice). h: ybn, ‘liable (to tax)’ (fem. plur. absolute adjective; cf. Syriac h: aya¯b-a¯, ‘guilty, etc.’). Frequently here and cf. H : WB in 11: 15. DNWSI 351–2; CSD 139; Jastrow 454. The syntactical relation of h: ybn and mksa is awkward: mksa is a kind of accusative of respect or speciWcation (cf. NSI 332). Syriac h: aya¯b- is commonly used in this way: Peshitta Matt. 18: 24; Luke 7: 41. a sqw, clearly a 3rd plur. form of the root SLQ, has been variously interpreted as an internal passive like the internal passive of the causative in Biblical Aramaic (Dan. 4: 33 hotqne¯t-), hence a ussaqu¯, ‘they were entered’ (so PAT glossary; F. Rosenthal 1936: 56; Cantineau 1935: 90), or an impersonal active causative, hence a assqu¯, ‘they caused to go in, put in (a list)’ (NSI 333; DNWSI 789). SLQ in 10: 26 may be related in meaning. The subject is feminine ( abydn). It appears that Palmyrene, like Nabataean ( abdw 7: 1), did not have a separate feminine form for the 3rd plural perfect. This is an OYcial Aramaic feature (see Ch. II). hww, 3rd plur. of HWa /Y, ‘they were’, again a common gender form in -w, here used to form a compound tense with a participle, 33: 2 etc. mtgbyn: etp ael participle (fem. plur. absolute) of GBa /Y, ‘collect (tax)’, meaning ‘being charged’. The form agrees with hww, which is of common gender. GBa /Y occurs repeatedly in this text: DNWSI 208–9; Segal 1983a: no. 35: 4; Jastrow 838–9; CSD 58. mn ayda , ‘according to custom’, several times in this text, and compare mn nmwsa above, l. 3. Syriac aya¯d a¯, CSD 411; DNWSI 838–9.


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bmd an dy, literally ‘in anything that’, but apparently meaning ‘according to whatever’ (Syriac medem; mnd am, 6: 5 etc.; md an, 68: 8) hwa , forming a composite tense again, as above. mtktb: etp ael participle, ‘written’ (KTB l. 4 above). a gwrya : a gwra , ‘contract’ (Greek ŁøØ). See various derivatives of this root in Palmyrene: PAT glossary, mainly in this text. For the root a GR, ‘hire’ Jastrow 14; CSD 3. mksa : here ma¯ksa¯, ‘tax-collector’. CSD 272; Jastrow 742; DNWSI 625; PAT 0591: 2 (where a Roman [?] tax collector builds a tomb: Teixidor 1983a). gba : active participle (p aal), ‘collecting’ (again composite tense). hyk b, ‘as in, according to’. Frequently here, PAT glossary; DNWSI 278, 45; hyk, Jastrow 345 and cf. Syriac ayk: 62: 27; 63: 23; CSD 13. mt: l kwt, ‘therefore’, 33: 6. zbnyn s gyn (absolute plural): see above and 33: 5 for the idiom. s: bwta , ‘things’ (plur. cf. Syriac s: eb-wa¯t-a¯), 30: 5 etc. a ln: 32: 1. srbnyn, ‘disputes’ (masc. plur. absolute), only here in Palmyrene (¼ ÇÅØ). Cf. Syriac srab-, ‘talk idly, bring accusations’, CSD 389; Jewish Aramaic sa¯rba¯na¯, ‘rebellious’, sa¯rba¯nu¯t-a¯, ‘rebelliousness’, Jastrow 1022. hww: see above, here masc. byny . . . lbyny, ‘between . . . and . . .’. PAT glossary and 0261: 3; DNWSI 152–4; 10: 26, etc. See possible reading in ii. 75. tgra , here plur. emphatic in -e¯ (as occurs occasionally in Palmyrene instead of -ayya¯; tgrya in PAT 1376: 3; see Ch. II), ‘merchants’. Syriac taga¯ra¯, CSD 604–6; Jastrow 1647; DNWSI 1203–4, ultimately an Akkadian loan: tamkaru (Kaufman 1974: 107); see Arabic ta¯jir. mksya , ‘tax collectors’ (plur. emphatic). See above. (7) The new clause begins, the consequence of the disputes. a th: zy: etp ael of H : Za /Y, ‘see’, meaning ‘seem’ and several times in Palmyrene ‘seem good’ (cf. here l. 123). Some translate it as ‘it was decreed’. Cf. CSD 136; Jastrow 443. bwla dy arkwnya a ln: for the individual elements see above; on the syntax see below. as rta , ‘the Ten’. This derivative of the numeral ‘ten’ ( as r) is an emphatic form used as a collective referring to the Greek
Œ æøØ, oYcials in charge of revenues (cf. Syriac tre asarta¯, ‘the Twelve [apostles])’ CSD 621). ybnwn: root BYN, ‘understand’ (Greek parallel
ØÆŒæø). The sense derives, according to DNWSI 152, from the ap ael, ‘they should cause to be understood, make clear, decide’. The Syriac cognates would suggest a pa ael (CSD 38; Jastrow 162), though the spelling without {y} favours the ap ael (Cantineau 1935: 88; F. Rosenthal 1936: 66). md am dy, ‘whatever’: above, l. 5, but note Wnal m here.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

189

la , ‘not’. msq: see a sqw above (root SLQ), here ap ael passive (a op aal, internal passive) participle, ‘made to go up, entered (in a list)’. The whole phrase, a th: zy lbwla dy a rkwnya a ln wl as rta dy ybnwn md am dy la msq bnmwsa , has caused some debate, since there seems to be a scribal mistake. As the text stands, ‘the council of the archons’ does not appear to make sense: it is the Council that is making the decree, not ‘the council of the archons’, and there are only two archons (as we know from the earlier part of the text and the Greek). It is much more likely that what is meant here, as is clear in the Greek (though there is no mention at the relevant point there of the Council), is ‘it seemed good to the Council that the said archons and the Ten should decide . . .’. The corrected Aramaic would read: a th: zy lbwla dy a rkwnya a ln w as rta ybnwn. . . , omitting l- before as rta and dy before ybnwn (so Chabot in CIS ii. p. 57). Teixidor’s alternative interpretation (1983b: 238) is to retain the text as it is (so also PAT p. 399) and interpret it as emphasizing the separation of powers between the Council of Archons and the Ten. He thinks the Council took the decision under the archons (rejected by Matthews 1984: 174 n. 5). The diYculty remains, however, that the ‘Council of the Archons’ is not an institution otherwise attested and it implies that the word bwla is used with two diVerent signiWcances. It is best to assume an error in the Aramaic. (NSI 333, having translated literally, notes the diYculty of the syntax.) yktb. A passive sense is required and it is likely that the t of the etp ael has been assimilated: yit-ket-eb- > yikket-eb- —‘it should be written’. For similar forms see below, ii 4 and 19: 4 tdhrwn yit-a ay ael. See above, ii 2, etc.

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sryq, ‘empty, unloaded’ (cf. l. 118): CSD 392–3, Jastrow 1027. Only unloaded camels are charged in this new law: contrast the old law at ii 118 V. Henceforth loaded camels were only to be charged on the load. This particular rule is ascribed to Kilix (˚ºØ), probably a Roman tax oYcial in the Syrian province. His ruling gives a precedent for the new law. Cf. Teixidor 1986: 179, discussing Klima 1965, who argued unconvincingly that sryq and :t ayn refer to the camels in l. 118 being pregnant or not. br h: ry, ‘freedman’. PAT glossary; DNWSI 401–2. For the root 45: 4; 63: 3. qysr, ‘Caesar’. Note that the Greek text corresponds to the end of panel iii b. ii 63–73: Old Tax Law (63) The Old Law begins at this point. Lines 63–73 are the Wrst and main section, beginning with a heading. nmwsa dy mksa dy tdmr w aynta dy mya : see above, Heading, at l. ii 1. Note that tdmr is not called Hadriana in the earlier period, since this part of the text is pre-Hadrianic. mlh: a , ‘salt’ (cf. Syriac melh: a¯, CSD 276; Jastrow 788). mdyta : 32: 3 etc. and above, ii 4 etc. th: wma : see above, ii 3 etc. hyk, ‘as’: see above, ii 5 etc. a gwra , ‘tax contract’: see i 5. a ta gr: etp ael of a gr, ‘lease, make a contract’, hence ‘were drawn up’ (with sing. for plur., though the -w ending is often omitted in any case, Cantineau 1935: 75, and note its non-pronunciation in Classical Syriac). See Ch. II. For the verb see 10: 25. qdm, ‘before, in the presence of ’, 40: 2 and Nabataean 5: 2 etc. Marinus (or Marianus) appears to have been a Roman legate or governor of Syria, probably of the mid-1st century ce (see Matthews 1979: 178 n. 23; Teixidor 1984: 102 n. 256). hygmwna , ‘governor’ (see also l. 74 and 33: 4). (66) The text then begins to deal with speciWc taxes. The section on salt (69–73) is complemented by a later section (130–6). t: awn dy gml: see above, i 5. a rgwn mlt: a lkl msˇk: see above, ii 11. a p, ‘also’: 28: 3, etc. and above, l. 46 etc. ygba : gba : see above, i 6. mksa , ‘tax collector’ (above, i 6). gnsya : gnsa : see above, i 13, here plur. ktyb: see above, i 4: hyk dy ktyb mn lth: t. mn l al, ‘above’. Cf. Syriac: 62: 28; 63: 23. Contrast with mn lth: t in i 4 and l al in 40: 2.

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:tb, ‘good’: masc. sing. absolute, 38: 2 etc. (cf. Syriac :ta¯b-a¯, ‘good quality, cultured’, CSD 165–6; Jastrow 515). ytgba : etp ael of GBa /Y above. a sra h: d, ‘one assarius’ (above, ii 12). lmdya , ‘for the modius’. mdya is a dry measure (also ll. 71, 73, 133). Here sing. emphatic, in l. 71 mda is absolute (cf. Greek 
Ø from the Latin modius, which contains 16 sextarii in dry measure: L&S 1155). CSD 256; Jastrow 738. qst: wn, ‘sextarius’, only here, is another measure (Greek Å from Latin sextarius). as r wsˇt, ‘sixteen’ (fem. forms, implying that qst: wn is treated as fem. contra PAT glossary). ma dy: see mdy i 4. ytb aa : B aa /Y, ‘seek’ (etp ael imperfect 3rd masc. sing.), 10: 22 etc. ytn: see above, ii 6. lhn, ‘for, to them’. It is not clear who is being referred to here, possibly the merchants. tsˇmysˇa , here translated ‘use’ as in ii 58, but taken by Teixidor to refer to ‘administration’, which would imply handing over some salt to oYcials (as a kind of tax?). But the Greek text has åæBØ in ii 88 corresponding to ii 58. What follows appears to be a penalty in the event of default of some kind: ypr a: pr a, ‘pay, be charged’ (3rd masc. sing. imperfect). The verb appears repeatedly in this text: DNWSI 942; MPAT no. 39: 6, 5: 3, 10: 18 etc. sst: rt: yn, ‘sestertii (coins)’ (plur. absolute) (Greek ÅæØ from Latin sestertius). Only here. trn, ‘two’ (masc.). The implication here is of a penalty of two sestertii if the regular tax per modius is not paid. mn dy, ‘whoever’ (Syriac man d-, Nabataean mn dy). See above, ii 49. hwh l-, ‘possess’. tdmrya : nisbah form based on the city name. Cf. l. 75 etc. and 20: 14. ykylnh: KWL, ‘measure’ (3rd masc. sing. ap ael imperfect with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx), only here in Palmyrene, but cf. DNWSI 493; Segal 1983a: no. 52a: 11 (possibly) and (possibly) in the Yavneh Yam inscription (TSSI I no. 10: 5, 6). Cf. Syriac ap ael a akı¯l, used of measuring corn, CSD 208; Jastrow 619. a py, ‘according to’, also in ll. 102, 105, 135 (Syriac a apay, CSD 25–6, though in Syriac it would be expected to have b- with it). PAT glossary. ii 74–149: Old Tax Edict The next section (74–108), which continues the Old Law, is in a very damaged state and little more than isolated words can be made out apart from ll. 80

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and 98. When the fragmentary Greek is brought also into consideration, it becomes fairly clear (i) that the Greek has a section not in the Palmyrene (Greek iii 121–49) and (ii) that a governor’s earlier decisions are referred to (74 V.). His name is restored (gys[. . .]qyns) as Gaius Licinius Mucianus, legate to Syria in 67–9 ce appointed by Nero (Seyrig 1941a: 165–7), though the name is far from certain. (74) gys, PN ‘Gaius’. The interpretation of this here is assured by the Greek ˆÆØ[ . . . in iv 150. hygmwna : cf. above, Greek iv 151: IØ[æ Ū] ¼ legatus pro praetore (Matthews 1984: 179 n. 28). h: ˇsbna , ‘reckoning, account’: also ll. 87, 115; 62: iv, 10 etc. Cf. Syriac h: usˇba¯na¯, CSD 135; Jastrow 509. byny tdmrya , ‘between the Tadmu¯rians’, implies reference to disputes (on which see also i 7). The reading of 1. 76 follows CIS and Shifman 1980 (against NSI: ‘Maximus Caesar’). aqymt: 1st sing. perfect of the ap ael of QWM, ‘stand, arise’, hence ‘establish’ (see 1.109, 28: 2, etc.). (77) h: yb: above, i 4. For use with an infinitive in the sense of obligation see ll. 102–3; DNWSI 352. lmhwa : p aal inWnitive of HWa /Y, ‘be’ (with l-). a gr: see above, l. 65. bh, ‘for it’. Alkimos may be the name of an earlier tax collector (Matthews 1984: 179 n. 29) and he appears in other texts (Gawlikowski 1998, who also reads [a l]qms mks[’] at the beginning of 1. 76). The addition of ‘and his associate’ follows Shifman (1980: 102, 180–1). h: br’, ‘associate, colleague’. DNWSI 346–7, 12: 13, PAT 1618: 6. nmwsa : above, ii 1. md am: above, i 8, 11. lhn: defective for lhwn, see above, l. 70. It is not easy to make sense here: lhn ‘except’, as in Nabataean (6: 5), is not to be excluded. msˇttp: passive participle of ˇswtp, ‘make a partner’ (see 43: 9): PAT glossary (sˇwtp). The Palmyrene appears both as ˇswtp and ˇstp. The former corresponds to the Syriac use of this verb as a shap ael, the latter to Jewish Aramaic as pa ael. Here we have the t-inWxed form: Syriac a esˇtawtap (participle mesˇtawtap), Jewish Aramaic a isˇtatte¯p (misˇtatap). The Palmyrene seems to be a form closer to the Jewish Aramaic. For basic forms: ˇsawtep, CSD 569– 70, Jastrow 1640, 11: 7 etc. pr a (see above, l. 71 and below, 82, 83), here probably p aal active participle. mksa , ‘tax collector’ (see l. i 6, etc.). (80) mn dy, ‘whoever’, begins a new and clearer statement.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

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m al: see ii 2 etc. rglyn: masc. plur. absolute of rglya (above, ii 6). ltdmr aw lth: wmyh: see above, ii 2–3. mpq: see ii 6 etc. kl, ‘all, any’, distributively followed by absolute sing. rgly. ypr a: l. 71, etc. yzbn alm wt: rn: see above, ii 5 (here with active pa ael verb). hyk dy ktyb bnmwsa : see i 6 etc., i 4, ii 68 etc. bdyl dy: see i 4 etc. (91) dmya , ‘price’ (emphatic plur.—the noun is always plural). Syriac dma¯ya¯, CSD 94; Jastrow 313. See 10: 18 etc. amra , ‘wool’ (see also ll. 94, 96) (Syriac aamra ¯ , CSD 418, Jastrow 1091), though here evidently feminine, as indicated by following agreements). See DNWSI 873 speciWcally on this. pr aa : active p aal participle (fem. sing. absolute). See above, l. 71, etc. thwa : ‘it (fem.) shall be’. The fem. subject must be amra , though Syriac aamra¯ (like the Jewish Aramaic) is masc. It must be fem. in Palmyrene (DNWSI 873). ayt: lya , ‘Italy’. btr, ‘afterwards’ (adverb). We may have here allusion to re-export. The Syriac adverb is usually ba¯t-arken, CSD 57; Jastrow 201; DNWSI 206. (96) A new statement apparently begins at the beginning of l. 96. kwt, ‘similarly, so’, 30; 6 etc. hww: 3rd masc. plur. perfect of HWa /Y. spwn appears to be a Greek loan (see also 113) from çø (Greek text iv 174–75: ıçøŁÅ) meaning ‘in agreement (in sound originally)’. Note that an earlier loan into Aramaic from the same Greek source is found in Dan 3: 10, HALOT 1937–8. PAT glossary, Cantineau 1935: 156; F. Rosenthal 1936: 92, possibly Syriac CSD 368; Brock 2005: 22. ayt: lyqa , ‘Italian, Italic’ (adjective) (see ll. 105, 133). Shifman 1980:a yt: lqn. (98) Here a new topic begins: perfumed oil (see ii 17 V.). :t awn is here not from T: aN but from T: aa /Y and a masc. sing. noun meaning ‘error’ (see Syriac :ta awa¯na¯, CSD 178; DNWSI 426). Others (e.g. PAT glossary) take it to be a fem. plur. absolute of :t awta (Jastrow 542). ktb: ktba , ‘writing, document’: 7: 9 etc. :t aa : 3rd masc. sing. p aal, ‘he erred, made a mistake’. CSD 177–8; Jastrow 542. rs: yp, a passive participle taken to mean ‘established’, apparently a transferred sense of the root RS: P meaning ‘Wx Wrm, lay a pavement or mosaic’ (cf. 58: B8–9): CSD 549; Jastrow 1495. (102) The text continues in a much better state of preservation with further attachments to the Old Law. It should be noted that the text is presented as

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direct speech of Mucianus, with several 1st person forms. (Further repetitions of cross-references within this text are minimized below.) qs: ba looks enticingly like Arabic qas: s: a¯b, ‘butcher’ and is so interpreted by Teixidor and others (NSI 339, though contrast p. 329; DNWSI 1021). It would not in any case necessarily be an Arabic loan since the word occurs in Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic (Jastrow 1404, also Masada ostracon 512, Yadin and Naveh 1989: 43) and Syriac (CSD 515, though there regarded as an Arabism). It is, however, more likely that the word means ‘sacriWcial victims’ or ‘animals for slaughter’ since the Greek text has ç Œæ (iv 181: see LSJ 1738, a rare term for tax on sacriWcial animals. Animals Wt better here (so Kaizer 2002: 183). a py dnr h: yb: see above, l. 73 and ii 4. We are dealing with tax on animals and methods of payment. mth: ˇsbw: etp ael inWnitive of H : SˇB, ‘reckon’ (met-h: ˇsa¯b-u¯). For H : SˇB 10: 3 etc. and h: ˇsbn above. Germanicus’ earlier decision delivered to Statilius is cited. Germanicus conducted a mission to the East in 17–19 ce (Chapter I). Statilius was evidently a local oYcial (Matthews 1984: 179 n. 30). a grta , ‘letter’ (cf. Syriac a egarta¯, CSD 3; Jastrow 45 (also here l. 121). psˇq, ‘make plain, explain’ (pa ael perfect) (cf. Syriac psˇaq and derivatives CSD 468–9). (Note the separate root PSQ, ‘decide’ in Hatran in a similar context: 77: 3 etc. Both appear in Syriac: CSD 452–3, 468–9.) See also below, l. 125. dy follows, introducing the wording of the instruction, 19: 4 etc. ha , ‘behold’ (cf. Syriac ha¯, CSD 98–9). Thus F. Rosenthal 1936: 83; Cantineau 1935: 61 takes it to be personal pronoun. ˇ ksr, ‘right, advantageous’ (Syriac ka¯ˇsar, active participle of ksˇar, CSD 229–30; Jastrow 678). yhn (cf. ll. 57, 118), defective for yhwn (3rd masc. plur. imperfect of HWa /Y). mksya : mksa , ‘tax’ (plur. emphatic). a py a sr, ‘according to (¼ in) assarii’ (see above, l. 102 a py dnr). ayt: lqa : see above, l. 96. The ‘Italian assarius’ seems to be the Roman as, which has a diVerent value from the Hellenistic assarius, NSI 336. (106) gbn (gb-e¯n): p aal passive participle (plur. absolute) of GBa /Y, ‘collected’. An active construction is feasible if mksya means ‘tax collectors’ rather than ‘taxes’. mdy: see above, i 4. gw mn, ‘inside, less than’. The noun gwa means ‘inside’. See l. 146 here and 6: 1; 11: 7 etc. (contrast br mn in l. 111). adta , ‘custom’ (see above, ii 54). arpn, ‘small coin’ (only here). Syriac aurpa ¯ na¯, CSD 408 (denominative verb 429; cf. Peshitta John 2: 15). See Greek iv 184–5, ŒæÆ, ‘small coin, change’. This refers to local coinage (Matthews 1984: 172).

Palmyrene Inscriptions

201

yha : yhwa , ‘he shall be’ (yhwa in 149, 170). gba : active participle. (108) A separate statement about bodies of animals (pgryn), like qs: ba in l. 102, but unWt for slaughter. pgra , ‘body, carcass’ (plur. absolute). DNWSI 1136; CSD 434; Jastrow 1136. msˇtdn: etp ael participle (masc. plur. absolute) from SˇDa /Y, ‘throw away’— ‘being thrown away, rejected’, CSD 560; Jastrow 1524. (109) :t amta , ‘foodstuVs’ (fem. plur.) (cf. Syriac :ta ama¯t-a¯, CSD 179). The root means ‘taste’. For the speciWc meaning here see Greek iv 187 æøH. a qymt: see l. 76 above. Note the direct speech and Wrst person form. Apparently Gaius Licinius Mucianus is speaking (Matthews 1984: 179). mtgba : see i 5. (111) mdy, ‘whenever’ (Greek ‹Æ iv 188) (Syriac ma¯ d-, CSD 246). Note diVerent meaning in i 9, etc. yhwa , ‘it (masc.) shall be’ (see above, 94). The masc. sing. is used for an indeWnite subject: more logically it should be fem. plur. mta al: above, ii 2. br mn, ‘(from) outside’ (cf. ll. 119 and 145 and contrast gw mn, l. 106). PAT glossary (under br mn and lbr mn). Cf. Syriac lb-ar men, CSD 53; Jastrow 188. th: wma : see above, ii 3. ma pq: ap ael passive participle from NPQ, meaning ‘brought out, exported’ (contrast mpq, active, in l. 112). The form with /a / may be created by analogy with mta al (see F. Rosenthal 1936: 29). qrya , ‘villages’ (sing. qryta ) (cf. Syriac qurya¯). 62: 8, CSD 517; Jastrow 1420. The word åøæÆ (plur.) is used in Greek ll. 189–90. hww spwn: above, l. 96. (114) Section on pine nuts, etc. a st: rbylya , ‘pine nuts’ (plur. emphatic) (Greek loan from æ 
غØ, LSJ 1655, though the Greek text uses the word ŒH). mdy, ‘whatever’: cf. i 4. dma , p aal active participle from DMa /Y, ‘be like’ (see l. 60 for the whole idiom). a th: zy: see above, i 7. all: active participle of aLL, ‘enter’. The verb has occurred repeatedly in various forms above. h: ˇsbna , normally ‘reckoning, account’ (above, ll. 75, 87), hence ‘reckoning of the merchants’ (tgra , above, i 7). This appears to be an idiom for ‘market’: see Greek N K æÆ (iv 192). ybysˇ: see ii 7—here sing. and collective. hwa , ‘was’ (possibly active participle, ‘in being’).

202

Palmyrene Inscriptions

mdynta : plural, cf. mdyta in ii 4 etc. a h: rnyta , ‘other’ fem. plur. adjective with mdynta . Syriac (a )h: ra¯nya¯ta¯, CSD 12; Jastrow 41 and 44: 5; 4: 2; 11: 16. (117) hn . . . hn, ‘if . . . if, whether . . . or’ (ii 6 etc.). :t aynyn, ‘loaded’ (masc. plur. absolute of the passive p aal participle of T: aN). See the noun :t awn repeatedly above. sryqyn: see above, l. 61. Klima 1965 noted that in the Greek here the camels are feminine (iv 194–6) and these two terms might mean ‘pregnant’ and ‘non-pregnant’, but nothing in the Greek suggests this: cf. Teixidor 1986: 179. yhn: above, ii 57 etc. (120) aˇsr, ‘he established’: see i 3 (here masculine). Corbulo (Cn. Domitius Corbulo) was a legate in Syria under Nero c.60–3 ce. Barbarus must be another local tax oYcial (Matthews 1984: 179 n. 35). ksˇyra , ‘noble, excellent’ (Syriac kasˇ¯ıra¯, CSD 229; Jastrow 678) ¼ Greek Œæ Ø (iv 196). Note ksˇr above, l. 105; 35: 4; 36; 3, qrt: st: a . a grta : above, l. 104. ktb, ‘he wrote’ (i 4 etc.). gldya , ‘skins, hides’ (Syriac gelda¯), only here. CSD 70; Jastrow 245; DNWSI 222–3. Cf. Arabic jild. Note that al gldya is attached to ktb lbrbrs by Teixidor 1983b: 242, a suggestion rejected by Matthews 1984: 180. Note also that the reference to ‘skins’ was doubted by Ingholt 1970: 194–5; 1976: 104–6, arguing that msˇk was used earlier in the text for ‘skin’ (ii 11, 56, 67) and taking gldya to mean ‘camel leaders’, but the immediate context suggests products. kprw, 3rd plur. p aal perfect of KPR, ‘they renounced’, perhaps pa ael ‘eVace, delete’; CSD 223; Jastrow 662. PAT glossary: ‘made exemption’. The following dy is awkward, perhaps meaning ‘so that . . .’, hence ‘so that they were not collecting’ or ‘because they were not collecting’. The rule involved here is rather unclear. kpr could mean ‘wipe clean, deny, renounce’. Thus on the face of it the Aramaic means ‘also these they (the archons?) renounced so as to be not collecting (gbn plural active participle) tax’. This implies tax was not collected on camel-skins. Teixidor, however, has them (the archons?) rejecting the non-collection of tax on these items (in contrast with the decision of Corbulo). (123) as bya wntyrta , ‘hay and windfalls’ (Syriac aesba¯, CSD 420; Jastrow 1097, 1124, net-ra¯, CSD 355; Jastrow 946, verb). These words appear only here in Palmyrene. yhbyn: active participle of YHB, ‘give’. Cf. also l. 133 and 8: 9 etc. bdyl dy: above, i 4. ayt: cf. Syriac a¯ıt and earlier a yty: 7: 7 etc. -

Palmyrene Inscriptions

203

tgrta , ‘trade’, only here, but cf. tgra , merchant’, in i 7 etc. Syriac ta
g a¯ru¯t-a¯, CSD 605; Jewish Aramaic ta
gra¯, Jastrow 1647. (125) alymta , ‘slave-girls’: (see ii 2) must refer to prostitutes, as earlier, where the more explicit term znyta is used (ii 47). The Greek has ÆØæH (iv 203). What follows makes it clear that prostitutes are meant. The taxes here are monthly. mwh: a in the text is probably an error for mh: wa , pa ael or ap ael participle of H : Wa /Y, ‘show’. Perhaps also found in PAT 0991: 8. Cf. Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1870–1; CSD 129; Jastrow 432. psˇqt, ‘I have decided, made clear’ (above, l. 104). hw: demonstrative as in ll. 7 and 135 (Cantineau 1935: 130 interprets it as an ordinary pronoun used for emphasis). Shifman (1980: 104) reads h[n], but the syntax is awkward. ˇsqln: above, ii 48; here fem. plur. absolute. ytyr: see above, i 11. a tta , ‘woman’ (above, ii 48). h: syr, ‘less’ (Syriac h: ası¯r, CSD 152–3; Jastrow 487), 63: 10. thwa , ‘she shall be’. hy, ‘she’ (3rd fem. sing. independent pronoun). (128) Here we have a tax on metal statues: s: lma , ‘statue, image’ (construct plur.), 28: 3 etc. nh: ˇsa , ‘bronze’. PAT glossary, DNWSI 726; Cowley 1923: 10: 10 etc., CSD 366; Jastrow 897; 5: 1 etc. a drt: ya means more speciWcally ‘images’ (plur.). The Greek behind this word (not extant here) is I
æØ . It is found in a Syriac inscription (a dryt: a in 61: 5). Cf. Classical Syriac a a(n)drı¯yanta¯, CSD 4, 21; Jewish Aramaic a andrı¯a anto¯s, Jastrow 82; Brock 2005: 12. ytgbwn: etp ael imperfect 3rd masc. plur., literally ‘they shall be collected’, but clearly meaning ‘they shall be taxed’ or ‘the taxes shall be collected’. The additional detail here is obscure: ‘a statue shall pay at half weight and two statues at (the full) weight’ (see Matthews 1984: 180, expanding to make sense). pr a: see above, e.g. l. 71. plgwt, plgwta , ‘half ’ (construct), see 29: 4, with :t awn here meaning ‘weight’. At the end of (130) we turn again to salt: again note the 1st person form (ly). qsˇ:ta , ‘the right thing’ (noun). PAT glossary. Cf. Syriac qusˇ:ta¯/qu¯ˇs:ta¯, ‘truth, rectitude’, CSD 499, Jastrow 1429. a tr, ‘place of ’ (construct of a tra ), see 30: 4 etc. a tr dy dms, ‘place of the people’, appears to mean ‘public place’. For dms see above, i 2.

204

Palmyrene Inscriptions

mtzbna : fem. sing. absolute etpa aal participle, ‘being sold’. The feminine form, also reXected in thwa , agrees with melh: a¯, which is fem. also in Syriac. Above, ii 4 etc. (note t not metathesized: see Ch. II, on Jewish Aramaic). mtknsˇyn: etpa aal participle (masc. plur. absolute), ‘gathered’ (above, i 3) (Syriac kanesˇ). The sale is to take place in a public area for purposes of control and taxing: Matthews 1984: 180 n. 43. mn mn tdmrya , ‘whoever from the Tadmu¯rians’ (an unusual phrase, cf. mn mn in ll. ii 47–8, 51). yzbn: here p aal, meaning ‘buy’. h: ˇshth, ‘his use, needs’ (Syriac h: ˇsah: ta¯, CSD 162). mdya : see above, ii 69. a sr ayt: lqa : see ii 96, 105. (134) mksa , ‘tax’. The phrase mksa mlh: a is odd, not construct and without dy. The suspicion here must be that what is being referred to is salt collected as tax, not tax on salt (DNWSI 625, following Schlumberger 1937: 283; Teixidor 1983b: 245–6; 1984: 80 ‘sel Wscal’). (DNWSI favours correcting to mksa dy mlh: a : cf. CIS ii. p. 71, certainly simpler). hwya : fem. p aal active participle from HWa /Y. (135) The restoration bhw or bh nmwsa follows Teixidor 1983b: 245, cf. Matthews 1984: 180 n. 44, producing a demonstrative phrase ‘in that law’ or ‘in the said law’ (as in ii 7, 126). mtqbl: pa ael masc. sing. absolute participle, ‘being received, accepted’. See 44: 5 etc. CSD 487–8; Jastrow 1309. mzbn: etpa aal participle (with assimilation of /t/ here: contrast l. 132). The tax salt was to be turned into cash for the imperial coVers. (137) The text then becomes fragmented again. Most of the decipherable elements have occurred earlier: mhlkyn: pa ael participle, ‘going about’. CSD 104 (often used of trade): Jastrow 353; Biblical Aramaic HALOT 1860. h: yt: a could be an alternative spelling of h: :ta (see l. 59), but more likely is to follow PAT glossary in taking it to mean ‘tailors’ (Syriac h: aya¯:te¯, CSD 140; Jastrow 454). For ktyb mn l al, see above, l. 68. ˇslh: a , ‘skin’, only here. Cf. Syriac ˇselh: a¯, CSD 579; Jastrow 1580. (Kubaissi 1996: 453 has ‘weapons’: it is not clear on what basis.) mmpqna : error for mpqna . spwn: see ii 96. (145) ana , ‘sheep’ (see also 149) (cf. Syriac aa¯na¯, fem. CSD 419; Jastrow 1091). lmgz: p aal inWnitive of GZZ, ‘cut, shear’. For GZZ see DNWSI 219; CSD 66–7, Jastrow 229; GreenWeld 1960. The Greek refers here to ‘grazing’ (K d c)

Palmyrene Inscriptions

205

rather than shearing, indicating that sheep animals brought in for grazing are liable to tax. It may be that the two statements deal with two sides of the same issue. Animals are brought in either for shearing or for grazing. Only the latter are to be taxed and this is what the Greek mentions. The Aramaic only mentions the fact that the sheep brought in for shearing are exempt. There is no contradiction! hwn: above, i 10, apparently participle of HWa /Y. The Greek also refers to the possibility of branding sheep which are permitted to graze within the city (Matthews 1984: 173). There is no trace of this in the Palmyrene, but a n ys: ba (149) seems to correspond to ‘the tax collector may have the animals branded if he wishes’. pr a: see above, ii 71 etc. (Greek OçºŁÆØ). a la , ‘except, but, however’: PAT glossary; CSD 17; Jastrow 66. a n—hn, ‘if ’: above, ii 6 (cf. Syriac a en). ys: ba : 11: 9, 31; 63: 12. 38. I NSCRIP TION F ROM TH E BAA LSHA M IN TEMPLE DATED 67 ce This inscription is located on a lintel from a portico in the temple of the Baalshamin temple of Palmyra and refers to the building of porticoes in the main court.

Main publications PAT 0158 (note that 1130 is almost identical, and there are other summary inscriptions: PAT 0159); Dunant 1971: 14–16, no. 1A and pl. I/1 and I/4; Inv. i, 5; Dijkstra 1995: 112–14; Kaizer 2002: 81. 1. mt: lta dh klh amwdyh wsˇryth wtt: lylh qrb yrh: y br lsˇmsˇ br r ay dy mn bny m azyn lb alsˇmn a lha 2. :tba ws kra al h: ywhy wh: yy bnwhy wa h: why byrh: a lwl ˇsnt 3100 þ 60 þ 10 þ5þ3 The whole of this portico, its pillars and its entablature and its roof, Yarh: ay son of Lishamsh son of Ra aay who is of the Bene¯ Ma azı¯n oVered to Baalshamin, the good and rewarding god, for his life and the life of his sons and his brothers. In the month of Elu¯l in the year 378. mt: lta , literally ‘covering’, often referring in the context of buildings to a ‘portico’ (root T: LL), 29: 5. It appears in several inscriptions from the Baalshamin temple (Dunant 1971: 14–24, 52–5, nos 1–9, 40, 43).

206

Palmyrene Inscriptions

dh: fem. sing. demonstrative: 29: 5. amwdyh, ‘its pillars, columns’. amwdya (masc. plur.) with 3rd fem. sing. pronoun suYx, as on the following words; PAT glossary; DNWSI 869–70; Cowley 1923: 30; 9 etc.; Syriac aamu¯d a¯, CSD 416; Jastrow 1087; 22: 2.
DNWSI 1193. Cf. Akkadian ˇsa¯rı¯tu: ˇsryta : ‘entablature, beam’. PAT glossary; CAD Sˇ/II, 63, of Aramaic origin: von Soden 1977: 195, no. 226. tt: lyla : ‘covering, ceiling’, also from the root T: LL. PAT glossary; DNWSI 1212; Garbini 1975: 176 (on tt: lyla and mt: lta ). For such t- preWxed noun forms cf. Cantineau 1935: 111–12. qrb: pa ael perfect, ‘he oVered, presented, brought near’, 29: 4. The oVerer’s name and the names of his forbears are Semitic. Yarh: ay is a hypocoristic based on Yarh: ibo¯l and very common (Stark 1971: 27–8, 91), as is Lishamsh (Stark 29–30, 93). It is a name found also in Edessa (52: 1). Ra aay is rare (Stark 1971: 50, 112); 39: 1 r aya l. dy mn before a tribal designation, see 28: 4–5; 29: 3. The Bene¯ Ma azı¯n are one of the main Palmyrene tribes: cf. Milik 1972: 82–5, 101–3; Dirven 1999: 78–86; Gawlikowski 1973: 38; 39: 2. The god Baalshamin (a lha 29: 6 etc.) was worshipped all over Syria and northern Arabia (in general Niehr 2003), but one of Palmyra’s main temples was dedicated to him (39: 2; Kaizer 2002: 79–88; Niehr 1996: 59–66; 2003: 103–63 on Baalshamin at Palmyra). Here and elsewhere he is given the epithets :tba , ‘good’ (37 ii 69 etc.), and s kra , ‘rewarding, generous’ (also skra ), probably s akka¯ra¯ (PAT glossary, skr, ˇskr); DNWSI 1135 and cf. Arabic ˇsakara, ‘thank’ (Wehr 482); it is an Arabic loan according to Cantineau 1935: 42, 150. On religious aspects cf. Healey 1998: 352–4. al h: yy . . . 34: 1, 4 etc. bnwhy: bnya with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx; 29: 4 etc. a h: why: a h: ya with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx. Sing. a h: wh (PAT 0641: 6), 40: 3; 8: 2 etc. The month of Elu¯l is September. The year, 378, corresponds to 66/7 ce and the inscription is therefore dated to September 67 ce. 39. ALTAR I NSCRIPTION F RO M THE BAALSHAMIN TEMPLE DATED 7 3 c e This was found in a dining-room of the Baalshamin temple.

Main publications PAT 0180; Dunant 1971: 37–8, no. 24 and pl. VII/3 and VII/4; Kaizer 2002: 82.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

207

1. alwta a ln qrbw mlkw wr aya l bny 2. gda br tymy dy mn bny m azyn lb alsˇmn 3. a lha dy thwyn alwta a ln al bba 4. rba a tr dy yhwh byrh: s[ywn] ˇsnt 5. 3100 þ 80 þ 4 These altars Malku¯ and Ra ayaa el sons of Gada son of Taymı¯ of the Bene¯ Ma azı¯n oVered to the god Baalshamin, that these altars might be beside the great doorway where it will be (built). In the month of Sı¯wa¯n in the year 384. alwta : plur. of alta , ‘altar’. PAT glossary ( alh); DNWSI 851; Syriac ala ¯ ta¯, alawa¯ta¯,

CSD 416. a ln: plur. demonstrative ‘these’(a ille¯n), 32: 1 etc. qrbw: 3rd plur. perfect pa ael of qrb, meaning ‘they oVered’ (29: 4; 38: 1 etc.). mlkw: 33: 1. r aya l is probably the full form of the name r ay (38: 1). The father’s name, gda , is in fact a divine name used as a personal name (Gadd, Fortune) (Stark 1971: 13, 81). Taymı¯ (Stark 55, 117) is a hypocoristic—cf. names tymlt, tybwl, 43: 6. dy mn introducing a tribal aYliation, bny m azyn and b alsˇmn: 38: 1. dy may be used here to introduce a purpose clause: ‘so that’; another possibility is that an indirect statement is understood: 19: 4. thwyn: 3rd fem. plur. imperfect of HWa /Y (masc. yhwn/yhn). Compare Syriac nehwya¯n and see further references in PAT glossary. al here evidently means ‘beside, at’. bba rba : 30: 3; 33: 5. a tr dy. a tra , ‘place’, but used as a subordinating conjunction with dy: see Syriac a atar d- (which has a more indeWnite sense: ‘wherever’) CSD 33; Jastrow 133–4. yhwh: hwy/a , ‘be’. The implication of the imperfect tense here is that the gate has not yet been built and we have no evidence that it ever was built: Kaizer 2002: 82. The month is Sı¯wa¯n, i.e. June, and the year 72/3 ce. Hence June 73 ce.

4 0 . L I N T E L I N S C R I P T I O N F RO M D O O RWAY ¯ N T EMPLE, DATED 89 ce O F B E¯ L H : A MM O This is from the Be¯l H : ammo¯n temple at Jebel Muntar to the west of Palmyra’s centre. (The location given in PAT 1561 is wrong; see Kaizer 2002: 108 n. 228.)

208

Palmyrene Inscriptions

Main publications PAT 1561; Inv. xii, 48; Gawlikowski 1973: 83; Teixidor 1979: 13–14; Teixidor 1986: 64–6, no. 98; Dijkstra 1995: 104–5; Kaizer 2002: 108–9. 1. lbl h: mwn abdw mn kyshwn mqymw br mqymw br zbdbwl aryma wyrh: bwla br mlkw br lsˇmsˇ br h: nbl a aby hykla dnh wa st: wa 2. dy ˇsysˇa dy qdmwhy wa st: wa dy l al mnh wtt: lyla klh wtr awhy wsˇrgba dy nh: ˇsa wa p qrbw hykla dy mnwt wa st: wwhy wts: byth 3. klh al h: yyhwn wh: yy bnyhwn wa h: yhw[n] l alma byrh: ayr ˇsnt 4100 For Be¯l H : ammo¯n, from their own funds, Muqaymu son of Muqaymu son of Zabdibo¯l aArı¯ma and Yarh: ibola son of Malku¯ son of Lishamsh son of H : annibe¯l A a bay made this sanctuary and the marble portico in front of it and the portico above it and the whole of its roof and its doors and the bronze hinges (?). And they also oVered the sanctuary of Manawat and its porticoes and all its decoration. For their lives and the lives of their sons and their brothers for ever. In the month of Iyya¯r in the year 400. A variant version of the same inscription is preserved as PAT 1562 (Inv. xii, 49). It uses the term mlbnh instead of tr awhy in l. 2 and has a slightly diVerent ending. Be¯l H : ammo¯n, whose temple is referred to in the Wrst part of this inscription, was popular at Palmyra. The god’s name probably goes back to ‘Baal of the Amanus’ (cf. Teixidor 1979: 12–14; Teixidor 1986: 64–6; Xella 1991: 192–203; Kaizer 2002: 108–16). The temple is associated with the group called the Bene¯ Agru¯d and the dedicants here belonged to that grouping (Kaizer 2002: 114–15). abdw: 29: 4 etc. mn kyshwn, ‘from their (own) purse, funds’. kysa , ‘purse’, appears in this context also in Hatran (inscription no. 214: 2) and the word is well known in Hebrew (kı¯s, HALOT 472–3), Syriac (kı¯sa¯, CSD 213) and Jewish Aramaic (Jastrow 633–4) etc. PAT glossary; DNWSI 499. For the personal name mqymw see 32: 2, for zbdbwl 35: 3 (zbda ) (Stark 1971: 16–17, 85). aryma is part of the name (Stark 1971: 45, 107), but means ‘wise’ and could be understood as an epithet: arı¯ma¯ CSD 428–9; Jastrow 1117. yrh: bwla , which is common (41: 2; 43: 5; see also yrh: y, 38: 1 etc.), is based on the divine name Yarh: ibo¯l, with the secondary addition of -a as a pseudohypocoristic ending (Stark 1971: 26–7, 91). mlkw : 33: 1 etc. lsˇmsˇ : 38: 1 etc. h: nbl (‘Be¯l is gracious’) (Stark 1971: 23, 89).

Palmyrene Inscriptions

209

mlkw br lsˇmsˇ br h: nbl appears also in PAT 1425 (dated 81 ce), where he is honoured by the Bene¯ aAgru¯d ¼ ªæı
Å. He and the other dedicant probably belonged to this grouping (Xella 1991: 195–7). a aby (Stark 1971: 6, 71) is interpreted as a one-word name meaning ‘having a fat nose’ (cf. Arabic a aabb, Lane 1932): again it could be an epithet. hykla , ‘temple, palace’: 37 i 10. a st: wa , ‘portico’, is a Greek loan ( ). PAT glossary; DNWSI 87. Cf. Syriac a est: wa¯, CSD 23; Jastrow 54. It is also used at H : at:ra (inscription no. 290: 1). Compare mt: lta : 38: 1. ˇsysˇa , ‘marble’ DNWSI 1196, with reference also to Egyptian Aramaic (Porten and Yardeni 1986–99: B3.8: 8), though it only appears here in Palmyrene. Cf. CSD 575; Jastrow 1569. qdm, ‘in front of ’, with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx. As in other dialects of Aramaic, qdm is treated as if it were a plur., 37 ii 65; 4: 2; 6: 2 etc. l al, ‘to the top, upwards’ 37 ii 68, 142; compare Syriac 62: 28; 63: 23. The term a st: wa might, therefore, here mean ‘gallery’ (as the Greek can). tt: lyla : 38: 1. tr aa : 30: 3 etc. Note that PAT 1562 has mlbnh instead: see Hillers 1995: 83–5, concluding that the latter means ‘door-frame’. ˇsrgba , probably ‘hinge, door-Wtting’, is of unknown etymology and various attempts to explain it have been made. DNWSI 1191–2: unknown meaning, and cf. Gawlikowski 1973: 83; Aggoula 1979: 117–18. Hillers (1995: 85–8) argues convincingly for ‘hinge’, though he also makes an unlikely connection with Hebrew ˇsegem and Aramaic ˇsigma¯ (Jastrow 1522), from Akkadian ˇsagammu (CDA 345). nh: ˇsa , ‘bronze’, 37 ii 128–9 and PAT 1608: 1. a p: 30: 3 etc. qrbw : 29: 4 etc. Manawat, goddess of fate: see Teixidor 1979: 16–18 and for Nabataean Healey 2001a: 132–6 (7: 4, 8). ts: byta : ‘decoration’, (cf. Syriac tas: bı¯t-a¯, ‘decoration’ CSD 617, s: abet, ‘decorate’ CSD 473, root S: BT). Note also Palmyrene ts: bwta : PAT glossary (though note, despite the way that the word is listed in PAT, that the t is part of the root). al h: yy . . . : 34: 1; 1: 4 etc. for Nabataean. a hyhwn: 38: 2. l alma , ‘for ever’— alma , ‘eternity, world’ (also l alm), 6: 5 etc. The month is Iyya¯r (May) and the year, 400, corresponds to 88/9 ce. Hence May 89 ce.

210

Palmyrene Inscriptions 4 1 . D E D I C AT IO N TO T H E G O D S A R S: U AN D aAZI¯ Z U, PROBABLY DATED 113 c e (FIG. 7)

This dedication on a stone tablet bearing a relief showing two mounted gods (one on a horse, the other on a camel) (see Drijvers 1976: plate lxviii, 1) was found in Palmyra in the Be¯l temple. The date lacks the hundred sign but is probably (4)25, i.e. 113/14 ce.

Main publications PAT 0320; Littmann 1905: 77–9, no. 8; CIS ii. 3974; RES: §§30, 817; Milik 1972: 22; Teixidor 1979: 69–70; Dijkstra 1995: 100–1; Kaizer 2002: 118–19; Ingholt 1928: 42–7, no. 22, pl. VII.2. 1. la rs: w wl azyzw a lhya :tbya ws krya abd b aly 2. br yrh: bwla a pkla dy azyzw a lha :tba 3. wrh: mna al h: ywhy wh: ya a h: why byrh: tsˇr[y] 4. ˇsnt 20 þ 5 dkyr yrh: y glwpa For ArZu and aAzı¯zu, the good and rewarding gods, Ba alay son of Yarh: ibo¯la, priest of aAzı¯zu, the good and merciful god, made (this) for his life and the life of his brothers. In the month of Teshrı¯ in the year 25. Remembered be Yarh: ay the sculptor. ArZu and aAzı¯zu were Palmyrene deities but may be of Arabian origin. ArZu is often connected with the Bene¯ Mattibo¯l tribe (Milik 1972: 29; Dijkstra 1995: 99–100) and is usually identiWed with the Arabian Rud: a¯ (see Teixidor 1979: 70–1; Dirven 1999: 88–96). aAzı¯zu, whose name is derived from the root aZZ (like the name of the more famous Arabian deity al- aUzza¯, Healey 2001a: 114–19; Teixidor 1979: 68–70), was also important at Edessa (Drijvers 1980: 146–74) and is mentioned in the pairing Azizos and Monimos by Julian in his Oration IV dedicated to Helios. a lhya : a lha , 29: 6 etc. :tbya : 37 ii 69; 38: 2 (here plural). s krya : 38: 2 (here plural). abd: 29: 4. Ba alay (Stark 1971: 11, 78) is a hypocoristic based on the DN Baal, as in Baalshamin. For Yarh: ibo¯la 40: 1. a pkla is the title of a type of priest. 7: 8. It derives ultimately from Akkadian apkallu (Kaufman 1974: 34; Maraqten 1995: 94).

Palmyrene Inscriptions

211

rhmna , ‘merciful’, is an epithet used of a variety of gods (e.g. Baalshamin: PAT 1571: 1), though in H : imyar it was used as a separate divine title, ‘the Merciful One’ (see Healey 1998). PAT glossary, DNWSI 1071–2; CSD 537; Jastrow 1468. al h: yy . . . : 34: 1 etc. h: ya is evidently construct, though h: yy is more usual. It appears also in PAT 0356: 4. Cf. Cantineau 1935: 122 (-e¯), F. Rosenthal 1936: 22. (See Ch. II.) a h: why, a h: ya : 38: 2 etc. The month of Teshrı¯ corresponds to October, the Wrst month of the year in the Macedonian/Seleucid calendar used at Palmyra. The year number omits the hundreds and could be interpreted as 325 or 425 or 525. Most opt for 425, hence October 113 ce (so CIS ii. p. 159; Taylor 2001: 211). Note that there is a switch after the date to smaller lettering and we have a commemoration of the name of the sculptor, Yarh: ay (38: 1). dkyr introduces a standard formula common to all the late Aramaic epigraphic corpora (Healey 1996a; 12: 11, 13 etc.). It is a passive participle from DKR, ‘remember, mention the name’, and introduces a wish that the person named should be remembered through mentioning his name. glwpa , ‘sculptor’ (nomen agentis from root GLP): PAT glossary (note also glpa , possibly an active participle): the verb also occurs in one text (PAT 1719: B2). Cf. DNWSI 223, 224–5 and see Syriac ga¯lo¯pa¯, CSD 70; 46: 8; 50: 8. 42. D EDICATION OF ALTARS TO THE GOD SHAY aa LQAWM BY A NABATAEA N, DATED 132 ce (FIG. 8) This altar was found near the Temple of Be¯l in Palmyra, dated September 132 ce.

Main publications PAT 0319; Littmann 1905: 70–5, no. 6; CIS ii. 3973; Clermont-Ganneau 1901b; NSI no. 140B; RES: §§285, 815; Teixidor 1979: 85–7; Dijkstra 1995: 108–10; Teixidor 1984: 24. 1. [t]rtn alwta a ln abd abydw br anmw 2. [br] s adlt nbt: ya rwh: y[a ] dy hwa prsˇ 3. [b]h: yrta wbmsˇryta dy ana 4. lsˇy aa lqwm a lha :tba ws kra dy la 5. ˇsta h: mr al h: ywhy wh: yy m ayty 6. w abdw a h: why ws adlt brh byrh: 7. a lwl ˇsnt 4100 þ 40 þ3 wdkyr zbyda br

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Palmyrene Inscriptions

8. [sˇ]m awn br bl aqb gyrh wrh: mh qdm 9. ˇsy aa lqwm a lha :tba wdkyr kl 10. m ayd alwta a ln wa mr dkyryn 11. [h]a a ln klhwn bt: b ¯ nimu son of Sa aadalla¯t, a Nabataean These two altars aUbaydu son of aA belonging to the Rawh: who was cavalryman in the encampment and in the camp of aA¯nah, made for Shay aa alqawm, the good and rewarding god who does not drink wine, for his own life and the life of Mu a¯ıtı¯ and aAbdu his brothers and Sa aadalla¯t his son. In the month of Elu¯l in the year 443. And remembered be Zabı¯da son of Shim au¯n son of Be¯l aaqab, his patron and his friend, before Shay aa alqawm, the good god, and remembered for good be everyone who visits these altars and says ‘Remembered be all these.’ trtn is the fem. form of the numeral ‘two’ (masc. tryn). See 32: 1; 37 i 26 etc. The number can appear either before or after the counted noun. alwta : a lta , 39: 1, 3. a ln: 32: 1 etc. abd: 29: 4 etc. The name aUbaydu is a diminutive (fu aayl) and probably a hypocoristic meaning ‘Little servant of DN’ (Stark 1971: 42, 103). It occurs only once otherwise in Palmyrene but is common in Nabataean (al-Khraysheh 1986: 133–4). ¯ nimu (only here in Palmyrene, but well known in Nabataean: al-Khraysheh aA . 1986: 146) appears to be based on Arabic ga¯nim, ‘successful, noble’ (Stark 1971: 45, 106). Sa aadalla¯t appears only in this inscription, though there are related hypocoristics (Stark 1971: 53, 115). There are similar forms in Nabataean: alKhraysheh 1986: 180–1. It is no coincidence that the names here are unusual or unknown in Palmyrene, while having good parallels in Nabataean. They suggest the Nabataean identity of the person concerned, even before what follows. nbt: ya : ‘Nabataean’ (only here). It is to be noted that the Nabataean state as such ceased to exist in 105/6 ce. This inscription (with a small number of others) suggests that Nabataean identity continued to exist (see in general Healey 2001b). rwh: ya , like nbt: ya a nisbah form indicating origin, speciWes aUbaydu’s identity as ‘belonging to rwh: w’, probably a tribe or family name. There is probably here a connection with the family of rwh: w who appears in inscriptions from S: alhad in the H : awra¯n (Teixidor 1979: 86, referring to 55–6; 17: 1, where the personal name Ru¯h: u appears in Nabataean). The vocalization in this case is very uncertain (Littmann 1905: 71 Ru¯h: u¯), but the tribal name banı¯ rawh: is known in N. Arabia (information from S. al-Smadi). Ð

Palmyrene Inscriptions

213

The unusual series of references to ethnic identity arises because the author of the inscription is a foreigner. He tells us what he was doing in Palmyra: dy hwa prsˇ, ‘who was a cavalryman’. prsˇa : see PAT glossary; DNWSI 945 (including Egyptian Aramaic and Nabataean); Syriac para¯ˇsa¯, CSD 466, Jastrow 1243 and for earlier Aramaic DNWSI. See Teixidor 1984: 24: an Arabic term, though this is dubious. The noun is in the absolute form with an indeWnite meaning. h: yrta could be a place-name: H : ¯ırta, i.e. al-H : ¯ırah west of the Euphrates in Iraq (CIS ii. p. 157; PAT glossary), though a common noun meaning ‘camp’ is also possible and perhaps better (Teixidor 1984: 24 ‘fortress’; Maraqten 1995: 102, from Sabaic, ‘camp’; Lipinski 1976: 73 n. 164 ‘citadel’; Dussaud 1933: 77–8: not H : ¯ırah here, but ‘citadel’, referring to aAna; cf. DNWSI 370). Cf. h: ¯ırta¯, CSD 141. msˇryta , ‘camp: 9: 4. ¯ nah in the Euphrates. For another reference to cavalry at ana is the island of aA ¯ nah cf. PAT 0200: 3, referring to cavalry troops ‘of Gamla and aA¯nah’. aA Shay aa alqawm is a deity known mainly from Nabataean and Safaitic inscriptions, though there is very slight Palmyrene evidence apart from the present inscription (Healey 2001a: 143–7; Teixidor 1979: 85–7). The god seems to be particularly connected with caravans and soldiers. He may have been associated with the idea of Holy War (Healey 2001a: 146). His name, evidently of Arabic origin, means ‘the one who accompanies (or protects) the caravan’, 16: 2. a lha :tba ws kra : 38: 1–2. dy laˇsta h: mr, ‘who does not drink wine’. ˇsta , only here in Palmyrene, is the active participle of the verb SˇTa /Y, ‘drink’ (CSD 600; Jastrow 1637), while for h: mra , ‘wine’ 37 ii 59. al h: ywhy . . . : 34: 1 etc. . For the name Mu a¯ıtı¯ (Arabic origin? mug¯ıt, ‘helper’), see Stark 1971: 34, 96; also Mu a¯ıtu¯; aAbdu (only here, but cf. aAbda, Stark 41, 102). a h: why: ‘his brothers’: 38: 2. brh: ‘his son’. The son is named after his great-grandfather. The month of Elu¯l corresponds to September and the year 443 to 131/2 ce. Hence September 132 ce. The rather lengthy addition to the basic dedication is unusual: dkyr: 41: 4 etc. (see Healey 1996a). For the name Zabı¯da see Stark 1971: 18–19, 86. The name Shim au¯n is common in Palmyrene (Stark 52, 115). It is of Jewish origin (19: 1 etc.), but there is no reason to suppose that the bearer here is Jewish. Indeed the father of this Shim au¯n is Be¯l aaqab, ‘Be¯l has protected’ (Stark 10, 77, and 73), implying that he was a devotee of Be¯l. Zabı¯da is described as gyrh wrh: mh. gyr can refer both to a ‘client’ and a ‘patron’ (PAT glossary; DNWSI 232), just as Arabic ja¯r can refer to both

214

Palmyrene Inscriptions

sides of the relationship (Lane 483; cf. Clermont-Ganneau 1901b: 386–7). It is thus taken here to mean ‘patron’, referring to the Palmyrene patron of the foreigner aUbaydu (NSI 305). It may be added that the Arabic can simply mean ‘neighbour’ and this meaning could be intended here. So far as gr, ‘client’, is concerned, see also CIS ii. 3972: 4 and Nabataean cf. Healey 1993: H12: 4, 5, 6 and discussion pp. 139–40; Hebrew ge¯r HALOT 201. rh: ma , ‘friend, someone who loves’, is fundamentally an active participle (32: 3, PAT glossary). qdm, ‘in front of ’: 37 ii 65 etc. ˇsy aa lqwm a lha :tba : see above, l. 4. dkyr: above. m ayd is an ap ael participle form from aWD, ‘frequent, visit’ (PAT glossary; DNWSI 831). See in Syriac the pa ael ‘accustom’ (transitive) and the ap ael ‘be accustomed’: CSD 403. m ayda is read by Milik (1972: 183) in CIS ii. 4207 also. The meaning is ‘the one who frequents, visits’. Maraqten 1995: 99 and Cantineau 1935: 150 link it to Arabic mu a¯ıd. alwta : above, l. 1. a mr is a p aal active participle, ‘saying’ (PAT glossary; DNWSI 73–7; 21: 2). It is Common Semitic, though rare epigraphically. What follows is a quotation of what the visitor ought to say. dkyryn: masc. plur. absolute of dkyr above. ha a ln (partly restored and not certain) is understood to be a non-contracted version of hln, ‘these’ (F. Rosenthal 1936: 49–50; Cantineau 1935: 130; PAT glossary), as opposed to the normal a ln (l. 1). Cf. also hln in PAT 1791: 4. klhwn, ‘all of them’. bt: b at the end of the inscription probably belongs with dkyryn. bt: b is a regular part of the formula of the dkyr inscriptions (on which see Healey 1996a), meaning ‘for good’ or ‘well’. Note the occurrence of bh: yr in the same function in CIS ii. 1499: 2 (cf. Arabic hayr). ˘

43. TOMB INSCRIPTION INDICATING OWNERSHIP AND A LATER PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, DAT E D 10 3 / 4 A N D 1 3 1/ 2 ce This is on a rectangular limestone slab from Palmyra, now in the Muse´e d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva. The main text dates to 103/4 ce, while the later part dates to 131/2 ce.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

215

Main publications PAT 1614; Dunant 1976; Cussini 1993: 265–6. 1. bt alma dnh dy abd{w} 2. bwlh: a br atnwry br 3. h: yrn m alk al ymyna 4. wm alk al s mla abd 5. at aqb br yrh: bwla 6. atnwry wyrh: y br tymy 7. br yrh: y lhwn wbnwhn 8. bsˇnt 4100 þ 10 þ 5 9. wsˇtp tyma br yrh: y bmnth ˇsm awn 10. br h: yrn ddh ˇsnt 4100 þ 40 þ 3 This House of Eternity is the one which Bo¯lh: a son of aAtanu¯rı¯ son of H : ayran made. (The parts) as you go in on the right and as you go in on the left aAta aaqab son of Yarh: ibo ¯ la son of aAtanu¯rı¯ and Yarh: ay son of Taymı¯ son of Yarh: ay made for themselves and their sons. In the year 415. And Tayma son of Yarh: ay has made a partner in his share Shim au¯n son of H : ayran his uncle. The year 443. bt alma , ‘house of eternity’, is a widely used euphemism for tombs (see Syriac: 53: 4 etc. bt is the construct of byta , ‘house’, and the spelling byt is also found. PAT glossary (by) alma : 40: 3 and in this idiom 44: 1 etc. abdw: 29: 4 etc. The plur. is an error of the stone-carver. The name Bo¯lh: a is fairly common (Stark 1971: 8, 74). For aAtanu¯rı¯ see Stark 46, 108, and 75. For H : ayran 31: 4 etc. m alk, literally ‘your going in’ (root aLL), is used in these contexts for directions. It means eVectively ‘as you go in’. PAT glossary (frequent); DNWSI 669; 21: 10. Contrast m alna , ‘import’ (37 ii 8 etc.), al ymyna , ‘on the right’, 11: 4. al s mla , ‘on the left’, 11: 5. abd: note sing. form for plural (contrast above, l. 1). For the names: aAta aaqab (Stark 1971: 46–7, 108); Yarh: ibo¯la (40: 1 etc.); aAtanu ¯ rı¯ (Stark 46, 108); Yarh: ay (38: 1 etc.); Taymı¯ (39: 2). lhwn, ‘for themselves’. bnwhn, ‘for their children’. The spelling is unusual (PAT glossary; DNWSI 190–1), though there is considerable variety of spelling: bnyhwn, bnyhn, bnhwn (PAT 0348: 5); bnwhwn (PAT 0402: 7). The year 415 equates to 103/4 ce. ˇstp, ‘he made a partner’, see 37 ii 79.

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Palmyrene Inscriptions

Tayma (Stark 54–5, 117) is not the same person as Taymı¯ earlier (apparently contra Cussini 1993: 266), 44: 10. mnth, ‘his portion, share’. PAT glossary; DNWSI 657–8; Syriac mna¯t-a¯, CSD 283; Jastrow 803. For the name Shim au¯n 42: 8. Cussini 1993: 266 implies that ddh refers to him, but see below. ddh, ‘his (paternal) uncle’: 10: 9. The second date refers to the year 443, which is 131/2 ce. It is quite diYcult to make sense of some of the family relationships here (see Dunant 1976). There are two halves to the genealogical information given and the link between the two halves is not speciWed—they may have been linked by marriage. On the left side (below) we have the family of Bolh: a, the main actor here. The inscription provides sections for his nephew aAta aaqab and for Yarh: ay son of Taymı¯ son of Yarh: ay. On the right side we have the family of this Yarh: ay, whose son Tayma later entered into a sharing agreement with his cousin, Shim au¯n. The title ddh in l. 10 must describe H : ayran a as Tayma’s uncle: it cannot describe Shim u¯n, since any uncle of Tayma’s must, by deWnition, be a brother of Yarh: ay and son of Taymı¯: his uncle cannot be the son of H : ayran. The fact that H : ayran is Taymı¯’s son is not mentioned since it is automatic in the other relationships referred to. H : ayran j aAtanu ¯ rı¯ _______j________

Yarh: ay j Taymı¯ ______j________

j

j

j

j

Bo¯lh: a j

Yarh: ibo¯la’ j aAta aaqab

Yarh: ay j Tayma

H : ayran j Shim au¯n

44. TOMB INSCRIPTION REFERRING TO CESSION OF PA RT O F T H E TO M B, DAT E D 1 93 ce This is on a lintel found at Qaryatein near Palmyra.

Main publications PAT 0555; CIS ii. 4199; RES: §1604; NSI no. 143; Gawlikowski 1970: 199, no, 59; Cussini 1993: 272–3, no. 53.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

217

1. m arta dh dy bt alma abd 2. ps: ya l br astwrga br awyd 3. br lsˇmsˇ br lsˇmsˇ lh ˇsqqn 4. trtn h: da al ymyna kdy a nt 5. all wa h: rta mqbla 6. wzbyda br m an br bwlnwr ath 7. ˇsqqa kdy a nt all al s mla 8. a ksdra dnh mqbla dy 9. m arta dy mqbl bba h: pr 10. ws: bt ˇsy an br tyma br 11. a bgr lh wlbnwhy wlbny 12. bnwhy h dy rh: qt lh ˇsgl 13. brt lsˇmsˇ br as twrga br 14. ps: ya l byrh: a dr ˇsnt h: msˇ 15. ma h wa rb a This burial-cave, which is a House of Eternity, PaZı¯a e¯l son of aAstu¯rga son of aAwı¯d son of Lishamsh son of Lishamsh made: for himself two aisles, one on the right when you are entering and the other facing. And Zabı¯da son of Ma aan son of Bo¯lnu¯r aateh (has) the corridor on the left when you are entering. This facing exedra of the burial-cave, which faces the door, Shay aan son of Tayma son of Abgar dug and decorated for himself and for his sons and for his grandsons, since She¯gal daughter of Lishamsh son of aAstu ¯ rga son of PaZı¯a e¯l ceded (it) to him. In the month of A¯da¯r in the year Wve hundred and four. m arta , ‘cave, burial-cave, hypogaeum’. It is used with this speciWc kind of reference also in Jewish Aramaic inscriptions: 26: 6–7; cf. Syriac m aart-a¯ CSD 290; Jastrow 819. dh: fem. sing. demonstrative, see 29: 5. dy, here relative, eVectively means ‘that is, i.e.’ A similar expansion on m arta is found in PAT 1142: 1. bt alma : 43: 1. abd: 29: 4 etc. The name PaZı¯a e¯l (Stark 1971: 47, 109) appears also in Nabataean and Safaitic, etc. aAstu¯rga is rare (also with spelling as twrga l. 13, aˇstrga : Stark 1971: 45–6, 106–7). On spelling see F. Rosenthal 1936: 25. aAwı¯d: Stark 1971: 44, 104–5. Lishamsh 38: 1. The genealogy is unusually long. lh, ‘for himself ’. ˇsqqn: fem. plur. absolute of ˇsqqa , ‘narrow street, corridor, aisle’ (cf. Akkadian su¯qa¯qu¯ CDA 328–9). The root is the same as that of ˇsq in rb ˇsq, ‘head of the market’ (33: 5; 10; 12 etc; PAT glossary; DNWSI 1189).

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Palmyrene Inscriptions

trtn: ‘two’ (fem.). h: da : ‘one’ (fem.). al ymyna : 43: 3. kdy, ‘when’ (also kd, as in Syriac), 33: 3 etc. a nt, ‘you’ (masc. sing. independent pronoun). Only here in Palmyrene: 10: 18 etc. all: p aal active participle from aLL, ‘enter’, 37 ii 2 etc. Hence kdy a nt all is the equivalent of m alk in 43: 3, 4. a h: rta , ‘other’, fem. sing. (also a h: rnyta ; masc. a h: rna ). PAT glossary. mqbla : feminine active pa ael of QBL, ‘be opposite’ (so PAT 1791: 4, though possibly ap ael: DNWSI 979–81; NSI 309). The meaning is clear: ‘opposite, in front, facing’, i.e. opposite the entrance (not opposite the right-hand aisle). The masculine forms appear in ll. 8 and 9. Zabı¯da: 42: 7. For Ma aan (Stark 1971: 34, 96) there are parallels in Arabic, Greek transliterations, Syriac inscriptions (m anw, 46: 3 etc.). Bo¯lnu¯r aateh is what stands in the text, but this is a strange name involving two deities and regarded as a scribal error by some, who prefer to read bwlnwr (br) nwr ath (Seyrig 1935: 47–8). For Bo¯lnu¯r, Stark 1971: 8, 75, and Nu¯r aateh, Stark 39, 99. The original unchanged reading would produce a Mesopotamian-type name, Bo¯l-nu¯r- aateh, ‘Bo¯l is the light of aAteh’. ˇsqqa : above. The text is rather elliptical. kdy a nt all: above. al s mla : 43: 4. Note that there is a space on the stone after l. 7, corresponding to the break in the sense. a ksdra (also a ks dra ) is a Greek loan from K
æÆ, which refers to a hallway with recesses: 45: 1, 6, 8: LSJ 589; PAT glossary; DNWSI 52–3; CSD 16; Jastrow 64; Brock 2005: 15. dnh: masc. sing. demonstrative. (Presumably the inscription was originally located in the exedra.) mqbla : ‘opposite’, see above, here masc. sing. emphatic (see NSI 310: no. 144: 6, referring to PAT 0551: 6). The emphatic is used here because the word is being used as an attributive adjective. Hence ‘frontal exedra’ in Cussini 1993: 273. mqbl by contrast is predicative and therefore absolute (masculine). bba : 30: 3; 39: 3. h: pr, ‘he excavated’ (p aal) is used several times in this kind of context: PAT glossary; DNWSI 396 (see Syriac h: par CSD 154; Jastrow 493). s: bt, ‘he decorated’ (pa ael) similarly: PAT glossary (see Syriac s: abet-, CSD 473), nominal ts: byta in 40: 2.

Palmyrene Inscriptions

219

The name ˇsy an (here only) may be a hypocoristic formed on the divine name Shay aa alqawm (42: 4; Stark 1971: 51, 114). Tayma: 43: 9. Abgar: 31: 3, 4. bny: const. plur. with bnwhy, referring to ‘his grandchildren’. hyk dy (scribal error corrected) is a subordinating conjunction meaning ‘just as’. Here perhaps ‘in accordance with the fact that, since’. PAT glossary. 37 i 6; ii 54 etc. rh: qt: ‘she ceded’ (3rd fem. sing. perfect). The verb is transitive and an object, ‘it’, should be supplied here, though in origin the verb meant ‘withdraw’ (root RH : Q, ‘be far’) and was followed by ‘from’. PAT glossary; DNWSI 1072–4; CSD 538; Jastrow 1469; 45: 3. The pa ael is most likely (Cantineau 1935: 85–6), though the p aal is possible (F. Rosenthal 1936: 61). The name Shagel is treated by Stark (1971: 50, 113) as a divine name used as a personal name, but another possibility is a link with Biblical Aramaic ˇse¯ga¯l, possibly meaning ‘princess’ (Dan. 5: 2, 3, 23). Lishamsh, aAstu¯rga (note variant spelling) and PaZı¯a e¯l: see above. The month-name is A¯da¯r, which corresponds to March, and the year is expressed in words (unusually): hmsˇ, ‘Wve’ (fem.), ma h, ‘hundred’, a rb a, ‘four’ (fem.). 504 equates with 192/3 ce. Hence March 193 ce.

¯ R C ED I NG 4 5 . I NS C RI P T I O N I N T H E TOM B O F aABD aASTU PA RTS OF THE TO MB, DAT ED 239 c e This inscription is on a lintel to the right of the entrance of the Tomb of aAbd aastu ¯ r (see Ingholt 1938: 119–40 on this tomb as a whole). The carved letters are painted red. The detailed arrangements envisaged are not easy to understand, despite the plan in Ingholt 1938: pl. xlv.

Main publications PAT 0095; Ingholt 1938: 93–133, no. II; Gawlikowski 1970: 215, no. 41; Cussini 1993: 273, no. 54. 1. a ksdra smlya m alyk 2. m arta al ymyna st: r mn gwmh: yn trn bryyn ymnyyn 3. mqdsˇyn rh: q ywlya a wrlya ˇslmt brt abd astwr br 4. yrh: bwla wa mdbw brt h: ry lwqys awrlys brsmya 5. mprnsyta dy bwna br rba l brh lywlya awrlya mlkw

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Palmyrene Inscriptions

6. br agylw br ˇslmn gmh: yn tmnya mdnh: yyn m alyk a ksdra 7. al ymyna wlm ayna brt bwna br bwlh: a gwmh: yn m arbyyn 8. ˇsta m alyk a ksdra al smla wmqblyn gwmh: yn tlta 9. dy plg bnyhwn lhwn wlbnyhwn wlbny bnyhwn l alma byrh: nysn 10. ˇsnt 5100 þ 40 þ 10 (In) the northern exedra on the right as you enter the burial-cave, apart from the two outer, consecrated right-hand niches, Julia Aurelia Shalmat daughter of aAbd aastu¯r son of Yarh: ibo¯la and Emdabu, freedwoman of Lucius Aurelius Barsimya, guardian of Bu¯na son of Raba el, her son, ceded to Julius Aurelius Malku¯ son of aOgaylu son of Shalman the eight eastern niches on the right as you enter the exedra, and to Ma aya¯na daughter of Bu¯na son of Bo¯lh: a the six western niches on the left as you enter the exedra, and facing are the three niches which their children have divided up for themselves and for their children and for their grandchildren for ever. In the month of Nı¯sa¯n in the year 550. Again the text is rather elliptical. a ksdra : 44: 8. smlya , ‘left, northern’, cf. s mla . The word is written ˇsml 43: 4. Cussini 1993: 273 ‘left’; Gawlikowski 1970: 215 ‘north’. The latter Wts better. m alyk: m alk (43: 4), ‘your entry’. Despite the spelling with -y- this appears to be singular (PAT glossary; Cantineau 1935: 64). m arta : 44: 1. al ymyna : 43: 3. It is the exedra to the right of the entrance to the tomb which is being discussed. It contained a total of 19 burial-niches. As will be seen, two are already in use; the remaining 17 are shared (8 þ 6 þ 3) according to what follows. st: r mn, ‘except, apart from’ (only here) (cf. Syriac st: ar men, CSD 323–4). gwmh: yn: gwmh: a (also gmh: a , as in l. 6 here). ‘burial-niche’. The word is ultimately an Akkadian loan though widely used in Aramaic (see Kaufman 1974: 64). 6: 1; 25: 1. trn, ‘two’ (masc.). brya , ‘exterior’ (only here) (cf. preposition br mn 37 ii 111). Syriac bara¯ya¯, CSD 55. ymnya , ‘right’ (adjective). See ymyna , 43: 3. Syriac yamı¯na¯ya¯, CSD 193. It is diYcult to Wt ‘right’ with the actual arrangement of the tomb. ‘Left’ would Wt better: Ingholt 1938: 132 thought ymnya was a mistake. mqdsˇyn. This is a pa ael passive participle (masc. plur. absolute) from qdsˇ (pa ael), ‘consecrate’ (CSD 491; Jastrow 1320–1). It is probable that in this context the meaning is that the niches involved are already in use (Ingholt

Palmyrene Inscriptions

221

1938: 125; 1974: 38). Ingholt contrasts mqdsˇyn with ˇsh: ymyn, ‘unconsecrated, common’ (cf. PAT glossary; CSD 571, ˇsh: ¯ıma¯). rh: q: 44: 12. Here the singular-appearing form is used when in fact the subject is fem. plur. However, note examples of sing. for plural (cf. Cantineau 1935: 56–7, 75) and Syriac 3rd fem. plur. qt: al(y). Note also probably below, l. 9 (plg) and 28: 2; 35: 4; 43: 4. See Ch. II. The two principals in the transaction are Julia Aurelia Shalmat and Emdabu, a freedwoman. The name Shalmat is common (Stark 1971: 52, 114) and known also at Edessa (OSI Am2: 14). Her father is aAbd aastu¯r (Stark 42, 103), her grandfather Yarh: ibo¯la (40: 1 etc.). Emdabu’s name appears to mean ‘father’s mother’ (Stark 1971: 5, 69, citing parallels). She is described as a brt h: ry, ‘freedwoman’ (PAT glossary, br h: ra ; also bt h: ry; masc. br h: ra /y, 37 ii 62). In the Palmyrene inscription from South Shields in England the Latin text has liberta as the equivalent (PAT 0246; CIS ii. 3901). As usual this term is followed by a substitute genealogy: ‘freedwoman of Lucius Aurelius Barsimya’. For Barsimya cf. Syriac brsmya (57: 1 etc.; Stark 1971: 12, 79). Contra Ingholt 1938: 30, having been manumitted she could have given birth to a freeborn child. Levine 2005: 113: perhaps ‘free wife’ (with no prior servitude). She is also described as mprnsnyta (corrected from erroneous mprnsyta in the original), a fem. noun derived from prns, ‘provide’ (cf. Syriac parnes CSD 462, Jastrow 1231). The correct form appears in an unpublished inscription (Ingholt 1938: 130). The meaning of the noun is ‘provider, tutor’, here ‘guardian’ in a legal context (Cussini 1993: 94–5; Levine 2005: 115, and Yadin et al. 2002: 48–9 regarding Hebrew p.Yadin 44: 6). Fem. of mparnsa¯na¯, CSD 292; Cantineau 1935: 116; DNWSI 674. She is guardian of Bu¯na (Stark 1971: 8–9, 75), son of Raba el (name used by the royal family of Nabataea, 3: 3 etc.; Stark 49, 111). Bu¯na is described as brh, which PAT p. 385 translates as ‘his son’, i.e. Lucius’ son. This is impossible, since Raba el is the father, not Lucius. brh must mean ‘her son’ (Cussini 1993: 273), referring to Emdabu or back to Julia Aurelia. She is acting as legal guardian of the child for whatever reason. Possibly he is a minor (Cussini 2005b: 35). The Wrst recipient in the transfer of property is Julius Aurelius Malku¯. The forms ywlya awrlya could be fem., but br in l. 6 seems to preclude this. For Malku¯ see 33: 1 etc. aUgaylu: 29: 3. Shalman is common (Stark 1971: 51–2, 114; and cf. other dialects). At this point the syntax becomes more diYcult. gmh: yn . . . . . . ymyna must be a resuming phrase specifying what is being transferred to Julius Aurelius Malku¯.

222

Palmyrene Inscriptions

gmh: yn: above, l. 2. tmnya , ‘eight’ (masc.). mdnh: yyn: mdnh: ya , ‘eastern’ (masc. plur. absolute). Cf. Syriac mad nh: a¯ya¯ CSD
254. m alyk a ksdra al ymyna : above, ll. 1–2. A second transfer is to Ma aya¯na (only here; Stark 1971: 34, 95–6), the daughter of a diVerent Bu¯na from the one mentioned above, this one being the son of Bo¯lh: a (43: 2). gwmh: yn: above, l. 2. m arbyyn: m arbya , ‘western’ (masc. plur. absolute). ma arb-a¯ya¯, CSD 291. ˇsta , ‘six’ (masc.). m alyk a ksdra : above. al smla : 43: 4; 44: 7. wmqblyn gwh: yn tlta is particularly unclear in meaning. mqblyn basically means ‘opposite, facing’ (44: 5 etc.). The three niches are those at the end of the gallery facing the entrance to the exedra (see plan in Ingholt 1938: pl. xlv). tlta , ‘three’ (masc.). plg, ‘share, divide’ (3rd plur.). CSD 446 (p aal or pa ael?), Jastrow 1175–6. Note that plg could be a noun, meaning ‘share’: ‘which are the share of their children . . .’ (Gawlikowski 1970: 215). bnyhwn, ‘their children’ (so Cussini 1993: 273), though PAT glossary interprets this as ‘between them’ (though ‘between’ is normally byny, ‘between’, 37 i 7). lhwn, ‘for themselves’. bnyhwn . . . bny bnyhwn 47: 3: brbr. l alma , ‘for ever’, 40: 3. The month is Nı¯sa¯n (April) and the year 550, which equates with 238/9 ce. Hence the date is April 239 ce.

VI Early Syriac (Edessan Aramaic) Inscriptions and Parchments 46. EARLY SYRIAC TOMB-INSCRIPTION F ROM B I R E C IK (6 ce ) ( PL. 4 ) In situ in the Kale at Birecik on the Euphrates west of Edessa, this is the earliest dated Syriac inscription.

Main publications1 OSI As55 (D1); Maricq 1965: 127–39; Starcky 1970: 4; Degen 1974b.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

byrh: a dr ˇsnt [3]  100 þ 10 þ 7 a na zrbyn br a b[gr] ˇslyt: a dbyrta mrbyna d awydlt [br] m anw br m anw abdt byt qbw[ra hna lnp]sˇy wlh: lwya mrt byty wlbn[y . . .]yd kl

1 The Wrst reference in this chapter is to OSI (except in the case of 58, which was published subsequently). The D-numbers in parentheses refer to Drijvers 1972.

224 6. 7. 8. 9.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

a nsˇ dya ta b[byt qbwra ] hna wyh: za wysˇbh: y[brkwnh a lha k]lhwn h: ˇsy glpa wslw[k . . . . . .]ywt: [a

tnw adwh abdw[

¯ da¯r of the year 317, I, Zarbiyan son of Abgar, governor of In the month of A a Bı¯rta, tutor of Awı¯dalla¯t son of Ma anu son of Ma anu, made this tomb for myself and for H : alwiya, lady of my household, and for my children . . . everyone who comes to this tomb and sees and gives praise, may all the gods bless him. H : ashshay the sculptor and Selu¯k . . . . . . made (it). . . yrh: : yrh: a , ‘month’: 3: 4. The month of A¯da¯r corresponds to February/March in the Babylonian calendar (see Ch. I): 44: 14. ˇsnt: Nabataean 2: 4; Palmyrene 28: 1. The year number, in ciphers conWdently restored (on palaeographical grounds by comparison with 47 by Maricq 1965: 130–4), is Seleucid year 317, 5/6 ce. Hence March 6 ce. This is the oldest dated Syriac inscription. a na : 10: 8 (a nh). The name Zarbiyan (Greek version ˘ÆæØÅ ) may be Iranian. Abgar is a typical Edessan name, used by several Edessan kings, though it is also common in other dialects (Nabataean: al-Khraysheh 1986: 24, a bgrw; Palmyrene: Stark 1971: 1; OSI 136). ˇslyt: a , ‘governor, commander’ (root SˇLT: ) appears several times in the inscriptions from Sumatar near Edessa (48: 2, etc.) as the title of an Edessan oYcial (cf. Syriac ˇsalı¯:ta¯, CSD 580). dbyrta : d-, ‘of ’ (standard shortened form of dı¯ in Nabataean and Palmyrene, as in Classical Syriac). The long ¯ı is, however, retained in dı¯l (48: 5; CSD 90). Bı¯rta is the ancient name of Birecik, where the inscription was found, and which marks the western limit of the kingdom of Edessa/Osrhoene. Presumably Zarbiyan is a royal oYcial, though curiously he does not mention the king (but see Sartre 2005: 442 n. 120). mrbyna , ‘tutor’, literally ‘the one who brings up (a child)’. The corresponding Greek word, æç, appears parallel to rbw in a Nabataean–Greek bilingual from Umm al-Jima¯l (RES: §1097). Cf. Classical Syriac mrabya¯na¯, CSD 298. Note also Palmyrene mrbyn (CIS ii. 4478: 3; DNWSI 690)
and Hatran (H203: 2). The name aAwı¯dalla¯t is found also at Palmyra (Stark 1971: 44, 105) and H : at:ra (Abbadi 1983: 148–9; 71: 6). Ma anu is another common Syriac name used by the royal family. While there is no speciWc reason to assume that Ma anu

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

225

here is royal, it is not impossible (Sartre 2005: 224 n. 120). Ma anu occurs also in Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 34); Nabataean (al-Khraysheh 1986: 111–12); Hatran (Abbadi 1983: 26); Greek ƽ
 (Wuthnow 1930: 72). abdt: 1st sing. perfect of the p aal of aBD, ‘make’. byt qbwra , ‘house of burial’, a term for ‘tomb’ appearing repeatedly in the Syriac inscriptions (OSI 74). a hn : masc. sing. demonstrative. Contrast dnh in Nabataean and Palmyrene (where dna also appears). Cf. Classical Syriac ha¯na¯. npsˇa , ‘self’: 7: 2. The name H : alwiya is related to the root H : LW, ‘sweet’. mrt, mrta , ‘lady, mistress’ (construct). The full phrase, ‘lady of my house’, probably means ‘my wife’. It is used in Classical Syriac for ‘head of the household’ (OSI 143; CSD 298, 303–4). There is a possibility that she had especially high social status. lbny, ‘for my children’. After the lacuna kl a nsˇ d-, ‘everyone who’ (cf. Classical Syriac (a )na¯ˇs and 6: 5). It is diYcult to know whether the /a / was still pronounced: it was according to ATTM 1: 128–36. Note the d- for the relative pronoun, universal in Syriac texts (see Ch. II). ya ta : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of a Ta , ‘come’ (4: 1; CSD 31–2). yh: za : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of H : Za , ‘see’ (11: 4; CSD 136). Note that the same concept appears in 58. ysˇbh: : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect pa ael of SˇBH : , ‘praise’ (47: 5; CSD 555–6). The restoration of the rest of l. 7 is based on similar wording in 47: 5. ybrkwnh: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect pa ael of BRK, ‘bless’, with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx (CSD 55–6). Hence ‘they will bless him’ or ‘may they bless him’ (indicative and jussive indistinguishable). Classical Syriac nbark- u¯neh.
in 6: 3; a lha , ‘gods’. Note the plur. ending -e¯ (v. -ayya¯). Cf. Nabataean a lhya klhm cf. Healey 1993, 131). H ashshay occurs only here, but there are parallels (Palmyrene: Stark 1971: : 23). Selu¯k is a form of the Greek Seleukos (see also OSI As16: 2, etc. and in Palmyrene and Hatran). glpa , ‘sculptor, mason’ (cf. As13: 1; 14: 2 glwpa ; 74: 8; for the verb glp see 50: 8 and OSI 250, l. 8). Note that the word at the end of the line was read as :t rywt:a , ‘worker in relief ’ (Greek æı) by Degen. abdw: 3rd plur. perfect of aBD (see l. 4 above). It is likely that the -w was silent as in Classical Syriac and often omitted in Palmyrene: 28: 2(a qym), etc.

226

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments 47. I NSCRIPTION FROM A TOMB-TOWER AT S ER RI N ON T HE EU PH R ATE S N EA R M A N B ¯I J / H I E R A P O L I S ( DAT E D 7 3 ce )

Discovered in 1899 on a tomb-tower at Serrin on the Euphrates near Hierapolis, this is the second oldest of the dated Syriac inscriptions.

Main publications OSI Bs2 (D2); Pognon 1907: 15–22; Maricq 1965: 127–39; Gogra¨fe 1995: 184 and pl. 27 a.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

byrh: tsˇry qdm ˇsnt 3  100 þ 20 þ 20 þ 20 þ 20 þ 5 bnyt a na m anw qsˇysˇa bdr dnh: y br m anw br brh dsˇrdwnh: a npsˇa hda lnpsˇy wlbny br ˇsnyn 20 þ 20 þ 20 þ 20 þ 10 mn dysˇbh: ybrkwnh a lha klhwn w amra wh: ya yhwa lh mn dyta whna abda yh: bl whlyn :t ma [ . . . .] kpra la yhwa lh wbnya dyrmwn apra al aynwhy la ysˇtkh: wn lh [

In the month of Former Teshrı¯ of the year 385, I, Ma anu the elder, budar of Nah: ay, son of Ma‘nu, grandson of Shardu¯nah: a, built this monument for myself and for my children, at the age of 90. Whoever gives thanks, may all the gods bless him and permanence and life may he have. Whoever comes and destroys this work and . . . these bones . . . may he have no tomb and may children to throw dust upon his eyes not exist for him . . .

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

227

The date formula is exactly as in 46. Former Teshrı¯ (as in Classical Syriac: tesˇrı¯ qd em) is September/October (Babylonian Calendar; see Ch. I) and the year
corresponds to 73/4 ce: hence October 73 ce. 385 bnyt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of BNa /Y, ‘build’, CSD 48. Ma anu (46: 3) is described as a qsˇysˇa . This term was used later in Syriac for a Christian priest (qasˇ¯ıˇsa¯), but it is not clear that it has a religious meaning here. The basic meaning is ‘elder’ (see discussion in OSI 194–5). bdr was taken by Maricq to be a defectively spelt version of bwdr which appears in 49: 6 and possibly once in a Hatran inscription from alSa adiyyah (Segal 1967a: 9 n. 28). Several etymologies have been suggested. The simplest is to relate it to BDR, ‘sprinkle’, though there is also the suggestion of a link with an obscure Iranian word found extremely rarely in later Arabic (see OSI 112–13). In both clear occurrences the context is religious and here the title is followed by the divine name Nah: ay, which occurs in personal names ( abdnh: y: OSI Am1: 8, cf. Am 4: 5; a mtnh: y: Am4: 12; Palmyrene Stark 1971: 39, 99). On the deity see Drijvers 1980: 155–7. brbrh, ‘his grandson’ (Syriac bar bra¯): 45: 9; CSD 53. The name Shardu¯nah: a is obscure, but may be formed on the divine name Nah: ay. npsˇa , ‘funeral monument’. This meaning is found only here in the Syriac inscriptions, but is used in the other dialects (DNWSI 748–9). hda : fem. sing. demonstrative (Classical Syriac ha¯d e¯).
npsˇa , ‘self’: 7: 2, etc. br ˇsnyn 90. The idiom (‘son of 90 years’) expresses age: 13: 7; one of the Syriac legal parchments (63: ii, 10); Hatran (72: 4–5). CSD 54. mn d-, ‘whoever’: 7: 7 (d- sometimes omitted in Nabataean: 7: 4). ysˇbh: : 46: 7. ybrkwnh: 46: 7. amra , ‘life, permanence of life’ (cf. Syriac aumra ¯ , also ‘monastery’, CSD 405; Arabic aumr). Note defective writing of the short vowel, in contrast with Classical Syriac (OSI 23): see Ch. II. h: ya , ‘life’: 1: 4, etc. yhwa : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of HWa /Y, ‘be’: 49: 6, etc. With l- the verb indicates possession: ‘will be to him, he will have’. yta for ya ta : 46: 6. hna abda . Note that it is impossible to distinguish hna abda in the Syriac inscriptions from abda hna : in Nabataean (Cant. i. 58) and Palmyrene (Cantineau 1935: 129) the demonstrative in a non-predicative construction must come after the noun. abda , ‘work, handiwork, building work’ (Syriac aba ¯ d a¯, CSD 397).



228

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

yh: bl: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect pa ael of H : BL, ‘destroy’: 49: 9; 52: 3) (cf. classical h: abel, CSD 123–4). hlyn: common plur. demonstrative ‘these’. :t ma , ‘bones’. Though not found in Classical Syriac, the word, which relates to the root aT: M, appears in Palmyrene (CIS ii. 3907: 1), Hatran (no. 293: 4) and Jewish Aramaic (MPAT no. 70: 2) (DNWSI 424; see also OSI As24: 1). kpra , ‘tomb’: only here in Syriac with this meaning, but common in Nabataean (7: 1) and possibly occurring in Palmyrene (PAT 1588: 1). bnya , ‘children’ (note -a¯yya form retained in this irregular noun, as in Classical Syriac). bnya d- is the subject of ysˇtkh: wn. yrmwn: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect p aal of RMa /Y, ‘throw’ (CSD 542–3). apra , ‘dust’ (CSD 422). The reference is to the need for burial, covering the eyes. aynwhy, ayna , ‘eye’ (plur. with 3rd masc. sing. suYx). The Classical Syriac ending is pronounced /-aw/, but we do not know how the Syriac of the Wrst century ce was pronounced. ysˇtkh: wn: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect of the anomalous verb a esˇkah: : 5: 3; CSD 576. This verb, and ybrkwnh and yhwh (twice), may be understood as indicative, but are better interpreted as wishes.

48. A LTAR AND PILLAR DEDICATION FROM S U M ATAR HAR ABESI (DATE D 165 ce ) Located on surface of the hill at Sumatar Harabesi near Edessa, along with numerous other inscriptions.

Main publications OSI As36 (D23); Segal 1953: 102; 1954: 24–5; Dijkstra 1995: 253.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

229

byrh: ˇsbt: ˇsnt 4  100 þ 20 þ 20 þ 20 þ 10 þ 6

a na tyrdt br a dwna ˇslyt:a d arb bnyt alta hda ws mt ns: bta lmrlha al h: yy mry mlka wbnwhy w al h: yy a dwna a by w al h: yy dyly wda h: y wdbnyn

In the month of Sheba¯t: of the year 476, I, Tiridates son of Ado¯na, governor of aArab, built this altar and set up a pillar for Ma¯rala¯he¯, for the life of my lord the king and his children and for the life of Ado¯na, my father, and for my own life and that of my brothers and of our children. The date formula follows the normal pattern (46–7). Sheba¯t: corresponds to February, or in the Babylonian calendar to January/February (see Ch. I) and the year 476 in the Seleucid era to 164/5 ce. Hence January/February 165 ce (same date as 49). a na : 10: 8. The originally Iranian name Tiridates appears many times at Sumatar (e.g. OSI As27: 4, where the same person appears, Tiridates son of Ado¯na). It also occurs in Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 56) and in early Syriac literature. Ado¯na is well known as the head of an important family at Sumatar (OSI 90). ˇslyt:a : 46: 2. arb: aArab is the name of a geographical area to the east of Edessa. The same term appears in Hatran inscriptions for a region outside H : at:ra itself. In the present context, the governor of aArab appears to be subject to the Edessan king (presumed recipient of the dedication in l. 4). Tiridates appears to have been governor of aArab during the pro-Parthian rule of Wa¯a el bar Sahru (Ch. I; OSI 105–6) bnyt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of BNa /Y, ‘build’, 47: 2. alta , ‘altar, high-place of worship’ (Syriac ala ¯ t-a¯, CSD 416): 39: 1, etc. s mt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of SYM, ‘place, set up’, CSD 366. Note spelling with .) {sˇ} for /s/. Classical Syriac spells this with semkath ( a ns: bt , ‘pillar, stele’: 17: 2 for the verb NS: B. Note a close Palmyrene parallel in Inv. xii. 31: ns: bta dh w alta abd PN. mrlha , a contraction of mra a lha , ‘lord of the gods’ (see also 49: 8; 60: 6). In Sumatar this title is used of the moon god Sin, though the title can also be used of Baalshamin/Zeus (as in Peshitta Acts 14: 12–13: ma¯re¯ a ala¯he¯; details OSI 80). al h: yy :1: 4 (Dijkstra 1995). mry, ‘my lord’ (mra : 6: 3; CSD 298). In the context it is almost certain that the reference is to the king of Edessa.

230

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

bnwhy: 46: 5; 3: 3 etc. a by, ‘my father’: 9: 3, a ba , ‘father’. dyly, dyl, ‘belonging to’, with 1st sing. pronoun suYx (Classical Syriac dı¯l, CSD 90). The following d- (twice) extends this. a h: y, a h: a , ‘brother’, with 1st sing. pronoun suYx. bnyn, bnya , ‘children’, with 1st plur. pronoun suYx.

4 9 . D E DI C AT I O N C O N TA I N I N G R E F E R E N C E TO RELIGIOUS OFFICE FROM SUMATAR HARABESI (DAT ED 165 ce ) Same location as 48. OSI As37 (D24); Segal 1953: 102; 1954: 26–8; Dijkstra 1995: 254; Beyer 1996: 42–3.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

bsˇbt: ˇsnt 4  100 þ 20 þ 20 þ 20 þ 10 þ 6 byrh: a na mnysˇ br a dwna wm ana wa lkwd/r wblbna wa lkwd/r a h: why s mn ns: bta hda bhna :t wra bryka wa qymn krsa lmn dytrsyhy ˇslyt:a yhwa bwdr mn btr tyrdt ˇslyt:a wytl krsa lmn dmtrsa lh pr anh mn mrlha yhwa wa n ykla krsa wtth: bl ns: bta hw a lha ydyn

In Sheba¯t: of the year 476, in that month I, Manish son of Ado¯na and Ma ana, and Alkur and Be¯lbena and Alkur, his brother, we set up this pillar on this

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

231

blessed mountain and erected a seat for the one who maintains it. The governor will be budar after Tiridates the governor, and he will give the seat to the one who is going to maintain it. His recompense will be from Ma¯rala¯he¯. But if he withholds the seat and the pillar is ruined, he, the god, will be the judge. There are some epigraphic diYculties and doubts. Note especially: The end of l. 1, byrh: , if correctly read, seems to be an afterthought, having been accidentally omitted from its usual position at the beginning of the line. Alternatively the b- might be followed by a numeral (possibly ‘4’). In ll. 5, 7, and 8 krsa might be read as prsa . At the end of l. 9, ydyn is the best material reading, but other suggestions have included yd a. Here the date formula departs from that encountered earlier (46–8), but the date is exactly the same as in 48. byrh: . If this is the correct reading, it is probably an afterthought by the scribe or mason. Segal’s ‘at the new moon’ is fanciful. Another possibility is that it is bfollowed by a number, indicating the day of the month. The name Manish is found only here (though also at H : at:ra: H139: 3, 4). He is another son of the famous Ado¯na (48: 2). Of the other names, for Ma ana see OSI As29: 2 (cf. 70: 13), for Alkur (probable reading) see As30: 4, for Be¯lbena see As38: 2. There are two problems here. First ah: why: if all those named are sons of Ado¯na this would be a very odd way of saying so. Second, the name Alkur appears twice in the list. The best way of resolving this is to assume that the named persons are not sons of Ado¯na, but associates of Manish and that ah: why is sing., describing only the second Alkur as the brother of Be¯lbena. An explicative phrase was needed in his case because another Alkur had already been mentioned. (Caution is, however, needed since a Be¯lbena in OSI As38: 2 is a son of Ado¯na!). If ah: why were plural, it might mean ‘his kinsmen’ (i.e. kinsmen of Ado¯na), though the duplication of Alkur would still be awkward. s mn: 1st plur. perfect p aal of SYM, ‘place, set up’: 48: 3. ns: bta : 48: 3. :twra , ‘mountain’ (Classical Syriac :t u¯ra¯, CSD 170). The inscription is on the top of a limestone outcrop. bryka , ‘blessed’ (adjective derived from passive participle of BRK; 46: 7. etc.). a qymn: 1st plur. perfect ap ael of QWM, ‘stand’, hence ‘set up’. CSD 494–5; 15: 1, etc. krsa , ‘seat’ (Biblical Aramaic korse¯, HALOT 1902–3; DNWSI 536–7; Classical Syriac ku¯rsya¯/kursya¯, CSD 211). The reference would be to a ritual chair, for which there are good parallels (see OSI 111–12). Beyer’s reading, prsa , would give ‘measured allowance’, pra¯sa¯, CSD 462–3, and the reference

232

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

would be to a stipend provided for religious purposes, i.e. the maintenance of the site (or possibly the pillar), 11: 8. mn d-: 47: 5. ytrsyhy: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of tarsı¯, ‘support, nourish, maintain’, an anomalous verb found also in Classical Syriac (tap ael of RSY; CSD 621). The use of tarsı¯ for maintenance of an installation is clear in one of the legal parchments (OSI P3: 18, where ‘restore’ might also be possible). Added is a 3rd (apparently) masc. sing. personal pronoun suYx, which would most obviously refer to the :t u¯ra¯. It might, however, be fem. and refer to the ns: bta , the object which is the main focus of the concern of the inscription. ˇslyt:a : 46: 2. The reading is uncertain: other possibilities are ˇslyt: y and ˇslnt: r (Beyer). yhwa : 47: 6. bwdr: 47: 3. mn btr, ‘after’: 10: 15; 37 ii 95; Palmyrene 37 ii 95 and Classical Syriac men ba¯t-ar, CSD 57. ytl: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of the root NTL, ‘give’. For the perfect the root YHB is used in Classical Syriac. (Note NTN in other Aramaic dialects: 7: 5.) mtrsa : active participle of tarsı¯ (l. 5). l- is used to mark the object: 21: 3; 26: 5. pr anh, pr ana , ‘recompense, reward, punishment’ (Classical Syriac pu¯r aa¯na¯/ pur aa¯na¯, CSD 439): 5: 3; 10: 23. mrlha : 48: 3. a n, ‘if ’ (cf. hn: 8: 6). The Classical Syriac is a en. ykla : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of KLa . ‘withhold’ (Classical Syriac kla¯, CSD 215). The reference would be to the non-passing on of the krsa /prsa . tth: bl: 3rd fem. sing. imperfect etpa aal: 47: 6. a lha : 2: 3. ydyn is the preferred reading in OSI and it can be interpreted as a pa ael, ‘act as a judge’ (denominative from daya¯na¯). The idea of the god (at Sumatar the god Sin) as judge is reXected in 52: 4. The alternative reading, a lha yd a, would give something like ‘the god will know’.

5 0 . IN S C R I P T I O N FRO M PO G N O N ’ S C AV E AT S U MATAR H AR A BES I The inscription comes from inside the cave explored by Pognon at Sumatar Harabesi near Edessa. It is located between two relief Wgures.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

233

Main publications OSI As47 (D5); Pognon 1907: 28–30; Beyer 1996: 40.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

hlyn s: lma d abd wa l br mwtrw [nwhd]ra dprr lwa l ˇslyt:a d arb br wa l wlwa l brh nwhdra dsˇwr mrwhy w abdy :tbth [sˇyla ] br ˇsyla glp

These are the images which Wa¯a el son of Mu¯tru, the commandant of Prr, made for Wa¯a el, governor of aArab, son of Wa¯a el, and for Wa¯a el his son, commandant of Shu¯r, his lords and his benefactors. [Shı¯la] son of Shı¯la carved [them]. hlyn: 47: 7. s: lma , ‘images’ (plur. emphatic s: alme¯). d-: 46: 2. abd: 46: 4. Wa’el’s name appears a number of times at Sumatar, elsewhere in Syriac inscriptions (e.g. 60: 8 at Edessa) and as a royal name (on coins: OSI Co1 and 2). In the form wa lw it also appears in Nabataean (al-Khraysheh 1986: 64–5) and it has an Arabic etymology (Wa L, ‘take refuge’); 7: 11 for wa lt. The name Mu¯tru is unparalleled. nwhdra. Translated ‘commandant’, this term is an Iranian loan referring to a highranking military oYcer (Pognon 1907: 28–30). It occurs several times in the inscriptions (here again in l. 5 and 61: 2, restored). In OSI As31: 2, another Sumatar inscription, the reference is again to the nwhdra of this place called prr

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(though note that r and d are indistinguishable). The place has not, however, been identiWed. ˇslyt:a d arb: 46: 2; 48: 2. brh, ‘his son’. ˇswr is identiWed by Beyer (1996: 40) with a north Mesopotamian town, Sˇu¯ra, known in cuneiform sources (Kessler 1980: 57–66). mrwhy, mra , ‘lord’ (plur. with 3rd masc. sing. suYx), hence ‘his lords’, referring to the two recipients, Wa¯a el father and son, members of a military family: 48: 4. abdy: p aal active participle (construct plur.) aBD, literally ‘doers of ’. :tbth: plur. of :tbta , ‘good, good thing’, with 3rd masc. sing. pronoun suYx, ‘his good things’. Hence the phrase means ‘benefactors’ (51: 7–8; 57: 6; Classical Syriac aa¯bd ay :ta¯ba¯t-eh, CSD 395).

have the
name of the mason, Shı¯la (see OSI As43: 2; 52: 3, etc., p. 89). At the end we glp: 3rd masc. sing. perfect p aal of GLP, ‘carve’ (46: 8 glpa /glwpa ). The verb appears in an unpublished Syriac inscription (OSI 250, l. 8).

5 1 . IN S C R I P T I O N FRO M PO G N O N ’ S C AV E REFERRING TO AN IMPERIAL PATRON This is another inscription from Pognon’s cave at Sumatar, carved beside a relief Wgure.

Main publications OSI As49 (D7); Pognon 1907: 30.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

235

d abd brnhr br dyny ˇslyt:a d arb lawrylws h: psy br br[klb]a a plwtra [da n]t: wnyns [qs]r mrh w abd [t: b]th

(Image) which Barnahar son of Dı¯nı¯, governor of aArab, made for Aurelius H : apsay son of Barkalba, freedman of Antoninus Caesar, his lord and his benefactor. d abd. The elliptical beginning assumes reference to the carving itself (cf. also OSI 61, As8: 1, etc.). The syntax is discussed fully by Naveh in Yadin et al. 2002: 380–2, showing that the relative refers to the carved object. For abd see 46: 4. Barhahar son of Dı¯nı¯ appears also in another inscription (OSI As52: 3–4). The name Barnahar is otherwise unattested (but cf. nhra , etc. in Palmyrene and Hatran: Stark 1971: 39; Abbadi 1983: 27, 129), probably related to NHR, ‘shine’. Dı¯nı¯ is probably related to DYN, ‘judge’. ˇslyt:a d arb: 50: 3. Aurelius H : apsay son of Barkalba appears also in OSI As48: 1 (Aurelius omitted). The name H : apsay occurs both in inscriptions and in early Syriac literary sources (OSI 100–1). The name Barkalba (‘son of the dog’, probably referring to Nergal) is also found elsewhere in inscriptions and early literature (OSI 131). a plwtra : Greek loan from I ºŁæ, ‘freedman’. Note Palmyrene br h: ry ¼ libertus, 37 ii 62; 45: 4. Antoninus Caesar is probably Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (161–80 ce). For qsr see Palmyrene 33: 3; 37 ii 1. mrh, mra , with 3rd masc. sing. suYx (50: 5). abd :tbth: 50: 6.

52. INSCRIPTION O N T HE RELIEF STAT UE OF A MILITARY FIGURE Although undated, this statue, found at Sumatar, is thought to date to the 2nd century ce (along with the other datable monuments there).

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OSI As60; Drijvers 1993: 148–52.

1. 2. 3. 4.

s: lma dlsˇmsˇ br ˇsmsˇyhb d abd lh brny a h: why mn dyh: bl syn b al dynh yhwa

Image of Lishamash son of Shamashyahb, which Barnay, his brother, made for him. Whoever destroys it, Sin will be his judge. s: lma : 50: 1; 4: 1; 15: 1; 28: 3,. etc. The name Lishamsh is found in another Syriac inscription (OSI Add 2) and at Palmyra (Stark 1971: 29–30, 93) and means ‘belonging to Shamash’ (Greek version ¸ØÆı, Wuthnow 1930: 67). His father’s name, Shamashyahb (also 63: 21, v2 and at H : at:ra: Abbadi 1983: 52, 170) means ‘Shamash has given’. Perhaps there was a family devotion to Shamash, despite the present dedication to Sin. Barnay is a hypocoristic name based on the divine name Nanaia/Nannay (cf. OSI As32: 3; 53: 4). It is also found in Palmyra (Stark 1971: 12, 79; cf. Drijvers 1993: 149–50). a h: why: 48: 5; 49: 3. mn d-: 47: 5. yh: bl: 47: 6. Sin, the moon god, was especially worshipped at Sumatar and is explicitly mentioned also in OSI As27: 3 (and possibly As28: 11). He was the traditional god of nearby Harran, which was an ancient centre of his cult (Green 1992). b al dynh, ‘his legal adversary’. This occurs only here in the Syriac inscriptions, but it is well known in various forms of Aramaic, including Classical Syriac (CSD 51; Drijvers 1993: 150) and is an Akkadian loan (Kaufman 1974: 43). For the god as judge see 49: 9. yhwa : 47: 6.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

237

5 3. I N S C R I P T IO N IN A F U NE RA RY M OS A I C FROM EDESSA DATED 228 c e From a cave at Eyu¨p Mahallesi in Urfa. The central Wgure in the mosaic is Orpheus and l. 1 is beside this Wgure. The rest of the inscription is in a panel, a tabula ansata.

Main publications OSI Am7 (D50); Segal 1959a: 157; 1959b: 36–7; 1963: 209.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

a rpws

byrh: tmwz ˇsnt tltyn wtsˇ a a na a ptwh: a br brny abd ly byt alma hna ly wlbny wlyrty lywmt alma

Orpheus. In the month of Tammu¯z of the year thirty-nine, I, Aftu¯h: a son of Barnay, make (?) for myself this house of eternity, for myself and for my children and for my heirs for ever. a rpws, ‘Orpheus’. The name is placed beside the central Wgure of the mosaic,

who plays a stringed instrument. Orpheus was popular in the Roman East, regarded as a symbol of paradise; see 58. byrh: : 3: 4; 46: 1, etc. Tammu¯z corresponds to July in the western calendar (see Ch. I; classical Syriac ta¯mu¯z, CSD 615). tltyn wtsˇ a, ‘thirty-nine’ (tsˇ a fem.). 500 is to be added to the number to produce 539, i.e. 227/8 ce. The omission of the ‘hundred’ is found also in Palmyrene (Brock 1992: 256; 31: 5). Thus the date is July 228 ce. a na : 10: 8; 46: 2, etc.

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Aptu¯h: a’s name occurs a number of times in the Syriac inscriptions (61: 1), but also in Nabataean (a pth: ). It means something like ‘weak-limbed’ (10: 17). Cf. OSI 46. For his father’s name, Barnay, 52: 3. abd appears not to agree with a na ( abdt in other cases: 46: 4, e.g.), but it could be construed as an active participle (absolute). byt alma , ‘house of eternity’, meaning ‘tomb’, is a euphemism commonly used in the Syriac inscriptions (54: 5; 55: 9, etc. and also OSI As7: 3 and CSD 44) and occurs also in Nabataean (Negev 1971: 50–2, l. 1), Jewish Aramaic (p.Yadin 7: 15, etc., Yadin et al. 2002: 99), Palmyrene (43: 1; 44: 1). See Healey 1993: 38–9. Line 5 resumes the persons for whom the tomb is intended: myself, my children (lbny) and my heirs (lyrty). yrt is the active participle of YRT, ‘inherit, take possession’ (Classical Syriac (a)ı¯ret-) used as a noun meaning ‘heir’ (Classical ya¯rt-a¯, CSD 197–8), 62: 24; 63: 11, etc. and OSI As7: 4, As16: 5, As59: 4, Am2: 7, Am3: 1. Note in Nabataean the distinction between yrt and a s: dq: 10: 20. lywmt alma , literally ‘to the days of eternity’, cf. OSI Am2: 7–8; 6: 6–7 and with ymy in As59: 5; cf. also lymt almyn in the Aramaic of Assur (Aggoula 1985: 42). See 54: 6.

5 4 . F U NE R A RY I N S C R I P T I ON I N M OS A IC DAT E D 2 3 5 / 6 c e This was found in 1956 in a tomb-cave in Eyu¨p Mahallesi in Urfa. The mosaic depicts a funeral monument and a phoenix (next to which l. 1 of the text stands).

Main publications OSI Am6 (D49); Segal 1959a: 155; 1959b: 35–6; 1963: 208; Ko¨bert 1971: 365; Beyer 1996: 44.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

239

pnks bsˇnt h: msˇma a wa rb ayn wsˇb a d abd brsˇmsˇ br brqa byt alma hna ly wlbny lyw[mt] alma

Phoenix. In the year Wve hundred and forty-seven, (which) Barshamash son of Barqa made this house of eternity, for myself and for my children for ever. pnks: Greek çEØ, ‘phoenix’, the mythical self-resurrecting bird. A famous phoenix mosaic was found at Antioch (OSI 177). h: msˇma a wa rb ayn wsˇb a, ‘Wve hundred and forty-seven’ (sˇb a: fem. form). The Seleucid year 547 corresponds to 235/6 ce. d abd is syntactically strange (superXuous d-), though the d- could represent the tomb itself (51: 1: d abd) and form a new start in the syntax (in which case byt alma hna would have to be understood as in apposition—but this seems unlikely in view of hna ). For byt alma see 53: 4. Barshamash occurs also in OSI As4: 2 and Bs3: 6 (possibly also As33: 2) and in early Syriac literature (OSI 52) and Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 12). Barqa appears in this form only here, though there are similar names derived from BRQ, ‘lightning’, in Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 12, 80) and in Greek form (´ÆæŒÆØ, Wuthnow 1930: 34; possibly in 63: 6). For the rest of this text see 53, but note the change from 3rd person to 1st.

5 5 . TH E T RI P O D M O S A I C F RO M E DE SS A ( E A R LY 3R D C E N T U RY c e ) The mosaic, found in 1956 in the Urfa suburb of S¸ ehitlik Mahallesi, now survives in a fragmentary state in Istanbul (St Irene). It depicted four standing adults and two children. The main Wgure was evidently Ado¯na, though the name which would have been written in mosaic beside him has not survived. The name H : apsay (ll. 5–6) which is located near his head actually refers to the right-hand child. In the bottom right corner stands the statement of ownership (ll. 9–12), while mid-centre appears a short epigram (ll. 13–16).

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Main publications OSI Am5 (D48); Segal 1959a: 154; 1959b: 24–7; Naveh 1974: 10–11.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

h: d/ry[ nm[ s: nt[ gby h: psy br a dwna adyta brt a dwna br gby

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

241

hna byt alma abd lh a dwna br gby br ˇslm ata mn dngl ˇsbr a h: ryta wnrqd qdmyta thwa lh h: rta :t bta

. . .Gabbay. H : apsay son of Ado¯na. aAdı¯ta daughter of Ado¯na son of Gabbay. Ado¯na son of Gabbay son of Shelam aata made this house of eternity for himself. Whoever removes the sorrow of (his) oVspring and mourns for (his) forefathers will have a happy afterlife. The Wrst clearly surviving word is the name Gabbay, which only appears in this mosaic (but cf. Hebrew Gabbay in Neh. 11: 8). The names H : apsay and Ado¯na are found elsewhere (51: 4; 48: 2). aAdı¯ta, the little girl in the mosaic, has a name paralleled in Nabataean ( adyw: al-Khraysheh 1986: 135; cf. perhaps Classical Syriac aed ya¯yta¯, ‘pilgrim’).
In l. 9, the Wrst piece of continuous text begins: byt alma : 53: 4. abd: 46: 4. The name Shelam aata is unparalleled, though it is clearly based on the divine name aAtah or aAteh, i.e. Atargatis (cf. br ata in 59: 1; 62: v3). The epigram is a fascinating puzzle and widely diVering translations have been advanced (contrast OSI 173 and Segal 1970: 34; 1967b: 293). mn d-: 47: 5. ngl. Assuming the reading is correct, the form would be the 3rd masc. sing. imperfect (note the n- preWx as in Classical Syriac) ap ael of GWL, meaning ‘cast out, remove’: CSD 64 (Naveh 1974). ˇsbr a h: ryta , the object of this verb, appears to be a construct phrase and must refer to something bad which it is desirable to remove. Naveh 1974: 10 referred to Jewish Aramaic SˇBR in connection with ‘sorrow, trouble, aZiction’ (tsˇbra in Qumran Targum Job 30: 16; and 27: 2). See also ATTM I: 702. a h: ryta is a fem. form, but could be sing. or plur. (cf. CSD 11–12). It is best explained as a nominalized adjective from a h: ry (60: 3; 4: 2: a h: rna ; Palmyrene 44: 5) and would then mean ‘end, posterity, descendants’ or, less likely, ‘last

242

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things’. Hence ˇsbr a h: ryta would mean ‘the trouble/sorrow of (his) descendants’. nrqd: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect ap ael of RQD, ‘mourn’ (CSD 549). There is, however, some doubt here, since the Syriac verb is normally followed by al. qdmyta appears to be in contrastive parallelism with a h: ryta and might therefore mean ‘origin, ancestry, ancestors’ (OSI 175; CSD 490). thwa : 3rd fem. sing. imperfect p aal of HWa (for hwa l- see 47: 6) h: rta , ‘end, result’ (classical Syriac h: arta¯, CSD 160). The afterlife is implied (clearer in 60: 5). Compare su¯p in 23: 4; 24: 5. :t bta : fem. sing. emphatic, ‘good’. It is clear that the whole phrase is indeWnite, indicating that as in Classical Syriac the ‘emphatic’ state has lost its older deWnitizing force. (See Ch. II.)

56. I NSCRIPTION I N MOSAIC FROM A CAVE-TOMB (DATED 224 c e) The mosaic, called the Four-Pointed Star mosaic, contains a single panel with dedication. It was found in a cave-tomb at Yakup Mahallesi in Urfa. OSI Am9; Drijvers 1973: 12–14; Segal 1973: 622.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

byrh: nysn ˇsnt h: msˇma wtltyn wh: msˇ a na br amta br qsˇya abdt byt qbra hna

In the month of Nı¯sa¯n of the year Wve hundred and thirty-Wve, I Bar aamta son of Qashya made this tomb.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

243

For the date formula see 46: 1. Nı¯sa¯n corresponds to April (see Ch. I on month-names). h: msˇma is more normally spelled h: msˇma a (54: 2; 58: 1). tltyn wh: msˇ, ‘thirty-Wve’ (h: msˇ fem.). The year 535 corresponds to 223/4 ce, hence April 224 ce. a na : 46: 2. The name Bar aamta has no clear parallels (see OSI 184, for some possibles). Qashya too is unknown (QSˇY, ‘be harsh’?). abdt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of aBD, 46: 4. byt qbra (defectively spelt): 46: 4, 6; 60: 2.

5 7 . T H E A BG AR M O S A I C FROM S¸E HITLIK MAHALLESI IN URFA Five Wgures appear in the mosaic, the dominant central Wgure in distinct clothing is named in ll. 7–8. Below him is the main text (ll. 1–6). The mosaic, published by Drijvers, appears to have been subsequently destroyed.

Main publications OSI Am10 (and frontispiece); Drijvers 1981, 1982; Segal 1983b; Dijkstra 1995: 256–8.

244

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

a na brsmya br aˇsdw abdt ly byt alma hna

ly wlbny wlh: y al h: yy a bgr mry w abd :tbty brsmya br aˇsdw a bgr br m anw aˇsdw br aqrb h: nn br aˇsdw azl a mh dbrsmya

I, Barsimya son of Ashadu, made for myself this house of eternity, for myself and for my children and for my brothers, for the life of Abgar, my lord and benefactor. Barsimya son of Ashadu. Abgar son of Ma aanu. Ashadu son of aAqrab. H : anan son of Ashadu. aAzil, mother of Barsimya.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

245

The name of the dedicator of this inscription, Barsimya, is widely attested: 63: v4; OSI Bs3: 2 (an altar found in Syria); early Syriac literature (Addai); also Palmyra (Stark 1971: 12, 79). Drijvers suggested this person was the same as the one in 63. The name Ashadu (‘lion’: Arabic asad) is found in Nabataean (al-Khraysheh 1986: 44) and Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 7, 73). abdt: 46: 4. byt alma : 53: 4. lh: y, l- þ a h: y, a h: a : ‘my brothers, kinsmen’ (plur. with 1st person suYx) is notable for the elision of the a . It is likewise elided in pronunciation and even spelling in Classical Syriac (lah: ay: No¨ldeke 1904: §§32–3). al h: yy: 1: 4, etc. It is unusual for the object being dedicated in an al h: yy inscription to be a tomb. Abgar here could be King Abgar VIII the Great (176–211 ce: see Ch. I), possibly even before he became king (which might explain the omission of the royal title). Segal preferred Abgar X (possibly called Frahat:, but see Ross 2001: 172 n. 1), the Aelius Septimius Abgar bar Ma anu referred to in 62: 3 (239–41/2 ce). In either case a royal personage is likely, since these inscriptions express political and family loyalty (Dijkstra 1995). The Wgure in the centre of the mosaic is certainly depicted in an unusual style, perhaps to indicate his special status. mry: 6: 3; 48: 4. abd :tbty: 50: 6. Abgar is son of Ma anu (on the name Ma anu see 46: 3). aAqrab means ‘scorpion’ (Nabataean: Negev 1991: 54; aqrbn in Palmyrene: Stark 1971: 45, 107). If the reading is correct, H : anan is a well known name from early Syriac literature, that of Abgar’s scribe in the Doctrina Addai. The female name aAzil has no exact parallels (cf. OSI 188): it probably means ‘strong is the god’. a mh, a ma , ‘mother’: 12: 3.

58. O RPHEUS MOSAIC DEPICTING ‘ORPHEUS TAMING W I L D A N I M A L S ’ ( DAT E D 1 9 4 c e ) (P L S . 5 – 6 ) The provenance of this tomb mosaic is uncertain, but it clearly comes from the Edessa region. A appears on a panel in the mosaic, while B appears beside the head of Orpheus.

246

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

Main publications Healey 2006; Brock and Taylor 2001: i. 158, 177.

A 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

byrh: nysn ˇsnt h: msˇma a wh: msˇ a na ppa br ppa abdt ly byt msˇkba hna ly wlbny wlyrty bryk mn dnh: za wnbrk

B 7. 8. 9.

brsgd rs: wpa rs: p

In the month of Nı¯sa¯n in the year Wve hundred and Wve, I, Pa¯pa son of Pa¯pa, made for myself this chamber of repose, for myself and for my children and for my heirs. Blessed be whoever sees and gives blessing. Barsa¯ged, mosaic-maker, laid the mosaic. nysn: March/April (Babylonian calendar), 56: 1. The Seleucid year 505 corresponds to 193/4 ce. Since the month of Nı¯sa¯n is in the second part of the year, the actual date is March/April (Babylonian calendar) 194 ce. The name Pa¯pa is not exactly paralleled in the early Syriac inscriptions; the Roman name Papus (ppws) appears in one of the legal parchments (63: 2)

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

247

and the name Pa¯pa is well known in early Syriac Christianity (from Greek

Æ/

Æ: see Healey 2006: 321). The word read here as msˇkba could also be read as msˇrya (or even msˇkna ). The way the letters are joined suggests msˇkba . byt msˇkba , ‘house of rest’, does not appear otherwise in Syriac in relation tombs. For the meaning ‘bedchamber’ see Peshitta Exod. 8: 3. The connection of msˇkba with graves is clearer in Jewish Aramaic (SokoloV 1990: 334; Naveh 1995: 487–8, no. 8). byt msˇrya , on the other hand, appears in OSI As5: 2. The phrase is fairly common in Syriac and is translated ‘dwellingplace, guest-chamber, lodging, inn’, CSD 44, 309. The list of persons for whom the tomb was intended is typical: the builder himself, his children (bny), and his heirs (yrty). For yrta , ‘heir’, 53: 5; 62: 24; 63: 11, etc. The Wnal epigraph begins with a blessing formula, bryk (passive participle) (cf. Healey 1996a for the parallel dkyr . . . ): 49: 5. Reference to ‘seeing’ the inscription and giving praise is found in the Birecik inscription (45: 5–7). nbrk, like ysˇbh: in 46: 7, has no object. Classical Syriac barek- can be used intransitively to mean ‘pronounce a blessing’ (CSD 55–6). Note that the imperfect verbs have n- preWxes (see Ch. II). Beside the head of Orpheus we Wnd brsgd/r, an otherwise unattested ‘son of . . .’ name (like brhdd, brklba , br ata , etc.: see also in Palmyrene, Stark 1971: 11–12, and Hatran, Abbadi 1983: 9–11). rs: wpa is the equivalent of classical ra¯s: o¯pa¯ (root RS: P, ‘set closely, ram in, make solid’: CSD 549; derivatives 548–9). On the nominal pattern see No¨ldeke 1904: 69, §107. For parallels in a similar context see Peshitta 2 Kgs. 16: 17; John 19: 13, where the Peshitta translates ºØŁ æø with rs:¯ıpta¯. rs: p is the 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the same verb: ‘he set, laid (the pavement, mosaic)’ (CSD 549).

59. I NSCRIPTION IN A C AV E-TOMB I N URFA, DAT E D 2 0 9 c e The inscription is from a cave-tomb in Eyu¨p Mahallesi, Urfa.

Main publications OSI As9 (D54); Segal 1959b: 31–2.

248

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

1. byrh: a dr ˇsnt as ryn a na absˇa br br ata abdt l[y] byt alma [hn]a ly wlbny In the month of A¯da¯r in the year (Wve hundred and) twenty, I, aAbsha son of Bar aata, made for [myself this] house of eternity, for myself and for my children. For the date formula see 46: 1. A¯da¯r corresponds to March in the western calendar (see Ch. I on month-names). as ryn, ‘twenty’, but with a number of hundreds to be added (53: 2–3). Given other dates in the Syriac corpus the missing number is probably 500, giving Seleucid year 520, which is 208/9 ce. Hence March 209 ce. The name aAbsha (cf. absˇy in OSI Am3) is probably a hypocoristic derived from aAbdshamash (OSI Am4: 8) with assimilation of d as in absˇlma (As7: 1). Bar aata is also a well-known name in Syriac (62: v3, etc.; Greek ´ÆæÆŁÅ, Latin Barates; cf. Palmyrene, Stark 1971: 12). abdt: 46: 4. byt alma : 53: 4.

6 0 . I N S C R I P T IO N IN A C AV E - TO M B I N K I R K  MA GAR A , U R FA This undated inscription was found in the nineteenth century in a niche in a cave-tomb, published by Sachau (1882: 162–5) and then republished by Pognon. It contains a curse.

Main publications OSI As20 (D35); Pognon 1907: 80–3; Segal 1953: 115–16; 1954: 22.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

249

a na gyw brt brsˇwma abdt ly byt qbwra hna b ayna mnk a h: rya d aa l lka grmy mn a wzna la tzy a wmn dnzy a grmy h: rta la tha lh wntlyt: lmrlha dkyr brsˇwma br wa l

I, Gayyu daughter of Barshu¯ma, made for myself this tomb. I ask you coming later who enter here: do not remove my bones from the sarcophagus. And whoever removes my bones, may he have no afterlife and may he be cursed by Ma¯rala¯he¯. Remembered be Barshu¯ma son of Wa¯a el. The name Gayyu (possibly found also in OSI As43: 3) is otherwise unattested. Barshu¯ma appears in the Peshitta of Acts 13: 6, 8 (for ´ÆæØÅF). Cf. Shu¯mu: OSI Am2: 12. abdt: 46: 4. byt qbwra : 46: 4, 6 (restored); 56: 7 (qbra ). b ayna : fem. active participle p aal of B aa /Y, ‘seek’ (Classical Syriac ba¯ aya¯) with the attached enclitic form of a na , ‘I’ (classical [a e]na¯). Hence ‘I am seeking’. The vocalization is ba¯ aya¯na¯ (No¨ldeke 1903: 45, §64). For the verb 10: 22 etc. and CSD 50. mnk, ‘from you’ (Classical Syriac b aa¯ men, e.g. Peshitta Matt. 18: 29). a h: rya , masc. sing. adjective meaning ‘last’ (55: 14 for a h: ryta ) (Classical [a ]h: ra¯ya¯). The meaning is ‘he who comes later’. d-: for relative pronoun 46: 6. aa l: masc. sing. absolute active participle p aal of aLL, ‘enter’ (classical aa ¯ a el, CSD 412–13), 37 ii 2. lka does not appear elsewhere in the Syriac inscriptions but it is common in Classical Syriac for ‘hither’ (lk- a¯, CSD 242) and Palmyrene 33: 4. grmy, grma , ‘bones’, with 1st sing. suYx, 25: 2; CSD 78. awzna is an Iranian loan referring to a hollowed out stone trough, here for ‘sarcophagus’. a u¯zna¯ is used in Classical Syriac for the baptismal font (OSI 79, for references; CSD 5).

250

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

la tzy a appears to express a wish: ‘do not . . .’. tzy a and nzy a in the following line are imperfect forms (2nd masc. sing. and 3rd masc. sing.) of the ap ael of ZW a, ‘move, disturb’ (CSD 113–14). A punishment for contravening the instruction follows. This is untypical of the Syriac inscriptions but common in Nabataean, where a curse or a Wne or both may be indicated (7). mn d-: 47: 5. h: rta : 55: 16. The reference is to ‘last end, future life’. tha : shortened form of thwa, classical the¯: No¨ldeke 1904: 134, §183 (8). 22: 3; 24: 4. ntlyt: : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect etp ael of LWT: , ‘curse’ (classical nettlı¯:t , with double t; the classical spelling is secondary, arising from imposition of the ettap aal pattern in such verbs). CSD 237. l- in lmrlha represents ‘by’ (agent), as it can in other dialects including Classical Syriac. For Ma¯rala¯he¯ see 48: 3. dkyr: 12: 11, 13. Here we have a commemoration of the woman’s father. For the name Wa¯a el 50: 2.

61 . I N SC RI P T I O N O N A PI L L A R O N TH E URFA C I TADE L (PL . 7 ) This inscription is on one of the two pillars on the Urfa citadel, known to all tourists. It is not clear whether the pillars are in their original location because there has been much rebuilding on the site. Probably early third century ce.

Main publications OSI As1 (with full bibliography) (D27); Pognon 1907: 204–8.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

251

a na a ptwh: a nw[hdra ] br

brsˇ[ . . . . a]bdt

a st: wna hna wa dryt:a d al mnh lsˇlmt mlkta brt m anw ps: gryba a nt[t . . . . . .]a

mrty [w abdt :tbty

I, Aptu¯h: a, com[mandant], son of . . .[. . .m]ade this column and the statue above it for Shalmat, the princess, daughter of Ma anu, the crown prince, wife of [. . .], my lady and my benefactor. For the name Aptu¯h: a 53: 3. nwhdra : 50: 5. abdt: 46: 4. a st: wna , ‘pillar, column’ (cf. Classical Syriac a esto¯na¯, CSD 23). It is not clear whether it comes from Persian (sutu¯n) or Greek (Fº). Cf. Brockelmann 1928: 33, referring to Persian. a dryt: a , ‘statue’ (classical a a(n)dryanta¯, CSD 4, 21), is a Greek loan (cf. I
æØ , accusative I
æØ Æ). Cf. Healey 1995: 81; Brock 2005: 12; 37 ii 128. al mn: compound preposition ‘above’ (cf. classical l ael men, very rarely aal men: No¨ldeke 1904: §156, p. 103). ‘Above the column’ presumably means on top of it. The name Shalmat occurs widely (OSI Am2: 14, p. 47). This Shalmat is called mlkta , ‘queen, princess’, and she is thought to be the daughter of Ma anu IX (213–39), who was crown-prince (ps: gryba below) and never became king (see Ch. I). mlkta probably means ‘princess’ here (3: 2), since there is no evidence that she ever became queen. For the name Ma anu see 46: 3. ps: gryba , ‘crown-prince, heir apparent’, is an Iranian term for the son of the king. It occurs in one of the legal parchments (62: 4), in early Syriac literature and also in a variety of spellings in Hatran inscriptions (OSI 47–8; CSD 454). a ntt appears to be the construct of a ntta , introducing a statement of whose wife Shalmat is; see 62 vi, 11; 63: 22. mrty, ‘my lady’: 46: 5.

252

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

abdt :t bty, ‘my benefactors’: 50: 6 (the form restored as abdt would be a fem.

construct participle).

62. LEGAL DOCUMENT RECORDING THE SALE OF A D EBT (DATED 240 ce ) ( PL . 8 ) This document, written on parchment, was found in the Middle Euphrates area, probably at Appadana, a regional centre just north of Dura-Europos, with another Syriac document (OSI P3) and others in Greek, some with Syriac subscriptions (Feissel and Gascou 1989, 1995, 2000; Feissel et al. 1997).

Main publications OSI P2; Teixidor 1989, 1990: 144–54; Brock 1991; Healey 2008b.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

253

254

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

Recto i. byrh: knwn qdm ˇsnt 2 þ 50 wh: msˇma a bywm ii. tmnya w as ryn mwdna b aysˇw br a bgr br ˇsmysˇw mn iii. myhrw abda dsˇ aydw br ˇslmn br s: [..]n s: h: bya iv. lwrwd br nsˇryhb mn byt pwryn bh: ˇsbn ˇs:tra h: d v. dktb b aysˇw br ˇsmsˇ aqb br tymw mn krka h: dta vi. w arbt bh btnny a ntth arbta lsˇ aydw mry dyly a na vii. b aysˇw wawdy lh bsˇwya h: d dntlwhy lh lmpqy tsˇry viii. a h: ry wlm aly knwn qdm wa n abr zbna wla yhbh lh ix. ntl lh dmwhy dynra ma a wh: msˇyn wktyb byrh: a lwl x. bsˇnt h: msˇma a wh: msˇyn wh: da bywm tmnt as ra 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

byrh: knwn qdm ˇsnt h: msˇma a wh: msˇyn wtrtyn bsˇnt tlt dawt: qrt:wr qsr mrqws a nt: wnyws gwrdynws gdya wzkya wbsˇnt trtyn da lyws spt: myws a bgr mlka br m anw ps: gryba br a bgr mlka dmyqr bhpt: ya ba rhy ba ds mdynta rbta a ma dmdynta klhyn dbyt nhryn ktyb ˇs:tra hna bhykla krka h: dta ds: yda da bgr mlka bywm tmnya w as ryn mwdna b aysˇw br a bgr br ˇsmysˇw mn myhrw qryta abda dsˇ aydw br ˇslmn s: h: bya lwrwd br nsˇryhb mn byt pwryn d amr bkrka h: dta bh: ˇsbn ˇs:tra h: d dktb b aysˇw br ˇsmsˇ aqb br tymw mn krka h: dta ds: yda w arbt bh btnny a ntth db aysˇw lsˇ aydw mry dyly a na b aysˇw wawdy lh bh ˇs:tra bsˇwya h: d dylh dsˇ aydw mry dntlwhy lh lmpqy tsˇry a h: ry wlm aly knwn qdm dylh dsˇnta hda dktyb bh ˇs:tra hna wa n abr zbna hna wla ntl ntl hw b aysˇw br ˇsmsˇ aqb lh lsˇ aydw mry dmwhy dsˇwya dynra ma a wh: msˇyn wktyb bh da n la ntl dynra hlyn ma a wh: msˇyn nrbwn mn dynra tlta lmlya h: d lyrh: a h: d wktyb hw ˇs:tra byrh: a lwl ˇsnt h: msˇma a wh: msˇyn wh: da bywm tmnt as ra hkna mwdna lh lwrwd [m]t: l da [mr] ly ˇs aydw mry da tb a mnh db aysˇw wla qryb hw b aysˇw tnn qblt mnh dwrwd dynra hlyn ma a wh: msˇyn dqra wknsˇ mry(?) ˇs:tra wa qymth hw ˇs:tra :tbth wbysˇth bgdh dwrwd dntb aywhy mnh db aysˇw wmn yr[tw]hy aykna dhwt byntn mwdna h: ˇsa br mty mn krka h: dta dktbt

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

255

26. h: lp b aysˇw br a bgr dspra la yd a dktb a wdy 27. bsˇ:tra hkna lwrwd br nsˇryhb ayk dktyb 28. mn l al 29. a na brbsa spra br 30. brb aˇsmyn ktbt ˇs:tra hna Verso v1. arbt b aysˇw br tymw al npsˇh s h[d] v2. arbt h: ˇsa br mty h: tmt al ˇs:tra hn[a ] v3. arbt ˇslm br br ata s hd v4. arbt abdwk s hd v5. arbt b aysˇw br tymw al npsˇh [s hd]

Upper text In the month of Former Ka¯nu¯n of the year 52 and Wve hundred, on the twenty-eighth day, I, Ba a¯ıshu son of Abgar son of Shamı¯shu from Myhrw, servant of Sha a¯ıdu son of Shalman son of . . . , of S: h: b, declare to Woro¯d son of Nishryahb from Be¯t Pu¯rı¯n on account of a certain document which Ba a¯ıshu son of Shamash aaqab son of Taymu from New Town wrote—and Batnannay his wife stood as surety for it—to Sha a¯ıdu my master, i.e. me Ba a¯ıshu, and he [Ba a¯ıshu son of Shamash aaqab] declared to him [Sha a¯ıdu] with regard to a certain ˇswya that he would give it to him at the end of Latter Teshrı¯ or the beginning of Former Ka¯nu¯n, and, if the time were to pass and he had not given it to him, he would give him its value, one hundred and Wfty denarii; and it was written in the month of Elu¯l in the year Wve hundred and Wfty-one, on the eighteenth day.

Lower text In the month of Former Ka¯nu¯n of the year Wve hundred and Wfty-two, in the third year of Imperator Caesar Marcus Antonius Gordianus the Fortunate and Victorious, and in the second year of Aelius Septimius Abgar the king, son of Ma anu, crown prince, son of Abgar the king, who was honoured with consular rank in Urha¯y, in Edessa, the great city, mother of all the cities of Be¯t Nahrı¯n, this document was written in the palace, New-Town-of-Hunting, of Abgar the king, on the twenty-eighth day: I, Ba a¯ıshu son of Abgar son of Shamı¯shu from the village of Myhrw, servant of Sha a¯ıdu son of Shalman of S: h: b, declare to Woro¯d son of Nishryahb from

256

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

Be¯t Pu¯rı¯n, who lives in New-Town, on account of a certain document which Ba a¯ıshu son of Shamash aaqab son of Taymu from New-Town-ofHunting wrote—and Batnannay wife of Ba a¯ıshu stood as surety for it— to Sha a¯ıdu my master—i.e. me Ba a¯ıshu—and he declared to him in the selfsame document with regard to a certain ˇswya belonging to Sha a¯ıdu my master, that he would give it to him at the end of Latter Teshrı¯ or at the beginning of Former Ka¯nu¯n of this self-same year in which this document was written; and if this time were to pass and he were not to give (it), he, Ba a¯ıshu son of Shamash aaqab, would give to Sha a¯ıdu my master the equivalent value of the ˇswya , one hundred and Wfty denarii; and it is written in it that if he did not pay these one hundred and Wfty denarii, they should yield interest at three denarii for the full sum per month; and that document was written in the month of Elu¯l of the year Wve hundred and Wfty-one, on the eighteenth day. Thus I declare to Woro¯d: since Sha a¯ıdu my master ordered me to exact payment from Ba a¯ıshu and the said Ba a¯ıshu was not present here, I have received from Woro¯d these one hundred and Wfty denarii which he [Sha a¯ıdu] was demanding and my master collected the document and I have assigned that document for his good or his ill into the power of Woro¯d, so that he might exact it from the same Ba a¯ıshu and from his heirs as it has been (arranged) between us. I, H : ashsha son of Mattay from New-Town, declare I have signed (this) on behalf of Ba a¯ıshu son of Abgar, who does not know how to write: he has written (and) declared in the document thus to Woro¯d son of Nishryahb as written above. I, Barbassa, the scribe, son of Barba ashamı¯n wrote this document.

Verso I, Ba a¯ıshu son of Taymu, have acted as guarantor: he witnesses on his own behalf. I, H : ashsha son of Mattay, have acted as guarantor: I have sealed this document. I, Shalam son of Bar aata, have acted as guarantor: he witnesses. I, aAbdu¯k, have acted as guarantor: he witnesses. I, Ba a¯ıshu son of Taymu, have acted as guarantor: he witnesses on his own behalf.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

257

The legal situation The text records the transfer of a debt from one creditor to another. The transfer is dated 28 Former Ka¯nu¯n (¼ December) 552 in Seleucid dating (¼ 240 ce). The original obligation was incurred in a document dated 18 Elu¯l (September) 551. It ought to have been discharged by the end of Latter Teshrı¯ (November) or the beginning of Former Ka¯nu¯n (December) of the same year, but the original debtor had defaulted. The creditor chose to dispose of the debt. The original transaction was between Sha a¯ıdu son of Shalman (creditor) and Ba a¯ıshu son of Shamash aaqab (debtor). Sha a¯ıdu had asked his servant or agent (also called Ba a¯ıshu) to seek payment of the debt and he tried to do so, but recovered the sum involved by quickly selling the debt on to Woro¯d son of Nishryahb. The nature of the original transaction which gave rise to the debt is, however, obscure because the meaning of one key word, ˇswya , in ll. vii, 13, and 16, is not clear. The ˇswya could not be simply a sum of money, since the text refers to the value or price of the ˇswya , dmwhy (150 denarii) (ix, 16). We appear to be dealing with a loan of a movable item. Ba a¯ıshu promised that by the end of Latter Teshrı¯ he would hand back the ˇswya or pay 150 denarii. If the 150 denarii were not paid, it would accrue interest at the rate of three denarii per month. Sha a¯ıdu lent the item without any charge, the only charge arising if the item weres not returned on time. The 18 Elu¯l document was drawn up simply as a protection of ownership, not as a commercial lease. This original contract falls more or less into the category of a legal deposit without any charge except in the case of failure to give the item back.

Upper text For the date formula 46: 1. Here and in another parchment (OSI P3) the number is partly expressed by the use of letters. In this system, which became the norm in Syriac, {b} ¼ 2 and {n} ¼ 50. This is the Wrst evidence we have for this system. h: msˇma a : 55: 2; 54: 2; 63: 3. For dates see discussion of the legal situation above. bywm: 63: 7 and here x, 7, 19. tmnya w as ryn, ‘twenty-eight’ (tmnya masc.). It is far more usual to place the larger number Wrst, No¨ldeke 1903: 96, §150 (e) and cf. l. 1 here; 54: 2–3; 53: 2–3; 63: 3, 10).

258

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

mwdna : active participle ap ael of YDa /Y, used in the ap ael to mean ‘confess, aYrm’ (Classical Syriac a awdı¯, mawde, CSD 186), with the enclitic form of the pronoun a na , ‘I’ (mawdena¯). Hence ‘I declare, aYrm’. Ba a¯ıshu is the servant of Sha a¯ıdu, through whom the master conducts the transaction. The name occurs only in this text in Syriac (though note that there are three diVerent persons involved) and not elsewhere in Aramaic. Shamı¯shu too is unparalleled. For the name Abgar, 46: 2; 57: 5, 9; 63: 5, etc. myhrw is a place-name, but not identiWed. abda , ‘servant’ (classical aabda ¯ ). It is just possible ‘agent’ is meant: see Classical Syriac aa¯bo¯d a¯, CSD 397,
but he is clearly acting under orders in any case (see ll. 20–1).

The name Sha a¯ıdu appears only here in Syriac, but also in Nabataean (8: 1; alKhraysheh 1986: 183 and related name-forms). Shalman, by contrast, is well attested (OSI 55 on As5: 3, with parallels in Arabic, Nabataean, Palmyrene, Hatran, and Greek ƺÆÅ, etc.: Wuthnow 1930: 102). The name of Shalman’s father is not preserved clearly—it could be s: h: bn, though it is followed by s: h: bya (as in l. 8), a nisbah referring to an otherwise unknown place or tribe. The texts from the Dura region frequently mention the place of origin of the principals: 63: 8–9 dyrta a dysyta , ‘Edessan resident’, h: rnya , ‘Harranian’; in Dura papyri (e.g. p.Dura 29: ‘Durene’, ‘Zeugman’; 18, 19, 22: ‘Europan’: see the index in Welles et al. 1959: 441). The name Woro¯d is Iranian: the same person appears in OSI P3: i etc. and possibly in p.Euphr. 10: 2, 13 (Feissel and Gascou 1995: 75); cf. Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 16, 85); Hatran (Abbadi 1983: 16–17); Greek ˇPæ
Å, Latin Orodes. For Nishryahb see also the other legal parchment (OSI P3: i, etc.) Hatran (Abbadi 1983: 29–30, 131) and in Palmyrene nsˇry, hypocoristic of ‘Nashr has given’: Stark 1971: 40, 100). Woro¯d is stated to be from byt pwryn, ‘Be¯t Pu¯rı¯n’, which appears also in Greek papyri from the same cache (´ÅŁçıæÆØÆ and other spellings) and also in OSI P3: 1–11, 7–9. It was located near Appadana. On the geography see Feissel and Gascou 1989: 540–5. h: ˇsbn, h: ˇsbna , ‘account, reckoning’ (classical h: usˇba¯na¯). The word is a little ambiguous, but it is used elsewhere in phrases meaning simply ‘in connection with’: see 63: 13 al h: ˇsbn a mta hda , ‘on account of this slave-girl’ (see also lh: ˇsbn in Palmyrene: PAT 1421: 2); in the Aramaic at the end of Nah: al H : ever p.Yadin 17 note lh: ˇsbn pqdwn ksp dnryn tltma h, ‘on account of a deposit of three hundred silver denarii’, though in this case it is a calque on Greek N º ª ÆæÆŁŒÅ, ‘on account of a deposit’, meaning ‘as a deposit’ (Lewis 1989: 141). Here it has a prepositional sense, ‘on account of, regarding’: 37 ii 115, etc. ˇs:tra , ‘document, deed’: 6: 4 and CSD 574.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

259

h: d, ‘one’ (masc. form), used here and commonly in Classical Syriac for ‘a certain, speciWc’: 55: 16. ktb: 5: 3, etc. The subject here is the Ba a¯ıshu who made the initial agreement with Sha a¯ıdu. He is speciWed as son of Shamash aaqab (cf. in Hatran, Abbadi 1983: 53, 171: ‘Shamash has protected’). For the name Taymu cf. Palmyrene (Stark 1971: 55, 117 and related forms; 39: 2) and Nabataean (al-Khraysheh 1986: 187–8 and related forms). This Ba a¯ıshu is from krka h: dta , ‘New Town’, apparently a place-name (Classical Syriac karka¯, CSD 227): 6: 2; 31: 5; h: dta , ‘new’: 11: 14. In the main text it is called krka h: dta ds: yda , ‘New-Town-of-Hunting’. arbt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect of aRB, ‘act as guarantor, pledge oneself, stand as sponsor’. See ll. 11 and v1–5; OSI P3: vi, 14, 15 and e.g. Milik 1954: 183, l. 11. Also the noun arba , arbta , ‘guarantor’, here in l. vi and P3: 14 (Classical Syriac arab, CSD 426–7) and 21: 11 in Jewish Aramaic. bh, ‘in it’.
Apparently Batnannay (‘daughter of the goddess Nannay’: on Nannay see M. Stol in DDD2 612–14 (Nanea); there was a temple of Nannay at H : at: ra: al-Jubouri forthcoming), Ba a¯ıshu’s wife, acted as guarantor in the deal (i.e. to cover any failure on his part: as a result of the present debt-transfer it is she who would become liable to Woro¯d). a ntth: 61: 8 etc. mry, ‘my lord, master’: 48: 4, etc. dyly: 48: 5. This, with a na (restored by analogy with other legal texts such as Nabataean 10: 22: lwtk a nt a smlk dnh) and the personal name, is meant to make explicit beyond confusion who is speaking. The text then summarizes the original agreement: awdy: see mwdna above. Here 3rd masc. sing. perfect ap ael. bsˇwya , ‘with regard to the ˇswya ’. As noted earlier, the ˇswya is something belonging to Sha a¯ıdu that was supposed to be given back to him by Ba a¯ıshu by a set date. Lines ix and 16 indicate that its value in money could be paid instead. ˇswya presents a serious problem. The root involved is apparently SˇWa /Y, ‘be level, equal’, as recognized already by Teixidor (1990: 149 n. 10). There are a number of possibilities (Healey 2008b), but the probable solution is provided by the ˇswy listed in an Elephantine papyrus (Cowley 1923: no. 15: 15 ¼ Porten and Yardeni 1986–93: B 2.6: 15–16) where among other things brought into a household by a newly married woman we Wnd ˇswy 1 zy gma n abs: n zy a bn 4. This is translated by Porten as: ‘One papyrus-reed bed on which are 4 stone inlays’, an interpretation favoured by most scholars (though see DNWSI 1117–18). Giving strong support to ‘bed’ is Targumic Aramaic ˇswya with a similar meaning (e.g. Targ. Y. Deut. 3: 11; more examples, etc. Jastrow 1950: 1533; Healey 2008b). Note also Syriac

260

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

tesˇwı¯t-a¯, CSD 622, ‘coverlet, rug, mattress, bed’. For other possibilities see Healey 2008b; DNWSI 1117–18 (possibly ‘box’). ntlwhy: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of NTL (used for imperfect of YHB), ‘give’: 49: 7, with 3rd masc. sing. suYx. mpqy: construct plural of mpqa , ‘exit, going out, end’. The same word is used in Classical Syriac for the ends of periods of time: mapa¯qay ˇsabta¯, ‘the end
of August’ of the Sabbath’ in Peshitta 2 Kgs. 11: 7, 9; mapa¯qay a a¯b, ‘the end
(Brockelmann 1928: 440). tsˇry a h: ry, ‘Latter Teshrı¯’, i.e. November. m aly, ‘going in, entrance, beginning’ (construct plur.: cf. mpqy above; classical ma aa¯lay: Brockelmann 1928: 525). a n: 49: 8. abr: 3rd masc. sing. perfect (or possibly participle) of aBR, ‘pass by’ (CSD 398–9). zbna , ‘time’ (33: 5: classical zabna¯, CSD 109–10). yhbh: 3rd masc. sing. perfect
of YHB, ‘give’, with 3rd masc. suYx. Cf. CSD 188–9. ntl: see above. dmwhy, dmya , ‘price, value’: 10: 18 etc. and l. 16 below and 63: 23 dynra : plur. emphatic: 37 passim in Palmyrene and here ll. 16, 17, 18, 22 and 63: 9. ma a wh: msˇyn, ‘one hundred and Wfty’. ktyb: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the p a¯ıl of KTB (possibly passive participle referring to ˇs:tra ): 5: 3 Nabataean etc. On p a¯ıl passive see Ch. II. Elu¯l corresponds to September. h: da , ‘one’ (fem. form). bywm: 63: 7 and here. tmnt as ra , ‘eighteen’. The form here is a little odd, a seeming mixture of the masculine and feminine forms: the masculine tma¯nta asar as in Classical Syriac is expected.

Lower text Much is repeated from the upper text: repetition of comment is avoided. h: msˇyn wtrtyn, ‘Wfty-two’, conWrms the number in l. i. The dating is expanded by reference to other chronological markers. The Wrst additional date is the third year (tlt, fem.) of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Gordianus, Gordian III (238–44 ce), whose name is preceded by the imperial title, Imperator Caesar (see also 63: 1; OSI P3: 1), and followed by the epithets gdya and zkya . gdya (Classical Syriac gad a¯ya¯: Brockelmann


Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

261

1928: 104) means ‘fortunate’ and here translates the Greek title Pıå (see awt: wks in 63: 1), while zkya is ‘victorious’ (Classical Syriac zaka¯ya¯, CSD 115–16 and cf. zkwta : 34: 1). The third dating is by local rulers, here Aelius Septimius Abgar, described as mlka , ‘king’. This is Abgar IX (238–41/2 ce), who is depicted on coins with Gordian (OSI 39). He was installed as king when the dynasty was restored by the Romans. His father, Ma anu, is described as ps: gryba (61: 7), i.e. ‘crown-prince’, which he was from 213 to 239 ce. He had been the son of an Abgar who had reigned before Edessa became a colonia in 213 ce (either Abgar VIII, 176–211 or Abgar Severus bar Abgar, 211–12). For details and alternative regnal years see Ch. I and Luther 1999a, 1999b. myqr: passive participle pa ael of YQR, meaning ‘honoured’ (classical myaqar: CSD 196). He was honoured with hpt: ya , strictly ‘consulship’ (classical hupat:¯ıya¯, CSD 102, from Greek  ÆÆ), but, as noted by Brock 1991: 261 n. 11, the term must have a vaguer meaning here. a rhy, ‘a Urha¯y’, the Semitic name of Edessa, in Classical Syriac spelt with {w}: awrhy. The u-vowel is short and the writing defective. a b ds which follows is probably ‘in Edessa’, though the spelling is usually a dsa in Classical Syriac (TS col. 40) and 63: 4, 19. Teixidor read ba rs as a single word meaning ‘citadel’ (Greek AæØ), but Brock’s reading of the name of Edessa is better despite the repetition. (Perhaps a rhy refers to a wider geographical region, like the term Osrhoene.) mdynta : 32: 3 (sing. in the Wrst instance, plur. in the second). Cf. CSD 252. rbta , ‘great’ (fem. sing.): 61: 1, etc. a ma dmdynta klhyn, ‘mother of all the cities’, a calque on Greek Åæ ºØ. byt nhryn, ‘Between the Rivers’, i.e. Mesopotamia, classical be¯t- nahrawa¯t-a¯ and be¯t- nahrı¯n (byt, ‘between’). TS col. 470. ktyb: 3rd masc. sing. perfect p a¯ıl of KTB (or passive participle). See l. v above. ˇs:tra : see l. iv above. hykla krka h: dta ds: yda : see above. The addition of hykla , ‘palace’, is mysterious. It is not linked genitivally with what follows, so must be in apposition: ‘in the palace, New-Town-of-Hunting’, perhaps a name of the palace involved. s: yda , ‘hunting’, is added to New-Town (classical s: ayd a¯, CSD 477), and
very speciWcally again this is rather obscure. The place is clearly connected with the king, Abgar IX (a bgr mlka ). mwda : see l. ii above (here without -na ). qryta , ‘village’ (classical qrı¯t-a¯, CSD 517). (9) Here begins the legal declaration. amr: active participle of aMR, ‘dwell’; see 79: 4 (and cf. 47: 4 amra ). CSD 418. (14) dylh dsˇnta hda , ‘of it, of this year’, appears to mean ‘of this same year’. dktyb bh ˇs:tra hna , ‘in which this document was written’.

262

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

(15) abr: active participle: see above. ntl: imperfect, see above. (17) nrbwn: 3rd masc. plur. imperfect p aal of RBa /Y, ‘grow, be increased by the addition of interest’ (cf. classical rba¯, CSD 525–6). The grammatical
subject is the denarii (as the sum would be in Classical Syriac). This verb, rba /y, is repeatedly used in this kind of context (DNWSI 1053). mn dynra tlta indicates the rate ‘at three denarii’. This usage of mn falls roughly within the so-called distributive use of mn: ‘at’ or ‘in the form of three denarii’ (TS col. 2155 [2], cf. 2158 [10]). lmlya h: d lyrh: a h: d sounds like a legal formula and clearly means ‘per month’. There is an analogy with an interest rate given in one of the Elephantine texts (also using the verb rba /y), Cowley 1923: no. 10: 4–5 ¼ Porten and Yardeni 1986–93: B3.1: 4–5: h: lrn 2 ltql 1 lyrh: 1, ‘at the rate of 2 h: allur for one sheqel for one month’ (cf. Cowley 11: 2–3 ¼ Porten and Yardeni B4.2: 2–3). These might suggest that the word mlya in our text might refer to the ‘full sum’ or ‘principal’: ‘they will accrue interest at the rate of three denarii for a full sum for one month’. It is not, however, easy to understand why mlya is accompanied by h: d here. The implication is that the annual interest rate is 24%. hw ˇs:tra, ‘that document’ (i.e. remote demonstrative referring to the original one). (20) The declaration continues. hkna , ‘thus’ (classical ha¯k- ana¯, CSD 103): 63: 17. Cf. 77: 3, hkn. mt: l d-, ‘because’ (classical met: u¯l d-, CSD 267), 33: 6. a mr: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of a MR, ‘say, tell, order’. The meaning ‘order’ is old (cf. Biblical Aramaic: HALOT 1816), but was later reinforced by the inXuence of Arabic amara. Cf. CSD 20. a tb a: 1st sing. imperfect p aal of TB a, ‘seek, seek redress’. CSD 603–4. mnh d-. Note the use of the preposition with pronoun anticipating the noun subsequently made explicit (here a personal name). Cf. No¨ldeke 1904: 175, §222 (b); 63: 20. qryb, ‘near, present’: CSD 519. hw: here the simple pronoun ‘he’ rather than demonstrative. tnn, ‘here’ (classical tna¯n, CSD 617; 33: 3). qblt: 1st sing. perfect pa ael of QBL, the pa ael of which means ‘accept, receive’: 10: 25 and CSD 487–8. mnh d-: see above. qra : active participle (or possibly 3rd masc. sing. perfect) of QRa /Y, ‘call, proclaim’, here apparently ‘call in’ (as in calling in a debt) (so Brock 1991: 263). See also OSI P3: 10 (though not quite the same).

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(23) begins afresh: knsˇ: 3rd masc. sing. perfect pa ael of KNSˇ, meaning ‘he gathered, collected’. knsˇ is a little unexpected and without parallel in this kind of context. It looks like a technical legal term. The verb occasionally means ‘compute’ in Classical Syriac (CSD 219) and the allusion might be to an accounting exercise. It can be used of gathering together items such as documents (Peshitta Acts 19: 19), though it is a strange word to use for a single ˇs:tra . The reading of mry is uncertain. a qymth: 1st sing. perfect ap ael of QWM with 3rd masc. sing. suYx referring to the ˇs:tra . It expresses the investiture of a new owner with the property: ‘establish, conWrm’, as also in 63: 14; OSI P3: vii, 20. :tbth wbysˇth, literally ‘(for) his good and his evil’ (t: bta 50: 6, etc.; bysˇta , ‘evil’ 23: 4, classical Syriac bı¯ˇsta¯); 3rd masc. sing. suYxes. The phrase appears to be a legal merism indicating ‘whatever happens’, ‘unconditionally’. gdh, gda , ‘(good) fortune, power, possession’ (cf. 63: 15, 18, where the meaning ‘in(to) his power/possession’ is completely clear; cf. also BardaiZan in Drijvers 1965: 12, l. 20). CSD 60. ntb awhy (reading of suYx not clear): 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of TB a (above) with 3rd masc. sing. suYx. yrtwhy, yrta , ‘heir’ (plur. with suYx): 53: 5. aykna dhwt byntn, ‘as has been (agreed) between us’ (bynt, ‘between’, cf. classical bayna¯t-, CSD 42). Classical a aykana¯. CSD 13; hwt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect of HWa /Y. For the expression compare 63: 17, but here the word for ‘contract’ (tanway or its equivalent) has been omitted. (25) The legal subscription is written by someone acting for Ba a¯ıshu (diVerent handwriting: cf. also v2) because he cannot write. The name H : ashsha is a variant of H : ashshay: 46: 8. Mattay is the form of the name Matthew in Classical Syriac (cf. also Palmyrene Matta: Stark 1971: 38). ktbt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of KTB, here apparently ‘I have signed’, since he is not the scribe (as is clear from ll. 29–30). h: lp, ‘instead of ’ (classical h: la¯p, CSD 144), 63: 21. spra , ‘writing, the art of writing’ (sepra¯, CSD 387). yd a: active participle p aal of YD a, ‘know’. On the issue of substitute signatories see GreenWeld 1993. See Peshitta Acts 4: 13: dla yd ayn spra . d- (in dktb) introduces the statement of the declaration. Note the hendiadys of ‘he wrote he declared’. hkna , ‘thus’ (classical ha¯k- ana¯, CSD 103). ayk d-, ‘as’ (classical a(y)k d-, CSD 13). -

mn l al, ‘above’ (classical men l ael: 63: 23; Palmyrene 37 ii 68). The name of the scribe, Barbassa, is otherwise unparalleled. spra , ‘scribe’ (Classical Syriac sa¯pra¯, CSD 387). Barba ashamı¯n is a contracted form of Barba aalshamı¯n (63: 8; OSI Am8: 2, 11, 20; and H : at: ra and Palmyra: see OSI 182–83; it appears in a Syriac inscription from Dura-Europos not included in OSI, Bertolino 2004: 55–6, no. AS.L.8.01). The names of the witnesses are on the other side of the parchment (in different hands). Ba a¯ıshu son of Taymu is a third Ba a¯ıshu in the text (different hand). arbt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of aRB, ‘stand as guarantor’ (see above, l. vi). The use of this word here is a little odd, since the persons involved are witnesses not Wnancial guarantors. arb must have a vaguer meaning: ‘act as sponsor’. It may be that transfers of debt were in a special category requiring such wording. al npsˇh s hd, ‘he witnesses on his own behalf ’ (s hd being an active participle). In the main text the Ba a¯ıshu who is the agent of Sha a¯ıdu is called br a bgr br ˇsmysˇw, so this is not him (and it is certainly not the absent Ba a¯ıshu who is br ˇsmsˇ aqb br tymw), 21: 14. H : ashsha son of Mattay, however, mentioned as signatory on behalf of the illiterate Ba a¯ıshu in l. 25, here seals the document: h: tmt (1st sing. perfect p aal of H : TM, ‘seal’; classical h: t-am. CSD 163–4). Shalam: for this name cf. Palmyrene (female: Stark 1971: 51, but also ˇslwm). For Bar aata 59: 1. aAbdu¯k is unique. v5 repeats v1. 63. SALE OF A S LAVE BY AN EDESSAN WOMAN ( 24 3 ce ) ( PL. 9 ) This legal parchment was found at Dura-Europos, but originally written in Edessa. The parchment is now in the Beinecke Library, Yale University (P. Ct YBR inv. Dpg 20). Some letters are clearer on the published photographs and have deteriorated. Main publications OSI P1 (D parchment); Torrey 1935; Brockelmann 1935; Bellinger and Welles 1935; Welles et al. 1959: 142–9; Goldstein 1966.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

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i. bayr d20 þ 10 þ 1 zbn m a mtr ata brt ˇsmny zbn ltyrw br brb aˇsa ii. a mta mtsyn bd7 100 brt ˇsnyn 20 þ 8 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

bsˇnt ˇst dawt: qrt: wr qsr mrqws a nt: wnyws grdynws awsbws a wt: wks sbstws bhpt: ya da nyws a rnyws wdt:rybwnyws ppws byrh: ayr ˇsnt h: msˇma a wh: msˇyn wa rb a bmnyna qdmya wbsˇnt tltyn wh: da dh: rwryh da nt: wnyna a dsa ns: yh: ta qlwnya mt: rpwls awrlya a lksndrya bkmrwta dmrqws awrlyws a nt: ywks hpws rhmws br blsˇw wba st: rt: gwta dmrqw[s] awrlyws a bgr hpws rhmws br m anw br a ga wda bgr br h: psy br br[.]q[..] dtrtyn zbnyn bywm tsˇ ata mwdyna mrqya awrlya mtr ata brt ˇsmnbrz br a bgr dyrta a dysyta llwqs awrls tyrw br brb aˇsmn h: rnya dqblt mnh dynra ˇsb ama a wzbnt lh lmtsyn a mta dyly

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

267

zbyna thwa brt ˇsnyn as ryn wtmna ytyr aw h: syr mn ˇsbya hkn dmn ywmna wl alma thwa a nt tyrw zbwna wyrtyk ˇslyt: ba mta hda dzbnt lk lmqna wlmzbnw wlm abd bh kl dts: ba wa n a nsˇ ndwn aw nthga am tyrw zbwna a w am yrtwhy al h: ˇsbn a mta hda dzbnt lh a qwm a na mtr ata mzbnnyta wyrty wa dwn wa mrq wa dka wa qymyh bgdh dtyrw zbwna wla aˇstlt: lmhpk bmly ˇs:tra hna wzbnth lk a mta hda [..]a m[. . . ..] nmws dmka w adma lyrh: a ˇsta ˇslmyn whkna hwt tnwy bynthwn da n t arq lh a mta hda mn ywmna wlhl mn gdh dtyrw zbwna wa tktbw lzbynta hda ˇs:tra tryn h: d ph: mh a h: yd ldkrwn n al ba rkywn da nt: wnyna a dsa ns: yh: ta wa h: rna ph: mh nhwa lwth dtyrw zbwna mwdna awrls h: psy br ˇsmsˇyhb a dysya mn pylys dtrt as ra dktbt h: lp awrlya mtr ata a ntty brsˇma dspra la h: kma dzbnt a mta hda dylh wqblt dmyh ayk dktyb mn l al mrqws a wrls brklba s hd mrqws a wrls brp[..] s hd brsˇma dmbh: ra lsˇ:tryn `Pæ(ºØ)   › K d F ƒæF ŒÆd F ºØØŒF (Æ)æ(ıæH) mrqws a wrlyws blsˇw br mqymw spra ktbt ˇs:tra hna

{seal with image of Gordian III} v1 awrlya mtr ata brt ˇsmny mzbnnyta v2 awrls h: psy br ˇsmsˇyhb h: tmt al ˇs:tra v3 awrls a bgr st: rt: ga s hd @ªÆæ v4 a bgr br brsmya s hd v5 awrlya mtr ata brt ˇsmny mzbnnyta

al npsˇh s hda hna

al npsˇh s hda

Upper text In Iyya¯r of 31, sale (document) of Marcia Aurelia Matar aata daughter of Shamnay. Sale to Tiro son of Barba asha (of) a female slave, Matsin, for 700 denarii, aged 28.

Lower text In the year six of Imperator Caesar Marcus Antonius Gordianus Eusebes Eutuches Sebastos, in the consulship of Annius Arrianus and of Cervonius Papus, in the month of Iyya¯r, the year Wve hundred and Wfty-four in the

268

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

former reckoning, and in the year thirty-one of the liberation of Antonina Edessa the Glorious, Colonia, Metropolis Aurelia Alexandria, in the priesthood of Marcus Aurelius Antiochus, eques Romanus, son of Be¯lshu, and in the governorship of Marcus Aurelius Abgar, eques Romanus, son of Ma anu son of Aggay, and of Abgar son of H : apsay son of . . . for the second time, on the ninth day, I, Marcia Aurelia Matar aata daughter of Shamenbaraz son of Abgar, Edessan resident, declare to Lucas Aurelis Tiro son of Barba ashamin, Harranian, that I have received from him seven hundred denarii and I have sold to him Matsin my female slave: she was purchased—she is aged twentyeight years, more or less—from the captors, as follows: (11) That from this day and for ever you, Tiro, the buyer, and your heirs shall have authority over this female slave whom I have sold to you, to keep or to sell or to do with her whatever you wish. And if anyone shall enter into litigation or raise a complaint with Tiro, the buyer, or with his heirs on account of this female slave whom I have sold to him, I, Matar aata, the seller, and my heirs will arise and make legal declaration and declare (her) free of claim and clean and I will conWrm her in the possession of Tiro the buyer, and I shall not be empowered to revoke the words of this document. And I have sold her to you, this female slave, . . . law from now until full six months. (17) And thus was the agreement between them, that if this female slave should Xee from today onward, it is from the possession of Tiro, the buyer. And two documents of this sale have been written: one copy, is kept as a record: it will be entered into the archive of Antonina Edessa the Glorious; and the other copy will be for Tiro, the buyer. I, Aurelis H : apsay, son of Shamashyahb, Edessan of the twelfth tribe, declare that I have signed on behalf of Aurelia Matar aata, my wife, in the subscription, since she does not know how to write, that she has sold this female slave of hers and received her price as written above. (24) Marcus Aurelis Barkalba: he witnesses. Marcus Aurelis Bar . . . : he witnesses. With the signature of the inspector of documents: I, Aurelius Mannos, superintendent of the sacred and civic archives, bear witness. I, Marcus Aurelius Be¯lshu son of Muqimu, the scribe, wrote this document.

Verso Aurelia Matar aata daughter of Shamnay, the seller, witnesses on her own behalf.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

269

I, Aurelis H : apsay son of Shamashyahb, have sealed this document. Aurelius Abgar, strategos, witnesses: Abgar. Abgar son of Barsimya witnesses. Aurelia Matar aata daughter of Shamnay, the seller, witnesses on her own behalf.

The legal situation This is a sale document in which Matar aata sells a female slave called Matsin to someone called Tiro for 700 denarii. The contract of sale includes a defension clause (i.e. a guarantee to defend the rights of the purchaser in any future dispute about ownership) and a note on responsibilities should the slave abscond. Part of the contract is a statement that a copy of it will be placed in the city Registry OYce. Matar aata’s husband signs on her behalf because she is illiterate, though she is also listed among the witnesses.

Upper text Note here the abbreviations and the shortening of personal names. ayr: 40: 3 (May). d20 þ 10 þ 1. The reading of the numbers is not clear, but it is assured by l. 3 (end). The dating system invoked is that of the establishment of Edessa as a colonia in 212/13 ce. Thus the year 31 is 242/3 ce. zbn. This cannot be verbal since it does not agree with the fem. subject. It must, therefore, be nominal, ‘sale’, in construct (Classical Syriac zben, zebna¯,

21: TS col. 1076: see Peshitta Lev. 25: 42, referring speciWcally to slave-sale), 7. The second occurrence of zbn in the same line may be absolute. ma is an abbreviation of the Wrst part of the vendor’s name, Marcia Aurelia (cf. in full l. 7). Her main name is Matar aata, ‘handmaiden of Tar aata (¼ Atargatis)’. a mt names are well known, but note here the loss of the Wrst syllable. This particular name is unparalleled. Her father’s name, given here in an abbreviated form (a kind of ad hoc hypocoristic) as Shamnay, appears in l. 8 as Shamenbaraz (cf. v1, v5). The purchaser is Tiro son of Barba asha (fully Barba ashamin in l. 8). For the latter name see 62: 30. For the name Tiro there are no exact parallels in Aramaic: it might be a shortened form of tyrdt (48: 2). a mta , ‘maidservant, female slave’ (Classical Syriac a amta¯, CSD 20). The name of the slave is Matsin (‘maidservant of Sin’). bd. The abbreviation of dynra to d is common in the Palmyrene TariV (37).

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Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

The number of denarii is assured by l. 9. It is written as seven vertical strokes before the Z-shaped sign for 100 (a multiplicative expression). brt ˇsnyn 28, ‘aged 28’: 47: 4. For the idiom see CSD 54. The Wgure 28 is made up of the sign for 20 and eight verticals (cf. l. 10 for conWrmation).

Lower text For the date formula see 62. As there, multiple dating is used in the main text. The imperial dating is similar to but not identical with that in 62. ˇst, ‘six’ (fem.). Gordian III (note variation in comparison with 62: 2 in the spelling of the name) reigned 238–44 ce. Regarding his titles, awsbws, awt: wks, and sbstws are transcriptions of P, Pıå, and Æ  (62: 3). The second dating is according to consuls: hpt: ya (62: 4). The named Roman consuls are L. Annius Arrianus and C. Cervonius Papus, consuls for 243 ce. Goldstein 1966: 9 notes that both names are misspelt in the Syriac transcription (a rnyws for a rynws and :trybwnyws for :tyrbwnyws, with {t:} for {c}). byrh: ayr expands ba yr above. h: msˇma a wh: msˇyn wa rb a (a rb a: fem.), ‘Wve hundred and Wfty-four’. This is obviously a Seleucid date, but this is made explicit by bmnyna qdmya , ‘in the former (old) reckoning’ (classical menya¯na¯, CSD 282; for qdmya 55: 15). The year, therefore, is 242/3 ce and Iyya¯r (May) fell in 243. The next date, the only one mentioned in the upper text, is that of the ‘liberation’ (h: rwra : Classical Syriac h: ru¯re¯ plur., CSD 156, and plural here), i.e. the establishment of Edessa as a colonia in 213 ce (Wrst year of the colony). The full title of Edessa is given: Antonina Edessa Colonia Metropolis Aurelia Alexandria, with the adjective ns: yh: ta , ‘glorious’ (classical nas:¯ıh: a¯, CSD 348). In 62: 5 Metropolis is translated into Syriac. The title Antonina was added under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla) (188–217 ce); Aurelia under Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Elagabalus) (218–22); Alexandria under Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (222–35) (cf. Ross 2001: 59). The next date appears to be based on a local priestly oYce: kmrwta , ‘priesthood’ (classical kumru¯t-a¯, CSD 209), though an older alternative reading amrwta , ‘period of residence, oYce’, has a certain attraction, not least epigraphically (cf. oYcial periods of presence of high oYcials: 33). The oYcial has a Roman-style name and had become a Roman citizen, though his father Be¯lshu was local, and he is called hpws rhmws, an evident transliteration of ƒ

f  $øÆE (eques Romanus). As noted, Be¯lshu is clearly a local Semitic name. It may be a hypocoristic of a name like blsˇwr(y): Stark 1971: 10, 77.

Early Syriac Inscriptions and Parchments

271

The next date is by the governorship (strategia) of Marcus Aurelius Abgar and Abgar son of H : apsay. For a st: rt: gwta 33: 2. Some kind of local governorship is implied: 9: 2. All the Semitic names are familiar (46: 2, etc.; 46: 3 etc.; 51: 4, etc.) except Agga, but cf. a gy in OSI Bs31: 1 and also in the Doctrina Addai. dtrtyn zbnyn, literally ‘of two times’, meaning ‘for the second time’, as in Classical Syriac (CSD 110). bywm tsˇ ata , ‘on the ninth day’ (tsˇ ata masc.). The date is thus precisely 9 Iyya¯r (May) 243 ce. The text now turns to the legal conveyance of the property. (7) mwdyna : 62: ii. Note that the spelling is diVerent here because the word is feminine here: mawdya¯ þ na¯ (though in fact the spelling is not really clear on the parchment). dyrta , ‘inhabitant’ (fem.), based on the root DWR, ‘dwell’ (classical daya¯rt-a¯, CSD 91). a dysyta , ‘Edessan’ (classical a a¯d sa¯yt a¯). Cf. TS col. 40.
rendered Tiro is now given his full name, here with its probable vocalization (Goldstein 1966: 6-7): -is v. classical -ius/-ios reXects the later pronunciation of this ending. He is described as h: rnya , ‘Harranian’ (classical h: a¯ra¯na¯ya¯/h: ara¯na¯ya¯). TS col. 1376. qblt: 1st sing. perfect pa ael of QBL: ‘ I have received’: 62: 22. dynra ˇsb ama a : see above. zbnt: 1st sing. perfect pa ael of ZBN, meaning in the pa ael ‘sell’. The reading lmtsyn (against earlier a mtsyn) eliminates the variant spelling of the PN and provides an example of l- used as an object-marker. dyly: 48: 5; 62: vi, etc. Line 10 is a little obscure, though the individual elements are clear. zbyna : passive participle (fem. absolute) p aal of ZBN, which in the p aal means ‘buy’, hence ‘purchased’ (cf. classical aabda¯ zb¯ın kespa¯: CSD 109). The word
is in the absolute, so must form a new
predicate; it seems to go grammatically with mn ˇsbya near the end of the line, with a parenthesis thwa . . . h: syr. It is not impossible to construe zbyna and thwa together, though this creates other problems (the implication that the 28 years are counted from captivity rather than birth). mn ˇsbya clearly means either ‘from captivity’ or ‘from the captors’ (classical ˇsebya¯ or ˇsaba¯ye¯, CSD 556). Thus zbyna mn ˇsbya would
mean that the slave was
not second-hand, presumably an advantage suggesting she had not been constantly sold because of bad service. The parenthesis refers to her age. She is brt ˇsnyn as ryn wtmna (see above), ytyr aw h: syr, ‘more or less’ (classical yat¯ır, h: ası¯r; cf. the classical phrase yat¯ır h: ası¯r: CSD 153). hkn, ‘thus’ (ha¯k- an: see ha¯k- ana¯ 62: 20, 27; cf. 77: 3, etc. at H : at: ra).

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(11) d-introduces the formal investiture (kyrieia). See 19: 4 for dy introducing such statements. ywmna , ‘today’ (cf. also in l. 18 with lhl, as classically in men yawma¯na¯ walhal: CSD 190). l alma : 11: 37 ( ad alm and l almyn also occur: 8: 3; 11: 9). zbwna , ‘purchaser’ (classical za¯bo¯na¯). CSD 109. yrtyk, yrta : 53: 5, here with 2nd
masc. sing. suYx. ˇslyt:, ‘empowered’, passive participle of SˇLT: : 11: 16, 40, etc.; 46: 2, etc. zbnt: see above. lmqna etc. lists the powers of the new owner (see 11 for Nabataean). mqna : inWnitive p aal of QNa , ‘possess, obtain’ (CSD 509), here deWnitely ‘possess, keep possession’: cf. Nabataean 11: 9. mzbnw: inWnitive pa ael of ZBN: see above. m abd: inWnitive p aal of aBD, ‘make, do’: 46: 4. For the set formula kl dts: ba see 11: 9, 31 in Nabataean. (12) There follows a defension clause: the promise of the vendor to defend the rights of the purchaser if they are challenged in court. a nsˇ: 46: 6. ndwn: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of DWN, ‘judge’, but also, as here. ‘go to law’ (CSD 86). Compare la dyn etc. 11: 10, 32 and similarly in Elephantine Aramaic. nthga : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect etpa aal of HGa /Y, ‘quarrel, dispute, conspire’. The main meaning (CSD 99) is ‘meditate, plan, scheme’, but clearly we are dealing with a possible action against Tiro, not a conspiracy in which he takes part: hence am must mean ‘against’, as it does after verbs of Wghting, quarrelling, etc.: CSD 416. yrtwhy, yrta : see above, here with 3rd masc. sing. suYx. al h: ˇsbn: 62: iv, 10 (bh: ˇsbn). (14) a qwm, ‘I will arise’ (QWM) : CSD 494–5. mzbnnyta , ‘vendor (fem.)’ (classical mzabna¯nı¯t-a¯) : CSD 261 and for the ending No¨ldeke 1904: 49, §71 (1). a dwn: 1st sing. imperfect p aal of DWN: see above. a mrq: 1st sing. imperfect p aal or pa ael of MRQ, ‘cleanse, polish’. Here the reference is to legal clearance, declaring free from blame, encumbrance, etc. Cf. s: pa in Nabataean: 11: 10, 32. (The p aal would be a defective writing of a emru¯q). MRQ appears in this context in MPAT no. 45 i 4 and 52: 12. a qymyh: 62: 23, 1st sing. imperfect ap ael with 3rd fem. sing. suYx, referring to the slave, literally ‘I will conWrm her’. bgdh d-: 62: 24. (15) aˇstlt: : 1st sing. imperfect etpa aal of SˇLT: , ‘rule’, in the etpa aal ‘have the right, power’. Cf. ˇslyt: above, l. 11, 46: 2, etc.

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273

mhpk: inWnitive p aal of HPK, ‘turn’, used classically with b- to mean ‘retract’. CSD 105–5; 37 ii 57. mly, mlta , ‘word’ (here construct plur.; classical melta¯, plur. mele¯, construct melay). CSD 274–5. wzbnth begins a new clause. zbnth: above (here with 3rd fem. suYx, anticipating the object). lk, ‘to you’. In l. 16 there is damage to the text. The original readings are implausible and not justiWed epigraphically. Goldstein’s cautious reading is better (as above). nmws appears to be the construct or absolute of nmwsa , ‘law’ (classical na¯mo¯sa¯, CSD 340–1), though it is diYcult to link it with what follows. We might have a phrase like hyk bnmwsa in Palmyrene (37 i 6, etc., contrasted with b ayda , ‘by custom’). mka , ‘from this time’ (classical meka¯ < men þ ka¯): CSD 270. adma , ‘until’ (classical ad ama ¯ ): CSD 401. yrh: a ˇsta , ‘six months’.
ˇslmyn, ‘full’ (masc. plur. absolute). It is tempting to think of ‘six full months’, but the absolute state would be hard to explain. Torrey (with fuller but highly speculative readings) found reference to a trial period in the contract. Goldstein 1966: 13–14 appears to think in terms of defects. Certainly something with a six-month time-limit is involved. The Syro-Roman Lawbook refers in connection with slave sales to trial periods to allow defects such as illness and demonic possession to become evident. There are also speciWc rules about slaves Xeeing within six months of the sale (Selb and Kaufhold 2002: §§35, 101; for commentary III 96–7). (17) The next line begins a new clause dealing with this possibility that the slave might abscond. hwt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect p aal of HWa : 47: 6, etc. tnwy, ‘agreement’: classical tanway/tenway, a rare and indeclinable feminine form (No¨ldeke 1903: 55, §83), linked with the root TNa and well attested in Syriac legal texts: cf. TS cols 4466–7; Syro-Roman Lawbook §101 distinguishing two types of sale, tanway ˇsapı¯rta¯ and tanway bı¯ˇsta¯). bynthwn: 62: 25. Note the same phrase tanway dahwa¯t bayna¯t-hu¯n in the legal collection of aAbdisho ¯ a (d. 1318): Mai 1838: 238, l. 16a and frequently. a t rq: 3rd fem. sing. imperfect p aal of aRQ, ‘Xee’ (defective spelling). She would then become an arwqta , ‘a fugitive’. lh, ‘for herself ’ (ethic dative). lhl, ‘henceforth’ (classical lhal), CSD 236. mn gdh begins the apodosis of the conditional sentence.

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gdh: see above, l. 15 (62: 24) The next clause concerns copies of the contract. a tktbw: 3rd plur. perfect etp ael of KTB. zbynta , ‘sale’ (classical zabı¯nta¯), CSD 109. h: d ph: mh, literally ‘one its copy’, i.e. ‘one copy of it’ (classical peh: ma¯, CSD 441). a h: yd: passive participle p aal of a H : D, ‘hold, keep’ (classical a ah: ¯ıd , CSD 10).
dkrwn, ‘memorial’, absolute (classical dukra¯na¯, CSD 86, though here the spelling is defective). Here the meaning would be ‘memo’. (An alternative reading might be s hdw, ‘witness’, i.e. s a¯hd u¯t-a¯.)
The subject is ph: ma : ‘it will n al: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of aLL, ‘enter’. enter the archives’ (classical ne au¯l; defective spelling). CSD 412–13. a rkywn, ‘archive’, from Greek IæåE, genitive plural Iæåø (classical a arkı¯yeawa¯n TS col. 385, also be¯t a arke¯ both in Classical Syriac, CSD 29, and in Palmyrene: PAT glossary). The city archives of Edessa are mentioned in the Addai legend as the source for the correspondence between Abgar and Jesus (so also in Eusebius). a h: rna , ‘other’ (masc.): 5: 2. nhwa , ‘it will be’: 47: 6, etc. lwt, ‘with, for’ (classical lwa¯t-; 20: 11). CSD 238–9. For the idiom, with anticipatory pronoun, see 62: 22. (20) The remainder of the main text (from mwdna in l. 20) is in a diVerent hand and constitutes a conWrmatory note (‘subscription’) by Matar aata’s husband. mwdna (62: 2) introduces the statement by a substitute for Matar aata, who is unable to write, though the verso says she signs as a witness. On substitutes for illiterates see 62: 25–6. awrls: see above. For the name Shamashyahb see 52: 2. a dysya : see a dysyta above. pylys, ‘tribe’: Greek çıº. The ‘tribe’ may be Semitic, but the municipal institution is pure Greek. dtrt as ra , ‘of twelve, twelfth’ (normal idiom for ordinals: No¨ldeke 1903: 186, §239). ktbt: 1st sing. perfect of KTB. h: lp, ‘instead of ’: 62: 26. a ntty, ‘my wife’: 61: 8, etc. rsˇma is taken to mean ‘subscription’ by Goldstein 1966: 6 and Torrey 1935: 39, in the narrow technical sense of the last part of the main text containing the principal’s agreement to the transaction. Cf. classical rusˇma¯, ‘committing to writing, signing’, though here defectively written (CSD 536). The husband

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also sealed (h: tm) on the verso (v2, as did the substitute in 62), but so did Matar aata herself (twice). Generally the formula is similar to that in 62: 26. Both 62 and 63 have substitute signatories; these are nothing to do with witnesses etc. h: kma: fem. active participle p aal of H : KM, ‘know, be wise’. In 62: 26 the verb is yd a, but h: km is found in the same context in Syriac subscriptions to Greek texts from the Middle Euphrates (Feissel and Gascou 1997: p.Euphr. 6 and 7). spra : 62: 26. zbnt: see above. dmyh, dmyn: 62: ix, 16, with 3rd fem. sing. suYx. mn l al: 62: 28; 37 ii 68. (24) s hd: participle, 62: v1. rsˇma : see above. mbh: ra : pa ael active participle used as a noun, ‘inspector’ (from BH : R, ‘prove, test, examine, inspect’). CSD 41. (v1) s hda : fem. active participle p aal of SHD, ‘witness, testify’. These forms of s hd(a ) could be nominal: 21: 17. h: tmt: 62: 22. st: rt: ga : 63: 5. It may be noted that v1–5 are in various hands: v3 is florid and accomplished, v4 and v5 are rigid and inexperienced.

VII Hatran Inscriptions 6 4 . BU I L DI N G I N S C R I P T I O N ( P L . 1 0 ) An undated building inscription on a limestone plaque from Iwan no. 4 of the central Shamash temple at H : at:ra (Bertolino 1995: pl. VI).

Main publications1 H107; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1962: 28–30; Caquot 1964: 252–3; Altheim and Stiehl 1967: 256–7; Milik 1972: 377–9; Dijkstra 1995: 196–200. 1. [a ]na [gdy] br a b[y]gd [br] 2. gdy br [a ]bygd br kbyr[w] 3. mn bny rpsˇmsˇ adryt 4. lsˇmsˇ a lha rba abd 5. :t bta byt h: dya alya d[y] 6. sgyl hykla rba dy bna 7. brmryn lsˇmsˇ a bwhy al 8. h: yy w al h: yy mn dy rh: ym ly k[lh] I, Gadday son of Abı¯gad son of Gadday son of Abı¯gad son of Kabı¯ru of the Bene¯ Rapshamash, have assisted for (the honour of) Shamash, the great god, the one who does good, the elevated House of the Joyous of Sagil, the great temple, which Barma¯re¯n built for his father Shamash. For my life and the life of everyone who loves me. a na : 10: 8; 19: 9; 46: 2, etc.

For the name Gadday see Abbadi 1983: 12, 94; Abı¯gad 2, 73 (‘my father is Gadd’); Kabı¯ru 24, 116 (‘the Great’). See these names also in H245. 1 The Wrst reference in this chapter is always to the standard numbering system (with H-preWx) established in the original publications and employed by Vattioni 1981 and 1994, Aggoula 1991, and Beyer 1998. The same system is used in the comments. Aggoula gives full bibliographical information which is not repeated here, though normally the earliest publications of texts are noted. Locations of inscriptions are based on the plates in Bertolino 1995.

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bny, literally ‘sons of ’, introduces a tribal designation, especially at Palmyra: 28: 5, etc. Rapshamash (a tribe name also used as a personal name): Abbadi 1983: 50, 165 (‘Shamash has healed’). adryt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of aDR, ‘help’. Note the use in Hatran of {y} as a mater lectionis representing a short /e/ vowel: aed ret-. See Ch. II.
For the god Shamash at H : at:ra see Vattioni 1994: 13. abd :t bta , ‘good-doer, beneWcent, benefactor’: 50: 6. byt h: dya , ‘house of the joyous’. In favour of this is comparison with the name of the temple of Sin at Harran. The Syriac word h: ad a¯ya¯ would suggest
hrya and, in the ‘joyful’ rather than ‘joy’ (h: adwa¯) (CSD 128). Beyer reads :
light of the occurrence of br h: ry/a and bt h: ry at Palmyra, meaning ‘freedman/woman’ (37 ii 62; 45: 4), understands the phrase as ‘house of the (high) nobles’ (the meaning ‘noble’ being clearer in Syriac: h: ¯ıra¯ya¯, CSD 122). alya , ‘upper, high, elevated’ (Syriac aela ¯ya¯, CSD 414), describing either the whole of the preceding phrase (agreeing with byt) or only h: d/rya . If the former, it might refer to an upper storey. sgyl is the name of the temple. Its origin lies in the name of the temple of Marduk at Babylon, Esagila: DNWSI 776–7. See e.g. Oates 1979: 156–60. hykla : 40: 1, 2, etc. The ‘great temple’ is the main H : at:ra temple, also called the byt a lha in 65: 1 (cf. Ibrahim 1986: 123–7 and pl. 59). bna : ‘built’; 12: 14, etc. Barma¯re¯n is a common divine name at H : at:ra. He is son of Shamash, who is also called Ma¯ran (‘our lord’). With Ma¯rtan the two form a divine family. On this triad see Tubach 1986: 255–335; Hoftijzer 1968: 52–4; Milik 1992: 332–7; Vattioni 1994: 15–16. al h: yy, etc. See 1. rh: ym: active p aal participle of RH : M, ‘love’: 3: 3 etc. Again note use of {y} as mater lectionis for a short vowel. (Some earlier discussions take it as passive: KAI 297 on no. 242.) kl[h]: kl, ‘all’, with pronoun suYx, indicating ‘anyone at all’.

65. BUILDING INSCRIPTION DATED 138 ce Found in three pieces, this inscription on limestone comes from one of the northern gateways of the Shamash enclosure, constructed by the Lord NaZru (Bertolino 1995: pl. VII).

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Hatran Inscriptions

Main publications H272; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1968: 24–7; 1973: 89; Degen 1973/4: 417–18; Dijkstra 1995: 191–6. 1. byrh: ayr ˇsnt 4  100 þ 20 þ 20 þ 5 þ 4 ˇswra wa bwla dy bna byt a lha ns: [rw] mr[ya al h: ]yyhy wh: ya bnyhy wa h: yhy 2. w al h: ya mn dy lmrya rh: ym bna byt ˇsmsˇ a lha rba km[. . .]ma w[. . .] byt ˇsmsˇ 3. a lha tqwm a na abda lha br :t psra br ns: rw bnyt al h: ya nsˇryhb mrya w al h: ya b[nyhy] In the month of Iyya¯r of the year 449, the wall and the gate which the Lord NaZru has built in the house of the gods, for his life and the life of his sons and his brothers and for the life of whoever loves the Lord [NaZru]. He built (it in) the temple of Shamash the great god according to . . . temple of the god Shamash stands. I, aAbdallah son of T: upsharra son of NaZru, built for the life of Lord Nishryahb and for the life of his sons. This is a complicated inscription with several possible interpretations. The Wrst part is a simple al h: yy dedication of part of a building-complex, that of the main Hatran temple-enclosure, by the Lord NaZru (who ruled c.128/9–137/8 ce: see Ch. I). On the face of it the second statement (‘he built the temple of Shamash’) is hard to reconcile with this, since the building of the temple would surely be more important than building a wall and gate. One possibility might be that this statement refers to something which had happened earlier, another that we should understand byt as standing for bbyt. The next sentence is obscure because of lacunae, but tqwm (apparently 3rd fem. sing.) suggests a fem. sing. subject in the lacuna. Beyer suggested byrta (see 46: 2). The Wnal statement (‘I, aAbdallah, built [it]’) could be interpreted as indicating a joint action, in which aAbdallah, who might be a grandson or other relative of NaZru, took part in the project. Alternative lines of interpretation might involve a separation of the dates of activity of NaZru and aAbdallah, but in this case two dates might have been expected. Note that Lord Nishryahb (c.120–5 ce) was the Lord NaZru’s father. It appears that there could be more than one mrya at any particular time, though this is disputed (Dijkstra 1995: 179–81 n. 26 on H272). The title appears to indicate a kind of sheikh and the kingship was a later development. For the date formula see 28: 1 etc. Iyya¯r is April/May. The year 449 in Seleucid dating corresponds to 137/8 ce and therefore the date is May 138 ce. It may be noted, but is beyond the scope of this treatment, that there is considerable doubt about the era in use at H : at:ra: see Bertolino 1995: 3–11. In the Arsacid era the date would be 202 ce (Bertolino 1995: 11).

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ˇswra , ‘wall’ (see also H290: 4; 336: 10; 1027: 2 ¼ Ibrahim 1986: 200, no. IX; Syriac ˇsu¯ra¯, CSD 568; DNWSI 1190). a bwla , ‘gateway’ (see also H297: 2; 379; 1031: a3 ¼ Ibrahim 1986: 202, no. XIV; cf. Palmyrene a bla in PAT 1791: 6; Kaufman 1974: 32, from Akkadian abullu, CDA 3; also in Syriac, TS col. 11, and Mandaic, Drower, and Macuch 1963: 3). bna : 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the p aal of BNa . ‘build’: 64: 6 etc. byt, byta , ‘house, temple’ (construct sing.). The syntax requires this to be understood as ‘in the house of. . .’. The omission of b- is common also in Classical Syriac (CSD 43). a lha is probably plur., since phrases like this appear repeatedly when there is no suggestion of sing. It refers to the whole complex of temples associated with the central sanctuary at H : at:ra. If it is sing., it would refer to Shamash as the god par excellence at H at : :ra. NaZru appears repeatedly as the name of a ruler of H : at:ra (c.128/9–137/8 ce) before the title ‘king’ came into vogue (Abbadi 1983: 28, 130; also in Nabataean, etc.). mrya , ‘lord’ (see mra 6: 3 etc.). The originally emphatic form mrya , apart from being used in Hatran as a title of honour, is also used in Syriac in the Peshitta (ma¯rya¯) of God (DNWSI 682–9). al h: yy/ al h: ya . . . : for the formula see 1. The spelling h: ya is characteristically Hatran for the construct plural. See Ch. II and Degen 1967. bnyhy, ‘his sons’: normal spelling of the 3rd sing. pronoun suYx on a plural noun in Hatran Aramaic, with the Wnal {y} silent according to Beyer 1998: 130: bne¯h < bnayhı¯. The Wnal {y} is silent also in Classical Syriac. a h: yhy, a h: a : 8: 2, etc. mn dy, ‘whoever’, 7: 9. etc. rh: ym: 64: 8. The reference back to the subject by use of lmrya rather than lh seems rather formal. It is noteworthy that the object is marked by l-; 67: 9; 74: 8 and Ch. II. bna (3rd masc. sing. perfect) appears to begin a new sentence, though it is also interpretable as a participle describing mrya as ‘builder of . . .’. The verb could mean ‘re-build’, which might explain the oddity of this statement, or we might read what follows as locative. byt ˇsmsˇ, ‘(in) the temple of Shamash’ (see above, l. 1). a lha rba , ‘the great god’. The words which follow are hard to elucidate and diVering restorations have been suggested. Aggoula, for example, has km[ra d a]ma , ‘priests of the nation’, but this involves an unparalleled interpretation of bna byt ˇsmsˇ as ‘sons (¼ people) of the house of Shamash’. Dijkstra is less speculative, but

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his interpretation requires an unusual bit of syntax: ‘The builder of the house of Shamash, the great god, [ ] am I, aAbdallah’. tqwm appears to be 3rd fem. sing. imperfect of the p aal of QWM, ‘arise, stand’, so that there must have been a fem. subject in the lacuna. Beyer suggests byrta , ‘fortress’ (46: 2), and implies a wish that the building should endure (tqwm). a na : 64: 1. It begins the Wnal sentence. aAbdallah, the grandson of the Lord NaZru, is somehow associated with the dedication and the building work. He also appears in H338 as a dedicant in 132/3 ce. For the name aAbdallah see Abbadi 1983: 33, 136. :t psra : the name has an Akkadian background, ultimately Sumerian, in :t upsˇarru, ‘scribe’ (CDA 415; DNWSI dpsr, 257). bnyt: 1st sing. perfect p aal of BNa /Y, ‘build’. Lord Nishryahb was the Lord NaZru’s father (see H338: 3 and Ch. I). For the name see Abbadi 1983: 29, 131 (‘Nishra has given’; cf. Arabic nsr, ‘eagle’).

6 6 . B UI L D IN G I N SC R IP TI O N DATE D 2 3 5 c e On a limestone slab found in Shrine XIII at H : at:ra (outside the central sanctuary) (Bertolino 1995: pl. IV). There are traces of red paint in the lettering.

Main publications H408; Vattioni 1994; Beyer 1998; al-Salihi 1985/6: 99–102; 1990: 27–35, Wg. 17; Aggoula 1990: 407–10; Dijkstra 1995: 205–8. 1. bh: zwrn d5  100 þ 20 þ 20 þ 5 þ 1 kpta dbna aqa br 2. brny br aqa br nbwktb prsda tryhwn dylh dy 3. kpta waˇsyth kwlhyn lgda rba drmgw al h: yyhy 4. d aqa w al h: ya absa wgdyhb bnyhy w al h: ya 5. a h: yhy wmn drh: ym lh w al h: ya rmgw kwlh 6. w al h: ya bny drh kwlhwn dlhwa gna bh hw wbnyhy 7. wmsˇtmsˇyn bh l alm brm aˇsyta mdnh: yta dkpta 8. dbna zrwqa br h: bbw al aˇsyta m arbyta dkpta dbna 9. hw aqa mrmsa dkyr aqa spra In H : azu¯ran of 546, the vaulted room which aAqa son of Barnay son of aAqa son of Nabu¯ketab built, both the colonnades (columns?) of the vaulted room and its walls, all of them, for the Great Fortune of Ramgu, for the life of aAqa

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himself and for the life of aAbsa and Gadyahb, his sons, and for the life of his brothers and of whoever loves him, and for the life of all Ramgu and for the life of all those who belong to it, that he might recline in it, he and his sons, and they might be served in it for ever. But the eastern wall of the vaulted room which Zaro¯qa son of H : abibu built is beside the western wall of the vaulted room which the said aAqa the publican (?) built. Remembered be aAqa the scribe. The month of H : azu¯ra¯n (otherwise H : azı¯ra¯n: Syriac h: zı¯ra¯n, CSD 137) is May/ June and the year 546 corresponds to 234/5 ce: hence May/June 235 ce (Arsacid 299 ce). kpta , ‘vaulted chamber’, here possibly ‘iwan’ (cf. Syriac kepta¯, CSD 223; Palmyrene, PAT glossary; DNWSI 529). The name aAqa occurs also in H391 (not in Abbadi 1983). Barnay occurs several times in early Syriac (52: 3; 53: 4). It is probably a hypocoristic of Barnabu or the like. Nabu¯ketab, otherwise unknown, means ‘Nabu¯ has written’. prsda , probably ‘colonnade’ (cf. DNWSI 941; Syriac prest: a¯, TS col. 3281: Brockelmann 1928: 601, from Greek ÆæÆ  (al-Salihi 1985/6: 102 n. 24: æ , ‘Vorhalle’). tryhwn: 32: 1. aˇsyth, aˇsyta , probably ‘walls’ (DNWSI 123; Brockelmann 1928: 52; see Akkadian ası¯tu: CAD: A/II, 332; Kaufman 1974: 37). gda , ‘fortune’. In Palmyra and H : at:ra it is used of the protective deity of a place or tribe: 68: 4; Teixidor 1979: 88–100; DNWSI 212–13; PAT glossary; Syriac gada¯, CSD 60; and compare 62: 24; 63: 15, 18 (with a diVerent meaning). Ramgu is the name of a tribe, found also in H406. al h: yyhy: 65: 1 etc.; h: ya construct plur. For the names aAbsa and Gadyahb see Abbadi 1983: 145, 95. bnyhy and a h: yhy : 65: 1. mn d-, ‘whoever’: 64: 8 (dy). rh: ym: 64: 8. bny drh, ‘the sons of its group, family, circle’. See Syriac da¯ra¯, CSD 97; DNWSI 258–9. (Vattioni read ddh, ‘his paternal uncle’; 70: 12. Cf. da¯rat malku¯t-a¯, ‘royal court’ in Syriac, CSD 97). lhwa : 3rd sing. imperfect of HWa , ‘that it might be’. For the l- imperfect see Ch. II. gna : masc. sing. active participle of the p aal of GNa , ‘recline’ (the root appears in 6: 2). The analytical verbal expression (imperfect of ‘to be’ followed by participles) is noteworthy.

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msˇtmsˇyn: masc. plur. etpa aal participle of SˇMSˇ, ‘serve’, ‘being served’, possibly ‘being venerated’. DNWSI 1168; Syriac ˇsamesˇ, CSD 585–6. brm, ‘but, however’ (Syriac bram, CSD 56; Jewish Aramaic, Jastrow 196). mdnh: yta , ‘eastern’ (feminine sing.): 45: 6, etc. For the name Zaro¯qa see Abbadi 1983: 106; for H : abibu there is no exact parallel, but the root H BB has many personal names derived from it. : m arbya : 45: 7. mrmsa is apparently a compound of mr and msa . There are several possible meanings (DNWSI 662–3). msa could mean ‘corve´e’ and hence ‘master of the obligated workers’ (Beyer). Another alternative would be to see it in comparison with Syriac mesa, referring to the ‘middle’, for example, of a city (CSD 283, ), hence ‘forum, agora’ (Aggoula 1990: 410), and ‘master of the agora, publicanus’. Aggoula mentions other possibilities: a link with Jewish Aramaic missa¯, ‘tax’ (Jastrow 803) or with Syriac masat-a¯, ‘balance’ (CSD 283). The last produces his translation of the phrase as meaning ‘master mason’ (‘maıˆtre au Wl a` plomb’, 407). It is also a little odd that aAqa’s title is given here but not in l. 2 and it may be added that Aggoula regards aAqa the mason as being identical with the aAqa who built the structure. dkyr and the formula surrounding it: 12: 11, 13 etc. and Healey 1996a.

67. M EMORIAL PRAY ER FROM A TEMPLE Dipinto in ink on the east wall of the Baalshamin temple at H : at:ra (Shrine III), west of the central sanctuary (Bertolino 1995: pl. X).

Main publications H23; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1951: 182; 1953: 14; Caquot 1952: 102–3; 1963: 15–16; KAI no. 244; Degen 1974a. 1. dkyr wbryk qdm b aˇsmyn a lha wqdm a lha klhwn 2. nsˇr aqb brmdka dy brmryn wgdyhb lt: b wlsˇnpyr 3. wmn dy lsˇh: qh lt: b b aˇsmyn qnh wzr ah mn qmwhy 4. wbgn ˇsh: rw al ymth dy mn dy lqryhy wla 5. ldkrhy lnsˇr aqb lt: b wlsˇnpyr Remembered and blessed before the god Baalshamin and before all the gods be Nishr aaqab son of the apothecary (?) of Barma¯re¯n, and Gadyahb, for good and for favour. And whoever erases it, Baalshamin will remove his possessions

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and his oVspring from before him. And the invocation of Shah: ru against the days of anyone who reads it and does not remember Nishryahb for good and for favour. dkyr: 66: 9. bryk: p aal passive participle of BRK: 49: 5. qdm: 5: 2, etc. For dkyr . . . qdm see 40: 7–9. b aˇsmyn: assimilated form of b alsˇmyn. The loss of the l occurs also in Syriac (PN brb aˇsmyn 62: 30; 63: 8). For Baalshamin at H : at:ra see Niehr 1996: 67– 73; 2003: 169–79. a lha klhwn, ‘all the gods’. The name Nishr aaqab (Abbadi 1983: 30, 131: ‘Nishra has protected’) belongs to a group of Nishra names (cf. Syriac nsˇryhb 62: iv, etc.). Cf. also ˇsmsˇ aqb in 61: v etc. brmdka or brmrka is diYcult. Beyer reads it as a single word, a common noun brmrka , assumed to be Iranian and the name of an oYce, though it does not occur elsewhere and no etymology is provided. Aggoula takes it to mean ‘son of the pharmacist’, basing this on Syriac mad(d)ek- , ‘prepare a compound’, CSD 253 (though logically one might expect the word for pharmacist then to be mmadk- a¯). Vattioni’s ‘Wglio di Mdka di Brmryn’ throws no light on the problem. It is best to assume it represents a single concept, such as a title of a profession, as does Beyer. It is tempting to read a rdkla dy brmryn in the light of 69: 4–5, though this is not clearly supported by the available copies (Safar 1951: p. vi). Barma¯re¯n: 64: 7. Junior partner in the Hatran triad of Ma¯ran, Ma¯rtan, and Barma¯re¯n. The addition of a further subject, Gadyahb, is a little awkward, though the fact that dkyr and bryk are sing. is not a serious problem. For the name Gadyahb see 66: 4 and Abbadi 1983: 12–13, 95: ‘Gadd has given.’ lt: b: 64: 5, but for dkyr . . . lt: b 42: 11. ˇsnpyr: 30: 5, etc. The Syriac adjective ˇsapı¯r normally means ‘fair, good, lovely, pleasing’ (CSD 590–1). In this particular context, English ‘favour’ may be a suitable translation. The speciWc form ˇsnpyr, typical of Hatran Aramaic, is a dissimilated form of an original *sˇappı¯r, though Beyer interprets the {n} as an orthographic retention. See Ch. II. mn dy : 64: 8. lsˇh: qh: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of the p aal of SˇH : Q, ‘wear away, break up’ (Classical Syriac, CSD 572). The pronoun on the end has no clear referent, but it may be assumed to refer to the stone on which the inscription was written. lt: b, despite appearances, cannot be the same as lt: b in ll. 2 and 5. It must be a verb (3rd masc. sing. imperfect). Beyer restores lt: b a and takes it to mean ‘cause to sink’ (cf. Syriac T: B a, pa ael, CSD 167), but this is convoluted and

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does not Wt the context (root meaning ‘sink’). Aggoula prefers Arabic :t abba, ‘enchant, bewitch’ (with reference to bgn, below), or another Arabic verb suggesting ‘crush, Xatten out’ (Aggoula 1991: 19). In any case it clearly refers to the destruction of property and oVspring. qnh wzr ah, ‘his property and his oVspring’. QNa can mean ‘possess’ (11: 7, 30; 63: 12), but there is no such noun in the sources, hence Beyer’s ‘Nest’, which would be a metaphorical and poetic or colloquial expression—‘Baalshamin will swallow up his nest and oVspring’! (Syriac zar aa¯, CSD 121). mn qmwhy, ‘from before him’. The loss of the d in qdm could be a scribal error, but note qm for qdm in 68: 1 (understood diVerently by Beyer) and cf. one of the Ashshur inscriptions (Aggoula 1985: 41–2, no. 17: 4). bgn, bgna , ‘invocation, curse’ (construct); Degen 1974a argued for its always being negative; 68: 6, etc. and cf. Syriac bagna¯, ‘appeal, complaint’, CSD 35, and Mandaic bgan, ‘outcry, anathema’,
Drower and Macuch 1963: 51 (Hebrew and Jewish Aramaic pgn: Jastrow 1134). The god Shah: ru, possibly to be connected with dawn (see ˇsah: ar in Hebrew, HALOT 1466–7), is widely attested in H : at:ra (treated by some as female); 68: 2 and see Vattioni 1994: 14–15 and the picture of the Hatran temple (D) identiWed with this deity in Safar and Mustafa 1974: 390. al ymth, ‘against his days’, is a unique and strange locution. It might mean ‘during his days’, since al ywmwhy in Nabataean (Healey 1993: H34: 5) has this meaning. Note also al h: yy, ‘during the life of ’: 11: 1. lqryhy: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of QRa , with 3rd masc. sing. suYx referring to the inscription. QRa , ‘read, call out’: 10: 3, etc.; CSD 516–17. la , ‘not’: 6: 4, etc. ldkrhy: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of DKR, with 3rd masc. sing. suYx referring this time to Nishr aaqab, anticipating the following name: 66: 9. The l- of lnsˇryhb is the accusative particle: 65: 2 and see Ch. II. :t b/sˇnpyr: see above.

6 8 . T E M P L E D E D I C ATI O N This is a graYto on a marble slab from the southern iwan of the central sanctuary (Bertolino 1995: pl. VI).

Main publications H74; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1955: 12–13; Caquot 1955a: 269–71; KAI no. 256; Degen 1974a.

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285

1. qm. .mrn wmrtn 2. wbrmryn wa lt wsˇh: rw 3. dkyr nsˇry lt: b wlsˇnpyr 4. qdm mrn wgdh wsˇmsˇ 5. wmrwnyth wbrh wsmyta 6. klhwn wbgn mrn al kwl mn 7. a nsˇ kwlh dl abyd bh zpa wlktwb 8. alyhy md an dbsˇ Before Ma¯ran and Ma¯rtan and Barma¯re¯n and Alla¯t and Shah: ru, remembered be Nashray for good and for favour, before Ma¯ran and his Fortune and Shamash and his spouse and his son and all the standards. And the invocation/curse of Ma¯ran against anyone at all who slanders him or writes against him anything bad. The beginning of the inscription is damaged and uncertain. qm is clear, but it may be followed by other letters. Beyer reads qm na , ‘Arise, then’, a command. This would be unique. Vattioni and Aggoula assumed rather that qm was an elided form of qdm (67: 3), Vattioni reading qmwh, ‘before him’, Aggoula qm[d], ‘before (Ma¯ran)’. The formula, with the qdm phrase before the operative dkyr is also strange. For Ma¯ran, Ma¯rtan, Barma¯re¯n, and the divine triad, see Tubach: 1986: 255–335; Hoftijzer 1968: 52–4; Vattioni 1994: 15–16. Other deities are then named in what is almost a pantheon list: Alla¯t (7: 4; 17: 1), Shah: ru (67: 4) and later Shamash (64: 4, etc.; Vattioni 1994: 13) and the divine standards (Caquot 1955b; Milik 1972: 408–11; Drijvers 1977: 834–5). dkyr: 66: 9 etc. Nashray appears to be a hypocoristic based on the DN Nishra (Abbadi 1983: 29, 130–1). lt: b wlsˇnpyr: 67: 2. qdm, ‘before’ (in the normal spelling and position after dkyr). gdh, gda : ‘his Fortune’ (66: 3). The suYx must refer to Nashray. (Vattioni reads mrn nsˇrh, ‘Ma¯ran the Eagle’.) With Shamash (reading not entirely certain) is ma¯ro¯nı¯t-eh, ‘his little lady’ (diminutive form as in Classical Syriac: No¨ldeke 1903: 79–80, §131). brh, ‘his son’. smyta , smya , ‘standard’ (plur.). The standards of the gods were a prominent part of Hatran religious iconography (cf. similarly H52: 4, etc.) (DNWSI 790–1). On religious aspects see references above. bgn: 67: 4.

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kwl mn a nsˇ kwlh d-, literally ‘everyone who, anyone at all who’, is a highly emphatic and comprehensive phrase: 64: 8 (mn dy); 46: 6 (kl a nsˇ d-), etc. Note variation in spelling kl/kwl. l abyd: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of aBD, ‘make, do’: 64: 4. bh, ‘on, against him’. zpa is of uncertain reading, but could be related to Syriac zı¯pa¯, ‘fraud’ (CSD 109). The idiom seems to refer to slander or calumny. lktwb: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of KTB, ‘write’: 62: v, ix, etc. alyhy, ‘against him’. md an, ‘something’ (Beyer 1998: 178: madd aen; cf. md an in 37 i 5 (mnd am), etc.; see 6: 5, etc.; Syriac medem, CSD 253). bsˇ, ‘bad’ (Syriac bı¯ˇs, CSD 43; 62: 23).

69. ALTAR INSCRIPTION The phrases of the inscription appear on three sides of an altar which was set against a wall in the central square sanctuary dedicated to Shamash (Bertolino 1995: pl. VI).

Main publications H232; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1968: 7–10; Degen 1973/4: 404–5. 1. mkna dsnt: rwq 2. mrya —— 3. 4. 5. 6.

aga zrqa br

gglya a rdkla dbrmryn a lha rh: pa wqsˇˇsa

—— 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. ——

ˇsmsˇyhb br gglya a rdkla bna bbta dmrn

Hatran Inscriptions

287

12. mkna dmra —— 13. 14. 15. 16.

mrn nsˇra ˇsh: qth bgn bytk lmn dlt: rh

—— 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

[ . . . ]sˇma [ . . . ˇs]msˇyhb [bn]a [m]hymna [l]mkna [bbt] nsˇra

Altar of Lord Sanat:ru¯q. —— aAgga the Blue son of Gaglaya, the architect of Barma¯re¯n, god compassionate and most senior. —— Shamashyahb son of Gaglaya, the architect, built (it) in the temple of Ma¯ran. —— Altar of the Lord. —— Our lord Nashra, I (Sanat:ru¯q?) importuned (as follows): the invocation of your house be to whoever keeps it safe. —— . . . Shamashyahb, faithful builder of altars in the temple of Nashra. mkna , ‘altar’ (though it perhaps originally had a vaguer meaning as in Punic: ‘pedestal; cf. DNWSI 624–5, mkn1 and mkn2). Sanat:ru¯q I (c. 140–76/7 ce) was king after NaZru (see 65: 1; Ch. I). mrya : 65: 1. The name aAgga occurs a number of times (Abbadi 1983: 41–2, 146: a hypocoristic based on augayl, a diminutive meaning ‘young bull’). zrqa is apparently an epithet of this person, meaning ‘blue-eyed’ (Syriac za¯rqa¯, CSD 121 and note the PN zrwqa in 66: 8).

288

Hatran Inscriptions

Gaglaya appears to be in origin a nisbah form, ‘from Gagla’. A gentilic would, however, be odd in this position, so it has probably become a personal name. (tdmryh in 20: 11 seems to retain its original meaning as nisbah.) a rdkla , ‘architect’. This is of Akkadian origin: arad ekalli (DNWSI 103–4; Kaufman 1974: 35; also found in Elephantine (Cowley 1923: nos. 14: 2; 15: 2), Jewish Aramaic (Jastrow 115), Syriac (CSD 27–8), Mandaic (Drower and Macuch 1963: 36–7). It is quite common in H : at:ra (H1: 2; 16b: 2; 106b: 2, 3, etc.). For Barma¯re¯n see 64: 7, etc. For rh: pa there are diVerent readings. A connection might be sought with RH : P, ‘hover’, with Syriac mrah: pa¯na¯ meaning ‘compassionate’ (from ‘hovering protectively’: CSD 301, rah: ep, 538), but then the form mrh: pa might have been expected. There is also the form rah: ¯ıp in Syriac, meaning ‘benign’ (CSD 537) and a similar form may be spelt defectively here (like qsˇˇs which follows). Beyer reads dh: pyw, ‘of (protective) covering’ (cf. Syriac h: upa¯ya¯ from H : Pa , CSD 133). qsˇˇsa : 47: 2, probably here referring to the seniority of Barma¯re¯n in the pantheon. qsˇ(y)sˇa can simply mean ‘elder’ (79: 3), though sometimes it is used of a particular administrative oYce (77: 2; 78: 4). It is not clear that it can refer to a religious oYce, though see Milik 1972: 317–18. In fact a religious epithet is what is required here: hence Safar 1968: 9 ‘abstemious one’. DNWSI 1039. The defective spelling appears also in 77: 2, plene 78: 4; 79: 3. For Shamashyahb 52: 2, etc. a rdkla : above. bna : 64: 6 etc. bt: 64: 5 etc. Ma¯ran: 68: 1, etc. mkna : above. mra , ‘Lord’: 48: 4 etc. The DN Nishra is incorporated into PNN like Nishryahb (66: 3) and Nishr aaqab (67: 2). For references see Beyer 1998: 149 (68: 4 in Vattioni’s reading). The eagle is the symbol of Ma¯ran the sun deity. ˇsh: q 67: 3. This verb has a basic meaning of ‘rub out, wear out’ and here seems to be used metaphorically for ‘trouble, importune’, a meaning known in Syriac (CSD 572). 1st sing. perfect with pronoun suYx. (Degen 1973/4: 405 had for ˇsh: qth ‘you have smiled [from your house] on him.’) bgn (reading here not certain) means ‘invocation’ (67: 4). It is clear that when followed by al it means ‘curse upon . . .’ (Degen 1974a). Here it is followed by the preposition l- and it would be positive, if the following verb has a positive meaning. bytk, ‘your house, temple’. Beyer reads bbtk as ‘of your eye’ (ba¯bta¯, CSD 34).


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mn d-: 64: 8. lt: rh would appear to be 3rd masc. sing. imperfect (with suYx) of NT: R, ‘guard’ (CSD 337–8). Presumably this is a good action and therefore bgn could not mean ‘curse’. A possible negative action might be provided by the verb-root T: Ra /Y, Syriac :t ra¯, ‘strike upon, assail, touch’ (CSD 181): ‘whoever damages it’. This is, however, less likely. The remaining lines are very damaged. Line 18 has the name of the person mentioned in l. 7 and he is apparently described as bna mhymna , ‘faithful builder’ (cf. DNWSI 278–9; Syriac mhaymna¯, CSD 255; 73: 3; the word mhymna is used of trustworthy witnesses in one of the Samaria slave sales, Gropp et al. 2001: 34, no. 1: 12). More speculative is lmkna , ‘for altars, of altars’, as is the last line, possibly referring to the temple of Nashra¯.

70. ROYAL S TATUE D EDICATION Found in Shrine XI, the Wrst line is on the base of a statue which was near the main inscription on a plaque belonging to the statue (Bertolino 1995: pl. VI).

Main publications H79; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998 (note drawing p. 10); Safar 1961: 11–14 (with a particularly clear plate showing ll. II 1–14); Caquot 1963: 2–6; Teixidor 1964: 280–4; Altheim and Stiehl 1967: 243–52; Dijkstra 1990. I. [s: lma dy] sn[t: rwq mlka dy arb II 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

zkya dgndh am a lha br abdsmya mlka dayqmw lh bbyldh dgnda dy h: dyn bh dylhwn yhbrmryn wa lkwd bna ˇsmsˇbrk br a lkwd br ˇsmsˇbrk br a lkwd wa h: rh wyhbrmryn wa lkwd wbnyhwn wnkyhwn dlbr wlgw bmrn nsˇra wbmlkwth wbgnda d arb wbsmya dmsˇkna wbgndhwn dsnt: rwq mlka wzr ah wbnyhy klhwn

290

Hatran Inscriptions

12. dl alm la ldbrhn wa nsˇ mn bna drhwn 13. bqt: yra m ana br snt: rwq mlka 14. dkyryn l alm bh: :t ra w arb wa l Statue of the victorious king of aArab, Sanat:ru¯q, whose Fortune (Protective Deity) is with the gods, son of King aAbdsamiya, which Yahbbarma¯re¯n and Alku¯d, sons of Shamashbarak son of Alku¯d son of Shamashbarak son of Alku¯d and their posterity, set up for him on the birthday of his Fortune, in which those belonging to them rejoice. And (the said) Yahbbarma¯re¯n and Alku¯d and their children and their progeny, whether inside or outside (the city), by Our Lord the Eagle and by his Kingship and by the Fortune of aArab and by the Standards of the Dwelling and by the Fortune of King Sanat:ru¯q and his posterity and all his children, Ma ana, son of King Sanat:ru¯q, shall never do any violence to them and anyone belonging to them. May they be remembered for ever in H : at:ra and aArab and beyond. There are many unresolved diYculties in this inscription. s: lma : 4: 1. etc.; 71: 1; 73: 1. Sanat:ru¯q II, son of aAbdsamiya (l. 2), was king c.200–40 ce. mlka : 1: 6, etc. arb: a geographical term quite common in H : at:ra (H193: 2; 195: 2; 196: 1, etc.), several times in the title of Sanat:ru¯q, mlka dy arb, and in early Syriac (48: 2) zkya , ‘victorious’ (62: 3). gndh, ‘his Fortune, Protective Deity’; cf. gda (68: 4). The ‘Fortune’ (there is really no easy English equivalent) is the protective deity of an individual or family or city (Greek åÅ). gnda v. gda implies dissimilation of an originally doubled consonant. See Ch. II. a lha , ‘gods’. For the name aAbdsamiya see Abbadi 1983: 36–7, 141. He was the father of Sanat:ru¯q II and reigned c.180–97/9 ce. ayqmw : 3rd masc. plur. perfect of the ap ael of QWM. Note the mater lectionis representing a short /e/ vowel and the defective writing of the long /ı¯/ in the second syllable; 65: 3 and Palmyrene (28: 2) and Syriac (49: 5). byt ylda > bylda , ‘birthday, horoscope’ (Beyer reads bt yldh). Classical Syriac byt ylda has the same meaning (CSD 44). The abbreviation of the word for ‘house’ to /bı¯/ is found also in Syriac (OSI: As59: 3 and Pognon 1907: 79–80, no. 43: 1 by alma in a Jewish ‘Syriac’ inscription) and in Mandaic (bimanda, Drower and Macuch 1963: 61) and Neo-Aramaic (Khan 2002: 209–10). With regard to gnda Teixidor 1964: 280 prefers to translate as ‘the Fortune’, with the suYx on byldh referring forward to gnda . h: dyn: masc. plur. absolute participle of H : DY, ‘rejoice’; 64: 5; CSD 127.

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291

dylhwn is translated above as referring to the family of those named. This is a little awkward, however, since they have not yet been named in the inscription (in the Aramaic word-order). dylhwn may be used here simply for emphasis on the subject of the verbal expression: ‘they themselves’. This is common in Syriac, though normally the dı¯l- would have the same pronoun as the preceding prepositional phrase (No¨ldeke 1904: 179, §225 B). Yahbbarma¯re¯n: Abbadi 1983: 22, 115 (‘Barma¯re¯n has given’). Alku¯d (which could be Alku¯r) is paralleled in Syriac (49: 2): Abbadi 1983: 4–5, 78–79. bna , ‘sons of ’ (construct plur.). This spelling of the masc. plur. construct with {a } is standard in Hatran (see Ch. II and Beyer 1998: 134; Degen 1967). a h: rhwn, ‘their posterity’ (with Caquot 1963: 4). The drawings of the inscription appear to have a h: rwhn, assumed here to be a scribal error. Others, however, have read a h: dw followed by hnw, ‘they’, thus a 3rd plur. perfect of aH : D, ‘hold’, here meaning ‘they remained piously loyal’ to a deity (DNWSI 37). Dijkstra (1990: 85–6) suggested the verb a h: d b- might mean ‘swear by’. These explanations Wt better if the divine names preceded by b- in ll. 9–10 belong with this assumed verb. It is preferable, however, to see bmrn as starting a new section, in fact an oath invoking the gods as witnesses. bnyhwn: 3: 3, etc. nkyhwn is the best reading, suggested by Teixidor 1964: 28, cf. NKD, ‘progeny’; cf. Hebrew nek- ed , HALOT 697; Jastrow 910 (followed by
(1991: 56) to connect it with NKH (‘to Vattioni). Aggoula’s suggestion : marry’ in Arabic) is linguistically far-fetched and Beyer’s nkyhwn, ‘their strangers’ (i.e. those strange to them) is unparalleled. Caquot’s nksyhwn, ‘their property’, does not really Wt the context. Cf. DNWSI 730. dlbr wlgw, ‘who are inside and outside’ (37 ii 106, 111, etc.; 6: 1; 11: 7 etc.). The reference is to inside and outside the city (75: 7; 79: 7, 9). There follows a list of divine beings called as witnesses: 1. mrn nsˇra , ‘our Lord the Eagle’ (69: 13); 2. mlkwth, ‘his kingdom, kingship, majesty’ (Syriac malku¯t-a¯, CSD 277–8); 3. gnda d arb, ‘the Fortune (Protective Deity) of aArab’ (see above); 4. smya dmsˇkna , ‘the Standards of the Dwelling (¼ temple)’. For smya see 68: 5. msˇkna means ‘dwelling’ (76: 3; note Hillers 1972b on msˇkna ). 5. gndhwn dsnt: rwq mlka , ‘the Fortune of King Sanat:ru¯q’. The -hwn refers forward to Sanat:ru¯q and his oVspring. a a zr : 67: 3. bnyhy, ‘his children’. It is not clear whether these are somehow distinct from the zr aa : the latter might mean ‘heir’.

292

Hatran Inscriptions

The sentence beginning with dl alm is syntactically very awkward. d-, ‘that’: either ‘holds to these devotions so that’ or ‘swears that’. l alm: 63: 11. ldbrhn . . . bqt: yra : 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of the p aal of DBR, ‘lead’. Syriac dbar bqt: ¯ıra¯, ‘act with force, oppress’, CSD 82, 500. See DNWSI 1005–6. a nsˇ:
68: 7. mn bna , ‘from the sons of . . .’. drhwn, ‘their circle’ (i.e. those of their extended family; cf. Syriac dara¯): 66: 6. bqt: yra : above. Ma ana is the king’s son. For the name see Abbadi 1983: 26, 124 and 49: 2. The Wnal line calls for a happy memory for the dedicants. dkyryn: passive participle, plur. absolute. h: :t ra is the name of H : at:ra: 79: 4. The Wnal words are disputed, but Beyer’s translation is adopted here. wa l is taken to be the same as whl, ‘and beyond’ (cf. Syriac hal, 63: 18). (Note Dijkstra’s ba b at the end, implying a date in a most unusual place at the very end of the text.)

7 1 . ROYAL S TAT U E D E D I C AT I O N ( F I G . 9 ) Engraved on the base of a marble statue found at the back of the great iwan of Temple A of the ‘Great Triad’ at H : at:ra (Bertolino 1995: pl. IX).

Main publications H345 (¼ 353); Ibrahim 1986: 198, no. IV; Segal 1986: 74–5; Aggoula 1991; Vattioni 1994; Beyer 1998; al-NajaW 1983: 175–8. 1. s: lma dy snt: rq 2. mlka dy arb br 3. ns: rw mrya a bya 4. rba a pkla rba 5. dsˇmsˇ a lha dy 6. a qym lh awyda lt 7. rbyta dy mrn Statue of Sanat:ru¯q, King of aArab, son of the Lord NaZru, chief patrician, chief priest of the god Shamash, which aAwı¯dalla¯t, the administrator of Ma¯ran, erected for him. s: lma : 70: 1 etc.

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293

The Sanat:ru¯q here is Sanat:ru¯q I: 69: 1. For the title mlka dy arb 70: 1. For NaZru see 61: 1 etc. a bya is a derivative of a ba , ‘father’. It occurs several time in Hatran Aramaic (cf. H361: 1; 1027: 1). Discussed by DNWSI 5, referring to Segal 1986: 59–60 (‘sheikh, patrician’) and al-NajaW 1983: 176–7 n. 6 (raa¯ıs), the word is also found in an early Classical Syriac text describing a ruler of Edessa as a bya (see TS col. 3, referring to the Oration of Meliton: bkrw a aba¯ya¯ da urha¯y,
Cureton 1855: 25, l. 13). a pkla : 7: 8, etc. Aggoula 1986: 353–4, takes the word to mean ‘judge’, not ‘priest’. ˇsmsˇ: 64: 4, etc. a qym: 65: 3; 70: 3. For the name aAwı¯dalla¯t see Abbadi 1983: 43, 148–9, and 46: 3. rbyta : ‘major-domo, administrator’, a compound from rab bayta¯ (cf. Syriac
CSD 525, ‘steward, manager, governor’); 77: 1 (restored); 78: 3; 79: 2; DNWSI 1054–5.

72. S TATUE OF WO MA N, WITH A C URSE ON THOSE WHO KILLED HER This comes from one of a number of statues from Shrine IV (Bertolino 1995: pl. IX).

Main publications H30; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1952: 186–7; 1953: 16–17; Caquot 1953: 236–7; KAI no. 248; Degen 1974a. 1. s: lmta dy a bw brt 2. gblw dy a qym lh 3. aˇsa br ˇsmsˇ:t yb 4. b alh dy mytt brt 5. ˇsnyn 18 bgn mrn 6. wmrtn wbrmryn 7. wb alsˇmn wa tr ata 8. al mn dy qt: lh 9. wh: dy lh 10. w al nsˇa dy mly 11. wnsk [..]nh dy 12. a [bw]

294

Hatran Inscriptions

Statue of Abu¯ daughter of Gabalu, which Asha son of Shamasht:ayeb, her husband set up for her, since she died, aged 18. The invocation of Ma¯ran and Ma¯rtan and Barma¯re¯n and Baalshamin and Atargatis against whoever killed her and rejoiced for himself, and against the women who Wlled and poured out the . . . of Abu¯. s: lmta : the feminine form of the noun is used for statues of females (cf. Palmyrene and Syriac, 36: 1). For the name Abu see Abbadi 1983: 2, 72. For Gabalu (only here) see Abbadi 1983: 12, 93. a qym: 65: 3; 70: 3 etc. lh (/la¯h/), ‘for her’. For the name Asha see Abbadi 1983: 6–7, 82–3. The name Shamasht:ayeb is uncertain. The reading here follows Beyer against the original reading of ˇsmsˇlt: b followed by Aggoula (hence see Abbadi 1983: 53, 171) and Vattioni ˇsmsˇ aqb (for which Abbadi: 53, 141). b alh: b ala , ‘husband’, with 3rd fem. sing. suYx. See H5: 3; 35: 6 in this sense of ‘husband’ and cf. Palmyrene (PAT glossary) and Classical Syriac ba ala¯ (CSD 51). mytt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect p aal of MWT, ‘die’; 77: 12; 78: 10 and in Jewish Aramaic, 23: 4; 24: 5. For Palmyrene PAT glossary. brt 18 ˇsnyn: 47: 4; 63 ii 10. bgn, ‘invocation, curse’ (67: 4, etc.). For the divine triad see on 64: 7; 68: 1–2; for Baalshamin 67: 1, 3 (b aˇsmyn) and especially Niehr 2003: 169–79; for the goddess Atargatis, popular over a wide area, see J. L. Lightfoot 2003 and, for Nabataean Healey 2001a: 140–1. mn dy: 64: 8, etc. qt: lh: 3rd masc. sing. perfect p aal of QT: L, ‘kill’, with 3rd fem. sing. suYx; 79: 7 and Syriac CSD 500–1. h: dy, 3rd masc. sing. perfect p aal of H : DY, ‘rejoice’; 70: 4. He ‘rejoices’ in his freedom from condemnation and redress. lh, ‘for himself ’ (ethic dative, common in Syriac). w al continues the invocation/curse. nsˇa , probably ‘women’ (Beyer, Aggoula, Vattioni), cf. Syriac nesˇe¯, CSD 353, 22; Egyptian Aramaic nsˇya , Cowley 1923: nos 30: 20; 34: 2. The diYculty here lies in understanding what these women did to incur this displeasure. The readings are far from secure. mly, ‘Wll’, evidently 3rd fem. plur. perfect from MLa , ‘Wll’; cf. Syriac mla¯ (CSD 273–4). The spelling reXects the normal form of the 3rd fem. plur. perfect of these weak verbs in Classical Syriac: mlay. nsk, ‘pour out’ (ditto): nsak- CSD 342. In strong verbs the 3rd fem. plur. perfect often appears without any suYx (contrast masc. in -w). See Ch. II.

Hatran Inscriptions

295

Unfortunately the following word is unclear (despite Aggoula, whose transliteration bs: nh is at odds with his drawing: he takes s: n to mean ‘basket of bread’, following an Arabic etymology). It is best to assume some magical action supposed to have been directed against Abu¯, perhaps a ritual with water, wine, or some other substance.

73. D EDICATION FOR THE LIFE OF THE KING Inscribed on consoles on a wall near the entrance to the main northern iwan of the central temple-complex of H : at:ra (Bertolino 1995: pl. VI).

Main publications H139; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Andrae 1912: 162; Ronzevalle 1912: 511–13; Safar 1962: 39–40; Caquot 1964: 258; Altheim and Stiehl 1967: 259–60; Dijkstra 1995: 227–8. 1. s: lma dy nsˇryhb br n[y]hra 2. br snt: rwq mlka dy a qym 3. lh mnysˇ [m]hymna dmlka al h: ya 4. snt: rwq mlka w al h: [yy]h dmnysˇ Statue of Nishryahb son of Nı¯hra son of king Sanat:ru¯q, which Manı¯sh, the loyal servant of the king, erected for him, for the life of King Sanat:ru¯q and for the life of Manı¯sh. s: lma : 70: 1 etc. Nishryahb: 65: 3; Syriac 61: 3. For Nı¯hra see Abbadi 1983: 27, 129. The Sanat:ru¯q is Sanat:ru¯q I (69: 1; 71: 1). The date of this inscription must, therefore, be early third century (as implied correctly by Milik 1972: 363, contrary to Dijkstra 1995: 227). a qym: 70: 3 etc. Manı¯sh: Abbadi 1983: 26, 123 (also Syriac, 49: 2). mhymna : 69: 20. In Syriac, apart from meaning ‘faithful, believer’, the word can also be used for ‘eunuch’ in a royal context (e.g., Peshitta 1 Kgs. 22: 9; Matt. 19: 12; CSD 254). It certainly refers here to some kind of oYcial. ‘Treasurer’ (Aggoula 1975: 205–6, referring e.g. to the mhaymna¯ dmalka¯ distributing money in the anonymous chronicle ascribed to Joshua the Stylite, §lxxxiv, Wright 1882) is over-precise, though it may have this meaning when associated with ptwra (as in H290: 2).

296

Hatran Inscriptions

al h: ya etc.: 1, etc. For the spelling of h: ya see 65: 1, etc.

Manı¯sh, a courtier, sets up a statue of the king’s grandson. It is dedicated to the king’s grandson, but ‘for the life of ’ the king and Manı¯sh himself (see discussion in Dijkstra 1995: 227–8).

74. ‘FOR THE LIFE OF . . . ’ DEDICATION DATED 235 ce This is located on the base of a statue, marble with black paint, found in Shrine V (dedicated to Asharbe¯l) (Bertolino 1995: pl. IX).

Main publications H34; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1952: 189–90; 1953: 18; Caquot 1953: 239–40; Milik 1972: 372–4; Dijkstra 1995: 224. 1. byrh: a dr ˇsnt 5  100 þ 20 þ 20 þ 5 þ 1 2. s: lmta dy mrtbw kmrt 3. [a ]sˇ[r]bl brt [. . . .] da [qymw] 4. lh bra brh br abdsˇl[ma ] 5. br bra kmra wgbr lbwsˇa 6. a h: why al h: yyhwn w al 7. h: ya bnyhwn w al h: ya mn 8. dy rh: ym lhwn ˇsbz glpa In the month of A¯da¯r of the year 546, statue of Martabu, priestess of Asharbe¯l, daughter of . . . , which Bara her son, son of aAbdshalma son of Bara, the priest, and Gabbar the dresser (?), his brother, set up for her, for their life and for the life of their children and for the life of whoever loves them. Shabaz the sculptor (made it). Although this looks superWcially like a straightforward dedication of its type, there are suggested readings (not all plausible) which would make it very interesting. For yrh: and the date formula see 65: 1; 28: 1 etc. The year 546 corresponds to 234/5 ce. A¯da¯r is approximately February/March (46: 1; 59: 1 etc.), so the date would be February/March 235 ce (Arsacid 299 ce). s: lmta : 72: 1. For Martabu see Abbadi 1983; 27, 126–7, perhaps ‘lady of (her) father’. kmrt, kmrta , ‘priestess’ (construct; Syriac kumrt-a¯, CSD 209; see kmra in l. 5 and 5: 2).

Hatran Inscriptions

297

The third line has almost totally disappeared (see plate in Aggoula) and Aggoula omits it from his drawing. There is, however, unanimity over the deity named, Asharbe¯l (cf. 75: 4; H38: 4). In 75: 4 the reference is to aˇsrbl btlh, ‘Asharbe¯l the virgin’ (though Beyer takes btlh to be Bethel, part of the divine name). It is possible that btlh stood after aˇsrbl here in l. 3, though this would leave Matrabu without a genealogy. In any case brt is plausibly read by Aggoula and Beyer (though Aggoula is surely over-conWdent about the following name which he restores as kbyra ). Vattioni and Dijkstra (1995: 224) Wnd another divine title here, bnyt kwl, ‘creatrix of everything’ (BNa /Y, ‘build, create’), following Milik 1972: 373. For the goddess see Milik 1972: 371–5; Vattioni 1994; 15; Beyer 1998: 152. The name of the woman’s son could be Bara (or Bada). For Bara see Abbadi 1983: 8–9, 86–7: a hypocoristic meaning ‘son of DN’. brh, ‘her son’. The names of his father and grandfather are given: aAbshalma (Abbadi 1983: 38, 142: ‘servant of Shalman’). kmra , ‘priest’ (Syriac kumra¯): 5: 2 and above. The title is probably that of Bara, though it could be that of the grandfather. Bara’s brother (a h: why) is named in what follows, against Dijkstra, who reads w abd lbwsˇa a h: yhy, ‘and his brother made the garment [for the statue]’: it seems most improbable that the brother would remain anonymous. Hence Gabbar is the brother’s name. It is otherwise unknown as a name in H : at:ra, though compare nbwgbr in H402 and there are possibly similar names in Akkadian/Aramaic: sia -ga-ba-ri, ‘Sin is a warrior’, reXected in one of the Nerab inscriptions (TSSI II 97–8, no. 19) and Hebrew (HALOT 176). He is apparently described as lbwsˇa , which from its form would probably be his occupation and mean ‘dresser’, referring to a speciWc ritual oYce (statue-dresser, clergy-dresser?). The form is known in Syriac: TS col. 1889, citing Ephrem (Beck 1957: 181, trans. 161, XLVI: 4), though meaning ‘one who wears’ (Beck 1957: 161 n. 1). It may be noted that Aggoula read gbrlbwsˇa as a PN; Vattioni abdlbwsˇa as a PN. a h: why: 8: 4, etc. al h: ya . On spelling see 65: 2. bnyhwm: 70: 8; 3: 3, etc. mn dy: 64: 8. rh: ym: 65: 8. The personal name Shabaz, possibly Iranian (Aggoula 1991: 29), has no close parallels. Milik 1972: 373 read ˇsbw, paralleled in H297; 1 (Abbadi 1983: 50, 166). glpa , ‘sculptor’, with defective spelling by comparison with Classical Syriac ga¯lo¯pa¯: 46: 8 and H1: 3; 289b: 3; 399. -

298

Hatran Inscriptions 75. ‘FOR THE LIFE OF . . . ’ DEDICATION DATED 238 ce

This is another dedication on the base of a statue, in this case of a woman, found in Shrine V (Bertolino 1995: pl. XI).

Main publications H35; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1952; 190–1; 1953: 18–19; Caquot 1953: 240–1; KAI no. 249; Milik 1972; 352–3; Lipinski 1982; Dijkstra 1995; 225–6. 1. ba lwl ˇsnt 5  100 þ 20 þ 20 þ5 þ1 þ1 þ 1 þ 1 s: lmta 2. dy qymy brt abdsmya h: mra 3. a ntt nsˇr aqb spra dbrmryn 4. dy a mrt lh aˇsrbl btlh 5. wayqymt lnpsˇh al h: yyh w al [h: ya ] 6. nsˇr aqb b alh w absa a h: wh [w al h: ya ] 7. dyra klh gwyta wbryta dbrmryn wmn 8. dy rh: ym lhwn kwlh In Elu¯l of the year 549, statue of Qaymı¯ daughter of aAbdsamaya the winesupplier, wife of Nishr aaqab, the scribe of Barma¯re¯n, which Asharbe¯l the Virgin ordered her, and she erected (it) herself, for her life and for the life of Nishr aaqab her husband and aAbsa her brother and for the life of all the household, interior and exterior, of Barma¯re¯n and everyone who loves them. a lwl: 10: 7. The year 549 corresponds to 237/8 ce.; Elu¯l equates with August/September and hence the date is August/September 238 ce (Arsacid 302). s: lmta : 72: 1. For the PNs see Abbadi 1983: Qaymi: 47, 159; aAbdsamay: 36–7, 141 (very common: 70: 2); Nishr aaqab 30, 131 (‘N has protected’; 67: 2, 5). h: mra , probably ‘wine-seller’ (Syriac h: ama¯ra¯, CSD 147; DNWSI 384). ‘Donkey-seller/drover’ is not impossible: TS col. 1310. a ntt: 8: 6. spra : 66: 9. a mrt: 3rd fem. sing. perfect p aal of a MR, ‘say, command’ (21: 2, etc.), with lh, ‘to her’. The sense ‘command’ is found in Biblical Aramaic (HALOT 1816) and also is the meaning of the root in Arabic; 62: 20.

Hatran Inscriptions

299

btlh, ‘virgin’ (see aˇsrbl in 74: 3). btlh would have to be interpreted as absolute and a defective writing for bt-u¯la¯, CSD 57. This is not without diYculty, however. The spelling with -h would be unique in Hatran Aramaic. Hence other explanations have been sought. Beyer interprets it as part of a composite DN, Eshsharbe¯l-Be¯t-la¯h, Eshshar-Bethel (Eshshar ¼ Ishtar, cf. Beyer 2002: 89). Lipinski thought it might be geographical: ‘in TLH (in the Upper Khabur region)’ or ‘on her hill’ (Lipinski 1982: 122–3; see Kessler 1980: 9–15). Contrary to Aggoula (1991: 30), aˇsrbl is female, as is clear from the verb-form a mrt: he avoids this fact by reading btlh as a verb with a 3rd fem. suYx: ‘Ashsharbe¯l chose her’. This involves unlikely word-order and an appeal to Arabic batala, ‘separate’, which does not exist in Aramaic. ayqymt: 3rd fem. sing. ap ael of QWM; 70: 3, etc. lnpsˇh must indicate that she did it herself, in person, not duplication of the idea that she did it ‘for her life’. npsˇa : 7: 2; 21: 14; 46: 4, etc. al h: ya , etc.: see 1, etc. b alh, b ala : ‘her husband’, 71: 4. absa : for the PN 66: 4. Abbadi 1983: 40, 145. a h: wha , ‘her brother’: 65: 1. ‘Her’ is more probable than ‘his’ (against Beyer 1998: 131) dyra appears to be a diVerent form from the word dra , ‘circle, family’, 66: 6; 70: 12 (dra ). Syriac dayra¯ (CSD 91) is used for ‘dwelling, monastery’ (and is usually fem. in the latter sense). Milik’s is the best translation, ‘la maisonne´e’ (1972; 353), here referring to the household establishment of the god Barma¯re¯n. This household includes those involved in its inner sanctum and those who are outside this: gwyta (reading gwwta possible), ‘inner’ (fem. sing,), Cf. Syriac gawa¯ya¯. 79: 7. bryta , ‘outer’ (fem. sing.). Cf. Syriac bara¯ya¯. Commentators assume this refers to inside and outside the city. It could, however, be more domestic, referring to oYcials who work inside and outside the temple of Barma¯re¯n itself. But cf. H80: 8, where the reference is to inside and outside the city and 79: 8–9 (lbr, lgw). For Barma¯re¯n see 64: 7, etc. mn dy: 64: 8. rh: ym: 65: 8. kwlh: see the same idiom in 64: 8. The suYx refers back to mn dy. Compare Syriac kulman d- (CSD 215).

300

Hatran Inscriptions 76. EMPLOY EE REGULATIONS

Inscription on a limestone plaque with red paint found inside one of the central H : at:ra iwans (room 14) (Bertolino 1995: pl. VI).

Main publications H281; Vattioni 1981, 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Safar 1971: 3–5; Safar and Mustafa 1974; 418 (photograph); Degen 1977; 1978: 68–73; Kaizer 2006a: 141–2. 1. bgn mrn wmrtn 2. wbrmryn al mn dy 3. lnsb msˇkna a w 4. h: :t ma aw mra 5. wnrga wksyda 6. wgblyta wmkla 7. wh: s: na mn abda 8. dy brmryn wmn dy 9. lnsb h: d mn grba 10. hlyn mn dy brmryn 11. h: wy h: lma dy 12. a rgmyt mrgym Invocation of Ma¯ran and Ma¯rtan and Barma¯re¯n against anyone who takes tents or camel-halters or spades or axes or stone-cutters or mouldings or bars or adzes from the work of Barma¯re¯n. And whoever takes one of these stolen items (?) belonging to Barma¯re¯n, the dream(-priest?) has revealed: ‘I have indeed ordered his stoning to death.’ bgn al: 67: 4. Ma¯ran and the triad: 68: 1, etc. mn dy: 6: 8. lnsb: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect p aal of NSB, ‘take’. Cf. Syriac nsab, CSD 341–2. msˇkna , ‘tent, dwelling’: 70: 10. This is the Wrst item in a list of
things which must not be removed from the building-site. msˇkna must, therefore, mean ‘tent(s)’, though note also Syriac mesˇka¯na¯, ‘pledged item’ (CSD 307). Not all of the items are easy to identify, but all must be movable. They are translated above as plurals, though they could be singulars. aw, ‘or’ (CSD 4). Note that later in the list there is a switch to w-, but the meaning must be the same.

Hatran Inscriptions

301

h: :t ma . For this word many prefer ‘hammer’ (better ‘mallet’ in the context of stonemasonry; Vattioni, Aggoula 1975: 182, from H : TM, but note this is not the same root). Safar and Degen (1978: 69) thought it meant ‘umbrella, sunshade’ (H : TM). Only Beyer, evidently sticking to the correct root, as in Jewish Aramaic h: o¯:t ma¯ (Jastrow 431), has ‘camel-halter(s)’. While this may Wt with msˇkna , it does not Wt the following list of tools very well. See DNWSI 364. mra , ‘spade, hoe, mallet’. Cf. Syriac mara (CSD 247; Greek  ææ; Akkadian marru, CDA 198). ‘Spade’ or the like is preferred by Aggoula, Beyer, Vattioni, Degen. nrga , ‘axe’. Cf. na¯rga¯, CSD 353. ksyda , Syriac a ak- sı¯d a¯, a stone-cutting tool, TS col. 186; CSD 16. Perhaps something like a
‘bolster’ (tool for cutting bricks). gblyta , ‘mouldings’, probably plural in -ya¯t-a¯ of a form like Syriac gb¯ılt-a¯,
‘something moulded or created, moulding’ (CSD 59). Vattioni and others prefer a tool, some kind of hammer or chopper for use on stone. mkla : defective for mwkla , cf. Syriac mu¯k- la¯, ‘iron bar’ (CSD 357). h: s: na , ‘axe, adze’. Syriac h: as:¯ına¯, TS col. 1350; CSD 154, both implying Arabic origin though the word is attested early: Jewish Aramaic h: as:¯ına¯ , Jastrow 495; Fraenkel 1886: 86–7 argues for an Aramaic origin in Arabic. abda , ‘work, project’. Syriac aba ¯ d a¯, CSD 397.

Barma¯re¯n: 67: 7, etc. mn dy lnsb seems to continue the preceding, but it is best interpreted as beginning a new injunction resuming the thefts listed earlier (see below). h: d: 77: 5 and 62: iv, vii, etc. grba . There is no clear explanation of this, but it is mostly taken (Vattioni, Aggoula, Degen 1978: 71) to mean ‘leather bottle’ on the basis of Aramaic garba¯ (CSD 77) and Arabic jira¯b (Wehr 118). The demonstrative with it, hlyn (or read hlwn), implies, however, that it is a general term for the items listed earlier, something like ‘pieces of equipment’. One possibility might be that it means ‘plundered things’ (cf. Jewish Aramaic grab, ‘rob, seize, levy’,
Jastrow 263). See DNWSI 233. The statement which follows is then the apodosis. mn dy is men dı¯ (not man dı¯), ‘from that of . . .’. Degen 1978: 71 and 1977: 488 prefers to restore mn a abda a dy. h: wy: 3rd masc. sing. perfect of the pa ael of H : Wa /Y, ‘showed, demonstrated, revealed’. See Syriac CSD 129, though common in Aramaic and 37 ii 125. h: lma could be ‘dream’, presumably the subject of h: wy (CSD 144), but Beyer’s suggestion that the meaning is ‘dream-priest’, h: alla¯ma¯, is attractive (cf. 106b: 4). ‘Dream’ is the usual translation (Vattioni, Aggoula, Degen 1977; 1978: 71–2).

302

Hatran Inscriptions

a rgmyt: 1st sing. perfect ap ael of RGM, ‘stone, execute by stoning’. For this verb

at H : at:ra: 79: 9 and H336b: 12. For the -yt ending: 64: 3. Interpretation as ap ael Wts the context better than p aal, implying causation rather than direct action. mrgym appears to have an emphasizing role, but it is diYcult to interpret it as an inWnitive (inWnitive absolute expressing emphasis as in Syriac: No¨ldeke 1903: 235–6, §§295–6), since the implied vocalization does not Wt with either the p aal or the ap ael inWnitive. Beyer (1998: 81, 138, 140) takes it to be an ap ael emphasizing participle, literally ‘I, ordering his stoning, have ordered his stoning’. See DNWSI 1060. Kaizer 2006a: 142 (after Pennacchietti 1988: 57–9) notes the possibility that the verb forms are ithp aels. Note that BardaiZan’s Book of the Laws of Countries mentions the stoning of thieves at H : at:ra (Drijvers 1965: 46: 18; 60: 13; discussion by Degen 1977).

77 . A TE M P L E RE G UL AT I ON (F I G . 1 0 ) Inscription found in a niche at the eastern gate of the city near 79 (Bertolino 1995: pl. XVI).

Main publications H344; Vattioni 1994; Aggoula 1991; Beyer 1998; Ibrahim 1982: 124–5; 1986: 196–7, no. II and see also pl. 92(b); Segal 1982: 111–14; Pennacchietti 1988: 47–56; Aggoula 1990: 402–6; Kaizer 2006a: 144–5. 1. [b]mlt [sˇ]msˇh: dyt [rbyta ] 2. wh: pyzy qsˇˇs wh: :t r[ya ] 3. klhwn hkyn psqw 4. ˇslhy a nsˇ dlzbyn lk[pa ] 5. wlks: ra wlgs: a mn h: d 6. agla dy byt a lha 7. mnt: lt dy nsybw a gr 8. bdyhwn mn byt a lha 9. wayn lzby[n] mnhwn kpa 10. a w ks: ra a w gs: a 11. {aw gs: a } a [w] la b ar mnhwn 12. aglta lmwt mwta 13. a lha By the order of Shamashh: adet the administrator and H : apı¯zay the elder and all the Hatrans, thus they decided: it is forbidden (?) that anyone should buy

Hatran Inscriptions

303

stone and straw and lime from any carter of the house of the gods, since they have taken payment in their hands from the house of the gods. And if he sells any of them, stone or straw or lime or, apart from them, the cart itself, he shall die the death of the gods. mlt, mlta , ‘word’ (construct sing.): 63: 15. For the name Shamashh: adet see Abbadi 1983: 52, 170. rbyta : 71: 7. The restoration is based on H94, where Shamashh: adet is named rbyta . H apı : ¯zay is not exactly paralleled, but cf. h: pa zw in H118; 121; 126. qsˇˇs, ‘elder’. The emphatic form might be expected as elsewhere, 69: 6, and hence the restoration of the Wnal {a } (Beyer). Aggoula here and elsewhere prefers ‘symposiarch’, comparing PAT 0862: 2–3 qsˇysˇa dy dyra (Aggoula 1994a: 165). Since the normal spelling is qsˇysˇa , Pennacchietti 1988: 50, referring to Segal 1982: 113, prefers to see here a verb, qsˇˇsw, 3rd plur. pa ael perfect, ‘they deliberated in the assembly’. While this Wts, the normal meanings of this verb QSˇSˇ do not support it: ‘place in order of precedence, give preference to’ (CSD 522). h: :t rya , ‘Hatrans’: 79: 3 and H336b: 3 (h: :t ra 70: 14). hkyn, ‘thus’: 78: 1; 79: 4; Syriac hkn, 63: 10. psqw: 3rd plur. perfect p aal of PSQ, ‘cut, decide, decree’. CSD 452. Cf. Palmyrene psˇq (37 ii 104, 125 and PAT glossary); both appear in Syriac: CSD 452–3, 468–9. ˇslhy (uncertain reading) is enigmatic, though it is clear that it means something like ‘it is forbidden’. Pennacchietti 1988: 51 and Aggoula 1983a: 33 sought an etymology based on the very obscure Syriac verb ˇsalhı¯, noun ˇsulha¯ya¯, referring to actions of magicians. See TS col. 1894–5; Brockelmann 1928: 780. Vattioni linked it to SˇLY, ‘cease’ (Syriac ˇslı¯), translating it as ‘cessi un uomo . . .’, ‘let him perish who . . .’. Jewish Babylonian Aramaic ˇsylhy/sˇlhy provide the best explanation. The former means ‘end of . . .’ (SokoloV 2002: 1135, 1146) and this form may be linked with Syriac SˇLY. EVectively it would mean ‘an end to anyone who . . .’. Beyer has a completely diVerent corrected reading: kwl ma a nsˇ, ‘anyone who’, though the initial {sˇ} is clear in the drawing (Ibrahim 1982: 125). For diVerent views see Vattioni 1994: 72. a nsˇ: 68: 7 etc. lzbyn: 3rd masc. sing. imperfect of ZBN, ‘buy’ in the p aal, ‘sell’ in the pa ael. The meaning ‘buy’ Wts better; 63: 9, etc.; CSD 109. kpa , ‘stone, rock’ (Syriac kı¯pa¯, CSD 202). The l- preWxes indicate the objects of the verb. ks: ra , ‘straw’, if a variant of qs: ra (cf. Syriac qis: ra¯, CSD 516). However, ‘cobblestone’ has also been suggested (Aggoula 1983a: 33), though the suggestion

304

Hatran Inscriptions

involves an unexplained change to emphatic /Z/ (root KSR as in Arabic). Pennacchietti 1988: 52: ‘beams’. gs: a , ‘lime, mortar, plaster, gypsum’ (Syriac ges: a¯, CSD 76). h: d: apparently ‘one’, though the placing of the word is unusual. agla . For ‘cart’ we might expect aglta as in l. 12 of this inscription (Syriac aa ¯ gelta¯,
CSD 400), so ‘carter’ may be better and Wts well, though it is not attested elsewhere (Vattioni, Pennacchietti 1988: 52–3, Aggoula 1994b: 406). byt a lha , ‘the house of the gods’: 65: 1. The reference may be to the temple of Shamash (Vattioni 1994: 72). mnt: lt dy, ‘since’: 62: 20. (Syriac met: u¯l, CSD 267; Mandaic amint: ul d-, Drower and Macuch 1963: 22). Possible dissimilation, cf. Ch. II. nsybw: 3rd plur. perfect p aal of NSB, ‘take’: 76: 3, 9. The spelling with {y} reXects an e-vowel as in Jewish Aramaic nseb, Jastrow 915 (Syriac nsab).
a gr, a gra , ‘payment, hire’ (Syriac a a
g ra¯, ‘reward’,
CSD 3) : 37 i 5, etc. and related forms. bdyhwn is not entirely clear. Interpretation here follows Pennacchietti 1988: 53 and Beyer: bd