Echoes from the Past: Hebrew and Cognate Inscriptions from the Biblical Period: Hebrew and Cognate Texts from the Holy Land in the Bible 965220708X, 9789652207081

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ECHOES

FROM THE PAST

HEBREW AND COGNATE INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE BIBLICAL PERIOD

SELECTED AND ANNOTATED BY

SHMUEL AI:IITUV

IfI1lA

CARTA HANDBOOK

I

First published in 2008 by CARTA Jerusalem Published with the assistance of the Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center of Jewish History Bar-Han University

Translator and academic editor: Anson F. Rainey Emeritus Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Cultures and Semitic Linguistics, Tel Aviv University Professor of Historical Geography, Bar-Ilan University, and American Insitute for Holy Land Studies

Copyright © 2008 by Carta, Jerusalem All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any other information storage and retrieval system existing now or in future, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-965-220-708-1 Printed in Israel

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

ix

Abbreviations

xii

Introduction

Preliminary Remarks

1

Orthography and Palaeography

3

Interpretation and Vocalization

7

Forgeries

9

Selected Bibliography

11

Standard Marks and Notes on Translation

14

Chapter 1: Judah

The Tel Zayit Abecedary

17

Jerusalem The Siloam Inscription

19

Stela Fragment from the City of David

25

Ostraca from the City of David

26

The Ophel- A Stela Fragment

30

Ostraca from the Ophel

32

Inscription from the Ophel

39

Ostraca from the Upper City

40

The Kidron Cliff - Inscriptions from Burial Caves

44

The "Ketef Hinnom" Graveyard - Silver Amulets with the Priestly Blessing

49

vi The Lachish Ostraca

56

The Arad Ostraca

92 \ 154

Ostraca from Tell Qasile A Letter of Complaint from

J:Iashavyahu

156

Ostraca from Tel Masos

164

Ostraca from J:Iorvat CUzza

166

Ostracon from Tel clra

179

*Ostraca from the Judaean Shephelah

180

*The Assessment (CArat9m) Ostracon

190

*The Noqdlm Ostracon

194

*Silver, Pistachio and Grain

199

*"But You Have Not Done My Order"

205

Ostraca from Kadesh-Barnea

207

Papyrus from the First Commonwealth Period

213

Jar Handles from Gibeon

216

Inscriptions from

219

Inscriptions from Makkedah

220

Graffiti in a Cave Near Amaziah

233

Inscription from a Cave Near En-gedi

236

Weights and Measures

239

Chapter 2: Israel

The clzbet $artah Abecedary

249

The Gezer Tablet

252

A Fragment of a Royal Stela from Samaria

257

The Samaria Ostraca

258

The Ostraca from 1910

260

The Texts of the "Joint Expedition"

310

The Kuntillet C Ajnld Inscriptions

313

An Inscription on an Ivory from Calah

329

Inscriptions on Vessels - Hazar

330

Tel Kinrot

332

Weights

333

vii Chapter 3: Philistia Dedicatory Inscriptions from Ekron

335

Inscriptions on Vessels from Ekron

342

Philistine Ostraca from Tel Gamma

346

Weights

349

Chapter 4: Edom Ostracon from l:forvat cUzza

351

An Edomite Ostracon from Tell el-Kheleifeh

354

Chapter 5: Ammon The Amman Citadel Inscription

357

The Tell Slran Bronze Bottle Inscription

363

The Amman Theater Inscription

367

Ammonite-Aramaic Inscription from Amman

368

The Tell l:fisban Ostraca

370

Ostraca from Tell el-Mazar

379

Ostracon from Calah

384

Chapter 6: Moab Inscription from Kir-Moab The Mesha c Inscription

387 389

*A Royal Moabite Inscription

419

An Incense Altar from Khirbet el-Mudeiyineh

423

*The Marzeal:t- Papyrus

427

Chapter 7: The Book of Balaam Son of Beor

433

Appendix 1: The Tel Dan Inscription Appendix 2: Glossary of Proper Names

467 474

Indices I. Vocables

491

II. Proper Names

502

III. Scriptures

506

PREFACE

This book was conceived and born in the classroom. For several years the need for a collection of Hebrew inscriptions from the First Commonwealth period had been felt, and this need had been met by various offset booklets put out by teachers in universities in Israel. And truly, those most in need of such a collection are teachers of Bible and related subjects under the rubric of "the biblical world": Bible and History of Israel, Ancient Near Eastern History, Semitic Languages and Biblical Archaeology. I was convinced that such a collection of ancient texts would also be beneficial to everyone interested in the antiquities of Israel. The printing history of the Hebrew original of the book verified my feeling. The Handbook of Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions (m":J17 m:J,n:> nt>,oN) published in 1992, was reprinted three times. A new revised and expanded edition was printed in 2005 under the title HaKetav VeHaMiMav :In:>i1). However, I would not have taken upon myself the challenge of writing such a book if I had not been encouraged to do so by two masters of epigraphy and palaeography. One evening in the late 1980s, while having coffee before a lecture, in the foyer of the Israel Academy of Sciences, I approached the late Professor Nahman Avigad and Professor Joseph Naveh, may he live long: "Why don't you write us a handbook of Hebrew inscriptions?" Both of them in unison answered: "You write it!" So I did. None of the various booklets and pamphlets in Hebrew included the wide range of material dealt with here. There have been several similar treatments in European languages (see the annotated bibliography), some of them extremely detailed while others are of lesser degrees of competence. This present work is not only new in its scope, which itself testifies to the rapid expansion of the store of Hebrew inscriptions, an ongoing process since the 1960s. This collection is many-faceted and it encompasses documents with various contents. Furthermore, photographs and facsimiles (hand-drawn copies) of the texts have been included so that the reader will not have to depend

x

PREFACE

only on the version printed in square characters; he can examine the texts themselves in photographs and facsimiles. The present format will make it easier for all who wish to study these texts. It will no longer be to prepare photocopied booklets for use in such courses. This has been my approach to the preparation of the book: After a brief introduction to each text, of group of texts, I give a transcription in square Hebrew characters, juxtaposed to a pointed text with conjectural reconstructions. The vocalization is intended to be an interpretation and not an attempt to reconstruct the original pronunciation. The actual commentary is brief and condensed. Scholarly debate is avoided and there is no presumption of great originality. If I have hit on a new interpretation, or if I disagree with those who have gone before me, such points are noted in the commentary. At any point where I felt able to choose a new rendering, I have referred to it only in brief. There are no too-lengthy linguistic, historical or religious discussions. All such will find their place in scholarly articles, to which some allusions are made in the bibliographical references. The goal of the commentary is to explain the text in brief in the most concise manner. Proper names are discussed mostly in a special appendix at the end of the book. As for the bibliography, the emphasis in this English edition is on works in the various European languages; English versions of studies originally published in Hebrew are preferred. But there is an appreciable number of works that have appeared only in Hebrew and they are included in the bibliographies. However I did not try to publish a comprehensive bibliography The reader should not expect what is not here. Not all of the Hebrew and related inscriptions have been included. Preparation of such a corpus requires many years of painstaking work, and strong financial resources. I have not included in this handbook seals and seal impressions; they deserve a special volume. The compilation of a corpus of West Semitic seals and seal impressions was a life-long project of the late Nahman Avigad, who worked under the auspices of the Israel Academy of Sciences, and the result of Avigad' s labours have been edited and published by Benjamin Sass (1997). However, since then many more seals and seal impressions have been published. Unlike similar collections of inscriptions, which included only Hebrew ones, I choose to include in my book also "Philistine," Edomite, Ammonite, and Moabite inscriptions, which are very close to Hebrew, and were probably understood by speakers of Hebrew. They are likewise understandable to any-

I

PREFACE one with a fair knowledge of biblical Hebrew. Surely I do not take them to be Hebrew, but they are very close to Hebrew (more than to Aramaic or Phoenician). Thus linguistic, geographical, and chronological factors influenced my collection. The "Book of Balaam" is written in a special dialect, situated somewhere between Hebrew and Aramaic; its affinity to the Bible contributed to its inclusion in the book. The important inscription from Tel Dan is included here in a special appendix although it is Aramaic and not Hebrew for the sake of the readers who would not find it in any other handbook (it is included in the fifth edition of volume I of KAI, but unfortunately only the text, without a commentary). Colleagues suggested that I translate the Hebrew book into English, for the benefit of those who do not master modern Hebrew. Here stepped in my longtime friend and colleague Professor Anson F. Rainey, who translated the book and acted as its academic editor. Anson's vast knowledge of linguistics, history, historical geography, and more, certainly improved the book. His many contributions are dispersed throughout. The book benefited also from his knowledge of the needs of non-Hebrew readers, of which I was not aware. Not always did I accept his suggestions, and any mistakes are mine. I am grateful for the work he put into my book, which strengthens our friendship. More friends made suggestions which improved the book. Others willingly gave permission to publish here still unpublished inscriptions, and gave me access to the manuscripts, or proofs of their papers. I am grateful to Barbara Ball of Carta, Jerusalem, who skillfully copyedited the book and arranged its layout. Her keen eye missed nothing. Any remaining mistakes are mine. Thanks also to Daniel Wanoun and Vladimir Shestakovsky who helped in various capacities. I relied on the archives of the Encyclopaedia MiqraJit (the Hebrew Encyclopaedia Biblica) of the Bialik Institute (Jerusalem) for many photographs. My thanks also to the Israel Exploration Society, the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, Dr. Ivan T. Kaufman of Concord, MA, Mr. Robert Deutsch of Tel Aviv, and many other institutions and individuals, too numerous to mention, who permitted the publication of photographs from their collections. Drawings are from various sources as mentioned in the Introduction (infra, p. 8), many of which were drawn by my good friend, the well-known palaeographer Dr. Ada Yardeni, and are reproduced here by her kind permission.

xi

xii ABBREVIATIONS

1. BOOKS OF THE BIBLE Gen Ex Lev Num Deut Josh Judg 1 Sam 2 Sam 1Kgs 2Kgs Isa Jer Ezek Hos Joel Am Obad Jonah Mic

2.

Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings Isaiah Jeremiah Ezekiel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah

Nah Hab Zeph Hag Zech Mal Ps Prov Job Cant Ruth Lam Eccl Esth Dan Ezra Neh 1Chr 2Chr

Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Psalms Proverbs Job Canticles Ruth Lamentations Ecclesiastes Esther Daniel Ezra Nehemiah 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND GENERAL

Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions ARw

Y. Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions (edited by A. F. Rainey), Jerusalem 1981 W. von Soden, Akkadisches Randworterbuch 1-3, Wiesbaden 1965-1981

AION

Annali dell' Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli

ANET

J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testamenf3, Princeton 1969 Archiv Orientdlni W. E. Aufrecht, A Corpus of Ammonite Inscriptions, Lewiston, Queenston and Lampeter, 1989 Andrews University Seminary Studies The Biblical Archaeologist (from 1990 onward, renamed as Near Eastern Archaeology)

Ar. Or.

Aufrecht, CAl AUSS BA

xiii

Biblical Archaeology Review Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research Bibliotheca Orientalis Babylonian Talmud Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft The Assyrian Dictionary of the University of Chicago, Chicago CAD and Gluckstadt 1956M. Dietrich, O. Loretz and J. Sanmartin, The Cuneiform CAT Alphabetic Texts from Ugarit, Ras Ibn Hani and Other Places, Munster 1995 (alias KTLP) Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum CIS A. Cowley, Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C., Oxford Cowley,AP 1923 F. M. Cross, Leaves from an Epigraphist Notebook, Winona Cross, Leaves Lake, IN 2003 Academie des Inscriptions & Belles-Lettres. Comptes Rendus CRAIBL Diringer, Iscrizioni D. Diringer, Le iscizioni antico-ebraica palestinesi, Firenze 1934 Discoveries in the Judaean Desert DJD Divine Name DN J. Hoftijzer and K. Jongeling, Dictionary of the North-West DNWSI Semitic Inscriptions I-II, Leiden 1995 Deutsch, Messages R Deutsch, Messages from the Past: Hebrew Bullae from the Time of Isaiah until the Destruction of the First Temple, Tel Aviv 1999 El-Amarna: J. A. Knudtzon, Die EI-Amarna-Tafeln 1-2, EA Leipzig, 1915; A. F. Rainey, El Amarna Tablets 359-379, Neukirchen-Vluyn 1970 EHO F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Early Hebrew Orthography, New Haven 1952 Gibson,HM J. C. L. Gibson, Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, I: Hebrew and Moabite, Oxford 1971 GKC Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar as edited and enlarged by the late E. Kautzsch, second English edition, by A. E. Cowley, Oxford 1910 GN Geographical Name BAR BASOR BiOr BT BZAW

xiv HUCA.

IEJ

IR JANES JAOS JBL JEA JNES JPOS JRAS JSS JT KAI

Lemaire, Ostraca Moscati, EEA N aveh, Alphabet PEF QSt PEQ PN QDAP RB RBlb RHPhR RSF RSO SEL TAD

UF VT WSS ZAW ZDPV

Hebrew Union College Annual Israel Exploration Journal R. Hestrin et al., Inscriptions Reveal, Jerusalem 1973 \ The Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society Journal of the American Oriental Society Journal of Biblical Literature Journal of Egyptian Archeology Journal of Near Eastern Studies Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Journal of Semitic Studies Jerusalem Talmud H. Donner and W. R611ig, Kanaaniiische und aramiiische Inschriften 1-3, Wiesbaden 1962-1964 (21964-1968; 51,2002) A. Lemaire, Inscriptions hebrai'que, I: Les ostraca, Paris 1977 S. Moscati, L'epigrafia ebraica palestinesi, Firenze 1934 J. Naveh, Early History of the Alphabet2, Jerusalem 1989 Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund Palestine Exploration Quarterly Personal Name Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine Revue Biblique Rivista Blblica Revue d 'histoire et de philosophie religieuses Rivista di Studi Fenici Rivista degli Studi Orientali Studi Epigraphici e Linguistici B. Porten and A. Yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt I-IV, Jerusalem 1986-1999 Ugarit-Forschungen Vetus Testamentum N. Avigad, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals (revised and completed by B. Sass), Jerusalem 1997 Zeitschrift fUr die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Zeitschrift des Deutschen Paliistina-Vereins

INTRODUCTION

PRELIMINARY REMARKS

"Canaanite" alphabetic writing was known in the seventeenth and sixteenth centuries BeE. The first alphabetic inscriptions that have been discovered are written in the so-called Proto-Canaanite script. In 1994-1995 some graffiti in the Proto-Canaanite alphabetic script were discovered in Wady el-I:Iol in the hills west of Luxor on the trail through the western Egyptian desert. The discoverers believe that they date to the twentieth century BeE. Previously known inscriptions derive from the land of Canaan (the southern Levant) and they continued in use through the twelfth century BeE. From that long period there also come the so-called Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions in the same script dating to .the sixteenth to fifteenth centuries BeE. The Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions, which were discovered first, were considered the prototype of the later Phoenician/ Hebrew alphabetic script but have now relinquished their claim to priority to the Canaanite script. It now seems that the Proto-Sinaitic texts were not a local invention (at $erabit el-Khadem) based on hieroglyphic writing, but rather the adoption of the Proto-Canaanite script, which was itself inspired by the Egyptian script. The Proto-Canaanite inscriptions were either incised on stone or ceramic objects or written on pottery objects with ink. The Proto-Canaanite script (including the Proto-Sinaitic) is still pictographic. Its signs preserve their pictorial character; every sign is a picture in itself. The script still maintains the relationship between the object being pictured and its Canaanite name. This is no longer true of the Phoenician/Hebrew script, since the letter forms have departed from their original pictorial nature and remain simply as agreed symbols. The Proto-Canaanite (including Proto-Sinaitic) inscriptions are mainly short formulae and brief dedications. In the meantime, during the fourteenth to thirteenth centuries BeE, a cuneiform alphabet was adopted at U garit on the North Syrian coast (Ras esh-Shamra, 11 kilometers north of Laodicia, modern

2

INTRODUCTION

el-Lagakiyah). The alphabetic principle was adapted to the ancient Mesopotamian technique of impressing wedge-shaped signs into soft clay. In this Ugaritic script were written long religious and cultic texts alongside administrative documents, including epistles. A number of inscriptions in the cuneiform at. . phabetic script have been found in Canaan (Sarepta, Kamed el-L6z, Nal;tal Tabor, Taanach, and Beth-shemesh) but they are either brief administrative texts or ownership marks on various objects. The Beth-shemesh text, long thought to be magical in "nature, has been identified as an alphabet arranged according to the order later known from Old South Arabian. The earliest Hebrew inscription of a true contextual nature is the Gezer Calendar. From a paleographic standpoint the script of the Gezer Calendar matches that of the Phoenician inscriptions from approximately the tenth century BeE. The location of Gezer on the border between the maritime valley and the Shephelah make it difficult to decide if it is a Canaanite /Phoenician text, or an Israelite Hebrew one. It is only the plene writing of the word 1n,' which tilts the balance towards Hebrew. The text is not administrative but its true function is still a mystery. Henceforth, there develops the collection of true Hebrew inscriptions. The ensuing group derives from the ninth century BeE, including the Moabite stelae of King Mesha, and the Kuntillet CAjrud inscriptions (dating to c. 800 BeE). Then follow the Samaria Ostraca from the first half of the eighth century BeE. From the late eighth century and into the seventh century there is a steady increase in the number of inscriptions from Judah. The two larger collections, the Lachish and Arad texts, come from the seventh to sixth centuries and the majority of stamp seals and seal impressions hail from this same period. The increase in epigraphic material from this latter period may be simply a matter of chance finds but it is probably more related to an increase in literacy among wider segments of the population. Unfortunately, the inscriptions from Canaan and the land of Israel have not included literary compositions like those from ancient U garit. It must be assumed that the lack of such literary texts is due to the ephemeral nature of the writing material in general use in Israel and Judah and also Phoenicia, viz. papyrus or leather. Only one fragmentary papyrus letter, dating to the seventh century BeE, was discovered in a cave in WadI MurabbaCat, in the parched climate of the Dead Sea wilderness. Another papyrus, sealed, containing two lines, has come to light in an excellent state of preservation. But its provenance is unknown. It might be Moabite (probably somewhere in the eastern Jordan Valley). The surprising fact that we have not found school exercises consisting

INTRODUCTION of passages from literary texts, like those found so often in Egypt (where papyrus was more prevalent), may be explained by the assumption that neophyte scribes in Israel and Judah also wrote their practice texts on papyrus. Such was often the case in Egypt as well. The Siloam Inscription, incised in the rock, the Kuntillet CAjnld ink on plaster inscriptions, and the ink on plaster inscription from Tell Deir cAllah keep alive the hope that one day, literary passages may be discovered on both sides of the Jordan Rift.

ORTHOGRAPHY AND PALAEOGRAPHY

The orthography of Hebrew inscriptions during the First Commonwealth period is generally of a purely consonantal nature. The use of K ,ii, 1 and' as vowel letters is rare. But in this regard one must distinguish between the relative dates and genres of the texts. Cross and Freedman (EHG) in their cooperative dissertation summarized the available evidence up to 1952, and determined the orthographic rules that are generally accepted up to the present. In their view, the First COlnmonwealth texts only use matres lectiones for expressing final vowels: ' for final I, 1 for final a, and iI for final ti, e, or o. Matres lectiones almost never appear within a word. Cross and Freedman returned to this subject in an appendix added to the later publication of their other cooperative thesis, The Early Yahwistic Poetry, Missoula 1975. Freedman also dealt with this subject in "The Orthography of the Arad Ostraca," IE! 19 (1969), pp. 52-56. In these two later works they have softened their original position somewhat with regard to internal matres lectiones. Several more recent contributions to the question of orthography are worthy of mention: G. Sarfatti, "Hebrew Inscriptions of the First Temple Period: A Survey and Some Linguistic Comments," Maarav 3 (1982), pp. 55-83; idem, "The Beginning of the Use of Matres Lectiones in West Semitic Orthography: An Attempt at a Summary," Lesonenu 58 (1994), pp. 13-24 (Hebrew). Z. Zevit's monograph, Matres Lectiones in Ancient Hebrew Epigraphs, New Haven 1980, does not agree with the accepted views of most scholars; note the reviews by A. F . Rainey, ]BL 102 (1983), pp. 629-684, and J. Naveh, IE] 38 (1988), pp. 139-140. In summary, the basic principle established by Cross and Freedman seems to be generally true but not a hard and fast rule. There are examples of internal matres lectiones such as: 1 in the word '1'K in the tomb inscription of "[Sagan] yahu the steward of the palace"; , in the GN from the ,'m'7 seal impressions

3

4

INTRODUCTION

on wine jars where the usual spelling is more frequently just without the vowel marker, both orthographies coming from the same time period; also the , in the words C1'j?:Ji1 and 1'j7i17 in Arad letter No. 24. On the other hand, there I is the case of a missing final' as the marker of the first personal singular in the verb form n7:l (*killftr) in the I:Iashavyahu letter. The i1 denotes final ti in forms like and i1tm in the Arad letters; also final e in an example like i11j?' in Arad No. 24. But the final a-vowel of the second masculine pronominal suffixes is generally"written without a vowel marker: 11:Jj7 (passim), 1n:l':J (passim), and also (*wdf?tirartti'z), "and you shall bind up," in Arad letter No.3. Cross and Freedman even argue that a form like 11:Jj7 represents the pronunciation as in Mishnaic Hebrew, etc. However, alongside the usual forms of second masculine singular verb forms (such as nn7[lV] and et al.) there are also some instances of i1 to denote the final a-vowel, e.g. i1n:Jn:l', *w dMa12tti" (Arad letter No.7) and apparently also i1nn7lV, (Lachish No.3). The i1 indicates final 0, as in i11:Jj7, *ca12do", *::JOW'1 I:Iashavyahu, Lachish, et al.), and , is the marker for final u, e.g. 'Jn7lV', (Arad Nos. 4 and 7). One must also note the use of as marker for final ti in proper names, e.g. et al. Another question that still remains unanswered is that of the contraction or preservation of diphthongs during the First Commonwealth period. The Gezer Calendar, the Samaria Ostraca and the Mesha Inscription reflect the contraction of the diphthong ay in forms such as fj? for *qef?, "summer," l' for *yen, "wine," and n:J for *bet, "house" (usually). On the other hand, Judaean texts have plene forms such as 1" and n':J even when the word in question may be in construct where Massoretic Hebrew has a reduced diphthong. According to the accepted view, the diphthongs contracted in northern Israel and in Moabite (as also in Phoenician and Ugaritic) while they remained uncontracted in Judah. On the other hand, there are two spelling variants from Judah for the diphthong aw in the word "day," viz. C" and C'. Do they reflect the preservation of the diphthong aw and its sporadic reduction or do both forms reflect aw > 6 with plene writing in some instances? Other examples, e.g. in the Siloam Inscription, may suggest a historical spelling in which the diphthong was originally pronounced fully but contracted later though still represented by the orthography. This might suggest a certain inconsistency in the spelling of words with 6 < aw. Apparently, at this stage of our research and with the material presently at hand, it is premature to establish firm rules for the orthography of diphthongs and long vowels in the First Commonwealth period. We

INTRODUCTION are evidently in need of a mu'ch larger and more varied corpus of inscriptions before linguists can lay down guidelines for the spelling and pronunciation of the different branches of ancient Hebrew and the neighboring dialects during the First Temple period. As newly discovered inscriptions are added to our storehouse of inscriptions from the languages spoken in the Holy Land (Judaean, Israelite, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite and "Philistine"), we become more aware of dialect difference, e.g. between Judaean and Ephraimite (the famous n7:l'iV* = and between Judaean and Israelite in general (preservation as against reduction of the diphthongs). There seem to be other variants even within Judaean, e.g. the use of for 0 in Arad letter No. 24. The preservation of local dialectical differences were commonplace under the pre-modern conditions of travel and communication. It must not be forgotten that the Hebrew inscriptions from the biblical period encompass a very great span of time, from the Solomonic period (Gezer Calendar) to the end of the monarchy (Lachish and Arad texts and the seal of Gedaliah son of AJ:tiqam) and the beginning of Persian rule in the Levant. During that period there must have been considerable changes in linguistic expression. In addition to what may be termed natural internal modifications, the language absorbed foreign influences from outside. Judah and Israel were subject to considerable mutual influence on one another. One may surmise that Jerusalem the capital, located in Benjaminite territory, was especially subject to outside influences. The close political ties between Judah and Israel during the Omride Dynasty and later under Jeroboam II and Uzziah probably also affected the language in Jerusalem, in particular to the speech of those in the higher echelons of government and society. After the destruction of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, many refugees from the north found their way to Judah and to Jerusalem, and they most likely contributed appreciably to the cultural life of Jerusalem, including the media of language. Hebrew may also have absorbed Phoenician influence during the Omride Dynasty, and the contribution of Aramaic, the international diplomatic language during the latter half of the monarchial period, must have been considerable. These data must be accounted for in any attempt to reconstruct the orthography and grammar of the Hebrew inscriptions from the biblical period. It is impossible to lump all the inscriptions together. On the other hand, the amount of material at our disposal does not facilitate a detailed analysis. In this situation, we must confess our limitations and simply try to study the remains of the past to the best of our understanding with due humility and restraint.

5

6

INTRODUCTION Perhaps it would not be amiss to remind all those who seek to study Hebrew orthography in the ancient past of the problematic nature of Hebrew spelling throughout the history of the language. Even the modern language can be instructive. How even the experts can vacillate with regard to the rules of the Hebrew Language Academy! How difficult it is sometimes to make a spelling decision in accordance with one's sense of logic! These dilemmas stand before those attempting to create literary works. The average man, who needs to use writing in everyday life, will utilize spellings, not according to rules, but in line with his experience: some conservative forms, some imprints from his school experience, spelling and grammar acquired in daily life, from the market place and from the newspaper. That picture may be suggestive when trying to understand the ancient writers, although modern Hebrew is also subject to influences from the European scripts which use vowel letters as a matter of course and numerous foreign (usually English) words are now being spelled in Hebrew characters. As for palaeography-the actual script of the inscriptions-it is a field of study restricted mainly to specialists who pay utmost attention to every minute detail in the forms of letters, etc. The script of the biblical period went through a process of development. Alongside the Hebrew script in its various stages, there stood the neighboring scripts to the east and to the west: the scripts of Ammon, Moab, Edom and from Tell Deir ::J Allah on one side, and the "Philistine" inscriptions on the other, as well as the Phoenician script from the northern seacoast. The following are observations from the book by J. Naveh, The Early History oj the Alphabet; concerning the Moabite script (excluding the Mesha Stone which is written in Hebrew script) he says: The mem has a large head, sometimes almost half the height of the letter, and the two vertical bars do not cut across the horizontal line ... in addition to the large-headed mem there is an open cayin ... the shin consists of three fingers meeting at one point. ... Thus it can be said that the forms of the cayin and the shin clearly manifest an intrusion of Aramaic elements into the script of the Moabites (pp. 101-102). As for the Edomite script, one also finds: ... the large-headed mem, familiar from Moabite seals ... we find also the typical Aramaic open cayin and the waw shaped like an inverted h (p. 102). Beside them there are letters resembling the corresponding Hebrew forms ...

INTRODUCTION there are letters (bet, waw, samech, Cay in, resh, taw) that have clearly Aramaic forms (Naveh, ibid.; Hebrew edition 1989, p. 102). According to Cross, the Ammonites wrote in a script which branched off from the Aramaic in the middle of the eighth century B.C. ... In my opinion, the script of the Ammonite inscriptions cannot be considered as a national (Ammonite) script. ... All the letter forms in the Ammonite inscriptions can be explained within the framework of the development of the Aramaic script (Naveh, ibid., pp. 109--:110). It is reasonable to assume that in the eighth and seventh centuries, when

the Philistine kings bore Semitic names like Hanun,

and Mitinti, they

spoke a Semitic language and wrote in a script similar to those current in this region.... On a seal of unknown provenance we read lCbd::Jpb bn sbCt

cbd mtt bn $dq::J ... this seal does not only have characters that are similar to Hebrew letters (mainly taw), but also Phoenician-Aramaic features .... However, the paucity of the epigraphic material precludes further comment on the script practiced by the Philistines (Naveh, ibid., pp. 111-112) . . . . A partial answer to this question has recently been furnished by the publication of two ostraca from Tell Jemmeh (Tel Gamma) ... in a script that is very similar to the Hebrew script of the seventh century BeE, although with certain letters there are special features (Naveh, ibid.; Hebrew edition, p.109).

INTERPRETATION AND VOCALIZATION

In scholarly articles and in editions of texts, especially in editio princeps of inscriptions, the editors and authors have striven to present as extensive an interpretation as possible. These are commentaries which try to deal thoroughly with every possible aspect, with a precise description of the document and every letter and sign in it, and with every possible alternate reading. They have discussed the various interpretative suggestions proposed by other scholars and often disputed them. There are those who have sought to reconstruct the actual vocalization of the text at the time it was written. I have chosen a different approach to interpretation and its associated vocalization. It would be impossible in a book of this nature to encompass all the material, to present all the possibilities for decipherment and rendering, or to bring to the reader all the scholarly considerations and debates concerning

7

8

INTRODUCTION

the interpretation of a document. Whoever seeks to go deeply into a document must return to the main publications and to the ever burgeoning mass of scholarly literature. It is my goal to present to the reader document? in an accurate transcription-albeit not always agreed upon by all scholars-with an adequate commentary. For this reason I have permitted myself to bring the texts in their generally accepted rendering. I did not avail myself of a new reading based on scrupulous examination of photographs and / or of the actual inscriptions. That endeavor would have sidetracked me from my objective of preparing a book useful to all, obligating me to defend every novel reading and to point out the degree of uncertainty. Therefore, included in the book are some doubtful readings, which are disputed by scholars anyway, particularly when it comes to the completion of broken passages. The average reader will not feel deprived, while the scholar well oriented to the material and its problems can always check the documents in photographs. However I did not absolve myself from checking photographs and original documents when I was not happy with the generally accepted readings, and made my own decisions concerning the proper readings. Most of the facsimiles were adopted from previous publications, but where I differ from the reading presented I redrew and / or corrected them. The reader should remember that a drawing is sometimes an interpretation. Most of the texts included here are formulated in everyday language which was familiar to the writers and the readers. As is usual with human beings, the writers of simple epistles and the recorders of everyday lists, there is a certain carelessness and lack of polish. Furthermore, the writers dealt with subjects familiar to themselves and to the recipients of the texts, so it was not necessary to explain all the details. The difficulties in understanding a document have left a wide field for scholars to maneuver. Thus mountains of excessive interpretation may be built on the contents of many of the texts. But I have chosen to stick to the simplest of interpretations. This has been my method in dealing with vocalization. I have not tried to achieve the vocalization and pronunciation of the ancients at the time they were composing these texts. Reconstruction of the vocalization and pronunciation is difficult work and those who engage in it will pardon me if I assert that there is much more uncertainty than certainty in their endeavors. So I have pointed the texts in accordance with the Massoretic system as part of the commentary. Whoever wishes to go behind this pointing to a period at least a thousand years earlier can do so, on his responsibility, and that of his linguistic

INTRODUCTION colleagues. I do not aspire to 'that task and have only given a vocalization as a means of interpretation as far as meaning goes. Often it is sufficient to give a pointed form of a word, vocable or clause to explain my understanding of it.

FORGERIES

The question of the authenticity of documents not found in archaeological excavations has arisen in all its intensity during recent times. The market thirst for antiquities and the high prices paid for ancient objects have stimulated the efforts of forgers. Forgeries have appeared on the market alongside authentic objects from accidental finds or from illicit excavations. The forgers have become cleverer, but the means of identifying forgeries have also become more sophisticated. Even so it is not always possible to determine with certainty if a questionable object is fabricated or authentic. Two most interesting ostraca recently published in scholarly and semi-popular journals are suspected of being fakes. The forgery is extremely sophisticated. The ostraca have withstood the tests of various laboratories. The shards and the script were appropriate for the period in question, viz. the seventh century BeE. The geography alluded to in one of the texts was appropriate to . the alleged find spot, and ostraca and many seal impressions have been found in the area between Lachish and Hebron. However, some peculiarities in the language, the script and finally in the results of the analysis of the patina by another laboratory, have exposed the fraud. The patina was no more than calcareous powder on a layer of paraffin! It is a pity that even after the real facts were known the ostraca were included in two collections of ancient Near Eastern texts (D. Pardee, in W. W. Hallo and K. L. Younger [eds.], The Context ofScripture 3: Archival Documents from the Biblical World, Leiden 2002, pp. 86-87; J. M. Lindenberger, Ancient Aramaic and Hebrew Letters, Atlanta 2003, pp. 110-111; d. pp. 109, 112 n.d.), and in vol. 2 of G. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions: Corpus and Concordance, thus misleading innocent readers. For the ostraca themselves see P. Bordreuil, F. Israel and D. Pardee, "Deux ostraca de la collection 5h. Moussa'ief," Semitica 46 (1966), pp. 49-76, pIs. 7-8; idem, "King's Command and Widow's Plea," BAR 23/6 (1996), pp. 28-32; idem, "King's Command and Widow's Plea: Two New Hebrew Ostraca of the Biblical Period," Near Eastern Archaeology 61 (1998), pp. 2-13; A. 5erandour, "Remarques complementaires sur la contribution ordonee par Ie roi :lsyhw pour Ie temple de YHWH," Semitica 46 (1996), pp. 77-78; 1. Ephcal

9

10

INTRODUCTION and J. Naveh, "Remarks on the Recently Published Moussa'ief Ostraca," IE! 48 (1998), pp. 269-273; Y. Goren, A. Ayalon et aI., "Authenticity Examination of Two Ostraca from the Moussaief Collection," IE! 55 (2005), pp. 20-34. I A monumental inscription commemorating repairs of the Temple by King Jehoash of Judah was "discovered" and published (2003), and caused much interest in the media. But the language, palaeography and analysis of the patina and charcoal revealed it as a forgery. It also should be noted that the sunken border of the stone slab is a novelty unknown in the First Commonwealth period. On the inscription see S. Ilani, A. Rosenfeld and M. Dvorachek, "Archaeometry of a Stone Tablet with Hebrew Inscription Referring to Repair of the House," Geological Survey of Israel, Current Research 13 (2003), pp. 109-116; F. M. Cross, "Notes on the Forged Plaque Recording Repairs to the Temple," IE! 53 (2003), pp. 119-122; 1. Ephcal, "The 'Jehoash Inscription': A Forgery," ibid., pp. 124-128. A tiny broken "ivory" pomegranate was one of the Israel Museum treasures. It bears a Hebrew inscription: W1P il['il'] n':J? ("belonging to the House of Y[HWH] consecrated to the priests"). Its provenance is unknown but it was commonly suggested to be a relic from the Temple. After many years of rumors concerning its authenticity, it was re-examined, and declared a forgery. While the pomegranate itself is genuine, made from the tusk of a hippopotamus, and broken already in antiquity, most probably of the Late Bronze Age, the inscription is new. This is evident from the patina and the two new breaks caused most probably in the course of cutting the inscription. In order to avoid more breaks the engraver did not finish the legs of the X-like n of the word n':J, leaving crests separating the unfinished legs of the n and the break. For this and more details, see Y. Goren, S. Al:Utuv, et al., "A Re-examination of the Inscribed Pomegranate from the Israel Museum," IE! 55 (2005), pp. 3-20; A. Lemaire, "A Re-examination of the Inscribed Pomegranate from the Israel Museum: A Rejoinder (with an Appendix by A. Rosenfeld and S. Hani)," IE! 56 (2006), pp. 166-177; and most recently S. Al:lituv, A. Demsky, et aI., "The Inscribed Pomegranate from the Israel Museum Examined Again," IE! 57 (2007), pp. 87-95, with the opposing views of Al:lituv, Demsky and Goren on one side, and of Lemaire on the other side. The matter of the authenticity of the inscription on the pomegranate is still unsettled. It is much more difficult to discern forgeries among stamp seals and seal impressions. Both are produced from natural materials, stones and lumps of clay, which cannot be subjected to Carbon-14 tests. Just two examples are given, as

J

INTRODUCTION

this book does not deal with seals and seal impressions. The rectangular seal of 1?7Ji1 1:J11 said to have been found on the foot path at Tell Qasile in 1944, subsequently turned out to be a clumsy forgery. It was carved on a Byzantine mosaic cube! The very name instead of as expected in the Persian period, should have aroused the suspicions of scholars. Perhaps this was not meant to be a forgery but only a prank by someone who placed it on the trail and succeeded in fooling us for half a century. Even the beautiful seal of llmi11'l:J i1l1117J ("MaCadanah, the king's daughter") which was perpetuated on the modern half-shekel coin is suspect. The musical instrument has twelve strings while in the First Commonwealth period such an instrument had eight or nine strings. In the history of Josephus Flavius (Antiquities VII, 6, 12) it is said that there were twelve strings in the harps used in the Temple! Was the fabricator of the seal who intended to create an image of the harp familiar with the passage in Josephus? Add to this the mint condition of the seal, as if it had come directly from the craftsman's workshop, with no signs whatever of abrasion from usage. Furthermore, this is the sole ancient Near Eastern seal engraved on a stone which was unavailable in the Levant. With seal impressions it is even more difficult to discern forgeries unless the forger made some glaring mistake. On page 12 of N. Avigad's WSS there is a list of suspect seals and seal impressions which were nevertheless included in the corpus. There is also a list on pp. 1195-1215 of obvious forgeries. A final decision on this matter must wait until we have technical means to put an end to the ambiguity concerning the authenticity of these seals and seal impressions. Every unprovenanced item is either stated as such or is indicated by an asterisk, or both.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Here are the main publications aI\d especially those which are not mentioned in the bibliographical lists pertaining to each text. In any event, it was not my intention to give a comprehensive bibliography. The bibliographical lists following the commentary on a particular inscription do not include general works (as is done by Gibson and Donner and R611ig) or of translation of the texts (as in the work by Lemaire), unless they contain a particularly cogent discussion. The person wishing to make a specialized study will, in any case, have to consult all the general works in the field.

11

12

INTRODUCTION COLLECTIONS OF TEXTS G. 1. Davis, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions: Corpus and Concordance 1-2, Cambridge 1991-2004, is a corpus of texts (up to 200 BeE) prepared in a mechanically produced inventory with no new suggestions. There is not a single Hebrew letter in the whole book. The bibliography is scanty, only the initial publication of an inscription is listed. The computerized concordance is mechanical but can be of great use to scholars thoroughly familiar with the material and having a keen critical sense. J. Renz and W. Rollig, Handbuch del' althebriiischen Inschriften (4 vols), Darmstadt 1995-2003. The term Handbuch does not do justice to this comprehensive work. It is a collection of all the Hebrew inscriptions (from Israel and Judah) that the editors could collect, including those on which only one or two letters are preserved. Every text is extensively discussed with scrupulous attention to detail and a bibliography heads every entry. The following two collections, though now out of date, are still quite useful because of their thoroughly systematic approach to the material: D. Diringer, Le iscrizioni antico-ebraiche palestinesi, Firenze 1934; S. Moscati, L'epigrafia ebraica antica 1935-1950, Roma 1951. S. Moscati's work supplements and complements that of Diringer. These two together were the standard handbooks for many years. H. Donner and W. Rollig, Kanaaniiische und aramiiische Inschriften 1-3, Wiesbaden, 1962-1964; 2nd edition 1964-1.968. This work replaced Diringer and Moscati and is the standard reference work (henceforth abbreviated KAI). It represents the best in scholarly commentary and bibliographical references. The first edition was somewhat marred by typological errors in the Hebrew script. A transcription (into Hebrew characters), translation into German, and thorough glossaries complement the commentary. Though slightly out of date, it is still a gold mine of information. A new (5th), expanded edition of volume 1 was published in 2002. J. c. L. Gibson, Syrian Semitic Inscriptions. I: Hebrew and Moabite, Oxford 1971. This work is similar in content to Donner and Rollig's KAI, but much more limited and definitely not on the same high level of competence. D. Pardee, Handbook of Ancient Hebrew Letters, Chico, CA 1982. This monograph provides a broad and thorough discussion of each text (only epistles are dealt with) and of epigraphy in general. The author seeks to reconstruct the ancient forms and pronunciation. Each item is accompanied by an extensive bibliography.

INTRODUCTION The recently published Hebrew Inscriptions: Texts from the Biblical Period of the Monarchy with Concordance, New Haven and London 2005, by F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp, J. J. M. Roberts, C. 1. Seow and R. E. Whitaker, is a useful reference book. The editio princeps of each inscription will be listed with each item. Meanwhile it may be worthwhile to list some of the major initial publications for the most important collections of inscriptions: H. Torczyner, The Lachish Letters (Lachish I), London, 1938. This English version is important for the photographs and excellent facsimilies by G. 1. Harding. A revised Hebrew version was published in 1940 in Jerusalem (reissued in 1980 with a foreword and additional notes by S. AJ::rituv); it contains a more extensive commentary. Torczyner's theory that all the letters pertained to one military court trial has not stood the test of time. Y. Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions, Jerusalem 1981 (the Aramaic texts from Arad were included as edited by J. Naveh). This is an English version of the original Hebrew publication from 1976. The English edition contains three additional texts discovered after Aharoni's death, plus the inscriptions on weights. Some further notes were added by the editor and translator, A. F. Rainey. R. Hestrin et al., Inscriptions Reveal, Jerusalem 1973. A publication accompanying a special epigraphic display at the Israel Museum; a Hebrew version was also issued. W. E. Aufrecht, A Corpus of Ammonite Inscriptions, Lewiston, Queenston and Lampeter 1989. A complete corpus of Ammonite inscriptions, especially noteworthy for clarity of presentation and for good bibliographies; the commentary is brief and limited in scope; the photographs and printing are not the best. The Ammonite texts were also assembled in the second chapter of the book by U. Hubner, Die Ammoniter, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte, Kultur und Religion eines Transjordanischen Volkes imI. Jahrtausend v. Chr., Wiesbaden 1992, pp.15-129. TRANSLATIONS OF TEXTS Usually, the translations of Hebrew inscriptions are included among translations of ancient Near Eastern texts from various points of view, for example, the translations by W. F. Albright in the great reference work by J. B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Princeton 1969. Similar translations into German appear in the series edited by O. Kaiser, Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments, Gutersloh 1982 ff. A popular French translation is by H. Michaud, Sur la pierre et l'argile, Paris and Neuchatel1958. In

13

14

INTRODUCTION

spite of the popular format, the results of the author's valuable, independent research is included in the notes. The most up-to-date French translations are those by A. Lemaire, I{1scriptions hebrai'ques, I: Les ostraca, Paris 1977. His notes also represent independent firsthand research and his commentary and observations are of great value. VARIOUS S. L. Gogel, A Grammar of Epigraphic Hebrew, Atlanta, GA 1998. This is a detailed grammar of the Hebrew inscriptions, viz. from Judah and Israel. It deals with phonology and morphology and also syntax. There is a dictionary list and transcriptions of the texts into Latin characters. There is a selection of inscriptions from seals and seal impressions and a good bibliography. Although the material at our disposal is too little to enable anyone to draw a real grammar of epigraphic Hebrew, the book is useful for students of Hebrew epigraphy. See the reviews by J. Blau, U!Sonenu 62 (1999), pp. 345-347 (in Hebrew), and D. Sivan IEJ 53 (2003), pp. 132-134. L. G. Herr, The Scripts of Ancient Northwest Semitic Seals, Missoula (Montana) 1978; and a review of same by J. Naveh in BASOR 239 (1980), pp. 75-76, is especially important for a convenient assemblage of the material. F. M. Cross and D. N. Freedman, Early Hebrew Orthography, New Haven 1952. Z. Zevit, Matres Lectionis in Ancient Hebrew Epigraphs, New Haven 1980; and a review of it by A. F. Rainey, JBL 102 (1983), pp. 629-634; and J. Naveh, IEJ 38 (1988), pp. 138-140. J. Naveh, Early History of the Alphabet, Jerusalem 1989. For the latter works, d. the discussion on orthography and palaeography above.

STANDARD MARKS AND NOTES ON TRANSLATION

[ ] Square brackets indicate a gap in the text due to a break or an erasure; signs within square brackets represent restoration, sometimes conjectural. The space left between the brackets usually reflects the actual gap in relation to the rest of the text. A single right or left bracket at the beginning (D or end (]) of a line denotes a gap at the head of the line or at its end. In such cases it is not always possible to estimate the actual amount of text missing. ( ) Parentheses within a pointed transcription or a translation represent interpretations of the meaning of the text.

INTRODUCTION

15

< > Angled

*

brackets denote restorations of the text of material that had dropped out due to error on the part of the scribe or of the stonemason who incised the inscription. These bowed parentheses mark otiose signs or letters which are either inserted by mistake or misplaced in the text due to error on the part of the scribe or of the stonemason who incised the inscription. For proper reading of the inscription, letters or signs so marked have to be ignored. A dot above a letter signifies that it is not completely preserved or that its correct reading is uncertain. Asterisk preceding a word indicates that it is a reconstructed, hypothetical form. When it precedes an item, or a group of items, it indicates that the item or group of items is unprovenanced.

The biblical text follows the latest edition of Rabbi Mordechai Breuer' s no,);, C'N'::n ;",n n',::nm 1"m : o"tVn c':J,'P;, ;,:J,:ll C'N (The Jerusalem Keter: The Hebrew University Bible, Jerusalem 2000), based on the text and Massorah of the Aleppo Codex and oriental codices of the same family. I however disregarded hyphens methegs and cantillation signs The verses' numbers follow the Hebrew enumeration as represented in The Jerusalem Keter. English translations of the Bible are from various versions. I chose those which better suited my understanding of the Hebrew text, and thus sometimes altered a more conventional translation or supplied my own. When using page references from the Jerusalem Talmud (IT) I added the latest edition of the Academy of the Hebrew Language: N"OtVn (Talmud Yerushalmi, Jerusalem 2001). In Latin transcriptions of Hebrew, 12, 4, g,ls, p, and 1represent the spirantal/ fricative realization of phones (unmarked by a dagesh Lenis). Thus the pronunciation of 12, ls and p is v, kh (Arabic (, lJa) and f, respectively. In modern Hebrew today there is no difference in the execution between g and g, 4 and d, or 1 and t. But there is evidence from late antiquity, and sometimes continuing into recent times, that 1 was pronounced like Arabic (th, as in English thin); 4, like Arabic j (dh). The realization of the g is problematic; from the Middle Ages onward evidence shows that it was not unlike the Arabic (gh). But as Hebrew, till at least the Hellenistic period, still had a distinctive phone for (gh), it is improbable that there was no distinction between and g.

t

t

t

n "i--

>
i:ll"l- This pool is the pool of Siloam to the west of the City of David. Today it is called birket J aH1amta which is full of gardens. The orthography of the Siloam Inscription raises several questions with regard to the use of internalmatres lectionis. And this is connected to the matter of the preservation of diphthongs (in 1'17 and or its contraction (as in 'jI and 0':11). Final answers have not been given, but it should be observed that in Massoretic Hebrew there is a certain inconsistency in the preservation of diphthongs: d. iiW, sor, "ox" contracted from proto-semitic *tawr with nw, mawet, "death," which remained uncontracted in. the independent form but contracted to mot in the bound form; d. also i'O, heq, "bosOln, lap" which is always contracted to bayit, "house" which preserves the diphthong in the independent form but contracts to bet in the bound form.

JERUSALEM

As for the putative singular *ya711, "day" (Cross and Freedman), it is a ghost word. J. Barth had shown long ago that the Hebrew plural ya711f711 was developed through reciprocal analogy between the word pair *yo711fm w"sanot by which the first member acquired the base vowel of the second and the second member acquired the plural suffix of the first, thus 0'7;';, yamfm wiJsanfm (while the bound forms often developed into Ydmot and n1Jlf, sJnot). Cross and Freedman, EHO, pp. 49-51; G. Levi Della Vida, "The Siloam Inscription Reconsidered," in M. Black and G. Fohrer (eds.), In Memorim Paul Kahle (BZAW 103), Berlin 1968, pp. 162-166; E. Peuch, "L'inscription du tunnel de SHoe," RB 81 (1974), pp. 196-214; V. Sasson, "The Siloam TUlULel Inscription," PEQ 114 (1982), pp. 111-117; Z. Talshir, "The Detailing Formula ... i:J1n m1," Tarbitz 51 (1981/2), pp. 24-25 (Hebrew; English abstract, p. vi); A. F. Rainey, Review of Ziony Zevit, Matres Lectiol1is ill Ancient Hebrew Epigraphs, Cambridge, MA 1980, in JBL 102 (1983), p. 630; A. E. Shimron et al., "The City of David Waterworks: Yerusalaim A Geological and Engineering Overview," in A. Baruch (ed.), Ifiddusim (Proceedings of the Fourth Symposium), Ramat Gan 1998, pp. xi-xvi.

STELA FRAGMENT FROM THE CITY OF DAVID

A fragment of an inscription incised on stone, apparently some sort of stela. Its date is c. 700 BCE. Although the letters are clearly incised, it is not possible to determine the context.

25

26

JUDAH

]::>il

[

]::>il •

[

]'iWY S:JW:J [ ]1 •'IY:J1[ ]:j[

[ ]1

]:j[

· .. ] the accumulation (heap) of the [ ... · .. ] on the seventeenth [year .. . in the] fourth (month) and [ .. . [ ....................... ]

-

Perhaps a verbal form for which the prefix is not preserved or a noun, (2 Kgs 10:8). - Thus Cross, reading , lithe silver," but Naveh reads a or J. Y. Shiloh, "City of David-1978," BA 42 (1979), p. 170; J. Naveh, "Hebrew and Aramaic Inscriptions," in D. T. Ariel, Excavations at the City of David 1978-1985, VI: Inscriptions (Qedem 41), Jerusalem 2000, pp. 1-2; F. M. Cross, "A Fragment of a Monumental Inscription from the City of David," IE] 51 (2001), pp. 44-47.

OSTRACON

No.1

A three-line inscription on a jar fragment dating to the seventh century

BeE.

It is a list of men and their titles, one poor and the other two perhaps a little

wealthier. The purpose of the list is not clear . •n:tT)9 t?"J.b>iJ

1f. O[b¥ 1f. 1f. ]

.n:Jno .t?10il .'N"nN .1:J .O[ ]0::> .Ol::>il .1il"10n .p .'il[ ] .Ol::>il .1il"Y1[

] 'il"[

Amo]s son of :>Al)f)el, the rag shredder · .. ya]hu son of l:Psagyiliu, the sil[ver] collector · .. ]yahu [son of ya]gaCyahu the [silver] collector -

l1:::1nO

An obvious restoration in view of the name's ending with o. - liThe shredder of rags," the latter being worn-out garments, Jer

38: 11-12: 111:::1090 ... o"1:1?1t 111:::109 "and he took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags ... worn-out clothes and rags."

JERUSALEM

Participle from tJiO, "to tear, shred," cognate to Akkadian saratu and (sarata), still written with 'tV in biblical Hebrew. This orthography with is further testimony to the fact that 0 had lost its distinctive value (from the second millennium BeE) and was now substituted for 'tV. This was evidently a lowly occupation. -

°

:Jon

- "The sil[ver] collector." Cf. Eccl2:8: '7 "I collected for myself silver and gold." But, unlike the wealthy Koheleth, these collectors of silver might have been collectors of scrap silver to be sold or traded to the silversmith. This would place them almost on the same social level as the "rag shredder."

27

28

JUDAH OSTRACON

No.2

T

T:

])::J7

•

]N,;G1 ]V"nN ]N"nN ]N::J1V

A list of names.

'''']J::l' - The lamed applies to all the names in the list. .,']N::l.,v - This is the second attestation of this otherwise unknown Hebrew name; d. Arad No. 24, infra, p. 127. OSTRACON

No.3

]

-

] ] .?

-

].nlVN -

1.--1 [

1.--1 [

].n'IZJN -

1.--1 [

1.--1 [

].n'IZJN -

1.--1 [

1.--1 [

]::J'lZJn -

1.--1 [

1.--1 [

]) - [

[ ... ] hin(?) - (to) the wife of [ ... ] [ ... ] hin(?) - (to) the wife of [ ... ] [ ... ] hin(?) - (to) the wife of [ ... ]

]) - [

JERUSALEM

[ ... ] hin(?) - (to) I:Psa[l2yahu(?)] [ ......... ] - N[ ............... ] [ ............................. ] A list of quantities of a commodity, evidently wheat, issued to the wives of some individuals and possibly also to a man. J. Naveh, "Hebrew and Aramaic Inscriptions," in T. D. Ariel (ed.), Excavations at the City of David 1978-1985 VI: Inscriptions (Qedem 41), Jerusalem 2000, pp. 2-4.

29

30

JUDAH

A

STELA FRAGMENT

A badly broken inscription on limestone (27 x 24 x 10 cm) found in secondary use in a Byzantine house. The text was apparently longer than four lines, all of which are quite fragmentary. The precise letters indicate that the original inscription was incised with great care. Because of the fragmentary nature of the text it is impossible to reconstruct the content but it would seem that the inscription dealt with some water project within Jerusalem. On palaeographical grounds the text may be tentatively dated to the first half of the seventh century BeE.

O'H' '0" ".0-

-

-

•

[

]1'

[

.11,[

.11,[

];i- "11::>'''!l .. : : - : [ ]O:Ji1 •no) [

];i "11:J'''::1 [ ]O:Ji1 .no)[

JERUSALEM

· .. · .. · .. · ..

] from under the st[reain(?) ] ?? the water[s ... ] at the extremity of the [ ... ] remove the thr[ one(?)

Hypothetical restoration. In biblical Hebrew oJ! refers to a flow of water but I do not understand how something could be "under" a flow of water, unless we have to understand OiT as a channel or a pipe. Is the missing word il1T as in the Siloam Inscription? The meaning is still unclear. 1"'[ - In Naveh's opinion there is a space between these two letters due to an imperfection in the stone; Ben-Dov thinks that a defaced letter was in that space. In any case there is no satisfactory restoration for this combination of letters . • • •]l"I - In spite of the lack of a word divider between the vocables, they must be separated. From the partially defaced letter there only remains the leg, Oi]T; -

which can be restored as i1 or 1. One cannot render or because such a vocable would have been written without., in First Temple orthography.

31

32

JUDAH nOJ[ - The root no) signifies the transfer of an object or a person from its place to another place, often to relllove or uproot. A prefix is apparently missing . •• •]O::lil It is impossible to decide between the various possibilities of restoration.

M. Ben-Dov, A Fragment of a Hebrew Inscription from the First Temple Times found on the Ophel," Qadmol1iot 17 (1984), pp. 109-111 (Hebrew); J. Naveh, A Fragment of an Ancient Hebrew Inscriptionfrom the Ophel," IE! 32 (1982), pp. 195-198, PI. 26A. II

II

OSTRACON

No.1:

"THE OPHEL OSTRACON"

An eight-line ostracon, from the end of the Judaean monarchy according to its palaeography. Only the first three lines are legible; the other lines are almost completely defaced and the visible letters and the personal name found in them are all disputed. The text was a list of personal names and undoubtedly served some administrative purpose .

[?lUi1Ui:J .ilN1p

•

]ri

P1Wil P

P'11fij If. ]

P

If.

P

I:Ii[z]qlyahu son of Qarif'ah son of Sores. Buqqlyahu Al)iyahu son of "Sandy" son of CAmaqya[hu] . . . . ]yahu son of Qry son of CAmaqyahu Gibson took this as a feminine of partridge (Nj'p) but it is more likely a hypocoristic theophoric name like NiTY from WiW::l - "Son of Shoresh," the :1 being an abbreviation for 1:1, "son (of)," as in further on in the text. This phenomenon is well known, e.g. the biblical personal names "son of cAnah"; "son of Deker." In Hebrew epigraphy, e.g. an incised sherd from Samaria has [ ]iI ':17:J:1 N1:1[Y7], "[belonging to CA]bda:l son of Kalbi" (B. Mazar, "The Phoenician Inscriptions from Byblos and the Evolution of the Phoenician-Hebrew Alphabet," in The Early Biblical Period: Historical Essays, Jerusalem 1986, p. 233); and also in Phoenician epigra"son of yal:Umilk" (KAI, No. 7:3). phy: ilN'P -

pium - Nickname from color of hair, d. Zech 1:8: 0'1;)10, "horses, red, sorrel, and white"; p1iW is apparently reddish. However, the vocable PiWiI could also be taken as the participle, pj'W, "one who combs wool."

JERUSALEM

33

34

JUDAH

- Son of CAmaqyahu; cf. the shortened theophoric biblical name (Neh 12:7, 20). Since there is room for another word at the end of lines 2 and 3, some have suggested to read "in the Valley of Jehoshaphat" but this is nothing but a guess. Thus and not as some scholars have suggested.

"v -

riv

It would appear that the men in lines 2 and 3 had the same grandfather or else

they were members of the same family, viz. of CAmaqyahu. S.A. Cook, "Inscribed Hebrew Objects from the Ophel", PEF Q5t 56 (1924), pp. 183-186; Gibson, HM, pp. 25-26; Lemaire, Ostraca, pp. 239-244 (with bibliography) OSTRACON

No.2

An octracon from the end of the seventh, or the beginning of the sixth century (Lemaire). The text is badly effaced and nothing can be deduced from it except a few isolated words. The ostracon is too fragmentary for translation.

BeE

] ii'[W ... : Oii '0'

]1

] iii[

T

O¥? 0' ]ii :J!¥t.' 0

]1 .iilii' .oii

;;:),

.0'

]ii

.0

JERUSALEM

i1 ], i11.'P

]'37 •iii7i

'37 1'371

], .i1'W

] ':ll .liN

] ,::U !1N •••••

.i1

'o'

]:J)

Ol"! -

perhaps a 3rd masculine plural suffix.

- to the people (masses), or else the word

has its ancient meaning of "and he was gathered to his people"

"family, clan"; d. Gen 25:8: (and in many similar passages). - Perhaps ::lJ.¥v, "what is abandoned, left over," or else the question "Has he abandoned/left?"

- From the root

- "Small cattle," unless this is a verbal form from ... - Perhaps to complete: or the like? ;):'Il- The name of a store jar; d. the Samaria Ostraca, infra, p. 261 et al.

35

36

JUDAH OSTRACON

No.3

'J" An ostracon from the end of the eighth century BeE (Lemaire). In the first line we have the ciphers 50 + 7 in Egyptian hieroglyphic forms used widely in Israel and Judah; in the second line four small marks to designate the numeral four. 57 (jars of) oil 4 (jars of) grain

1:J)7.)W 57 •

T

:

- plural of F?W, "oil," meaning vessels of oil. C.,:lW - Plural of "grain"; d. Am 8:5: 'f .. "that we may sell grain? ... that we may set forth wheat?" Here the meaning is "four containers of grain."

Since the terms used here are collectives and are not known as the names of specific measures of oil or grain, no further refinement in the interpretation is possible.

JERUSALEM OSTRACON

No.4

An ostracon from the end of the eighth century (Lemaire). The numerals are hieratic.

200

200

They counted out 18 For tithing

18

1W¥7

Either a plural imperative (iJi?) or a third person plural suffix form from the root 'm. ju)17' - To take the tithe for the Temple or for the king.

OSTRACON

No.5

This ostracon too is from the end of the eighth century BeE (Lemaire). The scribe used some hieratic signs but in line 5 he wrote eight hash marks instead of writing hieratic 5 plus three hash marks.

37

38

JUDAH

JERUSALEM

Obverse (x jars of) oil

(x jars of) oil (x jars of) oil 5 (jars of) oil

8 Reverse Gath Parual:t

oS6w

01??o/ 5

1

8

III II III

-

'o.T

-

nii> .id

n'tl 11:\ - Gath of the Parual:t family. Compare the biblical GN's Gath, Gathl:tepher and Gath-rimmon. "Gath" is not just a winepress but rather a place for the processing and storing of agricultural produce: wine, oil and grain. Although the Bible uses the word n). in the restricted meaning, a winepress, in place names it still refers to the older meaning. A. Lemaire, ilLes ostraca paleo-hebreux des fouilles de l'Ophel," Levant 10 (1978), pp. 156-161, pI. xxiii.

INSCRIPTION FROM THE QPHEL

A chiseled inscription on a shoulder of a pithos found in the excavations to the south of the Temple Mount. Although the short inscription is broken its significance lies in the use of the, as mater lectionis in the middle of the word. The inscription dates to the very end of the First Temple period of Jerusalem.

39

40

JUDAH

Belonging to the chief of the Ba[kers] / the Treasury.

liNn '"Iuh- If the doubted letters are really and, then the title of this minister will be minister of the Bakers, for which cf. the Egyptian iW, "chief baker" in Gen 40:2, etc. The title iW, "minister of the treasure house," is not attested in the Bible, but 1 Chr 26:24 mentions "chief officer over the treasuries." Y. Nadelman, Appendix B: Hebrew Inscriptions, Seal Impressions, and Marldngs of the Iron Age,1! in E. Mazar and B. Mazar, Excavations on the SOL/tTl of the Temple Mount (Qedem 29), Jerusalem 1989, pp. 128-129, photo 89 (p. 36), pI. 21 (p. 101). I!

Two octraca were discovered in the Upper City of Jerusalem. Both are badly damaged and most difficult to decipher.

"GOD,

CREATOR OF EARTH"

This ostracon contained five lines; it is quite possible that there was originally a wide space between the second and fourth lines. Of lines 3 and 4 there are only unreadable traces of letters. Personal names were listed in the upper lines. In the last line one may discern the divine title, m'p "God, Creator of Earth." The date of the ostracon, on palaeological grounds, would be the end of the eighth or the beginning of the seventh century BeE (Avigad).

JERUSALEM

'il"[ .H

]1:JN •

] If.

Hf.

[

] ]

... ]yahfr, Al>ir[y]ahfr so]n of Mfl5-a[y]ahfr son of [ ... ] [ ] [ ] God] Creator of Earth

? ?]

[

1:l

]

41

42

JUDAH

-

In the Bible we have both and The meaning of this epithet is "God, creator of the earth." Cf. Gen

Y'NJj'[7N] -

14:22 1"7¥ nm' 't' "n "I have lifted up my hand unto YHWH, God Most High, creator of heaven and earth." The title is also known outside of Israel. In the Phoenician inscription of Azatiwada at Karatepe in southeastern Turkey we find: YiNJj'7N1 73i:J, "The Lord of Heaven and God creator of the earth" (KAI, No. 26 A:III:18). An Aramaic text from !:latra, between the Euphates and the Tigris in northern Iraq, has N3iiN '1 mji 73i:J = N3ii '1 mji "Lord of Heaven, creator of the earth" (other exmTIples of this title are given by Miller, pp. 43-44). The orthography in this ostracon, without the fin.al n of the participle, shows that the title was read as one vocable, fiNJji, For the elision of the n, d. the interchanging forms of the name 'NTn/'Nmn. Perhaps the inscription ended with a blessing to "God, creator of (the) earth," intended to apply to all those listed in the preceding lines. However, the fragmentary nature of the text precludes any firm conclusion. N. Avigad, Discovering Jerusalem, Nashville-Camden-New York 1980, p. 41; P. D. Miller, Jr., "EI, The Creator of Earth," BASOR 239 (1980), pp. 43-46.

ADMINISTRATIVE OSTRACON

This is a damaged ostracon having six lines on one side and two lines on the other, in a very sad state of preservation. It would seem that it dealt with some administrative matter because of the phrases iji:J7' (line 2) and iji:J7 (line 5). The ostracon is dated to the end of the Judaean monarchy.

]N' [.], [ ]i,W .n,[

] . ]

·J[ "P+.l

] N', [ ] [ [

'N[

[

]

... ] and to check[ ... . . . Pel Buqqi in the House of [ and] do not [ ...

N7 [ ]7 [ ]i,W .n,[

] ·'P:J" ·J[ ] n":J ."P:J .'N[

] .N' [

] ip:j, [ [

[

]

JERUSALEM

... ] to check [ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... ]

43

44

JUDAH

This could be the end of a personal name like Mini1', yahozaraJ::t. The doubtfullletter is or ,. Thus it cmmot be the greeting fonnula, i.e. [tl]'7lV, "shalom!" which would have been written tl7lV. ii':l" - "and to check, exmuine." But further elucidation is impossible. - Could be the final, theophoric, component of a personal nmue. "i':l - Buqqi', a known personal name (NUIU 34:22; 1 Chr 5:31; 6:36; Ezra 7:4). n":l Undoubtedly the first cOluponent in a geographical designation, either a place name, like the gentilic (1 Kgs 16:34), or an important building such as "The House of YHWH." Mi[

],'W -

N. Avigad, Discovering Jerusalem, Nashville-Camden-New York 1980, p. 42.

INSCRIPTIONS FROM BURIAL CAVES

During the First and Second Comluonwealth periods the rocky cliff on the eastern side of the Kidron Valley, opposite the "City of David," served as a burial place for Jerusalem nobility. In three burial caves from the First Temple period were found traces of inscriptions. Texts from two of these are given below. The palaeographic similarity to the Siloam tUlmel inscription would indicate a date around 700 BeE, the age of Hezekiah and Isaiah. STEWARD OF THE PALACE

In burial cave No. 35 two inscriptions were found: one on the front of the main chamber and the second in a side chamber. The inscriptions were removed frOlu their place and are now in the British Museum in London. The main text: ::lilT' .

1"N .n"::lil

] nNr

'WN 'il"[

'WN .01Nil "'N .il[ ]N iln7jN n[

] ON [

[

nNT nN ::lOll

il9

nNT

'WN 01Nil 'i'N il[i:1]N il117jN "0"

-:

T T

T

T

•

T -:

:

-

:

T

:

-

ON [":;'] •

•

JERUSALEM

45

46

JUDAH This is [the burial of SilQan]yahu the steward of the palace. There is no silver or gold here, [on]ly [his bones] and the bon[e]s of his spouse. Cursed be the man who will open this. The language and style is reminiscent of Phoenician burial inscriptions on stelae and coffins, including the curse and the mention that there is no gold or silver. Thus, e.g., in the inscription of Tabnit, king of Sidon,

lix::J 1)X n't::J om rin 1'1 'x 'x 1'1 'X 'x 1uin 'Ix, 'n't:17 nnon 'Ix 'Ix 'Ix lUin Ui' 'n't:17 nnon nno ox, Xii i::J'iI mnlV:17 luin 'Ix, 'n't:17 nnon 'Ix 'Ix T OXOi nx nnn o'n::J :l7ii '1 Don't open me up and don't disturb me because there is no silver with me and there is no gold with me and no vessels, just I myself lying in this coffin. Don't open me up and don't disturb me because such a thing is an abomination to CAshtart. But if you verily open me up and verily disturb me, may you not have seed in (your) lifetime under the sun or a resting place among the shades of he dead (KAI, No. 13:3-8).

mn - It has long been recognized that the x in this and a few other Hebrew words is a historical spelling for an original consonant. It is not a mater lectionis. '''''[l::lW] - Restored on the basis of the conjecture that the owner of the tomb was Shebna (d. discussion below). Other restorations are, of course, possible. n"::I" '17 JWN - The prime minister of the country, like the major domo of royal courts in the Middle Ages. Several persons who bore that title in the Judaean Monarchy are mentioned in the Bible. In addition to Shebna, there were Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who inherited the title from Shebna after the latter was removed from his office (Isa 22:19 ff.; 2 Kgs 18:18). Hilkiah may have had the office before Shebna. - "His handmaiden/ spouse." Apparently a spouse in the status of a Hebrew handmaiden according to Ex 21:7-11, which deals with a maiden who has been sold by her father for the purpose of marriage. The term had a wider range of meaning than just "handmaiden," and could designate people of high status just like the term "slave." ... iWX O'XiI .".,X - Cf. the inscription in a cave near En-gedi (infra, p. 237). For the prohibition on opening graves, d. the Aramaic inscription from Herodian

N"

times concerning the bones of Uzziah nmm, iI"iI' iI"n17 n'l1i1 iI:J't, "Here were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Do not open" (IR, p.

JERUSALEM

253). For the formulation IJcursed be the man," d. Deut 27:15 et al.: ... "Cursed be the nlan who makes .... " .,"N - With internal mater lectionis l The conjecture that these texts signify the tomb of Shebna (a shortened form of SiiQnayahu like SfmCa J from SamaCyahu or CEzra J from CAzaryahu, etc.) is supported by the words of Isaiah: iI'S 97 '# iI'!:) 97 iI'!:) 97 "What (right) do you have here, and whom do you have here, that you have hewn a tomb for yourself here?" (Isa 22:16a) which hint at an inscription inscribed on the facade

1'=?i? 01'lt of an ostentatious tomb on the heights of the cliff, 17, "one who hews a tomb on the height, who carves a resting place for himself in the rock" (Isa 22:16b). On the side room:

'ltl A room on the side of the chamber . Burial chamber, as in the funerary inscription No. 1 from Khirbet elQom, ilTii '1nil1il'JI1J l=l '!:)1377, "This chamber belongs to Capay son of Na!anyahu" (infra, p. 224).

."n -

- ani at the side; d. 1 Kgs 6:8:

"to the right side of the

building."

J " f{-t q

47

48

JUDAH

- The term lJ''J¥, f?aJ'fo'1, suits this context in view of its usage to denote a chamber carved in the rock in Nabataean inscriptions from Petra, e.g., '::l '1 it::l'1 N::l, "This tOlnb and the large chamber that is in it and the small chamber that is in it, (further) inside" (CIS II, vol. 1, No. 350). In $afaitic inscriptions and in Hebrew, the word f?aJ'fob denoted a burial hewn in the rock or dug into the soil. Cf. also 1 Sam 13:6: o¥O n,,'!l:;;l1 0'1:1'J¥:;;l1 0':V?9:;;l!J 0'1:1l1:):;;11, "All.d the people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in crypts, and in cisterns." The side room is located off of the Inain hewn chamber. N. Avigad, "The Epitaph of a Royal Steward from Siloam Village," IE] 3 (1953), pp. 137-152; D. Ussishkin, The Village of Silwal1, Jerusalem 1993, pp. 247-254.

THE TOMB OF ZRA[ijYAHCl]

Remnant of an inscription on the front of tomb No. 34, located 1.30 m to the right of the tomb of [Sagan]yahu, and contemporary with the latter's inscription or perhaps a bit earlier. It had the sanle formulation. The inscription is still in situ but has been recently defaced since it was first investigated (Ussishkin).

]iT .111::Jji [

[

]n"

[ ]

[This] is the burial of Zara[l)yahu] [ ... ] whoever would op[en .... ] Cf. the formulation of the inscription of [Shebna]yahu above. On the assumption that the inscription was incised in nice straight lines, there is room for mn on the right-hand side. 'i'I'nrn - The long line to the left of the letter T could represent one of several letters (1, N, or 0) but perusal of the stock of known Hebrew names from the First Temple period reveals that only a , is suitable. So 1it'n'T has been restored (it does not seem possible that there could have been another letter between the word divider after n'::ljl and the letter i). Apparently, after the owner's name came his title and the begimung of the imprecation as in the [Sagan]yahu inscription discussed above. The text evidently concluded in line 3. n"l::!i'

-

JERUSALEM

Perhaps one might restore longer formula. "lWN -

l1NT l1N

or else there may have been a

A. Reifenberg, "A Newly Discovered Hebrew Inscription of the Pre-exilic Period," ]POS 48 (1948), pp. 134-137, PI. XXVIII; N. Avigad, "The Epitaph of a Royal Steward from Siloam Village," IE] 3 (1953), p. 148; D. Ussishkin, The Village of Silwan, Jerusalem 1993, pp. 243-245.

SILVER AMULETS WITH THE PRIESTLY BLESSING

Two tiny "scrolls" of beaten silver were found rolled up in a burial place on Ketef Hinnom ("shoulder of Hinnom"), a hill overlooking the Hinnom Valley, below the Scottish Church of st. Andrew, across frOlll the present-day Mount Zion. The amulets date to about the second half of the seventh century BeE as seen frOlll the archaeological context in which they were found and also from palaeographic analysis. The rolls served as amulets. On the thin, flat surface

49

50

JUDAH

of the silver were incised blessing formulae including free citations from the priestly blessing recorded in Num 6:24-26. il1i1'

.

i11il'

.Ci;W 17

i11il'

May YHWH bless you, and protect you. May YHWH cause his face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. May YHWH lift up his countenance upon you, and grant you peace. The discovery of these abbreviated formulae provided the oldest testimony to the use of a formula of the priestly blessing which is still used to bless the people today. On the one hand, these formulae bear witness to the biblical formulation, which was apparently already more or less fixed, and also to the free usage made of the principal formula. This freedom of usage is also attested by the differences between the formulations in the two texts. For the formulary usage, note the passage on the second pithos at Kuntillet C Ajrud: 1':1' (d. infra, p. 320). The tiny scrolls were damaged by corrosion and their ends were eaten away; their measurements today: for the first scroll 9.7 x 2.7 cm, and it apparently contained 19 lines; for the second scroll 3.9 xLI cm, c. 18 lines. The tiny letters were hastily scratched on the thin silver sheets without paying too much attention to its execution, as the amulets were not intended to further exposure, never to be read again. The scrolls were written by two scribes; the letters of the second scroll are much more elegant than those of the first one, written by a more experienced scribe. The amulets accompanied their owners to the grave, to protect them in the nether regions. The belief in magical protecting powers of the Pl;'iestly Blessing still persists and it is included in the Jewish prayer said before retiring to rest at night. FIRST AMULET

ilnil"[ [jJ n'N]

]ij ,: n"':!lil .: :liI'N? 10n[iI T -: : .,'.,':.

.-:

:

['

'Qi]

; n"':1;; :jilN7 10n[

]

[ ]

JERUSALEM

] O?17iJ S] il::>':!l[il n ?Nt\ 1:1 il'il" ":P il -

•

T

T '"

T:

] C?17il i[ ]

-

il::>':1[

ri

10

10

?Nl ,:1 ":j il'il" "::> il

:

1]

] 'l:1"W[ ,:1" '."T:

1]

il'il"

,:1"

9

15

"i

] il'il"

i

15

"] il'il"

il'il" '[

"?N ']lS

]Si>

9]

]

...

II

TT

]YHW[H of the Ho]sts the Gr[eat God keeper of] the covenant [and the] grace to the ones who love him, the keepers of [his commandments, from eternity to] eternity [... the] blessing from every [tra]p and from the evil, because by him is deliverance, because YHWH [will] restore/ answer him [and] Rock may bless you YHWH [and] protect you. [May] YHWH cause [his f]ac[ e] to shine [upon you and be gracious unto you] There was at least another line which is entirely lost. Maybe the amulet owner's name had been inscribed on it. Cf. the Aramaic amulet incised on bronze from Nirim: "A valid amulet for Esther, daughter of Tatis" (J. Naveh and S. Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity, Jerusalem and Leiden 1985, p. 98). 1-2. It seems that there was written here one of the god's epithets. The proposed reading appears to be the most logical one; d. Jer 32:18: mil', "the great and mighty whose name is YHWH of the Hosts." Amulet writers were fond of using the name $abif'of, "Hosts of Heavens" (d. Deut 4:19 et passim), or "Hosts of Israel" (d. Isa 13:4), discussed infra, p. 230. 4-5. Restored according to Deut 7:9: '90m n''')fiJ ';'1 "The faithful god who keeps the covenant and loving kindness with them that love him and keep his commandments, to the thousandth generation"; and Dan 9:4; Neh 9:32, quoting a parallel formulation substituting "the great and awesome," for This formula was popular with prayers, and thus also suitable for amulets.

51

52

JUDAH

the plene writing with' as internal matres lectiones. 7-8. From line 7 there are no readable letters. Nor is the beginning of line 8 certain. The first readable letter of line 8 is most probably', and the proposed reconstruction is supported by Ps 41:14; Neh 9:5, and is a substitute for ", of Deut 7:9. 9. The reading is somewhat problematic. It is uneasy to combine the word n":::Il"1- Note

JERUSALEM iI:>1:1[iI], "the blessing," to the following: n[£:l] "from every [tf]ap and frOlll the evil." We did not encounter a blessing "from" something. 10-11. Deliverance is through, by, YHWH. Cf. Isa 45:17: YW1J "Israel is saved by YHWH"; Jer 3:23: "Truly through YHWH our god is there deliverance for Israel"; cf. also 2 Kgs 5:1: iI1i1' lN 1:1 ':;> iI¥'Wt;l, "For through him YHWH had granted victory to Aram." The :I of 1::J is the beth instrumentalis. 11. ,:1 - Note the plene writing with , in contrary to the regular iI. 12-14. The text is best read as a prayer. The reading ,J:I'lZ)['] iI1i1' ':> fits well the context, especially if compared to Ps 80:4: iI¥Wm "Restore us, 0 God, and show Your favor that we may be delivered" (cf. vss. 8 and 20, which expend gradually with the names of God: "God of the Hosts," and iI1i1', "YHWH God of the Hosts"). The word ['] seems to be unconnected, not to the preceding clause, nor to the following Priestly Blessing; or perhaps the scribe intended to continue the clause iI1i1' ':> ,J:I'lZ)['] and to extend it by 'J:>1:1' "and Rock will bless us." For the referto blessing formulae, cf. 2 Sam 22:47 = Ps ence to the theophoric epithet 18:47, "Blessed is my Rock," and Ps 144:1, iI1i1' "Blessed is YHWH my Rock," but eventually the scribe passed on to the Priestly Blessing formula 11:1', etc. - A prayer that YHWH will restore the suppliant, will draw him near, as opposed to keep distance from the worshipper and not deliver him; cf. the poet's supplication in Ps 38:22: ilm' "Do not abandon me YHWH my God, be not far from me." - The plene writing is problematic, but I see no better reading, although the , is somewhat irregular. 14-15.11:1' - The same orthography in the second amulet and on the "second pithos" from Kuntillet CAjrud, 11:1' (cf. infra, p. 320), it is impossible to decide if the pronunciation was yeQarna!sa, skipping on one:> only when written (for this phenomenon cf. also Lachish Letter No. 3:8: [infra, p. 63]; and ibid. line 9, Arad No. 21:5: iI1i1'n [infra, p. 123]), or it was also pronounced

yebare!sa. 19. Reconstructed after the Priestly Blessing in Num 6:24-26, may be there was enough space for the whole formula, as in the second amulet, but as the end of the scroll is missing there is no way to decide. I reconstructed [1]J£:l, unlike "J£:l in the second amulet-different scribes wrote the amulets.

53

54

JUDAH

SECOND AMULET

[For ... ]yahu blessed. be he to YHW[H] who helps and who rebukes I the evi[l]. May YHWH bless you (and) protect you. May YHW[H] cause his face to shine [upon yo]u and may he grant you p[ea]ce. [....] The first line, or more, is lost. Cf. the dedication inscription on a stone ba11:1 i1l1Y 1:1 "1:1Y'7 (infra, p. 314), and Cen sin from Kuntillet CAjrfrd, ,i1''7 14:19: li'7¥ "Blessed be Abram to Cod Most High"; Judg 17:2: i11i1',? "Blessed be my son to YHWH"; 1 Sam 23:21: i11i1',? "Blessed are you to YHWH." 3-5. Y[1]:I 1Yli1' 1TYi1 - 1Yli11 1TYi1 are participles. For entreaties for delivery from evil, and its association with blessings d. Cen 48:16: Y, "The angel who redeemed me from all harm, may he bless the lads." For a rebuke d. Zech 3:2: 1tJ'JiJ 1f mi1' 1f i1,i1' "YHWH rebuke you 0 Accuser, may he who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you." The meaning of the root 1Yl is "to rebuke angrily"; d. Isa 54:9: "So I swear that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you." The meaning of "drive out, away" is secondary and unattested in the Bible, and is used mostly in amulets; 1Yl is used with people or nature but not with abstracts. Therefore "the evil" mentioned here is not an abstract evil but a specific "entity" like that mentioned in Zech 3:2 (supra). 6-7. - Without the, (waw consecutive) of the Massoretic text. 9. "l!:l- With a '. 10. - With a ' like in the seventh century BeE papyrus from WadI MurabbaCat (infra, p. 213). The text of the Priestly Blessing is shorter than the one in the Bible; it skips the 1-2. [i1],i1''7

11:1 11i1[ ... '7] -

words i11i1' . "and be gracious unto you. May YHWH cause his face to shine upon you." It seems, however, that the biblical text should be preferred: it is literarily well organized, consisting of three sentences, each of the three blessings, composed of three, five and seven words in a blessing. Even the number of consonants and syllables of the biblical text are arranged in an upgrading order of IS, 20, and 25 consonants, and 12, 14, and 16 syllables. The text in the amulet is shorter because of lack of space or because the scribe quoted from memory and was not meticulous. 15-17. Nothing can be made of these doubtful remainders.

JERUSALEM

fI ii:l ;ffl ;'];;'''' [ ; 1T17f1 :l 1yifl i1:J" 17[ ; ;,,;,;

,17jtV ;''' 11>\; ;''In fI[

;; ,.,[

10

tV " OtV ] O[

r

11;'

;']';'''7 [1>\ 11XYO Y[1 ;";'''

97.7?lP ;''' ;,[, 10

ow ] or,

0/ 97

A. Yardeni, "Remarks on the Priestly Blessing on Two Ancient Amulets from Jerusalem," VT 41 (1991), pp. 176-185; G. Barkay, liThe Priestly Benediction on Silver Plaques from Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem," Tel Aviv 19 (1992), pp. 139-192; G. Barkay, A. G. Vaughn, M. J. Lundberg and B. Zuckerman, "The Amulets from Ketef Hinnom: A New Edition and Evaluation," BASOR 334 (2004), pp. 41-71.

55

56

JUDAH

Most of the "Lachish Ostraca" were found in 1935 during the excavation of a room in the gate complex of Stratum II and they consist of the correspondence between a certain HosaCyahu and an officer at Lachish named YaJus, apparently the COlTIlTIander there. The texts helped to date that stratUlTI to the end of the Judaean Monarchy (586 BeE). Three m.ore texts from the same stratum Cal1le to light in 1938. Further excavations in 1966 brought to light an administrative list frOlTI a pit on the northern side of the tel. In the same pit was a sl1lall juglet with 17 clay bullae inside. Some short inscriptions on jars were found in the renewed excavations of 1973 to 1994. The Lachish texts presented here are in the order of the nUl1lbers assigned to them in the initial publication. That order does not necessarily imply any chronological order. LACHISH No.

1 - NAME

LIST

The significance of this text lies in its presentation of a group of personal names typical of the late monarchial period in Judah near the final destruction of the ldngdOlTI, i.e. the age of the prophet Jeremiah. The names are well known frOlTI sources of this period. The script is from a different hand than that of the HosaCyahu collection which follows.

if. if. if. if. if.

1:1 . 1:1 . .1:1 .:J:\n 1:1 ,i1"jj .1:1 .

GClmaryahu son of YaJazanyahu son of Togsa16m I:Iagag son of YaJazanyahu Migtal).yahu son of YirmClyahu Mattanyahu son of Nerfyahu

:1m l;IagaQ, meaning "grasshopper," is also a fal1lily name in Ezra 2:46; cf. also the name :J).M 1:1 in inscription No.6 frOl1l Makkedah (infra, p. 229).

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

57

58

JUDAH

THE HOSAcyAHU LETTERS The most important group of texts from Lachish, found in the "guard in the outer gate complex, are the letters from HosaCyahu to his superior of.., ficer, Ya:lus, who may have been the chief commander of the Shephelah residing in Lachish. The location from which HosaCyahu wrote these letters is not mentioned in the letters; he was definitely not at Lachish and according to Letter No. 4:10-13, "And may he be apprised that we are watching out for the fire signals of Lachish because we cannot see Azekah," he enjoyed eye contact with Lachish but not with Azekah. It has recently been suggested with a high degree of probability that such a place was the nearby Mareshah (Begin). Whoever was located at Mareshah would have to depend upon Lachish as a point of communication with Azekah. The place may also have been located near the route which would lead to Egypt but not right on it, as can be deduced from Letter No. 3:13-18, "And to your servant it has been reported, saying: The commander of the army, Konyahu son of :lElna!an, has gone down to go to Egypt and he sent to commandeer Hodawyahu son of :lAl:t-fyahu and his men from here." If HosaCyahu had been located right on the route, he would not have had to hear about the general's travels via a report and Konyahu would not have had to send for the contingent that he wanted to take with him. He could have commandeered them personally. HosaCyahu must have been located near to Lachish because from Letter No. 3:5-6 it follows that there was a rapid exchange of messages during a fairly short time. HosaCyahu responds "concerning the letter which you sent to your servant last evening." It would appear that all the letters were written during a very short period of time, during the course of a few days, and some of them were even written of sherds from the same broken vessel. Most of the texts have to do with an affair concerning a particular message, i.e. an epistle which he had or hadn't read. Both possibilities are tenable from the contexts of the inscriptions. One common opinion holds that HosaCyahu read a letter which was not intended for him and in his letters he rejects that accusation, "As YHWH lives, if anyone has ever tried to read me a letter! And as for every letter that comes to me, if I read it" (No. 3:9-13). Were these letters collected in the guard room for use in a military hearing? Thus, Tur-Sinai suggested. Yadin even thought that they were all just drafts used in formulating a longer writ of accusation to be sent elsewhere, perhaps to Jerusalem. However, the letters deal with other matters besides the "accusation" about the "letter." According to the interpretation of Cross,

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

the passage in Letter No.3 has to do, not with a letter that was inadvertently read, but with the accusation that H6saC yahu had not understood properly the contents of a letter that really was directed to him. All the other allusions to messages in the other letters would thus pertain to other matters entirely. Therefore, it can be assumed with certainty that these letters were written somewhere not far from Lachish and that they derive from a short period of a few days, days that were pregnant with important historical developments. They deal not just with a certain misunderstood message but also with the journey of a commander of the army to Egypt, the report of a prophetic oracle, and other matters. The date of the letters and the date of Lachish Stratum II are mutually related. The content of the letters suggests a time of emergency. The stratum was the last occupation phase of the mound of Lachish during the Iron Age, and it was characterized by a massive destruction by fire. These considerations together have led to the most obvious conclusion that Stratum II and the artifacts found in its destruction layer must date to the conquest of the city by Nebuchadnezzar's army in 586 BCE. It must be admitted that the epigraphic finds provide strong circumstantial evidence for this dating but they do not contain allusions to specific events or persons known from the early sixth century BCE. On the other hand, the ceramic dating of Stratum II is based on the inference that these are the pottery styles in vogue in the last city to exist on the tel of Lachish; the pottery repertoire is common in the final destruction layers of Judaean towns at other sites as well (e.g. En-gedi, Arad, Jerusalem). Therefore, the letters from that dramatic time: "when the king of Babylon's army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities" (Jer 34:7), depending upon the interpretation of the conclusion of Letter No.3 and the statement in Letter No.4 about Azekah. The texts were written at about this time or a bit earlier.

LACHISH

No.2

This letter, which is almost complete and not missing any text, is mostly formulas of blessing and submission. The final clause deals with a matter known to the writer and presumably to the recipient, but of which we cannot know. A great deal hinges on the interpretation of the verb in line 5.

59

60

JUDAH W'N" •"l1N I;N 'I;w T

-

",:

"l'N l1N il'il" •

.Oh;> Q¥ i;?! N l1N il'il" _:

'0'

-:

','

to

Oh;>

Q¥

0

'1

":p _:

.il1::l[Y :_

ilf.lY1" NI; iWN i::li "[l' :

-:

',t

-:

T

T

•

I;w 1::lY

•"l1N l1N il'il" 0";:' l1Y 0";:' .11Y .0

.11N •"l1N •i;:'T •";:' ::ll;;:,

1

N l1N il'il" .i;:'::l" .il1::l[ ill1Y1" •NI; iWN •i::l1 "[

To my lord, Ya::J us, may YHWH cause my lord to hear tiding(s) of peace today, this very day! Who is your servant, a dog, that Iny lord reinembered his [se]rvant? May YHWH make known(?) to my [lor]d a matter of which you do not know. Introductory phrase typical of ancient Hebrew epistolary style, including the nanle of the recipient. For this personal name, cf. the discussion in Appendix 2: Glossary of Personal Names. - To be vocalized yasma C; third masculine singular jussive of the causative (HifCil) stem. The thematic vowel is short in the jussive and in this case the [has shifted to if under the influence of the following l7; cf. the negative jussive, second person singular, in Judg 18:25: 97'1' "Do not let your voice be heard among us!" - This may be singular construct s"mCtCat, but it could also be the plural construct: sJmti C6t. Q,W - Cf. also:::m "tidings of good" = "good tidings" in Letter No. 4:2, and other minor variants in the letters. "Tidings of peace" would generally mean tidings of health and well being. Q':l l"Il7 Q':l l"Il7 - "Immediately," and the repetition is for emphasis, "today, this very day." n17 - The usual biblical Hebrew form is with a final i1 and is vocalized Cattail. Therefore, many scholars (including Cross and Freedman) believe that the epigraphic form was Cet. (Note the examples in Ezek 23:43, kJtiv nl7, qJri and Ps 74:6, lc?tiv nl7', qJri The question remains open but the fact that final vowels, such as that of the temporal adverbial suffix -a", would normally be expressed by a mater lectionis in late First Commonwealth epigraphy, tends to support the vocalization Cet as the kJtiv in Ps 74:6. This is also supported by the Aramaic "now" (cf. infra, Lachish No.3). But lines 4-5 in the "Silver, Pistachio and Grain Ostracon": nN i1nl71, "And now, we will send the ')'jN 'N

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

61

62

JUDAH silver," support the vocalization Catta'l (d. infra, p. 199). "This very day, now"; d. 1 Sam 9:27: "but you stop here a while," etc. I ":l[17] '7J - This a standard expression of deference involving no humiliation. The formula is known from the Bible, e.g. 2 Sam 9:8: i1?t n1P.iJ :1?fiJ, "What is your servant that you have considered the dead dog such as I am?" (d. also 1 Sam 24:15 and 2 Sam 16:9); also 2 Kgs 8:13:

i1iiJ :J?fiJ "But what is thy servant, a dog, that he should do this great thing?" This formula is already known in the Amarna texts from Canaan in the fourteenth century BeE, e.g. EA 320:22-24: miyami kalbu u la yismu ana awtite sarri belisu, "Who is the dog that he would not heed the words of the king, his lord?" (d. EA 322:17-19; 323:17-20; et al.). M':l[17] TIN - A continuation of the formula of deference. A close parallel is 2 Sam 9:8 cited above. - The original editor had taken the first radical as 17 and built his interpretation on the root ,:>17. Examination of the sherd confirms that the letter is :1. The interpretation of this clause is difficult because of the verb form, ':>:1', which can have one of two meanings. Either it would signify that YHWH would give seniority to some matter or else that He would give priority to the officer, Ya:lus, in knowing some matter. The latter seems the most likely. But the subject being hinted at is impossible to know. Perhaps the letter expresses deference to Ya:lus for his having turned to HosaCyahu in some matter, perhaps charging him the responsibility to obtain some information. HosaCyahu accepts the task with deference and expresses the hope that new information may turn up for the benefit of his superior officer. MTl17" the final i1 is most probably the third person masculine suffix. However yadaCtalr, "you knew," with i1 as a mater lectionis is possible, although less likely; d. the discussion on Lachish Letter No. 3:6, 8. LACHISH

No.3 Obverse

7 "'!o/ -

b,trj T

:

-

-

'l1N' 'l1N nN... il'il' ·0.: • -: t;I!71 .:Jb T·

-: -

• -

, ."''IV .'il'l''IV'il .,':1l'

.'lViN" 'l,N, ilil C''IV .'l'N liN "P£>il .nl"

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

91=?¥ EN' 11tt :17, ":p 91=?¥ 7tt iltlQ'zo/ 7tt 9Q?o/ Tl$i? 91=?¥ N7" : ":;>1 ·9 il'il"D ! N'P .,'? N'P'? W" ON "7N N:J" 1WN 1!JO 7::> '; 311 7tt 1'ip 1bN7, N:J? 11N' •

-

I.

T

'0'

-:

'.' :

...

II

T

T: -: •

.1WN .1!J07 .1':131 [llTN hN Nl :17 .1':131 7N .il11n7w ':131 .'N .1n7w .il'; 1':131 .il1131'" .N7 ."l'N [l1 N .ilOl .ON .il'il"n 1!JO .N1p .0'" .n:ll'l7 .'!JO ."7 N1P7 .W" .ON ."7N .N:1" 1WN .1!JO 'illl11N ,iy, il11N ."11N1P .'''il .1':1317' .7N .N:1:ll'il .1W '1" • .N:17 111l7N 1:1 11N'

63

10

15

Reverse

1

11Dj?? n'zo/ .

bN7, o?,W 7tt 7tt 9 =?¥ il'n?o/ ! 1i?o/iJ" :1

, 'il"nN 1:1 'il""'il .11np7 n7W 'WlN N:1il .':131 .1!JO' .N:1lil .31'" 1:1 .07W .7N ."l'N .7N .1:131 .iln7w . .1

Your servant, H6saC yahft, sent to inform my lord, Ya::lfts: May YHWH cause my lord to hear tidings of peace and tidings of good. And now, open the ear of your servant concerning the letter which you sent to your servant last evening because the heart of your servant is ill since your sending it to your servant. And inasmuch as my lord said "Don't you know how to read a letter?" As YHWH lives if anyone has ever tried to read me a letter! And as for every letter that comes to me, if I read it. And furthermore, I will grant it as nothing. And to your servant it has been reported, saying: The commander of the army, Konyahft son of ::lElna!an, has gone down to go to Egypt and he sent to commandeer H6dawyahft son of ::lA1:Uyahft and his men from here, And as for the letter of T61?fyahft, the servant of the king, which came to Sallftm, the son of Yaddftac , from the prophet, saying, "Be on guard!" your ser[va]nt is sending it to my lord.

20

64

JUDAH

the sender and the recipient by name. The others begin with the recipient or else with a blessing without mentioning him. n,w - The reading stilab is supported by the blessing formula in the Hebrew papyrus frOlTI the First COlnmonwealth period: nn7w n7w, salahtl (infra, p. 213), and the equation to the opening words of blessing formulae in Aramaic letters of the Persian period from Egypt (J. M. Lindberger, Ancient Aramaic and

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

Hebrew Letters2, Atlanta 2003, 36=TAD I, p. 22 [A2.7], 46=TAD 4, p. 153 [D7.1], 49=TAD 4/ p. 172 [D7.21]): nn7w, s'm1et. n,w - For this verb "to send" governing the verb "to inform.," cf. the words of Jacob to Esau in Cen 32:6: "So I sent to infonn my lord." ::IU l"I17fdW' t:I,W l"I17fdW - This formula is combined from two others, cf. Letter No.2 above and Letter No.4 below; Letter No.5 uses a combined formula with transpositions. For "tiding(s) of good," cf. Prov 15:30: "a good tiding."

65

66

JUDAH

Lines 4-5. The formulation adopted here is based on the readings of Michaud, Lemaire and Cross, and the transcription of Cross. m" - "And now"; this is a presentation particle used for introducing the body of the letter. This epistolary format is paralleled in the Bible by the Aramaic expressions in the epistles cited in the Book of Ezra, viz. Ezra 4:11: "And now"; Ezra 4:17: t:l?o/', "Shalom! and now." The formula is known from Babylonian epistles where the adverb ant1ma, "now," serves the same purpose. umN ,,::11' ;N Ml"IM;W 'WN ,tlO; ,,::11' lTN l"IN Nl Mi'tlM - "Open the ear of your servant concerning the message which you sent to your servant last evening." HosaCyahu asks to explain the meaning of a letter sent to him the evening before, i.e. "to open his ear." Note the frequency of the correspondence (d. also Letter No.9). Nl Mi'tlM - Volitive, composed here of Hifcil imperatve plus the particle of en-

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

Reverse

treaty. For the use of this verbal root with "ear" cf. Isa 42:20: 1J1P9, "his ears are open, but he hears not," and cf. the root np!:> with synonymous meaning, Isa 35:5; 48:8; 50:5. rU''IM'nv - Given the final il one would be inclined to take it as an accusative suffix and render sJltlbJ6", "you sent it." But the rendering ilQJ;l?W, second person masculine verb form, is just as good. "" ... ::2, - "Sick heart." Cf. Lain 5:17: 1J+.I7 iln il;v il! "concerning this was our heart sick," and Isa 1:5: "and every heart was sick" ':1'N - "And inasmuch as my lord said," in a letter which had been sent the evening before. The particle ':P introduces here a compound sentence comprised of two clauses, the first stating the subject (often including a question as here) and the second (introduced asyndetically) giving the response. w'i' ;'1n:\7," HosaCyahu had been accused of not being able to read; that was the gist of the letter he had received from The orthography of with the il requires consideration. It might stand for a final a-vowel on the second person singular masculine suffix of the verbal form. However, a vowel marker (mater lectionis) is usually absent in other such examples in ancient epigraphy and is almost always absent in the Bible. The example above, could be taken as having a third person accusative suffix; or else it could simply be the finite verb form without an accusative suffix in which case the il would be a real vowel marker. Cross has posed a solution to this latter passage whereby the il is a third

N' -

67

68

JUDAH person masculine accusative suffix: ';;)0 il'r-l¥1; "You don't know it? Call a scribe!" In other words, was rebuking him and saying sarcastically, "If you can't grasp what I had to say, send for a scribe that he should explain it to I you." This is ingenious; but its Achilles heal is the need to read instead of the simple '?,9 which is the normal meaning in all the other contexts of these letters. One must assume that YEr'US would surely have chosen a less ambiguous formulation. Therefore, the conclusion is hard to escape that the final i1 of i1nY1' really is a maier lectionis and that the form is to be vocalized So the same may also be posited for the form above: i1lJJ;l7W. 9-10 - The second clause in the compound sentence, the response, takes the form of an oath. The orthography is mi1'n which stands for the biblical mi1' 'n, "As YHWH lives!" The normal orthography, with two separate words, is preserved in Letters 6:12 and 12:3. This is a standard oath formula in the Bible, e.g. 1 Sam 19:6: mi1' 'I] "And Saul swore, as YHWH lives, he shall not be put to death." The contraction in the present letter, mi1'n, serves to remind us that there are different vocalizations in biblical Hebrew between a reference to YHWH and a reference to some other personage; mi1' 'I] may be compared to Cen 42:16: '0, "As Pharaoh lives." The Massoretic mi1' 'I] as against '0 was probably due to the fact that' carne twice in the combination with the Tetragrammaton, thus 1;ayyahweh • - An adverbial expression, "ever, forever"; d. Lam 5:20: U;mn.1, "Why do you forget us for ever, and forsake us for such a long time?" As mentioned above, Cross takes ,t)C here as "scribe," and says that HosaCyahu expresses his refusal to invite a scribe to help him "if I called him") and that he would not pay such a scribe anything if he did corne. De Vaux sought to understand him as saying that every epistle which he read he could repeat it by heart to another down to its details but in Hebrew we would have expected the writer to use a verbal form from the root ptV and not from pn. The function of and are all hard to establish. The writer knew what he meant and the recipient must have understood also. 13-18 - The writer apparently goes over to other matters; if they were related to the previous section, the connection escapes us. He reports that news has reached him about an army commander's departure for Egypt and that the latter had sent and commandeered a number of men to accompany him. No hint of this event is mentioned in the Bible and such journeys to Egypt may

c", -

"Y',

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

have been routine at that time'(2 Kgs 17:4; Jer 26:22-23). One might infer from this that the Babylonian army was not at that time present in Judah which in turn would diminish the dramatic background of Letter No.4. Nevertheless, it would not be impossible to suppose that the army commander had managed to go to Egypt to urge Pharaoh Hophra to come forth with his troops; d. Jer 37:5-12. This would mean that Letter No.4 could have been written after the Egyptian army had come forth but had been routed by the Babylonians who then renewed their war against Judah. N:::l" - Note the adverbial accusative. The directional i1 is optional as an adverbial marker, and it can be dispensed with; d. 2 Kgs 25:26: "So they went to Egypt." WJlN' 'l"1'MN 7:::l 'l"1""l"1 - These men comprised a military unit that had been posted there with H6sa C yahu but were commandeered i1W, "from this (place)," in order to accompany the army commander to Egypt. 19-21 - Another matter, an epistle which H6saC yahu had sent, i.e. was sending along with the present letter, to Ya:lus. Three personalities are involved in this affair: T61?iyahu servant of the king, Shallum son of Yadduac , and the prophet. What is their relationship to this letter? It would seem that T61?iyahu, a high-ranking official, was circulating a message received by Shallum from the prophet. Our present text does not say how the letter had reached H6sa C yahu or where Shallum was actually located. - This "servant of the king" may also be identical with the man of the same name mentioned in Letter No.5 (d. infra). ':::l17 - "Servant of the king," title borne by officials of very high rank but also by real house slaves of the king. It is well documented in the Bible, inscriptions and especially on Hebrew seals. "Saying, 'Be on guard!'" Cf. the warning from the man of God in 2 Kgs 6:9: i1iiJ "saying, Beware that you pass not such a place." 1:> n'1il '31 "n:Jn:> 11:J31 iltv31 •p N ",tv .,:>, ."'[ ]ri,tv 1tvN N "'tV .,:>, ."'[N r-I]"'tV 1tVN N Otv T"N n":J 1:J1 '31 .")1 OlP 1!;>10 '¥ , .il"i" 01 1 .01 ])"N .11:J31' il1"31il •'il'31" 91:t¥1 .il1"¥O [OiliJ 1]137 ilh"N D?W ., ];31 ilnN [j" -

•

-:

':'f

-

-:

T

-

•

-:...

"0' -:

T

-

T

:

.:

T

-

-

:

-..

T

:

-

-

:

-0. :

'0"

T

-

-:

",tb

Reverse

] . ") tV:>, : -

..

• T

:

-

'N .,!) 311'" ...

•

-.0;

nhNO ':'f O"l1?W 131 nN ilN1) .,!) ,")1N .,-:

'0'

...

:.

N'

••

-:

] 1i':Jil n:Jon:J .ON .,:> ") •tv:>, •'N .,:> 311'" Tn) 1tvN nnNil ,:>:> ,) 131 nN ilN1) N' .,:> .")1N ili'

May YHW[H] cause my [lord] to hear, this very day, tidings of good. And now, according to everything which my lord has sent, this has your servant done. I wrote on the sheet according to everything which [you] sent [t]o me. And inasmuch as my lord sent to me concerning the matter of Be! Harapid, there is no one there. And as for SamaCyahu took him and brought him up to the city. And your servant is not sending him there any [more ---], but when morning comes round [---]. And may (my lord) be apprised that we are watching out for the fire signals of Lachish according to all the signs which my lord has given, because we cannot see CAzeqah. 1-2 - An alternate introductory blessing; it is essentially not different from that used in the other letters.

10

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

1':131 nW31 n"w 'WN - This seems to be a general statement cOltlirnling the carrying out of orders sent to the author of this letter from his superior. The ensuing text will reiterate just what was actually done. n",n "31 - The vocable can have either of two meanings. The first is "door" (of a building, room, settlement); cf. Ex 21:6: lN "and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post"; but it might seem strange to talk about writing on the door of a building. However, there is the

n",

commandment in Deut 6:9 (cf. also Deut 11:20): nlT!?? " And you shall write them upon the door-posts of your house, and upon your gates." If the idea is to actually inscribe something on a real door, the verbal root :In:l seems somewhat out of place although at Kuntillet CAjrud there was a poetic text written in the side of the entryway to the courtyard of the building (cf. infra). The second alternative seems more suitable. The may be a term signifying a sheet in a scroll as in the following reference to the scroll of the prophe-

n"

cies of Jeremiah, Jer 36:23: 17.tr'iJJ

nln?, llf,W

Nl'P:;l '0;]

Ml$iJ 'f C'T-! Ml$iJ "And every time Jehudi read three or four columns, (the king) cut it up with a scribe's knife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire that was in the brazier." - This place name is not known from the Bible but cf. such GN's as Rephidim and Arpad. Its vocalization here is based on Rephidim (Ex 17:1, 8; Num 33:15) and the Aramaic examples of and ("terrace"?) as written on Aramaic ostraca from the Late Persian and Early Hellenistic periods from Makkedah (cf. A. Lemaire, Nouvelles inscriptions arameennes d'Idumee, Paris 2002, p. 260, S.v. RPYD). O'N ow "There is no one there," at least no one that the commander would like to locate.

nni''' - The resumptive accusative pronouns on the two verbs make it absolutely certain that this is a case of extraposition, casus pendens, and its use in correspondence is noteworthy. The commander had evidently asked about Sama:t5.yahu, and the author of the letter must explain his whereabouts. This is inferred from the extraposition; the extraposed component is always something known to the writer and the recipient, i.e. the "topic." The ensuing clause is the new information being supplied, the "comment." Sama:t5.yahu had probably been the liaison man with Be! Harapid; now no one is there. SamaCyahu was someone with authority to take that man

71

72

JUDAH

from his post and to send him up to lithe city." Note that the narrative prefix is also typical of everyday correspondence. liThe city" in this preterite, instance was most likely Jerusalem. For lito take" and lito bring up" in tandem,

THE LACHISH OSTRACA . Obverse

cf. Jer 39:5: 117ft) i1I)?=t'J "and they took him, and they brought him up to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath," and also Josh 7:24: ... M'J! P ... 1'I)'Jf' "And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, ... and his sons, and his daughters, ... and they brought them up unto the valley of Achor." ']117 1':::J171 The writer cannot send any more because he has gone up to "the city./I This rendering is based on Cross's observation that there is a , visible after the ':ll. [0"i1] , "today," at the end of the line is less certain, as well as the proposed

73

74

JUDAH

word [mn'tvN] at the end of the first line of the reverse, but it is certain that the ostracon is broken at this place and something must be supplemented. The writer probably means that since he has lost his liaison man, he will check on the place, or have it checked during the morning.

THE LACHISH OSTRACA Reverse

--------_. The interpretation by Tur-Sinai, who read 'J1N instead of 'JJ'N, or of Albright who read [O'il O]1;)}il are no longer tenable in the light of Cross's correct palaeographic analysis. The completion of line 9 should remain open. 'i':li"I l'l:lOl'l:l ON ':::l - Some interpret this as "morning patrol." But it can be interpreted as simply "when morning comes around"; d. 4Q503:III:9 (DJD VII:I06): i'N '1;;:, n':1,on (the, is written above the line, a correction of the singular n:110n [construct state of il:1,on] to the plural m:110n, "the circulation of the luminaries/' perhaps their rising and setting). One may compare some biblical verses with a similar meaning, e.g. Ex 34:22: n;>ij?T;1, "at the year's end"; 1 Sam 1:20: n;0i?J;17 "And it happened, when the time was come about"; Isa

75

76

JUDAH 29:1: fIlet the feasts come round," from the root ptlJ/P'!:), in the meaning "to go around," There is also a similar expression: n;mvI;l7, flat the return of the year" (2 Sam 11:1; 1 Kgs 20:22, et al.), 31'''' - "and may (my lord) be apprised," This seems to be the obvious import of the passage. The verb certainly does not refer back to or to SamaCyahu as some have supposed. -

"fire signq.l(s)." The meaning is clear; cf, Jer 6:1: '9iw oJfiJ "and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise up a fire signal on Beth-haccherem" (cf. also Judg 20:38, 40). Because of the plural nnN, "signs, codes," it makes more sense if nNtlm be taken as plural construct: mas :J6t, the Mishnaic form (Rosh Hashanah 2, 2-4) is massu:Jtzh, pI. massu:J6t. ;N - The combination means "to watch for, to be on the lookout for." This is obvious from several biblical passages, as alJ

ready noted by Tur-Sinai. For example, Ps 59:10: ':;> "To you will I look for Cod is my refuge"; note also the military context of 2 Sam 11:16: "And it came to pass, as Joab conducted surveillance upon the city." - This short form of the first person plural independent pronoun (instead is rare in the Bible (Cen 42:11; Ex 16:7, 8; Num 32:32; Lam of the common 3:42). ;'pT31 nN N; - The vocable usually taken as the accusative marker might the singular n'N, :J6t, "sign," but in this context we would expect the plural n'n'N, :J6t6t, to correspond to the plural with regard to the signals from Lachish. A dramatic interpretation often assumed here is that Lachish has already fallen, so that the sender of this letter is not getting signals from there. However, the more prosaic view is that from his position, he does not have eye contact with Azekah.

LACHISH

No.5

Ostracon No.5 is very poorly preserved and there are many differences of opinion concerning its renderings. In spite of that, many parts of the text are decipherable or restorable with a high degree of certainty. The transcription, restorations and translation adopted herein are based on the combination of several proposals. Indistinct and doubtful letters have not been denoted. Comparison with photographs and facsimilies will make clear to the reader just how obscure many of the readings really are.

THE LACHISH OSTRACA .,)[

il1il"

] il1il" l7?')W" ]

r.ll7] :Jb1 O["W] nl7?')w --0.: T-

T

T

91=?¥ lJ¥ l=?¥ lJQ?[W] ":p ,:J7,f, 9

NT[f

91=?¥ :JWD

0 il1il

:Jb f

91=?¥ 1

[n

!

l71!

O[ ] .nl7?')w

O[

11:Jl7

1:Jl7 'N nn,[ ] ":J .:J':J NT[

]il .[ ]N .1

'£>Oil .11:Jl7 .:JWil .[ ., .1N'" .")1N 'N .0 .il1il N" .11:Jl7 •'Nil .O"il 1'?')' l7'T •

10

May YHWH cause my [10 ]rd to hear tidings of pea[ ce] and of good, [now today, now this very daly! Who is your servant, a dog, that you [s]ent to your servant the [letters? Like]wise has your servant returned the letters to my lord. May YHWH cause you to see the harvest successfully, this very day! Will T6gfyahfr of the royal family cme to your servant? 1-4 - The formulation of the blessing and the statement of deference are pretty obvious and can be restored with relative ease. 5-6 - The restoration is dependent mainly on the continuation of the text: :JWiJ, "Your servant has returned the letters to my lord." Did Ya.::lfrs send some messages to H6saya.hfr for him to read over? Did this present letter precede No.3? Every attempt to put the letters in chronological order is without any kind of supporting evidence. One rather astonishing suggestion was the restoration: [n]x, "this go[w]n" (Michaud). - The expression nX"Tf' kaz6e)l, must mean "Thus, likewise"; d. '" nX"Tf , "Likewise he made ... " (1 Kgs 7:37). mM' ,N" - The and the are quite legible (Lemaire and Pardee). This seems to be a natural blessing formula related to the harvest. It does not seem to have a known parallel in the Bible or in the literature of the ancient Near East. Hifcil jussive with accusative suffix. A Hifcil form can take a double accusative as here. He is enjoined to cause the recipient (Ya.::lfrs) to see a good harvest. In biblical Hebrew, as here, the second accusative may actually be introduced by the :J preposition, e.g. Ps 91:16: Tix,

,N" -

77

78

JUDAH

"With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation." The narrative prefix preterite, third person masculine singular, has the same morphological shape as the jussive, e.g. 2 Kgs 11:4: the king's son."

p

oJ:ll'\

"and he showed them

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

••• 1N" - Cf. Eccl2:1: ilO7?W:t "I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself"; and Ex 5:19: 37'f tH)N 'jtifW "The supervisors of the sons of Israel saw that they were in trouble."

1':l17

It appears that TOQlyahu was of the royal family, i.e. 37'J!, "royal seed." Cf. 2 Kgs 25:25 = Jer 41:1: 37'JW, "of the "the ann of the king," royal seed." Another suggestion is to see here i.e. a very high-ranking official in the court, like the" eyes and ears" of the king in the Achaemenid Persian court. The writer anticipates a possible visit from TOQlyahu, perhaps with trepidation. Another suggestion is to take the verb N' as Hifcil, i.e. "will he bring." Then the phrase 37'J! would mean "seed for the king('s fields)." Since harvest may be mentioned in the preceding passage, it seems unlikely. 37'1

N"

'NM -

79

80

JUDAH

No.6

LACHISH

N il1i1" N'" : ...

: - ' T

'

")1N 7N •

-:

! 07W

N il1i1" .N'" .W1N" ")'N 7N 07W •il7i1 n:sm nN ")'N n

...

n n?w

911¥

:l7.f.

"'Wt?

[bN?

]N ")'N •n7W •":J :l7:J

,

N1P ,

"!,=?1

]'Wil ",tlO [

]

]iI •",:l, ,iI)il1

N)

n'S1? [ :Jt1 :

-:.

-:

•

:m

T

,b]N?'

:lh ] 07W [ ]1 nNT::J

7i1 [ -

-:

T

H7N il1i1" '0'

'0':

T

"n [

]

-

1¥ N1R (1 )07W

N'V ,

] ''''., ntl'7 N7 [ ]NiI ",,,

"'; ")1N ["]:JlN [

•

,

9" 91 91]1¥?

•

N7i1 ")'N [ ]:J)N[

iI[ 7i1 [

]N7 [

]7N:ln

] 07W [

]1 nN7:J

]'[

]1[

il7N iI'iI"

."n [

N'V 7N[

10

] ]N[

]:J,.,

iI"iI N7 O'tlOil nN " 15

To my lord, YaJus, may YHWH cause my lord to see peace at this time! Who is your servant, a dog, that my lord sent him the king's [lette]r [and] the letters of the officer[s, sayin]g, "Please read!" And behold, the words of the [officers] are not good; to weaken your hands [and to in]hibit the hands of the m[en], [1(?)] kI10W [them(?)], My lord, will you not write to [them] sa[ying, "Wh]y are you behaving this way? [ , , . ] well-being [ ... ]. Does the king [ ... ] And [ ... ] As YHWH lives, since your servant read the letters, your servant has not had [peace(?)]. The only subject of this letter is the letters which were sent to hilll to read and which have caused demoralization among the troops. This reminds us of the accusation against Jeremiah during the siege of Jerusalem during the course il7t077PiJ 'T l'\1il of this same crisis, Jer 38:4: 'T ntti nl'\':r;:r mn7 O¥? 01'l¥'7 tV:!'i ilm il7,ttO o¥O "he disheartens the warriors, and all the people who are left in this city, by speaking such things to them. That man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm!" Note that 01'l¥', "welfare, well-being," is also at issue there,

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

just as in our present letter. The exact situation alluded to in this present letter is obscured; perhaps it is a matter of demoralization in a time of crisis. In any

81

82

JUDAH

case, the fact that Ya::lus went to the trouble to send the king's and the officers' letters to HosaCyahu shows that the latter was more than a junior officer. HosaCyahu may very well have been the commanding officer at Mareshah (d. discussion supra regarding Letter No.4). At least he was to peruse the letters and evidently Ya::lus was expecting him to respond. The present letter was that response. In spite of the broken nature of the text, its substance is clear.

THE LACHISH OSTRACA The blessing is varied slightly, confirming that there was a certain flexibility in its formulation. The jussive verb, confirms that the other verb, also must be jussive. That there is a double accusative also confirms that they are Hifcil (causative). The adverbial accusative l"ITl"I n17l"1, "(at) this time," is an unlikely direct object of the causative verb; why should God be invoked to show the time? Instead, it is probable that the invocation was to show him "peace, well-being." Thus the accusative particle is probably out of place and should govern 2-3 - For the deference formula ("Who is your servant, a dog?") d. discussion supra regarding Letter No.2. 1'" - to weaken the hands of 6-8. [OWlN]l"I ", - No other restoration seems possible. There is no other example of the expression 0'1' "to silence the hands," as synonymous with 0'1' "to weaken the hands." "To be silent" is usually an expression of well-being, of having confidence that everything is alright. However, it can also mean to be paralyzed with fear, as in Ps 76:9: 1':r "From heaven You pronounced sentence; the earth was numbed with fright." 8-12 - H6saC yahu requests of Ya:lus that he write to the officers and tell them to stop writing defeatist letters. Evidently, H6saC yahu cannot do that himself; they were apparently not addressed to him, and he is not as high-ranking an officer as Ya:lus, who is perhaps commander of the Shephelah front with his headquarters at Lachish. 8. N'P- halO:!, composed of the negative particle and the interrogative q, the answer to this gives us a positive meaning "surely." Cf. 1 Kgs 14:29: "aren't they written," paralleled with "they are written" (1 Kgs 14:19). 10-12 - These lines are too damaged to permit a sound restoration. Albright did make a proposal, viz. [' .ilT]il/[1:J']il ,w17[n] il[J]il l"INT:J ... il'il' 'n, "as that in Je[r]usalem; be[ho]ld, to the king [and] to his [house] [d]o th[is thing and] as YHWH lives ... ." O'W l"ITl"Il"I17l"1l"1N 'l'N l"IN ml"l'

LACHISH

No.9

This text is different from all the rest of H6sa Cyahu's letters. After the customary blessing, the first section deals with the issuance of supplies. In the second part, the writer requests a reply by means of Selemyahu, who was probably

83

84

JUDAH the messenger who was delivering this letter. According to the opening formula, the writer must also be H6saC yahu. Obverse jJ,jJ" 'Slr.J'r/J" .jJ,jJ" -: ° -

0'

[:1b], C'W T

T

'0,:

-

:

-

"J •

1 10 ory?, 1D 1Jnn

, o,'tJ) [

, 1\

]'tJ) "J

on, .1n n[ ::j'tJ)jJ / /

:1'PiJ .2

1

H

, 1':1'Sl[

:1 1:1

f

Reverse -,'

T

T , · , ' .,'

-

.,,,

jJW'SlJ 1W

.jJ'tJ)'SlJ1'tJ)

10

1n

.t'

-:-

'0'

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

85

Reverse

---------t

May YHWH cause my lord to hear ti[ dings] of peace and of [good. And n]ow, give 10 (loaves) of bread and 2 (jars) [of wi]ne. Send back word [to] your servant by means of Selemyahu as to what we must do tomorrow.

86

JUDAH 71"1 1"1171 - To the bearer of the letter, most probably Selemyahu. The use of an imperative form when addressing someone of superior rank is perfectly normal in the biblical period • ••• ,,:117, :1Wil - The writer requests instructions about what to do on the morrow. This serves to underline the frequency by which correspondence was being conducted (d. supra concerning Letter No.3).

LACHISH

No. 22:

ADMINISTRATIVE TEXT

A list of issuances to various people. The personal names are well known from biblical and other sources. The symbols have not been deciphered. Cf. Arad No. 18, infra, p. 119.

]7

]7

]7

]7 ]7N7

T

T

:

T

'--

1. 2. 3.

4. 5.

] 1f. 1f.

T

-

:

]717

•

:

•

••

:

-t '--

[

]WN7

]N[ ] 1::1 [ ]W"7N7

]7

]7

[::1]"T:lN 11"::17 • : .0 :

]"T:lN 11"::17

To [ " . ] To [ . " ] To ::lEI[ ... ] To Dala[yahu ... ] To Sama!5[yahu ... ]

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

10

To ::lIS[sfyahu ........... ] x To CA§ayyahu son of [ ... ] Y To ::lElfsa[C ... ] To [ " . ] To Be! A!5zi[t>]

This geographical name is known from the Bible as (Josh 15:44; Mic 1:14), ::J'Tf (Gen 38:5) and (1 Chr 4:22). Its place in the list of Shephelah towns (Josh 15:44) after Keilah and its association with the JudahTamar narrative (in the vicinity of Adullam) strongly suggests that it be in the northern half of the Mareshah district, not far from the Valley of Elah. A well in the Elah Valley, beneath Khirbet Shuweikeh (biblical Socho), is called CAin el-Kezbeh thus preserving the biblical name. The closest site near the Valley of :1]'t;:'N 1"1':1 -

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

87

88

JUDAH Elah but still in the Mareshah district is Khirbet el-Bei9-ah (I:!orvat Lavnin). The preposition lamed introducing the place name Achzib indicates that the persons in the list above were frOln that place. N. H. Torczyner (Tur-Sinai), Lachish I: The Lachish Letters, London 1938; W. F. Albright, "The Oldest Hebrew Letters: The Lachish Ostraca," BASOR 70 (1938), pp. 11-17; idem, "A Reexamination of the Lachish Letters," BASOR 73 (1939), pp. 16-21; idem, "The Lachish Letters after Five Years," BASOR 82 (1941), pp. 18-24; idem, "Postscript," BASOR 144 (1956), p. 26; D. DiriTlger, "Eady Hebrew Inscriptions: Ostraca," in O. Tufnell et al., Lachish III: The Iron Age, London 1953, pp. 331-339; H. Midlaud, "Les Ostraca de Lalds conserves a Londres," Syria 34 (1957), pp. 39-60; idem, Sur la pierreet I 'argile, Paris and Neuchatel1958, pp. 75-103; Y. Aharoni, InvesNgations at Lachish: The Sanctuary and the Residency (Lachish V), Tel Aviv and Tokyo 1975, pp. 22-24; Lemaire, Ostraca, pp. 87-137; idem, "Hebrew Inscriptions," in D. Ussishkin (ed.), The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish (1973-1994) IV, Tel Aviv 2004, pp. 2099-2132; D. Pardee, Handbook of Ancient Hebrew Letters, Chicago 1982, pp. 67-114, 242-245 (with further bibliography); Y. Yadin, "The Lachish Letters: Originals or Copies and Drafts?" in H. Shanks and B. Mazar (eds.), Recent Archaeology in the Land ofIsrael, Washington, D.C.1984, pp.179-186; A. F. Rainey, "Watching for the Signal Fires of Lachish," PEQ 119 (1987), pp. 149-151; Z. B. Begin and A. Grushka, "Where Was Lachish 4 Written?" Eretz-Israel26 (1999), 13-24 (Hebrew, English summary, pp. 226*-227*); W. M. Schniedewind, "Sociolinguistic reflections on the letter of a 'Literate Soldier' (Lachish 3)," Zeitschrift fiir Althebraistik 13 (2000), pp. 157-167; B. Z. Begin, As We Do Not See Azeqa: The Source of the Lachish Letters, Jerusalem 2000 (Hebrew); idem, "Does Lachish Letter 4 Contradict Jeremiah XXXIV?" VT 52 (2002), pp. 166-174; J. A. Emerton, "Were the Lachish Letters Sent to or from Lachish?" PEQ 133 (2001), pp. 2-15; Cross, "A Literate Soldier: Lachish Letter III," Leaves, pp. 129-132; idem, "Lachish Letter IV," Leaves, pp. 133-134; N. Na'aman, "The Contribution of the Lachish Ostraca for the Study of Distribution of Messages in the Kingdom of Judah during the Late Monarchical Period," in Y. Ben-Adeh and E. Reiner (eds.), Studies in the History of Eretz Israel Presented to Yehuda Ben Porat, Jerusalem 2003, pp. 5-12 (Hebrew).

LACHISH

No. 25

An ink inscription on a jar fragment from Lachish, dating to the last days of the kingdoll1 of Judah. Wine of cAsan

1" - Note that the word for "wine" is written with an internal '. This is typical of Judaean epigraphy even when the vocable is in the construct where Massoretic vocalization has reduction of the diphthong. Whether the construct form was still pronounced with a full diphthong in the First Temple period or not is hard to determine; there are cogent arguments either way. In any case

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

I

this orthography is fully in contrast to that in the kingdom of Israel. lWl' - cAshan, eAStin, a place nallle in the Mareshah district (Josh 15:42). Since it is customary to designate the origin of wine in store jars (in Egypt, Canaan, Greece, etc.), the place nallle here lllUSt indicate the same function. This is the preferable interpretation, better than the suggestion to read "smoked (wine)," which is possible and is still better than the explanation, from the late Aramaic pWl', "strong." LACHISH

No. 29

Ink inscription on a fragment of a storage jar from Lachish, from the end of the Judaean lllonarchy. lI:l7:1i:1

07V 1

.07V \:1

In the fourth (year); qlm; pkmt one bath (of wine). nl':l.,:l -

In the fourth year of one of the last ldngs of Judah.

Q'i' - The line is hardly legible. If the proposed reading is the right one, then these are evidently foreign personal names. The second name seelllS to be Egyptian.

89

90

JUDAH

\ This seems to be the standard abbreviation for the measure of volume called n:J, "bath," and the slanting line must designate one (borrowed from Egyptrian hieratic practice). Note that on another store jar there was an inn:J, "a bath for the king" or "the royal bath measure." At Tel Beerscription sheba a smaller jar (jug) had the inscription '':m, evidently "half (a bath measure) for the king." \ :::l -

LACHISH

No. 30

Ink inscription on a fragment of a storage jar from Lachish, from the end of the Judaean monarchy.

n,'nlP Juice of black raisins -

Dialectical variant of "juice." Cf. the inscription from Hazor, (infra, p. 331), and an inscription on a broken sherd of a jar from

'tV1i' nil'[] m

THE LACHISH OSTRACA

Masada mo,:! m, "balsam juice" (Y. Yadin and J. Naveh, "Aramaic and Hebrew Ostraca and Jars Inscriptions," Masada I, Jerusalem 1989, p. 47, PI. 43 [No. 544]). Usually grapes which have been dried in the sunlight were used for food (d. 1 Sam 25:18, 30:12; 2 Sam 16:1; 1 ehr 12:41) but here the intention is most probably to grapes which were not harvested when they ripened but remain.ed on the vine to dry up somewhat. Grapes treated in this manner contain higher sugar content and it is possible to make sweet wine from thelll. From the discussion in the Babylonian Tahnud (Baba Bathra 97b) it turns out that there were doubts about the appropriateness of such wine for use in the Qiddush prayer on Sabbath dinner. But that lllay have to do with wine made from raisins to which water had been applied . .n"lnw - Feminine plural adjective in apposition to a noun with lllasculine plural suffix. Perhaps the plural was viewed as a collective. The idea is not "black" but "dark." D. Ussishkin, "Excavations at Tel Lachish, 1973-1977: Preliminary Report," Tel Aviv 5 (1978), pp. 83-88, PIs. 27:2, 31:2; 32:2; idem, "Excavations at Tel Lachish, 1978-1983: Second Preliminary Report," Tel Aviv 10 (1983), p. 157; A. Demsky, "A Note on 'Dark Wille,'" Tel Aviv 6 (1979), p. 163; A. Lemaire, "A Note on Inscription XXX from Lachish," Tel Aviv 7 (1980), pp. 92-94; idem, "Hebrew Inscriptions," in D. Ussishkin (ed.), The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish (1973-1994) IV, Tel Aviv 2004, pp. 2119-2125.

91

92

JUDAH

Ninety-one Hebrew ostraca were found at Arad, most of them in a stratigraphic excavation. Aharoni arranged the ostraca according to the strata in which they were found and thereby related them to their respective periods. No other excavation has produced a series of six distinct strata dating to the Judaean Monarchy. (Hazor represents just such a series in the north.) D. Ussishkin, "The Date of the Judaean Shrine at Arad," IE! 38 (1988), pp. 142-157, has sought to discredit Aharoni's archaeological analysis. In his opinion Arad Strata X-VIII are really phases in one stratum in the second half of the eighth century BCE. As his basis for this argument, Ussishkin is dependent upon his own pottery analysis and his own historical assumptions with regard to Lachish. As is well known, smaller sites such as Arad often go through more phases than larger sites such as Lachish. When the stratigraphy of both Arad and Lachish are published in final form, it will be possible to make a more balanced evaluation. The palaeography of the stratified ostraca will be a factor to be reckoned with alongside the ceramic typology (very conservative in the ninth-eighth centuries BCE in Judah) and historical considerations. At Arad, the largest single collection of ostraca came from one room in StratUlTI VI. It is known by the name of the recipient of most of the letters, ::>Elyasf!? son of ::>ISslyahu. More recent analysis of the stratigraphy by Z. Herzog has shown that Stratum VI is indeed a rebuild and reuse of Stratum VII. The floors in the house are distinctly higher than those of Stratum VI, though the seals of ::>Elyasl12 were found on a floor of Stratum VII. It is clear, therefore, that Strata VII and VI were not widely separated in time; ::>Elyasl12 was serving in Arad during the life of both strata, near the end of the seventh and the early sixth centuries BCE. The most important of the Arad ostraca will be treated here.

ARADNo.l

,:

. T:'"

...

: 1 ,3 O"i}) ,1 .0!,iI- .OlV . :::Ih:>:

, 0"11:>' .111) .11Y

, / / / \ :::I •

r]

.1""

.0"iI Oll) .:::11"1:>

11

THE ARAD OSTRACA

1

? ory?

r ::t?l

r

::t:Ji

7 .0i17

.OD

.ilJD

nbp .1

.1""b .on il1l1 .11UNi1

10

To ::JElyasf1?: And now, give to the Kittfyim 1 bath and 3 (hin) of wine and write the date (lit. "name of the day"). And from the surplus of the best (lit. "first") flour you shall load 1 kor (7) to make bread for them. From the wine of the amphorae you shall give.

'x -

A direct opening phrase without blessings of any kind. The sender was of higher rank than ::JElyasi'12 and he was located somewhere other than Arad. Note the typical First Temple orthography of the personal name, without the mater lectionis for the long vowel; in the Bible, is a priestly name (1 Chr 24:12). The letter proceeds directly to the issuance of commands. rl17, - This adverbial introductory particle is discussed at length under Lachish No.2 (supra, pp. 60-62). 7m - This form is obviously the absolute infinitive (the imperative would lack :lU.J"X

93

94

JUDAH

the first radical). The absolute infinitive is used for commandments, e.g. Ex ci' ,i:>!, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Such usage pertains to commands on a higher level than simple imperatives land jussives, based on the superior authority of the speaker. The infinitive absolute may be used, of course, to reinforce a jussive, e.g. 1 Kgs 3:26: "but do not kill it!" but it also serves as the reinforcement of an imperfect, e.g. 1 Kgs 3:27: "and do not put it to death," and Deut 6:17: "you must most assuredly keep." As for the absolute infinitive in orders for the issuance of provisions, 20:7:

i'

cf. Jer 37:21: cry? ' "and to supply him daily with a loaf of bread from the bakers' street." - Those from the "isles of the Kittim" (Jer 2:10); the name evidently derives from the Cypriot town of Kition, called 'n:> in Phoenician. The orthography with ' in the Arad letters indicates a nisbe formation, Kittlyim (Jer 2:10). The biblical "world genealogy" classifies Kittim among the descendants of Javan (= Ion, eponymous ancestor of Ionia); cf. Gen 10:4 and 1 Chr 1:7. It may be a sort of generic term for the inhabitants of the islands to the west (from Cyprus on). In the Arad letters they appear to be hired mercenaries in the service of the Judaean monarchy. This could have come about on the eve of the anti-Babylonian revolt which led to the downfall of Judah. It seems that these mercenaries were Greek (most likely Cypriotes or Ionians) as Greeks were used to hiring themselves out as mercenaries. III \: - 1 bath and 3 (hin). The ::J is the regular abbreviation for n::J. The bath is a liquid measure of c. 22-24 liters (cf. infra, pp. 241-242) which was divided into six hin. Here we have an order for one and a half baths. Cf. weights and measures, infra, pp. 240 ff. For the system of recording the number and its divisions, cf.J. Naveh, "The Numbers of Bat in the Arad Ostraca," IE] 42 (1992), pp.52-54.

- For the expression, cf. Ezek 24:2: cW ;7 ::JO:P "0 mortal, record this date, this exact day." The form in this Arad letter may be the imperative as in the Ezekiel passage. Taking care to record the date indicates the administrative practices at Arad and certainly at other Judaean military installations as well. l'll)N'i'I "From the surplus / remainder of the best flour." This meaning for ,,11 is not attested in the Bible but it does appear in the Mishnah, Terumah 4:7, where an offering exceeds ,,17''Il) " ill ,,11, ",11, "a hundred 'plus,' and this 'plus' has no fixed amount." The orthography with, attests C'i'I

C'Il)

iliiJ

-

THE ARAD OSTRACA to the original diphthong (d. discussion in the Siloam Inscription supra, p. 23) but one cannot say whether the diphthong has been reduced (the word is in construct here) or not. 1wN' - "The best flour," perhaps like the term ::Ialptf1, in rabbinic literature. - A new expression. It has been suggested to posit metathesis and render as if l:J,n, d. Lev 6:14: ilW¥O "On a baking pan it shall be made with oil; when it is soaked, you shall bring it in." But the flour is being issued as is; and there is hardly any need to assume metathesis. Another suggestion was to derive the verb from the upper stone (:J:>, T:JN) of a set of grindstones. But if this is the best flour, it is already ground. The simplest solution is to derive the verb from the Hifcil stem of :J:>" "to mount," causative "to cause to mount" (not to ride or cause to ride). This verb is jussive, tarke12. In other words, ::lElyasf!? is being told to load a sufficient quantity of flour to make bread for the troops. I- - This symbol is interpreted conjecturally as the bomer = kor (c. 220 liters), a dry measure. 1nn m"NM - A supplementary expansion of the command to issue the wine; it specifies which wine. This is almost a sort of "PS." Note the orthography 1" for a form in construct. Does it represent the preservation of the diphthong or is it just a historical spelling? The cuneiform Banay Barqa for biblical B3nei-B 3raq in the Sennacherib annals suggests that at the end of the eighth century BeE the diphthong was still preserved in Hebrew, at least in the "Valley of Ono." The situation in the seventh to sixth centuries is not documented. m"NM P' - The usual interpretation of the term is some kind of bowl, as used in banquets and celebrations (J. L. Kelso, The Ceramic Vocabulary of the Old Testament, New Haven 1948, pp. 15-16). However, that meaning is based mainly on Palmyrene inscriptions. Various forms are attested in the Semitic languages: agtinu (Akkadian) or aggtinu (New Babylonian); (::Iaggtin, Hebrew), eijjanat, Arabic). The Hebrew and Akkadian words are usually interpreted as "bowl, basin." However, the Syriac eaggtin) is a "water pitcher," and the Arabic ::Iijjanat is a "vessel." The biblical references (Ex 24:6; Isa 22:24; Cant 7:3) do not require the meaning "bowl." A fragment of an amphora from Kition is inscribed pN and a jar handle from Sarepta has an alphabetic cuneiform inscription which reads ::Iagn. Furthermore that apparent Canaanite loan word that appears in Egyptian New Kingdom texts, ::Iakunu (also in Akkadian transcription in an Amarna text from Egypt, EA 14: III, 36), has a determinative

95

96

JUDAH

which is a picture of an amphora (d. Z. Cochavi-Rainey, "Egyptian Influence in the Amarna Texts," UF [1997], pp. 29, 95-96). Therefore, all the evidence points to "alnphora" as the Ineaning of pN. ARADNo.2

?

?

, 1nJ .n31' .:l'Ur'N .'N , .1"" II \ :J .o"n:;,

: 2

0"0)

,1

,

.ory?, Q1 .inNr.l 'N ••

-:

-

300

N',?? TT

n!lO T

"31 .Oij?

•

il' 1"" • .inNn 'N

nJ'

n31:JiN , on, Jl.I n:Jo ."31 .ON' .Oil' .n

To JElyasl"\?: And now, give to the Kittlylm 1 bath and 2 (hin) of wine for the four days and 300 (loaves) of bread, and a full of wine. And transfer (it) tomorrow, don't delay. And if there is vinegar left in stock then give to them.

n17:::1'1N' - According to the amounts specified here, one bath and two hin of wine (c. 29.33 liters) and 300 (loaves) of bread, the ration for one of the four days was to have been 7.33 liters of wine and 75 (loaves) of bread. But it is not stated how many men were in the unit receiving the supplies nor the weight (measure) of each loaf. on, 300 - The translation "loaves" may not adequately describe the units of bread. They were more likely similar to the Near Eastern pitta baked in the oven. The contained 10 baths according to Ezek 45:14: ":P i7?,'n "so ten baths make a homer." For this expression, d. Ex 16:32, 33: i7?,'l'iJ l'f'7t, "a full comer." As the Kittim were to get one bath and two hin for their four-day march, they were apparently expected to deliver the full of wine, ten baths, to some destination. n:lom Transfer the materials tomorrow, from Arad to some other place (understood to the writer and to :lElyasil». For this use of the Hifcil stem from

-

the verbal root

d. 1 Sam 5:8-9: :I'i:): • "Let the Ark of the God of Israel be transferred to Gath." So they transferred the Ark of the God of Israel And after they had in'N i!1g0

:1:10,

THE ARAD OSTRACA

97

98

JUDAH

transferred it. ... " Note the use of the conjunction plus a form of the suffix verb to express actions that are to be carried out as the continuation of a preceding command. This comillon biblical syntagma was obviously still in full use in every official correspondence; so also the verb in lines 7-8.

- Vinegar; d. Ruth 2:14:

0"1:) '\if;", "Come

0t.l7,iJ

over here and partake of the meal, and dip your morsel in the vinegar." Vinegar as beverage is mentioned in the regulations for a Nazirite. These include restrictions against f?1,n from certain beverages, e.g. Num 0'1:1? f?1'ni f?1'n "He (the Nazirite) shall abstain from wine and any other intoxicant; he shall not drink vinegar of wine or of any other intoxicant, neither shall he drink anything in which grapes have been steeped, nor eat grapes fresh or dried." Pasca, a mixure of vinegar and water, sometimes sweetened with honey, was a popular beverage of the Roman legionaries. It is very likely that the Kittlylm too were fond of such a beverage. Perhaps the prohibition of drinking vinegar in the Nazirite regulations refers not to raw vinegar but to a similar beverage. on, l'1rm Again the conjunction plus suffix verb as continuation of a command. It is not clear whether the was meant to be in addition to the rations for the four-day march or rather a supplement to the load of a fulll;amer of wine designated for the men's destination.

6:3:

ARADNo.3 Obverse

:

1

ilJ

3

9V;

f '0'

T

-

•

'0'

-

,oibn

:

•

,n,

-:

iN to

'f'

;

,n, .Otlnn . 1]'

1]' 'o' -

.::lW"'N .'N , .::l III ·il1 ::l .,n"jjn .0i7 iN

ownn ••

-

:

,00

.0l1N

l1np,i

on Reverse

]6 i'N ]

]"i

] 3 ,

] III ,

10

THE ARAD OSTRACA . Obverse

]

.

T:-

] ]

99

100

JUDAH Obverse

To ::>Elyasil>: And now, give from the wine 3 bath, and I:Pnanyahu has commanded you to Beer-sheba with a two donkey load and bundle with them dough(?) and [ ... ] count the wheat and the bread and you shall take Reverse

to yourself fr[ om ... ] [ ... ] for 3 [ ... ] and Edomites ... [ ... ] [ ... ] fr[om? ... ]

j""n ili This time the imperative is used instead of the absolute infinitive; further on in this letter the sender conveys a command to ::>ElyaslQ from a certain r:Pnanyahu who seems to be the one with authority. So the sender of the present letter may be of the same rank as ::>ElyaslQ and does not resort to the format for commands from a superior to a junior (i.e. with the infinitive). Note that the preposition does not show assimilation of the J to the following consonant; this is a comnlOn feature in epigraphic texts. ll::IlZl .,N::l 'll ,n"llM - More than one interpretation is possible here. The preposition 'Ill with the verb "to command," can mean "to put in charge," as in Neh 7:2: ilJ':;JiJ i1q "I put Hanani my brother and Hananiah, the captain of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem." Or it could mean to command someone to take care of a certain matter as in Esth 4:5: "and she commanded him concerning Mordecai." It is less logical to read 7.}l" "go up"; not only is the dropping of il abnormal in the epigraphy of this period, but one does not" go up" from Arad to Beer-sheba, he descends "go up," should also be from there. Similarly, the jussive form - For the common use of a pair (team) of donkeys, d. 2 Sam 16:1: '7.?¥i, "and a pair of saddled asses," and also Judg 19:3. As for the "load" d. 2 Kgs 5:17: '7.?¥ "two Inule-loads of earth." OliN - It is hard to decide whether the final letter is i' or i. The rendering "dough," creates many difficulties. Why send dough on a trip to Beersheba? That would take at least a day's journey of intensive travel and during that time the dough might not rise but just dry up, especially if this was in the

THE ARAD OSTRACA

- Reverse

101

102

JUDAH

summer. If one needed to prepare bread, it would not take much time just to add some water to the flour on the spot. Examination of line 6 reveals that there is room for one or even two letters between the end of the supposed jI:!l::J and the following " after which there is another blank space. It is not clear whether we have here effaced letters. However, it is still possible to read here [i]i:!l::J ii:!l', "and bundle them into a bundle." Qt.mi'i it)O "Take the inventory of the wheat," either in Arad or in Beersheba. 9-14 - Except for "to you(rself)," and "and Edomites," nothing but traces of letters can be discerned on these lines.

ARADNo.4

V!

w

11::1 •

1 .ory?

onD, 11::1 2

,1

11?

In , 'In,w, onn / .Oil' 111 \\ :l

To JElyasl1?: Give to the Kittlylm 1 (jar of) oil; seal (it) and send it and give them 2 baths of wine.

THE ARAD OSTRACA

1 - The measure is not specified; apparently there was a standard measure for oil and a standard-sized vessel. It might be a hin (d. supra regarding No. 1). The numerical amounts for oil in these letters are always noticeably smaller than for wine. The oil was for dipping the bread. orin - The oil was to be sealed because it was to be delivered by the Kitti'yi'm to the sender as indicated by the imperative and its suffix (d. infra). Does the order to seal the oil jar indicate that it was expensive, or was it deemed to be kept in ritual purity? It is possible that the suffix here is the first person plural with dative force: "Send us (the sealed jar of oil)." But it can also be third person masculine;

,m"w -

d. 1 Sam 16:11:

itO?!?', "Send and bring him."

ARAONo.5

'N

.:J'tlJ"N •

n,?lP

111N?J .n''tl) .11

jUJ]N["!]O

[

?Jj? [

, on, -

to'

to'

-:-

n

, .on' [ l1N [

l1N [ ••• il[

.n?Jj?il j'tl)[ ]N[ ];i

]

]11[

103

104

JUDAH

:J 'il[ ]:J [ ., •iWN [

[

]:J

:

[

97 [1 n?o/ [iW]

(1) 1 •

.W'nil i:tY '0·

[

-

-:

.,

10

I1N l' [ .(1) \:J [

.w,n;;

i:JY

] ]

To ::>ElyasfQ: And now, send from you(r supplies) from the surplus of the best (lit. the first) flour [wh]ich [ ... ] flou[r to make] bread for [the Ki]ttf[yfm ... ] ... [ ... ]Ba[naya]hu ... [... w]hen he [sends(?)] to you the ti[the] from it before the new moon passes [ ... ] surplus of the stock [ ... ]

THE ARAD OSTRACA 1-7 - Cf. regarding Arad No.1 supra. 10-12 - If Aharoni's reconstruction is correct then we have an early testimony to the practice of taking a Levitical tithe. However, in this context it is nlore likely that the tithe being alluded to is that for the monarchy; d. 1 Sam 8:15-17:

llJn "He will take a tenth part of your grain and vintage and give it to his eunuchs and courtiers .... He will take a tenth part of your flocks .... " W"Tn i:Jl7' l:litJ:J - Cf. Am 8:5: w:iniJ "When will the New Moon be over?" As in this passage and many others, it is most likely here that the New Moon is meant. It could Inean just a calendar month but in any case it shows that fixed times for making payments of the tithe were in force. From a practical point of view there is no difference whether the allusion is to the end of the month or the appearance of the New Moon. ARAD

No.6 [:

T

-;

•

T:

'0'

'.'

]'

n,?o/

n?w

T: : -

] if6Tn"

300 [0]07-

III [ ]n?

]

[

[ ]?W:J

105

106

JUDAH

To :lElyasi!?: And now, send from you(r supplies) to Yal).zayahu [ ... ] bre[ ad] 300(?) (loaves) [ ... ] the oil, on the thir[ d (day) of the lTIonth (?)]. / / / - The numeral in line 4 consists of only three units but perhaps the missing lower line, which would convert the number to 300, is just missing. At any rate, 300 is more likely for an issuance of bread; d. Arad No.2. The ostracon contained three more lines which are lost. Only a is preserved at the end of the last line.

ARADNo.7

:57, - : .::llV"'N . T:'" 'N ...

in, *."

-

: lJ 1:::1:

"'W:57, -:T ••

:57, .:::llV"'N 'N O"l1:J, •jl1J .l1

1n, \

:J

";W:57,

;'WW;' i:57 .W

THE ARAD OSTRACA

)

107

108

JUDAH

1]

Wl'n'!

.3 (pi!) ,1

nl1::Jl1:J

::J

•'lZi1n7

Wl'n'! q t.'

:

_

iV1n7

]/ / / \ ::J

n :

]

Oli]

To And now, give to the Kittfyfm for the tenth (month), on (day) 1 of the month. Till (day) six of the month: one bath and three (hin) [and] you will write (it?) in your records (lit: before you) on (day) two of the month, in the tenth (month) and as for oil s[eal and send itl to us]. For the tenth month (Tebet). unn, 1 ::I 'iU)l/" - Cf. Ezek 33:21: "in the tenth (nlOnth) on the fifth (day) of the month," and Ezek 1:1: "in the fourth (month) on the fifth (day) of the month." For writing the date in a nUlneral, d. Arad No. 32. We do not have to look for rigid consistency in scribblings which will find their way to the garbage after being copied into a ledger. U)'in, 1')!:l' - For this date formula, d. Hag 1:15: o')1?'¥ Oi':jl "on the twenty-fourth day of Inonth in the sixth (nl0nth)." For the expression 1')n, i1l'l:1l'l::J1, d. Josh 8:32: 'P :1t9 "which he had written in the presence of the Israelites." - It is possible that the 1"1 is a mater lectionis to signify the final vowel of the second person suffix, i.e. kata!2tti" as in Massoretic Hebrew. Such a plene spelling is rare in epigraphic texts, but in fact, it might be indicating that the accent on this fonn was on the final syllable as in this injunctive syntagma in Massoretic gramlnar, i.e. w kata!2ttl". On the other hand, it is also possible that the final 1"1 is really a pronominal accusative suffix, third personal masculine, i.e. w k ta!2t6", "and you shall write it." Any linguistic discussion of this form must also take into account the similar orthographies in the Lachish Letters. But what is the significance of the one-day delay in recording the disbursenlent ("on the second [day] of the month")? If Aharoni was correct in assuming that accounts were summarized on a Inonthly basis (supported by Arad No. 5:10-13, "before the month/New Moon should pass"), then the disbursement Inentioned in this present letter was to be recorded on the second day although the supplies were allocated for the period from the first to the sixth day. Either -

J

J

J

THE ARAD OSTRACA

the first day of the 1110nth was for inventory or else it was a "day of rest/, as reflected in Am 8:5: gone, that we may sell grain 7"

- Restoration as suggested by Arad No. 4:17.

Ql"I]M

ARAD

"When will the new moon be

W7'MiJ

No.8

o/iJ

?

, in)

: (1) 1

iI -

-

win, win, to'

T

r

-

TT

i

tl[ ]li:l

,W1n,

ilW,

Wil •

ilW'

TT

-

.:l'llr'N 'N

T

jl)bw T:

iI

W1n,

3 O"iI) ,1

/ / / \ :1 ]

1""[

W[ ]:1 nJ[

] P?

]'

], ,"'N ] P'

jWN 10

109

110

JUDAH

To JElyasf1?: And now, give to the Kittfyfm 1 of flo(ur) from the sixteenth (day) of the month to the eighteenth (day) of the month, (and) wine, 1 bath and 3 (hin). [... ] to file and [ ... ] which is for Ben-[ ... ]

r-

Above Arad No. t this symbol is interpreted conjecturally as the bamer = kar (220 liters), a dry measure. - A standard abbreviation for Mi'jV' "flour./I This is proven by Arad No. 112 where one entry has Mi'jj? followed by two entries for i'jp. If something was written on line 10 it has been completely effaced. ARAD

No. 10 : r-lji', T

-

;

•

T:

·t·

.nji', .:I'tV[

°0'

1 1

\ :l

i7?,Wl .o"n::j [

n?]o/

/

0D[Q

]

]tV

r" .0"[

.o"n:j [ 'iP':Jji' P7 .Oll[ ] o"n:J[

[To JElya]sf1?: And now, [give to the Kittf]yfm one bath of wine [and] ... and 1 (jar of) oil. [Se]al (it); to Ben- c 01?adyahu se[nd (it) via the Kittf]yfm [ ... ]

THE ARAD OSTRACA

[ - Aharoni read O'nN7j and took it as typical case of metathesis, possibly caused the preceding 7j of O[n7]. But after the missing piece of the sherd there is a clear head and leg of :J, that compels us to read O'rl:J, which is curious enough since O'rl:J is always written abbreviated to:J (the traces are more likely of:J than of 7j or J). An interpretation still eludes us. 3-5 - The evident intention: "Send one sealed jar of oil to Ben-cO"t>adyahft.

ARAD

No. 11 :::l'IlJ"'N

: 2

,[

0"0) ,1

.'N

O"n::l' inJ n:57' i"" // [ '[

111

112

JUDAH

\

To ::>ElyasfQ: And now, give to the Kittfyf[m 1 bath and] 2 (hin) of wine [ ... ] from [Na]}:temyahu. ARAD

No. 13

o/I:l niiJ

u.m

O[

n?

97?lJ'nf [Ohq1 , [ n?o/]I:l ••• ,

.O[

nTn .[

, n,w, [ ]11 •,n[

[ ... ] you shall se[nd] this [o]il [and seal (it)] with your seal [ ... ] and send and [ ... to ... -ya]hu you shall [send ... ]

THE ARAD OSTRACA

ARAD

No. 16

'W, n,w .'il"))n .1nN

"0/7 n?w . 0'0/71

0 i:t 1li":t O'W" .:tW"'N .0

.il'il"7 91;9

:

"DQ?W1

:P]

8

· ]

]

[

]

[

liY' .il'il'" 1li:J liN "lin,W' ] 'il"'N). "):t, W// liN' 'il"'T[ J" ]Wil' iliN[ ] ON' [ ] liN [

5

113

114

JUDAH

n'zo/ [

]7 n7Wt1 _ : .

] :

.on) l1N 0 ••

-

...

n7W [ ] ]7 n7wli N7' on) l1N

10

Your brother I:Iananyahu sent for the welfare of JElyasft,> and for the welfare of your house; I bless you to YHWH. And now: As I left your house I sent the si[l]ver, 8 sh(ekels) to the sons of GaJalyahu [by] the ha[nd of CA]zaryahu, and the [... from] you(r supplies) and ... [ ... ] the silver - - - - - and if [ ... ] your [ga]rrison [ ... and] send to/with(?) Na}:tum but you shall not send [to ... ] The sender is a man of JElyasfg's rank (brother; d. 1 Kgs 9:13; 20:33), so the letter opens with a blessing, even though in Arad No.3 it is stated that a man by this name, presumably the same, commanded (=>Elyasfg) to / concerning Beer-sheba." n,w - Note that this is the participle not the suffix conjugation form. /I

THE ARAD OSTRACA

fo.-""Ioil ,"::J

Obverse

To Nal:rCtm, [and] now: go to the house of :)Elyasfl> son of :lIssfyahCt and you shall take from there 1 (jar) of oil and send to Ziph quickly, and seal it with your seal. Reverse On the 24th (day) of the month handed over oil to the Kittian, 1 (jar). On one side this document records an order to N a];lllm to go to the house of :lElyasl12 son of :lIsslyahu, i.e. to the storehouse where the latter was in charge, and to take a jar of oil. On the reverse, written in a different hand, is the notice that the order had been carried out. This text is, then, an issuance order with its confirmation on the reverse.

THE ARAD OSTRACA

117

118

JUDAH

Reverse

THE ARAD OSTRACA

Note the locative ii, represented by a mater lectionis (unless the original suffix was consonantal; it appears in ancient Ugarit as -71). The locative iI is one of the few elements which can intrude between the nomen regens and the nomen rectum in a construct formation. - If the reading here is correct, the place may be identified with the Ziph in the Negeb district of Judah (Josh 15:24). The biblical spelling is with a mater Iectionis (Josh 15:24, 55). The nan'le is usually written defectively in epigraphic texts except for some examples of the Imile jar handles. - A modal adverb used an adverbial accusative (except for Ps 147:15, -

iI'tl?f, and Ecd 4:12, iI'tl?f:;J). Its force is that of urgency, e.g. 2 Sam 17:16: iI'tl?f 171?1¥, "Now send at once and tell David." For epistolary usage, d. the Aramaic letters in the Book of Ezra (5:8): "That work is being done with dispatch." Note that the instructions go from an in'lperative (lines 1-2) to an injunctive suffix conjugation form (lines 3-4) and back to an imperative. The first stage of the instruction is seen as one act, "go and take." The subsequent dispatch of the oil is a second activity.

in?

ARAD

No.1S Obverse j11j1" .:1t?J

"'N ."J1N 'N ur j11j1" .:HV

1B

'N .111

"t?'W,71 1--1 171 r lBT:1

"Oii"1 1--1 1'1 .11111

r

:l .iWN .i:1 •' tj,tzj T -

.- .

.c'w ."l111 j11j1" 11":1

Reverse

.:1W"

:1W"

.Nj1

10

To my lord ::>Elyasl1?: May YHWH seek your welfare! And now, give to Samaryahfr 1--1 (measure) and to the Qer6s1 give a (measure). And to the matter which you commanded me it is well. He (it?) is located in the House of YHWH.

r

119

120

JUDAH Obverse r - - - -_ _ _-: _____

I

-"--......,111...."

-I ,- ) /.

..-4"/"

A- '\

I (

:

.... 1 \

Reverse

THE ARAD OSTRACA

The sender is junior in rank to ::JElyasi!? whom he addresses as "my (d. the Lachish Letters, passim), then follows a blessing: - "May YHWH seek your welfare." For the idiom d. Ps 122:6: Oi'lf "Seek the welfare of Jerusalem"; Gen 43:27: Oi'W7 ory? " And he asked them of their welfare"; Ex 18:7: Oi'W7 m'v' J7 "and they asked each other of their welfare"; Judg 18:15: oi'W7" "and they asked him of his welfare"; et ai. However, the specific formulation of this blessing whereby YHWH is invoked to .seek the welfare of the recipient finds its earliest echoes in cuneiform documents from the Late Bronze Age. In Taanach Letter No. 1:5-7 we find: iltina lis:Jahl suiumka suium brtika mclr"fka, "May the gods seek your well being, the well being of your house, of your sons" ; and from Amarna Letter No. 96:4-5: iltina suiumka suium brtika lis:Jai, "May the god(s) seek your welfare (and) the welfare of your house" (note plural subject with singular verb). Likewise in the Elephantine documents: Ni1'N o'w, "The welfare of our lord may the God of Heaven ask" (TAD I, A4.7:1-2, etc. = Cowley, AP, No. 30:1-2, etc.). ll" - Note the use of the imperative which is normal; it does not matter that the writer is inferior in rank to the recipient. L.--7 - Aharoni interpreted this sign as the symbol for the measure. That unit of measure is 11lentioned only in Hos 3:2: i7f'n/, "and a bome1' of barley, and a (= of barley." This translation is based on the testimony of some of the ancient Greek versions and the Latin Vulgate. Ten bath measures cOlllprised the Ezek 45:14: "I7f'n 0'f:):;)1J "for ten baths are a For the bath measure, d. supra, p. 94; infra, pp. 241-242. - This person is not called by his personal name but by the name of his clan, the Qeros clan, e.g. Ezra 2:44: O'jj? Neh 7:47: O'i'j? 'po Both of these contexts list the sons of Qeros as belonging to the class of temple servitors called ndtlnlm. Any connection to the OOi:;', "Corsicans?" of the Phoenician inscriptions from the city of Kition in Cyprus (CIS I, Nos. 42,44) should be rejected. - "(May you) give," a secondary jussive, second masculine singular, in a clause continuing an imperative. Again, an injunctive form is normal when addressing someone of higher rank. Q,W "IWN "I::l", - We have not been apprised of the nature of the matter concerning which ::JElyasi!? has commanded the writer. All we can learn from this enigmatic statelllent is that the affair has been satisfactorily tended to. It (or he) is OK! Compare the laconic reply of the Shunamite to her husband's

121

122

JUDAH query, 2 Kgs 4:23: oi,W l't"i w,;m l't" "But he said, 'Why are you going to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath?' She answered, 'It's all right."' :m." l'til mil" n":1 - Since jElyaslQ is located at Arad, there would be no sense in referring to someone or something currently located in the Arad temple. Furthermore, recent analysis of the stratigraphy of Arad confirms that not only was the sacrificial altar covered by a fill laid in Stratum VIII (contemporary with Beer-sheba Stratum II and Lachish Stratum III, destroyed by Sennacherib's campaign in 701 BeE), the whole shrine had gone out of use at the same time. So in Strata VII-VI, the final phases of occupation in the Arad fortress during the end of the Judaean monarchy, the Arad shrine was buried under debris. There can hardly be any doubt that the allusion in this letter is to the temple in Jerusalem. This statement is a clarification of the previous clause concerning a certain i:li, "matter, thing, affair." It is treated as masculine in view of the verb :lW' which can be rendered as the suffix form yasa12, the prefix form yese12, or the participle :lW", y6se12. The ambiguity of this unvocalized script leaves the way open to the exercise of the inlagination in seeking solutions. Some might want to impose on this context a form from the root :l1W, "to return," i.e. prefix basic stem yastl12, "he will return," or prefix causative stem :lW;, yasf12, "he will cause to return." But none of these suggestions carry any conviction in view of the simple, straightforward context. Something or somebody was to be delivered/ sent to the temple in Jerusalem; the thing or person was now located there. The participle :lW"', y6se12, "he is sitting/located," seems the most logical rendering; it expresses an ongoing, unbroken situation and in that function is common in biblical Hebrew, e.g. Gen 2:10: "A river was issuing from Eden."

ARADNo.20 This is an ink inscription on the side of a store jar; traces of previous writing are discernable but they are completely unintelligible. Palaeographically this text belongs late in the Judaean monarchy.

If. In the third (year) j Ger[a son of CU]zz[iya]hu

1i1[ ]T[

1"l'IV''IV:::l ]i;'

THE ARAD OSTRACA

nW'W::2 In the third year of a king of Judah. 1::2 N'" - This is the improved reading of Lemaire. Aharoni read:

n,,,

"the month of $ah." If Lemaire's rendering is correct, and it seelns that it is, then this Gera J could be the estate manager who was sending in the shipment of wine. It seems logical to assume that the contents of the jar were wine. The third year of Zedeldah would fall in about 594 BCE. In Zedekiah's fourth year, 593 BCE, ambassadors from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon were in Jerusalem (Jer 27:3, 12; d. Jer 28:1). ARAD

No. 21

O'lP7

if.]

•

]

] 'il""" .O'W'

D?W

O'lP71

], 111::li:1 .111":1

illp¥ iD : Q¥1 .il "]tTN? il'il" O?,W; [ (1 )il']il"D

] "Y

.n'w

[

[ [

.o'w" .

.1J:1

iN"'N

] •"J'N •ilWY .Til .11Y' •il ]J'N' .il'il" .o'ur .[ ];i"n O'N [ 11Y[ ]il[ ]WN [

]'::li [

] "Y .ON' [

123

124

JUDAH

[ ] n,[lV

]lVN [

] n,[

10

Your son, sent concerning the welfare of Cagalyahu [ son of] :lElya:lfr and concerning the welfare of your house. I bless you to [YHW]H. And now, behold my lord has done [ ... ] May YHWH recompense [my] lord [ ... ] Edam [ ... ] As YH[WH] lives [ ... ] and every [ ... ] whi[ ch ... ] and if, further [ ... ] whi[ ch ... slend [ ... ] The blessing formula resembles that in Arad No. 16. The two fragments of this ostraca were found in the room adjacent to the place where the :lElyasiQ collection was found so this text may belong to the same group.

THE ARAD OSTRACA

- The" son" formula reflects the hierarchy of the people involved. It is a formal polite greeting to a senior member from the same social echelon. 'N"'N This personal name could be vocalized as above or else, :JEl1:J6r, or :JEIFur. The cOlnponent J6r / Jar is written either defectively or plene in the Arad inscriptions. ["]l'N, i"nn" l::l,W" - Cf. Prov 25:22: 1? nm'l, "and YHWH will reward you"; Ruth 2:12: i"nil' "May YHWH recompense your work." l::l'N - It might be read 0':]2$, Jtidtim, "a man." However, as in these letters WN, ::Ifs, seems to be preferred for "man," the reading Edom is the most likely reading. [i"n]n"n - This form of the oath with the two vocables joined (only one .,) evidently represents the real pronunciation. Cf. the remarks concerning Lacmsh No. 3:9 (supra, p. 63). [']WN ,:;:" - Lemaire renders '::>1, "and every man [ ... ]. n,[w - It is impossible to decide between n'z1¥, sJlab1 "send," and n'zW, "sent"; or perhaps the word is incomplete: ]n'w.

125

126

JUDAH

ARAONo.24 Obverse ]

] 'N

] ::nV'I'N • T: "0°

] 17.7? [

]

] ,'In

] ,'Itt [

. ]

[ [

] :nzr'N [ ] 0'

]0:;' [

]1::1:57 [ ]1[

]:571 [ ]:;'1 [ (erased) [11-10]

r--

---

, ,

.':'t!J.)l,..

'";/

I

) --

_ _ _ _

_ _ M. _ _ _ _

THE ARAD OSTRACA

Reverse

(1):;

(1) 50

"!l ::1]"l -

:

... '0'

-

T

on'N T

0:

: -

"N11P

:

.il ,

o ·

'''31il' "r-ln,W .0:::>W::1l!l • T: .: '0':: - : W"'N nN OWlNil : Ol7il O:::>!l N:J-O ,31 Teo.

T

•

',':

'0'

•

T-: T

-

0: T

til ::1il'

.0nN .onn'w, .il ., P 31W"'N ,,, .'31 .O,"V il nN .il'V" .l£) .::1"l .'il O:::>nN ,::1" .,::1, .'''31 '''31il' "nn,w illil .0:::>W::1l::1 W"'N nN .0WlNil .O"il .0:::>::1 .O'N .N::1n .1£).31

."N::1'V P

15

20

127

128

JUDAH

Obverse

To [ ... ] JElyasi'l> [ ... ] king [ ... ] the force of [ ... ] silv[er ... ] produce(?) [ ... ] Reverse

From CArag 50(?) and from Qi'na[h ... ] and you shall send them to Rama!-nege[l> in ch]arge of Malkiyahu son of Qaral>Jor and he will hand them over to JEli'sa c son of Yirmayahu in Rama!-negel>, lest something should happen to the city. And the word of the king directed to you, on your very lives. Behold, I have written to warn you: The men to JEli'sa C ! "Lest Edam should enter there."

THE ARAD OSTRACA

The ostracon was discovered in debris on the western slope of the tel, outside the fortress (where some others were also found) but the script and the mention of :JElyasit,> assure us that the text belongs to the latter days of the Judaean monarchy. On the obverse only a few scattered words and some isolated letters were preserved. ,:l17 This could, of course, be some inflected form from the root i::JY, but it could also be the noun (loan word from Akkadian probably via Aramaic) i'::JY, Ca!!ar, "produce." For another occurrence of this term, d. Arad No. 31:10. But, one might also read 1::JY, "servant." 12-13 - Probably in line 11 there was an injunctive verb form from the verb "to take," either an imperative or an injunctive suffix form, e.g. "and

129

130

JUDAH

you shall take ... . The idea was apparently that someone was commanded to go to :>Elyasig at Arad and to commandeer troops for the reinforcement of Ramat-neget? The nearby fort at Qmah may have been under :>Elyasft?' s TY'iI" j:l L--1 'iI"..,YO j:l 'iI"..,l 7j:l Op"nN

\.-1 I 4

L--1 or:n L--1 !)iI"Y'" T: -; L--1 T

: -

:

L--1 Onl L--1 'iI"Y'" L--1

"'L 'iI"[ 10

] j:l7 Wheat :rOdyahu son of Ragga:> \.-1 I 4 (ephah measures) NaJ::temyahu son of yahocaz 8 Neriyahu son of SaCaryahu 5 :>AJ::tfqam son of SamaCyahu 7 GaJ::tam 5 yagaCyahu 5 Gamaryahu 5 [ ... ]yahu 6

46 (ephah measures of) produce To Ben [ ... ] This text was found on the same floor as the three seals of ::>ElyasfQ; it is a list of grain issues to various people. The exact total is recorded on the bottom line, viz. 46. The text is a palimpsest; traces of the previous writing survive on the right side, namely the letter J, and p1;l, "to Ben [ ... ]."

135

136

JUDAH

ot.m - Plural

from singular illi1:1, « As usual in these texts, the long i vowel of the plural suffix is not expressed orthographically. om. - Appears as the name of an Aramaean tribe in Gen 22:24, apparently a geographical name. It is surprising to see it here as a personal name. ,::l17 - "Produce," d. Josh 5:11: f:1?$O "they ate of the produce of the country." Cf. supra, p. 129. The interpretation of the symbols G: / Y as ephah measures" is only a conjecture. The rest of the symbols are known hieratic numerals as used by scribes II

THE ARAD OSTRACA

in Judah and Israel. The sign '-1 which Aharoni interpreted as the hieratic 5 does not fit the forms of the numeralS in hieratic. The sign occurs also in No. 18:5 and was interpreted there as the sign. Perhaps we should read here also and in lines 3,5, and 9, the numerals 8, 7, and 6, respectively. Aharoni's proposal to read the signs in line 10 as 46 is unattainable.

137

138

JUDAH

ARADNo.32

--------]::l .i100 [

On the 8th of the month,

]

W1n7 --::=:?

J

si[lver ... ]

This ostracon was also found on the floor where the seals of ::>Elyasig were found. noo - Lit., "Mare's enclosure," a place name listed among the towns in the Negeb of Simeon: Josh 19:5: n':;:}, "and Ziklag,

THE ARAD OSTRACA

and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah." Its place in the list after Ziklag suggests that it was in the western Negeb even though it appears in inscriptions at Arad in the eastern Negeb. In the parallel text, 1 Chr 4:31, we have "Horses' enclosure," in the plural. It might be that that the vocable i1910 should be taken as a collective noun, and thus i1910 should also be interpreted "Horses' enclosure." ARAD

No. 38 O,::>i1

01:DjJ

1

1

1 ]W If. i[ ] If. If. [ 2

I

no

I

]In ]W P i[ ] 1:J

i7::JW

P[ 1/ pn / i::>[

Hakkos

S-CtcaJ ("Fox") son(!) of I:Iana[n] Gamaryah-Ct son of S[ ... ] Sel>ac son of [ ... ]r 1 [ ... ] son of :>Elyasfl> 1 I:Ianan 2 [Za]kk-Ctr 1

139

140

JUDAH This ostraca was found outside the northwest corner of the fortress; by its script it is also contemporary with the ::>ElyaslQ texts. o,::m - A personal name, "The Little Owl," a nocturnal bird (Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16; Ps 102:7). The addition of the definite article suggests that this is a nickname or a clan name. '17W - Sf{al, "Fox"; note that the long avowel is not marked orthographically. This name appears as an Asherite clan in 1 Chr 7:36, 7¥1Ul, originating nlOst probably in 7¥1Ul "the Land of Sf{al" in Benjamin (1 SarTI 13:17). 7N - It appears that the N is simply an error for::1. So we should read "son of I;:Ianan." ARAD

No. 39 Obverse

if. if. if. o?¥!?? if. if. 1f. 0/ if. 1f. "'7Q 1f. Obverse

[::> A]dam(?) son of yaqamyahu SamaCyahu son of Malkfyahu Masullam son of Qara"Q::>o[r] Tanl:t-um son of Ga::>alyahu son of yagaCyahu [ ... ]yahu son of ::>Al)j' CAgayahu son of SamaCyahu Reverse

Ya::>azanyahu son of Banayahu yaho::>a"Q son of I:Ielday ::>A"Qfl)ay

j:l 0'[ j:l

J'N:11P j:l 'il"9'" j:l onJ.n 'il"9'" 1:1 'il"'N" "TiN j:l 'il"[ 'Ill i:1 'il"'9 'il"JTN" ""n j:l :1N'il" "n":1N

Reverse

j:l

10

THE ARAD OSTRACA

141

Reverse

j

4.

I

l

''"''''''

This ostracon also seems to belong to the JElyaslQ group. Q'[N] - If this reading is correct, it is the first record of a person bearing the name of the ancestor of the human race. Lemaire suggests reading O'[v], a shortened theophoric name such as QadmFel. "N::::I'P - This is in accordance with Naveh's reading.

I

142

JUDAH ARAD

No. 40 nl' [ [0'7W7] n7w :.

-

T

]i6" .0:ll:J ] n7W

T:

·i1['i1"7]

;i[

i1!l[7] 91?[¥] i1T;¥iJ : 1J¥1

i1:j[ ] ;i:j[ ]

"Lf:t:1l1:l' • : -:- T:

T:

-

iWN 7N

T

...

-:

]

"[

...

]6N iWN .7N

i iWN 7' nN] ")'"TN 7N T

...

f

-:

'0'

T

•

-:

(1

?

] "liN 7N

'0'

] W"Ni1

i1¥

·

N'7]

.n:57'

W"N'

N

.N

7:? (1)

1tl1 .OV

] i1n:571" .1i1' .0 i1

"

"]")'"TN7 Ol'=ln) O'"TN '0":

]j1N7 Onnl .01N

1?

1':1.

] 17 .,[ ]W[], .0" 1i

N'71]

:JI:97piJ NDl

to

......

:

•

-: _

•

_

;

"tt 71. •• ]i1 :

] wp:J ]1'i1" •

." nN n'7w7 07'::>" '0'

-

:.

.:

'0'

'0'

-:

T

.Ni1' .:571" ."

]i1 nN .n7W7 .07:l" •'ll

0] '"TN [i]WN i1:57ii1 nN ... :

10

]iN [ ]WN .i1:57ii1 nN

TT

15

Your sons! (lit.: your [plural] son) Gamar[yahu] and Na!:temyahu sent concerning the welfa[re] of Malkfyahu. I bless you [to YHW]H. And now: Your [ser]vant has inclined his [he]art to what [you] sa[id, and I have [written] to my lord [everything that] the man [wa ]nted. [And JIsslyahu (7) has co ]me from you, but no one [gave to] them. And behold, you knew (it); [as for the letters (7) from] Edam I gave them to my lord [before su]ndown. And [JI]ssl[yah]u spent the night [in my house] and he requested the letter [but] I [did not give (it to him)]. May the Icing of Juda[h] be apprised [that w]e are not able to send the [ ... ] and this is the evil whi[ch] Edo[m ... has done(7)]. Aharoni associated this letter to Stratum VIn of Arad (end of the eighth century BeE). The reference to Edam might suggest a later period, near the end of the monarchy. However, it should be noted that Edam and Judah had conflicts in former periods (cf. 2 Sam 8:13-14; 1 Kgs 11:14-22; 2 Kgs 14:7; 16:6). 1-3 - For the blessing formula, cf. Arad No. 21, supra, p. 123. Q::ll::J - The reading is certain; but since there are two senders and one recipient it would appear that the scribe has made a dyslectic" mistake. It would have /I

THE ARAD OSTRACA

been more appropriate to write TJ:J, "your sons/' or just 1):J, "your son/' since he formulates the blessing in the first person singular, "I bless you/' rather than "we bless you." According to the Arad letters' orthography there is no way to assume that the vocable should be read "your (plural) son/' and represent a contraction of the diphthong. A similar mistake on behalf of the writer is found in an Aramaic letter from Egypt: 1ili 'N o,w:J P'ON '1 nliO' j1W,:JJ p1nN "To my sister(!) Taru and Tabi

143

144

JUDAH

.---

.'-

..... .....--... '

--','\

'\

\ _'11

A

;i

J. / L\_.i' \

V

.-

@

\ 0\ 4=

-4 . /

!

\

l"

:

\

i

l

i-7 4

..

1 >","

:7 I. ,'\ )NAi/:?

(

11',\

l

..

X+",-

A"D-a=>

1 11

b 3

147

n

7¥V! T T :

\\ N[ \

7l?W

\ 1\ n .,j1",£) \\\ n .NnN ..,):t

15

This ostracon was found in a room beside the temple; the room belonged to Stratum VIn (late eighth century BeE) when a fill had covered the sacrificial

148

JUDAH altar and the entire building was apparently out of use. However, the ostracon, like many ceramic finds in archaeology, was probably residual, i.e. it carne from an earlier phase in the same stratum before the telnple was decommissioned. At any rate the cultic associations of most of the personnel mentioned on this list of donations or issuances suggest that they had been associated with the function of the shrine. On the other hand, they might represent personnel fronl the official religious "establishment" centered in Jerusalem who had been posted at Arad to see that the local shrine was not reinstated after it had been put out of business. At any rate, Stratum VIII was destroyed at the end of the eighth century, during the campaign of Sennacherib (either by the Assyrian anny or by smne of their allies). ''!l:l "):1 - Cf. Ezra 2:52 = Neh 7:54: "the sons of Ba1?hl!/Ba1?l1!,' from among the returning cultic personnel called O'J'nJ, n"tinim. The name is of course that of the vegetable, the onion. n,/, '):1- The "sons of Q6ral;l, " a well-known family of Levites. Of course there was also a branch of the Edomites called Q6ra]:l (Gen 36:5 et al.) but it is unlikely that they would appear on an ostracon of Stratum VIII at Arad. "J:I "The sons of Konyahu," or perhaps 1i1'J:J' p, "The son of yakonyahu." ,,,,,, 1:1- The "son of Gilgal," possibly someone whose clan had been attached to the Yahwistic shrine at Gilgal. Otherwise Galgul; d. ":17:1 ,7:17:1 in Aramaic documents of the Persian period from Elephantine (TAD II, pp. 54 [B3:1], 102 [B4:1]), d. iUAYODAU in a Greek papyrus (Mur. 115) from WadI MurabbaCat (P. Benoit, J. T. Milik and R. de Vaux, Les Grottes de Murabacfit [DJD II], Oxford 1961, pp. 248-249), thus the meaning would be "eyeball." This name is not known as a personal name but in Zech 6:12 it is said

"Behold, a man called a Branch shall branch out from the place where he is." Whether a real personal cognomen is intended or only a symbolic epithet, at least this prophecy shows that $elna]:l could be used as a name. i1Hi:!,

'N'[:ll'

1:1] - Restoration in accordance with the available space; it is only a

conjecture. Lemaire reads n - Is this an abbreviation for Olm, The former seelns most likely.

"wheat," or for the

measure?

THE ARAD OSTRACA ARAD

No. 50

A small ostracon found in a room from Stratum VIII (late eighth century BCE) beside the teluple and close to the city wall. The one word of the text is the name of a course of priests known from among the returnees to Zion with Zerubbabel (Neh 12:3) and also from Mishnaic sources.

ARAD

No. 54

Pasl:rur A small ostracon bearing the personal name Pasl:lllr (known from the Bible). This is a name of a course of priests known from the list of priestly clans who returned to Judah from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:38), and likewise from Mishnaic and Talmudic sources. It appears that this and the preceding ostracon, and five others found in the

149

150

JUDAH same vicinity (sonte from the slope outside the city wall but near the location of the telnple), each with a single name, represented priestly courses that had taken part in the administration of the Arad shrine. They date to the late eighth century BeE; those found in situ were in the destruction layer of Stratum VIII, the stratum when the temple was put of commission.

ARAD

No. 58

CAdayahCt Kalel> son of [ . . . ] cEzer son of C[ ... ] Ya::>a!:te$

,jJ"'37

] if. P

]37

] 1:J :17:> ]37

P

iT37

rnN "

This ostracon apparently comes from the late eighth century BeE; if it was found in Stratum VII, then it is either residual (from an earlier stratum), or else it is from the late seventh century BeE. Lines 5-8 - Defaced and impossible to read. This can also be read K'lCtl>; both forms are documented in the Bible. '"Ill/' This name could also be read cAzzur, or the like. - The name is enigmatic, but the reading is quite certain.

THE ARAD OSTRACA ARAD

No. 59

... 1i1]; if. ] if. ] if. ] if. if.

], j::J

] j::J ] j::J

] ]J£):!l j::J jTN'

y ah6:Ji:l"!? son of ya[h6 ... ] yaqamyahu son of [ ... ] Na1)emyahu son of [ ... ] c AmmfSaI6m son of [ ... ] Ya:Jazen son of $apan[yahu] The ostracon is apparently from Stratum IX, from the early eighth century BeE.

151

152

JUDAH ARAD

No. 88 7]::l::! T:

]1

.: -

T

.-:

31'1

]7

]::l::! • ]1

•

Ji',r .

]7

I reign in a[ll {Judah / the land] Muster strength and [ ... ] the king of Egypt to [ ... ] The ostracon was a surface find after the excavations were finished. The only basis for dating is palaeographic, and the indications are that the inscription COllles from the end of the Judaean Monarchy. The text arouses great interest due to its content. But l1luch to our misfortune, the left half of the ostracon is missing; that half of the text would doubtless solve the many riddles. The cheap writing material precludes any assumption that we have here some official pronouncement either of the king of Babylon or of the king of Egypt but it could be a scratch copy of an urgent message from a new king of Judah, such as Jehoahaz or Jehoiakim, or even more likely, Jehoiachin (or possibly, but less likely, Zedekiah). The verb can indicate present tense, e.g. 2 Kgs 9:13: 12lt "They sounded the horn and proclaimed, 'Jehu is king!'" 12lt, or, with reference to God in poetic proclamations, Ps 47:9: "God reigns over the nations!"; Ps 93:1: 1?lt mil" "YHWH is king, He is robed in grandeur"; also Ps 96:10; 97:1; 99:1. Although it is accidentally rare in the biblical text, the use of the verb with the preposition -:I to designate the nation over which SOlneone reigned is perfectly acceptable, e.g. 1 Kgs 14:21: 12lt il'b'o/ P O:PO)i, "And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah"; Gen 36:31-32: i:J7lt o':;>??PiJ ']:;':::1

''IN

OW! P . 17.7t 1?7t "These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites: Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the natne of his city was Dinhabah." So one cannot argue that the preposition -:I in this present text must be followed only by a city name, as if a country nanle was inadmissible. - An adlnonition to be strong; d. Prov 31:17: O"mlt il,?>O O"Pyiii, "She girds her loins with strength, and makes strong her arms"; Nah 2:2: "N7t 0':;) jim, "make (your) loins strong, fortify (your) power might-

THE ARAD OSTRACA

\

( \

\

\\ \

ily"; et al. It can refer to personal self-strengthening or to mustering forces for battle. Aharoni, Arad Inscriptions (with bibliography on each inscription); Lemaire, Ostraca, pp. 147253 (with bibliography); Pardee, Handbook, pp. 24-67 (with bibliography). Concerning Arad No. 25 Sh. Yeivin, "An Ostracon from Tel Arad Exhibiting a Combination of Two Scripts," lEA 55 (1969), pp. 98-102; A. F. Rainey, "A Hebrew Receipt from Arad," BASOR 202 (1971), pp. 23-29. Concerning Arad No. 88

Y. Yadin, "The Historical Significance of Inscription 88 from Arad: A Suggestion," lEI 26 (1976), pp. 9-14; A. Malamat, "The Kingdom of Judah Between Egypt and Babylon: A Small State within a Great Power Confrontation," History of Biblical Israel: Major Problems and Minor Issues, Leiden-Boston-Koln 2001, pp. 326-327.

153

154

JUDAH

*The following two incised ostraca were found on the surface of Tell Qasile (before the beginning of the 1949 excavations), a mound on the northern bank of the present-day Yarkon River, now on the grounds of the Bretz-Israel Museum, Tel Aviv. OIL FOR THE KING

This is an incised ostracon with three lines. Palaeo graphically it can be dated to about the end of the eighth century BeE. (Belonging) to the king: one thousand one hundred (measures) of oil. I:Iiyahil

l??W

]'N

'ii"ri

- "(Belonging) to the king," or "for the king." In either case, the oil is designated for the king. Pll'N - Listing by descending order of the numerical units with the item being tallied appearing between the units; d. Gen 23:1: "a hundred years and twenty years and seven years." The particular measure of volume intended here is not known; it must have been an accepted standard for such transactions. 'i'I'M - A clipped fornl of 1il'MN, comparable to biblical tli'M, Hiram / Hiram, which is clipped from an original Phoenician tli'MN. The theophoric component, -yahCt, makes it highly likely that the inscription is Judaean rather than Israelite.

TELL QASILE GOLD OF OPHIR

An incised ostracon with two lines of text. It can be dated to the late eighth or seventh century BCE.

].I,n .n"::J7

,'!:)N

.::JilT :=W

] l,h n";?

::JDT 30 W

Gold of Ophir to / of Be!-:tIoron 30 Shekels

:lm Ophir is Inentioned in the Bible as the source of the gold brought by the ships of SolOlnon and Hiram that sailed forth from Ezion-geber in the Gulf of Elath (1 Kgs 9:26-28 et al.). So gold of Ophir" became a designation for excellent gold (1 Chr 29:4 et al.). Since Tell Qasile is not on a harbor by which ships could sail to the Red Sea, and thus to Ophir, the present reference must be to a quality of gold and not a real shipment from the place, Ophir. lin l'1':l; This entry can mean IIbelonging to Be1-:tIoron" or lIof (being sent) to Be1-:tIoron." Be1-:tIoron may be a temple to the deity :tIoron and there might have been such a temple at Tell Qasile; otherwise it might be the city of BethDoron. Beth-Doron was a Levitical administrative center (Josh 21:22). The orthography of the bound form 1'1'::l with may testify to the preservation of the diphthong (cf. discussion of this same word in the Arad Letters, supra, p. 115; and in the Mesha c Inscription, infra, p. 413). Note that the Sennacherib Annals record the geographical name Banay-Barqa, biblical Bene-berak, only a few miles from Tell Qasile, in the year 701 BCE; there the dual/ plural suffix of the bound form appears to be uncontracted (an Assyrian scribe could easily have written Bane-Barqa). On the other hand, the absence of a , in the orthography of liM seems to indicate reduction of the diphthong in this probably unaccented syllable (cf. the plene spelling of the geographical name pi1M, Ijiiwronen, in the Mesha c Inscription, line 32, infra, p. 393). ll) Abbreviation for sheqel. II

155

156

JUDAH

Thirty in the Phoenician numerical systenl. In spite of the use in Israel and in Judah of numerals taken from Egyptian hieratic script, the Phoenician system nlay have enjoyed greater influence in a seaport town close to the Phoenician shipping lanes. == -

B. Mazar, "The Hebrew Ostraca from Tell Qasile," ]NES 10 (1951), pp. 265-267; Lemaire, Ostraca, pp. 251-255; J. Naveh, "Writing and Scripts in Seventh Century B.CE. Philistia: The New Evidence from Tell Jemmeh," IE] 35 (1985), pp. 16-17.

A

LETTER OF COMPLAINT FROM ME$AD l:IASHAVYAHU

An ostracon with 14 lines, the last two being badly effaced, which was found in the guard room of a fort south of Yavne-YalTI. The ancient nalTIe of the site I:Iasal>yahu. This is is unknown; its official modern Hebrew nanle is I:Iasa!JytiJul, has been found on another snlall because the personal name

ME$AD I:IASHAVYAHU

ostracon nearby (which had led at first to an erroneous reading of the same name in this larger ostracon, in line 7). According to the data from palaeography, archaeological context, and historical considerations, it seems highly probable that the text comes from the last quarter of the seventh century BCE. The ostracon was found under the floor of a room which yielded pottery known as "East Greek," the date of which is not earlier than the mid-seventh century BCE. It was surprising to find in Philistia a text (plus a few other smaller texts just

157

158

JUDAH outside the entryway) written in good Judaean Hebrew script in the typical JudaeanlJerusalem dialect of Hebrew (as in biblical prose, the Lachish and Arad letters, etc.). The work supervisor mentioned in the text bears a Judaean name, HosaCyahu. All of these factors point to a time of Judaean control over the area. The one likely time for this would be in the reign of Josaiah, who must have extended his authority westward for a certain period of time. The most plausible "window" for Judaean hegemony over the northern Philistine coast at such a late date would be from Josaiah's 12th year of reign (629/628 BCE). That was about one year after Ashurbanipal had stepped down from his throne in favor of his son, Ashur-etil-ilani, apparently reflecting serious problems in the Assyrian central government and a consequent weakening of Assyrian control over its empire. During his 12th year, Josaiah launched his reform movement from Jerusalem to Judah and even to the territory of the former kingdom of Israel (2 Kgs 23; 2 Chr 34:3b-6 telescopes all this activity to Josaiah's 18th year). But any Judaean control along the western shoreline would most probably have come to an end by the time that an Egyptian army under Psammetichus (Psamtik I) had marched to Mesopotamia in the aid of the faltering Assyrians (616 BCE). After that time, the fort was either being manned by Aegean mercenaries or at least was enjoying some economic contacts with the Aegean area. The letter is written in good biblical Hebrew, plus a possible scribal omission here or there, and the script is that of a trained scribe. The rhetorical style of the text, including judicious repetitions and emphases, preserves the essentials of the farm-worker's complaint as he stood before the scribe writing the petition. The lively style of the epistle still retains the vividness of everyday speech, that of the complaining workman. The incident reflected in the complaint is clear enough. The workman was evidently a tenant farmer or corvee worker who was obligated to submit a specified amount to the local granary. In the eyes of HosaCyahfr son of Sagay, the plaintiff had not fulfilled his quota and as a result, he considered the worker as having a debt incumbent upon him. Thus Hosa cyahu took the worker's garment as a pledge until the quota should be fulfilled. The workman claims that he did fulfill his quota and says he can call to witness his fellow laborers who will confirm his statement. As background to the controversy one must consider certain biblical rules about pledges as formulated in Ex 22:25 and Deut 24:10-13. In that light, HosaCyahu was not behaving according to the rule in spite of his authority.

ME$AD l:fASHAVYAHU

,tvil ."l'N Y7Jtv., 1':JY .il':JY ,:J, 1'1N n:J .1':JY .il"il 1':JY .OON :Jtv "ltl7 OON' N' 1'1N 1':J[ ] 1'1 :Jtv 1:J 'il.,Ytv'il N:J'" 00 1':JY 'l:J 1'1N .np'" ." 1':JY 'l:J 1'1N np7 07J" ilT 1'1N .0n:J "1'1N ."7 .'lY" ."nN N7J ."1'1Pl 17JN "7 .'lY" •"nN [ ]lil[ tvil7 ,tv7 .N77JN' "'l:J [ n, •'7N 1E ]:JY [ l7Jil'1'1 N7' 1':J[ ] 1'1N 1'1:J[ ]

10

15

'Wil "l1N Y7Jtz,h T

-

•

-:

-:.

. .091$ ::1W "ltl7 07J":;' OON' T•• : . "T: -T:

1$1 '¥i?

-:-

7f

.1'1

OQ .,

. .

,"'7

o'n:p

"'7

il! ""1¥i? 10

Wil7 'W7 N,7JN' ,"'l::1 [1'1N Nl :JW" r-IY' .OW 01 :J N71 lJ:J[Wrn •

T:

-

-

II

-

-:

-

.:.

...

T

•

T

T

-

:

T

••• "]

15

May my lord, the governor / commander, listen to the word of his servant! As for your servant, your servant was harvesting in :J Asam. And your servant harvested and finished / measured and stored in the granary as always before the Sabbath.

159

160

JUDAH

When your [se]rvant had measured harvest and stored in the granary as always, then came HosaCyahu son of S61?ay and he took your servant's garment. It was when I had measured I completed my , I harvest as always, that he took your servant's garment! And all of my brothers (fellows) will answer for me, those who harvest with me in the heat of [the] su[n]. And all my brothers will confirm my testimony. I am innocent of gU[il]t. And now, please return] my garment. And I call out to the governor I commander to re[turn the garment of your I his] ser[vant. So gran]t him merc[y in that you retu]rn the [garment of] your serv[ant] and do not confound me [ ... ]!

,:1,

M':ll1 n1'( ,um 'l'1'( - This formal opening formula refers to the plaintiff by the third person, "his servant," probably because this is a standard form for such messages; d. the words of David when he appeals to Saul, 1 Sam 26:19: ''J:t:r 1?7?iJ "Now therefore, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant." The plaintiff cannot appeal directly to the governor I commander; he needs the intervention of the scribe. Compare Elisha's offer of intercession on behalf

of the woman from Shunem, 2 Kgs 4:13: 'W 11'( 1?7?iJ 17 M?t "What can be done for you? Should one speak in your behalf to the king or to the army commander?" ,,:ll1 - This word is in an extraposition, casus pendends. It is the topic; he has already introduced himself. 001'( ,,:ll1 M'M - This verbal clause with a suffix conjugation form of the verb is the comment. This is stating where the harvester was located when the incident took place. It is a statement of place, not a stage in the narrative. Instead of a resumptive pronoun, the subject, ,':137, is repeated. The suffix conjugation verb does not come at the head of a sentence; it comes in a clause where it is preceded by the participle (predicate adjective), with a nominal is written without element in extraposition. Note that the participle, a mater Iectionis but the grammatical form is beyond doubt. For the construcM;V "your servant has been tending his tion d. 1 Sam 17:34: father's sheep." 001'( - A place name typical of various settlements throughout the country; for the first component, "enclosure," d. similar names such as (Num 34:4), et aI.

,,25

ME$AD I:IASHAVYAHU

...

... - The orthography in line 6 is conclusive in favor of the root 7':>/":>, "to measure." This meaning suits the context of the letter. The argument is over whether the plaintiff has fulfilled his quota or not. In line 6 the root i17:> in Pieel, "to complete, finish," is precluded by the absence of a mater 17¥Wf lectionis in the form 7:>. For the verb "to measure," d. Isa 40:12: o''Jv 7i?W1 pm "Who has measured the waters with the hollow of His hand, and gauged the skies with the span, and meted earth's dust with the measure, and weighed the mountains with the scale and the hills with a balance?" However it still cannot be ruled out that 7:>" in line 5 is "he finished," from the root i17:> and is to be read 7;J;J, but if it is derived from 7':>, it should be read CON' - There is no biblical verb from this root; the noun, "granary," occurs twice in the plural construct with second masculine pronominal suffix: "your granaries" (Deut 28:8; Prov 3:10). The attested form in this present text could be absolute infinitive but it is most likely third person form of the suffix conjugation, joined by the simple conjunction to the preceding verb By this means the forms represent an action that is coeval with the measuring. One measured in order to store. The storing was not looked upon as a further step in the process but as part of the same process (d. Cen 2:6). - An adverbial temporal phrase meaning "as usual," as has always been done. Cf. 1 Sam 1:3: Nii1iJ i1'nn "And this man went up out of his city from year to year," with 1 Sam 18:10: 01'f 01'f '1J\ "and David was playing the lyre, as he did daily." M:lu) - Commentators who find it hard to admit that the institution of rest on the Sabbath could have been a pre-exilic institution prefer to take 1'1:nv as an infinitival form of the verb "to sit," i.e. se"Qei, but then it behooves them to posit a missing pronominal suffix, e.g. si"Qtl, " sitting," or siNo, " sitting." This seems like going to extremes to avoid a very natural rendering, "before Sabbath." This temporal adverbial construction can be construed with the preceding sentence, and perhaps better so. ... CON' - This is a temporal clause introduced in tandem with a main clause having a narrative prefix preterite joined syndetically by the conjunction (required by that narrative past tense form). The plaintiff has just explained that he did measure and store, so this repetition is not giving something new but rather something already understood. It is a topic followed by the narrative clauses which are the comment. Therefore, in the compound sen-

161

162

JUDAH

tence with the following narrative clause, the temporal clause is not a part of the independent clause that has itself two verbal actions, N:!" ... np", "then he came ... and he took. ...•" The purpose here is to carry the story forward to the I next step: the overseer came and took away the worker's garment. ... np' - This time the temporal clause is a component within the verbal independent clause. As such it is fronted, placed before the verb it modifies. This time it is the comment (logical predicate), the main point. That the overseer did take the garment has already been established, that is no longer a new element, it is known. What is new in this clause is the particular timing. The verb np, has to be in the suffix conjugation because it does not come at the head of its clause; furthermore, it is not the main point of the clause. To express the meaning of the plaintiff one has to resort to the English cleft sentence as in the translation above. The plaintiff wants the governor / commander to know that it was after he had done his duty by measuring his produce and consigning it to the storehouse that the overseer committed this imperious act of confiscating his garment. When the syntax and rhetoric of these clauses are properly understood, the text is imbued with intense emotion and deep pathos. ,rr'17tv,rr - This orthography with a mater lectionis where an original diphthong must be posited shows at least that the existence of the diphthong was recognized, and maybe even vocalized. This is a problem for which no final decision can be made. The causative forms of this root do testify to an original root 17tv, (originally *W'[c in more conservative cognate languages). '::ltv - This person could either be ':;itV, Sollz (2 Sam 17:27) or ';itV, Sollay (Ezra 2: 42; Neh 7:45). The expected mater lectionis for the first person singular is missing. One must assume *kalt (compare either 'I:l7?i?, qamn "I arose/' or 'I:l7?W, samn "I placed/' depending on whether the original root in Hebrew was ,,:l or ,':l); cf. the Mishnaic noun kayil, "measure." A less favorable reading is kilit, "I have finished, completed/' derived from rr':l. m - An adverbial expression meaning, "just as was always done." Cf. the

-

'n

it! iN it! ... it! Ni't) , "Why, excellent parallel in 1 Sam 29:3: that's David ... who has been with me for a year or more." " 'l17' 'MN - "And all my fellow workers (lit. 'brothers') will answer for me," will confirm my testimony. Here is clear evidence of the juridical nature of this document, however rhetorical it may be; cf. Ex 20:12 (16): t6 'PlV, "You shall not bear false witness against your comrade."

ME$AD I:IASHAVYAHU - During the v'ery heat of the day; d. 1 Sam 11:9-11:' tJ'M:P iOT? il¥WjJ;l (qari O'M:P), "tomorrow by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance," O'M "and they smote the Ammonites until the heat of the day." " 'MN - It was standard practice for a witness who confirmed or affirmed the truth of someone's testimony to answer "Amen," meaning "it is .. , lti!liJ trustworthy, true"; d. Num 5:21-22: "then the priest shall cause the woman to swear .... And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen." Also Deut 27:15: o¥O "And all the people shall answer and say, Amen." - Cf. Num 5:31: ili?n, "The man shall be clear of guilt," and Ps 19:14: :!j 'I:l'Um, "And I shall be clear of grave offense." iW' - A most likely understanding is as translated above; d. Jer 4:5: "cry aloud and say," though another possibility is "And I will recompense the governor / commander," as seen in 1 Sam 18:27: 1l]IJJ;liJ7, "and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law." Note that Akkadian mullum, "to fill, fulfill," is used in legal and economic documents synonymously with sullumum, "to make good, to pay." The problem here is that it seems odd that a harvester so dependent on keeping his cloak would even consider offering a bribe to a high official. - No traces of writing have survived at the end of the line because the sherd is damaged. - "Don't leave me stunned," as a person who has to hope of justice or deliverance; d. Jer 14:9: N', i1::lp "Why are You like a man who is stunned, like a warrior who cannot give victory?"

J. Naveh, "A Hebrew Ostracon from the Seventh Century B.C.," IEJ 10 (1960), pp. 129-139; I:Iashavyahu Letter," IEJ 14 (1964), pp. idem, "Some Notes on the Reading of the 158-159; F. M. Cross, "Epigraphic Notes on Hebrew Documents of the Eighth-Seventh Centuries B.C.: II. The MurabbaCat Papyrus and the Letter found near Yabneh-Yam," BASOR 165 (1962), pp. 36-46 = Leaves, pp. 121-124; Sh. Yeivin, "The Judicial Petition from Mezad Hashavyahu," BiOr 20 (1962), pp. 3-10; J. D. Amusin and M. L. Heltzer, "The Inscription I:Iashavyahu: A Complaint of a Reaper from the Seventh Century B.C.," IEJ 14 from (1964), pp. 148-157; S. Talmon, "The New Hebrew Letter from the Seventh Century B.C.E.," BASOR 176 (1964), pp. 29-38 = King, Cult and Calendar in Ancient Israel (Collected Studies), Jerusalem 1986, pp. 79-88; A. Lemaire, "L'ostracon de I:Iashavyahu (Yavneh-Yam) replace dans son context," Semitica 12 (1971), pp. 57-79; D. Pardee, "The Juridical Plea from I:Iashavyahu (Yavneh-Yam): A Philological Study," Maarav 1 (1978), pp. 33-36; F. W. I:Iashavyahu Ostracon," BASOR 295 (1994), pp. Dobbs-Allsopp, "The Genre of the 49-55; A. F. Rainey, "Syntax and Rhetorical Analysis in the I:Iashavyahu Ostracon," JANES 27 (200), pp. 75-79.

163

164

JUDAH

These ostraca were found at Tel Masos (Tell el-Mesas) in the Negeb. According to script and stratU111 they belong to the second half of the seventh century BeE. Both of these are lists of personnel. OSTRACON

No.1

1?,!

1::Ji

jJf. 1!.¥

]:1 1i:9

ZakkCu cAZZUf

80[n of ... 80[n of ...

:)Ma:) 8[ on of ... B[ ...

jJf.

]:1

]:!l '.'

T

T

]:1

'i1"lln

]:1 ]:1

TEL MASOS OSTRACON

No.2

] If. If.

] 1=1 ]"J[ ]

1:J ,jj"[ ,jj"'::>T

[ ... ] Mattan son of [ ... [ ... ]yahu son of [Banaya[hu] (son of) SamaC[yahu] -

There are other possibilities for restoring this name.

V. Fritz and A. Kempinsld, Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen auf del' Ijirbet el-Msas (Tel Masos) 19721975, Wiesbaden 1983, pp. 134-135, Pis. 78c-79.

..

j'Y.. t: r"

t.cr.

":'J

165

JUDAH

166

At I:Iorvat cUzza (Khirbet Gharrah), to the southeast of Arad, 17 ostraca were found dating to the end of the seventh or the beginning of the sixth century BeE. One of these texts was Edomite (d. infra, p. 351). Most of them are so fragmentary and effaced that they do not lend themselves to decipherment.

A

MILITARY LIST

.o7Dp

if.

•i:1 .OjiMN7 .07[

.i:>1 •i:1 .

if! if.

•",j

if. if.

•

.i:1 .'il":VWil .j:l •

[Sha]lom! To :)Al:Uqam son of Manal).em, Clmmagiyahu son of Zakkur from Molagah, HosaCyahu son of Nawi from Rapa:)im, Ma19 son of Hi1?1?ilyahu from Maqqedah Q'[11)] - This laconic greeting is found elsewhere only on the "Barley Ostracon" from Samaria (infra, p. 310): 0711), "Peace!," and nowhere else in Hebrew epigraphy. But compare the greeting formula on the Edomite ostracon from this same site: fiN 0711)i1, "Are you well?" (infra, p. 351). In the Bible it appears only in direct speech (1 Sam 16:5; 2 Sam 18:28; 2 Kgs 4:23). Of the personal names on this ostracon only CImmaglyahu, and Nawf are not known from the Bible. The first two of these are attested elsewhere in Hebrew epigraphic sources. The name Nawf is a difficult form; perhaps it is from the root "l; d. Ex 15:2: i1r., "This is my God and I will ':;11$ "The God of my enshrine Him" (jussive), which is parallel to father, and I will exalt Him" (cohortative). Of the geographical names two are known: M6lagah, in the Simeonite inheritance in the Negeb (Josh 15:26 et al.), the name of which is probably preserved in Khirbet el-Watan (ukJ, watan, translates "homeland, family"), about 12 km northeast of Beer-sheba; and Maqqegah in the Shephelah of Judah (in the same district as Lachish, Josh 15:41 et al.). Maqqegah is identified at Khirbet el-Q6m, and the name preserved at the nearby Khirbet el-Maqdum, about 10 km southeast from Beth Guvrin, on the road to Hebron. Rapa:)lm is not known from any other source and it is unlikely that the reference is to the Valley of

HORVAT cUZZA

167

168

JUDAH

Rephaim near Jerusalem. But palaeographically one might also read here

,,,"l7W,, -

Written without a " but d. the orthography on the ostracon from Me$ad I:Iashavyahu and also supra, p. 159. It seems that the orthography reflects the actual pronunciation of the name, at least here, while might be a historical orthography, reflecting the derivation from 1. Beit-Arieh, "The Ostracon of Al:liqam from I;Iorvat cUza," Tel Aviv 13-14 (1986-87), pp.

32-38 = idem, Ijorvat CUza and Ijorvat Radum: Two Fortresses il1 the Biblical Negeb, Tel Aviv 2007, pp. 139-143; H. Misgav, "Two Notes on the Ostraca from I;Iorvat cUza," lEI 40 (1990), pp. 216-217.

MILITARY ADMINISTRATIVE LISTS

These lists are written in a cursive script by the same expert scribe on broken pieces of a jar discovered in the excavations of I:Iorvat CUzza. They are to be dated to the latter half of the seventh century BeE. FIRST LIST

jWN"1

jWN1

. jl1) ."., 1":;R il)i:1nl1' "1]; T

?

:

-:

")'{lj • t.

]""" ]'N

,:9

.1":!li' ")W

.il)l1nl1' ")W

,:9 ,"W'W

... ']

]

... , "]:9::l1 .. :

]:9::l1

]'il First after Na!an is Nal).emya[hu], the commander of the tribal unit is Gagalya[hu]; second after Na}:lemyahu is :JEl[na!an]; second to Ta}:ltonah is MIS [ ... ]; third aft[er ... is ... ]; third [after ... ]; four[th after ... ] is H6[saCyahu]

SECOND LIST

j":;[R 1":;[R

jl1)'N j":!l[ ]"""

•j":!l[

I;IORVAT cUZZA

First administrative list

169

170

JUDAH

Second administrative list

. T' -:

"'31'" •

-

-

:

"JW ...

:

"JW

•

1jJ"JN

•. 0

[ ]ri P

[ ]ri P ,jJ"JTN"

JW"'N •

T:

...

T' -: -

"W'W ••

"JW

"'31'" ."JW

"W'W

JW"'N ,jJ"JN' "W'W ,jJ"JTN'" "31Ji

:

] P .,jJ"JTN"

] if.

1

1

.jJ'J ,jJ"31W,jJ

The commander is JElnatan, commander of the tribal unit is second to Dtd is MIS [ ... ]; second to Gacalf is JA!;?fyahu; third to MIs is YaJazanyahu son of ... ]f; third to JAt?fyahu is JElyasft?; fourth to YaJazanyahu is YaJazanyahu son of [ ... ]; H6sa C yahu; Nawe h from paItzqim(?)

,:\7

Cf. 1 Chr 18:17: i'')j "and David's sons were first in rank after the king." That is first in the hierarchical order of ranks (it does not matter that the Chronicler is reworking the parallel statement in 2 Sam 8:18: 1'0 tl'nJ"::;' "and David's sons were priests"). Here in the ostracon, N"l:temyahu is first in rank after Na,tan. jWN'1 -

in

I;IORVAT cUZZA

Second administrative list

/'

", 'l7 -

The equivalent of l' 'l7, "beside." Note Num 34:3: 'T 1¥ "from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom"; Judg 11:26: tl''J¥v "and in all the towns beside the Arnon." [m]'"" Mtm, - This means that Gagalyahtl is the commander of the tribal unit as in the second list. - A title of leadership, apparently the head of a military unit as in Josh 10:24: i17f077PiJ "the officers 'of combat troops/' and in the words of the elders of Gilead to Jephthah, Judg 11:6: i17fL!?n i1lJ':V! "Come be our commander, so that we can fight the Ammonites," and also what is said further on, Judg 11:11: Wl{i7 ,niN tl¥v "and the people made him their chief and commander" (Wl{i is a term from the tribal terminology). Mtm - A synonym for "tribe" (d. Num 36:3-4 et al.) and both terms have the same original meaning, "staff, rod/' which as a symbol of authority became metaphorically the social unit whose leader carried such a staff. The tribe was a familial unit of indeterminate size. In the present inscription the reference is apparently to a military unit mustered from a particular tribal group; d. Num 31:3-5: 1'9¥ iW¥ MtP.i'P? i1tP.i'P? ... "Let men be picked out from among you for the military ... of every tribe a thou-

171

172

JUDAH sand ... twelve thousand armed for war." And by extension this was evidently applied to every military unit. nm]'='N - The restoration is based on the partial parallel between1the two lists. In the second list, :JElna!an is at the head. In the first list he is second in rank after Nal;temyahu. mnMn'=' - What was the rank of Tal;ttOnah ? Was it equal to that of Nal;temyahu or wa$ he subordinate to him? ... '='31 - Restoration on the basis of comparison with lines 1-2. Perhaps here we should restore the name Na!an. - Few are the Hebrew names beginning with -,iJ so the restoration may be possible by reference to the second list, line 8. - Here MIS is subordinate to Dtd while in the first list he is subordinate to TaJ:ttonah • ;[ ]M 7:1 - In the opinion of Beit-Arieh the first letter of the patronymic is but according to Yardeni, who copied the text, it cannot be it may be an unusual M. In any case, there is a gap after it for about two letters and then what appears to be a [ ••• - This final vocable may not be complete; but it may be that PIqm, is a place name, the home settlement of Naweh . PIqm seems to be a nonSemitic name. Take notice that Dtd and MIs too are most probably non-Semitic names. In both of the lists names were listed in descending order of rank, and all of them are subordinate to Na!an, who is not among those being registered. There are many difficulties in working out the internal sequence of the names in the two lists. The rank and status of Gagalyahu and :JElna!an are not clarified. In the first list Gagalyahu precedes :JEI[na!an] but in the second list :JElna!an comes before Gagalyahu. In the first list :JEl[na!an] is described as being second to Nal;temyahu, and in the second list he is called "officer / commander" (qiWfn). In both lists Gagalyahu is apparently defined as "officer / commander (qal?ln) of the tribe (miite ll ). It may be that the two men were of equal rank but having different authorities and different tasks; or perhaps the source of their authority was different. The status of :JEl[na!an] was as second to Nal;temyahu but that of Gagalyah-Q was as officer / commander of the tribe. It is also difficult to assess the status of Dtd, and Gacall. It cannot be assumed that they were directly subordinate to Nal;temyahu and on an equal footing with :JElna!an and Gagalyahu since they are not called" officers / commanders" and not even "second to Nal;temyahu." Neither can we know if they were sub-

I:I0RVAT cUZZA

ordinate to Gagalyahu or :JElna!an or to both of them. Only from their respective places in the lists can their status be surnlised. Especially problematic is the status of MIs; was he second to Tal:ttonah, or to Dtd or now to one, now to another? That might seem to be a difficult situation for someone who has to maneuver between two superiors. The lists record "second," "third," and "fourth." In the first list there are missing names; in the second list there are "seconds" to Dtd and to Gacali, "thirds" to MIs and to :JAgiyahu (who are "seconds" to Dtd and to Gacall), and a "fourth" to Ya:Jazanymu (who is himself "third" to MlS). If we fill in the table of ranksfirsts after Dtd and Gacalf; first and seconds for MIs and :JAgiymu, and also first, second and third for Yacazanyahu-we arrive at a table of ten ranks, a highly developed and multi-branched table which only suits a very large military unit with hundreds of men (commanders of tens, fifties and hundreds and maybe even a commander of a thousand) which is hardly suitable for a small fort like I:Iorvat cu zza. Therefore, it may be that we have to interpret the ranks as a table of only four ranks. Perhaps one should not impute too much importance or precision to these lists for which we are not even sure of their official status. 1. Beit-Arieh, An Inscribed Jar from I;Iorvat cUza," Eretz-Israel24 (1994), pp. 34-40 (Hebrew) = idem, Horvat CUza and Horvat Radum: Two Fortresses in the Biblical Negev, Tel Aviv 2007, pp. 159-168. II

A

LITERARY TEXT

(?)

A much-damaged inscription on an ostracon, a text of which the beginning is missing, consisting of thirteen lines, with various degrees of preservation and erasures. Therefore, the intent of the inscription is ambiguous. The script is a good scribal cursive typical of the end of the Judaean Monarchy.

]

]

il{)}i1)'P'? ] ili1)W' :. ... OD [

1n:HV

[ ]i'[ ]' ]tlJ[

1n:!tlJ ]

il)n)tlJ' ] iln)tlJ' il)ii 6ii [ ]ii[ [ ]i' ]tlJ[

]

173

174

JUDAH

ilr.JiYiynj" [iI::>"l]!:) 7YT:-:-:": TOOT

ilniYiynil1 [

7Y

]nJ1:j

nJi::J lV[

il201 nb; ] ::J,),O

]7 [

];l::J iI::>[ ]::Jj? iI"il1 ] ::Jin iI::>i::Jj?1

If in tranquility, in righteousness / a just mam"ler to recount it to Cagalyahu [ , , , ] Behold to recount it [ , , , ]

10

HORVAT cUZZA

And I will appoint you/I will furnish you from the ... [ ... ] [ ... ] they will weigh out for you [ ... ] to me (7) [ ... ] to your dead and [the] to[ mb] in the hour of your sitting and your infant[ ... ] concerning [ ... ] and you have become destitute after days and your tom[b] will be in the cli[ff] and your tomb a ruin (7) "''Il)::I !:IN - The vocable '7'1l) is apparently from the root '7W and if so, then the noun would have to mean something like ill7W, salwa", "tranquility." Cf. Ps

1::trrN

"May those who love you be at rest." The vocable '7'1l):J appears in the Bible in 2 Sam 3:27: j-i!WiJ 11r-1 "Joab took him aside within the gate to talk to him quietly." j'll)7.) is to be rendered as referring to righteousness, or the like; d. Mal 2:6: 1?iJ Oi7Wf' "He walked with Me in peace and equity"; Ps 45:7: '9tli:l7i'd j'W'{? "your royal scepter is a scepter of equity"; Ps 67:5: j'W'{? O'7P-i! ':;>, "for You rule nations with equity." [... ] 1i1"'" i1 ( ) } m'll)' - An otiose J; the verb is from the root 'J'Il), "to recount, 122:6:

'N

175

176

JUDAH to repeat" (original TNY denominative verb from the numeral "two"). Since the context is broken, it is impossible to know its intent. 'l"'1""" 'N - Cross reads: ]' 7'''7', "To cause exult [ ]." l"'1mw, ml"'1 - Repeats the previous clause but apparently without G"galyahu.

]

""

- If the restoration is correct then one may compare passages such as Ps 48:11: "Your right hand is filled with righteousness"; Isa 1:15: "your hands are full of blood." Thus, one may render, "I will furnish you plenty from plunder" (1W). An alternate interpretation of the expression, "to fill the hand(s)," is "to ap-

point (to office), to install (in office)," as in Ex 29:9: "ril "You shall then ordain Aaron and his sons." But perhaps we must understand ON' N7 as against '7W:J ON in the first line. Or perhaps we have here a warning and an oath, '" N7 ON', "and if not your hand ... " (is uppermost, or something like that); d. Ezra 9:2: i1ilJ i11);0 o''Jo/lJ "and it is the officers and prefects who have taken the lead in this trespass." Thus we would see in the first line the beginning of a conditional sentence: '7W:J ON, "in tranquility in a just manner," and here the second part of the conditional clause: N7 ON' "', "and if your hand (is not uppermost)." Cross renders: N1' N7 ON', "And if not, may he see everything," and Lemaire reads: o7um N1' N7 ON', "And if not, be afraid of retribution," and it is hard to decide which reading is correct. ,'j?w" Ql"'1- Beit-Arieh connects Oi1 to the deeds of the man and understands:

"your deeds will weigh you," as in Job 31:6: me on a just scale."

"Let Him weigh

'N - The reading of the last three letters is problematic. If the reading

[ ... ]

is correct then it would appear that this is a reference to the dead. ,M:lW M17W:I [ ••• ] - This is thoroughly foreign to biblical Hebrew. The word m71V occurs only in the Aramaic of Daniel; it is not a Hebrew word. Cross reads, 17W', and translates" and he removed the weeping of your therefore, period of mourning." From 7?117, "infant," or from violent deeds he will remove," thus ",17, -

"deed." Cross reads 170' n7717', "and

The context of the vocables 717 is unclear. Cross interpreted i1n17117ni1' from i1117 , "to be naked" but I prefer to derive from l"'1M'17'17Ml"'1'

'17 -

,,17. Cf. Jer 51:58:

"Babylon'S broad walls shall be

knocked down," but here it refers to a person. m':I - Plural of T", according to the feminine plural. l"'1!)[,]:lj? l"'1"m

,nN] -

Thus reads Lemaire.

I:I0RVAT cUZZA

:I,n - A curse whereby one's grave is desecrated; d. Nah 1:14: (read from "to be desolate") "1 will turn your grave into desolation, for you are vile." ... ... Mn'l"l'nm masculine suffix.

Cf. the unusual plene spelling of the second

1. Beit-Arieh, "Literary Ostracon from !:lorvat cUza," Tel Aviv 20 (1993), pp. 55-63; F. M. Cross,

Tel Aviv 20 (1993), pp. 64-65 = Leaves, pp. 135-137; A. Lemaire, "Epigraphie palestinienne: nouveaux documents II: Decennie 1985-1995," Henoch 17 (1995), pp. 221-222.

LIST OF TROOPS

(?)

A list of ten names of which eight survived; the last two lines are missing. This appears to be a list of soldiers under the command of a commander of ten. The list is recorded on an ostracon, apparently from the second half of the seventh century BeE according to the palaeography and the archaeological context. n'W17

]n

]n

P ,;r",)

].,[

i;r=1lJ1 i;r=]?17W

]17

i;r=1T i;r=11i ;r

p On)[ p ,;r",)

1:J ,;r")n) 1:J ,;r""N ];r""N 1:J ,;r""" p ,;r")," ]17

p ,;r"",;r

Ten [Ma]na!:tem son of H[ ... ] N erfyahu son of Sama!5.[yahu] Nerfyahu son of Miska[nf]ya[hu] Na!anyahu son of Hotel> :>Urfyahu son of Selem[yahu] Gagalyahu son of :>Urfyah[u] yaganyahu son of Sapat[yahu] Hogawyahu son of C[ ... ]

n,wl' - A unit of ten men, soldiers or workers in the charge of a 'W, sar cnsaraiz, "commander of ten." Such commanders of ten are mentioned in the

177

178

JUDAH

_.J

/

TEL cIRA Bible in non-military contexts (Ex 18:21, 25; Deut 1:15}. In military conexts there are references to units of ten men; d. 2 Sam 18:15: il,W¥, "ten young men that bare Joab's equipment." ::ttm - This may be an epithet, "wood cutter," that stuck to N"'!anyahu's father. I. Beit-Arieh, "Ostracon niWl' from I:Iorvat cUza," Eretz-Israel 26 (1999), pp. 30-34 (Hebrew) = idem, J:Iorvat CUza and J:Iorvat Two Fortresses in the Biblical Negev, Tel Aviv 2007, pp. 152-156.

OSTRACON FROM TEL cIRA

An ostracon of four lines from the end of the eighth or the beginning of the seventh century BeE. Roster: Gibbeal:t Roster: Selemyahu

'iI":Ji:::J .

•

n:::J" T:

°0'

°0'

- A list of the personnel being registered. Cf. 2 Sam 24:9: o¥O "And Joab reported to the king the number of the people that had been recorded." Joab gave the lang the total number of the people who had been recorded in the census.

179

180

JUDAH 1. Beit-Arieh, II A First Tenlple Census Document," PEQ 115 (1983), pp. 105-108; idem, Tel CIra: A Stronghold in the Biblical Negev, Tel Aviv (1999), pp. 402-405; A. Hurowitz, "How Were the Israelites Counted? Numbers 1:2 and the Like in the Light of a New Inscription from Tel clm," Beer-Sl1eva 3 (1988), pp. 59-60 (Hebrew); Y. Garfinkel, liThe Meaning of the Word MPQD in the Tel cIra Ostracon," PEQ 117 (1987), pp. 19-23; A. Demsky, liThe MPQD Ostracon from Tel cIra=>: A New Reading," BAS OR 345 (2007), pp. 33-38.

The following ostraca deriving from illicit digging, probably from Makkedah (Khirbet el-Q6m), were purchased on the antiquities market. Their palaeography indicates the end of the seventh or the beginning of the sixth century BeE. *RATION LIST (?) -

1

'PO ., ..:1lZ;;!l : -

'(1)il ilJ'(1):J

rnzJ.

.11'(1) 1170

117,'0 5').-

In the sixth year, on the seventh (month). Makkedah. Semolina, 50

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH As the dOCUluent comes most probably from Makkedah itself, it might be that it denotes a receipt of some payments from Makkedah entering the storehouse (in the later Aramaic documents there, or issues from the storehouse there. nwwi"I mW:::I - The king under whose reign the text was written is not specified from muong those who reigned as many as six years towards the end of the monarchy: Josaiah, Jehoiakim or Zedekiah. The date formula may be compared with that on the Samaria Ostraca: mmJnil nlV:::l, "In the ninth year" (d. infra, p. 267 ff.). In both cases, the long vowell, resulting from the nisbe suffix -iy in a closed syllable, is unmarked by a mater lectionis; thus here hassisslt. - In the seventh luonth, which is Tishri in the Jewish calendar (which adopted the Babylonian m.onth nall1es). The formulation corresponds to Arad No. 7: 1:::l "In the tenth (month) on the first day of the month" (d. supra, pp. 106-108). Note that the finalnisbe, -1 (froll1-lY), is marked by a mater lectionis while the long theme vowel of cnSlrl is not marked. - Biblical Maqqedah• See infra (p. 220). n'o - Mentioned frequently in the Bible (Gen 18:6; Num 15:4 et al.). In the opinion of the sages, solet was coarser than qema'l, flour; d. Mishnah Avot 5:15: mm, "and a sieve that lets out the flour but catches the solet." Therefore, the solet was the hard grains, the rich part of the wheat kernels, just as in 1110dern Hebrew (semolina). *RATION LIST

(?) -

2

To Y6 C llyahfr Sama!5.yahfr

T: -

::>Elnatan son of ::>Ellkan cAsayahfr the shearer(?) Yarl'1u son of Seqe1;' pagayahfr son of cAras Battar

:

P7N i:1 iru7N

p ...

-

fP.'P if. P

T

T

-:

ilUil fpUJ pOi" P 'il"'O il1:1

'i"I"'1'1" - The in this first line is to be understood with all the subsequent names in the list. Here, it 1110st likely indicates the recipient of some comluodity and not just the owner. mm - Deutsch and Helzer derived this form from a root as a presumed by-forll1 of TTJ., "to shear," assuming that it is an active participle like iI!in, 'loze",

181

182

JUDAH

r6:Je", "seer." Thus, they take the present form to be a professional title,

"(sheep) shearer." This is evidently the man's title signifying his profession.

0.,,, - 01;, "yadm." If it was intended to be read Y6ram it should have been written tli,., « OJ,;'''); OJ,'' is the Israelite form of the name, while in Judah it

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH

was written 0,1il\ The irregular orthography 0," is attested only once, in 1 Chr 26:25.

Yjiw - "Abomination"; cf. Deut 7:26:

:,n¥,WWJ;1 Yi?W, "you shall utterly detest and abhor it," and also the noun, Lev 11:10 et aI.: OJ] yp.!p" "they are an abomination to you." The tenn Yj(i?.iIY!JVW, usually refers to idols (1 Kgs 11:5 et aI.). It seems most unusual to see such a tenn applied as a personal nan"le and hardly likely that Yarlm's father would have been so called. Perhaps there is another nuance or another similar root with a different meaning. O,17 - The form is evidently related to ilO"17, flour or bread dough. From the biblical passages (Num 15:20-21; Ezek 44:30; Neh 10:38) it is not clear whether it is the dough itself or a vessel for kneading the dough and by extension, the dough in the kneading vessel. FrOln the Mishnaic use of ilO"17 as a crib for an infant, it would seem likely that the vessel is intended. That is confinned by the translations in the Targums and the Peshitta which render "kneading trough." Thus the name in this text could refer to one who manufactures kneading troughs. However, there is also Mishnaic O',17, "booth, hut," cognate to Arabic son of s(ilver) ] + yaqamyahu son of Mal).se[yahu s(ilver) ]

15

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH . Obverse

187

188

JUDAH Reverse

+ :lAl:l1malkah son of Y h6ttar s(ilver) 5 MPaman son of $igqiyahfr s(ilver) 4 - To ManaJ:tem son of Nms[r] s(ilver) 4 Squire of :lIssiyi:lhfr son of Nmsr s(ilver) 4 Ben Sal)ar to :lAJ:tfqanl s(ilver) 4 Y6 flyahfr son of cOt?agyahfr s(ilver) 3 ("Egyptian") son of s(ilver) 8 - NaJ:tenlyahfr son of s(ilver) 7 - Qaweh son of :lEJ:tat? s(ilver) 8 [Yi]rmayahfr s(ilver) 3 1

C

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH

\ Reverse To Ba]::lur [ ... s(ilver) .. ?] - Mn[ ]l[] s(ilver) 4 - Gamaryahu [ ... s(ilver) .. ?] - Hi$$ilyahu son of Banayahu s(ilver) 3 kesep; 7i?1p, seqel leesep. For the ellis ion of the name of the measure (shekel), d. Judg 17:2: "eleven hundred (shekels) of silver." 'W) A servant like those working for Boaz, "his young men" (Ruth 2:15) and like the seal impression p" i:l7J "Belonging to ::>Elyaldm steward of Yaw19n" (WSS, No. 663). The squire signed for his master. 0V"MN; .,MW 7::1 - The signatory reversed the order of the elements; it should have been: iMW p ov'nN7. :::l- Abbreviation for

R. Deutsch and M. Helzer, New Epigraphic Evidence from the Biblical Period, Tel Aviv-Jaffa 1995,

pp. 88-103; A. Lemaire, "Nouvelles dOIDlees epigraphiques sur l'epoque royale israelite," Revue des Etudes Juives 156 (1997), pp. 456-461; V. Hurowitz, "Notes on a Recently Published Administrative Document," lET 48 (1998), pp. 132-135.

189

190

JUDAH *THE ASSESSMENT

(CARAI5IM) OSTRACON

A large ostracon, which was allegedly found on the western fringes of the Hebron hills, might have come from Makkedah. Palaeo graphically it is from the end of the seventh century BeE. It deals with the recording of payments, dedication or tribute payments. .NJ0 'N .WjiJ.p .'£)00 •

/ / if p / if N1W P It ] / t if l1JW1 iii" /;(7 1\ \ \ \ \ 0' l1JW 111\ II

II t

t.\

·

if. ••

••

,£)'1::>0 ••

i?o/

if.

(0''') 21

T

:

if.

2 if

(0''') 22 1 if N1W

-

(0''') 20 2 19

4

07

.(0''') 12 (O"'jiW) 2 16

In the third (month), the silver that has been brought to MaJ::tseyahu son of Blqqes, to Dacuyahu the scribe. From Selemyahu son of NaJ::temyahu: 2 shekels, 20 (gera"s). From cAzzur son of Sw::> 1 shekel, 22 (gera"s). And again, from cAzzur 2 shekels, 21 (gera11s). [Total sum (being)] 4 silver [sheke]ls, 19 gera"s. According to the assessment: 2 (shekels), 12 (gera"s). Year 16 In the third month; d. Arad Letter No.7: w1n; ilWWil 137 W1n, 1:1 'iW37' (supra, pp. 106-108). N::IM - A formula for receipt of money. For its use in a commercial trans"I did receive your silver." For our case d. action, d. Gen 43:23: 2 Kgs 12:5: ,':;', "All the sacred donations silver," and verse 14: -

THE ASSESSMENT OSTRACON

mi1'

"the silver brought to the House of YHWH." wi'::l l::l - Two people were handling the money: Mill:tseyahu, and Dacuyahu the scribe. We cannot decide if there was any hierarchy between the two, and Dacuyahu was in charge of Ma}:lseyahu, or there

191

192

JUDAH

was a rule that money should not be handled by one person. Cf. BT Bava Batra 8b: C'lW:I n':I"l 7W i1!:lp, "(contributions to the) basket/ cash-box of charity can only be collected by two (collectors)"; i1T W"!:l7 "Charity collectors are not allowed to separate from one another"; d. 2 Kgs 12:11: Ttl::liJJ 17.7p,iJ "The king's scribe and the high priest would come up and put the silver into bags and count it."

THE ASSESSMENT OSTRACON Three payments come under the heading "from," one from Selemyahu and two from different payments from CAzzur. Another possibility is that Selemyahu paid his dues in two installments, or that Selemyahu and CAzzur were not donors but tax collectors subordinate to Mal;lseyahu, and Dacuyahu. mw, - Another / second time. It seems improbable that CAzzur paid "valuation-money" one time after the other. It seems that at least in the second time it was not his money. C,[PW ,=>] - The total money that came from cAzzur; d. the summation in the -

Aramaic list of donations on a papyrus from Elephantine: 1':1 1i1 op 'T 8 l'pw 31 ... ,:1 i1'J1', "the silver which stood that day in the hand of Jedaniah son of Gemariah" (TAD 3, p. 234:123-124), and likewise on an Aramaic papyrus of the fourth century BCE from Jericho, with names of people and the amounts of money they were paid, including summations beginning with the word "all" (H. Eshel and H. Misgav, "A Fourth Century B.CE. Document from Ketef Yeril;lo," IE! 38 [1988], pp. 161-165). i1,,, - According to the summation of the silver, a shekel has 24 gertt"s, unlike the shekel of 20 gertt"s of Ex 30:13; Num 3:17, etc., and d. infra, p. 209. There is no problem with the fluctuation of the weight of the shekel and the gertt" in various places and periods.

1=>'1" - The term appears in the Scriptures in connection with redeeming consecrations, and it twice appears with the definite article (e.g. Lev 27:23: From other verses it is evident that is not the noun 1'l', "assessment," with the pronominal suffix for second masculine singular. It should be equated to other nouns geminating their last letter, as demonstrated by Rashbam (Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir, France 1080-1160) in his commentary on Lev 27:3: "The two kaphs are a gemination"; d. 'P.:;;II;l etc. The original vocalization of the word should be reconstructed as and it had been changed to when the word was mistakenly taken as referring to second masculine singular: "your assessment." Thus is equivalent to 1'l', "assessment," and

"according to the assessment,"

as it was assessed, d. Lev 5:15, etc.: and Lev 27:12, 17: "according to your / the assessment." In the Bible refers only to consecrations, but it may be correct to ascribe it also to other payments like taxes. In the Bible the assessments are fixed but here (according to the amounts) they vary. 16 mw - Year 16 of King Josiah, 623/622 BCE. E. Eshel, "A Late Iron Age Ostracon Featuring the Term

IE! 53 (2003), pp. 151-163.

193

194

JUDAH *THE

N OQDIM

OSTRACON

The ostracon, allegedly from Makkedah, written on both sides of the sherd, is attributed to the end of the seventh or the beginning of the sixth century BCE. The ostracon was written by a trained scribe. There are flaws in the sherd (see on lines 6 and 7); furthermore some letters were obliterated after the ostracon was broken and glued. Obverse

:

'o'

'.':

• -:

91:;J

;;''')11) .1)::1

n7tzj

.''';'7 .n7w

-

T

.tl'jiJ;' 111" •';''' .11nji7 .,

.l¥

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH

7 T

:

-

T :

ory .ilW";:,7 "7N T·

T

.-:

i'nn 8

"s .

.nnj?7 Oil .ilW";:,7 vacat."7N W"N7 .inJ' Jij?ni iWN

10

Reverse

il Obverse

Your son Natanyahu, sent to tell Selemyahu: And now, the shepherds came to take sinall-cattle, but is in :>Ara"Q. It is toward you that they turn (now) to take small-cattle to Ga:>alf, to Lachish.

195

196

JUDAH

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH

And you should know what you are supposed to do. And give the In an 8 (measures of) barley. And [you] should investigate [where]

did the cameleers Reverse turn. And you should meet with CAzriqam.

-

For the" son" formula reflecting the hierarchy of the involved people, d. Arad Letters Nos. 21 and 40 (supra, pp. 123, 142). Nevertheless, the possibility that in the present ostracon it may indeed refer to the son of the addressee should not be completely discounted. n,w - For this common formula d. Lachish Letter No.3 (supra, p.62). 1'11" - The common formula for the actual beginning of the letter. Natanyahu informs / warns Selemyahu that the noqildi1n arrived to take small-cattle. After this general information/warning come the details: is not present at the site. He is in :JArag, so it is Selemyahu's responsibility to take care for all the following matters. Their final destination is Selemyahu's place. There they are supposed to take the small-cattle and deliver it to GaJali at Lachish. We 11lay aSSUllle that the noqildi1n were state officials, tax collectors of smallcattle, and Ga :Jali was a higher official residing in Lachish, the district capital of the Judaean hill country. The second matter was that Selemyahu should give each one of the noq di1n six measures of barley, most probably as fodder for their beasts. Another and totally different matter is a request to investigate the whereabouts of the cameleers, with their beasts; in this case he has to consult a certain cAzriqam.

,m,

J

1'1ni"

'N::l

The word

,

noqed, occurs twice in the Scriptures: 2

i1l$7:? 17.717 Kgs 3:4: '71¥ and Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder and he used to pay as tribute to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and wool (the measure of) a hundred thousand rams"; Am 1:1: i1;v Amos, a sheep breeder from Tekoa." In Am 7:14 Amos describes himself: ':;,Jl$ "For I am a herdsman." It seems that essentially there was no difference between and although is linguistically connected to "cattle"; in real life the two were connected. Akkadian naqidu, rab naqidi, refers to shepherds as well as herdsmen, and Ugaritic rb nqd1n, is "overseer of shepherds." ::l.,N:J - But is in JArag, thus he cannot personally deal with the noqildi1n and Selemyahu is requested to deal with them, so far as they came to 1/

1/

197

198

JUDAH take small-cattle to Ga:>alf. The name is restored after Judg 12:8: ory?, "Ibzan from Beth-Iehem." There seems to be no other reconstruction. - JAra12, a town in the Hebron district ofJudah (Josh 15:22) still - "It is toward you that they turn," they intend to come to you. This is a cleft sentence emphasizing the fact that the noqJdzm are approaching Selemyahil. For the meaning "to direct the face toward," in the sense of turning in the direction of, d. 2 Chr 32:2: "and is intention to make war on Jerusalem." Cf. also Ex 16:10: "and they turned toward the desert." - "Their face," d. the plene spelling. '?N"? nMi'?- To take small-cattle to / for Ga:>alf. N"!anyahil does not say how many sheep (and goats?) the noqJdzm intend to take. - Cf. the plene spelling, unlike lV:>7 in Lachish Letter No.4 (supra, p. 70). i1lV17n n17'" - As :>IQ$an will not be present when the noqJdzm will arrive at Selemyahil's place, it is left for Selemyahil to deal with them according to his best judgment. It seems that N"!anyahil indicates that Selemyahil should deal with them craftily; d. Judg 18:14: i17d "Now you know what you have to do"; 1 Kgs 2:9: ;7 ':;l, "For you are a wise man and you will know what you have to do with him." Q'17lV 8 lV'N? 1m, -1m" "and give," is the absolute infinitive, having the force of a command; d. the discussion to Arad Letter No.1 (supra, pp. 93-94). For lV'N7, "each one/person," d. Gen 45:22: O??7, "To each of them he gave a change of clothing"; Jer 32:19: nD?, "To repay every man according to his ways." These "men" are the noqJdzm, if the assumption that the noqJdzm are tax collectors who came to take small-cattle as tax. It does not seem that the "8 (measures of) barley" are their salary, but perhaps fodder for the beasts. The measure of the barley is not stated; d. Ruth 3:15: O":I17ip wW "and he measured out six (measures of) barley and put it on her"; d. also the "Barley Ostracon" from Samaria 3 O'17lV i1m', "He will count 3 (measures of) barley" (infra, p. 310).

'lVN [?N Z'I]'i'M1 - 'pM is to investigate; d. Deut 13:15: "You shall investigate and inquire and interrogate thoroughly," 7N, "wherever, to the place," still preserves the original etc. The phrase meaning of « Jtr), "place," Aramaic Arabic.)1 eatar), Cf. Ex 32:34: i1r:p 1? "Lead the people to the place I told you"; Ruth 1:16: "Wherever you go, I will go." - I prefer to read "the cameleers," "cameleer," like ::If'J,

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH

"charioteer" (2 Kgs 9:17), rather than "the camels." The camels themselves have no choice but to go where the cameleers direct them. Ci"'T31 t,31 i'll"I'31l' - The decipherment of the end of line 11 (n'31) is uncertain but plausible. Cf. the unusual plene spelling of second masculine suffix in the vocable iln131J', as in Lachish Letter No. 3:6, and Arad Letters 7:6 and 40:9 (supra, pp. 63, 108, 142). '31 '31' in Nifcal is "to meet, assemble"; d. Ex 25:22: oW 97 "and I will meet with you there"; Num 10:3: iI,+-,O 'f "and the whole community shall assemble to you." E. Eshel and H. Eshel, A Late Iron Age Hebrew Letter Containing the Word Noqedfm," Birkat II

Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Post-Biblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday, Winona Lake, IN 2008, pp. 562-582.

* SILVER, PISTACHIO AND

GRAIN

The ostracon was bought at the antiquities market, but it is allegedly from Makkedah. It is diagonally broken to its breadth, beginning with its ninth line. The ostracon is a palimpsest. Over the obliterated "first letter" which was written on both faces of the sherd, a second one was written on the obverse, in a different ink and larger script. The "second letter" covers large parts of the first one, making the task of deciphering the first one very difficult, sometimes impossible. The letters date from the end of the seventh to the beginning of the sixth centuries BeE. THE "SECOND LETTER"

ntzw ,:

T: -:

'7 ii -

'7 .

'J"N O·"tzj" .

-:

:.

. ...

n"tzj J i1T-l17, .i1, i1 -:.

T

-

if

III if 1f 1\ II if i1tt' 1f ] nOi?7 ntzw J1

:

n"w ,i1'Y,; 1':J17 , iii';:jij 'J'N o"w" ,,, ;'n:>1:J 1n':J o"w" ;i n"WJ i1n17' i1,i1 ,,, if ,,,":J ,':J III if 17W,i1' 1:J ,i1"17, 1\ II if i1N1 1:J ,i1'"'''' ] nnp" n"w 1:>T"N' ]' 'i1"iN i'[

Your servant yagaCyahu sent to the welfare of my lord Nagal>yahu and to the welfare of your house. I have blessed you to YHWH.

199

200

JUDAH

And now, we will send the silver in the hand/by Bilgai 8 shekels, to yagaCyahu son of y ah6suac 3 shekels and Gagalyahu son of RaJah 2 shekels 18 (geralr ) and sent to take [ in the hand of/by] J-oriyyahu, and [ A line, or more, is missing.

The letter opens with the common formula in ancient Hebrew epistolography,

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH

which is no nlOre there a polite convention toward a superior. For the blessing formula in the name of the Cod, d. the Priestly Blessing (supra, pp. 51, 55), and the blessings in the Kuntillet CAjrud inscriptions (infra, pp. 315, 320). Two people named Y\J.aCyahu are mentioned in the letter, the sender of the letter, and Cagalyahu son of RaJah, one of the recipients of the silver / money. n,w - Past tense; d. Arad Letter No. 16 (supra, p. 113). n.ti171 - For this presentation forulula d. Lachish Letter No. 3 (supra, p. 62). Normally it is written m71, without the n as a mater lectionis representing a final tf. This is the first time one encounters the form il.ti171 in First Commonwealth epigraphy, and it weakens the supposed reading of .til" as wJCet; see the discus-

201

202

JUDAH sion to this question supra, pp. 60-62 (Lachish Letter No.2).

-

nx

This seems to be the straightforward interpretation. The writer informs his superior "we will send the silver / money with Bilgqi." On the other hand, if we read 1':1 nx "And now. Shall we send the silver / money with Bilgai?" in this case, for unknown reasons, the writer asks his superior if to send the silver/money with Bilgai. We may assume that he waits for further instructions. But why does he bother to give the details of the sums of money to be sent? So, the first interpretation should be preferred.

.m,,,

' ',:1

' ',:1

- The name is known from two unprovenaced Hebrew seals (WSS, nos. 101-102), and from bullae found in the City of David excavations (WSS, nos. 440-441,458), and another unprovenaced bulla (R. Deutsch, Biblical Period Hebrew Bullae: The Joseph Chaim Kaufman Collection, Tel Aviv 2003, no. 124), all of them from the seventh to sixth centuries BeE. The name and its by-form h "Bilga ," is the name of one of the heads of priestly families in the Restoration Period '(Neh 12:5), and the name of a priestly family in the beginning of the Second Commonwealth (Neh 10:9; 12:18). Bilgai is supposed to deliver different amounts of silver / money to two persons: yagaCyahu and Gagalyahu. The summation of the amounts does not match. The 3 shekels of yagaCyahu son of yahosuac and the 2 shekels and 18 gertII1 S of Gagalyahu son of Ra:>ah do not arrive at the 8 shekels that yagaCyahu sends, or intends to send, with Bilgai. Are missing 2 shekels and 2gerttlls (or 6 gertt"s, depending on whether the shekel is 20, or 24 gertt"s), intended for the send :>Uriyyahu to take them? recipient of the letter, or did

"''IV

'l"'1"X ] n"i" ':IT'X' - This reconstruction is based on the assumption that sent :>Oriyyahu to take the 2 shekels and 2 or 6 gertt"s, otherwise we have to reconstruct 'iI"X ] nni" n,'IV Unfortunately it is impossible to know what sent to take [from] :>Oriyyahu. THE uFIRST LEITER" The palimpsest is almost unreadable save from a few partly preserved sentences and a few words and letters, all of which do not sum up to any comprehensive context.

Obverse

[

[

,ri"[ Jb' ,;,.,j:j [

2

JUDAEAN SHEPHELAH

W:J • 'n[ ]' .[1] il)[ ] n1" [

il [

]'[

[ ]'[ ]:J[ ] • [ [

tp1);:q

]' oW

[

.0

203

4

]il[

]ri[ ]'[

6

cnn,w

7

]; OW n,wn, . 0

8

i[ ]'[ ]il' :J'il

9

]j:J . 'l'1" il [

]'

10

] , • O[ ]n[

11

] il'1" [

12

il[ ]'1'. onj[ ]'[

13

il[

14

il'[

[

]'1' [

15

Reverse [traces] 16' [traces] 17'

] £)::l [

]*ilP[

]',

18'

]il

19'

]'

20'

[erased] 21'

]N[ ]::l [

Obverse

22'

[traces]

23'

Obverse 1. ,}ot - After an erased short space "to Gamar[yahu]," and at the very end of the line, it is possible to reconstruct "to T6[1?]yahu." 2 - Only the name Banayahu can be read at the end of the line. 3 - Perhaps two words can be read at the end of the line o:J', "to you," and ,w, "of, belonging to," but '?w might be a part of a word which continues in the next line, like o'?w, "Shalom." 4 - Only the word n37', "and now," is preserved.

204

JUDAH Reverse ,N

,., £

«y 'I'

•

',/) '- or some such particle in the previous line, "[Thus] says ... ·"

.,r.lN -

213

214

JUDAH

,? -

This prepositional phrase apparently concludes the first sentence. C?UJ nN nn?UJ n?[UJ] - Polite formulation of the blessing. It is not found in the Bible but it is similar to a formula in Arad Letter No. 16: 07UJ7 n7UJ O::lnN 1n'::J 07UJ71 ::JUJ'7N (lines 1-2; cf. also Arad No. 21, lines 1-2; supra, pp. 113, 123). The preposition nN nlust be the equivalent of 7; cf. 2 Sam 20:9: 017WL/, "Is it well with you, my brother?" i.e. "How are you, Iny brother?"

PAPYRUS FROM THE FIRST COMMONWEALTH PERIOD

The text is written without finalmatres lectiones, viz. ,l1:91 ,l l1'::J ,l1n,w ,1'. The' that is writen internally in 1l1'::J and may indicate that the diphthongs were still preserved. A LIST OF NAMES The list of names is written only along the right half of the papyrus and is written in the opposite direction from the erased letter. There are four lines each with the na111e of a person and that of his father, without the custOlnary word for" son"; each name is then followed by a symbol for S0111e measure and a numeral.

1\

17 10

5

6

1\

''::IN . -:

T'P"J.f ',' '0'

1

,''::IN

T'lZJ1;:'

\1

T: - :

Nimtar (son of) Hose ac JAg]' (son of) $ag]' 10

it>/'jJ

17

JEICagah (son of) Karesan 5 SamaCymu (son of) Yocezer 6 The editor of this text interpreted the sign but this is only conjecture.

J. T. Milik in P. Benoit, J. T. Milik and R.

as the seJah lneasure (7.3 liters)

de Vaux, Les grottes de MurabbaCat (DJD II), Oxford 1961, pp. 93-100, pI. XXVIII; F. M. Cross, "Epigraphic Notes on Hebrew Documents of the Eighth-Sixth Centuries B.C. II: The MurabbaCat Papyrus and the Letter Found near YabnehYam," BASOR 165 (1962), pp. 34-42 Leaves, pp. 34-42; J. Naveh, "Canaanite and Hebrew Inscriptions," Lesonenu 30 (1965-66), p. 68 (Hebrew); Pardee, Handbook, pp. 120-122.

215

216

JUDAH HANDLES FROM GIBEON

Sixty-one handles of a special type of wine jar, each bearing an incised inscription, were found in the debris which filled the great water shaft at Gibeon. The formulations are repetitive. A representative selection is presented here covering all of the formulae. The texts date fronl the sixth century BeE. On the jars there were geographical names, the names of clans within the tribe of Benjamin and the naInes of individuals related to thenl, evidently officials from the end of the Judaean Monarchy.

NO.1

NO. 14

GIBEON

NO. 21

NO. 22

T"

:'i1"JJn T: - - I

217

218

JUDAH

NO. 51

'1 f7 Gi1;?can (belonging) to Gagar to I:Pnan[yahli] NO. 32

"" - A BenjaIninite clan related to the family of Saul (according to 1 Chr 8:31; 9:37, Gagar was the brother of Ner), and the its dwelling place (d. 1 Chr 12:8), with the identical name. The name is preserved in Khirbet Jadlrah southeast of Gibeon (el-Jlb). J. B. Pritchard, Hebrew Inscriptions and Stamps from Gibeon, Philadelphia 1959; idem, "More Inscribed Jar Handles from el-Jib," BASOR 160 (1960), pp. 2-6; F. S. Frick, "Another Inscribed Jar Handle from el-Jib," BASOR 213 (1974), pp.46-48.

MO$A INSCRIPTIONS FROM

Inscriptions on a rim of a hole-nlouth jar and on a handle (respectively), discovered in archaeological excavations in the Bronze and Iron Age site in Both inscriptions are from the end of the First Comlllonwealth period.

(Belonging) to $apan son of standard bearer The title

OOJ

appears also on an Arlll1l0nite seal, oom

"(Belonging) to

S6l)er the standard bearer" (WSS, No. 865). Cf. Ps 60:6: 091JI;1iJ? 9'WJ'7 i1QN, "You have set up a banner for those who fear you." The i1 marker was dropped by the person who incised the inscription.

219

220

JUDAH To the standard bearer: to Sama]syahu Z. Greenhut and A. DeGroot,

(A-3612)," J:Indnshot Archneologiot 115 (2003), p. 56*.

An inscription incised on the handle of a jar, from the beginning of the sixth century BCE. The inscription indicates the place of origin of the wine and its owner. The handle was found in the vicinity of Jerusalenl.

A town in the Benjaminite inheritance (Josh 18:26); d. the text with the seal impressions of the post-Exilic period marked (N. Avigad, "New Light on the M$H Seal Impressions," lEI 8 [1958], pp. 113-119). ':l7W - Apparently the name of the owner of the vineyard and the producer of the wine. The Sucal clan is registered in the genealogy of the tribe of Asher (1 Chr 7:36), apparently from aluong those clans which remained in the southern hills of Ephrainl and Benjamin; it is evidently to be associated with "the land of Shucal" (1 Sam 13:17). Cf. supra, p. 140. N. Avigad, "Two Hebrew Inscriptions on Wine Jars," IEJ 22 (1972), pp. 5-9, pl. 3.

INSCRIPTIONS FROM MAKKEDAH

The first three inscriptions are from a burial cave at Khirbet el-Qam (beside Khirbet Beit Maqdum), identified today with biblical Makkedah, between Lachish and AdOl'aim. The first two texts are incised and the third is painted. The origin of inscriptions 4-9 has not been firmly established. They are incised on limestone just like that of the texts found at Khirbet el-Qam, and the antiquities dealer, in whose possession they happened to be, claims that they are indeed from Khirbet el-Qam.

MAKKEDAH NO.1

iI:J.n:> .'W? iI .

'lpiJ

H'

il1i1"7 -

",

to

T

•

T"

-: -

ii'

:

il1i1'" .

.1':J 1i1"j"

T' O

-:

-

:

:JUrfyahfr the governor wrote it: Blessed be :JUrfyahfr of YHWH of His Asherah. And from his enemies grant him deliverance, to Danfyahfr and of His Asherah [and of] His [Ashe]rah "lWi"I - The reading is doubtful. The second letter doesn't reselllble any known form. It is not Y-cf. the Y at the end of line 3 (so we must reject the proposal to read 'WYi1 = hectisir, "the rich man")-nor is it 1 or " The last letter is closer to, than to ::l with the bent tail. Avigad, Cross and Naveh suggested ignoring the strange sign and to read 'Wi1, hasstir, "the governor/ commander" (or hasstir, lithe singer"; cf. Eccl. 2:8: n"Wi o''JW, "m_en singers and women singers"). i"I; l'W1i"I i"In'WN; - Read: YW1i1 According to Naveh, corrupted order is characteristic of writers of incantations and curses. i"IniWN; satt- > sat. The Akkadian is also sattu (plural santitu) and the Aramaic singular absolute is satta:J. Judaean Hebrew, on the other hand, had a different development: *sanat- > sanah (construct sanat); the original *sanat- is shared with the earlier Aramaic dialects, including Samalian, Old Aramaic, Nabataean, Palmyran, etc. mUl17l"1- Note the use of the definite article, unlike the Gezer Calendar which uses another construction to indicate definiteness. The two long 1 vowels are not expressed graphically. This theophoric name is the northern equivalent of Judaean The i1 of the theophoric component has been assimilated to the following " thus creating a new diphthong, -aw < -aww, which did not reduce to o. Thus, nUl:::l

-

SJmaryaw. The preposition designates the source of the commodity being shipped. That was standard practice with wine and oil, often as a sign of quality though probably here only denoting the geographic source. The' is problematic. If it is the locative -ayim, then we have a diphthong that is not reduced to -e which is atypical for this dialect. But perhaps the very adverbial nature of the locative preserved its conservative pronunciation. ':::Il - This term is applied in such texts as these to a ceramic jar rather than to a skin bottle; d. Lam 4:2: lVJry "clay pots." ASi::F at bore an Egyptian name, perhaps he was an Egyptian.

283

284

ISRAEL

OstracOl1 No. 24

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA OSTRACON

No. 27

(if.)

15 I"lWf

•

:: -

-

T -:-

.V'n7.) 11\ .I"l'lZl::l •"JY7.)'Y::l

285

286

ISRAEL

In the year 15, from I:Ieleq, to : JAsa::J (son of) ::JA}:lfmele1s. Bacala::J BaCal-maConf (the Baal-meconite, one from Baal-meCon) Written as one word; with the nisbe on the second component. The (1'1':;;J) is known as a settlement ostensibly assigned to the place name 1117?? tribe of Reuben (Num 32:38; Josh 13:17; 1 Chr 5:8) but actually in Moabite possession, at least from the mid-ninth century BeE as witnessed by the Mesha Inscription and by the later prophets (Ezek 25:9; also Jer 48:3). It is highly likely, therefore, that this steward of : J A§a::J (son of) ::JAl:Umelels, in the clan district of -

I:Ieleq, was a Moabite, just as another was Egyptian. Here the gentilic is probably used to distinguish this Moabite from another steward with the saIne personal name (d. No. 28, infra). OSTRACON

T

No. 28

T:

... -... -: ..

15 rwj:!l - : N

lZJN' •

1/\ .nlZJ:::J

.N .N':s7:::J

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA

In the year 15, from ::lA1;?JCezer, to ::l As(son of) BacaHP, from ::lElmattan This clan of Manasseh is also mentioned in No. 13, supra, a text from the tenth year. - This otherwise unknown place name is identified with Immatm in the hills of Samaria. Its location, like that of Tawil (No. 13), thus helps to locate the area occupied by the ::lAgrezer clan. 'T17::lN -

287

288

ISRAEL OSTRACON

No. 29

.J NlVN[7 T

T:

T':'

15

-

:

J NlVN[

Of.) ',.. 0.

.: c

In the year 15, from Sa[mi'da to] :> Asa:> (son of) :>Al:UmeleJs Gomer, from Serer

1/\ .rnV::l

.,6"

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA

- Lemaire reads Sami'dac is another clan of Manasseh also mentioned in the texts from the tenth year. OSTRACON

No. 30

11\ liW:J

.,."" .y'n' .Kln T

•

:

•

15 liUj:!l -

:

{jf.) y7,Q7 Of.) In the year 15, from samida c , to I:Iele9 (son of) Gaddiyaw. Gera;) (son of) I:Imma;) ,."" l::l rIm - This person could be identical to the in No. 32, infra. l'\)M - This hypocoristicon is probably shortened from *?l'\Jn.

289

290

ISRJ\EL OSTRACON

No.

31A

11\i1 .liWJ

1sD

Epl?al).. BaCala::> (son of) Zakkur

.f'n' ,':>1 .N'YJ c

,

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA OSTRACON

No. 32

T

•

:.

15 l'1W:;)

1/\ .1'1'!V:l

Y7.Q7

·Y'n'

-

:

N7?l}N

In the year 15, from S Yona!an.

299

300

ISRAEL OSTRACON

No. 47

]f.) ]f.)

HO? ,il?f[O?:?

•pn'

.il'''[

l5i]

.[ [In the year 15 from I:Io]glah, to I:Ianan. Bacara::> from(7) [ ... (SOI1 0])] [Yawna!an (7)] frOlTI Ya91!

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA OSTRACON

No. 48

15

l'1Wf

•

1/\ .1'1W:l

Of.) ", T

•

--

In the year 15, from sarf::Jel to yagaCyaw ::JAl)lmelelUdyaw ii17J - The final (Num 6:33).

ii

is very faint. This is another of the daughters of Zelophehad

- Is this a second recipient? Or is this person the father of c01?adyaw?

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA

OSTRACON

No. 51

]7 111l?'¥,O [

]7 ]

"]10;iJ In the tenth year to [ ... ] [ ] :l

AD-a? the yahfig[f] (or: yahfig[ite])

.11w:::t

[

]

],j1"j1

.NnN

303

304

ISRAEL

The second line is completely blurred. Pl'''''' - This steward could be a person from Judah or, lllore likely, som.eone from the Samarian village called in the mosaic synagogue inscription fronl ancient Rehob in the Beth-shean Valley. The place is identified with Khirbet Yahuda J (en-Neb! Hudil J ) north of Tah1zil. OSTRACON

No. 53

.1"

.11Ui:J .l/'.)Ui .7:JJ:J .711i1 .O,:l

7?H:J}

rr1

·rn,

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA

In the tenth year. Wine of

Kerem Hattel. A jar of pure oil This and Nos. 54, 55 (72, 73) are unique in that they list two commodities, wine and oil, and do not have a personal name governed by the preposition 7. In fact, they have no personal name at all. These are evidently shipments from the royal wine and olive producing centers. The recipient is naturally the king who does not have to be specified. 'l'm Q,;:' - This place is Inentioned, without the preposition mi(n). The formula is simplified because there is no special designated recipient and no

305

ISRAEL

306

steward of ---some est t a e. The . also with 01'Ive (groves) ...... ' " vIneyard" ( f term OJ::;' ,c is . Judg Gen9:20et a.1),IS . associated e preposition surel15:5 . {

y an error f ,c. No. 54

OSTRA

CON

No. 54

.

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA

f.

n"1tp¥o ,:JJ 0.0..

::>

.1"

.niW:Vil .nw:J

'r-lil .0 - Oi

.':J:1 .'nil .Oi

Q11?2W

Mi .1?)W

to"

r

.1'

In the tenth year. Wine of Kerem Batte!. A jar of Pure oil OSTRACON

No. 55

i:;) niW:Vil nW::l ••••••

••

-: T

--

,:J:1 "':V'M" .0 to"

t.

•

••

:

-

:

fQ11?2W In the tenth year. Kerem ya1).awc elf. A jar of pure oil

i::> .niW:Vil .nw:J .':J:1

."':v,n"

.0

·fMi .1?)W

307

308

ISRAEL

"w,

W.-9

q.,/d '\

c,:;, - This is the other royal production center. Wine is not listed. The personal name probably designates the original owner of the vineyard (and olive grove). OSTRACON

No. 59

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA

Q]1

.':n

]i

] rllp:p Y

] .l"lW:J

.y

A jar of p[ u]re oil. In the [ ... ]th year Note the varied order of the entries. OSTRACON

No. 63

(1)14/13

.nWf

(1)

IIII

1\ .l"lW:J

:3i',"i?lf'i? In the thirteenth (or fourteenth?) year. From Samfda c Reisner had read 17 (10 + t + 2). Kaufman gave this ostracon intensive study in Istanbul. The sherd is from a decorated jar and the numeral is written across a band in the decoration. Kaufman could not see anything like Reisner's t. He could see a definite hieratic 10 followed by three or four vertical strokes, i.e. the date was either 13 or 14. If it had been fifteenth, then the 10 would have been followed by one sign signifying 5. In any case, Reisner's proposed "seventeenth year" falls by the wayside. It is no longer compulsory to seek a king's reign that lasted seventeen years, though of course, the texts could be from the reign of any king who reigned longer thaIl fifteen years during the early eighth century BeE.

309

310

ISRAEL G. A. Reisner, in G. A. Reisner, C. S. Fischer and D. G. Lyon, Harvard Excavations at Samaria, 1908-1910 I: Text, Cambridge, MA 1924, pp. 227-246; II: Plates, pl. 55 (c--e); S. A. Birnbaum, The Hebrew Scripts II: Plates, London 1954-1957, pIs. 4-9; I. T. Kaufman, "The Samaria Ostraca: A Study in Ancient Hebrew Palaeography" (unpublished PhD. thesis, Harvard University), Cambridge, MA 1966; idem, "A Note of the Place Name Spr and the Letter Samek in the Samaria Ostraca," BASOR 172 (1963), pp. 60-61; idem, "The Samaria Ostraca: An Early Witness to Hebrew Writing, BA 45 (1982), pp. 229-239; J. Naveh, "The Aramaic Ostraca," in y. Aharoni (ed.), Beer Sheba I: Excavations at Tel Beer-Sheba, 1969-1971, Tel Aviv 1973, p. 82; Y. Aharoni, The Land o/the Bible3, Philadelphia 1979, pp. 356-368; Lemaire, Ostraca, pp. 23-65; B. Mazar, "The Historical Background of the Samaria Ostraca," in The Early Biblical Period, Jerusalem 1984, pp. 173-188 (with bibliography); W. H. Shea, "The Date and Significance of the Samaria Ostraca," IE! 27 (1977), pp. 16-27; A. F. Rainey, "Toward a Precise Date for the Samaria Ostraca," BASOR 272 (1988), pp. 69-74.

THE "BARLEY OSTRACON"

(C 1011)

This is an ostracon incised with beautiful letters. It dates to the eighth century BeE. Perhaps two people incised the text, one with a broad stylus and the other with a thin one. The first line runs at a different angle from the others. 1]

1]

031'0 3

.:

1:::1'tVjli1 0j71i1 .11:::1 ...

:.

III

0"1j7'tV

Baruch, greeting! Baruch, the shepherds listened (or: listen!) He will count three (measures) of Barley

,,:1 - A common personal name. O'W - A short greeting. Cf. the ostracon (supra, p. 166). - This could be a personal name but it would not make much sense. It is probably a statement of fact about what is to be done; it is certainly not a jussive. The general nature of the text is obscure. The last line is in very beautiful script. O,17W sJCorlm, "barley," as indicated by the symbol for a measure and the numeral. E. 1. Sukenik, "Inscribed Hebrew and Aramaic Potsherds from Samaria," PEQ 65 (1933), pp. 152-156, pI. III; W. F. Albright, "Ostracon clOOl of Samaria," PEQ 68 (1936), pp. 211-215;

THE SAMARIA OSTRACA

K. Galling, "Ein Ostrakon aus Samaria als Rechtsurkunde," ZDPV 77 (1961), pp.173-185; A. Lemaire, ilL' ostracon d011 de Samarie, nouvel essai," RB 79 (1972), pp. 565-570; idem, Ostraca, pp. 246-248.

311

312

ISRAEL LIST OF NAMES

(C 2101)

There are five lines with one personal nanle in each line. The text dates to the second half of the eighth century BeE.

Mal:t-se[yaw] Q61ayaw S1:::J [

]'

[ ],n",

.1[

]i1[ ],[

,;";''''

,;,l1iWN" .[

·1[ ];,[

]i[

]N

t,??W ;";'''7

Message of:)[",] ","Speak to Yahell and to Yawcasah and to [ ",] I have [b ]lessed you to YHWH of Scnnoron (SaInaria) and to his Asherah"

... -

This is a standard formula for the opening of a letter, as in U garitic and Akkadian: "Message of PN1: Speak to PN/' The name of the one making

315

316

ISRAEL

the blessing (i.e. sending the letter) is not preserved except for its first letter and possibly the last. This is most likely a noun since First Temple Hebrew normally did not begin a clause with the verb. The form may be :Jomer or :Jimer; cf. Ps 19:3: 01'7 01'

-

'7.?'N "Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge." Also Job 8:2: "the utterances of your mouth." After the vocable there is an N and lacuna of about five letters including traces of two letters, and il, and ::l at the end, but nothing can be reconstructed of theIn. ;'l"I' -Hypocoristic from 1'7il'*. It is a new addition to the onomastic corpus of Hebrew names, in meaning comparable to il'niT', "Yah has shone forth." ilW17" - Yawcasah (> Y6 casall ). Cf. supra, p. 298, discussion on lm1\ [... J" - Here there was an additional name or perhaps two; there is room for about fifteen letters. o::mN - The fragnlent on which is written the words O::lI1N l1::li[:::JJ, "I have blessed you," is restored here according to the space on the pithos.

KUNTILLET cAJROD iil'liWN"

iim', Q:::l.nN .n:::l'i[::I] -

And on the second pithos:

jj1ii'l;? In::Ji:::l

nniwl6" "I have blessed you to YHWH of Tenlan and to his Asherah./I To these

must be compared the blessings in the Arad letters and also that in a Phoenician papyrus discovered at Saqqarah: ol;?w ll;?:l7!J' O)!Jnn l;?l>\ l;?:::>l;?, l;?:l7:::ll;? In:::>i:::l, "I have blessed you to Bacal Zaphon and to all the gods of Ta1::tpanes, may they create well being for you" (KAI, No. 50:1-2). The blessing is to Baal Zaphon (a divine nalne in the bound form) and "all the gods of Tal}.panes." jj1ii' Cf. the compound geographical names such as Baal-l}.ermon, Baall}.azor, etc. Therefore it is no surprise that the Cod of Israel should be designated by His place of abode. Such a geographical name may be hidden behind the expression mn: jj1ii', "YHWH-yire" = YHWH will see to/provide" (Cen 22:14). Cf. also to the inscription from Khirbet Beit Ley describing YHWH as 'iil;?l>\ Ol;?Wi', "The god of Jerusalem" (d. supra, p. 235). It seems that the declaration in Deut 6:4: iijii' jj1ii' :l7'G'J?, "Hear a Israel, YHWH our god is the only YHWH," is fighting the general view that there were mallY local manifestations of YHWH. The verse goes well with the Deuteronomistic conception of the centralization of the cult. The meaning of jj1ii" YHWH 56711 1'611, is "YHWH is the owner / lord of Samaria." ii.n'iWN" - YHWH's Asherah. Cf. discussion supra, pp. 221-224. 3

SECOND PITHOS

On this pithos are figures of people in prayer and copies of the alphabet which overlap the main inscription. Above the figures is a two-line inscription; to their left is a column of personal nalnes:

,'''1:9 ,''''N :l

Samaryaw, :lEllyaw,

c-ozyaw,

,,"J:JW

(Egyptian)

317

318

ISRAEL

The text above the figures:

.ilIljWN" .'il" .il' .TIl)'

il'il'" [ .ilIl£)

ON' Nil pn

'NW" .jWN ,:;, [ .il::l::l':;'

'il"

ii'

il'il'" [

Nry p'n

,::, [

[... ] to YHWH the Ternan and to his Asherah [... ] Whatever he asks from a man, that man will give him generously. And if he would urge YHW will give him in accordance with his heart

KUNTILLET cAJKOD ml"l'" [... ] - At the beginning of the line we should perhaps supply [o:::m2{ n:Ji:::l] or [1n:Ji:::l]. Cf. the inscription on the first pithos above and on the inscription below. -The definite article is surprising unless we are to understand Ternan as a region such as "the Negeb"; T"WiJ, "the Sharon"; "the Carmel," or in Edom: 1'?9iJ-1'?9, "Rock-the Rock" The scripta defective "Telnan" indicates that the diphthong has been reduced, according to the Israelite orthography. Concerning Ternan, d. infra, p. 322. 2{l"l pn 'W2{ ,::> "Whatever he asks of a man, that man who had been asked, will give him generously." Cf. Ps 37:21: Ttl')) pin "the righteous is generous and keeps giving"; Ps 37:26: ilJ77,?1 pin 'f, "he is always generous, and lends"; also Ps 112:5: ilJ77,?1 "All goes well with the man who lends generously." l"l:::l:::l,::> 'l"l' l"l' 1m, l"lntl t::IN, - "And if he (the generous man) would urge, YHW will give him in accordance with his heart." Cf. Ps 20:5: 97 "May He grant you according to your heart's desire." Similarly in the Aramaic inscription of Panamu, king of Sam::lal: " Tn' 'il'N '2{'lV2{ m" "And whatever I shall ask from my god, may he grant me" (KAI, No. 214:4). l"lntl - Can be read as ill)tl (participle) or (preterite) from the root ilntl; the second proposal is preferred in juxtaposition with '2{'IV'. Interpretation of the root ilntl as "act foolishly," d. "simpleton," does not fit the context. It seems that ilntl should be interpreted as "urge, plead strongly"; d. the story of Samson's wife whom the Philistines asked "Coax, urge your husband" (Judg 14:15), and she wept (and likewise Delilah) until he disclosed the answer to his riddle. Cf. also Ps 78:34-36: oiJ'=;lf .. 1iOWi1:::lWi 1il1W'71 ono " 1:::l9; "When He killed them, they turned to Him and sought God once again. . . . Yet they urged Him with their speech, but they lied to Him with their words." 1il' - Note this shortened form in contrast to the plene spelling in the rest of the inscriptions. The surface of the vessel served for the writing of the alphabet, several times, and those letters overlap the inscription. In the first line we have through i (with a damaged 1'); in the second line tl through n; in the fourth line:J through 'IV. The order of the letters testifies to the tradition where the tl precedes the 1', as found in the acrostic poetic chapters of Lam 2-4. Above the alphabet is written the word "Amen," and between the alphabet's second and third lines:

319

320

ISRJ\EL

.n[

.1'1?t'W n[,n" YHW]H SomClron, Barley

The main text:

1?1 N

?

N ",':

N

T: --:

."]J1N' . -:- 1b ?

"7

o'wn

.11N

TO'

-: -

.o'wn n,n

." ·111 :J1:J

n,n

:J" .nh1WN" T:

]J'N.'

:J" .n111tvN"

:

11

"n", ..

J1N . -:

.

?

'¥] .,

J'N

"n",

] .,

Message of / JAmaryaw: S / ay to [my] lord, / Are you well? / I have blessed you to Y /HWH of Ternan / and to his Asherah. May He bl/ ess you and may he keep you / and may He be with my lord [forever(?)] 1/

1/

Cf. supra (p. 315) for discussion of this vocable, most probably a noun. The biblical form of this name is Weinfeld would equate the person in these inscriptions with Amaraiah, high priest in the days of Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 9:11), but about half a century separates the two persons. Note the word divider after the preposition 7, "to." nN c,um - Cf, Sam 20:9: 017WL/, "Is it well with you?" For the full epistolary nN 071,V" "And formula, cf. the Phoenician letter mentioned above, 071,V 1lN may you be well; also I am well" (KAI, No, 50:2), and likewise in blessing formulas frOlTI Arad, and from the Hebrew letter written on a papyrus found in WadI MurabbaCat (supra, pp. 113, 119, 123, 142,213). 1i::l' - This is discussed above with reference to the blessing on the Priestly Blessing amulet (supra, p. 53). Note that also here, there was certainly no modus vowel or anaptyctic vowel after the final :J of the jussive verb form; thus the second person singular suffix, 1, is not written separately. [C'l' 'l' Cl' 'i1', - Cf. the expression of good wishes of Benaiah for Solo047 'i1' P 047 mi1' "As YHWH has been with mon: my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon" (1 Kgs 1:37). Also 2 Sam 14:17: mi1'j, "May YHWH your God be with you"; 1 Kgs 8:57: mi1' "May YHWH our God be with us"; 1 Chr 22:11: mi1' -

-

KUNTILLET cAJRUD

321

322

ISRJ\EL "Now, my son, may YHWH be with you." The expression 0?137 "forever," is frequent in blessings and well wishes (2 Sam 7:13,24; Ps 18:51, et al.). Similarly in a Punic inscription from Carthage from the third century BeE: 7P 0737 137, "May be bless me and may he hear my voice for ever (KAI, No. 78:1). However, this restoration is purely conjectural here.

BLESSING

This two-line passage was found on a thin section of plaster that broke up upon touching it. But the fragments were assembled on the spot and carefully reconstructed, in what appears to be a trustworthy manner.

fm'WN71

[

[]n1n[]7 ,1)n; ]n [ ,"[ ]"rin .n1n" .j7?,,13 n1n["]? ... O]f?;'

",] Of?;' ''[... If?]''DiJ n1n"

."N[

[ [

[... May] he lengthen their days and may they be sated [... may] they recount to [Y]HWH of Ternan and to [his] Asherah [... ] / [... ] YHWH of Ternan, has shown favor [to them (?) ... ] has bettered their da[ys ... ] Cf. Ps 91:16: 1::)'1-\, "With long life will I satisfy him"; 137::JW'1 is either referring to "their day(s)," or to a missing vocable in the following lacuna, thus '37::JW", "they will be sated with good(ness)." m,["] - "May they recount," from the root 'm* « *TNY); d. Judg 5:11: oW mi1' n,p]:?, "There let them chant the gracious acts of YHWH." mi1'7 - "(To recount) to ... "; d. Judg 11:40: nim7, "to celebrate /lament the daughter of Jephthah." Here the context suggests "lamenting, mourning," but the usage of the preposition is the same. On the other hand, a better parallel may be Ps 68:35: 0'i:171-\7. 737 1)I;l, "Ascribe strength unto God." In that case, there is no need to supply a prefix at the beginning of the verb. This is the name of an important city in Edom; d. Am 1:12: 1iN["]

i1'¥f F?'tlf' "So I will send a fire upon Ternan, and it shall devour the strongholds of Bozrah." According to Eusebius (Onomasticon 96:18), 8atJ.1av was in the vicinity of Petra but the details are not very precise. It would appear that the town also gave its name to the surrounding region.

KUNTILLET cAJRUD

323

324

ISRJ\EL Note the plene writing of the diphthong with' which was probably the historical spelling, still preserved in the Judaean orthography; d. also in the Meshac Inscription (infra, p. 393) the interchanging forms n':lIn:J, "house". I The place is mentioned with reference to activity on the part of the God of Israel; d. Hab 3:3: 1iJ7t "YHWH is coming from Ternan, the Holy One from Mount Paran," which is paralleled by Judg

-

5:4: mi1', "0 YHWH, when You came forth from Secir, when you strode from the country of Edom." For the construct between a divine name and a place name, d. mi1' and the other places discussed supra, p. 317. [M]n1WN[.]" - Cf. supra, pp. 221-224. For the use of a word divider after the preposition, d. supra (on the inscription of the second pithos), ')1N.', and also m".m in the Ammonite bottle inscription (infra, p. 363), and tJi1.:JnON' in the Meshac Inscription (infra, p. 393; the independent accusative pronoun would be The use of a word divider in ancient epigraphy represents the scribe's own attitude to the particular word combinations. Consistency is seldom achieved. - The formula is an injunctive wish and blessing; d. Ps 125:4:

tJ'''JW'7! tJ':;J1W'{ mi1' "Do good, 0 YHWH, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts." Concerning the definite article with the geographical term, d. supra. The vocables and are written plene, contrary to the Israelite orthography, and in accordance with the Judaean one, although the script is Phoenician. THEOPHANY

The following six lines were found on a chunk of plaster, and an additional fragment. The first line may not be the actual beginning of the text, nor do we have its end. In these lines we find a description of a theophany and they must be interpreted accordingly. In this type of description, God is described as a man of war (d. Ps 24:8: mi1', "YHWH, mighty in battle").

]

[

] n)w [

i1],i1[" .O]':n

I. n'1:11 - :.

T

]

0"1v

] T

W17,:n - -:

W1{W}R

O'f O':n

T:'

:

"'

OW? [ ..

:

[

[

'[

],i1[ ]i:1 .n'1:1' .W17,:1 [ .,[ ] 0):1" .p'''' .0,i1 ] ."?17 []W'Wi' • [ .0":1 .?17:1 .1':1[ ] pi1 [ .0":1 OW? [

KUNTILLET cAJROD ] second time / years [ ] in earthquake. And when God shines forth in the [heights ... Y]HW[H ... ] the mountains will melt, the hills will crush [ ... ] earth. The Holy one over gods [ ... ] prepare (yourself) to [b ]less Baal on the day of wa[ r ... to bless/praise] the name of Elan the day of wa[r ... The reading is based on the still unpublished photographs of the inscription. mw - Of the whole line only this piece of plaster containing these three letters remained. Assuming that it is a whole vocable I am inclined to read it either senit, "a second time," or sJnot, "years" (in the construct state). If we prefer to read "a second time," we will interpret it as referring to a divine vision. The author of the text claims to have a repeated vision, the content of which is the ensuing text. Cf. Cen 22:15: mil' "The angel of YHWH called to Abraham a second time from heaven"; and of Pharaoh we are told "and he dreamed a second time" (Cen 41:5; d. also 1 Kgs 9:2; Jer 1:13; 31:1 etc.). On the other hand it is possible to read "years"; d. Deut 32:7: "l " and Joel 2:2: ';'l ';'1 "years of ages past," and interpret it on the following theophany. But we ask too much from a single word, out of context. Reading sJnat, "year," in the construct state, is less probable, as it makes no sense in the following context. W17,: - Earthquake is part of the theophany; d. the description of the theophany in Judg 5:4: i1W¥? "the earth trembled," etc. [0]': n'T:' - The verb n1T usually pertains to the sun but it is also applied to the deity; d. Deut 33:2: n'Jn mil', "YHWH came from Sinai, and dawned from Seir unto them"; Isa 60:2: mil' n'Jp "but YHWH will shine forth upon you." [0]': - "On the heights"; C;, like c;'7;? stands for the sky, the abode of Cod, e.g. Ps 93:4: i1,i1' C':;J'J "More than the sounds of many waters, (than) the mighty breakers of the sea, YHWH on high is mighty." ,,]'M[' - I don't see another possible reconstruction. The name YHWH begins a new sentence. - The presence of the as plural marker confirms that this form is future (not preterite or jussive), thus wJyimmassun. For the melting of the mountains before the appearance of the deity, d. Ps 97:5: c''JO mil', "The mountains melt like wax before YHWH"; Mic 1:4: "1!IT;!.I] c''JOv

0'"

l

325

326

ISRJ\EL

O?7Jf "The mountains shall melt under Him, and the valleys burst open, like wax before fire, like water cascading down a slope." \ 1:>'" - The reading of the second vocable is uncertain (d. discussion below). It is 'certain that "hills" ought to be in parallelism with "mountains" in the preceding line. The verb is evidently Nifcal P,?J, or Hitpacel pJ?!, wayiddakkCtn, from the original root X:l1 which has by-forms from ':l1 only in the Psalms. The present form lacks the x, and thus conforms to the tradition of Psalms. As with the previous verb, the plural marker, l, assures that the form is future (not preterite or jussive). For the Nifcal, d. Ps 51:19: il:nn :17., "a broken and crushed heart"; and for the Hitpacel, d. Job 5:4: "and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them"; Job 34:25: il'rlz "Night is over, and they are crushed." For the crushing of the mountains at the appearance of the deity, d. Hab 3:6: O?i17 "the age-old mountains were shattered, the primeval hills sank low" and similarly, Mic 1:4 (d. supra). -

Is this dittography for Ol:l", gaJ?num? Cf. Ps 68:16-17:

1u

O'':Iv P1¥jf;l .1Wf 1u 1u lWf 'u IiO divine mountain, Mount Bashan; 0 jagged mountain, Mount Bashan; why so envious, 0 jagged mountains?" Since there was surely a vowel separating the two nuns in the form gaJ?nunnlm and the second l was geminated, there is hardly a scribe that would have written one l for two. Either we have a by-form here or the orthography has suffered dittography (d. 1':1' on the second pithos, supra, p. 320). The former solution seems the most likely. y'x - "Earth," at the end of a sentence like Mic 1:3: mil' "For 10! YHWH is coming forth from His dwelling place, He will come down and stride upon the heights of the earth." It fits well with the following clause. The missing verb served the two clauses of the sentence. The sentence deals with the supremacy, or victory, of the Holy One over other gods. tzji1i?, "Holy," is a title for God; d. Hab 3:3: tzji1i?! "God is coming up from Ternan, and the Holy One from Mount Paran"; He is "the Holy One of Israel" (Isa 30:15 et passim). For the supremacy of YHWH over other gods d. Ex 15:11: mil' "Who is like You among the gods"?! C'N "'17 U,,{ U)} 1'- u)1{ U)} vis meaningless (the first letter is certainly a v' not ,). The first U) was written by mistake, the scribe forgot to delete it (or the deletion was obliterated by the elements) and it should read W1v.

KUNTILLET cAJROD

"1'::1 ,,::1["] - Usually it is the deity who blesses his creatures but at times the creatures bless their maker and thank him, e.g. Deut 8:10: mil' "and you will bless YHWH your God"; and likewise Ps 26:12: mil' "In assemblies I will bless YHWH"; Ps 134:2: 1Z17'v 1Ni¥ mil' "Raise your hands to the holy place, and bless YHWH," et al. The blessing is not just for confession of faith, but rather as a prayer and request to receive a blessing; thus Pharaoh requested of Moses and Aaron when he sent them from Egypt to worship the Lord: 'J:,N "and you shall bless me also" (Ex 12:32). For the blessing on the day of battle, d. Judg 5:2: o¥ :1':m;liJ:p mil' "when the people offer themselves willingly-bless YHWH!" and also vs. 9: mil' "0 volunteers from among the people, bless YHWH!" ,,::1["] Israel."

-

Cf. Am 4:12:

"N

nNji?7 7'::>;:1, "Prepare to meet your God, 0

QW" - If the preceding line is complete, then one may apply the same verb in this line, viz. "to bless," or n"il?, "to praise," m?, "to extol." In other words, "to bless/praise/ extol the name of God on the day of ba[ttle]." The common expression is to bless in the name of God, e.g. David:

,1

mil' oW:p o¥O and he blessed the people in the name of YHWH of Hosts" (2 Sam 6:18); or: mil' OW:p "We have blessed you in the name of YHWH" (Ps 129:8). The priests were enjoined il'il' oW:p "and to bless in the name ofYHWH" (Deut 21:5; d. also Deut 10:8; 1 Chr 23:13). And how? "So they shall put my name on the people of Israel, and I will bless them (Num 6:27). But there are cases where one blesses the lf

name of the deity (d. infra) as it is written: '¥J O?'1'? 97?W "and I will bless your name forever and ever" (Ps 145:1; d. also vs. 21); il'il'?11'W, "Sing to YHWH, bless his name" (Ps 96:2); " 1"il, "Give thanks to him, bless his name" (Ps 100:4); 1,':J7? il'il' oW "May the name of the Lord be blessed" (Ps 113:2; Job 1:21). So it is possible in this poetic text from Kuntillet CAjrud to understand the expression: "to bless the name of YHWH." The preposition, would then be like an indicator of the direct object (d. "but you shall love your neighbor as yourself" [Lev 19:18]), also 2 Sam 3:30: "So Joab and his brdther Abishai killed Abner." Many times in the Bible, the deity is referred to as "the name of the Lord," or "name" plus possessive suffix. This derives from the concept whereby the "name" epitomizes the essence of the being who is named, e.g. 1 Kgs 3:2: N:', ':;> mil' oW? "because no house had yet been built for the name of YHWH";

327

328

15RJ\EL

Ps 122:4: iI1iP oW7 il1,'il7, "give thanks to the name ofYHWH"; Deut 28:58: iI1il' ilm I'\,'mi ':pm oWn "to reverence this honored and aweSOl11.e Nal11.e, YHWH your God." It would appear that the name was considered to be a separate, sacred entity. In Phoenician inscriptions, we find expressions such as ":l7:l OiL" iliiliL":l7, "CAshtart, the Name of Bacal" (Eshmunazer Inscription, line 18; KAI, No. 14). cAshtart was evidently considered a hypostasis of Bacal. ':l7:l - A widely known divine name but which is basically a noun meaning "master." 50 in this context, and that this early date, Bacal ll1ay just be an epithet of the deity worshiped by Israel. This may also apply to the geographical names in which Bacal is a component, such as Bacal-Herll10n, which are evidently shortened from Beth-Bacal-X, e.g. li:l7?? (Nuln 32:38) and il':;;J 11:l7?? (Josh 13:17), which occur during the Iron Age. The theophoric cOlnponent in these nall1es is probably generic, "lord, ll1aster," and applied to the deity worshiped by Israel as well as by other kindred peoples of the smne period. So, ll1any of them may reflect Israelite and not Canaanite cult centers. The ancient Yahwistic prophets cmne to oppose Baal and Baalism because of the many elements that were too much in common with the neighboring peoples. '1'\ - This Inay be a generic tenn here, "god, deity," or a proper noun, the nmne of the head of the pantheon (as in Ugarit). If so, then the poem from Kuntillet CAjnld may reflect a deep syncretism by which Baal and El are all associated with YHWH. The Deuteronomistic prophets protested against the worship of the Baal in Israel and Judah. Z. Meshel and C. Meyers, "The Name of God in the Wilderness of Zin," BA 39 (1976), pp. 6-10 and pl. A (opp. p. 66) in BA 40 (1977); Z. Meshel, Kuntillet CAjrud: A Religious Centre From the Time of the Judaean Monarchy 011 the Border of Sinai (The Israel Museum, Cat. No. 175), Jerusalem 1978; idem, "Did Yahweh have a Consort? The New Religious Inscriptions from Sinai," BAR 5/2 (1979), pp. 24-35; J. Naveh, "Graffiti and Dedications," BASOR 235 (1979), pp. 28-29; M. Weinfeld, SJ1"naton 4 (1980), pp. 280-284; 5-6 (1982), pp. 237-239 (Hebrew); A. Lemaire, Les fcoles et la formation de la bible dans I 'ancien Israel, Fribourg/Suisse-Gottingen 1981, pp. 26-28; idem, "Date et origine des inscriptions hebralque et phenicielmes de Kuntillet CAjrud," Studi epigrafici et linguistici 1 (1984), pp. 131-143; idem, "Who or What was Yahweh's Asherah?" BAR 10/6 (1984), pp. 42-51; D. A. Chase, "A Date of the Inscription from Kuntillet CAjrud," BAS OR 246 (1982), pp. 63-67; J. A. Emerton, "New Light on Religion: The Implications of the Inscription from Kuntillet CAjrud," ZAW 94 (1982), pp. 2-20; W. G. Dever, "Ashera, Consort of Yahweh? New Evidence from Kuntillet Ajrud," BASOR 255 (1984), pp. 21-37; M. Weinfeld, "Kuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions and Their Significance," Studi epigrafici et linguistici 1 (1984), pp. 121-130; J. H. Tigay, You Shall Have No Other Gods, Atlanta 1986, pp. 26-29; idem, "A Second Temple Parallel to the Blessing from Kuntillet CAjrud," IEJ 40 (1990), p. 218; P. K. McCarter, "Aspects of the Religion of the Israelite Monarchy: Biblical and Epigraphic Data," in P. D. Miller, P. D. Manson and S. D. McBride (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays il1 Honor of

CALAH Frank Moore Cross, Philadelphia 1987; pp. 138-139, 143-144; M. Dietrich and O. Loretz, Yahweh und seine Aschera. Anthropo111orphs Kultbild in Mesopofamiel1, Ugarit und Israel, Miinster 1992; J. M. Hadley, "Yahweh and 'His Ashera': Archaeological and Textual Evidence for the Cult of the Goddess," in W. Dietrich and A. Klopfenstein (eds.), Ein Gotf allein? 13. Kolloquiwl1 del' Sclnveizerischen Akademie del' Geistes- und Sozialwissel1schajte111993, Freiburg 1994, pp. 242-247; P. Xella, "Le dieu et 'sa' deesse," Ugarit Forschullgen 27 (1995), pp. 599-610; A. F. Rainey, "Syntax, Hermeneutics and History," IE! 48 (1998), pp. 246-247; S. Al:lituv, E. Eshel and Z. Meshel, "The Inscriptions," in Z. Meshel (ed.), Kuntillet CAjrud (forthcoming). AN INSCRIPTION ON AN IVORY FROM CALAH

An inscription on a piece of carved ivory was found in the excavations at Calah (Tell Nimn1d), one of the administrative capitals of Assyria. The script and language are Hebrew. The object was evidently part of the loot brought from the conquest of Samaria. It dates to the mid-eighth century BeE.

1" [ ]li::>" 1¥11

iW]N [i::>Oil liN] ','

-:

'0'

tt

_...

1" [

[ ]:1,[

T

]li::>" [ ]:1. i[

], .'1"

N[j" T

]N [ ]N:j[

.

]

.N[

[ ... ]w. b[ ... ] he will op[en .. ] y[ ... ] [af]ter me, from great king t[ 0 ... ] [will co]me and they will erase [the inscription] wh[ich] [ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ] in the . . . [ . . . ] [ ••• ]l"lO" -The restoration that immediately comes to mind is [M]nO" "he will op[ en]," but that is usually associated with burial inscriptions with reference to opening the casket. It seems strange on a piece of ivory. However, cf. line 3 which also has elements related to curses of that nature. Gibson's proposal to

329

330

ISRJ\EL

*yapoi, from lili!:>, does not produce any resolution. ['W]N [,ctm l1N] N[::l"] COlnpare the curse formula beside a crevice in the rock near En-gedi: iWN iiN (supra, p. 237). One may also compare the curse read

formula in the Phoenician inscription of Kilamuwa (KAr, No. 24:13-15): 'J:J:J ... i:J'" WN ,Y:J 1VNi liM1V' i i!:>Oi1liM1V' ... i i!:>O:J Pi" lliMli :J1V' 1VN, "And whoever among my descendants that shall reign after me and shall damage this inscription, ... and whoever shall destroy this inscription, may Baal destroy his head and Baal-$emed who is of Gabbar. .. . ff

A. R. Millard, Alphabetic Inscriptions on Ivories from Nimrud," Iraq 24 (1962), pp. 45-51, pI. XXIVa. 1/

INSCRIPTIONS ON VESSELS -

HAZaR

An incised text on a storage jar from Hazor from the mid-eighth century BeE, or from the second half of that century.

.np!:>'

HAZOR

331

Probably refers to Peqal)., the king of Israel in the second haif of the eighth century BCE. - A type of wine, perhaps seasoned with essence from the flowers of the vine. Sonle sought to read i1if'.'}O because of the obscure final letter. But the incision on the hard clay simply blurred the two final letters. MjiO -

Y. Yadin et al., Hazar II, Jerusalem 1960, pp. 73-74, pIs. XLXXI-XLXXII; S. A1::tituv, "Semadar," Lesanenu 39 (1978), pp. 37-40 (Hebrew).

An incised text on the shoulder of a storage jar frOlTI Hazor, from the second half of the eighth century BCE.

Juice [ ...

Sacred.

A by-form of

f'f'.'},

tzrtp "juice"; d. the inscription from Lachish: nin11)

m

(supra, p. 91). Mi1'[ ••• ] - A very surprising sequence of consonants; one would have expected a form with the i1 as the final letter . 11)'ji - "Sacred/' to indicate that the contents of this jar were to be used in a sacred ceremony (including a meal resulting from a sacrificial act). Within the biblical terms of reference, it could be consumed at home and not in a sacred

332

ISRAEL precinct, unlike items designated as tl'1ZJ1P 1ZJ1p. The word 1ZJ1P is repeated on the body of the jar to assure its restricted use. The designation 1ZJ1P is also documented in vessels at Arad (No. 104), Tel Beer-sheba (Inscriptions Reveal, p. 81) and Ekron (d. discussion infra, p. 342).

Y. Yadin et al., Hazar III-IV (Plates), Jerusalen11961, pIs. CCCLVIII:4-5; J. Naveh, in Yadin et al.,Hazor III-IV (Text) (ed. A. Ben-Tor), Jerusalem 1989, p. 346 TEL KINROT

1;l Vessel of the gate Incised on a sherd from Tel Kinrot, from the end of the eighth century BeE. The vessel served as an official standard of measure for use in the gate of the city. Cf. the Aramaic inscription on a vessel frOlll Tell Deir cAlla, "belonging to the gate," and on a stone weight from there, "stone (weight) of the gate" (J. Hoftijer and G. van der Koij, Aramaic Texts from Deil' CAlla, Leiden 1976, pIs. 196,20, 31a). V. Fritz, "KilUlereth: Excavations at Tell el-cOreimeh (Tel Kinrot) 1982-1985 Seasons," Tel Aviv 20 (1993), pp. 209-211; 1. Ephcal and J. Naveh, liThe Jar of the Gate," BASOR 289 (1993), pp.59-65.

WEIGHTS WEIGHTS

Five This bronze weight in the shape of a turtle, found in Samaria, is dated to the eighth century BeE. It weighs 2.49 grams which is the equivalent of five geralls (for the gerali , d. supra, p. 246).

Side one:

One fourth of a she I

Second side: One fourth of a ne$ep The weights of the shekel and the are not identical (d. supra, p.247), but the difference between a fourth of a shekel and a fourth of a is minute and in daily life could be ignored. T. Chaplin, "An Ancient Hebrew Weight from Samaria," PEF QSt 22 (1890), pp. 267-268; G. A. Barton, "Three Objects in the Collection of Mr. Herbert Clark of Jerusalem," lAOS 27 (1907), p. 400; B. Dalavault and A. Lemaire, "Les inscriptions pi1enicielUles de Palestine," RSF 7 (1979), pp. 31-32, pI. XIV:58-59; F. Bron and A. Lemaire, "Poids inscrits phenico-arameens du VIlle siecle avo J.-c.," Atti del I Congresso Inte1'11azionale di Studi Fenici e Punici 3, Roma 1983, pp. 768-770.

333

'CHAPTER 3

PHILISTIA

DEDICATORY INSCRIPTIONS FROM EKRON A

TEMPLE DEDICATORY INSCRIPTION

The first is a temple dedicatory inscription from the early seventh century BeE. The text is written in a local script. The language, the style and the orthography are reminiscent of similar Phoenician inscriptions. The use of dots as word dividers is paralleled by the earliest Phoenician texts and by other inscriptions from Philistia, as well as the inscriptions from Israel and Moab. The third person possessive suffix is written with i1 (unlike standard Phoenician as it is with Hebrew. This same form is used for the accusative suffix just as in Moabite. The suffix is probably to be pronounced -0 though the defective orthography leaves room for the possibility that it could be like Hebrew -ehu. The accusative might also be like Aramaic -eh which some scholars posit for Moabite.

Tf.

'w

D1. . ..

Tf. Tf.

TTf Tf. T'

. :

.p .T:J .ur:>N .p .n:J P:s7'W .T:J .N'N .p n, .il:>':Jn .iln'N ·T' .1':Jn, .1'Nn, .il[

-

The house which :> son of Padi son of YSD son of :>Ada son of Yacfr, ruler of CAqqaron built for PTGYH his lady. May she bless him and may she kee[p] him and may she lengthen his days and may she bless his land

- "House," written without the which indicates that the diphthong is reduced as in Phoenician. In Judaean Hebrew this only happens in construct, but

336

PHILISTIA

the orthography of Judaean inscriptions usually has the' and one cannot be sure that the diphthong was reduced during the First Temple period. In Moabite we encounter both forms in the construct fornl: il11:1:::11, and in his house" (line 7) and il11':1:1, "in his house" (line 25). j:l l'l:l - liThe house which ... built." Comparable Phoenician dedicatory inscriptions employ the relative pronoun i (= Aramaic dz, Arabic ga), as in the Yel:Umilk text: 7:1j. 'J:1 T 11:1, liThe house which Ye.Q.1milk king of Byblos built" (KAI, No.4). The editors suggest that the rendering here could be son of Padi ... built (this) temple." However, there is no demonstraII

II

EKRON

tive pronoun either, nor is there any other indicator of definiteness. Neither is it necessary to assume that the scribe (or artisan) simply skipped the relative pronoun. The most logical solution is to see here a syntactical construction known front Aldl$ (1 Sam 21:11 et al.) which the LXX renders it AYXa'Uc:;; the Massoretes did not know this name and thus vocalized it according to a common Semitic pattern, viz. qatll. The biblical name would most likely have originally been *::1 The initial i-vowel of the Assyrian form may be compared to the Neo-Babylonian spelling of Ashkelon, viz., Isqaluna. There are five generations of Ekronite rulers mentioned here. Except for :> all of them can be explained as Northwest Semitic. The name of :> might have represented a revival of Philistine ethnicity, perhaps due to their rivalry with their eastern neighbor, Judah. l'vl' ,w- "Ruler of C Aqqaron." The vocable ,w had nothing to do with the use of Akkadian sarru in the Assyrian inscriptions. Though sarru is cognate to West Semitic stir, it means "king" in Akkadian. The use of the West Semitic stir in this context certainly does not signify their status as vassals of Assyria. On the other hand, in Hebrew o''JW, stirlm, is used interchangeably with the strictly Philistine term o'n9, s3rtinlm, in 1 Sam 29. The title 'ng (vss. 2, 7, also in vs. 6) is used synonymously with ''JW (vss. 3-4). l'vl' - The discovery of this inscriptions at Tel Miqne (Tell MuqannaC ) confirms its identification with that site. Scholars have held to this identification ever since the initial survey and study by J. Naveh. The name was certainly

EKRON pronounced CAqqaron as evidenced by the Akkadian (especially URUAm-qarru-na and URUAm-qar-ru-u-na = CAmqaruna = *cAmqarona [with dissimilation from the geminatedq, *cAqqarona) and Greek (AKKaprov = Akkaron) transcriptions. The sixth century CE Madaba mosaic map records AKKAP[QN] / H NYN AKKAP AN?, "Akkar which is now Akkaran(?)," thus perhaps indicating that the current name had been modified to *Akkanm. The Massoretic CEqron could therefore be a back formation from the nisbe-form Ceqron'i, (Josh 13:3; LXX dative AKKaprot'tl1). By the time the Massoretes began to vocalize the Hebrew text, the place name CAqqaron had not only passed through an Aramaic phase, it was now Arabized and attached to a village, CAqfr, some miles from the original site. The reduction of an original qatta16n / qittalon by the Massoretes to qat16n / qitlon may be compared to Hebrew Yarqon (Josh 19:46) with the LXX spelling 'IEpaKrov = *Yeraqon, which must represent the ancient vocalization. - The third letter is written high and consists of a small angular incision in the stone. The editors take it as". Whatever the meaning and vocalization, this term is surely the name or title of the chief female deity of the city. Cf. "the Lady of Byblos" in Phoenician and other inscriptions from that city. Demsky proposed to read the third letter as a partly uncompleted J, thus M'Jntl. He equates the term with Greek IIo'tvta, "lady," which is a title for goddesses in Mycenaean and Classical texts. However, the palaeography is problematic. Schafer-Lichtenberg suggests that the word contains the Greek component 1t,\YCO- (as in the title Pythia of the priestess Apollo's oracle at Delphi) combined with the name of Gaia, the goddess of the earth. Pausanius (second century CE) records that Gaia had had an ancient connection with the Delphi oracle. m,'N - "His lady." n1N is the feminine of l1N, "father, lord," in Phoenician. Apparently this represents *:ladont > *::Jadott. - The formula of this blessing is reminiscent of Phoenician inscriptions, e.g. 7:J" 717 ,mlZl1 1'Nm "nm 7:J" n'N 7:n n717:J 1':Jn, "May the Lady of Byblos bless Yel).awmilk and give him life and may she lengthen his days and his years (as ruler) over Byblos" (KAI, No. 10). It is also similar to the formula of the priestly blessing, Num 6:24-26: inil' "May YHWH bless you, and keep you," etc., and also the blessings on the Priestly Blessing amulet from Ketef Hinnom and the Kuntillet CAjrud inscriptions (supra, pp. 51, 55, 321). "His days." Plural with accusative suffix; c£. remarks concerning the c Mesha Inscription (infra, p. 402).

339

PHILISTIA

340

And ill.ay she bless his land." This clause is 111issing from the similar invocations in Phoenician inscriptions. A blessing on the land does ap1i::lm -

11

pear in the Bible, Gen 27:28: H' :lii '17 "May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine." Cf. also Lev 26:3-6; Deut 28:3-5. S. Gitin, T. Dothan and J. Naveh, "A Royal Dedicatory Inscription from Ekron," IEf 47 (1997) pp.I-16; A. Demsky/The Name of the Goddess of Ekron: A New Reading," fANES 25 (1998), pp. 1-15; idem, "Discovering a Goddess: A New Look at the Ekron Inscription Identifies a Mysterious Deity," BAR 24/5 (Sept.-Oct. 1998), pp. 53-58; Ch. Schafer-Lichtenberg, "PTGJHGottin und Herrin von Ekron," Biblische Notizel1 91 (1998), pp. 64-76; J. Naveh, "Achish-ll, il":11 lmN pW,17, ... O'J'Nl1 17').il, "The tinle of figs has arrived ... and they make them into a cake of dried figs and collect them in jars." At Masada there were found jar fragments with the inscription il':11 (Y. Yadin and J. Naveh, Masada I, Jerusalem 1989, pp. 46-47, pIs. 40-42).

'W

Oil

EKRON

-The meaning of the iV is unclear. Maybe the person who wrote it intended to write the word and decided to write it higher, near the shoulder of the jar, and also a little to the right.

1Z)

Bath (lneasure) The capacity of the jar is c. 32 liters. Concerning the bath measure, d. supra, pp. 241-242. S. Citin, "Seventh Century B.CE. Cultic Elements at Ekron," in A. Biran and J. Aviram (eds.), Biblical Archaeologt) Today, 1990, Jerusalem 1993, pp. 250-252.

345

346

PHILISTIA

Two ostraca were discovered in the excavations of Tel Gamma (Tell Jelnmeh) in southern Philistia, c. 10 krn south of Gaza. The script is a local variant of the ancient Hebrew script. OSTRACON

No.1 ] W:>

P

Wiil'

i:J .Wiil'

]

.1"\))'

1"\))'

0P.W

.O'W

.

W"W

W:W)

.il:>i

wnn ]'W

.i1"\)

]'W

To HRS son of KS [ ... (To) WNNT (son of) : l Ag.onis (To) Sallum (son of) ::lNS (To) Bacal-sama::l (son of) SGS (To) Re]sah (son of) Sammas (To) Bacala::l (son of) I:IMS (To) Na!an (son of) Papas (To) TY (son of) Sall[? This is an ostracon of eight lines containing personal names. It was apparently an administrative list of some sort (of disbursements?). According to its archaeological context it should date to the late eighth or early seventh century BeE. Of the personal names, some are Semitic and others are foreign (Philistine?) and of disputed origin. The final consonant S (8) is obviously non-Semitic. It would appear to be a marker of the genitive since it does not occur on any of the first names in any line. Such markers are typical of Indo-European languages and the Philistines are traditionally said to corne from the Aegean region (Am 9:7) where Indo-European languages were prevalent. The ancient script did not distinguish between / s/ and / § /. On the assumption that the Indo-European language represented here did not have / s/, the final consonants are transcribed herein as / § / . It is highly likely that Phoenician (North

TEL GAMMA

347

348

PHILISTIA Canaanite) and South Can.aanite (in Philistia and other coastal areas not included in Israel or Judah) also did not distinguish between these two sibilants and that they pronounced theIl1 both as / s/. Personal names for which no vocalization is available are transcribed by capital letters. 7 - This preposition assures that the language of the text is Semitic in spite of some non-Semitic elements discussed below. It also hnplies that each person in the list was a recipient like the one in the first line. Therefore, in the translation, "to" has been supplied. iV)'N - This is a nanle of apparent Semitic origin. Perhaps it is the first example of the Hellenized form Adonis(?). - The second cOlnponent is relniniscent of naInes like "Baal has heard." Could it be that the finalll was not pronounced here? There are three such exaIl1ples of in Phoenician/Punic (F. L. Benz, Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions, Rome 1972, pp. 100,419). il:J'1 - Vocalized here on the pattern of the biblical place nanle (1 Chr 4:12) which, incidentally, is presumably sOlnewhere in the Negeb. The vocalization of the Hebrew PN, N7?1l?Iil7?1l? (2 Saln 23:11; 1 Chr 7:37), is adopted here, plus the presumed Indo-European genitive marker s. N711::J - This hypocoristicon occurs in the Samaria Ostraca but is unknown in the Bible or in Phoenician / Punic texts. - Kempinsky has read double' for the first sign but palaeographically it seems certain the sign is really n. - This seems to be the correct reading (not since the second sign has a backward-turned stroke typical of '.

OSTRACON

No.2

[ ... ] [ ... ]h . KL YfBS [ ... ] [ ... ]. QSRYH 2

[ ... ]y . BR$YH 20

[ ... ] RWS 3(?) X [ ... ] 1(7) X

[

[ ] w:t t)",::l .ii [ II n"iOp .[ = .;[ III

W'i[

I [

An ostracon with originally six lines containing personal names, each one followed by a nUlneral. In lines 5 and 6 there is a sign probably indicating a

TEL GAMMA

measure (or commodity?). The archaeological context points to the early or mid-seventh century BCE. J. Naveh, "Writings and Scripts in Seventh-Century B.CE. Philistia: The New Evidence from Tell Jemmeh," IE! 35 (1985), pp. 11-15; A. Kempinsky, "Some Philistine Names from the Kingdom of Gaza," IE! 37 (1987), pp. 20-24; N. Na'aman and R. Zadok, "Sargon II's Deportations to Israel and philistia," !CS 40 (1988), pp. 36-42. WEIGHTS

*A bronze weight in the shape of a turtle found in the Ashkelon area and thus included here among the Philistine inscriptions. Its date is probably the eighth century BCE and its weight is 2.63 grams.

349

350

PHILISTIA

On the back:

[ ... ]

7iitV I......

Shekel

On the belly: A fourth part

9::J1

-...

"7£:l 'o'

to'

There are traces of letters above the word IIshekel./f IIPart./f This meaning is not attested in the Bible, only in Mishnaic Hebrew (d. Berakhot 4:1: ilnmil )'!:l, "half of the time of the minba prayer/l). It is also used in Aramaic. Thus it is possible to read here a fourth part./I l'::l., - IIQuarter./I For the fourth of a shekel, d. 1 Sam 9:8: l':;;lJ' lIa fourth of a shekel of silver./I The symbol on the second line is a doubtful aleph-like sign written upside down. Some have seen here a n and read n/l'::li, rJ!/iCft (d. Ex 29:40: 17; piJiJ n,v'=;l';l, lIone fourth of a hin of wine./I But the sign, which is still unexplained, really does not resemble a n.

",tl -

II

A. Reifenberg, "Ein neues hebraisches Gewicht," [POS 16 (1936), pp. 39-40, pI. III:A; Moscati, EEA, p.101, pI. XXIV:1; R. B. Y. Scott,"Shekel-FractionMarkings on Hebrew Weights," BASOR 173 (1964), p. 55; B. Delavault and A. Lemaire, "Les inscriptions pheniciennes de Palestine," RSF 7 (1979), pp. 32-33, pI. XIV:61; F. Bran and A. Lemaire, "Poids inscrits phenico-arameens du VIlle siecle avo J. c.," in Atti del I Congresso Internazionale di Studi Fenici e Punici 3, Roma 1983, pp. 767-768.

. CHAPTER 4

EDOM

OSTRACON FROM l:IORVAT cUZZA

An ostracon in Edomite script from :f:Iorvat CUzza (Khirbet Ghazzah), probably ancient Kinah (iltj?, Josh 15:22) at the eastern edge of the Arad plain. The archaeological and palaeolographic evidence points to a date in the beginning of the sixth century BeE. :

i7g'N

91:111101

1

?

07wn

7 'NO

] Oiv

71'NO

.01V?

''iP'S?

.l"lN .07'IVil 7:JNil .l"lN •il"l

.01V7

]

0"101

.i'IVN .7N'IV Oiil1

7:JNil •

Message of LarnmeleJs, "Speak to Bilbel: Is it well with you? Now I have blessed you to Qaus / Qos. And now give the food (bread) which is with ::>Al:tPimmoh [ ••• ] and Sa::>ul shall offer (it) on the al[tar of Qaus/Qos] [lest] the bread [be]come leavened Epistolary formula similar to those employed in the Amarna and Ugarit correspondence (also Kuntillet CAjrfrd, cf. supra, pp. 315, 320, discussed on p. 316). - This may be a noun like Ugaritic tl;m. Thus: "the message of Cf. i7?'N "YHWH gives the command" (Ps 68:12). Of course, it could also be the finite third masculine singular verb. - On the basis of from Kuntillet CAjrfrd (supra, p. 320), this vocable must be a personal name. The straightforward reading is 17.??7, •••

-

352

EDOM

"belonging to the king"; d. the biblical name (Num 3:24). ,:1,:1- The personal nanle of the recipient of the letter. The possibility suggested by Beit-Arieh and Cresson is Bulbul, the name of a bird. The name appears on a broken Hebrew bulla of unknown provenance (R. Deutsch, Biblical Period Hebrew Bullae: The JosefChaim Kaufman Collection, Tel Aviv 2003, No. 123). l"lN C,Wl"I - Cf. 2 Sam 20:9: 'Dt$ "Is it well with you, my brother?" The presence of the interrogative particle -Lj (hn) forms an interesting isogloss with Hebrew. 0'1" 1l"l::l'1:1l"1 - Edomite uses the causative H stem (Hebrew Hifcll) instead of the factitive D stem (PiceZ) used in Hebrew and Phoenician epistolary blessing formulas. Cf. 1l"l::li:J, "I have blessed you to YHWH" (Arad Nos. 16:2-3 and 21:2-3; supra, pp. 113, 123), and tmml"l 1l"l::li:J, "I have blessed you to BaCl $ap6n and all the gods of Ta9-panes" (KAI, No. 50:2-3). 0'1' - This is the national god of Edom. The plene spelling would seem to indicate that the original diphthong was still retained, thus: Qaws > Qaus. ll"ll"lY' - The temporal presentation particle is written without a finall"l just as in Judaean orthography (d. supra, p. 60 et al.). The second masculine singular imperative is used in the Arad Letters as an alternate to the absolute infinitive.

I:I0RVAT cUZZA

I

j

Grain or flour, or bread (as Akkadian aklu). If the context is correctly understood, then the latter, or perhaps bread dough, is m.eant. Cf. Hab 3:17:

':,)Nil -

N', ni7.YJ'?f1, "and the fields yield no grain." Note the use of the definite

article as in Hebrew. The same relative pronoun as used in Hebrew and Moabite in contrast to Aranlaic and Phoenician. "With," "in possession of," related to Hebrew and Arabic .ili:. (Cind). 'iWN -

-

- Personal name not found in the Bible but on a seal with the orthogra-

phy and in an Akkadian text as Abi-immisu. The meaning is "His mother's brother." O'im - The orthography would adnlit it is a second masculine singular imperative but if the following vocable is a personal name, as seems likely, then the fornl nlust be third masculine singular of the suffix conjugation here used in its "optative" function as continuing an imperative: "in order that PN should offer." The H causative of this verb is evidently the equivalent of Hebrew haqrl12 in the Ineaning "to offer (sacrifice)." Cf. Lev 2:9: li? ltr::>iJ tPJ ill!1l:\ ilO+.lT?PiJ "The priest then shall take up from the grain offering its melnorial portion, and shall offer [it] up in smoke on the altar [as] an offering by fire of a pleasing aroma to YHWH."

353

354

EDOM

[0'1' '17 ••• 1::1"'" - If the restoration is correct, then the subject at hand is the presentation of meal offerings to the Edomite deity, Qaus / Q6s. 'N\l) - The original editors read 7N[T]17, "CU[zzf]=>el." But the first sign seems to be closer to \l) rather than a too-open and flat 17. If this is a personal nall1e, as seems highly likely, then its form ll1ay be St(J{tllike the name of the first Israelite king. 1£)] - "[Lest] the bread [be] come leavened." The interpretation hingwhich is deduced here as a denominative es on the meaning of the root verb from Aramaic "leaven." The negative nuance ("lest") seems more likely in this context, i.e. the Edomites probably also objected to the use of leavened bread for sacrificial offerings. Cf. Lev 2:11: i"I1il"? ilOtlPiJ 7f "'il"? ilWt:t

N'7

i'Nt¥

':jl

N'7, "No grain offering, which

you bring to YHWH, shall be made with leaven, for you shall not offer up in smoke any leaven or any honey as an offering by fire to YHWH." Cf. also Ps 46:4: "Though its waters roar (and) foam." Here it seems likely that "dough" or "bread" is intended, like Ald(adian aklu. Cf infra, p. 371. In lines 4-6 Cross read: . / 0[11' . n::J]m . 717 . 7N\l) . Oiil1 / 717' . . . i\l)N h "Which is with :JADf:Jill1m6 let him take up and may Sa:Jul offer on the altar of Qaus / Q6s a bomer of bread." The is a bundle of sheaves (Lev 23:10, 16) and also a dry measure (Ex 16:36). The reading is possible but the 17 is extrelnely blurred. The reading 717 is quite doubtful as Cross admits. 1. Beit-Arieh and B, Cresson, "An Edomite Ostracon from I:Iorvat cUza," Tel Aviv 12 (1985), pp. 98-101; 1. Beit-Arieh, Iforvat CUza and Iforvat Radum: Two Fortresses in the Biblical Negev, Tel Aviv 2007, pp. 133-137; H. Misgav, "Two Notes on the Ostraca from I:Iorvat cUza," IE]

40 (1990) pp, 213-216; F. M. Cross, "A Papyrus Recording a Divine Legal Decision and the in Biblical and Near Eastern Usage," in M. V. Fox, V. A. Hurowitz, et al. (eds.), Texts, Root Temples and Traditions: A Tribute to Menahem Haran, Winona Lake, IN 1996, p. 313, n. 8. AN EDOMITE OSTRACON FROM TELL EL-KHELEIFEH

The ostracon was found in the excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh at the head of the Gulf of Elath, in Stratum IV; it dates to the seventh and sixth centuries BeE. ..

",

:

]i'1:J O?W ?

]:J01i' ]1i':57),n

TELL EL-KHELEIFEH

]:1,5 1:J'IZl

?

1:J'IZl

]lO'i'

10

355

356

EDOM

/'

.J.." .

RaCu::lel, Bad-Q[aus], Sallum, Qaus-b[anah ?], pagac-Qau[s], Nagal?[Qaust SKK, Rapu::l, pagac-Qaus, Qaus-na[gal??] [m]::lO'i' [::l']lO'i' -

J.

A probable restoration. A probable restoration.

Naveh, "The Scripts of Two Ostraca from Elath," BASOR 183 (1966), pp. 28-29; idem, Alphabet, pp. 102-104; N. Glueck, "Tell el-Kheleifeh Inscriptions," in H. Goedicke (ed.), Near Eastern Studies in Honor of William Foxwell Albright, Baltimore-London 1971, pp. 227-229; F. M. Cross, "A Papyrus Recording a Divine Legal Decision and the Root in Biblical and Near Eastern Usage," in M. V. Fox, V. A. Hurowitz et al. (eds.), Texts, Temples and Traditions: A Tribute to Menahem Haran, Winona Lake, IN 1996, p. 313, n. 8.

"CHAPTER 5

AMMON

THE AMMAN"CITADEL INSCRIPTION

This fragment of a stela was re-cut in antiquity for secondary use in a later construction. There were eight lines in the inscription of which the seventh is virtually erased. All the lines are broken at the beginning and end, i.e. on both the right and left sides. On the basis of script, Cross has dated it to somewhere between the last quarter of the ninth and the first quarter of the eighth century BeE. The fragment measures 19.4 x 26 cm.

] n:l:lO ." .il):l .C:J'[ ] ." .,:J:J .[ ] .,:J, C,n:JN .,n:J[ ] p," n"o .,:J:l, [ .n":l .n',n .,[ ] il':J ] C'N .1:1:l .:57nWn .il)[ ]J, .il[ ]W,[ C]'W, " .C'W .[ ] ] ]

• -: -

] ] il':J ]

97 "7 nb 97 [ ,:J, c,n:JN ,n:J[il 11:T

:

"":

-

n'19 n7.1f n7.113 :57130/1:1

[

[And Mi]lkom [said to me] build for yourself entrances round about [ ... ]

358

AMMON

[ ... ] that all who surround you may surely die [ ... ] [ ... ] I will surely destroy them and everyone who enters [ ... ] [ ... ] and in every colonnade the righteous will dwell [ ... ] [ ... you shall 10]ck the door in the inner doorway [ ... ] [ ... Be ]hold you shall fear the son(s) of the gods [ ... ] [ ... ] (7) peace to you and pea[ce to your house]

THE AMMAN CITADEL INSCRIPTION

The inscription is evidently from a stela set up by one of the Ammonite kings in a temple which he had built for Milkom his god. The text describes a revelation in which the deity commanded hiIn to build entrances round about and promised him victory over all his enemies. He was further commanded there to establish colonnades for the temple and to fear the deity. The inscription concludes with a blessing on the king and on his household. It belongs to the genre of building inscription texts front the ancient Near East in which the deity commanded the construction of a temple for himself. Cf. the commandment to build the tabernacle in Ex 35:4 ff. There are many cruxes in the interpretation of this text so that there are considerable doubts about various aspects of the decipherment. - Conjectural restoration; other possibilities exist. The second person pronouns indicate that this passage is a discourse in which the deity instructs the author (evidently the king of Ammon). This is a typical genre in royal inscriptions.

359

360

AMMON - Milkom, the deity of the Ammonites (d. infra). He is also mentioned on an Ammonite seal: 1i:l n/iJx:\m cnn, "The seal of Mannu-kI-Inurta, blessed of Milkom" (WSS, No. 805). The name is based on the noun *mflik, "king," but the significance of the attested form with -m is obscure. At U garit, lists of deities include mlkm (KTLP 1.47:33; 1.118:32) which is paralleled in the Akkadian version by the ideographic writing dMA.LIK.MES (RS 20.24:32; Ugaritica V, No. 18:32, p. 45) showing that the final m must be the plural marker. So it is not at allclear that this Ammonite deity appears at Ugarit. In the Bible the name of the Ammonite deity occurs three times in the form c°:!)77;) (1 Kgs 11:5,33; 2 Kgs 23:13). The final-m might be a vestigial mimation, in which case the Massoretic -om vocalization might reflect secondarily accented -um. ,,, - If interpreted correctly, this imperative form shows -i1 as final mater lectionis. Cf. 1 Kgs 2:36: 17 mf l' "And said to him, 'Build yourself a house in Jerusalem.'" - The form is written defectively; it is an architectural term signifying gateways or entrances and the like. In Judg 1:24-25, X1:1?? is a secret entrance to the city in contrast to the gate. Such postern gates are known in the ancient Near East including the land of Israel. The king's house had the X1:1??, "horses' entrance" (2 Kgs 11:16) and in the temple compound there were "the outer entrance for the king" (2 Kgs 16:18), and "the third entrance of the temple of YHWH" (Jer 38:14). Cf. also Ezek 42:9; 44:5; 46:19; 2 Chr 23:13. - It is evidently a defectively written plural. This is also an architectural term defining the entrances. Its root is ::J:l0 and it can be compared to the ::J;J10 of the sacrificial altar, a kind of walkway where the priests could stand when officiating at the altar (zalJa1;im 5:3; 6:5 et al.) or to the (masibba'l ) by which they could go up to the upper chambers of the temple (Middot 3:5) and other (m asibb6t) that were walkways (Middot 5:3). But perhaps it is better to compare the masibball which ran under the fortress (Middot 1:9; Tamid 1:1), a kind of underground passage. Lines 2-3 - A promise of the deity to the king to destroy his enemies. - kllsOl; the particle appears without a mater lectionis and appended to the following word, as in Phoenician mnW17 n:l17n:J, "because it is an abomination to CAstart" (KAI, No. 13:6). Cf. also infra concerning 1'1"1'1. ,,, - R. Kutscher suggested that is the equivalent of "enemy, besieger." -For "they will surely die," an emphatic combination of the

THE AMMAN CITADEL INSCRIPTION

absolute infinitive reinforcing'the finite verb form. Cf. Gen 3:4: N''7, "You surely will not die!"; Num 26:65: "They shall surely die." The third masculine plural with final-n appears as an archaism in biblical Hebrew, but it is standard in ancient Aramaic. - "One who enters," a participle. The root is :J1l1' (as in Ugaritic and in Akkadian). This begins a new section which may have to do with any who would dare to enter the temple precincts to places normally forbidden to laymen. n"o - This orthography instead of the original n"Jt¥ (2 Kgs 11:8, 15; 2 Chr 23:14) reflects the adoption of 0 (which had lost its distinctive pronunciation from the second millennium BeE) in place of 'iV, probably to avoid confusion with 1Zl. The inscription gives a minimum date to this orthographic change. The vocable m,o refers to some kind of architectural feature of the temple and its colonnade courts. p'" - According to the context p'7' is derived from 1''7=211'7; cf. Ps 91:1: :Jl!!'

l"7t', "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of Sadday"; Job 39:28: Y?9, lW Y?9" "It lives on 'JW

the rock and makes its home in the fastness of the rocky crag." However, these biblical verb forms are reflexive Hilp6lel. Since the Ammonite form attested here has no reflexive -t- perhaps one should compare forms from the G stem (Qal). Of special interest is 1 Chr 9:27: nt:J':;191, "And they would spend the night around the house of God." The Ammonite form would thus be third masculine plural with the final -n as in line 2. So in Massoretic terms, one would read p'7', yallmin $addzql[ml, "the righteous (will) dwell (in the colonnaded halls)." "[lI')n] - Restoration according to the context. The verb would have to be transitive because of the following direct object. n",n - The n is an apocopated accusative particle. The initial N has been lost as has the presumed definite article. This phenomenon occurs in Punic and Neo-Punic, e.g. from Carthage, 1:JNn, "the stone" (accusative; KAI, No. 79:7-8). It also occurs in a Bar Kochba letter: ' 7Y 'IN "I call the heavens to witness concerning me" No. 43:3). The same process is at work in modern street Hebrew. n",n "[lI')n] - Evidently a double door, a door with two panels. Cf. Ezek

n777 n,n?7 'Ot¥1

41:23-24:

.1Zl 7'P?1

07t1t¥1

"The nave and the holy place had each a double door; the doors had two leaves apiece, two swinging leaves fOf each dOOf," et al.

361

362

AMMON -

Two architectural terms. For the first, d. 1 Kgs 7:20:

rl'lJ':li

"The capitals were on the two pillars and also above the rounded projection that was beside the lattice work." [The LXX renders by 'tQ) mXXEt, "the thickness." The second term, i11:l, is probably from the root but its meaning here is obscure. t:lt,N 7:l:l 17MWM Ml[M] - If the restoration is correct, then it would attest the use of the presentation particle ilm in Ammonite. The context, however, might admit of various other restorations so it would be premature to assert the presence of this isogloss. 17MWM - From the root 17nw, "to fear." It is attested in Ugaritic as ST c; and for biblical Hebrew, d. Isa 41:10: 17l!1t¥D "do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God." This verb evidently governs its object by the use of the preposition -:J. Perhaps this is due to the preposition having the meaning "from," as in Ugaritic and Phoenician. The passage is a call to fear the "sons of God." Cf. Lev 19:14: "you shall fear your God. I am YHWH." t:lt,N 7:l - "Son(s) of the gods." It is impossible here to determine whether the singular or the plural is meant. In Phoenician one finds 07N T:J " 7:l1, "and all the generation(s) of the sons of the gods" (KAI, No. 26: A, III, 19) and also in U garitic, dr bn :Jil, "the generation of the sons of El" (KTlP 1.65:2). In these latter texts, dr can also mean "assembly." Line 7 is too badly damaged to permit any reasonable attempt at interpretation. [,M':lt, t:I]t,w, ,t, t:lt,w - "Peace to you and pea[ ce to your house]" would be a fitting conclusion to the inscription. Puech suggested the restoration [OJ7W'. For this blessing, d. 1 Sam 25:6: O;7W '97 7':li O;7W O;7W "Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have." At the beginning of this line there is a word divider and there may have been another letter between it and the tV of O,7W. S. H, Horn, "The Amman Citadel Inscription," BASOR 193 (1969), pp. 2-13; F. M. Cross, "Epigraphic Notes on the Amman Citadel Inscription," BASOR 193 (1969), 13-19 = Leaves, pp, 95-99; W. F. Albright, "Some Comments on the Amman Citadel Inscription," BASOR 198 (1970), pp. 38-40; R. Kutscher, "A New Inscription from Rabbath-ammon," Qadmoniot 5 (1972), pp. 27-28 (Hebrew); E. Puech and A. Rofe, "L'inscription de la citadel d' Amman," RB 80 (1973), pp. 531-546, pI. XX; K. P. Jackson, The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age, Chico, CA 1983, pp. 9-33 (with bibliography); Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 154-163 (with very detailed bibliography).

TELL THE TELL SIRAN BRONZE BOTTLE INSCRIPTION

This eight-line inscription incised on the side of a bronze bottle (10 cm high) was found during excavations at Tell SIr an, on the campus of the University of Jordan in Amman. Palaeographic considerations suggest a date of c. 600 BeE (Cross).

Tf. Tf. l"InWN' -

'.0

T

:

l"I)W, C::l, l"Ibi"::l: T: • l"I'jinl

T:J

T:J ,nl"lNil' .l"I)".il' .C':>il l"InWN'

'"''

l"I)W, C:J,

l"Ijin,

The work(s) of cAmminagag king of the Ammonites the son of Hi99iPei king of the Ammonites son of cAmminagag king of the Ammonites: the vineyard and the garden and the tunnel/ channel(?) and the reservoir. May be rejoice and be happy for many days and in years far off - Deed or work; d. Job 34:25: "their works," without /:tatap-pata/:t with the 37, but also Dan 4:34: "His works." The preference for this form instead of or indicates a close affinity to Aramaic, or Aramaic influence, maybe even a loanword from Aramaic. For the absence of a mater lectionis denoting the construct plural, note that it is also absent from "sons of cAmmon" (lines I, 2, 3). A frequent name in the later Ammonite dynasty. It is mentioned in two seal inscriptions: :J1m37 "Belonging to :l\}onipelet servant of CAmmlnagag" (WSS, No. 858) and :J1m37 1:J/37 "Belonging to :lAgomnur servant of CAmmmagag" (WSS, No. 859). This cAmmlnagag is a descendant of the CAmmmagag (Amminadbi) who was mentioned in the inscriptions of Ashurbanipal (ANET, p. 294). "Sons of CAmmon." Plural construct without mater lectionis in all three

363

364

AMMON

occurrences here, and also in the Amman Theater Inscription (cf. infra, p. 367). ?N?'!ti'l - For this personal nalne, cf. Hebrew 1i'1":li1 attested in seals, in the Lachish Letters (supra, p. 56), and on an ostracon from l:forvat cUzza (supra, p. 167). This personal name confirms that there was an H causative (HifCil) although its vocalization is unknown. The transcription in the translation above is simply based on Tiberian vocalization. m.:\m - Like all the itenls in this list (except the last) the definite article is enlployed, as in Hebrew rather than Aramaic. This form could also be plural. Several vocalizations are possible, *ginnat (singular), *ginnot, *gannot (plural).

TELL SfRA.N

,

u)

0\ (

'1 4

t 1 0.1

(j

J '1 u 4 9 0

Dfl'jILt:

T' t \ 1\ I t11 T \ )

1'1

.t H w 1''''-

;'?11'iT t l .,n1'1Nin - Many are the suggestions to interpret this term (d. DNWSI, pp. 132133). As it stands it would appear to be a noun with prosthetic N and perhaps reflexive -t- infix. The context, followed by a term concerning water installations, suggests some cOlUlection with Aldcadian bararu and baCt, "to dig," for which Hebrew also has a cognate noun, .,'n, "hole." 1'1nW2'n - This final element lacks the definite article, possibly due to scribal error. It is evidently identical to the mWN in the Mesha c Inscription (lines 9, 23), meaning "water reservoir" (infra, p. 393) But note the absence of the internal , which may suggest the reduction of some internal diphthong. Perhaps this fonn with final1'1 is plural but it could also be feminine singular with preservation of the final1'1 as in Moabite and Phoenician. Ben-Sira 50:3 speaks of n'WN tP::l where the LXX has AalCOC; COaEt 8uAuaallC; TO "a reservoir in circumference like the sea." The term mWN also occurs in the Copper Scroll from Qlunran (M. Baillet, J. T. Milik and R. de Vaux, Les 'petites grottes' de Qumrein [DJD III], Oxford 1962, pp. 289, 291, 295, 297). In Mishnaic Hebrew, n'WN or n'w. ",,' -The verb forms are both G stem (Qal). The mode is surely jussive. Note that the first verb is not introduced by' so it can hardly be preterite. Jussive is the only reasonable interpretation. The first verb is probably vocalized *yagll (= Hebrew yagel). The use of this verb pair is a conlmon literary device; in the Bible note Isa 25:9; 66:10; Joel 2:21, 23, et al., and also in the Ugaritic texts. 1'1i'n., mw, O::l., - The two adjectives prove that the first temporal expression is masculine while the second is feminine. The form has undergone assimilation to mw.

365

366

AMMON

- The plural of tJ" with n- occurs in the Hebrew construct twice in the Bible: Deut 32:7: "'l ,'1 niJo/ U':;1 tJ?i17 ":>T, "Remember the days of old; consider the years of past generations," and Ps 90:15: niJo/ mIl?pW, "Make us glad according to the days you have afflicted us, the years we have seen evil"; d. biblical Aramaic n7fi', "in past days" (Ezra 4:15, 19). Akkadian sometimes employs forms like umtit (construct); note also in Phoenician: mJlV' '71'Jtn:llV "the days of Siptl-baCI and his years" (KAI 7:5) and in Ugaritic: lymt. sps. wyrb/ wnCmt . snt . Jil, "For the days of the sun and the moon and the pleasantness of the years of EI" (KTLP 1.108: rev. 26-27). It is also commonplace in Mishnaic Hebrew. The orthography with, suggests the preservation of the original diphthong, -aw. It is likely that the Ammonites vocalized *yawmot. nllV - Represents the original North West Semitic (and general Semitic) form of the plural for this word. Note Akkadian santitu, "years." The more common Hebrew forms and are all hybrids, the result of word pair assimilation. Except this time the plural morpheme of "years," tJ'-, is borrowed from" days." Furthermore, the usual Hebrew plurals for" days," viz. and are the result of partial assimilation. The original with a diphthong (d. Aramaic), has borrowed the vocalization from san-/sana(t) (or of *sant > satt, sat). All this was pointed out by J. Barth ("Formangleichung bei begrifflichen Korrespondenzen," in C. Bezold (ed.), Orientalische Studien Theodor NOldke ... gewidmet . .. II, Giessen 1906, pp. 790-791). - Masculine plural adjective written 4efective without a mater lectionis, as often in ancient epigraphy. ni'n, - In Massoretic Hebrew this would be r31;0qot. If it were clear that the "Canaanite shift," a > 0, had taken place in Ammonite, then here we would have to note that the form is written defectively, without internal matres lectiones. Cf. the similar expression in Ezek 12:27: tJ'lW?1 tJ':;1j "for many days (from now) and for distant times." Note the Akkadian [in]a umf{m} ulutim ina sanatim ruqtitim, "[I]n former days, in far off years" (W. L. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature, Oxford 1960, p. 155:1; d. CAD S/ 2, p. 205a).

mn

For mJlV II d. Deut 32:7, Ps 90:15 (both cited above); for tJ'JlV II d. Gen 1:14: 1'iJ}, "and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years," and Job 32:7: 11"')" J',} "Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom." For II (construct) mJlV, d. e.g.

"'l ,.,

Ps 61:7: "OiJo/ "You will prolong the king's life; his years will be as many generations"; Ps 77:6: niJo/ 'J:I:tWTJ, "I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago"; Prov 3:2: niJo/1

THE AMMAN THEATER INSCRIPTION Oi?W, "For length of days and years of life and peace will they add to you"; Prov 10:27: mi1' "The fear of YHWH prolongs (one's) days, but the years of the wicked will shorten"; also Isa 38:10; Ps 90:10; Job 10:5. Scholars have rightly compared this inscription with the words of Ecd

'7 'D'W¥ '7 O'l:1# '7 'l:171·Fl "I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees." Likewise, Meshac, king of Moab, boasted of his building projects, especially his water installations (d. infra, p. 393). The style of this text is different from that of the autobiographical display inscriptions of the ancient Near East. It resembles more closely the descriptions of public works carried out by Judaean kings, e.g. Uzziah (2 Chr 26:10), and Hezekiah (2 Kgs 20:20). It is as if the present text is quoting from some archival document of the Ammonite royal house. The inscription provides three generations of Ammonite kings, one of which, cAmmlnaga"Q I (line 3), who was contemporary with Ashurbanipal, king of Ashur (d. supra). 2:4-5: ?f

H. H. Thompson and F. Zayadine, "The Tell Sir an Inscription," BASOR 212 (1973), pp. 5-11; eidem, "The Ammonite Inscription from Tell Siran," Berytus 22 (1973), pp. 115-140; F. M. Cross, "Notes on the Ammonite Inscription from Tell Siran," BASOR 212 (1973), pp. 12-15 = Leaves, pp. 100-102; C. R. Krahmalkov, "An Ammonite Lyric Poem," BASOR 223 (1976), pp. 55-57; K. P. Jackson, The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age, Chico, CA 1983, pp. 35-44; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 203-211 (with bibliography); K. Beyer, "The Ammonite Tell Siran Bottle Inscription Reconsidered," in Z. Zevit et al. (eds.), Solving Riddles and Untying Knots: Biblical, Epigraphic, and Semitic Studies in Honor of Jonas C. Greenfield, Winona Lake, IN 1995, pp. 389-391. THE AMMAN THEATER INSCRIPTION

This a small fragment of an inscribed piece of basalt discovered in the Roman theater of Amman. It evidently dates to the end of the sixth century BeE. [ ... the house of] Bacal will I build [ ... ] ] i1):lN .0":."

- -

••

[

]i1):lN ,Y:l [ [

[ ... ] the sons of CAmm[on (?) ... The conjectured nJ presupposes that the construction of a temple to Bacal is the object of the following verb. m:lN - Evidently the first construct state of the Qal stem. The final i1 is only

'31:l[ -

367

368

AMMON

partially preserved but it seems certain. It thus stands as a mater lectionis for the final vowel. This should assure that the fonn is present-future (ilnperfect) or else cohortative. Better than restoring "son of cAmnllnagag" rather than 'tV as Fulco proposed); d. the former inscription. F. M. Cross, "Epigraphic Notes on the CAmman Citadel Inscription," BASOR 193 (1969), pp. 13-19 = Leaves, pp. 95-99; idem, "Ammonite Ostraca from Heshbon: Heshbon Ostraca IVVIII," AUSS 13 (1975), p. 11 = Leaves, p. 76; W. J. Fulco, "The Amman Theater Inscription," INES 38 (1979), pp. 37-38; idem, "Review of Jackson: The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age," CBQ 48 (1986), p. 536; K. P. Jackson, The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age, Chico, CA 1983, pp. 45-49; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 203-211 (with detailed bibliography). AMMONITE-ARAMAIC INSCRIPTION FROM AMMAN

This is a two-line inscription incised on the base of an Alnmonite statue found at Amman. The beginning of each line is missing. The personal names and the find spot point to an Ammonite origin but the text is in an Aramaic script and the Aramaic word i:l, "son," is used instead of the usual Ammonite p. The statue has been dated on historical grounds (the onOlnastics) to the eighth century BCE (Zayadine) but on palaeographical grounds to the seventh century BCE (Albright), though Herr (cited by Aufrecht) would argue for an eighth century

AMMAN

dating on the basis of the 7, the " and the n. Peuch claims that the iconography and palaeography point to the mid-seventh centulY BeE. The ensuing transcription is based on the most recent collation and publication by Zayadine . . . . M:J]SW ([Sta]tue? of) Yarlfcazar

::mzj •

T

'!l ':::l[T -

".-

'T:l7n,"

,tv[

:Jltv ,:J ,:;,[

son of Za ]kkur son of Sanib - This suggestion, by Starcky, assumes that the word frequently used in Phoenician texts for "votive statue" fits the context. ii17Mi' - "The moon god has helped." Cf. Phoenician ji17mtVN, Eshmuncazar, "the god Eshmun has helped." The proto-Sem.itic d [dh] is represented by T as in Hebrew and Phoenician, but also as in very archaic Aram.aic. i::l - The Aramaic for" son." In Amlllonite, the standard word is 1=1 as in Hebrew and Phoenician even on the Anllllonite ostracon from Calah (Tell Nim-

369

370

AMMON rfrd). The Aramaic word here might be taken as simply Aramaean influence but it is also possible that the language is actually Aramaic. ';:'[7] - This is certainly the most likely restoration. The name, especially with the vocalization Zakkfrr, is well attested in Hebrew (Num 13:4 et al.). The ruler of Hamath (KAI, No. 202 A:1, 2; B:7) comes to mind. Other vocalizations are also possible. :mv - Zayadine was certainly correct in comparing the name with ISanibu, the king of Ammon, in the inscription of Tiglath-pileser III dating to 734-732 BeE (ANET, p. 282). But if the actual persons were identical, then one would expect the title "king." Does this text really provide two more names of Ammonite kings? Is the inscription really in Ammonite, or is it in Aramaic? The statue is obviously a votive object dedicated to a temple. G. L. Harding, "A Find of Great Archaeological Interest and Importance: Unique Statues of the Iron Age Discovered at Amman," The Illustrated London News 216 (1950), pp. 266-267; W. F. Albright, "Notes on Ammonite History," inR. M. Diaz (ed.), Miscellanea Biblica B. Ubach, Barcelona 1953, pp. 135-136 (reprinted in L. T. Geraty and L. G. Herr [eds.], The Archaeology of Jordan and Other Studies Presented to Siegfried Horn, Berrien Springs 1986, pp. 503-509); F. Zayadine, "Note sur l'inscription de la statue d' Amman J. 1656," Syria 51 (1974), pp. 129-136, pIs. III-IV; J. Starcky, "Note additionale," Syria 51 (1974), p. 136; K. P. Jackson, The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age, Chico, CA 1983, p. 6; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 106-109 (with detailed bibliography).

The ostraca were found in the excavations at Tell l:iisb§n, the site of biblical Heshbon. The content of the texts is administrative, lists of names, commodities and quantities. Some of them are badly effaced and some are unreadable. Although the texts were found in Heshbon, which is associated with Moabite territory, their script is clearly Ammonite. Their definition as Ammonite depends entirely on the palaeography (contra U. Hubner, "Die ersten moabitischen Ostraka," ZDPV 104 [1988], pp. 68-73). They date to the late seventh or early sixth century BeE.

OSTRACON

No.1

The ostracon contains eleven lines of text. It is dated to the late seventh or the early sixth century BeE. [To] the king, 35 (measures) of grain [ ... ]

TELL I;:IISBAN

] 35

] 8

Tf. ...

,12 liN:') :

-

to

II

[ ]T' :

]1 2 1I!l niN ,2 liN:') [ ]' :

-

-T

: :

] III ,..... 1 ';:)N ] II III III 1=1 'N:::11)" [ ]T' '];:)N II""" liN;:)) ]1 II 11:::1 niN II liN;:)) [ ] '

5

371

372

AMMON.

]7

],

50

]

10

22

6 24

8

,NW1 9

P P

lVN - 11

]lV37:J' ] 1'1:1:1, II 1" III III II III III 1" III NlV' :11'1'" III III III III 1'1:1 n1N [

10

and 8 small cattle [ ... ] and to Nagali'el son of NacamJel from [ ... ] To Z[ ... ] from JElat 12 (containers of) gum, [x containers of] grai[n].

TELL I:IISBAN To [ ... ],2 (containers) of g'um, a two-year-old cow and [ ... ]. To Bacsa[=:t 50 shekels of silver he gave to [ ... ]. 22 (jars of) wine and 10 small cattle [x measures of] fine flour. 8 (jars of) wine and 6 (measures of) grain. To Ya!lQ, hay, 24 (measures of) grain. 9 small cattle. A three-year-old cow. - Evidently to the Ammonite king. Placing the king at the head of the list shows clearly that it is a list of payments (shipments) rendered to dignitaries of the realm. Such lists are known frOln Late Bronze Age Ugarit and Iron Age Assyria as well as elsewhere. The recipients are listed in descending order of rank, starting with the king. All of the people listed here must have been important officials having some authority in the state. - Grain (wheat). Cf. the narrative of Joseph in Egypt, Gen 41:48: nl$

1m iJ't,I:J':;l9

"He gathered up all the food seven years ... and stored up food in the cities; he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it"; and further on, Gen 41:49: iN?? m;niJ "So Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea." In both passages, Targum Onkelos uses "harvest grain." In Ugaritic :Jakl is paralleled by l:ztt, "wheat" (KTU21.14: II, 29-29). 35 - The numerals seem to correspond to the standard Phoenician set, viz. I for units, -- for tens with two dashes; t joined by a diagonal for 20. This is unlike the Hebrew method of using Egyptian hieratic numerals. - The preposition here and in subsequent lines justifies its restoration at the head of line 1. Cross admitted that it must designate here the recipient of the commodities. - "From :lEla!." Note the orthography of the place name without'. It is an open question whether the Elath on the Red Sea, known from biblical history (e.g. 2 Kgs 16:6), is meant or another, homophonous, toponym located somewhere in the Ammonite kingdom. - An aromatic gum used in the making of incense (Astragalus tragcautha or Astragalus gummifer); d. Gen 37:25: "gum, balm, and resin"; Gen 43:11: "a little balm and a little honey, gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds." n'N - "Young cow," cognate with Akkadian arbu and U garitic :Jrb, "cow," and Arabic t) earbu), "young bull," and 4..:;.,) earbat), "heifer." ...

373

374

AMMON II

1'1:: - Literally "daughter of two (years)"

=

"two years old." Cf. Lev 14:10:

"and a female lalllb one year old"; Lev 23:12: p "a male lamb one year old." - The restoration seems certain. This nallle is not only identical with one of the kings of Israel (1 Kgs 15:27 ff.), it is also the name of a ninth century BCE Ammonite king in the Kurkh inscription of Shalmaneser III, viz. IBa:Jasa mar Ruhubi mat Amanaia, "Ba:Jsa son of Ra}:l6b, the Ammonite" (Kurkh Stele, II:95; A. K. Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC (858-745 BC) II, Toronto 1996, p. 23). - The Phoenician particle equivalent to the Hebrew with the same meaning and functions. The use of the Phoenician particle goes well with the Phoenician numerical system used here, and testifies to Phoenician influence. 7" - The lack of consonantal" testifies to the contraction of the diphthong, thus l'" even in the absolute state. This is an isogloss with Northern Israelite Hebrew and Phoenician as well as U garitic. 1'1::::' - This is clearly Hebrew IJ121126t. Cross noted that the meaning is "finest flour," like Arabic (libfibat); in Syriac starch is called lebba:J literally "the heart of the wheat./I The P121126t, then, were cakes or pancakes made from the inner (the heart of) wheat kernels, the best; d. mJt\

2 Sam 13:8: 1'1t:t:;J7iJ 7W:;;)T;'l1 W?I;:lj "And she took dough, kneaded [it], made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes." The term la121126t designates the quality, not the shape of the cakes. Grass or hay for fodder.

-

F. M. Cross, "Ammonite Ostraca from Heshbon: Heshbon Ostraca IV-VIII," AUSS 13 (1975), pp. 1-20, pI. I = Leaves, pp. 70-79; K P. Jackson, The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age, Chico, CA 1983, pp. 51-52; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 214-219 (with extensive bibliography). OSTRACON

No.2

An administrative text on which only the right-hand vocables of four lines have been preserved as the ink on the left side had been rubbed away. It dates to the beginning of the sixth century BCE. Figs [... ]

] ]

] ]

..

:

] O,::ln . T-:

] iNn iNn

] ] o':::1n

TELL I:fISBAN

Figs from [... J Work animals [... J Ropes [... J The masculine singular collective; d. Arabic l»! (tin). The Hebrew singutJ::Jenal1; the plural is t : Jeni111. lar is felninine Q'U7:l- Plural (without mater lectionis for -im) of (Gen 45:17 et al.). jNn -

J

F. M. Cross, "Heshbon Ostraca XI," ALlSS 14 (1976), pp. 145-148 = Leaves, pp. 79-81; K. P. Jackson, The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age, Chico, CA 1983, p. 53; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 245-246 (with extensive bibliography). OSTRACON

No.3

375

376

AMMON

This osh'acon from I:iisban contains a list of names followed by amounts. It dates palaeographically to the mid-sixth century BeE or the third quarter of that century. LODeS [so]n of [ ... ]

]

] 1[ ] wii, p Oi'N

Wlj,

],[ ]1n

],[ ]1n

]P

] 1:1

]

] 'N:J,6 j:j 1

I i1N'N iPJ

1

I pi:1 :11J'N

I :1:\W7;)n 1:1 Wi£)

1 1

N[ 1

'PW

i![¥ j[

1 2

]P

I 'NW7;)W P N[ I ,pw P iT[ I

1:1 1[

]

10

II "JJ:1 '[

]P

JEllram son of HW[ ... ]L[ ... ] cAzarJel son of [... ] JElcazar son of MalkPel [ ... ] Naqqur (son of) JEllJ or 1 JElnagaQ (son of) Baraq 1 Peres son of I):amfsagaQ 1 [ ... P son of SimsfJel 1 [CA ]zzur son of Saqfl 1 [ ... ]n son of CAqquQ 1 [ ... Je]l (son of) Binnam 2 [ ... Pel q[ ... ] [ ........... ] [ ... ] to Bo9ra

um, - The reconstruction as an active participle, Lol:tes, follows Cross's suggestion and assumes that the shift of a> 6 has taken place in Ammonite (D. Sivan "On the Grammar and Orthography of the Ammonite Findings," UF 14

TELL I;-IISBAN

[1982], p. 226); L6}:les may be a "charmer." In any case, if the interpretation is correct, the long 0 is not indicated by a mater lectionis. This is either ::JEllram, as in Hebrew, or ::JElfrom, as it probably would be in Phoenician. The long avowel in middle weak verbs is one of the few cases in Hebrew where the shift to 0 does not take place.

C"'N -

-

Without any mater lectionis for the presumed long 1.

"i'J - Presmnably Naqqur, "One whose eye has been gouged out" (Cross). Cf. the siege of Jabesh-gilead by Na}:lash, king of the Ammonites, who gave as the condition of a vassal treaty, 1 Sam 11:2: nN'T:p

377

378

AMMON

.,.

i' , .. " L

, -,\

'¥ 10

.... "

,., '" '" 4t- ,",," " .,) I '(" i It)'

I :I" '*''1'" )' 'AI /

,

"

I ,\1 " /1

. ,., ,,, L

"But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, 'I will make a out of the right eye treaty with you on this condition, with the gouging of everyone of you.'" "N'N - :>Elf:>6r, but without' as mater lectionis although there is a , in the second component. Cf. "N:J'P in Arad No. 24 (supra, p. 127). If this interpretation is correct, then the use of , for internal long 6 is remarkable just as in Arad No. 24. 'IJ).,tl - Probably related to the term for "horseman," but compare the personal name (1 Chr 7:16). - I:iami'sagaQ, without mater lectionis. - SimsPel, again without mater lectionis. - An archaic form of biblical il':J¥#, thus Cf. feminine nouns in Moabite, Phoenician and Aramaic. The place concerned here is probably not the BO$rah in Edom but rather a place near Heshbon. There was a located in the northern tableland of Moab, probably the il':J¥# of Jer 48:24. In any case, the name BO$rah may be associated with grape picking rather than forti-

TELL EL-MAZAR

fication Cf. the prophetIc play of the name of the Edomite in Isa 63:1: o''JP 1'9 i1! "Who is this that comes from Edom, from Bozrah in garments stained crimson?" K. P. Jackson, The Ammonite Language of the Iron Age, Chico, CA 1983, pp. 53-54; F. M. Cross, "Unpublished Ammopjte Ostraca from Hesban," in L. T. Geraty and L. G. Herr (eds.), The Archaeology of Jordan and Other Studies Presented to S. H. Horn, Berrien Springs 1986, pp. 475489 = Leaves, pp. 81-85; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 321-325 (with extensive bibliography).

OSTRACA FROM TELL EL-MAZA.R At Tell el-Mazar in the Jordan Valley, about three kilometers north of Tell Deir CAlla, some ostraca were discovered. Some were in Aramaic and others were Ammonite according to the script. Two of the Ammonite ostraca are presented here. Note also the personal name, Milkomlt, in Ostracon No.7 below. OSTRACON

No.3

An Ammonite ostracon from the first half of the sixth century BeE. A letter ostensibly between two brothers but perhaps just between two men of equal social status, who thus address each other as "brother." The text concerns a loan of a borrowing against a pledge. Message: Pelet says to his brother, to cA1?da :::le[l] iJ-: ']Ni:J37' ..: : -: ilnN' ·0.· T:

-

T

... ...

•..

]N':J37' .iJnN'

C'lP r113?tp ,97 ]N:J

[

lr1N 1'1'37'(1) 1'137' r1N 0''(1) ]'37:J .r1:J'(1)' .1'1'37'(1) l' ]N .11'1 fly, ]N:J :1'(1)" [

Be well! And now, a she-goat will I give to you to remain as a pled[ge] and now, give to Pelet [your] bro[ther] [ ... ] he will return in the [ ... ]

- One can read as presented in the translation, or "message of Pelet. He said." For the brief introductory formula, like that in the inscriptions from Kuntillat CAjrftd, d. supra, pp. 315, 320, and on the Edomite ostracon from l;Iorvat cUzza, d. supra, p. 351. l'1MN - The possessive suffix is i1 which suggests several possibilities. If the i1

379

380

AMMON

did not carry a vowel (since there is no mater lectionis), then either *-lh < *-fhi or *-t1h < *-t1ha. But if it can be supposed that the j) did have a vowel that is unmarked in the orthography, then most likely *-mii. liN

C?W[i"I] -

A typical formula for well wishing; d. 2 Sarn 20:9: NW7¥}!,2

'1}1$ i1Ol5 tli?WL!, "Joab said to An"lasa, 'Is it well with you, my brother?'" Note the

saIne formula on an ostracon from .f:Iorvat CUzza (supra, p. 351). Note the orthography without a final mater lectionis. Does this mean that the form was *:Jat? Or did they still pronounce *:Jatta without n"larking the final vowel? The same question arises with regard to l' in line 3. Was it as in biblical pausal forms, or without a mater lectionis as in Massoretic context liN -

TELL EL-MAZAR

forms? Cf. supra, p. 4. nl'i And now," again a standard fonnula for introducing the main subject of a letter, or a main pericope of a letter. As in the Lachish and Arad letters, the orthography lacks a final mater lectionis. Did they pronounce *cat or *cet or did they add an adverbial vocalic marker without indicating it in the orthography, e.g. Cattail as in Tiberian Hebrew? Cf. supra, p. 60. n,l'W Various proposals have been made for this form, usually taking it as a feminine plural of i1,'l'\?" "barley." However, there is no stipulation of a specific amount so "barley" is unlikely. The best solution is to take this as a reference to "she-goat" (Lev 4:28; 5:6). Since no numeral is written, it should be assumed that only one animal is being given. As in other Canaanite dialects, the feminine singular has -at, unlike Hebrew -a" which has dropped the final n except in construct. lnN There is no way of determining the modal nuance of this comInon first singular verb form. It could be imperfect, "I am giving / will give," or it could be volitive, "I promise / intend to give," I shall give!" The assimilation of the first radical, the ), is like the Canaanite dialects. n:lw, - The verb ::JW' does not apply to objects in biblical Hebrew but here, since the subject is a she-goat, an animate thing, perhaps it is applicable. £1:l]'l' The restoration could just as well be [i1::J]il'. But whether the writer intended cerag6n or carubba" the meaning is clear. The she-goat is to be given as security. Tn - This imperative suggests that the preceding verb was volitive and not imperfect. Unfortunately, the commodity being asked for is not preserved in the text. - This is probably the prefix form of the root ::JiW in the causative steIn. Either Pelet is promising to return the item borrowed (less likely due to the common first singular form in line 2) or else he is saying that CAgda::>el will return the she-goat. II

Kh. Yassine and J. Teixidor, "Ammonite Inscriptions from Tell El-Mazar in Jordan," BASOR 264 (1986), pp. 48-49; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 334-337 (with extensive bibliography). OSTRACON

No.7

ostracon was discovered in a layer of mixed material from two periods, Early Hellenistic and Persian. It would seem likely that it dates to the fifth century BeE. The onomastics generally point to an Ammonite origin.

381

382

AMMON Milkomya! [... J J ... J

] n"bj'b

] n"b::>'b

] ] Nj,:J

] NON

T

BGJ[ ... J GagCazar JEPamar [... J

]

TT:'"

JOrPel [... J cr ... J Hl$$lPel J[ ... J yahoyaga C

;

:.

] Nj,:J iTj]1j,

TT:T

] It: . .

j] j]1;1il;

]N j] j];"iil" ]N"j]

CEllJel x [... J yaqam[JelJ L[ ... J

-

]'

]' [

]7.)1'''

One is inclined to read Milkomit; d. also the Moabite name 3'1'iZm:::> Salomit (1 Chr 23:9). But according to c should be read KJmosyat, the spelling systenl of the Mesha Inscription, and Milkomyat. The name of the Ammonite deity is joined to the short preterite of the verb '3'1N, "to come," thus "Milkonl has come." [ ••• ] NON Apparently a hypocoristicon unless we reconstruct [7]NON, "Go[d] has healed. Cf. NON, the name of a king of Judah. [ .•• ] N":l - The Persian word for "God" transliterated into Selnitic characters (note that we are already in the fifth century BeE). The original editors, Yassine and Teixidor, suggested that the name is Arabic. '"11:17"'1" - "Gad helped." Both components are known in personal names elsewhere but never before found together as here. The' is uncertain. - JEPalnar, or Jeleamar, without mater lectionis. - JUdJel, again without a ' as mater lectionis but with, to indicate an internal long vowel. 'N':l:iI - This name with a verbal component that is H causative, could be voHowever, it is unknown whether the nmne is calized as Hebrew, viz. really Ammonite or whether it could be Hebrew. If Amlnonite, then we do not have any proof that the thematic vowel was long I as in Hebrew. The 1 in the H causative is not shared by any other Canaanite dialects, or any other Selnitic language for that matter. The fornl could be or the like. The assimilation of the J to the following consonant is typical of the Canaallite dialects. - It is surprising to find a purely Yahwistic name in this Ammonite archaeological context. But in the Persian period there were opportunities for Judaeans to wander to foreign lands. - yaqamJel, "God has arisen," like in 1 Chr 2:41; 3:18. But the root could also be 01'), "To get revenge"; with assimilated J, "God has avenged."

(infra, pp. 387, 393) and the Levite

TELL EL-MAZAR

Kh. Yassine and J. Teixidor, "Ammonite Inscriptions from Tell El-Mazar in Jordan," BASOR 264 (1986), p. 49; Aufrecht, CAl, pp. 340-342 (with extensive bibliography); M. Heltzer, "The Tell el-Mazar Inscription No.7 and Some Historical and Literary Problems of the vth Satrapy," Tral1seuphratcl1e 1 (1989), pp. 112-118.

383

384

AMMON OSTRACON FROM CALAH

This ostracon was discovered at Calah (Tell Nimrud) in Assyria. Its script is Aramaic but according to the personal names listed on it and the use of p, "son" (instead of Aramaic i::l) it must be identified as Ammonite (Naveh). The text is inscribed on the obverse and the reverse: the obverse is on the convex side of the sherd (cols. 1 and 2) and the reverse (col. 3) is on the inner, concave, side. The date of the ostracon is the third quarter of the sixth century BeE. Obverse CoLl

.'Nlj7 j[ 'Nlj7 P 'NllM 'N'''::l P .Onl,.., NTj7 1::l ,'N::lW .'NTn p .'Nlln .Onl,.., p .N))'

j[f.

if. if. if. if. if.

Col. 2

on,.., p .1l'N 'N[ ] i::l ,1l'N P ,'N1:>T. .pn p .'N::l'l

if. ] if. if. no if.

10

Reverse

P ,Onl,.., .'N:>[ ] p ,1l'N ,""n p .::l'l"N O::l:> ,,..,n'N l11l'::l .1::l:>j7

if. if. if.

j7W"'N

Obverse Col. I

[Be]n cAna::>el I:Pnan::>el son of cAna::>el Mana}:tem son of Bayad::>el sa1?u::>el son of CUzza::> I:Pnan::>el son of I:Iaza::>el Ginna::> son of Mana}:tem

Col. 2

::>Elinur son of Ma}:tem ::>Elinur son of [ pel son of $innor Naga1?Jel son of I:Ianan

CALAH

. Obverse

Reverse (col.3)

M *Janoku > *Janoki > :lanokf. This sequence was postulated by Blau and seen as proof that the Semitic long ahad shifted to Canaanite long o. Note that in Phoenician the

-

395

396

MOAB

usual orthography is 1JN but there are a few attestations of - The biblical Hebrew form is while the LXX form is Mmaa which must represent > i.e. *Mawsi c > *Mosa c . It may then be seen as a dialectical form of the H causative participle meaning "savior." It might be that this was not his natal name but the name he adopted after he had "delivered Moab from Israel. 1::2 - This word for "son" already places Moabite in the "Canaanite" camp rather than Aramaic. - The restoration seems certain on the basis of the broken text from Kerak (d. supra). - Without a mater Iectionis; the Hebrew is and the Akkadian orthographies are usually et al., but once there is an attestation for and once for the gentilic while the LXX has These attest to > *McFab. Apparently the root is :IN' and some have suggested that the original root was which assumed to be cognate to 2. 'l::2":"1- Note that the definite article in Moabite is il, ha, as in Hebrew. The indicates an internal diphthong and the LXX form is usually with variants (Isa 15:2) and (Josh 13:9), today Olban. Scriptural references claim this town for Israel, either of the tribe of Reuben (Josh 13:17) or of Gad; it is even called Dibon-Gad (Num 33:45-46). '::2N - Note mater Iectionis for the first common singular genitive suffix, 11m '::2N - Main clause with nominal subject fronted and suffix conjugation verb; the emphasis is on his father having been king for thirty years. 1w,w - The masculine plural marker for nouns and adjectives was evidently -In (assuming that the nominative *-un had gone out of use) as in Aramaic, Mishnaic Hebrew and Arabic. Occasionally it occurs in biblical Hebrew, usually in late books (e.g. Prov 31:3: 1':;l77?). nw - "Year," as in Northern Israelite (d. the Samaria Ostraca, supra, p. 261 et al.), Phoenician, Aramaic and Akkadian. This form is *sant- > *satt- > *sat, while in Hebrew the basic form is *sanat> *sana > *sanah • 1lN' - Main clause with independent pronoun as subject, fronted and followed by a verb in the suffix conjugation. Note the person marker on the verb, " which must stand for I; this ranks Moabite with Hebrew and the Canaanite dialect reflected in the Amarna letters, e.g. nubtf, "I rested" (EA 147:56). 3. W3JN' - These short first person forms in the narrative preterit in the Meshac Inscription lend support to the contention that the zero form, including the short form in third weak verbs, was the original preterit pattern. Note the iden-

THE MESHAC INSCRIPTION

tical form in biblical Hebrew, Deut 10:3: c'tpW "So I made an ark of acacia wood." The verbal forms in this construction were not imperfect, and the 'lOa: conjunction never "converted the future to the past." The verbal form used here was derived from yaqtul+0 while the imperfect was derived from yaqtul+u. This Moabite form and its counterpart in lines 7 and 12 (d. below) attest to the originality of the short forms even for first person singular (they are standard for second and third person). - Note that, unlike Hebrew, Moabite preserved the final -t as marker of the feminine singular of nouns and adjectives. The word equals Hebrew bama", the meaning of which is still obscure. It seems to mean a platform on which an altar and / or other cultic installations were erected. There were small and large bamat including l"7?"w ''J¥f 'f, "all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria" (1 Kgs 13:32 et aI.). Bamat were usually erected outside the cities on high places (though there are examples within the towns). The term is associated with the verbs '):1, "to build" (1 Kgs 11:7 et al.), ym, "to break down" (2 Kgs 23:8; 2 ehr 31:1), and "to burn" (2 Kgs 23:15). mn - Moabite and Phoenician do not require the definite article with the demonstrative pronoun in apposition to a definite substantive. This is different from the rule in Hebrew (but cf. Cen 19:33; 24:8). nNT - The demonstrative with N as historical writing below). itn,i' - It has often been proposed that this term is cognate to Akkadian kirbu / kerbu, "citadel," but if that is true then the Akkadian term must have been qirbu / qerbu which is perfectly reasonable in cuneiform script (note the Nuzi spelling such as gi-ir-bi which can be read qi-ir-bi). If the meaning" citadel" is correct here, then the itn,i' must have been the citadel built on the acropolis of Dibon (cf. below, lines 21-22). The final it may signify aas in it:1) below (line 14); cf. it""W, in Cen 49:10, but "'W in Judg 21:21. - If the restoration is correct, then this is the name of the hamal! / bamat. For the naming of cultic installations cf. the altar in Ex 17:15: mit' "Moses built an altar and named it 'YHWH is My Banner.'" 4. - Two circumstantial clauses introduced by the subordinating conjunction, ki, with verbs in the suffix conjugation expressing completed action in the past. ')l'tvit - An H causative (Hebrew Hifcll) of a first' root, l'tv, « wyC). There is no , for the first radical so it must be assumed that the diphthong has contracted (as in Hebrew). It cannot be determined if the H causative has lengthened the

397

398

MOAB thematic vowel as in Hebrew (the long I of hollow verbs being carried over to the strong verbs). The Moabite form represents *h6si canl or * h6slcanl. Note the accusative suffix with mater lectionis, as also in Hebrew. - Plural with 1- (d. the discussion above). There is no way of knowing if Moabite shares with Hebrew the Qatal plural base for the "segholates." The Aramaic form is malMn (Ezra 4:22) while the Hebrew is maltiMm; the former is based on *malk while the latter is based on *malak. This Hebrew characteristic is apparently shared to some extent with Ugaritic. 'IN'M - Kamas showed him the downfall of his enemies; d. Ps 118:7: "YHWH is for me among my helpers; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me." Again the verb here in this text is H causative as indicated by the prefix; for the same usage, d. Ps 59:11: "God will let me look in triumph on my foes." Note the mater lectionis. 'IN'M - The H causative is an isogloss with Hebrew. The suffix conjugation here expresses past tense after the subordinating conjunction ':l; for the idiom, d. below. 'NlW - Undoubtedly a plural participle with genitive suffix, (Ps 35:19). Note that there is no internal mater lectionis for the long 6 as usual even in the Bible. There is no way of knowing whether Moabite distinguished between S ands. 5.... "N'W' - Omri is designated as "king of Israel," and his overt action against Moab is specified. The question arises as to the clause syntax of this opening statement. One solution here is to recognize the description of Omri as a nominal clause expressing past tense. This is perfectly possible as comparison with a similar statement (in the negative) dealing with contem-

porary events; d. 1 Kgs 22:48: "Now there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king." But another solution has been posed by various commentators, viz. to see the noun phrase 7NiU)' as an extraposition (casus pendens). The normal construction for extraposition is with the suffix conjugation but Gibson (HM, pp. 78, 82) cited two examples: Gen 22:24: iW1?'=;l1

WIJl] N'iJ '?DJ "His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebal:t and Gal:t.am and Tal:tash and

o¥Oi

2 Kgs 25:22:

P

"Now as for the people who were left in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of ANkam, the son of Shaphan over them." Four more examples have

THE MESHAC INSCRIPTION

been mustered by Niccacci (1994, p. 235; cf. also Niccacci 1990, pp.136-137): 2 Sam 19:41: (,,:JY',) 107?:;>' "Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and as for all the people of Judah, they brought the king on his way" (note that it is the k'tlv that has a narrative preterite while the q ri makes the correction to a suffix form); 3

"But as for the sons of 1 Kgs 12:17: Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them"; cf. also 1 Kgs 15:13; 2 Kgs 16:14. - In Moabite the root was ,JY, "to oppress," rather than Hebrew 'JY. The , is most likely original; many verbs with final' became final' in Hebrew. But note the noun "humility," which preserved the original consonant. The form here, a prefix preterite, did not elide the final radical, thus: *wayy3Cannew < *wayyuCdnniw. Cf. 1 Sam 21:14: (PiCel of 'JtVIi1JtV), "and he changed his behavior." But the Massoretic pointing is meaningless and it was proposed to change it to (cf. inter alia GKC, § 131m, n. 3; already Rabbi Yonah ibn Janal:t- [end of tenth-mid-eleventh century] in his Kitab al-Luma c, Hebrew translation Sefer HaRiqmah [ed. M. Wilenski] F, Jerusalem 1964, p. 212, observed that the, is instead of i1: "as if he said Perhaps the ,JtV', is a fossil form preserving an original , of the root 'JtV /'JtV. 1:1' l'IN - The oppression of Moab can be compared with the oppression of Israel in Egypt, cf. Ex 1:11-12: ... 'Jtv .. .in'N "SO they appointed taskmasters over them to afflict them with hard labour .... But the more they afflicted them .... " 7:1' - "Many days," with the masculine plural marker 7- (for -in; without mater lectionis; cf. the discussion above). This a very high-frequency temporal expression in the Bible, e.g. Gen 21:34: c':;J'J And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines for many days" (cf. Gen 37:34; Ex 2:23; Lev 15:25 et passim). - Circumstantial clause introduced (written with mater lectionis). The verb, is a prefix form, evidently imperfect and not preterite. The point is continuous action in the past, "Kamas was angry with his land," i.e. throughout the many days of Moab's oppression by Israel. Cf. Num 11:5: /I

i1niJ "We remember the fish which we used to eat freely in Egypt." The attitude of the national deity governs the fortunes of the nation. Kamas used Israel to punish Moab just as YHWH used Assyria to punish Israel; cf. Isa 10:5: 'ii1, "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hands is My indignation" (cf. also Isa

399

400

MOAB 36:10). The denominative verb,

"'J

(from *Japp_ < *Janp-, "nose") is stative, in

the Qal (G) stem, e.g. Ps 85:6: "'7 "W7?l:l C?1Y7iJ, "Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?"; and in. the Hitpacel, Deut 9:8: i11if' "and YHWH was angry enough with you to destroy you." - In none of the epigraphic texts (Hebrew, Moabite, etc.) is' used for the third masculine singular genitive suffix (but cf. 'Y' in the Siloam Inscription, supra, p. 22). It does seem highly likely that the suffix in Moabite is _611 < *-aw < *ahu. 6. Ml:::l Mc,n', - "And his son replaced him." This is again the narrative preterite (introduced by wa:). The stem is most likely H causative on analogy with Hebrew though the exact expression (to succeed someone in office) is not attested in the Bible. Note in the Sefire Inscription (KAI, No. 224:111: 21-22): ,7ni' ',i11, "Kill your lord and be his successor." The Arabic verb, (halala), in the first stem means "to succeed (someone in office)," and of course the (halifttl1) is the Caliph, the "successor." Mc,n', - The third masculine singular accusative pronominal suffix is represented here by if-. This has caused considerable controversy among linguists. Since this text usually indicated final vowels, one would have expected 'ifif the suffix were -ehu as would be expected in Hebrew. It might be that the final u was not yet written. This assumption is supported by the probability that even in the Bible there are still remnants of defective spelling of the u in the variation of Jcati12 and qari of certain vocables, like 1 Sam 7:9: kativ if7Y", but the qari is (representing an older form 2 Kgs 22:5: Jcativ ifln", qari « Was there a development of -ehuj*-ahu > *-aw > *-6? However, the similar accusative suffix in the Ekron inscription (cf. supra, p. 335), in a truly Canaanite and not Aramaic dialect, suggests that some Canaanite style development had taken place. Perhaps the vocalization was really *wayyablip6, or *wayya1;lipehu (the length of the thematic vowel, -i- or -1-) is impossible to determine. Ml:::l - The genitive suffix is probably 6 with if as mater lectionis. Of course, it is not known whether the short i vowel reduced to shawa in a pretonic open syllable as in Hebrew. The son in question is undoubtedly Ahab who is never mentioned by name in the inscription. NM - Defectively written, probably for N'if, hU J • m'N - Since this is apparently an expression of will, the form is probably jussive, perhaps JaCannew (cf. the discussion of the root above).

THE MESHA INSCRIPTION C

The accusative marker corresponds in form to that in Hebrew as' against other Northwest Semitic dialects. [l]!l Lidzbarski's facsimile, based on the squeeze of the stela (1898) but in his Kanaanaische Inschriften (1907), he transcribed reconstructs (without the ,). Lemaire reconstructed but I could not see a , in the photograph of the squeeze, nor enough space for more than one or two letters. does not stand by itself and must be defined by i1Til (or the like), Moreover, l1N -

-

thus i1Til d. 1 Sam 9:21: iliiJ il7¥?i, "Why then have you spoken to me in this way?" - No vowel indicator in 0' which may suggest that the plural form is like Hebrew ytlm-, and not Aramaic yom-. For the process involved, d. the discussion on the plurals of 01', yom, and ilJW, sandl (supra, p. 366). The pronominal suffix probably marks a diphthong, *ytlmtly. This is another main clause with a suffix conjugation verb but preceded by an adverbial phrase which is fronted for emphasis: "It was in my days that he spoke ...." Meshac indicates that the new king of Israel (Ahab) came to the throne after he, himself, had begun to reign. c 7. N'N' - The Mesha text was written after the annihilation of the Omrides by Jehu (842 BeE). Main clause but with prefix preterite verb to denote the development of events. For the short form of this preterite verb, d. Gen 41:22: "and I saw in my dream." For the idiom, d. Psalms 37:34: l1jf0f mnD, "You will look on the destruction of the wicked"; Ps 54:9: "And my eye has looked (in triumph) on my enemies"; Ps 112:8: "Until he looks (in triumph) on his adversaries." - Note the absence of internal' in contrast to ill1':J:J in line 25 below. The first orthography attests the contraction of the diphthong, b bet8ll, while the form in line 25 is probably a historical writing. Meshac intimates that he had enjoyed a victory, not only over Ahab, but also over his successor(s). This could include the conflict depicted in 2 Kgs 3. 0731 7N'W'" - A main clause with fronted subject for emphasis. Not only does Meshac claim victory over the royal house of Ahab, but also over his nation, thus the fronting of "Israel." The verb has to be in the suffix conjugation apparently reinforced by the absolute infinitive; d. Deut 4:26: "That you will utterly perish" (d. also Deut 8:19; 30:18); d. also 2 Kgs 9:8: 7f' "For the whole house of Ahab shall perish." 0731 - Note the defective orthography, viz. the absence of' as vowel marker.

N'N' -

J

401

402

MOAB Here, as below, this noun serves as a temporal adverb (adverbial accusative) without a governing preposition; d. Ps 89:38: C?11' 11:;': tl':nf' "It shall be established forever like the moon." ll)'" - The narrative preterite here actually begins a new paragraph because it gives background information from the reign of Omri. One might say that-here the verbal construction is expressing an anterior action. This is H causative as in the biblical examples which normally take as object a group of people, e.g. Num 32:39: nf "And (they) dispossessed the Amorites who were there." Even when the object' is a geographical entity, the intent is the \

population; d. Judg 1:27: ... iJ'Q1Jf W''J1i1 N'" "Manasseh did not drive out (the inhabitants of) Beth-shean and its villages ... ; but the Canaanites continued to live in that land." 8. Y'N - Not just the town of MahedalJa::l but also ,'w'?pi] "and all the tableland by MegalJa::l" (Josh 13:16). As for the orthography of the place name, the original form may have been an H causative participle in which the causative morpheme was the iI. The Hebrew form represents the elision of the iI with a resulting diphthong; thus the LXX form is Modern Arabic Madaba. Mll) - Narrative prefix preterite continuing the previous clause. Note the temporal adverbial accusatives, undoubtedly plural plus possessive suffix, and ilJ:J this time plural construct with final' apparently as mater lectionis (also historical writing for the diphthong). Mll) - Once again the plural marker is 1- (for -in). The time span does not match the chronological realities: Omri reigned 12 years (1 Kgs 16:23) and Ahab reigned 22 years (1 Kgs 16:29) for a total of 34 years, and considering the non-accession year system in vogue in Israel at that time, one year must be subtracted for the overlap between the two kings, leaving 33. It would appear that the forty years are the schematic number of years required to satisfy Chemosh's rage at Moab. nN'ii]

Furthermore, according to the biblical account: "Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab" (2 Kgs 1:1) and "But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel" (2 Kgs 3:5), it would appear that the expression "his (Omri' s) days and half the days of his son (Ahab)" means that Ahab died unexpectedly, he did not fulfill his normal life span. Cf. Ps 102:25: '7t; "Do not take me away in the midst of my days!" "Half" is just an expression for untimely death. The author of the Meshac text was not

THE MESHAC INSCRIPTION

precise in dealing with the reigns of Israel or the regnal years of the four kings involved. When Ahab died (at "half" his days) at Ramoth-gilead (853 BCE) it would have been an opportune moment for Meshac to revolt against Israel and throw off its yoke, and to launch his military operations against Medeba and other Israelite strongpoints in the northern tableland. 9. - The verb is narrative prefix preterite of the H causative from :J'W « IWB) with third feminine singular accusative suffix. Cf. 2 Kgs 14:22: "He (it was who) rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah" (also 2 Kgs 14:25 et al.). Meshac dutifully ascribes his victory to his deity. W17N' ••• - Two first common singular narrative prefix preterites, obviously the "short forms" (from yaqtul + 0). Since this inscription generally indicates final vowels by matres lectiones, it may be assumed that the Moabite form of these final weak verbs (third ,) ended in zero. Cf. discussion above. - In line 30 the full form of this place name is given, viz. '17:J 1'l:J as in Josh 13:17: 7i177? while Jer 48:23 has li177? and Ezek 25:9, li177? as c here in line 9 of the Mesha Inscription. The place is identified with Macfn, 8 km southwest of Medeba. mWNl"1 - Concerning this term for a water reservoir, d. the discussion about 1'lnWN in the Tell Siran bottle inscription from Amman (supra, p. 365). 10. 71'l"P - This town is identical to biblical (Kiriathaim; Num 32:37; Josh 13:19; Jer 48:1, 23; Ezek 25:9); note that the Moabite form has its locative adverbial suffix in -n and the diphthong is reduced as indicated by the absence of a mater lectionis, thus Qirytifen. Since this section of the inscription and the biblical passages associate it with towns in the north, this town must be identified with Khirbet el-Qureiyeh, 10 km west of Medeba and 15 km by the route leading past Macfn. ,,, WN' - The Moabites recognized that the Gadites had lived in CAtaro! since ancient times. WN - Note absence of internal mater lectionis. The term served here as a collective with singular verb and with singular pronominal suffix (in the next clause and in line 12). ,,, - This is the name of the ancient tribe which served in the ninth century BCE as their ethnic identification. - This is a suffix conjugation verb. It is a good example of the use of nominal subject and suffix verb to express an anterior situation. Such a construction and usage is common in biblical Hebrew, e.g. Gen 31:34: tJ';>,r;ti] ":n1, "Now Rachel had taken the household gods."

403

404

MOAB n'tJl' l"N - This area is identified by the presence of two antiquity sites, Rujm CAtaruz and Kh. CAtaruz. They correspond to 19iw (Num 32:35) and (Num 32:34) respectively, from the towns of Gad. They are located on a ridge running southwest from the watershed in the tableland of Moab. - As in line 7 above, there is no mater lectionis for the long (] vowel. The Moabites are aware that the king of Israel is the king of the Gadites and that the latter had maintained their tribal identity. For the concept "dwelling from of "From ancient times your fathers old," d. Josh 24:2: ni:Jo/' "For they were lived beyond the River"; 1 Sam 27:8: the inhabitants of the land from ancient times." n'tJl' - By fortifying this town, the king of Israel was establishing his southern frontier vis-a.-vis the Moabites to the south. 10-11. mtJl' nN t,N'W" 11t, 1:2'" - This clause, with narrative prefix preterite, is a continuation of the preceding anterior clause. The dative complement i1? has i1 to express the long (] vowel of the third masculine singular suffix. However, scholars are not in agreement about its antecedent, either "the king of Israel" or "the man of Gad." In view of the previous clause, where ,,, tvN: is fronted, it seems most likely that it is "the man of Gad" who is the beneficiary of the king's building activity. The king did not build CAtaro! "for himself." The name of the particular king is not given; was it Omri or Ahab? Surely not Ahaziah or Jehoram since the latter sought vengeance on Moab early in his reign (2 Kgs 3). 'i':2 t:lnnt,N:' - Narrative prefix preterite; the form is Gt which is the Moabite (and Phoenician) correspondent to the reflexive Nifcal, *:Jeltal:tim. That the Moabite Gt is reflexive is seen in the dative complement :J. 'i' - This word has a long vowel as demonstrated by its biblical orthographies: "j? (Isa 15:1); nfp"q "j? (2 Kgs 3:25). As usual, there is no internal mater lectionis. The word means "city, town," and it is a feminine; d. the remarks on line 12 below. mnN' - Narrative prefix preterite; this form shows that in Moabite as in Hebrew, the first radical of First Aleph verbs 'nJ) elides in first person singular prefix forms. Presumably, the prefix vowel has become long (] as in Hebrew, in which case the thematic vowel probably dissimulated from u / 0 to e or a. The third singular accusative suffix i1- is feminine in this case, thus The verb in biblical Hebrew is not used in the sense of capturing a town. t:l1'11 nN ",11N:, - Narrative prefix preterite as continuation of the previous action. The town was apparently not destroyed since Mesha c intended to settle

THE MESHA INSCRIPTION C

his own people there (see below). But the population was exterminate-d. 12. Z'1'l"1 'i'l"1Dl - There is room for the conjunction at the end of line 11 (though it is unnecessary). The meaning of this clause has been clarified by the corrected reading by Lemaire of the vocable Z'1'l"1 instead of the hapax n', which caused so much trouble to commentators in the past. The proper form, as proved by Lemaire's collation of the squeeze, is the third feminine singular of the verb "to be." The same form, n'l"1, is attested in the Siloam Inscription (d. supra, p. 22). This confirms that 'p, Qir, is feminine. The fronting of 'pl"1 and the shift to the suffix conjugation is in order to express a contrast. All the people were slain, but as for the city, it became the property of Kamas and Moab. Contrasts of this nature, expressed by a clause with fronted subject and suffix verb, are well attested in ancient Hebrew, e.g. Gen 4:2: i1+.'"' tin "Now Abel was a shepherd of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground." Z'1'l"1 - "Became the property of"; note the combination of the deity and the land just as in a Sabaean inscription: Plmqh wISb::!, "to ::JIlmuqah and to Sheba" (RES, No. 3945). - Orthographically, this first common singular narrative preterite form could represent the H causative from :J,'IV « IWB), "to return," i.e. "and I brought back. ..." But the most suitable verb here is the third weak ':JlL', "to capture, take captive." It thus joins the group of first common singular narrative preterites (short forms) in this inscription. This verb is applied not only to the capture of human beings, but also to property; d. Ex 22:9: ii1+.''J u.h:t 10: il'l: il'l: i1l;' il'l: ,iw il'l:, "When someone delivers to his fellow a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal for safekeeping, and it dies or is injured or is carried off, without anyone seeing it"; 1 Chr 5:21: "They captured their livestock: fifty thousand of their camels"; 2 Chr 14:14: :J"'? "And they carried away sheep and goats in abundance, and camels"; 2 Chr 21:17: 1'I:¥7?m 7f "And they carried away all the possessions found in the king's house." i1", '1'1:'1'1: - This is the most controversial expression in the whole inscription. The definition of 71'1:'1'1: may be achieved by comparing similar biblical references. Some passages are allusions to persons; 2 Sam 23:20 reads (1 Chr 11:22: i1fiJ ... P "Then Benaiah the son of Jehoiada killed the two (LXX oUO = the sons of) Ariel of Moab"; Isa 33:7: Ci7W i1¥D liJ, "Behold, their 'warrior(s)' cry in the streets, the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly." And of course, can

405

406

MOAB be a personal name (Ezra 8:16). In Ezekiel's vision of the altar (43:15-16) it is said:

i1j'¥¥ :Jti, i1j,¥¥, "and the altar hearth, four cubits; and fro1J1l the altar hearth projecting upward, four horns; the altar hearth shall be square, twelve cubits long by twelve wide." The is obviously a part of the altar. It is possible that this is the meaning of the metaphor in Isa 29:1-2, 7: c?im '?f

...

···'n

"Woe, 0 Ariel, Ariel the city where David camped! ... I will bring distress to Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamenting and she will be like an Ariel to me." There is no reason not to accept ", as a personal name, that of the first ruler of the Jerusalem dynasty. Cf. the discussion of the second occurrence of this name in the present inscription below concerning line 31. But scholars have had difficulty with the i1- suffix being attached to a personal name. For discussion of this phenomena, d. the instances of (supra, pp. 223-224). The present passage only places the personal possessive pronoun on the name David (",) incidentally. The suffix is really intended for the "altar hearth." This is a case of genitive suffix attached to an entire genitive phrase. Two close examples are found in Ugaritic; a declaration is addressed to Baal: tql:t . mlk clmk drkt . dt . drdrk = *tiqqal:tu mulka ctilamika darkata data dtirdtirika, "You will take your eternal kingdom, your everlasting rule (KTLP 1.2 IV, 10). The two genitive phrases appear as direct objects of the verb. One of them is a simple construct, mlk clm, "eternal kingdom," while the second is a circumlocution employing the relative pronoun, drkt dt drdr, "the rule of generation after generation." In both cases the genitive phrase is treated as a unit and the possessive pronoun is added at the end! Cogent biblical examples are Num

M'" -

4:2: "Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers'

households"; also vss. 22, 29, 34, 38, 40, 42, 46. The genitive phrase, is construed as a unit to which the genitive suffix is added. Another instance is in Mic 2:9: "her (collective) pleasant houses." Among the numerous examples in Ezekiel, note Ezek 32:27: "their weapons of war" (also 'iJ, Ezek 16:18; 20:39; 23:3; 26:11). To these may be added the references to "the mountain of his holiness" = "his holy mountain" (Ps 3:5 et al.); 'iJ, "the mountain of my holiness" = "my holy mountain" (Ps 2:6); 'iJ,"the mountain of your holiness" = "your holy mountain" (Ps 15:1). Therefore, there need be no doubt that i1", means "his / its Davidic

THE MESHAC INSCRIPTION altar hearth." The genitive suffix, ii-, can be feminine (ii,,,, Dawidtt'l) referring to the town of CAtaro! or it can be masculine (ii1", Dawidoil ) referring to the collective "man of Gad." It is perfectly reasonable to assume that these Gadites had received a cultic device from King David, the founder of the Jerusalem dynasty. 12-13. - Narrative prefix preterite with accusative suffix. For the problem of the suffix's vocalization, d. discussion above. The use of this verb indicates that the was an object of some kind. See the same action regarding cultic apparatus from Nebo (below). The use of :Jno, "to drag," conveys the humiliation suffered by the van-

ii'"

quished. Cf. Jer 22:19: :Jin!? "He shall have the burial of an ass, dragged out and thrown away outside the gates of Jerusalem"; ibid. 15:3: :J'n97 "and the dogs to drag"; ibid. 49:20 = 50:45: "surely the shepherd boys shall drag them away"; d. also 2 Sam 13:17. 13. - The object was brought into the presence of the national deity as a prize of war. Note the final vowel of the construct plural marked by a mater lectionis. 1'1"i': a town mentioned by Jeremiah (48:24) among the towns of Moab. Since the Jeremiah oracle does not seem to list the towns in a logical order, the location of Qarryo! cannot be determined. One suggestion is (Qureiyat) CAllyan, southeast of Dibon. On the other hand, there is Qureiyat, 5 km south of CAtaro!. If CAtaro! was fortified by the king of Israel as his southernmost fort, then it must have been facing Qadyo!, which was the Moabite fort marking the northern extent of Dibon's territory facing CAtaro!. Both sites had cultic installations as witnessed by MeshaCls narrative. Each shrine marked the extent of the territory of the respective deities, YHWH at CAtaro! and Kamos at Qadyo!. Another possibility is that means simply "in the city," i.e. in Dibon. ,,: - Narrative prefix preterite first common singular from the H causative stem of « WTB), "to sit, dwell," thus "I settled in it. ..." The reference is, of course, to the newly conquered CAtaro!. It had been depopulated, the city itself annexed and its main cultic apparatus dismantled; now the conqueror demonstrates his sovereignty over it by settling his own people there. 13-14. 'lVN l''IV 'lVN l'lN - These two population groups are otherwise unknown. l''IV, Saron, is known elsewhere asa geographic name but none of the places known from the Bible have anything to do with the Moabite area. 14. ,,, - The verb is a narrative prefix preterite, probably vocalized

407

408

MOAB as in Hebrew. Meshac acted on the instructions of his national deity. This was doubtless by means of some kind of oracle. This clause will be repeated farther on. The stress on divine instructions may be related in this case to the of an Israelite shrine there (d. concerning lines 17-18 below). This is the only town which was placed under the ban. The religious importance of N""Qo is surely connected with the traditions concerning the death of Moses at Mount Nebo (Deut 32:48-:-50; 34:1-5). "3.' l'IN TMN 1" - Two imperatives; the form for the verb 17i1, "to go," is bi-consonantal as in Hebrew while the first N verb is tri-consonantal. "3.' ... TMN - "To seize ... against," as an act of hostility. - Biblical t:q, with i1 as mater lectionis for long 6. For the Massoretic N a126 (as if from *NibiiW) the LXX has It was assigned to the tribal inheritance a of Reuben (Num 32:38). The name N 126 is preserved in Jebel en-Neba but the actual site of the town is not yet determined with certainty, although Kh. elMul].ayyit has been suggested. 14-15. 1"l'1N' -The preservation of the first radical in contrast to the usual Hebrew form, may be compared to the two examples in Job 16:22 and 23:8, viz. "I shall go." Note also Ex 9:23: tVtt 17L)m, "and fire ran down to the earth." On the other hand, the Moabite form might also be Picel stem, as in Ps 86:11; 142:4 and Prov 8:20. In fact, the emphasis on a night march suggests that the PiCel form is more likely. 15. n""::l - Note that the diphthong is reduced as indicated by the absence of the \ In Hebrew the construct form is but note also the absolute forms coincidentally in an oracle against Moab, in Isa 15:1: '¥ 1JW, "p 1JW, ':;> "An oracle concerning Moab, because Ar-Moab is laid waste in a night, it is undone; because Kir-Moab is laid waste in a night, it is undone." The Moabite form here has the adverbial i1- as usual in the Hebrew absolute form. This suggests that the e-vowel of the contracted diphthong was accented. 3.'i'::l- Infinitive, "the breaking of dawn." 1'I,nwl'1- "The dawn," feminine form corresponding to Hebrew 'lJWiJ. It would be interesting to know if this is a feminine -at or -it (the nisbe). The adverbial C-, -m, is surprising since Hebrew has c:jw¥ with adverbial-ayim homophonous with the dual. The adverbial suffix on place names in Moabite is represented by h evidently for -en with contracted diphthong, e.g. p,m, ll'l7:J1. The form may represent another adverbial form like (e.g. Ex 13:21 et al.).

THE MESHACINSCRIPTION 'l" n,nwl"l l"I::I onn'N' - MeshaCls attack on N't)a resembles Saul's 1i1'l:t attack on the Ammonites besieging Jabesh-gilead, 1 Sam 11:11: c·n "And they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day." Cf. also Joshua's attack on Ai (Josh 8) and against the league of southern Canaanite kings besieging Gibeon (Josh 10:9-10). All of these attacks were launched at dawn. 16. [0]':1 - "All of them," but if we prefer to read [11]':>, "all of it," then the suffix is third feminine singular; it is either a collective for the population, or more correctly, for the town as a collective. T!J'N nl'::IW - The numeral with feminine suffix used for masculine objects conforms to Hebrew usage. The plural on the numeral is with -n as above. The number is surely exaggerated, when compared with the more modest numbers used in the rest of the inscription. It is composed of two symbolic numbers, 7 and 1,000. 1'1'::1" ••• 7'::1" - Hebrew "men," and "women." The feminine of this vocable is not used in the Bible.

7'" -

Presumably garIn. This term for the young is applied in Moabite to humans whereas in Hebrew it is used only for animals, e.g. (Gen 49:9). 1'1'" - The feminine of this word is not attested in the Bible.

- Maidens. Cf. Judg 5:30: WN·'7 CD'] '?W N·'tl, "Are they not finding, are they not dividing the spoil? A maiden, two maidens for every warrior." In Ugaritic, btlt Cnt, "the virgin CAnat" (KTLF 1.6: II, 14) is found in parallelism with rbm Cnt (KTLF 1.6: II, 27). ,nwl' - A compound deity comprised of the Moabite national god K"lmas and the deity CAstar « CA!tar). CAstar is known from Ugaritic, South Arabian and Syrian sources. In the Christian "Life of St. Nilus" (fifth century CE) there is the story of Arabians making human sacrifice to Astar, identified with the morning star, Venus. That act of human sacrifice can be compared to MeshaCls sacrificing all the people of Na1?a, which was a cultic center to the rival deity, YHWH. The gender of the compound deity CAstar-Kamas is unknown. Some scholars believe that it is a goddess, the consort of Kamas, on the assumption that CAstar is a by-form of the goddess Astarte. However, in Ugaritic and in South Arabia CAstar (CAttr) was a god, not a goddess. - First common singular suffix form of the H causative in factitive usage, with third feminine singular accusative suffix. This suffix, like that on 11':> 17.

409

410

MOAB in line 16, is either collective or refers to the town as a collective. The vocalization, if Philippi's law prevailed as in Hebrew, was *halJramfiha (hilJramfiha if the causative prefix was.like Hebrew). Meshac devoted the entire populption to CAstar-Kamos. This can be compared to the complete destruction of Jericho, Josh 6:21: :J,O il1p,l i;W 'f "Then they proscribed everything in the city: men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys by the edge of the sword." It may be noted that Meshac does not mention rebuilding N't)o or resettling it in contrast to other towns which he conquered. Again the parallel with Jericho is of interest; d. Josh 6:26: l"lX:TiJ "Then Joshua made them take an oath at that time, saying, 'Cursed before YHWH is the man who rises up and builds this city Jericho'" (d. also 1 Kgs 16:34). 17-18. mM' • 1'I]X Mi'X' - The first common singular narrative prefix verb shows assimilation of the first radical, " to the second; this is another isogloss with Hebrew. Lemaire reads here "the altar hearths of YHWH." But then the clause is abnormal; it lacks the accusative particle l"lX (in either case the squeeze is badly damaged here). The passage bears witness to the cultic site of YHWH at N:1 .i1;n ."::> :I:1,i' [ J'N[

.---

]

·1:;Ij 1'JQt$ .tVN·'iJ ·

,'lt$'

i1?O .,:;> :I:1,i'[

.tl[W

]n[?]

J'N[

f[

5'

.N'''' ]n[1]

f[

.C[W

5'

420

MOAB

A ROY AL MOABITE INSCRIPTION

421

422

MOAB

[and] 1 built [ ... [and 1 took] many captives. And it is 1 who have built [the citadel of the] royal[-house] .. And it is 1 who (re)built Bet-hanYs. And with the captives of the Ammonites [1 built for the] shaft a mighty / strong gate. And the small-cattle and the cattle 5' [1 carried] there. And the Ammonites saw that they were weakened in every [ ... ] --- nN] - Only the lower tip of the leg of the Nexists, together with the legs of the :J and the ), so maybe one can reconstruct N[ in which case it tells of something the Ammonites had done. It is impossible to decide which of the reconstructions is right; I prefer the one presented in the pointed transcription and translation. For the grammatical discussion of the vocable l:IN, d. the Mesha c Inscription, line 9. 1,oN - It seems that in the preceding lost lines the inscription told of a victory over the Ammonites. For the plural marker d. the discussion on the vocable lW'w, "thirty," in the Meshac Inscription, line 2. n]N - The reconstruction fits the space of the lacuna. For n:J, d. 1 Kgs 16:18: "He went into the citadel of the royal palace"; 2 Kgs 15:25: Ti,??'W=? "And he killed him in Samaria, in the citadel of the royal palace." For as a fortified building, d. Lam 2:7: "He has handed over to the foe the walls of its citadels." WN'M nN - For the (reconstructed) vocable 1)N' d. the Mesha c Inscription, line 21. The first person marker' of 'nJ:J is written like in the Meshac Inscription. WN'M - Literally "the house/temple of the head/peak." Bet-harc?s is to be identified with Dhat Ras (its modern name is al-Ghuweir), an imposing site on the King's Highway, c. 20 km south of al-Karak. It sits perched at a height of 1,150 m above sea level governing the southern Moabite plateau. The site was inhabited since the Early Bronze Age II, with evidence of occupation from Iron Age I-II. c "N 'l'W - Reconstructed after the Mesha Inscription, 'n1:J 1)N', "And I hewed the shafts for the lines 25-26: 'N'W' '10N:J i1n1i" citadel with prisoners of Israel."

KHIRBET EL-MUDEIYINEH

- Singular for nni:l7;), "shafts," preserving the older form with the n marker for feminine. Its Hebrew cognate is the masculine form Cf. "the water citadel" of Rabbath-bene-ammon, in 2 Sam 12:27. ni:l7;) might also be a place name. One of David's "mighty men" is "the Mecharathite" (1 Chr 11:36), although in 2 Sam 23:34 the text reads "the Maachathite." The text of 1 Chr alludes to i1i:l7;) as a place name. However, the first proposal is to be preferred. Q[W "nNWl] 'i':::lm - To Bet-harc?s. Reconstruction after the Meshac Inscription, lines 30-31: [nN nYi7 'lip) nN ow NWN', "And I carried there my herdsmen [to tend to] the flocks of the land." N'''' - 7:l:J i17n ':ll7;)Y':J:J Ni" and i17n are to be taken as third person singular for 17;)Y':J:J, taken as a collective noun; Ni" is from the root i1Ni, "to see." l"I'm - "To be ill, weak"; ct. Judg 16:7, 11: o'J2$iJ 'I:I'71;l!' "I would become as weak as an ordinary man." One is inclined to add the vocable Yi, "evil, bad matter." In line 6 one can see the letters and n, but one cannot decide if they belong to the same word; there is too much space between them, enough to accommodate a word divider or separation mark. However, Lemaire suggests that they do belong to the same word and proposed to restore the word "forever." The last four letters in the line, :J:Jii', are problematic. Between the i and the :J there is a round and deep hole (c. 1 cm) that had been intentionally bored into the stone, and was taken into consideration before engraving the inscription. After the i there is another hole, maybe a separation mark, but it seems more to be a natural hole. Either we read ii', "city," like in the Meshac Inscription, line 11. In this case the first :J of :J:J would be the preposition "in." But if the said hole is a natural one, the i' would be the last letter of a lost vocable, and the following :J:Ji either a verbal form of :J:Ji, "to shoot," a partially preserved word i1:J:Ji, "myriad," or a noun :J:n, "rain, shower." S. Al:rituv, "A New Moabite Inscription," Israel Museum Studies in Archaeology 2 (2003), pp. 3-10; J. A. Emerton, "Lines 25-6 of the Moabite Stone and a Recently-Discovered Inscription," VT 55 (2005), pp. 293-303; A. Lemaire, "Essai d'interpretation historique d'une nouvelle inscription monumentale Moabite," CRAIBL 2005, pp. 95-108. AN INCENSE ALTAR FROM KHIRBET EL-MUDEIYINEH

The following inscription was discovered incised on a beautifully carved stone incense stand. The stand was one of several cultic objects found in a chamber beside the city gate of Khirbet el-Mudeiyineh on the WadI eth-Themed, at the

423

424

MOAB heart of the land of Moab, 16 km northeast of Dibon and c. 20 kIn southeast of Medeba. The script has SOl1le affinity with the incised letters of the Mesha c Stela. The language is a hybrid of Moabite-Phoenician. The inscription is written without separation dots, like Phoenician, and unlike other Moabite inscriptions. Although there are SOl1le linguistic affinities with Phoenician rather than Moabite, it is Moabite, as the detailed discussion below shows.

'P¥ n1N

'tJ)N

n1N n:::l

Incense altar which =>Elisama c made to add to the oracle house

- This is the name of the object on which the text is inscribed. Cf. Ex 30:1: "you shall l1lake an altar: an incense altar"; also 2 Chr 30:14: n1it?i??piJ 'f 0.?W1i':;J n1n:\lT?PiJ "They arose and rellloved the altars (which were) in Jerusalem; they also removed all the incense altars." Cf. also Akkadian maqtaru, and in Old South Arabic, mqtr. The two stone altars standing before the delJir, "sanctuary," of the temple at Arad were such incense stands. tvN - This relative pronoun is, of course, the relative pronoun of Phoenician where the pronunciation was evidently ::les / ::lis. This is surely evidence for the use of Phoenician in this inscription. Moabite, like Hebrew, uses the relative pronoun itvN, while All11nonite uses tv. tvl.' - This verb "to make," from the root '1ZJY, is comlllon to Moabite and Hebrew but Phoenician employs 'Y!:l. The Ammonite Tell SIran bottle inscription (supra, p. 363) has the verbal noun, which SOl1le have thought was a loan from Aramaic (neither '1ZJY nor 'Y!:l are attested so far in Alnmonite). In the present form there is no mater leetionis. The third radical has elided between two vowels, thus *casa. -A Phoenician-type Yifcil construct infinitive. The reconstruction would be *yosip /*yosep < *yawsip < *hawsip. Absolute infinitives of Prima' verbs in the Phoenician Yifcil conjugation are documented in the Karatepe Inscription, e.g. :ltv', *yosib (KAI, No. 26 A:II:18), with third plural accusative suffix O:ltv" *yosibom (KAI, No. 26 A:I:20) and 01i', *yoridi5m (Zoe. cit.). n:l - "House," i.e. bet < bayt. The diphthong has contracted. The function of the inscription would then be to indicate that the incense stand was Inade to be installed (added) to the cultic equipment of a shrine, here called a "house."

KHIRBET EL-MUDEIYINEH

A shrine for accepting oracles, that is, bet Jot, "oracle shrine." The vocable mN is perhaps a plene writing of the comlnonly attested word lliN, Jot, "sign." The second consonantal sign could be interpreted in four ways: (1) A consonantal radical; the root of this word is still uncertain and the ancient, original form might have been something like *Jmuat or plural *Jawot/*Jawat. Because of the cognate Arabic eayat), scholars have posited an original *::>awayat. The Aral1Laic cognate is NllN, Jata J (Dan 3:32-33, 6:28). A derivation from '1N seems ilnplied by the Arabic form but the preservation of the final II in the nOl1Linal form used in both Hebrew and Aramaic is suggestive of a root mN. One l1Light cOlnpare Arabic J) (qawl) = Hebrew 'iv, qol « qawl) but Aramaic qaI. (2) A consonantal radical of the diphthong, aw, i.e. *Jmut; but this would mean that the aw diphthong was preserved while the ay diphthong was reduced, as in *bet. Not il1Lpossible, but strange nevertheless. (3) A historical spelling for a reduced diphthong; the same problems mentioned in (2) mN M:! -

425

426

MOAB above would pertain; a historical spelling for aw but none for ay. (4) A marker of an original long vowel, 6 or U. The marking of an internal long vowel in a text which avoids all matres lectiones would be exceptional. The only explanation might be that the writer deemed it necessary to include a vowel marker to avoid confusion with some other vocable. The word mWN occurs in the Meshac Inscription (supra, p. 393). That, can hardly be anything but a vowel marker; and the, in the Mudeiniyeh Inscription is most likely for a long vowel for the same reason, i.e. *:JOt. The archaeological context is intriguing. The incense stand was found in a room containing other cultic artifacts, particularly other types of incense altars, etc. This cult room is located just inside the city gate. One is reminded of the verse speaking of 11.N:t 'W "the high places of the gates which were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the city gate" (2 Kgs 23:8). The purpose for such shrines was probably multifold but a special function was probably to serve the needs of the court proceedings customarily held in the gate area. It was often the case that witnesses were required to swear before the deity and on occasion the deity was probably consulted for a decision in some legal matter. People embarking on a mission, a caravan trip, etc., might also seek an oracle about the success of the enterprise. Therefore, a shrine near the gate would serve that purpose. Returning to the hybrid language of the inscription, the personal name ::>Elisamac is a common Northwest Semitic one, and does not reveal the nationality of its bearer. One might hesitatingly suggest that the craftsman who wrote the short inscription was either a Phoenician who came to reside in Moab and was influenced by the Moabite language, a Moabite who spent a long time in Phoenicia and absorbed its language, or a northern Israelite whose language was influenced by Phoenician and who later resided in Moab. All of this is speculation, of course, but one cannot read this short text without finding a challenge to imagination. P. E. Dian and M. Daviau, An Inscribed Incense Altar of Iron Age II at I;Iirbet el-Mudeyine (Jordan)," ZDPV 116 (2000), pp. 1-13, pIs. 1-2; A. F. Rainey, liThe New Inscription from Khirbet el-Mudiyineh," IE] 52 (2002), pp. 81-86; B. Routledge, A Comment on A. F. Rainey's 'The New Inscription from Khirbet el-Mudiyineh,'" IE] 53 (2003), pp. 192-195. II

II

THE MARZEAJ:I PAPYRUS *THE MARZEAI;:I PAPYRUS

A short legal document formulated as a divine decision, apparently in response to a question put to the deity. It is written in ink on papyrus and is in an excellent state of preservation. The document and the bulla that sealed it have been published only in photographs; scholars still have not had access to the original. Its exact provenance is as yet unknown, but it originated in Transjordan. Meanwhile it had been on an exhibition (by a private collector) in some cities of the USA, but scholars were denied access to the papyrus. The papyrus had been initially offered to an antiquities dealer for little money, but as it was sealed he declined the offer, to his chagrin. Later the document arrived at the laboratory of the British Museum while still sealed with the bulla. It was first opened there by experts in papyrology. Thus most scholars believe it is genuine (Bordreuil, Pardee, Cross, Al:tituv), while others (e.g. Rollston) still suspect it. A similar small document from Afghanistan, written in Aramaic on leather from the Persian period, will be published by Prof. Shaul Shaked. Palaeo graphical considerations would suggest a date in c. the seventh century BeE. Its categorization as Moabite is dependent on the form of the on the bulla that sealed the text which is typical of Moabite seal impressions.

il' .l"n1il' W7Wil

Dl PO"J.Ol On?PD 97 : .W7o/D .cry?:? POl

.17 .N1,,7 .lil7N .il:> .pn1 .Nl'W'" .n":J il':;)

Thus the gods spoke to Gera J : To you belong the marzf'l:t and the millstones and the house and Yisca J is alienated from them. And Malka J is the depositary

lrr'N - An introductory formula or announcement, common before citations of the words of a deity, e.g. 1 Sam 10:18: "Thus said YHWH, the God of Israel." It also serves to introduce a human being, e.g. Gen. 32:5: "Thus said your servant Jacob"; 1 Kgs 20:3: 1'Jq-p, "Thus said Ben-Hadad." lrr'N - Plural form with 1- as the plural suffix as in Moabite. This could be a "plural of majesty," like in biblical Hebrew, but it might also be a reference to "other gods" (Ex 20:2). Third masculine plural in conformity with the plural subject. It does

-

427

428

MOAB

THE MARZEAI:I PAPYRUS not necessarily prove that "gods" (pI.) are intended. But d. the BilCam Inscrip-

p'w "The gods tion, "First Combination," lines 5-6: have assembled and the mighty ones have fixed a date and they said" (d. infra, p. 438). In the Bible the verbs with are almost always in the singular in spite of the plural form of the noun, e.g. Gen 1:3: "And God said." Nevertheless, there are a few instances where the verb agrees with the plural nUll1ber, Gen 20:13: 'J:il'\ "When God caused me to wander"; Ex 22:8: "The one whom God condemns"; 1 Kgs 19:2: il':;) pnt;>' il':>! "So may God do to ll1e, and 1110re also" (sill1ilarly 1 Kgs 20:10); d. also Josh 24:19: l'\1i1 tl'W"i7 "For He is a holy God"; 1 Sa11117:26, 36: "the living God." It would seem that in biblical Hebrew, the plural verbs were suppressed in favor of the singular to prevent any thoughts of polytheism. Cf. '0 "the living God" (2 Kgs 19:4, 16; Isa 37:4, 17); and il':;) il':>! '7 "So may God do to me, and 1110re" (2 Kgs 6:31). and the dual marker of pniil, also h Inatch The plural ll1arker h of the plural and dual ll1arkers of the Mesha c Inscription and of the DeiI' cAlla Inscription, and are in accordance with the Transjordanian origin of the document. l'\i" - Thus Cross, Bordreuil and Pardee insist on reading l'\iO. The biblical personal name, l'\ij" is well attested. "(Belonging) to you"; d. Ps 74:16: '17 tli' '17, "Yours is the day, Yours also the night"; Ps 89:12: fjt$'17 '17, "The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours." - Revelry, a ceremony, ll1ainly a banquet, associated with funerary rites;

1"

d. Jer 16:5: tliJ? Onld "Do not enter the house of 1110UrlUng (LXX 8iucrov), or go to lalnent, or bell10an them"; and JT Berakhot 3:1

(6a=25): 1il "PD l'\i':l7T 'i, "Rabbi Zeci'ra, when he was about to die, comll1anded and said: '(After my death) do not receive today mourning for me tOlnorrow revelers' (with a banquet) wakes (ill'\i:Jil n":l70, "meal of comfort") which could turn into profligacy" (d. Am 6:7: tl'mi9 "banquet of lolling ones"). A document from Ugarit (KTlP 1.114) describes a banquet put on by EI, the high god (who got drunk). The is attested in Ugaritic docull1ents, in the Bible (d. above) and also in Phoenician texts, in an Aramaic ostracon from Elephantine, in Nabataean and Palmyrenian inscriptions, and in the Talmud (d. above, and also BT KJtubbot 69a). The ternl applies to the banquet itself, as in the U garitic text: Jil ysb bmrzbh, "EI was sitting at his banquet" (KTlP 1.114:1). In another Ugar-

429

430

MOAB itie document (KTLF 3.9) the brotherhood of a marzeal; is called mt "men of the marzeal;." Akkadian documents from Ugarit speak of LU.MES mar-za-i, LU.MES mar-zi-i and LU.MES mar-zi-l;i, "the men of the (CAD p. 321). For the brotherhood of the marzeal;, cf. also the Nabataean inscription from Petra: l'til?l't n1:1Y il11:1n1 [ ... ] 1:1 '1':lY '1':l1, "May be remembered, cAbidu son of [ ... ] and his friends, the marzeal; of the god COboda." The members of a marzeal; might have property, such as a house or a vineyard as evidenced by the documents from Ugarit but in none of the inscriptional attestations does the vocable have the connotation of "house." In Jer 16:5 (above) the reference is to a house where the mourning and its associated meal (a sort of wake) are conducted. In the document discussed here, the meaning of the expression 1? is "The chairmanship of the marzeal; belongs to you." Just as in the Ugaritic document KTLF 3.9, a certain Samumanu is called rb mrzl;, "master of the marzeal;." The same term, :11, occurs in Nabataean inscriptions from cAvdat (Oboda) in the Negeb. The "leadership" of the marzeal; is called ml:l1, ml:l' in Palmyraean texts and the head of the is referred to as the au Il0crtapxoc;. 7"n1 - Note the dual suffix p-; cognate to Hebrew

"millstones/' an essential component of any household. Cf. Deut 24:6: l't'? ?:;:iM, "No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge," There were two components to the the lower millstone (:I:lW in Rabbinic literature, Baba Batra 2:1) and the upper millstone Judg 9:53; 2 Sam 11:21). The suffix p- suggests that the diphthong is not contracted, i.e. *rel;ayin. n":JM - This orthography is reminiscent of the Meshac Inscription, line 25, where a 'represents the diphthong. Is the diphthong here uncontracted? This would match the apparently uncontracted diphthong in pn,. The definite article points to a Canaanite dialect and not Aramaic. So Moabite would be proper. The house in question might be the house of the fellowship of the marzeal;. i'n, is alienated from the items reiterated as belonging to Cera:>. This is standard legal terminology in the Elephantine Papyri, e.g. n:lil' l'tn':I 1T 'il ':l?'1 ilm npm, in the Valley of Succoth, on the eastern side of the Jordan Valley, is perhaps the most interesting Northwest Semitic inscription known to us. It deals with the prophecy of Balaam (BiICam) the son of Beor (BaCor), the seer, the man of God. The inscription was written on wall plaster in ink, black and red (part of the opening and part of the concluding lines; herein represented by boldface type). This practice is mentioned in Deut 27:2-3: mfTi] il,'r-li] 'J=?':l 'f clJ'/'t 97 "You shall set up large stones and cover them with plaster and you shall write on them all the words of this law." Remnants of Hebrew writing were discovered in wall plaster at Kuntillat CAjrfrd in Sinai (d. supra, pp. 322, 324). At Tell Deir cAlla::> the plaster fell off the wall and landed on the floor, evidently as a result of an earthquake. If the text can be dated to the first quarter of the eighth century BCE, then the earthquake in question could have been that in the reign of King Uzziah (Am 1:1). The fragments of plaster were collected during the excavation. Many difficulties were encountered in the restoration and decipherment process, not just because of the poor state of preservation but also because of the complex process of piecing together the various pieces and small fragments in their original order. There is disagreement among scholars about the proper sequence of the preserved portions of text. Various proposals for decipherment are dependent on different reconstructions of the fragments' sequence. Remnants of a painting of a sphinx on the plaster are reminiscent of the cherubim in the tabernacle, including its curtains (Ex 26:1) and the doors of the Solomonic temple (1 Kgs 6:32), and the cherubim on the ark of the covenant. In the center of the inscription as it is now restored, there are two major portions to which the smaller fragments are attached. These two sections are called "Combination I" and "Combination Ir." The main disagreements among

434

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

scholars have to do with the smaller fragments and their place in the text and also with the proposed completions of the lacunae, or with the interpretations of individual words or the general theme. The ensuing transcription foll,ows the reconstruction by Jo Ann Hackett (d. bibliography) who scrutinized the text in the Amman Archaeological Museum and proposed a new arrangement of the fragment joins and their combinations, and new digital photographs supplied by Bruce Zuckerman and his team. The classification of this text palaeo graphically and linguistically is extremely difficult. There are those who see this text as Aramaic on the basis of script and language. It would appear the script is indeed Aramaic, while the language is a local dialect (Greenfield, Huehnergard, Naveh, Halpern). The most striking Aramaic feature is the shift of proto-Semitic 4- to q, a feature typical of very early Aramaic (in later Aramaic 4- shifts to C while in Hebrew it becomes Thus p7:Ji' = Hebrew (Arabic [4-ab c D, "hyenas"; li'i', "troubles, oppressions," later Aramaic li'Y (Elephantine, Palmyrene, Jewish (4-1q). There are at least two biblical examples of Palestinian, et al.), Arabic the shift from 4- to q: / / malJaqtt", "crushed" (Judg 5:26), and / / qalttClm, "planks" (1 Kgs 6:34). Other features thought by some to indicate an Aramaic dialect are not necessarily so, e.g. the plural in l-which is also in the Meshac Inscription. The roots » and ',n, et al. are found in biblical Hebrew as well. On the contrary, the extensive use of the narrative preterite yaqtul with the wa: conjunction (which appear in the Aramaic Tel Dan Inscription [d. infra, p. 467], and the use of the Nifcal which is unattested in Aramaic), and the similarities to biblical Hebrew, on the one hand, and the absence of other typical Aramaic features on the other, mitigate against the hypothesis of an Aramaic classification for this text (d. in particular the studies of Greenfield), while the shift, or the graphic representation, of protoSemitic 4- by q, in a script borrowed from Aramaic, is quite plausible for the period of historical conflict between Israel and Aram, when there was considerable Aramaic influence in Transjordan. In Huehnergard's opinion this text represents a unique example of an independent branch of Northwest Semitic. The Bible informs us, directly and indirectly, of hostile and friendly relations and even of intermingling between the Israelites and the Aramaeans in various periods. It is no surprise, therefore, to find Aramaic features in a Transjordanian inscription. Although the date of the inscription is still much in dispute, it apparently dates to the first half of the eighth century BeE. Its date has some bearing on its

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

classification. But whether it predates or postdates the conquest of Transjordan by Tiglath-pileser III, not all of the Transjordanian population went into exile; most of the people may have remained there. All the conjectures about the ethnic/national affiliation of the inscription are futile. COMBINATION I

j117N .lil7N .,nN'" [ ] N:-I [ ] 1i1'N .:-lin .WN .,[ il[ ] il7"7:J .WN .:-IN,nN .N[ .il;:' .,Y:J,:J .tI[ ]7 1'131 [

]Y[ ]

[

.7N

]"

.ilW[ ;:':J, [

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THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

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THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BE OR

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This is the account of [BilCam, son of BaCo]r, a man, a seer of the gods was he, The gods came to him by night, and [he saw a visio]n as an oracle of ::JEt Then they said to [BilCa]m son of BaCor: "Thus [they] will do/make [with]out delay, Man has not se[en what you have hea]rd," And Bilcam arose on the morro[w , , , ] from [, .. ] but he did not ea[t bread] and he was weeping grievously, His people came up to him [and said to] him, "Bilcam, son of Bacor, why are you fasting and crying?" And he said to them: "Sit down! I will tell you what the Sadda[YYln are going to do]. Now, come, see the works of the gods!" The gods assembled together;

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR 6

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the Saddayyfn took their places as the assembly. And they said to S[emes] (the sun): Sew up, bolt up the heavens in your cloud, darkness there and not light, forever. And on your bolt/ dam put a se[al, a cl]oud of darkness, and do not remove it forever! For the swallow reproaches the hawk and the owl retorts to the carrion vultures. The st[ork . .. ] the sons of the hawk and night owl, the young herons; the swallow squawks at the pigeon and the sparrow [the fowl of hea]ven [ ... ] the rod, and instead of the ewes, it is the staff that is led. Hares eat [the wo]lf(?) [ ... ] drank/ drink wine and hyenas give heed to chastisement. The whelps of the JIox . .. ] laughs at the wise. And the poor woman prepares myrrh while the priestess [ ... ] for the wearer of a baldric, a tattered loincloth. The respected one (now) respects (others) and the one who gave respect is (now) re[spected ... ] and the deaf hear from afar. [ ... and the (?) of(?)] a fool see visions of distresses. The offspring (of the herd) and the offspring (of the flock) [ ... ] the leopard. The piglet drives away the you[ng of ... ] (?).

1. - The reading is achieved by combining the right fragments (d. Hackett, p. 29). Every written text is called In the Lachish and Arad ostraca, 1!JO and C1!JO refer to epistles. The same applied to an inscription on a stela or on a wall, e.g. in the Kilamuwa inscription (KAI, No. 24:14) we read: 1!JOir nnu)' T, "And whoever will deface this inscription" et al. Here at the beginning, the text defines itself: 1[1':J1:J C]1'[7:J] 1!JO, etc. The restorations are according to lines 2 and 4. c - This is Bilcam, son of Ba or, a prophet, the subject of a biblical narrative to whom several poetic oracles are attributed (Num 32-34). He is called 11':J1:J (without word divider) and not 11':JJ:J as we might have expected. The Aramaic 1:J may have been preferred in this dialect instead of the Canaanite p. But on the other hand, this might be a hint to the vague tradition of the prophet's Aramaean origin as also reflected in the biblical traditions, e.g. Num 22:5:

il'f p "So he sent messengers to Bilcam, son of Bacor, at pa!or, which is near the River (Euphrates), the land of

439

440

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR the sons of his people"; and Num 23:7: "From Aram milaq has brought me, Moab's king from the mountains of the East. ... " The Hebrew form 'l':lJ:I appears once in a late text (4Q175 [DJD V:58]). does not prove that the inscription is Aramaic, thus the The Aramaic Phoenician inscription of Kilamuwa calls him l't'n ,:1 (KAI, Nos. 24:1, 9; 25:2-3; and not 1:1). It is a matter of his appellation, not of the language of the inscription. l'tl"1 1l"17l't mM Wl't - The vocable Wl't could be the common noun W'l't, "man," in accordance with the biblical idiom in passages such as Judg 6:8: "a man (who was) a prophet," or Lev 21:9: 1tl::> "a man (who is) a priest." The title "seer" ("beholder"), from the root 'Tn, is also used in the Bible, e.g. 2 Sam 24:12: 'J'J m"n "the prophet Gad, David's seer"; 1 ehr 29:29: i1!'no "Gad the seer"; likewise Isa 30:10: l't'7 c'Tn?1 l't'7 "Who say to the seers, 'You shall not see,' and to the prophets, 'You shall not prophesy to us what is right"'; et al. The Aramaic inscription of Zakkur, king of Hamath, has pTn (KAI, No. 202:A:12). The orthography here, i1Tn with a final mater Iectionis, shows that this form, obviously the active participle, has seen the contracting of the final diphthong, -iy, apparently to something like the Hebrew final-ell. Taking the vocable l'ti1 as the third masculine singular pronoun (hu:J) acting as "copula" (with Hackett), interprets the phrase l'ti11i17l't i1Tn Wl't, "a seer of the gods was he," like Num 1:4: n';,17 lVl't" "Each man the head of his ancestral house." l"17'7::1 1l"17l't l"117l't 'l"Il't" - "The gods came to him by night." In the biblical narratives Bilcam is also said to have received his divine messages by night. To the messengers who were sent to him from Balaq he said, 'D':lWtlJ U'? i1,i1' "Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you when YHWH speaks to me" (Num 22:8); and after that, c¥7::;J "Then God came to Bilcam" (Num 22:9). The revelation to Bilcam took place that night and he recounted the messages to his visitors the next morning: ''JW '1tl't"j c¥7::;J, "So Bilcam rose in the morning, and said to the of"God came ficials of Balaq" (Num 22:13); and farther on: i17;? c¥7::;J to Bilcam at night" (Num 22:20). 1l"17l't The plural marker is 1- written without a mater Iectionis. This a real plural, not a "plural of majesty," as in biblical Hebrew where the plural is the standard title for the God of Israel (d. discussion supra, p. 427). It is presumed that the oblique suffix, -in, has replaced the ancient nominative, -un. 'l"Il't" - Third masculine plural of the narrative preterite of the suffix conju-

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

gation, introduced by the conjunction, i.e. a preterite continuative (Rainey). Hackett has assumed, perhaps correctly, that the conjunction was wa:, as in biblical Hebrew. The use of this verb, from the root (> '11N in Hebrew) is generally restricted to poetic texts in the Bible; d. Deut 33:2: lLij'p "And He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones (read: from the Contention of Kadesh)," and also Deut 33:21: c¥ 'WN, "And he came [with] the leaders of the people," et al. Divine revelations are described in the Bible in terms of the deity's coming to the recipient (d. the passages cited above). m7N - Written above the line, evidently because it had been skipped by the scribe who copied the text from a papyrus scroll (see also 1:1 in Combination II, line 9). It is the most Aramaic of all the forms in this inscription, viz. the third masculine singular suffix on long forms of prepositions. The Aramaic form would be *:Jel6hf (d. Ezra 4:11) and in all the best-known dialects of Aramaic (Imperial and Biblical Aramaic) most examples of the third masculine singular suffix after vowels is written 'i11-. However, in Old Aramaic (Tell elFekhedyeh and Sefire) there are instances of i1,- without a final mater lectionis, e.g. KAI, No. 224:8: i11[7]17 n7tvN', "And I sent my messenger t[ 0] him." Today scholars generally assume that those orthographies are simply defective, i.e. that the final vowel was pronounced but not expressed orthographically. Since medial aw diphthongs do not seem to be reduced in the Deir CAlla text, it is possible to suggest *Jelawh(l) for the present form. The final i1- is the adverbial suffix, -alz, which is unaccented. Thus the medial diphthong is accented and represented by consonantal " ltiylah• - The third weak verb is apocopated in the narrative prefix preterite. The final-h of the cognate accusative is mater lectionis for final " thus mal:taze/1• Cf. the words of Bilcam: ':JW ' J7?t:t "The oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of Shaddai" (Num 24:4). The term as a theophany is also found in Gen 15:1: i1!07P:;;I C,=?25 i1,i1' 1;17 "Word of YHWH came to Abram in a vision." 2. 7N - For as a prophetic oracle, d. Isa 13:1: i1!O p, "The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw"; Isa 15:1: "The oracle concerning Moab"; Isa 14:28: i1iiJ Nlf7PiJ i1:0, "In the year that King Ahaz died this oracle came"; et passim. The preposition -:J here is the:J of affirmation. The vision seen by Bilcam was truly from God; d. Jer 23:33: i11i1' Nlf7P "What is the oracle of YHWH?" et al.; note also Zech 9:1 and Mal 1:1: i11i1' 1;17 "The oracle of the word of YHWH."

441

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THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

'l':l,:l -- The Aramaic term for" son" was vocalized bir in the pre-Exilic period as confirmed by Assyrian transcriptions. That there is no word divider between the two vocables is due to the construct formation. I l"IN,nN N[':l . - "Thus will (the gods, the mighty ones [d. infra]) do [with]out delay." - The i1 is surely a mater lectionis. The form is either *kii'l as in Aramaic or *k6" as in Hebrew. It could relate to what precedes or to what follows: "and they spoke thus," or "Thus they will do." - The choice of this verb suggests an affinity with Phoenician rather than with Moabite and Hebrew where the everyday verb is i1'iV1', while Aramaic prefers ,:Jl'. In biblical poetry one finds quite often but also in legal contexts, e.g. Lev 19:13: 1'70 N\ "The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning," et al. Unfortunately Ammonite has only the (verbal) noun (d. concerning the Tell SIran bottle inscription, supra, p. 363). The verb is interpreted here as third masculine plural. Other options are third masculine singular active or passive. l"IN,nN - An adverb apparently formed like i11$?iJ. To the deictic element 7i1 is added the suffix i1N-. Some have taken i1N,nN to mean "hereafter," but the interpretation "delay" (negated in this instance) suits the oracular context. . l"IN]" 'lVN - The first word, 'lVN, is to be read as Hebrew 'IV'N, "man," in the impersonal meaning of "anyone, someone"; d. Cen 23:6: ;':ti? u. 9?P1:' N\ "None of us will withhold from you any burial ground." In this inscription, the negative N7lacks the historical writing of the N; it is always joined to the following verb (d. infra, line 3: 7:>'7'; Combination II, line 18: 'n'IVJ7,). The association of "seeing" and "hearing" is not uncommon: Ps 45:11: n;l 1nl$ 'tp;:q, "Hear, daughter, consider and incline your ear"; Ps 48:9: p, "As we have heard, so have we seen"; and also Lam 1:18: "Hear now, all peoples, and behold my pain." One might also render: "No one has seen the awesome things about which you have heard." 3. Ol',:l oj'" - Cf. Num 22:13: C¥?:;1 "So Bilcam arose in the morning" (also vs. 21) after a theophany in the night. oj'" - Narrative prefix preterite. - The usual biblical orthography is (e.g. Cen 19:34 et passim). The restoration of the n is plausible. (In Syriac the phrase is bs..o mbar.) The continution of this line is most difficult. Puech and Levine read .[ ... J [.lli1 ii"[N . J 7iip [.''lVN]i "Behold [... ] he summons the heads of the congregation [t]o himself and for (many) day[s he fas]ts," etc.

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR [on" "]:l'''' - The elision of the' N in a first N verb is not without precedent. Cf. 1 Kgs 5:25: o'tplJ ,:;, o''J'¥¥, "Twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household" = cf. also (Prov 1:10) = (Deut 13:9); 'Dim (2 Sam 22:40) = (Ps 18:40). "Eating bread" is a common expression in relation to any meal or banquet; cf. Gen 31:54: 1":;>N'") ory? " And he called his kinsmen to eat bread; and they ate bread," et passim. 3-4. M:l:l' M:l:l' - Bilcam wept because of the evil tidings he had received. Note absolute infinitive with mater lectionis. The i1 probably represents long O. For she wept bitterly"; Lam 1:2: this expression, cf. 1 Sam 1:10: i1f=?I:1 i1f=?I:1, "She weeps bitterly in the night." The imperfect verb form, i1:l:l', instead of the short preterite form, or the suffix conjugation, i1:l:l, indicates continuous action. He was weeping. The final i1 on the finite verb is also mater lectionis representing e < ayu, thus yi12kel1 < *yibkayu (Birkeland's law). l"I1"N "17', - The verb is derived here from '731, i.e. the narrative prefix preterite (short form). Others have suggested 7731, "to enter" which is typical of Aramaic. The i1 in as the genitive suffix probably represents -0 < -ahu. The Aramaic would be -eh. For m7N, cf. discussion above, p. 441. Best taken as an interrogative (with Hackett). Ugaritic has 1m but the vocalization is unknown. The Hebrew form is i17;??, lammal!, with accent on the first syllable; the Aramaic is i1?f7/N?f7, lama:) / lamah, represented in the Greek transmission as AE!-lU (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34). The question of vocalization of the present form remains open. Could it be another instance of a- final vowel not represented orthographically? Cf. the discussion of m7N, above. M:l:ll'11 - The second verb, the long prefix form, i.e. imperfect, assures that present tense is intended. The' was restored after careful arrangement of the text fragments. 4-5. OM" - Once again the narrative prefix preterite. Note that the masculine plural suffix (referring to the collective, 031, "people") has ,:lW - Masculine plural imperative of :lW' (WTB). The original / t / was still represented by s signs in Old Aramaic, but of course it has shifted to / s/ in Canaanite and Hebrew. The plural marker is , as mater lectionis for -u. For the picture of people approaching a prophet to get information, and sitting before

0" -

:lWi' him, cf. the elders of the Exile going to Ezekiel (Ezek 8:1): i1'J1i1; "As I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me," and after the vision, Ezek 11:25: mi1' ''J=?:r 7f "Then I told the exiles all the things that YHWH had shown me." O:l,nN - First common singular, Picel stem from '1M, meaning "to inform," a

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THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

rare biblical usage, thrice in Job and once in Psalms; cf. Job 15:17: "I will tell you, listen to me"; Job 36:2: "Bear with me a little, and I will inform you"; Ps 19.:3: m.7, "Day to expresses speech, and night to night declares knowledge." Note that the second masculine plural suffix has final ?l. [,,17c" l"]'W M?l- The imperfect verb restored here is, of course, arbitrary. Another tense and another verb, such as ,,?lX, are possible. Cf.line 6: 11"?l1'1W "?lX,, "The Saddayyin took their places as the assembly. And they said." M?l - Is the il consonantal or mater lectianis? Cf. discussion of c, above. n"]'W - Restoration certain on the basis of line 6; 1'1W, saddayin, plural of the well-known biblical epithet The original root was IDWbased on Ugaritic evidence of personal names. There ensues here a parallelism between 1'1W and lil'x and we find a similar parallelism between and in the third and fourth oracles of Bilcam: "The oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of Shaddai" (Num 24:4);

'x

il!!T "The oracle of one who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of Shaddai" (Num 24:16). is mentioned in a Palmyrene inscription along with two other deities. lM'x n'17c Two masculine plural imperatives, the first, from ,?il, is a good Canaanite form; the imperative of this verb is often used like a presentation particle, to introduce another injunctive form, e.g. Gen 19:32: "Come, let us make our father drink wine"; Gen 37:13: "Come, and I will send you to them"; Gen 37:20: n,,':l]iJ, "Come, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits." n'17c - Most likely pJCullat but it could also be plural pJCu1l6t. lM'x - The il is not visible on the drawing of the editia princeps but on the plaster there are slight traces (Hackett). 5-6. l[Ml'x "n"nx - There is a large break where the il can be restored. The plaster where the prefix X was supposedly written is now lost. There were traces of the letter in the infrared photograph, but they were not clear. Such a preformative of the D stem (Hebrew Hitpacel) is typical of Aramaic but not of Canaanite dialects. Here the meaning is "they assembled together." This is the assembly of the gods. The Hebrew cognate verb in this stem expresses a different meaning. But (originally 1m*) does have the significance of assembling

'X.,

-

in a few instances; cf. Ps 2:2: 'iThe kings of the earth take their stand and rulers conspired in the assembly"; also Deut 33:5:

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

c¥ '''When the heads of the people were gathered, the assembly of the tribes of Israel"; Job 38:7: ip':J Df' "When the assembly of the morning stars sang, and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy." The ip':J is the assembly of the morning stars (in the Qumran documents the community is called the 1n'). For another use of the root 1n' in a verbal form with relevance to assembling, d. the Zakkur Inscription (KAI, No. 202:A:4): . . • i:J . 11i1i:J . 1mm, "And Bir-Hadad, son of Hazael,· assembled against me," where 1mi1 is the H causative, active

(*hawJ:zad). 7'1W ,- The verb is most likely Nifcal which is a stem not used in Aramaic. Cf. Ps 82:1: :JjPf "God has taken his stand in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment." The root would be for the cognate root there are parallels in the HitpaCel stem (d. Ps 2:2 cited above), e.g. Job 1:6 (=2:1): mi1' '0;1, "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves beforeYHWH." - Note the, which is probably not a mater lectionis but the consonant of the aw diphthong (root 11"* < 11"), thus mawced. In biblical Hebrew this term denoted both a fixed time (usually for assembling), or a place of assembly. For the latter meaning, note the designation of the tabernacle in the wilderness, Ex 30:36: '97 "In the tent of meeting where I will confer with you." More relevant is the boast of the king of Babylon in Isa 14:13: iiJf "I will ascend to heaven; I will elevate my throne above the divine stars; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon." The specific use of ancient Canaanite *mocid in the meaning of "council" is found in the Tale of Wenamon concerning the ruler of Byblos (Gt)al): iwf dit CS.tw n p5y.f mo-cid iwf cJ:zc m-lJnw.w iwf tjd n5Sika-Iu, "He caused his council (*moCid) to be summoned, and he stood in their midst and he spoke to the Sikels" (Wenamon 2:71). In Ugaritic the divine council of the gods is called p!;r mCd (*pulJru moCidi) and the Phoenician inscription of yahfmilk, king of Byblos, refers to CW1p "The assembly of the holy gods of Byblos" (KAI, No. 4:4-5). Biblical passages allude to the assembly of divine beings around the throne of YHWH in the heavens although is not used. In the oracle of Micaiah son of Imlah, 1 Kgs 22:19: :Jll!' mi1' "?¥ "I saw YHWH sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left." - This restoration, proposed by Caquot and Lemaire, seems the most ap-

445

446

THE BOOl inscription, (KAI, No. 222:A:33), which has been defined as a night owl; the attested Aramaic forms are: N"V, and Arabic (f?adda ll ). l"I£llN m'£lN - In parallel with ')::J. The "heron," is also listed among the unclean birds (Lev 11:19; Deut 12:18). ", - The Hebrew"" (Ps 84:4; Prov 26:2). In both of those passages it is in parallel with "sparrow." [l"I'O]M -

n''lVl - Apparently a verb form, perhaps reflexive Nifcal from "'IV, indicating that the little sparrow sounds off before the much larger dove. Perhaps there is

'9"W a connection with the very obscure verse in Has 8:1: mil' "(Place) the horn/trumpet to your mouth like a herald over the house ofYHWH." 9. 7" - Evidently a masculine form of the word for "pigeon." Hebrew uses only the feminine, The question naturally arises as to the function of the, in this form. Is it consonantal or does it indicate an uncontracted diphthong? Or is it a mater lectionis? The latter is most unlikely. It probably indicates a diphthong. - This is usually the generic name for fowl. Note that in Gen 15:10: 'O:t N"' "But he did not cut the birds in two," the reference is to the '!tq '"r-l, " A turtledove, and a young pigeon" in the preceding verse. In Ps 84:4 and Prov 26:2, is in parallel with "sparrow"; d. the discussion above. t}l'] - Puech and Levine suggested reading ... ] and our suggestion to supply was inspired by comparison with Ps 104:12: "On them the birds of the heavens dwell" and the many other passages. ----[ ... ] - This begins a new section. It, too, deals with 9-11. ?]l''IV the upheavals in nature and resembles the style of moralistic animal proverbs. But the text is most difficult because of the many lacunae so that various in-

"'7,

449

450

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR terpretations are possible. McCarter and Hackett propose to read: . i1tm [... ] / '7::>1'\ l:JJ11'\ . 1tm 17n1 "[ ... ] the rod, and instead of the ewes, it is the staff that is led. Hares, eat / [the wo ]If (?)." There is a clear parallelism Ihere between the i1tm, matteh, and the 1tm, bater. The idea seems to be that instead of the rod and the staff leading the [flock] and the ewes, it is they who lead the rod and the staff. In this view, the lacuna (of about six letters) must have had the name of the person or thing being led. "nm T'n., "Instead of the ewes, it is the rod that is led." - "Place"; equivalent to Akkadian asru, Ugaritic ::Iatr, Arabic jii eatar), "trace, track," later Aramaic 1nl'\ . - Equivalent to Hebrew Oii'?t:;l for which d. Has 2:1: 0v? Oii'?t:;l Ov? olJt5 "Where it is said to them, 'You are not My people,' it will be said to them, '[You are] the sons of the living God.'" ':l" - McCarter and others see this as a Pucai third masculine singular imperfect form of « 7:J'). If this is an archaic form, it would probably have been vocalized *yuyabbai rather than the later Hebrew pattern *yJyubbal. .,tm - This word only appears twice in the Bible (Isa 11:1; Prov 14:3). The usual biblical word pair was II 9-10. - A reversal of the natural order; "the hares ate/ eat the [wo ]1£." Levine and Puech read . '7::>1'\ l:JJ11'\. 9-11. [ ... ]tV!)n - It is possible that the lacuna of about fifteen letters may have contained the names of the creatures of whom it is said, "drink wine." If so then we should render: [... 7]YtV .10m lY:Ji" [---], that is, "[x] drank/ drink wine and the hyenas gave heed to chastisement. The whelps of the fo[x ... ]''' An alternative would be: "[x] drank wine and goblets (of wine), while the whelps of the fo[x] heeded chastisement." It would be appropriate for the fox's whelps to heed chastisement. W'ItV - Cf. Ezra 5:2: "they began." Or perhaps this is the equivalent of "they drank" (Dan 5:3,4). The third radical of the root "to Aramaic drink") is preserved; thus could be the plural imperative . - A synonym for d. Deut 32:14: i1lJo/l:! oJ" "And you drank fine wine from the blood of grapes." This term is the standard term in Aramaic for "wine." TY:li' - This is the first example where proto-Semitic 4- is presented by i' as in Aramaic. This form is cognate to Arabic (4-ab c, 4-abu C ), Hebrew (1 Sam 13:18: "Valley of the Hyenas"; Neh 11:34: "hyena" of Jer "vulture with fingers/ claws"). 12:9 might be a participle describing the

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR It has been suggested to interpret this as the word for" chalice,"

but the

animal name fits the context better. - From the root 10' « 10' 7); since internal 11 js never represented by a mater lectionis, this form probably had a diphthong, viz. *mawsar. 1Mi" - - - ] - It appears that in these lines there is a shift to the changes in human social status, and it has been appropriately compared to the" Admonitions of Ipu-wer" where the Egyptian society is depicted as being turned upside down: the rich wear rags. Those who dressed well now wear rags and those who were unable to weave clothes for themselves now wear the finest linen garments. But the lacunae in this portion of the inscription become ever larger so that it is impossible to establish a continuous text. 11-12.11i' 'TN

- The verb is another example of i' representing original 4- in the orthography of this text; root PI:IK (Arabic II in Hebrew, with variant i'MiV like Ethiopic SI:IQ); Middle Aramaic 1m,. Ugaritic has :?I:IQ 1Mi"

and $I:IQ. - The first vocable is feminine singular, Qatll form, from the root This indicates that the feminine marker employed was -at> _tt'l. The second word is most likely the Qal active participle; its feminine marker was evidently n. Myrrh was a substance that a poor woman would hardly be able

nMi"

'l'.lJ 1m).

to acquire. - "Priestess," most likely the Qal participle; its feminine marker is -at>

-a'l. [ ... ] - The first word is evidently a masculine Qal active participle. The 1TN is usually a garment of linen, perhaps a baldric or sash (cf. Ezek 23:15), which is a symbol of rank or authority. Cf. 1 Sam 14:3; 22:18: N1l:'-l, "wearer of an ephod." Thus, the reference could very well be to a priest. l'i' 'TN

Most likely equivalent of Hebrew "thread." In the lacuna there was probably a verb describing what the priestess (7) was doing. She was evidently trying to make a garment for a priestly officiant, but she was trying to use unl'i' -

suitable materials; cf. Isa 59:6: N°, "Their webs cannot serve as clothing." Thus we have another contrast: the poor woman is blending myrrh, which ought to be the task of the priestess, while the priestess is trying to make a garment for a cultic functionary with improper materials. Hackett cites the "Admonitions of Ipu-wer": "See, those who owned robes are in rags; he who did not weave for himself owns fine linen" (M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature I, Berkeley, CA 1973, p. 156). 12-13. [:ltv]M :ltvm :ltvM :ltvM - McCarter, and after him Hackett, read these

451

452

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

forms as Qal passive participle, third masculine singular suffix verb, active Qal participle, and third masculine singular passive suffix verb, respectively. "to esteem, reckon worthy." Thus, "the esteemed The verb is taken to mean , I esteems and the esteemer is esteemed." The one who is usually held in respect has to show respect to others while the one who is usually compelled to show respect to others is now being respected. "The Complaints of Khakheperresonb" provides interesting social parallels: "He who gave orders takes orders" (Lichtheim, op. cit., p. 148), and in "The Prophecies of Neferti": "One salutes him who saluted" (Lichtheim, op. cit., p. 143). 13. pM' ltv'M - Another sign of the reversal of nature: the deaf will hear from afar; d. Isa 29:18: ':J=iJ'J "On that day the deaf shall hear the words of a scroll." Note that in this inscription, as in the biblical passage, the verbal construction is waw + suffix verb, certainly with reference to the future. This usage is well known in Amarna Canaanite syntax as well as in Ugaritic and in biblical Hebrew. As usual, the final plural marker of the verb is '-, and that of the stative participle is 1-. Note that the preposition is not attached proclitically and the l is preserved. This is typical of Aramaic but is likewise attested in ancient Hebrew. In the lacuna after this clause, i.e. the beginning of line 14, one would expect to have a clause about the blind receiving sight. 14.lPP 'TM The verb is plural; therefore, something must have been in the preceding lacuna to create a plural subject, either a parallel noun or a noun in construct with ';:'0 such as [oo. 'l::J], "[sons of ... l." "Fool, foolishness." The reading depends on the first letter. Some commentators have read the letter as ,. Thus: ';:", "and all, everyone." 'TM - Third masculine plural of the suffix conjugation from 'Tn. The' has been elided. lPP - Because of the different possibilities for Vin this dialect, the vocable here is most difficult to define. The likeliest interpretation takes the first Vas< 4, i.e. giving the root *PWQ from which Hebrew has "distress" (Is a 8:22; 30:6; Prov 1:27); "distress" (Zeph 1:15; Job 15:24) and a Hifcil verb, "to cause "anguish"; "sorrowful"; NVl', "trouble," and distress." Aramaic has a verb in the Alcel causitive meaning "to trouble, cause distress." The Arabic (4tiqa) in the III stem means "to cause distress (to someone)." The verb nominal form from this root, (4zq), means both "narrowness, restriction" and "distress, anguish." It would appear that 1vi' is the masculine plural of one of those forms.

[...]-

-

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR The question remains as to whether 7PP is the object of the verb,m or -whether it is connected with what follows in the lacuna. 'MWl7' This pair has been taken as a double name of a deity or the names of two deities. Most likely, in a list of things that happen in the animal kingdom, they refer to offspring; d. "the issues of your cattle and the offspring of your flock" (Deut 7:13; 28:4, 18,51). A deity called Sgr occurs in a list of gods at Ugarit paired with another deity, viz. sgr w:Jitm (KTLF 1.148:31). An unpublished list of deities in syllabic cuneiform has a parallel entry, dbar it dgir, showing that Ugaritic Sgr is the equivalent of Akkadian Saggar (= dbar), known from Hittite sources as goddess of the full moon. The companion to sgr, viz. :Jitm, is Akkadian ISu(m), "fire." 'MWl7 - This deity was combined with Kamas in the Meshac Inscription, i.e. CAstar-Kamas (d. supra, p. 392). But here it is paired (by the, conjunction) with ,)w. The deity CA!tar was venerated by the tribes of the Syrian and Arabian steppe lands and often identified with the "morning star" (d. discussion regarding the Meshac Inscription). The pairing of the "full moon" and the "morning star" in relation to the issue of cattle and the offspring of the flock is not farfetched in ancient Near Eastern thinking. Both these heavenly phenomena were thought to influence fertility (d. K. van der Toorn, Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Leiden 1995, cols. 1437-1439).

,"w -

15-16. [ ... "]l::l Mi"i'i1 Y"ln

This string is fraught with difficulties. It is not clear whether is connected with a preceding clause or with what follows. Y"ln - Evidently "pigle!," cognate to Syriac and Arabic (,)...::I The internal mater lectionis shows that the diphthong of the diminutive must be present, thus As such it is probably feminine collective. Mi"i'i1- This might be the name of another animal (an onomatopoeic name), but more likely a verb form, the H causative third feminine singular from a root *I)RQ. The verb is known from the Sefire inscription (KAI, No. 224:4, 19). In Jewish Aramaic it appears as i"l7. Causative meanings are "to expel, drive out." 16. 1"l7' l'TN - If the restoration is correct, it might be a reference to the baldrics that have slipped off, i.e. from the officials who wore them. 1"l7' - The meaning and context of this word are unclear. If it is a noun, then the internal' is either mater lectionis or consonantal. It could be a noun, 7'l7, "eye," or a denominative verb, "to see." The text of "Combination I" suddenly breaks off here.

453

454

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

COMBINATION II

]iW7 .il ]7:JN .P ]:J .1" ..", .7:J .'pJ .07 .ii7 ]":J .n":J .7N ;:JY" .7N ..",., ] n":J .OW .1n n .7y"7, .,7il .7y"7 .n":J ] "pW .WN ."J:J ] :JW" . 'N .fyn"7 ·1:1 ."7[ ]n .1il .WJN" .1NJWn .1il .,n .W:J7 .10:Jn :t:J[ ]7 .p7n7 . .:J:Jwn .,WN' .nnn [ ] OWN ] nJNJ .ii:J:J7:J .'pJ .nJNJ .O:J:J7:J .il[ ]:ji [ JoiN ] 7Y' .en, .7Y .np" .O:JW"7 :n[ ] .iTn" .ili6w .n:J ]7 .ilnN .":J ililW .'pJ .:J:J7 .[ ]:j; .n[ ]:J:J .nii6 .'[ ] 7Y [ ]7[ ]W, [ ] ilOO . .n7Nw [ ] "j [ ]W .07 .,n7NW . ] pni .1Tn [ ] .il

]

5

.W,,,

:[

."

.7W'

.'l' .[

] :Jb1

.,:1,

10

15

.Ml'"

."nWJ7'

.il ]7:JN .p ]:J 11' "1: il7??¥ O? il7

5

""T ] ? ]

i17f11

1N

]n ltl ]7 P7q7 ] ] ]7

,00/ llJO

"p,w

iliJo/ il"0p,

9:P

"7[ ltl 'D 1:J[ 1 9o/ N'1 nDlJ [ ] il[ ]:J,[ ] oiN : 0=;10/1,7 P?b n:J ] [ [ "" [ ]W

10

15

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

] b? .

97

·lW?

jin11TO[

] ii "nwj" . :

Maiden, satiate yourself with love / lovers [ ... ] (?) To them the scion. And the dwelling containing foliage [ ...... so that with love] 6 :JEI is being / will be satisfied. :JEI crosses / will cross over to the House of Eternity, the hou[se ... ] 7 the house where the traveler does not enter and the bridegroom does not come forth, a house [ ... ] 8 and the worm from the tomb, from the thighs of mankind, and from the legs of [people (?)] 9 [ ... ] For counsel, is it not you with whom he will take counsel; or for advice, will he not ask advice (you) he will answer [ ... ? ... ] 10 [ ... ] You will cover him with one garment. If you hate him, he will falter. If you [ ... ] 11 I will put [ ... ] under your head. You will lie down on your eternal bed to perish [ . .. . .. ] 12 [ ... ] in their heart. The scion sighs in his heart. [The scion (?)] sighs [ ... ] 13 BT there counselors saw [vision]s to the sitting (people). Death will take the suckling of the young woman [ ... and] the suckling of [ ... ] 14 [ .. . ]R death there like [win]d(?) will be the heart of the scion, weary for he went to [ ... ] 15 to his end [ ... ] he approached the plastered wall [ ... ] you asked the king his horse, and you asked 16 [ ... ] a distant vision have I asked you? Why [ ... ] 17 to know (the) inscription, he spoke to his people by tongue, "Your judgment and your punishment." (?) [ ... ] 18 and we will not drink. (?) [ ... ] to the king[s] (or: counselor[s]). 4

5

The condition of Combination II is much worse than that of Combination 1. There is not one complete line in the whole text. From the first three lines, one can read only one complete word, 7:lX, in line 3, and it might not even be complete. In line 2 it is possible to restore [1'J'W7, "to / of the mighty ones." From line 19 onward it is difficult to find any meaningful sequence, only fragments

455

456

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR

rl

If)

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR

o

N

457

458

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

of sentences, e.g. [... [.],tv . (line 35); and [ ] . . (line 36). These lines seem to be talking about rain and dew, evidently also as the blessing of the goddess (?) who is once again replenishing the earth. I 4. 1" ", - The simplest meaning would be "Maiden, satiate yourself with love/lovers." This can be compared to Prov 7:18: ,p':!IjJ "Come on! Let us satiate ourselves with love until morning; let us delight ourselves with lovemaking." 5. 'i'J - The first two letters are surely the end of a word from the previous line. as the interrogative is difficult (d. the discussion concerning line 4 in Combination I); perhaps it could be lama, "to him" (d. Cen 9:26: "And let Canaan be his slave" et passim). 'i'J - Probably "sprout, scion," from NI)R, "to flourish," Hebrew "sprout, branch"; d. Isa 11:1: "And a branch shall grow out of his roots." This is another example of proto-Semitic 4- > (gh) expressed graphically in this inscription by i'. - The most likely interpretation is madar, as in Mishnaic Hebrew, "dwelling." - Relates to the following word. - Not just "moist" but also "fresh," and in Mishnaic Hebrew, "foliage." If these words are connected with what goes before and with what comes after, then perhaps the context may be interpreted thus: a room bedecked with fresh foliage has been prepared for the "scion." Cf. Cant 1:15: n,,'p "Indeed, our couch is luxuriant! The beams of our houses are cedars, our rafters, cypresses." Cf. also the bed of Inanna bedecked with foliage (ANET, p. 638:6) and the house filled with fresh reeds (ANET, p. 640:6).

'¥n

t

"'7?,

5-6. [11" M]':l M':l ,:l17' "" - The theoretical restoration at the end of line 5 permits the interpretation that EI will be (or is being) satiated with love. "" - This is the long form, i.e. imperfect (not jussive or preterite) of this verb (from therefore, it must be present, future or maybe continuous action in the past. Narrative present seems to be most fitting. ,:l17' - The final' was thought by some to be ,; there is brown dirt obscuring the end of the tail. Above the verb is used for" doing," etc. Therefore is the more likely reading. In any case, the verb should be imperfect (not jussive, "let him") in parallel with the preceding verb. M':l - Note the in even though the word is in construct. This is reminiscent of Hebrew. The expression, in the light of line 7, must mean "house

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEOR

1?"ri "For 117 man goes to his eternal home"; Ps 49:12: "'l""'7 001J::lt¥1.' O? 7 "Their graves (read 0J=?i? with LXX ot 'tu 7?137, "Death has come up into our windows, he has entered our palaces, to cut off the infants from the street and the young men from the plazas." '37 - Corresponds to Hebrew and 7?137; d. Isa 49:15: "Can woman forget her nursing child?" The death of the infants is seen as a disaster. t:lM' - Cf. supra, p. 392 (MeshaC Inscription, line 17). 'pl - Van der Kooij says that the first letter in the lacuna could be v' " " or o. The verb P' could be either H causative or passive Nifcal: yikkon. 'pl - Since there is no genitive suffix pronoun on :1:17, it seems best (with Hackett) to assume a construct relationship here. ["']' MM\Z) - The scion is evidently the subject of these verbs also. MMtV - The second i1 was overlooked at first and squeezed in above the line. The verb i1i1\z) in Jewish Aramaic means "to pause, delay"; in Syriac it means "to be weary, worn out." MMN - Third masculine singular with mater lectionis; ]7 i1nN, "came, went, to." McCarter took this to be the second person masculine independent pronoun.

463

464

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR

15.

- The il is most likely a third masculine singular genitive suffix; thus, "to his end." The word l'P is most likely a reflex of l'i?, qeEj, "end," since the

context has to do with going to one's ultimate fate.

-

[ ••• ] "" The verb can be compared to Hebrew and which could be a loan from Aramaic "to sprinkle, spray." Cf. Prov 27:15: C1':j! 1J1V "An endless dripping on a rainy day"; Job 16:20: '?¥ "My eye shed tears." If the conjectural reading um is really correct, then it could be a form of "to cover, smear, plaster," as in Jewish Aramaic. [n]'[N]W' MOO n'NW - The first word could be a feminine noun (singular of plural) or a verb in the suffix conjugation (third feminine singular, second masculine or feminine singular, or even first common singular); the second word could be "counsel" (*milk), "counselor" (*malik), "king" (*malk/*milk), or "rule" (*mulk). MOO - Either il99" "a mare," or il'09" "his horse."

i'"'

16. ,n'Nw 1TM - The reading of the first two words is somewhat uncertain and the form of the preposition is conjectural since the first has to be supplied. The inquirer asks the prophet if he has asked for a vision that is too far beyond him, too difficult for him. Why. Beginning of another question. 17. 1W' '17 n17" - This is apparently reporting what the prophet finally delivered to his people. This is the construct infinitive of this Prima' verb in accordance with Hebrew but totally unlike Aramaic. 'Co - McCarter suggested 0 as the first consonant and it makes perfect sense. The inscription is meant (as discussed supra, p. 439). This denominative verb has the meaning "to speak" in Phoenician and Hebrew. 1w, '17 - This evidently refers to oral speech, i.e. presenting the content of the prophecy by speech rather than just by writing. Cf. Ps 39:4: "I spoke with my tongue"; Jer 18:18: l1tzj?:;;I "Come on! Let's strike him with the tongue"; Jer 23:31: ... "The prophets ... who were taking their tongue and making speech(es)."

0' -

,::1,

l"Il'" -

,::1, -

" - This is the subject to be spoken by the prophet; it is parallel to 'co and epitomizes the content of the inscription (at least of Combination II). - Comparable to Mishnaic "punishment by lashes," which may be a loan from Aramaic (with -at). But here the form is a simple feminine singular abstract. Is this addressed to the deity who alone has the right to pronounce

THE BOOK OF BALAAM SON OF BEaR

judgment and punishment, or 'is it addressed to the people who are about to receive judgment and punishment? The subject of this verb is not preserved. 18. - The" can be the negative particle. If the word 'l'I'IJ)l is a verb in first common plural as several commentators take it, then the orthography is unusual. Is it imperfect with the original third radical preserved? Is it jussive with a diphthong formed from the thematic vowel and the final radical, i.e. *nistay?, [ ... - The form could be plural if the plural suffix be supplied in the lacuna. The end of this line, lines 19-20, and lines 21-37 are so much damaged that it is impossible to glean any logical sequence, so they are left out of the book.

-

J. Hoftijzer and G. van der Kooij, Aramaic Texts from Deir cAlla, Leiden 1976; A.

Caquot and

A. Lemaire, "Les textes arameens de Deir cAlla," Syria 54 (1977), pp. 198-208; H. P. Muller, "Einige alttestamentliche Probleme zur aramiiischen Inschrift von Der cAlla," ZDPV 94 (1978), pp. 56-67; idem, "Die aramiiische Inschrift von Deir cAlla und die iilteren Bileamspruche," ZAW 94 (1982), pp. 214-244; G. Garbini, "L'iscrizioni di Balaam Bar-Beor," Henoch 1 (1979), pp. 166-188; S. A. Kaufman, "The Aramaic Texts from Deir CAlla," BASOR 239 (1980), pp. 71-74; P. K. McCarter, "The Balaam Texts from Deir CAlla: The First Combination," BASOR 239 (1980), pp. 49-60; B. A. Levine, "The Deir CAlla Plaster Inscriptions," lAOS 101 (1981), pp. 195-205; H. Weippert and M. Weippert, "Die 'Bileam'-Inschrift von Tell Der CAlla," ZDPV 98 (1982), pp. 73-103; H. Ringgren, "Balaam and the Deir AlIa Inscription," in Y. Zakovitch and A. Rofe (eds.), Isaac Leo Seeligman Volume III, Jerusalem 1983, pp. 93-98; J. A. Hackett, The Balaam Texts from Deir CAlla, Chico, CA 1984; A. Lemaire, "L'Inscription de Balaam trouvee a

Deir cAlla: Epigraphie," in Biblical Archaeology Today: Proceedings of the International Congress of Biblical Archaeology, April 1984, Jerusalem 1985, pp. 313-325; idem, "Fragments from the Book of Balaam Found at Deir AlIa," BAR 11/5 (Sept.-Oct. 1985), pp. 26-39; B. Halpern, "Dialect Distribution in Canaan and the Deir AlIa Inscriptions," in D. Golomb (ed.), Working with No Data: Semitic and Egyptian Studies Presented to Thomas O. Lambdin, Winona Lake, IN 1987, pp. 119-139; J. Hoftijzer and G. van der Kooij (eds.), The Balaam Texts from Deir CAlla Re-Evaluated (Proceedings of the International Symposium held at Leiden 21-24 August 1989), Leiden 1991; W. E. Aufrecht, A Bibliography of the Deir Alla Plaster Texts (Newsletter for Targumic and Cognate Studies), Lethbridge 1986; A. Lemaire, "Les inscriptions sur platre de Deir CAlla et luer signification historique et culturalle. Annexe. Indications bibliographiques complementaires a W. E. Aufrecht, A Bibliography of Deir CAlla Plaster Texts," inJ. Hoftijzer and G. van der Kooij (eds.), The Balaam Texts from Deir CAlla Re-Evaluated (Proceedings of the International Symposium held at Leiden 21-24 August 1989), Leiden 1991, pp. 55-57; J. Huehnergard, "Remarks on the Classification of the Northwest Semitic Languages," in J. Hoftijzer and G. van der Kooij, ibid., pp. 282-293; E. Lipinski, Studies in Aramaic Inscriptions and Onomastics II, Leuven 1994, pp. 103-170.

465

APPENDIX 1

THE TEL DAN INSCRIPTION

This important inscription is composed of three fragments of a royal stela that was smashed in antiquity, and found on two occasions at the biblical city of Dan (Tel Dan). The fragments were pieced together and displayed today in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Jill' [

. ]PO" .

]"

·

.il[

.O'ji •

. j6

•"il .1il'"

T[

.

] .i:J .Oi[ ] i:J .'il"[

.:J:JW",

.1il" •

[ ]"il

. "iON . jj,[:JW .]

.'[

5

•

."

] .Win

.:J:J

.

],nji' . ]

.",n":J ]'

.1

.n" 10 ] Oi[ ]W"

.

]iU' [.

[

t?'P

'1q

·

.1'

468

APPENDIX ONE

rlj? ] J

17? . P7[=?W]

s

1'JL1

.

.,

0,[,,,

77.?

1772 1

O'il

:JW'NJ .N?·:;'

.

O'il

10

17 ] 1 2

3

4

s 6

7

8 9

10

11 12

13

] and cut (a treaty) [ ::Ie]l my father went up [against him when] he was fighting in Abe [I? And my father lay down, he went to his [ancestors/ (place of) eternity]. And the king of I[srael entered previously in the land of my father. [And] Hadad made me myself king. And Hadad went in front of me, [and] I departed from [the] seven [cities] of my kingdom, and I slew [seven]ty kings, who harnessed thou[sands of chariots and thousands of horsemen/horses. And [was killed Jo]ram son of [Ahab king of Israel, and [was] killed [Al:taz]yahu son of [Jehoram, king of the House of David. And I set [their cities into ruins and turned their land into [desolation. And I slew all of it and I settled there other [people]. And as to the te[mple, I devoted it. And Jehu son of Omriruled over Is[rael - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - and I laid siege upon [ [

[ ...

1. ]17

- A possible restoration is a verbal form from the root "and Omri said"; this is no more than a guess. The general meaning of "to cut," is used in the formula of making

'T"'[ -

'U,

THE TEL DAN INSCRIPTION a covenant: "to cut a covenant"; cf. the Bar-ga::lyah stela from Sefire: 171'\ N'1l7' [i1']Nl 1:1 17) 'T, "And this treaty that Bar-ga::l[ya] has concluded" (KAI, No. 222: A:7). The Hebrew equivalent is n'1:1 n1:J; cf. Gen 15:18: 111i1' n'J;> n''Jf' "On that day YHWH had concluded with Abram a treaty." It is not clear if 17) is a noun, or a part of a verbal form like 17) (first common singular) or '17) (third Inasculine plural). 2 - It is certain that before the vocable ':IN Hazael mentioned his father's name. Schniedewind and Zuckerman proposed to reconstruct it as 7NP1:1, Baraq:Jel. While the first element of the name remains dubious it seems that they managed to demonstrate that the theophoric element of it, 7N, :Jel, is quite certain. ;"'17] pO' - pO' is third singular masculine preterite from the root P'o, "to mount, ascend," equivalent to Hebrew "l7, meaning to "war against someone" as here. Cf. 2 Kgs 17:3: i1ln? "?¥, "King Shalmaneser marched against him"; 2 Chr 24:23: 7'1] "?¥ i1?¥, "The army of Aram marched against him"; 2 Kgs 12:18: m n$, "Then King Hazael of Aram came up and attacked Gath and captured it"; 2 Kgs 16:5: TI$

i17f071P? P "Then King Rezin of Aram and King Peqal). son of Remalyahu of Israel came upon Jerusalem to make war." Cf. also the Aramaic inscription of Bar-ga::lyah: np7" 7l7' 'T , "and a king that will wage war and will capture BKH" (KAI, No. 222B:35). - For cf. the Mesha c Inscription, lines 11, 15, cnn'N'; line 19, line 32, Cnn7i1 (supra, p. 392). It is impossible to decide who is the subject of the verbal form it can be either Hazael's father, or the king of Israel. However, it becomes clear that Hazael was not "the son of nobody" as claimed by Shalmaneser III (ANET, p. 280); cf. also lines 3-4. - The bended leg of the letter lends itself to other restorations but the best one is as proposed here. Abel is the important city of Abel-beth-maacah (identified with Tell Abil el-Qam1).), just c. 7 km west of Dan. This campaign conducted by Hazael's father, perhaps on behalf of his master, is unrecorded elsewhere. 3. - "My father lied," in the sense of died, common in the Bible, e.g. Gen 47:30: "And I shall lie with my ancestors." The dead are "those who lie in the grave" (Ps 88:6). called 'N 1M' - "Went to his ancestors, fathers"; supplements ':IN :I:JW',. Naveh rejected the possibility to restore n':I] on the assumption that it is known only from late sources, but in fact it is known from the "Book of Balaam": :I:Jwn ; n':I 7N 1:1l7' (supra, p. 454). Moreover, there is no

469

470

APPENDIX ONE need for the vocable rl':J, as evident from the Phoenician inscription of Al:tiram (KAI, No. 1:1): C737:J ilrllV::l, "When he placed him in his (place of) eternity"; d. also Ezek 26:20: C?i37 II ,i:J "those who go down to the pit II people of "the dead of the (place of) eternity." So it (place of) eternity"; Lam 3:6: C?i37 is possible to restore "his eternal place," his grave. 1:"1' - Preterite third singular masculine from 17il. 3-4. 7N'[lV]' 737" - As the inscription uses v70 for "wage war," we must derive 737" from "to enter." There is no word divider between the words and 7N'[lV]'. ':::IN V'N:::l 7N'[lV]' 737" - Hazael relates that formerly, but there is no way to know when, a king of Israel, be it Omri or Ahab, entered his father's land. Here he refers to his father as a ruler. Was he one of the Aramaean kings, Hadadezer's (the biblical Ben-hadad II) vassals whom he deposed after his defeat in Samaria (d. 1 Kgs 20:24)? In that case he was a king of one of the Aramaean kingdoms bordering Israel. i"N - Thus in early Aramaic; later 37'N, Proto-Semitic Jnj, Arabic ear4).

C'v

Cf. Jer 10:11 where the two forms come together: '':I N? "Thus shall you say to them: Let the gods, who did not make heaven and earth, perish from the earth and from under these heavens." 4-5. mN [,rl']N ":"1 - Likewise King Zakkur of Hamath (I:Iagrak-) claims: l'T[n 737 737:J "And Bacel-samaln made me king over I:Iazrak-" (KAI, No. 202:1:3-4). Hazael stresses that Hadad made him king not because he succeeded his father directly, but because he usurped the kingdom of Damascus, killing Hadadezer. Therefore he stresses illN 'rl'N, "me myself." - "He made king," Hafeel (causative) third singular masculine. ":"1 - The most important Aramaean deity, known from Akkadian and Ugaritic as the storm and rain god.

":"1 1:"1" - Hazael boasts that the prominent Aramaean god went before him in the war and thus gave him victory. It is also an expression of piety, attributing the victory to Hadad. Cf. Deut 1:30 describing YHWH as a warrior going before his people: mil', "YHWH your God, who goes before you, will fight for you." 5-6. '["v] 37:::1lV - The lacuna is just enough to fill in the letters "v, which allows us to restore "'p, "cities." Although the forms 'p (qfr) and its derivations are not attested in ancient Aramaic inscriptions (only il"p), it is known to exist like in Moabite, where we have both forms 'p and rl"v (in the

THE TEL DAN INSCRIPTION

Meshac Inscription, supra); for the plural 1"'1' (qirwln), d. Targum Onkelos, Num 13:28: (qirwayytt=t "the cities," and in the construct 'J,)j?, "the cities of the land" (Num 32:33). In that case, should be interpreted as the abstract noun "kingdom," with the possessive pronoun for first person. - Preterite first singular masculine from "to go out," here in the sense of to go out to war, like the common usage in biblical Hebrew. - Seven is a typological symbolic number, and d. infra, ll'[:JW] "seventy kings" (line 6). 6. 'mi'N' - Qal first common singular from 71'11', "to kill"; the form 71'11' is a disand typical of Old Aramaic (KAI, Nos. 215:8; 222:B:27; similation from 223:B:8-9; 224:11, 18, 21) as well as Arabic [qatala]). Official Aramaic (Al:Uqar: 46, ':JT 1:JTw,"He has saved you from killing an innocent one," et al.), biblical Aramaic (d. Dan 2:13 et al.) and likewise late biblical Hebrew (Obad 9; Ps 139:19; Job 13:15; 24:14). - The rounded left tip of the letter in question fits better an l' than for any other letter. The number" seventy" is a typological one expressing totality; d. the Bar-Rakib Inscription: i1:JN 'n'N 70 1'01, "And he killed the seventy brothers of his father" (KAI, 215:3); 2 Kgs 10:1: l"7t'wf "And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria," et al. For the common order of the numeral coming after the noun, d. Ex 36:17: l'I'N?? "He made fifty loops"; Ezra 1:9: :JV! "Thirty gold basins"; Dan 7:24: "And the ten horns." 6-7. "'ON - "ON is active participle in the construct state. "He hitched up his chariot"; 2 Kgs 9:21: For :J:J, 'ON d. Ex 14:6: 0"i1; "Hitch up (the chariot), and he hitched up his chariot." is construct state of "thousands." :J:J, "ON has the same meaning as :J:J, '7l':J in the Bar-Rakib Inscription (KAI, No. 215:10). ••• - This is a common literary pair; d. KAI, No. 202B:2: . :J:J'7; Gen 50:9: "Chariots, too, and horsemen went up with him," et al. Both :J:J, and tv,'£) are a collective noun. tv,£) has a double meaning, both the horse (Arabic (.)-'I [fars], "horse") and its rider; d. Ezek 23:6: "horsemen mounted on steeds." 7. 0'['" l'I"N "1'11"] - The restoration 1'171'11' of the editio princeps depends on the reading [1'1]71'11" in the next line, but in that case one should restore also here 1'171'11". I adopted here Rainey's proposal as explained below. n"N- Nota accusativi as in Phoenician, in Hebrew l'IN, and in later Aramaic 1'1'. I propose to restore here 0'["] and not 0,[,i1'] on the assumption that the

471

472

APPENDIX ONE Aramaean scribe knew the Israelite pronunciation of the king's name. 8. ,]Imi" - The lower left tip of the 7, which is all that remained of the letter, cannot be the tip of a " so a form like 7'np (Rainey) is ruled out; even 7np, q til (idem) should be ruled out as the lacuna is too large. Rainey's 3

proposal, [1]7np1, is preferred here upon the editio princeps reading [n]7np1,·" and I killed." For the use of the third masculine plural as an indefinite subject for the passive, d. Ezra 4:13: 17=? "Taxes, tribute and duty will not be paid" (lit. they will not pay); ibid. 15:14: "and they (the vessels) were given." Likewise, in the letter that Yedaniah and his colleagues wrote to Bagohi requesting to rebuild the temple in Elephantine, the third person masculine plural is employed in the sense of passive, thus TAD A4.7:6-B (= A4.B:5-7; Cowley, AP, Nos. 30, 31): ...

1'17M'

:l':l 'T

1M' 'T

:l':l 'T "Let the temple of YHW the god that is in Yeb the fortress be removed from there .... Let the temple that is in Yeb the fortress be

1lV'J'

demolished"; ibid. lines 21-22 (= A4.B:20-21): lV'M'" 17 nJlV 01' ,17, 1T 1':l17 M17171 M[J]1:l71 Mnm, "Moreover from that (time) and until (this) day, year 17 of King Darius, meal-offering and ince[n]se and holocaust had not been done in that temple." Thus the reading [1]7np, eliminates the need to build a new historical construction on a reconstructed n (Na' aman). Rainey has proposed a quite convincing linguistic solution that conforms to the biblical evidence as to the death of Joram and Ahaziah in the bloody revolt of Jehu, as told in 2 Kgs 9, and supported by Hos 1:4: punish the House of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel."

'117

"For soon I shall

9. ",l1':J - The name of the kingdom of Judah, the same one as in the Mesha c Inscription (line 31; d. supra, p. 393). - Cf. Lev 26:31: M:nlJ

[l1:1,n, OM l1"i'

'T:1NI' "1 will lay your cit-

M:n1J7 ... 'J¥:p ies in ruin"; Jer 44:6: M!iJ "So my fierce anger was poured out, and it blazed against the towns of Judah ... , and they became a desolate ruin, as they are still today." Cf. also KAI, No. 215:4: n:llV' m'p n:l,n n,'p cities than of settled cities." 9-10.

OM

"And he enlarged (the number of) devastated - Cf. the Bar-ga::lyah inscription

"Its meadow will be ruined as a desert" (KAI, No. 222 A:32). The possessive pronoun OM is written as a separate vocable; d. KAI, No. 202 A:9: OM . "and their camps"; 217:7: OM. l1lV::lJ, "their souls."

THE TEL DAN INSCRIPTION Inscription, line 16 (d. supra, p. 393; dis-

10. "'l"IN'] - After the cussed on p. 409).

10-11. 7,nN l"I::::I ::::IWN'] Restored according to lines 14-15 of the Meshac inscription (d. supra, p. 393). 11. - The upper remnant of the letter can only be a'. Restored c after the Mesha Inscription, line 17 (d. supra, p. 393).

Restoration ad sensum. 12-13. "17 [QWN'] - Cf. KAI, No. 202 A:9: "m "17 l"N all these kings laid a siege on ibid. 14-16: 1'''17 "All these kings that struck (laid) a siege on you." 11-12.

"17

,::::1

-

,,:;, "N

"And 7:;',

A. Biran and J. Naveh, "An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan," IE! 43 (1993), pp. 81-98; "The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment," IE! 45 (1995), pp. 1-18; S. AJ::rituv, "Suzerain or Vassal? Notes on the Aramaic Inscription from Tel Dan," IE! 43 (1993), pp. 246-247; T. Muraoka, "Linguistic Notes on the Aramaic Inscription from Tel Dan," IE! 45 (1995), pp. 19-21; idem, "Again on the Tel Dan Inscription and the Northwest Semitic Verb Tenses," ZAH 11 (1998), pp. 74-81; G. Rendsburg, "On the Writing ",n'::J in the Aramaic Inscription from Tel Dan," IE! 45 (1995), pp. 22-25; A. Lemaire, "The Tel Dan Stela as a Piece of Royal Historiography, !SOT 81 (1998), pp. 3-14; W. M. Schniedewind and B. Zuckerman, "A Possible Reconstruction of the Name of Hazael's Father in the Tel Dan Inscription," IE! 51 (2001), pp. 88-91; A. F. Rainey, "The Suffix Conjugation Pattern in Ancient Hebrew Tense and Modal Functions," Ancient Near Eastern Studies 40 (2003), pp. 35-39; idem, in A. F. Rainey and R. S. Notley, The Sacred Bridge, Jerusalem 2006, pp. 212-213; N. Na'aman, Ancient Israel's History and Historiography: The First Temple Period (Collected Papers 3), Winona Lake, IN 2006, pp.166-186. For extensive bibliography, d. G. Atlas, The Tel Dan Inscription, Sheffield 2003, pp. 320-326.

473

APPENDIX 2

GLOSSARY OF PROPER NAMES.

The appendix is not meant to be a comprehensive study of proper names. I shall limit myself to short explanations of those names whose meaning is obvious, and shall not bring forth parallels. I will elaborate on difficult names, or those which have an important message or some other significance. Most West Semitic names are sentences, either nominal or verbal, that are "Bacal is (my) father," or "God/:lEI composed of names such as said." Names composed with the verbal pattern of yiqto1, in the imperfect, represent something beginning in the past, or the so-called future tense. Names do not conform to the regular rules of pointing, for example, is not pointed but is not pointed but Most Hebrew personal names are theophoric, composed with a name of "father"; "brother." The typical a deity or an epithet of the deity like Hebrew theophoric names comprise the name of the national god of Israel, YHWH, either as the first element of the name or its last one. The difference between Judaean and Israelite Yahwistic names is in the form of the deity's name, and the Israelite one The form is exclusively, or the Judaean one being almost exclusively, of a late period, i.e. from the Persian period onward. In names like ;JAQ1bacal, the -1- vowel is most probably an anaptyctic one (as it is for most names), and not the first singular possessive pronoun. -

:JAQ1bacal. The god, who is called Father, is a lord. Otherwise, Bacal is

:JaQ, "father," a Father. Proper names composed with familial nouns like :Jem, "mother," cam, "maternal uncle, kinsman," and olJ , !;am, "fatherin-law (on mother's side)" represent an old stratum of society and religion in which the god was perceived as a part of the family. - :JAQl. A hypocoristic name, d. s. v. - :JAQ1yahfl. YHW is father. - :JAQ1yaw. Cf. s. V. 'il'::JN.

GLOSSARY OF PROPER NAMES

:JA"QzJ:zay. The father (i.e.' the god) is alive. :JA"QzCezer. The father (i.e. the god) is a help. - :JI"Q$an. Perhaps derived from the root Arabic "to be swift, agile." 'l"I":lN - :JA"Qzryahu. YHW is strong, mighty. It is also possible to take the name as a verbal sentence composed with the root ':IN, "to be strong, mighty," and thus :JA"Qaryahu, YHW has behaved as a mighty one. N'N - :JAda:J. Either a non-Semitic name, or a hypocorostic one. C'N - Adam. Man. Name of the first human being on earth: Adam. In the Bible the personal name occurs only in the story of the Creation, and in 1 Chr 1:1. :JA£j.onzyaw, the Israelite form of the biblical name :JA£j.onryyahu, YHW is lord. This is a declaration of faith. Cl1)'N :JA£j.onzCam. The lord (the god) is a kinsman; d. the common phrase 'M':lN -

'Tl1:1N -

")'N -

"And he was gathered to his kin" (Gen 25:8 et al.). Cl1, cam, in Hebrew has a much wider meaning than in Arabic ((-i, camm, "maternal uncle"). W)'N - :JA£j.onzs. :JA£j.on, "lord" + the non-Semitic genitive-gentilic suffix s. "N"N - :JUrFel. The god is (my) light. 'l"I"'N - :JUrzyahu. YHW is (my) light. NMN - :JAJ:za:J. Hypocoristic of name comprised of the noun :JaJ:z, "brother." :JAJ:zZYzmol!. His mother's brother, maternal uncle. Cf. the Syriac name ('7)!:1.)f; 0

236

o

93

'1; 80

vt:'l7tjtllJ 393

98

267, 269, 271, 273,274,304, 307,372

195

Von von7 !:I1n :JJO C1n

V7n

o

98,110,'111,183

438

80

438

1JttJ

393 63

1J

142 393

159

'iZ)£)n

438

1i'

322

252, 253

438

see

252

454 241 242,393 see Index II-C, SoVo

ilCO

oJf:? OJf:?f

438

see 104

30 183

98 102,109 84,88,92,96,

393

495

496

INDICES 70 205 ,387,393,

393

'j,lm 242,243

419,454

393

92

7'::>

393 :JW" 119

357

108

1? 142

221 357

454 378, 438

123, 159,357

'I:l:tlJf 70 :J'l1:;>I:l 80

357

See also

7f 63, 233, 318, 393,454

261, 266, 267,

7'::> 393

268, 269, 271, 273

393

17W1il 221,235

OOO?iJ 393

,

il'7 221, 318, 393

Index II-B, s,v,

'7 63, 159, 393,

Wn7

97 55,213, 357, 378,427,455

159 159 159

'7:P

435 393

393 O? 252,253 !'t'7

il7?? O? 434,438

-'7 203 (n7Wn7),

'7.:p 393

438 (il!'t'7), 454 -'7i 438

il'::> 427, 438

il7?? 80 ili'7 see

(7Y'7)

70,393

332

105 iZ.'lJ'7 376, and cf,

17 233

see also s, v,

p

98 ory? 84, 93, 96, 103,

-?

OO? 93,96,142

:J?? 60, 77, 80

o:;i::> 384

ory?

51,393 393

104

See also

47

213,393 !'t??

393

205

393

70,

9I;l:tW 173

393

393

26

455

393

('nW)"), 454

1iJ'::>

159

(717'7') 438 252

!'t'7f 438

454

!'t'7i 114

159

113, 190, 199

!'t'7 60, 70, 80, 205

70

See also !'t"L) 80, 205

63, 194, 195,

26,44,113,126,

7f 159

138, 190, 372

159 see

199

also 357 r::>iJ 324

'O:;>iJ 357 ':;> -:;> 357 ':;Ji 63, 70, 80, 393 ':;> 22, 51, 60, 63, 70,

lLij?? 252

454

rW? 455

:J7. 63

0J?iJ 363

454 il'::l7 142

OJ?? 34

9f7 205

See also Index II-C, s,v, 7nil

n':J:;I? 372

OJ? 357

454 318

'I:I'Jf 393

See also

454

98, 116

454

ilt$/d ilt$/di 154 22

'7y,n' 11V'Jf 215

ilt$/d

454 'j,7

n'!'t/d 393

I. VOCABLES

C:lJN7ff 22 1DN7f 393

419

63 369

142

'WN7.)

235

lP,7P:l

i1WiJ

Ntm

104 159, 173?

357

96

387

C1i'7f, C·i'7f 424

63

152, 393 80 63, 80, 127, 237

i1JD??

P??PiJ

116 438

393

393 77, 154,240, 241,245

438

N,¥17.)

419

,.7.)

17.7t 454 195, 438

22

438

trn7PiJ 427 N·W7d NW7d:P 438 NW7d 98 n·Ni¥7d

357

70

454

17.7t

247,333

n7.) l'n7.)

:li'l 22 22

63,80

22

'i?·l

i1i?77d 455

273,274,276,304

454 455 22,109,374, 438,454

:J:J07.) see :J":JO l"t?I???,n?l??? n?l??piJ 393

393

l"ti'l

(7:Jl {:J }), 307,

235

309

159 454

W:Jl see W£)l see Index II-C,

310 37

194

63 35, 261, 266, 271,

60,77,80

419

173

)

454

393

247 438

454

351

P7d7

63

393

173

P7·7.)

C:7d, P7d C:7PiJ 22, 30

357 186

239

17.7fI;1'7

168

'17l

455

2.

438

219 219

454

419,454

,n7.)' 329 i1tJ??: 237 i1[Jq7dJ 435 'lJ7f 84, 96, 438

30

127

126, 142, 152, 363, 387, 393,

438

91,331

MOl nOl

247

17.7t

n·7.) 357 nw 454

l"tOl

393

393

"'7f

22 438

343

1.

1?7f

142 371

179

324

i17d

see

324

363

see

N·:J7f n·N·:J??

393

s.v.

N\Vl

:J"l n7.)'

'''l 63 62, 194 438

393

NW·l7

393 438

See also 438

NW7f,

497

INDICES

498

n'Wl 1m

438

98 63,80,435,455

C'J99iJ

378 63 195

Ttm

318

10m

96 159

77

63 63 80

C?il' see C?'l' :JJ.¥v

34 55

98,320

'T17

'11'v

351

,p,'O

m17

393 190

116, 371 70, 92, 96, 106,

C¥?

34 455 438

:m7

438 159

nn 438

26

203

'll'

109, 110, 111

10

142 84, 98, 102, 119, 351,378

Ton

393

31

393

127 70

::ll7 438 438

93,119

,::ll7 see 0

233 22, 35, 42, 98, 127,

438

174, 195,203?,

393

351, 393, 455

::l::lC IJ'::lI;>t1J n':J:t'o i1fP.t;1

70 80, 84 63

357 357

17??iJ 70

i1?19 n"19

324 127

63 96

63 60, 159

60, 62, 63, 70, 77, 80, 142, 159,

357

'?'l' 454 97?'1'1 173 454

393 393

i1::?1J9 n':J1J9

26

51

"l7

438

,il' 'il'f

438

393 454

see Index II-C, s,v,

C?'l'

(1 )"l" 35

T)+.' 190 181

'1',l7

51

393 393,438

393 93 84 205

454

1¥'¥ 424 i1W¥ 123

393

IJW¥

454

103 70, 96, 123

see

MUll7

454

92 63,92

'i1'1 ,il'

C?'l' C?'l'V

22 22

438

"C see n7'o 180 330 'J1;?9 '!:lC

378

174 127

438

/ j:J?+.' [l':Jn+.':p

454 203

104 104, 454 126,135 106, 109, 393

44 357

438 70

,::ll'

454

::l,l7

M'l'

199

i1'Op' 454 ")l' 0'0 see ::lMC

252

i1¥+.' i1¥+.'7iJ

393

C¥V

205

1. VOCABLES

'DW¥

387,393

O,W¥

350 126

195 80

393

Ml£)

195 159, 393

'W¥ 'iV¥ see, 'iV¥ 'iV¥ i1jl¥¥ see i1jl¥¥

Yr?

454

235

26

127

109

'¥ 221

62 see Index II-C,

s.v. 252

i1,¥ i1,¥J lJ'J¥

438

159

O'J¥·ptl

111, 113, 119, 123,142,194,

'j? 393

98

393

i'

318

Ml'I£)

438 174 174

378 371, 372 35,194,195,

'W 114 see Index II-B, s.v. i1,i1'

44 51 454

248

26 357,393

'p. 1'Jp. N'i'

438 63 63,80

48 324 (tv, {tv }V)

372,393 63, and d.

80

393, 393

44,48

203, 205, 213, 199 205 N' 60, 205

159

438

47

TIl

l"Il'I£)

62, 84, 92, 96, 98, 103, 105, 109,

i1·9

77 252 159

438

Mi'£) M'£)

159 159

91

See also 109

168

22 51 98

438 438

106

'iV¥ 'iV¥ i1jl¥¥ i1jl¥¥ 'iV¥ 'iV¥

22,174

'17£)

177

253

438

55 194/5 174

'i'£) O'J'j?=?;:tJ

304,307

93,103

119

108 393 51

108 261, 264, 266, 273, 276, 279,280,303,

92, 103 109

98 9DWJ 205

37

See also

'ivJ 438 'iV 22

W'J·V 331,342,344 'iV see ,·V C'i' 438

1Mi'

80 63 393

l"I'i' 127

22 438

see Yr? "j? see 'i? ,·V, 'iV

393 393 393

499

INDICES

500

see

i"i' ni"v nV'Vil 438 310

,

233

PlJjO! lInn ClJ,

427

393 393

NjttJ

CIJJ CIJJ

454 393

WN', WN', 22

'1o/N" 454 lWN'J lWN'JO 92, 103 :Jj ?!:IjO 203 C:;lj 363 l:;lj 393, 419, 438 333,350

ryvn

26

393

l£>'?N

276, 278, 279, 280,304,307,

309

i'M' V'n,

il'Jl¥' O"W

36 159,186

322 34,35

,'W 173

454

Cflm

l"tl"tW

55

438, 455

n'v'n';1

22

363

363

NlW :J'D, 454 !:I!:I' :Jne 92/93 C',

s, v,

i17n

i17ni

454

393 378, 454

393

51

:JW07 378

il1YO/ C'J'Yo/ 195, 310 'l¥' 'WiJ 221 80

1Yj 22 Yj,il¥, 55

il¥,O 89 242

142 51

'W

159 63,335

63

'Jj 324

see Index II-C,

?

454

s,v,

'£>'il n'!:I

0"

C'JiJ!

351

n'9j7

80

,'nW n',no/ 91 n'JOW n'JoWiJ 393 !:I!:IW 232 454 d,

C1'?W see C'?W M'W

310

'1';1 454

159 205

see see '?¥W, V1W see V'W

vj'W vj'WiJ (nickname; see Index II-B)

454

ilOW 454 :J'W :J1P.O 84 :JWiJ 77 z:i:J1P.tjJ 159

454

324

m.n see Index II-C,

393

17!:1W

203 26 168, 170

m,

180

VlJ';1 427

See also Index II-C, s,v, lVN'il n:J

!:I!:I' ?:JJV

438

159

YD'

438 70 438

393

393

YM'

77

::lo/ttJ

142

W,

419 80

il¥' Mi"

438 438

l"tN'

'J';1?

455

PlJj

W ('?VlV) see 'NW 454 119,318, 454

112, 116 102, 108

'DI;1'zWi

113 203

127

1. VOCABLES 142 203 199 n?w 62, 63, 70, 80, 113,123,142, 70

IJ·'W

,tl?W

63 70,77

nl;l?W

nw:p

301,302,309

mWi mW

438

324

108

i1¥W

199

119 55, 60, 77, 80,

84, 119, 203?, 213,310

173

70,77

(? )i117W see 17nW

70, 84

'¥V!

62

O·'W

438

60, 62

O·'W

77,

332 419

84

W7W

See also

W7WiJ

vJ'W

173

51, 320

O'J1?·W

122

393

see Index II-C, s.v.

p·W 'p·W

55 70

335 109

see Index II-C, s.v.

,lJ ,lJiJ see Index II-C, s.v. ,ni1 mn 322

i1fP'f;1 70; c£. 438

17WlJ

454 80

'PU1 173

'J1?·Wi

50

O'l17

omnn

see 63

190 168,170

30 454

393

427

22

,o/¥ ,o/¥

nlJlJ lPll;llJ

190

213

357 113, 123, 199

-n see nN

168,170

438 113,123,

1"1 374

i1 {l }nJW,

22

320, 351, 378

i117W

nlJlJ

173

438 60, 62, 70, 77,84

123

190 393

nw mU1

109

'171?Wi 173

357, and c£.

281, 285, 286,

292, 294, 295,

,o/¥ ,o/¥

o,U1

i1WW i1WWiJ 106 nWWiJ 180 nW see j'U"IU1 'nWl" 454 "nW 438 (? )17nU1

288, 289, 291,

112, 114

O·,W

304,307

36,39

126

'7W

O·'Wi

282, 290, 296, 298,300,303,

280, 304, 307,

205 203

O·'W O·'Wtl

278,279,280,

309,344

63

'nl;l?W

273, 274, 276,

276, 278, 279,

213

181

267, 269, 271,

see

lrtW lrtWiJ 105, 112 lrtWi 108, 110 lrtW 102, 116, 155,

63

350 190

180 261, 264, 266,

438

213 ? n,w 124

333

438

nW n·lWi 363

324

103, 105, 110,

159

wrtW?

70,127

114

W 113, 155; 372

WrtWiJ

116,393 oW 70, 203, 393, 419,438

oW OW?

199

lJ'tw

WrtW

OW

267, 268, 269,271,274, 278

501

502

INDICES

II. INDEX OF PROPER NAMES A.

DIVINITIES

199, 227, 228, 230, 233, 235,315,318,320,324, 393 mil' 50,229 mil' 315, 320 / mil' 318, 320,323

324

7t\

427, 435 1'1t\)P7t\ 41 il1Wt\, n1Wt\ see Index I lil7t\

324,340,367 il'

235

387, 392

10' 314,318 mil' 50,51, 55, 60, 70, 77, 80,84,113,119,123,142,

1mVl' 438 1nWl' 392

o'p

351

1lW

438

1'1W 357

438,354 438

B. PERSONS Including toponyms which are actually personal names, like those of the clans of Manasseh. 7t\'nt\ 26, 28

N 264

'il'nt\ 32, 63 cp'nt\ 28, 135

215 170 253 140 273, 286

266, 291,292, 294 281,282, 285, 286,288,301 186

194 41 t\1t\ 335

cpnt\ 166, 186

C1t\ 140

W':Jt\ 335

384

")1t\ 295

t\7t\ 294

Cl')1t\ 268,269, 271,

1,t\7t\ 376

382

279 W)1t\ 346

261

7t\1,t\ 382

1:JT7t\ 199

'il'1,t\ 135, 177

1t\'7t\ 123

t\nt\ 147,164,303

"7t\ 317

351

92, 96, 98,

186

102, 103, 105, 106,

Tnt\ 264

109, 110, 113, 116,

'nt\ 140

119, 126, 139, 170

l'W'7t\ 86, 127, 261,

263,384 P7t\ 181

376 1)7t\ 384 lm7t\ 63, 168, 181 il11'7t\ 215 1T1'7t\ 376 C17t\ 376

424 384 317 216 320 W)t\ 346

t\ot\ 382

382 354 186 384 351 199 384 435, 438 28, 104, 140, 165,186,202 376 263,266,285, 286,290,292 (cf. 292;

290 'il'1t\ 199, 221

see also

"1t\ 302,312 t\Wt\ 273, 281, 282,

1:JT { l' }

285,286,288,292 'il'Wt\ 86, 116, [142],

186

346

1:JT {l' }

1:JT

271 1:JT { l' }

292; see

also 346

II-B. PERSONS see

28

26

372

190

28

32

M

O:J:> 384

63, 177 YW,i1 215

0':>, 0,:>i1 139

1Y:J1:J see 1Y:J

:J7:> 150

348

56 346

120

387, 392 63, 145

363,382

11:J 310 245

56, 166, 186 W1i1 346 166

W1W:J see W1W

,

1n:J 181

nm 346

ji1:J 376

63, 77, 202

62, 159, 168,

Wji:J 190

179 348

372

217,218

300 145 42

427

98, 113, 164,

217

221

1'Yf 435, 438

lW1:> 215

60, 62, 77, 80 151 56, 140, 170 150 248

,

W:> 346

Wn7376

177J7 351

see

"

T 195

177

1:>T 139, 164, 166,

290,292 (cf,

113, 140

1:>T { Y} 7Y:J), 369

n:Jl 179

384

'l 392

264, 267, 276, 277,278,288,295 123, 168, 173, 177, 199 1TY'l 382 i1Tl; i1Tli1 181 Onl 135

7l7l 145 17Jl 288

56, 135, 139, 142, 186, 202 384 170 122, 261, 288,

,

427

56

63 26,135, 140, 199

312

263, 295, 301

165,186,248

140, 146, 151

48

186

186 384 166 41, 186

382

n

427

123

:Jln 56,229

384 i17ln 298,300

see:Jln 384

376

135, 146 315

140, 142 382

199 298

W77J 168, 170

215

onm 166, 177, 186,

312,384

181, 186

32 177

315

154

307

7Y:J17J 264

105

n17J17J 149

140 r7n 281, 289, 290,

291 ji7n 281, 282, 285

177 07W7J 140

301

YW7J 392

382

" , 392,468 170

:JlW7Jn 376

140, lSI, 186

i17' 294

pn 139, 298, 300, 384

ln7J 165

56

369

288 384

186, 317

335 335

W7Jn 346

86

186, 190

181 56, 127, 186

l 371, 384

503

504

INDICES 'il'::J'l 199 O'P::J'l 355 i11l 170 "l 166 om 114,116

7N::JW 217, 384

"T37 317 'T37 150, 164, 190, 313,376

215 186 147

7N'Tl> 376 'il"T37 113, 216

384 219

0P"T37 195

'::JW 159 'il'l::JW 44 37::JW 139,264 WlW 346

111,142,151, 168, 186, 190 ,tml 215

'::J:J37 186, 384 7N'737 382

1:JW 355

186 il37l 302

166 ::J,m37 363

'il'l:JW 186

26

371

32 392 151

'pl 376 N'l 217,218 'il"l 56, 135, 177

1m

168,346

7Nl37 384

282

'il'lnl 177, 194,224,

'£>37 see '£>'37 ::Jp37 376

227

0'37 181

0 N70 186

70, 86, 177, 181,219 312 'il"370 135

3J 7N'::J37 147, 379

'il'W37 86, 181

C O'P37l£> 354, 355 ,,£> 335,340 'il"£> 147, 181 89

379

'il"::J37 110, 146, 186

205 W£>£> 346

"'::J37 302,314

np£> 330

'il"37 140, 150

1N'£> 274 np£> 330 n,£> 39

ill'37 314

151

j? i11p 186 ill::JO'P 354

N'W 190 ,nw 186

"l:JW 317 07W 63, 346, 354

84, 177, 179, 190,194

::J'lO'P 355 "7P 312 07P 89

346

266, 288, 290, 291,294,309

il"OP 348 ilN'P 32 "N::J'P 28,120140 n,p 145

70, 135, 140, 165,215 313

"P 32

119 261,273,274, 280,317

'O'P 119

,

376

ilN' 199

::JlW 369

Nl' 135

737W 139, 147

il:J' 346 7N37' 354 N£>' 282,355

ttl 7N'tu 295, 301 P'W; P'Wil 32

'£>'37 224, 227 NT37 261,384

W,£> 376

W

'il'T37 122

,nw£> 149

7NW 351

177 7PW 376 ypw 181 W'W 32

n illnnn 168 omn 140

II-C. GEOGRAPHICAL AND ETHNIC NAMES

c. GEOGRAPHICAL AND ETHNIC NAMES N 273, 286 123,127,142

C·'N

99

"1 216,218 145 nl 274

,

inN 264,276 286 n7N 371 ,!;iN 155

nl 39

p"

,

70,195

?

387,392

i1l'P

t)

W:J7

see

102, 103, 106, 109, 110, 111

,,17 127 ,17,17 392 lW17 88 n'W17 295

'n:J 116 c'n:J 92, 96, 98,

j?

387

194 ll'N 392

392 116

:1 261 86

",

392, 467

1,·n

70 155

i17m 298,300 p"n 392, 392 p7n 281, 282, 284,

367,419

CON i100

127 267 392

n',p In',p 392 'O'P 119

,

220

127 166

63, 152 317

159 138

166, 180

W 271

278, 281, 282

1.

285 392 392 376 392 392, and 392 419

392

.,

269, 271, 279, 298,300

C7W" 7N'W'

233 392, 467 301

l 268 216, 217, 218

7N'W

295, 301

see

i1,i1' ',i1'i1 303 i1,i1' 142,233 Yi1' 392

d.

'1 392

166 133

285 363,

WN'i1

235 392

M

98

2.

170

392

!:)

'717,n' C,:J 304 7ni1 C,:J 304, 305

i117l

302

Vi C:JW

o

296

288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 294, 310

276,288

315, 320 717W 220

31

i1pT17 70 n'U17 392 see

C'l17 Cl'717 133 cmnn 133 l'P17 335

l'W

392

n 7,n

273,280 318,320,

322

505

506

INDICES III. INDEX TO CITATIONS FROM SCRIPTURES

Genesis 1:1 1:3 1:11 1:14 1:16-18 1:24 2:6 2:10 3:4 4:2 4:12 4:25 6:12 8:2 8:22 9:20 9:26 10:4 11:3 12:3 14:19 14:22 15:1 15:10 15:17 15:18 18:6 18:18 19:32 19:33 19:34 20:13 21:8 21:34 22:14 22:15 22:24 23:1 23:6 24:8 24:31

337,338 429 344 366 446 254 161 122 361 405 459 488 447 446 254 306 458 94 447 239 54,231 42 441 449 446 469 181 239 444 397 442 429 24 399 317 325 136,398, 479 154 442 397 314

25:8 26:25 26:29 27:28 28:11 28:14 28:18 28:19 28:22 30:11 31:34 31:54 32:6 32:26 35:11 36:5 36:31-32 37:13 37:20 37:25 37:34 37-41 38:5 40:2 41:5 41:22 41:48 41:49 42:11 42:16 43:11 43:23 43:27 45:17 45:22 46:21 47:30 48:16 49:9 49:10 50:9

35,475 414 314 340 343 239 222 343 222 479 403 443 65 482 460 148 152 444 444 373 399 183 86 40 325 401 373 373 76 68 204,373 190 121 375 198 475 232, 469 54 409 397 471

Exodus 1:11-12 2:23

399 399

3:17 5:19 9:7 9:23 9:29 9:31 12:32 13:21 14:6 15:2

131 79 206 408 116 255,256 327 408 471 166,478, 484 15:11 326 76 16:7 76 16:8 16:10 198 16:22 185 16:32 96 96,185 16:33 241,354 16:36 17:1 71 17:8 71 397 17:15 121 18:7 18:21 179 18:25 179 20:2 427 20:7 94 20:12 (16) 162 20:21 23 71 21:6 21:7-11 46 21:33 414 446 22:2 460 22:5 429 22:8 405 22:9 22:25 158 254 23:16 95 24:6 233 24:14 25:22 199 26:1 433 27:20 277 29:9 176 29:40 241,350

30:1 30:12 30:13 30:24 30:36 32:34 34:22 35:4 36:17 38:26

424 412 193,209, 246 242 445 198 75,254, 256 359 471 246

Leviticus 2:9 2:11 4:28 5:6 5:15 6:13 6:14 7:13 8:26 11:10 11:16 11:17 11:18 11:19 13:42-43 14:10 14:12 14:15 14:21 14:24 15:25 19:13 19:14 19:18 21:9 21:20 23:10 23:12 23:16 24:2 25:3-4

353 354 381 381 193 24 95 185 185 183 448 140 448 449 479 242,374 242 242 242 242 399 442 362 327 440 460 354 374 354 277 256

III. SCRIPTURES 26:3-6 26:5 26:31 27:3 27:12 27:17 27:23

340 254, 256 472 193 193 193 193

Numbers 1:4 3:17 3:24 3:47 4:2 4:22 4:22-23 4:29 4:34 4:38 4:40 4:42 4:46 5:21-22 5:31 6:3 6:24-26 6:25 6:27 6:33 10:3 11:5 11:35 12:16 13:4 13:9 13:10 13:11 13:28 15:4 15:20-21 20:17 21:13 21:18 21:19-20 21:23 22:4 22:5

440 193 352 209 406 406 412 406 406 406 406 406 406 163 163 98 50, 53, 339 482 327 302 199 399 279 279 370 283 264 264 471 181 183 24 415 414 415 411 185 439

22:8 22:9 22:13 22:20 22:21 22:41 23:7 23:18 24:3 24:4 24:16 26:30 26:31 26:32 26:33 26:65 31:3-5 32-34 32:32 32:33 32:34 32:35 32:37 32:38

440 440 440,442 440 442 415 440 254 254 441,444 444 281,476 296,297 267 299 361 171 439 76 471 404, 414 404 403 286, 328, 408 32:39 402 33:15 71 33:17-18 279 33:45 396, 416 33:45-46 396 33:46-47 416 171 34:3 160 34:4 34:22 44 171 36:3-4 36:24 302 46:13 302

Deuteronomy 1:15 1:30 2:36 4:19 4:26 4:43 6:4 6:9

179 470 414 51,230 401 415 317 71

6:17 7:8 7:9 7:13 7:26 8:10 8:19 9:8 10:3 10:8 11:14 11:20 12:3 12:18 13:9 13:15 14:15 14:16 14:17 14:18 15:1 15:2 16:21 19:4 19:9 21:5 24:6 24:10-13 27:2-3 27:5 27:15 27:26 28:3

94 221 51,52 453 183 327 132,401 400 397 327 254 71 221 449 443 198 448 140 448 449 23 23 221,222 23 412,416 327 430 158 433 23 47, 163 239 231,239, 340 453 28:4 161 28:8 453 28:18 453 28:51 328 28:58 30:18 401 325,366 32:7 482 32:11 450 32:14 32:46 132 32:48-50 408 33:2 325, 441, 481

33:5 33:21 33:27 34:1-5

444 441 411 408

Joshua 1:9 1:14 2:6 5:10-12 5:11 6:21 6:26 7:24 8 8:12 8:31 8:32 10:9-10 10:24 13:3 13:9 13:16 13:17

205 416 255 256 136 410 410 73 409 411 23 108 409 171 339 396 402 286, 328, 396,403 13:18 411 13:19 403 15:21-22 130 15:22 198,351 15:24 119 15:26 166 15:41 166 15:42 89 86 15:44 134 15:50 15:55 119,134 16:10 252 17:2 296,476 302 17:7 220 18:26 138 19:5 131 19:8 339 19:46 415 20:8 21:22 155 24:2 404 411 24:18

507

508

INDICES 24:19 24:23

429 145

Judges 1:16 1:24-25 1:27 1:29 5:2 5:4 5:9 5:11 5:26 5:30 6:8 6:11 6:24 6:26 6:28 6:30 8:2 9:26 9:43 9:53 11:6 11:11 11:26 11:40 12:8 14:15 15:5 16:7 16:11 17:2

18:14 18:15 18:25 19:3 19:30 20:38 21:21

130 360 402 252 327 324,325 327 322, 447 434 409 440 274 481 221 221 221 256 480 411 430 171 171 171 322 198 319 306 423 423 54, 115, 189,231, 314 198 121 60 100 460 76, 204 397

1 Samuel 1:3 1:10

161 443

1:20 5:8-9 7:9 8:13 8:15-17 9:8 9:21 9:23-24 9:27 10:18 10:21 11:2 11:9-11 11: 11 13:6 13:17 13:18 13:21 14:3 15:4 16:5 16:11 17:26 17:34 17:36 18:10 18:27 19:6 21:11 21:14 22:18 23:21 24:2 24:15 25:2 25:6 25:18 26:19 27:6 27:8 29:2 29:3 29:3-4 29:6 29:7 30:12

75,487 96 400 183 105 350 401 183 62 427 484 378 163 409 48 140, 220 450 247 451 412 166 103 429 160 429 161 163 68 338 399 451 54 411 62 135 362 91 160,228 412 404 338 162 338 338 338 91,184

30:27

130

2 Samuel 1:21 3:27 3:30 5:10 6:18 6:19 7:13 7:24 8:13-14 8:18 9:8 9:10 11:1 11:16 11:21 12:4 12:15 12:27 13:8 13:17 14:17 14:26 16:1 16:9 17:16 17:27 18:15 18:28 19:41 20:9 20:13 21:9 22:12 22:40 22:47 23:11 23:20 23:23 23:26 23:34 24:9 24:12

447 175 327 230 230,327 185 322 322 142 170 62 259 76 76 430 459 462 423 374 407 320 245 91, 100, 256 62 119 162 179 166 399 214, 320, 352,380 447 256 447 443 53 348 405 416 282 423 179 440

1 Kings 1:37 2:6 2:9 2:36 2:45 3:2 3:26 3:27 4:10 5:11 5:25 6:8 6:32 6:34 7:2 7:20 7:26 7:37 8:19 8:57 8:58 8:66 9:2 9:13 9:15 9:26-28 10:17 10:21 11:5 11:7 11:14-22 11:33 12:17 12:20 12:26 13:32 14:19 14:21 14:29 15:13 15:27 16:18 16:23 16:29 16:34 19:1-14

320 459 198 360 239 327 94 94 299 239 443 47 433 434 413 362 241 77 460 320 145 239 325 114 23,252 155 413 413 183,360 397 142 360 399 417 417 397 83 152 83 399 374 422 402 402 44, 410 313

III. SCRIPTURES 19:2 19:10 19:14 20:3 20:10 20:22 20:24 20:33 21:2 22:19 22:44 22:48

429 230 230 427 429 76 470 114 185 230,445 23 398,414

2 Kings 1:1 1:2-3 1:6 1:16 2:20 3 3:4 3:5 3:14 3:25 3:26 4:7 4:13 4:23 5:1 5:17 5:24 6:9 6:31 8:13 9 9:8 9:13 9:17 9:21 9:37 10:1 10:8 10:19 11:4 11:8 11:15

402 340 340 340 185 401,404, 417 197,390 402 230 404 411 446 160 122,166 53 100 413 69 429 62 472 401 152 199 471

23 471

26 340 78,411 361 361

11:16 12:5 12:11 12:14 12:18 13:6 13:10 14:7 14:22 14:23 14:25 15:25 16:5 16:6 16:14 16:18 17:3 17:4 17:21 18:18 19:4 19:16 20:20 22:5 23 23:8 23:13 23:15 25:8 25:14 25:22 25:25 25:26

360 190 192 190 469 221 259 142 403 259 403 422 469 142,373 399 360 469 69 417 46 429 429 19,23, 367 400 158 397,426 360 397 183 410 398 79 69

Isaiah 1:5 1:15 5:6 7:2 7:13 8:10 8:22 10:5 10:15 11:1 11:14 13:1

67 176 256 417 417 460 452 399 23 450,458 416 441

13:4 13:10 13:21 14:13 14:28 15:1 15:2 15:5; 16:9 17:6 19:4 19:10 21:2 22:8 22:9-11 22:16a 22:16b 22:19 22:22 22:24 24:13 25:9 27:9 29:1 29:1-2 29:7 29:18 30:6 30:10 30:15 30:25 32:10 32:14 33:7 33:18 34:11 34:13 35:5 36:10 37:4 37:17 38:10 38:14 40:12 41:10 42:1

51,230 482 448 445 441 404,408, 441 396 417 256 184 446 447 463 413 19 47 47 46 417 95 256 365 221 75,337 406 406 452 452 440 326 413 256 413 405 413 448,449 448 67 400 429 429 367 448 161,256 362 477

42:20 43:20 44:12 45:17 46:3 48:8 49:15 50:5 51:5 52:9 54:9 58:11 58:13 59:6 59:9 59:16 60:2 60:20 62:10 63:1 66:10

67 448 255 53 485 67 463 67 418 477 54 24 207 451 447 418 325 447 415 379 365

Jeremiah 1:13 2:6 2:10 2:24 3:23 4:5 6:1 6:21 7:16 7:18 7:34 8:7 9:20 10:3 10:11 12:9 14:9 15:3 16:5 16:9 18:18 21:12 22:19 23:31

325 460 94 276 53 163 76 23 486 476 459 448 463 255 470 450 163 407 429,430 460 464 417 407 464

509

510

INDICES 23:33 25:10 26:18 26:22-23 27:3 27:5-6 27:12 28:1 29:22 31:1 32:18 32:19 34:7 35:17 36:23 37:5-12 37:21 38:4 38:11-12 38:14 39:5 40:8 41:1 44:6 44:17-19 44:25 48:1 48:3 48:7 48:22 48:23 48:24 48:32 48:34 49:20 50:39 50:45 51:51 51:58

441 460 415 69 123 412 123 123 475 325 51 198 59 230 71 69 94 80 26 360 73 224 79,204 472 476 476 403 286,417 388 416 403 378,407 256 411,417 407 448 407 23 176

Ezekiel 1:1 8:1 11:25 12:27 16:18 20:39

108 443,463 443 366 406 406

23:3 23:6 23:15 23:43 24:2 25:9 26:4 26:9 26:11 26:20 27:11 32:7 32:27 33:21 33:30 36:36 41:23-24 42:9 44:5 44:30 45:14 46:19 47:16 47:18

406 471 451 60 94 286,403 413 413 40.6 470 413 446 406 108 461 412 361 360 360 183 96,121 360 417 417

Hosea 1:2 1:4 2:1 3:2 8:1 10:1 12:6

338 472 450 121 449 479 230

Joel 2:2 2:21 2:23

325 365 365

Amos 1:1 1:12 3:13 4:12 5:20 6:7 6:14

7:1 7:14 8:1 8:2 8:5 8:9 9:5 9:7

255 197 256 256 36,105, 109 446 230 346

Obadiah 9

471

Micah 1:3 1:4 1:8 1:14 2:9 3:6 3:12 4:8 4:9 5:13 7:1

326 325,326 448 86 406 446 415 413 461 221 256

Nahum 1:14 2:2

177 152

Habakkuk 3:3 3:6 3:17

324,326 326 353

Zephaniah 1:15 2:14

452 448,449

Haggai 197,433 322 230 327 447 429 230

1:15 2:12-13

108 461

Zechariah 1:8 3:2 6:12

32 54 148,486

9:1 9:14 12:7 12:8 12:10 12:12 13:1

441 484 417 417 417 417 417

Malachi 1:1 2:6

441 175

Psalms 2:2 2:6 3:5 15:1 16:5 18:12 18:40 18:47 18:51 19:3 19:5-6 19:14 20:5 24:8 26:12 30:2 35:19 37:21 37:26 38:22 39:4 41:14 44:10 45:7 45:11 46:4 47:9 48:9 48:11 48:13 49:12 50.:10 51:19 54:9

444,445 406 406 406 481 447 443 53 322 316,444 459 163 319 324 327 480 398 319 319 53 464 52 230 175 442 354 152 442 176 413 459 254 326 ,401

III. SCRIPTURES 55:23 59:10 59:11 60:6 60:12 61:7 63:12 67:5 68:12 68:16-17 68:35 69:10 73:23 74:6 74:16 76:9 77:6 78:34-36 78:55 80:4 80:8 80:20 81:6 82:1 84:4 85:6 86:11 88:6 88:9 89:12 89:38 90:10 90:15 91:1 91:16 93:1 93:4 96:2 96:10 97:1 97:5 99:1 100:4 102:7 102:25 103:4 104:11

482 76 398 219 230 366 446 175 351 326 322 236,448 475 60 429 83 366 319 411 53 53 53 338 445 449 400 408 469 480 429 402 367 366 361 77,322 152 325 327 152 152 325 152 327 140 402 446 254

104:12 104:17 104:20 108:12 112:5 112:8 113:2 115:15 118:7 119:36 119:42 122:4 122:6 125:4 129:8 134:2 139:19 142:4 144:1 145:1 145:21 147:15

449 449 254 230 319 401 327 115 398 145 448 328 121, 175 324 327 327 471 408 53 327 327 119

Proverbs 1:10 1:27 3:2 3:10 7:18 8:20 10:27 14:3 15:30 25:4 25:22 26:2 27:11 27:15 30:15 31:3 31:17

443 452 367 161 458 408 367 450 65 447 125 449 448 464 447 396 152

447 459 316 367 471 444 452 464 408 338 480 460 408 471 448 176 366 326,363 444 445 130 361 460

Canticles 1:15 2:12 5:13 7:3 8:10

458 256 413 95 413

Ruth 1:16 1:22 2:1 2:12 2:14 2:15 2:19-20 3:6 3:15

230,445 327 445 326

1:2 1:18 2-4

2:7 3:2 3:6 3:42 4:2 5:17 5:20

422 447 470 76 263 67 68

Ecclesiastes 2:1 2:4-5 2:8 4:12 12:5

79 367 27 119 459

Esther 4:5

100

Daniel 2:13 3:32-33 4:24 4:34 5:3 5:4 5:21 6:28 7:24 9:4

471 425 461 363 410,450 450 130 425 471 51

9:20

23

Ezra 198 256 480 125 98 189 232 205 198, 447

Lamentations

Job 1:6 1:21 2:1 5:4

6:22 7:9 8:2 10:5 13:15 15:17 15:24 16:20 16:22 18:21 19:14 20:32 23:8 24:14 30:29 31:6 32:7 34:25 36:2 38:7 39:5 39:28 40:17

443 442 17,250, 319

1:7 1:9 2:38 2:42 2:44 2:46 2:52 4:11 4:13 4:15 4:17 4:19 4:22 5:2 5:8

410 471 149 162 121 56 148 66,441 472 366 66 366 398 450 119

511

512

INDICES 7:4 8:16 9:2 10:31 15:14

44 406 176 477 472

Nehemiah 3:26 3:27 5:7 7:2 7:45 7:47 7:54 9:5 9:32 10:9 10:38 11:21 11:34 12:3 12:5 12:7 12:18 12:20

8:31 9:27 9:37 11:22 11:27 11:36 12:7 12:8 12:41 18:17 22:11 23:9 23:13 24:12 26:7 26:24 26:25 27:10 27:25 29:4 29:29

1 Chronicles

413 413 461 100 162 121 148 52 51 202,478 183 413 450 149 202,478 34 202 34

1:1 1:7 2:13 2:24 2:39 2:41 3:18 4:5 4:12 4:22 4:31 5:8 5:15 5:21 5:31 6:36 6:63 7:3 7:14 7:16 7:36 7:37 8:2

475 94 477 274 282 382 382 274 283,348, 487 86 139 286 475 405 44 44 411,415 477 296 378 140,220 348 283

218 361 218 405 282 423 477 218 91 170 320 382 327 93 283 40 183 282 413 155 440

2 Chronicles 4:5 6:9 7:13

241 460 461

9:11 9:16 9:20 14:6 14:14 19:3 21:17 23:13 23:14 24:23 26:9-10 26:10 26:15 27:3 27:4 30:14 31:1 32:2 32:3-5 32:4 32:5 32:30 34:3-6 34:4

Ecclesiasticus

Matthew

Mark

48:22-23 (17)

27:46

15:34

19

443

320 413 413 413 405 222 405 360 361 469 413 367 413 413 413 424 397 198 19 23 413 19,24 158 221

443