Complete

Dimensions: surface: w 31 x h 18 cm

Condition: 4 Hebrew/Aramaic graffiti from the Roman period (CIIP IV 2800-2803) Four inscriptions written on the plastered wall of a cistern in the eastern complex of two cave-complexes at el-ʿAleiliyat were noticed by J. Jeremias and later studied by J. Patrich and R. Rubin in an expedition to Wadi Ṣuweinit (Naḥal Michmas). The monks left crosses and inscriptions in Greek (no. 2804) and Christian Palestinian Aramaic. 2800. Aramaic charcoal inscription in cistern, 1-2 c. CE Charcoal inscription on side of cistern. “The preservation of the letters is poor and the reading far from secure” (Patrich, EI). Findspot: Cistern C: 1.4 m from the bottom of the cistern where nos. 2801 and 2803 were found, beneath the pentagram figure. 2801. Aramaic charcoal inscription of Yoʿezer in cistern, 1 c. CE One line of semi-cursive Jewish script written in charcoal on the plastered wall of a cistern inside the cave. Findspot: Cistern C, cf. no. 2800. Pres. loc.: In situ. fig. 2800 2802. Aramaic charcoal inscription in cistern, 1-2 c. CE Charcoal letters written on the side of a cistern. Findspot: Cistern C: 1.4 m from the bottom of the cistern, to the right of one of the menoroth drawn inside the cistern. Pres. loc.: In situ. 2803. Hebrew or Aramaic abecedary in cistern, 1 c. CE Two-line inscription in square Jewish script written in charcoal on the plastered wall of a cistern inside the cave. Meas.: letters 0.9-2.2 cm (ed. pr.). Findspot: Cistern C, cf. no. 2800. Pres. loc.: In situ.

Text:

Date: 1 CE - 2 CE

Findspot: Unknown

Original location: Palestina ‘En Suweinit (Wadi Suweinit, el-ʿAleiliyat) 31.92942, 35.28878 Cave-complexes at el-ʿAleiliyat wall

Current repository: Unknown

Text type: graffiti

Summary:

Four pieces of graffiti in Jewish Palestinian Aramaic script from ‘En Suweinit (Wadi Suweinit, el-ʿAleiliyat). 1 CE - 2 CE.

Changes history: 2022-11-28 Julia Borczyńska Creation; 2022-12-01 Julia Borczyńska Last modification; 2024-04-17 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file

Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;

Available under licence CC-BY 4.0

Translation

'Peace, peace, Amen.'

Translation

'Yoʿezer has been uprooted, the guards have entered.'

Commentary

Patrich in the ed. pr. points out many uncertainties in reading the letters, which were barely legible 30 years ago. If the reading is correct, and if the inscrip- tion is a wish scribbled by desperate people hiding from Roman troops, then the wish for “peace” would be for preservation and well-being, as in the recurring ac- clamation “peace on Israel” in dedications and epitaphs, not really for an end to war with the Romans. Beneath this inscription are two indiscernible letters, one of which may be a shin.

Commentary

This inscription was found near the abecedary no. 2803. Its first-century dating is based on the letter-forms, particularly the triangular loop of yod/vav, as well as the triangular mem and the relatively broad ṭet. Several individuals named Yoʿezer were involved in the rebellion, and many are otherwise known from ossuaries and other documentary sources. This inscription may indeed indicate that its writer (Yoʿezer himself?) was seized, i.e. removed or “uprooted,” from this hiding place during the course of the First Jewish Revolt, or in the words of Patrich, it “may well be the last message of the writer, who found refuge in the cistern at the far end of the passage complex.” But of course the actual circumstances cannot be known, and other less dramatic explanations are possible; and if the writer was captured in the cave, his captors could have been Romans or Jews, in fact mṭrn fits Jewish guards better than Romans, and there is no account of Romans hunting down refugees in the Judaean desert during or after the First Revolt; see full discussion in Price 261ff.

Commentary

This could be a name.

Commentary

Comm.: The left half of the inscription has been lost in crumbling plaster. In addition to the written texts, two menorot and a pentagram were also inscribed on the cistern wall, strengthening the impression that the abecedary was meant to perform a magical function. Abecedaries have been found in several locations in Judaea-Palaestina, including unpublished examples at Beth Sheʿarim (J. Patrich, RB 92, 1985, 269f.). The first- century dating is based on paleographical considerations, and is indicated by the broad ṭet and by the yod with the triangular loop, as well as the short lamed and the long, final mem. Based on comparison with letter-forms from the Bar Kochba revolt, Patrich supposes that this inscription and no. 2801 were written during the First Revolt, and that the authors were refugees who were captured in the cave during the course of that war; cf. Jos. BJ 4,512-13. See Price and comm. to no. 2801.

Bibliography

J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 159 no. 3 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 273 (edd. prr.). – J. Jeremias, in: Von der Antike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.)

J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 159 no. 3 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 273 (edd. prr.). – J. Jeremias, in: Von der Antike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.)

Bibliography

J. Patrich - R. Rubin, RB 91, 1984, 381-7 at 382f. (ed. pr.). – J. Jeremias, in: Von der An- tike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.); ESI 2, 1983, 107ff. (=HA 82, 40f. [Hebr.]); J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 158 no. 2 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 270-3 no. 2; id. - B. Arubas - E. Naor, Qadmoniot 19, 1986, 45-50 at 47f. (Hebr.); J. Patrich, BAR 15, 1989, 23- 42; J. Price, Jerusalem under Siege, 1992, 261f.; A. de Vaate, in: Early Jewish Epigraphy 148-61 at 152ff., 160f.; Millard, Pergament und Papyrus 94ff.; Hezser, Jewish Literacy 416.

J. Patrich - R. Rubin, RB 91, 1984, 381-7 at 382f. (ed. pr.). – J. Jeremias, in: Von der An- tike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.); ESI 2, 1983, 107ff. (=HA 82, 40f. [Hebr.]); J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 158 no. 2 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 270-3 no. 2; id. - B. Arubas - E. Naor, Qadmoniot 19, 1986, 45-50 at 47f. (Hebr.); J. Patrich, BAR 15, 1989, 23- 42; J. Price, Jerusalem under Siege, 1992, 261f.; A. de Vaate, in: Early Jewish Epigraphy 148-61 at 152ff., 160f.; Millard, Pergament und Papyrus 94ff.; Hezser, Jewish Literacy 416.

Bibliography

J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 159 no. 4 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 273 (edd. prr.). – J.Jeremias, in: Von der Antike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.)

J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 159 no. 4 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 273 (edd. prr.). – J.Jeremias, in: Von der Antike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.)

Bibliography

ESI 2, 1983, 107ff. (=HA 83, 40f. [Hebr.]) (ed. pr.). – J. Jeremias, in: Von der Antike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.); J. Patrich - R. Rubin, RB 91, 1984, 381-7 at 381f.; J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 157f. no. 1 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 265-70; id. - B. Arubas - E. Naor, Qadmoniot 19, 1986, 45-50 at 47 (Hebr.); J. Patrich, BAR 15, 1989, 23-42; J. Price, Jerusalem under Siege, 1992, 261ff.; A. de Vaate, in: Early Jewish Epigraphy 148-61 at 152ff., 160f.; Millard, Pergament und Papyrus 94ff.; Hezser, Jewish Literacy 416; Jaroš, Inschriften 318 no. 209.

ESI 2, 1983, 107ff. (=HA 83, 40f. [Hebr.]) (ed. pr.). – J. Jeremias, in: Von der Antike zum Christentum, 1931, 109-22 at 119f. (=Jeremias 350f.); J. Patrich - R. Rubin, RB 91, 1984, 381-7 at 381f.; J. Patrich, EI 18, 1985, 153-65 at 157f. no. 1 (Hebr.); id., RB 92, 1985, 265-73 at 265-70; id. - B. Arubas - E. Naor, Qadmoniot 19, 1986, 45-50 at 47 (Hebr.); J. Patrich, BAR 15, 1989, 23-42; J. Price, Jerusalem under Siege, 1992, 261ff.; A. de Vaate, in: Early Jewish Epigraphy 148-61 at 152ff., 160f.; Millard, Pergament und Papyrus 94ff.; Hezser, Jewish Literacy 416; Jaroš, Inschriften 318 no. 209.

Bibliography (edition)

CIIP IV W., Ameling, H., Cotton, W., Eck, A., Ecker, B., Isaac, A., Kushnir-Stein, H., Misgav, J., Price, P., Weiß, A., Yardeni, 2023, Corpus inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. Volume IV: Iudaea/Idumaea, Berlin, Boston, 2800–2803.

Images