Linguistic features:

Formulae:

שלום

Quotations from literary texts:

Dating: AD 200 - AD 600
Language: Greek; Hebrew
Monumental:
Medium: marble
Visible:
Accessible:
Has figural depiction:
Has iconoclastic damage:
Activities commemorated: epitaph
Funds:
Price:
Placement: marble slab
People mentioned:
Name:
Samuel
Patronym:
Status:
religious_authority
Ethnic allegance:
Semitic
Tribal allegane:
none
Family status:
unspecified
Role:
Name recorded
Occupation:
rabbi
Age:
Gender:
male
Religion:
Judaism
Religious denomination:
unspecified
Language:
Greek

Description

date: 200-600 CE description: Pentagonal slab of marble. Five lines of Greek and one line of Jewish script are engraved. The front side was originally smoothed but now it is very worn out. The right side of the text is completely effaced. The Greek letters are inscribed in a noteworthy cursive style. The Greek text seems to have been set in regular layout, whereas the Hebrew seems more freehand. Dimensions: 26.5 cm high, 26 cm wide, 4 cm deep. Letters are ca. 1.5-2 cm. ed. CIIP I 1001 Ῥαββὶ Σαμου[ὴλ] ἀρχησ[υνάγωγος] ΡΥΓΙΟΣΔΟ[--] ΔΟΞΑΣΙΑ[--] ΩΡΚΟΥ[--] שלום ע]ל מישכבכ] '(Greek) Rabbi Samuel, archisynagogos ... honor ... oath. (Hebrew) Peace on your resting place.' commentary: The inscription can be dated paleographically to 3-6 c. CE. Although the stone is badly damaged, the Hebrew line shows that the inscription is an epitaph. The Greek preserved the name of the deceased and his title, however, other information are gone. Rabbi was a title with a wide semantic range and varied social implications, although it always signified teacher and implied accomplished religious learning. Many editors and commentators, since the editio princeps by Abel, have interpreted line 3 as, [Φ]ρύγιος indicating that the rabbi came from Phrygia. Most recent inspection of the stone clearly reveals this reading is rather impossible. The Hebrew word mškb means “resting-place”, but it can be also translated as “rest” in the funerary context. Interestingly, myškbk is the only example of the Hebrew formula in which the deceased is addressed directly. CIIP I 1001 https://www.trismegistos.org/text/876419


Author: Tomasz Barański
Added by: Martyna
Created: 2023-05-05 16:36:09
Last update: 2024-01-20 23:17:08
Building: unknown origin
Site: Jerusalem

Dimensions: surface: w 26 x h 26,5 x d 4 cm

Condition: Pentagonal slab of marble. Five lines of Greek and one line of Jewish script are engraved. The front side was originally smoothed but now it is very worn out. The right side of the text is completely effaced. The Greek letters are inscribed in a noteworthy cursive style. The Greek text seems to have been set in regular layout, whereas the Hebrew seems more freehand.

Text: Letter height 1.5.

Date: 200 CE - 600 CE

Findspot: Unknown

Original location: Palestina Jerusalem 31.778611, 35.229444 unknown origin marble slab

Current repository: Unknown

Text type: funerary inscription

Summary:

Bilingual funerary inscription from Jerusalem. 200 CE - 600 CE.

Changes history: 2023-05-05 Tomasz Barański Creation; 2024-01-20 Martyna Swierk Last modification; 2024-01-20 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file

Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;

Available under licence CC-BY 4.0

; @2021

Interpretive

Ῥαββὶ Σαμου[ὴλ]
ἀρχησ[υνάγωγος]
ΡΥΓΙΟΣΔΟ[---]
ΔΟΞΑΣΙΑ[---]
5ΩΡΚΟΥ[---]
[שלום ע] ל מישכבכ

Diplomatic

ΡΑΒΒΙΣΑΜΟΥ[..]
ΑΡΧΗΣ[........]
ΡΥΓΙΟΣΔΟ[---]
ΔΟΞΑΣΙΑ[---]
5ΩΡΚΟΥ[---]
[.....]למישכבכ

Translation

(Greek) 'Rabbi Samuel, archisynagogos ... honor ... oath.' (Hebrew) 'Peace on your resting place'

Commentary

The inscription can be dated paleographically to 3-6 c. CE. Although the stone is badly damaged, the Hebrew line shows that the inscription is an epitaph. The Greek preserved the name of the deceased and his title, however, other information are gone. Rabbi was a title with a wide semantic range and varied social implications, although it always signified teacher and implied accomplished religious learning. Many editors and commentators, since the editio princeps by Abel, have interpreted line 3 as, [Φ]ρύγιος indicating that the rabbi came from Phrygia. Most recent inspection of the stone clearly reveals this reading is rather impossible. The Hebrew word mškb means “resting-place”, but it can be also translated as “rest” in the funerary context. Interestingly, myškbk is the only example of the Hebrew formula in which the deceased is addressed directly.

Bibliography (edition)

    CIIP I H., Cotton, L., Di Segni, W., Eck, B., Isaac, A., Kushnir-Stein, P., Haggi, J., Price, A., Yardeni, 2023, Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. Volume 1/Part 2 Jerusalem: 705-1120, Berlin, Boston, 6113.

Images

   Fig. 1. .