Complete
Linguistic features:
Formulae:
Quotations from literary texts:
Genesis 1: 1; Ten Commandments
Dating:
AD 500
-
AD 700
Language:
Samaritan Aramaic
Monumental:
Medium:
marble
Visible:
Accessible:
Has figural depiction:
Has iconoclastic damage:
Activities commemorated:
Funds:
Price:
Placement:
floor
People mentioned:
Description
date: 6th-7th c. CE description: A marble slab embedded in a mosaic floor. 11 lines of Samaritan script. The slab is broken but all parts are preserved. Dimensions: 38x42.5 cm. ed. CIIP IV 2742 בראשית ברא אלהים אנכי יהוה אלהיך לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים לא תעשה לך פסל לא תשא לא תרצא לא תנף לא תגנב לא תענה לא תח מד brʾšyt brʾ | ʾlhym ʾnky | YHWH ʾlhyk | lʾ yhyh lk | ʾlhym ʾḥrym | lʾ tʿšh lk | psl lʾ tšʾ | lʾ trṣʾ lʾ | tnp lʾ tgnb | lʾ tʿnh lʾ tḥ | md 'In the beginning God created. I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take (the name of the Lord thy God in vain). Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear (false witness against thy neighbor). Thou shalt not covet.' commentary: The beginning of the inscription, there is an incomplete quotation from the Genesis 1: 1. Later, the text gives an abbreviated version of the Ten Commandments. Interestingly, two commandments are missing: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” and “Honor thy father and thy mother.” There are some spelling mistakes but it can be explained as a result of weakening of guttural consonants. It seems the inscription was written in order to approximate the list of “ten sayings” when it was recited aloud. CIIP IV 2742 Fischer, M., Taxel, I., Amit D., “Rural Settlement in the Vicinity of Yavneh in the Byzantine Period: A Religio-Archaeological Perspective.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 350 (2008): 20
Author:
Tomasz Barański
Added by:
Martyna
Created:
2023-09-01 12:20:46
Last update:
2024-01-28 14:46:09
Building:
Private house
Dimensions: surface: cm
Condition: A marble slab embedded in a mosaic floor. 11 lines of Samaritan script. The slab is broken but all parts are preserved. Dimensions: 38x42.5 cm.
Text:
Date: 500 CE - 700 CE
6th-7th c. CE
Findspot: Unknown
Original location: Palestina Khirbet ῾Asafira (Khirbet ῾Asfura) 31.883333, 34.733333 Private house floor
Current repository: Unknown
Text type: religious inscription
Summary:
Inscription in Samaritan Aramaic script from Khirbet ῾Asafira (Khirbet ῾Asfura). 500 CE - 700 CE.
Changes history: 2023-09-01 Tomasz Barański Creation; 2024-01-28 Martyna Swierk Last modification; 2024-01-28 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file
Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;
Available under licence CC-BY 4.0
; @2021Translation
'In the beginning God created. I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take (the name of the Lord thy God in vain). Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear (false witness against thy neighbor). Thou shalt not covet'
Commentary
The beginning of the inscription, there is an incomplete quotation from the Genesis 1: 1. Later, the text gives an abbreviated version of the Ten Commandments. Interestingly, two commandments are missing: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” and “Honor thy father and thy mother.” There are some spelling mistakes but it can be explained as a result of weakening of guttural consonants. It seems the inscription was written in order to approximate the list of “ten sayings” when it was recited aloud.
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, 2742.
Bibliography
- M., Fisher, I., Taxel, D., Amit, 2008, Rural Settlement in the Vicinity of Yavneh in the Byzantine Period: A Religio-Archaeological Perspective, BASOR 350, 20.