Complete
Linguistic features:
Formulae:
Quotations from literary texts:
Dating:
AD 401
-
AD 600
Language:
Hebrew
Monumental:
Medium:
stone
Visible:
Accessible:
Has figural depiction:
Has iconoclastic damage:
Activities commemorated:
Funds:
Price:
Placement:
unknown
People mentioned:
Description
date: ca. 5-6th century description: Fragmentary preserved list of 24 Priestly Courses. Marble fragment containing the beginning of three lines inscribed in Hebrew. Dimensions: 13 x 17 cm ed. (CIIP III 2324) [--] [--שנים עשר ] משמר [--לושה עשר ]משמר ש [--רבעה עשר ]משמר א [--] [--] mšmr [šnym ʿśr --] mšmr š[lwšh ʿśr --] mšmr ʾ[rbʿh ʿśr --|--] [--] '... Course twelve ...; course thirteen ...; course fourteen ...' (CIIP III 2324) commentary: (CIIP III 2324)This fragment of a list of the twenty-four priestly courses was discovered in excavations which the British Palestine Exploration Fund conducted in 1920-21. The restoration here is that of Naveh, who showed, by comparison with the similar list from Yemen, that the word משמר mšmr at the head of each line is followed by sequential numbers, and all numbers through ten had the definite article ה, whereas from eleven on, the numbers were spelled without the definite article. Thus Naveh has corrected Sukenik and Klein, who believed that the shin and alef in ll.2-3 were the first letters of names of priestly courses, and has rejected the possiblity raised by Avi-Yonah of reading the shin and alef as the beginnings of the Hebrew words for “three” and “four” (שלושה šlwšh, ארבעה ʾrbʿh). The priestly courses are listed in 1 Chron 24,7-18 (cf. M.Taan. 4,2); according to 1 Chron 24,12-13, the priest of the twelfth course was Yakim, thirteenth course was Ḥupa and the fourteenth was Yeshevʾav. Similar inscribed lists of the priestly courses have been found in Kissufim, CIIP III 2541, Caesarea (CIIP II 1145), Reḥov, Nazareth (possibly) and Yemen. It is interesting that in this inscription the course is called mšmr (mishmar: “guard”, “watch-period”, “shift”), whereas it is mšmrt (mishmereth) in the Caesarea inscription; both have the same plural form mishmaroth. Bibliography CIIP III 2324 Milson 2007: 307 https://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/ashqelon/
Author:
Tomasz Barański
Added by:
Martyna
Created:
2022-05-23 22:08:14
Last update:
2023-11-27 07:26:18
Building:
Synagogue unknown
Site:
Ashqelon; Askalon
Dimensions: surface: w 17 x h 13 cm
Condition: Fragmentary preserved list of 24 Priestly Courses. Marble fragment containing the beginning of three lines inscribed in Hebrew.
Text:
Date: 401 CE - 600 CE
ca. 5-6th century
Findspot: Unknown
Original location: Palestina Ashqelon (Askalon) 31.669722, 34.574444 Synagogue unknown unknown
Current repository: Unknown
Text type: public inscription
Summary:
Fragmentary preserved list in Hebrew script from Ashqelon (Askalon). AD 401 - AD 600.
Changes history: 2022-05-25 Tomasz Barański Creation; 2023-11-27 Martyna Swierk Last modification; 2023-11-27 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file
Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;
Available under licence CC-BY 4.0
; @2021Commentary
(CIIP III 2324)This fragment of a list of the twenty-four priestly courses was discovered in excavations which the British Palestine Exploration Fund conducted in 1920-21. The restoration here is that of Naveh, who showed, by comparison with the similar list from Yemen, that the word משמר mšmr at the head of each line is followed by sequential numbers, and all numbers through ten had the definite article ה, whereas from eleven on, the numbers were spelled without the definite article. Thus Naveh has corrected Sukenik and Klein, who believed that the shin and alef in ll.2-3 were the first letters of names of priestly courses, and has rejected the possiblity raised by Avi-Yonah of reading the shin and alef as the beginnings of the Hebrew words for “three” and “four” (שלושה šlwšh, ארבעה ʾrbʿh). The priestly courses are listed in 1 Chron 24,7-18 (cf. M.Taan. 4,2); according to 1 Chron 24,12-13, the priest of the twelfth course was Yakim, thirteenth course was Ḥupa and the fourteenth was Yeshevʾav. Similar inscribed lists of the priestly courses have been found in Kissufim, CIIP III 2541, Caesarea (CIIP II 1145), Reḥov, Nazareth (possibly) and Yemen. It is interesting that in this inscription the course is called mšmr (mishmar: “guard”, “watch-period”, “shift”), whereas it is mšmrt (mishmereth) in the Caesarea inscription; both have the same plural form mishmaroth.
Bibliography (edition)
- CIIP III 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 III: South Coast: 2161-2648. a, Berlin, Boston, 2324.
Bibliography
- D.W., Milson, 2007, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Late Antique Palestine. In the Shadow of the Church, Leiden, 307.