Complete
Linguistic features:
Formulae:
Quotations from literary texts:
Ten Commandments; Deuteronomy 27:4
Dating:
AD 300
-
AD 700
Language:
Samaritan Aramaic
Monumental:
Medium:
stone
Visible:
Accessible:
Has figural depiction:
Has iconoclastic damage:
Activities commemorated:
Funds:
Price:
Placement:
lintel
People mentioned:
Description
date: late antique (4th-7th c CE) The date of this inscription and the lintel is difficult to assess. Only with ornamental and palaeographic comparison, its date can be securely established to late Roman period. description: Two fragments of the same lintel (ca. 85 cm in hight), 150 cm and 110 cm long respectively. The missing section between the two sections may have measured about 20 cm in length. The missing section to the right was ca. 40 cm long. Thus the original length of the lintel was almost 3 m. A torus-like frieze, decorated with a laurel leaf pattern, which forms the top of the lintel. The flat band, ca. 27 cm high, with the inscription is situated between two fasciae, each ornamented with horizontal groove. ed. Barag 2009: 314 [אנכי. יהוה. א]להיך. לא. יהיה.לך. אלה[ים. אח]רים. על. פני. [שמור. את. י]ום. השבת. לקדשהו. כבד. את[. אבי]ך. ואת. אמך [לא. תנ]אף. לא. תגנב. לא. תענה ברעך. עד. ש[וא. לא.] תחמד. בית. רעך .[תקימו. האבנים. האלה. א]שר. אנכי. מצוה. אתכם. הי[ום. בה]ר. גריזים 'I am the Lord. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Honour thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house. Ye shall set up these stones which I command you this day in Mount Gerizim.' commentary: The inscription is an abbreviated version of the Decalogue according to the Samaritan text of Exodus 11 ended with a phrase from Deuteronomy 27:4. Barag, D., Samaritan writing and writings [in:] H. M. Cotton, R. G. Hoyland, J. J. Price, D. J. Wasserstein (eds), From Hellenism to Islam Cultural and Linguistic Change in the Roman Near East, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 314-315. Ben-Zevi, I., and W. F. Albright. “The Beit El-Mā Samaritan Inscription.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 84 (1941): 2–4. https://doi.org/10.2307/1355135. Taylor, W. R., and W. F. Albright. “A New Samaritan Inscription.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, no. 81 (1941): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.2307/1355158
Author:
Tomasz Barański
Added by:
Martyna
Created:
2023-09-01 14:53:10
Last update:
2024-01-28 18:38:36
Building:
Synagogue
Site:
Beit al-Mā; Beit el-Ma
Dimensions: surface: cm
Condition: Two fragments of the same lintel (ca. 85 cm in hight), 150 cm and 110 cm long respectively. The missing section between the two sections may have measured about 20 cm in length. The missing section to the right was ca. 40 cm long. Thus the original length of the lintel was almost 3 m. A torus-like frieze, decorated with a laurel leaf pattern, which forms the top of the lintel. The flat band, ca. 27 cm high, with the inscription is situated between two fasciae, each ornamented with horizontal groove.
Text:
Date: 300 CE - 700 CE
6th-7th c. CE
Findspot: Unknown
Original location: Palestina Beit al-Mā (Beit el-Ma) 32.230253, 35.249561 Synagogue lintel
Current repository: Unknown
Text type: religious inscription
Summary:
Inscription in Samaritan Aramaic script from Beit al-Mā (Beit el-Ma). 300 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
'I am the Lord. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Honour thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house. Ye shall set up these stones which I command you this day in Mount Gerizim.'
Commentary
The inscription is an abbreviated version of the Decalogue according to the Samaritan text of Exodus 11 ended with a phrase from Deuteronomy 27:4.
Bibliography (edition)
- D., Barag, 2009, Samaritan writing and writings, [in:] H. M., Cotton, R. G., Hoyland, J.J., Pirce, D.J., Wasserstein, From Hellenism to Islam. Cultural and linguistic change in the Roman Near Eas Cambridge, 314-315.
Bibliography
- I., Ben-Zevi, W.F., Albright, 1941, The Beit El-Mā Samaritan Inscription, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 84, 2-4. W.R., Taylor, W.F., Albright, 1941, A New Samaritan Inscription, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 81, 1-6.