Complete
Linguistic features:
Formulae:
Quotations from literary texts:
Dating:
AD 301
-
AD 800
Language:
Hebrew
Monumental:
Medium:
mosaic
Visible:
Accessible:
Has figural depiction:
Has iconoclastic damage:
Activities commemorated:
Funds:
unknown
Price:
unknown
Placement:
the south-eastern end of the southern portico of the outer courtyard
People mentioned:
Name:
Rabbi Isai
Patronym:
Status:
religious_authority
Ethnic allegance:
Semitic
Tribal allegane:
none
Family status:
father
Role:
Benefactor
Occupation:
priest
Age:
Gender:
male
Religion:
Judaism
Religious denomination:
unspecified
Language:
Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
Name:
Rabbi Yoḥanan
Patronym:
Status:
religious_authority
Ethnic allegance:
Semitic
Tribal allegane:
none
Family status:
son
Role:
Benefactor
Occupation:
scribe
Age:
Gender:
male
Religion:
Judaism
Religious denomination:
unspecified
Language:
Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
Description
description: Six lines of Hebrew square letters are set inside a tabula ansata composed of red tesserae on the white background. Dimensions: 55.5 cm in height, 127.3 cm in width; letters 3.6-6.7 cm. ed. CIIP IV 3870 זכור לטובה קדושת מרי רבי איסי הכהן המכובד בירבי שעשה הפסיפוס הזה וטח את כותליו בסיד מה שנתנדב במשתה רבי יוחנן הכהן הסופר בירבי בנו שלום על ישראל אמן zkwr lṭwbh qdwšt mry rby ʾysy hkhn hmkwbd byrby šʿśh hpsypws hzh wṭḥ ʾt kwtlyw bsyd mh šntndb bmšth rby ywḥnn hkhn hswpr byrby bnw šlwm ʿl yśrʾl ʾmn 'Be remembered for the good the sanctity of my master, Rabbi Isi/Isai, the priest, the honorable, Berebbi (byrby), who made this mosaic and plastered its walls with lime – in accordance with his donation pledge at the feast of Rabbi Yoḥanan the priest (and) scribe Berebbi (byrby) his son. Peace be on Israel. Amen.' (CIIP IV 3870) commentary: 1-2: The opening formula zkwr lṭwbh is a Hebrew translation of the common Aramaic formula dkyr lṭb. The pronunciation and derivation of the donor’s name are uncertain. It could have been a form of the biblical name ישי , yšy or Yose (from Yosef=Joseph). It was suggested that the name come from Greek Ἰσίδωρος. The Rabbi ʾysy here cannot be certainly identifed with any character in rabbinic literature. It is interesting that as many as five different words of honor are attached to the name of the main donor. The son, who like his father was a rabbi and priest, was by profession a scribe. The form of the word for the mosaic: hpsypws, with vav, reflects its Greek origin ψῆφος. The term “its walls” can refer to the courtyard or the entire synagogue. The nitpaʿel form of ndb is used here as an active verb for the third person in the past, meaning “promised a donation”. The feast in which Rabbi Isai vowed the mosaic is widely understood to have been the wedding banquet of his son; this interpretation is attractive but not the only possibility. The blessing, “peace be on Israel,” is found on synagogue floors in Jericho andʿEin Gedi, as well as Ḥuseifa and Gerasa. CIIP IV 3870 Beyer 1984: not present Naveh 1978: 115-116 (no 75) Werlin 2015: 142-143 https://library.brown.edu/iip/viewinscr/ksus0001/
Author:
Tomasz Barański
Added by:
Martyna
Created:
2022-06-24 09:56:07
Last update:
2024-03-27 15:15:31
Dimensions: surface: w 127.3 x h 55.5 cm
Condition: Six lines of Hebrew square letters are set inside a tabula ansata composed of red tesserae on the white background.
Text: Letter height 3.6-6.7 cm.
Date: 301 CE - 800 CE
Findspot: Unknown
Original location: Palestine Susiya 31.391944, 35.112222 Synagogue the south-eastern end of the southern portico of the outer courtyard
Current repository: Unknown
Text type: mosaic inscription
Summary:
Inscription on mosaic in Hebrew script from Susiya. AD 301 - AD 800.
Changes history: 2022-06-24 Tomasz Barański Creation; 2024-03-27 Martyna Swierk Last modification; 2023-12-06 Martyna Swierk Preparation of EpiDoc file
Publication details: University of Warsaw; Warsaw;
Available under licence CC-BY 4.0
; @2021Translation
'Be remembered for the good the sanctity of my master, Rabbi Isi/Isai, the priest, the honorable, Berebbi (byrby), who made this mosaic and plastered its walls with lime – in accordance with his donation pledge at the feast of Rabbi Yoḥanan the priest (and) scribe Berebbi (byrby) his son. Peace be on Israel. Amen.' (CIIP IV 3870)
Commentary
1-2: The opening formula zkwr lṭwbh is a Hebrew translation of the common Aramaic formula dkyr lṭb. The pronunciation and derivation of the donor’s name are uncertain. It could have been a form of the biblical name ישי , yšy or Yose (from Yosef=Joseph). It was suggested that the name come from Greek Ἰσίδωρος. The Rabbi ʾysy here cannot be certainly identifed with any character in rabbinic literature. It is interesting that as many as five different words of honor are attached to the name of the main donor. The son, who like his father was a rabbi and priest, was by profession a scribe. The form of the word for the mosaic: hpsypws, with vav, reflects its Greek origin ψῆφος. The term “its walls” can refer to the courtyard or the entire synagogue. The nitpaʿel form of ndb is used here as an active verb for the third person in the past, meaning “promised a donation”. The feast in which Rabbi Isai vowed the mosaic is widely understood to have been the wedding banquet of his son; this interpretation is attractive but not the only possibility. The blessing, “peace be on Israel,” is found on synagogue floors in Jericho andʿEin Gedi, as well as Ḥuseifa and Gerasa.
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, 3870.
Bibliography
- K., Beyer, 1984, Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer: samt den Inschriften aus Palästina, dem Testament Levis aus der Kairoer Genisa, der Fastenrolle und den alten Talmudischen Zitaten, Gottingen, not present. J., Naveh, 1978, On Stone and Mosaic: The Aramaic and Hebrew Inscriptions from Ancient Synagogues, Tel Aviv, 115-116, 76. S.H., Werlin, 2015, Ancient Synagogues of Southern Palestine, 300-800 C.E.: Living on the Edge, Leiden, 142-143.