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bli

ca lirchaeo oist

APublication of theAmerican SchoolsofOriental Research

Volume 51Number 3

1988 September

Biblical Archa eologist A Publication of the American Schools of Oriental Research

Volume 51

Number 3

September 1988

132

Papyrus Donald P. Ryan Cyperus papyrus was one of the most versatile plants in antiquity. In addition to its being made into paper, it was used to construct boats, containers, and rope. It was also used medicinally, eaten, and burned for its aroma. And there's more.

Dating PapyrusManuscripts by the AMS Carbon-14Method Thomas C. Lynn

141

Until recently the carbon dating of papyrus manuscripts was limited because too much material had to be destroyed in the process. The development of the Accelerator Mass Spectrometry method, however, has virtually eliminated this problem.

Page132

LiterarySourcesfor the Historyof Palestineand Syria

Contacts Between Egypt and Syro-Palestine During the Old Kingdom Mary Wright

143

at the beginning of its Third Dynasty, Egypt Around 2700 B.C.E., seems to have severed ties with Palestine and focused its trade relations on Syria. Did it also begin a period of extended hostility towards Palestine? BA Portrait

Page163

JamesTurnerBarclay: Explorerof Nineteenth-CenturyJerusalem JackP Lewis

163

In the 1850s this American played an early role in the reopening of Palestine to Westerners. LiterarySourcesfor the Historyof Palestineand Syria

Old AramaicInscriptions Scott C. Layton

172

The language of the Arameans, Aramaic can be traced back to about 1000 B.C.E. By the beginning of the sixth century B.C.E.it was the lingua franca of the ancient Near East.

131 Introducingthe Authors Biblical Archaeologist is published with the financial assistance of

the EndowmentforBiblicalResearch,a nonsectarianfoundationfor the study of the Bible and the history of the Christian Church.

Page172 Biblical Archaeologist, September 1988

129

SCHOOLS OF AMERICAN 711WEST40TH ADMINISTRATIVE P.KyleMcCarter,President EricM. Meyers,First Vice Presidentfor Publications WalterE. Rast, Second Vice Presidentfor ArchaeologicalPolicy GeorgeM. Landes,Secretary KevinG. O'Connell,Assistant Secretary Holden Gibbs, Treasurer GoughW.Thompson, Jr.,Chairmanof the Boardof Trustees Norma Kershaw,Directorof Tours SusanFosterKromholz,Executive Director PamelaR. Collins, Administrative Director

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W.E AlbrightInstitute of ArchaeologicalResearch(AIAR). P.O. Box 19096, 91 190 Jerusalem,Israel. SeymourGitin, Director EdwardE. Cohen, BoardChairman JoeD. Seger,President CarolMeyers,First Vice President Second Vice JoyUngerleider-Mayerson, President JohnSpencer,Secretary-Treasurer BaghdadCommittee for the Baghdad School. JerroldS. Cooper,Chairman Near Eastern Studies, The Johns

Hopkins University,Baltimore,MD 21218.

ASORNewsletter;P.KyleMcCarter, Editor BiblicalArchaeologist;EricM. Meyers, Editor Bulletin of the American Schools of OrientalResearch;WalterE. Rast, Editor Journalof CuneiformStudies;Erle Leichty,Editor

AmericanCenter of OrientalResearch (ACOR). P.O. Box 2470, JebelAmman, Amman, Jordan. Bertde Vries,Director RobertCoughenour,President LawrenceT. Geraty,Vice President MarjorieCooke, Secretary Anne Ogilvy, Treasurer

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CyprusAmericanArchaeological ResearchInstitute (CAARI). 41 KingPaul Street,Nicosia, Cyprus. StuartSwiny,Director CharlesU. Harris,President LydieShufro,Vice President Ellen Herscher,Secretary AndrewOliver,Jr.,Treasurer Damascus Committee. GiorgioBuccellati, Chairman Center for MesopotamianStudies, University of California,405 Hilgard Avenue,Los Angeles, CA 90024.

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Biblical Archaeologist (ISSN0006-0895)is published quarterly(March,June,September,December)by the JohnsHopkins University Pressfor the American Schools of OrientalResearch(ASOR),a nonprofit, nonsectarianeducationalorganization with administrativeoffices at 711West40th Street,Suite 354, Baltimore,MD 21211. Subscriptions.Annual subscriptionrates are $19 for individuals and $27 for institutions. There is a special annual rate of $17 for students and retirees.Single issues are $6.50 for individuals and $9.00 for institutions. In Canadaand Mexico, add$3.25 for annual subscriptionsand $2.00 for single issues. In other foreigncountries, add $8.00 for annual subscriptionsand $2.00 for single issues. Ordersshould be sent to the JohnsHopkins University Press, 701 W.40th Street, Suite 275, Baltimore,MD 21211(telephone:301-338-6988;telex: 5101012198,JHUPressJnls). Second-classpostagepaid at Philadelphia, PA 19104and additionaloffices. Postmaster:Send addresschangesto the JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress,701W 40th Street,Suite 275, Baltimore,MD 21211. Copyright? 1988by the American Schools of OrientalResearch. All rights reserved.No portion of this journalmay be reproducedby any process or technique without the formal consent of the American Schools of Oriental

130

Researchand the JohnsHopkins University Press.Authorizationto photocopy items for personalor internal use is grantedfor librariesand other users registeredwith the CopyrightClearanceCenter (CCC)TransactionalReportingService, providedthat the copierpay the base fee of $1.00 per copy plus $.10 per pagedirectly to CCC, 21 CongressStreet, Salem, MA 01970. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying,such as copyingfor generaldistribution,for advertisingor promotionalpurposes,for creatingnew collective works, or for resale. 0006-8095/$87$1.00 + .10 EricM. Meyers Editor LawrenceT. Geraty Associate Editor Book ReviewEditor JamesC. Moyer MartinWilcox ExecutiveEditor LindaHuff Art Director Leslie Watkins SeniorEditor EditorialAssistants SusanUdry Catherine Vanderburgh EditorialCommittee P.KyleMcCarter Douglas L. Esse David W McCreery JamesFlanagan CarolL. Meyers VolkmarFritz S. Thomas Parker SeymourGitin JackSasson JoAnn Hackett Neil A. Silberman A. T. Kraabel MarkS. Smith Thomas E. Levy L. Michael White PeterB.Machinist

Biblical Archaeologist, September 1988

Advertising.Correspondenceshould be addressedto the JohnsHopkins University Press, 701 W 40th Street,Suite 275, Baltimore,MD 21211(telephone:301-338-6982). Biblical Archaeologist is not responsible for errorsin copy preparedby the advertiser. The editor reservesthe right to refuse any ad. Ads for the sale of antiquities will not be accepted. EditorialCorrespondence.Article proposals, manuscripts,and editorial correspondenceshould be sent to the ASOR Publications Office, P.O.Box H.M., Duke Station, Durham, NC 27706. Unsolicited manuscriptsmust be accompaniedby a self-addressed,stampedenvelope.Foreign contributorsshould furnish international reply coupons. Manuscriptsmust conformto the format used in Biblical Archaeologist,with full bibliographicreferencesand a minimum of endnotes. See recent issues for examples of the properstyle. Manuscriptsmust also include appropriate illustrations and legends.Authors are responsiblefor obtainingpermission to use illustrations. Composition by LiberatedTypes,Ltd., Durham, NC. Printedby PBMGraphics, Inc., Raleigh,NC. Publisher The Johns Hopkins University Press

the Authors Introducing

Mary Wright

Jack P Lewis

Donald P Ryan

Donald P. Ryan has a Ph.D. in archaeology from the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he is currently ResearchAssociate andResident Scholarin the Departmentof Anthropology at Pacific LutheranUniversity in Tacoma, Washington. Dr. Ryan'sarticle on papyrusin this issue is an outgrowth of his study of ancient cordage,carriedout in the British Museum, during which he encountered a variety of objects constructed of the plant. He has personally experimented with making paper and cordage from papyrus, and he and a colleague have conducted tests on its edibility and nutritional value, with samples taken from a stand of it he cultivated himself in southern California. While studying the Bible and the ancient Near Eastat the University of Michigan, Thomas C. Lynn became interested in papyrus,especially the question of how it can be most accuratelydated. Since his graduationin 1982he has continued to be intrigued by the question, as witnessed by his paperin this issue. Mary Wright is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Near EasternLanguagesand Civilizations at the University of Chicago'sOriental Institute. Her dissertation is a

cross-cultural study of divine kingship in the ancient Near East, focusing on Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Israel (during the United Monarchy). She has taught such courses as "Old Testament Parallels to Ancient Near Eastern Myths" and "EgyptianArchitecture and Royal Ideology"to members of the Institute. JackP.Lewis is Professorof Bible at the HardingGraduate School of Religion in Memphis, Tennessee. With Ph.D.s from HarvardUniversity and HebrewUnion College, Dr. Lewis has authored numerous books, including Archaeological Backgroundsto Bible People (GrandRapids,MI: Baker Book House, 1981). He is also on the editorial boards of Restoration Quarterly and the Journal of Hebraic Studies. With a Ph.D. in Northwest Semitic Philology from the University of Chicago's Department of Near Eastern Languagesand Civilizations, Scott C. Laytonis presently a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow at the Institute of Archaeological Research in E W. Albright His Jerusalem. primary interest is the study of the Hebrew Bible in light of Northwest Semitic literature.


131

by

Donald

P

Ryan and papyrus aytheword

images of scrolls, scribes, and pens immediately come to mind. Tobe sure, papyrus paperhas left an indelible mark on civilization, but there is far more to its history than just paper.First and foremost, papyrusis a plant, a plant with a wide range of applications far exceeding its celebrateduse as an ancient writing material. Rarely have the many uses of papyrusbeen recognized. It is my hope that a more complete understanding of this plant, which is the focus of this article, will encourage a broaderappreciationof its importance in the study of history and culture. The PapyrusPlant Cyperuspapyrus is a member of the Cyperaceae,or sedge,family of plants (Metcalfe 1971: 191-98; Ragab1980: 21-52; Zohary 1982: 137),which comprises nearly 4,000 species of grass-or rush-like herbs (Tickholm and Drar 1973:3). Cyperuspapyrus is a robust perennial plant that grows best in freshwaterswamps. Tall green stalks, or culms, are supported by a subterraneannetwork of tangled rhizomes. The fibrous culm, which was the most widely utilized part of the plant, is triangularin cross section and has a thin, green exterior and a spongy,whitish, pithy interior. The plant is cappedby an inflorescence of the umbel, or fountain-like, type and is capable of growing to almost 6 meters in height. Papyrusonce grew abundantly in Egypt,where the plant - and its famous by-products - came to sym-

bolize ancient life. Ironically,and with few exceptions, Cyperus papyrus has become virtually extinct from present-day Egypt as a naturally thriv-

132


Far left: The fountain-like umbel of Cyperus papyrus. Above: A thicket of modern-day papyrus at the Ragab papyrus plantation in Giza. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs in this article are by Donald P Ryan.

Cyperus papyrus, adapted from the Harper's Bible Dictionary (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985).

ing plant. It persists in zoos, gardens, and in commercial plantations where it is grown primarily to produce novelty souvenirs for tourists. Its disappearancefrom Egyptcan be attributed to a variety of factors such as climatic change,the disappearance of Delta branches of the Nile during post-Dynastic times, the drainingof swamps, the inability of the plant to compete with other species, and the shrinking of the old papyruspaper industry,which might have once artificially maintained its growth (Tackholmand Drar 1973: 139-45; Ragab1980: 108-09).' Papyrus,though, is not and never has been an exclusively Egyptian plant. Its current distribution includes central tropical Africa where it is found in vast quantities in watery locales such as the massive Sudd Swampin the southern Sudan and at many of the great African lakes such as Tana,Albert, and Chad

could be constructed easily and quickly and then be disposed of when they became waterloggedor otherwise unserviceable. Huge bargesof papyrusmight have served well in the transportof heavy blocks of stone that were used in the construction of many of Egypt'sgreat monuments. Verylikely the shape of the early papyrus boats was reflected in the design of the largepapyriformwooden ships depicted in many Egyptiantomb scenes, funerarymodels, and in an actual example of such a ship discoveredin a sealed pit at the base of the Pyramidof Cheops at Giza (Landstr6m1970:26-34, 56-59, 90-93, and 116-21; Jenkins 1980). In an interesting experiment that tested the durability of watercraft constructed from papyrus,Norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl on two occasions built large sailing vessels out of papyrusand

(Ragab1980: 185-88). Less notably, smaller populations of the plant can be found in Palestine (FeinburnDothan 1986:358-59) and Sicily, where it was intrnoiced (Lewis 1974: 19-20; Ragab1980:91-94). Non-PaperUses of Papyrus Cyperuspapyruswas exploited in a variety of ways in addition to its use as a source of writing material. The papyrusboat. One of the most well-known uses of the papyrus plant in ancient Egyptwas in the construction of watercraftfor travel on riversand swamps. The inherently buoyant papyrusstalks were tied into tight bundles and combined to form rafts or boats of various sizes that could be utilized for travel, transport,hunting, and fishing (Vandier1969:493-510; Landstrom 1970: 17-19, 94-97). When dried, papyrusstalks are lighter than balsa (Ragab1980: 173),so small skiffs


133

Papyrus barges might have transported the heavy stone blocks used in pyramids. ter 8, verse 4; see Hort 1968:348-49) have commented on the role of papyrus in Egyptianrope-makingand Herodotus referredto immense Egyptian-madepapyruscables used to span the Hellespont in orderto facilitate the advance of Xerxe's army into Europe(History,book 7, chapters 34-36; see Godley 1963: 346-51). In conducting replication experiments I discoveredthat papyrus cordagecould be easily manufactured, first by crushing the stalks with a mallet and then by twisting the fibers into two or three strands that could then be combined to produce a finished rope. Future tests of breaking-strengthshould reveal the relative qualities of papyrusrope when comparedwith those manufacturedfrom other materials. The constructionof a papyrusboat as depicted in the tomb of Ptahhotep,an Egyptianofficial of the FifthDynasty (aroundthe middle of the thirdmillennium B.c.E.),at Sakkara.Photograph Papyrusas food. Severalclassical courtesy of The Committee of the EgyptExplorationSociety, London. writers commented that the Egyptians also used the papyrusplant as a tried to cross the Atlantic from Afri- from grasses and palms, the papyrus food source. In his Enquiryinto ca to the Americas. Noting certain Plants (book 4, chapter 8, verse 4; plant was also exploited as a source see Hort 1968:348-49), Theophrascultural similarities between the an- of raw fibers for the manufactureof tus noted that the eating of papyrus cient Near Easternand New World cordage(Lucasand Harris 1962: was practiceduniversally by those 134-36; Ryanand Hansen, 1987). civilizations, including the use of who lived in the Egyptiancountryreed boats, Heyerdahlset out to deMany examples of ancient papyrus side. He wrote that "theychew the termine if papyrusboats would be rope have survived to this day including gigantic specimens measur- papyrusstalk raw,boiled, or baked; capable of sustaining such a long ing up to 7.6 centimeters in diameter they swallow its juice and spit out voyagein open water (Heyerdahl that were recoveredfrom the ancient the pulp"(Lewis 1974: 22). He also 1971, 1979:3-26). Heyerdahl'ssecTuralimestone quarriessoutheast of noted that papyruswas a particularly ond voyagewas successful but critsweet and nutritious food (Enquiry Cairo (Greiss 1949: 171;Ryanand ics have arguedthat the Egyptians into Plants, book 4, chapter8, verse 2; never built papyrusships the size of Hansen, 1987). SeveralEgyptiantomb scenes see Hort 1968:346-47). his or riggedthem for sailing on the Diodorus Siculus (Diodorus of apparentlydepict the manufacture high seas. of cordagefrom papyrus,occasional- Sicily, book 1, chapter 80, verse 5; Papyruscordage.One of the most see Oldfather 1968:274-77) observed essential technologies possessed by ly in conjunction with scenes illusthat the Egyptiansate the lower part the ancient Egyptianswas the manu- trating the construction of papyrus watercraft(Teeter,1987).Classical of the plant and that it was a "favorite facture of a tough rope, or cordage, authors such as Pliny (Natural Histhat was widely used in daily life and inexpensive food for children" and in the construction of monutory,book 13,chapter22; see Rackham (Lewis 1974: 24), and Herodotus mental works of architecture.Apart 1968: 140-43) and Theophrastus (History, book 2, chapter 92; see from the usual materials derived Godley 1966: 376-79) noted that (Enquiryinto Plants, book 4, chap-

134


This scene, depicting the manufacture of rope from papyrus, is also from the tomb of Ptahhotep at Sakkara. Photograph courtesy of The Committee of the Egypt Exploration Society, London.

Examples of large-diameter cordage from ancient Egypt on exhibit at The British Museum. Both pieces were discovered in the Ttra limestone quarries southeast of Cairo.

"thosewho preferto enjoy the papyrus at its best bake it in a hot oven before eating"(Lewis 1974:22). Pliny (NaturalHistory,book 15, chapter 34, verses 116-17;see Rackham 1968:366-67) and Diodorus Siculus (Diodorus of Sicily, book 1, chapter 80; see Oldfather 1968:274-77) likewise mentioned the edible qualities of the plant. In an effort to assess the quality of papyrusas a food source and determine the nutritional value of Cyperuspapyrus,I, along with a colleague, Sheri J.Tonn, conducted a biochemical analysis of the plant at Pacific LutheranUniversity (Ryan and Tonn 1986).Surprisingly,the initial results of the experiments indicated that papyrusis very low in caloric content and generally poor in overallnutritional quality. Perhaps papyrusservedbest as roughage,if the fibrous parts were consumed, and, when eaten with other foods, nominally assisted in achieving a well-balanceddiet. In any event, its

words incorporatedpapyrussigns in subtly sweet taste may have proved their spelling (Gardiner1957:480attractive.2 as Not The papyrusplant symbol. 81). A scepter of papyruswas a common iconographicalmotif (Tiickholm did serve the papyrusplant only and Drar 1973: 113-14), and large it also numerous practical functions, stone columns modeled after the as a of ancient served symbol Egyptian culture. A hieroglyph of a clump plant can be found in many examples of papyrusrepresentedLowerEgypt of dynastic architecture (de Cenival 1964: 178-83). (the Delta), and many Egyptian


135

This hieroglyphof a clump of papyrusrepresentedLowerEgypt(the Delta) in ancient Egyptianwriting.

Hapy,the Egyptiangod of the Nile inundation, was usually depicted with a clump of papyrus sproutingfrom the top of his head. Papyrusbouquets were apparently populardecorations at banquets and were used as religious offerings; severalexamples of funerarygarlands that incorporatedthe plant have survived (Tackholmand Drar 1973: 106-10). Miscellaneous uses of papyrus. Cyperuspapyrus could also be used as construction material in the manufactureof containers, sandals, mats, and a wide variety of domestic products (Greiss 1957: 150-51; Lucas and Harris 1962: 137;Tickholm and Drar 1973: 118-25; Lewis 1974: 24-29; Gourlay 1981,volume 2: 12, 23-24, 52, 127-29). Classical authors have mentioned its use in making sails and blankets and its roots as firewood(Pliny,Natural History, book 13, chapter 22, verse 72; see Rackham 1968: 140-43; Theophrastus, Enquiryinto Plants, book 4, chapter8, verse 4; see Hort 1968: 348-49). The plant is said to be aromatically pleasant when burned (Lewis 1974:96), and medical applications of papyrushave been noted (Tackholmand Drar 1973: 104-05; Lewis 1974:97).

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Papyrusas Paper It is not known exactly when Cyperus papyruswas first used in the manufactureof paper,but the earliest known example is a blank scroll that An unrolledsheet of papyruspapercontaining Egyptianhieratic writing (a cursive script derived fromhieroglyphs).Photographcourtesy of the Trusteesof The British Museum. was found in a First Dynasty tomb dating to around3100 B.C.E(Emery 1938:41). Severalpapyriare known from Old Kingdomtimes, and there- Rackham 1968: 142-49) described suggested refinements (Cerny 1947: after the number of surviving examEgyptiantechniques of papermaking 5-6; Lewis 1974:34-69; Ragab1980: during Roman times. Severalcon130-50). ples increases significantly. A process that works well is as Pliny (Natural History, book 13, temporaryscholars have experimented with these techniques and follows: After mature papyrusplants chapters 13-16, verses 74-83; see

136


This scene, from the Theban tomb of Puyemre,depicts the harvestingof papyrus.Adapted fromDavies (1922:plate XV).

storage.The typical papyrusroll was composed of twenty sheets, which were pasted together at the edges (Cerny 1947:8-11, 14-17). In later times papyrussheets were often collated into book, or codex, form. Apparentlythe Egyptiansdid not comment much about their paperindustry;that is, there are no known Egyptiantexts or scenes that specifically describe the papermaking process. Literacy,though, was considered a virtue in ancient Egypt,and a comfortable class of scribes was kept busily employed (James1984: 132-80). They wrote with pens made out of blunted reeds and with black and red ink made from carbon and red ocher mixed with gum and water (Cerny 1947: ral substances within the plant itself 11-12). The Greeks were writing on providedthe necessary adhesive to bind the pressed strips into a single papyruspaperby the sixth century B.C.E. and during their tenure as sheet of paper(Lewis 1974:47-49; 1980: Egypt'srulers and colonizers paper 151-60). Ragab became a valuable commodity of exAfter it was pressed the paper was dried and the sheet could be port to the Mediterraneanworld and continued to be so through Roman trimmed as necessary.Individual times (Lewis 1974:84-94). As litersheets of papyruspaperrangedin ate Greeks colonized many areas of width from about 16 to 42 centimeters with a maximum height of Egypt,especially in the Delta and the 47 centimeters. Severalsheets could Fayyum,the use of papyruspaperfor be combined and rolled in the classic written matters of all kinds increased scroll fashion for portability and dramatically.

are harvestedthe bottom of the stalk and the umbel are removed.The green exterior of the stalk is stripped away,leaving a core of white pith, which is sliced into long, thin strips. These strips are soaked in water and then laid out in a rectangularsheet of the desired size, each strip slightly overlappingthe edge of the next. A second set of strips is then laid over the first in a similar manner but at a right angle to the first layer.The double-layeredsheet of strips is placed between cloth to absorbwater and then pressed. Pliny (Natural History,book 13,chapter23, verse 77; see Rackham 1968: 144-45) claimed that the muddy propertiesof the Nile created the bonding agent, but we have since discoveredthat natu-

Egyptcontinued to export papyrus paperto Europeand the Mediterranean countries until at least the end of the eleventh century C.E. After that time, however,the use of papyrusas paperbegan to diminish, eventually to the point of hardly being used at all. An increase in the use of other materials, such as parchment and ragpaper,contributed significantly to its demise (Lewis 1974: 90-94). The remains of Greco-Egyptian cities have revealeduntold thousands of scraps of papyrusdocuments, mostly written in Greek and usually recoveredfrom the debris of ancient trash heaps. These scraps contain accounts of trading,disputes, and personal letters, as well as all manner of domestic and official documents and copies of the classics of Greek literature (Roberts1971), thus providinga bonanza of data for scholars. Ancient waste paperwas also put to use in the construction of mummy casings in a manner not unlike papier-machecalled cartonnage (Baike 1971:231-34; Lewis 1974:95). Modern scholars have been able to recoverancient documents by carefully peeling awaythe papersheets from the insides of these casings. Around the turn of this century


137

There were papyri fragments of the Old Testament among the Dead Sea Scrolls. suggested in both of these verses, one describing a basket that floats, the other describing seagoing watercraft. Containers of papyrushave been found in archaeologicalexcavations in Egypt,and the buoyancyof papyruswatercrafthas been welldocumented in modern times (Heyerdahl 1971;Ragab1980: 172-84). Any vessel made from papyrusalone will absorbwater, though, and eventually sink, so the mother of Moses was wise in daubing the basket with pitch, which would have kept the baby afloat and dry.The verse from Isaiah is descriptive of watercraft known not only from Egyptbut from other parts of the ancient Near East as well (Heyerdahl1981).Gomec is also mentioned in a blessing for a bountiful environment in Isaiah35:7, and the normal aquatic surroundings of the growingpapyrusplant are noted in Job8:11. In the New Testament,papyrus paperis indicated by the Greek word Papyrusand the Bible chartes in 2 John,verse 12 (Lewis Biblical Hebrew has severalwords that denote swamp or riverineplants. 1974: 70-78; Balz and Schneider 1983: 1106).The author of 2 John It has been suggested that one of these words,gomec, specifically inwrites, "ThoughI have much to write to you, I would rathernot use dicates Cyperuspapyrus (Lisowski chartes [paper]and ink, but I hope to 1958:328; Zohary 1982: 137),or the come to see you and talk with you "paperreed"(Brown,Driver, and face to face, so that our joy may be Briggs 1906: 167),or "bulrushes"as this plant has often been called complete." 1956: Though it is noted only cursorily 28-29). (Anderson in the Bible itself, Cyperuspapyrus The word gomec appearsonly is very important to the biblical four times in the Old Testament. In Exodus 2:3 it is cited as the material scholar because it is one of the writused in the construction of the "ark" ing materials upon which religious or basket that held the baby Moses manuscripts have survived. The vast of a tells 18:1-2 Isaiah majority of extant Hebrew manu(tebat gomec). land "beyondthe rivers of Ethiopia; scripts were recordedon parchment

the discovery of vast amounts of well-preservedGreek papyriin Egypt inspired Europeansto lead expeditions with the specific goal of recoveringthese documents from the ruined cities (Baike1971).The British were particularlyactive in this work; papyrus-hunterssuch as Bernard Grenfell (1869-1926) and Arthur Hunt (1871-1934)retrievedtremendous quantities of whole and fragmentary papyri,which have yet to be completely studied (Grenfell 1900; Turner1982). Fromthis wealth of information a specialized scholastic discipline called papyrologyhas developedthat is devotedto the study of texts written on papyruspaper.The papyrologist reconstructs, translates, and interprets a variety of documents. Though seemingly arcane,the papyrologist'swork is of interest to scholars in many disciplines.3

which sends ambassadors by the Nile, in vessels of papyrus (izbikl&gomec) upon the waters." It is interesting to note that the buoyant characteristic of the plant is

138

or vellum prepared from animal skins (Haran 1985) but a few have survived on a papyrus surface. There are several existing Septuagint manuscripts that were written on


papyrus,and papyrifragments of the Old Testament and other books have been discoveredalong with the Dead Sea Scrolls (Kenyon1958: 114-19; Cross 1961;Harris 1980: 1143-47). There is a dearth of Hebrew papyribut New Testament manuscripts written on papyruspaper have been discoveredin significant numbers, especially in the dry environs of Egypt,the primary source of the material. Majordiscoveries at sites such as Oxyrynchus and Nag Hammadi have providedpriceless papyri,including early examples of the Gospels and an arrayof other early Christian documents written in Greek and Coptic (Kenyon1958: 185-90; Harris 1980: 1147-50). It is interesting to note that papyrusis responsible for the word "Bible."The Greek word biblos originally referredto the papyrusplant but its meaning eventually expanded to denote written manuscripts and books. The word Bible as "theBook" was thus derived (Lewis 1974: 14-15, 78-79). Conclusion Cyperuspapyrus, a plant of great versatility and importance to the ancient Egyptiansand their Mediterraneancontacts, has slipped into relative obscurity and is rarelyexploited today.The minor, or less exalted, uses of the plant should not be forgottenbut the invention of paperhas had a lasting, far more important impact on the development of civilization: It provideda portable,relatively inexpensive means of recording,preserving,and sharing thought and deed and contributed significantly to the dissemination of information that was necessary for the advancement of

Grosset & Dunlap. Cerny,J. 1947 Paperand Books in Ancient Egypt. London:H. K. Lewis & Co. Cross, E M. 1961 The Ancient Libraryof Qumranand ModernBiblical Studies. New York: Doubleday. Darby,W.J.,Ghalioungui, P.,and Grivetti, L. knowledge and the maintenance of 1977 Food:The Gift of Osiris. New York: complex societies. Academic Press. Although books are no longer Davies, N. de G. 1922 The Tombof Puyemre,two volumes. produced from Cyperus papyrus, the New York:MetropolitanMuseum of legacy of this ancient plant is reArt. flected in every modern page. Emery,W.B. 1938 The Tombof Hemaka. Cairo: GovernmentPress. Notes Feinburn-Dothan,N. 'Note, too, the disappearanceof a 1986 FloraPalaestina, part4. Jerusalem: wide variety of animals such as hippopoIsraelAcademyof Sciences and tami, crocodiles, and the ibis as well as Humanities. other plants from the Nile Valley (NewGardiner,A. H. 1957 EgyptianGrammar,third edition, berry 1925:436-41; Butzer 1976:26-27). revised.Oxford:Griffith Institute. 20Otherscholars who have studied this topic include W.J.Darby,P. GhaliGodley,A. D., translator 1963 HerodotusIII, Books V-VII.Series: oungui, and L. Grivetti (1977);Armand LoebClassical Library.Cambridge, Ruffer(1919:67-69); and Vivi Taickholm MA, and London:HarvardUniversity and Mohammed Drar (1973: 104-06). Press and Heinemann. LudwigKeimer (1927)has arguedthat 1966 HerodotusI, Books I and II. Series: certain plants illustrated in some examLoebClassical Library.Cambridge, ples of Egyptianart representedpapyrus MA, and London:HarvardUniversity stems as a kind of food offering. Press and Heinemann. 3The many challenges and joys exGourlay,Y 1981 Les sparteriesde Deir el-Midineh, perienced by the papyrologisthave been two volumes. Series:Institut Franexcellently describedby E. G. Turner cais d'ArchdologieOrientale (1973)and HerbertC. Youtie (1963). Documents de fouilles 17. Bible in cited this ar4All passages A. M. Greiss, E. ticle are taken from the Revised Standard 1949 Anatomical Identificationof Plant Version (New OxfordAnnotated Bible, Materialsfrom Ancient Egypt.BulleOxford:OxfordUniversity Press, 1973). tin de l'Institut d'Egypte31: 249-83. 1957 Anatomical Identificationof Some Ancient EgyptianPlant Materials. Bibliography Mimoires de l'Institut d'gypte 55. Anderson,A. W. Grenfell, B. P.,Hunt, A. S., and Hogarth,D. G. 1956 Plants of the Bible. London:Crosby 1900 Fayum Townsand TheirPapyri. Lockwood& Son. London:EgyptExplorationFund. Baike,J. Haran,M. 1971 EgyptianPapyriand Papyrus-hunting. 1985 Bible Scrolls in Easternand Western Freeport,NY:Books for Libraries JewishCommunities from Qumran Press. (Reprintof 1925 edition) to the High Middle Ages. Hebrew Balz, H., and Schneider,G. Union College Annual 56: 21-62. 1983 ExegetischesW6rterbuchzum Neuen Harris,B. F. Testament.Stuttgart:W Kohlhammer. 1980 Papyriand Ostraca.Pp. 1142-50 in Brown,F.,Driver,S. R., and Briggs,C. A. The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1906 A Hebrew and English Lexiconof edited by J.D. Douglas. Leicester: the Old Testament.Oxford:ClarenPress. Inter-Varsity don Press. Heyerdahl,T. Butzer,K. W 1971 The Ra Expeditions. New York: 1976 EarlyHydraulic Civilization in Doubleday. Egypt.Chicago:University of 1979 EarlyMan and the Ocean. New Chicago Press. York:Doubleday. de Cenival, J-L. 1981 The TigrisExpedition.New York: 1964 EgyptianArchitecture.New York: Doubleday.

Hort, A., translator 1968 Theophrastus:Enquiryinto Plants I. Series:LoebClassical Library.Cambridge,MA, and London:Harvard University Press and Heinemann. James,T. G. H. 1984 Pharoah'sPeople.London:Bodley Head. Jenkins,N. 1980 The Boat beneath the Pyramid.

London: Thames& Hudson.

Keimer,L. 1927 Papyrusstengelals Genussmittel Journalof the Society of Oriental Research 11:142-45. Kenyon,E 1958 Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts.New York:Harper& Brothers. Landstr6m,B. 1970 Ships of the Pharaohs.London: Allen & Unwin. Lewis,N. 1974 Papyrusin Classical Antiquity. Oxford:ClarendonPress. Lisowski, G. 1958 Konkordanzzum HebriaischenAlten Testament,second edition. Stuttgart: WurttembergischeBibelanstalt. Lucas,A., and Harris,J.R. 1962 Ancient EgyptianMaterials and Industries, fourth edition, revised.

London:Edward Arnold.

Metcalfe,C. R. 1971 Cyperaceae.In Anatomy of the Monocotyledons, volume 5. Oxford: ClarendonPress. Newberry,P.E. 1925 Egyptas a Field for Anthropological Research.Pp. 435-59 in Annual Report of the Regentsof the Smithsonian Institution, 1924. Washington, D.C.:Smithsonian Institution. Oldfather,C. H., translator 1968 Diodorus of Sicily L,Books I and II, 1-34. Series:LoebClassical Library. Cambridge,MA, and London: HarvardUniversity Press and Heinemann. Rackham,H., translator 1968 Pliny:Natural History IV LibriXIIXVI. Series:LoebClassical Library. Cambridge,MA, andLondon:Harvard University Press and Heinemann. Ragab,H. 1980 Le Papyrus.Cairo:RagabPapyrus Institute. Roberts,C. H. 1971 The Greek Papyri.Pp.355-89 in The Legacyof Egypt,edited by J.R. Harris.

Oxford:Clarendon Press.

Ruffer,A. 1919 Foodin Egypt.Mimoires de l'Institut d'gypte 1. Ryan,D. P.,and Hansen, D. H. 1987 A StudyofAncient EgyptianCordage from the BritishMuseum. Series:


139

BritishMuseumOccasionalPapers62. Ryan,D. P.,and Tonn,S. J. 1986 Papyrusas Food:A Nutritional Analysis of CyperusPapyrus.Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American ResearchCenter in Egypt, Washington,D.C. Tackholm, V.and Drar,M. 1973 Floraof Egypt,volume 2. Koenigstein: Otto Koeltz Antiquariat. (Reprintof 1950 edition) Teeter,E. 1987 TechniquesandTerminologyof Ropemaking in Ancient Egypt.Journalof EgyptianArchaeology 73: 71-77. Thompson, K., and Woolhouse,H. W 1979 PapyrusSwampDevelopment in the Upemba Basin, Zaire.Botanical Journalof the Linnaean Society 78: 299-316 Turner,E. G. 1973 The Papyrologistat Work.Series: Greek, Roman,and Byzantine Monographs6. 1982 The Graeco-RomanBranch.Pp. 16178 in Excavatingin Egypt,edited by T G. H. James.Chicago:University of Chicago Press. Vandier,J. 1969 Manuel d'archdologie6gyptienne, volume 5. Paris:A. & J.Picard. Youtie,H. C. 1963 The Papyrologist:Artificerof Fact. Greek, Roman,and Byzantine Studies 4: 19-32. Zohary,M. 1982 Plants of the Bible. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.

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I

Dating Papyrus Manuscripts

by

the

Method Carbon-14

AMS

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by

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This segment of the Great Harris Papyrus, an official Egyptian document dating to the reign of Ramesses III (first half of the twelfth century .(:. .), is an excellently preserved example of ancient papyrus paper. Photograph courtesy of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities of The British Museum.

ne oftheprimary goals known as papyrology.

of paleographyis the dating of ancient writing. Dating can apply both to the time when an original composition was written as well as to when it was copied. Of particular concern to paleographersare the manuscripts that were written on papyrus.So important are these ancient manuscripts that their study has led to the development of a separateacademic discipline

d13

In the past it was not technicalto try to ascertain the feasible ly date of papyrusmanuscripts because the process destroyedtoo much of the papyrussheet. That limitation has been alleviated by the development of the AcceleratorMass Spectrometry(AMS)Carbon-14technique, which requiresmuch less material to ascertain a date. Even today the best conventional (non-AMS)technique requires 1 gram of carbonfor

testing. This would require 17 grams of papyrus,which would constitute a papyrussheet totaling 216 square inches in a 12-by-18-inchmeasurement. With the AMS method, however, only 15 to 20 milligrams of papyrusmaterial are needed. Depending on the thickness of the particular sheet, various surface areas may have to be tested, but the total testing areamay cover as little as a quarterof a square inch of material-or less.


141

The AMS method can be an important aid to papyrologists, but care must be taken. Since what is written on a piece of material cannot predateits manufacture,AMS carbon-14results indicate the earliest possible composition date of manuscripts written on papyri.Thus, the AMS method is a very important paleographictool. The limitations of previous carbon-14dating methods are highlighted in this passageby Millar Burrows(1955): New evidence bearing on the dating of the manuscripts appearedalso early in 1951.A piece of linen cloth found in the cave when it was excavatedwas sent by Hardingto America and subjected to the carbon-14process by ProfessorW.E Libbyof the Institute for Nuclear Studies of the University of Chicago. The result of the test was reportedby ProfessorLibbyto President Kraelingof the American Schools of Oriental Researchon the ninth of January,and was published by ProfessorO. R. Sellers in February.The date thus established

themselves, but this would have involved the destruction of a largepiece of one of them.' We can now add that the AMS technique makes this test possible3. Carbon-14dating, a means of dating ancient organicmaterials by detecting their carbon-14content, has been in use for about forty years. AcceleratorMass Spectrometryhad its beginning in 1939 but did not really arriveon the scene until 1977 when Muller suggested that a cyclotron, an acceleratorin which charged particles are propelledby an alternating electric current in a constant magnetic field, could be used in detecting long-livedradioisotopes (carbon 14 is one of these) and, especially, with subsequent reportsof these measurements.3One spectacular example of the AMS carbon-14 method was the determination that Dima, a babywoolly mammoth discoveredin June 1977 during the excavation of the Magadanregion of northeastern Siberia,had died 27,000 years ago. for the piece of cloth was 33 A.D., Parchment manuscripts can also be tested by this method, since plus or minus 200 years;i.e., some time between 167 B.c. and carbon 14 is applicable to all ancient 233 A.D. organic matter, but great care has to be taken when dealing with parchWhile this did not establish the ment. In antiquity,parchmentunderage of the manuscripts themwent considerablepreparationand selves, or provideas exact a date was generally smoothed with chalk. for their deposit in the cave as Of particularconcern, therefore,is might have been desired, it clear- the contamination of results, as ly indicated the general period of the skin of the animal and not only any of history to which the scrolls bethe associated preparatoryagents longed, confirming what had al- such as chalk will yield a useful readybeen inferredfrom other carbon-14date. considerations. Any ideas that Forthat matter, one must also the Dead Sea Scrolls were of be careful to avoid contaminating medieval origin thus became less

defensible than ever. It would have been helpful to apply the carbon-14 test to the manuscripts

142

the results of tests on papyri. Only the unwritten portion of a papyrus sheet should be cut and tested. Whereas papyrus material (the plant


Cyperus papyrus) is only about 6

percent carbon (databased on preliminary studies), the written portion of a papyrussheet is very heavily carbon concentrated.This is because the ink is composed of severalcarbonaceous elements. Some of these elements may vary in age, perhaps by a few centuries; so, if we test an unwritten papyrussample we can ascertain the date of manufactureof the papyrussheet, but if we test a written portion of the papyrustext, the carbon-14result will reflect a potpourriof dates, including not only the date of manufacture of the papyrussheet but also the harvest date for each of the carbonaceous elements that make up the ink. Because of the potential for achieving unclear results, I advise papyrologists,paleographers,and others interested in the dating of ancient manuscripts to secure expert technical assistance when preparing papyrusor parchment for any scientific test. Notes Pleasedirectanyinquiriesto Thomas C. Lynn, 1101Brentwood,number 102,

Belding,MI48809.

'Page52 of The Dead Sea Scrolls

(NewYork:TheVikingPress,1955). 2Foranexcellentdiscussionof the carbon-14 methodandthe test referred to byBurrowsas well as othertechnical examinationsof the Qumranscrolls,see pages 89-92 of JohnAllegro'sThe Dead Sea Scrolls:A Reappraisal(Harmonds-

worth,Middlesex,England:Penguin Books, 1964).

3SeeDavidElmoreandFredM. MassSpectrometry Phillips,"Accelerator forMeasurement of Long-Lived Radioisotopes,"in Science 236 (1 May 1987), pages 543-50. 4Seepage 61 of Principlesof Isotope

Geology,secondedition,byGunterFaure (NewYork:JohnWiley& Sons,1986).

theHistorl' andSyria Literar}' Sourcesfbr oJPalestine

Contacts Between

and

Egypt

Syro-Palestine During the Old Kingdom

series of articles examining Egyptianliterary sources that document contacts between Egyptand SyroPalestine. The first article in the series (Wright1985)focused on the protodynastic period (around3100 to 2705 B.C.E.).This article focuses on

by Mary Wright editedbyDennisPardee

the Old Kingdom, which, based on recent information concerning Egyptian chronology,encompassed the Third through Sixth Dynasties (around2705 to 2250 B.C.E.)and was contemporarywith the EarlyBronze IIIperiod in Syro-Palestine. Although the archaeological recordof the Old Kingdom reveals greater contacts between these two areas than in the protodynasticperiod, the number of written sources concerning these contacts is small. With the exception of the Eblatablets, no indigenous Syro-Palestinian written documents that date to the EarlyBronzeAgehavebeen discovered. The Egyptianliterary sources, therefore, are particularyimportant for the reconstruction of this period of Syro-Palestinianhistory. As is the case with evidence from the protodynastic period, it is difficult to locate and identify SyroPalestinian people and places mentioned in the Egyptiantexts. Nearly all identifications of Old Kingdom Egyptianreferences to Syro-Palestine are conjectural;most place-names are too obscure or too ambiguous in context to be positively located. Consequently, scholarly opinion differs considerably concerning points of contact and the nature of the relationships between Egypt and Syro-

fifth king of the Menkaure("Mycerinus"), FourthDynasty and builder of the third pyramidat Giza, is depicted in this stone carving as a powerful rulerstriding forward with confidence. Tohis right is Hathor, goddess of the Egyptianroyalhouse. Tohis left is a symbolic figure bearingas a headdress the standard of one of the nomes, or districts, of ancient Egypt.Photograph courtesy of KennethG. Hoglund.


143

ChronologicalTable OldKingdom (circa2705-2250 B.C.E.) Third-Sixth Dynasties Djoser Third Dynasty (circa2705-2630 B.C.E.) 2705-2687 1. Sanakht Nebka 2. Neterikhet (Djoser) 2687-2667 3. Sekhemkhet 2667-2660 4. Khaba 2660-2654 2654-2630 5. Huni Fourth Dynasty (circa2630-2524 B.C.E.) 1. Sneferu 2630-2606 2. Khufu ("Cheops") 2606-2583 2583-2575 3. Radjedef 4. Khafre("Chephren") 2575-2550 5. Menkaure 2550-2530 ("Mycerinus") 2530-2526 6. Shepseskaf Fifth Dynasty (circa2524-2400 B.C.E.) 2524-2517 1. Userkaf 2. Sahure 2517-2505 2505-2495 3. Neferirkare-Kakai 4. Shepseskare-Isi 2495-2488 2488-2477 5. Neferefre 2477-2466 6. Niuserre-Ini 7. Menkauhor-Ikauhor 2466-2458 2458-2430 8. Djedkare-Isesi 2430-2400 9. Unas Sixth Dynasty (circa2400-2250? B.C.E.) 2400-2390 1. Teti 2. Userkare 2390-2361 3. Pepi I Meryre 4. MernereI Antyemsaf 2361-2355 2355-2261 5. Pepi II 6. Memere II Antyernsaf 2261-2260 2260-2250 7. Nitocris

144

Sneferu

Palestine during this period. In order to evaluate the written sources, this article will outline the relevant genres of Old Kingdom Egyptian literature, indicate the specific references to Syro-Palestine in this literature, and provide brief discussions of the important secondary sources where historical conclusions have been drawn from the literature.

The Old Kingdom

"Cheops""Chephren"

"Mycerinus"Sahure

n

0

Niuserre-Ini

4&

Teti

Unas

0

0

PepiI Meryre

PepiII


The Old Kingdom marked the emergence of Egyptian culture into its classical form. From the wellspring of political consolidation that occurred in the protodynastic period, when the first kings began ruling all of Egypt (Dynasties 0 through 2, around 3050 to 2700 B.C.E.),Egypt had developed into a highly centralized state under the rulership of an absolute monarch who was considered a god. Directly beneath the king was a large bureaucracy of civil servants who were, for the most part, dependent on the king for their positions and material wealth. This combination of royal ideology and extreme political centralization was expressed culturally in the construction of monumental pyramid complexes. Surrounding these pyramids were the tombs of the royal family and administrative servants. Being buried next to the king was thought to ensure the same privileged associations in the afterlife. The height of the Old Kingdom, as measured by the size of the individual king's pyramid complex and its adjacent necropolis, was reached in the Fourth Dynasty. The massive pyramids of Khufu and Khafre at Giza demonstrate that Egypt's human and economic resources were firmly under royal control. With the advent of the Fifth Dynasty, however, there was a steady diminution of the status of the king. Royal powers began to be usurped by both the priests of the cult of the sun-god Re at Heliopolis and certain provincial officials whose allegiances were becoming more closely tied to their

own districts than to the king. Royal pyramids were planned on a smaller scale and were inferior in workmanship to those that had been built previously. By the Sixth Dynasty, after the unusually long reign of Pepi II, the central government began to disintegrate; the government soon collapsed, and rulership was fragmented in the hands of several rival provinces.

Old KingdomLiterature In the protodynastic period, Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was limited to brief notations, usually consisting of a few words to show possession or to identify a place or event. During the Old Kingdom, however, Egyptian writing developed into a true literature in the modern sense of the term and consisted of a variety of distinct genres. Autobiography. The first and earliest Egyptian literary genre attested to, appearing at the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty, is the autobiography. During the Old Kingdom, autobiographical information was inscribed in the funerary chapel of the mastabas' and rock-cut tombs of wealthy officials. By the Sixth Dynasty autobiography had reached its fullest form and included the names of the deceased's family, all of the deceased's titles and official appointments, self-laudatory proclamations of the deceased's exemplary moral qualities (for example, that she/he had given bread to the hungry, clothed the naked, and so on), a stereotypical list of offerings that the deceased was to receive (mostly food, drink, and clothing), prayers for the deceased's good reception in the West (the land of the dead), and accounts of professional achievements by which the deceased had gained the recognition of the king and his contemporaries. The use of autobiography was apparently limited to private individuals, as we have no examples of Old Kingdom royal autobiographies (Lichtheim 1975: 3-5; v.d. Walle

Sources for Study ieroglyphic transcriptions of the Old Kingdom autobiographicaltomb inscriptions were published by KurtSethe in Urkunden des Alten Reich (1933).English translations of many of the more importanttexts can be found in the first volume of JamesHenryBreasted'sAncient Recordsof Egypt(1906). Although our knowledge of the Egyptianlanguagehas significantly increased overthe last eighty years,Breasted'stranslations of Old Kingdomtexts arestill useful. Frenchtranslationsof manyof these texts were publishedby Allesandro Rocatti in La litterature historique sous l'ancien empire 6gyptien (1982). This volume is particularlyhelpful because it lists where the individual texts were found and notes some of the more important translations and most recent commentaries. The standardeditions of the hieroglyphic transcriptionsof the Pyramid Texts areKurtSethe'sfour-volumeDie AltiagyptischenPyramidtexten (19081922) and A. Piankoff's,The Pyramid of Unas (1968).Sethe's transcriptions were based on texts found in the pyramidsof Unas, Teti, PepiI, MernereI, and Pepi II,whereas Piankoff'swere limited to those found in Unas' pyramid. The major translations and commentaries include Sethe's six-volume Ubersetzung und Kommentar zu den Altagyptischen Pyramidtexten. (1935-1962), Samuel A. B. Mercers'four-volumeThe Pyramid Textsin 7Tanslation and Commentary (1952),and R. O. Faulkner'sThe Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts (1969).Because of his untimely death, Sethe'scommentary is incomplete; it does not include the first 212 spells, and it breaks off at utterance 582. Mercers'translations and commentary are out of date, but his extensive cross-indices are particularly useful for those who cannot read hieroglyphs, and they can be applied to Faulkner'smore recent edition. Faulkner'sEnglish translation is the best in the sense that it drawsupon more current knowledge of Old Egyptian grammar and lexicography.Faulkner's short notes (which are, for the most part, philological in nature and reflect very little on the religious nature of the texts) often make it necessary to consult Sethe'smore extensive commentary,however. The basic geographicalreferenceworks to Old Kingdom Egyptiantexts are Henri Gauthier's seven-volume Dictionnaire des noms geographiques Contenus dans les textes hieroglyphiques (1921-1931)and KarolaZibelius' Agyptische Siedlungennach Textendes Alten Reiches (1978).The latter reference, however,is concerned primarily with places within Egypt properand has few entries dealing with foreign locations. Although these geographic dictionaries list their entries in both hieroglyphic writing and Roman letter transcriptions, those who cannot read hieroglyphs may find it helpful to consult Sir Alan Gardiner'sEgyptianGrammar(1957).Informationconcerning the alphabetical arrangementof Egyptianhieroglyphs (lesson 1) and the standardtranscription of most of the hierglyphic signs (sign list on pages 438-548) may help facilitate the use of the geographicalreferences.

1975: 815-21). Since few other writings have survived from the Old Kingdom, autobiographical tomb inscriptions are used as primary sources for the reconstruction of the history and culture of this period. The most instructive parts of these autobiographical texts for historical purposes are the narrative passages commenting on the careers of the deceased. These passages

often contain detailed accounts of not only domestic activities, such as building projects, but also foreign expeditions and campaigns; several foreign accounts are believed to include references to Syro-Palestinian locations. Pyramid 'Texts.The second literary product of the Old Kingdom comprises a corpus of religious writings known as the Pyramid Texts. These


145

the modern sense of the term, such Old Kingdom inscribed artifacts may be classified as a literary source for this time period as well.

texts were meticulously carvedinto the interior chambers and corridors of the Sakkarapyramidsof king Unas, the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, subsequent kings and some queens of the Sixth Dynasty, and king Ibi of the Eighth Dynasty. Consisting of hymns, prayers,and magical incantations, the Pyramid Texts were compiled for the mortuary service of dead kings. The primary purpose of these inscriptions was to ensure the kings' successful resurrectionand safe ascent into the next world. The Egyptiansused lines or special introductorywords to divide the PyramidTexts into subunits called utterances. Egyptologistshave further divided these utterances into standardizedindividual verses, or spells. (Forexample, PyramidText utterance 473 includes spells 793 through 808.) Not all pyramidscontain the same texts; a king would omit certain utterances from his predecessor'scorpus and add new ones to his own. To date, approximately 759 differentutterances have been discovered. Because the PyramidTexts are not historical in nature many historians have glossed over their references to Syro-Palestineor not included them in their investigations of Old Kingdomforeign affairs. Nevertheless, referencesto SyroPalestine in these texts yield important information concerning how much Syro-Palestineinfluenced Egyptianculture. Other Texts.The Old Kingdom saw the development of other literary

Byblos Egypt'sinterest in Syro-Palestine during the Old Kingdom seems to have been centered on the port city of Byblos.Locatedabout 25 miles north of modern Beirut on the Mediterraneancoast,2Byblos was situated at the foot of the Lebanonand AntiLebanon(Sirion)mountains. This region providedmuch of the ancient Near East with construction-grade timber, particularlyconiferous trees and their resinous by-products. Although Egypthad native trees, such as the acacia and tamarisk, and various species of fruit and palm trees that could be used for crafts, domestic architecture,and small boats, wood suitable for making the long sturdy beams that were necessary for the construction of monumental architectureand seafaring vessels had to be imported (Lucas and Harris 1962:439-48). Also, pine resins and oils were important ingredients in the mummificationprocess3 and, therefore,were in great demand by at least the wealthier classes of Egyptians(LucasandHarris1962:319). One particularproductimported from Syro-Palestinecalled Hatet esh (h3t.tc),4 the finest quality esh pine oil, was commonly included in Old Kingdomfuneraryofferinglists in the tombs of private individuals (Barta1963:48, 55, 56, 73). This same oil is also mentioned in Pyramid Text utterance 77, spell 54, as

ships filled (with) c' pine wood."The origin of this shipment is not specified, but it is generally accepted as being the cargoof a commercial expedition returningfrom Byblos (Breasted1906:paragraph146;Ward 1963:22; Jidejian1968: 17).This entry also appearsto be the earliest reference confirming that timber imports were transportedby ship. Without the use of wheeled carts (which had not yet been invented), ships were a much more practical means of transportingheavy goods than hazardousoverlandcaravans throughPalestine (Ward1963:23-28). Other indirect evidence of sea trade at this time includes the recent discovery that the level of the Mediterranean Sea rose significantly at the beginning of the third millennium. This caused flooding of rivervalleys, thereby creating deep inlets. These inlets, along the otherwise smooth Palestinian coast, could have provided a link of natural harborsthat facilitated sea trade between Byblos and Egypt (Fleming,Raban,and Goetschel 1978: 131). More evidence of timber trade has been discovered,in particularan Egyptiancopper axeheadbearingthe name of a royallumberjackcrew, which was found near the mouth of the Adonis River,Nahr Ibrim (Mallon 1925;Rowe 1936:283, plate 36; Porterand Moss 1951:386). Dating from the Fourthor Fifth Dynasty, this axe may well have been lost while a lumberjackwas cutting logs in the Lebanesemountains. It is not known whether Egyptiancrews actually cut the trees or merely

genres as well, such as instructions in wisdom and royal inscriptions, including brief recordings of single events, annals, and decrees (see Lichtheim 1973: v-8); however, existing texts representing these genres contain no direct references to SyroPalestine. Further, a great deal of Egyptian written material concerning Syro-Palestine consists of single words or royal names and titles on artifacts. Though not literature in

one of the seven important ointments presented to the king as part of his funerary ritual. Given the religious significance of these products, their procurement was undoubtedly a primary motivation for Egyptian trade relations with Byblos. An entry for king Sneferu (first king of the Fourth Dynasty, around 2630 to 2606 B.C.E.)in the Old Kingdom royal annals known as the Palermo Stone5 reads "the bringing of forty

supervised Syrian crews. The Egyptians called some of the inhabitants of the wooded area of Syro-Palestine Fenekhu6 (Fnhw), a word that probably means "woodcutters" (Erman and Grapow 1926, volume 1: 576-77; Kees 1954: 36-40; Helck 1971: 23-24; Leclant 1984). A possible scenario is that after the logs were cut they were transported by a river, such as the Adonis, downstream to the point where the river emptied into the

146


This copper axehead with a one-line inscription bearing the name of a royal lumberiack

cretw

from either the Fourth or Fifth Dynasty is also evidence of a timber trade between Egypt and

Svro-Pales.tine. Note that it is covered by a dark patina anti the edges are slightly bent in places. indicating use. Measuring about 20 centimeters in length and width. it has a hole near the back for attaching a handle. Because it was discovered near the mouth of the Adonis River in Syria in 1911. it could have been lost while a lumberiack was cutting logs in the Lebanese Mountains. Photograph from Rowe (19361. courtesy of the Israel Department of Antiquities andi Museums.

Mediterranean Sea near the port of Byblos. From Byblos the logs would have been loaded onto Egyptian or Syrian ships destined for Egypt. Old Kingdom references from Egypt that specifically name Byblos,

are however,quite scarce.The Egyptian name for this city duringthe Old Kingdomwas written as Keben

(kbn7 and later kpn). One of the earliest references to Byblos in Egyptian records is an inscription on the lintel of a false door" of a Fourth Dynasty9 official named Kebenwentet (KbnWntt)found in the cemetery adjoining the pyramid complex at Giza (Horn 1963: 52). The Keben portion of the name was inscribed inside a crenulated (or notched) enclosure sign, which in Egyptian hieroglyphs was used to depict a fortified city or settlement (Leclant 1954: 73). Cemeteries near the pyramids were generally reserved for officials. Therefore, if this interpre-

tation is correct, it may be that Kebenwentet was a Syro-Palestinian who had achieved some sort of status in the royal Egyptian administration (Fischer 1959: 265; Helck 1971: 36). A second reference to Byblos dating from the late Fifth or early Sixth Dynasty comes from a very short inscription of an official named Khui (Uwy) from his tomb in Aswan (Sethe 1933: 140-41; Newberry 1938: 182). According to the inscription, Khui and two companions, Khnumhotep (Unmw-htp) and Teti (Tty), travelled to both Byblos and Punt on several occasions. The inscription does not state a purpose or specify any details of Khui's journeys, but writing found in his companion Teti's tomb, located in the same necropolis, states that Teti was "one who brings the products of the southern foreign lands to the king" (Sethe 1933: 141).This suggests that Khui and his companions were in

The Palermo Stone (so-called because it

currently resides in the Palermo Museum in Sicily) contains what may be the earliest record of timber imported into Egypt by ship from Byblos. Carved during the Fifth Dynasty tin the middle of the third millennium H.(..). it lists the important events of all previous Egyptian kings. An entry for Sneferu. first king of the Fourth Dynasty: refers to "the bringing of forty ships filledtwith) c; pine wood." The origin of the shipment is unknown but it is generally believed to have been Byblos. Pine resins anti oils were important ingredients in the mummification process and their religious significance was undoubtedly a primary motivation for trade relations between Egypt and Syro-Palestine. Photograph by John Ross from The Worldof the Pharaohs by Christine Hobson (New f)rk: Thames and Hudson. 1987j.


147

some way responsible for commercial relations between Byblos (as well as other important outlets of foreign trade)and the royal court of Egypt (Ward1963:27). In his Sixth Dynasty Elephantine tomb inscription (Breasted1906: 161-64; Sethe 1933: 134, line 15)the nobleman Pepi-nacht (Ppi-nlht)refers to a "Byblos"ship, which was to be used to sail on the Red Sea to the land of Punt. It is generally agreed that a "Byblos"ship referredto a seaworthy vessel as opposed to a smaller boat used for Nile transportation. It is uncertain, however,whether these ships were constructed in Byblos in connection with the city's timber industry or were built in Egyptand so named because they were first used in the sea tradewith Byblos (Save-Soderberg1946:47, number 5; Montet 1954). More informative evidence about EgyptianSyro-Palestiniancontacts has been discoveredin the city of Byblos itself. Although the name of Byblos was preservedin the Old Testament (calledgebal in Hebrew)o0 and in the works of severalGreek and Latin authors," its exact location was not known until the city was discoveredin 1860 by Ernest Renan. Later,in 1866, Frangois Chabas linked the Egyptianword Keben to the biblical name gebal as referringto the same port city of Byblos.12

Ernest Renan recordedthe findings of his surface excavations at Byblos (1864),but a more thorough investigation of the site did not begin until PierreMontet, a French Egyptologist,visited the site in 1919. During his first visit, Montet noticed that fragments of stone bearing Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions were located in one particular area. Starting at this location in his first season of excavation in 1921, Montet discovered the foundation of the temple of Baalat-Gebal ("Ladyof Byblos"). Montet (1928) published the results of the first four seasons of excavations in Byblos et l'Egypte:

148

Quatre campaignes de fouilles 'i Gebail 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924. Subsequentwork was carriedout by Maurice Dunand; his excavation reportswere published in 1939 in two volumes titled Fouilles de Byblos I and II. Over the millennia, many of the ancient buildings in Byblos, particularly on the west side of the mound, have sufferedfrom erosion because of the city's proximity to

the sea and the resulting adverse effects of strong winds and high humidity. In addition, foundations of later buildings constructed by the Romans and the Crusadersseverely damagedthe structures and plans of the early buildings. Compounding this was the modern use of the site as a quarry,not only for new buildings nearbybut also for adjoining neighborhoods.These conditions and intrusions have made accurate

RoyalNames Found at Byblos Fourth Dynasty Queen Hetepheris (wife of Sneferu and mother of Khufu):Dunand (1959:part 2, 929 and 931, number 1753). Khufu:Dunand (1939:322, number 4506). Queen Meritytis (wife of Khufu): Montet (1928:75, number 64, figure 23). Khafre:Dunand (1939:200, number 3074, plate 125). Menkaure:Montet (1928:68 and 69, number 45, figure 21*);Dunand (1939:120, number 1794, plate 39*; 162 and 163, number 2367, plate 39*; 169 and 170, number 2471, plate 39*;343, number 5120, plate 39*; 418, number 6504); Dunand (1959:text 1, 438, number 11327,plate 145). Fifth Dynasty Sahure:Dunand (1939:272, number 3920, plate 125*). Neferirkare-Kakai:Dunand (1939: 329, number 4909, plate 36). Niuserre-Ini:Dunand (1939:280, number 4030, plate 37). Djedkare-Isesi:Nelson (1934:20, number 1;plate 3, number 1). Unas: Montet (1928:69 and 70, number 46, plate 39); Dunand (1939:267 and 268, number 3867, plate 38; 278, number 3980, plate 36; 278, number 3981; 280, number 4029, plate 36). Sixth Dynasty RTti:Nelson (1934:20, number 2; plate 3, number 2);Dunand (1939: 258, number 3753, plate 37).


Pepi I Meryre:Montet (1928:70, number 47, plate 37; 71, number 48; 71, number 50, figure 2); Dunand (1939:93, number 1359, plate 37; 161, number 2359; 169, number 2466; 183,number 2865*; 309, number 4147; 309 and 310, number 4149, plate 36; 316, number 4366, plate 38; 345, numbers 5141 and 5191-three fragments that fit together;417, number 6496, plate 38); Nelson (1934:20, number 3, plate 3; 20 and 21, number 6, plate 3; 21, number 1, plate 4; numbers 7 and 8, plate 3). Pepi I or Pepi II:Dunand (1939:26, numbers 1113and 1114,plate 36; 27, number 1116;117, number 1742; 240, number 3530, plate 37; 260, number 3972, plate 37; 331, number 4941; 373, number 5446, plate 147);Montet (1928: 72, number 51, plate 45; 73, number 57, plate 45); Nelson (1934:22, numbers 3, 5, and 7, plate 5); Dunand (1959:929, number 17540, figure 1044). MernereAntyemsaf: Dunand (1939: 133, number 1940, plate 36). Pepi II:Dunand (1939: 132, number 1927, plate 36; 162, number 2365, plate 37; 185, number 2874, plate 36; 261, number 3800, plate 38); Montet (1928.:72, number 56, plate 40; 74, number 62, plate 41);Nelson (1934:21, numbers 1 and 2, plate 5). *Uncertain.

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This alabaster vase, made of two fragmentsthat fit snugly together,was discoveredin the so-called Baalat-Gebaltemple complex near Byblos. Measuring17 by 23 centimeters, it commemorates the heb sed festival of PepiI, an important royalevent designed to renew the king'spotency. The hieroglyphsinscribed on the vase display the full titulary of PepiI, third king of the Sixth Dynasty (who ruled from 2390 to 2361 B.C.E.). Line 1, the middle verticalsection, reads "Horus,belovedof the two lands."Line 2, to the left of line 1, reads "thetwo ladies"and "Horusof gold"; line 3, to the right of line 1, reads "kingof Upperand LowerEgypt,son of Re, PepiI."Line 4, the middle horizontal section, reads "givendominion Line 5, the bottom horizontal section, reads "firstoccurrenceof the sed festival."Although hieroforever"and "givenlife and dominion forever." glyphic writing is made up of a series of pictorial characters,it is not just a visual language, as each characterrepresentsa particularsound. Hieroglyphscan be read in severaldirections. In this inscription, for example, line 4 is read in the middle from both directions. Photographand drawing from Nelson (1934),courtesyof the Museum of Archaeologyof the American Universityof Beirut.

stratigraphicreconstruction of Early BronzeAge Byblos extremely difficult (Jidejian1971: 1-7). Most of the objects bearing Egyptianinscriptions have been found in or nearbythe so-called Baalat-Gebaltemple complex.'3The majority of these inscriptions are on fragments of alabasterand limestone vessels, which bear the names and titles of most of the kings and several queens from the Fourththrough Sixth Dynasties (Montet 1928; Dunand 1939;Ward1963:22-25; Ch6hab 1969).The number of these inscriptions increased throughout the course of the Old Kingdom,be-

coming most abundantduring the Sixth Dynasty. During the Sixth Dynasty in particular,many vessels commemoratedthe heb sed festivals'4 of Pepi I and/orPepi II. In addition to royalinscriptions, an alabasterofferingplate inscribed with the titles of an Egyptianofficial named Nefer-Seshem-Ra(Nfr-SimRc)has also been found in the BaalatGebal temple complex (Montet 1928:84-85; Dunand 1939:number 5366; Ch6hab 1968:3-4). Although severalof his five official titles have not been well attested, it seems relatively certain that Nefer-Seshem-Ra was a high-rankingscribe who was

stationed in Byblos to oversee the Egyptiantrade accounts and records (Ward1964).It is likely that NeferSeshem-Raplaced the valuable alabaster offeringplate in the Baalat temple because he had actually travelled to Byblos and had important ties to the city. Since there is only one piece of evidence, however, it cannot be summarily concluded, as Amnon Ben-Torand others have done, that an entire community of Egyptianmerchants resided permanently at Byblos (Ben-Tor1982:12). The question has been raised as to how the presence of these Egyptian vessels in Byblos should be inter-


149

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Also found in the Baalat-Gebal temple complex was this alabaster offering plate inscribed with the titles of a nonroyal Egyptian official named Nefer-Seshem-Ra. Scholars are uncertain about some of the five titles given, but it is likely that Nefer-Seshem-Ra was a high-ranking scribe stationed at Byblos to oversee the Egyptian trade accounts. It is also likely that Nefer-Seshein-Ra placed the offering plate in the Baalat temple because he had traveled there and had important ties to the city There is not enough evidence, however, to conclude that an entire community of Egyptian merchants resided in Byblos. Photograph from Ward (1964), courtesy of the National Museum, Beirut; drawing from Dunand (1939), courtesy of Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner.

preted. Partof the difficulty in answering this question is that we are uncertain about the exact relationship between the Baalattemple and its use by the Egyptians.It has been maintainedthat the originallyByblite temple was rebuilt during the Old Kingdomto serve the religious needs of the Egyptianmercantile agents stationed in Byblos. Indeed, it appears that the rebuildingof the temple in this period may have been inspired architecturallyby numerous features found in king Sahure's valley temple in Egypt(Saghieh1983: 121,number 33). Fromthis perspective, the vessels can be seen as dedicatory or votive objects that were donatedby the Egyptiansto gain the favorand protection of the temple

150

goddess Baalat,whom the Egyptians worshippedin the form of their own goddess Hathor.The implication of this interpretationis that while Byblos may have been politically independent of Egypt,the Egyptians nonetheless exercised considerable cultural influence over the city. Although this point of view is often asserted as fact, doubts remain about its certainty.In the Middle Kingdom,Baalatwas associated with the Egyptiangoddess Hathor, who often served as a patron goddess in foreign lands. To date, however, there is no hardevidence that this association was maintained in the Old Kingdom (Helck 1971:22).'~ Without definite evidence from Byblos connecting Hathor and Baalat


in the Old Kingdom, it is difficult to assess Egyptianparticipation in or influence on the religious life there. Another possibility that must be considered is that the ruler of Byblos could have hired Egyptian architects to design and rebuild the Byblite temple. Thus, despite apparent Egyptianinfluences, this temple may have been constructed and intended for the worship of Syro-Palestiniandeities by natives of Byblos. An alternative suggestion is that the stone vessels were, in reality, payment for the supplied wood (Stadelmann 1967:8; Helck 1971:21) and, as such, were donated to the temple as the personal propertyof the Byblite rulers. In a similar vein,

The most interesting feature of this stone cylinder seal discovered at Byblos is the unusual spacing of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. In most royal inscriptions the hieroglyphs are carefully spaced, but the images on this seal, as seen in the handcopy of its impression, are awkwardly spaced and thus difficult to read. The inscription probably reads "Ba'alat-ru-s-ms son ab(i) lulum, the chief of the (foreign) land of Byblos, given life eternally, beloved by the foreign-sun (god), Ba'alat and Khai-tau." The inscription essentially follows the pattern used in Egyptian royal seals and this seal is often used to demonstrate the large degree to which Byblos was drawn into Egyptian culture. This assessment should be made with caution, however, as the origin and purpose of the seal are unknown. Photograph and drawing from Chehab (1969), courtesy of the National Museum, Beirut.

Donald Redford(1981)has argued that the vessels were personal presents, which played a central role in the Egyptiangift-givingeconomy. This analysis, however,is based on later New Kingdomanalogies where presents such as alabastervessels served as "rewardsto faithful vassals" (Redford1981:8). The validityof either explanation cannot be determined by the present evidence, but both may be correct in part. In any event, the presence of some Egyptianstone vessels and the fact of some architecturalsimilarities to one Egyptiantemple are certainly not sufficient evidence to support William F.Albright'spersistent claim that Byblos was an Egyptian colony under imperial domination (Albright 1961:332-33). One of the most intriguing objects discoveredin Byblos is a stone cylinder seal, ostensibly belonging to a city ruler, inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs (Montet 1923: 180-83; 1928:62-68, figure 20, plate XXXIX, item 42). Unlike the carefully spaced hieroglyphic writing found in most Egyptianroyalinscriptions, the signs on this seal are awkwardly distributedon the surface, making it

difficult to determine the intended sequence of hieroglyphs (Goedicke 1963b: 1-5; 1966;Albright 1964:44 and following; Helck 1971:22). The inscription probablyreadsas follows: son ab(i)lu-lum, the "Ba'alat-ru-s-m's chief of the (foreign)land of Byblos, given life eternally,beloved by the foreign-sun(god),Ba'alatand Khai-tau (Hc-t3w)"(Helck 1971:22). With the exceptionof naming the ruler'sfather, the inscription essentially follows the pattern of Egyptianroyalseals (Helck 1971:22). The three deities mentioned on the seal - the foreign sun-god(perhapsthe Semitic sun-god Shamash),Baalat,and Khai-tau- are definitelynot Egyptiangods,however. With the exception of this cylinder seal, Khai-tauis mentioned in only three PyramidTexts:utterances 238, spell 242; 282, spell 423; and 322, spell 518. He is not attested in any Syro-Palestiniantexts. In utterance 322 he is said to "dwellin Negau (Ng3w),"the Egyptianname for the region near modern Lebanon'6 (Montet 1923).Other than his origin, very little is known about Khaitau. It is uncertain whether the name is an Egyptiantranscriptionof a Semitic-named Syro-Palestinian

deity or two separateEgyptianwords meaning "onewho appearsburning," this being an Egyptianparaphrase for a Syro-Palestiniangod who was deemed to have such a characteristic (Stadelmann1967:8; Helck 1971:22). In connection with the latter possibility, the "onewho appearsburning" is most frequently identified with the Syro-Palestiniandeities Resheph (Stadelmann 1967: 8, number 2; Xella and Scandone-Matthiae1981) and Tammuz (Helck 1971:23). These identifications are highly speculative, however. Although this seal is often used to demonstrate the large degree to which Byblos was drawn into Egyptian culture, such assessments should be made with great caution. It is not known whether the seal was manufacturedin Egyptor Byblos or if it was commissioned by the ruler of Byblos to emulate Egyptiancourt style or was presented as a gift by an Egyptian.If the seal were a gift, then it cannot necessarily be taken as proof that the ruler of Byblos was in some way adopting Egyptiancourt style, since there is no evidence that he ever used it. There is also the question of why Khai-tauwas included in the PyramidTexts. A plausible, though weak, explanation has been put forth. First of all, one should recall that the primary function of the Pyramid Texts was to guide the king through the various steps in the process of his resurrection and ascent to the next world in the sky. Utterance 322, where one mention of Khai-tau appears,is one of the so-called ascension texts, which were specifically designed to aid the king in his ritual passage to the heavens. In the ascension texts the king often identifies himself with other divinities or animals, such as birds, so that he might assume their various attributes and use them to overcome any hindrances in the course of his ascent (Davis 1977: 167). One such hindrance was the locked wooden gates at the entrance of heaven. It has


151

been arguedthat the Egyptiansbelieved that these largegates were made from the pine trees of the Byblos region in Syro-Palestine. Thus, by claiming himself to be Khai-tau,the god of this wooded region, the king would gain power overthe wood and cause the gates to open for him (Stadelmann1967:9). Although it can be demonstrated that the Egyptianshad some knowledge of Syro-Palestiniandivinities at least by the time the PyramidTexts were compiled, it cannot be inferred that Khai-tauwas worshippedas a deity in Egyptor that Syro-Palestinian deities significantly influenced Egyptianculture outside of this special circumstance found in the PyramidTexts.

the Near East (Matthiae 1980: 178). In 1977, duringthe fourteenth season of excavationat Ebla,three fragments of stone vases bearing Egyptianhieroglyphs were found among the charreddebris of Royal Palace G. Beforethe discovery of these pieces, Bybloswas the northernmost site in Syro-Palestinein which documented Old KingdomEgyptian foreign objects had been discovered. Two of these fragments are badly damagedpieces of a diorite vase, each of which bears portions of the set of titles of the FourthDynasty pharaohKhafre(Khefren).These Khafrefragments are from fine quality vases that would have been greatly valued in the ancient world (Matthiae 1978; Scandone-Matthiae 1979-1980). To date, the only other Ebla object with Khafre'sname that has been found in Syro-Palestineis the One of the most important archaeological discoveries in recent decades cylinder seal from Byblos mentioned in the previous section. is the Northern Syriancity of Ebla The question still remains:How Tell located ap(modern Mardikh), did these FourthDynasty and when miles the north 140 to proximately first of Byblos,midway between the appearin Ebla?Unforpieces the Mediterranean and the tunately, archaeologicalcontext Euphrates can only place their time of arrival Sea. The site was first excavatedin somewhere after the beginning of 1964 by Paolo Matthiae from the Khafre's of In after Rome. 1973, reign, at about 2527 B.C.E., University and before the destruction of Royal nine years of excavations,archaePalaceG, about 2250 B.C.E.Therefore, ologists began to uncover Royal it is possible that the vases arrived Palace G, which dates to 2700 to more than three hundredyears after 2250 B.C.E.Over the next few years their manufactureand were prenearly 17,000 clay tablets were disserved for such a long time because The in covered the palace archives. preliminary analysis of these tablets, of their artistic value. How they arrivedis an even consisting of economic/commercial more difficult problem. Since Ebla recordsand historical documents did not become an important comsuch as letters, decrees, and treaties, has greatly expandedour knowledge mercial center for another hundred

lands, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Hathor, Ladyof Dendera, Pepi I."This piece must have arrivedin Eblawithin a century of its fabricationsince, as just mentioned, RoyalPalace G was burnedin connection with the general destruction of the city by either Sargonor, more likely, Naram-Sinof Akkad around2250 B.C.E.(PepiI's reign

of Syro-Palestinian history from the third millennium. These texts reveal that by the Mardikh IIB2 period (around 2400 to 2250 B.C.E.),Ebla was at the center of a great commercial empire. This city's strategic position in Syro-Palestine between Mesopotamia and Anatolia enabled it to control the movement of trade goods, particularly timber supplies from western Syro-Palestine and metals from Anatolia, throughout

Wenet Wenet (Wn.t), a place-name often associated with Syro-Palestinian fortified cities or strongholds, is mentioned five times in the Old Kingdom Egyptian texts (Zibelius 1978: 67-69). The earliest reference from the Old Kingdom is in the list of titles of an official named li-KaiNedes (li-K,.i-nds). Inscribed on a tomb relief panel from Sakkara, one of this official's titles describes him

152

years (Mardikh IIB1, 2400 to 2250 B.C.E.), it is generally believed that the Egyptian pieces reached Ebla indirectly through trade at Byblos. The third inscription from Ebla's Royal Palace G is on a lid from an alabaster jar, which probably contained precious oil or some aromatic substance. The inscription on this jar, manufactured in the Sixth Dynasty under the commission of pharaoh Pepi I, reads, "Beloved of the two


ended around 2361 B.C.E.)

Although this jarmay have reached Eblathrough Byblos,the possibility of direct contact between Ebla and Egyptcannot be excluded. The primarydifficulty is that although severalhundredtoponyms (orplace-names)are mentioned in the Eblatexts, scholars are uncertain about a largenumber of their identifications (Archi 1980:4). It is therefore difficult,particularlyin southern Syro-Palestine,to assess the geographicalboundaries of Ebla'ssphere of influence and how closely these boundariesmay have approached Egypt's.Neither Egyptnor Eblamention each other in any of their respective written documents from this period that have been discovered to date. We are even uncertain whether Byblos is mentioned in Ebla'stoponym lists (Archi 1980:3, Matthiae 1980: 11;Pettinato 1981: 226). Although it appearsthat Ebla's main cultural and commercial interests were directed more toward Mesopotamia, its sphere of influence in Syro-Palestinemay have been in proximity to Egyptduring this time so that a direct exchange would have been possible.

These scenes seem to be connected with funeraryrituals and therefore providelittle information concerning Wenet'slocation. It has been noted, however,that in spell 150 of the Book of the Dead'19(Fischer 1958:264) these two names appearas the ninth and tenth places in the Netherworld. One explanation proposedby Helck (1971)is that, for the Egyptians,territories outside of the boundaries of Egyptbelonged to the sphere of chaos, as did the Netherworld. Thus, Wenet and Idamay have been two foreign places that were transported into the religious sphere. The last but most informative referenceto date was found in the Fekat (Hty.w fk3. t; Terrace of Turfamous Abydos tomb inscription of quoise, the mining region of Wadi in and the Hasut Weni, the governorof Upper Egypt Magahara Sinai), Imenet Iabet (H3s.wt Imnt. t i3bt; the whose long careerspanned the western and eastern deserts). The reigns of the first three kings of the locations of Sererand Tepa'7are unSixth Dynasty (Sethe 1933: 103). known. The title "scribeof the army" The text relates how, under the is not well attested to in the Old direction of king Mernere,Weni led is diffiit an army to the land of the Heryu-Sha Kingdom, and, therefore, cult to graspwhat the duties of this the "SandDwellers,"who office included. Nevertheless, it is in later on the text are associated (H.ryw-'c), that with Wenet strongholds.The pursignificant Kai-aper'sinscription links Wenet with the military pose of the military action is not given. The text simply mentions (Fischer 1958:261). In the Sixth Dynasty tomb of that "whenhe had formed an army Mereri (Mrri),Wenet is also named of many tens of thousands ... 20 his in one of his official titles: imy-r majesty took action against the Sand wn.wt ("overseerof Wenets";Drioton Dwellers"21(Sethe 1933: 101,9-10). 1943:488). Here Wenet is rendered The text later mentions that Weni and his army took such action plural by the placement of three enclosures, or house determinitives,'8 every time the Sand Dwellers "reafter the phonetic writing of Wenet. belled."Here "rebelled"might be This plural writing indicates that, in better translated as "actedup"or this reference at least, Wenet was "causeda disturbance,"which would not one particularplace. Although not imply, as Amnon Ben-Torhas these Wenets may have been strong- maintained, that the Egyptianshad

Bottero 1968: 45), they were less than efficient plunderers.It'shardly lucrative to raid the same people five times within such a short time frame (Sethe 1933: 104, lines 6-10). Weni'sarmy was levied from the breadthof Egypt, including peoples from Nubia. His army'sjourney is described as follows: "Iled them from Northern Isle and/ofthe Gate of ly-hotep in the district of Horus-Lordof Truth"(Sethe 1933: 102, line 18, through 103, line 1). Unfortunately, the three places underlined in the passage have not yet been identified. Since none of these names bears the foreign place determinative, it is assumed that they referto Egyptianlocations. It is not clear from the Egyptianpreposition used whether Weni led his troops "from,""in,""bymeans of,"or "into"the underlined sites. The following portion of the text, written in poetic meter, reads: This army returned in safety, After it had ravagedthe SandDweller's land. This army returned in safety, After it had flattened the SandDweller's land. This army returned in safety, After it had attacked its Wenet strongholds. This army returned in safety, After it had cut down its figs and vines. This army returnedin safety, After it had thrown fire in all of its [houses]. This army returnedin safety, After it had slain its troops by many ten-thousands.

holds in foreign territory, it seems clear that they were administratively under Egyptian control. The fourth Old Kingdom reference to Wenet is in the Sixth Dynasty tomb of Seneb (Snb) at Giza. The name Wenet is used as a caption to a group of scenes depicting three small boats and their oarsmen. The name Wenet labels the first boat, while Ida (Id3), also mentioned in Kai-aper's tomb, labels the second.

This army returned in safety, After it had [carried off] many [troops] as captives. (Sethe 1933: 103, line 7, through 104, line 3). Returning to prose, Weni tells how he had to return to suppress their rebellions five more times: "His majesty sent me to lead this army five times, to attack the land of the Sand-Dwellers, as often as they rebelled, with these troops" (Sethe

as a "recruiterof the desert guides of Wenetand everyforeignland"(Fischer 1959: 263) or, accordingto Wolfgang Helck, "caravanleader to Wenet and all foreign lands"(Helck 1971: 17).In either of these translations, the name Wenet seems to referto a foreign place that one needed a skilled guide to find. The next Wenet reference is in the autobiographicaltomb inscription of a Fifth Dynasty scribe named Kai-aper(K3.i-cpr).One of his most prominent titles describes him as "scribeof the king's army in Wenet" as well as five other places: Serer (Srr),Tepa(Tp3),Ida (Id3),Hetyu

previously held political control over the area in question. (Ben-Tor 1982: 14). This language suggests that the purpose of Weni's campaigns was to suppress actions of the Sand Dwellers, who for some reason were threatening or interfering with Egyptian interests, rather than to conquer or loot (Albright 1961: 332-33). Furthermore, if the Egyptian objective was to seize property because of "greed for plunder" (Drower and


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1933: 104, lines 6 through 10). The precedingpassages supply us with severalimportant pieces of information concerning these Wenets,but their locations still elude us. Weni'sdescription of the SandDwellers - a settled people of a sizable population who lived in fortified enclosures and practiced at least some agriculture,growing figs and grapes - has led a number of

scholars, both Egyptologistsand Syro-Palestinianexperts, to conclude that Weni'scampaigns must have been directed at the people of southern Palestine. Central to determining the geographiclocation of the Wenets and, therefore,the site of Weni's campaigns is the identification of the so-called Sand Dwellers (literally, "thosewho are upon the sand" Couroyer 1971).Many Egyptologists have interpretedthe Egyptianname for these people as meaning "inhabitants of the desert,"that is, nomads or bedouins (Faulkner:1976: 175). The textual evidence does not support this interpretation,however (Redford1986: 126). Besides Weni'sautobiography, the only other document that informs us of the Sand Dwellers with any detail is the previouslymentioned autobiographicaltomb inscriptionof a Sixth Dynasty Elephantineofficial named Pepi-nacht.In Pepi-nacht'saccount, a narrationof his partin a punitive mission againstthem, the SandDwellers are presentedas a settled people inhabitingthe Eastern Desert where limited cultivationwas Therepossible (Kemp1983:121).22 fore, Weni's campaigns against the people who had Wenet strongholds cannot be accepted as necessarily taking place in southern Palestine. One consideration in favor of Wenet's being in Syro-Palestine, however, is that, to date, no such fortified structures have been found in the Eastern Desert or the Sinai. The suggestion that Weni's five campaigns against the Sand Dwellers were directed against people of the

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easternDelta in an effortto incorporatethis 'Asiatic"areainto the Egyptianstate seems unlikely (Goedicke1963a).Recentarchaeological evidencefrom the eastern Delta datingfrom the predynastic periodthroughthe Old Kingdom shows the materialculture to be entirely Egyptianwith a relativeabsence of examples of Syro-Palestinian material from the Chalcolithic period or the EarlyBronzeAge (Kemp 1983: 138). Accordingto Fischer's(1958: 264) analysis of these various references to Wenet, the term seems to designate a specific place in the First through Fifth Dynasties. Wenetmay have originally been the majorEgyptian garrisonon Egypt'seastern border,perhapsused to guardthe frontier and serve as a rest stop for Egyptianexpeditions into the Sinai or EasternDesert along the Red Sea.23This would explain its connection with the Egyptianarmy as well as its later adoption by Egyptianreligion as an undesirableplace in the Netherworld.Fromthe Sixth Dynasty on it seems to be a general term for such walled (garrison?)settlements and was usually associated with Asiatics (Fischer 1958:264).

1977:25; Schulman 1979: 101),since the small promontory on the Palestine coast forming part of the Bay Haifa may (with a bit of imagination) look like a gazelle'snose. It should be remembered,however, that even if the name was originally related to a suggestive geographic configuration, today,because of changes in sea level and the effects of erosion over thousands of years, the site may no longer exist or the original shape may no longer be discernible. Helck (1971:18)has proposed that the landing of Weni'stroops must have taken place closer to Egyptianterritory,probablyon the southwestern coast of Sinai, and he suggested Mount Casius. Hans Goedicke (1963a)has posited that it occurredin the WadiTumilat on the way to the Red Sea. ElmarEdel has proposedthat the (1981:10"--11*) Egyptianuse of the word"nose"in the place-name implies a mountain that was located not far from Egypt, possibly in Palestine. Since Weni offeredno information concerning the startingpoint of his campaign, what body of water he crossed, or the length of time it took to reach Gazelle's Nose, its location must remain uncertain.

Gazelle's Nose After his five campaigns against the Sand Dwellers, Weni relates how "it was said that there were rebels in regardto the affairwith these people at the Gazelle'sNose. I ferriedacross in bargeswith these troops. While fully half of this army was on the road, I made a landing at the back of the height of the ridge, to the north

Nedia One piece of evidence that is frequently used to supportthe claim of Egyptianaggressionin Syro-Palestine in the same manner as Weni'scampaigns is in the Sixth Dynasty25 Dashesha tomb of an official named Inti (Petrie1898).Inti'stomb relief depicts a fortified enclosure or a

of the land of the Sand Dwellers" (Sethe 1933: 104). Speculations concerning the location of Gazelle's Nose24 are numerous. For the most part they involve various geographic sites that scholars believe in some way resemble a gazelle's nose. The favored site appears to be in the area of the Mount Carmel Range (Gauthier 1921-1931, volume 5: 144; Aharoni

walled village under siege by Egyptian troops. The shape of this fortified enclosure, an oval with round bastions at regular intervals, is similar to the Wenet forts mentioned in Weni's inscription and several other Old Kingdom texts. The scene consists of four registers, a pictorial style used by the Egyptians to narrate an event chronologically (Smith 1965: 149). The


It has been suggested that the rulersof Egyptin the Old Kingdomtook an aggressivestance towardSyro-Palestine.One piece of evidence given in supportof this claim is a relief found at Dashesha in the tomb of a Sixth Dynasty official named Inti. The relief depicts a fortified structure or walled village undersiege by Egyptiantroops.The oval shape of the enclosure with round bastions at regularintervals brings to mind the Syro-Palestinianstrongholdsmentioned by Weni,an Egyptiangovernorwho led severalmilitary campaigns against a settled agricultural people known as the Sand Dwellers. The scene is depicted in four differentregisters,which are used to indicate the propersequence of events. The top threeregistersportrayclean-shavenEgyptiansbattling enemies who seem to have the characteristicbeards (suggestedby the pointy chins) and dress (headbands)of Syro-Palestine.The last registershows the inhabitants of the enclosure in submissive positions and the Egyptiansleading some of them away as captives. Note that the Egyptiansare not depicted as carryingoff plunder,however.Drawing from Smith (1965),courtesy of YaleUniversity Press.

top three registersmostly depict the Egyptiansbattling enemies who appear to have beardsand dress characteristic of Syro-Palestine.The last registershows the inhabitants of the fortressin positions of submission and the Egyptiansleading many of them awayas captives. The inscription accompanyingthe scene is badly damaged;only a few words are preserved.One of these words reads "Nedia"26 (Ndi3)and appearsto follow another place-name,which is entirely lost except for the crenulated fortressdeterminative containing a bound captive. Unfortunately, Nedia is not mentioned in any other written document; without a context from the accompanyingtext, we cannot be certain that the word represents the name of the village depicted in the inscription. As in the

situation portrayedin Weni'sautobiographicaltext, this scene depicts the Egyptianstaking a few live captives ratherthan carryingoff booty or plunder. A second battle scene, from the Sakkaratomb of Kai-em-hesit(K3-mhs. t) has been linked to either the same battle or the presumed universal Egyptianhostility toward Syro-Palestinein the Sixth Dynasty that is representedin the tomb of Inti (Lapp1970: 122).This interpretation is difficult to accept, however. The village under siege in Kai-emhesit's tomb is drawnwith a single smooth line without crenulations, unlike the one in Inti's tomb. More important, the inhabitants inside Kai-em-hesit'stomb are beardless, which seriously casts doubts on their identification as Syro-Palestinians.

Shasu Apart from the two private tombs at Dashesha and Sakkara,the only other Old Kingdombattle scene discoveredto date was found on a stone block from the causeway of king Unas' mortuary temple in Sakkara(Hassan 1955: 138;Smith 1965: 148).The badly damagedblock depicts an Egyptianready to shoot one of the downed enemies and two figures struggling in hand-to-hand combat. At the top of the scene is a broken off word that ends with the hieroglyphic signs for sw. Many scholars reconstruct this word as Shasu (Ssw), a name later given to Syro-Palestinianpeople living in the desert region northeast of Egypt. Notwithstanding the uncertainty over whether or not the word actually was Shasu, it is plausible to inter-


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This battle scene, from the tomb of Kai-em-hesitat Sakkara,has also been cited as evidence of Egypt'suniversalhostility towardSyro-Palestine.Whatmakes this interpretationdifficult to accept, however,is the fact that the inhabitants of this enclosure are beardless, which stronglysuggests they are not Syro-Palestinians.Also, the village undersiege is drawn with a single smooth line without the crenulations (representativeof bastions) seen in Inti's tomb relief. Drawing from Smith (1965),courtesy of YaleUniversity Press.

pret from this scene that the Egyptians were defending themselves or their borderzone against these people, as opposed to the more popular interpretationthat the Egyptians were attacking Syro-Palestinians (Drowerand Bottero 1968:45). A Note of Caution

An important issue concerning the use of this sort of evidence in recon-

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structing Egyptian/Syro-Palestinian foreign affairsrelates to a more general problem scholars have in evaluating royalideology and Egyptian historiography.There are several cases where Old Kingdomroyal monuments have provendistinctly unreliable as historic evidence. The most famous example comes from a scene in Pepi II'spyramidtemple where the king is shown slaying a


Libyanruler in front of the latter's wife and sons (Jequier1938:plate 8). Next to this scene is a detailed list of the Libyanlivestock that was taken as plunder.At face value it would appear that Pepi II was a great warrior who had recordeda historical victory over the Libyans.Historians interested in Egyptianforeign affairs would have undoubtedly written about Pepi II's"battle"against the Libyanshad it not been discovered that the exact same scene was carved two hundredyears earlier on Sahure's pyramidtemple (Borchardt1913, volume 2: plate 1)and again, more than eighteen centuries after Pepi II, on a monument of Taharka's(Macadam 1955:plate 19)in Nubia. In each case, the scene, the names of the individual Libyans,and the list of plunder are virtually identical. Thus, instead of their being seen as descriptions of historical events, such depictions of foreign conquests should be understood as theological documents within the context of Egyptiandivine kingship. One of the primary ideological functions of the Egyptianking was to establish and maintain orderagainst the ever-threateningpowers of chaos. The portrayalof the king subduing an enemy was thereforea general theological statement of the king's efficacy in this role. The scene may have originally been based on a historic incident, but this aspect played a relatively subordinaterole in the mind of the Egyptianartist (Moscati 1963: 78-79; Frankfort1978:9). Pepi II'smotive for copying a conquest scene from a much earlier predecessor was not merely the result of a lack of imagination. Rather, this "is a clear illustration of what Wilson termed the 'royal myth' one major aspect of which was that any particularly noteworthy act of one king automatically became part of the royal persona and every succeeding king felt constrained to repeat it." (Schulman 1979: 88). A second aspect concerning Egyptian royal conquest scenes and

In addition to the tombs of Inti and Kai-em-hesit,this is the only other Old Kingdombattle scene known to date. It is on a badly damaged stone block from the causeway of the mortuarytemple of king Unas at Sakkara.The scene depicts an Egyptianwith his bow drawn about to shoot a fallen enemy while two otherfiguresstrugglein hand-to-handcombat. A brokenword at the top of the scene ends with the hieroglyphic signs for sw. Many scholars reconstructfrom this the word Shasu,a name that has been given to Syro-Palestinianpeople living in the desert regionnortheast of Egypt.Thus, the most popularinterpretationof the scene is that it shows the Egyptiansattacking Syro-Palestinians.It is just as plausible, however,to posit that the Egyptiansare defending themselves or their borderagainst attack. It should also be kept in mind that royalmonuments of the Old Kingdomhave provento be an unreliable source of historical evidence. Photographfrom Smith (1965), courtesy of YaleUniversity Press.

inscriptions is that in some cases these scenes were displayedto magically protect the Egyptiansfrom hostile foreign enemies, not to commemorate an actual event. Since this genre of scene was often copied and could not, in principle, have been intended to depict any actual occurrence, all such scenes must be considered factually suspect. They thereforehave little value for the historical reconstruction of Egyptian foreign affairs.

Egyptian/Syro-Palestinianrelations is extremely meager,the most persuasive analysis of the protodynastic corpus of written evidence, in addition to other archaeological sources, is that Egyptian/Syro-Palestinian contacts were primarily reciprocal commercial ventures ratherthan exploitive imperial conquests (Ben-Tor 1982;Beit-Arieh1984). Evidence from the Old Kingdom, however,seems to indicate a complete severanceof Egyptianties with Palestine proper.Not one single Conclusion Egyptianartifact dating to the Old At the beginning of the Old Kingdom, Kingdomhas been found in Palesthe characterof Egyptian/Syrotine, nor have any Palestinian artifacts from this period been found in Palestinian foreign relations underwent a fundamental change. In the Egypt.Fromthe Third Dynasty on their Egypttook control of the Sinai; no precedingprotodynasticperiod writas attested of by EarlyBronzeIIIevidence of Palespoints contact, tinian copper exploitation in this ten documents, were centered in southernPalestine,particularlyArad, areahas been found (Ben-Tor1982: Tel Gath, and cEn Besor (Wright 21). At the same time, Egyptbegan indievidence to focus its trade relations with 1985).Archaeological cates that Syro-Palestinianswere in Syriaat Byblos and, later on, poscontrol of the Sinai and exploited its sibly as farnorth as Ebla. The literary sources for Egypcopperand mineral resources.Alon material the tian contacts with Syro-Palestinein bearing though

the Third Dynasty are particularly poor. Only one tenuous reference has so far come to light: the mention of Wenet in li-Kai-Nedes'titulary. Despite numerous references,Wenet or Wenets cannot be definitely placed in a Syro-Palestiniancontext. Before the Sixth Dynasty, Wenet was probably located somewhere on Egypt's borderzone. In addition, archaeological evidence for this period is limited to a few uninscribed stone bowls of Egyptianmanufacture found at Byblos (Dunand 1939, volume 1:number 1830; 1958, volume 2: number 12057)and some wood believed to be of Syrian origin found at Dzoser's Step Pyramid site at Sakkara (Ward1963:21). Documentation for Egyptian Syro-Palestiniancontacts in the FourthDynasty is more abundant. Egypt'strade relations with Byblos became firmly established and appear to have expandedthroughout the course of the Old Kingdom. With the exception of the Syrian wood, resinous by-products,and oil, little is known about the actual


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commodities that were traded, as no tine and Syria. The motive for their business records or inventory docuexpeditions must largely have been ments have been discovered in either greed for plunder, and especially for area. The question of what sorts of captives who would be brought back to to products Egypt exported Syroslavery. The sight of Egyptian solPalestine is speculative (see Ward diery pillaging and laying waste their Ben-Tor It is land must have become familiar to 1964; relatively 1982). that commercial the Canaanites" (Drower and Bottero certain, however, relations were effected by sea trans1968: 45). thus Palestine. portation, bypassing Regrettably, such sweeping hisand numerous torical conclusions are drawn despite Despite Egyptian found in their the fact that not a single Palestinian Syrian objects respective countries, little is known also can be definitively located place about the cultural influences that from Old Kingdom Egyptian texts. resulted from their commercial rela- With the exception of Weni's camtionship. After centuries of continupaigns, which were probably directed ous trade, Syrian products such as against a Palestinian city, all the pine oils and resins were incorporemaining evidence can be seriously rated as important ingredients in challenged in regard to the represenEgyptian funerary rituals. References tation of a Syro-Palestinian place or to the Syro-Palestinian god Khai-tau battle. There is not one shred of eviin the Pyramid Texts suggest that the dence to indicate that the Egyptians took plunder from any Palestinian Egyptians had at least some knowledge of Syro-Palestinian deities in city, and although captives may have the Byblos area. been taken, there are no Egyptian recWe are even less certain as to the ords of slaves from the Old Kingdom. effect of this city's contact with Egypt. Furthermore, as stated previously, Egyptian architects undoubtedly any evidence from royal monuments that depicts Egyptian hostility against played a role in the design of the Baalat temple, but it is not known if foreign peoples must be viewed as the temple was in any way intended having more basis in theology than for Egyptian use; neither is there in historical fact. As such, this evidence should not be used without proof that some Egyptians permanently resided in Byblos and used question as a documentary source such a temple. There is no evidence for Egyptian foreign affairs. that Byblites had any knowledge of None of this is to say that the It divinities. is Egyptian questionEgyptians never attacked Palestinian able whether the cylinder seal of the cities, or plundered, or took captives ruler of Byblos does in fact show for slaves. At issue is the all too that Byblite royalty tried to copy common practice of accepting court tenuous pieces of evidence, without style. Egyptian it is reservation and often out of context, Although generally agreed that Egyptian relations with Syria then drawing conclusions from this were based on reciprocal state trade, evidence and stating these conclusions as historical truths rather than the evidence for Egyptian contacts with Palestine proper is most often as hypotheses. There undoubtedly were some hostile contacts between interpreted as indicating Egyptian the Palestinians and Egyptians, but hostility toward the Palestinians. Not untypical of this point of view the frequency, nature, and motives behind such contacts cannot be is the following statement from the Ancient which determined by the present evidence. History, Cambridge sums up the discussion of the releNotes vant material: "In the years to come 'Mastaba is the modern name for the Egyptians were to gain much tombs found in the necropolises surexperience of siege warfare in Pales-

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roundingthe Old Kingdompyramids, particularlyat Giza and Sakkara. Mastaba is the Arabicword for bench. These tombs, each of which is for a single individual of the Old Kingdom period, are so named because their rectangularshape with slightly inclined walls resembles the benches commonly found outside of modern Egyptian homes. Eachtomb consists of two parts, an undergroundburial chamber covered by an above-groundchapel. The chapel walls were often decoratedwith scenes from everydaylife and inscribedwith funeraryoffering lists and sometimes the deceased'sautobiography. 2In two recent publications, Ancient Egyptand Some EasternNeighbors (1981)and Ancient Byblos Reconsidered (1985),AlessandraNibbi contends that this is not the site of ancient Byblos documented in Egyptianliterary records and considers other sites for its location. The logic behind this claim, however,is poorly argued,and her conclusions are unfounded. Forcritical reviews see Kitchen (1983),Schulman (1984),and Lorton(1986). 3Inthe Old Kingdomritual, melted pine resin was pouredover the body to help suppressbacterialgrowth and thereby facilitatethe preservationof the corpse. 4cS wood, which is frequently transwas probablyappliedto a lated as "cedar," number of differentspecies of coniferous trees such as juniperand fir. 5The PalermoStone is a fragmentof an Old Kingdomroyalannal now housed in the PalermoMuseum in Sicily. It contains recordsof noteworthyevents in the reigns of individual kings from the predynastic period to Nefirkere, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. 6See PyramidTextutterance 716, spell 2223. 7Allof the hieroglyphic signs (except determinatives)representconsonants; Egyptianhieroglyphicwriting does not include any vowels. (Severalhieroglyphs are often transliteratedas vowels because their approximatesound values are closer to vowels than any of the consonants in the Romanalphabet.Nevertheless, these signs still function as consonants in the Egyptianwords.) Egyptologistsartificially insert vowels between the consonants of Egyptian words to make them pronounceable.(It must be stressed, however,that the original pronunciations of Egyptianwords

are almost entirely unknown.) Regrettably, there is no standardizedmethod for the selection or placement of vowels in Egyptianwords.This accounts for the confusing discrepanciesin the spelling of ethnic and geographicnames found in various translations of Egyptiantexts. In this article,both the originalhieroglyphic transcriptionsand transcriptionswith vowels are given. 8Thefalse door in Egyptianmonuments was an imitation, nonfunctional door often carvedinto the stone walls of the tomb through which the soul could pass. The ritual funeraryofferingwas performedbefore such doors. 9Porterand Moss (1974,volume 3, part 1:48), however,maintain that this false door dates from the Fifth or Sixth Dynasty. '0See 1 Kings 5:18and Ezekiel 27:9. "See the extensive bibliographyof classical sourcesin Jidejian(1968:213-14). 12Forreferences concerning the Egyptianhieroglyphic transcriptionsof Semitic Syro-Palestinianplace-names, see Albright (1934)and Helck (1971: 505-81). '3The Museum of Archaeologyof the American Museum of Beirut has purchasedseveralstone vase fragments inscribed with the names of Egyptian kings from the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. Although their original province is unknown, these fragmentsundoubtedly came from Byblos as well (Nelson 1934). 14The heb sed was an important royalfestival that was held to renew the king's potency. Sometimes it was celebratedthirty years after the king's accession, but some rulers celebratedit at shorter intervals. '5Forpossible circumstantial evidence of Hathor'sassociation with Baalat in the Old Kingdom,see Schulman (1979:92-93). 16Anotherreferenceconnecting Negau with the wooded region of Lebanon is found in PyramidText utterance 357, spell 590 (also 367, spell 634; 468, spell 903; and 690, spell 2107). Speaking about the deceased king (as Osiris), the text states that the king shall "notlanguish" (ng3)and "not groan" (cs). Clearly

this is a word play or pun using the region of Negau and the esh fir trees that were most commonly exportedto Egypt from Lebanon(Helck 1971:23). '7Anothermention of TP3may be found on a false door at Giza where the

deceased is identified as Tp3Snb.Since the name appearson other parts of the door as simply Snb, it may be interpreted as "theman of 7T3,Snb"similar to Wnt..t of Byblos (Fischer1958:265). '8Determinativesare hieroglyphic signs that essentially function as pictures. A determinativeis placed at the end of the word to help indicate its meaning. Determinatives have no phonetic value. 19TheBook of the Dead is an assemblage of funeraryspells that was written on papyrusand placed in the tombs of wealthy Egyptians.The Book of the Dead was used from the New Kingdom down to the Romanperiod. 20Thisis probablyan exaggeration. 21Goedickehas translatedthe phrase "tookaction against"(hsfht n) as "to seize the propertyof"and therebyinterprets this military action as an offensive raid on the part of the Egyptiansto obtain booty (Goedicke 1963a:189;Ben-Tor 1982: 14).The verb (hsf),however,is almost alwaysused in connection with defensive actions such as "torestrain," "topunish,""todrive away,""toredressa wrong,"and so on (Faulkner1976: 196). Goedicke'sargumentwould be more persuasive if it providedsome clear examples of this verb (hsf)being used in connection with taking specific property.The word (ht)can mean property,but it can also mean "matter," or "situation." "affair," In this usage the passageshould be translated as "Hismajesty punished the action (the matter) of the SandDwellers." Furthermore,if Weni'smain objective was to "seizethe property"of the Sand Dwellers, one would expect him to list the kinds and amount of propertyobtained in these raids.With the exception of taking some live captives, the text only mentions how Weni razedthe Sand Dwellers'land and property.This behavior is certainly more in keeping with punishment or retribution than with the taking of plunder. 22Pepi-nacht'sinscription describing his punitive mission against the Sand Dwellers readsas follows: "Nowthe majesty of my lord sent me to the country of the 3amu people to bring him the sole companion [commander]of sailors, the caravanconductor cn ankht who was building a Byblos ship (in orderto sail) for Punt when the 3amu people belonging to the SandDwellers slew him with the troop of the armywhich was with

him... I slew the people among them (i.e. the Sand Dwellers) and the troop of the army which was with me"(Sethe 1933: 134, line 13 and following). The exact location of Punt is unknown, but from the descriptionof items procuredthere, it is most certainly somewhere along the littoral of the Red Sea, perhapsthe areaof Southern Arabia or the Somali coast (Kemp1983: 136-37). Thus, cn-ankht, at the time of his assassination, must have been building his ship on the eastern Red Sea coast. Since Pepi-nachtwas a resident official in Elephantine (Aswan),he was probably called on for this task because his district was closest to the incident on the Red Sea. Given the distance between the Red Sea and the Old Kingdomcapital at Memphis, at least severalweeks must have elapsed before word of cn-ankh's assassination reachedthe king and Pepinacht's subsequent journeyto the Red Sea to punish the SandDwellers. The fact that Pepi-nachtwas able to find and kill the murderingSandDwellers weeks after the incident must mean that they were settled in one place ratherthan nomadic. The term 3amu, usually translated as "Asiatics,"is not justified in Old Kingdom contexts. This term has been applied by the Egyptiansto Libyans,Asiatics, and Nubians as well as to the inhabitants of the EasternDesert between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea (Brovarskiand Murnane 1969:number 1). 23Helcksuggests Raphia (Helck 1971: 17). 24Thetransliterationirt tp qhs is sometimes translated"Antelope'snose." 25Petrie(1898)dated this tomb to the Fifth Dynasty, but it must date to the Sixth (Baer1960:58). 26Albright(1934:9, number 23) proposed that Nedia is the Egyptianspelling for Laudi-El(LoziEl). Yeivin (1959:160) believed it is a referenceto the mwty3 people mentioned in a later groupof texts. Both suggestions are unlikely.

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in the History of Civilization. In The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Essays in Honor of William Foxwell Albright, edited by G. Wright. GardenCity, NY:Doubleday. 1964 The Eighteenth-CenturyPrinces of Byblosandthe Chronologyof Middle Bronze.Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research 176: 38-46. Archi, A. 1980 Notes on EblaiteGeography.Studi Eblati 11:1-16. Barta,W. 1963 Die AltagyptischeOpferliste. MiincherAgyptologische Studien 3. Berlin:BrunoHessling. Baer,K. 1960 Rank and Title in the Old Kingdom. Chicago:University of ChicagoPress. Beit-Arieh,I. 1984 New Evidenceon the Relationsbetween Canaanand Egyptduringthe ProtodynasticPeriod.Israel Exploration Journal34: 21-23. A. Ben-Tor, 1982 The Relationsbetween Egyptand the Landof CanaanDuring the ThirdMillenium B.C.Journalof Jewish Studies 23: 3-18. Borchardt,L. 1913 Das Grabdenkmaldes K6nigsSahu' Rec,volume 2. Leipzig:J.C. Hinrichs. Breasted,J.H. 1906 Ancient Recordsof Egypt.Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the PersianConquest, volume 1. Chicago:University of Chicago Press. Brovarski,E., and Murnane,W J. 1969 Inscriptionsfrom the Time of NebhepetreMentuhotepIIat Abisko. Serapis 1: 1-33. Chehab,M. 1968 Relations entre l'3gypteet la Phenicie des originsd Oun-Amun.Pp. 1-4 in The Role of the Phoenicians in the Interactionof Mediterranean Civilizations. PapersPresentedat the American University of Beirut, March 1967, edited by W Ward. Beirut:The American University of Beirut. 1969 Noms de personnalites6gyptiennes decouvertsau Liban.Bulletin du Musee de Beyrouth22: 1-47. Couroyer,B. 1971 Ceux-qui-sontsur-le sable:Les Heriou-Sha.Revue Biblique 78: 558-75. Davis, W. 1977 The Ascension-Mythin the Pyramid Texts.Journalof Near Eastern Studies 36: 161-79. Drioton, E. 1943 Description sommaire des chapelles

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fundrairesde la VIedynastier6cemHassan, S. 1955 The Causewayof Unis at Sakkhara. ment d6couvertesderrierela masatabade M6r&ouka Zeitschrift ffirAgyptische Sprache ASakkara.Annals und Altertumsbunde 80: 136-39. du Servicedes Antiquites l'tgypte XLIII:487-514. Helck, H. W. 1971 Die BezeihungenAgyptenszu VorDrower,M., and Bott6ro,J. derasien im 3. und 2. Jahrtausendv. 1968 Syriabefore2200 B.C.Cambridge Ancient History,fascimile 55. CamChr.,second edition. Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz. bridge:CambridgeUniversity Press. Horn, S. Dunand, M. 1963 Byblosin Ancient Records.Andrews 1939 Fouilles de Byblos, volume I. Paris: LibrairieOrientalistePaul Geuthner. UniversitySeminarStudies 1:52-61. 1959 Fouilles de Byblos, volume II.Paris: Jequier,G. 1938 Lemonument funerairede PepiII, LibrairieOrientalistePaulGeuthner. VolumeII: Le Temple.Cairo:ImEdel, E. 1981 Agyptische Namen fir Vorderasiaprimerie de lInstitut Francais tische Orts-,Burg-,oderFlussbezeichdArchdologieOrientale. N. 15: Eretz Israel Jidejian, nugen. 10*-11*. 1968 Byblos throughthe Ages. Beirut: Erman,A., and Grapow,H. Dar El-Machreq. 1926- W6rterbuchder Agyptischen 1931 Sprache,five volumes. Leipzig:J.C. Kees,H. 1954 Ein Herrschaftaus den PyramidenHinrichs. texten des AR und Sopduder Smrsw. Faulkner,R. O. 1969 The Ancient EgyptianPyramid Zeitschrift fir Agyptischen Sprache 79: 36-40. Texts.Oxford:ClarendonPress. 1976 A Concise Dictionary of Middle Kemp,B. 1983 Old Kingdom,Middle Kingdom,and Egyptian.Oxford:GriffithInstitute. Second IntermediatePeriod.In AnFischer,H. 1959 A Scribeof the Army in a Saqqara cient Egypt:A Social History,edited Mastabaof the EarlyFifth Dynasty. by B.Trigger,B. Jemp,D. O'Connor and A.-Lloyd.Cambridge:Cambridge Journalof Near EasternStudies 18: 233-72. University Press. Kitchen, K. Fleming, N., Raban,A., and Goetschel, C. 1983 Review of A. Nibbi'sAncient Egypt 1978 Tectonicand EustaticChangeson and Some EasternNeighbors (1981). the MediterraneanCoast of Israelin Palestine ExplorationQuarterly115: the Last9000 years.In Beneath the 77-79. Watersof Time: The Proceedingsof the Ninth Conferenceon UnderLapp,P. 1970 Palestine in the EarlyBronzeAge. water Archaeology,edited by J.Barto Arnold III,Austin: TexasAntiquities Pp. 110-31 in Near EasternArchaeCommittee Publication. ology in the TwentiethCentury: Essays in Honor of Nelson Glueck, Frankfort,H. edited by JamesA. Sanders.Garden 1978 Kingshipand the Gods, second edition. Chicago:University of City, NY:Doubleday. Leclant,J. Chicago Press. 1954 Fouilles et travauxen Egypte,1952Gardiner,A. 1953. Orientalia 23: 73. 1957 EgyptianGrammar,third edition. 1984 T.P. Pepi ler, VII:Une nouvelle Oxford:OxfordUniversity Press. mention des Fnhw dans les textes Gauthier,H. des pyramids.Studien zur Alti4gyp1921- Dictionnairedes noms gdographiques tische Kulture(FestschriftWofgang 1931 contenus dans les textes hidroHelck) 11: 455-60. glyphiques, seven volumes. Cairo: Lichtheim, M. Imprimeriede lInstitut Francais 1973 Ancient EgyptianLiterature:VoldArcheologieOrientale. ume I: The Old and Middle KingGoedicke, H. doms. Berkeley:University of Cali1963a The Alleged Military Campaignin forniaPress. SouthernPalestine in the Reignof Lorton,D. Pepi I (VIthDynasty).Revisti degli 1986 ReviewArticle. Wherewas Ancient Studi Orientali 38: 187-97. Egypt'sKpn(y)?Discussions in Egyp1963b A Cylinder Seal of a Rulerof Byblos tology 6: 88-99. of the ThirdMillenium. Mitteilungen Lucas,A., and Harris,J. des Deutschen Archaologischen 1962 Ancient EgyptianMaterials and Instituts 19: 1-6. Industries,fourth edition. New 1966 The Cylinder Seal of a Rulerof York:Saint Martin'sPress. ByblosReconsidered.Journalof the American ResearchCenterin Egypt Macadam,M. 1955 The Templesof Kawa: VolumeII: 5: 19-21.


History and Archaeologyof the Site. London:OxfordUniversity Press. Mallon, P. 1925 Une hache 6gyptiennetrouvee en Syrie.Mdlangesde l'Universite Saint Josephde Beyrouth 10:51-54. Matthiae, P. 1978 Communication. Recherchesarch&ologiques AEbla 1977:Le quartier administratifdu palais royalG. ComptesRendus de lAcademie des Inscriptions 1978:204-36. 1980 Ebla. An EmpireRediscovered. London:Hodderand Stoughton. (Translatedby C. Holme from Ebla. Un ImperoRitrovato.Torino: G. Einaudi, 1977.) Mercer,S. A. B. 1952 The Pyramid Textsin Translation and Commentary,four volumes. New York:Longmans,Green and Co. Montet, P. 1923 Le pays de Negaou pres de Bybloset son dieu. SyrieIV:180-82. 1928 Byblos et l'Egypte:Quatre campaignes de fouilles a Gebeil, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924. Paris:Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner. 1954 Byblos et les Navies giblites. Kemi XIII:62-70. Moscati, S. 1963 Historical Art in the Ancient Near East. Series:Studi Semitica 8. Rome: Ministero della Publica Instruzione. Nelson, H. 1934 Fragmentsof Old EgyptianStone Vasesfrom Byblos.BerytusI: 19-22. Newberry,P. 1938 Three Old KingdomTravellersto Byblosand Pwenet. Journalof Egyptian Archaeology 24: 182-84. Nibbi, A. 1981 Ancient Egyptand Some Eastern Neighbors.ParkRidge,NJ:Noyes Press. 1985 Ancient Byblos Reconsidered. Oxford:DE Publications. Petrie,W.M. F 1898 Deshasheh. London:The Egyptian ExplorationFund. Pettinato,G. 1981 The Archives of Ebla. An Empire Inscribed in Clay.GardenCity, NY: Doubleday. Piankoff,A. 1968 The Pyramidof Unas. TextsTranslated with Commentary.Bollingen SeriesXL:Volume5, EgyptianReligious Textsand Representations. Princeton:PrincetonUniversity Press. Porter,B., and Moss, L. 1951 TopographicalBibliographyof Ancient EgyptianHieroglyphicTexts, Reliefs, and Paintings:Volume 7: Nubia, the Desert and Outside Egypt.Oxford:ClarendonPress.

1974 TopographicalBibliographyof Ancient EgyptianHieroglyphic Texts,Reliefs, and Paintings, Volume III, PartI: Abi Rawash to Abfisir, second edition (revisedand augmentedby J.Malek).Oxford: ClarendonPress. Redford,D. 1981 The Acquisition of ForeignGoods & Services in the Old Kingdom. ScriptaMediterranea2: 5-16. 1986 Egyptand WesternAsia in the Old Kingdom.Journalof the American ResearchCenterin Egypt23: 125-43. Renan,E. 1864 Mission de Phinicie. Paris:Imprimerie Imperiale. Rocatti, A. 1982 La littdraturehistorique sous l'ancien empire ?gyptien.Paris:Cerf. Rowe,A. 1936 A Catalogue of EgyptianScarabs, Scaraboids,Seals,and Amulets in the Palestine ArchaeologicalMuseum. Cairo:Imprimeriede lInstitut Francais dArcheologieOrientale. Saghieh,M. 1983 Byblos in the ThirdMillenium B.C. Warminster,England:Aris & Phillips. T. Save-Soderberg, 1946 The Navy of the EighteenthEgyptian Dynasty. Uppsala:A. B. Lundequistska Borkhandeln. Scandone-Matthiae,G. 1979- Eblaet ligypte a l'ancienet au 1980 moyen empire.Annales Arch6ologiques Arabes Syriennes29/30: 189-99. 1982 Inscriptionsroyales6gyptiennesde l'ancienempire a Ebla.Pp. 125-30 in Mesopotamien und seine Nachbarn Politische und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungenim Alten Yorderasien vom 4. bis 1. Jahrtausendv. Chr., edited by H. J.Nissen and J.Rengner, Berlin. Schulman, A. 1979 Beyondthe Fringe:Sourcesfor Old KingdomForeignAffairs.Journalof the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 9 (2):79-104. 1984 Review article of A. Nibbi'sAncient Egyptand Some EasternNeighbors. Bibliotheca Orientalis 41: 609. Sethe, K. 1908- Die Altagyptischen Pyramidtexten, 1922 four volumes. Leipzig:J.C. Hinrichs. 1933 Urkundendes Alten Reich,volume 1, second edition, edited by G. Steindorfed.Leipzig:J.C. Hinrichs. 1935- Ubersetzungund Kommentarzu den 1962 Altigyptischen Pyramidtexten6 volumes. Gluckstadt:J.J.Augustin. Smith, W.S. 1965 Interconnectionsin the Ancient Near East. New Haven:YaleUniversity Press.

Stadelmann,R. 1967 Syrisch-PalestinensischeGottheiten in Agypten. Leiden:E. J.Brill. v.d.Walle,B. 1975 Biographie.Pp. 815-21 in Lexiconder Agyptologie,volume 1, edited by W.Helck and E. Otto. Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz. Ward,W. 1963 Egyptand the EastMediterranean from PredynasticTimes to the End of the Old Kingdom.Journalof the Economic and Social History of the Orient 6: 1-57. 1964 The InscribedOffering-Tableof Nefer-Seshem-Rafrom Byblos.Bulletin du Musee de Beyrouth 17:37-46. Wright,M. 1985 Contacts between Egyptand SyroPalestine duringthe Protodynastic Period.Biblical Archaeologist 48: 240-53. Xella, P.,and Scandone-Matthiae,G. 1981 Hcyt'w di Biblio = Rasap?Rivista di Studi Fenici 9: 145-52. Yeivin, Y. 1959 TopographicandEthnicNotes cAtiqot 2: 155-64. Zibelius, K. 1978 Agyptische Siedlungennach Texten des Alten Reiches. (Beiheftezum TubingerAtlas des VordernOrients, Reihe B, 19).Weisbaden:Dr. Ludwig Reichert.

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A medical and evangelistic missionary, Barclay explored Jerusalem as the West began its rediscovery of the Holy Land in the nineteenth century.

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tine was not well known in the West. Even though it was veneratedas the it Holy Land, had been largelyisolated from Westerneyes since the days of the Crusades.Tobe sure, European merchants tradedalong its Mediterraneancoast, but Catholic pilgrimage was no longer common, and Western visitors to Jerusalemwere far outnumbered by their counterparts from the East (Shepherd1987). The opening up of Palestine to the West, and to archaeological study, was begun by the pioneering efforts of a small groupof explorers. Although their explorations were unscientific and their site identifications have since been modified or corrected,their role in providing access to sites and making initial


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the Westernworld with its first glimpses of these sites (Barclay1858: 483-84). Barclaysought to providehis contemporarieswith a comprehensive view of Jerusalemwith his book, The City of the Great King (1858).He divided the book into three sections, discussing (as he understood it) the city's past, present, and future. Although Barclay's exploration work is now all but forgotten, The City of the Great King remains a basic source of information on Jerusalemduring the midnineteenth century. The book's longest section presents a historical reconstruction of the city from the days of Abrahamto the Turkishperiod.Barclayattempted ' to identify particular sites menIn Barclay cday the view of the Mount of Olives, as seen here on the left fromSt. Stephen Gate atop the Turkishcity-walls in Jerusalem,was unencumberedby the tall structuresand tioned in biblical, rabbinic,Hellenisurbansmog that frustratemodern viewers. The Churchof the Ascension is visible on the tic, and other sources (forexample, summit of the mount. Unless otherwise noted, the illustrations in this article come from the ancient Jewishhistorian JoseBarclay'sbook The City of the GreatKing,published in 1858. phus) but was often unsuccessful. and that in some He also drew from the accounts of reported archaeologicalexpeditions possible 233) native villages three-fourthsof the was invaluable. Christian, Jewish,and Moslem pilOne such explorerwas an population had died from the disease. grims from various eras. American by the name of Dr. James Not surprisingly,Barclayhimself The six chapters devoted to the contracted malaria, even after taking Jerusalemof Barclay'sday contain TurnerBarclay. extreme medical precautions, and it Born in 1807, the scion of an many illustrations, plans, and maps, which claimed the lives of other influential Virginiafamily, Barclay nearly significantly improved was the grandsonof Thomas Barclay, members of his family. knowledge of the city in his time. He first lived in Jerusalem's He described the state of many holy first U.S. consul to Franceand, later, Moslem Quarter,and his work soon consul to Morocco.After Thomas sites, providingmeasurements of in the doors for death as he later several buildings and sites, including 1826, him, younJefferson's opened and reowner the Dome of the Rock. In great detail became recalled: ger Barclay I have severaltimes been called in he described the city's flora and clifurbisherof Monticello, the third to see the body (or at least one of mate, documenting averagemonthly president'sstately Virginiahome. the bodies), of an effendi (or Mos- temperaturesbetween 1851and 1855 In February1851,at the age of lem lord),whose house opens di- and monthly rainfall levels from to was sent Jerusalemby 44, Barclay the American Christian Missionary rectly into the yardof the Mosque 1846 to 1854. of Omar (the temple area),and 1858: 584; Grey Barclayalso provideddemoSociety (Barclay havethus been permitted to enjoy graphicinformation on the religious 1944:36). Along with his wife Julia the much-covetedsight of that and their three children, Barclay makeup of the city's population as a medical two terms completed (tabooed)inclosure, the Haram (Barclay 1854). He reported a total of as Sherif (Burnet1853: 167). and evangelistic missionary, the first 30,000 Jerusalem residents, 4,518 of whom were said to be Christian and from 1851 to 1854, the second Ultimately he was able to do much more than just look at what is now between 1858 and 1861. 10,249 Jewish (the city had fourteen Duringthat firstsummer,Barclay called the Haramesh-Sharif,the synagogues). The remaining 15,000 sacred Moslem area.His medical found himself in a city plaguedby were presumably Moslems; most skills gained him entry to parts of malaria. Although hinderedby a were Turks, as the city was under the mosque-complex that had been lack of medical supplies, he treated Turkish rule at the time, although closed to Christians since the Crubetween 100 and 200 residents were more than 2,000 cases of malaria 1853: him to thus Arabs and between 300 and 400 were his first sades, enabling provide year (Burnet during

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Barclay

provided

information, and

described

demographic

constructed many

holy

maps, sites

in The City of the Great King.

West Africans (Barclay1858: 587). No settlements existed outside the Turkishcity-walls. Mishkenot Sha'ananim,the first Jerusalem neighborhood southwest of the Hinnom Valley,was not built until 1860, and the Russian compound area was not acquireduntil 1858 (Bahat1983: 8, 74).

Barclay'sExplorations As has been indicated, Barclay's medical skills enabled him to inspect many Moslem holy sites, usually under the auspices of the Nazir Effendi,a Turkish official sent to Jerusalemas an architect to repair the Dome of the Rock and other sacredsites (Barclay1858:XV,477-78, 483). The Effendihad been treated by Barclay,and the doctor believed it was both out of gratitude and a selfserving desire to learn how to use his surveyinginstruments that the Effendiallowed him access to this closed-off area of the city. Haram esh-Sharif.The following are descriptions of some of Barclay's more important explorations in the Above:This engravingof the Haram,or temple-complex,was taken froma drawing by Barclays Haram. Dome of the Rock. Barclay daughterSarah.Below: Interiorof the Dome of the Rock. This mosque, which houses the rock from which the prophetMohammedis believed to have ascended into heaven, was one of described the Dome of the Rock as a many Moslem holy sites that were off-limits to non-Moslemsin Barclays time. His medical true octagon, with each side measurwork,especially his treatment of a 71Trkish official sent to repairthe mosque, enabled him to these sites. ing 67 feet. The circular dome apinspect many of peared to be coveredwith copper, and the lower story of the building reached a height of 46 feet (Barclay 1858:495-96). The upper portion of the building was decoratedwith sixteen stained-glasswindows, the lower section with fifty-six. The buildingwas enteredthrough the southern door, one of four entrances. It housed the rock from which the prophet Mohammed is believed by Moslems to have ascended into heaven. Set under a silk canopy of rich crimson, the rock was surrounded by an iron railing. Barclay's daughter completed a colored drawing of the Dome of the Rock that was published in The City of the Great King. Barclay also described a marble floor, leaving one to wonder when the Oriental rugs that are now


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Formore descriptionof Barclay'sGate, see J.J.Simons (1952:13)and Nahman Avigad (1975: 16).Note, however, that Simons incorrectly ascribedthe discovery of the gate to 1848. Waterresourcesunderthe Haram. Accompanied by the Effendiand his party,Barclayand his sons explored the substructures of the Haram. There they found a largewater reservoir, which Barclayconjecturedto be the "sea"referredto in the apocryphal book of Sirach (50:3)and Aristeas (Letterof Aristeas, 89; see Strutt 1985). With a circumference of 736 feet and a depth of 42 feet, the reservoir's estimated capacity was 2 million gallons of water. Channels from the el-Aqsamosque and other areas of the Haram supplied the reservoir Whilesurveyingthe Haramprecinct Barclaynoticed a blocked-upentrance about 82 meters with rainwater,which was drawn from its southwest corner.He thought this gate was one of the four mentioned in a description through any of the Haram'sthirtyof the western wall by the Jewish historian Josephusin the first century c.E. Sometime afterit two wells. was blocked up, the corridorinto which it led, shown here, was made into a cistern. The Hummam esh-Shefa.Previous explorershad discovereda well so prominent made their appearance. book 15, chapter 11,paragraph5; see located 124 feet from the entrance of Marcus and Wikgren 1963: 199). the Haram called the Hummam eshBarclaydescribed other strucShefa (Bathof Healing). Tradition tures in the temple-complex, includ- BenjaminMazarhas identified Baras the Dome of Gate Gate of the held that the well was supplied by a the clay's Kiphonos el-Aqsamosque, ing fountain that some believed was the Chain, and the pulpit that stands the Mishnah (Middoth,chapter 1, related to Solomon'sTemple. in the open air south of the Dome of mishnah 3; see Danby 1933: 590): Its tremendous single-stone sill, When EdwardRobinson visited the Rock (Barclay1858: 500-03). feet and over While Gate. twenty-five long Jerusalema decade before Barclay,he surveying Barclay's seven feet high (7.5 x 2.1 meters), was told by men who had descended the Haramprecinct, Barclaynoticed rests on the master course of the the 82.5-foot well shaft that in dry a blocked-upentrance, located 82 WesternWall,that is, at the level periods rooms and passagewayswere meters from the area'ssouthwest corof the thresholds of several of its visible at the bottom. Robinson ner. The lintel of this gate is below failed in his efforts to descend into the Maghrabigate, which tourists gates. The gateway (opening)is 28.7 feet (8.75 meters) high, but the well (Robinson1841:508-12), but use today to enter the Haramfrom the threshold is missing. . . . Inin 1842 another explorer,Samuel the west. It is abovethe women's area side the gate, there was once a of the western wall, just over the Wolcott, succeeded and discovered which is now blocked vestibule its arched recesses in the rock abovethe room on into a that leads stairway the wall a a wall. Behind south side. Only a part of the lintel pas- water level. The water was about 4.5 by or leads one two is still visible. Some time after the feet deep at the time and flowed in sage through with ancient cisterns vaulted into corridor filled the was in, through a passage, but Wolcott had gate roofs which are situated under which it led was made into a cistern. broken his compass and was unable the Haramplatform. Beforethey to determine the direction of the flow. Barclay'sdiscovery of the gate were convertedinto reservoirs, was confirmed by Charles W Wilson Four years later another explorer, were stone and and later a physician by the name of Titus they hallways by (1880:39, 41, 52, 79, 80) formed an Smith Adam undergroundramp Tobler, also descended the shaft and George (1907: 1, 211, in direction a note 1).Barclayconsidered it to have found the water to be only about an southerly leading from the Kiphonos Gate to the been one of the four gates mentioned inch deep (Robinson 1857: 245-46). of the area courts of the in his In 1853 Barclay explored the Temple upper description by Josephus 1975: western wall (JewishAntiquities, well himself. Although he was able 133-34). (Mazar

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to follow the passagewayfor only about 105 feet, until the ceiling met the water level, he was able to establish that the direction of flow was from the south (Robinson 1857: 246-47). He did not discover the ultimate source of the well's water but determined that it was not supplied by a spring directly below the Haram and that it probablyhad no connection to Solomon'sTemple complex. Sites Outside the Haram.Barclay's archaeological endeavorswere not limited to the mosque-complex. His curiosity led him and members of his family to explore other parts of the city. Solomon's Quarries.Barclay claimed credit for discoveringthe cavernunder the north wall of the city near the Damascus Gate. Popularly known as Solomon'sQuarries, this area is called Zedekiah'sGrotto by Israelis in honor of the last king of Judah.Accordingto legend, Zedekiah is said to have fled Jerusalem throughthis cavernupon the Assyrian conquest of the city in 587 B.C.E. J.J.Simons,'who has identified the area as the RoyalCavernsmentioned by Josephus(TheJewish War,book 5, chapter4, paragraph2; see Thackeray 1961:245) estimated that 350,000 cubic meters of stone were quarried there (Simons 1952: 13). When Barclayheard rumors of a cavernunder the north wall, he tried to locate an entrance to it. He and his two sons conducted their search at night in orderto avoid detection by Moslems, who would have opposed such an expedition. The group made their way into the blocked cavern through a hole started by the Barclay dog when it was digging for bones. Once inside the cave they discovered Hebrew and Arabic inscriptions that were too effaced to be deciphered (Barclay 1858: 461-62; Johnson 1858: 98-100). They also found crosses carved into the walls, indicating the presence of Christian pilgrims from an earlier period.

isiting Moslem holy sites in the nineteenth century could be a perilous experience. Often elaboratedisguises or bribes were requiredto secure entry, and nearly all visits had a clandestine air about them. Those who, through carelessness or misfortune, were discovered were faced with the choice between "Koranand cimitar" (Barclay 1858: 477), between forced conversionand death. Explorerswho simply came too close to the entrance of a holy site risked incurring the wrath of devout Moslems. Not a few outsiders were stoned or otherwise accosted for such an offense. Even those persons who had permission from the ruling council of Jeruslemhad to carry out their expeditions with extreme care, as sanction never came with protection. Followingareexcerptsfrom the reportsof three separateexpeditions that Barclayincluded in his book, The City of the Great King (1858).

SarahBarclay'sVisit to the Tombof David."Myhair was takendownand

braidedin scores of little plaits. A red cloth cap, with a blue silk tassel, was placed on my head, and around it a gauze turban, with gold tassels and embroidery.My robeand trowserswere of the finest Damascus silk, my girdle of cashmere, and tunic of light blue stuff, embroideredin silver flowers. My hands were alreadydyed with 'henna,'having undergone this process on the occasion of a formeradventurein the Mosque of Omar,and still retainedthe deep yellow hue; my skin was pretty deeply tanned, too, from residence of severalyears under a burning Syriansun, which was quite an addition to my Turkish appearance.The sheet, veil, and slippers came in due order;and having secretedmy pencil and sketch-bookin the folds of my girdle,we sallied forth.... "Ourslave was despatched for the key, which she had no difficulty in obtaining, on the plea that her mistress wished to prayon the holy spot. But what was my consternation on seeing another slave returnwith her! I confess that I trembled, and was thinking I had best leave my awkward slippers behind, in case of retreat, as they would greatly impede my progress, and might therebycause me to lose my head!She peeredunder my veil, asked who I was, and seemed satisfied with the careless reply of Turfendah,that I was merely a friend of hers from Stamboul!... The slave then left, to our mutual relief.... "The room is insignificant in its dimensions, but is furnished very gorgeously.The tomb is apparentlyan immense sarcophagusof rough stone, and is coveredby green satin tapestry,richly embroideredwith gold. To this a piece of black velvet is attached, with a few inscriptions from the Koran, embroideredalso in gold. A satin canopyof red,blue, green,andyellow stripes, hangs overthe tomb; and anotherpiece of black velvet tapestry,embroidered in silver, coversa doorin one end of the room, which they said, leads to a cave underneath.... The ceiling of the room is vaulted, and the walls coveredin blue porcelain, in floral figures"(pages210-12). The Discoveryof Solomon'squarries(relatedby Barclay'sson, Dr.R. G. Barclay). "Onscramblingthrough and descending the inner side of the wall, we found our way apparentlyobstructedby an immense mound of soft dirt, which had been thrownin, the more effectuallyto close up the entrance;but, afterexamining awhile, discoveredthat it had settled down in some places sufficiently to allow us to crawl over it on hand and knee; which having accomplished, we found ourselves envelopedin thick darkness,that might be felt, but not penetratedby all our lights, so vast is the hall. . . . There is a constant and in many places very rapiddescent from the entrance to the termination, the distance between which two points, in a nearly direct line, is seven hundred and fifty feet;andthe caveis upwardsof three thousandfeet in circumference,supported by greatnumbers of rudenatural pillars. At the southern extremity there is a very deep and precipitouspit, in which we received a very salutarywarningof caution from the dead-a human skeleton! supposed to be that of a person (continuedon page168)


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who, not being sufficiently supplied with lights, was precipitatedheadlong and broke his neck, or rather his skull, I would judge, from the fractureI noticed on picking it up! There is also near this pit a basin excavatedin the solid rock, about five feet in diameterand two and a half feet deep, into which the percolatingwatertrickles; but it was in vain we tried to quench our thirst with water of such bitter, disagreeabletaste. A little, however,was bottled for analysis. Waterwas everywhere droppingfrom the lofty ceiling, which had formed numerous small stalactites and stalagmites-some of them very resplendent and beautiful, but too fragile to be collected and preserved.... "Indeed,the manner in which the beautiful white solid limestone rock was everywherecarvedby the mason'sroughchisel into regularpillars,proved that this extensive cavern, though in part natural, was formerly used as the grandquarryof Jerusalem.... "There are many intricate meandering passages leading to immense halls, as white as the driven snow, and supported by colossal pillars of irregularshape- some of them placed there by the hand of nature, to support the roof of the various grottos, others evidently left by the stone quarrierin quarryingthe rock to preventthe intumbling of the city. Such reverberations I never heardbefore!"(pages460-62). Barclay'sFriend,Bartlett, and his attempt to enter the Haram."Aftermutual salutations, the business was opened by my interpreter.... As I wore neither beardnor moustache, andbesides, had not been long enough in the country to get thoroughlybronzed,the old man at first proposedthat I should be dressed as a Turkish woman, and walk behind him about the mosk... . on further reflection, he was struck with a most original idea.... I was to come to his house after dark.... On arriving at his domicile, he would have a woman's costume all ready,in which I was to dress myself. ... I was then to accompany his wives to the mosk.... "Itnow suddenly struck me that I had embarkedin a rather hazardous affair ... [and]it would be impossible, muffled up in female attire, to examine the architectural peculiarities of the mosk, even if the act of staring about would not of itself be enough to betraymy disguise. In the event of discovery, there hardly could be a doubt that death by stoning, or some more horrible fate, would be the penalty inflicted upon me by the frantic mob, doubly enraged by the violation of the sanctity of the place, and at the indecent manner in which it had been effected .... "Atlength we reachedthe house. . . . The articles of female dressintended for my disguise were now produced,and I was invited to put them on. The first difficulty occurredwith the boots of yellow leather. . . . These were so small that it was impossible to get them on, and I had thereforeto content myself with slipping my stockings into a pair of red shoes, which only half covered them. My feet seemed alarmingly large and clumsy, and very likely to betray my real sex; but the Turkand servant said these would do. The next affairwas to drawover my pantaloons a pair of female inexpressibles,which, though of very spacious width, turned out, like the boots, to be too small, scarcely reaching down to the ankles, which stood out in strong development. Their sole fastening was a pair of strings, intended to be drawnabout the slender waist, and to rest upon the swelling hips of the fair owner;but from the want of any such supportin my case, they threatenedto slip bodily down upon the slightest movement. A darkveil was now put over my head, so as to entirely conceal the features, but through which I was enabled to see with tolerable clearness; and, finally, a large white wrapper,but also too short, was thrown over me, completely enveloping all but the face. Although I fancied this disguise far from complete, the old man and the servant, after studying it attentively..,. looked at one another with approvingglances, and authoritatively pronouncedit to be 'taib'[good]"(pages472-75).

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The Barclays were disappointed that they found no outlet to the Haram or the Antonia fortress but they were impressed by the vast piles of blocks and chippings over which they had to clamber and were convinced they had discovered the quarries from which the stones for Solomon's Temple were cut. The Tobmbof David. References to the tomb of David were made by Josephus in the first century C.E.

(JewishAntiquities, book 7, chapter 15, paragraph3; see Thackerayand Marcus 1934: 569-71) and by a twelfth-century-c.E. pilgrim, Benjamin of Tudela (Adler 1907: 24), but its actual identification has always been in dispute. In Barclay's time, like today, the tomb was believed to be located on Mount Zion. Today tourists can visit the area at will, but back then the tomb was jealously guarded by Moslems. Jews and Christians could visit it only after paying a lavish bribe called a bakhshish. Barclay himself was victimized by the old sheikh, overseer of the tomb, who had a habit of showing off "atumulus of richly canopied stone and mortar on the floor of an upper room" that he was "willing to swear by the beard of Mohammed is the veritable tomb of King David" (Barclay 1858: 209). As the result of her friendship with a Moslem woman, Barclay's daughter Sarah was able to see the tomb without paying a bakhshish. The woman was going to the tomb to pray during the holy month of Ramadan and invited Sarah to come along-Moslems who might have objected to the visit were praying at the Haram. Disguised as a Turkish woman, Barclay's daughter spent more than an hour inside the tomb and made a sketch of it (Barclay 1858: 210-12; rohnson 1858: 182-83). Barclay included a color print of her sketch in his book (1858), although he came to doubt the authenticity of the traditional site.

his

Although

identifications of holy sites were often wrong, was able Barclay to

correct

many

misconceptions. have

who All followed in

his

him

are

debt.

Disguised as a Turkishwoman, Barclay'sdaughterSarahsneaked into and made a color sketch of what some thought was the tomb of king David. Barclayincluded the sketch in his book but doubted the authenticity of the site.

Barclay'sContribution Any evaluation of Barclay'swork must consider two important factors: He was a self-proclaimedamateur and precededby many years the prescientific archaeological expeditions that took place in and aroundJerusalemduring the late nineteenth century. Although he and his family arrived in Palestine after Jerusalem excavatorEdwardRobinson'sfirst visit in 1838, Barclaywas one of very few Americans residing in Jerusalem during Robinson'ssecond visit in 1852. Robinson frequently mentions him in his third volume, saying that Barclaywas of assistance to him (Robinson1857: 162, 177, 192, 201, 246, and 264). Barclayconducted his explorations more than a decade before Charles W Wilson'ssurvey of Jerusalem (1864)and Charles Warren's tunnel excavations (1866).Wilson is rememberedby Wilson'sArch, which is located on the west wall north of Barclay'sGate, and Warrenis rememberedby Warren'sShaft, which is located on the Ophal hill.

Barclayalso predatedsuch landmark expeditions as Fdicien de Saulcy'sclearing of the so-called Tombs of the Kings (1863),Claude R. Conder and Horatio H. Kitchener's survey of WesternPalestine (18651877), and Charles ClermontGanneau'sinscriptional discoveries. (In 1871 Clermont-Ganneaufound a stone inscription prohibitinggentiles from entering the Temple area; in 1873 he recoveredthe Moabite Stone.) Sir Flinders Petrie'sexcavation of Tel el-Hesi (1890),commonly considered to have been the first scientific excavation in Palestine, did not take place until several decades after Barclay'sexplorations. Given the early date of Barclay's work in Jerusalem,it is not surprising that some of his assertions were wrong. Forexample, because he had no firm criteria for dating, he believed that Robinson'sArch and the lower section of the Damascus Gate area dated back to Solomon or his successors (Barclay1858: 102, 132). He also was in errorwhen he thought that the el-Aqsamosque was one of the Mary Churchesbuilt by the

great Byzantine emperor Justinian (Barclay1858: 500). Yet Barclaydid not hesitate to challenge what he considered to be incorrect site identifications. As we have seen, he doubted the authenticity of the traditional site of the Tombof David and rejectedthe claim that the source of the Hummam esh-Shefawas the everlasting fountain coming from Solomon's Temple. These kinds of departures from tradition, he predicted,would cause his work to be "ina continual state of antagonism"with the reports of tourists and other pilgrims who had taken oral tradition as their guide (Barclay1858:xvi). More important were the maps, drawings,and site plans of Jerusalem that Barclayincluded in his work. Barclay'smaps were entirely original, constructed from actual minute surveys of the city. Prior to these surveys, most of the maps that were available to the West were full of errorsand were "little better than caricatures"(Barclay1858: xviii). Although he credited his predecessors, Barclayclaimed that his map of


169

Barclay'swork is commemorated in Saint George'sCathedralin Jerusalemby two stained-glasswindows, gifts fromthe Peachtree Christian Churchin Atlanta. The window to the far left portraysJohnthe Baptist as an infant (left)and as an adult preachinga baptism of repentance. The second window shows JohnbaptizingJesus(left)and in prison. Photographscourtesy of JackP Lewis.

Jerusalemwas the only correct one in existence at the time (Robinson 1857: 177;Barclay1858:xvii). EdwardRobinson also praisedit as "thebest that exists, so far as the features of the groundand the modern city are concerned"(publisher'snote in Barclay1858). Barclaywas equally careful in collecting and presenting other information about the city. Wehave alreadymentioned that he recorded averagetemperaturesand rainfall levels, but he also accumulated a wide variety of other data, both in text and chart form, from building measurements to evaporationrates of water systems. Conclusion Barclay'swork, then, should be judgedwith a measure of tolerance and respect. One should not point out how wrong he was in certain areaswithout also acknowledging how he correctedmany common misconceptions of his day.Not only did he reveala great deal about the Jerusalemof his time, he gave future scholars in a variety of disciplines data on which to base comparative studies. The significantsteps that Barclay took towardthe scientific study of Jerusalemwill keep his contribution to scholarship from being forgotten.

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Bibliography Adler,M. N., translator 1907 The Itineraryof Benjamin of Thdela. London.(Reprinted,n.d., New York: Philipp Feldheim) Avigad,N. 1975 The Architectureof Jerusalemin the SecondTemplePeriod.In Jerusalem Revealed,edited by Y.Yadin.Jerusalem: IsraelExplorationSociety. Bahat,D. 1983 Carta'sHistoricalAtlas of Jerusalem. Jerusalem:Carta. Barclay,J.T. 1854 Letterfrom Dr. Barclay.Millennial Harbinger(fourthseries) 4: 6. 1858 City of the Great King.Philadelphia: JamesChallen and Sons. Burnet,D. S. 1853 The JerusalemMission. Cincinnati: American ChristianMissionary Society. (Reprinted,1977,New York: Arno Press) Danby,H., translator 1933 Middoth("Measurements") Pp. 58998 in Fifth Division, Kodashim ("HallowedThings"),in TheMishnah: Translatedfrom the Hebrew with Introductionand BriefExplanatory Notes. Oxford:OxfordUniversity Press. Grey,N. Q. 1944 Pioneeringin Missions: Beinga Biographyof JamesTurnerBarclay. B. D. thesis, ButlerUniversity. Johnson,S. B. 1858 Hadji in Syria.Philadelphia:James Challen. (Reprinted,1977, New York:Arno Press) Marcus,R., and Wikgren,A., translators 1963 JosephusVIII:JewishAntiquities, Books XV-XVII.Series:LoebClassi-


cal Library.Cambridge,MA, and London:HarvardUniversity Press and Heinemann. Mazar,B. 1975 The Mountain of the Lord.Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Robinson,E. 1841 Biblical Researchesin Palestine. London:JohnMurray. 1857 LaterBiblical Researchesin Palestine. Boston:Crockerand Brewster. Shepherd,N. 1987 TheZealous Intruders.SanFrancisco: Harper& Row. Simons, J.J. 1952 Jerusalemin the Old Testament. Leiden:E. J.Brill Smith, G. A. 1907 Jerusalemfrom the Earliest Times to A.D. 70. London:Hodderand Stoughton. Strutt, R. J.H., translator 1985 Letterof Aristeas.Pp. 7-34 in The Old TestamentPseudepigrapha, volume 2, edited by J.H. Charlesworth. GardenCity, NY: Doubleday. Thackeray,H. St. J.,translator 1961 JosephusIII:The Jewish War,Books IV-VI.Series:LoebClassical Library. Cambridge,MA, andLondon:Harvard University Press and Heinemann. Thackeray,H. St. J.,andMarcus,R., translators 1934 JosephusV:JewishAntiquities, Books V-VIII.Series:LoebClassical Library.Cambridge,MA, and London: HarvardUniversity Press and Heinemann. Wilson, C. W 1975 Jerusalem.Jerusalem:Ariel Publishing House. (Originallypublishedin 1880 under the title Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt)

National

the Endowment for to "Travel Collections"

Humanities

Grants

The "Travelto Collections"program of the National Endowment for the Humanities provides grants of $750 to assist American scholars to meet the costs of long-distance travelto the research collections of libraries,archives, museums, or other repositories throughout the United States and the world. Awards are made to help defray such research expenses as transportation,lodging, food, and photoduplication and other reproductioncosts. The application deadlines are January 15 for research travelbetween June 1 and November 30, and July 15 for research travelbetween December 1 and May 31. We welcome high quality applications for the "Travelto Collections"program. These applications, submitted by individual scholars, should be for well-designed researchprojects on topics of significance to the study of the humanities. Informationand application materialsare availablefrom: "Travelto Collections"Program Division of Fellowships and Seminars Room 316 National Endowment for the Humanities 1100Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20506 (202-786-0463)

at "Caesarea on to CaesareaMaritima has two volumesof reportson itsexcavations TheJointExpedition the Sea"available. 1971-1978 Reportsin Microfiche: Preliminary RobertJ. Bull,Editor DrewUniversity Research forArchaeological Institute (OrderfromEisenbrauns, PO.Box275, WinonaLake,Indiana,U.S.A.46590)

VolumeIVof the FinalExcavation Reports. ThePotteryand Datingof VaultI JeffreyA. Blakely Assessments,Inc.,and Archaeological Institute forArchaeological Research from the Edwin Mellen Press, (Order PO.Box450, Lewiston,New York,U.S.A.14090)

......


171

andSyria Sources Literary for theHistoryofPalestine

OSl

Arama

Inscr tio ns byScottC.Layton edited by Pardee Dennis

The latest addition to the corpus of Old Aramaic texts can be found on this life-sized basalt statue, discoveredin 1969 at the site of TellFakhariyeh(ancient Sikan),about 2 kilometers east of TellHalaf (ancient Gozan). The inscription, which is written on the front and back of the man's skirt, recordstwo separatededications of the statue of Had-Yitci, governorof Gozan, to the Hadad temple of Sikanu. Thirty-eight lines of Assyrian cuneiform script are on the front of the skirt, while twenty-threelines of Aramaic scriptareon the back. Photographs from Abou-Assaf,Bordreuil,and Millard(1982),courtesyof Editions Recherchesur les Civilisations, Paris.

172


of thelastquarter uring

the second millennium B.C.E.a West Semitic

people fanned out across the Fertile Crescent. These people, known as the Arameans,gained a foothold in Mesopotamiaand Syriaby establishing a cluster of independent Aramean states. The first mention of the Arameans was recordedin the Assyrian annals of Tiglath-PileserI (1112B.C.E.), but it was not until after the beginning of the first millennium B.C.E. that their earliest epigraphsappeared. By that time the Arameans had achieved historical significance and were a political force that threatened the nascent kingdom of Israel.The

Bible recordsthat the early rulers of Scholars have sought to classify the Israelite monarchy- Saul, David, the various phases of the Aramaic and Solomon - fought against the languagebut, unfortunately,have not been able to arriveat a common Arameankingdoms that lay across the northernfrontier.Indeed,the Ara- terminology. Forexample, the term means continued to vex Israeleven Old Aramaic is not the only label after Solomon'sreign, as indicated in used to denote the earliest phase of the language.Furthermore,in surbiblical and extrabiblicalsources.' The Arameans'most important veying the literature,one comes contribution to the history of the across such terms as Standard Old ancient Near East was the Aramaic Aramaic, Ancient Aramaic, and which became its Early Common Aramaic. Even the language, gradually use of the same term by two scholars franca and was lingua eventually of does not guaranteeagreement in as the official the language adopted Achaemenid (Persian)Empireabout definition; this, for a student inter500 B.C.E. ested in the study of Aramaic, is The focus of this article will be bewildering. I do not mean to imply, however, the oldest phase of the Aramaic lanI will that the disagreement among scholguage. begin by brieflysketching ars is mere quibbling over terminolits history and the scholarly terminology associated with it. I will then ogy. Behind the different terminoldiscussthe inscriptions,concentrating ogies is a fundamental issue: the first on the major-that is, longerchronological parametersof the earlier phase of the Aramaic language. ones and then on the minor ones, those consisting of two lines or less or Where one places the terminus ad quem (latest possible date)of the simply a list of propernames. The first phase either includes or exfeatures of these linguistic inscriptions as well as their contribution to cludes certain texts that lie near the the political and religious history of earliest phase'ssharedboundary SyriaandPalestinewill be highlighted. with the next phase. Therefore,one (Forinformationon secondarysources needs to keep certain considerations forthe study of these inscriptions,see in mind before settling on a rubric and defining it. the accompanyingsidebar.) First and foremost is the fact that both the preservationand disand History Terminology It is customary to divide the North- covery of these ancient Aramaic west Semitic languages of the first inscriptions have been affectedby millennium B.C.E. into two branches, chance. Forthe most part, the hostile climate and environment of the Canaaniteand Aramaic, which deHebrew of Near East did not present conditions veloped separately.(The that were favorableto the preservathe Old Testamentbelongs to the tion of documents written on perishCanaanitebranch.)We are not all able materials such as papyrusor that clear on the situation that prevailed during the last quarter of the leather? Only those inscriptions second millennium B.C.E.,but it is reasonable to suppose that Aramaic was spoken as a distinct language at least from the time the Arameans were identified in the Assyrian sources. Aramaic is still spoken in various areas of Northern Syria, Iran, Iraq, and other regions. Thus, it is the only Semitic language spoken today whose history can be traced back to about 1000 B.C.E.2

that were engraved on durable substances such as stone or pottery have survived. Of the vestiges that have survived, only a small number have been unearthed; more await discovery by future archaeological excavations. These discoveries will alter and supplement in varying degrees our present understanding of the earliest phase of the Aramaic language.


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the seventh century B.C.E.are needed in orderto clarify the lower limit of Old Aramaic. Sometime during the eleventh or tenth century B.C.E.,Arameans

who lived in areas under the influence of Phoenicia borrowedthe alphabetic script of the Phoenicians.5 Consequently, the earliest Aramaic inscriptions were written in what JosephNaveh (1970)has described as a Phoenician-Aramaicscript. It was not until the mid-eighth century B.C.E. that an independent cursive script for Aramaic was developed (Naveh 1970). In adaptingthe Phoenician script for the writing of their own language,Aramaic scribes introduced two important orthographic innovations. The first arose out of the discrepancybetween the phoneAramaic, a member of the Northwest Semitic group of languages, has a long history. Dating mic inventory (the various sounds) when the Arameans, who spoke it originally, were first at least as far back as 1112 annals of Tiglath-Pileser I, it was by the beginning of the seventh mentioned in the Assyrian B..c.r., of Old Aramaic on the one hand and century i.u:.i. the lingua franca of the ancient Near East. The Jews adopted it after they were the number of graphemes (orsymdefeated by the Babylonians in 586 iR.c.F., and it was the language spoken by Jesus. It is still bols) in the Phoenician alphabet on in and other Northern the two scribes in Syria, Iran, Iraq, regions. Of spoken parts of pictured this drawing of a wall-painting from Tell Ahmar (ancient Til-Barsip), which dates to the early the other. In Phoenician some Protoeighth century .:.C.I.,the figure to the left is probably an Aramean. He uses a brush to write on Semitic sounds had alreadymerged; a piece of skin or papyrus. The bearded scribe on the right, presumably an Assyrian, uses a there were no distinctive thus, on held in his to make written the tablet hand. Pritchard left stylus impressions Drawing from (1969b), courtesy of the Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, Paris. graphemes to representthese phonemes. Some of these phonemes were retained in Aramaic, so the Another thing to remember is phases: Old Aramaic (925-700 B.C.E.); scribes adaptedthe Phoenician that any attempt to classify the vari- Official Aramaic (700-200 B.C.E.); script by using certain signs for ous phases of Aramaic into chrono- Middle Aramaic (200 B.C.E.-200 C.E.); more than one phoneme. Hence Old Aramaic d was graphically reprelogical ordermust be recognized for Late Aramaic (200-700 C.E.);and ' ModernAramaic (700 C.E.and later). sented by z; t by (exceptat Gozan); what it is - a provisional construct to facilitate the study of the lanWith the exception of the term d by q; and t by s. The second orthographicinnoOfficial Aramaic, this is a purely guage and providea mutual undervation was the introduction of standing among scholars. A hiatus chronological division. in our documentation that presently matres lectionis into the script. BeFitzmyer'suse and definition of serves as a boundarybetween phases the term Old Aramaic is a working cause Phoenician script was purely may be filled in by future discoverhypothesis in this article. The termi- consonantal, there was no way to nus a quo (earliestpossible date)of ies, thus necessitating revision. representvocalic sounds. The AraNevertheless, the attempt to classify the first period is not problematic;it maic scribes introduced the use of the Aramaic language into different can simply be extended furtherback certain consonants (h, w, y) to dein time should the future discovery note vowels, first at the end of words, phases serves a useful purpose as later in medial positions. When long as the provisional nature of the of texts requiresuch an extension. The terminus ad quem, however,as these consonants represent vocalic enterprise is acknowledged. A reconsiderationof the termiFitzmyerhas noted, should be under- sounds they are known as matres lectionis ("mothers of reading"); that nology used and a reclassification of stood broadly.Other scholars have the various periods of the Aramaic is, they serve as guides to the correct placed the lower limit of the phase at 625 B.C.E. (Kaufman1982: 146, languagewas undertakenby Joseph pronunciation. In addition to the A. Fitzmyer(1979;see also 1971:22, note 22) or even 612 B.C.E.(Segert foregoing orthographic characterisnote 60), who divided it into five 1968: More texts dating from tics, Old Aramaic has certain mor282).4

174


phological and syntactic features that have been isolated by Fitzmyer (1979:65-66). Over fifty years ago H. L. Ginsberg (1933, 1936)posited the existence of dialects in the Old Aramaic period. That dialects existed in the early period is hardly surprising when one considers the geographyof the Near East- not to mention other factors-which no doubt isolated certain Aramaic-speakingcommunities. It is unfortunate that so little of this has survived, but it helps explain the lack of concord among Aramaists. Stephen A. Kaufman(1982: 146, note 22) has proposeda purely geographicdivision of Old Aramaic into at least three dialects: Northern (Samalian),Western(Zakkurand Sefire),and Eastern (Mesopotamian). He also classified the Deir cAlla texts as constituting a fourth dialect, Southern Old AramaicP. J.C. Greenfield has discussed the topic of Aramaic dialects on at least three occasions (1967-1968, 1974, 1978a)and has distinguished three dialects: Samalian Aramaic, known from the Hadadand Panamu inscriptions; EarlyStandardAramaic, from the Bar-Hadad,Zakkur, and Sefire inscriptions; and Mesopotamian Aramaic, from some of the Bar-Rakibinscriptions, dockets, and the two Nerab inscriptions. (Itshould be noted that Greenfield'sdesignation of Mesopotamian Aramaic is slightly different from Kaufman's.) Accordingto Greenfield, Early StandardAramaic is a literary dialect that masks dialectal differences and may have served as the base for

A carved representation of the Phoenician god Melqart, chief deity of ancient Tyre, dominates this commemorative stele that was discovered near Aleppo. The five lines of Aramaic at the base of the stele, dated on the basis of paleographic evidence to 850 to 775 B.7:.I., read: "The statue which Bar-Hadad, son of [ ........ I King of Aram, set up for his lord Melqart, to whom he made a vow and who heard his voice." Photograph by Wayne T Pitard.


175

later Official Aramaic7At any rate, it is generally agreedthat Samalian Aramaic is a distinct archaic dialect. Much remains unclear, however,and it is hoped that the discovery of additional inscriptions will providea broaderdata base upon which to posit dialectal distinctions.8 MajorInscriptions The corpus of major inscriptions from the oldest phase of the Aramaic languageis not large.

Discoveredin TellFakhariyeh.

February1979, this bilingual dedicatory inscription is the latest addition to the corpus of Old Aramaic texts. It was unearthed, out of its archaeologicalcontext, at the site of Tell Fakhariyeh(ancient Sikan) about 2 kilometers east of Tell Halaf (ancient Gozan). The HaburRiver,a tributaryof the Euphrates,runs between these two sites, both of which are mentioned in the inscription. The inscription is on a life-size basalt statue that portraysa man standing, hands clasped at the waist, and feet together. Text in two languages is engravedon both sides of the man'sskirt; thirty-eight lines of Assyrian cuneiform script are on the front of the skirt, and twenty-three lines of Aramaic script are on the back. The primacy of the Assyrian text is indicated not only by its frontal position but also by the fact that the final two lines of the Aramaic text are written under the cuneiform. Though Naveh (1978-1979)has argued,on the basis of paleography, for an eleventh-century-B.C.E. date, other areas of evidence such as art history (Abou-Assaf 1981) and historical circumstances (Abou-Assaf, Bordreuil, and Millard 1982: 98-113) point to the mid-ninth century B.C.E. Some adjustment up or down may prove necessary, of course, but the Tell Fakhariyeh inscription is the oldest Aramaic inscription of considerable length. It was first published by Ali Abou-Assaf, Pierre Bordreuil, and

176

Alan R. Millard (1982),who gave a description of the statue as well as a transcription and translation of both the Assyrian and Aramaic texts, each with philological notes. The Aramaic text has received far more attention than the Assyrian one, and review articles supplement the cursory treatment of the latter (Geller 1983;Greenfield and Shaffer1983; Pardeeand Biggs 1984).The only thing that is noticeably lacking in this otherwise satisfactory edition is a handcopyof the Assyrian text. Photographsof both versions of the inscription are provided,though their usefulness is limited by the rounded surfaceof the statue. The inscription has also been the focus of a good deal of additional scholarship (Abou-Assaf,Bordreuil, and Millard 1981;Millard and Bordreuil 1982;Dohmen 1983;Fales 1983;Angerstorfer1984;Dion 1985; Greenfield and Shaffer1985;Gropp and Lewis 1985; Sasson 1985a). The bilingual inscription commemorates the rededication of the statue of Had-Yitci,governorof Gozan, to the Hadadtemple of Sikanu. An unusual feature of the inscription is that it recordstwo separatededications. Consequently, it can be divided into two parts: Aramaic lines 1-12 correspondto Assyrian lines 1-18, and Aramaic lines 12-23 correspondto Assyrian lines 19-38. Roughly speaking, each part consists of a dedication, motivational clauses, and a series of curses. The Aramaic text should not be considered as a slavish renderingof its Assyrian counterpart,however.In

god, is offeredprayersfor health, long life, and a successful reign. The inscription also contains numerous linguistic features that beg for comment. Forone, it is quite surprisingto see the extensive use of matres lectionis - in medial as well as final positions - at such an early date. A spelling innovation, this has been plausibly explained as the result of contact between Aramaic and Assyrian scribes (Zadok 1982: 121; Muraoka 1983-1984: 87). Another interesting linguistic feature of the inscription is the use of the samek (s) to indicate the etymological t, as it has not been found in other Old Aramaic texts. Also, whereas the Assyrian text uses only one word for image/statue, the Aramaic version uses two: dmwt' (line 1)and sim (line 12).This is the only extrabiblical attestation of the word-pairfound in Genesis 1:26and thus providesfuel for the debate over the meaning of that verse. Finally,I should mention that the inscription adds the verb cdn (line 4), meaning "toluxuriate,"to the Old Aramaic lexicon, and this providesa suitable West Semitic etymology for the biblical place-name Eden- "aplace of luxuriance"(Millard1984)? Bar-Hadad.A commemorative stone, or stele, dedicatedby Bar-Hadadwas discoveredin the village of Breij, about 7 kilometers north of Aleppo, in ruins dating back to Roman times. Its provenanceis unknown, though the nearbycity of Aleppo is a plausible guess. The bulk of the stele consists of a carvedrepresentationof the Phoenician god Melqart,the

fact, further study has indicated that the Aramaic text is the original of the series of curses that concludes part 2 (Aramaic lines 18-23; Assyrian lines 29-37), as the curses contained therein have no direct parallels in Mesopotamia. The Tell Fakhariyeh inscription gives us a glimpse of the Assyrian domination over Gozan in the ninth century B.C.E. In the area of religion, one notes that Hadad, the weather-

chief deity of Tyre (Pritchard 1969b: 499). Five lines of Old Aramaic are engraved at its base (Donner and Rollig 1969-1973: 201; Gibson 1975: 1). A dedication by Bar-Hadad to Melqart, the inscription, which has been dated on the basis of paleographic analysis to 850-775 B.C.E., reads as follows, "The statue which Bar-Hadad, son of[ ........ ] king of Aram, set up for his lord Melqart, to whom he made a vow and who


heard his voice."As is so often the case, the most critical part of the inscription, the first half of line 2, is effaced and thus difficult to read. Originally published by M. Dunand (1939),the inscription has been the object of numerous studies, but a scholarly consensus has yet to emerge. Dunand, the original editor, did not venture a restoration of the missing patronym(s),but other scholars have suggested several divergent restorations. In accordancewith 1 Kings 15:18,William E Albright (1942) boldly restoredline 2 to read"sonof Tabrimmon,son of Hezyon."This reading,still preferredby JohnC. L. Gibson, was popularizedbecause of its inclusion in JamesB. Pritchard's standardvolume (1969a),but Dunand and others have arguedthat this restoration is impossible. Among other proposals,I should mention that of FrankMoore Cross (1972),who read line 2 as "sonof cEzer,the Damascene, son of (the king of Aram),"a restoration that has received independent confirmation from G. G. G. Reinhold (1986)and been accepted in part by E. Lipifiski (1975)10and William H. Shea (1978-1979). In addition to the problem of effacement, interpretingthe BarHadadstele is made more difficult because of our lack of knowledge of the line of Aramean kings who ruled in Damascus during the ninth century B.C.E.Scholars disagree over

whether there were as few as two or as many as four rulers who bore the name Ben/Bar-Hadad.The problem of the Ben-Hadadsof Damascus has been admirably summarized by J.Andrew Dearman and J.Maxwell Miller (1983). With this issue in mind I want to mention the study of Andr6 Lemaire (1984), who, using new photographs, proposed yet another reading of the damaged line as well as a different historical interpretation of the inscription. Arguing that there is room in the lacuna for two names separated by the Aramaic br ("son"),Lemaire

restoredline 2 to read"sonof Hezyon, son of Haza'el"and identified the Bar-Hadadof this inscription with the Bar-Hadadmentioned in line 4 of the Zakkur inscription. In Lemaire'sscheme there are only two Bar-Hadads:Bar-Hadad1, son of Tabrimmon,son of Hezyon; and Bar-Hadad2, mentioned in Old Aramaic inscriptions. He dated the Bar-Hadadinscription to approxi-

of the damagedline of the inscription. Pitardreads the patronym as ctrhmk (Attarhamek)and suggests that the scribe left the end of this line blank. The implications of this reading are important. Recoveringthe name of Bar-Hadad'sfather makes it difficult to connect the Bar-Hadadof this stele with the Aramean kingdom of Aram-Damascusbecause, although other Bar-Hadadswere associated mately 800 B.C.E.,which falls in the with this Syriancity-state, they may and Bar-Hadad of 2, suggested reign be distinguished from the Bar-Hadad that the occasion of the erection of of this stele by different patronyms. the stele was Bar-Hadad'scoming to with to cAtarshumki Therefore,Pitardproposedthat this Aleppo negotiate Bar-Hadadruled severalAramean and persuadehim to enter into the tribes in northern Syria sometime coalition against Zakkur. of the during the last half of the ninth disparity Considering inwould be one that century B.C.E. exists, opinion Zakkur.A basalt stele erected by clined to conclude that either the considerathe line under of Zakkur,"now preservedonly in fragportion ilit is effaced that tion is so badly ments, was found at Afis, about 45 kilometers southwest of Aleppo, in which legible or the photographsupon 1903. The are based the various proposals inscription was published several years later by H. Pognon simply do not permit a definitive (1907-1908: 156-78 and plates IX-X; reading.Therefore,two additional XXXV-XXXVI).Seventeen lines of studies, which can be distinguished in the from the others that readings Old Aramaic are preservedon the they propose are based on an exami- lower part of the front (Donnerand nation of the stele itself, need to be Rllig 1969-1973: 202, tables XIImentioned. XIII;Gibson 1975: 5, plate 1, figure On the basis of new photographs, 2). The inscription continues on the left side with twenty-eight lines and casts, and a direct examination of the stele, PierreBordreuiland Javier concludes with two more lines on the right side. A relief of a figure, Teixidor (1983)have restoredthe missing portionas reading"... cEzra', probablythat of the god Iluwer mentioned in line 1, adornedthe (the)king, the Rehobite ... " (czr' front, but only the fringe of the mlk br rhb). They understood the garment and the feet have been continuing phrase "theRehobite, preserved.The lines carvedon the king of Aram"as being a dynastic left and right sides are poorly pretitle referringback to Bar-Hadad, and suggested that cEzra'could have served. The inscription is generally been the son of biblical Hadadcezer dated to the first quarterof the (2 Samuel 8:3, 5). They also posited that the dynasty of HadadcezercEzra'-Bar-Hadad ruled the Aramean state of Beth-Rehob. It should be noted that their reading of the patronym as cEzra' agrees with the proposal by Cross. A second study based on a direct examination of the stele is that of Wayne T. Pitard (in press), who took a series of close-up photographs

eighth century B.C.E. Zakkur was the king of Hamath and Luash. This double kingdom was located in northern Syria, with its capital at Hazrak (Hadrak of Zechariah 9:1). In accordance with the kingship ideology in the ancient Near East, Zakkur claims that the kingship was granted to him by Baalshamayn. Since Iluwer is only mentioned in line 1, it is natural to as-


177

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sume that Iluwer and Baalshamayn are one and the same. The occasion for the inscription was the siege laid against the capital city by a coalition of North Syrian son of Haza'el, kings led by Bar-Hadad, The number of exact Aram. of king could be as few coalition in the kings as twelve or as many as eighteen; severallacunae in lines 5-8 frustrate attempts to settle the issue. Zakkur praysto Baalshamayn,who in turn respondsand assures Zakkur of deliverance from the North Syrian alliance. On the left side of the stele Zakkurboasts of building (rebuilding?)his capital and establishing a series of strongholds throughout his territory.The inscription closes with a curse on anyone who tries to efface or remove the stele. Two important studies of the inscription deserve to be mentioned. Both deal primarily with lines on the front of the stele.

178

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ANATOLIA

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Greenfield (1969)has isolated several idiomatic expressions that have parallels in other Northwest Semitic texts. Forexample, the expression "tolay siege against"(line 9) is paralleledby the same phraseology in Micah 5:1 (4:14in the Hebrew text). Furthermore,Greenfield applied form criticism to this part of the inscription and discovered that it contains the basic elements of the Danklied (thanksgiving psalm):declaration (lines 1-3), narrative (lines 4-10), and acknowledgment (lines 11 and following). The "fearnot"formula (line 13)has its Sitz im Leben in the salvation oracle (Heilsorakel),and Greenfield traced its earliest occurrences to Hittite material. In the other study,J.FERoss (1970) focused on Zakkur'sprayerto Baalshamayn and the god'sencouraging reply (lines 11-17).Of particularinterest here is the mention of seers


'f

•:

(hzyn)and messengers (cddn)as the intermediaries through whom Baalshamayn answers Zakkur.The office of seer is well known in the Old Testament (forexample, 2 Samuel 24:11),and the occurrence of several propernames formed from the Hebrew root cdd (which correspondsto the Aramaic cdd) intimates that an office of messenger may have existed as well. Ross also comparedZakkur's prophets with similar functionaries mentioned in the Mari texts.12 The Zakkur inscription is of particularinterest for the history of prophecy,and it gives clear testimony to the existence of seers among the Arameans of Syria. Sefire. Dated to the middle of the eighth century B.C.E., the inscriptions

of Sefire constitute by far the longest Old Aramaic text yet discovered (Donner and Rollig 1969-1973: 22224, tables XV-XXIII;Gibson 1975: 7-9, figure 3, plate II, figure 4). The

p

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first two inscriptions were published as early as 1931,but efforts to study the texts were frustratedby inadequate photographs. The need for a republication of the first two inscriptions was met by AndreDupont-Sommerand J.Starcky (1958),whose fine study must be consideredas the editio princeps. A third Sefire inscription was acquired by the Beirut Museum in 1956 and was subsequently published by the same two authors (1956;appearedin 1958).Takentogether, these three inscriptions comprise approximately one hundredlines of legible text, a sizable increase in the corpus of Old Aramaic. The precise site from which these steles derive is not known. In all likelihood, however,they originated in the village of Sefire, about 25 kilometers southeast of Aleppo. The firsttwo steles, which areroughly in the shape of truncated pyramids,

are carvedon several sides or faces, whereas the third stele, a flat slab, has text carvedon both sides. It is not easy to determine the relationship of the three inscriptions, and missing portions of the text complicate the situation even further,but many scholars believe that these three steles contain copies of the same (ora very similar) treaty,albeit with differentparts of the treaty preservedon each. The basic constituent parts of a treaty are found in the Sefire inscriptions. The preamble,or title, identifies Matic'el,king of Arpad,who is making a pact with Bar-Ga'yah,king of an unknown city or territory called Ktk (stele I, face A, lines 1-6). This initial section is followed by a list of gods who are invoked to serve as witnesses to the treaty (stele I, face A, lines 7-13). The next section, which concludes face A on the first stele, consists of a series of curses

Threeinscriptions on steles believed to have originated in the village of Sefire,about 25 kilometers southeast of Aleppo, may contain copies of the same, or a similar, treaty with differentparts preservedon each. The Sefireinscriptions thus constitute our longest Old Aramaic text. The inscription shown here recordsMaticel, king of Arpad,making a pact with Bar-Ga'yah,king of an unknown city or territorycalled Ktk (upperportion, lines 1-6). Following this initial section is a listing of gods called as witnesses to the treaty (upperportion lines 7-13) and, continuing to the bottom of the lower portion, a series of curses against Maticel if he violates the treaty (lines 14-42). The back, or face B, of the stele contains the stipulations of the treaty Photographand handcopies from Fitzmyer (1967),courtesy of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome.

against Matic'elif he violates the treaty (lines 14-42). Some of these curses would have been accompanied by magical rites with wax models. In orderto readthe stipulations of the treaty, one has to turn to face B of the first stele (lines 21-45). Two monographson the Sefire inscriptions are indispensible. One, JosephFitzmyer'sThe Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire (1967),is a splendid work that includes bibliography up to 1966. The text is presented in squareHebrew (Aramaic)characters along with translation and commentary.Addingto its usefulness are an appendix on the grammarof the inscriptions, a glossary,and indices. It concludes with handcopies and photographs. The other, a full-length treatment of the Sefire steles, has been published by Andr6Lemaireand J.-M. Durand (1984),who surveyedprevious work on the inscriptions and


179

brought the bibliography up through 1983.la The bulk of the volume is devoted to the historical background and identification of Bar-Ga'yah. Their main thesis is that Bar-Ga'yah is to be identified with Shamshi-ilu, an Assyrian turtanu (high official) of the early eighth century B.C.E., and that Ktk, of which he was king, is to be identified with Kit(t)a/i/uka, a partially preserved place-name in a monolith inscription of Shalmaneser III, that they consider to be another name for Til-Barsip. The concluding section of the volume includes a transliteration of the Aramaic text accompanied by translation and notes. In an important review article W Von Soden (1985) questioned this identification of Ktk.14Von Soden proposed that Ktk be identified with the Neo-Assyrian place-name Kiski where Adadnerari III marched in 786 B.C.E. This identification has a serious weakness, however, namely the rendering of the Old Aramaic t by the Neo-Assyrian s. Von Soden agreed with Lemaire and Durand's identification of Bar-Ga'yah with Shamshiilu and he advanced this identification by suggesting that Bar-Ga'yah was actually a son of Adadnerari III. In addition to their importance for political history, the Sefire inscriptions have provided a major source of data on West Semitic treaty formulation. Treaty, or covenant, is one of the basic concepts used in the study of the Hebrew Bible, and the use of the Aramaic cdn/cdy'/cdy for treaty stipulations has shed light on the kindred Hebrew cd(w)t/ym. For instance, the Great Isaiah Scroll from Qumran (1QIsa) supports the reading cdym ("treaty")in Isaiah 33:8, which forms a better parallel with bryt ("covenant")than does Crym ("cities")in the Masoretic text. Also, one might point out the similarity between the treaty curses found in the Sefire inscriptions and those found in the Hebrew Bible and elsewhere (Sefire, stele I, side A, lines 27-28; Deuteronomy 28:38-39). Inscriptions in Samalian Aramaic.

180

Secondary Sources

for

Study

material unearthed by the archaeologist's spade is usually Epigraphic in published periodicals, monographs, or books. As a result, original publications of Old Aramaic inscriptions can be found in widely scattered sources. Fortunately, there are two standard collections of West Semitic inscriptions that facilitate the study of these inscriptions. The older of the two is by H. Donner and W.R6ollig,Kanaanaische und Aramaische Inschriften (1969-1973),texts numbered201-32. This collection (commonly referredto as KAI)has three volumes. The first presents each text in square Hebrew (Aramaic)characters;the second contains bibliography, translation,andphilological commentaryforeach text; andthe third contains glossaries, lists of proper names, and more bibliographical information, as well as a few handcopies and photographs. A more recent work, which should be viewed with caution accordingto Dennis Pardee (1978), is John C. L. Gibson's Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, Volume2: Aramaic Inscriptions, Including Inscriptions in the Dialect of Zenjirli (1975), texts numbered 1-19. Gibson's format does not differ materially from that of Donner and R6ollig,but his indexes contain a scripture index and a table of scripts. In the last two decades, two grammarshave appearedthat supplant the earliergrammaticalsketchof OldAramaicby G. Garbini(1956,1959).R. Degen's Altaramidische Grammatik der Inschriften des 10.-8. Jh. V Chr. (1969) analyzes the extant Aramaicepigraphicmaterial dating from the tenth to the eighth centuries B.C.E., excluding the Hadad and Panamu inscriptions from Zenjirli as well as the shorter inscriptions. Though one might wish he had included the two Nerab inscriptions, which date roughly to 700 B.C.E., this descriptivegrammarexcels in its attention to syntax and sentence structure. Although the title is misleading, StanislavSegert'sAltaramiaischeGrammatik mit Bibliographie, Chrestomathie und Glossar (1975) is a valuable reference grammar.In contrast to Degen, Segert'sconcept of "OldAramaic" includes not only the oldermaterial (tenth througheighth centuries B.C.E.)but also all of the various dialects of "OfficialAramaic,"as well as the "Prayerof Nabonidus,"an Aramaictext discoveredat Qumran.The usefulness of Segert's grammarhas been enhancedby two importantreview articles (Kaufman1977; Degen 1979). Another useful tool in the study of Old Aramaic inscriptions is A Synoptic Concordance of Aramaic Inscriptions (Aufrecht 1975). Produced

Before discussing the next three inscriptions, I should make some general remarks about the language in which they are written. There is a consensus among Aramaists that the Hadad and Panamu inscriptions were written in an archaic local dialect of Aramaic. The so-called scepter inscription of Kilamuwa was also written in this dialect, but there is a difference of opinion over its language. Known as Samalian Aramaic, the dialect was named after the Aramean city-state Sam'al, which was located in North Syria.'s Recurrent efforts by the late


J. Friedrich (1965) to view this dialect as a separate Semitic language have not gained acceptance. Its linguistic features have been the object of an intensive study by P.-E.Dion (1974, 1978).16 All three inscriptions were discovered in the general vicinity of modern day Zinjirli. The standard edition of the Hadad and Panamu inscriptions was published by F. von Luschan and E. Sachau (1893: 44-84 and tables VI-VIII);von Luschan (1943: 102 and tables 47f-g) first published the scepter inscription of Kilamuwa half a century later.

with the aid of a computer, this concordance is based on all of the Aramaic inscriptions contained in KAI. In using this concordance, however, the student has to be able to distinguish the Old Aramaictexts from the Imperial Aramaictexts, both of which are included in KAI.Another limitation of this concordanceis that Old Aramaicinscriptions that postdatethe publication of KAI (forexample, the cEnGev jar,the Tel Dan bowl, and Tell Fakhariyeh)are not included. The primarydeficiency of tools in the study of Old Aramaicinscriptions is in the area of lexica. Unfortunately for the English-speakingstudent, the only lexicon devoted exclusively to the earlier phases of Aramaic (Old and Official, around the tenth to the second centuries B.C.E.) is that of I. N. Vinnikov (1958-1965), Slovar arameiskich nadpisey (a dictionary of the Aramaic inscriptions). In the meantime, the general West Semitic (minus Ugaritic) lexicon of C-E Jeanand J. Hoftijzer, Dictionnaire des inscriptions simitiques de lbuest (1965),can be consulted with profit, though its revision and updatinghave become a desideratum. Mention should be made of several additional works that are helpful in the study of Old Aramaic inscriptions. A bibliography on inscriptional Aramaic has been compiled by F. Vattioni (1969).E. Y. Kutscher (1970)has surveyed the secondary literature on Old Aramaic and proferredcritical annotations. In their Early Hebrew Orthography,A Study of the Epigraphic Evidence (1952): 21-34), Frank Moore Cross and David Noel Freedman discuss the orthographyof Old Aramaic.Despite minor flaws,their treatment is still valuable. E. Lipiniski'sStudies in Aramaic Inscriptions and Onomastics, volume 1 (1975), treats problematic passages in the Bar-Hadad,Zakkur, and Sefire inscriptions. H. Tawil (1974) has compared various idioms and formulae attested in the introductory statements of the Hadad, Zakkur, and Nerab 2 inscriptions with their counterparts in Akkadian and Northwest Semitic dialects. The Akkadian influence on Aramaic, from the perspectives of lexicography,morphology,phonology,and syntax, has been discussed in detail by Stephen Kaufman (1974),who has also outlined the development of the Aramaic dialects. The readershould also be awareof English translations of several of the more important inscriptions by E Rosenthal in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, third edition with supplement (Pritchard 1969a).The companion volume, The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament. (Pritchard1969b),contains photographsof some of the artifactsupon which the inscriptions are engraved.

Hadad.Dated to the mid-eighth century B.C.E., this inscription comprises thirty-fourlines of Old Aramaic text that adornthe lower portion of the front side of a statue of the god Hadad (Donner and Rdllig 1969-1973: 214; Gibson 1975: 13, plate III).The original statue stood some 4 meters high, though the top portion has not been preserved.The statue was erected to Hadadby Panamu I, the king of YDY,who, in the opening lines of the inscription, speaks of the divine favor,election, and aid bestowed upon him by his gods. Tawil (1974:41-50) has ad-

mirably compared the opening section (lines 1-4) of the inscription with kindred formulae and idioms in Akkadian inscriptions. Panamu then boasts of the prosperity experienced during his reign (lines 5-14), followed by the recording of a religious rite (lines 15-24), which Greenfield (1973) has discussed. This rite is paralleled by the kispuoffering (funerary offering) of cuneiform sources, on the one hand, and by various West Semitic practices, such as the mrzh-banquet, on the other. Both as a religious duty and a sign of legitimacy, Panamu's heir

must offer sacrifice to Hadad and the other gods and not fail to mention the name of his predecessor. The final section consists of a series of instructions directed to Panamu's heir, apparently aimed at assuring an orderly transition, and the final line contains a prohibition against alteration or destruction of the stele (Tawil 1973). Panamu. This twenty-three line inscription was engraved on the lower half of a statue, the top half of which, as well as much of the lefthand portion of the monument, have not survived. The monument was erected by Bar-Rakib to his father, Panamu II. The bulk of the inscription (Donner and R6llig 1969-1973: 215; Gibson 1975: 14, plate IV) is a narration about the career of Panamu II, which enables us to date the inscription with precision. With the support of TiglathPileser III of Assyria, Panamu overcame the opposing faction and became king of Y'DY These events probably transpired during the former's campaign against Arpad (743-40 B.C.E.). The inscription tells of the death of Panamu, who accompanied TiglathPileser in his campaign against Damascus (733-32 B.C.E.).The end of the inscription speaks of Bar-Rakib's ascension to the throne, with the support of Tiglath-Pileser, which suggests that the statue was erected in the early part of Bar-Rakib's reign (about 730 B.C.E.). In addition to the historical information that can be gleaned from this inscription, the idiom "to grasp the hem/skirt" (line 11) describes Panamu's relationship with the king of Assyria, and this has sociopolitical significance. Its interdialectical equivalent is found in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Imperial Aramaic (for example, Ahiqar), and Biblical Hebrew (1 Samuel 15:27). The basic notion underlying this idiom is that of submission (Brauner 1977: 25-27). Kilamuwa. Seven lines of Old Aramaic (late ninth century B.C.E.) are written on a small gold sheath


181

15

10

o20

'5

three are well preservedand Of the six inscriptions attributed to Bar-Rakib,an Aramean who became king of ancient Samal around 730 &.C.E., contributesignificantly to our knowledge of Old Aramaic as well as the history of the region.All of the Bar-Rakibinscriptions were discovered in the late 1800s during the excavations at Zinfirli. Bar-Rakib1, consisting of twenty lines, is on a stele that shows the king in typical Assyrian dress with his arms outstretched. The theme of the inscriptionis Bar-Rakib'sstatus as a vassal to Tiglath-Pileser,an Assyrian ruler whose title, "lordof the fourquartersof the earth,"is shown in lines 3-4. Bar-Rakib'sloyalty is alluded to in lines 8 and 9, which say he had "runat the wheel of"Tiglath-Pileser'schariot. Photographfrom Pritchard(1969b),courtesy of the Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul.

that at one time may have served as the handle of a scepter.These seven lines (Donnerand Rollig 1969-1973: 25; Gibson 1982: 14, figure 5) are sometimes designated KilamuwaI to distinguish them from Kilamuwa's long inscription (KilamuwaII), which is written in Phoenician. The inscription can be translated as follows: "Statuewhich Kilamuwa, son of Haya,fashioned for Rakkab'el.May Rakkab'elgrant him length of life."The primarypoint of

182

contention among Aramaists concerns the language of this inscription. Forexample, JosephFitzmyer has said (1979:67, note 79) that the inscription is completely Phoenician except for the word br ("son"). P. Swiggers (1982)has restudied the inscription and shown that the grammatical features-the third person pronominal suffix h, the relative pronoun z, and the form to an Aramaic dialect. h.y-point Bar-Rakib.The Bar-Rakibinscrip-


tions (Donner and Rollig 1969-1973: 216-21, tables XII,XXXII;Gibson 1975: 15-17, figure 11)can be dated roughly to 730

B.C.E.,

when Bar-Rakib

ascended the throne and became king of ancient Sam'al.Of the six inscriptions listed in Donner and Rollig, three (numbers219-221) are poorly preservedfragments that are of little value for our purposes;the other three (numbers216-218) are well-preservedand contribute significantly to our knowledge of Old

Aramaic and the history of the region.'7 All of the Bar-Rakibinscriptions were discoveredin the excavations conducted at Zinjirli in the late nineteenth century. Whereas the Bar-Rakib1 (Donner and R6llig 1969-1973: 216;Gibson 1975: 15)and Bar-Rakib3 inscriptions (Donner and R6ollig1969-1973: 218; Gibson 1975: 17)were initially published in the excavation reports (von Luschan 1911:377-80 and table LXVII;345-49 and table LX, respectively),BarRakib 2, unearthed at the same time, was not published for almost half a century (Donner 1955). Bar-Rakib1 (Pritchard1969b: 281) consists of twenty lines of Old Aramaic engravedbeneath the outstretched arms of a profile of the king, who is portrayedin typical Assyrian dress. The main theme of the inscription is that Bar-Rakibis a loyal vassal of Tiglath-Pileser.The Assyrian ruler'stitle, "lordof the four quartersof the earth"(lines 3-4), is a calque, or loan translation, of the Akkadian 'ar kibrat erbetti, a well-known Mesopotamian epithet. As an indication of his status of vassal, Bar-Rakibmentions that he has "runat the wheel of"TiglathPileser's chariot (lines 8-9). This brings to mind a similar custom practiced in ancient Israelwhen Absalom, and later Adonijah,plotted to overthrowDavid; each of them mounted a chariot and had fifty men run before it (2 Samuel 15:1, 1 Kings 1:5;see also 1 Samuel 8:11).Their intentions were clear to all-they had assumed a royalprerogative. One of the linguistic features of this inscription appears to be a dialectal trait. When two emphatic consonants occur within one word, the first is regularly dissimilated; that is, its less emphatic counterpart is preferred (for example, line 19, kys' is less emphatic than This same feature occurs in*qys.'). the Nerab 1 funerary inscription (line 11, ktl is less emphatic than *qtl), which suggests that these inscrip-

tions may have been written in the same dialect. The nine lines of text of the BarRakib 2 inscription are engravedon a largefragment of stone. The right side of the fragment displays the beardedface of a human figure with an arm extendedand a drinkingvessel in his hand. The text occupies the left side of the fragment, and the end of each line is broken. As with BarRakib 1, this inscription is also concerned with proclaiming Bar-Rakib's loyalty to his Assyrian overlord. Bar-Rakib3 (Pritchard1969b: 460) consists of two short lines inscribed across the top of an impressive relief. Bar-Rakibis pictured as seated on an Assyrian-typethrone with his feet resting on a footstool. Beforehim stands a scribe whose right hand is upraised,perhapsas a gesture of respect. The short inscription reads as follows: "MyLordis Baal Harran.I am Bar-Rakib,the son of Panammu." On the whole, the Bar-Rakibinscriptions attest to the vassal status of the Aramean king of Sam'alto the Assyrian empire in the eighth cen-

portion of the inscription, is called Combination II. At present, JoAnn Hackett's published dissertation (1984a;see also 1986)should be regardedas the definitive study of the Deir cAlla inscription.'8Hackett has personally examined the plaster inscription as well as profited from the insights of other scholars. Articles by A. Caquot and Andr6Lemaire(1977),BaruchA. Levine (1981),and P.Kyle McCarter (1980)have helped greatly in clarifying the arrangementof the fragments and the general interpretation of the text. In accordancewith the suggestions of Caquot and Lemaire (compareMcCarter 1980:49-60), Hackett has presented a slightly rearrangedtext that has resulted in improvedreadingsand a renumbering of the lines. From the outset, the languageof the Deir cAllh inscription has been a matter of considerabledebate. Some scholars hold that the language of the text is Aramaic, albeit with some Canaanite forms. Others have arguedthat the language of the text is a Canaanite dialect-either Ammonite (Greenfield 1980)or perhaps tury B.C.E. Deir cAllai.This enigmatic ink-oneven Gileadite (Naveh 1979).This plaster inscription was found in problem has been tackled by Hackett 1967 by a Dutch expedition excavat- (1984b;1986),who concluded that the inscription has strong affinities ing at Deir cAlla in the eastern with South Canaanite dialects. Jordanvalley. The text is written in black ink, with the exception of There are, however,certain feathree red-inksections, and dates tures of the languagethat are inroughly to 700 B.C.E. The surviving dubitably Aramaic:first, the third plaster fragmentswere found in two masculine singular suffix -wh, and, majorgroupings in a small room. It second, the use of the graphq to has been surmised that the intact represent PS d. Further,two minor plaster inscription was once attached inscriptions from the same archaeto a wall or, perhaps,to an object ological phase exhibit Aramaic traits suspended from a wall. These fragments, as well as several others, were published by Jacob Hoftijzer and G. van der Kooij (1976) less than a decade after their original discovery. In this editio princeps the group of fragments that apparently made up the top of the inscription is arranged in what is called Combination I, and the second group of fragments, which constituted the lower

(the relative pronoun zy and the emphatic case). The Canaanite admixtures may be explained by the fact that it was a peripheral, hence archaic, dialect (Kaufman 1980: 73; see also Garr 1985: 229) subject to heavy Canaanite influence because of its location on the Syro-Palestinian periphery. The overall thrust of the content of this inscription remains obscure,


183

,I

go 44

400

, I

lot

401 |,

gi

:

/ .

? .'

4~11"

40S-

especially as it progresses.The first combination begins by relating how Balaam,the son of Beor,is visited by the gods in a night vision. Balaamis told that a divine council was convened and that it ordereda goddess to withhold light from earth as punishment. Unfortunately,the name of the goddess is not preserved.The remainderof the first combination and the whole of the second combination (the latter making frequent referenceto death and the grave) have been subject to wide-ranginginterpretations,a summary of which has been presentedbyHackett (1984a: 75-85).

184

The importance of this text for biblical scholars is obvious. Here is the only extrabiblicalmention of the famous non-Israeliteprophet Balaam (Numbers 22-24), who apparently was a prominent figure in local religious tradition. He is described as a "seerof the gods,"which suits well his prophetic role in the Hebrew Bible. Nerab 1 and 2. These two inscriptions were found in the small village of Nerab about 7 kilometers southeast of Aleppo. They were initially published by Charles ClermontGanneau (1897).Their unique position in the Old Aramaic corpus lies


These two funerarysteles, found in the small village of Nerab, about 7 kilometers southeast of Aleppo, are roughlydated to 700 B.C.E., which forsome scholars puts their inscriptions out of the corpus of Old Aramaic. Nerab 1, to the left, has fourteenlines inscribed across the rounded top of the basalt slab. The first eight lines surroundthe head and upraisedhand of Sinzerbani, who is identified as "apriest of Sahar at Nerab,deceased."The remaining six lines, written across the lower portion of Sinzerbani'spleated robe, warn any would-be violator against removing the stele from it place and offer blessings for anyone who guards the stone. Nerab 2, to the right, is written on a similarly shaped stone, but the entire ten lines are across the top portion of the slab. Sigabbar, anotherpriest of Saharat Nerab, is seated at an offeringtable and drinkingfrom a cup. The inscription contains motifs of divine bestowal of fame, longevity, and mental endurance. Photographsfrom Pritchard (1969b),courtesy of the Reunion des musees nationaux, Paris.

in their distinctive characteras funeraryinscriptions. It must be noted that many Aramaists exclude them from the phase of Old Aramaic and, further,that they are roughly dated to 700

B.C.E.,

which is in the

latest part of the period. Nevertheless, Fitzmyer (1979:66-67) has pointed to certain forms (forexample, in Nerab 1, lines 12-13, nsr is less emphatic than *ntr)and a syntactic feature that justifies their inclusion within Old Aramaic. The Nerab 1 inscription (Donner and R611ig1969-1973: 225, table XXIV;Gibson 1975: 18)consists of fourteen lines of text engravedon a

basalt slab that is roundedat the top (Pritchard1969b:280). The first eight lines surroundthe head and upraisedhand of a human figure at prayer,undoubtedly that of Sinzerbani, the priest mentioned in line 1. The rest of the inscription is written acrossthe lowerportion of his pleated robe.After a brief introduction, in which Sinzerbaniidentifies himself as "apriest of Saharat Nerab,deceased(!),"there is an imprecation directed against any would-beviolator who might venture to remove the funerarystele from its place. Conversely,the last lines pronounce a blessing upon anyone who might guardthe stone. The Nerab 2 inscription (Donner and R6llig 1969-1973: 226, table XXV;Gibson 1975: 19)is engraved on a similarly sized basalt slab, but the entire ten lines of text are written across the top portion of the stele. Carvedon the relief below is a human figure seated before an offering table and drinking from a cup that he holds to his lips (Pritchard 1969b:635). An attendant stands on the other side of the table with a fan in hand. The portraitis no doubt that of Si'gabbar,another priest of Saharat Nerab (line 1).The initial element (Si')of this priest'sname, which troubled earlier epigraphists,has been explained by Kaufman(1970)as a West Semitic by-formof the Mesopotamian moon-god Sin. Hence the name means "Sinis a hero/warrior." Tawil (1974:57-65) has shown that the motifs contained in the introductorystatement of this inscription (lines 2b-5) are best studied in light of kindred motifs in cuneiform royal inscriptions as well as other Northwest Semitic texts. The motifs of divine bestowal of fame, endurance of mental faculties, and longevity have striking similarities to Akkadian inscriptions, especially the Nabonidus inscription. Si'gabbar's attainment of long life is expressed in line 5 as follows, "with my eyes I behold children of the fourth genera-

One of the minor, or shorter,Aramaic inscriptionsis written on this ivory inlay from a bedboard that was discoveredat Arslan Tashin 1928. The inscription consists of one fragmentaryline

that can be read as ".. . son of cAmma, for our lord Haza'el in the year . . "According to 2 Kings

8:7-15 Haza'elwas a usurperwho became king of the Aramean state of Damascus in the ninth century B.C.E. Photographfrom EncyclopaediaMikra'it(Biblical Encyclopaedia),The Bialik Institute, Jerusalem.

tion."This brings to mind similar statements made in referenceto Joseph(Genesis 50:23)and especially Job(Job42:16),"andhe saw his sons and grandsonsto four generations."The inscription closes with the customary imprecation directed towardany person who might violate the grave. In summary,these two funerary inscriptions providefurther evidence for Assyrian influence, which followed the westwardexpansion of that mighty empire. Though Aramean by race,both priests bore Akkadian-typenames, which testify to their devotion to the Babylonian moon-god Sin. Minor Inscriptions Forthe historian studying Syria and Palestine, the minor ancient Aramaic inscriptions offer very little. Most are quite short and provide little substantial information. They do, however,attest to the use of the Aramaic languagein diverse regions of the Near East. Some of these inscriptions, those that were published between 1960 and 1965, have been assembled and commented upon by JosephNaveh (1966). The Tell Halaf altar inscription (Donnerand R611ig1969-1973: 231; Gibson 1975: 10)consists of one undecipherableline, and neither the original photographnor the inscription exist today.The OrdekBurnu stele (Koopmans1962:number 6), a ten-line inscription discoveredin 1898, has yet to yield an intelligible

translation. The Hamath Graffiti (Donner and Rollig 1969-1973: 20313;Gibson 1975: 6) consist primarily of propernames inscribed on bricks. The use of Aramaic in the East is indicated by the Nineveh Lion Weights (Koopmans1962:number 13)and the LuristanBronzes 1 and 2 (Gibson 1975: 11-12; Dupont-Sommer 1964: 108-15, plates XXXIII-XXXVI). M. Heltzer (1983)has published the gypsum-cast of a jarhandle that reads]mr', "belongto (the) lord." Three other short inscriptions are also relevant for the history of Syriaand Palestine. The Haza'elivory inlay (Donner and Rollig 1969-1973: 232; Gibson 1975: 2, figure 6) was discoveredat Arslan Tash in 1928. Consisting of one fragmentaryline, it can clearly be read as " . . . son of CAmma,for our lord Haza'elin the year . . ."According to the Bible,

Haza'elwas a usurper who became king of the Aramean state of Damascus in the ninth century

B.C.E.

(2

Kings 8:7-15). During the excavations conducted at CEnGev in 1961, a store-jar was discovered,upon the shoulder of which was engravedan Aramaic inscription (Gibson 1975:3; Mazarand others 1964: 27-28 and plate 13B). Dated on paleographicgrounds to the ninth century

B.C.E.,

it reads l]qy;

which should be translated"for(the use of) butlers."A similar find is associated with the site of Tel Dan (Avigad1968:Gibson 1975: 4). Incised on the base of a bowl was the phraseltb[]y. The missing fragment


185

of the bowl most probably had the letter hbet,and the line can be read "for (the use of) butchers/cooks." These two chance finds may point to more than just the use of the Aramaic language in their respective locations. Both CEnGev and Tel Dan were located on the borders of Israel. At the beginning of the ninth century B.C.E.,Dan was conquered by the Aramean Ben-Hadad (1 Kings 15:20). Archaeological evidence from CEnGev suggests that it, too, fell under Aramean control during the same century. These two vessels, both bearing Aramaic phrases, may have been used in royal or other noble households and thus attest to the Aramean occupation, which is known from other sources.

Conclusion It should now be evident that Old Aramaic inscriptions are an important source for reconstructing the history of Syria and Palestine and, likewise, that they contain vital information on the religious practices of the Arameans. In general, the combined testimony of the Old Aramaic corpus points to an Assyro-Aramean symbiosis and a widespread use of the Aramaic language throughout the ancient Near East. To be sure, the limited number of inscriptions and the lacunae contained therein raise intriguing questions that cannot be answered at present. We have reason to hope, though, that future excavations will expand the corpus and fill in gaps in our knowledge of the role that the Arameans played in the history of Syria and Palestine.

Notes 1Theolder works on the Arameans are out of date. Formore recent work see AbrahamMalamat (1973),Benjamin Mazar(1962),E. Lipiniski(1979),and WayneT. Pitard(1987). 2Generalsurveysof the Aramaic language,in its diverse and various manifestations, can be found in F.Rosenthal (1939),E. Y. Kutscher (1971),J.C.

186

Greenfield (1978b),and Klaus Beyer (1984: 23-71).

3Anexception is Egypt,which has a hot and dry climate that is conducive to the preservationof perishablematerials. 4Beyer(1984:25), who has his own system of division, recognizes a major break around 500 B.C.E.and smaller ones around 700 and 200 B.C.E. 5sThisstatement is true as far as it

goes. Formore detail see Stephen A. Kaufman(1982:143). 6Forhis earlier comments on the development of the Aramaicdialects, see Kaufman(1974:7-9, 152-70). 7Accordingto Kaufman(1974:155), StandardOld Aramaic,whether or not it was nothing otherthan was"standardized," the native Aramaic of northern Syria. 8Thetopic of Northwest Semitic dialects has finally receivedthe attention it deserves in W RandallGarr'sDialect Geographyof Syria-Palestine,1000-586

Bar-Ga'yahas an Assyrian governor,and M. L. Barre(1985). 14VonSoden restoredthe placeIn name as readinguruKi-i[t?-te/ti?]-qa. orderfor the Lemaire-Durandidentification to stand, the final cuneiform sign, heretoforereadas qa, must in this instance be assigned the phonetic value of ka4. Whereasthe latter readingis common at Amarnaand Nuzi, it is quite unusual in a Neo-Assyriantext. Further, Von Soden arguedthat Til-Barsipcannot be equated with uruKi-i[t?-te/ti?]-qa. 5sTheuse of the term Ya'udicto

describe this dialect has little historical justification. Fora discussion, see Joseph Fitzmyer(1967:62-63). 16Thetwo most prominent, distinctive features of SamalianAramaic are the retention of case-distinction in the masculine plural (w for nominative, y for oblique) and the absence of the emphatic case. B.C.E. (1985). 17Twoadditional Bar-Rakibinscrip9Attentionshould also be drawnto tions, one on a silver bar,the other on a two striking morphologicalfeatures of seal, bring the total to eight. Both of these consist of one line, reading"bethe inscription:first, the pe'al infinitive with the preformativem- (lines, 7, 9, 10, longing to Bar-Rakib,son of Panamu." See von Luschan(1943:119-20and 73-74, 14),and, second, the infixed t-conjugation (ygtzr-23),forms heretoforeunrespectively). 18Add to her bibliographyM. Weinfeld known in Old Aramaic.Elsewherein the Northwest Semitic family of languages (1978-1979),who classified the Deir the infixed t-conjugation is found in cAlhliinscription as an "oracleof rebuke," J.Koenig (1983),Andre Lemaire(1985), Ugaritic, Moabite, and Phoenician, but not Biblical Hebrew.BeforeTell Fakhari- BaruchA. Levine (1985),Emile Peuch yeh, the pe'alinfinitive with preformative (1985),and Victor Sasson (1985b). m- was known principally from later Aramaic dialects. Bibliography loForhis earlier view, now abanAbou-Assaf,A. doned, see Lipiniski(1971). 1981 Die Statue des HDYScY,Konigvon as opposed "iThespelling "Zakkur," Guzana.Mitteilungender Deutschen to the widely accepted"Zakir,"is assured Orient-Gesellschaft113:3-22. 1978: cuneiform by writings (Millard 23). Abou-Assaf,A., Bordreuil,P.,andMillard,A. R. 12In supportof a connection beLa 1981 LastatuedeTellFekhery6: tween the propheticbackgroundof the assyrobilingue premiere inscription Zakkur inscription and Mari, Ross has arameenne.Pp.640-55 in Comptes ' icnh 'nh the that proposed phrase (line rendus de lAcademie des Inscrip2) be translatedas "Iam a man of Hana." tions et Belles Lettres.Paris. The Haneans were a seminomadic people who are frequently mentioned in the Mari texts. This highly venturesome interpretation was rightly rejected by Greenfield (1969: 178-79). The scholarly consensus is that the aforementioned phrase should be translated as "Iam a humble man." From cuneiform inscriptions, H. Tawil (1974: 51-53) has shown that it was common parlance for a ruler to speak of his piety toward his god. '3Add R. Zadok (1984), who regarded


1982 La statue de TellFekheryeet son inscriptionbilingue assyro-arameenne. Series:EtudesAssyriologiques7. Paris:EditionsRecherchesur les Civilisations. Albright,W.F. 1942 A VotiveStele Erectedby Ben-Hadad I of Damascus to the God Melcarth. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research87: 23-29. Angerstorfer,A. 1984 GedankenzurAnalysederInschrift(en) der Beterstatuevom Tel Fecherijein

BN 22 (1983)91-106. Biblische Notizen 24: 7-11. Aufrecht,W E., editor 1975 A Synoptic Concordanceof Aramaic Inscriptions(Accordingto H. Donner & W Rdllig).Programmingby J.C. Hurd.Missoula, MT:ScholarsPress. Avigad,N. 1968 An InscribedBowl from Dan. Palestine ExplorationQuarterly 100:4244 and plate XVIII. Barrd,M. L. 1985 The FirstPairof Deities in the Sefire 1 God-List.Journalof Near Eastern Studies 44: 205-10. Beyer,K. 1984 Die Aramdischen Textevom Toten Meer.G6ttingen:Vandenhoeck& Ruprecht. Bordreuil,P.,and Teixidor,J. 1983 Nouvel examen de l'inscriptionde Bar-Hadad. Aula Orientalis 1:271-76. Brauner,R. A. 1977 OldAramaicandComparativeSemitic Lexicography.Gratz College Annual of Jewish Studies 6: 25-33. Caquot,A., and Lemaire,A. 1977 Les textes aramdensde Deir cAlla. Syria 54: 189-208. Clermont-Ganneau,C. 1897 Les stles aramdennesde Neirab.Pp. 182-223 in Etudes d'archdologie orientale, volume 2. Paris. Cross, F.M. 1972 The Stele Dedicated to Melcarthby Ben-Hadadof Damascus. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research205: 36-42. Cross, E M., and Freedman,D. N. 1952 EarlyHebrew Orthography,A Study of the EpigraphicEvidence. Series: American Oriental Series 36. New Haven:American Oriental Society. Dearman, J.A., and Miller, J.M. 1983 The MelqartStele and the Ben Hadadsof Damascus:TwoStudies. Palestine ExplorationQuarterly115: 95-101. Degen, R. 1969 Altaramdische Grammatik der Inschriftendes 10.-8.Jh.v Chr. Abhandlungenfur die Kundedes Morgenlandes, 38/3. Wiesbaden: Deutsche Morgenlandische Gesellschaft/Kommissionsverlag Franz Steiner GMBH. 1979 Review of S. Segert, Altaramaische Grammatik mit Bibliographie, Chrestomathie und Glossar. Gottingische Gelehrte Anzeigen 231: 8-51. Dion, P.-E. 1974 La langue de Ya'udic: description et classement de l'ancien parler de Zen~irli dans le cadre des langues simitiques du nord-ouest. Waterloo:

LaCorporationpour la Publication des L•udesAcad6miquesen Religion au Canada. 1978 The LanguageSpokenin Ancient Sam'al.Journalof Near Eastern Studies 37: 115-18. 1985 Labilingue de Tell Fekherye:Le roi de Gozan et son dieu;la phrasdologie. Pp. 139-48 in Mdlangesbibliques et orientauxen l'honneurde M.Mathias Delcor, edited by A. Caquotand others. Series:Alter Orient und Altes Testament215. Neukirchen: Neukirchener Verlag. Dohmen, C. 1983 Die Statue von Tell Fecherijeund die Gottebenbildlichkeitdes Menschen. Ein Beitragzur Bilderterminologie. Biblische Notizen 22: 91-106. Donner, H. 1955 Ein Orthostatenfragmentdes Konigs Barrakabvon Sam'al.Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Orientsforschung 3: 73-98. Donner, H., and Rllig, W 1969- Kanaanaische und aramaische In1973 schriften, three volumes. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Dunand, M. 1939 Stele aramdenned6dieea Melqart. Bulletin du Musee de Beyrouth 3: 65-76. Dupont-Sommer,A. 1964 Troisinscriptions aram6ennes inedites sur des bronzes du Luristan. IranicaAntiqua 4: 108-18, plates XXXIII-XXXVII. Dupont-Sommer,A., and Starcky,J. 1956 Une inscription aramdenneinedite de Sfire.Bulletin du Musee de Beyrouth 13:23-41. 1958 Les inscriptions arameennesde Sfir6.Pp. 197-351 in Mimoires prdsenties par diverssavants a lAcadimie des inscriptions et belles-lettres,TomeXV.Paris: ImprimerieNationale. Fales,E M. 1983 Le double bilinguisme de la statue de Tell Fekherye.Syria60: 233-50. Fitzmyer,J.A. 1967 The Aramaic Inscriptionsof Sefire. Series: Biblica et Orientalia 19. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute. 1971 The Genesis Apocryphon of Qumran Cave I, second revised edition. Rome: Biblical Institute Press. 1979 The Phases of the Aramaic Language. Pp. 57-84 in A Wandering Aramean, Collected Aramaic Essays. Series: Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series 25. Chico, CA: Scholars Press.

Friedrich,J. 1965

Zur Stellung des Jaudischen inner-

halb der nordwestsemitischen Sprachgeschichte.Pp.425-29 in Studies in Honorof Benno Landsbergeron his Seventy-fifthBirthday. Series:AssyriologicalStudies 16. Chicago:University of ChicagoPress. Garbini,G. 1956 L'aramaicoantico. Pp.239-84 in Atti della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Memorie, Classe di Scienze morali, storiche i filologiche, serie VIII,7/5. Rome:AccademiaNazionale dei Lincei. 1959 Nuovo materiale per la grammatica dell'aramaicoantico. Rivista degli studi orientali 34: 41-54. Garr,W R. 1985 Dialect GeographyofSyria-Palestine, 1000-586 B.c.E. Philadelphia: Uni-

versity of PennsylvaniaPress. Geller, M. J. 1983 Reviewof A. Abou-Assaf,P.Bordreuil and A. R. Millard,Lastatue de Tell Fekheryeet son inscription bilingue assyro-aramdenne.Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 46: 545-46. Gibson, J.C. L. 1975 Textbookof SyrianSemitic Inscriptions, Volume2: Aramaic Inscriptions, Including Inscriptionsin the Dialect of Zenjirli. Oxford:The ClarendonPress. 1982 Textbookof SyrianSemitic Inscriptions, Volume3: Phoenician Inscriptions, Including Inscriptionsin the Mixed Dialect of Arslan Tash. Oxford:The ClarendonPress. Ginsberg,H. L. 1933 AramaicDialect Problems.American Journalof the Semitic Languages50: 1-9. 1936 AramaicDialect ProblemsII.American Journalof the Semitic Languages 52: 95-103. Greenfield,J.C. 1967- Dialect Traitsin EarlyAramaic. 1968 Leshondnu32: 359-68. 1969 The ZakirInscriptionand the Danklied. Pp. 174-91 in Proceedings of the Fifth WorldCongressof Jewish Studies, volume 1. Jerusalem:World Union of JewishStudies. 1973

Un rite religieux aram~en et ses parall61es. Revue Biblique 80: 46-52. 1974 Standard Literary Aramaic. Pp. 28089 in Actes du premier congr~s international de linguistique simitique et chamito-simitique, edited by A. Caquot and D. Cohen. Series: Janua Linguarum Series Practica 159. The Hague and Paris: Mouton. 1978a The Dialects of Early Aramaic. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 37: 93-99.


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1978b Aramaicand its Dialects. Pp. 29-43 in Jewish Languages,Themes and Variations,edited by H. H. Paper. Cambridge,MA:Association for JewishStudies. 1980 Review of J.Hoftijzerand G. van der Kooij,Aramaic Textsfrom Deir cAlla. Journalof Semitic Studies 25: 248-52. Greenfield,J.C., and Shaffer,A. 1983 Notes on the Akkadian-Aramaic Bilingual Statue from Tell Fekherye. Iraq45: 109-16. 1985 Notes on the Curse Formulaeof the Tell FekheryeInscription.Revue Biblique 92: 47-59. Gropp.D. M., and Lewis,T. J. 1985 Notes on Some Problemsin the AramaicTextof the Hadd-Yithci Bilingual.Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research259: 45-61. Hackett, JoAnn 1984a The Balaam Textfrom Deir cAlla. Chico, CA: ScholarsPress. 1984b The Dialect of the PlasterTextfrom TellDeir cAlla. Orientalia 53: 57-65. 1986 Some Observationson the Balaam Traditionat Deir cAlla. Biblical Archaeologist49: 216-22. Heltzer, M. 1983 An Old-ArameanSeal-Impression and Some Problemsof the History of the Kingdomof Damascus. Pp. 9-13 in Arameans,Aramaic and the Aramaic LiteraryTradition,edited by M. Sokoloff.Ramat-Gan:Bar-Ilan University. Hoftijzer,J.,and van der Kooij,G. 1976 Aramaic Textsfrom Deir cAlla. Series:Documenta et Monumenta OrientisAntiqui 19.Leiden:E.J.Brill. Jean,C.-E,and Hoftijzer,J. 1965 Dictionnaire des inscriptions semitiques de lbouest.Leiden:E. J.Brill. Kaufman,S. A. 1970 Si'gabbar,Priest of Sahrin Nerab. Journalof the American Oriental Society 90: 270-71. 1974 TheAkkadian Influences on Aramaic. Series:The OrientalInstitute of the University of Chicago Assyriological Studies 19. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. 1977 Review of S. Segert, Altaramiiische Grammatik, mit Bibliographie, Chrestomathie und Glossar. Bibliotheca Orientalis 34: 92-97. 1980 Review Article: The Aramaic Texts Bulletin of the from Deir cAlli. American Schools of Oriental Research 239: 71-74. 1982 Reflections on the Assyrian-Aramaic Bilingual from Tell Fakhariyeh.

188

Maarav3: 137-75. XIV.Berlin. 1943 Ausgrabungenin Sendschirli V Die Koenig,J. 1983 Ladeclarationdes dieux dans l'inKleinfundevon Sendschirli. Series: Mitteilungen aus den orientalischen scription de Deir Alla (1,2).Semitica 33: 77-88. Sammlungen,Heft XV.Berlin. Luschan,F.von, and Sachau,E. Koopmans,J.J. 1893 Ausgrabungenin Sendschirli I, 1962 Aramifische Chrestomathie,two volumes. Leiden:E. J.Brill. Einleitung und Inschriften.Series: Mitteilungen aus den orientalischen Kutscher,E. Y 1970 Aramaic.Pp.347-412 in Linguistics Sammlungen,Heft XI. Berlin. in South WestAsia and NorthAfrica, Malamat,A. 1973 The Aramaeans.Pp. 134-55 in CurrentTrendsin Linguistics, volume 6, edited by T. A. Sebeok. Peoplesof Old TestamentTimes, edited by D. J.Wiseman. Oxford:The The Hague and Paris:Mouton. ClarendonPress. (Reprintedin 1977 in Hebrew and Aramaic Studies, edited by Z. BenMazar,B. 1962 The AramaeanEmpireand Its RelaHayyim and others, pages 90-155. tions with Israel.Biblical ArchaeJerusalem:The MagnesPress.) 1971 Aramaic.Columns 259-87 in ologist 25: 98-120. (Reprintedin 1966 in The Biblical Archaeologist EncyclopaediaJudaica,volume 3. Reader,volume 2, edited by D. N. Jerusalem:KeterPublishingHouse; Freedmanand E. E Campbell,pages New York:The MacmillanCompany. 127-51. New York:Doubleday.) Lemaire,A. 1984 La stele arameennede Barhadad. Mazar,B., and others 1964 cEinGev, Excavationsin 1961.Israel Orientalia 53: 337-49. 1985 L'inscriptionde Balaamtrouvee a ExplorationJournal14:1-49 and Deir cAlla:6pigraphie.Pp.313-25 in plate 13 B. BiblicalArchaeologyToday,Proceed- McCarter,P.K., Jr. 1980 The BalaamTextsfrom Deir cAlla: ings of the International Congress The FirstCombination.Bulletin of on Biblical Archaeology,Jerusalem, the American Schools of Oriental April 1984, edited by J.Amitai. JeruResearch239: 49-60. salem: IsraelExplorationSociety. Millard,A. R. Lemaire,A., and Durand,J.-M. 1978 EpigraphicNotes, Aramaicand 1984 Les inscriptions arameennesde Sfire Hebrew.Palestine Exploration et lAssyrie Shamshi-Ilu.Series:Publications du Centre de Recherches Quarterly 110:23-26. 1984 The Etymologyof Eden. VetusTestad'Histoireet de Philogie II,Hautes mentum 34: 103-06. Etudes Orientales 20. Genevaand Paris:LibrairieDroz. Millard,A. R., and Bordreuil,P 1982 A Statue from Syriawith Assyrian Levine,B.A. and AramaicInscriptions.Biblical 1981 The Deir cAlla PlasterInscriptions. Archaeologist45: 135-41. Journalof the American Oriental Muraoka,T Society 101:195-205. 1983- The Tell FekheryeBilingualInscrip1985 The BalaamInscriptionfrom Deir 1984 tion and EarlyAramaic.Abr-Nahrain cAlla:Historical Aspects. Pp.326-39 22: 79-117. in Biblical Archaeology Today, Naveh, J. Proceedingsof the International 1966 Old AramaicInscriptions(1960Congresson Biblical Archaeology, JerusalemApril 1984, edited by J. 1965).Annali dell'instituto orientali di Napoli 16:20-36. Amitai. Jerusalem:IsraelExplora1970 The Development of the Aramaic tion Society. Script.Proceedingsof the IsraelAcaLipifiski,E. 1971 cAttar-hapH, the Forefather of BarHadad II. Annali dell'instituto orientali di Napoli 31: 101-04. 1975 Studies in Aramaic Inscriptions and Onomastics, volume 1. Series: Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 1. Leuven: Leuven University Press. 1979 Aram et Israel du Xe au VIIIe Sidcle av. N. E. Acta Antiqua 27: 49-102. Luschan, F von 1911 Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli IV Series: Mitteilungen aus den orientlischen Sammlungen, Heft


demy of Sciences and Humanities, volume 5, number 1. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. 1978- The Date of the Tell Fekherye In1979 scription. Shnaton V-VI: 131-40. 1979 Review of J. Hoftijzer and G. van der Kooij, Aramaic Texts from Deir cAlla. Israel Exploration Journal 29: 133-36. Pardee, D. 1978 Review of J. C. L. Gibson, Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, Vol.

2. AramaicInscriptions.Journalof Weinfeld,M. Bibliographie,Chrestomathieund 1978- The BalaamOracle in the Deir cAlla Glossar. Leipzig:VEBVerlagEnzyNear EasternStudies 37: 195-97. 1979 Inscription.Shnaton V-VI:141-47. and R. D. klopadie. Pardee,D., Biggs, 1984 Reviewof A. Abou-Assaf,P.Bordreuil Shea, W H. Zadok, R. 1978- The Kings of the MelqartStela. 1982 Remarkson the Inscriptionof and A. R. Millard,La Statue de Tell HDYScY from Tell Fakhariya.Tel 1979 Maarav 1: 159-76. Fekheyreet son inscription bilingue Aviv 9: 117-29. Swiggers,P. assyro-aramdenne.Journalof Near 1984 On the Historical Backgroundof the 1982 The AramaicInscriptionof KilaEasternStudies 43: 253-57. SefireTreaty.Annali dell'instituto muwa. Orientalia 51: 249-53. Peuch, E. orientali di Napoli 44: 529-38. 1985 L'inscriptionsur platre de Tell Deir Tawil,H. 1973 The Endof the HadadInscriptionin cAlla. Pp. 354-65 in Biblical Archaethe Light of Akkadian.Journalof ology Today,Proceedingsof the TOO MANY BOOKS Near EasternStudies 32: 477-82. International Congresson Biblical 1974 Some LiteraryElements in the ON YOUR SHELVES? Archaeology,JerusalemApril 1984, edited by J.Amitai. Jerusalem:Israel Opening Sections of the Hadad, The ASORPublicationsOfficeis Zakir,and the Nerab IIInscriptions ExplorationSociety. a referencecollectionof building West Semitic in the and T. of East Pitard,W. Light books aboutthe ancientNearEast. 1987 Ancient Damascus: A Historical RoyalInscriptions.Orientalia 43: If you haverelevantbooks in good 40-65. Study of the Syrian City-Statefrom Earliest Times until its fall in 732 Vattioni, F. condition,we would liketo add 1969 Preliminarialle iscrizioni aramaiche. them to our shelves.Wewill B.c.E.Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. in The Identity of the Bir-Hadadof the Augustinianum 9: 305-61. acknowledgeyourdonationin press MelqartStela. Bulletin of the Ameri- Vinnikov,I. N. writing.Ourcollectionwill be 1958- Slovararamejskichnadpisey (A diccan Schools of Oriental Research. sharedwith the ASORAdministra1965 tionary of the Aramaicinscriptions). Pognon,H. tive Office. 1907- Inscriptionssemitiques de la Syrie, Palestinsky Sbornik3: 171-216;4: 11: 7: 9: 1908 de la Mesopotamie et la region de 196-240; 192-237; 141-58; Yourhelp in this endeavorwill be Mossoul. Paris. 189-232; 13:217-62. greatlyappreciated. Von Soden,W Pritchard,J.B., editor ASORPublicationsOffice 1985 Das NordsyrischeKtk/Kiskiund der 1969a Ancient Near EasternTextsRelating TurtanSam-i-ilu. Erwingungenzu Box HM,DukeStation to the Old Testament,third edition einem neuen Buch. Studi epigraficie with supplement. Princeton:PrinceDurham,NorthCarolina27706 U.S.A. ton University Press. linguistici sul Vicino Oriente antico (919)684-3075 2:133-41. 1969b The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Testament, second edition with supplement. Princeton:PrincetonUniversity Press. Reinhold,G. G. G. 1986 The Bir-HadadStele and the Biblical Kings of Aram.Andrews University Bulletin of ASOR,firstreleasedin 1919,has become the largestand Seminary Studies 24: 116-26. most widely circulatedEnglishlanguagequarterlyon the ancient Near Rosenthal,E East.The Bulletinpresentstechnicalarticleson the history,languages, 1939 Die aramaistische Forschungseit Theodor.Noldeke's Veroffentlichuncultures,and archaeologyof the Near Eastas well as syntheticarticles on criticalissues in methodologyand theoryof the variousdisciplines gen. Leiden:E. J.Brill. Ross, J.F.E represented. 1970 Prophecyin Hamath, Israel,and Mari.HarvardTheological Review Journalof CuneiformStudieswas foundedin 1947.JCSpresentstechnical 63: 1-28. articleson the historyand languagesof the ancient Mesopotamianand Sasson, V. Anatolianliteratecultures.Articles appearin English,French,and

OtherJournalsof the AmericanSchoolsof OrientalResearch

1985a The Aramaic Text of the Tell Fakhariyah Assyrian-Aramaic Bilingual Inscription. Zeitschrift for die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 97: 86-103. 1985b Two Unrecognized Terms in the Plaster Texts from Deir PalescAlla. tine Exploration Quarterly 117: 102-03. Segert, S. 1968 Review of J. A. Fitzmyer, The Genesis Apocryphon of Qumran Cave I. Journal of Semitic Studies 13: 281-82. 1975 Altaramiaische Grammatik mit

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