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QAST0001

Castra Samaritanorum (H. Qastra), Byzantine. Mosaic. Invocation.

Transcription

ιστον τὸν ηκονοἶκον ἐν τιςτῆς κωμιςκώμης ταυτιςταύτης ܠܝܢܗ ܐܕܟܪ ܡܪܐ ܥܒܕ ܠܠܘ

Translation

"[Let so-and-so be remembered, who built this most beautiful (?)] house in this village. Remember, O Lord, (the) sinner (lit. doer of foolishness) Leone!"

Diplomatic

ΙϹΤΟΝΤΟΝΗΚΟΝΕΝΙϹΚΩΜΙϹΤΑΥΤΙϹ ܠܝܢܗ ܐܕܟܪ ܡܪܐ ܥܒܕ ܠܠܘ

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The mosaic consists of four lines of Greek and Christian Palestinian Aramaic (Syro-Palestinian). Each line of the inscription is separated by a row of black tiles. The first two lines are Greek, the third both Greek and Aramaic, and the fourth Aramaic. The Aramaic text begins on the fourth line and finishes on the third. Note that the omega found in the inscription is actually a majuscule-sized minuscule omega. The ΕΝ ΙϹ is treated in this transliteration as an iotacism and abbreviation of ΕΝ ΤΗϹ, but Di Segni comments that it may in fact be a ligature rather than an abbreviation. This view is based upon the bar which appears over the Ν in ΕΝ. In any case, the translation remains the same. The Greek includes numerous iotacisms, something which the author indicates is often found among Aramaic speakers. She also notes that the epithet "the sinner" is commonly used in Christian texts in reference to believers, and that has attestation in Syriac, Arabic and Greek. Two or more lines of preceding Greek text are missing.The word ending in -ιστον which begins the text cannot be recovered, but the author offers a superlative, a participle of a verb ending in -ιζω, or a nominative participle in which the correct -ων was replaced with an -ον as possible forms. Tentative restorations include κάλλιστον, εὔχαριστον, φιλόριστον and εὐχαριστῶν. The Greek text refers to an οἶκος, a word which sometimes means "house of prayer" and which therefore may indicate that the mosaic originated in a sacred building. The translation of the inscription provided is based upon the surviving Greek and in light of the Aramaic. Note that script of the Aramaic text is that of Christian Palestinian Aramaic (Syro-Palestinian).

Languages

Syriac, Greek

Dimensions

H: ca. 50 cm; W: 60 cm; D: —

Date

324 CE to 638 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • line borders between lines

Bibliography

Source of diplomatic

  • Di Segni, Leah, and Joseph Naveh. “A Bilingual Greek-Aramaic Inscription From H. Qastra, Near Haifa.” ’Atiqot 29 (1996): 77–78. page 77.
    Zotero

Source of transcription

No bibliography available for transcription.

Source of translation

No bibliography available for translation.

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The project can be cited as:

Satlow, Michael L., ed. 2002 - . “Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine.” Brown University. https://doi.org/10.26300/PZ1D-ST89

This inscription can be cited as:

"Inscriptions of Israel/Palestine," QAST0001, 8 January 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89