Western Galilee. Evron, 415 CE. Mosaic. Invocation.
Transcription
יתחיון
קלודיוס
שושן
מר נאהמנו
בסלו
Translation
Let them live - Claudius/a, Susanna, Nehemiah(?), Boselos.
Diplomatic
[no diplomatic]
Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
This single Palestinian Syriac inscription was found among thirteen other Greek inscriptions in a Byzantine church in Evron, near Nahariya (evro0001 - evro0013). Two other Palestinian Syriac inscriptions have been discovered in nearby Shelomi and Kabri. These churches, as well as the church at Umm el-Ru'us in Judea, offer some of the earliest known Palestinian Syriac material. The church in Evron was constructed in three stages, the first in the 415 CE, the second between 442 and 443 CE, and the third in 490 CE. The author dates this inscription to 415 CE according to a Greek inscription in the same room. The mosaic is comprised of three main elements: (1) a central Greek cross within a circle, (2) four personal names located above and below this circle, and (3) a dark red tesselated frame. The mosaic is very well-preserved, lacking only one tessera. The circle and cross-bars are composed of white, yellow, and gray tessera. A single large, round green glass tessera appears at the center of the cross. Central white lines of tessera trace the lines of the circle and cross. The six letters of the Syriac phrase "Let them live/be saved" are written clockwise between the four quadrants created by the cross-bars within the circle. Outside of the circle, two names appear above and below this central motif. Above the circle, the name Claudius/Claudia appears adjacent to the outer frame, and the name Susanna appears between Claudius/Claudia and the central circle. Below the circle, the name Nehemiah/Ναυειμαν/Νεεμειων appears adjacent to the outer frame, and the Safaitic name Boselos appears between Nehemiah and the central circle. Concerning the verb written within the circle, the author points out that the appearance of a final nun is odd. He posits that its usage is primarily decorative, attempting to draw the four letters of the circle's upper two quadrants symmetrically. For instance, the round taw and small initial iudh in the first quadrant are similar in appearance to the round waw and final nun in the quadrant to the left. A similar phenomenon occurs in the writing of Susanna, a well-attested Syriac name. The name Claudius/Claudia seems to be an abbreviated version of the Latin name, making the gender unclear. The name adjacent to the lower edge of the frame is less clear than the others. Depending on the reading of a letter as iudh or nun, it can be a either Syriac rendering of the Hebrew name Nehemiah or a Semitic name elsewhere attested in Greek as Ναυειμαν or Νεεμειων. The fourth name is unattested in Western Aramaic but does appear in the Safaitic area with the Greek transcription Βοσελος.
Languages
Hebrew, Syriac
Dimensions
H:
—;W:
—;D:
—
Date
415 CE to 415 CE
Current location
No provenance provided.
Figures
No figures described.
Bibliography
Source of diplomatic
No bibliography available for diplomatic transcription.
Source of transcription
No bibliography available for transcription.
Source of translation
No bibliography available for translation.
Other sources
Jacques, A. “A Palestinian-Syriac Inscription in the Mosaic Pavement at ’Evron.” Eretz-Israel 19 (1987): 54–56.
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