Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
About Stories Resources Contact

Images

No images available

GIVA0001

Judaea. Giv'at Seled. Date unknown. Plaster fragment. Funerary.
Transcription

Θεοῖς καταχθονίοις Ἐνθάδε κεῖνται οἱ πατέρες τοῦ δεῖνατοῦ εὐεργέτου

Translation

To the gods of the underworld. [Here lie] the forefathers of [so-and-so] the benefactor...

Diplomatic

ΑΧΘΟΝΙΟΑΤΕΡΕ ΕΥΕΡΓΕ

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
Painted black letters on plaster fragments from the floor of the burial cave. One large fragment contains three lines and the top of a fourth, while the others are illegible. The bottom left of the fragment is absent. These fragments probably used to hang above the entrance on the western wall of the main chamber. The first line is a well-known pagan formula commonly used in the opening line of burial inscriptions. The letters of the second line that still survive likely represent either 'fathers' or 'daughters' in the nominative case. Leah di Segni suggests that the inscription's placement in what seems to be a family vault indicates that the inscriptions refers to 'forefathers'. The epithet εὐεργέτης was used as an honorary title for men in positions of authority and as a complimentary way to address a superior. An example of this is Luke 22:25 - "Those in authority over them [i.e. the Gentiles] are called benefactors".

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: —; W: —; D: —

Date

0 CE to 0 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

  • Di Segni, Leah. “A Fragmentary Greek Inscription from the Giv’at Seled Burial Cave.” ’Atiqot XX (1991).
    Zotero
View XML

Cite This Inscription

IIP is committed to the idea that the public good is best served by keeping our data free for use and reuse. You can cite and use this inscription under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Note also that all images are either in the public domain or used with permission, and unless noted we do not hold copyright to them. For permission to reuse the images, please contact the copyright holder, noted in the illustration credit.

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," GIVA0001, 10 May 2026. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89