Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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Images

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Location

JERU0007

Judaea. Jerusalem. 20 BCE to 70 CE. Hard limestone ossuary with relief-carved ornamentation. Funerary.
Transcription

אבונה שמעון סבא יהוסף ברה

Translation

our father, Shim'on (the) Elder, Yehosef his son

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The ossuary has inner ledge on four sides; base is damaged. Comb-dressed. Lid is vaulted with profiled inner rim; its base broadens into a cornice with length 77 cm and width 36.5 cm. Height of the ossuary refers to height of the chest plus that of the lid. Ornamentation consists of two eight-petalled rosettes with rounded tips in a sunken panel on the chest's front side, and one similar rosette each on left and right sides. Back side is roughly hammer dressed. Two possible interpretations of the inscription exist: Mayer reads "Yehosef his son" as the signature of a man reinterring his father (here Shimon), while Savignac and Lidzbarski believe the inscription lists three people with remains in the ossuary, the first being Abinah or Abunah (the word is read here as the epithet "our father," rather than a name). The former interpretation seems more plausible -- the name Abinah/Abunah is attested in Talmudic literature, but during a much later period (200 CE and after) than that of this ossuary; and other inscriptions which describe the joint burial of parent and child contain a conjunctive vav between names, i.e. "Aha and Ya'aqov, his son." The use of אבונה not in reference to the three Patriachs constitutes a violation of a ruling in Sem. 1:12, but not an unusual one.

Languages

Aramaic, Hebrew

Dimensions

H: 38+20 cm; W: 75 cm; D: 35 cm

Date

20 BCE to 70 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • sunken panel front of chest

  • eight-petalled rosettes front, left and ride sides of chest

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

  • Rahmani, L.Y. A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel. Edited by Ayala Sussmann. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994.
    Zotero
  • Rahmani, L.Y. A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel. Edited by Ayala Sussmann. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994.
    Zotero
  • Rahmani, L.Y. A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel. Edited by Ayala Sussmann. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994.
    Zotero
  • Rahmani, L.Y. A Catalogue of Jewish Ossuaries in the Collections of the State of Israel. Edited by Ayala Sussmann. Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1994.
    Zotero
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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," JERU0007, 12 June 2026. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89