Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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JERU0118

Unknown provenance. 20 BCE to 250 CE. Soft limestone ossuary with incised ornamentation. Funerary.
Transcription

מרתה בת יהוסף בן יעקב אתת יהוספ מנהין

Translation

Marta, daughter of Yehosef, son of Ya'aqov, wife of Yehosef, from Hin

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
Ossuary has inner ledge on three sides and flat lid. Height describes height of chest plus that of lid. Ornamentation, on the chest's front side, consists of a frieze of eight semi-circles above a lattice pattern. The inscription begins in the semi-circle third from the right, and continues through two more semi-circles. This creates the three columns, which read vertically. מרתה is a common name; יהוספ appears in the plene spelling common at the time. The yod of יעקב is continued from the right upright of the heh of יהוספ, which is directly above it. The place "Hin," in Naveh's reading, is probably the origin of the husband of the deceased, though it could be that of the deceased herself. Two possible identifications exist: Hini in Babylonia, near Kufa, which by mention in Talmudic literature is known to have been a Jewish community in the first half of the third century CE; and Bet Hini, approximately 25 km east of Caesarea, which was identified with the village Ἁnin mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud in the late-third to early-fourth centuries. The inclusion of a grandparent's name on an ossuary is infrequent.

Languages

Hebrew, Aramaic

Dimensions

H: 31+3 cm; W: 65.5 cm; D: 24 cm

Date

20 BCE to 250 CE

Current location

Israel Museum, Jerusalem. IAA inv. no. 1969-159

Figures

  • lattice pattern front side of chest

  • frieze of semi-circles above pattern

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
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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," JERU0118, 5 September 2026. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89