Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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JERU0137

Judaea. Jerusalem. 20 BCE to 70 CE. Soft limestone ossuary with finely incised ornamentation. Funerary.
Transcription

אחא ויעקוב ברה

Translation

Aha and Ya'aqov, his son

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
Broken and reconstructed ossuary has red wash and low feet. Height describes that of chest plus that of gabled lid with fingergrips. Ornamentation, on the chest's front side, consists of four metopes in a zigzag frame, a frieze at top and base of interlaced semi-circles with zigzag border, and vestiges of a palm-tree motif replacing triglyphs. Zigzag semi-circles indicate ascending branches, mirrored by roots. Each metope contains a six-petalled rosette within a zigzag circle, with zigzags overlaying petals and zigzag quarter-circles in outer corners. אחא is a contraction of אחיהו or אחאב, common in Talmudic literature only from the late-second century CE, but occuring also on an ostracon from Samaria and on seventh century BCE seal-impressions on Judaean jar-handles.

Languages

Hebrew, Aramaic

Dimensions

H: 31.5+5 cm; W: 68 cm; D: 29.5 cm

Date

20 BCE to 70 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • frieze of semi-circles top and bottom edges of front of chest

  • zigzag circles encircling rosettes

  • zigzags overlaying petals

  • encircled six-petalled rosettes in metopes

  • zigzag quarter-circles outer corners of metopes

  • zigzag frame front of chest

  • zigzag semi-circles indicating branches and roots tree

  • metopes within frames

  • palm-tree motif replacing triglyphs

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. page 167.
    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. page plate 57, fig. 396.
    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," JERU0137, 4 April 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89