Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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Location

JERU0148

Judaea. Jerusalem. Giv'at Hamivtar. 20 BCE to 70 CE. Soft limestone ossuary with chip-carved ornamentation. Funerary.
Transcription

שלם חננ של בידוד

Translation

Shalom (Shallum?), Hanan. Of the house of David

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
Ossuary has inner ledge on two sides, low feet, and flat, cut-to-measure lid with fingergrips. Ornamentation, on the chest's front side, consists of a bare triglyph and two metopes in zigzag frames, each containing a six-petalled rosette within concentric line circles, and single leaves in lower corners (once replaced by a zigzag quarter-circle). All uprights are transformed into palm trees, with zigzag semi- and quarter-circles indicating ascending branches. The first two words appear above the right-hand rosette; the latter two on the chest's right side. The reading of שלם חננ is uncertain, as both the shin and lamed and the mem and heth seem to be ligatures. If this reading is accepted, the first word is unlikely to be the word meaning "peace," which we would expect after the name of the deceased, not before. It is more likely the female name contracted from שלמציון or the male name Shallum. Kloner cites the term דבידודי here, which refers to a member of an uncle's household, but it is attested in third to fourth century CE Babylonia and thus remote in period and location from this ossuary. An alternative interpretation of the phrase on the ossuary's right side suggests that the deceased was of Davidic ancestry; such claims were made for Hillel the Elder, for example, and the several names of this tomb associated with the royal house of David (Avshalom, Hanan, and perhaps Shallum) support the view that certain families in the city claimed Davidic descent. No clues can be gleaned from the tomb's facade, as it was bulldozed prior to excavation. (See source for a greater discussion of this opinion.)

Languages

Aramaic, Hebrew

Dimensions

H: 39 cm; W: 61.5 cm; D: 28.5 cm

Date

20 BCE to 70 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • zigzag frames front of chest

  • encircled six-petalled rosettes in metopes

  • palm tree triglyph

  • concentric line circles encircling rosettes

  • leaves lower corners of metopes

  • zigzag quarter-circles indicating branches tree

  • metopes within frames

  • palm trees transformed from all uprights

  • zigzag semi-circles indicating branches tree

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," JERU0148, 5 September 2026. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89