Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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JERU0233

Judaea. Jerusalem. 20 BCE to 135 CE. Soft limestone ossuary. Funerary.
Transcription

Ἀλέξας Μάρα μήτηρἸούδας Σίμων υἱὸς αὐτῆς

Translation

of Alexa Mara, mother of Judas, Simon, her son

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
Damaged ossuary has low feet and a flat overhanging lid (w:69 cm). Inscription is on the chest's front side. Second line has a break after the first word; the rest of the line is inscribed a bit higher than it. The name Ἀλέξα is in the genitive here. Presumably a contraction of Ἀλεξάνδρα, it is otherwise unattested as a female name. Μάρα is a contracted form of Μάρθα; Σίμων is a common name; Ἰούδας is a mistaken inflection for Ἰούδου. Such errors are not unusual, nor are double names, as in Alexa Mara, and the naming of a woman as "X, mother of Y." Simon seems to have been an infant son interred with his mother.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 32.5 cm; W: 65 cm; D: 27 cm

Date

20 BCE to 135 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

  • 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 258-259.
    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 131, fig. 868:B and L.
    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 131, fig. 868:F (detail).
    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," JERU0233, 3 April 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89