Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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JORD0001

Jordan(?), 50 BCE to 50 CE. Slab. Prophecy.
Transcription

ך ה ע ב יכ ה ארס ל ה הו ז ח מל י בני ישראל ב ב ש ל בנ ד ל ל ל דא דבר יהוה ק ד י ד לב תים שאלת יהוה אתה שאלני כן אמר אלהים צבאות ני מביתי ישראל ואגדה בגדולות ירושלם כן אמר יהוה אלהי ישראל הנה כול הגאים על ירושלם ו שמתו מ ג אחת שתין שלוש ארבעין נביאין והשבין והחסידין עבדי דוד בקש מן לפני אמפרים שים האות אני מבקש מן לפנך כי אמר יהוה צבאות אלהי ישראל גני וכרי קדשה לישראל לשלשת ימין תדע כי אמר יהוה אלהים צבאות אלהי ישראל נשבר הרע מלפני הצדק שאלני ואגיד לכה מה הצמח הרע הזה לויבנסדרך אתה עומד המלאך הוא כסמכך אל תורה ברוך כבוד יהוה אלהים מן מקומו עוד מעט קיטוט היא ואני מרעיש את השמים ואת הארץ הנה כבוד יהוה אלהים צבאות אלהי ישראל אלה המרכבות שבע על שער ירושלם ושערי יהודה ונ למען ל מלאכה מיכאל ולכול האחרין בקשו ילכ כן אמר יהוה אלהים צבאות אלהי ישראל אחד שנין שלושה ארבעה חמשה ששה שבעה אל מלאכה מה זו אמר הצץ ל ד פכ ואלוף השני שמר על ירשלם שלושה בגדלות א ה לו והו ד ך ן שראה איש עובד וי שהוא שסמן ממירושלם אני על אי אבמר אותגלות אתגלות צל אלהים ע א ן ואראה ג א ירושלם יאמר יהוה צבאות א ל ל חנארו ורח דם שירם א ן הנגי בכול ב ש ו ש יהוה י ע ל ד ך עמך רדעוך ן המ לאכים מן על דר על עמוי ומחר ה שג שלשת ימין זה שאמ הוא אלה של ראו נא ה צ סתום דם טבחי ירושלם כי אמר יהוה צבאות אלהי ישראל כי אמר יהוה צבאות אלהי ישראל מא ל אל ד לני רוח הנרא תן שק ל ל אשריא תץ ש בה א ב ד א אב א ה החביב ל שלושה קדושי העולם מן מק ו שלום אמר עליך אנחנו בטוחין בשר לו על דם זו המרכבה שלהן ל אוהבין רבים ליהוה צבאת אלהי ישראל כה אמר יהוה צבאת אלהי ישראל מ נביאים שלחתי אל עמי שלושה ואני אומר שראיתי ברכ ללך דבר בר ב המקום למען דוד עבד יהוה א את השמים ואת הארץ ברוך ש אנשים עושה חסד לאלפים מ חסד שלושה רועין יצאו לישראל ל אם יש כהן אם יש בני קדושים ה מי אנכי אני גבריאל המלכילי מל תצילם נבי ם גר ם לשות ן ב מלפניך שלושה האתות שלושה אק לשלושת ימין חא אני גבריאל ל שר השרין ד ן ארובות צרים א א לראות ה לשנם מ ן והבגמ לי מן שלושה הקטן שלקחתי אני גבריאל יהוה צבאת אלהי אז תעמדו א ל א ל ב עלם

Translation

(Lines 1-6 are unintelligible) 7. [...]the sons of Israel ...[...]... 8. [...]... [...]... 9. [...]the word of YHW[H ...]...[...] 10. [...]... I/you asked ... 11. YHWH, you ask me. Thus said the Lord of Hosts: 12. [...]...from my(?) house, Israel, and I will tell the greatness(es?) of Jerusalem. 13. [Thus] said YHWH, the God of Israel: Behold, all the nations are 14. ... against(?)\to(?) Jerusalem and ..., 15. [o]ne, two, three, forty(?) prophets(?) and the returners(?), 16. [and] the Hasidin(?). My servant, David, asked from before Ephraim(?) 17. [to?] put the sign(?) I ask from you. Because He said, (namely,) 18. [Y]HWH of Hosts, the God of Israel: ... 19. sanctity(?)/sanctify(?) Israel! In three days you shall know, that(?)/for(?) He said, 20. (namely,) YHWH the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Evil has been broken (down) 21. before justice. Ask me and I will tell you what this bad plant is, 22. LWBNSDL/R/K (=?) you are standing, the messenger/angel. He 23. ... (= will ordain you?) to Torah(?). Blessed be the Glory of YHWH the Lord, from 24. his place. "In a little while", QYTUT (=a brawl?/tiny?) it is, "and I will shake the 25. ... of? heaven and the earth". Here is the Glory of YHWH the Lord of 26. Hosts, the God of Israel. These are the chariots, seven, 27. [un]to(?) the gate of Jerusalem, and the gates of Judah, and ... for the sake of 28. ... His(?) angel, Michael, and to all the others(?) ask/asked 29. ... Thus He said, YHWH the Lord of Hosts, the God of 30. Israel: One, two, three, four, five, six, 31. [se]ven, these(?) are(?) His(?) angel ... "What is it", said the tree(?) 32. ...[...]... and (the?) ... (=leader?/ruler?), the second, 33. ... Jerusalem.... three, in/of the greatness(es?) of 34. [...]...[...]... 35. [...]..., who saw a man ... working(?) and [...]... 36. that he ... [...]... from(?) Jerusalem(?) 37. ... on(?) ... the exile(?) of ..., 38. the exile(?) of ..., Lord ..., and I will see 39. ...[...] Jerusalem, He will say, YHWH of 40. Hosts, ... 41. [...]... that will lift(?) ... 42. [...]... in all the 43. [...]... 44. [...]... (Lines 45-50 are unintelligible) 51. Your people(?)/with you(?) ...[...] 52. ... the [me]ssengers(?)/[a]ngels(?)[...]... 53. on/against His/My people. And 54. [... ]three days(?). This is (that) which(?) ...[...]He(?) 55. the Lord(?)/these(?)[...]...[...] 56. see(?) ...[...] 57. closed(?). The blood of the slaughters(?)/sacrifices(?) of Jerusalem. For he said, YHWH of Hos[ts], 58. the Lord of Israel: For He said, YHWH of Hosts, the God of 59. Israel: ... 60. [...]... me(?) the spirit?/wind of(?) ... 61. ...[...]... 62. in it(?) ...[...]...[...] 63. ...[...]...[...] 64. ...[...]... loved(?)/... ...[...] 65. The three saints of the world/eternity from/of ...[...] 66. [...]... peace he? said, to/in you we trust(?) ... 67. Inform him of the blood of this chariot of them(?) ...[...] 68. Many lovers He has, YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel ... 69. Thus He said, (namely,) YHWH of Hosts, the God of Israel ...: 70. Prophets have I sent to my people, three. And I say 71. that I have seen ...[...]... 72. the place for the sake of(?) David the servant of YHWH [...]...[...] 73. the heaven and the earth. Blessed be ...[...] 74. men(?). "Showing mercy unto thousands", ... mercy [...]. 75. Three shepherds went out to?/of? Israel ...[...]. 76. If there is a priest, if there are sons of saints ...[...] 77. Who am I(?), I (am?) Gabriel the ...(=angel?)... [...] 78. You(?) will save them, ...[...]... 79. from before You, the three si[gn]s(?), three ...[...] 80. In three days ..., I, Gabriel ...[?], 81. the Prince of Princes, ..., narrow holes(?) ...[...]... 82. to/for ... [...]... and the ... 83. to me(?), out of three - the small one, whom(?) I took, I, Gabriel. 84. YHWH of Hosts, the God of(?)[ Israel ...]...[....] 85. Then you will stand ...[...]... 86. .../ 87. in(?) ... eternity(?)/... \

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The text, not known as a whole from any other source, appears to be a collection of short prophecies addressed in the second person, from which many lines, phrases and names are familiar. The author may have been named Gabriel, as suggested by the phrase "I Gabriel" in line 77. The "messenger/angel Michael" also appears in Daniel 10:13 and in the New Testament (Revelation 12:7 and Jude 9), and appears in conjunction with Gabriel in extra-Biblical sources like Enoch and the War Scroll (1QM). Mention of "my servant David," "David the servant of Yahweh," and Jerusalem suggest the author's support of the Davidic dynasty; in fact, the text as a whole may be apocalyptic, representing the views of one side of a debate between messianic groups. As in the Bible, this text uses the name Yahweh, and opens many of its prophecies with "Thus (or therefore) said the Lord [that is, Yahweh and sometimes the more generic Elohim] of hosts." The name "Elohei Yisrael," "God of Israel," and mention of Yahweh's "kavod", or glory, also appear in both. Other familiar phrases are "[God] shows mercy to thousands" (line 74) found in Exodus 20:6, Deuteronomy 5:10, and Jeremiah 32:18, and "And I will shake the heaven and the earth" (lines 24-25), from the prophet Haggai 2:6, as well as others familiar from Biblical prophets Zechariah and Daniel. The stone's inscribed side is polished, but the back side is not, suggesting that it once hung on a wall. One break in the stone separates the bottom five or so lines from the rest; a second break cuts off a fragment containing about four lines of text from the right-hand column. It is badly preserved with lacunae all over it. Shape and form of the letters date the inscription, which is verified by the post-Biblical, pre-Mishnaic Hebrew. The script looks careless but is the work of a professional scribe; perhaps it just proved difficult to write in ink on stone. The text appears in two columns read top-to-bottom, 44 lines in the right-hand column and 43 on the left. Like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the stone has guidelines incised with a thin, sharp instrument: horizontal ones that cross the column divide, with the letters suspended from the upper guideline, and vertical ones, one each at the left and right of both columns. In the translation provided here, capital letters represent Semitic sounds. The words "this bad," appearing in line 21 of the translation, are actually in line 22 of the Hebrew text, coincidentally separated by a line break because in Hebrew word order an adjective follows its noun. The unclear פ in line 16 might be a מ. The unclear ו in line 22 might be a י. The letters ד/ר/ך in line 22 are possible readings of a single character, as are the letters ב/מ in line 37, ד/ר in lines 51 and 52, ו/י in line 53, and ה/ח in line 64.

Languages

Hebrew

Dimensions

H: 96 cm; W: 37 cm; D: —

Date

50 BCE to 50 CE

Current location

Zurich, in possession of collector David Jeselsohn. Published, with his permission, by Ada Yardeni in consultation with Binyamin Elizur.

Figures

No figures described.

Bibliography

Source of diplomatic

No bibliography available for diplomatic transcription.

Source of transcription

  • Yardeni, Ada, and Binyamin Elizur. “A Hebrew Prophetic Text on Stone from the Early Herodian Period: A Preliminary Report.” In Hazon Gabriel. New Readings of the Gsbriel Revelation, edited by Mathias Henze, 11–29. SBL - Early Judaism and Its Literature 29. Brill, 2011.
    Zotero

Source of translation

  • Yardeni, Ada, and Binyamin Elizur. “A Hebrew Prophetic Text on Stone from the Early Herodian Period: A Preliminary Report.” In Hazon Gabriel. New Readings of the Gsbriel Revelation, edited by Mathias Henze, 11–29. SBL - Early Judaism and Its Literature 29. Brill, 2011.
    Zotero

Other sources

  • Yardeni, Ada. “A New Dead Sea Scroll in Stone?: Bible-like Prophecy Was Mounted in a Wall 2,000 Years Ago.” Biblical Archaeology Review 34, no. 1 (2008): 60–61.
    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," JORD0001, 19 November 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89