Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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MGER0395

Mt. Gerizim, probably 200-100 BCE, maybe 400-200 BCE. Stone Block. Dedicatory.
Transcription

אנכי יהוה אלהיך:לא יהיה לך אלהיםאחרים על פני:כי יהוה הוא האלהיםאין עוד מלבדו:כי יהוה הוא האלהיםבשמים ממעל ועלהערץ מת חת אין עודיהוה אלהינויהוה אחד כי יהוה אלהיכם הואאלהי האלהיםואדון האדונים:ואין עמו אל נכר:

Translation

I am the Lord your God: You shall have no other gods before me: For the Lord is God besides him there is no other: For the Lord is God In heaven above and on the earth below, there is no other The Lord is our [G]od the Lord [is One], for the Lord [your God i]s God of [God]s and Lord of [Lord]s: an no fo[reign g]od is with him:

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription is composed of parts of verses, all from the book of Deuteronomy: Lines 1-3: 5:6. Lines 4-5: 4:35. Lines 6-8: 4:39. Lines 9-10: The verse "Hear O Israel" (Deut. 6:4) without the words "Hear O Israel" themselves. Lines 11-13: 10:17; the text here uses the Samaritan version of the Pentateuch. Line 14: 14:12. The inscription consists of the beginning of the Ten Commandments, followed by a number of verses dealing with the oneness of God. Much has already been writeen on the status of the Ten Commandments in Samaritan mezuzot, as well as on the similarities between these inscriptions and certain texts found in Qumran. The Talmudic tradition states that the Ten Commandments were part of the prayer ritual until they were deleted "because of the seditious talk of the heretics," who claimed that it was only they that were given on Mt. Sinai (M Tamid 5:1 and Maimonides' commentary ad loc,; JT Berakhot 1:4, 3:3; BT Berakhot 12a). In the present inscription these verses relate to the oneness of God; if the latter, then this is not a mezuzah but another kind of inscription, which can also be found in Samaritan houses to the present, and that possibly has its origins in Muslim inscriptions. This stone was probably erected when the Samaritan cult was renewed at the site during the Crusader period.

Languages

Hebrew, Aramaic

Dimensions

H: 101.0 cm; W: 159.0 cm; D: 17.5 cm

Date

400 BCE to 100 BCE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • guideline above each line

  • rough-pointed dressing on the face of the inscription

  • traces of red paint in the letters

Bibliography

Source of diplomatic

  • Magen, Yitzhak, Haggai Misgav, and Levana Tsfania. Mount Gerizim Excavations. Vol. 1. 2 vols. Jerusalem: Judea & Samaria Publications, 2004. insc 395.
    Zotero

Source of transcription

  • Magen, Yitzhak, Haggai Misgav, and Levana Tsfania. Mount Gerizim Excavations. Vol. 1. 2 vols. Jerusalem: Judea & Samaria Publications, 2004. insc 395.
    Zotero

Source of translation

  • Magen, Yitzhak, Haggai Misgav, and Levana Tsfania. Mount Gerizim Excavations. Vol. 1. 2 vols. Jerusalem: Judea & Samaria Publications, 2004. insc 395.
    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," MGER0395, 12 August 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89