Inscriptions from Israel and Palestine
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Location

TIBE0002

Lower Galilee. Hammath Tiberias. 270 CE to 325 CE. Multicolored mosaic floor. Labels.
Transcription

תקופת ניסן

Translation

Spring

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The four seasons of the year in elaborate mosaic (see tibe0007, tibe0008, tibe0009). Geometric mosaics and and figurative elements of the mosaics inform the date range. Because of the uncertainty of paleography in Palestinian synagogues, and because at this synagogue the inscriptions seem to have been executed by craftsmen unfamiliar with the Hebrew alphabet, the script itself cannot provide chronological information. Each season is represented by a female bust with her head in three-quarter view. Spring is represented by a young woman in a sleeveless green tunic (or peplos), bead necklace, bracelet, and wreath of two large six-petalled flowers, holding a blue glass bowl of reddish triangular objects (fruit?) in her right hand. A stalk with leaves and a flower, probably a lily, appears behind her left shoulder. Other representations of the four seasons in Palestinian synagogues at Beth Alpha, Na'aran, and Isfiya have little in common with those here. More similarities exist between these and those of the "Roman Villa" at Beth Guvrin, but the nearest parallels are found in the mosaics at Antioch (in modern Turkey). The entire central panel of the synagogue floor has dimensions 3.3 m by 3.26 m, roughly a square. It encloses two concentric circles, with diameters of 3.2 m and 1.4 m. The smaller circle encloses a representation of Helios driving the solar chariot; the area between the two circles is split into twelve panels containing labelled representations of the Zodiac signs; and each corner of the square contains a labelled representation of the season corresponding to its three tangent Zodiac signs. All figures are oriented with their top ends, where their labels appear, towards the center of the circles. The spandrel-shaped season panels have black, brown, red, tan, and white line borders, each one, two, or three tiles deep. The use of Hebrew is notable, since by this period it had been superceded by Aramaic and Greek in everyday business of the synagogue. The orthography is "defective," not plene; for example, תשרי here appears as תישרי at Beth Alpha. The Seasons have the same defective spelling, however, at the 'En Gedi synagogue.

Languages

Hebrew

Dimensions

H: 165 cm; W: 163 cm; D: —

Date

270 CE to 325 CE

Current location

No provenance provided.

Figures

  • wreath on woman

  • fruit in bowl

  • woman's bust spring panel

  • garland on woman

  • tunic on woman

  • leaves behind woman

  • line borders around each panel

  • flower (lily?) behind woman

  • bracelet on woman

  • tunic (peplos) on woman

  • glass bowl in woman's hand

  • earrings on woman

  • stalk behind woman

  • bead necklace on woman

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

  • Dothan, Moshe. “The Synagogue of Severos (Stratum 2a).” In Hammath Tiberias: Early Synagogues and the Hellenistic and Roman Remains, edited by Moshe Dothan, 27–70. Jerusalem, Israel: Ben-Zvi Printing Enterprises Ltd., 1983.
    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," TIBE0002, 11 July 2026. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89