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Location

ZOOR0011

Negev. Zoora, December 27, 349 CE. Tombstone. Epitaph.

Transcription

ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Θοάϊς Προσδοκίου ἀπογενομένης ἐτῶν ιςʹ ἔτους σμδʹ μηνὸς ΑὐδονέουΑὐδυναίου αιʹ ἡμέρᾳ Ἑρμοῦ ΘάρσιΘάρσει οὐδίςοὐδείς ἀθάνατος ὁ Θεὸς ἀθάνατος +

Translation

Monument of Thoai, (daughter) of Prosdokios, who died (at the age) of 16 years, in (the) year 244, on (the) 11th (day) of (the) month Audynaios, on (the) day of Mercury (Wednesday). Be of good cheer, no one (is) immortal. (Only) God (is) immortal.

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription provides the date as the day of Mercury on the 11th day of the month of Audynaios in the year 244 according to Era of the Province of Arabia, or Wednesday June 27, 349 CE. The tombstone is one of about 700 discovered in Byzantine Zoora and is in relatively good condition. The majority of the Greek tombstones from this location have been identified as Christian. The inscription contains spelling errors and was engraved in a mixture of round and square script,then traced with red paint. This tombstone is the first of the corpus in which the burial formula of "Θάρσει, οὐδὶς ἀθάνατος" is complemented by the phrase "Ὁ Θεὸς", though this is found in Christian epigraphy from other areas. The age numeral has a horizontal stroke above it, while the month and day numeral is inverted in the inscription. The abbreviation Θ(εὸ)ς lacks the normally expected horizontal bar above the letters (though this may be due to aging).The text on the final line is faded and is marked with a cross at the end. The author notes that the name Προσδόκιος appears in an epitaph on a Jewish tombstone from Beth She'arim. He also points out that the use of the participle ἀπογενομένης to indicate a deceased woman is confined to only three epitaphs in the middle of the fourth century. These examples from Zoora are the only known examples from Palestine, while the only known Roman example from Arabia is from Hauran.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 40 cm; W: 30 cm; D: 7 cm

Date

349 CE to 349 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Cross end of the final line

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

  • Meimaris, Yiannis, and Kalliope Kritikakou-Nikolaropoulou. Inscriptions from Palaestina Tertia Vol. Ia: The Greek Inscriptions from Ghor Es-Safi (Byzantine Zoora). Athens, Greece: National Hellenic Research Foundation, 2005.
    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," ZOOR0011, 7 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89