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Location

ZOOR0181

Negev. Zoora. December 14, 446 CE. White sandstone tombstone. Epitaph.

Transcription

ΜνημῖονΜνημεῖον Τάβθα, διακόνου, ἀποθανοῦοαἀποθανοῦσα μετὰ καλῆς πίστεως ἐτῶν οʹ, ἐν ἔτιἔτει τριακοσσιοστοῦτριακοσιοστοῦ μαʹ, μηνὸς ἈπελλέουἈπελλαίου κηʹ, ἡμέρᾳ Κυρίου ζʹ. ΘάρσιΘάρσει, οὐδεὶςοὐδὶς ἀθάνατος. + +

Translation

Monument of Tab(i)tha, (the) deaconess, who died having good faith (at the age) of 70 years, in the three hundred and 41st year, on (the) 28th (day) of the month Apellaios, on (the) 7th day of (the) Lord (Saturday). Be of good cheer, no one (is) immortal.

Diplomatic

[no diplomatic]

Terminus post quem:
Terminus ante quem:
Notes
The inscription provides the 7th day of the Lord (Saturday), the 28th day of the month Apellaios in the year 341 according to the Era of the Province of Arabia, that is, December 14, 446 CE. The tombstone is one of about 700 discovered in Byzantine Zoora. The majority of the Greek tombstones from this location have been identified as Christian. The nearly rectangular tombstone is curved at the top, broken in the lower side and lower right corner, and chipped all around. Written predominantly in round script with a few square exceptions, the text is engraved upon a smoothed surface, which is damaged in several places and flaked off at the edges. Lines three, six, and eight are painted over in red. An engraved, red-painted cross appears at the end of line eight. Another paint-drawn cross with four dots in its corners is centered below the inscription. An oulined, red-painted sun-disc appears to the right of this cross. Although the entire inscription was originally set within painted guide-lines, only lines two, five, and seven are still underlined. A horizontal bar appears above the age numeral in line four, the tens and units figures of the year numeral in line five, and the abbreviation of Κύριου in line seven. The editor notes that this is the only inscription in the corpus in which the phrase μετὰ καλῆς πίστεως is not accompanied by καλοῦ ὀνόματος. The text contains both spelling and grammatical errors.

Languages

Greek

Dimensions

H: 44 cm; W: 37 cm; D: —

Date

446 CE to 446 CE

Current location

Department of Antiquities of Jordan

Figures

  • Cross (see note)

  • Guide-lines set within the text

  • Sun-disc to the right of the final cross

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," ZOOR0181, 7 February 2025. https:doi.org/10.26300/pz1d-st89