Gezer calendar

Gezer Calendar, Istanbul Archaeological Museum

The Gezer Calendar is in paleo-Hebrew script described Limestone (7 × 11 cm). The document is dated to the 10th century BC. And is widely considered to be one of the oldest known examples of the Hebrew language . It was discovered by RAS Macalister during excavations in the biblical city of Gezer , about 50 km northwest of Jerusalem . These excavations took place between 1902 and 1907.

The text

Hebrew text	transcription	translation
1. ירחו אסף. ירחו ז 2. רע. ירחו לקש 3. ירח עצד פשת 4. ירח קצר שערם 5. ירח קצר וכל 6. ירחו זמר 7. ירח קץ II אבי [ה] III פניה	I 1. jrḥw ʼsp. jrḥw z 2. rʻ. jrḥw lqš 3. jrḥ ʻṣd pšt 4. jrḥ qṣr śʻrm 5. jrḥ qṣr wkl 6. jrḥw zmr 7. jrḥ qṣ II ʼbj [h] III pnjh	I 1. Two months of harvest. Two months of Au ² ssaat. 2. Two months of late sowing. 3. A month of flax pulling. 4. A month of barley harvest. 5. A month of harvest and (its) completion. 6. Two months of pruning 7. One month of summer. II Abihu III PNJH

Replica of the Gezer calendar in Tell Gezer.

Calendar division

Home ( asiph ), September and October.

Saat ( zera ), November and December

Late sowing ( Lakish ), January and February

Flat chopping ( asid pischta ), March

Barley harvest ( kesir se'ora ), April

Remaining harvest ( kesirin kullam ), May

Vine cutting ( zamir ), June and July

Fruit harvest ( kajis ), August

Experts speculate about the meaning of the text. Some think it could be a student's notes or the text of a popular folk song or nursery rhyme. It would also be possible, however, that it is a document that in some way could have something to do with the collection of taxes from farmers.

The Gezer Calendar is in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum in Istanbul , along with the Shiloh inscription and other archaeological discoveries made before the First World War .

literature

William Foxwell Albright : The Gezer Calendar . In: Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR) 92 (1943), pp. 16-26.
Josef Tropper: nominative dual * yariḥau in the Gezer calendar. In: Zeitschrift für Althebraistik 6 (1993), pp. 228-231.
Daniel Sivan: The Gezer calendar and Northwest Semitic linguistics . In: Israel Exploration Journal 48 (1998), pp. 101-105.
Dennis Pardee: A Brief Case for Phoenician as the Language of the “Gezer Calendar”. In: Robert D. Holmstedt, Aaron Schade (Eds.): Linguistic Studies in Phoenician in Memory of J. Brian Peckham. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake 2013, pp. 226–246.

Web links

Commons : Gezer Calendar - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Notes and evidence

↑ See, however, Dennis Pardee: A Brief Case for Phoenician as the Language of the “Gezer Calendar”, in: Robert D. Holmstedt, Aaron Schade (Ed.): Linguistic Studies in Phoenician in Memory of J. Brian Peckham. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake 2013, pp. 226–246.
↑ Herbert Donner , Wolfgang Röllig : Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions. Volume 1: 5th edition, Wiesbaden 2002, p. 43 (KAI 182).
↑ Cf. Manfred Weippert : Historical text book on the Old Testament . In: Outlines of the Old Testament. Volume 10, Göttingen 2010, pp. 225-227 (HTAT 101).
↑ Different readings based on the meaning of grape harvest cannot be reconciled with the actual calendar processes. First the vines bloom, the pruning is now imminent. In this context, Zabar is used by the vine gardeners as the cutting off of bad vines . Compare with Gustaf Dalman: Arbeit und Sitte in Palestine, Vol. 1, Jahreslauf und Tageslauf , Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1928, p. 7.

[1] See, however, Dennis Pardee: A Brief Case for Phoenician as the Language of the “Gezer Calendar”, in: Robert D. Holmstedt, Aaron Schade (Ed.): Linguistic Studies in Phoenician in Memory of J. Brian Peckham. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake 2013, pp. 226–246.

[2] Herbert Donner , Wolfgang Röllig : Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions. Volume 1: 5th edition, Wiesbaden 2002, p. 43 (KAI 182).

[3] Cf. Manfred Weippert : Historical text book on the Old Testament . In: Outlines of the Old Testament. Volume 10, Göttingen 2010, pp. 225-227 (HTAT 101).

[4] Different readings based on the meaning of grape harvest cannot be reconciled with the actual calendar processes. First the vines bloom, the pruning is now imminent. In this context, Zabar is used by the vine gardeners as the cutting off of bad vines . Compare with Gustaf Dalman: Arbeit und Sitte in Palestine, Vol. 1, Jahreslauf und Tageslauf , Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1928, p. 7.