Heschbon ostraka

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As Heshbon-Ostraka refers to a group labeled fragments of pottery from the Iron Age , which at Tell Hesban, the ancient Heshbon , were found. The language of the very short texts - on some of the ostraka only individual letters or remains of letters can be recognized - is controversial. Ostracas I and II are usually considered to be Aramaic , the rest of them ammonite , while others argue that they are Moabite . The numbering is done in Roman numerals according to the order of the discovery. For the final publication, the ostraca were renumbered with legible text according to the presumed writing time. The ostraka are owned by the Archaeological Museum in Amman .

Ostracon I (H5)

The ostracon was found in the summer of 1968 during the first excavation campaign on Tell and bears the find number 309. It belongs to a layer that belongs to the Persian period. Its dimensions are approximately 5.4 × 5.3 cm. It is broken off on three sides, so the text is incomplete. In addition, three furrows run through the surface of the pottery shard.

The text received contains personal names on five lines, some with a prefixed „(" son [of] "). The names are of Western Semitic (for example "Usi'el") and possibly Egyptian ("Psammi" from Psammetich ) origin. The name ננידן (about "Nanaidin") on line five also contains the name of the Mesopotamian goddess Nanai as a theophoric element . Either it is to be interpreted in Western Semitic as "(the goddess) Nanai judges" or in Neo-Babylonian "(the goddess) Nanai gave". The number is followed by the number 1. This suggests that the ostracon is a list of payments, allocation of rations or the like.

The letters Beth and Ajin are slightly open at the top. A paleographic analysis reveals a dating of the ostracon around 500 BC. The script is Aramaic , although the language is probably a Canaanite dialect due to the word בן for “son” , since Aramaic uses בר (“bar”) for this.

Ostracon II (H4)

Another ostracon was found on Tell in the summer of 1971; it bears the object number 803. The archaeological context suggests a date in the 7th or 6th century BC. Near. Based on the analysis of the writing, it is dated to the late 6th century. The written form is to be regarded as Aramaic. The ostracon measures about 33 × 42 mm and contains only very fragmentary text on five lines, including the name "Tamakh'el" and possibly "Men of Gebal". In the opinion of the editor, FM Cross, this is the earliest non-biblical mention of this place in the East Bank, not to be confused with the Phoenician Gebal (Byblos) in today's Lebanon (see Ps 83.8  EU ). Due to some questionable readings and additions, FM Cross assumed that the ostracon was written in Aramaic. However, this is completely unsecured. W. Shea, on the other hand, identifies the place mentioned in the ostracon with Byblos as well as the place in Ps 83 and speculates about a business mission of men from Byblos, who met the ammonite official "Tamakh'el" in Sukkot, about which he wrote the ostracon report refund.

Ostracon IV (H1)

Ostrakon IV was found in July 1973 and was given the registration number 1657. The context of the find indicates the late Iron Age II or the early Persian period (6th century). The left margin is broken off so that the ends of the first lines are not preserved. The upper and lower margins, on the other hand, appear to be intact. Despite the rough surface, which is therefore rather unfavorable for lettering, most of the eleven lines of text are easy to read. The written form is ammonite and can be traced back to around 600 BC. To date.

In the text that has been preserved, names or, in the first place, the word for king are given with the preposition -ל ( l e - ) in front , followed by lists of goods: grain, wine, small cattle and others. Structurally similar lists can be found e.g. B. in the Samaria ostraka . These are evidently receipts for goods that have been delivered to the royal court.

Linguistically, the ostracon offers remarkable insights. The word for wine is written ין (“jen”) opposite the Hebrew יין (“jajin”) and thus proves that the original diphthong * aj was contracted to * ē in the local dialect. The relative pronoun is אש (“asch”) as in Phoenician , while standard Hebrew and Moabitic use אשר (“ascher”). The verb for “give” in turn is „(“ ntn ”) as in Hebrew and Moabite, while Phoenician uses the new formation יתן (“ jtn ”). From Aramaic the language of the ostracon is z. It is differentiated, for example, by the fact that the voiceless dental fricative (θ) is represented with ש and not with ת, and by the use of the word בן (“ben”) for “son” (Aramaic “bar”).

Ostraca V (H6) to VIII

Ostrakon V (find number 1656) contains remains of a name that can be reconstructed as נתנאל (for example "Natan'el") or מתנאל (for example "Matan'el"). According to the archaeological context and palaeography, it belongs to around the 7th century BC. Ostrakon VI (find number 1676), which only contains the remains of an aleph , is believed to date from the same period . Ostrakon VII (find number 1659) shows traces of lettering, but is completely illegible. The same applies to Ostrakon VIII (find number 1658).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cf. U. Hübner: The first Moabite ostraka. In: ZDPV 104 (1988), pp. 68-73.
  2. ↑ For the former cf. KP Jackson: Ammonite Personal Names in the Context of the West Semitic Onomasticon. In: CL Meyers; MP O'Connor (Ed.): The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth. Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman in Celebration of his Sixtieth Birthday. Winona Lake 1983, pp. 507-521; for second FM Cross: An Ostracon from Heshbon. In: Andrews University Seminary Studies 7 (1969), pp. 223-229, here p. 226.
  3. ↑ FM Cross: Heshbon Ostracon II. In: Andrews University Seminary Studies 11 (1973), pp. 126-131, here pp. 128 and 131.
  4. ↑ FM Cross: Heshbon Ostracon II. In: Andrews University Seminary Studies 11 (1973), pp. 126-131, here p. 131.
  5. ↑ W. Shea: Ostracon II from Heshbon. In: Andrews University Seminary Studies 15 (1977), pp. 217-222.
  6. ↑ Frank Moore Cross: Ammonite Ostraca from Heshbon: Heshbon Ostraca IV-VIII. In: Andrews University Seminary Studies 13 (1975), pp. 1-20, here pp. 7-10.