Nimrud ostracon

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nimrud ostracon (excavation number ND 6231) is an ostracon found in Nimrud in 1957 , which contains a list of West Semitic names.

The ostracon was found in April 1957 during English excavations under Max Mallowan in Nimrud, the biblical Kalach. Site was a warehouse, which is called "Fort Shalmaneser". The so-called "Horse Lists", which contain the names of high-ranking officers of the Assyrian cavalry under Sargon II , were also found in this building . Stratigraphically, the ostracon can be assigned to the last Assyrian layer, i.e. the time before 612 BC. Chr.

The ostracon is approx. 10 cm wide and 5.5 cm high. It is inscribed on both sides in black ink, presumably by two different writers. First the convex side was labeled: On it the beginning of the first line is broken off, while the concave side already takes into account the lack of this fragment. The paleographic analysis is ambiguous. The first editor Judah Ben-Zion Segal considered the script to be Aramaic from the middle of the 7th century. According to J. Naveh, it is an Aramaic cursive script from the late 8th century, while É. Puech considers the script to be ammonite and dates it to the middle of the 7th century.

Two columns have been preserved on the convex side, the first with six rows, the second with four rows. Both columns are separated by a vertical line. There are five lines of text on the concave side. The names are separated from each other by word separators, but not the patronymic : bn + personal name appear as one word.

Although the script was initially referred to as Aramaic, the name for son is the Canaanite word ben or am , while Aramaic has bar . The names are of Western Semitic origin, most of them are biblical or structurally similar to other Hebrew names, while about half of the names would be untypical for Arameans. On the basis of the name bjd'l (for example bejad'el = "In the hand (of the god) El"), WF Albright ruled out a Phoenician or Ammonite origin of the people, since in these languages ​​the name leads to bd'l (for example bod ' el ) had to be contracted, and assumed that the persons must be the diaspora of the former northern kingdom of Israel . After the discovery of new ammonite inscriptions, P. Bordreuil and J. Naveh concluded that the people had an ammonite origin in view of the onomasticon . There are no names with the theophoric element YHWH , but an extraordinary number with El . The naming elements tmk ("support") and ndb ("generous / lofty") are also typically ammonitic . B. Becking, on the other hand, has pointed out that the implicit assumption that there are people of only one ethnic group is not mandatory and that the gathering of people of one origin in one place contradicts the Assyrians' deportation policy.

Lines four and five on the concave side are still problematic for the interpretation. The second word on line four is kbs . This could be another name or the patronymic of the person mentioned earlier. However, the naming son of , which is otherwise written down, was missing . According to F. Israel, the job title “ Walker ” can be seen in the word , but then the definite article h- would be expected. The last line contains blntn as the last word . This could be the patronymic, assuming a dissimilation from n to l before n , so the name would have to be interpreted as ben natan ("son of Natan"). On the other hand, it could simply be another name with the theophoric element bel , where bel is the Mesopotamian variant of the West Semitic deity Baal . The name would therefore suggest a linguistic and religious syncretism .

literature

  • William F. Albright : An Ostracon from Calah and the North-Israelite Diaspora. In: BASOR 149 (1958), pp. 33-36.
  • Bob Becking: Can Nimrūd's ostracon ND 6231 be considered ammonitic? In: ZDPV 104 (1988), pp. 59-67.
  • Joseph Naveh: The Ostracon from Nimrud: An Ammonite Name-List. In: Maarav 2 (1979/1980), pp. 163-171.
  • Judah Ben-Zion Segal: An Aramaic Ostracon from Nimrud. In: Iraq 19 (1957), pp. 139-145, Pl. XXXIV.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Stephanie Dalley: Foreign Chariotry and Cavalry in the Armies of Tiglath-Pileser III and Sargon II. In: Iraq 47 (1985), pp. 31-48, here p. 32.
  2. ^ Judah Ben-Zion Segal: An Aramaic Ostracon from Nimrud. In: Iraq 19 (1957), here pp. 143–144.
  3. ↑ Joseph Naveh: The Ostracon from Nimrud: An Ammonite Name-List. In: Maarav 2 (1979/1980), here p. 163.
  4. ↑ Émile Puech: L'inscription de la statue d'Amman et la paleographie ammonite. In: RB 92 (1985), pp. 5-24.
  5. ^ William F. Albright: An Ostracon from Calah and the North-Israelite Diaspora. In: BASOR 149 (1958), pp. 33-36.
  6. ^ Pierre Bordreuil: Les noms propres transjordaniens de l'ostracon de Nimroud. In: RHPhR 59 (1979), pp. 313-317 and Joseph Naveh: The Ostracon from Nimrud: An Ammonite Name-List. In: Maarav 2 (1979/1980), pp. 163-171.
  7. ↑ Bob Becking: Can the Ostrakon ND 6231 from Nimrūd be considered ammonitic? In: ZDPV 104 (1988), pp. 59-67.