Theodotos inscription

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Theodotos inscription, presentation in the Israel Museum.

The Theodoto's inscription is the donor's inscription of an ancient Jerusalem synagogue . The majority of it is dated to the 1st century AD and in this case is the only epigraphic evidence of the existence of synagogues besides the Herodian Temple . The Greek word synagogue denoted a group of people (= assembly); However, it is controversial whether a building could also be named that way in the 1st century AD because it served as a place of assembly. If the Theodotus inscription dates to before 70 AD, such a building would be documented.

The inscription was formerly in the Rockefeller Museum , Jerusalem (IAA Inv. S 842), but is now on display in the Israel Museum .

Location

Raymond Weill's excavation, Jerusalem around 1913.

Between 1913 and 1914, Raymond Weill examined a quarry on the eastern slope of the so-called City of David , south of the Temple Mount. Since the Hezekiah tunnel bypasses this area in a large arch, Weill suspected the tombs of biblical kings here.

Weill found four rock chambers with burials, one of which also contained Iron Age ceramics. He believed that he had discovered the (robbed) royal tombs. This was denied by the next generation of researchers. In addition to the supposed royal tombs, Weill found a number of cisterns and mikvahs .

In a cistern the Theodotos inscription came to light, along with pieces of stone ornaments, hewn stones and oil lamps. A few meters to the east there was a rock shaft and a group of four ritual baths. The shaft, referred to by Weill as a grave, could well be a cellar. Together with the mikvahs and the cistern, these are possibly the underground remains of the generous complex of buildings to which the inscription refers. A similar situation with cellars and ritual baths also found the excavators of the Herodian quarter of the Jerusalem upper city. Limestone vessels found by Weill and the remains of limestone tables formed a further parallel.

The architectural fragments and oil lamps found in the cistern together with the inscription block suggest a date before the year 70 AD. This dating is supported by the majority of researchers. Howard Clark Kee (1990) takes the minority opinion: the development of synagogue construction did not produce a building with the functions mentioned in the text until the 3rd century AD. In particular, Kee denies that it was impossible for Jews to live in the Aelia Capitolina after 70 and maintain a synagogue, which played a role as an auxiliary argument in the dating of the Theodoto's inscription.

Inscription bearer

The inscription is on a rectangular limestone block, 75 cm long and 41 cm high. A frame encloses the text field, which is 63 cm long and 36 cm high. The letters are 2 to 3 cm high. The text is written in Greek capital letters, comprises ten lines and is very easy to read. Lines 4 to 8 are significantly smaller than the rest of the inscription, as if the stonemason had doubts after line 3 about being able to accommodate the text in the space available; the letters became larger again in the last two lines, as it was clear to him that there would be enough space.

The execution of the inscription has its closest comparative material in two warning inscriptions from the Herodian Temple . Benjamin Mazar's excavations south of the Temple Mount added a third comparable inscription in 1983, a donor inscription for a paving of the temple square (dated 18/17 BC). The Theodotos inscription fits these three inscriptions quite well: “The style of the letters remains within the spectrum illustrated by these three public documents. ”So the script is consistent with a date prior to AD 70; conversely, the transformations of letters that are typical of the 2nd century and later are missing.

However, a later dating cannot be ruled out, because the stonemason may have resorted to letter forms from the 1st century to make the inscription look ancient.

inscription

Lines 1 to 5 (excerpt).

Greek

  1. ΘΕΟΔΟΤΟΣ ΟΥΕΤΤΗΝΟΥ ΙΕΡΕΥΣ ΚΑΙ
  2. ΑΡΧΙΣΥΝΑΓΩΓΟΣ ΥΙΟΣ ΑΡΧΙΣΥΝ (ΑΓΩ)
  3. Γ (Ο) Υ ΥΙΩΝΟΣ ΑΡΧΙΣΥΝ (Α) ΓΩΓΟΥ ΩΚΟ
  4. ΔΟΜΗΣΕ ΤΗΝ ΣΥΝΑΓΩΓ (Η) Ν ΕΙΣ ΑΝ (ΑΓ) ΝΩ
  5. Σ (ΙΝ) ΝΟΜΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΕΙΣ (Δ) ΙΔAΧ (Η) Ν ΕΝΤΟΛΩΝ
  6. ΤΟΝ ΞΕΝΩΝΑ ΚΑ (Ι TΑ) ΔΩΜΑΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΧΡΗ
  7. Σ (Τ) ΗΡΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΥΔΑΤΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΚΑΤΑΛΥΜΑ ΤΟΙ
  8. Σ (Χ) ΡΗΖΟΥΣΙΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΣ ΞΕ (Ν) ΗΣ ΗΝ ΕΘΕΜΕ
  9. Λ (ΙΩ) ΣΑΝ ΟΙ ΠΑΤΕΡΕΣ (Α) ΥΤΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΟΙ ΠΡΕ
  10. Σ (Β) ΥΤΕΡΟΙ ΚΑΙ ΣΙΜΩΝ (Ι) ΔΗΣ

German translation

  1. Theodotos des Vettenos son, priest and
  2. Synagogue ruler, son of a synagogue ruler
  3. hers, grandson of a synagogue ruler, he
  4. built the (se) synagogue for lecture
  5. sung of the law and instruction in the commandments, as well
  6. the guest house and the chambers and the water
  7. systems for the (pilgrims) from abroad who
  8. need a hostel. The foundation stone has
  9. put his fathers and the elders
  10. test and Simonides.

interpretation

The Theodotos inscription is remarkable on the one hand because the founder placed himself in a tradition that father and grandfather already belonged to: they were both priests and synagogue rulers . On the other hand, the inscription describes a kind of community center, to which the following facilities belonged:

  • Synagogue building
  • Guest house
  • Chambers ( δώματα , probably side rooms of the guest house)
  • Water installations ( χρηστήρια τῶν ὑδάτων , a vague term that can denote cisterns, but also a complex form of water supply).

The purpose of building synagogues is to read the law and study the commandments . From contemporary sources we learn that the reading took place on the Sabbath , on festivals and at the beginning of the month . The synagogue is not, or not primarily, a place for prayer.

The mention of the elders (line 9 f.) Makes it clear that this was an institution of the community and not a family foundation.

Charles Clermont-Ganneau (1920) proposed that Vettenus, the father of Theodotus, be interpreted as a freedman or as the adopted son of a member of the gens Vettia in Rome; many researchers have followed this interpretation. There is evidence, however, that Jewish parents gave their children Greek or Latin names without them being freed. A more often suspected reference to persons with the noun gentile Vettius does not exist.

According to Roland Deines , the Theodotos Synagogue was a quarter for Greek-speaking Jewish pilgrims from the Diaspora. Here they could not only live, but also adequately prepare for their temple visit: With immersion baths in the mikvehs, the pilgrims entered a state of ritual purity, instruction in the law made it easier for them to understand the temple rituals.

literature

  • Jonathan J. Price: Synagogue building inscription of Theodotos in Greek, 1 c. BCE-1 c. CE. In: Hannah M. Cotton et al. (Ed.): Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae / Palaestinae . Vol. 1: Jerusalem , part 1. De Gruyter, Berlin 2010, pp. 53–56 (partly online ).
  • Adolf Deißmann : Light from the East. The New Testament and the newly discovered texts of the Hellenistic-Roman world. 4th, completely revised edition. Mohr, Tübingen 1923, pp. 379-380.
  • Roland Deines: Jewish stone vessels and Pharisaic piety. An archaeological-historical contribution to the understanding of John 2,6 and the Jewish purity halacha in the time of Jesus (= Scientific investigations on the New Testament. 2nd series, volume 52), Mohr Siebeck, 1993, ISBN 9783161460227 (partly online )
  • Rachel Hachlili: Ancient Synagogues - Archeology and Art: New Discoveries and Current Research (= Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section 1: Ancient Near East. Volume 105). Brill, Leiden 2013, pp. 523-526. ( online )
  • Howard Clark Kee: The Transformation of the Synagogue After 70 CE: Its Import for Early Christianity. In: New Testament Studies. Volume 36, No. 1, 1990, pp. 1-24 ( Extract ).
  • Howard Clark Kee: Defining the First-Century CE Synagogue: Problems and Progress. In: New Testament Studies. Volume 41, No. 4, 1995, pp. 481-500 ( Extract ).
  • John S. Kloppenborg: The Theodotos Synagogue Inscription and the Problem of First-Century Synagogue Buildings. In: James H. Charlesworth (Ed.): Jesus and Archeology. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2006, pp. 236-282.
  • Max Küchler : Jerusalem. A handbook and study guide to the Holy City. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-50170-2 .
  • Raymond Weill: La Cité de David. Campagne de 1913-1914. Geuthner, Paris 1920 ( digitized version ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaus Bieberstein: Jerusalem. In: WiBiLex. June 2016, accessed March 9, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Max Küchler: Jerusalem . S. 82 .
  3. ↑ a b Max Küchler: Jerusalem . S. 83 .
  4. ↑ Roland Deines: Jewish stone vessels . S. 71 .
  5. ↑ Rachel Hachlili: Ancient Synagogues . S. 525 .
  6. ^ John S. Kloppenborg: The Theodotos Synagogue Inscription . 258.
  7. ↑ Rachel Hachlili: Ancient Synagogues . S. 523 .
  8. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum . S. 53 .
  9. ^ John S. Kloppenborg: The Theodotos Synagogue Inscription . S. 269 .
  10. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum . S. 45-47 .
  11. ^ A b John S. Kloppenborg: The Theodotos Synagogue Inscription . S. 273 .
  12. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum . S. 53-54 .
  13. ^ Adolf Deißmann : Light from the East. The New Testament and the newly discovered texts of the Hellenistic-Roman world. 4th, completely revised edition. Mohr, Tübingen 1923, p. 380; in contrast, Max Küchler translates : Jerusalem. A handbook and study guide to the Holy City. 2nd Edition. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2014, p. 70: Theodotos, des Vettenos (son), priest and | Synagogue ruler, son of a synagogue ruler, the son of a synagogue ruler, built the synagogue for the reading of the law and the teaching of the commandments and | the guest house and the chambers and the water facilities for those who use it from abroad; this (synagogue) was founded by his fathers and the Presbyter and Simonides.
  14. ↑ Rachel Hachlili: Ancient Synagogues . S. 524 .
  15. ↑ a b Corpus Inscriptionum . S. 55 .
  16. ↑ Rachel Hachlili: Ancient Synagogues . S. 524 (These sources are: Josephus, Contra Apionem 2.175, Mishnah Megilla 4a, bMegilla 27a, Luke 4:17-20, Acts 13:15 and 15:21. Nota bene, the New Testament is here the source for Judaism at the time of Second Temple.).
  17. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum . S. 55 .
  18. ↑ Rachel Hachlili: Ancient Synagogues . S. 525 .
  19. ^ John S. Kloppenborg: The Theodotos Synagogue Inscription . S. 266 (This also eliminates the argument that the synagogue of Theodotus was a synagogue of freed persons and was identical to the synagogue of the libertines mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.).
  20. ^ Corpus Inscriptionum . S. 54 .
  21. ↑ Roland Deines: Jewish stone vessels . S. 71-72 .