The Gezer calendar -a 3000 years evidence of a school boy’s exercise?

Posted by Eli Dahan on May 2, 2009 under Archaeology, Bible, Biblical Hebrew | Be the First to Comment

If you travel 32 Km west northwest of Jerusalem, you will arrive today to a place called Gezer, that in literal translation in modern Hebrew means a carrot. But this “carrot” has at least 3000 years of heritage, from the days it was defeated by Joshua (Josh 10:33; 12:12), and allotted to the tribe of Ephraim (Josh 16:3) as well as to the Levites (Josh 21:21).

During excavations in the biblical city of Gezer (Tell el-Jazari), between 1902 -1907, discovered R.A. Macalister a tablet of soft limestone in a Paleo-Hebrew script. He called the tablet the Gezer Calendar. The tablet is dating to the 10^th century BCE and it’s one of the oldest known examples of Hebrew writing (It’s need to be said that some scholars thing that the tablet is in a Phoenician script).

Imagine this: the days are the unified kingdom days; King Solomon is the ruler that is building the first temple, and also the city of Gezer (see 1 kings 9:15 – Perhaps that’s an archeological evidence of the existence of the unified kingdom – but this is not our topic today). what’s written in the Gezer Calendar that is so important to us?

The calendar describes monthly or bi-monthly periods and attributes to each a duty such as harvest, planting, or tending specific crops. It reads:

 * For a different translation click here: http://holylandphotos.org/browse.asp?s=1,3,7,202,203,336,337&img=TWMRISAM04

Scholars have speculated that the calendar is either a schoolboy’s memory exercise or the text of a popular folk song, or child’s song. Another possibility is something designed for the collection of taxes from farmers (an official document, which presents in proper chronological sequence the main farming seasons in the district of the lowlands of Palestine). If you want to visit the Gezer Calendar and give another interpretation, you should travel to Istanbul to the Museum of the Ancient Orient, and offer a one. For me it seems that Abijah has done his homework perfectly!

main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

2008 Top 5 Discoveries this Year in Israel

Posted by Bronwen Manning on January 7, 2009 under Archaeology | Be the First to Comment

1. Seal Impression of Jeremiah’s Attempted Killer

It is rather outrageous to directly assume that the Minister Gedaliah Ben Pashur of the Bible who attempted to kill the Jerusalem prophet, is the same man mentioned on the 2,600 year old seal impression. However taking into consideration that this Biblical character was entangled in this ugly affair with another Minister, namely Yehuchal Ben Shelemayahu (Jer 38:1), and that this second man’s name was also found in the same excavation seems enough material evidence to suppose these bullae refer to true biblical-period men in the courts of King Zedekiah of Judah.

2. Roman Gold and Jewels in the City of David

In two separate incidents in the excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority (that are digging in what used to be a large car park opposite the road from Elat Mazar’s dig in the what is commonly known as the ‘City of David’ dig) – a treasure of 264 gold coins depicting the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor Heraclius, were found; along with a magnificent example of Roman jewellery. The coins were exposed with the collapse of a wall and date to around 1,300 years ago while the single Roman earring found with pearls and emeralds dates to 2,000 years ago.

3. ‘Oldest Hebrew Inscription’ found?

Yossi Garfinkel’s excavation at Khirbet Qeiyafa has revealed a pottery fragment that has five lines of what he claims to be, the oldest attested Hebrew script known today dated to 1000- 975 BCE. His claim has naturally been contested since the break from proto-Canaanite script with its descendants, only one of which is Hebrew, is miry and be-fuddled waters. One cannot with certainty declare the script Hebrew without justifying why in the same breath it cannot represent classic proto-Canaanite script. Garfinkel makes his case- noting that a word exists on the sherd that is a typical Hebrew word. If his case holds, then we will have found in this year the oldest Hebrew Inscription!

4. Half-Shekel Temple Tax coin found in the Rubbish

The full shekel and the half-shekel were well known to have been the prescribed coin with which all the young Israeli men could pay the yearly Temple Tax. The commandment stems from the Lord’s dialogue with Moses (Exodus 30:12-15) and is well documented in the story of Jesus and Peter (Matthew 17:24–27). This year is not the first year that a half-shekel coin has been found, although they are rare, but rather it is the first half-shekel coin that has come from the Temple itself! This coin represents one man’s modest contribution to Temple maintenance and would go straight to the Temple treasury. In a small way it is an exciting find, not so much for the item itself, but from where it came from, and what it paid for.

5. The Messianic Stone

An inscription known as “Gabriel’s Vision” was published this year- the text was written in ink onto a stone sometime in the last first century B.C. and early first century A.D. and due to its Messianic content has come to wide attention. This pre-Christian Jewish text is said to relate to two different concepts of the Messiah. So the text is difficult to read in some places it describes how there will be a militant Messiah of David who will be involved in some king of military victory, while Ephraim, otherwise known as the Messiah son of Joseph will be involved in suffering and death. There is a debate if the inscription also describes how the Messiah son of Joseph will rise from the grave “in three days, live!”

An Assyrian Archer Re-sketched?

Posted by Bronwen Manning on November 2, 2008 under Archaeology, History, Jerusalem | Be the First to Comment

It is of no surprise to hear another personal seal has been uncovered in one of the many on-going excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem (the Western Wall Plaza). What may be the twist in this tale is the possibility that the seal may have been planted – a fake.

Anyone who has seen the beautiful depictions of King Sennacherib’s assault on the Judean city of Lachish (701 BCE) will recall the rows of Assyrian archers sending a hail of arrows into the defending city. The depiction of the Assyrian archer is a well-known stylized form – a man walking right with his left hand on the bow as his right hand (the stronger one) pulls back the string. This image is duplicated so two archers appear together side-by-side as in battle formation.

What then becomes interesting and slightly suspicious, is to see this new discovery showing a single archer wearing two quivers of arrows (as if two men were standing together), and he is standing (when impressed into the seal/wax) back-to-front! His weaker arm (the left hand) pulls the string back and his feet are reversed.

One would expect a seventh-century artisan who makes and manufactures artifacts that reflects the images of his own age, would know that the archer needs to be inscribed in the reverse on the stone- thus only when impressed in the wax – does it appear in the stylized format with the right hand on the strong string and his left hand steadying the bow.

This seal has correctly reversed the inscription “for Hagab” – a Hebrew name (appears in Ezra 2:46) – on the stone. The image is not reversed, though! It is a possibility that this seal is the result of a simple and recent sketch of a walking Assyrian archer as lifted from (the inscription of the destruction of Lachish?) any source depicting Assyrian archers.

Let’s wait for more news. After all, there may have been a military commander in Jerusalem famed for his mighty left-handed feats and dexterity!

Golden Amulet with Hebrew Prayer

Posted by Bronwen Manning on March 25, 2008 under Archaeology, History | Be the First to Comment

A 3rd Century CE Roman grave has revealed a startling find- a small golden scroll with the Hebrew prayer, known as the Shema, "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The scroll is a Greek transcription of the prayer, and was found resting in an infant’s grave. This finding may push back by 600 years the evidence of a Jewish Presence in modern day Austria.

To read more go to the University of Vienna.

Some caution needs to be exercised however since the finding is an isolated one, and may have been carried as an amulet by a non-Jew. Despite these concerns, it is an exciting find given the quality of the amulet and its dating.

This finding is analogous with the silver-scrolled amulets found outside of Jerusalem at Ketef Hinnom which are much older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. These amulets were also found in a family grave and parallel the Priestly Blessings found in Numbers 6: 24-26.

"The Lord (Yhwh) bless you, and Keep you,
The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you,
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace."

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