World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Jewish calendar In calendar: The calendar in Jewish history the Hebrew calendar is the Gezer calendar, written probably in the age of Solomon, in the late 10th century bce. The hieroglyphic sign for Lower Egypt is the papyrus plant. From Gezer (Tell el-Jezer), in modern-day State of Israel. 2008 The Gale Group. Ex. The oblique fracture passes as square thought to have been made for a peg by which it was affixed to a wall. ), The Age of Solomon (1997), 5780; F. Cross, Leaves from an Epigrapher's Notebook (1993); D. Schwiderski, The Old and Imperial Aramaic Inscriptions, vol. Writing, its materials, its regulations, and its instruments play a prominent part in the halakhah. 02 Mar 2023. No such material is known from ancient Israel, though some have understood the term oferet, "lead" (Job 19:24), as referring to such a writing surface. sec. _______________was the mining location in the Sinai where the transition from hieroglyphs to an acrophonic system occurred? In the left lower edge of the inscription "Aby[]" is written vertically. Some, like the Byblian pseudo-hieroglyphs, the enigmatic Balua stele, or the inscribed bricks from Deir All, ancient Succoth, were limited to specific centers. Not only do we pay for our servers, but also for related services such as our content delivery network, Google Workspace, email, and much more. There is also mention of Queen *Helena of Adiabene having the passage of the Sotah written on a gold tablet (Yoma 37a; Git. The 21 ostraca found at Tell al-Duwayr (commonly known as the " *Lachish letters ") are of prime importance since they come from the period shortly before the destruction of the Temple in 587 and reflect the circumstances of that period. In the west, Carthage, rich in inscriptions, became an important center of Phoenician culture, and from there it radiated to Spain, the Balearic islands, and southern France. These date from the fifth century B.C.E. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. 24:12; 31:18; Deut. assign_details_finance_82688147.docx. [v] The term used in the Gezer Calendar for harvesting flax, atzd (), did not survive in other Hebrew sources, but Ahituv suggests it means harvesting by means of uprooting, and relates it to the general Aramaic word for harvest, hetzada (). Cross, in: ibid., 824; 9 (1969), 2027; idem, in: D.N. Owing to the scarcity and high cost of paper, particularly parchment, it was used more than once, by rubbing out the writing with stone and superimposing new writing. Ink was made from a mixture of oil and resin, which hardened and to which water was added. 24:12; 34:1; Deut. Similarly, Yehawmilk, king of Byblos (fourth century B.C.E. Inscribed ostraca, seals, and coins are also found. While this was generally the case, it was during this period of Israelite history that stone was first used as a writing surface for documents of religious importance. 10:19). Here, the pictographic, cuneiform, and hieroglyphic scripts were invented and developed. By Herodotus' time, papyrus had become the standard writing material for most of the ancient world surrounding the Mediterranean Sea (Persian Wars, 5:58). bibl.). Another possibility is something designed for the collection of taxes from farmers. The calendar is inscribed on a limestone plaque and describes monthly or bi-monthly periods and attributes to each a duty such as harvest, planting, or tending specific crops. 22:25). This is certainly the case among the Maya in Mesoamerica. "The Gezer Calendar." No further explanation is given for the importance of the Day of Blasting, nor for why one would blast a shofar on that day. 8:13). The Gezer calendar is regarded as the oldest Hebrew inscription as yet known. Ostraca (singular: ostracon) is the technical term for potsherds that were used for writing. The rest of the months also match the descriptions of Israels traditional agricultural seasons, so that we may interpret the Gezer Calendar as follows: Yarh asf ( ) Moons of gathering (agricultural produce) Tishrei and Heshvan, Yarh zara ( ) Moons of sowing seed Kislev and Tevet, Yarh laqsh ( ) Moons of late (sowing)[iv] Shevat and Adar, Yrah atzd pishta ( ) Moon of harvesting[v] flax Nissan, Yrah qetzr seorm ( ) Moon of harvesting barley Iyar, Yrah qatzr ve-khayl ( ) Moon of (wheat) harvest and measuring (the grain stock) Sivan, Yarh zamr ( ) Moons of the grape harvest[vi] Tammuz and Av, Yrah qaytz ( ) Moon of ripe figs[vii] Ell, The cycle described in the Gezer Calendar can still be observed today: The last rains in Israel do indeed occur around April, so January-March would be a good time to sow seed intended to benefit from them. 23a; 104b). And that cycle does appear to begin with Tishrei, in accordance with Jewish tradition: The first month in the inscription, Moons of Gathering (agricultural produce), Yarhiw / Yarh asf ( ), would then refer to Tishrei (September-October) and Heshvan (October-November). During the second millennium B.C.E. It contains details concerning the parties to the treaty, the witnessing gods, imprecations upon the treaty breaker, details of the treaty's provisions, and also geographic information. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Copyright. . 6. 18:18; Ps. English: The Gezer Calendar tablet is one of the earliest Hebrew texts. It may not have been recorded sufficiently in the written Torah itself, but the Jewish oral tradition fills in the gaps regarding the significance of the Day of (Shofar) Blasting. ; M.E.L. Whereas for the writing of the Sefer Torah and other sacred writings only parchment made from the hide of permitted animals could be used, after the required treatment, bills of divorce could be written on paper made from papyrus. Millard, ibid., 24 (1962), 4551; J. Naveh, in: IEJ, 13 (1963), 7492; W.G. and was discovered in 1951 in Wadi Murabba't in the Judean Desert. Ostraca in Aramaic from this period have been found at Tell al-Fr a and Beer-Sheba in the south and at Tell Sa diyya in the Jordan Valley. Excavations at Nimrd have also produced inscribed objects (bronzes, ivories, and ostraca) in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician. We would much rather spend this money on producing more free history content for the world. If accurate, then it is the earliest attestation of the name YHWH currently known, predating the Mesha Stele by more than a century. They contain lists of names, simple business documents, and the correspondence of the military governor Yaush and his subordinates. The Ophel Inscription is the oldest ever found in Jerusalem. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. It is also related to a less common Arabic word for harvest or reaping, hasd (). Since these boards were tied or hinged together forming a diptych, triptych, or polyptych, they may be called the earliest known form of the book. Dougherty, in: JAOS, 48 (1928), 10935; E. Chiera, They Wrote on Clay (1938); H. Tur-Sinai (Torzcyner), Lachish Letters (1938); B. Maisler (Mazar), in: JPOS, 21 (1948), 11733; idem, in: Eretz Israel, 1 (1951), 6667; D. Diringer, Early Hebrew Inscriptions (1953), 3319; Y. Yadin, in: IEJ, 9 (1959), 1847; idem, in: Scripta Hierosolymitana, 8 (1961), 925; S. Iwry, in: JAOS, 81 (1961), 2734; R. de Vaux et al., Discoveries in the Judean Desert of Jordan, 3 (1962), 201ff. 12:8; Tosef. The Ugaritic literature and the el Amarna letters, in addition to other smaller archives (Alalakh, Taanach) and single documents from Syria and Canaan, were inscribed on clay. 36:18), a term whose etymology is uncertain. Many *seals found in and around Israel are decorated with various scenes or designs that are derived ultimately from Egyptian or Phoenician iconographic motifs. and, therefore represent paleographically the earliest form of the Phoenician alphabet. Jon. It commemorates the completion of the tunnel between the "Virgin's Spring" and the pool of Siloam whose purpose was to bring water to the city (cf. The spread of Aramaic as the lingua franca of the Near East (cf. In Palestine during the seventh century, Hebrew inscriptions are found on seals, weights, measures of capacity, and jar handles. The Jerusalem Talmud makes an exception in the case of "something of honor" and specifies "paper, pen, and inkwell" (Av. Moss, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings, 7 (1951), 369f. They deal with possession of slaves and also with loans, sales, and marriages. The Ophel Inscription is the oldest ever found in Jerusalem. Web. In beginning the year on this day, the oral tradition hearkens back millennia to the Gezer Calendars poetic description of the Land of Israels natural cycle. Ezekiel employed a wood writing surface in his famous prophesy of the restoration of national unity (37:1623): "And thou, son of man, take thee one stick [e] and write upon it: 'For Judah' [li-Yhudah] and for the children of Israel his companions; then take another stick, and write upon it: 'For Joseph' [ le-Yosef ], the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel his companions; and join them for thee one to another into one stick, that they may become one in thy hand" (verses 1617). ) to the ink, which made it a deep black, and it was therefore also used as boot-blacking (Git. The Gezer Calendar reveals pottery working details. As was the case with precious metals, ivory was donated to the patron deities. by Adad-nirri III, king of Assyria. The earliest literary reference to ostraca is that of the fifth-century Athenian custom of voting powerful and dangerous citizens into exile. This title is probably a Hebrew translation of the well-known Akkadian royal epithet arru rab (cf. Seals of the period contain names such as Gedaliah, Jaazaniah, and that of King Jehoiachin. The Gezer calendar is currently displayed at the Museum of the Ancient Orient, a Turkish archaeology museum,[10][11] as is the Siloam inscription and other archaeological artifacts unearthed before World War I. 45:2); and the sargel, a sharp instrument for drawing the lines on the parchment or paper. 1:1). Stone is the earliest known writing surface; it continued to be used throughout the ages, especially when permanence was desired. Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica. The papyri were probably hidden in these caves by refugees from Samaria at the time of Alexander the Great's conquests. GEZER CALENDAR, a Hebrew inscription of seven lines, engraved on a limestone tablet written in ancient Hebrew script; discovered in Gezer by R.A.S. 21a). 19:28). The word yr ("month") or yrw ("two months") precedes the name of each month. Perhaps the most famous find to come out of Tell Jezer, however, is the Gezer "calendar," a plaque containing what appear to be a schoolboy's memory exercises. The sheepherding Israelites, like the Arameans and the Transjordanian nations, were more likely to use this local resource than to import Egyptian papyrus. 11 (12):8) adds congealed blood and curdled milk, as well as nutshells and pomegranate peel, which were widely used for making dyestuffs. Ginsberg, in: BASOR, 111 (1948), 2526; G.J. This is suggested by the many monumental inscriptions discovered in neighboring countries (see below). An exception is the portion of the *Sotah (the woman suspected of adultery Num. BM 4:11) and mention is made of the "inkwell of Joseph the Priest which had a hole in the side" (Mik. Illustration. 19a). From Gezer, in modern-day State of Israel. In the former the Mishnah enumerates olive leaves and a cow's horn, to which the Tosefta (Shab. As Hebrew-speakers will have noted, this results in something of a pun:qtz() also means end, so the last month is also the Moon of the End ( ), and the last word in the poem is the end. Spark Arts. Pottery from this probe dates the pillar base to the Late Bronze Age, around 1300 BC. In particular Canaan, situated on the cultural crossroads between Egypt and Mesopotamia and beneficiary of their scribal traditions, produced new indigenous writing systems. It happened that in a Sefer Torah of Alexandria all the divine names were written in gold, and when it was brought to the notice of the sages they ordered it to be hidden away." Ahituv, however, assuming that there are more vowels in the text that were not written, considers the vav to be a possessive male suffix tacked onto a dual form, pronounced then yarheiw, and meaning his two months. 32:4). World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Leather is a much more durable surface than papyrus. 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