. ..- .- ..-." , ,, - . -" .. . . .. - .... .. ..... , 1 ; '. :-? .- ." -I "......4 '., -." ..". .: L. , -, ....-. iii ..... ,,-(. -- . .. -?i'" t. IC ... Si :Ii:. - . ... . .7.. . -.. .... 1. . . S,, ?.u ,(cid:127). I ,..-: . .m ,B. 1 ,1re.. . . . I ; .. .II.1 IB . I ...9 - . 2:. I,r ..,... (cid:127) .-, ? .L , :. ., . 7..... . . ,-.. .' I9, '... :, ":i , ..-?i; ... -?" :- ,':. ., ., .,. . --- ,.. . . A .- ... .. i .I.. ..-?'.,.. 1. ."..'.- .,. ,_.,. .-.F "iI 1 .I. ... ..,. .V "?...-- .., -.o.?.I.. ..u."."!-. % ., . ..m. -. ..." .. d.. ?..4I? . : . ,?..N 4.I ,- . . O.' I. . . .. m.".. ... .... , . .. .b? .. .. ., .: . ,,r. ..-. I -.a? - .: ..I ..-...... ... ? , . .I..1. .. ..,'. . -.. ". . . 11 I. . I - ." : :; . ... ! I ? .- .. . F ."?..?., .?I.......' I,.-. O., (cid:127) ,. ..?I .,- ...k. ": I. ." ..I.. ,(cid:127) 1~, (cid:127) .',.- ..-T I (cid:127) .Ii _ ,1. .- ,L. ,.. ,(cid:127) : .1,?" ".:l... : ..I. .(cid:127)(cid:127)'.,, ...".. ..? . '.'- ..: I*-. ,. ., - .".., . . . 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(cid:127) I(cid:127) .-> :?, .-, ' . -I... , .:. ,. (cid:127)... .: .(cid:127),'? . x, :;. ....,, .- . ;-.i , iI(cid:127) ..:, :,. .: j ,.j.(cid:127)., ..- .I.. . I... .. .. ." . " I . ), ' ,. I .1' , --..I-,-. ! .... - I .,.S .. ..,. .. ...,.,',.. (cid:127) f.?? :- ::(cid:127) ,1....., ...I "",(cid:127) .. ;. .e ,? -- j.1 , ...:I4,..?.. . l,w . . . -. .:(cid:127)..: lr I :. ? .. . i ,.,'..: (cid:127).$- .,.Z : tj- . %.(cid:127) 1. . ....'- ,i,(cid:127) , ,. . .11 . I I.., P.:1 i." ,i. . .-,(cid:127) .. ,--. r . , ., -.. I-. . 0. .-, '..,",(cid:127)?I-'...I..,.. .. , .., -.If. .-" . .. -. i?- .. ,..- i?"I, i,.- . . . ...I t .,. . ,, .. . '.?-.I(:". , b o(cid:127). , .)I.. -.. . .? . , ?-.. I ...... .,?...". ...,?. - . . . .? ".,..., ,, ..I, .'..',. . - . ?? ,.. .I-".:).. .' ..." ."...... ., . ...... .," . ..;... .- . . ". . . ?... . .. .'?(cid:127) '... ." . - - ...(cid:127). . ?.. 1:.... m .? I . .... ,.:.."?:'.Ii... . . - ...-r., ..?,.Z I ,--.."w . , ,. .,. -: . .. -.-..., r , ., ,. . . ... 1.. : ... . .. ? " , . . ..? , , I .-I..I' ,."-.. ., .. . . '-1 I. .-- ,. . - .'. . (cid:127) . 1(cid:127) ': (cid:127)..t., .- ..?,, . ... ...z : . '..- -II? ,:- ... (cid:127) #(cid:127) -;.,.k. , .-.?.:. - . ... ; :?,?.?, ... . . 1 I .. (cid:127) .- ; ,... ,L 1b,... ??:, , . , .%.? ? '' . .?i - - " ".", . I,.., .-".,;). .--" . . . ' . (cid:127) ,. '..I(cid:127) : . - .(cid:127) . I . .: . ? .-,-v. - .: .: . e. . .4. .(cid:127).Ij ,.!.,- ?.(cid:127) - '.? I-i ... ;.!, : . .. ,:1 ,.. ...-~.I?:.? -.? 1.- ....-.,; .. . . " 1. . '. "-"1i.?I.ri?.. .I. .1-j} : .'.I(cid:127)(cid:127) 'I . -.: ,.' . .-.I(cid:127) . . . 4 (cid:127) -. :0%, W ,(cid:127) ; ..- .' ,:.u-. b .:? ...,. ?.. ,,.."I.-e . -: -v:. ... . ,- . ' -:.-.I 1..1. ., I"..I:: ..:. .. (cid:127)'-:.(cid:127) 1 ., , ?...?...?, .. ? .; , . 1". -, .} .i, ..- ,..- ,,. :, .'-. ,,.. (cid:127) ?I .. .?. -,, : ?i.. ..? ,;- , .. 'N~.. ,..."". .2,?I - .- .I,2. ., ? .- : . ,(cid:127)(cid:127):-' . . .,.. .. ,,A.-: , ?' :. ?< ..~.- . ..I?.... -1 .. :.,.. .i- .. .? . ". X. ,"-.., 1 ?., I-?.- ..?..., . ~.:.?.~ .:. -..-. _.-.- -.:f...`. - ... ? ; . . , ,. ..I5. I.. ., 1 1 . II''-..-. .?. h. .,~.?. . .,. ,.,..-,(cid:127) 1,I,,. ". 4 . . . .. . . ,i i...?(cid:127) ' ?.n--4. ," . . : , .:~.(cid:127), . I"-.. ?. ,I,'?r ? ~ .., -::.?.?. , .. .,, :,(cid:127) . - ?, .:..-~--!i. ..: :I . ..?, ,,',, .(cid:127) :, , -?" , -1?i .. . :,?,(cid:127) I ...,...Ii.-. ,, ,..-~i. . ;i).:. , ,-;,.. , '- :?x.., .- :-... . .-. L.. .,. . .I . 1 . :-:i ,71 ,?.- -. L iI -. _?- ..-?.. . . .,.. I-.,- :. .,. .. . - .., .- . .- .. . - (cid:127) ,.._ .: . :. -.,;.,. :.,. ": .-I : .i,.i , . , -,,... ,:.: . ,(cid:127) . a I '? ". ,p..(.. ." . . . "...- ."".,"i..- ""-. I .#. . .(cid:127) .- .(cid:127) .,. '(cid:127) ?,-.. ., ! ...1,I? .; .:I,:,.?. . ..:I?..-.(cid:127) . - ".. - ' ...,':.'.",. ..- , . e. ..?, 1.:. . , . ". T~ . (cid:127) .:, .. 1 ., . -,.,.I . . ..:,: :? f. -... I- . "I I. . , :-,, .,.. ,1 ..: ,. . . - % . ., .-. I: i! ".-. - . ; *.: ::. ?I .:...I,...--jI:.- - 1 ., . ,.. '.,-- (cid:127) I?: (cid:127)? ? ?, -.' , " ..., . ? . I;.,.-. ..!- ,..I.. : . .- . 1.. .I "-., ',.; . .., -,I. .j,: ., ..4. .(cid:127) .:. , (cid:127) " III , .II.,; -. - .I .::. :.?,. ;1 .- ?, %. ; I"'1I. . ", 1' :... .?, (cid:127)- (cid:127) . : ,e .. I. !.. "Y%-.- (cid:127).(cid:127)" ..,:.. .o-1: I,,,,.. ,.,... .. ,,.. ..-.,(cid:127). . ;.,; "? ...-. ,..:: .,- -. : .,"..-.. ?- ., , .:.-... , ? I.`....", ...: -, -? ,.- ? ,. .' ,: ":A.... . .I. .L -: -i%.. .I.-'-... . ". .- ,. I ,r . ' -, l :-?.-;? ,?:. S. (cid:127) .I-,,,..(cid:127) -.? .... - . . . -. -1. %' .. . .- . ,. ,.-, , .1 -.. . ,II , . .. .! .. .... ? .-.. . . , 4'...'.- .., . ?, , . . 1 1., .., .P .- .--.- : .-..- ....- ?, ..? .. ;'.i.(cid:127) . . ..-I ..+.. . ..!' : ? . ... .,I . '-, (cid:127) ".., " .(cid:127) - .. Iw- I..v'I, ,.. .. . . ... - ... -..,".,.. .I I.-.h. u.. ,...I :. .-, -..v -. ...- . m? .1 ,.. ..? ,'.I?!..:...? .,.. %ee.:i.:, ".- , , - . .,i .. ... . "(cid:127). " . '- .I.... ., 1 .,t . .%..... .,":II :. ,. . - !' . "..- ,." ". : , . i.. a-. I .,,-. .(cid:127) .;.I., ...I. . . , ? i ,...I..,.I ,(cid:127) ..,.I . ,.: ..:I,,.. ,.II . 1- (cid:127) .Ii: ,,,...I.. . . ,. I., ,. . ., . ,, . ."? -. :.kY . (cid:127) I .I. .4 .. ." ..%:?. - l.I - . '.. 1i ' ,..-.:- . - ?.,., i-. . :. I4." .: ...', - . ". 1I: -:.I ` ... . ." . ,-.1, .-. -. :. ,% e:,, .1 , . . .0*...V .. ... .," II.,,., , 4.,.,4. . ."*,.:I A.. ? i.(cid:127) ?. ? - I( I .' .I(cid:127)"., k.." . .I. i.WI, , i.I .,Ii I'., . . .' . . .- I :,.' .(cid:127) l*P-.,i..",... " ? i , .. (cid:127) :I .,,, i.1I,I(cid:127) ?t. .1 .. ' .' . ... :III.. ., ., ..II. ..... ,.k'..'. ... ,I, .., 7?.?. .. . i. (cid:127) . . .'., . .%,..& - ....(cid:127) .. " ;.."?(cid:127) . . " ?.-I ,; .?(cid:127). " . t(cid:127) (cid:127) ....?".* . 1.",' ,(cid:127) . :.. '.(cid:127) .." .". .?, (cid:127) .. ' ." .-(cid:127) % , - " .." . ..".. . ..,, ...., 1 " (Reisner No. 16a) IN THE NEXT BA Duringt he excavationso f the HarvardE xpeditiona t Samariai n 1910, G.A . Reisnerd iscoveredn umerousp otsherdsw ithi nki nscriptionsin a buildinga djacentt o the royalp alace.R ecentr esearcho n these ostraca by IvanT .K aufmana,s sisted by infra-redp hotographyh, as providedn ew insightsi ntot he administratioonf the tribald istricto f Manassahi n the 8th centuryB .C.a nd increasedo ur knowledgeo f the developmento f Hebreww riting. BIBLICALA RCHEOLOGIST/SUMME1R9 82 129 Alan R. Millardi s professoro f Hebrew,A kkadian C BIBLICAL and Near EasternA rchaeologya t the University of Liverpool. He has workedo n numerous ARCHEOLOGIST excavationp rojectsi n the Near East and currently is epigraphistw ith the BritishA rchaeological Expeditiona t TellN ebi Mend( Qadesho n the Orontes)i n Syria. Editor DavidN oel Freedman PierreB ordreuili s Charg6d e Rechercheso f the AssociateE ditor CentreN ationald e la RechercheS cientifique.A DavidE Graf residento f Lebanon,h e is a membero f the French ArchaeologicalE xpeditiont o Ras Shamraa nd of AssistanEt ditor the Franco-SyrianE xpeditiona t Ibn Hani, and is MarshaD . Stuckey preparingt he volume of WestS emitici nscribed EditoriaCl ommittee seals for the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum. FrankM . Cross,J r. TikvaF rymer-Kensky SharonH erbert CharlesR . Krahmalkov EliezerD . Oreni s professoro f Archaeologya nd JohnA . Miles,J r. Ancient Near EasternH istory and Chairmano f WalterE . Rast the ArchaeologyD ivision at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Israel. He has directed the archaeologicale xpeditiont o North Sinai and the excavationsa t Telle sh-Shariaa nd is authoro f The Northern Cemetery ofBeth-Shan, published by Brilli n 1973. AmihaiM azari s a Senior Lectureri n the Institute of Archaeologya t The HebrewU niversity, Jerusalem.H e has directeda numbero f excavationsi n Israel, includingt he Philistine sanctuarya t TellQ asile, andi s the Field Director of the TellB atash( Timnah)e xpedition. Biblical Archeologis(tI SSN: 0006-0895)i s published quarterly(W interS, pring,S ummerF, all)b y the Ameri- can Schools of OrientalR esearch.I ts purpose is to providet he generalr eaderw itha n accurate,s cholarly, yet easily understandablaec counto f archeologicadl is- AlbertZ uidhofi s a formerE lectronicsT echnical coveriesa nd theirb earingo n the biblicalh eritage.U n- solicitedm ss. arew elcomeb ut shouldb e accompanied Officera t the NationalR esearchC ouncilo f by a stamped, self-addressede nvelope. Address all editorialc orrespondencea nd advertisingt o Biblical Canada,w here he participatedi n High Accuracy AArncnh Aeorbloogri,sM t4,I6 488 L1o0r9c.h H all, Universityo f Michigan, MeasurementR esearch.N ow retireda nd living in Ottawa,O ntario,h is lifelongh obby has been the CRoespeyarricghh.t A ?n n1u9a8l s1u Abmscerriipctainon Sr achteo:o $l1s 6o.0f 0O. Froierneitganl study of ancient science and technology. subscriptionr ate:$ 18.00( Americanc urrency).C urrent single issues: $5.00. Second class postage paid at CambridgeM, A 02139. POSTMASTERS:e nda ddressc hangesa nda ll business correspondenceto ASORS ubscriptionS ervices,4 243 Biblical Archeologist is published with the financial Spruce St., PhiladelphiaP, A 19104. assistance of Zion Research Foundation, a non- CUonmivperossiittyioo fn aM ndic phriginatni.n gb y PrintingS ervices, The sectarianf oundationf or the study of the Bible and the history of the ChristianC hurch. 130 BIBLICALA RCHEOLOGIST/SUMME1R9 82 (P BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST Summe1r9 82 Volum4e5 N umbe3r Ala R. Milard and A Statue from Syria with Assyrian and PierreB ordreul Aramaic 135 Inscrnptions AlanR . Milard In Praise of Ancient Scribes 143 Fiezer D. Oren Ziklag: A Biblical City on the Edge of the Negev 155 AmibaMl azar Three Israelite Sites in the Hills of Judah and Ephraim 167 Albert Zuidhof King Solomon's Molten Sea and (t) 179 David Noel Freedman MitchellD ahood, 1922-1982I, n Memoriam 185 DEPARTMENTS Lettert o the Readers 132 Polemicsa nd Irenics 133 Notes and News 188 Book Reviews 189 Finkelstein,T he Ox that Gored (Frymer-Kensky) Malamata nd Ephcal,T he Age of the Monarchies( Miller) Anderseann dF reedmaHn,o sea( Lewis) MackowskiJ, erusalem,C ity ofJesus and Wilkinson,Jerusalem as Jesus Knew it (Baly). BIBLICALA RCHEOLOGIST/SUMME1R9 82 131 Letter to the Readers As one of the most significant Other contributionst o this issue provide some in- archeological finds in recent terestingn ew informationa bout the early monarchical years, the Tell Fekheriyeh periodi n ancientI srael. Eliezer Orens ummarizesf or us statue discoveredi n 1979i s the six seasons of excavations at Telle sh-Sharia,n ow gen- subject of the featured article erally assumed to be ancient Ziklag, the scene of in this issue of BA. Now on David's brief tenure as a Philistine mercenaryp rior to display at the National his rise to power as king of Israel. Located on the Museum in Damascus, this Philistine frontier near Gaza, this border city of the basalt stone image of a rulero f Negev reflects the impact of the major Near Eastern Ancient Guzan has engraved cultures of Egypt and Assyria, as well as that of the on it the first known provincial powers. Nevertheless, the cultural con- Assyrian-Aramaic bilingual tinuity of the Early Iron Age occupation levels at the inscription. In their prelimi- site offers some cautiona gainsta ny facile archeological nary analysis of this find, Alan correlationso f the materiale vidence with politicalt ran- Millarda nd Pierre Bordreuila rgue persuasively for a sitions. Amihai Mazar's explorations of several small date of the 9th century B.C.f or the statue. If their con- settlements in the central hill country near Jerusalem clusion is correct, the bilingualt ext containst he earliest also add to our knowledge of the period. Of special Aramaici nscriptions o far discovered, with immediate value is the insight his investigations provide into the implicationsf or all future discussions of the develop- militaryo rganizationa nd defensive system of the king- ment and disseminationo f the West Semitic alphabet. dom of Judah. Since the find was made in the Syrianh eartlanda nd not In Albert Zuidhof's study of King Solomon's the Phoenician coastland, some revision in previous MoltenS ea, anotherd imensiono f this creativep eriodi s theories about the early history of this language and broughtt o our attention; from his examinationo f the script seems inevitable. In particular,t he new text may dimensions of the temple laver, we gain a keener ap- help to shed some light on the disputed chronology of preciation of the engineering skills and technological the Greek adoption of the West Semitic script, which accomplishmentso f ancient Israel. If the mathematical recently has been assigned to earlierc enturies, even as precisionh e finds seems surprising,w e need only to be early as the 12thc entury B.C.( see BA 43 [1980]:2 2-25). remindedo f the advancedm athematicatl echniquesa nd Other implicationso f the discovery are carefully out- accuracy of the ancient Babyloniana stronomers. But lined by the authors in their valuable study. even for this computerizedg enerations ome warningi s Another aspect of epigraphyi s the focus of a sepa- necessary before proceeding with his argument:t his rate essay by Professor Millard. His concern here is exercise in ancient mathematicsi s to be followed with with the common tendency of modernt extual critics to pocket calculatori n hand. emend obscure or perplexingt exts. Aside from the fact These articles are followed by a special memorial that mistakes are inherenti n any humane nterprise,t he to MitchellD ahood, internationallyk nownp rofessoro f frequentn ote in our Bibles that "othera uthoritiesr ead" Northwest Semitic Languages in the Faculty of Near would seem adequate enough to justify this approach. Eastern Studies of the PontificalB iblicalI nstitute. It is But againstt his methodology,M illarda rguesi n favor of altogether fitting that these words were penned by one of the cardinalp rincipleso f textual criticism:" The David Noel Freedman,h is frienda nd colleagueo f many more difficultr eadingi s to be preferred."I n supporto f years, as we all mourn his passing. this thesis, he provides numerousi llustrationso f pre- cautionarym easurese mployedb y ancients cribes in the transmission of documents and cites several cases 'j&E where peculiar readingsw ere proven to be correct. In c4 sum, Millards uggests that the ancient scribes shouldb e * . given the benefit of our doubts. 132 BIBLICALA RCHEOLOGIST/SUMMER19 82 Polemics& jrenics Sinai Inscriptionsa nd the Nabateans A Response: Ethnicity and the Sinai Nabateans The article "Nabatean Inscriptionsi n Southern Sinai" (BA Although Jack Elliott seems to have provided a reasonable 45.1 [1982]: 21-25) by Dr. A. Negev was very interesting, alternative to my views, he does not produce any evidence in particularlyh is observationt hat out of 1,100p ersonal names support of his argument. The Nabatean Aramaic script was written in Nabatean script and listed in the Corpus Inscrip- almost solely used by the Nabateans. The only other ethnic tionum Semiticarum, "950 occur in only 1 of 4 Nabatean group that is known to have utilized this language and script regions" (i.e., Edom, the Hauran,n orthernA rabia, and the was a handful ofJews in NorthArabia and the Sinai: they may Sinai). While this observation certainly has implicationsf or be considered Nabatean Jews, just as Jews in the USA who understandingt he socio-cultural composition of these re- use English are called American Jews. Other Arabian tribes gions, I question Dr. Negev's interpretationo f this strange contemporaneous with the Nabateans and inhabitants of the fact. In his opinion "this remarkabler arityo f sharedp ersonal same regions used the Safaitic and Thamudic Arabic lan- names from regiont o region indicates that the settlementsi n guages and scripts. the variousr egionso f the Nabateanr ealmb egani n a relatively Furthermore, Elliott ignores the fact that my analysis of earlyp erioda ndt hate ach regionh eld an indigenousN abatean Nabatean personal names was restricted to those published populationl oosely tied to the inhabitantso f the other regions in the CIS in the past century. As I indicated in my article, of the kingdom." "Until a similar analysis is provided ofthe Nabatean personal This conclusion fails to appreciate the demographic, names discovered during this century in the Sinai, the Negev, economic, political, and social variety of the indigenous and other regions of the kingdom, these conclusions can be people encountereda nd amalgamatedb y the Nabateansd ur- understood only as tentative." Nevertheless, since the ing their expansion. Dr. Negev assumes that the inscriptions Nabateans controlled these areas for almost a millennium, in Nabateans criptw ere the producto nly of Nabateans,n ot of it does not seem inappropriate to call their inhabitants other culturalg roups:t his is comparablet o associatingG reek "Nabateans." script only with Greeks. As a consequence, the possibilityi s eliminatedt hat the greatv ariationi n personaln amesr eflectsa AvrahamN egev more heterogenouss ocial environment.R athert han resulting The Hebrew University of Jerusalem only from scatteredp opulationso f Nabateansw ith a common social and cultural heritage, the names might have come Corrigenda primarilyf rom individualso f numeroust ribalg roups of pas- toral nomads who undoubtedlyo ccupied the regions during The followingc orrectionss houldb e noted for the Winter1 982 issue of BA. the same period and utilized the same script. However, most For Michael E. Stone's article on "Sinai ArmenianI n- of the inscriptionsi n Edom, the Nabatean homeland, were probablyw ritten by the Nabateans themselves. scriptions,"t he captiono n p. 27 belongs with the photo on p. In sum, the Nabateank ingdomv ery likely did not consist 29; the caption on p. 28 belongs with the photo on p. 27; the merely of clusters of Nabateans scatteredt hroughouts everal caption on p. 29 belongs with the photo on p. 28. In addition, regions. It was more probablyc haracterizedb y a sparse but the Acknowledgmento n p. 31 should read "Withoutt he aid and guidanceo f U. Avner( T. Samueliana nd W. Adlerj oined heterogenousp opulationw here relatively small urban areas were separatedb y broade xpanses of desert and steppe popu- me on various of the expeditions)t he field work would have lated by pastoral nomads, all incorporatedt ogether by an been well-nighi mpossible." For L. Y. Rahmani'sa rticle on "Ancient Jerusalem's attenuatedi nfrastructurea nd a complexity of social and eco- nomic relations. Funerary Customs and Tombs," the following corrections should be observed. The caption on p. 43 should read "The tombs of Abasalom, Bene Hezir and Zechariaha re the major Jack D. Elliott, Jr. monumentsf rom left to right"; the caption on p. 46 should Cobb Institute of Archaeology read "JehoshaphatC ave and Absalom Monument,a fter Av- Mississippi State University igad 1954:9 4 fig. 52"; the sentence on p. 48, col. 1, 1. 4, should read "Thus the Zechariaht omb chambers hould be seen as a part of the chapel built in A.D. 352 by an importantc itizen of Eletheropolisn amed Paul." Our sincere apologies to the respective authorsf or these unfortunatem istakes. BIBLICALA RCHEOLOGIST/SUMMER19 82 133 ASOR PUBLICA TIONS Members of ASOR are entitled to the member price, given in parentheses, of all ASOR publications, including the following titles. 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Bordreuil The oldest extant Aramaic text engraved on this recently found statue of an Assyrian provincial official in Syria provides some exciting new clues for the early history of this language and script. In recent years the soil of Syria has yielded many major archeological dis- coveries, the palace at Ebla with its extensive archives being the most sen- sational. Now another object of first importance has come to light. Enlarg- ing his field with a bulldozer in Feb- ruary 1979, a farmer unearthed a life- size stone statue of a man, engraved with many lines of writing. BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGIST/SUMMER 1982 135 Mapo f Syria:T ellF ekheriyeh(a ncientS ikan)i s locatedo n one of the tributarieosf the HaburR iver,o ppositeG uzan. uh an *Mlaashr TA bdin 6r f *Karatepe ake*z Sam'alu n* *Duru Nasib na "t S Ca rc emish ile Uadatu Uaarr'r-aannK aat .aSsbn Azaz" *A( rpapd N aigpBu a lsup ~~~~~Jebelb l~K\ . ell al imah Nineveh *Tell.Tayinat2(alab Nerab ( oeie Afi m Dur-katlimmu **Q arqar 'km amath Arvad 0 50 1 km k -. Mr ~Tadmur This statue and its inscriptions Syrian-Turkish frontier. Both the tions on them declare that they be- add in many ways to our knowledgeo f moderns ettlementa nd the anciento ne longed to "the palace of Kapara,k ing Syrian history, culture, and language, owe theire xistence to the strongs pring of Guzan." The city is thus identified and we are gratefulf or the opportunity beside them which is a principals ource with a place known from Assyriana nd to make them known to readerso f the of the River Khabur,a majort ributary biblical texts (see below). Ever since Biblical Archeologist. A detailed edi- of the Euphrates. Excavations were this discovery was made there has tion, La Statue de Tell Fekherye et sa made on the tell by an expeditionf rom been vigorous debate over the age of bilingue assyro-arambenne is pub- the University of Chicago in 1940 the sculptures. The excavator placed lished in Paris, and preliminaryr eports (McEwan, 1958). In 1955 and 1956 them in the third millennium B.C., area lso available( AbuA ssaf 1981;A bu Anton Moortgat made soundings on claiming Kapara re-used them in his Assaf, Bordreuil and Millard 1982). behalf of the Max Freiherr von Op- palace (von Oppenheim 1933, 1939), Our study of the statue has been pub- penheim Stiftung (Moortgat 1956, but no one accepts this today for the lished at the urgent invitation of the 1957, 1959). Occupation at the site evidence clearly points to a date be- DirectorG eneralo f the Departmento f stretched from prehistoric to late tween 1000a nd6 00 B.C.,c ontemporary Antiquitiesa nd Museumso f the Syrian Roman times. A building of the late with Kapara. Currento pinion favors Arab Republic, Dr. Afif Bahnassi, and second millennium B.C. contained the 9th century B.C.,p erhaps the later the Director of Excavations, Dr. cuneiformt ablets (H. H. Giterbock in decades (see Orthmann 1971; Mallo- Adnan Bounni. To them and to their McEwan 1958, 86ff.). wan 1966:3 31 n.22, 344 n.18; Akurgal colleagues in the National Museuma t About 1? miles (2 km) from Tell 1979, argues for the late 8th century Damascus, where the statue is dis- Fekheriyeh, and on the other side of B.C.; Genge 1979: 127, prefers a date played, we offer our thanks for their the KhaburR iver, stands another an- earlier in the 9th century). generosity and help. cient mound, the famous Tell Halaf. Assyrian inscriptions first men- Baron Max von Oppenheim'se xcava- tion Guzanw hen reportinga campaign The Place of Discovery tions here (1899, 1911-131, 927-29)d is- by Adad-nirarIi I (ca. 911-891B .C.).H e To understandt he significance of the covered fine paintedp ottery which has received tribute from its ruler Abi- statue, some familiarityw ith the region given the name Halaf to a whole cul- salamu ca. 894 B.C.A shurnasirpalI I, where it was found is necessary. The ture of WesternA siatic prehistory( see Adad-nirari'ss on, took tribute from discovery was made at the edge of the Frankel1 979).T he main structuresu n- Guzan, ca. 881 B.C. and again about ruined city now known as Tell covered were monumental buildings five years later when on the way to Fekheriyeh, which lies at the southern decorated with unique stone statues Carchemish( for the texts see Grayson edge of Ras el-'Ayn, close to the and bas-reliefs. Cuneiform inscrip- 1976:p ars. 433, 553, 584). Herein lies 136 BIBLICALA RCHEOLOGIST/SUMME1R9 82 the strategic value of both sites; they menger: 1970). However, the rarity of tion to our knowledge of the history of control a major segment of the best such sculptures and our ignorance of the language. route from northern Assyria to the preceding phases in the development Euphratesc rossing at Carchemisha nd of Assyrian carving means that art- Translation on to the Mediterranean.A ny army historical comparisons cannot give a We now present a fairly literal transla- moving west from Assyria would need close dating for this figure. What is tion of the Assyrian text with the var- to be assured these cities were in clear is the Assyrian influence. The iations of the Aramaici n parentheses. friendly hands. Assyrian records tell statue contrasts sharply with the The compositiond ivides naturallyi nto nothing more of Guzan until 808 B.C. non-Assyrian concepts of the Tell two parts. when the army may have moved to Halaf images, althought he workman- To Adad (The image of Hadad-yis'I crush a revolt there (the source for this ship of some of those pieces is of whichh e has set up beforeH adado f is an entry in the Eponym Chronicle equally high order. Sikan), [see Luckenbill1 927:4 33]). Duringt he regulatoro f the waterso f heavena nd 8th century B.C.G uzan was certainlya The Inscriptions earth, part of the Assyrian empire, for the Upon the skirt of the man two inscrip- who rainsd owna bundance, names of four of its governors are tions are engraved, and it is they that whog ivesp asturea ndw ateringp lacest o known. Each of them served as give the statue its real importance. the peopleo f all cities (to all lands), eainp y oetnahrye im ns ,at thmheae At iswss tayoyr si aaanys,s g ytahsvteee m ahri oscf nh daoamntsien t agot, Accuubpnoieueidfto trwbmoy - tsahc ritriepdxtst o afin ntdh teth hseep aAAcsesss yiysrr iioaacnn- wrtoeha g(onau ldglla)vi tvt ehoesoress f gep (oloasdr olsltf)i, r f ohoinivosse adb rn)rs od, t ohfeferrs,i ngs( rest Athens or the consuls at Rome. dialect. The 38 lines of writing, each who enrichest he regions( all lands), ruledf romt he one beside it, do not run When Adad-nirari II went to the mercifugl od to whomi t is good to Guzan he also visited "Sikan which horizontally as in other Assyrian in- pray, lies at the source of the Khabur."T ell scriptions, but vertically, from the who dwellsi n Guzan( Sikan), Fekheriyeh suits this description ad- waist to the hem of the tunic. In the to the greatl ord,h is lord, mirably, and is commonly identified space left at the back of the statue the Adad-it'(iH adad-yis'i)g,o vernor( king) wstiatthu eS siktraonn. gTlyh seu pinpsocrrti pthtiios.n Ws ohne tthheer wAseercsaotmn Sdae imcind isitaciclre liicpntt.ei Ioatnrs ai2sl3p hihnoacrbiisezetoda nn, tdain lil n int ahenes sogonof ovGfe urSznhaoanr(m, k iansgh)o- nf Guru(iS zaasn-,n firi),a lso eoarr nlioetr SWikaasnh swhausk athnen is,c aampiet apll aocf et haes oafv awilraibtilneg; t mheo rpee nthualtni mfilaletedl itnhee b sepgainces f(oarn tdh)fe o lrif teh oef l henisg stohuo fl, h is days, Mitanni kingdom in the 15tha nd 14th (and)f or increasingh is years, centuries B.C.,r emains undecided, al- far to the right of the others, beneath (and)f or the prosperityo f his house, thoughw e arguei t was. The cuneiform the ends of the Assyrian lines, and the (andf or the prosperityo) f his descen- tablets found in the Americane xcava- final line is squeezed on to the border dants, tions do not name the place. of the fringe. This arrangementd em- (andf or the prosperityo)f his people, onstratest he priorityi n time of engrav- (and)t o removei llness fromh is body ing of the Assyrian inscriptiona nd its (fromh im), The Statue importance to those who erected the for hearingm y prayer( andf or making A basalt block had been carefully statue. his prayerh eard), carved to represent a man standing As we read the inscriptionsi t be- (and)f or acceptingm y (his)w ords, with his handsc lasped at the waist, and comes apparent that they are very he devoteda ndg ave( he set upa ndg ave to him). his feet together. The head had been similar.I n fact, the Aramaici s, in large (And)w hoevera fterwardssh allr epairit s broken off in antiquity,b ut was recov- part, a translation of the Assyrian. ruineds tate (shallr aisei t to erect it ered with the body so that the figurei s This is the first lengthy bilingual anew), complete apartf romt he tip of the nose Assyrian-Aramaict ext to be discov- mayh e put my name( on it). and the end of the beard. Hair and ered. Apartf rom clerical notes on clay (And)w hoevere rasesm yn ame( fromit ) beard are curled, the body is covered tablets, no other examples of such andp utsh is name, with a short-sleeved tunic reachingt o translations urvive from the Assyrian mayA dad( Hadad)t,h e hero,b e his ad- the ankles, and a shawl is draped over period. In Persian times there are sev- versary. the left shoulder and tucked in at the eral cases of official translations, in- This first section, lines 1-18o f the waist. Both tunic and shawl have cluding the Behistun inscription of Assyrian, 1-12 of the Aramaic, seems fringes along their lower edges. On the Darius I in Persian, Babylonian, and to be a complete text for a simple dedi- feet are sandals tied with thongs, Aramaic. The practice of translation is cation. What follows is another com- carved especially well. The man wears attested over a very long period among plete text, composed when the original no jewelry, no diadem or insignia of scribes using the cuneiform script, and statue was restored, and perhaps when rank, and carries no weapon or staff of is seen in the versatility of Sen- the status of the ruler was enhanced. office. nacherib's general before Jerusalem (2 The statue of Adad-it'i In style the statue has obvious Kgs 18:26). If the date we propose for governor (king) of Guza(Hn,a (danadd- oyfi)s 'i) links with the Assyrian statues of the the statue is accepted, it preserves the Sikan, (and of) Azran, 9th century B.C. of Ashurnasirpal II oldest Aramaic composition so far for perpetuating( exalting and continu- and Shalmaneser III (see Strom- known, and makes a major contribu- ing?) his throne, BIBLICALA RCHEOLOGIST/SUMME1R9 82 137