A Journey to Palmyra: Collected Essays to Remember Delbert R. Hillers 9004124187, 9789004124189, 9781433705489

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A Journey to Palmyra

Culture and History of the Ancient Near East Edited by

B. Halpern — M. H. E. Weippert Th. P.J. van den Hout — I. Winter

VOLUME 22

A Journey to Palmyra Collected Essays to Remember Delbert R. Hillers

Edited by

Eleonora Cussini

BRILL LEIDEN BOSTON 2005 •

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data are available on the Library of Congress website http://catalog.loc.gov

ISSN ISBN

1566–2055 90 04 12418 7

© Copyright 2005 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill Academic Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands

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CONTENTS Foreword and Acknowledgements ................................................ ix Abbreviations ................................................................................ xiii List of contributors ....................................................................... xv Biographic Notes and Bibliography of Delbert R. Hillers .......... xvii The Sacred Banquets at Palmyra and the Functions of the Tesserae: Reflections on the Tokens Found in the Arßu Temple Khaled al-As’ad, Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet, Jean-Baptiste Yon ................................................................. 1 Greek and Latin Words in Palmyrene Inscriptions: A Comparison with Syriac Sebastian P. Brock ............................................................... 11 Beyond the Spindle: Investigating the Role of Palmyrene Women Eleonora Cussini .................................................................. 26 The City of the Dead Michal gawlikowski ............................................................ 44 Variation in the Palmyrene Honorific Inscriptions Agustinus Gianto ................................................................. 74 Three New Palmyrene Inscriptions Andrew D. Gross .................................................................. 89 Lexicographical and Grammatical Notes on the Palmyrene Aramaic Texts Baruch A. Levine .................................................................. 103 The Safaitic Inscriptions at Dura Europos Michael C. A. Macdonald .................................................. 118 Zwei palmyrenische Relieffragmente Christa Müller-Kessler ..................................................... 130 Zu palmyrenischen Inschriften auf Reliefs Klaus Parlasca ..................................................................... 137 Palmyrene Burial Practices From Funerary Goods Kiyohide Saito ..................................................................... 150 A New Tessera From Palmyra. Questions of Iconography and Epigraphy Andreas Schmidt-Colinet and Khaled al-As‘ad ................ 166

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Palmyra in the Third Century Javier Teixidor ....................................................................... 181 Bibliography .................................................................................... List of Figures and Plates ................................................................ Epigraphical Index .......................................................................... General Index .................................................................................

227 249 251 252

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FOREWORD In the spring of 1999, Delbert Hillers, together with his wife Pat, and myself, had planned a research trip to Palmyra to take place in the following September. Our idea was a long, relaxed visit to the archaeological site in order collate inscriptions still in situ and in the museums in Palmyra and in Damascus as part of our ongoing project on Palmyrene epigraphy. Later on, in August, as we were working together in Baltimore, the illness that he had been fiercely fighting against for the last three years, worsened, and he decided, with great regret, to cancel the trip, with the hope it was just postponed. As we parted, when I left to Italy at the beginning of September, I assured him we would take our trip, later on. Unfortunately, Delbert Hillers passed away on September 25. Delbert Hillers devoted the last fifteen years of his research to Palmyrene studies. His interest in Palmyrene Aramaic, however, dates back to the end of the 1960s at least, when he directed a Ph.D. dissertation at the Johns Hopkins University written by J.K. Stark, Personal Names in Palmyrene Inscriptions (Stark 1971). Later on, as of 1985, as Co-editor of The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Delbert Hillers and his research unit at Hopkins started working on Palmyrene Aramaic. I was lucky enough to enroll the following year in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, and be able to work with him at preparing a database of Palmyrene texts, and, at the same time, studying and collating inscriptions in museums and private collections across America and Europe. Thanks to his exceptional generosity, I became part of the publication project resulting in the volume Palmyrene Aramaic Texts (1996). During preparation of that volume, Delbert Hillers started corresponding and meeting with a number of scholars working in the field of Palmyrene studies, exchanging views and ideas, and taking great pleasure in it, as he told me in many occasions. A Journey to Palmyra originates from the desire to remember a scholar who contributed with his work to Palmyrene studies, and who was still very much involved in research in this area at the time of his untimely death. The Journey mentioned in the title clearly alludes, on a personal level, to our trip which never took place, but it is accomplished here—as I hope—thanks to the contributions of leading

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scholars in the field of Palmyrene and Semitic studies. I am wholeheartedly grateful to them all for their participation. Furthermore, it was a pleasure to be able to include, thanks to a suggestion of Baruch A. Levine, the paper of Andrew D. Gross, who, as an undergraduate had studied with Delbert Hillers at Hopkins. Many of the contributors are part of the group mentioned above or old friends of Delbert Hillers. One of them could not participate, but he is fondly remembered here. As I was sending out a call for papers letter, H. J. W. Drijvers, declined the offer because of health reasons, and with great regret I was later informed that he passed away in 2002. As I started planning this volume, I did not have in mind a mere memorial volume—something Delbert Hillers would not have liked— but rather a research tool, containing papers focusing on different aspects of Palmyrene archaeological research, history and social history, art and philology, taking the readers on a journey to the site and through present issues in Palmyrene studies, in order to illustrate aspects of the complex and multifaceted culture of ancient Palmyra and of neighbouring areas. The thirteen papers—appearing in alphabetical order below—address all these issues. In the first contribution, Khaled al-As’ad, with Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet and Jean-Baptiste Yon examine the institution of the marzeaÈ, or sacred banquet, in the light of new archaeological findings. These are inscribed tesserae found in the excavation of the Arßu temple. Another paper, by Andreas Schmidt-Colinet and Khaled al-As’ad, analyses the same type of artifact. The authors discuss the iconographic motive on another tessera discovered (together with a fragment of building inscription mentioning a banquet hall) in 2001 by the Syro-German mission during excavation of a building complex located south of the Roman town. As already experienced in the course of preparation of PAT, the Palmyrene epigraphic corpus is constantly increasing due to archaeological finds, such as those mentioned, as well as the remarkable results of the Japanese expedition to Palmyra show (Higuchi–Izumi 1994; Higuchi–Saito 1998; Higuchi–Saito 2001). The work of the Japanese team is here illustrated by the analysis of burial goods studied by Kiyohide Saito. Besides archaeological finds, “new” unpublished inscriptions surface from time to time on the antiquities market. These pieces were often removed from Palmyrene tombs as results of clandestine excavations dating back to the early 1900s, and have become part of

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private collections. Some of these collections have now been dismembered, and, as a result, materials are retrieved and made available to the scientific community, as we may see in the paper by Klaus Parlasca. An inscribed male relief-bust discussed by Parlasca, auctioned in Vienna in November 2001 is published here by Christa Müller-Kessler, together with a fragmentary funerary relief depicting a woman discovered in London. Additional Palmyrene materials, found in international art sales include the three reliefs published here by Andrew D. Gross from auctions at Christie’s, New York, in June and December 2002. This last group is especially significant for it documents three different text-types: another funerary epitaph (accompanying the relief of a woman standing within an arched stela, an example of the Palmyrene nefesh reliefs discussed below by Gawlikowski), a dedicatory text and the foundation inscription of a tomb, mentioning its renovation. The interaction between iconography and the epigraphic records lays at the root of the study of the role of Palmyrene women, by this writer. Four more papers focus on Palmyrene and other epigraphic records, and these analyses shed additional light on the culture of ancient Palmyra. Sebastian Brock examines Greek words appearing in Palmyrene inscriptions and compares these attestations with the Syriac material, while Agustinus Gianto studies the formulation of honorific inscriptions. Furthermore, Baruch A. Levine discusses affinities between Palmyrene inscriptions and the recently published Nabatean-Aramaic papyri from NaÈal \ever (Yadin et al. 2002), and other literary sources in Aramaic and Post-Biblical Hebrew falling within the corpus of Rabbinic literature. Michael Macdonald investigates Safaitic inscriptions found at Dura Europos, some of which are unpublished or known to us in copy only. A thorough discussion of Palmyrene tombs by Michal Gawlikowski, leading the readers through the “city of the dead,” and a long, profound essay by Javier Teixidor presenting the historical events that marked the last phase in the history of the city, conclude our Journey to Palmyra. I wish to express my gratitude to my friends Simone C. Burger Robin, for her invaluable help in the course of revision of the final manuscript, to Christa Müller-Kessler, who offered many precious suggestions and encouragement at the very outset of this project, and to Daniele Montruccoli for his help in digitalizing the illustrations. I am grateful to the Editors of the series Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, Baruch Halpern, M.H.E. Weippert, Th. P.J. van den Hout and

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Irene Winter for accepting A Journey to Palmyra for publication, and I warmly thank Mattie Kuiper, and Fem Eggers, editors, Publishing Unit Religion and Social Sciences, Brill Academic Publishers, for their patience and help. Giovanni and Giulia, who have known and loved Del, and Federico, accompanied me with their unfailing support.

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ABBREVIATIONS AA(A)S Abb. ad loc Anon. BA Ber. 70 BGU Br BS III C CAD CCPA I-IV cf. CIL CIS CIS II CIS V constr CPA CRAI D DaM Déd DJD DJPA DNWSI Drijvers–Healey DSA ed, edd EH em et al. FGrH FHG

Les Annales Archéologiques (Arabes) Syriennes illustration ad locum, on this passage Anonymous Bertinelli Angeli 1970 Gawlikowski 1970, Berytus 17 Berliner griechische Urkunden Brockelmann 1928 Dunant 1971 Afel, causative verbal conjugation The Assyrian Dictionary, University of Chicago Müller-Kessler–Sokoloff 1997compare Corpus inscriptionum latinarum Corpus inscriptionum semiticarum Corpus inscriptionum semiticarum 1893-1954 Corpus inscriptionum semiticarum 1950-1951 construct state Christian-Palestinian Aramaic Comptes rendus des Séances de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Pael, verb conjugation with doubling of middle radical Damaszener Mitteilungen Milik 1972 Discoveries in the Judaean Desert, vols. I- , Oxford, Clarendon Press Sokoloff 1990 Hoftijzer–Jongeling 1995 Drijvers–Healey 1999 Tal 2000 editor, editors Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History emphatic state et alii Jacoby, Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker Müller et al., Fragmenta historicorum Graecorum

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fn G HA IGLS Inv Inv I-IX Inv X Inv XI Inv XII JBA JDS 3 JPA JS LIMC VII LS m n.d. NH no. p., pp. P. Oxy PAT pl Pl. Pho-Pu PS ptc RES RTP S s SA sf SO s.v. TDT vol, vols WH

abbreviations footnote Peal, basic verb conjugation Historia Augusta Inscriptions grecques et latines de la Syrie Inventaire des inscriptions de Palmyre Cantineau 1930-1936 Starcky 1949 Teixidor 1965 Bounni–Teixidor 1975 Jewish-Babylonian Aramaic Yadin et al. 2002 Jewish-Palestinian Aramaic Jaussen–Sauvignac 1909-1922 Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, Augé 1994 Brockelmann 1928 masculine not dated Pliny, Naturalis Historia number page, pages Grenfell et al., The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Hillers–Cussini 1996 plural plate Krahmalkov 2000 Palmyrene reliefs in Ingholt 1928 participle Chabot 1900-1904, Répertoire d’Epigraphie Sémitique Ingholt–Seyrig–Starcky 1955 Safaitic and Palmyrene graffiti from Dura Europos in Torrey 1931 singular Samaritan Aramaic suffix Sibylline Oracles sub voce Yardeni 2000 volume, volumes Winnett–Harding 1978

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LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Khaled al-As’ad Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet

Sebastian P. Brock Eleonora Cussini Michal Gawlikowski Agustinus Gianto Andrew D. Gross Baruch A. Levine

Michael Macdonald Christa Müller-Kessler Klaus Parlasca Kiyohide Saito Andreas Schmidt-Colinet Javier Teixidor Jean-Baptiste Yon

Director of Antiquities and Museum of Palmyra, Tadmur, Syria Laboratoire des études sémitiques anciennes, CNRS, Collège de France, Paris Oriental Institute, University of Oxford Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia University of Warsaw Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome New York University Professor Emeritus of Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, New York University Oriental Institute, University of Oxford Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena Professor Emeritus, Universität Erlangen Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara, Japan Institut für Klassische Archäologie der Universität Wien Collège de France, Paris HISOMA, Maison de l’Orient et de la Méditerranée, CNRS, Lyon

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abbreviations

abbreviations

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BIOGRAPHIC NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF DELBERT R. HILLERS Delbert Roy Hillers was born in Chester, South Dakota on November 7, 1932. After receiving a B.A. from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1954, he enrolled in the Graduate Program at the Johns Hopkins University and, a student of William F. Albright, he received his M.A. in 1958. In 1957 he was ordained as a Lutheran minister at Concordia Seminary, and, in 1963, he received his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University. Following a first appointment at Concordia Senior College, Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1958-60, in 1963 he became Assistant Professor at The Johns Hopkins University. Associate Professor in 1966, he was appointed full Professor in 1970. In 1971, he became the W. W. Spence Professor of Semitic Languages. Co-editor of the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research with William F. Albright from 1965 to 1968, and editor from 1969 to 1973, he was acting chair of the Department of Near Eastern Studies from 1964 to 1970, and chair from 1976 to 1979. Member of the Drew-McCormick expedition to Tell Balatah, Jordan in 1962, he participated to the ASOR excavation at Taanach, Jordan, in 1963, in 1966 and in 1968. In 1975 he directed soundings at Tell Ashara (Terqa), in Syria. Annual Professor at the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem in 1968-69, he was Trustee of the Amman Center of the American Schools of Oriental Research from 1978 to 1981 and member of the Damascus Advisory Committee of the American Schools of Oriental Research from 1984 to 1990. In 1970 he delivered the Schaff Lectures at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, was Annenberg visiting Professor at Dropsie College in 1985-86, and lectured in United States and European academic institutions. He was a member of the Revised Standard Version Bible Committee of the National Council of Churches from 1981 to 1984. From 1985 to 1992 he was co-editor with J. A. Fitzmyer and S. A. Kaufman of the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, and recipient, as Principal investigator of NEH grants. He retired from the Department of Near Eastern Studies of The Johns Hopkins University in 1994.

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biographic notes and bibliography Books:

Treaty-Curses and the Old Testament Prophets. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1964. Covenant: the History of a Biblical Idea. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1969. Lamentations, Anchor Bible. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1972. Second revised edition, 1992. Micah, Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984. Palmyrene Aramaic Texts, Delbert R. Hillers and Eleonora Cussini. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1996.

Books edited: Discoveries in the Wâdi ed-Dâliyeh, by Paul W. Lapp, Nancy Lapp, et al., Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 1974.

Articles: 1958 1963 1964

1965

1967 1968 1970

“An Historical Survey of Old Testament Theology since 1922,” Concordia Theological Monthly 29 (1958) 571-594; 664-677. “Revelation 13:18 and a Scroll from Murabba’at,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 170 (April, 1963) 65. “Amos 7,4 and Ancient Parallels,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 26 (1964) 221-225. “An Alphabetic Cuneiform Tablet from Taanach (TT 433),” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 173 (Feb., 1964) 4550. “A Note on Some Treaty Terminology in the Old Testament,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 176 (Dec., 1964) 46-47. “A Note on Judges 5, 8a,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 27 (1965) 124126. “A Convention in Hebrew Literature, the Reaction to Bad News,” Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 77 (1965) 86-90. “Delocutive Verbs in Biblical Hebrew,” Journal of Biblical Literature 86 (1967) 320-324. “Ritual Procession of the Ark and Ps 132,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 30 (1968) 48-55. “Ugaritic ànpt ‘Wave-offering’,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 198 (April, 1970) 42. “A Reading in the Beth-Shemesh Tablet,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 199 (Oct., 1970) 66. “The Goddess with the Tambourine,” Concordia Theological Monthly 41 (1970) 606-619. “Fifty years of the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental

biographic notes and bibliography

1971

1972 1973

1974

1976 1978

1979

1983

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Research,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 200 (Dec., 1970) 3-7. “Additional Note,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 200 (Dec., 1970) 18. “A Hebrew Cognate of unuààu/’unt in Is 33:8,” Harvard Theological Review 64 (1971) 257-259. “The Roads to Zion Mourn (Lam 1:4),” Perspective 12 (1971) 121133. (Essays in memory of Paul W. Lapp). “Burial,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 4. Jerusalem: Encyclopaedia Judaica, and New York: Macmillan, 1971. Cols. 1515-1516. “Cistern,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 5. Cols. 578-579. “Demons, Demonology,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 5. Cols. 15211526. “PaÈad yißÈaq,” Journal of Biblical Literature 91 (1972) 90-92. “màkn’ ‘Temple’ in Inscriptions from Hatra,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 207 (Oct., 1972) 54-56. “The Bow of Aqht: The Meaning of a Mythological Theme,”7180, in: H. A. Hoffner, Jr. (ed.), Orient and Occident (Cyrus Gordon Volume), Kevelaer: Butzon and Bercker, and Neukirchen-Vluyn, Neukirchener, 1973. “Syrian and Palestinian religions,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition (1974) 966-970. “Observations on Syntax and Meter in Lamentations,” 265-270, in: H. Bream, R. Heim, and C. Moore (edd.), A Light Unto My Path: Old Testament Studies in Honor of Jacob M. Myers, Philadelphia: Temple University, 1974. “Homeric Dictated Texts: A Reexamination of Some Near Eastern Evidence,” Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 80 (1976) 19-23 (with Marsh H. McCall Jr.). “A Study of Psalm 148,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 40 (1978) 323334. “Berit ‘am: ‘Emancipation of the People’,” Journal of Biblical Literature 97 (1978) 175-182. “Albright, William F.,” 10-12, International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Biographical Supplement, Vol. 18, New York: Free Press, 1979. “Redemption in Letters 6 and 2 from Hermopolis,” 379-382, UgaritForschungen 11 (Schaeffer Volume), Kevelaer: Butzon and Bercker, and Neukirchen-Vluyn, Neukirchener, 1979. “History and Poetry in Lamentations,” Currents in Theology and Mission 10 (1983) 155-161 (Essays in Honor of Alfred von Rohr Sauer). “The Effective Simile in Biblical Literature,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 103 (1983) 181-185 (Samuel Noah Kramer Issue). “Imperial Dream: Text and Sense of Mic 5:4b-5,” 137-139, in: H. Huffmon, F. Spina and A. Green (edd.), The Quest for the Kingdom of God: Studies in Honor of George E. Mendenhall, Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1983.

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1985

1987

1989

1990

1992

1995

1998

biographic notes and bibliography “Hôy and Hôy-Oracles: A Neglected Syntactic Aspect,” 185-188, in: C. Meyers and M. O’Connor (edd.), The Word of the Lord Shall Go Forth: Essays in Honor of David Noel Freedman, Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1983. “A Difficult Curse in Aqht,” 105-107, in: S. Morschauser and A. Kort (edd.), Biblical and Related Studies Presented to Samuel Iwry, Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1985. “Analyzing the Abominable,” Jewish Quarterly Review 75 (1985) 253269. “Dust: Some Aspects of Old Testament Imagery,” 105-109, in: J. Marks and R. M. Good (edd.), Love and Death in the Ancient Near East, Guilford, Conn.: Four Quarters, 1987 (Marvin Pope volume). “Covenant,” 133-137, in: Mircea Eliade (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Religion, vol. 4. New York: Macmillan, London: Collier Macmillan 1987. “Byblos,” 219-220, International Encyclopedia of Communications, vol. 1, New York and Oxford: Oxford University, 1989. “William F. Albright as a Philologian,” 45-59, in: G. W. Van Beek (ed.), The Scholarship of William Foxwell Albright: An Appraisal, Harvard Semitic Studies 33, Atlanta, Ga: Scolars, 1989. “Rite: Ceremonies of Law and Treaty in the Ancient Near East,” 351-364, in: E. B. Firmage, B. G. Weiss and J. W. Welch (edd.), Religion and Law: Biblical-Judaic and Islamic Perspectives, Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1990. “Lamentations, Book of,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, New York: Doubleday, 1992. Vol. IV, 137-141. “Micah, Book of,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, New York: Doubleday, 1992. Vol. IV, 807-810. “Two Readings in the Caravan Inscription Dunant, Baalshamin, no. 45,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 286 (May, 1992) 35-37 (with Eleonora Cussini). “Palmyrene Aramaic Inscriptions and the Old Testament, especially Amos 2:8,” Zeitschrift für Althebraistik 8 (1995) 55-62. “Some Performative Utterances in Biblical Hebrew,” 757-766, in: Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical, Jewish and Near Eastern Ritual, Law and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom, Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1995. “Notes on the Palmyrene Aramaic Texts,” ARAM 7 (1995) 73-88. “Two Notes on the Decameron (III vii 42-43 and VIII vii 64, IX v 48),” MLN 113 (1998) 186-191. “Palmyrene Aramaic Inscriptions and the Bible,” ZAH 11 (1998) 32-49. “Foreword,” ix-xiv, to The Quest of the Historical Jesus, by Albert Schweitzer, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1998.

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Reviews: M. Pope, Job: The Anchor Bible, Interpretation 19 (1965) 465-468. J. Sanders, The Psalms Scroll of Qumran Cave 11, American Journal of Archaeology 70 (1966) 290. A. Jirku, Der Mythus der Kanaanäer, Journal of Biblical Literature 86 (1967) 338-339. G. von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Vol. II, trans. D. Stalker, Literature Survey, Lutheran World/Lutherische Rundschau (1967) 219. J. Bright The Authority of the Old Testament, Lutheran World/Lutherische Rundschau (1968) 148. M. Glueck, Hesed in the Bible, trans. A. Gottschalk, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 30 (1968) 260-261. E. Masson, Recherches sur les plus anciens emprunts sémitiques en Grec, American Journal of Philology 90 (1969) 499-500. M. Sznycer, Les passages puniques en transcription latine dans le Poenulus de Plaute, American Journal of Philology 90 (1969) 381-383. T. Vriezen, The Religion of Ancient Israel, Interpretations 23 (1969) 237238. E. Jenni, Das hebräische Piel, Journal of Biblical Literature 88 (1969) 212214. F. Gröndahl, Die Personennamen der Texte aus Ugarit, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 29 (1970) 298-300. Various books in “Some Books Recently Received,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 197 (Feb., 1970) 53-55. Various books in “Some Books Recently Received (Cont.),” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 198 (Apr., 1970) 43-46. W. Schottroff, Der Altisraelitische Fluchspruch, Biblica 51 (1970) 432-435. Various books in “Some Books Recently Received (Cont.),” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 203 (Oct., 1971) 45-46. Various books in “Book Notices,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 206 (Apr., 1972) 48-50. Various books in “Book Notices,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research No. 207 (Oct., 1972) 57-58. M. Weippert, The Settlement of the Israelite Tribes in Palestine, trans. J. Martin, Journal of Biblical Literature 92 (1973) 446. R. Whybray, The Heavenly Counsellor in Isaiah xl 13-14, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 32 (1973) 346. G. Buchanan, The Consequences of the Covenant, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 32 (1973) 346-347. M. Smith, Palestinian Parties and Politics that Shaped the Old Testament, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 33 (1974) 264-265. L. Viganò, Nomi e titoli di YHWH alla luce del semitico del Nord-ovest, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 39 (1977) 576-577. D. Christensen, Transformations of the War Oracle in Old Testament Prophecy, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 40 (1978) 89-91.

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M. Coogan, Stories from Ancient Canaan, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 41 (1979) 127-128. H. Gottlieb, A Study on the Text of Lamentations, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 41 (1979) 630-631. J. Gibson, Textbook of Syrian Semitic Inscriptions, Vol. I (1973 reprint), Journal of the American Oriental Society 100 (1980) 177-178. M. Goshen-Gottstein, Syriac Manuscripts in the Harvard College Library: A Catalogue, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 42 (1980) 236. G. Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 44 (1982) 118-119. H. Wolff, Micah the Prophet, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 44 (1982) 502-503 L. Epsztein, La justice sociale dans le proche-orient ancien et le peuple de la Bible, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 20 (1983) 112. M. Gruber, Aspects of Nonverbal Communication in the Ancient Near East, Journal of the American Oriental Society 103 (1983) 672. A. Brenner, Colour Terms in the Old Testament, Journal of the American Oriental Society 104 (1984) 767-768. R. L. Smith, Micah-Malachi, Hebrew Studies 25 (1984) 214. P. Kalluveettil, Declaration and Covenant, Journal of Biblical Literature 104 (1985) 117-118. J. Day, God’s Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament, Jewish Quarterly Review 77 (1986) 73. E. W. Nicholson, God and His People: Covenant and Theology in the Old Testament, Theology Today 44 (1987) 271-272. W. A. Mayer, III, Asherah: Extrabiblical Evidence, Journal of Biblical Literature 107 (1988) 531-532. L. Canfora, M. Liverani, C. Zaccagnini, I trattati nel mondo antico: Forma, ideologia, funzione, Journal of the American Oriental Society 112 (1992) 683684. B. Porten and A. Yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt, Vol. 3, Accounts, Lists, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 57 (1995) 361363.

sacred banquets and the

TESSERAE

1

THE SACRED BANQUETS AT PALMYRA AND THE FUNCTION OF THE TESSERAE: REFLECTIONS ON THE TOKENS FOUND IN THE AR‘U TEMPLE KHALED AL-AS’AD, FRANÇOISE BRIQUEL-CHATONNET, JEAN-BAPTISTE YON1

Nearly a half century has passed since the publication of Recueil des tessères de Palmyre,2 a fundamental reference work for all those interested in Palmyrene civilization, in the religious iconography of Roman Syria, and in the role and function of thiasoi in the Greco-Roman world. Even if this landmark publication of commendable scientific merit requires but little revision, the last few decades have nevertheless witnessed numerous excavations at the site of Palmyra, not only those conducted by the Syrian Department of Antiquities but also those undertaken by various international teams, among which the Polish Mission deserves special mention. All of these excavations have yielded new finds of tesserae which have enriched the collections of the Palmyra museum. Furthermore, when found outside of controlled archeological excavations, these small objects circulate easily, and thus inevitably appear with some regularity on the antiquities’ market. A rapid examination of several private collections has permitted the present authors to observe that a considerable number of unpublished tesserae have yet to be inventoried, and, for those already inventoried, photographs of the better struck or otherwise better preserved specimens could be published. With this in mind, a research project devoted to the Palmyrene tesserae was launched, of which team the present authors are members. The primary objective was the preparation of a supplement to Recueil des tessères de Palmyre. In the long term, a systematic review of the entire corpus is envisioned, in database form. Such a treatment allows not only the systematic recording of the known number of examples of each tessera, but also remains open to future finds.

1 The authors are very thankful to Robert Hawley who translated their text into English. 2 Ingholt–Seyrig–Starcky 1955.

2

k. al-as"ad, f. briquel-chatonnet, j.-b. yon

The present article is the fruit of this collaboration, and it is a pleasure to publish it here, in A Journey to Palmyra, offered in memory of Delbert Hillers, whose Palmyrene Aramaic Texts, written with E. Cussini, has so quickly become a standard reference work for which all who study Palmyra are grateful.3 The Arßu Temple was discovered fortuitously in September of 1980 by Ernest Will.4 The attribution of the sanctuary to the Arabian god Arßu was permitted by the discovery of an altar dedicated to this god, as well as to Qismayâ (“he who is in charge of fate”) and to “the daughters of the god” (bnt "l ).5 The site was then the object of a salvage excavation conducted by the Palmyra Museum and under the direction of Kh. As’ad. Of these excavations, only a brief note has been published thus far, by A Bounni.6 In addition to the altar published by J. Teixidor and Kh. As’ad, and a number of lamps, a large number of tesserae were also discovered on this occasion, all of the same type and all found in a jar (see below and Fig. 1). Several photographs from the archives of the Palmyra Museum allow some light to be shed upon the sanctuary and this veritable treasure trove of tesserae. The sanctuary sits to the southwest of the Agora, on the other side of the wadi. It belongs therefore to what has been called the “Hellenistic City”. It is known that this part of the site, between the Temple of Bêl and the Efqa spring, formed the original heart of Palmyra, a fact which is clearly evident from the orientation to the southwest of monuments such as the Agora or the Sanctuary of Nabu.7 It was only after the construction of the wall called “of Diocletian,” during the period of the Tetrarchy, that the city was divided in two. Unfortunately, very little is known about the evolution and ultimate fate of this zone, despite the recent work by the team of A. Schmidt-

3 Françoise Briquel-Chatonnet, who had the occasion to meet Delbert Hillers at Oxford, and then to exchange several communications with him regarding the decipherment of various inscriptions, would also take this occasion to evoke the remarkable kindness and benevolence of him to whom these pages are dedicated. 4 Will 1983, p. 76, note 17 (= Will 1995, p. 518): “un sanctuaire très ruiné de style oriental à cour centrale.” 5 See Teixidor-As’ad 1985, pp. 286-293. The “daughters of the god” are alLat, al-#Uzzâ and Manât. 6 Bounni 1995, p. 20: “Die Notgrabung im Wadi erbrachte ein kleines Heiligtum von 20 auf 12 m Ausdehnung mit verschiedenen Anbauten für Kultpersonal.” 7 See Will 1983, p. 76.

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Colinet.8 In fact, like the Arßu temple itself, all of the monuments from this part of the site are very poorly preserved. This may have been due to natural erosion, but it is equally possible that the events which followed the capture of the city by Aurelian in AD 273 were a factor.9 Whatever the date of its destruction be, very little of this sanctuary has been preserved, and the meager remains which have survived reveal precious little about its structure. As Fig. 2 illustrates, for the most part only the foundation still exists, save in the northwest corner where a few portions of a stone wall have been preserved as well.10 This area of twelve meters (nouth-south) by fifteen meters (cella?) was, it would seem, surrounded by several rooms which could have served cultic purposes. Only the northern and eastern portions of this complex have been excavated, however, and this reconstruction is, of course, necessarily hypothetical. The meager architectural remains described above provide a striking contrast to what is known about the sanctuary on the basis of epigraphic sources: namely, that it was the sanctuary of one of the four tribes constitutive of the city of Palmyra, and one of those in which the great benefactors were honored.11 It was specifically the altar and the tesserae discovered in this location that confirmed not only the link between Arßu and the tribe of the Bani Mattabôl, but also the status of the latter as one of the four tribes. One must nevertheless admit that the mere presence of tesserae in the name of a particular divinity do not, in and of themselves, constitute a proof that the temple was dedicated to that god. In the sanctuary of Baalshamin, for example, none of the tesserae discovered there carried that god’s name.12 Two among them mention the name of Nabu, though such a cult is not explicitly attested in this location (nos. 5 and 6). Likewise, among the most common type of 8

Schmidt-Colinet–al-As’ad 2000. Note the remarks of Will 1983, p. 76 (= Will 1995, p. 518): “très détruit anciennement déjà, au moment des événements de 273 ...” It is difficult to know on what basis he made this judgement. Further on (p. 78), he seems to assume (but on what grounds?) that the Hellenistic city had been destroyed by Aurelian’s troops. Perhaps on-going research will supply information on this matter. 10 The probable thickness of the wall was 75 cm. 11 See the text recently published by Drijvers 1995. The statues were erected in the sanctuary of Allat, in the sacred garden (the sanctuary of #Aglibol and Malakbel), in the sanctuary of Arßu, and in the sanctuary of Atargatis (lines 1-2). 12 Dunant 1959. 9

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tesserae found in the sanctuary of Bêl (see below), one finds not Bêl but instead two female divinities of uncertain identification. The tessera found in one hundred twenty-five examples during the excavation of the temple of Arßu corresponds to a type already known, this bearing number 174 in the Recueil (= PAT 2174).13 It is rectangular in form, greater in height than in width, and measures 17 mm. by 23 mm. The specimens were all modeled from a very fine and pure terracotta base, and have a slight orange tint. For convenience, we reproduce here the description given in the Recueil (Figs. 3 and 4): Face a: Arsou debout, en tunique à manches, cuirasse et anaxyrides, coiffé d’un casque en cloche, terminé par un bouton. De la main droite, il s’appuie sur sa lance; la main gauche semble posée sur la poignée d’un glaive; un petit bouclier est passé à son bras et apparaît derrière l’épaule gauche. En bas à droite, tête de bœuf et globule. À gauche: TYM‘MD, Taimoamad; à droite: TB‘WT, Tabaout. Grènetis. Face b: Chameau à droite, apparemment chargé. Devant lui, Hermès nu, debout, de face, avec de petites ailes au sommet de la tête. De la main droite, il tient sa bourse et un rameau de feuillage; la main gauche, ramenée sur la poitrine, tient le caducée appuyé sur l’épaule. Filet au pourtour.

The inscription contains only two proper names, of which the first is well attested at Palmyra.14 The second is found only here; its restitution was proposed on the basis of another tessera (PAT 2184). The most likely reading is probably TD#WT (or TR#WT).15 A. Caquot has suggested that the ending -WT is the suffix one often finds attached to abstract nouns, and that such a noun is here employed as a proper name.16 Should the preceding element be derived etymologically from the root YD‘ “to know”? Instead of imagining two separate individuals jointly sponsoring the banquet, one must no doubt interpret the second proper name as the patronym of the first. Such an omission of expected BR is not uncommon.17 One may attempt to situate more precisely the striking of this tessera 13

P. 12. Stark 1971, pp. 55 and 117. 15 Since the reading of the B sign in the tessera PAT 2184 is questionabt is conceivable that it too bore the name TD#WT. Incidentally, it also refers to the cult of Arßu. 16 Ingholt–Seyrig–Starcky 1955, p. 166. 17 See, for example, Briquel-Chatonnet 1990; and PAT 1489, PAT 1519, and PAT 1522. 14

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in the history of Palmyra on the basis of palaeography. On the one hand, the estimated date should not be placed too high, since the signs surpass neither the upper nor lower “margins” of the lines of writing. On the other hand, the legs of the signs are still linear, which would normally indicate a rather high dating. In fact, however, it appears that the epigraphic miniaturization necessary for the striking of tesserae was accompanied by certain graphic modifications: more specifically, the use of non-linear strokes in the legs of signs, which is normally considered to be characteristic of a later phase, is rather frequently found in monumental inscriptions. This greatly complicates the firm establishment of datation criteria. The Y forms an acute angle, and its summit is opposed to the line of writing. In a more rounded version, it is a form current at the end of the 1st century and in the 2nd century AD18 The sign later has a tendency to be rotated 45°.19 The # is upright, and resembles our modern “Y” sign, positioned upon the line. The form of this sign, as those of Y and T, finds parallels in PAT 0482 (= CIS 4130), which is dated to AD 95. The M signs have a rather particular form: the right leg is attached directly to the left leg at the summit of the sign, and a horizontal oblique stroke is joined to the left leg as a mere appendage. One finds an identical disposition of the M sign in the tessera PAT 2124 (= RTP 118), which is also, unfortunately, of uncertain datation.20 A form which is in some respects comparable is found in the text PAT 0472 (= CIS 4123), dated to AD 83. The T is simple, composed of neat linear strokes, without embellishment. Additionally, one notices that the right leg does not rest upon the line, a feature which appears only at the beginning of the 2nd century AD The leg of the W is linear, and the top of the sign is slightly inclined to the left. The leg of the D/R is linear, and almost upright; it is not pointed. In sum, it appears reasonable to propose a dating toward the middle of the 2nd century AD In terms of the sheer number of tesserae of the same type and of their archeological context, this lot sheds fascinating light on the function of the sacred banquets.21 It is generally admitted that the 18 See, for example, the inscription published by Drijvers 1995 (cited above in note 11). 19 See, for example PAT 1381. 20 See also PAT 2197, PAT 2243, and PAT 2247, to name other examples; these also are undated. 21 Gawlikowski 1990 (esp. pp. 2651-2652).

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tesserae, having been distributed along with the invitations to participate in these banquets, served as a sort of “admission ticket” to the latter.22 The tesserae under study here, recovered in controlled excavations, seem to have tumbled out of a fallen vase, presumably knocked over at the moment of the destruction of the edifice. Two hypotheses come to mind to explain the uniformity of this lot. In the first, the tesserae had been struck, but not yet distributed: in this case they would have been intended for use in connection with a banquet that never took place. The second hypothesis is that these tesserae represent those brought to the banquet by the invited guests: in this case we can suppose that the collection was assembled by the person in charge of admission at the entry to the banquet room, who tossed the collected tesserae into a vase as they were received. The first hypothesis seems to us less probable, if only because a few examples of this tessera had been found elsewhere, prior to the discovery of the sanctuary and the vase. We are entirely ignorant, however, of the provenance of such isolated token finds. It cannot be excluded that they too derive from the contents of the vase (see the photo), whether they were found on the surface or collected at this precise location. It is possible that all the tesserae of the various banquets which took place during a certain span of time were archived; such would at least explain why so many have been found. The number of recovered tesserae which are of the same type23 also permits a few reflections. It implies first of all a banquet in which a considerably large number of guests had assembled. On present data, however, only one banquet location was of sufficient size to accommodate such an assembly, the banquet hall of the temple of Bêl, where, according to E. Will,24 over one hundred individuals could have found a place among the beds of the banquet.25 Nothing of 22 Seyrig 1940a, pp. 51-58 (= Seyrig 1985, pp. 235-248); and Starcky– Gawlikowski 1985, p. 107. 23 One hundred twenty-five were found in the course of regular excavations, but others, of unknown provenance, are known. Five examplars are mentioned in Ingholt–Seyrig–Starcky 1955. A private collection in Damascus, which we have begun to inventory, contains another three. It is unlikely, of course, that this listing should be exhaustive. 24 Will 1997, pp. 873-887. 25 H. Seyrig interpreted also the building to the west of the Agora as a small temple, subsequently converted into a banquet hall, in which he supposed about forty guests could have assembled (Seyrig 1940b, pp. 236-239 = Seyrig 1985, pp. 235-248), but on this see now Balty 1991, pp. 50-56 and 591-593.

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the kind applies to the temple of Arßu, at least inasmuch as the meager remains permit a reconstruction. The conventional representation of guests in pairs, reclining on beds as they eat, such as one can observe, for example, on certain tesserae, was probably not the case here. Only the rab marzeaÈ, the priests of the cult of Arßu, and certain “V.I.P.’s”26 of the tribe of the Bani Mattabôl were probably so installed, most likely in one of the smaller annexes of the cella described above. The other guests must have crowded into any free space available throughout the sanctuary. Such an assemblage of tesserae of the same type is not, in fact, without precedent. In the foundations of the banquet hall situated in the court of the temple of Bêl, a large number of tesserae were recovered, among the drainage and washing installations. For certain types, more than a hundred examples are attested (RTP 422 and 429). It is necessary, however, to note that this location concerned all of the residents of Palmyra, unlike the tribal sanctuaries, such as that of Arßu. In addition, tesserae mentioning other gods than Bêl, Nabu for example, were found there. It is thus reasonable that very large numbers of guests could be there accommodated. This lot of tesserae allows us better to evaluate the popularity of the cult of Arßu in the 2nd century AD27 It is known that this cult was active in the course of the 3rd century AD In fact, several inscriptions mention the construction of a basilica for the god Arßu in the Great Colonnade.28 This could be an indication that the sanctuary, situated as it is in the old part of the city, had been somewhat abandoned by the Mattabôl tribe, who preferred in this period to honor their god in the new urban center which lined the Great Colonnade.29 Such an abandonment could explain the fact that the archives of the temple had preserved this evidence regarding ancient banquets. 26 27 28 29

Following the terminology of Will 1997, p. 878. Gawlikowski 1990, pp. 2621-2623 and 2648-2649. al-As’ad–Gawlikowski 1986-1987. Yon 2002, pp. 75-78.

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Fig. 1. Jar containing tesserae (Photo: Palmyra Museum)

Fig. 2. Foundations of the Arßu temple (Photo: Palmyra Museum)

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Fig. 3. PAT 2174 (= RTP 174) Private collection, face a

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Fig. 4. PAT 2174 (= RTP 174) Private collection, face b

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GREEK AND LATIN WORDS IN PALMYRENE INSCRIPTIONS: A COMPARISON WITH SYRIAC SEBASTIAN P. BROCK

Edessa lies just under 300 kilometres north of Palmyra as the crow flies, and its Aramaic dialect, known today as Syriac, is closely related to that of Palmyra. Although the people of Edessa of the first three centuries did not share with the Palmyrenes anything like the same ‘epigraphic habit’, nevertheless a certain number of early inscriptions, and in particular three legal documents of the 240s in Syriac,1 make a comparison between the use of Greek words (and Latin words by way of Greek) in these two Aramaic dialects worthwhile and meaningful. Syriac of course continued on as a widespread literary language long after the latest Palmyrene inscription (dated 279/80),2 and the witness of this material (above all that of the fourth and fifth centuries) is adduced below to supplement the meagre harvest from Syriac inscriptions and documents contemporary with the Palmyrene inscriptions.3 Since no complete separate listing of Greek words in the Palmyrene inscriptions appears to have been made, the 75 instances4 are given below alphabeticized under their Greek form. Since my concern is primarily comparison with the Syriac material, discussion of the Palmyrene forms is limited to this aspect alone. For convenience, and for the sake of brevity, the Palmyrene inscriptions are cited solely 1

The texts are given in Drijvers–Healey 1999, pp. 231-248. See Taylor 2001, pp. 203-219, esp. 204-205. 3 No attempt has been made to extend the comparison to the contemporary inscriptions in Nabataean and Jewish Aramaic. 4 I have excluded the following, whose Greek origin seems uncertain: glp/glwp"/ glpt", which have usually been derived from Greek (8bNo, though this seems unlikely since borrowings directly from Greek verbs are very rare; gmwt (PAT 1556, of AD 128), for which Hillers and Cussini (PAT p. 353) rightly say that the derivation from Greek (V:@H is most improbable; prns (PAT 0261, of AD 21), and mprnsnyt" (PAT 0095, of AD 239), which could possibly be derived from Greek BD`