Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions: Corpus and Concordance (review)

Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 123 Reviews from these fragmentary materials. One must also take into account the genre of texts involved. More of the non-Hebrew texts tend to be funerary in nature while there are fewer of this type of inscription from Hebrew sources. In general, Crawford is very conservative and judicious, one might say quite cautious, in dealing with the readings for these inscriptions. Reviews of the literature on the various texts are thorough, but disputed points are commonly left unresolved in the interest of pursuing the assigned topic of blessing and curse. This study is well done, and it is useful for readers who may wish to know more about how blessing and curse fonnulae were used in Syro-Palestine in the first half of the first millennium B.C.E. William H. Shea The Biblical Research Institute Silver Spring. MD 20904 ANCIENT HEBREW INSCRIPTIONS: CORPUS AND CONCORDANCE . By G. I. Davies, assisted by M. N. A. Bockmuehl, D. R. de Lacey, and A. J. Poulter. Pp. xxxiv + 563. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Cloth. Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions: Corpus and Concordance is a collection of all Hebrew inscriptions known to its compilers from the earliest (ca. tenth century B.C.E.) to 200 B.C.E. That fact alone makes it a valuable resource, but readers will also find other features of it that will delight and perhaps disappoint. On the whole, the positive points far outweigh the negatives. This book is the result of an extensive computer-based project undertaken by Professor Davies and his associates, which has as its aim to collect and keep current a complete database of ancient Hebrew inscriptions. Its great value is that it gathers in one place all known inscriptions, which heretofore have been scattered in a variety of publications throughout the library. In practical tenns, because of this book, many of these inscriptions are now readily accessible for the first time. Those who have worked with ancient inscriptions are aware that for many of the texts several readings have been proposed, mostly because of their fragmentary nature. Davies, aware of the uncertainties involved in dealing with these materials, writes: "We have studied and compared the readings of the original editors, the compilers of previous collections of in- Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 124 Reviews scriptions and other individual scholars, and in most cases we have consulted published photographs and drawings before deciding what reading(s) to adopt. ... Our general policy has been to follow, in our text, the majority view and to include as variants only those alternative readings which have strong support. We have hardly ever added a new reading of our own" (pp. xii-xiii). This seems to be a prudent course of action for this kind of project. With respect to dating, the compilers have generally selected dates that are proposed by "the most recent authority" (p. xiv). This is also a sound decision (depending on which "most recent authority" one chooses), since we clearly know more about paleography and stratigraphic dating today than our predecessors did decades ago when many of the inscriptions were found and first published. Two things instantly disappointed me when I opened this book. The first is the absence of translation, textual notes, and commentary. But this book is no Kanaaniiische und aramiiische Inschriften (by H. Donner and W. Rollig; Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1962). It presents only the transliterated texts with no translation or discussion. I do not fault it on this account, because in this it does precisely what it sets out to do. While the standard commentaries provide a wealth of information that this collection does not, they usually include only the larger texts. This collection, however, includes every known Hebrew text from the period-including dozens of stamps and dozens of inscribed weights, some of which contain only one letter or sign. The seal inscriptions alone number over seven hundred. My other disappointment is with the lack of bibliography. In general, each text is referenced only by its editio princeps. In many cases (especially for those texts that were published years ago) the original publications are not as helpful as more recent studies. Certainly they are unable to provide...