על חרס וגומא: כתובות ארמיות ועבריות מימי בית שני המשנה והתלמוד [On Sherd and Papyrus: Aramaic and Hebrew Inscriptions from the Second Temple Mishnaic and Talmudic Periods.] (review)

Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 194 Reviews All in all, these three volumes contain an uneven assortment of articles and, as a whole, are not necessarily the best reflection of the competency of Hebraists in Spain today. Renee Levine Melammed Harvard University Cambridge, MA 02138 "o?nm mWOil 'JW n':l '0'0 n"':l,U' n"o,~ n':l1M::> :~om C-m ?,U [ON SHERD AND PAPYRUS: ARAMAIC AND HEBREW INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE SECOND TEMPLE MISHNAIC AND TALMUDIC PERIODS.] By Joseph Naveh. Pp. 239. Jerusalem: Magnes Press. 1992. Cloth. As the subtitle indicates. the present volume deals with inscriptions and documents from late antiquity. thereby complementing other monographs which deal with writings from earlier periods in Israel (e.g., Hanoch Reviv. A Commentary on Selected Inscriptions from the Period ofthe Monarchy in Israel [Jerusalem: The Historical Society of Israel. 1975] in Hebrew. and Klaas A. D. Smelik. Writings from Ancient Israel [Louisville. KY: Westminster/John Knox. 1991]. translated by G. I. Davies). The author is Professor of Epigraphy and West-Semitic Palaeography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a well known scholar in these fields. The title of his book pertains to some of the materials used for writing in antiquity. although it also deals with inscriptions on stone and metal. The documents discussed in this book. which does not include any literary texts, reflect daily life of people from all walks of life. Following a foreword. the book is divided into eight chapters followed by a summary. bibliography, list of illustrations, and four indices. The first, introductory chapter. on script and language, is subdivided into parts dealing with the Hebrew. Aramaic, and Samaritan scripts; Hebrew and Aramaic language ; distribution of scripts and their styles; and dating writings by script. The second chapter, inscriptions from daily life, is also subdivided. Its nine sections focus on seals, "lottery" tokens, short notes, instructions, letters, other personal texts, writing exercises. inscriptions on jars. and contributions marked on jars. The third chapter is devoted to legal documents. It analyzes papyri-all written in Aramaic, the language of legal affairs-which were discovered at Hebrew Studies 35 (1994) 195 Reviews several sites in the Judean wilderness. Here, Naveh presents promissory notes, bills of sale, marriage contracts, divorce agreements, and lease contracts . The Bar-Kochba letters are discussed in the fourth chapter, which presents documents discovered in the caves of Wadi Muraba'at and Nahal Hever. Most of these are papyri written in Aramaic, although one document was written on a wooden plank. The next chapter, synagogue inscriptions, contains a selection of dedicatory inscriptions and literary texts, the latter not original, but copied from other sources. The inscriptions were done in mosaics or incised in architectural elements such as pillars and door posts made of limestone and basalt. Chapter 6, incantations, presents magic texts from Palestine. Syria. Babylon, and Egypt, written in either Hebrew or Aramaic on bowls, amulets, and in books. Finally, chap. 7 is devoted to Samaritan inscriptions and amulets, while chap. 8 presents burial inscriptions written on ossuaries, sarcophagi . and other elements of the burial site. All the inscriptions presented in this book have been previously published . but Naveh adds his own understanding and interpretation. These very succinct presentations are done in a basic outline form, without expanding on linguistic analysis. The interested reader will need to look into the previous publications in order to understand some of the analyses fully. However, this process is facilitated by extensive footnoting of previous publications and a very helpful bibliography. In the summary, or afterword, Naveh outlines his approach to the study of ancient written evidence. In light of the scarcity of written sources and the need to extract maximum information, he calls for caution against farreaching conclusions that cannot be supported or justified. He describes the five elements which should guide the epigrapher: a) Correct reading, that is, only those words and letters which are clear. Letters which are partially visible should be marked. It is permissible to make suggestions for reading unclear letters or completing lacunae, but Naveh suggests that this should be done in the discussion and not in the presentation of an inscription. He also suggests that we admit when we...