242:
254:
178:
597:, p. 150: "The real clue to the date of the inscription lies in the name of the official, provided that he is known from the Bible. The restoration of a name ending with -yahu is, of course, a matter of guesswork, since we may assume that other officials whom the Bible does not mention also bore the title and also had names ending in -yahu. But one possible restoration, suggested by Maj.-Gen. Yadin, should be mentioned here, viz.: = yahû, which is the full form of the name = Šebnâ. It would be premature to draw any conclusion from a highly conjectural suggestion, but the associations evoked by this name are fascinating enough to merit a short excursus."
266:
503:: "The inscription discussed here is, in the words of its discoverer, the first ‘authentic specimen of Hebrew monumental epigraphy of the period of the Kings of Judah', for it was discovered ten years before the Siloam tunnel inscription. Now, after its decipherment, we may add that it is (after the Moabite Stone and the Siloam tunnel inscription) the third longest monumental inscription in Hebrew and the first known text of a Hebrew sepulchral inscription from the pre-Exilic period."
158:, making it the first ancient Hebrew inscription found in modern times. Clermont-Ganneau wrote about three decades later: "I may observe, by the way, that the discovery of these two texts was made long before that of the inscription in the tunnel, and therefore, though people in general do not seem to recognise this fact, it was the first which enabled us to behold an authentic specimen of Hebrew monumental epigraphy of the period of the Kings of Judah."
585:, p. 151: "...the proposed reconstruction of the mutilated name yahu on the inscription, together with the title that follows, reminds one of the prominent Biblical figure 'Shebna who is over the House', whose tomb is mentioned in a famous prediction by Isaiah (xxii, 15-16)... Šebnâ lived in the reign of Hezekiah, which corresponds to the date of our inscription as approximately fixed by palaeography."
29:
221:
Hebrew inscription in
Phoenician characters. This inscription, discovered by myself several months ago, is the only monumental text which goes back to the time of the kings of Judah. It belongs authentically, by the very position which it occupies, to the history of Jerusalem. I cannot yet publicly
573:, p. 139: "I hardly venture to say that I have sometimes conceived that this might be the tomb of Shebnah, or of one of his colleagues, for I fancied that I could read in the larger inscription the complete title . But it is as well to be on one's guard against these too sanguine illusions'."
373:
The three words "אשר על הבית" gave rise to the
English translation "royal steward", although this is not a literal translation – the three words literally mean simply "whom/which (is) over the house", i.e. the one who oversees the house. Using parallels to biblical passages it has been variously
532:, Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; "The similarity of the inscription to that of Tabnit of Sidon (KAI1.13, COS2.56) is remarkable, extending even to the assertion that there are no precious metals within"
234:
Clermont-Ganneau arranged for the inscription to be purchased and removed by the
British Museum one year after its discovery. Almost thirty years later, in 1899, he published a detailed description of the discovery.
428:
Clermont-Ganneau speculated in 1899 that the tomb could be that of the Shebna mentioned in Isaiah, but described the idea as a "sanguine illusion". In the early 1950s, the idea was suggested again by
486:
222:
point out its origin, in order not to interfere with the steps taken for its preservation. I will confine myself to saying that it has probably a religious signification, as is proved by the words
214:
241:
421:. Although the name of the royal steward is broken at the point where the official is named, it has been conjectured on the basis of the biblical verse that this monumental
253:
529:
696:
686:
516:
135:
The inscription is broken at the point where the tomb's owner would have been named, but biblical scholars have conjectured a connection to
721:
113:
681:
177:
297:– at the time of its discovery the script was referred to as "Phoenician letters" – and can be dated to the 7th century BCE.
265:
676:
433:
285:
inscription was so severely damaged that it has not been possible to completely decipher the script. The writing is in
711:
410:
542:
202:
151:
701:
186:
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691:
530:
Re-Excavating Shebna's Tomb: A New
Reading of Isa 22, 15-19 in its Ancient Near Eastern Context
546:
294:
8:
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62:
58:
635:
462:
441:
162:
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213:. Clermont-Ganneau first published the discovery in the Quarterly Statement of the
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in 1870. After passing through various hands, the inscription was purchased by the
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translated "upon the house", "steward of the house" or "governor of the house".
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and the fact that biblical story of Shebna took place during the reign of King
406:
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assessed the proposal, based upon the similarity of the text to that of the
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639:
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The royal steward or court chamberlain was a powerful figure in
Ancient
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The text is considered to have a "remarkable" similarity to that of the
615:
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308:𐤆𐤀𐤕 . . . . . . . 𐤉𐤄𐤅 𐤀𐤔𐤓 𐤏𐤋𐤄 𐤁𐤉𐤕. 𐤀𐤉 𐤊𐤎𐤐. 𐤅𐤄𐤁
457:
282:
210:
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448:(715–687 BCE), describing it as a "highly conjectural suggestion".
445:
310:. 𐤀𐤌 . . . . . . . 𐤅𐤏𐤑𐤌𐤅 𐤀𐤌𐤕𐤄 𐤀𐤄. 𐤀𐤓𐤅𐤓 𐤄𐤀 𐤀𐤔𐤓
189:, published just a few years prior to the inscription's discovery.
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Proto-Hebrew inscription found in the village of Silwan in 1870
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and he was admonished for building himself too grandiose a
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335:
Zōʾt . . . . . . . -yāhū ʾăšer ʿal habayīt. ʾēy kesef wəhāḇ
337:. ʾīm . . . . . . . wəʿaṣm ʿămāō ʿītō. ʿārūr hāʿā ʾăšer
181:
The inscription was found on a house in the village of
616:"The Epitaph of a Royal Steward from Siloam Village"
588:
576:
564:
147:
who was admonished for building a conspicuous tomb.
668:
541:
517:Archaeological Researches In Palestine 1873-1874
547:"Notes on certain new discoveries at Jerusalem"
377:The "maidservant" is referred to by the Hebrew
551:Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement
323:z't . . . . . . . yhw 'šr ‘lh byt. 'y ksp whb
697:Middle Eastern objects in the British Museum
436:, who was later to become an archaeologist.
687:Archaeological discoveries in the West Bank
325:'m . . . . . . . w‘ṣmw 'mth 'h. 'rwr h' 'šr
626:(3). Israel Exploration Society: 137–152.
185:(see the "x" mark). This map is from the
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205:in 1870 above the entrance to a home in
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361:only . . . . . . . and the bone of his
230:, which are very distinctly to be read.
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610:
594:
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663:, British Museum Press, London, 1995
425:originates from the tomb of Shebna.
271:Original location of the inscription
120:inscription found in the village of
347:This . . . . . . . -iah, the royal
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13:
14:
733:
553:. Palestine exploration fund: 103
139:, on the basis of a verse in the
50:160 cm long, 52 cm high
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722:Israel–United Kingdom relations
682:1870 archaeological discoveries
654:Treasures of the British Museum
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543:Clermont-Ganneau, Charles Simon
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203:Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau
154:, about a decade prior to the
152:Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau
1:
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528:Christopher B. Hays (2010),
215:Palestinian Exploration Fund
187:Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem
172:
7:
677:7th-century BC inscriptions
451:
305:
10:
738:
620:Israel Exploration Journal
434:Chief of the General Staff
381:, equivalent to the term "
217:, but with little detail:
487:British Museum Collection
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389:at various points in the
365:with him. Cursed be the m
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110:Royal Steward Inscription
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33:Royal Steward inscription
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22:Royal Steward inscription
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712:Ancient Israel and Judah
515:Clermont-Ganneau, 1899,
247:Findspot, top down view
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102:1871,1107.1, WA 125205
661:Ancient Near East Art
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209:, a village south of
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116:191, is an important
259:Findspot, elevations
197:was found by French
702:Hebrew inscriptions
432:, the Israeli Army
405:. According to the
385:" used to refer to
295:Paleo-Hebrew script
143:mentioning a royal
63:Paleo-Hebrew script
463:Siloam inscription
442:Siloam inscription
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163:Tabnit sarcophagus
156:Siloam inscription
652:F. Frances (Ed),
468:Silwan necropolis
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411:Isaiah 22:15–16
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320:Transliteration
312:𐤉𐤐 𐤀 𐤆𐤀𐤕
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287:Biblical Hebrew
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72:7th century BCE
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612:Avigad, Nahman
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99:Identification
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555:. Retrieved
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430:Yigael Yadin
427:
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378:
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367:who op this
339:yīp ʾe zōʾt
332:Romanization
306:
280:
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118:Proto-Hebrew
109:
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595:Avigad 1953
583:Avigad 1953
571:Avigad 1953
501:Avigad 1953
423:inscription
363:maidservant
344:Translation
112:, known as
671:Categories
659:D. Colon,
645:2022-12-18
557:2022-12-18
474:References
387:concubines
383:handmaiden
351:. There i
291:Phoenician
77:Discovered
59:Phoenician
632:0021-2059
458:Isaiah 22
327:yp ' z't
283:limestone
211:Jerusalem
173:Discovery
132:in 1871.
126:Jerusalem
42:Limestone
640:27924525
614:(1953).
545:(1871).
452:See also
446:Hezekiah
314:
124:outside
39:Material
379:‘amatah
349:steward
289:in the
145:steward
69:Created
55:Writing
717:Silwan
638:
630:
415:Shebna
397:Shebna
353:silver
303:Script
207:Silwan
195:lintel
183:Silwan
137:Shebna
122:Silwan
93:London
636:JSTOR
403:Judah
391:Torah
167:Sidon
165:from
141:Bible
628:ISSN
419:tomb
359:here
281:The
228:Baal
226:and
224:beit
108:The
80:1870
47:Size
355:or
293:or
114:KAI
61:or
673::
634:.
622:.
618:.
549:.
508:^
493:^
393:.
357:ld
201:,
169:.
91:,
648:.
624:3
560:.
409:(
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