Ketef Hinnom Scrolls
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The Ketef Hinnom scrolls, also described as Ketef Hinnom amulets, are the oldest surviving texts currently known from the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Paleo-Hebrew The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms o ...
script (not the Babylonian square letters of the modern Hebrew alphabet, more familiar to most modern readers), is at least partially from the
Book of Numbers The Book of Numbers (from Biblical Greek, Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi'', , ''Bəmīḏbar'', ; ) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and complex history; its final f ...
in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Ketef Hinnom Ketef Hinnom () is an archaeological site discovered in the 1970s southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem. Archaeological excavations held at the site uncovered a series of Iron Age period Judahite burial chambers, dating to the 7th and 6th cent ...
, an archaeological site southwest of the
Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...
, and were found to contain a variation of the
Priestly Blessing The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction (; translit. ''birkat kohanim''), also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands (Hebrew ''nesiat kapayim''), rising to the platform (Hebrew ''aliyah ledukhan''), ''dukhenen'' (Yiddish fro ...
, found in (see also Mechon-Mamre). The scrolls were dated paleographically to the late 7th or early 6th century BCE, placing them in the
First Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it was commis ...
period.


Discovery

The scrolls were found in 1979 in Chamber 25 of Cave 24 at Ketef Hinnom, during excavations conducted by a team under the supervision of Gabriel Barkay, who was then professor of archaeology at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
. The site appeared to be archaeologically sterile (the tomb had last been used for storing rifles during the Ottoman period), but a chance discovery by a 13-year-old volunteer revealed that a partial collapse of the ceiling long ago had preserved the contents of Chamber 25. A reconstruction indicates that there were five chambers and a central 'hall' in cave 24. The cave could hold about 22+ bodies on benches, each with a headrest of stone. Under three of the chambers in the cave there were repositories. The repositories were used for secondary burial, which means that the bones and other remains of the long deceased body were removed and put into the repository, thus making space for another body on that particular bench. The chambers were neatly cut with smoothed surfaces using the royal cubit as measure. The repositories, such as that under chamber 25, had rough surfaces and a sack-like form, thus it was not intended to be seen. Ketef Hinnom cave 24 has a similar outline and capacity as the Mamilla cave complex 1 and 2, however, these cave complexes have more rooms than cave 24 at Ketef Hinnom. To accommodate more people Ketef Hinnom cave 24 has used the large chamber to the right to accommodate about 10 people, whereas this room in the Mamilla cave complexes did not have benches, thus probably they were used for chemical treatment of the bodies. The repository under chamber 25 contained approximately 60 cm of material with over a thousand objects: many small pottery vessels, artifacts of iron and bronze (including arrowheads), needles and pins, bone and ivory objects, glass bottles, and jewelry including earrings of gold and silver. In addition, the excavators found two tiny silver scrolls, referred to below as KH1 and KH2. The tomb had evidently been in use for several generations from about 650 BCE, that is towards the end of the
First Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it was commis ...
period, and it continued to be used after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 BCE. KH1 was found in Square D, the middle of the repository, 7 cm above the floor, while KH2 was found while sifting dirt from the lower half of the deposits in Square A, the innermost portion of the repository. Both amulets were separated from
Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
artifacts by 3 meters of length and 25 cm of depth, and embedded in pottery and other material from the 7th/6th centuries BCE. Barkay initially dated the inscriptions to the late-7th/early-6th centuries BCE, but later revised this date downward to the early 6th century on paleographic grounds (the forms of the delicately incised
paleo-Hebrew The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms o ...
lettering) and on the evidence of the pottery found in the immediate vicinity. This dating was subsequently questioned by Johannes Renz and Wolfgang Rollig, who argued that the script was in too poor a condition to be dated with certainty and that a 3rd/2nd century BCE provenance could not be excluded, especially as the repository, which had been used as a kind of "rubbish bin" for the burial chamber over many centuries, also contained material from the fourth century BCE. A major re-examination of the scrolls was therefore undertaken by the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
's West Semitic Research Project, using advanced photographic and computer enhancement techniques which enabled the script to be read more easily and the paleography to be dated more confidently. The results confirmed a date immediately prior to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586/7 BCE.Barkay, G., A.G. Vaughn, M.J. Lundberg and B. Zuckerman, "The Amulets from Ketef Hinnom: A New Edition and Evaluation," ''Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research'' 334 (2004): 41–71. (An innovation in the report was the simultaneous publication of an accompanying "digital article," a CD version of the article and the images). Kyle McCarter of
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
, a specialist in ancient
Semitic scripts The Phoenician alphabet is an abjad (consonantal alphabet) used across the Mediterranean civilization of Phoenicia for most of the 1st millennium BC. It was one of the first alphabets, attested in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions found ...
, has said the study should "settle any controversy over he date ofthese inscriptions"."Solving a Riddle Written in Silver", ''New York Times'', 2004


Significance

The 2004 team described the scrolls as "one of most significant discoveries ever made" for biblical studies. Apart from their significance for modern knowledge of the development of the Hebrew alphabet, the scrolls "preserve the earliest known citations of texts also found in the Hebrew Bible and ... the earliest examples of confessional statements concerning Yahweh." The reference to Yahweh as "Rebuker of Evil," found in later incantations and amulets associated with Israel, is evidence that these artifacts were also amulets. Dr. Wayne Pitard has stated that although evidence for the antiquity of the Priestly Blessing is now compelling, this does not necessarily mean that the
Book of Numbers The Book of Numbers (from Biblical Greek, Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi'', , ''Bəmīḏbar'', ; ) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and complex history; its final f ...
already existed at that time. Dr. James R. Davila has similarly pointed out that while the scrolls show that "some of the material found in the Five Books of Moses existed in the First Temple period", the suggestion that they are "proof that the Five Books of Moses were in existence during the First Temple period" (as described in an article in the Israeli newspaper ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'') is "an overinterpretation of the evidence." According to the team which led the most conclusive reexamination of the scrolls:


Description

The scrolls are known as KH1 and KH2. They are written in
Paleo-Hebrew The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms o ...
characters (see
Paleo-Hebrew alphabet The Paleo-Hebrew script (), also Palaeo-Hebrew, Proto-Hebrew or Old Hebrew, is the writing system found in Canaanite and Aramaic inscriptions, including pre-Biblical and Biblical Hebrew, from southern Canaan, also known as the biblical kingdoms ...
), not the Babylonian Hebrew square letters of the modern Hebrew alphabet. Text below in square brackets represents informed deduction.


KH1

The scroll KH1 measures . * op line(s) broken# ...] YHWH ... # ..# the grea ... who keeps# the covenant and # aciousness towards those who love imand (alt: i;) # those who keep is commandments ... # ... # the Eternal? .. # he?blessing more than any # nae and more than Evil. # For redemption is in him. # For YHWH # is our restorer nd# rock. May YHWH bles # you and # ay hekeep you. # ayYHWH make # is faceshine ... * ottom line(s) broken.


Biblical parallels

Compare lines 3–6 to: * Exodus – showing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments *
Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...
– showing mercy to thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments *
Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...
– keeping covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations * Daniel – keeping covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments *
Nehemiah Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...
1:5 – keeping covenant and mercy for them that love Him and observe His commandments The omission of "thousands" may have originally appeared on line 7 as in Deuteronomy 7:9.


KH2

The scroll KH2 measures . * 'Top line(s) broken: For PN xxxx''# -h/hu. May be blessed h/sh- # - by YHW ,# the warrior/helper and # the rebuker of # il: May bless you, # YHWH, # keep you. # Make shine, YH- # - , His face # ponyou and g- # -rant you p- # - ae. * 'Bottom line(s) broken.'' Text in Hebrew letters:











Transliteration: #h/w brk h # l yhw #hʕzr w #hgʕr b # ybrk #yhwh y #šmrk #yʔr yh # pnwy # lk wy #šm lk š # Transcription: #hu. Bārūḵ hū #l-
Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...
#hā-‘êzer wa #hā-ḡō‘êr b- #rā‘ yaḇrêḵ #Yahweh yi- #šmārəḵā. #Yê’ōr Yah- #weh pānāw #’êleḵā wa-yā- #śîm lêḵ šā- #lōm


Biblical parallels

Compare lines 5–12 to
Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
: 6:24 ''Yahweh bless you and keep you;'' 6:25 ''Yahweh make his face shine upon you,'' and be gracious to you; 6:26 Yahweh lift up his countenance upon you,'' and give you peace.'' (Note that only the bold italicized portion is present on this scroll; also note that all of Numbers 6:25–26 may have appeared on KH1 after line 18 where the scroll has disintegrated).


Apotropaic nature of amulets

Jeremy Smoak has argued that the combination of the terms "guard" and "protect" is typical of apotropaic amulets and find parallels among Phoenician and
Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...
amulets from the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
.Smoak, Jeremy, "Amuletic Inscriptions and the Background of YHWH as Guardian and Protector in Psalm 12," ''Vetus Testamentum'' 60 (2010): 427–428. He theorizes that the custom of making such apotropaic amulets is reflected in
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...
12:6–9:


See also

*
Biblical archaeology Biblical archaeology is an academic school and a subset of Biblical studies and Levantine archaeology. Biblical archaeology studies archaeological sites from the Ancient Near East and especially the Holy Land (also known as Land of Israel and ...
* Archaeology in Israel *
List of artifacts significant to the Bible The following is a list of inscribed Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, items made or given shape by humans, that are significant to biblical archaeology. Selected artifacts significant to biblical chronology This table lists inscriptions which ...
*
Epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
*
Paleography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...
*
Priestly Blessing The Priestly Blessing or priestly benediction (; translit. ''birkat kohanim''), also known in rabbinic literature as raising of the hands (Hebrew ''nesiat kapayim''), rising to the platform (Hebrew ''aliyah ledukhan''), ''dukhenen'' (Yiddish fro ...
*
Ancient literature Ancient literature comprises religious and scientific documents, tales, poetry and plays, royal edicts and declarations, and other forms of writing that were recorded on a variety of media, including stone, Clay tablet, clay tablets, Papyrus, pa ...


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{Book of Numbers Collection of the Israel Museum Hebrew Bible manuscripts Biblical manuscripts Hebrew manuscripts Book of Numbers Archaeological discoveries in Israel 7th-century BC inscriptions 1979 archaeological discoveries Israelite and Jewish archaeological artifacts