| DESCRIPTION |
|
|---|---|
| Language: | Hebrew |
| Medium: | ostracon (pottery) |
| Size: | 8.6 centimeters high 10.9 centimeters wide |
| Length: | 5 lines of writing |
| Genre: | Tax Receipt |
| Approximate Date: | 9th—7th centuries BCE |
| Place of Discovery: | unknown |
| Date of Discovery: | unknown |
| Current Location: | Shlomo Moussaieff Collection (London, England) |
| TEXT | TRANSLATION (Adapted from Shanks ) |
| K'ŠR SWK.'ŠY
HW.HMLK.LTT.BYD [Z]KRYHW.KSP TR ŠŠ.LBYT YHWH[.] Š ||| |
According to your order, Ashya- hu the king, to give by the hand of [Z]ekaryahu silver of Tar- shish for the house of Yahweh 3 shekels |
| DISCUSSION QUESTIONS |
| 1. Some scholars have suggested that byt yhwh
refers to the Jerusalem temple. Given the wide variety of other Yahweh
shrines and temples, what other locations are feasible during this period?
2. What is the connection of taxes and political-religious shrines and temples? 3. Since Ashyahu does not appear as the name of an Israelite or Judahite king mentioned in the Bible (at least in this exact form), what are the possibilities for his identification? 4. To what would "Tarshish silver" refer? What do we know about metal standards in the ancient world? |
| SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY |
| Ben-David, A. "The Standard of the Sheqel." Palestine Exploration Quarterly 98 (1966) 168-69.
Bordreuil, Pierre, Felice Israel, and Dennis Pardee. "Deux Ostraca Paleo-Hebrew de la Collection Sh. Moussaieff." Semitica 46 (1997) 49-76 + Plates 7 & 8. Dever, William G. "Temples and Sanctuaries: Syria-Palestine." In Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by D. N. Freedman, 6:376-80. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Holladay, John S. "Religion in Israel and Judah Under the Monarchy: An Explicitly Archaeological Approach." In Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross, edited by Patrick D. Miller et al., 249-99. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987. Kraus, Hans-Joachim. Worship in Israel: A Cultic History of the Old Testament. Translated by G. Buswell. Richmond: John Knox, 1966. Powell, Marvin A. "Weights and Measurements." In Anchor Bible Dictionary, edited by D. N. Freedman, 6:897-908. New York: Doubleday, 1992. Shanks, Hershel. "Three Shekels for the Lord. Ancient Inscription Records Gift to Solomon's Temple." Biblical Archaeology Review 23.6 (Nov/Dec 1997) 28-32. Shiloh, Yigael. "Iron Age Sanctuaries and Cult Elements in Palestine." In Symposia Celebrating the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the founding of the American Schools of Oriental Research, edited by Frank Moore Cross, 147-57. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1975. |
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