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OF THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL σοι Ὁ 


THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY 
_ JERUSALEM : 


Patrons: 


Η. E. Frenp Marsnan tae Viscount ΑἸ ΒΥ G.C.B., 


Board of Directors: 


Prof. J. GarsvaneG President ; 

Le Réy, Pére DoormE Vice-President Ξ ΟΣ i 
Dr. W. F. Aupricur ey Vice-President 5 
The Rey. Herpert Danpy . Secretary τές: 
Dr. Nanum Stouscu Treasurer 


Le Réy. Pere GaupEns Orratr Director. 


Mr. Ronatp Storrs Director 


ἢ Mr. Eximzer Ben YenupAn Director 


Editorial Board: 
: The Rey. H. Dansy 
ἐν he Le Réy. Pére Duorme 


4 δ Mr. Davin Yetin 
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THE JOURNAL 


OF THE 


PALESTINE 
ORIENTAL SOCIETY 


VOLUMETI 


1920-1921 
a 
wee 
a Ὡς 
9 
JERUSALEM 


PUBLISHED BY THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY 
1921 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Introductory Notice . . 
Constitution : 
Reports of Meetings . 
Asst, F.-M., O. P, La maison d’Abraham ἃ Hébron. 
Axuprient, W.F. A Revision of Karly Hebrew Chronology : 
— A Colony of Cretan Mercenaries on the Coast of the Negeb 
Ben Yeuupan, Enimzer. The Edomite Language . . Mass 
Canaan, T. Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine . 
Cray, A. T. The Amorite Name Jerusalem ἜΡΩΣ 
_ Dectorpt, A. Note sur une monnaie de bronze de Bar Gachba 
Kiran, Israzt. Contribution ἃ Vhistoire du verbe hébreu . 
— la répétition de la racine en hébreu . 
Garstana, J. The Year’s Work zee 
Happap, E.N. Blood Revenge among the Arabs 
— Political parties in Syria and Palestine. . . . .. He 


_Ipetson, A. Z. Hebrew Music with Special Reference to ΠΣ Magia 


Intonations in the Recital of the Pentateuch . 
- Lagranas, Réy. Pére. Inaugural Address . 


Mackay, E. J. H. Observation on a Megalithic Building at Bet Sawir 


(Palestine) Ὁ 2 5 5 aa ee ane 
McCown, C. C. Solomon and the Shalamite Belem. 
- Perers, Jonn P. A Jerusalem Processional 
— Notes of Locality in the Psalter 


 Rarraru, Samurn. Two Ancient Hebrew siciahis: 


— A Recently Discovered Samaritan Charm 

—  Olassification of Jewish. Coins ary apna ae eee 

- Stouscu, Nanum. Quelques observations relatives ἃ 1’inscription 
découverte ἃ Ain Douk 

Totxowsky, S. Methege ha-Ammah 


. Worrett, W.H. Noun Classes and Polarity in Hamitic aa their Bearing 


upon the Origin of the Semites ἜΣ τ 
E Yettn, Davm. Some Fresh Meanings of Hebrew Roots 
— The Use of Hllipsis in “Second Isaiah.” 


ers anda Communications. 9. τὸν τὸ τοῖν τος 


Hsports of Meetings . . 
ae Report of the Treasurer of the Palestine Oriental Saciaty 
: Members of the Palestine Oriental Society 


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Page 6, line 25, 


JOURNAL OF THE 


Vol. 1. No. I. 
CO RIREG BN DA 


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ὙΦ ΓΟ 


Ε ” 


THE JOURNAL 


OF THE 


PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY. 


No. 1. 


OCTOBER, 1920 


Vol. ἴ. 


INTRODUCTORY: NOTICE. 


“The Palestine Oriental Society’ owes its origin to the 
American Assyriologist, Dr. Albert T. Clay. During a year’s 
residence in Palestine in the capacity of “Annual Professor of the 
American School of Archaeological Research in Palestine,” it 
occurred to him that such a Society was not only possible and 
desirable, but might even play a useful part in the new epoch in 
the study of the antiquities of the Holy Land which was to be 
expected under anew and enlightened administration. Accord- 
ingly he called together in Jerusalem a representative gathering 
for the purpose of inaugurating a society which should have as its 
object the cultivation and publication of researches on the 
Ancient East. 


At this preliminary meeting held on January 9th 1920 the 
following were present :— 
Le Rév. Pére Abel, Professeur ἃ I’ Ecole 

Biblique de St, Etienne, Jerusalem, 

Dr. W.F. Albright, Fellow and In- 
structor in Semitic Languages, John 
Hopkins University, Baltimore ; Fel- 
low of the American School of 


Capt. E.T.H. Mackay, Inspector of 
Antiquities to the British Army of 
Occupation in Palestine. 

Le Rév. Pére Meistermann, des 
Franciscains de Terre-Sainte. 

Major ©. Nott, Military Governor of 


Archxological Research in Palestine. 

Mr. Eliezer Ben Yehudah, Editor of the 
Thesaurus Totius Hebraitatis et Veteris 
et Recentioris. 

Dr. A. T. Clay, Professor of Assyriology 
in Yale University; Annual Professor 
of the American School of Archeolog- 
ical Research in Palestine. 

The Archdeacon Cleophas, Greek 
Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem. 


Le Rév. Pére Cré, des Missionnaires 
d’ Afrique, Jerusalem, 

Capt. K.E.C. Cresswell, Late Inspector 
of Antiquities to #he British Army of 
Occupation in Palestine. 

The Rev. Herbert Danby, Senior Ken- 
nicott Hebrew Scholar in the Univer- 
sity of Oxford; attached to St. George’s 

_ Cathedral, Jerusalem. : 

Le Rév. Pére Decloedt, des Mission- 
naires d’ Afrique, Jerusalem, 


Tul-Karim, Palestine. 

IeRév. Pére Orfali, des Franciscains 
de Terre-Sainte. 

The Rev. Dr. J. P. Peters, Professor 
in the University of the South. Lec- 
turer in the American School of 
Archeological Research in Palestine. 


Monsieur Rais, Consul Général, Délégué 
du Haut Commissariat de France. 
Jerusalem, 


Le Rév. Pére Savignac, Professeur a 
Ecole Biblique de St, Etienne, 
Jerusalem, 


Dr. Nahum Slousch, Professor of New 
Hebrew Literature, the Sorbonne, 
Paris; Contributor to the Corpus In- 
seriptionum Semiticarum; Secretary 
of the Hebrew Archieological Society. 


Col. Ronald Storrs, C. M.G., C.B E,, 


Military Governor of Jerusalem. 


° 
- 


Le Rév. Pére Dhorme, Prieur du 
Convent des Dominicains ; Professeur 
ἃ I'Ecole RBiblique de St. Etienne, 
Jerusalem. 

Le Rév Pére Leopold Dressaire, Supé- 
rieur des Peres Assomptionistes, Notre 
Dame de France, Jerusalem, 

Dom Gregoire Fournier, Supérieur 
des Bénédictins du Mont Sion, 
Jerusalem. 

The Rev. Dr. O.A. Glazebrook, United 
States Consul in Jerusalem, 

Le Rév, Pére Carriére, Professeur ἃ 
Ecole Biblique de St. Htienne, 
Jerusalem, 

Le Rév. Pére Lagrange, Directeur 
de l’Ecole Biblique de +t. Etienne, 
Jerusalem; Correspondant de l'Institut 


Le Rév. Pére Vincent, Professeur a 
Ecole Biblique de δύ, Etienne, 
Jerusalem. 


Maj. the Rev. P.N. Waggett, 5. S. J. E. 
Political Officer, Palestine. 

Dr. P D’Erf Wheeler, Jerusalem Rep~ 
resentative of the Palestine Exploration 
Fund, 


Dr. W. H. Worrell, Professor oft 
Phonetics and Instructor in Arabic 
and other Oriental Languages in the 
Kennedy School of Missions; Director 
of the American School of Archeolog- 
ical Research in Jerusalem. 

Mr. David Yellin, M.B.E. Director of the 
Hebrew Teachers’ Seminary in Jerusa- 
lem; President of the Council of 
Jerusalem Jews. 


de France. 


The need, the attractiveness, and the importance of such a 
Society were convincingly urged by Dr. Clay. Although there had 
been fora long time, in Jerusalem and other parts of Palestine, 
learned representatives of various countries, societies and religious 
bodies, there had as yet existed no means whereby they could 
meet together for mutual criticism and stimulus. The results of 
their individual labours were normally unknown to fellow-workers 
in the same or kindred fields until published in isolated European 
and American periodicals. And, furthermore, nothing but good 
could follow from an increased facility of personal intercourse 
between scholars themselves, to say nothing of the opportunity 
offered to that very large number of people in Palestine and Syria 
(who, though not themselves professional students, always follow- 
ed with keen interest the results of the various researches which 
were going on around them) of seeing and hearing men whose 
work had earned them in many cases a world-wide reputation. 


The present moment seemed to be opportune and to hold out 
the best hopes for the success of such a venture. During Turkish 
rule Palestine was scarcely an open field for the archeologist ; 
those who tried to carry on such work were not many in number 
and usually laboured under many and tiresome disabilities. But 
now there was every prospect of the removal of most of these 
difficulties, and a large influx of scholars of various nationalities, 
with acommon interest in archzological investigations of all kinds, 
as well as a still larger number of those possessed of a very living 
interest in the results of such work. 


EXPOSE GENERAL. 


Un certain nombre d’orientalistes réunis a Jérusalem sur 
Vinitiative de M. le Dr. A. T. Clay, l’assyriologue américain bien 
connu, ont décidé de fonder une société dont le but est de favoriser 
la culture et la publication des recherches sur l’ancien Orient. 


A cette réunion quia eu lieu le 9 janvier ont pris part 28 savants 
représentants de divers pays. 


M. Clay a exposé avec force et conviction les raisons qui plaid- 
ent en faveur dela fondation d’une pareille société dont le besoin 
et Vimportance sont évidents. Car bien que l’on rencontre a 
Jérusalem et dans les autres centres de la Palestine des personnes 
originaires de divers pays, ainsi que des sociétés et des établisse- 
ments confessionnels qui perkent un vif intérét aux études orientales, 
ila cependant été créé jusqu’ici aucun organe qui puisse servir 
de trait d’union entre les savants. L’absence d’un pareil organea 
eu pour résultat qu’aucune occasion ne leur a été offerte jusqu’a 
présent d’entrer en contact personnel les uns avec les autres. Un 
échange continuel entre eux d’observations utiles etit pu cependant 
stimuler les efforts individuels de chacun, efforts qui jusqu’ici restent 
d’une facon générale inconnus de différents savants qui travaillent 
dans le méme domaine en Palestine et qui, le plus souvent, n’en 
prennent connaissance que par l’intermédiaire des revues spéciales 
qui paraissent en Europe et en Amérique. 


Or, rien ne saurait étre plus utile que la création d’un centre 
qui favoriserait les relations personnelles entre les savants de toute 
origine, sans parler de l’occasion qui serait ainsi donnée a un grand 
nombre de personnes qui résident en Palestine, et qui s’intéressent 
a nos études, de rencontrer et d’entendre des personnalités scienti- 
fiques qui, tres souvent, jouissent d’une renommée mondiale. 


Le moment actuel nous parait étre tres propice et du meilleur 
augure pour la réussite d'une pareille entreprise. Sous la domina- 
tion turque la Palestine était demeurée un champ fort peu accessible 
a l’archéologie. Les rares savants qui ont persévéré dans leur 
tache se sont trouvés aux prises avec des difficultés extraordinaires. 
Aujourd’hul, ces difficultés semblent devoir disparaitre ; si bien 
qu’il faut s’attendre a ce que des savants de toute nationalité, 
entrainés par un zéle louable pour les recherches archéologiques, 
affluent tres nombreux en ces pays et ace que le nombre de ceux 
qui s’Intéressent aux résultats de ces travaux aille en augmentant 
Sans CeSse. 


CONSTITUTION. 


ART. I. The name of the Society shall be “The Palestine Oriental 
Society” 


ART. If. The Object of the Society shall be the cultivation and 
publication of researches onthe ancient Orient. 


4 


ART. IL The members of the Society shall be distinguished as 
active and honorary. All candidates for membership shall be 
proposed by the Board of Directors at a stated Meeting of the 
Society. The votes of three quarters of the members present 
shall be required for an election. 


ART. IV. The Officers of the Society shall consist of a President, 
two Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and three Directors. 
These shall be elected by ballot at the Annual Meeting, and 
shall serve one year, except the three Directors who shall 
serve three years, one to be elected each year. 


ART. V.. The Board of Directors shall consist of the officers named 
in ART. IV. They shall propose all new candidates for election 
to membership, regulate the financial matters of the Society, 
superintend its publications, and carry into effect the resolu- 
tions of the Society. Four members of the Board shall constitute 
a quorum. 


ART. VI. The Meetings of the Society shall be held in January, 
March, May and November. The November Meeting shall be 
regarded as the Annual Meeting when the yearly reports of 
the Officers shall be read, and the Annual Elections held. 


ART. VII. This constitution may be amended on the recommenda- 
tion of the Boards of Directors, by a vote of three quarters of 
the members present at a stated Meeting. 


BY-LAWS. 


if? Bach active Member shall pay into the treasury an annual 
subscription of 100 piastres. The payment of 1,000 piastres at 
any one time will constitute membership for life. 


Il, Active and Honorary Members shall be entitled to a copy of 
all publications issued by the Society during their membership. 


Ill, Candidates for membership, who have been elected by the 
Society, shall qualify as members by the payment of the annual 
subscription within three months of the time notice of such 
election is posted tothem. A failure so to qualify shall be 
construed as a refusal to become a member. If any corporate 
member shall for two years fail to pay the subscription, his 
name may, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, be 
dropped from the list of members. 


IV. The President at the Annual Meeting shall appoint a Commit- 
tee of Arrangements, a Committee of Nominations, and a 
Committee of Auditors for the following year. 


V. The Official Languages of the Society shall be French and 
English. 


1 


REPORTS OF MEETINGS: 


The First General Meeting of the Society took place in 
Jerusalem, on March 22nd 1920, and was held at the Militar v Gover- 
norate by permission of Colonel R. Storrs, the Military Governor of 
Jerusalem. The afternoon session commenced at 2.30pm. with 
the President, Pére Lagrange, in the Chair. After the President’s 
Inaugural Address, the following papers were read : 


Rey. Dr. J.P. PETERS: Influence of topography in the Psalms. 
Pére VINCENT: L’inscription d’Arak el-Emir. 


Professor W. H. WORRELL: Noun classes and polarity in 
Hamitic, and their bearing upon the origin of the Semites. 


Mr. Samuel RAFAELI: Earlv Hebrew Weights. 

Mr. David YELLIN : Some fresh meanings for Hebrew roots 
Mr. Israel EITAN : Contribution a lhistoire du verbe hébreu. 
Rev. Timotheos THEMELIS: The Bethlehem Mosaics. 


Pére DHORME: L’emploi metaphorique des noms de parties 
du corps en Akkadien et en Hébreu. 


Dr. Nahum SLOUSCH : A Palestinian Hebrew Inscription. 


The evening session was open to the general public, and before 
proceeding with the reading of papers contributed by members of 
the Society, speeches were delivered by Dr. Glazebrook, the 
American Consul ; Mons. Louis Rais, the French Délégue; Dr. Mac- 
Innes, the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem; Mr. G. K. Chesterton, 
and Mr. David Yellin. 


The following papers were then submitted : 
Captain E.T.H. MACKAY: Egyptian Friezes (with drawings). 


Mr. A.Z. IDELSON : Hebrew music, with special reference to 
the musical intonations in the reading of the Pentateuch. 


Dr. Aaron MAZIE: Diseases of Palestine in the Bible and the 
Talmud. 


Pere DRESSAIRE: Jérusalem a l’epoque juive et les fouilles 
des Peres Assomptionistes sur le Mont Sion. 


Lack of time prevented the reading of four other papers 
by Pére LAGRANGE, Mr. E. BEN YEHUDAH, Dr. W. F. AL- 
BRIGHT, and Mr. Ephraim RUBINOVITCH. 


The Second General Meeting was held on May 25th 1920, at 
the Military Governorate in Jerusalem. After new members had 
been elected, it was announced that His Excellency Field Marshal 
the Viscount Allenby had accepted the position of Patron of the 
Society. The following well-known scholars, after being nomina- 
ted by the Board of Directors, were unanimously elected to 


6 


honorary membership: Sir George Adam SMITH and Professor 
G.A. COOKE of Great Britain; Mons. CLERMONT-GANNEAU 
and Pére SCHEIL of France ; Prof. C.C. TORREY and Prof. Morris 
JASTROW of America; and Prof. GUIDI of Italy. 

The following contributions were then read : 

Prof. A. T. CLAY. The Amorite origin of the name of 
Jerusalem. 

Le Rév. Pere LAGRANGE. Les noms géographiques 
de Palestine dans l’ancienne version syriaque des Evangiles. 

Mr. W. J. PHY THIAN-ADAMS. An early race of Palestine. 


Mr. A. Z. IDELSON. A Comparison of some ecclesiastical 
modes with traditional synagogual melodies. 


Le Rév. Pere DHORME. L’assyrien au secours du Livre de 
Job. 


Dr. W. F. ALBRIGHT. Mesopotamian influence in the 
Temple of Solomon. 


Le Rév. Pere DECLOEDT. Note sur une monnaie de bronze 
de Bar Cochba. 


Mr. H. E. CLARK. The evolution of flint instruments from 
the early palaeolithic to the neolithic age. 


Mr. Eliezer Ben YEHUDAH. The Language of the Edomites. 
Mr. Samuel RAFAELI. Recent coin discoveries in Palestine. 
Dr. J.P. PETERS. Notes of locality inthe Psalter. 

Dr. J. D. WHITING. The Samaritan Pentateuch. 


Mr. 5. TOLKOWSKY. Α new translation of ΠΝ amp 
(2 Samuel 8 : 1). 


Le έν. Ρὲτε ORFALI, Un Sanctuaire Cananéen a Siar el 
Ganem (prés Bethléem). 


Mr. Israel EITAN. Quelques racines inconnues dans le 
Livre de Job.” 


_Dr. Nahum SLOUSCH. Nouvelle interprétation d’une in- 
scription phénicienne. 


τιον 60Ger ose Ὁ 


N 


INAUGURAL ADDRESS—By the PRESIDENT, 
Le Rev. Pére LAGRANGE, Jerusalem. 


Mesdames et Messieurs, 


Que faisons-nous ? Nous offrons vraiment un spectacle étrange. 
L’Europe, |’Asie, le monde entier, vient d’étre en proie a la plus 
effroyable tourmente que l’histoire ait connue. Le sol tremble encore. 
A la guerre entre les nations succéde le malaise, sinon partout la 
lutte ouverte entre les classes. I] se forme des comités pour assurer 
le bon ordre, pour essayer de pourvoir au pain quotidien. On se 
demande si ’humanité pourra vivre dans des conditions économi- 
ques nouvelles. Yous les regards se portent anxieux vers l’avenir. 
Et nous voila réunis pour traiter de menus problémes qui ont a peine 
interessé le passé, pour discuter du sens des mots et des régles de 
la grammaire, nous occuper de la géographie ancienne, des fleurs 
des champs, des vieilles mélopées, des lettres gravées sur les rochers 
de la Palestine! 


En vérité, je crains qu’on ne nous reproche de jouer a la pou- 
pée dans un monde adulte, inquiet de ses destinées et que des proble- 
mes plus urgents préoccupent. 


Mais d’abord, Messieurs, nous travaillons, et c’est un excellent 
exemple que nous donnons dans un temps ot les bras qui ont tenu 
Pépéerépugnent areprendre les outils oula charrue. Noustravaillons, 
et la journée de huit heures nous parait trop courte pour assouvir 
notre curiosité- Autant que la crise du pétrole le permet, vous prolon- 
gez vos veilles studieusés bien avant dans la nuit, et si l’insécurité 
du pays οὖν faisiit obstacle, on vous verrait reprendre exploration 
du sol pour lui arracher ses secrets. Travailler, c’est la vieille loi, 
opportune si l’on ne veut pas que notre humus palestinien se 
recouvre de nouveau de ronces et d’épines, et le travail de |’esprit 
nest pas moins pénible parfois qne celui de défricher la steppe. 
Nous proclamons a notre maniére qu’il est bon que chacun reprenne 
son poste et s’emploie au bien général. 


I] est vrai que nous portons nos efforts ailleurs que les utiles 
ouvriers qui nous fournissent le pain, mais j’ose dire qu’a eux-mémes 
nous ne sommes pas inutiles. Car l‘homme d’aujourd’hui, si fier 
qu’il soit des progrés de son industrie, si haut qu’il éléve son vol, n’est 
point un titan quivienne de sortir dusein de laterre. C’est l’héritier de 
générations nombreuses, et il est soumis, quoiqu’il en pense peut- 
étre, aux obscures influences de son hérédité et ἃ des lois éternel- 
les ;un poids de plus de quarante siécles le courbe vers la terre, un 
appel non moins ancien l’invite aux choses d’en haut. Si quelque 
jour pouvait percer les ténébres de l’avenir, si quelque chose d’hu- 
main peut éclairer le présent, nous guider dans notre route, nous 
fortifier dans ]’épreuve, raviver nos plus nobles espérances, c’est la 
lecon du passé, c’est la lumiére de l’histoire. Seulement nous ne 
voulons plus de cette histoire, fille de l’imagination, qui brosse de 
grands tableaux et range dans un bel ordre des faits éclatants dont 
elle n’a pas contrélé l’exactitude, Notre méthode exige des don- 


ὃ 


nées précises, fussent elles de médiocre apparence. C’est par une 
étude attentive, patiente, ἃ la suite d’une enquete poursulvie dans 
tous les milieux, que se fait aujourd’hui I’histoire. Les forces d’un 
homme n’y suffisent plus. Nous ne sommes plus au temps d’ Héro- 
dote, ni méme de Bossuet ou de Macaulay. 


Et voild pourquoi, Messieurs, nous nous sommes groupés. ῃ 
serait assurément difficile de rencontrer ailleurs qu’a Jérusalem des 
compétences aussi diverses, sur un sol plus profondément trans- 
formé par les civilisations les plus variées. Nous y rencontrons V’em- 
preinte de l’antique Babylone, mére du droit, des sciences exactes, 
de l’astronomie, d’un art réaliste et vigoureux. Pour lire les plus 
antiques annales de la Palestine, il faut étre assyriologue. Mais 
ces annales ont été exhumées des sables de l’Egypte, parce que 
Egypte elle aussi avait foulé les plaines du pays de Canaan, 
Egypte d’ot est venu Moise avec les fils d'Israél. Et déja la Gréce 
avait abordé anos rivages, représentée par des ancétres qu’elle avait 
oubliés depuis, les Philistins, fils de la Créte aux cent villes, chantée 
par Homére, et la premiére maitresse des eaux orientales de la 
Méditerranée. Alexandre poussa jusqu’a Tyr et a Gaza sa course 
triomphale, et les Romains voulurent associer ce fleuron a la cou- 
ronne d’empires que baignait leur mer. Enfin JlIslam_ vint, 
puis les Tartares, immense débordement de 1’Asie qui provoqua 
le reflux européen. 


Car vous le savez, Messieurs, et tous, Palestiniens d’origine ou 
d’adoption, nous en sommes fiers, cette contrée deshéritée avec ses 
collines arides du haut desquelles Jérusalem regarde vers le désert 
et vers la mer, ce pays aux dimensions étroites, mais si grand dans 
histoire, surtout religieuse, est au confluent des grandes civilisa- 
tions antiques, et bien des races humaines, nourries sur ce sol, 
s’y sont endormies du sommeil de la terre. I] en est d’elles comme 
de ces couches de sédiment qui se forment au fond des mers, et qui 
révelent aux géologues la flore et la faune disparues des temps 
écoulés. Mais s’il arrive dans ce domaine paisible de la nature que 
des couches plus basses se soulévent tout a coup et remontent ala 
surface, que penser de ces stratification humaines, toujours vivantes 
dans leurs descendants? Aussi, avouons-le, Jérusalem et la Palestine 
ont dans le monde entier la réputation d’un sol remué par l’ardeur 
des passions nationales et religieuses, et plus il appelle le concours 
des spécialistes les plus divers, plus il semble fait pour provoquer 
la mésintelligence et la discorde. 


Eh bien, Messieurs, c’est A nous a faire a notre pays une meil- 
leure réputation. Plus précieux encore que l’encouragement au 
travail, plus utile que les lecons de Ihistoire, vous donnerez 
exemple dela concorde. Ou plut6t vous montrerez par l'histoire 
que la haine est stérile et destructrice, tandis que la concorde 
édifie, féconde, assure le bonheur de tous. 


Sans doute cependant, et quelle que soit la bonne volonté géné- 
rale, sera-t-il opportun de prendre des assurances. Nous ne 
parlerons pas de ce qui pourrait nous diviser. J’ose dire que par 
ma robe méme on peut voir A qui appartiennent ma vie, mon coeur 


9 


et mon ame, mais jen’ai pas prononcé le mot de religion. Les études 
religieuses, les plus graves de toutes, et comme je pense les seules 
définitivement nécessaires, ne font point partie de notre programme. 
On ne devrales aborder que comme les abeilles font les fleurs, 
d’une touche délicate et ailée, et afin de composer du miel. Et quant 
a la politique, le mieux sera d’ignorer qu’elle existe et que quelques 
personnes puissent s’y intéresser. 


Il ne me reste plus, Mesdames et Messieurs, qu’a vous exprimer ma 
gratitude pour l’honneur qui m’a été fait de présider cette premiére 
séaace, ἃ remercier Monsieur le gouverneur-militaire quia bien 
voulu nous accueillir ici, et ἃ déclarer fondée la Société Orientale 
de Palestine, en vous souhaitant une cordiale bienvenue. 


10 


SOME FRESH MEANINGS OF HEBREW ROOTS. 
DAVID YELLIN 


(Jerusalem). 


Chere are certain roots in Hebrew which, besides the custom- 
ary sense in which they occurin the Bible, have another sense as 
well, Only it so happens that they have this sense in only a small 
minority of the passages where they are used. So long as the 
language was living, the different meanings of the roots of the 
language were understood regardless of the frequency or infrequen- 
cy of their occurrence; but once it ceased to be a spoken language 
and was confined to the limits of a book, the large portion of the 
language’s vocabulary and radical significances not contained 
within that book began to be forgotten: and the same fate befell 
the secondary meanings of the roots we have in mind. Because 
they occurred in the majority of instances in one particular mean- 
ing, this meaning was kept‘in the reader’s mind ; and in course of 
time applied also in those instances where the second meaning 
should be applied, though this was only accomplished at times 
with difficulty. Consequent on this forced exegesis there sprang 
up diverse and bizarre renderings, where context was ignored, and 
the whole passage rendered meaningless owing to ignorance of 
this other meaning inherent in the root. 


A comparison with the vocabularies of the other Semitic 
languages enables us to rediscover these forgotten meanings, and to 
explain words in the Bible which seemed incomprehensible, or 
comprehensible only with difficulty, owing to the commoner sig- 
nificance being wrongly thrust on them. To illustrate this/ we 
propose to bring forward a selection of such roots drawn froma 
large list in the present writer’s possession. 


“ὩΝ 


Besides the meaning “‘to be lost,’ this root had among the 
.Hebrews the same meaning which it has in Arabic (« !) , the sense 


of unending time, whose further limit “is lost” to us, withheld from 
our attainment—eternity. We find a case-exactly like this in the 
root ὃ», from which we get the word oy—a time whose end is 


“concealed” from us, [cf. oSy3, nif. “be hidden”. 


_ We find the root in this sense in the oracles of Balaam, and 
in verses from the Book of Job, which has been largely influenced 
by the Arabic language ; and by applying this new interpretation 
we can better understand certain passages in the Bible : 


(1) In Num. 24: 20, in the Balaam oracles, weread: And he 
looked on Amalek, and took up his parable and said : Amalek (is) the 
first of the nations, and his latter end 338 “wy(R.V. “shall come to 


= 


Ti 


destruction.) We see, from the beginning of the verse that Balaam 
was expatiating in praise of Amalek, ‘“‘first of the nations,” and 
with this description agrees the parallel clause “and his latter end 
ts unto eternity,” 1. e. as he is the first of the nations in time, SO shall 
he be the last among them to exist, and his end shall reach “to the 
limit of eternity.” 


In the same way he praises the Kenite : Strong is thy dwelling- 
place, and thy nest is set in the crag...and they shall afflict Asshur and 
afflict Eber, 728 “IY N17 BN 1.6. the Kenites also [i.e. like Amalek] 


shall endure for ever. 


Through this interpretation, “y which has reference to time, 


becomes clearer, and affords a parallel to the common expression 
ἘΝ ΠΝ (ἘΞ 5s 18:02 : 8; 112: Γ2 ΤῊ; ist 26:4 165° 18)k andthe 
expression ΟῚ Ὁ) (Gen. 13: 15; Ex. 12:24; etc). 


Was the word 138, whichis twice written without waw, origin- 


ally a segholate, ’obhéd, which is more in accord with its abstract 
meaning (like τ with the same meaning )? The same question is 


raised even if we explain this word in the customary way 
“destruction” (ΗΠ. Olshausen ; Lehr. der Hebr. Spr., p. 337), 

(2) Besides the form 738, we have also from the same reot and 
with the same meaning the form puzx. This corresponds with 
the abstract noun formation as in 29). Here we find the suffix 
ieee apparently indicative of time just like the fanwin in, 
Arabic fal, and we also find it added to proper names like, 


Hebron, Shomeron, Eglon andthe like, indicating locality. We 
find this form in Job 31 : 12; For tt, (fornication), is a fire devouring 
PIAS TY; i.e. for ever, without cessation. We find the 
same idea in connexion with the word ody in Is. 22:14; WRG 


among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us 
shall dwell with everlasting burning? ody apie 


(3) We find the root used as a verb in the gal, with the same 
significance: Job. 30:2: Yea, the strength of their hands, whereto 
should it profit me, men upon whom bp 75x, i.e. old age is al- 
ready come upon them from. of old, and Job’s mockery 
is natural against those who are younger than he (vy. I.), for these 
young men were weak and feeble in comparison with him, and 
powerless; and they were as though old age had already, long 
ago, come upon them. 


The author of the Book of Job uses the same expression else- 
where, employing the verb derived from oy, “eternity,” in Job. 


6:16 : Wherein the snow ntynm',i.e. exists eternally. Here we 


4 
have the hithpa'el form, corresponding to» Gin Arabic. 


12 
Tos 


To the various meanings which this root has in Hebrew, 
. . “ce 
we must add one belonging to the Arabic oth namely be confi- 


dent,” “unafraid of evil.” In this sense we find the root in the 
following places in the Bible: 


(1) Inthe Nif’al : (a) Is. 7:9. If ye will not believe in me (adopting 
the reading ‘4S instead of "5, according to the variant in Kittel’s 


text) ΣΝ xd; i.e. ye shall not remain in peace and security. 


(0) Chr. 20: 20, Believe in the Lord your God y3e8m, and rest 


in confidence, just as he says, immediately after: Believe in hits 
prophets 5m) and prosper. 


In these two passages, one of which is certainly influenced by 
the other, we have a play of words on the two meanings of the 
root jDX. 


(2) In the Hif‘il. (a) Job 39:24, in his description of the 
restlessness of the horse in time of battle, the writer says: - With 
storm and rage “px he maketh holes in the ground [i. e. he makes 


holes in the ground with his hoofs by stamping like the horse which 
wishes ‘to run but is restrained by his rider] “δ Φ op 3 [ON xd) 
and he cannot remain quiet and stand at rest, for his stormy spirit 
drives him on as he hears the sound of the trumpet. 


(Ὁ) Prov. 14:15. The simple-minded 137 535 ow... Here 
the meaning is not the usual one of the verb, that he believes in every- 
thing that is told him; the continuation opposes this, and the 
parallelism here requires the meaning of “be confident, unfearing” 
—The simple-minded is confident in every matter, but the prudent 
looketh well to his going: a wise man feareth and turneth away from 
evil, but the foolish man passeth by without fear. “? 


The same idea occurs twice again in Proverbs. (22: 3:27: 12). 


The occurrence of the nifeal and the hiftil of this root with a 
meaning dealing with a subjective state of mind is paralleled by 
the use of the root y:, with the same meaning in both niftal, and 


hifsil, of restfulness, security (see Dt. 28 : 65; Is. 34:14; Jer. 47: 6). 


(3) Asan adjective of the form katiél: 2 Sam. 20:19. We are 
of them that are Ssowssyes ΟΦ the men of Israel who dwell in 
peace and safety. this description of the men of the city corres- 
ponds tothe usual ideal description: cf. Jud. 18:7. “The people ... 
shat dwelt τ in security, may uaw quiet and secure ... and 


had no dealings with any man’ “ney. Dy a people secure’ (v.10.) 


ἐξ (1) F The word “SyA in this sense of “pass by” is also found in Prov. 
ae. The anger of ἃ king is as the roaring ofa lion ; he that passes by—" Sy 
(passes by him at the time of his anger) sins against his iife.” 


13 


The katil form of these adjectives jyox and Ὁ. corresponds 
with that of the adjectives Ho and mwa (Is. 28:3) which have 
almost the same meaning. 


(4) In the abstract noun form, 73x: (a) Is. 33:6, where it 


occurs in the old feminine form with finalt : Thy times shall be 
ΓΝ i.e. Thy time shall be secure, and thou shalt fear no 


manner of thing. 


(0) In Ex.-13 : 12, in the description.of how, when Moses lifted 
up his hand Israel prevailed, and when his hand grew tired and 
drooped Amalek prevailed, and how Aaron and Hor supported his 
hands, it goes on tosay: Until the setting of the sun, his hands 
were ΣΝ in a secure condition, with no danger of his drop- 


ping them again from weariness. 


It should be pointed out that this root jpx has the same two 
meanings as the corresponding root mya, which also indicates 
(a) to rely upon someone, and (b) to feel confident, in safety. 


aU 
The powerful and beautiful phrase twas ‘pain [R.V. 


O my soul, march on in strength; R. V.mg. O my soul thou 
hast trodden down strength] in the Song of Deborah (Jud. 5: 21) 
gives little definite meaning owing tothe customary sense of the 
root 77 being assumed. (1) 


In the opinion of the present writer, there is here preserved 
in this root J77 the meaning which it has in Arabic and 


t 
Syriac in the form corresponding to the Hebrew Hif‘il (2531 ) 


“to reach;’’ and after the singer has described the overthrow of 
the enemy, how the river Kishon swept them away, she exclaims 
with rapture: Thou, my soul, hast attained power and greatness,”' (2) 


The same sense is preserved in another verse in Judges (20:43), 
which, in the present writer’s opinion, is a remnant of an old song 
on the destruction of Benjamin: They inclosed the Benjamites round 
about, and pursued after him as far as Manoha. 3) And here, im- 


(1) Nowack leaves this part of the verse untranslated, and says: The last 
section is obviously also corrupt ; for even if we regard 33597) as jussive, the phrase 
“tread on, my soul, with might’ or ‘‘tread under the strong’? (Hollmann Bochmann) 
still gives it no sense in this connexion. How to amendit, with certainty, we do not see. 


< 


e 


(2) iq having the meaning of the Arabic Ss as elsewhere in the Old Testa- 


Menta Ciawdiern4s) ski ΤΡ 5. 1: Ps 78: 6L + Prov, 81: 25). 


(3) Moore reads Manoha instead of m’nuha — resting-place — explaining it 
asa place-name, related to the name Noha, one of the sons of Benjamin, mentioned in 
1.Chr 8:2; and inthe present writer’s opinion, this is the name of the city “Manahath” 
mentioned inl Chr. 8:6, where it speaks of Benjamin saying, “Zhese are the heads of 
fathers’ houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they carried them captive to Manahath,” 


[4 
mediately afterwards, it mentions : “Over against Giba” and 
yin caught up with him, at a place near Gib‘ah, towards the 
sunrising. 

Here the word yn2"17" «occurs in the nif‘il, as in Arabic 
and Syriac” and it is used here after the word jyma‘ann (exactly 


like the expression in the “Song of Moses” Ex.15:9 The enemy 
said : Twill pursue, I will overtake. 


(1) Theword ‘SY has also the meani ic ἢ 
S Nir νοι . ” 
the writer hopes to explain elsewhere, ἘΠ ΝΣ ze Ty 1] 


(2) Nowack says: 355» : ; 
of the enemy can only be eae nie? ᾿ sy: explanation, for the treading down 


15 


NOUN CLASSES AND POLARITY IN HAMITIC AND 
THEIR BEARING UPON THE ORIGIN OF THE SEMITES. 
ΒΥ W.H. WORRELL, 

(ΕἸ ford: U.S.A.) 


$1. In the vear nineteen hundred and eleven Carl Meinhof 
published an article Das Ful in seiner Bedeutung fur die Sprachen 
der Hamiten, Semiten und Bantu (1) and, a year or two later, a book 
entitled Die Sprachen der Hamiten. In both of these he expounds 
his theory of the Hamitic noun classes and of polarity. This 
theory has received public recognition by at least one Semitic 
scholar, 3) in so far as it bears upon Semitic grammar. 


$2. But there is another side to. Meinhof’s work, far more 
important than the mere explanation of curious phenomena in 
Semitic, which has not up to the present attracted the attention of 
Semitic scholars, and which it is my purpose to bring to the atten- 
tion of this distinguished society. I refer to the confirmation 
which his work gives of the generally accepted Arabian theory of 
Semitic origins, especially of that theory as elaborated by Noeldeke, 
placing the ultimate origin of the Semites in northern Africa. “4 


δ 23, By Hamites Meinhof means a race of people, originally 
inhabiting the north of Africa, at atime when it was separated 
from southern Africa and joined to Europe, which proceeded east- 
ward into Arabia and southward into continental Africa as far as 
the Cape. The various mixtures of these Hamites with Sudanians (5) 
and Bushmen (6) have been traced linguistically by Meinhof and 
anthropologically by von Luschan.” This race was closely related 
to the then south Europeans, (8) furnished the dominant element in 
the mixed peoples resulting from its conquests in Africa and, 
crossing into Arabia, became the nucleus of another organism and 
the beginning of a greater chapter in history than it was destined 
to realize in the land of Ham. 


\ 


(1) In vol, Ixy of the Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft. 

(2) Also, in German and English, a more popular work on The Study of African 
Languages, None of these is accessible in Jerusalem, 

(3) Brockeimann, in ZDW/G vol. lxvii. 


(4) Linguistically, of course, and without attempting to say to what extent 
racially also, Cf, note 18. 


(5) Large, black, woolly-haired speakers of monosyllabic or agglutinative langua- 
ges which have word-tone and no gender. 


(6) Smaller, yellowish, scant-haired speakers of click languages, 
(7) In an appendix to Die Sprachen der Hamiten. 


(8) The present south Europeans represent a wedge driven in from the east. 
The racial affinities of Berbers is with north Europeans, 


16 


$4. The writer attempts to show that these Hamitic languages 
form a series of gradations, in respect of noun classes and polarity, 
beginning with Ful in the western Sudan and ending with Bishari 
ἴῃ the eastern Nilotic desert, the eastern end being most like Semit- 
‘c and the western least like it. The western end he further 
continues by establishing a still more remote connexion with the 
great Bantu family of central and southern Africa. We may even 
more confidently extend the eastern end of the series up through 
Arabic, Canaanitish, Syrian and Babylonian, observing that the 
southern end of this Semitic series is most like the eastern end of 
the Hamitic, and the northern end least like it. 


> 


beginning in western north Africa and ending in Babylonia, is as 
irresistible in the present case as it would be if we were dealing 
with one of the natural sciences. There has been a development 
from one type into another through a number of intermediates, 
each of which is a little further from the original than its prede- 
cessor. Those members which explain their successors are the more 
original. Semitic has developed out of Hamitic and not the reverse. 


$5. Lhe conclusion to be drawn from this graded series, 


86. The two phenomena on which the classification is based 
are, as has beensaid, word classes and polarity. Meinhof attempts 
to show that the many noun classes of Bantu" are narrowed down 
in Ful to four: of persons, of things, of large things and of small 
things. By a process of simplification, more pronounced toward 
the east, the four classes become two: large things, important 
things, persons and men, on the one hand, and small things, un- 
important things, non-persons and women, on the other. Finally 
the grammatical gender of Semitic is evolved; not, however, without 
residual traces of the earlier systems. 


δ 7. Meinhoff also calls attention for the first time to a phenom- 
enon which heterms polarity. It is found in its most complete 
form in the more conservative Hamitic languages. Like the 
physical phenomenon of the same name, it proceeds from a law 
or principle by which a thing belonging to one of two possible 
categories is opposed (in thought) to things in the other category, 
and is transferred to the other category whenever any change is _ 
madeinit. There are only two classes, (a) and (Ὁ). What is not 
(a) is (Ὁ). What is not (b) is (a). If you change (a) it becomes (b). 
If you change (b) it becomes (a). (3) 


$8. One of the most common inflectional necessities is the 
change to denote the plural. Therefore, to make a noun plural you 
take it out of its class, (a) or (b), and put it into the remaining and 


. "Re : - ° . . . 38 

(1) Supposed to be an intimate amalgamation οὗ pre-Ful with some Sudanian 
language. f 

: (2) In Bilin, Chamir and Shlih the diminutives are “feminine.” In Masai and 

Nama tree and stone with the “masculine” article are augmentative, with the “feminine” 

article diminutive. In Bedawye the accusative of the “masculine” is “feminine.” 


ΜΕΝ aw : τς Ἢ" , " ve Ϊ 
Proper names, even of women, are “masculine,” as also the pronoun I, and that impor- 
tant animal, the cow, 


F (3) When one end of a steel bar or one coating of a Leyden jar is made positive 
the other will be found to be negative, 


17 


opposite class. Where there are only two classes, a “masculine”’ 
and a “feminine,” the plural of the “masculine” must be “feminine,” 
and of a “feminine” “masculine.” The “feminine” ending indi- 
cates the plural of a “masculine,” the “masculine” of a 


“feminine.” | 


§9. Arabic, nearest to Hamitic geographically, is found also 
to be nearest it in the degree of its retention of these two old prin- 
ciples, and north and east Semitic most remote. In Arabic, while 
the laws are not, asin Hamitic, fully operative, yet they are to be 
observed in isolated phenomena some of which 1 shall now discuss. 


§ 10. The numerals from three to ten inclusive are put in the 
opposite gender to that of the singular of the thing numbered, (2 .not 
because of any reason of sex, but because an antithesis was felt to 
exist between the two. The triad which numbered was felt to be 
less important than the men which it numbered; and, by polarity, 
the triad which numbered must be more important than the women 
which it numbered. 


$11. The plural of many “masculine” nouns is “feminine.” 
If the thing thought of is important in its primary aspect, it is 


ώ 6-7 


unimportant in the secondary. So plurals like 4s from (64 


athe from pie which havea feminine ending, and others like 
as from ics which have not, and also tribal names. 
§ 12. The plural of many “feminine” nouns is “masculine.” If the 


thing thought of is unimportant in its primary aspect it is important 


in the secondary. So plurals like oes from 40) . 3) So the gener- 


alization of an action as \2 from 4ι25. (4) 


§ 13. When itis desired to intensify an adjective which cannot 

ΠΣ ΖΕ ώ “- 
be put in the measure Ss | without losing its identity, as e.g. ede, 
it is put into the “other” form and receives the “feminine” ending, be- 


coming & \e. This is even done with forms in which it is not 


(1) In Somali this is the rule for every noun which has a collective plural. 
In Nama the “feminine” singular is also the ‘“‘masculine”’ plural. 


(2) The period during which the Semites counted only to the limit of their ten 
digits must have been long; for when they resumed counting and went beyond, the 


old two-class polarity was inoperative, 
. 


(3) It is usual to regard this plural as primary and the singular as a nomen 
unitatis. 


(4) It is usual to regard the “masculine” as primary and call the other a 
nomen vicis, 


1d 


" er ὙΠ ΠῚ 
necessary, as e.g. as intensive ac 40) Thus we see that ine > 


ae fae 
the ending denotes sex, in dee intensity, ing yl plurality. The 


ending in reality is merely the sign of a secondary or derived class. 
In the first case it cannot be used for the plural because of the 
possibility of a female. baker. But one does not think of female 
scholars or sailors. 

oO- 


814. The so-called negative HE is not really a negative but 


an “oppositive.” The universe is divided into ᾿ς and | Np vs and 


it contains absolutely nothing else besides. The one half is the 


eer 


é Rn τὰ ὃ “ἡ . 
opposite of the other; and when Sulaiman descended upon Sle eee 


it was not merely “the absence of water’ but “that which is not 
water.” In order to express the absence of athing without the 


presence of its opposite the preposition oy must be used; and 


° ΄ / 
. 18 


hence és SF cys means “without water.” 


$15. For many years Arabia has been regarded as the cradle 
of the Semites.? Noeldeke, in the last edition of the Encyclopedia 
Britannica, still maintains this view, and regards Hamitic Africa 
as their still remoter place of origin. Grimme does the same.“ 
Attempts have been made to show that they came from Babylonia‘) 
or out of the north, or were indigenous to Syria and Palestine. 
One may bring in the Aramaeans from the Caspian and the 
Arabs out of Syria into the desert, but it still remains to be shown 
why Arabic should have sporadic affinities tothe systems which 
are complete in Hamitic. Any biologist, being shown the facts, 
would say that the sporadic phenomena are, as it were, residual 
organs, surviving with altered functions from a former age, and 
explained only by reference to the type from which they have been 
inherited. They are not germs of a system unelaborated, for they 
do not grow out of the language consciousness which’ surrounds 
them. Not only must Arabia have been the most ancient home of 
the Semites as such; but they must have had a long previous 
history, beginning in the western part of north Africa. 


΄ - 3 


(1) Possibly the curious form PLES is an honorific intensive of Ἐν 


(2) Renan, Histoire Générale, 29; Sprenger, Die alte Geographie Arabiens, ὃ 42; 
Schrader, ZDMG, xxvii, 397. spe waa Feogr ay , 842; 


(3) Sub voc, Semitic Languages. 


(4) Wohammed, p.6.f. But his one-sided preference for Abyssinia cannot 
be accepted, 


(5) Guidi, Della sede primitivu dei pepuli Semitici, RAL, ccelxXxvVi, 


19 
NOTE A.—The Reciprocal Change of Sin and Shin in Semitic. 


1. In a very large number of instances sin in South Semitic 
stands for shin in North Semitic. E.g.: Arabic nafs = Hebrew 
nefesh. In an equally large number of instances the reverse holds. 
E.g. Arabic bishara = Hebrew beséra. Two problems are present- 
ed by this reciprocal change: (I) How is it possible for each of 
two sounds to go over into the other. (II) Which of thetwo sounds 
is original in a given instance. Both problems~-are solved by a 
recognition and application of the principle of polarity. 


2. This reciprocal interchange of sin and shin has never 
been satisfactorily explained. The difficulty is obvious. Although 
either may change into the other under the influence of some 
operative tendency, the result will be the total surrender of one or 
the other; and, even though a contrary tendency may subsequently 
operate, the result will be a single sound, one or the other of the 
original sounds. Again, it is impossible to conceive of two opposite 
tendencies operating at the same time to produce two directly op- 
posite results, for the tendencies would neutralize one another 
without result. 


3. The principle of polarity, dominant in Hamitic and 
prominent in Semitic, ordains that a thing belonging to one of two 
possible classes, upon passing over into the other class maintains 
the conscious contrast between itself and an opposed thing by 
transferring that thing to what has now become the opposite class; 
(a) of class (1) is opposed-in thought to (b) of class (2). If (a) passes 
into class (2) then (b) must pass into class (I) to preserve the de- 
manded contrast. Applying this principle to the problem in hand: 
there were two original sounds, sin and shin. A tendency be- 
came operative to change sin into shin or else to change shin into 
sin. At thesame time by polarity the remaining sound was trans- 
ferred into the opposite class, and became the opposite sound. 


4. It remains to show which of the two sounds was original 
ina given word, which of the changes is phonetic and which 
polaric. It is phonetically possible for either sound to pass into the 
other; but there is some presumption in favor of sin becoming shin 
rather than the reverse. This presumption is strengthened by con- 
sideration of the fact that Arabic ¢thalath must have passed through 
a form salas (cf. Ethiopic) before becoming shalosh. In other words 
thalath first joined nafs and both of them then received a shin. At 
the same time Arabic bishara became Hebrew beséra by polarity. 
The Arabic therefore contains the original values ; sin became shin 
by phonetic change; and shin became sin by polarity. 


NOTE B.—Plurals with Οἷς, to Singulars with ¢y\ 


81, The jackal is called in Arabic τ) op in the plural 


—_>? ΄ . . 
Sa! Ol. Similarly a male camel that has entered upon his third 
ns ACNE, Oe : 
year is called en on in the plural Choa) in. <A single star of 
# - sa it Ι gat 2. 1 
the constellation Ursa is called oon ou in the plural οἷ» ok ᾽ 


a 


‘lee 
5" i ς 
A kind of bad mushroom is called in the plural ἐπ ας , limping 


- -98 i >, ἮΝ . - 5. iy . 
horses rs! Ok , good stallion camels ls ls , and the two last 


take the verb of the third person plural even though they are 


rR ane é idee A 
masculine. The oly is used in all these cases “for the feminization 


= t t 
- J-e J Mid tf) 
of the group”; and, in the case of (es : ps! ; τ because they 


vet 5 
are of the form “jas | (Lisén al- Arab; Hava Arab. ει Dict.) So 


much for native sources.” 


$2. Allof these plurals are original, and are used because, 
for some reason or another, the usual plurals are felt to be impos- 
sible. In some cases the singulars are back-formations, put. in the 
masculine by the principle of polarity in order that they may con- 
trast with the plurals. The words with which ΛΞ and oY | are thus 
compounded are all in the nature of proper names: daughters of 
Waw-Waw, daughters of Downy-Hair, daughters of Lame-Foot, 
daughters of Smolder-Fire, daughters of Drink-Milk, daughters of 
Ursa. This is proved by the absence of the article from all of them: 
They are felt to be neither singulars nor plurals. The plural is then 
formed in one way and the singular in the opposite way. Even 
the modern Arabic wawi (jackal) is felt by natives to have no con- 
venient plural, most of them, when asked, hesitating between 


rake Cah : : : τος 
wawin, and wawiya and knowing nothing of the formation with eps, 
5; : 


° 
qd) ‘When ΠΝ is applied to that which is not ἃ human being, to an irrational 
ae ΣΕ ther 9 
being, it has for its plural ules : thus the plural of U2 Gee cy! (a young male 
es 


Aon eae: 
camel in his second year) is \e- Coles etc.” LANE | 
s : .“, 

[og : "ὦ 


(2) LANE, ις 4) 


21 


§ 3. Without weakening the case for the existence here of 


do . . 
polarity, it may be contended that the τ formations are primary 


rather than the aes formations, especially in view of the Hebrew 


ben bagar, which has no plural, and Assyrian mdré niint, which has 
no singular—except of course the regular ones. But it must be 
noted that neither baqgar nor niin is quite so personal as the Arabic 
examples ; and of course there is no polarity, as far as examples 
permit of observation. Arabic apparently favored the operation 


of polarity as it wished to avoid combinations with ὦ which 


sounded like tribal names; Hebrew avoided the same combination, 
for the same reason, but did not resort to polarity; Assyrian, be- 
cause it employed bit instead of mdré in tribal names, did not need 
to avoid using the latter and so did not resort to polarity. 


$4. The expressions oe ar 04 for male camels that have 


. . oi es oe “ce . 
entered upon their third year, and oe \5 ole for “stallion camels,” 
cd 


are 50 conspicuously contradictory of real gender as to leave no 
doubt of the presence here of polarity. 


το 
τ᾿ 


TWO ANCIENT HEBREW. WEIGHTS. 
SAMUEL RAFFAELI, 


(Jerusalem.) 


The writer has in his possession two small stones, almost alike 
in colour, shape and material; they are round in form with a domed 
top, but they differ in weight and in the writing inscribed on them. 
They undoubtedly belong to a very early period, and, judging from 
their size and weight, were probably used for weighing precious 
metal or other valuable materials. 


One of these weights is inscribed with the letters (in archaic 
Hebrew script) δ, P-J-M; and the other 902, K-S-F. The first 


one weighs a little more than 110 grains, while the other is almost 
155 in weight. What are these weights ? 


In 1902, Prof. G.A. Barton obtained in Jerusalem a small piece 
of metal; on one side was written ἽΝ) A219, and on the other oO, 


P-I-M. It weighed a little more than 117 grains.” In 1907 Mr. RA.S. 
Macalister found at Gaza a stone similar to the first of the two in 
my possession, and bearing the same inscription. Its weight is 
about 112 grains.” Since my own specimen is more than II9 
grains we may assume that the maximum weight of this particular 
kind is more than 110 grains, and that a well-preserved specimen 
may be as much as 125 grains. 


After the discovery of the second example, the word  -1- ἡ 
still remained unexplained. My own specimen 1 obtained in 1014, 
and in a subsequent investigation came to the conclusion that this 
word P-J-Mwasto be found int. Sam. 13, 21: ΠΥ ΘΩ͂ aA Mors 


σοῦ of, I suggested that the P-J-Mwasa tax or payment 


from the Israelites to the Philistines in return for sharpening their 
mattocks and other implements (Palestine Exploration Fund Quar- 
terly Statement, April 1914); and this interpretation of the word 
has been embodied in the new translation of the Bible isSued by 
the Jewish Publication Society of America (Philadelphia 1917). 


Hitherto no weights have been found bearing the inscription 
“Shekel’’; but such most probably exist and will ultimately be dis- 
covered. Asforthe Bega‘ (Gen.24,22 ; Ex.38,26), small stones with 
the round domed shape, made of red marble, have been brought to 
light bearing the inscription yp : Prof. C.C. Torrey of Yale Univ- 


ersity, when in Jerusalem in the spring of I90I, secured a specimen 


weighing a little more than 90 grains;%) Mr. R.A.S. Macalister 
found another at Gezer, with the same inscription, weighing about 


(1) P.S.B.A. 1902. / 


(2) PH. F. Quarterly Statement 1907, Ὁ. 266. 
θη» PS. B.A 90N, 


23 


49 grains: (Ὁ and Prof. Gustav Dalman secured yet a third from a fel- 
lah at Shafat of 102 grains weight.) We may, therefore, assume 
that the maximum weight of the Bega‘ is more than 102 grains. This 
accords with the biblical tradition of Ex.38,26, that the Beqa‘ is 
the half of the “Holy’’ shekel. 


The writer, in his Coins of the Jews (Jerusalem, 1913) has 
described Half-Shekels weighing from 100 to 105 grains.9) There, 
also, will be found discussed the standard of the Talent, the Maneh 
and the Shekel, of both the “Holy” and fhe “Heavy” variety. We 
know that the Bega‘ is the half of the Holy Shekel ; and the Pim ap- 
pears to be the half of the Heavy Shekel. The Heavy Shekel 
weighed over 900,000 grains; the Maneh was one sixtieth of a 
Talent, and a Shekel one sixtieth of a Maneh; therefore the Heavy 
Shekel weighs about 250 grains. In spite of the fact that the heaviest - 
Pim hitherto found weighs only 110 grains, it is notimprobable that 
if one were found in a perfect state of preservation it would weigh 
about 125 grains. We may, therefore, fairly conclude that a Pim is 
the half of the Heavy Shekel. 


The reading of the second stone has given rise to much discus- 
sion. Other examples have been found: one by Mr. H.E. Clark 
in 1891 near Anata (the biblical Anathoth) weighing 134 grains; (9 
others by Dr. Bliss and Mr. Macalister during the excavations at Tell 
Zakariya, weighing respectively 145, 154, and 157 grains; another 
by Prof. Barton, in Jerusalem, in 1902, weighing 153 grains; while 
the one in my possession weighs I55 grains, Wecan assume that 
the average weight of this stone is 156 grains. 


The interpretation of the inscription on this weight has been 
complicated by the discovery of a small spindle-shaped weight 
(purchased by Dr. Chaplin in Samaria in 1820 and now in the 
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; there is a reproduction in H.D.B. vol. 
4, p.904), inscribed, according to the normally accepted reading, on 
the one side with δ" Δ, and on the other with 3y3pa.4) Neither 


conveys any meaning. Ofthe latter, the fourth and sixth letters 
are not distinct ; and at the time when the stone was discovered the 
last letter could be read 5 and not ἃ, But even so, what does a 


quarter of a nesef mean? Lidzbarski (Hphem. I p.13) explains the 
characters read Sw_as unsuccessful efforts of the workman at writing 


ὮΝ), compelling him tostart afreshon the other side. Lidzbarski could 
give no satisfactory explanation of ἢν). A connexion with the Arabic 


nusf “half,” has been proposed, but this would afford but a dubious 
sense. The writer suggests that the correct reading is not really 9y¥3 


CG) P.#. Ε΄. Quarterly Statement 1904, p, 209. 

(2) Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palaestina-Vereins. Bd, xxix, p, 92 ff. 
(8) Pp. 65-68, 

(4) Weights of ancient Palestine E, J, Pilhter, London, 1912, 

(8) 714, 


24 


but 90>. There are certain verses in the Bible which suggest that the - 


Kesef was a distinct kind of weight like a Shekel or Sega‘: thus 
Abimelech gave Abraham a thousand kesef (Gen, 20,16), and Joseph 
was sold to the Ishmaelites for twenty kesef (Gen. 37,28). 


The writer has explained elsewhere (op. cit. sup.) that Darius 
Hystaspes received the Maneh standard, i.e. 7,800 grains" (troy), 
from the Babylonians ; the Babylonian Shekel, being one fiftieth 
part of the Maneh, is 156 grains, and this was regarded asthe “‘light” 
Persian Shekel. It was on this standard that the Kesef weight 
was based. 


(1) Coins of the Jews, p. 28, 


NOTE SUR UNE MONNAIE DE BRONZE 
DE BAR COCHBA. 
A. DECLOEDT 


(Jerusalem) 


Le musée de Sainte-Anne posséde une monnaie de bronze de 
Bar Cochba qui semble extrémement rare et je serais désireux de 
savoir si elle n’a pas sa semblable dans vos collections particu- 
liéres. 


En voici la description : 


Au droit :.. 5sqw? wa pyow “Simon prince d’Israél,” en légende 
circulaire autour d’une couronne renfermant une palme. Grénetis. 


Au revers: ὅν πρῶ,» “L’an Π de la délivrance d’Israél,” 


en légende circulaire. Lyre 4 quatre cordes. Les shins sont 
anguleux et le graveur Juif a écrit "ON pour Jsraeél MOY faute 


qui se rencontre fréquemment sur les monnaies de Bar Cochba.—Ce 
bronze mesure 22 millimétres et pése 6 grammes. Il a éié acheté 
en 1909 aux paysans de Bittir qui fouillaient alors en tous sens, 
mais trop superficielement et sans ordre, le sommet de Ja montagne 
appelée encore aujourd’hui ‘Khirbet el Yahoud,, ot s’élevait jadis 
la forteresse de Bar Cochba. 


Les monnaies de Bar Cochba sont nombreuses. Elles ont été 
frappées les unes sur des flans neufs, les autres sur des bronzes ou 
des deniers romains. Elles peuvent se diviser en trois classes: 
1) celles qui ne sont pas datées et qui présentent invariablement, 
au droit, le nom de "pyow, “Simon,,; au revers, la légende 
"obwi nin, “La délivrance de Jérusalem.” — 2.) Celles de la 
premiére année dela rédemption d’Israé! "Sy nu ΝΣ pms pay, qui 
présentent, au droit, les noms d’Eléazar le prétre, de Jérusalem, de 
Simon prince d’Israél. 3.) Enfin celles de l‘an II de la délivrance 
@Israél "νη ninnd 3. qui ne présentent, au droit, que le nom de 


"γον, “Simon,, écrit en toutes lettres ou en abrégé. Seul—et c’est 


la ce qui fait son intérét et lui donne une valeur exceptionnelle—le 
bronze de Ste Anne présente, au droit, non pas le seul nom de "pyrw’, 


{πιο } . 5 , te ¢ mA eO9my agree 
Simon” mais le nom de Simon accompagné du titre ΛΝ News" 

‘6 Ἔ « Ζ“1: ᾿ς Ὁ 
Prince d’Israél” ; au revers, “L’an II de la délivrance d’[sraél.” 


20 


Dans deux articles de la Zeitschrift fir Numismatik (année 1873 
et 1877) Merzbacher publiait un bronze faisant partie de la collec- 
tion Wigan et portant, au droit, une palme dans une couronne 
avec la légende Nw) pyow” “Simon prince,,; au revers, une 


lyre ἃ cing cordes avec la portion de légende "Sx, “Israél,,. 


Cet auteur proposait ingénieusement de completer la légende du 
revers par ]’addition des lettres “175 ,..u, "L’an II de la délivrance,, 


‘nsinuant par 1a que sur les monnaies de 1’an II aussi bien que sur 
celles de l’an I ou gravait le titre de ‘xwi' prince; par suite 


que les monnaies portant les légendes "Simon, prince d'Israél. 
Premiere année de la rédemption d’Israel,, . devaient étre classées 
non ala premiére révolte sous Vespasien mais a la seconde sous 
Hadrien. Cen’était 14 cependant qu’une supposition. Madden, 
qui les attribuait ἃ un Simon Nasi de la premiere révolte, déclara 
qwil ne souscrirait ἃ la proposition de Merzbacher que si on lui ap- 
portait non pas une supposition mals une preuve solide fondée sur 
un exemplaire bien conservé et parfaitement lisible Βα. this 
suggestion cannot be accepted without the positive proof afforded 
by a wellpreserved and legible specimen.” En attendant il continua 
d’attribuer cette monnaie a la premiére révolte. Or en 1892 L. Ham- 
burger publiait dans la belle étude qu'il a consacrée aux monnaieS 
des révoltes Juives un bronze dont le revers répondait de tous peints 
ἃ celui de l’exemplaire de Merzbacher et portait: Seow and .2.ὦ 


L’an II de la délivrance d’Israél. “Orsi la comparaison entre les 
deux exemplaires autorisait ἃ admettre l’opinion de Merzbacher, ce 
n’était pas encore”, la preuve solide, fondée sur un exemplaire bien 
conservé et parfaitement lisible que Madden réclamait, car le bronze 
publié par Hamburger était hybride et au “lieu de présenter au 
droit comme celui de Merzbacher la légende "ΙΝ xv νῶν, 


“Simon, prince d’[sraél” il portait simplement “abyny niind, “La 


délivrance de Jérusalem’’—Cette preuve est apporteé par le bronze du 
médaillier de Ste Anne. Cebronze est bien conservé, il est parfait- 
ement lisible et a des légendes complétes: au droit. "Sv ΜῊ) νον, 


“Simon prince d’[sraél,,; au revers "ΟΝ and .2. "αι {6 ε da 
délivrance d’Israél.,, 


J’en ai dit assez, semble-t-il, pour montrer l’intérét que présente 
cette monnaie au point de vue de Ja Numismatique Judaique. J’ai 
ajouté qu’elle était extrémement rare. Elle nese trouve en effet ni 
au Département de Médailles de la Bibliothéque Nationale, comme 
j'ai pu m’en convaincre moi-méme en 1014 ; ni au British Museum 
puisque le catalogue, si complet cependant. des monnaies juives 
publié par M. Hill en 1914, ne le mentionne pas. Monsieur Raf- 
faéli qui en 1913 publia en langue hébraique un ouvrage sur les 
monnaies juives ne la signale pas non plus. Enfin lorsque, en 
1912, je la publiai dans la Revue Numismatique, un numismate alle- 
mand, Mr Carl Mayer,n’ayant jamais rencontré ce type de monnaie 
et confondant les numéros de la planche avec ceux du corps de 
article, crut ἃ une mauvaise lecture de ma part. Il reconnut son 
erreur quand, sur sa demande, je lui eus envoyé empreinte et mou- 


27 


lage; dans une lettre qu'il m’adressa le 3 mars 1914 1] s’offrit méme 
ἃ acquérir pour sa collection personnelle le bronze de Ste. Anne. 
Vous devinez la réponse. Ainsi ce bronze du médaillier de Ste 
Anne semble non seulement trés rare mais encore, du moins a ma 
connaissance, unique. 


Et maintenant quelles conclusions tirer? Celles-la méme que 
proposait Merzbacher, il y a quarante ans: (1) “Sur les monnaies de 
Van IL aussi bien que sur celles de l’anI ou gravait le titre de 
“Nasi,,; (2).les monnaies portant les légendes: “Simon, prince 
d’Israél ; Premiére année de ia Rédemption d’[sraél,” doivent étre 
attribuées non a la premiére révolte sous Vespasien, mais a la 
seconde, sous Hadrien. 


REFERENCES. 


Madden, Coins of the Jews, 1881, pp. 205 et 206. 


L. Hamburger, Munzpragtingen wahrend des letzten Aufstandes 
der Israeliten gegen Rom, p. 280. 


Hill (G.F. )., A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British 
Museum. Catalogue of the Greek Coins of Palestine. 


S. Raffaéli oman mysnp ΒΡ 1913. 
Revue Numismatique 1912, p, 461 


” ” 1913, p. 404; et 1914, PP. 244, 245. 


. ~c OX ee yvyo= 


THE AMORITE NAME JERUSALEM. 
A. T. CLAY 
(New Haven, U.S.A.) 


The earliest known writing of the name of the city of Jerusalem 
‘s to be found in the letters of Abdi-Hiba, governor of the city, to 
Amenophis IV, about 1400 B C., in which U-ru-sa-lim is written in 
the Babylonian script, the lingua franca ot that era. Of the 
extra-Biblical forms of the name the next in point of antiquity is 
that found in an Assyrian inscription of Sennacherib (705— 6381 
B.C.) in which Ur-sa-li-im-mu is written. In a Nabataean inscrip- 
tion of one bearing a Jewish name, Nathaniah, the Aramaic form, 
’Urshalem (ἘΝ) is found. There are also preserved a Mandaic 


form’ Urashalém(ox5wxnx), a Syriac ’Urishlem, and an Arabic, 
which is quoted by Yakut from a pre-islamic poet, 'Ursalimu 


ι seleoyl).) The six writings, from six different quarters, all point 
to’Ur or ‘Uru as being the first element of the name. 


The consonantal text of the Old Testament gives obvi, and 
in several late passages οὐδ, The latter appears also upon 


coins, perhaps of the time of Simon 142-135 B.C. These conso- 
nantal forms have been vocalized Yerushalayim. The Septuagint 
transliteration Iegovoadnp shows that in the late Hebrew the name 
was actually pronounced something like Jerusalem instead of 
Yerushalayim. Another early Greek form is found in a passage of 
Soli, a pupil of Aristotle, which is quoted by Josephus. Here the 
name is written Iegovoadnpy (2. 


The explanation of the Hebrew form of the name has 
occasioned considerable difficulty in all periods. The Midrash 
Bereshith Rabba, 89. explains how Abraham, having called 
the place Jireh δ Gen. 22:14, and Shem (meaning Melch- 


izedek) having called it Shalem, the Almighty, who was unwilling to 
disappoint either, gave il both names, Yzreh-Shalem. Jerome in his 
Onomastica explained the name as meaning ὅρασις εἰρήνης. Modern 
etymologists have explained the name as meaning “possessié6n of 
peace,” “foundation of peace,” “the foundation of security,” 
‘Shalem founds,” “Shalem casts the lot,” “he casts a perfect or 
peaceful, secure lot,” etc “ After the discovery of Uru-salim in 
the Amarna letters, written in the Babylonian script, many scholars 
looked upon this as containing the original form of the name, and 
especially as asimilar pronunciation has been preserved in the forms 
quoted in Assyrian, Aramaic, Syriac, Mandaic, and Arabic. 


Several decades ago, when scholars followed the trend of the 
pan-Babylonists, and looked upon the Canaanite culture and re- 


(1) See Smith Jerusalem 1. Ὁ. 262 f. 
(2) See Smith ihid. 1. p. 260. 
(3) See Smith ibid 1. p. 258 ἢ, 


29 


ligion as importations from Babylonia, Uru the first element of the 
name was regarded as Sumerian, meaning “city, ” and the second 
as Semitic ; the full name Uru-salim meaning “city of Salem,” “city 
of peace,” “place of safety,” “the city of peace; δέου Haupt 
considered, that the dialectical Sumerian ert for uri passed into 
Hebrew as “7 (yy) “city;” from this y disappeared, and the 


initial element Jeru was derived. 


The Ararffaic, Syriac, Mandaic and Arabic forms of the 
name do not bear out Haupt’s contention; it follows that the pro- 
posed etymology for‘r “city” is not to be taken seriously. 
Moreover, since the evidence for the influence of Babylonia upon 
Canaan, except for the use of the language and script which 
were employed in the second millennium B.C. throughout Western 
Asia and Egypt as the lingua franca, is comparatively insignificant, 
as the writer and others have contended,” it follows that the 
proposal to find in the name Uru-salim a Sumerian and a Semitic 
element is, to say the least, precarious. Hitherto, ithas seemed as 
if such place names as Nebo, Beth S‘Anoth, Bit NIN-IB, Bethlehem, 
etc., showed influences from this quarter; but even these, the writer 
feels he has conclusively shown, contain the names of West 
Semitte deities. (9 


In short, we haye in Palestine a very ancient culture indigenous 
to the land known tothe ancient Babylonians as Amurru, which 
extended from the borders of Babylonia tothe Mediterranean. This 
was considerably influenced by Egypt, but very little by Babylonia 
prior to the exile. In two monographs, Amurru the Home of the 
Northern Semites, and The Empire of the Amorites, which followed 
the writer’s discovery that the name of the god Amurfru) (788) 


was written in Aramaic “Awuru or Uru (8), the widespread 


worship of this deity is fully set forth. The early Semites who 
moved from Amurru (Mesopotamia and Syria) into Babylonia, 
especially in the period priorto 2000 B.C., carried the worship of 
this deity with them. Many West Semitic names in the early 
cuneiform literature are found compounded with that of this deity. 
The names of at least four of the ten antediluvian rulers of 
Babylonia contain the name ’Uru, as : "AAwooc (κὸν ), Αλαπαρος 


(mands), ᾿Αμιλλαρος (axSHY ), and Μεγαλαρος ς ἼΝτθ)5). 90}- 


sequent to 2000 B.C, when the Amorites lost their dominant 
position, the deity Amurru or ’Uru ceased to occupy™) a prominent 
place among the deities of Babylonia as becomes evident froma 
study of the nomenclature of that land. 


(1) See Sayce Academy, Feb. 7. 1891; a ΕΠ Bible, Isaiah, Ed. notes, 
p. 100; Nestle ZAPV 57, 155; Zimmern KA73 p. 475 

(2) See Clay “Light on the Old Testament from Babel,” 17 ff; Vincent Canaan @apres 
Veaxploration recente, pp. 341, 439; Nowack Theol. Literaturzeitung, 1908, No. 26. Clay 
Amurru the Home of the North#n Semites, p. 27. 

(3) See Lmpire of the Amorites, p. 169. 178, 180, f. 


(4) For a full discussion of the influence of this deity upon the nomenclature of 
Babylonia, see Hmpire of the Amorites. 


30 


The contention that this deity came from the land of the Wes- 
tern Semites being correct, it would seem that traces of the worship 
should be found in the nomenclature of the Old Testament, as well 
as preserved in place names, ancient and modern, in these West 


lands. 


Among the personal names of the Old Testament are found 
Ur, Uri, Uriel, Urijah, and Shedeur. The Septuagint transliterations 
of these names show that the element is U7, and not ’Or “light.” 


The name ’Ur (8), the father of one of David’s heroes 


(I Ch. 11:35), is perhaps abbreviated, containing one element of the 
original name, that of the deity. ”"Uri( ‘s) of the time of Moses 


(Ex, 31:2), appears to be a similar name, with what some scholars 
call the “kose suffix,” like Mordecai. The name ’Uriah (78), 


belonging to the Hittite.in the time of David (2 Sam. 11:3), may be 
Hittite; but since we have many examples of non-Semites bearing 
Semitic names, it is not impossible that this name is Semitic and 
similar to the following. ’Urijah (97's), the name of a priest, 


/ time of Ahaz, (2 Kings 16:13), means ’Uruis Jawah. Such syncre- 
tistic formations, identifying one god with another, are very 
common, especially among peoples whose religion was extensively 
influenced by other religions. The nomenclature of Babylonia, for 
example, contains many such names. There are also many ex- 
amples among the names of deities as Ashtar-Chemosh, Hadad- 
Rimmon, ‘Attar-‘Ate, Itur-Mer, Jawah-Shalom, etc. The name 
Uriel ( 5x1x_) “’Uru is God”, of the tribe of Levi (1 Ch. 6:24), 


and Shedeur (sw ) “Shaddai is Uru”, time of Moses, also contain 


the name of the deity. How many more personal names of the Old 
Testament originally contained that of the deity "Uru, but 
have been handed down in an altered or disguised form, it is im- 
possible to say. That names were changed on religious grounds is 
well known. Fortunately in a number of instances both the 
original and the altered forms have been preserved, as Jerubbaal 
and Jerubbesheth, Meribbaal and Mephibosheth, Beeliada and 
Eliada. Compare also the place names Beth-e! and Beth-aven. 


The name Jerusalem seems to be an example of this process. 
After David's time, when the city became the great centre for the 
worship of Jawah, it is easy to understand how the name. of this 
ancient Amorite city, which contained the name of the Amorite 
god "Uru, became obnoxious to the Hebrews. The dropping of the 
initial δ ἴῃ this name (see below), left 1 initial, but this, as is 


well known, usually, when initial, became» in Hebrew. The fact 


is we have several examples in Aramaic and Punic inscriptions of 
the dropping of the initial 8 in this deity’s name. It is now ad- 


mitted that 5x in the stele inscription which Zakir of Hamath 
and La‘ash dedicated to this deity, is the same as El ’Uru. 


: 31 


Recently Lidzbarski published an Aramaic letter of the time of 
Ashurbanipal in which 1m) = Pir’-’Uru occurs (ZA 31). Cf. the 


names jo and 39) in Punic inscriptions from Algiers and 
Thugga; also two other names 79m and 11. If this expla- 


nation of the name Jerusalem is correct it becomes senseless to 
attempt to explain the difficult element Jerw in Jerusalem as 
meaning “vision”, “fear,” “possesion,” “foundation”, ‘founds’, 
“casts the lot,’ etc. The whole name means rather something like 
“Uru is appeased”. (2 


The name or epithet ’Ariel, used by Isaiah for Jerusalem 
(Is. 29:1), has been translated ‘“‘the lion of God,” or “the hearth of 
God,” etc. It is generally agreed that ἽΝ, found in an inscription 


from Byblus, belonging to the fourth or fifth century B.C, is 
defectively written for PONS ; and that this name is the same as 


Uru-milki, found in the Amarna letters. 9’ The present writer 
further contends that it contains the name of the deity Uru. The 
name ΣΝ ῚΝ for the same reason could mean “’Uru is God”. This 


seems reasonable in the light of the fact that the name Jerusalem 
contains the name ’Uru, and that probably the city was dedicated 
to that deity (see below). It is interesting to observe that Cheyne 
regarded Uriel as the proper reading, and considered that it was 
used by the prophet to make a paronomasia with Uru- salim (Encl. 
Biblica). It easy to understand how such a name meaning “’Uru is 
God” would have been introduced by the old residents after the 
occupation of the city by the Hebrews. 


The evidence which has been preserved in the Old Testament 
concerning the altering of names makes reasonable the ident- 
ification of Salem with Jerusalem, which has been held for 
centuries. Uru-salem may have been preserved in an old manu-’° 
script of the fourteenth chapter of Genesis and perhaps also of the 
seventy-sixth Psalm. Moreover, prior to the introduction of Jeru- 
salem the abbreviated Salem, doubtless, was more acceptable to 
these Hebrews who were familiar with the original meaning. 


Eighteen miles to the northwest of Jerusalem are two towns, 
at present called Beit ‘Ur el F6ka, and Beit ‘Ur et Tahta. In the 
Old Testamant the names of the towns are written oy pin mS 
and jinn junna. These names are translated “house of the hole 
(or hollow), the upper”, “house of the hole (or hollow), the lower.” 
The Septuagint transliterates the name Βεθωρα, Baboon, Βαιθωρῶν: 
Although the modern name in Arabic has “ππ an initial ‘Sain 
it seems in the light of the present discussion, that the name was 
probably Béth ’Uru, “the house of Uru’’, a name like Béth Shemesh, 
Béth Anoth, Beit Dejun (Dagan), Beit Lahm (Lahmu), etc. Moreover, 


(1) See Clay Amurru p. 160. 

(2) See Clay ibid p. 178. 

(3) Cooke North Semitic Inseriptions p. 20, 
(4) Amurre p. 187. 


32 


it is not unreasonable to suggest that the late Hebrew writers 
intentionally disguised the name. The proximity of the city to 
Jerusalem, being in its territory, suggests at least some possible 
connections with Bit NIN-IB of the Amarna letters. 


In a syllabary in the Yale Babylonian collection the writer 
found the following formula: 


Ur-ta | IB | u-ra-shu | sha “NIN-IB shu-ma 


which means that the sign 18, called wrashu, is to be read ur-ta 
in the deity’s name 7N/N-/B.™ In other words it is now ascertain- 
ed that NIN-JB is a Sumerian ideographic writing for the West 
Semitic BaSalat Urta® “lady or goddess Urta.” Since the Amarna 
letters inform us that the shrine of the goddess was in the territory 
. of Jerusalem, one cannot help but be impressed with the idea, 
especially in view of the name Uru-salem, that in the early period 
of the history of this district not only.the worship of the god 
‘Uru figured prominently in this vicinity but also that of his 
consort ‘Urta or ‘Urtu. 


In spite of the fact that the Amorite or Jebusite inhabitants of 
Jerusalem were spared after David captured the city and that they 
continued to live here, no information is offered in the Old 
Testament to enable us to determine what was done with the 
Amorite sanctuary and where it was located; moreover, no light is 
offered us concerning the patron deity of the city. It seems the 
only reasonable conclusion to suppose that the religious zeal of the 
later Hebrews caused the systematic eradication of all traces of 
the former worship from the pages of the Old Testament. 


Efforts have been made by scholars to determine the genius 
loci of the place. Shalem or Shulman, as a probable title of Ninib, 
was regarded by Zimmern as the deity (K AT3 474 f.). Since the 
names Melki-Zedek, king of Salem, time of Abraham, Adoni-Zedek, 
king of Jerusalem, time of Joshua (Jos. 10:1), Zadok, who was 
priest at the time of David, contained the name of the deity Sadeq, 
it has been inferred that he was the patron god of thecity. Nat- 
urally this deity may have been worshipped here, but since, 
however, the name of the city is compounded with that of Uru, 
and the temple of Urtu (Bit-NIN-IB) was in the territory of the 
city, It is not unreasonable to assume that Uru and Urtu were the 
chief deities of this locality. This being true, ’Ariel or’Uriel, with 
the meaning “Uru is God”, was appropriately substituted by Isaiah 
for the name Jerusalem in his address to the city, which, doubtless, 
had continued to worship that god. 


(1) See Clay Miscellaneous Inscriptions in the Yale Babyionian Collection. 
(2) Empire of the Amorites p. 73 ff. 


25 


QUELQUES OBSERVATIONS RELATIVES 
A LVINSCRIPTION JUIVE DECOUVERTE A AIN DOUK ὦ, 
NAHUM SLOUSCH. 
(Jerusalem.) 


Le R.P. Vincent a consacré une magistrale étude® a l’inscription 
Hebréo araméenne qui provient d’un ancien Sanctuaire Juif 4 Ain- 
Douk. Cette derniere offre beaucoup de points de rapprochement 
avec l’inscription provenant de la synagogue de Kafr Kenna, dont 
voici le texte. 

aaa ataD ayn 


430) 7M 73 DMN 
m>a0 ΠΣ 1.12} ς 
gps pnd πῇ 
ἸῸΝ 


L’écriture des deux inscriptions appartient 4 la méme époque 
étant donné la difference trés nette qui existe entre la lettre, n 


et 7, surtout si nous tenons compte de la forme des lettres sur les 


épitaphes que le P. Abel avait dechiffré sur les tombeaux juifs de 
Chafat (qui pourraient bien émaner du premier Siécle). En 
revanche, la lettre 5 accuse une forme plus arcalque. 


Quant a la langue de cette inscription elle rappelle parfaitement 
celle du Talmud Jérusalemite et surtout celle de la liturgie Judéo- 
araméenne (la priére du Kaddish, celle de jp1 op’ etc.) 


Qu’il me soit permis d’apporter quelques contibutions a la 
savante interprétation que nous devons au P. Vincent : 


Voici, d’ailleurs, le texte complet de l’inscription. 
Ser [7 
{7}. 55} 8} 

mDY 73 

1 3.355 [31 
IN 3A PIANO [ 4 
APR PIAA Ξ [ 4 
p32 307,73 πῶ | Pp 
map 52 ja ἢ [ OD 
papin 179} π [ἢ 
ΠΡ ΠΊΩΝ PITS 


ἸῺΝ 


(1) V. le διζοι", le livre des pritres Juives, section du Sabbath. 
(2) Revue Biblique 1919 p, 530 etc. 


34 
Traduction et commentaires : 


τ. Memoire ou bonne part (Vincent). 


2, yoy Benjamin, la premiére lettre indique la tendance d’in- 


oar 


troduire des matres lectionis dans les textes hebreux tendance, qui 
se manifeste depuis les premiers siécles de ’ére chrétienne. 133% 


de inscription de rabbi Youdan de Jaffa, etc. 

n) ὃ}8 Le nom du frére du premier ou de son pere avec Vomis- 
sion du 13 fils nous paru certain. A noter la mention de José fils 
de Tanhum fils de Buta et de ses fils par l’incsription de Kafr Kenna. 
L’épitaphe No. I de Sha’fat a également ΠΣ 5. le, aprés le 5, Quant 4 
la difformation 7025 je renvoie aux monnaies de Simon le Mac- 
cholice ou l’on lit a plusieurs reprises yun au lieu de nyow τ cepen- 
dant la legon πο) proposée par M. Clermont Ganneau est trés 
tentante. ᾿ 


3. Fils duJosé. A noter que inscription de Kafr Kennaa 
également une liste de trois générati 


4. Qui soient en heureuse memoire chaqun de ceux qui. ? 


5. Quiconque sera (ou sera) vaillant et fera un don, pinnat est un 


terme qui n’est plas usité dans les textes de la synagogue. Mais 
il est frequent dans le livre de Nehemie surtout en ce qui concerne 
la construction de Mur’ de Jérusalem, par exemple ΟῚ γ) by 


(Nehemie ΠῚ passim) ou *ppinn pain ΠΟΤ naxdes on (Ibid. V. 16). 


6. Qui a donné pour ce lieu je lis an (7 Le terme 37) est fre- 
quent dans le Talmud de Jérusalem. cf. Berachot VII, ΤΙ jp a 
ea ποτ etc. 


L’ensemble se lit ainsi: Quiconque fera don ou a donne 
pour ce lieu. 


ye Saint; soit en or, soit en (argent) soit en tout objet de 
valeur. % 

᾿" 
3.0.0 13.....13 est la tournure mishnaique ... 3... Paysoit...soit... 
L’absence de la lettre indiquerait une prononciation 13 ‘Ou une dat® 


plus ancienne. Cette lecture est d’ailleurs confirmée par le texte de 
Jonas IV,r0 738 999 pay mn ποῦ 53, 
=P2D. Ῥ 3 i 
ee. valeur ou objet de valeur est un terme frequent dans le 
Talmud de Jérusalem. cf. V. Nedarim XT. 42° ou nous rencontrons, 
d’ailleurs, presque la méme formule 727272 00 37 (qui lui donne, 


beaucoup de valeurs). % 
Ris ay ee 

. ie 
δ κοι Pareil depleacement. des lettres se retrouvent, d’ailleurs dans plusieurs textes — 
eplacement provenant des synagogues de la Galilée. sa, 


(2) A noter l’analogie avec le texte de la pritre ou on lit. 19 Σ Ἴ, ni) δ ete, 


35 
Le Midrash Rabba a souvent x52 ou ΜΡΡ (Cf. Berechit 73,12 
Shemot 30,12.) 


Au commencement de la ligne 8 les restes, de la lettre ὃ sont 
presque certaines, seuleument la ressemble plut6t ἃ un } (plus large 
que les autres dans le méme texte. 11 s’agirait d’une erreur du gra- 
veur, la lettre 5 de la |. 2 étant trés archaique rappelle le phénicien. 
On s’attendrait d’aprés de nombreux contextes de voir venir aprés 
Vor, ’argent, puis tout object de valeur.” 


9. Que leur soit une part de possession, comme le traduit le P. 
Vincent ou bien que ce soit un réconfort pour eux : 


napin nao san cette formule esta rapprocher de celle del’inscription 
de Katr Kenna et de la priére recitée, ou on lit ΝΓΘῚΣ 75 xan. D’ail- 
leurs la & finalede Ν ΠΏ. comme d’ailleurs l’emploi du terme pap 


et surtout les ΠῚ finales (au lieu de la lettre s usitée par les textes 
écrits) indiquerait une époque rabbinique fort ancienne. 


ΠΡ mins Lieu Saint. Formule qui se retrouve dans la priére 
du Kaddish, mais qui est généralement usitée en Hébreu wip open 
Quoiqu’il en soit, ce terme comme le texte tout entier nous permet de 
classer cette inscription parmi les textes relatifs aux synagogues de 
la Galilée. Le lieu Saint d’Ain Douk serait donc un sanctuaire 
Juif traditionnel qui se rattache aux premiers siécle de |’ére 
chrétienne. 


Rien d’ailleurs, ne s’oppose a l’ingenieuse dissertation du P. 
Vincent qui tend a rétrouver sur l’emplacement de la Synagogue 
d’Ain Douk les traces d’un sanctuaire biblique fort ancien. 


L’inscription offre en outre un interét tcut special au. point de 
vue ce la liturgie Juive, parce qu’elle permet d’attribuer a une origi- 
ne palestimienne trés ancienne certaines parties de la liturgie 
qui sont écrites en Judéo-araméen, telle que le wp, le pup oipy etc 


1, Je n’ai pas pu voir l’interprétation de M. Clerment Ganneau mais je constate 
que le dernier No, de la revue du Palestine Exploration Fund propose Ja méme 
explication, pour ce qui est de ce passage. 


36 


A JERUSALEM PROCESSIONAL 
J. P. PETERS 


(University of the South, U.S.A.) 


Working on the Psalms over thirty years, I have been more 
and more impressed with the amount of local colour in them, and 
the failure of scribes and commentators to note this from lack of 
personal familiarity with Palestine. My atteiition was first called 
to this in connexion with Ps. 89. Verse 13 reads: 


“North and south, Thou hast created them : 
Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Thy name”. 


To any one who has travelled in northern Galilee, and had 
Tabor and Hermon as his landmarks of south and north, this 
breathes the atmosphere of that country. None could have written 
it but a Galilean. So far as I know, however, no commentator has 
noticed this. Prof. Briggs in his commentary inthe “International 
Critical Commentary” series (II. 257) says :—““Tabor and Hermon, 
the chief mountain peaks of the Holy Land, Tabor commanding 
the great plain of Esdraelon, and Hermon, the giant of Lebanon, 
commanding the greater part of the entire land, representatives 
therefore of the mountains.” » This is to miss the local force of the 
allusion entirely. It led Briggs to a false dating of this part of the 
Psalm, and a false reference of it. He says (233): “The Psalm 
indicates a period of peace and quietness in which the public wor- 
ship of Yahweh in the Temple was enjoyed by Israel, and this not 
until the troubled times of the Restoration were over, some time 
subsequent to Nehemiah, when peace and prosperity were enjoyed 
under the Persian rule of Artaxerxes II (458-404 B.C.).” Equally 
vivid are the local allusions in several of the Psalms of the collection 
entitled “Of the Sons of Korah” (42-49), such as the mention of the 
land of Jordan and the roaring of its fountain beneath Hermon by 
Tel Kadi (42); and the river on which the Temple stood (46). A 
study of the Korah Psalms on the ground forced me to the conclusion 
that they could only be ascribed to psalmists of the temple of Dan, 
which I set forth in an article in the Briggs memorial volume. 


With this brief introduction, | wish to present what I think 
I may describe as a new discovery. Vv. 6-8 of Ps. 84 have proved 
a stumbling block. There is no translation of them which makes 
real sense, and after taking most unjustifiable liberties with the 
text, and giving to individual words meanings which they have no- 
where else, commentators have still left the passage quite unintel- 


sel to the ordinary reader. So the Revised Version (American) 
reads: 


“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; 

In whose heart are the highways to Zion. 

Passing through the valley of weeping 

They make it a place of springs ; 

Yea, the early rain covereth it with blessings. 
They go from strength to strength ; ; 
Every one of them appeareth before God in Zion,” 


᾿ 


37 


Prof. Briggs, in his volume in the International Commentary, 
taking somewhat greater liberties with the text and omitting the 
first half of v. 6 altogether, reads :— 


“The highways are in the minds of those who pass on in the vale of weeping. 
He maketh it a place of springs; yea, the early rain clotheth it with 
blessings. 


They go on from battlement to battlement in order to appear before Ged, 
Yahweh in Zion, Yahweh the God of Hosts.” 


Absolutely literally, with one slight change of text", sup- 
ported by the Septuagint version, this passage reads: 


“Happy the man whose strength is in Thee. Causeways in the midst of them (2) 
they have passed over. Inthe valley of weeping the fountain (3) that they make. 
Also the pool (4) the leader (5) encircleth (6), 


They go from rampart to rampart, Is seen the God of gods in Zion.” 


The first clause is a liturgical phrase to be chanted or sung. 
The remaining phrases are rubrical and describe or prescribe 
accurately the course of a procession from the western hill, over- 
looking the Temple area, across the causeway or bridge between 
the two hills, connecting them, down the lower Tyropoeon valley, 
past the so-called fountain of Siloam, made™ by carrying the 
waters of the Gihon spring into the Tyropoeon valley. 


Then the leader, bending to the right, must swing around the 
pool of Siloam in a circle, which brings the procession to the 
southernmost end of tbe hill of Ophel, and its first scarp. Up this 
nill they go, from scarp to scarp, where once its various ramparts 
stood, until the procession reaches the southern gate of the Temple, 
and appears to God in Zion. The road exactly as here designated 
exists to-day, and I have traced it step by step, following the 
directions of this Psalm; and it exists to-day following in its de- 
tails the rubrics of this Psalm, (except only that it does not reach 
the south gate of the Temple, since there is none) because it is the 
route ordained by the topography, now as then. 


(1) Sy (7) to ;3y (or possibly 339), and connected with the preceding verse 
(6), ag the metre manifesiuy requires. 


(2) 03955 in the midst of or between them ; ie. the causeway or bridge between 
the two hius, cue western hili and Zion. 


(3) Py The very name applied to-day in Jerusalem to the point of issue of the 


water of the Virgin spring through the tunnel in the Tyropoeon Valley, because of the 
intermittent gush of water, which causes it to be regarded as a fountain, not a pool. 


(4) Birket, as in the Hebrew consonant Text. The name applied to-day to the 
lower pool of Siloam ; or perhaps a plural #4549, covering both the upper pool, which 
catches the water of the fouutain, and the 1ower and larger pool, now a garden bed, 
which formerly received the drainage of the valley. 

(5) ΜΗ from jy, teacher or leader. The translation early rain is a pure 
invention wivuout any support. 


a” 
(6) ΜΝ means to encircle or enwrap as with a cloak. It has absolutely no 
other meaniuy i Hebrew. 


(7) The word “make” or “made,” ΠῚ} (yod) in the text, suggests the peculiarity 
of this fountain, as one made by men, not by nature, 


38 


Now read the Psalm with the topography in view. The 
ceremony commenced on the western hill, about where the great 
Jewish synagogues now stand, where the valley separating the two 
hills is at its narrowest and the western hill rises sharply, so that 
one looks down thence into the Haram-esh-Shereef, the old Temple 
area, across the Tyropoeon. Here was sung the first stanza, as the 
first sacrifice was offered :— 

2. “How beloved Thine abode, LORD of Hosts! 
3. Ihave longed, yea fainted for the courts of the LORD, 
With heart and body I raise the joy cry to the God of my life, 
4, The very birds have found a home, 
And the swallow a nest where she put her young, 
Thine altars, LORD of Hosts, 
My king and my God. 
5. (Refrain) Happy they that inhabit Thine house, 
That always sing Thy praise!’ SELAH, 

It is a vivid and beautiful picture of what one sees even to-day 
as one looks down from that high point into the Temple court be- 
neath and across the valley. Then the procession starts with 
rhythmic clapping of hands and stamping of staves, as all chant or 
intone “Happy he whose strength is in Thee”, precisely as one may 
see religious processions marching in Jerusalem to-day, iterating 
and reiterating some short phrase or phrases, the sound now almost 
dying away, now swelling into a shout, as new voices join in, or 
something arouses new zeal or energy. The procession crosses the 
bridge or causeway connecting the two hills,“ probably at 
Robinson’s arch just below the Haram area, the natural point for a 
causeway or bridge, because here the valley is at its narrowest, 
and then follows the road to the right down the valley just below 
the walls of David’s City, into and through the valley of weeping (2), 
and past the fountain’! which has been made or is being made 
there. There the leader is to bend to the right, as the road does 
now, and fetch a circuit about the Pool of Siloam.) 


(1) Perhaps as early as Hezekiah’s time the city had spread over on to the 
western hill, occupying its highest part,-roughly from a line drawn east from the Jaffa 
Gate along the southern line of the valley running down into the Tyropoeon, and 
bounded on the south by about the line of the present wall. This was connected with 


the eastern city by a causeway or bridge, as in the Herodian city, occupying about the 
same position. 


(2) The excavations of the Assumptionists on the eastern side of the western hill 
above the Siloam fountain and pool have shown that in the earlier times, and presumably 
until some time not long before the Christian era, this area was occupied by graves and 
tombs. Hence probably the name valley of weeping, as similarly of the valley of 
weepers near Bethel (Jud. 2:1). 

(3) This fountain is peculiar in that it is made by the tunnel through Ophel, and 
does not spring out of the ground naturally. The tunnel is generally supposed to have 
been cut in Hezekiah’s time, the close of the 8th century. The Hebrew text reads that 
is made or set ; the Greek, was made or set. Apparently it was not so old at this time of 
composition of our Psalm that the remembrance of its construction was forgotten, 


(4) The water from the tunnel, which discharges intermittently, is caught ina 
small pool, the outlet of which is carried beneath, not into the Birket or large pool, thus 
seaching the valley below. The large pool, like the other birkets about Jerusalem, simply 
caught and impounded the water flowing down the valley. To-day no water flows 
down the valley, the bed of the birket is gardens, but the water from the tunnel is 
carried underneath, not into it. It is much larger than the small pool or tank at the 


ae of the tunnel, and extends further to the west, so that the road makes a circuit 
about it, 


39 


' So the procession finds itself at the foot of the high rock which 
constitutes the southern end of Ophel. This rock is scarped and 
was evidently fortified and battlemanted, the lowest rampart of the 
old city of David. The hill goes up almost like steps, as a model 
of the rock levels shows. Indeed this hill is peculiar in its suc- 
cession of knolls of which are still clearly marked the knoll where 
stands the Dome of the Rock, beyond this the Baris or Antonia, and 
beyond this Bezetha. Ata point approximately above the Virgin’s 
Spring is what seems once to have been another high knoll, the 
southern edge of which still presents a steep surface towards the 
south, suggesting a battlement or rampart similar to that at the 
extreme southern point of the hill. Here it is supposed once stood 
David’s citadel, on the rock summit cut down with such vast toil in 
the Maccabaean period to prevent it from dominating or rivalling 
the Temple. From this the road would have dipped down to a 
portion of the hill of lower level, crossing which it again ascended 
to the ramparts of Zion or the Temple enclosure, and to-day this 
part of the ascent is more gradual. The ascent of the eastern hill 
to the Temple court was then very literally a going from rampart 
torampart. It will be observed that this road would have led the 
procession to the south gate of the Temple, the regular entrance in 
Herod’s time, and presumably also in the earlier period when 
David’s city lay tothe south of the Temple. That gate reached, 
the sanctuary and the altar before it would become visible to the 
leaders of the procession, and “the God of gods is seen in Zion”. 
Then follows the prayer cry, and presumably sacrifice before the 
threshold: ͵ 


“LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer ; 5 
Hearken, God of Jacob, SELAH” 


The third stanza (10-13), completing the liturgy, gives us 
glimpses of certain of the ceremonies and forms of the ritual within 
the Temple; the prostration of the worshippers with forehead to 
the ground, like somany threshold stones (jairon, v.11), and the 


ritual purification (Ὁ 2, v. 12) before the great sacrificial feast, 


part of the obligation to fulfil exactly the ritual laws, the fulfilment 
of which brings favourable answer and blessing from God. 
It reads :-- 


10. “Behold. O God, our shield, 
And regard the face of Thine anointed. (2) 

11, For better a day in Thy courts than an army. (3) 
I had rather be the threshold in God’s house, 


(1) For the general method of such a processional ritual, with sacrifice at 
various stages, ending with the great sacrifice and sacrificial feast at the close, cf. 
2, Sam 6:12-19. I think that we have a liturgy intended for similar use in Pss. 42-43, of 
bie Prof. Briggs says (II. 225): “Ps. 84 resembles 42-43, and probably had the same 

author.” 


(2) Tw, evidence that it was a hymn forthe royal sacrifice, and there- 
fore pre-exilic. 


(3) Hebrew nde, thousand, that, is a band of 1000 men, a regiment. 


40 


12. Than a fortress (1) in the city of the godless, 

For sun and shield is the LORD of Hosts 

Favour and honour the LORD giveth, 

And refuseth no good to them that walk in cleanness, 
13. (Refrain) LORD of Hosts, 

Happy he who trusteth in Thee.” 


The last stanza helps to fix the date. It evidently belongs to 
the old days of battle, when warrior kings held their own in Zion 
by force of arms, when the Temple was the royal shrine, and sac- 
rifices were offered for and in the name of the King, God’s anointed. 
Such sacrifices were regarded as equally necessary to the _king’s 
success against his heathen or godless enemies with his armies. Its 
similarity to Ps.42-43,like which it is ascribed to the Sons of Korah, 
suggests that this Psalm also was originally a processional liturgy 
of the temple of Dan, afterwards adopted into the Jerusalem Psalter, 
but with considerable changes to adapt it to its new use. So in 


general God (a's) was changed to LORD (am), but above all 


the second stanza was purged entirely of its original local referen- 
ces. for which were substituted rubrical directions for the new ritual, 
while the original refrain of this stanza or part of it was made the 
marching chorus to be repeated at intervals throughout the proces- 
sion. The date of this Psalm inits present shape, it would appear 
from these considerations, must have been somewhere between the 
fall of Samaria (721 B.C.), or slightly earlier, at which time the 
literature of Israel began to be taken over and adopted in Judah, 
and the capture and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, 
approximately a century and a half later. 


It may be asked why this Psalm underwent so much change 
while we have the companion liturgy, 42, 43, in almost if not quite 
its original form as a Psalm of Dan. We have in the collection 
42-49, apparently, a group of or selection from the old Dan Psalter, 
taken over together and preserved almost intact, even to the old 
use of Elohim. Such changes as were made, apparently, outside of 
some refrains and liturgical phrases, were of a literary character. 
Other Psalms of this Psalter did not have the same history. Not 
included in the selection above referred to, they yet found their 
way to Jerusalem and into use in the Temple, undergoing consider- 
able changes in the process, until at last, with a few other Psalms 
from the northern kingdom, they were gathered together, copied 
and added to the already existing collections of Psalms of the Sons 
of Korah and of Asaph to form the third book of Psalms. 


Interesting evidence of the method in which this was done is 
furnished by two notes in Psalm 88. Vs.9 ends: “Finished (x53) 


I do not go on” (“go out or go forth”). which, seeming impossible. 
has been translated: “I am shut up andI cannot come forth” 
(R.V.), or by some similar phrase, and supposed to refer to some 
imprisonment like that of Jeremiah in the pit. This quite spoils 
the Psalm. The last verse, 19, reads as follows :—“Thou hast put 
far from me lover and friend, mine acquaintance darkness”, which 


(1 1 cf. Ass, duru, wall, fortress, 


41 


with all the doctoring given it by translators and commentators 
remains quite unintelligible. The concluding words of both verses 
are notes by the scribe who was copying them. “Finished, I go - 
not on”; that is, the tablet or manuscript which he was copying 
stopped short at this point, leaving the Psalm unfinished. 


After the word “acquaintance” in v.19 the scribe could 
decipher nothing further. He therefore wrote at this point “dark- 
ness” (12 Γ3). i.e. unintelligible, or illegible. The two fragments 


(that they are fragments is clear among other things from the failure 
of the whole to get anywhere liturgically, as well as from the lack 
of development of the thought) were placed in juxtaposition be- 
cause, I suppose, of their general resemblance to one another, and 
more particularly because of the striking resemblance of the clos- 
ing verses of each. That these are in fact two Psalm fragments 
combined is testified to further by the double heading, unique in 
the entire Psalter, describing one part as “a song set to music of the 
Sons of Korah, to be led on mahalath, to make penitence” (ΣῊ 


and the other as a “maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.” 


(1) Perhaps ΝΥΝ should be changed to yyy, “it does not go on”, NYN being 
due to an attempt to make sense by connecting this clause with the precedirg. 


42 
CONTRIBUTION A L’HISTOIRE DU VERBE HEBREU. 
ISRAEL EITAN 
(Jerusalem). 
(Nippa‘el ou nif‘al intensif.) 


On sait que la forme verbale “Niffal” ay alba) Vorigine le sens 
d’une action réfléchie de méme que 16 Nitpa‘el.” Ce n’est que dans 
la suite des temps que le “Nif‘al,” changeant de sens, finit par 


remplacer le passif du “qal” (= ar. » ), tombé en désuetude pro- 


bablement ἃ cause de son identité compléte en hébreu avec la 
forme passive de l’Intensif au parfait (95 31Y) du Causatif 


A l’Imparfait ( np? ja ip Quoi qu’il en soit, Vantiquité de notre 
͵ ‘ . » . 
langue connaissait deux formes réflexives : le “hitpa‘el” ou réflexif 


avec “tave” et le “‘nif‘al” ou réflexif avec “nowne.” 


Il est curieux de noter en passant que le méme changement 
d’acception originelle, qui atteignit en hébreu le réflexif avec 
“noune,” affecta en araméen le réflexif avec ‘‘tave.’’ 


On serait donc en bon droit de s’étonner de l’énorme différence 
qui semble s’étre manifestée dans la destinée morphologique de 
ces deux formes. En eftet, le réflexif avec “tave,’ ἃ prendre en 
considération les différentes langues sémitiques, peut affecter 
toutes 165 quatre formes principales du verbe: simple, intensive, 
conative (ou forme d’influence) et causative. Notre “Nitpa‘el” 
habituel dérive de I’Intensif, comme le prouve le “dagesh fort” de 
la deuxiéme radicale, 5n2n7 vient de Sup, Il en est de méme en 


ins 
- 


“arabe’’ pour la forme V ou Jj7# + Mais ici nous rencontrons aussi. 
e 
trés fréquemment, le méme réflexif de la forme simple (=) Jaca! ou f. 


VIIL) ainsi que du Conatif (= je ou f. VI). En araméen, nous 


le trouvons dérivé du “gal” ( >ypnn ) ainsi que de I’Intensif (>upna ) 
et en syriaque—également du Causatif (= ettaqtal). Méme en 
hébreu, nous avons conservé quelques exemples, isolés dans la 
Bible, du réflexif ayec “tave” du gal: ypann sipann (Juges 20); 
ou bien des formes plus anciennes, comme ὙΠΟ (Osée 11,3), 


mannan (Jer. i2,5), προ (ibid. 22, is), provenant des racines 


σϑὃϑ- 
. - ‘ , . τ΄ δ 9, 
bn jim avec le “tave” réflexif. La forme X arabe (jaar! Jo 


elle aussi n’est autre chose que le réflexif avec “tave” d’un ancien 

Causatif se retrouvant dans quelques langues sémitiques et dont 

la caracteristique est “sin” (minéen) ou “shin” (assyr.), Causatif 

Pee ets exemples pénétrérent dans l’hébreu post-biblique 
τς ; aramé " . 

sous l’influence des langues araméennes ( ayy nw etc.) 


(1) Méme métathése enassyrien et, comme le prouve la stele de Mésa, dans le dialecte 
moabite: ONMON vient du “gal” comme and, en hébren, En éthiopien point de 
métathase, mais “taqatla,” 


43 


Or il en va tout autrement du réflexif avec “noune.” Celui-ci ne 
régnerait que sur une aire morphologique trés restreinte. Certes, 
il se retrouve en arabe et en“) assyrien. Mais il est bien unanime- 
ment admis par les philologues dela grammaire comparée des 
langues sémitiques que ce réflexif est tout entier l’apanage du verbe 
simple seulement, ne pouvant se dériver morphologiquement que du 
“qal,” méme dans le cas oi son acception essentielle est tirée de 
Lintensif ou du causatif : 7953 est dérivé de 332, malgré le sens 


essentiel qui vient de 755; 70’) est dérivé de “Hy, malgré son 
acception tirée de 7.13) 


Ce phénoméne est certainement fait pour étonner le chercheur 
et demande des explications. Pourquoi donc le réflexif avec “noune”’ 
n’aurait-il été usité qu’au qal, c.a.d. sous la forme “nif‘al’”’ seulement, 
tandis que son compagnon réflexif avec “‘tave” s’appliquait a toutes 
les quatre formes principales duverbe? Or, c’est la justement le 
but du présent essai, de montrer qu’en réalité l’usage du réflexif avec 
“noune” portait autrefois sur une aire morphologique plus étendue 
que nous n’avons pensé, notamment aussi sur /’/ntensif et sur le 
Conatif. Cette assertion peut se confirmer par plusieurs restes 
-conservées dans la Bible. 


En effet, examinons attentivement la liste des exemples 
suivants: 
Be teen (is. 43, 10); 2, opwn (Hecl. 7,16); 3. ‘nam (Is, $5, ΤᾺ. 


A iaian. (Nomb, 213127); 5. 3.) (CPs. 59,5). 


B.—1. swan (Nomb. 24,7); 2.4sy9 (L-Chr. 32, 23); 3. 1xwa(Dan.11,14);° 
4. “moon (Prov. 26,26); 5. 1923 (Deut. 21,8); 6. D132 (Ezéch.i23, 48) 
7 asco (Bey. 13; 55-0); 


Les deux exemples 7523 90:3 ont d’abord attiré Vattention 


de nos anciens” grammairiens qui décidérent de les rattacher a une 
forme verbale composée “nitpa‘el,” résultée d’une superposition du 
Gmittal” au ‘hitpatel” dont le“ tave” ‘se serait ‘assimilé a la 
radicale: donc 3523=782"3, 70173-10:. De la méme facon on continua 


a expliquer les autres exemples précités comme “ hitpa‘el avec 
assimilation du “tave’’: donc jy2n-;n=rMr, xwim=swin etc. L’erreur 
se propageant ainsi de génération en génération acquit droit de 
cité, et l’on finit par la consacrer en une loi grammaticale attribuant 


1 En éthiopien cette forme ne s’est conservée que dans les verbes quadrilitteres. 
2 Brockelm : Semit, Sprachwiss.. p. 121—122 

3 Brockelm : Vergleich, ἐλ σαι: d, sem, Spr., p, 253. 

4 Autre version δ 2} 

5 Certains corrigent: MDS (Vulg.: Qui operit.) 


6 Voy., par ex., Profiat Douran Hallévi : “AX"MWYD , p. 122-8, Vienne 5625, 


44 

au “tave du hitpa‘el” la faculté de s’assimiler“? ἃ la ere radicale | 
5 ou 3 (d’aprés 1223 et Os, on devrait ajouter aussi} et w ). 
C’est cette régle qui empécha jusqu’a présent de reconnaitre le 
vrai caractere des formes grammaticales ci-dessus mentionnees 
dans les listes A et B. 


Or, en réalité, cette prétendue régle ne peut se baser sur rien- 

Il n’y aque le “noune” quia cette faculte caracteristique de s’assi- 

a Ω ( πον] ( a 
miler trés fréquemment, toujours dans le nif‘al,” et dans les noms 
. - ΄ . , : i Ess ᾿ 
méme ἃ des occassions assez bien déterminees. Quant au ‘tave.” 
ξ . χ AAE δ Ἵ q ε 
nous ne Jui connaissons guére ce caractére des assimiler que dans 
16 Réflexif, et ceci seulement devant une [ere rad. mou son em- 
phatique Ὁ, ce qui est bien naturel; peut-étre aussi devant une Ié€re 
‘ Z : ὶ : 
rad. π, autre dentale si parente du 8, mals ce point ἢ exclurait 
pas la discussion.@) En tous cas, on ne saurait attribuer au “tave” 
cette faculté ailleurs que devant les trois dentales. La meilleure 
preuve a ]’appui de cette thése, c’est que presque tous les exemples 
ci-dessus cités ont dans la Bible leur “hitpa‘el” complet avec “tave»’ 
non-assimilé ; oyi~ (Dan. 11, 36); omre (Is. 59, 16; Ps. 143,3). 
δρῦν (Is. 63,5; Dan. 8,27); nom ( Prov. 24,3); svi (Num. 
23, 24); xwinn (Ezéch. 26, 15); ixwinn (Num. 16,3); swans 
(I.Chr. 29, 11; Reg. 1,5); swann (Ez. 17,14; Prov. 30, 32); con (LL Reg. 
ΤΌ, 1; Is. 37, 1); bamm (Gen. 24, 65); pan’ (Is. 59, 6; Jon. 3,'3); 55am 
(I.Sam. 3, 14). 

Il est bien difficile d’admettre que les mémes verbes auraient eu 
leur ‘“‘hitfaSel” tant6t avec ‘tave”, tantdt sans “‘tave’’, fluctuation trop 
invraisemblable. [1 serait beaucoup plus logique d’admettre que 
dans les exemples sans “tave,” ce n’est point avec un “‘tave” assimilé 
que nous avons affaire, mais avec un “nowne’’ assimilé, comme 


d’ordinaire. Comme exemple spécialement bien fait pour corroborer 
notre assertion, on pourrait citer oswwnA: d’aprés la loi bien connue, 


en présence d’une Iére rad. sifflante le “tave’ du “hitpa‘el” subit 
toujours la métathése; sice n’est pas le cas ici, c’est que nous ne 
sommes point en présence d’un® “hitpa‘el.” 


Trés important aussi, sousce rapport, ’lexemple ons ou il 


n’y a méme pas d’assimilation, mais élargissement de la voyelle de 
la particule pronominale, phénomeéne constant chez le“nif‘al’ devant 


1 Ges.-Kautsch : Hebr. Gramm,, p. 148, éd. 27. 
2 Car, d'une part, nous avons un exemple tres stir DSI (Jug. 19, 22) sans 
assimilation; d’autre part, des formes comme 43745 (27370) Aba) (Job, 34,25), sont 
douteuses. Restent M258 (is. 14, 44,) NDT? (Job. 5, 1.) 

3 C'est pourquoi nous ne pouvons nous ranger de l’avis de\Gesenius (Dictionn.), 
ou de Strack (Gramm, p, 75) qui considtrent 2] (1s. 1, i6) comme “hitpael” de M23. 
A notre sens, ce serait le ‘‘nifa‘al” de jet. Si lon tient 4 la racine M3t,' il faudra 


reconnaitre ici également un “nif’al intensif (voy. plus loin): IIT serait = 127(3)7 


45 
une Iére rad. non-apte a recevoir le “dagesh.” Ici Vidée du 
“hitpa‘el” ne vient méme pas a la téte de l’observateur sans principe 


grammatical préconcu; tant nous sommes habitués a rencontrer le 
réflexit ς des verbes avec Iére sans que le “tave” tombe: wyyine 


ann (Prov. 22, 23) 2517 7, Tam ΡΞ etc. etc., pour ne citer 
que quelques exemples ΠΡ τς, 


' ἴων 


ΒΘ 


Enfin, ce sont les exemples 2. Δ qui pourront nous 


révéler avec plus de certitude encore le vrai caractére morphologi- 
que de tous ces verbes ci-dessus mentionnés dans la liste. En 

écartant comme inexacte l’ hypothése d’un “tave” assimilé ou tombé 
et en nous rappelant que le “nitpa‘el” est une forme trés postérieure 
qui se développa au temps de la Mishna, — nous reconnaitrons 
clairement, au “noune” de ces deux'verbes, la forme “nif‘al”’ et, a 
la vocalisation de ia racine, notamment au “dagesh” de la 26 rad., 
la forme intensive (Pi‘el). No ous sommes donc en présence d’une 
forme verbale inconnue: c’est le “nif‘al” dérivé du “‘piel,’’ ou, mor- 

phologiquement parlant, le réflexif- intensif avec “noune.’’ Cette 
forme est morphologiquement paralléle a notre “hitpa‘el” habituel 

i, lui, n’est que le réflexif-intenstf avec “‘tave.”’ 


Tous les autres exemples ci-dessus mentionnés, tous a l’impar- 
fait, avec *dagesh fort’? dans les fére et 28 rad, s’expliquent 
également de la facon la plus. naturelle comme “niffa 1” intensif : 
le premier dagesh complete le “noune” réflexif, tombant ἃ limpar- 
fait sans exception; le second indique le “pi‘el,” — et point n’est 
besoin d’inventer un “tave” s’assimilant exceptionnellement. 


Toutefois, il nous reste encore a aplanir une apparente diffi- 
culté concernant la vocalisation des deux verbes 532) 812 :le 


“noune” étant présent, vu le parfait, et aucune autre lettre n’étant 
tombée, que vient faire le ““dagesh” dans la Ieére rad. ? 


Eh bien! nous avons affaire ici avec une vocalisation ou ponc- 
tuation “par analogie”’. Souvent la langue abandonne une forme 
spéciale a une espéce grammaticale plus on moins restreinte, pour 
se régler sur un modéle plus général. L’on sait, par ex., que le 
“noune” du “nif‘al” parfait, 3e p., devant une 1°¢rad. vocalisée avec 
accent, comme dans les verbes creux et geminés, est ponctué T=a 
(vocalisation originelle): y2923 ees, Pourtant, déja dans la Bible nous 


trouvons des formes some S103 ADIOS 5; ; quant a lépoque post- 
biblique, le ‘‘noune” du nif<‘al dans ces sortes de verbes est toujours 


6699 


VOcaliseyavec UN) 2 2 13 iv es au lieu de 12} 12: Δ). 


C’est que la langue a imité ici le “nif‘al” de la grande majorité des 
autres verbes, dont la marque caractéristique au parfait est “ni” 
(niqtal, nifgqad). Or, un phénomeéne analogique tout pareil aurais 
affecté aussi les verbes 7523717013: le nowne aurait di recevoir ici 


un “sheva mobile”, comme cela se passe toujours immédiatement 
avant une syllabe non-accentuée 52. B°D32- O°5153) ; mals,) sous 


2) 


Vinfluence du “nif‘al” ordinaire, lui aussi a été vocalisé “nz.” Done, 
au lieu de ἜΣΘ, nous avons obtenu “1523777013. Mais ce 


46 
‘)” par lui-méme, comme voyelle bréve non fermée par un “sheva 
quiescent,” a forcément entrainé le redoublement de la consonne sui- 
vante, c.a.d. le “dagesh fort” dans la I*¢ rad., comme dans 5193 etc, 
et nous avons obtenu 752577013. Done S587 =3H2I ISB -WHSs ay) 
Et c’est ainsi que le réflexif-intensif avec 

39 ate ι . Siar «4 - ᾽ eames 
définitive de “nippa‘el” ou “niygattel” (009) 


“ynoune recut ta iorme 


Ce phénoméne d’apparition fortuite d’un “dagesh’’ rien que 
pour raison phonétique, sans remplacer une lettre ni accentuer une 
nuance grammaticale,— ce phénomene n’est point isolé. Il se pro- 
duisit également pour toute une série de restes bibliques de |’ancien 


passif du “gal,” correspondant au as arabe, sans redoublement de 


la 2 πιὸ rad. Or, en hébreu, rien'que pour cause phonétique (ou bref 
du passif), ce redoublement se produisit et il en résuita la forme 

identique en tout au passif du “ῬΙ 6]. Cet ancien passif (“pou‘al 
du qal’’) est encore representé dans la Bible par ces exemples assez 


nombreux: ΤΠ τ a TS ssp etc. 
/ 


Quant au verbe (ἢ ps2n il ne serait donc pas un“ hotpa‘el” ou 


ries 
hitpa‘e passif ( jas )d’aprés Gesenius et autres, mais bien un nippa‘el 


passif: D25N=D33(3)" et non pas 52355. 


De méme, que l’arabe a conservé le passif du réfl. simple avec 
‘“noune” ( \s# |), ’hébreul’a conserve de ce réfl. intensif. L’hébreu 


donc,, comme l’arabe, avait une forme passive pour les deux refl. avec 
“tave” et avec “noune.” 


Nous avons rangé nos douze exemples archaiques ci-dessus en 
deux groupes,A et B. Le groupe B compren des verbes prouvant |’exi- 
stence du réfl. avec “noune” formé de l’intensif ou pi‘el ordinaire. 
Mais le groupe A ne contient que des exemples d’une ancienne forme 
(115 arabe), le “PoSel”, caracterisée par un Oaprés la 1 rad. a tous 
les temps et remplacant le pi‘el dans les verbes creux et géminés. 
Cette forme, appelée par les linguistes Conatif ou forme d’influence 


et conservée méme en arabe vulgaire( 1.) , est morte chez nous 


complétement dans la conjugaison du verbe régulier ou sain, ne lais- 
sant que des restes isolés dans la Bible, comme® ‘was (Job 9, 15), 


aa τ 5 RR ee 66 ” 
1) Voy. Τόν. 13, 55-6: “IMS DISA MAN... PII ΣΝ DIME Sk Ce verbe n’est 
point au parfait (Gesenius), mais a infin du passit-impersonnel avec complém, direct, 


A Rs 3 τώ: 4a mm mas omar δ " Ξ 
comme dans ces propositions: © -N3* FX ΠῚ OVD" (Gen. 21. 8), ou bien: 


mynp ΓΝ ΓΙ OY Gen. 40, 20). 


2) D’apres Wellhausen, il faut lire dans Yoph. 3, 15 également [U2 au lieu de 


ete attr 
Mee Se a Nee 


47 
“aio (Ps. 21, 5), aot = aio (Os. 13, 3), γὼ = vow (Is. 10, 13), 
(πὴ ay (1 Sam 21, 3). 


Comme résultat de tout ce qui précéde, nous pouvons donc con- 
clure que leréflexif avec “‘noune’’s’appliquait autrefois non seulement 
alaforme simple, comme “nif<‘al,” mais aussi a l’Intensif et au 
Conatif. A \’Intensif, il recut la forme nippa‘el ; au Conatif il devait 
donc avoir (au parfait) la forme “‘nippocel.” 


/ 


(1) Inutile de corriger avec Gesenius (Dict) ΠΣ ou NIV. Le texte est 

exact et s’explique parfaitement par la racine correspondante en arabes, signifiant: lais- 
ξ: ; 

Ser en partant ceux qui restent,quitter, faire des adieux (e215) (Voy. Dict. Wahrmund 

Ρ. 1170). 


A REVISION OF EARLY HEBREW CHRONOLOGY 


W. F. ALBRIGHT 
(JERUSALEM) 


OR centuries the field of early Hebrew chronology has been the 
hunting ground of the scholarly ecclesiastic and of the dilettante. 
 Eyen the extraordinary progress made in our knowledge of the ancient 
ο΄ East during the past century has, to a superficial glance, left it almost 
. untouched. It is true that the once standard systems of Ussher—1921 
4 B.C. for the Call of Abram, 1491 for the Exodus, and 1296 for the 
~ Song of Deborah—and Hale—2088 for the Call of Abram and 1658 
for the Exodus—have been discarded, but the many divergent schemes 

᾿ which conservative scholars propose, ranging from 2250 to 1950 for 
_ Abram’s migration to the west, and from 1350 to 1200 for the Exodus, 
are still more repugnant to the Biblical tradition than the former 
‘were to our present knowledge of ancient history. Some of these 
schemes allow an entire millennium to elapse between Abram and 
Ἐ Moses. Critical scholars usually show a commendable caution by 
avoiding these tangled problems, the easier for them since many have 
doubted whether there were any measure whatsoever of historicity in 
the pre-Mosaic traditions of Israel. As long as the - alternative 
seemed to he between the contemporaneity of Abram with Hammurabi 
and rejection of his historicity along with that of Genesis XIV, no 
Ἢ serious student could be blamed for grasping the second horn of the 


_ dilemma, especially since a number of circumstances seemed to tell 
x decidedly against the conservative position. 

᾿ _ The archaeological investigations pursued in Egypt, Mesopotamia 
and Palestine began about 1870 to cast direct light upon the early 
δ... of the Hexateuch. With the discoveries in Anatolia and 
- Arabia, especially the Peninsula of Sinai, the illumining of Israel’s 
horizon is complete. Yet even Tell-el-Amarna and Boghaz-keui have 
_ raised more problems than they could solve, and the excavations in 


50 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Palestine, from which so much was hoped in this direction, have — 
hitherto only complicated the matter by introducing new, chronologic- ὃ 
ally elusive factors, while at the same time apparently supporting the | 
evidence from other sources against the traditional Biblical date for 
the Exodus, 480 years before the construction of the temple. 

Nor has the critical study of the Old Testament, valuable though 
its results have been, materially improved our position. The results 
‘of documentary analysis were placed on a secure basis by Well- 
hausen’s work forty years ago, and have since become more and 
more firmly established, positively by the latest archaeological dis- 
coveries, and negatively by the failure of the unmethodical super- 
criticism of Eerdmans, Dahse, Wiener, and a scattered group of 
followers. These men, with the exception of Eerdmans, profess to be 
orthodox in their views, but their textual somersaults and subjective Ὁ 
distortions of the Biblical narrative bewilder by their freedom as 
well as by their lack of method. It is to be feared that the good 
old conservative of the Victorian era, who had at least a sound 
classical training, would be much more at home in the works of 
Driver and Skinner than in the writings of Naville, whose archaeo- — 
logical artillery does more damage to the batteries of his allies than 
to those of his antagonists. However, useful as the analysis of the 
Hexateuch is for the proper appreciation of the relative historical value. 
of our documents, it seldom has a direct bearing upon the fundamental . — 
historical and chronological problems. The most important case is 
the reconstruction of J’s version of Judah’s conquest of the south, — Ἶ 

The combination of historical and critical methods in Eduard 
Meyer's great work, Die Israeliten und ihre Nachbarstiimme (1905), ἊΝ 
following the lines mapped out by his epoch-making paper, “Kritik ἫΝ 
der Berichte itiber die Eroberung Palaestinas’ (ZATW! 1881, ᾿ : 

1 Note the following abbreviations: AAA — Annals of Archaeology and ag 
Anthropology; AE—Max Miller, Asien und Europa nach den altégyptischen Ὁ 
Denkmilern ; AJSU= American Journal of Semitie Languages; AR = Breasted, 
Ancient Records; CT = Cuneiform Texts from the British Museum; EA = 
Knudtzon-Weber-Ebeling, Die El-Amarna-Tafeln; JAOS=Journal of the 
American Oriental Society; JBL = Journal of Biblical Literature; JHA:= oe 
Journal of Egyptian Archaeology; MVAG = Mitteilungen der Vorderasiatischen ἘΣ 
Gesellschaft; OLZ — Orientalistische Literaturzeitung; RA = Revue d ’ Assyrio- ἌΡΗ 


dogie; ZATW = Zeitschrift fiir die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft; ZDMG = 
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenliéndischen Gesellschaft. 


ALBRIGHT: A Reyision of Early Hebrew Chronology 51 


117—146), while estimating the relative historical value of our sources 
more accurately than anyone else had succeeded in doing, brought 
few positive results. There was still no link between sacred and 
profane history, and since the oldest Biblical narratives were so 
intermingled with romantic and obviously legendary material Meyer, 
as a careful historian, felt obliged to deny their historicity almost 
entirely. But are we justified in rejecting traditions completely 
because of legendary coloring, or in denying historical worth to 
documents because they incorporate mythical episodes? The study 
of the process of myth-making in the ancient Orient by Winckler 
and his school has shown that oral tradition inevitably implies the 
accretion of folkloristic elements, as illustrated by the early historical 
reminiscences of every Levantine people, and by the myths which 
gathered around every notable monarch or sage, from Sargon of 
Akkad and Imhotep to Ahiqar and Alexander. Clearly, if we could 
remove the folkloristic shell, we would find important nuclei of truth 
in these traditions, which the popular tradition often preserved with 
the most remarkable tenacity. This necessary demarcation between 
history and saga is being made possible by more systematic collec- 
tions of folkloristic materials from the ancient Orient. We now find 
that these stories repeat certain stereotyped motives, common to all 
southwestern Asia and the adjoining portions of the Mediterranean 
basin. Many stories turn up, with slight variations, in nearly every 
ancient literature and mythology. Owing to association with cosmog- 
ony or with heroic saga they were frequently incorporated by the 


scribe into his collections of the historical traditions of his people 


from the dim period lying between the Creation and the beginning 
of the official annals. Typical examples of stories of this class in 
the Old Testament are the legends ot the antediluvian patriarchs, 
the Flood, Babel, the postdiluvian patriarchs, Jacob and Ksau, 
Joseph,! and Samson.2 The advancement of the folkloristic study of 


1 For the origin and character of the Joseph Story, which is found with 
slight variations in all the eastern Mediterranean basin and southwestern Asia, 
see my article, “Historical and Mythical Elements in the Story of Joseph,” 


ΕἼ ΒΤ 37 (1918), 111—143. Since this article was written I have found much 


additional evidence, and a number of new parallels, of no less intimate character. 
2 The best treatment of the Samson Story is by Burney Judges, pp. 391—408. 


While Samson reflects an actual historical hero, his adventures have clearly been 


adapted to the Heracles pattern, and in many respects closely resemble the 
44 


52 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the Old Testament may be referred almost entirely to ‘Gankele pale 
his pupils, especially Hans Schmidt? and Gressmann.3 Recently the 
great name of Sir James Frazer has been added to the still short 
list of workers in the field. , 

The recognition of these folkloristic elements in our material, and 
the consequent sifting of our historical data, obviously has a great a 
effect in stabilizing our conceptions of early Hebrew history. The 
scribes were not logopoeists, or compilers of invented facts; they 
conscientiously passed on the documents, oral and written, which ~ 
came to their hand. Their undeveloped ideas of intellectual honesty 
were aided by an exaggerated notion of the sacredness of the material 
which they gathered and copied, and the fear of violating some tabu 
by inaccuracy. Being human they made mistakes and erroneous — 
combinations,! but we may safely credit them with a point of view : : 


exploits of Gilgames, as well as those of Heracles. In spite of his name, which 
means literally “solar” he is not directly solar, though certain of his adventures, — 
as well as his association with Beth Shemesh, the city of the sun, point in that 
direction. His mythical side connects him rather with the genii of fecundity, 
like the Babylonian Lugalmarda, who appears in the Bible as Nimrod, and 
Sumugan, both of whom are considered as the offspring of the sungod by a 
mortal woman (see JAOS 40, 307—335). Jud. XIII: 6, 9 shows transparently 
that Samson was thought to be the child of an angel (7. 6. originally of a god) 
by a mortal woman, like the primordial heroes of Gen. VI. His name may point — 
to the pre-Mosaic conception that he was the son of Sams, the sun, The name. 
of the historical Samson is unknown, nor can there be a connection with Shammah 
of I Sam. XXIII: 11, or with Shamgar, both of whom slew Philistines eee ‘Scam 
the tertium comparationis, which brought about the fusion of the historical — 
Samson with the mythical, may be the fact that the former was nicknamed — 
Samson (whence Simsdn, by Philippi’s Law). The schematic form of the legend 
is characterized by the fact that the Samson pericope assigns exactly seven a 
adventures to the hero. 

1 Note especially his books, Schépfung und Chaos in Urzeit und Endecit; 
Genesis; Das Mirchen im Alten Testament, Tiibingen, 1917. “4 

2 Cf, his Jona, and for his methods especially his Volkserzéihlungen aus — 
Palistina. 


3 Cf, Gressmann's Ursprung der israelitisch-jiidischen Eschatologie and Mose 
und seine Zeit, Gottingen, 1918, 
4. The most serious errors are due to learned combinations and assumptions ὯΝ 
from imperfect knowledge, still the most prolific source of mistakes on the part — 
of scholars. A very characteristic blunder is the combination which wave us the | 
Hamite theory of Babylonian origins. The compiler of Gen. X identified the 
Kassu who ruled Babylonia from 1742 to 1166, and the Dynasty of Tas (Burkitt, 
Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. 21, a 236 ff.) which begins the list of ᾿ς 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 53 


similar to that exhibited by Egyptian and Mesopotamian scribes, 
whose praiseworthy respect for accuracy we are coming more and 
more to esteem. Naturally the possibility of error in those days 
of manuscript and teaching by rote was much greater than it is 
today. ; 

Until very recently the work of Biblical scholars has been handi- 
capped by the fact that, although there was apparently an abundance 
of historical material in the cuneiform and the hieroglyphic inscrip- 
tions, the doctors disagreed to such an extent that it often seemed 
to the more timorous or more remote as if there were no security 
at all in this vast and treacherous edifice. Now the differences are 
lessening to such an extent that there is hardly ever any room for 
serious disagreement in the reading of royal or place names, and 
even the vexed subject of ancient chronology is nearing a final 
settlement.! The dates given by Breasted for the kings of the 
Highteenth Dynasty are for the most part astronomically fixed, and 
those for the Nineteenth are confirmed by an indirect synchronism 


later Hkés, Amarna K@si, and Heb. Kus. Accordingly, the Babylonian hero, 
Nimrod, becomes an Ethiopian, and with Eduard Meyer a Libyan, because one 
of the Libyan ancestors of Shishak was called Nwmrt. 

1 Practically all Egyptologists accept the clear astronomical evidence of the 
Sothis dates for the Twelfth and Eighteenth Dynasties; the divergent views of 
a few belonging to the older school, such as Petrie and Lieblein, are not to be 
taken seriously, since the astronomical evidence is now confirmed by an increasing 
mass of collateral material. Back to Β. C. 2000 Egyptian chronology is exact 
almost for every decade; the difference of about ten years between the dates 
given by Meyer and Breasted for the Nineteenth Dynasty is being settled in 
favor of the latter; see the following note. Babylonian chronology is established 
with the same margin of error back to about 2500 B.C., thanks to the brilliant 
discovery of Pater Kugler of a list of the relations between the changes of 
Venus and the moon, accurately dated in the reign of ‘Ammi-cadiqa (1978—1957). 
Weidner’s attempt to reduce this date by 168 years because of his new Assyrian 
lists of kings and a new astronomical combination is certainly wrong from the 
chronological side, where he has made a great many serious errors, as I shall 

prove elsewhere; his astronomical theory has not been published yet, but is 
evidently wrong, as his almost invariably are where they differ from Kugler’s. 
The latter has the enviable merit of being at once a competent astronomer and 
an Assyriologist of no mean ability. The chronology of the third millennium 
_ has no astronomical support, but may be fixed back to the thiertieth century, 
thanks to a careful examination of the material in the light of my synchronism 
- between Menes and Naram-Sin; see JHA 6, 89—98, and 7, 80—86. Since the sec- 
ond article was written, new material has accumulated. 


Dd Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


with Babylonia through the Hittite monarchs.t| We may, therefore, — 
make a new effort to solve the principal questions of early Hebrew 
chronology, and, in the main, I venture to say, a definitive one. We 
propose to fix approximately the dates of the Song of Deborah, the _ 
Entrance into Canaan, the Exodus, and the period of Abram. 

The Song of Deborah is generally recognized as the oldest-monu- 
ment of Hebrew literature, a literary conception of unusual. merit, i 
though a torso, and an historical document of prime importance. A 
thorough study of it, prolonged through years, has convinced me that 
its textual state is excellent.2, While the LXX differs radically from 
MT in many of the later books, here there is hardly a disagreement. 


Moreover, the number of glosses, though respectable, seems to be 


much smaller than often suspected and to have very little bearing — 
on the historical content of the poem. In a careful study of ancient S 
Oriental metres, I have been struck with the similarity of form and 
metre between the Song of Deborah and some Egyptian poems from 
the Middle Egyptian period as well as the two splendid Old Baby-— 
lonian hymns to the goddesses AguSaya and Bélitili (time of Hammu- 
rabi). When read consecutively and freed from a few obvious and 
for the most part generally admitted glosses, the Song of Deborah 


appears as a very regular and rather elaborate metrical composition, 


belonging with these categories of pure Semitic verse.? The later 


1 The Hittite monarch Hattusilis II. writes to the regents for the young son 


of the Kossean Kadasman-Turgu, who must be Kadaiman-Ellil II., mentioning 


the new treaty with Egypt. The treaty was signed, as we know from Egyptian 


sources, in the twenty-first year of Rameses II., or B. C. 1271; according to my os 


chronology, based on entirely independent considerations, Kadasman-Ellil ascended 
the throne in 1272, a figure agreeing to the year. } ς 
* A number of hapax legomena, previously unexplained, and consequently 
emended by most scholars, have yielded to a methodical exegesis, assisted by 
the resources of comparative philology, as I shall show elsewhere. . By far the — 
most thorough and stimulating treatment of the Song of Deborah is that given 
by Haupt, in the Wellhausen Festschrift, pp. 191—226. After his penetrating © 
analysis there is not much to be done, even though one may differ radically in 
the restoration of the metrical form. To Burney we owe the important discovery 


of the scheme of “climactic parallelism,” though his philological study is highly — a 


unsatisfactory, and he is too ready to emend. 

3 I hope to treat the relation between Egyptian and Akkadian poetry of the 
classical period, on the one hand, and early Hebrew verse on the other, in a 
special study. The principle of repetition of balanced clauses, called climactic 
parallelism hy Burney, is found, though in a slightly more. artificial. form, in 
the beautiful Egyptian poem, “The Dialogue between the Soul and the Body.” 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 55 


Hebrew verse-forms are different, and resemble late Assyro-Babylonian 
poetry more, though superior to the latter in metrical form, since in 
translation from Sumerian the requirements of prosody were natur- 
ally sacrificed to the demands of literalness. Some of the Hebrew 
verse from the intervening age, such as the Lament of David over 
Jonathan, presents intermediate forms of great interest. Asa result 
of the metrical analysis we may have full confidence in the accuracy 
of the text of the Song of Deborah, and pass without apprehension 
to its historical exploitation. 

Jud. V: 6 the poet relates that before the rise of Deborah the 
country was oppressed by Shamgar of Beth-Anath,! a fortified town 
in northern Galiiee,? mentioned in the Egyptian lists of Palestinian 
cities,? and the Books of Joshua and Judges, where it appears 
- (Jud. I: 33) along with Beth-Shemesh4 as a Canaanite fortress which 


1 Shamgar ben-Anath does not mean “Shamgar son of Anath,” but “Shamgar 
of the place called Beth-Anath.” Anath was a goddess, and though one might 
suppose that the hero Shamgar was regarded as son of the goddess of war and 
love, like Gilgames and Aeneas, by a mortal father, it is better to assume that 
we have here a wide-spread Assyrian and Aramaic idiom (cf. Ungnad, OLZ 9, 
224—226), according to which a member of a tribe was son of the eponymous 
ancestor of the tribe, often naturally his real ancestor, while the tribe itself was 
called “house,” ὁ. 6. “family” (ef. 611, “tent” = ahi, “family” = Glu, “town”’) of the 
eponymous parent. Thus in Assyrian m@r, in an Aramean name especially, is 
equivalent to sa bit: Basa mar Ruhihi king of Ammon is Baasha of Beth-Rehob, 
just as Hadadezer ben-Rehob is Hadadezer of Beth-Rehob; Yaua mar Humri 
is Jehu of Beth-Omri, 7. 6. of Samaria, built by Omri; in many other cases the 
inscriptions themselves alternate in their usage, as with Aramé mar Gtisi = Aramé 
$a bit-Gasi, who is called Bar Gos in the Zakir Stele. 

2 That Beth-Anath was in northern Galilee is clear from the fact that it lay 
in Naphtali, on the Israelite border, but the identification with modern ‘Ainitha 
a small village west-northwest of Lake Htle by some fifteen kilometres in a 
straight line is impossible. The name is found elsewhere in Syria, probably 
representing an Aram. ‘Ainatha, “springs,’”’ and only remotely resembling Beth- 
Anath. 

3 Beth-Anath is found as Bait-‘Anat in the Egyptian lists of towns conquered 
in Palestine from the time of Thutmosis III. to that of Shishak. In a list of 
Rameses II. (Miller, Hgyptological Researches, Vol. 11, p. 96) we have in suc- 


ζ' cession Yeno‘am, Qmhm, Ullazi (Yn-r-f), Tyre, Usd (Yw-tw), Beth-Anath. In 


view of this order, it may not be too venturesome to suggest Tell-Belat, an 
important mound about fifteen km. southwest of “Ainitha, and twenty-five south- 
east of Tyre, by the air line. ἢ 

“4 The identification of Beth-Shemesh of Naphtali with Hirbet Semsin, south- 
_ west of the Sea of Galilee, is exceedingly improbable; the town was doubtless 
in northern Galilee, but I have no identification to offer. 


56 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the tribe of Naphtali was unable to reduce. As seen long ago, — 
Shamgar is not a Semitic name, but Hittite! thus belonging to the 
same race which we find occupying the towns of Galilee in the — 
Amarna period. Jud. III: 31, Shamgar is said to have slain six ἊΣ 
hundred Philistines with an ox-goad. The latter circumstance is ὩΣ 
folkloristic, and belongs in the same cycle of tales as those which 
grew up around the legendary figure of Samson, in the Judaean Ἢ 
district of Beth-Shemesh, but the tradition that Shamgar defeated 
the Philistines is certainly correct, with the more clearness that 
Shamgar is not an Israelite hero, but a Canaanite one, and there- 
fore we may expect his achievement to be minimized rather than _ 
exalted. His incorporation in the list of Israelite heroes evidently 
came late, as may be inferred from the fact that he has no saga 
attached to his name; the fact that the reference to him is inserted ~ 
just before the prose account of the struggle with Sisera shows that 
he owes his inclusion to a misunderstanding of the allusion to him — 
in the Song of Deborah. Despite his oppression, however, the ἢ 
Hebrews kept a friendly recollection of the Canaanite champion who : ' 
had helped ward off the terrible barbarian irruption. ; | 
We now discover what may appear at first sight a remarkable 
anomaly: if the Philistines were already known in Palestine in the a 
time of Shamgar, how does it happen that they appear nowhere in the _ 
Song of Deborah, but that the tribe of Dan, later driven out of the ‘a 
Lowlands by the pressure of the Philistines, still occupies the sea- a 
coast, without a hint of apprehension: ae 
Why does Dan abide in ships? i κι 
From the inscriptions of Rameses III. (1198. 1167) it is certain that — 
the first great invasion of Syria and the Delta by the “Sea-peoples” — 
took place in the eighth year (1190) and was successfully repulsed. — 
Since nothing more is heard of the Sea-peoples during the active © 
life of the Pharaoh, it is evident that they were unable to break the | 
vigorous resistance of the great king’s arm, so the career of Shamgar 
must fall soon after 1190, and the Song of Deborah toward the end 
of the reign of Rameses IIL, about 1175. The successful Philistine — 


1 About the middle of the ninth century the Assyrian inscriptions mention — 
Sangara, king of Carchemish; since the Assyrians always wrote a final vowel, — 
whether they pronounced it or not, and pronounced gs as § and conversely, while 
n and m were not distinguished before g and g, we must pronounce San(m)gar. 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 57 


: irruption may have taken place immediately after the Pharaoh’s death, 


or shortly before, when harem intrigues were sapping the strength 
of the empire, and the king was apparently in his dotage. A detailed 
examination of the history of the Philistine τα εῖθης, will make the 
sequence of events easier to understand. 

The first reference to the northern inroads is found in Rameses’s 
account of the Libyan campaign of the fifth year,! which mentions 
the incursions of Philistine? and Sicilian? barks. The movement 


1 AR IV, 24. 
2 The Philistines are now generally, following Amos, derived from Caphtor, 
whicli may be Crete, but may also, like the Eg. Aftyw, be a general term for 


the Egean region. The Egyptian word is not really a proper name, but is an 


adjectival formation, like hftyw, “enemies,” ὑπ θυ, “foes” (erroneously, as I shall 


- “opponents. 


<4 


Sia G = 


eT Se ae 


show elsewhere, “Troglodytes”’), styw, ‘archers,’ * mntyw, etc., and means properly 
” It is, however, more than likely that it is a kind of popular etym- 
ology, explaining the foreign word Kaptér or Kaftdr. Wainwright’s arguments 
in his monograph, “The Keftiu-People of the Egyptian Monuments” (AAA 6, 


_ 94- “88, 1913) against the identification of the land of the Kftyw with Crete are 


convincing; the term had a wider connotation, and his location of it in eastern 
Cilicia is nebulous. Dilettantes have long thought of combining the Philistines 
with the Pelasgians; while long opposed, I have now adopted this theory, for 
the following reasons. It is improbable that so important a people as the Phili- 


τ stines should leave no trace behind in the Egean region. The home of the Pelas- 
gians seems to have been Thessaly and Epirus, where the district of Pelasgiotis 


and Pelasgian Dodona (J/. II, 233) commemorated their former presence. The 


_ Odyssey mentions Pelasgians in Crete, and the earliest historians, Hecataeus and 


Herodotus, find traces of them all over Hellenic lands, which they were believed 


_to have occupied before the Hellenic immigration. Despite Eduard Meyer’s 
caveat (GA I, 23, 767ff.), these traditions must be essentially correct. The name 
 Peleset, Pelist? goes back unquestionably to an original Pelast, reflected in Assyr. 


Palastu, Pilistu, both of which reproduce a Peldst. Now the names of the Sea- 


_ peoples nearly all have the gentilic termination sh, sometimes omitted. Thus we 


have AKSk§ while the Assyrians have Kaski (written Kaski), and the Boghaz-keui 
texts have Qasqa3, Qasga, Gakga, Greek Kiskisos in Cataonia; TurSa, Heb. 
Tarshish, the Tyrsenians or Etruscans; Krks (cf. Kirkesion, Gergesa, Girgashites) ; 


_ W338, Agawis (not the Achaeans), etc. Affixing this gentilic ending, we have 


 Pelagti8 or Pelagt§. Final ἐξ and ἀξ after a consonant can hardly be distinguished, 
so the Greeks, to whom a δέδ was incompatible, pronounced Pedasg-oi, just as the 
_ Italians rendered the Punic Qarthadioh, ‘““New-town,” by Carthago, The Italians 
_ made a similar change in getting an Etrusc, Tusc from Tursis, where ὅ-ὃ has 
ee become sc. In the same way W888 has become fdéos (Hall), for *Wask-os. 


3 The Eg. T7’-k-r, or T’-k-k-7, conventionally read Zakar, certainly refers 


to the Sicilians, or Sikel, Gr. Sikeloi, Lat. Siculi. The identification with the 
᾿ς Teucrians or Trojans, frequently proposed, is phonetically impossible. On the 
_ other hand, the Teucrian Gergithes, who appear in Troas, Mysia, Miletus, Cy- 
 prus, ete. (cf. Meyer, GA® 739), are perhaps the same as the Krks and Girgashites 


538 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


began earlier; it is probable that the Mashwash, who appear as the a 
leaders of the Libyan invasion in the reign of Meyneptah (cir. 1220) 
represent an earlier stage of the northern migrations, as the sh-ending 
denotes the gentilic suffix in many of the names of the Sea-peoples.! — 
Shortly before the year 1190 the northern hordes, driven from _ 
their homes by the Indo-European inundation which brought the 
Achaeans into the Poloponnesus? and the Phrygians into Asia 
Minor, swept in a great wave over the ruin of the Hittite Empire 
into Armenia and Syria. The Muski (Assyr. writing Mushki) or 
Moschians and their allies, the Tabal and the Kashkash (Assyr. 


(see preceding note). It should be observed in this connection that in most of ἫΝ 
the Anatolian languages there was no clear distinction between the voiced and 
voiceless stops, so k and g are here practically interchangeable. Moreover, since 
the Greeks possessed no sh, they might reproduce it by a 4, especially before 
the nominative ending s. In syllabic orthography f regularly was pronounced sz 
(Ὁ) as in Z’-rw = Roman Sile, and T’-7-y-n = Heb. jib, “coat of mail”, so 
T’-k-r may be read Siker or Sikel. In this case, the Sicilians of Dor were an_ 
Italian people, since there can be no question that the Sicilians were Indo- 
Europeans, speaking an Italic language, inscriptions in which have been re- 
covered. Thucydides says that there were Sicilians still in Italy in his day, a 
statement corroborated by later Roman historians, and that they crossed into 
Sicily three hundred years before the arrival of the first Greek colonists (ἔτη 
ἐγγὺς τριακόσια πρὶν “Ἑλληνας és Σιχελίαν ἐλθεῖν, Thuc. VI: 2). As the traditional date 
for the latter event was about 735 B. C. this would mean that the Oscan mi- 
gration which was responsible for the movement of the Sicilians, according to 
Thucidydes, took place in the eleventh century. However, these dates are evidently 
only approximate, and we may safely place the Sicilian migration about 1200, 
when the first appearance of the Sicilians on the Egyptian coast seems to have — 
occurred. All the Mediterranean peoples were so accustomed to sea-faring that Ὁ 
wholesale migrations seem to have been carried out as readily by the sea route Ἢ 
as by the land. It is very interesting to establish the presence of an Πα θη ὦ 
people in Palestine as early as the twelfth century B. C. ἜΝ 
1 See note 18. Northern Africa was certainly in this period colonized byes 
peoples from the northern coasts of the Mediterranean. Meyneptah states that 
the Maswas, who are certainly not the Berber Maxyes, modern Mazigh, as gen- 
erally assumed, invaded the land of Tehenu, or Marmarica, and made it the basis — ἯΙ 
for further operations against Egypt. In the same inscription are listed the 
northern peoples who were allied with the MaSwa’ (Breasted, AR III, 241 ff.) 
the Aqawai8 (sic) Turga, Luka, Sardina, Shs. vg 
2 It is extremely doubtful whether the Achaean migration represented a 4 
gradual influx of Hellenic tribes, beginning perhaps before the middle of the 
second millennium, or whether it took place in a single movement, toward the <4 
close of the thirteenth century, two or three centuries before the Dorian migration. 
It is now fashionable among Egean archaeologists to place the Trojan war just 
before a Hellenic migration, whatever its ethnic nature may have been. 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 59 


writing Kaski)' occupied Alsi (Kg. ’-7"-s’; see below) in northwestern 
_ Mesopotamia or southwestern Armenia, as stated also in the in- 
scriptions of Tiglathpileser I., and, as stated only in the Egyptian 
: records, northern Syria, including the cities of Carchemish, Arvad, 
ee @atna (modern Homs),? and established a temporary center in central 


a 


1 There can be no doubt that the statement in the prism of Tiglathpileser, 

I, 62 ff., that the Muské had occupied the districts of Alzi and Puruhumzi in 

_ southwestern Armenia fifty years before his time, or about 1170, refers to the 
same movement described by Rameses IIT (AR IV, 37f.), since Alsi figures in 
both narratives. The peoples mentioned by the Assyrians are those with whom 
they came into direct contact, while the Egyptian accounts evidently give only 

_ the names of such as reached southern Syria, viz., the Philistines or Pelasgians, 
_ the Sicilians, Sagalassians, ΤῊ δ (Axians?), and Daindna (the proper spelling, as 
_ appear from the Eg. D’-y-n-yw-n’ of this passage, and the Amarna Danitina). 
_ Fifty is a round number, and the relation between the Assyrian and Egyptian 
_ chronology in this century is unfortunately not precisely certain. The Phrygian 
_ Moschians, to whom king Midas is reckoned by Sargon IIT. in the eighth century, 
were naturally the last of the invaders, who drove the Anatolians before them, 
but made no attempt themselves to follow the latter into southern Syria. Before 
them came the Kaskas and the Urumi, who were according to Tiglathpileser, 
; II, 100 ff., Hittite peoples, thus agreeing with the Egyptian inscriptions and the 
Fe - geographical indications, who occupied cities of Subartu, the Assyrian name for 
-Mitanni. While the Cataonians thus pushed into Mitanni, their westerly neigh- 
bors, the Sagalassians, Axians, and Dainéna, pushed west of them into Syria. 
It may be remarked that the Daindna can have nothing to do with the Greek 
Danaans, Danawoi, but may have been a nation of Cilician or Pamphylian pirates, 
against whose raids Kilammu of Ya’di, on the Gulf of Alexandretta, was forced 
to secure Assyrian help about 825 B. C. In the Amarna period Abimilki of 
‘Tyre reports that the king of Danuna had died, evidently to the satisfaction of 
- the Tyrian. The Dédanim of Gen. = mentioned with the Kittim are evidently 


τ a ἃ the Hebrew iyé-Kittiyim, ‘Isles of the Kitteans.” It hardly seems 
phat the Philistines and ie took the land-route. The fact that al 


have reached the conclusion that Qatna was located near Homs, ancient Kmesa 
_ (EA 1107 ff.), but none of them seem to have observed that Qatna is identical 
é in name with modern Qattineh, northeast of bahret Qattineh, the Lake of Emesa, 
| on the railroad from Homs to Ba‘albek. Perhaps ancient Qatna was situated at 
tal Halaf, six to eight km. east of modern Homs. The Egyptians write the 
% ame Qate; the current spelling Qode is wrong. 


60 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Syria (Amaru) for further operations. Meanwhile Rameses had 
defeated the allied fleets of the Philistines and the Sicilians in a 
naval battle, and was able to turn his attention to the land in- | 
vaders, who were defeated in Sahi, that is, somewhere in the southern — 
part of Syria, presumably on the coastal plain. Despite the repulse 4 


foothold in the country or settled later in small groups. Sisera οἵ. 
Harosheth may have been Egean by race, since his name is ποῦ 
Semitic, and the phrase D437 ΓΤ can hardly be rendered otherwise — 
than “Harosheth of the northern hordes”.? 4 | 

From the Song of Deborah it is evident that the Israelite occupa- | 
tion of Palestine was not too recent an event. The success of | 


Bre 


Shamgar is a distinct set-back for Israel, which had already begun — 4 
to flourish through the peaceful means of commerce: : 

In the days οἵ Shamgar ben-Anath the caravans ceased. sg 
After Shamgar’s successful stand, presumably in connection with a % 
Canaanite coalition, stiffened by the aid of Egyptian mercenaries, 
against the Philistines, he maintained his ascendancy over Galilee, — 
like a mediaeval robber-knight, by keeping a small army of retainers, a 
supported by the robbery of caravans and by exactions levied from. 2 


the villages. In the same way Zatatna or Sutatna? of Akko, in the 
Amarna age, had terrorized western and southern Galilee, as far as” d 


1 Cf. page 11, note 1. ‘ 
21 will show later that Goyim in Gen. XIV refers to the northern hordes, 

as observed first by Sayce. This explanation of Haroset hag-giyim, which is” 
undoubtedly correct, is due to Garstang. Harosheth is in name clearly identical | 
with the modern Harithiya, in the narrows of the Kishon, close to the railway || 
from Haifa to ‘Aftle; th for sh is a common linguistic back-formation in words — | 
taken over from Assyrian and Hebrew into Aramaic and Arabic (Athtr for 
ABiir, etc.), a process due to the fact that the frequent etymological correspondence ~ 
between these sounds set up an involuntary mental association. I am inclined |} 
to think that the correct form of the word is HariSat, etymologically identical | 
with Ar. hariseh, “enclosure, sheep-fold” (also the meaning of the place-name _| 
Hazor) and changed in later Hebrew to Haréset by popular etymology. That 
Tell “Amr is a Canaanite site seems to be proved by the fact that Phythian- 
Adams has picked up ‘ “Cypriote” potsherds from the side of the mound. τὴ 
3 fee cuneiform writing Sutatna here stands for Sutatna. While the northe τη 


15 ΠΤ dey irregular, sometimes cduedne the ἘΠῚ values, sometimes the 
Assyrian. 


_ ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology ” 61 


legiddo; a letter is extant from the Babylonian king, complaining 
because the men af Zatatna had waylaid his messengers at Hannathon 
western Galilee. Just as Zatatna had escaped by professing 
allegiance to the Pharaoh and sending gifts, accompanied, no doubt, 
by bribes in the right place, so Shamgar was able to harmonize a 
nominal subjection to the commands of the Pharaoh with a total 
disregard for the rights of the Pharaoh's servants, though it is 
~ possible that Shamgar was considered as the local Egyptian governor, 
whose legitimate prey the Israelites were. 

_ After the fall of Shamgar, the hegemony of Galilee passed to 
Sisera of Harosheth,! in the narrows of the Kishon, southeast of 
Akko. 2 By this time the Israelites were sufficiently galled by the raids 
Shamgar to resent bitterly the prospect of a new tyrant, perhaps 
ἣν himself a member of the hated ee race. Accordingly, under the 


the Se ek in ests (cf. page 9, note 9), 
2 Cf. page 12, note 2. 
3 For the identity of the Deborah of Jud. V with the city of Dbrt in Issachar. 
dern Debtrieh (not Debtriyeh) see especially Haupt in the Wellhausen Fest- 
schrift, p . 201. There can be no question that the term 5siv"2 ὮΝ means “me- 
ropolis in Israel”, as this was a regular Hebrew idiom. How very unclear the 
e which she has been supposed to play is may be seen from Grant’s recent 
ticle AJSL 36, 295 ff. As noted by several scholars, the idea that there was 
a woman called Deborah is based upon the tradition of Rebecca’s nurse Deborah, 
Ὁ was said to be buried under the oak called al/én bakit, below Bethel, while 
borah the prophetess is referred to a residence under the témer tree (palm ?) 
ween Bethel and Ramah. The latter is purely mythical, and, as her name, 
”, shows, corresponds to the nurse of Zeus, Melissa, “bee,” who according 
re form of the myth (Preller> 133) was, with her sister, the she-goat Amalthea, 
hter of a’Cretan king Melisseus. She and her sister nursed the infant Zeus 
“milk and honey, ie food of the gods (cf. with Roscher, the 35n nat yrs 
τὸ), and Melissa later became the first priestess of the Magna Mater. I have 
Where showed that the name Ribgah, Rebecca, is probably the same word as 
ssyr. rigibtu, for *ribigtu, ‘“‘clod, soil’ from rabaqu, “break clods, cultivate 
yround,” and that Rebecca is thus the earth-mother who gives birth to the bull- 
Jacob, just as Zeus and Dionysus are sons of the earth-mothers, Rhea and 
ele. It is evident that her nurse Deborah, 7. 6., her priestess, and nurse of 
r son Jacob, belongs in the same category as the Cretan Melissa. 


62 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


probably the leading town of Issachar at that time, the clans and 
tribes of the districts around the Plain of Esdraelon, who were most 
threatened by the new robber, rushed to arms, and attacked Sisera 
in the Kishon Valley. As so poetically described in the Song, a 
sudden storm joined its forces to the Israelite army, and Sisera was 
utterly routed, his chariots and horses being rendered useless in the 
muddy plain, or swept away by the Kishon, swelling rapidly from a 
sluggish stream to a mighty torrent. 

Soon afterwards the Philistines and Sicilians settled definitely in 
Palestine, but at first were too few in numbers, and too busy con- 
solidating their new territories to molest the Israelites much, though 
they drove the tribe of Dan from the region of Joppa into the hills, 
whence part of the tribe, cramped for room, migrated to the north, — 
and extended the bounds of Israel by the occupation of the fertile 
district of Laish, modern Tell-el-Qadi. About 1115 (fifth year of 
Rameses XII.) the Egyptian envoy Wen-Am6on stopped at Dor on 
his way to Phoenicia, and found the Sikel chief Bd (vocalization — 
uncertain) in quiet and recognized control of the town. The Hebrew 
traditions make the oppression of the Israelites by the Philistines 
begin at about the same time, to infer from the numbers preserved, 
which must naturally be taken cum grano salis. Jud. XIII: 1, they are 
~ said to have oppressed Israel forty years (¢.e.about a generation) before 
Samson’s career, and XVI: 31 the latter is stated to have “judged 
Israel” twenty years more. Then, as we are led by the fragmentary 
account to infer, the Philistines resumed their raids, and about 1060 
succeeded in winning the upper hand by defeating Israel,and capturing 
the palladium of Yahweh. This would make the beginning of the first | 
oppression he about 1050+x (Eli’s judgeship) + 20 (4) +40 Go) 
1110+x. 

While we must place the Conquest a reasonable length of time | 
before the first Philistine irruption and the career of Shamgar, we | 
certainly cannot depend on the Hebrew numbers, which place the | 
date of this event 146 years+x (lifetime of Joshua and the elders) — 
before Shamgar, and 166+x before the fall of Sisera. It is not | 
impossible that the lengths of the oppressions of Chushanrishathaim τς 4 


MRD iste teen aa eg Si EEE A ee ee 


tapas 


Sy 


RIS ode ele ere ee eee 


hassel sh 


pigs a 
ΠΕΣ Sasi 


‘ The name Kusan-ris‘atay im means literally “Chushan of the double wick- Ἧ 
edness.” KuSan was an Aramean tribe of the Syrian desert, mentioned in Habak- | 
kuk IIT along with Midian (this poem is an extremely archaic fragment, perhaps | ὃ 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 63 


and Hglon, eight and eighteen years respectively, are right, but as 

we have no reason for considering them as consecutive, they cannot 

_ be made the basis of a reckoning. Happily, however, the Egyptian 

" _ inscriptions again come to our rescue, enabling us to fix a terminus 

ad quem and terminus a quo quite independent of the Hebrew 
numbers. The former is established at 1225 by the famous stele of 
Meyneptah, celebrating his victory over the Libyans in 1220, and 
mentioning his previous conquests and victories in Palestine. During 
the long senility of Rameses the Great, Palestine had slipped from 
the Pharaoh’s grasp, and even the coastal plain had ceased paying 
‘tribute. Accordingly, the Pharaoh Meyneptah, already growing old, 
was obliged to march up the sea-coast, capturing Ascalon and Gezer, 
and defeating Israel.! 

The terminus a quo of the Exodus, which took place about forty, 
or since this number is usually equivalent to a generation, more 
nearly thirty years before the Conquest, is fixed by the mention of 
_ the construction of the towns of Rameses (i. 6. Pey-Ra‘meses) and 
 Pithom (i. e. Pey-Tm) by the Hebrew gangs under the Egyptian 
_corvée. As these towns were built by Rameses IL, the Exodus must 
_ be placed after his accession in 1292. Can we reach a conclusion 
τ more exact than this? I believe it is possible, thanks to a lucky 
4 chance. Ex. XII: 400, the Exodus is said to have occurred just 
430 years after the entrance of the Hebrews into Egypt. The 
number 430 is not cyclic, nor can it well be explained as a scribal 
- computation, like the number 480 for the period between the Exodus 


i nearly as old as the Song of Deborah). The idea that this marauding tribe, 
ave: whose atrocities seem to have made it as proverbial as the “thrice-wretched” 

_Nicanor, was a king of Mesopotamia is based on a later misunderstanding of 
f ty ‘the ending ayim, which also appears in Aram-naharayim. There is no room in 
‘the Mesopotamian history of this period for such a great conqueror. 


_ 1 There is no reason to assume that Meyneptah defeated an Israelitish host 
in a pitched battle; it is far more likely that he dispersed an encampment of 
the Danites in the Plain of Sharon. The statement, “Their seed has become 
᾿ nonexistent,” does not mean that their grain-fields were devastated, as Spiegel- 

berg thought for a time (Rameses III. uses the same expression regarding the 
a " Sea-peoples, who had no fields of grain), but simply that the males are slain; the 
next line says that “Syria has become like a widow for Egypt.” — Since the males 
at were all killed, the posterity of the captured women would belong to the Egyp- 
᾿ tians who enslaved them. 


ite 
ae τὰ 


64 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


and the construction of the Temple! Since we can hardly believe 
that the Hebrews, most of the time in a condition of serfdom, kept 
an accurate account of the time on their own account, we may — 
suppose that the number is based upon an Egyptian era of some 
sort. 

We are fortunate enough to be able to point to exactly such an 
era, in use at precisely the Ramessid period, and in northeastern 
Egypt to boot—the era of Tanis. This era is found on the so called 
Four Hundred Year Stele, discovered by Mariette at Tanis.? 
Rameses II. sent one of his most important officials, Seti, among other 
things governor of the fortress of Sile (‘Zaru”) on the northeastern 
frontier, to Tanis in order to dedicate a stele to the god Set in — 
honour of his father, Seti I., evidently at the very beginning of his _ 
reign, though this has, on insufficient grounds, been doubted. The 
inscription is dated on the fourth day of the twelfth month of the 
four hundredth year of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, 
‘A-pahte-Set Nebtey. Since the name of this king is compounded 
with the name of the god Set, of Tanis, whom the Hyksos adopted 
as their patron, substituting his name for that of Ré° in their 


1 The number 480 is equivalent to twelve generations of forty years each. It 
is further exactly equal to the summation of the regnal years given in the Book 
of Kings for all the kings of Judah from the beginning of a cycle in the fourth 
year of Solomon to the destruction of the Temple by the Chaldeans. We are 
dealing with precisely the same system as that employed by the Babylonian 
chronologers to adjust their chronology. The historiographers of Sargon III. 
counted up the years of the dynasties listed in the official tablets from Sargon I., 
whose illustrious name the Assyrian adopted. and whose half-fabulous exploits — 
he consciously emulated. The real interval between them was about 2300 years, — 
but by this time a number of contemporaneous dynasties, such as these of the — 
Sea Lands and Larsa, which alone lasted about 450 years, were included in the 
list of successive dynasties, just as in Egypt, so the total interval was brought 
up to very nearly 3000 years. Since this was the length of a world-month in 
the Mesopotamian astrological system (this fact I will prove elsewhere; suffice e 
it to say that the old Mesopotamian world year of 36,000 common years, based 
on 360 days of a century each, is preserved in the Harranian world year of ὯΙ 
36,525 common years, or a Julian year of days a century long), the inscriptions — 
of Sargon say that the West-land had last been subdued a lunar cycle before 
him, naturally by Sargon I., whose conquest of the West figures so prominently — 
in the omina. ‘The aera of 3000 years was now Bene pags o 80 when 


date Naram- se son of ton: ie ἘΠῚ 900 years, obtaining 3200. This is the 4 
gunple solution of the two vexed chronological questions. 
2 Cf. Breasted, AR IIT, 226—2928. 


"ALBRIGHT: ie Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 65 


remained their focus in Heit The Hyksos era then falls 1692 B.C., 
2 or a few years later, approximately 1690; their rule lasted about 
110 years, coming to a close with the victory of the Theban monarch 
ae Amosis (Ahmasey) about 1580, a few years before the final capture 
te of Avaris.., 
τὸ We have elient reasons for combining the Hebrew entrance 
᾿ into Goshen! with the Hyksos invasion. Num. XIII: 22 we have 
the explicit statement that Tanis was built seven years after Hebron, 
_ which had clearly been one of the last stations of the Hyksos army 
before its conquest of Lower Egypt. In view of the intimate connec- 
tion between Abram and Hebron, as well as the tradition of his 
journey to Egypt, later modified by contamination with the saga of 
Abimelech, and displaced by the saga of Jacob, we cannot doubt 
that this allusion is a stray fragment of the Hebrew historical 
traditions; the number seven is folkloristic, and not to be taken 
seriously. The story of Abram’s descent into Egypt is the saga 
connected with the chieftain, whose historicity can no longer be 
denied,? while the story of the entrance of the Bené Ya‘qob, the 
clan of the Hebrew people to which Abram belonged, is: the saga 
‘the people; Jacob is the eponymous ancestor of his tribe, who 
received divine honors as the bull-god.? That the Bené Ya‘qob 
played an important part in the Hyksos confederation is certain 
from the name Ya‘qob-har of one of the Hyksos dynasts, whose 
scarabs are found along with those of ‘Anat-har (‘Anat is the 


4 1 While the name Goshen appears in the LXX as Gesem,. perhaps following 
k good tradition, Naville’s Hgyptian district of Gsmw is wholly erroneous; we must 
“naturally read Sino, as pointed out recently by Gardiner. The name has, ac- 
cordingly, not been found yet. 

2 Quite aside from the non-folkloristic character of most of the stories connected 
ith his name, in which he differs so radically from Isaac and Jacob, and the 
et that there is absolutely no evidence for his divine or eponymous nature, is 
ie fact that the name has recently been discovered by Ungnad and Lutz on 
tablets from the First Dynasty of Babylon, cir. 2000—1950 B. C. The most 
; "interesting fact is that both forms, Abamram, i. e. “Exalted as to father’ (cf. 
JBL 87, 133, note 21) and Abaraham = * Abam-raham are found, thus confirming 
the Hebrew tradition that he had two names, though naturally disproving the 
ate haggadic etymologies given in Genesis. 
: 3 Cf, JBL 37, 117. 


66 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Canaanite goddess of war, worshiped at Beth-Anath in Galilee). This ἊΣ 
explains the Hebrew traditions of a favorable reception by a 
friendly king, who settled them in the finest part of the land, whose — | 
vizier was a member of their own race.! I venture to suggest that — 
the 110 years of Joseph’s life, though curiously identical with the 
stereotyped life-time of an Egyptian sage, are a reminiscence of the 
110 years during which the Hyksos held sway in Egypt, before the : 
rise of the king who “knew not Joseph.” 

If the Israelite era is identical with the Hyksos era of Tanis, we ~— 
must place the Exodus not less than thirty years after the beginning — 
of Rameses II.’s reign, or after B. C. 1262, at approximately 1260. ὁ 
Placing the Conquest approximately a generation later, it falls about ἢ ΕἾ 
1230, which is perhaps as close to accuracy as we will ever get. 

The account of the Conquest given in the Book of Joshua is 
highly colored, to be sure, but is not so much altered and embellished 
as generally believed now. The material given in the Amarna Tablets, 
the Egyptian inscriptions, the variant account of J, and scattered 
references elsewhere enable us to correct the one-sided narrative in 
Joshua. For some centuries before the Conquest, probably from the 
time of Abram, the central highlands and the arid outskirts of 
Palestine had been occupied by Hebrew, 7. 6. Aramean, tribes, which — al 
appear to be gaining ground in the Amarna correspondence, especi~ 
ally in the letters from Jerusalem. According to Gen. XLVIII: 22, — 
explained by XXXIV, the Bené Ya‘qgob had occupied Shechem, ~ 
which we find in the possession of the Hebrews in the Amarna Ξ 
Letters. These settled Hebrews had doubtless adopted the 4,4 
Kené‘an before the invasion of Joshua, giving up their. original ἢ 
Aramaic dialect.2, The conquest of Palestine by the Israelites would Ἢ 


1 For the Egyptian background of the story of Joseph see especially JBL a 
37, 128 ff., where I have pointed out some previously unnoticed elements in the 
FPeyptian part of the pericope. 

2 Since the consistent Hebrew tradition as preserved in the old Testament — 
makes Hebrew equivalent to Aramean, or rather Aramean Bedouin (738 “5. ) and 
connects the patriarchal stories with the Arameans, we cannot doubt that the— 
‘Abir or Hebrews belong to the same eroup as the Ahlamé (ahlam is the cole 
lective from film, “friend, confederate,” as in Arabic) later split into the two © 
main branches of the Aramu and the KaSdu, or Chaldeans. We can trace the — 
encroachments of the Hebrews or Arameans for a thousand years, from the reign — 
of Rim-Sin to their final settlement in Syria and Mesopotamia in the twelfth — 
century, just as the Arabs first appear clearly in history 1500 years before their 


I Ragas 
1 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 67 


Pe bites have proved τ more difficult if the Hebrews already 
in the country had not joined the newcomers, and adopted the 
- Yahwist creed along with the name Israel. It is clear that there 
“were no serious conflicts between the two Hebrew branches, since 
none are mentioned, and the highland of Ephraim is assumed in the 
accounts of the Conquest to have been occupied at once by Joshua, 

without a word regarding resistance. In the same way the Arab 

historians say nothing about the relation between the Arabs already 
in Palestine! and the Muslim invaders. The older stratum of 
Hebrews is, as pointed out by Weinheimer, sharply distinguished 
_ from the Israelites proper in the passages I. Sam. XIII: 6-7, XIV: 21, 
from which it follows that certain sections of the Hebrew people, 
living under Philistine domination, and probaly still semi-nomadic, 
like the modern Bedawin in the region of Caesarea, had not been 
fused with Israel. In the Book of Joshua all traditions disagreeing 
_ with the official priestly version of the Conquest have been suppressed, 
_ precisely as the official Muslim historiographers endeavored to 
eliminate all pre-Islamic traditions contrary to the orthodox theory. 
δ The followers of Moses were partly Egyptianized Hebrews of the 
- Bené Ya‘qob, partly Nubian and Egyptian converts to Yahwism,2 


_ final settlement. The mixing of peoples explains why we re Aramaic words 
and forms even in pre-exilic Hebrew, forms such as ndr, “vow” (Aram.) besides 
nar, “consecrate” (Canaanite-Hebrew), both from original ndr, “vow.” It is 
certain that the people of Palestine and Syria, with exception of the Hittite, 
Indo-Iranian, and Horite (Mitannian) ruling classes, spoke Hebrew, which we 
know from their proper names and the Canaanite glosses in the Amarna letters. 
- The Amorite proper names, found in profusion from the middle of the third 
millennium down to past the middle of the second in the cuneiform inscriptions 
of Babylonia, Assyria, Hana, and Cappadocia, are unquestionably Hebrew; the 
name Abamram or Abaraham is certainly not Babylonian, as Ungnad supposed, but 
_Amorite or Aramean. I have tried to show, JHA 6, 92f., that the Syrian place- 
names of the thirtieth century B. C. were. already Hebrew, thus supporting Clay’s 
contention that Syria was Amorite from before the dawn of history. As Borchardt 
has recently pointed out (MVAG 22, 342) Athothis, the second Pharaoh of the First 
Dynasty, invaded Syria (about 2900, according to my chronology), and in the royal 
tombs of this dynasty the conquered people are represented as the same conven- 
tional Amorite type which we find on the monuments fifteen centuries later. 

1 For the Arabs in Palestine before Islam ef. ae ZDMG 70, 325 ff. 

2 The Aaronids very often wear Egyptian names: δ a-)mose; Hophni 
== Hfnn; Phinehas = Penhase, a common type of name among Egyptian slaves 
of foreign extraction, meaning “the Nubian;” Merari = Mrry (Mrrw); Hur= HH. 
~The Aaronid priesthood, to judge from the names, was composed of Egyptians, 

4 A 5* 


68 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


and in part Hebrew-Aramean tribes, such as the Kenites and 
Kenizzites, who joined him after the Exodus. At Kadesh the 
Yahwists divided into two groups. The more important one, under 
Joshua—perhaps still under Moses’s leadership—, skirted the Dead 
Sea, discouraged, we may suppose, by the failure of the first tentative 
against the hill-country of Judah, and after conquering the Amorite 
states beyond Jordan adopted the tribal name Israel, “God fights.” 
The second group, under Caleb, calling itself Yehtidah,! undaunted 
by the initial failure, occupied Judah from the south. The central 
line of fortresses, Jerusalem-Gezer, was not incorporated into the 
Hebrew heritage until the time of the Kingdom. The merit of 
haying seen that the account of conquest of the south given by J in 
Num. XIV: 40-45, X XI: 1-3, Jud. I is a unit, and gives a consistent 
narrative, older than the form in Joshua, belongs mainly to snare 
Meyer and Steuernagel. 

We have already reached a tentative date for Abram at cir. 1700. 
B. C. Fortunately we can prove this view of the chronological situa- 
tion from wholly independent considerations, especially the historical 
background of Gen. XIV. The fourteenth chapter of Genesis has 
long been a bone of centention among scholars, conservatives usually 


though I hardly believe now that Jethro was an Hgyptian (JBL 87, 140), 
Egyptianized Hebrews, and Nubians. It is very conceivable that Petepre, priest 
of the sun at Heliopolis, was really the father-in-law of Moses instead of Joseph 
as suggested by Haupt; at all events Moses is known to have had at least two, 
Wives, one a Kenite, Zipporah, daughter of Jethro, and the other a Nubian 
(Kasit). Moreover, Mosaism still preserves the most indubitable signs of its Egyptian 
cradle (JBL 387, 141 f.), and Aaron’s name is probably Egyptian. On the other 
hand, Levi is not an Egyptian name, but the eponymous ancestor of the guild 
of Leyites, or temple-attendants (Revue d’Assyr. 16, 184). The “mixed multitude”, 
which is said to have accompanied Moses in the Exodus, evidently consisted of 
slaves of every race, who seized their chance to escape from Egypt along with 
the Hebrew migration. Moses’ religion of freedom and justice naturally appealed 
to slaves with peculiar force. 


τ .Yehitidah is properly a collective noun referring to the community of Yahwists, — 4 
as seen first by Haupt (ZDMG 68, 513); it is derived from *yehidéh, on the 


analogy of yafah: yaféh. *Yehiidéh may be a pu‘al form, for .*yehuddéh, from 


hdy, lead, used in Arabic of religious guidance; muhtadina means in the Qur’an 


“those who are divinely guided”, and hiidd is “divine guidance, gospel”. It is 
also possible to compare Ar. hadda, “present, offer’, and ’ahdd, “present, dedicate 


(sacrificial victim)”; the ‘“Kenite” inscription No. 345 I would read Mégh-Bdt — 
yhd (yuhaddi) I-Bit, “MaSah-Ba‘alat dedicates (this) to Ba‘alat”. In the latter 


case Yehiidah would mean properly “the cosecrated people”. 


rt 


alee el ee i ma oe Sa ates orate 


oa) 


accepting its entire historicity, and the left wing regarding it as a 
_ propagandist leaflet from the fifth century, designed to strengthen 
the hands of the patriotic supporters of Zerubbabel.! Since the 
ἡ document does not belong to any of the sources, J, BH, D, P, it is 
evidently a later addition, from the close of the sixth century, a 
conclusion required, moreover, by its strongly archaizing character, 
which introduces us to the priestly learning of post-exilic Judaism. 
There are some serious errors in archaizing, the clearest of which 
ae is Dan in place of the older Laish (Kg. R’-wy-s’). Besides the 

_ folkloristic elements represented by the Rephaim, which elsewhere 
-in the Old Testament are the shades of the dead, and the enchanted 

submarine cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, there are motives from saga, 

such as the three eponymous confederates of Abram, the phenomenal 

victory of Abram’s little band over the mighty host of the eastern 

kings, and the priestly story of Melchizedek, a clever bit of didactics.2 
_ Yet hyperscepticism seems uncalled for. The names of the eastern 
us _ monarchs will appear later as genuine, and, though the names Bera 
(3) of Sodom and Birsha (ywns) of Gomorrah are obviously 
artificial formations from the verbs yy and yw, “be evil, wicked,” Ὁ 
the names Shinab (283% = the god of the moon? is father) of Admah, 


1 See especially Haupt, OLZ 18, 70 ff, and Asmussen, ZATW 34, 36 ff. 

; 2 As generally recognized, the story was intended to promote the payment 
of tithes to the priests in Jerusalem. The name pry means literally “legiti- 
imate king” (Haupt), the 1 being hireg compaginis, and not the pronominal suffix, 
‘and thus corresponds exactly in meaning to Assyrian Sarru-kénu (kénu corre- ἡ 
sponds precisely to gaddig, and kittu to gedagah), the name of three Mesopotamian 
kings, two of whom were usurpers. There can be very little doubt that the 
legend according to which Melchizedek was eternal, reincarnating himself in 
certain great prophets and priests of later ages, is much older than the Christian 
era, and elsewhere I have shown that the true prototype of Elias, Enoch, Melchi- 
zedek, etc., in the role of eternally recurrent helper of mankind is the Babylonian 
Atrahasis. There is some reason to suppose that Sargon of Assyria wished to 
- have men believe that he was a reincarnation of his great predecessor (cf. page 16, 
note 1) and this Sargon legend may well have had some influence in the creation 
of the story of Melchizedek. ᾿ 

3 It may be observed that in modern Syrian Arabic, humorous or contemptu- 
ous words are often formed from others by changing the first letter to ὦ, as 
barttim from hartiim, “snout.” Naturally, the formation may be purely modern. 


4 The original Semitic form of the moon-god’s name is Sin (so first Haupt), 
‘as in South Arabian and Babylonian. In northern Mesopotamia we have the 


usual interchange of the sibilants, and the form becomes Sin, as shown by the 
_ Hebrew and Aramean transcription with Ὁ. Here also belongs Sin-uballit or 
Sea 


70 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


and Shemeber, or perhaps Shemabbir (assw—the god Shem! is 
mighty) of Zeboim are genuine, and very interesting. The words 
ays gym pda ΟῚ are corrupted from “Ys bn yoai, “And Bela king 
of Zoar”, just as in Jos. X: 3, yay yop Yan is a mistake for 
V3 7D no, «And Eelon king of Debir”, which explains the mention 
of Debir in y. 38f. Just as Eglon is a good personal name; borne by a 
king of Moab, so the name Bela was borne by the first king of Edom.? » 

What shall we say of the four eastern kings, of Chedorlaomer 
(yd "ὙἹ) of Elam, of Arioch (78) of Ellasar, Tidal (dyn) of 
Hordes (03) and Amraphel (Spas) of Shinar (yaw)? The latter 
has hitherto been identified with Hammurabi of Babylon, despite the 
fact that only two consonants of the five are the same. Nor is the 
case better with the actual Amorite pronunciation of the name, 
which we now know to have been ‘Ammu-rawih,? since here the 


Sanballat, whose name thus goes back to Assyrian influence rather than to ὌΝ 


Kuthean, as commonly assumed. For a number of writings of the Babylonian 
form of the name cf. Hisler, Die kenitischen Weihinschriften der Hyksoszeit, 
p. 67, whose remarks on this subject are sounder than usual; add Wee Sin-iddin, 
a common name in the Neo-Babylonian period (Pap. Eleph., 18. 2. 19). "The 
name perhaps meant originally “the shiner,’ connected with Ar. sny, aie? 

1 The “Name of God” was hypostatized among the Semites; it is almost certain 
that the patriarch Shem was originally a deity. Cf. also the Syrian Symbetylos, 
the H8embét’el of the Elephantine documents, which means literally “name of the 
house of god.” The Phoenician divine name E&miin corresponds etymologically 
to an *#8mdn, an adjectival formation from e§m, name, Heb. Sem, since ἃ, which 
became 6 in Hebrew, went on to become ἢ in Phoenician. - 

2 Bela’ ben-Be‘or is evidently identical with Bil'am ben-Be‘or, the prophet, 
from Pethor (Assyr. Pitru) in Beth Eden (my 23 δ must be read yy ‘33 prs) 
an Aramaic district in northern Syria and the adjoining part of Mesopotamia. 
It has long been known that the first group of Edomite rulers was purely Aramaic 
in race. he Moabite Stone shows similarly that the dialect of Moab was prop- 
erly Aramaic, even though Hebrew was the literary language. 

3 It may be considered now that this spelling of the name, first pointed out 
by Luckenbill, is absolutely certain. The name is written variously, Hammurabi, 
Hammurawi, Ammurabi, Hammurabih; Clay’s objection (Empire of the Amorites, 
p. 113, note 4) to Luckenbill’s theory on the ground that the form with } sug- 
gests that PI be read pi instead of the usual wi is weakened by such doublets 
as Lulluwi, Lullubi; Arbum, Arwum. Haupt saw long ago that Assyr. ὁ had ἃ 
tendency to be pronounced as 7. The convincing evidence is furnished by the 
fact that the Babylonian translation of the name, Kimtu rapastum, “the clan is 4 


wide,” requires the reading ‘Ammu-rawih; in South Arabian the causative hrwk | 


is frequently employed (e. g., Halévy 349) in precisely the sense of “extending | 
the bounds of the tribe.” Cf. also Heb. Rehab-‘am (Rehoboam), “He has extended — 
the tribe.” ἘΝ 


eee te 
4 Pe 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 71 


similarity is even less, Formerly Arioch was identified with Warad- 
Sin of Larsa, whose name was punningly read Eri-Aku. Now we know, 
not only that this reading is nonsense, but that he died thirty years 
before Hammurabi ascended the throne as a mere youth. Furthermore, 
most of the rulers of Elam, which was then a dependancy of Babylonia, 
are known for this period, and there is no room for Chedorlaomer 
among them. We may, as sober historians, breathe a sigh of relief 
at the passing of this mirage, since the date of Hammurabi is now 
 astronomically fixed,! and this date is 2123-2180 B. C., or more than 
i nine hundred years before the date which we have fixed for the Exodus. 
_ Happily, however, we are not left to consider the merits of an 
—argumentum e silentio, since there is now evidence at hand for an 

entirely new historical setting, which no one has so far perceived. 
Ἧ In a Babylonian text from the Arsacid period, published originally 
by Pinches,? and last treated by Jeremias,? occur the names of 
‘ _ Kudur-Lagamal,* that is, Kutur-Lagamar,* of Elam, Tukulti-Bélit-ilani® 
son of Arad-Ekua,? and Tudhula son of Gazza[?]. It was seen by 


1 Cf. page 5, note 1, above. 
2 Journal of the Victoria Institute, 29, 56 ff. 
3 MVAG 21 (Hommel, Festschrift) 69 ff. 
ae 4 Written KU-KU-KU-(KU)-MAL, ἃ sort of a rebus found elsewhere in this 
late tablet. The solution is Kudur-lahamal (KU-KU =lahdmu, Delitzsch, Hand- 
__-worterbuch, p. 375). Hiising, Quellen zur Geschichte Elams, p. 22, note 1 states, 
though without proof, that KU-KU-MAL in this name = Lagamal, but his 
further suggested identification of Kudur-Lagamal with LA-AN-KU-KU, an 
_Elamite ruler of the 23r¢ century, is naturally out of the question. The writing 
ἢ 4 _ Lagamal is the regular Babylonian form of the Elamite Zagamar,. found, for 
example, in the name of the king Silhina-hamru-Lagamar, of the twelfth century; 
the writing Lagamal is also found in the Hlamite texts, as in Délégation en 
_ Perse, 171, 49. The native Elamite pronunciation of the name was apparently 
-Laghamar, agreeing with Hebrew ny. 
5 Kudur appears in Elamite as Kutir or Kutur; the Elamites, like other 
Caucasian peoples, did not distinguish clearly between voiced and voiceless stops. 
ἧ 6 The name is written BAD-MAX-ildni, but Jeremias’s Dur-mah-ilani is 
‘impossible. According to Meissner, 2919, BAD-MAX had the value tukulti, 
_ which might also belong to BAD, “protection,” alone. Since ¢MAX alternates 
with Bélit-ildni, I have no hesitation in reading the name Tukulti- Bélit-ilani, 
“My help is the lady of the gods,” a common type of name about the middle 
- of the second millennium. Bélit-ili, later Beélit-ilani, was one of the most popular 
deities about 2000 B. C. 
_ 7 Also written in our text, erroneously, Arad-e-a-ku. EHkua was the name of 
ae the chapel of Maruduk in the temple Esagila, in Babylon, so our man may have 
i : been a Babylonian rebel against the Kossean dynasty. 


72 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Pinches that the first name, though not fully understood, was identical 
with Chedorlaomer, and that the last was Tidal,1 but the similarity 
between Arad-Ekua and Arioch, though accidental, proved misleading. 
The nature of the text has been partially elucidated by Jeremias. 
It is a moralizing essay, very much in the style of the Jewish pro- 
phetic historians. Whenever the Babylonians sim against their gods 
they suffer a foreign invasion, but the Nemesis which overtakes them 
deals even more severely with the impious invader. The three 
oppressors mentioned above meet violent deaths by assassination as 
the divine penalty for having violated the sacred soil of the gods 
by their atrocities. Pinches at first wished to read the name 
Hammurabi] in one of the broken lines at the beginning of the 
tablet, but it is now certain that the historical situation presented is 
such as to forbid assignment to this period. Moreover, the fact that 


Babylonia is called KarduniaS proves conclusively that we are 


dealing with the Kossean period (B. C. 1742—1166).2 The reason 


why these conquerors are not mentioned elsewhere is simply that 


they belong in the great dark period of Mesopotamian history, from 
1900 to 1500. Unfortunately, the name of the Kossean king reigning 
at the time is not given in the extant remains of our document. 
We might be tempted to identify the Amraphel of Genesis with the 
contemporary Babylonian monarch, who would then be one of the 
five or six missing rulers from the period 1625-1450, from which at 
present we have only three or four names. However, there is now 
every reason to believe that the land of Shinar at this epoch is not 
Babylonia but central Mesopotamia, between the Euphrates and the 
Tigris, Babylonia on the south, and Mount Masius? on the north. 
The early Mitannian(?) name Shanghar, which the Babylonians wrote 
Sanhar, having no gh τ the Hebrews Sin‘ar, for San‘ar by Philippi’s 


1 Cf. also Sayce, in Garstang’s Land of the Hittites, p. 324, note 4. Sayce 
correctly combined the Umman-manda with the géy@m, and further identified the 
name Tudhula with the Hittite royal name Dudhalia, which is, however, ex- 
tremely doubtful. Sayce’s suggestion that Tantalus is eventually the same name 
is oes able, but nebulous. 

2 For my chronology cf. page 5, note 1. 

3. Mt. Masius, Assyr. Kasiari, Sum. Hasur (see AJSL 35, 179) was the southern 

boundary of the district of Kutmuh, in Assyrian times. It is not until the eighth 


century that we find the name Kutmuh becoming restricted to the district west és a 


of the Kuphrates, called Commagene by the classical writers. 


Sei ro REE ie See ee am BR are Se aes, 


πολιῶν 
ἊΣ 


pica 


x 


ied ge 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 73 


Law, and the Egyptians Sngr, also having no gh, survives in the 
town aud mountain-range of Sinjar, for Aramaic Singiré — Roman 
Singara—gh was impossible for the Aramaic mouth after a consonant. 
Modern Sinjar is located at the apex of a rectangle whose adjoining 
vertices coincide with the sites of ancient Calah and Hana (Ana). 
Tt is true that in the Cypriote correspondence with Egypt in the 
Amarna letters, Sanhar refers to Mitanni, and that later Shinar is 
used in the Old Testament for Babylonia proper, but the Egyptian 
inscriptions and the Boghazkeui tablets show that Shanghar is 
distinct from either,! and lies in central Mesopotamia. The only: 
district of Mesopotamia not mentioned in the lists containing the 
name of Shanghar is Hana, so I would suggest that as an independent 
state Shanghar centered in the district of Hana, and that, accordingly, 
its capital was Tirqa, chief city of Hana, Just below the mouth of 
the Habir.? 

The kingdom of Hana is known to have flourished before the 
reign of Hammurabi,? under an Amorite dynasty, two of whose 
kings, ‘Ammiba‘il and I8arlim, are known. Under Hammurabi it 
became a part of the Babylonian Empire. After the downfall of 
the First Dynasty of Babylon, we find the great Assyrian monarch 
τος Samii-Adad III. (cir. 1850),4 who claims in his inscriptions to rule 
ἘΠ the land “between the Tigris and the Euphrates,” building a temple 
of the god Dagon at Tirqa. Later it fell into the hands of the 
᾿ς Kossean monarchs, at least one of whom, Kaitilia’ I. (1704—1682) 
is known to have ruled over Hana. Somewhat later, but not later 
than 1500, wo find Hana a powerful state, whose king, Tukulti-Mer, 
ᾧ son of IluSaba, left inscriptions found at Sippar and Assur. In the 
τ inscriptions of Thutmosis III. we find about 1475 that Sngr is still 
a an independent state, mentioned between Mitanni and Assyria, along 
- pth Babylon, Arrapha and Lulluwa (Rw-n-rw). While Tukulti-Mer 


aes 


1 See especially EA 1082 and AE 279. 

_ 2¥or Hana and Tirqa see especially Clay, Empire of the Amorites, pp. 111 ff. 
3 The name of the town Dir-ISarlim is mentioned in a date formula of 

ammurabi from Hana; the Babylonian monarch had different date formulas in 

ana from those Baploved in Babylonia, just as we find the Cappadocians using 

| ee their own system for dating at this time. 

4 So far as I can see, as a result of a revision of the Assyrian chronology 

fon the basis of the new lists published by Weidner, this is the only possible 

date for the great Sar kissati, or king of the world. 


ΞΕ 


Se 
τὰ 


τ τις ων ἀν: 


ΠΗ 
ΤῊ 


cae 


74 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


may be placed in the 16 century, it is more likely that he was the 
king of Hana who carried off the statues of Maruduk and Sarpanit " 
from Babylon to Hana (Hani), later recovered by Agum IT. (cir. 1625). 
Accordingly, we may place him about 1650, his father Ilusaba, also 
king of Hana, about 1660, leaving space for a ruler or two after ἡ 
Kaxtiliag. From the Elamite inscriptions we know that Untas-GAL,t | 
son of Humbanummena, invaded Babylonia and carried away the 
statue of the god Immeriya, “the protection of KaStilias,” so it is 
evident that the Kossean power received a severe set-back before | 
the death of KaStilia8, and probable that Hana recovered its auto- 
nomy at this time, cir. 1690. The natural date for the Kudur-Lagamar 
episode is then between the reigns of Untas-GAL and Tukulti-Mer, 
while Elam was strong, Babylonia was weak, and Shanghar had not 
yet attained its later power. The name Amraphel has not yet been 
found, but we may conjecture that it represents an Amurru-ippal 
(the god Amurru—one of the chief gods of the Amorites of Hana— 
will respond, or will reward), though Jmmer-ippal, Immer-apla-(iddin), 
or the like are also plausible forms. We can hardly expect so happy 
a guess as that made by some of the first Assyriologists, who 
suggested that Chedorlaomer must correspond to an Elamite Kudur- 
Lagamar, an idea which has turned out to be correct. 

I believe we may further explain Arioch of Ellasar. The combi- 
nation of Ellasar with the provincial Babylonian town of Larsa is 
for this period impossible; were it theoretically possible, the difference — 
between the names would be phonetically very difficult. I would 
therefore propose the identification of Ellasar with Alsiya or Alsiin | 
northern Mesopotamia, reading ὍΝ instead of 105s. The form of Ἢ 


1 Hiising’s reading Untas-Humban is very improbable; in place of GAL we 
must read an Elamite word for “great.” Nor is Hiising’s date for Untas’-GAL, 
in the thirteenth century, possible; we must adopt Eduard Meyer's, given GA3 | 
§ 462. In Quellen der Geschichte Elams, pp. 18 Ε΄, Hiising has erroneously | 
identified Kiten-Hutran with Kiten-hutrutas; Hutran is a divine name, not a a 
hypocoristicon, as shown by a comparison of the royal names ‘Hutran-tepti and Cy 
Tepti-Humban. His list on p. 19 would make a king who was reigning in 1237 | Ἵ 
rule forty years before one who was on the throne at some time between 1245 1 
and 1237! It is not accidental that the names of the dynasty of Ike-halki are 
closely related to the royal names from before 1900, and not at all with those 5 
of the fourteenth and following centuries. As Kuk-Nagur was contemporary 
with “Ammicadiiqa, our group will fall in the eighteenth century or after, just — 
where it is fixed by the synchronism between Untas-GAL and Ka3tilia’ I. 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 75 


the name is made certain by the variant writings AlSe (pronounced 
_ Alse) in the treaty between Subbiluliuma of Hatte and Mattiuaza of 
Mitanni, Alzi in the inscriptions of Tiglathpileser I., Alzia in a Hittite 
geographical list from Boghaz-keui, and ’-7’-s’ in the Egyptian lists. 
As in the geographical list Alzia is placed between Nanhar and 
Papahhi, while in the Mattiuaza treaty it appears, along with Assyria, 
Me as a state benefiting territorially by the fall of Mitanni, it is to be 
located, where we find it in the texts of Tiglathpileser, in the region 
of Diarbekr and Mardin. At all events, it was a small Mitannian 
state, which may have been much more important at an earlier 
period, and have been essentially equivalent to later Mitanni, whose 
center appears to have been in this same region. It can hardly be 
accidental that the name Avyioch exhibits the same formation as the 
_ Mitannian names Ayi-Tesub and Arisen, in which av means “give, 
gift”. It is possible that Arioch is the equivalent of an Ari-Aku, 
“Gift of the god Aku,” which is then the Mitannian name of the 
moon-god; in the Cappadocian tablets we have the name Akuwa, 
certainly a hypocoristicon, like Assyrian Ndbw’a for names containing 
Nabi as the first element of a theophorous compound. 
> - An interesting side-light upon this era of great migrations and 
ie ethnographic readjustment is thrown by the name of Tidal, king of 
_ Hordes, corresponding to the Tudhula of our document, and perhaps 
also to the Hittite royal name Dudhalia, as pointed out by Sayce. 
Weare informed that Kudur-Lagamar levied as auxiliaries the hordes 
of the northern barbarians, the Umman-manda, a term, meaning 
_ literally “much people,” which is used later for the hordes of the 
a Cimmerians and Scythians, and while it is not explicitly stated that 
τ Tudhula was their king, in the extant fragments, it is very probable, 
as Sayce has already observed. The fourteenth chapter of Genesis 


1 Keyptologists have hitherto assumed that Eg. ’sy and ’-r’-s’ were identical, 
“i _ the former being the old Egyptian form of Alagiya-Eliga, the latter the recent 
ae form, or rather the transliteration of the cuneiform writing into syllabic ortho- 
graphy (Miiller). However, the impossibility of this view is shown by passages 
where they both occur together, as in Miiller, Egyptological Researches, 11, 
pp. 91 ff., where ’sy and ’-r’-s’ are given separately in a list of the countries 
containing mineral resources from the time of Rameses II. Im several places 
-r’-s’ is clearly on the continent, a fact which is one of Wainwright’s main 
_ arguments for his continental theory of Alasiya. With this distinction between 
_ Alziya and Alagiya we can consider that the latter is certainly Cyprus, in ac- 
cord with the appellative Alasiotas of the Cyprian Apollo. 


76 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


thus throws important light on the first emergence of the Indo- 
Iranians in history, for these northern hordes can be none other. 
Two generations before, their pressure from the rear seems to have 
forced the Kosseans from the Zagros mountains into Babylonia, 
where they founded the Third Dynasty in 1742. Their later move- 
ments were hitherto completely obscure, but now we gain an idea of 


the processes of infiltration and conquest which finally led to the | ἡ 
foundation of a new state in the 16 century, called Mitanni, whose | 
ruling nobility, or mariannu (an Indo-Iranian word) were of [πᾶο- | 


Iranian stock, speaking an older form of Sanskrit! and supporting 
a dynasty whose kings bear Sanskrit names. 
The historical situation now appears to be as follows. About 1675 


Kudur-Lagamar of Elam, imitating the example of his predecessor, a 


Untas-GAL, overran Babylonia, and captured Babylon, thanks to 
the potent aid of his warlike barbarian auxiliaries. With their help, 
moreover, he was able to subdue the rest of Mesopotamia, and 
impressing the armies of the newly conquered states into his service,. 3 
to make a formidable raid on Syria and Palestine, now almost cer- 
tainly under Hyksos control. The Biblical tradition represents the 
eastern host as taking the Transjordanic route, contrary to the 
nearly universal practice of Mesopotamian armies in later times. If — 
we can accept this view of the situation, which is as doubtful as the 
reliability of our source, we may. suppose that the Elamite wished 
to strike directly at the center of the Hyksos Empire in northern 
Egypt, without fighting his way through the well-fortified coastal 
zones. At this point, however, we lose solid ground, and begin to 
flounder in a morass of speculations. 

It is very doubtful just what the real role played by Abram was. 
10 is possible to suppose that he was, as an important amir, perhaps 
the head of the Bené Ya‘qob, and certainly in alliance with the | 
chiefs of the Hyksos city of Hebron, the leader of the resistance | 
offered by the Hyksos in southern Palestine, and that he 8} ἍΙ 


1 It is now a commonplace of scholarship that the names of the reigning 
dynasty of Mitanni, as well as many of the names of Syro-Palestinian rulers of the 
Amarna age are Indo-Iranian; the opposition of Clark, AJSL 38, 261 ff., strengthens: = 


the theory by its weakness. The discovery of several Indo-Iranian divine names, — | 
Indra, Varuna, Mitra, and the Nasatya, in a treaty with Mitanni from Hatte, has | 


been recently corroborated by the remarkable find, made independently by Jens “4 
and Hrozny, of a number of Sanskrit numerals in the inscriptions. ΟΣ 


"ALBRIGHT: se ‘Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 77 


ἘΠ ὩΣ ΤῊΣ enemy ie his | ᾿ς πες It should be observed in this 
connection that Abram’s covenant with the Hittites at Hebron 
perhaps refers to the Hyksos, since it is steadily becoming more 
ἢ probable that the ruling element in the mixed hordes of the latter 
Be was Hittite. The greatest proof for this is the fact that the names 
_ of the six Hyksos kings are all non-Semitic, and at least one, Hayan, 
is later worn by a predecessor of the Hittite Kilammu of Nam’al. 
About 1925 the Hittites conquered Babylon, led by their king 
_ Mursilis I., as appears from the chronicles from Boghaz-keui recently 
published. Later their power seems to have been restricted to Asia 
_ Minor, at least so far as the kingdom of Hatte was concerned; the 
_Hyksos were perhaps primarily a north-Syrian branch of the Hittite 
people. The new discoveries do not favor an extension of the Hyksos 
Empire under Hayan over the whole of Western Asia, and, though 
he was undoubtedly an important ruler, his basalt lion, found near 
‘Baghdad, may have been transported thither from Syria in ancient times. 
᾿ς While the object of our paper is primarily chronological rather 
than historical, it may be well to allude to the question of the 
provenance of Abram. As I have pointed out JBL 37 (1918), 
: 33—136, it is hardly possible that the prototype of Ur of the 
Chaldees was really the city of Ur in southern Babylonia. Nor is 
_ Clay’s recent suggestion, Mari, though better than his previous view, 
combining Ur with the town of Amurru near Sippar, tenable, for 
hilological reasons alone. [ still believe that the best light on the 
rue ethnic and geographical background of the Hebrew traditions 
is furnished by the list of the postdiluvian patriarchs, where Eber 
epresents the Aramean nomads, or ‘Abir,! vouched for by the 


ΟΣ Practicaily all scholars have finally adopted the view that the Habiru are 
the Beene: ἘΠ  ΠΘΙΟΒΊΕΒΗΣ there is no Aen since eT would have to be 


6 Habiru appear so widely in cuneiform sources as a nomadic people (cf. JBL 
37, 1351.) there is no objection historically. We must, it is true, distinguish 
ὌΝ an Klamite or Kossean people called Ha-bir-’u (see Hiising, op. laud. 
. 94f.) and the Ha-bi-ru, who are mentioned repeatedly in the eae tablets, 
cording to Miss Grice. Luckenbill has recently advanced the view that the 
riting Habbiru, alternating with SA-GAZ in the Boghaz-keui texts, in a single 


78 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society can 


later a town near Harrin (Assyr. Sarugi), as is also apparently — 

Nahor, while Terah appears as a personal name in the Safaitie m-_ 2 
scriptions, perhaps meaning “ibex”, and is probably in Genesis a tribal 
name. Also Reu and Selah are perhaps tribal names, though possibly 
mythical heroes like Methuselah and the shepherd Tammuz. Arphaxad 
is almost certainly equivalent to the district of Arrapachitis, south- 
east of Assyria proper, which appears as early as the time of 
Hammurabi (cir. 2100), and is frequently mentioned in the course οὗ 
the next millennium, in the form Arraphum, Arrapha.! On the 
borders of the district of Arraphum? lay the important city of 
Arbela, mentioned repeatedly in the tablets of the Ur Dynasty — 
(24742357) as Urbillum, and somewhat later as Urbel. The τῇ 
Assyrian explanation as Arba-ilu, “four-god,” is simply a popular 4 
etymology to explain a non-Semitic proper-name. Arbela still exists 
as the provincial town of Erbil, preserving the same name and site 
after nearly 4500 years of recorded existence. I would then suggest. 
that Urbel in Arraphum or *Arpah-Sadé, “Arpah of the hills,” may — 
be the historical prototype of Ur-Kasdim. It may then be, that ἢ 
Abram and his tribe, the Bené Ya‘qob, were forced to migrate, first — 
to western Mesopotamia, and then to Palestine under pressure from — 


passage, however, proves that /abbiru is a fail form, equivalent to habbilu, — 
“bandit”, a synonym of abbatu = SA-GAZ (see Am. Journ. of Theol.-22, 37, — 
note 1; AJSL 86, 244 f.). This is unquestionably plausible, but the one occurence ‘| 
of the writing Habbiru, among so many Habiru, merely explains why SA-GAZ δὴ 
was taken as an ideogram for Habiru; Habiru was contemptuously equated to δ 
habbilu, “bandit”. It is unnecessary to add that the word habbirw is unknown, | 
as well as the stem /abiru, in Assyrian. In the light of such transpositions as 3 
‘Arabah = ‘Abarah, etc. there can be no serious doubt that Haupt’s explanation | 
of the word “Hebrew” as a transposed doublet of “Arab” is correct. One form, — 

‘Abir, was employed of themselves, in the sense of “nomad”, by the Arameans, q 
and isHEpeats in the elev enth ey as an cus term; the other, es oe 


ninth pote in the annals of SECs ΤΙ. 
1 Cf. JBL 37, 135, 138, note 28. 


2 Ina ute to the writer Ounstead has pues out that in | Assyrian times | ᾿ q 


Kutmuh, abeve), and a ΒΡ τι inscription of an early Mesopotamian mon- | 
arch, perhaps of Sanhar (De Genouillac, Rev. d’Assyr. 7, 151 ff.) indicates strongly | 
that Urbel (so the name is written) was then the capital of the independent 


state of Arraphum, still autonomous in the fifteenth century, as we learn fromm ‘ae 
the Egyptian inscriptions. Re 


> 


ALBRIGHT: A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology 79 


= the Indo-Iranian hordes, which clearly grew intense by the end of 
the 18 century. 

Our chronological results, which will be stated and defended more 
elaborately elsewhere, may be tabulated as follows: 


Accession of Hammurabi in Babylon B. C: 2123 
Twelfth Dyn. in Egypt 1996 
Hittite Invasion of Babylonia; Fall of First Dyn. €;-1925 
Assyrian Empire of Samsi-Adad III. c. 1850 
Thirteenth Dyn. in Egypt; Decline of Empire 1783 
Kossean Conquest of Babylonia; Third Dyn. 1742 


Hyksos Occupation of Hebron; Abram in Palestine c. 1700 
Hyksos Occupation of Egypt; the Bené Ya‘qob in Egypt c. 1690 
Invasion of West by Kudur-Lagamar of Elam ce. 1675 
Conquest of Mesopotamia by Tukulti-Mer of Hana c. 1650 
Overthrow of Hyksos Power; Eighteenth Dyn. in Egypt 1580 


Invasion of Asia by Thutmosis IIT. 1490 
Amarna Age; Amenophis III. and LV. in Egypt 1400—1350 
Birth of Moses ce. 1300 
Accession of Rameses II., Pharaoh of the Oppression 1292 
Exodus of the Hebrews under Moses from Egypt c. 1260 
Invasion of Palestine by Israel ς. 1230 
Defeat of Israel by Meyneptah ex1 225 
First Repulse of Philistines 1190 
Song of Deborah (ove lars 
Conquest of Coastal Plain by Philistines c. 1170 
Visit of Wen-Amon to Dor Ὁ: 11:1: 
Death of Eh and Loss of Ark to Philistines c. 1050 


Since the foregoing paper was written, new material has come to 
_ hand. Here may be noted two important articles, Bohl’s “Die Kénige 
= von Genesis 14,” ZATW 36, 65—73, and Langdon’s “The Habiru and 
é the Hebrews,” Hxpository Times, 1920, 324—329. Bohl identifies Tidal 
_ with the Hittite king Tudhalia (IL), who reigned 1250 B. C., and so 
i - completely misunderstands the historical situation. He places Shinar and 
Ἢ Hilasar correctly in Upper Mesopotamia, without connecting them with 
Hana and Alsi. Langdon points out that Winckler’s Habbiri was a 
mistake for Habiri, which appears in the cuneiform text as now publis- 
hed. Accordingly the last philological objection to their identification 
with the Hebrews is removed. 


HEBREW MUSIC WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO 
THE MUSICAL INTONATIONS IN- THE RECITAL OF 
THE PENTATEUCH 


A. Z. IDELSON 
(JERUSALEM) 


O what extent can the Jews be said to retain their primitive 

national music? This question has been frequently investigated 
and variously answered, but never in the light of all the evidence. 
The music of only a section of the different Jewish centres has been 
examined, and—-what is the most serious omission—insufficient atten— 
tion has been given to the music of the Jews of the East, where, 
after all, Jewish music originated. 

The Exile reduced the nation to scattered fragments which have Ἢ 
never again become reunited, and only occasionally come into tempor- 7 
ary contact. They have had to keep guard over their culture against 
the encroachments of outside influences. Sometimes they have been 
compelled to compromise and suffer the intrusion of foreign elements, 
but this never passed beyond definite limits: if there was a danger | 
of this limit being passed the national spirit rebelled and rejected a | 
the alien admixture. | 

The course of the Exile saw the growth of more or less isolated 
centres of Jewish culture: in the East— Babylon, Persia, the Yemen, 
Syria, and Upper Morocco; in Europe—Spain, Italy, Greece, Ger- 
many, Poland and Lithuania. In each case this culture, including 
music, developed along lines determined by conditions of life and 
environment. Of these centres, those of Spain and Greece came to 


an end more than 400 years ago; while of those which still exist, Ἢ 


the Syrian has been influenced by the Spanish, and the Polish-Lettish ἡ 


by the German. From Persia branched out the Bocharan and Daghes- — Ὶ 


tani Jews and the Aramaic-speaking Jews of Lesser Persia; from 


, IDELSON: Hebrew Music iti Special Reference etc. 81 


FP hylon a branch spread to India; and from the Polish-Lettish cen- 
re branches have spread throughout both hemispheres. The isolation 
of some centres has been all but complete, notably the Yemenite; 
4 ‘and the Persian has been touched only in slightest degree by the 
a Babylonian, the Moroccan by the Spanish, and the Italian by the 
4 Spanish. These details are important; for if we find the characteristic 
_ musical motifs of individual centres, which have never come into contact 
with others, to be identical, or the basic elements to be akin iniessentials, 
we can conclude that they still preserve the same music which was 
theirs before the Destruction of the Temple. 

We leave out of account the music which arose after the Talmud 
_ period, the products of the last eleven hundred years, the music of 
_ the Piyn ee traditional hymns for various festivals; the Le 


΄. ; the music of secular ee folk-songs in Hebrew and 
a other languages—Spanish, Arabic and German; and the Hasidist 
. music, in all of which we find admixture of elements peculiar to the 
a music of the surrounding Gentiles. We are concerned mainly with 
ἘᾺ the musical intonations, inflexions, motifs, in the singing of the Pentateuch. 
This is the oldest part of Hebrew music. These intonations, we 
_ know, were sung by the aid of the accents added to the text by the 
— Nakdanim, the punctuators, of the School of Rabbis at Tiberias— 


the old Greek prosody accents, the Byzantine line and point accents 
3 the 8t or 9 centuries. The names and shapes of these accents 


nown as Cheironomia2. Long before the invention of the shapes of 
the accents, they were given names, descriptive of the hand or finger 
: "movements, though the names varied in different centres; thus we find 
the names given by Ben Asher different from the names in the Baby- 


τ Dikduke T’amim of Ben Asher: ed. Baer and Strack. Leipzig 1879, pp. 17—27 
2 Mentioned in Berach. 62b: Said R. Nachman bar Yishak ... the finger of 


82 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the Spanish, Italian and German Systems. (Thus yethibh—qadma ; de 


hi—tifha; hirpa—rebhia; sinnor—zarqa; shere-seghol —segholta; nag- 
da—legarme; shofar—munah, gadma—pashta etc.) 

The writer considers that the introduction of the accents into the 
Bible was a gradual process extending over some centuries. Originally 
there were only three accents: kadma, athnah and sof-pasuk, marking 
the beginning, middle and end of the verse. The same three we find 


among other ancient peoples: udata, svarita and anudata among the — 


Hindus; acute, circumflex and grave among the Greeks, and shesht, 
kurr and butw among the Armenians. Among them all the shapes are 
identical ΄ Δ΄ 1. 

Already in the first century of the Christian era the Greeks began 
to feel the need of reading-signs and musical indications. The result 
was a system of ten accents: three with a musical significance — tonoi, 
viz. oxeia acute, bareia grave, perispomene circumflex; two with a time 
value—chronoi, viz. makra long, bracheia short; two with dynamic 
value, the pnewmata, viz. daseia spiritus asper and psile spiritus lenis; 


and three, the pathe with conjunctive or disjunctive value, apostrophos, — 


hyphen, and hypodiastole. These, on examination, will be found to 


correspond to the Hebrew accents, not only in their musical, tonal 


significance, but also in their dynamic and their temporal value. The 


Greek accents were added to in the 5 and 6 centuries, and — 


improved by the Byzantines in the 8181 century. Then, or soon after- 
wards, arose the existing system of accentuation of the Hebrew text 
of the Bible. The Jewish scholars in their anxiety to preserve the 
correct reading and interpretation of the Bible made use of this Greek 
system as the best which existed, and most suited to their purpose. 


"1 These three accents seem to be referred to in the Tract Sofrim, section 13, 


where it says: “But in the Song of David which is in Samuel and in the Psalms, — 
the careful writer arranged the verses with keys, with athnah and sof pasug.” | 


There is a variant reading “with keys, letters and sof.” A reason can be given 


for this variant: in the Babylonian system of accentuation which preceded the ~ 
Tiberian, they had the accents gadma and athnah, found in the Tiberian system; 
but for the others, they used the first letter of the name of the accent, taw for — 


tebhir, yod for yethibh etc. (Similarly we find letters to mark the accents among the 
Armenians in the 6th century.) Hence the variant letters in the Tract Sofrim; 
for that was the system in Babylon, whereas in Palestine they used signs. On 


the Babylonian Punctuation, see P. Kahle, Die Massoreten des Ostens. Leipzig 


1913, pp. 171 ff. 


eee re ee ee ee 


pie ai hte id a SN Btn ἐν: 


eck 


iii ως ἀτιδρμε λοι inka 


οὶ 


aes 


ca 


IDELSON: Hebrew Music with Special Reference etc. 


SUULOJ 
4Sopyo 
SAF 


Ysvuyvuy.eu 
(χοσχαθα 
{rpuny 
sunzp 

SANZ 
UIBMOISOY 


4158} 


\ nynq 
v 1103 
yYysoys 


ΝΥΝ 


. Byepnur 
Ὁ BYLIBAS 


͵ 


AGNIH 


eyepn 


“ 


»ὔ 


oso,dv oysvmory 
snovulyo ‘sijoundqns wvS.ta 
9141 vrereq 
[dip vrexo 


:$JU990B 9] ΠΟῸΡ 91) 


[Opes 19284 


[Opes 1987 


y dete οἷ 
95.187] 


“ UsuIpey ἀθ0] 


:Βγ ΠΘΟΟὉ 97 ΠῸ0 91{Π| 


be eoustinb : ΠῚΘΤΘΕΤΈΞ 
Ξ | 
isd : 

eyeumoug 91154 ‘ JULIVSO] 
A BIaSBp razed 
oe e1oqyyd | °° ἘΒ1|97 
: BUdzUy | : Ὁ τ|α9.1 
¢ sistayodAy | joyez 
Ξ 91{πρ uoaydere om [oSes wy1Ez 
’ =F 9 . 

WOSTIO : 
TowoLYO ΠΣ ΤΕΣ τ pes 
= BIYCUL f et jt} 

= : aw, -- Ἐξ αξδῆσϑος SS ie το gat eee 
ἔ BIaleq | bused jos 
[000 ὁ ν ϑιιθιποάβταϑαά -Ξ ἡἠδαπηῦ 
BIOXO s yquyjex ‘eupeb 


MAUD 


Madde 


ation 1 


Illustr 


854 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Suciety 


The accompanying table shows us the relation of the Hebrew ac- 
cents to the earlier systems.— (Illustration 1.) 


The Talmud (Meg. 32a) says: “The reader without the tune, and 
the singer without the melody—of him Scripture says: Hven I, I have 
given them statutes which are not good.” According to Rashi “tune” 
and “melody” refer to the accents of Scripture. And commenting 
on “melody” the Zosaphoth say: “They were accustomed to repeat 
the Mishna to a tune when they recited it by heart, thus helping the 
memory.” R. Shim‘on Duran (Magen Aboth 55b) reports that the 
Mishna was pointed with these musical accents; and even the Talmud 
we learn (Dikduke Sofrim 11, xix) had its accents. We must con- 
clude from this that a well-known tune was learnt by heart from 
tradition for the reading of the Bible and also for the memorising 
of the Mishna. This tradition could be passed on from mouth to 
mouth so long as the cultural centre remained in Palestine. But se- 
vere legislation destroyed this centre and threatened the tradition. 
Consequently arose the necessity for inserting accents to assist in 
remembering the tunes proper to the Scriptures. Like the accents of 
the Greeks they served to indicate the group of notes, the inflection, 
the vocal movement, the rise and fall by definite intervals. 

The early grammarians, R. Hayyug,t R. Yehuda b. Bil’am? and 
the Horayat ha-Qore*® divided the accents into three species accor- 
ding to their respective functions, broadly corresponding with the 
Greek division; the division according to R. Hayyug is yedia, haa- 
mada and “ἡ; according to R. Ben Bil’am yarim ha-gol, munah | 
ha-gol and ‘illué ha-qol; and according to the Horayat ha-Qore gobah, | 
shehiya and rum. Ἵ 

(a) In the yedi‘a, yarim or gobah category, they placed the accents 


pazer, teres and telisha; their purpose is to stress the voice—?. e. | 


they are dynamic rather than musical; and actually their intonation | 
is little more than an emphasis. The Babylonians represented all three 4 | 
by one mark only, the letter tet for teres, while the Tiberians differ- | 
entiated their particular nuances. This species corresponds to the : 


1 Grammar, ed. J. W. Nutt, London and Berlin 1870, p. 129. 
2 Rules of Accents, Rodelheim 1826. 
3 Ed. Derenbourg, Paris 1870. 


weet 
Wee: 


IDELSON: Hebrew Music with Special Reference etc. 85 


pneumata of the Greeks. The “double accents” may be placed in the 
same category, since these early grammarians made no distinction 
between double and simple (6. g. zagef was either gadol or laton, and 
so also with telisha, tren qgadmen, tarsen, merken and pazer.! 

(Ὁ) In the ha’amada, munah or shehiya category, they placed yethibh, 
zagef, and athnah. Shehiya they explained as that “which is neither above 
nor below but stationary”, meaning that the voice neither rose nor fell, 
but simply marked time: 7. 6. it corresponds te the Greek chronot. 

(ὁ) In the “illui, or rum category, they placed zarqa, legarme, re- 
bhia, tebhir, tifha and sillug. These were held to have a musical signi- 
ficance, and so correspond to the Greek tonoz. 

Furthermore, there are, in the nature of accents, sof pasuq, inver- 
ted nun, and poseg, which have the force of disjunctives. The Talmud 
(Shab. 116a) explains inverted nun as “a sign signifying a section that 
stands by itself” The symbol for sof pasuq exists already in some 
of the old systems of writing as a dividing sign;? while posek is used 


10 separate two similar words, 6. g. “Abraham: Abraham”, and the 


like. Thus they correspond with the Greek pathe accents. 

The Babylonians also possessed these twelve accents which are divi- 
ded into these three categories, and styled them mafsiqim or separ- 
ators. Instead of letters, the Tiberian scholars employed signs. Apart 
from these, the Tiberians added the eight “helpers” which accompany 
the disjunctives; but these have no set vocal inflections. 

From all this it will be seen that the Bible accents agree with 
the Greek system of division in general, though not in detail. For 
example, athnah is reckoned as one of the chronoz, whereas the corcum- 
flex is one of the tonoz; and so with others. The reason is, apparently, 
that the Jewish scholars had to adjust the borrowed Greek accents 
to the popularly accepted Hebrew musical system. Apart from this 
it is clear that not all the accents have a true musical significance, 


_ and so do not all carry with them special inflexional motifs. This is 


seen when we consider these inflexions. 
The music of the Pentateuch is made up of certain special motifs, 
found among all the centres and sections of the nation mentioned 


1 On Pazer gadol and katon and the difference between them, see R. Hayyug, 
p. 128. 

2 In the Babylonian punctuation the inverted nun is used to mark the end 
or the beginning of a verse; see Kahle, op. cit. in the MS facsimilia. 


86 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society ἡ eh (saa 


above. Among some of them, the motifs are preserved in their eastern : 
purity—as in Baghdad, Syria (Damascus etc.) Morocco, Italy, and | 
among the European Portuguese. Elsewhere they have been modi- = 
fied owing to external influence—as among the Spanish and German Ἧ 
Jews. The scale of the Pentateuch music is the Arabic Makam | 
‘Irak or its derivative Siga, or the third Greek mode, the Phrygian, — δῇ 
namely; MI-FA-SOL-LA-SI-DO, without completing the octave 
but descending from the lower tonic: MI-RE-DO. The tonic ap- sy 
parently is MI. The second note of the scale is sometimes. raised | 
a quarter of a tone if the inflexion rises to the note above; and the 
fifth of the scale is lowered a quarter of a tone. These dees a 


[- = quarter-tone flat; = — quarter-tone sharp] 


“ς- 
fa 
= -- “65 


χσΞ-- 


Illustration 2. Magam Iraq 


* * also 


ἐ- eg 


Illustration 3. δ 


are lost in the European centres, semi tones taking the place οὗ. 
quarter-tones, as among the Portuguese of France and Amsterdam q 
and the Ashkenazim. It so happens that the tonic is the third of : cd 
the Ionic mode, which corresponds to the European major, This has a | 
induced the Ashkenazim in course of time to regard the 6” of the | 
scale, or the third below the tonic, as the true tonic, owing to the | 
influence of the major scale, and because there is no Phrygian mode _ 
in the popular secular music of Europe; and so they finish off the — | 
inflection on the third below the tonic, as though the music were in a 
true major. ie 

The Sephardim also modified the scale through the influence οὗ 4 : 


——— Xo 55. = ἜΞ ΕΣ "5:35 Ϊ ae = 


o 
Illustration 4. Kurdi Bas 


IDELSON: Hebrew Music with Special Reference ete. 87 


 kurdi, a derivative of the Zrak or Siga. This was widespread in 
Spain till the end of the Spanish Caliphate, and it has left a per- 
manent impress on the music of the Pentateuch. The scale is: 
MI-FA-SOL (quarter-tone sharp) -LA-SI (semitone flat) -DO-RE 
(semi-tone flat); and descending: RE (quarter-tone sharp) -DO (quarter- 
tone sharp). Tbe Sephardim use this scale for the Pentateuch in 
Egypt and Syria as well as in the Balkans, though using the correct 
scale for the Ten Commandments. The Yemenites are untouched 
by this influence: they read the Pentateuch with the inflexions proper 
to the Prophetical Books. 


It is a curious fact that the Ashkenazim have transferred the Pentateuch music 
to the Song of Songs, in which they preserve it in a purer form than in the 
Pentateuch—a phenomena found in no other centre. Only by combining the 
Ashkenazi music of the Pentateuch with that of the Song of Songs can we restore 
the true music of the Pentateuch as it survives among the other centres. The 
reason for this exceptional use is not yet known to the writer. 


It has already been explained that each accent signifies a group 
of notes, an inflexion or motif, made up of risings and fallings of the 
voice; this is not exactly uniform throughout all the centres, except 
in the ending, which constitutes the groundwork of the inflexion. 

Sillug, athnah, seghol, zagef qaton, yethibh or pashta have the same 
motif, made up of two or three notes of the scale, rising or falling 
a third to the tonic. 

Rebhi‘a, tebhir, geresh, and garshen have different motifs of a group 
of notes, undulating, and also ending on the tonic; telisha has an 
undulating motif ending on the third below the tonic; pazer and shal- 
sheleth have the same motif, ascending with undulations to the fourth 
of the scale;- gadma has a simple motif, leaping the interval of the 
tonic to the fourth; and zarga has an undulating motif ending on the 
second below the tonic. 

The first of these groups of accents, athnah, zagef, etc., R. Hayyug’s 
“ha'amada” category, corresponding with the Greek chronot, which 
deal only with length or pause—we saw that these have a single mo- 
tif between them of a final, cadential character. What then is the 
difference between them? In course of time the feeling of their different 
nuances must have disappeared. Even sillug and seghol have the same 
motif as the ha‘amada, though seghol was not regarded as a special 
accent. 


88 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Of the ‘Jllwi class, corresponding to the Greek tonoi,—zarqa, le- 


garme, rebhi‘a, tebhir and tifa have special motifs; while in practice 


sillug is included among the ha‘amada. 
The yedi‘a class, the pneumata of the Greeks, are indeed character- 


ised by motifs of a more undulating and stressed nature. 
From the point of view of modern music there is no room for the 
distinctions drawn by the ancient grammarians; for except for the 


disjunctives like poseq,! inverted nun, and sof pasug, all the accents — 


are musical, tono?. But according to the musical ideas of 1200 years 
ago, the various divisions held good. 


RUTH and KOHELETH: The music of these two books is the same, and a 


branch of the music of the Pentateuch, being founded on the same scale and 


having a portion of its motifs; but only a portion, for it lacks certain of the 
«dynamic» accents. Thus shalsheleth is not included at all; pazer is found only 
onee in Ruth (12) and zarka twice (41,4). In Qoheleth pazer is found five 
ties only, (518; 62; 810,11; 912), and zarga only twice (814,17). Owing’ to 
the lack of these dynamic, more «dramatic» accents, the music of these two 
books assumes a more lyrical character. With the Ashkenazi and Lettish Jews 
it is nearer the music of the Pentateuch, since it 1s taken from the music of the 
Song of Songs. In the other centres there are changes in the accent motifs of 
the Ha amada category, since they close on the tonic by a downward inflection. 
Even in the music of the Pentateuch, in an Ashkenazi use, the tebhir motif has 
been transferred to garshayim; and in a Moroccan use that of zarga to telisha 
gatana: and in an Ashkenazi use, in the music of the Song of Moses, the motif 
of rebhi‘a to that of tifha, before sof-pasug; and the like. Similar transferences 
are found in the music of Ruth and Koheleth: gadma and azla to rebhi‘a and 
telisha qgatana in Ashkenazi uses. Again, in the Ashkenazi use the inflexion of 
pazer and telisha is higher by a tone than in other centres. 


The outward form of this music is that of recitative, but there is 
a difference. It has an internal metre, but logical rather than tem- 
poral, arising out of the collocation of the various motifs; it is melo- 
dious by reason of the recurrence and variation of the motifs, which 
lend it the character of music proper. In shorter verses only the 
simpler inflexions mentioned above occur—ypashta, athnah, zagef qaton, 
tafha and sillug—and these form the musical basis. In longer verses 


are added the tono? accents—rebhi‘a, geresh, zarqa, tebhir and-telisha. — 


The dynamic accents, the «stirrers» of Ben Asher, are of rare occur- 
ence—only when there is need of unusual stress; as already explained 


1 In the eastern centres the poseg marks a definite break in the flow of the 
melody; but in the west the knowledge of poseg as a disjunctive is lost: it serves 
as a dynamic, a vocal stress. 


es 
pipet ce: 
ia ee 


“-- 


RNR eR a 8 ye eee eae 


EEN 


Se ean 


stich yi ως. 
ends So 
So aK ato 


τῇ, 
ΞΡ 


ἈΠΕ ΌΡΗ 
eos wise 


‘44 


pele 


τὰς 
ΠΈΣ ΕΣ 


"κ 


eS 


= 
Se 


ae 
serene 
we: 


IDELSON: Hebrew Music with Special Reference etc. 89 


they have no special motifs, employing that of geresh with more pro- 
nounced undulations. 

In conclusion it may be said that the music of the Pentateuch is 
a true national Hebrew music. It is found among no other people, 
and it may well be older than the destruction of the Second Temple. 
Such time as the cultural centre of Israel was in Palestine, this 
music spread throughout the world wherever a Jewish centre was 
founded. We do not find it in the music of the Arabs, or of the 
Jacobite or Nestorian Christians. In spite of its age it has a power 
and nobility, a freshness and elasticity, which have roused and still 
rouse the soul of the Jew in the bitter days of his Exile. It has 
afforded comfort to the suppressed soul of the afflicted Jew and at 
the same time given him a spiritual joy on every Sabbath and Fest- 
ival. It has been an echo from the country of his birth—and from 
his glorious past. That it is to be found in every centre, preserved 
in affection and sanctity, withouth need of compulsion or supervision, 
without special ordinance (as in the case of Gregorian music), is a 
manifest sign that this music comes not from without, but issues from 
the inmost feelings of the Hebrew people, an expression of the soul 
of the nation. 


SYRIAN 


Exod. 12, 21—22 


Waj-jiq-ra mo - ὅδ 1é-hol ziq-ne jis-ra-el waj-jo-mer ii-le- 


eae tk = Soe aE πτρ τι 
De pa Seo AIMEE Sie 
Ge te τ ν' πρὸς τ ἘΚ ΕΞΕΞΞΞ 


hem, mi-Sé - hu uq-hu la-hem son _ 1lé-mi8-pé-ho-te-hem 


90 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
= περὶ = — 4 Ι °° 
= in coe 2 a Le aoe | a aan a 


we-Sa-hi-tu hap-pa-sah ul-qah - tem 


sé ~ > ᾿ 


ut-bal - tem bad-dam 4-Ser bas-saf wé-hig-ga‘-tem el ham-mas-qof pi 


3; ἜΞΨΕΙ = = τα μι ἘΝ 3, sm ail: τῇ a su EEL a . ᾧὦ ΕΞ 

ἘΦ } a =a ΒΕ Ξε εἰ τ] = oes 

6 NR τὸν ἐτφ ΡδΟ «τ καὶ ὁσϑο 
wé el δδ-[6 ham-mé-zu-zot min had-dam 4-Ser bas-saf we-at-tem 


a + +s — 5 Ε we ς 4 
SS τὸ Ν 


lo, ἧς te°- be252 0 iS mip-pe-tah be -to ‘ad bo - qer.- 4 τ 


BABYLONIAN 


Waj-jiq-ra mo - ὅς 1é-hol ziq-ne jis-ra-el waj-jo-mer 4 le al 


‘ = Ἢ δον τος τὰς ΤΣ ΤῊΝ 6 

ai 5 ὰ 4 te: pis wy > gk: og a ~~ Ὑ anal Pa 
ae | Suits . Sek % ᾽ 7 ῳ 
Wid Ὡιλ σὴ Si NS δε ay acs : Feat 
ad Sr) SA τῷ I a ae a Fe A i Say a A a A aa ee Re 


a - aoa ae ΤῈ πον ἂν 
ἊΝ ame ee ἘΣ τ τ ΡΤ 
- vy ia . uv A Mg .] 

hem mi-sé - hu uq-hu la-hem son _ 1é-mis-pé-ho-te-hem — ' 


. 
aad ἀν σός τ ἐνὶ κτῶνται. 


ii 3 τος Ὁ ἘΣ = IS py SR Ss 
a Pg ee =a pt ea 
wé-Sa-hi-tu hap-pa-sah ul-qah - tem a-gud-dat e - zob 


a -- = 
6? a eS a ΞΕΞΕΞΞΕΊΞΞΞΞΕΞΞΘ 
‘ ΣΝ : 


ut-bal - tem _bad-dam 4-Ser bas-saf wé-hig-ga‘-tem el ham-mas-gof ἣ 


IDELSON: Hebrew Music with Special Reference etc. 91] 


= FS SS tres 


Pa oe τ: 


we- el Se-te ham-me-zu-zot min had-dam 4-Ser bas-saf wé-at-tem 


fate Ss ee :} 


ig δα φι ΄ Se et 
lo te-sé - wu iS mip-pe-tah be-to ‘ad bo - 661. 


SONG OF SOLOMON 


I 1-4 Ashkenazie Rite in Lithuania 
— ise pre 

= ne ae se ee eae oe Reg ee 
Uo a eee Φ. 
Sir has-Si- σὴ 4-Ser liS-lo - mo, jiS-Sa-qe-ni min-8i - qot 


—_— 


: \ 3 
aa 3 : ee 
ὁ ἘΞΞΕ a 


ῬῚ - hu pi to-bim do-de-ha mij-ja-jiu. — 1é-re- ΠΣ Sé-ma-ne-ha to- 


ee πιὸ eee ee 
“τ. gee oe eee 


[Toma ms 
φὺς 
ι 
B= 
Φ 
1 
io 
ξ' 
cS 
© 


bim = Se-men tu-raq Sé-me-ha ‘al ken “a-la-mo 


ο' 
a iar a Gaede . oo 
mos-he-ni - hi-re-ha na-ru-sa hé-bi-a-ni ham-me-leh 


3 
ee ἐν δὰ - ew 
a 


fy zara eee 
αὶ ἘΞ ΞΕ Ξε: rs . ὁ ἐο a hs 


‘so Toe foal et ΧΕΙ ΒθκπΝ 
hi-da - raw na-gi-la wé-nis-mé-ha bah  naz-ki-ra do- 


& SS SS et 


de-ha mij - ja - jin me- ὅδ - rim a - he - bu - ha. 


bo 


ed 


ἣν 


99 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Comparative table of accent motifs employed at the different 
centres in the intoning of the Pentateuch:— 


7 one es vata 
ἢν a fr. — Sa a fF -4—— = 29 2 5 
Persan ἊΣ Γ eee - = ae a Γ == SILI = 
Zarqa “ seghol rébhia 
] — = -- = ------- 
2. ἢ eS Ee See a π δῇ 5... 
Babylonian δ t. a =y ἘΞ ῚῈ τὸ w be Ξ Ee = 
τῇ 1: ey a =< = Ol iad “f@ ao 
Syrian δ 5 “5 -f ae wie e 2 E tine 
4. 4 3 Oty 9 ος e 
Moroccain δ =e = <2 E CHES: Ε ΕΓ <i ἘΞ 
] 9 
5. | + amt + 3 .9 5 ὁ 
Egyptian δ eer ee ¥ Fe “.3 ae ἐξ ...,.5:} 
ae i ξξξξξξξ 
9 
6. : Ξε Ve 3 
: : r zo #: ᾿- Ξ- ο:' Eevee goa 
Sefardim Ὦ Ε ze = @ me ieee 
E is = os 9 
uropean ES ἔξ | =e 
Sefardim a 
8 -- 
Ashkena- .ο - - σ᾽ 9 = oe & 9,0 
zim δ -— 78 ‘ a τί "| τ —— ἘΠΞΕΣΣ 


darga s tébhir » zaqef qaton : 


arr 
Wwe 
"Ὁ 
i 
aN 
tt 


ar 
iy 
ΤΙ 
ἧς 
ink 
Han 
i 


\? 
" 
Τὺ 
ΓΤΤΤῚ 
7718 
es 
2 
® 
a) 
τὸ 
" 
.ΨἍῬ 
ti 
it 


IDELSON: Hebrew Music with Special Reference ete. 93 


= SSao pe ἐπα - 

Toole τ 9. 9 o- 
aoe ρὸν -ι- 
a or eames eres 

ο 2--- - ee» 
o_o Ξ. o 2» ΄ E JE Ee Ea | 
SS = - τ “Ὁ -- 
2» oe — — 

NS Cea ΕΣ ο΄ κυ a - - ΓΞ 

π᾿ 

ὑπ 

τες 

329 . 
-Φ 2 = Ε ςο- οἷφ a Ε fy a ἘΣ 3 

JS Ρ Fa * = z Ξ 

Scare Ce re azla geres ~ (in the 
chin! Song of Solomon) 
pat Ba — Sarat E τος TRL 
: 1 ee Ὁ ee eer 
atnah ἃ pape eso telisa gédola o ~ 501] pasuq | 
ae = a i 8 = 9 πὶ | ἜΞΞ Ὁ al 
eee ome ae eee ΦΞ1 ὅτ eee 
eed 
eer an eC) 

5 5 | —— 
eee esas 
ΙΒ ee ne ee ἘΞ 

ἘΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΙΞΕΞ 


il 
8 
TIN 
{ ῃ 
-κ 
ΒΕ 
Ga ) 
ΤᾺ 
ye 
Ἅ 
Ξ Δ 
el! 
fait 
1 
Ld) 
QL | 
HH 
oN 
Φ᾽ 
. 
TAQ) | 
LiL) 
ΒΡΕῚ 


Ξ᾿- 


di 
on 
ᾧ 
Se 
Lo et 
ΓΕ 
al 
. } 
1? 
᾿ Ὶ 
aa 
ΔΙ 
ΓΤ 
δ 
EES 


( 


94 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


SEPHARDIM 
Scale 
i ——— DO a 
6 a, ὅς - -..«-- [ 
SS 
Bie Sig. Slay Age Sienna er 
, y 


LA 


SS] SS ees 


ee ae 


Waj-jiq-ra mo - Se lé-hol ziq-ne jis-ra - el 
4 A ἘΠῚ: τὰ 
τσ. shot ἜΝ ‘ 
ΞΞΙΞΞΞΙΞΞΞ ΞΞΕΞΞΞΕΞ eS SS = 
neg ee ᾿" 
waj-jo-mer i-le-hem, miS - πὰ uq-hu la-hem son 
, 


: og 
ea Boe al lta = 
Ξξιξεξῖ τ τ΄ 
wé-Sa-hii-tu hap-pa- 588 


—_— 
nC 
ΒΕ, 
he 
rS 
τος 
i 
τ 
ich 
φ 
fo 
(qe) 
Ε 


πα ΞΕ el OE ; = — = a 
δ: ve aan a ee ¥ SNS ars gar ΠΕΡ -ε͵ ; 


== τ 
| 

ul-qah - tem i-gud-dat e - zob  ut-bal- tem 

WREST a a 4 < 3 ——) 
5 = a. ----- 
eee eee eee Veron s= 
ὁ: ee ee 
-ο bad-dam a-Ser bas-saf, wé-hig-ga - tem el ham-mas- 


ae OT -5Φ Ne 9. φεφειτα 8 ee Saas 
qof wé-el Sé-te ham-mé-zu - zot min ee ὁ a-Ser bas-saf. Ἵ 


RS SEs 

—e ἢ τ \ ——— J ie) 

PRS eae eS eet 
aaa ον see τῷ" eee Ca 
we-at - tem lo tes-u 18 mip-pe-tah τ 


4 ν᾿ - A E 
— a 5: SSS 


_ OBSERVATIONS ON A MEGALITHIC BUILDING ΑἹ 
β BET SAWIR (PALESTINE) 


E. J. H. MACKAY 
(HAIFA) 


HE first mention of this building occurs in the Survey of 

Western Palestine, P. E. F.,1 where it is described as the ruin 
of an ancient tower, 22 paces square, built of roughly squared slabs 
of stone, of which some three or four courses remained, but with no 
traces of mortar. On the south side was a large cistern, partly 
closed by a slab like those of the tower.* This is the description of 
the building as it appeared in October, 1874. 

The Rev. J. E. Hanauer and Dr. E. W. Gurney Masterman? at a 
much later date published a brief note of this interesting building 
with a photograph, mentioning that the walls formed two sides of a 
square measuring 14><14 metres outside and 12.50><12.50 metres 
inside, and that the orientation of the building was exactly to the points 
of the compass. In the opinion of Messrs. Hanauer and Masterman, 
_ the two walls they were able to trace at one time supported an 
earth platform which was eventually intentionally thrown down. 

In April, 1919, Dr. Paterson of Hebron reported to the Military 
_ Administration of O. EK. T. A. (3) that some of the blocks had been 
3 destroyed for road-metal and was successful in saving what remained 

of the building. 


_ SITUATION 
he ruins which occupy but a small space of ground are locally 
known as Khurbet Bet Sawir‘ and are situated on the western side 


ee 1 Vol. 111, page 851. Map ref., XXI.L. V. 
᾿ 2 No longer to be seen. 
3 Ῥ Ε΄. Ε΄. Quarterly Statement oes page 305. 
4 “Ruins of the House of Sawir.” The name “Sawir” appears not to be of 
Arab. origin. 


96 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


of the Jerusalem-Hebron road, about 250—300 paces from the road 
itself and slightly to the north of the newly constructed reservoir, 
called Birket el Arrub. They can easily be seen from the road 
after one has become acquainted with their appearance. 


MASONRY 
These ruins are especially noteworthy on account of the very 
large size of the blocks of limestone used in the construction of the 


c Entoeisa alr era gece [tome 1:900 


Fig. I. 


building. Four loose stones not especially selected for their size 
measure as follows: — 


2.50 metres long by 1.80 metres wide by 40 centimetres thick 


92 

2.30 5 ” ” 1.61 ” ” 4) 40 ” ” 

9 9F 

2.40 ” ” ” 1 .20 ” 2) 4) 40 ” ” 
OO VD 

2. ” ” » 1.65 ” ” » 41 ” ” 


The agreement in thickness of these measured blocks is easily 
explained as the natural thickness of the stratum of rock from which 


Observations on a Megalithic Building at Bet Sawir (Palestine) τιον 


the blocks were quarried. The quarry, an open one, may be seen a 
2 little way north-east of the building, but its ancient character has 
- been somewhat destroyed by its being re-used in recent times. 

᾿ς ΠῚ blocks all show signs of having been roughly trimmed, but 
3 _ they are so badly weathered that all tool marks have been obliterated, 
_ if they ever existed. 

= The blocks are also full of holes which appear to have been bored 
_ by gastropod molluscs after the blocks were quarried. 


Fig. 2, S. E. corner looking N. E. 


No mortar was used to hold the masonry together and the courses 

are on the whole very regular. All the blocks were laid flat on one 

another, each one extending the entire width of the wall. The slab 

ΕΒ measures 1.80 metres in width, being wider than any of the 

: calls: may possibly have been a roofing stone. 

᾿ The plan! shows the little that can be now made out without 
the use of the spade. It is important to note that the pane 15 


1 Fig. us 


~] 


98 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


being 75 east of north. For the purpose, however, of this brief 
description we will assume that the building is correctly orientated 
east and west. 

The walls rest on a natural stone platform which dips slightly from 
NW. to SE., the dip being roughly about 10. This platform which 
extends for a certain distance outside the walls, is bare in places, 
put the portion enclosed by the walls of the building is covered by 
earth to a depth which can only be ascertained by digging. It 


Fig. 3. SW. false corner D locking NE. 


is probable that a rock floor was originally levelled inside the 
building. 

The south wall is fairly well preserved, especially the two corners 
A and B. At present it stands in parts some two courses above earth 
level. The thickness of this wall was difficult to ascertain with accuracy 
owing to its being encumbered with large loose blocks, but there 


are indications in several places that its thickness was the same as | 


that of the two remaining walls, namely 1.50 to 1.60 metres. 
The south-east wall at B now stands 88 centimetres from the earth 
level and there are three courses visible, of which the lower one is — 


Observations on a Megalithic Building at Bet Sawir (Palestine) 99 


entirely buried. As in the time of Hanauer’s and Masterman’s visit, 
only the slightest indications remain of the eastern wall, the portion 
it is still possible to measure being 5.55 metres long. The width, 
namely 1.60 metres, was measured at the corner where it was possible 
to do so with some fair degree of accuracy.! 

The south-west corner A is now two courses high and is 60 cms. 
above ground level, but the stones of the lower course are practic- 
ally buried. 


Fig. 4. South Side of building looking N. E. 


The north-west corner C is very difficult to fix, but the writer 
considers a large stone which appears just above the ground to bea 
corner stone. The western wall as measured from A to C is 12.85 metres 
long and 1.50 metres broad, but it has now practically disappeared 
at its northern end whereas at the time of the Rev. J. E. Hanauer’s 
visit it stood in places six courses high.2 The stones which formed 
this side are not even lying about, but small limestone fragments in 
the close vicinity indicate what has become of them. 


1 See Fig. 2. 
2 See illustration in Quarterly Statement. 


100 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Though diligently searched for, no trace of a northern wall is to 


be seen, as was also the case at the time of Hanauer’s and Masterman’s | 


visit. The brief note in the Swrvey of Western Palestine mentions 
the remains of the building, but says nothing of any particular wall. 


Outside the south-west corner at D there are three large blocks — εἰ 


superimposed which appear to have formed part of the original 
building. Of these, the uppermost has certainly-been slightly shifted, 
but the two courses beneath are in an exact line with the western 
wall. It is hardly possible that two or more masonry blocks un- 
secured by mortar should accidently fall into such a position, but 
their presence outside the walls is difficult to explain unless they 


once formed part of an outbuilding of some kind. The height of 3 


this group of stones from earth level is 1.35 metres.1 

Inside the present three walls of the building there are certain 
stones which may have had some connextion with the structure itself. 
On the plan they are marked as Eand F. These stones appear to 
be placed on edge, 7. ¢. are orthostatic, and each group forms a 
practically straight line. They all measure 40 centimetres in thickness, 
though they are otherwise not so large as the stones of the building 
itself. Another suggestive group of stones is to be seen outside the 
east wall at the south-east corner and is marked in the plan as G. 


NATURE OF BUILDING 


The suggestion in the Quarterly Statement that the ruins of og 


Bet Sawir are the remains of retaining walls to form an earth 


platform is, the writer thinks, improbable. It is true that the northern — Ε 
wall cannot be traced, but the stones may have. been taken from ; 7 
this portion at an early date. If the western wall which stood some — = 
six courses high in 1901 is now reduced to two courses in 1920. 3 
without leaving any trace in the way of limestone chips, the total <9 
disappearance of a wall in a long period of time is easily com- 


prehensible. The number of blocks, moreover, outside the southern 


_ wall, some 70 or 80 in all, would if in position, bring the southern wall “4 
to a height far above the level of the northern part of the structure. 


1 ΤῸ be seen also on left hand side of illustration of south side of building os 


facing N. E. See Fig. 4. 


Rg ee mee Ἢ 
Oe ee 


᾿ wei 10 ‘ νι 
i What Mics νον Δ" r. ee 
EEO ΡΤ ae ae has ΡΥ Ae each 
puis haa al a hie a csc a al Τὶ 


£ 
1 
- 
Ἵ 
: 
3 


oft ἢ 
τ πόνον. is Pa het Ed ie 


ae as ES aks 


| 


eu hd oe τρῚ 


Observations on a Megalithic Building at Bet Sawir (Palestine) 101 


The writer would prefer, therefore, to explain the building as either 
the remains of a watch-tower or, preferably, a house which at an 
early period was purposely thrown down.! A fort would hardly have 
been placed in the position this ruin occupies, namely, on a gentle 
slope commanded by the rise of the hill above it and also at some 
distance from the ancient road which ran along the edge of the valley. 


PERIOD 


No period can be ascribed to this building with any certainty 
until it has been excavated. There is no pottery to be seen on the 
surface of the ground and our only guides are the nature of the 
masonry and the style of the building. As far as has been ascertained, 
there is no other structure in Palestine with similar masonry. In 
Trans-Jordania, however, there are several megalithic buildings in 
the close vicinity of Amman which are rectangular and built of 
large flat slabs of local stone. These rectangular megalithic buildings 
belong to the later megalithic civilization and the ruins at Bet Sawir 
are probably, therefore, of that period.? 

The megalithic buildings at Amman, both round and rectangular, 
have a number of cellae within their enclosures constructed of stones 
set on edge. In the Bet Sawir building the existence of such cellae 
cannot be proved without excavation, but the groups of stones 
marked E and F in the plan may possibly be remains of cells, 
especially as they appear to be orthostatic. It is even possible that 
the large number of slabs outside the southern wall once belonged 
to additional cellae. If these cellae had splayed roofs on the principal 
of the false arch, as is the case in some of the megalithic residences 


1 That the stones of this building were purposely overthrown is proved, in 
the writer’s opinion, by the position of the numerous blocks outside the southern” 
wall. These are now lying one beyond the other at an angle of about 40 degrees 

-and more or less buried in soil. As aptly described by the Rev. J. Εἰ. Hanauer, 
they resemble the broken ends of a series of limestone strata. Slabs of stone of 
the size found in these ruins could hardly from their nature have fallen otherwise 
than by human agency. 

2 See Megalithic Buildings at Amman by Duncan Mackenzie; Palestine 
Exploration Fund Annual, 1911. Also P. H. Ε΄. Quarterly Statement, 1901, 

ΟΡ. 407, where Dr. Gray Hill in a brief letter compares the Bet Sawir structure 

with similar structures at ΕἸ Bukeia and between Umm Shettah and Er Reuthah. 


102 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


at Rujm el Melfuf, this would account for the curious positions in 
which the Stones now lie. The cistern that was seen by the Rev. 
J.E. Hanauer on the occasion of his visit may, therefore, once have 
been inside a portion of the building. Moreover, the position of the 
wall D, that apparently projects from the SW. corner, perhaps bears 
out this theory; it may have formed part of another enclosure. 

The absence of mortar and the peculiarly large thin blocks point 
to a very early period (certainly pre-Jewish) The fact that the 
blocks are on the whole well shaped testifies to the builders possessing 
a certain degree of skill in masonry work, as does also the com- 
parative accuracy of the SE. and SW. corners of the building.! 

In conclusion, the writer would urge the necessity of the proper 
excavation of this site. It would entail little labour or expense as 
the ground to be cleared is not a large area. If the building should 
subsequently prove, as appears probable, to be of very early origin, 
it will be a welcome addition to the early monuments of Palestine, 
which are all too rare. | 


1 Each of the corners is two degrees less than a right angle. 


BLOOD REVENGE AMONG THE ARABS 


E. N. HADDAD 
(JERUSALEM) 


case of murder took place in the district of Hebron some years 
A ago, and attracted great attention. In spite of the strictness 
of the Turkish law, and the severity of the sentence which was passed, 
the clan of the murderer remained subject to the custom of blood- 
revenge, until the murderer at last gave the required satisfaction. 
One of the intermediaries, who brought about the reconciliation 
between the two parties, was the mayor and former Muhtar of Bét 
Jala, Jiryis Abi Dayi by name, from whom most of the material 
presented in this article comes. The specifically Bedouin part I 
received from the Muhtar of Bét Iksa Jubrin, who lived long in 
Madeba, and is intimately versed in the customs and usages of the 
Bedouin. Since Palestine has become a British mandate, and my 
home-land the Lebanon, as well as Syria, has passed under French 
control, many of the native customs will disappear before the advance 
of European culture. The custom of blood-revenge will, if not ent- 
irely, at least in large part, vanish in the near future. In spite of 
the difficulties connected with the collection of such material, I have 
spared no pains to make it accessible to scholars who are interested 
in this field. The material has not been altered or embellished in 
the least detail, but is given just as heard from the lips of my in- 
formants; the investigator may rely implicitly upon the accuracy 
of the translation presented herewith.! 


1 I wish here to express my thanks to Dr. W. F. Albright, Director of the 


American School of Oriental Research, who showed great interest in my work 


and was always ready to help me with it. 


104 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


1. MURDER AND PEACE 


When it happens that a person is murdered, his relatives come | 


together and say at his tomb: “You must sleep, but we must take 
revenge for you on the enemy; your bed is silken—sleep and fear 
not.’ After this they attack the clan of the murderer and steal all 
the property they can, such as domestic animals, money, furniture, etc. 
These things remain their own after the reconciliation and their value 
is not deducted from the sum to be paid. It is strictly forbidden 


to injure the women’s honour. ’ 
Three and a third days the relatives of the murdered man have 


the right to continue robbing. But as soon as they kill one of their 


enemies they lose all their rights. 


During this time both parties are in a state of war and therefore 


the murderer’s relatives flee away. If they immediately ask for an 
armistice, then it is entirely forbidden to rob, because the enemies 


are then under the protection of an honourable man‘ of a neutral — 


clan. If the injured party assassinates one of its enemies during the 
armistice it loses all its rights to compensation and at the same 
time it is regarded by the relatives of the protector as hostile, since 
this is a great shame for them, as they are responsible. Such an 


action is considered worse than murder or bloodshed itself. There- — 


fore the relatives of the murdered man are now in a very critical 
situation, because they are considered as real enemies of both the 


protector and the protected. If one of the relatives of the murdered 


man should kill any one of his enemies during the armistice, they 
dip a rag in the blood of the murdered person and smear it with 
soot from a pot and hoist it in front of the protector’s house. From 
this moment all the party of the protector goes over to the party 


of the first murderer, for the others have not kept their word. During 


the armistice both parties associate freely with each other. 


2 p>. 

3 (Sghs; in modern Arabic 438, 

4 ὅ95.9 Ame («8 lglo — Βασι bi=ve, Volume JI, page 2, 225 s.v. Assy 
Sage — apt] Ww deol — etslisle etslolo c6l agill song pr Jie. 


5. τὸ ds Igbeses po Us orp cle silly nal Jal locas isa proverb 


which means: The relatives of both parties associate freely with each other. 


1 7 shee ch »Ἐ ᾿ 
oa a a sce el 000 0000. ὅπ 5 


ἔκένι 
AN age ΒῚ SPONSE ed ot Tee er 


~*~ 


HADDAD: Blood Revenge among the Arabs 105 


If the reconciliation does not take effect, the enemies renew their 
robbing after the three and a third days are over. The property 
stolen during this time is deducted from the reconciliation money but 


ΟΠ the value of the goods is estimated at only half of the real amount. 


3. THE ARMISTICE! 


If no treachery takes place during the armistice both parties live 
in securify. If the matter is not settled before the armistice is over 
and the armistice is not renewed, hostility is resumed between the 
parties. But if they renew the armistice punctually the danger is 
at an end. 

Peace can not follow directly after hostility. First must come 
the armistice, since it would be the greatest dishonour for the family 
of the victim to accept the reconciliation money directly. If they 


- accept it at once, they are then despised by the whole neighbourhood. 


They may hear the words: “Shame! Are you so greedy that you have 
eagerly accepted the reconciliation money of your murdered one?” 
The ceremony of the armistice is as follows: The pursued party 
flees. By “pursued” we mean all male persons from the clan of the 
murderer who are more than twelve years old, because they are 
exposed to revenge. Aged men, blind men and all males with a 
defect, as well as scapegraces, are not exposed to revenge. The 
same is also true of all females. All such persons remain at home, 
since it is a shame to take revenge on them, and so they have no 
fear. When the exposed party wishes to conclude an armistice it 
calls reliable men of a neutral family, either from the same village 
or from another. The latter must be strictly neutral. When they 
open negotiations they take with them one to four animals for sa- 


 erifice (as a rule sheep) rice and melted butter? at the expense of 


the murderer himself. They take also a hundred mejidis, or more, 
with them. When they reach the house of the relatives of the murdered 
person they give them the offerings. They kill the animals immediately 
and prepare food for all who are present. When the negotiators 
hand the money over they say the following words: “Gentlemen, we 


ask you for an armistice and we will try to carry out the usual 


1 2985} OSI. 2 δάκω, 


106 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


customs.” Some days before the armistice is over, they renew it 
but this time the offering is not necessary. They give only money 
and about 50 mejidis less than the first sum. It is possible to renew 
the armistice as many as ten times. Every time the sum which the 
negotiators pay is less than the time before. 


8. THE NINE OF ASSURANCE! 


If the clan of the murderer is composed of many families, all 
these families are exposed to revenge. If they wish to be secured 
from reyenge they have then to pay a so called “nine of assurance.” 
The payment may be before or after the armistice. The families 
which paid the nine of assurance are not obliged to pay the expenses 
of the armistice or reconciliation money. The nine of assurance is 
either 9 Turkish pounds = 900 piastres or 90 mejidis. A family 
which fulfils this is then quite safe, remaining at home without having 
to move. Any family may do this and and live without danger, but 


it must not harbor the murderer nor have any dealings with him. ~ 


If it violates the custom it loses the sum of assurance and is har- 
rassed like the enemy himself. The sum of assurance should be 
handed over by the mediator without an offering. If the enemy. 
should not keep his word, he would be considered by the mediators 
as a dishonourable man. 


4. PERFIDY AND DECEPTION? 


If the clan of the murdered person does not keep its word and 
breaks the familiar customs of the armistice, killing a man in revenge, 
it at once loses all its rights and is attacked by the protectors 
themselves. The person whom they killed is now considered as the 
equivalent of the first murdered person. All things robbed during 

1 pgs Anus, 

2 392 = “perfidy” in Βααλ] Lise, Vol. 1, p. 148 s.v. $6 = Jey sb 
Fee Ὁ οὐδ ese ol... Grady logadly pill εἰς. [95.959 Bos .55τ 
Igretel os de poh So... ροῦχα ete? pt apilly ... trl 

Lahb Anis 


ach 


δον». τ Σ ᾿ 
τος τον.» . Δ i 
ees ἴω τα peat | ee fae ὌΡΗ oe, ἐκ ΟΖΤΌΣΙ a ees ome eager eT ΣΝ 
ΩΝ rapt es ks SO ae sec Wyre iit cs jee πλόος aR : AE TON NA ra a 


HADDAD: Blood Revenge among the Arabs 107 


the first three and a third days should be given back, unless the 
other party has robbed their equivalent. The guarantors themselves 


_ begin at once to rob the traitors and even try if possible to kill 


one of them, since the latter have no right to take revenge for the 
- murdered person, this case not being punishable in the law of the 


folk. In such a case the traitors send intercessors to negotiate 
peace. They must offer every thing demanded, and the intercessors 
say: “Behold, your enemy is in your power and it is for you to 
decide whether to free him or not.” Then those who broke their 
word kneel down bareheaded in the midst of the circle formed by 
those present. Each turban must be unfolded and wound around 
the neck while the fez is held on the breast. To be bareheaded 
means to surrender. While they are kneeling down they ought to 
remain quite silent and are not allowed even to salute. If the 
guarantor has inclination to forgive them he rises and says to one 
of his men: “Rise and shave their heads, because I have forgiven 
them.”! 

During this interval some animals (sheep or goats) should be 
killed and a repast prepared with their flesh. After this they are 
allowed to cover their heads. 

If he does not wish to forgive them he demands, for instance, 
100 horses, 500 camels and 1000 sheep. He is not allowed to ask 


for money. Those who are present implore him to say how much 


may be deducted for the sake of God and the prophet (Mohammed). 
He then says: “I deduct 10 horses, 100 camels and 100 sheep.” 
They ask him again: “How much can you deduct for the sake of 
Sheikh X.,” etc. οἷο, and at last they ask: “What will you deduct 
for your bareheaded and barefoot enemies: They ask for mercy. 
It is now in-your power to forgive and to be merciful or not. This 
is a habit of nobles and you are well-known as one of the most famous 
nobles. But these are people who trespass and you are the man who 
forgives.” Should he deduct more now, it is due to his humanity, 
but they must in any case pay the remainder. If they have nothing 
ready they must bring guarantors. 


1 Shaving the head is considered a great disgrace, when it is inflicted as a 
punishment. The same is also true of the beard. One or both are shaved as 
punishment in the case of a crime affecting a woman’s honour. 


108 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


5. RECONCILIATION 


If both parties after the termination of the armistice are ready Ἢ | 
to be reconciled, the enemies have to bring 15—20 sheep and goats | 
or perhaps more, and rice, coffee, sugar, salt, and all the necessary ᾿Ξ 
utensils for cooking. As soon as they appear one of the victim’s | 
family has to go out and meet them, and lead them in to the house : = 
of the victim, where the meeting is to be held. He has the right | 
to ask two pounds and a cloak for his protection. They go now 
with the guarantors and other nobles of the village into the honse 
of the victim or into the guest-house of the family. One of the re- 
latives of the victim examines the animals, which must be without oe 
defect. Animals which have defects must be changed. He begins | 
then to kill the animals or he orders another to kill them. But he 
must in every case kill the first one. His part in killing is a sign | 
that he is satisfied with the reconciliation. The enemies must do = : 
the whole work. After the meal, the relatives of the victim ask that — 3 
the murderer or one of the most respected sheikhs shall come. __ 

The negotiators tell him: “Stand up and sit down in the midst — 
of the gathering.” He follows their order, holding a long stick in ~ 
his hand. This stick must be half again as long as a man. They _ 
bring five metres or more of white gauze. The nearest relative of Ὃ A 
the murdered man takes hold of the cloth and begins to roll the @ 
gauze round the stick, making knots at intervals, Every knot means ᾿ ἣ 
1000 piastres. When he is through, the negotiators ask him ΠΟ 
much he deducts for the sake of God. He unties two or more knots ἢ 
according to his generosity. After this they ask for the sake of the | 
prophet, Christ etc. and at last they ask for the sake of the nego- — 
tiators, who should be honoured with a knot or more. It depends — 
much upon his generosity whether he unties fewer or more knots. | 1 
Lastly they ask him how much will he deduct for the sake of his — 
enemies. He answers: “They are welcome, and I am ready to untie — 
for them two knots more.” Now they count the remaining knots. a 
The man who had untied the knots invites them to eat. They answer: Ε΄ 
“No, by your life, we will not eat till you set our minds at rest. You 
know that a man like this one (the murderer) commits a trespass, 
but a man like you forgives, since forgiveness is a virtue of nobles. ἡ | 
X has died—may God have mercy on him; it is a matter of fact that 


HADDAD: Blood Revenge among the Arabs 109 


living person is worth more than a dead one, and nothing is sweeter 
than sweetmeats except peace after hostility. You are very celebrated 
_ for your generous deeds.! After reconciliation the required sum 
= should be paid in instalments. The sum may be 150—300 pounds 
or more. The legal ransom is 33,333 piastres and 33 paras. 


6. MURDER BY AN UNKNOWN PERSON? 


If it should happen that some one has been killed without the 
murderer being known, the relatives of the murdered man send 
messages to the men whom they suspect to be guilty and ask them 

_ to appear before court. The court is formed of men who are authorities 
in customs and murder-cases. After negotiation the time of their 
- meeting together should be fixed. The relatives of the victim choose 
two persons; the suspected one can choose only a single person. 
One of these three persons is made the judge. Accordingly the ac- 
cused and the accuser choose one out of the three to be the judge. 
If they are not pleased with his decision they appeal to the second 
person; if they are then still unsatisfied they call upon the third one. 
The decision of the third one must be accepted in any case. Every 
one of the selected judges receives his wages, which may be as much 
as he wishes and is not less then 100 mejidis. As soon as the ac- 
cused person appears before the first judge, he is given a horse’s 
_ bit, which means that the horse is made the pledge, or a gun as a 
sign that the owner of the gun is the pledge. After both the ac- 
cused and the accuser have been heard in court the judge must 
_ repeat to them their statements during the trial. Many persons 
should be present to witness the process and confirm the decision. 
After this the judge asks for guarantors to be made responsible for 
‘the payment of his wages. As soon as they are selected he gives 
back the pledges. He then commences his work and says: “Ὁ 


a 1 Literally, you are the father of X, and brother of your sister. X here refers 

to the first-born son of the man addressed; if the latter has no children, X is 
the name of his father, as the first-born is expected to bear his grandfather's 
name. “You are the brother of your sister” is a proverb, and means “You are 
a good, energetic, and generous man.” 


2 Jeger JS. 


cpa * 
$e 


110 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


auspicious witnesses, be kind and mediate peace between both parties 
and let them leave this place as friends; I am ready to forego my 
wages.” If after discussion they do not come to a satisfactory result, 
he announces his decision. 


7. THE JUST AND FAULTLESS WITNESSES 


It is impossible to find perfectly just witnesses in murder cases, 
since the qualifications of such witnesses must be unattainably high. 
They must be blameless; they ought never to have desecrated the 
holy days, never to have laughed like Ham, that is to say, never tc 
have mocked their parents; they must never have been treated un- 
kindly as guests, and must never have been slandered. Since the 
judge is naturally not able to find such a character, he must search 
for an honest, fair-dealing, frank man and swear him in. 


8. SWEARING TO INNOCENCE OR GUILT 


One must take oath in front of the door of a church or in the 
niche of a mosque. Besides the man who swears, five other men 
must confirm the oath. The accuser may select the one to swear 
from the suspected family, one who must not be removed more 
than five generations from the family in question. As soon as the 
one who swears reaches the door of the church or the niche of the — 
mosque, he calls upon the relatives of the murdered man and says: 


“Come and take your rights.” They ask him if he is ready to swear. | 


and they ask also where the five persons are who have to confirm 
the oath. At once the required five appear. Before the oath he 
asks for a guarantor to protect him from his enemies after he has 
sworn and been declared guiltless. A guarantor is granted, and if 
then the rights of the swearer are not preserved, it is considered 
as perfidy. 

If the swearer is declared free, he must pay the aquittal sum, 
which is 999 piastres. He must swear three times and each time 
he pays 333 piastres. If the confesses to the commission of the 
crime, he must pay the ransom. If he is acquitted without swearing, 
he must pay 999 piastres, and invite all present to a meal. 


HADDAD: Blood Revenge among the Arabs 111 


9. THE OATH! 


If the murder has taken place in a Christian community, the oath 
is taken in a church, and if in a Moslem community, in a mosque. 
The literal meaning of the oath is: “By God the Mighty, the Avenger, 
the Powerful, Creator of day and night, I have not made his children 
orphans, and I have not cut his skin or made his wife a widow.” 


10. THE BRANDING OR ORDEAL? 


If a murder or the defloration of a girl should take place without 
the detection of the culprit, the suspected man and the accusers 
agree in the presence of honourable men to go to the “licker”, and 
cause the offender to “lick”. Each party has to pay 100 mejidis. 
The wages of the honourable man who accompanies them to the 
licker is five pounds. His task is to be witness of what he sees 
while at the licker’s. Lickers are very rare. ‘Today there is one in 
Upper Egypt, another is east of Madabaé. The suspected person 
must lick a red-hot coffee-roaster, given him by the licker. If signs 
of burning are seen on his lips or tongue he is then considered 
guilty. ‘The licker says to him: “May God help you to bear your 
load”. If his mouth after licking the roaster is still not burnt, the 
licker says to him: “You are clean and guiltless”. If the accused 
one is acquitted, the accuser must pay the licker 100 mejidis and 
give 5 pounds to the accused and vice versa. After returning home 
they begin to negotiate for reconciliation. 


11. THE MURDER OF A WOMAN 


The rights of a woman are exactly the same as those of a man 
with the exception that the ransom is only half of that of a 
man. If a man is killed because he has maltreated or has assaulted 
a woman, the relatives of the murdered man have no right to ask 


_ for blood-money, no matter how many of them may be killed by the 


relatives of the dishonoured woman. 
2 δια δν in Βασαν! bisve Vol. 1, p. 96 we read: dclinsy lade adio acy 
wtall sl opi Bets dads Aedadg... Ball pri... dll... Lady ple 


112 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


12. THE ATTITUDE OF THE GOVERNMENT TOWARD ~ 
MURDER 


The Government may interfere and make a fair decision, nevertheless 
a real reconciliation between the two parties can not take place as 
long as the customs of the people are not satisfied. 


13. PROTECTION OF THE M URDERER BY THE 
MURDERER’S FAMILY 


The following is still the practice of the Bedu. If the murderer 
asks for protection from the father or the nearest relatives of the 
murdered person, as soon as he ties the end of his keffiye (head- 
covering) and puts his hand in his belt without being previously 
observed, and says: “I ask you to protect me,” he is at once safe 
and the protector accompanies him to the boundary of his tribe and 
tells him: “Escape for your life and know that as soon as I see you 
again I will kill you.” 


THE EDOMITE LANGUAGE 


ELIEZER BEN YEHUDAH 
(JERUSALEM) 


T has hitherto been assumed that our knowledge of the Edomite 

language is confined to a few names of persons and places; and 
though it may be assumed that, like Moabitic, it was closely akin 
- to Hebrew, the discovery of some inscription is necessary to throw 
further light on the question. The object of this paper is to suggest 
that we already possess what is at least as good as an inscription 
—nearly two whole chapters of the Bible written throughout in the 
Edomite dialect, viz. Proverbs 301 to 319. 

Ch. 31 begins: 18 IND? Ws ΝΟ 59 Osid “D5 usually translated: 
The words of king Lemuel: the oracle, SW, which his mother taught 
him. Early writers saw in Massa a word which is elsewhere used 
in the sense of prophetic utterance. But an early Jewish scholar, 
Malbim, already felt that Massa was really the name of a place; and 
this idea has been revived by modern scholars and now finds a place 


ἢ in the RVmg.: The words of Lemuel, king of Massa. This inter- 


pretation finds support from Gen. 2514, which points to the fact 
that Massa was a place occupied by tribes descenced from Ishmael: 
The sons of Ishmael... Mishma and Duma and Massa... Tema... 
and Kedema... These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their 


— names by their villages and by their encampments. 


Furthermore these chapters are specimens of eastern wisdom; and 
we know from such passages as Jer. 497 (15 wisdom no more in 
Teman? Is counsel perished from the prudent? Is their wisdom van- 
ished?) and Ob. 8 (Shall I not, in that day, destroy the wise men out 
- of Edom...and thy wise men, O Teman, shall be dismayed!) that 
_ Edom had a reputation for wisdom; and it is specially pointed out 
that the wisdom of Solomon (1 Kings 430) exceeded that of the 


children of the East. 
8 


114 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


But if these verses of Proverbs are written in a non-Judaean 
dialect of Hebrew peculiar to the Edomite speech as used in Massa, 
we shall expect traces of this in vocabulary and perhaps also in syn- 
tax. And we do find features which lend support to the hypothesis. 

In the first few verses of ch. 31 are several passages which have 
always proved difficulties to those who would interpret them solely | 
in the light of the Hebrew vocabulary and syntax as we know it from 
the Hebrew books of the Bible. The second verse runs: ΠῚ 3 7% 
973 13 HH) ὍΣ 72 of which our English version is: What, my son? 
and what, O son of my womb? and what, O son of my vows? The 
first point we notice is that the word for “son” is not the Hebrew 
word ben but bay; and this alone marks it out from the rest of bibli- 
cal Hebrew. The second point is the use of the word ma “what?” 
But the translation “what?” does not give good sense. The context - 
demands some such significance as “Listen!” “Take heed!” Such a 
meaning of ma exists in Arabic. 

There is a difficult word in vy. 3: Give not thy strength unto wo- 
men, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. But to that which 
destroyeth is a very far-fetched translation of lamhoth, and the 
parallelism is not good. It is better to point it l’mahoth, a plural 
noun meaning “delights,” “playthings,” “pastimes.” 

In y. 4 as a parallel to the phrase 7 minw> we get 12¥ 18. This 
év is an unknown word, and the Q’v7 τὲ “where?” gives no help. We 
want a verb synonymous with “drink.” So perhaps here we have an 
Edomite word with the meaning “drink up quickly” or the like. ΟἹ. 
the Arabic Cs “to drink up quickly.” 

In v.8 we have: Open thy mouth for the dumb AXon 132 5D 11 OS 
which is, literally, unto the cause of all those ready to pass away. 
This becomes less meaningless, and makes perfect parallelism, if we 
look away from Hebrew, and regard 98 not as a preposition but’ 


as a verb meaning “hasten,” like the Arabic (Jl; and connect Aon ἪΝ Ve 


with the Arabic root 3,5. The verse then reads: Open thy mouth 
for the dumb and speed the cause of the unfortunate. 

In the preceding chapter, in the words of Agur the son of Jakeh 
the “Massaite,” occur several strange, or, as the hypothesis’ would 
assume, peculiar Edomite words—j\n in the sense of the Hebrew 7 
“enough,” (v.15) and mt and p\p>s of unknown meaning (v.31). Inv.9 
we have: Lest I become poor and steal "ΙΒ. the name of my God. a 


BEN YEHUDAH: The Edomite Language 115 


Here YN seems not to have its usual meaning in Hebrew of “take 
hold of,” but rather “blaspheme,” “revile.” 
ἊΣ In vy. 33 the last member of the verse is hastily rejected by 
- modern scholars as a doublet: The pressing of milk brings forth 
butter, and the pressing of the nose (ἢ) brings forth blood, and the 
pressing of DDS brings forth strife. In Hebrew ΒΝ means nostrils, 
and so seems here merely to repeat the preceding clause. It is more 
suited to the context and the idea contained in the word 3% “strife” 
if we see in ODN a mispunctuation of an Edomite form of the word 
for mouth, such, e. g. as of%m. Compare the Aramaic and Arabic fum. 
The following are possible cases of Edomite syntactical peculiarities: 
Ch. 30 v. 2 runs:.W'S88 "DIS ID °D usually translated: Surely 1 am 
more brutish than any man. But this assumes a construction which 
does not exist elsewhere. It at once becomes simple if instead of 
mée=min, we see in it the Arabic negative ma: Surely I am a beast, 
ma ‘ish—not a man. 

A more pronounced case occurs in y. 32: Mist OS) Swann ndas oN 
ΠΡ 7. If we try to translate it in the customary way: Jf thou hast 
done foolishly in lifting thyself up, and if thou hast thought evil, hand 
to mouth!—it lacks the necessary parallelism, and also gives ΤΟΣ) a 
rendering which is unsupported. But by regarding 3 is Sw3nn2 as 
a peculiarity of Edomite syntax with the same function as the Ara- 
bic particle fa, and the Hebrew wa following a conditional clause, 
the syntax becomes easy and the sense good: Jf thou sink down, then 
raise thyself up: and if thou purpose evil, remain quiet. 

An objection to ascribing these chapters to an Edomite source 
may be lodged, in that the divine name of Yahweh, the God of the 
Hebrews, occurs (309). But we have nowhere else any evidence for 
saying that the Edomites used any other peculiar name for their 
deity, as, for example, did the Moabites in the case of Chemosh, or 
the Philistines in the case of Dagon, or the Ammonites in the case 
of Milcom. Josephus certainly mentions Koze as the name of an 
Edomite deity; but it is nowhere else referred to, and the inference 
is, that if there were a god of such a name, it was an inferior god, 


or one of recent adoption. 
There is, perhaps, another trace of the Edomite language in that 
puzzling fragment of Isaiah 21 11—12, “The Burden of Duma’, which 


the writer hopes to deal with another time. 
g* 


SOLOMON AND THE SHULAMITE 


C.-C. McCOWN 
(BERKELEY [CAL., U. S. A.]) 


N the early Christian apocryphon called the Testament of Solomon 

there is a collocation of Solomon and the Shulamite which to me 
is new. As it exhibits an interesting development in the Solomonic 
legend and seems also to involve a peculiar interpretation of the 
Song of Solomon, I present it here in the hope that others may be 
able to contribute some parallel from Arabic, Jewish, or early 
Christian folklore. 

The Testament of Solomon may be safely dated in the fourth cent- 
tury of our era. The author is a Christian exorcist who attempts to 
work up the demonological and magico-medical knowledge of his 
syncretistic environment into a practical vade mecum. His materials 
go back ultimately to Babylonia, Persia, Egypt, Palestine and the 
Greek world. The thread upon which these materials are strung is 
the story of Solomon’s use of the demons in building the Temple. 
The book closes with an account of the great king’s ignominious fall. 

Though I have sailed but little onthe sea of the Talmud and made 
but inconsequential excursions into the wilderness of Arabic litera- 
ture, I think I am safe in saying that the fall of Solomon in these 
literatures is usually ascribed to the great demon prince, Asmodaeus, 
who gets possession of the magic ring and usurps Solomon's place 
as a punishment for his presumption in trying to pry too far into 
the secrets of the universe. On the contrary, in Christian literature, 
his fall is usually ascribed to “woman-mania,” θηλυμανία, which leads 
to his building idol temples or to idol worship, and so to his loss . 
of the divine favour and his God-given power and knowledge. In this 
the Testament of Solomon agrees. The story is as follows: 

Ἔλαβον δὲ γυναῖκας ἀπὸ πάσης χώρας καὶ βασιλείας, ὧν οὐκ ἣν ἀριθμός. καὶ 


ΕΝ A a 3 
πορεύθην πρὸς τὸν Ἰεβουσαίων βασιλέα καὶ εἶδον γυναῖκα ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ. αὐτῶν 


McCOWN: Solomon and the Shulamite 117 


καὶ ἠγάπησα αὐτὴν σφόδρα, καὶ ἠθέλησα αὐτὴν μίξαι σὺν ταῖς γυναιξί μου. καὶ 
εἶπον πρὸς τοὺς ἱερεῖς αὐτῶν: “δότε μοι τὴν Σουναμίτην ταύτην. ὅτι ἠγάπησα 
αὐτὴν σφόδρα." καὶ εἶπον πρός pe “εἰ ἠγάπησας τὴν θυγατέρα ἡμῶν, προσκύνησον 
τοὺς θεοὺς ἡμῶν, τὸν μέγαν ἹΡαφὰν καὶ Μολόχ, καὶ λάβε αὐτήν." ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ 
ἠθέλησα προσκυνῆσαι, ἀλλ᾽ εἶπον αὐτοῖς" “ἐγὼ οὐ προσκυνῶ θεῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ." αὐτοὶ δὲ 
παρεβιάσοντο τὴν παρθένον λέγοντες ὅτι “ἐὰν γένηταί σοι εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν 
Σολομῶντος, εἰπὲ αὐτῷ: “ov κοιμηθήσομαι μετά σου ἐὰν μὴ ὁμοιωθῆς τῷ λαῷ μου, 
καὶ λάβε ἀκρίδας πέντε καὶ σφάξαι αὐτὰς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα Ῥαφὰν καὶ MoAdy.” ἐγὼ 
δὲ διὰ τὸ ἀγαπᾶν με τὴν κόρην ὡς ὡραίαν οὖσαν πάνυ, καὶ ὡς ἀσύνετος ἢ οὐδὲν 
ἐνόμισα τῶν ἀκρίδων τὸ αἷμα καὶ ἔλαβον αὐτὰς ὑπὸ τὰς χεῖράς μου καὶ ἔθυσα 
εἰς τὸ ὄνομα Ῥαφὰν καὶ Μολὸχ τοῖς εἰδώλοις, καὶ ἔλαβα τὴν παρθένον εἰς τὸν 
οἶκον τῆς βασιλείας μου. 

Καὶ ἀπήρθη τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ, καὶ ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνης τῆς ἡμέρας ἐγένετο 
ὡς λῆρος τὰ ῥήματά μου. καὶ ἠνάγκασέ με οἰκονομῆσαι ναοὺς τῶν εἰδώλων. κἀγὼ 
οὖν ὁ δύστηνος ἐποίησα τὴν συμβουλὴν αὐτῆς καὶ τελείως ἀπέστη ἡ δόξα τοῦ 
θεοῦ ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη τὸ πνεῦμά μου, καὶ ἐγενόμην γέλως τοῖς εἰδώλοις 
καὶ δαίμοσιν.1 

One may translate as follows: “And I took wives from every coun- 
try and kingdom, of whom there was no number. And I went to the 
king of the Jebusites and I saw a woman in their kmgdom and 1 
fell exceedingly in love with her and wished to include her among 
my wives. And 1 said to their priests, “Give me this Shunamite, for 
I have fallen exceedingly in love with her.” And they said to me, 
“If you have fallen in love with our daughter, worship our gods, the 
great Raphan and Moloch and take her.” And I was not willing to 
worship, but said to them, “I will not worship a strange god.” But 
they laid injunctions upon the maiden, saying, “If it should be your 
lot to enter into the palace of Solomon, say to him, ‘I will not sleep 
with you, unless you become like my people; so take five locusts 
and sacrifice them to the name of Raphan and Moloch’.” And because 
I loved the maid as being very beautiful and because I was without 
understanding, I did not consider the blood of the locusts but took 
them in my hands and offered them to the name of Raphan and 
Moloch, the idols, and I took the maiden into my royal house. 

And the spirit of God departed from me and from that day my 
words became like an empty sound, and she forced me to build temples 


1 See the writer’s Testament of Solomon (Hinrichs, 1921), c. 26. 


118 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


of the idols. And wretched being that I was, I did her will and the 
glory of God departed from me completely and my spinit was darkened 
und I became ἃ joke to the idols and demons.” 

One recension of the Vestament has a slightly different version 
of the story, in which Solomon first promises the maiden to do her 
will, and then she prepares the trap for him.! In this form the story 
is closely paralleled in Kebra Nagast.2 Here it is Pharaoh’s daughter 
who seduces the king. She wishes him to worship her idols. On his 
refusing, she coaxes him until he promises on oath that he will do 
what she wishes. Then she fastens a thread across the middle of {πθ΄ 
door of the temple of her idols, brings three locusts, puts them in 
the temple, and says to him, “Come to me without breaking the 
woollen thread, by bending under it, kill the locusts before me, and 
twist their necks.” When he has done so, she says, “From now on 
I will do thy will, since thou hast made offering to my gods and 
hast prayed to them.” The writer of the work exhibits the same 
apologetic attitude as the Testament explaining that Solomon did 
this to avoid perjuring himself, though he knew it was wrong to enter 
the idol temple.? : 

The figure of the fair seducer is a motif common enough in folklore. 
Jeremias suggests as parallels Ishtar and Gilgamesh, Herakles and 
Dejanira, Samson and Delila, and David and Michal.4 Many a 
Tannhiiuser has had his Venusberg. 

The first point of interest in the legend of Solomon’s fall as told 
in the Testament is that it agrees with the usual early Christian 
tradition in ascribing the wise king’s overthrow to his inordinate 
fondness for women, and in leaving him to die in the darkness of 


1 Recension B, manuscripts PQ; see critical apparatus to sec. 3, ch. 26. 

2 Prof. Dr. Carl Bezold, Kebra Nagast, Die Herrlichkeit der Kinige, etc. ὁ. 64, 
in Abh. ἃ. philos.-philol. Klasse «ἃ. kinigl. bayer. Akad. d. Wiss. 23 Bd., 1 Abt., 
Miinchen 1905, p. 60 f. 

3 Georg Salzberger, Die Salomosage in der semitischen Literatur: ein Beitrag 
zur vergleichenden Sagenkunde. 1 Teil: Salomo bis zur Hihe seines Ruhmes. (Diss. 
Heidelberg) Berlin 1907, p. 96, says the same story is Found in Kisa’i: If the 
second part of Salzbergers work has appeared, in which he promised to discuss 
this matter, I have missed it. Dr. W. F. Albright informs me that Tha abi, 
Qisas al’anbid’ (Cairo ed.) 224—227 has the story of Solomon’s loss of his ring, 
a punishment for allowing Jarada, daughter of Sidon, one of his wives, to worship 
her father’s statue. Curiously Jarada means “locust.” 

4 Das Alte Test. im Lichte d. Alt. Orients, 3. ed. 1916, p. 434, n. 1. 


McCOWN : Solomon and the Shulamite 119 


this eclipse of the divine favour; while Asmodaeus plays quite a different 
roll as a great demon prince, but not the chief of demons. Beelze- 
boul, as in the New Testament, is ἄρχων πάντων τῶν δαιμόνων. Solomon’s 
undue amorousness is ascribed to the incitement of other demons.! 
The Testament, therefore, as Kohler in the Jewish Encyclopedia says,” 
represents pre-Talmudic demonology and also a pre-Talmudic stand- 
point in the development of the Solomonic legend. 

In one direction, however, it exhibits a development beyond pre- 
Talmudic times — and this is the second point of interest — in that 
it ascribes Solomon’s fall to “the Shunamite.” Who can this Shuna- 
mite be and where does that legend attach itself to the biblical 
accounts of Solomon? 

Two Shunamites appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, (1) Abishag 
the Shunamite of 1 Kings, the most beautiful maiden in all David’s 
domains, and (2) the friend of Elisha in 2 Kings 4 36; there is in 
the third place the Shulamite of the Song of Songs. The friend of 
Elisha is out of the question and the writer of the Testament must 
have in mind one of the two others, either Abishag or the Shulamite 
of the Song of Songs, as the cause of the king’s sin and_ fall. 
Differences in the form of the name do not enter into the question. 
According to all our trustworthy sources, there was in antiquity one 
Sunem, which is to be identified with the modern Solem or Sulem, 
a short distance east of El Fuleh at the foot of Jebel ed-Duhy, or 
Little Hermon.? Eusebius and Jerome both locate it quite explicitly 
in this same spot.4 They also derive Elisha’s benefactress from 
Sanim in Akrabattine, nine milestones east of Sebaste, but this is 
evidently due to a mistaken desire to account for some of the 
variations of spelling. Such a location is extremely unlikely, for it 
is in a desolate region off the line of Elisha’s usual movements, 
and the derivation is phonetically impossible. On the other hand the 


1 Wavy, Test. Sol. c. viii 9, Kaxtorn, c. vili II. It is to be noted that the Hol- 
kham Hall MS, usually the more original, with the Jerusalem MS after ascribing 
Solomon’s death to the demons, quite inconsistently allows him to die in peace 
in his palace. This conclusion of the Testament in apparently original. 

2 Vol. IV, p. 518. 

3 Conder and Kitchener, Survey of Western Palestine, Mem. 11 87. 

4 Lagarde, Onomast. sacra 294—56 f., 152—16. 

5 Robinson, Biblical Researches, Boston 1874, vol. 11, pp. 324 f., Lagarde, 
op. cit. 295—86, 153--18, and 87—28, 214—64, 


120 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


various forms of the word, Σονμανίτες and Σουναμίτις in the Testament, 
MMW, Σωμανεῖτις, Σουμανίτης in the Book of Kings, nd w, Σουλαμίτις, 
Σουμανεῦτις in the Song of Songs, and Σουλαβέίτις in some of the Fathers! 
are all derived by natural phonetic changes or possibly sometimes 
by scribal error from O33, now Solam, which appears in the Septu- 
agint manuscripts as Σώμαν, Σίωναμ, Σίωμαμ. 

Has our tradition Abishag the Shunamite of 1 fae or the Shu- 
lamite of the Song of Songs in mind? Abishag was the unwitting 
cause of the death of Adoniah, according to the account in the 
Book of Kings and it would seem to be implied that Solomon took 
her to wife. But she was already in the royal harem before Solomon 
come to the throne and she is almost certainly an Israelite, not a 
worshipper of Raphan and Moloch. It seems impossible to suppose 
that any legend could fasten upon her as the cause of Solomon’s fall 
into idolatry. The réle she plays is quite different. 

As has been suggested by Budde and those who accept his inter- 
pretation of the Song of Songs as a cycle of marriage songs such as 
are still sung in this land, the fame of the beauty of Abishag the 
Shunamite, coupled with the romance of Adonijah’s love for her and 
his death on that account, persisted down through the centuries and 
led to her being taken as the unapproachable type of womanly 
beauty just as Solomon became the paragon of manly excellence and 
glory. She therefore appears in the Song of Songs as bride, while 
Solomon is the bridegroom. Shunamite stands, then, for the most 
beautiful woman in the world.? 

When, in the Testament, Solomon says, “Give me this Shunamite,” 
he means, ‘Give me this most beautiful woman.’ The story in the 
Testament becomes, then, a confirmation of Budde’s theory, an exam- 
ple of the usage he claims for the Song of Songs, which is otherwise, 
I think, without parallel. This far one can go without hesitation. 

It is possible that this brief sentence in the Testament witnesses 
to an interpretation of the Song of Songs which was held by those 
who opposed its admission into the Canon of the Hebrew Scriptures. 
It is well known that it was only because the Song was interpreted 
allegorically of the love of God for his people that the book was 


1 For example, Migne, Patrol. Graeca 17, 280, from a Vatican Catena. 


2 See the commentaries of Siegfried (Handkommentar) and Budde, (Kurzer 
Handkommentar), ad Cant. 7 1. 


McCOWN: Solomon and the Shulamite eed 


finally given the imprimatur of the rabbinical councils.!| This same 
interpretation, usually altered to make Solomon a representative of 
Christ and the beloved maiden a type of the Church, was then adopted 
by the Christian exegetes and has persisted until the present. 

Both the Song of Songs and the Testament of Solomon are more 
easily understood, however, if we may suppose that there was current 
a legend or cycle of legends describing Solomon’s love affairs. One 
may be justified in supposing that some of the unintelligible allusions 
in the Song of Songs would be explaimed if we had these legends 
before us and that others may possibly be due to the excision or 
modification of allusions which were unacceptable to a rigid monotheism. 
If this may seem to be going too far, it at least is within the range 
of probability that the Testament reflects an interpretation of the Song 
of Solomon which took it to describe his θηλυμανία and regarded the 
maiden whose ravishing beauty is so sensuously described as the 
cause of his downfall. Such a conception of the book was naturaliy 
repressed by the constituted authorities and could be preserved only 
in books like the Testament, which never received ecclesiastical 
approval but circulated among the less instructed along by and for- 
bidden paths, 


1 See Siegfried, op. cit., p. 188, Budde, op. cit., p. IXf. 


NOTES OF LOCALITY IN THE PSALTER 


JOHN P. PETERS 
(SEWANEE, [TENN., U. 8. A.]) 


HAT I have to say needs, in order to make it intelligible, to 
be prefaced by a brief statement of the origin and composition 
of the Psalter as I understand it. | 
Psalms 3—41 were the first Psalm book of the Jerusalem Temple. 
Psalms 51—71 were in origin the Psalm book of the great Israelite 
temple at Shechem, the lineal ancestor of the Samaritan temple on 
Mt. Gerizim, as the original Deuteronomy was the law book of that 
temple. With the destruction of Samaria and the kingdom of Israel 
in the last quarter of the 8 century these writings were transported 
to Jerusalem and were instrumental in producing first the renaissance, 
then the reformation there, precisely as the transportation of scholars 
and books from the East to the West brought about first the Re- 
naissance, then the Reformation in central and western Europe after | 
the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A. D. Out of the original Shechem- 
ite Deuteronomy was developed the Judaean law book, Deuteronomy, 
and out of the Shechemite Psalter a second Davidic Psalter, 1. 6. 
Psalter of the Jerusalem temple, which, I take it, is the meaning of 
the Psalm title “of David.” These two Davidic Psalters were formed 
into one whole, framed by two new hymns, Psalms 2 and 72, and the 
double collection thus formed was entitled “Prayers of David Son of 
Jesse,” so that the colophon at the close of Psalm 72 reads “The 
Prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.” 
To this Jerusalem Psalter were added, but not incorporated in it, 
Psalms from the temple at Dan, and Psalms from the Temple at 


Bethel, the Psalms of the sons of Korah and the Psalms of Asaph, an 


42—49, 50 and 73—83, and 84-89. (By an early dislocation a part 
of these Psalms, 42- 80, was inserted between the two parts of the 
great Davidic Psalter.) These Psalms, 2—89 (Psalm 1 is of later 


PETERS: Notes of Locality in the Psalter 123 


origin, a preface to the entire Psalter), constituted the Psalter of the 
pre-exilic period, the first three books of our present Psalter; later 


‘subjected, like the legal and prophetic books, to considerable editing, 


Post-exilic psalmody is very different in character. Among other 
things, while the Psalms of the pre-exilic Psalter were regularly single, 


- one Psalm constituting a liturgy, in the post-exilic period liturgies 


were framed consisting of a number of Psalms. This was due to the 
new requirements of Temple worship. The Temple at Jerusalem had 
become the one centre of worship for Jews not only in Judaea but 
throughout the world. The number of worshippers assembling at Jer- 
usalem for the great feasts was enormous and the number of sacri- 
fices offered at these feasts was proportional. The liturgies to be used 
on such occasions had to be increased accordingly , and so the new 
liturgies of that period are in general groups of Psalms, five or more 
in number, sometimes indicated as such by the title prefixed to the 
first Psalm of the group only. The first of these groups is the Prayer 
of Moses, 90—99, like the commandments of Moses a decalogue, 
divided into two pentads. Like the Korah and Asaph Psalms this 
liturgical group retained an identity of its own as to title, not being 
designated as “of David,” 7. e. stamped with the hall mark of the 
Jerusalem temple. Psalms 103-107, headed “of David,” constitute 
a liturgy of five Psalms very clearly marked for use at one of the 
great pilgrim feasts. Psalms 111118 constitute the hallel, and were 
evidently brought together to form one liturgy. Similarly 145—150 
constitute one liturgy; or perhaps better 146—150 constitute the 
liturgy, in five parts, [prefaced by a sort of introduction, 145. We 
have also two collections and one very long acrostic in the latter books, 
which were often, if not generally used together, viz. that great acrostic 
praise of the Law, Psalm 119, consisting of twinty-two Psalms of eight 
verses each; the Songs of Degrees, 120—134, a collection primarily 


of pilgrim songs, composed for and sung by pilgrims from Babylonia 
to Jerusalem; and the little Davidic Psalter, 138—144. Incidentally 


it may be added that at the time of the Chronicler the Psalter ended 
with Psalm 134, the close of the Songs of Degrees. Later there 
was a sort of gleaning which gathered in among other things this 
little collection of old hymns, Psalms 138—144. 

Some of these collections have very strongly marked notes of 
locality. This is peculiarly true of the Psalms of the sons of Korah, 


124 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


i. e. The Psalms of Dan, as I tried to point out in a former paper. ! 
The first Davidic Psalter has also a marked individuality in this 
regard. ΤῸ a very considerable extent it is a collection of battle 
liturgies, belonging to the militant period of Judaean history. It 
must be remembered that ancient Jerusalem was a very strong, al- 
most impregnable fortress. It was largely for this reason that David 
chose it as his capital. Its reputation as an impregnable stronghold 
at that time is shown by the mocking reply of the Jebusites, when 
he called upon them to surrender, that “the blind and the lame” 
could defend their fortress against him (2 Sam. 5, 6). That fortress 
lay on a narrow ridge of rock with almost precipitous sides, provided 
with a sufficient supply of living water from the Mary fountain by 
means of a tunnel and a shaft, through the failure of the Jebusites 
to guard which David won the city. He and his successors enlarged 
and strengthened the city, which became a series of strongholds, one 
of which was the Temple. Most ancient temples were also strong- 
holds, but this was peculiarly true of the Zion of Jerusalem. Reso- 
lutely defended it was impregnable. The country might be overrun 
and devastated, but Zion and David’s city could hold out indefinitely. 
The Temple safe, the invader could not maintain himself. Unable 
to obtain water he would soon be compelled to withdraw. So in 
Hezekiah’s time Sennacherib’s great army, although it overran and 
devastated the land, was obliged to retire from Jerusalem. Hence 
it was that the inviolability of the Temple, protected by the presence 
of Yahweh, became a doctrine, as in the prophecies of Isaiah. The 
invincibility of Zion and of Yahweh were identified, and trust in 
Zion and trust in Yahweh became one. These peculiar local condi- 
tions are reflected in a number of Psalms of the first Jerusalem 
Psalter, as 7, 11, 12, 14, 17, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32. Several of these are 
in fact siege Psalms, liturgies designed to be used in the Temple to 
obtain divine help when the country was overrun and the city 
threatened or beleaguered. The opening verse of Psalm 11, designated 
by its caption “In the Lord have I trusted,” is: 
How say ye to me: 
Flee to your hill like a bird? 

which is very much what Sennacherib in his inscriptions says of the 
Jews shut up by him in J erusalem. 


1 See Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, Vol. 1, p. 36. 


PETERS: Notes of Locality in the Psalter 125 


Psalm 27 pictures vividly the conditions of siege in Jerusalem, 
with Yahweh as the invincible fortress who shall defend His people: 


The Lord my light and my salvation, whom have I to fear? 
The Lord the fortress of my life, whom have I to dread? 


When the wicked pressed upon me to eat me up, 

My foemen and mine enemies, they stumbled and fell. 
Though there camp an host against me, my heart feareth not; 
Though there rise up war against me, I still will trust. 


One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I entreat: 

To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, 

To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in His Temple; 
For He hideth me in His covert in the days of trouble, 

In His secret tent He covereth me, He setteth me on a rock. 


And now mine head is lifted above mine enemies around me, 
And I would offer in His tent offerings with a shout, 
I would sing and make music to the Lord. 
Imagine that being sung in the Temple in proud coniidence of 
deliverance by the strength of Yahweh and His stronghold from the 
foes that rage in vain below the walls! 
Note how in Ps, 288 Yahweh is called: 


The strength of His people, 
ee ihe stronghold of the victories of His anointed. 


In Ps. 30 we have: 
Thou, Lord, of Thy goodness hast made my hill so strong. 


In Ps. 31 the appeal is for rescue “from the hands of my foes and 
from my pursuers”, and the suppliant king is made to say: 


Be to me a strong rock, 
A house of defence to save me; 
For my crag and my defence art Thou; 


and then, in the Thanksgiving with which the Psalm closes: 


Blessed be the Lord, for marvellous His love to me in a strong city. 
And I—TI said in mine alarm: I am cut off from before Thee. 


It ends with the confident cry: 


Be strong and let your heart be brave, 
All ye who wait upon the Lord. 


In Psalm 32 the invasion is described as a flood of great waters, 
the same figure used of the Assyrian invasion in Is. 8 τῇ, 


126 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Therefore all the godly pray to Thee at the time of acceptance (of sacrifice); 
In the flood the great waters do not come nigh him. 

Thou art my hiding place, from trouble Thou guardest me; 

“God of my song deliver me from them that surround me; 


with the triumph cry of deliverance at the close: 


Great plagues beiall the godless; 

Who trusteth in the Lord mercy surroundeth him. 
Be glad in the Lord, and exult, ye righteous. 
Shout merrily all ye upright of heart. 


One may well imagine this to have been a liturgy used at the 
time of the great deliverance under Hezekiah. pone 

But not only in these siege Psalms do we find this note of confidence 
in the great strength of Yahweh in His Zion fortress; it appears 
also in such Temple hymns as 5 and 23, and is a characteristic 
feature of this Psalm book as a whole, marking it off in local refer- 
ence from all other collections in the Psalter. 

The Asaph Psalms 50, 73—-83, are characterised as Israelitic by 
the use of Elohim instead of Yahweh. The repeated use of Joseph, 
Ephraim and Manasseh indicates a Samaritan origin. To these tribal 
names is added in Psalm 80 Benjamin, suggesting Bethel as that 
Samaritan shrine which by its proximity had a relation to Benjamin 
as well as Ephraim and Manasseh, a-relation brought out in the 
strange story of the war with Benjamin in Jud. 20—21, where, incident- 
ally, the Ark is mentioned as housed there (cf. Jud. 20 25—28, 21 
2—4, 19). The relation of these Psalms to Bethel is further con- 
firmed by the frequent use in them of the title God of Jacob, and of 
El as the designation of the Divinity, a designation never used in the 
kindred collection of the Sons of Korah, from the temple of Dan, 

and rarely elsewhere. Further confirmation of their Bethel origin is 
found in their fondness for entitling God a rock or stone. Now 
Bethel was a great nature shrine connected primarily with stone or 
rock worship. Its sanctity was derived originally from a striking 
natural phenomenon, a field of huge stone pillars, the result of erosion. 
These stood on a sort of shelf above the village of Beitin northward. 
They looked like gigantic heaps of memorial or testimony, stones piled one 
on top of another as a memorial or testimony to God or some saint, 
such as one sees all over Palestine and Syria. Only the stone heaps at 
Bethel were colossal, produced by natural causes, such as no ordinary 
man could erect. Hence they were attributed to the mighty ancestor, 
Jacob (cf. Gen 28 10-22). Above this stone field the hill rises to a 


PETERS: Notes of Locality in the Psalter 197 


crest or ridge, which separates the more plateau—like mountain in the 
south from the broken mountain—country northward. This crest gains 
from its position, as one approaches from the south, an effect of height 
quite out of proportion to its actual elevation, everything seeming to 
ascend to it from far south of Jerusalem northward. This crest, rising just 
above Jacob’s pillars, was the “ladder” (05D), (a word properly meaning 
promontory, like the famous “ladder of Tyre” on the Phoenician coast,) 
which Jacob saw connecting earth and heaven. When the Israel- 
ites conquered the country they took over both Jacob and his ancient 
shrine, identifying Jacob with Israel, and converting Luz into Bethel. 

I have described this site as I knew it before the war. During 
the war a road was run through the field of stone pillars, and the 
pillars themselves were broken up to make macadam. The road and 
the line of approach have altered also the effect formerly produced 
by the ridge itself. If one will look, however, from some such point 
. as Nebi Samwil the Bethel ridge still appears as a crest to which 
all the land southward seems to rise, as it were a ladder heavenward. 

The Shechem Psalm book (51—71) does not contain such marked 
local references as the three collections already noticed. Its connection 
with Shechem is determined mainly by other considerations. Ps. 60, 
however, contains a clear note of Shechemite origin: 

Exulting I divide Shechem, 
And mete out the valley of Succoth; 


Mine is Gilead and mine Manasseh, 
And Ephraim the defence of my head. 


The verse in Ps. 68. “It snoweth in Zaimon” would also seem to 
indicate the neighborhood of Shechem (cf. Jud. 9 48); and the beaut- 
iful description of the harvest in Ps. 65 would best fit that region: 


Thou didst visit the land and water it, 

Greatly Thou enrichest it 

(God’s river is full of water); 

Thou preparest their corn. 

For thus Thou preparest it, 

Her furrows watering, her ridges smoothing, 

With showers Thou softenest her, her sprouting Thou blessest. 
Thou hast crowned the year with Thy goodness, : 
And Thy chariot wheels drop fatness. 

Wilderness pastures run over, 

And the hills are girt with joy. 

The meadows are clad with flocks, 

And the valleys clothed with grain. 


128 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


In a similar direction point such phrases as “With marrow and fat- 
ness I am sated,’ in Ps. 53 (cf. the blessing of Joseph in Deut. 32). 

The local references in the post-exilic Psalter are quite different 
from those in the early books and deal chiefly with the pilgrims and 
the pilgrimages, showing incidentally also a larger connection with 
the outside world, including regions beyond the sea (cf. 107). Most 
vivid and most appealing to me are the references in the pilgrim 
hymn book or Songs of Ascent (120—134). I learned especially to 
know and love these when four times I made the pilgrim journey 
from Babylonia to Palestine, experiencing what those pilgrims experien- 
ced. Let me take a few of those Psalms to illustrate, and first Ps. 120. 

Unto the Lord in my distress I called, and He answered me. 

Lord, deliver me from the lying lip, from the deceitful tongue. 

What shall be given thee, and what be done more to thee, deceitful tongue? 

Arrows of the warrior sharpened with coals of broom? 

Woe is me that I journeyed through Meshech, abode among the tents of Kedar! 


Long time I dwelt with the hater of peace. 
When I would speak peace, they were for battle. 


It is the song of the pilgrim thankful for deliverance from the 
perils of the long journey from Babylonia through hostile and barbar- 
ous regions. How that journey was dreaded by peaceful travellers 
in the old time can be read in the book of Ezra (8 21-23), Ap- 
prehensive of perils along the route the great caravan halted at Hit. 
Anxious to show their trust in the Lord they would not ask for 
military escort; but instead turned to God with fasting and suppli- 
cation for protection. That represents the normal condition of 
Euphrates travel, with Meshech on the north and the tents of Kedar 
on the south, treacherous in their dealing with the stranger, with 
lying lips and deceitful tongues, and sharp arrows ready at hand, 
haters of peace, who may return your salam ‘aleikum with a volley. 
So I found the journey in my day: peacefal caravans, in mortal terror 
of the bedouin marauders, seeking to attach themselves to some strong, 
armed or escorted caravan, always apprehensive of attack, alarmed 
at the sight of an Arab encampment, only free from tension when 
the land of the Arab was past. Every one loves Ps. 121: 

I lift up mine eyes to the hills. 
Whence cometh my help? 


My help is from the Lord, 
Maker of heaven and earth. 


(oo Pe ΡΤ ee Uy ee 
eee fee Bi ts 


PETERS: Notes of Locality in the Psalter 129 


May He not suffer thy foot to be moved! 
He cannot slumber that keepeth thee! 
Behold, the keeper of Israel 

Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 


The Lord is. thy keeper, 

The Lord thy shade on thy right hand; 
The sun shall not hurt thee by day, 
Neither the moon by night. 


The Lord keep thee from all evil! 

He will keep thy life.. 

The Lord keep thy coming and thy going 
Henceforth and for ever! 


The relief and joy at the sight of the hills on this journey appeal 
to all who have made it. What must it have meant to those Jewish 
pilgrims! Danger past, the goal of the weary journey almost in sight, 


among those hills the holy city, the desire of their heart, the abode 


of their God, the source of their salvation! How vy. 3—8 quiver 
with the life of the march, the watch at night who falls asleep, the 
sun of midday with intolerable heat, and the bitter, bitter cold of 
the night when the moon seems to exude frigidity! Yahweh, Israel's 
unsleeping night watch, and his shelter from both heat and cold, to 
guard him against all the terrors and ills of the pilgrimage, to 


bring him safe to Jerusalem, and safe back again to his Babylonian 


home! 
Psalm 122 pictures the gathering of the pilgrims for the journey: 


Glad was I when they said to me, 
To the house of the Lord let us go, 


Psalm 123 is the cry of the Jew of the Captivity, despised, fed 
on contumely by those whom he in his heart despises, appealing to 
God for pity on this occasion of his visit to Jerusalem, and pro- 
claiming his fealty to Him in a language borrowed from the servile 
submission exacted of him in Babylonia. 


To Thee lft I up mine eyes, Ὁ Thou that dwellest in heaven. 
Behold, as the eyes of slaves to the hand of their masters, 

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, 

So our eyes are upon the Lord our God until He do pity us. 
Pity us, Lord, pityus! for we have been filled full with contempt; 
Fully have we been filled with the mocking of the arrogant, 


The contempt of the insolent. 
9 


130 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


And how beautifully Ps. 125 presents that vision of the holy city 
which met the pilgrim’s gaze at his journey’s end: Mt, Zion, immoy- 
able, abiding ever,— Jerusalem engirdled with hills. 

The Songs of Ascent are folk songs, of which we have also two 
specimens in the gleanings at the close of the Psalter: one in 
Psalm 137, “By the rivers of Babylon,’ and the other, which has 
been generally overlooked, in Ps. 144. I have said that the little 
Dayidic Psalter, 138—144, is ancient in origin. It was passed down 
unofficially for a long period, and as a result the text of this collec- 
tion is in worse shape than that of any other part of the Psalter. 
The best evidence of both these statements is furnished by the closing 
Psalm of the collection, 144. This is a composite Psalm, the first 
part, vv. 1—11, based primarily on the great Davidic Psalm of 
victory, 18, but with many additions and modifications; the second 
part, 12—14 (15 is the closing benediction), an ancient folk song of 


a very peculiar metre, of which there is but one other instance in | 


Hebrew literature, viz. Is. 3 1s—23, a Jerusalem street song, a Spottlied 
in mockery of female fashions, which Isaiah made the text of a sermon 
against the luxury of women. 

That passage reads as follows: 


Dw) ὩΣ ΠῚ DOI 
mdyam Anwm ΓΊΘΘΣΠ 
DWP) AVIS DSS 


ΝΠ ΝΣ Mmyaen ona wp wn 


minbyem ompyyom  nisdnoen 
oosom ooo oan 
(ee ) oom  mp‘ssn 


These verses consist of a string of nouns, the names of articles of — 


female dress and adornment, so strung together that we have in the 
three lines of the first verse three masculine plurals in im, three 
feminine plurals in oth, and two masculine plurals with a feminine 
between. In the third verse this arrangement is precisely reversed. 
(The last word of the last line has been lost.) These two verses 
are separated by a verse of one line, commencing and ending with 
_construct plurals, between which we have one masculine and one 
feminine. 


PETERS: Notes of Locality in the Psalter 131 


Vv. 12—14 of Ps. 144, as they have come down to us, read: 


ΠῚ" o> 23 153 Ws 
So msn ΓΊΞΩΠ mrp wn 
POs pe opp ods wi 
IMSIND Mal MESS ws 
ΣΟ wDids 
ISNINIT ANS PRI ARP PX) PAD PS 


As it stands the passage is quite unintelligible. By very slight 
transpositions and changes, indicated by the poetic form, and 
_ dropping the relative, Ws, which now connects this part of the 
Psalm with the preceding, we obtain a very intelligible poem of 
the same general form as that in Isaiah. 


om yss oot oyys> 335 
OMANI. ΓΊΣΘΠ ANID wns 


Cues ) ope ond iin 
AMS PRI ANS PRI PID ps 
Msn. Mss MOLD ysxy 
Te ina ptaimes Cae ττὶ ) ΞΟ ἸΌΝ 


This would translate: 


Our sons like plants waxed great in their youth, 
Our daughters comely, gaily clad in their homes. 
Our garners full, overflowing (from base to eave), 
No breakage, no leakage, no looting. 

Our flocks in thousands, in myriads in our fields, 
Our oxen (stalwart), heavy burdened in our streets. 

I have made, as will be seen, a slight change in the last word of 
the second line, following the suggestion of the last word of the line 
preceding. I have not been able to conjecture what les behind the 
unintelligible conglomeration of letters at the close of e. 3, to which 
I have given a sense rendering in English, from base to eave. I have 
resolved line 6, obtaining from it line 4 and the last word of line 6. 
One word is lacking in 6, which must evidently have meant some- 


thing like stalwart. 


THE USE OF ELLIPSIS IN “SECOND ISAIAH” 


DAVID YELLIN 
(JERUSALEM) 


iB poetry and oratory it is a normal thing to adopt some device 
to gain the attention of the hearer, to secure his interest, and, 
sometimes, to surprise him. Anything unexpected or out of the way 
which makes the hearer (or reader) think and puzzle out the meaning, 
serves both to attract him and to secure his co-operation. Such a 
device is the ellipsis where the orator or poet purposely leaves an 
expression incomplete, sure that the hearer will himself complete 
the idea in his own mind. The speaker stops short for a moment 
until the hearer discovers his intention, and then goes on with his 
discourse. This gives a certain piquancy to the narrative. In modern 
punctuation this device is indicated by a row of dots.... The device 
is found amongst the Arabs and, by writers on rhetoric (g..J\), it 
is known as slacsyY\, that is to say, the poet 15 content with giving 
part only of what he has to say, relying on the hearer to discover 
and complete for himself what is lacking. We find the same use in 
the Bible, especially in the latter part of Isaiah, chapters 40—66. 
It occurs in various forms; and by having this usage in mind we 
are able to explain correctly various passages where the interpretation 
would otherwise be difficult or forced. 


I 


In the Bible, as in all literature, we are accustomed to figurative 
expressions embodying the idea of extremes, whether of height, time 
or place, usually in the form “from something wnto something else.” 
Of this type are from the least to the greatest (Jer. 613; 3134), from 
the youngest to the eldest (Est. 313; Gen. 194), from everlasting to 


Oy 


YELLIN: The use of ellipsis in “Second Isaiah” 1159 


everlasting (Ps. 922; 10317), from the rising of the sun to the going 
down thereof (Mal. 111), from the one end of the heavens to the other 
(Deut. 4 32), from one end of the earth to the other (Deut.138; Jer. 
25 33), and the like. 

In such passages the writers in “Second Isaiah” are at times 
content to introduce but one half of the sentence, relying on the 
hearer himself to complete the thought in accordance with the pro- 
phet’s intention. 

1. In Is. 40 26 the Prophet describing the greatness of God says: 
Lift up your eyes and see, who hath created these? Who brings out 
their host by number; to them all he calis by name; Yas) DIS 22 
Wy 85 ws ΠΡ from the great in power and mighty in strength .... 
not a man is lacking. 

Jommentators are hard put to it to explain the latter section. 
Duhm interprets: “In the presence of God, who is great in power 
and mighty in strength, not even one of them is lacking’—but he 
feels the difficulty in the expression ἸῺ V7y3 and is hard pressed to 
prove its possibility. 

- Even more difficult is the explanation “because of the greatness 
of God’s power and the power of his might, not a man of them is 
lacking”. It is not easy to bring this idea into the words D318 39 
n> yas) in the absence of the pronoun referring to God (1m3, }3\s). 

It is better to regard the words ΠῚ yes) DS IW as referring 
to the stars with which the writer is dealing throughout the entire 
section. Then the meaning will be: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens 
and see. Who created all the myriads of stars? Behold this is God 
who brings them out by number, one by one, like soldiers attending 
a roll-call. He recognises everyone of them and summons him forth 
by name and all answer to their call; from the strongest (D8 375 
ΓΞ yoni) ... (here the listener completes the sense—even to the weakest) 
not one is missing.” 

The Prophet intentionally interrupts himself while mentioning the 
strong, leaving the completion, “even to the weakest,” to the imagi- 
nation of his hearer. In dilating on the majesty of God he refers 
in his comparison only to the strongest among the stars. 

2. Is. 447: And who as I can proclaim [i. 6. future events before 
they come to pass]? Let him declare it and set it in order before 
me, DAY DY ww since I appointed the ancient people ... 


134 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Here the speaker abbreviates and the listener realises that he 
must add mn on 4p) even to this day. The meaning is: “Who of 
all created beings, from the time that I created the people of old 
till the present day,—who of them can proclaim beforehand the 
things that will come to pass?” Or, the meaning may be: “Who 
like me can proclaim from the beginning the future things that will 
befall, from the time that I appointed an ancient nation—to the 
end of time?” 


3. Still more elliptical is Is. 4313: Yea, since the day... I am 
he. This corresponds to the passage (446) 7 am the first and I am 
the last. The full phrase would be: Yea, since the first day until 
eternity J am he. 


4. 4210: Sing to the Lord a new song; lis praise ΚΠ TSP from 
(one) end of the earth... and here the hearer is left to continue 
the thought yNT ΠῚ Ty even to the other end of the earth. 


5. Similarly in 5611: They all turn to their own way, each to his 
own gain; spr from the one extreme of them ... where the idea 
to be understood is: All of them, from the one extreme to the other 
(Ὁ. e, without any exception) turn every man to his own way and to his 
own private profit, and not one attends to the sheep of his pasture. 


Il 


Another form of ellipsis in these chapters is the omission of one 
of two opposing expressions, where the speaker relies on the hearer 
to grasp his intention by understanding the opposition which is in 
the speaker’s mind, 

6. Is. 4917: Thy children (or, according to one Hebrew codex and 
Vulgate, supported by LXX, Pua Thy builders) make haste ....: 
thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee. 
The verb shall go forth implies that the missing word is its opposite 
shall come in. Then the completed expression would be: “Thy children 
{or, better, thy builders) hasten to come in; while, on the contrary, 


thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from 
thee.” 


7. Is. 4919: For thy waste and thy desolate places, and thy land 


that hath been destroyed .... here the reader or hearer has to supply | 


YELLIN: The use of ellipsis in “Second Isaiah” 135 


some such expression as shall be built up; yet notwithstanding this, 
the Prophet continues: awiy “WN thow shalt be too strait for the 
inhabitants. 
᾿- ἘΠῚ 
Again, this elliptical device omits odd words or whole phrases, 
the speaker supposing that the hearer will understand by the help 
of the context. Bearing this in mind we can better explain the two 
following passages, the first of which, especially, is otherwise very 
difficult. 
8. Is. 41 2: (speaking of the victorious advance of Cyrus) \By> jm 
invp 433 wp> Ἰ3Π He makes his sword as dust, his bow as driven 
stubble. 

To compare the sword to dust gives no sense; while to compare 
the bow to driven stubble, when in the act of praising the deeds of 
the conqueror, gives even less. The present writer believes that 
before 1290 his sword, and \nwp his bow, certain words are intention- 
ally omitted and left to the imagination of the reader; e.g. he makes 
like dust 139" ὌΠ those slain by his sword; like driven stubble 
inwp 5 those who flee from his bow. And immediately after, he 
says of these: DATN he pursueth them. Thus the sense of the passage 
will be: “Those slain by his sword are as countless as the dust of 
the earth, and those who escape from his bow are as feeble as stubble 
blown by the wind.” , 

9. Is. 5113: And thou fearest all the day because of the fury of 
the oppressor when he makes ready .... to destroy. After j3\2 make 
ready, some such word as Inwp his bow is lacking. Cf. Ps. 7 13. 

10. Is. 6515: The Prophet speaks of those who forsake God who 
shall all bow down to the slaughter (v. 12), and he goes on to say: 
and ye shall leave your name for a curse unto mine elect: the Lord 
God shall slay thee: and he shall call his servants by another name. 

What is the meaning of The Lord God shall slay thee? Here we 
have only the beginning of the form of curse. When God’s elect 
shall wish to curse anyone, they will say: May the Lord God slay 
thee .... and the reader is expected to continue in his own mind 
as he slew these men, if ye do, or do not do, this particular thing. 

In Jer. 29 22 we find a precise parallel to this: And of them shall 
be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah that are im Babylon, 


136 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


saying, The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the 
king of Babylon roasted in the fire. Here we get the complete curse 
formula with the word δ saying before it, which the writer in 
Tsaiah, in accordance with his elliptical style, has omitted. 


IV 


Sometimes the ellipsis takes the form of omitting words which are 
similar in sound to a neighbour in the sentence: 

11. Is. 655: After speaking of the rebellious people that walk in a 
way that is not good (v. 2) it goes on to say ‘DN ywy ms these are 
smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burneth all the day. Here the 
meaning is: 758 5y because of these, My goeth up smoke in my 
nostrils, and a fire that burneth all the day. The two words 5y and 
my are omitted owing to their similarity in sound to 758 these. 

12. Is. 414: Who hath performed and done it wSVa NVI Sp 
proclaiming .... the generations from the beginning. After SP 
proclaiming, MNP events, occurrences is required: “proclaiming what 
has befallen and will befall the generations from the beginning of 
time.” And the meaning of the whole verse is: “Who hath performed 
and done all the things described in the preceding verses [the deeds 
of Cyrus]? Who is he that proclaimeth and declareth from the 
beginning all the fortunes of the generations before their coming to. 
pass? 1, the Lord.” 

13, Is. 4412: ἼΝΝ 2.2 won This is simply: The worker in iron, an 
axe, Where the meaning demands the addition of a similar sounding 
word: T3yo [Avy] win Sma win The worker in iron worked an ace. 

14. Is. 4412: Yea he is hungry ΤΣ y's) The preposition and pronoun 
9 to him is necessary, and his strength faileth, but it is omitted 
owing to the similar sounding 8} nof which follows: ΜΟῚ Ὁ ANY δ 
he drinketh not water and is faint. 


V 


Besides all that has been said above of the omission of nouns, 
verbs, and whole sentences, we also find in these chapters in various 
places the omission of the works 19 and 3 required by the context: 


YELLIN: The use of ellipsis in “Second Isaiah” 137 


REO a ΤΠ MIE 
ee ee 
ate 1 


15. Is.4015: Behold the nations are as a drop wm a bucket, and 
as the dust in the balance \awn3 are they accounted. Here, at the 
end, the word 19 to him must be added; that is, in his eyes they 
are accounted so. 

16. Is. 4419: (05) man sds nyt sh 

17. Is. 466: (19) HN AS 130" 

18. Is. 532: wpm 09) AND Nb 

19. Is. 6015: (J2) TY PSR) ASW ΠΩ) FAT Ann 

20. Is. 613: (12) INDNTD mA yoo 

21. Is. 4715: (03) Aye WS J Yn ID 

22. Is. 52 11: (13) Iyan OS NOD 

93, Is. 64 10: NIN (12) DoT Ws MINDM wwIP ms. 


LA MAISON D'ABRAHAM A HEBRON a 


F.-M. ABEL O. P. 


(JERUSALEM) 
Ἢ 
ES traditions secondaires qui sont venues se greffer au sanctuaire 
de la sépulture des Patriarches ἃ Hébron, telles que la déposition 9 


d’Adam et d’Eye, le transfert des ossements de Joseph et des autres 
fils de Jacob n’ont jamais été que des satellites autour de la mémoire 
du grand ancétre, Abraham qui a fini par donner son nom A la ville 
d’Hébron, aprés l’avoir attirée auprés de son tombeau. Ainsi fera 
Lazare ἃ Béthanie, lorsque son tombeau ou Lazariwm aura groupé 
ἃ son ombre les demeures de l’ancien village pour former la moderne 
el-‘Azariyeh. ; 

Encore fallait-il qu’Abraham jouit parmi ses descendants d'une | 
primauté telle que la sépulture commune fit désignée par son nom. 
Sa prédominance incontestée s’affirme par le fait du vocable d’ Abramiwm 
ou Abrahamium conféré au sanctuaire d’Hébron,! et qui suppose le al 
grec ᾿Αβράμιον retrouvé d’ailleurs dans une inscription du Haram-el- — Ἢ 
Khalil, vocable formé sur le théme courant des dérivés désignant ἘΣ | 
soit un tombeau (Herodiuwm, Lazarium), soit un temple (T'ychaion, a | 
Muarneion), soit une forteresse nommée d’apres son fondateur 
(Alexandrium, Hyrcanium). a . 

Abramium simposait d’autant plus dans la circonstance qu’il com- eh 
prenait ici non seulement la sépulture d’Abraham et son sanctuaire, — |} 
mais aussi la résidence et la citadelle en quelque sorte du Patriarche iq 
et de ses descendants, d’aprés un développement de la tradition a il. 
clairement indiqué ‘par le Livre des Jubilés et dont saint Jéréme 
lui-méme se fait le témoin. 


1 On trouve ce nom employé par les auteurs latins, Jérdme, Augustin, Eugip- 
pius, Pseudo-Eucher, Pierre Comestor etc. 


ten" 
pes 
Ξ 

» 

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ἄς 
35 
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ie 


Tay At ee Ges TIES 
HOE PMS ars ΡΣ ΙΗ ΤΑΙ ᾿ ᾧ 


easy as 


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6 
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τὸς 


ABEL: La maison d’Abraham ἃ Hebron 139 


I 


“Tl fut un temps ott Mambré parut perdre son autonomie pour se 
fondre avec Hébron en vertu d'une étroite compréhension de l’ex- 
pression «Macpélah en face de Mambré», vu qu’en réalité Macpélah 
se trouvait en face d’Hébron.! En fait, une Mambré distincte d’Hébron 
ne disparut jamais, puisque le Livre des Jubilés mentionne encore le 
premier séjour d’Abraham dans la montagne hébronienne «au chéne 
de Mambré qui est prés d’Hébron» conformément ἃ la tradition lo- 
-cale enregistrée par Joséphe (Antig. Jud., I, 104). Mais au second 
séjour qui débute par la mort de Sarah, la situation n’est plus la 
méme; Abraham vient camper en face d’Hébron qui est Qiriath- 
Arba‘, et acquiert le terrain de la caverne double situé vis ἃ vis 
d’Hébron.2, A nous en tenir ἃ ce document, grotte, champ et lieu 
de campement occupent un méme point du territoire et font ἃ la 
fois objet du contrat de vente. Désormais, Abraham habitera sur 
le terrain quil a acheté & deniers comptants, tout proche, sinon au 
dessus du tombeau de famille. Donec au séjour de Mambré a suc- 
cédé un séjour & Macpélah. 

Au cours de l’histoire de la descendance d’Abraham, les Jubilés, 
passant sous silence et Mambré et la tente du nomade, ne parlent 
plus que de la maison d’Abraham, de la tour d’Abraham, édifice 
avec portes et appartements. O’est la qu’Isaac prend logement quand 
il vient a Hébron, cest l& que séjournent Jacob et ses fils en visite 
chez Isaac et Rébecca, tandis qu’Esaii vit, loin de ses parents, au 


mont Séir. Par suite de la résignation des droits de l’ainé, la tour 


ou maison d’Abraham échoit en héritage ἃ Jacob qui en fait sa 
résidence ordinaire. Le but de cette fiction est évidemment de lé- 


-gitimer les prétentions des Juits, fils de Jacob, sur le sanctuaire et 


le territoire d’Hébron et de couper court & toute revendication des 


᾿ς Iduméens, fils d’Esaii. Projetant ensuite ἃ l’époque patriarcale les 


haines et les luttes des temps hasmonéens, la Petite Genése nous 
fait assister ἃ la campagne des Edomites contre Jacob et ses fils 
installés dans la forteresse d’Abraham. Lorsque les gens d’Hébron 


_! Sur cette question, on pourra consulter notre monographie sur Mambré dans 
les Conférences de Saint-Etienne, 1909—10, p. 145—218. 
2 CHARLES, The Book of Jubilees or the Little Genesis translated from the 


| editor’s ethiopic text, Ch. XIV, 10; XVI, 1; XIX, 1, 5. 


140 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


vont avertir le pére des Juifs de l’arrivée des ennemis, celui-ci est 
en train de célébrer, dans la tour, le deuil de Liah, ce qui n’était — 
point malaisé, si l’habitation renfermait la grotte sépulcrale. On 
ferme les portes de la tour et Jacob monte aux créneaux afin de 
parlementer avec Hsati. Celui-ci, persistant dans ses intentions 
hostiles, recoit de son frére une fleche qui l’abat. Aussitdt sur les 
quatre cétés de la forteresse, les fils de Jacob opérent une sortie ἃ 
la téte de quatre détachements et mettent la coalition en déroute.! 
Une fois Esaii enseveli sur la colline d’Adéra, Jacob revient dans 
sa maison. Il n’est pas sans importance de noter ici le changement 
qui fait de la maison d’Abraham la maison de Jacob, et nous permet 
de saisir Videntité de la domus Jacobi d’Ethérie et du castellum 
Aframa de Willibald. ? 

La littérature juive n’a pas manqué de broder sur le canevas de 
la mort d’Hsaii devant la maison d’Abraham. Bien qu'il efit cédé 
i Jacob tous ses droits sur la caverne double, le redoutable Edom 
se trouvait avec ses fils ἃ l’entrée de ladite caverne au moment ot 
Yon y apportait la dépouille de Jacob, pour s’opposer ἃ l’ensevellisse- 
ment. Une bagarre s’ensuivit au cours de laquelle Khousim, fils de 
Dan, fit sauter d’un coup d’épée la téte d’EHsati qui vint rouler pres 
du tombeau d’Isaac.3 Ce que l’on retiendra de cette évolution lé- 
gendaire, c’est le fondement qu’elle fournit pour établir une relation 


étroite entre la prétendue résidence d’Abraham et la nécropole ἢ 


patriarcale. 
ΤΙ 


Tl est entendu qu’Abraham n’a rien bati de semblable autour de 
sa cayerne, si l’on se tient aux sobres données du récit biblique; | 


a 


mais, faisant état du procédé qui consiste & composer l’histoire con- 
temporaine avec des noms et des circonstances empruntés ἃ l’anti- 
quité, on peut légitimement se demandes si dans l’esprit de l’auteur — 

des Jubilés cette résidence ne répondait pas ἃ quelque monument — 


1-Ch. XXIX, 19; XXXT δ; OORT Os XXIV, 12. ΘΟ: RAY Dies 
XXXVIII. : 

2 Le texte d’Ethérie conservé par Pierre Diacre décrit ainsi le Haram el-Khalil: 
domus Jacobi, wbi ecclesia sine tecto constructa est. GEYER, Itin. Hierosol., p. 110. 
Cf. Itin. Hieros. Soc. Or. Lat. I, p. 268. 

3 CHARLES, The Book of Jubilees, p. 220, note sur XXXVIII, 2 et 3. JOSEF 
BIN GORION, Die Sagen der Juden, Die XII Stimme, p. 65, 74, 209. 


ABEL: La maison d’Abraham ἃ Hébron 141 


réel existant a l’époque des Hasmonéens. Le terme original qui 
désignait habitation des Patriarches ἃ Macpélah est de nature ἃ 
nous mettre sur la voie. 

Jusqu’ici nous nous sommes contenté, pour ne pas interrompre 
Yanalyse du document par une digression philologique, d’user de la 
traduction éthiopienne répondant & «tour» ou «maison d’Abraham». 
Les fragments latins toutefois emploient constamment l’expression 
Baris Abraham,! ce qui suppose dans le texte grec dont ils dépendent: 
Βάρις “Αβραάμ. L’original sémitique, trés probablement hébreu, devait 
done avoir Birath-Abraham, hypothése pleinement confirmée par un 
fragment araméen d’une source du «Testament de Lévi» et du «Livre 
des Jubilés», Lévi raconte que, parti de Béthel avec Juda, ils vinrent 
loger ἃ la Birath-Abraham — om 38 ΓΔ — chez leur grand-pére 
Isaac, et c’est manifestement ἃ Hébron d’aprés le «Testament de 
Lévi IX, 5.2 

D’un usage assez répandu & la période post-exilique, le mot birah, 
auquel le grec donnait généralement un ¢quivalent dans βάρις, signifiait 
une habitation somptueuse dans le gofit perse, mais surtout une 
forteresse, un édifice crénelé assez garanti pour offrir, en ces temps 
troublés, une résidence, une retraite stire ἃ quelque personnage 
important.3 Par extension, -les Chroniques Vappliquent au palais de 
Dieu, c’est-a-dire ἃ l'ensemble des constructions du Temple de Jé- 
rusalem (1 Chron., 29119.) Le caractére ἃ la fois sacré et profane 
de la Birah d’Hébron, son plan quadrilatére, l’existence de ses portes 
et de ses créneaux, voila ce qui transpire du Livre des Jubilés. 
Regardée comme la résidence d’Abraham et la protection du sépulcre 
ancestral, elle est un objet de dispute entre Juifs et Iduméens. Si 
grande que l’on fasse la part de la fantaisie du conteur, il est diff- 
cile de lui refuser tout crédit en ce qui concerne la réalité de quelque 
construction telle qu’une enceinte sacrée autour de la caverne double, 
ἃ Vépoque ot il écrivait. Quant ἃ prétendre que cette Birath- 
Abraham soit identique au Haram el-Khalil actuel, nous ne le ferons 
pas, précisément en vertu des analogies que nous présente la Birah 
de Néhémie qui gardait le Temple de Jérusalem du coté du Nord. 
Restaurée ou fondée par Néhémie, cette forteresse devint l’objet 


1 RonwscH, Das Buch der Jubilien, p. 52, 66, 74. 
2 CHARLES, The greek versions of the Testaments of the XII Patr., App. 111, Ρ- 247. 
3 Voir H. VINCENT sur la Birthé de VAmmonitide dans Rev. Βέδί., 1920, p.189ss. 


142 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


de la sollicitude toute particulicre des Hasmonéens au point que 
Joséphe leur en attribue l’érection et la dénomination de Baris.1 
Mais elle n’échappa pas, quelle qu’ait été sa splendeur, aux remanie- 
ments radicaux qu’Hérode fit subir aux constructions de la dynastie 
qu'il avait supplantée autant pour la faire oublier que pour flatter 
son gotit de l’opulence et amadouer ceux des Juifs qui lui étaient 
opposés. Le Temple de Jérusalem prit part ἃ ce renouveau archi- 
tectural tandis que |’Antonia supplantait la Birah des Hasmonéens. 
Quoi de plus naturel que le sanctuaire d’Hébron ne fit point négligé 
dans cette renaissance et que l’indigence des temps macchabéens 
ait di céder 1 encore devant l’exécution grandiose du plan hérodien? 
L’histoire est muette sans doute sur le réle d’Hérode dans cette 
affaire; les auteurs juifs n’ont pas voula probablement exalter |’Idu- 
méen ἃ propos de ce lieu saint qui se présente toujours comme un- 
objet de dispute entre Jacob et Edom. Toute obscurité n’a pas été 
dissipée non plus par lexamen de la Petite Genése, nous en con- 
venons, mais cette analyse nous donne la clef de plus d’une appellation 
postérieure et de la confusion qui s’est parfois produite sur la loca- 
lisation de la sépulture d’Abraham. Ce groupement de Vhabitation 
d’Abraham et de son tombeau a dt faire naitre la théorie de la 
sépulture du Patriarche au Térébinthe, le séjour d Abraham le plus 
fameux et le plus populaire. Quant ἃ la demeure de Macpélah, nous — 
en retrouvons les échos ἃ travers les siécles. L’apocryphe grec du 
115 siécle, connu sous le titre de Testament d’ Abraham distingue la 
maison, οἶκος, de la tente, ἡ σκηνή, plantée au carrefour de Mambré. 
La «maison sainte» de Samuel bar Simson (1210) est pour le russe 
Basile (1465) la «maison d’Abraham» identique au Haram el-Khalil. 
Un Gree de 1253 dit qu’Abraham est enseveli au milieu de sa maison 
(kai μέσον τοῦ οἴκου Tov evat 6 τάφος TOV). Ecoutons enfin le fameux 
voyageur Pietro della Valle (1616): «La maison d’Abraham lorsqwil 
demeuroit en Ebron est proche de la caverne et unie & present au 
Temple dans lequel il n’est pas permis d’entrer». Ici, c’est le fortin 


contigu au Haram qui prétend représenter la demeure patriarcale, ὦ 


mais en dépit de cette légére divergence nous suivons encore la le 
fil de la tradition qui se rattache ἃ ’Abramiwm des Byzantins et a 
la Birath-Abraham des Jubilés. 


| Nehem., 11. 8, Antig. Jud., XV, 11, 4; XVIII, 4, 3; Guerre Juive, I, 21, 1. “a 


2 A RECENTLY DISCOVERED SAMARITAN CHARM 


SAMUEL RAFFAELI 
(JERUSALEM) 


HE writer possesses a small hematite amulet, recently found in 
3 the vicinity of Nablus. It is remarkable in that it is the first 
_ known specimen of a bilingual amulet inscribed in Greek and 
Samaritan. 

On the obverse there is the following inscription in Samaritan 
characters 14m 24% ΠῚ Δ (yw OD ps) “There is none like the 
God of Jeshurun” (Dt. 33, 36); and on the reverse EIC GEOC 
BOHSIMAPKIANHN “The One God. Help Marcian.” 
| __ This piece of hematite appears to have been originally mounted 
in a metal frame intended to be hung round the neck as a 
| __ periapt. 
᾿ 
| 
| 
| 


: The characters on the inscriptions appear to be of the 4 or 
5 century C. E., and the name Marcian recalls the name of Markah 
F the great Samaritan theologian.1 Markah was the son of Amram 
gon of Seted who lived in the middle of the 4% century, about the 
| time of Baba Rabba the son of the High Priest Nathaniel. Markah 
organised, together with Baba Rabba, the entire Samaritan Liturgy 
| -. and a certain Commentary on the Bible, fragments of which are 
ta _ still preserved in the British and Berlin Museums. 
x According to the tradition of the Samaritans the name Markah 
ES is another form of the sacred name Moses; and since no Samaritan 
dares to bear the name of Mosheh which is too sacred for ordinary 
use, Amram called his son Markah, replacing the shin of Mosheh 
}| by resh and gof, (resh and gof being numerically equivalent to 
ὀ shin: 200 + 100 = 300). 


1 See J. A. Montgomery, The Samaritans (Philadelphia, 1907), p. 294. 


144 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


A similar bilingual inscription was discovered by Professor 
Clermont Ganneau in 1881 at the ancient Emmaus—Nikopolis on a 
column, on one side of which were the Greek characters €|C 
SEOC “God is one,” and on the other side, in ancient Hebrew 


characters YZFOL TYW "0.39.4 cody ww 32) “Blessed be 


his name for ever.” ! 


1 Archives des Missions Scientifiques et littéraires. Ser. UI, t.9, p. 277—321, 


A _ A  L ~- 


a 5 
a ᾿" Y 
μὰς 44} 


a SENET DPS MOTTE 
pal FT Pee Ὁ wy 
Ve 


Peet te eC + x ¥ 2 
ν᾿ δον ve ob oe ve = ὝΕΥΥ, ts he eT ae ait oy | 
MURR oe ery SA i iat it ly tea ΤΕ ΚΓ ΡΥ wih esha 7. 


err δν, 


TEENS EH eee 
SRA SBR ete 


Ae 


ταν 


CO AP 


χη 4 πὰ 
ὙΨΌΣ Mey Mean tree 
i NP 


PAY HEC 
RNS Se ey 


THE YEAR'S WORK 


(An address at the Sixth General Meeting by the President, 
Professor J. GARSTANG, 
Director of Antiquities, Government of Palestine) 


N accepting your invitation to the Presidency of the Society in 

this its second year I feel that nothing would be more fitting than 
to preface such remarks as 1 shall make this afternoon by a few 
words about our retiring President. 

Pére Lagrange is the father of this generation of archaeologists 
in Palestine where he founded on the 15 November 1890 the “Kcole 
practique d’études bibliques” in collaboration with a number of other 
French Dominicans. He was then 35 years of age. His work and 
publications subsequently bore out fully the promise of his previous 


studies in the domain of biblical and oriental archaeology. 


In 1892 he founded the Revue Biblique which he has edited ever 


since. 


In 1900 he inaugurated the publication of a collection of Biblical 


_ studies, including Commentaries, Histories &c. 


In 1902 he published a Commentary on the Book of Judges. 
In 1903 “Studies on Semitic Religions.” 

In 1904 a volume on “Historical Method.” 

In 1908 “Ancient Crete,” 


and more recently a volume on the History of Religions. All this 


in addition to his work on the history and texts of the Sacred Books. 
Pére Lagrange is a Corresponding Member of the Institute of France, 


q Honorary member of the Palestine Exploration Fund and of the 
American Oriental Society and other learned bodies. I think that 
the Palestine Oriental Society will do itself honour to make a record 
of the distinguished archaeological and philological career of its first 


President. Above all Pére Lagrange is a candid critic and esteemed 


friend of us all. 


10 


146 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Τ turn now to work accomplished in the field of archaeology 
during the past year, and as it will be appropriate to speak also of 
the future we may confine our attention for the moment to what 
has happened since the present Government came into being in the 
middle of last year. 

Within a few days of his arrival His Excellency the High Com- 
missioner called for proposals with a view to the organisation of a 
Department of Antiquities. There was to be no further question of 
recognising the unique importance and interest of the historical 
monuments and sites of Palestine, a point of view which, together 
with colleagues in Jerusalem and at home, we had not ceased to 
urge upon the British Government since the days when, soon after 
the war was over, I had been called upon to report upon these 
matters to the Foreign Office. 

Now a new spirit charged the atmosphere, and in rapid succession 
the Department was organized, an Archaeological Advisory Board 
was constituted and an Antiquities Ordinance was promulgated. 
These three steps were momentous. A Department of Antiquities 
as an independent feature of Government is almost without precedent. 
His Excellency had recognised that the situation here was not an 
ordinary one. The universal interest in the Holy Land led not only 
to that step but to the natural corollary of an Advisory Board in 
which the interests of the different communities and the societies of 
foreign countries engaged in archaeological pursuits in this country 
are represented. The Board has met frequently, its recommendations 
and decisions have been in all cases unanimous and have been in- 
variably adopted by the Administration. The unity to which the 
Advisory Board has attained while valuable in itself is a real source 
of strength to the young Department. Again, the Antiquities Ordinance 
was based not only upon the collective advice of numerous specialists, 
both archaeological and legal, but embodied the results of experience 
in neighbouring countries, enabling us to modify, as occasion required, 
the provisions that have not worked satisfactorily elsewhere. It is 
not an unfair compliment to the drafter of the Law to say that it 
is generally recognised as a good Law, and.it is hardly more than 
a question of regulations to make it a workable code for the 


protection of the precious monuments and antiquities which are our 
heritage from the past. ; 


sc Tid ih thea tae DH es 


ΒΡ ΣῪ ὟΝ eres aT gil 38k 
Se EO re ce δ ιν el ὑγουσσα, σὰ νος 


GARSTANG: ‘The Year’s Work 147 


‘There is one principle which is paramount throughout its clauses 
-—the monuments and antiquities of Palestine belong to Palestine and 
to Palestinians. The interests of this country are maintained and will 
be maintained as the first duty of the Administration and without 
ο΄ regard at all to the claims of privileged powers or of political influence. 
The second principle is the encouragement of a practical kind 
offered to scientific workers. The days are over when the individual 
could be allowed to turn over ancient sites in search of antiquities 
for their own sake alone. The results of an excavation are to be 
judged not alone by the objects discovered, but more by the in- 
_ formation as to the circumstances of discovery to be gleaned only 
_by most patient method. The relation of an object to its surroundings 
is of far greater importance to history than the object itself. The 
learned professor and the enthusiastic amateur are equally capable 
of doing incalculable damage to historical evidence if untrained in 
archaeological method. Consequently the permits to excavate will be 
issued only to scientific bodies who will guarantee the excavators’ 
_ competence. On the other hand the policy of the Department is to 
= facilitate, in every way in which the Government can afford, the task 
4 of excavators working under these conditions. — 
| Involved in the operation of the new Law there is the registration 
| ~ οὗ historical sites, and the inventories of dealers’ stocks and private 
collections. The work is proceeding and in some respects rapid 
| _ progress has been made. We now feel able, and feel it to be 
. desirable, to publish an interim list of historical sites which will 
| - commence to appear shortly in the official gazette, beginning with 
a the monuments of Jerusalem. Historical sites or buildings still in 
| 


_ __ religious use are excluded from the ordinary application of the Law, 
_ though special powers are provided to ensure their conservation and 
protection. 
J have alluded to the policy of preserving in Palestine all the 
- best and all the most historical antiquities which the country pro- 
duces; this involves the establishment of a central museum, a task 
____which has been entrusted to my colleague Mr. Phythian-Adams. An 
. _ immense impetus was given to his effort by the recovery last year 
1} _ of over 120 cases of antiquities which had lain hidden in the city 
})} during the War. Some of these antiquities had formed the nucleus 


of a local collection in other days, while others seem to have been 
. 10* 


148 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the fruits of recent excavations packed ready for transport to Con- 
stantinople. There is no catalogue and the provenance of each object 
had to be studiously determined by reference to publications and by 
comparative methods. Mr. Phythian-Adams has surmounted these 
difficulties, with the result that more than 6,000 objects were cata- 
logued and a proper inventory drawn up during the winter months. 
Some of the specimens are now arranged in the new cases, which 
have been designed and made in Jerusalem. A more complete display 
has been held back by reasons not attributable to the Keeper of 
Museums, but these difficulties are also overcome and during the 
present summer we trust to be able to ask His Excellency to declare 
the Museum open to the public. 

We propose to provide a home of a semi-permanent character in 
Jerusalem for only the smaller and more delicate objects and for 
objects of general historical interest or of special value. Local 
objects, for instance, architectural pieces and sculptures not of unusual 
merit, will be cared for, so far as possible, in the localities and near 
to the spot where they are found. The interest of such objects would 
be largely diminished by removing them from their surroundings, 
and it is desirable that each civic community should have its local 
collection to illustrate and stimulate interest in the past of its 
surroundings; so that the policy of local museums is adopted and 
steps are being taken to inaugurate such at Acre, Athlit, Ascalon 
and Tiberias. Needless to say the authority of the Department, 
through the Keeper of Museums, will be retained over these branch 
collections, but an effort will be made to render such local museums 
self-supporting and a source of local pride. In Jerusalem objects 
of architectural character and larger sculptures will be grouped, if 
possible, within the Citadel, wherein we should personally like to see 
housed also the central museum of Palestine. The rooms in the 
Hippicus Tower have been prepared by the Department for exhibition 
purposes and we look forward to taking further steps in that 
direction. 

In the work of conservation a good deal has been initiated but 
it will be some time before results become visible. Repairs have, 
however, been executed to dangerous spots in the fabric of the 
Citadel and the City Walls of Jerusalem through the activity of 
the “Pro-Jerusalem Society,” to whom the task of maintaining the 


a hse 


Pa ae ORE 
eet Sa aac Oka τς 


na Ty ΤῊ] 


" ΡΝ - Teese es πὸ 
ee Δ ΤΝ 


ese ins 


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GARSTANG: The Year’s Work 149 


historical municipal buildings of Jerusalem has been confided by 
agreement with this Department and aided by Government subsidies. 

At Acre, thanks to the initiative of the Deputy District Governor, 
considerable progress has been made with clearing the débris from 
the crypts of the fine mediaeval building for which that place is 
famous. The engineers of the Public Works Department are safe- 
guarding the stability of the structure. It is here that we propose 
to establish a local museum. 

At Ramleh our attention has been called to the serious and almost 
dangerous condition of that very beautiful monument known as the 
Crusaders’ Tower or otherwise the “Tower of the Forty Martyrs,” 
and in collaboration with the Public Works Department and the 
Wagf authorities we trust to be able to do what is indispensable to 
safeguard the fabric and appearance of this monument. It is an 
admirable example of the work of the period: it recalls structurally 
and in appearance the Campanile of Southern France of Romanesque 
style while free from the restless effect of over elaboration. We may 
well believe that it is the product of Mohammedan art executed by 
European masons. 

At Ain Duk, near Jericho, the French Archaeological School 
(Ecole Biblique de St. Etienne) have completed under Pére Vincent 
and his colleagues, the clearance of the very ancient and interesting 
synagogue of that site where, as a result of the war, certain portions 
of the mosaic floor had been disclosed. A full description of the 
inscriptions and decorations of this very interesting floor must be 
naturally reserved to the excavators themselves. During the course 
of the work it became obvious that the mosaics would not resist 
exposure to the atmosphere and it became necessary for their con- 
servation: to take them up, a task which was skilfully performed by 


Mr. Mackay, chief inspector of this Department. We hope at a 


near date to consolidate and arrange these specimens within the 
Citadel. A debt of gratitude is owed to the local proprietors for 
their good will in this matter; one may mention specially by name, 
Mr. Halil Zaki El Daoudi. 

Other works of conservation on a smaller scale have been initiated, 


| notably at Jifna, Ramallah, Tiberias and Caesarea. In all these cases, 


the policy of this Department is to endeavour to interest the local 
authority and notables in the monuments of their own districts; this 


150 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


is not merely a method of husbanding the resources which the 
Government is able to put at our disposal, necessary and desirable 
though that is; it is equally desirable that everyone should awake 
to a lively sense of the value of history particularly in this country 
where the whole environment is historical, and there is no method 
so effective, it seems to me, as that of encouraging each and everyone 
to take a proper share in the very special responsibilities which 
devolve upon all who dwell in this land of Palestine. 

In the field of excavations I shall be brief, for it is only fair that 
the results of all excavations should in the first instance be regarded 
as the copyright of the excavators. The “Palestine Exploration 
Fund” has, with the approval of this Department, opened an exten- 
sive excavation at Ascalon where work has been resumed after having 
been suspended for the winter. The immediate results there have 
been the uncovering of historical buildings of Graeco-Roman and 
Byzantine periods and the very evident trace of Philistine occupation. 
After studying the first results the work now resumed is directed to 
establishing a relationship between the remains of the Philistines 
and those of their predecessors on the site, also to a comparative 
study between the traces of the Philistines at Ascalon and the con- 
temporary evidences from other parts of the Philistine Plain and 
from the Eastern Mediterranean. 

At Tiberias the “Palestine Jewish Exploration Society” made last 
year a successful series of soundings, disclosing remains clearly to 
be identified with the period of the Talmud. The same Society 
under Dr. Slousch is now commencing excavations on the site 
examined last year, and is extending its investigations within a 
somewhat wider area in the vicinity of Tiberias. 

At Gethsemane the Franciscan Custody has completed, under 
special arrangements with this Department, the excavation of a very 
early church, probably of the 4** century, in which there may be 
traced three apses, the whole of the original outline, and various 
fragments of the original pavement. 

In regard to the future, the Franciscan Custody will shortly 
recommence its excavations under Pére Orfali on the interesting 


site of the Synagogue of Capernaum (Tell Hum), and the University 


Museum of Philadelphia is preparing to commence extensive work 
at Beisan under Dr. Fisher during the present summer. The site of 


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GARSTANG: The Year’s Work 151 


- Megiddo has been provisionally reserved for the University of Chicago 
and that of Samaria for the University of Harvard. 

This brief outline of the year's work in archaeology would not be 
complete without a reference to the activities of the various archaeo- 
logical societies, the centre of whose work is in Jerusalem. 

In connexion with the “Ecole Biblique de St. Btienne” I would 
mention particularly the very important “Studies of Monuments in 
Jerusalem” by Péres Vincent and Abel and the further important 
piece of work in relation to the Mosque at Hebron in which 
Mr. Mackay of this Department has co-operated. The old established 
“American School of Oriental Studies” has resumed and continued 
its labours unremittingly; Dr. Albright whom we welcome as Director 
is one of ourselves, and we hope he will not fail to give us an 
account of the very important topographical and other researches - 
in which he has been engaged. 

The American School also attracted to Jerusalem last year two 
very distinguished colleagues. Dr. Peters and Professor Clay, and 
we were privileged also to have in our midst for a short time 
Professor Breasted of the University of Chicago. Their visits were 
appreciated and will be remembered by us all. 

A new feature of intellectual life in Jerusalem was largely due to 
Dr. Clay and it was no less than the founding of this Society whose 
second year we commence to-day. The Palestine Oriental Society 
fills a role of no ordinary character: it is the common meeting ground 
of all the different societies and of all the archaeologists and students 
of the Near Hast. The opportunity before this Society is very great, 
and it should be our effort to maintain the standard of the papers 
and the interest of these gatherings. It is clearly an immense ad- 
vantage to all men of science to be able to meet and discuss their 
points of view and exchange thoughts. It should play the part in 
Palestine that the Académie plays in Paris or the British Academy 
in London. 

I am also strongly persuaded that the ends we have all in view 
in promoting the objects of this Society will be very much stimulated 
by further opportunities of meeting in informal discussion, which is 
hardly possible in these sessions where we are all come specially to 
learn the newest results of individual research. I therefore propose 
at an early date to place at the disposal of members of this Society 


152 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


and of other intellectual associations of Palestine a meeting place 
within this building where at fixed weekly or fortnightly intervals 
those desirous may be assured of an interesting and enlightening 
evening devoted to intellectual enjoyment. We all feel the want of 
such an opportunity and it seems to me that the British School of 
Archaeology could not adopt a better policy than that of providing 
facilities for such meetings, and I shall personally do all I can to 
make these evenings a real feature of our life in Jerusalem. I trust 
in response that all those who are members of this Society and 
others to whom I shall address invitations will accept them in the 
interests of ourselves and of those who will come after us. 

We have accepted by our presence in Palestine a heritage of no 
ordinary value from the Past. The eyes of the whole world are on 
us. Let us see to it that the trust does not suffer in our hands. 


HAUNTED SPRINGS AND WATER DEMONS 
IN PALESTINE 


T. CANAAN 
(JERUSALEM) 


ALESTINIAN demonology, which is only a part of the general 
oriental demonology, is a very well worked out science. I do not 
intend in this paper to make a study of it in detail; I shall only try 
to give one phase of it: “Haunted Springs and Water Demons.” 
Τ include under this study running springs (én, pl. “¢in) as well as 
living wells. The Arabic word bir, which means the latter, stands 
also at the same time for cisterns. 

It is an old and wide spread belief in all Semitic countries, that 
springs, cisterns and all running waters are inhabited. We rarely 
find a holy shrine which is not directly attached to a tree, cave, spring 
or well (for the explanation of this vide infra). This idea has spread 
also to non-Semitic races. 

One asks: How has it come that this belief is so well founded in 
mythology and superstition? I shall try to answer this question. 

The djinn—demons—live in the first place in the interior of the 
earth, whence they come out.! The Hebrew 6b, the Syriac zakkiudé. 
and the Arabic pre-Islamic ’ahlul’art? illustrate this. Up to the 
present day we meet with names for the demons which point to their 
origin: 

al-aruah el-ardiyé=earth spirits 
al-aruah es-sufliyé=lower spirits (subterranean spirits) 
—al-aruah ed-djahannamiyé =hellish spirits. 


T. Canaan, Aberglaube und Volksmedezin im Lande der Bibel (Hamburg, 1914). 
W.R. Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. 
C 


1 
2 
3 Cf. Luke 8 99. 


154 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


They come from the lower world and therefore we meet them 
generally in places which have a direct connexion with the lower 
regions: trees whose roots go down into the interior of the earth; 
cracks, cayes, springs and wells which have a direct or indirect 
connexion with the above named original abode of the demons. ! 

Springs which appear suddenly in the dry country and continue to 
pour out their running waters for the benefit of human beings and 
of vegetation, were and are still in their origin and in their continuous 
flow a mystery to the oriental mind. This was the first reason for 
assigning to them some supernatural power—a numen which was finally 
depotentized, becoming a spirit or a demon; and finally the above 
mentioned explanation was worked out. 

But there is another explanation or rather another phase of the 
above mentioned explanation. We know that the planets, in whose 
hands human fortune and misfortune lie, were divided by all Semitic 
races of antiquity, and are still by the Palestinian, into good and bad 
planets. ΤῸ each one of these heavenly bodies, be it good or bad, 
language, science, metal, colour, trees, herbs, fruits, and animals, 
elements, are assigned.2 According to the planet to which they belong 
these objects are good or bad. 

The two bad planets are Mars and Saturn, but the latter is the 
most ill-omened one. Now we read in ghdyatw'l-hakim® that springs, 
wells, caves, underground canals, and lonely valleys,‘ are assigned to 
this ill-omened planet. It is to be noted that every thing mentioned 
in this list has a direct connection with demons, talismans, or sorcery. 

This explains why wells and springs are. thought to be always 


haunted and this belief is not at all a new one, characteristic only — 


of the Palestinian. It formed a foundation stone of ancient superstition 
and mythology. Even in the Old and New Testament we have 
references to this belief; the demons are even characterized as loving 


1 In one of the prayers in the Greek Prayer-Book (adjid@zmata@r7 Jerusalem, 1884, 
pp. 180—185) eighteen places where demons live are ennumerated; in fourteen of 
them the above conditions are fulfilled. 

2 For further details about this point see Canaan, Aberglaube, 

3 El-madjriti. 

4 Other things belonging to Saturn are: the Coptic and the Hebrew languages, 
the spleen, black mountains, deserts, graves, the magnet, all black stones, black 
iron, the awl, and the raven. 


CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine 155 


water and searching for it.! Very interesting is the teaching in the 
- Prayer Book of the Greek Church,? where all sort of waters 3—springs, 
wells, cisterns, pits, seas, rivers, pools—are thought to be inhabited. 1 
While most of the sprmgs® are known by all the surrounding 
villages to be inhabited, there are others where only few persons have 
encountered at different times the guarding spirit. The most important 
conditions for a water course to be inhabited are the following two. 
Each one alone suffices to attract the djinn: 

1. Sources originating in a more or less deserted place, or in a 
thicket of trees. 

_2. That the rays of the sun do not penetrate to the real source. 
This condition is fulfilled when a small cave, large crack, or an old 
canal forms the entrance to the spring. 

3 The above mentioned conditions,—loneliness, desertedness, darkness, 
cracks, caves, canals, trees, combined with a spring, assure the habi- 
tation of that place. For every object with such a situation is there 
by a favourite abiding place of the spirits, since it has on the one 
hand a direct communication with the interior of the earth, and on 
the other hand belongs to the planet Saturn. 

A spring in the neighbourhood of a ruin, grave or wel? is also 
inhabited and generally by the soul of the weli or of those who died 
in that ruin. 

: Special attention must be paid to two sorts of springs—periodical 
_ and hot springs. The abnormality in both—hot water in the one and 
_ the periodical fiow of the other—has keyed the oriental imagination 


1 Cf. Luke 8 29, 33. 

2 Adjidzmatar? el-kebir, pp. 180—182 and 195, 

eS 3 It is very interesting to note that, with few exceptions, all the objects named 
in the list of this book as being inhabited correspond with the list of Ghayatu’l 
hakim above mentioned. 

4 In the prayer of St. Gabrianus (Arab. text) we find the sea as the only re- 
presentative of inhabited waters. 

, 5 From some names used in the Bible for springs we may conclude that the 
_ inhabitants of Palestine had then the same belief: ‘En-dor, “spring of dwelling,” 
1 Sam. 287; Baal-perasim, “Owner of the outflow’ 2Sam.520; Baal hamon, 
- “Owner of the torrent,” Can, 811 (L. B. Paton, Annual of Am. School of Oriental 
Research in Jerusalem, 1920). 

6 Even common cisterns which are built under a house, and where the only 
_ Opening to the water is inside of a room, so that the rays of the sun never reach 
_ the water, are used for various medical and magic purposes. 


156 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


to its highest pitch and has resulted in a beautiful, superstitious ex- 
planation. 

Periodical springs especially perplexed many minds: Why does the 
water of ‘én-fawar,’ for example, flow now? Why did it not flow a few 
hours ago? At last they found an explanation which corresponded 
exactly to their demonology and was absolutely in accord with the 
religious belief of their ancestors. They now think that‘ én-fawar is in- 
habited by two spirits, a hurr “free man” (master) and an ‘abd, 
“servant.” The first is a white person, the second a negro (also slave- 
born) as the Arabic words themselves indicate. These two “power- 
ful spirits” are continually fighting each other. When the hurr 
gains the victory he allows the water to flow for the benefit of 
thirsty mankind. But soon the ‘abd rises and resumes the battle. As 
soon as he overpowers the /urr he shuts off the blessing to avenge 
himself on the human race. 2 

This representation of 

. good against evil, 

white against black, 

angels against devils, 

light against darkness, 

upper against lower world and 

God against Satan 3 
is a very old idea in Semitic religions and we could not have it better 
pictured than as reproduced by the simple imagination of a Palestinian 
fellah. 

It is not necessary to have two anthropoid spirits inhabiting a spring. 
The importance lies in the colours white and black. Thus we find 
a black and a white sheep inhabiting ‘én ed-djéz.4 

Naturally a question arises: Are all periodical springs inhabited by 
good and bad spirits which cause their abnormal flow? I must answer 
this question in the negative. Other explanations are easily found. 
‘én silwan, also called “én imm ed-daradj, for example, was formerly 


1 The continuation of ‘én-fara, 

2 Canaan, Aberglaube. 

3 There are many references in the Bible which point to this representation. 
I will mention only a few: Job. 1818; Zech. 31; Rom. 1620; Ps. 1401; Prov. ae 
Is. 715; Jerem. 384; Eph. 612. 

4 Near Ramallah. 


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CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine 157 


Ε- guarded by a bad spirit appearing in the form of a camel. He used 
to drink a lot of water from time to time, thus stopping the flow for 
a short period. In the case of ‘én sibima,! which is inhabited by a 
whole djinn family known by the name let za@rurah the water dries 
Ε up at those times when all the members of the family come to drink; 
therefore they say: wirdat-ha ‘élet za rtrah.? 

The hot springs were always a great puzzle to the oriental mind. 
Accordingly the- Palestinian asks himself how it is that the water of 
ΓΘ the springs near Tiberias comes directly from the earth in a boiling 

state? Here again he solved the question. There are a great number 

of demons who continually heat the water before it penetrates to the 
surface. The fuel is brought from a great distance. In the case of 
the springs of Tiberias it comes from a cave in the valley Ed-djai* 
near Dér diwan.4 King Solomon ordered these djinn to perform this 
piece of work in order to give the inhabitants of Palestine a natural 
hot bath. And as these demons are blind and deaf® they do not yet 
know that their master, King Solomon, has died, and dreading his 
punishment they still continue to work. A similar belief exists about the 
Turkish baths. The inhabiting djinn—and every bath is inhabited— 
help to heat the water, sukkaénuh byihmih.° 
Special mention of ‘itm el-hasr7 should be made. The peasant 
unterstands by this expression springs where at no time of the day 
or of the year do the sun’s rays reach the source. The water is used 
to cure suppression and retention of urine. In order that such water 
shall preserve its curative action the sun must never shine over it; 
so it is fetched only after sunset. If the place to which this healing 
water is to be carried cannot be reached during one night, the jar 
15 hidden during the day in a dark place, and as soon as the sun 


1 Dér ghassane. 

2 “The family of zariirah (medlar tree) came to it (the water).” 

3 The valley is inhabited by a much dreaded mé@rid. The inhabitants of Dér 
diwan pretend that although a large number of cattle gather every evening in 
the cave and spend the night there, the cave is swept clean by those djinn every 
morning and all the dung disappears. 

4 According to the peasants of Battir the djinn of Tiberias come every night 
to “én djami to carry away the dung. 

5 One of the many illustrations which show how the Palestinian attributes to 
the djinn human qualities, weaknesses, and diseases. 

6 ‘Translation: Its inhabitants (the demons) heat it (the bath), 

7 Translation: Springs of suppression (of urine). 


158 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


goes down the journey begins anew. A curious fact about ‘itm el-hasr, 
which was told me by a man of Bét-Surik, is that springs with a 
composite name, where the first part is bét, can not be—although they 
fulfill all the above named conditions— itm hasr. It was impossible 
for me to get any explanation for this belief. 

Some springs belonging to this group are: Bir es-sahar (to the north 
of Dér tarif), “én abu niaq, (Dér ghassaneh), ‘én el-wihra (Kefr tit) 
and ‘én sdba. 1 

If we turn to study the number, shapes, customs, colour and 
actions of the djinn who haunt these places, we may divide them at 
once into two major groups: 

1. Springs guarded by good spirits, the souls of holy men buried 
in the neighbourhood, or other saints.2 There are fifteen such cases 
in my list. 

2. Evil demons. 


1. This belief is common among Christians and Mohammedans. 
Some wells and springs inhabited by Christians saints are: Bir ‘6na# 
(Bét-djila) by the Virgin Mary, ‘én karim also by the Virgin; ‘én 
Kibrian‘ by St. Gabrianus (St. Cyprianus). 

Springs and wells in which Mohammedan saints dwell are: 

‘én qina by el-weli Abu’l‘énén, 

‘én ei-biréh by shékh Ahmad, 

Bir es-sahar by el-weli Shu‘éb, 

Bir Ayib by en-nebi Ayiab, 

Bir sindjil by esh-shékh Saleh 5 (or, as others think, by en-nabi Ytisif). 

These men of God® appear in the same form as they did in their 
lifetime and they try always to help human creatures. A girl of 
Siloah having been maltreated by her step-mother fled and threw 
herself into Bir Aytib. Before she took her last step she asked the 


1 Some of these are more important and more used than. others. The most 
important one of the list is ‘én sdba. 

2 The same idea prevailed in biblical times: B’er Elim, “well of gods” Is. 158 
Elim, “gods,” Ex. 1527; Nu. 33 »—10; ‘én Shemesh, “spring of the sun,” Jos. 157. 

3 It is curious that some believe they have seen an ‘abd. 

4 Between Bét-djala and el-Khadr. 

6 Some Mohammedans believe that in the neighbourhood of Sindjil, Joseph was 
thrown by his brethren into a pit (perhaps into this well). ‘Omar Barghuti. 

6 Only in one case out of one hundred and twenty does an angel haunt a spring 
(én masiiin, according to Tiab of Ramallah). 


> 


- CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine {9 


_ help and the protection of this saint, and she felt as she was falling 
_ down that that venerable shékh took her in his arms,‘ and, placing 
her on a stone step, Just above the water level, told her: “Do not be 
afraid, my child; soon you will be again in your father’s house.” A 
few hours later her anxious father, discovering that she was still living, 
threw down a rope and drew her up.2 
3 Some of these springs show a special miracle on the day consecrated 
to the holy person who guards them. Thus the water of Bir ‘ona 
rises to the brim on the Virgin’s day? and the stones at the well’s 
mouth are dyed red. This sort of animation of lifeless objects is 
met with in different phases of Palestinian folk-lore. 
: Such springs should never be approached irreverently. Therefore 
Ε- no pious woman would ever come near or touch such a spring while 
_ “impure” through her menstrual blood. If she is careless, the holy 
man who dwells in that water will afflict her with some bodily ailments, 
or by stopping the flow of the source punish all that village. In the 
midst of the vineyards of Bétiinia is the source of Khirbet nita which 
is guarded by the soul of esh-shékh Saleh. From time to time the 
water gets scanty and may even stop flowing. This is always thought 
to result when an unclean woman approaches the opening. Once the 
3 water stopped flowing and as the inhabitants of Béttinia searched in 
vain for the impure woman, a sheep was offered to shékh Saleh and 
the source was well cleared out, and the water flowed again, even 
more abundantly than before.5 
Among all the holy persons whose spirits dwell in springs there 
are only two females in my list: St. Mary (in two cases) and es-sitt 
_ Mu’minahé (én el-hadjar in Dér ghassineh). 


1 Christians have the same belief. The son of el-Qandalaft fell accidentally 
into a cistern and was saved by a holy man, The same thing happened in Dar 
- ed-daw to another child. The shékhs or holy men are described nearly always as 
_ wearing white clothes (Imm. Ilias). 

: 2 The second day after the accident I was called to see the girl, who was not 
feeling quite well, and I heard the story from her mouth. 

3 On the eighth of September (Jul. Calender), 

_ 4 Most probably a vestige of menstruation, as will be pointed out later on. 
- 5 See Canaan, op. cit., p. 37. 

6 It is curious that in both of these cases bad spirits appear sometimes in 
_ the same springs. In Bir ‘dna, generally haunted by the Virgin Mary, some have 
- seen an ‘abd; and in ‘én el-hadjar (Dér ghassanéh) guarded by Sitt Mu’minah—a 
madrid appears at times. 


160 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


2. Sources guarded by evil djinn. Under this class we have the 
very bad demons as well as the partly harmful ones. They take 
different forms when they appear. Some have the shapes of animals— 
sheep, cock, hen, chicken, dog, camel, gazelle, donkey, goat, mouse, 
monkey or serpent.! Others look like negroes and negresses, and 
still others have the dreadful shapes of the monstrous ghiil, ghilé and 
madrid. This last group is the most harmful, and special care has to 
be taken when one encounters el-ghiil, who is continually looking for 
his prey. 

Spirits appearing in the form of animals are not necessarly bad 
demons: they may even be indifferent to human beings, or even good- 
natured. When spirits in animal shapes are described as white they 
belong to the latter, when black to the former category. An exception 
is the camel, which always represents a bad demon. Even in the 
explanations of dreams given by the fella@hin at present camels are 
always a bad omen. 

An intermediate place between the two above-mentioned classes is 
taken by those springs which are inhabited by women, generally in 
the form of brides.4 These spirits are almost always described as 
having a majestic stature and a charming form, wearing beautiful 
cloths and costly adornments. Very often they sit on a stone beside 
the flowing water and comb their beautiful long hair, which hangs 
partly over their shoulders and partly over their breast. These females 
have a particular inclination to human beings, following and imploring 
them to come and live with them. They promise men all sorts of 
riches and comforts and are very harsh towards women. If once 
entangled a person may disappear for several years, as the case 


1 In the Bible we have several springs which were guarded, as their names 
show, by animals: ‘én-eglaim, “Spring of two calves,” Ez. 4710; ‘én-gedi, 
“Spring of the kid,” Jos. 15 62; ‘“én-hakkéré, “Spring of the quail (or partridge),” 
Ju. 1519; ‘én-hattannin, “Spring of the dragon,” Ne. 2 13. (Annual of the American 
School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem, 1920.—L. B. Paton.) 

2 The old Arabs had the same belief about the vamel. See “Ta‘tir el aném 
fi tabir el-maném” by ‘Abd el-ghani en-nablasi I 197 ete. 

3 Even in the Bible we have reference to a well haunted by a woman in 
Jos. 19 8, Baalatb’er, “Mistress of the well.” 

4 Arabic ‘aris, pl. ‘ara@yis. The clothes of these “brides” are like those used 
by brides of the neighbouring villages, except that they are richer in decoration 
and of a superior quality. 


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CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine 161 


of the bride who inhabits “én el-hammim!. shows, where a man 
disappeared for seven years. When he came back he related his story. 
The djinniyat? employ sometimes different tricks to entangle men. 
In the case of ‘én ed-dj6z3 the passer by observes at times a black 
she-goat. If he tries to catch her, she jumps from one place to 
another, thus leading him on and on to a deserted spot, where she 
changes into a bride who tries to charm and thus to gain him.4 
One may recognize these djinn ladies® from their eyes. The pupils 
are perpendicularly elongated. A human being may escape their 
clutches if in the moment of temptation he repeats the name of God, 
a saint, the Virgin, the Cross, or says a prayer. If, on the other hand, 
he commits adultery with such a female djinn, he is lost. 

᾿ς These spirits, although not so bad as the ‘abd and the ghil group, 
_ may follow an escaped man and inflict upon him disease and weakness, 
even death.7 Some of them are described as drying up from time to 
time the water of springs. Such an event happens inevitably if they 
should be provoked by women approaching the place during their impure 
days. In Djifna the priest has to go on such an occasion to the dry 
"spring to repeat prayers and burn incense, and thus reconcile the 
djinniyé or force her to let the water flow. 


1 Bir zét. 

2 Fem. Plur. of dyinn. 

3 According of Tiab of Ramallah. But see above, p. 87. 

4 Demons are thought in Palestine to have the ability of changing their shapes. 

5 According to the wife of Ya‘qtib abu er-rukab (Ramallah). 

6 The same characteristic is assigned to the ghiile. 

7 The following story is an example: Ya‘qtb abu er-rukab went one day very 

early in the morning to gather wood from the gardens of ‘én el-qasr. He fastened 

his donkey to a bush near the spring. As soon as he had sufficient wood for 

- _ a load, he searched, but absolutely in vain, for his animal. At last he crossed 

himself and said: bism es-salib el-hayy, “in the name of the living Cross.” At 

~ once the donkey was there where he had tied him. On the way back he felt an 

unseen power troubling him. Soon afterwards a female voice called him by his 

name: “Oh Ya‘qtib, wait a moment.” He stopped and a beautiful bride, over- 

loaded with gold and jewels, walked up to him. The frightened hattab (wood- 

cutter) knew that he had to do with a female demon. She implored him with 

; her melodious voice to throw away his axe and follow her. But as he had not 
yet lost his presence of mind, he crossed himself repeated!y and said a prayer, 

and she vanished away. When he reached home, he spoke disconnectedly and was 

completely changed, since he talked only about the beauties of the “bride of “én 

el-qasr.” She afflicted her escaped prey with blindness, and soon afterwards he 


died (related by his own wife). 
11 


162 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Tn one case, Bir abu s’hél, the inhabiting female, called “Ammiariyé! 
tells the future of the inhabitants of that village. If she is heard 
weeping or mourning, somebody in that village will surely die; if on 
the other hand she is heard singing, some good thing will take place. 

It is a most interesting fact that among one hundred and twenty 
springs which [I have listed, fifty-four are supposed to be inhabited 
by females (belonging to this group).? Among these springs are: én 
el-qasr, én el-léze, ‘én tarfida, “én mindjid, “én mizrab, én el-waladjé, 
‘én el-hanniye, én battir, etc. These spirits are—as already stated— 
very charming. The following story shows that they are at times 
refractory in love. Why and when such a condition happens I could 
not find out. While Husén from el-Waladjé was on night duty 
protecting the gardens of én hantash against thieves, he beheld a 
beautiful and charming female sitting on a stone at the source of 
the spring, combing her long hair. He fell in love with her and 
gently approaching her, begged her to accept him as a lover. As 
she showed no inclination towards him, despite all his reqests, he 
committed suicide by cutting his throat, as he could live no longer 
without this enticing creature. 

In analysing the shapes which the inhabiting spirits take when they 
appear to human beings we find that in 40 cases out of 88 (7. 6. about 
half) female forms are chosen. If the instances of holy men whose 
spirits still haunt springs and all the cases where the sex is not 
specified are subtracted, we find that 80 per cent of the spirits are 
in female form. 

When the colour of the demon is specified, we meet only with the 
two antagonistic colours, white and black. The first one stands for 
good and the other for evil spirits. 

If we study the question from the point of view of the number of 
spirits which inhabit one water course, we find that most of the springs 
and wells are inhabited by a single demon. But there are some, in 
my collection 25 out of 120, where several live together. This last 
category we may divide into two subdivisions: 

1 <Ummar (pl. of “ammar which is the mase. of ‘ammériyé) is the name given 


generally to djinn who live in ruins or deserted houses. 
2*Omar Barghuti. 


3 The three cases, where the holy Virgin (twice) and es-sitt Mu’minah (once) 


haunt springs, are not counted among the number mentioned above. Out of the — 


54 we have only two black women. 


PI Wiis oo he ei lh οἰκο κα bh Dla ial 


nas 
τὰς ἃ 


τι Se 


CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine 163 


1. Springs inhabited by two spirits, which represent—with one 


_ exception!—a bad black and another good white one. I have six such 
_ cases. 


2. Springs haunted by many djinn. Generally they are members 
of one family and in four out of thirteen cases belonging to this 
subdivision the djinn have taken the shape of a hen with her chickens. 
It is believed by some that if a human being has the exceptional 
chance of catching one of these chickens, it will change at once 
into a lump of gold.? 


_ These spirits, to whatever category they belong, appear—as all the 


demons—only during the night and in the dusk. They also are only 
to be seen when a lonely traveller passes by, as they never like to 
face several human beings at once. Many of them try to injure the 
passer-by by frightening him with their noise, shape or misbehaviour. 
If they attack him, he gets sick or may even die. 

If a human being has the opportunity of meeting one of them, he 
observes that the opening of the spring, guarded by this spirit, has 
changed to a large doorlike crack, and sometimes a peep inside 
will reveal great riches. A woman passing near the spring of Halhil 


᾿ς just before the sun began to be visible, saw grazing beside the water 


a sheep which to her great astonishment hadrushed out from a rather 
large crack. She looked through this opening and beheld to her 
amazement heaps of gold, silver and precious stones. Without hesi- 
tation she rushed in to get as much as possible of these wordly riches. 
But with one jump the sheep darted in, and the crack closed. She 
had to tear her clothing, which was caught in the crack, to get 
free.4 

These spirits go out during the night and act quite free by; but they 
never go far from the spring. Some of them look for grass and herbs 
(sheep, ‘camel, gazelle, donkey, etc). The hen takes her chickens and 
goes in search of grain. Brides and young females are mostly described 
as combing their hair. Shékhs welis and saints are in meditation, 


1 Jn one case of a female and male spirit living together, ‘én el-farkha wid-dik, 
(near Salt) inhabed by a cock and a hen (Imm, Elias H.) 
2 Other sources belonging to this subdivision are inhabited by camels, a flock 
of sheep, djan (pl. of djinn), the family za‘rira etc. 
4 ‘Omar Barghuti. 
3 Imm. Djordj M. 
yd 


164 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


while ‘abds, mé@rids and ghals roam around the source searching for 
their prey.! 

Very interesting is the story I heared lately from a woman of 
Siloam.? The spring of Jericho is inhabited by a woman who once a 
year for 10—12 hours has her menstrual period. At this time the 
water is tined red. But this redness occurs only during the night of 
that day. At daybreak the normal colour returns. This is the only 
case I have known, where popular superstition gives female spirits the 
human capacity for menstruation. A vestige of this belief is perhaps 
to be found in the superstition regarding Bir ‘6na, inhabited by St. 
Mary. 

The following belief about Hammém esh-shifa is a very primitive 
conception of the animation of water. The Mohammedan women of 
Jerusalem go on the tenth of Moharram‘ and take a bath, as it is 
believed that the waters of Zemzem overflow on this day and mix 
with the waters of this bath,® also called Hammam ‘ashtira.6 According 
to some even én imm ed-daradj (Silowan) receives on this day some 
water from Zemzem.? 

A Mohammedan lady’ whom I asked lately about Hammam ‘ashira 
gave me another explanation, quite different from that which I have 
already mentioned. The prophet Job, who was afflicted with the 
worst kinds of skin eruptions, took a bath every day, but without any 


1 In some springs, ‘én Djaritt for example, the passer-by will see a whole 
demon wedding procession, and is able to hear their songs and see their dances. 

2 Imm. Dahtd the wife of ‘Abd. 

3 Cf. also Bir ‘ona and the signs on the Virgin’s day. 

4 The anniversary of the death of Husén the son of Fatmé, the daughter of 
the Prophet. 

5 As a proof of the- truth of their superstition the following story is told: 
An Indian pilgrim lost his water-cup in Bir Zemzem. One year afterwards he 
happened to be in Jerusalem, and while on the day of “Ashtrah he was taking 
a hot Turkish bath in Hammam esh-shifa, the bath-keeper, drawing water from 
the well, fished out a cup. This was recognized at once by the Indian pilgrim 
to be his own cup, which fell down into Zemzem while he was at Mekka. This 
proved to everybody that the water of the holy Zemzem mixes on this day with 
the waters of this well. 

6 From ‘ashara, “ten,” ὁ. 6. the tenth of the month. 

7 Some Mohammedans believe that on this day the water of this holy well 
at Mekka mixes with all springs of Mohammedan countries, thus giving every 
Moslem the opportunity of drinking from Zemzem. 

8 Hustun R. 


CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine 165 


a result. It happened that on the tenth of Moharram he took a bath 


in Hammam esh-shifa with the result that he was cured. This of course 


(= proved to all that this water has on this day particular curative 


action. This offers a marked parallel to John 5 2.1 
_ Another observation is not without interest: ‘én Silwan was for- 
merly inhabited—according to some peasants—by a demon in the 
shape of a camel. This camel died. In its place now lines a hen 
with her chickens, i.e. the place of one demon was taken by several, 
very much as in Matth. 1245.2 Everybody I asked informed me that 
no camel has ever appeared to anybody during recent years in that 
spring. The bubbling sound of the water is explained as being the sound 
of the chickens.? Death of demons is also known in other cases. 

Nobody dares to approach a spring and take water without first 
repeating the name of God or that of the saint living in that place.4 
This rule is specially important during night-time or when one passes 
quite alone near water which flows in a deserted place. If such a 
precaution is not taken, one is sure to be troubled by the demons. 
If the guardian spirits are excited in any way the intruder will be 
surely punished. We have seen already some examples of this con- 
ception. Another one is that if a person urinates in flowing water 
he will get some genito-urinary trouble. 

1 do not doubt that several of the springs and wells which are thought 
at present to be inhabited were believed in former times to be sacred, 
and were devoted to the cult of one of the numerous gods of Palestine. 


And it is not improbable that some of the old deities continue to 


haunt the same springs, although ages have passed by. Of course the 
name, the character, and the manner of appearance have changed, 
but the fundamental thought still exists. This is only one of the many 
survivals which point to the primitive religious practises of Palestine 
and still more or less known at present. 

This explains why many waters are used at present, as they were 


in Bible times, for medicinal purposes: the ‘in el-lasr have been 


1 While in John 52 the curative power was due to an angel, in this case 
the apparent cause is not seen. We must probably look for the explanation to 
Zemzem. 

2 Also Luke 11 26. 
3 Hens and chickens represent bad spirits. 
4 A custom which is becoming gradually less frequent. 


166 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


mentioned; Siloam and the bath of Sitti Mariam !— especially the 
first—are renowned for their help in cases of sterility in women.? In 
fever one resorts to bathing in ‘én imm ed-daradj. Some believe that 
Hammam esh-shifé cures certain skin eruptions. For the same reason 
we find that: 
(a) Offerings are brought in some cases to the guardian spirit. 
(b) No unclean person (especially a woman) should approach such 
a spring, which is the abode of a holy spirit (probably that of 
a former deity).! 
(c) Prayers are offered and incense burned on some occasions.°® 
(4) In ‘én esh-shékh Yisif,6 which is haunted by the spirit of that 
shékh, one may even hear salah w bakhkhir, wu sot djywmhir, 
“prayers and incense and the voice of a gathering.”7 
A final observation has still to be made. The periodicity of several 
manifestations connected with the springs is very striking. The waters 
of Zemzem mix once a year with those of Hammam ‘ashfira and of 
Siloam. The lady of ‘én es-sultan has her menstrual flow once a 
year. St. Mary causes the above mentioned miraculous sign of Bir 
‘Ona only on her anniversary. A spring in Nablus stops its flow once 
a week on Sundays, as it is inhabited by a monk, who must fulfil his 
religious duties on this day. In some periodical springs battles and 
victories take place regularly and periodically between good and bad 
spirits. 
All the spirits inhabiting waters are known by the collective name 
el-afdrit. Of cource saints and welis do not come under this heading. 
Sometimes the word rasad, pl. irstidé8 is used. But this expression 


1 They take their bath in the djurn (stone basin) in which it is supposed that 
the Virgin Mary took a bath. 

2 Such a woman has to take with her seven mash@khis (see Canaan, Aber- 
glaube), seven keys of doors which open to the south, and seven cups of water, 
each from e different cistern, where at no time of the day do the rays of the sun 
shine over its opening (Husun R.). 

3 To Hammam sitti Mariam candles, flowers, etc. are vowed (Husun R. and 
Imm. Djordj). To others oil lamps are lighted. 

4 Examples of this have already been mentioned. 

5 Cf. what has been said about ‘En Djifnah. 

6 To the north of Ramallah, 

7 Tiab of Ramallah. 

8 Waters which run from places where hidden riches are to be found, are 
guarded by a rasad. 


- CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine 167 


‘stands also for other sorts of demons. An inhabited source is called 
masktné or marsade. 
_ At the close of this paper I have still to mention that not all 
_ statements one hears from different persons about on and the same 
Spring correspond. But the fundamental idea, which is the basis of 
their belief, is as sound as any other one we meet with in Palestinian 
demonology. 
The following is an analysis of the one hundred and twenty in- 
habited springs which I have noted: 
~ In 24 cases the spirits are good. 
4 of them are Christians saints. 
29 are Mohammedan welis.! 
οι, 15  , very bad spirits are met with. 
» 3809 y we encounter brides and young women.2— 
» 04 , the demons take a female shape. 
» 29  ,, the djinn in animal forms are met with. 
25 ,, several spirits live in one source. 
6 times two antigonastic spirits haunt the same water. 
19 times, more than two live together; 
» 14, the colour black is specified, and in 6 other springs 
one of the inhabiting spirits is black, while the other 
one is white; 


» ¢  y acock, a hen, or a hen with her chickens guards the 
water; 
eee cr wa <b CAMEL, 
» 8 4, one or more sheep; 


» 9 4 the shapes which the djinn take are not specified. 
In the ‘itn el-hasr the form is also not given. 
The following is a list of eighty eight of the inhabited springs.* 


I. Springs inhabtied by good spirits: 
1. By Welis, Shékhs and Mohammedan saints: 
Ξ Bir es-sahar Dér Tarif Weli Shu‘éb. 4 
 Enel-Birs τ᾽ el Bire Shékh. 


1 One of these springs is inhabited by an angel. 

2 The Virgin Mary and es-sitt Mu’minah, as well as a black woman are not 
added to this number, Σ 

3 Some of these springs are mentioned in Canaan, Aberglaube und Volksmedizin. 

4 For further details see Canaan /. ὁ. 


168 Journal of the Palestine Orientel Society 


Bir Aytb 

Bir Sindjil 

Bir Sindjil 

‘En Qina 

‘En esh-shékh Yisif 
‘En el-hadjar 

‘En Djaktk 

‘En el-amir 

An Masitin 


9. Christian Saints: 


‘En er-Rahib 
En Karim 
Bir “Ona 

‘Kn Kibirian 


Siloam 

Sindjil 

Sindjil 

(Jina 

N. of Ramallah 

Dér Ghassine 

E. of en-nabi Samwil 
E. of en-nabi Samwil 
Ramallah 


Nablus 


A 
‘En Karim 


Bét-djala 
W. of Bét-djala 


Hammam sitti Mariam Jerusalem 


en-nabi Aytib. 
esh-shékh Salih. 


‘en-nabi Yitsif. 


el-weli Abii el‘énén.! 
esh-shékh Yfsif. 
es-sitt Mu’minah.? 
Wel. 

Sullah and Awhia. 
An angel. 


Monk. 3 

The Virgin Mary. 
The Virgin Mary. 
St. Gabrianus. 
The Virgin Mary.! 


II. Springs inhabited by very bad spirits: 


A spring in wadi Beni Hammad Wadi Beni Hammad 
Transjor dania 


En Hasban 

‘En Djariit 

‘Bn Fleflé 

‘En el-‘araq 

Bir Sridah 

‘An el-Hadjar 

Bir abu Sarris 

A spring Qartis 
‘En in wadi Ed-djai 
‘En ‘Abbasin 


Dér Diwuan 
Bir Zét 
Bir Zét 


Dér Ghassiné 
Dér Ghassiné 


Dér Ballit 
Kefr Tat 


Dér Diwan 


between Battir and Hiisan 


Ghul. 
Ghilé.® 
“Abde. 
‘Abd. 

* Abdeé. 
“Abd. 
Marid. 
Shétan. 
Shétéan. 
Marid. 
“Abd. 


1 This wel, it is said, does not always protect his property in the right way. 


Once a peasant, who was disappointed by this saint, offered him an oil lamp 
and vowed: “Ὁ, weli, if you do not protect your lamp this time I shall never offer 
you anything more”. Next morning the peasant found near the spring a dead wolf 
with the lamp in his mouth. This, of course, was a sufficient proof that the 
saint had exercised his power. 

2 Inhabited at times by a bad spirit; see seet. V. The bad spirits appear very 
seldom. 

3 Imm. Elias H.—from Jerusalem. 

4 There is no spring in the bath, The belief about St. Mary I heard only 
from one person. 

5 Jaussen, Coutumes des Arabes. 


_ CANAAN: Haunted Springs and Water Demons in Palestine 


Misbah 
esh-Shami 
es Sef 
Silwén 
en-nashé 
‘Birket Hadjia 


Ramallah Camel. 


Bét-Iksa 


Camel. Ὁ 


el-Waladjé Donkey. 1 


Siloam 
Ramallah 


169 


Π. Springs inhabited by bad spirits (less harmful than the last group). 
abul-karzam Ramallah Black dog. 


Formerly inhabited by a camel. 
Camels. 


Jerusalem asad, who devours a victim every year. 


IV. Springs inhabited by brides and young women: 
Enes-sitt Hasna Es-sifla.3 


a ‘Bn el-Qasr 
‘En el-Lézé 


‘En Tarfida 


τς Bn Mindjid 


: A Bs 
e Hn Mizrab 


“Kn el-Hanniyé 
‘fn el-Waladjé 
‘Kn Battir 

‘fin Harrishé 


«En el-Baqim 


᾿ ‘Bn el-Qas‘a 


a 
ns 


᾿ 
ἔπ τε 


a 


BRIS CE “fe a, 
Tineie ea * 
ae ORS Fe 


| 

| 

| Ἢ ; 
| a 
! 

Ι 

| 


| Bir aba Shél 


A 
‘En Fawar 


» Bir ‘ona 


Ramallah. 
Ramallah. 
Ramallah. 
Ramallah. 
Ramallah. 
el-Hanniyé. 
el- Waladyjé. 
Battir. 


Mazra‘a gharbiyé. 


Kefr Tit. 
NE. of el-Biré. 
Dér Ghassiné. 


Ramallah 
Artas 


EK. of Jerusalem White and a black 


‘Bn el-qabti 
‘An ‘Atan 
‘En Farriidjé 
‘En Hammim 
‘En Dabbagha 
‘Bn es-Sultan 
‘En Hantash 
‘En Djifna 
‘En Kafriye 
‘En Milke 
‘En abu Ziad 
‘fin el-Djéz 


‘Bn-el-malha 


White and a black 


White and 


el-Qabt. 

‘Atan. 

Solomon’s Pools. 
Bir Zét.4 

Bir Zét. 
Jericho. 5 

N W.of Bét-djala. 
Djifna. 4 
Ramallah. 

near Bét Hanina. 
near Bét Hanina. 
Ramallah. 
el-Malha. 6 


VY. Springs guarded by several spirits: 
1. By two antagonistic spirits: 
En ed-Djoz 
3 ‘fin Artis 
= ‘En Fawar 


sheep. 
sheep. 
sheep. 


a black 


EK. of Jerusalem Free man and a negro. 
St. Mary and at times an 


Bét-djala 


Dér Ghassané .- 


1 Lic. Kahle, P. J. 
2 The female saints, two negresses and one ghii/é are not mentioned in this list. 
3-Lic. Kahle, P. J. 
4 The peculiarity about this spring was mentioned in the text. 
5 Has once a year her menstrual period. 

6 She wears an izdr. 


‘Abd. 


es-Sitt Mu'minah and at the 


some time a Mérid. 


170 


2. By several spirits: 


‘En Ma‘an 
Tiberias 

‘En el-Halazon 
‘En en-Nasbé 
‘En Djaritt 

n Sabinah 
n Hiddiyé 


‘En Djami 
‘En Djenan 
‘En Lifta 


‘En Silwfn 


Bir Hailé 


Ma‘n 


Tiberias 

near Bir Zét 

Ramallah 

Dér Diwan 

Dér Ghassiné 

between MHfisdn 
and Battir 

near Battir 


Bétiinia 
Lifta 


Siloam 


Dér Ghassané 


‘An el-Farkha wid-dik Salt 


Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Dyinn. 

Djinn who heat the wells. 
Flock of sheep. 

Camels. 

A djinn marriage procession. 
The family of Zarirah. 


Djinn. 
Djinn who carry fuel to the 
springs of Tiberias. ἢ 
Hen with her chickens. 
Hen with her chickens. 
Hen with her chickens (for- _ 
merly by a camel). | 
Hen with her chickens. 
Young hen and a cock.! 


VI. Springs which have not been mentioned: 


‘En ‘Adjab 
‘En Qashqalé 
Bir el-Hummus 
‘En ed-djib 
‘En el-Fartimé 
‘En Halhul 

ΕἸ ‘Audja 

‘En Surik 

‘En el-Wihra 
‘En Mardé 
‘En Soba 

En Abu Niaq 


1 Imm Elias H. 


el-Qubeébé 
Hebron 
Hebron 
ed-Djib 
Bir Zét 


near Hebron 
N. of Jericho 


Bét Surik 
Kefr Tat 
Marde 
Soba 


Dér Ghassané 


White cock. 
Cock. 
Ram. 
Ram. 
Ram. 
Ram. 
Gazelle. 
Mouse. 
Monkey. ? 
Serpent. 
‘én hasr.? 
‘én hasr.2 


2 Has a curative action in supression of urine. 


—————————————— 


LA REPETITION DE LA RACINE EN HEBREU 


ISRAEL EITAN 
(JERUSALEM) 


I 


a JL existe un phénomeéne philologique des plus primitifs, trés caracté- 
ALristique pour le langage enfantin et le parler populaire, qui se 
rencontre également dans les idiomes de maintes peuplades sauvages 
et de certains peuples anciens. Les traces n’en sont pas rares méme 
dans les langues modernes, surtout de la famille romane, qui, comme 
Vitalien et le francais, préferent souvent l’expression concréte et 
intuitive ἃ Vabstraite. 

Ce phénoméne, si curieux dans sa simplicité naturelle, consiste A 
répéter le mot ou seulement la racine pour en renforcer la significa- 
tion ou-y insister d’une facon quelconque. 
ο΄ [πὴ enfant, au lieu de dire «trés petit», par exemple, dira petit- 
petit. Il en fera autant pour d’autres adjectifs, en prétant ἃ la 
‘répétition un sens swperlatif. De méme, en matiére d’adverbes, il 
 préférera vite-vite & «bien vite» ou «trés vite». Dans les verbes, 
- nous verrons indiquer ainsi surtout la durée ou Vininterruption: il 
 court-court signifiera donc dans ce langage «al court sans s’arréter». 
Quant aux substantifs, c'est la grande quantité ou le grand nombre 
| 4 _qu’on fait ressortir par ce procédé. Certains mots francais, comme 
|  bonbon (superlatif) et jowow (itératif), par ex., doivent trés probable- 
| ment leur origine 4 ce langage enfantin. 

Les mémes remarques sont souvent valables pour le parler populaire 
ou familier, en général. 
| _ Parmi les langues anciennes, c’est le swmérien qui est le plus 
Ξ frappant ἃ ce point de vue. En effet, moyen primitif par excellence, 
a i forme réguliérement le pluriel! des substantifs, et méme des 
| 


———EE—E—————E—E— EE 
seit Ti ae sadist ᾿ re oe alia ον 
bb se) ve ΡΝ Wie ΠΑ Ὑ as We 
ey bys ee {Ὁ ς at 
» ϊ 


eS τ Voy. Fr. Delitzsch, Grundziige der sumer. Grammat., p. 44. 


172 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


adjectifs, par la répétition pure et simple du singulier: tiv = forét, 
tir-tiy = foréts; bal = hache, bal-bal = haches. La répétition de 
Vadjetif peut, en outre, signifier le swperlatif: gal = grand, gal-gal 
= trés grand. 

On croit méme trouver en hébrew des restes de ce pluriel! dans 
les mots ‘8% les eaua et YDB doubles tranchants qui ne seraient 
que des réduplications de Ἢ et de m5. Mais, si nous préférions voir 
dans mémé, au leu d’une réduplication du singulier maz, un pluriel 
secondaire du pluriel maiim (ς «ΔΝ ae<) comme il y en a, dans I’hébreu 
postbiblique, un autre avec terminaison féminine Ni mémoth, — nous 
pourrons trouver des exemples trés stirs en araméen et en syriaque: 
aram. ravr'vin, grands, du sing. rav; syr. daqd'gé, petits, du sing. daq 
inusiteé. 

Or, si les langues sémitiques, notammant l’araméen et l’arabe, ont 
conservé des restes plus ou moins isolés de cette primitive habitude 
de langage, il sera d’autant plus curieux, suggestif peut-étre, de 
constater la portée générale que ce phénoméne a gardée en hébreu 
et de suivre toute l’intéressante évolution quil a pu subir depuis la 
Bible jusqu’A nos jours ow il continue, d’ailleurs, de vivre et de créer. 
Se différenciant en plusieurs procédés grammaticaux ou syntaxiques, 
ou en séries-types d’expressions idiomatiques, la répétition de la racine 
a fourni ἃ la langue hébraique, par voie de formation spontanée, 
souvent méme populaire et sous Vinfluence de l’action analogique, des 
ressources précieuses pour rendre d'une facon plus vive et intense, 
surtout plus concréte et intuitive, certaines nuances d’expression sur 
lesquelles on tient ἃ insister sans les affaiblir par un langage abstrait. 

Voyons d’abord le procédé le plus simple et primitif, c’est-i-dire 
la répétition du mot tel quel, sans changement sensible de forme 
grammaticale. Les exemples abondent dans la Bible? et dans la 
littérature postérieure pour les usages suivants: 

1° Dans les znterjections pures, comme Ww (Am. 516), “SS 
(Ezech. 16 23), MSA ANT (Ps. 70 4), ὅτ post-bib. 

2° Dans l’apostrophe ou discours direct affectant un nom propre 
aussi bien qu’un nom commun, par ex. mW mwa oh! Moise, On Is 
oma oh! Abraham, ὋΝ s oh! mon Dieu, %33 3 oh! mon fils, 


1 Brockelmann, Grundriss der vergl. Gramm. der semit. Spr. I, page 440. 
2 Voy. D. Qimhi: nd2, p. 60—61, éd. Lucques. Ce grammairien entrevoyait 
déja Vimportance de la Répétition en hébreu pour renforcer le sens. 


EITAN: La Répétition de la Racine en Hébreu 173 


3 ‘a8 “28 oh! mon pére. Remarque. — On pourrait attribuer la cause 
de cette derniére sorte de répétitions au manque, en hébreu, d’une 
3 particule vocative spéciale comme & ia en arabe ou oh! en francais. 
39 Pour exprimer la doulewr localisée dans un certain organe, 
par ex. WS YS oh! ma téte, ‘SY IY oh! mon cil, ‘yo yr (Jer. 419) 
oh! mes entrailles, etc. 
4° Pour indiquer le sawperlatif dans les noms et surtout dans les 
— adjectifs et adverbes, par ex. IN P78 p78! (Deut. 16 20) tu suivras la 
justice la plus exacte, pdy pry (Eccl. 7 24) trés profond, DIST BINA 
j (Gen. 25 30) = PeSitta: sumqa simqa trés roux, Yr yr (Pr. 20 14) trés 
}— mauvais, PUSS (p. Ὁ.) le tout dernier; AMI ΠῚ) (1. Sam. 2 3) 
avec beaucoup de hauteur, MAD’ (p. b.) tres bien, wsd-axd tout 
doucement, ἽΝ ἽΝ extrémement, ONND"YND trés soudainement, “2°30 
— 3°29 (aram. shor's'hor) tout autour, ἢ ἢ (p. b.) ἃ la fin du compte, 
— 55>) 552 (p. b.) pas du tout, WIN de tout temps. 
4 5° Pour donner un sens distributif, itéraif ou de continwité in- 
interrompue, aux noms, adverbes ou verbes, par ex. WNW quicon- 
que, chacun, WT AMS a"AMS. (Gen. 1410) plemne de puits de bitume 
(vallée), ΘΠ ΔΘ (Joel 414) des foules qui se pressent, MMO ADS 
| ay AOS (Num. 81 4) mille par tribu, ΠΡ ΠΡ par sept, ὩΣ ὩΣ 
| par deux, mynd INS ws INS ws (Num. 132) un homme de chaque 
4 tribu, bynpy (Px. 23 30) peu ἃ peu = Pes.: b'qalil-qalil, 122 13 (Ex.30 34) 
4 ἃ parties égales, MW. Mw (p. b.) idem; BOY chaque jour, DYD...Dyp 
| (Pr. 712) tantdt...tantdt, oyp2 pydD comme chaque fois (= comme 
| 4 toujours), Waa Apsara chaque matin, AAA WA chaque soir; NVA" 
 towours plus bas, myn mye towours plus haut, TPIT (Ps. 68 13) 
| i ls fuient towowrs, 33D 3310 (Eccl. 16) tournant sans cesse. 
| 60 Dans les zmpératifs pour insister, presser ou encourager, comme 

HAY TY (Nah. 2 9) arrétez-vous donc, 

yom3 WON} (Is. 401) consolez donc, 

yo wo (Thr. 415) retirez-vous donc, 

pywa may may (Is. 62 10) passez done par les portes, 

moon 1b wb (item) aplanissez donc le sentier. 


rg 
aA 


1 Septuag.: δικαίως τὸ δίκαιον διώξῃ; Vulg.: Juste quod justum est persequeris. 
| Les deux tournent donc par un adverbe: tu suivras exactement la justice. Quoique 
4 ces traductions ne soient pas toujours grammaticalement adéquates au texte hébreu, 
| il n’est pas exclu en cette occurrence qu’un des deux pr¥ ait eu originairement 
la valeur @un accusatif adverbial (trés fréquent en arabe). 


174 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Remarque. — On pourrait toutefois considérer ce genre d’expressions 
comme simple figure de rhétorique, réduplication, qu'on aurait le 
droit de traduire dans les autres langues par la méme répétition. 
7° Parfois, pour signifier la dissimilation ou Timparité, par ex.: 
jai Ja8 deux sortes de poids = justes et faux, 
M58) ΠΡῚΝ deux sortes de mesures — idem, 
mat 25) 253 (Ps. 123) ils parlent avec un ceur double. 
8° Pour mettre fortement en relief un nom, un pronom et meme 
une conjonction, ou pour exclure le contraire et le différent, par ex.: 
JI Ni nn (1s. 38 19) mais cest le vivant qui te célébrera (et 
non point les morts), 
NIT IN ΝῚ (Deut. 32 39) moi seul je suis Dieu, 
DOM Ni “DIN 32 Ν᾽ (Is. 51 12) voyez, cest moi qui vous console, 
jya) yy’ (Lev. 26 43) cest bien parce que... 


1 


C’est ἃ ce phénoméne primitif que doivent également leur origine 
tous les nombreux verbes — avec leurs dérivés — considérés comme 
quadrilitteres et qui sont, en réalité, formés secondairement par rédu- 
plication d'une racine qu’on pourrait appeler Dilittere, les deux 
membres du groupe restant accolés dans un radical commun au lieu 
d’étre séparés en deux mots différents. Ces quadrilitteres peuvent 
facilement tirer leur origine de toutes sortes de racines faibles aptes, 
par conséquent, ἃ se débarrasser d’une de leurs trois radicales, mais 
avant tout des verbes creux et géminés. La réduplication donne a 
ces verbes de formation secondaire une nuance nettement itérative: 
ils indiquent donc des actions, plutot faibles, se produisant a coups 
répétés, ἃ peu prés comme les fréquentatifs latins i infinitif en itare 


(crepitare, cantitare, volitare etc.) et surtout comme les verbes francais | 


craqueter, voleter, toussoter, pleurnicher? etc. En hébreu, les exemples 
abondent dans la Bible aussi bien que dans la littérature postbiblique. 
Voyons-en les plus usuels: 


' Ben-Jehuda: Thesaurus, p. 1051; ce sim aurait perdu le éod initial par suite 
de rencontre avec le dod final du mot précédent. Le sens est ainsi parfaitement 
paralléle avec celui de ’hémistiche suivant: “Wey ODS PR. 

2 Comp. aussi les verbes allemands en e/n, comme:. lécheln sourire, klingeln 
tinter ete. 


= EITAN: La Répétition de la Racine en Hébreu 175 


 nimnem (p. b.), sommeiller, de 8); 
_ gilgel, faire avancer en roulant, de 553; 
 pilbel (p. b.), embrouiller, confondre, de 55a; 
 ¢ilcel (p. b.), sonnailler, tinter, . de 55x; 
τ tiftef (p. b.), dégoutter, de 22; 
ligleg (p. b.), tourner en dérision, de ay); 
hirher, allumer la querelle, faire des intrigues, de ὙΠ; 
nidned (p. b.), secouer, branler, ‘ de 3; 
nivana' (p. b.), idem, de ij; 

ο΄ tiltel, balancer, lancer de ci de 1a, cahoter, de 51»; 
Ε΄. nifnef (p. Ὁ.), brandiller de ὩΣ; 
τ΄ ηἰϊηοῖ, secouer des fleches, gater (p. b.), de 55p; 
= Iithhalhal, étre saisi de tremblements d’angoisse, de ὅπ; 
Sif Sef’ (p. b.), frotter, de ἣν; 
qisges (p. b.), tinter, frapper, . de wp; 

᾿ς zilzel (p. b.), déprécier, mépriser, de 553; 
picpec, fracasser, de p35; 

_ karker, danser (en tournant), : de WD; 
 pirper, effaroucher; p. b. gigotter, émietter | de “7B; 
τ hithmarmer, s’exaspérer, de 1. 


On voit bien que la grande majorité de ces verbes secondaires de 
la forme pilpel tirent leur origine d’une racine biblique, méme quand 
Ε΄ ils sont post-bibliques. Certains de ces derniers ont pénétré en 
3 hébreu de U’araméen ou, dailleurs, ces itératifs ne sont pas moins 
 fréquents qu’en arabe. 

Ξ ‘Il faut rattacher ἃ ce groupe, certainement comme les plus primitifs 
a de procédé, les quadrilittéres onomatopoictiques qui ne font que répéter 
: deux fois un bruit naturel, comme: ¢ifcef gazouiller, qirger (p. b.) 
_ glousser ou coasser, gimgem (p. Ὁ.) bégayer, hi‘ka‘ (p. b.) toussoter, 
:  ¢ircer (p. b.) crier (grillon). Ils se sont multipliés surtout dans 
᾿ς Vhébreu moderne, par ex.: zamzem' bourdonner, tigteq faire entendre 
3 le tic-tac (montre), rire’ bruire (froufrou de feuilles ou d’étoffes), 
= digdeg chatouiller — ar. E585, etc. De méme, le substantif biblique 
_bagbug, bouteille, reproduit le glouglou de V’eau. 1] va, d’ailleurs, 
sans dire que les quadrilittéres, comme les autres verbes, nous ont 
fourni toutes sortes de noms dérivés, par ex. galgal roue, zalzal 


1 Ar, 5 = marmotter, parler entre les dents, barrir (chameau). 


176 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


sarment (comp. ar. SS vyaciller,! chanceler), saasuim récréation de 
yyy — pwyw. Pourtant, l’existence de ces noms peut étre indépendante 
de celle de verbes quadrilitteres correspondants, par ex. ca aciuim 
gravures (comp. ar. pls former, fagonner), ¢inceneth panier ou bocal, 
gangan (p. Ὁ.) eruche. 


Quant aux racines trilitteres saines, ne pouvant pas facilement se 
répéter en entier, ce qui produirait un radical secondaire de six 
lettres inapte i la conjugaison, - elles se sont contentées de redoubler 
les dewx dernieres radicales pour former ainsi des soi-disant quin- 
quilitteres. Comme verbes, ils ont surtout un sens szperlatif: 

sharhar (Ps. 38 10) @tre trés agité (cceur); 

mp’b’ (Ps. 45 3) tu es plus beau qu’aucun...; 

pqah-qgoak (Is. 611) ouvrir largement ou grande ouverture des 

prisons; 

ahabhu-hebhii? (Hos. 418) = ahabhhebhii ne s’occuper que d’amour; 

homarmru meat (Thr. 120, 211) mes entrailles sont trés-émues 

(= fermentent; comp. ar. = 
pana, homarm'ra (Job. 1616) mon visage est tout-rougi, comp. 
AL. yom 5 

littamm' hu tmahi (Hab. 15) soyez extrémement étonnés. Dans ce 

dernier exemple, toutes les trois radicales ont été répétées. 


Ces quinquilittéres forment aussi un groupe d’adjectifs indiquant 
surtout les cowlewrs avec un sens itératif, comme si elles se répétaient 
par petites quantités: papy verdatre, NW noiratre, ONIN rougeatre; 
en hébreu moderne: 3nan¥ jaunatre (couleur d’or), 9n>nD_ bleuitre. 
Parmi les adjectifs du méme genre n’indiquant pas de couleurs, 
citons comme exemples: opopy tortueux, 5ndmb entortillé (faux). 

De méme que les quadrilittéres ci-dessus mentionnés, les quinqui- 
littéres aussi ont donné naissance ἃ maints substantifs dérivés, comme 
})DEDS populace, Mp>p>n endroits trés glissants (ou intrigues, arti- 


1 En hébreu, le nom seul est ici quadrilittére, mais le verbe reste trilittére au 
nif‘al. Voy. Gesenius-Buhl: Handwirt., rac. I >>, p. 199. 

2 Notons toutefois que les exégétes sont loin de ]’unanimité générale en ce qui 
concerne notre expression. Voyez la Vulgate, aussi Ben-Jehuda (TZhes., 20378). 
— Douteuse aussi, plus ou moins, lexpr. girhag-hog (Mich. 711) il est trés loin, 
ou certains voudraient corriger hog en huggi et traduire: ma frontiére s’étendra 
loin (= s’élargira), 


ee 
ΓΑ" je Ψ 


> 
=” 

Ft 
i ee 


ἘΣ ΤῊΝ 12 


EITAN: La Répétition de la Racine en Hébreu PATE 


fices), Mm273n taches parsemées (panthére), NM|IDN (Is. 2 20) rats- 
taupes, etc. 

Mais, si les verbes quadrilittéres et les adjectifs quinquilittéres sont 
des formes bien vivantes en hébreu jusqu’é nos jours méme, les verbes 
quinquilittéres sont tombés en désuétude dés les temps anciens, ne 
nous laissant dans la Bible que quelques rudiments isolés. 


: II 
Z Si, aprés avoir examiné la répétition pure et simple du imot, nous 
-_-venons maintenant & suivre Vévolution — ou plutot la différenciation — 


~ subie par ce phénoméne, notre attention sera tout d’abord retenue 
par les substantifs ou nous aurons a distinguer plusieurs manicres: 

1° Construction du singulier avec le singulier, accompagnée de 
changement de type nominal ou de genre, mais surtout d’adjonction 
d’un suffixe pronominal, par ex.: 

mnatp asp! (Is. 237) sa haute antiquité, 

pnay naw (Ex. 3115, 352) repos absolu, 

DIN WH (p. b.) le fin fond de. 

Notons que, parfois, le génitif peut étre remplacé par une particule, 
comme dans AMON ΓΝ (p. b.) la vérité complete. 

2° Construction du singulier avec le pluriel pour indiquer l’excellence: 
2 ovay tay le plus vil des esclaves, 
Ξ pan 5an la plus pure vanité, 
a ow yw le plus illustre de tous les chants, 
pwap wip saint des saints, sacro-saint. 
2 De méme dans certaines locutions adverbiales, comme O33 M335 
en toute éternité, oN 195 pour toutes les générations. C’est ainsi 
que Dieu est désigné par la triple répétition: ΞΟΠ ‘259 75x le roi 
des rois des rois. . 

3° Construction du pluriel avec le pluriel, surtout dans des ex- 
pressions adverbiales, avec signification superlative danS un sens 
qualitatif ou quantitatif: 
3a ΡΠ wip (Lév. 21 22) la part des prétres dans les dons sacrés, 
ow ὯΝ cieux sublimes, 
msde oxo grandes merveilles, 


a 
a > 


1 Qn pourrait rattacher ἃ ce groupe l’expression post-biblique mny-ny> en 
attendant (τι. 4m. au temps de maintenant), ot ‘atta, morphologiquement |’accu- 
___satif adverbial du nom ny, remplit le role d’un nom au génitif. 


oa 
eee 


= 


178 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


oon wn des tas et des tas, 

DMD ‘WD (aram.) beaucoup de détails, 

Ὁ 2 ὋΣ grands miracles, 

ὈΣΠ “ans en grande cachette, 

madi ΘΝ a tout jamais. 

ppp PD (duel) plusiewrs fois le double. 

La plupart des exemples de cette dernicre catégorie sont postbibliques. 
Nous avons, d’ailleurs, l'occasion d’y rencontrer de curieux phénomeénes 
danalogie qui yont, pour ainsi dire, jusqu’a braver la grammaire. 

En effet, une fois que la terminaison masculine du pluriel construit 
(Οὐ. = δὴ) est fixée par usage comme caractéristique de ces sortes 
d’expressions superlatives, on l’appliqua également aux noms masculins 
dont le pluriel régulier est & terminaison féminine! ΠῚ = oth, par ex.: 

mays “1 de longues générations, 

mbip ‘ip: (crier) ἃ tue-téte, 

nino ‘Nd: trés secrétement, en grand secret. 

Plus encore, et c’est le comble de l’audace au point de vue 
grammatical, ’analogie est allée jusqu’é traiter de la méme maniére 
des noms purement /féminins avec les terminaisons typiques ὦ (7,) au 
singulier et oth (ΓἿ) au pluriel; par exemple: 

MY aw ΔΩ yoe: 2 préter mille serments ou jurer sans discontinuer, 

MNS 7 grandes miseres, 

md>p 5p toutes sortes de malédictions, 

Mypyn yin: avec force gestes, 

m227 37 des myriades sans fin, 

man an un encombrement de paquets. 

Enfin, dune fagon tout a fait inattendue, cette analogie a atteint 
des noms abstraits méme et de vrais adverbes dans plusieurs locutions 
adverbiales, comme: ?§t °2%2 (ou Dum 2.12) ἃ trés bon marché, ΠΥΡῚ ‘S73 
sans le sou (dans la misére noire), O3n ‘3n2 pour rien, presque gratis. 
Ces expressions et plusieurs des précédentes semblent bien étre de 
formation plus ou moins populaire qui seule aurait pu se permettre 
une pareille liberté dans Vanalogie. En effet, tout en étant trés 


1 Meme phénoméne morphologique, mais sans la différenciation de sens ici en 
question, a constater dans les expressions talmudiques: wladé wladoth ( Bekhor. 2 4) 
des petits de deuxiéme génération, per? perdth les revenus des revenus. 

2 Dans Ezech, 21, 28, cette expression est peu claire; par contre elle est trés 
courante dans l’hébreu post-bibl. dans le sens indiqué ici. 


EITAN: La Répétition de la Racine en Hébreu 179 


usuelles méme dans le langage judéo-allemand, elles n'ont pas beaucoup 
cours dans le style lttéraire hébreu et ne sont pas, pour la plupart, 
enregistrées par les dictionnaires.! 


Done, pour résumer ce qui concerne les substantifs, nous pouvons 
dire que les trois manieres citées — constructions du sing. avec le 
sing., du sing. avec le pluriel, du plur. avec le pluriel — ne sont que 
des variations du méme principe général qui attribue un sens siper- 
latif ἃ [état construit avec répétition. 

Un deuxiéme principe, général seulement pour la 3%™° maniére, 
cest que la terminaison masculine 8 (*.) du pluriel construit peut 
s’appliquer, sans exception, ἃ tous les noms quels qu’en soient le 
genre ou le pluriel absolu. 

Enfin, il ne serait peut-étre pas inutile de signaler entre les ex- 
pressions, surtout du 2° et du 3° groupes, une certaine différence 
dans le mécanisme, pour ainsi dire, de la répétition; d’autant plus que 
cette différence n’est pas sans en entrainer une dans notre facon de 
percevorr Vacception de ces locutions. En effet, dans le troisicme 
groupe, basé sur la construction du plur. avec le pluriel, la répétition 
est régressive: étant donné un plur. absolu, nous le faisons précéder 
de son état construit, de ΝΒ merveilles nous faisons oO 'N>D 5 
grandes merveilles. Tout en percevant l’expression comme un seul 
mot a réduplication, nous finissons pourtant par distinguer que la 
nouvelle nuance de signification — le superlatif — a été produite 
par la partie ajoutée en avant. Or, il n’en est pas de méme du 
2° groupe au la répétition est progressive: nous sentons sans difficulté 
que, dans les expressions comme ‘ebed ‘abadim vil esclave, c’est le 
premier mot, au singulier, qui est le principal et que c’est le pluriel 
dont on l’a fait swzvre qui lui ajoute le sens superlatif, ou d’excellence, 
en remplissant ainsi le role d’un adjectif spécial qui, lui aussi, aurait 
αὖ swevre le nom. 


1 Ben-Jehuda, Thes. p. 945, ne signale que Vexp. b’dalle dalluth chez quelques 
rabbins du moyen-age, entre autres chez Rasi, qui, d’ailleurs, négligeant toute 
préoccupation littéraire, nous ont souvent conservé des facons de parler populaires. 
— J’ai, moi-méme, eu l'occasion d’entendre des rabbins espagnols se servir de 
Vexpression nimb ND? tout aw moins, comme si l’adverbe pahoth était un nom 
pluriel. Ils m’ont affirmé que c’était 1a une facon de parler trés courante chez 
eux, employée surtout par les gens de la vieille génération, qui n’ont pas appris 


leur hébreu dans les écoles modernes. 
12* 


180 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


IV 


Si nous nous adressons maintenant aux adjectifs proprement dits, 
nous rencontrerons d’abord un superlatif postbiblique qui, pour unir 
les deux termes de la répétition dont le 2° est généralement un 
pluriel, remplace l'état construit par la double particule Y gui (puisse 
se trouver) +3 dans (parm); par ex.: 

mSpaw 5p de tres peu d'importance, 

mspaw “sy extrémement pauvre, | 

pyynaw mbyn le plus remarquable, 

Dninaaw ΠΤ le plus bas (vil), 

ΠΣ win le plus nouveau (moderne), récent. 

Cette fagon caractérise plutét le style famulier.1 Elle provient, 
trés probablement, d’une double orzgine consistant dans la superposition 
du superlatif araméen hébraisé au superlatif biblique. En effet, la 
préposition 3 ba est la caractéristique de ce dernier, comme dans 
haiiafa bannasim (Cant. cant 18) la blus belle des femmes. Quant 
ἃ la particule Y se dont Pusage se fait déja bien sentir dans les 
derniers livres de la Bible, elle correspond au relatif 7 (α΄, di) qui, 
remplacant l'état constrwit, caractérise également — d’ailleurs avec 
répétition du nom — le superlatif araméen, par ex.: 

pT PM grands mystéres, SIDWI Sw du plus beau, etc. 

En outre, il nest pas sans imtérét de noter qu’A ce superlatif 
araméen correspond plus exactement encore un autre superlatif post- 
biblique, beaucoup moins usité il est vrai, dans lequel c’est la pré- 
position min, de, qui unit les deux termes de la répétition. Cette 
derniére peut, d’ailleurs, comme en araméen, affecter un singulier 
aussi bien qu’un pluriel: c’est une sorte de répétition pure et simple? 
ἃ aide d’une préposition, par. ex. dagqa min haddaqqa (Joma 4 9) 
trés fine, hammhaddrin min hamnv’hadd’rin (Sabbath 21) les plus 
exacts, méticuleux ou empressés (dans l’observance). 

Or, les adjectifs ont un procédé de répétition bien plus original. 
il ne consiste pas, comme on pourrait le dire pour les deux cas 
précédents, dans une sorte de périphrase, aussi bréve quelle soit, de 
létat constrwit, mais il exprime le superlatif absolu (sans comparaison) 


1 C’est sur ce type qu’a été formée aussi l’expression injurieuse courante dans 
le langage populaire: naboaw 25> chien de chien! 

2 A noter pourtant l'article qu’on ajoute toujours au dewxiéme membre de la 
répétition. 


EITAN: La Répétition de la Racine en Hébreu 181 


par voie plutot morphologique. Le principe est trés net: on répéte 
la racine de Vadjectif sous forme d’un participe passif quelconque, en 

accordant la préférence ἃ la forme intensive. 
manquent point depuis la Bible: 

‘guna qe (Lévy. 26 10) trés vieux, 

mana oan (Prov. 30 24) extrémement intelligents, 

yuri yw (pop.) trés méchant. 

Il en est de méme pour des substantifs abstraits & sens adjectif 

ou participe: 

‘Ww ἼΘῚΘ 2 (Is. 28 16) fondation solide, 

ANS ANS (pop.) grandes miséres. 


Les exemples ne 


Les deux termes peuvent aussi étre unis par un} waw conjonctif: 
bm) pb completement nul ou annulé, 

JNA WI mille fois beni, 

Tne TWH absolwment unique, 


mw) maw tout ce qwil y a de plus différent, 
sont ΝΟ archi-plein, 


pn) pin tres éloigné, etc. 


1 pa wat Swa (Ex. 129) cwit, preparé ἃ Peau n'a vien ἃ voir Ἧς n’étant pas 
une répétition pour renforcer le sens. En effet, ne wan n’est qu'une parenthése 

ou une apposition pour déterminer l’acception précise ‘de Swa a laquelle on fait 
allusion dans ce passage, le méme terme étant employé ailleurs dans le sens de 
cuire au feu, rotir (2. Chr. 8 18). — Quant a wan wan (Ps. 647), le texte y est 


trop douteux et trop obscur pour nous permettre de reconnaitre la vraie valeur 
_ de cette expression. 


=e 


x 


33 

ἘΣ 
ἫΤ, 

"τον 
Ων 


we 


ἀξ Pr 
re 


2 "pip n’est_pas, comme l’admet Gesenius (Handw., 70°), un hof‘al qui rendrait 
superflue la réduplication de la 2e radicale. Car, si la Massora nous a conservé 
68 dages fort malgré l’apparente exception, c’est que nous sommes en présence 
_ ἀπ archaisme. En effet, la voyelle précédant ici la réduplication n’est longue 
᾿ς -qu’en apparence; en réalité, c’est un u bref (i =.) qui a reculé pour remplacer 
un sheva mobile: 10% provient de ἼΘ.)», mussad < m’wussad. Le phénoméne est, 
4 ~Wailleurs, bien connu comme affectant, dans les mémes conditions, la lettre alef qui 
& -_devient alors quiescente comme notre waw ici; par ex. DINND < DAN, DWNT < OWS 

a ete. Or, m’wussad est la forme archaique de m’iussad, le ver be appartenant aux 1D. 
Done, c’est le partic. passif de la forme Intensive (pu‘al) sous laquelle, d’ailleurs, 
_ 08 verbe est si usité dans la Bible. Une bonne raison contre le Ποία est déja 
a ce fait que nous ne trouvous guére ἼΘ᾽ sous la forme causative. -- Quant au 

᾿ς phénoméne méme du recul vocal, il n’est pas isolé chez le waw; nous le retrouvons 
dans Job 57: jullad provenant de i’wullad, passif du gal. 


3 Le méme procédé a trés probablement présidé ἃ la formation des expressions 


5 nominales abstraites: pian πρὶ (Nah. 2 


11) grande calamité = AY, πὴ πε 


182 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Ce dernier type d’expressions nous fera saisir facilement comment 
a pu se former l’étonnant jwron, répandu chez les Juifs espagnols, 
pour taxer quelqu’un de la plus grande méchanceté: pws yr méchant 
et lépreuxw. On se demande ce que le lépreux pourrait bien ayoir ἃ 
faire ici, car on ne voit guére en quoi la /épre caractériserait la méchan- 
ceté. Or, la chose est bien simple. Notre lépreux est tombé ici par 
un pur hasard, victime d’une axalogie malencontreuse: voulant renforcer 
yr méchant, selon la maniére habituelle, par la répétition sous forme de 
partic. pass. intensif, on se heurta contre une difficulté phonétique ou 
grammaticale sortant un peu de l’ordinaire, l’adjectif en question dérivant 
dune racine géminée avec 2° et 3° radicales gutturales, pyr. Or, dans 
ces circonstances, rien n’était mieux fait pour trancher la difficulté 
que le qualificatif yrs lépreux, donnant par sa forme satisfaction a 
tous les besoins de l’analogie: il répéte par sa derniére syllabe l’ad- 
jectif ἃ renforcer, il a aussi la forme intensive du part. pass., requise 
dans ces occasions. De plus, le sens propre de m'cora‘, ne représentant 
également rien d’appétissant, ajoutait 4 l’expression une nouvelle nuance 
pour rendre aussi le dégowt inspiré par la méchanceteé. 

Pour des raisons analogues, nous rencontrons dans usage moderne 
Yexpression ΠῚ NW! tout ad fait étranger, quoique WS, employé 
isolément, ne signifie que bizarre. 


Vv 


Si nous passons aux verbes, nous pouvons y rencontrer le méme 
procédé que chez les adjectifs. Pour venforcer le sens, on répécte le 
verbe ἃ un autre theme, en préférant l’Intensif, par ex.: 

TIMyYN oS wYyN os? (Cant. ὃ τ; 3.5; 84) que vous n’éveilliez point 

ni ne réveilliez! 


(Soph. 115) grand malheur — Poy — Le waw conjonctif remplit, en outre, un ro- 
le assez important, dans ce que l’on pourrait appeler la répétition mizte, ov il sert 
ἃ unir des catégories grammaticales bien sensiblement différentes, par ex.: 
‘iddan w'iddanim (aram.) bien longtemps, hafle wafele c’est merveilleux, lifnaz 
wlifnim tout a Vintérieur, γοδ w’risdn le tout premier. Nous le retrouverons 
aussi plus lom, dans les verbes. 

1 3}19 ne se trouve qu’une fois dans la Bible (Ps.69 9). La version syriaque traduit 
9203) = hébr. et étranger. Les modernes corrigent % 18> comme un étranger. 
Le mot, prétendu donc douteux, est pourtant trés courant dans l’usage post-biblique. 

2 Il serait un peu risqué de ranger ici les deux express. peu claires d’[s. 29 9: 
wi IwwynwA, Wan wenn (comme triple répétition alors); car d’autres sont 
tentés d’y chercher des verbes différents, mais simplement homonymes. — Pour la 
meme raison, nous laisserons encore de coté ici \wip) weapnn (Soph. 21). 


j 
ἢ 
= 
| 
a 
j 
4 
> | 
4 
f 
| ! 
| 
4 Ι 
ΙΝ 
q 
A 


i 
| 


THe eR Be Pea de ἐνὶ 
»»"; - ὦ 


be 


Ce Ns A ICTY. 
ix Reg het ie A red HA GG DEA & 
WP Patel Nia es iy : ig 
ΕΝ τ αύχας ΨΥ ἴ ἀπ ὶ 5 Tees. 
ἥν Ree Mares ee cual 


EITAN: La Répétition de la Racine en Hébreu 183 


nop)! nid (Jos. 61) close et fermée avec soin, 
mana) mainw Ὁ. (év. Rabba 221,2) qui désire ardemiment. 


Nous arrivons ainsi au procédé original et classique dont dispose 
la langue hébraique pour renforcer le yerbe et dont les traductions 
anciennes ne savaient que rarement rendre les nuances. C’est une 
répéetition qui se fait par l'Jnfinitif, surtout par celui du théme qui 
affecte le verbe intéressé, par ex.: DPN apm (Deut. 225), awn sawn 
(Deut. 242,13), hibbog tibbog (Is. 243), Sallem 7’Sallem (Ex. 22 13), 
‘333 333 (Gen. 4015). Mais cet Infinitif peut aussi, sans égard au 
théme du yverbe quwil répéte, se mettre au Qual, comme dans: sagol 
assagel (Ex. 21 28), tarof toraf (Gen. 37 33), ganobh igganebh (Ex. 22 11), 
mot hithmot’ta (Is. 2419) etc. Notons que c’est presque toujours 
l'Infin. absolu et que, généralement, il précéde son verbe. 

Quoique le fait meme de cette Répétition infinitive soit classique 
et qu'elle reléve plutdt de la syntaxe, essayons au moins d’esquisser 
les principales nwances de signification quelle sert ἃ exprimer et 
qu’on ne saurait rendre dans une autre langue qu’a l’aide de particules 
conjonctives spéciales ou d’expressions adverbiales. 

Signalons tout d’abord deux nuances déja rencontrées souvent au 
cours de cette étude et qui, sans étre bien caractéristiques du verbe, 
s'y rencontrent pourtant également. Ce sont l’Jntensité et VItération. 
C’est dans un sens intensif quil faut entendre des expressions comme: 
sos asis (Is. 61 10) je me réjouirai beaucoup; halokh halakhta (Gen.31 30) 
Vulgate: ire cupiebaus = tu tenais ἃ t’en aller; nikhsof mkhsafta (item) 
Ostervald: tu souhaitais avec passion. Mais, seul le sens itératif 


~ conviendra ἃ d’autres exemples: bakhd tibhké ballaila (Thr. 12) Osterv.: 


elle ne cesse de pleurer pendant la nuit; agobh iaaqobh (Jer. 9 3) 


idem: il fait métier de supplanter, etc. 


La plupart des nuances de sens mentionnées jusqu’ici sont objectives. 
En effet, quantité ou nombre, distribution, continuité, itération, 
intensité — toutes ne nous renseignent que sur des modifications 


1 Ta vocalisation biblique, donnant ἃ ΠΟ la forme active, semble bien sur- 
prenante. I] se peut bien que nous soyons en présence d’un ancien partic. passif 
du φαΐ: sugereth  Vinstar de ukkal (Ex. 32) = ukal; mais, un phénoméne de 
dissimilation, produit par le verbe passif immédiatement suivant, aurait changé 
sugereth en sogereth. 


184 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


affectant le monde eatéview au sujet pensant. Or, le vrai rdle, 
spécial ii la Répétition infinitive, est de caractére suljectif et énergique: 
elle exprime des relations du sujet qui n’obligent en rien la réalité 
méme, notamment elle fait mieux ressortir différents degrés d’énergie 
dans laffirmation et dans lantithése. 
Dans VAffirmation, positive ou négative, la répétition infinitive 
peut servir ἃ rendre: 
1° des déclarations exprimant une certitude, une conviction, une 
promesse ou une assurance, par ΘΧ.: . 
elohim paqgod afqod ethkhem (Gen. 50 24) Osterv.: Dieu ne manquera 
point de vous visiter; 
tarof toraf josef (Gen. 37 33) idem: certaimement Joseph a été 
déchiré; 
iakhol tukhal (1. Sam. 26 25) tu viendras swrement a bout; 
joy ays aT (Gen. 3213) je promets de te faire du bien. 


2° un droit accordé (ou refusé) ou un devow vivement recommandeé, 
par ex.: 
majaon δ IDM) (Deut. 2114) Vulg.: nec vendere poteris = mais tu 
n’auras pas le droit de la vendre; 
> yawn sawn (Ex. 234) tu devras le lui ramener. 


3° une loi juridique ou un ordre imposé pouvant, au besoin, étre 
exécutés par vole coércitive, par ex.: 
sallem isallem (Ex. 2213) Vulg.: reddere compelletur = il sera 
obligé de rendre; 
moth iumath (Ex. 21, passim) il sera puni de mort wmmanquable- 
ment. 


Quant A l’Antithése, la répétition infinitive sait lui donner plus 
de relief de plusieurs maniéres: 


10 sous forme de question énergique ἃ laquelle on attend une 
réponse négative par ex: 
sao) xd md) mtn} ΠΡ (Am. 3 5) léverait-on le filet de 
dessus la terre avant d’avoir rien pris du tout? 
wy Joan joan (Gen. 378) est-ce que vraiment du régneras sur 
nous? 
2° en relevant des cas particuliers ou des circonstances spéciales, 
par ex.: 


EITAN: La Répétition de la Racine en Hébreu 185 


— yn ΠΡῸΣ dann ban os (Ex. 22 25) dans le cas ot tu prendrais en 
gage le vétement de ton prochain; 

‘im tarof tittaref (Ex. 22 12) dans le cas ou il (beuf, Ane etc.) 
aurait été déchiré. 


3° en comparant ou en opposant entre eux deux états ou actions 

contraires, comme: 

m3 ND ΝΕ «οὐ 7521 75 Wom (Ps. 1266) il ira en pleurant ... il 
reviendra avec un cri de jore; 


| ΠΡΟΣ ND mpsy... DES ΤῊΝ “Π (Num. 1418) Dieu est lent ἃ ἴα 
᾿ = _colére... mais il ne laisse point (le coupable) impwne. 

| VI 

: Si nous venons maintenant & résumer les différents phénoménes 


de vrépétition de la racine passés en revue dans cette étude, nous 
pourrons les grouper assez nettement en cing catégories, comme 
a il suit: 
1° la Répétition pure et simple; 
4 20 la Réduplication sous forme de radicaux quadrilitteres et quin- 
quilitteres ; 
4 3° la Répétition génitive, ou construite; 
a 40 la Reépétition paronymique, ou sans construction; 
2 ; 5° la Répétition infinitive. 
-- Comme phénoméne de Répétition le plus simple, on pourrait 
᾿ 3 “signaler la réduplication de la 2° radicale, qui constitue ἃ elle seule 
q ee par la répétition d’une seule consonne — le theme Jntensif des 
verbes. Mais, s'il s’agit de déterminer le phénomene de répétition 
le plus primitif dans le temps, il faudra certainement s’adresser ἃ la 
: ᾿ cRepétition pure et simple» du mot, sans aucun changement de 


_ forme. 
a 
Vétymologie, a donc un double caractére, sémantique aussi bien que 


A 
4 La tendance paronymique ¢tudiée jusquici, étant basée sur 


Ξ _ phonétique. En se dissociant, elle peut donc engendrer deux autres 
᾿ phénoménes de répétition: 


1° la Répétition synonymique, ne se préoccupant que du sens, qui 
‘est trés répandue en hébreu, par ex.: 


M2DN) WH obscurité complete, 
313) "pw absolument faux, 


186 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


yar) 22 tout prét, 

NI DDS rien de rien, etc.; 

20 la Répétition paronomastique, faisant cas surtout de la sessem- 
blance des sons sans s’occuper de leur étymologie, qui ἃ fourni ἃ 
Yarabe une assez riche végétation d’expressions ἃ Vallure fantasque, 
comme: 

poe pds (Sadar madar) dispersé ci et 1a, 

sie eda (jida midd) de tout cote, 

asY gle (sig lig) de facile déglutition, 

24S Sus (haitha baitha) dispersé, 

bakes LS (galil balil) peu; 
ou ἃ Vair plus raisonnable, comme: 

Veo Z ἊΝ Bee terre et par mer, 

es 9 ens (hasab wanasab) mérite propre et noblesse d’origine, etc. 

Mais ces deux nouvelles espéces de répétitions sortent complétement 
du cadre de la présente étude. 


κι τι δες ες an MOR ae ate ne nr eek eee ΤΑΝ Ponta 
ROR ee ane NRE ἜΤ ΤΥ ΤΟΣ 


DE anak? fee EAMES 


aap 


A COLONY OF CRETAN MERCENARIES ON THE 
COAST OF THE NEGEB 


W. F. ALBRIGHT 
(JERUSALEM) 


Ε read Deut. 223: And the ‘Awwim, who dwelt in villages (or, 

fortified camps!) as far as Gaza—the Kaftorim who came from 
Kaftor destroyed them and dwelt in their stead. Jos. 133 also 
mentions the ‘Awwim as an appendix to a list of the inhabitants of 
the five Philistine cities, but the name may. be merely an archaistic 
ornament, and not indicate that this mysterious people? was still in 
existence at the time of composition. In all our sources Gaza appears 
as the southern limit of the Canaanites proper. Gen. 1019 states: 


1 The term hasertm (sing. hasér) means properly “enclosed camps,” being 
etymologically related to the place-name Hasér. The cognate Arabic word is 
hazirah, “enclosure for cattle, sheep-fold,” though hddar, ,,fixed settlement,” in 
distinction to Bedu camp, which appears in Aramaic as hértd@ (whence the place- 
name al-Hira) “permanent camp” may have fallen together with it in Hebrew. 
In Gen. 2516 (AV, “castles”) and Is. 4211 the word refers unmistakably to the 
permanent, and hence enclosed, or fortified camps of Arabia Petraea. This seems 
also to be the meaning in our passage. Later, in Palestine proper, the word 
comes to mean “village” in distinction to the walled, “mother” cities (cf. esp. 
Lev. 28 11). 

22 Kings 1731 we hear that ‘Awwim were among the peoples transported 
by the Assyrians to Samaria, where they still paid honour to their gods, Nibhaz 
and Tartaq. Hommel (OLZ, XV, 118) has pointed out that the gods are clearly 
identical with Ibnahaza and Dagdadra, which appear in an Assyrian list of 
Elamite divinities, though never mentioned in Susian texts, and hence certainly 
not Hlamite in the narrow sense. His association of the ‘Awwim with the city 
of Awan on the Elamite-Babylonian frontier hardly commends itself, though the 
city is unquestionably one of the most ancient in Mesopotamia. While the 
perfect agreement in name may be purely accidental, it is worth bearing in 
mind. Nor is it impossible that the Ghawwim (so read, since the » in non-Semitic 
words usually indicates a gh) of the Negeb were really a Zagros folk whom the 
Hyksos settled here, and whom the Pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty replaced 
with Cretan mercenaries. 


188 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


And the territory (lit. border) of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as 
thou goest in the direction of Gerar (ὦ. 6., southward) as far as Gaza. 
Similarly, as Gardiner has pointed out (JEA‘! VI, 104) the southern- 
most town of the Canaanites, called by Sethos I dmyt n p? Kn‘n, 
“city of ‘the’ Canaan,” was Gaza. But beyond Gaza were arable 
stretches of ground, gardens, and palm-groves,? which, combined with 
the profitable caravan trade, supported many flourishing towns, — 
Grerar (perhaps Tell Jemmeh, in the W4di Ghazzeh, two miles south 
of Umm Jerrar) Raphia (Eg. Rph, mod. Rafa‘), Sharuhen (variant — 
Nilhim, which the Eg. Sv(J)lim indicates should be pronounced 
Nilhon), ete. Since the term “Canaanite” seems to have been very 
elastic, it is strange that this district is not assigned to them. 

The answer to this problem is indicated by the passage in 
Deuteronomy already cited. The author of this work from the 
seventh century, whether using older sources or not, is obviously 
endeavouring to place himself in as archaic a background as possible. 
Accordingly, he takes care not to put in Moses’s mouth anything 
incompatible with the historical situation as he conceives it to have 
been. Knowing that the Philistines were later intruders who did not 
occupy the coast until many decades after the Judaeo-Israelite con- 
quest of the hinterland, he does not mention them at all; the Caphtorim 
who occupy the coast south of Gaza have nothing to do with the 
Philistines who came in during the twelfth century, but were an 
independent body of much earlier immigrants. 

Now we are ready to unterstand 1 Sam. 3014, where the Egyptian 
slave of the Amalekite says, We made a raid upon the Negeb 
belonging to the Kyeti (Cherethites) « +» * and upon the Negeb 
belonging to Caleb. The latter is the region of Beersheba, and the 
former is the district between it and the sea. Verse 16, however, 
refers to the land of the Cherethites under the general head, “land 
of the Philistines.” This is perfectly natural, since both the Philistines 
and the Caphtorim are said to come from Caphtor or Crete, and 


' Note the abbreviations JEA = Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, OLZ = 
Orientalistische Literaturzeitung. 

* Every traveler on the railway from Egypt to Palestine remembers that 
even today there are long stretches of arable lands in the country between El- 
‘AriS and Gaza, a distance of fifty miles. The palm-groves of El-‘Ari8 are 
wonderfully beautiful in the autumn. 


_ ALBRIGHT: A Colony of Cretan Mercenaries on the Coast of the Negeb 189 


hence possessed similar cultures, whether their languages were similar 
or not. The same loose usage is shown by the prophets; Ezekiel 
(28 16) and Zephaniah (2 5) use the terms Pelistim and Krétim 
synonymously. 

The twenty-sixth chapter of Genesis can now be interpreted with 
some hope of success. As is well-known, the parallel story told in 
Ch. 20 of Abraham is merely an Elohistic doublet to our Judaic 
document, and has no independent value. Isaac, representing the 
Hebrew tribe of the Bené Yishaq, has a controversy over some lands 
_ and wells with the subjects of Abimelech, the “Philistine” prince of 
; Gerar. Isaac dwells in Beersheba, thirty-five miles southeast οἱ 
᾿ς Gerar in a straight line, and makes a treaty with Abimelech after 
being compelled to yield ground. There is no reason to doubt the 
essential historicity of the account, nor of the names. Phichol, or 

Pikhél (5>.5) the prince’s military aid, bears, as Spiegelberg has 
seen, an Hgyptian name, of a common type, meaning “The Syrian” 
(οὗ, Phinehas, “The Nubian”).! However, the modern term “Philistine”, 
has been substituted for the more archaic “Kaftéri,”’ or “Kreti.” If 
we may judge from the name, the Cretan colonists had lost, or were 
losing their language, and adopting the Canaanite vernacular, Hebrew, 
᾿ς jast as the Philistine did in his turn. The date of our episode is 
_ quite uncertain, and it may have happened anywhere between 1700 
and 1300 (cf. the writer’s article on “A Revision of Karly Hebrew 
— Chronology”), though a date in the Eighteenth Dynasty is perhaps 
more likely than one in the Hyksos period. 
We have already noticed the Egyptian military colouring of the 
Cretan colonists in Gerar. We may further note that as late as 
ΟΠ David’s reign the Cretans (Cherethites) are regarded as particularly 
reliable mercenaries, and hence serve as David’s personal bodyguard, 
_ just as Rameses III. has a Sardinian bodyguard, and the Byzantine 
emperors their Varangian guard of Norsemen. David may have won 
a their attachment during his early days in Ziklag, just as he won the 


3 PDE εν ἡ x μὰ τυ ee peepee 
2 4 1 i dl Re εν Se ee er ee te 
peer aere’ mee eT iu pl) x PEN 
one i: " wee 
᾿ Ὗ 


— cere TS IRL TIO PIE TRE TT 
an fi i SD ον ἀρ ΤῊ Fane ‘ i 
ὙΠ ΕΠ sas te Ἢ finde 


bias 


RS ΠπΠΠὉ 


1 In Egyptian P3-H3rw, a very common name in the New Empire. The 
_ Egyptian term H/, for Palestine, is just as obscure as Rtn and Dh, and we may 
Ε-. suspect that they are heirlooms from the most remote antiquity. At all events, 
Hi cannot be explained as identical either with the name Hoérim, or with the 
_ Harri, a Mitannian people who occupied Palestine during the first half of the 
second millennium, to judge from the proper names of the Amarna period. 


190 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


affection of Ittai and the men of Gath, but the fact is characteristic. 
If the Cretans had considered themselves as Philistines, his pro- 
verbial hostility to the Philistines would be dangerous, to say the 
least. The evident truth is that they did not. 

The Cretan colonists on the coast of the Negeb are to be regarded 
as an Egyptian frontier garrison. Evidence regarding the use of 
foreigners for this purpose in the Eighteenth Dynasty is unfortunately 
lacking, though the extensive use of mercenaries in this period is 
certain, and in the Saite period we know that Carians and Jews were 
employed to garrison the frontiers. The Egyptians have never been 
a military people, though quite capable of savagery in a riot. The 
proof of our thesis comes from an indirect source. 

Gardiner, JEA VI (1920) 99—116, has published a very important 
article on “The Ancient Military Road between Egypt and Palestine.” 
In the Nineteenth Dynasty there was an elaborate chain of fortresses 
stretching along the military road from Sele (“Zaru”), the modern 
Qantarah, to the Egyptian frontier at Raphia, still, curiously enough, 
the official frontier. On this route there were some, twenty-two 
fortresses, an average distance of two hours, or a Babylonian béru, 
apart. The list of names in the reign of Sethos I. (1313—1292) 
shows that he had renamed most of them; probably they had fallen 
into disrepair or ruin during the preceding half-century. The existence 
of such a chain of forts and stations was a prerequisite for the 
success of the success of the campaigns of the great Pharaohs of the 
Eighteenth Dynasty. We can trace them to a still earlier date. 
The Hyksos Empire, partly in Asia and partly in Egypt, with its 
capital at Avaris, in the northeastern corner of the Delta, required 
a strong line of fortresses to insure an unbroken liaison between 
the two halves of the realm, so we may safely assume that it goes 
back to their rule, and that the Egyptians of the Eighteenth Dynasty 
merely maintained a system to which they had fallen heir. After 
the loss of Avaris, the Hyksos retired to the Syrian end of this line, 
and were able to hold Nilhon (see above) three years against the 
attacks of Amosis I, as we learn from the famous inscription of the 
admiral Amosis son of Yon. We may suppose that the Cretans 
passed from Hyksos to Egyptian service without difficulty, just as 


the Jews of Elephantine passed from Egyptian to Persian a millennium 
later. 


ALBRIGHT: A Colony of Cretan Mercenaries on the Coast of the Negeb 191 


We are justified in asking the question, at least, What was the 
real relation between the Pelistim, the Kaftérim, and the Krétim? 
Some have sought an answer to it in Gen. 1913f: And Misrayim 
begot the Lidim, and the ‘Anamim, and the Lehabim, and the 
Naftihim, and the Patrfisim, and the Kaslthim, and the Kaftérim. 
There can be no reasonable doubt that the words “from whom came 
forth the Pelistim” are a misplaced gloss explaining Kaftérim, owing 
to the fact that Amos says the Philistines came from Caphtor. In 
interpreting our passage we must bear in mind that, for all its 
archaistic tone, the tenth chapter of Genesis was written, at least in 
its present form, as shown by vv. 2—3 and 12, about 700, or perhaps 
_a little later. Four of these names are known. The Liidim are else- 
where the Lydians (it is hard to divine the theory which made our 
author include Lid among the Semitic peoples in v. 22); the Lehabim 
are the Libyans of Marmarica; the Patrfisim (correctly Patrésim) 
are the inhabitants of Pathros, or Upper Egypt (Eg. p? t2-rsy, Assyr. 
Paturisi); the Kaft6rim are the inhabitants of Crete, according to 
the almost universal view of scholars, for which new evidence will 
be adduced below. The Naftihim and the Kaslihim have not been 
explained, and the attempts so far made had better be relegated to 
oblivion; the similarity in ending with the Katmth (whence the name 
Commagene) and Kardtih (Carduchians) of Armenia is doubtless 
accidental, despite its closeness. The name ‘Anamim appears, I believe, 
along with Kaftor in a remarkable cuneiform geographical manual 
from the reign of Sargon II. of Assyria (722-705), published by 
Schroeder, Keilschrifttexte aus Assur verschiedenen Inhalts. (Leipzig, 
1920), No. 92. Lines 41—44 read: A-na-mi (text AZAG, which is 
impossible) -ki Kap-ta-ra-ki KUR-KUR BAL-RI [A-A] B-BA 
AN-TA Tilmun-ki Ma-gan-na-ki KUR-KUR BAL-R [I] A-AB-BA 
KE-TA ἃ KUR-KUR TA 4 BABBAR-E (sic) EN 4 BABBAR- 
SU-A &a Sarru-gi-na sar kissati adi salsi-Su qat-su ik-Su-du = “Anami 
and Kaptara, lands beyond the Upper Sea, Tilmun and Magan, lands 
beyond the Lower Sea, and the lands from the sunrise to the sunset, 
which Sargon, king of the world, subdued up to the third (year of 
his reign).” In view of the character of the orthographic mistakes 
occuring repeatedly in our tablet, I cannot believe that any other 
reading except Anam is tenable; a similar slovenliness in the writing 
of KAP has prevented Schroeder from recognizing the cuneiform 


192 . Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


equivalent of Caphtor. Our text adds this much to the discussion 
of the problem, that Caphtor is certainly not Cilicia, as Wainwright 


proposed.!. Nor can it be Cyprus, which is always Yadanan in late 


Assyrian inscriptions. We can feel a renewed sense of security; 
Caphtor is Crete. If Peiser’s very probable suggestion be adopted,” 
the Asssyrian Nusisi, mentioned on a text of Esarhaddon discovered 
at Assur, and published by Messerschmidt, is Cnossus, the old capital 
of Crete; Chapman’s identification with the Peloponnesus is im- 
probable. Anami would seem to represent Cyrene, which is very 
near Crete; moreover the ‘Anamim (note the Hamitic Y) are mentioned 


just before the Libyans of Marmarica, between Cyrene, modern 


Tripoli, and Egypt. 


It has been suggested, among others by Sir Arthur Evans, that 


our passage implies the African origin of the Cretans, but no 
archaeologist or anthropologist working without bias has been able 
to find more concrete basis for this extraordinary hypothesis. The 
Biblical writer may have had some such theory in his mind, like the 
Greek speculation regarding the Egyptian origin of their own culture, 


but there is a much more natural explanation. In surveying the 


different peoples in Egypt and the adjoining territory, he noted the 
Cretan and Lydo-Carian military colonists, and supposed that they 
were related to the Egyptians in race. The Kaftorim, or Kretim, 
had been on the northeastern frontier, and perhaps elsewhere, for 
many centuries; the Anatolian mercenaries appear in Greek sources 
as Carians, but in Hebrew as Lydians (so unquestionably in Jer. 46 9 
and Ez. 305, both of the sixth century. Though the Lydo-Carians 
first appear under Psammetichus IT., they must have been employed 
as mercenaries much earlier. . 


! See Annals of Archaeology and Anthropology, Vol. VI, pp. 69—75. It may 
be observed, in this connection, that Wainwright’s archaeological arguments 
against the identification of the Kftyw with the Cretans are sound; Kftyw, 
however, is not the same word as Kaftér, though perhaps combined with it 
by popular etymology, but is an Egyptian appellative, meaning “strangers,” or 


“barbarians,” from the verb kf, “to ward off,” and is thus a parallel formation 


to Hftyw, “foes,” and Ywntyw, “enemies” The term was early specialized to 


designate “northern barbarians,” and thus included the Cretans, along with other 


_ Mediterranean peoples. ἡ 
2 See OLZ, XIV, 475, and XV, 246. 
3 See OLZ, XV, ὅθ, and XVI, 347-349. 


ALBRIGHT: A Colony of Cretan Mercenaries on the Coast of the Negeb 193 


It is hardly likely that there is any intimate connection between 
the Philistines and the Cretans, aside from: the fact that they both 
came from Crete. In my paper, “A Revision of Early Hebrew 
Chronology,” I have shown philological reason for identifying the 
Philistines with the Pelasgians; the historical and archaeological 
argument has convinced many, despite the philological difficulty, For 
_ the Pelasgians, Crete was merely a station on their career of conquest, 
but though many of them migrated again from Crete at the time 
of the Achaean invasion, we still find them on the island in the age 
of Homer. In a famous passage of the Odyssey the poet says (τ, 175): 
_ that there were five peoples, all speaking different tongues, on the 
island,— Achaeans, Eteocretans, Cydonians, Dorians, and Pelasgians. 
Of these we may safely identify the Eteocretans, or “true” Cretans, 
Cretan aborigines, with the Caphtorim, or Cherethites. Greek 
tradition, based. on Cretan sources, derives the lapygians, or 
Messapians, as well as the Lycians, from Crete; the little known of 
the language spoken by the Messapians of southeastern Italy shows 
it to have been nearly the same as Lycian (6. g., the Messapian 
genitive suffix mhz and she is identical with the Lycian ahi, ehz). 
Hence we may suppose that the Caphtorim spoke a dialect of the 
same’ tongue. On the other hand, we know nothing yet of the 
Pelasgian language. It may have been related to Lycian-Cretan- 
Messapian; it may belong with Hittite-Luyya (7. 6. Lujja)-Lydian- 
a Carian,! or with the so-called Proto-Hattian, which seems to have 
- been the native Cappadocian tongue. It is not so likely that it 
belongs to the Harrian-Mitannian-Chaldian group. The renewed 
study of the place-names in the light of the Boghazkeui material 
may help somewhat, though it is not alone enough to settle the 
affiliations of the Pelasgian language and people. For this we may 
have to wait until the decipherment of the Cretan inscriptions, begun 


1 The Hittite and Lydo-Carian proper-names are closely related, and Forrer 
(Die acht Sprachen der Boghazkéi-Inschriften, Berlin, 1919) has shown that the 
two languages are related; cf. esp. p. 1035. Forrer’s Luvian should be however, 
Luyyan, as Hrozny has pointed out~ (Uber die Vilker und Sprachen des alten 
᾿ς Chatti-landes, Leipzig, 1920, p. 39). One can hardly doubt that Greek Ludia and 
Hittite Luyya, whose inhabitants speak essentially the same language, and 
worship the same god Sandon, are identical; the native form of the name may 
have been Lujja ((. e., Ludzza). 

19 


194 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


auspiciously by Evans and Sundwall, is completed. The Palestinian 
archaeologist may contribute by exploring the mounds under which 
lie buried the remains of the civilization transplanted to Palestine 
by the Cretan, Pelasgian, and Sicilian colonists.! 


1 This long-desired task has now been begun by the Palestine Exploration 
Fund, under the very competent direction of Garstang and Phythian-Adams, now 
at work (May, 1921) in the Philistine strata of Ashkelon. In this connection 
the writer wishes to express his indebtedness to Mr. Phythian-Adams, since it 
was under the stimulus of his keen and independent criticism of current views 
that the foregoing paper grew. 


METHEG HA-AMMAH 


By 8. TOLKOWSKY 


BND) DAVES TT TS ΠῚ 
DAIS 2 TBST INE NS TNT ΠΡῸ 
Samuel 81) 


Sti 


ΤΣΕΣ af ee PL es -O% 


EW passages of the Bible have caused greater difficulty to 

translators and commentators than the present one. This is 
how Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible (1900) summarises the various 
renderings proposed: 


AV and RVm in 28. 81 “David took Metheg-ammah (ΠΝ Δ) 

out of the hand of the Philistines.” AVm has “the bridle of the 

_ mother city.” This last rendering is pronounced to be “probable” 
by Driver (Text of Sam.), who points out (see his references) that 
OX has the sense of mother city or capital in Phoenician. “The 
bridle of the mother city” would mean the authority of the metro- 
polis or capital of the Philistines, namely Gath (so Ges., Keil, 
Stade). Budde (in SBOT) makes various objections to this, and 
leaves the expression blank in his Heb. text as irrecoverably 
corrupt. The LXX reads τὴν ἀφωρισμένην, which may, according 
to Wellhausen, imply a reading ΠΤ. Wellh. himself (Sam. 174) 
emends to M889 3 “Gath the mother city,” comparing 1 Ch 181 
mis na (“Gath and her daughter towns”), which he argues may 
have arisen from the text he postulates in Samuel. Klostermann 
a attempts to obtain from the two texts (of S. and Ch.) mans 
ey mya37ns} “Gath and her border to the west.” Thenius emends 
to M7 3n “bridle of tribute,” 7. ὁ. “David laid the Philistines 
under tribute.” L6hr despairs of recovering either the meaning 
eS or the text. Cheyne (Expos. Times, Oct. 1899, p. 48) emends to 
. Dv tint TWwsvns, “Ashdod, the city of the sea.” Sayce (HHH, 414n) 

13* 


oe ee 


2 ia 


Septare Faas 

Bates 
eee 

te aah, 


196 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


suggests that MNT 3 is the Heb. transcription of the Bab. métég 
ammati (for métég ammati) = “the highroad of the mainland” of 
Palestine. The reference would thus be to the command of the 
highroad of trade which passed through Canaan from Asia to Egypt 
and Arabia; but the appearance of such distinctly Babylonian 
words in Hebrew of this date is extremely improbable. 


(Cf. HDB s. v.‘Metheg Ammah’.) 


The most natural translation of this verse would be the literal 
one, viz. “the bridle of the cubit,” according to the usual translation 
of 3. 

The particle ὮΝ in APNT 3n) AS denotes that ΔΓ. must be the 
name of a definite kind of object well known to the public. This_ 
object stands in some connection to the cubit (ns), the unit of 
measurement common in the country at the time of the compiler of 
the Second Book of Samuel; if it referred to any other cubit than 
that commonly used at the time the writer would have defined it 
and would not have called it, in a matter-of-course way, the cubit. 
Furthermore the object described as “the Δ of the cubit” must 
have been of great importance in the eyes of the Hebrews. This is 
evidenced. by the following two facts. 1. The action of taking the | 
MONT 3m out of the hand of Philistines was considered by the author 
of the passage worthy of being recorded in history. 2. The taking 
away of it is represented as the only lasting result of a victorious — 
campaign, for Oy'33") does not necessarily mean placing the vanquished 
people under permanent subjection; indeed David’s campaign partakes 
rather of the character of a raid than of that of a regular war, and Ὁ 
in contradistinction to what is claimed about the Moabites, the author 
does not pretend that the Philistines became tributary to David. The 
net result of the successful raid seems thus clearly to have been the 
mere carrying away of the THN ana. The conclusion seems there- 
fore justified that the TNT Δ. was something of very great import- 
ance to the Hebrews. On the other hand it cannot have been considered 
of very great importance by the Philistines, for otherwise they would 
certainly have taken steps to recover it; as a matter of fact it is 
never mentioned again. It may be noted in this connection that the 
translation “David took the Metheg-ha-Ammah out of the hand of 
the Philistines” may convey a wrong impression; the Hebrew text 


TOLKOWSKY: Metheg ha-Ammah 197 


ΟΠ ΟΡ ΤῸ may simply mean “out of the hand of Philistines,” a 


_ rendering which would accentuate again the unimportance of the 


object in question to the Philistines. As to the nature of the ann 
MONT itself, it seems certain that it was a movable object, such as 


| could be easily taken hold of and carried away in the course of a 


rapid raid. 

What is the meaning of 398? The word is used five times only 
in the Bible, viz. in 28. 81 (the passage under consideration), 2 kK. 
19 28, Is. 37 29; Prov. 263, and Ps. 329. In all these passages it is 
translated “bridle.” Rabbi David Kimhi defines ΔΓ as follows: “the 
- jong iron which is put into the mouth of the animal to guide it, 
and it is what is called in the vernacular 75, and it is similar to 
a ἸΟῪ but is not made after the same pattern.” Now, the word 1) 
of Kimhi (= frein) is the French name for our “bar bit;’ and ac- 
cording to his description he has in view more particularly the very 
plainest pattern of a bar bit, the one which the French call mors 
troyen (= Trojan bit), and which is the ! 
typical bit used by the ancient chariot Sa 
drivers, as illustrated for instance on the 
Egyptian monuments, On the other hand the ἸΘῪ is nothing other 
than the “ring bit” used to this day in Palestine and the Hast for 
saddle horses; its shape is quite different and more complicated. 105 
occurs four times in the Bible, viz. in Is. 30 28, Ps. 329, and Job 3011 
and 415. It will be observed that the earliest mention of the bit 
in any of its two forms occurs in the passage now being dealt with, 
a fact which can only be explained on the assumption that the 
Hebrews possessed no horses before that time; indeed the earliest 
mention of the use of the horse by them occurs precisely in the 
Second Book of Samuel, and in the very same chapter, verse 4, 
where it is shown that David began its use by reserving one hundred 
captured chariots with their horses; in 2 Sam. 15 1 we further 
learn that “Absalom prepared him chariots and horses.” The Phi- 
listines however had horses and chariots as the most important part 
of their military equipment, and it is only natural to assume that 
it is from them that the Hebrews first acquired the knowledge of 
the bit and that they called it by the same name by which the 
Philistines used to call it. The word 2 would thus be a foreign 
word, which seems to accord with the fact that there is in the 


198 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Hebrew language no other word of the same root. We are thus 
safe in assuming that Δ was the name by which the Philistines 
used to call the particular bit used by their chariot drivers and 
that it had the shape of a plain iron bar. I am also tempted to 
believe that they used the same word for any iron bar in general; 
even in the Bible Δ seems to occur once with the meaning of a 
bar or rod, viz. in the parallelism contained in Prov. 263: “a whip 
for the horse, a 3n for the ass, and a rod for the fool’s back.” I 
therefore translate MONT ΔΓ ΠΝ “the iron rod of the cubit.” Ac- 
cepting the arguments above set forth, I deduce that David in the 
course of his raid over the Philistine border got hold of a certain 
iron rod which was well known to the Hebrew public at the time 
of the composition of the Second Book of Samuel as standing in 
some definite relation to the ell or cubit commonly used in their time. 
It may be noted in this connexion that, according to 1 Chr. 223, 
David “prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the 
gates (of the Temple), and for the joinings.” 

Now, what could have been the exact nature of the “iron rod of 
the cubit” which David brought back from his raid into the Philistine 
country? If we accept the common view that the civilisation of the 
Philistines was derived from Crete or the Aegean, and if we admit 
with H. R. Hall! that “it is to Egypt, if anywhere, that we must 
look for the origin of the Aegean weights and measures,” we are at 
once led to think of the ancient ells that have been unearthed in 
that country. It is known that in Egypt there were two cubits: a 
larger one called the “royal” cubit and a smaller one called the 
“common” cubit; the relation between the two was as 7:6. Now, 
the ancient wooden ells unearthed in Egypt are marked with two 
distinct measures. On the one side the whole length of the rod is 
marked by an inscription as being the “royal ell,” and it is divided 
‘into two half-cubits, one of which shows also the measure of one 
handbreadth and its four fingerbreadths, On the other side of the 
rod is marked the “common” ell, designated as such by an inscription; 
this ell is only 6/7*s of the length of the royal ell marked on the ) 
other side of the rod, and it is divided into fingerbreadths which in 
their turn are subdivided into 1/2, 1/3, 1{1, and so on until 1/16" part 


τ See H. R. Hall: Aegean Archaeology, London 1915, p. 232. 


- TOLKOWSKY: Metheg ha-Ammah 199 


ΠΩΣ of a fingerbreadth. It is clear that we have here not merely a 
comparison of the two ells used in Egypt, but the systematic and 
legal subdivision of the larger royal ell whose length is equal to seven 
handbreadths of the common 6]1.1 Both cubits were used in Egypt 
at the same time; but whilst the larger one, the royal ell, was more 
particularly used for building purposes, the smaller common ell, with 
its subsidiary divisions, was in all probability used for more delicate 
work and for measuring goods and other objects the size of which 
was to be determined with a greater amount of precision. For the 
same reason—greater precision—it seems likely that with the advance 
of civilisation the common ell should gradually displace the older 
and less precise royal ell; perhaps that is the reason of its designation 
as “common.” Now, if the Philistines had received, directly or in- 
directly, from Egypt their weights and measures, there is every 
likelihood—since they were the immediate neighbours of that country— 
that they also borrowed from it rods of the ell similar to those 
which we have just described, or at least the idea of such ells, and 
it is not unreasonable to suppose that David, who is stated to have 
lived for years as a refugee in the Philistine country, must have 
seen such rods there and must have had occasion to convince himself 
of their superiority, as an instrument of measure, over the primitive 
method, used in his native country, of measuring “after a cubit of 
a man” (W°8 ΓΝ Dt. 311). 

I thus believe that the ANT ΔΓ. which David brought back from 
his raid was neither more nor less than an exact reproduction in 
iron of the wooden ells which existed in Egypt. And now we shall 
understand why the historian considered the bringing home of this 
trophy sufficiently important to deserve specific mention in the book. 
Previous to David the Hebrews had been a collection of disunited | 
and sometimes mutually hostile tribes; it was he who welded them 
together and made them into an organised state. During his stay 
in the Philistine country David had had the opportunity of convincing 
himself of the importance attached, in any well organised state, to 
the completest possible uniformity in measures of weight and length 
and therefore to the possession of accurate standards of these mea- 
sures. It is thus only natural to suppose that, as soon as his kingdom 


1 See F. Hultsch: Griechische und Rimische Metrologie, Berlin 1882, pp. 35011. 


200) Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


was consolidated and its organisation had reached some degree of 
perfection, he should have felt the wish to set up a legal standard, 
if possible recognised already by other well organised nations, and 
by which should be determined the exact length of the cubit and 
its subdivisions on the “measuring-lines,” “measuring-rods” and 
“measuring-sticks” used throughout his kingdom. For the manufacture 
of such standards one generally choses a material which is subject 
to little alteration; in olden times iron was largely used for the 
purpose (cf. in England the “Iron Ulne of our Lord the King’- 
Edward I.) It was a common custom with the ancients to deposit 
the standards of their weights and measures either in the palaces 
of their kings or in their sanctuaries. We are justified in supposing 
that in strict accordance with this general custom David, once he 
had secured the ΠΝ ans from the Philistines, kept it first in his 
palace or fortress and later directed it to be placed for safe custody 
in the Temple that was to be built. For we learn from 1 Chron. 
23 26-29 that “by the last words of David” the Levites were appointed | 
“to wait on the sons of Aaron .... for all manner of measure and 
size;’ the Talmud also (Men. 98a) refers to two ells mentioned as 
having been kept in the hall SuSana of the Temple. 

We have already pointed out that the ells which have been mand 
in Egypt had both the royal and the common ell marked on them; 
and if my assumption that the MPSA ΔΓ was an exact copy of these 
ells is right, the Hebrews may have got from it first hand acquaintance 
of both these measures. In strict accordance with the Egyptian 
precedent it was to be expected that the larger “royal” ell should 
be used by Solomon in building the Temple; and that in the course 
of time, as civilisation in the kingdom progressed and a more accurate 
measure became necessary, the larger ell should give way to the 
smaller one with its more minute subdivisions, so that after a certain 
time this smaller ell became the “common” ell while the older “royal” 
ell ceased altogether to be used. That this really was the case is 
evident from Ezekiel 405 and 4313, as well as from 2 Chron. 33. 
«“Kvekiel implies that in his measurement of the Temple ... the ell 
was one handbreadth larger than the ell commonly used in his 
time ... The fact that Ezekiel measured the Temple by a special 
ell is comprehensible and significant only on the assumption that 
this ell was also the standard of measurement of the old Temple of 


λ 


TOLKOWSKY: Metheg ha-Ammah 201 


~ Solomon. This is confirmed by the statement of the Chronicler that 
the Temple of Solomon was built according “to cubits after the 
first measure” (2 Chron. 33), implying that a larger ell was used at 
first, and that this was supplanted in the course of time by a smaller 
one.”! And the Talmud (Men. 98a) says again: “Why were two (ells) 
necessary?—One for silver and gold and one for building purposes.” 
The translation of ΠΝ ΔΓ. by “the iron rod of the cubit,” as 
now suggested, seems therefore to be very reasonable. Moreover 
the importance attributed by the author of the Second Book of 
Samuel to the acquisition of this iron standard rod appears to be 
fully justified by the functions which that iron rod came to play 
subsequently in the economic life of the Hebrew state. Accordingly, 
so far from being “in all probability corrupt beyond restoration” 1 
venture to think that the Hebrew text of 2Samuel 81 has been 
transmitted to us in its original purity. 


1 See Jewish Encyclopedia, art. “Weights and Measures.” 


CLASSIFICATION OF JEWISH COINS 


SAMUEL RAFFAELI 
(JERUSALEM) 


HERE is still much indecision in the classification of certain of 

the Jewish coins. G. F. Hill, for example, is inclined to attribute 
the “thick shekels” to the First Jewish Revolt (66—70 A. D.), but 
confesses that their date can only be a matter of conjecture.! He 
allots to the same period the two small bronze coins bearing the 
legends JS ANN ony niw (Year two, freedom of Zion) and niw 
ἽΝ nn wid (Year three, freedom of Zion); while to Simon Maccabeus 
who first issued Jewish coins he attributes only the Fourth Year 
bronze coins. The present writer ventures to traverse these views,” 
and submits the following scheme of classification. 

Simon Maccabeus succeeded his brother Jonathan in 143 B.C. 
(1 Mace. 138), and in the third year of his reign (141 B.C.) received 


(1) 


ΠΡ ody 
Jerusalem the Holy \ 


byw Spy 
Shekel of Israel 


that historic letter from Antiochus VII. (Sidetes) who wrote: “And 
I give thee leave to coin money for thy country with thine own 
stamp, and Jerusalem and the sanctuary shall be free” (1 Mace. 15 7). 


1 G. F. Hill, A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum. Catalogue 
of the Greek Coins of Palestine. London, 1914. 

2 See P. E. F. Quarterly Statement, Jan. 1915; and δ, Raftaeli, ayn niyiwe, 
Jerusalem, 1913. 


RAFFAELI: Classification of Jewish coins 203 


Elul 141 B.C. to Nisan 140 B.C. was the first year in which these 
coins were issued, and so we find the silver shekel with the letter 8 
on obverse for the Year One, and also the half-shekel with the 
letter & on obverse (/7g. 1 and 2). 


ΠῚ ody i 


Jerusalem the Holy Ὁ 
SX 


Dpwit sn 
The half-shekel 


These were struck during the third year of Simon Maccabeus, 
being the first year in which these coins were issued. 

Attributable to this same year are the larger bronze coins with 
the legends: Year one of the-redemption of Israel and Simon prince 
of Israel. 


(3) 


ΓΠΝ nsw Swi ἸΝῺ 


Sew’ ΓΟ ow 
Year one Simon 
of the prince of 
redemption Israel 
of Israel 
(4) 
(As above.) (As above.) 


204 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


(As above.) (As above.) 


It is questionable whether any other Jewish ruler would have 
assumed the title of Simon prince of Israel but Simon Maccabeus. 
When he succeeded his brother he proclaimed himself an independent 
ruler, and no vassel to the king of Syria, Demetrius IJ.; and the 
historian (1 Macc. 13 41) writes: “The yoke of the heathen was taken 
away from Israel, and the people of Israel began to write in their 
instruments and contracts ‘In the first year of Simon the great high 
priest and captain and leader of the Jews’.” 

In the Second Year (Nisan 140 to Nisan 139 B.C.) silver shekels 
and half-shekels were issued with inscriptions similar to those of the 
First Year silver cos, but bearing on the obverse the letters 1 wv 
for the year two: 


(6) 


mwiipm Ὁ 
Jerusalem the Holy\ 


Saw Spy 
Shekel of Israel 


(7) 


ΠΣ ΡΠ ΘΟ 
Jerusalem the Holy 


Spr on 
The half-shekel 


(8) 
Sow and oy 


Year two of the 
freedom of Israel 


ΝΣ ΝΣ yy 
Simon prince of 
Israel 


RAFFAELI: Classification of Jewish coins 205 


(9) Rev. Obv. 


Onw nsw 
Year two 


ws AN 
i Freedom of Zion 


For the Third Year (Nisan 139 to Nisan 138 B.C.) we have 
silver shekels and half-shekels inscribed as before, but with the 
letters 3 & for the year three: 


(10) Rev. Obe. 


byw Spy 
Shekel of Israel 
(11) 


Spwit own 
The half-shekel 


mwipm pow 
Jerusalem the Holy 


(12) 


widow mow 
Year three 


ws ANN 
Freedom of Zion 


and the only silver quarter-shekel. 


For the Fourth Year (Nisan 138 to Nisan 137 B.C.) there are 
similar silver shekels and half-shekels with the letters 1 Δ᾽ for the 
year four: 


(13) 


Dew Opy 
Shekel of Israel 


Awispm ow 
Jerusalem the Holy 


206 


Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


(14) 


Obe. 


mwyIp ow 


Spy sn 
Jerusalem the Holy Ὁ 


The half-shekel 


(15) 


as wee We 
... (year) four 


Υ. Ss bown yan 
KS The quarter-shekel 
ὯΝ 


y 


ΔῊΝ 


(16) 
ἹΣΤΌΝ YOIs mow 
Of the redemption Year four 
of Zron 
(17) 


yan yaw τὼ 


ws nds 
Year four; 


Of the redemption 


quarter of Zion 
(18) Rev. Obv. 
‘3M yaw Aw ST ws ΤΟΝ 
Year four; Ν Ros oe Of the redemption 
half a SF INNS of Zion 


Why these last two bronze coins are inscribed y°3" (quarter) and ‘sn 
(half), is not fully known. Some have thought that these were quarter- 
shekels and half-shekels issued in bronze instead of silver; but now 


RAFFAELI: Classification of Jewish coins 207 


that half-shekels and quarter-shekels of the fourth year have been 
found of silver, some other explanation is necessary. 

Simon died in the winter of 135 B.C. in the month Shebat, and 
therefore was still able to issue coins of the Fifth Year (Nisan 137 
to Nisan 136 B.C.). To this year is attributable the only silver 
shekel with the letters 7 & for the year five: 


(19) 


ose opy 
Shekel of Israel 


[AwipA mown 
Jerusalem the Holy| 


Until the actual discovery of such a coin it is not possible to 
assert that coins were issued during Simon’s last year. But it 
seems certain enough that he was responsible for annual coinages 
during the five successive years which followed the permission of 
Antiochus VII. 

The theory that these coins could have been issued during the 
First Revolt (from Elul 66 to Ab 70 A.D.) cannot be accepted, 
since not only could there not have been five years’ coinage, but not 
even four years in full. 

The Jews thus issued coins only during two periods, periods 
260 years apart. The first was by Simon Maccabeus; the second 
by Bar Kokhba who secured a temporary independence in the time 
of Hadrian. In both the purpose was to proclaim the entire liberty 
of the land and people; and just as Simon Maccabeus stamped his 
coins with the legends F'reedom of Zion, Freedom of Israel, Redemption 
of Zion, Redemption of Israel, so did Bar Kokhba make use of such 
expressions as The Redemption of Jerusalem, Freedom of Israel, 
Freedom of Jerusalem. The Jews had little cause to inscribe coins 
with The Freedom of Zion such time as Zion was hemmed in by 
Vespasian and Titus. 

The first period of coins bearing Hebrew characters ended with 
Mattathias Antigonus; and the second began with Bar Kokhba’s 
revolt. The coins of this second period were issued under the titles 
}yow (Simon), ΡΥ (Jerusalem), and j737 ἜΝ (Eleazar the Priest). 


\ 


208 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Coins in silver and bronze were uttered in three series: 


(1) powi niin> Of the freedom of Jerusalem. 

(2) Ssnw γον nns maw The first year of the redemption of 
Israel. 

(3) Dsnw and aw The second year of the freedom of Israel. 


Between these two periods, the Herod family and the Roman 
Procurators from Cuponius to Antonius Felix issued coins stamped 
with Latin and Greek legends, but no coins appeared in Hebrew 
characters. : 


πα ον πη ΤΟ Ta KT Ὁ 


POLITICAL PARTIES IN SYRIA AND PALESTINE 
(QAIS| AND YEMEN)! 


E. N. HADDAD 
(JERUSALEM) 


HE customs of this country are transmitted orally, from father 

to son, and not through the medium of writing. In the past 
few decades European civilization has entered the country, and 
though, for the sake of the progress of my native land, I am one 
of its admirers and supporters, I cannot but be filled with regret at 
the disappearance of the customs which bring so close to us the 
spirit and the meaning of the Bible. The peasant of today still 


ΟΠ preserves a great number of primitive customs, just as the plough 


of today is nearly like the plough employed by the Israelites. 
Every visitor to Palestine regards it as a hot-bed of party strife 
and fanaticism. But it is, in large part, political rather than religious, 
While there was religious prejudice between the different communities, 
as in Europe, even the hostility between Muslims and Christians was 


_ basically political, under the veil of religion. The Turkish government 


saw a danger in its Christian subjects, because it knew that they 
looked for protection to the Christian nations of Europe. The 
Turkish authorities therefore welcomed and fostered religious fana- 
ticism on the one hand, and party strife on the other, in order to 


prevent the union of the Arabs, whom they feared, because they 
- were in the majority in Syria. 


Two very old, and still clearly defined political parties exist, 


- once spread over the whole of Syria—the Qaisi and the Yemeni,’ 


11 wish to express here my indebtedness to Dr. W.F. Albright, of the 
American School of Oriental Research, for help and encouragement in connection 
with this paper. 

2 srorg cst "Ἂ 


210 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


consisting of members of every religion and sect. In the days of 
Ottoman weakness, the Turks followed the principle, “Divide and 
rule,” ! and supported each party in turn. With the increasing strength 
of the ‘central government during the last century, their power 
gradually disappeared, until there are now only vestiges left. Until 
a short time ago, all local political authority was in their hands in 
Syria proper, and in Palestine it remained so until less than fifty 
years ago. Their chiefs are still influential here, though almost 
stripped of actual power. 

One may ask a peasant about the history of the Qaisi and 
Yemeni, and receive an answer in either of two forms. One will 
say that the history of the two parties began a long time ago, “and 
God knows best.” Others will tell the story of their origin, but no 
two accounts agree. Among these traditions is one recounted by 
Ismail Mtisi Hammiidi, former chief mukhtar of Lift’, one of the 
men most renowned for hospitality around Jerusalem. He has a 
guest-house in his own residence, southwest of the Syrian Orphanage, 
kept at his own expense. He says:—In the time of Husein ibn-‘Ali 
ibn-Abfii Talib, the Arabs quarreled over the Caliphate. The people 
of Kfifa and ‘Iraq recognized Husein as Caliph, and he accompanied 
them from Medina to ‘Iraq to fight with Yezid ibn-Mo‘iwiyah, the 
second ‘Ommeyad caliph. When Husein reached Kerbelé and Kifa, 
his men betrayed their covenant with him, and the men of Yezid 
killed Husein and his followers, and carried Husein’s head on a 
lance. Afterwards the men of Yezid returned from ‘Iraq to their 
capital, Damascus, the residence of Caliph Yezid, but during their 
journey the Bedawin attacked them and defeated them. Then a 
division arose; the men of Yezid became the Qaisi and the men of 
Husein the Yemeni. From that time the rule was in the hands of 
the chiefs, and the Yemeni, for instance, when there was war against 
them in Palestine, were assisted by the Yemeni from other districts.” 

Palestinians have never tried to write the history of these two 
parties, but the Libanese have written about it in a number of books. 
For instance, the Sheikh Nasif el- Yaziji,3 in his work Majma‘ el-Bahrein, 

erates 

2 This, like most Arab historical traditions, has an obvious ultimate literary 
source ΟὟ. F. A.). 

τ Bel geal 


HADDAD: Political parties in Syria and Palestine 211 


in the forty-first magdmah, entitled et-Tihdmiyeh, says:—Qais was a 
man of the Beni ‘Adnan between whom and a man of the Beni 
Qahtan called Yemen there was a quarrel. Each of them founded 
a party,! and war arose between them. The division spread to the 
sedentary Arabs, as well as to the Arabs of the Hijiz and Yemen. 
The people of Hums are of the Yemenite party, and there was only 
a single Qaisi among them, who was very much despised, until he 
became proverbial of contempt. For this reason the Arab proverb 
says, “More despised than the Qaisi of Hums.”? 

There was regular, organized warfare between the two parties, 
as all testimonies inform us. Little is known regarding these events 
in Palestine, but we have many witnesses to them in Syria. 

In 1633 there was war. between the Qaisi and the Yemeni; the 
former were led by the Amir Milhem, son of the Amir Yiinis el- 
Ma‘ni,? and the latter by the Amir ‘Ali ‘Alam ed-Din.4 The Qaisi 
defeated their opponents at Mejdel Με. ὃ In 1636 the Amir ‘Ali 
‘Alam ed-Din, the Yemenite, rebelled against the Turkish government, 
and retreated before the Turks and their Qaisi allies toward 
Kesrawin,® where the latter defeated him, and compelled him to 
retire to ‘AkkAr,7 north of the Lebanon. 

In 1660 there was a general war between the Turks and the 
Qaisi, who were led by the Amirs ‘Ali e8-Sihabi, Manstr e§-Sihabi,$ 
the sheikhs of Himadeh,® and others. The Yemenites took part on 
the Turkish side under the leadership of the Amir ‘Ali ‘Alam ed- 
Din, and his two sons, the Amirs Mohammed and Mansir, with 
their confederates Ibn es-Sahyfini!? and the Muqaddam'!! ‘Ali 6ὅ- 
Sa‘ir.12 The Qaisi were defeated. Four years later war recommenced 


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212 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


in Syria and the Lebanon between the Qaisi and the Yemeni, and 
continued for two years, until the Qaisi were victorious. In the 
year 1667 there was a battle at Burj Beirfit! near Ghalghal? 
between the two parties.? 

In these wars no attention was paid to religion, but merely to 
party affiliations. When the Turkish government fought one party 
it received the help of the other. The men of each party in the 
north received aid from their copartizans in the south and east when 
it became necessary. The distinction between Qaisi and Yemeni has 
almost disappeared in Syria, and in many districts no one knows of 
the former party rivalry. While the Qaisi and the Yemeni have 
vanished from the Lebanon, we still find remnants of the two parties 
Yezbeki and Junblati,4 which date from 1762, originating in a quarrel 
between the Amir Mansfr and his brother Ahmad, in the time of 
the Amir Milhem. The first leader of the Junblati was the Sheikh 
‘Ali Junblat, from whom they received their name, while the first 
Yezbeki leader was Sheikh ‘Abd es-Salim. Between the two parties 
systematic warfare was carried on, and when the struggle between 
them grew intense, the rivalry between Qaisi and Yemeni disappeared. 
In the southern part of the Lebanon, the leadership of the Yezbeki 
is now in the hands of the Arslan family in ‘Ain E‘nib, and of the 
Junblati with the Junblat family im Muhtarah. Both families are 
Druse.°® 

The principal leaders of the Yemeni in Palestine come from the 
family Abfi Ghos in the village of Abi Ghos (Qaryet el-‘Inab),6 who 
are chiefs of their party in the wd of Jerusalem. Among the 


Be  σν 
2 Jone 

3 The foregoing material has been taken from different parts of the History 
of Syria by Yusuf ed-Dibs, archbishop of the Maronites in Beirtt. Similar 
accounts are found in the work of the Maronite and Libanese patriarch, Istifanus 
ed- se eihi, entitled ae ed- Duwethi. 

5 Yasuf ed- Dibs, Tae of Syria, Part IV, Vol. VII, p.1930. Butrus Bustani 
states, Encyclopaedia, 5. v. Janbulat: In the year 1777 the Amir Yusuf es-Sihabi 
Sitred up a rebellion in the southern Lebanon by imposing taxes. The rebels 
were supported by the Sheikh ‘Abd es-Salam el-Imad, and became the Yezbeki 
party. The other, larger party passed under the leadership of the Sheikh “Ahi, 
and became the Junblati. ᾽ 


δ p58 ol 


HADDAD: Political parties in Syria and Palestine 213 


chiefs of the Qaisi are the family of “Azzah! in the hill-country of 
Gaza, Ibn Simhan? in Tell es-Safi,? and the family Derwi8! in 
Malha.$® 

The Bedawin are divided into two parties, under the same des- 
ignation, Qaisi and Yemeni, also. Among the principal sheikhs of 
the Yemeni is Humad es-Sfifi, and the tribes under his leadership: 
in the district of Gaza the Tayaha, the Tarabin, the “Azizme, the 
Hanajre, the Oheidat; in the Ghor the “Edwan; in Kerak the Majali.¢ 
The sheikhs of the Qaisi are from the Beni Sahr,7 and the tribes 
under their leadership: the Sararat, east of the Belqa; the Beni 
‘Atiya, south of Kerak; the Beni Humeida between Kerak and the 
-Belgqa.§ 

In Jerusalem the headship of the Qaisi is in the hands of the 
Haldi® family, of the Yemeni with the Huseini.1° There are still 
traces of the old party rivalry; when the peasants get into trouble 
with the Government, or find themselves in pecuniary difficulty, they 
resort for help to the patrons of their respective parties. In nearly 
every village there are members of both parties. In some districts 
most of the inhabitants belong to one faction, as for example in the 
district of Hebron, where the majority is Qaisi. In Bét Jala most 
are Qaisi; in Bethlehem, on the other hand, most are Yemeni. In 
Soba all are Yemeni, and in ‘Ain Karem!! all are Qaisi. 

The Yemenite flag is white, and for this reason their garments 
-are usually of this colour. The Qaisi flag is red, and their garments 
are therefore mostly red. Everyone is free to wear either colour 
except the bride, and in many places they observe the distinction 
between the colours only in the case of the bride. When a Qaisi 
woman marries a Qaisi or a Yemeni she wears the Qaisi colour, but 


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214 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


when the procession passes a Yemeni quarter, or a Yemeni village, 
the bride must hide her red garments with a cloak of any hue not 
either red or white. The case of a Yemeni bride is similar. If the 
bride wears her own bridal colour in passing a village or a quarter 
of the opposite party, it is considered as great a disgrace for the 
latter as if she had raised her own banner in their territory. In 
the past, the fact that a bride has worn the colour of her own 
party in the territory of the other has often been the cause of 
conflicts. Otherwise, they always live in peace, except when there 
has been a quarrel between individuals of the two parties. If 
Yemeni are invited by members of the Qaisi party to be their 
guests, the latter are expected to put honey or syrup! over the 
haitaliyeh,2 a dish made of starch, sugar, and milk, to cover its white 
colour, which is the colour of the Yemeni flag. 

Isma‘il Hammiidi told me that he saw in Bire,? not long before 
the War, a fight between the Qaisi and the Yemeni. Each party 
tried to dishonour the flag of the other party, and the women also 
took sides. The Yemeni women took a red cock, and beat him 
before the Qaisi women, as a sign of contempt for the banner of the 
latter. The Qaisi women at once caught a white cock and beat him 
before their opponents. 

The Hajj Mohammed el-Makhal‘ from ‘Aizariyeh® told me the 
following story. A Qaisi woman from the Hebron region once 
placed a number of eggs under a hen. On hatching, all the chickens 
were white. When the woman saw this she said, “This may mean 
calamity, because they may turn out to be Yemeni soldiers.“ So, to 
make sure that she was safe, she buried them in the ground.° 

1 ot? 

3 8 \ 

4 cere ΕΞ 9" eel 

5 43 γα 

6 The literature on the Qaisi and the Yemeni in Palestine is still very limited. 
Beside stray references to the subject in the works of various European writers, 
especially Baldensperger, we seem to have only the historical material published 
by Macalister and Masterman (Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly, 1905, 
343 ff.; 1906, 33—50). These accounts were translated from native Arabic MSS, 


inspired and gathered by the Rev. John Zeller, one of the earlier Protestant 
missionaries in Palestine (W.F. A.). 


NOTES AND COMMUNICATIONS 


ES erreurs trés facheuses se sont glissies dans la note relative 
a Vinscription juive d’Ain Douk (Vol. 1, pp. 33—35). Les 
corrections suivantes s’imposent: 

p. 34, 1. 10, lire: la lettre * aprés 5. 1] s’agirait du nom MDD au 
lieu de DM3D que certains savants lisent 7D375. Seulement la forme 
de la seconde lettre et les deux pieds qui restent de la derni¢re 
lettre et qui rappellent plutodt une 7, s’y opposeraient. La lecon 
mo35 nous semble étre fournie par une inscription lue dans un 
tombeau de Jérusalem que M. Ben Zevi publie dans le recueil de 
la “Jewish Palestine Exploration Society” No. 1. 

p- 35: mvp mInNs = Lieu saint. Cette formule ne se retrouve 
pas dans le Kaddish (comme on lavait fait observer pendant la 
discussion, mais dans le Zohar, que est de date postérieure. Pour 
Vépoque ott nous en sommes (vers le troisiéme siécle) elle confermerait 
Vopinion du R. P. Vincent concernant le caractére sacré trés ancien 
du sanctuaire en question. 


Nanum SiouscH 


_ REPORTS OF MEETINGS. 


NHE Third General Meeting of the Society was held at the 
British Archaeological School on Wednesday, November 3, 1920, 
_ with the President, Pere Lagrange in the Chair. At the Morning 
Session, commencing at 9.30 a. m. the following papers were read 
-and discussed :— 


Répétition idiomatique de la racine en hébreu 
Mr. Israel Eitan. 


Revision of early Hebrew Chronology 
Dr. W. F. Albright. 
Une inscription hebraique trouvée ἃ Jérusalem 
Dr. Nahum Slousch. 


Solomon and the Shunamite 
Dr. C. C. McCown. 


At the Afternoon Session, commencing at 3.30 p.m. the reports 
of Secretary, Treasurer and Editorial Committee were read, new 
Members elected, and the following officers appointed for the 
_ year 1921: Prof. John Garstang, President; Pére Dhorme and 
Dr. W. F. Albright, Vice-Presidents; the Rev. H. Danby, Secretary; 
Dr. Nahum Slousch, Treasurer; and Pére Orfali, Director for three 
years in place of the retiring Director, Pére Dressaire. Mr. E. J.H. 
Mackay and Mr. Samuel Raffaeli were elected as Auditing Committee, 
and Mr. Norman Bentwich, Mr. W. J. Phythian-Adams, and the Rev. 
H. Danby as Committee of Arrangements. 


The reading and discussion of papers was then resumed: 


The British Archaeological School 
Prof. J. Garstang. 


Une synagogue en basalte & Khirbet-Keraze (Corozain) 
Le Réy. Pére Orfali. 


218 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Notes on Palestinian Ethnology 
Mr. W. J. Phythian-Adams. 
Prehistoric Palestine 
Mr. L. Lind. 

Blood Revenge among the Arabs 
Mr. E. N. Haddad. 


Use of Ellipsis in “Second Isaiah” 
Mr. David Yellin. 


Plantes pharmaceutiques chez les Arabes 
Mr. Ephraim Rubinovitch. 


The Fourth General Meeting was held at the District Governorate, 
Jerusalem, on Wednesday, January 19, 1921, Pére Dhorme taking 
the Chair in the absence of the President, Professor Garstang. At 
the Afternoon Session, commencing 2.30 p.m. the following con- 
tributions were read and discussed: 


Traditions secondaires sur la grotte de Machpélah (Hebron) 
Le Rév. Pére Abel. 
Political Parties in Palestine: Qaisi and Yemeni 
Mr. E. N. Haddad. 
Le sacrifice dans la tribu des Fuqara 
Le Rév. Pére Jaussen. 


La ville de Ramsés d’aprés les documents égyptiens 
Le Rév. Pére Mallon. 


At the Evening Session, beginning at 5.30 p.m. the following 
were read: 


The Excavations at Tiberias (with illustrations) 
Dr. Nahum Slousch. 


The Melodic Theme in Ancient Hebrew Prayers (with musical exam ples) 
Mr. A. Ζ. Idelson. 


Haunted Springs and Water-Demons in Palestine 
Dr. T. Canaan. 
A Visit to Petra by an Englishman in 1852 
Marana. Ae Gust, 


Reports of Meetings 219 


The Fifth General Meeting took place on Wednesday, March 30, 
1921, at the Dominican Convent of St. Stephen’s, with Pére Dhorme 
in the Chair. Beginning at 3.0 p. m. the following contributions were 
read and discussed: 

L’inscription grecque d’Ophel 
Le Réy. Pére Vincent. 
Judicial Courts among the Bedawin 
Omar Effendi Barghuti. 


Byzantine Caravan Stations in the Negeb 
Dr. T. Canaan. 


Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 
Mr. Hanna Stephan. 


The Classification of Jewish Coins 
Mr. Samuel Raftaeli. 


Les maladies du pays aux temps de la Bible et du Talmud 
Dr. Aaron Mazié. 
Nouveautes Concernant la Flore de la Palestine 
Mr. Ephraim Rubinowitch. 


The Sixth General Meeting was held at the British School of 
Archaeology on Wednesday, May 4, 1921, in the presence of H. Ἐν 
the Right Honourable Sir Herbert Samuel, High Commissioner of 
Palestine, and Patron of the Society. Professor Garstang gave his 
presidential address, taking as his subject “The Year’s Work in 
Palestine.” The following papers were then read and _ discussed: 

Un hypogée juif ἃ Bethphagé 
Le Réy. Pere Orfali. 
Solomon as a Magician in Christian Legend 
Dr. C. C. McCown. 


Methods of Education and Correction among the Fellahin 
Mr. E. N. Haddad. 


Sites of Ekron, Gath and Libnah 
Dr. W. F. Albright. 


The Editorial Committee desire to take this opportunity of informing 
readers of the Journal that criticism and comments on any of the 


OIE ONE SE i ee ΠΕ 


220 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
contributions included in the Journal will be welcomed and, if desir- 


able, printed in the succeeding number, with a reply by the author of 
the article. 


The Editorial Committee do not necessarily pledge themselves to — g 


issue numbers of the Journal at regular quarterly intervals. They 
propose to publish them, more or tess frequently, at such times as the 
requisite material becomes available. They also propose, 10 the Society's 
funds make this possible, to undertake the publishing of more extensive 
monographs on subjects which come within the scope of the Society. 

It will greatly assist in the mapping out of future work of this 
kind if Members will kindly be a little more punctual in the payment 
of their Subscriptions. 


Herpert Danpy 
(Secretary) 


REPORT OF THE TREASURER OF THE PALESTINE 
| ORIENTAL SOCIETY 


| January 1920—May 30, 1921 


Receipts 
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τσ ΠΝ subserptions: for 1920). τ τὴς τ΄, eee ee ele ἢς 17104.20 
Ponationg teria funds of the: society. νὸν τὸ ee lb ιν 900.00 
Be Anunal-subscriptions: for 192) . τε νος το ee ce 7319.00 
πὴ ξ προ ὦ ΘΙ ΕΠ ety ss. ON ng Ue oe. ae eve IE: ae Gener ate Sine we cee 30.00 
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Hapenditure 

ΞΡ ΘΙ ΣΥῸΣ τες ea re a Stet sesh vee Speen? . arian. oe P.T. 2016.00 
PAUIONER 7 5 τὸ ον al 6. as Seo Ae see eka TESS EERE a Rp eee eae 852.00 
Bremigal Wt leg ta a eon. 5 Saket so Se ghia ees ee ar) er eae ears ΤῊΣ 218.00 
Refreshments wPMOH O78 κ ees ee ee He τῶ 8S Ole.) ὦ Ce Spay oo e) 8 Or 8, 484,50 
_ Nile Press, Jerusalem, printing of circulars, programmes. .... 2880.00 
Ε Rafael Haim ha-Cohen, printing of circulars. .......... 680,00 
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. P.T. $4543.20 


NAHUM SLOUSCH 
Treasurer 


Audited, May 30, 1921, and found correct, and accompanied by the proper 
_ vouchers 
SAMUEL RAFFAELI 
E. J. H. MACKAY 
Auditing Committee 


MEMBERS! OF THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY 


[1)—=Life Member, 2)— Honorary Member, 3)= Patron] 


Alexander Aaronsohn Esq. “Doar ha-Yom”, Jerusalem. 
N. Abcarius Bey, P.O.B. 82, Jerusalem. 
Albert Abramson Esq. Chief British Representative, Amman, Palestine. 
Faidi Effendi el-Alami, Jerusalem. 
Dr. W. Ἐς Albright, American School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 
1)3)H. KE. Field Marshal the Viscount Allenby, The Residency, Cairo. 
Mr. Moses Bailey, Ram Allah, Jerusalem. 
Omar Effendi Barghuti, Jerusalem. 
Dr. G. A. Barton, Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 
Capt. E. K. Bennett, Oxford and Cambridge Musical Club, 6 Bedford Square 
London W. Ὁ. 1. 

Norman Bentwich, Esq. The German Colony, Jerusalem. 
Mr. Eliezer Ben Yehudah, Jerusalem. 
Dr. W. S. Bigelow, 56 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. U.S.A. 
Dr. A. Biram, The Technical College, Haifa, Palestine. 
Miss Blandey, The Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Frederick J. Bliss, 1155 Yale Station, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A. 
Edmond Bourne Esq., “‘Partney”, Parkstone, Dorset, England. 
Miss E. G. Briggs, Atlantic Avenue, Springlake, N.J., U.S.A. 
The Rey. Dr. R. Butin, Catholic University, Washington D.C., U.S.A. 
Mr. J. J. Calmy, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 
I. N. Camp Esq., Deputy British Representative, Amman, Palestine. 
The Rey. Dr. John Campbell, 260 West 231 Street, New York, U.S.A. 
Dr. T. Canaan, Jerusalem. 
M. Joseph Chaine, Ecole St. Etienne, cretion. 
Dr. Jeshua Chami, Quarantine Medical Officer, Jaffa. 
Dr. F. D. Chester, Hotel Bristol, 541 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. 
Mme. Civiale, 9 Rue Vignon, Paris. 
Mr. A. P. S. Clark, Anglo-Egyptian Bank, Jerusalem. 
Mr. Ἐς H. Clark, P. O. B. 16, Jerusalem. 
Prof. A. T, Clay, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A. 
The Ven. Archdeacon Cleophas, Greek Patriarchate, Jerusalem. 

2) Mons. Clermont-Ganneau, 1 Avenue de ]’Alma, Paris. 

2) The Rev. Dr. G. A. Cooke, Christ Church, Oxford, England. 


! 
{ 

Be | 

Ἵ 
ἢ 


1 This list has been corrected up to August 1, 1921. Members are asked to notify the Secretary 
of any change of address or any other inaccuracy. 


_ Members of the Palestine Oriental Society 223 


| ee Capt. E. T. Cosgrove, P. O. B. 302, Jerusalem. 
Capt. A. Creswell, c/o Cox & Co., Cairo. 
Le Rév. Pére Cruveilhier, Gd. Séminaire, 5 bd. des petits Carmes, Depar- 
tement Haute Vienne, Limoges, France, 
L. G. A. Cust Esq., District Governorate, Jerusalem, 
The Rey. Herbert Danby, St. George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem. 
The Rev. J. T. Darragh, “The Glebe’, 1 Russell St., Durban, S.Africa. 
C. D. Day Esq., Survey of Palestine, The Governorate, Jerusalem. 
Le Βόν. Pére Decleodt, Des Missionnaires d’Afrique, Jerusalem. 
G. De la Penha, British School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 
Le Rév. Pére Dhorme, St. Etienne’s, Jerusalem. 
Mr. J. E. Dinsmore, American Colony, Jerusalem. 
Mr. A. 8S. Doniach, Wadham College, Oxford. 
Le Réy. Pére Dressaire, Notre Dame de France, Jerusalem, 
The Rey. Prof. Walter Drum, Woodstock, Maryland, U.S.A. 
The Rev. A. J. Dushaw, American School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 
Dr. M. Ὁ. Eder, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 
Mr. Israel Hitan, 250 W. 112 Street, New York City, U.S.A. 
F. T. Ellis Esq., Bishop Gobat School, Jerusalem. 
E. M. Epstein Esq., The “Palestine Weekly”, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Milton G. Evans, President, Crozer Theological Seminary, Chester, Pa., 
US.A. 
Dom Gregoire Fournier, Des Benedictines du Mont Sion, Jerusalem, 
Dr. H. T. Fowler, Browne University, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. 
M. Henri Frank, “I. C. A.”, Jerusalem. 
A. E. Franklin Esq., 35 Porchester Terrace, London. 
Judge Gad Frumkin, Law Courts, Jerusalem. 
Prof. Kemper Fullerton, Oberlin School of Theology, Oberlin, Ohio, U.S.A. 
Prof, John Garstang, British School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 
Prof. Lucien Gautier, Cologny, Genéve, Suisse. 
Mr. M. Gerassimo, Crédit Lyonnais, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Ὁ. A. Glazebrooke, American Consulate, Jerusalem. 
Mr. Isaac Goldberg, Allenby Road, Tel-Aviv, Palestine. 
Prof. A. R. Gordon, Presbyterian College, Montreal, Canada. 
Dr. Ettaline M. Grice, Yale Babylonian Collection, New Haven, Conn. U.S.A. 
2) Prof. Ign. Guidi, 24 Bottege Oscure, Roma. 
Mr. Elias N. Haddad, The Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem. 
Mr. Selirn D. Haddad, Superintendent of Customs, Haifa, Palestine. 
The Rey. EK. W. Hamond, The English College, Jerusalem. 
The Rev. J. E. Hanauer, Christ Church, Jerusalem. 
Capt. R. A. Harari, Dept. of Commerce, Government House, Jerusalem. 
Dr. A. C. Harte, Y. M.C. A., Jerusalem. 
Sir Thomas Haycraft, The Law Courts, Jerusalem. 
Mr. W. Hecker, Bochara Quarter, Jerusalem. 
Mr. E. G. Hensman, Hensman’s Hotel, Jerusalem. 
Prof. Wm. J. Hinke, 156 North Street, Auburn, N. Y., U.S.A. 
The Rey. C. T. Hock, 222 Liberty Street, Blookfield, N. J., U.S.A. 
Mr. A. C. Hornstein, Christ Church, Jerusalem. 
Mr. L. W. Hughes, no 3. St. Eloui, c/o Mme. Kypiades, Cairo. 


2 


24 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


+ 


A. M. Hyamson Esq., Dept. of Travel and Immigration, Jerusalem. 
Mr. A. Z. Idelson, Jerusalem. 
Mrs. H. Irwell, 8f Bickenhall Mansions, Gloucester Place, London W. 
M. Henri Izaakson, c/o Dr. Mazié, Jerusalem. 
Mrs. Izaakson, c/o Dr. Mazié, Jerusalem. 
Adil Effendi Jabre, Jerusalem. 
2) Prof. Morris Jastrow, 248 S. 2374 Street, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. 
Samuel Johnson Esq., Hotel Central, Jerusalem. 
D. Hedog Jones Esq., Dept. of Agriculture, Haifa, Palestine. 
Dr. V. H. Kalbian, P. O. B. 222, Jerusalem. 
1) Mr. H. M. Kalvaryski, Rosh Pinah, Palestine. 
Mr. A. E. Kelsey, Ram Allah, Jerusalem. 
Dr. W. H. Δ. Key, Notre Dame de France, Jerusalem. 
The Rey. G. 5. Kukhi, Y. Δ]. C.A., Davies Bryan Buildings, Cairo. 
Mr. J. Kuperman, Zammarin, Palestine. 
The Rey. Dr. N. G. Kyle, 1142 Arrott Street, Frankford, Philadelphia, Pa., 
U.S.A. 
Le trés Réy. Pére Lagrange, St. Etiennes, Jerusalem. 
The Very Rev. Francis Lamb, Carmelite Monastery, Haifa, Palestine. 
Miss A. E. Landau, Evelina de Rothschild School, Jerusalem. 
Mr. M. E. Lange, Zichron Jacob, Haifa, Palestine. 
The Rey. F. N. Lapham, St. John’s River, Conference, Mt. Dora, Fla., U.S.A. 
J. Lee-Warner Esq., British School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 
Mr. Alter Levin, P. O. B. 240, Jerusalem. 
The Librarian, Carleton College Library, Northfield, Minn., U.S.A. 
1) The Librarian, Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Ill., U.S.A. 
The Librarian, Library of Princeton University, Princeton, N. J., U.S.A. 
The Librarian, St. Deiniol’s Library, Hawarden, Chester, England. 
Mr. L. Lind, American Colony, Jerusalem. 
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H. C. Luke Esq., The Governorate Jerusalem. 
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Dr. Ὁ, G. Lyon, 12 Scott Street, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. 
Dr. C. C. McCown, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. 
Mr. W. D. McCrackan, c/o Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem. 
Miss D. McInnes, Y. W. C. A. Hostel, Jerusalem. 
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Le Réy. Pére Meistermann, Couvent de S. Sauveur, Jerusalem, 


The Rey. Prof. S. A. B. Mercer, 2738 Washington Boulevard, Chicago, U.S.A. _ E | 


Le Rév. Pére Mesrob, Armenian Patriarchate, Jerusalem, 


Members of the Palestine Oriental Society 225 


Mr. J. Meyuchas, Jerusalem. 
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Mr. Talbot Mundy, c/o Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem. 
Nassouhy Bek Beydoun, Assistant Inspector, Acre, Palestine. 
Prof. H. H. Nelson, American University of Beyrout, Syria. 
Miss F. KE. Newton, P. O. B. 63, Haifa, Palestine. 
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Maj. L. V. Nott, Governor, Gaza District, Palestine. 
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Mr. Ephraim Rubinovitch, Jerusalem. 
Miss Adelaide Rudolph, 115 West 68th Street, New York City, U.S.A. 
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Edwin H. Samuel, Esq., Government House, Jerusalem. 
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226 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


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Mr. Menahem Ussischkin, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 

Dr. Moise Valera, Nachlat Shiva, Jerusalem. 

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Dr. P. dE. Wheeler, English Hospital, Jerusalem. : 

Mr. J. D. Whiting, American Colony, Jerusalem. 

Miss F. M. Willan, Girl’s School, Haifa, Palestine. 

Dr. W. H. Worrell, Kennedy School of Missions, Hartford Seminary, New 
York, U.S.A. 

Prof. A.S. Ἐς Yahuda, C-O David Sassoon & Co., 9 King William Street, 
London, W. Ὁ. 4. 

Mr. David Yellin, Zichron Mosheh, Jerusalem. 

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Dr. Blanche Zehring, 309 E Linden Ave., Miannisburg, Ohio, U.S.A. 

Mr. J. Ben Zevi, P.O. B. 303, Jerusalem. 


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JOURNAL OF THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY 
VOL. IL 


THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY | 
JERUSALEM 


Patrons: 
H. E. Freup Marsyan tHE Viscount AnLENBY G.C.B., G.C.M.G. 


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Board of Directors: 


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The Right Rev. the Archbishop 

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My. Einzzr Ben YEHUDAH Vice-President 
The Rev. HerBert Dany Secretary 
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Mr. Ronaup STORRS Director 


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Mr. W. J. PHyTHIAN-ADAMS 


Mr. Davin YELLIN 


THE JOURNAL. 


OF THE 


PALESTINE 
ORIENTAL SOCIETY 


VOLUME 
1922 


JERUSALEM 
PUBLISHED BY THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY 
1922 


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PRINTED BY W. DRUGULIN, LEIPZIG (GERMANY) 


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TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Asset, F.-M., O. P. Le Tombeau d’Isaie 

— le culte de Jonas en Palestine . 
Ansricut, W.F. The Earliest Forms of ee ae 

— Palestine in the Karliest Historical Period 
Canaan, T. Byzantine Caravan Routes in the Negeb 
Duorme, P., O. P. Un mot aryen dans le Livre de Job : 
EL- Be λα Omar. Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 3 
Happap, EH. N. The Guest-House in Palestine 
Mackay, Εἰ. J. A. Note on a Scene in Tomb 85 at Thebes 
McCown, Ο. Ὁ. The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Sesion 
Orrau, Gaupence, Ὁ. F. M. Τὰ derniére période de l’histoire de Capharnaitim 
Puyratan-Apamus, W. J. Aiguptos: A Derivation and some Suggestions . 
Streruan, St. H. The Division of the Year in Palestine 

— Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 
Suxenrx, L. The Ancient City of Philoteria (Beth Yerah) 
Totxowsky, S. Aphek. A Study in Biblical Topography 


INiatesmange © ommlunicatlonsies τοὐτἘΠορ’οΕοῃνΨὋοΕἘΠΕοΠέσ,σἜ a assis masts cen προ 181 
Book Reviews 


Report of the Treasurer of the Palestine Oriental Society. . . . .. . 
Members of the Palestine Oriental Society 


> 


THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION AS TO THE MAGICAL 
WISDOM OF SOLOMON 


σι C. McCOWN 
(JERUSALEM) 


HE student of history frequently has to deal with traditions 

whose origin and development are most puzzling. His method 
of treating them must be determined by knowledge of other traditions 
the course of whose growth is more easily followed. Few have a 
richer and more varied documentation than that which glorifies the 
wisdom of Solomon. It may well serve as an example of the manner 
in which the human mind works in certain fields. 


1. ITS PRE-CHRISTIAN BASIS 


With the facts behind the tradition 1 am not concerned. The 
reputation which the great king actually deserves may be left to 
students of the Old Testament. The literary starting-point for the 
legends that have developed touching the.king’s wisdom is to be 
found in 1 Kings 8, in the story of Solomon’s dream.! In this 
passage, as Benzinger well says, the writer has in mind the judicial 
wisdom of the ruler. On the contrary in ch. 5 9—14 (4 29—34) he not 
only thinks of “religious wisdom in practical life” but, in comparing 
Solomon’s wisdom with that of “the children of the East,” and the 
“wisdom of the Egyptians,” he intends to imply that Solomon was 
master of the magical and astrological knowledge in which the 
ancients were supposed to excel.2 It is difficult to date precisely 


11 Kings 3 4-14; paralleled without important changes in 2 Chr. 1 7-13, except 
that Solomon’s superiority is promised only over other kings. The tradition has 
not yet begun to grow. 

2 As the book of Exodus, for example, testifies. See Benzinger’s Kénige 
(1899) 23f., on 1 Kings 5 9-14. 

if 


2 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


- 


this earliest allusion to the magical knowledge of Solomon. But the 
verses in question probably belong to the final redaction of the Book 
of Kings.! In any case, since the passage is in the Septuagint, it 
must have come into the Hebrew Bible two centuries or more before 
the beginning of our era. Thus in leading circles of Palestinian 
Judaism Solomon had thus early come to be accepted as a 
magician. 

Whether the interpolator of the passage thought of him also as 
the author of magical books is less certain. Without doubt many 
readers would understand dai to mean, not psalms, but carmina, 
incantations, and would take discourses “of trees” (ὑπὲρ τῶν ξύλων) to 
include their medical, or what then amounted to the same thing, — 
their magical uses.2 These verses are an excellent example of “how 
much wood is kindled by how small a fire,” for they are the excuse 
for the ascription to Solomon of a whole library of books on almost 
every conceivable subject. 


How shall we explain the development of the relatively simple © 7 


story of the dream of Solomon into the much more complicated and 
detailed claims of this passage? It seems to me most natural to 
suppose that already in his lifetime Solomon had enjoyed a reputation 
for proverbial wisdom and that by the time these verses were written 
collections of proverbs and verses dealing with some of the subjects 
enumerated were already in circulation. ‘This must remain, however, | 
only an assumption, for no decisive proof is at hand.3 


Indeed Wisdom 7 17—22, the next reference to Solomon’s magical — Ἢ 


knowledge, makes no allusion to writings. But the context does not 
call for it and the passage plainly involves a claim for the author 
of knowledge of astrology, of the nature of beasts and spirits, as 
well as of men, of the ἐνέργεια στοιχείων, the διαφοραὶ φυτῶν, the δυνάμεις 
ῥίζων and of “all things that are either secret or manifest.” Thus a 


1 So Benzinger, loc. cit. Kautzsch, Heil. Schr. des AT, seems to imply that the 
passage belongs to the earlier sources of Kings. Stade and Schwally in Haupt’s 
polychrome Hebrew Bible color it as a “non-Deuteronomic addition of unknown 
origin.” Steuernagel, Hin. AT 356 and ZATW 1910, 70, favors a very late date. 

2 So Christian writers; see below p. 10. 

3 For an analysis of 1 Kings 5 9-14 (4 29-34) see Salzberger, Georg, Die Salomo- 


sage in der semitischen Literatur: ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Sagenkunde. 
I. Teil. Diss. Heidelberg. Berlin 1907, pp. 9—12, 94—97, 99. 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 9 


- thoroughly educated and highly cultured Jew of the Dispersion inter- 
prets the language of the Septuagint. To him such wisdom as the 
Book of Kings claimed for Solomon necessarily implied a knowledge 
of all the “science” of his day, and that included astrology, magic, 
medicine, and sorcery.! 

An allusion to Solomon’s authority over the demons is found in 
a work of a very different sort, the Citharismus regis David contra 
daemonum Saulis, which Dr. James, the editor, assigns to the first 
century of our era. David is represented as singing to the demon 
which has possessed Saul: “Later times will demonstrate from what 
race I was born, for hereafter there will be born from me one who 
will control you.”2 Dr. James says: “In this last sentence it seems 
at first sight as though we had a prophecy of Messiah and possibly 
-a Christian touch. But a little consideration will show, I think, that 
the ‘vanquisher of demons’ who is to spring from David is not Messiah, 
but Solomon the king of the Genies, the wizard” of Josephus and 
the Testament of Solomon.? 

Josephus contributes the cornerstone of the Jewish foundation 
upon which the Christian tradition regarding Solomon rests. Without 
his explicit statements one might even be inclined to doubt the 
foregoing interpretation of earlier writers. After repeating with 
some embellishments the scriptural statements regarding Solomon’s 
wisdom and writings he adds: “God also gave him to know the art 
that is used against the demons for help and healing to men. He 
composed incantations by which diseases are rebuked and left kinds 
of exorcisms by which demons are bound and driven away never to 
return. And this treatment is most successful among us up to the 
present time.” And Josephus proceeds to relate how a certain 
fellow-countryman of his, Eleazar, in the presence of Vespasian and 
his court, expelled a demon from a man by “holding under the 
nostrils of the demoniac his ring, which had under the seal one 
of the roots indicated by Solomon,” and by “mentioning Solomon 
and repeating the incantations which he composed.” “By this 


1 TI have followed the translation of Siegfried in Kautzsch, Apokr. u. Pseudep. 
des AT I 490, and Holmes in Charles, Apocr. and Pseudep. of the OT 1 546. 
2 Arguent autem tempora noua unde natus sum; de quo nascitur post tempus 
de lateribus meis qui uos domavit. 
3 Texts and Studies 11, 3 (1893); Apocrypha Anecdota p. 183 and 184. 
ἘΣ 


+ Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


event,” he says, “the power and wisdom of Solomon are clearly 
established.” ! 

Josephus thus gives evidence of a living, popular tradition as to 
Solomon magus. He also tells us that books were in circulation 
giving his recipes. His very slight alteration of the biblical account, 
of the writings of Solomon is most instructive. It bespeaks a know- 
ledge of what was ,actually in circulation. Solomon, he says, “also 
composed books of odes and songs, five besides the thousand and 
three thousand books of parables and comparisons, for he spoke a 
proverb upon every kind of tree, from the hyssop to the cedar, and 
in the same manner also concerning beasts and all the terrestrial 
animals and the aquatic and the aerial, for he was not ignorant of 
the nature of any of them neither did he pass over any without 


consideration, but philosophized on all and showed his knowledge οἵ 


their peculiar characteristics to be of the highest.” 2 

It is possible that in speaking of “parables and comparisons” 
(παραβολῶν καὶ εἰκόνων) Josephus is merely rhetorically tautological 
and means nothing more than proverbs. But the word εἰκών, which 
means “parable, comparison,” as well as “image,” was later used as 
the title of works on the medicinal, or magical, virtues of plants, 
such as the εἰκόνες κατὰ στοιχεῖον of Pamphilus. It seems very likely 
then that Albrecht Dieterich was right in supposing that Josephus 
knew of works under such a title ascribed to Solomon.? 


1 Παρέσχε δὲ αὐτῷ μαθεῖν 6 θεὸς καὶ τὴν κατὰ τῶν δαιμόνων τέχνην εἰς ὠφέλειαν καὶ 
θεραπείαν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ἐπῳδάς τε συνταξάμενος αἷς παρηγορεῖται τὰ νοσήματα, τρόπους 
ἐξορκώσεων κατέλιπεν, οἷς ἐνδούμενα (Naber: οἱ ἐνδούμενοι Niese) τὰ δαιμόνια ὡς μηκέτ᾽ 
ἐπανελθεῖν ἐκδιώκουσι. καὶ αὕτη μέχρι νῦν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἡ θεραπεία πλεῖστον ἰσχύει" ἱστόρησα 
γάρ τινα “EdedSapov τῶν ὁμοφύλων, Οὐεσπασιανοῦ παρόντος καὶ τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ χιλιάρχων 
καὶ ἄλλου στρατιωτικοῦ πλήθους, τοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμονίων λαμβανομένους ἀπολύοντα τούτων. 


/ 


ὁ δὲ τῆς θεραπείας τρόπος τοιοῦτος ἢν. προσφέρων ταῖς ῥισὶ τοῦ δαιμονιζομένου τὸν δακτύλιον, 


ἔχοντα ὑπὸ τῇ σφραγῖδι ῥίζαν ἐξ ὧν ὑπέδειξε Σολομών, ἔπειτ᾽ ἐξεῖλκεν ὀσφρουμένῳ διὰ τῶν 
μυκτήρων τὸ δαιμόνιον, καὶ πεσόντος εὐθὺς τἀνθρώπου μηκέτ᾽ εἰς οὐτὸν ἐπανήξειν ὥρκου, Σολομῶνός 
TE μεμνημένος καὶ τὰς ἐπῳδὰς ἃς συνέθηκεν ἐκεῖνος, ἐπιλέγων... γινομένου δὲ τούτου σαφὴς ἡ 
Σολομῶνος καθίστατο δύνεσις καὶ σοφία. Ant. vili 2,5 (45—49). 

2 Συνετάξατο δὲ καὶ βιβλία περὶ ὠδῶν καὶ μελῶν πέντε πρὸς τοῖς χιλίοις, καὶ παραβολῶν 
καὶ εἰκόνων βίβλους τρισχιλίας - καθ᾽ ἕκαστον γὰρ εἶδος δένδρου παραβολὴν εἶπεν, ἀφ᾽ ὑσσώπου 
ἕως κέδρου, τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ τρόπον καὶ περὶ κτηνῶν καὶ τῶν τ᾽ ἐπιγείων ἁπάντων ζῴων καὶ τῶν 
νηκτῶν καί τῶν ἀερίων" οὐδεμίαν γὰρ τούτων φύσιν ἠγνόησεν οὐδὲ παρῆλθεν ἀνεξέταστον, ἀλλ᾽ 
ἐν πάσαις ἐφιλοσόφησε καὶ τὴν ἐπιστήμην τῶν ἐν αὐταῖς ἰδιωμάτων ἄκραν ἐπεδείξατο. Ant. 
vill 2, 5 (44). 

3 Abraxas 142f., Leid. Pap. 780 ff. 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 5 


IT. THE SEMITIC TRADITION 


An instructive difference develops in the course of time between 
the Jewish and Arabic tradition on the one hand and that of 
Christendom on the other. In all alike Solomon is celebrated as a 
magician. Targum Sheni Esther, for example, says that “Solomon 
ruled over the wild beasts, over the birds of the heaven, and over 
the creeping beasts of the earth, as well as over the devils, the 
spirits of the night; and he understood the language of all these 
according as it is written, ‘and he talked with the trees”! This 
substitution of talking with the trees for the of which is found in 
1 Kings 5 13 (433) and of ruled over for the spake of in the following 
- verse is an interesting example of the development οἵ legend. Both the 
Quran and the Arabian Nights have made the legends of Solomon’s 
rulership over the jinn, his use of them in building the temple, and 
his sealing the rebellious in bottles common property in both the 
East and the West.2 In Abt Vogler Browning speaks of the time 

“when Solomon willed 

Armies of angels that soar, legions of demons that lurk, 
Man, brute, reptile, fly,—alien of end and of aim, 

Adverse, each from the other heaven-high, hell-deep removed,— 
Should rush into sight at once as he named the ineffable Name, 

And pile him a palace straight, to pleasure the princess he loved.” 


Equally a commonplace of folklore and literature is the might of 
the ring of Solomon and its magic seal. Josephus’ account of 
Eleazar’s performance before Vespasian implies a Solomonic ring as 
part of the known tradition, but it is a root under the seal and not 
the seal which is powerful.3 In the great Paris magic papyrus is an 
often quoted passage, which the heathen magician no doubt copied 
from Jewish sources. One of the incantations runs, “I adjure thee 
by the seal which Solomon laid upon the tongue of Jeremiah and 
he spoke.”4 The meaning of the lines is as yet an unsolved riddle. 
I am inclined to the opinion that behind it lies a legend of Solomon’s 


1 Salzberger, Salomosage 93f., from f. 440, ed. David p. 8. 

2 Quran, Sura 38: 35ff., SBE IX (II) 179 (ef. Sale, ad loc.), 27:7, SBE IX 
(II) 101. Nights 566f., ed. Lane-Poole III 110f., ed. Burton VI 84f. 

3 See note above, p. 3 (note 3). 

4 Bibliothéque Nationale, Suppl. grec. no. 574, 11, 3039f.: ὁρκίζω σε κατὰ τῆς 
σφραγῖδος ἧς ἔθετο Σολομῶν ἐπὶ τὴν γλῶσσαν τοῦ Ἰερημίου καὶ ἐλάλησεν. 


6 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


dealing with some demon who refused to speak until the ring was 
laid upon his tongue, and whose name has been corrupted in the 
papyrus.! In any case we have here a very early reference to the 
magic ring. The papyrus was written in the third or fourth century 
of our era. Albrecht Dieterich is surely right in saying that the 
passage is not earlier than the time of Eupolemos.? It is of course 
much earlier than the time of its use by the heathen magician who 
copied the papyrus, doubtless from a Jewish source in this section. 
Scores of amulets and incantations from all ages witness to a living 
faith in Solomon as a great magician who had power over demons 
and disease. The seal of Solomon and the jinn of Solomon are 
mentioned in Aramaic incantation texts.3 Museums have many 
amulets, and mediaeval manuscripts reproduce many charms in 
Syriac, Arabic, and Hebrew, as well as in Greek, Latin, and modern 
European languages, which demonstrate his popularity.4 Dr. Canaan 
has shown that his name is still one to conjure with among the 
peoples of Palestine.® | 

In doing honor to Solomon the magician, the West and the East, 
Christian, Moslem, and Jew agree. It is in the use of Solomonic 
books of magic that they part company. Jews and Moslems know 
little or nothing of the kind. According to the Talmud Hezekiah 
“suppressed the book of recipes,”® and this according to Maimonides 
and Rashi means a book which Solomon wrote. Maimonides held 
that it was a book of magic,7 Rashi that, though it was only a book 


1 Professor Deissmann (Licht vom Osten p. 187, τ. 15, Light from the Ancient 
East p. 257, n. 10) thinks the passage may allude to some legend connected with 
the Septuagint of Jer. 16-10. As a possible allusion to such a legend as I have 
in mind I may quote an equally enigmatic line from an amulet given in a manu- 
script of the Bologna University, No. 3632, f. 360a and a Vienna manuscript, 
Phil.-Graec. No. 108, f. 361a, as follows: ἰδοὺ Σολομὼν vids Δαβὶδ δράκοντος γλῶσσα 
ἔχων βασιλέως ἐγκέφαλον. 

5 Abraxas p. 142ff., Leid. Pap. 7804t. 

3 Montgomery. Aramaic Incantation Texts from Nippur, 80, 170, 173, 232, 248, 

4 See, tor example, Sachau, Katalog d. Syr. HSS. Berlin, I 367, No. 10 n, 
f.54b; Sorlin Dorigny, “Salomo als Reiter,” in Rev. des Htudes Grecs IV (1891) 
217—296; Schlumberger, ibid. V (1892) 84; Heim, “Incant. magica,” Jahrb. fiir 
class. Philol. Sup. X1X (1893) pp. 463—576, Nos. 56 = 169, 61, 62, 236, 237. 

5 Aberglaube und Volksmedizin im Lande der Bibel, p. 27, 100, 113, 121. 

§ MNIDI ἼΒΌ 133, Berakoth 10a, Pesachim 56a (Goldschmidt 135, 11.520; cf. Jer. 30 13. 
See A. Wiinsch, ZDMG LXVI (1912) 414. 

7 Surenhusius. Mishna 11 149, de Paschali iv 9. 


Mc COWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 7 


- of medical recipes, it was evil because it led men not to pray to 
God.! It would appear that this sort of tradition was avoided in 
official Judaism, for elsewhere rabbinic literature does not, to the 
best of my knowledge, refer to such works. Indeed Moses becomes 
the representative wise man in Jewish literature and folklore, as 
Solomon does for Christians, and magical books of various kinds are 
written in his name.2 Dr. Gaster has edited the Sword of Moses, an 
Aramaic collection of incantations coming from early in the Christian 
era. Professor Albrecht Dieterich and before him Leemans edited 
a Leiden Papyrus in Greek of magical contents called the “Eighth 
Book of Moses.”4 If this papyrus book, written in the third or fourth 
century, really goes back to the second, as Dieterich maintained, 
we have here early evidence for the acceptance of Moses as a 
magician in Jewish circles, for Christian influence upon the heathen 
compiler of the work could not be expected at that date. 

When we reach the Middle Ages, Solomon reappears in Jewish 
literature as the wise man and magician. Writers of the twelfth 
and following centuries regard him as the source of all wisdom, 
including medicine, magic, and astrology.® Since this tradition seems 
to have disappeared from Judaism for a time, it is natural to assume 
that it reappears under the influence of Mosiem and Christian folklore 
and literature. Shemtob ben Isaac of Tortosa (1260) gives a “des- 
cription of the wisdom of Solomon, especially in natural science,“ in 
his paraphrase of Zahravi’s Tasrif (xi cent.), called niawn pd. In 
Zahravi he found mention of a “covenant“ (m3) of Solomon which 
“was engraved on a tablet of white marble upon the wall of his 
palace, as well as various recipes (ΠῚ ΠΡῚΒῚ MINN) which were 
explained by the moderns (ΔΙ ΠΝ Π); Shemtob had learned more 
about the matter from Christians ‘here in Marseilles’ than he found 


1 Grinbaum, ZDMG XXXI 200, 

2 Kohler in JH IV 518. So already Kupolemos; cf. Eusebius Praep. Hv. ix 26. 
* Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1896, also separate. 

4 Leiden Pap. W.; Leemans, Papyrit Graeci Musei Antig. Publici Lugd. Bat. 
Τρ, Bat. 1885, vol. II, pp. 77—198; A. Dieterich, Abraxas. Leipzig 1891, 
pp- 154—166, 169—205. The title as given in the papyrus is Βίβλος ἱερὰ ἐπικαλουμένη 
μονὰς ἢ ὀγδόη Mwiicews περὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ ἁγίου. 

5 Citations in Steinschneider, Hebréische Ubersetzwngen des Mittelalters p. 936, 
Nos. 225, 226, p. 849f. 


8 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


in Zahravi.! The “covenant” and the “engravings” are both well 
known to Christian writers, as we shall see later. 

In the seventeenth century that strange collection of astrology, 
demonology, and magic called the “Key of Solomon” appears in 
Hebrew. Dr. H. Gollancz, who has edited it,? thinks it may well 
have been written originally in Hebrew and brought from the East 
by the followers of the Pseudo-Messiah Sabbatai Zevi, though the 
manuscript, which is in an Italian hand, has obvious later additions.3 
Jewish cabbalistic works early began to appear in European 
languages, and many, like Sepher Raziel and the Grimorium Verwin 
were ascribed to Solomon by their translators or compilers, but I 
do not know that this was done by Jewish cabbalists. 

Among Moslem writers the official tradition amounts to a complete — 
denia! to Solomon of any kind of magical writing. As a passage in 
the Quran and the comments upon it demonstrate, magical writings 
ascribed to Solomon were in circulation. Sura 2 95ff. reads, “And 
when there came unto them a prophet from God confirming that 
scripture which was with them, some of these to whom the scriptures 
were given cast the book of God behind their backs as if they knew 
it not: and they follow the device which the devils devised against 
the kingdom of Solomon; and Solomon was not an unbeliever, but 
the devils believed not, they taught men sorcery.” Yahya and 
Jallalo’ddin record a tradition that the devils wrote books of sorcery 
and hid them under Solomon’s throne. After his death they dis- 
covered them and spread them abroad among the people as his in 
an attempt to blacken his character, pretending that it was thus he 
had obtained his power and wisdom.! This official condemnation of 
Solomonic magical writings proves their existence among the Arabs 
of Mohammed’s time and also probably in the time of the commen- 
tators who record the tradition, and makes their use among Jews 
in the East more than likely. | 


1 lbid., pp. 740—743. Zahravi is variously called Agararius, Azaravi, etc. 

2 Clavicula Salomonis. London 1903. 

3 Ibid., p. 16ff. But see pp. 19 and 34. It seems to me as likely that the 
work is a translation from the Latin or Greek of some Christian; this better 
explains the protestation of the author regarding the cross. 

4 So Sale, ad. loc. Palmer’s note, SBE VI (Quran II) 14, does not so well 
explain the passage, as it is concerned solely with books. Fabricius, Cod. Pseud. 
V. T. Hamburg. 1713, I 1050, has a slightly different version of the tradition. 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 9 


ΓΙ. THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION 


I have given so much attention to the Jewish and Arab traditions 
regarding Solomon in. order to throw light on the Christian trans- 
mission of the body of legends, partly by way of comparison, partly 
by way of contrast. In Christendom there is no hesitation in ascribing 
books of magic to Solomon and the literary and the living tradition, 
if I may so distinguish them, that which depends upon quotation 
from previous writers and that which reflects the actual use of 
Solomonic magic, are equally full. 


1. THE LITERARY TRADITION 


One element of the Christian literary tradition depends upon 
Josephus, and his statements as to the use of incantations composed 
by Solomon. It is a question whether Origen’s reference is based 
upon personal knowledge or is adapted from Josephus. He says: 
“It is customary to adjure demons with adjurations written by 
Solomon. But they themselves who use these adjurations sometimes 
use books not properly constituted; indeed they even adjure demons 
with some books taken from Hebrew.”! Apparently the first to 
quote Josephus expressly is Georgios Monachos. He _ sharply 
abbreviates his source, merely saying, “And indeed Josephus mentions 
many of these works as having been reduced to writing, how that 
Solomon composed incantations against demons and exorcisms,” and 
giving a brief account of Eleazar’s cure of the demoniac.2 Kedrenos 
in one place quotes Josephus quite in full, in another the summary 
of Georgios Monachos.? Zonaras makes his own abbreviation of 
Josephus, or else of Kedrenos, giving a rather better summary than 
Georgios Monachos.! Glykas quotes Josephus as summarized by 
Georgios Monachos and then adds Wisdom 720, which speaks of 


| A Salomone scriptis adjurationibus solent daemones adjurari. Sed ipsi qui 
utuntur adjurationibus illis, aliquoties nec idoneis constitutis libris utuntur: qui- 
busdam autem et de Hebraeo acceptis adjurant daemonia. In Mattheuwm comm. 
ser. (tract. 33) 110, Migne, Patr. Graec. 13, 1757, to Mt. 26 63. 

2 Georgios Monachos, or Hamartolos, Chron. ii, 42, 4, Migne, Patr. Graec. 
110, 249, c. 850. 

3 Migne, op. cit. 121, 156B and 1961), c. 1100. 

4 Annal. ii 8, Migne, op. cit. 184, 168, c. 1150. 


10 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Solomon’s knowledge of plants and animals.! All these chronographers 
add other materials also, as we shall see. 

Another element in the Christian tradition takes its rise directly 
from the Old Testament account of Solomon’s superior wisdom. In 
the tenth of his Qwaestiones on 1 Kings Theodoret explains that 4 
Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the ancients and οἵ. a 
the Egyptians, because it was given him of God.2 In Question 18 Ξ 
_he goes on to claim that the knowledge of medicine was entirely 
derived from Solomon. As the passage is decisive as to the meaning 
which was ordinarily put upon the Old Testament account of Solomon’s : 
wisdom, and as it also is quite illuminating as to the character of = 
ancient medicine, I will quote parts of it. Theodoret asks, “What 
is to be understood by the expression, ‘He spake concerning the 
trees...’2” and answers, “It means that he described the natures, 
and powers both of plants and trees and indeed of the irrational 
animals also; whence I think also the medical books that have been Ἢ 
written have their source for the most part....telling for σᾶ 
disease this part of this animal is an antidote, as the gall of the τ 
hyena, the fat of the lion, the blood of the bull, or the flesh of 
lizards. For the wise among the physicians have written concerning 
these things, taking the starting point of their first works from the 
writings of Solomon.” 3 
_ Prokopios of Gaza, without acknowledging his debt, quotes the 
answer to Question 10 of Theodoret word for word and that to 
Question 18 as far as “for the most part” (wdyoAAa).4 Anastasios 
Sinaites repeats Question 18 and its answer almost word for word.’ a 


1 Migne, op. cit. 158, 349, after 1150. = 

2 Quaestiones in IIT Reg., Qu. x, Migne, op. cit. 80, 676. Ε΄ 

3 Πῶς νοητέον τὸ “᾿Ελάλησε περὶ τῶν ξύλων... .); Καὶ τὰς φύσεις καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις καὶ ὦ 
τῶν βοτάνων καὶ τῶν δένδρων καὶ μέντοι καὶ τῶν ἀλόγων ζώων πεφυσιολογηκέναι αὐτὸν εἴρηκεν" a 
ἐντεῦθεν οἷμαι καὶ τὰς ἰατρικὰς βίβλους συγγραφότας ἐρανίσασθαι mdumodd\a... Kal τοῦδε τοῦ Be 
ζῴου τόδε τὸ μόριον τίνος πάθους ἀλεξιφάρμακον " οἷον ἡ ὑαίνης χολή, ἢ τὸ λεόντειον στέαρ, PTO 
ταύρειον αἷμα, ἢ τῶν ἐχνιδῶν αἱ σάρκες. περὶ τούτων γὰρ οἱ σοφοὶ τῶν ἰατρῶν συγγεγράφασιν, ae 2 
ἐκ τῶν Σολομῶντι συγγεγραμμένων εἰληφότες τῶν πρώτων ras ἀφορμάς. In IIT Reg. Quaest- 2 ᾿- 


xviii, Migne, op. cit. 80. Jerome perhaps has the same idea. See his Quaest. 
Hebr. in libr. III Reg. (Migne. Patr. Lat. 23, 1365f.): Disputavit enim de naturis 
lignorum, jumentorum, reptilium, et piscium, de vi videlicet et naturis illorum... s 
4 Com. ad III Reg. 235 and-4 33; Migne, op. cit. 871, 1152, 11. - 
5 Quaest. xli, Migne, op. cit. 89, 589f. 


- McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 11 


_ Georgios Monachos and Kedrenos make use of Question 10,! and 
they unite with Glykas in passing on the claim that the origin of 
all medical books was to be found in the writings of Solomon.? 

A third item in Christian tradition regarding Solomon is the 
account of the suppression of a part of the books he had written 
by Hezekiah. Speculation was natural as to what had become of 
all the books which Solomon had written, the three thousand proverbs 
and the one thousand and five songs, not to mention his medical, 
magical, and other scientific works. So far as our sources are 
preserved, the first to answer this question was Hippolytos in his 
commentary on Canticles, parts of which are preserved in Armenian, 
Syriac, Slavic, and Georgian.? The Quaestiones of Anastasios Sinaites 
give a quotation or summary of a discussion found in the Georgian 
translation. In Question 41 Anastasios collects several ancient 
references to the wisdom and the writings of Solomon. To the 
quotation from Theodoret which we have already mentioned he adds 
Sap. 7 16-21 and 1 Kgs. 5 9ff, and then continues: “From the 
writing of Hippolytos on the Song of Songs. And where is all this 
rich knowledge? Where are these mysteries? Where are the books? 
For there have been handed down only the Proverbs (and Wisdom) 
and Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. What then? Do the 
Scriptures lie? God forbid! But a certain considerable portion of 
the writings had become mere ballast, as the expression ‘song of 
songs’ shows, for it signifies that whatever the five thousand odes 
contained has been included in the one. But in the days of Heze- 
kiah some of the books were chosen and some were rejected...”! 


1 Migne, op. cit. 110, 249; 121, 197Df. , 

2 These are the writings which were suppressed by Hezekiah. See Migne, 
op. cit. 110, 249; 121, 224; 158, 248. 

3 See Bonwetsch, Hippolyts Kom. z. Hohelied in Texte u. Unters. NF VIII 
(23, H. 2, 22f.) and the Kirchenvater Kommission, ed. I 343ff. 

4 “Ἱππολύτου ἐκ τοῦ εἰς τὸ Goua τῶν ἀσμάτων. Kal ποῦ πᾶσα ἡἣ πλουσία αὕτη γνῶσις: 
ποῦ δὲ τὰ μυστήρια ταῦτα; καὶ ποῦ αἱ βίβλοι; ἀναφέρονται γὰρ μόναι αἱ παροιμίαι [καὶ 7 σοφία] 
καὶ ὁ ἐκκλησιαστὴς καὶ τὸ ἄσμα τῶν ἀσμάτων, τί οὖν; ψεύδεται ἡ γραφή; μὴ γένοιτο" ἀλλὰ 
πολλὴ μέν τις ὕλη γεγένηται τῶν γραμμάτων, ὡς δηλοῖ τὸ λέγειν ἅἄσμα ἀσμάτων" σημαίνει γὰρ 
ὅτι Ὅσα περιεῖχον αἱ πεντακισχίλιαι ὠδαὶ ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ διηγήσατο. ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ᾿Εἰζεκίου τὰ 
μὲν τῶν βιβλίων ἐξελέγησαν, τὰ δὲ καὶ περιώφθησαν ... Migne, op. cit. 89, 589f. ‘The 
Quaestiones in their present form are not original but that does not affect the 
foregoing discussion since the material is quoted. See Krumbacher, Geschichte 
der byz. Lit. 64 ff. 


TER ae Ee τον ΠΣ ΜΌΣΔΙ Fees απο ΤΉ ΣΎΝ τ ΤΑΙ id A 
ν eta ῖ ἘΠΕ τα ΡΝ 


12 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


It is evidently the same tradition which Jerome has in mind when 
he speaks of certain “writings of Solomon which were antiquated 
and did not continue in memory.” ! 

When we come to the end of Question 41 of Anastasios we make 
the interesting discovery that he ascribes to the “archaeological 
history of Eusebios Pamphilos” an account of a drastic revision of 
Solomon’s writings by Hezekiah. “The books of Solomon”, he says, 
“written by him concerning the parables and odes, in which he 
discoursed concerning the nature of plants and all kinds of animals, . 
land, winged, and aquatic, and cures of every disease, Hezekiah 
suppressed because the people secured the treatments for their 
diseases there and failed to ask and look away to God for their 
cures”.2. Is this appeal to the authority of Eusebius misleading? 
We do not know the date or authorship of the Quaestiones in their 
present form, but whoever the writer of Question 41 was, he quotes 
accurately from Theodoret and from a lost work of Hippolytos. The 
presumption is that he may be trusted also in his quotation from 
Eusebius, who may well have known what was evidently the official 
Jewish opinion regarding the revision of Solomon’s works by Hezekiah, 
referred to in the Talmud and explained by Rashi as here. It is worth 
while adding that there seems to be a Slavic “Archaeology of Eusebios 
Pamphilos” which strangely enough begins with a reference to Solomon.? 

Succeeding Christian writers combine the tradition given by Hippo- 
lytos with that of Eusebios, or, sometimes, report them separately. 
The encyclopaedia of Josephos Christianos called the Hypomnestikon 
mentions the revision of the Proverbs in chapter 120 and the 
suppression of the magical writings in chapter 74.4 Georgios Monachos 


‘ Aiunt Hebraei cum inter cetera scripta Salomonis quae antiquata sunt, nec 
in memoria duraverunt, et hic liber (Hecl.) obliterandus videretur ... ex hoc 
capitulo meruisse autoritatem. Com. in Eccl. 12 13f. 

* Εὐσεβίου ἸΤαμφίλου ἐκ τῆς ἀρχαιολογικῆς ἱστορίας. Tas δὲ βίβλους τοῦ Σολομῶντος, τὰς 
περὶ τῶν παραβολῶν καὶ ᾧδῶν, ἐν αἷς περὶ φυτῶν καὶ παντοίων ζῴων φυσιολογήσας (]. ἐφυσιο- 
λόγησα) χερσαίων, πετεινῶν τε καὶ νηκτῶν, καὶ ἰαμάτων; πάθους παντός, γραφείσας αὐτῷ, ἀφανεῖς 
ἐποίησεν ζεκίας διὰ τὸ τὰς θεραπείας τῶν νοσημάτων ἔνθεν κομίζεσθαι τὸν λαόν, καὶ περιορᾶν 
αἰτεῖν καὶ παρορᾶν ἐντεῦθεν παρὰ θεῴ τὰς ἰάσεις. Migne, op. cit. 89, 592Df. Cf. Mai- 
monides and Rashi, above p. 6. 

3 Bonwetsch, in Harnack, Altchr. Lit. I ii, 900. 

4 Migne, op. cit., 106, 124, and 89C. Unfortunately there is room for difference 
of opinion as to the date of the work. Schiirer, Gesch. des jiid. Volkes4 111 420, 
seems to incline to 800 or earlier. 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 13 


combines part of the quotation from Eusebios mentioning its source.! 
᾿ Kedrenos quotes Monachos with an additional clause borrowed from 
Synkellos or Suidas.2 Glykas presents a somewhat independent 
account of Solomon’s glory and wisdom, but his account of Hezekiah’s 
revision is so confused as to seem to make it fall after Ezra. As 
authorities he appeals to “the most wise Psellos,” in which he is 
mistaken, and to Eusebios.? These three so introduce a clause from 
Anastasios Sinaites as to make it appear that the books which 
Hezekiah suppressed were those from which all the medical wisdom 
of antiquity was derived. 

A fourth and independent motif, like that which Shemtob found 
in Zahravi and among the Christians of Marseilles, is introduced by 
Georgios Synkellos and Suidas. The former, when describing Solomon’s 
reign, contents himself with writing most concisely of his wisdom and 
his fall. In his account of Hezekiah’s reign, after expanding 2 Kings 184, 
he adds, “And there was a certain writing of Solomon engraved on 
the gate of the temple containing a cure for every disease, and the 
people, turning to this and thinking to have their cures from it, 
despised God. Wherefore also Hezekiah chiseled it away in order 
that the sick might turn to God.”> Suidas shortens the account and 
puts βίβλος ἰαμάτων for γραφή." Kedrenos seems to have some idea 
of this tradition for he speaks of a “book of healing of Solomon for 
every disease which was engraved,” where, he does not say, and he 
makes Hezekiah “burn and destroy” it.? 

The story of Hezekiah’s destruction of Solomon’s magical writings 
crops out in a most interesting way in the latest recension of the 
Testament of Solomon,S and what is still more remarkable it 15 


1 Migne, ov. cit. 110, 149, 273. 

2 Thid. 121, 200B, 224C. See below. 

3 Tbhid. 158, 348f. For Psellos see ibid. 122, 537, 540. 

4 For example Glykas says: τὰς τοῦ Σολομῶντος βίβλους, ap’ ὧν καὶ of τῶν ἰατρῶν 
παῖδες τὰς ἀφορμὰς ἔλαβον... παρὰ δὲ ᾿ζξεκίου κακαῦσθαί φησιν ὁ πολυμαθὴς καὶ πολυΐστωρ 
Εὐσέβιος. Migne, op. cit. 108, 8481). 

5 ἣν δὲ καὶ Σολομῶντος γραφή τις ἔγκεκολαμμένη τῇ πύλῃ τοῦ ναοῦ παντὸς νοσήματος ἄκυς 
περιέχουσα, ἣ προσέχων ὁ λαὸς καὶ τὰς θεραπείας, νομιζόμενος ἔχειν κατεφρόνει τοῦ θεοῦ. διὸ 
καὶ ταύτην ᾿Εζεκίας ἐξεκόλαψεν ἵνα πάσχοντες TH θεῷ προσέχωσιν. 

6 Lexicon 5. v. ᾿Εζεκίας. 

1 βιβλίον Σολομῶντος ἰαματήριον παντὸς πάθους ἐγκεκολαμμένον ἐξέκαυσε καὶ ἠφάνισε. 
Miene, op. cif. 121, 200 Β, 224C. 

8 See below p. 17. 


.-- 


14 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


implicitly combined with the idea of a contract between the demons 
and Solomon engraved on stone, exactly the same collocation of - 
ideas that Shemtob took from Zahravi and the Christians of Mar- — 
seilles.1 Aside from a “Prologue” and a few verses at the beginning, 
Recension C of the Testament of Solomon runs very much like the 
earlier ones until near the end of chapter 9. From this point on an 
entirely different set of demons and of ideas is introduced. In 
chapter 13, then, the attempt is made to authenticate this “new 
testament” in a unique fashion. Solomon’s chief familiar, here 
named Paltiel Tzamal, requests him to promise that this, the real 
testament, shall be left to his sons only, and that, after his death, 
(sic) he shall make for Hezekiah another testament for the world at 
large, while this, the true one, shall be hidden and not open to the 
common herd, “for,” he adds, “Hezekiah, O king, will burn many 
books handed down from the fathers and many others he will hide, 
and he will establish the world and the superfiuous he will cut off.” 
Solomon then secures the name of the angel which truly frustrates 
all the demons — it is agla — and makes an agreement with the — 
demon that Hezekiah shall burn all but one cepy of this true testa- 
ment, which is to be engraved on stone, but shall spread abroad in 
the world the other testament which the demons shall give him as 
a joke and delusion.2 It is, 1 think, quite evident that the author 
of this recension has gone out from the two ideas which Shemtob 
brings together, of a contract between Solomon and the demons 
which along with medical recipes was engraved on white marble and 
the added idea, common both to Christian and Jewish tradition, — 
that Hezekiah was to destroy or at least lessen the number of 
Solomon’s magical writings.? 

An interesting aspect of the literary tradition regarding Solomon 
magus is to be found in the anti-Jewish polemics of Christian writers. 
The earliest reference of this kind I know is to be found in the 
Dialogue of Timothy and Aquila, which dates probably from the 


1 See above p. 7. = 
2 This recension is found in MS No. 3632 of the Bologna University Library, 
ff. 475 ff., and No. 2419, Anc. fonds grecs, Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris, ff. 266ff. 
See the forthcoming edition by the writer, to be published by Hinrichs in ΑΒ 
Professor Hans Windisch’s Untersuchungen zum NT. : 
3 Glykas uses the word ὠλιγώρησεν. See above p. 13. 


1 EF ΣΝ Pe 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 15 


first half of the fifth century. The Christian is arguing the messiah- 


ship of Jesus and applies to him the second Psalm. The Jew replies 


that this psalm referred to Solomon, not to the messiah. To meet 
this statement the Christian attacks the reputation of Solomon, 


quoting parts of the speech of Ahijah to Jeroboam,! and concluding 
with an appeal to the story of Solomon’s fall as “written in his 


Testament,” the Jewish-Christian work of the third century.2 Aside 
from the light it throws on anti-Jewish polemics, this passage is 
interesting mainly because it shows the earliest and most important 
of the pseudo-Solomonic magical works fully accepted and _ highly 
honored among the Christians of the fifth century. The writer of 
the Dialogue claims a greater trustworthiness for the Testament than 
for the Book of Kings. “On this I take my stand with confidence, 
because this is not revealed at the hand of the historian but is 
known from the mouth of Solomon himself.” 

Jewish polemics did more than apply many passages which the 
Christians regarded as messianic to Solomon. They also claimed 
that Solomon had subdued the demonic hosts, thus undermining the 
Christian argument that Jesus was the messiah because he had 


overthrown the kingdom of Beelzebul. The Testament of Solomon 


seems on the whole to be entirely unaware of this conflict of claims. 
All that distinctly appears in what can be confidently claimed as its 
original form as a Christian document is that Christ, or Immanuel, 
or the cross are the accepted means for frustrating the evil machi- 
nations of the demons. The fact that Solomon fell is not allowed 
to weaken faith in the charms he has discovered, on the contrary it 
is turned to account by making a demon foretell it and by that 
very means convince him, and the reader also, of course, that all 
that he had learned from the demons is true.4 Christ is represented 
merely as the one who will eventually rule the demons, as in a sense 
a greater successor to Solomon. ; 


11 Kings 11 31-36. 
2 See below p.17. The Dialogue is published by F. C. Conybeare, in Anec- 
dota Oxon. Classical ser. VIII; see p. 70. 


3. €y τοῦτο yap ἔστην πιστοποιῶν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν χειρὶ ἱστοριογράφου ἐφανερώθη τοῦτο, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ 


τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ τοῦ Σολομῶντος ἐγνώθη τοῦτος. Loc. cit. 


4 Ch. 15 8-14. 
5. Ch.1511. This is found only in the manuscripts of Recension B and may 
be secondary, Paris, Anc. fonds grecs 38, Jerus., S. Sab. 422. 


16 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Christian writers who have been more thoroughly indoctrinated take 
a different tone. Leontios of Constantinople in his sermon Jn mediam 
Pentecostem, while discussing the cure of the man with a legion of 
demons, suddenly begins an anti-Nolomonic polemic. “To whom,” he 
says, “did the legion of demons say, ‘If you cast us out, allow us to 
enter the herd of swine’? To Solomon who built Jerusalem, or to 
the Lord Christ who holds all things in his hand? But the demon- 
loving Jews will say at once, “What then? Did not Solomon master 
the demons? Did he not shut them up one and all? Do they not 
fear him to this day?’ But, O demon-deceived Jews, you appeal to 
these arguments in vain. For the Lord Christ alone bound the 
strong one with might and plundered his goods. For Solomon not 
only did not royally master the demons but even was mastered and 
destroyed by them at the end. For, loving the lust of polygamy, 
seduced by the procuration of the devil,...he defiled the marriage- 
bed of divine knowledge . . . How then is the servant of demons 
master of demons?”1° 

The same argument appears in the Disputation wrongly ascribed 
to Gregentius of Taphar. Herban, the Jew, claims that Solomon 
had ruled all the demons. The archbishop is made to reply, “Solomon 


humbled demons? You do not known what you are maintaining. - 


For a time he did secure them in his vessels and sealed and buried 
them. But look with me at the time that he was completely defeated 
by the demons themselves and, being overthrown, was in danger of 
losing his salvation, in that he offered incense to the abominations 
of deceit.”2 Where there were no arguments with Jews, and that 
includes the greater part of Christendom, this conflict of claims did 
not arise and Solomon was viewed as a great magician whom God 
had endowed with wisdom for “help and healing to men.” 


2. THE LIVING TRADITION 


Turning now from the literary tradition, that handed down by 
quotation from earlier sources, to the living tradition, that which 


1 See Migne, 7. ὁ. 86, 1980. According to Krumbacher, Gesch. d. byz. Lit. 55 

and 191, this homily is to be ascribed to a Constantinopolitan presbyter, Leontios, 

and not to any one of the better known fathers of that name. His date is uncertain. 
2 Miegne, J. 6. 


ss Me COWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 17 


gives contemporary evidence of an actual faith in Solomon’s magical 
ς΄ powers and wisdom, we find our earliest document in the Testament 
of Solomon, already mentioned. Josephus and the magical papyri 
are witnesses to a living faith among Jews and to a certain extent 
among the heathen. The Testament witnesses to faith among Jews 
and Christians, for it consists of Jewish material worked over and 
combined with heathen and. Christian material by a Christian. The 
basis is the story, no doubt borrowed from the Jews, of Solomon’s 
use of demons in building the temple, really an attempt to glorify 
the temple by representing it as the product of more than human 
skill.2 As the work proceeds, a vampire attempts to hinder it by 
attacking the chief architect, a favorite slave of Solomon. To save 
him Michael brings the famous ring from heaven and with its help 
Solomon calls all the demons before him, learns their characteristics, 
including the diseases and ills they cause, and the angel name or 
charm that frustrates them, and sets them to work at various difficult 
tasks about the temple. 

The original purpose of the writer was to collect about the name 
of Solomon all the magico-medical knowledge he had. Of the story 
which he made the framework of his “novel with a purpose” we have 
two late Christian recensions. A comparison of these works with the 
Testament shows how far tradition had already gone before the time 
of the Testament in collecting stories of Solomon’s dealings with the 
demons. The writer of the Testament gave a mighty impulse to this 
development by ascribing to Solomon a large number of demonological 
and magical traditions that came from the most diverse sources, 
Babylonian, Persian, Jewish, Greek, and Egyptian. The successive 
recensions of the original story and of the Testament show this 
process still going on. For example, the second recension of the 
Testament and a late modern Greek recension of the story both add 
an account of Solomon’s shutting the demons up in vessels, the latter 
going on to tell how the Chaldeans, when they took Jerusalem, 


τι The Testament is, to be sure, the earliest document referring to this 
legend, and Jewish legend does not, I think, make so much of it as does 
Arabic. Yet it hardly so likely that it would develop among Christians as 


among Jews. 
2 


18 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


opened the seals hoping to find treasure, and thus let the demons 
out again to prey upon mankind.! 

Next to the Testament, the most important magical work ascribed 
to Solomon is the Clavicula, the “key of Solomon,” which all during 
the Middle Ages and down into modern times enjoyed a reputation 
which the Testwmnent never had. A mass of manuscripts in Latin, 
French, Italian, English, and other European languages, shows what 
tremendous popularity it had. In occultist circles it is still thought 
worthy of translation and publication in these days of science.? 
Various recensions exist also in Greek and deserve publication for 
the light they throw on astrology and magic. The work is really a 
treatise on these subjects, as the Testament is a treatise in story 
form on medical magic. The most striking feature in the many 
manuscripts I have seen is the large number of “pentacles,” drawings, 
usually circular in form, often including magical words or sentences, 
and intended as charms or amulets against evil spirits, diseases, or 
other woes to which the flesh is heir. These are sometimes said to 
be the seals on the ring of Solomon, sometimes the “signs” of the 
demons. Recension © of the Yestuwment has borrowed from this 
literature twelve seals for the ring and a list of fifty demons and 
their “signs.” Perhaps the most valuable element in the Clavicula 
is to be found in the numerous prayers to the planets, which seem 
to contain ancient material. The date of the Clavicula and of the 
“Ὑγρομαντεία, as it is often called in Greek manuscripts, has not been 
determined. It is certainly later than the Testament, but goes well 
back into the first millennium of our era.? 

It is impossible even to catalogue the many works ascribed to 
Solomon in the Middle Ages, such as Sepher Raziel and Semiphoras.4 
They are a sadly confused and wearisome mass of cabbalistic and 


1 See the writer’s Testament of Salomon, already mentioned above, p. 14. The 
interesting modern Greek version is found in codex No. 290 of the St. Sabbas 
manuscripts in the library of the Greek Patriarchate in Jerusalem. 

2S. L. M, Mathers, Clavicula Salomonis, London, 1888. For a Hebrew trans- 
lation see above p. 8. 

3 See Reitzenstein, Poimandres 186f., and The Testament of Soo Intro- 
duction 11 4 and VIII 3. 

4 See Steinschneider, Hebr. Ubers. 937, Scheibel, Das Kloster IIT 80 ff, Horst, 
Zauberbibliothek passim, Seligsohn, art. “Solomon, Apocryphal Works,” in Jewish 
Ene. (XI 447). : 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 19 


occultist superstitions which do neither Solomon nor their authors 
credit. But they testify to the high esteem in which Solomon magus 
was held and their number as well as the frequency of copies of the 
more popular ones prove that the practice of magic in Solomon’s 
name was widespread. 

Equally important evidence on this point is to be found in the 
lists of prohibited books. In the Decretum Gelasianum, the Collectio 
Herovalliana, and pseudo-Isidor, de Muneris, mention is made of a 
Salomoms interdictio, or contradictio, and of phylacteria which contain 
the names, not of angels, but of demons.! There can be little doubt 
that the Clavicula is one of the books thus forbidden. Whether the 
Testament is intended in the title Jnterdictio is questionable. In 
any case the prohibition proves that Solomonic books were in 
popular use. 

Again there are allusions in mediaeval Christian writers which 
are not merely quoted from some older authority but come from the 
authors’ own knowledge as to the use of Solomonic books or incan- 
tations. The Hypomnestikon, for example, following its reference to 
the suppression of Solomonic writings by Hezekiah, continues, “But 
those which drive demons away and cure diseases and discover 
thieves the ‘fakirs’ of the Jews guard among themselves most care- 
fully, although the faithful of the holy church do not use these, since 
they have been taught by their faith in Christ to keep themselves 
pure.’2 Whoever he was and whenever he wrote—and there is no 
reason why the passage should not come from the fifth or sixth 
century—, the author is not quoting any known description οὗ 
Solomonic magical works, but, in all probability, telling of books he 
knew from personal knowledge. 

At the end of the twelfth century Niketas Akominates, or Choniates, 
_ a high official in the Byzantine court, knew an interpreter, sycophant 
and magician at court named Aaron, He had a “Solomonic book 
which, when it was unrolled and gone through, collected the demons 
by legions and made them stand ready, answering continually for 
what they were to be called upon, hastening to carry out the thing 


1 See E. von Dobschiitz, “Das Decretum Gel., ete.,”” in Texte u. Unters. (1912) 
13, 11, 332—335; 84, 11, 112f.; 74, 11, 242—245, see also p. 319. 
2 Migne, op. cit. 106, 890. See above p. 12. 


20 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


enjoined, and observing zealously that commanded.”! This is an 
almost exact description of the Clavicula and of the new part of 
Recension C of the Testament. There can be little doubt that Niketas, 
who wrote from personal recollection, had actually seen a performance 
in which some such book was used. 

It is equally clear that Michael Glykas knew the Testament. He 
says that Solomon “also made a book of his concerning demons, 
how they are brought down and in what forms they appear. He Ἂ 
wrote also their natures and peculiarities, and how they are bound 
and how they: are driven away from places they love to inhabit. a 
Wherefore he enjoined upon them work of carrying burdens and Ἢ 
forced them, as it is said, to fell timber and required them to carry 
that which was brought on their shoulders, and swollen bowels he 
cured by incantations or by binding herbs about them.”2 Only the 
name is lacking to make the identification of this “book about — 
demons” with the Testament complete, for it is throughout concerned τ ‘ 
' with bringing demons down, with describing their forms, natures, 
and peculiarities, with telling how they are driven from their lurking- 
places, how they are set to work, carrying burdens and cutting wood, 
among other things, and how cures are wrought by means of incan- 
tations and herbs. 

Turning from books to amulets and talismans, one finds an equal 
abundance of material. Every large museum has evidence that the — 
books of Solomonic “pentacles” in their manuscript collections were — 
not mere jeux d’esprit on the part of monks or others who had no ὁ 
better employment that drawing pictures. Amulet after amulet proves _ : 
that Solomon’s was in truth a name “to conjure with.” It appears . 
in many different connections, only a few examples of which can be 
given here. It is found, for example, on so-called Gnostic amulets. 
On a bronze nail in the British Museum is the inscription: 
(1) ABARAXAS: ASTRAEL* (2) IAO SABAO= « (3) (Draw- | 
ing of serpent) (4) SOLOMONO κα +.3 It is combined with heathen = ὃ 


1 Migne, op. cit. 86, 641 f. 2 Migne, op. cit. 158, 349. 

3 Cf. H. B. Walters, Cat. of Bronzes in the Brit. Museum, Greek, Roman, and — 
Etruscan. London 1899, p. 370, No. 8192, Henzen, Bull. ἃ. Inst. di Corr. Arch. 
1849, p. 11, cites from a magic nail AO SABAO SOLOMONO, and Wessely, 
Ephesia Grammata 22, 202, wao σολομων σαβαο from Montfaucon, Tab. 164. The — 
nail given in the text is no doubt the one mentioned by Jahn, “Aberglaube des — 
bésen Blicks,” Ber. d. sachs. Gesell. d. Wiss. 1855, p. 108. 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 21 


deities. Another nail in the British Museum carries a long inscription 
beginning DOMNA ARTEMIX and concluding TER DICO TER 
INCANTO IN SIGNU DEI ET SIGNU SOLOMONIS ET 
SIGNU DOMNA ARTEMIX.! 

Solomon often appears in the role of St. George, dressed as a 
knight in mediaeval armor riding a horse and piercing a dragon or 
some other enemy with his lance, for example on a hematite amulet 
in the Bibliothéque Nationale at Paris. The obverse bears the legend 
Σολομὼν, the reverse cfpayis Geov.2 Schlumberger cites a similar amulet 
with the same legends in which the rider is spearing a seated, naked 

- woman. Another Schlumberger bought in the bazaar at Smyrna. 
“In a circle around the edge of the medal was the legend, Σφῴραγις 
σοόλομωνος αποδιοξον παν κακὸν απὸ Tov φορουντος-». In the field was the 
word φθόνος, in the center an eye, above it three daggers pointing 
at it, on each side a rampant hon, below an ibis (or an ostrich), a 
serpent, and a scorpion, with the figure of a female demon at the 
bottom. On the other side was a figure of a rider spearing the same 
demon and the circular legend devye μεμίσιμενι coopov de deo. σισιννιος 
σισιναριοςς. Thus Solomon is to protect from the demon of envy that 
works in the evil eye.! 

A similar’ but more complicated amulet from Cyzicus bears on 
one side the legend, μιχαηλ, γαβριηλ, ovpinr, ραφαηλ, διαφυλαξον τον 
PopowTa αγιος aytos aywos ιπιπ RPSSS, and on the other, fevye μεμισιμενι 
σόλομον διοκι σε (και) ayyeAos αρααψ. The interpretation of details both 
m the legends and the figures is difficult but apparently the maker 
wished to combine as many powers as possible in his effort to 
counteract the evil eye, and Solomon was one that he could not 
afford to ignore.® 


' See Walters, loc. cit., No. 3191, and Jahn, op. cit., p. 107. 

2 Chabouillet, Cat. des Camées de la Bib. Imp. p. 299, No. 2218; οἵ, also No. 2219. 

3 Revue des Etudes Grecs V (1892) 84. : 

4 Ibid. p. 93. 

ὅ Dorigny gives this amulet in Revue des Etudes Grecs IV (1891) 287—296 
under the title “Phylactére Alexandrin contre les epistaxis,’’ basing his inter- 
pretation upon an ingenious but, I am sure, fanciful explanation of the word 

apa, which he reads apaap and derives from Ay, “to run drop by drop.” 
Ἄγγελος Apadp is, therefore, the demon of nosebleed. It is difficult to determine 
whether the last letter of the word is y or ¢. But the chief objection to this 
interpretation is that an etymology based upon a word written in Greek letters 
is altogether too uncertain unless there is other strong confirmatory evidence, 


22 Journal of the Palestine- Oriental Society 


Appeal is made to the seal of Solomon for protection times without 
number. Aside from the occurrences already mentioned above one 
may take as examples another of Schlumberger’s amulets which bears 
om the obverse the figures of an angel and a dog (or lion?) attacking 
a demon with the circular legend, devye μεμισιμενι apAap o ἀγγελλος σε 
διοκι, and on the reverse various signs and figures with the legend, 
σῴραγις ToAopovos φυλατε tov popovvta.1 De Longpérier gives an amulet 
of chalcedony with the inscription σῴφραγεις catwp<o>v κυριος NAY ΗΠ. 

Likewise appeal is made to the “covenant” of Solomon with the 
demons in a gold amulet from Italy. It was seen and copied by 
Amati in 1829 in the shop of an antiquity dealer in Rome. Amati 
gave a copy to Professor Emiliano Sorti and this was published in™ 
1880 by Professor Gaetano Pellicioni. The copy was made in 
imitation of the very crabbed letters of the original. Beginning with 
a line of magical, or at least non-Greek letters, it exorcised all kinds 
of demons and magical potencies “by the great and holy name of 
At (whoever that may be), the Lord God of Adam and Abram and 
Adonai and Iao and Sabaoth not to touch the woman who wears 
this exorcism,” “remembering the covenant they made with the great 
Solomon and. Michael the angel, that they swore the great and holy 
oath by the name of God and said, ‘We will flee, we will not violate 
the oath’.”3 So we find a persistent, living tradition as to the “covenant” 
which Solomon made with the demons, references to which we have 
already found in the literary sources.! 

Thus in Solomonic tradition as elsewhere in Greek Christian 
literature the two meanings of διαθήκη meet and cross. Were there 


and such is wanting’ in this case. For other examples of Solomon as a knight 
see the collection in the Berlin Museum, Saal X, Schautisch F 2, Nos, 9932, 
10640, 10641, Ausfiihrliches Verzeichniss 1894, p. 297, and see Dorigny, “Salomo 
als Reiter,” in Rev. des Etudes Grecs IV (1891) 217—296. 

1 Op. cit. p. 93. The reading of Heim, Incant magica (op. cit. supra, 1». ), 
p. 481, Nos. 61 and 62, φεῦγέ με, “μισουμένη, is indefensible. 

> Comptes rend. des séances de l’Acad. des inser. et belleslet. 1880, pp. 275ff. 
See the article Σφραγὶς Σολομῶνος, by Perdrizet in Rev. des Etudes Grecs 1903, 42 ff. 

3 πᾶν πνεῦμα uno bévra Tis. διαθήκης ἧς (SO My Copy, not ἣν or ἢ) ἔθεντο ἐπὶ μεγάλου 
Σολομῶνος καὶ Μεχείλου τοῦ ἀγγέλου ὅτι ὥμοσαν τὸν μέγαν καὶ ἅγιον ὅρκον ἐπὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος 
τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἶπαν ore φευξόμεθα, ὅρκον οὐ ψευσόμεθα. Atti e memorie delle RR. deputa- 
zioni di storia patria per le provincie dell’ Emilia. Nuova Serie, vol. V, parte Εὖ 
(Modena 1880) 177ff. Cf. Wessely, in Wiener Studien VIII (1886) 179, Schlum- — 
berger, Rey. Et. Gr. V 87. 

4 See above pp. 7, 141, 


McCOWN: The Christian Tradition as to the Magical Wisdom of Solomon 29 


originally two separate motifs, one of the “covenant” between Solomon 
and the demons, the other of the last will and “testament” which 
the wise king left telling all he had learned about them? Or did 
one of these ideas arise out of the other by misunderstanding or 
conscious development? So far as I have been able to discover, the 
Testament is older than any allusion to the “covenant.” That may 
be pure accident. Yet it is easier to see how from the stories of 
the Testament the tradition of the “covenant” should arise than vice 
versa.' In Recension C the Testament insensibly passes over into a 
“covenant.” On the other hand the tradition as to the “covenant” 
seems the more wide spread. Not only are there the allusions 
already adduced from Christian, Hebrew and Arabic sources, but 
Bezold gives “eine arabische Zauberformel gegen Epilepsie” from the 
margin of a Berlin manuscript which mentions the contract between 
Solomon and the devils.2 And Vasiliev gives a Greek incantation 
which contains a reference to the demons’ oath.? 

Weighing probabilities one is inclined to conclude that the idea 
of a covenant between Solomon and the demons arose by natural 
development out of the stories of his dealings with them, and that 
the “testament” was independently suggested to some mind already 
familiar with such documents as the Testament of Abraham, the 
Testament of Adam, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. 
To the author, then, of Recension © of the Testament occurred the 
brilliant idea of combining the two and thereby gaining added 
circulation for his document. 

In the early Christian centuries a living tradition hoped itself 
in a field so fertile that it is strange it was not longer cultivated. 
To one who is familiar with the “sacred places” of Palestine it is 
not astonishing to learn that the pilgrim of Bordeaux in the fourth 
century was shown the cave where Solomon tortured the demons,‘ 
and that St. Sylvia saw his ring in Jerusalem during the same 


1 It is an interesting fact that the first translator of the Testament rendered 
the title ,,covenant,” although in the recension that lay before him the idea is 
not to be found. This was J. First, Der Orient, 5. Jahrgang 1844, 7. Jahr- 
gang 1846, Literaturblatt, cols. 593, 663, 714, 741, “Der Bund Salomos.” 

2In ZA XX 38—4 (Aug. 1907) pp. 105ff., from Cod. (113) Sachau 199 (Kénzgl. 
Bibliothek, Berlin), ff. 24>—27a; cf. esp. pp. 1101. 
3 Anecdota Ga: ΤᾺ τω τε p- 992, 
4 Tobler, Palest. descript. 1869, p.3; Schiirer, Gesch. d. 714. Volkes+ III 418. 


24 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


century.1 It is strange some enterprising guide did not discover 
some of the brass vessels in which the demons were sealed. 

Long as this paper is, it gives but a part of the material that 
comes from Christian sources and does not attempt more than to 
touch the Semitic. It has been confined largely, moreover, to the 
Greek and Latin world. Many details might be added by one who 
knew Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, and the Slavic languages. 
Again the subject was restricted to the tradition regarding the 
magical wisdom of Solomon, thus leaving untouched a large field 
that has to do with his judicial and his scientific wisdom, the many 
books ascribed to him in this field, and the stories of his dialogues 
with human or semi-demonic interlocutors. 

Enough, however, has been adduced to illustrate several features 
of the growth of tradition. Its almost insensible beginnings, gathering 


slowly about a historical nucleus, the gradual accretions from sources — 


where similar motifs were at work, the adding of traits due some- 
times merely to the Lust zwm Fabulieren, sometimes to a patriotic 
motive, sometimes to literary ambition, sometimes to “scientific,” 
medical or magical interest, the cross currents of theology and 
polemics which tended to hinder development in one direction, while 
stimulating it in another, the mutual fructification resulting from the 
occasional contact of the literary and the living tradition, the omni- 


vorousness of such a tradition, once it has well grown, its ability to ἊΝ 


seize and apparently assimilate the most diverse and contradictory 
elements, these are some of the features, common to all folklore, 


which one sees in the Christian tradition regarding Solomon. Studies 


which include other languages and peoples and comparisons with 
other traditions would bring out still other characteristics of the 
development of folklore. Along with that of Alexander the tradition 
of Solomon offers one of the most fruitful fields of investigation. — 


1 Peregrinatio of St. Sylvia, or Etterea, published by Gannurrini. I owe the — 5 - 


reference to Dr. F. C. Conybeare. 


LE TOMBEAU DISAIE 


E-MeAB BI OP: 
(JERUSALEM) 


A mise ἃ mort du prophéte Isaie par le roi Manassé est un des 
éléments de la tradition juive les mieux attestés. Le Talmud 
de Babylone y revient par deux fois, contenant les deux particularités 
que l’on retrouve dans le Talmud de Jérusalem: la cachette d’Isaie 
dans un cédre qui sera scié, et la référence au texte de 2 Rois 2116 
«Manassé répandit beaucoup de sang innocent jusqu’a en remplir 
Jérusalem d’un bout & l’autre». Malgré le vague du renseignement 
ce verset peut comprendre implicitement un fait précis quon a jugé 
bon de dissimuler et se référer ἃ une tradition authentique. I] en 
ya autrement du sciage d’Isaie dans le cédre, trait qui appartient 
au domaine du folklore iranien, Les rabbins ont seulement atténué 
le réalisme horrible du supplice tel que le décrivait le récit primitif, 
d’aprés lequel le héros refugié dans l’arbre est coupé avec lui. Dans 
les récits talmudiques, on coupe le cédre pour extraire le condamné 
de sa cachette, ou bien le prophéte meurt au moment οἱ la scie va 
Vatteindre. 

«Lorsque Manassé se leva et se mit ἃ courir aprés Isaie pour le 
tuer, celui-ci put s’enfuir et se cacher dans un tronce de cédre. 
Comme des franges de son vétement dépassait l’arbre, on s’en apergut, 
on le reconnut, et on vint en faire part au roi qui dit: Allons scier 
Yarbre; ce qui fut fait et Vhomme fut découvert»! Plus loin, la 
_ part du roi dans l’exécution du prophéte est clairement indiquée. 


_ «N’est-il pas écrit: Manassé versa aussi beaucoup de sang etc.? Or 


est-il possible & un étre humain de remplir Jérusalem de sang 


1 Talmud de Jérusalem, Sanhédrin, X, 2. Cf. T. de Babylone, Sanhédrin, 103; 
Yebamoth, 109}. 


26 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


innocent d’un bout ἃ l’autre? On veut dire par lA que le roi tua 
Isaie...» Une tradition relevée dans Yebamoth, 49» mentionne la 
cachette du prophéte dans le cédre, mais lorsque la scie fut arrivée 
ἃ la bouche de la victime, son Ame la quitta. 

Que lallusion de l’épitre aux Hébreux (4137) aux saints qui ont 
été sciés concerne véritablement Isaie, c’est ce que l’on ‘admet 
aujourd’hui communément avec d’autant plus de facilité que l’existence 
au 1 siécle d’un opuscule d’origine juive traitant du martyre de ce 
prophéte parait solidement établie. La tradition qu’il représente, 
dépouillée de la circonstance légendaire du cédre qui se referme, 
était vraisemblablement recue dans les milieux juifs avant l’ére 
chrétienne. Ce Murtyre a servi de source au compilateur chrétien 
qui, aux environs de 150, rédigea l’Ascension d’Isaie. he fragment 
utilisé représente le prophéte en butte i Vhostilité d’un certain 
Balkiraé, originaire de Samarie, sur lequel on est bien aise de 
rejeter l’odieux de la conduite du roi, Circonvenus par l’imposteur, 
Manassé et les princes de Juda se décident ἃ, faire arréter le Voyant 
qui a prétendu voir le Seigneur et qui a infligé le nom infame de 
Sodome ἃ Jérusalem et traité de peuple de Gomorrhe les princes de 
Juda. «Ils prirent done (ajoute le récit) Isaie, fils d’Amos et le 
sciérent avec une scie de bois. Manassé, Balkira, les faux prophétes, 
les princes et le peuple, tous se tenaient debout le regardant... Et 
tandisqu’il était scié, Isaie ni ne cria ni ne pleura, mais sa bouche 
parla ἃ VEsprit-Saint jusqu’a’ ce qu'il fut scié en deux»! Cette 
narration qui jouit d’un grand succés dans la littérature ecclésiastique 
ne comporte aucune donnée topographique.? 

Si Vceuvre originale du Martyre contenait quelque indication de 
lieu, le rédacteur de 1’ Ascension d’Isave Ya completement négligée et 
il est nécessaire pour la retrouver de recourir au curieux document 
intitulé Vies des Prophétes dont nous possédons plusieurs recensions 
grecques et quelques abrégés syriaques. la plus connue de ces 
recensions est celle que l’on attribue ἃ S. Epiphane. On a tenté de 
placer 4 l’origine de ces notices un opuscule hébreu ou araméen, 
mais les tournures sémitiques s’expliquent suffisamment par le grec 
aramaisant parlé en Palestine. Pour sa notice sur Isaie, l’auteur a 


1 Tisserant, Ascension d’Isaie, V, 11—14, p. 131. 
2 Outre les allusions de Justin, Tertullien, Lactance, Hilaire, Ambroise οἷο. 


on a des mentions explicites dans Origéne et Jérdme. 
4 


ABEL: Le Tombeau d@’Isaie OT 


pu puiser ses renseignements dans des traditions locales déja anciennes. 
Il semble avoir connu le Martyre d’Isaie. On est incapable d’affirmer 
cependant qu'il y ait puisé des circonstances topographiques omises 
par l’Ascension. Sans méconnaitre Vincertitude qui régne au sujet 
de la date des Vies des Prophéetes, on ne risquerait pas de se tromper 
beaucoup en optant pour le second siecle de notre ére, époque de 
-Véclosion de maint apocryphe judéo-chrétien et des Mémoires d Hégée- 
sippe, réserve faite d’additions postérieures manifestement chrétiennes. 
~ Le texte de la notice vaut d’étre cité en entier: 

1. «Le prophéte Isaie, fils d’Amos, naquit ἃ Jérusalem de la tribu 
de Juda; ayant été mis & mort par Manassé, roi de Juda, scié en 
deux, il fut enseveli sous le chéne de Rogel, prés du passage des 
eaux que le roi Hzéchias avait fait disparaitre en les comblant. 
Dieu fit le miracle de Siloé en faveur du prophéte, qui, pris de 
défaillance avant de mourir, demanda ἃ boire de eau. Aussitot il 
lui en fut envoyé de cette source, laquelle, pour cette raison, fut 
appelée Siloé qui signifie «envoyé».» 

2. «Du temps du roi Hzéchias, avant que celui-ci n’etit fait creuser 
les citernes et les piscines, il était sorti un peu d’eau ἃ la priére du 
prophéte Isaie, le peuple étant investi par les étrangers, afin que 
la ville ne périt pas de soif. Les ennemis se demandaient: D’ou 
boivent-ils l’eau? ignorant le fait. Tout en maintenant la ville en 
respect, ils vinrent camper ἃ Siloé. Quand les Juifs venaient puiser, 
Veau de la source s’élevait, et ils s’approvisionnaient; les étrangers 
; venaient-ils, ils n’en trouvaient pas, l’eau avait fui. Aussi jusqu’’ ce 
jour, ’eau arrive subitement pour manifester ce prodige. Et parce 
que ceci avait eu lieu par l’intermédiaire d’Isaie, le peuple, en souvenir, 
lensevelit avec soin et honneur prés de la source pour que par ses 
priéres on ait toujours la jouissance de cette eau. Le peuple recut 
un oracle ἃ ce sujet. Le tombeau du prophéte Isaie est ἃ cote du 
tombeau des rois, derriére le tombeau des prétres au midi. En 
batissant Jérusalem, Salomon avait fait le tombeau des rois suivant 
un plan tracé par David. C’est a Vorient de Sion, qui a une entrée 
depuis Gabaoth, 4 une distance de vingt stades de la ville; et il la 
fit tortueuse, compliquée, insoupconnable, aussi est-elle jusqu’’ ce jour 
inconnue du grand nombre.» 

3. «Le roi Salomon avait li Vor d’Ethiopie et les aromates. 
Comme Ezéchias avait dévoilé le secret de David et de Salomon 


28 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


aux gentils et avait profané les ossements de ses ancétres, Dieu jura 
de livrer sa postérité en esclavage ἃ ses ennemis. A partir de ce 
jour, Dieu le priva de descendance.»! 


L’originalité de cette notice consiste ἃ établir une relation étroite 
entre Isaie et la fontaine de Silo¢, quitte ἃ embellir Vhistoire 
d’ornements légendaires. Ce prophéte, d’aprées la Bible, avait reproché 
ἃ Ezéchias et ἃ ses sujets d’accorder trop de confiance aux travaux 
hydrauliques destinés ἃ capter tout le débit de la source dans un 
nouveau réservoir placé hors de l’atteinte des ennemis. I] semble 
méme avoir pris partie pour l’ancien canal de Siloé que le tunnel 
d’Ezéchias allait rendre inutile, en se plaignant du mépris qu’on 
avait pour les eaux de Siloé qui coulent doucement. Is. 86. A l'aide 
de ces réminiscences une é¢xégese peu scrupuleuse aura vite fait 
honneur au Voyant de ces eaux si utiles a l’ancienne ville. Le 


prophéte en aurait donc provoqué un premier jaillissement en petite 


quantité et par intermittences, afin de soulager ses concitoyens 
menacés de périr de soif pendant un siége. Peut-étre l’auteur a-t-il 
pensé alors ἃ cette invitation d’Isaie 123: «Vous puiserez des eaux 
avec joie aux sources du salut». La seconde fois, la source aurait 
jailli en faveur d’Isaie pris de défaillance au moment de son supplice. 
A sa priére, de l’eau lui est envoyée miraculeusement, et ainsi, 
suivant notre légende, s’explique le nom de Siloé qui signifie «envoyé», 
étymologie déjai donnée par Joh.97. L’hypothése de deux récits 
paralleles ne manque pas de fondement, et le doublet se poursuit a 
propos de la sépulture du héros. 

Le premier récit (1), qui a surtout pour but d’expliquer l’étymologie 
du nom de Siloé, situe cette sépulture sous le chéne de Rogel prés 
du passage des eaux obturées par Ezéchias. Le second récit (2), 
qui s’attacbe surtout au phénoméne de Jintermittence, place le 
tombeau d’Isaie prés de la sortie des eaux, dans la proximité du — 
tombeau des rois et du tombeau des prétres. Le premier fait tout 3 


graviter autour du supplice, le second autour de l’épisode du siége. 


Mis en paralléle avec le chéne de Débora ou le térébinthe de 
| Jabes sous lequel furent enfouis les os de Sail et de ses fils, 


1 Mienz, P.G., XLIII, 397. Scuermann, Propheten und Apostellegenden, 
Texte und Unters., XXXI, 3, p.74ss. Sur l’interprétation de ce texte voir 
Cu.-Ganneavu, Acad. des Inscript ... Comptes rendus, 1897, p. 420ss. 


τ ; ABEL: Le Tombeau d’Isaie 99 


 Vensevelissement d’Isaie sous le chéne de Rogel garde une saveur 
plus archaique. On serait donc autorisé & croire qu’il y eut, i une 
certaine époque, aux environs de Siloé, un vieil arbre qui marquait 
aux yeux des populations le lieu de la déposition d’Isaie et peut-étre 
aussi de son martyre. Nous n’essaierons pas d’établir si des rapports 
existent entre la légende du cédre et celle du chéne de Rogel. 1] 
est plus facile de constater que la mention de Rogel ou du «Foulon» 
a pu étre inspirée par le fait de la rencontre d’Achaz et du nabi 
vers «l’extrémité de l’aqueduc de l’étang supérieur, sur le chemin du 
champ du Foulon», Is. 73. L’équivalence de D2'> employé ici et de 
595 a été reconnue par le targum de Jonathan et les versions syriaque 
et arabe, qui les rendent par le méme terme: N73p. A noter pourtant 
le cas de Josué 157, ot ’Arabe substitue ἃ ‘ain Rogel Videntification 
trés nette de ‘ain Ayoub, et la paraphrase non moins intéressante 
d’'Isaie 73, dans le targum: «sur le chemin du champ de l’étendage 
des Foulons» s3p mewn Opn. Ce champ ot 168 blanchisseurs 
étendaient leur lessive au soleil se localise aisément entre les piscines 
de Siloé et le biv. Ayoub. Un chemin sortant de la ville ancienne 
par une issue méridionale et se dirigeant vers ‘ain Rogel, aprés avoir 
passé 4 proximité de la bouche de l’aqueduc de Siloé qui précéda 
le tunnel d’Ezéchias serait fort bien en situation pour représenter le 
chemin du champ du Foulon. 
ua notice des Vies des Prophétes concorde pleinement avec ce 
point de vue, le chéne de Rogel, ainsi appelé sans doute en raison 
de sa situation sur le chemin qui méne ἃ la source de ce nom, était 


VE GE εν, τὴ τὴ πὰ Ree NONE ee eg 


παν; ΟὟ". 
J 


planté ἐχόμενα τῆς διαβάσεως τῶν ὑδάτων, ὧν ἀπώλεσεν "Efexias ὁ βασιλεὺς 
αὐγά, «pres du passage des eaux que le roi Bzéchias avait fait dis- 
_paraitre en les comblant», Le terme διάβασις que nous traduisons 
_ par «passage» ne signifie ni un canal, ni un aqueduc, ni un cours 
d'eau quelconque. C’est le terme consacré pour indiquer l’endroit 
ou l’on passe un fleuve, ot l’on franchit un cours d’eau, de préférence 
un gué. Aussi bien le texte rapporte-t-il lobstruction opérée par 
Hzéchias aux eaux et non au passage (diPdors), Le point le plus 
ο΄ éyident ot l’on passait l’ancien canal qui amenait les eaux de la 
_ piscine supérieure du Gihon (Owmm ed-Daradj) & la piscine inférieure 
que représente aujourd’hui le birket el-Hamra, se trouvait ἃ son issue 
du rocher, un peu avant l’endroit ot il se déversait dans ce dernier 
bassin. A 1l’époque de la rédaction des Vies, un sentier venant, 


PRES τ PP ENE! Te 


ae 


GER o winapi 
; te 


oe 


SR 


30 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


comme de nos jours, de la vallée du Tyropoeon coupait l’antique 
aqueduc de Siloé vers son extrémité sud-ouest avant de gagner le 
terrain plat ayoisinant le bir Ayoub. 

L’ensemble de ces indicatious aboutit ἃ localiser le chéne de 
Rogel vers la pointe sud de la colline dite d’Ophel (ed-Dehourah), 
aux abords du birket el-Hamra. [11 est assez probable, d’aprés 
Τ᾿ Onomasticon d’Eustbe et de δ. Jéréme,! qu’aux temps byzantins 
et peut-étre déji auparavant, ce birkeh ait porté le nom de piscine 
du Foulon — ἡ κολυμβήθρα τοῦ κναφέως, piscina Fullonis ἃ cause 
de son utilisation par les blanchisseurs du temps, utilisation claire- 
ment attestée pour le Moyen Age. «De cele aigue, tanoit l’on les 
cuirs de la cité. Et st en lavoit lon les dras ete.»? Mais ceci, 
ninfirmant en rien lidentification de ‘ain Rogel avec le bir Ayoub, 
montre que le domaine de Rogel ou du Foulon avait alors pris une - 
extension qu'il n’ayait pas ἃ l’origine. : 


Le second mode de sépulture enregistré par la notice (2) revient 
ἃ Vérection d’un monument commémoratif vers les eaux de Siloé. 
Ce terme s’appliquant strictement, ἃ Vorigine, ἃ l’aqueduc creusé a 
flanc de coteau était lui aussi devenu d’une compréhension plus vaste, 
jusqu’a désigner les piscines pratiquées dans le creux du Tyropoeon 
et lissue méme du canal souterrain d’Hzéchias. Quoi 411 en soit, 
ce tombeau qui présentait en quelque sorte Isaie comme le génie 
tutélaire de la source un’était pas éloigné de l’arbre sacré de Rogel. 
Les deux traditions ont-elles coexisté ou se sont-elles succédées? II 
est difficile de se prononcer A ce sujet. I] fut un temps ot la 
sépulture d’Abraham était cherchée soit sous le Térébinthe de Mambré 
soit ἃ la grotte de Macpéla. Le tombeau dit d’Isaie, participant 
aux embellissements que provoqua sous Hérode la renaissance du 
culte des tombes ancestrales, dut prendre ἃ cette époque un regain 
de notoriété, époque ot les sépuleres des patriarches ἃ Hébron 
étaient rehaussés d’une merveilleuse enceinte, et ou le tombeau de 


David recevait une somptueuse entrée de marbre blanc.? 


1 Krostermann, Onomasticon, p. 39, 165. 


2 Contin. de Guillaume de Tyr dite du ms. de Rothelin, Rec. des Hist. des 
Croisades, Occid., 11, p. 510. 


3 JosePHE, Antiquités... XVI, 7,1; Guerre... IV, 9,7. 


ABEL: Le Tombeau d’Isaie 31 


Ce tombeau de David et de sa lignée sert 4 l’auteur des Vies des 
Prophétes de point de repére pour la localisation du sépulcre d’Isaie. 
Il s’agit ἃ n’en pas douter de l’hypogée royal mentionné fréquemment 
par les livres des Rois et des Chroniques, hypogée qui se développa 
selon les besoins, car il est fait parfois allusion au sépulcre que tel 
prince s’était préparé, hypogée situé dans la cité de David, dans la 
partie méridionale, ainsi qu'il ressort de Néhémie 316. Si plusieurs 
rois ne sont pas déposés dans la sépulture davidique, aucun n’est 
exclu de la cité. Leurs tombeaux ne s’éloignent pas d’ailleurs de 
ceux de David et de Salomon. Osias est enseveli dans le champ de la 
sépulture des rois. Hzéchias trouve sa derniére demeure a la montée 
des tombeaux des fils de David. Par un privilege accordé |’excellence 
de sa conduite, on admit le grand-prétre Joiada‘ ἃ partager la 
sépulture des rois dans la cité de David. D’aprés les Vies des 
Prophetes, le prétre Zacharie, tué sur Vordre de Joas, aurait été 
enterré avec son pére. 

Notre document connait aussi un tombeau des prétres prés duquel 
il situe les sépultures d’Aggée, du prophéte Zacharie et d’Isaie.! 
Pour ce dernier, la position est plus détaillée. Il se trouve au midi 
du tombeau des prétres, ἃ coté du tombeau des rois. On déduira 
donc de ces divers renseignements l’existence d’une antique nécropole 
dans la partie sud de la colline, dont les divers hypogées étaient 
réservés aux grands personnages de la cité, princes, grands-prétres, 
prophétes. Les discussions postérieures entre docteurs sur la pureté 
lévitique de Jérusalem ne font que confirmer cette conclusion.” 
Lorsque l’interdiction de toute sépulture ἃ Vintérieur des murs mise 
en vigueur surtout ἃ partir d’Esdras fut considérée comme une loi 
antique, il ne vint jamais ἃ l’esprit d’aucun rabbi de nier que des 
tombeaux illustres se trouvassent dans la ville. 1] était laissé ἃ leur 
ingéniosité de casuistes de donner ἃ, cette anomalie une explication 
plausible. De plus, quand vint l’époque ou l’on se crut obligé d’enlever 
les sépultures situées dans les murs, certains tombeaux échappérent 
ἃ Vostracisme dont les puritains voulaient frapper sans distinction 
toutes les demeures des morts. 


1 Scuermann, op. c., p. 68, 70, 76. 


2 Cf. R. Wem, La Cité de David, ch. 11: Les tombes royales dans la Cité de 
David, p. 35 ss. 


32 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Parmi les prohibitions des causes d’impureté légale qu’énumére la 
Tossefta i propos de Jérusalem nous lisons ceci: «A Jérusalem on 
ne laisse pas les morts passer la nuit; on n’y place pas d’ossements; 
on n’y laisse pas de tombeau, ἐ l’exception des tombeaux de la 
maison de David et du tombeau de la prophétesse Houlda, quiy 
étaient depuis les jours des premiers prophétes»! L’exception devient 
plus générale avec cette baraita: «Tous les tombeaux (ἃ Vintérieur 
de la ville) doivent étre enlevés, sauf le tombeau d’un roi ou celui 
d’un prophéte.» Houlda n’était donc pas la seule entre les propheétes 
ἃ jouir de ce privilége, comme le manifestent également les Abot de 
R. Nathan qui présentent sous cette forme la cinquiéme prohibition 
du traité Negaim: «On ne doit pas ἃ Jérusalem laisser de morts 
pendant une nuit, ἃ l'exception du tombeau des rois de la maison 
de David, du tombeau d’Isaie et de celui de Houlda.»? L’intérét de 4 
ce texte est de s'accorder avec la notice des Vies des Prophétes sur 6 
la position génerale du tombeau d’Isaie. = 

La relation de ces hypogées avec la canalisation souterraine de — 
VOphel est aussi un point sur lequel ce document s’allie avec la = Ϊ 
littérature rabbinique. Une dizaine d’années avant la destruction 4 
du temple par Titus, on aurait procédé a l’enlévement des sépultures 
de la ville exigé par les Schammaites. Quand on chercha plus tard a 
le motif qui avait préservé de cette mesure les tombeaux des rois et : 
des prophétes, la présence de conduits souterrains dans la méme 
région servit ἃ justifier cette dérogation ἃ la loi commune. On 
supposa, sans se préoccuper de leur véritable destination, qu ‘ils 
étaient des exutoires des limpureté que dégageaient les tombeaux. 
«On dit quil y avait la une caverne qui entrainait l’impureté dans 
la vallée du Cédron.»3 R. Aquiba avait parlé d’un canal remplissant a 
le méme office. La notice grecque sur Isaie place son tombeau a | 
proximité du canal de Siloé; de plus, elle fait allusion, sous une ~ 
forme légendaire, au dédale qui formait l’accés du tombeau des rois 2 
et aux cachettes annexes ot Hzéchias eut limprudence dintroduire — 
les envoyés du roi de Babylone. 2 Rois 2012-19. Le fin du récit (3) a 


1 Tr. Negaim, VI, 2. : a 
2 D’aprés Bicuter, La pureté lévitique de Jérusalem, Rev. des études juives, Ἢ 
LXII (1911), p. 203. On trouvera dans cet article un bon développement sur la ~ 
question relative au maintien de ces tombeaux. 
3 Bicutsr, p. 209, 210. 


ABEL: Le Tombeau d’Jsaie 33 


suppose en effet que le trésor se trouvait dans l’hypogée royal, car 
le conteur reproche ἃ ce propos au roi d’avoir profané les restes de 
David et de Salomon. Hyrcan et Hérode, d’aprés Joséphe (Antiq., 
XVI, 71) se seraient livré ἃ des opérations analogues au tombeau 
de David pour en ravir des richesses. 

Tsaie étant représenté comme le génie tutélaire de la source, on 
serait tenté de chercher son monument ἃ la sortie du tunnel 
d’Ezéchias, 18 ot les colons d’Aelia élevérent plus tard un édicule i 
la Fortune (au Gad-Yavan) auquel fut substituée, au 5° siecle, l’église 
de Siloé. Mais les indications de notre notice font obstacle 4 cette 
supposition. Les eaux de Siloé représentent avant tout le conduit 
antique dont Vhistoire d’Isaie fait mention, et que Von a retrouvé 
sur le flane de la colline ed-Dehourah paralléle au Oédron. II serait 
donc plus juste de placer le tombeau du grand prophete a proximité 
de ce canal que de le mettre en relation avec le canal d’Ezéchias. 
Sa situation se précise davantage grace au voisinage des tombes 
royales dont une partie a été mise ἃ découvert par les fouilles de 
M. R. Weill. Mais l’étendue du «champ des tombeaux des fils de 
David» n’est pas encore connue, pas plus que les secrétes retraites 
de la nécropole primitive. D’immenses travaux sont encore nécessaires 
pour arracher ἃ la vénérable colline de l’antique Sion tous ses 
mystéres. Nous espérons que le jour ot l’on reprendra des fouilles 
qui dénuderont le rocher entre le champ exploré par le capitaine 
Weill et la pointe sud de la colline, le tombeau d’Isaie, ou ce quil 
en reste, verra de nouveau la lumiére, apres de longs siecles 
d’obscurité et d’oubli. 


JUDICIAL COURTS AMONG THE BEDOUIN 
OF PALESTINE 
OMAR EFFENDI EL-BARGHUTHI 


(JERUSALEM) 


NE of the most interesting and important branches of Arab 
folklore is Bedouin law. As the subject is so wide, I have 


chosen for this paper only one phase of it: “Judicial Courts among 
the Bedouin,”! and have postponed consideration of the remaining — 


phases: gdniin ed-diyafah, or regulation of hospitality; ganin 6)-Ἴάζα, 


the murder code; gdniin el-‘urd (class. ‘wd), the code of rape; and Ξ 


ganun el-hugtg, the civil code. 
A legal system was in force among the Arabs long before Islam; 


the names of some well-known lawyers have been preserved —Aktam 3 
ibn Saifi,2 Hajib ibn Zirarah,3 ‘Amir ibn ez-Zarb,! ‘Abd el-Muttalib 


al-Qurasi.6 Female lawyers were also known—Hind bint el-Hassah® 


1 [The writer of this paper is a young Muslim gentleman, son of one of the 


most prominent sheikhs of southern Palestine. From boyhood he has been 
intimately acquainted with the customs and practises of the Fellahin and Bedouin, 
between whom in southern Palestine there is little distinction, one class gradually 
merging into the other. He has been collecting folkloristic and ethnographic 
materials for thirteen years, noting them down in special diaries and notebooks, 
a number of which unfortunately fell- into the hands of the enemy during the 
war, and were destroyed. Our knowledge of the history, languages, and customs 


of southern Palestine will gain greatly from the intensive knowledge, and large — 


collections which he has gathered; this, we hope, is only the first instalment (W.F. A. ἢ 


I wish to express my ἘΣ τὶ to Dr. W.F. Albright and Dr. T. Canaan [Ὁ 


encouragement and help given in the preparation of this paper. 
2 Of the tribe Beni Tamim, between Yemameh and Ihsa, He died soon after 
the coming of the Prophet. ' 
3 Contemporary and fellow-tribesman of the former. 
4 Ditto. 
5 Of the Qureis, the Prophet’s grandfather. 
6 Daughter of the Emir el-Hassah of the Beni Tamim. 


Ἐν 
2 
κι 
sh 
SF 
δ 
o 


ἧς. 


es 


_EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 35 


and Jum‘ah bint Habis. With the spread of Islam these laws and 
regulations were influenced and more or less modified by the laws 
of the new religion. It was, and still is, customary that whenever 
two individuals or two tribes differ on something they consent to 
refer the matter to a judge, who settles the dispute according to 
hereditary laws. These laws suit the Arabs better than any others, 
since they accord with their psychological state, their customs and 


τς manner of living. 


- 


ες 


GRIMY ABE a fae y τ Ὁ 


ARES ΠΝ 


Ny 


Cae 
vat 


pean at 
ae 4 


These judicial principles also guide legal procedure among the 
peasants of Palestine, with differences which will always be noted. 
The inhabitants of our country are at present divided into two 
political parties —Qaisi and Yemeni. Both parties have judges to 
aid in the solution of hard problems and the settlement of disputes. 
There is no objection offered if one party brings the case to the 


judges of the other party, for the judges must never be partial, nor 


do they fail to search for the truth and deal with justice. Nor is 
the case different when a Qaisi and a Yemeni who have a dispute 
come to a judge who belongs to one of the factions. The judge does 
only what he thinks right, as he is afraid of the majdlis ed-daha, 
1. 6. of the talk which takes place in the maddfah? before noon 
(morning gossip).3 


The right to judge belongs only to certain families, such as el- 


= Manasira among the Beni Nu‘eim,! Abii ‘Ir4m in Yattah,® el-Mahamideh 


in es-Samii‘,® the Dar ‘Ureiqat in el-Wadiyeh,’? and el-‘Arrabi in 
Qabatiyeh,§ etc. No other families are supposed to mete out justice, 
and the administration of justice is thus hereditary. The father 


1 Daughter of a renowned warrior of the Beni Tamim. 
2 The maddfah is a room for the common use of the villagers, where guests 
are entertained and lodged. ‘The custom of the maddfah exists in nearly every 


ξὶ village south of Nablus, and among the Beni Saib on the coast of the sea. North 
οὗ Nablus we find, instead of mad@fat, daw@win, or visitors’ rooms in the house 


of every notable. The elders of the village spend much of their time in the 
madiafah. ‘ 
3 The gossip of the elders and loungers in the mad@fah, while the others 


--are at work. 


4 In the Hebron district (Jebel el-Halil). 

5 Ditto. ; 

6 Ditto. 

7 El-Wadiyeh is the district to the east and southeast of Jerusalem. 
8 In the district of Jenin. 


36 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


drills his brightest and cleverest son, or an uncle trains his nephew, 
allowing him to attend his court until he becomes acquainted with 
all types of cases, after which he may be permitted to judge and 
settle easy cases under the former’s supervision. When he gets 
sufficient practise, and is trusted by the people, difficult cases will 
be referred to him, and gradually he gains the entire confidence of 
the villagers. ' 

There may be one judge or more in a family. The oldest is 
most respected, and if several are of the same age the richest and 
noblest is the most acceptable. In case they are equal in wealth 
and nobility, the judge is chosen whose father was a better judge 
than the other judge’s father. It is still true at present that the 
judges belong to the noblest families of the district.2 These judges 
have ample jurisdiction, and are not bound to govern their decision 
by any written code which fixes a maximum or minimum penalty. 
Their most important duty is to know the rank of different families. 
A murder, violation of female honour, or of the right of a noble and 
powerful family weigh more heavily than a murder, rape, etc., of 
other families. A hamileh (family) in which many females have 
been violated or many members killed is despised and regarded as 
weak and dishonourable, being therefore placed on a lower level than 
other families.3 The judges have full authority to increase or reduce 
a penalty, always taking into consideration the common welfare and 
the personal influence of both parties. Sometimes they punish a crime 
with half, at other times the same crime with a third, and still on 
other occasions the same crime is punished with more than a diyeh 


1 Following are the names of the present judges from these families, all peasants: 
Hajj Hosein and ‘Ist Mohammed from el-Manasirah ; Shadeh of Abti ‘Iram; ‘Abd 
er-Rahim Taljeh of el-Mahamideh; and Hasan Abi Mharib from Deir Jrir. The 
names of Bedouin and semi-Bedouin judges will be given below. 

2 The Prophet ordered that the noblest of the people should settle cases 
arising in his people. A hadit warns against the danger of entrusting a post to 
an inefficient person. 

3 Proverbs alluding to this point of view are: “Cheap blood and broken 
honour” (damm rhts u-‘ard rsis); “This family neither takes revenge nor removes 
disgrace” (hal-‘éleh la btihid-et-tar wala btinfi el-‘ar). The repeated violation of 
female honour is alluded to with the phrase “Olives crushed before they are — 
stored.” 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 37 


and gurrah.! The judge must know the social position of the offenders 
and their families exactly. Minute knowledge of all these important 
details differs among judges, since some are cleverer than others, 
have had more experience, and are more accustomed to intricate 
cases. Sometimes a judge cannot decide a case, because it is too 
complicated. In this event he sends somebody secretly to reconcile 
the parties.2 If he does not succeed, he postpones his decision until 
he discovers the right one with the help of some other judge who 
must proffer his advice. 

The number of judges nowadays is decreasing, and there are none 
at all in northern Palestine. The Bedouin and the semi-nomadic 
tribes are most conservative; the closer we approach cities the more 
seldom are real judges found, while the people patronize the official 
government courts increasingly.. 

Judges are paid for investigating and settling cases. The payment 
in criminal cases is called rizgah,? while in property and other un- 
important cases it is called ji‘lah. The payment is determined 
according to the importance of each case: that of a murder or 
violation is 100 Turkish mejidis; that of an unpremeditated murder 
or the injury of an important organ 50 mejidis; in the case of theft 
or other minor crimes 10 mejidis. There is also a fee, called bislah, 
paid to judges of the religious law (Seri‘ah), who are sometimes called 
on to decide questions. This sum, which varies between ten and a 
hundred mejidis, is generally estimated by the collaboration of the 
parties involved and the judge.4 There are four different kinds of 
“ payment: — 

1. Rizqgat mubtil, the fine which is paid by the accused, that is, 
if Zeid and ‘Amr quarrel, and the latter wins the case, the former 
pays the fine. 


1 The diyeh is the blood-money, price of blood, weregeld. The gurrah is a 
girl taken from the party of the murderer and married to a man of the family 
which lost the victim. This girl is married without a bridal price or mahr 
(rendered ,,dowry”). 

2 The phrase for “(the judge) reconciled them” is itayyib ‘aleihum in the case 
of murder or rape, and otherwise isa@lihhum. 

3 The custom of the rizgah (rihén) is very old; cf. the story of Alqamat 
el-Fahl and ‘Amir ibn et-Tufeil in Ris@lat ibn Zeidan. 

4 If the judge prefers, he may take sheep or cloth, etc., instead of money. 
The payment is then called ma‘arid. 


38 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


2. Rizjat mujrim, the fine which is paid by the criminals. 

3. Rizqgat mundsafah, a settlement by compromise, each party 
paying half. This payment occurs when the case is evenly balanced, 
and open to suspicion, each party claiming more than is due. This 
payment is also known in canon law. 

4. hizgat muntasir, given by the party which has gained the 
victory, or by the accused person who has been absolved of guilt. 

Before the case is taken up, it is decided which sort of rizgah is 
to be paid, and by whom. As soon as both parties have agreed with 
the judge upon one of these modes of payment, the case takes its 
regular course. As it is naturally still doubtful which side will win 
the case, the parties do not pay anything at first, but offer the 
judges security, such as a mare’s bridle, a pipe, a ring, a tobacco 
case or bag. Though in themselves very insignificant objects, they 
signify that the litigating parties have pledged their honour. If one 
fails to pay his fine, he cannot redeem his pledge, and is very much 
despised.!. After the decision has been made, the judge keeps the 
pledge of the person who is to make the payment, and the latter 
must not leave the assembly room (maddfah) until he pays his debt.2 
The pledge is returned to the other party at once. It happens but | 
rarely that a house or rifle is given as a pledge. The judge is not 
ashamed to ask for his fee, and the people see that it is paid. If 
any difficulty arises, the family of the accused person compels him 
to do his duty. 

Judges are divided into four classes: (1) Quddt ed-dyuf, judges 
of guests; (2) guddat es-sull, or civil magistrates; (3) quddt ed-damm,. 
judges of blood; (4) quddt es-seif, judges of the sword. The last two : 
are the most important and the most powerful. The quddat ed-damm 
are divided into three categories: : 


1 The custom of pledging is very old, and we find it as far back as in the 
time of the Ja@hiliyeh (before Islam); cf. the story of Hajib ibn Zirarah and 
Kisra (Chosroes 11.) in ‘Iqd ul-Farid (by Ibn ‘Abd Rabbuh), Vol. I, p. 130. 

2 Nearly every mada@fah has its care-taker, or n@tér (lit. watchman), who is 
selected by the elders. In some places he is paid a stipend, up to a hundred 
mejidis a year, while in other villages he receives up to a hundred s@‘ of wheat 
(the s@ is 83—6 ratls, or 9—18 ke.), varying in different places. He makes the 
coffee, gathers the wood, keeps the guest-house clean and in order, sees that all 
the guests have bedding, provided by the rich inhabitants of the village. In 
some places he is employed to carry letters to other villages. The ndttir receives 
a portion of the food offered to the guests. 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 39 


1. El-mahatit (sing. mantit),t the courts of first instance. Et-Tall 
of. ez-Zahiriyeh is a judge of this type. 

2. El-mandsid (sing. mansad),2 the courts of appeal. El-Mahamideh 
of es-Samii‘ is a judge of this court. When one appeals to this 
- court, one says to one’s opponent, ‘alevk bil-mansad. 

3. El-mandgi‘ (plur. of manqa‘),? the courts of cassation, of final 
_ _ appeal. Their decisions are final. Dar Taljeh represents this court. 
ΓΞ These three courts settle blood questions alone. Cases of violation 
3 are brought to the court of honour (ard) of the Beni ‘Uqbah. Any 
case of murder may be brought directly to any of these courts, 
__-without going first to the lower ones or ones, but one may agree 
from the beginning to go through the three courts. 

The judges of guests have no official power, and in each village 
there is only one, generally a popular person or a notable. If a 
guest arrives in a village the villagers contend for the right and 
honour of banqueting him. Even women may take part in this 


contest. 
Villages may be divided into two categories with respect to their 
| mode of showing hospitality to the guest :— 
a 1. Villages where the terms of offering meals to guests are settled 
Ἰ ἴῃ advance. 
i Ξ 2. Villages where the people anu as mentioned above for the 
ἱ τ honour of preparing a meal for guests. There are four qwds (bows) 


each formed by a stick with a string tied to both ends of it. On the 
threads are strung slips of paper, each bearing the name of a villager. 
The villagers are divided into four categories: (a) the rich, who must 
provide a good meal for noble visitors, the meal consisting of a 
sheep andthe accessories; (b) those whose means will not permit of 
their offering more than a fowl; (c) those who prepare the meal 
from food always ready at home, such as cheese, olives, eggs, butter, 
leben, etc.; (d) the poorest, who bring only barley for the animals 
belonging to the guests. These four classes are called, respectively, 
dor kbir, dor gir, dor nhar, dor mahaleh (mihld@’). If many guests 
arrive together, one of the ddr el-kbir must feed them. 


~ apy -- ὌΝ aa vr SI 
SESS TA eR PERL T, ya Spee 
FORE ee ee 


ae Ga 
ΟῚ 


1 Lit. “the chosen one.” 
2 Lit. “the place of oath,” from nagad, “take oath.” 
3 Lit. “the place of stagnation,” i. e..where the course of justice stops. 


40 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


The judge to whom authority is given announces his decision in 
favor of a person belonging to one of these classes, always acting ~ 
according to the following rules:— , 

1. A companion of the guest in his journey (γα 2 et-taviq) has 
the first right to provide the meal (lé@ bitgada wala bithakam). 

2. A guest of high rank is entertained by a person of his rank. 

3. A well-to-do person is frequently selected to entertain the guest, 
since the poor cannot afford the expenditure. 

If there are two men who wish to have the same guest, ove 
strengthens his case by saying that he has not given a meal for a 
long time, while the other did so only recently. In such arguments 
the following expressions are used: ma sabaq li tniyeh, “I have never 
entertained a guest;” tniyeto hadra, “his banquet is green (fresh)”; 
wes tgul bil “afi alli la-zad ed-dyuf misthi, “what do you say of the 
rich man who is eager to entertain guests”; Allah yihayyi ed-dyaf 
‘a-qadar ma darhamn el-heii u-dannag el-bhil w-ana el-mauiid fihum 
min zaman, “may God greet the guests in proportion as their horses 
-have trotted and as the miser is abashed, I promised to entertain 
them long ago.” A longer formula is: wes tgtl, u-‘aint tiradhum 
min mimsahum la-malfahum, u-hayye ed-dytf u-hayye lhitak wi- 
tThahum; u-hayye gadr atani-yahum? w-ana el-mismin el-mugdir = 
“What do you say, my eye watched the guests from their starting point 
to their rendezvous. Welcome to the guests, welcome to your beard 
and to their beard;3 welcome to the judge who has given them to me— 
I am the one who is allowed to entertain them.” This custom is 
gradually dying out, and at present it is practised only among the 
Bedouin of Gaza and the vicinity, among the Beni Hasan,‘ Beni 
Salim,5 and in the Hebron and Jerusalem ὃ districts, especially where 
there is close contact with the Bedouin. 


1 In such a case the rich man may say, “My intestines are stronger than his 


bones” (masdrin? aqgwa min ‘izamuh), i. e. my resources are greater than his. 

2 The fellahin use at‘Gni or antani instead of a'tani. 

8 Among the Arabs, the beard or mustache is the symbol of a man’s honour. 
Since the beard is so important it is never shaved, and it is counted a disgrace 
to have it shaved. 

4 The Beni Hasan live in the villages Bittir, Walajah, Malhah, Beit Jala, ete. 

5 In the villages Tayyibeh, Deir Jrir, Kufr Malik and Rammitn. 

6 This term is here used to include the Jebel el-Quds, i. 6. the villages about 
Jerusalem, as far as Bireh, toward the -north. 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 41 


The justices of the peace are chosen from among the notables 
of the villages and their chiefs. When they hear of a struggle ina 
village, they go at once to the place, and stop the quarrel by 
separating the contending parties. After this they stand around the 
grave of the slain man. If the victim is of a good family, the man 
who demands his blood, the waliy ed-damm or blood avenger, or 
perhaps the notable of the family stands at the upper end of the 
grave. He usually takes a handful of dust, and strews it, saying 
“Bear witness, O angels of heaven and earth, that I have sprinkled 
my blood on these present, and they are more worthy than I to 
demand blood-revenge”! (¢shadi ya mala@’ikt es-suma wal-ard inna 
natart dammit ‘ala-l-hadirin, w-hum ahagq minni bi-talab ct - tar). 
The audience then encourages the bloodavenger, and addressing the 
victim, says: “You have only to sleep, but we must act” (ente ‘aleik 
en-nom welinu ‘aleina el-gom).2 The bystanders help the family of 
the victim to wreak vengeance upon the murderer or to secure its 
blood-money. After this brief prelude to their tedious and difficult 
task all leave the cemetery and proceed to the village, where they 
forbid the relatives of the victim to attack the house of the murderer. 
The judge or judges consider the case and its importance, and try 
to make a settlement. If unsuccessful, they try to bring about a 
primary armistice, ‘atwat el-ftw#h,? lasting from a few days to several 
months. Sometimes the accusers refuse to accept the armistice as 
arranged by the justices of the peace. In this case a judge of blood 
is brought immediately, and he arranges an armistice, as will be 
described below. An armistice made through the judges of the peace 
is thus less effective than one ordered by the judges of blood, who 
are much more important than those of the former category. They 
enjoy the full confidence of the people, who acknowledge the justice 
and fairness of their decisions, and, therefore respect them and fear 
their decisions. 

Owing to the spread of modern law the number of these judges 
has decreased, as observed above. Among the judges of blood from 


1 The strewing of dust represents the sprinkling of blood. All those upon whom 
the dust falls have the right and obligation to take vengeance for the victim, 

2 Cf. Haddad, “Die Blutrache in Palastina,” Z. Ὁ. P. V., 1917 (T. C.). 

3 Sometimes a short armistice of four days is given, called ‘atwat kam u lamm, 
“a truce of some days (kam yém) for collecting (money).” 


42 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the Bedouin and the semi-nomadic tribes may be mentioned: Hajjaj 
abfi-Fhéd, of the tribe of Huteim, whose family may be traced back 
to Bahilah, to which belonged also Quteibah ibn-Muslim, the great 
general of ‘Abd el-Malik ibn-Marwan and his son el-Walid; and 
Mohammed iz-Zir of et-T'a‘Amreh. 

The judges of the sword, or arbitrators act as a kind of court 
martial. Among these judges are Abii GO%,! el-Bardate,? ej-Jayiisi,3 
and Dar Jarrfr.4 They are not real judges and do not act according 
to Bedouin law. If a dispute or conflict arises in their district, they 
go to the parties or send for them and decide on the ground of 
purely political considerations, regardless of justice. Hence they are 
disliked by the people, who try their best to be judged by the judges 
of blood, in order to make sure that the criminal is punished. The 
arbitrators impose a fine, from which they take their share. Frequently 
they take with them a man learned in Muslim law (‘alim), who would 


follow the principles of Sartah law in making his decision, which the — 3 


arbitrators then carry into execution. When the assembly meets, 
the “judge of the sword” says: “Here is paradise [pointing to the 


‘alim| and here is hellfire [pomting to himself] and here is the sword 4 


[pointing again to himself] and here is the holy Book [el-mushaf, 
pointing for the second time to the learned man],” in other words, 
“By whom do you wish to be judged, by me or by the Sari‘ah.5 For 
the last two generations these arbitrators have practically ceased 
to exist. 

- Having dealt fully with the judges, let us describe the introductory 


procedure in a case, and then outline the process in court. If no a 
legal steps are taken, the murderer or ravisher must die. In that 


event there is no way to come to terms, and hostilities will continue. 
The saéhib ed-damm and the talib bil-‘ard® are very bold and have the 
right to slay their opponents whenever and wherever they meet them, 
and are not held responsible for their act. Accordingly the relatives 


1 From Qaryet el-‘Inab (Beni Malik). 

2 From Deir Gassaneh (Beni Zeid). Σ 

3 From Kir (Beni Saib). 

4 From Santi (Masariq el-Jarrar). 

5 He thus ascribes the religious prerogatives to the learned man and the 
secular power to himself. 


6 Respectively “the owner of blood,” i. 6. the nearest relative of the victim, <a 


and “the one who demands honour” (in rape cases). 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 43 


of the murderer try their best to obtain an armistice—‘atwat 
_él-fttih'!—as mentioned above. The murderer pays 100 mejidis? for 


the privilege of an armistice, and this money is not deducted later 


TENTS eee ae ie 
aaah VR 


ee 


accept me as a neighbour,’ 


from the blood-money or diyeh. After the lapse of the first armistice, 


50 or 70 mejidis are paid for a second one—‘atwat el-qbil?—and 
this amount is deducted from the blood-money. Ifa third or fourth 
armistice is given, nothing is paid for them. The armistices may 
even be prolonged for years until peace is declared, but the latter 
never happens without the preliminary armistice. The relatives of 
the victim wait for an opportunity to avenge themselves, but are 
hindered by the armistice from carrying out their purpose. If a 
murder has been committed unintentionally, the fine paid for the 


-_armistices does not exceed half the sum mentioned for cases of 
. premeditated murder or violation. When a member of a family is 


accused of a crime, and his family is unable to oppose the accusers, 
it takes refuge (yitnibi) with a powerful notable (mtannib)* who is 
able to protect them, and the latter begins negotiation for peace. 
The family of the accused person may even be obliged to shift all 
its moveable property to some other place, where it is safer, since 
nothing stolen during the first three and a half days after the murder 


is deducted from the blood-money. In case the guilty man and his 


family are equal in position and honour to their opponents, they send 


for people respected by the accusers. The latter respond to the call, 


and begin the difficult task of making an armistice. During the 
armistice, the irritated spirits are calmed, and better relations may 
arise between the parties. The mediators compel the guilty party 
to pay whatever fine the judge imposes. 


1 The word futih, from fatah, “to open,” refers to the “opening” of negotia- 
tions for the truce. I have never heard the expression ‘atwat el-faurah, quoted 
by Haddad, Joc. cit. ᾿ 

2.Α Turkish mejidi, or a fifth of a Turkish pound, is twenty piastres sag, or 
about 41/, francs. 

9 The term φῆ, “acceptance,” is employed because the acceptance of a 
second truce smoothes the way to a final agreement. 

7 In some places, money is paid for every truce, even for the fourth, fifth, etc. 

6 The word tunb (tunub) means “tent-peg”; tannaba (tanaba) is “pitch a tent 
beside another” (become a neighbour). Ana tanib ‘aleik means “I wish you to 
‘i. e@., as a client. 


44 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


The family of the accused and its relations as far as the fifth 
degree! may be obliged to emigrate from the village. Those who 
desire to remain in their homes must pay a fine of 30—100 mejidis 
(tis‘at en-ndm?) and several pieces of cloth to the family of the 
plaintiff. They are not safe from vengeance until this is done. This 
sum of money is not reckoned in the diyeh unless the one who pays 
it is a distant relation (beyond the fifth degree). 

The advantages of the armistice are: it prevents the continuation 
of hostilities; its acceptance is a partial confession on the part of ~ 
the accused person; as time elapses the bitterness over the crime 
disappears. The conditions are formulated by an agreement of the 
two parties. Among these conditions are: the murderer may not 
enter the village where the relatives of the victim dwell; he may not 
approach a fountain which is frequented by the other party. Some- 
times the plaintiffs ask only that he shall not enter their quarters. 
After the agreement the murderer is free to go wherever he desires, 
aside from the places specified. If he abides by the agreement he 
is not subject to molestation by the other party. 

The armistice is not formed until the judges have appointed a 
man to act as guarantor for the accusers. The judge asks the 
guarantor: “Do you guarantee that they [the accusers] will πού 
trespass against the defendants nor perform any evil action, but that 
they will live with the accused as peacefully as the clothes line,’ 
that they will load a camel together and draw water together in — 
peace from the cistern?”4 The man or men who act as guarantors 
ask the accusers: “Do you accept us as guarantors against treachery, — 
breach of promise, injury to your enemies, and change of your mind _ 
[violation of the armistice]?”5 If they answer in the affirmative, an Ἢ 
armistice is made in the village of the victim. The guarantors who — 


are thus appointed must be of higher rank than those whom they — 


guarantee, and are usually selected by the defendants or by the 4 
judges. The accusers reserve the right to reject these persons—if, — 


1 Lit. “fifth grandfather” (jidd). 

> Lit. “the nine of sleep” i.e. security, assurance (cf. Haddad, Z. Ὁ. P. V.). 

3 Clothes-lines hang beside one another in perfect harmony. oe 

4 Ar. ibtikfal innhum la ya‘di wala yabdi, mitl hbal el-gasil, isla ‘ala bir a 
u-yiridt‘ala bir? 4 

5 Ar. hal qbiltum wjthna min el-hin u-l-b6q u-i-' atal u-l-batal ? 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 45 


for example, they are their enemies. The choice of the wiujih may 
take place in their absence. Even an amir may stand security for 
a noble or notables. However irritating the circumstances may be, 
the accusers cannot break the rules of the armistice and attack their 
enemies. They try to rid themselves of the wath by asking the 
guarantor to remove his wiyh. If he accepts they are free to do 
what they like. The expression ‘adadhum el-lom'! is used of the 
accusers in such acase. If he does not accept they must keep the 


armistice peacefully until its expiration, but then they may refuse to 


renew it. If the plaintiffs break the armistice, the guarantor has 
the right to kill the offenders if he meets them during the first three 
and a third days. In case he does not meet them, he places them 
under trial.? 

The rights of guarantee are greater than those of blood, since a 
greater number of persons is affected. They are.championed not 
only by the guarantors, but also by the witnessing bystanders in 
general. If the person who has broken the rules of el-lidneh® refuses 
to appear before the judge, the latter summons him himself. If he 
still refuses, his life and property are forfeit. to those whom he has 
dishonoured by the violation of the armistice, nor has he any right 
whatever to demand damages for what has happened. He is left 
without a diyeh and without a wajaha (see below), bila ‘awad wala 
gawad,! i. e., “without exchange and without a sheep.” The guarantor 
must pay compensation for whatever loss or damage the peaceful 
_ party may have incurred from the treachery of the other party, so 
p that it may not be said: “The one who takes refuge in the guarantee 
of A is like the one who takes refuge (lit. covers himself) with a 
cloud” (el-mitgatti bi-wyh flan mitl el-mitgatti bis-shab).6 Owing to 
the extreme severity of the punishment which is meted out to the 
treacherous violator of the armistice, and to the dishonour which 

follows, it is very rare. 


1 Lit. “They have no blame,” i.e. they are not to be blamed for what they 
do, since the wijh has withdrawn. — 

2 Of such breakers of the truce it is said, taht bi-l-wijh, “They violated the 
guarantee.” 

3 Hidneh is the ordinary Arabic term for Fellah ‘atwah. 

4 The word gawad means lit. “an animal led with a rope,” 1. 6. a goat or a sheep. 

5 Another saying is: el-mithazzim buh ‘aryan, “The one who covers himself 
with him is naked.” 


— ee ee 


46 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


When the trial of a case has been postponed for a sufficient time 
to allow the excitement to quiet down, the parties come to an 
agreement, and select the judges. The judge may be asked to come 
to the village of the plaintiffs, or to a neighboring one, or they may 
agree to go to him or to the bevt el-mugdada, or “court-house.” I know 
of only one such court-house at present among the peasantry, that 
of Misa Hdéb in Dawiimeh. There is also one among the Beni 
‘Uqbah of the Tayahah tribe. 7 

The people of the village must entertain the judges, the expense: 
being borne by the whole village. In case the assembly takes place 
in the village of the guilty party, his family must meet all expenses. 
The accusers walk ahead and the defendants follow, but there is no 
meeting. Each party stays in a different guest-house,! to which they 


come on the morning preceding the trial. Before entering the court, — ἘΝ 
one or both sides may appoint lawyers called hwja@j. The client 


publicly entrusts the case to his lawyer, saying, “I have given my 


tongue to A to defend my case” (inn? a‘tait lsani la-flan liydafi‘ ‘anni).- = 
It is, however, permissible for each party to defend itself. For good 


reason either party may change or dismiss its lawyers during the 
proceedings. The reasons for appointing a lawyer are:— 

1. Inability to defend oneself emne to lack of knowledge of 
the law. 

2. In case either party is a woman. 

3. When the plaintiff and the defendant are of unequal social 
rank. The nobler one considers it a dishonour to face his inferior 
opponent. 


4. When one or both parties are still in a very excited state. 


1 Generally there is only one mad@fah in each village, but when a village is 
divided into two different factions, each establishes a madafah of its own. [πὸ 
case the two parties appear before the judge in a village other than their own, 
the inhabitants will divide at once into two sections, each providing for the 


entertainment of a party. The mad@fah is sometimes called by other names, such ~ Ὁ 
as sdhah, qndq (of Turkish origin), and jamz. It is generally a large room ὙΠ 
an Oriental oven (uwja@q) built in the wall farthest from the door. In many madéfahs ἘΞ 
there is a hollow in the centre of the room (nugrah) in which fire is made. The 
coffee kettle is always to be seen on the fire, so that the guests are supplied 
with coffee. Each person in the village is expected to bring something with 


him to the maddfah when he comes for the entertainment of the guests. 1 


front there is an open space where the horses are tied; in summer the visitors _ 


sit here in the shade. Cf. p. 38, n. 2. 


CT ae a tee 


Toei ated 
τ Ὁ 


τ περ μοθ μα 


a 


ι 


nN 


Le why 


garment, hidm. There are many lawyers in all parts. 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 47 


5. When the crime is a base one, so that the accused person is 
ashamed to appear before the assembly. 
_ 6. When a party is composed of a number of persons, so that it 
is difficult to hear them all. 

No special fee is given to the lawyers. The lawyer on each side 
endeavours to win the case for his client, and thereby to elevate the 
standard of his party. A winning lawyer is often given a new silk 


They win 


_ fame through their skill in oratory, their poetic speech, and their 


noble phraseology. Judges are also chosen from the ranks of those 


who have won renown as lawyers. 


When the case is opened, the judge sits by himself and the contesting 
parties appear before him. Each spreads part of his mantle (‘abd@yeh) 
on. the ground, and says: “Here is part of my mantle for the truth” 
(hai far) ‘abati lilhagqg), that is, | am open to conviction. The judge 
then demands the rizgah, and asks for two sets of guarantors, one 
to guarantee payment of all expenses by the guilty party (the kufala 
daf‘), the other to prevent the accused party from further trans- 
gression against the other (the kufala man‘). The guarantors must 
be equal or superior in rank to those whom they guarantee. 

_ To the first guarantor the judge says: Btikfal hada el-ga‘id ‘ala 
ed-diyeh u-bint ed-diyeh? (Will you guarantee that the man who sits 
here will pay the blood-money and what follows it?). By the ex- 
pression bint ed-diyeh is meant the jahah and the wajahah. If the 


judge and the parties come to an agreement on the matter, the judge 


then asks for a man to stand security for the good behaviour of the 
accused. When the guarantor is found, the judge asks him: Btkfal 
‘ala man‘ hadol u-tewgifhum ‘ala el-haqq w-ibn el-lagg? (Will you 
guarantee to prevent these people from further transgression, and 


_ guarantee that they abide by the truth and its consequences?). If 


the reply is in the affirmative, the trial commences. 


During the case no talking, smoking, or coffee drinking is per- 


mitted.! All follow the course of the process silently and attentively. 


᾿ 


- The accuser has the right to begin. He says: ,Good evening, O judge, 


what do you say regarding my cousin, (or) my little brother (an 
illustrative case), of good blood and gentle descent, of spotless 


1 This stillness shows the solemnity of the occasion, for it is only during 


prayers in a mosque or weli and Koran reading that such stillness is observed. 


48 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


character, generous, always victorious over his enemies, reliever of 
distress, sword-brandisher, welcomer of guests, protector of his female 
relatives, helper of the poor in his family, thirty years of age, not 
yet satisfied with the joys of life, who has not enjoyed his youth (to 
the full)? Behold, 1 demand justice from him, and sprinkle my blood 
on those present” (Allah ymassik bil-heir ya qadi, w-eis tqal fi-bn 
‘ammi au-hweiyi! tayyib el-asl? jeyyid el-jar talir ed-deil,? ta“am ez- 
zad, gahir el-a‘da, mfurrij el-krtib, naqil es-seif, mhayy ed-deif, sdatir 
er-ralim,’ jabir el-agm,> ibn talatin ma xibié min zamanuh wala firth 
b-sibah, fajah flan ibn flan; u-tarann, el-bartid ma ‘aléh falih, a‘tah 
en-nar fa-tayyahuh w-ardah; w-ana talib hagqgt minnuh u-ndatir 
dammi® ‘alhadrin). 

The accused party then steps forward and says (again an illustrative 
case): “Good evening, O judge, what do you say when blood is boiling, 
minds are bewildered, and the one who does not assist his cousin in 
battle does not acknowledge his father. I was dazed and deprived 
of my senses and struck; God knows I intended no wickedness, and 
did not purpose evil, but now what has happened has happened, and 
justice is yours to dispense” (Allah ymassik bil-heir ya gadi, w-es 
tgal w-ed-damm fayir w-el-agl hay w-ulli ma byunsur ibn ‘ammuh 
fil-kéneh ma bytrif abah,? u-da’ sawabi u-tar hsabi u-darabt u-yishad 
Allah inni ma arid es-<cin wala bniyeti es-sau u-sdr ma sar w-il-hukm 
‘indak).8 “What do you say when there is neither truce nor trial 
between us, and he is the murderer of my cousin. When he met me, 
he did not turn aside, and the one who does not take revenge does 
not come of a good family (lit. has a bad uncle). I took it and took 
vengeance, blood for blood. My cousin is not base, and if he is not 
his superior he is not his inferior, and the one who comes to the 
place of justice will not be defeated” (ei8 tqail u-ma beini u-bein flan 


1 Hweiy? is the caritative diminutive of mod. Palestinian heiyi, “my brother.” 

2 That is, the family is highly respected, and no one normally ventures to 
attack its members. 

3 Lit. “clean of skirt (lower part of garment, coat-tails)” i.e. he was not 
killed for a mean action. 

4 Lit. “uterus, womb,” but here “female relation.” 

5 ‘Agm, lit. “bone,” means here “poor member(s) of the family.” 

6 The blood of my cousin is really my own blood. 

7 That is, he is a bastard. 

8 This is a preamble illustrating a case where the killing is admitted. 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 49 


la-‘atwah wala qaiwah,' u-hir gatil ibn Sammi u-sddafni u-mad tnahha 
w-illi ma byadhud et-tar likin radi el-hal,* fa-ahadtuh w-istaddeituh, 
damm b-damm, w-ibn ‘ammi ma hit vidi, in ma kan heir minnuh ma 
hi dinuh, w-illi yisal mahall el ‘adl tarah ma yingilib). “What do 
you say —praise God, O judge—of a man who is healthy and wealthy, 
when ignorance is treacherous and youth is hasty, and a voice summons. 
I heard it, and hastened to respond to it. 1 helped my cousins —and 
I am but flesh and blood—and he who betrays his people will not 
protect his women. I smote with zest. By God, I have not slain his 
cousin, nor do I know his adversary, but God is my advocate” 
(w-e13 tgul— udkur Allah ya qadi {-|- 0 ed-difi,? w-ej-jahl bawwaq 
—w-es-siba nuzrag,! w-es-sot jamma w-ana sme‘tuh fa-turt leh u-sa‘adet 
wad ‘ammi w-ana min lah u-danim, w-illi byinkil qomoh ma yustur 
rahmuh u-farraht keffi> w-ayy-Allah ma thazzamt b-ibn ‘ammah, 
wala adr? lahu hasim w-Allah el-wakil). 

The foregoing is a brief outline of a typical plea in a case of blood, 
abbreviated to avoid tedious repetitions. In a case of rape, or violation 
of female honour, typical pleas are the following: ,, What do you say 
of him who is made of water and. dust, and exposed to error, whom 
Satan has tempted as he tempted our father Adam. Every human 
being has a sexual appetite; love leads him and youth drives him to 
flirt with women. I have flirted with so and so—may God protect 
her—TI did not intend evil, but only love and play (ei tgiil fi-ill? min 
maye u-tin, u-muarrad lil-hata w-agrah es-Sitan kama agra abana 
Adam u-kull insan fih sahweh ystiquh el-hubb, u-yidfa‘uh e&-Sabab ila- 
muhadatat en-nisa u-naget fldneh w-Allah yustur ‘aleiha w-ana ma 
barid minha es-si. lakin hubbeh u-lu‘beh).® 


1 That is, nothing has taken place to compensate for my cousin’s death. 

2 In illustration of this conception some proverbs may be cited: “Two-thirds 
of a boy’s character) come from his uncle” (tultén el-weled la-haluh); “Only the 
man who has a bad uncle will leave blood-revenge unrequired” (ma butruk et-tar: 
ula radi el-hal). Hal means “maternal uncle.” [A relic from the days of 
exogamy? W.F. A.] 

3 Lit. “healthy and warm”; meaning a healthy and wealthy man. 

4 Lit. “youth is a spear.” 

5 Lit. “I caused my palm to rejoice,” i. e. I lost control over my hand. 

6 This is an illustrative case where guilt is acknowledged. Where it is denied 
a form like the following may be used:—“Praise (lit. pray for) the Prophet, 
© judge, what do you say of a man who sleeps in the night and keeps his skirts 
clean. (Though) I have no knowledge and am ignorant, they impute this calamity 

4 


50 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


There are many variations of the introductory defense in cases of 
murder and rape, specimens of which have been given. New variations 
are also introduced by the skill of lawyers. If we analyze the types 
of defence we shall find the following categories: — 

a. Full confession and apology. 

b. Admission of the act, with the explanation that the crime was 

the result of a feud (as in the example given above). 

c. Confession; but the crime was accidental, and unpremeditated. 

d. Denial of personal guilt. The guilt was collective. If there 


was a struggle, in which many took part, the accused person 


denies his guilt, and imputes it to one or several of the party, 
without being able to designate the guilty one or ones exactly. 
e. Absolute denial with proofs. 
The judge listens to the case as presented by both sides, and 


then demands the evidence of the accusing party and the defence of 


the accused. But evidence is very hard to find in cases of murder 
and rape, whence the saying, “In the case of a murder there are no 
witnesses, and there is no securing proof of a rape” (la damm ‘aléh 
shad wala ‘b ‘aleh wrid). The following types of evidence bear great 
weight in a case:— 
1. The testimony of the victim before his death that a certain 
person is guilty. Ξ 
2. The confession of the murderer to his guilt in the presence of 
people who are free from hatred or covetousness with regard 
to the defendant (/alin el-géz w-et-tama‘).' 
3. When the guilty person is caught in the act. 
4, Signs of the crime on the person accused. 
In every case the witnesses must be honourable men. 


to me. And from the day (from the moment) I reached your sitting room I 
arrived at the place of justice. You see that I cannot be suspected upon the 


words of a malicious person (lit. evil-eyed), son of a wanderer.” The Ar. is: — 


salli ‘a-n-nebi, ya qadi, w-e& tgil fi-n-ndyim léluh u-hafiz deiluh, la bilam wala τ 
bidrt u-birmt ‘aleth b-hal-baliyeh, u-min yom ilhigt magq‘adak usilt mahall el-insaf 
tarani ma anthim ‘ala kalaém sdyih bin rayih. ἫΝ 


1 The common peasant and the Sakkér (the man who only cultivates a small — 


piece of ground), sayyaf (gleaner after the reapers), etc. have no right to act as 


witnesses. This rule is said to have been made by Ibn is-Smeir of el-Hirsan a 
(Suhir). It is an old rule that the nasif el-jild (beardless man) and the magtit = 


el-wild (man who begets no children) have no right to testify. 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 51 


If the accusations cannot be attested by competent witnesses, and 
_ proven to be absolutely true, the judge asks the defendant to give 
- “one-ninth, an oath, and five” (et-tis‘ u-yamin u-hamseh). The tis‘ 
(== tusu‘) stands for one-ninth of the blood-money, or 3670 piastres, 
a sum which is paid at once. The amseh refers to the oath, which 
is to be sworn by the defendant and one of his relations, while three 
others of his kindred second the oath, by swearing good faith. The 
person who swears with the accused, jeyyid el-améaneh, is appointed 
by the accuser, and is always the most honourable and distinguished 
of the family of the accused. The three others are called the muzakkin, 
from zakka, “to justify.” 

The four persons who swear with the accused go to a well-known 
saint (welt) or prophet (ποθὴ) to make the oath.' The judge either 
goes with them himself, or sends someone else to act as his repre- 
sentative. They take off their shoes, and enter reverently. The accused 
crouches (yugarfis) in the niche (mihrab), stretches forth his hand, 
and swears. The jeyyid el-amadneh, who is regarded as the most 
important of all, comes next. The three others follow to sanction 
the oath of the two. If one is absent, a rifle, held by one of the 
muzakkin, takes his place. The oath, which must not be interrupted, 
runs as follows: “By the great God (repeated thrice), the creator of 
night and day, the only One, the victorious, who deprives children 
of their fathers and makes women widows, who vanquishes kings, who 
~ subdues oppressors, I have not acted, nor killed, nor seen, nor heard, 
nor known, nor accomplished evil, nor helped to do it” (W-allahi-l- 
‘azim|thrice repeated], /alig el-leil w-en-nhar, el-wahid, el-qahhar, myattim 
el-at fal, mrammil en-niswan, gahir el-mlik, u-mbid ez-zalimin, imni ma 
fa‘alt, wala qatalt, wala arét, wala smi‘t, wala drit, wala qaddamt 
asiyeh wala mémasiyeh). The three muzakkin swear: “We bear 
witness by God that their oath and all that they have said is true” 
(nixhad billah inn yaminkum u-kull ma galah sudgq). 

When the jeyyid el-amaneh swears, the judge sentences the defendant 
to only one-ninth of the blood-money (see above), or to a thousand 
piastres on his entrance (6 αὐ 611) and another thousand on his exit 


a. (harjeh), or again a white camel on his entrance, and another on 


1 Those who swear must be ritually clean before entering the sanctuary. 


Generally a Friday is appointed for swearing, to make the oath more solemn. 
4* 


52 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


going out.! These sums are paid when the accused person enters 
the house of the accuser for reconciliation, and when he leaves it.2 

If the jeyyid el-amaneh refuses to swear, he is asked to explain 
the reason for his refusal, and the accused is condemned to pay the 
full sum of the blood-money if he has accepted the nomination of 
jeyyid el-amaneh. The defendant has the right to reject a man named 
by the accusers as jeyyid el-amaneh. This is done when they are 
on unfriendly terms, and the former must declare openly: “Praise 
the name of God, O people, for between me and so-and-so there is © 
bad blood” (udkurti Allah ya nas u-beini u-bein flan δα]! u-mall). 

The three muzakkin will only decline to attest the oath of the 
others when no other members of their tribe are found to take this 
responsibility upon their shoulders. Generally none but the powerful 
have the right to take an oath. After the oath the accused pays 
one-ninth of the blood-money, and is declared free. This ceremony 
is called et-tis’ w-l-baraé‘ah, “one-ninth and innocence.” 

In cases of theft and litigation arising from business transactions 
witnesses are also accepted after swearing by the Koran, a wel or 
a prophet. 

If a person is killed and several are suspected, the judge resorts 
to the ordeal by fire, nar et-tajribeh (fire of trial), nar el-bara‘ah 
(fire of innocence) or bas‘ah. A piece of iron, or ἃ coffee-roaster 
(mihnaseh) is heated until it becomes red-hot, whereupon the suspects, 
one after the other, come forward to lick it with their tongues. This 
barbarous practise is under the direction of the sheikhs of the dervish — 
order er-Rifa‘iyeh, who are called mubassc‘tn. The accused person 
says: ana bikdwnak ‘al-basah, mahmtl, mazmtim, w-el-basa‘ah w-el- 
grameh ‘aleiyi = “I challenge you to the bas‘ah; you will be carried, 
all your expenses will be paid, and I will pay the fee (basd‘ah) for 
the ordeal, as well as the other fees.” Everyone who undergoes the 
ordeal must pay a fee of 500 piastres for the privilege; this fee is 
the basa‘ah. Witnesses accompany the accuser and the accused. 
The latter licks the hot iron. He who shrinks back, cries, or shows 


signs of pain is considered as the culprit. Originally this custom — 4 
may have been introduced to frighten people, and force them to 


1 This is done when the guilty family is known to be very poor. 
2 Other expressions for dahleh and harjeh are téhah and tal‘ah. 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 53 


speak the truth. Many a man who feels his guilt tries secretly to 
find someone to arrange the matter with the accuser before being 
brought to the ordeal by fire.! 

Another test of the ordeal type, though far more humane, is the 
bal‘ah, “swallowing,” which consists in swallowing quickly and without 
hesitation either something hard, like dry bread, or something 
nauseating or disagreeable, like medicine. The one that hesitates, 
complains, or vomits, is accused, even though he may have a very 
weak stomach. ‘Those who perform the act quickly and with 
nonchalance are declared innocent, even though they may be the 
real offenders. The sheikh frightens the accused by repeating some 
magic words and prayers over the articles to be swallowed, pretending 
that they thus attain a special potency, which has a different effect 
upon the guilty and the inocent.2 There is no appeal from the 
result of the ordeal. 

After the investigation has been completed, the judge inquires of 
the parties whether they have any additional statement to make, 
or any objection to present. If not, he closes the case, and pro- 
nounces judgment, saying: “I have decided ἡ » * and order the 
guarantors to execute the decision.” The judge may postpone the 
decision until an oath has been administered. This may happen in 
the following cases: (a) to secure new evidence; (b) to give additional 
weight to the pleas of one party; (c) to allow time for a more careful 
study of the case, and its comparison with other cases of a similar 
nature; (d) when there is prospect of an amicable settlement. The 
judgment is generally pronounced at the close of the first session, 
as prolongation of the case may lead people to suspect or doubt the 
conscientiousness of the judge. 

The Bedouin criminal code does not comprise articles and addenda 
to them, but is made up of laws governing specific cases and the 
penalties in each case. The principal penalties imposed by the judge 
belong to the following categories: — 


1 The most important places for the ordeal are el-‘Ola, Han Ytinis (in the 
_ territory of the ‘Ayyadeh tribe), Seih Mabrak (among the ‘Azazmeh) and among 
the Beni ‘Atiyeh (Transjordania). 

2 Cf. the ordeal by means of a draught of holy water (water of jealousy), 
Num. 511-31, which becomes bitter and causes disease in the body of the unchaste 
woman, but’ does not affect the chaste one at all (W. F. A.). 


54 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society aie 


1. Capital punishment (el-gisas). 

2. Blood-money (ed-diyeh). 

3. Banishment (el-jelz). 

4. Payment of an indemnity (el-‘ein bil-‘ein). 

Capital punishment is only imposed in the following cases:—- 

a. When a man violates a married woman, whose husband is 

still alive. 

b. When a man murders a notable. 

In the first case, up to forty years ago, the woman and _ her 
paramour were both put to death. Now only the adulterous female 
is executed, while the man is allowed to buy himself off, either by 
payment of a sum of money, or by giving two girls, as described 
below. In the second case the murderer was formerly always put 
to death. Now-a-days there is greater clemency, and people are 
satisfied with the payment of one or more blood-prices. 


Banishment is ordered for a fixed term of months or years when 


a person is accused of rape or murder. Meanwhile the impression 
produced by the crime is partially effaced. If the two parties have 
not come to terms the culprit is lable to be killed by one of the 
plaintiff's party (garim), an act which goes unpunished. ies 

The payment of an indemnity is only prescribed by the judge in 
the case of damage or theft of movable property other than coins— 
including the kinds of property known as ‘wriid.1 For example, ifa — 
sheep is stolen, a sheep must be paid as indemnity; a camel is given — 
for a camel, an ass for an ass, and so on. The payment of the 
price of an article is also permissible especially in cases where the 
original object cannot be returned, as when a tent is burned, or a 
pile of wheat is destroyed. When the stolen property cannot be found 
itself, it is replaced by similar property, or the estimated price of 


it is paid to the owner. Blooded horses (asd@yil)* are a case where 


such an estimate is difficult. As pedigreed horses are virtually never E 7 
sold without fawéyi/,? the owner insists on receiving a horse equal 


1 Pl. of ‘arad (from ‘drad, “to offer’), i. 6. everything offered for sale except 


animals, money, grains and liquids, according to § 131 of the Turkish civil code, — 3 


el-Majalleh. The felléh now includes under this head everything but money. 
2 Plur. of asi. : 


3 Plur. of fayidah, “interest on capital.” Whenever a well-bred mare is sold a 


a contract is made by which two of her female colts are to be given to her first 
owner. These colts are called fawdyid, or matéani. 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 55 


in value to the one he lost, or its price with the addition of the 
fayidah. The penalty for the theft of a pedigreed mare is high, and 
the thief is under obligation to give compensation for its colts 
as well. 

The diyeh, or blood-price, is the most important penalty. It is 
fixed at 33000 piastres, a sum which is supposed to represent a 
hundred she-camels. The payment of a hundred camels for a murdered 
man is a very ancient pre-Islamic custom, the practise of which has 
continued to the present time. In the case of the Prophet’s father, 
a hundred she-camels were paid as ransom. At present some ask 
. for more than a hundred camels, or 33000 piastres, on the ground 
that they are members of a stronger tribe or a nobler party. This 

again is a very old custom: kings and emirs were ransomed with a 
πος sum equal to four times the ordinary diyeh, 

Property plundered within a period of three and a-third days 
after a murder, by the injured party, is not subject to return, and 
is not deducted from the diyeh. Property pillaged after the expiration 
of this period is either restored in kind, or its price estimated by 
an impartial arbitrator, to be appointed by the joint action of both 
parties, and the sum fixed is remitted to the owners of the 

᾿ς property. 

A diyeh wust be paid under all circumstances except when the 
murder was accidental, in which case only half a diyeh is paid. It makes 
no difference how the crime was committed, or why, whether in 
attack or defence, in a just cause or without right. The same amount 
of blood-money is reckoned for a man, a boy, a slave born in the 
house,! a freed slave,* or a free negro. The payment for a slave. 
who has been purchased by the present owner is half the full diyeh. 
A freedman and a slave born in the house pay their share of the 
blood-money, but do not receive amy compensation —i. e., do not 
share in a diyeh received by their party. The full diyeh is paid for 
a murdered woman among the Bedouin, and half to a full one among 
‘the peasantry. A pregnant woman is reckoned at from a full αὐ]; 

to a diyeh and a half, since her child is taken into consideration. 
The latter is not considered as a fully living being yet, being still 


i ω rive 
TSIEN ER a ae Te} ΕΣ] Asai ay πὴ 
We \ ἵ ΨΕΜΤΤΗΣ ΟΥ̓, 


1 *Abd mwallad, a slave born from a slave father in the house of his master. 
2 ‘Abd ma‘tig. 
3 ‘Abd here means “negro.” 


56 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society Ν 


exposed to serious perils (talt el-garaq w-es-Sarag).! If a woman 
kills a man, her parents, and not her husband are responsible for 
the blood-money. If she is killed her husband shares with the 
members of her family in the diyeh. This distinction is illustrated 
by the proverb: “The good of a woman belongs to her husband, and 
her evil to her family (heir el-marah lajozha u-sarrha ‘al-ahilha). In 


case a female is killed by a ravisher, from one and a half to four | 


times the normal diyeh is paid, because of the combination of dis- 
sraceful crimes. Miscarriage of a foetus less than seven months old 
is atoned for with half a diyeh. Often a reconciliation with payment 
of fifty pounds or two camels takes place. One of these camels is 
given at the commencement of the reconciliation in the house of the 


accuser (dahleh—see above), and the other is delivered after the — 


agreement (harjeh). When abortion is caused after the seventh month, 


a diyeh is counted in case the child is a male, and half a diyeh if 


it is a female. When the murderer is a young boy, those that are 
of age in his family? are responsible for the blood-money. 

In a general fight, when the murderer is unknown, the whole 
tribe or family must pay the diyeh. Such blood-money is termed 
diyeh maglileh. If a man is found dead outside a village, the whole 
village is responsible, and his relatives may even share in making 


up the amount. When a man is killed in the house of another, the — ᾿ 


murderer must give the owner of the house a white camel and ἃ 


black slave. The murderer cannot bring these things himself, but a 
they are taken under the principle of eljahah. This gift is thought 
to restore the honour of the man in whose house the shameful deed 


was committed. 


The following important types of murder may be distinguished: — 4 


1. Qatl ifrak, when the victim dies at once, or within a few hours. 
2. Qatl dagmeh, a murder at dusk or in the night. 


3. Qat’ inttyeh, the murder of an unmarried youth, thus precluding — 


the possibility of his having offspring, and effacing his name. 


4. Nazlet el-‘ard, murder of a person who is on the point of raping 


a woman. In such a case no diyeh is paid. 


1 Lit, “under (the danger of) drowning and suffocation (in the womb).” 


2 On the father’s side. A hadit says, ed-diyeh ‘ala-l-‘dqilah (relations on the | 


paternal side). 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 57 


- When the murderer is known, he pays one-third of the diyeh, and 
his relatives pay the other two-thirds. The heir of the victim receives 
one-third of the diyeh and his relatives two-thirds. The two-thirds 
is divided among the males of the family, both young and old. An 
Arabic proverb says: “He who shares in paying the diyeh takes from 
it” (hattat fid-diyeh ahhad fiha). If a person takes part in a fight, 
though not belonging to either of the fighting families, he must share 
in the payment of the diyeh if he assisted the side of the murderer, 
but does not share in the diyeh received if he was on the other side. 
This principle is well expressed in the following proverb: “One who 
enjoys (using) his hand in striking must enjoy (using) it in paying” 
(man farrah haffuh fid-darb farrahha fid-daf‘). In a big struggle 
between two parties, in which several are slain on both sides, the 
excess of slain on one side or the other is not considered at the 
time of reconciliation, since it is said: “Burying (lit. grave-digging) 
and oblivion (lit. striking back) for all that is unknown and known” 
(hafar u-dafdar ‘ala ma gaba u-ban), i.e. “Let us forget all that has 
happened.” The same is true of the spoils in such a case, for 
neither the judges nor anyone else can decide justly in so difficult a 
question. 

If the murderer dies before the reconciliation, the blood-money is 
paid by his family and relatives. 

The loss of any vital organ or limb of the body, such as an eye, 
an arm, or a leg, is reckoned at a quarter to half the diyeh. For 
injury to the nose half a diyeh is paid. When two organs, two eyes, 
a leg and an eye, etc., are injured half to a full diyeh is given. For 
a wound in the face, leaving an ugly scar, a quarter of the diyeh, 
and ajahah and wajahah to boot are paid—hwayet el-wijh el-msahhar, 
“The blow on the face which is visible.” In the case of a slight 
wound, a sheep is offered as wajdhah, together with full compensation 
for the loss and expenses or damages incurred. ! 

The penalty in the case of rape is quite different. If a man 
meddles with a girl, but does not complete the act, he is required 
to swear that he had no bad intentions in touching her, and to 


1 For the loss of each first incisor tooth 500 piastres are required as indemnity ; 
for each second incisor 250; for the canine on each‘ side 125; for each of the 
two bicuspids, as well as for each of the two first molars 62'/,; for the last 
molar 31 3/,. 


te ee ee ee te ae 
ἡ Σ᾿ Pree | »» ny ve ne > 
a ἢ πὰς ea 


- 


Ae 


58 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


prove the truth of his oath by the testimony of five credible witnesses, 
know as the din u-hamseh, “religious (cermony) and five.” Moreover, 
when he enters her father’s house he must pay fifty pounds (dahleh), 
and another fifty pounds must be given on leaving it after the 
reconciliation (harjeh). If the girl belonged to a low social rank a 
smaller amount is paid. If the girl is raped, the man is sentenced 
to pay double the amount of her dowry, and she wil be given to 
him as a wife. If, however, she is of a better family, he must give 
two girls as an admission of his wrong-doing and an application for 
forgiveness. A man who abducts a girl with her consent is sentenced 
by the judge to give two girls and two dowries, and to bring a 
witness to testify that he had not touched her except after a legal κι 
agreement.- Such a witness is called mubri.' If he fails to provide : 
the witness, he must pay five she-camels in addition to the payment 
already mentioned. A married woman who commits adultery is 
executed, and the offender pays one dowry to her husband and 4 
another to her people, or two girls. If a girl offers herself to aman, 
the latter must bring a witness to testify that he did not touch her 
until officially married, and must pay her dowry (i.e. her bridal — 
price). This is the rule in Transjordania. In Palestine, she is slain 
by her relatives. The violation of a widow is generally punished in — 
proportion to the importance of her family. The ravisher must pay 
her dowry and marry her. 

If a man assaults a woman in broad daylight or near human — 
habitations, and she calls for help,? the life of the offender is at the — 
mercy of her relatives for three and a third days. If he escapes 
death, the following punishments are customary (the practise is now — 
much less strict in this respect): his arm is cut off; he must surrender ὮΝ 
all the weapons and the horse which he had at the time to her re 
relatives. Besides, he must place a row of camels or sheep from the 
place where the rape was committed or attempted to the place where 
the girl’s cry was heard. Others then act as arbitrators, and the 
number of animals is gradually reduced until it comes within his 


1 The official ceremony of marriage must be performed in the presence of — — 
the gadi ‘@lim or the hattb, but in practise it is sufficient that the man ask the 
girl in the presence of a third person, who must be a noble, to accept him as_ 
her husband. ; 
2 Such a woman is known as sdyihat ed-duha, “she who cries in the morning.” 


- 


ae 
ὡς. 


τς 


_ EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 59 


capacity for payment. If the offender can furnish proof that he did 
not touch her until after a legal union, he is allowed to marry her, 
and it is said of the girl, “Her garments are torn, and her pearls 


_ scattered” (tdbha qadid u-harazha badid). Such a man has no right 


to ask for a truce (‘atwah), but is known as a m&ammas, “one who 
stays in the sun,” and remains in this condition until after the process 
is over. 

It is well-known that Arab girls are the property of the whole family. 
A girl is therefore not her father’s possession alone, nor her brother’s. 
If anyone asks for her hand, the father will call all his relatives, 


and the marriage of the girl will depend upon their consent or 


dissent. The cousin, son of her father’s brother (zbn el-‘amm) has 
the first right to a girl, as he is the nearest of kin outside the pro- 
hibited limits. Next comes the son of her mother’s brother (2bn el-hdl), 
followed by the others in the family and the brother of her sister’s 
husband, each having a right of priority in proportion to the degree 
of his relationship. 

A cousin always pays half of a normal dowry. The proverb runs: 
-“A cousin may take (the bride) down! from her mare” (7bn el ‘amm 
bitayyth ‘an el-faras) and: “Follow the circular (i.e. the normal) 
path, even if it is long, and narry your cousin even if she is a 
miserable (match)” = dar ed-dorah u-li dadrat u-hud bint el-‘amm 
u-lu barat. The dowry (bridal price) is between 2000 and 4000 piastres, 
normally. The girl receives only a fourth of her dowry, and is 
deprived of a share in the legacy of her father and her husband. 
She knows the unfairness of this treatment, but dares not demand 


greater rights because of the immutability of custom. It is not clear 


why she is treated so unjustly in this point, and at the same time 
respected so highly otherwise.? 


1 If a girl is given to a stranger, her cousin, if he chooses, has the right, 
even at the last moment, to take her. He then takes her down from her horse 
in the wedding procession, and takes her home. 

2 Among the Bedouin, woman shares man’s struggles, accompanies the warriors, 
and even goes into battle with them. Whoever strikes a woman, even if he has 
been wounded by her, is despised. If captured, women are not retained as prisoners, - 
but are sent home with due protection and honour. In their gazw (razzia) the 
Bedouin take the captured women of the enemy tribe with them, not to enslave 
them but. to send them back to their people with due respect at the first 
opportunity. The song of the women during battle has a stimulating effect upon 


60 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Suciety 


There is no provision among Arab judges for dealing with sodomy, 
since the very mention of the practise is avoided. In Arabic there 
is no native term for the practise, which is designated by the term 
lawat, derived from the name of Lot, Abraham’s brother.! 

Some of the modes of punishment in the case of theft have already 
been mentioned, but a few others remain to be described. When 
cattle have been stolen, the judge sometimes orders the payment of 
a head of cattle for every step from the spot where the theft took 
place to the first halt afterwards. But, as we have seen, it is 
customary to reduce such exaggerated penalties by a _ gradual 
process of reduction, “for the sake of those present.” Punishment 
for theft varies according to the relations between the two tribes 
involved, viz: 

1, Thefts from an enemy tribe, radd naga (declaration of war). 
Objects stolen cannot be recovered, according to the proverb, 
et-tarchah rathah, “what strays is lost.” 

2. In the case of friendly tribes or families, the principle ‘en bi-‘én,” 
“an eye for an eye,” holds, as already described.’ This is also 
called bégah, lit. “calamity.” 

3. When the parties are neutral, stolen objects are returned 

fourfold, but an agreement must first be made between the 

parties, which may modify the general principle. When the 
understanding in regard to the fourfold payment (tarbi‘) is 


the men. They exhort the latter not to fear the enemy fire, and reproach them 
for cowardice, in order to sting them and compel them to stand firm. It is said 
that when the men of a certain tribe had a falling out, and began fighting, the 
women appeared, led by one of their noblest ladies, declaiming fiery words:— 
Shame upon you, O men! A dog barks at the door of his house, donkeys play 
on their dunghills and bray at their cribs, and fear panthers and wolves. And ~ 
the man who does not appear small in the eyes of (does not humble himself to) — 


his cousin doés not seem great to the enemy. May death carry you off, may ~ 


hatred scatter you, may the enemy capture you; see, your foes will seize us — 
to morrow. The Arabic runs: Hasa ‘aleikum, ya raja@jil (Fellah pejorative diminu-— 
tive of rja/, “man”) el-kelb bi‘awwi bab déruh, w-ij-jha bitharis ‘a-mzabilha 
u-bitnahhig ‘a-mdawidha u-bitbardin ‘ind en-nmtirah w-id-diyab w-illi m& yisgar 


libn ‘ammuh ma yikbar ‘ind ‘adtiwuh. Tahaddékum el-bein, w-it'addakum en-naya 
w-ithattafkum el-gom, hart i‘dakum yahudiina gadakum. After this tirade the 


men were ashamed, and stopped fighting. Later, they were reconciled. 
1 The death sentence would be enforced in such a case. 
2 «Hin means not only “eye,” but also, as in ‘ein e&-8ey, “the very same thing.” 
3 Cf. Ex. 21 24, Ley. 2420, Deut. 1921, ete. (T. C.). 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 61 


reached, the following is said: es-sirgah benna mrabba‘ah ta-yinsaf 
el-bahr u-yinbit ‘al-kaff sa‘r; satna b-arba‘ah u-halalna! tarbi‘ 
u-kull ma rah bénna mrabba‘ = The theft between us is 
(compensated for) fourfold until the sea dries and hair grows 
in the palm of the hand. Our goats shall be (reckoned) fourfold, 
and our cattle fourfold, and all that has gone (1. e. been stolen) 
between us fourfold.” 

The hatsah or hajsah,2 entrance into an enclosure by night to 
steal, is punished by a fine of 500 piastres. 500 more must be paid 
at the reconciliation, called sadrah, “leaving (the enclosure).” 

After pronouncing a decision of any kind, the judge says: “This 
is my judgement; if anyone is not satisfied let him appeal the case 
to other judges or take the advice of the Beni ‘Oqbah.”? The judge 
is exposed to the danger of criticism by those present who hear his 
decision and by other judges, so his honour and reputation are at 
stake. One mistake might lead not only to his own disgrace and 
dismissal, but also to loss of confidence in all the members of his 
family. 

If both parties accept the decision pronounced by the judge, they 
proceed to fix the time and conditions of the execution of the 
judgement. If one of the parties considers himself to have been 
treated unjustly, he asks for a copy of the decision signed by the 
judge, and appeals to other judges. If the judge or judges to whom 
the appeal is made approve of it, execution must follow. If not, the 
objection is written on the copy otf the decision, which is returned 
to the judge who gave it. The latter must interview the protesting 
judge and try to convince him. If he succeeds his judgement is 
confirmed. If not, the first judge must pay the loser in the suit the 
difference between his own sentence and that of the second judge. 
If the verdict was absolutely wrong, the judge is debarred from 
further practice and greatly despised. When the first judge and 
his opponent refuse to yield to one another, appeal is made to 
other judges, who are usually members of the Tayahah, in the 
Beersheba district, the Ulad ‘Amr, in the Hebron district, the 
Masa‘id, or the Fa‘tir, both in the Gor (Jordan Valley) below Nablus. 


1 The Bedouin understand by halal “sheep, goats, camels, horses, asses,” ete. 
2 Fellah hatasa is equivalent to classical hatlasa (cf. Muhit el-Mulit, 11, 2182). 
3 The highest court of appeal, especially resorted to in cases of honour. 


62 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


The first judgement and the protest against it are both submitted 
to these judges, and the losing party finally yields to the other 
( falajah). The winning party makes its verdict, confirmed or approved, 
known throughout the country. The loser (maflty) must apologize, 
and present sheep, etc., to the judge whose decision prevails. This 
act is called lafyet el-maflij. Both parties have the right of appeal. 

In a murder case, when the final verdict is announced, a time 15. 
fixed and the people of the victim are notified. The notables of the 
district meet in the village or camp of the murderer. If both parties 
come from the same village, they meet in the quarter of the guilty 
one. The latter take with them the wajahah, composed of rice, 
sheep, butter, flour, coffee, tobacco, sugar, barley, and even* wood. 
The wajahah must go a little way before the jahah, or notables, who 
escort the guilty person to the abode of the injured party. When 
the procession nears its destination, the turbans or headdresses of 
the criminal and his family are removed and placed around their 
necks, to signify humiliation and submission. The criminal hides 
behind the notables while entering the house of the injured party, 
who remain seated. The latter then arise and arrange the headdresses 
of the criminal and his family, after which these serve coffee to all. 
In the case of the murder of an obscure person, the father or other 
members of the immediate family of the victim are exempted from 
preparing the meal for the peace delegation, but it is left to the 


other members of the family and the more distant relatives.2 In a a 
case affecting female honour, the injured family may prepare the 


food. Nothing is said about the purpose of the gathering until the 4 


food is ready. Then the hosts press them to eat, while the guests 


refuse. While this is going on, the judge, who occupies the highest δ: 


social rank among those present, says to the people of the house: “a 
“We will not eat at all unless you promise to give us what we have 


come for.” A long argument is carried on until the promise is 


1 There is also a small waj@hah called lafyeh. The guilty party goes to the 
house of the opponent, taking with him a sheep or two, and after making con- 
fession and apology asks for reconciliation. This is the practise only among the — 


common people and when the crime is petty, such as cutting down olive trees Σ 
and stealing produce, etc. 


2 When the victim belongs to a noble family, his relatives will not prepare : a 
the food, but leave it to-the murderer’s family. ᾿Ξ 


/ 


EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 63 


fmally made, whereupon all join in the meal. This is a good 
illustration of the hospitality and generosity of the hosts, who are 
willing to sacrifice everything in order to please their guests. 

When the meal is finished and coffee has been served again, one 
of the notables rises and says: “We are the flesh and you are the 
knife” (ehna el-lahm w-enté es-sikkin), that is, “We are in your power; 
you can do with us as you like.” The judge takes a long stick and 
a piece of white muslin, which he ties to the top of the stick, making 
thirty-three knots, indicating that the blood-money is 33000 piastres. 
It is considered a great honour for a man to tie these knots; he is 
then spoken of as the man who knots the flag (be‘qed er-rayeh) after 
bloodshed and violation of female honour. Then the judge gives the 
stick to the murderer or ravisher, who stands and holds it up. The 
judge appeals to the honour, generosity and chivalry of the injured 
party with the question: How highly do you estimate the honour 
(lit. face, wih) of God, of the Prophet, of Abraham, of X (giving the 
name of some notable, who is not necessarily present)?” In other 
words, the judge asks how much the injured party is willing to 
deduct from the total, which is beyond the means of the average 
person. As various names of notables are given, the original sum is 
reduced according to the generosity of the people concerned, and 
for every thousand piastres deducted a knot is untied by the judge, 
who continues until the amount remaining is reasonable. In case the 
criminal is poor, he is made to pay in instalments, the third part 
at once, and the other two thirds after six months and a year 
respectively. Before the guilty person leaves, after the settlement, 
one of the bystanders rises, and says: raytak béda ya ra‘i l-gurmeh, 
“Your flag is white, O shepherd‘ of the fine.” 

The system of jahah u-wajahah, lit. “nobility and honour,” 1. 6. the 
nobles (who come with the guilty party) and the present (of food 
brought by the latter), as developed among the Arabs of the desert, 
is the best possible mode of securing the reduction of the indemnity 
and the mitigation of punishment. It also demonstrates and encourages 
the generosity of the injured party. 

When the murderer flees from his tribe or village, he cannot 
return unless or until a well-known person assumes the responsibility 


1 That is, “owner,” according to the usage in modern Arabic. 


64 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


of bringing him back to the tribe as a criminal and delivering him 
safe to his people (ywarriduh φαίην u-yisiddruh salim). The procedure 
is then as follows:—The judge binds the hands of the guilty one 
together, and escorts him to his foes, either alone, or accompanied 
by his people. He then addresses the injured party: “Take X, son 
of Y, in place of Z—the victim” — (hud flan ibn flan ‘awad ‘an flan).! 
The nearest relative of the murdered man rises with a sword in his 
hand, or a knife, and asks the accused: “Do you have guaranty or 
security?” —“No”—“May 1 then kill you?” The culprit answers 
in the affirmative, whereupon the other cuts off his bonds and 
forgives him. 

If the murderer is accompanied by his relatives, he ΤΣ not join 
them, but sits by himself. When the food is served, his guarantor 
will not partake until assured that part of the diyeh will be remitted. 
After this is done, the whole party joins in the meal. 

The judge himself makes no attempt to reduce or to mitigate the 
decision he has given. On the contrary, he demands that the 
guarantors execute it, and the latter are required to see that it is 
exactly fulfilled. If for some reason or other the injured party 
refuses to mitigate the severity of the diyeh, the criminal will be 
compelled by his guarantors to pay the full sum demanded; the 
latter receive a tenth of the sum they recover from the murderer. 
The accusers, however, are practically never so severe; they act 
honourably and yield. Thus peace is made and the bitter hearts 
of foes are reconciled. After a case of blood or honour is settled,.. 
- and all the formalities are carried out, the two hostile tribes 
become friendly again, and make an alliance. The new relation is 
called ‘wniimiyeh. 

Some severe and even intolerable punishments have been 
mentioned. If the criminal were not punished severely, he would 
continue to do mischief, and others would follow his example, 
until the public security would be endangered. Punishments of 


extreme severity, now modified, were often very useful in a more 
primitive society. 


1 This is a very old Arabic (pre-Islamic) custom. See Tari Ibn el-Atir, 
s. v. harb el-basiis. 


I, 


~ 


, EL-BARGHUTHI: Judicial Courts among the Bedouin of Palestine 65 


To conclude, we find that most of the civil code has its 
Bedouin counterpart. If we compare them, we shall find that the 
latter is in many respects more exacting and more equitable, as 
3 for instance in the matter of oaths, witnesses, appeal, dismissal 
of judges, and the like. 


UN MOT ARYEN DANS LE LIVRE DE JOB 


P. DHORME O. P. 
(JERUSALEM) 


E chap. 37 du livre de Job contient la fin des discours d’Elihou. 
Avant de céder la parole ἢ Jahvé, Elihou décrit certains 
phénoménes naturels qui marquent spécialement la puissance de Dieu. 
Le v. 9 commence la description des vents et de leur action. 1] forme 
une strophe avec le v. 10 et cette strophe peut se traduire ainsi: 


Du sud arrive louragan 

Et du septentrion le froid: 

Par son souffle Dieu produit la glace 
Et il solidifie l’étendue des eaux. 


Les vy. 11-12 sont d’une interprétation plus difficile. Et en parti- 
culier le mot 3 qui ouvre la nouvelle strophe ἃ la suite de la parti- 
cule 48 a suscité beaucoup de commentaires. Le targum SMI et 
Théodotion ἐκλεκτόν le rattachent A la racine 13 «étre pur» et y voient __ 
une allusion ἃ la pureté de Vatmosphére. C’est aussi Jlopinion 
d’Aben-Ezra. La Vulgate traduit par frumentum et identifie ainsi 
avec 132 «blé», tandis que Symmaque semble avoir lu 5, ce qui ἃ] a 
permet de rendre par καρπῷ: Parmi les modernes V’opinion qui a 
prévalu consiste ἃ décomposer “3 en deux mots: la préposition "2 
et le substantif  qu’on fait venir de MM «étre arrosé, humide». 
Ainsi Le Hir traduira le 19: hémist. du v. 11 par «il charge les nuages~ 3 
de vapeurs», Renan par «il charge la nue de vapeurs humides». Les — τῷ 
plus hardis transforment “3 en 772 «gréle» (Duhm, Fried. Delitesch) — ia 
ou en P23 «éclair» (Hontheim, Budde). Mais il serait étrange que 
des mots aussi caractéristiques que 712 ou P13 eussent fait place a : 
lénigmatique 3. 


DHORME: Un mot aryen dans le Livre de Job 67 


Or, selon nous, c’est un nom de vent qui doit étre le sujet de 
mw. En effet, le second hémistiche signifie certainement: «il 


pourchasse sa nuée lumineuse», Le verbe employé est yp‘ qui, 


dans 3824, a pour sujet Op de vent dest». Les mots ay my 


_veulent dire «fatigue la nue»! et c’est le rdle du vent de fatiguer la 


nue. ‘Tout le monde connait Borée, en grec βορέας, qui est le nom 
du vent du Nord: Vaquilon. Ce qu’on sait moins, c’est que βορέας 
est un vieux mot aryen qui existe sous la forme bwrias chez les 
Cassites ou Cosséens. Le dieu Burias était précisément l’équivalent 
cassite du dieu ouest-sémitique Adad ou Hadad, qui est le dieu du 
vent, de la pluie, de l’orage.2 Si nous enlevons les désinences, il 
reste le radical buri, en grec Bope. Tel est le mot que nous retrou- 
vons dans |’hébreu 13. La vocalisation ber? n’a pas de quoi nous 
surprendre. Nous ayons ici un phénoméne qui n’est pas sans analogie. 


Le nom de la ville de Sodome était primitivement swdum, qui est 


devenu usdum en arabe, mais sedom, 07D, dans la massore. Et pré- 
cisément on trouve ἃ cdté de burias la forme ubria’. De méme que 
sudum a fourni d’un cété usdum, de lautre sedom, de méme burias 
a fourni ubrias et beri (aprés la chute de la désinence). Le v. 11 
se traduira donc: 


L’aquilon aussi fatigue la nue, 
Il pourchasse sa nuée lumineuse.? 


Cette explication a le grand avantage de donner la clef du y. 12, 
mal partagé dans la ponctuation massorétique. Les exégétes sont 
d’accord pour placer Vathnal avant o9yb>, ce qui donne un vers 
complet: 


Pour quwils exécutent tout ce que Dieu leur ordonne 
Sur la face du monde terrestre. 


La difficulté git dans les premiers mots du verset. On n’arrive 
pas ἃ en former un vers. Remarquons d’abord que N17) «et lui du 


1 En hébreu moderne le verbe mw signifie «se déranger, se donner la peine 
de, ete». A Vhif ‘id «déranger, importuner, etc.». 

2 Voir notre conférence sur «Les Aryens avant Cyrus», Ὁ. 72 (dans les 
«Conférences de Saint-Etienne», 1910—1911). 


3 Une tradition rabbinique, dont l’écho se retrouve chez Rasi, voyait dans 
“3 ou ΤΩΝ le nom de l’ange préposé aux nuages ou ἃ la pluie. 


»".- 


5 Ἔ 


68 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society » 


début se rapporte naturellement 4 ‘02 «l’aquilon». Il est clair qu’on 
pourra traduire, en unissant JANN & AN: : 


Et lui, tournant en tourbillons. 


Malheureusement il ne reste qu’un mot in>ianna (kethib) ou 
yN>ianns (676) pour le 2™° hémistiche. Quelque chose a disparu, ἃ. 
savoir le verbe dont Nin est le sujet et dont le complément est 
rappelé par le suffixe de odyps. Nous attribuons ce fait ἃ un 
phénoméne d’haplographie et nous proposons de restituer n2y) «il les . 
fait monter» avant O9yp>. L’hif<il de ΤΟΝ est précisément appliqué 
a Vaction de «faire monter» les nuages de Vhorizon (Jer. 10 13, 51 16; 
Ps. 135 7). La similitude des consonnes ὯΝ de ny’ et ndypd explique . 
suffisamment l’omission du premier mot par erreur d’homceoteleuton. 
Si l’on restaure le texte on obtient pour le 2™°* hémist. «il les fait 
monter & sa guise». Ainsi le passage de Job 3711-12 pourra étre 
interprété de la fagon suivante: 

L’aquilon aussi fatigue la nue, 

Il pourchasse la nuée lumineuse 

Et, roulant en tourbillons, 

Il fait monter les nuages ἃ sa guise, 

Pour qwils exécutent tout ce que Dieu leur ordonne 
Sur la face du monde terrestre. 


THE EARLIEST FORMS OF HEBREW VERSE 


W. F. ALBRIGHT 
(JERUSALEM) 


HE long controversy over the exact character of Hebrew prosody 

is now reaching a point where the main principles may be 
regarded as definitely established. Though we may object to certain 
extravaganzas of emendation and arbitrary rearrangements, we cannot 
well gainsay the results attained in general by such students as 
Duhm and Haupt, building on the foundations laid by Budde, Ley, 
and Sievers. According to this view, Hebrew metre was accentual, 
consisting of verse-units with 2+2 beats (lyric), 3+ 2 beats (so-called 
ginah, though “elegiac” is really a misnomer), and 3+3 beats (epic, 
as in Job, didactic as in Proverbs, and liturgical). Combinations 
of the different measures were also known. Epic and didactic verse 
was divided into distichs, as has been clear since, more than a 
century ago, Lowth introduced the phrase, parallelismus membrorum. 
Lyric verse, being set to music, with its recurring airs, was divided 
into strophes or stanzas of varying length, often with a refrain. 

Strange to say, there are still many scholars who look with more 
or less scepticism at the metrical analysis of the Old Testament, 
partly from a horror of novelty, and partly because of erroneous 
notions regarding ancient Oriental prosody. The idea that there is 
no regular metre in Babylonian or Egyptian verse is wide-spread, 
but is based upon a series of misunderstandings. It is quite true 
that late Babylonian and Assyrian poetry is not always characterized 
_ by exact metrical form, but this is due to the fact that many com- 
positions are intended to be literal translations of Sumerian originals, 
and that the vers libre which resulted was often imitated. The writer 
is inclined to think that this secondary Assyrian poetic fashion has 
influenced certain of the Psalms. Yet most Assyrian poems, such 


70 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


as the Creation Epic and the Descent of Istar into the Lower World, 
are governed by a regular system of prosody, usually falling into 
couplets of four hemistichs each, with a caesura, which in the best 
cuneiform editions is marked by a blank space in the middle of the 
line. The verse-units, or lines, are 2+2, as was established a gene- 
ration ago by Delitzsch and Zimmern. A convenient account of 
late Assyrian prosody is given by Burney, in his commentary to 
Judges, pp. 158 ff. 

Until recently there was no reason to suppose that the Baby- 
lonians or Assyrians were really strict in matters of prosody. Now, 
however, the situation has altered completely, thanks to the publication 
by Zimmern and Scheil of two tablets of the magnificent poem of 
Agusaya, belonging to the reign of Hammurabi-Ammurawih (B, C. 
2124-2081). This poem follows a very elaboraté strophic system, 
with Sumerian designations for strophes and counter-strophes, etc. 
Each strophe consists of a quatrain with eight hemistichs, so the 
verse-unit is 2+2. In other poems of the Hammurabi age, such as 
the hymn to Béltili (Bélitilani), another to I8tar, and an ode to 
Hammurabi, we find not only the characteristic repetition of words 
and phrases, but also a complicated strophic structure and a refrain. 
The first stanza of AguSaya, published by Zimmern as Istar and 
Saltu (the title was discovered later by Scheil) runs as follows: 


L-un@id surbita in-ilt qaratta 

bukrat Nikkal dunnasa 1- εἰ 

Istar surbita τς in-ilt qaratta 

bukrat Nikkal dunnasa l-ustasna 
“T will praise the princess, Mighty among the gods, 
The first-born of Nikkal, Her valiance I will exalt, 
I8tar, the princess, : Mighty among the gods, 
The first-born of Nikkal, Her valiance I will recount.” 


The first section of the poem to Béltili (Cun. Tab. XV, 1ff.) is 
composed of four couplets, each having the scheme 3: 2+ 2: 


Zamér Béltilt azamar 

ibra ussiva qguradi siméa 
Mama zaméarasa 

eli dispim u-qaranim tabu 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse 11 


taba-(ejl. dispi u-qaranim 
_- — taba-(e)li hana- nabi-ma hashérim 
ee el(u)-tilu himéetim zakitin 
tabu eli-(so!) hana- nabi-ma hashivim 


“The song of the Lady I will sing— 


O comrades, attend, O warriors, hearken! 
I sing of Mama, whose song, 
Is sweeter far Than honey and wine, 
Sweeter than honey and wine, 

: Sweeter it is Than grapes and figs, 
Sweeter than pure cream, 
Sweeter it is Than grapes and figs.” 


If we turn to Egyptian verse, we find that the work of Erman, 
Max Miiller,! and now of Dévaud2 and others is bringing order out 
of the obscurity of Egyptian metrics. The difficulty hitherto has 
‘been (1) failure to realize the elaborate structure of Egyptian poetry, 
and (2) ignorance of old Egyptian vocalization. The present writer 
is about to publish studies which will partly remove these difficulties. 
As generally recognized, Egyptian metre.is also accentual, and the 
verse-units are generally 3+3 or 2+2, though short lines without a 
caesura are also found. Just as in Babylonia, the most perfect 
prosodic development is found about 2000 B.C., during the great 
literary revival of the Twelfth Dynasty. One of the most beautiful 
and formally perfect among classical Egyptian poems is the “Colloquy 
of a Misanthrope with his Soul.” Commencing where the text is 
best preserved, line 86, we have three successive divisions, each with 
a regular strophic system of its own—A. 86—102; B. 103—130; 
C. 131—142. A has eight strophes, each with the same beginning 
and the same tripartite scheme 3: 3+3, 6. .: 


mk bth rny 
mk v-sty δι m-hrw smw pt-t’t 
“Behold, my name is a stench— 
Behold—more than the odour of ’s-birds 
In summer days when the sky burns,” 


1 Cf. Liebespoesie der alten Aegypter, pp. 10—12, 
2 Cf. Recueil de Travaux, XXX VIII, 189. 


72 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


B offers a series of sixteen strophes, each similarly introduced 
and with the same strophic scheme 3: 2-+2-+2 (except last, _Wwhich 
has 3: 2+ 2), 8. g.: sae 


ddy nm myn 
ybw ‘wn n-wn-yb n-sy rhntw hrf 
“To whom shall I speak today? 
Hearts are evil; That man hath no heart Upon whom one relies.” 


C presents six stanzas, each with the same beginning and strophic 
structure, metrically the same as in B (the last strophe has 3: 242: 
2- 2) but resembling A’s repetition of mk twice in each strophe 
with its twice-repeated ni, 6. g.: 


‘w-mt m-hry myn 
my-sty ‘ntyw my-hmst hr-htw hrw tw 
“Death stands before me today 
Like the fragrance of spices, Like sitting under a sail 
On a day of breeze.” 


When after a close occupation with Egyptian and Babylonian 
metres of the classical period, the writer reread the Song of Deborah, 
he was struck at once by the tact that its climactic parallelism, to 
employ Burney’s happy phrase,! though found only very rarely and 
sporadically in later Biblical and Oriental poetry, is obviously derived 
from the poetic style fashionable in both Mesopotamia and Egypt 
during the first half of the second millennium. The affinities are 
much closer with the former, as will be seen, but the time has long 
since passed when sober scholars attempt to derive all cultural 
elements of the Syro-Palestinian milieu from a single country, 
especially since we now know that mutual influence of the two great 
ancient civilizations upon one another may be traced back into the 
fourth millennium. The merchants and travelers who circulated 
between Mesopotamia and Egypt exerted a profound influence on 
‘the land through which they passed, as archaeological research in 
Palestine has so vividly illustrated. Thanks to recent discoveries, 
elaborately presented by Langdon,? it is now certain that the phra- 


1 Burney, The Book of Judges, pp. 169 ff. 
2 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1921, 169—192. 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse 73 


aiuody has been profoundly influenced by 
te Most striking is the fact that the ordinary 
igy S?r, is a loan from Bab. séru, stru, “song, 
ser composition,” itself etymologically identical with 
” As Langdon has pointed out Assyr. zamar ξ0γὶ 
ae is the sae nen! of Heb. mizmor str. 

Tf one bears the cadence of the Babylonian hymn to Béltili in 
_ mind, it will be seen at once that the Song of Deborah falls without 
a single disturbance of the order of stichi, and with the excision of 
only a very few variant lines and obvious glosses, into fifteen strophes, 
with the scheme 3+ 3: 3(2+2). A few stanzas are incomplete, having 
only two lines 2+2. The Babylonian poem agrees further in the 
character of its climactic parallelism and in the style of the opening 


address: 
“OQ comrades, attend, O warriors, hearken! 
The song of the Lady I will sing.” 


The Song of Deborah begins its first tetrameter tristich with 
the lines: 
“Hear, O kings, Give ear, O princes! 
For I to Yahweh, Even I will sing.” 


The following reconstruction follows the stichic tradition preserved 
in the Masoretic Bible with hardly an alteration, except that the 
 four-foot strophes should be 2+2, in accordance with the general 
rule in Babylonian and Hebrew verse. In the main, the text of the 
Song in the Masoretic form is excellent, as attested also by LXX, 
but the pointing is often impossible, and the pronominal suffixes and 
other endings have suffered more than once from dittography. The 
writer owes most to Haupt‘ and Burney.2 Haupt’s reconstruction 
is altogether too drastic and arbitrary; it is incredible that a text 
in the Heptateuch should have fallen into such a state of corruption 
as his emendations presuppose. Yet the writer owes a great deal to 
the thoroughness of Haupt’s analysis and the completeness of his 
treatment. Burney’s treatment is cursory and rather superficial, and 


1 See his treatment in Studien zur semitischen Philologie * * Julius Well- 
hausen * * gewidmet, Giessen, 1914, pp. 191—226. 


πὰ 2 Op. laud., pp. 160}. 
᾿ 


74 Journal of the Palestine Oriental § 


his emendations are sometimes singularly inl 
ever, we owe the first clear explanation of 
of the Song, and the invention of the term 
from the discovery of which it results that the 
more from haplography than from dittography. His 
the metre suffers from the frequent occurrence of more than two 
unaccented syllables before the ictus; it is very improbable that a 
poem so perfect in structure would tolerate a metrical anomaly of 
this nature.! 


3 ΣΟ ΠΥ Dy"ATNAA ON Ww MID pA 1 2 
sgt WNT moon ἸΝῸΦ 3 
ΠΝ 32 Ν mim) 3238 
bs os | ΠῚ ots 


τι Οὗ Arnold, in Harvard Theological Review, XIII, 188. . Burney’s theoretical 
reconstruction of the original phonetic form of the Hebrew in our poem gives 
us results possible in many cases for the third millennium B.C., but not for 
the twelfth century—to be more exact, about 1150 (see the writer’s paper, Yemé 
has-Sahartt Sel ha-‘am ha-‘ivri, in Has-Siléah, Jerusalem, Vol. XXXIX, pp. 28ff. 
and “A Revision of Early Hebrew Chronology,” Journal of the Palestine Oriental 
Society, Vol. 1, pp.49—80). Since the publication of Bauer and Leander’s 
Hebréiische Grammatik, and Leander’s important article on Hebrew historical 
phonology, in Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlindischen Gesellschaft, Vol. 74, 
pp. 61ff., it is clear that the Hebrew of the twelfth century was not particularly 
archaic. When we bear in mind that the literary language of ancient Oriental 
peoples, like that of modern ones, lagged far behind the evolution of the popular 
speech, we will not expect a serious difference between the Hebrew of the Song, 
which represents the folk-speech of its time, and the literary language employed 
three to five centuries later. We must also remember that the Masoretic 
vocalization arose as a protest against an Aramaizing pronunciation of Holy 
Writ, and often went too far in its zeal, as in the case of the pretonic games 
and the vocal Sevwd. 


2 This liturgical phrase is doubtless to be pronounced barki-yah_or even 
barkii-yah, just as the original m7 155n is shortened in the liturgies to halleliyah. 


3 V.9 gives us a misplaced variant to the first line of the poem, written in 
the margin, and later incorporated into the text along with a small group of 
obvious glosses in 8, 11>: 

[Ay]Ay-1D93 pya pane δ. ppin(? 8)» 39 
My heart is with the rulers of Israel, Who enlisted with the people—praise Yah! 
Here the line adopted in the text is decidedly preferable to the variant; on the 
other hand, the variant line v. 15», to 16», though inserted in the wrong place, 
while 16> is in the right one, is preferable to the latter. For a possible ex- 
planation of the origin of the variant in y. 9 cf. Haupt, p. 211, n. 82. 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse (Oe 


ONIN Mw) ΤΡῚΣ yw INNA AM om 4 
[1 tes Ὁ "ὩΣ Mwy PAS 

SE] Mm SBD 235} on 5 
δ᾽ DN Mp ΒΟ 

mms sn 40H ΓΟ 3 ΔΨ 3. ur ὁ 
modp>py 5[]125" mans ‘dm 

Yon Synwea pp won 7 
ΤΠ CON™ANpY ΤΥΣῚ ΠΡ ἽΝ 


1 In view of 6 (several MSS), and Hexaplar (see Moore, ad loc.) ἐταράχθη we 
should probably read 3»h3 instead of 903, “dripped.” The heavens may pour 
down floods of rain when Yahweh appears in his majesty as lord of the thunder, 
but “drip” is an anticlimax, and here so absurd that a scribe felt impelled to 
add the remark DO. 1503 Day o3, “the clouds (also) dripped water,” that is, the 
heavens did not leak, but the clouds distilled a gentle shower. 


2 In view of 6 ἐσαλεύθησαν and the fact that in Is. 6319, 642 this verb is pointed 
443 with on, there can be no doubt that the stem is 2//, belonging with Ar. zizl, 
“quake, of earth,” and 2//, “slip.” 


3 All serious scholars agree that the phrase ‘30 πὶ, “that is, Sinai,” is a gloss, 
restricting the general statement to Mount Sinai. Ehrlich’s objection to this 
interpretation, on the basis of later usage, is unwarranted; the use of Πὶ in early 
Hebrew as here is precisely like that of Eg. pw, “this,” and in the commentaries 
to the sacred texts “that is.” 


4 The 5p. in the text is naturally impossible, as there is no room for an 
additional name in the line, to say nothing of the serious historical objection. 
The * is perhaps a corruption of ,the original ἡ in the 1°. we have substituted 
for the ‘1 of the Hebrew text. The 5» may be due to the misreading of a 
partially erased dittography of the first letters of mp>py in the line below. 


5 M has here nims, evidently due again to vertical dittography, since the 
word means “caravans” in the preceding verse, while here it would have to 
mean “paths.” 


6 Pronounce Saqg-gamtém. The ending ‘n in the second person feminine may 
be an archaism here, but it may also be merely historical spelling. The glosses 
in the Amarna Letters show that tw in the first person had already become #2, 
so it is more than likely that ti in the second feminine had become ὁ. Αὖὐ all 
events, it would so be pronounced before a vowel—the alef im Hebrew has 
almost throughout lost its consonantal force. 


7 Between the end of this stanza and the beginning of the next there are 
several glosses, which have been grouped together for lack of a better place, 
YV.9 has been discussed in connection with y. 2. V. 8 contains three glosses. 
The first one, wan ox (Ὁ, hapl.) mma is probably a theological explanation, 
“they (shall) choose new gods,” for the text, “they follow crooked paths.” The 

pee NTU ΩΣ Dyas. nod ΠΗΓΝ j3o “15. shield seen or lance Among 


{ 
76 _ Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
mw ὙΥΤῸΡ wm ΠΛΉΝ. MINS WD wi {νον 
DaNwe ys D’ssnd ΕΟ τι 
ΠῚ ΠΣ ΓῚΡῚΣ ym oy 
4Π 3620) Sener WWD ΠΡῚΣ 
WWIDT NY MY ΠῚ Ny My ve 
DYNIS 13 pawnaw() ὁ] 
DIN? Tw 6(T)TY (CIS 13 
7oN33() 50) (yy AyAWDy 


forty thousand in Israel?” cannot well be original, since the Israelites would 
hardly celebrate a great victory by boasting that they had no weapons at all. 
Jt is perhaps a comment to v. 74, borrowed from some other poem, on the part 
of a scribe who was thinking of 1 Sam. 1319-22, where it is stated that the 
Israelites had no swords or lances. The preceding remark oxyw ond i is 
obviously a tertiary gloss, commenting on the absence of arms by quoting Jud. 7 18, 
“Then was the barley bread,” i. e., just as the barley bread, representing the 
fellah host of Gideon, overwhelmed the Midianite camp, so the unarmed Israelites 
defeated the army of Sisera, thanks to special divine interposition. 


1 The phrase 1 5p ‘aw’, which is in a different metre from the preceding 
and following hemistichs, and completely spoils their antithetic parallelism, besides 
being unintelligible Hebrew, is perhaps corrupt for some such phrase as }% °3", 
“judges,” meaning that only judges, i. e. nobles, had the right to ride on red-roan 
(so Haupt) asses. 


2 M has 21pm, evidently influenced by the initial » of the two following nouns. 


3 In the repetitious style of our poem there is constant danger of haplography 
or haplology. The chiastic order follows the example of ν. 78, Chiastic order 
is most characteristic of elegant literary style in Assyrian. 


4The following phrase, mm oy onyw> ym tN, is not metric, and has no 
connection with the preceding or the following strophe, so may belong with the 
group of glosses in vv. 8—9. In this case it is apparently a comment on the 
gloss osyw ond &%, which Masoretic tradition took to mean (of above for the 
true interpretation) “then to them were gates’ (Moore says that it is difficult to 
imagine what is meant by the anomalous pronunciation of ond, but it evidently 
indicates a geré 079), which our gloss explained as “then the Page of Yahweh 
went down to the gates.” 6 has Dy (πόλεις), a valueless guess. 


5. The interpolation of pra is wholly superfluous, since “son of Abinoam” makes 
the person addressed known. The following 4 is a secondary insertion. 


_+ The Masoretic tradition still derives the verb from 477, as shown by the 
“pointing, so there is no objection to adding a7; it must be remembered that the 
original text did not have matres /ectionis, and that where they are found they 
are later insertions. The * which should be affixed to t& was lost by haplography. 


7 M omaixa $44, which is unintelligible. Haupt suggests n292 19 TY, “went 
down as warriors” but on account of the parallelism with the preceding line our 
reading seems preferable. a 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse (és 


SyOOYI PII TANS 2peya-w AW OMS 1Π viru 
mppma Ay Yn 130 

| "BD paws paw 721319 0 

9] β 10 mow’) pays 7[]mma7e-oy 5] 15 


1 Since it interferes with the metre the introductory %38 is evidently vertical 
dittography from the next line, where the metre requires it. Quite aside from 
metrical considerations, the second hemistich shows that Ephraim, Benjamin’s 
brother, is the subject. 


2 Virtually all scholars read ppya instead of 31 pony2, following important 
MSS evidence (cf. Moore). It is possible that for #1 onwiw we should read ow Ww. 
6 read the same consonants, though rendering differently, ἐξερίζωσεν. My suggestion 
is in accord with the frequent repetition of verbs for poetic emphasis in our 
Song. 


3 M has Jaya, but the suffix is clearly dittooraphy of the suffix in the 
preceding JUIN. 


4 To preserve consistency, I point the verbs as present or imperfect instead 
of perfect. 


5 This passage is unquestionably corrupt, and our reconstruction may be quite 
wrong. According to Jos. 1913 Daberath, 1. 6. Deborah (see below) was on the 
border between Zebulon and Issachar. V.18 of the Song shows that it was 
already considered a part of Zebulon. A later scribe, however, may have supposed 
that the missing Issachar was referred to here, and have inserted it, which 
would also account for the strange repetition of the name twice in the verse —an 
erroneous double entry in different lines. It is improbable that Issachar was 
originally mentioned in the Song, since it is an opprobrious term, “hireling,” 
applied by the Israelites in the hills to their Hebrew brethren who formed 


part of the dependent peasant population of the plain, under Canaanite over- 
lordship. . 


6 The pointing oy, “people,” instead of py, “with,” is certainly right (see 
Haupt). 


7 One may suspect that p12 is an explanatory gloss to the first word of the 
fifteenth verse, reading δὴ instead of 21. The “prince” who is thus associated 
with Deborah would naturally be Barak. The impossibility of the present text 
is well put by Moore. 


_ 8 The present text has "9393 Abw, which is very queer, and cannot be connected 
with what precedes. 


9 This is a correct marginal substitution for the somewhat corrupt line now 
in place, v. 16}, 


=e % ie 
78 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
ny mpw yaw 2m nw [] Iwi ΠΟΘ 1 τ (Π2) vir τὸ 
s29™ppn ody pps mada. 
py yw (aya Tyo) 1 
ΤῊΝ Wy m9 yn 
ae PsA) Dys"7IN() Iw WwW vor 
nin? wes Ayn-ay 152] 
mw ὍΛ.» “OND 18 
1935, ΞΘ wends ΜΠ}: 15 yonds ΣΡ IND ΙΧ 19 
an Ὁ» Jayna 51999) 
Τ(Ὡ ΠΡΌ) Πρ τ ADI-y32 
ΝΟ ὍΣ Ns ΤΠ} 3150 [ΠὩ 3) 20 


1 The present text hangs in the air, and we do not know what tribe is 
intended; v. 17a shows that we may expect the name of a tribe before m0, while 
the metre indicates a short name. The tribe in question is Transjordanic, since 
it is pastoral and followed by Reuben. Accordingly it must be Gad, the absence 
of whom from the present text has given rise to all kinds of hypotheses, especially 
that Gilead in 174 takes the place of Gad. But from Num. 8984 Εἴ, it is clear 
that Gad originally occupied northern Moab, as stated also in the Mesha Stele, 
while it is expressly stated that Machir occupied Gilead. 

2 # has onawoen pa naw: nnd. The change of tense in the verb may be 
erroneous but the present haphazard alternation of tenses is very strange, and 
imperfects seem to predominate. The word o’nsw (pl. rather than dual) is a 
crux interpretum, but the only etymologically reasonable explanation is “piles 
of rubbish, manure,” referring to the extensive mz@bil, which surround the 
Transjordanic village, especially in the Hauran. In western Palestine the mz@bil 
(sing. mézbeleh) are not nearly so striking a feature, since there is not so much 
animal husbandry. The cognate news, “rubbish, manure,” belongs (which has 
not been observed hitherto) with Ar. féfat, “rubbish” (note the transposition), 
The superflous Ὁ is probably a dittographic reminiscence of the }}3 before DANwH. 

3 Cf. above. The marginal correction seems here to be preferable to the form 
in place. The variants ΡΠ and “pn may indicate that the original was different; 
cf. Ar. haf, “beat, of the heart” as a possible suggestion. However, gg means 
properly “to pierce” (Ar. zhtagga) and in Ar. also “to afflict,” so there is no 
serious objection to its retention. 

4 ἽΝ is a superfluous scribal insertion to make sure that the reader would not 
mistake the highly poetic repetition for dittography. 

5 A stylistic peculiarity of the Song requires the repetition of a verb with a 
prepositional phrase modifying it, unless the metre forbids it. Here both style 
and metre seem to demand it, so we may assume that it has fallen out by 
haplography, since the same verbal form is found twice in the preceding line. 
Now, since there is a superfluous \9n>3 in y. 20, we may suppose that the scribe 
discovered his mistake in collating the text and inserted it in the margin, whence 
it was transferred into the wrong line later. 

6 This hemistich should be scanned as follows, besa‘-késf l6-laqgaht. 

7 Owing to the common initial » the word onbp»p has changed places with ~ 
the following hemistich. The present order is nonsense; the stars, that is, the 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse 79 


bn) opp ὉΠ pew) perp ὉΠ) xa 
ΟΣ» NYE SVU Nw"P(a) 

‘poi ‘spy | 3(o)ndT ΟἿΝ 38 
ὍΔ (1997) mas nnn 

maw WS TN δ) ἼΩΝ δ). NE xT 98 
mar mony) IND δ᾽ 55 
ΤἈ(Π) 325 min ny? 


i 


elements, may fight against Sisera, but the planets do not fight from their highways 
ee (@ has plur.) against him, nor can their orbits be called “highways.” The use 
Ξ of harrénu in Babylonian astronomy is quite different. On the other hand, ΠΡΌ 
is evidently equivalent to Bab. harrdanu, girru, “road, campaign.” In sixteenth 
century English “road” meant “foray, raid” (a Norse doublet of “road’’), as in 
the A. V. of 1 Sam. 2710, ‘Whither have ye made a road today?” . 


1 4“ has 3. Our rendering of the second hemistich requires a passive 
form here (see next note). In Hebrew the hif‘ii of this verb sometimes serves 
as an intensive. Yellin’s suggestion of the Arabic and Aramaic meaning ,,reach, 

_ overtake” for 777 (Jour. Pal. Orient. Soc. I, Ὁ». 18.) is very doubtful. 

ε 2 #M has ty 55, but we should probably read yy like yay at the end of the 
Ξ second line below. Still preferable is perhaps Haupt’s reading ny nwei. For 
the idiom cf. Assyr. napsatsunu ustiq ukarri, “I brought their life to a close and 
eut it off (cf. Ar. séga, “be at the point of death, said of a sick man’); baltisun 
qati iksud, “I captured them alive.” 

3 This verb is transitive, as in y. 26, so the suffix is necessary. 

᾿ 4 The Ὁ belongs with the preceding word, instead of with the following, as in Mf. 


5 The 118 of Al is probably corrupt, since no town of this anomalous name 
is to be found in any Palestinian literature. We should probably read 79, 
Meron. This Meron is hardly to be identified with either Meiroén, W.N. W. of 
Safed, or even with Marin er-Ras, further north, nor is it clear to which Meron 
the Marun of Tiglathpileser III. refers. The Canaanite royal city Madon, Jos. 111, 
may perhaps be a mistake for Meron, just as Sarid should be *Sadod, modern 
Tell Sadid. Probably our Meron is the town mentioned Jos. 1220 with Siméon 
(text Simrén), modern Semtniyeh, on the edge of the Plain, ten miles due west 
of Debtriyeh-Deborah and north of Megiddo. <A situation in the neighborhood 
would explain why Meron refused to. take up arms for the Israelites; it was 
too near Harosheth, modern Tell ‘Amr, and therefore dangerously exposed to 
Canaanite vengeance in case of an Israelite defeat. 


«8 Ml mm 48m WHS is metrically impossible. It is possible to omit Jn, which 
might have been introduced because of a religious scruple against the conception 
that Yahweh curses men himself, but more likely that “angel of Yahweh” was 
‘substituted, as apparently often, for a name of pagan origin, still employed, like 
_ the Lithuanian Perkunas, in maledictions even after the conversion of the Hebrews 
B= to Yahwism. . 

7 The insertion of a 4 is not grammatically necessary, but greatly improves 
_ the sense, besides improving the metre. 


80 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 

Tian SANA ows IP} oyy ows Jan xm 9ι 
mana 39n DRY OND 25 

ΓΝ ΩΓ ma pn oss Depa 
p’>ey mipon? aa mondwn im) mp xu 

2[] wasn ΠΡΟ soo mdm 
232 25) yy ΠΟΥ 7 

srw 5128) »Ὲ ΠΥ 
[ΠΝ Ὁ OX aatm ΠΡ) 4[]23VNT Iya ΣΙν 95 

ΝΣ. 122} Ψ ΩΣ yr 

PMAIW ΟΡ ᾿ ὙΠ yy 
[ΠΝ DWN NYAS ΠΡ ΠΤ NwIN xv 2 
Ὁ ΤῸ ἸΝΣΟΣ NOT 30 

bow 27s onan on 

7[]MMpP yas 6] ἐδ Ὁ Dyas 


| The interpolation ‘3pm 13n ΩΝ is admitted on all sides to be a learned gloss. 

2 M adds the gloss \npi ΠΡ ΠῚ AYN’. ABNY is inserted to explain the early 
Aramaic form apna, with orthography like Xpis for ΡΝ τα ἽΝ, WP—WY== NS, etc., 
the Pp being employ ed to indicate the glottal catch (&) into which the ddd had 
been modified in Aramaic like g in the cities of modern Egypt and Palestine. 
The alef lost its original pronunciation in Aramaic and became a vowel-letter. 
Later the ‘ayin was pronounced as a glottal catch, as it still is in parts of northern 
Syria, having lost its correct pronunciation as a voiced h with somewhat greater 
contraction of the glottis. Another Aramaic form found in the poem is the pa‘e/ of 
min, employed like Assyr. Sunni, “recount, relate.” These Aramaic forms are not 
late glosses, nor are they strictly dialectic; they are rather an indication of a 
mixture between the Aramaic tongue originally spoken by the Hebrews and the 
Hebrew which they learned in the land of Canaan, and are thus on a par with 
such an Aramaic word as 13, “‘vow,” which has superseded "13, only preserved 
in the specialized meaning ‘devotee,’ "43. Bauer and Leander have recently 
called our attention to evidences of dialectic mixture in morphology; there are 
also a number of Aramaic loanwords in early Hebrew. The additional gloss 
“she pierced his temples” is harmonistic, designed to make the original poetic 
version, according to which Jael felled Sisera while he was drinking, square 
with the well-known prose version. The two cannot be harmonized; see Moore. 

3 The observation 5B: nw yi WwN2, “where he stooped there he fell,” is 
anything but poetical, and ws is not found elsewhere in the poem. It is also 
harmonistic, and means that he fell dead where he crouched, without moving 
from his place—thanks to the “nail” which fastened his head to the ground. 

4 M, ponn awa, is simply a gloss explaining the archaic term 33¥8, on which 
see Haupt, ad Zoe. 

5 The nb is wholly superfiuous, besides being metrically awkward, and is 
obviously susceptible of ready explanation as dittography. ᾿ 

6 The Sow of Al is dittosraphy of the preceding dow, because both are — 
followed by the same word. 

7 The four-beat line which follows may belong to the original; one woul 
like to read for Al, 55w sss), 59m “ssp, “from the backs (lit. necks) of the slain. 


«ὦ 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse 81 


The poem may be translated as follows: 


hen locks were long! in Israel, © When the folk responded—praise Yah! 


Hear, O kings, Give ear, O princes, 
For I to Yahweh, Even 1 will sing, 
I will sing to Yahweh, Unto Israel’s God. 
hweh, when thou rosest from Seir, When thou marchedst from Edom’s land, 
The earth was quaking, The heavens shaking, 
The mountains rocking Before Yahweh’s face, 
Before the face of Yahweh, Israel’s God. 
m In the days of Shamgar ben Anath, In his days the caravans ceased,? 
| And wayfaring men Followed crooked paths; 
The yeomanry ceased, In Israel it ceased, 
. Till thou rosest, O Deborah, As mother-city in Israel.3 
tv O rvideis on tawny asses, O wayfaring men, attend! 
To the sound of the cymbals, Between the drums,! 
There they will recite _ The triumphs of Yahweh, 
The triumphs of his yeomen In Israel they will tell. 


1 This rendering may now be considered practically certain; cf. Haupt, ad Joc. 
Jeremias’s rend-ring (Das Alte Testament im Lichte des alten Orients, 3*4 ed., 
p- 423), “When Pharaohs ruled in Israel,” deserves notice solely as a curiosity. 

2 This rendering is quite certain; in Assyr. harrdnu, “road,” also means 
“caravan.” Shamgar was chief of the Canaanite town of Beth Anath, modern 
Ba‘nah, Talmudic Bé‘anah, a little to the northeast of the Plain of Accho, as the 
writer has shown in the papers mentioned above. His role of robber baron is 
like that played by Sutatna (so) or Zatatna of Accho in the Amarna Tablets; 
the latter also robs the caravans. 

3 There can surely be no longer any doubt that Deborah was originally the 
town of that name at the foot of Mt. Tabor, as first suggested by Carl Niebuhr, 
and accepted by Haupt. For the origin of the confusion between the ‘mother 
in Israel” 1. 6. the metropolis, chief city (as in 2 Sam. 2019) and the feminine 
figure of Hebrew legend by the same name οἵ, the note on the subject in the 
writer’s article (Journal of the Pal. Orient. Soc., Vol. I, p. 61). ‘The town, whose 
remains le to the north of the modern village of Debtre (so pronounced; 
Debtriyeh, not Debtriyeh is the literary form), is called in the O. T. elsewhere 
Dbrt, the Dabaritta of Josephus and the Dabira of the Onomasticon. The ex- 
pression for “city” used in our text is not peculiar to the Hebrew of the Bible, 
but is also found in Phoenician. On Sidonian coins Sidon is called mother of 
Carthage, Hippo, Citium, and Tyre. On Laodicean coins the city is termed 
jy323 O8, “mother in Canaan” (the reading YX which some have substituted is 
unwarranted). 

4 This passage has been a crux interpretum. Haupt renders, “At the trumpet- 
call from the banquet;’”? Burney emends with unusual recklessness, and gives us 


a pretty conceit, “Hark to the maidens laughing at the wells.’ Haupt’s onsnp 
: 6 


82 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society Ὁ 


vy Awake, awake, Ὁ Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song: | a 
“Arise, take thy captives, Abinoam’s son, 
For then the survivor Will rule the haughty, 
The people of Yahweh Will rule the mighty.” Ἶ 
vz O Ephraim storm,stormintothevalley— After thee come Benjamin’s clans! ἢ 
From Machir’s folk Come down the captains, 
From Zebulon those who wield The staff of the marshal, 
While Deborah’s folk Sends footmen into the valley. 
vu Why does (Gad) dwell on dung-heaps Harking to pastoral pipings? 
In the vales of Reuben The chiefs are faint-hearted, 
While Gilead dwells Beyond the Jordan. 
And why does Dan Become attached to ships?! 
vii Asher dwells on the shore of the sea And settles on his harbours — 
But Zebulon is a people Which dared to die— 
And Naphtali, too— On the heights of the plain. 
ΠΣ There came the kings and fought, They fought, the kings of Canaan, 
They fought at Taanach, At Megiddo’s waters; 
No silver they won From their campaign, 
For the stars from heaven ~ Fought against Sisera. 
x Kishon’s torrent swept them away, An impetuous torrent becoming; 
In the Kishon were trampled His living warriors, < 
For the hoofs of their horses Struck them down, of 
Rearing, plunging, They struck down his strong men. 


and Burney’s mpnsp both seem unnecessary, since a much more natural ex- 
planation is at hand; I would combine the word with Ar. hadda, hadhada, “shake,” _ 
hadad, “shells,” and haddd, “shell necklace, fetters,” etc., and render either ~ 
“cymbals,“ like ondsp (mds, Zech. 1420, refers to a string of bells or small 
pieces of metal for the adornment of horses), or “sistra,’”’ like ὮΝ»), 2 Sam. 65. 
The word D'uxwe belongs with Ar. mis’ab, “leather skin,” and probably means 
leather drums or tambourines (cf. Sachs, Altigyptische Musikinstrumente, Leipzig, 

1920, pp. 5ff.). The women of the Qureis, at the battle of Ohod, beat drums 
(akbar) and tambourines (dufif and σφαγῶν), according to Ibn Hisam. 


1 We seem to have a most important chronological datum in this line. Dan’s 
residence on the sea-coast preceded the Philistine occupation. On the other 
hand, our poem dates from after the career of Shamgar, who beat off —or 
assisted in warding off—the first Philistine irruption, presumably that of the 
year 1190 B. C. The date of the battle of Taanach will then fall between about 
1180 and 1170 or a little later, when the successful invasion occurred, after the 
death of Rameses III.; see the fuller discussion in Jour. Pal. Or. Soc., Vol. I, 
pp. 55—62. eg ee Be 


soe ye Meron, saith—— — 
For they would not come 
Ἔ To the help of Yahweh, 
Blest above women is Jael, 
| Ἰ Water he asked, 
_ Ina lordly bowl 
xu One hand she put to the tent-pin 
She struck down Sisera, 
ke At her feet he bowed, 

: - At her feet he bowed, 
‘xivOut from the window there looked 
“Why does his chariot 

Why linger the hoofs 

xv The wisest of her women replies — 
“Are they not finding 
A maiden or two 

ae Dyed work for Sisera 


wT ish ub ΩΣ 
NSH Same Ni ce 
‘ ee 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse 83 


Kternally curse ye its people, 


To the help of Yahweh, 
Sending their warriors. 
Above women in tents is she blest. 
She gave him milk, 

She brought him cream. 
Her right to the workman’s mallet; 

She crushed his head, 

He fell, he lay, 

He fell, outstretched. 
And wailed Sisera’s mother: 

Tarry in coming? 

Of his chariot-steeds?” 
She, too, echoes her words: 

And dividing the spoil? — 

As spoil for each warrior, 

Dyed and embroidered.” 


In its present form, the poem is unmistakably a torso, but we 


should perhaps be grateful for the fact that our copy closes at so 
dramatic a point, sparing us, it may be, a weaker ending, an anti- 
climax. The present ending is formed by a very weak and awkward 
distich, evidently of liturgical origin: 


Of Thy foes, Yahweh, 
Of the sun in his strength. 


Thus may all perish 
While Thy friends be as the rise 


It must be emphasized that the preceding arrangement of the 
poem has not been reached as a result of any ὦ priori theory, but 
that it simply imposes itself upon the reader who knows what to 
expect in ancient verse-forms. It is highly probable that it was 
recited antiphonally, one chanting the hexameter, and another or a 
chorus singing the following tristich. This is indicated by the fact 
that the hexameter line always stands apart, having no direct 
connection with the preceding strophe, and only a loose one with the 
following tristich, which it introduces. Thus stanzas V, XI, and XII 
each contain an introduction, followed by a direct quotation. As is 
well known, this antiphonal chanting and singing was a very common 


practise in Babylonia as well as in Israel. 


84 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


If there are still any doubts regarding the general correctness of 
our results they should be removed by a careful comparison of the 
Lament of David over Jonathan, the only other early Israelite poem 
of this type now extant. While the text of this poem is more corrupt, 
like the text of Samuel in general, the dominant structure is again 
unquestionably the tetrameter tristich, lke the Song of Deborah. 
The introductory hexameter appears as a refrain, following the 
tristich instead of preceding it, but the same elements exactly are 
used to form the strophe, and the character of the hexameter verse 
is made certain by the fact that it is a refrain, and hence certainly 
antiphonal or choral. We have also echoes of the old climactic 
parallelism, now falling into disuse. 


Popwss tf] wands ΓᾺΔ wPan-os 90 
5. ni32 ΓΟΠΟΦ yp 
mbaym ma mroyn yp 
S(MTIN Ww) 2ysoa Vn 21 
‘fjom>y Ὑ Ὁ ΝῚ δ ἡπὴτῦν 
p33 730 yaa ow 
yows myn. TINY JIN 
oia3 25 ΠΩ pbon ot 29 
WINS WIND | nwp 
mph ΔΊ ΓΓΝΟ ΙΝ Δ ΠῚ 
Speys() DIMN3() jw Sw 98 
TTPIN? ow (? 13h) DANN 
33 AYAND Dp onway 


1 If the nysia of MM is original, we must have here a line 343; it is then 
possible that the line which we have considered the second verse of the second 
strophe is also 343 and introduces the strophe, just as in the Song of Deborah. 
It is safe to say that the original structure of the poem was more complicated 
than it now appears to be, as well as more formally perfect. ᾿ = 

2. M is here grammatically and logically impossible, while the substitution of 
ἃ Π for the 3 gives a perfectly idiomatic and exact phrase. . 

* The hemistich should evidently be transposed from its place in Ml after the _ 
next line. = 

4 Cf. preceding note, as well as note on the first line of the poem, 

5. The articles are wholly superfluous, and hurt the rhythm appreciably. 


ALBRIGHT: The Earliest Forms of Hebrew Verse 85 
maa disw-5(y) baw maa 94 
ΓΔ» ὦ pawann 
(ant “y) jpw1a? 2(] mI yon 
mama Tn B13 755. PRs 
Son 4qynwa-by ΠΝ. 535) 
JT TS τον area 26 
ὯΝ) 5 manne [ΠΝ ΤΠ» 
mandy %9> aN Oda 105) PS 97 


Tell it not in Gath 
Lest they rejoice, 
Lest they exult, 


Proclaim it not in Ashkelon, 
The Philistine maidens, 
The heathen girls. 


Ye hills of Gilboa, 

Let there be nor dew 
For there was disgraced 
The shield of Saul, 


And lofty uplands, 

Nor rain upon you, 
The warrior’s shield, 
With oil unanointed. 


From the blood of the slain, 
The bow of Jonathan 
Nor the sword of Saul 


From the entrails of warriors, 
Never retreated, 
Returned empty. 


1 # has Dy ὮΝ caw, “scarlet with delights,” but the omission of » gives a 
logical and idiomatic text. 


2 $M offers πῦον, which is here impossible. After the corruption, in order 
to preserve an intelligible text, it became necessary to transpose the following 
phrase. ; 


3 The yn of #1 does not really belong in the text, but in the margin, as 
explanation of the expression “gazelle of Israel.” Fortunately, this line was 
employed as a title for the poem, and hence has been preserved intact, save for 
an impossible article, at the beginning. 


4 This foot should probably be scanned ‘al-bmétéka. In the genuine folk 
verse of modern Palestine (see my note to Stephan’s paper in Jowr. Pal. Or. Soc., 
Vol. II) long vowels may be treated as short at any time for the sake of the 
metre. In Hebrew this tendency was probably not marked, but the “Araimaizing”’ 
inclination to eliminate short unaccented vowels in open syllables certainly existed; 
the Masoretic vocalization represents a learned reaction (cf. above). 

5 M, Ὁ ἼΓΩΠΝ ANKoDS, is clearly a prosaic gloss, explaining the beautiful line 
whose cadence it so rudely interrupts. 


86 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society | 
Saul and Jonathan, Beloved, delightful, 
In life they were comrades (?) In death were not parted, 
Swifter they than eagles, Stronger than lions. 
O maidens of Israel, Weep ye for Saul, 
Who was wont to clothe you In elegant scarlet, 
Who decked your garments With golden adornments! 


How have the warriors fallen In the midst of the battle! 


The gazelle of Israel Is slain on thy heights (Gilboa)— 
I grieve for thee, My brother Jonathan, 
Far sweeter wast thou - Than the love of women. 

How have the warriors fallen And the weapons of war been lost! 


We have thus seen that the Song of Deborah and, to a lesser 
extent, the Lament of David over Jonathan represent what must 
have been once an important category of Canaanite and Israelite 
verse, written in the language of Canaan, and influenced by the 
models which had governed the writing of verse in the literary centres 
of the ancient Orient some centuries previously. The post-Davidic 
poetry of the Old Testament is influenced by late Assyrian and 
Babylonian models, which passed into Israel from Syria and Phoenicia, 
where both Phoenicians and Aramaeans were always powerfully 
affected by Mesopotamian cult and literature. In the Old Testament | 
we also have fragments of a different kind, without a literary back- 
ground. Of this nature is the Bedu poem known as the Song of 
Lamech, written in two couplets, one 2+2, the other 8- 8, with a 
rhyme in? which has always been characteristic of the nomad Arabs. ἡ 
The triumphal song of Sihon, Num. 21 27f, does not lend itself to 
successful reconstruction, but the metre is clearly 3+3, and at least. 
four of the seven lines—perhaps five—end with 6n, showing again 
the Bedu origin of the song. The Song of the Well, Num. 21 17-18, 
can almost be duplicated in Moab today. But th> literary poetry 
of Israel does not owe its beauty to Bedu models, wut to the fact 
that it was able to clothe the formally elegant models of the ancient 
Orient with a spontaneous and freshly exuberant life. 


LA DERNIERE PERIODE DE L’HISTOIRE DE 
CAPHARNAUM 


GAUDENCE ORFALI O. F. M. 


Ξ : (JERUSALEM) 


APHARNAUM, toi qui te dresses jusqu’au ciel tu seras abaissée 
jusqu’aux enfers!» Voila le triste adieu que Jésus fit ἃ sa seconde 


 patrie ἃ la veille de la quitter pour toujours. Pour ceux qui connaissent 


la position privilégiée qu’occupait Capharnatim ἃ lavenement du N.T., 
ces mots de l’Evangile sont parfaitement intelligibles, quand on par- 
court (ἃ 19 siécles de distance) le vaste champ, οἱ sont encore 
enterrées la plupart de ses ruines. 

Ville de passage et de marché international, Capharnatim était 
au centre méme du mouvement des caravanes, entre la plaine 
d’Esdrelon, Scythopolis et Damas. Elle possédait en outre, un port 
qui l’enrichissait de son transit particulier. Les mariniers du lac y 
déchargeaient le blé du Hauran pour les exportations de Tyr, Sidon 
et Césarée: mouvement des plus actifs encore, puisqu’il contribuait 
au ravitaillement de Rome et de l’Italie. Ce ne sont pas seulement 
les Juifs qui viendront 1’ pour entendre Jésus: mais des Iduméens, 
des Tyriens, des Sidoniens et des gens de la Transjordane, attirés 
par un commerce lucratif. Rien d’extraordinaire donc, si Capharnatim 
était devenue, au commencement du premier siecle de notre ere, une 
ville opulente et riche, digne de posséder la plus belle des synagogues 
connues en Galilée et dont nous venons de mettre i jour les derniers 
vestiges. 

-Hélas! cette période de prospérité ne semble avoir été que de 
trop courte durée, puisque trente ans plus tard (66—67 aprés J.-C.) 
elle était déchue au rang d’une simple bourgade, κώμη, dans laquelle 
VHistorien juif se fit transporter pour recevoir les premiers soins de 

7 


et Ὁ Suatige,. geal τς nets -_2 Oe eae Ἐπ + 
‘ x te a τ Rats 


88 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


ses blessures, ἃ la suite de la bataille engagée entre lui et Sylla, 
commandant des troupes d’Agrippa 11. (Jos. Vita, 72. ed, Dindorf). 

Ici, une premiére question se pose: ἃ quoi devons-nous attribuer 
la décadence si rapide de Capharnaiim? histoire est muette ἃ ce 
sujet: mais’ nous croyons pouvoir l’attribuer. & plusieurs causes, qui 
y auront contribué également. Peut-étre, les tremblements de terre, 
(phénoméne assez commun dans le bassin du lac de Tibériade). 
L’histoire nous a conservé le souvenir des nombreux tremblements 
de terre, qui ont ébranlé le sol de |’Asie entre l’an 60 et 70 aprés J.-C.: 
Colosses et Laodicée furent détruites en l’an 60, sans parler de 
Philadelphie, qui mérita le titre de «ville pleine de tremblements de 
terren (Strabon XIII, 10). 

Un autre phénoméne d’ordre social aura également privé Capharnaiim 
d’un bon nombre de ses citoyens adoptifs et hétes momentanés: je 
veux parler du développement rapide d’une puissante rivale, Tibériade, 
devenue capitale de la Galilée, située elle aussi, sur une des ramifica- 
tions du grand réseau de routes commerciales entre Damas, la Phénicie 
et Egypte. Rien dinvraisemblable: d’autant plus que le roi Antipas 
fut trés large en faveurs et en priviléges envers les nouveaux habitants 
de sa capitale, qu'il dut recruter principalement entre l’élément payen, 
puisque les bons Israelites s’interdisaient d’habiter Tibériade, et méme 
d’y passer. (Talmud de Jérusalem, Schebuth IX, 1. 

Mais ce qui joua un role plus néfaste dans la décadence de 
Capharnaiim, ce fut la corruption des mceurs de ses habitants, 
alimentée par la convoitise des richesses et les abus du luxe. Jésus ὯΝ 
avait dit que Capharnaiim et ses deux voisines Bethsaida et Corozain 
s’obstinaient dans le vice plus durement que Sodome, Tyr et Sidon: 
et, & quelques siécles de distance, le Talmud nous confirme que chez 
les habitants de Capharnaiim l’immoralité était trés avancée. 

Le Midrash Koheleth (7,20 fol.14, 2) cite les paroles de l’Ecclésiaste 
VII, 26, ot il est dit de la femme au οι" léger: «Celui qui est 
agréable ἃ Dieu lui échappe: mais le pécheur sera pris par elle», 
puis il ajoute: «Cela vise les gens de Kefar-Nahum». 

Plus loin, le méme Midrasch (fol. 109, 4) parlant de Hanania 
neveu du célébre Rabbi Jehosoua, qui habitait Capharnaiim dans la — 
prémiére moitié du 110 siécle, dit: «Hanania, le neveu de Rabbi 
Jehosoua, fut un saint homme: par contre les habitants de Kefar- 
Nahum sont des pécheurs». 


ORFALI: La derniére période de Vhistoire de Capharnaiim 89 


Un fait qui nous peint la profonde corruption des mcurs des 
habitants de Capharnaiim, est raconté par le Talmud au sujet d’un 
disciple de Rabbi Jonathan. Je le passe sous silence pour ne pas 
offenser les oreilles de mes auditeurs. (J. Lightfoot. Disquisitio 
chorographica, Apud Ugolini, Thesaurus V, col. 1123.) 

Nous ignorons la part prise par notre Capharnaiim A la guerre 
juive de 70 et de 132 ap.J.-C. mais il ne serait pas téméraire 
d’affirmer que ses habitants se soient battus avec un héroisme digne 
de leurs fréres de race, de cette race belliqueuse et vaillante qui 
habitait alors la Galiée.! 

Dans les luttes de succession ἃ l’empire, surtout dans la seconde 
moitié du [10 siecle, les Juifs de Palestine prirent maladroitement 
parti, tantot pour l'un, tantot pour lautre des rivaux: aussi essuyérent- 
ils des chatiments trés durs de la part des vainqueurs. Nous sayons 
par Vhistoire que Antonin le Pieux écrasa les Juifs révoltés. Mare- 
Auréle n’a pas été plus tendre & leur égard, quand il accourut en 
Palestine pour dompter la révolte provoquée par Avidius Cassius. 
Pris de dégout pour les Juifs révoltés, il s’écria (c’est Ammien 
Marcelin qui le raconte): «Ὁ Marcomans, ὁ Quades, o Sarmates, 


jai enfin trouvé des gens plus turbulents que vous!»? Quant a Septime 


Sévére, le Sénat lui décerna le Triomphe judaique, pour le succes 
obtenu sur les Palestiniens, qui, pendant longtemps, avaient porté les 
armes en faveur de Pescennius Niger.’ Voila pourquoi il nous semble 
trés difficile d’admettre que la synagogue de Capharnaiim ait été 
construite dans la seconde moitié de ce siécle, grace ἃ la munificence 
impériale, ainsi que certains auteurs l’ont prétendu. le silence du 
Talmud serait inexplicable a ce sujet, et les habitants de Capharnaiim, 
certes, n’auraient point manqué d’en perpétuer le souvenir par une 
inscription comme celle de Khirbet Keisown. 

Mais alors, ἃ quelle époque précise peut-on faire remonter la 
construction de la célébre synagogue de Capharnaiim? Tels quiils 
sont les restes retrouvés du monument peuvent bien étre assignés ἃ 
mon humble avis i deux époques différentes; ἃ savoir, ἃ une époque 


τ Julius Capitolinus, Ant. Pius ad Diocletianum V ed. Nisard ap. Hist. August. 
Paris 1876, p. 331b. 


2 Ammianus Marcelinus, Historia Romana LXXI, 33 et 35. 
3 Aelius Spartianus, Pesce. Niger, ad Dioclet. XVI. 


90 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


ancienne, tres probablement le I° siécle, et une restauration postérieure, 
peut-étre vers la fin du {70 siécle de notre ére. 

Nous devons assigner une date approximative ἃ la démolition 
systématique des figures animales, sculptées si souvent dans la 
décoration de la synagogue et de ses dépendances. [1 est trés 
probable que ce vandalisme ait eu lieu avant lorganisation de la 
premicre communauté chrétienne ἃ Capharnatim, c. ἃ ἃ. avant le 
IV° siecle. A son arrivée comme gouverneur de la Galilée, Joseph 
exigea des magistrats la destruction du palais construit par Antipas, 
-parce quil était orné de figures d’animaux ce qui était contraire ἃ 
la loi. On hour se demander si ce mouvement ne s’est pas 
étendu jusqu’ Capharnaiim? Peut-étre pourrait-on songer aussi A 
une espéce de représaille accomplie par un clan d’orthodoxie plus 
authentique du voisinage (serait-ce Tibériade?) qui aura voulu donner 
une lecon ἃ ses corréligionaires de Capharnaiim beaucoup trop 
libéraux? Ce qui est sir, c’est que le monument destiné A recevoir 
les rouleaux de la Thora, a été déplacé du Nord au Sud, aprés 
Pétablissement de l’école rabbinique ἃ Tibériade. C’est elle en effet, 
qui prescrivit que les fidéles se tinssent la face tournée vers le Sud 
(vers Jérusalem) pendant quwils accomplissaient les actes de la 
liturgie synagogale. : 

La fondation ἃ Capharnaiim d’une communauté chrétienne organisée 
ne remonte (nous-l’avons dit) quau IV° siécle. Jusqu’alors, dit 
S. Epiphane, nul Grec, ni Samaritain, ni chrétien n’a été toleré A 
vivre au milieu de ses habitants, tous Juifs. L’église a été batie sur 
Yemplacement de la maison de S. Pierre, grace ἃ la bienveillance 
trés grande dont le Comte Joseph de Tibériade jouissait ἃ la cour 
impériale. Le territoire ecclésiastique de Capharnatim relevait du 
siége métropolitain de Scythopolis, qui englobait toute la Palestina IZ. 
L’histoire ne nous a conservé le nom d’aucun de ses évéques, comme 
elle a fait pour les siéges limitrophes. 

Un document, de saveur antique, utilisé par Pierre-le-Diacre 
en 1137 dans son traité sur le lieux saints parle de cette église et 
de la synagogue également. La description quil en donne montre 
clairement que le visiteur vise la synagogue de Capharnaiim ἃ 


1 Il ne semble point vraisemblable que l’église eut été batie avant 352 ap. 


J.-C. c. a. ἃ. avant que Gallus eut maté d’importance les Juifs rebelles de la 
Galilée. 


ORFALI: La derniére période de Vhistoire de Capharnaiim Of 


laquelle, ἃ la différence des autres synagogues découvertes en Galilée, 
on accédait par des marches, ce qui nous fournit un argument trés 
important pour Videntification de Tell-Howm avec Capharnaiim. Quant 
ἃ Véglise, le pélerin remarque que son altarium (autel) avait été 
déchiqueté par les pélerins, qui par dévotion en avaient enlevé des 
parcelles. Cela indiquerait que Véglise datait de quelques dizaines 
d’années au moins. 

Il n’est pas improbable que pendant la troisi¢me révolte des 
Samaritains contre Justinien, Capharnaiim aussi, avant sa catastrophe 
finale, eut ἃ souffrir de la part des insurgés qui ravagérent villes et 
villages de la Palestina I1*.2 Aussi dtit-on fortifier la ville de 
Tibériade, dont les remparts n’offraient plus que des monceaux de 
décombres.? : 

A Vinyasion des Perses, en 614, Capharnaiim semble ne pas avoir 
subi les horreurs du pillage et de Vincendie: puisque sur leur passage 
ils trouvérent les meilleurs alliés dans les Juifs de Tibériade et du 
reste de la Galilée.4 

Parmi les écrivains postérieurs, seul Antonin le Martyr (570) parle 
de Véglise ou basilique érigée sur la maison de 8. Pierre, mais de 
la synagogue il n’est plus question. 

Peut-étre que dans l’Hodeeporicon de Willibald (723—726) on y 
fait allusion en disant «qu’d Capharnatim i y a une maison et un 
grand mur»: probablement les restes de léglise et de la synagogue. 
L’une et Vautre étaient donc en état de ruines au VII? siécle et 
probablement longtemps au paravant, sans doute 4 la suite des 
tremblements de terre, dont les indices sont indéniables. 

Pendant le long régne de lempereur Justinien (527—565) ces 
_cataclysmes se renouvelaient présque chaque année et causaient de 
grands ravages dans la Syrie et la Palestine. Nous croyons cependant 
que Capharnaiim fut enticrement détruite, comme Tibériade, par le 
tremblement de terre signalé une trentaine d’années aprés la conquéte 
arabe c. a. d. vers 665—667.° 


1 Tout porte ἃ croire que ce document est de 8, Sylvie d’Oquitaine. 
2 Couret. La Palestine sous les empereurs grecs, p. 197. 

3 Idem p. 186. 

4 Couret op. cit. p. 241. 

5 Lung, ΤΥ mn, Jerusalem 1892, p. 227. 


92 Ἧ Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society Ὁ Om ee 


Lorsque la Syrie fut conquise par les Arabes en 636 les Juifs et 


les Chrétiens furent chassés de Tibériade: et rien n’empéche de 
croire quiils soient venus jusqu’i Capharnatim pour y trouver un 
refuge. 

Les uns y étaient attirés par les souvenirs évangéliques, les ἜΣ, 
par les célébres tombeaux des deux Rabbis Nahoum et Tanhoum. 
Entre les lampes trouvées pendant les derniéres fouilles, quelques 
unes sont de l’époque byzantine tardive, de méme que les monnaies, 
malheureusement trop rares. Un fragment de lampe porte l’inscription 
connue aUl Ql al vw. Il est possible que la colonie des fugitifs ait 
été rejointe bientot par des Musulmans, qui ont partagé avec eux la 
beauté du rivage et la fertilité de la campagne. Une partie des 
maisons, retrouvées au Sud de la synagogue, ont été surement 
construites avec du matériel plus ancien, tombé ἃ la suite des 
tremblements de terre. Dans les murs on a mélangé péle-méle du 


matériel fruste avec des anciens montants de porte etc., en vue 


dobtenir des habitations solides avec la moindre dépense. 
Au VIII° siécle Capharnaiim a du perdre complétement son 


importance, puisqu’elle n’est pas mentionnée dans le Commemoratorium 


de casis Dei (808): chose d’autant plus digne de remarque, que l’auteur 
na pas manqué de noter léglise de la proche Heptapegon et du 
monastére contigu, qui était habité par dix moines. 

A partir du [Χο siécle jusqu’aux Croisades, régne un silence 


parfait au sujet de Capharnaiim, soit ἃ cause de la difficulté de 
voyager, soit encore ἃ cause de Vhostilité des Musulmans de ces 


parages envers les Juifs et les Chrétiens. Les derniers, qui ont 


mentionné Capharnaiim et laissé une petite note de son état d’abandon, 


sont Burchard du Mont Sion Ὁ. P. (1283—1285) et Isaac Chélo (1334). 4 
Le premier nous dit que «Capharnaum, jadis glorieuse, était dans un 


état misérable, ayant ἃ peine sept maison de pauvres pécbeurs».! 
Le pelerin israélite nous dit que «Kefar-Nahoum était un village en 


ruines et quill y avait un ancien tombeau qu’on dit étre celui de 


Nahoum-le- Vieux».2 


Depuis lors l’ancienne ville de Capharnaiim ne garde plus que le _ 
nom, déformé en celui de Tall-Howm, évidemment la corruption de 


1 Burchardi de Monte Sion, Descriptio T. S., ed., Canisius, t. 1V, p. 35—36. 
4 Cormoly, Itinéraires de T.S., Bruxelles 1847, p. 810. 


a y gh ti 
HE TAL Ee prem ike 


ORFALI: La derniére période de Vhistoire de Capharnatim 99 


Tanhoum par un phénoméne phonétique trés fréquent chez les Arabes. 


Cette étymologie nous parait la plus acceptable, parceque, comme le 


Dr. Macalister en fait la remarque, le site n’est pas un tell (monticule) 
mais plutdt un khirbet c. i ἃ. un amas de ruines dans un terrain plat. 


Voila, d’aprés les donnés historiques trés sobres que nous possédons, 
un rapide apercu de la derniére période de histoire de Capharnaiim, 
période de décadence aprés l’apogée de la prosperité et du bien-étre. 
La Custodie Franciscaine de Terre-Sainte a déji fouilée une partie 
assez importante des ruines de Tel-Houm, et avec les resultats les 
plus encourageants. Il me reste de former un voeux; c’est que le 
Departement d’Antiquités de Palestine, ou un des savants instituts 
archéologiques veuille prendre sur lui la tache de soulever quelques 
plis du linceul, qui est encore étendu sur Capharnatim, qui restera 
toujours aussi cher aux disciples de Jésus, qu’aux enfants d’Israel. 


AIGUPTOS: A DERIVATION AND SOME SUGGESTIONS 


W. J. PHYTHIAN-ADAMS 
(JERUSALEM) 


O the Greeks the Valley and Delta of the Nile were known by 

the collective name of Aiguptos. This is the sense in which the 
word has been bequeathed to us, but there are several indications 
that its original scope was more restricted. 


In Homer the word is generally applied to the Nile itself, the Ἢ 


name Neilos appearing for the first time in Hesiod;! but the references 
which Homer? has occasion to make speak always of deep sea voyages, 
of swift sea-faring galleys, checked or urged on by fate in some 
expedition to the Delta creeks. 

Aiguptos is thus synonymous with the Egyptian coast-line and this 
is confirmed by the important statement of Herodotus? who says 
that to the Ionians Azguptos meant the Delta only; the rest of the 


Nile Valley was divided by them (incorrectly as he himself thought). 


into Arabia on the east and Libya on the west. 


This Ionian testimony is not lightly to be dismissed, for the Ionians 


by the consent of most Greek writers4 were descendants of the 
Pre-Hellenic creators of the so-called Mycenaean culture and must 
have had trade—or pirate—relations with Egypt for many centuries 


before Herodotus’ time. How is it that they never heard or used 


the Eastern name of Misyaim? This name in various forms was long 
familiar to Mesopotamia and Syria, and is of course retained to-day 


in the form of al-Misr. It must have been the name usually employed = 


1 Cf. Theogony, 337. 


2 Cf. Odyssey IV, 351 (sense indeterminate), ib. 477 and 581 (definite reference a 


to the Nile). 
3 Herodotus II, 15. 


4 Herod. I, 145; Thucydides I, 56—58. Cf. Ridgeway, Early Age of Greece, — ἮΝ 


1901, p. 95. 


1 


a PHY THIAN-ADAMS: Aiguptos: A Derivation and some Suggestions 95 


% in the later, as in the earlier, Dynastic times: how is it that it never 
reached [onian ears? 
Two other problems present themselves. Why this restriction. of 


. S 3 of the historic kingdom which united the two banks of the Nile as 
far south as the first Cataract? Not only is Azguptos not synonymous 
with Misraim but the very titles of Arabia and Libya ignore in the 
most significant manner facts which must have been familiar to 
τ΄ descendants of the pre-Hellenic Pelasgi. The theory briefly advanced 
_ in this paper to account for the questions raised above depends 
primarily on a most striking equation. For some reason it does not 
appear to have been noticed that not only is the name Aiguptos 
preserved to-day in the abbreviated form of Kzbt (Kopt) but that 
there existed in Egypt from pre-historic times a nome which bore 
the still obscure name of Kebte (Koptos). 
The Kopts were originally so called because they considered 
themselves to be the pure original Hgyptians who differed on. certain 
points of Christian theology (@nto which we need not enter) from 
others who were for the most part newcomers to the country. That 
their name is derived from, or in some manner intimately related to, 
the Greek Aiguptos has, I think, never been questioned; what makes 
the equation so singular is that in using this abbreviated form they 
"seem, as by some miracle, to have gone back beyond the Greek name 
and sounded a most remarkable echo. 
For Kopts have nothing to do with Koptos, which to-day is the 
modern Keft and (curiously enough) produces some of. our best 
archaeological workmen, all of them Moslems and none of them in 
“the least degree interested in Christian metaphysics! 
Ἔ The word Aiguptos itself seems to demand an underlying K as 
indeed is shewn in its derivative Kopt. Derivations therefore such 
as the once popular Het Ka Ptah (the house of the Ka of Ptah) 
must be rejected. ‘This is perhaps beside the point in the present 
circumstances, for it is clearly our duty to investigate the identical 
form Kebtz and try to discover if there is any reason for its having 
drifted as a national name to the Delta. 

Here we enter highly debateable ground. Nevertheless the nome 
of Koptos presents certain features of such peculiar significance that 
we cannot exclude them from our present discussion. 


vir 


SU TE AER OTS 
TW Td ST eee Lae 
Hane f a3 


Spear Pua 


rare 


96 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


In the first place the geographical position of the nome is an 
immensely important one: it stands in the face of the Wadi Hammamat 
through which it can control the Red Sea trade or meet invaders 
from the east or south. 

In the second place its god was the ithyphallic Min, a deity whose 
characteristics belong to the Aegaean, and not to the historic 
Egyptian, world. Osiris, the only god who shares them, came from 
the Syrian coast and his affinities are with the Anatolian-Mediterranean 
groups of Attis and Ma, Adonis and Ishtar, the Samothracian 


Mysteries of the Cabeiri, and the Thracian cult of Dionysus. Figures — 5 


of Min have been discovered! which belong to pre-historic (pre- Dynastic) 
times. In the historic period he enjoyed a certain prestige but he is 


the patron of an older race and his later fame rose partly from his 


oracle and parfly, no doubt, from his resemblance to Osiris. 
In the third place it is just in the neighbourhood of Koptos, at 


Ballas, Nagada, Diospolis, Hou, Abydos etc. that modern researches — 
have disclosed the most abundant remains of a primitive, possibly 


aboriginal, race of Mediterranean type, whose art, whose pottery, and 
whose burial practices differ toto coelo from those of the historic 
Egyptians.2 These remains, thought at first by Petrie, their original 
discoverer, to be those of a new race entering Egypt in the Dynastic 
period, are now known from one end of the country to the other 


and it is recognised to-day that they constitute our chief evidence τ 
for the earliest population of the Nile Valley. Their presence inthe 
neighbourhood of Koptos, even though they were found there in the — 


greatest profusion, is not in itself a convincing proof of that city’s 


primary importance in primitive times; but taken together with other — 
facts it forms an important link in our chain of argument. The Ὁ 
legends of ancient Egypt supply another.’ They tell us of an invasion — 
from the south by certain Mesniu or Metal-workers who were followers 2 
of the sky-god Horus and they name the neighbourhood of Denderah! 
as the scene of the combat between the intruders and the native Ἔ 


1 Breasted, History of Egypt, 1920, p. 28. 

2 Petrie and Quibell, Nagada and Ballas, 1896. Petrie, Diospolis Parva, 1901 
Randall-MacIver and Mace, Hi Amrah and Abydos, 1902. 

3 Budge, History of Egypt, 1902, I, p.44. King, History of Sumer and Akkad, 
1916, p. 324. 

4 Budge ib. p. 45. It was called Khatd-neter “the god’s slaughter.” 


eet. ee = PO OE Le eS 


PHYTHIAN-ADAMS: Aiguptos: A Derivation and some Suggestions 97 


population, and of the slaughter of the latter. It needs little 


ΞῚ imagination to infer that this invasion, if it ever occurred at all, 
took place by way of the Wadi Hammamat. Broadly speaking, the 
ο΄ stone-using aborigines went down before the metal-users from the 


Red Sea, and these latter, who may not have been as numerous as 
they were superior in culture, formed a kind of bridge-head in the 
Thebaid and thence gradually extended their power to the north and 
south, This invasion has been denied on anthropological and even on 
archaeological grounds. Both must be briefly dealt with here. 

The anthropological evidence is not decisive. If it be granted 
that investigations in the Thebaid by Thomson and Maclver! shew 
little or no change in the physical characteristics of the population, 
it is a fact, none the less, that Elliott Smith,2 who examined similar 
remains in the same district as well as at Ghiza, notices a gradual 
intrusion of a new type of man which he calls the Ghiza type. And 
even if this does not represent the metal-working invaders, there 
seems no reason why these themselves should not have belonged to 
the same race as the aboriginal inhabitants of Egypt. Anthropology 
is therefore powerless to decide the question. Archaeology yields a 
more certain answer.? Although to-day there is a strong tendency 
to dismiss the invasion theory as untenable, those who do so must 
account for the fact that from the first Dynasty onwards we find 
_ (1) hieroglyphic writing appearing, as if by magic, in an already 
matured system; (2) skilled carving in ivory, sculpture, and bas-relief 
springing up “as if born in a moment;” (3) the introduction of the 
potter’s wheel together with a notable decay in the old pre-historic 
designs; (4) the use of brick and the construction of tombs to 


ον represent chambers instead of their being as before mere pits in the 


eround; (5) the appearance of highly skilled metal working as in the 
tomb of Zer; and (6) an apparent alteration in popular taste as 
regards pottery and articles of dress. 

A writer has said of the first Dynasty: “This is the life of the 
Egyptians and these are the true beginnings of Egyptian History.” 4 


1 Thomson and Randall-MacIver, The Ancient Races of the Thebaid, 1905. 
2 Elliott-Smith, The Ancient Egyptians, 1911. Cf. Keane, Man: Past and 
Present, 1920, p. 447. 
3 The facts are well summarised by Thomson and Randall- Maclver op. cit. 
pp: IL sqq. 
4 Ancient Races of the Thebaid, p. 13, 


98 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


It hardly needs to be added that it is from this period that the 
pre-Dynastic practice of burial in the contracted “embryo” position 
gradually goes out and is replaced by the mummification of the 
extended corpse. What can these facts mean, when taken in con- 
junction with the other evidence, but that a new and superior culture ~ 
(even if brought by a race of the same physical affinities) has forced 
its way into the Nile Valley and initiated the historical Egyptian 
life? Add to this two facts: (1) that the earliest Dynasties sprang 
up according to tradition at Thinis! (their tombs have been found at 
Abydos), and (2) that to Manetho? the great monarch who began 
the Dynastic line, Menes, is also the land’s first “founder,” Mestraimus; 
or, in other words, that Menes the first Dynast introduces the 
name Misraim. 

Now if we accept the ruling of those laws which have been laid 
down concerning the observed influences of geographical environment,3 
we shall look, in the case of such an invasion as this, for some 
“misery spot” at it is called, some inaccessible region of swamp, fen, — 
mountain or desert to which the hardier and less reconcilable elements 
of the conquered race retire. We have no time to consider the 
numerous instances of this withdrawal in history; it will be sufficient 
to mention Brittany, which still retains the ancient tribal name and 
speech, or our own English fen country which long harboured refugees _ 
from the Danish and Saxon invasions. Such a place in Egypt isthe = 
Delta amongst whose lakes and marshes Amasis himself in later — 
days found a temporary refuge. In the dawn of Egyptian history it — 
lay under the protection of the great god Set, who is actually one 
of the symbols of Lower Egypt and as such “appears sometimes — 
with (his rival) Horus, preceding the King’s personal name, the two — 
gods thus representing the north and south” and “dividing the land — 
between them”4 as the famous myth of their combat relates. Set is A 
therefore, like Min, a pre-Misraim god; it is in the Delta that he | 


————-rltl— 


--- 


1 Manetho as quoted by Julius Africanus and Eusebius. Muller, Fragmenta — 
Historicorum Graecorum, ed. Didot, p. 539. : [ 

2 Manetho Husebii F. Ἡ. G., p. 526. Manetho Syncelli F. H. G., p. 535. 

3 Of Semple, Influences of Geographic Environment, 1914, p. 94:—“We find 
the refugee folk living in pile villages built over the water, in deserts, in swamps, 
mangrove thickets, very high mountains, marshy deltas, and remote or barren 
islands.” 

4 Breasted, History of Ancient Egypt, p. 88. 


ce PHYTHIAN-ADAMS: Aiguptos: A Derivation and some Suggestions 99 


retains his power; and it cannot be a mere coincidence that from 
the Hyksos invasion onwards he becomes identified with the Anatolian 


ο΄ Sutekh. 


The Delta, with its mixed population of Libyan Neith-worshippers, 
Mediterranean Osiris- worshippers, pre-Misraim Set-worshippers (if 
these two last are not to be identified), persisted always as a thorn 
_in the side of Dynastic Egypt. It was indeed long before “the 
sacred Uraeus of the north took its place beside the protecting 
Vulture of the south”! and if the Union of the two Lands was 
symbolised by the name Misraim, there were not lacking forces in 
this hostile zone to contest the title and challenge at every period 
the supremacy of the followers of Horus. 

To sum up, it is suggested that the name Aiguptos was derived 
from the pre-Misraim inhabitants who called their capital Kebt: and 
their land and even their river probably by the same name. The 
word possibly meant “black” in allusion to the darkness of the 
alluvial soil. The later Egyptian K-M-I (preserved in Al-chemy) 
bore this meaning and we have Hesychius’ authority for the equation 
αἰγυπτῶσαι = “to make black”. Be that as it may, we have historical, 
archaeological, ethnological, and traditional evidence for our 
hypothesis. A stubborn nucleus of the conquered race, retiring like 
the Bretons to a Jess accessible region, seem to have preserved their 
identity and cherished amongst the ruins of their past the name of 
their country and the hostility of their gods. That name the traders 
from over-seas learned in the coastal ports; may it not have been 
malicious design which concealed from them for so long the existence 
of an ancient kingdom in Upper Egypt even at a time when its 


- glories were on the wane? 


There is, at first glance, one refractory point which seems to 
challenge the hypothesis advanced above. It is the initial diphthong AZ. 
If Gyptos be Kebti, where does this prefix find its origin? One thing 
we may say with certainty, it cannot have been a fundamental part 
of the name. The Kopts dropped it, the nome of Koptos never 
possessed it. It seems therefore to have qualified the nome in some 
manner, to have been an element capable of detachment from the 
essential root—to have been, we may even say, true of A?-guptos in 


1 Breasted ib. 


100 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the Ionian sense but not true of Koptos or the Kopts, A daringly 
simple solution stares us in the face; indeed it is so simple that one 
propounds it with every possible trepidation. It is well known how 
large a Semitic element is preserved in the ancient Egyptian language 
and, not to press this point, how loan words normally creep in. 
Are we dealing with one here? There is no prima facie objection 
to such a solution, for language ever rises superior to differences of 
race and imposes itself often through the will of a conquerer or the 
interchange of commerce. In this case, then, one cannot help recalling 
the Hebrew word which in our A. V. is translated “country” or 
“island” and in the R. VY. more correctly “coast”. This word is Aj, Ν᾿. 
When we see the name Ai-Kaphtor (for example) we can hardly 
resist replacing the Kaphtor by a Kebt and studying the result: — 
Ai-Kebt, the coast of Kebt, the coast of the Nile mouths, the Delta, 
the land or river to which the ships of Menelaus came, the region — 
which the Ionians knew and have handed down as AJ-GUPTOS. 


SPL cea ta 


sega 
Sree 


eat 


ἢ 


iy 
ι 


or as) SHEN ὙΠ 


THE ANCIENT CITY OF PHILOTERIA (BETH YERAH) 


L. SUKENIK 
(JERUSALEM) 


N the western shore of the Sea of Chinnereth, at the southern 

end, in a striking situation, at the very mouth of the Jordan,! 
is found a large mound, whose extent and character point to the 
former existence here of an important town. The narrow pass along 
the lake-shore widens out into a small plain at this point. The 
nearness of the Lake and the Jordan, with their abundance of fish, 
and the fertile plain of the Jordan, which begins here, furnished 


1 With regard to the mouth of the Jordan at Chinnereth, it is interesting to 

note the description given by the Russian pilgrim, Abbot Daniel, who visited 
Palestine in the year 1106 (Palestine Pilgrims’ Text Society, Pilgrimage of the 
Russian Abbot Daniel, p. 60): “The Jordan flows from the Sea of Tiberias in 
two streams, which foam along in a marvellous way; one of these is called Jor 
and the other Dan. Thus the Jordan flows from the Sea of Tiberias in two 
streams, which are three bow-shots apart, and which, after a separation of about 
half a verst, reunite as one river, which is called Jordan from the names of the 
two arms —. At the source fish abound, and there two stone bridges, very 
solidly built upon arches through which the Jordan flows, span the two streams.” 
Daniel, as he was traveling northward from Beisaén, seems to have seen the 
Jarmuk and erroneously taken it for an arm of the Jordan. The two bridges 
which he saw were presumably the Jisr el-Majami‘ and the Jisr es-Sidd, now 
ruined, near the modern Jewish colony of Betania. Since the distances do not 
agree at all with the facts, the good abbot evidently drew upon his imagination 
for details. I cannot therefore agree with Dalman, who in Orte und Wege Jesu’, 

- p. 159, says that in the time of Daniel the Jordan flowed out of the lake in two 
streams, which encircled Khirbet Kerak. Such a unique position of the town, 
situated on an island, would certainly be mentioned somewhere in the literature, 
but of this there is no trace. What Dalman took to be the ancient bed of the 
northern arm of the Jordan is only an insignificant depression, through which 
water flows during inundations. The wall which crosses this depression has no 
arches, which would be necessary in case the water really flowed here in ancient 
times. Daniel’s stone bridges were, according to his express statement, built 
upon arches. 


ἊΣ 


102 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society. 


opportunity for the development of a large settlement. The road — 


from the north to Scythopolis (Beth-shan) passed by the ancient city. 
Accordingly, we are not surprised to find there extensive traces of 
an ancient city. The ruins extend for a kilometer along the lake- 
shore, and the remains of an ancient wall, of buildings projecting 
above the surface of the ground, of basalt pillars, rock-hewn tombs, 


the remains of an aqueduct which brought water to the city from — 


the Wadi Fejj4s, etc. prove conclusively that a large and important 


town was located here. We can hardly be wrong in asserting that os 


this is the site of the most important ancient town on the western 
shore of the Sea, with the exception of Tiberias, which was founded 
at a later period. The Arabs call the mound Khirbet Kerak (“ruins 


of the fortress”); at present it is included within the territory belonging — 3 


to the Jewish colony of Chinnereth. 


What was the ancient town whose remains are found here? Un- a 
fortunately, the majority of Palestinian topographers have identified — 
it with ancient Taricheae, mentioned frequently by Josephus in Ἐς 
connection with the Jewish war against the Romans. For decades — 
a violent dispute raged in regard to the site of Taricheae. There 3 
were many who stubbornly maintained the identification of Taricheae : 
with Khirbet Kerak, although every impartial reader of Josephus 
(who is the only one to be considered, since Pliny wrote from second τ 


and third hand) sees at once from his descriptions that Taricheae Ὁ 


must have been located north of Tiberias.! Finally Professor Dalman 3 
has given up the identification of Taricheae with Khirbet Kerak, — 
which he had long accepted, along with most scholars.2 Dr. Alsat 
will publish in the second volume of the Annual of the American — 
School an elaborate résumé of the controversy, with a defence of the 


Mejdel theory, which we may now regard as absolutely certain. 


It is therefore possible to state positively that Khirbet Kerak was 
“ποῦ the site of Taricheae. Let us then try to reconstruct the history ὦ 
of the place, and discover its ancient name from the literary sources. a 


Neubauer was the first to identify the site with Beth Yerah, mentioned 


in the ‘l'almud in connection with the Jordan Valley.? The Talmud 
says that the Jordan, or better, the valley of the Jordan begins — 


1 See Bell. Jud. ΤΙ 20, 6; 21, 3; ILI, 10,1; 10, 3; 10, 10. 
2 Orte und Wege Jesu, p. 160. 
3 La géographie du Talmud, pp. 31, 215. 


a 


oe a ed ne eS Κι ε 
Sa τς Beat es 
RES 
᾿ 


SUKENIK: The Ancient City of Philoteria (Beth Yerah) τῶ": 


βου! of Beth Yerah: ΠΟΘΟῚ ΠΣ NOS PTY PS (Bekhdrdt 55a). 
_ This statement and other passages of the Talmud, where Beth Yerah 
and Sinnabris (the Sinnabrah of the Arabic geographers, and modern 
Sinnabrah or Sinn en-Nabrah) are mentioned together show clearly 
that Khirbet Kerak is Beth Yerah. 

The name Beth Yerah (“House of the moon”) points to a pre- 
Israelite origin; it is also found in the Amarna Tablets as the name 
of a town near Byblos (Bit-arha). At the southern end of the same 
valley in which Beth Yerah is situated we find another Canaanite 
town with a name of similar import—Jericho (nv). During the time 
of the Second Temple, up until the Maccabaean period, Beth Yerah, 
like the rest of Galilee, remained outside the narrow Jewish boundaries. 
We may assume that the population of Beth Yerah was a mixture 
of Aramaeans and Canaanites or Phoenicians, with a small Jewish 
element. The world-conqueror, Alexander of Macedon, who cherished 
the desire of spreading Greek culture over his wide realm, found 
in this region a fertile field for his activities. While the little people 
of the Jews showed bitter hostility toward the Hellenizing plans of 
the Greek kings, the influence of Greek culture spread rapidly in 
northern Palestine and Transjordania. At that time were laid the 
foundations of the Hellenistic cities which remained as thorns in the 
flesh of Jewry during the course of centuries. The Egyptian kingdom 
of the Ptolemies, to whose lot Palestine fell, exerted a great influence 
in the direction of Hellenizing the country. Many cities gave up 
their native names and took new Greek ones. The new name which 
Beth Yerah assumed is found in a passage of Polybius, who wrote 
in the second century B.C. He describes the campaign of Antiochus 
the Great in Palestine in 216, and mentions Philoteria in the following 
words (Polybius, V, 70, Shuckburgh’s translation): He (Antiochus) 
therefore broke up his camp again and continued his march (from 
Sidon) towards Philoteria: ordering Diognetus, his navarch, to sail 
back with his ships to Tyre. Now Philoteria is situated right upon 
the shores of the lake into which the river Jordan discharges itself, 
and from which it issues out again into the plains surrounding 
Scythopolis. The surrender of these two cities to him encouraged 
him to prosecute his further designs; because the country subject to 
them was easily able to supply his whole army with provisions and 


everything necessary for the campaign in abundance. 
8 


104 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


The name “Philoteria,’ which is also found in Egypt, was, as it 
seems, given to the city in order to flatter Ptolemy Philadelphus, 


Fig. 1. Head of Tyche. 


whose sister was called Philoteria.t So, also, Rabbath Ammon 
changed its name to Philadelphia during his reign.? 


1 I do not know why Dalman (loc. cit.) calls Philoteria “eine mazedonische 
Griindung.” It is much more probable that the old town, Beth Yerah, simply 
changed its name, adopting the new Greek name to please its Ptolemaic suzerain. 
Cf. Strabo, XVI, iv, 5. 

2 That Philadelphia remained an Aramaean town, in spite of its new Greek 
varnish, is shown by the Gerza Papyri; cf. Vincent, Revue Biblique, 1920, p. 189. 


SUKENIK; The Ancient City of Philoteria (Beth Yerah) 105 


_ Meanwhile the small Jewish state gained in strength ‘as a result 
of the national movement under the Asmonaeans, and began to extend 


Fig. 2, Head of Tyche. 


its boundaries in all directions. The Maccabaean conqueror, Alexander 
Jannaeus, conquered Galilee in the course of his reign; among the 
cities which a late Byzantine compiler, George Syncellus, evidently 
using an ancient source, includes among his conquests is Philoteria. 
Jannaeus tried to strengthen Judaism by settling Jews in the 
Hellenistic cities, but these efforts were soon frustrated by the Roman 


conquest. The Romans gave autonomy to all the Hellenistic cities, 
8 


106 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


and under their rule, other similar towns were founded, while older 
cities took Greek or Roman names. Beside Beth Yerah, whose 
Greek name seems by this time to have fallen into disuse, there 
was founded another Hellenistic town with the name of Sinnabris, 
or Sennabris.! The Hellenistic cities did not participate in the 
wars between the Jews and the Romans, and Josephus relates that 
when Vespasian led his army from Scythopolis to subdue the rebels 
in Tiberias and Taricheae he pitched his camp at Sennabris,? which 
with its sister town, Beth Yerah, remained friendly to the Romans. 
Josephus mentions Sennabris, but omits the Hebrew name of the 
adjoining town. : : 

In the Talmudic literature, Beth Yerah and Sennabris are 
mentioned several times in connection with the name “Chinnereth” 
of the Bible; with reference to Deut. 317, “From Chinnereth to the 
Sea of the Arabah,” Rabbi Eleazar explained Chinnereth as “ Yerah,” 
and R. Samuel as “Beth Yerah,” while R. Judah son of R. Simon 
identified it with Sennabris (Sinnabrai) and Beth Yerah together. 
R. Levi said that Chinnereth referred to the boundary of Beth-shan.3 

In another passage of the Jerusalem Talmud we have: “R. Levi 
asked: In Joshua it is written, and from the plain to the sea of 
Chinneroth (pl.). Were there two Gennesarets? No, there were 
two autonomous cities (AYIA) like Beth Yerah and Sennabris 
(225) and the walled city (72) was ruined and became heathen.” 

From the first passage it appears that both places were mentioned 
in close connection with Beth-shan. We find the same thing in 


1 The name is Semitic; the forms Sinnabri and Sinnabri are doublets of a 
type frequently found when there is a δὶ and a Ἵ in the same word, owing to 
partial assimilation. The etymon is obscure; one thinks of Heb. senappir, ,,fin,” 
but the name is more probably derived from the stem 123, with a compensatory 
nasalization: ef. Ar. sabbérah, “rugged tract covered with fragments of basalt“ 
Wek. As): τς 

2 Bell. Jud. 111, 9,7. This is the clearest proof that Taricheae was ποῦ 
Khirbet Kerak, since Vespasian could not have camped under the very walls of 
the former without some mention of the fact being made by Josephus, If the 
identification were correct, the passage in Josephus would become wholly un- 
intelligible. 

3 Ber. Rabba, 98, 18: ΝΟ “Ἢ ΠῚ apis mds “9 “naan”? — nati poy) ΠΣ 
ἸΝῸ ΓΒ. pin sa Op ND ek ΠῪ ΠΙΒῚ ἸΝΔ)Ο is pero “Aa AT 7 jn a ὙΔῚΝ 
N33 Aw, 

4 Jer. Megillah, 2a: nV sw Any — “nD DIY ΠΕΡ ΠΡ" aynsm (ἢ “Ἴ na 
oa Sw mys PIF ΔῚΠῚ --- MAI) MY ΓΒ PAD AYIA ww sos ὑπ ΝΌΟΝ Pan 


SUKENIK: The Ancient City of Philoteria (Beth Yerah) 107 


Polybius, who mentions Philoteria and Scythopolis together, while 
Josephus says that Vespasian passed by Sennabris on his way to 
Tiberias from Scythopolis. 

The second passage shows that the two sister-cities Beth Yerah 
and Sennabris were designated as autonomous cities. Now in the 
Talmud the terms M328 and nyowas are always used to denote 
Hellenistic cities, corresponding to the Greek terms αὐτόνομοι and 
αὐτοτελεῖς, 1 

In other passages Beth Yerah appears as Yerah and Ariah; the 
environs of Ariah (MS Own) are specially mentioned, which is 
otherwise only the case when a town is of some importance. In the 
neighborhood are also mentioned such places as the Gubata d’Ariah 
and the Hammat Ariah. Apparently the hot springs of Tiberias 
were mentioned in connection with Ariah before the founding of the 
Hellenistic Tiberias.? 

The Romans fortified Beth Yerah, and the importance of the 
place as a fortress outlasted its significance otherwise, so the 
Aramaean population called it simply Kerdkh, “fortress,” (see above), 
whence the modern Arabic name Kerak is derived. That this 
conclusion is correct is proved by the fact that the Talmud employs 
Kerakh as a name of the place. 

In connection with Sennabris the Arabic historians describe the 
defeat of Baldwin I in 1113. On his march to reconquer Jerusalem 
from the Crusaders Saladin encamped at Sennabris (Sinnabrah). 

At the close of the summer of 1921 I was invited by the Commission 
for Educational Work among the Jewish Laborers in Palestine to 
deliver some lectures on the Sea of Galilee and its surroundings 
before the agricultural codperative societies and the Jewish pioneers 
who were building the road between Semakh and Tabghah. I arrived 
at Chinnereth while they were engaged in road-construction near 


ες Khirbet Kerak. Since the road grazed the edge of the tell I had 


an opportunity to examine the débris, and discovered pot-sherds of 
the Arabic, Roman-Byzantine, and earlier periods. Some of these 
fragments are now in the rooms of the codperatiye society in 
Chinnereth. I also found fragments.of Greek and Arabic inscriptions, 
and a Jewish tomb-stone of a later period. The most interesting 


1 Krauss, twonn ΓΛ ἽΡ, Vol. 1, p. 28. 
2 Klein, Bettrdge zur Geographie und Geschichte Galildas, p. 90. 


106 Journal of the Palestine Oriital Society ci 


and under their rule, other similar town were found 
cities took Greek or Roman names. eside Beth Yera 
Greek name seems by this time to hae fallen into dis 
was founded another Hellenistic town yth the name of 
or Sennabris.! The Hellenistic cities id not participa 
wars between the Jews and the Romans and Josephus relat : 
when Vespasian led his army from Scytbpolis to subdue the rebels 
in Tiberias and Taricheae he pitched hicamp at Sennabris,? whic | 
with its sister town, Beth Yerah, remaird friendly to the Romans 
Josephus mentions Sennabris, but omit: the Hebrew name of t 
adjoining town. - a 4 
In the Talmudic pote “Beth Jerah and Senienee: care 
mentioned several times in connection wh the name “Chinnereth 
of the Bible; with reference to Deut. 31 “From Chinnereth to th 
Sea of the Arabah,” Rabbi Eleazar explmed Chinnereth as “Ye 
and R. Samuel as “Beth Yerah,” while’. Judah son of ἷ 


R. Levi said that Chinnereth referred to he boundary of Betl 

In another passage of the Jerusalem!'almud we have «ΒΒ Ἔ 
asked: In Joshua it is written, and frm the plain (0 . 
_Chinneroth (pl.). Were there two Genesarets? No, th 


Ae 


two autonomous cities (Π 858) like eth Yerah ang 


in close connection with Beth-shan. ὅθ find the sam: 


partial assimilation. The etymon is obscure; o thinks of Heb. sen pir, 
but the name is more probably derived from {5 stem “23, witha ? 
nasalization: ef. Ar. sabbarah, “rugged tract crered with fragme ; of I : 
QW HK. Ay): 

2 Bell. Jud. 111, 9,7. This is the cleares proof that Taric 
Khirbet Kerak, since Vespasian could not havicamped under the 
the former without some mention of the fact sing made by Jos 
identification were correct, the pasesee in J@phus would beco 
intelligible. 

3 Ber. Feabba, 98, 18: eine TY Ss aye 5 annaze” Aa ir δ 


nT mpw, 
4 Jer. Megillah, 2a: mona aw snyp — “nyo Oo. Jy pyr” 
Oo OW πων) TIA ΔἽΠῚ --- aay) my ΓΒ PID nYIUN Φ NOS ὙΠ sb 


Seely ων 


SUKENIK: TheAncient City of Philoteria (Beth Yerah) 107 


oF Polybius, who mentionsPhiloteria and Scythopolis together, while 


= Josephus says that Vejasian passed by Sennabris on his way to 
_ Tiberias from Scythopos. 


The second passage hows that the two sister-cities Beth Yerah 
and Sennabris were degnated as autonomous cities. Now in the 
Talmud the terms ΓΙ ΣΌΝ and nydwasx are always used to denote 
Hellenistic cities, corresonding to the Greek terms αὐτόνομοι and 
αὐτοτελεῖς, 1 

In other passages Be. Yerah appears as Yerah and Ariah; the 
environs of Ariah (Ms DIN) are specially mentioned, which is 
ΟΠ otherwise only the case hen a town is of some importance. In the 
- neighborhood are also mntioned such places as the Gubata d’Ariah 
and the Hammat Arial Apparently the hot springs of Tiberias 
were mentioned in connction with Ariah before the founding of the 
Hellenistic Tiberias.” 

~The Romans fortified Beth Yerah, and the importance of the 
place as a fortress ovlasted its significance otherwise, so the 
Aramaean population caed it simply Kerdkh, “fortress,” (see above), 
whence the modern Aibic name Kerak is derived. That this 


- conclusion is correct is yoved by the fact that the Talmud employs 


 Kerdkh as a name of theplace. 
In connection with Senabris the Arabic historians describe the 


defeat of Baldwin I in 113. On his march to reconquer Jerusalem 


_ from the Crusaders Salam encamped at Sennabris (Sinnabrah). 
At the close of the sumier of 1921 I was invited by the Commission 
for Educational Work aiong the Jewish Laborers in Palestine to 
deliver some lectures onthe Sea of Galilee and its surroundings 
before the agricultural coperative societies and the Jewish pioneers 
~ who were building the rod between Semakh and Tabghah. I arrived 
- at Chinnereth while theywere engaged in road-construction near 
᾿ς Khirbet Kerak. Since th road grazed the edge of the tell I had 
an opportunity to examinthe débris, and discovered pot-sherds of 
the Arabic, Roman-Byzanne, and earlier periods. Some of these 
fragments are now in th rooms of the codperatiye society in 
Chinnereth. I also found figments.of Greek and Arabic inscriptions, 
and a Jewish tomb-stone f a later period. The most interesting 


1 Krauss, ὙΌΠΠ ΠΛ}, Vel, Ὁ. 28. 
2 Klein, Beitrage zur Geogrohie und Geschichte Galilias, p. 90. 


108 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


find is a marble head of a Greek Tyche, or Fortune, of the first 
centuries A. D., which points again to a Hellenistic settlement here. 
It would be most desirable to have an archaeological society take 
up the task of excavating Khirbet Kerak. In this way only will it 
be possible to know whether the ancient Canaanite town of Chinnereth 
is buried under the débris of the later Beth Yerah or Philoteria. 
% % % 

(Mr. Sukenik has secured several fragmentary inscriptions from 

Khirbet Kerak, which are appended here. First there is a very 


ge oe CRT ἘΞ 


Vij 
aaa 7 
WE 


“ΜΉ do oe 
Qe 

SA - ὶ 

775: > ,, a : 


— 007 1 


Fig. 8. Καῆο inscription from Khirbet Kerak. 


S 
TSN 


WIP AMO 
ΝΣ RA % 
(Aion 
ΠῚ 
σα τ , PAT 


\\ 
Ι 


Lm 


archaic Kufic inscription, which, as Dr. Mayer assures me, must date 


back to the first or second centuries of the Hijrah. The present 
fragment measures 16><14><5 cm., but the original text was about 
40 cm. long, and at least 20 cm. wide. Unfortunately only the pious — 
introductory formula has survived, but another fragment may turn up. 
The stone is marble. I have to thank my friend ‘Omar Effendi for — 
assistance in establishing the exact formula employed. . 

[1 Mepis νι 

τ τ Ὶ 

[358 Ὺ9] Som Ὑ A [ela Y] 

[ a> YI] 


SUKENIK: The Ancient City of Philoteria (Beth Yerah) 109 


“In the name of God, the compassionate, the merciful, 

Praise be to God, the only One, in Whose hands is the dominion; 
He has no companion; there is no might nor power 

Except in. Him...” 


A fragment of a marble inscription, which probably once was 
inserted in an ornamental frieze above a door, runs as follows: 
[... το]ῦ" οἴκου of. ..| 
From Beth Gan, a small Jewish colony south of Yemma, and a 
few miles southwest of Chinnereth, there comes this fragment of a 
tomb inscription, copied from a good photograph. 
[EvOdde κεῦται (2?) ΜαθἸθαϊοϊς . . .] 


| jo apy| yavopitys (?)] 
[ Joe pl | 
[ Ἰέτου!ς ae | 


(“Here lies (?)]| Matthew [ 7 the arch[fimandrite (or archdeacon, 
etc.) ...] [who lived ...] years [ |.” — W.F. 4) 


PALESTINE IN THE EARLIEST HISTORICAL PERIOD ; : 


W. F. ALBRIGHT 
(JERUSALEM) 


ALESTINE does not come into the full light of history until 
the Egyptian occupation, which lasted intermittently from about 
1550 B. C. until 1170, when the last great conquering Pharaoh, 
Rameses III, died. The first generation to emerge clearly from the 
shadows lived in the first half of the fifteenth century, when 


Tuthmosis III subjugated Palestine, repeating the little-known a 


expeditions of his grandfather, Tuthmosis 1. A century later, under 
the Pharaohs Amenophis III and IV, a flood of illumination bursts 


upon us, thanks to the rich information contained in the Amarna — 


Tablets. A little more than a century after the close of the Amarna 


period, probably about 1230 B. C.! the history of the Israelite people : c 


begins with the entrance into the Promised Land. 


Yet we can no longer speak of the fifteen hundred years which 3 
elapsed before the rise of the Eighteenth Dynasty in Egypt ἃ 
belonging to the prehistory of Palestine, since the number of 


references to the land and its immediate neighbours in hieroglyphic 
and cuneiform literature of the third millennium is slowly but ta 
increasing. Moreover, the excavations of Gezer, Lachish, Taanach, 
Megiddo, and Jericho — now also of Beth-shan—enable us, when they 


are properly interpreted, to form a clear and even vivid ae 


of the vicissitudes of early Palestinian culture, and of the — 


conquests and influences to which it was subjected. We will, there- 
fore, in this paper, survey the evidence at our command for the 2 
period lying between 3000 and 1600 B. C.—the morning twilight of = 
Palestinian history, — considering first the external monumental a 


1 See the discussion in the Journal, Vol. I, pp. 62—66. 


ἘΠ 


ΤῊ Τὸ i GY 


ee 


>a 


Es 
Sh 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period dil 


evidence, and secondly the conclusions to be drawn from the local 
excavations. 
Since Palestine les athwart the road of commerce and communica- 
’ tion from Mesopotamia to Egypt, it must have been profoundly 
influenced by these two centres of our earliest civilization, and we 
should expect to find traces of this influence well back in the 
aeneolithic age. The time has long since passed when Egyptologists 
and Assyriologists could live in separate compartments, each 
unaffected by the work of the other. It is now certain that a 
profound Mesopotamian influence was exerted on Egypt in the fourth 
millennium, and probable that in the first centuries of the third 
millennium the phenomenal development of Egyptian art was echoed 
in Babylonia.t. We should expect some explicit testimony to the 
relations which undoubtedly existed between the two countries during 
the age -of the Dynasty of Akkad (c. 2950—2750). The long reigns 
of the first and fourth kings of this dynasty, Sargon [ and Naram- 
Sin, brought about a great expansion of Mesopotamian political 
power, as we know now from numerous inscriptions of these monarchs, 
as well as documents of a later date, describing their exploits or 
_ glorifying them. 
The conquests of Sargon, during the fifty-five years of his reign, 
extended far and wide in all directions; he claims to have conquered 
the West from the Silver Mountains (the Taurus) to the Cedar 
Forest (Mount Lebanon). However, these districts, though valuable 
economic assets to Babylonia, by no means represented the actual 
limits of his raids. In central Asia Minor, Sargon founded the 
Babylonian commercial colony of GaniS or Kani§ (Kiil Tepe) on the 
great Anatolian trade-route. His activities in connection with his 
conquest of Cappadocia and the foundation of the colony of merchants 
(maré tamkari) in Gani8 are celebrated in an epic entitled “The 
King of Battle” (Sar tamhari), portions of which have been found at 


! Hommel has long stressed the fact that sporadic Mesopotamian influences 
existed in early Egypt, but his tendency to overrate their importance, and even 
to derive Egyptian civilization from Babylonia created an opposition which led 
to the opposite extreme. Now we have, in Langdon’s valuable paper in Jour. of 
Kg. Arch., VII, 183—155, an excellent resumé of the subject, with many new 
contributions. After Langdon’s work, it cannot be doubted that Mesopotamian 
influence on predynastic Egypt was very strong, and that the brilliant development 
of Egyptian art in the early dynastic period had a reflex in Babylonia. 


112 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Assur, as well as at Tell el-Amarna (in Hittite orthography), thus 
appearing to have made a tremendous impression on contemporaries. 
The city of BurSahanda, mentioned frequently in the tablet from 
Tell el-Amarna, appears constantly in the business documents of 
the colony at Gani from the second half of the third millennium as 
Burughatim, the Burushanda of the history of Naram-Sin (CT XIII,44) 
and the Barsuhanta of the Hittite chronicles.!. In the southwest, 
also, Sargon’s campaigns extended beyond Mari, or northeastern 
Syria, and Ibla, or northwestern Syria, over Lebanon to Yarmuti, 
the ancient name of Philistia and Sharon.? Later traditions, preserved 
in the omen tablets, state that Sargon I also crossed the Western 
Sea (Mediterranean), but as the King Chronicle says instead that 
he crossed the Eastern Sea (Persian Gulf) it is unwise to stress 
these assertions. | 

The conquests of Naram-Nin (c. 9875 2820) exceeded those of 
his illustrious great-grandfather in all directions. To the east they 
included Bahrein,? Elam, and the Zagros, where he set up his stele 
on Mount Tibar. In Asia Minor he came to the rescue of the 
beleaguered colonists at GaniS, and according to a Hittite text 


1 See Ehelolf, Orient. Literaturz., Vol. XXIV, p. 121. 

2 In an article to appear in the Jour. of the Am. Or. Soc. the writer has given 
new evidence for this location of Yarimuta, in addition to that presented — 
JEA VI, 92, and VII, 81. Amarna, No. 296 seems to require the location of 
both Gaza and Joppa in Yarimuta, under the direct authority of its prefect, 
Yanhamu. Sayce’s view, JEA VI, 296, that Yarimuta was in the heart of 38 
northern Syria is based upon a series of errors and misunderstandings which = 
have been exposed in the paper to appear in JAOS. The “classical Armuthia” ἐν 
with which he combines Yarimuta does not even exist, but is based upon a note a 
of Tompkins, Trans. of the Soc. of Bib. Arch. Vol. IX, 242, where the latter = 
suggests the identification of Yarimuta with the little modern villa of Armuthia 
(properly Armidja) an hour south of Killis. Langdon, JEA VII, 189, τ. 
states his agreement with the writer’s position. Ree 

3 Since Langdon still holds to his old identification of Tilmun with the coast ; 
of Persia, we may refer again to the treatment of the evidence in Am. Jour. of 
Sem. Lang., Vol. XXXV, 182—185. Tilmun was certainly an island in the Persia 
Gulf, sacred from the earliest times. With this agrees the fact that Bahrein 15. 
covered with an extraordinary number of Babylonian burial mounds. Its distane 
from the old mouth of the Euphrates coincides exactly with Sargon III’s statement 
that it was thirty double-hours, or sixty sailing (not marching) hours away, which — 
would correspond to a distance of 250—350 miles by water. Bahrein is now 
about 275—300 miles from the Babylonian coast; 2600 years ago the distance 
was at least fifty miles greater. 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 113 


recently deciphered by Forrer, defeated a coalition of seventeen 
Anatolian kings who had “rebelled” against him. A tangible proof 
of his wars in Armenia is afforded by the discovery of his stele 
found in situ near Diarbekr in southwestern Armenia. His greatest 
victory was gained early in his reign, after consolidating his dominions 
in Mesopotamia. This was the defeat, and apparently capture of 
Manum or Manium king of Magan. As the writer has shown in a 
series of papers, it is probable that Magan denotes Egypt, known 
then, or a little later, to the Babylonians as Siddiri, probably a 
corruption of the same Egyptian word from which Semitic Misri, 
later Hebrew Misrayim, is derived.!' The writer’s additional view 


1 The writer’s position has been stated and defended JEA VI, 89—98, 295; 
VII, 80—86; and in a paper, “New Light on Magan and Meluha,” to appear in 
JAOS. A number of scholars have come out in opposition, especially Sayce, 
JEA VI, 296; Hall, JEA VII, 40; Langdon, JEA VII, 133—155 (with significant 
concessions). Important new material has vastly increased the complexity of the 
situation, while furnishing many new arguments for the writer’s position. The 
text published by Schroeder, Ketlschrifttexte aus Assur verschiedenen Inhalts, 
No. 92, line 30: 120 béré Siddu i8tu mihri πᾶν Puratti adi pat mat Meluhha mat 
Mari, must naturally be rendered “120 double-hours distance (lit. length) from 
the Euphrates barrage to the border of Meluhha and Mari.” The word Siddu 
always means “length, distance,” never “coast-line,” as Langdon renders, 
JEA VII, 143. The preceding line, which mentions the border between Sumer 
(Babylonia) and Mari (at this period Syria, as shown by its being equated in 
Schroeder, No. 183, 11 with mat Hatti), shows that the barrage in question was 
located in the Middle Euphrates; dams in this district are mentioned by Strabo, 
XVII, i, 9, and the Hindiyeh barrage, somewhat lower down, survives to the 
present day, as may be seen by reference to Willcocks’ works on Mesopotamian 
irrigation, passim. The actual distance in marching hours by way of Palmyra 
between the Huphrates at Salehiyeh and Raphia, for thousands of years the ~ 
Egyptian boundary, is 200—250, which agrees excellently with the 240 hours 
given. The inscriptions of the Sargonids prove to satiety that Meluhha (properly 
_ Ethiopia) then meant Egypt, which an Ethiopian dynasty then ruled; an express 
statement of this fact is made by Sargon III, in his Triumphal Inscription, 
line 102f. As Langdon grants, the term Meluhha was employed in the Amarna 
Tablets as a literary designation for the more familiar Kasi; in the Rib-Addi 
correspondence Meluhha and Kasi interchange, and Ka|si| is once given as gloss 
to Meluhha (after the oblique stroke which always indicates glosses in the 
Amarna Tablets). The extension of the term Meluhha to cover Egypt in the 
Sargonid period naturally displaced Magan, which in the Esarhaddon texts 
therefore means Syria; when the king marches from Syria into Egypt he is said 
to go from Magan to Meluhha. This situation is further illustrated by the text 
Schroeder, No, 183, line 13, which gives the early Babylonian equivalent of the 
Sumerian Magan or Maganna as mat Siddiri, and identifies it with the late 
Assyrian mat Diimu or Aditimu, Edom (including Sinai), In a letter to the 


114 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


that Manum (the m is merely the Babylonian nominative ending, as 
in Gutium, etc.) is no other than Menes, first king of the Thinite- 
kingdom, who seems to have fallen into the hands of a hostile army 
at the end of his reign, is dependent upon the relative chronology 
of Egypt and Babylonia, which is not yet fixed in the early period.! 


writer, dated Dec, 11, 1921, Schroeder kindly states that the reading [mat] Du-t-| | 
is certain from a new collation, and that there was nothing but mat before the 
du, but the oblique wedge of the mw appears clearly in his published copy, and 
it is possible that there is room for ὦ between mat and dy, since the names in 
this column do not all commence in the same vertical line. There can be little 
doubt, then, that Edom is meant. As Esarhaddon’s desert march to Egypt began 
from Edomite territory, Magan seems to haye the same meaning in his 
inscriptions also. The equation is just as inexact as the scribe’s other 
identifications of Amurru (Syria) with Assyria, and Mari (properly a district in 
northeastern Syria) with Syria as a whole. Elsewhere it will be shown that 
Siddiri is probably a corruption of the same Egyptian word from which Misri 
is later derived, a word referring presumably to the frontier fortifications (Heb. 
Stir, “wall”), 

In this connection it may be well to refute a number of the new arguments 
adduced by Langdon, JEA VII, 142—145 and 149—151. He states that an- 
inscription of Naram-Sin refers to his conquest of Tilmun, Magan, and Meluhha — 
with their seventeen kings and ninety thousand soldiers. The text in question, 
CT XIII (not XV), 44, mentions the conquest of Subartu, Gutium, Elam; Tilmun, τ᾽ 
Magan, and Melubha, Obv. ii, 11—17. In lines 18ff. the defeat of the seventeen Ὁ 
kings is mentioned, but, so far from their having any connection with the © 
preceding countries, they all ruled in Asia Minor, as proved by the new Hittite 
version of a text of Nardm-Sin, described by Forrer, MDOG 61, 29. According 
to this important text seventeen kings of Asia Minor (see above) including the 
kings of Hatte, Kani8 and Kursaura (NW of Tyana) rebelled against Naram-Sin, a 
but were defeated in a great battle. Langdon further quotes Nies, Ur Dynasty Ὁ 
Tablets 58, iv, 133, to prove that a man from Magan bore a Sumerian name. 
The text. simply reads Ur-Esir (KA-DI) dumu Li-ma-gan-na, 1. 6. “Ur-Hsir, son 
of Lumaganna.” A man from Magan who immigrated into Babylonia and 
married a Babylonian wife would naturally give his son a Babylonian name. 
Another man in the Nies texts called Melubha, who doubtless had been brought 
from Melubha as a slave, gave his son the name Ur-Lama. 

Langdon (ibid. p. 150) stresses the question of the s@mtw stone, which the 
vocabularies derive from Meluhha. I have urged the identification of the 
sdmtu stone with malachite; Langdon’s objections show that he had ποῦ 
looked up my discussion of the word. The word sémtu belongs with soham, 
and has nothing to do with s@mu, “tawny red,” which has a wholly distinct 
ideogram. I shall show elsewhere that the s@mtw stone was green, and hence 
refers to various kinds of malachite and turquoise, as may also be seen from the— 
vocabulary published by Scheil, RA XV, 118. 

1 The uncertainty of Babylonian chronology is shown by the dates for Naram- 
Sin given by the latest investigators. Langdon places him 2795 B.C., Clay 2770 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 115 


If the synchronism is correct, we may place the accession of Menes 


about 2900 B.C., and that of Naraém-Sin about 2875; the conflict 
between the two mighty rulers of the ancient Hast would fall a few 
years later, perhaps on Palestinian soil. Be that as it may, the 
monumental record of raids into Palestine begins about the opening 
of the third millennium, with the invasion of the Philistine plain by 
Sargon I, and the expedition of Menes’s successor, Athothis, into 
Asia.! We may safely assume that some of the many Egyptian 


τὸ 2." Νὰ 


and Weidner (revised) 2607. Weidner’s low date is produced by his theory that 
the Second Dynasty of Babylon was entirely contemporaneous; the writer has 
combated it in Rev. d’Assyriol. XVIII, 1—12 (unfortunately, the article is full 
of misprints, owing to the lack of a final proof-reading), defending the dates of 
Kugler and Thureau-Dangin. Valuable additional proof that the Second Dynasty 
came to a close at the beginning of the Third is furnished by the fact that 
Assur 4128 writes the names Hagamil and G[an|dus in the same line, contrary to 
its practise, while VA'T 9470 places [Glan|[dus] after [Melam]mi-ku[rkurra], thus 
omitting Kagamil entirely. The King Chronicle should then be corrected to read 
“Aguin son of Gandas (or Gandus)” instead of “son of Kastilias”; the Sea Lands 
fell into Ulam-Burias’s hands about 1720, whereupon the conqueror was attacked 
by Agum (1726—1704). While the latter seems to have been at first successful, 
he was finally overthrown by Kastilias, brother of Ulam-Buria’, who founded a 
new Kossean dynasty in Babylon. The compilers of the lists discovered somewhere, 


' we may suppose, the statement that Gandas and Ha-gamil were contemporaries. 


If our reconstruction is correct, the Second Dynasty began with the death of 
Hammurabi; as we know from various sources, Samsu-iluna suppressed most of 
the revolts which broke out after his father’s death, but failed to reduce Ilimailu, 
founder of the Second Dynasty. 

The other chronological difficulty, adduced by Langdon, who accepts Kugler’s 
dates, is that the Fifth Dynasty of Erech can hardly have lasted over fifty years, 
whereas the writer’s theory demands a duration of at least a century. But since 
the Legrain tablet, as will be pointed out elsewhere, allows for three-four kings 
in the dynasty, and Gudea was apparently contemporaneous with Lugal-kisalsi I, 
of this dynasty, a longer duration than fifty years is probable. It required some 
time for the peaceful conditions reflected in the inscriptions of Gudea to develop, 
after the long rule of foreign barbarians. 

No new material bearing on Egyptian chronology has come to light. The 
chief problem is that of the length of time which elapsed between the Sixth 


and the Twelfth Dynasties, which the writer has fixed at about a century and 


a half. The calendaric confirmations of the low dates for the Sixth Dynasty, 
which have been marshalled in my former papers, are strongly supported by the 
genealogical and archaeological evidence. Fisher’s work has led him to believe 
that the interval in question was very short, and the explorations of the 
Metropolitan Museum Expedition in Upper Egypt are even more convincing. 
The earliest probable date for Menes is ec. 3100. 

1 See Borchardt, Mitt. der Vorderas. Ges., 1918, pp. 342—345. The term used 
for the defeat of the Asiatics is Sgr Styt. 


116 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


kings of Upper and Lower Egypt before Menes,' and of the early 
Sumerian kings of Ki8 and Mari had raided Syria in their time, 
but we have no monumental evidence for our supposition. 

From now on for nearly a millennium there is no direct monumental 
evidence for Mesopotamian contact with Palestine, but there is plenty 
for Babylonian relations with Syria. Gudea, a powerful ruler of the 
south-Babylonian city of Lagas, in the closing days of the Fifth 
Dynasty of Erech (c. 2600—2475) tells us at length of his commercial 
relations with Syria and Egypt (Magan), mentioning a number of 
districts in Syria, such as Ibla and Subsalla, Mount Amanus, etc. 
The name of Syria—perhaps including Palestine—at that time was 
Tidnum, or Tidanum, written ideographically MA R-TU*’, afterwards 
pronounced Améiwu, when the Semitic Amorites had occupied the 
country. In the following Ur Dynasty we have no allusion to 
conquests in Syria,?2 but it is certain that commercial relations must 
have existed between Babylonia, Syria, and Egypt. The period of 
the Ur Dynasty represents the most flourishing period of Babylonian 
commerce in Cappadocia, as well as in Babylonia itself. A tablet 
from the Ur Dynasty speak of messengers being sent to various 
lands; among them is one sent to Egypt (Magan).? : 

With the close of the Ur Dynasty we begin to note signs of 
racial movements in the West. Gimil-Sin, the last king of the 
dynasty but one, had to build a rampart to keep the incursions of 
the Tidnu in check; by “Tidnu” here is probably meant the Amorites, 
who invaded Babylonia a century and a half later and established 


1 For wearers of the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt on the Cairo 
fragment of the Palermo Stone see Gardiner, JHA III, 144f., and especially 
Breasted, University of Chicago Record, Vol. VII, p.7, who found no less than 
ten, during a prolonged study of the stone itself. Egyptian chronology began 
with the Introduction of the Calendar, B. C. 4241, but thirteen centuries is not 
too much to assume for the long series of prehistoric dynasties before Menes, 
and fifteen hundred years is little enough time for the development of government 
in Egypt to the highly organized bureaucratic system of the Memphite period. 


* Formerly some scholars, notably Sayce, identified some of the names of 
conquered places mentioned in the date-formulae of the Ur Dynasty with Syrian 
and Palestinian towns, but now all the places in question are known to belong 
east of the Tigris. Marhasi (Par’a’e) has no connection with Mar‘a8, Assyrian 
Margqasi, nor has Humurti anything to do with Gomorrah, tempting though the 
association was. 


3 Nies, Ur Dynasty Tablets, No. 84, 6. 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period ΠΕ] 


the First Dynasty of Babylon (2225—1925), called by the Babylonians 

the Dynasty of the Amorites (PALA MAR-TU-KI'). It is probable 
that the Amorites had previously established a powerful state in 
Syria, since the title “king of Amitiru” is used as an honorific by the 
two greatest kings of the dynasty, Hammurabi (Ammu-rawih) and 
‘Ammi-diténa.2) Even Hammurabi, however, was politically far less 
powerful that Sargon and Naram-Sin; no trace of conquests in Asia 
Minor or western and southern Syria are found in his inscriptions. 
On the other hand, the inscriptions of Namsi-Adad I of Assyria 
(c. 2030)3 claim the conquest, not only of the Middle Euphrates 
country, but also of northern Syria, where in the land of Lab’an 
(perhaps a mistake for Labnan, Lebanon) on the shores of the 
Mediterranean he erected his stele. After 1950 the great dark age 
begins in Mesopotamia, and for five hundred years we have practically 
no contemporaneous inscriptions. Fortunately, however, we have many 
lists of kings, several chronicles, and a number of late copies of 
tablets from this period, as well as later allusions to rulers and 
events belonging to it, so it is not difficult to get a tolerably accurate 
idea of the course of history in Western Asia. 

A tablet published some twenty-five years ago gives an account 
of the invasion of Babylonia by Kudur-Lagamal! of Elam with his 
allies the Ummin Manda, or northern hordes, whose leader seems 
to have been a certain Tudhula. Since Babylonia is here called 
Kardunias, there can be no question that we are dealing with the 
Kossean period, and as the writer has shown elsewhere, we must 
probably refer the episode to the first half of the seventeenth 
century B.C.5 It is difficult to separate Kudur-Lagamal of Elam 
and his ally Tudhula from the biblical Chedorlaomer of Elam with 
his allies Tidgal king of the northern hordes (géyim), Ari-Aku 
(Arioch) king of Alsiya(?) and Amraphel king of Sangar (Hana), 
who invaded Palestine in the course of a campaign against the 


1 Cf. Weidner, Die Kénige von Assyrien, Ὁ. 40. 

2 Cf. the writer’s note OLZ XXIV, 18. 

3 It is now certain that this Sam%i-Adad was the first of the name, who was 
a contemporary of the weak kings of the First Dynasty between Hammurabi 
and ‘Ammi-ditana. This explains why his inscriptions are entirely in the style 
of Hammurabi. Weidner’s date for Saméi-Adad I is ec, 1890. 

4 For the reading cf. the Jowrnal, Vol. 1, p. ΤΙ. 

5 See the discussion in the Journal, Vol. 1, pp. 71—74. 


eet ht ae ee oe σα Ὁ. 
EES toa a a ΜΠ Ἐν τ 


118 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


West, We will take the matter up below in connection with the 
problem of the Hyksos. ; 
Let us turn now from Mesopotamia to Egypt. As noted above, 
the first mention of an Egyptian campaign in Asia is in the reign 
of Athothis (c. 2900),! as recently pointed out by Borchardt.2 The | 
third successor of Athothis, Usaphais, also claimed to have defeated 
the Sttyw. An ivory carving from the tomb of a later king of the 
same dynasty (“Qa”) portrays for us a typical Syrian (Stty), with 
an unquestionably Semitic countenance. The only geographical name 
known from Palestine at this period—VYarimuta—is susceptible of 
an excellent Semitic etymology, which shows, if correctly interpreted,? 
that the Canaanites already spoke Hebrew. Semempses (Semerhet) 
of the First Dynasty occupied the copper mines of Sinai, and left 
his relief there, high up on the cliff, but we have no indication that 
he invaded Palestine, as Athothis must have done. The first king 
of the Fourth Dynasty, Soris, or Snefru (c. 2600),5 built a fleet of 
Libanese cedar, and must have had close commercial, probably also A 
political relations with Syria. Like Semempses he worked the copper : 
mines of Sinai, which gave Egypt the prestige of being the source 
of copper (Magan is the mountain, i.e. foreign land of copper in 
Babylonian texts). Gudea of Lagas, whose vast commercial operations © 
we have noticed, may have flourished about half a century after 
Snefru, in the time of Chephren, builder of the Second Pyramid. 
It is safe to say that contact, both commercial and cultural, between 
Reypt and Babylonia in the 26 century B.C. was very close. While 
stones and metals were transported to Babylonia in ships, the voyage _ 
lasting a year, according to Gudea, commerce doubtless ordinarily 
followed the land route through Palestine, which must have been 
enriched considerably. Be: 
In the Fifth Dynasty we find representations of the siege of an fe 
Asiatic town called Nd’ (“Neti’a”),6 with brick walls and towers, 
defended by bearded Semites, with long cloaks, who employ the bow a 


1 Meyer’s date is ο. 8275. 

2 MVAG 1918, 342 ff. 

3 See the etymology proposed JEA VI, 92, n. 5. 

4 Cf. below on the distinction between Hebrew-and Amorite. 
5 Meyer: 2840 B. C. 

6 Petrie, Deshasheh, Pl. 4. 


so aT 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 119 


and sling. The nomarch of Heracleopolis, in whose tomb at Desaseh 
the mural paintings are found, must have accompanied his master, 
the Pharaoh, on the expedition against Nd’. Whether the town was 
in Palestine or Phoenicia is not clear; the possession of Phoenicia 
was highly prized, and we know that the monarchs of the Old 
Empire, who held the thalassocracy of the eastern Mediterranean, 
were quite able to send elaborate naval expeditions. Of such a 
character is the naval expedition portrayed on the walls of the temple 
of Sahuré‘, which is represented as returning from Syria with captive 
Syrian chiefs and Syrian bears (c. 2440).! Byblos, Eg. Kbn, was the 
focus of Egyptian power in Syria under the Old Empire; the cedar 


forests of Lebanon were the chief objectives of the Pharaohs, and it 


is doubtful whether Palestine was conquered definitely until the 
Sixth Dynasty. Then, according to the account left us by the royal 
general, Weni (Una), Phiops I (Pepi), who reigned about 2275,? sent 
no less than five land expeditions under Weni’s leadership to conquer 
the land of the “Sand-dwellers” (Hryw-s‘), a contemptuous appellative 
for Asiatics, originally belonging to the nomads and merchants with 
whom the Egyptians first became acquainted. After a rebellion 
among the Asiatics in the land of the “Ibex-nose” (perhaps the 
Egyptian rendering of a Semitic place-name). Weni conducted 
an expedition by sea to a point at the end of a chain of hills to 
the north of the “Sand-dwellers.” As has been seen, he may have 
landed at ‘Akka, north of Carmel, and invaded Mount Ephraim. 
Doubtless the Palestinians recovered their independence during the 


1 Meyer: c. 2670. 

2 Meyer: c. 2520. 

3 The curious name “Antelope-nose,” or perhaps “Ibex-nose” (the hieroglyph 
in question is used for “gazelle, oryx,” etc.) cannot well be an Egyptian 
designation for central Palestine, but may be an Egyptian translation of a 
native Hebrew place-name. As a mere possibility, it may be suggested that we 
have here a popular etymology of the very ancient name “Ephraim,” the oldest 
form of which was *Iprayim or *Aprayim, meaning ,,fruitful, fertile.’ The 
element ap means as a separate word “nose,” and a word for “antelope,” or 
“ibex” (wild-goat) closely resembling ray(im) is preserved in the place-name 
(Gen. 1614) Beer lahai ro7, “Well of the jaw (cf. Jud. 1519) of the ré%.” The 
latter stands for *raw?, *rawiy, which belongs with Arab. arwiyah, urwiyah, 
trwiyah, plur. arwa, “ibex”. Babyl. arwiu(m) may mean “gazelle” (cf, the 
discussion JAOS XL, 329; the hero Arwium is son of a gazelle), in which case 
“arwiy or *rawiy, with the meaning “antelope,” was original. 

9 


120 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


ninety-year reign of the faineant Phiops 11 (c. 2250—2160)! and it 
is hardly likely that they were disturbed again until the rise of the 
powerful kings of the Twelfth Dynasty. Though the latter must have 
controlled Palestine, we have no explicit record of Asiatic campaigns 
except for Sesostris III (1887—1849).? 

Commercial and diplomatic relations with Mesopotamia and 
Northern Syria must have continued actively during the Sixth and 
Twelfth Dynasties. In the Cairo Museum there is a limestone relief 
from the latter part of the Old Empire, showing in its middle register 
a typically Egyptian scene, but in the top register, which is broken, 
two Mesopotamians with fringed robes, who presumably represent 
either merchants or ambassadors. That envoys were sent back 
and forth with despatches between Egypt and Babylonia in the 
Twelfth Dynasty may be regarded as certain, in view of the passage 
mentioning messengers leaving Egypt with bricks, i. 6. clay tablets, 
tied in their girdles.4 The latest discovery of this sort is a lapis 
lazuli seal cylinder in the collection of the Earl of Carnarvon, with 
Keyptian and Old Babylonian inscriptions side by side, undoubtedly 
contemporaneous.®> The Egyptian text reads /nyswt] byty Stp-yb-r° 
[mry] Hthr nbt [Kbn] (so Newberry, very plausibly) = The king 
of Upper and Lower Egypt, Amenemmes I (Amenemhet), [beloved] 
of Hathor lady of [Byblos].6 There are two ephemeral rulers of the 
Thirteenth Dynasty with the same prenomen, but we may safely 
disregard the possibility that one of them is intended. The Babylonian 
text has Ya (Pinches pi, which is, of course, impossible) -/7-2n-alw 
waflrad...] = Yakin-ilu, servant of [ 1. Yakin-ilu is a Hebrew 
proper-name of a very common, though somewhat archaic type, 


1 Meyer: c, 2485—2390. 

2 The dates of the Twelfth Dynasty are astronomically fixed; even Borchardt 
does not venture to oppose the evidence of the Sothic Cycle. 

3 Max Miiller, Hgyptological Researches, Vol. I, pp. 9—11. 

4 Miller, MVAG XVII, 8f. 

5 See Pinches and Newberry, JEA VII, 196—199. 

6 Ba‘alat of Byblos was before the Middle Empire identified with Hathor, 
both in Byblos and in Egypt. When Hathor was merged into the all-embracing 
figure of Isis, Ba‘alat followed suit. Traces of an Egyptian temple of Isis- 
Ba‘alat from the Eighteenth Dynasty are described by Woolley, JEA VII, 200f. 
Late Phoenician syncretism became so interwoven with Egyptian influences tha 
Phoenician theology may almost be treated as a chapter in the history of 
Egyptian religion. 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Harliest Historical Period 121 


meaning “(od establishes.” Yakinilu may have been the local 
governor of Byblos (awil Gubla) like Rib-Addi in the Amarna 
period. Byblos was probably an Egyptian dependency under 
virtually every strong Pharaoh of the Old and Middle Empires, and 
long before Rib-Addi stresses the fact that Gubla was as Egyptian 
as Memphis, Kbn was felt to be an integral part of the Egyptian 
Empire by the Egyptians themselves. 

A century after Amenemmes 1 (2000—1970) we find Sesostris III 
waging war in central Palestine, where he captures the city of Skmm, 
probably a dual of the Biblical name Sekem, i. e., Shechem, capital 
of Mount Ephraim. There seem to have been two ancient strongholds, 
one at each end of the pass on the watershed which gave the place 
its name. ΤῸ judge from evidence brought forward by Blackman 
(Jour. Eg. Arch. 11, 13.) the Egyptians captured much cattle, which 
they carried with them to Egypt. We may therefore be assured 
that the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty controlled Palestine as well 
as Phoenicia. Conditions are well illustrated by the Sinfhe Romance, 
which certainly has some historical nucleus, like the tale of Wen- 
Amon, Sinihe (original pronunciation approximately Sendhet) fled 
from Egypt upon the death of Amenemmes I, about 1970 B. C., and 
traversed Sinai, Palestine, and Phoenicia, not daring to stop until 
he was safely outside of Egyptian territory, in Qdm, that is, the 
district termed “Kast” by the Byblians, the land of the Amorites 
beyond Lebanon. Here, in the sphere of Egyptian influence, but 
outside the direct authority of the Pharaoh, he is harbored and 
befriended by an Amorite chief, “Ammi-anis.'. According to the 
generally accepted chronology, ‘Ammi-saduq was then the Amorite 
king of Babylonia. ; 

We now come to that most eventful period in the history of 
Palestine, and of the whole Near East, the period of the Hyksos, 
Hittite, and Indo-Iranian irruptions. The provenance of the Hyksos 
and the character of their invasion have been among the most 
obscure problems in ancient history, but now beams of light are 
penetrating the gloom. After the brilliant work of Eduard Meyer 

there can be no doubt as to the approximate date of the Hyksos 


1 Lit. “My people is social;” in South Arabic we have the same name, ΝΡ, 
where the represents Ar. .y. While the sibilant in Ee. ‘myn is anomalous, 
there can be no doubt that this explanation is nearly correct. 

g* 


122 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


conquest of Egypt, which took place in the gap between the 35‘ and 
the 57% kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty, or between 1625 and 
1575 B. C. The identification of Tutimaeus, in whose reign Manetho 
places the catastrophe, with one of the three ephemeral rulers named 
Dydymé is possible, but phonetically unlikely. The 58% name is that 
of Nehisey (“the Nubian”) who was ἃ Hyksos vassal. The date of 
the occuption of Tanis by the Hyksos is given by the Tanite era 
of the king St-°s-phty Nbty, which began about 1690;! later Hyksos 
kings took throne-names formed with Ré*, but Nbiy, who adopted 
the cult of Tanis, took the name of its god, Set. Nbty is perhaps 
to be identified with the first Hyksos king, Salitis.? 

Most important light has recently been shed on the Hyksos question 
by Ronzevalle’s discovery of two fortified enclosures in central Syria 
of exactly the same type as the Hyksos fort discovered by Petrie 
at Tell el-Yehidiyeh near Heliopolis.3 The fort at Misrifeh, studied 
carefully by Ronzevalle, is located about three and a half hours 
northeast of Homs, the ancient Qatna. It is an immense square 
enclosure, more than a thousand metres long on each side, surrounded 


by a bank of earth about 15 metres high, on the average; the width , 4 


of the base varies betwen 65 and 80 metres. Presumably the winter 


rains have reduced its height and increased its width at the base — τ 
of the rampart very materially. The other fort, now called Tell | 


Sefinet Nith, “the Mound of Noah’s Ship,” is about 350—400 metres 


on a side, according to Ronzevalle, but remained incomplete. The — 4 


1 Cf. the discussion in the Journal I, 64f. 


2 Nbty may be an ideographic writing in hieroglyphics of the name Salitis, 


in which case sal or the like meant “gold” in the Hyksos tongue. In Hittite 
we have similar cases of ideographic writing of proper names; 6. g., the name 
Muwattalis is written NER-GAL, since this cuneiform group had the Babylonian 


reading muttallu, lit. “exalted.” A different principle is found when Hatte is 
written with the cuneiform ideogram for “silver” because this was the meaning — 
of hat in Cappadocian, or Arinna is written PU-na, because arin was the word 


for “well” in Cappadocian. 
3 See Ronzevalle, in Mélanges de la Faculté Orientale (Beyrouth), Vol. VII, 


pp. 109—126. Ronzevalle pointed out the similarity of Misrifeh to the Hyksos 
fortress at Tell el-Yehidiyeh (Petrie, Hyksos and Israelite Cities) but unfortunately 
concluded that Misrifeh represented one of the camps which the Sea-peoples 
established in the land of Amor (Syria) during the reign of Rameses III. This τὶ 
is quite impossible; the latter were Anatolians and Aegeans, to whom 50} 
“camps” were entirely foreign; moreover, they can hardly have maintained Ὴ 


themselves in central Syria long enough to build such a colossal work. 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 123 


fort studied by Petrie at Tell el-Yehtidiyeh is unquestionably Hyksos, 
~ as shown by the quantities of Hyksos scarabs (Hayan, etc.) and sherds 


of black incised pottery found in it. It is a great enclosure of sand, 
mixed in places with lumps of marl and basalt as well as scattered 
adobe bricks, which was held in place by an outer coat or lining of 
white plaster. In form it is nearly square, with sides of 450 to 
475 metres. The rampart is 15 to 20 metres in height, and 40 to 
60 metres wide at the base. We may consider it as practically 
certain that the rampart at Misrifeh had originally the same pro- 
portions, of one to three. As Petrie has pointed out, the builders 
of the fort must have been archers; we may also observe that the 
mode of ingress by a long inclined road-way, leading over the top 
of the rampart, shows unmistakably that they had horses and chariots. 
Since fortified camps of this nature were wholly unknown to the 
civilized peoples of ancient Western Asia, there is no escape from 
the conclusion that the Hyksos came from a land of tumuli and 
earthen ramparts, that is, from the plains of Eurasia. With this 
agrees the fact that they were archers and possessed horses and 
wagons, which they introduced into Egypt. After the writer had 
reached this conclusion, he began to look for evidence from Russia 
or Central Asia. At this stage Mr. Phythian-Adams pointed out 
that Ellsworth Huntington! describes ancient square or rectangular 


forts, with thick and lofty éarthen ramparts, in the region of Merv 


in Transcaspia; Kirk Tepe, for instance, is a square enclosure, over 
three hundred metres long and broad, with ruined earthen ramparts, 
which still are, however, six metres high in places. 

lt may thus be regarded as certain that the nucleus of the Hyksos 


hordes consisted of nomadic peoples from the plains of Eurasia, 


probably from Transcaspia, whom the Egyptian, alluding to their 
nomadic character, and punning, it would seem, on the Hyksos 
imperial title, called “Shepherd-kings.” It is not necessary to 
suppose that the Hyksos hordes belonged to one race; it is certain 
that they gathered up all sorts of elements into their mass as they 
swept through Western Asia. For example, there were undoubtedly 
many Hebrew clans, especially the Bené Ya‘qob, among them, as is 


1 See Pumpelly, Explorations in Turkestan, Prehistoric Civilizations of Anau 
Vol. I, pp. 219, 226, 


124 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


proved by such names as that of ‘Anat-har,! who wears the Hyksos 
imperial title (hg? f2swt, pronounced somewhat later approximately 
lig Sasdwe) and Ya‘qob-har. As has been observed elsewhere, we 
have here the historical nucleus of the Jacob and Joseph stories.? 
Other of the Hyksos names, however, are neither Hebrew nor do 
they belong to any familiar language of Western Asia. To this 
category we must refer the founders of the Hyksos monarchy, Salitis, 
Bnon, Apophis (pronounced at that time probably Apap), Apachnan, 
Hayan and Smqn. The others often included in this series more 
probably belonged to one of the ephemeral local groups. Several of 
the names preserved by Manetho are apparently too corrupt to be 
of any use (Aseth, Staan, Archles); indeed when we compare the 
Manethonian forms of- native Egyptian royal names with their 
originals, it appears to be at best a dubious task to attempt the 
determination of the linguistic affiliations of the Hyksos. The writer 
cannot claim to have settled the question, but will limit himself to 
a number of suggestions. First let us take up the question of the 
racial elements which entered Palestine in the first half of the second 
millennium. That they are not of earlier date, so far as Palestine is 
concerned, is clear from the fact that Palestine seems so be pure 


Semitic, that is, Canaanite, or Hebrew-speaking, and Amorite,? in 


1 ‘Anat-har is probably identical with the ‘Anat which appears in an 
abbreviated form as one of the Hyksos names on the Hyksos fragment of 
the Turin Papyrus. 

2 Cf. the writer’s discussion in Jour. of Bibl. Lit., Vol. XXXVII, 137 ff., and 
Journal 1, 65f. 

3 As we now know the Amorite language from numbers of Amorite proper 
names, mostly from the period of the First Dynasty of Babylon, as well as from 


the names in contracts and letters from the Middle Euphrates, it was a tongue ~ ᾿ 


intermediate between Hebrew and Babylonian, with strong South Arabian 
affiliations. Its vocalic structure is the same as that of Babylonian and almost 
certainly of South Arabian, differing radically from the vocalization of Hebrew, 
which we can trace back to the Amarna Letters (see especially Leander, ZDMG 
LXXIV, 61—76). Like Hebrew and Arabic it preserved the weak laryngeals, 
which Babylonian had lost before 3000 B.C., as shown by the earliest Akkadian 


inscriptions. Amorite agreed throughout with Arabic in its treatment of the 


sibilants, as may be seen from the following table: 


Arabic Hebrew Aramaic Babylonian Assyrian Egyptian Amorite < 
ὃ (ω» ) ὅ (ὦ) 8 ὃ 8 ᾷ ὃ 
8 (Cy) ὃ (ὦ) 3 z i ᾿ : 
ἐῶ og?) 8 8 3 § (2) 


: 

Ξ 

᾿ 
i: 
ἐ 
4 
Ἐ 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 125 


the third millennium. Moreover, the foreign intruders who are so 
much in evidence during the Amarna period, and at the time of the 
Israelite conquest, are not able to impose their language upon the 
country, which remains Hebrew in speech, nor to introduce non- 
Semitic place-names; all the place-names in early Palestine are 
Semitic, and most are specifically Hebrew. The writer heartily 
endorses Clay’s position that Palestine and Syria were Semitic lands 
from the earliest times—i. e. from the late Neolithic; the Troglodytes 
of Gezer, with their diminutive stature and tendency toward pro- 
gnathism, carry us back into the early Neolithic. The legendary giants, 
associated by later ages with the megalithic works of the Neolithic 
and Aeneolithic periods belong to cosmogony rather than to history. 

Among the mingled tribes whose presence in Palestine in the 
middle of the second millennium makes Palestine seem a veritable 
Babel, the Hittites easily take first place. These early Hittites are 
to be identified with the Hatte-speaking people of the Boghaz-keui 
tablets, whose language is preserved for us in a few passages in 
ritual texts, as well as a number of bilingual inscriptions (Cappadocian 
or Nasi and Hatte). ‘This tongue is entirely distinct from the 
language in which the vast mass of the Boghaz-keui texts are written, 
which is closely related to Cilician (Arzawa), Luyya or Lydian,! and 
Helladic,? and may therefore be termed Cappadocian, especially since 


This fact shows that Hommel was partly right in combining the Amorites with 
the Arabs, especially with the South Arabians, who share a great many proper 
names with the Amorites. On the other hand they were clearly a West-Semitic 
people, more closely related to the Canaanites and Aramaeans than to the 
Babylonians. The Amorite invasion of Palestine probably fell during the 
23rd century, before their invasion of Babylonia under Sumu-abum. They drove 


»the Canaanites out of the highland of Judaea and Samaria, which was occupied 


by the Amorites when the Hebrews invaded Mount Ephraim before the Amarna 
Period (Gen. 4822). Apparently, as Clay has pointed out, an Amorite empire was 
then established in Syria and Palestine; Miller (MVAG XVII, 53f.) has made 
it probable that this empire made its power felt in Egypt between the Sixth 
and the Hleventh Dynasties (B. C. 2200—2050). The brick architecture of the 
period shows how thoroughly under Babylonian influence the Amorites were. 

1 See the remarks in the Journal, Vol. I, p. 193, n. 1, and the references cited 
there. The language of the Lydian inscriptions found at Sardes is very similar 
to that of the Luyyan and Nasi (Cappadocian) tablets; 6. g., bira means “house” 
in both Lydian and Cappadocian. 

2 As proved incontrovertibly by the evidence of place-names in Greece and 
Anatolia. It is reasonable enough to suppose that Pelasgian (Philistine, 
Journal I, 57, n. 2) was a related tongue, but evidence is lacking. 


Ss Wer ee Sy ee ee ee ec 5... 
2 Be Mg ew then Pome 


126 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the non-Semitic names on the Cappadocian tablets belong clearly 
to it! Now it is most important to note (what seems to have 
escaped the notice of the investigators so far) that the royal names of 
the Hittite kings of Boghaz-keui belong to the Hatte language, and 
are not Cappadocian, though they receive the Cappadocian case- 
endings.2 The Hatte are therefore intruders in Asia Minor, and 
since their first appearance in history falls about 1925 B. C.,3 we 4 
must evidently place their irruption about 2000 B.C., just after the = 
career of Samsi-Adad I of Assyria (cf. above), who nowhere alludes 
to them. It is not accidental that the Cappadocian tablets appear 
to reach as far as the 21* century, but no farther. It is still doubtful 
whether the first group of Hittite kings, TlabarnaS (so Hrozny), 
Hattusilis I, Mursils I, Hantilis, Huzzias, Telibinus, etc., comes in a 
the 20 and 19* centuries or in the 17‘ century, where it is hard 
to find a place for so great a conqueror as MurSili8, who captured 
Babylon. However this may be, we find the Hittites in Hebron, 
according to Hebrew tradition, in the time of Abram, that is, probably : 
about 1700 B.C.4 As Hebron is said elsewhere to have been founded = 


> 


iment Din 


1 Cf. names like Histahusar and Niwahsusar, Arawa and Arawarhina, whose 
Cappadocian (Nasi) character is immediately clear. e. 

2 Of. the Hittite royal name Tabarnas (Tlabarnas) and Hatte tabarna; 
Huzziyas and huzziya; Telibinus and talibinu, etc.; Hantilis and hantipsuwa. a 
Hrozny’s efforts to etymologize Hittite royal names from Nasi have so far failed 
completely, though it is naturally possible that some of the kings bear — 
Cappadocian names, just as Babylonian names are found sporadically in the ~ 
First and Third Babylonian Dynasties. As for the case-endings, note that 
Babylonian gods and heroes also receive Nasi case-endings (6. g., Enkitud, 


Huwawaik, Ea). 4 
3 When, according to the King Chronicle, the Hittites conquered Babylon x 


Weidner dates this event about 1758. - 
4 See Journal I, 65, 68 ff. It has long been a problem why Abram is comers = 
by tradition so closely with Hebron, where his burial-place was shown at least 
as early as the ninth century B.C. The absence of the name of Hebron from 
the Amarna Tablets is probably due to the same cause as the absence of names 
from Mount Ephraim; it was in the hands of the Habiri, who from Hebron as 
a centre raided the lands of the neighboring Jerusalem and Keilah. The name 
itself, which the Hebrews introduced, means “town of the confederacy,” or the 
like. The names Segai, Ahiman and Talmai are all good Aramaean (i.e. Hebrew 
in the ethnic sense); Talmai occurs in Maacha and in the North Arabic 
inscriptions published by Jaussen and others, while Akiman (“Who is my brother 
if not god X”) is specifically Aramaean in its formation. When Jud. 110 includes 
the three among the Canaanites of Hebron, it is evidently confusing the early 
Hebrew conquest with the non-Semitic occupation, Doubtless the Hebronites 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 1217 


only a few years before Τ8η18,: it is hard to avoid combining the 
Hittites of Hebron with the Hyksos who occupied Tanis, especially 
when we recall that the name Hayan occurs also as the name of a 
dynast of Sam’al2 who preceded Kilammu. Like the Hyksos, the 
Hittites came from Central Asia, as is clear from the fact that the 
Hittite nobility is represented with a distinctly Mongoloid cast of 
features, and a typical Hast Asiatic queue. Their language (cf. above) 
is entirely different from any known tongue of Western Asia, including 
Sumerian, Elamite, and Chaldian, with its remarkable prefix formations, 
where the root is at the end of the word. While the Hittite tongue 
is not at all lke the Turkic languages, it may be related, as Forrer 
points out, to the tongues spoken on the northeastern confines of 
Transcaucasia. Even if the Hyksos leaders were not Hittite, there 
can be little doubt that the Hittites were brought into Palestine as 
a part of the great racial movement which introduced various other 
non-Semitic peoples into the country. 

Another Anatolian folk which now appears in Palestine is the 
Jebusite people of Jerusalem. The two certain Jebusite proper 
names which have come down to us are both Cappadocian, i. 6. Nasi 
(“Hittite” in the former sense). The name “Abdi(?)-Heba is formed 
with the name of the Cappadocian goddess Hebe or Heba (Hepa), 
while Arauna, as Sayce has pointed out, is a typical Cappadocian 
name, meaning “bright, pure, free” (arawn-is = ellw). 

Most interesting of all the peoples who settled in Palestine in the 
first half of the second millennium is the Indo-Iranian element. As 
has long been known, the names of the reigning dynasty of Mitanni, 
Saussatar, Artatama, Artasumara, Tugsratta, Sutarna, Sutatarra, 
Mattiwaza, etc., are entirely different in origin from the typically 
Hurrian names worn by the majority of their subjects, and are 
unmistakably Indo-Iranian, pointing to Indo-Iranian migrations from 
the period before the development of the distinct Iranian branch of 
the race. In Palestine, according to the Amarna Tablets, we have 


had given up Hebrew (Aramaic) long since in favor of Canaanite (Hebrew).— 
For additional proofs of the fact that the incoming Hebrews spoke Aramaic sce 
my article in this Journal II, p. 68, n. 2. 

1 Num. 13 22. 

2 Hayan was a native of Bit-Gabbar. 


3 Cf. Jirqu in ZDPV XLIII, 58—61. 


128 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


a whole series of these names, all with excellent Sanskrit etymologies: 
Artamanya, Ruemanya, Namyawaza, Biridaswa, Suyardata, Yasdata, 
Biryamaza, Biridiya, etc. When taken together with the names of 
Indo-Iranian gods on the Boghaz-keui tablets, and the document from 
Mitanni dealing with horse-breeding, which furnishes a number of 
Sanskrit numerals and loan-words, there can be no doubt that there 
were Indo-Iranian elements in the ,.Hyksos” hordes which overran 
Palestine and Egypt. Since these Sanskrit names are not limited 
to any part of Palestine, but occur both in Galilee and in Judaea, — 
one is justified in expecting some mention of the nationality of their 
bearers in the Old Testament. It is possible that they are referred = 
to under the head of Perizzites, who are mentioned (e.g. Gen. 13 7) 
along with the Canaanites as an out standing element in Palestine. 
The Perizzites are properly, however, it would seem, Hurrians, to 
judge from the name Pirizzi of a Hurrian envoy of TuSratta (note 
the same ending also in the certainly Hurrian name Akizzi, of the 
ruler of Qatna, modern Homs, near Mi8rifeh—see above). It would Ε 7 
seem that such names as Widia (Ashkelon) and Zimrida (Lachish, - a 
Sidon) are also Hurrian (Mitannian). 3 
The Hivites are another one of the more important of these 
peoples. Since the Shechemites and Gibeonites, who entered early a 
into an alliance with the Hebrews, were Hivites, while in the Amarna 
Tablets Tagi, father-in-law of Milki-ilu, and Labaya appear also as 
allies of the Habiru, with whom they shared the central highlands οὗ 
Samaria, one is tempted to regard Tagi and Labaya as Hivite names. . 
Labaya appears, as Labayan, in the Arzawa letter from southeastern 
Cilicia, and the name Yagi has been plausibly identified with 76% ὍΝ 
(for *Tagi) name of ἃ Hamathite king of the 10 century B. C.1 a 
The Hivites may then be a north-Syrian branch of the Anatolian τ 
race—though the evidence is too slight for definite results. Ἢ 
In two passages the LXX has “Horites” instead of “Hivites,” an 
alteration which is accepted by Eduard Meyer.? It is, however, very — 
improbable, since the Hivites are mentioned so often, while the ΔΗ 
Horites appear only in Mount Seir, south of the Dead Sea. Since 
‘the Horites appear in Gen. 36 as an “Aramaean” people, with 
typical Semitic names, one must hesitate long before identifying them 


1 II Sam. 8 9. 
2 Israeliten und ihre Nachbarstimme, Ὁ. 331. 


3 

--΄-. 

ἕ 
\ 
» 
Ἵ 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 199 


with the Anatolian Hurrians, despite the identity of name. The 
Egyptian name for Syria, H3rw, apparently had an /,! and so must 
be regarded as also distinct. Coincidences often occur, and there 
must be excellent reason for identifying similarly sounding words 
before such a combination may be said to become probable. 

As the writer has elsewhere suggested,? it is hard to escape the 
conviction that the episode referred to in the Fourteenth Chapter 
of Genesis has some connection, direct or indirect, with the Hyksos 
movement. We may perhaps gather our threads together here, and 
point to a possible solution. The name Vdgal-Tudhul is very hard 
to separate from Tudhalia(s),? the original Hatte form of which, 
without the NaSi case-ending, was Tudhal, or the like. The leader 
of the northern hordes about 1700 B. C. was thus a Hittite, presumably 
at the head of a mixed aggregation of peoples. It is improbable 
that he had any direct connection with the Hittite Empire in 
Cappadocia, which had been founded by another branch of the 
horde. On the other hand, it is difficult not to surmise that the 
western expedition in which Tidal accompanied Chedorlaomer of 
Elam, about 1700 B.C., was a prelude to the irruption into Egypt 
some years later. While the true course of the barbarian inundation 
may have been quite as complicated as that of the Germanic irruptions 
two thousand years later, there are some isolated facts indicating 
that the Hyksos invasion came from the direction of the Zagros 
rather than from Asia Minor. The Indo-Iranians, who probably 
came at this time into Syria and Palestine, appear in the fourteenth 
century in Mitanni, or northern Mesopotamia; before this they seem 
to have exerted a strong influence on the Kosseans of the Zagros, 


-especially in religion. The Avvim (Gawwim) of Deut. 223, who seem 


to have been a Zagros people, and appear on the coast of the Negeb, 
along the Egyptian military road to Syria, at about this time,* 
perhaps came with the Hyksos. It may also be noted that the 


1 Cf. Journal I, p. 189. 
2 Journal I, 76. 
3 Bohl, ZATW 1916, 68, has erroneously identified Tid‘al with Tudhalias IT 


of Hatte, but the name was a common Hittite one, and the author of Gen. XIV 


would then have termed Tid‘al “king of Heth.” 

4 On the other hand, it is to be noted. that a number of Anatolian peoples 
entered Palestine at this pigs 

5 Cf. Journal I, 187, τ. 


130 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Hyksos fortified camp at MiSrifch, ten miles in a straight line north- 
east of Homs, on the edge of the desert, suggests by its location a 
movement from the direction of the fords of the Euphrates.1 Our 
limited knowledge precludes us from speculating with safety upon 
further possibilities. : 

With the Hyksos period we have reached the chronological limit — 
of our study, which was to cover the period between 3000 and 1600 B.C. 
Let us then turn to consider the results of archaeological exploration 
in Palestine, in so far as it bears on this period. Beth Shemesh 
seems to have been founded about 1700 B. C., and yields no special — 
information. The other mounds of the Shephelah, Tell es-Safi (Libnah) — 
and Tell el-Judeideh (Keilah?),2 while older than Beth Shemesh, 
were only scratched. Ashkelon has so far yielded only one broken 
vase to attest an occupation in the period 2000—1800 B.C.; other 
sherds of black incised ware demonstrate that the site was occupied, 
as to be expected, in the Hyksos period. Jerusalem was occupied -— : 
in the earliest historical period, but we have nothing tangible except 
potsherds to illustrate the culture of this age. On the other hand — 
we have a rich material from Gezer, Lachish, Taanach, Megiddo, — 
and Jericho, to which Bethshan is now being added. In Gezer, 
unfortunately, Macalister was unable to find a clear demarcation of — : 
strata, so the results are rather nebulous. i 

The excavations carried on by Petrie and Bliss at Tell el-Hesi, a 
ancient Lachish, were of fundamental importance for the chronology 
of Palestinian ceramics. But since practically all Petrie had to go 
by was the fact that pottery of the type now called Cypriote, but by. 
him, with equal reason, termed Phoenician, had been found in Egypt . 
along with Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasty remains, it is not : 
surprising that the lower strata were post-dated. It is remarkable — 


1 The Hyksos may have established themselves for some generations in 
Northern Syria before extending their raids as far as Egypt. It is even possibl 
that the Hittite invasion of Babylonia in 1925 came from Northern Syria, instead 
of from Anatolia, as generally supposed. Professor Alt has pointed out that in 
Sinuhe, line 98, the (Amorite) “Bedouin” are represented as fighting against th 
hq3w l3swt, which seems to mean “Hyksos kings,’”’ since the royal Hyksos titl 
was [3 liaswt. It is true that ἢᾳ3 [36 meant simply “foreign prince,” in which _— 
sense the term is applied to Abigai (Yb$s), but in Sinuhe the plural of 3st is used 

2 For the identifications see the writer’s paper in the Annual of the America 
School in Jerusalem, Vol. 11. 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 131 


enough that Petrie, who then placed Menes about 4777 B. C., should 
have put the first settlement at Lachish about 1700 B. C., more than 
three thousand years after the beginning of Egyptian history. The 
site seems to have been abandoned about the beginning of the Greek 
period, when the brilliant careers of Marissa and Eleutheropolis 
began; Petrie’s date c. 450 B.C. is too early, in view of the Greek 
remains discovered sparingly at the summit. Some twenty feet below 
was the foundation of a large brick building, above the layer 
containing the latest “Phoenician” potsherds. Petrie’s date, 850 B.C., 
is too late; we must go back at least to the time of Rehoboam, who 
is said to have fortified Lachish, and perhaps still earlier. Bilbils 
and ladder designs on white slip, which are not found at Ashkelon 
after the Philistine occupation, continue here to five feet below the 
foundations of this building, or into the twelfth century. They begin 
about ten feet lower down, or early in the Eighteenth Dynasty. 
Fifty feet below the summit were the foundations of brick walls 
belonging to a city built after a previous destruction, marked by 
thick layers of field-stones and ashes between 302 and 307, that is, 
from twelve to seventeen feet above the foundations, which naturally 
were much lower than the city itself. Now we know from the 
Amarna Tablets that Lachish was then in existence, while envoys 
of Lachish (/3-ky-s3) are mentioned in a list from the middle of 
the reign of Tuthmosis III (c. 1475), published by Golenischeff ~ 
(Miiller, OLZ XVII, 202f.) so the destruction must fall considerably 
before. Since Bliss found objects from the Middle Egyptian Empire 
below the burned level, we must probably ascribe this destruction 
to the Hyksos hordes, at the end of the eighteenth century B. C., 
-and place the rebuilding of the city in the seventeenth century, about 
1400 years before the ultimate abandonment; the unusually rapid 
deposit (33 feet; 340—307) is to be explained by the use of adobe 
instead of stone, as at Gezer. Below the ash stratum is about twenty- 
four feet of débris, marking an occupation of not over a thousand 
years, from c. 2500 to c. 1700. Somewhere during the early or middle 
part of this age, were constructed the massive brick walls, twenty- 
eight feet thick, which underwent several reparations before their 
final overthrow. From other archaeological parallels in Palestine 
we may conclude that this brick wall.was built not far from the 
twenty-first century B.C., in the time ‘of the Amorite invasions. 


132 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Let us now turn to Taanach, excavated by Sellin and Schumacher. 
Sellin was unsupported by a trained archaeologist, so it is not 
surprising that his methods were superficial and_ scientifically 
unsatisfactory. Since the stratification appears to have been clear, 
and the mound is undoubtedly rich in ancient remains, it is greatly 
to be hoped that the work will be resumed by a competent 
archaelogist in the near future. T’aanach was comparatively a recent 
foundation, and so little direct light came from it to illuminate the 
period under consideration, but a pardonable mistake of Sellin has 
had fateful results, leading Watzinger at Jericho to post-date an 
entire stratum by several centuries. In the palace of “ASstar(?)-yaSur 
were found twelve cuneiform letters and name-lists, which were 
naturally enough placed by their discoverer in the Amarna period. 
Since (Sellin, Nachlese, pp. 30—31) no potsherds of the Aegeo- 
Phoenician (Cypriote) type were found in this palace, Sellin concluded 
that this ware did not come in until the thirteenth century, whereas 
Ashkelon proves that it went out in the following century. A careful 
study of the tablets, to be given in detail elsewhere, has convinced 
me that both script and language, especially the latter, are more 
archaic that in the Amarna Tablets. Consequently, it seems necessary 


to place our tablets during the Asiatic Empire of Amenophis I or | 


Luthmosis I, probably the latter, in the sixteenth century. With 
this assignment the fact that Cypriote wares first become common 
about the fifteenth century agrees fully. 


Megiddo and Jericho, while imperfectly studied, have revealed to | — 
the trained eye a beautiful stratification, which carries the beginnings 


of the history of these sites far back into the past, laying, when — Ἢ 
properly interpreted, a secure foundation for future work. Beth-shan, ; 
to judge from present indications, will be the touch-stone to solve — 
the surviving mysteries in the classification of pot-sherds and cultures. 


Thanks to the extraordinary depth of débris in the mound of the 
citadel, to its compactness and its exposed situation, which has made 


it the victim of repeated destruction, we may expect the most 3 
briliant results, which the sure scientific touch of Fisher will 
accurately classify. ἔπ 


Before sketching the results of the excavations at Megiddo and Ng 
Jericho, it is necessary to stress the fact, already noticed by different 


scholars, but not sufficiently emphasized, that the earlier strata in’ 


“ 


eee 
‘ 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 133 


both are badly post-dated. In the Anhang to Tell el-Mutesellim 
Steuernagel saw that Schumacher had misunderstood the stratification, 
but in correcting the error he attempted to introduce a wholly new 
numeration, which has so confused scholars that few have continued 
their investigations in this direction. Native rock was reached in 
Megiddo at only one place, where it lay 6.20 metres (20 feet) below 
the pavement of “Hall t” in the northern castle of the third level, 
which extended down to before the time of Tuthmosis III, and hence 
may have been destroyed by him in 1478. It is obvious that 20 feet 
is too great a thickness of débris for two strata only, since there 
can be no question here of accumulation of débris from higher levels. 
Besides, Schgmacher himself (p. 11) states that the first two strata 
here had a total thickness of 3.10 metres, thus leaving as much 
again unexplained. We therefore must assume five strata before 
c. 1478 B. C.; in order to leave Schumacher’s numeration intact we 
may call the third and fourth 2A and 25. As Steuernagel pointed 
out, the foundations of the third level lay immediately over the 
stratum to which belong grave I, containing scarabs of the Middle 
Empire type, and the brick city wall, so we must refer these remains 
to 2B (his fourth). The strata may be classified as follows: 


Macalister (Gezer, 1, 159) calculates rate of 


( 
000 B. C. ee sie ΕΚ: 
eo Ππ τῸ accumulation of débris at one in. in six years, 
( 


rg ue which would allow a minimum estimate of 
: 1200 years for 20 feet. 

2B ὁ. 2100—1700 Brick city wall, Eg. scarabs of Middle Empire 
type. 

3 c.1700—1478 Cypriote pottery, Astarte plaques. 

ΕΟ. 1478—-1100 Cypriote ware, pilgrim flasks, seal of Tuth- 
mosis ILL. 

5 Ὁ. 1100—7251 “Phoenician” palace, seal of Shema, servant 
of Jeroboam II (Ὁ). 

6 c. 700—400 Iron smithy, Neo-Babylonian seals. 

7 c.400—200 Remains of Persian and Greek period. 


At Jericho Sellin and Watzinger found seven strata, the first 
three of which they considered pre-Israelite. The cause of this 


1 Megiddo was probably captured and destroyed by Shalmaneser V, in his 
campaign against Israel. The Assyrians laid siege to Samaria about 724. 


134 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


mistake was ultimately the unfortunate brick wall of the third city, 
which they at once identified with the wall which collapsed before 
the Israelites, though inclined to a rationalistic explanation of this 
miraculous phenomenon. The fourth stratum, however, contained 
pure Canaanite ceramics of the type associated with Cypriote ware, — 


which at Ashkelon always precedes the Philistine level (early twelfth 3 


century on), to say nothing of scarabs and jar-sealings of the ΜΙ4416. 
Empire and Hyksos type. We may date the strata approximately: Ὁ 


? 3000 B.C. 

? 2500 

ὁ. 2000—1700 Brick city wall as in Megiddo 28. 

c. 1700—12301 Cypriote ware, Middle Empire-Hyksos scarabs. 
4A c.1230—870 Site unoccupied, Jos. 626; 1 Kings 10 84. 

“δ ¢.870—600 Early Jewish pottery. Be 
6 ¢.550—200 Vase inscriptions in late Old Hebrew characters. ΤῊΝ 


me © bw "- 


At Beth-shan Fisher has devoted his attention so far mainly to a 
the top levels of the Mound of the Acropolis (‘Tell el-Husn), where 


the first campaign brought to light Arab, Crusading, Byzantine, and a 


Roman remains. In a vertical section on the tell scarp, he has 
descended fifteen metres below the Byzantine pavement; fortunately, 
the strata are nearly horizontal, so are in situ. At the very bottom 


he came upon a brick wall and a round construction, apparently a τ 5 
tower, all built of the same large sun-dried bricks which are ~~ 


characteristic of Megiddo 2B and Jericho 3. Above these con- = 
structions were Canaanite burials, containing wares of the late “First 
Semitic“ (to 1800 B.C.) or early “Second Semitic.” A jar-handle 


bore the imprint of an Egyptian seal of Middle Empire type 


Potsherds of burnished black and brown ware, associated in Egypt = 
with the late Middle Empire and Hyksos periods were also found 
at this level. Above this level was a broad stratum containing — : 
many fragments of white slip ware (Cypriote, with ladder designs), 
after which all potsherds seem to be of the monotonous red, brown — 
and black characteristic of periods of indigenous ceramic culture, 
such as the Israelite and Jewish were. This section accordingly Ἴ 
carries us back to 2000 B.C.; we may safely suppose that there are 


1 For the date of the Conquest see Journal I, 66. 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Earliest Historical Period 135 


still at least five metres of débris below the lowest level reached. 

The evidence of Megiddo, Jericho, and Beth-shan shows clearly that 

the first cities in Palestine arose on the edge of the fertile plains of 

Esdraelon and the Jordan, and that the settlements in the Shephelah 

are younger. 

; From the excavations in Palestine no cogent evidence for the 
race of the inhabitants of the land in the third millennium can be 
drawn. Yet there is nothing to contradict the view stated above, 
on other grounds, that Palestine became a prevailingly Semitic 
country in the late Neolithic, and remained so until the beginning 
of the second millennium. 

Owing to the fact that hardly any excavations of moment have 
been carried on in the strata belonging to the third millennium it 
is rather too early to make any confident statements regarding the 
culture of the people of that era. The data described in the first 

part of the paper indicate strongly that we ought not to jump at 
conclusions from our meagre archaeological materials. If Palestine 
was, even in the fourth millennium B.C., one of the most important 
commercial routes, the caravans which passed down the coast, 
carrying articles of use and luxury for trading purposes, must have 
influenced the towns along their route very greatly. A land which 
thus early became the trade route between the two centres of ancient 
civilization and one of the chief goals for the campaigns of. their 
rulers cannot have remained in barbarism, even for a few centuries. 

It is possible, however, to state definitely that Palestinian 
civilization made a long step forward in the last quarter of the 
third millennium B.C. During this period the great city walls of 
Gezer, Lachish, Megiddo, Jericho, and probably also of Beth-shan 
were constructed. The remarkable tunnel at Gezer, by means of 
which the inhabitants of the city were assured of a water-supply 
from a spring in the time of a siege, and probably similar tunnels 
at Jerusalem and elsewhere date from the same age. The walls of 
Lachish, Megiddo, Jericho, and Beth-shan were built of adobe, while 
at Gezer, where stone was more abundant, brick was only used for 
towers. As Vincent has demonstrated (Canaan, pp. 83ff.) the art of 

constructing brick walls with bastions was borrowed by the Canaanites 
from Mesopotamia; the difference between the Mesopotamian principles 


of fortification and the Egyptian is so great that there can be no 
10 


136 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society ᾿ 


question of Egyptian influence in this phase of early Palestinian 
culture. Though the walls so far known seem to have been built. 
during the time of the First Dynasty of Babylon, when the Amorites 
adopted the civilization of Babylonia, it is doubtful whether we can 
connect the two phenomena. The town of Nd’, probably in Phoenicia 
(see above), is represented with bastioned brick walls as early as 
the 24th century, so it is more likely that there was a gradual 
extension of the Mesopotamian art of fortification through Syria, 
toward the south, perhaps under the influence of fresh Amorite 
energy. 

Despite the great improvement in the method of fortification 
Palestine fell under the control of the Pharaohs of the Twelfth 
Dynasty. The evidence from Egypt is fully corroborated and 
supplemented by the discoveries in Palestine. Scarabs and jar- 
sealings of the Middle Empire type have been found in large numbers 
in all sites of this period, especially at Gezer and Megiddo. The 
remarkably large number found at Gezer is not, however, due to the 
relative importance of this town, but to the thoroughness of Macalister’s 
researches and the singular good fortune which fell to his lot in the 
discovery of rich tomb-treasure, quite intact, from this period. Among 
the finds were two scarabs of Sesostris 1 (1980—1936).! Other 
indications of Egyptian occupation at this time were two funeral 
statues (htp dy nyswt), with the names of Hq3-yb and Ddy-Améan.? 
The type of syncretism between Babylonian and Egyptian elements 
described above in the case of the seal of Yakin-ilu, probably of 
Byblos, meets us in Taanach, where we have from the same period 
the seal-cylinder of Atanah-ili, son of Habsum (mér Ha-ab-si-im). 
The Syro-Palestinian origin of the cylinder is proved by the Egyptian 
hieroglyphs (‘nh, nfr, 53) which are carved on it, evidently for 
decorative or magical purposes. The name Aténah-il? is not, however, 
Hebrew like Yakin-ilu, but Akkadian; it appears often in the 
Cappadocian tablets from the second half of the third millennium. 
It is therefore likely that Atanah-ili was a north-Syrian merchant, 


and not a resident of Taanach. His seal illustrates the movement — 


of civilization from Mesopotamia into Syria and Palestine. Mesopo- 
tamian culture had two great advantages in its penetration into 


1 With the throne-name Hpr-k3-R‘; Gezer III, Pl. 205a, 9 and 207, 4. 
2 See Gezer II, 311—313. 


ALBRIGHT: Palestine in the Harliest Historical Period ee By 


‘Palestine. First of all, there was no real barrier of language; 
Akkadian shaded almost insensibly into Amorite and Hebrew. The 
states of Hana and Mari on the Middle Euphrates, whose speech 
was Amorite, were intimately associated with Babylonia, whose 
civilization they shared. Secondly, the Babylonians were the 
merchants of the ancient world, and their trading caravans traveled 
far and wide, disseminating Babylonian goods and ideas. For these 
reasons the influence of Egyptian culture on Palestine, in spite of 
the much more intimate political relation between the two lands, 
remained superficial, hardly affecting the life of the people. 

Into this land, with its Egyptian allegiance and Babylonizing 
civilization, there poured, between the twentieth and the seven- 
teenth centuries, a veritable mundation of strangers and 
barbarians, which all but transformed Palestine into a _non- 
Semitic land. In division, however, was weakness; among the Babel 
of different tongues not one was strong enough to impose itself upon 
the others, so Hebrew, the native speech of the land, maintained 
itself, and gradually suffocated the foreign jargons. The old culture 
was, however, not strong enough to withstand the flood of Anatolian 
influences, so we find, from the sixteenth century, that the old Oriental 
ceramic art is being replaced by Anatolian (so called Cypriote).! 
Anatolian and Aegean influences now become increasingly important, 
at least in the material culture of Palestine.? 

Naturally this change did not take place peacefully ; the Canaanites 
did not yield without a struggle. The fallen brick walls of the third 
city of Jericho, referred erroneously by Sellin to the capture of the 
town by the Hebrews, are a testimony to the violence of the struggle. 
Megiddo 2B doubtless fell at about the same time, perhaps earlier. 


1 There can be little doubt that Cypriote ceramics will be found equally 
characteristic of the southern coasts of Asia Minor, where so far no excavations 
whatever have been conducted. Cyprus was always very closely connected with 
Cilicia, from which it was only fifty miles distant. “Cypriote”’ wares of a slightly 
later type have been found in the excavations at Gordium, the old capital of 
Phrygia. “Cypriote” pottery was also characteristic of Phoenicia in the second 
millennium, as results from the recent excavations there (Woolley, Syria II, 
pp. 177—194; Contenau, Syria I, p. 122). 

2 The religion and mythology of Palestine was in ancient times related both 
to the Aegean and Anatolian and to the Mesopotamian. Egyptian influences or 
analogies are also present. 

10* 


138 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Palestine seems to have remained the focus of Hyksos power. 
Hyksos scarabs, including those of the great conqueror, Hayan, are 
common in this period. When the Egyptians finally drove the 
Hyksos out, they maintained themselves for some time in Philistia 
and southern Judah, where their principal fortress appears to have 
been Silhén.! 

In the foregoing paper we have sketched our subject in broad 
lines, but we have every reason to hope that the picture will be 
filled in by the excavations of the next few decades. Palestine is a 
land of ere archaelogical potentialities. ? 


1 See Journal I, p. 188. 


2 Since this paper was written, additional material of importance has become 
available: — 

Cf. p. 116f.—Legrain, Historical Fragments, Nos. 3, 6,9, has published some 
valuable letters of Ibi- Sin, which prove that the A donites entered Babylonia 
about 2360 as mercenaries of the last king of the Ur Dynasty, in his war against 
the Elamites. After his defeat by the latter, the Amorites remained in southern 
Babylonia, where in 2358 they founded the Dynasty of Larsa, more than a century 
before their seizure of northern Babylonia. 

Cf. p. 117— My identification of Sangar with Hana is proved by Forrer’s 
discussion in Die Provinzeinteilung des assyrischen Reiches, pp. 15—17. The 
province of Singara (pron. Singar), called also Rasappa after its capital, included 
both the Jebel Sinjar and Suhi, Lage, Hindanu, and Sirqu (= Tirga: Forrer) on 
the Middle Euphrates. 

Cf. pp. 119, 121—That Byblos was the Egyptian capital of Syria has been 
proved by the remarkable discoveries there by Montet (Syria, II, 333f.), of 
inscriptions of the Thinite ὅπ Memphite periods, including those of Mycerinus, 
Unas, and Phiops I. 

Cf. p. 121—It is not yet known to all that Gardiner has established the reading 
of “Byblos” in the Sinuhe story beyond a cavil (Notes on the Story of Sinuhe, 
pp. 21—23). 


BYZANTINE CARAVAN ROUTES IN THE NEGEB 


T. CANAAN 
- (JERUSALEM) 


F one makes a trip from Beer-Sheba southward into the peninsula 

of Sinai, one observes many -things which do not correspond in 
any way to what is known in Palestine: climate, geological formation, 
hydrographic conditions, fauna, flora and even remains of the past 
differ enormously. I wish to call attention only to a few points 
which bear a direct relation to the subject of my paper. I shall 
restrict my description to that part which stretches from the southern 
mountains of Palestine directly southward~as far as the limits of 
civilization, and from the ‘Arabah depression in the east to the western 
boundaries of the ‘Azizmeh region. The greater portion of the district 
in question (below Bir es-Sabi‘) belongs to this Bedouin tribe. 

This region is divided naturally by two water-courses —running 
from east to west—into three zones; Wadi es-Sabi‘ separates the 
northern from the middle zone. The latter is bounded in the south 
by two water-courses, one running from west to east, the Marra-FPikri 
valley, and the Wadi el-Abyad, flowing in the opposite direction. 
The Marra-Fikri valley rises in the mountains of ‘Abdeh, not far 
from the origin of Wadi el-Abyad. Up to Rudjm el-Baqarah it 
bears the name Marra and from here onward Fikri. Wadi el-Abyad 
has a W.N. W. direction and empties into W. el-‘Arish. At el- 
‘Odjah it receives W. el-‘Odjah and shortly afterwards is called 
W. el-Azraq. 

W.es-Sabi' receives its water from three branches. From the south 
comes W. ‘Ar‘arah, which unites at Khirbet es-Sabi‘ with W. el-Butum, 
flowing from the east; and soon after their union they receive W. el- 
Khalil which comes from the north. Beyond Bir es-Sabi‘ it bears 


140 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


different names in different parts: W. Martabah, W. es-Sini, 56] 
Shallaleh and W. Ghazzeh. 

The three zones differ enormously in soil and formation. The 
northern one has a very fertile soil, washed down from the mountains. 
The central region is composed of large fertile patches with much 
larger areas of sand dunes and rocky, flinty mountains, while the 
southern zone is barren and stony. 

Hand in hand with the geological formation goes the fertility of 
the Negeb. All the area to the north of W. el-Butum-es-Sabi' is 
very fertile and when the winter is rainy the crops are most excellent. 

The central zone is not nearly so fertile, but there are many 
valleys, plateaus and some plains which could well be utilized for 
agriculture. The most important plains of this sort are situated to 
the east of the mountain ridge which divides the region from north 
to south into two parts. This mountain ridge protects most of the 
eastern part of the central region from the flying sand which changes 
all places it reaches to inhospitable and barren deserts. The third 
part is a stony, flinty, sandy desert, absolutely worthless for agriculture. 

Hydrographic conditions in the Negeb are very curious. With the 
exception of the small spring of Kurnub I do not know of any 
perennial spring. When the rainfall is scanty, as is very often the 
case, the condition is still more hopeless. Therefore in many places 
deep wells have been dug to reach the subterranean flow of water. 
Such wells are still to be found in Bir es-Sabi, Khalasah, Ruhébeh, 
el-Odjah. The springs Qusémeh, ‘En-Qdérat and ‘En-Qadis lie to the © 
south of our region. These water resources are not enough, and 
additions are necessary. Beduins subsist on the wad? waters for the 
winter and spring months, but the spring is very short. In the 
beginning of winter these sons of the desert dig pits three to four 
metres deep and situated at the base of two hills. As the deeper 
strata of this region are composed mostly of clay soil, the rain water 
which has gathered in these pits can not seep through. Abraham’s 
servants may have dug similar pits at Beer-Sheba and have called ὁ 
them “wells.” At present they are known by the name hrdbeh. In 
the last dry months of the summer the Beduins gather around the 
old Byzantine wells and around Qusémeh. | 

After this short discussion of the geological formation, vegetation 
and water supply of the land of the ‘Azazmeh, the questions arise: 


CANAAN: Byzantine Caravan Routes in the Negeb 141 


How could these Byzantine colonies exist in this barren desert? Why 
were they built? On what did their inhabitants live? To solve them 
let us consider briefly the civilization of: 

1. The country to the north of Beer-Sheba, 

2. That between Beer-Sheba and. the line el-‘Odjah-‘Abdeh 

(which corresponds to the central zone), 

3. The lands south of this line, 

4, The land of the ‘Arabah depression. 

1. It is most striking to note how the plain south of Djebel el- 
Khalil is sown with ruins. In some places as, for example, the 
country to the west of esh-Sheri‘ah nearly every hill shows some 
remains of old habitation. he hill to the northeast of the Tell 
esh-Sheri‘ah station, just north of the bridge, shows different strata, 
which indicate superimposed towns. In no place of this region except 
in Khirbet es-Sabi, in Beer-Sheba, and the ruins on the coast are 
remains of large buildings to be seen. The enormous number of 
ruins in this district points to a conclusion which is very important 
for us, namely, that it was once densely populated and that the soil, 
which is naturally of an excellent quality, was well utilized and that 
political conditions were settled. 

2. In the second zone, which is, as we have seen, sandier, drier 
and much less fertile, we find, to our great astonishment, many 
ruins of what must once have been large and important villages. 
The houses are built of solid, well-hewn stones and many of them 
are finished in an artistic style. Nearly every town had a large 
basilica, and nothing was spared to beautify it; some possessed even 
more than one. Paintings, mural decorations, etc., were still to be 
seen in 1915. In Sbéta it almost seemed to me as if an earthquake 
had taken place only a few months before, forcing the inhabitants 
to leave their beautiful city. Many houses were still erect, and most 
had several walls more or less well preserved. What expense and 
what human energy were necessary to build such villages in the 
desert! But there are remains of a much older civilization to be 
seen here and there. On Djebel esh-Sherqiyeh, for example, an old 
altar of roughly hewn stones is still found. Traces of un-Byzantine 
work may be found elsewhere also, 

3. The region south of ‘Abdeh-el-‘Odjah is also desolate, devoid 
of buildings, barren of human traces. Some flint artifacts are to be 


142 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


seen near Qusémeh. Remains of a castle are found near ‘fin-Qderat. 
Bir-Birén (between el-‘Odjah and (usémeh), though just below the 
line ‘A bdeh-el-‘Odjah, belonged in ancient times probably to the 
central region. 

4. Quite different again is the WaAdi el-‘Arabah region with the 
adjoining districts on its eastern side. Here again we find, as a look 
at the map will show, a great number of ruins, and history tells us 
that civilization once flourished here, when the names Petra and Aela 
had a special significance to the world. 

After this survey we come to the solution of the question: How 
could these colonies in the Negeb exist? The answer is: They were 
the connecting link between the densely populated and well organised 
country of Palestine on the one hand and the land of the Nabateans 
on the other hand; they lay on the caravan road between Palestine 
in the north and Petra-Aela in the south. All caravans to Egypt 
from Petra-Aela and back had to pass by this road. The caravan 
road between Arabia, el--Arabah and the ports of Palestine was 
also the foundation of the prosperity of Petra. 

Supported by a flourishing, densely populated country, and attracted 
by the riches and the trade of the south, emigrants early went south 
from Palestine into the Negeb and established colonies. As com- 
munication between these lands increased, the necessity of establishing 
new stations on the caravan road arose. The further south these 
emigrants went, the further the nomads were pressed back into the 


desert; naturally these sons of nature looked with hatred at the — 


intruders, and never rested: until they triumphed over their enemies — 2 


and drove them back into Palestine. 

A minute study of the ruins reveals their past history and supports 
our theory. I shall try to describe the most important items in this 
connection. | 


The ruins followed two caravan lines, an eastern and a western 
? ¥ 


one. The western line connected Bir-es-Sabi, Khalasah, Ruhébeh, 


Mas‘fidiyeh, el-‘Odjah with Sbéta. The eastern road went from — = 


es-Sabi,, “Ar‘ara, Byar ‘Asltidj, near Mashrafiyeh, to Sbéta. A short- 


cut from this caravan road went from ‘Ar‘ara directly to Kurnub — 
and leaving Mashrafiyeh, Sbéta and “Abdeh, followed the Fikri valley 
until it reached the “‘Arabah. Both these roads, the eastern and Re 


the western, ran from Sbéta to ‘Abdeh and on to the Marra-Fikri 


CANAAN; Byzantine Caravan Routes in the Negeb 143 


Valley. following En Hasib (or Bir Kharrar), ‘En Webbeh, ‘En 
“Tayyibeh, Nuqb er-Rbii to the ‘Arabah. From Wadi Fikri the 
road went either directly past Naqb ed-Dakhl to Busérah, southeast 

to Wadi Misa, or directly southward to Aila. This caravan road 
was presumably not first built by the Byzantine authorities but was 
repaired and fortified by them. 

The caravan road connecting north with southeast was also the 
cause of the lack of colonies to the south of the line ‘A bdeh-‘Odjah. 
They would have been far too remote from their base and at the 
- same time more exposed to the attacks of the Bedouins. This explains 
at the same time why no settlements were made in the beautiful 
plain around the large spring Qusémeh, though water, one of the most 
pressing needs, is found in great quantities. 

Owing to these continuous conflicts between the new colonists 
and the Arabs, the former were obliged to use every means to 
protect their lives and interests, and strong fortresses were erected. 
The northern colonies were fortified only by well-built walls, as they 
did not need elaborate defenses, being situated in the rear, while 
the southern stations were fortified strongholds built on naturally 
defensible mountains, more or less isolated from the ridge to which 
they belong. Mashrafiyeh, ‘Odjah, ‘Abdeh are examples of such 
strategic positions. Doubtless the nomads~of those times often tried 
in vain to surprise and take these castles. 

But even fields, vineyards and orchards were protected against 
assault by square watch-towers. In W. Rakhwat, W. Imm ‘Irqan, 

W. Abu-Khenan, near Sbéta, el-‘Odjah, and Ruhébeh, in the plain 
~ ‘Asitidj, W. el-Waqér, etc., remains of such towers may be yet seen. 

The caravan road itself had to be well protected by fortresses, 
between different stations and at exposed points. Such strongholds 
were situated in Tell Shunnarah between Ruhébeh and el-‘Odjah, 
on the Naqb ed-Dableh etc. The new inhabitants of the desert had 
besides the Beduin another enemy, perhaps more dangerous than the 
first: the desert itself with its lack of water, its sand storms, poor 
soil and hot climate. But their unbreakable will, combined with 
indefatigable industry, overcame these difficulties. Most settlements 
(Sbéta, Ruhébeh, Bir Birén) had a cistern in every house; pools 
were constructed; deep wells were dug to reach the underground 
waters (Odjah, Khalasah, Ruhébeh). The upper ends of many valleys 


144 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


were changed into reservoirs by building a massive wall across their 
beds (E. of Ruhébeh, Kurnub). Every spot which could be utilised 
for agriculture was worked systematically. The walls which divided one 
piece of land from another are still to be seen all over this region. 
To keep the water of the widis in check during winter and thus 
prevent the soil of their gardens from being washed away thick walls 
with a triangular section were erected. The base of one of these 
walls which I saw near El-‘Odjah measured 23 feet. They were so 
‘well built that they have resisted the attacks of nature through all 
the centuries. 

The solitude of the desert with its beautifully clear sky and the 
ever-shining stars attracted the monks to the Negeb. Thus the great 
basilicas with their small adjoining monasteries were built. Most of 
our towns had more than one basilica. In the small church of 
El-‘Odjah, situated inside the fortress, a tomb and a monk’s skeleton 
with a papyrus roll were found during the war. 

As long as Palestine and the land of the Nabateans flourished 
the colonies in the Negeb flourished also, and their inhabitants 
became rich, since all the trade to and from Palestine, Egypt, and 
Petra-Arabia passed through them. This trade was the only source 
of their wealth and the very basis of their existence. Agriculture 
and sheep-raising were carried on only on a small ‘scale. 

Finally the political importance of Palestine began to dwindle, 
commerce with the south and the southeast waned, and as the life 


of the colonies became very precarious the occupation of the oases 


was no longer possible, for the caravan road fell into disuse. The 
Beduins. seized the opportunity and hastened the downfall of 
the intrusive culture; thus barbarians again won a victory over 
civilization... 


Be laa eee ae ool a al Va 


APHEK 
A Study in Biblical Topography 


S. TOLKOWSK Y 
(JAFRA) 


OST Bible commentators and historians have located the battles 

which took place near Aphek in different, widely separated 
regions and have presented us with the identification not of one 
town but of three or four different places bearing the same name. 
The object of the present study is to show that the most important 
battles which according to the Bible have taken place in the vicinity 
of Aphek have really been fought in one and the same region, and 
in the neighbourhood of one and the same town of Aphek. 


After the completion of the initial conquest, which had given the 
Hebrew tribes possession of the hill-countries of Central Palestine, 
of Galilee and of Transjordania, but had not given them control of 
the plains, the wars of the Hebrews may be divided roughly into 
two classes: wars waged for the defence of the national territory, 
and wars waged for the reduction of foreign enclaves within the 
national territory. The wars for the reduction of foreign enclaves 
had for their scene the Plain of Esdraelon. The Hebrews, indeed, 
up to the time of David and Solomon never succeeded in getting a 
permanent hold over the plain; they held their own only in the 
mountains. The plains were held by hostile nations: the Canaanites 
first, and later their successors the Philistines. These peoples of the 
plain, who were provided with chariots, cavalry and heavy infantry, 
had resisted all the attempts of the Hebrews to conquer the plains 
at the time when the latter first overran Palestine. The low-land 


146 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


peoples remained in contro] not only of the maritime plain but also 
of the Plain of Esdraelon, thus driving a wedge between the Hebrews 
of Galilee and those of Central Palestine. It was only natural that 
from time to time the Hebrews should try to establish territorial 
connection between these two disconnected halves of their race, an 
object which could only be achieved by driving the Canaanite and 
Philistine garrisons out of the Plain of Esdraelon. The Canaanites 
and the Philistines on their side were bound to resist these attempts 
for a much more important reason than the mere possible loss of 
the fertile lands of the Plain of Esdraelon. By holding the Plain 
of Esdraelon they also held the country round Beth-Shean, (the 
present Beisan) and the Jordan fords which were situated near that 
fortress. There, as long as they held the Plain of Esdraelon, they 
had the means of preventing any common action between the Hebrews 
of Central Palestine, those of Galilee and those established to the 
east of the Jordan; the loss of their control over the Plain of 
Esdraelon would have as a direct result an active military cooperation 
between all these Hebrew tribes. This circumstance explains why 
in each and every case both parties sustained the fight until the 
almost complete annihilation of the vanquished. 

Apart from the battle of Megiddo, as far as our records go five 
big battles were fought in Biblical times in the Plain of Esdraelon. 
The first on record is that of Deborah and Barak against the 
Canaanite chief Sisera; as the Hebrew host participating in this 
battle was composed chiefly of warriors from Galilee it was only 
natural that they should, with a view to remain in communication 


with their homes, choose their battlefield in the north-eastern part Ἢ 


of the Plain of Hsdraelon, just south of Mount Tabor. 

The second battle mentioned is that fought by the tribes of the 
hill-country of Samaria, under the leadership of Gideon, against 
Midianite nomads who had crossed the Jordan near Beth-Shean and 


were encamped in the Valley of Jezreel leading up from Beth-Shean 


to the Plain of Esdraelon proper. In this case the logical position 


for the Hebrew army was on the northern slope of Mount Gilboa — 


looking down into the Valley of Jezreel; the fight was not a regular 
battle between two organised armies, but only a surprise attack 
carried out under cover of night by a small band of three hundred — 
determined peasants against a nomad camp at rest. ; 


147 


TOLKOWSKY: Aphek 


148 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


THE BATTLE OF THE ARK 


“And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went 
out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben Hzer: 
and the Philistines pitched in Aphek” (1 Samuel 41). Historians 
and commentators have generally identified the Aphek mentioned in 
this passage with a place in the Plain of Sharon! or in the Plain 
of Philistia.2 But this identification cannot possibly be reconciled 
with ν. 12 of the same chapter, in which it is said that, after the 
loss of the battle by the Hebrews, “a man of Benjamin ran away 
from the battle-line and came to Shiloh on the same day,” where he 
announced the defeat. Shiloh, as we know, was situated in Samaria, 
that is to say, north of Benjamin and a few miles away from the 
chief high-road connecting Benjamin with the Plain of Esdraelon. 
If the battle had been fought to the west of Benjamin, there would 
have been no reason why the man from Benjamin, on his way from 
the battlefield to his home, should pass by Shiloh. It is not logical 
to argue that the man was sent as a messenger from the field of 
battle to the High-Priest Eli; because in the first place if a 
messenger was required, probably an imhabitant of Shiloh or of the 
surrounding country would have been chosen; moreover, the text 
clearly shows that the man’s destination was not Shiloh, for it is 
said that he ran away from the battle-line “and came to Shiloh.” 
It is indeed much more logical to suppose that the man was really 
returning to his home, and that on his way home he had to pass 
near Shiloh, where he arrived on the same day, at or near sunset, 
and turned in for the night. That would imply that Shiloh lay along 
the main direct road leading from the battlefield to Benjamin; in 
other words, that the battlefield was situated to the north of Shiloh. 
The man arrived at Shiloh on the very day of the battle which ended 
in the defeat of the Hebrews. It is clear from the text that the 
presence of the Ark in the midst of the Hebrews had inspired them 


1 C. Hauser, in Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1895, p. 279. 
G. A. Smith, in Palestine -Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1895, p. 252. 
Wellhausen: Israelitische und jiidische Geschichte, 1914, p.50. R. Kittel: A History 
of the Hebrews (English Translation), 1896, Vol. II, p. 104. Charles Foster Kent: 
A History of the Hebrew People, Vol. 1, p. 85. Charles Foster Kent: Biblical 
Geography and History, p. 140. 

2 George Armstrong: Names and Places, 1908. 


TOLKOWSKY: Aphek 149 


with new energy, which is also obvious from the fact that the 
Philistines were in the beginning rather depressed by the news of 
the Ark’s presence amongst their enemies. As, nevertheless, the 
Philistines ended by being the victors, it may be inferred that the 
battle was fought with great determination by both sides and that 
it lasted long; so that it is hardly to be supposed that the Benjamite 
fugitive, who actually saw the defeat of the Hebrews and the capture 
of the Ark by the Philistines, left the field of battle before nine or 
ten o’clock in the morning. Since he still arrived on the same day, 
that is to say, before sunset, at Shiloh, at an hour when there was 
still sufficient daylight for the old High-Priest to remain seated by 
the way-side waiting for news from the Army, he can have had 
hardly more than about eight hours for his journey. The distance 
which a light-armed warrior would be able to cover in these eight 
hours may be estimated roughly at about 30 miles; but 30 miles is 
just the distance which separates Shiloh from the southern end of 
the Plain of Esdraelon. For a battle in the southern corner of the 
Plain of Esdraelon, between an army occupying that plain and 
another holding the mountains of Samaria, the logical positions for 
their camps would be respectively the rocky defile south of Jenin 
for the latter, and the south-western slopes of Mount Gilboa just 
below the village of Fuktia for the former. It is this village of 
Fukti‘a which I believe to be the Aphek of the Bible. For Eben- 
Ezer I am not yet able to suggest a meaning or a definition; it may 
be that this name was applied to some conspicuous rock near the 
entrance to the defile south of Jenin which to an army in danger 
would offer a safe shelter and way of retreat. 


THE BATTLE OF GILBOA 


The ambition of Saul, when he had driven the Philistines out of 
Benjamin, was to unite the Hebrew tribes in one state. A series of 
successful expeditions directed by him against the Moabites in defence 
of Reuben and against the Ammonites in defence of Gad, increased 
both the national consciousness of the Hebrew tribes beyond the 
Jordan and the prestige which Saul and his Benjamites enjoyed 
amongst them. A similar successful expedition against the Amalekite 
Bedouin in the south, who had been periodically laying waste the 


150 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


southern portion of the territory of Judah, led also the latter tribe 
to acknowledge Saul’s kingship. The battle of the Valley of Elah 
and the subsequent expeditions against the Philistines along the 
western boundary of his kingdom kept these traditional enemies of 
the Hebrews so busy that they lost more and more their hold oyer 
the Plain of Esdraelon and the Jordan fords near Beisan, thus 
enabling Saul to establish his rule in Galilee and beyond the Jordan, 
a development evidenced by his edict against necromancers 
(1 Samuel 288), his promise not to punish the witch of Endor 
(do. vy. 10), and his recognition by the men of Jabesh-Gilead as their 
lord (2 Samuel 25 and 7). Thus also it became possible for members 
of the northern and eastern tribes to settle in some of the towns of 
the Plain of Esdraelon. But as Saul grew old and his energy 
became relaxed under the influence of the recurrent insanity to 
which he was a prey! and which was gradually taking a more and 
more acute form, the Philistines at last saw the opportunity of 
making an attempt to reconquer their lost position in the Plain of 
Esdraelon and on the Jordan fords, and thus to destroy the territorial 
unity of the Hebrew State. They collected their forces and marched 
in full strength into the Plain of Esdraelon, where they established 
their camp on the southern slopes of the hill called to-day Jebel 
Dahy, just below Shunem (the present Solam) and close to the main 
road leading from Samaria to Galilee. The Hebrews from Galilee 
and Transjordania, who had settled in the cities of the Plain, 
abandoned these and withdrew into the hills of Lower Galilee and 
beyond the Jordan, there to await events; and the Philistines 
reoccupied all these cities, including their old fortress of Beth-Shean. 
Thus at the outset they cut off Saul from any possibility of military 
collaboration with the northern and eastern tribes. For the Hebrew 
king there were only two alternatives left: either to abandon the Plain 
of Esdraelon to the Philistines, which would mean to submit 
voluntarily to the disruption of his kingdom, the building up of 
which had been the object of his whole reign; or to accept battle, 
notwithstanding the fact that for a fight on the plain the enemy was 
incomparably better equipped and trained than his own mountaineers. 
The king took up the challenge and encamped opposite to the 


1 Dr, E. W. G. Mastermann: “Hygiene and Disease in Palestine in Modern and 


in Biblical Times” (Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1918, p.168), 


Ἢ nth te μὰς IRGC ina at a 
- b rid δὴν Ἃ ἢ > 
: 


»» 
πε 
s 


TOLKOWSKY: Aphek 151 
. Ὁ 
Philistine army on the northwestern end of Mount Gilboa just above 
the old fountain of Gideon (the present ‘Ain Jaltid). These are the 
positions of the two armies indicated in 1 Samuel 284. But looking 
from his elevated position upon the huge Philistine army, encamped 
in full strength on the other side of the narrow valley of Jezreel,° 
and realising his meagre chances of overcoming them in a battle on 
the plain, the heart of Saul became dismayed (1 Samuel 28 5). He 
consulted the oracles and the prophets, but he received no answer 
to his queries (v. 6). Thereupon, in his anxiety, and notwithstanding 
his own severe edict against those “who had familiar spirits,” one 
dark night he secretly crossed the valley, and, avoiding the Philistine 
sentinels, went to consult the witch who lived in Endor; but from 
this last attempt to consult fate he came back without any hope of 
success. A general of a less heroic stamp than the Benjamite would 
perhaps have withdrawn into his mountains and given up the hopeless 
adventure; not so Saul, who made up his mind to await the Philistines 
on Gilboa and to accept an honourable death rather than retreat. 
The steep northern slope of Gilboa made it dificult for the Philistines 
to attack him from across the Valley of Jezreel, to the north of 
which they were still encamped. A glance at the map will show 
that the northernmost end of Mount Gilboa occupies almost exactly 
the centre of a triangle, the three sides of which are constituted 
respectively by the Valley of Jezreel, the Jezreel-Jenin road, and the 
Jenin-Beth-Shean road. By ordering their detachments stationed 
near the fortress of Beth-Shean to move up the latter road and to 
occupy Aphek (1 Samuel 29 1), and by moving their main army from 
Shunem southwards to the town of Jezreel, the present Zerin (v. 11), 
the Philistines, thanks to their chariots, could sweep these two roads; 
from Jezreel, which lies comparatively high and from which the view 
extends down the whole length of the Valley of Jezreel as far as 
Beth-Shean, they could at the same time control this valley, the 
third side of the triangle. It was a regular siege of Mount Gilboa. 
Saul’s communications with the rear were cut, so that, should he 
come down the southwestern slopes of Gilboa in an attempt to cross 
the southern corner of the Plain towards Jenin in order to escape 
by the central mountain road starting from the defile situated to the 
south of this town, the Philistine chariots from Jezreel and from 


Aphek would be able, by moving upon Jenin, to forestall him and 
11 


152 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


to bar his route. But Saul had no mind to retreat, or to escape 
towards the north; he had already made his choice, and that was to 
die. Seeing that he did not move from his positions, the Philistines, 
leaving their chariots to guard the plain and the two roads, ordered 
‘their heavy infantry, composed of archers and slingers, to advance 
from Jezreel up the gentle southwestern slopes of Gilboa, and from 
Aphek northward along the ridge of the mountain. Saul’s men put 
up a desperate defence; but they were no match for the superior 
archers and slingers of the Philistines. They were compelled to fall 
back and many of them were slain (1 Sam. 311), until at last Saul 
had only a handful of men remaining around him. But the proud king 
of Benjamin was not minded to give his life-long enemies the right to 
pride themselves on having killed him in battle. When he felt that 
the end was imminent, Saul at last threw himself upon his sword (v. 4). 
The tragedy was completed. Night fell upon the field of battle. 
When the morning came the Philistines dispersed themselves over 
the battlefield in order to despoil the dead; and when they found 
the bodies of Saul and his three sons, they cut off the king’s head and 
tock his armour, and sent them to the Philistine cities as trophies; but 
his body they hung up on the walls of their fortress of Beth-Shean, 
The whole course of the battle clearly shows that the chief strategic ὁ 
point around the capture of which turned the whole battle plan of 
the Philistines, was the town of Aphek situated in the rear of the 
Hebrew army, and that the Biblical text closely follows the chrono- _ 
logical order of the various stages of the fight; whereas by locating 


Aphek in the plain of Sharon, as various commentators! have done, 4 
they have been led to emendations of the text, emendations which are 


not only unwarranted but unnecessary, as I think I have shown above. 4 


THE BATTLE OF APHEK BETWEEN AHAB OF ISRAEL ὦ 
AND BEN-HADAD OF ARAM | 


Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, had besieged Samaria, the capital of — 
Israel, and had been beaten off with the complete loss of his camp 4 


1 Charles Foster Kent: A History of the Hebrew People, Vol.I, p. 130. ὁ 
α. A. Smith, in Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1895, p. 252. 
C. R. Conder, in the Survey of Western Palestine, Vol. II, p. 84, says: “It is 
possible that Aphek, where the Philistines encamped before attacking Saul on 
Mount Gilboa, may be the present Fuku’a.” 


TOLKOWSKY: Aphek 153 


-and a large number of casualties; amongst the spoil captured by the 
Israelites was a large number of war chariots and horses, with which 
the king of Israel formed a corps of charioteers for his own army. 
But the King of Aram, although heavily beaten, did not give up his 
intention to conquer the Israelite Kingdom and began at once pre- 
paring for the renewal of hostilities in the following spring. This 
time his counsellors advised him not to venture again into the 
mountains of Israel. The reason was, of course, that the Aramean 
armies, accustomed only to warfare on the plains or on the plateaux 
of the East-Jordan country, where their chariots, horses and heavy 
infantry could manoeuvre freely, must naturally find it difficult to 
fight among the hills of Israel, where, on the contrary, the lght- 
armed infantry of Ahab were at home and found the best 
conditions for the sort of guerilla warfare in which they were past 
masters. 

Naturally for the Aramaeans to admit before their king that they 
were not prepared to meet the Israelites on the latter’s own ground 
was rather unpalatable; and so the reason they gave him for avoiding 
battle within the mountains of Israel was that the god of the 
Israelites was a god of the hills and that therefore at Samaria 
the Israelites had been stronger than the Arameans; but that if the 
battle was to take place in the plains, surely the Aramaeans would 
be the victors (1 Kings 20 23). Moreover, as they attributed the 
defeat of the previous year partly to the lack of discipline shown by 
the thirty-two allied kings who accompanied Ben-Hadad to the siege 
of Samaria, each in command of his own troops, the Aramaean king’s 
counsellors now urged him to assume sole command himself by 
“taking the kings away, every man out of his place, and putting 
captains in their room” (v. 24). Lastly, they recommended that he 
should reconstitute his army and make it similar in size to the army 
destroyed the previous pear, by replacing “horse for horse and chariot 
for chariot” (v. 25). The king listened to the advice of his counsellors 
and acted accordingly; and when the spring had come round again 
and with it the season in which troops used to take the field, Ben- 
Hadad mustered his army and “went up to Aphek” to fight against 
Israel (v. 26). The king of Israel, Ahab, had also not been idle. 
Foreseeing that sooner or later the Aramaeans would come back, 


he had spent the winter in preparing his army, and in organising 
EL 


154 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


his corps of charioteers so as to be able, should he be forced to do 
so, to accept battle in the plains. 

So, when the news arrived that the Aramaean army was encamped 
at Aphek, no doubt spoiling the surrounding country and terrorising 
its inhabitants, Ahab mustered and victualled his army and took the 
road in the direction of the Aramaean hosts: “and the children of 
Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the 
Aramaeans filled the country” (v. 27). Now, where was the site of 
Aphek, near which the Aramaeans were encamped, and opposite 
which the Israelite army had taken up its position? The Biblical 
text (1 Kings 20 23) uses for the “plain” in which Ben-Hadad’s 
counsellors advised him to await the Israelites, the term 11. Now, 
apparently in view of the fact that 1%, apart from the passage 
with which we are now dealing, is used only for regions situated to 
the east of Jordan, some commentators! have concluded that Aphek 
must also be situated to the east of Jordan and have searched on 
the road from Damascus to Samaria for a place which, being situated 
in open country and bearing to-day an Arabic name similar to the 
name of Aphek, would satisfy the conditions which they imagined 
the text demands, and have fixed their choice upon the village of 
Fik, situated about four miles east of the Sea of Galilee. Skinner 
places Aphek in the Plain of Sharon,? Kittel locates it in the Kishon 
Valley,? and Conder “on the way from Mizpah to Philistia.” 4 

In reality matters are quite different and the text itself provides 
us with a most definite and unambiguous answer. The Targum has 
in place of Hebrew 11%, Aramaic NW‘, and if we compare other 
passages in which the Targum uses the same word, we shill find that 
the word Siw) is really nothing more than the exact Aramaean 
equivalent of the Hebrew word poy (= plain). Now, poyn, “the” 
Plain par excellence, is the ordinary Hebrew name used in the 


1 George Adam Smith: The Historical Geography of the Holy Land, 17th Edition, 
pages 427, 459, 580. Charles Foster Kent: Biblical Geography and History, 
pp. 170—171. Charles Foster Kent: A History of the Hebrew People, vol. II, 
pp. 40—41. Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1910). H. B. Tristram: The Land 
of Israel; a Journal of Travels in Palestine, 1866, p. 437. G. Armstrong: Names 
and Places (1908). 

2 Skinner (Century Bible) places Aphek in the Plain of Sharon. 

3. R. Kittel: A History of the Hebrews (English Translation, 1896), vol. II, p. 271. 

4 Ὁ. R. Conder in Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1883, p. 180. 


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TOLKOWSKY: Aphek 155 


Bible for the Plain of Esdraelon. The whole difficulty which com- 
mentators have found in the word W'S simply comes from the fact 
that the Biblical narrative reproduces the advice given to Ben-Hadad 
by his counsellors, in Hebrew translation, with the exception of the 
geographical term 7309, which has been left in the Aramaic original. 

Now, if we realise that the burden of the advice given to Ben- 
Hadad was not to enter the mountains of Israel but to await the 
Israelites in the plain, it seems obvious that the plain in which the 
Aramaeans were to await the Israelites could not have been any 
other plain than that situated immediately in front of the mountains 
of Israel, that is to say the Plain of Esdraelon, and especially the 
southern corner of the plain, which is situated immediately north of 
the present town of Jenin and which is enclosed on the south by 
the mountains of Israel, on the west by the slopes of Mount Carmel, 
and on the east by the gentle slopes leading up to Mount Gilboa. 

As the Aramaean camp must of necessity have been placed on this 
westward slope of Mount Gilboa, the town of Aphek, which was 
their base, must have been situated higher up on Mount Gilboa, on 
the road leading from Jenin to Damascus. The only place which 
fits into these conditions is the present village of Fukii‘a, the same 
we have met in the two battles previously described. Now as to 
the position of the Israelites, it is obvious that although Ahab now 
possessed a corps of charioteers, prudence would not allow him to 
venture too far away from the shelter of his mountains; therefore, 
the natural position for his army was on the slopes of the mountains 
overlooking the Plain of Jenin from the southwest. Moreover, he had 
to keep open his communications with the interior of the country. 
As there were two roads available, (1) the chief high road striking 
from Jenin south-southwest almost straight to Shechem (Nablus) and 
(2) the road starting also from Jenin but going nearly west through 
the Plain of Dothan to the Plain of Sharon, there to turn to the 
southeast towards the town of Samaria, the logical thing for Ahab 
was to divide his army into two parts and to occupy the entrances 
to both the roads just mentioned. Both these entrances were narrow 
defiles. This is the reason why, according to the Bible text, the 
Israelites looked “like two little flocks of kids.” No other battlefield 
than that at the foot of Gilboa would necessitate such a disposition 
of the Hebrew troops. 


156 ~ Journal of the peste Oriental Society 


' There is, however, a further ρας αθος against ἜΣ Aphek to. 


the east of the Jordan Valley. It is said in y. 26 that Ben-Hadad 
“went up to Aphek.” Now, Damascus is situated on a height of 
2340 feet above the Mediterranean, whilst Fik is situated only at 
about 1250 feet; as Fik therefore is situated about 1100 feet lower 
than Damascus, the identification of Fik with Aphek does not fit the 
text just referred to. If however, we accept the location of Aphek 
on Mount Gilboa, then Ben-Hadad’s army had to descend from 
Damascus into the Jordan Valley, to cross the latter, and then “to 
go up to Aphek.” 

We thus see that a close study of the three important “battles in 
which the place of Aphek is mentioned leads us to the conclusion 
that in all three cases we have to deal with one and the same place, 
situated on Mount Gilboa; and that it must be situated close to a 
road practicable for war chariots. These requirements are met by 
no other place than the present village of Fuki‘a, and I do not 
hesitate to identify this village with Aphek. But if any doubt 


remains as to the correctness of this identification, it seems to me ὦ 


that the Bible itself will dispose of these doubts. In Joshua 13 4, 


in the list of districts which had not yet been conquered by the — : 


Hebrews, after they had occupied the whole hill-country of Judaea 
and Samaria, the as yet unconquered country in the north is 
described as follows: ΡΒ TY ots WS TIVO 3320 ys 22 yD AY 
‘ox 5323 Ty, which is ordinarily translated: “from the south all the 
land of the Canaanites and Mearah that belonged to the Sidonians, 


and to Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites.” In this passage 4 


Aphek, according to the Century Bible, is to be identified with Afka, 


at the mouth of the river Nahr Ibrahim. This identification is not — a 


satisfactory, as Afka is situated much too far away,! to the north 
of Beirut. The text clearly shows that Aphek is situated on the 
frontier of the country of the Amorites. Now, in Deuteronomy 1 7, 
“pan an, “the mountain of the Amorites,” serves to designate 
the hill-country of Judaea and Samaria. Therefore since the — 
northernmost end of this hill-country is represented by Mount — 


Gilboa, it follows that Aphek, if it lay on the frontier, must have a 


been situated on Gilboa. We have, besides, the testimony of = 


1 As rightly pointed out by C.F. Burney: The Book of Judges (1908), p.29. 


TOLKOWSKY: Aphek 157 


Robinson,! who says that “the inhabitants of Jenin now call this 
range Jebel Fukfi‘a” from the adjacent village, whilst Conder? writes 
of Fuki‘a: “...a large village on top of a spur. It gives its name 
to the Gilboa range, which is often called Jebel Fuki‘a. It is 
surrounded by olive gardens, and supplied by cisterns east and west 
of the village.” The passage in Joshua, of which we have just spoken, 
throws some further light upon the position of Aphek. Verse 3, 
which starts the list of unconquered countries, describes the great 
maritime plain of Palestine; vy. 5 describes the country of Lebanon; 
the intermediate v. 4 refers to the country lying between the Lebanon 
and the hill-country of Central Palestine. In this verse the word 
my has been kept in some translations as the name of a place, in 
others it has been translated “a cavern.” Both these explanations 
are wrong. In Isaiah 197, the word ΠῚ», plural of My, is generally 
translated “paper reeds,” but it may just as well mean not only the 
paper reeds themselves but the stretch of land covered by them, or 
better still some town or village situated in a district rich in paper 
reeds and therefore named after them. Such a place may well have 
been situated in the marshes north of Lake Huleh, in the district 
of Laish, which was later on conquered by the tribe of Dan, when 
they drove out the Sidonians to whom it originally belonged. In my 
opinion the first four words of Joshua 13 4, in reality belong to the 
preceding v. 3; indeed, the first half of verse 3 explains that the 
Philistine and Avvite regions described in the second half of the 
same verse are contiguous on their northern frontier with the country 
of the Canaanites; and in my opinion the words ‘3y327 ΝΟΣ yonD 
meaning “to the south of the whole country of the Canaanites” belong 
to the end of ν. 3 and are simply a repetition of the idea already 
explained in the first half of this verse. Verse 4 in that case would 
read: “And from Arah belonging to the Sidonians unto Aphek, 
(that is) to the border of the Amorites;’ Aphek is thus indicated 
simultaneously as the southern limit of the Sidonian territory and 
the northern limit of the Amorite country. It seems to me that this 
definition of Aphek settles any doubts that might still exist as to 
the location of the place. 


1. Robinson: Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia 
Petraea, 1841, Vol. III, p. 158. 
2 Ὁ. R. Conder: The Survey of Western Palestine, Vol. 11, p. 84. 


158 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


That there may have been more than one Aphek in Palestine, 
is quite possible, and eyen probable. A priori, the word Aphek 
(PPX), meaning a fortress, may have been applied to different places. 
The Aphek mentioned in Joshua 12 18, 1553, 1930, and in 
2 Kings 1317, as well as the Aphik (PDS) of Judges 1 31 are 
difficult to locate, but they do not seem to refer to the same place 
as the Aphek of the battles I have described; except for the 
Aphek of 2 Kings 13 17, which being probably situated on the road 
from Samaria to Damascus, may be the one on Mount Gilboa. 
Dr. Albright has called my attention to the following extra-Biblical 
Apheks, namely the J-pw-gq-n (= Hfeqon) of the great Asiatic 
list Thutmosis III, the Apguw mentioned by Esarhaddon in his 
account of his march Tyre to Egypt (Winckler, Keilinschriftliches 
Textbuch zum Alten Testament, p.53), the Aphek of Josephus 
(Bell. ΤΙ, 513), and the Afiq (commonly called Fiq) of the Arab 
writer Yaqut’s geographical dictionary (I, 332). 1 am not prepared 
at this stage, to make any definite suggestion as to the location of 
these four places. 

But as far as the three above-mentioned great battles of the 
Bible are concerned, I have no doubt that the Apheks appearing 
in their various accounts are really one and the same place, namely 
Fuki‘a on Mount Gilboa. 


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THE DIVISION OF THE YEAR IN PALESTINE 


ST. H. STEPHAN 
(JERUSALEM) 


HE ordinary Palestinian is nowadays far advanced beyond those 
Robinson Crusoe times when one counted the days, according to 
the pleasant tale of the Arabian Nights, by deducting every evening 
one pea from a numbered amount of peas, thus keeping pace with 
the hurrying time. At present we have a rather well regulated 


calendar. 


As far as the adherents of both religions are concerned, there 
exists at the same time an economic year on the one hand, and a 
religious and agricultural one on the other. The first one is solar, 


whilst the latter is a sort of Mittelding, a solaro-lunar year. 


The most common division of the year is that into twelve months. 
The Christians use their month-names for their calendar, which is 
identical, to a certain extent, with the fiscal year. Generally speaking, 
the Mohammedans also follow this reckoning of time in fixing their 
agricultural and (partly also) their religious year. And as these two 


elements are inextricably entwined, either may pass for the other. 


The Christian names of the twelve months are of Syriac origin, 
as the Eastern Church, especially the Orthodox, has the Julian 
Calendar. The months appear in their usual order. The same calendar 
underlies the reckoning of the late Turkish fiscal year, with the 
difference, that the latter has substituted the names Mart and Agostos 
for Addy and Ab, and that the former month is the first month of 
the fiscal year. Consequently, the leap year in such a reckoning 
must necessarily fall on the preceding one, e. g., the fiscal year 1915, 


instead of 1916 as usual, was a leap year. 


The agricultural year begins in the autumn (Genesis 23 16 and 34 22), 
thus following the Syriac year, which begins in October. Although 
9 


12 


160 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


we consider it as solar, yet the names of the months are sometimes 
taken from the lunar year. Generally it agrees with the Julian 
calendar. The different names of the Mohammedan lunar months 
are merely of local character. 

Both in town and village the lunar and solar years consist of 
twelve months. But there seems to be an exception to this rule in 
Transjordania, where a sort of pre-Islamic kalammas, a special local 
“astronomer”, so to speak, acts as a “judge” [gddi|] and determines 
the beginning of the year for the herdsmen and shepherds. This 
year has only eleven months one time and twelve next. It is said 
that one year a month is added! and that one is deducted from the 
following year.? 

Aside from this exception the solar system is throughout the basis 
for all fixing of the days. Only the Julian calendar comes into 
question. The Gregorian is of recent date, and, although in use with 
the authorities, not known widely to the people at large. Thus when 
we mention a certain event as having happened, say, at the feast of 
the Elevation of the Holy Cross, we naturally follow the Julian 
Calendar, unless otherwise stated. And this is the usual way of 
counting and fixing dates both with the Christians and Mohammedans. 
This fact can be easily accounted for. Since the Orthodox Church 
is the oldest and also numerically the largest of the different Christian 
confessions, its calendar has been widely adopted because of its 
exactitude compared with the lunar system. : 

The meaning of the Mohammedan names of the months are as 
follows: — Mohdrram is the “holy month,” apparently because it is 
the beginning of the year. Is this a trace of an ancient Semitic 
belief, according to which the first things were holy? All wars and 
tribal quarrels had to cease during this period. It is colloquially 
called Sahr awwal is-sene, the month of the beginning of the year. 
According to Al-Buldri its original name was “sdfar dwwal.“ In 


Safar the towns and encampments become empty tasfarr wa-tasir 


haliya) because people continue waging war against each other. 
abv means the time of springing forth, where men and animals 
1 Saher bihill wu Sahr dizill. 

> The usual Beduin months are:—el-djrad, el-asimm, sbat, adar, hamis (the 


fifth month), jwmdda, three géd, which never fall in the winter season, and finally 
three sifar months. 


ae 


STEPHAN: The Division of the Year in Palestine 161 


enjoy themselves. Jiwmdda was originally the period of the year in 
which the water froze and the air became cold. Rajab (al-asamm) 
means the deaf one, because no clash of arms was heard then. They 
feared this month (as is shown by the classical expression rdjiba-s-sai'a, 
i.e, he fears the thing). Another appellation was given to this 
month in calling it the sacred one (Sihr il-haram). Saban was the 
time when the tribes went on the war path to secure water for 
their animals. In Ramadén the heat became almost unbearable, as 
in our “dog days.” Then there is a tradition that Ramadan is also 
one of God’s holy names, so that its correct name would be “the 
month of Ramadan.” <Al-Mastidi in his Murty-id-dahab says that 
the camels used to flap or whisk their tails (fusdwwil) during Sawwal, 
which was a bad omen to the Arabs, who detested the solemnizing 
of marriages during this month. During the month of Du-l-qi‘de they 
used to sit at home, abandoning war. The name of Du-l-hijje is 
derived from the yearly pilgrimages, /iajj, which then took place. 

The Beduin calendar knows three safar, three géd and two kantin 
months, followed by sbat (February in the Julian calendar), ada@y and 
hamis, which is always identical with April, and jwmada. The word 
al-ajrad for January means the bleak or barren month. According 
to another division of the year, which follows the seasons, we have 
only summer and winter (Genesis 8 22). The two other seasons, 
although mentioned in the Bible, are less known to the people 
as a whole. “Spring” (February, March, and April), or the 
equivalent word in Arabic (rabi‘) means “pasture” as well as the 
time of grazing; besides, it may be used for all luxuriant green 
vegetation. “Autumn,” the “little summertide” (cs-séfiyye -z-zqire) 
(September, October and November), is less known, with its name harif 
which means colchicum autumnale or urginea maritima (li. BAvER). 

The division of the year into two roughly equal halves has again 
its subdivisions. The winter is fully described, as it varies constantly 
and its rains are essential to the growth of the different crops. On 
the other hand summer with its monotonous sunshine has not given 
rise to much terminology. Most proverbs and common ‘sayings 
therefore refer to the winter. 

The agricultural year begins with the first rain, which brings new 
hopes for the following year. And as Palestine has been from times 


immemorial, in spite of her partly barren soil, an agricultural land, 
12* 


162 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


the agricultural calendar is predominant, especially with feliahin. Τί 
the rainfall happens to occur before the feast of the Elevation of 
the Holy Cross (November 3), the rainy season is an “early one” 
(mosam badri), if a fortnight afterwards it is termed a “late season” 
(mésam wali). As the two kaniin months are the most rainy ones, 
an adage warns against travelling.' The month of February seems 
to be an unaccountable fellow, and as great interest is attached to 
such a month, it has a special gift in store for us. On, or two days 
before or after the 7, we have for one or two days a very brief 
period, called jdmrit il-hawa (the live or burning coal of the air), 
which is supposed to warm the air. A week later, about the 14*, 
we have a second “burning coal,” in order to warm the water, 
(jamrit il-mayy). And the third and last “live coal” which is bestowed 
upon us on or about the 21% is the yamrit il-ard, which is thought 
to warm the face of the earth.2 So far shat seems to be “good 
humoured.” But finally he gives us three “borrowed days” (al- 
mustagradat), (which are followed by another four days of March) in 
order to make “good.” During this week the rain pours, the storm 
blows, and the cold tries to make itself felt. March comes in with 
storms and showers.? And as one expects the last rain in April, 
the following saying will show the high value assigned to it—in-nigta 
fi nisin, b-tiswa -s-sikke w-il-feddan.t This should be the end of the 
rainy season. 

1 The period between Christmas and Epiphany is called the tnaSariyye (the 
twelve day period). It is feared because of its rains. Sail-boats in Jaffa are 
always brought into safety some days before. 

2 I owe this to the courtesy of Dr. Cana‘an. 

3 The verse runs as follows: — 

ada@r, abu -z-zalazil w-il-amitar, 
bitbid il-anga u bidahhi -8-s8innar, 
binball irra% τι biddaffa bala nar... 
u binddi:—“ya miallimti, kabbri -r-rugfan, 
gisir il-lél u tiwil in-nha@r...” 
March, month of earthquakes and showers... 
(In it) the phoenix lays eggs and the partridge builds its nest. 
The shepherd becomes wet and warms himself without fire. 
He cries: — “Oh, my lady, make the loaves bigger, 
For the night becomes shorter and the day is lengthening!” 
The boat-men at Jaffa fear the thunderstorm of March ninth (ndwwit toqgiiz mart), 
which is known under its Turkish name. The sea is said to rage then. 
4 I. e., One drop in April is worth the plough and the yoke of oxen. Or again, 


in-nugta fi nisdn btiswa kull sélin s@l (One drop of rain in April is worth all 
the streams of rain which have come down). 


ae 


ae ΡΨ ΒΥ Pe a 


3 


STEPHAN: The Division of the Year in Palestine 163 


The summer begins with May. The fellah thinks then already of 
harvest... The “dog days” at the end of July and in the first two- 
thirds of August are characterized in the following way: —/% tammiz 
b-tigli -l-mayye fi-l-kiz (in July the water boils in the jug) or this 
one:— αὐ lahhab (August flames). But this heat brings a pleasant 
variety of fruits which refresh and delight in taste and aroma, 
especially grapes.2 September is the time when the olives grow.? In 
October the grape and fig season comes to an end.4 This is the 
time of the olive crop, when the days become shorter and shorter, 
and the fella: says that they are only as long as a length of thread. 
Summer begins with Easter and comes to an end at the feast of the 
Elevation of the Holy Cross. The Christian peasant gives the advice 
to live outdoors between these two days.6 

There are of course other less important mawdsim (seasons), such 
as that of the apricots, which falls about the first fortnight of May 
only, that of the melons, from the second half of July till the end 
of September, and last, but not least, the orange season from the 
second half of November to the end of April. The prickly pear 
ripens in July and lasts for about three months. 

All these periods are commonly used by the fellalin to indicate 
a certain date. Thus it may be stated that a certain event took 


1 Ft ayyar thmil manjalak u gar (in May take your sickle and cut with might). 
In June and early July is the third time when goats kid. These kids are called 
862 (summer born ones), those born in March are rbi% or [αὐτὴ (Bauer), alluding 
metaphorically to the fresh green herbage and the tender grass. The kids born 
during the autumn are called zétiin?, because the olive crop then takes place. 

2 i tammitz vgtuf il-kiiz, sc. Κῶ is-sibr. (in July pluck the prickly pear); 
fi ab kul παν wild tahab (eat the grapes in August and fear not); mdsam it-tin 
fis ‘ajin (There is no bread [needed] during the fig period); mésam il battih fis 
tabih (There is no prepared meal [needed] during the melon season), 

3 Fi élul bitih iz-zét fi-z-zetiin (in September the oil flows through the olives), 
[From Dr. Cana‘an.] 

4 μὴ tisrin bigabbir il- ‘inab w-it-tin. In October the grapes and figs fade 
away [Dr. Canaan]. The Jaffa people call the sea in October and November 
(i)mtasrin 1. 6. “it is in ¢é8rin,” and mean by that expression that the sea is calm, 
“as calm as oil,” because the scirocco is then blowing. 

> Ayyam iz-zét til il-hét. [From Dr. Cana‘an.] 

6 ‘Ayyid w-itla sallib w-idhul [ὃ τ΄. Cana‘an], “celebrate the Easter feast and 
live outdoors, celebrate the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross and live 
indoors.” Also: mata sillabat harrabat, “after the feast of the Holy Cross it 
(the rain) destroys.” The fel/@h then does not leave a crop on the threshing 
floor, fearing the coming rain. 


164 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


place at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the harvest 
or another season. 

From the religious point of view our calendar is mostly Julian, 
as used by the Orthodox Church. The feasts of the Elevation of the 
Elevation of the Holy Cross, 7d es-salib (September 14), Mar Elias 
(July 20), of Liidd (November 3) and the Greek Easter are fixed | 
points for the determination of any date. Bearing this fact in mind, 
it is not strange to note that practically all proverbs, adages, weather 
rules, and household words dealing with feasts of a somewhat fixed 
date are of Christian origin. The reason for it is clear; since the 
lunar year is usually about eleven days shorter than the solar, it 
shifts gradually through a cycle of 33 years, so that Mohammedans 
may celebrate Ramadan in different years on Christmas or Easter 
or Pentecost. This disadvantage of the lunar year compels the 
Mohammedans to make use of the solar chronology when fixing 
certain dates and local feasts, as already stated. 

Thus the feast of en-Nébi Musa falls invariably on the week pre- 
ceeding the Greek Passion.t Hight days after en-Néebi Misa, which 
falls always on Friday, the feast of en-Nébe Sdleh is celebrated by 
the people of the coast, who gather at his tomb in Ramleh. The 
Nebi Rubin feast takes place in September (during the melon season) 
and that of the Weli “Ali bin (1)layyim at the end of it. 

A striking and most interesting fact is the division of the year 
into seven periods of about fifty days each.2. This reckoning begins 
with Easter and the first period lasts until Pentecost; being dependent 
upon the Haster fast itself. During this first period comes the harvest 
and threshing of lentils and kirsénne (vicia). It lasts exactly fifty 
days. The second one, in which the harvest and threshing of barley 
and wheat takes place, ends with the feast of Mar Elias (July 20), 
the time when watchmen begin to watch in the vineyards.3 The third 


1 It was instituted by the Sultan Salah ed-Din οἱ Ayyibi, the Fatimid, to 
counterbalance the large number of Christian pilgrims in the Holy City at that 
time. 

2 An account of this appeared for the first time in Dr. Cana‘an’s “Kalender 
des palaestinischen Fellachen,” ZDPV 1916. Min il-td la-l-ansir hamsin ydm 
mqaddara (Fifty days are fixed for the period between the “(Haster) Feast” and 
Pentecost). The expression hamsin yOm mgaddara is repeated after every period. 

3 Min il -ansara la-l-mintara (from Pentecost to the time of watching sc. the 
vineyards). 


STEPHAN: The Division of the Year in Palestine 165 


period practically covers the grape and fig season (54 days), and ends 
on September 14.! The fourth period extends to the feast of Liidd? 
(November 3) thus having exactly 50 days. During it the olive harvest 
and the preparing of oil take place. In taking the fifth period into 
consideration we have again two fixed dates, between which there 
are 52 days. This is the time of ploughing, sowing and the first 
part of the early rain. The real winter is considered to le between 
Christmas and Lent, thus making up the sixth period,‘ the last one 
being Lent itself.s This division of the year gives a feast to every 
period. 

Another incomplete division is that which gives two periods of 
forty and fifty days each to both summer and winter. They are 
called marbaniyyat (mirbaniyyat) and hamsiniyydat. (Quadragesima 
and Quinquagesima.) The winter quadragesima mirb‘aniyyet es-sita 
begins with the 101} of December and ends on January 19*", followed 
directly by the hamsiniyyet es-sita.” The mirb‘aniyyet es-séf begins 
with the 10% of July and ends on August 19 followed also by the 
hamsiniyyet es-séf. The two mirb‘aniyydt have the greatest cold and 
greatest heat respectively. 

The week consists of seven days,?7 named by the Arabic ordinals 
from Sunday until Thursday. Friday, yom 7-jtim‘a, means the day 


1 Min il-mintara la-l-ma‘sara (from the time of watching the vineyards to 
that of pressing the grapes). 

2 Min il-ma‘sara la ‘id Liidd (from the time of pressing the grapes to the 
feast of Liidd, Nov. 3). 

3 Min “id Liidd la-l-miladi (from the feast of Liidd till Christmas). 

4 Min il-mildd la-s-siam (from Christmas to Lent). 

5 Min is-sia@m la-l-id (from Lent till Easter), 

6 The MarbGniyyet es-sita begins with the feast of St. Spiridon and ends on 
St. Aftimos Day. In Jaffa the jamrit il-hawa falls a fortnight before that of 
Jerusalem. 

7 There are weeks with special names, such as the jim‘it l-(i)mnada the week 
of “calling,” where people gather for the pilgrimage to the Neébi Misa shrine, 
the Friday a fortnight before Good Friday. Jimiit in-niizle, the Friday of the 
Descent, falls a week before Good Friday. Hight days later is the Jimit 
el-(i)‘layyim, Friday of the little banner. It falls together with the “hot Friday” 
(ij-jum'a -l-hdmye), the feast of the Nebi Saleh, whose magaém is the “white 
tower” of a crusader church in Ramleh. The same day has also the name of 
jiumit ir-ragdyib, Friday of the “good wishes,” or, alluding to the tomb of en- 
Nebi Saleh, jum'it ij-jami il-ibyad, Friday of the “white mosque.” It is also 
called jim‘it in-nabat, Friday of the “plants” (sc. flowers, when maidens pluck 
all sorts of flowers, dry them in the moonlight, and make essences and scents 


166 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


of assembly and the name of yém zs-sabt (Sabbath) is traceable to 
the ancient Babylonian sabattw, which was taken over by the Syrians 
and Jews.1 [This is not certain; cf. Rev. d’Assyr. W.F.A.] 

A calendaric day, dies naturalis, is a yom. The French word 
journée covers the Arabic nhdr, dies civilis. In the Mohammedan 
calendar the day begins at sunset.2 It has five divisions: morning, 
noon, afternoon, sunset, and late evening, at which five times the 
prayers are to be performed. The division of the day according to 
the Arabic calendar into 24 hours, horae temporales or horae inequales* 
beginning after sunset with one o’clock, is still in use with the 
Mohammedans, but generally it 15 loosing ground in the towns and 
the Roman horae aequinoctiales (sdat mu‘tddile or saat mustawiye) 


with them. Bauer has as first Thursday in Sahr el-hamis or April, hamis en- 
nabat; as the second the hamis el-amwét or hamis el-béd “Thursday of the Dead,” 
or “Thursday of the eggs.” It answers among Mohammedans to the Christian 
“All Souls Day.” A week after the jim‘it en-nébi Saleh Mohammedans celebrate 
at Gaza the ‘id il-munt@r, a popular etymology of the arabicized Greek word 
‘Metropolitan, mutraén, Porphyry, who destroyed the Venus temple in the fourth 
century, and who is buried in the Orthodox church at Gaza. 


1 Days of bad omen are Wednesdays falling on the 4th, 14th, 24th or the 
fourth but last day of the month. The number “thirteen” is, by the way, replaced 
by “eleven” for superstitious porposes. 


2 See Genesis 1 5.—“The day is reckoned, in principle, by the Church in her 
ecclesiastical feasts from one disappearance of the sun to the next” (Hastings, 
Dictionary of the Bible, Art. “time”). 


3 The hours of the night are called as follows: — 

The first hour. Dort-is-sra@j (going about with the candle) begins about half an 
hour after sunset, and is closely followed by ον is-sra) (the burning 
or lighting of the candle). 

One hour and a half after sunset is οἱ- δα, the last time for prayer, the late 
evening. 

Between three and four hours after sunset is the ‘aga (in Transjordania), where 
they place it after “having served supper for men” (gdltet “aSa-r-rjal). 
The reason of this rather late hour of having supper is that the herd 
is kept mostly over one hour’s walk from the encampment. A man 
goes there and returns with a sheep to the waiting guest, for whom 
he prepares the meal. When supper is ready it is about four hours 
after sunset. 

the fourth hour is known as the “crow of the angry wife,” whose husband is 
supposed to be still absent from home (séhit dik il-hardane). 

The fifth hour has in Transjordania the name ba‘d il-isa b-“asayén (two suppers 
after the supper) or better “igh ‘asayén, 1. 6. after the time it takes to 


STEPHAN: The Division of the Year in Palestine 167 


are coming more and more into general use. The division of the night 
according to St. Mark. 1335 is still in force. 

The hour and its subdivisions are also employed. Another meaning 
of the “hour” (s@‘a) is an instant or moment.! As an inexact fraction 
of an hour may be mentioned the time it takes to smoke a cigarette 
(Surbit sigara). 

Finally I will give some proverbial sayings relating to time in 
general. If somebody has cramp or fits,? he is said to have “his 
hour” (aat sa‘to). If strange happenings take place the year may 


prepare two suppers. Has it anything to do with the biblical expression 
“between the two evenings?”— Exodus 126. It is also called the “first 
cock’s crow” (séht-id-dik-il-awwal). 

The sixth hour is midnight. It has also the name of dért-il-haradmi (the time of 
the “roaming about of the thief”) which may be extended even to 

the seventh hour. 

The eighth hour is that of is-shtir the “breakfasting” (especially in the month of 
Ramadan). Then comes in 

the ninth hour the “cock crow” or his “bidding,” séht id-dik or ad@n id-dik. In 
months other than Ramadan the shtir period may include the time 
until the stella matutina, nijmet es-siibh, shines, about 

the tenth hour. In the “dark morning” (siibh il-“itme) about the first dawning 
of the day dwwal il-fajr when one can “tell a wolf from a dog” (thigg 
il-kalb min id-dib, Transjordania) is the time when women begin grinding 
the wheat, giving fodder to the cows, milking the goats, etc. 

At the eleventh hour the “lights” (masabih) of the firmament grow paler and 
paler. It is also called digse, “the peep of day(?)” (dagalis in-nhar).— 
sia qabl i8-3ims, gabl ig-8ums b-sd‘a (one hour before sunrise) is the 
“roaming” or “spreading of sheep” (to pasture) nisrit id-dibas (Trans- 
jordania). Sunrise is the 

twelfth hour. 


The twelve hours of the day (Joh. 119) are divided thus:—-sdrhit el ginam 
takes place about the first hour (the driving out of the sheep), just after or 
about ¢d"it 78-8ims, sunrise. The time from two to four oclock in the morning 
is the “forenoon,” zd-daha. From five to nine the shepherds have their siesta 
(tagyilt -ir-rwyan). The sixth hour is the himt il-(i)grab (hovering round of the 
raven), the seventh the “turning-point of the shade“ or “of the sun” (dért iz-7i//, 
dort i8-8ims). After nine is the afternoon (e/-‘dsr), followed by e/-‘asriyye, vesper, 
at ten o’clock. Shortly after the eleventh hour is the “little afternoon” (il-i'sér). 
Then comes at twelve il-migrib or gébt ἐδ- δῷ 18, sunset, half an hour before which 
is the time of returning sheep and goats (tarwiht il-ginam or tarwiht is-surrah) 
the “coming home of the sheep.” 

1 The word for “hour” admits also the meaning of “a while” (sa@‘it zamédn, 
sda); cf. Daniel 4 19. 


2 Cf. Mark. 992 and Matth. 1715. 


168 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


be called after them.! Sittin séne sabin yom (sixty years and seventy 
days) is said regarding carelessness. “Forty days’ is the old Semitic 
expression for a long period? (cf. Moses, Elijah, Jesus, and Mohammed). 
Bissene marra® (once a year) is used to denote a rare happening, 
Sene wu Sahrén4 (a year and two months) is used in poetry for a 
rather long time of separation; seh mtdsim (an old man of ninety 
years) is the symbol of frailty. Ad calendas graecas is represented 
in Arabic either by the term f7 sant i-ful® or better:—bukra fi-l- 


mismis (“in the year of beans,” 


i.e. never, or “to-morrow, in the 
apricot season”), A jiuma mismsiyye® means the “happy days of 
yore, which passed so swiftly,” or also a rare opportunity. The grieving 
man is consoled by telling him, that “one day is against him and 
another one in his favour”— yom ilak w yom ‘alék. A lazy, tiresome 
person is described as one “whose day equals a year” (yomo bséne). 
And if somebody is worried by a bore, he keeps smiling at the 
thought that everything must come at last to an end, or, as we put 
it, ἃ la ‘Omar Hayyaém, “It is only one night, O driver.” (hi léle, 
ya mkard). 


I wish to express my thanks to Dr. W. F. Ausricut, Director of 
the American School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and Dr. med. 
T. Cana‘an, for their kind advice and assistance. 


1 The latest year with such a name is 1920, the “snow year” (sent it-tal)) 
owing to the heavy snowfall. (Lev. 124.) 

2 Is it not a vestige of an ancient belief, which did not allow the husband 
to exercise his connubial rights for a period of forty days after the confinement 
of his wife, which may have made a deep impression on the ancient Semites? 
Besides, “forty” (and also “hundred” and “thousand”) is an expression for an 
uncertain number as with the forty martyrs. An expression with the same 
meaning is that a period is “longer than Lent” (sdm el-arb‘in, fast of forty days) 
among the Christians, or sém Ramadan (fast of Ramadan) among the 
Mohammedans; min “@sar il-qgdm arb‘in yom sa@i minhum (he who lives with 
people for forty days becomes one of them). |Stephan’s suggestion is identical 
with the theory recently proposed by Roscher to explain the origin of the forty 
day period. There is much in its favor.— W. F. A.] 

3 It is just the opposite of the expression λει yom, “daily.” 

4 Opposite to the word sé‘a. 


5 Another expression which deals with the past is: min sénit anastum birabbikum 


(a misinterpretation of the Koran verse alistu birabbikum?), which denotes now, 
“immemorial times,” or “the days of auld lang syne.” 

6 The apricot season is very short and lasts only one fortnight or three 
weeks in May. 


STEPHAN: The Division of the Year in Palestine 


THE SOLAR MONTHS 


169 


Colloquial Syriac 
(Mardin) 


Classical Syriac! 


tisrin gadmoyo 
tisrin trayono 
konun gadmoyo 


konun trayono 


odar 

ison 

yy ur 

hzeran 

tamiiz 

ἐπι ει], I 


éliin 


tisvin qadmaya 
tisrin trayadnd 
kanon gadmaya 
kanon trayand 
bat 


He 


adar 
nisadn 
iyyar 
hziran 


tamiz 


éliil 


Classical Arabic 


The Turkish 
fiscal year 


nisdn 
Ομ αν 


haziran 


eerie tes Ἂν “ 
tisvin tane 


kantin dwwal 


| 
| 


mart 


nisan 

αν 

haziran 

tammiz 

agostos 

eli 

tisrin awwal 
(tisrin tami (sani) 
kantin dwwal 

| kann tant (sani) 


ας 


1 The Eastern dialect of Syriac, the so called Chaldean, has the following 
names of month: — tisrin qadmayd, tisrin ahraya, kanin qadméya@, and kaniin 


ahraya, 


... 8ebdt... ab. The months corresponding are shown in the same line. 


170 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
THE LUNAR MONTHS 
pee | a a It IV 
ie | mharram : (i wor Ἶ (δῖα) ἀγα ἐπ ες 
safar safar ajrad Safar el-her+ safar tant 


rabt awwal 
yabi’ tanr 
jumada dawwal 
jumada tant 
vajab 

sa‘ ban 


ramadan 
sawwail 


du-l-qi'da 


du-l-hijja 


safar dwwal 
safar tant 
yjamada awwal 
jamada tani 
rajab 

δα! δᾶ 


δὰ} ramadan 
Suwwal 


zu-lqi‘de 


Φιι-ἰ-[ιὴ}}6 


kantin awwal 
kantin asamm 
sbat 

adar 

hamis 

sahr il-la‘qa} 


sahr ramadan 
Sahr 1s-sitt- 
~yyam > 
sahr bén 
l(i)-yad ° 
sahr εἰ--Ἰὰ 


fitr tan 


sifar talat 

ged awwal 

ged tani 

ged talat 

kantn dwwal 

kantin tan 
(asamin) 

Sahr ramadan δρᾶ! 

fitr dwwal° hams 


rabe awwal 
γα tana 
jamada awwal 
jamada tana 
rajab 

saban 


| 
| 
| 
| 


jamada 


| adha | 


1 In the third month list ahr il-la‘ga “the month of the licking(?)” is called 
thus, because it is considered as a meal, i. e., it passes away before one realises it. 
The proverb says: —b-til‘ago, ma btilhaqo, “You lick it, but you cannot hold it 
fast,” as if it where composed only of joyous days. 

2 The sitt -iyyam (six days) in the month of the same name are alternative 
days for keeping fasts, instead of doing so in Ramadan(?). 

3 The 8ahr bén 1-(i)‘yad derives its name from the sacrificial feast (‘id in-ndhr) 
and that of the starting of the hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) on the tenth day of 


du-l-hijje. 


4 In the fourth month list sifar has the attribute el-hér, the “fortunate” 


month. 


5 The feast of fitr dwwal is the first day of Suwwal. 


ee ee ee νυν δινννωυυονο νον όν νων... 


ον, ΡΤ 


NOTE ON A SCENE IN TOMB 85 AT THEBES 


E. J. A. MACKAY 
(HAIFA) 


HERE is an unusual scene painted on the architrave which 
surmounts the four square pillars along the axis of the outer 
chamber of Tomb 85 at Thebes, Egypt. 

Owing to its position and on account of bad lighting this scene 
has been noticed by few, but it has been published by Rosellini who 
has, however, made no remarks on it. It is somewhat roughly painted, 
in parts unfinished, and has suffered a certain amount of damage both 
from the hand of man and the attentions of the mason wasp. 

As will be seen from the illustration, there is on the left hand side 
of the picture the figure of a man, presumably the person for whom 
the tomb was made, Amenemhab, “Lieutenant-Commander of the 
soldiers,” who held this office some time during the period Tuth- 
mosis I[[[—Amenophis II. 

Amenemhab met with many adventures during his military career, 
but the scene being described appears to represent an episode of 
especial interest and for this reason he has given it special prominence, 
though in a badly lighted portion of his tomb. 

He tells us that he was an intimate friend of the King (Tuth- 
mosis III) and that he accompanied that king on his Syrian campaigns. 


172 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


when he was repeatedly rewarded for acts of valour. He fought 
with the King against the King of Kadesh and travelled as far as 
Karkemish; he speaks also of haying visited the land of Wan to the 
west of Aleppo. In the land of Niy,! in company with the King 
he hunted 120 elephants for their ivory, and one of the largest having 
attacked the king, Amenemhab went to the rescue and cut off its 
trunk.2 Again in a battle against the King of Kadesh, the latter 
endeavoured to drive a mare amongst the Egyptian stallions with 
the idea of causing a commotion amongst their ranks. Amenemhab, 
again to the fore, slew the mare, cut off its tail and presented it to 
the king, for which act he was specially commended. 

Amenemhab is attired in his picture in a long transparent tunic 
with short sleeves and tied around the neck with strings, underneath 
which he is wearing a loin-cloth of thicker material. These were 
the usual articles of apparel in the 18** dynasty. He holds a spear 
in his right hand and in the left a stick with a forked end (throwing- 
stick) which he is brandishing before a large animal painted a medium 
grey shading to a darker colour along the back. This animal, 
obviously a female, the writer would identify by both form and 
colouring as a wolf, an animal still to be*met with in the west of 
Asia and up to a short time ago in Palestine.s The stripes which 
are faintly shown in the illustration are curious as the wolf of the 
Old World is not marked in this way, though similar markings are 
said to occur on wolves in North America. 

The animal in this painted scene is nearly as tall a Amenemhab 


himself, doubtless an exaggeration to emphasize Amenemhab’s prowess. 


The height at the shoulder of the normal wolf is rather under three feet. 
It is, however, the smaller objects of the scene which are the most 
interesting. The ground colour is light-grey and on it are painted 


1 Euphrates, in the region of Aleppo. 

2 Literally translated, “its hand.” 

3 Canon Tristram when on a natural history tour in the wilderness of Judea 
some 57 yeare ago came across a wolf which he describes as larger than a 
European wolf and of a much lighter colour. “A Journal of Travels in Palestine” 
by H. B. Tristram, p. 367. 

4 That the animal shown is clearly a wolf and not a hyaena is proved by the 
form and colouring and especially by the tail being bushy. I cannot call to mind 
a single example, with this exception, of a wolf being portrayed in a Theban tomb, 
though the hyaena is frequently depicted in hunting scenes. 


MACKAY: Note on a scene in Tomb 85 at Thebes 1a 


various plant and animal forms, the most noticeable of which are a 
number of hemispherical objects dependent from each of which are 
- three filiments or tentacles. These forms occur in groups of three 
with their filaments intertwined. They are painted blue with three 
rows of white spots and the tentacles are coloured red. 


I would suggest that these objects are crude representations of 
jelly-fish for they are shown as free-swimming and not attached to 
anything but each other. The fact that they are shown in groups 
of three is difficult to explain, but it must be remembered that the 
Egyptians were but superficially acquainted with the habits of the 
jelly-iish which is purely a marine animal and only travels a short 
distance up the mouths of rivers. 


Jelly-fish frequently have little areas of a brighter colour around 
the margin of the head or umbrella, but these never occur in more 
than one row. The three trailing appendages may be a convention, 
incorrect as to number, for the bundle of filaments which hang below 
the head. Blue is, of course, a common colour in jelly-fish. 


It is certain that these jelly-fish were drawn from memory owing 
to the impossibility of transporting the animals from tlteir native 
habitat and this would account for obvious mistakes in drawing. The 
artist may even have never seen the animal himself but have relied 
on a description. 


In interpreting the scene in question we are met with an obvious 
difficulty. The usual method of representing water in Egyptian 
scenes was by a series of chevron lines in dark-blue on a light-blue 
ground. These are entirely absent from our picture which has a 
plain grey ground. A sandy beach, however, would be well represented 
by grey. 

The plant forms shown are also of especial interest. There are 
four groups each of three, with red undulating stems terminating in 
white buds. The buds might at first glance be confused with those 
of the lotus, but the leaves at the base are totally unlike those of 
the Nymphaeae. The undulating stems are also quite unlike any 
others in the tomb paintings of Thebes and are unique. They label 
the plants as being aquatic, whether fresh water or marine. ‘There 
is another plant-form in the scene with red stems and green leaves, 
but it is not peculiar in any way. 


174 ' Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


A probable explanation of this scene is that it depicts an adventure 
of Amenemhab during one of his expeditions with his King in Palestine 
or further north. During such an expedition he was attacked by a 
she-wolf, doubtless defending her whelps, and the scene of the adventure 
was probably the sea-shore, if the other objects in the scene are 
correctly interpreted as jelly-fish and marine plants. 


σι λα 


LE CULTE DE JONAS EN PALESTINE 


F.-M. ABEL Ὁ. P. 
(JERUSALEM) 


6888 Elie, il n’est peut-étre pas de prophéte qui ait en Orient 
un culte aussi répandu que Jonas. Les étranges péripéties de 
sa mission, le symbolisme qu’ont su en retirer l’art et la liturgie 
ainsi que les réminiscences que nous en trouvons dans lEvangile 
et le Coran? ont certainement contribué ἃ cette popularité que 
plusieurs savants cherchent & expliquer par la simple évolution du 
culte de la colombe sacrée si répandu jadis sur le rivage syro- 
phénicien. On sait en effet que le nom de Jonas (73%) signifie en 
hébreu «colombe», étymologie admise par les Onomastica sacra ἃ cété 
de certaines autres moins plausibles.3 Ce n’est pas sous ce rapport 
que nous voulons envisager cette question, notre dessein étant de 
rechercher comment il se fait que le fils d’Amittai ait actuellement 
trois centres de culte en Palestine, le premier en Galilée, le second 
en Judée, et le troisiéme en Idumée. Aussi bien laissons-nous de 
cété le Néby Younés qui s’éléve (et pour cause) sur les ruines de 
Ninive, face ἃ Mossoul, de méme que le Khdn- Younes, ἃ; 23 kilométres 
environ au sud de Gaza, dont le vocable n’est peut-étre que le nom 
de V’intendant du sultan Barqougq, fondateur de la belle mosquée que 
Yon y voit.4 En tout cas la genése de ce dernier lieu saint comme 


1 Matth. 1239; 164; Luc. 11 29ss. 

2 Sourates XXI et XXXII. 

3 Fr. Wurtz, Onomastica sacra, p. 131: Ἰωνᾶς περιστερά. Jona columba vel dolens 
(ik). Ιαώ πόνος... ὃ). Jérome, Prolog. in Jonam (PUL., XX V, 1117): Si enim Jonas 
interpretatur columba, columba autem refertur ad Spiritum sanctum. Cf. CLermont- 
Ganneau, Etudes Warchéologie orientale, 11, p.7ss. Scumor, Jona. 

4 Τὰ Ἰηνυσός d’Hérodote III, 5, est cherchée par les géographes plus au sud, 
a el-“Aris de préférence. 

13 


176 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


celle du Khan en-Néby Younés que lon recontre entre Sidon et 
Beyrouth non loin du ras Damour demeure obscure, 


ag 


Le village de Meshed situé ἃ cing kilométres environ ἃ Vest de 
Sepphoris posséde une petite mosquée ot I’on montre un tombeau 
qui prétend renfermer la dépouille du prophéte Jonas. C’est méme— 
ἃ la prépondérance de ce souvenir que cette localité doit son nom 
arabe de Meshed, équivalent de martyriwm ou de n’importe quel 
sanctuaire dédié ἃ un saint personnage.! I] est admis que ce nom a 
supplanté V’appellation antique de Gath-Hepher, par laquelle la Bible 
désigne le pays d’origine d’un prophéte Jonas, fils d’Amittai, qui avait 
annoncé l’extension du royaume d’Israél accomplie par Jéroboam LI., 
et que l’on identifie généralement avec l’envoyé de Dieu mis en scéne 
dans le livre de Jonas.2. On ne voit nulle part que ce personnage 
ait terminé ses jours dans son village ni qu'il y ait été enseveli, mais, 
suivant ce quil arrive d’ordinaire en pareille matiére, sa mémoire 
(fait-ce la mémoire de sa naissance) s’est concrétisée sous la forme 
dun tombeau. Telle était déji la situation constatée par 8S. Jéréme 
en 395, quand il signale & deux milles de Sepphoris dans la direction 
de Tibériade, le hameau de Geth ot l’on montre le sépulcre de 
Jonas. Bien que l’évaluation de deux milles se trouve un peu au 
dessous de la véritable distance, il n’y a pas lieu de douter que nous 
ayons affaire ici au moderne Me<hed. 

Peu importe que les Juifs du Moyen 4ge offrent quelques variantes 
dans la tradition en indiquant ce tombeau soit sur une colline proche 
de Sepphoris, soit ἃ Kafr Kennai.4 Ces nouveautés dues ἃ des 
vénérations locales ou ἃ des intéréts particuliers gravitaient de fort 


1 Cf. la bonne description de Guérin dans Galilée, I, p. 165s. 


22 Reg. 1425: ἽΒΠΠ nas awe Naan ΩΝ ΤΣ mim. — Jon. 11; Josue 1913; 
Beresith rabba, ch. 98; Talmud de Jérusalem, Sebiith, VI, 1. Cf. Rewanon, 


Palaestina ... p. 718 et Nevupaver, Géographie du Talmud, p. 200s; van © 


Hoonacker, Les Douze Petits Prophétes, p. 312. 


3 Prolog. in Jonam (PL., XXV, 1118s): Geth in seeundo Saphorim milliario,. 2 


que hodie appellatur Diocesarwa euntibus Tyberiadem haud grandis est viculus, 
ubi et sepulerum ejus ostenditur. 
4 Bengamin DE TupELE, Jew. Quart. Rev., 1905, p. 297. Carmony, [tinéraires... 


p- 211, 256s. Le tombeau de Kafr Kenna est aussi mentiouné par des voyayeurs 


arabes des XI® et ΧΙ siécles. Cf. Guy Le Srranez, Palestine under the Ἢ 
Moslems, p. 469. ae 


ABEL: Le culte de Jonas en Palestine 177 


pres autour de Meshed, auquel d’ailleurs personne alors ne contestait 
Vhonneur d’avoir donné le jour au fameux prophéte; elles n’ont pas 
réussi, du reste, ἃ faire dévier le cours de la tradition originelle 
puisque l’état de choses actuel répond exactement & celui du ΤΥ" siécle 
aui doit remonter beaucoup plus haut. Il n’est pas téméraire, en 
effet, d’assigner ἃ ce culte galiléen une origine juive assez antique 
fondée sur le texte biblique lui-méme de 2 Rois 14 25. 


II 


La Sephelah ou partie basse de la Judée honore le souvenir de 
Jonas dans un ouvély qui s’éléve sur un monticule sablonneux dominant 
la mer vers l’embouchure du naly Soukreivy. Ce Néby Younés, situé 
ἃ six kilométres au nord de M7inet-el-Qala‘a qui représente le port 
d’Asdod ou l’Azote maritime, évoque tout naturellement le début de 
la notice que les «Vies des Prophétes» consacrent ἃ Jonas. Celui-ci, 
d’apres la recension dite de saint Kpiphane, était «de la terre de 
Kariathmaoum, prés d’Azote, ville des Grecs sur la mer».! Quoique 
la finale maowm puisse étre considérée comme une déformation du 
terme maiouma qui désignait les marines des villes de la plaine, 
nous accordons la préférence ἃ la lecon du Pseudo-Dorothée 
(III°—IV® siécles) dont le Karzathmaous peut s’expliquer beaucoup 
plus normalement.2 L’Araméen posséde un mot, emprunté a des 
langues plus anciennes, qui signifie un centre de commerce, un grand 
marché et aussi un port, mot qui présente, en somme, les diverses 
acceptions du grec emporion; c’est le terme mahoz ou mahouz que 
nous trouvons précisément employé pour dénommer certaines marines 
du littoral palestinien.? Les auteurs arabes connaissent encore 
Mahouz-Yebna et Mahouz-Azdoud, Yun répondant au ᾿Ιαμνιτῶν λιμήν 
de Ptolémée, l’autre ἃ 1᾽ Ἄζωτος πάραλος des notices byzantines, mentionné 
en ces termes au I siecle par Pomponius Méla (I, 10): «(Avabia) 
portum admittit Azotum, suarum mercium emporium» Ce port d’Azote 
est clairement indiqué par la «Vie de Pierre I’I[bére» en des termes 
analogues 4 ceux d’Epiphane.4 


1 Scuermann, Propheten und Apostellegenden, Texte und Unters. zur Gesch. der 
Altchristl. Literatur, XXXI, 3, p. 55. 

2 Pag. 56: Ἰωνᾶς ἣν ἐκ γῆς Καριαθμαοῦς πλησίον ᾿Αζώτου πόλεως “Ἑλλήνων κατὰ θάλασσαν. 

3 Of. S. Krauss, Revue des Etudes Juives, LVI, (1908), p. 33. 

t Raase, Petrus der Iberer, p. 121ss. Cf. Guy te ὅταν, Palestine under the 
Moslems, p. 24, 498. 


19. 


178 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


En définitive «le territoire de Kariathmaous prés d’Azote, ville 
des Grecs sur la mer» équivaut aux environs de Mahouz-Azdoud, 
aujourd'hui Minet-el-Qala‘a, qui pouvait fort bien s’appeler au temps 
de la composition des «Vies des Prophétes» Qiriath-Mahouz.! 
L’indication de la proximité d’Azote s'imposait pour couper court ἃ 
toute confusion, mahouz étant un nom commun. Nous avons donc 
tout lieu de croire qu’a la base du Néby Younés du littoral asdodien 
se trouve la croyance que Jonas était originaire de ce lieu. 

Cette croyance s’harmonise difficilement, il est vrai, avec l’opinion 
légendaire rapportée également par les «Vies des Prophétes», que 
Jonas était le fils de la veuve de Sarepta qu’Blie avait ressuscité. 
Au fait de ce trait bizarre issu d’un jeu de mot sur NOS (vérité) et 


‘ADs (Amittai, pere de Jonas), saint Jéréme lui attribue, et ἃ bon 
droit, une origine juive.2 Pour donner de la cohésion & ces éléments 
disparates nous devrions faire émigrer de Judée en Phénicie la veuve 
de Sarepta, ou bien ne regarder Kariathmaous que comme la patrie 
adoptive de Jonas et de sa mére, ainsi que parait l’insinuer la notice 
du Pseudo-Dorothée.? Mais il demeure trés probable que les deux 
renseignements accolés dans les «Vies des Prophétes» n’avaient a 
Yorigine aucun point de contact. Constatons seulement ici une 
tendance des Judéens ἃ tirer ἃ soi des prérogatives galiléennes 
suivant une prétention que saint Jean explicite en ces termes (VII, 52): 
«Examinez et vous verrez que de la Galilée il ne sort point de 
prophete.» 

C'est en vertu de Ja méme tendance que les Juifs proposérent 
Widentifier Gath-Hepher avec lune des Gath que l’on pensait retrouver 
aux environs de iydda-Diospolis ou sur la voie d’Eleuthéropolis. 


1 La chute de la gutturale dans le grec est un phénoméne connu: ἘΠ. est 
devenu Μαοῦς comme j3n" a donné lieu a Iwdvyys. L’identification de cette localité 
avec Hamdmeh prés d’Ascalon qu’ont proposée Sepp d’aprés Guérin, Judée, II, 
p- 129s., et Clermont-Ganneau, Etudes d'archéol. orient., 11, p. 7s. se soutient 
difficilement. 

2 ScHERMANN, op. 1., p. 56: καὶ θανόντα τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς Ἰωνᾶν ἀνέστησεν ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τοῦ 
ΓΛ απ Ὁ ἘΣ S. Jerome, Prolog. in Jonam: Tradunt autem Hebraei hunce esse filium 
viduae Sareptanae, quem Elias propheta mortuum suscitavit, matre postea dicente 
ad eum: Nune cognovi quia vir Dei es tu: et verbum Dei in ore tuo est veritas; 
et ob hane causam etiam ipsum puerum sic vocatum. Amathi enim in nostra 
lingua veritatem sonat: et ex eo quod verum Elias locutus est, ille qui suscitatus 
est, filius esse dicitur veritatis. Cf. 1 Reg. 17 24. 

3 ScHERMANN, p. 57: καὶ ἀναστὰς ᾿Ιωνᾶς μετὰ τὴν λιμὸν ἦλθεν ἐν γῇ ᾿Ιούδᾳ. 


ABEL: Le culte de Jonas en Palestine 179 


Aprés avoir signalé la tradition de Galilée ἃ laquelle il se range, 
saint Jérome ajoute: «Certains pourtant veulent que Jonas soit né et 
enseveli prés de Diospolis, c’est-i-dire de Lydda, ne comprenant pas 
que l’addition Opher est pour marquer une distinction d’avec les 
autres villes de Geth que l’on montre aussi aujourd’hui soit prés 
d’Eleuthéropolis, soit prés de Diospolis»! Nous devons mentionner 
ἃ ce propos la variante de Salomon de Bassorah qui fait Jonas 
originaire «de Gath-Hepher, de Qouriath-Adamos, proche d’Ascalon 
et de Gaza, et du rivage de la mer».2 Qouriath-Adamos se présente 
évidemment comme une altération de Καριαθμαοῦς, mais la proximité 
d’Ascalon et de Gaza parait avoir été postulée par l’existence d’une 
Gath dans ces parages. Or, entre ces deux villes se trouve el-Djiyeh, 
Yune des Dyjitein des géographes arabes, la Τ᾽ εθθείμ que ’Onomasticon 
rappelle au sujet de Gath.3 Il est possible que cette localité ait 
revendiqué en vertu de son nom le privilége si disputé d’avoir donné 
le jour au prophete, fils d’Amittai. 

Ainsi, dans certains milieux, ce fut le nom de Gath (Geth) qui 
fit naitre le souvenir de Jonas. Un exemple caractéristique en dehors 
de la Palestine nous est fourni par la proximité d’un Néby Younes 
et d’un village d’el-Djiyeh entre Sidon et Beyrouth. H/-Dyjiyeh 
correspond sans doute ἃ une ancienne Geth. Mais comme il eit 
été par trop invraisemblable d’y situer la naissance d’un prophécte 
palestinien, on se borna d’y marquer le lieu ott Jonas aurait été 
vomi par le monstre marin. «Nous arrivames, écrit d’Arvieux en 1660, 
au Village appelé Romeyle, et suivant notre route dans des roches 
et des sables, nous trouvimes auprés d’un autre Village appelé Gié 
une petite Mosquée blanche. qui selon la tradition du Pais marque 
le lieu ot la balemme vomit le Prophéte Jonas. Les Turcs ne 
manquent jamais de saluer profondément cet endroit, et de demander 


1 Prolog. in Jonam: Quamquam alii juxta Diospolim, id est, Liddam, ewm 
et natum et conditum velint: non intelligentes hoe quod additur, Opher, ad 
distinctionem aliarum Geth urbium pertinere, quae juxta Hleutheropolim, sive 
Diospolim, hodie quoque monstrantur. 

2 The Book of the Bee, ed. Budge, ch. XXXII, p. 70. La lecon Καριαθιαρίμ des 
Synaxaires grecs, de la seconde recension d’Epiphane et de Michel le Syrien 
(Chabot, I, p. 76) sent trop l’adaptation pour prévaloir contre celle qui a été 
admise plus haut. 


3 Cf. CLurmont-Ganneav, Archeol. Researches, 11, p. 196, note 1. 


180 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


permission au Prophéte de passer devant chez lui»! Ce sanctuaire 
existe encore au point indiqué par les cartes Khdn en-Néby Younes. 

Nous ne sommes pas en mesure d’affirmer que la position occupée 
par Youély du nahr Soukreir fit celle dune Geth de jadis. Peut- 
étre faut-il simplement assigner l’échouage de Jonas comme origine 
ἃ ce lieu saint, car nous n’avons pas ἃ dissimuler l’importance que 
prend dans la question le voisinage plus ou moins immédiat de Jaffa 
(Yapho, Joppé), port d’embarquement du prophéte décidé ἃ fuir vers 
Tharsis.2, En nous rapprochant de Jaffa nous trouvons ἃ 6 kilom. 1/2 
au sud de cette ville? un tertre qui domine la οὔθ sablonneuse 
environ 200 pieds et auquel on n’a pas jusquici prété grande 
attention. O’est ἃ Schick que revient le mérite d’avoir signalé ce 
point topographique omis jusqu’ici dans les cartes de Palestine et dont 
le nom est Tell-Younes.4 Malgré lensablement, les ruines couronnant 
ce sommet offrent un plan général assez reconnaissable. Au milieu 
d'une plate-forme entourée de murs se dessine un édifice mesurant 
45 pieds en longueur d’ouest en est, et 40 pieds du nord au sud et 
présentant une répartition en trois nefs, ce qui ferait penser aux 
restes d’une petite basilique. Ce T'ell- Younés, ἃ notre avis, répond 
exactement & la situation que la carte de Madaba, dans le fragment 
subsistant de la tribu de Dan, donne au sanctuaire accompagné de 
la légende TO TOY ATIOY IWNA dle (temple) de Saint-Jonas».5 
Il se trouve ἃ la hauteur de Diospolis du cété de la mer en face de 
cette Geth ou Gitta ἃ laquelle fait allusion saint Jéréme et qui est 
ἃ placer non loin de Ramleh. 


ἽΠΠῚ 


Le village d’Halhoul ἃ six kilométres au nord d’Hébron prétend. 
posséder le tombeau de Jonas dans une mosquée qui attire de loin 


1 Memoires, II (1735), p. 329. Voir note précédente. 

2 Jonas, I, 3. Le prophéte se léve pour ἔπι a Tharsis et descend a Jafia 
(SB) TI, εἰς Ἰόππην). Jeté par dessus bord et englouti par le cétacé, Jonas est 
finalement rejeté ἃ terre (πϑο ΠΝ, ἐπὶ τὴν ξηράν) au bout de trois jours (II, 11). 

3 Et par conséquent ἃ 21 kilométres au nord du WNéby Youmnés situé a 
Vembouchure du nahr Soukretr, dans l’ambiance de l’ancien port d’Azote. 

4 PE Fund, Quart. Statement, 1888, p. 7s. 

5 Voir RB., 1897, esquisse aprés la page 164; La Carte mosaique de Madaba 
(Bonne Presse, 1897) photogr. πὸ 3; Palmer et Guthe. Les commentateurs de la 
Carte, méconnaissant l’existence du Tel/ Younés, ont généralement identifié ce 
sanctuaire avec le Néby Younés du port d’Azote. 


ABEL: Le culte de Jonas en Palestine 181 


le regard et que l’on désigne sous le nom de Djdimi‘u Néby Younes.' 
Depuis ‘Aly d’Hérat (1173) les auteurs arabes s’accordent & préconiser 
cette tradition qui trouve un écho dans un ouvrage latin de 1320. 
«Au deuxiéme mille d’Hébron dans la direction de Bethléem est le 
lieu οὐ le prophéte Jonas demeurait, quand il fut revenu de Ninive. 
Tl y mourut et y fut enseveli»? En dépit de linexactitude touchant 
la distance, Odoric de Frioul, dont nous tenons ce renseignement, 
doit sans doute avoir en vue Halhoul dans laquelle, au dire d’‘Aly 
d’Hérat, se trouve le tombeau de Younes fils de Matta. Au sujet 
du sanctuaire, Moudjir ed-Din écrit: «Ce tombeau se trouve dans 
un bourg situé prés de la ville de notre seigneur el Khalil (Hébron). 
Ce bourg se nomme Halhoul et est sur la route de Jérusalem. Au 
dessus du tombeau, il a été construit un masdjed et un minaret. Le 
minaret fut élevé par les ordres d’el Malek el-Mo‘addam ‘Ysa, sous 
l'administration de l’émir Rachid ed-Din Faradj... dans le mois de 
radjab de l’année 623 (juin-juillet 1226). Le tombeau de Jonas jouit 
dune grande célébrité et l’on s’y rend en pélermage. Matta (Amittai) 
est enterré tout prés, en un village appeté Beit Oummar. C’était 
un juste de la famille des prophetes.»3 

Beit Oummar situé & cing kilométres au nord d’Halhoul montre 
encore aujourd’hui le tombeau de Néby Matta et il est fort possible 
que ce lieu saint soit celui que Willibald visita vers 725 et auquel 
il donne le nom de Saint-Matthias.4 Mais rien ne s’oppose ἃ ce que 
le véritable souvenir vénéré en cet endroit au VIII° siécle soit celui 
d’Amittai, péere de Jonas. On s’est demandé ce que venait faire Jonas 
en cette région et l’on croit communément que son culte en Idumée 
provient des Arabes. Les Juifs récents qui tiennent pour la localisation 
galiléenne de Gath-Hefer, ont substitué ἃ Halhoul le tombeau du 
prophéte Gad & celui de Jonas,> mais leur opinion ne saurait prévaloir 
contre celle des Arabes dont nous retrouvons le fondement ἃ une 


1 Guerin, Judée, III, p. 284ss.; Maver, Altchristliche Basiliken und Lokal- 
traditionen in Stidjudda, p. 80 55. 
2 Laurent, Peregrinatores medii aevi quatuor, p. 154. 


3 Sauvaire, Hist. de Jérusalem et d’Hébron, p.32. Guy ie Srranee, Palestine 
under the Moslems, p. 447. 


4 Hodoeporicon, cap. XXIV. 


5 Carmoxty, Itinéraires de la Terre Sainte... traduits de Uhébreu, p. 128, 
242, 388, 435. 


182 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


époque aussi reculée que l’époque ot nous avons constaté ailleurs 
Véclosion du culte de Jonas. 

C’est encore aux «Vies des Prophétes» que nous devons recourir 
pour ce nouvel aspect de la question et relever la fin de la notice 
sur Jonas négligée jusquici par les critiques. Nous lisons en effet 
dans la recension d’Epiphane: «Les Ninivites se convertirent & Dieu 
et obtinrent miséricorde. Jonas s’en étant affligé revint mais ne 
demeura pas en son pays; il adopta le pays de Sour, terre des 
étrangers, en se faisant ce raisonnement: Ainsi je me laverai du 
reproche de m’étre trompé en prophétisant contre Ninive. Ayant 
donc habité la terre de Saar, il y mourut et fut enseveli dans la 
caverne du fils de Qenaz, juge.»! 

Le fils de Qenaz «juge d'une tribu aux jours de l’anarchie» comme 
s'exprime le Pseudo-Dorothée, n’est autre qu’Othoniel, le frére cadet 
de Caleb, dont V’activité s’exerca sur les confins de la tribu de Juda, 
en territoire édomite.2 Les entités topographiques de Σούρ et de Σαάρ 
contenues dans Ja notice nous reportent dans le voisinage d’Halhoul. 
Entre Beit-Oummar et Halhoul (i 1500 métres de cette derniére 
localité) se trouvent les ruines de la célébre forteresse de Beit Sour; 
de plus, ἃ trois kilométres au nord-est d’Halhoul existe encore de 
nos jours le village de Sa‘ir, ot l’on montre le tombeau d’Esaii. 
Halhoul appartient donc excellemment & la région de Sour et de 
Saar ot. Jonas aurait vécu ses derniéres années et ot il serait mort 
et enseveli, partageant la grotte funéraire du juge Othoniel. Consacré 
dabord par le souvenir du fils de Qenaz, le sanctuaire y associa 
celui de Jonas qui finit par prévaloir et par éclipser toute autre 
mémoire en ce lieu. Le texte d’Odoric rappelé plus haut s’inspire, 
selon nous, de la tradition des «Vies des Prophétes»: «Secundo 
miliario versus Betlehem ab Ebron est locus, ubi Jonas propheta 
manebat, postguam venit de Ninive. Et ibi mortuus est et sepultus.»® 
C’est ainsi que l’Idumée en fixant sur son territoire les derniers jours 
du prophéte réussit ἃ posséder de son cédté un Néby Younés qui 
obtint chez les Arabes une vogue beaucoup plus grande que les 


x 


autres sanctuaires palestiniens dédiés ἃ Jonas. 

1 ScHERMANN, op. U., p.56: παραλαβὼν τὴν Σοὺρ χώραν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων... Καὶ κατοικήσας 
ἐν γῇ Σαὰρ ἐκεῖ ἀπέϑανε καὶ ἐτάφη ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τοῦ Κενεζίου κριτοῦ. 

2 Juges, III, 7—11. La correction d’Aram en Edom s’impose dans ce passage. 
Cf. I, 13. Lacranan, Le Livre des Juges, p. 48. 

3 Laurent, Peregrinatores ..., Ὁ. 154. 


ABEL: Le culte de Jonas en Palestine 183 


Que la diffusion du culte de Jonas soit due ἃ la simple évolution 
de la vénération de la colombe et du poisson des mythes syro- 
phéniciens, c’est une supposition qui attend encore des preuves solides. 
Comme de nombreux ouélys de l’Orient, les sanctuaires de Jonas ont 
leur origine dans un essai d’interprétation du récit biblique. Les 
uns évoluent autour de certaines localités tenues pour Gath-Hepher; 
les autres naissent sur la céte dans une relation plus ou moins 
étroite avec Jaffa, en raison de l’embarquement et de l’échouage du 
missionnaire. Seule la légende iduméenne présente des origines moins 
faciles ἃ saisir. Mais on ne saurait douter qu’elle remonte au moins 
au début de l’ére chrétienne.! 


1 En récapitulant nous obtenons done la série suivante: 1° Khan N. Younes 
entre Beyrouth et Sidon; 2° Teli Younés ἃ une heure au Sud de Jaffa; 3° Néby 
Younés du nahr Soukreir; 4° Khan N. Younés ἃ 23 kilom. au sud de Gaza; 
5° ἃ MeShed et aux environs; 6° ἃ Halhoul. Conder en signalant un ouély de 
Jonas ἃ Sarafand-Sarepta parait confondre avec l’ouély de Mar Elyas. @QS., 1888, p.8. 


NOTES AND COMMENTS 


ONE APHEK OR FOUR? 


In his interesting paper on “Aphek” (Jowrnal, Vol. 11, pp. 145—158) 
My. Tolkowsky has skilfully defended the theory that the three or 
four Apheks mentioned in the Old Testament are in reality identical. 
While he admits that other Apheks may have existed, the admission 
becomes of no historical significance, because all the occurrences of 
the name in a narrative context are referred to a single hypothetical 
Aphek, localized by Tolkowsky, following Conder and others, at Fuqi‘ 
on the summit of Mount Gilboa. It seems to the writer that this 
position is hardly tenable, and that we must, instead, distinguish 
between no less than five Apheks in Palestine and southern Syria, 
two of which are mentioned in the historical sections. Before 
proceeding to argue against his position, let us summarize our 
knowledge from extra-biblical sources. Egyptian sources mention 
one Aphek, cuneiform one or two, Greek three, and Arabic two. 

Of these Apheks the best known is the Aphek situated at the 
northern end of the famous Pass of Fiq, eight miles in a straight 
line northeast of Semah. Eusebius mentions it in his Onomasticon 
as a large village (κώμη μεγάλη) near Hippos, called Agexa. Hight 
hundred years after Eusebius, Yaqtit speaks of the place, describing 
~ its location accurately and tracing the references to it in Arabic 
literature from the seventh century on. His account commences with 
the following words: “Afiq—is a town of the Hauran, on the road 
of the Ghor, at the beginning of the pass known as the Pass οὗ 
Afig, and generally called Fiq, a pass about two miles long down Ἢ 
which one descends into the Ghér, that is, the Jordan (Valley).” 
This Fiq is usually identified with one of the biblical Apheks. The 
name Afig is Hebrew, meaning “strong, fortified” (cf Assyr. epéqu, 


Notes and Comments 185 


“be strong, firm, solid”), and accordingly there can be no doubt that 
an Aphek existed here in early Israelite days, before Aramaic became 
the tongue of the land. Its position, commanding the important pass 
of Aphek, on the road from Damascus to Beth-shan and the Plain 
of Esdraelon, was so strong that it could not have been neglected in 
the strategy of the wars between Damascus and Israel. 

The second Aphek lay near the headwaters of the Nahr el-‘Auja; 
Josephus (Wars, II, 513) says that Cestius and his army occupied 
Antipatris, while the Jews gathered in a certain fortress called Aphek 
(ἔν tue πύργῳ Αφεκου καλουμένῳ). For a long time the site of Antipatris 
was in doubt. Sanda (MVAG 1902, 51—60) in his discussion of the 
Aphek problem tried to identify Antipatris with Mejdel Yaba and 
Aphek with Qalat Ras el-‘Ein. In 1911 Guthe attacked the 
question, also in connection with Aphek (MNDPV 1911, 33—44), 
and showed conclusively that Antipatris lay at Ras el-Hin, a view 
which is now the common property of scholars, and that Aphek must 
have been Mejdel Yaba, two miles southeast of Ras el-‘Ein, on a 
very striking site, high above the plain, at the opening of the Wadi 
Deir Ballfit, which leads up toward Bethel and Shiloh. The name 
Mejdel YAab&i may be traced back to the Middle Ages (YAqit, etc.), 
as pointed out by Hartmann (MNDPYV 1912, 57—58), but this fact 
does not affect its identification with the older Aphek, which has 
been adopted by Dalman (PJB 1912, 21—22, and 1914, 31) and 
others. The antiquity of the name at this spot is proved by the 
Tuthmosis list, No. 66. As was observed long ago, the names of the 
towns in this part of the list follow the route of the king in his march 
up the Philistine Plain to Yaham, from which he turned off to cross 
the hills to Megiddo; the best discussion of the campaign is given by 
Alt (PJ B 1914, 53—99). Of importance for us are Nos. 64—68 in the 
list of Palestinian towns which submitted to Tuthmosis III: 

64. Rw-t-n, 1.e. Luddén, Hebrew Lodd, Arab. Ludd. It must be 
noted that there is no / ord in Egyptian. The endings 6 and én 
interchange constantly, and are frequently lost or added. 

65. Iw-in-iw, i. 6. Ond (iw was pronounced 6), Heb. Ondo. Ono 
probably lay at El-Yehtidiyeh, a mile and a half northeast of 
Kefr ‘Ana, “the village of Ono,” and six miles north of Ludd. 

66. I-pw-q-n, i. 6. Efeqon, Heb. Afeq, probably Mejdel Yaba, five 
miles northeast: of El-Yehiidiyeh. 


186 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


67. S3-w-k2, i.e. Sauka(o), Heb. 735’, modern Suweikeh, eighteen 
miles north-northeast of Mejdel YAba. The three biblical 
Socohs are all represented by modern Suweikeh, properly the 
deminutive of δόμοι, “thorn.” See Alt, PJB X, 69, n. 1. 

68. Y-li-m, i. 6. Yaham, which Alt has convincingly identified with 
Tell el-Asawir, ten miles north of Suweikeh. 

While one might place Aphek, in accordance with the list, further 
north, the fact that the Jews tried by occupying it to bar Cestius’s 
advance from Caesarea to Jerusalem shows that this is out of the 
question. That it was in Sharon is shown by Jos. 12 18. 

The Apqu of Esarhaddon’s campaign against Egypt (Winckler, 
Teaxtbuch, pp. 53 ff.) lay on the direct road from Tyre to Raphia, and 
so must be identical with either the Aphek just mentioned, or the 


Aphek of Asher, mentioned Jos. 19 30 between Accho (read My = ID) | 


for my) and Rehob (Tell Berweh?). Fortunately, Esarhaddon gives 
the distance as 30 double-hours (béru); the actual distance by road 
from Accho to Raphia is about 150 miles, or 60 hours for a large 
army with a baggage-train, so we must decide in favor of the northern 
Aphek. To be sure, if we follow Delitzsch and Langdon in main- 
taining that the Assyrians preferred a shorter béru, of only an hour, 
we obtain a distance agreeing exactly with the distance of sixty 
miles in a straight line (or about 75 by road) between Mejdel Yaba 
and Raphia. However, their position is almost certainly wrong. 

The most famous of all the Apheks in Syria is the Greek Aphaca 
(Agaxa) modern Afqa, east-southeast of Byblos, at the source of the 
river Adonis (Nahr Ibrahim), where one of the most ancient temples 
of Tammuz was located. It is quite possible that this Aphek is the 
Apiqa of the list of towns of the Assyrian Empire in Schroeder, 
KAVI, No. 90, Rev. 13. The same form of the name is found in a 
fifth Aphek (MPP) in southern Judah (Jos. 15 53); the form in question 
is probably derived from an *Apigat, which evidently interchanged 
with *Apiqon, the Egyptian Hfegon. The ordinary form of the name 
in Hebrew is Aftg or Afég, for *Afig. The various vocalic alterations 
point to a very great antiquity of the name, whose original meaning 
was early forgotten. 


We have thus five certainly distinct Apheks in Palestine and . 


southern Syria—must we add a sixth, to be identified with modern 
Fuqi’ on the top of Gilboa? Tolkowsky prudently gives up Conder’s 


Notes and Comments 187 


original argument—the phonetic similarity—and substitutes a series 
of strategic considerations. It is true that the Arabic form, meaning 
“mushrooms” is doubtless a popular etymology, but Mug’ may easily 
represent a Hebrew *Pagqgi‘ah, or the like, meaning “colocynth” 
(i. 6. place of colocynths), and the combination with Afeg defies all 
philological law. Let us then consider briefly the arguments presented 
by Tolkowsky. 

The best treatment of the Battle of Ebenezer is that by Guthe, 
already referred to, but his argument may easily be made even 
stronger. We must remember that Judah, as appears from the story 
of Samson, was already tributary to the Philistines, and that their 
attack was therefore directed against the northern tribes, Israel 
proper. The Philistines naturally gathered on the border between 
them and the Israelites, that is, at a point southwest of Israel. The 
best route by which to invade Israel was the Wadi ‘Azztn, leading 
up from a point a few miles north of Ras el-‘Ein to Shechem, the 
focus of the Israelite confederation. Directly east of Ras el-‘Ein is 
the mouth of the Wadi Deir Balltit, leading up toward Bethel and 
Shiloh (see above). Here was water in abundance for the horses 
and footmen, and a fortified town (Aphek = Mejdel YAba) to which 
to retreat in case of defeat. No argument can be deduced from the 
tribal affinity of the messenger who bore the evil tidings to Shiloh, 
since the latter was quite as sacred to Benjamites as to Ephraimites, 
and swift runners were not likely to outdistance the rest merely in 
order to get home first, when they might be the first to bring news 
to the capital. 

All critical exegetes agree that we have in 1 Sam. 28—31 one of 
the displacements of the text found in this book; ch. 283-25 belongs 
between 29 and 31 (30 is an episode from David’s career). With this 
rearrangement everything falls into place. The Philistine forces are 
marshalled at Ras el-‘Hin, just north of their own land, in the 
tributary region. When the contingent from Gath (‘Araq el-Mensiyeh!) 
comes on the scene, David is found with Achish, and a protest 
against the presence of so suspicious a person is immediately made; 
of course, this occurs before the march into the hostile land begins. 
Ch. 2911 shows that Jezreel was the goal of the Philistine march, 
which accordingly followed the Dothan route to Jenin and Zer‘in. It 
is clear that, as Tolkowsky remarks, the Philistines were endeavoring 


188 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


to occupy the Plain of Jezreel, the richest part of Saul’s domain, 
thereby cutting his kingdom into two parts. The Philistines evidently 
had cavalry, which prevented Saul from attacking them on the plain, 
so the latter took up his position on the western slopes of Gilboa, 
where the Philistines finally attacked him, not being able to coax 
him down. The elaborate twentieth century tactics assumed by 
Tolkowsky are out of place here, where the most reliable parallels 
forbid our supposing armies of over five thousand men. 

The Aphek of the Philistine wars cannot be identified with the 
Aphek of the Syrian wars, since 1 Kings 2026-30 shows that the 
latter was the Syrian base, in Syrian territory, or at all events on the 
border. in the time of Benhadad II we know that nearly all Trans- 
jordania, excepting only Gilead proper, was under Syrian control, so 
Aphek must have been situated just north of Gilead, on the road 
from Damascus to Samaria. These conditions are fulfilled admirably 
by (A)fiq, southeast of Chinnereth, commanding the pass on the road 
from Damascus to the Jordan Valley, as attested by Yaqit. The 
term “go up” (79) used of marching from Damascus to Aphek is 
no argument for the location of the latter on Mount Gilboa, since 
this expression is employed whenever a hill is ascended; Fiq is ona 
hill. Naturally the Hebrews had no aneroids, so we cannot take 
such idioms too literally. 

In conclusion it may be observed that in a visit to Fuqtt 
April 25, 1920, I was unable to find any traces of ancient oocupation; 
Aphek was a walled town (1 Kings 2030) and so like all walled 
towns must have had a fell. In Fuqfi the native rock crops out 
everywhere, and there is no fell within miles. 


Additional note:—In Forrer’s remarkable work, Die Provinzen- 
teilung des assyrischen Reiches (Leipzig, 1921), pp. 14—18, he shows that 
there was also an Assyrian Apqu west of the Tigris, in northeastern 
Mesopotamia. It is possible that Apiga is identical with this Apqu. 
In his map Forrer identifies the Apqu of Esarhaddon’s text with 
Aphek near Antipatris. In view of the fact that the journey from 
Apqu to Raphia was partly through the desert, Esarhaddon may 
have made a circuitous trip through the Negeb, in order to enlist 


the support of the Arabs, which he says he obtained. In_ this — 


case the distance actually covered may have been twice that in a 


᾿ 
» Ψ ᾿ * 
᾽ - ΓΟ 
eee ae eee eae 


Notes and Comments 189 


straight line from Apqu to Raphia. It may be observed that the 


length of the standard béru, or double-hour, according to Thureau- 
Dangin, the greatest authority on Babylonian metrology, was 10,7 km., 
or nearly seven miles (Revue d’Assyriol., 1921, p. 41). In marching 
with a large army over difficult country the bérw would naturally be 
much smaller, just as in the case of the parasang. 

W. F. Avsricut. 


BOOK REVIEWS 


Boynan, Parricx, Thoth, the Hermes of Egypt. Pp. VIII + 215 (8 vo.). 
Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, etc., 1922. 


With the advance of the Berlin Dictionary of Egyptian and the 
appearance of the long-awaited Aegyptisches Handworterbuch, by 
Erman and Grapow, Egyptian philology may be said to have reached 
firm ground. Much detail work in lexicon, phonology, and syntax 
remains to be done, but Egyptian can be read, and read correctly. 
The time has evidently come when the involved problems of Egyptian 
religion may be attacked with some hope of success. It is not yet 
possible to treat the subject systematically; we are still in need of 
much painstaking preliminary work. Grapow has begun the task of 
preparing critical comparative editions of the most important chapters 
in the Book of the Dead, tracing the development of each formula 
separately, from the earliest time to the Ptolemaic period. In this 
way only will it become possible to correct the mistakes of later 
scribes, and analyze the various layers of glosses and accretions: 
Blackman, Moret, and others have begun to study the religious rites 
and practices, carefully gathering the graphic and literary evidence, 
and drawing for suggestions and commentary upon the vast stores 
of ethnographic materials which are now available for study, thanks 
largely to Frazer. A third, in some respects even more necessary 
task is the collection of all the material bearing on individual gods 
and cults. The masters of two generations have gathered much, but 
their work is now for the most part hopelessly antiquated, and we 
must therefore start afresh. 

The book before us is the very first monograph devoted exclusively 
to a single Egyptian deity which has appeared for many years. Every 
page shows the thoroughness of the training received by the author 


᾿ 
i 
BS 
δ ἢ 
"1 
. | 
ἐ 


Rook Reviews 191 


under Erman and Junker, the great Austrian Egyptologist, who read 
the proofs and saw the book through the press in Vienna, To the 
fact that Junker is the unrivaled master of the difficult and enigmatic 
texts of the Ptolemaic period is due the extended use of these 
documents. ‘There can be no doubt that the religious texts of the 
Ptolemaic period, with characteristic Egyptian conservatism, have 
saved to us myths and conceptions of all kinds, otherwise unrecorded. 
At present they form an almost virgin field of research, not the less 
interesting because it lies between early Egypt on the one side, and 
Plutarch and the Hermetic books on the other, and will thus provide 
us eventually with data for evaluating the influence of Hellenic 
philosophy on Graeco-Egyptian syncretism. 

We are only beginning to estimate properly the extent of Egyptian 
influence on the religion of Palestine and especially of Phoenicia. 
The mass of Egyptian amulets and images of the gods discovered in 
Gezer and elsewhere in Palestine should teach us that the religion 
of Canaan was profoundly affected by Egypt. Palestine remained in 
the sphere of Egyptian influence throughout its history, and every 
strong king and powerful dynasty, from the Thinite age down to the 
time of the Ptolemies, regarded it as part of the Egyptian Empire. 
This was even truer of Phoenicia than of Palestine, since the rich 
stores of timber in the hinterland of the Phoenician coast were 
always an object of Egyptian cupidity. Egyptian relations with 
Phoenicia are mentioned repeatedly in the Old Empire, from the 
time of Soris (Snofru) on, while Byblos appears already in the 
Pyramid Texts. The remarkable discoveries of Montet in Byblos 
are accordingly no surprise, though it cannot but stir the pulses of 
the most phlegmatic to read of monuments from the Thinite and 
Memphite periods being found in an Egyptian temple in Byblos! 
As we shall see Phoenician religion was deeply influenced by 
Egyptian, and the former was not slow to borrow gods outright, 
though clothing them in garments of its own choice. It so happens 
that Thoth was one of the gods which it borrowed, a fact which 
immediately enlists our interest, as students of Syro- Palestinian 
antiquity. Since this is not yet generally known, it may be proved 
before we proceed to discuss the book itself. 

Philo of Byblos (Fr. ii, 11) says that in the cosmogony of Phoenicia 


a pair of brothers was created, named respectively Μισωρ and Συδυκ, 
14 


192 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


i. e. Heb. mésar(im)—not miX6r, which would become in Phoenician 
*Mixtr —and_ sédeq, “uprightness” and “justice”, corresponding to 
Assyr. Méaru and Kittu, the two attendants of Samag. From Misér 
Taavros, the inventor of writing, sprang; Sydyk begot the Kabevror. 
Philo goes on to say that Taaut is the Phoenician pronunciation of 
the name of the same god called by the (Upper) Egyptians Θωωθ, 
by the Alexandrians Θωυθ, i.e. Thoth. It is very remarkable that 
the Phoenician form of the name preserves an older vocalization, 
Tahit, which prevailed during the Eighteenth Dynasty, when the 
worship of Thoth was at its flood in Egypt, and spread to Phoenicia, 
as we now see. The association between Misor and Taaut reflects 
that between Mé‘e (older *Mi‘e, from Mrs3‘et), the personification of 
truth and justice, and Thoth. 

While the identity of Taaut with Thoth has, of course, with 
sundry curious exceptions, been recognized, the antiquity of Taaut’s 
naturalization in Phoenicia has not. And now comes a much more 
important combination, which, as I see from Baudissin, Adonis wnd 
Esmun, p. 209, πῃ. 6, was partly anticipated by Maspero, tudes de 
mythologie et d’archéologie égyptiennes, Vol. II, p. 258: E8miin, the 
Phoenician form of Asclepius, is also a thinly disguised Thoth. The 
explanation of the name as standing for *Hsman, from e%m, “name,” 
given by Lidzbarski, E’phemeris, Vol. ILI, pp. 260—265 (independently 
five years later in AJSL, XXXVI, 273, n. 4) is accordingly wrong. 
Damascius (cf. Baudissin, op. cit., p. 208) states expressly that the 
name Eopouvos meant ὄγδοος “ogdoad.” There is no reason to doubt 
the statement of Damascius, who has proved himself singularly well- 


informed concerning Babylonian religious ideas. By a curious — 


coincidence the Egyptian and Phoenician pronunciations of the 
common Semitic word for “eight” in the first millennium B. C. were 
practically identical: Old Egyptian Jmnw became min (Coptic 
vyuovrN) and Old Hebrew sméné had to become *Smitiné in Phoenician, 


or rather, since double consonants at the beginning of a word were | 


not tolerated, *esmién(é). The association of ESmfin with the Ogdoad 


shows that Esmin is a reflection of the Egyptian Thoth, the lord of 
the Ogdoad, nb hmnw, and lord of the City of Hight, nb Hmnw — 


(Hermopolis Magna), modern EXmiinein, whence he was himself 
named Hmnw, later Smin. The Ogdoad was composed of the eight 
cynocephali (baboons) of Hinnw, who were worshipped with Thoth, 


5-. 
δ, 
Pt 


me 
%. 


Book Reviews 193 


the baboon god, and sometimes identified with him. The eight sacred 
baboons were the demiurges who assisted Ré‘ in his creation of the 
world. All this we find with slight alterations in the mythology of 
Phoenicia, especially at Berytus, the centre of ESmtin worship. ESmin 
is intimately associated with his cousins, the seven kabezroi, with whom 
the sacred eight is built up. Like Thoth and his cynocephah K&Smin 
and his kabeiroi were the patrons of wisdom and especially of medicine; 
E&miin was identified with Asclepius-Aesculapius, who borrowed his 
serpent-staff, henceforth the symbol of the healing art. In Ptolemaic 
times the Thoth of Pnubs received, in token of his identity with KSmin- 
Asclepius, the serpent-staff of the latter. In a somewhat similar way 
Isis-Ba‘alat of Byblos returned to Egypt as Hathor, lady of Byblos. 
Thoth always remained god of the moon, a fact which the Egyptians 
never forgot. We should therefore expect traces of a lunar origin 
also in E’mfin, nor are we doomed to search in vain. The standing 
Phoenician appellation of ESmiin was ΠΝ (Gr. Myppy), which may 
be simply equivalent to Heb. ΠῚ, “moon,” but more probably 
represents a *Me’arreh, for *meyarre, which may correspond to 
Arabic mwarrih, for *muwarrth (*warh, “moon”; drraha is denomin- 
ative) “recorder of chronicles,” 1. 6. the one who determines dates 
and events by lunar chronology (cf. our “annalist”). So also Thoth, 
as moon-god, is the reckoner of time (/sb “1. and the reckoner of 
years (hsb rnpwt), etc. (see Boylan, op. laud., p. 193). The importance 
of the reckoner of time, of interest on money, and the recorder of 
documents among a commercial people was so great that we cannot 
be surprised to find them venerating E8miin in this capacity, just as 
the Egyptian scribe considered Thoth, the inventor of writing (like 
Taautos) and the reckoner of time, as his special patron. Hence a 
figure of the ape-god was set up in the office of the scribes (2bzd., p. 100). 
Through the philosopher Xenocrates, who borrowed extensively from 
Phoenicia, we can further prove that the association between the 
moon and the Ogdoad was recognized in Phoenicia as well as Egypt. 
Cicero, De natura deorum, I, 13, 34, says that Xenocrates increased 
the number of planetary gods from seven to eight, the eighth being the 
moon, while Clemens of Alexandria states that the philosopher made 
the eighth planetary god (i. e., the moon) τὸν ἐκ πάντων αὐτῶν συνεστῶτα 
κόσμον, that is, the universe which consisted of them all, the Ogdoad, 


Thoth-Hmnw-Esmtin (Cohort. V, 58). 
14* 


194 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


To the gods already known which Phoenicia borrowed from the 
older civilization of the Nile, Isis-Hathor (= Ba‘alat), Mot (later 
Mit, the mother-goddess; the archaic form of the name points to 
the Eighteenth Dynasty), and Taaut, we may now add Esmin, a form 
of the latter. Taaut-ESmfin may also appear as the demiurge 
Chiisor (Xovowp), whose name we may then emend to Chonsor (Xovowp), 
and derive from Hons-Hor, i. 6. Moon-Horus, an appellative of Thoth 
(Boylan, op. laud., p. 194). Thoth was also worshipped in ancient 
Canaan, to judge from the numerous ape figurines discovered, especially 
at Gezer. 

Tio return to the work before us! Thanks to the excellence of 
Viennese publishers and the lowness of the Austrian exchange, it has 
been possible to print the work, despite the fact that every page 
bristles with hieroglyphs, at a very low cost, as well as very accurately. 
There are relatively very few misprints, even in the English. Besides 
the corrigenda given on p. VIII we may note the following (dis- 
regarding the errors in Hnglish spelling, which every reader can 
correct automatically): 

Pag. 83, 1. 9 from below, insert “living” before “ruler.” 

Pag. 92, n.1. Read mukin nindabé, “he that establishes the 
offerings.’ The author’s extensive and effective use of 
Assyrian parallels is very commendable, and points to a very 
profitable interchange between Egyptologists and Assyriologists 
in the future. The Assyrian quotations are not always 
pointed and accented quite correctly. 

Pag, 92, ἢν 2.-and 93; πῶ: Read ΒΒ am - place “or bam, 
peculiar form which is quoted from Kisler’s Kenite work 
without verification. In this connection it was particularly 
rash to quote WHisler; while “ΒΔ might be derived 
(phonetically!) from Eg. drf, “hieroglyphic script’ (!), ΘΙΒῚΠ 
cannot be so derived. The less said about this particular 
series of speculations of Kisler’s the better. The Orientalist 
has unfortunately come to regard the effusions of the Munich 
School with suspicion, though their suggestive value is often 
very great. 

Pag. 193. Read lr wd3t and lr bgf instead of g wd3t and g baf. — 

The author devotes the first chapter of his book to the form and 


significance of the name Thoth, which he traces back to a *Delowti, — 


Book Reviews 195 


supposed to mean “He of the city Diwt.” Since the city in question 
is otherwise wholly unknown, this explanation is very precarious. 
Moreover, it is possible to find a much better etymology of the 
name, as I have shown in an article still unpublished, to appear in 
the Beitrige zur Assyriologie. The oldest form of the name was 
(after the thirteenth century, as will be shown elsewhere). The stem 
of *Sahauti is *shw, Semitic diw “shine, be bright,” which appears in 
Ar. daha, “expose to sun” (denominative), Ethiopic Dahdi (62. ἢ 
“sun,” and Ar. did, “morning.” From the same root dh come the 
closely related words, Ar. dahh, “sun,” and wadah, “moon” (the bright 
one, like Heb. lebandh). It is probable enough that the association 
between Thoth and the ibis originated, as so often, in a paronomasia, 
though the word tihi (Tilt) in Bohairic means “crane.” There should 
be no difficulty about the nisbe form in Dhwty, properly “bright,” 
which is like ms‘ty, “just,” from ms3‘é, “truth, justice.” 

The “outflow of Osiris” (rdw Osir), which the author discusses on 
p. 17, referred primarily, not to the spewing forth of the waters of 
the Nile, but to their being poured forth from his male organ, as 
the generative semen which fecundated the earth every autumn. 
Evidence from the Pyramid Texts for this explanation of the efflux 
from the body of Osiris—which in later times was unquestionably 
replaced by the other—has been presented JAOS Xb, 325, n. 39, 
but an even clearer passage is Pyr. 265—266: Behold this king 
Neferkeré, whose feet are kissed by the pure waters which came 
into being through the agency of Atiim, which the phallus of St 
creates, and the vagina of Tefénet brings into existence (mky Nfr-ks-R 
pn, isnty rdwyf in mw wow wranw lr Tm, ir hnn Sw shpr k3t Tfnt). 
The waters are created in the seminal glands of Sa (= Osiris) and 
come forth from the womb of the earth-mother, a conception found 
also in Babylonia and elsewhere (JAOS XX XIX, 70). As pointed 
out in the latter paper, the Sumerians thought that the water of 
the Two Rivers was created by the moon and born from the vagina 
of Mother Earth. This same idea is stated explicitly in a Sumerian 
text not then considered (cf. tentatively Pinches, JRAS 1919, 195, 
Rey. lines 6, 8: Let the water (in Sumerian the same word means 
both semen and water) of the moon-god, the pure water, be in my 
womb—let my water, like the water of my king, go to the earth 


196 


(a “Zuen-na a-lag-lag-ga sd-ma ni-gal —a-mu a-lugal-mu-gim ki-si 
gé-im-ma-gin). There are a large number of passages which point 
to the originally lunar nature of Osiris, who seems to have been 
primarily a vegetation god with lunar associations, like Tammuz and 
Emin. 
moon was the k> of Ré, with whom the living king was identified 
(cf. Van der Leeuw, J EA V, 64, who shows that the moon was considered 


Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


The king became Osiris primarily because Osiris as the 


= 
1 


the Ak? of the sun, and for Osiris and the moon JAOS XX XIX, 88f, 
as well as XL, 333f.). 


On p. 27 the author comes very near solving the question of the 
origin of Thoth, according to one of the most ancient Egyptian myths. 
The purport of the passages referring to his birth is clear enough. 
One text says that Thoth in his name wpt (skull) sprang from the 
skull of the /im-mty; since the latter word is written with the 
ideograms for vulva and phallus it clearly means “hermaphrodite.” 
We are reminded of the birth of another lunar deity, Athene, from 
the head of Zeus. Another conception is that he was created by a 
paederastic union of Horus and Set. The text from the Book of the 
Dead, 134, 9, quoted by Boylan, says that Thoth was son of a stone, 
sprung from two stones (83 inr pr m inrty), which simply means ~ 
that Thoth was engendered either by onanism, or by paederasty. 
means that the moon is self-created, engendering and 
bearing itself monthly without the assistance of a second principle. 
The onanistic conceptions of Oriental mythology are discussed 
JAOS XL, 324 ff. 

Pag. 37. The enmity between Set and Horus has a very complicated 


This 


origin. In the case of Bitis and Anubis it would seem that 
we have the familiar Semitic motive of the hostile brothers, 
as with Samemrumus and Usous, or Jacob and Hsau; Bitis 
corresponds directly to Tammuz, Anubis indirectly to Nergal, 
also lord of the underworld. The conflict of Horus and Set, 
however, while derived from the same dualistic conflict οὐ 
the power of death and destruction with that of life and 
fertility, is somewhat different. Horus corresponds rather ; 
to Nabi than to Tammuz, who is Horus’s father Osiris. On 
the other hand Set is a figure closely related to Tammuz; both — 
are woneeted a with tne swine, while Set! 5 gg ae 


(ata 


Book Reviews 197 


the eunuch priests of his retinue. Set is himself a god of 

fertility worshipped extensively in northern Egypt, who owes 

his later Typhonian reputation to the fact that his followers 

were worsted in their conflicts with the servants of Horus, 

who substituted him for Anubis, or some other deity hostile 
to Osiris and Horus. 

Pag. 91. Sin is also the great artificer of heaven, Lamga-gal- 
anna-ge. 

Pag. 104. The legend that Hw and Si? sprang from a drop of 
“blood” which issued from the phallus of R@& is not merely 
“a crass form of a myth which represented Understanding 
and Utterance” (properly Utterance and Intelligence) “as the 
first potencies which sprang from Re,’ but obviously meant 
originally that these faculties came into existence as soon as 
Ré attained puberty, called by the Hebrews the age of dis- 
cerning between good and evil. 

Pag. 140. The gbiw are not the gates of heaven, but the lakes or 
pools, originally at the first cataract, where the king was 
purified for the: apotheosis; cf. especially Chassinat, Recueil 
de Travaux, XX XVIII, 33—60, and AJSL XXXYV, 187ff. 

Pag. 190. The word mrht does not mean “balance,” but “plumb- 
level.” The latter was one of the principal instruments of 
the ancient architect, to whom the spirit-level was naturally 
unknown. Thoth is the great architect. 

Pag. 196, line 1. Snwy n [δ΄ means “second to Ré,” 
Re.” 

Pag. 199, 7 from below. Render “He who gives breath to Osiris 
Onnophris” (rdy nfw n Wnn-nfrw). 

It is a pity that the author does not discuss in more detail the 


not “a second 


atter-history of Thoth-Hermes, who as Hermes-Poemandres enjoyed 
a great vogue in the Roman and even in the Christian East. The 


Hermetic writings were translated from Greek into Syriac, and later 
into Arabic. No one seems to have observed that the Arabic Idris 
is really a conflation of Thoth and Enoch, but this is absolutely 
certain, and is certainly not without interest for the student of 
ancient survivals in Islam. For this reason we may devote a final 
paragraph to the proof of our statement. The present situation may 
be seen from Wensinck’s article on Idris in the Hneyclopaedia of 


198 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Islam (1919). Néldeke pointed out many years ago (ZA XVII, 840) 
that the name J/dris was probably a corruption of Andreas, which 
he thought might be the name of the apostle Andrew, though he 
could not find a connecting link. R. Hartmann (ZA XXIV, 314; 
cf. also ZDMG LXVII, 743, n. 1) then suggested that the immortal 
Idris was originally Andreas, the cook of Alexander, who dived into 
the fountain of hfe, obtaining immortality by his plunge. The name 
Jdris is indeed derived from a Greek andris—the final element in 
Pimandris (Ἰοιμάνδρης), an abbreviation by no means unparalleled in 
Arabic literature. Abt’l-Faraj says in his Tarth muhtdsar ed-diacal 
(ed. Salhani, p. 11) that Enoch (Hanth) is identical with Hermes 
Trismegistus (i. e. Poemandres), while the Arabs call him Idris. The 
historian goes on to distinguish three Hermes (4.11 |,x)—that is three 
Thoths—: Hermes who lived in Upper Egypt, who first taught the arts 
and sciences, inscribing them in the Pyramids in order to save them 
from destruction in the Deluge, which he foresaw (note the Xisuthrus 
motive!); the Babylonian Hermes, who lived in Kalwidah and built 
Babylon after Nimrod’s death; Hermes Trismegistus, who composed 
the Hermetic writings. The first Hermes is naturally Thoth-Hermes, 
the third is Thoth-Hermes-Poemandres, who was erroneously 
distinguished from the former. I have no idea who is meant by the 
Babylonian Hermes, who cannot here be Oannes. It is curious enough 
to find the old Egyptian moon-god still revered as Nébi Idris in the 


modern Orient. 
W.F. A. 


I. MODERN PALESTINIAN PARALLELS TO THE SONG 
OF SONGS? 


ST. H. STEPHAN 
(JERUSALEM) 


W* may safely assume that the beautiful love ditties of the Song 
of Songs circulated among the people, who sang them on 
different occasions, as is still the case with our folksongs. We may 
hear the same songs on weddings as well as on other occasions, 
whenever opportunity offers. A comparison of these early Palestinian 
songs with those which are in use to-day, some 2500 years later, 
shows a striking resemblance between the old and the new, both in 
the expression of ideas and in the grouping of words. The freshness 
and vigur of their imagery as well as the gloom of their passions in 
the nuptial and erotic pieces are delightful.? 

From the semasiological standpoint it is worth while comparing 
the ancient and the modern modes of describing the beauty of the 
man and the woman. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the 
beauty of the man is a subject almost neglected in our folksongs. 

In the following paper I shall let each word speak with its own 
force, unchained and unchanged, since I am not defending any theory.? 


11 wish to render hearty thanks to Dr. W. F. Albright, without whose kind 
help and assistance I should never have completed this work, and to whose interest 
and encouragement | owe very much. Furthermore, he has had the kindness to 
go through the whole article and to give me valuable advice. 

2 I hope that no one will be offended by the breadth of treatment in this 
paper. . 

3 Copies of the Bible used:—a) Biblia Sacra Vulgatae editionis Sixti V et 
Clementi VIII; b) Holy Bible transl. from the Latin Vulgate and diligently 
compared with other editions ... (Douay 1609 and Rheims 1582) published as 
revised and annotated by authority (R. ἃ T. Washbourne, London); c) the 
Authorised and the Revised English Bibles; d) Dr. Martin Luther’s Bibel, durch- 
gesehene Ausgabe; 6) Arabic Translation of the RR. PP. de S. J., Beyrouth; and 
f) those of the American Missions with and without annotations, 

15 


200 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


There is no doubt whatever about the general idea of these poems, 
which is the same as that treated of in Canticles—the mutual love 
of the sexes. In monologues and dialogues are described the 
reciprocal love and longing of the male and female for each other.! 

To him “she” is altogether a charming and beautiful maiden. She 
is of good family (7 2)? for he calls her the prince's daughter. Her 
stature (77; 214)3 is hke a palm tree. She is beautiful, sweet and 
yet terrible’ (63), fair as the moon,® bright as the sun (69).6 Her 
feet (71) are beautiful.7 Her face (2 14)8 is comely, “pars pro toto.” 
Her speech® and voice (214; 43)19 are sweet. Her odours (316; 
4 10,12-14)1!! are aromatic, full of the fragrance of all spices and 
sundry powders of the perfumer. Although her complexion (1 5)12 has 
been bronzed by the sun, which has burnt her face (16), she is none 
the less fair, attractive and beautiful. Our contemporary songster 
is so much absorbed by her charms that he calls her is life.13 The 
ravenblack haiw14 with its attractive curls and locks (43; 66) is 
coloured with henna!® for the wedding night and appears to him like 
purple (75; 64). 

The hay and the dark eyes,16 with which she has ravished his 
heart (49), so that he cannot but cry out, calling her the fairest 
amongst women (18; 49; 59 and 17; 64),17 are her most striking 
features. Both Canticles and the folksongs praise her dove-like eyes 

Π 


᾿ 
| 
: 
§ 


1 See Professor Haupt’s “Canticles,” JAOS 1902. 

2 See note to Text, Cant. 72. 

3 See note to Text, Cant.78s and song no. 3. 

4 Stanza 1 of song No.3 and song no. 28. 

5 and 6 See note to Text, Cant. 610 and song no. 9. 

7 See note to Text, Cant. 71. 

8 See note to Text, Cant. 113 and 610. 

9 See song no. 28. 

10 See song no, 34. 

11 See note to Cant. 410 and song no. 9. 

12 and 13 See note to Cant. 14 and 5, and song no.4, stanza 1. Sa‘irha mitl 
il-lél (her hair is_like the night = μὶ} re Le sav) or til U(i)hbal = 195 
JL) “as long as (tent) ropes.” 

1% A mauwal sings... u δὰ rik mitl ‘énik mitl haggi, kahilyn fi kahilyn, 
fi kahilyn = 

Whe Cs § has |. ὃ «ΞΘ (9 bam jie Dns Jen J | Rag 
“And 4 your hair is like your eye and like my hard luck: dark, dark, pe δι 
15 See song no. 5, stanza 5. 
16 and 17 See Cant. 47 and 9; cf. song no. 3, line 2. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 201 


(41; 115b); yet we in our turn go a little farther, and ascribe to 
her doe-like or gazelle-like eyes.! 

Her lovely cheeks? seemed to the old bard to be a slice of 
pomegranate (43; 66), ,yet we consider them nowadays like apples,? 
white and red, or like roses. 

When Canticles compares her teeth (66) to a flock of white sheep 
coming up from the washing, our present songsters are inclined to 
liken them to hail-stones or to silver.» Her lips are considered 
nowadays not so much as a thread of scarlet (43), but more as 
delightful roses in full blossom, as sweet as honey or sugar (4 11).Ὁ 
Her mouth is like the best wine (7 9);7 and her throatS has the same 
attribute of beauty, though it may be compared now and then to amber.® 

Her breasts, seemingly the most attractive part of her graceful 
person, are to the old singer like wine (12; 410), even far better 
(410; 12). We consider them as pomegranates and rarely as clusters 
of grapes (7 8).1° But in common parlance “the groom may take one 
breast for a cushion and the other as an eider-down quilt.”..... 
lL po δῦ = τ δ ν yoy &.1! His love for her inspires him 
to describe her with a variety of pretty appellatives, common to both 
periods, such as dove (2 14),12 roe (3 6)13 an enclosed garden,'4a spring 
shut up,'> a fountain sealed'* (4 12); a garden fountain, a well of living 
water (4 15).11 He is captured by her beauty; first he considers her 


1 Song no. 6, line 14, and song no. 25, 

2—4 See song no. 96. Her cheek is like the apple (red), hadda zayy it-tuffaha 
(Asc | S3 ler=); or like the leaf, zayy ir-rgif (Bae J) 53); also zayy 
il-ward Cr $)) like roses; and zayy il-hétaliyye (Arb .$5) like starch 
with milk; or like fresh prepared cheese, zayy ij-jybne -t-tariyye (Acad S) 
2 bl), Cf. the note to song πο. 9. wilward fattah ‘ala haddo, “the roses have 
budded on his cheek” (SX Js gs >y9JI). 

5 Note to Song no. 16. We say also sn@nha zayy il-fadda = 23) | 53 τοί, 
her teeth are like silver. a 

ὃ Zayy il-agig = Sa2s)\ $3; zayy u-murjan = ol> ye S$), like ruby 
and like corals. ς » 

7—9 See song no. 8, stanza 7, and notes to Cant. 410. 

10 But a woman between “trente et quarante” in her “dangerous age” is 
considered to be only ta/i-l‘angiid »53+sJ)\ (Jb the rest of the grape cluster. 

11 This is from Dr. T. Cana’an’s unpublished collection of Palestinian proverbs. 

12 See note to text on Cant. 214 and note 62. 13 Song no. 17. 

14-17 Tt is quite possible, owing to the scarcity and importance of water, to 
use these appellative names for the girl, but still they would be exceptional. 
See the notes to the text of Canticles. 

ay 


202 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


fair,! and then as spotless (4 7).2 Yes, to him she is at the same 
time a rose in ἃ flower garden (21)? and a proud horse (1 9).4 

It is not usual to enumerate the attractions and charms of the 
man. So we have in our contemporary songs comparatively few 
ditties which deal comprehensively with the beauty of the male. 

The bride describes him as “white and ruddy, chosen out of 
thousands”’® (510). His form’ and countenance are excellent (5 15) 
and therefore the virgins love him (1 2).8 His flowing locks? are 
bushy and black as a raven (5 11).!9 His cheeks are as a bed of 
spices (513). His mouth is very sweet, altogether lovely (5 16). His 
hands are gold rings set with beryls (5 14).1: And last, but not least, 
his stature is like the cedars—nowadays hke a palm tree (5 15) 12— 
and his belly is like ivory overlaid or set with sapphires (5 14).13 Such 
is her friend and her beloved (5 16),14 a handsome youth,!* who is 
sure of the sincere love of maidens (12). To him she said in olden 
times: “Draw me and I will run after thee” (14). She may hear 
today just the same words from his lips.!6 

He calls her sister, bride (4 9)!7 and friend (210). She in her turn 
calls him her beloved (54; 17; 23; 58), and her friend (51; 29). 
The words “friend, beloved, graceful, fair” and half a dozen synonyms 


1 and ? See Psalm 453 and stanza 2 of song No. 3 

3 Song 13, stanza 6, and note to Cant. 21. 

4 In a song the Bedawi addresses his love thus: — w-inti-l-mihra w-ana 
hayya@lik = Ms blo sabl Coty, and you are the filly and I am your rider. 

5 See songs nos. 26, 2, 18, 22 (first stanza), 27, and note to Cant. 510. 

6 See note to Cant. 510. 

7 Notes to Cant. 78. 

8 Song no. 27. 

9 “Barhum” song no. 2. 

10 See note no. 15 above. 

11 See note to Cant. 7 3—5. 

12 See Cant. 78 (note to text). 

13 See Cant. 7 3—s. 

14 See note to Cant. 31. 

15 A despised lover rejoices in the hope that he will colour his beard and hair 
and become “a smart lad, loved by all girls,” w-Wlib sabb (y)hléwa kill il-banat 

τὸ jurrini w-ana banjarr ‘Bilini wand ὙΠ: Ll, pene yas Ll «Ξ- 5" 
Jer», Draw me and I shall be drawn, carry me and I shall be carried. 


17 This expression is nowadays used only in Egypt. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 203 


are used equally for both sexes. All these expressions are taken 
over into the mystical and spiritual terminology of the Sfifis. 

While in the Canticles the man is compared to a deer or a hart,! 
in our days it is the wife to whom these attributes are solely applied. 
The palm tree and the bird are common to both parties.? 


1 Cant. 814 and 29. 

2 Although nomina propria do not come exactly under the head of songs, 
yet they cast a light of their own, which elucidates some ideas of ours concerning 
this matter. I give in the following a collection of Arabic female names, not 
pretending to give the exact Latin, Keltic, Hebrew or Greek semantic equivalent. 

a) Abstracta. Savrifeh ABS ye Ethel, Eugenia, Patricia; — Farideh BY 58 and 
Wahideh %X.>9, the unique one;— Salhah 420 (diminutive sid/ah cus) Pia;— 
‘Alyah dss Augusta;— Hakmeh AS Martha;—Galbeh AJL Victoria;— 
Fauziyyeh A298 Eunice; —‘Ayseh δος, Heh Annas, (Y)wéseh δι 9¢,“Awwdd 
alse,“ Ayyté (p9ts, Vivian;— Mahbibeh d25+= Mabel; — Hamda λυ... (dim. 
Hamdiyyeh AXem) Antonia, Antoinette; — Sida \rxxmw, Masiideh s>grw0, 
Su‘dd >\xae, Faustine, Beatrice, Felicia ;— Salma srw Salome ;— Salimeh Agrtin 
Frederica, Irene;— Falriyyeh 42 = Alberta;—Safi’ah 84842 Clementine; — 
Radyeh A+-2\) Lois; — Wadd >!>5 Amy;—‘Atiyyeh d+bs Dorothy, Theodora; — 
Asma \e«e\ Augusta;+Amineh Atl Fidelia; — Amneh A420) Salva;— Labibeh 
a] Sophronia;— Najibeh 2—=5 Adeline. 


Ὁ) Names derived from Adjectives. Hyliwah 83> Dulce; —Sibhah A=~o Clara;-— 
Zarifeh 82 +5 Grace; —Jamileh +> Belle;—‘Adileh ‘Adleh dole δλουις Dinah; — 
Hasna Km Bertha, Ruth;— Majideh 8.»..=\ Honoria, Nora; — Habibeh dA—~> 
Mabel, Amy ;— Fadiyyeh A a* Cordelia(?); — Dalileh d0J> Delilah; — Zahiyyeh 
d.%} Florence;— Mlihah d=uto Agatha; — Bahiyya 4452 Claribel;—‘ Afifeh 
διὰ ἃς Aones;— Syrriyyeh δ γος concubine; — Hiriyyeh 49> houri (from 
Paradise); — Farhah 4>,3 Edna;— Sadi’a A2.X© Aimee; — Sayydeh sx: 
Amireh 3 yal Adeline, Adelaide, Alice (Almira = amira);— Sultaneh δι λα 
Augusta; — Malakeh δι... Regina; —Latifeh dsb) Anne; — Yisra 8 γα Phyllis ;— 
Badi‘ah A209 Clara. 

c) Nir ys) Eleanor;— Munirah Sya+0 Lucinda and Lucrecia;— Bidrah 3) 
and ’Amrah ὅ oe (diminutiv “Ammurah ὅ Sy g-05 Helen; — Saniyyeh An—w Augusta ;— 
Sa‘la ais Phoebe; — Zuhra =\ 59}, δ.) Venus; — Turayyah ls 3 Pleiades; — 
Nijmeh de=3 with its diminutives Njémeh Aen, and Najjim eg=S Esther, 
Stella; — Zénab —~2,3 Zenobia;— Nasimeh dwran3 Zephyr;— Nida ($3 dew. 


d) Names borrowed from plants. Fullah ds Nycanthem zambac;— Hadra 
\ a= (dim. Hadraj za) the (ever) green; — Zahrah %,*} and its plural form 
Zhitr yg%}3 Flora; — Zaneh 43\} teak;— Hézaran obe> Spanish reed (Arundo 
Donax L.); — Wardeh 82,9 Rhoda, Rosa; — Za‘fardan Οἱ») safflower, saffron 
thistle (Carthamum);— (U)gsiin γος Phyllis (the Arabic word is plural); — 
Zulaivah &=J} (the classical form being sidihah AV.) and a similar name 
Zalha ὁ.) Cassia; — Sirwe $90 cypress; — Yasmin epsewk Jasminum 


204 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


The erotic motives in all songs, old and new, are numerous. We 
shall dwell on them only enough to show the common ideas of both 
periods. The tatooing! of hands and arms is common to both sexes. 
But the fairer sex, especially the fellahat and badawiyat permit 
themselves to be tattoed even on their belly (514b) as far as the 
mons. There are two colours, red and blue, used expressly for this 
purpose. The use of the mandrake (713) as an aphrosidiac? is still 
known in Palestine, but it serves more for that purpose in Upper 
Mesopotamia.* The nuptial couch (1 16) is often mentioned in our 
songs. 

She pretends to be love-sick during his absence:‘ neither of them 
can sleep for longing to be with the other.s Yet he asks her 
acquaintances not to wake her up before she wishes (27).6 What is 
said in Cant. 86, that love is fire, is in full agreement with our 
ideas.7 


officinale ;— Zahwe %4%} Florence;— Rwédah 42) (little flower) garden. Cf. also 
the name ‘Asaliyyeh Ants the honey-like one. 

e) Names borred from animals. Gaz@leh J \3s gazelle, Dorcas ;—Hamédmeh doles 
dove; —‘Asfir γολκας, Térah 8b bird; — Zagliich δ.) ολθγ little pigeon ;—Sunnarah 
$2 partridge; —“Andalib —Jo4s nightingale; Sahindeh s»iald falconet;— 
Hartifeh 4295 ewe (unusual form for na‘jeh d=5);— Nimrah Sye) tigress ;— 
Fuhdeh %%52 leopard; — Dibeh > Adolpha; Lalu s/o) Lulu, Margaret;— 
Murjaneh δίς 2 coral. 

f) Names derived from minerals, etc. Sium'ah dxr—2 candle; — Zabdd ΠΕΣ 
cibeth; — Almdsah Aswlel diamond ; — Zumirrud >} emerald; — Ywiit Cobb 
Ruby ;—Fertizah 339; with the diminutive Fréz 52% and Frosso 99, tur- 
quoise;— Joharah ὅ %9> pearl. 

t See note to Cant.514 and song no. 4, stanza 3. 

2 See note to Cant. 7 13. 

3 Cf. Genesis 3014. 

4 Song 42, stanza 7. 

5 Song 41. 

6 hadli -lhylwa ἐλ δα, πηι... e9> Bad Sohdl _si>, let the sweet one be 
satisfied with sleeping. A proverb says: 

nom is-sardri la-d-diha Mali οἱ Δ sree syle egs 
nom is-sabaya la-d-dhaya ῳ blsva ἴοι es 
The sleep of the odalisques lasts to the late fore-noon 


And the sleep of (other) maidens (only) to the forenoon. 
Vide Song No. 38. 


7 nari yd nari, nari ‘aléhum ... O the fire of me, for them... (ὦ. 6. of my 


love for them). 


J 
ῥ 
Η 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 205 


Nature, with her unrivalled beauty, has made a deep impression 
on our poets. The moonlit night, the stars, flower gardens and 
orchards, wells and springs, flora and fauna, and even minerals have 
their place in our folk-songs. The beloved girl is likely to be 
compared with them all: the proud horse, the graceful doe or gazelle, 
the lovely dove or birds in general. Even the sun, the full moon, 
Orion with the Plezades are not as strange metaphors as they would 
seem at first sight. lora’s daughters are almost all numbered among 
the similes applied to the female charms. The mountains and the 
valieys have their roles; nor are even the earth and the stones forgotten. 
Wind and weather, as well as the seasons, must do their utmost to 
please the beloved one. And Nature as a loving mother will surely 
deign to help her on all occasions required... 

Such is our idea of the charms of Nature. We love her in our 
own way; now and then we fear her; but all her beauty we ascribe 
to our own sweethearts. 


1. NOTES TO THE CANTICLES 


CHAPTER I 
Verse 3. 
Asif mix‘al rayih ‘a-t-tahiine dsgalbjls εν date Sgaol 
ya mhabbit mis‘al b-l“at(Yr madhtine ee. yastb Dra das? b 
(1 see Mis‘al going to the mill— 
O, the love of Mi8‘al is anointed with fragrance.) 


Verses 4—5. 
Ya asmar is-stmri ya ma ‘ayyartini fik A.8 ae kb - pool & 
wa kidlama ‘ayyartint zad gurdmi fik Sos lye ly dare LIS ὁ 
O darkest one, how often was I blamed for (loving) you! 
But the more they blamed me, the more my passion for you increased. 
In another stanza from a love ditty the girl says: 
bahtibbo, bahibbo wu bamttt aléh As Ser 9 dns? dns? 
I love him, I love him, and would die with (longing for) him. 


Verse 7. 

The shepherds have siesta from the fourth to the ninth hour of 
the day (hora aeqwinoctialis), a period termed tagyilt ir-ry{yan (.-53 
ols!) Vide the classical term qailile (ὁ.}9λ..3}. 


206 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Verse 8. 
ya bohod sitt il- banat, ya... “d-n-niswan 
(Hither I get the queen of girls or I'll viet care a fig for women.) 
Claws Ath by SL ὡ υ ΕΟ ο 


Thus a fair woman may still be termed sitt il- banat or sitt 
M-NISWAN slew) Cow λα! cw. 
From a description of a symposium with hetaerae (?). 


Verse 9. 

The word habibi, my darling, is still in use. It also answers to 
the English “Good gracious.” Sarcastically used, it may be rendered 
by “fiddlesticks.” 


Verse 10. 

Prof. Haupt suggests that these chains may have been coins. Cf. the 
Sdtwe (’,b<3) of the fellahat, a row of silver (or gold) coins which 
are attached on a “mutch” a round the forehead, and are usually worn 
at weddings and other festivities. 


Verses 10—11. ; 
ya nas la tlimini ‘ala mhubbitha aotns* he ρον wb b 
hiy habbatni wana habbétha Lynne Ul, n> % 
ya rétni “ugd johar fi ragbitha gtd) & prem ads Aer ἢ 
tifna ἰ- αἱ wala tifna mahabbitha. Gorns® (485 Vo dl es) 

O people, do not blame me for loving her; Ἷ 

She loved me and I loved her (also in present tense). 

O that I were a pearl necklace round her neck... 

May our enemies perish, but not her love. 


Verse 11. 
“The diamond set suits you, oh my eye,” bilb@ lak sakl il-almaz, 
ah ya “ént. exes Ὁ al LY! ἐπ Tso). 


Verse 12. 

In the mountainous part of northern Mesopotamia (Miafarqin and 
neighbourhood) the bridegroom is still called “king” (sultan) and 
acts during the feast as such, exercising a limited power. 

Verse 13. 

An ‘Atdba verse from Gaza says: 

sabah al-hér kilio ilk ya sabhah 
tiswi mit wahde mni-l-hél w-il-bagar sabhah 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 207 


myyal mn nam fi hdénk wadha 

utafa nar galbo ha-l-mixila ... ba. 

ἀλλο GUI AIS pall εἴμο 

oe alls eee oe SrADX|6 ον" eee 

πο digas ἃ UY oe JUS 

Lb... Abawble AUS Lb abo 

Good morning all of it to you, O Sabha! 

You are worth a hundred horses or cows. 

Happy, who sleeps in your bosom till morning, 

Thus extinguishing the burning flame of his heart. 


Fuad. N. 5. 
The henna flower (sha >) is very much liked. 

laze. AuI le p29 user? Lynne 

Wy acl lag de dog! Gals 

Lance ες 5 Lye σὰ ἰςχλὰ 

Sih ices eee ὑβεος 
δι πα btimsi w bithizza alla iy)ieza 
mahla n-nome ‘dla bizza sia walla 
sufta bitna’’s habba albi habba 
mahla n-nome biubba sia walla. 


1 saw her walking and swaying — 

May God honour her! 

How sweet is sleep on her breast even for an hour. 
(Cf. Daniel 4 16!) 

I saw her cleaning her corn; 

My heart loved her, — 

How sweet is sleep in the flap (of her garment) 

Even for an hour! 8 


Verse 15, 

Ll-bint is-salabiyye (if'ytina loziyye, d235) Uergae dqrbedl τριχῶν, 
‘The fair girl has almond-like eyes’, begins an almost forgotten love 
ditty. 

Verse 16. 

The word “green” (ahdar) means also in Arabic, vigorous, young, 
freshly made or cut. Cf. St. Luke 23 31 (hatab ahdar, “ad ahdar). 
An old man desirous of marrying again may be pointed out as having 
a “green soul” ndfso hddra, \pas dws. 


208 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
CHAPTER IT 
Verse 1. 
Hurusi lab? ya war(ijd ‘abv (Dance nicely, O well-scented rose). 
Ble a» Ὁ SY ,05)!. The attribute of being like a rose (ze? al-warde, 


3>y9)\ .53) 18 applied to a fair girl. 

A striking similarity shows the following Kurdish ditty, which I 
heard from the Kedkén Kurds between Jerdblus (the ancient 
Carchemish on the Euphrates) and Mimbiy (the ancient Bambyce). 

‘addile teya jwéda gol wu susan gi peda... 
O ‘Addile, you come along there, all scented with roses and tulips. 


Verse 5. 

A proverbial saying runs as follows: hn uw ances Lo cl 
it-tuffah ma bisabbi‘, bass bisalli, Apples do not satisfy the ee 
they only console one (occupy one). Var. iJl wae wo cee 
it-tuffah bass bva“id in-nafs, Apples only stimulate the appetite. 

[Dr. Canaan.| 

In a fella verse which I heard at a wedding, the bridegroom is 
supposed to tell the bride that he will have everybody bring her 
figs to eat. : 

ον ον» AM cab οϑο abl! SaaS Le ely Ley 
uma bie Wlatin tisci-t-tibb wu latin l-imlth ile dalal. 


And there is nothing which ails you—however, the fair one is pampered. 


Verse 7. 

It is still usual to adjure people in order to make them act 
according to one’s wishes, or to “force” them to answer one’s question 
or the like; 6. g., 

“IT adjure you by God, the prophet, and everything dear to you,” 
bahalfak (hallaftak) ballah w bi-n-nabi uw bkill δὲ gal ‘alek 
de HE G2 Js Gets all felidle] wits’, 

halla |-hyliwa fisba’ nom. Let the sweet one be satisfied by 
sleeping the “beauty sleep,” 93 aac s5l2! eo 


Verse 9. 
Nowadays she is likened to a gazelle, and he to a lion. 


55...}} ol οὐ Glee ἢ 1 asl, (τ 955 ls o> \_8q0 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 209 


Syfu hibbi ya (yun waif barra . 
w-lli ‘ammal yitmayal dsl i gurra... 
Look, O my eyes, my beloved is standing outside, 
And his shock of hair is waving... 
Verses 11—13. ; 
ya mahd i- byd, hashys bi-d-dahab hashys 
(w)sbur ‘al-l-byd hatta (y)warrig il-misnis 
(isbur ‘a-l-byd hatta tyhmarr haddéhyn 
w-i(y)ban (y)hlal i-gamar myn bén ‘ynéhyn. 
AeA = ab fet ail och b 
Frocchl S92 A> Balle nol 
cr pee? > ποῦ pol 
crests OP Or poll SMe olrs 
O, you, whe are marrying the white ones, chink, chink your gold coins! 
Wait for the white ones till the apricot is green (spring season); 
Wait for the white ones till their cheeks grow ruddy; 
And the crescent of the moon (2. 6. their faces) appears from between 
their eyes... 
NOTE. The advice to delay the marriage till the apricot is in 
leaf (April) is in agreement with the common saying, that he who 
marries in December-January will lick the pots (lc bitjawwaz fi kantin 
bylhas l-1-qditr, γο nee os ἃ Shee Jl), since he will have 
insufficient food, whereas if he marries in April, as is in vogue with 
the fellahin, he will have meat, eggs, milk, and all sorts of vegetables 
in abundance. 
Verse 12. 
esl 5,» me eb Ὁ aes ἢ 
ya habibi ya nayim fattah ward y-janayin. 
Oh my beloved, who are asleep, 
the roses, in the flower-garden have budded. 
Verse 13. ες 
We still say it-tin aad, aad σα, denoting the gradual advance 
of spring. 
Verse 14. 
(h)jibsir ya hada jibna hamamtak 
jibna bint ‘ammak jibna qarabtak. 


210 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


RAS Libs tye eels 

Oe ΕΑ ΠΕ {ΠῚ 

Cheer up, you, we have brought your dove, 
We have brought your cousin, we have brought your kinswoman. 


Husband and wife may call each other “cousin,” using the feminine 
or masculine form in addressing or speaking to and of each other; 
bint'ammi, ses S42; ibn “dammi, (5e¢ ¢3\ correspond to German 
‘ase; French “cousine,” German “Vetter,” French “cousin.” 

Ssyeb ds 9 Sasi οἷ» Cralb 
tt ‘a-ras y-jabal addawwir ‘dla teri... 
I went up the hill in search of my bird. 


CHAPTER III 
Verse 1. 


A lover may justly complain with the poor victim of the bargiut 
[flea] tid a-lél w-dna sahran ... 1 was awake the whole night, Job 
Slee Bly AUT. 

Ya habibi, ya habib ’albi, ya habib “én, “O my beloved, O beloved 
of my soul, O beloved of my eye” are still very common appellatives: 
usta eee ba eee Db ee Ὁ. 

Me See eee τ ἘΣ Ε θυ 
bagét nayim ‘ala frasi mithanni da haydlak ‘ala bala w gannani 
I was enjoying sleep in my bed 
when your form came to my mind and deranged me. 
For the first stanza cf. the note to 4 9. 
Verse 4. 


se! Cen: stl ares) 


Bet tunmi (temmak, tmmo), the house of my (your, his) mother, is 
sometimes used instead of bét abiiy (abak, abtih). Cf. John 14 2. 


Verse 5. 

An Egyptian ditty begins: It is lawful, O daughters of Alexandria, 
to fall in love with you, yd banat Iskandariyya ‘ivikum halal 
(Ja Skis δ χλλδ οὶ Gales Is): 

Verse 6. 

This merchant is our contemporary ‘attaér )las (German “Gewiirz- 
handler,” French “épicier”). Nearly every big Oriental town has a 
stig u-‘attarin (55) 8.5} Soa). 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 211 


Verse 9. 
As the Hebrew word appiryon is of Greek origin, so the colloquial 
Arabic word taht(ajrawan (c\9y*=) 15. a Persian loanword. 


Verse 10. 

“For the sake of the daughters of Jerusalem” (Vulgate), 7. e, out 
of love for them. In one of the best known Arabic wedding songs 
(Thattart γᾷ zéna) after the enumeration of everything the bridegroom 
has done, the bride is reminded that he has performed “all this for 
your sake, O fair one,” U kilo ‘ala sanik ya salabiyya (ds So... 
διχαλὰ ty SLD). 


CHAPTER IV 
Verse 4. 


A Bewtt Zagrita runs as follows:— (Y.H.) 
Alb Atzz0 Jesh)! Cuddle »is 
miei clan=* ct) ὃς 45 all 
Su hassab it-tawil (mzeino tilo) 
ilo tumm hadtim dahab mahbuk bililu... 
What a slim young man, (and his slimness fits him) — 
He has a mouth (like) a gold ring, set with pearls... 
Verse 5. 
tom (gla) twins are considered as the symbol of symmetry. 
sidrik ‘amarah bilhajar wibladina, Your breast is a stone house 
and our home land (5.559. smth syle Sr). 


Verse 6. 
Daybreak, ἐῶ τὲ is-stib(ujh (eal Astb), 
Verse 7. 
Ya-hti halautik wala fis kida abaddnna (Egyptian), O my sister, 
there is nothing like your beauty ([ζ..9}] lol las (28 Vo EUs a path). 
Verse 9. 
pia ἘΠΕ chert cess 
ἀὠϊοιριῥριν Seung. 
wi fit (hjibah w-ahditl bali... 
mitl it-turayya fi-s-sama l-ah... 
She stood opposite me and deprived me of reason— 
She is like the Pleiades in the sky on high... 


212 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


ces) Bly 228 γον Hains 
ce dl Bye Cee) Crege 
‘inéki s-snd gatlatni wana ganni (for agannt) 
hawajbinik rdamat ‘drag i-haya minni 
Your dark eyes slew me while I was singing (1. e. being without care), 
And your eyebrows drove shame from me... 
For the second hemistich cf. note to 3 1. 
w-il-én kahla, w-il-hawajib ahla, The eye is painted with kohl and 
the eyebrows are “sweeter” (=| Gelgtls s* .2Jls). 


Habibi jana mat'anni aes sl an 
labis wl badle -l-binni il AJrSI ord 
sawad ayuno jgannanne ὦ digas rau 
kimal usafo bilmarra Brbl> Adloo! SoS 


My beloved came to me (troubled?), smartly (clad) 
And wearing his coffee-brown suit. 

The darkness of his eyes distracted me— 

All his good points are complete. (Cfr. Cant. 4 7.) 


Ya labise l-lemin csgec| δον Ὁ 
ya nur ἡ ψίιηι cise oe & 
std vyunik dabahini (sig? πρὸ Dgaw 
dummini swayy Soe ΡΟΣ 


O one clad in citron (yellow garments), 
O light of my eyes! 
The darkness of your eyes have slain (lit. slaughtered) me, 
Embrace me a little. 
Another verse of a similar song is the following: 
ya labiset al ire - Wik bihriz jee? ihe pel ἄν ὦ 
w-i'ytink sid wu btigmiz, atlit walla Aly CIS pertrg rg Cgnse 
O one clad in purple clothes, it is worth while falling in love with you, 
For your eyes are black and sparkle, and have slain (me) indeed. 


Verse 8b. 

There are no more lions in Palestine and Syria; although leopards 
are said to have their dens in the neighbourhood of the three great 
rivers, in deserted and pathless regions, they are very rare. 

Verse 10. . 

I smell the odour of handagog— 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 213 


The one above has deprived me of my senses. 
ὥσθ Ce Ge Dsl Genta det, eld 


Samim vihet handa’o’ ahdit “ali hal fo. 

This is a quotation from a camel driver’s song (/ida). 
poe ex) y pred! duo ἢ 
rr tae Frey Kune is 9 
ya labisit 18-Sambar la yitgabbar 

wu rihtik misk w ‘ambar dummini swdi... 


O you with the gauze mantle, let it not become dusty, 
For your fragrance is musk and ambergris.— Embrace me a little. 


| ow! οἷο ὀικαλλς Angra | 53 3g) by 
| l-abi’ hudiimi “asan bosah min haddiki l-hilu l-malban 


ya h(yjlwah zayy i basbiisah w(y)mhallabiyye wu kaman alisan. 
Vl sell my garments for a single kiss 
From your mdlban-like transparent cheek, 
O you who are sweet as basbiisah 
And mhallabiyye and even sweeter... 

Malban <,. is prepared and dried grape syrup, which looks like 
leather. Basbisah is a sweetmeat prepared from butter, sugar and 
flour. Basbisa δια is better known under the name of bsise 
δικά, Mhallabiyye is thick rice pudding. go bel se s02; 
Cpe los ol BRS! de Sutil zido halawah, ahla min is-stikkar 
‘ala l-balawah, adhmar hida (-abiad. 

The red and white (colour) adds to its sweetness, more than that 
of sugar strewn on balawah... 


(Ba'lawah is a sort of puff paste very sugary and much liked.) 


sythal dus ὦ Bylo Ὁ aall (cag 
‘wmi-labi ya Siseh ya jebmat il-makbiseh 
‘umi-labi ya Sarah ya “bit al-“attarah 


Stand up and play (dance) O little Susannah, 
You cured cheese. 
Stand up and play (dance) O Sarah, 
You box of the perfumer. 
ἘΠΕῚ ἘΠῚ URS τ Os PE 
ha@balat sitt al-bandte ruha stkkar nabati 


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There comes the queen of girls; 
Her saliva is like crystal sugar (or sugar candy). 
UOTE nd TO gree ΠΕ Ὁ Gaels glo le Le 
ya mahla massi safaifiha dhla mni-s-stikkar w-il-‘asala 
O, how sweet is the sucking of her lips, sweeter than sugar or honey. 
(This verse and the following are of Egyptian origin.) 
Colts Epo Chel sl Wwe 3 Nlee οὐχ 
bistan jamalak fi htisno  degha wa-djymal min bistan 
The garden of your beauty in its bloom is fairer and more 
resplendent than a flower garden. 


Verses 12—15. 
ow JI drm Clee lia : 5 
ἘΜ «5 ea asls co ches 


bizzak ya hada matil habbt -rumman 

wu ‘inek sabdtna bhagg allah u-w-rahman 

haddak mbaqqy kinno min tuffah is-sam 

mahla janah is-stibh w niftah al-bistan ... 

(Continued under chap. 7 3—5.) 
Your breast, O you, is like a pomegranate fruit, 
And your eyes have captured us, by God, and (by) the Merciful one 
Your cheek shines as if it were a Damascene apple; 
How sweet to pluck it in the morning and to open the garden 
(7. 6. to enjoy with you connubial bliss!) (See also verse 16.) 

Verse 12. 

In opposition to the “garden enclosed,” a girl deprived of her 
virginity is colloquially termed “opened,” maftiha (Axis). See 
abowe note. 

Verse 13. 


The following ditty, addressing the bride, comes from Nazareth 
(Miss Marie N.): 


lwugs. ya habaga Adam by ¢,-05)| 
wiburme “a-waraga B39 (goyle 
kull hyslitin fika chs duos Bs 


biddha havraze zarga. AS); x); Leo 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 215 


Dance, O basil-shrub, and turn on a leaf, [ocymum Basilicum] 
Every lock of you needs a blue glass pearl... 

(in order to divert the spell of the evil eye). 
Husle stands also here for stalk (of the basil herb). 


CHAPTER V 
Verse 1. 
The following is a quotation from a song describing a symposium 
with hetaerae: 
lag ms dive (ὃ Si Gia Lo la 
EG elemNaeacl oe 5yqll Calas 
hayya bina hatta niskar fi giménit hod wu hat 
nivtuf u-wardi ‘an immo w-il-“awadzil nayimat. 
Well then, let us be drunk in the garden of caressing (lit. take and give); 
Let us pluck the roses “from her mother” while the critical are asleep. 
There is an Egyptian verse which runs as follows:— 
Pee Silay UL Cabs Gling BI ods 
(inzilt dna bistanikum vataft dna rummdadnikum.. . 
1 entered your garden and plucked your pomegranates... 


Verse 2. 
ἘΠ Ὁ ΤῈ lel) Gy shes 
w(yhyat rabb i -ah = fikrik ma yrih min bala 
By the life of God, the Almighty, 
Your memory does not leave my mind. 
Verse 4. 
This quotation and the following are from a song addressed to a 
hetaera: 
che Ip on 8 Ae99 (st) Blas 
w-(ihyat rabbt wu rabbak ᾿ἀἰδὲ min grucwa habbak... 
By the life of my Lord and yours, 
My heart from within loved you. 


Verse 2. 
The dew is believed to be harmful to the eyes; cf. also Dan. 4 22, 30; 5 21. 


Verse 6. 
The rendition of the colloquial Arabic expressions is nearly exact: 
γί (rohit) {211} (or zahzaat), “my soul went out,” or “was near to” 


16 


216 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Verse 7. 
An old haddawiyye from Jaffa makes the girl say: 
ign Ul dle gall QW deg σ᾿ 
pels he (sini? crooner τι 
νον das Vo dwg Ὁ Anas Gla (plas, 
Minni u minno -am il gos “as-saraya sahabuni 
Alf ‘asaya darabini darabini ‘ala kabi 
w-ikabi hala faddah ya boseh bala “adda. 


The quarrel rose between me and him: 

They dragged me to the sara; 

They beat me a thousand strokes; 

They beat me on my ankles. 

And my ankles are (better than?) silver ear rings — 
O, for a hearty kiss (lt. without a bite)! 


Verse 10. 
The girl is supposed to tell her mother her wishes: — 
ala) | 959 a> a yt Map be 
Aljom daly ey! Ushs δὴν 
ma brid σῶν sabbin hilu w kwayyis al- ame 
ttilo katal wr-rium(wh w-il-hadd huriyya 
I only want a handsome young man of good stature 
As slim as a lance, with a houri cheek. 


Verse 12. 
There is a parallel in a “kinderlied”: 


hamadmatén rtmassén min ha-l-birke la-hal-én 
Two doves went out strolling from this pool to that spring. 


Verse 16. 
Cf. the parallel in our conventional phrases “you are all beauty, 
you are beauty itself.” 


CHAPTER VI 
Verse 4. 
We may nowadays (especially in Syria) term a town beautiful 
(hylwe, ss) but we cannot make a direct comparison between a 
girl and a town. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 217 


Verse 6. 
There is a striking classical Arabic parallel to this verse: 


we I ne πιο» 95 ane 


eel 6 oo oS = a Slee Cres 
(The teeth are) white, small, like many ewes; 
They laugh like “pouring” hail pellets. 


However the comparison seems to stand alone. 


Verse 8. 
I heard the following from a lady of Nazareth: 
JUI ds ws Y yor b yep 
[δ }} GLA) bs Vemlge ines bs 
Anos << salem ins ys css 
ele co Sel byl E> 595. 
‘aris ya ‘aris la tindam ‘ala -l-mali 
‘ala ‘artistak hawajib hatt il mya (Original: il-(i)glami) 
‘ala ‘arustak hawajib joz malmiyya 
tiswa banat hartak dawwal ‘ala tan. 
O bridegroom, O bridegroom, do not regret the wealth 
(sc. which you have spent in obtaining the bride)! 
Your bride has eyebrows coloured with kohl pencils; 
Your bride has eyebrows arched and well guarded. 
She is worth all the girls of your quarter, both first and last. 


Verse 10. 
De ὅ 9» al ol us) Nigas 
wissak zai il- amar alah Uyjzido ntr 
u siftak ya habibi warde fi banntr 


Your face is like the moon—May God increase its shining — 
And your lip, O my beloved, is like a rose in (a) crystal (vase). 
w-issamsi thtak ya “amar u-i-badri halak 
O moon, the sun is your sister, and the full moon is your uncle. 
In Arabic the sun is female and the moon male. The last part 
of this stanza refers to the proverb tultén il-wdlad la-hdlo, cs 
aJl2 oJeJ!. Two thirds of the boy take after his uncle (i.e. his 


mother’s brother). 
16* 


218 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


pole J as? οἱ pehl ab (tee b 
ya memati til’ il-habar mnt balybbo la ha-l-dmar 
O mother the news has been spread that I have fallen in love with 
this moon. 
ὧι οἷς. ax! Ul Lely oil ily 


w-inte -l-dmar bi-s-sama wana n-nijim haduik 
And you are the moon in the sky and I am the constellation about you. 
aes, ul «2 ASAI cs? Gta | 
dna u habibi fi l-ttmeh zai Wamar ui-n-nimeh 
I and my beloved in the dark are like the moon and the constellation. 
“Like the moon,” ze il-’dmar ( ol 53) is nowadays still a very 
common attribute of a fair girl. 


Verse 12. 
BS Sole gible ὦ AS (Sj) ΞΡ UI GS tae Le 
ma ba'rafs kif ta..., ana (mys) dari Carif) kif ta.... manis ‘ari ΠΣ: 
etc. = “I do not know how” with all its variations is a very 
convenient phrase in and out of season to help us where we cannot 
account for a thing. 


CHAPTER VII 


The description of the female body is comprehensively dealt with 
in the “Arabian Nights”. The face shines like the full moon. Although 
the form is slim, yet the body is plump, likened to a silver bar or 
ivory, as soft as the tail of a sheep. The eyes fascinate and captivate 
like those of the gazelle, and are painted with stibium (Kohl). The 
lashes are long and so are the eyebrows. Like a bouquet of flowers 
are the cheeks—rosy apples, with a freckle, which enhances their 
beauty. The teeth gleam like pearls, the lips are as sweet as honey 
or sugar. The breasts are budding; they are well rounded, like 
pomegranates, seductive, and as white as ivory. The navel may hold 
an ounce of oil, and is like the bottom of a tiny coffee cup. The legs 
are round columns of choice marble, the thighs are cushions stuffed 
with feathers, and the nates are full and as heavy as a heap of sand. 

Although the comparison is not consistently carried out, one may 
grasp that the chief object of the narrator is to impress on his 
hearers that “she” is in every respect a very fine woman. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 219 


Verse 1. 
Eire pero ἢ AS> AS> «αὐοοὶ 
(Asm) Use cre Livy dS oe wal all US 
ums. dda, daa, ya snobar (i)mnd’a 
kull a -‘arayis min kieib ‘artsitna min haa. 
Go step by step, | O chosen pine (nut), 


All brides are deceptive— (only) our bride is all right. 


The following verse is sung to the sahjeh: 
gatalna bttilo δ 985 LSS 
ya rannit (ihjiilo Algs> 45, Ὁ 
winnome ma’ ttlo ὁ... ao Avgitls 
tiswa kull dhylna Wal US δου 
He slew us with his slimness; 
Alas, the tinkling of his anklets! 
And sleep with him (lit. his stature) 
Is worth all our kinship. 


Cf. also: min hon la Gdzze min hon la Gazze hutt wl gadam ‘algadam 
w-il-has(yr yinhdzze, pre pl be sis) oye cre 33) Oe OX 
per, ,osl,, From here to Gaza put one foot before the other while 
your hips sway... 

Aegis Cae 59, dirt wissik tansufik, “turn your face that 
we may see you,” are words to the bride in an obsolete song. 

hagas (25, Τὰ Ἵ tanstifik, (come, that we may see you) is a usual 
phrase. 

ray! Sas cae '», rahin nsif il-‘arus, “we are going to see the 
bride,” expresses the intention to visit her. 

Bint akabir, bint awadim, ibn il-akabir «ΘΝ ¢52\ ,arl9) HS , pb) Sea 
Daughter of nobles, daughter of well-to-do people. 
The latter is from the song “Give me, O mother, my bird.” 
hatili ywmma ‘asfiri Betas le io ἢ 

The husband and the wife address each other with ya-(i)bn in-nis, 
rl eel &, and ya bint in-nds, ll cus b, which reminds us 
of the old “son of man” in Daniel 7 13. 

5} } 5? she Aled dale — cdgmy oh b sl Ege (im 
hinnt ‘aléna ah ya Salma u judi mahla -awamik ‘dla da? u-idi 
Have pity on us O Salma and be generous (with your charms) 
How sweet is your gait accompanied by the playing of the ‘7d! 


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Verses 1—5. 

The usual description of the beauty would be summed up in some 
such a way:—Her head is like a dove’s head, rasha ras il-hamame 
dsletl ply Lowel; (iyanha (yin U-gualdn oY;\ 5,946. τόρ. she 
has gazelle-like eyes; il-hadd mqdnbyz ;~8« o2\ the cheek is chubby; 
dinéha dnén il-asayil ον" 65> ly.3> her ears are like the ears 
of noble horses; and her eyelashes fill her eye Ljais [Ye] ho Lanne 
hid(ujbha mala ‘inéha; her fingers are silver pencils glam fadda 
Aas 5; her back is straight like a lance dahrha mitl ir-rumh 

ey! ee lab; sidrha balat marmar yey bYo layro her breast is a 

Shox flag, and the breasts are like well-rounded cups [,Le>] lob 
tawasi hammam, or like honey-filled pots, matl (y)jrar (se. al-’ asal) eer 
nal! l=; her belly is like bundles of silk, Saldyil harir >>> ode 5 
the navel is a tiny (coffee) cup surrytha mitl il-fiydn JSro Wye 
ols =~! and the abdomen is like a young dove filled (stuffed) and 
prepared, mitl iz-zaglal al-mahsi a Jeé3J| Jee; her stature is 
like a pot of oil (Cajl 372.) stl [95 Lab tiilha til iyarra (jart 
iz-zét), or like a sack of ἐν (ged)! 5253) ss) μος muitl i-farde 
(fardet il-am(y)h). Both these ὙΠ are also applicable to 
the belly. 


yo? dale GI eds Ss. Pu cor 

NG ated leaks ἘΠ Js εἰ": oe 8 y-ally 
>» ans Le Wb ς σον] Am 58 b 
sidrik balat (Yrham winhidik ‘aléh για ἐγ 
wil-batn dbyad τι ἂν = gilt ana ‘aléh bannir 
wis-surra min “Ay niyyal u- ‘aléha budtr 
ya farhyt u-azab bil-lél ma fih nir. 


Your breast is a marble flag, 

And your breasts (bosom) are (is) its watchman. 
And the belly is white and soft— 

1 called it crystal. 

And the navel is of ivory; 

Happy he who turns on it. 

How great is the joy of the bachelor 

In the dark night..... 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 221 


. badari bymhabbitkum badari ie inst? glow 
‘dla -mm ynhid wi-iryn badari Syl γοδεῖνδο δος ἵ we 
niyyalak ya tob tytfarray badali Aloe 2S Ce by JUL 
‘dla-mm ynhid wistir lalykdba Οὐ] jgatrs mot5 al hs 
I try to agree well with your love 
On behalf of her with the breasts and the hair. 
Happy are you, O garment, who instead of me gaze at 
Her, with the breasts and the hair... right down to the ankles. 
Verse 6. 
Kull al-hana fiha os Liali Us (first verse of A354 x's) all happiness 
is in her, so as to make the bride a “foyer de vrai bonheur.” 
Verse 7. 


Marhaba wahla Valo Lope 
bi'uent il-kahla We! Loge 
ya nahle tawile Abrsb Ale Ὁ 
tiftah bab limditne Aart! 9 ee 


A hearty welcome 

to the kohl-painted eye. 

To the slim palm tree 

which opens (even) the gate of the city. 


Some forty years ago, the gates of Jerusalem used to be closed 
during the night. The gate-keeper used then to cry aloud bidding 
those who wished to leave the city to hasten, as otherwise they would 
be compelled to spend the night within the walls. [Yusif D.] 

A wan of fine stature is likened to a palm tree (tio til in-ndhle 
Ale! Job Algb). 


Verse 8. 


« 


rly estas στ & gel 
rs ase! B98 Kas! σὴ b 
ya radyithin “a-halab hubbt ma‘dkum rah 
ya mhammilin i-tnab fo i-“inab tuffah 
O you, who are going to Aleppo, my beloved has gone with you; 
O you, who have loaded the grapes (sc. breasts), above the grapes 


there are apples (sc. cheeks). 
maddét idi ‘dla r-rummdan whol de soul Core 


‘al le l-helu sahbo mharr) rye? aeale stl d Jb 


222 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


I stretched out my hands for the pomegranates, 
But their fair owner told me:—It is forbidden. 
Verse 9. 
veuha sukkar nabati 
her palate is crystal sugar. Cf. note to 4 10. 


Verse 12, 

rumman ibzazha atfo subhiyye arnt ashs ἴα Poly (In the 
morning one plucks the pomegranates of her breasts). This belongs 
to a song about the fair girl (¢-bint 7is-Selbiyye), which circulated 
about 1903. 

Verse 13. 

It is not impossible that the term ,apple” (Hebrew tappi(a)h) 
denotes the golden apples of the mandrake, Haupt, Canticles, Note 5 
on Νο. 71. 

The mandragora officinalis is called banj ee or tuffah al-bajan 
oa zs3 (Gaza) or tuffali il-majann, majal (st!) ost! cis3 or 
tuffah il-majanin ¢3\s*! cs. The proverb says (Gaza) tuffah al-majal 
bijib il-hdbal Jot) case? st! κῶς, Mandragora is thought to 
promote pregnancy (cf. Gen. 3014). The leaves green cut and mixed 
with other vegetables, cooked in a pie, and given to a woman are 
said, however, to be a sure way to make her sterile. This is one of 
the secret recipes said to be used by women against each other. 


CHAPTER VIII 

Verse 1. 

Children of different families, who have (for some reason) sucked 
the same breasts (Milchbriider) are called asla Jb Sg5\ ylue bi-r-rdéa, 
lit. brothers in suckling. They are considered in social life as 
brothers and sisters and are not allowed to marry each other. 

Give him the breast addi -l-bizz τ 1 (Adbsl) 4231 is said ironically 
to a boy (or grown-up man) who behaves childishly, in order to 
remind him that he has passed that period definitely. 

Verse 2. 

In Persia syrup or must is still extracted from pomegranates for 
culinary purposes, where it plays the role of mayonnaise in the 
French cuisine. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 223 


Verse 6. 

Amulets are fastened on the arm, the hand, or they hang loose 
on the neck. Sometimes they are sewn to the clothes, especially to 
the tarbiis 452,b etc. They are mostly Koran verses written on 
paper wrapped in leather and sometimes put in a specially prepared 
tin tube or etui. Silver is also used to make these boxes. 


Verse 7. 
An adage reminds us, that love is dearer than everything and is 
sometimes ascribed to a divine or demoniacal source. 
ὅ)95 ALS Vg AWN cre dst! οἷο 
madri l-mahabbe min Alla willa citbe wi-shira 
I do not know whether love comes from God, or whether from 
amulets and charms. 
ana killi (mali w halalr) -wddamak clos (Meg dhe) ds δὶ 
1 am (with all my goods and my possessions) before you 
Dalam de - thus de - dol os 
taht amrak - ‘ala kisak - ‘ala hsabak 
(i. e. at your disposal) are still some of our fine conversational phrases 
which have not lost entirely their original meaning. We may hear these 
phrases from shore to shore, wherever the Arabic language is spoken, 
in town as well as in tent. We express also our consent to something, 
or our willingness to help materially without any mental reservations. 


Ill. PREFATORY NOTE TO THE ARABIC FOLKSONGS 


I have used Professor Dalman’s excellent Paldstinischer Diwan 
only so far as to avoid repeating songs already in his book. Professor 
Haupt’s work on the Song of Songs has been of great help to me 
in selecting the pieces. The songs, being primarily collected for 
poetical purposes, cannot be used as material for phonetic researches, 
as in most cases they are sung differently by different persons, though 
perhaps with only slight alterations. Nor is it a strange thing to hear 
three or even more versions of one and the same song in the same 
town, village or district. I have selected the following poems from my 
collection because of their bearing on my theme, although they are not 
always of interest as literature. “But there remains a residuum of true 
folk-poetry, which is of the greatest interest,” since, even in the “words 
of these partly rustic songs there are many charming passages.” 


224 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society _ 


As to the origin of these songs and ditties, some of them show 
clearly the influence of Egyptian poetry, if not an Egyptian origin. 
Syrian influence is also strong. Strictly speaking, no songs of the 
towns are really autochthonous, as seems to be the case with the 
Canticles. [The relative lack of independence in the lyric literature 
of modern Palestine when compared with that of ancient Israel is 
naturally due to the fact that it now has the same language and 
culture as the surrounding lands, while ancient Palestine was cut off 
by differences of language from regular interchange of songs with 
its neighbours. On the other hand, we must not exaggerate this 
independence, after the discovery of a catalogue of Assyrian erotic 
lyrics showing a close similarity in metaphors and expressions to 
the songs of Canticles (cf. Langdon, JRAS 1921, 169—192), especially 
since Meek (AJSL 39, 1—14) has demonstrated that Canticles 
contains many quotations from lyrics belonging to the cult of 
Tammuz. W.F.A.]. 

Songs No. 14 and 17 are of Egyptian origin; Nos. 6 and 10 are 
influenced by Egyptian models. Whereas No. 13 is a true Syrian 
song, Nos. 1 and 31 are of doubtful origin, but the Syrian element 
prevails. These songs are sung throughout Palestine and I know 
them all from persons who sing them frequently, most of them not 
having been outside Jerusalem. ) 

As there is a (sometime wide) difference between the rhythm as 
sung and as recited, in almost every case I have tried to give the 
accentuation of the Arabic text as it would be recited. As to the 
metre I do not hesitate to state that the bard has generally no rule, 
but composes empirically. The twne is an important facter in the 
construction of stanzas, at least more important than the metre. In 
a later article I hope to deal with the metre and music of the Arabic 
folk-songs in Syria and Palestine. Generally spoken, vernacular 
poetry is (with the exception of the Egyptian songs) independent from 
classical, so that it is often next to impossible to scan the stanzas 
according to fixed classical rules. 

As to the different types of songs, I have tried to select at 
random, though a different choice might have given a better anthology. 
Purposely I have not included many zagarit Ceo 63, although forty 
of them would have been sufficient to prove the similarity between 
Canticles and our contemporary songs. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 225 


Ganani es (sing. gunndwiyye δ.5 9.15) are Nos. 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 12, 
15, 17, 20, 21, 27,30 and 32. These are all sung in the towns, No. 9, 
also by fellahin. 

“Αἰᾶθα d.lxs verses are Nos. 50—53. They have been collected 
from the Tul-karm district and from the northern borders of ancient 
Judaea. They are known in the towns but sung mostly by felldhin. 

Mawawil Ὁ ο᾽9.. (sing. mawwval 119.) are 18 and 24-26. Nos. 33-36, 
38 and 39 are from Nazareth and the neighbourhood. 

The haddawiyye 429\.> No. 37 comes from the fellahin north of 
Ramallah. No. 23, 28 and 29 represent the so-called dabée (Beduin). 
Another Beduin ditty is No. 16. 

Sdlje as. are Nos. 19, 22 and 23 from Samaria. 

All have to a certain extent undergone, nolens volens, a linguistic 
modification, as the dialect in which I render them is a compromise 
between fella/jii and town vernacular, but more of the latter, as they 
are known in towns in this form. All in all, the Canticles as well 
as our contemporary poetry “in its natural sense is so full of purpose 
and meaning, so apt in sentiment, and so perfect in imagery,” that 
the real sense cannot be easily mistaken. 


I 
ya rabb yael-‘Ali,! slon? ‘Abdak zalamto 18 85 dali kasarto?4 5 6 


marru? ‘alayya®’ tnén, ‘ata‘u salati? wahid habib ir-réh, wahid hayati.!0 


1 vide Psalm 911. 

2 §lon?: (how?) in the Aleppo dialect. Slon kéfak, 8lénak (3lémak)? How are 
you? The word stands for é@§ daun(ak). Cf. also the Hebrew m@ &8dm-ha?— 
How do you do? 

3 128 is Egyptian colloquial for 18? J = [. (s)J. 

4 Another rendering is zalamto ladil‘l, kasirto.. ., a bare statement. 

5 Cf. also Psalm 221 and 14; 69 30, 

6 This verse is the refrain. 

7 Also: marrum etc. The ending of the third pers. plur. in all tenses is 
influenced by Egyptian forms with affixed m. This applies, however, only to 
songs. 

* Usually mara ‘anni (and not ‘aliya): marag ‘anni bitliffat hawalch (No. 46). 

9 Mohammedans pray at fixed times indoors and out. (Matth. 6 5.) 

10 Cant. 117. Another versions runs: udnte hayati... and you are my life). 


226 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
sallam ‘alayya! u-rah mitl il-garibe2 ya diam‘atyn bi-l’én kini sakibe 2 3 
sillam ‘alayya u rah rakyb (y)hsfino yislam habib ir-roéh yislamli sano 4 
sallam ‘alayya ἃ rah rakyb hantiiro yislam habib ir-réh yislamli tilo 
maliS garad bi-s-si’® marrét taSifak ili santén mysta’ ma rwit myn Ssofak ὃ 
rahu? ‘ala l-hammam§s hallu sa‘irhum? kullil-banat (y)njfiim hibbi’amarhum 19 


1 O Lord, Almighty, (look) how Thy servant is doing: 
Thou hast maltreated him, why?—and broken my ribs. 


2 There passed two by me and made me break off my prayer; 
One (of them) is the beloved of my soul, one is my life. 


3 He saluted me, as if 1 were a stranger, and went on his way— 


O, flow, tears from my eyes.. 
a 
4 He saluted me and went away, riding his horse; 


May he be safe—the beloved of my soul—and may his affairs prosper. 


1 This is equivalent to Sallam ‘alayya mitl il-gartbe u rah... Sx~ Se ew 

2 Coll. fem. e changes in singing into a. 

3 Variant: kini adiba, be discreet, δια οὶ 9. 

4 Literally: May his prestige always be intact. 

5 The market; cf. Matth. 11 16, 203, 237; Mark. 74; Luke 7 12, 11 43.-- Οἵ. also 
Song II, note to line 4. 

6 Variant: ‘adli santén ‘at8én ma rwit min sdfak & plabs καίω d rk 
(ἰδοῦ Cr 29): (These two years I am thirsty from longing for you...) 
Long period—cef. Cant. 211 and No. 22, stanza 4. 

7 See pag. 225 note 7. 

8 Ezekiel 23 40. 

9 Also 8a‘%irhun Suirhon. Another variant is 8iirhum for Séi‘tirhum pd) gee 
their hairs (collective). 

10 Also ’amarhun or ’amarhon. Cant. 610. 

The singer is thought to be a girl, the last verse being sung by “him.” The 
song is known all over Palestine and Syria, also in Egypt and Mesopotamia, 
where I heard it early in 1914 (Baghdad). The rhyme is good. The metre 
differs slightly when sung, as is the case with the majority of the folksongs. 
The underlying metre is:— 

a) sung: verse 3 \ 


SSSR  ἸΞ Ne AS pi ΕΞ ees SP 7S EES 


b) recited: verse 3 


ey Ae eae Ee ΔῈ Bel σὺ σοι | NF θαι κι 


i ων... 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 227 


5 He saluted me and went away in his phaeton; 
May he be safe—the beloved of my soul—and so may his tall stature. 


6 I have nothing to do in the market, I only passed by to see you. 
These two years I long to see you and yet I am not sated with looking. 


7 They went to the bath, loosening their hair. 
All girls are stars, my beloved is their moon... 


PE 
1 Barhim! ya Barhim, gamazni b-‘éno,? b-ido tiskile.4 5 
ya-bu-l-jidile 2 


2 Barhim -s-s‘atih® w-i8sa‘(i)r w-il-'al(i)b majrih? jurh is-sikkine.§ 
biltth 7 


3 Barhtm bi-l-hammam w-il-kaff ἀπ w-itmanna? tila -l-anime.!! 
mhanna? 10 


1 Barhtim is the diminutive form of Ibrahim. 
2 Cant. 511. 
3 ya yumma, O mother, or ὃ w-alla, yes, by God, are sung before the next to 
the last word in every stanza. 
4 Teskile stands for §akle, bouquet. 
5 Variant: ido tawile, his hand is long, which is an attribute of beauty. 
6 Flat roof: see 2Sam.112; 1Sam.925; Matth. 247; Mark. 1315, etc. The 
s (sad) for 8 (stn) is partial assimilation to the ¢ (¢@). So sat(y)h; stth roof, roofs. 
7 Cf. as a parallel: co ef pel pred aaa He pearea yy NEY 
O girl, O you on the roofs, ya binti yally ‘ass sytith 
With your brown hair waving, w-issa‘ir l-a3’ar ‘am bylith 
from the song dondiwma |Jaffa, 1903]. 
8 Otherwise usually hanjar: sahab il- hanjar darabni bayyan nhiido habibi. 
or = Sibriyye = soos S254 md GS psd! Use he drew the 
dagger and slew me and shewed his breasts my beloved. 
9 Cant. 5 14. 
10 This shows a striking resemblance to the stanza from mis‘al: — 
astf misal yd hilli basiifo, mdahhn-il-girra w-imhanni kfiift 
AS gSS Usrsteg 8 | CPO διϑοκὶο a> Ly petro La quel 
This is at least five years older than the song Barhtim. 
11 Cant. 7 14°. 


228 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
4 Barhtim b-il-hara! bigrab sigira? dahlik ya Sara? (a)l-léle ftahilo.4 


5 w-alla ma-ftahlak ta-Sawir dhlak fi 4awwal jahlak? hayif tirmina.® 5 


1 Barhum, O Barhum, O you with the curled locks! 
He winked at me, with a bouquet of flowers in his hand... 


2 Barhum is on the roof and his hair is waving — 
O, my heart is wounded as by a dagger. 


3 Barhum is in the bath and his hand is dyed with henna— 
Ask and wish — you'll find a prize. | 


4 Barhum is in the streets smoking cigarettes — 
Please, O Sara, open the door for him to-night! 


5 “By God, I'll not open the door for you without consulting your people; 
In your teens I fear youll get us into trouble...” 


1 Hara is a quarter in a city or village as well as an open place, street or 
market. See note 5, pag. 226. 

2 Smoking seems to be an attribute of men only. This shows him in a 
dandified attitude. 

3 See pag. 227 note 3. 

4 Cant.52. See also Song 17 line 3. 

5 Sara sings this stanza. 

6 This ought to be read: —/)@ife tirmina Kn Asols, as she is expressing 
her anxiety. These stanzas come from a lengthy poem with a story from real 
life in the background. This song, from which a number of unimportant verses 
are omitted, is originally a lamentation of a sister for her brother. He was said 
to have returned from America to his father’s house in the evening during the 
temporary absence of his sister. His parents accepted him as a guest, and, not 
knowing his relation to them, killed him that night in order to get his money. 
Next morning the sister awoke and recognised him. She is said to have made 
this lamentation. (Judges 11 40.) 

The metre is generally thus:—[verse = barhtim ‘as-stih .. .| 

a) when recited:— 


SNS EOE, SNS ee | VN ees 
b) when sung:— 
[VU ——X || barhim ‘as-stih 
VU —— dX | w-t8-8a°r_ δὴ 
--οαὐ--[ --πτἰὸὶΚ σοῦ LU | wild majrih || ya yumma 
τον || ] jurh ts-sikkine. 
LY | —vY XY ~~ | é@ w-allah || jirh-is-sikkine. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 229 


BEE 
1 1’addika? l-mayyis ya ‘mri ya gusen il-ban ka-l-yusari 
anta Ahla -n-nas‘ fi nazari sawwarak wa naSak® ya ὍΤΩΙ]. ὃ 
2 da” il-bab fatahtillo7 ya ahla u sahla 7ultillos 
kAs il-mudim sakabtillo 9 *ultillo tfaddal ya ‘mri. 
3 da” il-bab?7 (i)b-latafe fatahtillo b-zarafe 
jibtillo sahn (i)knafe 10 w-il-maza‘!! min war(i)d haddo. 
4 marat ‘anni |-gandtira ‘a-rasha Sakle ἃ manttira 12 
ya rabbi yislamli ttila 15 hit htbbi w-ana hubbo.'4 
5 ana πὶ habibi bi-l-(i)jnéna’® w-il-ward(i) hayyam ‘aléna 15 
talabt il-bose mni-jbina 18 ya rabbi tustur ‘aléna. 16 


1 Verse 1, 4, 6 are recited by the lover, who addresses his beloved using in 
verse 1 the masculine gender. See also text of songs nos. 7, 14, 17, 20, 37. Both 
classical and vernacular Arab poetry know this usage. Verses 2 and 3 are from 
the girl’s standpoint. 

2 Cant. 2 14. 

3 Cant. 78 yiisar > palm branch. 

4 hla -n-nds rl A=|. Cant. 59 and 10, and Cant. 15; 61. 

5. sauwarak wa-nasak 2 Lisg Jyg0 sc. subhin illi satwarak wa-nasik gps 
Slisg Jo MI Praise to Him, who has formed and created you. 

6 A version: jalla man sauwak D\50 cy cls: May he be revered, who 
made you. : 

7 Cant. 5 2. 

8 Cant. 56 and 8 2. 

9 Cant. 82 and 51°. 

10 (Y)knafe dss is a sort of pastry with almonds, nuts (or pine kernels). 

11 maza bile is the Arabic form of the Turkish meze %;0 which seems to be 
derived from the Latin (Italian) mensa. Another form of the same root is the 
Turkish word mdssi dole (also used in colloquial Arabic in Mesopotamia). 
Maza 5 3Le reminds one of the mensas consumere of the Romans, with their flat 
bread cakes and fruits. Nowadays we understand by this term all sort of fruits 
taken in small bits while sitting and taking a drink of spirits, especially ‘arag 
.3y* (Turkish raqi). Bread in small pieces is simultaneously served. But salty 
or sweet pistachio nuts, almonds, hazel nuts or other dried fruits, as well as any 
sort of salads and sardines, come under the same head. This word can.also stand 
for the Latin mensa secunda. 

12 Or 8aklet manttira, a bunch of shrubby stock— mathiola ineana. 

3 Vide the first song, line 4. 

14 Cant. 216; 62; 7 10. 

15 Cant. 51; 23%; 216? — note the gender— (sa masc. and Wins fem. 
16 Cant. 8 1°, i 


- 


230 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


6 Ana u habibi bi-l-karrésa! wi-(i)ytino sfid u mahrtisa ? 
ya rabbi tislamli bdésa 3 “va hos geldi, safa geldi”...4 5 


1 Your swaying stature, O my life, 
O willow bough, is like a palm branch. 
You are the most beautiful one to me! 
(May) your creator and maker (be exalted), O my life! 


2 He knocked at the door and I opened to him 
And welcomed him. 
I poured him a glass of sweet wine, 
Saying: “Please take it, O my life.” 


3 He knocked at the door with grace; 
I opened it for him gently, 
And served him a dish with “knéfe,” 
The dessert being from his rosy cheek. 


4 The coquette passed by me, 
On her head a bunch of flowers and shrubby stock (mathiola incana). 
O God, mayest thou keep her (stature) safe. 
He is my beloved and I am his. 


5 My beloved and I in the flower garden— 
Roses overshadowed us. 
I asked for a kiss from her forehead, 
O God, mayest thou guard our secret! 


6 My beloved and I in the cab 
His eyes are black and guarded. 
O God, may a kiss be saved for me! 
“You are quite welcome to it”! 


1 Vide song 1, line 5. 

2 Cant. 5 12. 

3 Cant. 81. 

4 Hox géldi safa geldi GXS oo gS (o> is the Turkish form of 
welcome to the guest. 

5 I have known this song since 1906. 

The metre is:— 

LW ny τ ek (Dio Swe ἘΞ ΕΞ 


NG OR 7 ΘΟΕ χυχ nS Ne ἴθ ηνεξε 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 231 
IV 
1 asmar! u labis ’amis in-ndm 2 w-imzarriro b-habbi murjani 
sa‘a yiskar? u sa‘a iymil 4 yisbah ‘id ir-rihani.5 
2 ya νὰ ΠΟΙ ‘al-bab wahdi6 amsah (i)dmti‘i b-mahramti 
w-in saaltk ‘anni -l-gid‘An? ‘as1’w-imfarr sahibti. 
3 ya mdada’aS$ ‘ala Ssfafik bustik wala hadan Safik 9 
w-in-nome taht (i)lhafik btiswa alfén ἃ miyya.10 
4 ya nhiid habibi kama!!1-ballor!2 = *atfun 13 safarjal ἃ rummani !4 
ya rétani bénhum madfin bén il-yasmin w-ir-rihani...15 16 
5 ya taliin ‘al-asri lafo’ ya nazilin sallimt-li 
‘ala gazal (i)‘ytino std hai sabab hizni u nohi... 
6 inzilt ‘al-bahq)r l-athiammam jimlit habayib hammamini 
lahii b-life17 wala b-sabtin illa bi-gamz (i)l-i‘yfini.18 
1 A girl is meant:—Cant. 15. 
2 Cant. 5 3. 
3 Cant. 51. 
4 Cant. 8 5. 
5 Sweet basil (ocymum basilicum), sacred herb. 
6 Cant. 5 2. 
7 Literally: handsome, reckless youth. 
8 Tattooing on the lips as well as on other parts of the body is considered as 
beautifying, especially among fellaha@t and badawiyyat, who may also in their 


youth (in Egypt up to the 6th year) tattoo the belly as far as the mons mudieris. 
Of late I saw a tattooed child painted with red on her belly in nearly the same 
way in which some figurines represent the Phoenician Astarte. The child was 
probably Trans-Jordanian and not older than four years. 

9 Cant. 81. 

10 This verse is identical with another of the song ya binti, ‘éni u-inayya 
which circulated before 1906. Good verses of older songs often appear in new 
songs of the same metre. 

11 Cant. 514. kama is classical for zei or mitt. 

12 Colloquially banniir, Cant.514. Both passages deal with the whiteness of 
the body. 

13 This is the form used for “atfhum or ’atfhun in colloquial speech. 

14 Cant. 413. Vide Note 5, p. 236. 

15 Cant. 216; 46; 414; 62. 

16 Yasmine is the jasminum officinale. Cant. 7 12. 
w-it-tahténi (inter mammas et montem veneris). 

17 These two verses are considered to form a separate song. 

18. Cant.49. It is not unusual for youths in public baths to wash each other 
when kneading of the body (massage) and rubbing with fibre is necessary. 

17 


Μαυναηῦ: -- bén in-nihitd 


232 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 
7 la yijibak Sabbyn! Samlfl ? mAsi bitawwih bi-rdano 
aklo ἃ surbo min is-stv 3 w-il-himm killo ‘ala ummo.4 5 ὁ 


1 A brown one, who wears a night shirt, 
Buttoning it with coral buttons; 
Once he is drunk and again he sways 
Like a stalk of sweet basil. 


2 Alas, I stand at the door alone, 
Drying my tears with my handkerchief. 
And should the youths ask you about me— 
(Tell them): I am in love and have parted from my friend. 


3 O you, who are tattooed on the lips, 
I kissed you and nobody saw you; 
Sleep under your quilt 
Is worth two thousand and a hundred (sc. mejidis). 


4 O, the breasts of my beloved are like crystal, 
They yielded quinces and pomegranates. 
O, were 1 buried beneath them, 
Between jasmin and sweet basil! 


5 O you who ascend to the castle above, 
O you who descend, remember me 
To a black-eyed gazelle— 
He is the cause of my sorrow and my weeping. 


1 Fallahi:—sabb (with nunation). 

2 Of good countenance (Fellah), Cant. 515. 

3 Eating in the market is a sign of lack of good manners. A hadit passage 
deals with these people contemptuously. Besides, they belong to one of the four 
categories whose evidence cannot be taken upon oath according to the Sarva. 
(This latter fact is illustrated by the following passage of the Talmud, Nasim, 
Qiddusim, Babyl. 40 a E according to Preuss: Biblisch-talmudische Medizin: — 
Die Rabbinen lehren: “Wer auf der Strasse isst, der gleicht dem Hunde.” Manche 
sagen, man solle ihn nicht als Zeugen zulassen, weil er doch offenbar auf seine 
Ehre nichts gibt. 

4 Sc.: to care for him. 

5 This verse is Beduin. 

6 The language is semi-classical. The metre in the first part is good, in the 
middle and at the end defective. It may be outlined thus: — 

AV erse TN Ae BUR Na IN. ἢ Seema ac ν 

or Χ 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 233 


6 I went down to the sea to bathe; 
A number of friends bathed me — 
Not with fibre, nor with soap, 
But with the lilt of the eyes. 


7 Do not admire a handsome, reckless youth, 
Walking and flapping his sleeves. 
He eats and drinks from the market... 
And his mother grieves... 


Vv 
1 Falla, ya Fulla,! ya zahr il- full? hatii-li habibi u hallini afyll3 
2 Fulla ya ‘éni ya ‘inab iz-zéni4 
lealyffo bi-hdéni 5 ‘ala ‘én il-kull...° 
3 Filla ya ‘adi? w-ana fik mys radi 
1- 1 (i)gradi w-a ifs 11-Κὰ]]. 
4 Filla ya kbire warde 9 yasmine 
48ik ya Sarine !0 bisbi ]-kull.11 
5 Filla bitmalli w-i8-Sar mhanna,!? mdalli 
lertén ‘usmalli 19 ‘ala “én il-kull. 


1 Nomen proprium, fem. 

2 Plant and its flower: nycanthes sambac. 

ὁ This word is generally used in Syria—sc. away (with him). 

4 Cant. 114 and 79. 

5 Cant. 26; diminutive of hidni. 

6 Cant. 81. 

7 Here and in the following verses see notes. 

8 This expression is mostly used in Syria. 

9 Rose, Cant. 21. The tulip is not mentioned in our folksongs. A striking 
“resemblance to this passage is shown by a Kurdish verse (cf. note to Cant. 2 1). 

10 Sarine, Serena (Sp. Serena), is the name of one of the numerous Arabic 
speaking Spanish Jewish actresses who are favorites in the theatres at Damascus, 
Aleppo, Beyrouth and other cities of Syria and Palestine. Rdahlo (Rachel), Téra, 
Hasibe, Frosso, are the names of some of these “stars”, who have gained notoriety 
jn Thespis’s service. 

11 Cant. 49. j 

12 Cant. 76; 5 11. 

13 [Tera is derived from the Italian ζέγα (Latin libra), ‘usmadi: Turkish sl ts 
osmanili, from “Utmén plus the Turkish suffix 7i. It is used as an Arabic word. 

Nf 


234 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


6 Filla btydwadda! b-ibri’ 2 il-fadda 
‘ala bdése u ‘adda? ‘ala “én il-kull. 

hi Filla bytharib 4 b-il-“én w-il-hajib ὅ 
w-alla l-asahib 6 ‘ala ‘én il-kull. 

8 Filla b-il-hara7 btisrab sigira 8 
bahtbbik jakara 9 ‘ala “én il-kull. 

9 bayya® 1-(i)mhallal 1° bimsi ἃ biddallal 
l-Ahdo w-atkallal 11 12 ‘ala “én il-kull. 

10 bayya 1-(i)knafe 18 ᾿ bim&Si blatafe (bzarafe) 14 
il-bdse mn (1)8fafo 15 btiswa 1-kull. 

11 bayya® il-marmar bimsi u_bithassar 
l-abfisak w-askar 16 ‘ala ‘én il-kull.17 


1 Ablutions are performed before the prayer. Here “she” is referred to as a 
Mohammedan. 

2 This word (2briq Sp!) means besides “pitcher for ablutions” also, now and 
then, “pot or jug.”. 

3 “ala bose u ‘idda... Aa%q Awe ds “.... sive puer furens impressit 
memoram dente labris notam...’ Horatii Carminum Lib. I, xiii, 12, ad Lydiam. 

4 See note to Cant. 47-9 and Song 25. 

5 Dark eyebrows are indispensable elements of beauty. 

6 The pronomen personale is here omitted for the sake of the rhyme. 

7 An unheard of thing. 

8 Mohammedan women smoke cigarettes relatively more than the nargile 
(AS I dns yb). 

9 This word is derived from the Persian and Turkish a@kar esl “plainly; 
openly, decidedly,” and is used in common parlance in the same sense. But 
jakara 5γιάε- which accidentally resembles the classical Arabic jah@ran \ | Laem 
stands only for “wilful, in defiance of.” 

10 Cant. 2 3; (3 2). 

11 Cant. 2 9. 

12 Here she is thought to be a Christian, as the word in this connection only 
refers to the wedding ceremony of Christians. ᾿ 

13 (Y )knafe: Cf. note 10, ᾿ 229, 

14 Cant. 7 1. 

15 Cant. ὅ 13; 411 and 12. 

16 Cant. 1 2. 

17 The words y@ Fulla are sung at the end of every verse. Christian, Moham- 
medan and Jewish elements are mixed here. 

The metre is as follows: 


τ τ POOR τ SSS | er 


ἀλὸ ἢ 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 235 


1 Fulla, O Fulla, O jasmin flower! Bring me my beloved and 


let me go! 

2 Fulla, O my eye, O beautiful grapes! 

T’ll wrap him in my bosom In spite of all! 
3 Fulla! O judge, I do not like you. 

ΤΊ] sell my property And forsake all! 
4 Fulla! O big one, O rose, O jasmine! 

Your love, O Serena, Captures all! 
5 Fulla is drawing water — Her hair is dyed with henna, 


hanging down. 
Two Turkish pounds(I would give for...) In spite of all! 


6 Fulla makes her ablution With a silver pitcher. 
(I’d) like to have) a kiss—a bite— In spite of all! 

7 Fulla fights With eye and eyebrows. 
ΤΊ] make friends (with her) by God, In spite of all! 

8 Fulla is on the streets Smoking cigarettes. 
ΤΊ] love you defiantly : In spite of all! 

9 The seller of mixed pickles Walks mincingly. 
‘Til take him for a husband and wed him In spite of all! 

10 The seller of knafe Walks daintily. 
A kiss from his lips Is worth all. 

11 The seller of marble Walks around and sighs. 


ΤΊ] kiss you and be drunk (of it) In spite of all...! 


VI 
1 tala min dar abtha nazle bét 1j-jiran 
labse fustan ‘al-moéda ! w-il- (i)‘yfin? btudrub salam...* 


1 This word is the Arabic form of the French ἃ Ja mode. 

2 Variant: w-il-askar... (...and the sentry salutes her). a4 Wy darb 
salam “beating” the salute, is a military expression. 

3 These two stanzas form the refrain. The other verses are all in dialogues, 
Some stanzas were omitted, being offensive. 


236 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


2. ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
‘Alath rih γᾶ maskini 

3 ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
‘alath on ya maskini 

4 ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
alatli rth ya maskini 

5 6ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
Alath rih yaé maskini 

6 ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
alathi rfh ya maskini 

7 «ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
Alathi rih/ya maskini 

8 ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
‘alath rih γᾶ maskini 

9 ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
‘alath rah γᾶ maskini 

10 ?ultilla ya hilwa rwini 
‘alatli rih ya maskini 


‘Ala sidrik farrijini! 
u sidri balat (i)rham. 


‘ala bzazik farrijini 
(i)bzazi tuffah 18-8Am.? 


‘Ala batmik farrijini 
ya batni mahmar ‘ajjan. 


‘ala fhadik farrijini 
(i)fhadi ‘imdan (i)rham.? 4 


‘ala nhidik nayyimini 
(ijnhidi kfiz ir-rumman.® 


‘ala (i)‘yfmik farrijini ὃ 
w- iydini (i)yin il-guzlan. 


‘ala hawajbik farrijini 
hawajbi (i)hlal Sa‘ban.7 


‘ala timmik farrijini 


‘u timmi hatm() Sliman.§ 


‘ala hdidik farrijini 
kinno lissatak sakran? 


1 In the following the word nayyimini Cs+ex> may be substituted for 


farrjini (sas. Cf. sidrha ha-l-loh . . 


.—Song no. 19. 


2 Damascene apples are the best all over Syria and Palestine. 


3 Cant. 5 14. 


4 Cant.515. For the whiteness of the body cf. the second verse too. 


5 The word kiiz 395 is generally used for the prickly pear (cactus)—sdabr or 


subbeir. Cf. the following verse from the poem beginning:— makkar, ya bu 
-z-ziluf ... ap ae lb lhe, rumméan sdérik dibil rissi ‘aléh mayya ob) 
Le anle ws) Ue? Spxre or min ilit il-miyya \ob\ As eye. The 


Reenter of your breast are faded (sic!)— give them some water—or, owing 


to the scarcity of water. 


6 She is a Mohammedan girl and must veil her face, Cant. 2 14. 

7 The crescent of the month of Sa‘ban is a good omen, presumably because 
it reminds the people of the approaching feast (Ramadan). 

8. King Solomon still plays the réle of the greatest magician, as is evident 
from some tales of the Arabian Nights (The Fisherman and the Genie). A similar 


passage is in no. 16. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 237 


11. ?ultilla ya hilwa rwini ‘ala znidik farrijini! 
‘alath: rfih γᾶ maskini kinno lissitak halman . . .?2 


1 She was going out of her father’s home, 
Walking down to the neighbour’s house, 
Wearing a robe & la mode 
And the eyes saluted her. 


2 I said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your breast.” 
She told me: “Go away, you wretch, 
My breast is a marble slab.” 


3 I said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your breasts.” 
She told me:—“Go away, you wretch, 
My breasts are Damascene apples.” 


4 I told her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your belly.” 
She told me:—“Go away, you wretch, 
My belly is the trough of a baker.” 


5 I said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your thighs.” 
She told me:—“Go away, you wretch, 
My thighs are marble pillars.” 


6 I said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me sleep on your breasts.” 
She told me: “Go away, you wretch, 
My breasts are pomegranates.” 


1 Cant.7s. Of. hattét zindi ‘a-zindo. .. 893} (609) Cnb= (I put my wrist 


on his wrist). 
2 | have known this song since 1906; it is sung in a sort of tempo di marcia. 
The rhyme is good. The metre generally runs thus: — 


Wers@ Ἀπ τ τον πὶ l| NS NEN is SENG 
SBS NAN) le NN ΑΝ. 
Verse 2 NOPE) Ney, GWSRIED is REN Sy: Us. 
CE ON π ν τ ROE NO ΝΡ ὁ κρ σεν, 


238 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


7 I said to her: “Ὁ fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your eyes.” 
She told me:—“Go away, you wretch, 
My eyes are eyes of gazelles.” 


8 I said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your eyebrows.” 
She told me:—“Go away, you wretch, 
My eyebrows are as the crescent of the month of Sa‘ban.” 


9 I said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your mouth.” 
She told me: “Go away, you wretch, 
My mouth is like King Solomon’s signet.” 


10 I said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me, 
And let me see your cheeks.” 
She told me:—“Go away, you wretch, 
It seems that you are still drunk.” 


11 1 said to her:—“O fair one satisfy me 
And let me see your wrist.” 
She told me:—“Go away, you wretch, 
Methinks you are still dreaming”... 


VIL 
1 |-hinna, |-hinna, ya ’atr in-nada,? aSfifak habibi, ya ‘éni,jallab3 il-hawa.4 
2 min® ajatni dmmo, tis’dalni ‘alé, l-ahitto bi-‘éni, w-atkahhal ‘ale. 


1 Henna is a cosmetic used for painting the hands and dying the hair, 
especially at weddings, in the country as well as in the town (Mohammedans). 
Here it stands for tamer hinna ss 50 Lawsonia inermis from the leaves of 
which it has been prepared Cant. 1 13. 

2 It conveys here the meaning of nectar. Some people sing wrongly ‘atr 
-in-nida 6%\ pbs, which is naturally senseless. 

3 This line forms the refrain, maradd. 

4 Or gallab, the Egyptian form of the classical jallab. This is the Aleppo 
version and more probable. The Jerusalem version runs subbak habibi, ya “éni, 


gallab il-hiwa 495.5}} oe cose b awe JLS:—The window of my 
beloved (O my eyes) is the bringer of passion. 

5 Min is the contraction of Jammin: classical lamma. It stands in this 
passage for zm, “if.” Another variant:— min hofi min immo (uhto, “ammto) cr 
(Axes Adal) dol C50 o> in their respective places), fearing that his mother 


(sister, aunt) might ask me about him... 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 239 
3 min ajitni uhto, tis’alni ‘alé, Lahitto bi-ubbi,! w-atzirrar ‘alé, 
4 min ajatni ‘ammto, tis’alni ‘alé, lahutto bi-kummi, w-adummo ‘alé. 
5 min ajatni habibto, tisalni ‘alé, lahitto bi-hdéni,? w-athannan ‘alé. 


6 min ajatni habibto, tisalni ‘alé, ana u habibi, niddalla‘3 sawa.4 


1 Henna, henna, O, drops of dew! I would see you, my beloved, 
my eye, bringer of passion! 


2 If his mother comes, asking me about him, 
T’ll hide him in my eye (Ὁ my eye!) and paint kohl over him. 


3 If his sister comes asking me about him, 
ΤΊΙ hide him in my bosom and button (my garment) over him. 


4 If his aunt comes asking me about him, 
ΤΊ] hide him in my sleeve and close it over him. 


5 If his beloved comes asking me about him, 
Pll hide him in my bosom and fondle him (have pity on him). 


6 If his beloved comes asking me about him, 
1 and my beloved caress one another (flirt, dally with each other). 


VLE 


1 ‘al-héla,® 1-8 18, 1- 8], γὰ rabbina 
ya rabbi {πη΄ ma‘a 1- παθῶν" Samlina.6é 


1 Cant. 86. 

2 Variant: l-adummo AY; Cant. 26; 8 3. 

3 Cant. 216; 23; 63. 

4 Sawa is the vernacular form of the classical sawiyatan 43,5», Sam. Several 
other verses are omitted because of their sotadic character. Throughout the 
ditty “she” speaks. Cf. song No. 3, note 1. 

The metre is:— 

τε ον τ NESS ieee TE PRONE, SS) RUN) UME UM 


Νουα ee NS eae SN 
5 The word héla 0+ admits according to Muhit il-Muhit two meanings 
viz. local as well as temporal. 


6 Verse 1 is the refrain (maradd) and is sung after verse 2, etc. with which 
it makes a double verse. 


ain 


6 


~!) 


240 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


hnayyina, ya hnayyina, ya hnayyina 1 
1é8i némik la-d-daha? réto hana! 2 


‘Amat (i)mni-n-ném ἃ tindah sAdati waia b-l-i81% Sfifum halati4 
da‘ nuss il-lél zirum! farSati halya mni-l-hibb u wahdi nayima.® 


‘Amat (i)mni-n-n6m ἃ tindah ya Faraj ani majntine wala ‘d’li haraj 
labni la-l-mahbtiib ‘illiyye b-daraj (b)stkkara u-miftaéh w-il-haris ana. 


‘dmat (i)mni-n-ndm u tindah ya Latif Jani majniine wala “li hafif 
min yihibb allah u yit’amni ragif?®  ragif il-mahbfb yikfani sana.7 


‘Amat (ijmni-n-ndm ἃ bint (i)zgayyara’ hamila |-bivja u fiha mhayyara 
‘ultilla: yaé bint ἃ lé8 mhayyara? ‘alat min zugr sinni ramaéni 1|-hawa. 


‘Amat (i)mni-n-ndm ἃ tindah ‘ammiha rihet il-‘attar® ya rihet timmiha 
sid u ma-s‘ad min hawaha u habbiha zAdat (i)b-tmro tamanta ‘Sar sana.!0 11 


1 Once here, once here, once here 
Mayest thou, O God, let us gather with the beloved ones. 


2 Little Ann, O little Ann, O little Ann. 
Why do you sleep till late in the forenoon? May it become you well! 


3 She awoke and cried:—“Gentlemen, 
I have fallen in love, look at my present condition. 
» Half of the night has been lost, visit my bed; 
It is bare of love, and I am sleeping by myself.” 


ι Hnéyyina also means the “little tender one.” 

2 An Arabic proverb says that the sleep of the maiden lasts till the forenoon. 
Cf. notes to Cant. 2 7. 

3 J.e., she is lovesick, Cant. ὅ 8. 

4 The m of the plural in poetry (influenced by the Egyptian vernacular). 
Cf. note 7 to song 1. 

5 Cant. 8 1. 

6 hobbi ta’mani ragif w-il-idamemyn haddo ς » d0\2Y\q CaaS) lenb > 
ὅλες. My beloved gave me a loaf (of bread) And the seasoning (condiment) was 
from his cheek. Cf. note 11 on Song 3. 

7 Cf. this passage with that of 1 Kings 19 6-s. 

8 Cant. 8 8. 

9 Cant. 36 and 7 10. 

10 Eph. 63. 1 Kings 1 1-4. 

11 The metre (verse 5 with slight alterations) runs as follows: — 

INE NANT OPENS INST PEN, NE NIRS a7 NS NNN 15}} δὲν 


Ne NS NORCO τος oy NS GIRS NNN Σὰν ΤῚΣ 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 241 


4 She rose up and cried:—“O Faraj, 
I am neither crazy, nor have I lost my senses. 
But I'll build an upper room for my beloved and a staircase too— 
With a lock and a key, and 111] be guardian.” 


5 She rose up and cried:—“Good gracious! 
I’m neither crazy nor silly.... 
Who will give me for God’s sake a loaf of bread? 
The loaf of my beloved would last me a year...” 


6 She rose up from sleep, only a little girl, 
Carrying the bundle and looking distracted. 
I asked her:— Why do you, O girl, look so distracted ?” 
She answered:—‘“In spite of my youth I am lovesick...” 


7 She rose up from sleep calling her uncle. 
The odour of her mouth is like a perfume box. 
Happy—twice happy is he, who courts her and loves her, 
For she would add to his age eighteen years... 


ΙΧ 
1 ‘ala dal‘ona,! ‘ala dal‘ona, asmar sabani bgamz il-i‘yina?2 3 
2 ‘ala dal‘ona 10 ἃ] dahilak 4 lissatni zgiyyra® maniS min jilak 
usbur ‘alayya hatta ahkilak ‘al- jarali mbareh w-il-yOma... 


3 marat ‘alayya min bab id -déri Ahlan ἃ sahlan,® yé masa -l-héri. 
tuffah Sami ‘ala-l(i)sdéri 7 willa safarjal, *imu-’tuffina! 


1 This form is poetical for the usual mdalla‘a, mdallale. 

2 This verse is the refrain. 

3 Cant. 4 9. 

4 Dahilak Nas> or dahlak OU>> is an expression used to implore somebody 
most earnestly. It has its origin in Beduin custom according to wich one seeks 
protection and refuge in the tent of a Bedawi, who in his turn must protect 
him even at the risk of his own life. 

ὃ Zgayyra #5 is the diminutive form of zgire 3,~8}; Cant. 88. 

6 These words of the conversation are the stereotype form of bidding welcome 
to the guest. 

7 Cant. 413. See also n. 2, p. 236. 


242 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


4 marat tithattam! hiyye u ‘ammitha? riha ἃ rawayeh rihet ‘udlitha ἡ 


dahlik ya yamma mahla bésitha bén il-hawajib ‘asal bi-shfina.4 
5 suftha btitmahtar hamila -l-jarra béda ἃ garire®> hawatta b-alla 5 
mama, ya mama habibi barra’? labis mitlabbis w-imkahhil (1)‘yuno. 
6 ‘ala dal‘6na, ‘ala dal‘6na, asmar sabani b-gamz il- (i)ytma.$ 
asmar sabani w-ana sabéto τὰ ἃ ya l-‘ida billi tid‘ina. 


7 a‘dat h(i) bali w-ahdat-lh bali 8 hadd il-bunayya balah (i)jbali.9 
hylwa ya hylwa ‘imi mni-’bali 10 hylwa ya hylwa n-naf(ijs mal‘fina. 


8 til‘at ‘a-j-jabal dose ‘a-dése!! nizlit ij-jabal dése ‘a-dése. 
w-in kan ya hubbi ‘awiz-lak bose — usbur ‘a ahli hatta (i)ynamfina...1213 


1 Cant. 71. Ἷ 
2 Her aunt is here the “dame d’honneur.” 

3 Cant. 36; 13; 4 ὍΝ 

4 Cant.410. A parallel to this stanza is the following: 


Ugis gr Senstl oe Sal a2 rb Anne anid! oe 
hadd il-bunayya jibne tariyye ahla mni-l- “asal bawwal kantiina 


The cheek of the little girl is (like) fresh cheese, 

Sweeter than honey in the beginning of winter 
(kantin Gwwal and kantin tani are considered to be the most rainy period in 
the year). 

5 Cant. 8 8. 

6 Hawatta balla WIL Wrbs= is a sort of a charm against the evil eye. 
Psalm 91 was used for amulets, and would answer this purpose. 

7 Cant. 52; 2 9. 

8 Cant. 4 9. 

9 Cant.78; 516. Balak jbali Joe ¢u) is a special sort of date, very sweet. 
The palm tree is said to reach a height of only one meter(?) and grows especially 
in the district of the Ruwela Arabs in Transjordania. (Yusuf A.) 

10 Cant. 6 4, 5. 

11 Cant. 71. 

12 Cant. 217 and 4 6. 

13 Another verse of this song reminds us of Cant. 1 9: 


‘ala dal‘dna ‘ala dalalik winte -l-mihra wana hayyalik 
Nis ble sbi Cole SUY> Us dgal> Ss 


About the spoiled girl and about her (your) coquetry — 
and you are the (noble) filly and I am your rider. 
This song is of Fellah origin, but it has become so common that the version 
of the city has been given here, being the better known one. 
The metre runs generally as tollows:— 
IG oS 5  λουυ τὶ | Ya RE NR OE ΟΞΞΕ ΤΠ ΑΘΣΞΕ 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 243 


1 (A song) about the spoiled girl, about the spoiled girl... 
A brown one caught me with the lilt of his eyes... 


2 About the spoiled girl! She says:—“I implore you, 
I am still a little girl and not of your age. 
Have patience, while I tell you 
What happened to me yesterday and to-day .. .“ 


3 She came past me from the convent gate: — 
“How do you do? What a fine evening! 
Have you on your breast Damascene apples 
Or quinces? Let’s pluck them.“ 


4 She passed by with her aunt, walking proudly. 
The odour of her forelock is the fragrance of perfumes. 
Oh mother, how sweet would it be to kiss her 
Between her eyebrows — like honey in the comb! 


5 I saw her walking proudly carrying her pitcher, 
White and fair,—I encircle her with the name of God! 
Mother, oh mother, my beloved is outside 
With his best clothes on and his eyes painted with kohl. 


6 About the spoiled girl, about the spoiled girl. 
A brown one caught me with the lilt of his eyes. 
A brown one caught me and I caught him too— 
May you burst with envy (rage), oh my foes, at your own curses. 


7 She sat opposite me and distracted me, 
(For) the cheek of (this) little girl is like desert dates. 
O fair one, O sweet one, go out from my presence, 
O fair one, O sweet one, the soul is unaccountable... 


8 She went up the hill, step by step, 
She went down the hill, step by step. 
And if you, my beloved, want a kiss, 
Wait until my family has gone to sleep... 


244 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Soc iety 


x 
1. rayih ‘afén,t ya msallini? ya badri? hubbak kawini? 
imla-l-mudim, ya habib w-isini,4 ya kitri 801 ‘alék, ya salam. 


2 dahalt ana jnént -in-nudmin® la’ét habibi bitfarraj 5 
maddét idi ‘Ala-r-rumm4n,’ *alti-l-hilu sahbo: mharraj! 


8 YA badriS halak w-il-wajnit, u-gamz iyimak, ya ‘ytni,9 
d6l1° sabbahtini fik walhin u-htm bi-‘is’ak zalamtini, 1! 


4 ya Abyad,!2, ya lon il- yasmin, ya-l-li ‘ala haddak warde 18 
wi-hyat jamalak w-il-wajnat ana asir il- mahibbe.'4 


1 Where are you going, oh my entertainer? 
Oh full moon, your love has burnt me. 


Pour the wine, O beloved, and give me to drink, 
Alas, how I do long for you! 


2 I entered the garden of the drinkers, 
And found my beloved gazing around. 


I stretched out my hand to the pomegranates — 
Said the fair owner: It is forbidden. 


1 ‘afén? is a contraction of ‘ala fén? 

2 Cant. 6 9. 

3 Cant.58 and 25. 

4 Cant. 24; 51; 82. 

5 Cant.51; 610. Cf. notes to Cant. 51. 
6 Cant.51> and 610 + 61 + 713. 


7 Cant. 6 1. 

8 Cant.69. Variant:—...u rams (i)‘yinak... “the lashes of your eyes” 
Jb gs uo) 5) eee 

9 Cant. 66. 

10 Dol is the plural form of hada and stands for hadél, these. 

1. Cant.49. Variant: ... olalg Hs (So Gagne haddl hallini fik 
walhan... 

12 Cant. 5 10. 

13 Cant.66. Cf... .w-il-wardi fattah ‘ala haddo, “and the roses have blossomed 
on his cheek” sx Ae ES ryoJ lo. 

14 Cant. 4 9. 

I have known this song since 1908. The metre is generally: — 

Verse lt NCS ei A NONE EN Be 


NIG NSF INSIST NONE NG FNC EEC EN NEE NEGRO C7 NECN 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 245 


3 Oh my full moon, your mole and your cheeks, 
And the lilt of your eyes —oh, my eyes! — 


Have driven me to love you frantically, 
And they have maltreated me in my love for you. 


4 Oh white one, of jasmine colour, 
With roses on your cheeks — 


By your beauty and your cheeks, 
I am captivated by your love... 


XI 
marmar zamani, ma sa’ani sukkar,! “Albi tiwalla‘ bihawak ya-l-asmar? 
marmar zamani, ma sa‘ani ‘ambar,! ana u-habibi bi-l-jinéna niskar.? 
ya rayha ‘a-l- hammaém hudini ma‘Aki, 1-hhmil il-bw’je u-amsi waraki 
w-in kan abfki ma a‘tani-yyaki 1-A‘mal ‘amayil m4 ‘imilha ‘Antar.4 
ballahi ya ’assis u-la thakiha, hadi bundyya, w-il-hawa ramiha.® 
“flu la-‘én i8-Samsi 14 tihmasi, habibi sabbah b-il-barari® mAgi.”7 8 


a Oo αὶ WNW κμὶ 


1 He embittered my life and never gave me sugar (syrup) to drink— 
My heart is inflamed with your love, O brown one! 

2 He embittered my life and never gave me amber (syrup) to drink— 
My beloved and I drink in the flower garden. 

3 O, you, who are going to the bath, take me along with you, 
That I may carry your parcel and walk behind you. 


1 Cant.411. Vulgate, Cant. 12,4; 410; 7 13. 
2 Cant.15. Cf. the following verse: 


ol SG Sotlls tel Cate)! C54)! 


9) 94? se ao 00. 
il-héb il-hob il-hod w-il-hawa sagq it-tob 
ala hisnak u-jamalak sauwahni bnob, (y)bnob... 
Hob, hob, ποὺ (senseless) and passion has torn my garment, 


For your beauty and your charms have ravished me completely. 
3 Cant. 51; 6 2-3. 
4“Antar is the Arab ideal of chivalry. 


5 Cant. 2 5. 

6 Cant. 3 6. 

7 Verse 6 reminds on Verse 6 of Psalm 121. 

8 Metre: NESS, (NOS NSN peg Ne ν 


NE RGN ERG Nos SNE NO Ὁ. 


246 


Journal of the 


Palestine Oriental Society 


4 And if your father does not give you to me (for a wife) 
Surely 11 do things, which even Antar never did. 


By God, O priest, do not speak to her (reproachfully), 


She is but a little girl and love has made her ill. 


“Tell the eye of the sun not to shine hot, 


My beloved went this morning walking in the desert.” 


1 Ahi! ya asmar il-lon 
habibi wi-‘yaino siid 


2 Ssufta wa’fe ‘al-mina 
subb il-‘ara’ w-is ina 8 
9 suft il-hylwa ya ‘isa 9 
lamman Ssalhat ’amisa 11 
1 


XII 
hayati? l-asmarani 3 
amma |-kthli sabani.4 5 
b-ida fille u yasmina ®7 


hayati -l-asmarani.2 


zay i8-Sam‘a!° bi-knisa 
sar il-mislim nusrani... 1218 


O brown of hue! The brown one is my life! 


My beloved one has black eyes, but the kohl (stibium) captured me. 


I saw her on the quay—in her hand full and jasmine. 


Pour out the arak and give us to drink, my life, my brown one! 


1 Particle of interjection—@h. 
2 Cf. stanza 1, Song 3. 

3 This verse is the refrain. 

4 


Asmarani (3\;e\ for dsmar ysl is a more poetical form. 


5 Cant. 4 9. 
6 See stanza 4, Song 3. 


τ Full 38 nycanthem sambac; yasmin cyrel, jasmine officinale. Both these 
names are also nomina propria fem. 


8 Cant.51; 24. 


9 The Mohammedan form ‘Isa ise stands for Christian Yast’ ¢ 52 Jesus, 
but this name has nearly become a prerogative of the latter. 


10 Cant. 5 14. 
bodily beauty in general. Cf. also 

11 Cant. 5 3. 

i2 A very unusual thing. 


This passage indicates whiteness of the body in particular and 


Horatit Carmina No. XIII ad Lydiam. 


13 Many verses are omitted because they are tedious and do not answer our 


purpose. Metre:— 
Recited Verse 2: \X VY νιν 
πα NR, 
Sung Verse 2: NO ee 
WES 


Nie NS) SE) Εα τες 
Avo feeds SNS Ne 
EAN, SR NS AONE eS 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 247 


3 I saw the fair one, O Isa, like a candle in the church. 
When she took off her chemise the Mohammedan became Christian. 


PUBL 
1 ‘al-(i)‘mayyim,! ‘al-(i)‘mam,? béda ἃ hamra,? ya salam .. .4 
2 ‘al-(i)mayyim, ‘ad-dabbis ὃ darat hadda ἃ “alat bis 6 
maddét idi ‘al-mahris7 rafrif, ya tér il-hamam...8& 
8 ‘al-(i)‘mayyim *alat-h:— (τἂν id-dikke hallat-li) 
biddi Sabb ikin mit-li afrus bi-hdéno w-anam.? 
4 ‘al-(i)‘mayyim, ‘al-birke hadfatni 10. bi-j-janarki!! 
yihr?’ bayya, Su hirke 12 ahdat-li “11 “awam. 13 


1 (I)/'mayyim is the diminutive form of ‘am, uncle. 
2 (I)‘mam is the plural of ‘am: colloquially (i)‘mitim/(e). 
3 This song deals with a girl of doubtful virtue. 


4 Ya salam is an expression probably of Egyptian origin. This stanza is the 
refrain, maradd. 


5 Here in the meaning of membrum virile. Words are often inserted to 
complete the rhyme, although they may be sometimes senseless and even 
misleading. 


6 Variant: hayyaratni mnén abs... 92) oe) Go Ge yam (She puzzled 
me—where 1 should kiss), Cant. 7 8. ᾿ 


7 Literally, “the guarded thing or person.” Mahrus means usually “son” 
and is used in polite conversation, 6. g.: kif hal ilmahriis (mahriisak)?—1i. e., 
How is your son getting on? Here the sense of mons mulieris underlies. 

8 Tér il-hamam often applies in folk-song to girls; cf. the song 702 ἐ͵- hamam... 
Here it conveys the meaning of membrum virile for which hama@me and basar 
(the latter also Hebrew, basar) are colloquially used. 


9 Hdén is the diminutiv of hiidun, lap. This form is poetically preferred. 
Cant. 23 and 213. 


10 Syrian form for ramat. 


τ Jandrki (Persian and Turkish: janarik), for Arabic swéda, green-gage, plum, 
is used in Northern Syria on the Turco-Arabic linguistic frontier. 


12 Bayha, her little father, is Syrian dialectic. The literal rendering of this 
expression would be: “May her father be burnt.” This verse is undoubtedly of 
Syrian origin. 

13 Variant: sabat-li, she captured my mind. Another version: jdbat-li dahri 


‘awam ... (Acceleravit ejaculationem seminis met). 
18 


248 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


5 ‘al-(i)‘mayyim, ya Asma,! taht it-tine thaudsna ? 
aja lars? ἃ kamasna 4 w-ahad minni mit (i)ryal.é 
6 ‘al-(i)‘mayyim ya Sbini® ya zahr il-basatini7 
l-adrub hali sikkine w-ahsib il-tim(u)r ma kan. 
7 ‘al-(@)‘mayyim ya ‘ammi hidlak bose min timmi 
abfiyi tilla’ ummi w-ahtiyi safar ‘as-Sam.° 
8 ‘al- (@)‘mayyim ya Mansir taht is-surra fi ‘asffir!! 
fi ‘arabiyye, fi hanttir fi lukanda lal-manam.... 11 
9 ‘al-(i)‘mayyim hdd u jib 12 taht is-surra 811% ajib 
fi °ubtanji, fi babbor 14 rakib fi ‘Abd il Hamid... 15-17 


1 Nomen pers. femin. 

2 Cant. 23 and 2 13. 

3 The word ‘aré means “procurer, scoundrel, fancyman, petticoat pensioner,” 
and is often used insultingly. 

4 Literally: — seized us, i.e., surprised us. In this sense the word is used in 
Syria. 

5 Approximately twenty pounds sterling. He receives an unusually large sum 
in order to keep quiet. 

6 This part of the song seems to be of Christian origin. 

7 Cant. 4 13. 

8 Literally: — And consider that life did not exist (for me). 

9 This stanza is of Mohammedan origin. That is, a distant place or a large 
city, where nobody knows him, so she is naturally left to herself. 

10 “Bird” stands here for pudendum muliebre. It means elswhere also membrum 
virile, but is rarely used in both senses. 

11 “Tjodging-house.” 

12 Take and give” refers to the coitus. Cf. note on Cant. 51. 

13 34 for 28: something, i.e., collum uteri, spatium interlabiale. 

14 Heard in Aleppo as ’wbtainji, an Italo-Turkish loan-word. The Jerusalem 
version is: fi ubtan wu ft babbir... eb AS 9 glbad ays. 

15 ‘Abdulhamid plays in contemporary minds the same role δίνῃ to Harin 
ar-Rasid in the Arabian Nights. 

16 There exist about ten more or less ambiguous songs without the excellent 
rhyme of this one, and otherwise in many respects inferior to it. 


17 Some stanzas of this song have been omitted as being needlessly offensive. 
The popularity of this song, which circulated already before 1912, is proved by 
the fact that there are numberless variants and a considerable number of local 
verses all over Syria, Mesopotamia (towns), and Egypt. 

The underlying metre is double when sung:— UU LU | vr < {} 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 249 
On the little uncle; on the uncles:—(she is) white and ruddy, what joy! 


On the little uncle: — with the club—she turned her cheek and told me: “Kiss!” 
I stretched out my hand to the guarded thing: beat your wings, O dove! 


On the little uncle:—she told me—she unbuttoned her petticoat— 
I want a youth like myself, in whose bosom I may spread my couch and sleep. 


On the little uncle: at the pool she throw a green gage at me, 
She is d-d dexterous, for she distracted me so quickly! 


On the little uncle:—O Asma, under the fig tree we exchanged kisses, 
The procurer came and took from me one hundred mejidis. 


On the little uncle:—O my god-father, you blossom of the gardens, 
ΤΊ] stab myself with a dagger and forget that life exists. 


On the little uncle:—O my uncle, take a kiss from my mouth, 
Father has divorced mother, and brother has gone to Damascus. 


On the little uncle:—O Mansur, there is a bird under the navel, 
There is also a landau and a phaeton, a hotel as well. 


On the little uncle:—take and give —, under the navel is a wondrous thing, 
There is a captain and a ship, on board of which is Abdulhamid... 


XIV 
1 as-il-1 ‘uzar? fo’ wajnaté(h) abyad3 ya nar ’albi ‘alé(h) 
ma Utt ana ansa-l-jafa,4 ya munyati, haram ‘alék. 


2 zurni yi-bu-l-wajhi-l-basis, w-ibri® *ulébi min-il-gusis, 
l-aksif ‘ala sidrak w-astif bistan® u-maSalla7 ‘alé(h). 


3 zurmi ya-bu-l-albi-l-hantin, w-ibri ‘ulébi min-il-humim, 
il-hibbu da kullo fintn,8 wassini mahbitibi “‘Alé(h). 


1 As is “myrtle.” 
ce ΤΌΝ expression is pre-Islamic and was already used by Imru’ul Qais in 
ass) SSS. 

3 Cant. 5 10. 

4 Literally, frigidity. 

ὅ This is the classical ἐγ + 5,91. 

6 and 7 See pag. 250 notes 1 and 2. 

8 Literally, This love is an art. Bistan may mean a flower garden as well 


as an orchard. Cf. the Latin hortus, hortulus. Though the one addressed is 
188 


250 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


4 ina bahibbak min zaman, rihi fidak, “Albi kaman, 
mazrt‘ ‘ila sidrak bistan,t! maktib (wu) masalla ‘alé(h).? 


1 The blushing myrtle is on his cheek,— 
He is white, O—the burning of my heart for him. 
I cannot more forget the cruelty, 
O, my desire, it is not right of you (sc. to let me suffer). 


2 Visit me, O, you with the radiant face 
And heal my heart from its miseries. 
Then I shall uncover your breast and see 
a garden—what a fine one too! 

3 Visit me, O you with the tender heart, 
And heal my heart from sorrows. 
All this love (making) is a farce, 
Which my beloved imposed upon me. 

4 For long I have loved you; 


My soul and heart is a ransom for you; 
There is a garden planted on your breast 
Written above it: mésalla (i. 6. it is a beautiful one). 


masculine “she” is meant. The language is semi-classical. I have known it 
since 1906; it appears to be of Egyptian origin. The metre is: 


NENG AN τας NST ΑΒ ΘΝ ERS 


1 Cant.412and 13, Cf. also the following two verses from different songs: — 


(njzilt ana bistanikum ’ataft dna rummadnikum... 
I went down to your orchard And plucked your pomegranates... 
eile, LI Cabs polian LI Cds 
and ya habibi, ya nadyim fattah ward ij-janadyin... 
O my sleeping love, The roses in the gardefs have blossomed .. . 
ena 29 eis eS Ὁ are & 
Cant.514. Cf. the stanza: rihd@n sdérik dibil min illit il- mayya... (The basil 


shrub of your breast has faded from lack of water.) 


2 Magalla (from the classical m@ ὅσα Udhu sc. kéna is often used as an 
expression of admiration for persons, things and actions; it may also be used 
ironically. It is written on house-doors and carved on charms as a talisman to 
repel the evil spirits or the spell of the evil eye.— Cant. 1 18 and 14; 4 12. 


* 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 251 


XV 
1 il-1‘ztibiyya talat! ‘alayya 
*timi htubili 2 ya mama‘ wahde Salabiyya... 
2 libsat il-burnus al‘at il-burnus 3 
mys raiha tihlus® ya mama‘ ha-l-i‘zibiyya® (‘askariyya).$ 
3 Taht il-lemine? nami ya ‘yin 
immik hantine ya mama hannit ‘alayya. 
4 Taht it-tuffaha7 nome b-rayaha 
hiyye 1-fallaha ya mama dihkit ‘alayya.8 
5 habibi!® natir taht il- ’anatir 
w-in kan lak hatir ya mama dawwir ‘alayya.9 
6 habibi b-daro dahab as‘ro 11 
δ Su malo 12 ya mama za ‘lan ‘alayya. 
i habibi b-héme 18 ‘amar b-géme 11 
w-il-fiir’a déme 1° ya mama talit ‘alayya. 


1 The third person sing. fem. is formed in the perfect tense sometimes also 
with a final 7 instead of a (in certain cases), 6. g. talit, libsit, hannit, for télat, 
libsat, hannat. This pronounciation seems to be preferred by Mohammedans, 
more especially the women, who still cling to the “pure” Palestinian dialect, as 
women are in speech and manners conservative, but it seems to be of Syrian 
origin. 

2 Mothers still sue for their sons’ brides. 

3 Words are often inserted to complete the metre. Buwrnus, fine linen cloak. 

4 Throughout this song the words ya mama (O mother) are inserted before 
the next to the last word of each stanza, when sung. See also the song no. 2, 
note 3. 

5 Literally:—come to an end. 

6 Hal = hadi il-. 

7 Cant. 23”; 85. 

8 Variant: ... birydha, hiyye-l-fallaha, ya mama, mnitmassah fiha... 

9 This stanza is supposed to be sung by the girl. 

10 Cant. 31 and 56. 

11 Cant, 5 11. 

12 The mother is spoken to. 

13 Inserted for the sake of the rhyme. 

14 Cant. 6 10. 

15 Daim ex is classical. The word is used in this connection very rarely. 


bo 
σι 
bo 


8 habibi barra! 
w-il-fir’a murra 
1 Celibacy 


Rise, O mother, and sue me 


2 She put on her burnus (cloak), 
Will it not stop— 


3 Under the lemon tree 
Your mother is merciful, 


4 There is a quiet sleep 
Though she is a peasant girl 


5 My beloved is waiting 
If you care to, 


6 My beloved is in his house— 
See, (O mother), 


~l 


My beloved in his tent 
And separation is tyranny, 


8 My beloved is outside, 
And separation is bitter 


Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


sabil il- gurra2 


ya mama _b-il-‘askariyya .. .8 


Has become tedious to me— 
A fair one. 


And she removed it — 
This celibacy? 


Sleep, O my eyes; 
She had pity on me... 


Under the apple-tree— 
Yet she tricked me... 


Under the arches — 
Search for me! 


His price is gold— 
Why is he angry with me? 


Is the moon in his cloud — 
It becomes tedious to me. 


‘With his forelock hanging — 


During military service. 


XVI4 
1 w-ana®> rayih w-imrawwih w-imlaggi’-d-darb 18-Sargiyya | 
2 w-ana rayih w-imrawwih lagitni bintin’ tariyya’ (bdéwiyya) | 


2 Cant. 5 11. 


1 Cant.29. See also song no. 2 notes 7 and 10, p. 227. 
3 The rhyme is good as is also the metre: 
NS ee a eo NNN AL IR τε NS CHS SENS 

This song was known in part before the war, during which some six verses of 
little local importance were added. Cf. the substitution of A> Sams ‘askariyeh 
for A439; (y)‘zibiyeh). They have already become obsolete. 

4 This song is of Beduin origin. Some four verses are omitted, being offensive; 
with slight variations it is known in different parts of Palestine. This version 


is that circulating among the Beduin around Gaza. The refrain is JMe2b 
dk & ya halali ya-méli. It is the answer of the chorus to the reciter. 
"5 W-ana Ll» is the idiomatic contraction of wa beinama ana (or the like) 
LI bw 

6 Facing, meeting with. 

7 Bintin = Class. bintun. 

8 Variants:—zéniyya δι) nice, bdéwiyya 42903 Beduin. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 253 
ya! tilha w-dlla ‘a-tili l-in? fiha mn-il-gisr (i)Swayya. 


ya rasha ras il-ham&ma minhu -j-jadayil? marhiyya 


3 

4 

5 w-é84 agullak fi-l-ityin?>  w-itgfl iyiin guzlaniyya. 
6 w-éS agtllak fi-l-munhar?  w-itgtl fistga halabiyya.6 
7 
8 


w-éS8 agullak fi sfafha? w-itgil léza tariyya.? 

ya tiummha hatm(i)sliman’ nsiddo bi-l“asrawiyya. 
9 w-isnanha lidm il-lilu maskika sikka zéniyya. 
10 w-é§ agullak fi-l-inhfid? w-itgil rumman mallisiyya.® 
11 w-é8 agtllak fi batnha? matwi tayya ‘a -tiyya. 
12 w-éS agtllak fi-l-ifhad Ὁ w-itgil Sim‘a madwiyya. 10 
13 w-é8 awassiflak gunjha? w-itgtl ta‘lim in-ntriyya...!! 


1 When I was returning home, taking the Eastern path, 

2 When I was returning home a delicate girl met me. 

3 Her height is, by God, my height, though she may be a little shorter. 
4 Her head is like a dove’s head from which her locks hang loose. 


t Ya is the “oh” of admiration.— Class. y@-li Jk. 

2 Lin is the contraction of wa law in τοὶ 979 (colloquially Jawann ¢\y); it 
may, however, be derived from the classical Ja-in cod though. 

3 Tadayil elas. Cant. 4 5. 

4 Wes is the contraction of the Class. wa- ayyu δὰ δ᾽ ἦγ) (coll. 219). 

> (I)'ytn another plural form of “inén— crane σα. 

6 Fistug halabi o> Grws pistacia vera (staphylea pinnata) is the best 
sort of the pistachio nut. The colour of the prepared fruit resembles the gamhi 
(s=te8, wheat colour (Cant. 7 26) which is in our opinion the best colour for the 
human body. Whereas the “golden” colour dahabi (5%, Cant. 514 and 15 
(reddish) is considered second to it. 

7 Green almonds are very much liked, because they are the first fresh green 
things after the winter and their sour taste makes them the more agreeable. 

8 Hatm (i)Sliman go dw et. This expression is taken over from the 
Jewish magic by the way of the Arabian Nights; cf. the story of the porter and 
the three sisters. Here it conveys the meaning that it is a magical thing and 
at the same time so small that it can be covered by a small nickel piece. 
Besides, a small mouth is said to be a true sign of a vulva angusta. 

9 Rummén mallisi ~~ wl) is a sort of pomegranate of middle size having 
unusually small grains and very delicious. Kufr Kenna, the traditional Cana in 
Galilee (St. John 21) and “Ain ‘Arig 3255 exs* north of Jerusalem are famous 
for this fruit. Cf. the notes to the seventh chapter. 


10 Abyad zat ἐδ- δὰ γί aoxrd | S$) Sxl is a simile for whiteness. The word 
madwiyye 294-26 seems to have been inserted for the sake of the rhyme only. 

11 Nira De niriyye 4259) niwar γῷ niiriyyat Cob p95, masculine and 
feminine words for “gypsy,” singular and plural. The gypsy woman dances 
coquettishly. Here it means that she is a mistress of coquetry. 


254 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


5 “How shall I describe her eyes?” “Say, they are gazelle eyes.” 
6 ‘How shall I describe her nose?” “Say, it is a pistachio nut from Aleppo.” 
“How shall I describe her lips?” “Say, (they are) a fresh almond.” 
8 Her mouth is like King Solomon’s signet, we may cover it with a metlik piece. 
9 And her teeth are a chain of pearls elegantly strung... 
10 “How shall I describe her breasts?” “Say, they are Mallisi pomegranates.” 
11 “How shall I describe her belly?” “Say, it is one fold over another.” 
12 “How shall I describe her thighs?” “Say, a lighted candle.” 
13 “Howshall Idepict her coquetry?” “Say, it is like that of a gipsy woman...” 


XVII 


1 ya gazahi,! kéfa ‘anni ab‘adik, Sattatu Samli wi-hajri “‘awwadtk? 
2 sakkar il-haris? ‘alayya-l-bab u-rah, ’al-li ma-ftah-lak la-bakir is-sabah 
3 iftahili,? ah, ya sitt il- milah,4 > bass il-léle nayyimini ‘indakum.§ 


1 O, my gazelle, how did they remove you from me? 

They separated us and accustomed you to be far from me. 
2 The watchman shut the door on me and went away, 

Saying to me: “111 not open it for you before to-morrow morning.” 
3 O, mistress of the fair ones, pray, open it for me, 

And let me sleep only this night at your house! 


XVIII 
tiski, til: ya harim? jifni n-ndm, ya harim.$ 
ana min hubbi fik,? ya jamil,!° tarrazt ismak ‘a-maharim, 


kull il-G@)mlah sihda-li fik innak hilu,!! lakin zalim 


1 Cant.29; 217; 814. The gazelle is the ideal of grace. 

2 Cant.33. Vide song no. 2, stanza 5. 

3 Cant. 5 2. 

4 Cant. 18;57; 61. 

5 Vide note to Cant. 1 3. 

6 The metre is: ἐς NU) MON UY 
Oe, SOT NS Ἂν 

7 Participle of frm ey= to prohibit, to deny. 

8 Cant.31 and 52. 

9 Cant. 13°; cf. also Cant. 3 10. 

τὸ Cant. 47 and 69. 

11 Cant. 116 and 2 14°. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 255 


ya mahlak ya hilu lamman tintirih! la-n-ném... 
tiswadd “éni ἃ min taht itban li 

ya a‘azz min ntr “éni,? fén kunt il-yOm? 

ilak warttén ya hilu w-int sahi, w-arb‘a la-n-ném.3 
‘ala Sart, ya jamil, marilak bayad batni: —4 
yinzal ‘alék in-nada,°® tiskar talatin yém.. .6 


She complains and says: —“O, you, who have denied sleep to my eyelids, 
Because of my love for you, fair one, I’ve embroidered your name on 
handkerchiefs. 
All the pretty girls assured me that you are sweet, but cruel— 
How fair are you, sweet one, when you are stretched in sleep .. |! 
My eye darkens and beneath you appear to me; 
O, you, who are dearer than the light of my eyes, where have you been 
to-day? 
You have two roses when you are awake, and four when sleeping— 
On condition, O fair one, that I do not show you the whiteness of 
my belly — 
(Otherwise) the dew would fall on you and you would be drunk for 
thirty days.” 


1 This word is classical and is not used elsewhere. It stands for the colloquial 
titmaddad 2-3 or titli”ah EXA3.—Cant. 77 

2 Cf. Psalm 17 8. 

3 A similar passage is the following: — 


habibi ‘a-l-én gayib en’ πὰ & ots 
w-ana “albi ‘aléh dayib 5 ants ιν Lily 
ya rabbi tjtbo w-asahid rolls dnasrs is) Lb 
ward haddo w-il-yasimin . . . Se i BAS 9 


My beloved is absent at the well 
And my heart melts for him. 
O God, 1 beg Thee to bring him to me, 
That I may see the roses of his cheek and the jasmine (of his face). 
Cant. 6 12 and 67. 
4 Cant. 514. According to the above cited book of Preuss, Biblisch-talmudische 
Medizin, the rabbis interdicted the coitus nudus, and this is where 
Mohammedan tradition follows them. 
5 Cant.52. Cf. also Daniel 4 22-30 for Nebuchadnezzar’s disease; the dew is 
believed to be harmful to the eyes. 
6 This is a so-called mauwal masri. Metre and rhyme are deliberate. See 
note to the palaest. Diwan of Professor Dalman. During the winter season 1920/21 
the “actress” Frésso sang this mauw@l in the variété cafés of Jerusalem. 


256 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


XIX 
1 ya Zawye Sambarik mal! w-il -hadd bayyan hamara...3 
ya sahbi fi safa 1-gdr 3 nimsi ‘Ala dau narha. 
2 rasha hammias 4 rabi fi Tobas ὃ 
w-i8-Si'‘ir bisbas 6 jadailo ragayib.? 
9. sid(i)rha_ha-l-loh hallani anth 
w-il-gal(ijb majrih biddi-le tabib.§ 
4 bat(i)nha hallas 9 ya tayy ligmas 
la trafignas w-ahirtak (010. 
5  has(ijrha n-nahil 10 ya Sallit harir 
la trafignas w-abirtak (1)tmil. 
6 has(i)rha n-nahil ya ‘td in-nahil?! 
la trafignas w-abirtak (i)tmil. 
7 timmha |-miltamm 12 zad il-gal(ij)b hamm 
u mata bniltimm ‘a-fras il-habib? 13 


1 This song is a mhaha. On the different forms of song cf. Dalman’s preface 
to his excellent palaestinscher Diwan. 


2 Literally, Your cheek has shown its ruddiness, flush. Cant. 66; 4 3. 


3 Safa: the brink; They would then be walking by night. This verse ends 
with the exclamation y@ waw! 


4 The meaning of ammds is uncertain. Muhit il-Muhit does not explain it. 
I could not get the exact rendering.— Cant. 7 6. 


5 Tobas is a village in the Nablus district. Another village of the same name 
is said to exist in the Jebel Hauran, but I could not find it on the available 
maps of Palestine. 


6 Bisbads seems to mean hanging down nicely (?). 


7 Jdéilo raga@yib is a curious expression, which stands for “attractive curls,” 
Cant. 43 and 64. 


8 Cant.25 and ὅ 8. 

9 Cant. 7 2. 

10 Cant. 7 1. 

11 Cant. 77 and 5 14. Σ 
12 Cf. also the song No. 16. 

13 Cant. 34 and 8 2. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 257 


8 suftha ya-hti ti‘jin fi-l‘ajin 
w-il-asAwir! fi-l(i)Smal u fi l-yamin.. .? 
1 O bewitching one, your “mutch” moved, 


And the red colour of your cheek has appeared... 
O my friend, on the remotest edge of the Jordan valley 
We may (safely) walk by the light of her fire... 


2 Her head is pentagonal — 
She grew up in Tobas, 
And her hair hangs down, 

Its locks are worth having (Ὁ) 


3 Her broad chest 
Caused me to weep, 
And the heart is sick 
And requires a physician. 


4 Her belly is soft 
Like a fold of cloth. 
“Do not follow us— 
You will be disgraced in the end... 


5 Her slender hip 
Is like a bunch of silk. 
“Do not follow us — 
In the long run you will stumble...” 


3 


θ Her slim leg 
Is lke the stem of the palm tree. 
“Do not follow us— 
In the end you will fall...” 


1 Cant. 7 2. 

2 The provenance of this song is the neighbourhood of et-Tayyibe and 
northwards. The dialect is peasant and in several passages rather hard to 
render exactly. 

Verse one is the refrain. Its metre is: 

ENE ON st | iN 7. Nu 
The general metre for verses two — seven is: "ἊΨ ἐπ Ἔ πάρος SRS ef ma 


Note the division of the verse; the first three stanzas rhyme. 


258 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


~J 


Her small mouth 

Has added to the sorrows of the heart. 
When shall we meet 

On the beloved’s bed? 


8 I saw her kneading the dough, O brother, 
And the arm rings were on both the right and left hand.. 


XX 
. myn syhr ‘ynék arfh fén ya wa‘di? 1 2 
ya-lli kawétni,? ya sabab wi'di.. 
in jutt bi-l-wasl tib’a sabab sa‘di4 
afrah w-a’tl:—“hibbi mhannini” > 
ya ma sabét® nas myn “abli u min δ]... 
Variant: 
myn syhr ynék ana arfh fén, ya wa‘di? 
w-asbaht myn nar garamak mubtala ἃ wahdi. 
16 zurtani fard léle γᾶ kamal sa‘di 
afrah w-akid il-‘azil:—“htbbi mhannini” 
ya ma sabét (y)°fl innaés myn “abli u min ba‘di. 


Where shall I flee from the spell of your eyes—alas. 

You, whose love has burnt me, O cause of my felicity. 

If you'll bestow your charms on me, you'll be the cause of my happiness; 

I shall rejoice and say: “My beloved regales me.”— 

Oh, how many people before me and since have you taken captive. 
Variant: 

Where shall I flee from the spell of your eyes —alas. 

Since I have become afflicted by the fire of your love, I am alone. 

If you should visit me one night, O perfection of my happiness, 

I would rejoice and mortify the envious (saying :—) “My friend regales me. 

Oh, how often did you captivate the minds of men,— before me and since.— 


” 


1 This version and another one I know in Jerusalem. I have heard a third 
one from Miss M. N., Nazareth. 

2 The first stanza reminds one vividly of Psalm 139 7. 

3 Cant. 4 9. 

4 Sabab si‘di Grxsw mw. Cf. causa nae laetitiae in Litania Beatae 


Mariae Virginis. 


5 Hannaa LSs (lit. he lets me enjoy [life] fully, Cant. 2 5). 
6 Sabét «κα, Cf. Proverbs 7 26. 
7 The metre ‘does not differ from that of the usual mauwail. 


ee 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 259 


XXI 
1 w-ana nazil ‘a-l-wadi w-is-sa'a tintén 1 
la’ani 1-mahbttb ’abbalni 2 bawwasni |-haddén. 
2 w-ana nazil ‘a-l-wadi | w-id-dinya Sita 
la’ani l-mahbib ya ‘éni laffni b-‘abato .. .3 4 


1 As I was descending to the valley At two o’clock, 
There met me the beloved, kissed me, And let me kiss his cheeks. 


2 As I was descending to the valley In the rain, 
My beloved met me (oh my eye!) And wrapped mein his mantle... 


XXII 


1 safar il-mahbtib, ma rétih® ya ‘én? 
Saga-llah ® ‘a-liyyam illi madén.? 


2 Sufto labis i8-Sambar,$ zéno ‘amar 9 
Sibh il-gazal1° msawwar,!! kahil il-‘én.'2 


1 The time is two hours after sunrise. 

2° Abbalni (5X3 stands for the original exclamation ya‘énd (sk. 

3 Cf. Ruth 39. Are these not parallels to Ezekiel 168, where we read: et 
expandi amictum meum super te, et operui ignominiam tuam? As the prophet 
was a captive in Mesopotamia, Ezech. 1 3, he may have taken this allegory from 
daily life there. In 1915 I was unwillingly witness of an incident which illustrates 
this passage. There was a man, some twenty yards off the road from Bagdad 
to Mo’azzam ebsh|—>lae> who, between 8 and 9 A. M., in broad daylight 
expandit amiculum (‘abd@ye 224+) suum super puellam. 

4 The second part of the verse is repeated when sung. The metre is (verse 2): 

; re SER A Ce eS 


= 

5. The classical form of it is ra’aitth AY); Cant. 3 8. 

& Lit., drench (sc. with blessings). This is also a classical expression. 

1 Mada (.@ pass away, go. 

8 The Sambar is used only for covering the head, cf. song no. 19, line 1. 

9 His smells are aromatic; cf. Song 36.— Cant. 4 18 seq. 

10 Classical; cf. Cant. 1 9 and 1 17. 

11 Msatwar y3-a~ formed, lit. painted, formed, Cant. 8 14. This same word is 
used to translate the passage Isaiah 53 2: He has no form nor comeliness. 3)g~0 Y 
les YoaJ. Cf. first stanza of song 3. 

12 Cf. the song no. 12, first stanza. 


260 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


3 Sufto labis il-magta‘! zéno bilma’, 
Sibh il-gamar yitSa‘Sa‘,2 ma’ nijimtén 
4 sufto mhawwid ὃ ‘a-ido, m-ahla haddo, 


m-ihla n-ndme ‘a-haddo sine u Sahrén...4> 


1 My beloved went away—haven’t you seen him, O eye? 
May God bless the days which passed (sc. in his company). 


2 I saw him wearing fine linen; his beauty is like amber. 
He is like the gazelle in form, eyes painted with kohl (stibium). 


3 I saw him wearing new coloured linen; his beauty sparkles. 
He gleams like the moon between two stars. 


4 I saw him resting with his cheek on his hand—how sweet is his cheek! 
How sweet is sleep on his cheek for a year and two months!... 


XXIII 
1 ‘a-s-sabat,® ‘a-s-sabat 7 tar il- ‘izz u-marr u-fat.8 
2 ‘a-s-sabat (u) ya ‘ayyasS® yi-mm il-idra‘ il-mangtis 10 
3 hudilk dahab wi-gris l-agdi (nigdi) laki ha-l-hajat. 


1 Lit., the cloth before being cut for the trousseau. Here are meant brand 
new clothes. Bridal clothes were in bygone years made of a good sort of raw 
silk GUL) > = harir il-mélek. (Yusif D.) 

7 Cf. Cant. 69 and cf. Notes to Cant. 

3 Classical form derived from fwd >5% go down, lean down. 

4 This means a long period. Cf. also the forty days of the holy men in the 
Bible (Jesus, Moses, Elijah), 

5 This song is recited at the popular festival gatherings of the peasants to 
the dabée (dabke) 453> a native trotting dance. 

The language is ζει and very much like classical Arabic. The metre is 


composite: 
Hime wl Nw Ns COD NS ERSTE NESSUS BRU NE TINS INE σεις 
Mam 823 N ποτε τον NN NES Ne Nee 


Dr. Wetzstein (Die syrische Dreschtafel) states that the dabke has nearly always 
the metre of the Andalusian ode, viz, two trochaeo-spondee stanzas followed by 
a creticus. This song comes from north of Ramallah. 

6 This is a Beduin song. The verse is sung by one, and repeated by a 
chorus. I learned it during my stay at Bir Salim (1903) from Beduin of 
Sarafand el-Harab. Verse 1 is the maradd (refrain). 

7 Cant. 1 16. 

[8 For the idiom cf. Cant. 211: 5. 95m Abn—W. F. A.] 

9 See p. 203, n. 2. 

0 MangiS ἐδ οὐ λα tattooed. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 261 


4 ‘a-s-sabat (u) ya Marifim! 2 ya-mm il-idra’ il-mabrfiim 

5 tlagini taht il-()-krim 3 l-agdi laki ha-l-hajat. 

6 ‘a-s-sabat (u) ya zéne? mitlik ma safat ‘éni4 

7 w-alla l-ahtttik bi-hdéni4 w-ahlif ‘annik la-l-mamat... 


μ- 


Come and sleep! Comeand 5]660} The splendour has fled, has passed 
away and gone! 
Come, Ὁ Ayyus, and sleep, O you with the tattooed arm. 
Take gold and (silver) piasters That I may do something for you. 
Come and sleep, O little Mary, Oh you with the well-turned arm. 
Ifyoumeet me belowthevineyards I may do something for you. 
Come to sleep, O fair one! My eye never saw one like you! 
ByGod, [] placeyouin my bosom And ['ll be true to you till death! 


ADO Pp Ww DW 


XXIV 
] ya ‘én ibéi® ‘ala-lh bi-l-hay wahdan 7 
2 lo‘et el-bén bi-l-iwwal u-bi-t-tani§ 
3 ‘addét ‘ala sift il-mahbfib. Bi-lsani? 
4 bizz il ‘asal1° ya jamil wi-Sribt (i) hfani!! 
5 ya ‘én ktini ‘alayya min is-Suhhad 12 
6 Larja® bi-l-widad tani.. .13 


‘ A rare form of Mariam, to rhyme with mabriim e9r~. 

2 See p. 203, n. 2. 

3 Cant. 1 6. 3 

«Ἐπ 1 5. 15: 95:9; 61. 

5 Cant. 2 6. 

6 He laments his own hard luck. 

1 Wahkdén ¢\X>»9 lonely stands for lawihde διλ:..ο1. 

8 Biliwwal u bittani siltks Jeb without end. 

9 In verses 3 and 4 he recollects the happy hours spent in her company. 

10 Cant. 1 2 (vulgata). 

11 See stanza 3 of no. 51. ; 

12 The usual plural form is sahdin ¢2,%2L* or better S(w)hiid 29. 

13 A mawmoval is masri gro" J\50 with five lines, of which line one, 
two, three and five will rhyme, or mauw@l Bagdadi S>\o0. 1195 
with 7 lines, where lines 1, 2,3, 7 on the one hand and 4, 5, and 6 on the other 
will rhyme. It is preferred to use one and the same word (with other meanings) 
to rhyme. The mawwvdél is nearer to the classical poetry than any other sort of 
songs. It has 5 beats generally and is more common in towns than elsewhere. 


Usually it consists of a single verse. 


H OF DO "-- 


262 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


1 Weep, O my eye, over one who is lonely in the encampment! 

2 The pangs of separation are both first and second (sc. in my heart). 
3 I bit the lip of the beloved. At my tongue was the breast of honey, 
4 © fair one, and I drank in deep draughts. 

5 Bear witness, O eye (spring, well) to my vow, 

6 That I will return again to love... 


XXV 
‘inéki -s-stid sigu ]-mubtali, sigu.! 2 
w-ihdtdik il-humr juwwat il-gadah ragu.? 
aju bét ‘izzik 14 mabsamik dagu 4 
batu sakara® la-nuss il-lél ta fagu... 


HH OF DO κα 


Your black eyes led the afflicted, they led (him). 

And your red cheeks shone in the wine glass. 

They came to your proud house (O fair one) but they did not taste your mouth, 
(And even so) they spent the night drunk and did not awake until midnight... 


XXVI 
til’ il’amar w-i'tala® min yammikum? sahibi$ 
milla hawajib ἃ j6z (i)‘yfin® ilak sahibis 
tifdak rohi l-aziza in “tlta li sahibi 8 
malak matilin!® bén ahl il-hawa!! malak 
ya nahlitin (i)b-g0S(u)n!? killma habb il-hawa mAalak 
lani tam‘an wala ‘éni ‘Ala maélak: 
rittak ahty ‘ala til il-mada‘? sahibi.8 


“Im OFF HB ὦ DN κα] 


1 This is a mauwa/. Heard from Miss ΔΙ. N., Nazareth. 

2 Cant. 4 9. 

3 Cant. 4 3°. 

1 mabsam e«-«~ laughing party. Cant. 2 ΠΩΣ 

5 Cant. ὅ 1. 

6 This is a so-called mauwdl Bagdédi. 

7 yammikum ero), stands here for ‘tndikum and is colloquial; it has nothing 
to do with the classical yamm e@2 the sea. Does it stand for jambikum? 

8 Cant. 59 and 87°. 

9 Cant.5 12 and 1 15. 

10 matil Je plus nunation. 

11 Cant. 1 4; 51: 61. 

12 Cant. 7 8. 

13 Cant. 8 1. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 263 


Lo, the moon has risen from your side and is getting high, my friend! 
How wonderful are your brows and pair of eyes, my friend! 
May my dearsoul be sacrificed on your behalf, if youso order me, my friend! 
You have no equal among the lovers, no, you have none! 
O slender palm tree with a bough, moved by every breeze, 
I am not covetous, nor have I cast my eye on your riches; 
I only wish you to be my brother for ever and ever, my friend! 


XXVII 


1 ya mama 8ifi-l-kanari w-il-‘asal min timmo jari! 


Ano fF WNW "- 


2 ahi yumma ὅπ tilo? w-is-sabaya zagrattilo.3 


1 Look, O mother at the canary— Howthe honey flows from his mouth! 
2 O,mother,look at his tall stature— And (so) the virgins have sung him. 


XXVIII 
1 Ya zén,! ya-bu hora® haddak kama®-1-ballora 
2 mahabbatak fi glébi7 bahSat u ‘imlat jora... 
1 O fair one, like a poplar tree, Your cheek is like crystal; 
2 Your love has probed in my heart And made (there) a pit... 
XXiX 
1 ma bén Asmar w-abyad dayyat ana ‘umri. 
w-il-bid sukkar (i) mkarrar bi-l-harir malftfa 
3 w-is-simr ‘itr il-ganahi il-l‘alil mausifa.> 
τ Cant, 4 11. 
2 Cant. 7 8. 
3 Cant.13>. A parallel from ‘a-r-rdzana A339 y | Gey 
...w-alib sabb (y)hléwa Bate Uw ribo 
kull il-banat tys@ni «ἀῶ. Chl! Us 
And 11] become a smart young man, and all the girls will love me. 
Wlrom metre spit Naew 70S Sey Ne |) RS 
NER NRW Sy Nee | CL SO SER 


4 This is a dabke which I have known since 1903. 
> Cant. 7 8 and 415, 
6 Kama \eS is the class. form of ze, mitl. Cf. note 11, p. 291. 
7 Glébi (s+ is the diminutive of galbi _.~\3 my heart —song 14, line 3 and 6. 
A similar parallel from north of Ramallah, also part of a stihje AS\=Us is 
yd bu jidile mantiira ὅγοχλο Ade 990 
hakyak dalal τι gandara δγιλάφο Ὁ) CES 
O you with the loosened braid, your speech is coquetry and prattle.—Cant. 2 14. 
8 This mauwal is one of a host dealing with the complexion of the girls. 
; 19 


264 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


1 Between the brown and the white (sc. girls) I wasted my life. 
2 The white ones are twice refined sugar, wrapped in silk, 
3 And the brown ones are perfume of crystal vases, prescribed for the sick. 


XXX 


il bilbul naga ‘ala gusn il-fill! 
ah, ya Saf in-ny‘mani...? 
‘asdi alaflyf mahbiabi,3 


bén il-yasmin w-ir-rihani.4 


ya mama ana mardane > 
biddi hakim i(y)dawini ὃ 
dawa |-hakim ma bynfa‘%Si 
Sofit habibi btikfini.7 


habibi aja la‘yndiS 

ya nas, nayyamto ‘ala zyndi9 
w-il-wardi fattah b-il-wajanat 10 
w-il-miski fayeh, yA wa‘di.1! 12 


The nightingale warbled on the jasmine bough— 
O anemone... 

I would like to embrace my beloved 

Between the jasmine and the basil herb. 


O mother, I am sick, 
I need a physician to treat me. 


1 Fill (better fyll) J nycanthem zambac. 

2 Anemone nemorosa, or simply hanniin cy9~>. 
3 Cant. 61. 

4 Jasminum officinale and ocymum basilicum. 

5 Cant. ὅ 8. 

6 See song no, 19, verse 3. 

7 See verse 2, song 14. 

8 Cant. 5 2. 

9 See p. 237, ἢ. 1. 

10 See song no. 18, line 8. 

11 Cant. 1 19. 

12 The metre 1s:— 

Wierse rec N ENT Ὁ ΣΆΝΕ ΞΕ | 


Ne 
SPP SEE SEE ἈΞ ΚΣ OR :ΞΞ 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 265 


| But the physician’s medicine is of little avail with me, 
Since the look of my beloved would suffice (to heal) me. 


f 


My beloved came to me, 

O ye people, and I let him sleep on my wrist. 
And the roses budded (then) on the cheeks, 
While the musk gave forth its odour, O joy! 


XXXI 
Th yi bahr ma banzalak safar habibi fik 
| 2 ya ward ma ba’tufak humrit (i)hdido fik 
3 ya kthl ma bashanak sawad (i)‘yfino fik 
4 ya fars ma ba’rabak afSa (i)nhfido fik...! 


1 I'll not fare on you, O sea, Formybelovedmade a journey onyou. 
2 I'll not pluck you, O rose, Bloom of his cheek is in you. 

3 I’llnot grind you, kohl (stibium), The dark of his eyes is in you. 

4 ΤΊ] not approach you, O bed, Forinyouhe has showed his breasts... 


XXXII 
i hayyamatni, hayyamatni, ‘an siwaha aSgalatni? 
2. léitani ma ruhtu ma‘ha: kuntu sayim fattaratni.. .3 


1 She distracted me, yes, she distracted me, 
And drew me from everything, save from herself. 
2 O, had I only not gone with her— 
I was fasting and she made me break the fast... 3 


XXXIT 
1 gfimi, tjalli4 ya bint amir il-‘arab® 
2 w-in kan ‘aléki ‘atab, nihna ‘aléna |-‘atab. 


1 This is a portion of a lengthy poem: makkar (or ya zén) ya bit-z-ziduf 
Bs Jl 990. (ωϑ) &) >Re You sly (fair) one, with locks on the temples. 

2 Cant. 49. 

3 Variant: aldit ‘ali diSSardtni 4.3 4> $8 asl she deprived me of 
my reason and left me. Sexual intercourse breaks the fast in Ramadan. 

4 Tjalli 4=4, make the jalwe %9\>. 

5 For bint amir il-‘arab cf. Cant. 72 and Psalm 45 4. 

19* 


266 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


SD OF PB CF DD κ" on 


on 


m oO DO = 


me © dD = 


w-in kannik! twile,? rimh hayyalna 

w-in kannik gasire bartid rjalna.? 

w-in kannik simra,* “isal mahfiye bi-jrarna. 
w-in kinnik béda, amire mSarrfe ‘a-darna, 
w-in kinnik bahile bitzidi malna 

w-in kannik hayre, tirbayt (a)rjalna.® 


Rise, and adorn yourself, O daughter of the emir of the Arabs! 

And if you be blamed let the blame fall on us, 

And if you are tall, you are like a lance of our riders, 

And if you are short, you are like a rifle of our warriors, 

And if you are brown, you are like honey hidden in our pots, 

And if you are white, you are like a princess honouring our house 
(sc. with a visit), 

And if you are avaricious, you will increase our wealth, 

And if you are generous, it is your training by our men... 


XXXIV 
gtimi tjalli® ya kinnit il-banna 
w-il-kthl fi ‘énik zagzgit7 ilo u-ganna 
hatt il-gadam ‘a-l- gidam’ ma smi‘ ilo ranna 
w-il-batn 1111 hamalik® yij‘al maskino 1-janna.10 


Rise and adorn yourself, O daughter-in-law of the mason! 
I whispered to the kohl (stibium) in your eyes and it sang. 
As you stepped I heard no tinkle... 

And may the womb which bore you live in Paradise!... 


‘1 Kannik = kan innaki (not a classical idiom). 
2 Cant. 7 8. 
3 Cant.69 and 89. 
4 Cant. 15. 
5 From Galilee. (Miss M. N.) 
6 Psalm 45 45, 
7 zagzaga 838) used only for “twitter.” 
8 Cant. 7 2. 
9 Luke 11 27. 
10 Lit., may He let it abide in Paradise. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 267 


XXXV 
i gtimi, tjalli u-halli ha-la‘adi tmfit 1 
2 ya sajrit il-mistka 2 wi-gstinha yagiit.3 
nihn min bét tayyib4 w-as(i)lna matbiit, 
w-ijdiidna fi-l-magibir tistahil it-tabfit.. .ὅ 


3 

4 

1 Rise, adorn yourself, and let the enemies die (sc. burst with annoyance), 
2 O mastic tree with the ruby boughs! 

3 We come from a noble house and our origin is sure, 

4 And our ancestors in the graveyards are worth their coffin... 


XXXVI 
1 haddak u-naddak® u dort wijhak il-wasi‘ 
2 w-imhabbitak bi-glébi ‘agrab il-lasi‘ 
3 lau sawwamiini taman-t- lyyam u tasi‘ 
4 l-ahrib (i)mdinet halab7 w-askun sidrak il-wasi‘.§ 
1 Your cheek, your odours and the round shape of your broad face — 
2 And your love in my heart is a stinging scorpion. 
3 If they compelled me to fast eight days or even nine, 
4 Id destroy the town of Aleppo and dwell on your wide breast. 


XXXVITI 
tilak9 1° hasab zn 11: wi-grimak!? hbal il-bét 13 14 
w-int azhét 15 il-‘arab, kin 16 riht w-illa jét.17 


no ."- 


1 This is a zagriita from Galilee. (Miss M. N.) 

2 Sajrit il-mistka (pistacia lentiscus) is taken over from the Arabian Nights 
(story of Aladdin and his lamp). 

3 Cant. 7 8. 4 Cant. 71. 

5 The tabiit Copb coffin, is used only for Christian burials. 

6 Naddak Yo could be explained as “your odours” (lit. your ambergris), but 
it seems rather to be a senseless word rhyming on the preceding one. | 

7 It would be more to the point if he stated: gal'it halab =» A the 
citadel of Aleppo. 

8 Heard in Jerusalem, in the district north of Ramallah, and from Miss M. N., 
Nazareth. e 

9 This song is a sahje from the district north of Jerusalem. 


10 See note 1 to song no. 3. She is addressed. 11 Cant. 5 15%. 
2 Grin 9% “horns.” 
13 Bet i8-sa'r Δ 445 camel’s hair tent, or goat’s hair tent. 


14 This is a parallel to Cant. 7 8. 

15 Azha, lit., “flourish,” here in its transitive sense also. 

16 Kin, cin stands for in kam 8 ¢y\—Variant lyn = law in. 
17 Jét is corrupt for ajét Cx. classical ji’ta or ataita. 


bo 
fap) 
ἴ 9) 


Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


3 yi-bu nagari8,1 ya-bu jubbe hadra,? 

4 jarahtni jurh, til il-timr ma yibra. 

5 w-il-hidb w-il-“én sarighin? min il -guzlan 
6 w-il-batn batn -il-“Asiif,4 id-damir,® il-‘atSan. 
7 ya-bu®-S-Sanayib7 dahabS§ 1-il-i‘laliye 9 

8 ‘addabt galbi, ya-bu dagga Smaliya.19 

9 ya ‘isbit 1! il“ambar 12 min hizigha malat, 
10 ma hallha illa iyminak min karibha Salat. 
11 garbi bét il-amir mhéra!? girra!4 

ΤΡ mSsangile b-id-dihab 15 ma {Ἰη{1Π1 10 barra. 


1 Your height is that of the teak log, and your side-locks are like tent-ropes. 
2 And it is you, who make the Arabs rejoice, whether you go or come... 
950. you with the embroidery and the green coat, 

4 You have given me a wound which throughout life wili not heal. 

5 Your eyelashes and your eyes you have stolen from the gazelle, 

6 And your belly is that of a noble she-camel, when she is thirsty. 
70 you with the mustache who went upstairs to the loft, [solarium] 
8 You tortured my heart, O you with the tattoo on your cheek. 

9 Oh, the amber fillet has slipped because it was too tight, 
10 Only your right hand unloosed it, its tightness made it slip up. 

11 West of the emir’s house is a young filly, 

12 With golden hangings—she does not come out... 


1 I could not get the singular for this word, so I take it to be nagé. 

2 The green colour is preferred, because it is at the same time the colour of 
the prophet’s standard. | 

3 Lit., you stole them (fem.). 

4 ‘Asti ι ϑ9αοἷς is “riding camel.” 

5 Damir ple with slender hips; cf. song 53. 

6 Now she addresses him. 

7 Sanab ies is the singular form. The form Sandyib nls seems to have 
been influenced by the plural of the more common word 8&érib Cys Sawarib 
laa. 

8 Dihab is the classical equivalent of rah cl): 

9 ‘Mliyye is the solarium of the Romans. 

10 This is a tattoo mark like a freckle, and is considered to be very attractive. 

it Cf. Esther 6 8. 

12 Cant. 4 11. 
13 Cant. 1 9. 
τι. Girr τῷ young, unexperienced.— Cant. 8 8. 

15 Cant. 111. 

16 Btintili* edbrXs is one of the rare colloquial Palestinian Arabic words which 
form a passive, whereas passives are the rule in the Mesopotamian vernacular. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 269 


XXXVIIT 
Ya tilak til ‘id il-gana w-il ‘ing mayil mél 1 2 
w-il -has(i)r min riggito hadd il-guwa w-il-hél. 
ya nayimin id-diha? (i)tnabbahu bi-l-lél 
hadi l-‘arfis il-‘Ambara w-illi ‘aléha 1-‘én.4 


H CO bo μα 


1 O you, whose height is that of the lance, your neck is bent, 

2 And your hip, by its slenderness, has caused the loss of all (my)strength. 
3 O you, who sleep in the fore-noon, watch in the night — 

4 This is the bride, the amber one, on whom each eye is cast... 


XXXIX 
Ya habbit il-binn Alla w-in-ndbi habbik 5 
fi blad il-yaman® ma yizra‘u habbik. 
l-asir darwiS w-adarwis ‘ala hubbik? 
yibtik sabil il-Safik wala habbik .. .8 


qH OF τ " 


1 God and the Prophet loved you, O coffee-bean, 

2 Even in Yemen they do not plant a bean like you. 

3 ΤΊ] become a dervish and lead an ascetic lip for your love’s sake— 
4 Confound the one who saw you and did not love you. 


XL 
1 ya rayih smal ἃ bass gillo 
2 u sallim ‘al-habib ἃ bass gullo 9 


t For the metre cf. note on no. 42. 

2 The bent neck and the slender hip make the figure more attractive. 

3 Cf. hnetyyina song no. 8, note 3. 

4 Heard in Jerusalem (M.T.) and also from Miss M.N., Nazareth. 

5 This is a Mohammedan stanza. As the prepared coffee bean is brown, 
a girl of dark compexion is likened to it.— Cant. 1 5. 

_ 6 Yemen is Arabia Felix. 

7 The Mohammedan derwis eS) yy? is often married, since celibacy is not a 
conditio sine qua non for his class. But the poet apparently likes the role of 
Schiller’s Ritter Toggenburg. 

8 The source of the song is Galilee. (Miss M. N.) 

9 This form of imploring is used in Cant.58>. The song is from the north 
of Jerusalem. [N.H.S.] 


270 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Hm © τῷ μὰ 


“I ὧν O1 


(6.9) 


H= ὦ bO κ 


wlifak! ma iynim 11-lél killo 
iysahir bi-l-gamar? hin il-giyaba... 


anim il-lél ‘éni ma tnami 3 

tara l-mau‘fid ma yirif iynami? 
farasna 1- [ἀν ὃ hayyéna l-manimi 4 
sah id-dik ma Sufna l-hababa... > 6 


O wanderer northwards, only tell him, 

Greet the beloved and only tell him: 

“Your playmate lies awake the whole night, 7 
He watches with the setting moon.” 


Though I sleep at night my eye is awake; 

Can the promised one not sleep? 

We spread the couch and prepared the bed, 

The cock crowed, yet we have not seen our beloved. 


XLI 
gaddét -il-lél] 4144 in-njfim wahdai? 
w-agillib fi-n-nhfid il-bid wihdais 
banat il- ‘amm fihin ktll wahdai? 
tirmi -t-tér min 881 shma!9—ba!t 


1 The root of w(wlif Bs is alf aI), 


the waning moon, which rises late. Cant. 31? and 5 9%, 


bare statement or an imperative.— Cant. 3 1°. 


used in the Mesopotamian dialect. 
tradition there are seven heavens. 


on the penult regardless of the general rule. 


2 Tysahir bil-gamar ph rl, or yishar mi il-gamar pol eo γε, | 


3 This admits of two meanings, so that it might be considered either as a 


4 Cant. 1 16. 
5 Cf. Mark. 13 35; John 13 38: Matth. 26 34 and 75. 
CoMehresmViersewml tony iNet) WN GN Ihc zee Pek peat iN A 
RTRSY, WG EN ON oe eepeat oes Wena co Be 
Versef 2h pf X Me ch Ron Nia Rene ho ΡΣ ς 
ἜΣ RCN Ry NG et ONE ey NER ag Ἐπ᾿ 


7 Wahdai, inserted for the sake of the metre and the rhyme, stands for wahdi. 
8 Wihdai is the Feliah form of the classical hid@i: beside me.— Cant. 5 2. 
9 Wahdai stands here poetically for wéhde, “sole, single,” fem. This form is 


10 This expression ought to be sabi‘ sima, as according to Mohammedan 


11 All ‘atdba verses end with the syllabe ba (or dba), the accentuation being 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 271 


5 ‘ala nahr-is-safa wirdat halime 

6 jadayil stid w-arbathin halime! 

ff ruhin, ya bid, ma-ntinnis ganime! 
8 tu‘in ya sumr,? ya ‘zz -is-sahaba. 

9 nasame-l-bid ta‘matni m‘Aallil3 

10 u-wijhin ka-l-badr yidwi ma‘ il-lél4 
a ‘ala fraghin il-jism sar m‘allal> 

12 tarih il-farS min yamm-is-sahaba.® 7 


1 I spent the night counting the stars alone, 

2 And embracing the white breasts beside me. 

3 O my cousins—each one of them 

4 Strikes a bird from the ninth heaven (with her glance)! 


5 Τὸ the clear spring Halime went for water. 

6 Her black locks—she let them hang loose. 

7 Away with you, O white ones, for you are not worth getting! 
8 Come, you brown ones, O best of friends! 


9 The fairest of white ones flattered me with vain hopes. 
10 ‘Their face is as the full moon, which shines at night. 
11 When they left my body withered away, 

12 Confined to bed—by my great love for my friends. 


1 Cant. 6 4. 

2 Cant. 1 5. 

3 This is in the plural. 

4 Cant. 6 10. 

5 Cant.5s8 and 25. 

6 ‘Ataba verses are par excellence the product of the country. The provenance 
of these verses is the district north of Ramallah. 

7 The metre differs with nearly every verse given in this paper. We may 
scan it thus: — 


Verse 1: Sif STEIN Ne Ἐν ἀνθ PO BSN Nic ες WR ey Bey MS 
RGF ey hy Ss, Be NC Sey NY Ppp aR ει nk 1 BNE 
Verse 2: es as Sk) hy Mee bape κατε: (ὦ, ps exe Al pss 
AZ RE, τς EAS νέου Ὁ Ἐν τος ek ei 
Ναβαλ κοῦ τς ene Cy) weg Ὁ a SA 
ἘΞ πο ες ΞΘ ΟΝ τὺ} Ξε 2 ee AIS κα 


272 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


XLII 1 
] za‘ag2 tér il-hamam u gal ma-jis 
2 ha-lh wa‘dini3 l-yo6m ma-jis 
3 sw@altak b-in-nabi4 ya bir, mé-jas 
4 wila wirdak tra8 5. is-sahAba? 6 
ὃ zvag tér il-hamim u gal jitak 
6 b-ntiss il-lél ya mahbibi jitak§ 
Ἷ hasabt masa‘Ql ib-bab bétak 
8 atarihin hdidak msiwwaba...ba 3 
1 The dove cried and said:—They have not come; 
2 Those, who have promised me to-day, have not come. 


1 The ‘Ataba verses are generally considered as independent songs, although it 
sometimes happens that several stanzas form a complete song. They are remarkable 
for their good, semi-classical language and the rhyme, which is for the first three 
lines the same (more often than not even the same word), whereas the ultima 
of the fourth line must invariably end with ba (@ba), without considering the 
cases or the meaning. The metre of ‘atéba has usually four beats. But it varies 


No. 42: NNN BN SN ENS RG NN Na nN 
NOT NO NURS IDR NEE PRN LN) ONO ENO εις 
The fellah variant of this verse has the following metre: 
NER NN Nee NE πο τ SNE Ὁ 
NNER FN νον ΧΟ SN | NCI NG RO ON NO tN yen 


‘Ataba is preferred by Beduin and Fellahin, who sing it solo. Sometimes different 
verses are sung antiphonally. The verses ‘atéba show resemblance in structure 
to the well known rubdaiyya@t of “Omar Hayyém. Song no. 42 has this form 
among the Fellahin, which seems to be more original. 


ziSag tér il-hamam u-gal ma jyn cose be SB, asl xb Ss} 
u-il-l-au‘adiini l-yim ma jyn cote be agdl (Sauce ἘΠ 
nasattak bi-n-nabi ya bir ma jyn? oom bh po kh gaat WE ore) 


wala wirdun ‘alék il-yom tras il-hababa? WLI ne asl Che 29 Vo 
2 Zi‘ag 3%} cry, shout. Here Cant. 214 may be compared. 

3 Made an appointment with me. 

4 Bi-n-nibi stands for bi-hydt in-nabi (soS\ sles or bihagg in-nabi Q=L 
Cs 
"5 Cant. 33>. Tras A\,b is the collective of tars (4 yb (herd) Cant. 41 2. 

6 Sahaba \slsvo is another form of (4 y)shab ‘Vlsv6 (|). The word sahaba 
dose usually applies to the companions of the prophet. 

7 The Fellah form is preferable to that in the text. It has the fem. ending 
(jyn, full form zjyn is classical atiina). 

8 Cant. 5 2. 

9 Cf. song 19, line 2. 


— 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 273 


3 I adjure you by the prophet, O well, did they not come? 

4 Did not the cattle of my friends come to water?” 

5 The dove cried out and said: “I come to you, 

6 At midnight I came to you, O my beloved. 

7 I thought there were torches at the door of your house, 

8 But lo, your cheeks were turned toward me.”... 
XLII 

1 jamb id-dar lazri‘ lak lemtne 

2 kill in-nas ‘ala hubbak lamini 

3 sane ἃ Sahrén! 14 kiswe wala miine:— 

4 asahdak bas-stbh u masa... ba. 

1 Near the house I shall plant a lemon tree for you. 

2 Everbody has blamed me for my love of you; 

3 ([ have been) a year and two months without clothes or food, 

4 (Living) only by seeing you morning and evening. 
XLIV 

1 gata't (i) 108] ma fiha d(u)rtibi 2 

2 w-imsit il-lél w-a’hl ma d(i)ru bi 

3 w-ana lau Adri l-manaya fi d(u)rtibi3 

4 σὰ] ma-msit wadda‘t il-hababa.. .4 


1 I crossed mountains, where there were no paths, 

2 I wandered all the night and my relatives did not know where I was. 
3 If I had known that death was in my path, 

4 Before departing, I would have bidden farewell to the beloved ones. 


XLV 
w-ana l-asih sot “Allahu Akbar’ ὅ 
‘ala-lli nhtidha rumman u Akbar. 


1 Sane u Sahrén Cr pete daw is a long, unlimited period; cf. above, 
song. 8, 35; 22,4; p. 226, n. 6. 

2 Cant. 2 8. 

3 Cant. 4 8. 

1 There are four variants to this song; this form comes from Til-karm. 

> Allah(u) akbar od 4N\ are the introductory words of the adén ¢\>\, the 
call to prayer. They express also astonishment or admiration. 


274 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


3 w-ana hayif yijini 8-Séb u- akbar ! 
4 u tikrah s6fti hilwa 1- ‘isAba.? 


1 ΤΊ] cry out: “Great is God,” 

2 For her whose breasts are pomegranates and larger. 

3 But I fear that old age will befall me, 

4 Then she of the beautiful fillet will hate the sight of me. 


XLVI 
1 marag® ‘anni bitliffat hawaléh 
2 biswa 1-πὸὅ 4 w-in-n4zil hawaléh ὅ 
3 kaSaft is-sidr® ἃ ban li hawaléh 
4 gamar w-(i)njtim fi ‘Al -is-sama... ba. 


1 He passed by me, turning his head on all sides; 
2 He is worth the house and everything around it. 
3 I uncovered his breast and there appeared around it 
4 The moon and the stars in the height of heaven. 


XLVII 
1 ya tilak til “dd iz-zin la mal? 
2 u-Sa'rak gilab ila)jdal 14 mals 
3 u-bayyak,? la arda sigal® wala mal 
4 u-kif ir-rai ‘ndak w-il-jawaba? | 
1 © you, whose height is that of an unbending teak, | 
2 Whose hair surpasses the stiffest braids in stiffness. 
3 By your father, 1 do not want bridal gift nor wealth, — 
4 What is your opinion and your answer? 


1 Old age is here personified; cf. Latin senectus. Is. 46 4. 

2 <Tsaba dslas poetical form for (y)‘she dwas; cf. song 37, line 9 and Est. 6 8. 

3 Cf. song 3, line 4. 

4 H68 (y25™ answers here to the German “Haus und Hof”, 

5 In-nazil hawaléh dS\g— j3J1, all (the property) stretching around it.— 
Cant. 6 9 10. 

6 Sidr ye is here and elsewhere pronounced like sidr γα. 

7 Cant.515 and 78. Wald mal Jle Yo and did not bend. 

8 Cant.64 and 66. 

9 Bayyak SLs is diminutive of abik Sol. 

10 Siga A®n-o is pronounced as siga Amw. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 275 


XLVIII 


1 ya tilak til ‘id iz- zan w-il- més! 
2 u haddak? ma ribi bi-l-yaman w-il-gés ὃ 
9 hsara ya 1-()mliha yohdik tés4 
4 u yugtuf ward haddik ‘a-n-nida...ba® 
1 O you, whose height is that of the teak and the tile tree, 
2 Your cheek did not grow among Yemen nor Qais. 
3 What a pity, O fair one, that a he-goat should marry you 
+ And pluck the rose of your cheek in the dew... 
ET X 
1 ya tilak til nahle® fi saraya? 
2 wi-hdtidak’ himr w-isfafak taraya 
3 min (i)stambil l-ab‘atlak maraya 9 
4 wi-tmara ἃ Stf,!° ya ‘izz1! il-hababa... 
1 O you, whose height is that of a palm tree in a serail, 
2 Your cheeks are red and your lips are fresh. 
3 ΤῚ] send you mirrors from Constantinople, 
4 Look into the mirrors and gaze, O best-beloved. 


1 The Latin name for més +++! 8 yes is celtis australis. 

2 Hdddak, your cheek, is used here pars pro toto.— Cant. 1 18. 

3 Qaisi and Yamani (5402 9 (<5 are the two political parties in Palestine. 
Cf. the article of Mr. E. N. Haddad in the Journal, Vol. I., pp. 209 ff. 

4 Tés (+3 he-goat is the symbol of stupidity. 

5 Cant.61. Cf. the note to the text of Cant.712. Cant. 712 is somewhat 
similar. The metre is: 


Naya SE, IN NU INNS 7) NY ἀροῦν PRINTING ey yee 
6 Cant. 7 8. 
τ Saraya, (οὶ γον Serai. 
8 Cant. 6 6. 


9 Stambil is the Paris of the Orient. Variant: uw min i8-Sam... εἰ Sor) 
and from Damascus. 

10 Se. your beauty. 

11 Or: O pride of the beloved. 


276 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


L 
1 anim il-lé] w-ahlam bik! b-hidwai 2 
2 hafifin, hattamat® gdamo bhidwai2 
3 hakfili ‘an ta‘m rigo bi dwai4 
4 Sirib minno l-‘alil tumma taba. 


1 I sleep at night and dream of you, in peace, 

2 O light. of foot, whose walk is graceful. 

3 They told me of the healing taste of his palate;— 
4 The patient drank of it and recovered... 


11 
1 ‘a‘taba b-awwal iz-zénat hittis 
2 zabad ἃ nadd ‘al-garmiil hutti® 
3 (i) ‘yanik nahr min tmmo waratto? 
4 


SOYA 


ἃ sidrik r6d8 min tahto 1-i'SAba .. .9 1° 


1 Sing an ‘atdba to the first of the fair; 

2 Put civet and ambergris on your braid. 

3 Your eyes are a river, from whose source I drew, 

4 And your breast is a garden, with herbs underneath ... 


1 Cant.31 (Psalm 63 6). 
2 Derived from class. hudu 9%, an unusual form, here only for the rhyme. 
3 Hattam eb> walking mincingly, proudly.— Cant. 71. 
dnlieve doe etl (8 τὸ τὸ leg (62 pbs Cal) 
rahit tytthattam hiyye u-ma hiyye? wu hallat fi-liulib harbe majliyye. 
She went, walking mincingly, Is it really she, or is it not she? 
And she left in my heart a bright spear. 
4 Cant.79, Cf. line 8 of song 82. 
5 Cant. 5 9. 
6 Cant. 3 6. 
7 Cant. 5 12 (7 9). 
8 Cant. 6 11. 
9 This is a metaphor taken from the Koran: )\4W>Y\ WAsd oy See coke. 
10 Variant: u-sidrik réd marta‘ la-8-8ababa LU ad ys? Pa) Jyr09 
Your breast is a garden and a grazing place for youths. 
Variant for lines 3 and 4 (supposed to be said by “her”): 
(i)‘ytini lak manahyl lo waritte A3>)9 9) Salen ὦ Soe 
u sidri rod binbytlak ψδϑᾶνα. ἃ Lids DI Sanir 99) Grog 
My eyes are springs for you, if you come to drink. i: 
And my breast is a garden, with herbs sprouting forth for you.— Cant. 8 2. 


STEPHAN: Modern Palestinian Parallels to the Song of Songs 277 


111 
jarahni b-hidb (ἡ) γΐϊπο w-il-(i)myali! 
bi-galbi la-hayyikum? zadat imyali. 
hababi, 1é8 ta-zitttini (i)myAli ὃ 
ba‘d ma kint asahh (i)mn il-gana... ba?4 


me © DO κῷ 


He wounded me with his eyelashes and kohl pencils... 
In my heart swells affection for your tent. 

O friends, why did you increase my affliction 

After being straighter than a lance? 


H CO DO μὰ 


111 
ma hili-h gér tilha® b-wast® damir 
bablitna? Sibh il- ‘id b-wast® damir. 
ana l-arkab salayil hel asayil 
w-adawwir® ἃ wlifi? fi-l-hala!?...ba 


He ὦ DD κα 


1 I never admired anything like her form with a slender hip; 
2 She, who is chary of her charms, is slender as a bough. 

3 ΤΊ] ride on noble relay horses 

4 To search for my playmate in the desert... 


LIV 
1 Habibit! gab 12 
Wana ’albi dab 13 
Ba’a lo zamén 
Ma ba‘atsi jawab.!4 


1 (Y)myal J\ is the plural form of mil Je, the kohl pencil, cf. Cant. 4 9. 
Hayy (== encampment. 

Cant. ὅ 8. 

Cf. first stanza of song 38. 

Cant. 7 

Wast is ae with partial assimilation wédst (Ὁ. 9) Ὁ... 
Bahyltna, better baklytna WU for bale ‘aléna Ws eh. 
Cant. 5 6. 

Walif bJo; cf. song No. 40, stanza 1. 

10 Cant. 36. 

11 Cant. 3.1°; 17. 

12 Cant. 31> and ὅ 6. 

13 Cant.58 and 25. 

14 Cant. 7 11. 


τῷ 


τ, = 00 =) for) σι » co 


278 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


bo 


Yksif ‘alityya 
Ya tabib 

‘Ala-lli atani 
Min il-habib. ! 


3 Wallah ya rabb 
ha-l-amru ‘ajib 2 

Wana *albi dab 
‘Ala l-ahbab.3 4 > 


1 My beloved is away 
And my heart has melted.— 
For a long while 
He has sent no message. 


bo 


Examine me 
Oh physician, 
As to what I suffered 
On behalf of the beloved one. 


3 By God, Oh Lord! 
This is a wondrous thing; 
Yet my heart melted 
For the beloved ones. 


1 Cant.58 and 25. 
2 T.e., love—Cant. 8 6°. 
3 This word is put in the plural for the sake of the rhyme. 


4 This song, from which several verses are omitted, is known all over Palestine 


and Syria. 1 heard it in 1912 in Aleppo. 
5 The rhyme is good; the metre runs thus: — 
Wy SOS ie NU a 


NEN NON NAN ee 


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THE GUEST-HOUSE IN PALESTINE 


E. N. HADDAD 
(JERUSALEM) 


age is a meeting place for the clan? and for the re- 
ception of guests; it is found in every village of Palestine. The 
number of guest-houses depends on the size of the village and on the 
number of its clans. In some villages there is only one guest-house; 
others have two, three or more. If the members of one or more clans 
are living together in friendly relations, one guest-house may serve 
for several clans, but if this is not the case each clan has its own 
guest-house, which may not be a special building, but is often a 
room which a man offers for that purpose. If the chief or mukhtar 
of the clan has a large house then, as a rule, one of the rooms of 
his house serves as a guest-house. The repairs needed for the guest- 
house are paid for by the whole clan. The expenses include petroleum 
and mats. Every person of the male sex who is more than thirteen 
years old has to pay his share of the expenses. 

Hospitality is one of the good old customs of the Arabs, as is 
also the duty of respecting the rights of guests. As soon as a guest 
enters the host’s house he is under his full protection; cf. the story 
of Lot, Genesis 194 ff. and of the Levite, Judges 19 23. 

Guests not only have free lodging, but they also receive their food 
and whatever else they need. To refuse to receive a guest is con- 
sidered a great disgrace; cf. Job 3132 and Luke 95. Hence the/ 
common Arabic expression “My house is your house” (i. e., “Consider 
yourself at home”) is more than an empty phrase. Whoever eats bread 
and salt with the Arabs is regarded as under their protection. 


280 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Guest-houses are open both by day and by night to men only. 
Women, even if they are strangers, are strictly forbidden to stay 
in them. A woman is permitted to enter a guest-house in case of 
presenting a charge against somebody, in the presence of the elders 
and the mukhtar. After stating her case she leaves, and then the 
nearest relative takes up her defence. In case she has no relatives 
this duty devolves upon the mukhtar. All persons of the male sex, 
including children, are allowed to enter the guest-house, but as it is 
considered very improper for children to meet with men at social 
gatherings, they are seldom found there. On days of weddings and 
funerals they have the right to be there at meals and eat with the men. 

Babies and children up to three years of age are strictly forbidden 
to enter the guest-house. Fathers who visit the guest-house carrying 
their children in their arms are responsible for their cleanliness. If 
it is only a case of wetting, then the father must offer, as penalty, 
a meal to all those present in the guest-house. If the case is more 
than a mere wetting, he must offer an animal as an atonement for 
this indecency. A strange woman or girl is strictly forbidden to 
enter a guest-house but stays with the women of the village, with 
whom she takes her meals and sleeps. One of the duties of the 
mukhtars and elders of the village is to make arrangements for 
women as soon as they arrive. 

The purposes of guest-houses may be summed up as:— 

1. To serve as places of amusement for the villagers and their guests. 

2. As free lodging places for guests. 

3. As village law courts. 

4. As public meeting places for discussion of all questions of 

interest to the villagers. 

5. As coffee houses. 

6, As reading rooms, where newspapers are read and government 

orders and notices are announced. 

In the evening we not only find here guests and idlers but all 
kinds of labourers and peasants who, after their hard daily work, 
come to the guest-house to spend the evening, smoking, grinding and 
roasting coffee, and drinking it by sipping it in their well-known 
noisy way. Disputes of every kind should be presented before the 
chiefs and mukhtars to be settled here. These decisions are more 
acceptable than those of the law courts. Harmless games such as 


HADDAD: The Guest-House in Palestine 281 


khweitimi! and huzzeirah? are played. The playing of cards is con- 
sidered as very disgraceful. Jokes of all kinds make the gathering 
very lively. Proverbs and moral tales while away the evening hours. 
The persons who wish to sleep may stay in the guest-house or go 
home, but the guests remain there for the night. 

Every guest-house has a guardian, or rather a servant.? He is the 
employee of the clan, which provides for his payment. His food is 
also given by it. His work is to look after the needs of guests, to 
see about their beds, food, fodder for their animals and other 
necessary things. These things are given in turn by the families of 
the clan. 

In some places this is not done in turns but by voluntary con- 
tributions. The servant must prepare the coffee and bring the coffee 
beans and the wood from the person whose turn it is to give them. 
The food he receives already prepared for the guests. 

Guests may be of every class. Animals are killed for those of the 
higher class as a sign of respect. Otherwise a sufficient amount of 
the usual food is given. If a guest is not a mere wayfarer, but comes 
for a purpose he will bring a gift of one or more animals. Guests 
come with offerings in the case of weddings, visits of condolence or 
congratulation on safe return from a journey. 

Those who come to condole stay one day or more after the dead 
person is buried and do not return on the day of the interment. 
Those who come during the funeral procession do not bring animals 
but offer money instead. To offer money after the burial has taken 
place is a disgrace; in such a case the gift of an animal is proper. 
The head of the condoling party presents the money on their behalf 
by wrapping it in a handkerchief and casting it on the covered 
grave. Such offerings are presented to the guest-house of the clan 
of the deceased, 

Condolers and honoured guests are not allowed to depart without 
an entertainment in their honour, which lasts two or more days. The 
length of stay of the guests depends on the number of the invitations 
given by the inhabitants of the village. At each invitation one or 
more animals are killed for the guests. Condolers do not stay over 

1 Agd29S 

2 Bo po 


3 ygbb 


282 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


night but eat the food presented to them and then return home. 
They do so in order to cause as little expense as: possible to the 
relatives of the dead person. 

Guests are invited to partake of food after they have been welcomed 
and after coffee has been offered to them. Such an invitation includes 
the killing of animals for the guests. Poeple try to outdo one another 
in inviting guests and usually there is much rivalry. This kind of 
invitation is called mughdlatah 1 In case of disagreement, the mukhtar 
or some one chosen for the purpose must decide. 

The decision should be referred to one or more chiefs, or some one 
may be chosen for the purpose by the hosts. One after another the 
contestants stand before the judge and speak as follows: “What is 
your opinion about the matter, O judge, whose decision we accept? 
I demand your protection from injustice and its ways by the life of 
Abraham, the Friend of God, and the seventy-two prophets.” The 
judge answers: “Don’t worry about it.” Another person comes in his 
turn and repeats the same words adding, “I have a great desire to 
entertain those people”, and closing, “May God keep your beard and 
their beards alive. I beg you to grant them to me.” The judge 
answers: “I have heard your case. Now sit down until I hear the 
others.” Each one repeats the same words. 

The one in whose favour the judge decides is addressed with the 
words, “May God reward you.” These words are considered as a final 
decision. Then the victor in the contest goes at once and prepares 
the food needed for the feast, such as rice and sheep. 

In some villages the host usually offers everything required in 
the way of food; in others, his relatives aid by bringing bread. The 
host brings rice, butter and the animals to be killed. If guests 
arrive at a village long before the time of the chief meal, simple 
food is presented to them by the relatives of the host. Food of such 
kind is called khurt. 

In a very large deep dish of wood, called batiah,? they break the 
bread into crumbs and pour over them meat gravy. Some pour on 
in addition butter, or melted butter with rice and meat. This dish 
is then presented to the guests with two whole legs of mutton and 


| 
: 
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| 


ee νςἜ" 


HADDAD: The Guest-House in Palestine : 283 


guests; but when there is an old man in the family of the hosts, he 
sits down with the guests to eat. The guests give pieces of meat to 
those who wait upon them as a sign of honour and respect. The 
chief guest cuts the legs and the tail of the sheep and distributes 
pieces to anyone of those present. The host may offer less than a 
whole killed animal at one meal, and the remaining part may be 
presented at another time, but an act of this kind is not favoured. 

It is commonly known that the inhabitants of the districts south 
of Jerusalem, (such as El-MA4lha, Sataf, Beit-Jala, Artis, the whole 
region of Hebron, where the Qaisi comprise the majority of the 
inhabitants), are more liberal than the inhabitants of the northern 
districts, where the Yemeni outnumber the Qaisi. 

Sugar and coffee are not offered by the host only, but any one 
of the clan may bring them, if he wishes, and the guest-house servant 
takes charge of them. Coffee is roasted in an iron pan with a long 
handle, in the presence of the guests. Coffee that is not roasted 
in the presence of the guests cannot be offered. After being 
roasted, the coffee is ground in a mortar with a wooden handle. 
The man who crushes the coffee beats with the pestle in a variety of 
rhythms to amuse himself and the guests. Those who have ever been 
present at a guest-house will have noticed this. The Arab drinks 
coffee of two kinds, bitter and sweet, but the first is preferred. It 
may be prepared in three ways, bitter (Arabic fashion) half sweet 
(Turkish fashion) and very sweet (European fashion). Coffee may be 
drunk by guests many times at one meal. Every meal should have 
coffee after it as a rule. The person who prepares the coffee tastes 
it in the presence of the guests to see if it is well prepared. It is 
believed by some people that this is intended more as a proof of 
security, to show that the coffee contains no poison. Guests drink 
coffee according to age; the oldest takes coffee first and the rest 
follow in turn. 

Songs of every kind are sung, especially by the shd‘ir (the village 
poet), who is at the same time singer and accompanist. While playing 
the rababi, the native one-stringed instrument, he sings, cften im- 
provising the words of the song as he goes along. 


NOTES AND COMMENTS 


SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE SONG OF DEBORAH 


In the Journal, II, 73—83, the writer has presented a new recon- 
struction and interpretation of the Song of Deborah. A number of 
corrections and additions have been noted since, and for the sake 
of completeness it may be well to collect and print them. 

Pag. 79, n. 5:—The correction of st Merdz to Merén has been 
anticipated by Gratz, who gives it doubtfully in his Geschichte, 1, 117, 
as I now see. By a slip on the writer’s part, the Assyrian Marum 
of the inscription of Tiglathpileser has been corrupted to Marun, 
which must therefore be left out of consideration. This Marum 


belongs with Mrm, No. 12 in the Tuthmosis list, mentioned before - 


Damascus, and therefore probably too far north. It is interesting 
to note that the Talmudic Mérén, modern Meirén near Safed, had 
a second name, Tekoa (Klein, Bettriige zur Geographie und Geschichte 
Galilias, pp. 23—25), a fact which forms an interesting parallel to 
the double name Simén (Simron)-Merén, Jos. 1220. Seiminiyeh is 
the most probable site of Meron; there is an interesting tell, quite 
unoccupied, on the site. In this connection it may be observed that 
Seimtiniyeh, lying ten miles west of Debtiriyeh and seven east of 
Tell ‘Amr in a straight line, is an admirable location for Meron, 
which proved recalcitrant from cowardice. The pottery-sequences, 
obtained from Tell ‘Amr in September, 1922, by Garstang and 
Phythian-Adams, show that that the site is exclusively Iron Age, 
and materially increase the probability that it represents HardSet 
hag-Goyim, presumably founded either by Sisera himself or by an 
immediate predecessor, at the threshold of the Iron Age, early in 
the twelfth century B. C. Much of the pottery found is identical 
with the ware from the first and second periods at Gibeah, 
1200—1000 B.C. The only other available site for Harosheth, el- 


| 
͵ 
| 
| 
| 


Notes and Comments 285 


Harbaj, a beautiful tell, is probably Hannathon, as will be shown 
elsewhere. The excavations of the British School here have shown 
that the site was occupied during the Middle and the Late Canaanite 
(Bronze) Ages and reoccupied for a short period during the Iron 
Age, a history which agrees perfectly with the literary references 
to Hannathon, in the Amarna Tablets, the Old Testament, and the 
Assyrian inscriptions. 

Pag. 81, st. [V:—The adverb sam is probably here temporal (Ar. 
twmma), as often in biblical Hebrew, instead of local (Arab. tamma). 
We should render: 

At the sound of the cymbals, Between the drums, 
Then they will recite The triumphs of Yahweh, 
The triumphs of his yeomen In Israel they will tell. 

Pag. 81, n. 2:—The identification of Beth Anath with modern 
Bineh (so pronounced on the spot) will be defended in a paper to 
appear in the Annual of the American School, Vol. II—III, written 
in the summer of 1921. It may be observed that this view was first 
proposed by Neubauer, Géographie, pp. 235f., whose references may 
be supplemented by comparing Klein, ZDPV XX XIII (1910) 37f, 
for Talmudic Rim Bét ‘Anat or Ramat Bet “Anat. It is curicus 
that it has been disregarded by subsequent topographers, who have 
preferred the impossible identification of Beth Anath with ‘Kinita. 
For the loss of the ¢ cf. Bét-¥an = Bésin = Beistn, Bet Netofah = 
Battéf (Klein, MNDPYV 1908, 33ff.), and the numerous cases in the 
Aramaean place-names of Palestine and Mesopotamia which may be 
found in Thomsen’s Loca Sancta (index), Neubauer, etc. 

Pag. 81, n. 3:—Cf. now also the long note on the subject of the 
phrase “mother in Israel” by Pilcher, QS 1922, 38—41. Pilcher also 
compares the phrase on Sidonian and Laodicean coins and justly 
observes that the term em as applied to towns means rather “chief 
town of a district,” or “town of first rank” than metropolis in the 
Greek sense—except on Sidonian coins. 

Pag. 82, st. VII, line 4:—The rendering “And why does Dan be- 
come attached to ships” is not altogether happy; a better translation 
would be “And why does Dan take service on (foreign) ships.” As 
is well known (cf. Meyer, Die Israeiiten und ihre Nachbarstimme, 
p. 494), yagir oniyot means “he becomes a client (ger, metoikos) 
on ships. W. F. Avsricut. 


286 ἣ Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


THE SINNOR IN THE STORY OF DAVID'S CAPTURE OF 
JERUSALEM 


The famous passage 2 Sam. 5 6-9, especially verse 8, forms one 
of the most difficult exegetical problems in the historical books of 
the Old Testament. The crux of the difficulty is the obscure word 
sinnor, none of whose known meanings harmonize well with the con- 
text. Owing to the great interest of the narrative for students of 
the history and topography of Jerusalem, much ingenuity has been 
expended on the interpretation of this word. Unfortunately, the 
Gordian knot has usually been cut by adopting a more or less ar- 
bitrary meaning for simndr and disregarding the context on the plea 
of textual corruption. If there was textual corruption, it crept in 
at an exceedingly early date, before the compilation of Chronicles, 
which, as the writer will endeavor to show elsewhere, dates from 
about 375 B.C. In the corresponding section of Chronicles (1 Chr. 
11 4-7) the compiler, who usually copies almost word for word from 
Samuel, leaves out carefully all the obscure allusions to the lame 
and blind, the sinndér, etc., though retaining the rest of the passage. 
If this shows anything, it is that the word sinnér was no longer 
understood, at least in the particular force employed in the text. 
On the principle of difficilior lectio, as it evidently stood in the 
copy of Samuel used by the Chronicler, it was surely the original 
reading as well; it is difficult to imagine a simpler word being cor- 
rupted to such a rare one. It is, of course, possible that a line 
dropped out after sinndr, as Vincent supposes, but this assumption 
can only be adopted as a last resort. 

In a literal translation our passage runs as follows: And the 
king and his men went to Jerusalem (i. e., Yerusalaima), to the 
Jebusite who dwelt in the land, and (the latter) said to David, Thou 
canst not come in hither, but (if thou dost) the blind and the lame 
will be able to repel thee (verb in plural with 6)—that is to say, 
David shall not come in hither. And David captured the citadel 
of Zion, that is, the city of David. And David said on that day, 
Whoever smiteth (makkeh) a Jebusite, let him smite (yigga’ be) the 
sinnor-—for (and) the lame and the blind my soul (lit., the soul of 
David) hateth (with the ketiv). Therefore they said, The blind and 
the lame shall not enter the House. 


Notes and Comments 287 


From verse 6 it is clear that the Jebusites had placed the cripples 
of their town on the walls as a taunt to David—the walls were so 
strong and the Jewish force so puny that even cripples were garrison 
enough. If David had to rise day after day, as the siege progressed, 
only to see the mocking line of cripples on the wall, it is not sur- 
prising that he conceived a lively hatred for the unfortunate causes 
of his humiliation. The emphasis placed on the lame and blind, 
especially in connection with the aetiological motive in verse 9, shows 
that there was some reference to them in Davyid’s command to his 
troops on the day when Jerusalem was stormed (verse 8). It is not 
probable that a tradition would have represented so noble a character 
as David in the light of a coward wreaking vengeance on the hel- 
pless cripples; the vengeance which is undoubtedly implied by the 
tone of the passage must have been visited on the Jebusites. What 
was the nature of this vengeance? 

The most logical attempt so far made to solve the problem on 
the basis of the Masoretic text is that of Dalman, PJ B 1915, 39—44. 
Pointing out that the sinnér must have been the object of David’s 
vengeance on the Jebusites, he adopts Wellhausen’s suggestion that 
the sinnér was a part of the Jebusite’s body. While Wellhausen, 
however, suggests the throat, Dalman, going out from the same 
meaning of sinndr, “pipe, canal,” proposes “penis” as an appropriate 
rendering, without calling attention to the fact that 13.3 means in- 
cidentally “vagina” in post-biblical Hebrew. Dalman thinks that 
the mutilation of the penis would be appropriate poetic justice, since 
the Jebusites would all become cripples in an even worse way than 
the cripples who had so aroused his ire. However, it is hard to 
see any direct connection between the punishment and the crime, 
and the meaning “male organ’ is decidedly forced. Hebr. ammah 
seems to acquire this meaning in the same way that Eng. “yard” has. 
It is true that Eng. “cock” in the sense of “male organ” neans 
properly “faucet”, which as one of the known meanings of simnér, but 
it seems to the writer that a better explanation may be derived 
from an analysis of the semasiology of 510 Υ. 

In the Old Testament the word sinnér is found in one other 
passage, Ps. 42 8, and the closely related santévet once, Zech. 4 12. 
In Psalms sinndr means certainly “spout”, and seems to refer to the 
pipes connecting the upper and lower tehém, as in Avestan cos- 


288 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


mology; the pipes were presumably furnished with faucets to enable 
the water to be turned off and on at will. In Zechariah, the word 
santéret is used of the pipes through which oil was admitted to the 
seven lamps from a basin (gullah) above. Naturally it means here 
“faucet”, since the flow of oil had to be regulated. It is not im- 
possible that these words are loans from Assyrian, though the As- 
syrian word for “faucet,” sarsaru,! is quite different. 

In Aramaic and post-biblical Hebrew three meanings of simndr, 
sinnora are known: (1) spout, faucet (6. g., Migw@ δὲ 4,1: n> mason 
ΝΠ nnn;? (2) socket in which the pivot of a door turns, socket 
in general; (3) hook, bent pin. In Syriac the following meanings 
are listed by Payne-Smith: (1) bee-sting—i. e. hook—; (2) fish-hook— 
sinnarta—; (3) Modern Syriac, jaw. From Aramaic the word passed 
over into Arabic; cf. Fraenkel’s meager discussion on p. 89 of his 
Aramiische Fremdworte im Arabischen, where he suggests a combi- 
nation of Aram. sinndra with Arab. sunbur, completely forgetting 
Arab. sinndrah. In the Lisdén (cf. also Lane and the Muhit) the 
following meanings are given: (1) plane-tree (Persian loan); (2) head 
of a spindle, iron in the head of a spindle (also suspected by the 
Arabic lexicographers of being a Persian loan-word); ear (in Yemen); 
(3) handle of a shield; (4) fish-hook (cf. also the Multt and Dozy); 
(5) crochet-needle (Dozy). 

If we ask ourselves what the source of all these meanings must 
have been, we are at first somewhat perplexed for a reply. The 
doublets sinnér and santéret indicate that we are dealing with a 
good old Semitic word—whatever its ultimate origin may have been. 
The solution of the difficulty seems to be furnished by the Arabic 
sinnor (yg) in the sense “joint of the neck”; it is very well known 
among Semitic phonologists that sin and sude tend to interchange 


1 For Assyr. sarsaru, “spout, faucet,” cf. JAOS XXXV, 396ff.; AJSL 
XXXV, 185. The tabu in Surpu against drinking water from a faucet is exactly 
paralleled in later Hebrew literature, which, as so well known (cf. now also 
Marmorstein, ZA XXXIV, 94-6), is full of Babylonian conceptions. The Kabbala 
(‘Emeq ham-melek, fol. 153, quoted from Thompson, Semitic Magic, p. 29) says: 
“Let no man drink from a running tap or spout, but from the hollow of his 
hands, lest a soul pass into him, and that the soul of some wicked sinner.” 
Naturally the Babylonians had observed that diseases (1. e., demons) were con- 
tracted by drinking from water-taps. 

2 Cf. santerin, “water-taps, spouts,” in Targum Seni to Esther, 1 2. 


Notes and Comments 289 


in the presence of an 7, owing to the influence of the broad pro- 
nunciation of vowels with r (partial assimilation at a distance). It 
is evident at once that a meaning like “joint” is precisely what we 
need for our problem, since all the other meanings may be traced 
back to it without difficulty. 

The meaning “socket” is most natural, since all animal joints 
are based on the ball and socket, like the ancient hinge. In German 
Gelenk is still used sometimes in this sense. Nor is there any diffi- 
culty in “faucet, spout,’ since ancient pipes were always jointed, 
either as reeds or as a line of earthenware cylinders (vases) joined 
together; a faucet or spout in the ancient sense was simply a joint 
of pipe provided with a primitive stop-cock. The meaning “hook” 
is clearly derived from “link of a chain,” or the like; cf. link and 
gelenk—which also preserves the meaning “link in a chain.” From 
the meaning “hook” are readily deducible “bee-sting, fish-hook, crochet- 
needle,” as well as “handle of a shield”; from the latter “ear” comes 
naturally, like the opposite development of “ear” = “handle.” One 
may also compare Henkel = “handle, ear,” and “hook,” as well as 
the German humorous Henkeltopf = “person with prominent ears.” 

If now we take the primitive meaning “joint,” which we have just 
recovered, and insert it in our translation, the difficulty immediately 
disappears: And David said on that day, Whoever smiteth a Jebu- 
site, let him strike a joint (besznndr, or perhaps “his joints”)—for 
the lame (and the blind) my soul hateth. In other words, the 
Jebusites were not to be slain, but to be lamed, if possible, that the 
lame survivors might lve to bear witness to the folly of mocking 
King David. It is probable enough that all the male Jebusites 
(including Arauna) were lamed in some way, since the wrath of a 
David would hardly stop short of a thorough process. It was 
justice of a primitive type, to be sure, more like what we would 
call poetic justice, but in those rough days, accustomed to the lex 
talionis, it could hardly fail to commend itself. It is important to 
note that this rendering is in strict accord with the best Hebrew 
idiomatic usage. The expression yigga be is used in exactly the 
same way Gen. 32 26, in the story of Jacob’s encounter with the 
angel, who “touched” the tendon of his thigh, 130. 422 ya, and lamed 
him for life. 

In concluding, we must not fail to refer to the ingenious sug- 


290 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


gestion of Birch, that sinmndr in our passage means “subterranean 
canal, tunnel,” and that David sent his men up this perilous route 
to storm Jebus, presumably without the knowledge of the besieged. 
This theory has been defended brilliantly by Vincent (in his Jéru- 
salem, 1, pp. 146 ff) whose results are fast becoming the common 
property of scholars. With so elegant an archaeological demon- 
stration it could hardly be otherwise, since the philological premises 
are those generally held. These premises, however, are basically 
unsound. Heb. we-yigga bas-sinndy cannot mean “and will reach 
through the senor,’ unless we assume that the phrase had in this 
passage a meaning nowhere else found in Hebrew literature. Nor 
does sinmndr anywhere else have the meanings “conduit of water, 
canal where the water murmurs, passage in connection with water.” 
We must thus regretfully give up this interpretation, fascinating as 
it is, and return to the exegesis of Wellhausen and Dalman, modified 
as shown above. 

It is not surprising that the word simndr in the sense “joint” 
employed in the tenth century (when the story arose) had become 
obsolete in the fourth, since all the meanings known in Aramaic are 
derived ones. 6 rendered παραξιφίδιον, evidently taking the sense 
“hook” and explaining it as “dagger.” Aquila and Symmachus were 
still more at sea, the one considering siinédr here as a water-course, the 
other as a battlement, both translations being obviously attempts to 
harmonize some meaning of sinnév with the traditions regarding 
Dayid’s capture of Jerusalem. 

The best expression for the subterranean water tunnel of the 
type familiar from Zion, Gibeon, Gezer, Ibleam, etc., is solen (Gr. 
σωλήν). As pointed out by Hisler, JRAS 1923, p. 64, note, Cadmus 
is said to have dug such σωλῆνες from the Theban acropolis to a 


subterranean fountain. 
W. F. ALBRIGHT. 


REPORT OF THE TREASURER OF THE PALESTINE 


ORIENTAL SOCIETY 


(June 1921—June 30, 1922) 


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S. RAFFAELI 
July 22nd, 1922. 


MEMBERS’ OF THE PALESTINE ORIENTAL SOCIETY 


[1)= Life Member, 2)— Honorary Member, 3)= Patron] 


Alexander Aaronsohn Esq. “Doar ha-Yom”’, Jerusalem. 
N. Abcarius Bey, P.O.B. 82, Jerusalem. 
Albert Abramson, Esq. The Governorate, Beersheba, Palestine. 
Dr. W. Ἐς Albright, American School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 
1)3)H. E. Field Marshal the Viscount Allenby, The Residency, Cairo. 
Mr. Emmanuel André, The Treasury, Jerusalem. 
Omar Effendi Barghuti, Jerusalem. 
Dr. G. A. Barton, 3725 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. 
Rey. Dr. John Μ. ΤΠ. Barton, Ecole Biblique, St. irene: Jerusalem. 
Capt. E. K. Bennett, Oxford and Cambridge Musical Club, 6 Bedford Square 
London W. C. 1. 
Norman Bentwich, Esq. The German Colony, Jerusalem. 
Miss Sophia Berger, P. O. B. 172, Jerusalem. 
Prof. J. A. Bewer, Union Theological Seminary, New York, U.S.A. 
Dr. W. 5. Bigelow, 60 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass. U.S.A. 
Dr. A. Biram, The Technical College, Haifa, Palestine. 
The Rev. Dr. Paul F. Bloomhardt, 1080 Main St., Buffalo, N. Y., U.S.A. 
Dr. Frederick J. Bliss, 1155 Yale Station, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A. 
Edmond Bourne Esq., St. Luke’s Boys’ School, Haifa, Palestine. 
The Rey. A. J. Bower, Haileybury College, Hertford, England. 
Miss E. G. Briggs, 124 Third St., Lakewood, N.J., U.S.A. 
Capt. C. D. Brunton, G. 8. Intelligence, Government House, Jerusalem. 
The Rey. Dr. R. Butin, Catholic University, Washington D.C., U.S.A. 
Mr. J. J. Calmy, c/o Zionist Organization, 75 Great Russell Str., London W.C.1. 
I. N. Camp., Esq., Land Department, Jerusalem, Palestine. 
The Rev. Dr. John Campbell, 260 West 231 Street, New York, U.S.A. 
Dr. T. Canaan, Jerusalem. 
M. Joseph Chaine, Sainte Foy les Lyon, Rhone, France. 
Dr. Jeshua Chami, Quarantine Medical Officer, Jaffa. 
L. W. Charley, Esq., P. O. P. 590 Jerusalem. 
Dr. F. D. Chester, Hotel Bristol, 541 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass., U.S.A. 
Mme. Civiale, 9 Rue Vignon, Paris. 
Mr. A. P. S. Clark, Anglo-Egyptian Bank, Jerusalem. 
Mr. E. H. Clark, P. O. B. 16, Jerusalem. 


1 This list has been corrected up to November 11th, 1922. Members are asked to notify the 
Secretary of any change of address or any other inaccuracy. 


Members of the Palestine Oriental Society . 293 


Prof. A. T. Clay, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A. 
The Right Rev. the Archbishop Cleophas, Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem. 
2) Mons. Clermont-Ganneau, 1 Avenue de |’Alma, Paris. 
Mr. Dennis Cohen, Department of Immigration and Travel, Jerusalem. 
2) The Rev. Dr. G. A. Cooke, Christ Church, Oxford, England. 
The Rey. G. 8S. Cooke, Houlton, Maine, U.S.A. 
Capt. Εἰ. T. Cosgrove, P. O. B. 302, Jerusalem. 
Capt. K. A. C. Creswell, 1 Scharia Hasan el-Akbar, Cairo. 
Le Rév. Pére Cruveilhier, Gd. Séminaire, 5 bd. des petits Carmes, Depar- 
tement Haute Vienne, Limoges, France, 
L. G. A. Cust Esq., Government House, Jerusalem. 
The Rev. Canon Herbert Danby, St. George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem. 
C. D. Day Esq., Survey of Palestine, Jaffa, Palestine. 
A. De la Penha, United University Club, Suffolk Str., Pall Mall, London. 
Le Réy. Pére Dhorme, St. Etienne’s, Jerusalem. 
Mr. A. S. Doniach, 56 Minster Road, London N.W. 2. 
Le Réy. Pére Dressaire, Notre Dame de France, Jerusalem. 
The Rey. Prof. Walter Drum, Woodstock, Maryland, U.S.A. 
The Rev. Father Franz Dunkel, S. Charles Convent, P. O. B. 395, Jerusalem. 
The Rey. A. J. Dushaw, 481 14th Street, Brooklyn, N. Y., U.S.A. 
Dr. M. D. Eder, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 
Dean G. D. Edwards, Missouri Bible College, Columbia, Missouri, U.S.A. 
Mr. Israel Hitan, 250 W. 112 Street, New York City, U.S.A. 
Dr. M. Eliash, P. O. B."433, Jerusalem. 
F. T. Ellis Esq., Bishop Gobat School, Jerusalem. 
E. M. Epstein Esq., P. Ὁ. B. 415, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Milton G. Evans, President, Crozer Theological Seminary, Chester, Pa., 
USA. 
Monseigneur Francis Fellinger, Latin Patriarchate, P. O. B. 265, Jerusalem. 
G. M. Fitzgerald, P. O. B. 359, Jerusalem. 
Dr. H. T. Fowler, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A. 
M. Henri Franck, 2 Rue Pasquier, Paris. 
A. EK. Franklin Esq., 35 Porchester Terrace, London. 
Judge Gad Frumkin, Law Courts, Jerusalem. 
Prof. Kemper Fullerton, Oberlin School of Theology, Oberlin, Ohio, U.S.A. 
G. E. C. Gad, Vimmelskaftet 32, Copenhagen, Denmark. 
Prof. John Garstang, British School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 
. Prof. Lucien Gautier, Cologny, Genéve, Suisse. 
Mr. M. Gerassimo, Crédit Lyonnais, Jerusalem. 
Dr. O. A. Glazebrooke, American Consulate, Nice, France. 
Mr. Isaae Goldberg, Allenby Road, Tel-Aviv, Palestine. 
Prof. A. R. Gordon, Presbyterian College, Montreal, Canada. 
Mr. Jules Gress, Finance Inspector, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Ettaline M. Grice, Yale Babylonian Collection, New Haven, Conn. U.S.A. 
2) Prof. Ign. Guidi, 24 Botteghe Oscure, Roma. 
Mr. Elias N. Haddad, The Syrian Orphanage, Jerusalem. 
Mr. Selim D. Haddad, Superintendent of Customs, Haifa, Palestine. 
Mr. Victor Hamburg, P. O. B. 600, Jerusalem. 
The Rev. E. W. Hamond, The English College, Jerusalem. 


294 


1 


— 


Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


Mr. M. Hannush, Department of Education, Jerusalem. 

Mr. W. H. Harlow, St. George’s School, Jerusalem. 

Dr. A. C. Harte, Y. M.C. A., Jerusalem. 

Prof. Charles Hawley, Y. M. C. A. College, Springfield, Mass., U.S.A. 

Sir Thomas Haycraft, The Law Courts, Jerusalem. 

Mr. W. Hecker, P. O. B. 248, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Philip S. Henry, F.R.G.S., Zealandia, Asheville, N. C., U.S.A. 

Mr. E. G. Hensman, Hensman’s Hotel, Jerusalem. 

Prof. Wm. J. Hinke, 156 North Street, Auburn, N. Y., U.S.A. 

The Rev. C.T. Hock, 222 Liberty Street, Bloomfield, N. J., U.S.A. 

Mr. A. M. Holovchner, H. Q. Palestine Gendarmerie, Sarafund, Palestine. 

Mr. H. Home, Departement of Public Works, Jerusalem. 

Mr. A. C. Hornstein, Christ Church, Jerusalem. 

Mr. L. W. Hughes, no 3. St. Eloui, c/o Mme. Kyriades, Cairo. 

Miss Hussey, “The Garden Tomb”, Jerusalem. 

A. M. Hyamson, Esq., P. O. B. 625, Jerusalem. 

The Rev. Prof. Henry Hyvernat, D.D., Litt. D., Catholic University of America, 
Washington D.C., U.S.A. 

Mr. B. Ibry, Hotel Allenby, Jerusalem. 

Mr. A. Z. Idelson, Jerusalem. 

Mrs. H. Irwell, 8f Bickenhall Mansions, Gloucester Place, London W. 

M. Henri Izaakson, c/o Dr. Mazié, Jerusalem. 

Mrs. Izaakson, c/o Dr. Mazié, Jerusalem. 

Adil Effendi Jabre, Jerusalem. 

Samuel Johnson Esq., Hotel Central, Jerusalem. 

D. Hedog Jones Esq., Dept. of Agriculture, Haifa, Palestine. 

The Rev. Dr. G. C. Joyce, St. David’s College, Lampeter, Wales. 

Dr. V. H. Kalbian, P. O. B. 222, Jerusalem. 

Mr. H. M. Kalvaryski, Rosh Pinah, Palestine. 

Mr. Karl Kapp, c/o Spanish Consulate, Jerusalem. 

Prof. James A. Kelso, Western Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.A. 

Dr. W. H. M. Key, Notre Dame de France, Jerusalem. 

Miss Key, Notre Dame de France, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Girius Khoury, er-Rashidiyeh, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Habeeb Khoury, Department of Education, Jerusalem. 

M. Frédéric Kocher, Ecole Biblique, Jerusalem. 

The Rev. Emil G. H. Kraeling, Ph. D., 132 Henry St., Brooklyn, N. Y., U.S.A, 

Mr. J. Kuperman, Zichron Jacob, Palestine. 

The Rev. Dr. M. 6. Kyle, 1132 Arrott Street, Frankford, Philadelphia, Pa., 
U.S.A. 

Le trés Rév. Pére Lagrange, St. Etienne, Jerusalem. 

The Very Rev. Francis Lamb, Carmelite Monastery, Haifa, Palestine. 

Mr. C. Lambert, P. O. B. 487, Jerusalem. 

Miss A. E. Landau, Evelina de Rothschild School, Jerusalem. 

Mr. M. E. Lange, Zichron Jacob, Palestine. 

The Rev. F. N. Lapham, St. John’s River, Conference, Mt. Dora, Fla., U.S.A. 


‘J. Lee-Warner Esq., British School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 


Mr. Alter Levin, P. O. B. 240, Jerusalem. 
The Librarian, Alliance Israélite Universelle, 45 Rue Ja Bruyére, Paris. 


Members of the Palestine Oriental Society 295 


The Librarian, Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Cambridge, Mass., 
U.S.A. 

The Librarian, Bodleian Library, Oxford, England. 

The Librarian, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, England. 

The Librarian, Carleton College Library, Northfield, Minn., U.S.A. 

The Librarian, Dropsie College, Philadelphia, U.S.A. 

1) The Librarian, Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Ill., U.S.A. 

The Librarian, Instituto Biblico, Piazza Pilotta 35, Rome. 

The Librarian, Kungl. Universitetets Bibliothek, Uppsala, Sweden. 

The Librarian, Meadville Theological School, Meadville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 

The Librarian, New York Public Library, New York, U.S.A. 

The Librarian, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. 

The Librarian, Palestine Exploration Fund, 2 Hide Street, Manchester Square, 
London, W. 1. 

1) The Librarian, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.S., U.S.A. 
The Librarian, Library of Princeton University, Princeton, N. J., U.S.A. 
The Librarian, Salesian Agricultural School, Beitgemal, Jerusalem. 

The Librarian, Societé des Etudes Juives, 17 Rue Saint-Georges, Paris. 
The Librarian, St. Deiniol’s Library, Hawarden, Chester, England. 
The Librarian, Union Theological Seminary, New York, U.S.A. 
The Librarian, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 
The Librarian, Welsh National Library, Aberystwyth, Wales. 
1) The Librarian, Yale University Library, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A. 
Mr. L. Lind, American Colony, Jerusalem. 
The Rey. Sven Linder, Voksala, Uppsala, Sweden. 
Mr. S. Loupo, Institution Professionnelle, Alliance Israélite Universelle, 
Jerusalem. 
H. C. Luke Esq., The Governorate, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Joseph Luria, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 
Prof. A. H. Lybyer, 1109 W. California St., Urbana, Illinois, U.S.A. 
Dr.D.G. Lyon, Harvard University, Semitic Museum, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. 
Prof. W. H. McClellan, Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland, U.S.A. 
Dr. C. C. McCown, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. 
Miss D. McInnes, Y. W. C. A. Hostel, Jerusalem. 
1) The Right Rev. Rennie McInnes, St. George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem. 
Mrs. McInnes, St. George’s Cathedral, Jerusalem. 
HE. J. H. Mackay, Esq., 18 Royal York Crescent, Clifton Bristol, England. 
Mrs. E. L. McQueen, Tamworth, New Hampshire, U.S.A. 
G. A. Malan, Esq., “Hasterton”, Sandringham Road, Parkstone, Dorset, 
England. 
Le Βόν. Pére Mallon, St. Pierre de Sion, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Leo Mayer, Department of Antiquities, Jerusalem. 
Dr. Aaron Mazié, Jerusalem. 
Le Réy. Pére Meistermann, Couvent de S. Sauveur, Jerusalem. 
The Rev. Prof. S. A. B. Mercer, Bexley Hall, Gambier, Ohio, U.S.A. 
Le Réy. Pére Mesrob, Armenian Patriarchate, Jerusalem. 
Mr. J. Meyuchas, Jerusalem. 
W. J. Miller Esq., District Governorate, Ramleh, Palestine. 
1) Maj. E. Mills, The Governorate, Haifa, Palestine. 


296 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


1) 


1) Dr. Johs. Pedersen, Stockholmsgade 13, Copenhagen, Denmark. 


1) 


———— i. 


Mr. E. N. Mohl, P. O. B. 514, Jerusalem. 

The Right Hon. Sir Alfred Mond, 385 Lowndes Square, London SW. 1. 

Mr. H. M. Monk, Custom House, Baghdad. 

Prof. James Alan Montgomery, 6806 Greeve Street, Germantown, Philadelphia, 
PazvU:S0A, 

Prof. Julian Morgenstern, 3988 Parker Place, Cincinnati, O., U.S.A. 

Prof. Warren J. Moulton (Bangor Theological Seminary), 331 Hammond St., 
Bangor, Maine, U.S.A. 

Abdullah Effendi Mukhlis, P.O. B. 157, Jerusalem, Palestine. 

Mr. Talbot Mundy, 64 Washington Str., Reno, Nevada, U.S.A. 

Prof, Isaaf Nashashibi, Department of Education, Jerusalem. 

Nassouhy Bek Beydoun, Assistant Inspector, Acre, Palestine. 

Prof. H. H. Nelson, American University of Beyrout, Syria. 

Miss F. KE. Newton, P. O. B. 63, Haifa, Palestine. 

Mr. L. V. Nott, Governor, Gaza District, Palestine. 

The Right Rev. Mer. D. J. O’Connell, 800 Cathedral Place, Richmond, Va. 
U.S.A. 

The Rev. R. S. M. O’Ferrall, St. George’s School, Jerusalem. 

Le μόν. Pére Orfali, Couvent de 8S. Sauveur, Jerusalem. 

Dr. H. J. Orr-Ewing, English Hospital, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Lazarus Paul, Deccan Villa, Jerusalem. 

Dr. Charles Peabody, 197 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. 


| 
| 
| 


The Rey. A. T. Phillips, C. M.S., Jerusalem. 

Mr. C. 8. Phillips, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 

W. J. Phythian-Adams Esq., British School of Archaeology, Jerusalem. 

Dr. Hermann Pick, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 

Dr. D. de Sola Pool, 114 Fifth Ave. New York, U.S.A. 

Dr. William Popper, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. 

Prof. Harvey Porter, American University, Beyrout, Syria. 

Mr. Isaiah Press, Zichron Mosheh, Jerusalem. 

W. D. Priestley, Esq., The Treasury, Jerusalem. 

Mr. J. L. Racionzer, The Law Courts, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Samuel Raffaeli, Bezaleel Street, Jerusalem. 

M. Louis Rais, Commissariat de France, Jerusalem. 

Madame Louis Rais, Commissariat de France, Jerusalem. 

C. F. Reading Esq., The Governorate, Tul Karem, Palestine. 

K. L. Reynolds Esq., St. George’s School, Jerusalem. 

Dr. R. M. Riefstahl, 489 Park Ave., N. Y. City, U.S.A. 

Prof. J. H. Ropes, 13 Follen Street, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. 

Mr. Ephraim Rubinovitch, Bocharan Quarter, Jerusalem. 

Miss Adelaide Rudolph, 115 West 68th Street, New York City, U.S.A. 

Mr. Hussein Ruhi, Department of Education, Jerusalem. 

Dr. A. Ruppin, Palestine Zionist Executive, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Nicola Saba, Assistant Inspector, Tiberias. , 

Mr. Harry Sacher, Jerusalem. 

Maj. the Hon. B. G. Sackville- West, River, Tellington, Petworth, Sussex, 
England. 

Edwin H. Samuel, Esq., Government House, Jerusalem. 


Members of the Palestine Oriental Society 297 


3) H. E. the Right Honourable Sir Herbert Samuel, G. B. E., Government House, 


1) 


Jerusalem. 

Mr. Ashton Sanborn, c/o Messrs. Congdon & Co., Cairo. 

Prof. Boris Schatz, Bezaleel School of Art, Jerusalem. 

Le Réy. Pére Scheil, No. 4 bis, Rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris. 

Prof. Nathaniel Schmidt, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., U.S.A. 

Le Rév. Pére Schmitz, Hospice St. Paul, Jerusalem. 

Dr. Schonfeld, Bocharan Quarter, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Boulos Shehadeh, “Mirat esh-Shark”, Jerusalem. 

Mr. E. Shelley, P.O. B. 159, Jerusalem. 

Dr. I. KE. Shelley, P.O. B. 159, Jerusalem. 

Dr. W. A. Shelton, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.A. 

Mr. G. S. Shibber, Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem. 

The Rev. J. A. Shiels, Military Hospital, Haifa, Palestine. 

Prof.J.Balmer Showers, Bonebrake Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. 

Dr. Nahum Slousch, c/o Hebrew Gymnasium, Jerusalem. 

Sir George Adam Smith, Aberdeen University, Scotland. 

Mr. Mare Smith, American Consulate, Jerusalem. 

Prof. Louise Pettibone Smith, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass., U.S.A. 

Prof. Henry Preserved Smith, Union Theological Seminary, Broadway, at 
120th Str., New York, U.S.A. 

Mr. A. Solomiak, The Post Office, Jerusalem. 

Col. H. J. Solomon, P. O. B. 590, Jerusalem. 

Mrs. Naomi Soman, 31 Unthank Road, Norwich, England. 

Mr. W. E. Staples, Victoria College, Toronto, Canada. 

Leonard Stein Esq., 51 Bassett Road, London W. 10. 

Mr. Hanna Stephan, The Treasury, Jerusalem. 

Mr. David S. Stiven, St. Mary’s College, St. Andrews, Scottland. 

Prof. W. M. B. Stevenson, The University, Glasgow, Scotland. 

Ronald Storrs Esq., The Governorate, Jerusalem. 

Dr. J. C. Strathearn, British Ophthalmic Hospital, Jerusalem. 

J. N. Stubbs Esq., The Law Courts, Jerusalem. 

Hon, Mayer Sulzberger, 1303 Girard Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. 

The Right Rey. the Archbishop Timotheos P. Themelis, The Orthodox Pa- 
triarchate, Jerusalem. 

Mr. 8. Tolkowsky, Allenby Road, Tel-Aviv, Palestine. 

Mrs. 8. Tolkowsky, Allenby Road, Tel-Aviv, Palestine. 

The Rev. Ὁ. H. Thompson, English College, Jerusalem. 

Dr. H. M. Torian, Medical Officer, Nazareth, Palestine. 


2) Prof. Charles C. Torrey, Yale University, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A. 


Mr. Khalil Totah, Teachers’ Training College, Jerusalem. 

T. H. E. Tripp Esq., St. George’s School, Jerusalem. 

Lt. Com. V. L. Trumper, 3 Shaftsbury Buildings, Port Said, Egypt. 
Mr. Menahem Ussischkin, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 

Dr. Moise Valera, Nachlat Shiva, Jerusalem. 

Mr. S. Van Vriesland, Zionist Commission, Jerusalem. 


1) Mr. Moise Vilbushevitz, Hadra, near Alexandria, Egypt. 


The Ven. Archdeacon P. 8. Waddy, St. George’s Close, Jerusalem. 


1) The Rev. P. N. Waggett, St. John the Evangelist, Cowley, Oxford, England. 


298 Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society 


1) Miss M. C. Warburton, British High School for Girls, Jerusalem, 

Prof. Leroy Watermann, Ph.D, (University of Michigan), 1835 Vinewood, 
Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S.A. 

Mrs. H. H. Way, Humber Rectory, Leominster, England. 

Dr. P. d@’E. Wheeler, 56 Edith Road, Barons Court, London W. 

Mr. John G. White, Williamson Building, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. 

Mr. J. D. Whiting, American Colony, Jerusalem. 

Miss F. M. Willan, Girl’s School, Haifa, Palestine. 

Dr. W. H. Worrell, Kennedy School of Missions, Hartford Seminary, New 
York, U.S.A. 

D. Wyllie & Son, 247 Union Street, Aberdeen, Scotland. 

Prof. A. S. E. Yahuda, c/o David Sassoon ὧν Co., 9 King William Street, 
London, W.C. 4. 

Mr. David Yellin, Zichron Mosheh, Jerusalem. 

Mr. Eliezer Yellin, P. O. B. 248, Jerusalem. 

Dr. Blanche Zehring, 309 EK Linden Ave., Miamisburg, Ohio, U.S.A. 

Mr. J. Ben Zevi, P. O. B. 303, Jerusalem. 


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