The Ketef Hinnom silver scrolls
Words still read in synagogues and churches today were being written on silver in Jerusalem before the city fell to Babylon.
Nommé hors de la BibleManuscritlate 7th–early 6th century BC
Two tiny rolled sheets of silver, worn as amulets, unrolled over years in the laboratory. Scratched into them is a version of the priestly blessing of Numbers 6 — the oldest surviving text of any biblical passage, roughly four centuries older than the Dead Sea Scrolls.
May YHWH bless you and keep you; may YHWH make his face shine upon you and grant you peace.
- Découvert
- Burial caves at Ketef Hinnom, south-west of the Old City, Jerusalem, 1979 — Gabriel Barkay's excavation
- Conservé à
- Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- Langue
- Hebrew (palaeo-Hebrew script)
- Comment il nous est parvenu
- Fouillé, ou encore debout là où il fut bâti.
Ce qu'elle montre
The late First Temple dating, re-examined with advanced imaging in 2004, is the mainstream position; an earlier proposal for a post-exilic date has not prevailed.
Ce qu'en font les historiens
Cited in secular palaeography and in the study of Israelite religion as the earliest witness to a biblical text.
Dans l'Écriture
Se rattache à
Sources
- Barkay et al., "The Amulets from Ketef Hinnom: A New Edition and Evaluation", BASOR 334 (2004)
- Ketef Hinnom scrolls — overview
Ces textes sont pour l'instant en anglais. Les traductions suivront.