Blessings upon an Emperor?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n An Aramaic graffito from Khirbet Arak Hala (1.5 km north of Beth Guvrin) was uncovered on the wall of an oil press complex. Its text is surprising: \u201cMay the memory of Lord Trajan be blessed.\u201d (Arak0002<\/a>) A number of questions spring to mind: Why on earth would the emperor Trajan (reigning 98-117 CE) be so highly regarded? Why, moreover, is he acclaimed in Aramaic \u2013 didn\u2019t he violently quash the Jewish revolts known as the Kitos War? Why would this a graffito about a very public figure be found in the rural Judaean foothills, let alone inside an olive oil complex? What on earth does \u201cMay [his] memory be blessed\u201d mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is virtually no epigraphic evidence of non-elite Jews acclaiming any emperor in Israel\/Palestine. To be sure, the Herodian dynasts cozied up to the imperator and made a big show of their loyalty (see, e.g., Jeru0320<\/a>), but their seat upon the throne depended directly upon this relationship. Instead, inscriptions praising a given emperor around this time tended to be produced by military units (e.g., Jeru0491<\/a>, Jeru0554<\/a>) or were \u201cpublic\u201d in some capacity (e.g., Ashk0003a<\/a>, Caes0027<\/a>). This shouldn\u2019t surprise us: Rome had killed many Jews in the Jewish War (66-73\/74 CE) and the Kitos War (115-117 CE), and would go on to kill even more in the Bar Kokhba War shortly after Trajan\u2019s reign (132-135 CE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some hints that may help us suss out what is going on with this inscription. Just a few meters away from where the Aramaic graffito was found, a Latin graffito was uncovered too. A crude Latin inscription reads \u201cOlive oil for Faustus\u201d (Arak0001<\/a>), which was almost certainly written by a soldier. Boaz Zissu and Avner Ecker observe that nearby Beth Guvrin garrisoned two Roman auxiliary units at the time: cohors I Thracum milliaria and ala Antiana Gallorum et Thracum<\/em> (cf. Unkn0130<\/a>) \u2013 not to mention that military men were nearly the only ones who spoke Latin in the Judaean foothills at that time. The complex has a number of other graffiti that seem to depict the layout of fortresses, though most have been defaced to the point where they are unintelligible. The complex was not a military building, but a civilian operation, where locals pressed olives and built a local economy around the sale of oil to nearby military units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this leaves the central phrase of the graffito (\u201cmay [his] memory be blessed\u201d; \u05d3\u05db\u05d9\u05e8 … \u05dc\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05d4) unexplained. Boaz Zissu, Boaz Langford, Avner Ecker, and Esther Eschel provide a helpful summary of how the phrase was used in Aramaic and parallel Hebrew texts of antiquity. The parallel Hebrew phrase (\u05d6\u05db\u05d5\u05e8 … \u05dc\u05d1\u05e8\u05db\u05d4) is found in Proverbs 10:7<\/a> and Ben Sira 46:11-12<\/a>, not to mention the much-later m.Yoma 3:10-11<\/a>, which expands upon the Proverbs quotation. A few Hebrew inscriptions from Israel\/Palestine use it (e.g., Beth0247<\/a>, Beth0248<\/a>), as do other from the Diaspora. Aramaic inscriptions more specifically use the formula for patrons and synagogue donors in particular (e.g., Hkan0001<\/a>, Esht0001<\/a>). \u201cThank goodness Trajan placed the garrison at Beth Guvrin!\u201d the inscription implies \u2013 as it provided an economic motor for the surrounding area, ensuring the livelihood of those living nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zissu, Boaz and Avner Ecker. \u201cA Roman Military Fort North of Bet Guvrin\/Eleutheropolis.\u201d ZPE <\/em>188 (2014): 293-312. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zissu, Boaz, Boaz Langford, Avner Ecker, and Esther Eschel. \u201cA Graffito Bearing the Name of Trajan in a Cave at Kh. \u02beAr\u00e2k H\u00e2la North of Bet Guvrin.\u201d New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region<\/em> 6 (2012): 110-21. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zissu, Boaz, Boaz Langford, Avner Ecker, and Esther Eschel. \u201cAramaic and Latin Graffiti in an Underground Complex at Khirbet \u02beAr\u00e2k H\u00e2la \u2013 North of Bet Guvrin.\u201d Pages 123-42 in “See, I Will Bring a Scroll Recount What Befell Me” (Ps 40:8): Epigraphy and Daily Life from the Bible to the Talmud<\/em>. Edited by Esther Eschel and Yigal Levin. JAJSup 12. T\u00fcbingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nRelevant Inscription(s):<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nARAK0002<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
View this inscription<\/a>
[View in XML]<\/a><\/td>Transcription:<\/strong>
\u05d3\u05db\u05d9\u05e8 \u05de\u05e8 \u05d8\u05e8\u05df \u05dc\u05d1[\u05e8\u05db\u05d4]
\u05e7\u05e1[\u05e8]<\/td>Translation:<\/strong>
May the memory of Lord Trajan Caesar be blessed.<\/td>Languages:<\/strong> Aramaic
Date:<\/strong> 98CE to 117CE
Dimension:<\/strong> H: \u2014; W: \u2014; D: \u2014.<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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