Tel Rehov Temple Storage Jar (900-800 BCE)

(April 22, 2023) This inscription was found on a storage jar. Its letter style is similar to that of the Gezer tablet. It  has not been successfully translated until now.  

Translation in Akkadian

1. 'Ṣ  Qu  Mu  U  Ku  Ṣu (Levant Text 5.1)  

In English. 

1.  To expel the thread's fertility-fluids by involving activity

This jar was found in 1999 at Tel Rahov located in the middle of the fertile Beth Shean valley at the junction of the Jordan River valley and the Jezreel Valley. At the time this text was written this city was one of the largest cities in the state of Israel.

This jar was found in an Iron Age II archaeological layer (stratum IV) which dates it to between 800 and 900 BCE and it was found in a temple complex (Mazar 2003). This building was violently destroyed in a fire probably during the drought induced Yahwist revolution of 850 BCE which destroyed the established order.

The room in which it was found was plastered and full of various items indicating that it was used as a storage room for the temple complex. A series of teaching rooms existed across the hall as evidenced by the built-in benches along their sides.

The inscription was found on a fourteen inch diameter storage jar having two big round handles. These handles make the jar look like a hippo face with ears on top of its head so these jars are called “hippo” jars. The inscription was cut into the surface after the jar was fired. How long before the city’s destruction the inscription was made is not known.

Previous Translation Attempts

Some scholars have different letter assignments then what I identified. As reported in a review of the inscriptions found so far at the site by Mazar (2003). Their letter assignments are (differences in red):

L  ṢQ _ N M Ṣ

 The worst error is that they leave out a letter

These biased translators want to see the Biblical name “Nimshi” (NMŞ) in this inscription which is referenced 1 Kings 19:16. Consequently, they force the last three letters to fit that name. They do not assign any word to the first three letter

References

Droughts According to Drought Chart

1. 1180-1140 BCE - Great Drought
2. 980 BCE
3. 845-840 BCE - Elijah Drought
4. 732 BCE - led to Assyrian invasion  
5. 605 BCE - led to Babylonian invasion 

Diagnostic Letter Shapes For Dating

1. 605 BCE - "A" has square peak. "L" has hooked appendage.
2. 732 BCE - "A" has pointed peak.  "L" has flat appendage.

References