Biblical Archaeology Review - January-February 2018

54

WorDs Unseen

January/February 2018

a shirt, or a pair of sunglasses—we are reminded

of the label or brand associated with these items

and the status they impart. These writings index

more than mere writing—they conjure associations

of prestige, wealth, social class, and even age. Like-

wise, the hiddenness of words in lockets and other

forms of jewelry are important both for what they

reveal and conceal about social bonds, relationships,

hopes, and losses. The hiddenness of their words

index proximity and intimacy between individuals.

The fact that such unseen words often touch our

bodies points to the crucial role they play in shap-

ing our self-perception, the image we wish to project

to others, our perception of reality, and our physical

and conceptual connections to other bodies, includ-

ing those of long-lost loved ones no longer present

in a corporeal way.

These unseen words become part of our identi-

ties and ultimately part of our bodies. Their words

might be hidden from our eyes, but they are present

in our minds.

The importance of unseen words is also palpable

in the material record of ancient Judah. Archaeolo-

gists have discovered texts that are engraved on the

insides of tombs in a way that hides them from the

public, preserving them solely for kin who might

visit the deceased relatives. Readers may be surprised

to discover that there is also evidence of special-

ized markets for portable, inscribed amulets in the

ancient Levant. Such items possess writing that is

small, which would have been masked from others

when worn on the body.

Two of the most famous written objects found in

the environs of ancient Jerusalem—two silver min-

iature scrolls—were inscribed in a way that assumed

that they would not be read. In other words, two

of the earliest Hebrew inscriptions ever discovered

were designed to be hidden from human eyes. In

fact, their words are so tiny that it required micro-

scopic technology to decipher their texts.

In 1979 during the excavations of the funerary site

of Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem, archaeologist Gabriel

Barkay discovered two thin sheets of silver in a tomb

repository.^1 The sheets of silver had been rolled up

and worn as amulets around the neck. When the

sheets of silver were unrolled, archaeologists found

that they were inscribed with some of the earli-

est Hebrew texts in existence. Barkay and several

SILVER BLESSINGS. Standing only 1 inch tall, this minia-

ture silver scroll (Amulet 1) contains one of the earliest

Hebrew inscriptions ever uncovered. In 1979, archaeolo-

gist Gabriel Barkay and his team found this scroll and

another smaller silver scroll—both of which date to the

eighth–sixth centuries B.C.E.—in a burial cave at Ketef

Hinnom in Jerusalem. In antiquity, they would have been

worn as amulets. The photograph (above) and drawing

(right) show the first scroll before it was unrolled.

ZEV RADOVAN/BIBLELANDPICTURES.COM

FROM GABRIEL BARKAY, “THE PRIESTLY BENEDICTION ON SILVER PLAQUES FROM KETEF HINNOM IN JERUSALEM,”

TEL AVIV

(^) 19.2 (1992)
0 2cm