Early Judaism- A Comprehensive Overview

vide valuable information on the social and economic situation. There are

also many papyri from Alexandria reflecting various private and public af-

fairs such as private letters, requests directed to city officials, pagan warn-

ings against Jewish moneylenders, a letter of Claudius to the city of Alex-

andria demanding peace and unity between pagans and Jews, and

documents connected to the revolt of 116-117.

One unique document from Egypt is the Nash Papyrus, which con-

tains the Hebrew text of the Decalogue with wording drawn from both the

Exodus and Deuteronomy versions. It was acquired by an antiquities

dealer but may have come from the Fayum. Its first editors dated it to the

first or second centuryc.e., but recent studies date it to the second century

b.c.e.A fragmentary Hebrew prayer after meals found at Dura-Europos in

Mesopotamia (P.Dura 10) joins the Nash Papyrus in providing rare evi-

dence for the use of Hebrew as a liturgical language in the Diaspora.

We also have papyri from the Jewishpoliteuma(a council of an ac-

knowledged ethnic community) of Herakleopolis dating to 143-132b.c.e.

That Jews in Herakleopolis apparently enjoyed as high a degree of autonomy

as their fellows in Alexandria and Leontopolis is attested in literature and pa-

pyri. They yearly elected their officials(archontes)under apolitarch 3 sand

were allowed to run their own internal affairs. Many aspects of the privilege

of living according to their ancestral customs are addressed in the papyri;

these include civil law, synagogue courts, oaths, Sabbath, and pilgrimage.

Papyri also attest various practical and legal aspects of Jews living to-

gether with Greeks, Egyptians, and members of other ethnic groups. Many

legal practices documented in Jewish papyri from Egypt are reminiscent of

issues and formulas in papyri from the Judean Desert.

Ostraca

As a special case of written documents, a few notes on ostraca are appro-

priate. Ostraca are texts incised on pottery shards or written on them with

ink. In Hellenistic and Roman Palestine, the same languages appear on

ostraca as on papyrus and in inscriptions. The variety of texts on ostraca is

notably broad, although they are usually short and confined to mundane

matters. Especially frequent are writing exercises or abecedaries, written in

Hebrew and Aramaic in square script; several of these are known from

Qumran, Wadi Murabba{at, Masada, and other sites. A few are written bi-

lingually in Greek and Latin. In many cases ostraca provided a good and

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Archaeology, Papyri, and Inscriptions

EERDMANS -- Early Judaism (Collins and Harlow) final text
Tuesday, October 09, 2012 12:04:14 PM