362 angelika berlejung
palestine112 (note, e.g., Nabonidus, who patronized the moon-god sin of
harran), while in the persian period the aramaean moon-god had lost
parts of his former attraction.113 But it should be noted that the names
of three governors of the persian province of samaria, “sin-uballiṭ i–iii”
(= “sîn brought to life”; members of a family living during the 5th until the
end of the 4th century B.C.) still contained the name of the mesopotamian
moon-god. perhaps this name indicates that the very first sin-uballiṭ i
(or his parents) was a returnee from the israelite exilic elite in the harran
region, who had some sympathy for Nabonidus’ religious policy.
in the persian period it becomes evident that aramaic had mean-
while established itself as the lingua franca of the ancient Near east.
Not only the aramaic script and language were shaping the ancient
Near east.114 the collection of literary works in the Jewish colony on the
island of elephantine in egypt contained the aramaic story and sayings
of aḥiqar,115 one of the masterpieces of aramaic literature and wisdom,
which influenced deeply the biblical book of Job. at least in the post-
exilic period everybody in palestine spoke aramaic and Judaean-hebrew/
yehudit ceased to be the commonly spoken language, a development
which could not be stopped by the author of Neh 13: 24 and his call for
Judean-hebrew/yehudit.116
- The Image of the Aramaeans in the Old Testament
the attestations of the aramaeans are concentrated in two major text
complexes:
- it has already been mentioned that the book of Genesis includes the
aramaeans in its genealogies. the social and political relationships
between “israelites” and “aramaeans” are described in the form of
family stories and lineages. the stress of these texts is on the kinship
between “israelites” and “aramaeans.”
112 Note the cult place for the moon-god in en Ḥaṣeva (7th and 6th centuries B.C.),
Bernett – keel 1998: 70f. arabian influence at this site cannot be ruled out.
113 Note e.g., the small presence of the crescent moon in the seal iconography of the
persian period, see uehlinger 1999: 154 no. 9 and 168f nos. 28 and 28a; keel – uehlinger
52001: § 217.
114 see the aramaic translation of the Bisitun inscription of darius i, in tad e C 2.1.
115 tad e C 1.1; cf. Contini – Grottanelli 2005; Niehr 2007; Weigl 2010.
116 see kottsieper 2007b: 95–102.