Benjamin Sass

Tel Aviv University, Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations, Emeritus

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Matthieu Richelle

UCLouvain (University of Louvain)

Matthew Hamilton

Idan Dershowitz

Monash University

Ron Hendel

University of California, Berkeley

Christopher Rollston

The George Washington University

Koert van Bekkum

Evangelische Theologische Faculteit, Leuven

Martin Heide

Philipps University Marburg

Shlomo Guil

Andrew Burlingame

Wheaton College

Benjamin Suchard

KU Leuven

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Books by Benjamin Sass

2016 festschrift edited by Finkelstein I., Robin C. and Römer T. Alphabets, texts and artifacts in the ancient Near East. Studies presented to Benjamin Sass. Paris.

Inscriptions de prestige et ecriture du quotidien : Ie corpus epigraphique en hebreu ancien au mi... more

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2010. Sass B. and Marzahn J. Aramaic and figural stamp impressions on bricks of the sixth century B.C. from Babylon (Wissenschaftliche Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft 127; Ausgrabungen in Babylon 10). Wiesbaden.

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2005. Sass B. The alphabet at the turn of the millennium. The West Semitic alphabet ca. 1150–850 BCE; the antiquity of the Arabian, Greek and Phrygian alphabets (Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology Occasional Publications 4). Tel Aviv.

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1997. Avigad N., revised and completed by Sass B. Corpus of West Semitic stamp seals. Jerusalem.

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1993 edited. Sass B. and Uehlinger Chr. Studies in the iconography of Northwest Semitic inscribed seals (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 125). Fribourg and; Göttingen.

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1992 textbook. Sass B. Script and inscriptions. Unit 10 of the course “The archaeology of ancient Israel in the biblical period”. Tel Aviv: The Open University of Israel (Hebrew).

1991. Sass B. Studia alphabetica. On the origin and early history of the Northwest Semitic, South Semitic and Greek alphabets (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 102). Fribourg and Göttingen.

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1988. Sass B. The genesis of the alphabet and its development in the second millennium B.C. (Ägypten und Altes Testament 13). Wiesbaden.

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1985 Ph.D. thesis. Sass B. The genesis of the alphabet and its development in the second millennium B.C. (Hebrew). Tel Aviv University.

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Papers by Benjamin Sass

Submitted/accepted 2018. Sass B. Phrygian or Greek? The persisting question of the first Indo-European alphabet – on its West Semitic background. An update of Sass 2005. To appear in C. Roche and A. Prioletta eds. Écriture, pouvoir et légitimité (Orient & Méditerranée). Paris. Preprint uploaded 2022

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Submitted/accepted 2017. Sass B. On ten West Semitic seal legends. To appear in a jubilee volume. Preprint uploaded 2022.

In the following I propose to correct and augment the understanding of ten names and words in sea... more

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2021 [2022]. Finkelstein I. & Sass B. The exceptional concentration of inscriptions at Iron IIA Gath and Rehob and the nature of the alphabet in the ninth century. In T. Römer et al. eds. Oral et écrit : ... colloque ... Paris, ... 2015 (OBO 291). Leuven – Paris – Bristol CT: Peeters, 127-173.

10 Rehov jar 2 and the 1939 sherd, respectively. Reluctantly included in Finkelstein & Sass 2013,... more 10 Rehov jar 2 and the 1939 sherd, respectively. Reluctantly included in Finkelstein & Sass 2013, 161, two further items, Rehov sherds 1 and 3 (Figs. 48, 49), seem to us problematic in retrospect; we cannot be sure that they are alphabetic (for the possibility that sherd 3 bears a hieratic sign, see Appendix 2). Hence, they do not figure in Table 1. 11 Ṣafi items 747028/1, 450313/1, 1491025, 340165 and D15BS047. 12 The Tel Batash sherd and the Tel Zayit abecedary. 13 The Gezer calendar and the Beth-shemesh game board. 14 Rehov 4-10.

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2021. Amendment at the time of distribution, 29 December, to Sass B. 2021. Shapira leather manuscripts. Semitica 63, 223–242.

, to Sass B. 2021. Can a unique letterform clinch the authenticity of the Shapira leather manuscr... more , to Sass B. 2021. Can a unique letterform clinch the authenticity of the Shapira leather manuscripts? A rejoinder to Matthieu Richelle. Semitica 63, 223-242. My palaeographical validation of the genuineness is centred on the Graphic's drawing of 16 letters, its zigzag yod in particular, and on Guthe's two touching letters. Both drawings have parallels in Samaria and Ajrud (discovered much later), so that they may qualify as facsimiles. In Shapira's day there was no documentation yet of some of the letterforms in question, forms that a purported forger could otherwise exploit. This lucky coincidence clinches authenticity despite the loss of the manuscripts themselves. Indeed M. Richelle attempted no direct rebuttal of the Samaria and Ajrud links in his Semitica paper, nor in a text he newly posted on Academia. Instead, he emphasized all the other text drawings (my Fig. 1a-c), in fact very different, that do not resemble any known set of letters. Richelle took them for facsimiles of forgeries, whereas I rationalized as best I could why they may be considered approximations of texts presumed authentic.

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2021. Sass B. Can a unique letterform clinch the authenticity of the Shapira leather manuscripts? A rejoinder to Matthieu Richelle. Semitica 63, 223–242.

A comparison with Ginsburg's largely inexact drawings of the Mesha and Siloam letterforms leads m... more A comparison with Ginsburg's largely inexact drawings of the Mesha and Siloam letterforms leads me to conclude that the drawings of Shapira's manuscripts by Ginsburg and most other 1880s scholars are also unlikely to be facsimiles. Hence these drawings of the lost manuscripts are unsuited for confirming or denying authenticity. The sole exception is the zigzag yod of The Graphic. The potential for genuineness of that yod has a soundness of its own: Taken at face value, the combined Samaria, Rehov and Haror comparisons show this letter, hence the Shapira manuscripts at large, to be genuine. For if not, how could a forger in the 1880s foresee a letterform, the next attestation of which, at Samaria, lay three decades in the future? To be sure, excusing away The Graphic's meandering yod as clumsy (Richelle), or incidental, or immaterial, is no option, as noted below; the clearly drawn form is too highly diagnostic to be unintended. Résumé. Une comparaison avec les dessins largement inexacts réalisés par Ginsburg des inscriptions de Mésha et de Siloé m'amènent à conclure que les dessins des manuscrits Shapira faits par Ginsburg et par d'autres spécialistes dans les années 1880 ne sont pas des facsimilés. Il en découle que ces dessins ne peuvent confirmer ou infirmer l'autenticité de ces manuscrits. La seule exception est le yod en forme de zigzag attesté dans The Graphic. Le potentiel d'authenticité de ce yod est à lui seul convaincant : la comparaison avec Samarie, Rehov et Haror montre que cette lettre, et donc les manuscrits Shapira dans leur ensemble, sont authentiques. Sinon, comment un faussaire des années 1880 aurait-il pu prédire une forme attestée seulement trois décennies plus tard à Samarie ? Écarter ce yod sous prétexte qu'il serait maladroit (Richelle), incidentel ou immatériel est impossible : la forme clairement tracée est trop distinctive pour être involontaire.

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2021. Sass B. “Was the age of Solomon without monumental art?” The Frankfort–Albright dispute, more than sixty years later. In V. Boschloos, B. Overlaet, I.M. Swinnen & V. V.d. Stede eds. Essays presented to Eric Gubel (OLA 302). Leuven, Paris and Bristol CT, 345–366. For PDF: sass@tauex.tau.ac.il

Frankfort also denied the Luwian continuity at Malatya and Carchemish after the fall of the Hitti... more Frankfort also denied the Luwian continuity at Malatya and Carchemish after the fall of the Hittite empire (compare n. 66 below). 7 FRANKFORT 1954, 159. 8 "Though we may go perhaps a little too far in calling the age of Solomon "the Golden Age of Hebrew literature" it may be affirmed with confidence that during his reign Hebrew prose took the literary form which remained classical in the subsequent history of Judah" (ALBRIGHT 1940, 224-225). 9 2 Samuel 5 4; 1 Kings 11 42.

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2020. Niederreiter Z. and Sass B. [Cylinder seals 59, 61 and 65 with alphabetic inscriptions.] In Z. Niederreiter. Catalogue of the cylinder seals in the Royal Museums of Art and History [Brussels], volume I. Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods (circa 1000–500 B.C.). Budapest, 144–154, 163–170.

by Zoltán Niederreiter and Benjamin Sass

This new catalogue by Zoltán Niederreiter includes four items with alphabetic legends, two of the... more This new catalogue by Zoltán Niederreiter includes four items with alphabetic legends, two of them Arabian and two Aramaic, three in Brussels, and one iconographic parallel in a Dutch museum. You will find here the catalogue articles of these four items, their imagery addressed by Z.N. and their legends by B.S. The article on no. 65 was first published separately in: Niederreiter Zoltán and Sass Benjamin 2018. On a Neo-Assyrian period cylinder seal with a cult scene and an unusual Aramaic legend. Semitica et Classica 11, 219–226.
All four seals are unprovenanced.

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2020. Sass B. The West Semitic alphabet in the tenth and ninth centuries. A transformed picture arising from recent discoveries. TAU Archaeology Newsletter 6, 24.

Not long ago, the known texts of Iron Age IIA (ca. 950-800 BCE) chiefly comprised inscribed monum... more Not long ago, the known texts of Iron Age IIA (ca. 950-800 BCE) chiefly comprised inscribed monuments created at the end of the period. It is only in the last 15 years or so that non-monumental Iron IIA inscriptions began to emerge, most of them in excavations at Tel Reḥov and Tell eṣ-Ṣafi/Gath, primarily on pottery vessels, and they have transformed much of our former understanding of the alphabet's development prior to the 8th century BCE. In 2013, Israel Finkelstein and I published a first synthesis of these stratified inscriptions, and in due course followed it with several additional works (all available on "Academia"). On Aharoni Day, I presented a 12-point summary of the results of this endeavor and their contribution to the debate on the chronology of the alphabet in the early first millennium BCE. Of these 12 points, I present here three that are fundamental. (1) The key outcome of our studies is the dating of the alphabet's transition from pre-cursive Proto-Canaanite to the cursive alphabet-variants (Aramaic, Hebrew, and Phoenician) around the transition from early Iron IIA to late Iron IIA. It is the first time that this dating, ca. 900 BCE, can be gauged on the strength of stratified inscriptions. Further to this, we propose the attribution of this remarkable leap forward to the contemporaneous foundation of numerous West Semitic states (well attested by Assyrian sources), with their accelerated development of the alphabet in administrative ink documents. (2) A resulting insight is that the monumental inscriptions on stone in the West Semitic alphabet cannot be earlier than ca. 900 BCE, since some letter-shapes in each one of them (often most shapes) betray cursive models. (3) Lastly, as the total of letter-forms at each site implies, the Gath cursive in the 9th century BCE may have been a Phoenician-Hebrew hybrid (just as the long-known alphabet variant of Philistia in the 7th century BCE), and the cursive of 9th-century BCE Tel Reḥov-an Aramaic-Hebrew hybrid. Iron IIA-late. Tel Reḥov inscription 7, cursive: 'lṣdq šḥly (from ErIs 30: 304, reproduced by permission of A. Mazar, Tel Reḥov Excavations, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

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2019. Sass B. The pseudo-hieroglyphic inscriptions from Byblos, their elusive dating, and their affinities with the early Phoenician inscriptions. In Ph. Abrahami and L. Battini eds. Cultures et sociétés syro-mésopotamiennes. Mélanges offerts à Olivier Rouault. Oxford, 157–180.

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2019. Ornan T., Weksler-Bdolah Sh. and Sass B. A “Governor of the City” seal impression from the Western Wall Plaza excavations in Jerusalem. In H. Geva ed. Ancient Jerusalem revealed. Archaeological discoveries, 1998–2018. Jerusalem, 67–72.

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2018. Niederreiter Z. and Sass B. On a Neo-Assyrian period cylinder seal with a cult scene and an unusual Aramaic legend. Semitica et Classica 11, 219–226.

by Benjamin Sass and Zoltán Niederreiter

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2016 festschrift edited by Finkelstein I., Robin C. and Römer T. Alphabets, texts and artifacts in the ancient Near East. Studies presented to Benjamin Sass. Paris.

Inscriptions de prestige et ecriture du quotidien : Ie corpus epigraphique en hebreu ancien au mi... more

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1997. Avigad N., revised and completed by Sass B. Corpus of West Semitic stamp seals. Jerusalem.

Download

1993 edited. Sass B. and Uehlinger Chr. Studies in the iconography of Northwest Semitic inscribed seals (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 125). Fribourg and; Göttingen.

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1992 textbook. Sass B. Script and inscriptions. Unit 10 of the course “The archaeology of ancient Israel in the biblical period”. Tel Aviv: The Open University of Israel (Hebrew).

1991. Sass B. Studia alphabetica. On the origin and early history of the Northwest Semitic, South Semitic and Greek alphabets (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 102). Fribourg and Göttingen.

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1988. Sass B. The genesis of the alphabet and its development in the second millennium B.C. (Ägypten und Altes Testament 13). Wiesbaden.

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1985 Ph.D. thesis. Sass B. The genesis of the alphabet and its development in the second millennium B.C. (Hebrew). Tel Aviv University.

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Submitted/accepted 2017. Sass B. On ten West Semitic seal legends. To appear in a jubilee volume. Preprint uploaded 2022.

In the following I propose to correct and augment the understanding of ten names and words in sea... more

Download

2021. Amendment at the time of distribution, 29 December, to Sass B. 2021. Shapira leather manuscripts. Semitica 63, 223–242.

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2021. Sass B. Can a unique letterform clinch the authenticity of the Shapira leather manuscripts? A rejoinder to Matthieu Richelle. Semitica 63, 223–242.

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by Zoltán Niederreiter and Benjamin Sass

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2020. Sass B. The West Semitic alphabet in the tenth and ninth centuries. A transformed picture arising from recent discoveries. TAU Archaeology Newsletter 6, 24.

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2018. Niederreiter Z. and Sass B. On a Neo-Assyrian period cylinder seal with a cult scene and an unusual Aramaic legend. Semitica et Classica 11, 219–226.

by Benjamin Sass and Zoltán Niederreiter

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2018. Sass B. An intriguing woman’s name on a late Monarchic seal from Jerusalem. Semitica et Classica 11, 217–218.

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2018. Niederreiter Z. and Sass B. On a cylinder seal with a newly deciphered Arabian legend. Semitica 60, 273–293.

by Zoltán Niederreiter and Benjamin Sass

Cet article porte sur la légende arabique, jusqu'alors non identifiée, et sur l'im-agerie remarqu... more Cet article porte sur la légende arabique, jusqu'alors non identifiée, et sur l'im-agerie remarquable d'un sceau-cylindre acquis par A. H. Layard en Mésopotamie au milieu du XIXe siècle.
Abstract. The paper treats the Arabian legend, hitherto unidentified, and the remarkable imagery on a cylinder seal acquired by A.H. Layard in Mesopotamia in the mid-19th century .

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2017. Ornan T., Weksler-Bdolah Sh. and Sass B. A ‘Governor of the City’ seal impression from the Western Wall Plaza excavations in Jerusalem. Qadmoniot 50 (154), 100-103 (Hebrew).

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2017. Finkelstein I. and Sass B. Epigraphic evidence from Jerusalem and its environs at the dawn of biblical history: facts first. In Y. Gadot et al. eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region 11, 21–26.

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2017. Sass B. The emergence of monumental West Semitic alphabetic writing, with an emphasis on Byblos. Semitica 59, 109-141.

Le présent article met à jour certains points de vue évoqués par Sass (2005) et Finkelstein & Sas... more Le présent article met à jour certains points de vue évoqués par Sass (2005) et Finkelstein & Sass (2013) quant à l'écriture alphabétique monumentale, notamment à Byblos. * Deux facteurs justifient cette mise au point : (1) la découverte que la transition du proto-canaanéen à la cursive doit être datée ca. 900 avant notre ère, et (2) une meilleure compréhension des racines cursives du ductus monumental ouest-sémitique. * Sass 2016: 207-215 s'intéresse aux plus anciennes inscriptions monumentales araméennes.

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2017. Sass B. The Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon in its setting. In S. Schroer and S. Münger eds. Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Shephelah. Papers presented at a conference of the SGOA/SSPOA at the University of Bern, September 6, 2014 (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 282). Fribourg and Göttingen, 87–111.

The Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon was found in a stratum well set apart stratigraph-ically, and its re... more The Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon was found in a stratum well set apart stratigraph-ically, and its relative dating around the Iron I–II transition is more or less settled. For the 14 C dating the first two thirds of the 10 th century seem to be preferable, further considerations probably pinpointing the Iron I–II transition to the middle decades of the century. The contents of the ostracon, except for a few words or parts of words, remain undeciphered, and the nature of the text cannot be determined. Despite various attempts, the biblical name of the site remains unknown. The issue of the site's affiliation – ethnic and political, presents numerous open questions, to which conflicting answers have been offered – Philistine, Canaanite, Judahite (and Davidic), Benjaminite (and Saulide)… While some proposals may be more plausible than others, the speculative nature of all is clearly manifest, hence my feeling that the debate about Qeiyafa's affiliation is currently adrift in over-interpretation. The aim of the paper thus is to review all the above open questions and a few more, while emphasizing the limitations of the data. An excursus addresses the architectural décor of the Qeiyafa limestone ark or model shrine.

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2016. Sass B. and Finkelstein I. The swan-song of Proto-Canaanite in the ninth century BCE in light of an alphabetic inscription from Megiddo. Semitica et Classica 9, 19–42.

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2016. Sass B. Aram and Israel during the 10th–9th centuries BCE, or Iron IIA. The Alphabet. In O. Sergi, M. Oeming and I.J. de Hulster eds. In search of Aram and Israel. Politics, culture and identity (Orientalische Religionen in der Antike 20). Tübingen, 199–227.

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2015. Sass B., Garfinkel Y., Hasel M.G. and Klingbeil M.G. The Lachish jar sherd: An early alphabetic inscription discovered in 2014. BASOR 374, 233–245.

by Benjamin Sass and Michael G Hasel

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