Hebrew and Aramaic papyri
Encyclopedia
Hebrew and Aramaic papyri have increasingly been discovered from the 1960s onwards, although these papyri
remain rare compared to papyri written in Koine Greek
and Demotic Egyptian
(no relation except in name, "popular," to modern demotic Greek). The most valuable and religious texts were written on leather scrolls, parchment
- such as the literary texts from Masada
and Qumran, while papyrus
was employed for cheaper, domestic use.
A standard work is the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum of Victor Tcherikover
and Alexander Fuks
(Cambridge, Mass. Vol.I 1957, II 1960, III ed. Menahem Stern
1964) which is largely of Greek language papyri but includes examples of Hebrew and Aramaic papyri from Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt.
the previous winter, but that many were still to be found. In 1966 the Bodleian Library
possessed only four Hebrew and three Aramaic papyri.
(1948 onwards). Very few Biblical papyri (as opposed to scrolls) were found at Qumran.
and Roland de Vaux
commenced excavations in four caves at Wadi Murabba'at
. 173 documents were found. 1 Aramaic and 1 Greek papyri only were found at the Wadi Sdeir.
In 1960-1961 Yigael Yadin excavated Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic papyri from the "Cave of Letters" at Nahal Hever
(classified by "XHev" manuscript numbers) among which there were 15 letters; 10 in Hebrew, 3 in Aramaic and 2 in Greek.
In 1962 further finds of 18 Aramaic papyri from Samaria were made in the Wadi Daliyeh
.
The 4 papyri from Nahal Se'elim (Wadi Seiyal) are in Greek.
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
remain rare compared to papyri written in Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
and Demotic Egyptian
Demotic (Egyptian)
Demotic refers to either the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Delta, or the stage of the Egyptian language following Late Egyptian and preceding Coptic. The term was first used by the Greek historian Herodotus to distinguish it from hieratic and...
(no relation except in name, "popular," to modern demotic Greek). The most valuable and religious texts were written on leather scrolls, parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
- such as the literary texts from Masada
Masada
Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is best known for the violence that occurred there in the first century CE...
and Qumran, while papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
was employed for cheaper, domestic use.
A standard work is the Corpus Papyrorum Judaicarum of Victor Tcherikover
Victor Tcherikover
-Biography:Born in Russia, he settled in Palestine in 1925. He was one of the first teachers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and headed the departments of general history and classical studies...
and Alexander Fuks
Alexander Fuks
Alexander Fuks was a German-born, later Israeli historian, archaeologist and papyrologist. He worked with Victor Tcherikover and Menahem Stern on the standard edition of Jewish papyri. He was a specialist in the study of Hellenistic Judaism.-References:...
(Cambridge, Mass. Vol.I 1957, II 1960, III ed. Menahem Stern
Menahem Stern
Menahem Stern was an internationally acclaimed Israeli historian of the Second Temple period.-Biography:Menahem Stern was born in 1925 in Białystok, Poland. His father was a Lithuanian misnaged while his mother came from a Hasidic family. In his childhood he studied Hebrew and religious texts, but...
1964) which is largely of Greek language papyri but includes examples of Hebrew and Aramaic papyri from Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt.
In Egypt
In 1909 Joseph Offord remarks that Germany had acquired all the Hebrew papyri found in Upper EgyptUpper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
the previous winter, but that many were still to be found. In 1966 the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
possessed only four Hebrew and three Aramaic papyri.
Qumran
The main corpus, in terms of volume and significance, are the finds at QumranQumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
(1948 onwards). Very few Biblical papyri (as opposed to scrolls) were found at Qumran.
Aside from Qumran
In January 1952 Gerald Lankester HardingGerald Lankester Harding
Gerald Lankester Harding was the Director of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities for twenty years. His tenure spanned the period in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and brought to public awareness...
and Roland de Vaux
Roland de Vaux
Father Roland Guérin de Vaux OP was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological School in East Jerusalem, and he was charged with overseeing research on the scrolls...
commenced excavations in four caves at Wadi Murabba'at
Wadi Murabba'at
Wadi Murabba'at, also known as Nahal Darga, is a ravine cut by a seasonal stream which runs from the Judean desert east of Bethlehem past the Herodium down to the Dead Sea 18 km south of Khirbet Qumran...
. 173 documents were found. 1 Aramaic and 1 Greek papyri only were found at the Wadi Sdeir.
In 1960-1961 Yigael Yadin excavated Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic papyri from the "Cave of Letters" at Nahal Hever
Nahal Hever
Nahal Hever is a stream in the Judean Desert that flows from Ein Gedi and Masada to the Dead Sea.At the head of the stream are two caves, the "cave of letters" , and, further up, the "cave of horrors" in which have been found archeological evidences of the Bar Kokhba revolt .The sites were...
(classified by "XHev" manuscript numbers) among which there were 15 letters; 10 in Hebrew, 3 in Aramaic and 2 in Greek.
In 1962 further finds of 18 Aramaic papyri from Samaria were made in the Wadi Daliyeh
Wadi Daliyeh
The Wadi Daliyeh is a valley fourteen kilometres north of Jericho.In 1962 excavations in the Cave of Abu Shinjeh in the Daliyeh valley unearthed the bones of 205 people. Archaeologists judge that these were Samaritans who had fled from the reprisals of Alexander the Great in 310 BCE, following...
.
The 4 papyri from Nahal Se'elim (Wadi Seiyal) are in Greek.