Biblical Archaeology Review

This has been confirmed by two other epigraphists, J. R. Engle, Pillar Figurines of Iron Age Israel and Ashérah-Ashérim, Diss. 1979 (Ann Arbor, 1981), p. 82, and K. Jarosû, “Zur Inschrift Nr. 3 von Hirbet el-Qôm,” Biblische Notizen 19 (1982), pp. 30–41, although they do not transpose the reference to asherah to the beginning of the line as I do.

A graffito is an incised or scratched inscription or drawing on a wall or on a rock.

That is, by the shape, stance, and form of the letters.

In Hebrew, the name consists of the four letters YHWH, yod, he, waw, he, and is known as the Tetragrammaton. In many English translations of the Bible, YHWH is translated LORD. Elohim, by contrast, is translated as the generic name God; YHWH, however, is the name of Israel’s God. No one is sure how these four Hebrew letters were pronounced (in Biblical Hebrew, the vowels are not generally indicated), but by scholarly convention, the name is vocalized as Yahweh.

The Decapolis was a league of ten cities, with Beisan (Scythopolis) as its capital. All these cities were centers of Hellenistic culture.

See, for example, Ecclesiastes Rabbah V, 10. The Midrashim (singular Midrash) are rabbinic homilies and commentaries on specific books of the Bible.

The Talmud is a collection of Jewish law and teachings. The core of the Talmud is the Mishnah, a compilation of laws and rulings collated by Rabbi Judah the Prince about 200 A.D. The Gemara is a commentary on the Mishnah produced by scholar-teachers known as amoraim in the years 200–500 A.D. The Mishnah and the Gemara together compose the Talmud (although sometimes the Gemara alone is referred to as Talmud).

The Tosefta (from the Aramaic “to add”) is a work that is parallel and supplemental to the Mishnah. Mishnah (from the Hebrew “to repeat”) is the body of Jewish oral law, specifically, the collection of oral laws compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince in the second century. The text of the Tosefta often provides variant readings to the Mishnah.

An arcuated lintel is an arched or curved crossbeam.

Biblical Archeologist 41/3 (September 1978).