Biblical Archaeology Review

Biblical Archaeology Review is the flagship publication of the Biblical Archaeology Society. For more than 40 years it has been making the world of archaeology in the lands of the Bible come alive for the interested layperson. Full of vivid images and articles written by leading scholars, this is a must read for anyone interested in the archaeology of the ancient Near East.

Footnote 3 - A Rare Look at the Jewish Catacombs of Rome

The lulav and etrog are used in rituals associated with the festival of Succoth, the Feast of Tabernacles.

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Footnote 2 - A Rare Look at the Jewish Catacombs of Rome

Tullia Zevi and Sam Waagenaar: “The Jewish Catacombs of Rome: A Neglected Treasure of Our Past,” Hadassah Magazine, December, 1979, p. 38. (Tullia Zevi is Rome correspondent for the Jewish Chronicle of London, and Sam Waagenaar, a journalist residing in Rome, is author of The Ghetto on the Tiber, a history of the Jews of Rome.)

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Footnote 1 - A Rare Look at the Jewish Catacombs of Rome

Michael Ledeen: “The Unknown Catacombs,” Commentary, September, 1977, p. 65.

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Footnote 2 - The Raw Material

The raised ^d abbreviates the Sumerian word dingir which means “god.” It is used here as a determinative to indicate that the following set of signs represent the god Eden or Rasap.

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Footnote 1 - The Raw Material

A hand copy duplicates the exact appearance of the text which often is easier to see in this form than in a photograph. A transliteration reproduces the text in a standard alphabet. Cuneiform texts are usually transliterated in Roman letters. Semitic texts may be transliterated in Roman letters or in Semitic (for example, Hebrew) letters.

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Footnote 5 - New Ebla Epigrapher Attacks Conclusion of Ousted Ebla Scholar

Archi notes that Pettinato has now admitted that only Sodom and Gomorrah appear in the tablets (See “Ebla Evidence Evaporates,” BAR 05:06). But even in Pettinato’s latest assertion, “Once again the inventory number is not given!” In other words, Pettinato refuses to identify the tablet in which Sodom and Gomorrah is supposed to appear, says Archi.

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Footnote 4 - New Ebla Epigrapher Attacks Conclusion of Ousted Ebla Scholar

A determinative is a non-phonetic (that is, unpronounced) sign which indicates something about the word in which it appears, in this case that Ya is a deity.

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Footnote 3 - New Ebla Epigrapher Attacks Conclusion of Ousted Ebla Scholar

Archi also rejects the suggestion of the great American linguist Professor I. J. Gelb that the sign Pettinato reads as -ya should be read -ni. See “Assessing Ebla,” BAR 04:01.