Biblical Archaeology Review

Josephus, The Jewish War 3.54–55.

Pliny, Natural History 5.14.70.

Scholars have proposed that the ancient name of Qumrân was Salt City (‘yr hmlk) or Secacah (skkh). See the bibliography in Hanan Eshel, “A Note on Joshua 15:61–62 and the Identification of the City of Salt,” Israel Exploration Journal 45 (1995), pp. 37–40.

It could also be an accounting (h\sûbwn) for the overseer (see 1QS 6:20).

The script shares many traits with the script of the Copper Document, a vulgar semiformal hand of the same date. See the excursus cited in n. 5, esp. p. 218, fig. 12.

The date formula is unusual. In virtually all date formulae on legal documents found in Palestine, the day and the month are mentioned before the year.

We wish to thank Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Cohen and Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Charnoff for making possible a travel grant from the Biblical Archaeology Society, enabling Esther Eshel to work with James Wilson Henderson and for both of us to work together at Cambridge and study the actual ostraca as well as the new photographs.

See Frank Moore Cross and Esther Eshel, “Ostraca from Khirbet Qumrân,” Israel Exploration Journal 47 (1997), pp. 17–28.

He also found a second ostracon, of much less significance, which will not be treated here and should not be confused with the two pieces of the ostracon that we deal with.