Biblical Archaeology Review

Deutsch and Heltzer are of the same opinion; they present it as another inscription from Khirbet el-Kom. In his publication of the el-Kom materials, Dever describes the unfortunate situation at the site as follows: “During the brief excavations there the writer personally observed nearly a hundred robbed tombs; and several thousand pieces would be a conservative estimate of the pottery from the site seen in the village or later in the hands of Jerusalem dealers.”

Dever, “Iron Age Epigraphic Material,” p. 142.

Dever published this material in an article in the Hebrew Union College Annual (40–41 [1969–79], pp. 139–204) entitled “Iron Age Epigraphic Material from the Area of Khirbet el-Kom.”

Ramesses’s records include not only the name bin ‘anat, “Son of Anath,” but also bint ‘anat, “Daughter of Anath”!

The Cambridge Ancient History, trans. J. Bottéro, vol. 1, part 2a (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1971), pp. 563–564.

Deutsch and Heltzer read the third letter of the title as lamed, yielding MSðL, “ruler(?),” which yields no good interpretation. But the sign in question is qop, providing us with a welcome example of an archaic form of this relatively rare letter, and the title masûqê, “cupbearer, butler,” is well known.

The name MRS| seems to reflect a common Semitic word referring to sickness, so that unless some other meaning eludes us (as is quite possible!) we might conclude that Zakarbaal’s grandfather was an invalid.

Jean Starcky, “La flèche de Zakarba‘al, roi d’Amurru,” in Archeologie au Levant. Receuil Roger Saidah (Lyon: Tarragon, 1982), pp. 179–86.