During the 2012 excavations in Jerusalem, Israel, a partially preserved inscription engraved on the shoulder of a pithos was found in a context dated to the 10th century BCE. Although close to a dozen interpretations of the inscription have been offered over time, its reading remains highly disputed. All of these interpretations consider the script to be Canaanite. In his new paper, Dr. Daniel Vainstub argues that the inscription was engraved in the Ancient South Arabian script and that its language is Sabaean: the inscription reads ‘[]šy ladanum 5;’ the aromatic labdanum (Cistus ladanifer), rendered as lḏn in the inscription, is most probably ‘šǝḥēlet,’ the second component of incense according to Exod 30:34; the inscription was engraved before the locally made vessel was fired, leading to the conclusion that a Sabaean functionary entrusted with aromatic components of incense was active in Jerusalem by the time of King Solomon.
In 2012, Israeli archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar and her colleagues unearthed the partial remains of seven pithoi (large storage containers) during the excavations in the Ophel, between the City of David to the south and the Temple Mount to the north.
The pithoi, one of which had an inscription, were found in a context dated to the 10th century BCE (Early Iron Age).
The inscription was located below the pithos’s rim; it was engraved before firing, and seven of its letters have survived.
Since the editio princeps of the inscription, close to a dozen researchers have offered different readings and interpretations. However, the reading and meaning of the inscription remain controversial.
The common denominator of the previous interpretations of the inscription is that the script is Canaanite.
Instead, in his new article, Dr. Vainstub argues that the inscription was engraved in the Ancient South Arabian script in its earliest phase, dated to the beginning of the first millennium BCE and that its language is
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