Idumean Aramaic Ostraca
About 2,000 potsherd receipts from southern Judah recording grain, oil and taxes on the eve of Alexander's conquest
Found 1985 — Appeared on the antiquities market from about 1985, likely from illicit digging at Khirbet el-Kom (Makkedah); published by André Lemaire, Israel Eph'al and Joseph Naveh, and in the multi-volume edition of Bezalel Porten and Ada Yardeni (2014–2020)
Where Khirbet el-Kom (Makkedah) region, Idumea (West Bank (Palestinian Territories))
Dates from c. 360–310 BCE · Late Persian to early Hellenistic · The 'Edomite' south after Nehemiah; Malachi's Edom
Now at Mostly private collections (e.g., Jeselsohn, Moussaieff), some on loan to museums including the Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem
How Idumean Aramaic Ostraca was found
Unprovenanced; the frequent mention of 'Makkedah' points to Khirbet el-Kom between Hebron and Lachish. Some excavated examples come from Tel Arad, Beersheba and Maresha.
What it is
Small potsherds inscribed in Aramaic ink with short dated dockets: a person's name, a commodity (wheat, barley, oil, wine, wood), a quantity and often a storehouse or clan. Names are Edomite (with the god Qos), Arabian, Judean and Phoenician.
Why it matters for the Bible
The ostraca document daily life in Idumea, the Edomite-settled south of the old kingdom of Judah, exactly when Malachi (1:2-4) and the returnees viewed Edom as YHVH's enemy who had taken Judah's land. They show a mixed population, Aramaic as the administrative language of Ezra's era, and a tax system of collection points that mirrors Persian practice known from Nehemiah. Judean names with the YHVH element show that Jews still lived among the Edomites south of Hebron.
The Hebrew word: KOHS
קוֹס
קוֹס is pronounced KOHS and means Qos, the national god of Edom, found in many Idumean personal names.
Places
- Makkedah — מַקֵּדָה (mah-kay-DAH) — place of shepherds (uncertain)
- Edom — אֱדוֹם (eh-DOME) — red
Events
Edomite settlement of southern Judah · Persian and early Hellenistic taxation
Idumean Aramaic Ostraca in Scripture
Joshua 10:10 First mention of Makkedah in Scripture.
Joshua 10:28 Makkedah, taken by Joshua, is the site most often named in the ostraca.
Malachi 1:3-4 Edom says 'we will rebuild the ruins'; the ostraca show Edomites prospering in the south of Judah in Malachi's era.
Questions people ask
What is Idumean Aramaic Ostraca?
Small potsherds inscribed in Aramaic ink with short dated dockets: a person's name, a commodity (wheat, barley, oil, wine, wood), a quantity and often a storehouse or clan. Names are Edomite (with the god Qos), Arabian, Judean and Phoenician.
When was Idumean Aramaic Ostraca discovered?
It was found in 1985 by Appeared on the antiquities market from about 1985, likely from illicit digging at Khirbet el-Kom (Makkedah); published by André Lemaire, Israel Eph'al and Joseph Naveh, and in the multi-volume edition of Bezalel Porten and Ada Yardeni (2014–2020), at Khirbet el-Kom (Makkedah) region, Idumea.
Where is Idumean Aramaic Ostraca today?
Mostly private collections (e.g., Jeselsohn, Moussaieff), some on loan to museums including the Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem.
Which Bible verses does Idumean Aramaic Ostraca relate to?
Joshua 10:10, Joshua 10:28, Malachi 1:3-4.
Is Idumean Aramaic Ostraca authentic?
The great majority come from the antiquities market; their authenticity is broadly accepted because of their number, mundane content and consistency, but the loss of context limits their value.
Related discoveries
- אֱדוֹםMaresha Painted Tombs (Tomb of Apollophanes)Hellenistic Idumean tombs with painted animals and Greek epitaphs of the Sidonian colony at Marisa
- בֵּית יְהוָהArad Ostraca (the Eliashib Archive)Supply orders from a Judean desert fort naming the 'House of YHVH' and the Kittim
- מִבְצָרBeth-zur FortressThe border stronghold that Judas Maccabeus fortified and Antiochus's generals besieged
- יַיִן יָשָׁןSamaria OstracaWine and oil receipts from the royal storehouse in the days of Jeroboam II
- מַשְׂאֵתLachish Letters (Lachish Ostraca)Military dispatches from the last days of Judah: 'we cannot see the signals of Azekah'
- בֵּית דָּוִדTel Dan SteleAramean victory inscription naming the 'House of David'
Sources
- Porten and Yardeni, Textbook of Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea, vols. 1–4 (2014–2020)
- Eph'al and Naveh, Aramaic Ostraca of the Fourth Century BC from Idumaea (1996)
- HUC Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon blog: Idumean Ostraca, volume 1 (review)
- Yardeni, The Jeselsohn Collection of Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea (2016)