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The Fifth Haverford excavation season at Tel Beth-Shemesh (Ain Shams) in 1933 revealed a fracture... more The Fifth Haverford excavation season at Tel Beth-Shemesh (Ain Shams) in 1933 revealed a fractured tablet bearing a cuneiform inscription dating to the Late Bronze Age. Considered to be the earliest alphabetic cuneiform text uncovered in the Canaanite arena outside of Ugarit, this tablet quickly became the focus of many studies. Later readings suggested that this was the earliest example of a South Semitic Alphabetical sequence. Through petrographic material analysis, the present study examines the possible location of production of the tablet and discusses the implications with regard to the object's function and cultural context.

BIBLICAL GIANTS. This 12th-century illumination from the Seralgio Octateuch depicts the biblical ... more BIBLICAL GIANTS. This 12th-century illumination from the Seralgio Octateuch depicts the biblical Rephaim. The manuscript can be found in the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, Turkey.

In The Rephaim: Sons of the Gods, Jonathan Yogev provides a new theory regarding the mysterious c... more In The Rephaim: Sons of the Gods, Jonathan Yogev provides a new theory regarding the mysterious characters, known as "Rephaim," in Biblical and ancient Near Eastern literature. The Rephaim are associated with concepts such as death and the afterlife, divinity, healing, giants and monarchy among others. They appear in Ugaritic, Phoenician and Biblical texts, yet it is di cult to pinpoint their exact function and meaning. This study o fers a di ferent perspective, along with full texts, detailed epigraphic analysis and commentary for all of the texts that mention the Rephaim, in order to determine their speci c importance in societies of the ancient Levant.

J. Yogev, "The Seven Eyes of God", Vetus Testamentum 69 (2019), pp. 307-319, 2019

The image of the stone with seven eyes in the book of Zechariah 3-4 is very puzzling, and has bee... more The image of the stone with seven eyes in the book of Zechariah 3-4 is very puzzling, and has been interpreted in various ways. In this study I will suggest that the most logical interpretation of this image lies in the Babylonian kalû ritual and the well-known mythological Sibittu iconography that was familiar and accepted by the returning Babylonian exiles. This iconography was chosen for a specific reason, and then was given a new identity by the prophet, probably as part of a certain agenda.

In a forthcoming paper we attempt to show a connection between form and content in tablet KTU 1.4... more In a forthcoming paper we attempt to show a connection between form and content in tablet KTU 1.4, one of the main tablets of the Ba®alu cycle 1 . The methodology we use is simple: we show that in certain parts of the text, the scribe chose to give each half-line a row of its own, thus deviating from his epigraphic method of poetry writing, which is, basically, to fill out every space available on the tablet's surface. This was done mainly when anaphoric poetic structures which present multiple repetitions appear 2 . Writing according to poetic and stylistic features is rare in Ugaritic texts 3 . This "visual poetry" method of writing suggests that scribes paid attention to more than phonetic aesthetic aspects of content; they paid attention to the way that text is visually presented to the reader.

This paper deals with tablet 16.265 that was found in the royal palace of Ugarit in 1952. About s... more This paper deals with tablet 16.265 that was found in the royal palace of Ugarit in 1952. About sixteen lines of this tablet are written in a form of a letter. Yet, an examination of the epigraphic features of the tablet and the content of the letter suggest that this tablet was used as a scribal exercise. We examine the poetic aspects of the text and suggest that this letter was written as a playful poetic letter that describes the training of the beginner royal scribe in Ugarit.

The Bronze Age period's name reflects two important metals of that period, namely copper and tin.... more The Bronze Age period's name reflects two important metals of that period, namely copper and tin. These metals became extremely important to Bronze Age societies, and facilitated the development of more efficient technological production systems, and highly developed trade routes. 1 The significance of Ugarit in the Late Bronze trade system is connected to the physical location of the city. Ugarit is situated on an intersection of land-routes from central Asia from where tin was imported, and maritime routes that were connected to the Mediterranean and Cyprus from where copper was imported. Ugarit's part as a mediator of trade of bronze items is crucial for understanding the trade in the Late Bronze Age in the Ancient Near East. 2 It is therefore difficult to comprehend the absence of a unique word to represent copper in the Ugaritic language, which was of considerable importance in the kingdom of Ugarit.

Since it was found during the 24 th campaign (1961) at the Baal-Temple in the acropolis, this tab... more Since it was found during the 24 th campaign (1961) at the Baal-Temple in the acropolis, this tablet 1 has been much debated by scholars due to its epigraphic aspects and its relation to the Ugaritic mythology and rituals 2 . This article deals with the appearance of two miniscule words written between lines 7-8, and 8-9. Here is a facsimile of KTU 1.114, 7-10. 7 y®db . lḥm . lh . wdlyd®nn 3 "He makes food for him, but that he doesn't know; dmṣd 8 ylmn ḫṭm . tḥt . ṯlḥn He hits with sticks under the table. bq[?] 9 ®ṯtrt . w®nt . ymġy Aṯtartu and Anatu, He approaches them; 10 ®ṯtrt . t®db . nšb lh Aṯtartu makes cutlet(?) for him."

This article deals with a unique epigraphic phenomenon which rarely occurs in the Ugaritic tablet... more This article deals with a unique epigraphic phenomenon which rarely occurs in the Ugaritic tablets: the Diagonal Writing. This phenomenon appears when a word (and more) is written diagonally at the end of a row, close to the separating lines between the columns, and approximately 90-170 degrees in comparison to the other words of that row. These diagonal words seem to be, at first, a scribal error: as if the writer had forgotten a certain word, and later on added it wherever space was available. But at a closer look, there seem to be other possibilities.

How involved were the Ugaritic writers in the process of making the clay tablets they wrote upon?... more How involved were the Ugaritic writers in the process of making the clay tablets they wrote upon? Pottery making was one of the basic industries in ancient times. Evidences show that those who were involved in pottery craft were usually isolated from major population centers, because of constant need of raw materials like natural clay from river banks and firewood for baking ovens 1 . The main epic tablets were probably made by temple priests inside the city limits, based on their location 2 . Therefore, it is likely to presume that the priests got the clay in its soft form from clay manufacturers and mold it into the required geometrical shape. In addition, although clay objects were usually baked in ovens, the clay tablets were left to dry naturally in the heat of the sun 3 , so the priests didn't have to use baking ovens.

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS, COLLOQUIA by Jonathan Yogev

J. Yogev, "The Seven Eyes of God", Vetus Testamentum 69 (2019), pp. 307-319, 2019