BURIAL PRACTICES, FUNERARY TEXTS, AND THE TREATMENT OF DEATH IN IRON AGE ISRAEL AND ARAM by RACHEL VIRGINIA KING NABULSI Under the Direction of RICHARD FRIEDMAN ABSTRACT This research encompasses two branches of evidence regarding the treatment of death and burial among the Iron Age cultures of Israel and Aram – the archaeological and the textual. The importance of this investigation lies in placing these groups in dialogue with one another, and in the comprehensive use of both archaeological and textual information. The archaeological aspect of this research begins by collecting archeological data from a large number of burial sites throughout both of the target territories. The range of this data extends from the time of the Late Bronze Age into the Persian period, but the primary focus is upon the Iron Age. The first section of the dissertation relates to each of these areas and what can be learned from a survey of sites over this period, with particular attention paid to commonalities and contrasts among the two cultural groups. The second half of this research encompasses the textual and inscriptional data. Textual data include inscriptions from coffins, tombs, and funerary monuments from the Iron Age through the Persian period in Israel and Aram. Another crucial aspect of this textual data is the text of the Hebrew Bible. The biblical text, particularly the narrative sections of the text, provides a great amount of material for understanding death in Iron Age Israel and Judah. iv INDEX WORDS: Israel, Judah, Aram, Hebrew Bible, death, funerary inscriptions, burial customs, Iron Age, archaeology v BURIAL PRACTICES, FUNERARY TEXTS, AND THE TREATMENT OF DEATH IN IRON AGE ISRAEL AND ARAM by RACHEL VIRGINIA KING NABULSI BA, Berry College, 1993 MA, University of Georgia, 1997 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2015 i © 2015 Rachel Virginia King Nabulsi All Rights Reserved ii BURIAL PRACTICES, FUNERARY TEXTS, AND THE TREATMENT OF DEATH IN IRON AGE ISRAEL AND ARAM by RACHEL VIRGINIA KING NABULSI Major Professor: Richard E. Friedman Committee: Baruch Halpern Jared Klein Wayne Coppins Electronic Version Approved: Suzanne Barbour Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia August 2015 iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated with love and thanks to my husband Radi and to my son Ali, who never doubted me and always supported me in every way. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is not the product of solitary labor. Many people have over the years given me the tools that have enabled me to complete this work. The late Dr. Jorge Gonzales, professor emeritus of Berry College, first introduced me to the study of the texts of the Ancient Near East. He was a gifted teacher and his kindness permeated all that he did. It seems appropriate to express my gratitude again now, just over fifteen years after his passing, for the many gifts he gave to his students. Dr. Theodore Lewis, now the Blum-Iwry Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, guided my first foray into graduate studies with patience and wisdom during his time here at the University of Georgia. It is with tremendous gratitude that I thank Dr. Richard Friedman, Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia, for his guidance throughout my years of study for this degree. Dr. Baruch Halpern, Covenant Foundation Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia, joined the University of Georgia faculty just in time to lend a kind and wise hand to the construction of this dissertation. Thanks are also certainly due to two other valued committee members, Dr. Wayne Coppins, Associate Professor with the Department of Religion, and Dr. Jared Klein, Director of the UGA Linguistics Program and Distinguished Research Professor of Linguistics and Classics. I could not have completed my work without the support of the Department of Religion and the UGA Linguistics Program, each of which generously provided financial support in the form of teaching assistantships during my period of study here. The v University of Georgia Libraries has a wonderful collection and amazing staff that have been of great value for this research. The Interlibrary Loan Department tirelessly tracked down many difficult to locate items. Miss Sarah Kalfon and Miss Emily Stamper provided assistance with the translation of French materials. Finally it is with much love that I offer my thanks to my family: my parents for their support and encouragement and my husband Radi and son Ali for their constant love and patience. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………..xiii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 Purpose and Scope of the Study...................................................................1 2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF MORTUARY REMAINS IN ISRAEL AND JUDAH ....................................................................................10 Israel and Canaan in the Bronze Age: A Brief Overview ..........................10 Burial Practices in Iron Age Israel and Judah ............................................19 Cave Burials ...............................................................................................38 Wealth, Status and the Bench Tomb ..........................................................48 Conclusion .................................................................................................69 3 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR MORTUARY REMAINS IN ARAM..............................................................................................................73 The Kingdoms of Aram: Aramean and Hittite Influence ..........................73 Aram and the Biblical Text ........................................................................81 Note on the Choice of Inclusion of Sites ...................................................84 Two Late Bronze Age Sites .......................................................................86 vii Evidence from Iron Age Aram ..................................................................97 Aramaic Funerary Practices in Egypt ......................................................138 Conclusion: Burial Practices in Aram......................................................141 Final Comments on the Mortuary Evidence from Israel and Aram .........145 4 ISRAELITE TOMB AND FUNERARY INSCRIPTIONS ..........................151 Ketef Hinnom...........................................................................................151 Silwan ......................................................................................................165 Khirbet el-Qom ........................................................................................173 Khirbet Beit Lei: Hebrew Graffiti from a Chamber Tomb ......................192 Conclusion: What Hebrew Funerary Inscriptions Reveal ......................196 5 THE BIBLICAL TEXTS CONCERNING DEATH .....................................199 Opening Scenes: Death Enters the World, Death as a Link in a Chain ...202 The Good Deaths of the Patriarchs and the Punishment of Aaron and Moses .......................................................................................................205 Death Notices Serving the Purpose of the Narrative ...............................226 The Veneration of the Dead and the Afterlife .........................................265 Conclusion ...............................................................................................282 6 NEO-HITTITE/ARAMAIC FUNERARY INSCRIPTIONS ........................285 Neo-Hittite Funerary Monuments: Veneration of the Dead in Aram ......285 Inscriptions from Śam’al..........................................................................292 Evidence from Bēt Gūš: The Neirab Inscriptions ....................................324 Conclusion: The Aramaic Inscriptional Material ....................................341 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................344 viii APPENDICES A ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF MORTUARY REMAINS IN PHOENICIA ..................................................................................................369 Byblos and Sidon During the Bronze Age ...............................................373 Evidence from Phoenicia in the Iron Age ................................................378 Conclusion ...............................................................................................396 B PHOENICIAN FUNERARY INSCRIPTIONS ............................................398 The Coffin of King Ahiram of Byblos (KAI 1) .......................................399 Grave Inscription from Cyprus ................................................................403 The Sarcophagus of King Tabnit of Sidon (KAI 13) ...............................406 The Sarcophagus of King Eshmunazar of Sidon (KAI 14) .....................409 The Coffin of Queen Batnoam of Byblos (KAI 11) ................................414 Funerary Inscription of Abdosir (Cyprus) ...............................................416 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1: