Aramaic Scribal Exercises of the Hellenistic Period from Maresha: Bowls A and B

Abstract

In the excavations at Maresha, parts of four bowls with 16 inscriptions written on both the interior and exterior were found. This article discusses seven inscriptions written on two bowls by different hands, thus identified as scribal exercises, in a cursive Aramaic script of the late third or the beginning of the second century B.C.E. The inscriptions on Bowl A include part of a wisdow text, a registration of a daily harvest, and an account. Bowl B includes a blessing of a wise man and part of a marriage contract. While the registration of the harvest, the account, and the marriage contract are related to daily life, the source of what we are calling "wisdom texts" is less clear. In this article we have tried to trace the possible origins of those wisdom texts by looking for parallels and by speculating that they are part of the lost Edomite wisdom tradition.

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