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‘Atiqot 110 (2023)
ISBN 2948-040X
Evidence of an Edomite Hebrew Scribal Cooperation from Tel Malḥata: One Ostracon–Two Scripts–Three Scribes?
(pp. 33–43)
Stefan Jakob Wimmer
Keywords: Iron Age, Edomite, Hebrew, scribal dialect, epigraphy, Northwest Semitic alphabet, ostraca, numerical systems
Among the epigraphic finds that Itzhaq Beit-Arieh published from Tel Malḥata, Inscription No. 4, the focus of this paper, is unique among the Iron Age ostraca, as it is written in both the Edomite and Hebrew languages. The context of the inscription is clear: a registration of amounts of one or more unknown commodities, with certain amounts described as ‘diminished.’ This paper offers a reassessment of Beit-Arie’s interpretation of the inscription, suggesting that it testifies to interaction and cooperation among several scribes adhering to different scribal dialects. It further discusses the broader implications of the inscription for the research of early Edomite writing.