תחום גזר: לחקר היישוב היהודי בגזר בתקופה החשמונאית

Translated title of the contribution: The "Boundary of Gezer" — On the Jewish Settlement at Gezer in Hasmonean Times

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Abstract

The first of the Gezer boundary inscriptions was found by Clermont-Ganneau in 1874, and since then additional inscriptions have been found, most of them bearing the Hebrew words tḥm gzr ("Boundary of Gezer") and the Greek word Alkiou ("Belonging to Alkios") inscribed above and inverted. Confusion in the publication of these inscriptions (such as one of them being published twice; and others being published without drawings, photographs or exact locations) calls for publication of a detailed corpus. Several characteristics concerning the inscription are now revealed: there is a consistency in the orientation of the inscriptions in relation to the mound, as shown by those still in situ. The Hebrew is to be read while facing the mound, while the Greek faces the opposite direction (mainly south and east). This would indicate that Alkios was the owner of the land adjacent to the lands of Gezer (and not the owner of the territory marked by the inscriptions, as has been the commonly-held view till now). The boundary encircles an area of ca. 4 sq. km, with Tel Gezer occupying the north-western corner. A date at the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 1st centuries BCE can be accepted as the most plausible for the inscriptions. This phenomenon of marking a border by stones inscribed with the city name is unique, apparently implying an unusual territorial status. The author relates this to the Hasmonean conquest of Gezer (1 Macc. 13: 43–48): An observant Jewish community was then settled on the site, with John Hyrcanus I appointed as Governor. The author identifies the area marked by the boundary inscriptions as the agricultural land belonging to this new Jewish community, an enclave within lands owned by Gentiles. This was probably part of an early, local attempt to demarcate lands subject to the agricultural precepts concerning the Holy Land, especially those of the priestly offerings. The experience gained by Hyrcanus here at Gezer may have been the basis for the regulations which he seems to have instituted after ascending the throne in Jerusalem (cf. Mishnah, Maʿaser Sheni, 5, 15).
Translated title of the contributionThe "Boundary of Gezer" — On the Jewish Settlement at Gezer in Hasmonean Times
Original languageHebrew
Pages (from-to)167-179
Number of pages16
Journalארץ ישראל: מחקרים בידיעת הארץ ועתיקותיה
Volume18
StatePublished - 1985

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