1,800-Year-Old Hebrew Inscription Found in Galilee

February 23, 2017

by: Edgar Asher

Thursday, 23 February 2017 | An 1,800 year old limestone capital dating to the Roman period that is engraved with two Hebrew inscriptions was discovered during the course of restoration and conservation work being carried out in the ancient synagogue and neighboring Beit Zinati visitor center at Peki’in in the Western Galilee. The work is being conducted by the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel as part of a heritage project by the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage. The stone was found upside down in the building’s courtyard, and upon discovery of the inscriptions archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) arrived at the site in order to examine the special find. A preliminary analysis of the engraving suggests that these are dedicatory inscriptions honoring donors to the synagogue.

According to Yoav Lerer, the IAA inspector in the Western Galilee, “The Talmudic and Midrashic sources tell of the Galilean sages that lived in Peqiʽin, including Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who hid from the Romans in a nearby cave. However, there are those who disagree with the identification of the location of Peqi’in. I believe that these inscriptions will add an important tier to our knowledge about the Jewish settlement in the village of Peqi’in during the Roman and Byzantine periods.”

In the past year rehabilitation and conservation work was carried out in Peqi’in’s ancient synagogue and nearby Beit Zinati in order to upgrade the visitor center located there. The visitor center will tell the two thousand year long history of the Jews in the village, and the unique story of the Zinati family—the village’s oldest established Jewish family. Until today Margalit Zinati, the last member of the Jewish Zinati family to ‘keep the flame alive’, resides in the house adjacent to the synagogue.

Posted on February 23, 2017

Source: (Ashernet originally posted this article on 22 February 2017. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today.)

Photo Credit: Ashernet/IAA/Ritvo