In 1910, during the excavation of Samaria, GA Reisner discovered a uniform group of sixty-five documents written on broken pottery shards (see OSTRACA) in ancient Hebrew script. These were found on the floor of a room that belonged to the first phase of the second period of the construction of the Samaria palace. They had been written with a reed pen in black carbon ink in a clear, flowing script and appeared to be the work of skilled scribes. The words were divided with dots or lines as in the *Moabite stone and *Siloam inscriptions.
Although these documents contain only scant information, they are of considerable significance for the writing, spelling, personal names, topography, religion, and administration of the period. A typical ostraca (No. 18) will give a general picture of its contents. It says: “In the year ten. From Hazeroth to Gaddiyau; a vase of fine oil.†
A host of problems awaits a final solution. The original excavators attributed the level where they were found to the days of Ahab in the 9th century BC. JC, but a closer consideration of the evidence would give a date in the 8th century. The exact date depends largely on the interpretation of the symbols used to express the number of years. In particular, the sign has been read as 10 and the sign as 5 so the combination denotes 15. A combination of signs in ostraca No. 63 has been read as †œ17 years† where the date formula is then †œin the year 17† . On this basis, only those kings of the 9th or 8th century who reigned seventeen years could qualify, i.e. Jehu (ca. 842–815 BC), Jehoahaz (ca. 815–801 BC), and Jeroboam ( ca. 786–745 BC ).
More recently, Y Yadin has suggested that the symbols should be read differently and has deduced that the highest regnal year is 9. He says that the pottery used in the documents can be assigned to periods IV or V in Samaria (KM Kenyon, Sebaste, III, p. 470), while the writing resembles that of the Siloam inscription more than that of the Mesa stone. Again, he states that the defeat of Manahem by Tiglath-pileser in 738 B.C. JC (2 Kings 15:14-20) and the obligation imposed on him to pay heavy tribute would provide a historical explanation for the need to collect taxes excessively. In that case, a date between 745 and 735 BC. de JC, seems possible, a view that has now received support from WF Albright (BASOR, 168 p. 43).
The nature of the documents is not entirely clear. Until today, it has been believed that the formula †œto X of Y† indicates that the goods were delivered from a certain place to a certain person in charge of the area. Where more than one name is mentioned, it may refer to the fact that the wine, oil, etc., of a particular place were designated for various people. It appears that the documents were written at the place of delivery; however, since the numbers 48 and 49 are part of the same utensil, they differ in both place names and personal names. Furthermore, the writing indicates that only a small number of scribes wrote the documents. Indeed, a scribe wrote an ostraca mentioning various place names. On the other hand, Yadin has pointed out that the word a in the ostraca means belonging, to, so ostraca 18 would read: “In the tenth year of Hazeroth, which belongs to Gaddiyau. A fine oil vase.† Ostracas, in this sense, were records written by a court official upon receiving an object in question. Where several names are mentioned, the first would indicate that he is the main owner and the others his associates or tenants.
Whatever the final solution, an explanation must be given to the fact that the persons to whose names the preposition a is prefixed are related to different places and different districts and why several persons are mentioned in connection with the same place.
The articles mentioned are oil and wine. This suggests that one is dealing, not so much with an annual tribute, but with the fruits of the crown estates gathered in Samaria and sent by the tenants of the vineyards or orchards to the officials for distribution.
The names mentioned on the ostracas are of considerable religious significance. There are, as in the Old Testament, compound names with †™ab †œfather† , †™ah †œbrother† , †™am †œpeople† and also with divine names El, Baal, Yah. There were approximately 7 Baal names for every 11 names formed with Yah. This would support the Old Testament picture of the great interest in Baal worship in Samaria and in the northern parts of Israel. At the same time, the presence of numerous names of Yah offers evidence of the continuity of Yahweh worship in the north, despite the bad reputation of the kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: GA Resiner, CS Fisher, and DG Lyon, Harvard Excavations at Samaria, 1908–1910, 1924, pp. 227–246. Y. Yadin, †œAncient Judaean Weights and the Date of the Samaria Ostraca† , Scripta Hierosolymitana, VIII, Jerusalem, 1961, pp. 9–25. JW Jack, Samaria in Ahab†™s Time, Edinburgh, 1929. Various notes in Israel Exploration Journal, Vol. 9, 1959, p. 184–187; Vol. 12, 1962, pp. 62–69.
Source: Archaeological Biblical Dictionary