Nefesh
A nefesh (plural: nefashot) is a Semitic monument placed near a grave so as to be seen from afar.
Nabataea
![Several nepheshes can be seen on this tomb.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Obelisk_Tomb_and_Triclinium.jpg/220px-Obelisk_Tomb_and_Triclinium.jpg)
In a Nabataean
An
The Nabataean nephesh is a standing stone,
Jerusalem
Some examples of monumental funerary sculpture near Jerusalem bear inscriptions that include the term nephesh, and the word is generally accepted as a reference to the pyramid structure above or beside the tomb.[5]
Tomb of Absalom
Standing among a group of tombs in Jerusalem, the tomb of Absalom is an important example of Late Second Temple funerary architecture. To the lower left of the entrance to the tomb, the word nephesh is inscribed in Greek. In this context, the Greek nephesh is translated as two Hebrew-Aramaic words as nephesh and qubr, now interpreted as an amalgam of "tomb" and "stele." The carved rock is thus a memorial that evokes the essence or spirit of the deceased.[6]
Jason's Tomb
Dated to the first century BCE, Jason's Tomb bears an Aramaic inscription that states: "because I built for you a tomb (nephesh) and a memorial (qubr), be in peace in Jer[u]sa[le]m."[7]
Tomb of Benei Hezir
The Tomb of Benei Hezir also bears an epithet in Hebrew that states: "This is the tomb and the stele/memorial (nephesh) of Eleazar...".[8]
References
- ^ Robert Wenning, “The Betyls of Petra, ”Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 324. Nabataean Petra (Nov. 2001), p. 83.
- ^ Bert de Vries, "'Be of good cheer!No one on earth is immortal':Religious Symbolism in Tomb Architecture and Epitaphs at the Umm el-Jimal and Tall Hisban Cemeteries,"in Douglas R. Clark et al, ed. The Madaba Plains Project: Forty Years of Archaeological Research in Jordan's Past. Equinox, 2011, pp. 803-805
- ^ Robert Wenning, “The Betyls of Petra, ”Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 324. Nabataean Petra (Nov. 2001), p. 79.
- ^ Robert Wenning, “The Betyls of Petra, ”Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 324. Nabataean Petra (Nov. 2001), pp. 87–88.
- ^ Joe Zias and Emile Puech, "The Tomb of Absalom Reconsidered," Near Eastern Archeology', Wol. c68, No. 4 (Dec. 2005), p. 157.
- ^ Joe Zias and Emile Puech, "The Tomb of Absalom Reconsidered," Near Eastern Archeology', Wol. c68, No. 4 (Dec. 2005), p. 157.
- ^ Emile Puech,"Inscriptions funeraires pelestiniennes:tombeau de Jason et ossuaires.Revue biblique 1983. 90:481-533
- ^ N. Avigad. Ancient Monuments in the Kidron Valley. Jerusalem:Israel Exploration Society. 1954.
Further reading
- Kropp, Andreas (2010). "Earrings, Nefesh and Opus Reticulatum: Self-Representation of the Royal House of Emesa in the First Century AD". In Kaizer, Ted; Facella, Margherita (eds.). Kingdoms and Principalities in the Roman Near East. Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart.