Matzevah
A masseba or matzeva[1] (Biblical Hebrew: מַצֵּבָה, romanized: maṣṣēḇā, lit. 'pillar, stele, baetyl',[a], plural maṣṣēḇoṯ) is a term used in the Hebrew Bible for a baetyl, a type of sacred column or standing stone. In the Septuagint, it is translated as Koinē Greek: στήλη, romanized: stēlē.
Archaeologists have adopted the term for these stones in Canaan and the pre-Islamic Arab state of the Nabataean Kingdom. Massevot can also mark graves.
Etymology
[edit]The Hebrew word is derived from a Semitic root meaning 'to stand', which led to the meaning "pillar".[2]
In transcription, many spellings are possible.[3]
Biblical narrative
[edit]Use of the term can be found in Genesis 28:18, 28:22, 31:13, 31:45, 35:14, 35:20, Exodus 24:4, Deuteronomy 16:22 and Hosea 3:4.
Jacob
[edit]The Patriarch Jacob set up four massebot in the Hebrew Bible:
- In Bethel, the origin of the term baetyl. In Genesis 28, "Jacob then made a vow, saying, “If God remains with me, protecting me on this journey that I am making, and giving me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I return safe to my father’s house— Yahweh shall be my God. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s abode; and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.”
- Miṣpā (Hebrew: וְהַמִּצְפָּה, romanized: wəhammiṣpā)
- In Bethel a second time. In Genesis| 31:13, Yahweh says to Jacob, "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to Me."
- At Rachel's grave: "Over her grave Jacob set up a pillar; it is the pillar at Rachel’s grave to this day." (Genesis|35:20|HE) It could also stand as a witness: upon confronting Jacob in Gilead: "And Laban said to Jacob, "Here is this mound and here the pillar which I have set up between you and me: this mound shall be witness and this pillar shall be witness that I am not to cross to you past this mound, and that you are not to cross to me past this mound and this pillar, with hostile intent." (Genesis 31:52)
See also
[edit]
- Asherah pole, Canaanite object honouring Asherah
- Bema and high place
- Ceremonial pole
- Lingam, abstract representation of the Hindu god Shiva
- Menhir, orthostat, or standing stone: upright stone, typically from the Bronze Age
Notes and references
[edit]- ^ Biblical Hebrew pronunciation: [ˌmatsˀeːˈbɑː], Modern Hebrew ˌmatsɛˈva
- ^ Oxford Biblical Studies Online, Oxford University Press. Accessed 14 February 2022.
- ^ Jacobs, Louis (1999). "Tombstone". A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192800886 – via oxfordreference.com.
- ^ The Monument ("Matzeivah"), Maurice Lamm for Chabad.org. Accessed 17 Jan 2022.
External links
[edit]- "matzeva" at Encyclopædia Britannica online