This book treats the alphabet scribes in Mesopotamia in the Late Babylonian period (6th-5th centuries BCE). Bloch defends the understanding of the term sēpiru as a designation of alphabet scribes, discusses the functions of sēpiru professionals in Babylonia, and discusses their ethnic origins, with special attention to the participation of Judeans in Babylonia in this profession. The monograph includes translations of over 100 Late Babylonian economic, legal, and administrative documents.
SKU (ISBN): 978-1-4632-0635-2
Publication Status: In Print
Publication Date: Sep 17,2018
Interior Color: Black
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Page Count: 515
Language: English
ISBN: 978-1-4632-0635-2
$198.00
Your price: $118.80
This book discusses the alphabetic scribes (sēpiru) mentioned in Mesopotamian documents of the Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid periods – specifically, of the 6th-5th centuries bce. The period in question saw a wide diffusion of writing in the Northwest Semitic alphabetic script – mostly in Aramaic – in Mesopotamia; yet, alphabetic texts were normally written in ink on perishable materials and did not survive to be discovered by modern archaeologists. In contrast, cuneiform tablets written on clay have been found in large numbers, and they document different aspects of the alphabetic scribes’ activities. This book presents evidence for understanding the Akkadian term sēpiru as a designation for an alphabetic scribe and discusses the functions of these professionals in different administrative and economic spheres. It further considers the question of the ethnic origins of the alphabetic scribes in Mesopotamia, with special attention to the participation of Judeans in Babylonia in this profession. Bloch also provides translations of over 100 cuneiform documents of economic, legal and administrative content.
REVIEWS
"Of particular interest regarding the ability to speak and read multiple languages is a writing exercise in which a student wrote out, in traditional order, the twenty-two letters of the North-West Semitic (NWS) alphabet but in phonetic cuneiform script...
It is indeed quite possible that the teacher and student were Israelite or Judean exiles.
The earliest mention of a sēpiru working in the state administration for a king probably involves a
Judean (or perhaps Israelite) in the service of Nebuchadnezzar II...
In addition to phenomenal research on the history of alphabetic scribes in Mesopotamia during the Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid periods, Bloch also provides transliterations and translations of thirty-three previously unedited cuneiform tablets...
Yigal Bloch’s book is not only important for Assyriological studies, but also for Aramaic studies, the history of writing, and Jewish studies."
Excerpts from Jan Safford in the Journal of the American Oriental Society 142.4 (2022)