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When Bliss and Macalister found 30 scarabs with the names of Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, and other pharaohs in a level they recognized as belonging to the Israelite settlement at Tel es-Safi, the ancient site of the Philistine city of Gath, they wrote: "Evidently some of them, if not all, are mere Palestinian imitations of imported specimens, and are therefore of no value in fixing the date of associated objects. It is an elementary archaeological canon that under the most favorable circumstances scarabs alone can give a measure of date only; when the element of copying, perhaps long subsequent to the engraving of the original exemplar, is introduced, their chronological importance practically disappears." [0100]
From a private e-mail list we obtained this information: |
The Yaqub scarab Inscribed with the hieroglyphics spelling `Yqh-HR' this scarab seems to bear a close rendition of the biblical name `Jabob'. Its origin is not known but it can be seen in its good condition in color in the source below. A fine Example of what is described as an Edomite Seal The round stone seal shows two figures with one raised arm facing a central altar. The paleo-Hebrew script is in two lines separated by a double solid line above the figures and reads, `Belonging to `Mskt' , son of `Vhzm'. and can be seen in the source below. [BAR, Vol. 22, Jul/Aug 1996, a) p. 38; b) p. 50.] |