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Last Updated on 23 Mar 2017

Author: Benedikt Eckhardt

CAPInv. 607: U-NEA-020

I. LOCATION

i. Geographical area The Near East and Beyond
ii. Region Arabia
iii. Site Oboda

II. NAME

i. Association with unknown name U-NEA-020

III. DATE

i. Date(s) 88 - 99 AD

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

iii. Descriptive terms מרזחא, mrzḥ’
Note mrzḥ’: IEJ 11 (1961): 135-7 no. 8 l. 2; IEJ 11 (1961): 135-7 no. 9b l. 2 (as reconstructed by Naveh).

V. SOURCES

i. Source(s) IEJ 11 (1961): 135-7 no. 8 (AD 88/9)
IEJ 11 (1961): 135-7 no. 9b (AD 98/9)
i.a. Source type(s) Epigraphic source(s)
i.b. Document(s) typology & language/script Both documents are dedicatory inscriptions in Aramaic (for the object dedicated, see CAPInv. 603).
i.c. Physical format(s) Limestone troughs.
ii. Source(s) provenance Found 4km south of Oboda in a tributary valley of the Nahal Avdat, within a range of 20 metres.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii. Members בני מרזחא, bny mrzḥ’ (l. 2 in no. 8 as restored by Hackl et al.; l. 2 in no. 9b as read by Naveh).

חברוהי, ḥbwrhy (l. 2 in no. 8; l. 1 in no. 9b; "his friends", i.e. the friends of the person mentioned at the beginning, possibly the leader of the association)

XII. NOTES

i. Comments According to Negev 1961: 136-7, the similar terminology and the find spots indicate that both inscriptions come from the same group. The personal name is missing in the second inscription, so this cannot be proven. A similar formula (reconstructed by Naveh) can be found in no. 10, where the specification of the god seems to indicate that this was a different association. It should therefore be kept in mind that the two inscriptions used for this entry may also attest to two separate associations.
iii. Bibliography Hackl, U., Jenni, H., and Schneider, Chr. (2003), Quellen zur Geschichte der Nabatäer. Textsammlung mit Übersetzung und Kommentar. Fribourg/Göttingen (402-3).
McLaughlin, J.L. (2001), The marzēaḥ in the Prophetic Literature. References and Allusions in Light of the Extra-Biblical Evidence. Leiden/Boston (47-8).
Millares Maciá, M. (2007), Marzeah y thíasos: una institución convival en el Oriente Próximo Antiguo y el Mediterráneo. Madrid (169-71).
Naveh, J. (1967), 'Some Notes on Nabatean Inscriptions from ‘Avdat', IEJ 17: 187-9.
Negev, A. (1961), 'Nabatean Inscriptions from ‘Avdat (Oboda) I', IEJ 11: 127-38.

XIII. EVALUATION

i. Private association Probable
Note The terminology used suggests a private association