Welcome to the Catalogue of Semitic Inscriptions (CSI), a semi-comprehensive repository dedicated to the study of ancient Semitic texts from the third through first millennia BCE. This collection showcases a wide array of inscriptions, ranging from monumental stone carvings to delicate papyrus scrolls, originating from the diverse cultures of the ancient Near East. Here, scholars and enthusiasts alike can explore the linguistic, historical, and cultural significance of these inscriptions, gaining insights into the civilizations that spoke languages such as Akkadian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, and more. Whether you’re conducting research or simply intrigued by the ancient world, this catalogue offers a valuable glimpse into the rich heritage of Semitic peoples.
Northwest Semitic Inscriptions
The Northwest Semitic languages descend from a higher node of the Semitic genus called Central Semitic (which also includes Arabic and Old South Arabian) which in turn descends from a common West Semitic ancestor (shared with Modern South Arabian and the Ethio-Semitic languages). At its most basic level, Northwest Semitic languages include three branches: Aramaic, Ugaritic, and so-called Canaanite, the latter including Phoenician and Hebrew among other languages and dialects. (There is long-standing debate about several matters in the classification of Northwest Semitic languages, including the relationship of Ugaritic to Canaanite, the possibility of an Aramaeo-Canaanite branch over against Canaanite, the classification of Sam’alian and the Deir ‘Allā inscription, and the existence of other branches such as Amorite and Emarite on the basis of NWS personal names and substrate influence in Western Peripheral Akkadian texts.) This page links to the catalogues of Aramaic inscriptions, Ugaritic Inscriptions, and inscriptions in the so-called Canaanite dialects.
Catalogue of Early Alphabetic Inscriptions (2nd Mill. BCE)
- Catalogue of Early Alphabetic Inscriptions coming soon.
Catalogue of Ugaritic Texts
- Catalogue of Ugaritic Texts coming soon.
Catalogue of Aramaic Inscriptions
- Catalogue of Aramaic Inscriptions coming soon.
Catalogue of Hebrew Inscriptions
The corpus of ancient Hebrew inscriptions includes a variety of genres from different regions and time periods. The genres include, inter alia, letters, receipts, amulets, and writing exercises, all of which vary in material production from engraved lapidary inscriptions to ink on papyrus. While the study of epigraphic Hebrew began in the late 19th century, the corpus of legible texts has steadily increased from the first known Hebrew inscriptions (the Silwan funerary and Siloam Tunnel inscriptions) to a collection of some several hundred texts, mostly short and/or fragmentary in nature. For example, Davies’s Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, vol. 1 (1991) includes approximately 500 texts, which increased by 91 more in vol. 2 (2004); Lemaire estimates a corpus of some 700 published texts. For a helpful overview, see Aḥituv, Garr, and Fassberg, “Epigraphic Hebrew,” in A Handbook of Biblical Hebrew (2016) as well as any number of the available text collections, such as Donner and Röllig, Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften 1–3; Gibson, Syrian Semitic Inscriptions. I: Hebrew and Moabite; Pardee, Handbook of Ancient Hebrew Letters; Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions (2 vols); Renz and Röllig, Handbuch der althebräischen Inschriften (4 vols); Dobbs-Allsopp, Roberts, Seow and Whitaker, Hebrew Inscriptions; and most recently, Aḥituv, Echoes from the Past.
For the Catalogue of Hebrew Inscriptions, see here. In progress.
Catalogue of Phoenician-Punic Inscriptions
- Catalogue of Phoenician-Punic Inscriptions coming soon.
Catalogue of Other Canaanite Inscriptions
- Catalogue of Canaanite Inscriptions (other than Hebrew and Phoenician-Punic) coming soon.