A 1800-year-old tombstone with a 'cursed message' in blood-red letters is found in Israel



'1800-year-old tombstone with a curse message in red letters' was discovered

in the Necropolis of Bate Shearim, Israel, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as the first Jewish burial site built outside Jerusalem. it was done. This message is said to have been directed by the burial person to the one who uncovers the tomb.



Do not open: Odd 1,800-year-old grave marker for Jacob the Convert found in Galilee | The Times of Israel
https://www.timesofisrael.com/1800-year-old-grave-marker-for-jacob-the-convert-stumbled-upon-at-beit-shearim/

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Tomb Marker Cursing All Who Enter In Israel
https://www.vice.com/en/article/93a59y/archaeologists-discover-ancient-tomb-marker-cursing-all-who-enter-in-israel

The Bate Shearim site is a Jewish burial site built in the 2nd century, and nearly 300 tomb marks written in various letters such as Greek letters and Hebrew letters have been found. The Israeli Archaeological Agency and the University of Haifa reported on June 1, 2022 that they had discovered a new grave marker for the first time in 65 years.

The tombstone discovered this time was made about 1800 years ago, and it was written that it belonged to a person named 'Jacob' who was 60 years old when he died, and that he was a 'converter to Judaism'. This is the first evidence that a convert is buried in the Bet She'arim site.

In addition, the letters of the grave marker are written in red ink that looks like blood, and there was also an eerie message in Greek letters that 'everyone who opens this grave is cursed'. The picture below is the actual Jacob tombstone announced by the President of Israeli Archeology.



Since it was not uncommon in the ancient world to make grave markers before an individual died, the message of the curse is likely to be Jacob's own words. Professor Jonathan Price of Tel Aviv University , who was in charge of deciphering the inscription, said the message was composed of strange and verbose Greek, so the message may have been written exactly as Jacob spoke. increase.

'He must have prepared the grave before he died, but we don't know if he wrote the message with his own hands,' Price said. In addition, the shape of the letters is quite well-organized compared to other tombstones.

It is Jacob's grave marker with a message of curse, but it seems that the place where it was discovered was not the place where Jacob was originally buried, and it is believed that the grave marker was moved by the looter. Therefore, the body of Jacob himself has not been found, and it is unknown where Jacob came from and was buried in the Bet She'arim ruins. 'Who knows where he came from? You'll never know unless you find him in his diary,' said Price, who can only presume that Jacob's mother tongue is Greek.

Professor Adi Erlich of the University of Haifa, director of excavation at the Bate Shearim site, has stated that he is a convert. Jacob's tombstone was converted to Judaism even when Christianity was becoming dominant. Pointed out as evidence that was being done. 'We can see that despite the repeated failures of the Jewish rebellion, the decline of Judaism, and the strengthening and widespread use of Christianity, some people chose to join Judaism and proclaimed it openly.' Said.

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