Banned and Branded: The Mesopotamian Background of Šamata
The verb √šmt and noun šamata, attested in the dialects of Eastern Aramaic in the Sasanian period, would seem at first to be synonymous with the Palestinian term nidui, ‘excommunication’. However, a closer examination reveals that šamata has a different semantic value. It is not simply conceived as...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2021
|
| In: |
Aramaic studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 19, Issue: 2, Pages: 177-197 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Aramaic language
/ Syriac language
/ Shamata
/ Excommunication
/ Herem
/ Curse
/ Violence
/ God
/ Akkadian language
/ Temple
/ Devotion
|
| IxTheo Classification: | CA Christianity HA Bible |
| Further subjects: | B
Babylonian Talmud
B incantation bowls B Mesopotamia B oblates B Excommunication B Eastern Aramaic B Branding |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The verb √šmt and noun šamata, attested in the dialects of Eastern Aramaic in the Sasanian period, would seem at first to be synonymous with the Palestinian term nidui, ‘excommunication’. However, a closer examination reveals that šamata has a different semantic value. It is not simply conceived as a social sanction of excommunication but is understood as a curse involving divine violence; is closely associated with binding; and is often perceived as the property of powerful agents. In this article I argue that √šmt is derived from the Akkadian šamātu, ‘to mark’, ‘to brand’, especially in its more restricted sense ‘to brand temple slaves’ and ‘to dedicate a person to a deity’. Understanding the Mesopotamian roots of šamata might help us better explain its unique regional features, shared by the Aramaic speaking groups in the Sasanian Empire. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1745-5227 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Aramaic studies
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/17455227-bja10023 |