RT Article
T1 Banned and Branded: The Mesopotamian Background of Šamata
JF Aramaic studies
VO 19
IS 2
SP 177
OP 197
A1 Paz, Yaḳir 1978-
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2021
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1770023267
AB 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.
K1 Mesopotamia
K1 Babylonian Talmud
K1 incantation bowls
K1 Branding
K1 oblates
K1 Eastern Aramaic
K1 Excommunication
DO 10.1163/17455227-bja10023