Greek inscription on a capital, invoking the help of the God of *Stephen (the First Martyr, S00030). Found at Shivta (ancient Sobata) in the Negev desert (Roman province of Palaestina III). Probably 6th c.
Evidence ID
E04169
Type of Evidence
Inscriptions - Inscribed architectural elements
ὦ θεὸς τοῦ ἁγίου Στεφάν[ου]
μάρτυρος σῶσον τὸν δοῦλόν σου
'O God of Saint Stephen the martyr, save your servant!'
I. Negev, no. 70.
Cult PlacesPrayer/supplication/invocation
Protagonists in Cult and Narratives
Cult building - independent (church)
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings
Construction of cult buildings
Renovation and embellishment of cult buildings
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesOther lay individuals/ people
Source
The inscription was carved on the abacus of a capital, found in an unknown location in the city of Shivta (ancient Sobata), just possibly in the 'Central Church', as suggested by Avraham Negev.The inscription was found by Harris Colt who surveyed Sobata in 1933-1935 on behalf of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. Most of the written records of the Colt Expedition, were, however, lost in a fire, and the archive of the mission, which is now in the Department of Antiquities and Museums in Jerusalem, is lacunose. Avraham Negev found a transcription of the present text in the archive, but the file did not provide any detailed description of the find-spot or photograph. Negev published the inscription in 1981, with the permission of the DAM and the BSA.
Discussion
The inscription is a common invocation on behalf of an unnamed donor, of which we find many in the region. It is very probable that the man offered the column, which bore this capital, to one of the churches in Sobata. The church could well have been dedicated to Stephen, whose cult was popular in the Negev.Dating: There is no reliable way to date the inscription. This kind of invocation is usually placed in the 6th c.
Bibliography
Edition:Negev, A., The Greek Inscriptions from the Negev (Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press, 1981), no. 70.
Further reading:
Figueras, P., "Monks and monasteries in the Negev desert", Liber Annuus 45 (1995), 440.
Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 31, 1448.
Record Created By
Paweł Nowakowski
Date of Entry
18/10/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00030 | Stephen, the First Martyr | Στέφανος | Certain |
|---|
Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Paweł Nowakowski, Cult of Saints, E04169 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04169