Matzevah
{{short description|Sacred pillar (in the Bible) or Jewish headstone}}
{{other uses|Bereavement in Judaism}}
{{italic title}}
A masseba or matzeva[http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/search?quick=masseba&search_button.x=7&search_button.y=6 Oxford Biblical Studies Online], Oxford University Press. Accessed 14 February 2022. ({{langx|hbo|מַצֵּבָה|maṣṣēḇā|pillar, stele, baetyl}},{{efn|{{IPA|hbo|ˌmatsˀeːˈbɑː}}, Modern Hebrew {{IPA|ˌmatsɛˈva}}}}, plural maṣṣēḇoṯ) is a term used in the Hebrew Bible for a baetyl, a type of sacred column or standing stone. In the Septuagint, it is translated as {{langx|grc-x-koine|στήλη|stēlē}}.
Archaeologists have adopted the term for these stones in Canaan and the pre-Islamic Arab state of the Nabataean Kingdom. Massevot can also mark graves.
File:Massebotlady.png found a circle of ten or more massebot in his work in Gezer ]]
Etymology
The Hebrew word is derived from a Semitic root meaning 'to stand', which led to the meaning "pillar".{{cite book |chapter= Tombstone |title= A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion|last1=Jacobs |first1=Louis |author1-link=Louis Jacobs|publisher=Oxford University Press |year= 1999 |via= oxfordreference.com |isbn= 9780192800886}}
In transcription, many spellings are possible.[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/281619/jewish/The-Monument-Matzeivah.htm The Monument ("Matzeivah")], Maurice Lamm for Chabad.org. Accessed 17 Jan 2022.
Biblical narrative
Use of the term can be found in {{bibleverse|Genesis 28:18, 28:22, 31:13, 31:45, 35:14, 35:20, Exodus 24:4, Deuteronomy 16:22|multi=yes}} and {{bibleverse|Hosea|3:4|HE}}.
=Jacob=
The Patriarch Jacob set up four massebot in the Hebrew Bible:
- In Bethel, the origin of the term baetyl. In Genesis 28, "Jacob then made a vow, saying, “If God remains with me, protecting me on this journey that I am making, and giving me bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I return safe to my father’s house— Yahweh shall be my God. And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s abode; and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.”
- Miṣpā ({{langx|he|וְהַמִּצְפָּה|wəhammiṣpā|links=no}})
- In Bethel a second time. In Vayetze#Fifth_reading—Genesis_30:28–31:16, Yahweh says to Jacob, "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to Me."
- At Rachel's grave: "Over her grave Jacob set up a pillar; it is the pillar at Rachel’s grave to this day." (Vayishlach#Sixth_reading—Genesis_35:12–36:19) It could also stand as a witness: upon confronting Jacob in Gilead: "And Laban said to Jacob, "Here is this mound and here the pillar which I have set up between you and me: this mound shall be witness and this pillar shall be witness that I am not to cross to you past this mound, and that you are not to cross to me past this mound and this pillar, with hostile intent." (Genesis 31:52)
See also
{{Portal|Judaism|Mythology}}
- Asherah pole, Canaanite object honouring Asherah
- Bema and high place
- Ceremonial pole
- Lingam, abstract representation of the Hindu god Shiva
- Menhir, orthostat, or standing stone: upright stone, typically from the Bronze Age
Notes and references
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External links
- [https://www.britannica.com/topic/matzeva "matzeva"] at Encyclopædia Britannica online