ʻAnab el-Kabir (Khirbet ʻAnab) - Church

Church/Monastery name: 
ʻAnab el-Kabir (Khirbet ʻAnab) - Church
Inscription number: 
7
Selected bibliography: 
52 (ph.) (L. Di Segni and M. Meerson) (in Hebrew)
342, fig. 15 (ph., dr.)
388-389, no. 7 (dr.) (ed. pr.)
16, no. 12
Abbreviation for Journals and Series
Epigraphical corpora: 

CIIP IV.2 (2018): 3866 (ph.)

Inscription type: 
building
invocation/prayer
quotation
Location: 

In the mosaic panel at the center of the narthex, in front of the main entrance to the church.

Physical description : 

Six-line inscription beginning with a cross. Enclosed in a rectangular frame (208 cm long, 77 cm high) composed of a mixture of black, red, and yellow tesserae - possibly an earlier frame repaired using leftovers from other mosaics. The letters are traced in red tesserae and are 9-11 cm high. They belong to the square Byzantine alphabet; omicrons and thetas are oval with pointed tops, a characteristic that only appears in the mid-6th century. Paleographically close to Inscription 8 (in contrast to Inscriptions 1, 3-6). 

Text: 

☩ Αὕτι ἡ πύλη τοῦ Κ(υρίο)υ, δίκεοι εἰσελεύ-

σοντε ἐν αὐτῇ. Ἐγένετο τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο

ἐπὶ το̑ν θεοφιλεστάτον Γεωργίου καὶ

Ἀνιανοῦ πρεσβ(υτέρων), ἐν μη(νὶ) Μαίῳ ἰνδ(ικτιῶνος) δʹ☩

☩ ὑπὲρ σωτηρίας το̑ν καρποφορισάν-

τ(ων) Σιλουανοῦ (καὶ) Ζαχαρία. Κ(ύρι)ε σο̑σ(ον) Στέφανον.

Translation: 

This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it. This work was done under the most God-loving priests George and Anianos, in the month of May of the fourth indiction, for the salvation of the benefactors, Silvanus and Zacharias. Lord, save Stephen.

Commentary: 

The inscription includes a biblical quotation - Ps. 117(118):20 - one of the most common Old Testament quotations in Christian inscriptions. Several abbreviations are used: a raised eta on mu for μηνί or μηνός; stigma; horizontal stroke for nomina sacra and numerals. Spelling is phonetic, with iotacism and the exchange of long and short vowels: L. 1 Αὕτ<η>, δίκ<αι>οι; l. 2 εἰσελεύσοντ<αι>; l. 3 τ<ῶ>ν θεοφιλεστάτ<ω>ν; l. 5 τ<ῶ>ν καρποφορ<η>σάτ(ων); σ<ῶ>σ(ον) The physical relationship of the inscription and its rectangular frame to the geometric panel that adorns the narthex floor (which presumably belongs to a second building phase of the church) suggests that the text was reinscribed in its original place in front of the main church entrance, when the new narthex floor was laid. It is, however, unclear whether the text was left unchanged or altered to reflect the renovation. Did the donors mentioned pay for the original floor or the renovation? Was the date the original one, or was it changed to reflect the restoration date? The former scenario would suggest May 511 or 526; the latter, more likely, scenario: May 556, 571, or 586. In any case, it is likely that the execution was not before the mid-6th century. It is reasonable to assume that the priests mentioned in this inscription and in Inscriptions 2 and 3 are the same men.

Given date: 
month
indiction
Date: 
second half of the 6th cent.
Summary: 

Building inscription including a quote from Psalm and an invocation, in the narthex.

Contents
Actions: 
the work was done
Ecclesiastical titles: 
presbyter
Epithets of clergy/monks: 
God-loving (theophiles)
Personal names: 
Anianus, Georgius, Silvanus, Stephanus, Zacharias
Epigraphical formulae: 
salvation/preservation (sôtêria)
Lord, save (σῶσον)
Citations from LXX / NT: 
Ps. 117 (118):20
Epigraphical Abbreviations: 
raised eta over mu, stigma, horizontal stroke