Beersheba fragment with menorah depiction

The 'Oil Lamp Fragment' is an old remnant of a Jewish oil lamp.[1][2][3]

Oil Lamp Fragment
Created1st century CE
Period/cultureSecond Temple Period
DiscoveredBeersheba, Israel
Present locationIsrael Antiquities Authority
CultureJewish

Discovery

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The fragment of an ancient jewish oil lamp was found unearthed the Beersheba Settlement in the Negev Desert.[4] It was discovered during excavations beneath destroyed buildings that date back to the time of the Judaea Province.[5][6] The settlement and the oil lamp itself were destroyed during the Jewish-Roman wars.[7][8]

The fragment

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The oil lamp fragment decorated with a nine-branched menorah.[9]

According to the Israel Antiquities Authority

This is probably one of the earliest artistic depictions of a nine-branched menorah yet discovered. Of the few oil lamps discovered which depict menorahs, none of them have the traditional seven branches. This is because of a ruling in the Babylonian Talmud which stated that only the temple menorah itself could have seven branches. Because of this, lamps used in domestic settings commonly had between eight to eleven branches.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2,000-Year-Old Menorah Image Uncovered in Southern Israel - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  2. ^ "2,000-year-old image of 9-stem menorah found in rare Jewish site in Beersheba". Christians United for Israel. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  3. ^ i24NEWS (2019-04-04). "2,000 year-old menorah discovered at site near Israel's Beer Sheva in the Negev". I24news. Retrieved 2024-02-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Wyjątkowe odkrycie archeologów. Lampa z czasów Jezusa". Aleteia Polska (in Polish). 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  5. ^ "Archaeologists unearth 2,000 year-old Second Temple era Beersheba settlement". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 2019-04-05. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  6. ^ "Israel discovers 2,000-year-old Jewish village with rare oil lamp - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 2024-03-05.
  7. ^ "2,000-year-old image of 9-stem menorah found in rare Jewish site in Beersheba". THE TIMES OF ISRAEL.
  8. ^ "Archaeologists find menorah image on oil lamp from Jesus' time". Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture. 2019-04-09. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
  9. ^ "Nine-branch Menorah discovered at Beer Sheba - one of the earliest of its kind". The Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority. 2019-04-05. Retrieved 2024-02-28.