The Mosaic of Reḥob (, also known as the Tel Rehov inscription and the Baraita of the Boundaries) is a late 3rd–6th century CE mosaic discovered in 1973. The mosaic, written in late Mishnaic Hebrew, describes the geography and agricultural rules of the local Jews of the era. It was inlaid in the floor of the foyer or narthex of an ancient synagogue near Tel Rehov,The actual archaeological site was located ca. northwest of Tel Rehov. See ; . south of Beit She'an and about west of the Jordan River. The mosaic contains the longest written text yet discovered in any Hebrew mosaic in Israel, and also the oldest known Talmudic text.. Quote: [p. 123] "The inscription contains twenty-nine long lines, among which are 1807 letters! It is, by far, larger than all the inscriptions discovered until now among mosaic flooring, whether those belonging to ancient synagogues or those belonging to other structures. Thus, for example, it is more than three-times larger than the inscription found at Ein Gedi, which was discovered a few years ago, and which was, until now, the largest one discovered in the country." [...] [p. 124] "This is the first time that we have access to any Talmudic text inscribed close to the time of its inception and in close proximity to the centers of Talmudic formulation in the Land of Israel, a text that was inscribed, presumably, not too far after the redaction of the original Palestinian work, and in a place that is nigh the spiritual center of the Land of Israel during the Talmudic era: viz., Tiberias of the 5th-century (B)CE (sic). The text before us is not dependent upon the textual tradition of handwritten manuscripts, the pathway in which the Palestinian Talmudic literature has reached us; nor was it transferred unto us by way of reed pens (calamus) used by the scribes, copyists and proofreaders of various kinds, and for this reason it is invaluable for offering a critique on the Talmudic text. What is especially important is the clear Palestinian spelling of words, and their original versions of many geographical place-names, two areas that were rife with copyist-errors, and those made by proofreaders."
Unlike other mosaics found in the region, the Reḥob mosaic is unique not for its artistry and ornate patterns but for the text incorporated in it. Scholars say it is one of the most important epigraphical findings in the Holy Land in the last century, and sheds invaluable light on the historical geography of Palestine during the Late Roman and Byzantine periods, as well as on Jewish and non-Jewish ethnographic divisions in Palestine for the same periods.
The mosaic describes the body of Jewish law regulating the use of farm products grown in different regions.; ; et al. In Jewish tradition, certain laws are only applicable within the Land of Israel proper. By delineating the boundaries of the Land of Israel at the time, the mosaic seeks to establish the legal status of the country in its various parts from the time of the Jewish people's return from the Babylonian captivity.; ; , et al. It describes whether or not local farm products acquired by Jews from various sources are exempt from the laws of Seventh Year produce, and gives guidelines for dealing with demai produce (produce whose tithing status is uncertain).; ; Jewish legal inscription from a synagogue , Israel Museum, Jerusalem
History The mosaic was located in an ancient synagogue in a Late Roman and Byzantine-period Jewish village about one kilometre (0.6 mile) northwest of Tel Rehov in what is now northeast Israel. The area preserved the old name in the form of Rehov (Hebrew) or Roob/Roōb (Latin).
According to the archaeologist Fanny Vitto, the village synagogue underwent three phases of construction and reconstruction. It was first built as a basilical hall in the 4th century CE. The hall was destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in the following century, with the addition of a bemah, a new mosaic floor and a plaster coating for the walls and pillars, decorated with several inscriptions. In the last phase, dating to the 6th or 7th century CE, the narthex was added, on whose floor the mosaic inscription was laid. Others put the creation of the halakhic inscription in the late 3rd century CE at the earliest. The synagogue was probably abandoned after being destroyed in an earthquake.
The remains of the ancient synagogue were discovered by members of Kibbutz Ein HaNetziv while preparing land for cultivation in the late 1960s. An archaeological excavation of the site in 1973, led by a team under IAA's Fanny Vitto, revealed the mosaic and its content, which has been on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem since 1978.Archaeology Wing - Ward 6 (The Holy Land).
Description of mosaic The mosaic pieces are made of black limestone tesserae contrasted against a white background. The mosaic measures , with an accompanying text written on 29 lines, comprising a total of 364 words, with an average length of to each line. It begins with the salutation Shalom ("Peace") followed by a long halakhic text, and ends with Shalom once more. It is followed by an appendix where it lists some eighteen towns in the vicinity of Sebaste (the ancient city of Samaria) whose fruits and vegetables were exempt from tithes and the stringencies applied to Seventh Year produce. There is little uniformity in the size of the letters, and the spelling of some words is faulty. Portions of the main text contain elements that are related to late second-century rabbinic literature, particularly that found in the Tosefta (Shevi'it 4:8–11), the Jerusalem Talmud (Demai 2:1; Shevi'it 6:1) and Sifrei on Deuteronomy 11:24, although the mosaic of Reḥob expands on aspects of each. Some scholars have raised the hypothesis that the content of the mosaic was copied from a letter sent by the Sages of Israel to the heads of the synagogue. At any rate, it is the largest known text found on any Hebrew mosaic in Israel to date, as well as the oldest known Talmudic text. The more ancient text in the Reḥob mosaic has been used to correct errors in transmission of extant rabbinic texts.
From a philological perspective, the system of spelling in the mosaic follows the Beth-Shean practice of enunciation, where ʻayin () is often interchanged with aleph (), and ḥet () is often interchanged with he (), as is alluded to in the Jerusalem Talmud (Berakhot 2:4).
Legal (halakhic) background
The text in the Reḥob mosaic is best understood in the context of Jewish law at the time, which required the tithing of agricultural produce six years out of a seven-year cycle, as well as the observance of Seventh Year law strictures on the same produce once in every seven years.
The underlying principle in Jewish law states that when the exiles returned from the Babylonian captivity in the sixth century BCE, the extent of territories resettled by them in Galilee and in Judea did not equal nor exceed the territory originally conquered by the Israelite people according to the biblical book of Joshua, more commonly referred to as "those who came-up from Egypt."; Babylonian Talmud (Hullin 7a; Yebamot 16a); Maimonides (1974), vol. 4, Hil. Terumot 1:5–6 The eight regions described by the mosaic are: the area of Scythopolis (now Beit She'an) and the Jordan Valley, Susita (Hippos) and its neighbouring settlements on the east bank of the Sea of Galilee, Naveh (now Nawa, Syria) in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, Tyre, Lebanon and its neighbouring cities to the south, the Land of Israel proper, the cities of Paneas and Caesarea Maritima, and finally villages in the vicinity of Sebaste.
The practical bearing of this restructuring of boundaries (although still part of the biblical Land of Israel proper) meant that places then settled by gentile residents in the land (whether Phoenicians, Syrians, Greeks, or otherwise) and not taken by Israel were not deemed as consecrated land. Therefore, fruits and vegetables grown in such places and purchased by Jews were exempt from the laws of tithing, and of Seventh Year restrictions. However, if fruits and vegetables were purchased by gentile vendors from Israelites in their respective places and transported into these non-consecrated places in order to be sold in the marketplaces, they were still made subject to tithing as demai-produce by prospective Jewish buyers.. The term "demai" is a Halakhic term meaning "dubious," referring to agricultural produce, the owner of which was not trusted with regard to the correct separation of the tithes assigned to the Levites, although the terumah (the part designated unto priests) was believed to have been separated from such fruits. In such "dubious" cases, all that was necessary was to separate the one-tenth portion due to the priests from the First Tithe given to the Levites, being the 1/100th part of the whole. The Second Tithe is also removed (redeemed) from the fruit in such cases of doubt.
Beit She'an was a frontier city along the country's eastern front with Transjordan, and since it was not initially settled by Israelites upon their return from Babylon (although later Israelites had joined the local inhabitants) all home-grown fruits and vegetables there were made exempt from tithing in the days of Judah HaNasi.Babylonian Talmud (Hullin 6b–7a); Jerusalem Talmud (Demai 2:1, s.v. ר' זעירא ר' חייא בשם ר' יוחנן רבי התיר בית שאן). According to the Talmud, Rabbi Judah HaNasi, taking as an exemplum an act that he heard performed by Rabbi Meir, released the entire region of Beit Shean from the obligations of tithing home-grown produce, and from observing the Seventh Year laws with respect to the same produce. He also did the same for the cities of Kefar Ṣemaḥ, Caesarea and Beit Gubrin. Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières holds that the enactment made by Rabbi Judah HaNasi applied only to vegetables, but not unto produce belonging to harvested grain (wheat, barley, spelt, etc.), the fruit of the vine (grapes, raisins, wine), or to produce derived from the olive tree (olives and olive oil), since the commandment to tithe these products is a biblical injunction. Rabbi Judah HaNasi also made Beit Gubrin exempt from tithes and from the seventh-year observance, since that stretch of country had been settled by the Idumaeans (Esau's descendants) when the Jewish people returned from the Babylonian captivity.
Translation of ancient text