Albright, W. F. “The Phoenician Inscriptions of the Tenth Century B. C. from Byblus.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 67, no. 3 (1947): 153–60. https://doi.org/10.2307/596081.
KAI 006
Gibson 3:08
Metadata
- Collection
- Louvre, Paris, France | Lv (Public)
- Keywords
-
- Inscription | Royal
- Inscription | Votive
- Language
- Phoenician / Punic
- Script
- Phoenician
- Find Type
- Excavation
- Material
- Stone
- Updated by
- James D. Moore, 2026-06-28
- Date (Paleographic)
- Gregorian -920 to -900
General Notes
The ˀElibaˁal inscription is set into a bust of the Egyptian ruler Osorkon. A cartouche sits in the middle of the chest. The Phoenician text comprises three lines which begin on the left shoulder, slope down around the cartouche, and wind back up toward the right shoulder. The text was published by Dussaud (1925) who notes that the bust was discovered by Wiedemann, an Egyptologist, at a banker’s home in Naples in 1881. Gibson (1982, 22) notes strong similarity of script with Yeḥimilk and ˀAbibaˁal, suggesting an earlier date within the frame of Osorkon’s reign. This is one of five royal inscriptions from an old period at Byblos, around the tenth century B.C.E. See the notes to 11441 for further information.The Osorkon bust, and the ˀElibaˁal inscription upon it, now rest in the Louvre Museum in France.
Bange, Ludger A. A Study of the Use of Vowel-Letters in Alphabetic Consonantal Writing. München: Verl. UNI-Druck, 1971.
Cross, F. M., and D. N. Freedman. Early Hebrew Orthography: A Study of the Epigraphic Evidence. American Oriental Series 36. New Haven, CT: American Oriental Society, 1952.
Donner, Herbert, and Wolfgang Röllig, eds. Kanaanäische und aramäische Inschriften. 5., erw. Und überarbeitete Aufl. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1971.
Dunand, Maurice. Fouilles de Byblos: texte. 1926-1932. Vol. 1. Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1939.
Dussaud, René. “Dédicace d’une statue d’Osorkon I par Eliba’al, roi de Byblos.” Syria 6, no. 2 (1925): 101–17. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4195252.
Harris, Zellig S. A Grammar of the Phoenician Language. Vol. 8. American Oriental Series. New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1936.
Magnanini, Pietro. Le iscrizioni fenicie dell’Oriente: Testi, traduzioni, glossari. Rome: Centro di Studi Semitici, Istituto di Studi del Vicino Oriente, 1973.
Montet, Pierre. “Comment rétablir l’inscription d’abibaal, roi de Byblos?” Revue Biblique (1892-1940) 35, no. 3 (1926): 321–27. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44103161.
Montet, Pierre. Byblos et l’Égypte: Quatre campagnes de fouilles à Gebeil, 1921–1922–1923–1924. Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1928.
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Textual Notes
1 - זפעל𐤟 אלבעל𐤟 : The choice to place this inscription on the bust of Osorkon, an Egyptian ruler, presents a curiosity. This verb may indicate that ˀElibaˁal commissioned this piece, allowing for his inscription to be prominently displayed around a cartouche set in the chest, which was an uncommon location (Montet 1926, 327). Gibson (1982, 21-22) offers similar possible reasons as in the case of ˀAbibaˁal (11445), whose inscription was also set into an Egyptian artifact. He suggests that it may have served to elevate the status of ˀElibaˁal and place him on par with the Pharaoh. In the case of this inscription, the choice seems more deliberate because, as he points out, line 1 indicates that this is a statue which ˀElibaˁal ‘made’ (PˁL), which he suggests must mean “commissioned the making of” or something similar. On the other hand, the ˀAḥiram inscription uses PˁL, but ˀAḥiram’s son clearly reused an older Egyptian sarcophagus, which may diminish that argument somewhat. 1 - ביח[מלכ𐤟 : This BYḤMLK is an assimilation of -N from BN YḤMLK, which occurs in Old Byblian, but not before a laryngeal, such as in BN ˀḤRM in 11441 or BN ˀLBˁL in 11447 (Gibson 1982, 12, 22).
Text and Translation
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John C.L. Gibson Last updated 26 April, 2026 by James D. Moore
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John C.L. Gibson Last updated 26 April, 2026 by James D. Moore
Statue which Elibaal king of Byblos, son of [Yehimilk king of Byblos], had made
[for] the Mistress of Byblos, his lady. May the mistress of [Byblos] prolong
[the days] and the years of Elibaal over [Byblos]!
Moore, James D., Cody Beasley. 'KAI 006.' DEAPS. 04 Feb, 2026. https://deaps.osu.edu/text_objects/11446. Accessed: 01 Jul, 2026.