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Negev. Birsama (Be'er-Shema), 450 CE - 500 CE. Mosaic Pavement. Dedication.
Negev. Birsama (Beer-Shema). Ancient Christian Church. Side room.
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ΜΝΗϹΘΗΤΙΚΕΒΙΚΤΩΡ
ΤΟΝΚΕΛΑΡΙΤΗΝ
ΚΑΙϹΤΕΦΑΝΟΝΤΟΝ
Μνήσθητι
τὸν κελαρίτην
καὶ
Στέφανον τὸν
O, Lord, remember Victor, the storekeeper and Stephanos the [priest].
Commemorative inscription on the floor at the entrance of a side room in the church. It is set in tabula ansata, and is made of black letters with a white rectangular background. The bottom of the border and some of the text is missing due to damage. The Stephanos mentioned in this inscription is most likely the same priest Stephanos mentioned in Birs0002, Birs0007, and Birs0008. The command to remember (μνήσθητι) can be applied to both the living and dead, and the editor suggests that in this case both Stephanos and Victor were alive when the inscription was made. Victor is commemorated as the keeper of the food storerooms (κελαρίτην). The editor notes that this usage is unusual, as this title is found neither in Greek literary nor Christian epigraphic sources. Instead, the term oiconomos is generally encountered. The inscription makes use of lunate sigmas. The name Stephanos and Victor are of Greek and Latin origin, respectively.