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The Spatula Inscription from Byblos

Since its first publication by M. Dunand in 1937,1 the bronze spatula inscription from Byblos has eluded successful interpretation.2 The spatula is of special interest for several reasons, not the least of which is the antiquity of the script, which is the work of a skilled Phoenician hand of the late eleventh century.3 Though essentially complete, the text is nonetheless brief,4 cryptic, and relentlessly enigmatic. No fresh attempt has been made to unravel its mysteries since Martin's publication of excellent new photographs over a decade ago.5 Probably the most attractive interpretation of the spatula to date is that of Iwry (espoused by Albright and others), who understands it to be a ceremonial object used to divine the solution to a legal dispute. In a forceful treatment of the subject, Iwry relates the spatula to arrowheads used as lots in the Phoenician practice of belomancy. Portrayed in the context of divination, the spatula and its text acquire the kind of concrete meaning that an inscription of this sort demands if it is to be regarded as correctly understood. Yet Iwry's interpretation has its difficulties. Since none of the other spatulas like it is inscribed with alphabetic writing,6 it is improbable that this spatula was used in a manner typical for such spatulas. It appears likely instead that someone selected it at random and put it to an ad hoc use, producing the palimpsest at hand. It would be surprising had such an implement been customarily employed in belomancy. Arrowheads, javelin heads, dagger blades all these are pointed at the business end; they are shot, thrown, tossed or jabbed in a single stroke, deciding thereby the outcome of combat or struggle. The tools of belomancy point with telling movements, an attribute which is not coincidental. Regardless of how exactly they were used in divination, these objects are by nature especially suited to their purpose of revealing the solutions to conflicts. The inscribed spatula is just the opposite. It is flat at its business