Editing MMST

{{Short description|Word appearing on LMLK seals from the Kingdom of Judah}}
{{for|the Metropolitan Medical Strike Team|Metropolitan Medical Strike Team}}

'''MMST''' ([[Hebrew]]: {{Script/Hebrew|ממשת}} ''MMŠT'') is a word written in [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]] [[abjad]] script. It appears exclusively on [[LMLK seal]] inscriptions, seen in [[Archaeology of Israel|archaeological findings]] from the ancient [[Kingdom of Judah]], whose meaning has been the subject of continual controversy.

[[File:Lmlk-seal impression-m4l-gg21 2003-12-19.jpg|thumb|LMLK stamp; [[Redondo Beach, California|Redondo Beach]] collection #21]]

==ממשת transliterations into Latin alphabet==
* '''Mamsatt''' (Ginsberg, 1948)
* '''Mamshat''' & variants
** Mamshath ([[Claude Reignier Conder|Conder]], 1901)
** Mamshat ([[Ovid R. Sellers|Sellers]] and Albright, 1931)
** Mamschat (Galling, 1937); reads in German like Mamshat in English
** Mameshat (Yeivin, 1961)
* '''Mamshet''' ([[Yohanan Aharoni|Aharoni]], 1960)
* '''Mamshit''' & variants
** Mamshith ([[Samuel Rolles Driver|Driver]], 1909)
** Mamshit ([[Zev Vilnay|Vilnay]], 1960)
* '''Memsath''' (McCown, 1947)
* '''Memshat''' & variants
** Memshat (Bliss, 1900)
** Memshath (Macalister, 1905)
* '''Mimshat''' (Macalister, 1925)

==A place?==
[[Charles Warren]] excavated the first two specimens in the original 1868–1869 excavations at [[Jerusalem]] (Warren, 1870); however, those were both only partial impressions showing the final two letters ''ST''. The first complete inscription was published by [[Frederick Jones Bliss|F. J. Bliss]] after excavating it from [[Tell Ej-Judeideh]] (Bliss, 1900), later determined to be biblical [[Moresheth-Gath]]. Beginning then, here is a list of all the ancient sites scholars have associated with it:
* [[Moresheth-Gath]] ([[Charles Clermont-Ganneau|Clermont-Ganneau]], 1899)
* [[Mampsis]] (also known as Kurnub; [[Fritz Hommel|Hommel]], 1901)
* [[Mareshah]] ([[Louis-Hugues Vincent|Vincent]], 1907)
* [[Tel Masos]] (see articles [[:fr:Tel Masos|Tel Masos (fr)]] in French, and [[:he:Tel Masos|תל משוש (he)]] in Hebrew Wikipedia; also known as Tell el-Meshash or Khirbat al-Mishash; [[Félix-Marie Abel|Abel]], 1938)
* An unknown site near [[Gezer]] such as [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Emmaus]] ([[William F. Albright|Albright]], 1943)
* [[Jerusalem]] (via MMS[L]T) or one of its suburbs ([[Harold Louis Ginsberg|Ginsberg]], 1948)
* [[Tel 'Erani]] ([[Shmuel Yeivin|Yeivin]], 1961)
* Tel 'Ira (see French article [[:fr:Tel Ira|Tel Ira]] in French Wikipedia; [[Yigael Yadin|Yadin]], 1961)
* An unknown site between [[Bethlehem]] & [[Hebron]] (Lang, 1972); [[Bethlehem]] vicinity preferred ([[Anson Rainey|Rainey]], 1982)
* An unknown site between [[Beth Shemesh]] & [[Aijalon]] such as [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Emmaus]] ([[Bernhard Lang|Lang]], 1972)
* [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Emmaus]] (also known as Amwas; [[André Lemaire|Lemaire]], 1975)
* [[Ramat Rachel]] ([[Gabriel Barkay|Barkay]], 1993)

These proposals fall into two main streams of thought. One school places MMST in a geographical region based on the identification of three other regions surrounding [[Hebron]], [[Sokho]], and [[Ziph (Judean Mountains)|Ziph]] (the other words on the [[LMLK seal]]s). The chief problem is that the majority of the seal impressions were not found in any particular region associated with one of the four inscriptions. For example, the majority of HBRN stamps were found at [[Lachish]] significantly to the west. An alternative strategy identifies MMST in the vicinity of [[Jerusalem]] (which includes [[Ramat Rachel]]) based upon the datum that the majority of MMST stamps were excavated in and around there. The chief problem is that there were more HBRN stamps than MMST found at [[Jerusalem]] and more Z(Y)F stamps than MMST found at [[Ramat Rachel]] (Grena, 2004, pp.&nbsp;354–360).

In further support of a place name interpretation is the notion that MMST was lost from the [[Hebrew]] [[Masoretic]] version of the [[Book of Joshua]], but preserved in a form corrupted beyond recognition through [[Greek language|Greek]] transliteration in the [[Septuagint]]. The Septuagint version contains eleven additional place names, one of which could correspond to the lost MMST (Rainey, 1982, p.&nbsp;59; cf. {{bibleverse|Joshua|15:59–60}} in the [[New Revised Standard Version]]):<ref>"It could be somewhere in the Bethlehem district, a name completely lost in Josh 15:59a (LXX), and may represent the collection center for the royal vineyards inherited from the house of Jesse."</ref>

"...eleven cities, and their villages..."
* Theco
* [[Ephrath]]a ([[Bethlehem|Baethleem]])
* Phagor
* Aetan
* Culon
* Tatam
* Thobes
* [[Carem]]
* [[List of minor biblical places#Gallim|Galem]]
* Thether
* Manocho<ref>"... Theco, and [[Ephrath]]a, this is [[Bethlehem|Baethleem]], and Phagor, and Aetan, and Culon, and Tatam, and Thobes, and [[Carem]], and [[List of minor biblical places#Gallim|Galem]], and Thether, and Manocho: eleven cities, and their villages,..." From [https://biblehub.com/sep/joshua/15.htm Joshua 15], [[The Septuagint version of the Old Testament (Brenton)|Brenton's Septuagint Translation]], accessed 1 March 2021.</ref>

==A person?==
In 1905, [[Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister|R.A.S. Macalister]] suggested that MMST could also mean [[Mareshah]], but instead of identifying it with the town, he proposed that the seal referred to a potter (or family of potters).

==A proclamation?==
If the [[LMLK seal]] inscriptions were votive slogans or mottoes instead of geographical places, MMST may share the same etymological root as MMSLTW ([[Strong's Concordance]] #4475), a Hebrew word used in the [[Bible]] translated alternately as ''domain'', ''dominion'', ''force'', ''government'', ''power'', ''realm'', ''responsibility'', ''rule''. (See {{bibleverse|Genesis|1:16}}, {{bibleverse|1 Kings|9:1}}, {{bibleverse|2 Chronicles|8:6}}, {{bibleverse|Psalms 103:22, 114:2, 136:8–9, 145:13|multi=yes}}, {{bibleverse|Isaiah|22:21}}, {{bibleverse|Jeremiah 34:1, 51:28|multi=yes}}, {{bibleverse|Daniel|11:5}}, {{bibleverse|Micah|4:8}}.) The parallel passage found in {{bibleverse|2 Kings|20:13}} and {{bibleverse|Isaiah|39:2}} deserves special attention for its association of the word in the same chronological context as the [[LMLK seal]]s:

:And [[Hezekiah]] was attentive to them, and showed them all the house of his treasures--the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory--all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his '''''dominion''''' ''that [[Hezekiah]] did not show them.''

Likewise {{bibleverse|2 Chronicles|32:9}}:

:''After this [[Sennacherib]] king of [[Assyria]] sent his servants to [[Jerusalem]] (but he and all the'' '''''forces''''' ''with him laid siege against [[Lachish]]), to [[Hezekiah]] king of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], and to all [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]] who were in [[Jerusalem]]...''

Note that Ginsberg suspected such a literal reading of the inscription in a paper presented in 1945, but changed to the geographic association with [[Jerusalem]] in 1948.

Note also the well-known [[Moab]]ite inscription from [[Kerak]] that begins with the fragmented phrase ''...MSYT MLK''. While we may never know if the first word is a compound of ''KMS'', the [[Moab]]ite deity mentioned in the [[Bible]] as [[Chemosh (biblical)|Chemosh]], the MMST on the [[LMLK seal]]s may have been "MMSYT" written ''[[scriptio defectiva]]'' with a possible relation to the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] "''mumsa''", "place where one spends the night".<ref>"Hommel a déjà rapproché, à juste titre nous semble-t-il, mmst de l'arabe mumsa, (lieu où l'on passe la nuit)". Lemaire 1975's French roughly translates as "a place where one stops in the evening".</ref>

== A tax? ==
Recently, Daniel Vainstub pointed out that some of the MMST seals appear to include the Hebrew letter נ (nun) between the two letters מ (mem) or א (aleph) over the space between the ש (shin) and ת (tav). Vainstub suggested that the more common MMST (i.e., without additional letters) was a short-form of the Hebrew מ-משאת (from the mas'et), which was an ad-hoc tax of agricultural products occasionally used by the kings of Judah. At times, makers of the MMST seals preferred to use longer forms of the word. The appearance of the letter nun signifies the longer מן משאת, which has the same meaning as ממשאת (from mas'et) or ממשת (likewise).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vainstub |first=Daniel |date=2024 |title=The Enigmatic mmšt in the lmlk Stamps |url=https://jjar.huji.ac.il/sites/default/files/jjar/files/vol6-art01_lmlk_05062024_-2.pdf |journal=Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology |volume=6 |pages=1-31 |via=JJAR}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Archaeology of Israel]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Abel, Pere [Félix-Marie] (1938). ''Geographie de la Palestine II''. p.&nbsp;377, footnote 17 (in French).
* {{cite journal |author= Aharoni, Y. |year=1960 |title= Hebrew jar-stamps from Ramat Rahel |journal= Eretz-Israel: Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Studies |volume=6 |pages= 28}}
* {{cite journal |last= Albright |first= William Foxwell |author-link= William Foxwell Albright |year= 1943 |title= The excavation of Tell Beit Mirsim, Volume III: The Iron Age |journal= Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research |volume= XXI-XXII |pages= 73–75 |url= http://www.asor.org/}}
* [[Gabriel Barkay|Barkay, G.]] (personal communication quote by editor [[Ephraim Stern]]; 1993). ''Ramat Rahel'' in New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land. p.&nbsp;1267.
* {{cite journal |last= Bliss |first= F. J. |author-link= Frederick Jones Bliss |year= 1900 |title= List of casts and wax impressions of stamped jar-handles |journal=[[Palestine Exploration Quarterly]] |volume= 32 |issue= July |pages= 298 |doi= 10.1179/peq.1900.32.3.298}}
* {{cite journal |last= Clermont-Ganneau |first= C. |author-link= Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau |year= 1899 |title=Note on the inscribed jar-handle and weight found at Tell Zakariya  |journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly  |volume= 31 |issue= July |pages= 204–207 |doi= 10.1179/peq.1899.31.3.204 |url= https://zenodo.org/record/1448700}}
* {{cite journal |last= Conder |first= C. R. |author-link= Claude Reignier Conder |year= 1901 |title= Jar-handle inscriptions II |journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly  |volume= 33 |issue= January |page= 63}}
* Galling, Kurt (see [[:de:Kurt Galling|Kurt Galling]] in German Wikipedia; 1937). ''Biblisches Reallexikon''. pp.&nbsp;337–340 (in German).
* {{cite journal |last= Ginsberg |first= Harold Louis |author-link= Harold Louis Ginsberg |year= 1948 |title= MMST and MSH |journal=[[Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research]] |volume= 109 |issue= 109 |pages= 20–21 |doi= 10.2307/1355843 |publisher= The American Schools of Oriental Research |jstor= 1355843|s2cid= 163246887 }}
* {{cite book |author= Grena, G.M. |year= 2004 |title= LMLK--A Mystery Belonging to the King vol. 1 |location= Redondo Beach, California |publisher= 4000 Years of Writing History |isbn= 0-9748786-0-X}}
* {{cite journal |last= Hommel |first= Fritz |author-link= Fritz Hommel |year= 1901 |title= MMST--Mampsis |journal= The Expository Times |volume= 12 |issue= September |pages= 288}}
* {{cite journal |author= Lang, Bernhard |year= 1972 |title= Recension: "Die Königs-Stempel" by Peter Welten |journal=[[Revue Biblique]] |volume= 79 |issue= 3 (July 1972) |pages= 441–444 |language= de}}
* {{cite journal |last= Lemaire |first= André |author-link= André Lemaire |year= 1975 |title= MMST = Amwas, vers la solution d'une enigme de l'epigraphie Hebraique |journal= Revue Biblique |volume= 82 |issue= 1 |pages= 15–23 |language= fr}}
* {{cite journal |last= Macalister |first= R. A. Stewart |author-link= R. A. Stewart Macalister |title= The craftsmen's guild of the tribe of Judah |journal=  Palestine Exploration Quarterly|volume= 37 |issue= January |pages= 243–253 |year= 1905 |doi= 10.1179/peq.1905.37.3.243| url= https://zenodo.org/record/1448706 }}
* Macalister, R. A. S. (1925). ''A Century of Excavation in Palestine''. pp.&nbsp;37–38, 190–1.
* McCown, Chester Charlton (1947). ''[[Tell en-Nasbeh]] I: Archaeological and Historical Results''. pp.&nbsp;156–161.
* {{cite journal |last= Rainey |first= Anson F. |author-link= Anson F. Rainey |year= 1982 |title= Wine from the royal vineyards |journal=  Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|volume= 245 |issue= Winter |pages= 57–62 |doi= 10.2307/1356528 |publisher= The American Schools of Oriental Research |jstor= 1356528|s2cid= 164003915 }}
* {{cite book |last= Rolles |first= S. R. |author-link= Samuel Rolles Driver |year= 1909 |title= Modern Research as Illustrating the Bible |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages= 74–77}}
* {{cite journal |last1= Sellers |first1= Ovid R. |author-link1= Ovid R. Sellers |author2= Albright, W. F. |name-list-style= amp |year= 1931 |title= The first campaign of excavation at Beth-zur |journal=  Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|volume= 43 |issue= 43 |pages= 8 |doi= 10.2307/1354782 |jstor= 1354782|s2cid= 163731900 }}
* {{cite book |last= Vilnay |first= Zev |author-link= Zev Vilnay |year= 1960 |edition= 1960 and possibly earlier, to 1942 |work= The Guide to Israel |title= Gath (Kiryat-Gat)}}
* {{cite book |last= Vincent |first= Louis-Hugues |author-link= Louis-Hugues Vincent |title= Canaan d'après l'exploration récente |pages= 357–360 |publisher= libr. V. Lecoffre (Gabalda et Cie) |location= Paris |year= 1907 |language= fr}}
* {{cite journal |last= Warren |first= Charles |author-link= Charles Warren |year= 1870 |title= Phoenician inscription on jar handles |journal= Palestine Exploration Quarterly |volume= 2 |issue= September 30 |pages= 372}}
* {{cite journal |last= Yadin |first= Yigael |author-link= Yigael Yadin |year= 1961 |title= The fourfold division of Judah |journal=  Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|volume= 163 |issue= 163 |pages= 6–12 |doi= 10.2307/1355766 |publisher= The American Schools of Oriental Research |jstor= 1355766|s2cid= 163378419 }}
* {{cite book |last= Yeivin |first= Shemuel |author-link= Shmuel Yeivin |title= First Preliminary Report on the Excavations at Tel Gat (Tell Sheykh 'Ahmed el-Areyny) 1956–1958 |pages= 9–11 |publisher= The Gat Expedition |location= Jerusalem |year= 1961 }}

[[Category:Ancient Israel and Judah]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Israel]]
[[Category:Seals (insignia)]]
[[Category:Cylinder and impression seals in archaeology]]

[[he:חותמות למלך#פרשנויות]]