| Masub inscription | |
| Created: | 221 BC in Umm al-Amad, Ptolemaic Kingdom |
| Location: | The Louvre |
| Discovered Place: | Northern Israel |
| Discovered Date: | 1887 |
| Language: | Phoenician |
The Ma'sub inscription is a Phoenician-language inscription found at Khirbet Ma'sub (French: Masoub) near Al-Bassa.[1] The inscription is from 222/21 BC.[2] [1] Written in Phoenician script,[3] it is also known as KAI 19.[4]
It is considered by the Louvre to originate from Umm al-Amad, Lebanon, around 6-7 km to the northwest of Kh. Ma'sub, on the basis of the reference to an Astarte temple in the inscription; such a temple has been excavated at the Lebanese site.[2] [5] This theory is contra the original provenance statement by Clermont-Ganneau and has also been recently contested by Friedman and Ecker, who see no reason to construe a new provenance and suggest that a second Astarte temple, a twin to the northern one from Umm al-Amad, was built at the southern entrance to the Ladder of Tyre pass, i.e. at or near Ma'sub, thus creating a ritual "bracket" for the pass.[2] In Dunand and Duru's catalogue of Umm al-Amad inscriptions, it is number iv.[6]
The inscription is given as:[7] [8]