André Lemaire (born 1942) is a French

epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

, historian and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

. He is Director of Studies at the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

, where he teaches

Hebraic Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Aramean The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...

philology and epigraphy. He specializes in West-Semitic old civilization and the origins of

monotheism Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...

. He is a corresponding member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...

. He heads the scientific edition of the international series ''Supplements to Vetus Testamentum'' (more than 30 volumes).

King Solomon's Temple

In the 1980s, Lemaire authenticated a small, broken, carved piece of "

ivory pomegranate The ivory pomegranate is a thumb-sized semitic ornamental artifact acquired by the Israel Museum. It is not actually made of ivory, but of hippopotamus bone and bears an inscription; ''Holy (Sacred) to the Priest of the House of God (YHWH)''. ...

" that dates to the 8th century and would have belonged to the cult objects of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

. This is according to his analysis of the inscription examined with the methods of epigraphy. This interpretation was challenged by Yuval Goren of

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

, who stated that the inscription is subsequent to damage that had fragmented the piece. Following this, a commission of experts from the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

examined the artifact and concluded that the inscription is a modern forgery, and that the item dates back to the 14th or the 13th century BCE, well before the time of Solomon.

Publications

*1971: ''Les Ministères aux origines de l'Église : Naissance de la triple hiérarchie, évêques, presbytes, diacres'',

Éditions du Cerf ''Éditions du Cerf'' ( French: "Editions of the Deer") is a French publishing house specializing in religious books. It was founded in 1929, and operated by the Dominican Order. The name is a reference to Psalm 42 (41): As the hart pantet ...

*1974: ''Les Ministères dans l'Église'',

Éditions du Centurion The Éditions du Centurion are a French publishing house established in Paris, 3, rue Bayard, in 1945 by the Assumptionists fathers of the "Maison de la Bonne Presse" which became Bayard Presse in 1969. It then became an autonomous department of ...

*1994: ''La Palestine à l'époque perse'' (with

Ernest-Marie Laperrousaz Ernest-Marie Laperrousaz (2 August 1924 – 20 August 2013) was a French historian and archaeologist. As an archaeologist he worked at Qumran and Masada. He has published numerous books including works on Qumran and the context of the Dead Sea Sc ...

), Éditions du Cerf *1999: ''Le Monde de la Bible'', Les Arènes *2001: ''Histoire du peuple hébreu'',

Que sais-je? "Que sais-je?" (QSJ) (; Literally: "What do I know?", ) is an editorial collection published by the Presses universitaires de France (PUF). The aim of the series is to provide the lay reader with an accessible introduction to a field of study wr ...

, 6th ed. *2001: ''Prophètes et rois : Bible et Proche-Orient'' (dir.), Éditions du Cerf *2002: ''Le Proche-Orient asiatique'', volume 2 (with

Paul Garelli Paul Garelli (23 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a French Assyriologist, directeur de recherche au CNRS, professor at the Sorbonne and the l' EPHE, a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres and professor at the Collège de Fra ...

PUF PUF may refer to: * Physical unclonable function, in computer security, a physically-implemented secure identifier * The University Presses of France *Permanent University Fund, for Texas public universities * Pau Pyrénées Airport in France (I ...

*2003: ''La Naissance du monothéisme : Point de vue d'un historien'',

Bayard presse Bayard Presse is one of the oldest press and publishing companies of France, being founded in 1870. The company has various media outlets both in its native France and abroad. As of 2019, it reports approximately two thousand employees, two hundred ...

References

External links

* André Lemaire, « Les Cananéens, le Levant et la mer �
Clio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemaire, Andre French Hebraists French orientalists French philologists French epigraphers École pratique des hautes études faculty Corresponding members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 1942 births Living people

King Solomon's Temple

Publications

See also

References

External links