''Matzevah'' or ''masseba'' ( he, מַצֵּבָה ''maṣṣēḇā''; "pillar") is a term used in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

for a sacred

pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

, a type of

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...

. The term has been adopted by archaeologists for

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

contexts, seldom for related cultures, such as the

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

ite and the

Nabataean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...

ones. As a second derived meaning, it is also used for a

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

or tombstone marking a Jewish

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

Etymology

The

Hebrew 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 ...

word ''matzevah'' is derived from a

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

meaning 'to stand', which lead to the meaning of 'pillar'. The singular form can be found spelled as ''masseba'', ''maseba'', ''matzevah'', ''matzeva'' or ''mazzevah'', and the plural form as ''massebot'', ''masseboth'', ''masebot'', ''matzevot'' or ''matzevoth''. When used in a

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

-influenced context, it can take the form ''matzeivah''.''The Monument ("Matzeivah")''
Maurice Lamm for Chabad.org. Accessed 17 Jan 2022.

Biblical narrative

Use of the exclusive word can be found in and . In ,

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

says "and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar (matzevah), shall be God's house" and in

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

says to Jacob "I am the God of

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

it. "House of God"where you anointed a pillar (matzevah) and made a vow to me...". Jewish cemetery Sobědruhy 17

According to , "Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

's grave unto this day."

Jewish tombstone

Based on Genesis 35:20, observant Jews traditionally erect a monument at the grave of a deceased person. It can be placed either over the grave, as a footstone, or as a headstone. Three purposes can be distinguished. It may mark the gravesite for purity reasons, as priests (

cohanim Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally b ...

) are required to avoid defilement through contact with the dead, and a marker (any marker) helps them identify a grave. The name of the deceased written on a stone also allows friends and relatives to identify the grave. A respectable, but unostentatious monument appropriate to heirs' fortune is also a symbolic way to honour the deceased.

References

{{Reflist

External link

"matzeva"
at

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

online Burial monuments and structures Jewish cemeteries Hebrew Bible objects Sacred rocks

Etymology

Biblical narrative

Jewish tombstone

See also

References

External link