mostlydeadlanguages:

The third Lachish ostracon (left), and a modern replica of it (right).

We have another fun Hebrew letter today, this one from Lachish, the second largest city in Judah before the Babylonian conquest.  It’s part of a series of letters between a military officer and his supervisor in ~590 BCE.  He refers to himself with traditional humble terms (“your servant”) throughout, which I’ve translated as “I” for readability, but his attitude is somewhat less humble.  Literacy was an uncommon skill at the time, and Hoshayahu did not appreciate the implication that he couldn’t read.

By the way, “goddammit” translates a Hebrew phrase that literally means “as YHWH lives” — but it’s been shortened from ḥay yaweh to ḥayaweh by repeated use as a common epithet, just like “goddammit.”

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Your servant Hoshayahu.
A dispatch to inform my lord Yaush.
May YHWH bring my lord news of wellbeing and joy.

Now then.  Help me understand the message that you sent to me last night, because I’ve felt miserable ever since you wrote to me.  Why would you say, “You don’t know how to read a letter”?  Goddammit, nobody reads letters aloud to me — ever!  What’s more, I can repeat back every detail of every letter that I’ve received.

I’ve been told the following: “Army commander Konyahu ben Elnatan has travelled down to enter Egypt.  He has requested a transfer of Hoduyahu ben Ahiyahu and his men from there.”

Finally, I’m sending you a letter from Tobyahu, the king’s representative; it had gone from the prophet to Shallum ben Yada, and it says, “Beware!”