“The Lord Is One”: How Its Meaning Changed

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Near the village of Halbturn, Austria, about 60 miles east of Vienna, lies an ancient estate with its own graveyard. The estate was occupied from the late second century C.E. to the middle of the fifth century. The cemetery associated with the settlement includes approximately 300 graves.

Scholars were alerted to the ancient site in 1986 when two undisturbed graves were found in a field of crops. One of these graves, from the third century C.E., belonged to an infant about 18 months old. The skeleton was so poorly preserved that its sex could not be determined.

A small, undecorated silver capsule was buried with the child. Inside the capsule was a small rectangular gold leaf—measuring less than an inch on either side—folded and wrapped to form a small scroll.

Years later, when it was unrolled and unfolded, it was found to be inscribed with a text written with Greek letters but in the Hebrew language. The silver capsule and golden scroll formed an amulet that contained a version of Judaism’s holiest confession, known as the Shema‘ Yisrael (literally “Hear O Israel,” pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable of Shema‘) from Deuteronomy 6:4:

“Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

The Greek text inscribed on the gold sheet reads as follows:

In scholarly terms, the Halbturn amulet is a phylakterion, an amulet with a magic spell or quotation from Scripture intended to protect its bearer. 059 060 To use another sesquipedalian characterization, its function is apotropaic, that is, it was supposed to ward off all sorts of evil, including demons.

Several such amulets are known from Jewish history. The earliest and best-known are the two small seventh-century B.C.E. silver scrolls found in a burial chamber at Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem.^a Both Ketef Hinnom plaques include quotations of an early form of the priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24–26 (“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace”) and a confessional statement that resembles Deuteronomy 7:9, Nehemiah 1:5 and Daniel 9:4. The discovery of a Jewish silver amulet from the sixth or seventh century C.E. in Rome attests to the continued magic use of the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24–26.¹

The so-called magic bowls containing Biblical verses and incantations make their appearance at about the same time as the Roman amulet.^b In some cases whole verses are quoted, while in others only parts of a verse are used or even adapted to fit the subject of the incantation. Some magic bowls from Mesopotamia quote Biblical verses only. We may therefore conclude that in some instances the Biblical verses alone were considered to have apotropaic functions.

Immediately after the Shema‘ Yisrael, Deuteronomy 6:8–9 states that Israelites are to “bind [these words] as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem (l’totaphot [לששפת] on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts (mezuzot) of your house and on your gates.” This physical attachment suggests that the Shema‘ Yisrael originally had an apotropaic function. The prominent Israeli scholar Moshe Weinfeld proposed that Deuteronomy originally commanded the Israelites to incise the Shema‘ on jewels, to be carried as amulets.² (Phylacteries [tefillin] were only invented later, during the Second Temple period.)

The Halbturn amulet is important in several respects. First, along with finds from other sites in the area, it documents Jewish life in the late second 061 or early third century C.E. at the Germanic frontier of the Roman Empire. A Roman villa rustica, or large rural estate, was situated next to the graveyard mentioned above. The people who owned this estate were wealthy, and the child in whose grave the Halbturn amulet was found lived at the estate in the third century C.E. Most probably the family lived part of the year on their estate and also spent some time in nearby Carnuntum, the Roman metropolis of the province Pannonia Superior. Situated on the Danube River, Carnuntum was a thriving frontier city of 50,000 inhabitants in which one or more Roman legions were stationed—some of them coming from Syria. Many Jews came to Carnuntum and other parts of Pannonia in the wake of these legions. The Fifteenth Legion (Apollinaris) even participated in the suppression of the first Jewish Revolt (66–70 C.E.). Around 200 C.E., other legions came to Carnuntum and the Pannonian provinces from Syria in the wake of the Marcomannic wars between the Romans and Germanic tribes.

Several small finds and two inscriptions point to a Jewish presence in Carnuntum from the second or third century through the fourth century C.E. An oil lamp bears the Hebrew inscription “God” (אלוח). An ancient gemstone carries a Greek inscription invoking several names of God, as well as the Hebrew character aleph (א). Magic symbols and characters can be found on the back and at the margins of the gemstone. A Latin epitaph was recovered from the second or early third century, listing one Mulvius, who describes himself as a businessman or banker (negotians) and identifies himself as coming from the house of Judah (domo Iudaeus).³

The little evidence of the Jews of Carnuntum points to a community that was well integrated into the life of the city. Some of its members were wealthy and probably influential businessmen. Others lived a simpler life. Some practiced Jewish magic. Although integrated into the daily life of Carnuntum, the Jews of the city also practiced their Judaism. The Mulvius inscription and the gemstone reflect the fact that, unlike many Jews living in the Roman Empire, the Jews of Carnuntum stated their religion openly.

Given the Jewish presence in Carnuntum, it is likely that the Halbturn gold amulet was produced and bought there.

The Halbturn amulet is also important for the light it sheds on Jewish magic and the apotropaic usage of selected Biblical texts. Neither magic formulas nor magic symbols can be found on the Halbturn amulet, although both are used on the magic gemstone from Carnuntum. Instead, the Halbturn amulet, solely through the inscription of the Shema‘ Yisrael, was intended to protect the toddler in the grave or perhaps while still alive. There are several probable reasons why it is written in the Hebrew language but in Greek characters. Greek was the language of magic in this part of the Roman Empire. The Jews of Carnuntum knew how to pronounce the Shema‘ Yisrael and probably practiced its recitation on a daily basis. They might have known how to write the word “God,” but the 062 magician who produced the amulet likely did not know how to write a Hebrew sentence. The Shema‘ Yisrael was known as a powerful protective device. It was contained in the mezuzah (literally “doorpost”) fixed to the doorpost that guarded every Jewish house. Even Rabbinic literature attests to such a magic use of the Shema‘. For example, the Jerusalem Talmud (yPe’ah 1:1 [15d]) states:

Artaban [Artabanus V], the last ruler of the Parthian empire] sent a priceless precious pearl to our holy teacher and said to him: Send me a thing of equal value. He sent him a mezuzah. He [Artaban] said to him: I sent you a priceless thing and you send me something worth a follis [a small copper coin of the late Roman Empire]. He said to him, your possessions and mine together are not equal to it! Not only that, but you sent me something that I have to watch over and I sent you something that watches over you while you are sleeping, as it is written [Proverbs 6:22] “When you walk it will lead you; when you lie down it will watch over you.”⁴

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the Halbturn amulet is its bearing on the history of Jewish monotheism and the interpretative history of the Shema‘ in Deuteronomy 6:4. The Halbturn amulet provides further documentation of the reinterpretation of the Shema‘, from its original meaning in Deuteronomy 6:4 to a different interpretation beginning in the late Second Temple period. In our opinion, the Shema‘, as it originally appears in Deuteronomy 6:4, should be translated, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” In Deuteronomy the Shema‘ was thus not originally meant to be a monotheistic statement. What it says is that, though other people (for example, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians) worshiped multiple gods, Israel is to recognize only YHWH (Yahweh).⁵ In Deuteronomy, the Shema‘ Yisrael argues in a positive way against Israelite polytheism, which is criticized by many Deuteronomistic texts. Israel is reminded: YHWH and YHWH alone is its God. Deuteronomy 6:4 would thus be a monolatric statement that emphasizes Israel’s exclusive relationship with its God; it does not deny the existence of other national deities for other peoples.⁶ YHWH is Israel’s God, but the Ammonites have their national god Milcom, the Edomites have their national god Qos, the Moabites have their national god Chemosh, etc. Originally the Shema‘ Yisrael did not deny the existence of other nations’ national gods.

At some point Jews began to understand the Shema‘ Yisrael as a monotheistic statement, that is, not only referencing their sole deity but the only deity existing in the universe—the ruler of the world, not just of Israel.

Scholars differ as to when this change occurred. No doubt it occurred gradually over a long period. Some scholars, such as André Lemaire, believe it occurred during the Babylonian exile.⁷ We think the change occurred later, during the Second Temple period (around the second century B.C.E.). The first hints of such a monotheistic reading can be found in the Septuagint^{c 8} and in the Nash Papyrus.^{d 9} The 063 Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Torah. The Nash Papyrus was produced in the second century B.C.E. and contains the Ten Commandments and the Shema‘ Yisrael. In both texts the Hebrew word that originally meant “alone” gains the numeral meaning “one.” Both texts understand Deuteronomy 6:4 as saying there is only one God.

Similar monotheistic readings of Deuteronomy 6:4 are evident in Greek Jewish literature. For example, in an apologetic discourse on Greek philosophical monotheism, Aristobulus quotes a Pseudo-Orphic Jewish text to emphasize how even the founders of Greek philosophy were guided by Mosaic thought.¹⁰

The Halbturn amulet marks an early pinnacle of this monotheistic interpretation of the Shema‘ Yisrael in Deuteronomy 6:4. The Halbturn amulet reads the last clause of the Shema‘ Yisrael as ΑΔΩΝ Α “the Lord is 1.” That is, it replaces the Hebrew word אחד, which meant originally “alone,” with “one” (a Greek Α). The letter in ancient Greek represents the numeral 1.

To our knowledge the Halbturn amulet is the first text that renders the Hebrew word ehad (אחד) with the number “1.” This numerical representation of the final word of the Shema‘ leaves no doubt about how the Jewish craftsman who made the Halbturn amulet understood the Shema‘ Yisrael—as a monotheistic statement! Only the Lord is God; there is no other God. Though the Jews of Carnuntum were open to the multireligious culture of their city, this openness clearly had defined limits. For them, no other god existed but the Lord.¹¹

Near the village of Halbturn, Austria, about 60 miles east of Vienna, lies an ancient estate with its own graveyard. The estate was occupied from the late second century C.E. to the middle of the fifth century. The cemetery associated with the settlement includes approximately 300 graves. Scholars were alerted to the ancient site in 1986 when two undisturbed graves were found in a field of crops. One of these graves, from the third century C.E., belonged to an infant about 18 months old. The skeleton was so poorly preserved that its sex could not be determined. A small, […]