Image Details
Brooklyn Museum/Gift of the Estate of Charles Wilbour
“YHW, the God dwelling in Yeb” reads the outlined text in this fourth-century B.C.E. papyrus document from the island of Elephantine in the Nile River. The Elephantine Jewish community apparently worshiped the local Yahweh, who resided in Yeb, an Egyptian word meaning Elephant Land. Other documents from the site suggest that the inhabitants also worshiped different aspects of their local Yahweh: his House (or dwelling place); his Sacredness; and his Sign (or active presence).