I. History of the Discovery – II. The Jewish Military Colony – III. Literary Texts
On the island of Elephantine in the Nile a large number of ancient inscriptions and documents came to light. Of special importance among them are the Aramaic papyri dating from the 5th century bce that provide insight into the culture, religion, and fate of a Jewish community consisting of mercenaries in Persian service. The following will discuss only these Aramaic documents.