Benjamin the Centurion
(0071) Text: Θανοῦμ υἱὸς | Σίμωνος ἐν- | γόνιν Βενια- | μὶν τοῦ κεν- | τηναρίου τῆς Παρενμβολῆς. | שלום
Translation: Thanoum son of Simon, grandson of Benjamin the centurion from Parembole. Peace. (Trans. Christopher B. Zeichmann)
Commentary: Parembole was located on the Nile between Syene and Taphis. Note that while this inscription was once dated broadly, it seems increasingly common to suppose that it was produced during the Roman Dominate – if the title is to be interpreted as a transliteration of centenarius and not a muddled version of centurio. That is, the inscription is likely from the fourth century and thus well after the period of interest.
Provenience: Jaffa, Palestine 100-400 CE, likely 250-400 CE
Bibliography: CIJ 2.920; JIEgypt 147; CIIP 3.2240; Aryeh Kasher, The Jews in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt: The Struggle for Equal Rights, TSAJ 7, Revised English ed. (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1985), 78-79.