Domine ivimus? CIIP I.2 787 Reconsidered

Abstract

<p>A stone block featuring a drawing of a merchant ship, accompanied by an inscription beneath it, is situated on the south wall of the Chapel of St. Vartan in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The most widely accepted reading of the inscription is domine ivimus ("Lord, we have come/we went"), which carries clear Christian implications. This interpretation was recently reiterated by the editor of the piece in CIIP, the most comprehensive edition of inscriptions from ancient Judaea and Palestina. Since its discovery, however, the inscription has generated considerable scholarly attention and controversy, especially regarding its interpretation as either pagan or Christian. In what follows, we primarily argue from a linguistic perspective that the interpretation domine ivimus is untenable. Instead, we assert the likelihood of the reading Isis Mirionimus ("Isis of countless names") as originally proposed by S.C. Humphreys in 1974.<br></p>