No, no, I’m not talking about getting suckered on the black market. I’m talking about intentionally buying replicas of antiquities. Last year at the Oriental Institute Museum in Chicago, I purchased a resin replica of the laws of Lipit-Ishtar, mostly for the purposes of showing my students what a cuneiform tablet might look like. The other day, I decided to take the plunge and order a few replicas from two different suppliers who do business online.

First, I ordered a couple of items from the LMLK Shop. From LMLK, I ordered replicas of the Gezer Calendar and Lachish Ostracon #3. My main interest in purchasing these items is to be able to enhance my Hebrew class in 2007–2008 with some amateur paleography. (The Gezer Calendar may really be Phoenician rather than Hebrew, but functionally this makes no difference to reading the text.) I chose Lachish Ostracon #3 rather than one of the other Lachish ostraca, or the Yavneh Yam Ostracon, because of its author’s reference to his own literacy, which is an interesting piece of the puzzle in constructing a picture late 7th-century/early 6th-century Judean society. When I placed my order, I did not realize the happy coincidence that the LMLK Shop is run by G. M. Grena, who reads Higgaion on comments occasionally on my posts.

G. M. referred me to another online replica shop, at the Institute for Bible & Scientific Studies. Exactly what approach this Institute takes to the Bible and scientific studies I don’t know, and I didn’t spend a lot of time poking around to find out. I just went to the replicas shop. From IBSS, I purchased two sets of bullae replicas and a replica of the Nash Papyrus. Again, my intention for these is primarily to use them as visual aids in Hebrew 330–331 and Hebrew 502 this coming fall, spring, and summer.

I haven’t yet received these items, and I haven’t returned to Malibu from Buenos Aires anyway. After I do, I’ll comment on the quality of the reproductions.