Catacombs THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 614

uses the name of God is turned into a cat (Vital Calabrese, "Seferha-Gilgulim,"ed. Warsaw, p. 125). BIBLIOGRAPHY : Lewysohn, Die Zoologie des Talmuds, pp. 74-

76, 108; Hamburger, R. B. T. s.v.; Brecher, Das Transeen-dentale, p. 52; Levy, Neuhebr. Wiirterbuch, s.v. 'Jinn. E. c. J. CATACOMBS : Underground galleries with ex­

cavations in their sides for tombs or in which human bones are stacked. The term is derived from " cata-comba," a compound of the Greek Kara and the Latin " comba " (" cumba "), meaning " near the sep-ulchers." Originally it designated a definite place on the Via Appia near Rome, but since the ninth century it has been applied to all subterranean

gives a detailed description of this kind of tomb, the chief characteristic of which is that the bodies were placed in niches (Talmud, )'o,D; Latin, •' loc-uli") in the subterranean vaults. The Christian catacombs doubtless originated in imitation of this Jewish custom, although it would appear from the catacombs so far discovered at Rome that the Chris­tian ones are older than the Jewish. Among Chris­tians, moreover, Jesus' tomb in the rock must have been the model from the beginning.

Jewish catacombs have been discovered at Rome as follows: (1) Before the Porta Portuensis; found in 1602 by Bosio under the Colle Rosato. This cat­acomb has since become inaccessible through the

FRAGMENT OF A SARCOPHAGUS FROM THE VIONA RANDANINI AT ROME, SHOWING JEWISH SYMBOLS. (From Garrucci, " Cimitero Degli Antichi Ebrei.")

burial-places in Italy as well as in other countries. In the Middle Ages only Christian catacombs were known; in modern times, however, Jewish burial-places have been discovered resembling the Chris­tian ones, and hence are also called catacombs.

In point of fact, the mode of burial followed in catacombs is undoubtedly of Jewish origin. Sub­terranean tombs were used in Palestine even in early times. While in the East corpses were usu­ally put into the earth, in the West they were cre­mated. The earliest example of a subterranean tomb is the double cave of Machpelah, still preserved under the mosque built over it. Around Jerusalem there are so-called tombs of the Prophets—tombs of priests according to Sepp—that, in their labyrinthine ar­rangement, resemble the catacombs. Tombs of the judges—i.e., tombs of the sanhedrists—are also to be found throughout Palestine. The architect Schick found at Jerusalem a catacomb begun by Jews and continued by Christians. These tombs, which are hewn out of the rock, differ from the Roman catacombs only in that they are difficult of access, while the latter are arranged with a view to the frequent visits of the living (Swoboda, " Die Altpal&stinischen Felsengritber und die Cata-comben," in "Romische Quartalschrift fur Christl. Altertumskunde," p. 321, Rome, 1890; compare also the word larS/uov = "quarry," used in the sense of "cemetery," which recalls these rock-tombs).

Wherever the Jews went in the course of their wanderings, they endeavored to preserve this cus­tom of their fathers as far as the nature of the ground permitted; and they did so at Rome, in lower Italj', Carthage, Cyrene, etc. The Talmud

filling in of the neighborhood. Its arrangement was extremely simple and primitive, as it contained only two cubicula or burial-niches. It is evident, from

H c e A e

A C 6 Z H C 6 N G T H

. JJLZTA

Inscription on Gravestone In the Vigna Cimarra at Rome. CYNA(r«r)HC EAE The Synagogue ot Elea. AC EZHOEN ETH

II He Lived 70 Years. KAAwO KOIMOY Pleasant Is the sleep META Tom AIKE ol the righteous.

<uN its situation on the road leading to Porto, that it served as a cemetery for the Jews living in Traste-vere. (2) In Porto itself, from which several Greek

inscriptions of the first and second Rome. centuries have been preserved. These

inscriptions throw much light on the history of the Jews at Rome. (3) In the Vigna Randanini on the Via Appia, discovered b}r Garrucci in 1862. He also found there two figured sarcophagi

615 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA Catacombs

and gilded glasses of Jewish origin, which furnish proof of the interesting fact that the Jews also fol­lowed the higher arts. (4) ln the Vigna Cimarra near the Via Appia, discovered by De Rossi in 1867. Among its inscriptions, which are also important, one mentions the synagogue of Elea. (5) In the Vigna Apolloni on the Via Labicana, discovered in 1882 by Marucchi; it is less important, and contains only a very few inscriptions, but is marked by easily recognizable Jewish symbols. (6) On the Via Appia Pignatelli, discovered in 1885 by Nicolaus Muller (see "Mitteilungen des Archaologischen Instituts," Roman section, 1886, i. 49-56).

According to F. X. Kraus's description, the Roman catacombs consist of an immense labyrinth of gal­leries excavated in the bowels of the earth and under the hills surrounding the city. The galleries are ar­ranged in different stories(" piani "), often three or

four of them one above the other, and Arrange- crossing a number of times in the

ment. same story. The galleries are from one-half to one meter wide, hence gen­

erally very narrow; in height they vary with the nature of the rock out of which they are hewn. The walls on both sides are perforated by horizontal caves or niches like oblong ovens, each of which affords space for one or more bodies. The rows are broken at intervals by passageways leading into smaller chambers, the walls of which are also per­forated by niches. There is little difference between the Christian and the Jewish catacombs; certain variations in construction being no greater than the differences among the several Christian catacombs themselves. There is the same arrangement of

The chief value of the Jewish catacombs at Rome lies in the numerous and multiform inscriptions that

·they furnish, which throw a strong light on the life of the Jews at Rome. A great number of names has been preserved thereby; and sometimes the titles of the offices and the status of those buried are given. Since about 110 of the inscriptions are in Greek and oniy about 40 in Latin, the former was probably the language of the Jews at Rome. The Greek inscrip-

tions date from between the first and Inscrip- third centuries, from which time to the

tions. fourth century there are Latin inscrip-tions. A genuine Hebrew inscription

has not yet been found, though the formulas 0'~1!' ("Pe.ace") and ~~ii!'' ~.II O'~~I!' [sic!] ("Peace to Israel") have been noted in some instances. Where the inscription does not begin with the name of the de­ceased, the usual introductory formula is EN8AL'.E KE~TE (for Kei-&at): the Latin "Hie J acet" (Here Lies) is seldom found. Eulogies recalling Biblical verses and idioms are used as final formulas; e.g., Isa. I vii. 2 or Ps. iv. 9. The frequent ou1 {3iov, taken to mean 0~'.11 "n~ C' for life eternal"), must also be considered a pious wish. The Jewish inscriptions of the cata­combs of Rome have been collected in the works of Berliner and of Vogelstein and Rieger.

The commonest symbol found in the Jewish cata­combs is the seven-branched candlestick, doubtless in reference to the verse, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord" (Prov. xx. 27). It is an infalli­ble sign that the tomb in questionis Jewish, as it is not found on Christian tombs. Another symbol is a fruit from which an ear of grain sprouts, and which is interpreted as "lulab" (pal!.11-branch) and

WNA6 A'PXWN EN GA~£ X f I eE 6 ewN "'VIII f.N€11'H NH KO.JMHCHN

INSCRIPTION ON A SARCOPHAGUS IN THE VIGNA C1IMARRA AT RO:l!E.

ZwNA®A Zonatba ( = Jonathan) APXwN the arcbon. EN®A'1.E here XEI®EF. lies @wN XVIII aged eighteen years. EN EIPHNH He rests in peace. KOIMH CHN

galleries and cubicula, the same method in the dis­position of the graves, and the same decoration in colors and tints. It has been remarked, however, that' the flags closing the niches on the outside are fitted better in the Jewish than in the Christian tombs; so that no one would suspect that tombs were behind these stones. The only real difference consists in the presence of Jewish formulas and symbols and in the absence of Christian ones.

"etrog" (citron). This interpretation is, however, not certain. An oil-vessel is also found on some

stones, a symbol probably identical Symbols. with the candlestick. Garrucci inter-

preted it as referring to :i;Ianukkah, but this is inadmissible. It may be considered an artistic expression of the thought, "A good name is .better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth" (Eccl. vii. 1). There

Catacombs THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 616

is no reason to doubt that a curved horn signifies the shofar. It is' intended to symbolize the res,urrec­tion of the dead, which shall precede the Messianic times to be announced by the shofar. A heart­shaped leaf is often found, as a}so on Cl1ristian stones: this signifi~s sorrow for the dead.

The symbols of the Christian tombs also, in so far as they are taken from the Old Testament, are inter­esting from a Jewish point of view. The chief types are: Noah in the Ark, the sacrifice of Isaac, the mi­raculous water produced by Moses in the desert, Israel's passage through the Red Sea, the ascension of Elijah, Jonah's deliverance, ,the three youths in the.fiery furnace, and Daniel in the den of lions. All these pictures express the thought that'there are comfort and deliverance from sorrow and trouble. Kaufmann explains the fact that these and not other scenes from the Old Testament were used, by the circumstance that this cycle was based on an old passage of the Jewish liturgy.

In some Jewish tombs gilded glasses were found, having drawings in gold-leaf executed on the fiat bottoms of the vessels in such a way that the letters and figures were visible from the inside. An illus­tration given by Berliner shows, in addition to the candlestick, the palm-branch, the heart-shaped leaf, and a lion beside the open book of the Law. On one of the glasses there is even a representation of the Temple at Jerusalem. The gilded glasses are supposed to be the "l).iddush" cups µscd on the Sabbath and at festivals. Berliner supposes them to refer to the "cup of consolation" that was offered to the mourners.

In addition to the six Jewish catacombs mentioned above, Rome "has a few others that may be either Jewish or Christian. In the 'first decades of Chris­tianity, baptized Jews probably used tlrn existing Jewish catacombs as burial-places; thus, for exam­

Doubtful Catacombs at Rome.

ple, the Hebrew inscription of one Shefael was found in the Ca~acomba Callisti. In the case of the large and well·known Catacomb of Domitilla (so called because Nie noble Domitilla, of

the imperial Flavian house, is supposed to be buried there), its Jewish origin depends on the question whether Domitilla was a Jewish or a Christian pros- · elyte. The arc.J1itectural character of this catacomb points to Jewish origin, because one of its cham­bers contains only a single-trough tomb (" arcoso­lium "), with a bench in front. Since both of these, the single tomb as well as the fiat bench, are spe­cially characteristic of the Jewish rock-tombs in Palestine, it is possible that the Catacoml;Ja Domi­tillrn was originally laid out by Jews, alt.hough it was certainly finished by Christians. The architec­tural characteristics of this catacomb are so striking that even Muller admits Jewish influence, although he thinks that the Christian catacombs were con­structed on pagan and not on Jewish patterns. (Her­zog-Hauck, "Real-Encyc." 3d ed., x. 863).

It is also impossible to determine whether certain catacombs in places other than Rome are Jewish or Christian, particularly as investigations have not yet been carried to the same extent as in Rome. This is especially the case at Naples and its vicinity, and, in general, througl)out southern Italy. Aside

from those near the little town of .Matera, the cata­combs of Venosa are~ modern discovery, and none

Venosa, Sicily,

Carthage.

has been definitely recognized as Christian, while most of .them are cer­tainly Jewish. Discovered in 1853, these catacombs have been investi~ gated and .described by G. I. Ascoli,

l<'ran<;ois Lenormant, and Nicolaus Muller. Not­withstanding the tu fa, which tends to crumble easily, there are galleriesiiere more than two meters wide; hence wider than those at Rome.~ In the subterra­nean main street the trough-tombs-i.e., thos~ hol­luwed out in the form of a trough (" arcosolia ")­are much more numerous than the niche-tombs (" loculi "); moreover, not only the walls, but also the floors, contain many tombs. The chief interest of the catacombs of Venosa lies in their inscriptions. These are written partly in Latin and partly in Greek, the language in both cases being incorrect and barbaric. It is most important to note that He­brew occurs more frequently; for there are epitaphs written entirely in that language; and the characters used are remarkable for paleographic reasons. One of these epitaphs reads:

inot:1J it:1tiJ niJ [o J 1J'ooii::i p ilO'::i ~t:I i::i::it:1t.) . tiSiv ['] 'n~

("Resting-place of Beta, son of Faustinus. Peace to his soul! May his spirit share in the life eternal!"} An epitaph of which the second portion is Greek written in Hebrew characters is also noteworthy, and for that reason is given here, from a reproduc­tion in Ascoli's "Iscrizioni Greche, Latine, Eb­raiche di Antichi sepolcri Giudaici del Napolitano," No. 17.

("Peace to his resting-place.") (sic!) 1:1il::lt:l'r.i Sv ti'S~ 110~ ~J'i'~Ot.) 'i' iio•::iioiti 1J'iJ,PilO ou:io

.~OJ~mi~

(Ta~o~ l:mJV<livov Ilqecr(forepov 1wl Marl/p!va[~] irwv byooijvra.)

("Tomb of Secundinus [son of] Presbyterns ahd l\faterina, eighty years old.") Muller found a num­ber of other catacombs at Venosa, in addition to those discovered in 1853. It has not yet been deter­.mined, however, whether they are of Jewish or Chris­tian origin. The same symbols are found here, and in the places still to be mentioned, as are found at Rome.

The island of Sicily abounds in catacomhs. These have not yet been thoroughly investigate.a, nor has

1

j ·l J l ' "·'

617 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA Catacombs

their Jewish or Christian character been determined; but there certainly are Jewish catacombs at Syra­cuse (see Paolo Orsi, in " Romische Quartalsch1ift," 1897, pp. 475-495; ib. 1900, p. HJO). The geolog­ical formation of the island was most favorable to the construction of rock-tombs, which were built by pagans, Jews, and Christians. There are more sin­gle than common tombs; and the bodies are placed

Archeologique, " 3d series, xiii. 178, Paris, 1889). The necropolis. lies to the north of the city, on mod­erately high hills near the hill Gamart. It contains about 200 tombs, that resemble the Palestinian hype ogea, a lthough the loculi give it the character of catacombs. lt has been found that the Talmudic regulations regarding the rock-tombs have been im­plicitly observed in this necropolis; and the fact

GROUND-PLAN OF THE JEWISH CATACOMBS AT VESOSA.

A, B, entrance grottoes; C, entrance to catacombs; D, principal corridor ; E- K, side corridors; L-P, corridors In ruins. (After Ascoli .)

not in niches, but in arcosolia. The Sicilian tombs must therefore be designated as hypogea-i.e., sub­terranean vaults-rather than as catacombs, and re­semble more closely their Palestinian models. J ew­ish hypogea have also been found in recent times at Heliopolis in Phrygia (Humann, "Altertruner von Heliopolis," p. 46, Berlin, 1898).

In Africa t.he first Jewish graveyards to be no­ted are those of Carthage, in which J ewish cata­combs are recognized (see Delattre, in " Revue

that it. is Jewish is fully determined by the frag­ments of Hebrew inscript.ions that have been found and the frequent representation of the seven­branched cand lestick, although most <if the inscrip­tions are in Latin. 'fhe tombs contained no vessels except the lamps; but the walls were richly deco­rated in relief and fresco, indicating a certain degree of wealth among the J ews of Carthage(" Rev. Etudes Juives," xliv. 14).

On closer investigation J ewish catacombs will be

Catalan, Abraham 'Catalogues of Hebrew Book'

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 618

found among the many Christian ones in Cyrenaica ·and in its capital, CYRENE. In .Lower Egypt, . also, especially near Alexandria, there are pagan, Jewish, and Christian catacomlls ("Am. Jour. .of Archeology," pp. 145 et ,~eq., Baltimore, 1887).

In the Egyptian catacombs there are Egypt. many cell-tomlls; i.e., tombs in which

the bodies are pushed forward into .the niches. According to Schultze, this indicates that the tomb in question is Jewish. This assump­tion, however, is rightly criticized lly other scholars, .and a decision of the question must await further investigation. See BURIAL and CEMETERIES.

.BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bosio, Roma Sotterranea, II. ch. 22, pos-thumous, Rome, 1632; De Rossi, Bolletino, 1864, iv. 40; Idem, Roma Sot.terranea, 1877, iii. 386; Garrucci,. Cimitero deg!i Antichi Ebrei ... in Vigna Randanini, Rome, 1862; Franz Xaver Kraus, Roma Sotterranca, pp. 489 et seq., Frel­burg-in-Breisgan, 1873, 2d ed., 1879; idem, in Rea!-Encyc. der Christ!. Alterthitmer, ib. 1883; ~.v. Katakomben; idem, Gcsch. der Christ!. Kunst, I. 5h, 1b. 1895; Kaufmann, Sens et Origine des Symbolcs de /,'Ancien '.l'cstament dans !'Art Chretien Primilij, in Rev. Etudcs Juives, xiv. 33, 217 ; As­coli, Iscrizioni TnBdite o Mal Note, 'Greche, Latine, Ebra­iche di Antichi Sepolc1·l Giudaici de! Napolitano, Turin and Rome, 1880; Lenormant, La Catacombe Juive de Ve­nosa, in Rev. Etudcs Juives, vi. 2017 207; Adolf von Enge­strom, Om Judarne i Rom Under Aldre '.l'ider och Deras Katakomber, Upsala, 1876; Schurer, Die Gemeindeverfas­sung der 'Judcn in Rom in der Kaiserzeit, Leipsic, 1879; Berliner, Gesell. der Juden in Rom, l. 46-70, Frankfort-on­the-Main, 1893; Vogelstein and Rieger. Gcsch. der Juden in Rom, !. 70 et seq.; Nicolaus Millier, Koimeterien, in Herzog­Hanck, Real-Encyc. 3d ed., x. 794 et seq.; Lowrie, Christian Art and Archeology, p. 42, New York, 1901. E. c. S. Kn.

• CATALAN, ABRAHAM: Well-known Tal-mudist of the seventeenth century. He and his son, Abraham Catalan, and his brother, Elijah Cat­alan, were contemporaneous with R. I.Iayyim Shab­bethai in Sftlonica. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Conforte, ~ore lla-Dorot, p. 45a.

G. 1\'I. K.

CATALAN (CATALANO), ABRAHAM ; Physician in Padua; died 1642. He is the author of "'Olam Hafuk," an unpublished manuscript trea­tise on the plague of 1630-31, during which time he was very active. JlIBLIOGRAPHY: M. Osimo, Narrazione ... CenniBiograjici

dell.a Famiglia. Koen Cantarini, pp. 50, 107 et seq., Casale, Montferrat, 1875; Steinschneider, Hebr. Bibl. xvi. 36. G. 1\'I. K.

CATALAN, ABRAHAM SOLOMON BEN ISAAC BEN SAMUEL (not Solomon Abra­ham); born in Catalonia ;·died 1492'; autllorof a?wurk,.. treating of the eternity of the world, Providence, prophecy, immortality, and the resurrection, and also dealing with mathematical, physical, and caba­listic subjects. It appeared under the title" Neweh Shalom" (Dwelling of Peace), Constantinople, 1538; Venice, 1574, with a preface by Moses Almosnino, who cites it several times in his work, "Me'amme~ Koal.1." Abraham Solomon translated into Hebrew Albertus Magnus' "Philosophia Pauperum," under the title "Ki~~ur ha-Philosophia ha-'fib'it" (Syn·· -0psis of Natural Philosophy), and l\farsilins all Inghen's "Questions,'' under the title "8ha'alot u-Teshubot" (Questions and Answers). Both are still extant in manuscript; Catalan's preface to the latter work was published by A. Jellinek. without men­tion of the translator, together with the index of the

questions, under the title "Marsilius ab Inghen" (Leipsic, 1859) . BIBLIOGRAPHY: De Rossi. Hi.st: Wi!rterbuch der Jll.d. Schrift­

stel!er, p. 69; Steinschneider, Hebr. Uebers. pp. 465, 469. G. M. K.

CATALAN, GERSON B. SOLOMON: Au-thor; li ve<l at Aries in the middle of the thirteenth century; died (possillly) at Perpignan toward the end of the thirteenth century. According to Abra­ham Zacuto and, others, he was the father of Levi b. Gerson (Gersonides). He compiled, about 1280, an eneyclopeuia entitled "Sha 'ar ha-Shamayim" (Door of Heaven), which contains many quotations and even whole treatises from previous translations of works written in Arabic. Following Ibn Pal­quera, he-0.ivided his work into three parts, dealing respectively with: (1) physics, including a chapter on dreams; (2) astronomy, taken chiefly from .Al­Fergani; and (3) theology or metaphysics, which part, as Catalan expressly says, contains nothing new, but is a copy of Maimonides' "Book of the Soul." The Greek authors cited are; Alexander of Aphrodisias, Aristotle, Empedocles, Galen, Hippoc­rates, Homer, Plato, Ptolemy, Pythagoras, Themis­tius, and Theophrastus; the Arabic: Ali ibn al­Abbas, Ali ibn Ridhwan, Averroes, Avicenna, Costa ibn Lucca, Al-Farabi, Al-Fergani, I.Ionain, Isaac Israeli, Ibn Tufail, and Ibn Zuhr. The work was published in Venice, 1547, ROdelheim, 1801. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Stelnschne!der, Cat. Bodi. col. 1014; idem,

Hebr. Uebers. pp. 9 et seq.; Gross, in Monatsschrift, xxx. 20 et seq.; idem, Gallia Judaica, p. 82; Sen. Sachs, Kerem Hemed, vlll. 153 et seq.; De Rossi-Hamberger, Wi!rterbuch, p. 69; Rev. Et. Juivcs, v. 278, xvi. 186. A number of citations are to be found in Kaufmann, Die Sinne (see Index). G. M. K.

CATALAN, MOSES~AYYIM: Italian poet; born in Padua; son of the physician Abraham Cat­alan. He was rabbi in his native town, and died there at an advanced age in 16th. It WlJrS to him that the first letters of Isaac Vita Cantarini, whose teacher he was, were addressed. His "Me~aref ha­Sekel," a rhetorical pamphlet on man, has never been published. He wrote a poem in honor of the marriage of his sister Perla to Raphael Gans Levi, which can be read either as Hebrew or as Italian. It has been reprinted by Wolf, "Bibi. Hebr." iii. 726. In 1645 he wrote a similar.poem in honor of Shabbethai Astruc. An elegy on Lamentations in ottava rima was also published by him at Padua.

~'i'liiiLiOGRAPHY: CantminCPa!lad Yi.?!ia~, lOa; Osimo, Narra­zione, p. 68; Del!tzsch, Zur Gesell. der JUdlschen Pocsie, p. 71; Steinschneider. Oat. Bodi. col. 1785 ; Cat. Ghir.ondi (Sam. Scb5nblum, Berlin, 1872), p. 2, cod. 4B (where the pamphlet ls erroneously ascribed to Abraham Catalan, "rabbi in Padua"); Steinschneider, in Monatsschrift, xllll. 420. G. M. K.

CATALAN, SO.LOMON; Probably a grandson of Gerson b. Solomon Catalan. He was rabbi in the city of Coimbra in 1360. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kayserl!ng, Gesch. der Juden in Portugal,

p. 24. G. M. K. CATALOGUES OF HEBREW BOOKS:

These were of frequent use among the Jews in the Middle" Ages. -Judah ibn Tibbon (about 1200) speaks in loving terms of his collection of books and of its catalogue, both of which he recommends to