2,100-YEAR-OLD SARCASTIC BULLET INSCRIPTION DISCOVERED IN GALILEE

[Rebbetzin]

Hi everyone,

In this day and age we often hear about some people engraving something on their bullets. It’s as though the carved word will have its persuasive resonance within the victim/s. Soldiers in wars today have this practice, bombs have slogans, symbols and names carved or painted onto them. We remember that Charlie Kirk’s assassin had words engraved into the bullets he was using. We are, in this day and age, naturally shocked at such a practice, we see it in movies etc., but we mostly don’t know that this practice goes back millennia and the use of “bullets” was employed widely in warfare.


“2,100-Year-Old Sarcastic Bullet Inscription Discovered in Galilee

“Last word before lights out: ‘Learn’

“By George Haddad • March 17

“A 2,100-year-old sling bullet bearing a unique inscription was discovered by archaeologists on the east coast of the Sea of Galilee.

“The site, Antiochia Hippos, or Sussita in Aramaic, was founded after the Battle of Paneion (circa 199 b.c.e.), either by Antiochus iii the Great or Antiochus iv Epiphanes. The bullet was found using a metal detector near what was proposed to be an ancient road.

“According to researchers, this almond-shaped sling bullet “could have been used in any of the several battles during the Hellenistic Period in which Hippos was involved.” Researchers indicate that it was likely used by the Greeks to defend the city against the Hasmonean army of King Alexander Jannaeus in 101 b.c.e. as he expanded his kingdom toward Galilee and the Golan.

“The find-spot matches what researchers indicate is “the most convenient point of attack toward the city’s main gate on the east for any besieging forces, especially those with heavy siege machinery.”

“Lead sling bullets were cheap, efficient and highly effective. “They were the most common munitions in the Hellenistic world,” excavation co-director Michael Eisenberg of Haifa University said.

“Other lead bullets uncovered in antiquity have victory exclamations, personal names, deities or military units. Over the past 26 years of excavation at Hippos, various lead bullets with images, such as scorpions or lightning bolts, have been discovered, but this particular find has an inscription that consists of five Greek letters: “ΜΑΘΟΥ,” which means “Learn.”

“While this is not the first inscribed bullet to be found at Hippos, this specific inscription is the first of its kind worldwide.

“The research paper explained that, although rare, there are instances of “sarcastic” inscriptions on sling bullets, such as: “Take a taste,” “Receive this” or “Take it!” Eisenberg and the other authors of the paper believe the inscription, “Learn,” falls into this same taunting category. He told the Times of Israel, “It uses a very strange structure that only exists in Greek. It’s like the sling tells itself, ‘I’m learning my job by hitting the enemy.’ Perhaps the idea was [to tell the enemy], ‘Learn your lesson,’ or ‘Next time, you should learn not to come here.’”

“The paper notes that “a skilled slinger using a light bullet (up to 40 grams [this one is 38 grams]) could have reached a distance of 400 meters, but it is estimated that regular combat distances were shorter, between 100 meters and 300 meters.”

“It’s obvious that the bullet hit something. “We don’t know if it was a rock or a person, but there was definitely an impact,” Eisenberg stated.

“Such artifacts provide a unique glimpse into the past. You can imagine battle-ready soldiers engraving this sarcastic term onto their bullets as the approaching army gathered for combat. King Janneus eventually conquered Hippos in 83 b.c.e. Now, in 2026, we have the unique opportunity to “learn” about discoveries such as this.”


For an image of the “sarcastic bullet” please access this link:

https://armstronginstitute.org/1439-2100-year-old-sarcastic-bullet-inscription-discovered-in-galilee

King David and his contemporaries must’ve learnt to be exceedingly accurate with their slings and stones, not to mention the strength behind the person’s ability and focus. Humans are really quite exceptional beings in their pursuit of the armoury and its lethality. Some would say, it’s the “human condition”.  These monumental bombers that have been engineered for war in this century don’t just blow up whatever they target, they blow your mind.  We’re so clever. And destructive toward our fellow human. Might is right. Until it’s not. Oh haste that day!

Love and Shabbat Shalom,

Rebbetzin Glenys xo