Saturday, May 16, 2015

Hebrew tattoo disaster

JAMES MCGRATH: Bad Hebrew = Free Advertising.

This tattoo reminds me of a Punic inscription (R 1534, el Ḥofra, Algeria) engraved on stone by an illiterate stonemason who accidentally included the instructions with the inscription: "and you will write 43 letters!" (וכתבת מספרמ ארבעמ ושלש).* (Cross-file under Punic Watch.)

Over the years I have collected various stories about tattoos in ancient languages (here and follow the links), some done correctly, but others with unfortunate results like this one.

*Segert, A Grammar of Phoenician and Punic, 16.151.1.