Simon brass-tablet inscription behind 1 Maccabees 14

This article describes an entity that is not directly attested as an extant recoverable inscription; it is inferred from source-citation traces and should not be read as ordinary documentation of a surviving tablet.

Epistemic status

Draft article. 1 Maccabees reports brass tablets and treasury copies, but the objects themselves are not extant here.

Summary

1 Maccabees 14 describes Simon's honors written on brass tablets, set in the sanctuary, with copies laid up in the treasury. Inferpedia treats this as a public inscription and copy-deposit source surface.

What is being inferred

The inferred entity is the brass-tablet inscription and associated treasury copies reported in 1 Maccabees 14.

What is attested

The text reports brass tablets, placement of the writing, and deposited copies.

Why infer this entity

The notice gives material medium, institutional placement, and copy storage, making the source trace unusually concrete.

Evidence ledger

• E1, 1 Maccabees 14:27: primary trace for brass-tablet writing.
• E2, 1 Maccabees 14:48: primary trace for placement of the writing.
• E3, 1 Maccabees 14:49: primary trace for treasury copies.

Counterarguments

The passage may legitimize Simon through an inscription motif rather than document a recoverable object.

Confidence scores

Direct attestation: 64. Existence warrant: 84. Specificity: 78. Reconstruction dependence: 72. Counterevidence: 18.

What would change the score

Hasmonean inscription parallels, specialist discussion of 1 Maccabees 14, or external evidence for the inscription would change the score.