50 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically
A web-exclusive supplement to Lawrence
Mykytiuk's “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible” feature in
the March/April 2014 issue of BAR
Lawrence Mykytiuk
• 03/03/2014
Sargon II, one of fifty Hebrew Bible figures identified in the archaeological record.
In “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible,” in the March/April 2014 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review,
Purdue University scholar Lawrence Mykytiuk lists 50 figures from the
Hebrew Bible that have been confirmed archaeologically. The 50-person
chart in BAR includes Israelite kings and Mesopotamian monarchs as well as lesser-known figures.
Mykytiuk writes that “at least 50 people mentioned in the Bible have
been identified in the archaeological record. Their names appear in
inscriptions written during the period described by the Bible and in
most instances during or quite close to the lifetime of the person
identified.” The extensive Biblical and archaeological documentation
supporting the BAR study
is published here in a web-exclusive collection of endnotes detailing
the Biblical references and inscriptions referring to each of the 50
figures.
Guide to the Endnotes
BAS Library Members:
Read “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible” by Lawrence
Mykytiuk as it appears in the March/April 2014 issue of Biblical
Archaeology Review.
For a timeline and better view of this chart, see pp.46-47 of the March/April 2014 issue of BAR.
Egypt
|
Name
|
Who was He?
|
When He reigned or Flourished B.C.E.
|
Where in the Bible?
|
1
|
|
pharaoh
|
945–924
|
1 Kings 11:40, etc.
|
2
|
|
pharaoh
|
730–715
|
2 Kings 17:4
|
3
|
|
pharaoh
|
690–664
|
2 Kings 19:9, etc.
|
4
|
|
pharaoh
|
610–595
|
2 Chronicles 35:20, etc.
|
5
|
|
pharaoh
|
589–570
|
Jeremiah 44:30
|
6
|
|
king
|
early to mid-ninth century
|
2 Kings 3:4–27
|
7
|
|
king
|
early ninth century to 844/842
|
1 Kings 11:23, etc.
|
8
|
|
king
|
844/842
|
2 Kings 6:24, etc.
|
9
|
|
king
|
844/842–c. 800
|
1 Kings 19:15, etc.
|
10
|
|
king
|
early eighth century
|
2 Kings 13:3, etc.
|
11
|
|
king
|
mid-eighth century to 732
|
2 Kings 15:37, etc.
|
12
|
|
king
|
884–873
|
1 Kings 16:16, etc.
|
13
|
|
king
|
873–852
|
1 Kings 16:28, etc.
|
14
|
|
king
|
842/841–815/814
|
1 Kings 19:16, etc.
|
15
|
|
king
|
805–790
|
2 Kings 13:9, etc.
|
16
|
|
king
|
790–750/749
|
2 Kings 13:13, etc.
|
17
|
|
king
|
749–738
|
2 Kings 15:14, etc.
|
18
|
|
king
|
750(?)–732/731
|
2 Kings 15:25, etc.
|
19
|
|
king
|
732/731–722
|
2 Kings 15:30, etc.
|
20
|
|
governor of Samaria under Persian rule
|
c. mid-fifth century
|
Nehemiah 2:10, etc.
|
21
|
|
king
|
c. 1010–970
|
1 Samuel 16:13, etc.
|
22
|
|
king
|
788/787–736/735
|
2 Kings 14:21, etc.
|
23
|
|
king
|
742/741–726
|
2 Kings 15:38, etc.
|
24
|
|
king
|
726–697/696
|
2 Kings 16:20, etc.
|
25
|
|
king
|
697/696–642/641
|
2 Kings 20:21, etc.
|
26
|
|
high priest during Josiah’s reign
|
within 640/639–609
|
2 Kings 22:4, etc.
|
27
|
|
scribe during Josiah’s reign
|
within 640/639–609
|
2 Kings 22:3, etc.
|
28
|
|
high priest during Josiah’s reign
|
within 640/639–609
|
1 Chronicles 5:39, etc.
|
29
|
|
official during Jehoiakim’s reign
|
within 609–598
|
Jeremiah 36:10, etc.
|
30
|
|
king
|
598–597
|
2 Kings 24:6, etc.
|
31
|
|
father of Jehucal the royal official
|
late seventh century
|
Jeremiah 37:3, etc.
|
32
|
|
official during Zedekiah’s reign
|
within 597–586
|
Jeremiah 37:3, etc.
|
33
|
|
father of Gedaliah the royal official
|
late seventh century
|
Jeremiah 38:1
|
34
|
|
official during Zedekiah’s reign
|
within 597–586
|
Jeremiah 38:1
|
35
|
|
king
|
744–727
|
2 Kings 15:19, etc.
|
36
|
|
king
|
726–722
|
2 Kings 17:3, etc.
|
37
|
|
king
|
721–705
|
Isaiah 20:1
|
38
|
|
king
|
704–681
|
2 Kings 18:13, etc.
|
39
|
|
son and assassin of Sennacherib
|
early seventh century
|
2 Kings 19:37, etc.
|
40
|
|
king
|
680–669
|
2 Kings 19:37, etc.
|
41
|
|
king
|
721–710 and 703
|
2 Kings 20:12, etc.
|
42
|
|
king
|
604–562
|
2 Kings 24:1, etc.
|
43
|
|
official of Nebuchadnezzar II
|
early sixth century
|
Jeremiah 39:3
|
44
|
|
king
|
561–560
|
2 Kings 25:27, etc.
|
45
|
|
son and co-regent of Nabonidus
|
c. 543?–540
|
Daniel 5:1, etc.
|
46
|
|
king
|
559–530
|
2 Chronicles 36:22, etc.
|
47
|
|
king
|
520–486
|
Ezra 4:5, etc.
|
48
|
|
king
|
486–465
|
Esther 1:1, etc.
|
49
|
|
king
|
465-425/424
|
Ezra 4:7, etc.
|
50
|
|
king
|
425/424-405/404
|
Nehemiah 12:22
|
BAS Library Members:
Read “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible” by Lawrence
Mykytiuk as it appears in the March/April 2014 issue of Biblical
Archaeology Review.
EGYPT
1. Shishak (= Shoshenq I), pharaoh, r. 945–924, 1 Kings 11:40 and 14:25,
in his inscriptions, including the record of his military campaign in
Palestine in his 924 B.C.E. inscription on the exterior south wall of
the Temple of Amun at Karnak in Thebes. See OROT, pp. 10, 31–32, 502 note 1; many references to him in Third, indexed on p. 520; Kenneth A. Kitchen, review of IBP, SEE-J Hiphil 2 (2005), http://www.see-j.net/index.php/hiphil/article/viewFile/19/17,
bottom of p. 3, which is briefly mentioned in “Sixteen,” p. 43 n. 22
(where the Egyptian name Shoshenq is incorrectly transcribed).
Shoshenq is also referred to in a fragment of his victory stele
discovered at Megiddo containing his cartouche. See Robert S. Lamon and
Geoffrey M. Shipton, Megiddo I: Seasons of 1925–34, Strata I–V. (Oriental Institute Publications no. 42; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939), pp. 60–61, fig. 70; Graham I. Davies, Megiddo (Cities of the Biblical World; Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 1986), pp. 89 fig. 18, 90; OROT, p. 508 n. 68; IBP, p. 137 n. 119 (in which the Egyptian name Shoshenq is incorrectly transcribed).
2. So (= Osorkon IV), pharaoh, r. 730–715, 2 Kings 17:4 only, which calls him “So, king of Egypt” (OROT, pp. 15–16). K. A. Kitchen makes a detailed case for So being Osorkon IV in Third, pp. 372–375. See Raging Torrent, p. 106 under “Shilkanni.”
3. Tirhakah (= Taharqa), pharaoh, r. 690–664, 2 Kings 19:9, etc. in many Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions; Third, pp. 387–395. For mention of Tirhakah in Assyrian inscriptions, see those of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal in Raging Torrent, pp. 138–143, 145, 150–153, 155, 156; ABC, p. 247 under “Terhaqah.” The Babylonian chronicle also refers to him (Raging Torrent, p. 187). On Tirhakah as prince, see OROT, p. 24.
4. Necho II (= Neco II), pharaoh, r. 610–595, 2 Chronicles 35:20, etc., in inscriptions of the Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal (ANET, pp. 294–297) and the Esarhaddon Chronicle (ANET, p. 303). See also Raging Torrent, pp. 189–199, esp. 198; OROT, p. 504 n. 26; Third, p. 407; ABC, p. 232.
5. Hophra (= Apries = Wahibre), pharaoh, r. 589–570, Jeremiah 44:30, in Egyptian inscriptions, such as the one describing his being buried by his successor, Aḥmose II (= Amasis II) (Third,
p. 333 n. 498), with reflections in Babylonian inscriptions regarding
Nebuchadnezzar’s defeat of Hophra in 572 and replacing him on the
throne of Egypt with a general, Aḥmes (= Amasis), who later rebelled
against Babylonia and was suppressed (Raging Torrent, p. 222). See OROT, pp. 9, 16, 24; Third, p. 373 n. 747, 407 and 407 n. 969; ANET, p. 308; D. J. Wiseman, Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (626–556 B.C.) in the British Museum (London: The Trustees of the British Museum, 1956), pp. 94-95. Cf. ANEHST, p. 402. (The index of Third, p. 525, distinguishes between an earlier “Wahibre i” [Third, p. 98] and the 26th Dynasty’s “Wahibre ii” [= Apries], r. 589–570.)
MOAB
6. Mesha, king, r. early to mid-9th century, 2 Kings 3:4–27, in the Mesha Inscription, which he caused to be written, lines 1–2; Dearman, Studies, pp. 97, 100–101; IBP, pp. 95–108, 238; “Sixteen,” p. 43.
ARAM-DAMASCUS
7. Hadadezer, king, r. early 9th century to 844/842, 1 Kings 22:3, etc.,
in Assyrian inscriptions of Shalmaneser III and also, I am convinced,
in the Melqart stele. The Hebrew Bible does not name him, referring to
him only as “the King of Aram” in 1 Kings 22:3, 31; 2 Kings chapter 5,
6:8–23. We find out this king’s full name in some contemporaneous
inscriptions of Shalmaneser III, king of Assyria (r. 858–824), such as
the Black Obelisk (Raging Torrent, pp. 22–24). At Kurkh, a
monolith by Shalmaneser III states that at the battle of Qarqar (853
B.C.E.), he defeated “Adad-idri [the Assyrian way of saying Hadadezer]
the Damascene,” along with “Ahab the Israelite” and other kings (Raging Torrent,
p. 14; RIMA 3, p. 23, A.0.102.2, col. ii, lines 89b–92). “Hadadezer
the Damascene” is also mentioned in an engraving on a statue of
Shalmaneser III at Aššur (RIMA 3, p. 118, A.0.102.40, col. i, line 14).
The same statue engraving later mentions both Hadadezer and Hazael
together (RIMA 3, p. 118, col. i, lines 25–26) in a topical arrangement
of worst enemies defeated that is not necessarily chronological.
On the long-disputed readings of the Melqart stele, which was
discovered in Syria in 1939, see “Corrections,” pp. 69–85, which
follows the closely allied readings of Frank Moore Cross and Gotthard
G. G. Reinhold. Those readings, later included in “Sixteen,” pp. 47–48,
correct the earlier absence of this Hadadezer in IBP (notably on p. 237, where he is not to be confused with the tenth-century Hadadezer, son of Rehob and king of Zobah).
8. Ben-hadad, son of Hadadezer, r. or served as co-regent 844/842, 2 Kings 6:24, etc.,
in the Melqart stele, following the readings of Frank Moore Cross and
Gotthard G. G. Reinhold and Cross’s 2003 criticisms of a different
reading that now appears in COS, vol. 2, pp. 152–153
(“Corrections,” pp. 69–85). Several kings of Damascus bore the name
Bar-hadad (in their native Aramaic, which is translated as Ben-hadad in
the Hebrew Bible), which suggests adoption as “son” by the patron
deity Hadad. This designation might indicate that he was the crown
prince and/or co-regent with his father Hadadezer. It seems likely that
Bar-hadad/Ben-hadad was his father’s immediate successor as king, as
seems to be implied by the military policy reversal between 2 Kings
6:3–23 and 6:24. It was this Ben-Hadad, the son of Hadadezer, whom
Hazael assassinated in 2 Kings 8:7–15 (quoted in Raging Torrent, p. 25). The mistaken disqualification of this biblical identification in the Melqart stele in IBP, p. 237, is revised to a strong identification in that stele in “Corrections,” pp. 69–85; “Sixteen,” p. 47.
9. Hazael, king, r. 844/842–ca. 800, 1 Kings 19:15, 2 Kings 8:8, etc., is documented in four kinds of inscriptions: 1) The inscriptions of Shalmaneser III call him “Hazael of Damascus” (Raging Torrent,
pp. 23–26, 28), for example the inscription on the Kurbail Statue
(RIMA 3, p. 60, line 21). He is also referred to in 2) the Zakkur stele
from near Aleppo, in what is now Syria, and in 3) bridle inscriptions,
i.e., two inscribed horse blinders and a horse frontlet discovered on
Greek islands, and in 4) inscribed ivories seized as Assyrian war booty
(Raging Torrent, p. 35). All are treated in IBP, pp. 238–239, and listed in “Sixteen,” p. 44. Cf. “Corrections,” pp. 101–103.
10. Ben-hadad, son of Hazael, king, r. early 8th century, 2 Kings 13:3, etc., in the Zakkur stele from near Aleppo. In lines 4–5, it calls him “Bar-hadad, son of Hazael, the king of Aram” (IBP, p. 240; “Sixteen,” p. 44; Raging Torrent, p. 38; ANET, p. 655: COS, vol. 2, p. 155). On the possibility of Ben-hadad, son of Hazael, being the “Mari” in Assyrian inscriptions, see Raging Torrent, pp. 35–36.
11. Rezin (= Raḥianu), king, r. mid-8th century to 732, 2 Kings 15:37, etc., in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria (in these inscriptions, Raging Torrent records frequent mention of Rezin in pp. 51–78); OROT, p. 14. Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III refer to “Rezin” several times, “Rezin of Damascus” in Annal 13, line 10 (ITP, pp. 68–69), and “the dynasty of Rezin of Damascus” in Annal 23, line 13 (ITP,
pp. 80–81). Tiglath-pileser III’s stele from Iran contains an explicit
reference to Rezin as king of Damascus in column III, the right side,
A: “[line 1] The kings of the land of Hatti (and of) the Aramaeans of
the western seashore . . . [line 4] Rezin of Damascus” (ITP, pp. 106–107).
NORTHERN KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
12. Omri, king, r. 884–873, 1 Kings 16:16, etc.,
in Assyrian inscriptions and in the Mesha Inscription. Because he
founded a famous dynasty which ruled the northern kingdom of Israel,
the Assyrians refer not only to him as a king of Israel (ANET,
pp. 280, 281), but also to the later rulers of that territory as kings
of “the house of Omri” and that territory itself literally as “the
house of Omri” (Raging Torrent, pp. 34, 35; ANET, pp. 284, 285). Many a later king of Israel who was not his descendant, beginning with Jehu, was called “the son of Omri” (Raging Torrent, p. 18). The Mesha Inscription also refers to Omri as “the king of Israel” in lines 4–5, 7 (Dearman, Studies, pp. 97, 100–101; COS, vol. 2, p. 137; IBP, pp. 108–110, 216; “Sixteen,” p. 43.
13. Ahab, king, r. 873–852, 1 Kings 16:28, etc.,
in the Kurkh Monolith by his enemy, Shalmaneser III of Assyria. There,
referring to the battle of Qarqar (853 B.C.E.), Shalmaneser calls him
“Ahab the Israelite” (Raging Torrent, pp. 14, 18–19; RIMA 3, p. 23, A.0.102.2, col. 2, lines 91–92; ANET, p. 279; COS, vol. 2, p. 263).
14. Jehu, king, r. 842/841–815/814, 1 Kings 19:16, etc.,
in inscriptions of Shalmaneser III. In these, “son” means nothing more
than that he is the successor, in this instance, of Omri (Raging Torrent,
p. 20 under “Ba’asha . . . ” and p. 26). A long version of Shalmaneser
III’s annals on a stone tablet in the outer wall of the city of Aššur
refers to Jehu in col. 4, line 11, as “Jehu, son of Omri” (Raging Torrent, p. 28; RIMA 3, p. 54, A.0.102.10, col. 4, line 11; cf. ANET,
p. 280, the parallel “fragment of an annalistic text”). Also, on the
Kurba’il Statue, lines 29–30 refer to “Jehu, son of Omri” (RIMA 3, p.
60, A.0.102.12, lines 29–30).
In Shalmaneser III’s Black Obelisk, current scholarship regards the
notation over relief B, depicting payment of tribute from Israel, as
referring to “Jehu, son of Omri” (Raging Torrent, p. 23; RIMA
3, p. 149, A.0. 102.88), but cf. P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., “‘Yaw, Son
of ’Omri’: A Philological Note on Israelite Chronology,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 216 (1974): pp. 5–7.
15. Joash (= Jehoash), king, r. 805–790, 2 Kings 13:9, etc.,
in the Tell al-Rimaḥ inscription of Adad-Nirari III, king of Assyria
(r. 810–783), which mentions “the tribute of Joash [= Iu’asu] the
Samarian” (Stephanie Page, “A Stela of Adad-Nirari III and Nergal-Ereš
from Tell Al Rimaḥ,” Iraq 30 [1968]: pp. 142–145, line 8, Pl. 38–41; RIMA 3, p. 211, line 8 of A.0.104.7; Raging Torrent, pp. 39–41).
16. Jeroboam II, king, r. 790–750/749, 2 Kings 13:13, etc., in the seal of his royal servant Shema, discovered at Megiddo (WSS, p. 49 no. 2; IBP, pp. 133–139, 217; “Sixteen,” p. 46).
17. Menahem, king, r. 749–738, 2 Kings 15:14, etc.,
in the Calah Annals of Tiglath-pileser III. Annal 13, line 10 refers
to “Menahem of Samaria” in a list of kings who paid tribute (ITP,
pp. 68–69, Pl. IX). Tiglath-pileser III’s stele from Iran, his only
known stele, refers explicitly to Menahem as king of Samaria in column
III, the right side, A: “[line 1] The kings of the land of Hatti (and
of) the Aramaeans of the western seashore . . . [line 5] Menahem of
Samaria.” (ITP, pp. 106–107). See also Raging Torrent, pp. 51, 52, 54, 55, 59; ANET, p. 283.
18. Pekah, king, r. 750(?)–732/731, 2 Kings 15:25, etc.,
in the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III. Among various references
to “Pekah,” the most explicit concerns the replacement of Pekah in
Summary Inscription 4, lines 15–17: “[line 15] . . . The land of
Bit-Humria . . . . [line 17] Peqah, their king [I/they killed] and I
installed Hoshea [line 18] [as king] over them” (ITP, pp. 140–141; Raging Torrent, pp. 66–67).
19. Hoshea, king, r. 732/731–722, 2 Kings 15:30, etc.,
in Tiglath-pileser’s Summary Inscription 4, described in preceding
note 18, where Hoshea is mentioned as Pekah’s immediate successor.
20. Sanballat “I”, governor of Samaria under Persian rule, ca. mid-fifth century, Nehemiah 2:10, etc., in a letter among the papyri from the Jewish community at Elephantine in Egypt (A. E. Cowley, ed., Aramaic Papyri of the Fifth Century B.C.
(Oxford: Clarendon, 1923; reprinted Osnabrück, Germany: Zeller,
1967), p. 114 English translation of line 29, and p. 118 note regarding
line 29; ANET, p. 492.
Also, the reference to “[ ]ballat,” most likely Sanballat, in Wadi
Daliyeh bulla WD 22 appears to refer to the biblical Sanballat as the
father of a governor of Samaria who succeeded him in the first half of
the fourth century. As Jan Dušek shows, it cannot be demonstrated that
any Sanballat II and III existed, which is the reason for the present
article’s quotation marks around the “I” in Sanballat “I”; see Jan
Dušek, “Archaeology and Texts in the Persian Period: Focus on
Sanballat,” in Martti Nissinen, ed., Congress Volume: Helsinki 2010 (Boston: Brill. 2012), pp. 117–132.SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH
21. David, king, r. ca. 1010–970, 1 Samuel 16:13, etc.
in three inscriptions. Most notable is the victory stele in Aramaic
known as the “house of David” inscription, discovered at Tel Dan;
Avraham Biran and Joseph Naveh, “An Aramaic Stele from Tel Dan,” IEJ 43 (1993), pp. 81–98, and idem, “The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment,” IEJ 45
(1995), pp. 1–18. An ancient Aramaic word pattern in line 9 designates
David as the founder of the dynasty of Judah in the phrase “house of
David” (2 Sam 2:11 and 5:5; Gary A. Rendsburg, “On the Writing ביתדיד [BYTDWD] in the Aramaic Inscription from Tel Dan,” IEJ 45 [1995], pp. 22–25; Raging Torrent, p. 20, under “Ba’asha . . .”; IBP, pp. 110–132, 265–77; “Sixteen,” pp. 41–43).
In the second inscription, the Mesha Inscription, the phrase “house
of David” appears in Moabite in line 31 with the same meaning: that he
is the founder of the dynasty. There David’s name appears with only its
first letter destroyed, and no other letter in that spot makes sense
without creating a very strained, awkward reading (André Lemaire,
“‘House of David’ Restored in Moabite Inscription,” BAR 20, no.
3 [May/June 1994]: pp. 30–37. David’s name also appears in line 12 of
the Mesha Inscription (Anson F. Rainey, “Mesha‘ and Syntax,” in J.
Andrew Dearman and M. Patrick Graham, eds., The Land That I Will Show You: Essays on the History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East in Honor of J. Maxwell Miller. (JSOT Supplement series, no. 343; Sheffield, England:Sheffield Academic, 2001), pp. 287–307; IBP, pp. 265–277; “Sixteen,” pp. 41–43).
The third inscription, in Egyptian, mentions a region in the Negev
called “the heights of David” after King David (Kenneth A. Kitchen, “A
Possible Mention of David in the Late Tenth Century B.C.E., and Deity
*Dod as Dead as the Dodo?” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 76 [1997], pp. 39–41; IBP, p. 214 note 3, which is revised in “Corrections,” pp. 119–121; “Sixteen,” p. 43).
In the table on p. 46 of BAR, David is listed as king of
Judah. According to 2 Samuel 5:5, for his first seven years and six
months as a monarch, he ruled only the southern kingdom of Judah. We
have no inscription that refers to David as king over all Israel (that
is, the united kingdom) as also stated in 2 Sam 5:5.
22. Uzziah (= Azariah), king, r. 788/787–736/735, 2 Kings 14:21, etc., in the inscribed stone seals of two of his royal servants: Abiyaw and Shubnayaw (more commonly called Shebanyaw); WSS, p. 51 no. 4 and p. 50 no. 3, respectively; IBP, pp. 153–159 and 159–163, respectively, and p. 219 no. 20 (a correction to IBP is that on p. 219, references to WSS nos. 3 and 4 are reversed); “Sixteen,” pp. 46–47. Cf. also his secondary burial inscription from the Second Temple era (IBP, p. 219 n. 22).
23. Ahaz (= Jehoahaz), king, r. 742/741–726, 2 Kings 15:38, etc.,
in Tiglath-pileser III’s Summary Inscription 7, reverse, line 11,
refers to “Jehoahaz of Judah” in a list of kings who paid tribute (ITP, pp. 170–171; Raging Torrent,
pp. 58–59). The Bible refers to him by the shortened form of his full
name, Ahaz, rather than by the full form of his name, Jehoahaz, which
the Assyrian inscription uses.
Cf. the unprovenanced seal of ’Ushna’, more commonly called ’Ashna’, the name Ahaz appears (IBP, pp. 163–169, with corrections from Kitchen’s review of IBP
as noted in “Corrections,” p. 117; “Sixteen,” pp. 38–39 n. 11).
Because this king already stands clearly documented in an Assyrian
inscription, documentation in another inscription is not necessary to
confirm the existence of the biblical Ahaz, king of Judah.
24. Hezekiah, king, r. 726–697/696, 2 Kings 16:20, etc., initially in the Rassam Cylinder of Sennacherib (in this inscription, Raging Torrent records frequent mention of Hezekiah in pp. 111–123; COS, pp. 302–303). It mentions “Hezekiah the Judahite” (col. 2 line 76 and col. 3 line 1 in Luckenbill, Annals of Sennacherib,
pp. 31, 32) and “Jerusalem, his royal city” (ibid., col. 3 lines 28,
40; ibid., p. 33) Other, later copies of the annals of Sennacherib,
such as the Oriental Institute prism and the Taylor prism, mostly
repeat the content of the Rassam cylinder, duplicating its way of
referring to Hezekiah and Jerusalem (ANET, pp. 287, 288). The Bull Inscription from the palace at Nineveh (ANET, p. 288; Raging Torrent, pp. 126–127) also mentions “Hezekiah the Judahite” (lines 23, 27 in Luckenbill, Annals of Sennacherib, pp. 69, 70) and “Jerusalem, his royal city” (line 29; ibid., p. 33).
25. Manasseh, king, r. 697/696–642/641, 2 Kings 20:21, etc., in the inscriptions of Assyrian kings Esarhaddon (Raging Torrent,
pp. 131, 133, 136) and Ashurbanipal (ibid., p. 154). “Manasseh, king
of Judah,” according to Esarhaddon (r. 680–669), was among those who
paid tribute to him (Esarhaddon’s Prism B, column 5, line 55; R.
Campbell Thompson, The Prisms of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal [London: Trustees of the British Museum, 1931], p. 25; ANET,
p. 291). Also, Ashurbanipal (r. 668–627) records that “Manasseh, king
of Judah” paid tribute to him (Ashurbanipal’s Cylinder C, col. 1, line
25; Maximilian Streck, Assurbanipal und die letzten assyrischen Könige bis zum Untergang Niniveh’s, [Vorderasiatische Bibliothek 7; Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1916], vol. 2, pp. 138–139; ANET, p. 294.
26. Hilkiah, high priest during Josiah’s reign, within 640/639–609, 2 Kings 22:4, etc., in the City of David bulla of Azariah, son of Hilkiah (WSS, p. 224 no. 596; IBP, pp. 148–151; 229 only in [50] City of David bulla; “Sixteen,” p. 49).
The oldest part of Jerusalem, called the City of David, is the
location where the Bible places all four men named in the bullae
covered in the present endnotes 26 through 29.
Analysis of the clay of these bullae shows that they were produced
in the locale of Jerusalem (Eran Arie, Yuval Goren, and Inbal Samet,
“Indelible Impression: Petrographic Analysis of Judahite Bullae,” in The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin [ed.
Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Na’aman; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns,
2011], p. 10, quoted in “Sixteen,” pp. 48–49 n. 34).
27. Shaphan, scribe during Josiah’s reign, within 640/639–609, 2 Kings 22:3, etc., in the City of David bulla of Gemariah, son of Shaphan (WSS, p. 190 no. 470; IBP, pp. 139–146, 228). See endnote 26 above regarding “Sixteen,” pp. 48–49 n. 34.
28. Azariah, high priest during Josiah’s reign, within 640/639–609, 1 Chronicles 5:39, etc., in the City of David bulla of Azariah, son of Hilkiah (WSS, p. 224 no. 596; IBP, pp. 151–152; 229). See endnote 26 above regarding “Sixteen,” pp. 48–49 n. 34.
29. Gemariah, official during Jehoiakim’s reign, within 609–598, Jeremiah 36:10, etc., in in the City of David bulla of Gemariah, son of Shaphan (WSS, p. 190 no. 470; IBP, pp. 147, 232). See endnote 26 above regarding “Sixteen,” pp. 48–49 n. 34.
30. Jehoiachin (= Jeconiah = Coniah), king, r. 598–597, 2 Kings 24:5, etc., in four Babylonian administrative tablets regarding oil rations or deliveries, during his exile in Babylonia (Raging Torrent, p. 209; ANEHST,
pp. 386–387). Discovered at Babylon, they are dated from the tenth to
the thirty-fifth year of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylonia and
conqueror of Jerusalem. One tablet calls Jehoiachin “king” (Text Babylon
28122, obverse, line 29; ANET, p. 308). A second, fragmentary
text mentions him as king in an immediate context that refers to “[. .
. so]ns of the king of Judah” and “Judahites” (Text Babylon 28178,
obverse, col. 2, lines 38–40; ANET, p. 308). The third tablet
calls him “the son of the king of Judah” and refers to “the five sons
of the king of Judah” (Text Babylon 28186, reverse, col. 2, lines
17–18; ANET, p. 308). The fourth text, the most fragmentary of
all, confirms “Judah” and part of Jehoiachin’s name, but contributes no
data that is not found in the other texts.
31. Shelemiah, father of Jehucal the official, late 7th century, Jeremiah 37:3; 38:1
and
32. Jehucal (= Jucal), official during Zedekiah’s reign, fl. within 597–586, Jeremiah 37:3; 38:1 only, both referred to in a bulla discovered in the City of David in 2005 (Eilat Mazar, “Did I Find King David’s Palace?” BAR 32, no. 1 [January/February 2006], pp. 16–27, 70; idem, Preliminary Report on the City of David Excavations 2005 at the Visitors Center Area [Jerusalem and New York: Shalem, 2007], pp. 67–69; idem, “The Wall that Nehemiah Built,” BAR 35, no. 2 [March/April 2009], pp. 24–33,66; idem, The Palace of King David: Excavations at the Summit of the City of David: Preliminary Report of Seasons 2005-2007 [Jerusalem/New
York: Shoham AcademicResearch and Publication, 2009], pp. 66–71). Only
the possibility of firm identifications is left open in “Corrections,”
pp. 85–92; “Sixteen,” pp. 50–51; this article is my first affirmation
of four identifications, both here in notes 31 and 32 and below in
notes 33 and 34.
After cautiously observing publications and withholding judgment for
several years, I am now affirming the four identifications in notes 31
through 34, because I am now convinced that this bulla is a remnant
from an administrative center in the City of David, a possibility
suggested in “Corrections,” p. 100 second-to-last paragraph, and
“Sixteen,” p. 51. For me, the tipping point came by comparing the
description and pictures of the nearby and immediate archaeological
context in Eilat Mazar, “Palace of King David,” pp. 66–70, with the
administrative contexts described in Eran Arie, Yuval Goren, and Inbal
Samet, “Indelible Impression: Petrographic Analysis of Judahite
Bullae,” in Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Na’aman, eds., The Fire Signals of Lachish: Studies in the Archaeology and History of Israel in the Late Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Persian Period in Honor of David Ussishkin
(Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2011), pp. 12–13 (the section titled
“The Database: Judahite Bullae from Controlled Excavations”) and pp.
23–24. See also Nadav Na’aman, “The Interchange between Bible and Archaeology: The Case of David’s Palace and the Millo,” BAR 40, no. 1 (January/February 2014),
pp. 57–61, 68–69, which is drawn from idem, “Biblical and Historical
Jerusalem in the Tenth and Fifth-Fourth Centuries B.C.E.,” Biblica 93 (2012): pp. 21–42. See also idem, “Five Notes on Jerusalem in the First and Second Temple Periods,” Tel Aviv 39 (2012): p. 93.
33. Pashhur, father of Gedaliah the official, late 7th century, Jeremiah 38:1
and
34. Gedaliah, official during Zedekiah’s reign, fl. within 597–586, Jeremiah 38:1
only, both referred to in a bulla discovered in the City of David in
2008. See “Corrections,” pp. 92–96; “Sixteen,” pp. 50–51; and the
preceding endnote 31 and 32 for bibliographic details on E. Mazar,
“Wall,” pp. 24–33, 66; idem, Palace of King David, pp. 68–71) and for the comments in the paragraph that begins, “After cautiously . . . .”
ASSYRIA
35. Tiglath-pileser III (= Pul), king, r. 744–727, 2 Kings 15:19, etc., in his many inscriptions. See Raging Torrent, pp. 46–79; COS, vol. 2, pp. 284–292; ITP; Mikko Lukko, The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud (State Archives of Assyria, no. 19; Assyrian Text Corpus Project; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2013); ABC, pp. 248–249. On Pul as referring to Tiglath-pileser III, which is implicit in ABC, p. 333 under “Pulu,” see ITP, p. 280 n. 5 for discussion and bibliography.
On the identification of Tiglath-pileser III in the Aramaic
monumental inscription honoring Panamu II, in Aramaic monumental
inscriptions 1 and 8 of Bar-Rekub (now in Istanbul and Berlin,
respectively), and in the Ashur Ostracon, see IBP, p. 240; COS, pp. 158–161.
36. Shalmaneser V (= Ululaya), king, r. 726–722, 2 Kings 17:2, etc., in chronicles, in king-lists, and in rare remaining inscriptions of his own (ABC, p. 242; COS,
vol. 2, p. 325). Most notable is the Neo-Babylonian Chronicle series,
Chronicle 1, i, lines 24–32. In those lines, year 2 of the Chronicle
mentions his plundering the city of Samaria (Raging Torrent, pp. 178, 182; ANEHST,
p. 408). (“Shalman” in Hosea 10:14 is likely a historical allusion, but
modern lack of information makes it difficult to assign it to a
particular historical situation or ruler, Assyrian or otherwise. See
below for the endnotes to the box at the top of p. 50.)
37. Sargon II, king, r. 721–705, Isaiah 20:1, in many inscriptions, including his own. See Raging Torrent, pp. 80–109, 176–179, 182; COS, vol. 2, pp. 293–300; Mikko Lukko, The Correspondence of Tiglath-pileser III and Sargon II from Calah/Nimrud (State Archives of Assyria, no. 19; Assyrian Text Corpus Project; Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2013); ABC, pp. 236–238; IBP, pp. 240–241 no. (74).
38. Sennacherib, king, r. 704–681, 2 Kings 18:13, etc., in many inscriptions, including his own. See Raging Torrent, pp. 110–129; COS, vol. 2, pp. 300–305; ABC, pp. 238–240; ANEHST, pp. 407–411, esp. 410; IBP, pp. 241–242.
39. Adrammelech (= Ardamullissu = Arad-mullissu), son and assassin of Sennacherib, fl. early 7th century, 2 Kings 19:37, etc., in a letter sent to Esarhaddon, who succeeded Sennacherib on the throne of Assyria. See Raging Torrent, pp. 111, 184, and COS, vol. 3, p. 244, both of which describe and cite with approval Simo Parpola, “The Murderer of Sennacherib,” in Death in Mesopotamia: Papers Read at the XXVie Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, ed. Bendt Alster (Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1980), pp. 171–182. See also ABC, p. 240.
An upcoming scholarly challenge is the identification of
Sennacherib’s successor, Esarhaddon, as a more likely assassin in
Andrew Knapp’s paper, “The Murderer of Sennacherib, Yet Again,” to be
read in a February 2014 Midwest regional conference in Bourbonnais, Ill.
(SBL/AOS/ASOR).
On various renderings of the neo-Assyrian name of the assassin, see RlA
s.v. “Ninlil,” vol. 9, pp. 452–453 (in German). On the mode of
execution of those thought to have been conspirators in the
assassination, see the selection from Ashurbanipal’s Rassam cylinder in ANET, p. 288.
40. Esarhaddon, king, r. 680–669, 2 Kings 19:37, etc., in his many inscriptions. See Raging Torrent, pp. 130–147; COS, vol. 2, p. 306; ABC, pp. 217–219. Esarhaddon’s name appears in many cuneiform inscriptions (ANET,
pp. 272–274, 288–290, 292–294, 296, 297, 301–303, 426–428, 449, 450,
531, 533–541, 605, 606), including his Succession Treaty (ANEHST, p. 355).
BABYLONIA
41. Merodach-baladan II (=Marduk-apla-idinna II), king, r. 721–710 and 703, 2 Kings 20:12, etc., in the inscriptions of Sennacherib and the Neo-Babylonian Chronicles (Raging Torrent, pp. 111, 174, 178–179, 182–183. For Sennacherib’s account of his first campaign, which was against Merodach-baladan II, see COS, vol. 2, pp. 300-302. For the Neo-Babylonian Chronicle series, Chronicle 1, i, 33–42, see ANEHST, pp. 408–409. This king is also included in the Babylonian King List A (ANET, p. 271), and the latter part of his name remains in the reference to him in the Synchronistic King List (ANET, pp. 271–272), on which see ABC, pp. 226, 237.
42. Nebuchadnezzar II, king, r. 604–562, 2 Kings 24:1, etc., in many cuneiform tablets, including his own inscriptions. See Raging Torrent, pp. 220–223; COS, vol. 2, pp. 308–310; ANET, pp. 221, 307–311; ABC, p. 232. The Neo-Babylonian Chronicle series refers to him in Chronicles 4 and 5 (ANEHST,
pp. 415, 416–417, respectively). Chronicle 5, reverse, lines 11–13,
briefly refers to his conquest of Jerusalem (“the city of Judah”) in
597 by defeating “its king” (Jehoiachin), as well as his appointment of
“a king of his own choosing” (Zedekiah) as king of Judah.
43. Nebo-sarsekim, chief official of Nebuchadnezzar II, fl. early 6th century, Jeremiah 39:3,
in a cuneiform inscription on Babylonian clay tablet BM 114789
(1920-12-13, 81), dated to 595 B.C.E. The time reference in Jeremiah
39:3 is very close, to the year 586. Since it is extremely unlikely
that two individuals having precisely the same personal name would have
been, in turn, the sole holders of precisely this unique position
within a decade of each other, it is safe to assume that the
inscription and the book of Jeremiah refer to the same person in
different years of his time in office. In July 2007 in the British
Museum, Austrian researcher Michael Jursa discovered this Babylonian
reference to the biblical “Nebo-sarsekim, the Rab-saris” (rab ša-rēši,
meaning “chief official”) of Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 604–562). Jursa
identified this official in his article, “Nabu-šarrūssu-ukīn, rab ša-rēši, und ‘Nebusarsekim’ (Jer. 39:3),” Nouvelles Assyriologiques Breves et Utilitaires2008/1
(March): pp. 9–10 (in German). See also Bob Becking, “Identity of
Nabusharrussu-ukin, the Chamberlain: An Epigraphic Note on Jeremiah
39,3. With an Appendix on the Nebu(!)sarsekim Tablet by Henry
Stadhouders,” Biblische Notizen NF 140 (2009): pp. 35–46; “Corrections,” pp. 121–124; “Sixteen,” p. 47 n. 31. On the correct translation of ráb ša-rēši (and three older, published instances of it having been incorrect translated as rab šaqê), see ITP, p. 171 n. 16.
44. Evil-merodach (= Awel Marduk, = Amel Marduk), king, r. 561–560, 2 Kings 25:27, etc., in various inscriptions (ANET, p. 309; OROT, pp. 15, 504 n. 23). See especially Ronald H. Sack, Amel-Marduk: 562-560 B.C.; A Study Based on Cuneiform, Old Testament, Greek, Latin and Rabbinical Sources (Alter Orient und Altes Testament, no. 4; Kevelaer, Butzon & Bercker, and Neukirchen-Vluyn, Neukirchener, 1972).
45. Belshazzar, son and co-regent of Nabonidus, fl. ca. 543?–540, Daniel 5:1, etc., in Babylonian administrative documents and the “Verse Account” (Muhammed A. Dandamayev, “Nabonid, A,” RlA, vol. 9, p. 10; Raging Torrent, pp. 215–216; OROT, pp. 73–74). A neo-Babylonian text refers to him as “Belshazzar the crown prince” (ANET, pp. 309–310 n. 5).
PERSIA
46. Cyrus II (=Cyrus the great), king, r. 559–530, 2 Chronicles 36:22, etc., in various inscriptions (including his own), for which and on which see ANEHST, pp. 418–426, ABC, p. 214. For Cyrus’ cylinder inscription, see Raging Torrent, pp. 224–230; ANET, pp. 315–316; COS, vol. 2, pp. 314–316; ANEHST, pp. 426–430; P&B, pp. 87–92. For larger context and implications in the biblical text, see OROT, pp. 70-76.
47. Darius I (=Darius the Great), king, r. 520–486, Ezra 4:5, etc.,
in various inscriptions, including his own trilingual cliff
inscription at Behistun, on which see P&B, pp. 131–134. See also COS, vol. 2, p. 407, vol. 3, p. 130; ANET, pp. 221, 316, 492; ABC, p. 214; ANEHST, pp. 407, 411. On the setting, see OROT, pp. 70–75.
48. Xerxes I (= Ahasuerus), king, r. 486–465, Esther 1:1, etc., in various inscriptions, including his own (P&B, p. 301; ANET, pp. 316–317), and in the dates of documents from the time of his reign (COS, vol. 2, p. 188, vol. 3, pp. 142, 145. On the setting, see OROT, pp. 70–75.
49. Artaxerxes I Longimanus, king, r. 465-425/424, Ezra 4:6, 7, etc., in various inscriptions, including his own (P&B, pp. 242–243), and in the dates of documents from the time of his reign (COS, vol. 2, p. 163, vol. 3, p. 145; ANET, p. 548).
50. Darius II Nothus, king, r. 425/424-405/404, Nehemiah 12:22,
in various inscriptions, including his own (for example, P&B, pp.
158–159) and in the dates of documents from the time of his reign (ANET, p. 548; COS, vol. 3, pp. 116–117).
In general, the persons listed in the box at the top of p. 50 of the March/April 2014 issue of BAR exclude
persons in two categories. The first category includes those about
whom we know so little that we cannot even approach a firm
identification with anyone named in an inscription. One example is
“Shalman” in Hosea 10:14. This name almost certainly refers to a
historical person, but variations of this name were common in the
ancient Near East, and modern lack of information on the biblical
Shalman makes it difficult to assign it to a particular historical
situation or ruler, Assyrian or otherwise. See Francis I. Andersen and
David Noel Freedman, Hosea (The Anchor Bible, vol. 24; Garden
City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 570–571. A second example is
“Osnappar” (=Asnapper) in Ezra 4:10, who is not called a king, and for
whom the traditional identification has no basis for singling out any
particular ruler. See Jacob M. Myers, Ezra-Nehemiah (The Anchor Bible. vol. 14; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981), p. 333.
The second category of excluded identifications comes from the
distinction between inscriptions that are dug up after many centuries
and texts that have been copied and recopied through the course of many
centuries. The latter include the books of the Bible itself, as well
as other writings, notably those of Flavius Josephus in the first
century C.E. His reference to Ethbaal (=’Ittoba’al =’Ithoba’al), the
father of Jezebel (1 Kings 16:31). is not included in this article,
because Josephus’ writings do not come to us from archaeology. See IBP, p. 238 n. 90; cf. Raging Torrent,
pp. 30, 115–116 (p. 133 refers to an Ethbaal appointed king of Sidon
by Sennacherib, therefore he must have lived a century later than
Jezebel’s father).
AMMON
Balaam son of Beor, fl. late 13th century (some
scholars prefer late 15th century), Numbers 22:5, etc., in a wall
inscription on plaster dated to 700 B.C.E. (COS, vol. 2, pp.
140–145). It was discovered at Tell Deir ʿAllā, in the same
Transjordanian geographical area in which the Bible places Balaam’s
activity. Many scholars assume or conclude that the Balaam and Beor of
the inscription are the same as the biblical pair and belong to the
same folk tradition, which is not necessarily historical. See P. Kyle
McCarter, Jr., “The Balaam Texts from Deir ‘Allā: The First
Combination,” BASOR 239 (1980): pp. 49–60; Jo Ann Hackett, The Balaam Text from Deir ʿAllā (Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1984), pp. 27, 33–34; idem, “Some Observations on the Balaam Tradition at Deir ʿAllā,” Biblical Archaeologist 49 (1986), p. 216. Mykytiuk at first listed these two identifications under a strong classification in IBP,
p. 236, but because the inscription does not reveal a time period for
Balaam and Beor, he later corrected that to a “not-quite-firmly
identified” classification in “Corrections,” pp. 111–113, no. 29 and 30,
and in “Sixteen,” p. 53.
Although it contains three identifying marks (traits) of both father
and son, this inscription is dated to ca. 700 B.C.E., several
centuries after the period in which the Bible places Balaam. Speaking
with no particular reference to this inscription, some scholars, such
as Frendo and Kofoed, argue that lengthy gaps between a particular
writing and the things to which it refers are not automatically to be considered refutations of historical claims (Anthony J. Frendo, Pre-Exilic Israel, the Hebrew Bible, and Archaeology: Integrating Text and Artefact [New York: T&T Clark, 2011], p. 98; Jens B. Kofoed, Text and History: Historiography and the Study of the Biblical Text
[Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2005], pp. 83–104, esp. p, 42). There
might easily have been intervening sources which transmitted the
information from generation to generation but as centuries passed, were
lost.
Baalis, king of the Ammonites, r. early 6th
century, Jeremiah 20:14, in an Ammonite seal impression on the larger,
fairly flat end of a ceramic cone (perhaps a bottle-stopper?) from Tell
el-Umeiri, in what was the land of the ancient Ammonites. The seal
impression reveals only two marks (traits) of an individual, so it is
not quite firm. See Larry G. Herr, “The Servant of Baalis,” Biblical Archaeologist 48 (1985): pp. 169–172; WSS, p. 322 no. 860; COS, p. 201; IBP,
p. 242 no. (77); “Sixteen Strong,” p. 52. The differences between the
king’s name in this seal impression and the biblical version can be
understood as slightly different renderings of the same name in
different dialects; see bibliography in Michael O’Connor, “The Ammonite
Onomasticon: Semantic Problems,” Andrews University Seminary Studies
25 (1987): p. 62 paragraph (3), supplemented by Lawrence T. Geraty,
“Back to Egypt: An Illustration of How an Archaeological Find May
Illumine a Biblical Passage,” Reformed Review 47 (1994): p. 222; Emile Puech, “L’inscription de la statue d’Amman et la paleographie ammonite,” Revue biblique 92 (1985): pp. 5–24.
NORTHERN ARABIA
Geshem (= Gashmu) the Arabian, r. mid-5th century,
Nehemiah 2:10, etc., in an Aramaic inscription on a silver bowl
discovered at Tell el-Maskhuta, Egypt, in the eastern delta of the Nile,
that mentions “Qainu, son of Geshem [or Gashmu], king of Qedar,” an
ancient kingdom in northwest Arabia. This bowl is now in the Brooklyn
Museum. See Isaac Rabinowitz, “Aramaic Inscriptions of the Fifth
Century B.C.E. from a North-Arab Shrine in Egypt,” Journal of the Near Eastern Studies
15 (1956): pp. 1–9, Pl. 6–7; William J. Dumbrell, “The Tell
el-Maskhuta Bowls and the ‘Kingdom’ of Qedar in the Persian Period,” BASOR 203 (October 1971): pp. 35–44; OROT, pp. 74–75, 518 n. 26; Raging Torrent, p. 55.
Despite thorough analyses of the Qainu bowl and its correspondences
pointing to the biblical Geshem, there is at least one other viable
candidate for identification with the biblical Geshem: Gashm or Jasm,
son of Shahr, of Dedan. On him, see Frederick V. Winnett and William L.
Reed, Ancient Records from North Arabia (University of Toronto Press, 1970), pp. 115–117; OROT, pp. 75. 518 n. 26. Thus the existence of two viable candidates would seem to render the case for each not quite firm (COS, vol. 2, p. 176).
SOUTHERN KINGDOM OF JUDAH
Shebna, the overseer of the palace, fl. ca.
726–697/696, Isaiah 22:15–19 (probably also the scribe of 2 Kings
18:18, etc., before being promoted to palace overseer), in an
inscription at the entrance to a rock-cut tomb in Silwan, near
Jerusalem. There are only two marks (traits) of an individual, and
these do not include his complete name, so this identification, though
tempting, is not quite firm. See Nahman Avigad, “Epitaph of a Royal
Steward from Siloam Village,” IEJ 3 (1953): pp. 137–152; David Ussishkin, The Village of Silwan (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1993), pp. 247–250; IBP, pp. 223, 225; “Sixteen Strong,” pp. 51–52.
Azzur of Gibeon, father of Hananiah,
fl. early 6th century, Jeremiah 28:1, etc., in seven inscribed jar
handles from 6th-century Gibeon, only one of which is complete. These
reveal only two marks (traits) of an individual. See James B. Pritchard,
Hebrew Inscriptions and Stamps from Gibeon, Museum Monographs
(Philadelphia: The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania,
1959, whose dating of the inscribed jar handles was criticized by
several scholars, including Nahman Avigad, “Some Notes on the Hebrew
Inscriptions from Gibeon (Review-article),” IEJ 9 (1959): pp.
130–133, and Frank Moore Cross, Jr., “”Epigraphical Notes on Hebrew
Manuscripts of the Eighth–Sixth Centuries B.C., III. The Inscribed Jar
Handles from Gibeon,” BASOR 168 (December 1962): pp. 18–23. A summary of that discussion is in Ephraim Stern, Material Culture of the Land of the Bible in the Persian Period, 538–332 B.C.
(Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, and Warminster, Wiltshire,
England: 1982), pp. 52–53. The not-quite-firm grade of the
identification is correctly gauged in IBP, p. 234. By an
oversight, it is not listed in “Corrections” or in “Sixteen;” in both
of these publications, it is the only accidental omission.
Gedaliah the governor, son of Ahikam, fl. ca. 585,
2 Kings 25:22, etc., in the bulla from Tell ed-Duweir (ancient
Lachish) that reads, “Belonging to Gedalyahu, the overseer of the
palace.” The Babylonian practice was to appoint indigenous governors
over conquered populations. It is safe to assume that as conquerors of
Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E., they would have chosen the highest-ranking
Judahite perceived as “pro-Babylonian” to be their governor over Judah.
The palace overseer had great authority and knowledge of the inner
workings of government at the highest level, sometimes serving as
vice-regent for the king; see S. H. Hooke, “A Scarab and Sealing From
Tell Duweir,” Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement 67 (1935): pp. 195–197; J. L. Starkey, “Lachish as Illustrating Bible History,” Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement 69 (1937): pp. 171–174; some publications listed in WSS,
p. 172 no. 405. The palace overseer at the time of the Babylonian
conquest, whose bulla we have, would be the most likely choice for
governor, if they saw him as pro-Babylonian. Of the two prime
candidates named Gedaliah (= Gedalyahu)—assuming both survived the
conquest—Gedaliah the son of Pashhur clearly did not have the title
“overseer of the palace” (Jeremiah 38:1), and he was clearly an enemy
of the Babylonians (Jeremiah 38:4–6). But, though we lack irrefutable
evidence, Gedaliah the son of Ahikam is quite likely to have been
palace overseer. His prestigious family, the descendants of Shaphan,
had been “key players” in crucial situations at the highest levels of
the government of Judah for three generations. As for his being
perceived as pro-Babylonian, his father Ahikam had protected the prophet
Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:24; cf. 39:11–14), who urged surrender to the
Babylonian army (Jeremiah 38:1–3).
The preceding argument that Gedaliah the son of Ahikam was the much
more likely Babylonian choice for governor is a strengthening step
beyond “Corrections,” pp. 103–104, which upgrades the strength of the
identification from its original level in IBP, p. 235, responding to the difficulty expressed in Oded Lipschits, The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem: Judah under Babylonian Rule (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2005), p. 86 n. 186.
Jaazaniah (= Jezaniah), fl. early 6th century, 2
Kings 25:23, etc., in the Tell en-Naṣbeh (ancient Mizpah) stone seal
inscribed: “Belonging to Ya’azanyahu, the king’s minister.” It is
unclear whether the title “king’s minister” in the seal might have some
relationship with the biblical phrase “the officers (Hebrew: sarîm)
of the troops,” which included the biblical Jaazaniah (2 Kings 25:
23). There are, then, only two identifying marks of an individual that
clearly connect the seal’s Jaazaniah with the biblical one: the seal
owner’s name and the fact that it was discovered at the city where the
biblical “Jaazaniah, the son of the Maacathite,” died. See William F.
Badè, “The Seal of Jaazaniah,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentlishe Wissenschaft 51 (1933): pp. 150–156; WSS, p. 52 no. 8; IBP, p. 235; “Sixteen Strong,” p. 52.
ANEHST Mark W. Chavalas, ed., The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation (Blackwell Sources in Ancient History; Victoria, Australia: Blackwell, 2006).
ABC A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian and Babylonian Chronicles (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2000).
ANET James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1969).
B.C.E. before the common era, used as an equivalent to B.C.
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
c. century (all are B.C.E.)
ca. circa, a Latin word meaning “around”
cf. compare
CAH John Boardman et al., eds., The Cambridge Ancient History (2nd ed.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1970).
“Corrections” Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, “Corrections and
Updates to ‘Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic
Inscriptions of 1200–539 B.C.E.,” Maarav 16 (2009), pp. 49–132, free online at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_research/129/.
COS William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, eds., The Context of Scripture, vol. 2: Archival Documents from the Biblical World (Boston: Brill, 2000).
Dearman, Studies J. Andrew Dearman, ed., Studies in the Mesha Inscription and Moab (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989).
esp. especially
fl. flourished
IBP Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200–539 B.C.E.
(Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004). This book is a
revised Ph.D. dissertation in Hebrew and Semitic Studies, University of
Wisconsin-Madison, 1998, which began with a 1992 graduate seminar
paper. Most of IBP is available on the Google Books web site: https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=mykytiuk+identifying&num=10
ibid. (Latin) “the same thing,” meaning the same publication as the one mentioned immediately before
idem (Latin) “the same one(s),” meaning “the same
person or persons,” used for referring to the author(s) mentioned
immediately before.
IEJ Israel Exploration Journal
ITP Hayim Tadmor, The Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III, King of Assyria
(Fontes ad Res Judaicas Spectantes; Jerusalem: Israel Academy of
Sciences and Humanities, 2nd 2007 printing with addenda et corrigenda,
1994).
n. note (a footnote or endnote)
no. number (of an item, usually on a page)
OROT Kenneth A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2003).
P&B Edwin M. Yamauchi, Persia and the Bible (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1990).
Pl. plate(s) (a page of photos or drawings in a scholarly publication, normally unnumbered,)
r. reigned
Raging Torrent Mordechai Cogan, The Raging Torrent: Historical Inscriptions from Assyria and Babylonia Relating to Ancient Israel (A Carta Handbook; Jerusalem: Carta, 2008).
RlA Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie (New York, Berlin: de Gruyter, ©1932, 1971).
RIMA a series of books: The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia: Assyrian Periods
RIMA 3 A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC, II (858–745 BC) (RIMA, no. 3; Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, 1996).
“Sixteen” Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, “Sixteen Strong
Identifications of Biblical Persons (Plus Nine Other Identifications) in
Authentic Northwest Semitic Inscriptions from before 539 B.C.E.,” pp.
35–58 in Meir Lubetski and Edith Lubetski, eds., New Inscriptions and Seals Relating to the Biblical World (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012), free online at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_research/150/.
Third Kenneth A. Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 B.C.) (2nd rev. ed. with supplement; Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1986).
WSS Nahman Avigad and Benjamin Sass, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals
(Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Israel
Exploration Society, and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The
Institute of Archaeology, 1997).
This table uses Kitchen’s dates for rulers of Egypt, Pitard’s for
kings of Damascus (with some differences), Galil’s for monarchs of
Judah and for those of the northern kingdom of Israel, Grayson’s for
Neo-Assyrian kings, Wiseman’s for Neo-Babylonian kings and Briant’s, if
given, for Persian kings and for the Persian province of Yehud. Other
dates follow traditional high biblical chronology, rather than the low
chronology proposed by Israel Finkelstein.
References
Kenneth A. Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100–650 B.C.) (2nd rev. ed. with supplement; Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips, 1986), pp. 466–468.
Wayne T. Pitard, Ancient Damascus: A Historical Study of the
Syrian City-State from Earliest Times until its Fall to the Assyrians in
732 B.C.E. (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1987), pp. 138–144, 189.
Gershon Galil, The Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah (SHCANE 9; New York: Brill, 1996), p. 147.
A. Kirk Grayson, Assyrian Rulers of the Early First Millennium BC, II (858–745 BC)
(RIMA 3; Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, 1996), p. vii;
idem, “Assyria: Ashur-dan II to Ashur-nirari V (934–745 B.C.),” in CAH, vol. III, part I, pp. 238–281; idem, “Assyria: Tiglath-pileser III to Sargon II (744–705 B.C.),” in CAH, vol. III, part II, pp. 71–102; idem, “Assyria: Sennacherib and Esarhaddon (704–669 B.C.),” in CAH, vol. III, part II, pp. 103–141; idem, “Assyria 668–635 B.C.: The Reign of Ashurbanipal,” in CAH, vol. III, part II, pp. 142–161.
Donald J. Wiseman, “Babylonia 605–539 B.C.” in CAH, vol. III, part II, pp. 229–251.
Pierre Briant, From Cyrus to Alexander : A History of the Persian Empire (Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2002), “Index of Personal Names,” pp. 1149–1160.
Source / Πηγή:
http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/50-people-in-the-bible-confirmed-archaeologically/
