List of Artifacts Significant to the Bible

The following is a list of artifacts, objects created or modified by human culture, that are significant to the historicity of the Bible.

Selected artifacts significant to Biblical Chronology

The table lists artifacts which are of particular significance to the study of biblical chronology. The table lists the following information about each artifact:

Name

Current Location: Museum or site

Discovered: Date and location of discovery

Date: Proposed date of creation of artifact

Writing: Script used in inscription (if any)

Significance: Reason for significance to biblical archeology

Refs: ANET^[1] and COS^[2] references, and link to editio princeps (EP), if known

Other Significant Artifacts

2000 BC

• Panbabylonian creation myths and flood myths - recorded on the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Atra-Hasis tablets, the Enûma Eliš, the Eridu Genesis and the Barton Cylinder
• Law tablets – ancient Near East legal tablets: Code of Hammurabi, Laws of Eshnunna, the Code of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (ca. 2050 BC), the Laws of Eshnunna (ca. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (ca. 1870 BC).^[10] Later codes than Hammurabi's include the Code of the Nesilim.^[11] Hittite laws, the Assyrian laws, and Mosaic Law / Ten Commandments. (see Cuneiform law).
• Hittite texts (17th century BCE and later)
• Minoan Eruption - pumice found at various Tels dated to Late Bronze Age
• Execration texts - earliest references to many Biblical locations
• Shiphrah slave list – Shiphrah was one of two midwives who helped prevent the genocide of Hebrew children by the Egyptians, according to the Book of Exodus 1:15–21. The name is found in a list of slaves in Egypt during the reign of Sobekhotep III. This list is on Brooklyn 35.1446, a papyrus scroll kept in the Brooklyn Museum.

1500 BC

• Tombs of Ahmose, son of Ebana and Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet, record the earliest records of Egyptian control of Canaan
• Ugaritic religious texts (14th – 12th century BC) – verifies the account of Philo, preserved by Eusebius, regarding the Canaanite religion.
• Amarna letters (c. 13th century BC) – correspondence on clay tablets between the Egyptian administration and various Middle East kings petty sub-rulers in Canaan during the New Kingdom.
• Midianite pottery (c. 13th century BC) – The Biblical account states that Midian was where Moses spent the 40 years between the time that he fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian who had been beating a Hebrew,^[12] and his return to lead the Israelites.^[13] During those years, he married Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro, the priest of Midian. In later years the Midianites were often oppressive and hostile to the Israelites, at least partly as God's punishment for their idolatry.^[14]
• Great Hymn to the Aten is seen to possess strong similarities to Psalm 104
• Ipuwer Papyrus (c. 13th century BC) – ancient papyrus manuscript describing Egypt as afflicted by natural disasters and in a state of chaos. Statements such as "the River is blood" have been interpreted by some as an Egyptian account of the Plagues of Egypt described in the Book of Exodus in the Bible.^[15][16] However, it is generally rejected by Egyptologists (see there Parallels with the Book of Exodus).
• North Wall of the Medinet Habu temple and the Papyrus Harris (c. 1150 BC) - depicts the Ramesses III's conquests in Canaan including the Battle of Djahy

10th century BC

• Early Paleo-Hebrew writing - contenders for the earliest Hebrew inscriptions include the Gezer calendar, Biblical period ostraca at Elah and Isbeth Sartah,^[17] and the Zayit Stone
• Pim weight – evidence of the use of an ancient source for the Book of Samuel due to the use of an archaic term.
• Khirbet Qeiyafa pottery sherd – (10th century BC) inscription - both the language it was written in and the translation are disputed. Was discovered in excavations near Israel's Elah valley.^[18]
• Tell es-Safi Potsherd (10th to mid 9th centuries BC) – Potsherd inscribed with the two names "alwt" and "wlt", etymologically related to the name Goliath and demonstrate that the name fits with the context of late-tenth/early-ninth-century BC Philistine culture. Found at Tell es-Safi, the traditional identification of Gath.
• Khirbet Qeiyafa shrines- cultic objects seen as evidence of a "cult in Judah at time of King David" and with features (triglyphs and recessed doors) which may resemble features in descriptions of the Temple of Solomon.^[19]
• Ophel inscription is a 3,000-year-old inscribed fragment of a ceramic jar found near Jerusalem's Temple Mount by archeologist Eilat Mazar. It is the earliest alphabetical inscription found in Jerusalem writen in Hebrew or Proto-Canaanite language.^[20]

9th century BC

• Amman Citadel Inscription – 9th century BC inscription in the Ammonite language, one of the few surviving written records of Ammon.
• Melqart stele – (9th–8th century BCE) William F. Albright identifies Bir-hadad with Ben-hadad I, who was a contemporary of the biblical Asa and Baasha.
• Seal of Jehucal – (9th century BCE ?) Jehucal or Jucal is mentioned in chapters 37 and 38 of the Book of Jeremiah where King Zedekiah sends Jehucal son of Shelemiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to the prophet Jeremiah saying `Please pray for us to the Lord our God` (Chapter 38 verse 3).
• Ostraca House – (probably about 850 BC, at least prior to 750 BC) 64 legible ostraca found in the treasury of Ahab – written in early Hebrew.
• Balaam inscription (c. 840–760 BC)^[21] 9th or 8th century BC inscription about a prophet named Balaam (cf. the Book of Numbers).^[22]

8th century BC

• Sefire stele – (8th century BC) described as "the best extrabiblical source for West Semitic traditions of covenantal blessings and curses."^[23]
• Stele of Zakkur – (8th century BC) Mentions Hazael king of Aram.
• Shebna's lintel inscription – (8th - 7th century BC ?) found over the doorway of a tomb, has been ascribed to Hezekiah's comptroller Shebna.
• King Ahaz's Seal (732 to 716 BC) – Ahaz was a king of Judah but "did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had done" (2 Kings 16:2; 2 Chronicles 28:1). He worshiped idols and followed pagan practices. "He even made his son pass through fire, according to the abominable practices of the nations" (2 Kings 16:3). Ahaz was the son and successor of Jotham.
• Bullae (c.715–687 BC or 716–687 BC)^[24] (clay roundels impressed with a personal seal identifying the owner of an object, the author of a document, etc.) are, like ostraka, relatively common, both in digs and on the antiquities market. The identification of individuals named in bullae with equivalent names from the Bible is difficult, but identifications have been made with king Hezekiah^[25] and his servants (????? avadim in Hebrew).
• Annals of Tiglath Pileser III – 730 BC, records tributes from many Judean and Israeli kings; Ahaz of Judah, Menahem, Pekah and Hosheah of Israel. The annals also refer to Ahaziah who is considered by many scholars to be identical with the biblical Uzziah, king of Judah^[26][27][28]

7th century BC

• Bulla of Shaphan (r. 609–598 BC) – possible link to a figure during the reign of Jehoiakim.
• Khirbet Beit Lei contains oldest known Hebrew writing of the word "Jerusalem" dated to 7th century BC "I am YHWH thy Lord. I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem" "Absolve us oh merciful God. Absolve us oh YHWH"^[29]
• Mesad Hashavyahu Ostracon is an inscribed pottery fragment dated to 7th century BC and written in ancient Hebrew language. It contains earliest extra-biblical reference to the observance of Shabbat.^[30][31]
• Victory stele of Esarhaddon

6th century BC

• Ketef Hinnom priestly blessing – Probably the oldest surviving texts currently known from the Hebrew Bible – Priestly blessing dated to 600 BC.^[32] Text from the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament. Described as "one of most significant discoveries ever made" for biblical studies.^[33][34]
• Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets (6th century BC) – Describe the rations set aside for a royal captive identified with Jehoiachin, king of Judah (Cf. 2 Kings 24:12,15–6; 25:27–30; 2 Chronicles 36:9–10; Jeremiah 22:24–6; 29:2; 52:31–4; Ezekiel 17:12).^[35]
• Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet – (circa 595 BC) a clay cuneiform inscription referring to an official at the court of Nebuchadrezzar II, king of Babylon, possibly the same official named in the Biblical Jeremiah.
• Lachish letters – letters written in carbon ink by Hoshaiah, a military officer stationed near Jerusalem, to Joash the commanding officer at Lachish during the last years of Jeremiah during Zedekiah’s reign (c.588 BC) (see Nehemiah 12:32, Jeremiah 42:1, 43:2). Lachish fell soon after, two years before the fall of Jerusalem.^[36]
• Trumpeting place inscription – (after 516 BC?) A stone (2.43x1 meters) with Hebrew language inscription "To the Trumpeting Place" excavated by B. Mazar at the southern-western corner of the Temple Mount. It is believed to be a directional sign for the priests who blew a trumpet announcing the beginning and end of the Shabbat in the Second Temple period.^[37]
• House of Yahweh ostracon is an ancient pottery fragment discovered at Tel Arad probably referring to the Temple at Jerusalem.^[38]

5th century BC

• Elephantine papyri, ancient Jewish papyri dating to the 5th century BC, name three persons mentioned in Nehemiah: Darius II, Sanballat the Horonite and Johanan the high priest.

2nd century BC

• Hasmonean coinage (164 BCE – 35 BCE)

1st century BC

• Western Wall – (c. 19 BC) is an important Jewish religious site located in the Old City of Jerusalem. Just over half the wall, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates from the end of the Second Temple period, being constructed around 19 BC by Herod the Great. The remaining layers were added from the 7th century onwards.
• Temple Warning inscription – inscription from Herod's Temple, late 1st century BC. It warns foreigners ("allogenh") to refrain from entering the Temple enclosure, on pain of death.

1st century AD

• Rock of Calvary (Golgotha), identified by Constantine's mother Saint Helena and Macarius of Jerusalem, within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
• Grotto of the Nativity, identified by Constantine's mother Saint Helena and Macarius of Jerusalem, within the Church of the Nativity
• Pilate Stone - (c. 36 AD) carved inscription attributed to Pontius Pilate, a prefect of the Roman-controlled province of Judaea from 26–36 AD.
• Arch of Titus – (c. 82 AD) relief shows spoils from the sack of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. Depicted are the menorah and trumpets, as well as what might be the Table of Showbread. (see: Judaea Capta coinage)
• Erastus Inscription (Roman period, disputed)
• Judaea Capta coinage (after 70 AD)
• Nazareth Inscription bears an edict of Caesar prohibiting grave robbing; relevant to claims of resurrection.

Controversial

• Foundation Stone – stone also called the Well of Souls, now located in the Dome of the Rock. According to the Bible, King David purchased a threshing floor owned by Araunah the Jebusite,^[39] and some believe that it was upon this rock that he offered the sacrifice mentioned in the verse. David wanted to construct a Temple in Jerusalem, but as his hands were "bloodied," he was forbidden to do so himself. The task was left to his son Solomon, who completed the Temple in c. 950 BC.
• Uzziah Tablet – (8th century BC or 30-70 AD?) controversial tablet discovered in 1931 by Professor E.L. Sukenik of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in a Russian convent.
• Warren's Shaft – possible route corresponding to the biblical account of Joab, king David's commander, launching a secretive attack against the Jebusites, who controlled Jerusalem.
• Pool of Bethesda – in the nineteenth century, archaeologists discovered the remains of a pool corresponding to a description in John’s Gospel.
• Borsippa - identified as the Tower of Babel in Talmudic and Arabic culture, but not accepted by modern scholarship
• Acheiropoieta (see Shroud of Turin, Image of Edessa, and the Veil of Veronica)
• Ivory pomegranate
• James Ossuary
• Jehoash Inscription – controversial black stone tablet in Phoenician regarding King Jehoash's repair work. Suspected to be a forgery, (but see: Book of Kings).
• Sudarium of Oviedo
• Titulus Crucis
• Tower of Siloam – ruins possibly mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.^[40]
• Relics attributed to Jesus, including those identified by Constantine's mother Saint Helena and Macarius of Jerusalem, such as the Holy Nails, Holy Tunic and the True Cross
• Ebla tablets - once thought to have made references to, and thus confirmed, the existence of Abraham, David and Sodom and Gomorrah among other Biblical references.

Artifacts described but not found

• The Ark of the Covenant
• Ephod
• Noah's Ark – Searches for Noah's Ark
• Solomonic column – (see Boaz and Jachin)

Forgery

• Stone Seal of Manasseh – Stone seal of Manasseh, King of Judah c.687–642 BC. Reportedly offered to a private collector for one million dollars.^[41]
• Sharipa collection

Significant museums

• Israel Museum, Jerusalem
• Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem^[42]
• Hecht Museum
• Oriental Institute, Chicago
• British Museum
• The Louvre

External lists

• ANET: Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Third Edition with Supplement. Ed. James B. Pritchard. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1969
• COS: The Context of Scripture. 3 volumes. Eds. William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger. Leiden: Brill, 1997-2002
• RANE:
• Indices to ANET and COS: [2]
• Dr. Ralph W. Klein's tables of artifacts - 10 pages of tables sorted by era
• Extra-biblical sources for Hebrew and Jewish history (1913)
• http://www.egyptologyforum.org/EEFtexts.html

See also

• Archaeology of Israel
• Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
• Assyro-Babylonian religion
• The Bible and history
• Biblical archaeology (excavations and artifacts)
• Chronology of the Bible
• Cities of the Ancient Near East
• Hittite sites – Hittites – History of the Hittites
• Library of Ashurbanipal
• List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources
• List of burial places of Biblical figures
• List of Egyptian papyri by date
• List of megalithic sites
• Model of Jerusalem in the Late 2nd Temple Period
• Near Eastern archaeology
• Nag Hammadi library – early Christian gnostic papyri.
• Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible
• Oxyrhynchus Papyri – collection of Old and New Testament papyri, Apocryphal works and works of Philo
• Syro-Palestinian archaeology

References