Lachish Letter I
Israelite, 586 BC
From
Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir), Israel
A letter written on a piece of
pottery
This is one of a group of letters written on
ostraka (pot sherds)
found near the main gate of ancient Lachish (modern Tell ed-Duweir)
in a burnt layer associated with the destruction of the city by the
Babylonians in 586 BC. It is written in ink in alphabetic Hebrew,
and reads:
Gemaryahu, son
of Hissilyahu
Yaazanyahu, son of
Tobshillem
Hageb, son of
Yaazanyahu
Mibtahyahu, son of
Yirmeyahu
Mattanyahu, son of
Neryahu
Presumably this
list had some administrative function. Though several of the names
occur in the Old Testament, it cannot be proved that the same
individuals are
intended.
The letters were
received by Ya’osh, the military governor of Lachish, from
Hosha’yahu, a subordinate officer in charge of a military outpost
during the invasion by the Babylonian forces under Nebuchadnezzar
which ended in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 587
BC.
Subsequently only
Azekah, about 18 miles south west of Jerusalem, and Lachish itself,
about 12 miles further on, remained in Judean hands, until they too
fell. There followed a large-scale deportation of a part of
Judah's population. Thus began the exile, a period of great
significance for the Jews spiritually, and one which would
profoundly influence later religious ideology and
teaching.
A. Lemaire, Inscriptions Hebraiques I: Les (Paris, Cerf, 1977)
R.D. Barnett, Illustrations of Old Testament, 2nd edition (London, The British Museum Press, 1976)