Important breakthrough in Biblical archaeology
Existence of Babylonian official connected with the Fall of
Jerusalem and mentioned in the book of Jeremiah confirmed in
cuneiform tablet
Working at the British Museum, Assyriologist Michael Jursa has
made a breakthrough discovery whilst examining a small clay tablet
with a Babylonian cuneiform inscription. The document is dated to
the 10th year of Nebuchadnezzar II (595 BC). It names a
Babylonian officer, Nebo-Sarsekim, who according to chapter 39 of
the Book of Jeremiah was present at the siege of Jerusalem in 587
BC with Nebuchadnezzar himself. The tablet thus confirms the
historical existence of the Biblical figure. Evidence from
non-Biblical sources for individuals named in the Bible other than
kings is incredibly rare.
Nebo-Sarsekim is described in the book of Jeremiah as ‘chief
eunuch’ (as the title is now translated, rather than ‘chief
officer’). The Babylonian tablet proves that his name was
really pronounced as Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, and gives the same title,
‘chief eunuch,’ in cuneiform script, thereby confirming the
accuracy of the Biblical account.
The discovery highlights the importance of the study of
cuneiform. The British Museum’s collection contains well over one
hundred thousand inscribed tablets which are examined by
international scholars on a daily basis. Reading and piecing
together fragments is painstaking and slow work, but cuneiform
tablets are our only chance of obtaining knowledge of this fateful
period of human history. Other discoveries made whilst examining
tablets include an Assyrian version of the Old Testament flood
story, observations of Halley’s Comet and even rules for the
world’s oldest board game.
Dr Jursa, Associate Professor of the University of Vienna, has
been studying tablets at the British Museum since 1991. He says of
this discovery:
“Reading Babylonian tablets is often laborious, but also very
satisfying: there is so much new information yet to be discovered.
But finding something like this tablet, where we see a person
mentioned in the Bible making an everyday payment to the temple in
Babylon and quoting the exact date is quite extraordinary.”
Irving Finkel, Assistant Keeper in the Department of the Middle
East at the British Museum, commented: “Cuneiform tablets might all
look the same, but sometimes they contain treasure. Here a
mundane commercial transaction takes its place as a primary witness
to one of the turning points in Old Testament history. This
is a tablet that deserves to be famous.’
For further information please contact Hannah Boulton on +44
(0)20 7323 8522 or
hboulton@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
- Cuneiform is the oldest form of writing known to us and was
commonly used in the Middle East between 3,200 BC and the second
century AD. Today there are only a small number of scholars
worldwide who can read cuneiform script which was created by
pressing a wedged-shaped instrument (usually a cut reed) into moist
clay. Each tablet is a unique window into the past and allows us a
direct link to the people who lived during that period. Examples of
cuneiform tablets are on permanent display in the Museum and the
whole collection can be accessed by appointment through the Middle
East Study Room. More information on cuneiform can be found at
www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/explore/themes/writing
- Nebuchadnezzar II (Nabu-kudurri-usur, 'O Nabu, protect the
son') came to the throne in 604 BC, on the death of his father
Nabopolassar. The Babylonians had conquered the Assyrian empire
having allied themselves with the Iranian Medes. After his
coronation in Babylon the new king campaigned in Syria for five
months. In 601 BC Nebuchadnezzar marched to the Egyptian frontier.
The Babylonian and Egyptian armies clashed and both sides suffered
heavy losses. Over the next few years the struggle between the
Babylonians and Egyptians continued and in the course of these
campaigns Jerusalem was captured (597 BC). Problems in this region
persisted when Zedekiah, the Babylonian-appointed king of Judah,
rebelled. As a result, in 587-6 BC Jerusalem was taken again and a
large section of the population deported.