Inscriptions

Inscriptions

May 26

Defending the “House of David”

By: André Lemaire and Jean-Philippe Delorme

In our article “Mesha’s Stele and the House of David” (Biblical Archaeology Review, Winter 2022), we showed that new photographs of the stone and the […]

May 19

An Early Israelite Curse Inscription from Mt. Ebal?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

This is an update to our original coverage of the Mt. Ebal inscription as first published in Bible History Daily on April 25, 2022. In […]

May 10

Does the Mesha Stele Really Reference the Dynasty of King David of the Bible?

By: Megan Sauter

The Mesha Stele and “House of David” take center stage yet again. In the Winter 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, André Lemaire and Jean-Philippe […]

Apr 24

Pontius Pilate’s Ring Reexamined

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Is this Pontius Pilate’s ring? First published in 2018, the small copper ring quickly made international headlines with its captivating one-word Greek inscription: ΠΙΛΑΤΟ (Pilato)—the […]

The Jerubbaal inscription

Mar 25

Archaeological Evidence of Gideon the Judge?

By: Nathan Steinmeyer

Archaeologists officially announced the discovery of a 3,100-year-old inscription from the site of Khirbet al-Ra‘i that may be evidence of Gideon the Judge. Khirbet al-Ra‘i, […]

Mar 21

Miniature Writing on Ancient Amulets

By: Robin Ngo

In 1979, archaeologist Gabriel Barkay discovered two miniature silver scrolls from a late Iron Age (seventh century B.C.E.) tomb in Ketef Hinnom outside of Jerusalem. When unrolled, the scrolls had tiny texts written on them—similar to the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24–26.

tel-dan-stele

Mar 4

The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have attracted as much attention as the Tel Dan inscription—writing on a ninth-century B.C. stone slab (or stela) that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the Bible.

Feb 8

The History of the Tetragrammaton

By: John Drummond

  There is a famous movie scene in which the world’s most notorious archaeologist, Indiana Jones, must pass a series of harrowing trials in order […]

Feb 1

Stamp Impressions from Ramat Rahel

By: Marek Dospěl 

  People across the ancient Near East used stamps to mark objects. One of the most frequent uses of stamps was to place stamp impressions […]

Jan 23

The “Gabriel Stone” on Display

By: James Tabor

James Tabor describes Israel Knohl's changed interpretation of the critical line discussing the resurrection of the dead after three days of "Gabriel's Revelation."