Ancient Levantine civilizations

Artifact 4 Entity 78 Period 2 Person 2 Site 21 Study 35 Ancient text 4

• Original photograph

  Artifact

  Elephantine temple-rebuilding petition

  Aramaic petition of 407 BCE from Jedaniah and fellow priests to Bagohi, requesting the rebuilding of Yaho’s destroyed temple.

  Modern view of Elephantine Island and the Nile near Aswan; geographical context, not the remains of Yaho’s temple

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• Illustration

  Artifact

  Elephantine “Passover Letter”

  Fragmentary Aramaic letter, Berlin P.13464, dated 419/418 BCE, on Nisan dates and ritual instructions. “Passover” is restored in a lacuna; no complete Torah is attested.

  Modern guide to Berlin P.13464, Hananiah’s letter to Jedaniah, 419/418 BCE. Distinguishes surviving wording from restoration; “Passover” belongs to reconstructed text. Not a photograph or complete transcription

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• Original photograph

  Inscription

  Ketef Hinnom amulets

  Two silver scroll amulets found in Jerusalem in1979, with wording related to Numbers6. Usually late seventh/early sixth century BCE; they do not date the whole book.

  Ketef Hinnom silver amulets displayed at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; photograph, 2012. Usually dated to the late seventh or early sixth century BCE. A blessing related to Numbers 6, not evidence for the entire book. Display copy resized without cropping

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• Original photograph

  Inscription

  Mesha Stele

  Ninth-century BCE inscription of King Mesha of Moab; line 18 mentions Yahweh’s vessels, clear external evidence for the deity associated with Israel.

  Mesha Stele, basalt, from Dhiban in Jordan, ninth century BCE; Louvre AO 5066 / KAI 181. Broken, reassembled and supplemented. Yahweh occurs in line 18 according to the published reading; no reading from the photograph is claimed

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