Proof of biblical kings of Israel, Judah deciphered on Jerusalem rock inscriptions

The Jerusalem Post reports: “What a University of Haifa professor of biblical studies and ancient history has called ‘one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Israel of all time’ – five monumental, new royal inscriptions of King Hezekiah of Judah, which together include dozens of lines and hundreds of letters have been deciphered.

Prof. Gershon Galil, a former chairman of the university’s department of Jewish history, said that the inscriptions mention the name of Hezekiah, and summarize his main actions during the first 17 years of his reign, including the water project (the cutting of the Siloam Tunnel and the pool), the ritual reform, the conquest of Philistia and the accumulation of property. 

The inscriptions, he maintained, also indicate the exact date on which the water project was completed – 2 Tammuz in the 17th year Hezekiah = 709 BCE. ‘Now it is clear that the higher chronology that precedes the reign of Hezekiah in 726 BCE is to be preferred, as I emphasize in my book on chronology published in 1996. These are the most complete royal inscriptions we have, and they are further evidence that the kings of Israel and Judah wrote royal inscriptions that indicated their name and deeds,’ Galil said…”

The post Proof of biblical kings of Israel, Judah deciphered on Jerusalem rock inscriptions appeared first on JVIM.