Religion & Mythology · Reference dataset
Ancient Inscriptions and the Bible
11 ancient inscriptions and records that name or bear on people and events in the Bible, from the Merneptah Stele (about 1208 BC) to the Pilate Stone: what each says, the date of the event it records kept separate from when it was made, where it was found, where it is now and how secure the identification is.
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| ID | Inscription | Wikidata ID | What it says | Biblical connection | Event year | Event date | Event date basis | Made | Discovered | Current location | Identification | Related events | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Kurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III | Q1793123 | An Assyrian royal inscription describing Shalmaneser III's campaigns, ending with the battle of Qarqar against a coalition of western kings. It credits 'Ahab the Israelite' with 2,000 chariots and 10,000 soldiers. | The first mention of Ahab outside the Bible. It shows Ahab alive and ruling in 853 BC, which fixes a point on the timeline of Israel's kings. The Bible does not mention Qarqar. | -853 | 853 BC | Battle of Qarqar, dated through the Assyrian eponym (year-name) lists, which are fixed by the solar eclipse of 15 June 763 BC. | c. 852 BC | 1861, Kurkh (Üçtepe), Diyarbakır Province, Turkey, by John George Taylor | British Museum, London (Wikipedia lists ME 118883 and ME 118884 for the two Kurkh stelae; the Shalmaneser III stela is ME 118884) | Widely accepted. Older challenges, such as a northwest Syrian king or a 'Jezreel' reading, are no longer widely held. Nadav Na'aman suggested the 2,000 chariots may be a scribal error for 200. | Ahab king of Israel; Elijah's ministry; Death of Ahab at Ramoth-gilead | Wikipedia: Kurkh Monoliths; Wikipedia: Battle of Qarqar; Bible Gateway, Encyclopedia of the Bible: Chronology (Old Testament) |
| 3 | Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III | Q1471650 | A carved limestone monument from Nimrud showing rulers bringing tribute to Shalmaneser III. The second register shows a kneeling figure labeled 'Yaua son of Omri', usually read as Jehu. | Commonly identified as Jehu of Israel paying tribute. Cohen and Kangas call it the only known portrayal of an Israelite or Judahite king in ancient Near Eastern art. Jehu was not descended from Omri; Assyrian records usually call Israel the 'House of Omri' or 'Land of Omri'. | -841 | c. 841 BC | Tribute 'in or around 841 BC' (Millard 1997), within Shalmaneser III's reign (859–824 BC) in the Assyrian eponym chronology. | c. 827–824 BC; erected c. 825 BC | 1846, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), Iraq, by Austen Henry Layard | British Museum, London (ME 118885) | Generally accepted as Jehu. McCarter (1974) and Thiele (1976) raised objections, and some scholars propose Jehoram of Israel instead. | Jehu seizes the throne of Israel | Wikipedia: Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III |
| 4 | Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) | Q724954 | A Moabite royal inscription in which King Mesha says that Omri, king of Israel, oppressed Moab, and so did his son, until Mesha, helped by the god Chemosh, threw off Israelite rule and took back towns. | Names Omri and Israel and gives Moab's side of the revolt told in 2 Kings 3. Line 31 may read 'House of David', but that is disputed. | events of the mid-9th century BC | Refers to Omri's dynasty; the stele is matched to 2 Kings 3. | c. 840 BC (Lemaire allows as late as c. 810 BC) | 1868, Dhiban (ancient Dibon), Jordan, by F. A. Klein; it was broken in 1869 and reconstructed from fragments and an earlier paper squeeze | Louvre, Paris (AO 5066) | Omri and Israel are secure. The 'House of David' reading in line 31 (Lemaire 1994; Langlois 2019) is disputed (Finkelstein, Na'aman and Römer 2019 propose Balak; Richelle and Burlingame 2023 call it uncertain). | Omri builds Samaria; Mesha of Moab rebels against Israel | Wikipedia: Mesha Stele | |
| 5 | Tel Dan Stele | Q516354 | Fragments of an Old Aramaic victory inscription, probably set up by Hazael of Damascus, which mention a 'king of Israel' and the 'House of David' (bytdwd). | Most scholars read it as the earliest reference outside the Bible to a dynasty descended from David. It refers to a dynasty, not to David himself, and it was set up long after the conventional date of his reign. | 9th century BC | The text is fragmentary, the king names in it are partly restored, and the author is not named in what survives. Most scholars attribute it to Hazael of Damascus (c. 842–806 BC). | 9th century BC (earliest possible c. 870 BC; Mykytiuk: hardly later than c. 750 BC) | 1993 (fragment A) and 1994 (fragments B1 and B2), Tel Dan, Israel, by Avraham Biran's team; found reused in a later wall | Israel Museum, Jerusalem | Most scholars read 'House of David'. Others propose a place name or a divine title. The author is probably Hazael but may be Ben-Hadad III (Athas) or another king. Claims of forgery are rejected by most scholars because the stele came from a controlled excavation. | Jehu seizes the throne of Israel; David king over all Israel; Jerusalem taken | Wikipedia: Tel Dan stele | |
| 6 | Sennacherib's Annals (Taylor, Chicago and Jerusalem prisms) | Q578076 | Sennacherib's own account of his campaigns. For Judah it says he took Hezekiah's towns, gave some to Philistine kings, and shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem 'like a caged bird', then received tribute. It does not claim to have captured Jerusalem. | Parallels the campaign in 2 Kings 18–19, Isaiah 36–37 and 2 Chronicles 32. The two accounts differ on the outcome and on the tribute amounts. The Lachish reliefs in Sennacherib's palace show the siege of Lachish from the same campaign. | -701 | 701 BC | Assyrian eponym chronology; the campaign is also tied to Hezekiah's 14th year in 2 Kings 18:13 and Isaiah 36:1. | Taylor and Jerusalem prisms 691 BC; Chicago (ISAC) prism 689 BC; Lachish reliefs carved c. 700–681 BC | Taylor Prism reportedly found by Col. Robert Taylor at Nineveh, 1830; bought by the British Museum in 1855. Chicago prism bought by J. H. Breasted, 1919. Jerusalem Prism bought at auction, 1970. | British Museum (Taylor Prism); Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, University of Chicago (Chicago prism); Israel Museum (Jerusalem Prism) | Secure: Hezekiah of Judah is named. | Sennacherib's campaign against Hezekiah; Hezekiah becomes king of Judah | Wikipedia: Sennacherib's Annals; Wikipedia: Assyrian siege of Jerusalem; Wikipedia: Lachish reliefs |
| 7 | Babylonian Chronicle ABC 5 (Nebuchadnezzar or 'Jerusalem' Chronicle) | Q20426837 | A Babylonian year-by-year record of Nebuchadnezzar II's early reign. For his 7th year it records that he besieged 'the city of Judah', took it on the 2nd day of Adar, seized its king, appointed a king of his own choice and sent heavy tribute to Babylon. It also covers the battle of Carchemish. | Matches the first capture of Jerusalem in 2 Kings 24:10–17. The chronicle does not name the kings; 2 Kings identifies them as Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. | -597 | 2 Adar, year 7 of Nebuchadnezzar = 16 March 597 BC | Babylonian regnal year and month converted to the Julian calendar (Wiseman 1956; Thiele). Albright had earlier preferred 598 BC. | Neo-Babylonian or later copy; Wikipedia's list caption gives 590 BC; bought in 1896 without a recorded findspot | Bought from a dealer in 1896; published by D. J. Wiseman in 1956 | British Museum (BM 21946) | Secure for the 597 BC capture. No surviving chronicle covers 587/586 BC, so that date rests on the biblical synchronisms with Nebuchadnezzar's regnal years. | Jerusalem surrenders; Jehoiachin exiled; Daniel taken to Babylon; Jerusalem and the temple destroyed | Wikipedia: Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle; Wikipedia: Babylonian Chronicles |
| 8 | Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7) | Q623986 | A Babylonian chronicle of Nabonidus's reign. For his 17th year it records Cyrus's victory at Opis, the capture of Sippar without battle on day 14, Ugbaru and Cyrus's army entering Babylon without battle on day 16, and Cyrus entering the city on 3 Arahsamna. | Gives the Babylonian record of the fall of Babylon, the setting of Daniel 5 and the background to Ezra 1. It does not mention the Jews. | -539 | autumn (October) 539 BC | Nabonidus's 17th year, conventionally 539/538 BC (Livius, after Grayson). The conversion to exact Julian days was not checked in this pass. | Babylonian tablet, date of copying not established here | Published by Sidney Smith, 1924 | British Museum (BM 35382) | Secure for the fall of Babylon. | Belshazzar's feast and the fall of Babylon; Cyrus allows the exiles to return | Livius.org: ABC 7 (Nabonidus Chronicle); Wikipedia: Babylonian Chronicles |
| 9 | Cyrus Cylinder | Q405008 | A clay foundation cylinder in Akkadian in the name of Cyrus. It denounces Nabonidus, says Marduk chose Cyrus, describes a peaceful entry into Babylon, and says Cyrus returned gods' images and displaced people to their home sanctuaries in Mesopotamia. | Often compared with Cyrus's decree in Ezra 1:1–4 because it shows a policy of returning peoples and restoring temples. It does not mention Jews, Judah or Jerusalem; Kuhrt says its Babylonian context offers no proof of concern for Judean exiles. | -539 | 539 BC conquest of Babylon | Cyrus's conquest of Babylon; the biblical decree is dated to his first year (Ezra 1:1). | 539–530 BC (British Museum) | March 1879, foundations of the Esagila temple, Babylon, by Hormuzd Rassam | British Museum, Room 52 (BM 90920) | It shows a general policy, not the biblical decree itself. | Cyrus allows the exiles to return | Wikipedia: Cyrus Cylinder |
| 10 | Delphi (Gallio) Inscription | Q5254406 | Nine fragments of a letter from Emperor Claudius to Delphi. It mentions 'my friend and proconsul' Junius Gallio and dates itself by Claudius's 26th acclamation as imperator. | Acts 18:12–17 says Paul was brought before Gallio when he was proconsul of Achaia. Dating Gallio's term is the firmest fixed point in Paul's chronology. | 51 | Gallio's proconsulship c. AD 51–52 | The letter dates to AD 52 (Claudius's 26th acclamation, January–August 52). Proconsuls usually served one year, so Gallio's term is usually put in 51–52; a term one year later is possible. | AD 52 | Early 20th century, Temple of Apollo, Delphi, Greece (Fouilles de Delphes III 4:286; SIG II 801d) | Delphi; Wikipedia's photo caption says the Delphi museum. Museum details not verified in this pass. | Secure: Gallio is named. The exact months of his term, and so of Paul's hearing, remain approximate. | Paul in Corinth; hearing before Gallio; Paul's second missionary journey | Wikipedia: Delphi Inscription; Bible Gateway, Encyclopedia of the Bible: Chronology (New Testament) |
| 11 | Pilate Stone | Q1073819 | A damaged Latin dedication from Caesarea for a building called the Tiberieum, naming [Pon]tius Pilatus, [praef]ectus Iudae[ae] (prefect of Judaea). The bracketed letters are restored. | The only inscription from Pilate's own time that names him. It confirms the official before whom the Gospels place the trial of Jesus, and gives his title as prefect. | 26 | Pilate's prefecture AD 26–36 (or 37) | Josephus: Pilate governed from AD 26 until he was replaced in 36 or 37. The stone itself is not dated more closely. | 1st century AD, during Pilate's term | June 1961, Caesarea Maritima, Israel, during Antonio Frova's excavation; reused as a step in a 4th-century building | Israel Museum, Jerusalem; replicas in Milan and at Caesarea | Secure. | Crucifixion of Jesus; Jesus's public ministry | Wikipedia: Pilate stone; Wikipedia: Chronology of Jesus |
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Last checked against sources: November 7, 2026.
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