Tel Dan stele

Uncommon card · No. 154745

The Tel Dan Stele is a fragmentary stele with an Old Aramaic inscription written in the Phoenician script. It is generally dated to the 9th-century BCE, though some scholars have proposed later dates; it is one of the earliest, extra-biblical references to a Davidic dynasty. In 1993, it was discovered by Gila Cook, a member of an archaeological team led by Avraham Biran, among the rubble of a wall that had survived to modern times in Tel-Dan. Currently, it is on display at the Israel Museum. The consensus translation of the inscription details an individual who killed Jehoram of Israel, son of Ahab and Jezebel, and Ahaziah of Judah, son of Ahab "of the house of David..." (according to the stele, though some scholars disagree). This description aligns well with Hazael, king of Aram-Damascus (who conquered Israel but not Jerusalem), for which reason he is a likely candidate for the one who originally erected the stele: At that time King Hazael of Aram went up, fought against Gath, and took...

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