Shebna inscription

Shebna inscription
Shebna inscription
Material	Limestone
Size	160cm long, 52 cm high
Created	7th century BCE
Present location	British Museum, London
Identification	1871,1107.1, WA 125205

The Shebna Inscription or Royal Steward Inscription, known as KAI 191, is an important Proto-Hebrew inscription found in the village of Silwan outside Jerusalem in 1870. After passing through various hands, the inscription was purchased by the British Museum in 1871.^[1]

The inscription is broken at the point where the tomb's owner would have been named, but biblical scholars have suggested a connection to Shebna, on the basis of a verse in the Bible mentioning a royal steward who was admonished for building a conspicuous tomb.

It was found by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau, about a decade prior to the Siloam inscription, making it the first ancient Hebrew inscription ever found.^[2] Clermont-Ganneau wrote about three decades later: "I may observe, by the way, that the discovery of these two texts was made long before that of the inscription in the tunnel, and therefore, though people in general do not seem to recognise this fact, it was the first which enabled us to behold an authentic specimen of Hebrew monumental epigraphy of the period of the Kings of Judah."^[3]

The text is considered to have a "remarkable" similarity to that of the Tabnit sarcophagus from Sidon.^[4]

Discovery[]

The inscription was found on a house in the village of Silwan (see the "x" mark). This map is from the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, published just a few years prior to the inscription's discovery.

The inscribed lintel was found by French archaeologist, Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau in 1870 above the entrance to a home in Silwan, a historical Palestinian village south of Jerusalem. Clermont-Ganneau arranged for the inscription to be purchased and removed by the British Museum one year after its discovery.

Description[]

The limestone inscription was so severely damaged that it was not possible to completely decipher the script until 1952. Nevertheless, the inscription is significant because it allegedly describes a figure from the Bible called Shebna who was sent by King Hezekiah to negotiate with the Assyrian army. The three-line Hebrew funerary inscription indicates that the cave was the tomb of Shebna, the royal steward of King Hezekiah (715–687 BCE).

Inscription text[]

The writing is in Biblical Hebrew in the Paleo-Hebrew script – at the time of its discovery the script was referred to as "Phoenician letters"^[3] – and can be dated to the seventh century BCE. The transliteration below is to Square Hebrew script, invented about 400 years after the actual inscription.

The "maidservant" is referred to by the Hebrew ‘amatah, equivalent to the term "handmaiden" used to refer to concubines at various points in the Torah.

Royal Steward of Judah[]

The royal steward or court chamberlain was a powerful figure in Ancient Judah. According to the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 22:15–16), the royal steward appointed by King Hezekiah was called Shebna and he was admonished for building himself too grandiose a tomb. Although the name of the royal steward is broken at the point where the official is named, it has been conjectured on the basis of the biblical verse that this monumental inscription originates from the tomb of Shebna.

See also[]

• Isaiah 22
• Siloam Inscription

References[]

Further reading[]

• F. Frances (Ed), Treasures of the British Museum, London, 1972
• D. Colon, Ancient Near East Art, British Museum Press, London, 1995