A visiting professor at the British Museum has made a discovery “that supports the view that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact” (“Tiny tablet provides proof for Old Testament” by Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent Telegraph www.telegraph.co.uk 13/07/2007).
The Telegraph online news article states: “The sound of unbridled joy seldom breaks the quiet of the British Museum’s great Arched Room, which holds its collection of 130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets, dating back 5,000 years. But Michael Jursa, a visiting professor from Vienna, let out such a cry last Thursday. He had made what has been called the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years, a discovery that supports the view that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact. Searching for Babylonian financial accounts among the tablets, Prof Jursa suddenly came across a name he half remembered—Nabu-sharrussuukin, described there in a hand 2,500 years old, as ‘the chief eunuch’ of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon. Prof Jursa, an Assyriologist, checked the Old Testament and there in chapter 39 of the Book of Jeremiah, he found, spelled differently, the same name—Nebo-Sarsekim.”
The name Nebo-Sarsekim, however, is not obvious in the AV translation of Jeremiah 39:3, which reads: “And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergalsharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.”
But scholars have long conjectured that the rendering of the names Samgar-nebo and Sarsechim are confused and that samgar should be translated as a title, that is, cup-bearer. The suffix nebo would then belong to the name following, giving Nebo- Sarsechim, a similar form to other Babylonian names like Nebu-chadnezzar, Nebu-zaradan, etc (see AW Streane, Jeremiah, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1895, p257; The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, p1380; and Unger’s Bible Dictionary, 3rd ed, p961). The name is translated as Nebo-Sarsechim in the niv.
The Telegraph provides the following full translation of the tablet:
( Regarding ) 1.5 minas (0.75 kg) of gold, the property of Nabusharrussu- ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni. Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
Once again, archaeological evidence has verified the accuracy of the historical facts in the Bible. The Telegraph quotes the British Museum’s Dr Irving Finkel as saying: “This is a fantastic discovery, a world-class find… If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power.”
We can place full confidence in the historical facts recorded in the Bible, for again it has been shown to be a reliable historical narrative. As David wrote, “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever” (Psa 119:160).
King Herod’s Tomb Discovered
In May 2007 Hebrew University announced that the tomb of King Herod the Great, ruler of Judea from 37 BC until 4 BC, has been discovered at Herodium (“King Herod’s tomb unearthed by Israeli archaeologists”, Israel Line May 10, 2007).
“Herodium is the most outstanding among King Herod’s building projects”, says Israel Line. “It is the only site that carries his name and the site where he chose to be buried and memorialized.
‘The discovery of the grave is the high point in the excavation at the site’, said Professor Ehud Netzer, the chief archaeologist of the excavation.”
A former student of well-known Israeli archaeologist Yigal Yadin, Professor Netzer had been working at Herodium since 1972. “The discovery of Herod’s tomb solves one of Israel’s greatest archaeological mysteries”, Israel Line reported. “Researchers had long suspected that Herod was buried at the site, as it is mentioned in Flavius Josephus’s Jewish Wars. Nevertheless, until now, they were unable to locate the site despite multiple excavations. The location and unique nature of the findings, as well as the historical record, leave no doubt that this was Herod’s burial site, Netzer said… .”
Herod’s death is noted by Matthew (2:19) and his funeral is described by Josephus in his Jewish Wars (1.33.9).
“The mausoleum was almost dismantled in ancient times”, reports Israel Line. “According to Netzer, the grave had been desecrated shortly after Herod’s death and the sarcophagus broken into hundreds of pieces. Netzer speculates that this destruction took place between 66–72ce, during the Jewish revolt against the Romans while Jewish rebels held the site. The rebels hated the Hellenistic Herod, seeing him as pawn of the Romans. Although there were no bones in the container, the location and appearance indicated it was Herod’s. ‘It’s a sarcophagus we don’t just see anywhere’, Netzer said. ‘It is something very special.’”