The Tel Dan Stele

In ancient times, the Aramean people lived in the regions of Syria and Mesopotamia. They were a large group of people who spoke a dialect of a West Semitic language known as Aramaic. They developed powerful city-states that had a strong cultural influence in the Near East during the first millennium BC. The Aramaic language, which is very similar to Hebrew, became the official international language around the Persian period, approximately 539 BC.

The nation of Israel was in conflict with the Arameans for 300 years, from the time of King David around 1000 BC until the Assyrians annexed the Aramean city-states in the late 8th century BC. The city-state with the most conflicts was Damascus, which, under the rule of Hazael, controlled Israel during the second half of the 9th century. A recently discovered inscription, the Tel Dan Stele, provides more details about this period.

The largest fragment of the Tel Dan Stele, “Fragment A,” was discovered in July 1993 on the Tel Dan site in northern Israel. In June 1994, archaeologists found two more connecting fragments, labeled “Fragment B.” Fragments A and B together represent only a small portion of the much longer inscription. The entire stele, written in Aramaic, celebrates an Aramean king’s victory over Israel and Judah. This was the first royal inscription from the period of the Israelite Kingdom to be discovered.

When Fragment A was unearthed, archaeologists were disappointed that the beginning of the stele was missing. The name of the king who commissioned the stele and the event that prompted the commemorative ceremony were recorded in this missing part. However, with the discovery of Fragment B, it became possible to place the stele in its historical context. Fragment B preserved parts of the names of two kings: Joram, the son of King Ahab of Israel (reigned from 852–841 BC), and Ahaziah, the son of King Joram of Judah (of the House of David, who reigned in 841 BC). With this new information, the stele could be dated and the Aramean king identified as Hazael. He ordered the stele to be carved to commemorate his victory over Joram and Ahaziah in 841 BC (2 Kings 8:28–29).

The most stunning aspect of the document is its reference to “Judah” as the “House of David.” This is believed to be the first time David’s name appeared in a document outside of the Bible. However, around the same time, two French scholars, André Lemaire and Émile Puech, each noticed this phrase on the “Mesha Stele,” which had been discovered more than 100 years earlier. The term “Highland of David” also appears in the “Shishak Stele” at the Temple of Amun in Karnak, Egypt. Praise the Lord! These archaeological pieces of evidence were discovered just as many scholars were debating whether “King David” was a real historical figure.