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Elephantine Papyri

Aramaic letters of a Jewish garrison in Egypt that name Sanballat, Johanan the priest and a temple of YHW

Return, Persia & the Maccabees · papyrus / scroll, ostracon, temple / altar · Accepted by scholars · found 1893

Papyrus sheet with lines of Aramaic script
Photo: Onceinawhile · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons — An Aramaic papyrus from the Elephantine archive of Mibtahiah.

Found 1893 — Charles Edwin Wilbour bought the first papyri from villagers in 1893 (published 1953, Brooklyn Museum); Otto Rubensohn's German expedition excavated the main Jewish-quarter archive on 1 January 1907; the Sayce–Cowley papyri were bought in 1904

Where Elephantine Island (Yeb), opposite Aswan (Egypt)

Dates from c. 495–399 BCE · Achaemenid Persian (27th Dynasty Egypt) · Generation of Ezra and Nehemiah

Now at Divided among the Egyptian Museum (Berlin), the Brooklyn Museum, the Egyptian Museum (Cairo), the Bodleian Library and others

Names a biblical person Sanballat, Jehohanan (Johanan) (also Delaiah; Bagohi = Bigvai possible)

How Elephantine Papyri was found

Some were purchased from local diggers; the 1906–08 German and 1906–11 French excavations found others in the ruins of houses on the island's western side.

What it is

Dozens of Aramaic papyri and hundreds of ostraca: marriage contracts, deeds, letters and lists from a community of Judean soldiers stationed at Egypt's southern border. They had their own temple of 'YHW' with altar and sacrifices, built before the Persian conquest of 525 BCE.

Why it matters for the Bible

The 'Passover letter' of 419 BCE (Berlin P. 13464) carries Darius II's authorization for Jews to keep the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and the 407 BCE petition to Bagoas, governor of Judah, says the community also wrote to 'Delaiah and Shelemiah, sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria' and to 'Johanan the high priest' in Jerusalem. These are the Sanballat of Nehemiah and the Jehohanan of Nehemiah 12:22–23 and Ezra 10:6, giving firm dates for the biblical figures. The papyri also show a Judean community that swore by other deities alongside YHW, a reminder of why the prophets kept warning against mixed worship.

The Hebrew word: chahg hah-mah-TSOTE

חַג הַמַּצּוֹת

חַג הַמַּצּוֹת is pronounced chahg hah-mah-TSOTE and means Festival of Unleavened Bread, the subject of the 419 BCE letter (Strong's H2282 + H4682).

People this discovery connects to

Places

Events

Nehemiah's conflict with Sanballat · Persian regulation of Jewish festivals · Destruction and rebuilding of the Yahu temple at Elephantine, 410–407 BCE

Elephantine Papyri in Scripture

Nehemiah 2:10 First mention of Sanballat in Scripture.

Nehemiah 2:19 Sanballat the Horonite mocks Nehemiah; the 407 BCE papyrus names Sanballat as governor of Samaria with grown sons.

Nehemiah 12:22-23 Johanan son of Eliashib is listed as high priest; the same Johanan is addressed in the Elephantine petition.

Questions people ask

What is Elephantine Papyri?
Dozens of Aramaic papyri and hundreds of ostraca: marriage contracts, deeds, letters and lists from a community of Judean soldiers stationed at Egypt's southern border. They had their own temple of 'YHW' with altar and sacrifices, built before the Persian conquest of 525 BCE.

When was Elephantine Papyri discovered?
It was found in 1893 by Charles Edwin Wilbour bought the first papyri from villagers in 1893 (published 1953, Brooklyn Museum); Otto Rubensohn's German expedition excavated the main Jewish-quarter archive on 1 January 1907; the Sayce–Cowley papyri were bought in 1904, at Elephantine Island (Yeb), opposite Aswan.

Where is Elephantine Papyri today?
Divided among the Egyptian Museum (Berlin), the Brooklyn Museum, the Egyptian Museum (Cairo), the Bodleian Library and others.

Which Bible verses does Elephantine Papyri relate to?
Nehemiah 2:10, Nehemiah 2:19, Nehemiah 12:22-23.

Related discoveries

Sources

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