Heliodorus Stele
Seleucus IV's order that put Heliodorus over the temples of Judea, the man of 2 Maccabees 3
Found 2005 — Upper part acquired by Michael and Judy Steinhardt and published by Hannah Cotton and Michael Wörrle (2007); three lower fragments excavated in 2005–06 by Ian Stern and Bernie Alpert at Maresha
Where Maresha (Tel Maresha / Beit Guvrin), Judean lowlands (Israel)
Dates from 178 BCE · Seleucid · Just before the Maccabean revolt (2 Maccabees 3; Daniel 11:20)
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem (on loan from the Steinhardt collection; fragments from the Israel Antiquities Authority)
Names a biblical person Heliodorus, Seleucus IV (deuterocanonical (2 Macc 3))
How Heliodorus Stele was found
The excavated fragments from Subterranean Complex 57 at Maresha were found to join the purchased stele, proving its origin; the joined stele went on display at the Israel Museum in 2007.
What it is
A limestone stele about 60 cm high with 23 lines of Greek: a letter of King Seleucus IV to Heliodorus, his chief minister, dated 178 BCE, appointing a certain Olympiodorus to oversee the sanctuaries of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, with two covering letters passing the order down to local officials.
Why it matters for the Bible
2 Maccabees 3 tells how Heliodorus was sent by Seleucus to seize the Temple treasury in Jerusalem and was struck down by a heavenly rider. The stele puts Heliodorus in exactly that role at exactly that date, as the minister in charge of a new policy of royal control over temple funds. It confirms the historical setting of the story (though not the miracle) and shows the pressure on the Temple that led to the Maccabean crisis a decade later. Daniel 11:20 speaks of a king who 'sends an exactor of tribute' and dies soon after, a fitting description of Seleucus IV, who was murdered by Heliodorus in 175 BCE.
The Hebrew word: o-TSAHR
אוֹצָר
אוֹצָר is pronounced o-TSAHR and means treasury, storehouse (the Temple treasury Heliodorus was sent to take) (Strong's H214).
People this discovery connects to
- Heliodorus — הֶלְיוֹדוֹרוֹס (hel-yo-DO-ros) — Greek Heliodoros, 'gift of the sun'
- Seleucus IV — סֶלֶוְקוֹס (se-LEV-kos) — Greek Seleukos
Places
- Mareshah — מָרֵשָׁה (mah-ray-SHAH) — at the head, summit
Events
Heliodorus's attempt on the Temple treasury · Seleucid control of Judean temple revenues
Heliodorus Stele in Scripture
2 Maccabees 3:7-8 Seleucus appoints Heliodorus to seize the Jerusalem Temple's money; the stele shows Heliodorus as the minister running temple affairs in 178 BCE.
Daniel 11:20 A king who sends an exactor of tribute through 'the glory of the kingdom' and is soon broken; usually read as Seleucus IV and Heliodorus.
2 Maccabees 3:25-26 The heavenly horseman strikes Heliodorus down; the stele confirms the man and mission, not the miracle.
Questions people ask
What is Heliodorus Stele?
A limestone stele about 60 cm high with 23 lines of Greek: a letter of King Seleucus IV to Heliodorus, his chief minister, dated 178 BCE, appointing a certain Olympiodorus to oversee the sanctuaries of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, with two covering letters passing the order down to local officials.
When was Heliodorus Stele discovered?
It was found in 2005 by Upper part acquired by Michael and Judy Steinhardt and published by Hannah Cotton and Michael Wörrle (2007); three lower fragments excavated in 2005–06 by Ian Stern and Bernie Alpert at Maresha, at Maresha (Tel Maresha / Beit Guvrin), Judean lowlands.
Where is Heliodorus Stele today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem (on loan from the Steinhardt collection; fragments from the Israel Antiquities Authority).
Which Bible verses does Heliodorus Stele relate to?
2 Maccabees 3:7-8, Daniel 11:20, 2 Maccabees 3:25-26.
Related discoveries
- אֱדוֹםMaresha Painted Tombs (Tomb of Apollophanes)Hellenistic Idumean tombs with painted animals and Greek epitaphs of the Sidonian colony at Marisa
- קֶדֶשׁTel Kedesh: The Persian–Hellenistic Administrative Building and Its 2,000 BullaeA governor's compound in Galilee abandoned after Jonathan Maccabee's victory, with its seal-impression archive intact
- שִׁקּוּץ מְשֹׁמֵםCoins of Antiochus IV EpiphanesSilver tetradrachms of the king who desecrated the Temple, styling himself 'God Manifest'
- מְצוּדָהThe Seleucid Akra (Givati Parking Lot)Fortification and Seleucid weapons in the City of David identified as the Akra of 1 Maccabees
- חֶבֶר הַיְּהוּדִיםHasmonean Coins of John Hyrcanus and Alexander JannaeusThe bronze prutot of the Maccabean priest-kings, with 'Yehohanan the High Priest' and Jannaeus's anchor and star
- קֶבֶרHorbat Ha-Gardi ('Tomb of the Maccabees')The monumental structure near Modi'in long claimed as the Maccabees' family tomb, re-excavated in 2015
Sources
- Cotton and Wörrle, 'Seleukos IV to Heliodoros', ZPE 159 (2007)
- Gera, 'Olympiodoros, Heliodoros and the Temples of Koile Syria and Phoinike', ZPE 169 (2009)
- Wikipedia: Heliodorus stele