Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls
The oldest known copy of a Bible text: the Priestly Blessing on two tiny silver amulets
Found 1979 — Gabriel Barkay (Tel Aviv University); the sealed repository was opened by a 13-year-old volunteer
Where Ketef Hinnom, southwest of the Old City, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) (Israel)
Dates from c. 650–587 BCE (some argue slightly later) · Iron Age IIC · Late kingdom of Judah, generation of Yoshiyahu (Josiah) and Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah)
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem
How Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls was found
In Chamber 25 of burial Cave 24, a collapsed ceiling had protected a repository beneath the burial bench, holding bones, jewellery, pottery and two rolled silver strips. The strips took three years to unroll.
What it is
Two small rolled sheets of silver (about 97 by 27 mm and 39 by 11 mm), scratched with paleo-Hebrew letters and worn as amulets. Both carry a version of the Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:24–26 — 'YHVH bless you and keep you...' — along with lines about YHVH as the one who 'rebukes evil'.
Why it matters for the Bible
These are the oldest surviving words of Scripture, about 400 years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the oldest use of the divine name YHVH found in Jerusalem. They show the blessing was already a fixed, treasured text before the Babylonian exile, which bears on debates about when the Torah reached its present form. Early doubts about their date were largely answered by advanced imaging in 2004.
The Hebrew word: ye-vah-reh-che-CHAH a-doh-NAI ve-yish-me-REH-chah
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ is pronounced ye-vah-reh-che-CHAH a-doh-NAI ve-yish-me-REH-chah and means YHVH bless you and keep you (Strong's H1288 + H8104).
People this discovery connects to
- Aaron — אַהֲרֹן (ah-hah-ROHN) — uncertain; possibly 'exalted'
Places
- Valley of Hinnom — גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם (gay ven-hee-NOHM) — valley of the son of Hinnom
Events
Pre-exilic Judean burial customs · Use of the Priestly Blessing
Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls in Scripture
Exodus 4:14 First mention of Aaron in Scripture.
Numbers 6:24-26 The Priestly Blessing itself, written on both scrolls.
Deuteronomy 7:9 The phrase 'keeping covenant and lovingkindness' on Scroll 1 echoes this verse.
Questions people ask
What is Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls?
Two small rolled sheets of silver (about 97 by 27 mm and 39 by 11 mm), scratched with paleo-Hebrew letters and worn as amulets. Both carry a version of the Priestly Blessing of Numbers 6:24–26 — 'YHVH bless you and keep you...' — along with lines about YHVH as the one who 'rebukes evil'.
When was Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls discovered?
It was found in 1979 by Gabriel Barkay (Tel Aviv University); the sealed repository was opened by a 13-year-old volunteer, at Ketef Hinnom, southwest of the Old City, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Where is Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Which Bible verses does Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls relate to?
Exodus 4:14, Numbers 6:24-26, Deuteronomy 7:9.
Related discoveries
- יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִםThe Plagues and the Exodus: What Archaeology Has and Has Not FoundAn honest summary keyed to the eastern Delta evidence
- עֵגֶלThe 'Golden Calf Altar' Petroglyphs at Jabal al-LawzBoulder pile with cattle carvings, claimed as Aharon's calf altar
- רִמּוֹןShiloh Ceramic PomegranateA clay pomegranate from the sacred area of Iron Age Shiloh
- עֵגֶלHathor Temple, Serabit el-KhadimAn Egyptian mining temple in Sinai where Semitic workers served alongside Egyptians
- בָּרוּךְ ... לַיהוהKhirbet el-Qom Tomb Inscription'Uriyahu... blessed by YHVH... by his Asherah' — a Judahite tomb blessing with a carved hand
- אֲשֵׁרָהKuntillet Ajrud Inscriptions'YHVH of Samaria and his Asherah' — blessings painted on storage jars at a desert way-station
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Ketef Hinnom scrolls'
- Barkay et al., 'The Amulets from Ketef Hinnom: A New Edition and Evaluation', BASOR 334 (2004)