Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet
A Babylonian temple receipt naming an officer from Jeremiah 39:3
Found 1920 — Excavated at Sippar in the 1870s (Hormuzd Rassam's work for the British Museum); acquired by the museum in 1920; identified by Michael Jursa (University of Vienna) in July 2007
Where Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah), near Baghdad (Iraq)
Dates from 595 BCE (Nebuchadnezzar's 10th year) · Neo-Babylonian · Between the two Babylonian captures of Jerusalem
Now at British Museum, London (BM 114789)
Names a biblical person Nebo-Sarsekim, Nebuchadnezzar
How Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet was found
One of thousands of Sippar temple tablets in storage. Jursa, cataloguing them, noticed the name and title matched the Hebrew of Jeremiah 39:3.
What it is
A small clay tablet, about 5.5 cm wide, recording that 'Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch (rab sha-reshi)', gave 1.5 minas of gold to the temple of Esagila in Babylon in the tenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
Why it matters for the Bible
Jeremiah 39:3 lists the Babylonian officers who sat in Jerusalem's Middle Gate after the walls were breached, including 'Nebo-Sarsekim the Rab-saris'. The Hebrew garbles the Akkadian slightly, but the name and title match this tablet's donor, a high official eight years before the siege. It is rare to find such a minor biblical figure in a foreign archive, and it shows how precisely Jeremiah's account preserved court names.
The Hebrew word: rav-sah-REES
רַב־סָרִיס
רַב־סָרִיס is pronounced rav-sah-REES and means chief eunuch / chief officer (Akkadian rab sha-reshi) (Strong's H7249).
People this discovery connects to
- Nebo-Sarsekim — נְבוּ שַׂר־סְכִים (ne-VOO sar-se-CHEEM) — Akkadian Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, 'Nabu has established his king'
- Nebuchadnezzar — נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר (ne-voo-chad-neh-TSAR) — Nabu protect my heir
Places
- Babylon — בָּבֶל (bah-VEL) — gate of god (Akkadian); 'confusion' (Genesis 11:9)
Events
Fall of Jerusalem (586 BCE)
Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet in Scripture
Jeremiah 39:3 Names Nebo-Sarsekim the Rab-saris among the Babylonian officers in the Middle Gate — the man on this tablet.
Questions people ask
What is Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet?
A small clay tablet, about 5.5 cm wide, recording that 'Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch (rab sha-reshi)', gave 1.5 minas of gold to the temple of Esagila in Babylon in the tenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
When was Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet discovered?
It was found in 1920 by Excavated at Sippar in the 1870s (Hormuzd Rassam's work for the British Museum); acquired by the museum in 1920; identified by Michael Jursa (University of Vienna) in July 2007, at Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah), near Baghdad.
Where is Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet today?
British Museum, London (BM 114789).
Which Bible verses does Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet relate to?
Jeremiah 39:3.
Related discoveries
- אֲרֻחָהJehoiachin Ration TabletsBabylonian palace records of oil for 'Yaukin, king of the land of Judah' and his sons
- בֵּלEast India House Inscription of NebuchadnezzarThe king's own account of rebuilding Babylon's temples, palaces and walls
- גָּלוּתBabylonian Chronicle BM 21946 (the 'Jerusalem Chronicle')Nebuchadnezzar's own dated record: Carchemish 605 and the capture of Jerusalem, 2 Adar 597 BCE
- בָּבֶלIshtar Gate and Processional Way of BabylonNebuchadnezzar's glazed-brick gateway, the Babylon the exiles walked into
- מִגְדָּלThe Israelite TowerAvigad's 8th–7th century BCE gate tower with Babylonian arrowheads in the ash of 586 BCE
- שְׁמָמָהAshkelon's Destruction by Nebuchadnezzar (604 BCE)A Philistine city burned to the ground the winter Jeremiah's scroll was read
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet'
- Jursa, 'Nabu-sarrussu-ukin, rab sa-resi, und Nebusarsekim (Jer. 39:3)', NABU 2008/5