Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?)
'This is the tomb of ...yahu who is over the house' — a Jerusalem tomb Isaiah may have condemned
Found 1870 — Charles Clermont-Ganneau, who found it over the door of a house in Silwan and had the lintel cut out for the British Museum; the text was first read by Nahman Avigad in 1953
Where Silwan necropolis, Jerusalem (Israel)
Dates from c. 700 BCE · Iron Age IIB · Divided Kingdom / Hezekiah's early reign (Isaiah)
Now at British Museum, London (lintel); tomb in situ in Silwan
Names a biblical person Shebna (name mostly broken ([...]yahu); Shebna identification conjectural)
How Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?) was found
The inscribed lintel stood above the entrance to a rock-cut tomb in the village of Silwan, across the Kidron from the City of David; the letters were so battered that no one could read them until Avigad's study.
What it is
A limestone lintel about 1.3 m long with three lines of Paleo-Hebrew: 'This is [the tomb of ...]yahu who is over the house. There is no silver or gold here, only [his bones] and the bones of his maidservant with him. Cursed be the man who opens this.' The owner's name is broken; only its ending '-yahu' survives.
Why it matters for the Bible
'Who is over the house' was the title of the royal steward, the highest official in Judah. Isaiah 22 rebukes Shebna, 'who is over the house', for hewing himself a grand tomb 'on the height'. The tomb sits high on the Silwan cliff facing the palace, dates to Isaiah's time, and its owner's name could be Shebanyahu, the long form of Shebna. The match is attractive but unprovable because the name is lost.
The Hebrew word: a-SHER al-ha-BAH-yit
אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַבַּיִת
אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַבַּיִת is pronounced a-SHER al-ha-BAH-yit and means 'who is over the house' — the royal steward (Strong's H834 + H1004).
People this discovery connects to
- Shebna — שֶׁבְנָא (Shev-NAH) — (uncertain; perhaps 'YHVH has returned')
- Isaiah — יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (Ye-sha-YAH-hoo) — YHVH is salvation
Places
- Jerusalem — יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Ye-roo-shah-LAH-yim) — foundation of peace
Events
Isaiah's oracle against Shebna the steward
Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?) in Scripture
2 Kings 18:18 Eliakim 'over the household' and Shebna the scribe meet the Assyrians; the office named on the tomb. (First mention of Shebna.)
Isaiah 22:15-16 Isaiah condemns Shebna 'who is over the house' for cutting a lofty tomb — this lintel bears that very title.
Isaiah 22:19-21 Shebna demoted and replaced by Eliakim as steward.
Questions people ask
What is Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?)?
A limestone lintel about 1.3 m long with three lines of Paleo-Hebrew: 'This is [the tomb of ...]yahu who is over the house. There is no silver or gold here, only [his bones] and the bones of his maidservant with him. Cursed be the man who opens this.' The owner's name is broken; only its ending '-yahu' survives.
When was Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?) discovered?
It was found in 1870 by Charles Clermont-Ganneau, who found it over the door of a house in Silwan and had the lintel cut out for the British Museum; the text was first read by Nahman Avigad in 1953, at Silwan necropolis, Jerusalem.
Where is Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?) today?
British Museum, London (lintel); tomb in situ in Silwan.
Which Bible verses does Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?) relate to?
2 Kings 18:18, Isaiah 22:15-16, Isaiah 22:19-21.
Is Royal Steward Inscription (Shebna's Tomb?) authentic?
The inscription is genuine and securely dated; the link to Shebna rests on the title, location and date, since the name is broken away.
Related discoveries
- קֶבֶרSilwan Necropolis and the Tomb of the Royal StewardRock-cut tombs of Jerusalem's elite, including the tomb Isaiah condemned Shebna for carving
- יְשׁוּעָהGreat Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa)The only complete biblical book among the Dead Sea Scrolls, copied around 125 BCE
- נָבִיאThe 'Isaiah' BullaSeal impression reading 'Yesha'yah[u] nvy[?]' — the prophet, or a man named Navi?
- חֶרֶבThe Murder of Sennacherib in Assyrian and Babylonian RecordsEsarhaddon's account of his father's assassination by his brothers — Isaiah 37:38 from the Assyrian side
- מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָהBulla of Ahaz, King of Judah'Belonging to Ahaz (son of) Jehotham, king of Judah' — a royal seal impression with no findspot
- עַצְמוֹתJoseph's Tomb at Shechem (Nablus)The domed shrine where tradition says Yosef's bones were buried; never excavated
Sources
- Avigad, 'The Epitaph of a Royal Steward from Siloam Village', IEJ 3 (1953)
- Wikipedia: Shebna inscription
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