Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa Inscription
Rock reliefs in Lebanon where the king boasts of cutting cedars — Habakkuk's 'violence of Lebanon'
Found 1883 — Henri Pognon, French vice-consul at Tripoli, who found the two reliefs in 1883 (announced to the Académie des Inscriptions the same year) and published them in 1887
Where Wadi Brisa, north Lebanon, near Hermel (Lebanon)
Dates from c. 590–570 BCE · Neo-Babylonian · Reign of Nebuchadnezzar
Now at In situ (badly weathered); casts and copies in Paris
Names a biblical person Nebuchadnezzar
How Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa Inscription was found
Two panels carved on opposite cliff faces of the Wadi esh-Sharbin (Brisa) in the mountains above Hermel, on the route Babylonian timber crews used.
What it is
Two rock panels, one in archaic and one in Neo-Babylonian script, each with a badly eroded relief of the king — one fighting a lion, the other before a cedar tree. The text describes Nebuchadnezzar clearing the road, felling 'mighty cedars, tall and strong', and floating them down to Babylon for Marduk's temple, and claims he made Lebanon's people 'lie down in green pastures' under his protection.
Why it matters for the Bible
Habakkuk 2:17 warns Babylon that 'the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you', and Isaiah 14:8 pictures the cedars rejoicing that 'no woodcutter comes against us' now the king of Babylon has fallen. This is that woodcutting, recorded on the spot by the woodcutter himself. Nebuchadnezzar's other Lebanon inscription at Nahr el-Kalb stands beside those of Ramesses II and Esarhaddon.
The Hebrew word: EH-rez
אֶרֶז
אֶרֶז is pronounced EH-rez and means cedar (Strong's H730).
People this discovery connects to
- Nebuchadnezzar — נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר (ne-voo-chad-neh-TSAR) — Nabu protect my heir
Places
- Lebanon — לְבָנוֹן (le-vah-NOHN) — white (snowy) mountain
Events
Babylonian exploitation of Lebanon's cedars
Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa Inscription in Scripture
2 Kings 24:1 First mention of Nebuchadnezzar in Scripture.
Isaiah 14:8 The cedars of Lebanon rejoice over the fallen king of Babylon: 'no woodcutter comes up against us'.
Habakkuk 2:17 The violence done to Lebanon will come back on Babylon — the inscription records that violence to the forests.
Questions people ask
What is Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa Inscription?
Two rock panels, one in archaic and one in Neo-Babylonian script, each with a badly eroded relief of the king — one fighting a lion, the other before a cedar tree. The text describes Nebuchadnezzar clearing the road, felling 'mighty cedars, tall and strong', and floating them down to Babylon for Marduk's temple, and claims he made Lebanon's people 'lie down in green pastures' under his protection.
When was Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa Inscription discovered?
It was found in 1883 by Henri Pognon, French vice-consul at Tripoli, who found the two reliefs in 1883 (announced to the Académie des Inscriptions the same year) and published them in 1887, at Wadi Brisa, north Lebanon, near Hermel.
Where is Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa Inscription today?
In situ (badly weathered); casts and copies in Paris.
Which Bible verses does Nebuchadnezzar's Wadi Brisa Inscription relate to?
2 Kings 24:1, Isaiah 14:8, Habakkuk 2:17.
Related discoveries
- 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
- שְׁמָמָהAshkelon's Destruction by Nebuchadnezzar (604 BCE)A Philistine city burned to the ground the winter Jeremiah's scroll was read
- רַב־סָרִיסNebo-Sarsekim TabletA Babylonian temple receipt naming an officer from Jeremiah 39:3
- מִגְדָּלThe Israelite TowerAvigad's 8th–7th century BCE gate tower with Babylonian arrowheads in the ash of 586 BCE
Sources
- Pognon, Les inscriptions babyloniennes du Wadi Brissa (1887)
- Da Riva, The Twin Inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar at Brisa (2012)
- Wikipedia, 'Henri Pognon'
- CRAI 27 (1883), 'Annonce de la découverte par M. Henri Pognon de deux nouvelles inscriptions de Nabuchodonosor'
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