Tel lachish is adjacent to moshav lachish, 9km southeast of the city of kiryat gath. The lachish letters were written on potsherds pottery fragments just before the babylonians came and destroyed jerusalem around 600 b. They were discovered at lachish tell edduweir among the ruins of an ancient guard room just outside the lachish city gate. The lachish lettersreider the letters are presented in photograph, transcription, transliteration, and english translation, followed by a philological commentary and general remarks about their contents. Pdf social and historical aspects of the lachish letters john w. Lachish synonyms, lachish pronunciation, lachish translation, english dictionary definition of lachish. New gate discovered at tel lachish biblical archaeology. This amazing discovery in januaryfebruary, 1935, by james leslie starkey, written in carbon ink in ancient hebrew on clay ostraca, reveals the divine name of yahweh lord and was written when the babylonian army went forward to jerusalem in the time of zedekiah, the biblical character, the last king of judah before the. One prime example is the famous collection of lachish letters found in the southwestern gate of tel lachish back in the 1930s. An ancient city of southern palestine southwest of jerusalem.
For more information about this chart, please see this post. The lachish relief depicts the assyrian army laying siege in 701 bc to the town of lachish, about 40 kilometres from jerusalem. Hugh nibley, the book of mormon, and the lachish letters. Macmillan and the encyclopedia judaica publishing, jerusalem, 1972. Destruction, excavation and restoration in english pdf of the complete book. The museum of the world an interactive experience through time, continents and cultures, featuring some of the most fascinating objects in human history. In 1938 olga tufnell found 3 more to make a total of 21 ostraca. Lachish article about lachish by the free dictionary. The famous lachish letters, discovered in 1937, contain correspondence between the commanders of azekah and lachish during the last days before the babylonian captivity. In 1935, a collection of letters written on pottery was unearthed in the biblical city of lachish. One of the tablets, of which a translation is given below p.
The letters also mention the names of biblical figures, possibly even the prophet jeremiah. Why were leaving qeiyafa and going to lachish, garfinkel, hasel and klingbeil. The discovery of the lachish letters in 1935 of eighteen ostraca clay tablets with writing in ink written in an ancient hebrew script, from the 7th century bc reveal important information concerning the last days of the southern kingdom of judah. It was taken and destroyed by the israelites joshua 10. Remains of lachish palace complex from the sixchambered gate 19474011088. Lachish is frequently mentioned in the bible joshua 10. The lachish letters ora oxford university university of oxford.
A watchman would look for the signal fires of azekah each day and then write a report for the king of lachish, saying something like, i can still see the fires of azekah. Starkeys excavations of the moat on the west side of the tell revealed a rich collection of finds in the late bronze age fosse temples. The lachish letters or lachish ostrak reveals the name of god. Lachish was the second most important city in ancient judah after jerusalem. In an article published in 1982 hugh nibley proposes to demonstrate that the lachish letters are the star witness for the correctness of the book of mormon, the opening scenes of which take place in exactly the same setting and time as the letters. It afterwards became, under rehoboam, one of the strongest fortresses of judah 2 chronicles 10. In the book of matthew, the savior explains to his apostles that the time was soon at hand when they would see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by daniel the prophet matthew 24. Soldiers storm the town walls while prisoners are marched out of the. Evidence confirms the book of jeremiah bible history. History from both the victors and defeated the siege of lachish was an event that happened in 701 bc.
The letters are of great linguistic and historic value. Letters, some passages of the book of jeremiah, and ezekiel chapter 17. Read polite language in the lachish letters, vetus testamentum on deepdyve, the largest online rental service for scholarly research with thousands of academic publications available at. They were found in what was left of a small room under the eastern outer gate at lachish. Three fragments of pottery have been found, which are inscribed in the phenician hebrew script used in the famous lachish letters, as well as scribings on the.
The lachish letters and the use of iron inks in antiquity. Polite language in the lachish letters, vetus testamentum. During this incident, the israelite settlement of lachish was besieged and conquered by the assyrians. Social and historical aspects of the lachish letters1 john w. A map of the biblical kingdom of judah and the location of sites. They inherited it from the british who purchased the site for excavation. Ganor and others published going to the bathroom at. Also at lachish was found a seal with the inscription of gedaliah who is over the house. The lachish letters are the first personal documents found, reflecting the mind, the struggles, sorrows and feelings of ancient judah in the last days of the kingdom torczyner et al. Unearthed in the twentieth century, the letters form one.
Tel lachish, the mound of the ancient city of lachish, is located in the lowlands of the judean hills, some 40 km. Traces of these activities may be unearthed through excavation and illuminate much about ancient cultures. More than a century later, during the ministry of jeremiah, nebuchadnezzar of babylon invaded judah and laid siege to its most important citesincluding again, lachish. Jeremiah records that near the end of the invasion, only. The abundance of water sources and the fertile valleys of the area favored the existence of a prosperous city over a considerable period of time. The lachish letters or lachish ostraca, sometimes called hoshaiah letters, are a series of. They were found among ash and charcoal, interpreted as the final babylonian destruction in the year 587 bce.
Tel lachish testimony to approaching disaster the lachish letters historical. The lachish letters are in room 57 of the british museum case 10. Lachish invincible, a city lying south of jerusalem, on the borders of simeon, and belonging to the amorites, the king of which joined with four others, at the invitation of adonizedek king of jerusalem, to chastise the gibeonites for their league with israel. Lachish letters have more or less been regarded as a homogenous group of. The town is mentioned over twenty times in the ot, a number of times in the tellelamarna q. Plan of tel lachish showing the excavation areas mentioned in the text and the three canaanite temples uncovered at the site. The city is mentioned in some of the amarna letters, but these did not aid in its precise identification. The texts were published by harry torczyner of the hebrew university in the lachish letters lachish i, london, 1938, and teudot lakhish jerusalem, 1940. Ancient hebraic texts, the lachish letters were the first ever records that described the culture of the ancient kingdom of judah. The lachish letters oxford university research archive. Yadin presents new interpretation of the famous lachish letters. It is not found in the bible but is in the lachish letters p. It was evidently one of the important canaanite cities of the time. In preparation for tomorrows sunday school lesson, here is a printable version of the creation chart.
Full text of selections from the tell elamarna letters. Bible history online lachish letters biblical archaeology. For the first time ever, discover objects from the british museums collection from prehistory to. Tel lachis, is the site of an ancient near east city, now an archaeological site and an israeli national park.
The lachish ostraca, or the lachish letters as they were called by professor n. The lachish letters also show that jaush josh was an authentic hebrew mans name from lehis time. The most important lesson from 83,000 brain scans daniel amen tedxorangecoast duration. Lachish the amarna letters lachish, located at the site of tell edduweir between the coastal plain and the highlands of judah, was a canaanite and then an israelite city spanning over 1,000 years. They were a series of correspondence written in an ancient form of hebrew from the time of jeremiah describing how. Anciently this site occupied a strategic position on the. The mound of the city was first excavated during the 1930s. Lachish definition of lachish by the free dictionary.
The earliest reference to lachish is in the amarna letters about 1400 b. It is located in the foothill region of judea the shephelah, hidden between low hills near the valley of nahal lachish wadi ghufr. From the next siege, this time by the babylonians in 587 bce, eighteen hebrew ostraca pottery shards were recovered. Lachish was a canaanite city taken by joshua joshua 10. Biblical ostraca lachish letters pixelmasterdesign. Mention is made therein of zimrida, governor of lachish, who in one of the tell elamarna letters professes loyalty to the egyptian king, and is also referred to in one. His thesis is that various parallels between the letters and the book of mormon are as alike as two different postcards of the eiffel tower. Adamondiahman, far west, and liberty jail lachish letters amarna letters wikipedia 16 excavation sites in israel you need to know logostalk the lachish letters.
Lachish is the only tell in the country that is owned by the israel antiquities authority. Genesis moses abraham again, this chart is freely distributable under. The mound is surrounded by deep valleys, providing a natural defense. There is a large scattered bibliography, for which see torczyners second publication, pp. It was assaulted and probably taken by sennacherib 2 kings 18. Three fragments of pottery have been found, which are inscribed in the phenicianhebrew script used in the famous lachish letters, as well as scribings on the. Lachish is located in the shephelah region of israel between mount hebron and the mediterranean coast. These letters confirm events that occurred during king zedekiahs reign. Eighteen potsherds were found in the ruins of a gate room in the. Real discoveries blogger the lachish letters or lachish. The letters were discovered at the excavations at lachish tell edduweir the ostraca were discovered by james leslie starkey in januaryfebruary, 1935 during the third campaign of the wellcome excavations. The hebrew army under joshuas command defeated the king of lachish, killed him and conquered his city joshua 10. It is first mentioned in the amarna letters as lakishalakisa ea 287, 288, 328, 329, 335.
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