The Tel Dan Stele, found at Tel Dan in Israel, is a fragment (in three sections) of an Aramaic inscription on basalt, which appears to be from a stele erected for Ben-Hadad of the Aramean nation, an enemy of the kingdom of Israel. The inscription has been dated between the 7th and 9th centuries b.c.e.

Very little of the inscription remains, but the excitement it has generated by those interested in Biblical archaeology is concentrated on the letters 'ביתדוד' which many see as referring to the "House of David." If the reading is correct, it is the first time that the name "David" has been found in any archaeological site. Like the Mesha stele, the Tel Dan Stele seems typical of a memorial intended as a sort of military propaganda, which boasts of Hazael’s victories

Contents

1 The events as they appear in the Bible 2 Translation 3 Dispute over "House of David" 4 Further reading

The events as they appear in the Bible

The writings may coincide with certain events recorded in the Old Testament:

• 2nd Kings 8:7-15 tells how, before Hazael became king of Aram, his predecessor was ill and finally died in his bed:

"7. And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.

8.And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

9. So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

10. And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

11. And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.

12. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.

13. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

14. So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.

15. And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead."

• 2nd Kings 8:28 and 2nd Kings 9:15-16 record that, after being injured in fighting in Ramoth Gilead , Joram of Israel ‘was laid up’ in Jezreel :

28. And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

15. But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.

16. So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.

Translation

A line by line translation by André Lemair, is as follows:

1'. [.....................].......[...................................] and cut [.........................]

2'. [.........] my father went up [....................f]ighting at/against Ab[....]

3'. And my father lay down; he went to his [fathers]. And the king of I[s-]

4'. rael penetrated into my father’s land[. And] Hadad made me—myself—king.

5'. And Hadad went in front of me[, and] I departed from ...........[.................]

6'. of my kings. And I killed two [power]ful kin[gs], who harnessed two thou[sand cha-]

7'. riots and two thousand horsemen. [I killed Jo]ram son of [Ahab]

8'. king of Israel, and I killed [Achaz]yahu son of [Joram king]

9'. of the House of David. And I set [.......................................................]

10'. their land ...[.......................................................................................]

11'. other ...[......................................................................... and Jehu ru-]

12'. led over Is[rael...................................................................................]

13'. siege upon [............................................................]

Dispute over "House of David"

Due to the mention of both “Israel” and the “House of David ”, Apologetics frequently refer to the Tel Dan Stele as supporting evidence for the Bible. However, critics point out the word dividers were missing in both cases. In ancient Hebrew, to separate words, a word divider represented by a dot would be placed between the letters. For example, the phrase “House of David ” would be written as בית•דוד. However, in the Tel Dan Stele we find the phrase ביתדוד, which does not have a word divider.

Anson Rainey, defending the reading of "House of David ", writes that “a word divider between two components in such a construction is often omitted, especially if the combination is a well-established proper name."

Other renditions have been suggested, such as "House of Daud", "Daud" being a deity commonly worshiped during the time the inscription is dated to. Others believe that ביתדוד refers to an unknown geographic location.

Further reading

• Tools, Slippage, and the Tel Dan Inscription, Russell Gmirkin , Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament Volume 16, Number 2 / January 2002
• An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan, Aaron Biran and Joseph Naveh , Israel Exploration Journal 43 (1993), pg. 81-98
• The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment, Biran and Naveh, Israel Exploration Journal 45
• The 'House of David' and the House of the Deconstructionists, Schniedewind, Biblical Archaeological Review , 20/6, 1994, p. 47