The Bible in the British Museum
A monument found at Kurkh Turkey which includes the first six years of the annuls of Shalmaneser III king of Assyria. In his sixth year he is involved in a battle with an alliance of nations that includes Ahab king of Israel.
The Ivory inlays found at Lachish in Judah and at Nimrud in Assyria.
The Black Obelisk, famous for a relief of the likeness of the Israelite King Jehu.
A
translation of the Obelisk inscription is available here.
Details the first eight campaigns of Sennacherib king of Assyria. From a Bible perspective
it makes reference to Hezekiah King of Judah and powerfully confirms the accuracy
of the Bible record.
Also available is a translation of the prism here.
An object on display at the British Museum that confirms the methods of the Babylonians to divine the correct way to go in their campaigns against the countries of the west. Also it give an insight into how God used the superstitions of these great kings to control their actions.
The Lachish Letters were discovered in 1935 by the archaeologist J L Starkey whilst excavating Tell ed-Duweir, which is the ancient city of Lachish. In total 18 fragments were found, of which 8 are on display at the British Museum. The letters are tantalising, in that some parts of the text refer to but do not name “the prophet” which begs the question, is this Jeremiah.
The Babylonian Chronicle and the Fall of Jerusalem.
A Clay Tablet, which is a small section of the Babylonian Chronicle. I details the first eleven years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. In particular it gives an account of Nebuchadnezzar’s seventh year and his campaign against Judah and Jerusalem. This is the year when Jehoiachin is taken captive and Nebuchadnezzar appoints Zedekiah as vassel king to rule the kingdom.
The British Museum houses a good number of objects which confirm many of the events and the existence of many people described in the Bible. The gallery here shows some of those objects with a brief explanation of how they relate to the biblical events. Below the galley are links to further pages which over much more detail into the background of a selection of these objects.
Please note: These photographs were taken with the kind permission of the British
Museum who allow photography for private use.
All the photographs on these pages are
subject to copyright, however permission is given to use them for private, educational
or academic use within the terms specified by the British Museum. They must not be
used for any commercial use whatsoever.
If you make use of any of these pictures then
a reference to or acknowledgement of this site (www.biblelearning.co.uk) would be
appreciated.