Written in the ninth century BCE by an Aramaic king who boasted of defeating the kings of Israel and Judah, the text on this fragmentary basalt stone slab references the “House of David.” This unprecedented discovery is on loan from the Israel Antiquities Authority, courtesy of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. This is only the second time the stele has been on view in New York City.

The stele is composed of three fragments discovered in Tel Dan, in northern Israel. The first was found embedded in an ancient stone wall in 1993 while the other two fragments were unearthed in 1994 during further excavations at the same site. The Tel Dan Stele was once part of a monumental Aramaic inscription on basalt commemorating the military victories won by King Hazael of Aram (a region in present-day Syria) between c. 842 and 806 BCE. By this period the United Monarchy of Saul, David, and Solomon had split into two kingdoms: Israel in the north and Judah in the south, the latter also known as the House of David. Although Hazael’s name is not mentioned in the inscription, scholars believe him to be its author. In the inscription, the Aramaic king boasts that he defeated King Jehoram of Israel and King Ahaziahu of Judah. The inscription is engraved with a reference to a “king of the House of David,” a direct reference to ancient Israel’s greatest monarch and his royal dynasty, and a match with the Bible’s record.

Also on view with the stele will be a group of five late 8th-century BCE handles stamped with royal seals, once part of large clay storage jars, from the Jewish Museum’s archaeology collection. The seals on these fragments are inscribed ”[Belonging] to the king” in ancient Hebrew, attesting to the existence of kingship in ancient Israel. The jars were likely part of a royal provisioning system. Three of the jar handles cite the city of Hebron in their royal seal impressions, and two mention the city of Socoh in the ancient kingdom of Judah.

The Tel Dan Stele is presented within Engaging with History: Works from the Collection, a selection of rarely exhibited objects from the Museum’s holdings of over 30,000 works including new acquisitions from Carrie Mae Weens, William Kentridge, and others on view for the first time in dialogue with Museum treasures reflecting millenia of global Jewish culture.

The presentation of the Tel Dan Stele was initiated by James S. Snyder, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director, and coordinated by Claudia Nahson, Morris & Eva Feld Senior Curator, with Kristina Parsons, Leon Levy Assistant Curator, in consultation with Darsie Alexander, Senior Deputy Director & Susan & Elihu Rose Chief Curator, The Jewish Museum.

This installation is made possible with funding from the Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, in association with the Jerusalem-based Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology, The Israel Museum, and the Israel Antiquities Authority.