Pages

Friday, July 23, 2021

Nabonidus inscription found in Saudi Arabia

AKKADIAN CUNEIFORM: Cuneiform inscription from last king of Babylon discovered in Saudi Arabia. It's the longest such inscription in Saudi Arabia (Owen Jarus, Live Science).

We know that Nabonidus spent ten years in Teima (Tayma) in North Arabia during his reign, so it isn't a big surprise that he left an inscription in Saudi Arabia. That said, al-Hait looks to be about 275 kilometers southeast of Tayma. I am surprised that the inscription is so far away from it.

Nabonidus does not appear in the Bible, although the story of Nebuchadnezzar's madness in Daniel 4 may be a confused legend about him. The legend appear in a form closer to historical events in the Aramaic Prayer of Nabonidus found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. For more on all of that, see here and links, here, and here.

Visit PaleoJudaica daily for the latest news on ancient Judaism and the biblical world.