Was the Bible Right?
c. 841 BCE·Divided Kingdom·Artifact

The Black Obelisk: Jehu Bows to Assyria

Scripture: 2 Kings 9–10

Relief panel of the Black Obelisk showing a kneeling figure, Jehu or his envoy, before Shalmaneser III
Relief panel of the Black Obelisk showing a kneeling figure, Jehu or his envoy, before Shalmaneser III · Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source

The claim

Jehu seizes the throne of Israel in a bloody coup and wipes out the house of Ahab.

What archaeology found

Austen Henry Layard found this black limestone obelisk at Nimrud in 1846. A relief panel shows a kneeling figure labeled as the tribute of 'Jehu son of Omri' before Shalmaneser III, the only known contemporary picture of an Israelite or Judean king. It is in the British Museum.

Sources

  1. Kenneth A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, Eerdmans (2003)

Verdict history

  • ConfirmedInitial verdict.