Scripture: 1 Kings 7:18–20; Exodus 28:33–34
Pomegranate designs decorate Solomon's Temple pillars and the priests' robes.
A thumb-sized ivory pomegranate bought by the Israel Museum in 1988 bears an inscription often read 'Belonging to the Temple of [Yahwe]h, holy to the priests'. It was hailed as the only known relic of Solomon's Temple. In 2004 an Israel Antiquities Authority committee concluded the pomegranate itself was ancient (Late ) but the inscription was a modern forgery. A few , including André Lemaire, still defend it.
