Black Obelisk

The Black Obelisk is a monument produced during the reign of Shalmaneser III, king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (reigned c. 859–824 BC). An obelisk is a four-sided stone pillar that tapers toward the top. This monument takes its name from the black limestone from which it is carved. It stands about two meters (roughly 6.5 feet) tall and is now housed in the British Museum in London. As the only known contemporary artifact believed to depict a king of Israel, it is frequently cited in discussions of biblical history.

Background

In the ninth century BC, Assyria expanded westward from northern Mesopotamia and demanded tribute from the smaller states of Syria and Palestine. Shalmaneser III conducted military campaigns almost every year of his reign. At the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, he faced a coalition that included Aram and Israel, among others. Another Assyrian inscription records that Ahab, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, took part in this battle. Later, Jehu overthrew the Omride dynasty in the northern kingdom and seized the throne (2 Kings 9–10).

Description and Discovery

The four sides of the monument bear twenty reliefs in all, arranged in five registers on each side. A relief is an image carved so that it stands out from the surrounding stone. Above and below the reliefs, a cuneiform inscription records thirty-one years of the king's campaigns. The obelisk is believed to have been erected late in Shalmaneser III's reign in the Assyrian city of Kalhu. Kalhu is the Calah of Genesis 10:11 and corresponds to modern Nimrud in Iraq.

The reliefs depict, in sequence, rulers or envoys from five regions presenting tribute. The second register shows "Jehu, son of Omri," prostrate before the Assyrian king, accompanied by a list of tribute that includes silver, gold, golden vessels, tin, and a staff for the king's hand. Scholars date this tribute to Shalmaneser III's eighteenth regnal year, that is, to the campaign of 841 BC. In that year Assyria attacked Hazael, king of Damascus. The phrase "son of Omri" does not denote lineage. It is understood as an Assyrian expression for the kingdom of the house of Omri, that is, the northern kingdom of Israel. Indeed, Jehu was the very ruler who brought the Omride dynasty to an end.

The British archaeologist Austen Henry Layard discovered the obelisk in 1846 while excavating Nimrud and had it transported to Britain.

Aftermath and Significance

The Bible contains no record of Jehu paying tribute to Assyria. However, 2 Kings 10:32–33 reports that in Jehu's time Hazael seized Israelite territory. On this basis, scholars suggest that Jehu may have paid tribute to secure Assyrian protection while under pressure from Aram.

Ahab's participation in the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC and Jehu's tribute in 841 BC have served as important reference points for calculating the chronology of the kings of Israel. Assyria continued to extend its power westward thereafter, a trend that culminated in the fall of Samaria around 722 BC and the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel.

Assessment

Evangelical scholars frequently present the Black Obelisk as archaeological evidence that biblical figures and chronology correspond to actual history. In Korean churches, too, it is treated as a representative artifact in lectures on biblical archaeology and in materials related to Holy Land pilgrimages.

Critical scholars also generally accept that Jehu was a historical king. They maintain, however, that because the inscription is propaganda intended to display the majesty of the Assyrian king, it does not confirm the details of the biblical account. Opinions are also divided over whether the prostrate figure is Jehu himself or an envoy he sent. A minority view reads the name in the inscription as referring to a king other than Jehu, but most scholars identify him as Jehu.