Chazael and the Tel Dan Stele/0

Chazael and the Tel Dan Stele

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Overview

The Tel Dan Stele is most well known for its mention of the "House of David," considered by many to be the earliest extra-Biblical reference to the Davidic dynasty yet discovered.  The Aramaic inscription describes the triumph of Aram over Yisrael and Yehuda and is believed to speak of Chazael's war against Yehoram and Achazyahu, discussed briefly in Melakhim II 8.

Biblical Sources

Chazael is first mentioned in Melakhim I 19, where Hashem tells Eliyahu to anoint him as king over Aram, declaring that he will decimate Israel for their sins. The appointment is fulfilled in the time of Elisha, who reaffirms the prophecy, telling Chazael, "יָדַעְתִּי אֵת אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רָעָה מִבְצְרֵיהֶם תְּשַׁלַּח בָּאֵשׁ וּבַחֻרֵיהֶם בַּחֶרֶב תַּהֲרֹג וְעֹלְלֵיהֶם תְּרַטֵּשׁ וְהָרֹתֵיהֶם תְּבַקֵּעַ" (Melakhim II 8:12). Soon after, the words come true as Chazael usurps the throne of Aram and proceeds to attack Yisrael and Yehuda.¹

Chazael's first battle against the Israelites kingdoms is described almost tangentially in Melakhim II 8:26-29 and Melakhim II 9:15.  Achazyahu of Yehuda joins Yehoram of Yisrael to fight Aram in Ramot Gilad. Though not explicit, it is possible that the war was initiated by Yehoram who hoped to take advantage of the relatively unstable situation in Aram caused by Chazael's take-over so as to retrieve Ramot Gilad.² Tanakh shares no details of the battle, only relaying the outcome: Aram smites Yehoram, wounding Yehoram who is forced to return to Yizrael to recuperate. Soon after, Achazyahu pays his ally a visit, but unfortunately for him, it coincides with Yehu's revolt against Beit Achav.³ Yehu, thus, kills both Yehoram and Achazyahu.

Tel Dan Inscription

The Tel Dan Stele was discovered⁴ during excavations led by Avraham Biran in Tel Dan, in the northern region of Israel, in 1993-1994.⁵ It contains an inscription written in Aramaic which commemorates the victory of an Aramean king over his southern neighbors, the "king of Israel" and king of the "House of David."⁶ Due to the fragmentary nature of the stele and inscription, the name of the Aramean king is missing entirely and the names of the others are only partially legible.⁷  A. Biran and Y. Naveh⁸ have reconstructed the latter names as Yehoram and Achazyah, leading to the assumption that the Aramean king who commissioned the stele was Chazael. In the opening of the inscription (most of which is missing) the king alludes to a conflict that had existed between his father and Yisrael.  He then describes how after the god Hadad made him king, he slew thousands of their chariots and horsemen, turned towns into ruins, and killed both enemy kings.

Relationship to Tanakh

Due to the small amount of data preserved in the inscription, it does not add much to our understanding of Melakhim 8, though it does provides further attestation of the destruction wrought by Chazael. There is one point, however, about which Tanakh and the stele disagree.  Tanakh attributes the murder of Yehoram and Achazyahu to Yehu, while in the inscription, Chazael (the unnamed king) takes credit. How is the contradiction to be understood?

• Hyperbole – D. Bienenfeld⁹ suggests that it is possible that the king of the stele simply exaggerated his deeds, a phenomenon seen often in victory monuments.¹⁰  Though he only wounded Yehoram, the king boasts of killing him.  As the inscription alludes to a longer standing feud between Chazael's family and the House of Omri, he would have every reason to want to take credit for Yehoram's murder. Moreover, since Chazael had wounded Yehoram enough that the king was forced to retreat to Yizrael, he might even have somewhat legitimately viewed himself as the cause of the king's ultimate death.
• Mistaken reconstruction – D"M Levy¹¹ points out that, on the stele, the key words regarding the killing are only partially legible.  The verb is entirely missing with regards to Yehoram, and only the first part of the verb, וקתל, is found regarding Achazyahu.  This allows for other possible reconstructions such as "וקתל הדד לאחזיהו" (and Hadad killed Achazyahu), in which the death would not be attributed to the king and no longer contradicts the account in Sefer Melakhim.  In addition, earlier in the stele, when the king credits himself with killing others, the first person verb form "ואקתל" is used.  The absence of the "א" here might further suggest that he was not taking credit for the killing.

Significance: Beit David As mentioned, the major significance of the stele lies in its mention of Beit David.  This is assumed to be the first extra-Biblical reference to the House of David yet found.¹²

¹ He does so throughout his reign, attacking during the rule of the Israelite kings Yehoram, Yehu and Yehoachaz, and the corresponding Judean kings, Achazyahu and Yoash.

² See B. Mazar "מלחמות ישראל עם ארם" in היסטוריה צבאית של ארץ ישראל בימי המקרא, ed. Y. Liver (Jerusalem, 1964): 213.

³ See Melakhim II 9:14-28.

⁴ Like many discoveries, this one, too, was somewhat accidental. For a personal account of how Gila Cook, the surveyor at the excavations, found the inscription, see G. Cook, "How I Discovered the “House of David” Inscription".

⁵ The stele was found broken into three fragments. The largest, containing the words "בית דוד,"  was found in 1993 and the other two smaller pieces were discovered the following summer.  The fragments were found in a wall of Dan's city gate, suggesting that at some point the stele had been smashed and its stones re-used for building. [There is even evidence of a hammer blow on the edge of the bigger fragment.] Perhaps when Israel regained control of the area, they tore down the inscription speaking of their defeat.
There is some debate regarding how the the three pieces fit together, and thus how the stele's inscription should be reconstructed. The reconstruction discussed here is based on A. Biran and Y. Naveh, "תובת ארמית מתקופת בית ראשון בתל דן," Kadmoniyot 26:3-4 (1994):71-84 and "הכתובת מדן המצבות והחוצות, " Kadmoniyot 28:1 (1995): 39-45.  See, though, G. Galil, "A Re-arrangement of the Tel Dan Inscription and the Relations Between Aram and Israel," Palestine Exploration Quarterly 133 (2001): 16-21 who suggests a different arrangement of the various fragemnts, leading him to conclude that the stele was actually erected by Ben-Hadad the son of Chazael, and most of it speaks of the events of his reign.  He does posit, however, that the introduction to the inscription refers to the reign of Chazael and his battle against Yehoram and Achazyahu.

⁶ See discussion below.

⁷ Just the ending "רם" of the first name has been preserved, while only the theophoric ending "י-הו" has survived of the second name.

⁸ See their article, "הכתובת מדן המצבות והחוצות, " Kadmoniyot 28:1 (1995): 39-45.

⁹ D. Bienenfeld, "מי הרג את המלכים יהורם ואחזיה", Beit Mikra 48:4 (2003): 302-308.

¹⁰ See, for examples, Mesha's boast, "וישראל אבד אבד עלם" (israel has perished forever) in the Mesha Stele or the exaggerated numbers of Judean captives in Sancheriv's annals.

¹¹ See his article, "מי הרג את יהורם ואחזיהו?"

¹² See, though, A. Lemaire, "House of David” Restored in Moabite Inscription", Biblical Archaeology Review 20:3 (1994):30-37, who claims that line 31 of the Mesha Inscription also contains a reference to the House of David.  If his reconstruction is correct, then the Meshe Stele, rather than the Tel Dan inscription, contains the earliest reference.