Lachish Letters
E813906
ancient Hebrew inscriptions
epigraphic corpus
inscribed ostraca collection
primary historical source
The Lachish Letters are a collection of inscribed pottery shards from the late Iron Age that provide firsthand accounts of Judah’s final days before the Babylonian conquest.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ancient Hebrew inscriptions
ⓘ
epigraphic corpus ⓘ inscribed ostraca collection ⓘ primary historical source ⓘ |
| approximateDate | early 6th century BCE ⓘ |
| archaeologicalExpedition | Lachish excavations 1930s NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedEvent | Babylonian siege of Lachish NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWithPerson |
Coniah son of Elnathan
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Hoshaiah NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contentType |
administrative letters
ⓘ
military correspondence ⓘ personal communications ⓘ |
| culture | Judahite ⓘ |
| currentLocation |
British Museum
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Israel Museum NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| date | late Iron Age ⓘ |
| discoveredBy | James Leslie Starkey NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| discoveryDate | 1935 ⓘ |
| foundAt | Lachish NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| foundIn |
Judah
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
modern Israel ⓘ |
| foundInStructure |
Lachish city gate area
ⓘ
Lachish guardroom NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| genre | letters ⓘ |
| historicalContext |
Babylonian conquest of Judah
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
final years of the Kingdom of Judah ⓘ |
| language | Hebrew ⓘ |
| material | pottery sherds ⓘ |
| medium | ink ⓘ |
| mentions |
Babylonian threat
ⓘ
Jerusalem NERFINISHED ⓘ military movements ⓘ prophetic figures ⓘ signal fires ⓘ |
| numberOfKnownOstraca | approximately 18 ⓘ |
| paleographicDating | shortly before 586 BCE ⓘ |
| period | First Temple period ⓘ |
| provenance | Judahite military outpost network ⓘ |
| region | Shephelah NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Book of Jeremiah
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
King Zedekiah of Judah NERFINISHED ⓘ Nebuchadnezzar II NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scriptDirection | right-to-left ⓘ |
| significance |
corroboration of biblical historical background
ⓘ
evidence for Judahite military organization ⓘ evidence for literacy in late monarchic Judah ⓘ insight into everyday language of Judah ⓘ |
| writingSystem | Paleo-Hebrew script ⓘ |
| writtenOn | ostraca ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.