Of particular relevance to those interested in history and its intersection with current world affairs is the question of prior Jewish habitation in the Holy Land before the creation of the current state of Israel in 1948. Fortunately, the science of archaeology can speak to this issue. Accordingly, this op-ed examines three relevant artifacts in museums around the world that testify about the matter of ancient Jewish habitation in the land of Israel.

The first artifact is known as the Merneptah Stele. This engraved slab of granite was found in 1896 in Western Thebes, Egypt. It contains one of, if not the, oldest references to ancient Israel from archaeology. It was carved in c. 1208 BCE in hieroglyphs and is currently located in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. The museum’s website indicates that the artifact portrays Pharaoh Merneptah’s victories over his enemies, and it further states: “Merneptah mentions various entities that he had subdued. In the middle of line 27 of this text appears the name ‘Israel’ inscribed in hieroglyphs.” The relevant part of the inscription states: “Israel is laid waste — its seed is no more.” As such, a people group known as “Israel” is mentioned as being subdued by the Egyptians in the area of the modern state of Israel over 3,000 years ago.

Moving next to approximately 700 BCE, we come to the Prism of Sennacherib, a pristine artifact located in the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures Museum at the University of Chicago. This six-sided prism was made in ancient Assyria in c. 689 BCE of baked clay. The museum’s website indicates that Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem and “imposed heavy tribute on Hezekiah, King of Judah.” Sennacherib’s inscription states: “As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke, I laid siege to his strong cities, walled forts, and countless small villages . . . Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage.” Thus, archaeological evidence indicates that there were Jews living in Jerusalem about 2,700 years ago.

Our third artifact is commonly known as the Hezekiah’s Tunnel inscription. This artifact is located in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul, Turkey. It also comes from roughly 700 BCE. This inscription was discovered in 1890 in the underground water channel believed to be built by King Hezekiah to supply water to Jerusalem in the event of a siege by Sennacherib. The text describes the culmination of the tunnel’s construction when the teams digging from either end met each other in a break-through. Yet, for our purposes, the key fact is that the inscription is written in the Hebrew language (Paleo script), a clear indication that Hebrew speakers were living in Jerusalem at the time of the creation of both the tunnel and its associated inscription.

In summary, the above artifacts indicate that a people group referred to as either “Israel” or “Jew(s)”, and who spoke the Hebrew language, were living in the Holy Land in antiquity. Therefore, though it is obvious that archaeology alone cannot settle the various ownership claims to the Holy Land — such an endeavor would take much additional research and analysis well beyond the scope of this short essay — nonetheless, the science of archaeology can provide an important piece in the overall puzzle, and this piece shows significant ancient Jewish habitation in the land now under dispute.

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