Approximately 140 rock cut tombs dating to the Iron Age period have been located in the vicinity of Jerusalem area so far.  They would have belonged to the upper classes of Judean society; the poor were buried by simple inhumation (the body was buried in the ground) and were therefore lost to archaeology. Even the elite tombs were not very elaborate by ancient standards. They were simple rectangular chambers cut from the rock and furnished with one or more flat benches where the body was laid.  After the flesh was destroyed, the bones were collected together and placed in a special chamber—known as a bone repository—located under one of the shelves.  Tombs such as these could remain in use for centuries as the repository beneath the bench slowly filled with the bones of all who went before. Thus the the deceased was quite literally “gathered to his people.”

ARC/Ancient List

A number of bone repositories have been found in Judah but only one was found undisturbed.  It was discovered near Jerusalem on a hill overlooking the Valley Hinnom named Ketef Hinnom (“the shoulder of Hinnom”). Quarrying operations conducted in the area during Roman times resulted in the destruction of most of the tombs in the area but one particularly large bone repository was inadvertently buried under a layer of stone chips thereby preserving it.  There it remained undisturbed for several millennia until the Israeli archaeologist Gabi Barkay began to explore the area in the late 1960’s.  For those interested in Biblical history, the discovery of this bone repository beneath “Chamber 25” was more significant even than the tomb of King Tutankhamen, for although it did not contain rich grave goods, it preserved something even more precious.

The burial chamber associated with the bone repository was probably hewn in the 7th century BC and remained in use until the early Persian period.  Chamber 25 had seven stone benches for laying out the bodies of the deceased—considerably more than most—which typically only had three. The most important tombs only had one. A bone repository measuring 12 x 6 1/2 feet was cut from the rock beneath the largest bench. Its floor was covered with two feet of bones and debris which included many small objects.

• 300 pottery vessels
• 100 objects made of silver
• 150 beads made from semi precious stones
• 40 iron arrowheads

None of the items found in the repository called for special mention except for two tiny silver scrolls worn by the deceased around their neck.

I Shall Behold Your Face

It took a team of conservationists three years to unroll the scrolls. Even after they had suceeded, the scrolls proved extremely difficult to read, so small were they and so fine was the etching. Only through the use of special photography techniques were the scrolls finally made to reveal their secrets. Dating to the 7th century BC they scrolls were written using the Paleo-Hebrew script. They were probably written in the days of Josiah and Jeremiah when the First Temple was still standing. Remarkably, they were inscribed with passages from the Bible.

The larger of the two scrolls (Ketef Hinnom I) begins with a passage from Deuteronomy.

Both scrolls conclude with the priestly benediction found in Numbers 6:24-26.

The silver scrolls are the earliest copies of the Biblical text ever discovered. The next oldest—the Dead Sea Scrolls—date approximately 500 years later. Obviously only a very small portion of the Bible could be inscribed on the scrolls but what has been preserved matches the Masoretic text (an 11th century AD copy of the Hebrew Bible) word for word.

The kernel of both of both scroll texts is the familiar and oft-cited passage from the Bible known as the priestly benediction. Although most often read as a blessing for life, it applies equally in death. It expresses hope that those who have passed from this life this shall see the face of God and know his peace. This hope for life after death is also expressed in many of the Psalms (Psalm 23:6, 17:13-15, 73:23-28, Job 19:23-27).

The scrolls use names and epithets familiar from the Bible, such as Restorer (Ps. 80:3), Rock (Hab. 1:12), and the Helper (Ps. 54:4). The phrase “redemption is found in the LORD” is also clearly derived from the Biblical text (Ps. 25:22).

Amulet(?)

Should the silver scrolls be designated as amulets? Although this label is often applied to them¹Smoak 2010, I don’t think they should be. The scrolls read more like confessions than mantras. They express faith in God, like a cross worn around the neck, rather than functioning as a magical object capable of protecting its bearer by some innate power.

A useful comparison comes from Phoenician burials of the same period. The deceased were also buried with scrolls made of gold leaf or papyrus. But rather than a prayer or blessing, they were inscribed with a Phoenician adaption of the Egyptian Book of the Dead designed to secure passage for the deceased from this life to the next. In this case, the contrast between the Judaean and Phoenician scrolls could not be more pronounced.

Many other types of amulets and figurines are found in Phoenician tombs but are almost completely absent from Judean tombs. This accords with the general Biblical prohibition against divination and also with the total absence of “spells and conjurations” in the ritual law code of the Old Testament. Yezekel Kaufmann observed that incantations are “founded on the idea that evil is an autonomous power.”²Kaufmann 1960, 107 Thus there was always the possibility that evil could be averted through magic. But in the soil of monotheism “incantation becomes prayer.”³Kaufmann 1960, 109

The silver scrolls may appear as magic amulets such as were found in Phoenician tombs, their content is wholly different. If the bearer thought the scroll would protect them, it was indirectly, by way of an appeal to the LORD. The scrolls cannot therefore properly be referred to as amulets.