Elephantine papyri
In the Berlin Museum is a collection of papyri found by Dr. O. Rubensohn, director of the
German Society's excavations at Elephantine in the winter of 1907.
Three of these papyri have been copied and translated by Professor
Sachau of Berlin. They are the copy of a letter sent by the Jews of
Elephantine to Bagoas, the governor of Judah; together with a dupli-
cate of it and a memorandum of the reply received. The original
letter reads as follows:
To our Master Bagoas, Governor of Judah: Thy servants Jedoniah and
his companions, priests in the fortress Yeb. May our Lord the God of Heaven
greatly increase prosperity for thee at all times and grant thee grace in the sight
of King Darius and the members of his household, a thousand fold more than thou
hast now; and may he grant thee long life. Mayst thou be happy and enjoy
good health continually.
Now thy servants, Jedoniah and his companions, speak as follows: in the
month Tammuz in the fourteenth year of King Darius, when Arsam had departed
and gone to the King, the priests of the god Chnub, who were in the fortress Yeb,
conspired with Widrang who was Governor (?) and said, "the temple of the God
Yahu which is in Yeb the fortress, let it be removed thence." Thereupon this
Widrang, the Commandant (?), sent a letter to his son Nephayan who was captain
of the garrison in Assuan the fortress, saying, "the temple which is in the fortress
Yeb is to be destroyed." Thereupon Nephayan led forth Eygptians together
with other troops. They came to the fortress Yeb with their pick-axes (?).
They went up into this temple. They razed it to the ground and the pillars of
stone which were there they broke in pieces; moreover, the seven stone gates, built
of hewn stone, which were in that temple, they destroyer, the seven stone gates, built
of hewn stone, which were in that temple, they destroyed and turned them upside
down (?).
The hinges of the bronze doors and the roof which was all of cedar, together
with the plaster of the wall and other articles which were there, all of them they
burned with fire. And the sacrificial bowls of gold and silver, and whatever else
was in this temple, all of it they took and used for themselves. Now from the
day of the King(s) of Egypt our fathers had built this temple in the fortress Yeb.
And when Cambyses came to Egypt he found this temple built; and although the
temples of the gods of Egypt were all destroyed, no one harmed anything in this
temple. And ever since they did this, we with our wives and children have
clothed ourselves in sack cloth and have been fasting and praying to Yahu the
Lord of the Heavens, who has given us vengeance upon this Widrang, the Com-
mandant (?). The anklet of office was removed from his feet and all the goods
which he had acquired perished; and all who wished evil against this temple
have been slain and we have seen our desire upon them.
Even before this, at the time when this harm was done to us, we sent a letter
to our master and to Johanan, the High Priest and his companions the priests in
Jerusalem, and to Ostan the brother of Anani. But the nobles of the Jews sent
us no reply.
Moreover, from the Tammuz day of the fourteenth year of Darius the King
even up to this very day, we have clothed ourselves in sack cloth and fasted. Our
wives are become like widows. We have not anointed ourselves with oil, nor
drunk wine. Moreover, from that time even unto this day of the seventeenth
year of Darius the King, meal-offerings, incense-offerings and burnt-offerings
have not been presented in the temple.
Now thy servant Jedoniah and his companions and the Jews, all the citizens
of Yeb, say as follows: If it seem good to our master, let him bethink himself
upon this temple that it may be built; for we are not permitted to build it. Look
upon the recipients of thy goodness and of thy favor who are here in Eygpt.
Let a letter be sent from thee to them concerning the temple of the God Yahu,
that it may be built in Yeb the fortress just as it was built in former times. And
they will offer meal-offerings and incense-offerings and burnt-offerings upon the
altar of the God Yahu in thy name, and we will pray for thee continually; we and
our wives and our children and all the Jews that are here. If thou doest thus,
so that this temple may be rebuilt, then there shall be righteousness to thee in the
sight of Yahu, God of the Heavens, more than that of the man who offers to him
burnt-offerings and sacrifices to the value of a thousand talents of silver. Con-
cerning the gold, concerning this we have sent, we have given directions. More-
over, we have sent all about the matters in a letter in our name to Delaiah and
Shelemaiah, the sons of Sanaballat, the Governor of Samaria. Moreover, Arsam
knew nothing of all this that has been done to us. On the twentieth day of Mar-
cheswan, in the seventeenth year of Darius the King.
A favorable reply to this letter was evidently received as appears
from the acompanying memorandum of its contents:
Memorandum of what Bagoas and Delaiah said to me. Memorandum as
follows: Thou shalt say, in Egypt before Arsam concerning the house of the altar
of the God of Heavens which was built in Yeb the fortress before our time, prior
to the time of Cambyses, which Widrang this Commandant (?) destroyed in the
fourteenth year of Darius the King, that it is to be rebuilt in its place just as it was
before our time, and meal-offerings and incense-offerings shall be offered upon
this altar as used to be done formerly.
The two series of papyri constitute contemporary sources of in-
formation for the reigns of Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II
(Nothus). They extend from the fourteenth year of Xerxes, 471-470
B. C., to the seventeenth year of Darius, 408 B. c. The commercial
documents come down as far as 411 B. C, within three years of the
date of the letter regarding the temple. The chronological data they
furnish concerning the reigns of the Persian kings harmonize perfectly
with the chronology previously ascertained. Furthermore, it seems
safe to say that on the whole the papyri tend to establish the essential
correctness of the book of Nehemiah as over against Josephus, with
reference to the period to which Sanballat belonged.
German Society's excavations at Elephantine in the winter of 1907.
Three of these papyri have been copied and translated by Professor
Sachau of Berlin. They are the copy of a letter sent by the Jews of
Elephantine to Bagoas, the governor of Judah; together with a dupli-
cate of it and a memorandum of the reply received. The original
letter reads as follows:
To our Master Bagoas, Governor of Judah: Thy servants Jedoniah and
his companions, priests in the fortress Yeb. May our Lord the God of Heaven
greatly increase prosperity for thee at all times and grant thee grace in the sight
of King Darius and the members of his household, a thousand fold more than thou
hast now; and may he grant thee long life. Mayst thou be happy and enjoy
good health continually.
Now thy servants, Jedoniah and his companions, speak as follows: in the
month Tammuz in the fourteenth year of King Darius, when Arsam had departed
and gone to the King, the priests of the god Chnub, who were in the fortress Yeb,
conspired with Widrang who was Governor (?) and said, "the temple of the God
Yahu which is in Yeb the fortress, let it be removed thence." Thereupon this
Widrang, the Commandant (?), sent a letter to his son Nephayan who was captain
of the garrison in Assuan the fortress, saying, "the temple which is in the fortress
Yeb is to be destroyed." Thereupon Nephayan led forth Eygptians together
with other troops. They came to the fortress Yeb with their pick-axes (?).
They went up into this temple. They razed it to the ground and the pillars of
stone which were there they broke in pieces; moreover, the seven stone gates, built
of hewn stone, which were in that temple, they destroyer, the seven stone gates, built
of hewn stone, which were in that temple, they destroyed and turned them upside
down (?).
The hinges of the bronze doors and the roof which was all of cedar, together
with the plaster of the wall and other articles which were there, all of them they
burned with fire. And the sacrificial bowls of gold and silver, and whatever else
was in this temple, all of it they took and used for themselves. Now from the
day of the King(s) of Egypt our fathers had built this temple in the fortress Yeb.
And when Cambyses came to Egypt he found this temple built; and although the
temples of the gods of Egypt were all destroyed, no one harmed anything in this
temple. And ever since they did this, we with our wives and children have
clothed ourselves in sack cloth and have been fasting and praying to Yahu the
Lord of the Heavens, who has given us vengeance upon this Widrang, the Com-
mandant (?). The anklet of office was removed from his feet and all the goods
which he had acquired perished; and all who wished evil against this temple
have been slain and we have seen our desire upon them.
Even before this, at the time when this harm was done to us, we sent a letter
to our master and to Johanan, the High Priest and his companions the priests in
Jerusalem, and to Ostan the brother of Anani. But the nobles of the Jews sent
us no reply.
Moreover, from the Tammuz day of the fourteenth year of Darius the King
even up to this very day, we have clothed ourselves in sack cloth and fasted. Our
wives are become like widows. We have not anointed ourselves with oil, nor
drunk wine. Moreover, from that time even unto this day of the seventeenth
year of Darius the King, meal-offerings, incense-offerings and burnt-offerings
have not been presented in the temple.
Now thy servant Jedoniah and his companions and the Jews, all the citizens
of Yeb, say as follows: If it seem good to our master, let him bethink himself
upon this temple that it may be built; for we are not permitted to build it. Look
upon the recipients of thy goodness and of thy favor who are here in Eygpt.
Let a letter be sent from thee to them concerning the temple of the God Yahu,
that it may be built in Yeb the fortress just as it was built in former times. And
they will offer meal-offerings and incense-offerings and burnt-offerings upon the
altar of the God Yahu in thy name, and we will pray for thee continually; we and
our wives and our children and all the Jews that are here. If thou doest thus,
so that this temple may be rebuilt, then there shall be righteousness to thee in the
sight of Yahu, God of the Heavens, more than that of the man who offers to him
burnt-offerings and sacrifices to the value of a thousand talents of silver. Con-
cerning the gold, concerning this we have sent, we have given directions. More-
over, we have sent all about the matters in a letter in our name to Delaiah and
Shelemaiah, the sons of Sanaballat, the Governor of Samaria. Moreover, Arsam
knew nothing of all this that has been done to us. On the twentieth day of Mar-
cheswan, in the seventeenth year of Darius the King.
A favorable reply to this letter was evidently received as appears
from the acompanying memorandum of its contents:
Memorandum of what Bagoas and Delaiah said to me. Memorandum as
follows: Thou shalt say, in Egypt before Arsam concerning the house of the altar
of the God of Heavens which was built in Yeb the fortress before our time, prior
to the time of Cambyses, which Widrang this Commandant (?) destroyed in the
fourteenth year of Darius the King, that it is to be rebuilt in its place just as it was
before our time, and meal-offerings and incense-offerings shall be offered upon
this altar as used to be done formerly.
The two series of papyri constitute contemporary sources of in-
formation for the reigns of Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II
(Nothus). They extend from the fourteenth year of Xerxes, 471-470
B. C., to the seventeenth year of Darius, 408 B. c. The commercial
documents come down as far as 411 B. C, within three years of the
date of the letter regarding the temple. The chronological data they
furnish concerning the reigns of the Persian kings harmonize perfectly
with the chronology previously ascertained. Furthermore, it seems
safe to say that on the whole the papyri tend to establish the essential
correctness of the book of Nehemiah as over against Josephus, with
reference to the period to which Sanballat belonged.