A 2100-year-old inscription on a stone column drum with the full spelling of the modern Hebrew word for Jerusalem was recently discovered. The stone column was unearthed in a pottery production site where cooking vessels were manufactured, that operated from the Hasmonean period to the Roman era. The inscription reads, "Hananiah, son of Dodalos, of Jerusalem." This is the first stone inscription ever found with the word "Yerushalayim" spelled in full, rather than in shorthand as it usually appears. The column would have originally been part of a Jewish structure, likely belonging to Hananiah, son of Dodalos. It was discovered in secondary use as part of a workshop used by the Tenth Roman Legion, which had taken over the area before they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. The inscription is now being displayed in the Israel Museum as part of an exhibit on Second Temple-era artifacts. From a biblical point of view, the word "Yerushalayim" is spelled in this rare, long form five times in the Old Testament (Jer 26:18, Est 2:6, 2 Chr 25:1, 2 Chr 32:9, and 2 Chr 25:1). This discovery confirms that the modern full spelling was used in ancient times, just as it is in the Bible.
Off-site Links:
- http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/IsraelExperience/History/Pages/Second-Temple-Period-stone-inscription-found-9-October-20181009-6325.aspx
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/earliest-known-stone-carving-of-hebrew-word-jerusalem-found-near-city-entrance/
- https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/2000-year-old-Roman-find-reveals-usage-of-the-name-Jerusalem-in-Hebrew-568973