Jehoash Inscription

The Jehoash Inscription is the name of a controversial artifact claimed to have been discovered in a Muslim cemetery near the Temple Mount of Jerusalem during the 1990s. It was sold to the antiquities dealer Hassan Aqilan from East Jerusalem, who sold it to a well-known Israeli antiquities collector.

The inscription describes repairs made to various elements of a public building, including a portico, windows, spiral staircases, and more, possibly a temple, after donations were collected in the cities of Judah and among the desert dwellers. It corresponds to the account in 2 Kings chapter 12. Although the inscription does not explicitly mention the Temple (or the Temple of Yahweh) or the name of King Jehoash, it has commonly been referred to as the “Jehoash Inscription “.

While some scholars support the antiquity of the script and of the epigraphy of the inscription, and of the patina, the Israel Antiquities Authority asserted that the inscription is a modern-day forgery. Following their statement, the authenticity of the tablet became the subject of a major court case, during which approximately 70 senior scholars from around the world testified in fields such as paleography, biblical studies, archaeology, archaeometry, patina analysis, geology, stone carving, and more. After seven years of legal proceedings, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that the state had not proven that the inscription was a forgery, and the owner was acquitted of all charges related to it.

The state did not appeal the decision, but at this stage requested the confiscation of the tablet, claiming that an object that might be of such importance should remain in the hands of the state. However, the Supreme Court rejected the state’s position and ordered that the artifact be returned to its owner.

[אנכי · יהואש · בן · א]
חזיהו . מ[
הדה . ואעש . את . הב[...]
ה . כאשר . נמלאה . נד
בת . לב אש . בארץ . ובמד
בר . ובכל . ערי . יהדה . ל
תת · כסף · הקדשם · לרב ·
לקנת · אבן · מחצב · ובר
שם . ונחשת . אדמ . לעשת .
במלאכה . באמנה . ואעש
את . בדק . הבית . והקרת ס
בב . ואת . היצע . והשבכ
ם . והלולם . והגרעת . וה
דלתת . והיה . הים . הזה
לעדת . כי . תצלח . המלאכה
יצו . יהוה . את . עמו . בברכה

[I am Jehoash, son of A-]
-haziah, k[ing of Ju-]
dah, and I performed the work on th[is ho]us-
e. When men's gener-
osity was full in the land and in the wilder-
ness, and in all the cities of Judah, to
give money as sacred donations abundantly,
to buy stone and juniper
wood and Edomite copper, performing
the work in good faith–then I ma-
de the repair of the Temple, and of the encircling wa-
lls, and the storied structure, and the lattice-
s, and the spiral stairs, and the re-
cesses, and the doors. And this day will become
a testimony that the work will prosper.
May Yahweh ordain His people with blessing.

Israeli magazine Maariv correspondent Boaz Gaon reported that the Israel Antiquities Authority Theft Unit had focused their attention on the "Jehoash Inscription" as expensive bait to defraud a prominent collector in London. Israeli investigators linked a phony business card and a phone number to a Tel Aviv private eye who admitted that his employer was Oded Golan, the collector who owned the James Ossuary (another artifact of uncertain authenticity). Golan denied that he was the owner of the stone and claimed that the real owner was a Palestinian antiquities dealer who lived in an area under Palestinian Authority and could not be identified.

A March 19, 2003, article in Maariv reported that a court had issued a search warrant for Golan's apartment, office and rented warehouse. The search brought forth allegedly incriminating documents and photographs of Golan beside the Jehoash Inscription. Under interrogation, Golan promised to reveal the location of the stone in exchange for immunity from prosecution.