Jerusalem: Ketef Hinnom Amulet

The photographed image (on the right) and line drawing (on the left) are of one of two Ketef Hinnom amulets. It is a small (1.0 x 3.75 inches), thin sheet of silver on which an inscription was lightly inscribed. It is important because they date to ca. 600 BCE and the inscription preserves part of the Priestly Blessing that is known from the Bible (Numbers 6:24-26), which makes the two amulets the oldest evidence for a biblical text. The sheets were found rolled up and had possibly been worn around the neck (after a string was passed through the center of the roll). They were found in a tomb across the Hinnom Valley from the southwestern corner of the Old City of Jerusalem.