inscription · Hebrew · OT

Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls

Also known as: KH1, KH2

650 BC – 587 BC (~625 BC) · dated by archaeological

Evidence card

A quick read on the physical object before the interpretive summary.

2 sources

Artifact

inscription · Hebrew

Date basis

650 BC – 587 BC (~625 BC) · archaeological

Survival

~1% physically present

Contents

Numbers 6:24-26 (Priestly Blessing)

Artifact/map cue

Held at Israel Museum, Jerusalem · Discovery: 1979, Ketef Hinnom (Jerusalem)

Date

650 BC – 587 BC (~625 BC)

Passage represented

Numbers 6:24-26 (Priestly Blessing)

Fragmentary or partial witness

How much survives

~1% of the claimed text is physically present

Why it matters

Two tiny silver amulets containing a version of the Priestly Blessing — by far the oldest biblical text ever found, predating the Dead Sea Scrolls by roughly 400 years. Settles that at least this passage existed in writing well before the Babylonian exile.

What it contains

Numbers — 6:24-26 (Priestly Blessing) (partial)

~1% of the claimed text is physically present.

Notable readings

Numbers 6:24-26

Shorter, amulet form — close to but not identical with the Masoretic text

Confirms continuity but shows the wording was already known in pre-exilic Judah.

Where & when

Held at: Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Discovery: 1979, Ketef Hinnom (Jerusalem)
Found by: Gabriel Barkay

Source trail

Named catalogues, editions, libraries, or scholarship used for this manuscript page.