Archaeology
Jehoiachin Ration Tablets
- Era
- c. 592 BC
- Location
- Babylon
- Discovered
- 1899–1917
Cuneiform administrative tablets from Nebuchadnezzar's palace listing the oil and grain rations issued to "Yaʾukinu, king of the land of Yahudu" and his five sons.
The find
Excavated by Robert Koldewey at Babylon between 1899–1917 and published by E. F. Weidner in 1939, the tablets record provisions distributed from the royal storehouses. Jehoiachin (Yaukin) appears alongside other exiled princes and skilled workers, his name preserving the title "king of Judah" decades after his deposition. The texts independently corroborate the biblical claim that Jehoiachin was treated as royalty in his Babylonian captivity.
Why it matters
They confirm the exile of King Jehoiachin — and, notably, his continued royal status while in Babylon — exactly as it's described in 2 Kings 25:27–30 and Jeremiah 52:31–34.
Cross-linked Scripture
Doctrine check
Sources
Image: Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin / Wikimedia Commons
Discuss with AI