Archaeology - Proving the Truth of Scripture - Part 5

Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III

The Black Obelisk was discovered in 1846 by Austen Henry Layard in the ruins of Nimrud. This black limestone monument dates to around 825 BC and now resides in the British Museum. It stands covered in detailed carvings and cuneiform inscriptions that record the military campaigns and conquests of the Assyrian empire. What makes this monument so significant is that it contains one of the earliest known visual depictions of a figure from the Bible.

One of the most discussed features of the Black Obelisk is the proposed picture of Jehu himself. Carved on each side of the Black Obelisk are images of the conquered kings who paid tribute to Shalmaneser. Next to each ruler is found a small inscription with the name of the king giving tribute. Here is where you find the name Jehu of Israel. Despite this attribution, however, it is unlikely that the figure is an actual depiction of Jehu, rather it is more likely a stock image of a king bowing in submission to Shalmaneser.

Unlike the Kurkh Monolith, the Black Obelisk refers to Jehu as the “Son of Omri.” This is perplexing at first, as the Bible tells us that Jehu was indeed not a “son of Omri,” but rather came to the throne through a coup, thus indicating that he was not even part of the same dynasty (2 Kings 9–10). For the Assyrians, however, how Jehu came to the throne was likely less important than the fact that he was the ruler of the kingdom founded by Omri. It is also possible that Jehu actually was a descendant of Omri, but from a separate branch of the family.

This artifact is especially important because it comes from outside the Bible. It is not a Hebrew record but an Assyrian one, written by a foreign king documenting his own achievements. Yet it names the same king found in Scripture and places him in the same historical setting. That kind of independent confirmation carries weight. It demonstrates that the people and events described in the Bible are not isolated religious claims but part of the broader historical record of the ancient Near East.

The Black Obelisk stands as a physical intersection between biblical history and secular archaeology. It confirms that Israel was a real nation interacting with powerful empires like Assyria and that its kings. It proves that Jehu was known beyond his own borders of the nation Israel. Discoveries like this continue to show that the Bible is rooted in real history, recorded not only by its own authors, but also by the nations around it.