Go to Related Reading
About this book

Panamuwa Inscription

This statue Bar-Rakib has set up for his father, Panamuwa, son of Barṣūr, king of Ya’di, in the year of his death. My father, Panamuwa— Because of the loyalty of his father, the gods of Ya’di delivered him from destruction which was in the house of his father. And the god Hadad stood with him.⁠ He set his throne. He destroyed the house of his father. He killed his father Barṣūr and seventy brothers of his father.⁠ But my father mounted a chariot and ruled. He pierced Panamuwa. He filled the prisons. He made ruined cities more numerous than inhabited ones. He gave rulership to Panamuwa, son of Qarli. “If you cause bloodshed in my house, and you also kill one of my sons, then I will make bloodshed in the land of Ya’di.” Panamuwa, son of Qarli, was destroyed in the land. There was ewe, cow, wheat, and barley. A part stood at a shekel; A measure of onions or wine at a shekel; Two-thirds of a mina of oil at a shekel. Then my father, Panamuwa, son of Barṣūr, brought a gift to the king of Assyria. He made him king over the house of his father. He removed the stone of destruction from the house of his father. He reclaimed the treasuries of the houses of Ya’di. He opened the prisons and released the captives of Ya’di. He arose and released the women. He restored the house of the women who had died. He buried them. He seized the palace of his father. He made it better than before. It abounded with wheat, barley, ewe, and cow. The land prospered. The price was cheap. In the days of my father Panamuwa, he appointed lords of villages and lords of chariots. He was esteemed among mighty kings from east to west. My father possessed silver and gold. Because of his wisdom and loyalty, he was seated with his lord, the mighty king of Assyria. He lived under the king of Assyria. Ya’di also lived. His lord, the king of Assyria, positioned him over powerful kings. He ran at the wheel of his lord, the king of Assyria, in campaigns from east to west and north to south over the four quarters of the earth. He relocated populations from east to west and west to east. My father prospered more than all other kings. His lord, Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, added cities to his territory from the land of Gurgum. My father Panamuwa died while following his lord Tiglath-Pileser in the campaigns. Tiglath-Pileser wept for him. His kinsmen and all the army of the king of Assyria wept for him. The king of Assyria took his spirit to eat and drink. He set up a memorial for him. He brought my father from Damascus to Assyria. I am Bar-Rakib, son of Panamuwa. Because of the loyalty of my father and my own loyalty, my lord Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, has caused me to reign on the throne of my father, Panamuwa, son of Barṣūr. I have set up this statue to Panamuwa. I placed it before the tomb of my father. May Hadad, El, Rakib-El, lord of the house, Šamaš, and all the gods of Ya’di show favor to the son of Panamuwa. May Rakib-El show favor to me before gods and before men.

Texts in conversation

Compare Panamuwa Inscription and 2 Kings 10:7

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Hebrew Bible

Share:

Summary

The Aramaic Panamuwa Inscription and 2 Kings 10 emphasize the killing of “seventy brothers,” or “sons,” using the number seventy as a symbolic figure. This follows an ancient Near Eastern tradition where seventy often signified completeness or totality.

Passages

Panamuwa Inscription

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic
My father, Panamuwa— Because of the loyalty of his father, the gods of Ya’di delivered him from destruction which was in the house of his father. And the god Hadad stood with him. He set his throne. He destroyed the house of his father. He killed his father Barṣūr and seventy brothers of his father. But my father mounted a chariot and ruled. He pierced Panamuwa. He filled the prisons. He made ruined cities more numerous than inhabited ones.
733 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Panamuwa Inscription

2 Kings 10:7

Hebrew Bible
6 He wrote them a second letter, saying, “If you are really on my side and are willing to obey me, then take the heads of your master’s sons and come to me in Jezreel at this time tomorrow.” Now the king had 70 sons, and the prominent men of the city were raising them. 7 When they received the letter, they seized the king’s sons and executed all 70 of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to him in Jezreel. 8 The messenger came and told Jehu, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.” Jehu said, “Stack them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning.”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Kings

References

"... Panamuwa – שבעים, “seventy”: The use of the numeral in other ancient Near Eastern texts has prompted F. C. Fensham to suggest that it was “quite probably used as a kind of symbolic figure” and that “the princes of the royal house were called ‘seventy sons’ or ‘seventy brothers’.” In his opinion “with the usage of seven and seventy the ancient Semites tried to make a difference between a smaller symbolic figure and a larger one”. Such use is not unparalleled ..."
Marcio Loureiro Redondo, “The Portrayal of the King in Ancient Semitic Texts and the Hebrew Book of Kings” (PhD diss., University of Liverpool, 2001), 148.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Tags

Your feedback

Panamuwa Inscription and 2 Kings 10:7

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library