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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.

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Compare Panamuwa Inscription and Judges 1:7

Ancient Near East, Northwest Semitic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

The Panamuwa Inscription and Judges use the number 70 in symbolic reference, following a common tradition used throughout the ancient Near East. This use of 70 often symbolizes completeness, prominence, or royal status.

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

Judges 1:7

Hebrew Bible
6 When Adoni-Bezek ran away, they chased him and captured him. Then they cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings, with thumbs and big toes cut off, used to lick up food scraps under my table. God has repaid me for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. 8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem and captured it. They put the sword to it and set the city on fire.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Judges

References

"... Just as his numerous progeny and donkeys are indicative of royal behavior (see above), the number seventy in 12:14 may carry the same connotation. The number seventy frequently occurs as a figure of speech in royal contexts in both the Hebrew Bible (compare Judges 1:7; 8:30; 9:2, 5, 18, 24, 56; 2 Kings 10:1, 6–7) and ancient Near Eastern texts. (See the Ba'lu Myth and the Panamuwa Inscription as well as the partially reconstructed lacunae of the Zakkur Stele and the Tel Dan stele) Therefore, it may be more than coincidental that the total number for the years of service by the minor judges (i.e. 23 + 22 + 7 + 10 + 8 in the Masoretic Text) comes to no more or less than seventy ..."
Kenneth C. Way, “The Meaning of the Minor Judges: Understanding the Bible's Shortest Stories,” JETS 61.2 (2018): 275–285.

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

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