Israelite Dan Stele Talks About Elijah Drought 840 BCE

For translation methodology see: How to Translate Alphabetic Akkadian Texts

remains of the black basalt Dan Stele
The remains of the black basalt Dan Stele.  It is now at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Their nationalist promoting translation is completely wrong. King David is actually not mentioned in this text.  
The original stele measured 1 meter high and ½ meter wide. It was erected in the ancient city of Dan just north of the Sea of Galilee. It was later broken up and re-used in walls dating to shortly after 840 BCE. These walls themselves were destroyed by the Assyrian invasion of 733 BCE.
The stone fragments were found relative to a pavement adjacent to a city wall with the pavement dating to approximately 800 BCE (Biran and Naveh 1995). The smallest fragment (B2) was actually used as a paving stone in this pavement. This indicates that the stele had been deliberately destroyed soon after it was created during the Elijah drought of 840 BCE.  Its defense of the old Pagan order against the new Yahwist order would have resulted in its destruction by the victorious Yahwist rebels.
Displayed at the Rockefeller Archaeology Museum in Jerusalem. Online at https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/371407(Image from Biran and Naveh 1995)

Israelite Dan Stele Blames Life Network Editing and Magical Motion Powers for Drought but Leaves Yahu (Yahweh) Blameless

(Feb 12, 2023) This stele is presently incomplete. Only three black basalt stone fragments have been found so far. The stele was written during the Elihah drought of 840 BCE and deliberately broken up shortly after the drought. The first fragment was found in 1993 (Biran and Naveh, 1993) and the second and third were found in 1994 by an excavation team lead by Avraham Biran (Biran and Naveh, 1995). The text reads:

  1. (can't read) ....
  2. [1] emotion-owls.  Hu's life-priests are being pained by Su (full moon god, motion power source) ... [ ]L  is paralyzing the sky-shell ....
  3. Fate-curses are sown by activity (motion powers). Life-Priests are being pained by the starvation .. Alu .... Yahu (I') is lacking fertility fluids.  Weak-wills Y[ ] ...
  4. Those eagle-vultures are lacking threads.  Blood is being nourished by that.  The difficulties are spewing-forth. The shepherds (magic-crafters) . ...  The Supervisor (Ayu) is influencing awareness. D[ ] ....
  5. Considerations (focused emotions) are turning away Yahu. The Openers are becoming aware.  The Manifestator (Yahu) is (still) transforming fertility-fluids. Ya[hu]  is being veiled. The threads have been enabling the nourishments.
  6. Emotions are weakening the redirection (of the network threads).  Expectation  mounded-one (Ayu) ....  ASRIA ... (too much uncertainty to translate this last part)
  7. Due to fate-cursed nourishments lacking openings, grease the upper-regions ... (too much uncertainty to translate the last part)
  8. Fertility-fluids are weak.  Make scarce the eagle-vultures. Those are lacking a flock. The Revealer ... [ ]Y.  The Supervisor (Ayu) is nourishing ...
  9. Due to nourishing the redirection of the manifestations, fate-cursed magic-crafters  ...
  10. The irrigated-fields (network) control the threads. The Supervisor (Ayu) ...
  11. Befriend the eagle-vultures. The Revealer (Yahu) except for ...
  12. The lack of prodding sticks (motion magic) is caused by a lack of scarce ...
  13. Licorice roots  of the shepherds (magic crafters) are lacking ....  (by affecting breath licorice roots have been used in motion magic rituals since Minoan times)
  14. ....

Lake bottom Core sample data from the Sea of Galilee showing the droughts
Lake bottom Core sample data from the Sea of Galilee. In historical times it shows two major droughts with several minor ones. Minor droughts are indicated anytime the curves turn downward. 
The 50 year long Great Drought of 1180 to 1140 BCE (Iron Age 1 period) is what ended the Bronze Age and the 5-year long Elijah drought of 845-840 BCE. The yellow gives the tree pollen level while the green gives the non-tree pollen level. (Langut and Finkelsein 2013)

Droughts Defined the Archaeological Periods in the Levant

(May 3, 2023) Droughts separate the archaeological periods in the Levant. States weakened by local droughts were often subject to raids right after the droughts by Mesopotamian empires which were unaffected due to their irrigation. Below is the latest widely accepted chronology proposed by Amihai Mazar in 2014 shown below: 

Droughts According to Drought Chart

  1. 1180-1140 BCE - Great Drought
  2. 980 BCE
  3. 845-840 BCE - Elijah Drought
  4. 732 BCE - led to Assyrian invasion  
  5. 605 BCE - led to Babylonian invasion 

Diagnostic Letter Shapes For Dating

  1. 605 BCE - "A" has square peak. "L" has hooked appendage.
  2. 732 BCE - "A" has pointed peak.  "L" has flat appendage.

References

Langut, D. Finkelsein, I, Litt, T. (2013) Climate and the Late Bronze Collapse: New Evidence from the Levant. Tel Aviv 40:149-175. Online at https://www.academia.edu/6053886/Climate_and_the_Late_Bronze_Collapse_New_Evidence_from_the_Southern_Levant
Mazar, Amihai (2005) The Debate over the Chronology of the Iron Age in the Southern Levant: its History, the Current Situation and a Suggested Resolution. pp. 15-30 in: T. Levy and T. Higham (editors), The Bible and Radiocarbon Dating - Archaeology, Text and Science. London. Online at: https://www.academia.edu/2632501/The_Debate_over_the_Chronology_of_the_Iron_Age_in_the_Southern_Levant_its_History_the_Current_Situation_and_a_Suggested_Resolution_2005

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 1 and 2

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 1 and 2

Translation in Akkadian

(Read right to left. Capital letters on foil Small letters are inferred Inner vowels)
  1. MR ... UGZ .... (Levant Text 7.1)
  2. [1] AKu  Ḫu  ABu  YaYa  Su  ... L  ḪaMu  EBu  A (Levant Text 7.2)

In English. 

  1. (To fragmented to translate with certainty)
  2. [1] emotion-owls.  Hu's life-priests are being pained by Su (full moon god) ... [ ]L  is paralyzing the sky-shell ....

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 3 and 4

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 3 and 4

Translation in Akkadian

(Read right to left. Capital letters on foil Small letters are inferred Inner vowels)
  1. UYu  Ṣu  KaBu.  ABu  YaYa  EKu  ALu .... [ ]W.  Ia'u  Lu  Mu.  LaKu  Y ... (Levant Text 7.3)
  2. Ru  A  Lu  Qu.  DaMu  Bu  A.  RaQu  AŠu ReYu ... EMu  LaŠu  EDu  D[ ] ... (Levant Text 7.4)

In English. 

  1. Fate-curses are sown by activity (motion powers). Life-Priests are being pained by the starvation .. Alu .... Yahu (I') is lacking fertility fluids.  Weak-wills Y[ ] ...
  2. Those eagle-vultures are lacking threads.  Blood is being nourished by that.  The difficulties are spewing-forth. The shepherds (magic-crafters) . ...  The Supervisor (Ayu) is influencing awareness. D[ ] ....

TTranslation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 5 and 6

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 5 and 6

Translation in Akkadian

(Read right to left. Capital letters on foil Small letters are inferred Inner vowels)
  1. ANnu  EWu  YaHu.  Pu  EDu.  Du  QaDu  Mu.  I[1]  AP.  Qu  MaṢu  Bu  (Levant Text 7.5)
  2. IMu  LaKu  IWu.   AQu  TL  ....  AS  R  IA ...  (Levant Text 7.6)

In English. 

  1. Considerations (focused emotions) are turning away Yahu. The Openers are becoming aware.  The Manifestator (Yahu) is (still) transforming fertility-fluids. Ya[hu]  is being veiled. The threads have been enabling the nourishments.
  2. Emotions are weakening the redirection (of the network threads).  Expectation  mounded-one (Ayu) ....  ASRIA ... (too much uncertainty to translate this last part)

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 7 and 8

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 1 and 2

Translation in Akkadian

(Read right to left. Capital letters on foil Small letters are inferred Inner vowels)
  1. KaBu  WA  Lu  Pu.  IPu  RaṢu  .... RM  BR ...  (Levant Text 7.7)  
  2. Mu  LaKu.  IṢu  Ru.  A  Lu  UQu.  N  ...  Y.  EMu  Bu  I[ ] ...   (Levant Text 7.8)

In English.  

  1. Due to fate-cursed nourishments lacking openings, grease the upper-regions ... (too much uncertainty to translate the last part)
  2. Fertility-fluids are weak.  Make scarce the eagle-vultures. Those are lacking a flock. The Revealer ...[ ]Y.  The Supervisor (Ayu) is nourishing ...

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 9 and 10

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 1 and 2

Translation in Akkadian

(Read right to left. Capital letters on foil Small letters are inferred Inner vowels)
  1. Ku  Bu  IWu  Du,  UDu  WA ....    (Levant Text 7.9)  - the DUD or DWD here is the claimed word for "David."
  2. IKu  ARu  Qu.  EM ...       (Levant Text 7.10)

In English.  

  1. Due to nourishing the redirection of the manifestations, fate-cursed magic-crafters  ...
  2. The irrigated-fields (network) control the threads. The Supervisor (Ayu) ...

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 11, 12, and 13

Translation of Israelite Dan Stele Lines 11, 12, and 13

Translation in Akkadian

(Read right to left. Capital letters on foil Small letters are inferred Inner vowels)
  1.  AḪu  Ru.  Nu  ULu  E[ ]  ....   (Levant Text 7.11)  
  2. Lu  Ka'u  Lu  IṢu   ...      (Levant Text 7.12)
  3. ŠŠ  Re'u  L ... (Levant Text 7.13)

In English.  

  1. Befriend the eagle-vultures. The Revealer (Yahu) except for
  2. The lack of prodding sticks (motion magic) causes a lack of scarcity
  3. Licorice roots  of the shepherds (magic crafters) are lacking ....  (by affecting breath licorice roots have been used in motion magic rituals since Minoan times)

Previous Translation Attempt

Avraham Biran, the archaeologist in charge of the tell Dan excavations, and his inscription translator, Joseph Naveh, published the first translation along with the reports about the fragment findings in both 1993 and 1995. Naveh’s final 1995 translation is reproduced below and it is based upon the assumption that the language is an early form of Hebrew (Biran and Naveh 1995). This is the one promoted by the Israel Museum:


  1.  [... ...] and cut [... ]
  2.  [...] my father went up [against him when] he fought at [... ]
  3.  And my father lay down, he went to his [ancestors] (viz. became sick and died). And the king of I[s-]
  4.  rael entered previously in my father''s land. [And] Hadad made me king.
  5.  And Hadad went in front of me, [and] I departed from [the] seven [...-]
  6.  s of my kingdom, and I slew [seve]nty kin[gs], who harnessed thou[sands of cha-]
  7.  riots and thousands of horsemen (or: horses). [I killed Jeho]ram son of [Ahab]
  8.  king of Israel, and [I] killed [Ahaz]iahu son of [Jehoram kin-]
  9.  of the House of David. And I set [their towns into ruins and turned]
  10.  their land into [desolation ... ]
  11.  other [... and Jehu ru-]
  12.  led over Is[rael... and I laid]
  13.  siege upon [... ]

 This translation has many problems which include:


  1.  The presence of an isolated letter at the beginning 6
  2. Words split between lines 3-4, 5-6, 6-7 which is never seen in proper translations
  3. Wide-spread use of names which is always a last resort because they can be any letter pattern especially they only have to sort of sound roughly similar to some name in the Hebrew scriptures.
  4. Lots of reconstructed words within brackets

Naveh realized the unsatisfactory nature of his translation and said this in 1993:


The inscription is early Aramaic and its script may be dated to the ninth century BCE. The letters are clearly engraved with the words separated by dots. Since the preserved letters in each line comprise only a small part of the text, any reconstruction is very tentative. In the following transcription only a few partly preserved words will be reconstructed; some reconstructions of sentences will be suggested in the translation and mainly in the commentary. These suggestions, sometimes contradicting each other, should be considered working hypothesis only, based on associations with expressions in epigraphical and Biblical texts. (Biran and Naveh 1993)

The dots Naveh mentions are actually line guides and are found in many ancient texts. They are not word or clause dividers which are actually vertical lines.

Navah’s translation procedure was the improper connect the dots method in which key words were picked out and then connected with assumed words not actually in the text. This is evidenced by his statement:   


"It was clear at first glance that in lines 7-8 of the new fragment, two kings of Israel and Judah, who ruled at the same time, are mentioned. …. The only king whose name ends in resh (R) and mem (M) is Jeroram." (Biran and Naveh 1993)