Jerusalem Jewish? Yes, says 2,700-year-old relic

Papyrus find is oldest known, non-biblical reference to capital

By WND Staff
Published February 25, 2018 at 2:42pm

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced a 2,700-year-old papyrus reference to Jerusalem has been recovered and put on public display – the oldest non-biblical Hebrew document mentioning the city.

The papyrus, originally stolen by antiquities thieves, shows two clear lines of writing: "From the king's maidservant, from Naharta, jars of wine, to Jerusalem."

The scroll was originally plundered from a cave in Nahal Hever in the Judean Desert near the Dead Sea by antiquities thieves.

The date places Jerusalem under the control of the Jews 1,300 years before Islam was founded, a point of interest considering Muslim leaders have challenged Israel's historic claims to Jerusalem, prompting the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization, or UNESCO, to deny Israeli claims to Jerusalem in a vote last year.