Inscription of name from Bible discovered

JERUSALEM - The Associated Press

Archaeologists discovered an inscription of a name mentioned in the Bible.

Israel’s antiquities authority says archaeologists have discovered a rare 3,000-year-old inscription of a name mentioned in the Bible.

The name “Eshbaal Ben Beda” appears on a large ceramic jar. Eshbaal of the Bible was a son of King Saul.

Archaeologists Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor say the jar belonged to a different Eshbaal, likely the owner of an agricultural estate.

They said yesterday it is the first time the name was discovered in an ancient inscription. It is one of only four inscriptions discovered from the biblical 10th century B.C. Kingdom of Judah, when King David is said to have reigned.

Archaeologists pieced together the inscription from pottery shards found at a 2012 excavation in the Valley of Elah in central Israel.