"Yaw, Son of 'Omri": A Philological Note on Israelite Chronology

Abstract

In December of 1846 at Nimrud (ancient Calah), A. H. Layard discovered the great Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. The text of the monument proved to be of special interest to Biblical historians, since it mentioned tribute received from a certain mia-u'-a mar mhu-um-ri, who is kneeling before the Assyrian king in the relief. Since the time of Layard's discovery, two annalistic texts have appeared which specify that the tribute of mia-u-a or mia-a-u was received in the eighteenth regnal year of Shalmaneser III.' The name was quickly associated with that of of Israel, and the identification seems never to have been doubted seriously. Because the regnal year in question can safely be assigned by means of the Assyrian eponym lists to 841 B.C., this date has become a cornerstone of Biblical chronology. The general approval of this identification, however, is not unblemished. At least three apparent difficulties have had to be overcome. First, the correspondence of cuneiform ia-ti-a or ia-a-ti to the Israelite name even in its ninth-century form, Yaw-ha' (see below), is less than straightforward. This problem seems to have caused little concern, probably because of the frequent irregularities in cuneiform representations of foreign names. The second difficulty has received more attention. The application of the title mar HIumri, of 'Omri, to is quite surprising. He was not an Omride. Indeed, as the assassin of the entire house of Omri, he is perhaps the last king of Israel whom we would expect to be called of Omri. In reply to this objection it is usually argued that the title means no more than Jehu, successor of 'Omri, or Jehu of the House of 'Omri, that is, Jehu of Samaria.2 The third difficulty is that of chronology. Ahab is mentioned by name in the Assyrian records of the battle of Qarqar, which took place in 853. The Deuteronomist assigns two years to Ahab's son and successor, Ahaziah (1 Kgs 22:51), and twelve years to his brother, Jehoram (2 Kgs 3:1), whom murdered and replaced. If paid tribute to Shalmaneser III in 841, the Deuteronomistic chronology becomes very confined. Accordingly, scholars have found it necessary either to abridge the dates of the reign of Jehoram somewhat or to assume that regnal years were computed according to a system of antedating, wherein an accession year was counted twice, as the last year of the old king and the first year of the new king.3 To make the latter solution workable it is also necessary to assume that Ahab died the same year that he sent troops to the battle of Qarqar, and that Jehu's purge took place the same year he paid tribute to Shalmaneser III. As long as the identification of ia-a -a/ia-a-ti with is regarded as certain, these difficulties are little more than nuisances. On the other hand, they become of fundamental importance if serious doubt is cast upon the assumed identification. The evidence collected below suggests that ia-ui-a or ia-a-ti is at best an ambiguous reference to and can refer to Jehoram equally well. The ninth-century forms of the names and Jehoram were Yaw-ha, and Yaw-rdm.4 The syncope of h in the theophorous element (yah7>yaw) in both initial and final positions had already taken place in the North. This is clear from the Samaria ostraca of the early eighth century, where the form is regularly yaw.5 The Bible reflects the much later form of the name, Ye-h%', which is the result of dissimilation from Y6-hi', after the secondary contraction yaw[ y6.6 In a similar instance, the biblical form of Yaw-rdm is Y6-ram (or yeh6-rdm).7 It is to the ninth-century forms of the two names that the Assyrian evidence must be compared. The Yahwistic theophorous element yaw was normally represented in cuneiform as ia-u or ia-a-u. This is clear from references in the royal Assyrian annals to eighth-century kings of Judah. Especially important are the instances in the records of Tiglath-pileser III in which the name of Azariah (Uzziah) of Judah is given three times with the theophorous element represented as -ia-u, -ia-a-u, and ia-a-ut.8 That these readings are intended to be