Strata: How Many

How many people in the Hebrew Bible have been confirmed archaeologically?

Answer: 52

From King David of Judah to the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar II, who famously sacked Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E., there are numerous people from the Hebrew Bible who have been corroborated by the archaeological record. In his article “Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible,” Lawrence Mykytiuk estimates this number to be at least 50; in a later issue of BAR, he adds an additional two people to this list, giving us the conservative figure of 52.^a

Other memorable Hebrew Bible figures who have been confirmed archaeologically include King Ahab of Israel, King Hezekiah of Judah, Pharaoh Shishak (Shoshenq I) of Egypt, King Mesha of Moab, King Sennacherib of Assyria and Cyrus the Great of Persia. To see the complete list, visit biblicalarchaeology.org/50.

Lawrence Mykytiuk describes his criteria for determining which Hebrew Bible people have been confirmed archaeologically: “I have listed as firm identifications only those instances where the Bible places the person and the inscription places the person within about 50 years of each other. In addition, the society or political entity must match … In some cases, the identification is unmistakable, as when both the Bible and an inscription specify the king of a certain realm who ruled at a particular time or who fought in a particular battle.”