Prize Find: Tel Dan Scepter Head

“And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight. And the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter”

(Esther 5:2).

As we read in the Book of Esther, the queen was able to approach King Ahasuerus unannounced and, as a result of this audience, Esther eventually saved her people.

The Bible refers to scepters on several occasions as symbols of authority and office (for example, Numbers 24:17; Psalm 45:6; Isaiah 14:5; Zechariah 10:11). The reference in Esther, however, is the only time the top of the scepter is specifically mentioned. What did the “top of the scepter” that Queen Esther touched look like? From the text we have no idea, although we are told that it was made of gold.

The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion has been digging at Tel Dan, in northern Israel, since 1974. Recently we uncovered the top, or head, of a bronze scepter that we believe resembled the gold scepter referred to in the book of Esther.