Shebna

File:Silwan-inscr.jpg

The Royal Steward inscription, a lintel of a tomb found in the village of Silwan, now in the British Museum

Shebna (Template:Hebrew name) was the royal steward (`asher `al ha-bayith, "he who is over the house"; the chief or prime minister of state)<ref name="katzenstein1960">Template:Cite journal</ref> in the reign of king Hezekiah of Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible.<ref name=Easton>Easton's Bible Dictionary: Shebna</ref>

Because of his pride he was ejected from his office, and replaced by Eliakim the son of Hilkiah as recorded in Book of Isaiah (Template:Bibleref2). Shebna also appears to have been the leader of the party who favored an alliance with Egypt against Assyria.<ref name=Easton />

Biblical accounts

Shebna may have been the same "Shebna the scribe" who was sent by Hezekiah to confer with the Assyrian ambassador recorded in the Books of Kings (Template:Bibleref2; Template:Bibleverse; parallel accounts in Template:Bibleverse, Template:Bibleverse, 22; 37:2), although Easton's Bible Dictionary refers to them as being different people.<ref name=Easton />

Tomb and inscription

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} A royal steward's rock-cut tomb discovered in Silwan is conjectured to be Shebna's,<ref>Jewish Magazine - Jerusalem Tombs</ref> although only the term "-yahu" remains legible on the lintel from the tomb that is now kept in the British Museum.<ref name="Brit">British Museum Collection</ref> The partially preserved inscription was deciphered to read "...yahu who is over the house".<ref name="Brit"/> The assumption is that Shebna's name may have been pronounced 'Shebna-yahu', the missing name fitting onto the damaged portion of the inscription.<ref name=Rahmani2>"Ancient Jerusalem's Funerary Customs and Tombs: Part Two," L. Y. Rahmani, The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Autumn, 1981), pp. 229–235.</ref>

See also

• Hezekiah
• Siloam Inscription
• List of artifacts significant to the Bible
• Related Bible parts: 2 Kings 18, 2 Kings 19, Isaiah 22, Isaiah 36, Isaiah 37, Nehemiah 9

References

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