Khirbet el-Qom is an archaeological tomb-site (two tombs) in the territory of the biblical kingdom of Judah

Kingdom of Judah

The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....

, between Lachish

Lachish

Lachish was an ancient Near East town located at the site of modern Tell ed-Duweir in the Shephelah, a region between Mount Hebron and the maritime plain of Philistia . The town was first mentioned in the Amarna letters as Lakisha-Lakiša...

 and Hebron

Hebron

Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...

, containing an inscription with the phrase "...by his Asherah

Asherah

Asherah , in Semitic mythology, is a Semitic mother goddess, who appears in a number of ancient sources including Akkadian writings by the name of Ashratum/Ashratu and in Hittite as Asherdu or Ashertu or Aserdu or Asertu...

".

The tombs were investigated by William Dever

William Dever

William Dever may refer to:* William Emmett Dever , mayor of Chicago 1923–1926* William G. Dever, biblical archaeologist...

 in 1967 following their discovery by tomb-robbers and following the earlier discoveries of Asherah-relating inscriptions at Kuntillet Ajrud

Kuntillet Ajrud

Kuntillet Ajrud is a late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE site in the northeast part of the Sinai peninsula. It is frequently described as a shrine, but this is not certain....

. Both tombs contain inscriptions. The inscription from Tomb 2 is associated with a "magic hand" symbol, and reads:

"Uriyahu the honourable has written this

Blessed is/be Uriyahu by Yahweh

And [because?] from his oppressors by his asherah he has saved him

[written] by Oniyahu"

"...by his asherah

...and his asherah"

The inscriptions date from the second half of the 8th century, slightly after the Kuntillet Ajrud

Kuntillet Ajrud

Kuntillet Ajrud is a late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE site in the northeast part of the Sinai peninsula. It is frequently described as a shrine, but this is not certain....

 inscriptions. Unlike the Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions, they do not include a place-name with the name of Yahweh (the Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions talk of "Yahweh of Samaria" and "Yahweh of Teman"); this seems to indicate that they were written after the fall of Samaria, which left Yahweh as the god of one state only.

See also

• Kuntillet Ajrud
  Kuntillet Ajrud
  Kuntillet Ajrud is a late 9th/early 8th centuries BCE site in the northeast part of the Sinai peninsula. It is frequently described as a shrine, but this is not certain....
  
  
• Asherah
  Asherah
  Asherah , in Semitic mythology, is a Semitic mother goddess, who appears in a number of ancient sources including Akkadian writings by the name of Ashratum/Ashratu and in Hittite as Asherdu or Ashertu or Aserdu or Asertu...
  
  
• Biblical archaeology
  Biblical archaeology
  For the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
  
  
• History of ancient Israel and Judah
  History of ancient Israel and Judah
  Israel and Judah were related Iron Age kingdoms of ancient Palestine. The earliest known reference to the name Israel in archaeological records is in the Merneptah stele, an Egyptian record of c. 1209 BCE. By the 9th century BCE the Kingdom of Israel had emerged as an important local power before...