Avraham Hay

The paleo-Hebrew inscription reads “I reigned in k / Be strengthened v / King of Egypt l.” Archaeologists Yadin and Aharoni disagree whether the king reigned in or over a place and draw different conclusions about the authorship of the lines. Aharoni believes that King Jehoahaz wrote this message when he assumed the throne of Judah in 609 B.C. Yadin suggests that the letter was written by the last Assyrian king, Assur-Uballit, from his new capital in Carchemish; the letter may have been a quote in a longer letter from King Josiah of Judah to the commander at Arad.