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Elephantine (Yeb): Judean temple of Yaho
Aswan, Egypt · Wider Abrahamic world
24.085, 32.886
Attested. Primary documents (Porten). The colony's origin, whether before or after Josiah, and the nature of its 'syncretism' are debated.
This photograph shows the modern city, or the Wikipedia lead subject, rather than the ancient site itself.
A Judean military colony on the Nile island had its own temple of YHW (Yaho) before Cambyses arrived (525 BCE). Egyptian priests destroyed it in 410 BCE. The colony's Aramaic papyri include the Passover letter (419 BCE) and a petition to Jerusalem's governor Bagohi to rebuild. They also show worship alongside Anat-Yahu and Herem-Bethel. Papyri are in Berlin, Brooklyn, Cairo and Oxford.
Source stance: insider.
People and groups named here
- Yedaniah (priest)
- Bagohi (governor)
- Mibtahiah (businesswoman)
Sources
- Elephantine papyri and ostraca (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Sanctuary of Heqaib (Elephantine) (Pleiades place 378113487)
Pleiades Gazetteer (CC BY 3.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.
Further reading
Councils here
None in this list.