The Watchtower, “When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?-Part Two, box 'What Does VAT 4956 Really Say?'”
“(5) In 1988, Sachs and Hunger published the text as it actually reads, with a “9.” (6) Yet, they preserve the alteration in their English translation, calling the “9th” an “error for: 8th.””
The organisation's account of the editorial history of line 3 of VAT 4956. Its description of what Sachs and Hunger printed is accurate; the disagreement is over whether the emendation is justified.
Official source (opens in new tab)
Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?-Part Two, box 'What Does VAT 4956 Really Say?'
Confidence note. Read in the Watchtower Online Library text on 19 September 2026. The box carries the marker “[Box/Pictures on pages 26, 27]” and is headed “WHAT DOES VAT 4956 REALLY SAY?” Items (5) and (6) are the last two of a numbered list of six and are quoted here with their numbers. The published edition reproduced by the electronic Babylonian Library does print the 9 with the note “(error for: 8th)”, so this description checks out.
Corroborated by. src-chr-e-ebl-vat4956-line3
Notes. The credit line reads “bpk/Vorderasiatisches Museum, SMB/Olaf M. Teßmer” (often transliterated Tessmer).
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chr-e-w11-1101-vat4956-box