This book establishes the first comprehensive way of evaluating potential identifications (IDs) of persons mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) with persons mentioned in Bible-era inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, Moabite, Phoenician, Ammonite, and other languages of ancient Syria-Palestine. It applies this way of evaluating potential IDs to a small number of Hebrew inscriptions, the Mesha Inscription, and the Tel Dan stele. Appendixes updated through mid-2002 briefly evaluate potential IDs of over 75 biblical persons in over ninety inscriptions that are mostly contemporary with the person. Resulting IDs and non-IDs appear in 6 categories of strength or weakness, from unmistakable to disqualified. The final product is the first extensive corpus consisting only of inscriptions that name biblical persons. This technical book will appeal to specialists and non-specialists who are interested in the question of biblical historicity.

(For additions and corrections through July 31, 2008, see the later article by Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, "Corrections and Updates to 'Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200-539 B.C.E.,' " in the journal Maarav, vol. 16, issue 1, (2009): pp. 49-132, available free at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_research/129/. Also, a book chapter builds both on the book and the corrections article: “Sixteen Strong Identifications of Biblical Persons (Plus Nine Other Identifications) in Authentic Northwest Semitic Inscriptions from before 539 B.C.E.,” pp. 35–57 in Meir Lubetski and Edith Lubetski, eds., New Inscriptions and Seals Relating to the Biblical World (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012). A pre-publication version of this chapter is available free at http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_research/150/. This chapter lists 16 persons in the Hebrew Bible who are certainly or almost certainly referred to in inscriptions of known authenticity. Reasonable IDs of another seven persons can also be made in inscriptions of known authenticity.)