Content, Structure, and Date

The Sefire Treaty or Treaties, as preserved today, contain covenant agreement(s) made by a vassal king named Matiʿel (Matiʿilu), king of Arpad, in northern Syria. Matiʿel supposedly made an agreement with Bar-Gaʾyah, who was king of KTK and also a powerful Syrian overlord. The specifics of their arrangement are unclear due to breaks in the text, but the essence is apparent: Matiʿel offers his obedience in exchange for protection.

The outline of the Sefire Treaties is as follows (adapted from Fitzmyer, Aramaic Inscriptions of Sefire, 19):

1. Stele I (Sefire I):

a. A 1–7: Introduction

b. A 7–14: List of gods who witness the covenant

c. A 14–42: Curses accompanying the treaty if it is broken

d. B 1–6: Introduction

e. B 7–45: Stipulations of the treaty

f. C 1: Document of Matiʿel and Bar-Gaʾyah

g. C 2–25: Added document for Matiʿel

2. Stele II (Sefire II; fragmentary):

a. A: Curses accompanying the treaty if it is broken (corresponding to Sefire I, A 21–31)

b. B: Stipulations of the treaty (corresponding to Sefire I, B 21–28)

c. C: Regulations for the protection of the treaty (corresponding to Sefire I, C)

3. Stele III (Sefire III; fragmentary):

a. Stipulations of the treaty

Viewed together as a single treaty, Steles I—III reflect the standard structure of covenant agreements known from other locations throughout Assyria and Syro-Palestine: introduction, list of witnessing gods, curses, document clause, and stipulations (to which Matiʿel added an addendum).

Matiʿel is also known from Akkadian sources (as Matiʿilu) for a similar arrangement he made with the Assyrian king Aššurnirari V in 754–53 bc. His numerous, sometimes competing, alliances provide a window into the complexity of political life in the mid-eighth century bc, leading up to the Assyrian conquest of Syro-Palestine. As a lesser power than his allies, Matiʿel was in a vulnerable political position, and his actions speak to the ways in which other kings in his position, such as those of Israel and Judah, may have adapted to an increasingly tense political atmosphere.

Matiʿel’s ability to act autonomously in his capacity as king of Arpad puts the latest possible date for the Sefire Treaties at 740 bc, when King Tiglath-pileser III subjected the city of Arpad to Assyrian imperial rule.