International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, November 26, 2003

Two Jerusalem scholars have uncovered the 25th verse of the 2nd chapter of Luke carved into an ancient shrine known as Absalom’s Tomb located in the Kidron Valley, between Jerusalem’s walled Old City and the Mount of Olives.

The Simeon reference - a shallow, vertical inscription of crooked letters that run together and are of different heights - was carved by laymen who "knew their Greek and their Luke, but didn’t know how to be masons," according to Shimon Gibson of the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem.

The inscription declares the site to be the tomb of "Simeon who was a very just man and a very devoted old [person] and waiting for the consolation of the people." The New Testament says Simeon declared the infant Jesus to be the Messiah.

The find, coupled with the earlier discovery of an inscription stating, "This is the tomb of Zachariah, martyr, very pious priest, father of John," adds validity to hitherto limited references to the belief that three biblical figures, Simeon, Zachariah, and James, the brother of Jesus shared the same tomb.

While archeologist have discovered a number of Old Testament phrases inscribed on monuments, a floor mosaic in Caesarea inlaid with the words of Romans 3:13 is the only other example of a complete New Testament passage found to date.