Heliodorus Stele

A stone inscription discovered in the 2000s records Seleucus IV appointing an official to oversee the sanctuaries of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia, including Judea. It corroborates the account in Second Maccabees of Heliodorus being sent to Jerusalem to seize Temple funds. The find confirms that Seleucid interference in Temple affairs begins before Antiochus IV, reframing the revolt as the culmination of a longer process. It is a rare case of archaeology directly confirming a narrative from the Apocrypha.