Story of Ahiqar

The Story of Ahiqar is an ancient Aramaic wisdom narrative whose earliest surviving manuscripts date to the 5th century before the common count, discovered among the Elephantine papyri of a Jewish military community in Egypt.

It tells the story of Ahiqar, a legendary adviser to the Assyrian kings Sennacherib and Esarhaddon, who is betrayed by his adopted nephew Nadin. The work combines court intrigue with moral teachings and proverbs.

Ahiqar also appears in the Jewish Book of Tobit as a relative of Tobit and a high-ranking Assyrian official. Although originally a wider Near Eastern literary tradition, its preservation at Elephantine demonstrates its circulation and influence among ancient Jewish communities.