A51 Tea Tephi

According to Irish poems (and a couple of websites), Tea Tephi was “the beautiful one with a royal prosperous smile” and “the most beautiful that traversed the Plain.” Supposedly, she was one of King Zedekiah of Judah’s daughters.

Zedekiah was the last King of Judah (of the House of David) before the Babylonian invasion by Nebuchadnezzar II in 597 BC. Zedekiah’s sons perished, but somehow his two daughters, Tea and Tamar Tephi, escaped with the prophet Jeremiah. They traveled from Egypt to Spain, Gibraltar, Cornwall and then ended up in Ireland.

According to legend, Tea Tephi brought sacred Hebrew relics to the British Isles, including the Ark of the Covenant and King David’s harp. She was also responsible for bringing the Stone of Destiny to Britain, which English and Scottish kings used for their coronations. The stone is called Jacob’s Pillow. It is supposedly the actual stone on which Jacob slept. King Edward I took it from Scotland to London.