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Original Historical Documents |
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THE LIST OF SEAL IMPRESSIONS AND OSTRACON Hebrew Lexicon Royal Scarabs Scarabs |
| Image | Location | Date Found | Description | Finder | Comments |
![]() Site of the more modest King David's Palace. |
Jerusalem - Eilat Mazar It is believed that both seals came from the same bundle of written pages which were burned probably during the Babylonian destruction, 2.Ki. 25. | exact dates unknown at this time | Two small clay seals have been found in an area described as King David's Palace. One bears the name of Yehuchal ben Shelemayahu, found in 2006, and the other the name of Gedalyahu ben Pashhur, reported in October 2008. | No image seen so far. These names are found in the Bible, "Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying . . ." Jeremiah 38:1. Yehuchal is the same as Jucal plus the theophoric `yahu' part of the name. The same with Gedalyahu/Gedaliah. |
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Tell El-Kheleifeh, Near Eilat Lachish Layer III 701 BC | unknown at this time | Edomite stamped jar handle reading: `Belonging to Qaws'anal, servant of the king'. The underlined name represents the theophoric part of the name of the god `Qaws' or `Qôs'.; [BAR, Vol. IX, Mar/Apr 1983, p. 35.] | Nelson Glueck/Pinkerfeld excavation | Image from the Nelson Glueck and Pinkerfeld excavation at Tell El-Kheleifeh, on the norther shore of the Gulf of Aqaba near Eilat. 22 such identical seal impressions on jar handles were found most of them which are not as well preserved as this one. |
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Tell Beit Mirsim Lachish Layer III 701 BC. -- Same type seal also found at Ramat Rahel (inside Jerusalem: map) by Aharoni. Dated to 8th century. [See BAR, Sep 2006, p. 38.] | Winter 1928 |
Stamped jar handle reading: I'lyqm ncr ywkn' = `Belonging to Eliakim servant of Yokan'; [See Hebrew: belonging, servant (of the king) `Belonging' often written only as H.Mommsen, I.Perlman, J.Yellin, `The Provenance of the LMLK Jars', Israel Exploration Journal, 1984, 34:89-113. (Chemical Analysis) | W.F. Albright |
In 1981 Nahman Avigad showed that `nacar' was not used for royal officials but for servants of private individuals. But provenance of seal is still unresolved. |
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| Beth Shemesh | Early 1930 |
Stamped jar handle reading: I'lyqm ncr ywkn' = `Belonging to Eliakim servant of Yokan'; | Elihu Grant | Today's consensus seems to be that these jar handles and Lachish stratum III belong to 701 BC. |
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| Palace of Ramat Rahel | 1961 |
Stamped jar handle reading: I'lyqm ncr ywkn' = `Belonging to Eliakim servant of Yokan'; | Yohanan Aharoni | Comments |
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Incised Letters on Chalcedony Seal, late 8th century BC. BAR, Mar/Apr 1997, p. 46 | unknown | unknown |
Chalcedony seal reading: `Belonging to Abdi servant of Hoshea'; Upper line spelling: `belonging' Lower line spelling: `servant (ebed)' just as `bet?' letters `Hoshea' = Purpose of last | unknwon | Comments |
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| Found near Samaria, the seal of `Oniyahu, son of Merav'. | before 1993 |
Found near Samaria, Oniah is the Hebrew word for `ship'. The seal reads then, the `ship of Yahweh'.
| unknown | Comments |
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See more detail Here! | Ezion-Geber | 1930's or 1940's |
The seal shows what could be a bullock in front of which is an object which could represent either a chunk of meat or a metal ingot.
| Nelson Glueck | Comments: The name `Jotham' occurs in the Bible as 1. that of a son of Gideon, 2. that of a son of King Azariah (Uzziah), 3. and a son of Jahdai. It is thought that the signet ring seal belonged to the son of Uzziah. |
| unknown | Says recently discovered in 1993 issue of BAR, Mar/Apr p. 28. |
Carved in Phoenician style, the seal incorporates such Egyptian elements as the ankh, upper left, a sphinx, and the winged disk. Four mirror image paleo-Hebrew letters, 2 just below the winged disk and 2 at lower left and right, spell out `yzbl', Jezebel ( | unknown | Comments: Besides the Egyptian iconography already mentioned there are also 2 ureaus cobras and the royal hawk. See here and here for more! |
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| Found at Lachish |
Drawing of a seal impression reading: `Gedaliah who is over the house.' [`Biblical Archaeology', Mar 1984, p. 57; A very instructive article] | unknwon at this time | Comments |
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Redrawn by CIAS unknown
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| Left Seal reads: `Belonging to Nathan-melech servant of the king'; | Right Seal reads: `Nathan who is over the house'; unkown
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![]() | Seal reads: `Belonging to Shebnayahu ... ha melekh'; [BAR, May/Jun 2009.; See also Sargon.] | Found by Volkmer Fritz at Lachish, 1966-68, in a juglet containing a hoard of bullae. One of these bullae read, "Shebnahyahu ... ha melekh". Two opinions emerged what the word in the broken off portion could have been. Some said it was the Hebrew word for `son' "ben", others it was the word for `servant', "eved". That meant that `Shebnahyahu son of the king' or `Shebnahyahu servant of the king' was originally written. How to decide? For 42 years no solution was in sight. Then in 2007 another bulla stamped seal with the same name surfaced on the Jerusalem antiquities market. Examination revealed that it was made by the same stamped seal as the former one. Good thing, on this example part of an additional letter to the right of `ha melekh' ended in "daled" (red dot). The original reading, therefore, was `Shabnayahu, servant of the king.' This find helps us to realize that the Shebna lintel reading is correct. See also 2.Kings 18:18,26,27;19:2; Isa. 22:15; 36:3,11,22; 37:2. |
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| The paleo-Hebrew inscription reads, `Belonging to Asayahu, servant of the king' and dates to the 7th century BC. | `Asaih' is the shortened form of `Asayahu' and can be read about in 2.Kings 22:12 and 2.Chronicles 34:20. It could be that this seal belonged to Asaiah, a servant of King Josiah, who was sent by the king in 622 BC to the Temple in Jerusalem to examine the Scroll of the Law - perhaps being the Book of Deuteronomy - which was discovered by the High Priest Hilkiah after having been lost sight of. It is of interest to know that Josiah banned horses as a symbol during his religious reform. "He removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance to the House of the Lord." 2.Kings 23:11. [BAR, Vol. 22, Mar/Apr 1996, p. 38; See also seal impression translated as, "Belonging to Hanan son of Hilqiyahu (Hilkia?) the priest." 2.Ki. 22:4; Vol. XIII, No. 5, Sep 1987, p. 54; Vol. 27, No. 3, May/Jun 2001, p. 28. ] |
Inscriptions and Palestinian Names in the Kaufman Seal Collection and in Others [BAR, Vol. 30, Mar/Apr 2004, p. 20f]
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Bullae from the City of David of the First Temple Period - BA, Vol 49, Dec 1986, p. 202-206 & where such a name occurs in the Bible
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Arrowhead Inscriptions and Palestinian Names [BAR, Vol. 25, May/Jun 1999, p. 42.]
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Transcription: -lm.L'hqm.bn.m - m cmdyhw.bn.zkr.mmldh hoscyhw.bn.nwy.mrn/ptn mky.bn.hslyhw.mmqdh Translation: "(Going up?) to Ahiqam, son of m-m Amadyahu son of Zakkur, from Moladah Hoshacyahu, son of Nawy, from rn/ptn. Machi, son of Hisilyahu, from Makkedah" |
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Transcription: `mr.lmk.'mr.lblbl. hslm.'t.whbrkt lqws.wct.tn.'t.h'kl 'sr.cmd.'h'mh[]whrmc[z]'l.clmz'[bh(?)...] []hmr.h'kl Translation: "(Thus) said Lumalak (or {E}limelek): Say to Blbl! Are you well? I bless you by Qaus. And now give the food (grain) that Ahi'ma/o And may U[z]iel lift [it] upon (the altar?)... [lest] the food become leavened(?)" [Horvat Uza in BA, Sep 1991, p. 134] |
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