Posted on 04/02/2019 5:48:15 AM PDT by SJackson
The seal was deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem
A 2,600-year-old seal from the Kingdom of Judah bearing the inscription “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” was recently discovered in the City of David, according to an announcement Sunday.
The seal was deciphered by Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem. ADVERTISING Read More Related Articles
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Recommended by “Although it is not possible to determine with complete certainty that the Nathan-Melech who is mentioned in the Bible was in fact the owner of the stamp, it is impossible to ignore some of the details that link them together,” Mendel-Geberovich said.
The statement notes that the name Nathan-Melech appears once in the Hebrew Bible, in II Kings 23:11, where he is described as an official in the court of King Josiah.
The clay bulla (seal impression), along with other artifacts, was discovered inside a public building that was destroyed during the destruction of the First Temple and was uncovered during the archaeological excavation of the Givati parking lot in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. The dig was conducted by archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University (TAU).
The bulla “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King,” discovered March 31st, 2019. (Credit: ELIYAHU YANAI/CITY OF DAVID)The bulla “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King,” discovered March 31st, 2019. (Credit: ELIYAHU YANAI/CITY OF DAVID)
“Since many of the well-known bulla and stamps have not come from organized archaeological excavations but rather from the antiquities market, the discovery of these two artifacts in a clear archaeological context that can be dated is very exciting,” Prof. Yuval Gadot of TAU and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the IAA said in a statement.S
“They join the bullae and stamps bearing names written in ancient Hebrew script, which were discovered in the various excavations that have been conducted in the City of David until today. These artifacts attest to the highly developed system of administration in the Kingdom of Judah and add considerable information to our understanding of the economic status of Jerusalem and its administrative system during the First Temple period, as well as personal information about the king’s closest officials and administrators who lived and worked in the city.”
They added the discovery helps provide a window into the era.
“The discovery of a public building such as this, on the western slope of the City of David, provides a lot of information about the city’s structure during this period and the size of its administrative area,” they said. “The destruction of this building in the fire, apparently during the Babylonian conquest of the city in 586 BCE, strengthens our understanding of the intensity of the destruction in the city.”
A second artifact was also located during the dig. A stamp-seal was also in uncovered, made of “bluish agate stone, engraved with the name – ‘(belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu,’” according to the release.
The stamp-seal “(belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu,” discovered March 31st, 2019. (Credit: ELIYAHU YANAI/CITY OF DAVID)The stamp-seal “(belonging) to Ikar son of Matanyahu,” discovered March 31st, 2019. (Credit: ELIYAHU YANAI/CITY OF DAVID)
Both artifacts will be presented in the Israel Exploration Journal, the archaeological journal published by the Israel Exploration Society.
I checked he is mentioned in Kings 2 13:11.
.
This “discovery” was more than 6 years ago!
I guess that is “recent” compared to the era of David.
Was just wondering how long it would take.. LOL.
I don't know that there was an earlier "original" version. You are making an assumption that there is a version that is earlier than the oldest one we have.
.
All of the works of Tanakh had to have been written in paleo. The Aramaic style characters came after the return from Babylon.
The King James version calls Nathan-Melech a chamberlain. The Septuagint (Greek) translation calls him a eunuch.
An assumption on your part.
Bkmrk
Absolutely cool!
I just got up with my first cup of coffee and read that headline and immediately thought that the bones of one of Flipper’s ancestors had been found there.
It doesn’t reference to return from Babylon so it almost certainly was written before that event. Thus, if there was an earlier test, then that would certainly explain the different scripts.
Indeed! I read Hebrew and I couldn’t make it out.
There are plenty of sites on the internet which deal with that, such as Ezra updating the Hebrew, etc. I do not want to get into an argument with someone who has an axe to grind.
There's no bigger axe than a religious assumption. Just say you believe something as a matter of faith and leave it at that.
At least you got the pic correct. Most people can’t tell the difference between a sea lion and a seal. lol
The historic context of language is amazing.
Many years ago I read a book entitled:
“On Language”, Descent from the Tower of Babel (ISBN 0-316-56671-3)
It was somewhat related to the structure of language more than the characters.
What I find interesting today are the links between language and the ME Region. Particularly the mountains bordered by Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.
This is the region of the Tower of Babel, the place where Noah’s Ark is thought to have landed.
The Kurds who have inhabited this area for eons are sometimes described as the children of Noah, descendants of the Zoroastrian civilization, descending from the Ezidi, as being the Meades spoken of in the Bible. (What is true? that is still somewhat debatable as far as man is concerned.) But it is an interesting part of the world relating to our scripture. (the Kurds were around long long before Islam)
I am told there are villages in N. Syria where the same dialect of Aramaic that Jesus spoke is still in use. They somehow were missed by ISIS.
Have you ever wondered why the Islamist Muslims always destroy evidence of other civilizations? It is because it makes their own tale laughable to show they existed. So, they must destroy the evidence that it is a lie.
The same thing happens in the evacuation of areas in Israel. Where the Muslims control it they bury the evidence. And often the Jews sift the rubble and find it anyway.
The pieces fit with the Truth.
No way! Seals don’t live that long.
Click The Pic
All religious, or for that matter any documents treating metaphysical topics, are based upon speculation and far reaching hypothesis...
Thanks for posting this; I really am impressed!
These are what I like to call God’s punctuation marks.
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