Free Republic

* The oval piece of clay bears the symbol of a winged sun and hieroglyphs * Archaeologists said it was the private seal of the biblical King Hezekiah * During his rule, the Kingdom of Judah saw its power rise dramatically * The seal has provided new clues about Hezekiah's life and politics ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A 2,700-year-old royal seal bearing the mark of the biblical King Hezekiah has been unearthed in Jerusalem. The tiny oval piece of clay bears the impression of a sun with two wings turned downward, flanked by two ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs that symbolise 'life'. King Hezekiah's rule...

For the first time, the royal seal of King Hezekiah in the Bible was found in an archaeological excavation. The stamped clay seal, also known as a bulla, was discovered in the Ophel excavations led by Dr. Eilat Mazar at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The discovery was announced in a press release by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, under whose auspices the excavations were conducted. The bulla, which measures just over a centimeter in diameter, bears a seal impression depicting a two-winged sun disk flanked by ankh symbols and...

Israeli Archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced this past Wednesday that she believed a seal impression of the Biblical prophet Isaiah was recently found near the southern wall of the Holy Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Mazar and a team of archaeologists from the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAR) had been conducting excavations at the Ophel site at the site of the Holy Temple (adjacent to the Western Wall). In her announcement, Mazar explained why there was a strong possibility that the seal she and her team discovered was actually the seal of the Biblical Prophet Isaiah. The following was part of the article...

Credit: Biblical Archaeology Review 44:2, March/April May/June 2018 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Author and archaeologist Eilat Mazar has published an article in Biblical Archaeology Review suggesting that a small piece of clay with a seal imprint on it (called a bulla) might be the first-ever extra-biblical reference to the prophet Isaiah. In her article, she gives a historical overview of both King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, followed by an overview of the locations in which both people were believed to have lived and worked—specifically temples in Jerusalem that have been under excavation for many years. Researchers found a bulla believed to...

Archaeologists in Israel say that they have found a clay seal mark that may bear the signature of the Biblical Prophet Isaiah. The 2,700-year-old stamped clay artifact was found during an excavation at the foot of the southern wall of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. In ancient times a seal stamp, or bulla, was used to authenticate documents or items. “We found the eighth-century B.C.E. seal mark that may have been made by the prophet Isaiah himself only 10 feet away from where we earlier discovered the highly-publicized bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah," said Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University...

If you asked people whom their favorite biblical prophet is, there’s a strong chance they would answer Isaiah. Sure, Moses gets all the accolades, received the tablets, and is the most important; but Isaiah is the prophetic book most quoted by authors of the New Testament. For Christians, Isaiah predicts the coming of the Messiah, the death of Jesus and the Virgin Birth. So, it is particularly auspicious that in a stunning article published today in Biblical Archaeology Review archaeologists announced that they have stumbled upon the first physical evidence for the existence of the prophet Isaiah.

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday that a unique stamped piece of clay from the First Temple period, inscribed in ancient Hebrew script, was unearthed in the authority excavations in the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem's Old City. The artifact originally belonged to the “governor of the city” of Jerusalem – the most prominent local position to be held in Jerusalem of 2700 years ago. According to the excavator, Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah, "the Bible mentions two governors of Jerusalem, and this finding thus reveals that such a position was actually held by someone in the city some 2700 years...

A provocative $4-million documentary by Toronto filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici claims to have found archeological evidence verifying the story of the biblical Exodus from Egypt, 3,500 years ago. Religious Jews consider the biblical account incontrovertible — the foundation story of the creation of the nation of Israel. Indeed, they celebrated the Exodus Wednesday night and last night with the annual Passover recitation of the Haggadah. But among scholars, the question of if and when Moses led an estimated two million Israelite slaves out of pharaonic Egypt, miraculously crossed the Red Sea ahead of the pursuing Egyptian army and received the Ten...

The eviction of Israeli families from Migron on Sunday brought back painful memories for many of the 9,000 citizens expelled from Gush Katif in 2005. Now Katif expellees are asking the government for just one thing: leave the synagogue standing. “We, who seven years ago felt on our flesh the Israeli government’s decision to uproot our lives and our towns in Gush Katif, are pained and shocked today at the fact that the Israeli government is repeating the terrible mistake, and crime, of demolishing settlement and uprooting homes in Migron,” wrote Eliezer Orbach of the Gush Katif Residents’ Committee, in...

The caves in which the purification baths were found were 'caves of refuge,' where Jews who lived in the area sought shelter under Roman rule. A fifth mikveh has been found in the caves on the Galilee's Cliffs of Arbel, indicating that the people who lived there under Roman rule were most likely kohanim, Jews of the priestly class, said Yinon Shivtiel, one of the researchers who found the ritual bath... The caves in which the purification baths were found were "caves of refuge," where Jews who lived in the area sought shelter under Roman rule, particularly during the Jewish...

AP: Group Discovers John the Baptist Cave KIBBUTZ TZUBA, Israel (AP) KARIN LAUB Archaeologists said Monday they have found a cave where they believe John the Baptist anointed many of his disciples - a huge cistern with 28 steps leading to an underground pool of water. During an exclusive tour of the cave by The Associated Press, archaeologists presented wall carvings they said tell the story of the fiery New Testament preacher, as well as a stone they believe was used for ceremonial foot washing. They also pulled about 250,000 pottery shards from the cave, the apparent remnants of small...

This remarkable seal or bulla of the Judean King Hezekiah was discovered by Efrat Greenwald at the Ophel, an ancient dump beside the wall that surrounds Jerusalem's Old City. This bulla was found with 33 additional bullae, many pottery sherds and figurines in Area A of the 2009 excavation season supervised by Hagai Cohen-Klonymus of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. This is the first seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king ever exposed in situ in a scientific archaeological excavation. Initial inspection failed to recognize the seal's importance and it was put in storage. Recently the bulla was identified by...

Archaeologists digging just south of Jerusalem's Temple Mount have made a historic discovery, unearthing the first-ever seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king ever exposed in situ in a scientific archaeological excavation. The discovery, made by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology under the direction of Dr. Eilat Mazar during Ophel excavations at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount, is an impression of the royal seal of the Biblical King Hezekiah, who reigned between 727–698 BCE. Measuring 9.7 X 8.6 mm, the oval impression was imprinted on a 3 mm thick soft bulla...

A 3,000-year-old ceramic jar discovered in pieces in Israel has been restored to reveal a rare inscription of the name of a biblical figure and ruler whose reign coincided with that of King David, archaeologists announced today (June 16). The pottery was found in an ancient city overlooking the Valley of Elah, where, as described in the Bible, the legendary David defeated Goliath. The inscription, the researchers found, read: Eshba'al Ben Bada', who the archaeologists say was likely an important person since his name was inscribed on a jar. (Eshba'al Ben Shaul ruled over Israel at the same time...

JERUSALEM – Israel's antiquities authority says archaeologists have discovered a rare 3,000-year-old inscription of a name mentioned in the Bible. The name "Eshbaal Ben Beda" appears on a large ceramic jar. Eshbaal of the Bible was a son of King Saul. Archaeologists Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor say the jar belonged to a different Eshbaal, likely the owner of an agricultural estate. They said Tuesday it is the first time the name was discovered in an ancient inscription. It is one of only four inscriptions discovered from the biblical 10th century B.C. Kingdom of Judah, when King David is said...

The Biblical name Eshbaal has been found for the first time in an ancient inscription. Incised before firing on a 3,000-year-old pithos (large ceramic storage jar), the inscription was discovered at the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa in Israel. Researchers Yosef Garfinkel, Mitka R. Golub, Haggai Misgav and Saar Ganor have published their study of this inscription in a forthcoming issue of the journal Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (BASOR). The Eshbaal inscription reads “[ ] | ʾšbʿl | ˹bn˺ | bdʿ” (“ʾIšbaʿal son of Bedaʿ”) and was written from right to left in the Canaanite alphabetic script....

Tel Aviv University researchers are writing a computer program that can read Paleo-Hebrew letters inscribed on First Temple period ostraca. Researchers from Tel Aviv University (TAU) are developing a computer program that can read a script used by the Israelites over 2,600 years ago... The project was begun by TAU Professor of Archaeology Israel Finkelstein and Professor of Physics Eliezer Piasetsky six years ago. Since then, the researchers have enlisted the help of epigraphy, archaeology and math experts along with TAU Ph.D. math students Arie Shaus, Shira Faigenbaum-Golovin and Barak Sober. At the center of this ambitious project are First...

Last month, I read a truly fascinating book, written by John Entine, titled: "Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People". Entine is a genetics expert, and a fellow of the American Enterprise Institute. http://www.amazon.com/Abrahams-Children-Identity-Chosen-People/dp/0446580635 It mentions that Jews have genetic markers, that can be detected by DNA tests. Of course, genetic markers also exist for Irishmen, Chinese people, Indians, etc. The Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East and the Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, have very similar genes. Genetics research and Archaeology are proving that many of the accounts in the Old Testament are true. Jews have...

A newly translated Hebrew text claims to reveal where treasures from King Solomon's temple were hidden and discusses the fate of the Ark of the Covenant itself. But unlike the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the text leaves the exact location of the Ark unclear and states that it, and the other treasures, "shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David …" putting it out of reach of any would-be treasure seeker. King Solomon's Temple, also called the First Temple, was plundered and torched by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar...

 The University of Oxford and the Vatican have jointly created a digital project that will put online over 1.5 million pages of medieval and biblical texts. The four-year project will digitize the collections of the Bodleian Libraries and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (BAV) related to their Hebrew manuscripts, Greek manuscripts and fifteenth-century printed books. They include a Gutenberg Bible from 1455, an autographed and annotated manuscript of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, and the oldest surviving Hebrew codex.The project is funded by a $3.2 million grant from the Polonsky Foundation. Dr Leonard Polonsky said, “In today’s fast-paced, digital-driven world of scholarship, easy...