Ancient Bulla Discovered with Biblical King’s Mark

By Rubén Betanzo S. (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By Rubén Betanzo S. (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Archeologist say they’ve found Biblical King Hezekiah’s seal.

Israeli archaeologists, who were recently on an expedition have come across a bulla with an inscription which is being said to have been signed by Hezekiah, the King of Judah himself.

Ancient Bulla Discovered with Biblical King’s Mark[/tweetthis]

After certain inspection, it was said that even though it was discovered a long time ago, the archaeologists had not been able to understand its significance. It was initially put in a closet, along with thirty-three other items, and all but forgotten about when the archaeologists were not successful in establishing its true identity in the initial inspection.

However, five years later, when it was sent again for another examination, the team members were able to able to find out its true identity by discovering it was written in Hebrew.

This significant item was found by a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, at the site of an ancient dump. This is located beside the wall which is known to surround the Old City of Jerusalem. According to certain sources, they believe that it was thrown out from a royal building after the people considered it to be rubbish.

The expedition, which was led by Dr. Eilat Mazar at the southern wall of the Temple Mount, is an impression of the Biblical King Hezekiah, who reigned Jerusalem from 727-698 BCE. From what has been found from history sources, Hezekiah was a very pious man and in the Bible he has been described as a daring monarch. As has been said, there has been no monarch like him before or after him. This is because unlike his father, he was one of the only kings who was intent on driving out idolatry from his kingdom. Even though he originated from Assyria, the amount of contribution he made towards Jerusalem has been beyond count. This is because during his rule, he improved the country religiously, economically, as well as diplomatically.

Mazar, in a recent interview, said, “This is the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation.” The bulla, which measures around 13 mm, or 0.5 inches, was at one time attached with papyrus documents which were signed by Hezekiah himself. Since it was sealed with a document and tied with thin marks, the marks could also be found on the back of the bulla.

The bulla, which is imprinted with a symbol of a winged sun and an inscription which has been written in Hebrew. In it, it says “Belong to Hezekiah, son of Ahaz king of Judah.” By deciphering this statement were the archaeologists were able to determine that this bulla is in fact belonging to Hezekiah.

This discovery is considered to be one of the breakthrough discoveries which have been made in recent times. This is because in this way, the Israeli archaeologists have been able to understand more about the history of King Hezekiah. In this way, they will be able to get as close as possible to the king himself, the person himself.

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