According to Etgar Lefkovits (The Jerusalem Post, July 31), an intact seal impression belonging to a minister, or secretary, of King Zedekiah, dating back 2,600 years, has been uncovered during an archaeological dig in Jerusalem’s ancient City of David. The seal impression, or bulla, with the name Gedalyahu ben Pashur, who served as minister to King Zedekiah (597-586 BC), was found a few yards away from a separate seal impression of another of Zedekiah’s ministers, Yehukual ben Shelemyahu, which was uncovered three years ago. This was reported by Professor Eilat Mazar, who is leading the archaeological dig at the site.
The first bulla was uncovered inside an impressive stone structure, which Mazar believes is the Palace of David, while the second bulla was found at the foot of the external wall of the same structure, under a tower that was built in the days of Nehemiah. Each bulla, measuring about half an inch in diameter, was found among the debris of the destruction of the First Temple period. The letters are in ancient Hebrew and are very clearly preserved, Mazar said.
The excavation at the City of David, located just outside the walls of the Old City, has been a treasure trove for archaeologists. “On the one hand it is so unexpected to find such a fragile bulla in such harsh conditions of excavation, while on the other hand it was logical to find precisely here the bulla of Gedalyahu ben Pashur — only meters away from the place where we found the bulla of Yehukhal ben Shelemyahu — since these two ministers are mentioned side by side in the Bible as having served together in the kingdom of Zedekiah,” Mazar said.
Gedalyahu ben Pashur is the “Gedaliah son of Pashur” mentioned in Jeremiah 38:1, and Yahukual ben Shelemyahu is the “Jehucal son of Shelemiah” of Jeremiah 37:3; 38:1. Both ministers are mentioned in Jeremiah 38, along with two other ministers, when they came to King Zedekiah demanding the death of the prophet Jeremiah for exhorting the besieged city to surrender.
Prof. Mazar said it was “absolutely fantastic” to have uncovered the seals “complete and in perfect condition” after 2,600 years. “It is a discovery… in which real figures of the past shake off the dust of history and vividly revive the stories of the Bible.” Mazar, who rose to international prominence for the excavation that uncovered the probable palace of King David, has been at the forefront of a series of Jerusalem archaeological finds.
Other Biblical-era bullae have been found previously. In 1982, the Israeli archaeologist Yigal Shiloh discovered a collection in a nearby site, including one with the name of Gemaryahu ben Shaphan (“Gemariah son of Shaphan”: Jer 36:10-12), an official and scribe during the reign of Jehoiakim (608-597 BC). Gemariah was the first cousin, once removed, of Jeremiah himself; he assisted Jeremiah’s secretary Baruch in the public reading of Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jer 36:10,25).
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