Thursday, 3 December 2015

King Hezekiah's Seal


Dated: Circa 700 BC
Belonged to: King Hezekiah, a King of Judah
Size: About 1 cm

The private royal seal, or bulla, belonging to the biblical King Hezekiah (pictured) who ruled the Kingdom of Judah around 2,700 years ago, has been discovered during an excavation of an ancient rubbish dump in Jerusalem. The seal (pictured), which is thought to have been used to seal a document, bears the king's name

The text reads "'Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz King of Judah."

The symbol on the right side is known as an ankh. The ankh is most often seen in Egyptian hieroglyphics and is considered to be the symbol used to refer to life.  


The winged Sun in the center was used as a symbol of the Kingdom of Judah from 712 to 632 BC (during the reigns of both Hezekiah and his son Manasseh.)

King Hezekiah was the 17th Israelite King. He reigned over Judah between 715 and 686 BC and is known for being a devout Jew, rebelling against King Sennacherib of Assyria and having a water tunnel created (which tourists can walk through in Jerusalem.)







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