Saturday, December 05, 2015

More on the Hezekiah seal impression

ROBERT CARGILL HAS some questions about the recent news of the discovery of a seal bearing the name of King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. This one strikes me as particularly interesting:
And if that’s what this is about (the new reading of the inscription), then what do other epigraphers say about this reading? No “ben” in between Hezekiah and Ahaz? And does it really say Ahaz? Does it fit within the border of the seal?
There have been many media stories about the announcement in the last day or so. Here are a couple:

Impression of biblical king's seal found in Jerusalem (BBC). A brief report that seems to capture the main points.

King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light (Robin Ngo, Bible History Daily). Includes some useful historical background to the find.

The discovery of the bulla was noted here on Thursday.