Four Bullas from the City of David

Late 7th–Early 6th Century BCE

[Belonging to Tobshillem/Tobshalem (?)] son of Zakkur the healer.

Belonging to Gemaryahu son of Shaphan.

Belonging to Yehucal ben Shelemyahu son of Shobai.

Belonging to Gedalyahu ben Pashhur.

First two bullas, Translated by

Nahman

Avigad

and

Benjamin

Sass

. Second two bullas, translated by

Eilat

Mazar

Notes

[The owner of the seal from which this impression was made must have been a physician. His name is restored from two other impressions found nearby that were made with the seal of a man with the same patronymic, which can be read as “Zakkur” or “Benzakar.”—Eds.]

[This Gemaryahu son of Shaphan may be the scribe of that name mentioned in Jeremiah 36:10.—Eds.]

[The owner of the seal may be Jeremiah’s opponent, Jucal son of Shelemiah, mentioned in Jeremiah 38:1.—Eds.]

[The owner of the seal may be Jeremiah’s opponent Gedaliah son of Pashhur, mentioned in Jeremiah 38:1.—Eds.]

Credits

Four Bullas from the City of David, no. 1, in Nahman Avigad, revised and completed by Benjamin Sass, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, The Israel Exploration Society, The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1997), no. 420, p. 177. Used with permission of the publisher.;Four Bullas from the City of David, no. 3, in Eilat Mazar, “The Wall That Nehemiah Built,” Biblical Archaeology Review, vol. 35, no. 2 (Mar/Apr 2009): pp. 24–28, 30–33, 66. Used with permission of Biblical Archaeology Society.;Four Bullas from the City of David, no. 2, in Nahman Avigad, revised and completed by Benjamin Sass, Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals (Jerusalem: The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, The Israel Exploration Society, The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1997), no. 470, p. 191. Used with permission of the publisher.;Four Bullas from the City of David, no. 4, in Eilat Mazar, “The Wall That Nehemiah Built,” Biblical Archaeology Review, vol. 35, no. 2 (Mar/Apr 2009): pp. 24–28, 30–33, 66. Used with permission of Biblical Archaeology Society.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

Engage with this Source

About Seals, Seal Impressions, and Bullas

Inscribed seals were used to stamp the names of their owners on clay. Some were stamped on containers to identify the owners of their contents or to indicate some other type of relationship. Others were stamped on clay bullas (tags) attached either to letters (to identify their writers) or to legal documents (to certify the parties or witnesses to the document). Hundreds of seals and seal impressions containing inscriptions in Hebrew and other scripts are known, dating mostly from the eighth through sixth centuries BCE. The seals usually bear the owner’s name, often the name of his or her father and occasionally grandfather, and sometimes the owner’s title or another phrase. Some of the owners are government or religious officials, and a few are individuals known from the Bible. Many seals also contain interesting iconography.

Details

Four Bullas from the City of David

Notes

Credits

You may also like

Engage with this Source

Language:

Places:

Subjects:

You may also like

Four Bullas from the City of David

Notes

Credits

You may also like

Collection of Yiddish Stories from Southern Germany

Woman Playing Frame Drum

Igerot ha-remez (Epistles of the Secret)

Engage with this Source

Language:

Places:

Subjects:

You may also like

Collection of Yiddish Stories from Southern Germany

Woman Playing Frame Drum

Igerot ha-remez (Epistles of the Secret)