Bulla from Lachish

6th Century BCE

Belonging to Gedalyahu “who is over the House.”

Translated by Nahman Avigad and Benjamin Sass.

Notes

[Who is over the House—The title is the same one translated as “Steward of the Palace” in “The Tomb Inscription of the Royal Steward” above. This Gedalyahu is thought by many to be Gedaliah ben Ahikam, who was appointed governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, after the destruction of Jerusalem, and was soon assassinated (2 Kings 25:22–25; Jeremiah 40–41). It is assumed that he previously held the position of steward in charge of the royal palace and that this bulla was stamped with the seal he used at that time.—Eds.]

Credits

Bulla from Lachish, 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. 405, p. 172. Used with permission of the publisher.

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