Archaeologists Discover Ancient Seal That May Back Bible Story
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
An archaeologist working with the Temple Mount Sifting Project has uncovered a well-preserved clay seal stamped with Paleo-Hebrew letters that read, according to project researchers, "Belonging to Yed[a']yah (son of) Asayahu."
The name Asayahu appears in biblical accounts associated with the reign of King Josiah of Judah. Among Josiah's trusted envoys was a senior official named Asayahu, described as "the king's servant."
Researchers said the seal's findspot and style of writing date it to the late First Temple period (late 7th–early 6th century BCE), raising the possibility that it belonged to a high-ranking official connected to Temple administration at a historically significant moment.
Given his prominent role, it may be reasonable to assume that Asayahu's son, Yeda'yah, may have also served in a prominent position, either at the same time or shortly thereafter.
Why It Matters
The seal provides a rare material connection to a name that appears in biblical texts describing reforms under King Josiah and related Temple activity, offering archaeologists a datable artifact that could illuminate administrative practice in Jerusalem before the Babylonian destruction.
What To Know
Archaeologist Mordechai Ehrlich found the clay seal while examining material recovered by the Temple Mount Sifting Project, and project researchers rapidly analyzed and publicly announced the artifact shortly before the Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av.
Researchers Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich and Zachi Dvira read the inscription as "Belonging to Yed[a']yah (son of) Asayahu," and dated the script style to the late First Temple period, approximately the late-7th to early-6th century BCE.
A seal thought to bear the Hebrew name Yed[a‛]yah (son of) Asayahu is seen in the image on the left, while archaeologist Mordechai Ehrlich is seen holding the seal in the image on the right.
A seal thought to bear the Hebrew name Yed[a‛]yah (son of) Asayahu is seen in the image on the left, while archaeologist Mordechai Ehrlich is seen holding the seal in the image on the right.
Temple Mount Setting Project
The reverse of the clay bulla, an inscribed token used as a form of authentication, bore cord marks consistent with its use sealing a bag or container, and the object still displayed a partial fingerprint that specialists interpreted as the impression of its ancient handler.
The Temple Mount Sifting Project said that this was only the second nearly complete inscribed seal recovered by the project in more than two decades, and researchers compared it to earlier finds from Temple Mount contexts such as a bulla bearing the name "[He]zelyahu son of Immer," interpreted by some scholars as a Temple treasury official.
What People Are Saying
Zachi Dvira, archaeologist and co-director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project, told The Times of Israel: "Obviously, we are not sure that the Asayahu mentioned on the sealing is the same that appears in the Bible. However, several such artifacts found in the area of the Temple Mount carry biblical names, and it does make sense, because these were not objects used by common people."
What Happens Next
Project leaders said they planned to submit a detailed report on the seal to a peer-reviewed journal in the coming weeks and to continue analysis using imaging techniques such as Reflectance Transformation Imaging to document the inscription and fingerprint.
If peer review confirms the dating and reading, scholars anticipate the find will inform understanding of Temple and royal household record-keeping; however, researchers cautioned that a direct identification of the seal's owner with the biblical Asayahu could not be established on the basis of the artifact alone.
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