By April 7, 2008 Read More →

Seal of Shema, c. 788 BCE

Date- c. 788 BCE

Current Location- Unknown

Language and Script- Hebrew; alphabetic

Seal_of_Shema

Seal of Shema

General Information-

Jeroboam II inaugurated the longest reign of a king of Northern Israel in 788 BCE. He ruled over a period of unparalleled prosperity, taking advantage of a lapse in strong Assyrian control of the Levant. Jeroboam’s name is preserved on a seal made of jasper that is dated paleographically to the mid-eighth century, ruling out Jeroboam I, a tenth-century king of Israel. The seal depicts a magnificent lion, realistically shown in full-throated roar with its tufted tail erect. Several other seals from the late Iron Age bear the title ‘bd hmlk, “servant of the king,” an indication that the ‘ebed was a high-ranking official of the kings of Israel and Judah. Biblical evidence lends further credence to this hypothesis. For example, one of the royal officials listed in 2 Kings 22-12 is “the king’s servant (‘ebed hammelek) Asaiah” (see also 1 Kings 1-47; 2 Kings 5-6, 25-8).

Circumstances of Discovery and Acquisition- This seal, made of jasper, was found in the Megiddo excavations of 1904; it was discovered accidentally in the excavation dump, not in a stratified level. Although the seal itself was lost en route to the Istanbul Museum, an impression cast in bronze had been made prior to its shipment.

2 Comments on "Seal of Shema, c. 788 BCE"

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  1. David Baker says:

    Great picture! Can I use it in an introduction to Hebrew I am planning to publish soon? I can’t see any copyright information.

  2. Dick Prinzing says:

    I am interested in analysis of the script of this seal (the seal of Shema under Jeroboam). Can anyone help me?

    Dick Prinzing
    Rockford, Illinois