Ancient Seal Offers First Biblical Evidence Of The Prophet Isaiah?

AncientPages.com - While excavating south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Israel, archaeologists have discovered an ancient seal that could offer first solid proof of the Biblical prophet Isaiah.

The small seal discovered by archaeologist Eilat Mazar and her team carries an inscription that reads “[belonging] to Isaiah nvy.”

This 2,700-year-old seal impression contains the Hebrew name for "Isaiah" and may refer to the biblical prophet who lived at the same time. Credit: Ouria Tadmor/copyright Eilat Mazar

Unfortunately, the upper portion of the impression is missing, and its left side is damaged. Reconstructing a few Hebrew letters in this damaged area would cause the impression to read, “[belonging] to Isaiah the prophet.”

The artifact is about 2,700 years old and according to Mazar, who works at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem the mark may have been from Isaiah himself since it was so close to another discovery — the bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah.

“We found the eighth-century B.C.E. seal mark that may have been made by the Prophet Isaiah himself only 10 feet away from where we earlier discovered the highly publicized bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah," Mazar said.

In ancient times, these seal stamps, which are called “bullas,” were used to authenticate different documents and items.

Russian icon of the Prophet Isaiah, 18th century (iconostasis of Transfiguration Church, Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia).

“Because the bulla has been slightly damaged at end of the word nvy, it is not known if it originally ended with the Hebrew letter aleph,” explains Mazar, “which would have resulted in the Hebrew word for ‘prophet’ and would have definitively identified the seal as the signature of the prophet Isaiah. The absence of this final letter, however, requires that we leave open the possibility that it could just be the name Navi. The name of Isaiah, however, is clear.”

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In the Bible, specifically 2 Kings 18-19, the Prophet Isaiah served as counsel for King Hezekiah to protect Jerusalem. Isaiah was one of the closest people to Hezekiah during the era of 727 to 698 B.C.E. era.

The Isaiah Bulla is divided into three registers. The remains of a grazing doe can be seen in the top register. Written in Hebrew, the name Isaiah appears in the middle register, and the letters nvy are visible in the lower register. The drawing shows several reconstructed letters in blue: the Hebrew letters vav and heh at the damaged end of the middle register and the letter aleph at the damaged end of the lower register. If these letters were added, then the seal impression would read “[belonging] to Isaiah the prophet.” Drawing: Reut Livyatan Ben-Arie/© Eilat Mazar; Photo: Ouria Tadmor/© Eilat Mazar.

“If it is the case that this bulla is indeed that of the Prophet Isaiah, then it should not come as a surprise to discover this bulla next to one bearing King Hezekiah’s name given the symbiotic relationship of the Prophet Isaiah and King Hezekiah described in the Bible,” Mazar said.

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