An ancient stone seal has been discovered in Jerusalem that could be linked to a warrior mentioned in the Bible.
The dime-sized black relic was likely worn as an amulet around the neck of a man who held high office in the holy city some 2,700 years ago.
The stone seals were used as a kind of ancient identity document. This one bears an engraving of a winged “genius” or “demon” that had never been seen before in Israel.
Also inscribed on the seal are two names: “Yeho’ezer” and “Hosh’ayahu,” both of which are mentioned in the Bible. “Yo’ezer,” the shortened form of Yeho’ezer, was the name of one of the warriors of King David, the king of Israel at the time.
Archaeologists have discovered an ancient stone seal in Jerusalem that could be linked to one of Jesus’ disciples.
And the name Hoshʼayahu is a parallel form of the name ‘Azariah ben Hoshʼaya’, which is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah.
“It is not impossible that perhaps it was Yeho’ezer himself who engraved the names on the object,” research associate Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa said in a press release.
This find also provides new evidence supporting the existence of a multinational culture that thrived in ancient Jerusalem, as described in the Bible.
During the First Temple period, when this seal was made, Jerusalem was subject to the Assyrian Empire.
The artistic and cultural influence of this ruling power is reflected in the seal, as it bears an engraving of a winged protective figure.
According to the press release, winged demon figures are known from Neo-Assyrian art from the 9th-7th centuries BC.
The fact that the seal’s original owner chose a demon as his personal insignia “may attest to his feeling that it belonged to a broader cultural context,” said excavation director Yuval Baruch.
But the two names inscribed on either side of this figure are written in Hebrew script, suggesting that whoever carved them held on tightly to their local identity, Baruch said.
“It is an extremely rare and unusual discovery,” said IAA archaeologist and Assyriologist Filip Vukosavovic, who studied the seal.
This seal “opens another window into the days of the Kingdom of Judah during the First Temple period, and bears witness to the international connections of that administration,” said Israeli Heritage Minister Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu.
The seal, about the size of a dime, bears inscriptions that provide evidence that a multinational culture, as described in the Bible, thrived in ancient Jerusalem.
The seal was discovered near the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount in the City of David National Park.
“This demonstrates the importance and centrality of Jerusalem 2,700 years ago.”
Furthermore, it provides a clearer picture of the reading and writing abilities of the inhabitants of Jerusalem during this period.
‘Contrary to popular belief, it appears that literacy in this period was not the exclusive domain of the elite of society.
“People were literate, at least at a basic level, for the needs of commerce,” Baruch said.
Researchers found the seal near the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount in the City of David National Park.
They believe that the seal was used as an amulet by a man named Hoshʼayahu, who held a high position in the administration of the Kingdom of Judah.
They based their conclusion on the presence of a hole drilled into the piece, probably to allow it to be worn on a string, and on the high level of artistry required to produce the piece.
“The seal, made of black stone, is one of the most beautiful ever discovered in excavations in ancient Jerusalem,” the researchers said.
The figure depicted on the seal walks to the right and raises one arm forward with the palm open, “perhaps to suggest that he is holding some object,” the press release states.
Researchers believe the relic originally belonged to a man named Hosh’ayahu. When he died, his son Yeho’ezer engraved their names on the seal.
On both sides of the figure is an inscription in Paleo-Hebrew script: “LeYeho’ezer ben Hosh’ayahu.”
The name Yehoʼezer appears in the Bible in its shortened form, Yoʼezer, who was one of King David’s wrestlers.
And in the book of Jeremiah, which describes the time period during which the seal was made, the name Hoshʼayahu appears in a parallel form: Azariah ben Hoshʼaya.
The two parts of the first biblical name are written in reverse order to the name of the seal’s owner, the researchers explain. The second name is the same, but appears in its abbreviated form on the seal.
The handwriting in these biblical texts therefore matches the name inscribed on the newly discovered seal, offering further evidence that it was made during the First Temple period.
Although the winged figure appears to have been carefully engraved, the carving of the names “was done in a sloppy manner,” said research associate Ronny Reich, a professor at the University of Haifa.
This supports the researchers’ theory that after Hoshʼayahu’s death, his son Yehoʼezer inherited the seal and carved his name and his father’s name on either side of the demon.
“This unique find adds to the list of countless archaeological discoveries in the City of David, the historic site of biblical Jerusalem, affirming Jerusalem’s biblical heritage,” Ze’ev Orenstein, director of international affairs for the City of David Foundation, told Fox News Digital.
‘Similarly, it serves as another affirmation of the millennia-old bond that roots the Jewish people in Jerusalem, not simply as a matter of faith, but as a matter of fact.’