Biblical Hebrew Blog by ClassicalHebrew.com

A new seal stamp bearing a Hebrew name has been found in the excavations in the Old City of Jerusalem under the authority of Eilat Mazar. If one recalls it will be remembered that many other exciting seals and bullae have already been uncovered in older excavations at the same site, such as the name ‘Gemaryahu, son of Shaphan’, who is recorded in Jeremiah 36:10-12, 25 and was the scribe to King Jehoiakim (608-591) in Jerusalem.

It was then with some excitement that this seal was revealed with another Biblical name, that of Temech- a Priestly family mentioned in the book of Nehemiah. However the reading was quickly changed, after it was realized one needed to read the Hebrew characters in the reverse, since that is how it was inscribed on the stamp. Once the stamp is then impressed into wet clay it would leave the name of the bearer the correct way, from right to left.

The proper reading is shin, lamed, mem, taw and can be pronounced a variety of ways, one being ‘Shlomit’. This name appears to be female because of the characteristic taw ending, although it can be argued was the name of a man. King Solomon (in Hebrew Shlomo) is the largest personality in the Bible who bore the male version of this name. Both names come from the verb meaning ‘to be safe’; and the word for ‘peace’, Shalom is also derived from this verb.

‘Shlomit’ forms the bottom register of the seal while above it, flanking what appears to be a horned altar, are two bearded figures. In the top register is a crescent moon. The dating is still under debate and shall not be concluded until we have information as to the stone material of the seal, and its stratigraphic placement in the excavation. However a date may be proposed based on the glyptic scene which is common for the Iron Age period, and more specifically the late seventh and early sixth centuries. This is a small but very impressive seal, offering us a wealth of information. Let us hope for many more this year!

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