Prophet Isaiah's 'signature' may have been found on clay seal
But damage to the inscription removes the final letter that would have spelled out "prophet," so we may never know.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
A team of Israeli archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old clay seal that may bear the name stamp of the biblical prophet Isaiah.
"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," said Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. ("Bulla" refers to the clay seal impression.)
Archaeologist Eilat Mazar reveals what may be a seal impression of the prophet Isaiah—unveiled in BAR for the first time ever—in honor of Hershel Shanks’s retirement as BAR Editor. https://t.co/zwZSFLdTJN
— Biblical Archaeology (@BibArch) February 22, 2018
According to the Bible, Isaiah was a counselor to the Judean king Hezekiah, which would make the find logical.
The discovery was made as part of the Ophel Excavations at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The clay seal was found "right outside the royal bakery in undisturbed Iron Age remains," the statement says.
But due to damage to the inscription, it isn't possible to positively identify the seal. The bulla is marked with the Hebrew name of Isaiah, followed by "nvy." But in order for "nvy" to spell out "prophet," it would need to end with the Hebrew letter aleph, but the damage makes that unclear.
"The absence of this final letter... requires that we leave open the possibility that it could just be the name Navi." Mazar said. "The name of Isaiah, however, is clear."
Mazar's article about the seal is in the March/April/May/June double issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
