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| King Hezekiah (Public Domain) |
King Hezekiah's rule over ancient Judah, circa 727 to 698 BC, was portrayed very favorably in the Bible.
These words from II Kings 18:5 affirm that
Hezekiah was a tough act to either precede or follow: …after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him.
However, even great kings can get down in the dumps. Archaeologist Eilat Mazar found that to be the case with Hezekiah’s seal. While “excavating
an ancient dump in the Silwan neighborhood” of East Jerusalem, Mazar’s team discovered the king’s half-inch wide bulla, bearing the following inscription:
“Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah.”
Why was such a valuable artifact literally dumped? Mazar explains
that the king’s seal “was so important, it could have been a matter of life and death.”
Theorists believe that this bulla may “have been discarded from a royal building, with the rubbish.”
Resources
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/03/middleeast/king-hezekiah-royal-seal/index.html
Copyright December 3, 2015 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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