Shema seal explained

Shema Seal
Material:(Original) Jasper
(Bulla) Clay
Writing:Paleo Hebrew
Created:8th century BCE
Discovered:(Original) 1904, Megiddo, Israel
(Bulla) bought from a Bedouin market in 1980
Location:(Original) unknown
(Bulla) Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem

The Shema Seal is an ancient Jasper seal that dates to the 8th century BCE and mentions the King of ancient Israel, Jeroboam.[1] [2] [3]

Discovery

Archaeologist Gottlieb Schumacher and his team began excavating at Megiddo and found the seal during a three-year excavation program.[4] The seal was discovered in 1904, in an excavation dump. The layers in which it was found were dated to the eighth century BCE.[5] [6] Schumacher sent the original seal to Istanbul, but it was never returned.[7] In 1966 Gottlieb's daughter gave a testimonial that her father told her that the seal was placed in Abdul Hamid II tomb.[8] A bronze cast was made before it was sent away.[9] [10]

Bulla

In the 1980s, Yigal Ronen, a nuclear engineer and amateur antiquities collector from Ben Gurion university, visited the Bedouin market in Be'er Sheva.[11] He was offered a tiny clay lump stamped with the image of a roaring lion and ancient Hebrew writing. Ronen bought it for 10 shekels, even though he suspected it to be a forgery.[12] [13]

It turned out to be authentic.[14] It is not the original Meggido seal, but features the same images and dates from the same period as the original.[15] [16] [17] However, some contest its authenticity.[18]

Text

“Belonging to Shema (שמע)[19] the servant of Jeroboam.”[20] [21]
Hebrew to English translation:

‘lshm’ ‘bd yrbm’

See also

References

  1. Web site: Seal of Shema, Servant of Jeroboam - MC 0177 Metzger Collection . 2024-02-16 . metzgercollection.pastperfectonline.com.
  2. Web site: Merrill . A. L. . Shema' Seal . 2024-02-16 . dl.atla.com.
  3. Book: Ussishkin, David . https://archive.org/details/scriptureotherar0000unse/page/410/mode/2up . Scripture and Other Artifacts; Essays on the Bible and Archaeology in Honor of Philip J. King . Westminster John Knox Press . 1994 . 0-664-22036-3 . Coogan . Michael D. . First . Louisville, Kentucky . 410–428 . Gate 1567 at Megiddo and the Seal of Shema, Servant of Jeroboam . 94009998 . Exum . J. Cheryl . Stager . Lawrence E. . Greene . Josesph A. . registration . the Internet Archive.
  4. Web site: May 24 . Eleanor Clarke • . Ancient Seal Proves Biblical King Jeroboam . 2024-02-16 . ArmstrongInstitute.org . en.
  5. Web site: Lidzbarski . Mark . Seal of Shema, Servant of Jereboam . 2024-02-16 . World History Encyclopedia . en.
  6. Book: King, Philip J. . Amos, Hosea, Micah: An Archaeological Commentary . 1988-01-01 . Westminster John Knox Press . 978-0-664-24077-6 . en.
  7. Book: Fant . Clyde E. . Lost Treasures of the Bible: Understanding the Bible Through Archaeological Artifacts in World Museums . Reddish . Mitchell G. . 2008-10-15 . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing . 978-0-8028-2881-1 . en.
  8. Web site: "Shema, servant of Jeroboam" Seal's Mystery Resolved? . 11 October 2024 .
  9. Book: Dating the Iron Age IIB Archaeological Horizon in Israel and Judah . 2020 . Zaphon . 978-3-96327-086-4.
  10. Web site: Israel Museum Photos . 2024-02-21 . www.julianspriggs.co.uk.
  11. Aḥituv . Shmuel . Ayalon . Avner . Bar-Matthews . Mira . Goren . Yuval . Magen . Michael . Oren . Eliezer D. . Shamir . Orit . 2023-07-03 . A Seal Impression of 'ShemaꜤ Servant of Jeroboam' . Tel Aviv . en . 50 . 2 . 216–230 . 10.1080/03344355.2023.2246817 . 0334-4355 . free.
  12. News: בלומנטל . איתי . 2020-12-09 . אחרי שנקנה בשוק ב-10 שקלים התברר: החותם בן כ-3,000 שנה . 2024-02-16 . Ynet . he.
  13. News: Uncovering biblical king Jeroboam .
  14. News: 'Fake' Seal Impression of Biblical King Jeroboam Is Authentic, New Study Says . 2024-02-16 . Haaretz . en.
  15. Web site: Jeroboam's Bulla . 2024-02-16 . Digital Manna Ministries, Inc. . en.
  16. News: 2,700 years ago, tiny clay piece sealed deal for Bible's King Jeroboam II . The Times Of Israel.
  17. Web site: Archaeology news: 2.300-year -old seal of Biblical king Jeroboam II found in Israel Science News Express.co.uk . 2024-02-17 . www.express.co.uk.
  18. Web site: The Bulla of "Shema, Servant of Jeroboam" an Embarrassing Forgery . Gabriel . January 2024 . Deutsch . Robert .
  19. Web site: Ancient Hebrew seals : Reifenberg, A. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive . Internet Archive . 2023-03-25 . 2024-02-20.
  20. Avigad . N. . 1964 . Seals and Sealings . Israel Exploration Journal . 14 . 3 . 190–194 . 27924985 . 0021-2059.
  21. Seal from reign of Jeroboam II. "Shema, servant of Jeroboam" . Visual Arts Legacy Collection . community.13589433.

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