Hezekiah & Baruch Bulla
Published on Nov 24, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
A Bulla is...
An inscribed piece of clay used to seal documents or parcels ("clay stamp")
Photo by outlier*
Hezekiah's Bulla
Professor Avigad discovered a bulla of a king but what was on it was unreadable. But then in 2001, a more complete bulla bearing the same seal impression was discovered. This bulla made it clear that Avigad’s bulla bore the seal of Hezekiah, king ofJudah.
Photo by Abby Lanes
Avigad
Avigad's incomplete bulla
Untitled Slide
Photo by Abby Lanes
Hezeziah had an unhappy childhood. His father, Ahaz, turned away from serving Jehovah. Ahaz took the lead in worshipping false gods. But, Hezekiah was outstanding as a king who "kept sticking to Jehovah," doing what was right in Jehovah's eyes and following his commandments. (2Kings 18:3,4a,5,6)
So, if you were King Hezekiah... How would you describe yourself and your relationship with Jehovah?
Now, just imagine that there are people who believe you never existed ... And the stamp you have in front of you was the only proof that you ever existed.... That is what the Hezekiah Bulla does for King Hezekiah!!!
Photo by Abby Lanes
A total of eight bullae have been discovered bearing the name of Hezekiah. Six of them have a dung beetle pushing a ball of mud or dung, and two of them picture a two-winged sundisk.
A royal seal. Nahman Avigad died in 1992, believing that he had never seen a seal impression of a king of ancient Judah. But in the decade after his death, several newly revealed seal impressions would prove that this bulla, published by Avigad in 1986, indeed bore an impression of a seal of the Judahite king, Hezekiah. Each of the new bullae has a scarab similar to the one on Avigad's bulla plus a more complete inscription that identifies the owner of the seal as Hezekiah.
This bulla (#2) bears the full name of Hezekiah and looks so similar to Avigad's bulla that some scholars, including the author, at first thought that both were made from the same seal. The author changed his mind, however, when he saw two lines above the top edge of the scarab's right wing in this bulla; Avigad's bulla had only one line above the scarab's wing. This convinced the author that the two bullae were produced by different seals.
Two of the bullae shown above (#3 and #4) offer the most definitive proof that Hezekiah's seal was impressed in Avigad's bulla: Both bullae have scarabs with a single line above the edge of the wings and legible inscriptions that read "Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, King of Judah." Unfortunately, a well-preserved bulla from the same seal is not shown here; it is owned by an antiquities dealer and no illustration is available. Bulla #5 has a scarab with a double line above the wings, as does bulla #2.
All of the bullae have the identical inscription: “Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, King of Judah.” One of the bullae still contains the imprint of the papyrus and string. (2 Kings 18:1,2)
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS FINDING:
This is the second extra-biblical reference to Hezekiah, confirming him as king ofJudah.
According to archaeologist this find puts them in much closer touch to the Biblical king than a mere mention of his name in extra-biblical documents/artifacts. They believe that this was the seal he himself used to certify official court documents!
Think: Why would King Hezekiah, who eliminated the influences of false gods, have elements that were pagan on his royal emblems? Creates debates amongst archaeologists
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
WHY PAGAN SYMBOLS ON THE BULLA?
At the time the seals were being produced, according to archaeologists, many other examples of Egyptian influence were present in Judah. For example, Egyptian numbers were used on weights and scales. Once a symbol was associated with authority, rule, or power it was used by those who wanted to embellish their public image. So, some archaeologist believe that when Hezekiah adopted the two-winged scarab and the two-winged sun disk, he was simply using what was generally accepted as icons of royal power and not using it as the meaning the Egyptians gave to it for their use of deities.
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
Hezekiah's Haughty Heart
Although faithful Hezekiah made a serious error in judgment. (Isaiah 39:1,2) Hezekiah may have wanted to impress the king of Babylon as a possible future ally. (Maybe it was during this time that the bullae were created for King Hezekiah)
Apparently referring to the incident, 2 Chronicles 32:26 tells us that Hezekiah thereafter humbled his heart. He prayed fervently to Jehovah, and Jehovah answered him by granting him peace for the rest of his days.
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
Untitled Slide
How does the Hezekiah Bulla build your faith in the existence of King Hezekiah? (Read 1 Thess.5:21)
Baruch's Bulla
In 1975 the first few pieces of 200 clay bullae were discovered in the shop of a dealer in East Jerusalem. From the shape of its Hebrew characters scholars date the collection to the time of Jeremiah.
Photo by lazha
The three lines on the Baruch bulla read: “(Belonging) to Berekhyahu, (Baruch's Hebrew name) the son of Neriyahu (Neriah's Hebrew name), the scribe.” The bulla is now displayed in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
The March/April 1996 issue of Biblical Archeology Review featured an article on another bulla belonging to a private collector from the same seal. What is unique about this is the clear impression of a fingerprint on the upper left of the bulla. The article suggested this was the “fingerprint of Jeremiah’s scribe.” The archeologist in the article stated: "While it is presumptuous to assume this is Baruch’s fingerprint, at the very least discoveries such as this remind us that the people of the Bible were not imaginary figures from fairy tales, but real souls who served our God in the past."
Photo by lazha
Baruch ... Jeremiah's Secretary
Photo by Violet Beatrice Baudelaire
Although he is mentioned in only four chapters of the Bible, he is well-known as the personal secretary and close friend of the prophet Jeremiah. He was without doubt a sincere worshipper of Jehovah, and he "proceeded to do according to all that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him." (Jer.36:8)
Photo by Violet Beatrice Baudelaire
(Read Jer.36:5) Evidently, Jeremiah was barred from the temple area where Jehovah's message was to be read. But in 624 B.C.E. Baruch boldly declared the message.
(Read Jer.36:10)
Read Lamentations 1:1
Those words of Jeremiah were composed prison. The prophet dictated the words of doom while the scribe, Baruch, carefully recorded them on a scroll. Baruch read the words before the king of Judah, Jehoakim. The thought of losing his kingdom so angered the king that he cut the scroll into pieces and threw the scraps into a fire as though that would alter the divine decree. (Picture: the highlighted portion is said to have Baruch's fingerprints)
Years later, a small lump of clay was discovered in Jerusalem bearing the seal of Baruch. Yes, suddenly he was tangibly brought to life. Archaeologists began to imagine ... Could this be the seal that was used to authenticate the original scroll of Lamentations?
When a document was to be authenticated and rendered tamper-proof, the document was rolled up and bound by a length of cord. The knot was encased in a small lump of clay, called a bulla, which was held steady with one hand while the other hand embossed the seal onto the clay. When the bulla dried, the document was ready for delivery. It was not unusual for the fingerprints of the person holding the clay and seal to be impressed onto the sides of the bulla.
Photo by Violet Beatrice Baudelaire
Untitled Slide
Baruch Did Exist!!!
It was not that long ago that there was no independent outside verification for hardly any of the Biblical characters. Nowadays, almost on a yearly basis, some independent source confirms the existence of one of the Biblical characters.
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
Acceptable evidence is based on three factors:
The name of the individual has been found in some extra-Biblical record or on some piece of archaeological evidence, such as a bulla or seal. The name must in some way be connected to the person named in the Biblical story. For example, the name Ahab being found on a seal would mean very little. However, if the seal read Ahab, King of Israel, that would mean a great deal. The chronological context of the name found must match the chronology of the Biblical story. If the above "Ahab, King of Israel" seal was found dating to the 12th century BCE, that would create a major problem. The Biblical Ahab lived many centuries later. When all three factors have been met, according to the interpretation of recognized scholars, historians, and archaeologists, only then is the evidence conclusive.
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
One archeologist said: "It is not the verification of the major personalities that is so impressive but rather the verification of the more obscure Biblical characters is the more astonishing.
When outside confirmation of the minor characters surfaces, it lends great strength to those who firmly believe in the veracity and accuracy of the Biblical narrative."
Photo by Jason A. Samfield
A single line borders the impression, and it is divided by double horizontal lines into three registers bearing the following inscription:
lbrkyhw: Belonging to Berechiah
bn nryhw: son of Neriah
hspr: The scribe
The translation reveals that this bulla was from the impression of Baruch and confirms the historical existence of the scribe who wrote to the dictation of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 36:1,2,4)
How does the Baruch Bulla build your faith in the existence of Baruch? (Read 2 Corinthians 13:5)
Photo by unbekannt270
Doing this project proved to be very exciting. To actually see that archaeology proves the authenticity of the Bible is awesome! However, we must always remember that proof that the Bible is divinely inspired is found within the Bible itself... Therefore, as we've be admonish before we should read the Bible daily to see it for ourselves!
Photo by unbekannt270
