The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
– Isaiah 1:1 (ESV)
A small pile of rubble was dug up and wet-sifted by an experienced archaeological team in 2009. The rubble pile lay outside what some scholars believe to have been King Solomon’s royal bakery on the Ophel, an open area south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
As is the case with serious archaeological digs, it took years to categorize and study the small trove of artifacts dating from 700 BC. It wasn’t until last month that eminent Hebrew University archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced the finding of a clay seal impression (a bulla) that may have belonged to the Prophet Isaiah.
The discovery was confirmed by Mazar in the March-June 2018 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (44:2). In that issue, the archeologist lays out the case for the prophet’s ownership.
Part of the Isaiah bulla’s circumference is missing, calling into question what letters or words, if any, were inscribed on the damaged area. Drawing by Reut Livyatan Ben-Arie of the Isaiah Bulla, a 2,700-year-old clay seal impression which potentially belonged to the biblical prophet Isaiah. (Illustration: Reut Livyatan Ben-Arie/© Eilat Mazar; Photo by Ouria Tadmor/© Eilat Mazar)
The Isaiah bulla was one of 34 uncovered, along with pottery vessels, ivory inlays, and figurines, during the 2009 dig. Verification of the seal’s ownership is not without problems, however.
Bearing the old Hebrew word for Isaiah (less one letter which is assumed) this clay impression is damaged. A part of the seal’s circumference is missing. It is possible that the damaged area carried letters which identify the owner as Isaiah, the prophet who advised Hezekiah and foretold the Messiah. However, it is also possible the seal refers to some other man named Isaiah who lived in Jerusalem at the time, since Isaiah was a common name.
Christopher Rollston, professor of Semitic Languages at George Washington University believes the finding of the bulla, especially in its damaged condition, is hardly conclusive. “The critically important letter that would be needed to confirm that the second word is the title “Prophet” is an aleph. But no aleph is legible on this bulla and so that reading cannot be confirmed at all,” he stated in a National Geographic article entitled, “Has the Signature of Biblical Prophet Isaiah Been Discovered?”
Professor Rollston will be featured in our new Patterns of Evidence: Moses series.
Nonetheless, the archaeologist who found the Isaiah bulla is inclined to believe it does in fact carry the imprint of the prophet. She notes that the damaged area of the imprint happens to allow just the right amount of space required for the missing letters that would verify Isaiah’s position as the prophet. Perhaps more importantly, her view is supported by the proximity of this find to another seal dug up in 2009 and reported in our Dec. 11, 2015 Thinkers Update.
In December 2015, CNN.com reported in an online article entitled “King Hezekiah’s Seal Discovered in Jerusalem” that Mazar’s team had in fact found a bulla bearing “an inscription in ancient Hebrew script that translates as ‘Belonging to Hezekiah [the son of] Ahaz king of Judah’.” Images on the bulla included “a two-winged sun, with wings turned downward, flanked by two ankh symbols symbolizing life.”
This was the first archaeological artifact specifically referring to King Hezekiah and his father, King Ahaz. Why is this important? Because although many scholars dispute the heritage and even the existence of Hezekiah’s predecessors, David and Solomon, it is generally agreed that Hezekiah presided over a period of relative prosperity for the southern kingdom of Judah. This fact is acknowledged in both biblical and extra-biblical texts.
“He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.”
– 2 Kings 18:5 (ESV)
“He was rich, daring, stood up against Assyrians. A very impressive king,” Mazar is quoted as saying, in the CNN article.
Location, Location, Location
What are the major factors that make Dr. Mazar believe the damaged Isaiah seal could well have belonged to the actual Prophet of God? Three things: proximity of geography, proximity of relationship, and proximity of power.
First, there was a geographical proximity to the two discoveries. The bulla of King Hezekiah and the bulla identified with the Prophet Isaiah were uncovered in the same strata of earth, approximately 10 feet from each other.
Then, there was the relational proximity. “The names of King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah are mentioned in one breath 14 of the 29 times the name of Isaiah is recalled,” observed Mazar in Biblical Archaeology Review. “No other figure was closer to King Hezekiah than the prophet Isaiah.” If one looks at all the Old Testament passages where the name “Isaiah” occurs, it can be seen that fully half (16 out of 32) also contain the name Hezekiah in the same verse.
Additionally, there is a power proximity. Clay imprints, such as those found at this royal dig, are usually reserved for people with status—kings and officials of the royal court, governors, and important merchants. A prophet with close relationship to the king may well fall into that category.
How Close Were King and Prophet?
According to the biblical account, King Hezekiah sought the Prophet Isaiah’s advice and counsel during his darkest hour as ruler of Jerusalem.
As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim…Shebna…and the senior priests…to the prophet Isaiah…Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’”
– 2 Kings 19:1-7 (ESV)
The overwhelming armies of the king of Assyria were literally knocking at the door of Jerusalem with threats against the king and insults against his God. King Hezekiah’s response, recorded in the Book of Second Kings, was to humble himself, enter the temple, and send his cabinet to confer with the Prophet Isaiah.
God heard the Judean king’s pleas and, through Isaiah, assured Hezekiah that the Assyrian king would not attack Jerusalem. Instead, 2 Kings 19: 35-37 reports that “ . . . the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians . . . ” after which the Assyrian king went home to Nineveh and was later assassinated by two of his sons.
Extra-biblical sources also report that the Assyrian king returned home without attacking Jerusalem. These sources do not mention the deaths of 185,000 soldiers; however, they do say that King Hezekiah paid a large sum to the king of Assyria to avoid being overrun, which the Bible also confirms. See 2 Kings 18:13-16.
Isaiah also visited King Hezekiah on his deathbed. Read 2 Kings 20:1-11.
What This Discovery May Mean
“This seal impression of Isaiah . . . is unique, and questions still remain about what it actually says,” admits Mazar in Biblical Archaeology Review. “However, the close relationship between Isaiah and King Hezekiah, as described in the Bible, and the fact that the bulla was found next to one bearing the name of Hezekiah seem to leave open the possibility that, despite the difficulties presented by the bulla’s damaged area, this may have been a seal impress of Isaiah the prophet, advisor to King Hezekiah.”
Watch this video produced by the Trumpet.com for more of Dr. Mazar’s thoughts on the Isaiah bulla discovery.
If both bulla are genuine and proof of two significant actors on the biblical stage have been dug up together, this find is important evidence. It verifies the close, personal relationship between King and Prophet, spoken of in the Old Testament. It also supports the view that the Scriptures are accurate records of the time–historical documents through which we can gain a better understanding of the ancient world.
Archaeologists generally agree that only a fraction of what we can know about the past has yet been discovered. Look forward to new and stronger evidence for the biblical account as more and more artifacts see the light with each new dig season.
Keep thinking!
TOP PHOTO: A total 34 bullae, as well as pottery vessels, ivory inlays, and figurines were excavated from a piled debris outside the wall of what may have been Solomon’s royal bakery. (Credit: Eilat Mazar)
