Summary: Stamp and seal impressions found in Jerusalem point to restoration of the city during the times of Ezra/Nehemiah, just as the Bible records.
And I [Nehemiah] said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” – Nehemiah 2:5 (ESV)
Records of Ezra-Nehemiah
We are less than four weeks away from the release of the new Patterns of Evidence film, The Israel Dilemma in theaters across the United States for three days only (more information in the Conclusion). Today we look at evidence related to one of the steps the film investigates, the Return of the Jewish exiles to the Promised Land after the Babylonian exile.
The Biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah record that when Cyrus became king of Persia, he allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. A unique archaeological discovery provides evidence of the slow resettlement of Jerusalem during the Persian era.
Archaeologists found a bulla with a double seal impression and a large pottery sherd seal stamp in the course of archaeological excavations undertaken by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Tel Aviv University (TAU) in the City of David.
“The finding of the stamp and seal impression in the City of David indicates that despite the city’s dire situation after the destruction, efforts were made to restore the administrative authorities to normal, and its residents continued to use the structures that were partly destroyed,” said archaeologists Prof. Yuval Gadot of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at TAU and Dr. Yiftah Shalev of the IAA.
Jerusalem’s Administrative Center
The discoveries were made in the Givati parking lot area of the National Park next to rubble from a structure razed during the destruction of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BC. It is rare to find artifacts from the Persian era, and few of this type have been found in Israel, said Gadot and Shalev.
According to the researchers, artifacts from the Persian period, about 2,500 years ago, offer groundbreaking archaeological evidence that even after the terrible destruction it underwent at the hands of the Babylonians, Jerusalem maintained the rank of an important administrative center.
“We discovered the objects in a palace that was probably built around the end of the 8th century BC,” said Gadot. “While we cannot be sure about when the structure was first erected, we do know that it was destroyed in 586 BC and then rebuilt and reused.”
“The remarkable thing is the context of the discovery,” explained Shalev. “The Persian period remains mysterious, a black hole in the archaeological record.” He emphasized that, “Discovering these artifacts in an archaeological context, which can be dated with a high probability, is very rare.”
Double Seal Impression
“The double seal impression was discovered on a large piece of clay. The size of the clay piece, about 4.5 cm [1 ¾ in.], indicates that it was used to seal a large container, perhaps a jar, and not a document,” said the IAA.
“The imprint bears the image of a person sitting on a large chair with one or two columns in front of him. The design of the image is indicative of Babylonian-style composition. The character is probably a king, and the columns are the symbols that represent the gods Nabu and Marduk,” according to the IAA.
Only about ten artifacts of this style, appearing to have been in use during the Persian period, have been found in Israel, in places such as Ein Gedi and Jerusalem, according to Dr. Ido Koch of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures at TAU.
In the Persian period, Judah became a province of the empire, which allowed local rulers to govern it. Babylon represented the dominant culture of the whole region at that time and was very influential among educated elites, Gadot explained.
Therefore, it was no surprise that the seal impressions exhibit Babylonian features. “If we think about it, today we wear blue jeans without necessarily even realizing that they are an American creation,” Gadot said.
Large Unique Stamp
The unearthed seal stamp that was found would have been used to press into soft clay to make seal impressions. It was crafted of a large, locally made pottery shard and is divided into two sections. “The engravings probably represent two characters, and it may be a pseudo-epigraphic seal,” according to the IAA.
Shalev explained that “the pseudo-epigraphic seal is a very unique item. It bears a circular frame and contains several linear inscriptions, probably designed to resemble letters.”
“On the other side of the seal is a fragment, which may be indicative of a handle that was attached to it in the past. The size of the seal, about 8 cm in diameter [just over 3 in.], indicates that it was used to seal large objects,” he said.
Other artifacts associated with the Persian era were discovered along with these items, including a broken pottery vessel decorated with a face of the god Bes, an Egyptian deity that became part of Persian culture.
Return of the Jewish Exiles
According to Scripture, Cyrus the Great conquered the Babylonians and let the people of Israel return to their homeland and rebuild the Temple, after having been in captivity and exile for 70 years due to the Babylonian invasion.
The Edict of Restoration was an unprecedented policy by Persia which allowed people previously conquered by Assyria and Babylon to return to their homelands and worship in their own way. King Cyrus’ policy is documented in the Cyrus Cylinder. In fact this foreign king actually funded the rebuilding of a modest Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 6:8).
“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. – Ezra 1:2-3
Years later, Nehemiah, a cupbearer for Persian King Artaxerxes, was moved to tears after hearing that the walls and gates of Jerusalem were broken down and burned (Neh. 1:1-3). He prayed to God about the matter and was led to rebuild the ravaged city, obtaining permission from the king (2:1-8).
Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. – Nehemiah 2:4-6
It is interesting to note the phrase from verse 6, “the queen sitting beside him.” This may refer to Queen Esther after Xerxes had died and his son was now king, as several commentaries propose. It would make sense of the favorable reply he gave to Nehemiah and the fact that the queen was even mentioned in the text in the first place.
Nehemiah’s work to build Jerusalem’s walls was completed in just 52 days, as each man did their part to rebuild the wall directly in front of his home (Neh. 6:15). Nehemiah became governor of Judah during this time (Neh. 5:14).
Ezra, a priest and teacher of the Law, called a gathering after the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, where he read aloud the Laws of God. The people, listening intently, wept and bowed their faces to the ground, seeking forgiveness from the Lord (Neh. 8-9).
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. – Nehemiah 13:27
Conclusion
The upcoming Israel Dilemma film is Part One of a two-part film series exploring the prophecies made by Moses and the prophets, which included the future return of Jewish exiles to the land during the Persian period. Today, while there is a concerted effort to decouple any ancient Jewish connection to the land, the films demonstrate that the evidence says otherwise. Part 1 of The Israel Dilemma will be playing as a nationwide cinema event on three days only – Wednesday, November 13, Thursday, November 14 & Sunday, November 17.
Theaters are being added daily to show this new and very relevant film. Get your tickets today. This is a film that any church group, synagogue, or Bible study would love! You can purchase group tickets (for 25 or more people) at a Discount. Check out the Trailer.
These seals from Judah, along with Cyrus Cylinder, are only a small part of what has been uncovered related to the Biblical prophecies and historical record. As highlighted in The Israel Dilemma, an amazing pattern of evidence exists for the Kingdom of Israel, the fact that it was Destroyed, its people Scattered and Persecuted, yet one day Returned to the Promised Land.
“Discovering the new findings on the western slope of the City of David adds much information about the city’s structure during the period of the Return to Zion, a period we knew about mainly from Biblical literature (the books of Ezra and Nehemiah),” said Gadot and Shalev.
The scarcity of findings from this period made it difficult to understand the status and extent of the city of Jerusalem. “The findings from the Givati Parking Lot Excavation shed light on the renewal of the local administration, in a location similar to the one that existed before the destruction of the First Temple, about 100 years prior,” they said.
The Bible intersects with history, as proven by archaeology and historiography, and when it does so, its reliability and accuracy are bolstered. Although we live by faith, it is still encouraging to see real life evidence of events the Bible records. This can help build our confidence in the truth of what we already believe and make us Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: A seal stamp on right and seal impression on left, dating from the Persian period (credit: IAA)
