イスラエル在住のゴードン神学院のクラスメイトから転送

The ‘Natan-Melech/Eved Hamelech’ bulla found in the Cutybof David. (Eliyahu Yanai, City of
David)%
Two minuscule 2,600-year-old inscriptions recently uncovered in the City of David’s
Givati Parking Lot excavation are vastly enlarging the understanding of ancient
Jerusalem in the late 8th century BCE.
The two inscriptions, in paleo-Hebrew writing, were found separately in a large First
Temple structure within the span of a few weeks by long-term team members Ayyala
Rodan and Sveta Pnik.
One is a bluish agate stone seal “(belonging) to Ikkar son of Matanyahu” (LeIkkar Ben
Matanyahu). The other is a clay seal impression, “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant
of the King” (LeNathan-Melech Eved HaMelech).
This burnt clay impression is the first archaeological evidence of the biblical name
Nathan-Melech.
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The inscriptions are “not just another discovery,” said archaeologist Dr. Yiftah Shalev of
the Israel Antiquities Authority. Rather, they “paint a much larger picture of the era in
Jerusalem.”
According to Shalev, while both discoveries are of immense scholarly value as
inscriptions, their primary value is their archaeological context.
“What is importance is not just that they were found in Jerusalem, but [that they were
found] inside their true archaeological context,” Shalev told The Times of Israel. Many
other seals and seal impressions have been sold on the antiquities market without any
thought to provenance.
This in situ find, said Shalev, serves to “connect between the artifact and the actual
physical era it was found in” — a large, two-story First Temple structure that dig
archaeologists have pegged as an administrative center.
“It is not a coincidence that the seal and the seal impression are found here,” said Shalev.
It is not a coincidence that the seal and the seal impression are found here
According to archaeologist Prof. Yuval Gadot of Tel Aviv University, in the 8th century
BCE, this area of the City of David becomes the central administrative center of
Jerusalem. The newly unearthed two-story public building, constructed with finely cut
ashlar stones shows, illustrates the beginning of a westward move of the administration
area in the large sprawling city.
The multi-room large structure bears clear signs of destruction in the sixth century BCE,
which likely corresponds to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE,
according to the IAA press release. The destruction is evident through large stone debris,
burnt wooden beams and numerous charred pottery shards, “all indications that they had
survived an immense fire.”
The large administrative center, said Shalev, is further down the slope of the City of
David than where some archaeologists had envisioned a First Temple-period city wall.
Through this evidence of a large administrative center, scholars are beginning to
understand that Iron Age Jerusalem saw the beginning of the western spread that
continued in the future historical eras, including the Persian and Hellenistic periods.
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“These artifacts
attest to the highly
developed system
of administration in
the Kingdom of
Judah and add
considerable
information to our
understanding of
the economic status
of Jerusalem and its
administrative
system during the
First Temple period,
as well as personal
information about
the king’s closest
officials and administrators who lived and worked in the city,” said Gadot and Shalev in
the IAA press release.
For linguists, the pair of one-centimeter inscriptions are likewise opening new scholarly
horizons. Based on the script, Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem dates them to mid-7th
century to early 6th century BCE.
On the blue stone seal, written in mirror writing from left to right, is inscribed the name
“(belonging) to Ikkar son of Matanyahu” (LeIkkar Ben Matanyahu). Private stamps were
used to sign documents, and denoted the identity, lineage and status of their owners,
according to the IAA.
The word “Ikkar,”
meaning farmer,
appears in the Bible
and other Semitic
languages, according
to the Hebrew
Language Academy.
However, it is only
used in the context
of the agricultural
role, not as a
personal name.
According to the
linguist Chaim
Rabin, the word
Ikkar came to
Hebrew through
The ‘Ikkar Ben Matanyahu’ seal found in the City of David. (Eliyahu
Yanai, City of David)
Sveta Pnik working at the site where the bulla was found in the City of
David. (Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)
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Akkadian, after being adopted from Sumerian, which is not a Semitic language.
Mendel-Geberovich believes “Ikkar” refers to a personal name rather than an occupation.
If so, this would be the first evidence of such a name. The other portions of the
inscription are more familiar to biblical Hebrew linguists: “The name Matanyahu appears
both in the Bible and on additional stamps and bullae already unearthed,” said Mendel-
Geberovich.
What is most likely to capture popular interest is the burnt clay seal impression, which
features the words: “(belonging) to Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” (LeNathan-
Melech Eved HaMelech).” The fact that it was written without a surname indicates his
fame is on par with celebs of today, such as singers Madonna or Adele.
The name Nathan-Melech appears once in the Bible, in the second book of Kings 23:11.
An official in the court of King Josiah, the biblical Nathan-Melech took part in
implementation of widespread religious reform: “And he took away the horses that the
kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the
chamber of Nathan-Melech the officer, which was in the precincts; and he burned the
chariots of the sun with fire.”
Givati Parking Lot Excavations in the City of David. (Kobi Harati)
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While the biblical account uses a different title than that impressed on the ancient
clay, the title “Servant of the King” (Eved HaMelech) does often appear in the Bible to
describe a high-ranking official close to the king. According to the IAA, the title appears
on other stamps and seal impressions that were found in the past. In ancient times, seal
impressions, or bullae, were small pieces of clay impressed by personal seals (such as the
“Ikkar” seal) to sign letters.
But is this the very same biblical Nathan-Melech? That’s still a matter of interpretation.
Doron Spielman, vice president of the City of David Foundation, which operates the City
of David National Park, said, “This is an extremely exciting find for billions of people
worldwide. The personal seal of Natan-Melech, a senior official in the government of
Josiah, King of Judah, as described in the second book of Kings. The ongoing
archaeological excavations at the City of David continue to prove that ancient Jerusalem
is no longer just a matter of faith, but also a matter of fact.”
However, scholar Mendel-Geberovich isn’t as quick to confirm the tie.
“Although it is not possible to determine with complete certainty that the Nathan-Melech
who is mentioned in the Bible was in fact the owner of the stamp, it is impossible to
ignore some of the details that link them together,” said Mendel-Geberovich
diplomatically.
Givati Parking Lot Excavations in the City of David. (Yonit Schiller, City of David)
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Times of Israel Article Reformatted by Frank Mecklenburg
March 31, 2019
If possible please watch this YouTube about this archeological fine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeDFUr-TlpY