Archaeology brings biblical history to life

Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a seal bearing the name of one of the enemies of the prophet Jeremiah. Gedaliah the son of Pashur is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah as one of those responsible for throwing the prophet into a muddy cistern.

A seal bearing the name Gedaliah the son of Pashur was discovered earlier this year by archeologist Dr Eilat Mazar while wet-sifting from debris found under a tower at the north end of the City of David, the original site of ancient Jerusalem.

Dr Mazar began a dig in Jerusalem last summer in order to repair a collapsing tower. However underneath the tower she discovered a mass of ancient pottery and other artifacts. Dr Mazar concluded after dating the objects that the tower must have been built by Nehemiah, who according to the Bible returned from exile in Babylon with the Jews to rebuild the temple and walls of Jerusalem.

Among the debris recovered on the dig was the seal bearing Gedaliah's name which dated back to the reign of king Zedekiah, a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah and the last king of Judah before the city was destroyed by the Babylonians.

Three years ago, Dr Mazar discovered a similar seal with the name Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, another of Jeremiah's enemies.

Dr Mazar told the Trumpet.com that she believed the two seals were connected somehow, "We found the bulla of Jehucal inside the palace [of King David] structure. This time, we found the bulla of Gedaliah outside the wall, just at the foot of the same spot we found Jehucal."

Dr Mazar added, "It's not often that such discoveries happen in which real figures of the past shake off the dust of history and so vividly revive the stories of the Bible."