Guno צְבִי
We fight, We win, Am Yisrael Chai
The inscribed clay may have belonged to the son of one of King Josiah’s royal servants, a few decades before the destruction of the temple by Babylon.
A rare First Temple-era seal impression (bulla) bearing a Hebrew inscription was unearthed three weeks ago by the Temple Mount Sifting Project, Hebrew media reported on Wednesday.
The well-preserved clay seal was found by archeologist Mordechai Erlich, outlet Ynet reported. Epigrapher Anat Mendel-Geberovich and Zachi Dvira deciphered the letters as reading, “Yed[a‛]yah (son of) Asayahu,” which is understood to mean “Belonging to Yed[a‛]yah (son of) Asayahu.” Presumably this person was the owner of the seal.
A bulla is an inscribed clay, soft metal, or wax token used in commercial and legal documentation.
According to markings on the back of the item, it appears to be a seal impression that secured some types of storage vessel, making sure that only authorized personnel could open them.
The researchers who deciphered the seal speculate that it could have belonged to Asayahu’s son, as it is highly probable that he served in a high-ranking court position like his father, Hebrew-language outlet Behadrei Haredim reported.
A significant percentage of the names found on seals and seal impressions uncovered in excavations in Jerusalem have been identified with administrative figures mentioned in the Bible, the report continued.
Seals were not used by common people, but rather by individuals in high-ranking official positions.