Two officials from Jeremiah 38, in clay
Two men named together in a single verse of Jeremiah turn up as two sealings from the same excavation area.
Named outside the BibleObjectc. 590 BC
Two bullae found metres apart in the same excavation: "Yehuchal son of Shelemyahu" and "Gedalyahu son of Pashhur". Jeremiah 38 names Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Gedaliah the son of Pashur together, in one verse, as the officials who demanded the prophet's death.
Belonging to Yehuchal son of Shelemyahu. · Belonging to Gedalyahu son of Pashhur.
- Found
- The City of David, Jerusalem, 2005 — Eilat Mazar's excavation (second bulla 2008)
- Now held at
- Israel Antiquities Authority
- Language
- Hebrew
- How it reached us
- Dug up, or still standing where it was built.
What it shows
Both are stratified finds with matching names and patronyms. As always with common Hebrew names, identity with the biblical individuals is very likely rather than proven.
How historians use it
Cited in Iron Age epigraphy; the pairing from one excavation is what makes the case unusual.
In Scripture
Connects to
Sources
- Mazar, "The Wall That Nehemiah Built", BAR 35 (2009), on the Ophel/City of David bullae
These summaries are written in English for now. Translations follow.