The "Baruch son of Neriah" bullae — a case we do not lean on
Nothing that can be relied on. We include this item to show where the line falls: an attractive reading without an excavation context is not evidence.
Fakakikihi'iMe'aclaimed late 7th century BC
Two clay seal impressions reading "Belonging to Berekhyahu son of Neriyahu the scribe" — the full form of the name of Jeremiah's secretary Baruch. They are frequently presented as proof of Baruch's existence. They are also unprovenanced, and specialists have raised serious authenticity concerns, including about a fingerprint once publicised as Baruch's own.
Belonging to Berekhyahu son of Neriyahu, the scribe.
- Na'e 'ilo'i
- Unknown — surfaced on the antiquities market, 1975 — No excavation context
- 'Oku tauhi 'i
- Israel Museum and private collections
- Lea
- Hebrew
Hono lahi 'o 'ene fakamo'oni
Unprovenanced. Authenticity has been questioned by specialists in Hebrew epigraphy, and no stratified example is known. Included here as an honest counter-example, not as support.
Founga hono ngāue'aki 'e he kau hisitōlia
Widely cited in popular apologetics; treated with caution or rejected in academic epigraphy precisely because it lacks provenance.
'I he Folofola
Fekau'aki mo
Ngaahi ma'u'anga fakamatala
- Rollston, "Non-Provenanced Epigraphs", Maarav 11 (2004)
- Bulla of Baruch ben Neriah — overview and the authenticity debate
'Oku 'i he lea faka-Pilitānia 'a e ngaahi fakamatala ko 'eni he taimi ni. 'E muimui mai 'a e liliu.