Snip

Adjacent to the City of David in Jerusalem, a unique and rare archaeological discovery was made. It serves as evidence of the presence of the Jewish people in the land of Israel during the time of the Jewish Temple about 2,600 years ago.

The archaeologists found a seal of about one centimeter in diameter that makes direct reference to a figure mentioned in the Bible.The ancient Hebrew inscription on the seal bears the words “Belonging to Adoniyahu, the Royal Steward”.

The royal steward (Asher al Habait in Hebrew) was an important position within the royal hierarchy in the kingdom of Judah and appears on the list of King Solomon’s ministers. It is a term that appears several times in the Bible and is used as a reference to an important minister who was close to the king.

Seals such as the one found were used at the time of the First Temple to sign and seal official documents for the king.

Eli Shukron, who led the excavation, said that “After 2,600 years, you come and hold this bulla, which was used to seal a letter, that was sent 2,600 years ago by the highest minister in the kingdom, it’s something amazing. It makes my heart skip a beat”.