Image Details

… And Hezekiah makes two. The seal impression, or bulla, reads “Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) ’Ahaz, king of Judah.” Hezekiah ruled from 715 to 687 B.C.E. At center on the impression, a two-winged beetle pushes a tiny ball of mud. The bulla is the second Judahite royal seal impression to come to light in recent years; as it happens, the first belonged to the same ’Ahaz mentioned here, Hezekiah’s father and predecessor to the throne. The seals of both rulers shared a telegraphic style made necessary by limited space: Both omit the phrase “son of” between the name of the king and his father. In another important respect, however, the two seal impressions differ markedly: The seal of ’Ahaz was aniconic, consisting of words only, while the seal of Hezekiah bore an illustration.