Bryant G. Wood<\/b><\/p>\n
As in modern day society, seals served a very important function in antiquity. Not only did they identify the sender of a letter or commercial shipment, but a seal also guaranteed the quality and quantity of commercial products and prevented the unauthorized opening of a document or container. Important officials, and even ordinary citizens, had their own private seals for use in government, business, or legal activities.<\/p>\n
Seals are mentioned frequently in the Bible, both literally and figuratively. In 1 Kings 21, when Jezebel drew up the letters that were to bring about the death of Naboth so that Ahab could acquire his vineyard, she authenticated the letters by sealing them with Ahab\u2019s seal (verse 8). The sealing of a letter or legal document was accomplished by folding the document, tying it with string and then pressing a soft lump of clay onto the string. The official or scribe responsible for the document would then make an impression in the soft clay with his seal. It is these impressed clay sealings, called bullae (singular: bulla), that are often found by archaeologists, the original document having long since perished by fire or natural deterioration. Occasionally, the seal itself is found. In Nehemiah 9:38 the chief men of Jerusalem set their seals to a written covenant thus agreeing to abide by its contents. When Daniel was <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 98<\/p>\n
Steps in the folding of a papyrus contract. Note the tying and sealing in step 9<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n
thrown into the lion\u2019s den through the trickery of the other jealous officials:<\/p>\n
a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. (Daniel 6:17)<\/p>\n
The letters drawn up by Haman to kill all the Jews in the days of Esther were made official by sealing them with the king\u2019s ring (Esther 3:12). Later, when Esther revealed the plot to the king and asked him to supersede the order he told her:<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 99<\/p>\n
You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king\u2019s ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king\u2019s ring cannot be revoked. (Esther 8:8, R.S.V.)<\/p>\n
Hundreds of seals and seal impressions from the times of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah have been recovered from the dirt of Palestine, both by legal and illegal diggers. A number of Bible kings are mentioned on these impressions (Jeroboam II, Ahaz, Uzziah, and Hezekiah), but only as the king under whom the owner of the seal served. Out of all of these seals and seal impressions, there was not one that could be identified with certainty as belonging to a Bible personality \u2014 that is, until now.<\/p>\n
Recently, a large group of seal-impressions from the seventh century B.C. was found at an as yet unknown place in Judah. Most of the impressions are personal names, but on a number of them the titles of high-ranking officials appear. The documents to which these bullae were attached \u2014 the imprints of the papyrus and string can still be seen \u2014 undoubtedly belonged to an official archive. Two of the bullae are of particular interest, because they contain names of people mentioned in the Bible.<\/p>\n
Baruch the Scribe<\/b><\/p>\n
The first of these, now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, reads, \u201cbelonging to Berechiah\/son of Neriah\/the scribe.\u201d Berechiah is none other than Baruch, the scribe of the prophet Jeremiah. In the Bible, the shortened form of his name is used. We first meet Baruch in chapter 32 of the book of Jeremiah. And what is Baruch doing in Jeremiah 32? He is drawing up and sealing a property deed for Jeremiah!<\/p>\n
Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance <\/p>\n
Fifth century B.C. marriage contract from Elephantine, Egypt, with the string and seal still intact<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 100<\/p>\n
An impression of the seal of Baruch<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n
with the word of the Lord, and said to me, \u201cbuy my field which is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.\u201d Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. And I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, 17 shekels of silver.1 I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. I charged Baruch in their presence saying, \u201cthus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time.\u201d (Jeremiah 32: 8\u201314, R.S.V.)<\/p>\n
This particular transaction received special notice in the Bible because of the unusual circumstances under which it was carried out \u2014 Nebuchadnezzar was besieging Jerusalem at the time! Property values were undoubtedly at their lowest level because of the uncertainty of the situation, and a real estate investment would have been considered a very poor investment indeed. But Jeremiah was acting under the direction of God. God used the transaction as an object lesson to show that although the present situation was bleak, the land would one day be restored and property values would again return (Jeremiah 32: 42\u201344). This, of course, has come to pass in our own time.<\/p>\n
We notice in this passage that Baruch\u2019s full name was \u201cBaruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah,\u201d whereas his seal merely has <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 101<\/p>\n
\u201cBerechiah son of Neriah.\u201d Baruch drew up two copies of the deed: one, which was sealed (possibly with the same seal used to make the impression on the newly discovered bulla!), was kept for reference and would have been opened only in case of dispute; the other, the \u201cworking copy,\u201d was left open. Baruch the scribe, serving in the capacity of a lawyer, was then entrusted with the safekeeping of the documents.<\/p>\n
The next we hear of Baruch is in Jeremiah 36. In this famous passage, God told Jeremiah to write all of His words on a scroll and read it to the people of Judah. Jeremiah called in Baruch and dictated to him \u201call the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him\u201d (verse 4). Jeremiah then told Baruch to read the scroll publicly in the temple (verses 5\u20137). When Baruch did this, he was detained by government officials and eventually the scroll was read to Jehoiakim, king of Judah (verses 8\u201321), The king\u2019s reaction was to burn the scroll piece by piece as it was being read (verses 22\u201326). But God was to have the last word, for He commanded Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll, and this time God added a personal judgement against Jehoiakim (verses 27\u201331). Again Jeremiah dictated to Baruch all that was on the first scroll \u201cand many similar words were <\/p>\n
Steps in the folding of a papyrus letter<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 102<\/p>\n
added to them\u201d (verse 32).<\/p>\n
After the burning of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and the subsequent assassination of Gedaliah the governor of Judah, the remnant Jews took Jeremiah and Baruch to Egypt by force (Jeremiah 43:1\u20137). We also read in Jeremiah 45:1 that Jeremiah again dictated a prophetic message to Baruch.<\/p>\n
We see from these passages that Baruch the scribe was a close friend and personal secretary to Jeremiah. Because of his association with Jeremiah, many scholars believe that it was Baruch who compiled the book of Jeremiah. If Baruch was Jeremiah\u2019s personal secretary, then what was his bulla doing in an official archive? We can only speculate on this question, but since Baruch was associated with Jeremiah during the final days of the kingdom of Judah, it is quite possible that he held a position in the government bureaucracy prior to becoming \u201ca scribe for God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jerahmeel the King\u2019s Son<\/b><\/p>\n
The second bulla of interest in this collection reads \u201cbelonging to Jerahmeel\/the king\u2019s son.\u201d Interestingly enough, Jerahmeel is also associated with Jeremiah, and with Baruch! After king Jehoiakim heard the words of Jeremiah\u2019s scroll, he ordered Jarahmeel the king\u2019s son, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch and Jeremiah, \u201cbut the Lord hid them\u201d (Jeremiah 36:26). Jerahmeel was evidently connected with police duties such as the detention of dissidents. Two other men with the title \u201cthe king\u2019s son\u201d seem to have had similar duties. When Ahab did not like the words of Micaiah the prophet, he ordered his men to take Micaiah to \u201cJoash the king\u2019s son\u201d and tell Joash, \u201cThus saith the king, put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come to peace\u201d (1 Kings 22:27). Later in Jeremiah\u2019s ministry, when Zedekiah was king, one of Jeremiah\u2019s messages upset the leaders of Judah,<\/p>\n
so they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king\u2019s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire. (Jeremiah 38:6, R.S.V.)<\/p>\n
Apparently those who bore the title \u201cthe king\u2019s son\u201d were members of the royal family who were responsible for maintaining security at the royal court.<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 103<\/p>\n
An impression of the seal of Jerahmeel<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n
Seraiah Son of Neriah<\/b><\/p>\n
A seal, the details of whose discovery are not known, seems to have certainly belonged to another of Jeremiah\u2019s associates. The inscription on it reads \u201cBelonging to Seraiah\/(son of) Neriah.\u201d This man was quartermaster or chief chamberlain under Zedekiah, and his full name was Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah (Jeremiah 51:59). Since the names of his father and grandfather were the same as those of Baruch, and since Seraiah and Baruch were contemporary, there is no doubt that they were brothers. It is not surprising then, that they were both friends of Jeremiah. In 594 B.C. (Zedekiah\u2019s fourth year) Seraiah was a member of a diplomatic delegation to Babylon. Jeremiah was not one to pass up a golden opportunity like this so he summoned his friend Seraiah, and:<\/p>\n
Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah: \u201cWhen you come to Babylon, see that you read all these words, and say, \u2018O Lord, thou hast said concerning this place that thou wilt cut it off, so that nothing shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast and it shall be desolate for ever.\u2019 When you finish reading this book, bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates and say, \u2018Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the evil that I am bringing upon her.\u2019\u201d (Jeremiah 51: 60\u201364, R.S.V.)<\/p>\n
The words that Seraiah spoke that day have indeed come true, because Babylon today lies in desolation and ruin.<\/p>\n
These three artifacts \u2014 two seal impressions and a seal \u2014 are very important discoveries in the annals of biblical archaeology. As small and as insignificant as they may seem, they give us personal contact with some of the important personalities and events in Bible <\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 104<\/p>\n
The seal of Seraiah<\/i><\/b>.<\/b><\/p>\n
history. And now, for the first time, we are able to say that archaeologists have recovered artifacts which were associated with and even handled by Bible personalities.<\/p>\n
(\u201cBaruch the Scribe and Jerahmeel the King\u2019s Son\u201d by Nahman Avigad in the Israel Exploration Journal,<\/i> Vol. 28 (1978), pp. 52-56.)<\/p>\n
BSP<\/i> 8:3-4 (Summer-Autumn 1979) p. 105<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bryant G. Wood As in modern day society, seals served a very important function in antiquity. Not only did they identify the sender of a letter or commercial shipment, but a seal also guaranteed the quality and quantity of commercial products and prevented the unauthorized opening of a document or container. Important officials, and even … Continue reading “SEALS,
\nSEAL IMPRESSIONS, AND THE FRIENDS OF JEREMIAH”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14931\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}