Seal of King Yoshiyahu-Era Official Unearthed at Har Habayis

In a remarkable discovery, archaeologists with the Temple Mount Sifting Project in Yerushalayim have uncovered a clay seal impression dating back to the period of Bayis Rishon. The find, announced Tuesday, bears the name of an official mentioned in Tanach.

Written in the ancient Paleo-Hebrew script, the miniature artifact is inscribed with the words: “Belonging to Yed[a‛]yah (son of) Asayahu.”

“This is only the second time since the Temple Mount Sifting Project began over 20 years ago that we’ve uncovered a sealing with such a complete inscription — nearly every letter is clearly legible,” archaeologist Zachi Dvira, who co-directs the project alongside Dr. Gabriel Barkay, told the Times of Israel.

“We usually do not go public with new finds so quickly,” he said. “However, in this case, the artifact was very recognizable, and Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich, who works in our lab, is one of the leading experts in ancient Hebrew script. So we decided to move forward, also because we felt it was very significant that the sealing was found just before Tisha B’Av.”

The name Asaya is recorded in Tanach as a servant in the court of King Yoshiyahu, the 16th king of Yehudah who ruled during the late 7th century BCE.

One pasuk mentioning the name is in Divrei Hayamim 2 34:20: “The king gave orders to Hilkiah, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Abdon son of Micah, and the scribe Shaphan, and Asaya, servant of the king,” 

The same account appears in Melachim 2, 22:12, “And the king gave orders to the priest Hilkiah, and to Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Michaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and Asaya the king’s minister.”
Notably, the name on the seal is rendered “Asayahu.”
“The longer and shorter versions of the name were often used interchangeably,” Dvira said.
“The name Asayahu also appears on another clay sealing with the words ‘servant to the king,’ that was identified some 20 years ago,” he added. “However, since the artifact came from the antiquity market, and not from an archaeological context, it is more difficult to be sure of its authenticity.”

These clay impressions, or bullae, served a vital administrative function during the Bayis Rishon period, often used to seal documents or secure storehouses.

This seal joins dozens of others that have been unearthed in Yerushalayim, many of which carry the names of figures who are also mentioned in the Torah record.

“Obviously, we are not sure that the Asayahu mentioned on the sealing is the same that appears in the Bible,” said Dvira. “However, several such artifacts found in the area of the Har Habayis carry biblical names, and it does make sense, because these were not objects used by common people.”