Wednesday, April 3, 2019

ARCHAEOLOGY: Josiah's Nathan - Melech

"A tiny clay impression from the 8th century BC, which bears an inscription mentioning a member of the court of the Biblical King Josiah, was recently located in the City of David in Jerusalem.

Excavations held at the Givati Parking Lot in the City of David uncovered a tiny clay impression, also known as a bulla, that included a reference to Nathan-Melech, who was identified as “Servant of the King.”
The biblical Nathan-Melech is mentioned in 2 Kings 23:11: “He removed from the entrance to the temple of the LORD the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun.
Dr. Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday that it is likely a reference to the Biblical figure."
CP