Israeli archaeologists find earliest evidence of Bethlehem's existence in Jerusalem dig
Ancient clay seal, dating to the First Temple period, bears the name Bethlehem in ancient Hebrew script; artifact located by researchers sifting soil removed from Jerusalem’s City of David.
A
piece of clay was found during archaeological excavations at the City of David, in Jerusalem,
bearing the name of the city of Bethlehem
in ancient Hebrew script. The piece of clay dates back to the First Temple
period (1006 – 586 BCE), making it the first tangible evidence of existence of
the city of Bethlehem
in ancient times.
The
artifact, called a “bulla,” is a piece of clay typically used as an official
seal on a document or object. Impressed with the seal of the sender of the
document, an intact “bulla” upon deliver was proof that a document had not been
opened by anyone unauthorized to do so.
The
bulla, measuring around 1.5 cm, was found during the sifting of soil removed
from archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying
out in the City of David.
The
sifting is underwritten by the Ir David Foundation, in a project being
conducted in the Emek
Tzurim National
Park.
Three
lines of ancient Hebrew script appear on the artifact, including the words “Bat
Lechem,” an ancient name for Bethlehem.
The
artifact is of significant importance because the area of biblical Bethlehem has yet to be
archaeologically excavated, making the bulla the only proof of the city’s
existence found outside of the Bible.
"There’s
a difference between reading the name of a city in the Bible, and reading that
name written in ancient Hebrew script on an artifact," said Elik Shukron,
director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Shukron
provided some historical background for the object: “It seems that in the
seventh year of the reign of a king (it is unclear if the king referred to here
is Hezekiah, Manasseh or Josiah), a shipment was dispatched from Bethlehem to
the king in Jerusalem.The bulla we found belongs to the group of fiscal bullas
– administrative bullas used to seal tax shipments remitted to the taxation
system of the Kingdom of Judah in the late eighth and seventh centuries BCE,”
said Sukron.
“This
is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible, in an
inscription from the First Temple period, which proves that Bethlehem was
indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah, and possibly also in earlier periods,”
continued Shukron.
In
the Bible, Bethlehem is first mentioned in the
verse “in Ephrath, which is Bethlehem”,
and it was on the way there that Rachel died and it is where she was buried
(Genesis 35:19; 48:7).
In
a video accompanying the IAA's announcement of the finding, Shukron says the
bulla was evidence of tax being sent from Bethlehem
to the king in Jerusalem.
"We
know the name Bethlehem
appears 41 times in the Bible," he said, adding that the unearthing of the
bulla was a "one-time finding, you don't excavate these kinds of things
every day."
"After
many years of digging here, it's the first time I found written evidence from
the time of the First Temple that links Bethlehem to Jerusalem in an amazing
way," he said, adding that it was a very "exciting and important
thing for this place [Jerusalem]."
·
By
Barry Kilbane
·
23 May
2012
·
05:13PM
We
can debate the jewish ownership of Israel until the cows come home,
but God decreed it and nothing will alter that. And trust me we are all going
to realize very soon Whose land it is, and we will tremble
·
By Life
Studies
·
23 May
2012
·
04:07PM
The
name William Foxwell Albright, which you mention, is in fact inextricably
connected in biblical scholarship with his central thesis that the Hebrew Bible
is essentially historically accurate, which is a powerful affirmation of the
ancient historical connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel. Since
Albright's death, biblical scholarship has often questioned his central thesis,
but inductive evidence still supports the ancient connection, and few rational
people would deny that the finding reported here by Haaretz tends to support
it.
·
By jodi
·
23 May
2012
·
02:10PM
The
more we learn And discover the better of we are. We have right to voice we have
right to what we believe. Congrats to those working at this site, wow i cant
even imagine How incredible that must feel. Keep pushin on.
·
By
Binyamin Dissen
·
23 May
2012
·
02:02PM
o
By
DanUK
o
23 May
2012
o
02:23PM
o
By
Bryan V
o
23 May
2012
o
04:12PM
It
just makes you a fool though.
o
By
AriOren
o
23 May
2012
o
06:17PM
I
consider myself a leftist, but I know what our connection to our land is. Don't
generalize
·
By
Distant Origin
·
23 May
2012
·
01:30PM
OK,
but what are evidence this object has been found here indeed, not just to put
here to legitmize this idea? Am not exactly believe this, really. No.
·
By
potobac
·
23 May
2012
·
01:06PM
It
is interesting that the writer dates Bethlehem
from the First Temple period. According to William
Foxwell Albright, a truly great scholar of Ancient Palestine, there was a
Canaanite city Beit Lachmu (the temple of the god Lachmu ) there in the third
century BCE. Could this be another Israeli rewrite of history?
o
By
Asuru
o
23 May
2012
o
01:32PM
o
By dr irvine
o
23 May
2012
o
01:34PM
·
By
Muhammad
·
23 May
2012
·
00:20PM
Al Malik Dawud was a Muslim sheikh,
he built Bait el-Makdas in Al-Quds, on his Jebusite family's land. The Jews are
a 17th century invention by the Zionists and Freemasons, conspired by Mossad.
o
By H
o
23 May
2012
o
01:50PM
if
anything YOU are the invention of the Zionists, created to perpetuate the
popular belief that Antisemitism is alive and well. (which of course is a lie)
o
By dr irvine
o
23 May
2012
o
02:00PM
o
By
nutter
o
23 May
2012
o
02:05PM
Identity Problem
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