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NEWS 0.4 inch PROPHET AND LOSS: The clay “Isaiah” seal (right) was found in an ancient fortified area of Jerusalem, bearing the name Isaiah, followed by three letters equating ton-v-yy in Hebrew. Archaeologists are mulling two basic theories. The wordn-v-y might just be a proper name or a referencetoaplace. But there is another, vastly more explo- sive theory: Blemishes on the tablet may have erased extra letters—marked in blue in the illustration above—which, when combined withn-v-y, formacom- plete inscriptionn reading “Belonging to Isaiah the prophet.” ILLUSTRATION: REUT LYVIATAN BEIT-ARIE/©EILAT MAZAR. “ISAIAH” SEAL: OURIA TADMOR/©EILAT MAZAR ANCIENT ISRAEL IsThisSealtheMark oftheProphetIsaiah? A 2,700-year-old clay seal may be the first archaeological reference, outside of the Bible, to perhaps the most influential prophet of all time. Althoughthewordsof thebiblicalBookof Isaiahhaveinspired Jews and Christians for generations, no archaeologicalreferencesto theprophethavebeenfound fromthetimewhenhelived. Thatmaybeabouttochange, thankstoatinyclaysealunearthedfromanancientJerusalemrubbishpit. If archaeologist Eilat Mazar’shunchiscorrect,the half-inchsealbearsthename oftheProphetIsaiahhimself. In an article in Biblical Archaeology Review the Israeli scholararguesthatalthough theletteringontheartifactis damaged,itmayread“BelongingtoIsaiahtheprophet.”If itdoes,itwouldbestunning physicalevidenceoftheexistenceofafigurecentralto JewishandChristiantheology. Many scholars now believe KING HEZEKIAH A seal (above) bearing the name of King Hezekiah of Judah, whom Isaiah advised, was found feet away from the “Isaiah” seal. The eighth-century b.c. king readied Judah against an Assyrian invasion. OURIA TADMOR/©EILAT MAZAR 4 JULY/AUGUST 2018
THE “ISAIAH” SEAL WAS FOUND IN AN ANCIENT AREA OF JERUSALEM (LOWER RIGHT). IN THE UPPER PART OF THE IMAGE IS THE ENCLOSURE OF THE DESTROYED JEWISH TEMPLE, ON WHICH STANDS THE MUSLIM DOME OF THE ROCK, BUILT IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY A.D. THE ELUSIVE ISAIAH, PROPHET OF KINGS HISORACLES shaped Jewish nationalhistory,andhis assurance that “a virgin will conceive and bear a son” is claimed by Christians as the prophetic basis for their faith. But who was Isaiah? Scholars speculate that he was probably of noble birth; his forthright advice to King Hezekiah— portrayed as flawed but righteous—suggests steeliness in a time when theJews found themselves caught between the might of Egypt to the west and Assyria to the east. Despite his wealthy origins, Isaiah faulted the ruling class for neglecting their duties to the poor, and his vision of justice and peace resonates now as much as it must have done centuries ago: “Andheshall judge among the nations . ..and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nationshall not lift upswordagainst nation, neither shall theylearn war any more.” ISAIAH IN A 12TH-CENTURY FRENCH ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT DAE/AGE FOTOSTOCK AKG/ALBUM that the Book of Isaiah does not record the words of just one Isaiah figure, but of three, and that its composition took place over two centuries. The book presents Isaiah as an adviser to eighth-century B.C. King Hezekiah, a ruler faced with the daunting task of defending Jerusalem from the regional superpower of the day, the Assyrian Empire. According to the book, Isaiah warns of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrians, counsels against sin at home, and reassures his people that God’s special bond with the Jews will eventually bring deliverance. Scholars believe that the later chapters, which predict the fall of Babylon,werewritteninthesixth century B.C., after the time of Hezekiah. This period was when the exile of the Jews to Babylon, and the subsequent crushing of Babylon by Persia,haddeeplymarkedJewish theologyandnationalhistory. MissingLetters The mystery as to the identity of Isaiah is what makes the discovery of the clay seal potentially significant. Mazar has another archaeological find to bolster her claim that the Isaiah on the seal may be the prophet: Discovered in whatisbelievedtobetheruins of an ancient royal bakery, to thesouthofJerusalem’sTempleMount,thesealwasfound feetawayfromanobjectbearing the name of Isaiah’s ruler, KingHezekiah.Historiansare innodoubtthatHezekiahexisted, and the proximity of bothobjects,bothdatingfrom the eighth-centuryB.C., helps make the case for Isaiah’s existence as well. Mazar and other archaeologists,however,urgecaution, because the lettering on the “Isaiah” seal is damaged: The Hebrew word for “Isaiah”— Yesha-yahu—isclearenough. It is then followed by the Hebrew letters n, v, and y, almost spelling the Hebrew word for “prophet”—but lacking the final letter, an a. Ablemishonthe seal after the y might have obstructed the all-important a, or the word may be complete. The letters n-v-y could be a surname or a place-name. Researchers still do not have enough evidence to make a firm conclusion, but the intriguing object may take scholars a step closer to realizing the figure who once wrote of the messiah as “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC HISTORY 5
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