Six Hebrew Fiscal Bullae from the Time of Hezekiah

Chapter Four Six Hebrew Fiscal Bullae from the Time of Hezekiah Robert Deutsch The ancient site of Keilah was a biblical fortified town (Josh 15:44), located 13.5 kilometers northwest of Hebron. Keilah has preserved its name in Arabic as Qila. The name of this town is mentioned in the Amarna letters during the conflict between Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem and Shuwardata of Hebron.1 David established his headquarter at Keilah and used the town as a place of refuge from Saul (2 Sam 23:1–13). During the First Temple Period the town of Keilah was a part of the district of Mareshah and later, during the Persian period, Keilah was a district capital in the province of Judah. At the turn of the millennium, over one thousand Hebrew bullae were recovered in nonprofessional excavations at the site and found their way to several private collections. The rich assemblage was discovered in a library from the time of Hezekiah, king of Judah. This epigraphic treasure contained many royal bullae, including bullae of high officials in the royal court. Over six hundred bullae have been published in the past,2 and several hundred are still to be published this year by the author.3 The discovery is of prime importance for the study of ancient Israel and its geographical history. The aim of this paper is to present a group of 1. ANET 489, 289–90. 2. Robert Deutsch, “Biblical Period Hebrew Bulla,” Messages from the Past, Hebrew Bullae from the Time of Isaiah through the Destruction of the First Temple (Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Archaeological Center Publications, 1999); “A Hoard of Fifty Hebrew Clay Bullae from the Time of Hezekiah,” in Shlomo: Studies in Epigraphy, Iconography, History and Archaeology in Honor of Shlomo Moussaieff (ed. R. Deutsch; Tel Aviv-Jaffa: Archaeological Center Publications, 2003), 45–98. 3. Robert Deutsch, Biblical Period Epigraphy: The Josef Chaim Kaufman Collection; Seals, Bullae, Handles (vol. 2; Tel Aviv-Jaffa: Archaeological Center Publications, 2011). -59- 60 NEW INSCRIPTIONS AND SEALS six “fiscal bullae,”4 seal impressions used for taxation, revealing the names of biblical towns, some previously unknown from extra-biblical sources.5 All six bullae are inscribed in Hebrew script and in the Hebrew language. Four bullae are dated and described as belonging to the king who is unnamed, and two are undated. The bullae presented in this paper belong to Group I. The formula used on the fiscal bullae of this group is constant: 1) The date, marked in hieratic numerals; 2) the name of a town; and 3) the king’s ownership.6 The use of Egyptian hieratic numerals is due to the fact that an individual Hebrew numeric system had not yet developed in Judah in the First Temple period; they are also used on Hebrew ostraca and weights.7 Two bullae feature Egyptian iconography, a four-winged serpent uraeus wearing the horned sun disk crown of Hathor. Egyptian iconography is often used in the glyptic art of the Iron Age and is also found on seals and seal impressions.8 The Bullae A Dated Brown-Clay Bulla The field is divided into three registers by two double lines and is surrounded by a double framing line (fig. 1). Two pointed circles are placed at the end of the second and third line serving as space fillers. The Hebrew inscription reads: Klml / h(bg / hn# 13 b b 13 šnh / gb‘h / lmlk “In the 13th year, Gibeah, to/belonging to the king” Gibeah, meaning “Hill,” is the name of four biblical towns. Gibeah mentioned on this bulla is probably located in the hill country of Judah south of Hebron, yet its 4. The term “fiscal bullae” was first coined by Nahman Avigad in his 1990 article: “Two Hebrew Fiscal Bullae,” IEJ 40 (1990): 262–66. 5. The bullae are kept in a private collection and the owner prefers to remain anonymous. 6. The bullae of Group II mention personal names instead of town names. 7. Stefan Wimmer, Palästinisches Hieratisch, Die Zahl- und Sonderzeichen in der althebräischen Schrift (Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, 2008). 8. F. M. Cross, Jr., “King Hezekiah’s Seal Bears Phoenician Imagery,” BAR 25 (1999): 42– 45, 60; Robert Deutsch, “Lasting Impressions; New Bullae Reveal Egyptian-Style Emblems on Judah’s Royal Seals,” BAR 28 (2002): 42–51, 60–61. DEUTSCH: SIX HEBREW FISCAL BULLAE 61 Fig. 1. A brown-clay bulla with the inscription: “In the 13th year, Gibeah, to/belonging to the king.” precise location is unknown (Josh 15:57). This is the first occurrence of this town name in extra biblical sources of the Iron Age. A Dated Fragmentary and Damaged Black-Clay Bulla The field is divided into three registers by two double lines (fig. 2). A section of the surrounding double frame line is preserved on the right edge. The letters mem and lamed are partly visible and the last letter kaf is missing, yet the reading is certain. The Hebrew inscription reads: [K]lml / #kl / hn# 21 b b 21 šnh / lkš / lml[k] “In the 21st year, Lachish, to/belonging to the king” The ancient site of Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir), is situated about 40 kilometers north of Beer-Sheva and covers an area of about 30 acres. In Iron Age II (eighth–seventh century b.c.e.), Lachish was the most important city after Jerusalem, and its destruction level, called “Lachish III,” is dated to the conquest of the city by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 b.c.e. The conquest was commemorated by paneling the walls of a room in the palace in Nineveh with scenes of the siege of 62 NEW INSCRIPTIONS AND SEALS Fig. 2. A fragmentary and damaged black-clay bulla with the inscription: “In the 21st year, Lachish, to/belonging to the king.” the city. The city was conquered again in 586 b.c.e. by the Babylonian king Nabuchadnezzar II, and its destruction level is called “Lachish II.” In 1966, on the floor of a small room, Yohanan Aharoni found a rich group of ceramic vessels. One of the vessels, a typical Iron Age II cylindrical juglet, contained a group of seventeen Hebrew clay seal impressions. Evidently, an official at Lachish was collecting the seal impressions, which he removed from the incoming mail, and kept them in the juglet. The finds were dated to the “Lachish II destruction Level,” ca. 586 b.c.e. Unfortunately, only seven bullae are fully or partly legible, while the reminder are poorly preserved and are illegible. Six of them bear personal names while one, which is damaged and its lower right corner is missing, belonged to the high official “Shebanyahu.” In the light of the new epigraphic evidence from Keilah, we have to reconsider the attribution of the Lachish juglet and its content to the Lachish II level.9 A Dated, Complete, Brown-Clay Bulla The field is divided into three registers by two double lines and is surrounded by a double framing line (fig. 3). The edges are covered by finger prints. The inscription is carelessly executed. The Hebrew inscription reads: 9. Robert Deutsch, “Tracking Down Shebnayahu, Servant of the King,” BAR 8 (2009): 45–49, 67. DEUTSCH: SIX HEBREW FISCAL BULLAE 63 Fig. 3. A complete brown-clay bulla with the inscription: “In the 20th year, ‘Adullam, to/ belonging to the king.” Klml / Mld( h/n# 20 b b 20 šn/h ‘dlm / lmlk “In the 20th year, ‘Adullam, to/belonging to the king” Adullam (Adollam in Greek spelling), is a town in the Shephelah between Socoh and Keilah. It has been identified with modern Tell esh Sheikh Madhkur. The king of Adullam is mentioned as one of the local kings defeated by the Israelites (Josh 12:15), and the city was allotted to the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:35). David fled from Saul to a cave in the Adullam area, and there he surrounded himself with about four hundred men (1 Sam 22:1). Rehoboam fortified the city preparing it against the invasion of Judah by Shishak (2 Chr 11:7). Micah mourns over Adullam in the time of Hezekiah (Mic 1:15), and it is one of the towns in which the people of Judah settled after the exile (Neh 11:30). This is the first occurrence of this town name in extra biblical sources of the Iron Age. An Undated Reddish-Brown Clay Bulla The field is divided into three registers by two double lines and is surrounded by a triple framing line (fig. 4). Two pointed circles and a lotus flower are placed at the end of the second and third line serving as space fillers. In the upper register a four-winged serpent uraeus is depicted, wearing the horned sun disk crown of Hathor. The Hebrew inscription reads: 64 NEW INSCRIPTIONS AND SEALS Fig. 4. A reddish-brown clay bulla with the inscription: “(’A)pheqah, to/belonging to the king.” Klml / hqp()) (’)pqh / lmlk “(’A)pheqah, to/belonging to the king” The name of the town is written in scriptio defectiva with the dropped prefix alef (same as Hiram for Ahiram). The name probably means “enclosure” or “fortress.” Aphek(ah) is one of the nine towns listed in the sixth district of Judah, the capital of which is presumed to have been Hebron (Josh 15:53). This is the first occurrence of this town name in extra biblical sources of the Iron Age. An Undated Reddish-Brown Clay Bulla The field is divided into three registers by two double lines (fig. 5). The surrounding triple framing line is preserved on the lower edge. A dot is placed at the end of the inscription serving as a space filler. In the upper register a four-winged serpent uraeus is depicted, wearing the horned sun disk crown of Hathor. The surface is slightly damaged but the reading is certain The Hebrew inscription reads: Klml / Mnn)c s’nnm / lmlk “Tza’ananim, to/belonging to the king” DEUTSCH: SIX HEBREW FISCAL BULLAE 65 Fig. 5. A reddish-brown clay bulla with the inscription: “Tza’ananim, to/belonging to the king.” The biblical town of Zeanan (Zeananim in plural), is mentioned in the district of Lachish (Josh 16:37). The name of the town is also mentioned in Mikha (1:11). This is the first occurrence of this town name in extra biblical sources of the Iron Age. A Dated Complete Black-Clay Bulla The field is divided into four registers by three single lines and is surrounded by a framing line (fig. 6). The Hebrew inscription reads: Klml / hkw# / t#l#h / hn#b bšnh /hšlšt / šwkh / lmlk “In the third year, Socoh, to/belonging to the king” Socoh on this bulla is possibly the biblical town located in the Hebron district (Josh 15:48), identified as the double tell called “The Upper and Lower Shuwaikah,” about 6 kilometers southwest of Eshtamoa. Socoh served as an administrative or storage center, being one of the four cities mentioned on the LMLK stamps of the Judean monarchy. Another candidate is the town named Socoh that is found in the lower hill country in the Ela Valley between Adullam and Azekah (Josh 15:35). The Philistines camped between the Ela Valley, Socoh, and Azekah before the encounter 66 NEW INSCRIPTIONS AND SEALS Fig. 6. A complete black-clay bulla with the inscription: “In the third year, Socoh, to/belonging to the king.” of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17:1). Rehoboam fortified the place (2 Chr 11:7). It was also one of the cities occupied temporarily by the Philistines in the time of Ahaz, Hezekia’s father (2 Chr 28:18). Conclusions The six fiscal bullae presented above, naming the towns of Gibeah, Lachish, Adullam, (A)pheqah, Tzaananim, and Socoh, are to be added to the eleven fiscal bullae previously deciphered, recording eight cities: Eltolad, Arab, Arubboth, Gebim, Lachish, Maon, Nasib, and Keilah.10 The thirteen different towns mentioned on the fiscal bullae are situated in Judah, with the borders of Keilah in the north, Eltolad in the south, Maon in the east, and Lachish in the west. Within the same borders, on the eastern part of Judah, we find the towns of Hebron, Ziph, and Socoh, mentioned on the LMLK storage-jar handles. Therefore, we can safely determine that both artifacts, the fiscal bullae and the LMLK storage jars, which are chronologically coexistent, are to be attributed to Hezekiah‘s taxation system, and are probably connected with his efforts to confront and resist the Assyrian threat, realized in the invasion that took place in 701 b.c.e. 10. Deutsch, “Biblical Period Hebrew Bulla,” 87. DEUTSCH: SIX HEBREW FISCAL BULLAE 67 Bibliography Avigad, Nahman. “Two Hebrew Fiscal Bullae.” IEJ 40 (1990): 262–66. Cross, Frank M., Jr. “King Hezekiah’s Seal Bears Phoenician Imagery.” BAR 25 (1999): 42–45, 60. Deutsch, Robert. “A Hoard of Fifty Hebrew Clay Bullae from the Time of Hezekiah.” Pages 45–98 in Shlomo: Studies in Epigraphy, Iconography, History and Archaeology in Honor of Shlomo Moussaieff. Edited by R. Deutsch. Tel Aviv-Jaffa: Archaeological Center Publications, 2003. ———. Biblical Period Epigraphy: The Josef Chaim Kaufman Collection; Seals, Bullae, Handles, vol. 2. Tel Aviv-Jaffa: Archaeological Center Publications, 2011. ———. Biblical Period Hebrew Bulla: The Josef Chaim Kaufman Collection. Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Archaeological Center Publications 2003. ———. “Lasting Impressions; New Bullae Reveal Egyptian-Style Emblems on Judah’s Royal Seals.” BAR 28 (2002): 42–51, 60–61. ———. Messages from the Past, Hebrew Bullae from the time of Isaiah through the Destruction of the First Temple. Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Archaeological Center Publications, 1999. ———. “Tracking Down Shebnayahu, Servant of the King,” BAR 8 (2009): 45–49, 67. Wimmer, Stefan. Palästinisches Hieratisch, Die Zahl- und Sonderzeichen in der althebräischen Schrift. Wiesbaden: Harrasowitz, 2008.