Israeli Archaeologists Discover Seal From Biblical King Hezekiah

Israeli archaeologists recently announced that they have unearthed a seal bearing the name of King Hezekiah from the 8th Century BCE.

The seal, found in the form of a stamp, was discovered near the Old City of Jerusalem in the Ophel. It is reportedly one of many seals found in the area, but the only one that bears the name "Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, king of Judah."

Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is overseeing the excavation at the Orphel, said during a press conference that the discovery provides more information to the story of Hezekiah in the Hebrew Bible.

Mazar said finding the seal is "the closest as ever that we can get to something that was most likely held by King Hezekiah himself."

The excavation leader added that the discovery "strengthens what we know already from the Bible about [Hezekiah]."

Mazar added to the Israel National News that this finding is the first of its kind.

"Although seal impressions bearing King Hezekiah's name have already been known from the antiquities market since the middle of the 1990s, some with a winged scarab (dung beetle) symbol and others with a winged sun, this is the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation," Mazar said.

The recent discovery of the seal comes after Israeli excavators discovered a 1,700-year-old mosaic in the Israeli city of Lod that reportedly adorned a wealthy household during the Byzantine and Roman periods.