An Eighth-Century “First”: God’s Name Found On A Hebrew Seal

The oldest known, authentic Hebrew seal inscribed with the divine name “Yahweh” dates to the first half of the eighth century B.C.E. In fact, until the discovery of the inscribed storage jar at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud (see photo of inscribed storage jar), dated to 800 B.C.E., this seal contained the earliest occurrence of the divine name in any Israelite inscription. Made of highly polished red jasper blotched with white jasper veins, the finely crafted ovoid measures only about half an inch long and a quarter-inch wide. Although of uncertain provenance, it is believed to have been discovered in a tomb in the vicinity of Jerusalem. The seal lacks all ornamentation, such as a border or the double lines that usually separate lines of script. A longitudinal perforation through the seal suggests that the seal probably hung from a string.

Two lines of script appear on each side of the seal. On the obverse side (see photo, top), the inscription was written so as to be read directly, indicating that this side was not used for sealing. It says: mqnyw / ‘bd.yhwh, or “MiqneÆyaw, Servant of Yahweh.” On the reverse side (see photo, middle), the inscription was rendered as a mirror image so that its impression (see photo, bottom), when the seal is pressed into wet clay, will appear, in the correct direction. This inscription slightly modifies the other one by adding the possessive prefix, l-: lmqnyw / ‘bd.yhwh, or “(Belonging) to MiqneÆyaw, Servant of Yahweh.”