BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

An Assyrian Genie in First Temple Jerusalem

Israeli archaeologists uncover rare stone seal

Rare stone seal with an Assyrian genie and paleo-Hebrew writing. Courtesy Eliyahu Yanai, City of David.

How did an Assyrian genie end up in Jerusalem during the First Temple period? During continued excavations of the City of David in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered a rare stone seal bearing two names in paleo-Hebrew script and a depiction of a Neo-Assyrian winged genie. Likely belonging to a high official in the Judahite court, the seal would have served as both a signature and a protective amulet.

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The Apkallu of Yehoʼezer ben Hoshʼayahu

Discovered near the southern wall of the ancient Temple Mount, the seal is made of black stone and, in the words of excavation directors Yuval Baruch and Navot Rom, is “one of the most beautiful ever discovered in excavations in ancient Jerusalem.” In the center of the stone is a carefully carved depiction of an Assyrian winged genie. Surrounding the genie is the inscription leYehoʼezer ben Hoshʼayahu (to Yeho’ezer son of Hoshʼayahu) written haphazardly in the paleo-Hebrew script.

With a hole drilled through it, the seal was likely worn around the neck and served as both the personal seal and as a protective amulet of a local official. According to researchers, it may have originally been owned by a man named Hoshʼayahu, who held a senior position in the kingdom of Judah. Upon his death, his son, Yehoʼezer, inherited the seal and had his own name added to it. According to Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa, who partnered on the project, “Comparing the shape of the letters and the writing to those of other Hebrew seals and bullae (clay seal impressions) from Jerusalem shows that, in contrast to the careful engraving of the demon [genie], inscribing the names on the seal was done in a sloppy manner. It is not impossible that perhaps it was Yehoʼezer himself who engraved the names on the object.”

The stone seal. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

Unlike the inscription, however, the genie in the seal’s center is masterfully carved. Depicted in profile, the winged figure is seen striding towards the right, wearing a long-striped tunic and a diadem. Such genies are characteristic of the art of the Assyrian Empire, which held considerable sway over the vassal kingdom of Judah during the late eighth and seventh centuries BCE. Often associated with apkallu (antediluvian sages and kings), these genies were typically displayed in palaces and temples. The use of such a distinctive Assyrian artistic element in the seal of a Judahite administrator reflects the cultural milieu in which Judah found itself as an Assyrian vassal.

According to Filip Vukosavović, an archaeologist with the IAA, “It seems that the object was made by a local craftsman—a Judahite, who produced the amulet at the owner’s request. It was prepared at a very high artistic level.”

Not everyone agrees with this conclusion, however. “It’s not a local seal motif; I would assume it’s a reuse,” said Shai Gordin, an Assyriologist at Ariel University, in a communication with Bible History Daily. “There are examples of seal reuse in the area, for example in Aramaic seals and even so-called hieroglyphic Luwian-looking seals in the Levant that are pseudo-hieroglyphic.” A major reason to doubt the seal’s Jerusalem origins comes down to the differing quality of the genie in comparison to the inscription. As opposed to a local craftsman who knew how to perfectly carve an Assyrian apkallu, a more plausible scenario is that either Yeho’ezer or Hoshʼayahu came into possession of an Assyrian seal through trade or travel, at which point they had their names carved into it.

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