BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Jerusalem Seal Gives Evidence for Temple Ritual

Bible and archaeology news

Archaeologists surveying the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount in the area of Robinson’s Arch have found a button-sized, first-century C.E. seal inscribed in Aramaic with the phrase “pure for God.” Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich believe the seal was impressed upon purified objects designated for ritual use in the Jerusalem Temple. Similar seals are mentioned in the Mishnah and discussed in the Talmud. “This is the first time an object of this kind has been found,” said Shukron and Reich. “Products being brought to the Temple had to be stamped pure, which is what this seal was used for.”

Archaeologists surveying the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount in the area of Robinson’s Arch have found a button-sized, first-century C.E. seal inscribed in Aramaic with the phrase “pure for God.”