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Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period
  • Jeremiah's Pit and the Seals of the King's Ministers: The Megalim Institute
    Jeremiah's Pit and the Seals of the King's Ministers: The Megalim Institute
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  • Seal impression of Jucal son of Shelemiah. Courtesy of Dr. Eilat Mazar (Gabi Laron, the Archaeology Institute of the Hebrew University).
    Seal impression of Jucal son of Shelemiah. Courtesy of Dr. Eilat Mazar (Gabi Laron, the Archaeology Institute of the Hebrew University).
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Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period

Jeremiah the Prophet in the Pit of the Prison: the Verses Speak from the Soil of the Excavation

And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke unto all the people… Then the princes said unto the king: ‘Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death…’ Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit of Malchiah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard… And in the pit there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.


Jeremiah 38:1–6

In the picture: In 2007 during excavation of the large stone structure identified by Dr. Eilat Mazar as David’s palace, two seals were discovered bearing the names Jehucal the son of Shelemiah son of Shevi, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur. These two names appear in the book of Jeremiah as ministers of King Zedekiah, who were among Jeremiah’s fierce opponents and because of whom the prophet was eventually cast into a pit and imprisoned in the court of the guard.