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Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period
  • The Royal Quarter of the Kings of Judah and the House of Bullae: The Megalim Institute
    The Royal Quarter of the Kings of Judah and the House of Bullae: The Megalim Institute
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  • Seal impression of Gmaryahu Ben Shaphan. Photo: Clara Amit. Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority
    Seal impression of Gmaryahu Ben Shaphan. Photo: Clara Amit. Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority
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Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period

The Seal Impression of Gemaryhau Son of Shaphan

Then did Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house, in the ears of all the people


JEREMIAH 36:10

In the picture: In 1982, Prof. Yigal Shiloh unearthed a room in the City of David containing 51 bullae – seal impressions that had been attached to documents; the documents themselves had been consumed by fire. Findings in the room, dubbed “the house of the bullae,” included one bulla that bore the name Gemaryahu son of Shaphan – a senior official in the government of Judah on the eve of the destruction, who is mentioned a several times in the book of Jeremiah, and who was one of the prophet’s supporters.