Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA) have unearthed thousands of pottery fragments, clay lamps and figurines in the City of David in Jerusalem. But the most intriguing find is a 2,700-year-old ceramic bowl with a partially preserved inscription in ancient Hebrew.
A 2,700-year-old ceramic bowl fragment found in Jerusalem (Clara Amit / Israel Antiquities Authority).
“The inscription presents us with the name of a 7th century BC figure, which resembles other names known to us from both the Biblical and archaeological record and providing us with a connection to the people living in Jerusalem at the end of the First Temple period,” explained IAA archeologists Dr Joe Uziel and Dr Nahshon Zanton.
“The most similar name to our inscription is Zechariah the son of Benaiah, the father of the Prophet Jahaziel.”
“The name Zechariah the son of Benaiah appears in 2 Chronicles 20:14 where it states that Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, prophesized before the Biblical King Jehoshaphat before the nation went off to war against the ancient kingdoms of Ammon and Moab.”
The scientists said: “the letters inscribed on the shard likely date to the 8-7th centuries BC, placing the production of the bowl sometime between the reign of Hezekiah and the destruction of Jerusalem under King Zedekiah.”
“The inscription was engraved on the bowl prior to firing, indicating that the inscription originally adorned the rim of the bowl in its entirety, and was not written on a shard after the vessel was broken.”
The purpose of the inscription on the bowl is unclear. The bowl may have contained an offering, likely given by the individual whose name was inscribed on the bowl, or alternatively given to him.
“The first letter of the ceramic bowl’s partially preserved inscription in ancient Hebrew script is broken and is therefore difficult to read, but appears to be the letter ר.”
“The next three letters יהו constitute the theophoric suffix (the component in which the name of the deity appears as part of the first name, such as Yirme-yahu and Eli-yahu, etc).”
“These letters are followed by בנ (the son of) after which appears the patronymic name composed of the three letters בנה.”
“If we consider the possibility that we are dealing with an unvowelized or ‘defective’ spelling of the name בניה (Benaiah), then what we have before us is the name …ריהו בן בניה.”
Many of the first names mentioned in the Bible contained the theophoric component יהו, as is the case of the inscription from the City of David. Besides the biblical references, other examples of this have also been found in archaeological excavations, written on a variety of objects such as seals, bullae, pottery vessels or even carved on rock.
“Noteworthy among the many names that end with the theophoric suffix יהו are several prominent examples that were previously discovered in City of David by Professor Yigal Shiloh, such as Gemar-yahu the son of Shaphan, Bena-yahu the son of Hoshayahu, which were also found in the destruction layer and the ruins of the Babylonian conquest.”
