A seal of Ahaz,

king of Judah

A collector recently acquired several seal impressions. One of them bears the following inscription: «To Ahaz, (son of) Yehotam, king of Judah».».

Introduction

The seal impression is a small ball of clay (bubble) glued to strings attaching a roll of papyrus or other document. The marks of the papyrus fibers and strings are still clearly visible on the back of the bulla. The writing is very neat, in the style of the second half of the 8th century BC. Dots (.) separate the words, as on long official and public inscriptions. The owner is certainly an important figure.

Image opposite: this is the imprint of the personal seal of Ahaz, King of Judah. The inscription reads:
«To Ahaz, (son of) Yehotam, King of Judah» © The Shlomo Moussaieff Collection.

After examination, it would appear to be the imprint of the seal of Ahaz, King of Judah (c. 742-726 B.C.), at the time of the prophet Isaiah (or Isaiah, 2 Kings 15.38, circa 736-716 B.C.). Analysis of the seal has detected the mark of a finger (thumb?) holding in place the tiny area applied to the strings holding the document rolled up.

Image opposite: a possible 3d reconstruction of an ancient manuscript with its seal. © Kniazeff 235735504.

Historical background

The reign of Ahaz was marked by important transitions. The weakening of the great powers, the Hittite and Egyptian empires, had allowed the autonomy of small kingdoms such as Judah and Israel for two centuries. What's more, wealth had been accumulating for a century thanks to the boom in trade.
This balance was upset by the emergence of a new power, Assyria. As this empire expanded, the small kingdoms of the Levant felt increasingly threatened.
Pekah, king of Israel, and Recin II, king of Aram-Damascus, tried to form an anti-Assyrian front by asking Ahaz for help. When Ahaz refused, Pekah and Recin invaded Judah and laid siege to Jerusalem. Despite prophet Isaiah (or Ésaïe) not to leave the fate of the country in the hands of a foreigner, Ahaz asked Assyria for help, which it granted him in exchange for treasures of the Temple (erected by Solomon in the 10th century B.C.) and the royal palace (2 Kings 16,5-9).

Image opposite: an Assyrian warrior. Public domain.

Ahaz appears under the name of «Jehoahaz» (Ia-ú-ḫa-zi) in the Annals from Teglath-Phalasar III.
As Teglath-Phalasar III, Peqah and Recin laid siege to Jerusalem. The Assyrian armies attack the Philistine country, plunder Samaria, take Damascus, assassinate Recin, conspire in the murder of Pekah and install Hosea on the throne of the northern kingdom. The kingdom of Judah becomes the vassal of the Assyrian king, and Assyrian cult practices are introduced into the rites of the Jerusalem Temple (2 Chronicles 28, 3 ; 2 Kings 16).

The fall of the kingdom of Israel

In 722/721 BC, Samaria, the capital of Israel, was taken by Assyria. Part of the population of the northern kingdom is deported to Khalakh, and on the Khabor, river of Gozan, and to the cities of the Medes. People from Babylon, Kouth, Awa, Hamath and Sefarwaim settle in the cities of Samaria instead of the sons of Israel (2 Kings 17, 24).
This episode marks the end of the kingdom of Israel (in - 722/721), which became the Assyrian province of Samerina.

Image opposite: illustration of an Assyrian chariot in battle. Public domain.

Assyrian siege of a city and parade of prisoners. Palace of Nineveh. Theo Truschel.