Free Bible - Megiddo Seal - Jeroboam Inscription (Biblical Archaeology)

Megiddo Seal - Jeroboam Inscription

Does this jasper seal actually mention the name of king Jeroboam?

The Megiddo Seal was discovered in 1904 by an archaeological team led by Gottlieb Schumacher. The discovery was determined to be a seal belonging to a royal minister in the 8th century BC.

It is engraved with the figure of a roaring lion (symbol of the kingdom of Judah) with a beautiful curved tail with beautiful workmanship. The Hebrew inscription on it reads "Shema" on top, and "Servant of Jeroboam" on the bottom.

"Shema servant of Yarob'oam"

The inscription actually proclaims the name and rank of its owner, one of the ministers of King Jeroboam II who reigned from 787-747 BC. The word "servant" is the Hebrew word "ebed" and is mentioned in the Bible as one of high dignity in the government. Many seals have been discovered with similar inscriptions like "the servant of the king." The Megiddo Seal with the Jeroboam Inscription is of great importance in Biblical Archaeology, it mentions one of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel.

2 Kings 14:23-25 In the fifteenth year of Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, became king in Samaria, and reigned forty-one years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin.

Material: Jasper Seal
Israel: Megiddo
Babylonian Period
Reign of Jeroboam, (8th cent. BC)
Roaring Lion with curved tail
Jasper, Inscription
Oval-shaped, Scaraboid
1.2 H, 1.5 in W
A single line encircles the seal
(Babylonian Per. Hebrew Script)
Discovered in 1904
Lost in Constantinople
Archaeological Museum, Istanbul
R: Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem

The Kings of Israel (all wicked)

Jeroboam I (933-911 BC) twenty-two years

Nadab (911-910) two years

Baasha (910-887) twenty-four years

Elah (887-886) two years

Zimri (886) seven days

Omri (886-875) twelve years

Ahab (875-854) twenty-two years

Ahaziah (855-854) two years

Jehoram (Joram) (854-843) twelve years

Jehu (843-816) twenty-eight years

Jehoahaz (820-804) seventeen years