Bible Synapse
Bullae of Jehucal and Gedaliah
Object · early 6th century BC · Assyria and Babylon · also called Jehucal bulla, Gedaliah son of Pashhur bulla, Yehukal son of Shelemyahu bulla
See it on the map and timeline- Date
- early 6th century BC (the bullae (as dated by their excavator))
- Found
- City of David, Jerusalem, 2005. Found by Eilat Mazar’s City of David excavations, the Jehucal bulla in 2005 and the Gedaliah bulla in 2008, a few metres apart.
- Now
- Location not published
- Passages
- Jeremiah 38:1, Jeremiah 37:3
What it is
Two clay bullae, small lumps of clay that sealed documents, each stamped with a personal seal in the old Hebrew script. One names “Yehukal son of Shelemyahu son of Shebi”, the other “Gedalyahu son of Pashhur”.
How it connects to the Bible
Jeremiah 38:1 names “Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah” among the officials of King Zedekiah who heard Jeremiah and demanded his death; Jehucal had earlier been sent by the king to ask the prophet to pray (Jeremiah 37:3). Both bullae give the same names and fathers’ names, and come from Jerusalem in the same decades, so many scholars accept that they belonged to these two men.
What scholars debate
Many specialists accept the identification, among them Lawrence Mykytiuk, who applies strict criteria; but like any match between a seal and a biblical name it cannot be certain.