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by
Rabbi Leibel Reznick
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Independent sources confirm many of the major and minor characters
of the Bible.
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The Seal of Baruch ben Neriah
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How lonely sits the city that was once full of people! She has
become like a widow! She, that was great among the nations and a
princess among the provinces, has become a tributary. Lamentations
1:1
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Those melancholy words of the prophet Jeremiah were composed from
the dismal confines of a dungeon cell. The prophet of God dictated
the words of doom while his protege, the scribe Baruch ben Neriah,
carefully recorded them on a scroll. Baruch read the words of
Lamentations before the king of Judah, Jehoakim. The thought of
losing his kingdom so angered the king that he cut the scroll into
pieces and threw the scraps into a fire as though that would alter
the divine decree.
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![[]](http: //articles.aish.com/Bulla.jpg)
Twenty-four
hundred years later, a small lump of clay was discovered in
Jerusalem bearing the seal of Baruch ben Neriah. The disciple of
Jeremiah was suddenly and tangibly brought to life. One's
imagination began to run wild. Could this be the seal that was used
to authenticate the original scroll of Lamentations? There is one
thing the imagination does not have to conjure. When a document was
to be authenticated and rendered tamper-proof, the document was
rolled up and bound by a length of cord. The knot was encased in a
small lump of clay, called a bulla, which was held steady with one
hand while the other hand embossed the seal onto the clay. When the
bulla dried, the document was ready for delivery. It was not
unusual for the fingerprints of the person holding the clay and
seal to be impressed onto the sides of the bulla.
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Sure enough! A thumbprint can be seen on the upper ridge of
Baruch's bulla, most likely the print of Baruch himself. Once again
the imagination begins to roam. Could there be any DNA residue of
Baruch on the hardened clay?
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Outside Verification
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A large number of modern-day historians claim that there is no
evidence that the events in the Biblical accounts from Moses,
Joshua, David, through Jeremiah, and Baruch, and their successors
actually happened. They claim that these leaders never existed, or
that, at best, they were insignificant tribal chieftains who were
later made into national heroes by writers who lived long after the
alleged events. According to those historians, the events mentioned
in the Bible were the products of the composer's imagination. The
heroes and villains of the Biblical story were crafted for a people
who desperately needed heroes and villains.
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Exactly who these crafty composers were, they do not say. Another
point they do not address is how was it possible for these
composers to one day suddenly present to the masses their supposed
history, one of which they were previously totally unaware, is
beyond explanation. The creditability of this history had to have
been based on the reputation of the composer or composers,
composers about whom we know nothing.
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However, modern-day anti-Biblicists would rather embrace the idea
that the story of Joshua, David, Solomon and their successors where
mythical tales concocted by obscure writers rather than yield to
the possibility that the stories are true.
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It was not that long ago that there was no independent outside
verification for hardly any of the Biblical characters. Nowadays,
almost on a yearly basis, some independent source confirms the
existence of one of the Biblical characters. Below is an impressive
list of 61 Biblical persons, some are kings, some are prophets,
some are heroes while others are enemies. They are central
characters as well as minor players whose reality can be verified
by archaeological and historical evidence.
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Acceptable evidence is based on three factors:
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1) The name of the individual has been found in some extra-Biblical
record or on some piece of archaeological evidence, such as a bulla
or seal.
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2) The name must in some way be connected to the person named in
the Biblical story. For example, the name Ahab being found on a
seal would mean very little. However, if the seal read Ahab, King
of Israel, that would mean a great deal.
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3) The chronological context of the name found must match the
chronology of the Biblical story. If the above "Ahab, King of
Israel" seal was found in an archaeological stratum dating to
the 12th century BCE, that would create a major problem. The
Biblical Ahab lived many centuries later.
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When all three factors have been met, according to the
interpretation of recognized scholars, historians, and
archaeologists, only then is the evidence conclusive.
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To my mind, it is not the verification of the major personalities
that is so impressive but rather the verification of the more
obscure Biblical characters is the more astonishing. It could be
argued that the Biblical stories were crafted around real kings and
actual prophets who had lived and ruled in some bygone era. The
names of these kings and prophets may have been retained in the
conscious memory of the Biblical composers. They merely had to
invent the stories, many of which were not at all complimentary to
the audience to which they sought to appeal- something unheard of
in the ancient world but has gained great popularity in our times.
The Biblical composers would have found it necessary to add in a
whole bevy of minor characters to make the story flow. These
insignificant folks were totally fabricated by the composers. So
goes the theory.
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When outside confirmation of the minor characters surfaces, it
lends great strength to those who firmly believe in the veracity
and accuracy of the Biblical narrative.
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The List
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(*minor Biblical character)
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Ahab (I Kings 16-22; II Kings 1,3-10; II Chronicles 19.21.22, etc)
infamous king of Israel.
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Mentioned in the Assyrian Annalistic Reports, 2,000 chariots,
10,000 soldiers of Ahab the Israelite, defeated by Shalmaneser1,
alluded to on the Mesha Stele. 2
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Ahaz (II Kings 15-18,20,23; Isaiah 1,7,14,38; Hoshea 1; Micha 1; I
Chronicles 3,8, etc.)
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King of Judah
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Mentioned in the cuneiform Annals of Tiglath-pileser III. 3 Several
seals and bullae bearing the name of the king Ahaz. 4
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Ahikam son of Shaphan (II Kings 22,25; Jeremiah 26,29,36, 39-41,43;
II Chronicles 34) contemporary of Jeremiah
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Bullae bearing the name Ahikam son of Shaphan. 5
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Ashurbanipal/Asnappar (Ezra 4) king of Assyria. 4:10. Asnappar
Identified in Mentioned in numerous contemporary inscriptions. 6
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*Azaliah son of Meshullam (II Kings 22; II Chronicles 34) "And
it came to pas s in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the
king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the
scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying..." (II Kings 22:3)
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Bullae bearing the name of Azaliah son of Meshullum found in
Jerusalem. 7
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Azariah/Uzziah (II Kings 14,15) king of Judah.
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Aramaic inscription on a stone plaque, found on the Mt. of Olives
in Jerusalem, reads "Here were brought the bones of Uzziah,
King of Judah." 8 Possibly the King Azariau of Yaudi mentioned
in the Annals of Tiglath-pileser III. 9
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Azariah son of Hilkiah (Ezra 7; I Chronicles 5) grandfather of
Ezra, high priest.
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A bulla found in Jerusalem bears the name Azariah son of Hilkiah.
10
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*Baalis (Jeremiah 40) king of Ammon.
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Attested to by two seals found in Jordan, the Milqom Seal and the
Baalisha Seal which reads Baalisha (Baalis) king of the sons of
Ammon. 11
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*Baruch ben Neriah (Jeremiah 32,36,43,45) a scribe, a disciple of
the prophet Jeremiah.
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Several bullae bearing the name Baruch ben Neriah have been found
in the archaeological City of David. One bulla bears the
inscription "Baruch ben Neriah the Scribe." The stratum
in which the seals were found is contemporaneous with Jeremiah. 12
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Belshazzar (Daniel 5,7,8) king of Babylon.
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Mentioned in numerous contemporary inscriptions. 13
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Ben-hadad Dynasty (I Kings 15, 20; II20Kings 6,8,13; Jeremiah 49,
etc.) king of Aram
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Melqart Stele mentions king of Aram, Bir-hadad. Bir corressopnds to
the Hebrew Ben. Zakkur Stele attests to an Aramean royal name of
Ben-hadad. 14
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Ben-hadad III (II Kings 13) king of Aram, son of Hazael.
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Ben-hadad son of Hazael mentioned in Zakkur Stele. 15
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David (Davidic Dynasty) (Mentioned more than 1,000 times in the
books of the Prophets.)
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Several references in extra-Biblical sources to the Davidic dynasty
have been found in recent years. 16
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*Elishama (Jeremiah 36,41) scribe and servant to king Jehoiakim. A
bulla dating from that time period bears the stamp, "Elishama,
servant of the king." 17
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Esarhaddon (II Kings 19, Isaiah 37, Ezra 4) Assyrian king , son of
Nebucadnezer.
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Attested to in many cuneiform chronicles. Bronze plague in Louvre
depicts Esarhaddon and his mother Nagia. 18
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*Ethbaal (I Kings 16) king of Sidon.
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Attested by Menander of Ephesus, summarized in Josephus' Contra
Apion. 19
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Gedalyahu ben Pashur (Jeremiah 38:1) antagonist of Jeremiah
Attested by bulla found in Jerusalem by Prof. E. Mazar. 20
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*Gemariahu the son of Shaphan (Jeremiah 29,36) servant of king
Jehoiakim.
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Bulla found with the name Gemariahu the son of Shaphan. 21
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Hazael (I Kings 19; II Kings 8,9,10,12,13) king of Aram, enemy of
Israel.
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Attested by ivory fragments found in Arslan Tash22 and Nimrud.
Mentioned several times in Zakkur Stele. 23
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Hezekiah (II Kings 16,18-21; Isaiah 1,36-39; Jeremiah 15,26; Hoshea
1; Micha 1; etc)
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Renown king of Judah. Hezekiah was unsuccessfully besieged in
Jerusalem by Sennecherib.
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Mentioned several times in Annals of Sennacherib. The Annals refer
to the siege of Jerusalem. 24 A number of seals and bullae bear the
king's name. 25
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Hezion (II Kings 15) king of Aram.
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Attested to in the Melqart Stele. 26
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*Hilkiah (II Kings 22,23; Jeremiah 1,29; Ezra 7; Nechemiah 11,12;
II Chronicles 34,35) a high priest, contemporary of Jeremiah.
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A signet ring bears the name of Hilkiah the priest. Dated to the
era of Jeremiah. 27
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Hiram (II Samuel 5; I Kings 5,7.9.10) king of Tyre, contemporary of
Solomon.
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Attested by Menander of Ephesus, summarized in Josephus' Contra
Apion. 28
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*Hopra (Jeremiah 44) king of Egypt.
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Identified with ‘Apries, pharaoh of 26th
Dynasty. 29
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Hoshea (II Kings 15,17,18) last king of Israel.
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Attested to twice in the Annals of Tiglath-pileser III. "They
overthrew their king Pekah and I (Tiglath-pileser) placed Hoshea as
king over them." 30 Name found on a seal that reads, "Abdi,
servant of Hoshea." 31
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Jehoash (II Kings 12-14) Israelite king.
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Me ntioned in the Annals of Adad-nirari of Assyria and on the Tel
Rimah Stele. 32
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*Jehoiachin (II Kings 24,25; Jeremiah 52; II Chronicles 36). One of
the last kings of Judah.
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Mentioned in the Ration Tables of Babylon. 33
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Jehoram II (I Kings 22, II Kings 1,3,6,9,12; II Chronicles
17,21,22) king of Israel, son of Ahab.
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Alluded to on Tel Dan Stele. 34
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Jotham (II Kings 15,16; Isaiah 1,7; Hoshea 1; Micha 1; II
Chronicles 26,27) King of Judah.
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This king is attested to by a seal recently uncovered that reads,
"Belonging to Ahaz (son of) Jotham, King of Judah." 35
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Jehu (I Kings 16,19; II Kings 9,10,12,13-15; Hoshea 1, I Chronicles
2,4, 12, etc)
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Mentioned and depicted on the Black Obelisk. 36
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*Jehucal the son of Shelemiah (Jeremiah 37) official in the court
of Zedekiah.
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A bulla bearing the name "Jehucal the son of Shelemiah"
was discovered in the archaeological city of David in Jerusalem
together with other bullae dating to the period of Zedekiah. 37
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*Jerahme'el, son of king Jehoiakim (Jeremiah
36)
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Bulla found with the imprint, "Jerahme'el, the king's son."
38
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Jeroboam II (II Kings 9,10,13-15,17,23; Hoshea 1; Amos 7; II
Chronicles 9-13) King of Israel.
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Seal of Jasper found at Megiddo depicting a roaring lion and bears
the inscription "to Shema, servant of Jeroboam." 3 9
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Jezebel (I Kings 16,18,21; II Kings 9) daughter of Ethbaal king of
Sidon (Phoenicia), wife of king Ahab of Israel.
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Name found on Phoenician royal seal dated to the era of Ahab. 40
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Menachem (II Kings 15) Israelite king.
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Mentioned twice in the annals of Tiglath-pileser III as Menachem of
Samariah (the capital of Israel). 41
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Manasseh (II Kings 20,21,23,24; Jeremiah 9,15; II Chronicles 33,34)
infamous king of Judah, son of Hezekiah.
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Attested to in the annals of Esarhaddon and the annals of
Assurbanipal. 42 Name very possibly appears on a royal seal, which
reads Manasseh son of the king (referring to Hezekiah). 43
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Merodach-baladan II (II Kings 20; Isaiah 39) king of Babylonia, on
friendly terms with Hezekiah king of Judah.
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Mentioned in the cuneiform texts of Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II,
and Sennacherib. 44
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*Mesha (II Kings 3) king of Moab contemporary with Omri dynasty of
Israel, waged war with Israel.
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Attested to in Mesha Stele, Mesha waged war with an Omri dynasty
king. 45
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Nebuchadnezzar II (II Kings 24,25; Jeremiah 27,282934,39; Daniel
1.2.3,4,5, etc) king of Babylon, captures Judah and exiles the
Israelites. Well attested to. 46
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*Sarsekim (Jeremiah 39:3) official of Nebuchadnezzar II, name
recently deciphered on cuneiform tablet by Michael Jursa of the
University of Vienna. 47
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Necho II (II Kings 23; Jeremiah 46, II Chronicles 35,36) Egyptian
pharaoh during the final years of the Davidic monarchy in Judah.
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Well known pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty.
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Omri (I Kings 16, II Kings 8, Micha 6, I Chronicles 7,9, 27; II
Chronicles 22)King of Israel, founder of Omride Dynasty
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Name mentioned on Mesha Stele, dynasty (House of Omri) referred to
in several Assyrian cuneiform texts. 48
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Pekah (II Kings 15,16; Isaiah 7; II Chronicles 28) next to the last
king of Israel.
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Attested twice in the Annals of Tiglath-pileser III. "They
overthrew their king Pekah and I (Tiglath-pileser) placed Hoshea as
king over them." 49
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Rezin (II Kings 15,16; Isaiah 7,8,9, Ezra 2; Nechemia 7) Last
Aramean king of Damascus, fought with Pekah king of Israel.
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Attested in the Annals of Tiglath-pileser III. 50
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*Samgarnebo (Jeremiah 39) high official serving in the court of
Nebucadnezzar.
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A cuneiform tablet discovered in 1920 near Bagdad states that
Samgarnebo was a chief official in the court of Nebucadnezzar. 51
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Sargon II (Isaiah 20) king of Assyria.
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Attested to in countless cuneiform chronicles. 52
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Sennacherib (II Kings 18,19; Isaiah 35,37; II Chronicles 32) king
of Assyria, invades Israel captures Lachish, besieges Jerusalem.
Sennacherib's own chronicles and palace engravings attest to the
invasion of Israel, the capture of Lachis h and the siege of
Jerusalem. 53
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*Seraiah the son of Neriah, (Jeremiah 51) brother of Baruch ben
Neriah.
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Bulla bearing the name Seraiah ben Neriah found. 54
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Shallum (II Kings 15) King of Israel.
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Very possibly this king is the "Shallum" whose name is
found on a cylindrical seal. 55
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Shalmaneser V (II Kings 17,18) conquers Israel, exiles ten tribes.
Attested to in the Babylonian Chronicles and in the Babylonian King
List. 56
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*Shaphan (II Kings 22,25; Jeremiah 26,29, 36,40,41,43; II
Chronicles 34) contemporary of Jeremiah.
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Name found on a number of bullae dated to the period of Jeremiah.
57
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*Shebna (II Kings 18,19; Isaiah 22,36,37) Servant (minister) of
king Azariah. Called the "one over the house," referring
to his position as the one in charge of the affairs of the house of
the king.
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Engraving above a burial cave bears his name and the phrase, "The
one over the house." 58 A seal also bears the engraving,
"Shebna, servant of the king."
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Shishak (I Kings 11,14; II Chronicles 12) king of Egypt, invaded
Canaan during reign of Rehoboam king of Judah.
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Invasion of Canaan by Egyptian king Shishak (Shoshenq I) attested
to in Megiddo Stele. 59
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So (II Kings 17) king of Egypt, contemporary with Shalmaneser V of
Babylon and Hoshea, last king of Israel.
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Most probably to be identified with Osorkon, king of Egypt,
contemporaneously with Shalmaneser V of Babylon. 60
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*Sanballat the Horonite (Nechemia 2-4,6,13) governor in Judah,
contemporary of Nechemia.
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Sanballat the Horonite is mentioned several times in the
Elephantine Papyrus which chronicles the time period of Nechemia.
61
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Tabrimon (II Kings 15) king of Aram
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Mentioned in the Melqart Stele. 62
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Tiglath-pileser III, also called Pul (II Kings 15,16; Isaiah 66; I
Chronicles 5)
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Attested to in countless cuneiform chronicles. 63
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*Tirhakah (II Kings 19; Isaiah 37) Egyptian king, contemporary of
Hezekiah king of Judah.
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Well known 25th Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh.
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*Tobiah the Ammonite (Nehemiah 2-4,6,7,13) antagonist of Ezra and
Nehemiah.
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Tobiah the Ammonite is mentioned several times in the Elephantine
Papyrus which chronicles the time period of Ezra and Nechemia.
Stanley A. Cook, The Significance of the Elephantine Papyri for the
History of Hebrew Religion The American Journal of Theology, Vol.
19, No. 3 (Jul., 1915), pp. 346-38264
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Zedekiah (II Kings 24,25; Jeremiah 1,21,24,27-29,
32,34,36-39,44.49.51.52 Nechemiah 10, I Chronicles 3, II Chronicles
36) last king of Judah, installed by Nebucadnesser.
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Referred to in the Babylonian Chronicles of Nebucadnesser, and
mentions that Nebucadnesser installed the Judean king. 65
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Zedekiah the son of Hananiah (Jeremiah 36) offi cial in the court
of king Jehoiakim of Judah.
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Bulla found in archaeological city of David bearing the name
Zedekiah the son of Hananiah. The strata was contemporary with
Jehoiakim. 66
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See
Footnotes
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This article can also be read at:
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