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'Jezebel' Seal

An opulent Phoenician-style seal that may — or may not — have belonged to Ahab's queen

Israel & Judah · seal / bulla · Unprovenanced (from the antiquities market) · found 1964

Found 1964 — Unprovenanced; donated to the Israel Department of Antiquities in the early 1960s and published by Nahman Avigad in 1964. Marjo Korpel proposed the Jezebel reading in 2006–2008.

Where Unknown (antiquities market) (Israel)

Dates from 9th–8th century BCE · Iron Age IIB · Divided Kingdom (Ahab and Jezebel)

Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Names a biblical person Jezebel (unprovenanced; reading YZBL with restored letters debated)

How 'Jezebel' Seal was found

Came from a private collection with no record of where it was dug. Avigad published it as a seal reading YZBL; Korpel argued that damaged letters at the top complete the name as 'Jezebel'.

What it is

An opal scaraboid seal about 3 cm long, unusually large and richly carved with Egyptian-Phoenician royal symbols: a winged sphinx, a falcon, a winged sun disk, a lotus and a cobra. The letters YZBL are cut among the images; the top edge, where two more letters would have stood, is broken.

Why it matters for the Bible

If Korpel is right, this is the personal seal of the Sidonian princess who married Ahab and promoted Baal worship in Israel — the queen who 'wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal' to have Naboth killed. But the object has no findspot, the name is missing its first letter, and the letters were added after the pictures were cut. Most scholars call the identification possible but unproven.

Unprovenanced (from the antiquities market): No archaeological context. The seal itself is generally thought ancient, but the reading 'Jezebel' depends on restoring two lost letters, and the spelling would differ from the Bible's. Treat the identification as a hypothesis.

The Hebrew word: cho-TAHM

חוֹתָם

חוֹתָם is pronounced cho-TAHM and means seal; signet (Strong's H2368).

People this discovery connects to

Places

Events

Jezebel's persecution of YHVH's prophets · Naboth's vineyard

'Jezebel' Seal in Scripture

1 Kings 16:31 Ahab marries Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal of Sidon; the seal's Phoenician art fits her origin. (First mention of Jezebel.)

1 Kings 21:8 Jezebel seals letters with the king's seal to arrange Naboth's death — a queen who used seals.

Questions people ask

What is 'Jezebel' Seal?
An opal scaraboid seal about 3 cm long, unusually large and richly carved with Egyptian-Phoenician royal symbols: a winged sphinx, a falcon, a winged sun disk, a lotus and a cobra. The letters YZBL are cut among the images; the top edge, where two more letters would have stood, is broken.

When was 'Jezebel' Seal discovered?
It was found in 1964 by Unprovenanced; donated to the Israel Department of Antiquities in the early 1960s and published by Nahman Avigad in 1964. Marjo Korpel proposed the Jezebel reading in 2006–2008., at Unknown (antiquities market).

Where is 'Jezebel' Seal today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Which Bible verses does 'Jezebel' Seal relate to?
1 Kings 16:31, 1 Kings 21:8.

Is 'Jezebel' Seal authentic?
No archaeological context. The seal itself is generally thought ancient, but the reading 'Jezebel' depends on restoring two lost letters, and the spelling would differ from the Bible's. Treat the identification as a hypothesis.

Related discoveries

Sources

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