Tel Hadid Mother-of-Pearl Seal
A moon-god seal from the Assyrian resettlement of Samaria's hills (published 2026)
Found 2019 — Tel Hadid Expedition, Tel Aviv University, directed by Ido Koch; published in the journal Levant, June 2026
Where Tel Hadid, on the western edge of the Samarian hills near Ben Shemen, 25 km southeast of Tel Aviv (Israel)
Dates from c. 700–600 BCE · Iron Age IIC (Neo-Assyrian province) · After the fall of Samaria; foreign settlers brought in by Assyria
Now at Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology
How Tel Hadid Mother-of-Pearl Seal was found
Found broken in two in a rock-cut refuse pit on the northeastern slope of the mound, among Assyrian-period pottery. The shell was identified as Pinctada margaritifera, a pearl oyster of the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea.
What it is
A small oval stamp seal, under 2 cm long, cut from the iridescent inner layer of a pearl-oyster shell. The engraved scene shows a crescent moon on a pole or standard, the emblem of the moon-god Sin of Harran, with a worshipper facing it and perhaps an altar. It is the only mother-of-pearl seal known from the Iron Age Levant.
Why it matters for the Bible
2 Kings 17 says that after conquering Samaria the Assyrians settled people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath and Sepharvaim in its towns, who 'feared YHVH but also served their own gods'. Tel Hadid (biblical Hadid, Ezra 2:33) has produced two Assyrian cuneiform tablets recording exactly such deportees, and this seal, with its Mesopotamian moon-god imagery on an exotic shell, is the kind of personal object those settlers carried. It puts a face on the mixed population from which the Samaritans of later Scripture grew. The seal cannot name its owner, so the link to deportees is by context, not by text.
The Hebrew word: cho-TAHM
חֹתָם
חֹתָם is pronounced cho-TAHM and means seal, signet — a personal stamp for marking ownership, often worn as jewelry (Strong's H2368).
People this discovery connects to
- Sargon II — סַרְגוֹן (Sar-GOHN) — the king is legitimate (Akkadian Sharru-kin)
Places
- Hadid — חָדִיד (Chah-DEED) — sharp, peak
- Harran — חָרָן (Chah-RAHN) — road, caravan (Akkadian harranu)
Events
Assyrian resettlement of Samaria (2 Kings 17) · Return of the men of Hadid from exile (Ezra 2)
Tel Hadid Mother-of-Pearl Seal in Scripture
Ezra 2:33 Men of 'Lod, Hadid and Ono' return from exile, naming the very site.
Nehemiah 7:37 One of only 3 verses that name Hadid.
Nehemiah 11:34 One of only 3 verses that name Hadid.
Questions people ask
What is Tel Hadid Mother-of-Pearl Seal?
A small oval stamp seal, under 2 cm long, cut from the iridescent inner layer of a pearl-oyster shell. The engraved scene shows a crescent moon on a pole or standard, the emblem of the moon-god Sin of Harran, with a worshipper facing it and perhaps an altar. It is the only mother-of-pearl seal known from the Iron Age Levant.
When was Tel Hadid Mother-of-Pearl Seal discovered?
It was found in 2019 by Tel Hadid Expedition, Tel Aviv University, directed by Ido Koch; published in the journal Levant, June 2026, at Tel Hadid, on the western edge of the Samarian hills near Ben Shemen, 25 km southeast of Tel Aviv.
Where is Tel Hadid Mother-of-Pearl Seal today?
Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology.
Which Bible verses does Tel Hadid Mother-of-Pearl Seal relate to?
Ezra 2:33, Nehemiah 7:37, Nehemiah 11:34.
Related discoveries
- גָּלוּתTel Hadid: Assyrian Cuneiform Tablets of Resettled ExilesTwo 7th-century contracts from a village where Assyria planted deportees — the mirror image of Israel's exile
- הוֹשֵׁעַSeal of Abdi, Servant of HosheaThe only Israelite object naming Israel's last king
- שֹׁמְרוֹןTell al-Rimah Stele'Jehoash the Samarian' pays tribute to Adad-nirari III
- עֶבֶדSeal of Ushna, Servant of AhazA carnelian seal of a royal official of King Ahaz
- מִצְפָּהTell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah) and the Jaazaniah SealGedaliah's capital after 586, and the seal of a captain named in 2 Kings 25
- עֶבֶד הַמֶּלֶךְSeal of Shema, Servant of JeroboamA roaring lion and the name of a royal official of Jeroboam II, from Megiddo
Sources
- I. Koch et al., 'A unique mother-of-pearl stamp seal from Late Iron Age Tel Ḥadid, Israel', Levant (2026)
- Times of Israel, 'Rare mother-of-pearl seal highlights movement of goods and ideas across Assyrian empire' (June 2026)
- Biblical Archaeology Society, 'Rare Shell Seal Shows Moon Imagery in Israel'