In the 2009 Ophel excavations, one of the greatest single artifacts ever discovered in Israel was uncovered. Yet, for five years it was boxed away, waiting to be understood. As other incredible discoveries came to light from Dr. Eilat Mazar’s Ophel excavations over the intervening years, little did anyone realize that one discovery far more significant had already been found.
Finally, five years later, epigraphist Ruth Ben-Aryeh opened up the little box and examined the object more closely. To her surprise, she noticed a subtle part of the ancient script that had been overlooked by the initial reading—a mere dot, a punctuation mark, which separated two words that had originally been presumed as one. All of a sudden, the real meaning of the script jumped out. It read:
BELONGING TO HEZEKIAH, [SON OF] AHAZ, KING OF JUDAH
This video goes in-depth into this tiny clay seal that packs a massive historical and biblical punch.
