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December 15, 2006
The Seal of a Woman
I received my very own copy of Essays on Ancient Israel in Its Near Eastern Context, A Tribute to Nadav Na'aman yesterday. Since I've been on a seal kick lately, I headed straight for Reich and Sass, "Three Hebrew Seals from the Iron Age Tombs at Mamillah, Jerusalem." All three seals are of great interest if for no other reason than that they increase the number of such artifacts found during controlled excavation. Fewer than 10% of all known Hebrew seals have been found in the course of proper excavation. But one of the three caught my eye because it is truly unusual although not unique.
To the left is my rather crude tracing from the photograph published by Reich and Sass, 316, of the impression of the seal found in tomb 52, or more exactly in the dromos, entranceway, of tomb 52. It reads "Belonging to yhwhħn, daughter of pq‛t (I use ħ for het). According to Reich and Sass, 317, only about 2% of all known Hebrew seals, bullae and impressions indicate that the owner was a woman. Based on its archaeological context, they also tell us that this seal comes "from the late 7th, or better, the early 6th century.
Like the other tombs from Mamillah near the Jaffa Gate, "this tomb is "among the simplest family tombs in Jerusalem (318)." The discovery of seals is fairly rare in these tombs. Reich and Sass tell us, "The interred at Mamillah probably tended more to agriculture and the crafts than serving in the administration, hence, the scant number of seals."
While the ownership of a seal does not necessary imply literacy, it does indicate that the owner worked at a trade in which documents or other items needed to be authenticated as coming from or somehow related to the owner of the seal. Seals bearing the names of women, while extremely rare, do suggest that there may have been literate women in the southern Levant at the time. This seal suggests that there may have been literate women among the less privileged classes in Jerusalem. I hasten to add, that a seal belonging to a king or high government official other than a scribe does not necessarily imply literacy and for this reason my suggestion that it may in the case of more common folk should be taken with more than a grain of salt.
My sharp-eyed readers may have noticed that the name of owner of this seal contains what appears to be the Tetragrammaton (yhwh), the full divine name of Yahweh. But this is likely only a coincidence. Riech and Sass, 316, understand the name as יהו plus the Hiphil perfect of חנן and translate it "Yahweh has shown grace." If this is correct it would be the only document example of the Hiphil of חנן. Riech and Sass note that the Hophal of this verb is known in Hebrew.
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Posted by Duane Smith at December 15, 2006 12:11 PM | Read more on Archaeology |
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