Israeli archaeologists stated on Wednesday that they have discovered the first physical piece of evidence that supports the Old Testament’s claim that Bethlehem existed centuries before the town became known as Jesus’ birthplace.
They stated, according to The Huffington Post , that they discovered a clay seal, which was unearthed near the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, and is imprinted with three lines of ancient Hebrew, including the word “Bethlehem.”
The Huffington Post reports that Eli Shukron directed the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. The seal, according to Shukron, had apparently been placed on a tax shipment of sliver or agricultural produce sent from Bethlehem to the King of Judah in the nearby city of Jerusalem around the 8th or 7th century B.C. Shukron further stated:
“This is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible in an inscription from the First Temple period.”
According to Fox News , the find is significant, because it is the first time the name of “Bethlehem” has been found outside of a biblical text from that time period (1006 B.C. to 586 B.C.).
The seal is reportedly 1.5 centimeters (0.59 inches) in diameter, and dates to about 700 years before Jesus was born, when the first biblical Jewish Temple existed.
Fox News also reports that there are only about 40 other seals like this that have been found, dating to the time of the first Jewish Temple period, according to Shmuel Achituv, who was not involved in the dig, but is an expert in ancient scripts at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University
The dig leading to the seal’s discovery was controversial, because it is being under-written by an extreme right-wing Jewish organization. It reportedly has been attempting to populate Silwan, a crowded Palestinian neighborhood, with Jewish settlers, who argue that they have ancient links to the area.
The area where the dig is taking place is a national park, called “the City of David” by Jew, according to Fox News .
[iframe src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/3Jd7PhBcdn4? width=”420? height=”315?]
