Ancient Hebrew Seal Bears Name from The Bible

IFCJ Canada  |  August 22, 2025

The Temple Mount Sifting Project unearthed a well-preserved clay seal, this past week, bearing Paleo-Hebrew letters that read, “belonging to Yed[a’]yah (son of) Asayahu.” This is a significant find as Asayahu, or Asaya, was a high ranking official within the rule of King Joshiah of Judah as accounted in the Bible, The Times of Israel reports.

Based on calligraphy, researchers dated the seal back to the 6th or 7th century B.C.E. King Josiah, the 16th king of Judah, ruled during the second half of the 7th century B.C.E. With its dating, it is possible that the 2,600-year-old seal existed during the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in the 6th century B.C.E.

“The king gave orders to Hilkiah, and Ahikam son of Shaphan, and Abdon son of Micah, and the scribe Shaphan, and Asaya, servant of the king,” reads II Chronicles 34:20.

The same story appears almost exactly in II Kings 22:12, “And the king gave orders to the priest Hilkiah, and to Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Michaiah, the scribe Shaphan, and Asaya the king’s minister.”

The version of the name inscribed on the sealing, “Asayahu” contains an extra letter Vav, a type of suffix that was often added to ancient Hebrew names to testify to their connection with God (Y-H-V-H).

Archaeologist Zachi Dvira told The Times of Israel that this find was one of the quickest the project went public with – the ancient Hebrew script was that recognizable. While it is debatable whether the Asayahu mentioned on the seal is the same of that in the Bible, it’s very much a fact that these items were not carried by common people, Dvira also said.

Clay seals were used during the First Temple period as stamps of approval for storehouse management and allowances. These clay seals are pressed on a cord that opens a vessel or unlocks a doorknob to prevent tampering. In biblical times at the Temple Mount, this could have been the Temple’s royal treasury.