No Bulla! Isaiah was Real!?

Archaeologists Think They've Found First-Ever Evidence of a Legendary Biblical Prophet


Archaeologists stumbled upon a bulla located very close to the bulla of King Hezekiah that could very possibly prove the existence of Isaiah the Prophet.

The Biblical figure Isaiah who prophesied the coming of the Messiah may have been an actual real person.

Researchers have found an ancient clay seal from around the time he was reportedly alive, marked with his name.

Called a bulla, the seal was retrieved from a 2,700-year-old midden in the Ophel, dating it to around 8th century BCE, and it's inscribed with the Jewish prophet's name.

It was found just 3 metres from where the bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah, to which Isaiah was an adviser, was found in 2015.

Though, it's not 100% proof as the bulla could instead hold the name of anyone else named Isaiah. It's very close but no one knows for sure since the part of the bulla that would give a definite answer is missing.

The bulla, sadly broken, is about a centimetre (0.4 inches) in diameter, stamped with the name Yesha'yah (Isaiah) in Hebrew letters. Following it were the letters NVY, which are the first three letters of the Hebrew word for prophet, which is spelled nun-beit-yod-aleph.

Whether or not the aleph was present is impossible to determine, since the bulla is broken after the yod. But if it had been, the seal would have read, in its entirety, "Isaiah the Prophet."

"The absence of this final letter ... requires that we leave open the possibility that it could just be the name Navi," Mazar said. "The name of Isaiah, however, is clear."

Could it be just some other joe... errr... Isaiah of no relation? It could just be a mere coincidence that the bulla was so close to the bulla bearing the name of King Hezekiah.

"If it is the case that this bulla is indeed that of the prophet Isaiah, then it should not come as a surprise to discover this bulla next to one bearing King Hezekiah's name given the symbiotic relationship of the prophet Isaiah and King Hezekiah described in the Bible."

If the bulla does indeed hold the name of Isaiah the Prophet, this find would be something very special for Christians, Jews and Muslim alike. If not, then simply a great find for Archaeologists.

Win Win?

What do you think?

a reply to: StallionDuck
My own team has been very active in this field of archaeology, and their spades have just uncovered the post I made in a previous thread on the subject;

Not if "Isaiah" was a name in general use, which is very possible.
This is a "theophoric" name (combining the name of God with one of the qualities of God), and that form of name was certainly very popular in the Old Testament period.
Similarly "Micah". There is a prophet called Micah, a different prophet called Micaiah, and another unrelated Micah in the book of Judges. Those are just the ones we know about.
It's possible that this seal belongs to a more anonymous Isaiah.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: StallionDuck
My own team has been very active in this field of archaeology, and their spades have just uncovered the post I made in a previous thread on the subject;

Not if "Isaiah" was a name in general use, which is very possible.
This is a "theophoric" name (combining the name of God with one of the qualities of God), and that form of name was certainly very popular in the Old Testament period.
Similarly "Micah". There is a prophet called Micah, a different prophet called Micaiah, and another unrelated Micah in the book of Judges. Those are just the ones we know about.
It's possible that this seal belongs to a more anonymous Isaiah.

Very awesome! Keep us posted. I would love to know more.

a reply to: StallionDuck
Your wish is my command;
www.abovetopsecret.com...&list=posts

I had no doubt that Isaiah was real. After all, the people from Israel kept records of stuff like that.

When Jesus was on the mountain with a couple of disciples, they said they woke up to see Jesus with Moses and elijah. How could they have recognized those two guys, They were dead a long long time before they were born. I am not sure that story is real, it was not even mentioned at all till a long time after Jesus was gone.

a reply to: StallionDuck

This was the earlier thread on this from about a week ago
www.abovetopsecret.com...

And then I brought up that the article also says

The seal could have belonged to some other Isaiah hanging around at the time, since the name was a common one, and bullae commonly reference the signatory's father. Isaiah's father was not Navi, but Amoz.

This one's far from being proven solid.

a reply to: DISRAELI

I saw a show or an article about this recently. They said it likely belonged to someone important because only important people had seals.

Then i remembered where Jeremiah recorded a property transfer and sealed it. Maybe all legal transactions were sealed like contracts, wills, etc. This would mean seals could in fact be commonplace. Would you which is true?

a reply to: toms54
I can't speak from special knowledge, but my instinct about the probabilities is that you are right; simple ones would be fairly easy to make, and they would be as common as the need to make business transactions.