Discovery of King Hezekiah’s Seal Confirms God’s Word

I always get excited when I read about archaeological finds in the Middle East that confirm what God’s Word says. Such discoveries have happened many times over the years. Well, a recent find in Jerusalem gives us a personal look into the greatest king of Judah—Hezekiah, the great reformer. The biblical account of Hezekiah and his religious reforms is personally inspiring and encouraging to me. Last summer I wrote an article for Answers [i]magazine about raising up Hezekiah-type reformers today. I encourage you to read the online version of that article on our website.

Well, in the Old Testament we read of King Hezekiah, one of the greatest kings since David and Solomon. Living about 700 years before Christ, his greatness came from the fact that “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done” (2 Chronicles 29:2). Because he loved the Lord, this king of Judah “did what was good and right and true before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered” (2 Chronicles 31:20–21). He destroyed the idols (2 Chronicles 31:1), purified the Temple and restored the sacrifices (2 Chronicles 29), and started celebrating Passover once again (2 Chronicles 30). Second Kings 18:5 says of him, “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.”

Events from the reign of King Hezekiah have already been confirmed by archaeology. Second Chronicles 32:2–4 and 2 Kings 20:20 mention Hezekiah’s tunnel, dug to prepare for an Assyrian siege (a siege God supernaturally kept from happening in 2 Kings 19:25–36), and it’s still part of Jerusalem’s water system today. The Bible mentions that Sennacherib laid siege to the Judean city of Lachish and conquered it (2 Kings 18:13), was defeated in Jerusalem, and then was killed by his sons in the temple of his god (2 Kings 19:37). Both the siege of Lachish and his death have been confirmed by archaeology.

Well, archaeology now offers us a more personal touch from Hezekiah. In the rubbish heap outside a royal building in Jerusalem, a tiny seal impression, called a “bulla,” was discovered. Barely half an inch wide, this seal reads, “Belonging to Hezekiah, [son of] Ahaz, king of Judah.” Eilat Mazar, a third-generation archaeologist who directed the dig, says, “The seal of the king was so important. It could have been a matter of life or death, so it's hard to believe that anyone else had the permission to use the seal. Therefore, it's very reasonable to assume we are talking about an impression made by the King himself, using his own ring.” This is the first seal bearing King Hezekiah’s name ever discovered by an archaeologist (others have been sold on the antiquities market, but they were not discovered by archaeologists, so their authenticity is questionable). It offers a personal look into King Hezekiah since the seal probably came from the ring on his finger. Take a look at a photograph of this seal.

This incredible find confirms God’s Word yet again. Isn’t it exciting being a Christian and seeing how science is constantly confirming the truth of God’s Word? Of course, since the Bible is real recorded history, this is exactly what we should expect—and it’s exactly what we see!

You can read more about archaeology and God’s Word in this chapter from The New Answers Book 1, “Does Archaeology Support the Bible?”

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.