Clay Sealings of [Hi]ṩilyahu Son of Immer (7th Cent. BCE)

A Judean, late First Temple Period (7th century BCE), clay sealing bearing the name [Hi]ṩilyahu son of Immer. This artifact represents the most direct evidence ever uncovered of the administration of the First Temple. The clay sealing was affixed to a fabric cover of a container, and is reminiscent of many such sealings found in temple and palace treasuries throughout the Ancient Near East.

The Immer family, of which the owner of the seal was a proud member, operated in the First Temple, and one of its members is referred to in the Bible as “chief administrator in the house of the LORD” (Jer. 20:1). This sealing may have sealed a container of provisions for the Temple, or valuables kept in the Temple’s treasury, overseen by priests of the Immer family.

This is the first Hebrew inscription originating in the Temple itself ever discovered, relating directly the the administrative duties overseen by the priests.