The Seal of Mattaniah – Photo by Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Where in the world can you go to find a seal that could be over 3,000 years old and was used to document important official papers be discovered? Where else in the world could you then find a seal and discover the same name of that person already written in historical documents preserved in that era; the Hebrew TaNaKh or the Old Testament? There is none other than Jerusalem located near to the Temple Mount where Solomon’s Temple once stood.
These are not archeological objects of significance of Egyptian origin, or Babylonian, Assyrian, Persian or Greek origin. Neither are they of ancient Arabic, Bedouin, or Islamic origins that go back only 1450 years. They are of Hebrew origins more than likely of the Jews of the House of Judah.
It was announced in early May 2012, that a small seal, more than likely worn by an official of the Jewish temple or royal court was discovered bearing a Hebrew name that was discovered adjacent to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The name of the owner of the seal was Matanyahu (meaning “gift of G-d” who was the son of a Jewish man with the letter “Ho” because the rest of the seal appeared to be obliterated, where intentional or not.
Since the 1800s, about twenty five seals have been discovered in the excavations surrounding Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. According to the Israeli archeologist Eli Shukron of the Israeli Antiquities Authority;
Israeli archeologist Eli Shukron – “Finding something like this is like getting regards from a real person who lived here thousands of years ago.”
Reconstruction of Robinson’s Arch on the Southwestern Side of the Temple Mount
Located at an excavation site that was exposing a Roman-era drainage tunnel on the western side of the Temple Mount, the archeologist discovered a “structure” and while sifting the remains within the “structure” the seal was discovered. One thing is certain; this “structure” came from the Solomon Temple Era from 1000 BCE to 586 BCE when the temple and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonian army of King Nebuchadnezzar. According to BiblePlaces:
BiblePlaces – “The remains of a building dating to the end of the First Temple period were discovered below the base of the ancient drainage channel that is currently being exposed in IAA excavations beneath Robinson’s Arch in the Jerusalem Archaeological Garden, adjacent to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. This building is the closest structure to the First Temple found to date in archaeological excavations.
In the excavations, underwritten by the Ir David Foundation, a personal Hebrew seal from the end of the First Temple period was discovered on the floor of the ancient building. The seal is made of a semi-precious stone and is engraved with the name of its owner: “Lematanyahu Ben Ho…” ("למתניהו בן הו..." meaning: “Belonging to Matanyahu Ben Ho…”). The rest of the inscription is erased."
The Southwest Corner of the Temple Mount looking Towards the Wailing Wall with the Ramp Entrance for Jews and Christian Visitors to Visit the Temple Mount – Destination Yisra’el’s Photo Archives (2006)
Two people with the name Mattaniah are mentioned in 1 Chronicles 25:4, 16 and 2 Chronicles 29:13:
I Chronicles 25:1,4-5,8-9,16 (parts) – “David and the officers of the service corps set aside the sons of Asaph, Heman and Jeduthaun who prophesied while using harps, lyres, and cymbals…Of Heman: The sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth… All these were sons of Heman, the king’s seer for the words of G-d, to exalt (David’s) prestige…
The shifts cast lots with one another, minor and major alike, teacher as well as student…The first lot fell upon Asaph, upon Joseph;…ninth upon Mattaniah; his sons and brothers were twelve.
2 Chronicles 29:1,3,13 (parts) – “Hezekiah was twenty-five year old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-nine years in Jerusalem…In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened up the doors of the Temple of HaShem and restored them…So the Levites stood up...Zechariah and Mattaniah of the sons of Asaph…"
The Wailing Wall and Ramp Entrance to the Temple Mount – Destination Yisra’el’s Photo Archives (2006)
So from Robinsons’s Arch on the southwestern side of the Temple Mount one can view the Temple walls all the way up to the Wailing Wall where the ramp entrance to enter the upper levels of the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock resides.
Just one more living evidence of the Hebrew-Jewish presence in Jerusalem for as long as 3,000 years since the United Monarchy of Kings David and Solomon.
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The Hebrew-Jewish presence has been a dominant culture in Jerusalem for the last 3,000 years. The G-d of Israel foretold also of the ages in which the Jews would not be ruling in Jerusalem, the land would be dormant and fallow. Those Lost Tribes of Israel with spiritual eyes to your future destiny, the Jews of the House of Israel have begun their aliyah, which has not been completed. Soon it will be your time to make the decision to return and live in the land of your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Let us not forget that the G-d of Israel is purposefully bringing the forces of evil for the whole world to behold and to understand its catastrophic affect upon all mankind. Only then will we be able to choose goodness over evil. If you are interested in connecting to your Lost Israelite roots, Destination Yisra’el is inviting you to support the Kol Ha Tor Vision.
If the G-d of Israel is touching your heart to support directly the Pioneering Settlers of Shomron and Judea preserving these lands for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel, we invite you to Click on the “Donate to Kol Ha Tor” link in support of the joint Orthodox Jewish and 10-Triber Mission to bring awareness of the imminent fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecies regarding the Redemption of all Israel (12 Tribes Re-conciled and Re-United). This supernal Event of all Times will entail Establishing the Shomron (the Ancient Bible Heartland of the Patriarchs) and the Judean Wilderness as part of the Land of Israel, and preparing the “Land” for the Return of the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel and then the Redemption of All Israel.
For inquiries about Kol Ha Tor Vision for the Lost Tribes of Israel, Visit – “Shomron Lives!”, a Spiritual Retreat and Guest House in Samaria, that hosts Shomron (Samaria) Tours to reacquaint the Returning Lost Tribers of the House of Israel.