Archaeology

Two bullae have been discovered that have the name Gedaliah imprinted on them (Avigad, Hebrew Bullae, 12–13, 24–25):

1. A bulla excavated from the ruins of Lachish contains the words, “Belonging to Gedalyahu, who is over the house.” This phrase indicates that Gedaliah might have been a majordomo or steward in the royal court.

2. The second bulla originated from Tell Beit Mirsim and identifies Gedaliah as “the servant of the king.”

The majority of scholars ascribe these bullae to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam. However, Gedaliah was a common name; there was another high official in the royal court of King Zedekiah by the name Gedaliah, who was the son of Pashhur (Jer 38:1–6). Becking asserts that these bullae belong to this Gedaliah. He contends that it is quite unlikely that the Babylonian king would appoint a former high official of a conquered king as the governor of the land. Becking suggests Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, was not a high official in the royal court, which is why he was given the charge to supervise the land (Becking, From David to Gedaliah, 157–60). Thus, these bullae should be ascribed to Gedaliah, son of Pashhur. However, Avigad concludes that these attempts to identify the bullae can only be hypothetical (Avigad, Hebrew Bullae, 25).