THE ELIAKIM SEAL
According to the Bible, Eliakim son of Hilkiah was dispatched by King Hezekiah to negotiate with the Assyrians. (Isaiah 22:20)
This was in the 8th century B.C., as the Assyrians, having overrun the northern kingdom of Israel, prepared to attack the southern kingdom of Judah.
Eliakim is a minor figure in Scripture. If we were casting him in a movie, we’d call him a biblical “extra.”
But can Eliakim’s existence be confirmed archaeologically?
In 2014, an excavation in Tel Lachish supervised by Yosef Garfinkel uncovered a seal dated to the 8th century that said “Belonging to Eliakim son of Yehozarah.”
Yehozarah? The Eliakim of the Bible was the son of Hilkiah.
But a second seal, found in the same vicinity, cleared up the confusion.
It read, “Belonging to Yehozarah, son of Hilkiah, servant of Hezekiah.”
Scholars realized immediately that Hilkiah was the grandfather, Yehozarah the son and Eliakim the grandson.
The familial connection, far from undermining the veracity of the Eliakim seal, confirms it.
Once again the Bible is historically authenticated down to its minute details.
Order my new book here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stones-cry-out-dinesh-dsouza/1150334073