A new article published Thursday in Biblical Archaeology Review says that archaeologists have stumbled upon the first physical evidence for the existence of the prophet Isaiah. The evidence is just a small piece of clay, only 0.4 inches long, which appears to bear the inscription “Isaiah the prophet.” It was found during an excavation of a previously undisturbed pile of debris at the Ophel excavation in Jerusalem, according to The Daily Beast. The dig is headed by Eliat Mazar, who wrote the article, in which he provided a description of the discovery, significance, and translation of the seal. The debris also included figurines, pottery fragments, pieces of ivory, and some clay seal impressions, known as bullae. These impressions were created when the owners of the seals stamped their seals into the soft clay and include the mark of King Hezekiah, reports The Daily Beast. According to Mazar, “alongside the bullae of Hezekiah… [were] 22 additional bullae… among these is the bulla of “Yesha‘yah[u] Nvy[?],” which is most straightforwardly translated as “Isaiah the Prophet.” The seal impression is of great significance to Jews and Christians alike, due to the importance of Isaiah to religious history. According to the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah was an eighth-century BCE prophet during the reign of King Hezekiah and he appears to have lived through the reigns of Kings Jotham, Ahaz, and the first 14 years of the reign of Hezekiah. He is responsible for many things, including the earliest biblical description of heaven, which he saw in a vision. Scholars often believe that Isaiah’s vision of God up in the heavens laid the groundwork for any following descriptions of heaven.
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