Bulla of Gemariah son of Shaphan

Overview

The Bulla of Gemariah son of Shaphan is a clay seal impression reading "Belonging to Gemaryahu son of Shaphan", found in the City of David in Jerusalem. It is generally identified with Gemariah, the official named in Jeremiah 36 as a son of Shaphan the scribe.

Archaeological Evidence

The bulla came from the hoard of some fifty clay seal impressions recovered by Yigal Shiloh in 1982 in the building on the eastern slope that became known as the House of Bullae. The hoard was preserved by the fire that destroyed the building, which the excavators associated with the Babylonian destruction of the city, and the stratum places the bulla in the closing years of the kingdom of Judah. A bulla is the hardened lump of clay that sealed a rolled document; the document itself does not survive.

Biblical Significance

Jeremiah 36:10 places the reading of Jeremiah's scroll by Baruch "in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD's house", and Gemariah is among those who urge Jehoiakim not to burn it (Jeremiah 36:25). The seal impression belongs to a man of that name and patronym, in that city, in that generation, sealing official documents.