The following illustrations of Hebrew bullae, are those of kings of Yahudah [Judah] and their sons. While the kings are known by scripture, not all of their sons are named in the scriptures. Next to each bullae is a text box with the English translation first, followed by a translation into Squared Aramaic script, then a graphic of text that is represented as Moabite on my Ancient Alefbeth chart. I chose the Moabite because it more closely resembles the writing on the bullae. Scribes writing is not all alike. I can sign my name a dozen times a day and no two of them will be exactly alike, so please, understand what I have to work with and portray for your benefit. I would also suggest that you print out the chart for easier comparisons. Ancient Hebrew was written without spacers. As time went on, some scribes used dots between words. I have provided the dots for ease in reading. A final point, not all inscriptions and bullae use ben/son of in between names or ha/the before king. If you see it in parenthesis, understand that it is understood.

 

 

 

 

Achaz [Ahaz] ben Yahutham [Yotham] was 20 years old when he became king of Yahudah [Judah], the southern kingdom. He reigned from 742-726 BCE. The spelling of Yahudah, on this bullae shows one of the variations in spelling Yahudah, without the waw.

 

 

 

 

 

ChizqiYahu [Hezekiah] was 25 years old when he became king of Yahudah [Judah], the southern kingdom. He ruled from 726-697 BCE. The spelling of Yahudah, on this bullae shows one of the variations in spelling Yahudah, without the waw.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following bullae are of the sons of the kings, though, they do not state which king. One of them correlates to a scripture passage; which is listed.

 

 

 

 

YirmeYahu 38:6:, and they took yirmeyahu and threw him into the pit of malkiyahu, the son of the king, which was in the court of the guard beyth. and they let yirmeyahu down with ropes. but no water was in the pit, only mud. so yirmeyahu sank into the mud.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note the two winged serpents on the sides.

 

 

 

Please note the sphinx holding the ankh iconogrphy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think it is important to note that two of the 5 sons represented bear Egyptian iconography on their seals, just as the two ChizqiYahu seals. This subject of Egyptian iconography will be covered in a separate study on the alliances and influences of foreign countries. This is a point that is made in the books of the prophets and bears on the relationship with YHWH.