TEMECH

TEMECH

Another “lessor known” Biblical character (or family in this case) has also been confirmed archaeologically. In January of 2008, archaeologists discovered a stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants in the First Temple (and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to Babylonia). The seal was uncovered in an archaeological excavation in Jerusalem’s City of David. It was 2,500 years old at the time of its discovery, and it contained the name “Temech” engraved on its surface. It was discovered amid stratified debris in an excavation just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate. According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the First Temple and were exiled to Babylon following its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Nehemiah lists them among many other families in Nehemiah 7:6, 46, 55: “These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city…The Nethinim … The children of Temech.” The seal of one of the members of the Temech family was discovered just dozens of meters away from the Opel area, where the servants of the Temple, or “Nethinim,” lived in the time of Nehemiah.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS

A stone seal bearing the name of one of the families who acted as servants
in the First Temple and then returned to Jerusalem after being exiled to
Babylonia has been uncovered in an archeological excavation in Jerusalem's
City of David, a prominent Israeli archeologist said Wednesday.

The 2,500-year-old black stone seal, which has the name "Temech" engraved
on it, was found earlier this week amid stratified debris in the excavation
under way just outside the Old City walls near the Dung Gate, said
archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar, who is leading the dig.

According to the Book of Nehemiah, the Temech family were servants of the
First Temple and were sent into exile to Babylon following its destruction
by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The family was among those who later
returned to Jerusalem, the Bible recounts.

The seal, which was bought in Babylon and dates to 538-445 BCE, portrays a
common and popular cultic scene, Mazar said. The 2.1 x 1.8-cm. elliptical
seal is engraved with two bearded priests standing on either side of an
incense altar with their hands raised forward in a position of worship. A
crescent moon, the symbol of the chief Babylonian god Sin, appears on the
top of the altar.

Under this scene are three Hebrew letters spelling Temech, Mazar said.
The Bible refers to the Temech family: "These are the children of the
province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been
carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and
came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city." [Nehemiah
7:6]... "The Nethinim [7:46]"... The children of Temech." [7:55].

The fact that this cultic scene relates to the Babylonian chief god seemed
not to have disturbed the Jews who used it on their own seal, she added.

The seal of one of the members of the Temech family was discovered just
dozens of meters away from the Opel area, where the servants of the
Temple, or "Nethinim," lived in the time of Nehemiah, Mazar said.

"The seal of the Temech family gives us a direct connection between
archeology and the biblical sources and serves as actual evidence of a
family mentioned in the Bible," she said. "One cannot help being
astonished by the credibility of the biblical source as seen by the
archaeological find."

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