Editing LMLK seal

{{Short description|Ancient Hebrew seal stamped on Judahite jars}}
[[File:LMLK-stamps ancient-and-modern.jpg|right|thumb|LMLK stamps from the [[Kingdom of Judah]] atop LMLK-bearing [[Postage stamps and postal history of Israel|Israeli postage stamps]], 2006]]  
The '''LMLK seal''' appears on the handles of several large storage jars from the [[Kingdom of Judah]], where it was first issued during the reign of [[Hezekiah]] around 700 BCE. Seals bearing these four [[Hebrew letters]] have been discovered primarily on unearthed artifacts in and around [[Jerusalem]], with some in [[Northern District (Israel)|northern Israel]]. Several complete jars were found {{Langx|la|[[in situ]]|label=none}} at the ancient city of [[Tel Lachish|Lachish]], where they were buried underneath a [[destruction layer]] caused by [[Sennacherib]], who reigned over the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] from 705 BCE to 681 BCE.<ref>Ussishkin (2004), ''The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish'', p. 89 ("As the work of the renewed excavations developed it became clear that the destruction of Level III must be assigned to Sennacherib's attack in 701 BCE.").</ref> While none of the original [[Stamp seal|stamp seals]] have been found, some 2,000 impressions made by at least 21 seal types have been published.<ref>[http://www.lmlk.com/research/ LMLK Research website]</ref> The iconography of the two- and four-winged symbols are representative of royal symbols whose meaning "[[Ancient Near Eastern seals and sealing practices|was tailored in each kingdom to the local religion and ideology]]".<ref>Na'aman, Nadav. "The lmlk seal impressions reconsidered." Tel Aviv 43.1 (2016): 115.</ref>{{what|date=March 2024}}

==Text==
 [[File:Lmlk-seal impression-h2d-gg22 2003-02-21.jpg|thumb|Type H2D LMLK stamp, 2003]]
LMLK—[[lamedh]], [[mem]], lamedh, [[kaph]]—is vocalized in the [[Hebrew language]] as {{Transliteration|he|lamelekh}} ({{Langx|phn|𐤋𐤌𐤋𐤊}} {{Transliteration|phn|lāmed-mēm-lāmed-kāp}}), which can be translated as:

* "[belonging] to the king" (of [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]])
* "[belonging] to King" (name of a person or [[Religions of the ancient Near East|deity]])
* "[belonging] to the government" (of Judah)
* "[to be sent] to the king"

As a prepositional prefix, the lāmed ({{Langx|phn|𐤋|label=none}}) has either a genitive or dative function, and the "to" in each of the above readings can also be read as "for" or "of". The other three letters form the word {{lang|he|[[melekh]]}}; as shown above, its translation can refer to a specific king, to any king, or to the king's government.<ref>{{Cite web |title=King Seal Artifacts Attest to Hebron&#039;s Jewish History |url=http://hebron.org.il/history/693 |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=the Jewish Community of Hebron |language=en}}</ref>

A number of jars say "lmlk Ziph", "lmlk Hebron", "lmlk Socoh", and "lmlk mmst" (whose identification is unknown). These jars were all manufactured in a single site in the [[Shephelah]], possibly at [[Tel Lachish|Lachish]], under the authority of the king (alluded to in [[1 Chronicles 4|1 Chronicles 4:23]], thus 'lmlk' means 'belonging to the king'), and from there they were sent to each one of the four administrative regions, as indicated by the name of the localities on the jars: [[Ziph (Bible)|Ziph]], [[Hebron]], [[Sokho|Socoh]], and [[MMST]]).<ref>Naʼaman, Nadav. Ancient Israel and Its Neighbors: Interaction and Counteraction. Vol. 1. Eisenbrauns, 2005, 173–174.</ref>

== Discovery sites ==

[[File:Lmlk sites map.gif|thumb|200px|LMLK discovery sites, {{As of|2008|February|lc=y}}]]
Though most of these stamped jar handles have been found in the territory of the [[Kingdom of Judah]] (71 sites in the land allotted to [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]], [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]], and [[Tribe of Simeon|Simeon]]), some have also been found in the territory of the [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] (four sites in the northwest region).<ref>{{Cite web |title=LMLK Seals |url=https://www.antiquities.org.il/t/item_en.aspx?indicator=153&shalemid=702&CurrentPageKey=23_1 |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=www.antiquities.org.il}}</ref> Over 2,000 stamped jar handles have been found. The 20 sites where the most specimens have been found are:<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Garfinkel|first1=Yosef|title=In the Footsteps of King David|last2=Ganor|first2=Saar|last3=Hasel|first3=Michael|publisher=Thames and Hudson|year=2018|isbn=978-0-500-05201-3|editor-last=Meiron|editor-first=Eyal|location=United Kingdom|pages=174}}</ref>

*[[Khirbet Qeiyafa]] – 693
*[[Tel Lachish]] – 415
*[[Jerusalem]] – 281
*[[Ramat Rachel]] – 163
*[[Arnona|Mordot Arnona]] (southern Jerusalem) – 124<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Sapir |first1=Neria |last2=Ben-Ari |first2=Nathan |last3=Koch |first3=Ido |last4=Lipschits |first4=Oded |title=A New Assemblage of 'Private' Stamped Jar Handles from the Mordot Arnona Excavations, Jerusalem |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/27204896.pdf |journal='Atiqot |date=2023 |volume=110 |pages=8, 19 |jstor=27204896 }}</ref>
*[[Gibeon (ancient city)|Gibeon]] – 92
*[[Mizpah in Benjamin|Mizpah]] – 88
*[[Tel Beit Shemesh|Beth Shemesh]] – 71
*[[Moresheth-Gath]] – 39
*[[Gezer]] – 37
*[[Khirbet el-Burj]] (northwestern Jerusalem) – 24
*[[Maresha]] – 19
*[[Azekah]] – 18
*[[Timnah]] –15
*[[Gibeah]] – 14
*[[Tel Erani]] – 13
*[[Hebron]] – 13
*[[Sokho]] (Khirbet Abbad NW of Hebron, not the Sokho SW of Hebron) – 13
*[[Beth-zur|Beth Tzur]] – 11
*[[Arad, Israel|Arad]] – 9

== Usage theories ==
[[File:LMLK seal (Hebron). Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2).JPG|thumb|LMLK jar of [[Hebron]] on display at the [[Israel Museum]] in [[Jerusalem]], 2013]]
Beginning with the ''[[editio princeps]]'' by [[Charles Warren (British soldier)|Charles Warren]] in 1870, a diverse assortment of theories has been promulgated to explain their function.{{cn|date=October 2020}} Since the landmark excavations at [[Lachish]] by [[David Ussishkin]] during the 1970s,<ref>Published in Ussishkin, "The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish."</ref> which established the date of the seals to the reign of [[Hezekiah]], the number of feasible explanations has narrowed down to these (all associated with [[Hezekiah]].{{cn|date=May 2019}}
* Military rations collected as an emergency during a short period (several months to a few years at most) preceding the [[Assyria]]n invasion by [[Sennacherib]]
* Government taxes collected throughout the majority of [[Hezekiah]]'s reign (either 14 or 26 years depending on chronological interpretations) as a long-term economic buildup until the [[Assyria]]n invasion by [[Sennacherib]]
* Religious [[tithe]]s collected throughout [[Hezekiah]]'s 29-year reign in response to his worship reformation following his accession (completely irrespective of the [[Assyria]]n invasion by [[Sennacherib]]){{cn|date=October 2020}}

In support of the first two theories are the inscriptions, which can be read as the names of four places; in support of the third theory are the geographic statistics, which do not associate any of the four words to a particular place or region other than the entire southern kingdom of Judah. Furthermore, approximately 10–20 percent of the excavated jars and jar handles were stamped.{{cn|date=October 2020}}

Depending on which of the above theories are preferred, several other aspects of the operation need interpretation:
* The people who performed the stamping were either government officials working directly for King [[Hezekiah]] or [[Levite]]s and/or priests associated with [[Solomon]]'s [[Temple in Jerusalem]].
* The icons symbolize either royal stature or a religious nature ({{bibleref|Deuteronomy|32:11–12}}, {{bibleref|Ruth|2:12}}, {{bibleref|Psalm|36:7}}, {{bibleref|Psalm|57:1}}, {{bibleref|Psalm|61:4}}, {{bibleref|Psalm|91:4}}, and {{bibleref|Malachi|4:2}}).
* The super-inscription, ''LMLK'', denotes the Judean government or a specific, divine being (consider its application to the Israelite [[YHWH]] as in {{bibleref|Psalm|10:16}}, {{bibleref|Isaiah|6:5}}, and {{bibleref|Zechariah|14:9}}).
* The sub-inscriptions ([[Hebron]], [[MMST]], [[Socoh]], and [[Ziph (Judean Mountains)|Ziph]]) record either 4 places or 4 votive statements.

Engraving styles indicate at least two, possibly five, people made the seals. The 21 types can be grouped together in five or six sets, but they may have been created or utilized in pairs based on quantities of their impressions found so far.{{cn|date=October 2020}}

Researchers frequently use a lowercase "x" as a [[wildcard character]] when referring to a series such as x4C instead of using an uppercase "G", "H", "M", "S", or "Z" for the first letter designator. Likewise, an "x" can be used for the second letter designator when referring to all seals with the same word, such as H2x in lieu of H2D, H2T, and H2U.

Thus far, significant quantities of x4C, x4L, and x2U stamps have been excavated from below the destruction layer caused by the [[Assyria]]n conquest of [[Sennacherib]], but only a single specimen each of the G2T and M2D stamps (excavated from [[Jerusalem]], which was not destroyed by [[Sennacherib]]). This suggests that 12 of the 21 seals were made prior to the attack, and the remaining 9 afterwards.  The first significant evidence to support this datum came from the landmark excavations at [[Timnah]] led by [[George L. Kelm]] and [[Amihai Mazar]].<ref>Mazar and Panitz-Cohen, ''Timnah (Tel Batash) II''.</ref>

==Additional impressions==
[[File:LMLK seal (Hebron). Israel Museum, Jerusalem.JPG|thumb|LMLK seal ([[Hebron]]) on a jar at the [[Israel Museum]] in [[Jerusalem]], 2013]]
[[File:Lmlk Seals - Hecht Museum, Israel 1.JPG|thumb|LMLK seals on display at the [[Hecht Museum]] in [[Haifa]], 2010]]
[[File:Lmlk Seals - Hecht Museum, Israel 2.JPG|thumb|LMLK seals on the display at the [[Hecht Museum]] in [[Haifa]], 2010]]
Several hundred seal impressions made on the same type of jar handle have been found in the same contexts as the LMLK stamps.  Over 50 types have been documented, and most of them have a 2-line inscription divided by two somewhat parallel lines.  Some have an icon in addition to the inscription; others are strictly anepigraphic (Vaughn 1999).

=== Incisions ===
In addition to the seals, which were stamped in the wet clay before being fired in a [[kiln]], certain other marks were incised on these jar handles:

*Concentric circles (usually two—sometimes only one; sometimes applied to unstamped handles but it is uncertain whether they were ever incised on unstamped jars)
*Plus marks (resembling "+" or "t" or "X")
*Hole marks (resembling the central anchor dot of the concentric circles)
*Drag marks (probably attempts to cancel or obliterate the LMLK stamp)

Hundreds of the handles with the circles have been found, but only a few of the plus, hole, and drag marks.  Several LMLK stamps may have had additional inscriptions incised over them containing marks resembling the letters "I V" (hence "''Ivy'' incisions"); however, one or more of these handles may just contain stray Drag marks resembling the letters "I V" with no literate semantics intended.{{what|date=March 2024}}{{cn|date=March 2024}}

==Israeli postage stamps==
In 1948, Israel's postal authority chose the Z2U seal design for the first series of [[Postage stamps and postal history of Israel|postage stamp]]s to include the name of the renascent state. Five multicolored values (3, 5, 10, 20, and 65-mil denominations; [[Scott catalog]] numbers 10-4) were printed in sheets of 300 (six panes of 50).  [[Otte Wallish]] designed the stamps, which have distinctive tabs written in Hebrew declaring:  ''Flying Scroll: "LMLK" Seal Stamped on the Wine and Oil Jugs Given as Tax to the King''. Israel released the stamps on September 26, 1948 in time for the October 4 observance of [[Rosh Hashanah]] 5709, the Jewish New Year, and thereby inaugurated its annual series of [[Holiday stamp#Rosh Hashanah|holiday stamp]]s.

==Reconstructive drawings==
Types of LMLK seals according to George M. Grena's typology:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grena |first=George M. |date=February 23, 2002 |title=LMLK – Typologies |url=http://www.lmlk.com/research/lmlk_typo.htm |access-date=June 30, 2024}}</ref>

{| border="0" cellpadding="1"
|[[File:Lmlk-seal type-h2t 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|H2T}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-m2t 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|M2T}}]]||align="center" |(reserved<br>for S2T;<br>not known<br>if any<br>existed)||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-z2t 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|Z2T}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-g2t 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|G2T}}]]
|-
|align="center" |(reserved<br>for H2DR;<br>not known<br>if any<br>existed)||align="center" |(reserved<br>for M2DR;<br>not known<br>if any<br>existed)||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-s2dr 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|S2DR}}]]||align="center" |(reserved<br>for Z2DR;<br>not known<br>if any<br>existed)
|-
|[[File:Lmlk-seal type-h2d 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|H2D}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-m2d 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|M2D}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-s2dw 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|S2DW}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-z2d 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|Z2D}}]]
|-
|[[File:Lmlk-seal type-h2u 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|H2U}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-m2u 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|M2U}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-s2u 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|S2U}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-z2u 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|Z2U}}]]
|-
|[[File:Lmlk-seal type-h4l 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|H4L}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-m4l 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|M4L}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-s4l 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|S4L}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-z4l 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|Z4L}}]]
|-
|[[File:Lmlk-seal type-h4c 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|H4C}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-m4c 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|M4C}}]]||align="center" |(reserved<br>for S4C;<br>not known<br>if any<br>existed)||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-z4ci 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|Z4CI}}]]||[[File:Lmlk-seal type-z4cy 2005-01-03.gif|frame|none|{{center|Z4CY}}]]
|}

==See also==
*[[Archaeology of Israel]]
*[[Biblical archaeology]]
*[[List of artifacts significant to the Bible]]
*[[Hebrew alphabet]]
*[[Phoenician alphabet]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |year=2001 |title=Timnah (Tel Batash) II, the Finds from the First Millennium BCE, Text. Qedem 42, Monographs of the Institute of Archaeology |location=Jerusalem, Israel |publisher=The Hebrew University}}
* {{cite book | author=Ussishkin, David | year=2004 | title=The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish (1973 &ndash; 1994) Volumes 1 and 4 | location=Tel Aviv, Israel | publisher=Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University }}  <!--ISBN 965-526-601-7 {{Please check ISBN|reason=Check digit (7) does not correspond to calculated figure.}} Calculated check digit (X) doesn't match given.  The actual format in this book (which I'm holding in my hands right now) is ISBN 965-5-266-017-->
* {{cite book | author=Vaughn, Andrew G. | year=1999 | title=Theology, History, and Archaeology in the Chronicler's Account of Hezekiah | publisher=Scholars Press; Atlanta, Georgia | isbn=0-7885-0594-7}}
* {{cite journal |author=Warren, Charles |year=1870 |title=Phoenician inscription on jar handles |journal=Palestine Region Exploration Quarterly |volume=2 |issue=September 30 |pages=372}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lmlk Seal}}
[[Category:8th-century BC inscriptions]]
[[Category:8th century BC in the Kingdom of Judah]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Israel]]
[[Category:Seals (insignia)]]
[[Category:Cylinder and impression seals in archaeology]]
[[Category:Hezekiah]]
[[Category:Tel Lachish]]
[[Category:Israelite and Jewish archaeological artifacts]]