Seal of Gedaliah, Son of Pashur, Confirms the Existence of One of Jeremiah’s Persecutors
by Rich Deem

Introduction

Did Jeremiah Exist?
The Bible says that Jeremiah was a prophet of the Lord, called from the womb to speak for God.1 As a youth, he began to preach of God’s impending judgment on the Hebrews. Did Jeremiah really exist and was he persecuted for foretelling of God’s coming judgment. The discovery of the seal of Gedaliah, Son of Pashur confirms the existence of one of Jeremiah’s accusers.

Rich Deem
According to the Old Testament, Jeremiah was called to speak for God to the Hebrews.1 When Jeremiah began to predict that God’s judgment would fall on Judah and that Babylonians would capture the city of Jerusalem2 and send its inhabitants into captivity,3 he was persecuted by a number of King Zedekiah’s ministers, including Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah.4 According to the narrative, Jeremiah was lowered into a muddy well to die, but was rescued by Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch of the king.5 Bible skeptics often claim that the stories are made-up and that most of the people probably never existed. However, new evidence shows that at least one of Jeremiah’s persecutors did exist during the time specified in the Book of Jeremiah.

New evidence
Seal of Gedaliah the son of Pashur 
Dr. Eilat Mazar, one of Israel’s top archaeologists, found a seal with the inscription, "Gedaliah the son of Pashur".6 According to Mazar, the seal dates to the final years of the first temple period- during the reign of Zedekiah, Judah’s last king. Three years ago, Mazar also found the seal of Jucal the son of Shelemiah in a nearby location. Jucal is also mentioned as one of Jeremiah’s accusers in the same passage.

Conclusion
The seal of Gedaliah, the son of Pashur, has been found in a recent dig near the ruins of the first temple in Jerusalem. The seal confirms the existence of one of Jeremiah’s accusers, as described in Jeremiah 38:1, demonstrating the reliability of the biblical narrative.

On this day...

• Esther 7 - 2023
• Esther 6 - 2023
• There will be those white with shock when they find that they have depended upon a mental assent to Christianity instead of upon the miracle of the new birth! - 2015
• Antinomianism - 2015
• Antinomy - 2015
• May God accept our worship as a loving, peaceful sacrifice of praise - 2015
• He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth - 2015
• A book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name - 2015
• Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity - 2011
• Be afraid of standing still - 2011