Ancient Seal May Have Belonged to Queen Jezebel

According to Dr. Marjo Korpel, Old Testament scholar and researcher at Utretcht University, an ancient seal may have been the property of Jezebel, the wicked queen of Israel and arch-nemesis of Prophet Elijah.

The seal contains the Hebrew letters יזבל, YZBL.  The name was uncommon even among the Phoenicians, and Korpel believes that the elaborate seal undoubtedly belonged to a woman of great influence.  Only about 35 seals of the thousands of Hebrew examples have been identified as belonging to women.

The seal was originally part of a private collection and was donated to the Israel Department of Antiquities in the 1960s.  While the history of the piece’s archeaological discovery is unclear, Korpel believes the artifact to be completely authentic.  Her analysis of the seal’s design and symbology is consistent with her hypothesis that the owner was Phoenician and royal.

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