“L’Adoniyahu asher al ha’bayit” – 2600 Year Old Seal Found

2,600-Year-Old Seal Bearing The Hebrew Name “Adoniyahu” Found Near Ir Dovid

A 2,600-year-old seal bearing the Hebrew name Adoniyahu was recently discovered in soil which was excavated from the foundations of the Kosel in 2013.

The seal, which can be dated back to the era of the kingdom of Yehuda according to the type of writing which appears on it, bears the name and position of the person with the most senior role in the king’s court in the kingdom of Yehuda – “L’Adoniyahu asher al ha’bayit” which means “Adoniyahu – by appointment of the house.” “Asher al ha’bayit” was the term used to describe the most senior minister in the royal hierarchy of the kingdoms of Yehudah and Yisrael.

“This is the first time that a seal of this type was discovered in Jerusalem during an archeological dig,” senior archaeologist Eli Shukron said. “The seal was signed by one of the senior ministers in the kingdom of Yehudah and it’s undoubtedly an extremely significant find. The words ‘L’Adoniyahu asher al ha’bayit,’ written in ancient Hebrew, appear on the seal, which was used for signing documents.”

The term “asher al ha’bayit” appeared for the first time on the list of Shlomo Hamelech’s ministers. This position is mentioned in Tanach in reference to several figures with considerable influence in the kingdom and it describes a senior minister who was very close to the king.

For example, “Avadyahu asher al ha’bayit” in mentioned in Melachim I, as the one who served in that role in the kingdom of Yisrael under the reign of King Achav during the time of Eliyahu Hanavi. While serving in the position, Avadyahu acted against Izavel in managing the kingdom and even saved a hundred nevi’im by hiding them in a cave.

Likewise, “Elyakim ben Chilkiyahu asher al ha’bayit” served in this position during the era of Chizkiyahu Hamelech in the kingdom of Yehuda. As described in Yeshayahu, Elyakim conducted negotiations with Ravshake, one of the ministers of Sancheiriv, the king of Ashur, who threatened to conquer Jerusalem.

The name Adoniyahu is mentioned in the Tanach three times. It is mentioned as the name of one Dovid Hamelech’s sons (Melachim I, Chapter 2, passuk 13). It is mentioned as the name of one of the Leviim in the days of Yehoshafat (Divrei Hayamim II, Chapter 2, passuk 17). And it is mentioned as one of Am Yisrael’s leaders in the days of Nechemiah (Nechemiah, chapter 10, passuk 17).

The seal was within the soil that was excavated from the foundations of the Kotel in 2013 but was only discovered three weeks ago as part of a soil filtration project at Emek Tzurim National Park.

“I poured a bucket of soil into the sieve, began rinsing it under a stream of water, and I suddenly spotted a small piece of black-colored tin,” said Batya Ofen, a Sherut Leumi volunteer at Emek Tzurim, who discovered the find. “I understood immediately that it was a seal and I was very excited. Holding such a significant find from 2,600 years ago, from the time of the kingdom of Yehuda, was an amazing thing for me.”

Source: YWN

An Amazing Story About Adoniyahu, King David, Shmuel, Shaul, and Avishag. Can we find a link here to the possible downfall of Netanyahu and the Israeli Government?

מלכים א א'מלכים א י"א, ל'שמואל א כ"דשמואל א ט"ו, כ”ז

HaTanakh  The haftara for Shabbat Parashat Chayei Sara, which is taken from the first chapter of Sefer Melakhim, deals mainly with the revolt led by Adoniyahu, one of King David's older sons. This chapter tells of the efforts made by David's wife Batsheva and the prophet Natan to ensure that David would formally declare Shlomo – Batsheva's son – his successor, as he had promised to Batsheva.

The first verses of this narrative, however, tell the peculiar and seemingly unrelated story of Avishag, the attractive girl brought to the palace to help keep the king warm. As David aged, he found himself unable to keep warm through clothing alone, and his servants therefore brought him Avishag to provide warmth. The verse emphasizes that David did not engage in intimate relations with Avishag (1:4).

The Malbim proposes a surprising theory to explain the relevance of this story to the Adoniyahu narrative. Later, in the second chapter of Sefer Melakhim, we read that after David's death and Shlomo's ascension to the throne, Adoniyahu approached Batsheva and asked that he be allowed to marry Avishag. Batsheva brought his request to Shlomo, who interpreted it as a rebellion against his royal authority, and promptly had Adoniyahu executed. It is generally assumed that Adoniyahu asked to marry Avishag as a means of renewing his efforts to win the kingship. His marriage to Avishag would give him the appearance of David's successor, an image that would help him attract a following and overthrow Shlomo. The Malbim, however, claims that to the contrary, Adoniyahu's rebellion was, from the outset, driven by his desire to marry Avishag. He did not ask for Avishag as a means to rebel; he rebelled as a means to marry Avishag.

Naturally, then, the Torah introduced the story of Adoniyahu's rebellion by telling of David's illness and Avishag's invitation to the palace. It was Avishag's presence in the palace that drove Adoniyahu to the drastic measure of trying to assert himself as David's heir to the throne.

Rav Avraham Rivlin (of Yeshivat Kerem Be'yavneh), in his work Iyunei Haftara, suggests that the Malbim's approach may shed light on Chazal's famous comment concerning the peculiar illness from which David suffered towards the end of his life. The Gemara (Berakhot 62b) remarks that David's inability to warm himself with clothing came as punishment for his having torn a piece of King Shaul's garment many years earlier. As told in Sefer Shemuel I (chapter 24), King Shaul pursued David to kill him and happened to enter a dark cave where David and his men had been hiding. Rather than kill Shaul, David instead secretly cut the corner of his garment that he later used as evidence to Shaul that he was given the opportunity to kill him. The Gemara comments that David was punished for this sign of disrespect towards the king's garments, and later in life David was unable to keep himself warm by wearing layers of clothing.

Rav Rivlin notes that elsewhere in Tanakh, we find that cutting the corner of a garment serves to symbolize the end of a king's reign. Shemuel proclaimed the end of Shaul's reign by cutting his garment (Shemuel I 15:27), and the prophet Achiya prophesied the division of Shlomo's empire by tearing the garment of Yerovam (Melakhim I 11:30). David's tearing of Shaul's garment was perhaps understood in a similar vein, as a symbolic act foreseeing the imminent fall of Shaul's leadership. David was punished for this insult to Shaul by suffering an illness that resulted in Avishag's entry into the palace, an event that precipitated a threat to the stability of David's dynasty.