Shaphan
43:6
).
Biblical accounts
In
Deuteronomic reform
.
According to the Bible, Shaphan had sons named
Gemariah.[4] The latter appears not to be the same Gemariah named as a son of Hilkiah in Jeremiah 29:3.[5] Assuming it is the same Shaphan, he also had a son named Jaazaniah, who is among the idol worshippers depicted in the vision of Ezekiel described in Ezekiel 8:11
.
Shaphan's grandson is
Nebuchadnezzar after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Whether influenced by Shaphan's part in Josiah's reforms or not, both Ahikam and, later, Gedaliah appear to have played significant roles in protecting Jeremiah from persecution.[6]
Bullae of Shaphan
During the excavations at the
City of David headed by Israeli archeologist Yigal Shiloh, a number of bullae were discovered in stratum X, destroyed by the Babylonians in ca. 586 BCE. Bulla 2 reads: belonging to Gemaryahu ben Shaphan. Shiloh posited that the Gemaryahu of this bulla is to be identified with "Gemaryahu son of Shaphan the scribe" who is mentioned in a biblical text, a figure during the reign of Jehoiakim (r. 609-598 BCE).[7] If this is the case, it could confirm Gemaryahu alongside Ahikam as a son of Shaphan. However, archaeologist Yair Shoham notes: "It should be borne in mind, however, that the names found on the bullae were popular in ancient times and it is equally possible that there is no connection between the names found on the bullae and the person mentioned in the Bible."[8]
See also
- List of artifacts significant to the Bible
References
- ^ 2 Chronicles 34:8
- ^ See Jeremiah 40:5 and 2 Kings 25:22
- ^ See Jeremiah 29:3
- ^ See Jeremiah 36:10–12
- ^ See for example Harrison, R. K. (1973), Jeremiah and Lamentations: An Introduction and Commentary Leicester: IVP (131)
- 43:6
- Jeremiah 36:10et passim
- ^ Yair Shoham, "Hebrew Bullae" in City of David Excavations: Final Report VI, Qedem 41 (Jerusalem: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2000), 33