The Royal Stamps and the Kingdom of Josiah

Abstract

In a collection of essays dedicated to the memory of Paul Lapp it is fitting that one of them should deal with the lmlk or royal jar stamps to the study of which he made such an important contribution. It is our purpose here not to emulate his example nor to present a full review of the many problems associated with the interpretation of these stamps but to deal with the question of their date and to make some suggestions about the historical implications of the pattern of their geographical distribution.

The Priestly Benediction on Silver Plaques from Ketef Hinnom in Jerusalem

“…for the inscriptions from Khirbet Beit-Lei and Gibeon(Cross 1962b; 1970:299-306) was established when the lmlk handles were still dated to the days of King Josiah, i.e., to the 7th century B.C.E (Lance 1971)…”