Inscription on Bulla
Inscription on Bulla Inscription on Bulla. Although the owner of the seal stamped on the Bulla under discussion cannot be identified positively on the basis of all the criteria mentioned by Avigad, three auxiliary elements help to identify its owner with a particular biblical personality: the name, the royal genealogy, and chronological probability. Ishmael son of Nethaniah is the only known bearer of the name Ishmael who was a descendant of the royal family. It is highly unlikely that there were two different members of the royal family bearing the same name during that period. Had that been the case, there would have been some indication on the seal, distinguishing our Ishmael from other bearers of the same name. That supports the assumption that Ishmael the king’s son is to be identified with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah. If the suggested identification is correct, it can also contribute significantly to clarifying the exact meaning of the title “the king’s son.” That t...