A Standing Nude Male Holding a Staff
A Standing Nude Male Holding a Staff A standing nude male holding a staff would be a typical combination of Greek and Eastern motifs; the naked male the Greek contribution. (Drawing by Julia latesta after Meshorer and Qedar 1999: 16.) Among the locally made seals are all those that bear names of one of the districts of the satrapy Abar-nahara, including Yehud, Samaria, and Ammon. Some seals mention only the name of the district. Others link the place name with the personal name of a governmental official. From Yehud, for example, a seal was found with the name of “Shelomit, the maidservant of Elnathan, the Governor” (Meyers 1985: 33–38). Other seals mention individuals including “belonging to Elʾazar,” or “belonging to Baruch, son of Shimʾi.” Samarian sealings mention Sanballat, and a certain “Isaiah, the son of Sanballat.” Official sealings from Yehud are inscribed in Aramaic, usually with a plan spelling of the district’s name: YHWH. Some scholars have argued that th...