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SEALS A AND C: I. KOCH AND O. LIPSCHITS, “PRIVATE STAMP IMPRESSIONS,” IN LIPSCHITS ET AL., RAMAT RAḤEL III (EISENBRAUNS, 2016), SEALS 1 AND 2 / SEAL B: COURTESY BIBLE LANDS MUSEUM JERUSALEM, THE DR. ELIE AND BATYA BOROWSKI FOUNDATION COLLECTION

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Seals of northern scribes found at sites throughout Judah preserve clear indications of their northern origin and, in some case, their eventual assimilation into Judahite society, as demonstrated by these three seal impressions of Menahem son of Yawbanah. In seal A, Menahem’s father’s name is spelled ywbnh, with the characteristic northern use of the prefix yw- for the divine element, in contrast to the typical Judahite spelling -yhw. In seal B, the prefix is shortened still further, resulting in the spelling ybnh, probably pronounced “Yobanah.” But in seal C, Menahem appears to have tried to adapt to southern norms. Around the letters of his father’s name, here initially spelled ybnh, the letters waw and he were secondarily crammed in at the beginning—albeit out of sequence—resulting in ʷyₕbnh, which may approximate what would be the normative southern spelling, yhwbnh, “Yehobanah.”