Image Details
The Shlomo Moussaieff Collection
“Belonging to Abdi servant of Hoshea” reads the Old Hebrew inscription on this 1-inch-high, chalcedony seal, dating to the late eighth century B.C.E. The term “servant” in such seals refers not to a menial worker but to an important official trusted to seal important documents with his own imprimatur. The seal’s owner, Abdi, was probably a minister of King Hoshea (732–722 B.C.E.), the last ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel.