BarachelAlso spelled "Barakel" or "Barakhel" in literature. (

Ammonite Ammonoids are a group of extinct marine mollusc animals in the subclass Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda. These molluscs, commonly referred to as ammonites, are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses, squid and cuttlefish) ...

𐤁𐤓𐤊𐤀𐤋, representing ''Bāraḵʾēl'': "blessed by El") was a king of

Ammon Ammon (Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; he, עַמּוֹן ''ʻAmmōn''; ar, عمّون, ʻAmmūn) was an ancient Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in p ...

in the 670s BCE. He is known from a small (15.9x16.9 mm) black

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

bulla Bulla (Latin, 'bubble') may refer to: Science and medicine * Bulla (dermatology), a bulla * Bulla, a focal lung pneumatosis, an air pocket in the lung * Auditory bulla, a hollow bony structure on the skull enclosing the ear * Ethmoid bulla, pa ...

bearing his

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

impression. A groove and several dots around the impression demonstrate that the seal likely took the form of a metal

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

. Fingerprints found around the edge of the bulla may belong to Barachel himself. His name, which invokes the name of the god El (as do the names of his fellow Ammonite kings

Pado'el Peduel or Padael (Ammonite: 𐤐𐤃𐤀𐤋 *''Pədōʾēl'', representing ; akk, 𒁍𒁺𒀭, Bu-du-ilu) was king of Ammon in the 720s BCE and probably the successor to Shanip. He is mentioned as a vassal of the Assyrian kings Sennacherib and E ...

and

Hissalel Hissalel son of Amminadab was an Ammonite king of the late seventh century BCE, reigning approximately 620 BCE. He is mentioned on an inscription on a bronze bottle found at Tel Siran in Jordan. The inscription reads:'' 'mndb mlk bn'mn'' (Ammonite ...

) suggests that El was worshipped in Ammon alongside

Milcom Milcom or Milkom (Ammonite: 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌 *''Mīlkām''; Hebrew: or מַלְכָּם ) was the name of either the national god, or a popular god, of the Ammonites. He is attested in the Hebrew Bible and in archaeological finds from the forme ...

and other deities. The seal is

aniconic Aniconism is the absence of artistic representations (''icons'') of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. It is a feature of various cultures, particularly of cultures which a ...

, unusual for a device of its type, some scholars have speculated that this may be due to the influence of

Israelite The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan. The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Ancient Greek, Greek: grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, wikt:κλάω, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, wikt:εἰκών, εἰκών + wi ...

(though others dispute this, maintaining that an image may well have appeared on the reverse of the seal and/or that rejection of images is not entirely evident from contemporary excavations in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

itself.

Resources

Website about the Barachel bulla

References

Kings of Ammon 7th-century BC rulers 7th-century BC people {{MEast-royal-stub