Chapter 33
Many artifacts confirming Biblical figures and events which occurred at the time of Jeremiah the prophet have come to light. The first is a seal found in 1932 at a dig site in the Biblical city of Mizpah. It lists Jaazaniah, one of the Judean military officers mentioned in II Kings 25:23. It is inscribed with the following words: "Yaazenyahu (Jaazaniah), Servant of the King”
Another seal mentions Neriah, he was the father of Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch, mentioned in Jeremiah 36:4, as well as Seraiah who is mentioned in Jeremiah 51:59: "The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the …show more content…
. .Then the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah." The appointment of Zedekiah as king over Judah mentioned in the preceding passage has also been found in records from Babylon known as the Babylonian Chronicles. The tablet records that after Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in March of 597 B.C., “He installed a king of his own choosing.” (Zedekiah) The second Elnathan found in the Bible is Elnathan son of Achbor, who was a prince in king Jehoiakim's household. He is mentioned in Jeremiah 26:22 and Jeremiah 36:12. In the second part of letter III is an astonishing statement about a letter which came to Shallum son of Jaddu'a through the Prophet. Since there was only one major prophet at the time the Lachish letter was written, it seems very likely that this is an amazing reference to the prophet Jeremiah of the Old Testament. And Shallum son of Jaddu'a may in fact be the uncle of Jeremiah who is mentioned in Jeremiah 32:6-9: "And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, "Buy my field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it." "Then Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, 'Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. "So I bought the field from Hanamel, the