The Governors of Judah under the Persians

Abstract

W. uses recent evidence to test A. Alt's 1934 thesis that Judah's constitutional status changed with Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem. Of particular concern is the hypothesis of a period of Samaritan rule over Judah before Nehemiah. W. first questions the results of E. Stern's examination of anepigraphic seal impressions from this period, which have been used to support Alt. Next, the so-called yhwd seals are studied. A detailed discussion marshalls the evidence for the correct reading of yhwd and the proper interpretation of the word phh as 'governor.' In the main the arguments of N. Avigad are followed with other seal and coin impressions being used for comparison. W. cautiously identifies an Elnathan from one bulla (No. 5) and one seal (No. 14) of the Avigad collection (Bullae and Seals from a Post-Exilic Judean Archive, 1976) as 'a hitherto unknown governor of Judah' (p. 74).W. concludes: 'If this is accepted, then the likelihood that the ascription of the title phh to Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel is to be taken in the same way becomes irresistible, and with at least three governors of Judah prior to Nehemiah, Alt's case with which we started this lecture collapses' (pp. 76-77). Finally, regarding Neh 5:14-19, W. argues, against R. North, that peham (v 14a) be understood as 'their governor,' and lehem happeâ (vv 14b, 18) as 'the bread [salary] of the governor. [Abstracted by: Thomas P. McCreesh.]