Nathan-melech is described as one of

Josiah Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...

's officials in

2 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...

23:11 of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

. He lived near the entrance to the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, close to the courtyard where King Solomon had kept chariot-horses used to worship the Moabite sun-god

Chemosh Chemosh ( Moabite: 𐤊𐤌𐤔 ''Kamāš''; he, כְּמוֹשׁ ''Kəmōš'' ; Eblaite: 𒅗𒈪𒅖 ''Kamiš'', Akkadian: 𒅗𒄠𒈲 ''Kâmuš'') was the god of the Moabites. He is most notably attested in the Mesha Stele and the Hebrew ...

. Josiah eventually disposed of the horses and chariots.

Archeology

In March 2019, a clay

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 ...

dated to the middle of the seventh or beginning of the sixth century BC was found in the

Givati Parking Lot dig The Givati Parking Lot dig is an archaeological excavation located in Silwan. It is adjacent to the City of David archaeological site. The dig was conducted by Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets of the Israel Antiquities Authority and underwrit ...

excavation in the

City of David "City of David" is a biblical and religious epithet for the ancient city of Jerusalem. It may also refer to: * City of David (archaeological site) - an archaeological excavation associated with ancient Jerusalem * Jerusalem Walls National Park ...

area of Jerusalem bearing the inscription, "(belonging) to Nathan-melech, servant of the king". The wording on the seal was deciphered by Anat Mendel-Geberovich of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Center for the Study of Ancient Jerusalem. 2,600-year old seal discovered in City of David
Jerusalem Post. April 1, 2019

References

{{reflist 7th-century BCE Jews