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

Ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

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

Ammon Ammon (; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; '; ) was an ancient Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking kingdom occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Wadi Mujib, Arnon and Jabbok, in present-d ...

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. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

bulla 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, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

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

ring (The) Ring(s) 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 Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

. 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 language, Ammonite: 𐤐𐤃𐤀𐤋 *''Pədōʾēl'', representing ; ) 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 Esarhaddon. ...

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 language, Ammonite: 𐤌𐤋𐤊𐤌 *''Mīlkām''; Hebrew language, Hebrew: ) 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 ...

and other deities. The seal is

aniconic Aniconism is the cultural absence of artistic representations (''icons'') of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. The prohibition of material representations may only extend ...

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

Israelite Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

iconoclasm Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

(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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

itself.

Resources

Website about the Barachel bulla

References

Kings of Ammon 7th-century BC monarchs in Asia {{MEast-royal-stub