Robert Deutsch, leader mondiale di epigrafia semitica, sta per pubblicare un sigillo dell’VIII a.C. in cui compare l’iscrizione למלך גת. (R. Deutsch, 2010. Biblical Period Hebrew Seals, Bullae and Handles. The Josef Chaim Kaufman Collection [2 Vol.]. Tel Aviv. no. 516.).

Ne dà Aren Maeir che aggiunge:

1. If this bulla is authentic, it is of interest, since it would be one of the few bulla/seals which have a combination of LMLK with another toponym besides the well known MMST, HBRB, ZYF, SWCH of the Iron IIB Judahite kingdom. In addition, if it is authentic, and derives from Gath (Tell es-Safi?) then it is the first clear inscription deriving from Gath mentioning a king of Gath during the Iron Age.
   

1. The problem is – it is from a collection. So, we do not know where it is from, whether it is from an actual site, and whether, it is even a modern fabrication!
   

1. In addition, the motifs on the bulla seem to be very much like the 8th/7th cent. motifs known from other Palestinian glyptic of the Iron II. If Gath is destroyed in the late 9th cent. BCE by the Arameans and subsquently abondoned for a few decades, only to be taken over and settled by the Judahite kingdom in the late 8th cent. BCE, I don’t see how there could be a king of Gath at that time.
   

Ben detto. Aspettiamo la pubblicazione dell’articolo, quindi.