The lmlk Seal Impressions Reconsidered

The article critically examines recent works that discuss the lmlk and private stamps on storage jars. It proposes that Hezekiah introduced the lmlk impressions on jars when he ascended the throne (ca. 714 BCE); that the lmlk jar system was an internal Judahite economic enterprise not directly related to the Assyrian subjugation; that the four- and two-winged symbols were royal emblems; and that the named cities denoted four royal wine and oil presses under state control. The article further proposes that the private stamps belonged to estate owners who began marking the royal jars some years after the introduction of the lmlk jar system and that the use of private stamps came to an end in 701 BCE, when many estate owners were either deported or lost their land and fled to the Judean highlands. After Sennacherib's campaign, production of the two-winged symbol resumed, whereas the four-winged symbol was discarded, possibly because of its Egyptian characteristics.

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