Seal Inscription - "Amos the Scribe"

This Jasper seal bears the inscription "Amos the scribe" and reveals two men beside an altar with their hands raised in prayer. 8th-7th centuries B.C.  (Israel Museum)

It is interesting that this particular seal bears the name of Amos, because during the same time period there was a Jewish prophet who lived 10 miles south of Jerusalem named Amos. His prophecies are recorded in the Bible, in the book of Amos. This 8th Century Seal Inscription bears the words Amos the Scribe. Amos was a common name mentioned in the 8th century BC and confirms the possibility of a prophet named Amos.

Seals

In ancient times seal engraving was an art, and it was well developed in the Middle East during the Iron Age. The Phoenicians, the Hebrews, the Ammonites, and their neighbors produced many seals which have been discovered. They were very skillfully designed from hard, sometimes semi precious stones. Many of the seals were decorated, and some contained just names and titles. Seal cutting had become a trade, and engraved seals have been discovered in Israel dating back to the eighth and seventh centuries BC. The artistry looked very Phoenician, and Egyptian. Some of the animals used were the roaring lion, the rooster, the bull, and others. Some of the mythological beings included the Griffin, and the Sphinx. Many times seals have been discovered with deities, and symbols of the sun, and other religious representations. Seals mainly belonged to royal families, and dignitaries, and very prestigious people.

Amos

Amos was a Jewish prophet who opposed the idolatry under King Jeroboam II and his officials for oppressing the poor people of Israel. His home was Tekoa, a small village 10 miles south of Jerusalem. He prophesied during the middle of the 8th century B.C.

Amos 1:1 - The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

The Seal in Smith's Bible Dictionary

Seal
The importance attached to seals in the East is so great that without one no document is regarded as authentic. Among the methods of sealing used in Egypt at a very early period were engraved stones, graved stones, pierced through their length and hung by a string or chain from the arm or neck, or set in rings for the finger. The most ancient form used for this purpose was the scarabaeus, formed of precious or common stone, or even of blue pottery or porcelain, on the flat side of which the inscription or device was engraved. In many cases the seal consisted of a lump of clay, impressed with the seal and attached to the document, whether of papyrus or other material, by strings. In other cases wax was used. In sealing a sepulchre or box, the fastening was covered with clay or wax, and the impression from a seal of one in authority was stamped upon it, so that it could not be broken open without discovery. The signet-ring was an ordinary part of a man's equipment. Ge 38:18 The ring or the seal as an emblem of authority in Egypt, Persia and elsewhere is mentioned in Ge 41:42; 1Ki 21:8; Es 3:10,12; 8:2; Da 6:17 and as an evidence of a covenant, in Jer 32:10,44; Ne 9:38; 10:1; Hag 2:23 Engraved signets were in use among the Hebrews in early times. Ex 28:11,36; 39:6  Full Article

Also See:

The Bible mentions the name Amos:

Amos 1:1 - The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

Amos 7:8 - And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:

Amos 7:10 - Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.

Amos 7:12 - Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:

Amos 8:2 - And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

Amos 7:14 - Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I [was] no prophet, neither [was] I a prophet's son; but I [was] an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:

Amos 7:11 - For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.

Luke 3:25 - Which was [the son] of Mattathias, which was [the son] of Amos, which was [the son] of Naum, which was [the son] of Esli, which was [the son] of Nagge,
 

The Bible also mentions the seal:

Revelation 10:4 - And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Esther 8:8 - Write ye also for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name, and seal [it] with the king's ring: for the writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed with the king's ring, may no man reverse.

Jeremiah 32:44 - Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal [them], and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.

Daniel 9:24 - Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

John 3:33 - He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

Revelation 6:7 - And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

1 Kings 21:8 - So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed [them] with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that [were] in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

Romans 4:11 - And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which [he had yet] being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:

Revelation 20:3 - And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Revelation 6:12 - And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Revelation 7:2 - And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

Revelation 6:5 - And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

Daniel 12:4 - But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, [even] to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

2 Timothy 2:19 - Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Revelation 9:4 - And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

Revelation 6:9 - And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

Revelation 8:1 - And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

Nehemiah 9:38 - And because of all this we make a sure [covenant], and write [it]; and our princes, Levites, [and] priests, seal [unto it].

Revelation 22:10 - And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

1 Corinthians 9:2 - If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.

Job 38:14 - It is turned as clay [to] the seal; and they stand as a garment.

Job 41:15 - [His] scales [are his] pride, shut up together [as with] a close seal.

Isaiah 8:16 - Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

Revelation 6:3 - And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

Song of Solomon 8:6 - Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love [is] strong as death; jealousy [is] cruel as the grave: the coals thereof [are] coals of fire, [which hath a] most vehement flame.