Jewish History Nerds is a Signal Awards finalist. Vote for us in Listener’s Choice by Thu 15 Oct: https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/individual-episodes/genre/history
Jonathan Schwab and Yael Steiner unroll the Ketef Hinnom amulets—two miniature silver scrolls uncovered when a teenager’s stray hammer strike collapsed a burial chamber on Jerusalem’s ancient fringe. Etched with text so microscopic it took years of acids, polymers, and meticulous microscopy to reveal, these glinting fragments turned out to be centuries older than the Dead Sea Scrolls.
From the moment the divine name surfaced in three tight lines, scholars realized they were holding the earliest known form of the priestly blessing—an artifact both primordial and startlingly recent. These curls of silver distill millennia of faith, ritual, and memory into objects scarcely larger than a fingernail.
Be in touch. Write to us at nerds@unpacked.media. We want to hear from you.
Click here to see images of the Ketef Hinnom amulets and archeological site.
Click here for facts and sources referenced in the episode.
Click here for a vocabulary list from the episode.
This podcast was brought to you by Unpacked, a brand of OpenDor Media.
Follow @unpackedmedia on Instagram and check out Unpacked on youtube.
——————-
For other podcasts from Unpacked, check out:
