SAMARIA. Series with personal names and miscellaneous letters. Shelemyah (?), circa 407-380/70 BCE. Mʿh = Obol (Silver, 9 mm, 0.66 g, 3 h). Lion seated to right, raising right forepaw, an owl concealed within its body; to upper left, 𐡔𐡋 (ŠL in Aramaic); all within dotted square border. Rev. Lion seated to right, raising right forepaw, an owl concealed within its body; to upper left, 𐡔𐡋 (ŠL in Aramaic); all within dotted square border within incuse square. CSC 109 corr. (owl not mentioned). Hendin -. Jeselsohn 105-106. Meshorer & Qedar 64 corr. (owl not mentioned). NH -. Shoshana -. Sofaer 81 corr. (owl not mentioned). Wyssmann p. 264, MQ 64 corr. (owl not mentioned). Very rare. Beautifully toned and very well centered for the issue. Minor deposits, otherwise, good very fine.



The attribution of this coin to Shelemyah, the brother of Delayah and son of Sanballat, is not certain, but rests on the plausible interpretation of the three legends SB as Sanballat, DY as Delayah, and ŠL as Shelemyah. Like Delayah, Shelemyah is mentioned in one of the Aramaic papyri from Elephantine: 'Delayah and Shelemyah, the sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria' (cf. TAD A4.7 and lots 128 and 131 above).

Unlike his brother, however, Shelemyah does not appear in TAD A4.9, where Delayah is mentioned alongside Bagohi, the governor of Judah. This may suggest that Shelemyah occupied a less prominent position and that Delayah alone served as governor of Samaria. If the attribution of the coins to the family of Sanballat is correct, however, another possibility is that Shelemyah either succeeded his brother as governor or preceded him in office.