Pottery shard with ancient Hebrew writing
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An ancient Hebrew inscription on a shard of pottery, deciphered by an
Israeli academic, shows that the Hebrew Bible could have been written
hundreds of years earlier than previously believed.
The inscription from the 10th century BC, during King David's reign, is
the earliest known Hebrew writing, said a report in LiveScience. The
report quoted a press release from the University of Haifa,
where Professor Gershon Galil carried out his research n the Department
of Biblical Studies.
Many scholars have so far thought that the Hebrew Bible originated in
the 6th century BC, because Hebrew writing was thought to stretch back
no further.
"It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th
century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written
hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research," said
Professor Galil.
BCE stands for "before common era," and is equivalent to BC, or before
Christ.
The writing was discovered more than a year ago on a pottery shard dug
up during excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Israel's Elah valley and
it was initially unclear whether the writing was Hebrew or some other
local language.
Galil was able to decipher the text by identifying words particular to
the Hebrew language and content specific to Hebrew culture.
"It uses verbs that were characteristic of Hebrew, such as asah ('did')
and avad ('worked'), which were rarely used in other regional
languages," Galil said. "Particular words that appear in the text, such
as almanah ('widow') are specific to Hebrew and are written differently
in other local languages."
The text appears to be a social statement about how people should treat
slaves, widows and orphans. In English, it reads:
1' you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].2' Judge the sla[ve]
and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]3' [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for
the infant / plead for the po[or and]4' the widow. Rehabilitate [the
poor] at the hands of the king.5' Protect the po[or and] the slave /
[supp]ort the stranger.
FULL STORY
Bible Possibly Written Centuries Earlier, Text Suggests
(LiveScience)
Most
ancient Hebrew biblical inscription deciphered (University of Haifa)
PHOTO CREDIT
Press
release, University of Haifa