[SunkenCiv]

With faded ink and missing letters, the Qeiyafa Ostracon is a five-line text on a 6-by-6-inch piece of broken pottery. It is written in Early Alphabetic script, prior to the development of Phoenician script from which Hebrew script was derived. [Photo by Clara Amit, Courtesy Yosef Garfinkel]

[MinuteGal]

Translated it says:

Obama saves
Moses invests

Leni

[mountainlion]

There is an old Hebrew book parts of which were found with the Dead Sea Scrolls that said that one of Adam's sons invented the early Hebrew characters.

[yarddog]

“In God we trust, all others pay cash”.

[JackOfVA]

It actually says “Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels—bring home for Emma”

Jack

[Raycpa]

“Be sure to drink your Ovaltine.”

[Yadan]

the Qeiyafa Ostracon seems to be, by consensus, the oldest document written in a Hebrew alphabet. From the little I can discern from the writing, the text appears to be written in the Proto-K’na’anite script which was a forerunner of the Proto-Sinai and K’tav Ivri scipts, the latter of which was used throughout the First Temple Period.

However, recent findings - not widely published, perhaps for political reasons - have been made along the newly documented exodus route in today’s Saudi Arabia, among which are an engraving of God’s name, Yahweh, written in Thamudic, which is very closely related to Proto-K’na’anite. Not far from this engraving are others of Israelite symbols, including the Menorah, conclusively proving that the engravings were written by Israelites.

So, an interesting point concerning this matter is what exactly is meant by a Hebrew inscription: is it one written by Hebrews in some kind of alphabet, or is it one written by Hebrews in the fist exclusively Hebrew alphabet?

“There is an old Hebrew book parts of which were found with the Dead Sea Scrolls that said that one of Adam’s sons invented the early Hebrew characters.”

If you believe the above, you might as well believe the idiotic claim made by some rabbis that God invented the Aramaic alphabet Ashurit) for the Jews.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

[wildbill]

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN?

Is there a prize for the right answer?

[Wuli]

Accepting Genesis in some literal sense, I don't think Abraham (who set out with his small clan/band from Mesopotamia/Sumeria) read and wrote in “Hebrew”.

And, unless I am wrong - that the Bible is silent on the development of “Hebrew”, it “evolved” over time and with the living experience of “the Jews” and most likely in the same human context that Aramaic script developed.

Is the settlement of this mystery important? To language scholars and just understanding written language history, yes; to Judeo-Christian faith, no. In my own personal view.