Most Ancient Hebrew Biblical Inscription Deciphered, Scholar Says

[Arctodus]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100107183037.htm

ScienceDaily (Jan. 8, 2010) — A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written. Professor Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription on a pottery shard discovered in the Elah valley dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this the earliest known Hebrew writing.

The significance of this breakthrough relates to the fact that at least some of the biblical scriptures were composed hundreds of years before the dates presented today in research and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time.

Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa who deciphered the inscription: "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."

A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written. Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this the earliest known Hebrew writing. The significance of this breakthrough relates to the fact that at least some of the biblical scriptures were composed hundreds of years before the dates presented today in research and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time.

The inscription itself, which was written in ink on a 15 cm X 16.5 cm trapezoid pottery shard, was discovered a year and a half ago at excavations that were carried out by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at Khirbet Qeiyafa near the Elah valley. The inscription was dated back to the 10th century BCE, which was the period of King David's reign, but the question of the language used in this inscription remained unanswered, making it impossible to prove whether it was in fact Hebrew or another local language.

Prof. Galil's deciphering of the ancient writing testifies to its being Hebrew, based on the use of verbs particular to the Hebrew language, and content specific to Hebrew culture and not adopted by any other cultures in the region. "This text is a social statement, relating to slaves, widows and orphans. It uses verbs that were characteristic of Hebrew, such as asah ("did") and avad ("worked"), which were rarely used in other regional languages. Particular words that appear in the text, such as almanah ("widow") are specific to Hebrew and are written differently in other local languages. The content itself was also unfamiliar to all the cultures in the region besides the Hebrew society: The present inscription provides social elements similar to those found in the biblical prophecies and very different from prophecies written by other cultures postulating glorification of the gods and taking care of their physical needs," Prof. Galil explains.

He adds that once this deciphering is received, the inscription will become the earliest Hebrew inscription to be found, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE. This stands opposed to the dating of the composition of the Bible in current research, which would not have recognized the possibility that the Bible or parts of it could have been written during this ancient period.

Prof. Galil also notes that the inscription was discovered in a provincial town in Judea. He explains that if there were scribes in the periphery, it can be assumed that those inhabiting the central region and Jerusalem were even more proficient writers. "It can now be maintained that it was highly reasonable that during the 10th century BCE, during the reign of King David, there were scribes in Israel who were able to write literary texts and complex historiographies such as the books of Judges and Samuel." He adds that the complexity of the text discovered in Khirbet Qeiyafa, along with the impressive fortifications revealed at the site, refute the claims denying the existence of the Kingdom of Israel at that time.

The contents of the text express social sensitivity to the fragile position of weaker members of society. The inscription testifies to the presence of strangers within the Israeli society as far back as this ancient period, and calls to provide support for these strangers. It appeals to care for the widows and orphans and that the king -- who at that time had the responsibility of curbing social inequality -- be involved. This inscription is similar in its content to biblical scriptures (Isaiah 1:17, Psalms 72:3, Exodus 23:3, and others), but it is clear that it is not copied from any biblical text.

English translaton of the deciphered text:

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.

 

[Ottershrew]

It seems that the Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon inscription has been heavily sensationalised by the press, who seem to do little to check for other informed points of view.

The following from Wikipedia puts things in a bit more perspective:

A 15 cm x 16.5 cm trapezoid pottery shard (ostracon) with five lines of text written in ink was discovered at the site in 2008 during excavations carried out by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel.[4]. The inscription cannot be dated directly, but according to the New York Times article noting the discovery, C14 dating tests on two burnt olive pits place the date of the site, and hence by inference the ostracon, to between 1050-970 BC.[5]

On 7 January 2010 Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa issued a press release in which he claimed to have deciphered the inscription as a legal document:

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.[6]

Prof Galil's translation is in contrast with that given by Prof. Hagai Misgav, supported, with variations, by professors Yardeni, Ahituv, and Schniedewind, at a conference on the inscription held at Hebrew University in October 2009:

1 Do not do [anything bad?], and serve [personal name?]
2 ruler of [geographical name?] . . . ruler . . .
3 [geographical names?] . . .
4 [unclear] and wreak judgment on YSD king of Gath . . .
5 seren of G[aza? . . .] [unclear] . . .[7]

Prof. Yitzhak Sapir, while questioning some of Galil's reading, accepts other suggestions and notes that the the concern for social issues which Galil claims to find accords with the finding-place of the ostracon near the city gate, an area where the poor would have resided.[8]

The University of Haifa press release included claims that the inscription proved 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.”[9] These claims have not been supported by the scholarly community (the University has been accused of "donation-harvesting")[10] Dr. Christopher Rollston of Johns Hopkins University warns that "these recent attempts to sensationalize [the ostracon] should be rebuffed," and makes the following observations:

* It is commonly agreed that although literacy was present during the 10th century throughout the fledgling Southern Levantine states (Israel, Moab, Ammon), it was confined to a particular group of elites (i.e., scribes). Moreover, scholars such as Frank Cross and David N. Freedman have dated certain portions of the biblical text (namely poems such as Exodus 15 and Judges 5) to periods prior to the 10th century, and it is therefore not surprising to discover a 10th century BC Old Hebrew epigraph; and:
* The ostracon is poorly preserved and difficult to read and various renderings have been proposed. "It seems to me that it is prudent simply to state that at this time the interpretation of this inscription is at a preliminary stage."[11]

References:
[4] _http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uoh-mah010710.php University of Haifa press release, 7 Jan. 2010
[5] _http://www.elahfortress.com/page18/page23/page23.html nytlogo379x64 "Find of Ancient City Could Alter Notions of Biblical David," Ethan Bonner, "New York Times" 2008
[6] _http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uoh-mah010710.php University of Haifa press release, 7 Jan. 2010
[7] _http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/2009/10/misgav-maeir-yardeni-ahituv-and-schniedewind-on-the-qeiyafa-inscription.html Translation by Prof. Hagai Misgav at "Ancient Hebrew Poetry" blog
[8] _http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/canaanite/message/141 Prof. Yitzhak Sapir, Canaanite languages and literature, Yahoo Groups
[9] _http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uoh-mah010710.php University of Haifa press release, 7 Jan. 2010
[10] _http://neilsilberman.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/hallelujah-or-caveat-emptor/ Neil Silberman, "Hallelujah or Caveat Emptor?"
[11] _http://www.rollstonepigraphy.com/?p=56 Dr Christopher Rollaston, "Reflections on the Qeiyafa Ostracon"

It's noteworthy that the two translations - both supported by scholarly Hebraists - should be so different. Gershon Galil's interpretation is very Biblical in tone - but even if this is a more or less correct translation this is no justification for assuming that lengthy portions of the Old Testament must therefore have been written down at that time. It's long been held, for example, that portions of Old Testament law stem from Canaanite originals, and that Psalm 29 for that matter was also originally a Bronze Age hymn of praise to a Canaanite storm-god.

A few other things are worrying about the glib assertions contained in the press reports:

1. The notion that Yahweh is explicitly mentioned in this text. The Israeli Ynet news coverage even prints out the letters YHWH at the end of the first line in its reconstruction of the text in modern letters, even though this is completely inaccurate. All we have is the initial letter aleph, which might be the first letter of "El" (i.e. "God") - but there is no mention of Yahweh at all.

2. The notion that this is a specifically Hebrew text. Well, yes, it might be - but then it might be written in Canaanite. At that point in time (c. 1000 BCE), there's no real way to distinguish the two. It's always been assumed (from the Gezer Calendar, for example) that a north-west Semitic language was spoken in Palestine at this time. But to be so categorically sure that this is Hebrew rather than Canaanite? Were there any more than tiny differences between the two languages anyway? This smacks of modern-day politics, rather than a sober and clear-headed analysis of the past.

3. What is a "king" (melek) exactly? Is this a reference to David? Or simply a reference to the mayor of the town where the ostracon was found? Or, for that matter a reference to a king of Gath or some other city?

4. Ostraca (pot-sherds with notes on them) were primarily used as letters from one person to another, or as receipts or for other accounting purposes. Examples include the Lachish letters, and the Samaria ostraca. As quoted above, Yitzhak Sapir believes this to be a poor man's stele, set up near the city gate, where he might expect to receive justice. Nevertheless, to have something like a bill of rights written on a pot-sherd seems strangely inappropriate, imo.

 

[henry]

Seems to me this 'discovery' just underlines the whole mythological status of the kingdom of David. People have been searching for years to find credible archeological evidence of such a kingdom, and there is none. They are really calling a toothpick a windmill here.

 

[Laura]

I would like to add that declaring that this "find" is proof that the "Kingdom of Israel" existed that far back is REALLY stretching! Well, not just stretching, but downright delusional.

 

[Ottershrew]

Seems to me this 'discovery' just underlines the whole mythological status of the kingdom of David. People have been searching for years to find credible archeological evidence of such a kingdom, and there is none. They are really calling a toothpick a windmill here.

Yeah - this way of doing archaeology, and reconstructing what happened in the past, is rather like ADL's looking for evidence of anti-semitism around the world. Yoav Shamir's documentary film "Defamation" was a real eye-opener here, and so worth watching. You can catch it here - it's available to watch online for the next 23 days.

The parallels are really strong - as one interviewee in the film says, you have to use a microscope to find evidence of real anti-semitism. And all sorts of things are twisted out of proportion - or plain facts just ignored - to justify this massive chip on the shoulder.

The press of course is a major player in all this - never questioning the facts as presented in a press release by ADL, or in a press release from the University of Haifa, as in this story about the pot-sherd. Everything is slanted, and context ignored. Talk about living in la-la land.

 

[Beau]

Yeah - this way of doing archaeology, and reconstructing what happened in the past, is rather like ADL's looking for evidence of anti-semitism around the world. Yoav Shamir's documentary film "Defamation" was a real eye-opener here, and so worth watching. You can catch it here - it's available to watch online for the next 23 days.

I tried watching it but it told me that "the service was not available in your area". :(

 

[Vulcan59]

I tried watching it but it told me that "the service was not available in your area". :(

Yep same here. :( It then says, "Click here to access our Help section," and I did which then brings up another page that says, "Knowledge Server Error - Please try again." so maybe it's just that the server is down. Will try again later and see how it goes.

 

[mkrnhr]

same accessibility problem here.
Due to the importance of the subject, maybe there are too much requests to the server

 

[vinny]

Due to the importance of the subject, maybe there are too much requests to the server

I believe the programme is locked so that it can only be viewed online from within the UK.

 

[Arctodus]

Thank you all for the feedback. Very educational.