Early alphabetic writing found in Israel
A longstanding challenge by Bible skeptics is that writing was supposedly not sufficiently developed in Moses’ day for him to have composed Genesis through Deuteronomy. But a newly discovered pottery sherd supports the opposite case.
Archaeologists unearthed the 4 × 3.5 cm fragment at Lachish, Israel, one of the most important cities of Judah for much of its history. The sherd displays just six letters, written in a Semitic script closely related to the Hebrew script used later during Israel’s monarchy. Two words can be identified: ‘slave’ and ‘honey’.
The discoverers claimed the sherd was securely dated to the 15th century BC, based on its stratigraphic context and carbon dating. If so, it places alphabet usage in the land of Canaan/Israel at the time of Moses and the Exodus. (The Exodus took place in the mid-15th century BC according to 1 Kings 6:1.)
Examples of primitive alphabetic writing dated to much earlier times were already known outside of Israel, in places like Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula (19th century BC) and Wadi el-Hol in Egypt (18th century BC). But this find indicates that the alphabet spread to the Israel region a couple of centuries earlier than previously established. This is consistent with the biblical testimony that many common people in Moses’ time could write, or at least had access to those who could (Deuteronomy 6:6–9; 24:1–3).
- Höflmayer, F. and 3 others, Early alphabetic writing in the ancient Near East: the ‘missing link’ from Tel Lachish, Antiquity 95(381):705–719, 2021.
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