New Discovery In Israel: Proto-Hebrew Inscription Dated to 10th Century BC

Prof. Tappy and his discovery

If the letters incised into a ancient stone prove to be a transition from Phonecian to Hebrew, the shifting debate over the biblical records of early Israel and whether there was enough cultural sophistication to support the existance of a United Kingdom under the rule of a King David and a King Solomon will have taken a dramatic turn.

According to a BBC article released today,

The two rows of letters were found on a stone in Israel near Jerusalem. "This makes it historically probable there were people in the 10th Century BC who could write," said Ron Tappy, the archaeologist who directed the dig.

....His team discovered the stone on a wall at Tel Zayit, in the Beth Guvrin Valley in the lowlands of ancient Judah.

The 22 letters were carved on one side of the 38lb-stone (17kg) -which resembles a bowl on the other.

....If the inscription is confirmed as a sample of proto-Hebrew writing, it will fuel further debate and controversy about the existence as early as the 10th Century BC of an advanced political system that has been portrayed in biblical scriptures.

If this discovery finds support within the archaeological community, it will, along with the excavation of the early Christian "church" in Megiddo, be a very, very big deal.

Of interest to me is the fact that Dr. Ron Tappy is a member of the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, one of the seminaries of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. of which I am an ordained minister.

Although I am an alumni of San Francisco Theological Seminary, I take my hat (mortarboard?) off to my Presbyterian collegues at Pittsburg TS.

You can read more about Dr. Tappy, his work and his discovery here.