Ancient Inscription of Alphabet Discovered
Near Jerusalem
(November 2005)
In July 2005, archaeologists digging at Tel Zayit, a hill site outside of Jerusalem,
found what appears to be the oldest Hebrew
alphabet inscription on the wall of an ancient building.
Scholars who have reviewed the inscription have suggested
that it dates to the 10th century BCE, around the time
of the United
Kingdom of ancient Israel.
If archaeologists and researchers are correct, this
inscription is the oldest reliably dated example of
an abecedary - the letters of the alphabet written out
in their traditional sequence - and is one of the most
compelling discoveries regarding the history of writing.
Writing experts said the find showed
that the Hebrew characters were recognizable, but the
language was still in the process of development from
its Phoenician roots. There is a debate among scholars
on whether or not the inscription is in Hebrew. P. Kyle
McCarter Jr. from Johns Hopkins University described
the alphabet as “a Phoenician type of alphabet
that is being adapted...I do believe it is proto-Hebrew,
but I can't prove it for certain.”
Ron E. Tappy, director of the Tel Zayit
dig, said, “All successive alphabets in the ancient
world, including the Greek one, derive from this ancestor
at Tel Zayit.”
The two lines of incised letters on
the inscription, which are thought to be the 22 symbols
of the Hebrew alphabet, were on one side of the ancient
building. According to The New York Times, “The inscription was found in the context
of a substantial network of buildings at the site, which
led Dr. Tappy to propose that Tel Zayit was probably
an important border town established by an expanding
Israelite kingdom based in Jerusalem.” The fact
that it was a border town with an established culture
and some literacy could suggest that there was a centralized
leadership in the 10th century BCE, which ultimately
could give more archaeological proof to the United Kingdom
period under David and Solomon.
The find is not without controversy.
Some biblical scholars believe David and Solomon were
simply tribal chieftains, and that an advanced political
system from 3,000 years ago like the United Kingdom,
which some call the “golden age” of the Israelite
period, cannot be supported. Dr. Tappy knows that he
will be challenged when he presents his findings to
other archaeologists at the American Schools of Oriental
Research and the Society of Biblical Literature in Philadelphia in the coming weeks.
Sources: John Noble Wilford, “A Is for Ancient, Describing
an Alphabet Found Near Jerusalem,” The
New York Times, (November 9, 2005) |