Wednesday, November 05, 2008

A PRESS RELEASE on the Khirbet Qeiyafa inscription from the Hebrew University:
Earliest Known Hebrew Text in Proto-Canaanite Script Discovered November 02 2008

The earliest known Hebrew text written in a Proto-Canaanite script has been discovered by Hebrew University archaeologists in an ancient city in the area where David slew Goliath – the earliest Judean city found to date. The 3,000 year old finding is thought to be the most significant archaeological discovery in Israel since the Dead Sea Scrolls – predating them by 1,000 years.

[...]
As Iron Age epigraphic finds go, it is certainly quite important because of its date. The content sounds somewhat important too, although to evaluate that it would be helpful to know exactly what the content is!

The most signficant discovery in Israel since the Dead Sea Scrolls? Maybe. Do we include the Bar Kokhba-era papyri and scrolls and the Masada scrolls as Dead Sea Scrolls? Are we talking only about scientifically excavated finds (which would rule out many of the DSS)?

If the Vision of Gabriel inscription is genuine, it would be at least as significant as the Khirbet Qeiyafa inscription, if not more so.

(Via Joseph I. Lauer's list.)