A History of Hebrew Part 6: Old Hebrew Discoveries
January 172010
This is a segment of a much larger video production that I am working on and am looking for feedback (positive and negative) on the layout and content.
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The first major discovery connecting the Phoenician alphabet and language with Hebrew occurred on January 19th, 1855, when Turkish laborers accidently uncovered an ancient sarcophagus in Sidon, a Phoenician city. On this sarcophagus was a lengthy inscription written in the Phoenician alphabet and language, which was found to be identical to Hebrew with only a few exceptions.
The Meshe stele, also called the Moabite Stone was discovered in 1868 in the Biblical city of Dibon, the capital of the Moabites. The inscription was written with the same letters as the Phoenician, old Hebrew and Samaritan and it was discovered that Moabite language was also the same as Hebrew with some minor variations.
The Siloam Inscription, discovered in 1880, is written on the wall of Hezekiah’s tunnel, which connects Gihon spring to the Pool of Siloam in East Jerusalem. This Hebrew inscription was written in the same style as the Phoenician and Moabite inscriptions.
During the excavation of the city of Gezer, 30 miles from Jerusalem, a limestone tablet was discovered in 1908 with a Hebrew inscription written in the old Hebrew alphabet.
In 1935 eighteen ostraca (broken pottery fragments) were discovered in the ancient city of Lachish with Hebrew writing in the old Hebrew alphabet.
In 1966 an inscription was discovered in Amman Jordan with an Ammonite inscription whose alphabet and language was also similar to Phoenician and Hebrew.
The Tel-Dan Stele, discovered in northern Israel in 1993, is an Aramaic inscription using the same old Hebrew script. This inscription includes the phrase beyt david meaning “house of david.”
In 2005 archeologists uncovered another Hebrew inscription at Tel-Zayit that turned out to be an abecedery, the entire alphabet written out in its correct order.
As recently as October of 2008 another inscription in Hebrew was found which included such words as judge, slave and king and is to date one of the oldest Hebrew inscriptions ever found.
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Credits
Narrator: Jeff A. Benner
Graphics: Jeff A. Benner
Music: Callen Clark
Footage: Nova (Bible’s Buried Secrets), National Geographic (Lost Kings of the Bible), Infolivetv
Photos: Pieter Kuiper, Daniel Wong
Duration : 0:6:56
[youtube BgVUPQwzEVw]
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Only one of those …
Only one of those sons, Shem, can be “semetic” Although Shemites, the Sumerian and Elamite language wasn’t really semetic, to my knowledge that comes in around the akkadian and babylonian times, and babylon was the product of the Hamite, Nimrod.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
True. What we know …
True. What we know so far, is that the Sumerian cuneiform writings are the oldest finds. If that is the oldest written and spoken one language, than that was the one language of Noah, his wife and all their offspring and spouses were expressing themselves in, till the confusion of language. So one cannot specificly speak abt a Semitic original language, for there were 3 sons and their wives.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
So basically you …
So basically you don’t know if the original is specifically the hebrew strain of those languages correct?
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Well, like Jeff …
Well, like Jeff mentioned in on of his vids before; the earliest finds of a Semitic writing is dated as far back as 2000BCE. However since archaeology is progressing , it is very well possible, the date will be pushed back further into time, with the new finds. Then we will hopefully find some writings of the original first language., whether it is the Sumerian cuneiform or something else. But basically Yah/God is always right.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
How do you confirm …
How do you confirm that original language was specifically hebrew before that event?
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
in sharp contrast, …
in sharp contrast, the shemites, summerians akkadians dont really have slaves. their beliefs made THEM the slaves to THE GODS. they would be a nation of priests. As for Japeth it seems taht their blessing was geared towards dispersion and growth much like the seafaring ppl of the Mediterranean, and horse riding Scythian and cimri
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
the talmud isnt …
the talmud isnt really a great source of insight. It was a great rule book for the time, but too many of my peeps still concern themselves with it. remember Ham was cursed by Noah not god, which would mean the curse breakable, it would run it’s course in due time. But what is important to note is that Ham’s children at least ‘historically’ did introudce legitmate slavery. Egypt, Kush, Ethiopia, all enforced slavery. it spread farther out west into africa as well.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
In Gen. 10:15-18; …
In Gen. 10:15-18; the table of nations, in verse 18 it is written that afterward the off spring of Canaan were scattered abroad. After what? I wouldn’t know. As an indication, typically enough this is also written as part of the curse on the Hebrew Israelites in Lev. 26; Deut. 28, 30:3;. Hos. 9:9. Curses are issued, after warnings against obnoxious, repetitive behavioural patterns, and afterward that, when ppl will not take heed of the warnings; the curses will come to pass, like a judgment.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
LOL the cookie …
LOL the cookie monster as a ‘reliable’ source of history! The Torah, doesn’t seem to specify the colour of skin from either the off spring of Ham, Shem or Japheth as a major specification/attribute. Though it can be pretty hot in those areas. Strangly enough, somewhere in the Talmud however, Ham is associated with a curse of black skin. Though in Gen. 9: 25-27. Ham gets the hear a curse concerning his son Canaan. Whatever that curse might have been or may (still) be.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Funky lol (~_^)
Funky lol (~_^)
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Multiculti in other …
Multiculti in other words; those ancients got around.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Cuz they all were …
Cuz they all were derived from the original one language? (Gen. 11:1). And they were still closely linked for it was shortly after the Babel confusion of language (Gen. 11:6-9).
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Why does Hebrew …
Why does Hebrew have so many forms from one country to the next and visually looks different? I know there were numerous contacts and migrations and certain things get adopted but some of these written languages are pretty much identical to the other non hebrew peoples. Not only the caananite form but also aramaic/syriac right? And probably some others to. So what exactly is tying them altogether? What makes them all hebrew?
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
cookie monster is …
cookie monster is right. only one of the sons of Ham would be black and that would be Cush. ppl have used the Ham curse to simply discrimnate against africans, but the Torah doesnt specify Ham to simply be black white or whatever. Color doesn’t really exist in Torah
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
That is the …
That is the paleo-Hebrew yud, very common form for that time period.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Thank you and …
Thank you and you’re welcome.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
BTW, funky YUD at 3 …
BTW, funky YUD at 3:13, methinks.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Superb teachings, …
Superb teachings, sir, with excellent documentation.
Thank you!
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
The descendents of …
The descendents of SHEM and HAM were of various nationalities. And so were the Israelites and the 10 lost tribes. Ham was not simply the so-called black man and Shem was not simply the so-called white man, which, according to the bible, is the sons of Esau (Edom and Edomites), Jacob’s twin brother.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Good observation. …
Good observation. Actually this sarcophagus was made at a time when there was a heavy Egyptian influence in this area. But the inscription is Phoenician, not Egyptian.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
That ancient …
That ancient sarcophagus sure looks Egyptian to me
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Excellent!
Excellent!
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Ty , I’ll …
Ty , I’ll definitely look into getting a copy of that.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
One of the books I …
One of the books I read years ago that completely revolutionized my perspective on the history and influence of the Semitic culture was “The Key” by John Phillip Kohane. He uses place names (which usually retain their original names through the centuries) found around the whole world to show a Semitic influence in ancient times.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:12 am
Thank you.
Thank you.