E’ stata decriptata la più antica iscrizione ebraica, che risale al decimo secolo prima dell’era cristiana. Lo ha annunciato il Dipartimento degli studi biblici dell’Università di Haifa, nel nord di Israele. Secondo un comunicato dell’università, l’archeologo israeliano Gershon Galil è riuscito a dimostrare che un’iscrizione a inchiostro che appare su un frammento di porcellana che risale al regno del re David era il più antico testo ebraico.
Il frammento è stato scoperto un anno fa e mezzo durante gli scavi effettuati da un altro archeologo, Yosef Garfinkel, nel sito di Khirbet Qeyfa, vicino alla valle di Elah nella regione di Gerusalemme. L’iscrizione riguarda il trattamento che deve essere riservato ai poveri, agli schiavi, agli stranieri, alle vedove e agli orfani, ha chiarito il comunicato. Le parole utilizzate sono specificamente ebraiche e i concetti ai quali fanno riferimento dipendono da quelli che sono illustrati nella Bibbia. (fonte Afp – segnalato da: ilriformista.it)
Inscription indicates Kingdom of Israel existed in the 10th century BCE
source: jpost.com
The trapezoid pottery shard discovered at excavations by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel near the Elah valley and deciphered by Prof. Gershon Galil. Photo: Courtesy of the Univerity of Haifa.
A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE, the University of Haifa announced on Thursday.
Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa recently deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE, and showed that it was a Hebrew inscription, making it the earliest known Hebrew writing.
The significance of this breakthrough relates to the fact that at least some of the biblical scriptures were composed hundreds of years before the dates presented today in research and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time.
The inscription itself, which was written in ink on a 15 cm X 16.5 cm trapezoid pottery shard, was discovered a year and a half ago at excavations that were carried out by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at Khirbet Qeiyafa near the Elah valley.
The inscription was dated back to the 10th century BCE, which was the period of King David’s reign, but the question of the language used in this inscription remained unanswered, making it impossible to prove whether it was in fact Hebrew or another local language.
Prof. Galil’s deciphering of the ancient writing testifies to its being Hebrew, based on the use of verbs particular to the Hebrew language, and content specific to Hebrew culture and not adopted by any other cultures in the region.
“This text is a social statement, relating to slaves, widows and orphans. It uses verbs that were characteristic of Hebrew, such as asah (“did”) and avad (“worked”), which were rarely used in other regional languages. Particular words that appear in the text, such as almanah (“widow”) are specific to Hebrew and are written differently in other local languages,” Prof. Galil explained.
The deciphered text:
1′ you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].
2′ Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]
3′ [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]
4′ the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.
5′ Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.
Once this deciphering is received, Prof. Galil added, the inscription will become the earliest Hebrew inscription to be found, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE. This stands opposed to the dating of the composition of the Bible in current research, which would not have recognized the possibility that the Bible or parts of it could have been written during this ancient period.
http://www.bibbiablog.com/
