Why Hebrew Wasn't Born in the Bible: Discoveries at Izbet Sartah

Описание: #Hebrew #Alphabet #Archaeology

The story reveals the origins of Hebrew through ancient artifacts, beginning with an inscription on pottery from Izbet Sartah, dated to the 12th century BCE. This fragment, found in a storage pit, contains a proto-Canaanite alphabet that served as a training aid for scribes. The inscription links the Canaanite language to early Hebrew, showing the letter order that later influenced the Jewish and Greek alphabets. At the heart of the narrative is the idea that the alphabetic system, distinct from cuneiform and hieroglyphs, simplified writing by having each symbol represent a single sound.

The story delves deeper into the Semitic language family, where Hebrew belongs to the Northwest branch, alongside Ugaritic, Phoenician, and Aramaic. The Levant region emerges as a hub of linguistic diversity, with Akkadian as the lingua franca of the Bronze Age. Archaeological finds, such as the Amarna letters and inscriptions on pottery from Khirbet Qeiyafa, illustrate the evolution of writing from the Proto-Sinaitic pictographic alphabet, which arose in the 18th century BCE on the Sinai Peninsula. These symbols, based on images of objects, evolved into more abstract forms, becoming ancestors not only to the Hebrew but also to the Latin alphabet.

In the conclusion, the narrative highlights the role of scribes in ancient societies and the high literacy rate in the Judean kingdom, evidenced by inscriptions at Tel Arad. Artifacts like the Siloam Tunnel inscription and administrative records in Samaria reveal the everyday use of writing. The story ends with reflections on the legacy of the ancient Near East, whose innovations in the alphabet continue to shape modern writing.

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