Parts of Bible may have been written
earlier than expected, archaeologists say
Using handwriting analysis
technology, team found that a famous hoard of ancient Hebrew inscriptions were
written by at least six different authors
Associated Press in Jerusalem
Tue 12 Apr 2016 23.28 BSTLast
modified on Thu 22 Feb 2018 13.01 GMT
[[This is important to me because I
have always said that the prediction of conquest and exile in Vayikra 26 cannot be used as
evidence that the Torah is true since we have no good external evidence that it
was written before the event. Ephraim Cooper kindly sent me this article which
puts that prediction back into serious consideration. DG]]
The discovery suggests there
was widespread literacy in ancient Judah at the time that would support the
composition of biblical works. Photograph: Dan Balilty/AP
Israeli mathematicians and
archaeologists say they have found evidence to suggest that key biblical texts
may have been composed earlier than some scholars think.
Using handwriting analysis
technology similar to that employed by intelligence agencies and banks to
analyze signatures, a Tel Aviv University team determined that a famous hoard
of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, dated to around 600 BCE, were written by at
least six different authors. Although the inscriptions are not from the Hebrew
Bible, their discovery suggests there was widespread literacy in ancient Judah
at the time that would support the composition of biblical works.
The findings, released on Monday by
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an American scientific
journal, contribute to a longstanding debate about when biblical texts first
began to be compiled: did it take place before or after the Babylonian siege
and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE and the exile of its inhabitants to
Babylon?
In recent years, many scholars have
attributed the composition of a group of biblical texts, from the Book of
Joshua to the second Book of Kings, to the period after the siege, according to
Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, who participated in the study. That
theory holds that the biblical texts were written as a result of the exile to
Babylon, when the composers began to think about their past and put their
history to parchment.
Finkelstein, however, said he has
long believed those texts were written in the late 7th century BCE in
Jerusalem, before the siege. He said the study offers support for that theory.
“It’s the first time we have something
empirical in our hands,” Finkelstein said.
The team – made up of doctoral
students in applied mathematics, math professors, archaeologists and a
physicist – examined 16 ink inscriptions on ceramic shards discovered at the
site of an ancient military fortress in Arad in southern Israel. It used
multispectral imaging to reconstruct Hebrew letters that had been partially
erased over time, and then used a computer algorithm to analyze the writings to
detect differences in handwriting strokes.
Doctoral student Arie Shaus, who
helped develop the algorithm, said it was the first time such technology has
been used to reconstruct and perform handwriting analysis on ancient Hebrew
inscriptions.
The inscriptions themselves are not
biblical texts. Instead, they detail troop movements and expenses for
provisions, indicating that people throughout the military chain of command
down to the fort’s deputy quartermaster were able to write. The tone of the
inscriptions, which suggest they were not written by professional scribes,
combined with the fortress’s remote location, indicate a wide spread of
literacy at the time, according to the study.
A high level of literacy would
support the idea that some biblical texts had already been authored by this
time. The Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known collection of certain biblical
texts, are believed to date several centuries later.
Shmuel Ahituv, an Israeli Bible
scholar who did not participate in the study, also believes literacy in ancient
Judah was widespread before 586 BCE and that the biblical texts in question
were written before the siege of Jerusalem. He said he believes this is
apparent through a literary analysis of the biblical texts alone.
“I don’t need algorithms,” Ahituv
chuckled.
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