Ancient Jews more literate than previously thought

[shunyadragon]

Writes the man who appears to accept that early first century CE Galilean Jewish peasants were fluent in Koine Greek.

Again , , , It is fairly well documented that the urban Levant including Jerusalem was bilingual. It was unlikely that all the Jewish peasants were "fluent" in Greek, but Greek was commonly used in society.

[shunyadragon]

According to the experts this finding could well push the dating of the earliest Biblical texts back at least 200 years from what is generally assumed.

The texts found do not date back the Biblical texts back 200 years. It is generally accepted that Hebrew written text developed between 800-600 BCE. To find some brief text at 600 BCE would not be usual.

[tabibito]

The Canaanite/Phoenician alphabet is what was used before Hebrew.

And there is evidence that Hebrew texts written with the Canaanite alphabet did exist. Once a new alphabet was established, anything written in the former script would have become obsolete. Hebrews had little interest in producing monuments, and writing materials, predominantly ink on plastered tablets of wood or clay it seems, were quite ephemeral. That leaves inscribed soft metals as the medium, for which there is also some evidence. The problem with the latter is that such things made good plunder.

[shunyadragon]

How would texts be written with an alphabet that did not exist?

To add" My post referred to before 800-600 BCE when Canaanite/Phoenician was the written text throughout the Levant. The brief texts were dated to 600 BCE. It was already accepted that Hebrew developed between 800-600 BCE.

The find of the silver scrolls already documented the existence of Hebrew in the same time frame as these clay tablets.

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Again , , , It is fairly well documented that the urban Levant including Jerusalem was bilingual. It was unlikely that all the Jewish peasants were "fluent" in Greek, but Greek was commonly used in society.

I am not retreading this path again.

[shunyadragon]

I am not retreading this path again.

You are the one that resurrected this here, and you failed to respond in the previous thread to the documentation that the urban Levant was bilingual.

[tabibito]

To add" My post referred to before 800-600 BCE when Canaanite/Phoenician was the written text throughout the Levant. The brief texts were dated to 600 BCE. It was already accepted that Hebrew developed between 800-600 BCE.

The find of the silver scrolls already documented the existence of Hebrew in the same time frame as these clay tablets.

Per Encylopedia Britannica

Old Hebrew existed in inscription form in the early centuries of the 1st millennium bce.

Per Wikipedia

The earliest known examples of Paleo-Hebrew writing date to the 10th century BCE

Per EurekAlert (University of Haifa, peer reviewed)

Professor Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription on a pottery shard discovered in the Elah valley dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this 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.

The idea that nothing was written until about the sixth century BCE was well and truly scuttled in 2010.

[rogue06]

I believe literacy before 800-600 BCE was Proto-Canaanite and not Hebrew by the evidence, It is generally accepted that versions of proto-Canaanite were commonly used throughout the Levant. Yes, there was a degree of literacy apparent consisting of communication with small clay fragments used to communicate were common throughout the Levant. Based on the presence of libraries of Phoenician, Canaanite, Ugarit and older texts in the Northern Levant they were the most literate of the region, also they were regional trading powers which resulted in the development of extensive writing lacking among the Hebrews.

It remains we have no literary texts in Hebrew before 600 BCE.

The researchers involved with the study mentioned in the OP repeatedly say that the writing was Hebrew.

[tabibito]

The researchers involved with the study mentioned in the OP repeatedly say that the writing was Hebrew.

Nothing is written in English - everything is written using the Latin alphabet.

[rogue06]

Nothing is written in English - everything is written using the Latin alphabet.

4f197d4f-0b83-4f0a-beeb-385f820f19a4.jpg

[tabibito]

4f197d4f-0b83-4f0a-beeb-385f820f19a4.jpg

Almost perzackly the expected response.

[rogue06]

Almost perzackly the expected response.

Always happy to oblige

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

You are the one that resurrected this here, and you failed to respond in the previous thread to the documentation that the urban Levant was bilingual.

What documentation? What do you understand by the phrase "urban Levant"? And precise period do you have in mind?

[rogue06]

What documentation? What do you understand by the phrase "urban Levant"? And precise period do you have in mind?

Annnnd... so much for "not retreading this path again"

[Hypatia_Alexandria]

Annnnd... so much for "not retreading this path again"

I am interested to learn what he means by his comments.