Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Roland · 08-21-2008, 10:26 PM

Writing on tablets and monuments seems to have been a common practice in ancient times, yet is there any evidence that the Israelites participated in that practice? And if not, why not? So much of what we know about ancient history comes from such sources, yet not when it comes to the Hebrew nation. Doesn't this bode ill for the argument that the early books of the Bible were written near the time in which they are allegedly set?

The Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites and Babylonians, among others, all wrote on tablets and, as a result, left a wealth of contemporary writing for us to peruse and study. Yet, is there anything comparable left by the Israelites?

Roger Pearse · 08-22-2008, 02:53 AM

If people wrote on tablets, either they wrote very small, or else they must have found them very difficult to swallow.

Toto · 08-22-2008, 01:15 PM

There is that recently discovered tablet with Hebrew writing (not engraving).

Otherwise, there is speculation that the Hebrews wrote on tablets, but none seem to have survived, for various reasons - war, later religious zealots destroyed them for their blasphemy, etc.

There is an online book Bible and Spade (1936) which notes:

Quote:

Cuneiform, then, was a familiar feature of everyday life in and around Ur of the Chaldees at the time when we first hear of Abraham. It would accompany him all along the trade route through Syria to Canaan, where cuneiform inscriptions of a date far anterior to Abraham have been found. In short, it would seem certain that if the Hebrews of the second millennium, like most of the peoples among whom they moved,
had scribes of their own, cuneiform must have been the script they used.

It is noticeable, however, that the Bible makes no mention of writing amongst the Hebrews until the time of Moses, some centuries later than Abraham. In Exodus xxiv.4 (E) we are told that Moses wrote all the words of the LORD,and the statement is constantly repeated henceforward. Archaeologically speaking there is no reason for questioning Moses' acquaintance with the art of writing, or the feasibility of his having inscribed his Laws on tables of stone after the manner of Hammurabi.

. . .

The Tell el Amarna tablets, written close to the Mosaic era, show that Canaanite-speaking people could write in cuneiform, and transcribe their native language where necessary in that script.

08-21-2008, 10:26 PM	#1
Roland Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: California Posts: 748	Did the Israelites write on tablets? Writing on tablets and monuments seems to have been a common practice in ancient times, yet is there any evidence that the Israelites participated in that practice? And if not, why not? So much of what we know about ancient history comes from such sources, yet not when it comes to the Hebrew nation. Doesn't this bode ill for the argument that the early books of the Bible were written near the time in which they are allegedly set? The Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites and Babylonians, among others, all wrote on tablets and, as a result, left a wealth of contemporary writing for us to peruse and study. Yet, is there anything comparable left by the Israelites?

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08-22-2008, 02:53 AM	#2
Roger Pearse Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: N/A Posts: 4,370	If people wrote on tablets, either they wrote very small, or else they must have found them very difficult to swallow.

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