![]() This interpretation of the Qeiyafa Ostracon raises a new set of questions. The lexemes, or word roots, could come from one of several Semitic languages. Most scholars agree with Christopher Rollston about the type of script, but he suggests that the language may not be Hebrew. The faded text on the Qeiyafa Ostracon has challenged potential translators what is known is that its variations and left-to-right orientation signal a pre-Hebrew script deriving from Early Alphabetic rather than Phoenician writing. Judahite city located on the border of Judah and Philistia. The five-line Qeiyafa Ostracon ** has garnered a great deal of attention since its 2008 excavation at Khirbet Qeiyafa, the fortified tenth century B.C.E. The Qeiyafa Ostracon and Gezer Calendar are the best known contenders that Christopher Rollston examines. Identifying the oldest combination of Hebrew script and language is hindered by a diverse set of complications including the poor condition of texts, the existence of cognates, regional variation, partial language preservation, limited number of artifacts and myriad other difficulties.īecome a Member of Biblical Archaeology Society Now and Get More Than Half Off the Regular Price of the All-Access Pass! Explore the world’s most intriguing Biblical scholarshipĭig into more than 9,000 articles in the Biblical Archaeology Society’s vast library plus much more with an All-Access pass. ![]() The Hebrew language existed well before then the oldest extant Hebrew language texts are recorded in Phoenician script. Old Hebrew script derived directly from Phoenician, and Christopher Rollston contends that Old Hebrew script did not split off from its Phoenician predecessor until the ninth century B.C.E. English shares the Latin script with most Western languages finding Latin letters does not necessarily mean that a text is English. Not only can a single language be written in various scripts, but a single script can be used for dozens of languages. In his study, Christopher Rollston distinguishes between purely Hebrew script and other visually similar alphabets while examining relationships between alphabets and languages. Is a text written in Hebrew script necessarily in the Hebrew language? And was the Hebrew language originally written in an alphabet that predates Hebrew script? Christopher Rollston examined four contenders for the oldest Hebrew inscription-the Qeiyafa Ostracon, Gezer Calendar, Tel Zayit Abecedary and Izbet Zayit Abecedary-to explore the interplay between early Hebrew script and language. In the BAR article “What’s the Oldest Hebrew Inscription,” * epigraphy scholar Christopher Rollston asks a seemingly straightforward question: What is the oldest Hebrew inscription? His examination requires him to address the fundamental questions of epigraphy. Christopher Rollston examines the Qeiyafa Ostracon, Gezer Calendar and other inscriptions in a search for the oldest Hebrew script and language.
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