Light from the Past
The interesting and significant finds from Israel continue with the discovery of pottery sherds with the name ‘Jerubbaal’, the nickname in the Book of Judges for “Gideon son of Joash.” However, they note, “We cannot tell if he owned the vessel on which the inscription is written in ink. This could be a missing link in the development of Early Alphabetic (also known as Canaanite) writing used during the 12-10th Centuries BCE.” This find came from Khirbet El Rai, in the Judean foothills about 43 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Four archaeologists, Sa’ar Ganor with Israel Antiquities Authority, Professor Yossef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr. Kyle Keimer and Dr. Gil Davies of Macquarie University in Sydney have been working since 2015. They explain that this find “serves as a textual bridge for the transition from the Canaanite to the Israelite and Judahite cultures.” The era this find represents covers the Judges
Professor Garfinkel states the significance of this find is in finding a “missing link” in the Canaanite script. “There was a period of about 150 years of no discovered inscriptions that connected between Canaanite inscriptions and Judean script. This find puts a name in the biblical period.”
The remarkable archaeological finds in Israel continue, shedding light and affirmation on the authority of the Bible.
(Source: The Times of Israel; Amanda Borschel-Dan)
