Thursday, February 23, 2023

ARCHAEOLOGY: Curse Tablet of Mt. Ebal

"Archaeologists missed a tiny lead tablet when they excavated a site on Mount Ebal 40 years ago, but it was found during the wet sifting process in the re-excavation of a dump pile. 
And folded inside the tablet was a message that scholars say they have been able to reveal with a CAT scan.
According to Scott Stripling, the head of the team from Associates for Biblical Research, the tablet has Hebrew writing that reads, 
Cursed, cursed, cursed—cursed by the God YHW. You will be cursed. Cursed you will surely die. Cursed by YHW—cursed, cursed, cursed.” 
---The two uses of the divine name and the chiastic structure are remarkable, and the text could also be the oldest existing example of Hebrew writing by several hundred years. 
---The curse tablet appears to date from 1200 to 1400 B.C., which would link it roughly to the time that Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal and pronounced a curse on those who turn from God and worship idols ( Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal,....And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings...Joshua 8:30,34)." 
 BiblicalArchaeology