A recent post by Jim Davila on his award-winning blog PaleoJudaica is about a news article regarding an old inscription found on a New Mexico rock, (article here) ....
While the article has absolutely nothing to do with it directly, one of my pet theories is based on speculations regarding the Phoenicians and the Jews. The indirect link between the article and the 'pet theory' is where the article states that "The surface is carved with 216 characters that resemble Phoenician or old Hebrew."
From what I understand from reading in other places: Hebrew has its direct origins in the language of the Phoenicians — to the point that 'old Hebrew' and 'Phoenician' inscriptions are actually indistinguishable from each other.
Could anyone with more knowledge of the nuances of Hebrew language history tell me if this is true?
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2 comments:
There was a never an ancient Hebrew script. The Hebrews used the Phoenician script to write Hebrew text. It is a common mistake to assume that the two were different but it is important to clarify that proto-Canaanite and Phoenician (same script evolved) were the scripts used by the Hebrews to write the Torah. Other systems of writing like cuneiform or heiroglyphics were too complicated and cumbersome.
Thank you for your help. (Btw, it is a little strange to see a response come in after more than two years. Haha!)
If there never was an ancient Hebrew script, then what script did Moses know and use? When did the 'Hebrews' begin their adoption of Phoenician script?
And, how similar is 'Hebrew' language to Phoenician language?
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