Abstract:

The inscription consists of a sandstone plate, in the size of 24 times 30 cm and about 8 cm thick. The plate is broken at the upper edge and has, as it now is at hand, fifteen lines of Hebrew text. The text of the inscription is throughout written without internal matres lectionis, in good accordance with the custom of the ninth century B.C. A palaeographic comparison shows that the alphabet of the inscription is not copied from any other inscription, but the forms of the letters show an inclination to somewhat older forms. According to the original geological investigation, the stone with its inscription is genuine, but many scholars in the field of Hebrew epigraphic are sceptical. If the inscription is a fake, we also must ask, who made it and why was it made. If it is genuine, we stand before a completely singular document, which in the future will be very important for the study of the Bible and history of Ancient Israel.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1163/1568533053713596