Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>]

> On ANE List Avigdor Horovitz declares this to be a forgery because it
> employes contemporary Hebrew idiom rather than attested Biblical Hebrew,
> and so far everybody seems to be agreeing with him.
>
> Stoney Breyer
> Writer
> Touchwood, Inc.
> 314 421-9878



I don't know who Avigdor Horovitz is, but not everyone is agreeing with him.


From: "Temple Mount Faithful" <gershon AT temple-mount-faithful.org>


A Major Exciting Event on the Temple Mount

An Ancient Hebrew Inscription is Found Dating from the 9th Century 
BCE Describing Temple Repairs by King Jehoash of Judah



The most important and exciting archaeological discovery in the 
history of the land of Israel and Jerusalem was recently made on the 
Temple Mount. It was an inscription written on a black stone by the 
descendant of David, King Jehoash of Judah, who ruled in Jerusalem at 
the end of the 9th Century BCE.

The inscription includes 10 verses of Scripture and describes the 
repairs made to the Temple by the king during his reign. It is 
written in the first person and the king describes the repairs that 
he made to the Temple exactly as it is recorded in the Tanach in 
2Kings12 and in the same words. It thus confirms what the Tanach 
records about the matter.

The inscription was validated over a long period of time by 2 major 
scientists from the geological institute in Jerusalem who confirmed 
its dating. Dr. Gabi Barka'i, one of the most important 
archaeologists in Israel, stated that the discovery is unprecedented. 
It is one of the most ancient testimonies outside of the Scriptures 
which substantiates the occurrences in the Tanach as we know it 
today.  Dr. Barka'i was also responsible for the discovery and 
publishing of the tablets of the Priestly Blessing which were found 
on the shoulder of the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem. He stated that 
such a dramatic discovery of the writings of King Jehoash is the 
first and very important testimony outside of the Scriptures which 
testifies to the existence of the First Temple.

The research relating to the inscription was undertaken jointly by 
Dr. Shimon Ilani, a geo-chemist and an expert in archaeometrics, and 
by Dr. Amnon Rosenfeldt, another important expert who has undertaken 
much research together with the archaeologists. The major expert of 
the geological institute, Michael Dvorcheck, performed special 
checking of the inscription using an electron-microscope and he 
confirmed the authenticity of the inscription. The details of the 
research will be published shortly.

With regard to the stone on which the inscription was written, the 
opinion is that it was brought from southern Trans-Jordan (a part of 
the land of Israel) or from the area of the Dead Sea. The writing is 
in ancient Hebrew script. In the middle of the stone is a crack. In 
the crack and also among the letters specks of gold were found. It is 
the  assumption of the experts from the geological institute of 
Israel that these specks are the result of a smelting event and it 
may belong to the terrible event of the burning of the Temple a few 
hundred years later. This and other material which covers the stone 
show that the writing was buried between the years 400 to 200 BCE 
which means that it was exposed and uncovered for only 500 to 600 
years after it was written. This fact gives the timing of the 
inscription which fits the time of King Jehoash - the end of the 9th 
Century BCE

The inscription is described by the experts as a sensational 
archaeological criterion which will have great significance for 
Israel and all the world. This royal inscription of King Jehoash 
glorifies and exults the repairs undertaken by the king exactly as it 
appears in 2Kings12:7-17 including the call of Jehoash on the priests 
to raise donations from the Jewish populace for his project to 
restore the First Temple. It also describes the buying of the wood 
and stones needed for the repairs.

----------------------------------------------------------

More Exciting Information About the King Jehoash Inscription Found on 
the Temple Mount

The Israeli Geological Institute Publishes Pictures of the Stone and 
Officially Confirms its Authenticity



The Israeli Geological Institute yesterday officially published the 
results of the research relating to the King Jehoash  inscription 
which was discovered on the Temple Mount together with pictures of 
the stone and the inscription. The Institute confirmed in this 
publication that the inscription is completely authentic based on 
very strong evidence. The Institute officially confirmed that the 
inscription was written by King Jehoash of Judah and that it 
describes the repairs to the First Temple as recorded in 2Kings12. 
This confirms the Biblical description. Also yesterday, famous 
experts from various areas of expertise (archaeology, history, 
linguistics, Biblical linguistics and an expert on the history of the 
inscription) who checked the inscription confirmed its authenticity.

The head of the Israeli geological Institute, Dr. Amos Bain, and the 
researchers, Dr. Shimon Ilani, Dr. Amnon Rosenveldt and Michael 
Dvorchik, stated yesterday that many small pieces of charcoal that 
were found encrusted on the stone and on the inscription were checked 
in the laboratories of BRD in Florida, USA who confirmed the dating. 
The head of the Institute and the researchers yesterday presented 5 
basic proofs confirming the authenticity of the inscription:

1.         The patina on and inside the letters is identical with the 
composition of the encrustation in-between the letters and in the 
crack. The encrustation is also very firmly and naturally attached to 
the stone.

2.         Many minute pieces which make up the encrustation are 
identical to those of the stone itself.

3.         In some examples of the encrustation which is over the 
tablet and the inscription specks of pure gold were found which came 
from the burning of the Temple which is described by the prophet 
Jeremiah.

4.         In some of the letters the edge of the letter is not sharp 
but ragged.

5.         If the patina on the inscription and the stone had been 
taken from another place and stuck onto the tablet, the letters of 
the inscription and the crack, it would be very difficult to hide the 
fraud because the chemical composition and the components of the glue 
to affix it would be very easily identified in the laboratory.



The archaeologist, Dr Gabbi Barka'i, yesterday checked the pictures 
and the results of the Geological Institute and confirmed the 
authenticity of the inscription. He stated that the letters are 
authentic ancient Hebrew and very similar to those used on the 
Moabite Stone. He said that the text and form of the letters is very 
good and the confirmation of the Geological Institute makes the case 
for its authenticity even stronger.