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  • From: Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu
  • Subject: JEHOASH inscription (for lack of a better name)
  • Date: Tue, 14 Jan 2003 23:36:16 -0500


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.




  • JEHOASH inscription (for lack of a better name), Shoshanna Walker, 01/14/2003

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