Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Dr. Joel M. Hoffman" <joel AT exc.com>]

>That's because you assume Aramaic existed at that date.
>As it happens the earliest mention of Arameans occurs in
>connection with the Ahlamu in connection with Tiglath
>Pileser I's (1114-1075) campaign.  There he refers to his
>pursuits of the Ahlamu Arameans.  The Ahlamu appear

Does anyone know how old the earliest extant text in Aramaic is?  I
remember reading the confusing claim in Beyer's (1986) _The Aramaic
Language_ that:

        ``Ancient Aramaic in written form appeared in the 11th
          cent. b.c. as the official language of the first Aramaean
          states,''

but

        ``the oldest witnesses to it are inscriptions from northern
          Syria of the 10th--8th'' centuries bc.''

What makes us think Aramaic was written in the 11th century BCE if the
earliest witnesses to it are later?

Thanks.


-Joel Hoffman
 http://www.exc.com/JoelHoffman