Blockbuster Archaeological Find Rewrites the History of the Bible. But Is It True?

Researchers Unveil “Oldest Hebrew Inscription Ever Found”

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It’s been called “a ten,” “most extraordinary,” “bigger Than the Dead Sea Scrolls.”

Something you “find only every 1,000 years.”

If it’s true, it could rewrite the history of the Bible and create a new generation of archaeological stars. If it’s false, it will destroy reputations, not unlike what happened with the alleged “Lost Tomb of Jesus” a decade and a half ago. (To refresh your memory and read about the small role I played in debunking that story, check out my account at that time.)

On March 24, archaeologist Scott Stripling, the provost of the Bible Seminary in Katy, Texas, and the director of excavations for the Associates for Biblical Research in Israel, held a press conference in Houston, unveiling what he claims is the earliest Hebrew inscription ever found. The text, hidden in a 2-centimeter by 2-centimeter folded lead “curse tablet” at Mount Ebal in the West Bank north of Jerusalem, includes the name of God, YHWH. Since the inscription is located inside the amulet, not visible to the naked eye, the researchers were able to read the 40 characters using imaging conducted at the Prague Academy of Sciences.

Stripling and his colleagues, Pieter van der Veen of the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, and Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa, claim that the 23-word inscription, which reads in part “Cursed, cursed, cursed—cursed by YHWH,” dates from the Late Bronze Age, circa 1,200 BCE. If that’s true, both the inscription and especially that invocation of God would be 500 years earlier than any known reference.

For context, as I discuss extensively in my bestselling book and television series Walking the Bible, there is precisely zero evidence that any of the events in the Five Books of Moses took place. This find would provide the first known proof. The fact that the inscription mirrors words in Deuteronomy 11:29, in which Moses instructs the Levites to lead all the people of Israel from the Mount Ebal in a series of curses, as well as events in the Book of Joshua 8:30, also involving Mount Ebal, makes the possibility even more intriguing.

Mount Ebal and Shechem

As Professor Galil stated in the press conference, “The person who wrote this was a genius, not only a scribe, but a theologian!” He calls the discovery “the most important inscription ever found in Israel.”

Naturally, with a discovery of this kind, the pushback has been enormous. Part of that pushback stems from the researchers taking some unusual steps in holding this press conference. Their findings have not been published in an academic journal; they have not been peer-reviewed; and no pictures of the inscription itself were released. What’s more, the amulet was found not in the ground but in a collection from a previous dig in the 1980s, making it all but impossible to know precisely where the object was found, which in turn makes dating even harder.

James Tabor, a professor of Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, complimented the researchers behind the discovery on his blog. “The team conducting these tests and evaluations are well qualified, as are the labs carrying out the examinations.” But he added, “Many academics are reluctant to say anything further so far as evaluation as to provenance, dating, and paleographic or historical significance."

One high-profile archaeologist, Christopher Rollston, the chair of Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures at George Washington University, showed no such hesitation. In a piece on his blog called “The Mount Ebal Lead ‘Curse’ Inscription in Late Bronze Age Hebrew: Some Methodological Caveats,” he writes, “Sensational claims require sensational evidence, that is, evidence that is absolutely overwhelming and entirely compelling. And in this case, I would suggest that some methodological doubt is probably a very useful thing.”

Ebal Pro-Hebrew Inscription Photo by Michael C. Luddeni

He adds, “I would predict that almost all of the readings posited in the press conference will be vigorously contested, once scholars in the field of epigraphy are allowed to see the images of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Furthermore, I am certain that the translations of the readings will also be contested.”

So what is a layperson to think?

Biblical archaeology has been around for nearly 200 years. For the first century, the field was dominated by a holy trinity, if you will, among archaeologists, the press, and big religious donors. Archaeologists would make dramatic claims—“We’ve found Noah’s flood! “We discovered Moses’s tomb!”—the press would profit by blindly and enthusiastically magnifying these claims, then religious partisans would proclaim, “See, the Bible is real!” and eagerly hand over money to the archaeologists to continue their excavation.

Everyone won.

Except the truth.

Today the entire field of archaeology is more fact-based and more scientific; anyone can hold a press conference, but anyone can criticize that press conference and demand more evidence. Speaking as someone who has been involved in these episodes for almost a quarter-century now, I say, Bring it on!—the digs, the press conferences, the lofty claims, as well as the skepticism, the pushback, and the demands for accountability.

All of those ingredients working together will make any of us who care about this topic smarter; they’ll also bring greater depth and understanding to the role these events have played in the history of the world. In the meantime, we can enjoy the back and forth, reacquaint ourselves with these somewhat obsurce biblical stories, and celebrate the messy process of uncovering the truth.

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