Most ancient Hebrew inscription calls for protecting poor and strangers

[starroute]

I'm not convincing by the "King David's reign" part -- which is a highly contentious issue and very tangled up in current Israeli politics. But it does seem indisputable that this is by far the oldest known Hebrew inscription, that it's generally biblical in tone, and that it's all about pleading for the poor and protecting the stranger.


http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-01/uoh-mah010710.php

A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written. Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this the earliest known Hebrew writing. The significance of this breakthrough relates to the fact that at least some of the biblical scriptures were composed hundreds of years before the dates presented today in research and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time.

The inscription itself, which was written in ink on a 15 cm X 16.5 cm trapezoid pottery shard, was discovered a year and a half ago at excavations that were carried out by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at Khirbet Qeiyafa near the Elah valley. The inscription was dated back to the 10th century BCE, which was the period of King David's reign, but the question of the language used in this inscription remained unanswered, making it impossible to prove whether it was in fact Hebrew or another local language.

Prof. Galil's deciphering of the ancient writing testifies to its being Hebrew, based on the use of verbs particular to the Hebrew language, and content specific to Hebrew culture and not adopted by any other cultures in the region. "This text is a social statement, relating to slaves, widows and orphans." . . .

English translaton of the deciphered text:

1' you shall not do , but worship the .
2' Judge the sla and the wid / Judge the orph
3' the stranger. ead for the infant / plead for the po
4' the widow. Rehabilitate at the hands of the king.
5' Protect the po the slave / ort the stranger.

[stray cat]

1. Look at the year of jubilee

[Octafish]

2. The Golden Rule

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Most interesting to see it reflected in letters from 3,000 years ago.

Those who keep them in heart, I believe, are blessed.

[starroute]

3. Oops -- here's the full translation

I didn't notice until it was too late to change that DU's system had mangled anything in brackets, so I'm changing them for <'s.

1' you shall not do <it>, but worship the <Lord>.
2' Judge the sla<ve> and the wid<ow> / Judge the orph<an>
3' <and> the stranger. <Pl>ead for the infant / plead for the po<or and>
4' the widow. Rehabilitate <the poor> at the hands of the king.
5' Protect the po<or and> the slave / <supp>ort the stranger.

[Name removed]

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