So now the writing on the potsherd recently deciphered in Israel has morphed into the “earliest known Hebrew BIBLICAL inscription!” I don’t recall reading anything from the scholar that this inscription represented the earliest scrap of the Bible! Has something changed, or is this yet another example among many of how playing “Telephone” creates religious artifacts?
“An Israeli researcher has deciphered the earliest known Hebrew biblical inscription which ‘proved’ that the Bible had been written hundreds of year earlier than thought.”
Did I miss something the first time around? Reading into the article further, we find:
“He said that this inscription is similar in its content to biblical scriptures (Isaiah 1:17, Psalms 72:3, Exodus 23:3, and others), but it is clear that it is not copied from any biblical text.”
Then it is not a “biblical inscription” as reported in the first paragraph! Also, if it only approximates these biblical scriptures but adequately reflects their ideas, it is possible that this writing is a precursor to those scriptures. This notion, of course, would mean that the Bible was written after this potsherd inscription, possibly based upon the latter, certainly indicating that these Old Testament books’ purported authors did not write them.
Sources & Further Reading
Bible written earlier than thought: researcher
Oldest Hebrew writing proves Bible?
Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly Found