Of what date is the oldest inscription of Yahweh found?
score:6
Tradition holds that Moses lived sometime around the 15th century B.C. This would put the oldest use of the tetragrammaton (the Hebrew word "YHWH", anglicized to "Yahweh") to the same time frame, as Moses wrote the oldest portions of the Bible.
Outside the Bible, the oldest known inscription of the tetragrammaton appears on the Mesha stele, which has been dated to around 840 B.C. You can read more about the Mesha stele here.
Upvote:4
In a tomb at Ketef Hinnom in Israel, the oldest text of the Hebrew Bible was discovered. The text, inscribed on a silver scroll in the old Hebrew script dating to the 7th Century B.C., is the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), which begins, "yeverekh'kha YHWH Vayishmarekha" (May Yahweh bless you and keep you). Source: http://ancient-hebrew.org/bible_manuscripts.html
The oldest known inscription of the Tetragrammaton dates to 840 BCE, on the Mesha Stele. It bears the earliest certain extra-biblical reference to the Israelite God Yahweh. The most recent discovery of a Tetragrammaton inscription, dating to the 6th century BCE, was found written in Hebrew on two silver scrolls recovered from Jerusalem. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton
I found a related questioninBible Hermenutics: https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/14042/the-name-of-god-in-ancient-manuscripts
You may find it helpful.
Upvote:9
When God commissioned Moses from the burning bush in the wilderness, when Moses asked God his name he was given the name of Yahweh, Exodus 3:13-14:
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say to them? And God said to Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and he said, Thus shall you say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you.
If the 480 years in 1 Kings 6:1 is taken literally then the appearance of God to Moses at the burning bush was either late 1447 or early 1446 bc before the spring equinox. The name "Yahweh" originates with this name "I AM THAT I AM".
The oldest inscription containing the name Yahweh is the Soleb Inscription in Sudan. It dates to the reign of Amenhotep III who reigned 1415-1377 (High Chronology). It is therefore at most only 70 years after the date of the giving of the name to Moses.
On the inscription the pharaoh names his enemies to the south of Egypt in one section of writing and his enemies to the north on another section of writing. The relevant section is in the enemies to the north of Egypt. One of his enemies are in "The land of the Shasu of Yahweh". Shasu means "nomads" or maybe "those who move on foot". When the inscription was produced the Israelites were either still "nomads" in the Sinai wilderness or had recently entered the Promised Land. The wanderings in the wilderness ended in the spring of 1406 bc.
The Soleb Inscription of Amenhotep III
On the inscription inside the cartouche, the top most symbol which just looks like a long thin rectangle means "land"; the next symbol which looks like another rectangle with three large trees and two smaller trees, together the "f" sign with the bird to its left means "Shasu"; and the two leaves, with a house symbol, a noose and the bird at the bottom together mean "Yahweh".
About this inscription archaeologist Donald B. Redford, a secular scholar, wrote:
"For half a century it has been generally admitted that we have here the tetragrammaton, the name of the Israelite god “Yahweh”; and if this be the case, as it undoubtedly is ...."
(Donald Redford, "Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times", 1993, pp. 272-273)
We read in scripture:
Afterwards Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh,
Thus saith Yahweh, the God of Israel:
"Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness".
And Pharaoh said "Who is Yahweh that I should obey his voice?"
According to the Bible chronology this was Amenhotep II and the year was 1446 bc. By the reign of Amenhotep III the Egyptians clearly knew who Yahweh was, the God of the Shasu, their nomadic enemies, to the north east of Egypt. For more on who was the Pharaoh of the Exodus see Who was Pharaoh when Moses lived in Egypt?
There are two views amongst those who believe there was an Exodus from Egypt: an early Exodus of 1446 bc or a late Exodus of about 1260 bc. The Soleb Inscription supports an Exodus of 1446 bc and undermines any late Exodus date.
Another inscription naming Yahweh is also in the Sudan at Amarah West and was produced either in the reign of Sety I or Rameses II. It is thus the second oldest Yahweh inscription.
For more on the Soleb Inscription hear this very worthwhile message from Joel Kramer:- https://clairemontemmanuel.podbean.com/e/the-oldest-yahweh-inscription-joel-kramer-archeologist-august-19-2018/
or see a video of Joel Kramer's trip to Soleb here:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGEOZ5YI22M&list=PLAiwjOgpXvubzuVsbfRI0L4mJoFvQHNWv&index=3
More post
- 📝 1 Corinthians 11:18, what kind of divisions actually?
- 📝 In Luke 5 did Levi become an apostle almost straight away?
- 📝 What is the origin of the story that the Apostle John taught only "love one another"?
- 📝 Should hands be folded or clasped together when praying? What's the difference and does it matter?
- 📝 The Godfather Baptism Killings
- 📝 Are there any Biblical allusions to St. Raphael or Uriel outside of Tobit?
- 📝 Do religious people believe in bibles from the bottom of their heart?
- 📝 What Popes have resigned in the past?
- 📝 Does the Trinity share one mind or are there three separate minds?
- 📝 What did Jesus look like or did Jesus look different for certain people?
- 📝 Is this the best way to fight "The War On Christmas"?
- 📝 Does The Book of Mormon contain Jewish literary techniques?
- 📝 Do Protestants believe Jesus and Satan are brothers?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, what are the requirements for baptism?
- 📝 Is there a Christian name of the Destroyer Angel?
- 📝 How do Trinitarians explain the almost exclusive use of singular pronouns to refer to God in the Bible?
- 📝 Why doesn't dispensationalism identify a dispensation focused on David?
- 📝 If someone claims himself to be Jesus Christ does The Bible tell me to immediately disbelieve him?
- 📝 Does Exodus 19:8 imply a will of the Jews to fulfill the Law in their own strength?
- 📝 Does the Lumen Gentium dogmatic constitution say that non-Catholic Christians cannot be saved?
- 📝 Lutheran response to non-literalist interpretation of the Lord's Supper
- 📝 What Saints have given guided written meditations?
- 📝 Were the names Matthew, Mark, Luke and John common in the time of Jesus?
- 📝 Do any denominations rank the apostles?
- 📝 How was the idea of h*m*ousion developed, and when was this term used prior to the Nicean Council?
- 📝 Spirit of the Lord Upon David
- 📝 Who are the origin of Hebrew people and the land ? Genesis 40:15
- 📝 Different types of Cross shapes significance?
- 📝 What Biblical justifications are used for having separate denominations?
- 📝 Why are there Sibyls and Prophetesses in the Sistine Chapel?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Of what date is the oldest inscription of Yahweh found?
- 📝 What is the oldest hymn (with music) that is still sung in churches today?
- 📝 What is the oldest surviving photograph of someone who was later canonized as a saint?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis against being able to predict the date of the end of the world?
- 📝 At what date in history was the last papal anathema officially applied through the death penalty in a papal court against a heretic or protestant?
- 📝 What is the origin of the account of Lucifer found in Milton's Paradise Lost?
- 📝 What is the evidence that the bones found under St. Peter's Basilica are actually St. Peter's bones?
- 📝 What do the Nicene, Apostles, Chalcedonian, Creeds add to the concept of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost that is not found directly in the Bible?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for concluding 'Jesus is Yahweh (Jehovah or LORD)'?
- 📝 What are the oldest surviving manuscripts of the scriptures?
- 📝 What arguments support an early date for the Didache?
- 📝 What is the oldest recorded filmed Catholic mass?
- 📝 What did Protestant reformers think about the date and authorship of the New Testament?
- 📝 What is the source of this inscription in Salzburg?
- 📝 What date to place the patronal feast day of St. Mary’s Church?
- 📝 What is the oldest historical evidence of the Sabbath commandment?
- 📝 What is the most credited date for the birth (or calling) of Abraham?
- 📝 What date was the second Easter?
- 📝 What Justification can be found in revealing contradictions within the Bible?
- 📝 What are some sources of March, 25th being the date of the creation of the world, or of the creation of Adam and Eve, or of their disobedience?
- 📝 What is the Bible's oldest Messianic prophecy?
- 📝 What is the oldest recorded commentary on 1 Corinthians 12?
- 📝 According to Jehovah's Witnesses, what are the essential features of a true follower of Christ, and can such be found in other denominations?
- 📝 According to Latter-day Saints, what are the essential features of a true follower of Christ, and can such be found in other denominations?
- 📝 What are the oldest records of "gold teeth" miracles in Church History?
- 📝 What blood type has been found on the relics of Jesus Christ here on earth?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the claim that abortion is immoral?
- 📝 What major translations of the Bible are in the Public Domain?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
