Why Write This?

The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet

Preface I

[Post two of thirty]

For one, this story enthralls me.

Note

This is the second post of my memorandum about the Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet.

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While it is set in this galaxy, even this planet, this adventure starts a long, long time ago. It is far before Caesar, Hannibal, or Alexander. Owing to his antiquity, we know little about Homer. Yet, he sets his supernatural-laced tales half a millennium before his time. Yet, our saga begins a century, if not three, before those stories. The setting is before Achilles’ epic feats, the Battle of Troy, and Odysseus’ journey home.

Plus, it is a story about writing by people considered unable to do so. By that I mean unable to write in a way that you or I would find understandable. That is, without extensive training in things like hieroglyphics or cuneiform. No, you can read this after only a short lesson in the alphabet and vocabulary. You can imagine it almost as a news feed on your phone.

Well, I have to walk that back a bit. We would have to account for the boustrophedon track. Some ambiguity that adds to the message without blurring its gist. I will explain this later.

Still, this is about us reading the thoughts of someone thirty-five hundred years ago.

But it goes beyond that. The inscription seems to detail events and personages we know. These, many believed, were the stuff of mythology. They are Moses, Joshua, and the Hebrews of the Conquest.

Yet, beyond my interest, there is another, more compelling reason for my writing. 

It is this: A tragedy impends. Of such, I needed to alert and offer aid to avoid.

Later, I will explain this further.

Now, a question: What would you like to learn from a news feed from thirty-five hundred years ago? Let me know in your comments.

Thank you for engaging with this topic thus far!

In our next post, we address “Why the Fuss?”

I look forward to continuing with you there.

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Next post: “Why the Fuss?“