The Paradigm

The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet

History I

[Post seven of thirty-two]

This is the first of ten posts, numbers seven through sixteen, about the Curse Tablet’s history. These are important. Please do not skip them! They give context for issues surrounding this artifact.

Here is a story of two archaeological discoveries that may profoundly impact biblical and world history.

Note

This is my seventh post about the Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet.

If you have accessed this post from other than captivatingtwists.com and wish to start the journey from the beginning, click here.

Otherwise, continue below.

Archaeologists discovered them at the same location at different times. The first became known about forty years ago. Identification of the latter occurred within the last six. ¹

Together, they pose a piercing assault on an entrenched paradigm.

What is that? It is that Moses did not write, and, in fact, could not have written, the first five books of the Bible, that is, the Torah or Pentateuch. ²

Many maintain this despite scripture declaring otherwise. Numerous Old Testament sources cite Moses. Jesus also affirmed or implied such.

With their stories, these alleged authors forged a Hebrew national identity. A disparate people thereby engendered moral cohesion. Henceforth, they revered shared mythological heroes. ⁴

This idea permeates more than the ivory towers of elite universities. It holds sway over heartlands worldwide. ⁵ Since the late 19th century, priests and preachers have learned such. Professors have so instructed waves of college students enrolled in biblical studies. ⁶

This paradigm against Mosaic authorship has a name. It is the documentary hypothesis. ⁷

Now, let us examine these two discoveries that challenge it.⁸

But before doing so, here are some questions. When did you first encounter the documentary hypothesis, and what effect did that have on you?

Let me know in the comment section below.

Thank you for engaging with this topic thus far!

Our next post introduces “Joshua’s Altar” and its role in this story.

I look forward to continuing with you there.

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Next post: “Joshua’s Altar?”

1. Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (01:09), 11 May 2023;
   and
   Melanie Lidman, Academic article on controversial 3,200-year old ‘curse tablet’ fails to sway experts, The Times of Israel,14 May 2023, paragraph 5,  https://www.timesofisrael.com/academic-article-on-controversial-3200-year-old-curse-tablet-fails-to-sway-experts/, (7 October 2024). ↩︎
2. Id., paragraph 2. ↩︎
3. Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (20:00 and 35:02-14), 11 May 2023;
   and
   Associates for Biblical Research, “ABR Researchers Discover the Oldest Known Proto-Hebrew Inscription Ever Found”, https://biblearchaeology.org/current-events-list/4896-abr-researchers-discover-the-oldest-known-proto-hebrew-inscription-ever-found, (33:35); 24 March 2022, Updated 26 April 2023. ↩︎
4. Greg A. King, The Documentary Hypothesis, Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 12/2001, pp. 22-30, p. 25, paragraph 7. ↩︎
5. Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part Three, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (6:40), May 1, 2023. ↩︎
6. Id. at (6:45), May 1, 2023,
   And
   Greg A. King, The Documentary Hypothesis, Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 12/2001, pp. 22-30, p. 22, paragraph 2. ↩︎
7. Id.
   And
   Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (20:00 & 33:49), 11 May 2023. ↩︎
8. 
   Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (33:20), 11 May 2023. ↩︎