Zertal Rejected

The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet

Facts

History of Joshua’s Altar and the Curse Tablet III

[Post nine of thirty-three]

This is the third of ten history posts about the Curse Tablet. The following post reveals a startling turn of events. This is its setup.

Many scholars ignored, rejected, and even scoffed at Zertal’s postulate. The Hebrews of the Conquest could not have constructed Joshua’s Altar! Moses and Joshua were fictional beings; their exploits were mythological!

Since at least the eighteenth century, scholars have embraced these ideas. Jean Astruc (1684–1766), a prominent physician, was among the first. To his notions, others contributed.

The late 19th century gave birth to “The Documentary Hypothesis.” K. H. Graf and German scholar Julius Wellhausen were its eminent protagonists. Eventually, their theories gained academic preeminence. ¹

Both declared that the scriptures presented tensions of style and usage. To resolve these, they proposed elegant theories involving various late-date writers. These scribes authored strands of the Old Testament. Writers of the Third to Ninth Centuries B.C. authored the Torah.

Perceived linchpins fortified their ideas.

For example, the ancient materials use two different names for the Hebrew creator. These appeared in different texts but never together. This, they theorized, mandated different late-date authors. ²

Also, little evidence supported a phonetic alphabet in Moses’ era. Without it, one could not communicate the nuances of scripture. They thought that an early alphabetic script appeared much later. ³

To show the sway that the Documentary Hypothesis has held, consider a statement. It is by Lawrence Stager (1943 to 2017)–Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel, emeritus at NELC, Harvard University. ⁴ Many considered him to be the modern dean of the documentary hypothesis. He announced that Zertal discovering Joshua’s altar on Mt. Ebal would signal something. It is that he and the rest of the community of biblical scholars “… would need to go back to kindergarten!” ⁵

The gist was this: Those as learned as he would never need such. ⁶

Other elements, too, mellowed the shock of Zertal’s assertion. Again, for brevity, I use a list.

Factors working against Zertal’s discovery included:

• Mt. Ebal lay in Judea / Samaria. This area, also known as the West Bank, is a charged geopolitical environment. Since the 1980s, tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have surged from warm to hot. Today, under the Oslo Peace Accords, the West Bank falls within one of three designations. These are A, B, or C. Zertal’s site lies in B, one falling within Israeli military and Palestinian civil control. ⁷ Thus, permits for further archaeological excavations remain difficult to navigate. Recent wars have increased the problem. ⁸

• In 1987, Zertal issued a preliminary Ebal excavation report. ⁹ He, however, died in 2015 without publishing his final report. ¹⁰

• Furthermore, Zertal’s team had not finished excavating the small, round altar. This is the one most likely associated with an earlier period, i.e., Joshua’s. ¹¹

• Over the last decade, Israel 365 News has issued alerts. These detail that “surreptitious actions by the Palestinian Authority (PA). have been destroying the archaeological site.” ¹²

Thus, the Documentary Hypothesis, although in different iterations, remains prevalent.

This is despite archaeological and scientific headwinds. ¹³ A summary I detail below.

Shaken, but unbowed, the Documentary Hypothesis still holds sway.

Before his death, Zertal mused, “All we need now is an inscription!” ¹⁴

That brings us to the second archaeological find: the Curse Tablet.

Does this bludgeon the Documentary Hypothesis? Let us look closer. ¹⁵

Meanwhile, here is a question. What do you consider the Documentary Hypothesis’s strongest evidentiary support?

Let me know in the comment section below.

Next post: “Whoa!”

1. Greg A. King, The Documentary Hypothesis, Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 12/2001, pages 23 and 24. ↩︎
2. Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (35:23), 11 May 2023.
   and
   Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part Three, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (02:20), May 1, 2023. ↩︎
3. Associates for Biblical Research, “ABR Researchers Discover the Oldest Known Proto-Hebrew Inscription Ever Found”, biblicarchaeology.org/current-events-list/, Youtube, (44:35), March 24, 2022.
   and
   Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part Two, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (23:45), May 1, 2023.
   and
   One For Israel,The Curse from Mount Ebal that became an Archeological Blessing!, oneforisrael.org, paragraph 2, April 2, 2022. ↩︎
4. Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part Three), Digging for Truth Episode 200, YouTube, (03:50), May 1, 2023. ↩︎
5. Associates for Biblical Research, YaHWeh Curse Tablet: A Tsunami from Mt. Ebal, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU5njOpRCHQ&t=85s, (11:55) 1 November 2024. ↩︎
6. Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (34:50), 11 May 2023.
   and
   Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part Three, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (04:10), May 1, 2023. ↩︎
7. Associates for Biblical Research, YaHWeh Curse Tablet: A Tsunami from Mt. Ebal, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU5njOpRCHQ&t=85s, (6:20) 1 November 2024. ↩︎
8. Ariel David, “New Studies Debunk Controversial Biblical ‘Curse Tablet” from Mt. Ebal”, haaretz.com, paragraph 3, November 30, 2023;
   Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (40:00-11), 11 May 2023;
   and
   Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part One, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (15:17), May 1, 2023. ↩︎
9. Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Skeptics of Ebal Curse Tablet Accuse Christian Researchers of “Seeing the Face of Jesus in a Grilled Cheese Sandwich”, israel365news.com, paragraph 13, December 6, 2023;
   and
   Steve Law, patternsofevidence.com, Ancient Hebrew Writing on Tablet Discovered at Joshua’s Altar, paragraph 9, February 4, 2022 ↩︎
10. Associates for Biblical Research, “ABR Researchers Discover the Oldest Known Proto-Hebrew Inscription Ever Found”, biblicarchaeology.org/current-events-list/, Youtube, (06:09), March 24, 2022. ↩︎
11. Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part One, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (14:00), May 1, 2023. ↩︎
12. Sean McDowell, Oldest Hebrew Writing? Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet (Revisited) m.youtube.com>watch, (22:14), 11 May 2023;
    and
    Associates for Biblical Research, “ABR Researchers Discover the Oldest Known Proto-Hebrew Inscription Ever Found”, biblicarchaeology.org/current-events-list/, Youtube, (14:52), March 24, 2022. ↩︎
13. Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Skeptics of Ebal Curse Tablet Accuse Christian Researchers of “Seeing the Face of Jesus in a Grilled Cheese Sandwich”, israel365news.com, Archeology, paragraph 13, December 6, 2023. ↩︎
14. For instance, how did fourth or third century authors accurately record in scripture these now archaeologically attested events of the 6th through the 10th century B.C.:
    -Close archaeological correlation between the biblical text and the destruction of Timri and the founding of Sumeria in the 9th Century B.C.; (Associates for Biblical Truth; King Omri: Digging for Truth Episode 105; (01:39), youtube.com, 27 September 2020.)
    -The discovery of the ancient palace of Omri, a 9th Century B.C. King of Israel, and his son Ahab; (Associates for Biblical Truth; King Omri: Digging for Truth Episode 105; (15:50), youtube.com, 27 September 2020.);
    -The Moabite Stone, also known as the Mesha Inscription:This stella describes the exploits of King Omri as seen through the eyes of an enemy; (Associates for Biblical Truth; King Omri: Digging for Truth Episode 105; (18:45), youtube.com, 27 September 2020; and (Curse Tablet: A Response (w/ Chris Rollston), Youtube, Sen McDowell, (38:28) June 2, 2023.
    -The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III also discussed Omri and a subsequent King of Israel, Jehu (Id. 41;24) and (Associates for Biblical Truth; King Omri: Digging for Truth Episode 105; (01:39), youtube.com, (20:15), 27 September 2020.)
    -The Tel Dan Inscription evidences that Judah’s royalty in the 9th Century B. C. considered itself a descendant of the House of David. It also likely refers to a conspiracy suggested in 1 Kings 19:15-18 between Hazael, King of Aram-Damascus, and Jehu. (CBN Israel Blog, Biblical Artifact: Tel Dan Inscription, Marc Turnage, https://cbnisrael.org, (paragraphs 1-5), 2021/10/26).
    -The 700 B.C. Deir Alla Plaster mentioning Baalam son of Beor a Seer, evidencing at least an ancient memory of the character portrayed in Numbers 22-24  (Curse Tablet: A Response (w/ Chris Rollston), Youtube, Sean McDowell, (42:47) June 2, 2023).
    Geomagnetic dating verifies an intricate biblical sequence of military campaigns of the Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Edomites,th and Egyptians from around 930 B.C. to 586 B.C. (Israel 21C, Geomagnetic field dating confirms the Bible’s narrative, Marion Fischel, paragraph 1, October 26, 2022, Updated November 2, 2022, israel21c.org.
    
    The Documentary Hypothesis must also account for such things as these:
    -The Silver Scrolls of Ketef Hinnom, 6th Century B.C., the earliest known Biblical text; and
    -Evidence of the use of an early alphabetic script in the Middle East extending beyond the 15th to even the 18th century B.C. (Curse Tablet: A Response (w/ Chris Rollston),(52:12 and 51:41) Youtube, Sen McDowell, June 2, 2023.
    
    Regarding The Book of Daniel: Linguists found that the Hebrew of Daniel is earlier than that of the Second Century Dead Sea Scrolls
    
    Plus they determined that its Aramaic ranges between 600 and 330 B.C. They reached that conclusion in assessing it against official documents of that earlier period as opposed to that of the second century B.C. (K.A. Kitchen, “The Aramaic of Daniel” in Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel, ed. P.J. Wiseman, et al. (London: Tyndale, 1964). Online: https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/tp/notes-daniel/daniel_kitchen.pdf (Accessed Aug.11,2022).
    
    The large number of fragments of the Book of Daniel found among the Dead Sea Scrolls signifies it canonization much earlier than the Second Century B.C. Also, supporting this is references to the Book of Daniel in other scrolls found at Qumran.(Randall Prie and H. Wayne House, Zondervan Handbook of Biblical Archaeology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), p. 177-178; Gerhard Hasel, “New Light on the Book of Daniel from the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Associates for Biblical Research, July 31, 2021; and https://biblearchaeology.org/research/topics/ancient-manuscripts/3193-new-light-on-the-book-of-daniel-from-the-dead-sea-scrolls (Accessed Aug. 11, 2022).
    
    There are other archaeological discoveries that disparage the idea that scribes could have written Daniel in the Second Century. These include evidence of specific knowledge about events and people that would likely have been available at that late time. Those discoveries are:
    
    -The Nebuchadnezzar Stele;
    -The Nebo-Sarsekim Tablet;
    -Nebuchadnezzar’s Palace;
    -The Esagila (Temple of Marduk);
    -The Ishtar Gate and Processional Way;
    -Babylonian Chronicle 5;
    -The Nabonidus Cylinders;
    -The Nabonidus Chronicle; and
    -The Cyrus Cylinder. (Bible Archaeology Report, Ibid. ↩︎
15. Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part Three, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (08:19), May 1, 2023. ↩︎
16. Associates for Biblical Research, Cursed! The Mount Ebal Curse Tablet (Part Four, Digging for Truth Episode 200), YouTube, (05:00), May 1, 2023;
    and
    Associates for Biblical Research, “ABR Researchers Discover the Oldest Known Proto-Hebrew Inscription Ever Found”, biblicarchaeology.org/current-events-list/, Youtube, (31:41), March 24, 2022. ↩︎

To view the memorandum from the beginning, click here.

For the composite footnotes, click here.