“YHW,” “Yahweh!”

The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet

Facts

Stripling’s Claims

Photo Study III

[Post nineteen of thirty-three]

“ARWR”, “cursed,” I reviewed in my last post.

I turn now to the divine name, “Yahweh.”

Galil alleges that this sacred name appears twice inside the tablet.

For simplicity, I discuss only one of those here. That, I call “Upper Yahweh” because it lies near the top of the tablet.

Galil’s annotated Table 7 labels it as numbers: 11, 12, and 13.

The phonetic spelling is thus “Yod,” “He,” “Waw”. 1

Here is what they look like:

• An angled arm symbolizes “Yod”. Picture it as running from above the elbow to the thumb and then to the fingertips. See Figure 7, #11, and Table 5 (1a and b).
• A stickman with raised arms, as if signaling a touchdown, signifies “He”. 1 See Figure 7, #12, in Table 3 (1a & b). Here, “He” stands. Note, however, that you also find it seated. 2 See Figure 7, # 40, in Table 3 (3a & b).
• “Waw” is the blunt-force weapon and symbol of authority described before. See Figure 7, #13; Table 4 (1a & b); and Table 10, photo #4, for the alleged negative bulge.

The photos of “He” in Figure 7 #12 at Table 3 (1a & b), and “Waw” in Figure 7 #13 at Table 4 (1a & b) are distinct.

“Yod” in Figure 7 #11 at Table 5 (1a & b), however, is faint.

Other views include:

• Stripling’s Figure 4 shows:
  • The hand under the hips of “Heh”;
  • A thumb under and intertwined with “Taw”;
  • The wrist and forearm below the left leg of “Heh”; and
  • An upper arm extends at a right angle from “Heh’s” left ankle.
• Haughwout’s Figure 5 gives a mirrored view.

Study Table 10, photo # 3. The Stripling team argues that this depicts the bottom bulge of this “Yod”.

Do you agree?

If you do, this has consequences. Haughwout, the sceptic, agrees that the bottom bulge indicates an incision or mark on the inner surface. It rules out a photographic lighting issue or a computer glitch.

That concludes my introduction to the two words that compel Stripling’s conclusions. That is “ARWR” and “YHW.”

Read these sections several times. Let the photos sink in.

With the following post, I complete an initial dive into the tablet’s photos. There, I look at a word and two other letters relevant to Haughwout’s arguments.

Later, however, I will delve deeper into the words and symbols mentioned above.

Now for a question: What impact do the bottom bulges have on your assessment of Stripling’s claims?

Let me know your answer in the comments section below.

Next post: “TMT,” “A Warning!”

1. Associates for Biblical Research, YaHWeh Curse Tablet: A Tsunami from Mt. Ebal, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU5njOpRCHQ&t=85s, (39:14) 1 November 2024 ↩︎
2. Id. at (36:55). ↩︎
3. Id. at 37:17. ↩︎

To view the memorandum from the beginning, click here.

For the composite footnotes, click here.