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The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
History V
[Post eleven of thirty-two]
What landed in Snyder’s tray, she identified as a defixio, an ancient curse tablet.1
In Snyder’s analysis, Stripling and many of their experienced associates concurred. Why? These they had often seen. From the Greco-Roman world, they are common archaeological finds. 2
Still, they also recognized the irony. They found this in Deuteronomy’s “Mountain of Curses!”
Stripling also understood that this artifact posed a problem. Zertal dated the altar site from 1400 to 1250 B.C. He concluded this from careful pottery analysis. 3 But Stripling knew that defixios dated to the Greek and Roman eras. That is primarily Fourth Century B.C. onward. A curse tablet seemed inappropriate by around a millennium.4
He, however, was aware of a precedent.
The Book of Job speaks of Job’s desire to write on lead with an iron pen (Job 19:24).
Many scholars consider that book the oldest biblical text. One reason is that it does not allude to the Law of Moses. 2
The defixio concept could have come from that or a similar ancient tradition. 2
Will new clues give insights? Find out in my next post.
Now, here are some questions. What was your earliest encounter with the idea of a defixio? What was the context?
Let me know in the comments.
Next post: “An Inscription!“
The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
History VI
[Post twelve of thirty-two]
Glyphs adorned the tablet’s outside. Stripling realized this. Yet, he was most intrigued by what lay within. There, as with other defixios, someone likely inscribed a curse.
Usually, this curse was trivial. Often it was something like, “She stole my boyfriend. May her hair fall out.” 1
Stripling and a colleague thus attempted to open it. The lead of one corner, brittle with age, however, crumbled. They thus stopped further efforts. 2
The Hebrew University in Tel Aviv analyzed the lead fragments and determined their origin. It was from a mine in Lavrion, Greece. 3
Historians and archaeologists conclude that this mine indeed exported lead to the Middle East. This occurred from before the Late Bronze Age into Roman times. 4
Here, a curious historical anomaly deserves consideration.
In the Mediterranean world around the 12th century B.C., a dark age ensued. 5 Then, the Late Bronze Age civilization imploded. Ancient exports plunged. European / Asian economic and cultural sophistication wilted. A mysterious disaster struck several advanced societies. 6 These include the Hittite, Ugaritic, Minoan, Mycenaean, Trojan, and Babylonian. Scholars have yet to find a definitive explanation.
From this understanding, Stripling deduced a probability.
Zertal’s exhaustive study had found only pottery of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries.
Someone in the Thirteenth Century B.C. or earlier thus likely imported the lead tablet before the ancient Dark Age of 1200 to 1150 B.C.
The metallurgical analysis, thus, strengthened Stripling’s tablet date.
This, however, he did not consider concrete.
Here, Stripling felt that the tablet investigation should end. It was time for greater focus on his other pursuits.
He emailed a colleague a photo of the tablet.
Afterwards, this circulated online.
Later, an unexpected opportunity for further investigation materialized.
Stripling read about a technological advancement. Researchers in Europe demonstrated how to peer through lead to discern written content. They were from the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (Telč, Czech Republic). 1
Stripling and others went to work. Israeli authorities issued a license. A colleague would courier the “defixio” to Prague. 2
Time passed. The Institute at Telč, 152 km from the Czech capital, finished its analysis. They then forwarded their results. 1
The Telč team indeed perceived something within. An epigraphic expert there suggested proto-alphabetic letters. Ancient letters represented sounds rather than complete thoughts.
These initial revelations alone had profound meaning for Stripling. Now he had his most conclusive evidence for dating the tablet. It had to be the Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age I, from as early as 1400 to as late as 1250 B.C.
Why? This was the accepted period for the use of proto-alphabetic script. 2
The tablet no longer presented an anachronistic dilemma. It now matched Zertal’s pottery dates.
What else could this additional evidence portend?
I probe this further in my next post!
But now here is a question: What do you think likely caused the Late Bronze Age civilizational collapse?
Let me know in the comments below.
Next post: “Staking a Claim“
The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
History VII
[Post thirteen of thirty-two]
The Czech Institute’s data proved a font of revelation.
From the tomographic scans, Stripling’s epigraphers discerned words.
These included “Yahweh” and “cursed”. Both recall Joshua’s ceremony of blessings and curses on Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal.
Dr. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa added further. He decoded a sophisticated parallelism, a chiasmus. 1
You will find this literary device throughout the Old and New Testaments. Consider, for example, Luke 4:16b-20, “The Favorable Year of the Lord”.
The colors highlight the parallels, the large font a central focus:
14 And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. 15 And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as was His custom,
He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath,
and stood up to read,
17 And the book of the prophet
Isaiah was handed to Him,
And He opened the book and
found the place
where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me
Because He anointed Me to
preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim
release / to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free / those who
are oppressed,
19 To proclaim the
favorable year of the Lord”
20 And He closed the book,
gave it back to the attendant
and sat down
and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”1
How could Stripling be anything but gobsmacked?
As a professional, he knew that a find of this importance required cautious handling.
He was a renowned archaeologist. He had decades of field experience at prestigious sites.
The profound nature of this find marked it. It would cause a stir. Intense international scrutiny lay ahead.
He needed to be careful! 2
But life threw Stripling a curveball, mandating a different approach.2
Speculation circulated about the photo that Stripling had emailed earlier. The associate had forwarded it. Recipients began generating noise online. Some pondered the outer tablet’s glyphs. Could they be a script? 3
This alarmed Stripling. Others might lay academic claim to the tablet’s message, he thought. He thus deemed it necessary to go public. Otherwise, he risked forfeiting his claim as the head archaeologist of the discovering team. 4
A press conference ensued in March 2022.3 At it, Stripling and his team announced the following:
Cursed, cursed, cursed-cursed by the God YHW
(Mt. Ebal “Curse Tablet” Full Press Conference, YouTube, Appian Media, March 29, 2022)
You will die cursed.
Cursed you will surely die.
Cursed by YHW-cursed, cursed, cursed!
Afterwards, public elation and scorn followed.
Why scorn?
In our next post, entitled “A Firestorm”, I address this.
I look forward to continuing with you there.
Now, here is a question. What is your favorite chiasmus, scriptural or otherwise? (See examples here.)
Respond in the comment section below.
Next post: “A Firestorm!“
The Mt Ebal Curse Tablet
History VIII
[Post fourteen of thirty-two]
Why the intense scorn about Stripling’s pronouncement about the Curse Tablet?
The archaeological community acknowledged a procedure. It discouraged reporting a find until after it had completed peer review. Stripling admitted to violating this.
About this infraction, Stripling explained that he had feared losing his intellectual stake. He thus felt compelled, despite protocol, to release what he had.
Unfortunately, this happened after another archaeological embarrassment. This had heightened sensitivity about procedures. 1
The Israel Antiquities Authority had publicized its analysis of a Tel Lachish sherd. Their news release heralded it as a first. No written reference in Israel had mentioned Darius the Great. This Persian king lived about 2500 years ago. 2
Shortly afterwards, however, a researcher specializing in ancient Aramaic confessed. She had written the inscription.
While visiting the site with her students, she demonstrated the ancient script on a sherd. On finishing her lesson, she had tossed it aside, not intending any malice. 1
What she had demonstrated was accurate. In fact, it fooled renowned scholars.
Mortification ensued across prestigious academic communities.
Into that setting, Stripling’s dilemma landed. 2
This outraged many scholars. Stripling had declared a history-challenging find underpinned by photos. He did not navigate peer review, nor did he release his photos for academic scrutiny. This handcuffed others from vetting his fantastic claims.
Stripling had lit a firestorm!
Now, here are some questions. Is the protocol of not releasing information about an artifact until after peer review a good policy? Why or why not?
Let me know in the comments.
Next post: “Peer Review“
The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
History IX
[Post fifteen of thirty-two]
Despite the brouhaha about his news release, Stripling pressed on.
The next step was to compile the data: archaeological, digital, photographic, and epigraphic. His team would then submit a paper to a peer-reviewed journal.
Which journal did Stripling petition?
He chose Heritage Science. 1 Why? The scientific community needed to hold the journal in regard. 2 Interpreting this artifact required complex computer and tomographic analysis. Also, it required archaeological and epigraphic expertise. A respected scientific journal thus fits.
After Stripling’s team submitted their completed paper, the journal approached three specialists. The journal determined that they had appropriate backgrounds. 3
The three then assessed the presentation’s credibility and identified where it needed strengthening. They then drafted questions, comments, etc.
Stripling welcomed the reviewers’ initial views and questions.
Two of the reviewers gave glowing approval. The other reflected considerable disdain and, in fact, suggested possible criminality. 1
All three, however, praised the quality of the writing and scholarship. Each had suggestions and inquiries. Seventy-two requests for modifications or clarifications followed.
To these, Stripling and his team responded.
Afterwards, the two reviewers’ favorable remarks continued. They recommended publication.
On receiving the Stripling team’s responses, the dissenting panel member’s negativity softened. He or she received legal clarification from the relevant authorities—Palestinian and Israeli. As a result, the recommendation for publication became unanimous. 2
(Note that Heritage Science has not released the names of the peer reviewers.) 3
The journal decided to publish the Stripling team’s article. 4
That publication I will soon examine.
The next post, however, puts these days into perspective. Following that, I will return to Stripling’s article.
Here is a question. In an interview, Dr. Stripling stated, “The goal of archaeology is not excavation. It’s publication!” 5. Why do you think this is true?
Let me know below in “comments”.
Next post: “Troubled Waters“
The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
History X
[Post sixteen of thirty-two]
Here is our final history post. While all the previous ones are important, this is especially so!
After the press conference, twelve months passed. Then, on 12 May 2023, Heritage Science finally published Stripling’s article. That is three and a half years from the Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet’s discovery,
How was that Heritage Science article received?
Some people expressed elation, some disappointment, and others disgust.
In succeeding posts, I will scrutinize the article, its photos, and various responses.
Here, though, I recall the context of these days. Significant currents darkened the times from the tablet’s discovery through Stripling’s publication and beyond.
Of these, three particularly warrant recounting.
Pandemic
In December 2019, as we have seen, the lead tablet landed in Frankie Snyder’s wet-sifting tray.
In that same month, ominous events brewed in another part of the world.
The date is December 12, 2019. For it, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded this diary entry:
“A cluster of patients in China’s Hubei Province, in the city of Wuhan, begin to experience the symptoms of an atypical pneumonia-like illness that does not respond well to standard treatments.”
Afterwards, COVID-19 led to a two-year hiatus from Stripling’s work in Israel. 1
Local Perils
On January 24, 2023, JNS, Jewish News Syndicate, reported an Israeli official’s protest. The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, communicated:
“Israel will not allow Palestinians to damage a major archaeological site located deep in the biblical heartland of Samaria, one that is revered by millions of Jews and Christians as the location where Joshua built an altar.”
He issued it in response to a news report. The Palestinian Authority had approved plans for road construction and housing near the Ebal altar site.
In a letter to the Palestinian Authority, Gallant further directed:
“…it has been clarified…to the Palestinian Authority that we will not allow any damage to the altar, which has been defined as an archaeological site of historic, cultural and religious significance.”
Past and present events underscored the necessity of Gallant’s manifesto. These include:
From this last bullet, one can sense what locals might feel. Some descend from generations of residents. This would aggrieve many.
If this Israeli military escort resembles an American operation, I can imagine its composition. Vehicles arrive armed with 50-caliber machine guns, 240 Bravos, or 249 SAWS. Infantry clad in full armor climb to elevated positions. A defensive cordon restricts unauthorized civilians from entering the area.
If some foreign authority exercised such power near my home, I can imagine my caustic feelings!
One can also perceive the necessity of these escort measures.
Thus, factor in local embitterment when evaluating the security of the altar site.
October 7, 2023
Little, if anything, equates to the ghastly evil of Hamas’s massacre of innocents on this date.
Whether one labels Israel’s response “hard” or “brutal” is not the question. Both can fall well within the acceptable context of the laws of war.
The real question is whether Israel has perpetrated war crimes. World authorities should test what lands fair and foul. Later, individual soldiers, units, and leaders, where appropriate, should give an account.
Two things can be true. Violations of the law of war we should not excuse. One should also not forget the horror that precipitated the resulting conflagration.
From it, dominoes have since fallen, ones that have shaken much of the world.
For our purposes, we must remember this: Mt. Ebal lies proximate to the eye of this tumult.
Let us now bridge these troubled waters.
In the next post, I will begin my review of the Stripling team’s Heritage Science article.
Now for some questions. Do you remember first hearing about COVID-19? Where and when was this? Are you aware that in 1918, a similar flu likely originated near Fort Riley, Kansas? That one, in short order, killed between twenty and a hundred million people worldwide. It likely hastened the end of World War I and confounded the tensions leading to World War II.
Let me know in “comments”.
Thank you for engaging with this topic thus far!
We now leave our Curse Tablet history. The next post, entitled “Stripling’s Article”, introduces our photo study.
I look forward to continuing with you there.
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Next post: “Stripling’s Article“
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The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
Photo Study I
[Post seventeen of thirty-two]
Heritage Science finally published its article about the Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet on 12 May 2023. Since Stripling’s press conference, twelve months had passed. Since the tablet’s discovery, it had been three and a half years.
Much of the world anticipated one feature.
Likely, you also think, “Show us the photos, please!”
Before I turn to those, however, there are four important observations to make.
Observation One
The article’s conclusion states the core of the Stripling team’s argument. With it, they challenge the documentary hypothesis.
The article’s body states the ideas Stripling considered. Only with the conclusion, however, does his stance become set. There, he states what belies the idea that Moses could not have authored the Torah.
The article, for example, credits team member Professor Gershon Galil. He is the Director of the Institute of Biblical and Ancient History at the University of Haifa. He deciphered most of the tablet’s interior face.
Galil’s premises the article outline. It cites his increased letter count. From the forty declared at the press conference, he went to forty-eight at publication. 1The article also acknowledges his modified chiasmus..
Yet, note a crucial point. The article’s conclusion leaves many, if not most, of Galil’s premises orphaned. For example, it neither adopts nor rejects his accounting of tablet letters. The same applies to his full chiasmus interpretation.
Instead, it concludes that the tablet’s inscription challenges history for truncated reasons. Those include:
The note immediately following the conclusion is telling. It acknowledges Galil’s allegiance to his premises. It announces that he desires to stand firm on his specific tablet reading. 2
A more conservative approach, however, Stripling adopted. 1
Following publication, note that Galil and Stripling ended their affiliation on amicable terms.
What are the consequences for our study?
For us, Stripling has simplified our original question, “Is there anything to see here?”
Stripling’s team answers with a resounding “Yes!” They point to the two words inside this artifact. There you find the ancient Hebrew ‘cursed’ and ‘Yahweh’. They, alone with the tablet’s setting, challenge world history!
This makes our photo study easier.
From Stripling’s perspective, we can focus on photos relevant to two words. The other words of Galil’s chiasmus are an important conjecture. But they are not crucial to Stripling’s conclusion.
Observation Two
Our purpose is not only to review the Stripling article and its photos. We also seek to study an article that attempts to refute Stripling’s case.
That article considers the alleged Hebrew words for “cursed” and “Yahweh”.
Additionally, it makes other relevant arguments. These involve two individual tablet characters and the Hebrew word for “You will die!”
I also include these in our study.
Observation Three
In the proto-alphabetic era, writing followed boustrophedon paths.2 No standardized script existed. Instead, letters tracked like oxen plowing. Envision a pre-teen or an inebriated adult pushing a lawnmower.
Observation Four
Many of these inscriptions are small. How small? Some could fit inside a wedding band or even on the side of a penny.
With the four observations in mind, we are ready for the photos.
Photos!
Cursed! Our next post declares.
Still ready?
Here are some questions. Which aspects of early writing likely took the longest to standardize? Who most likely enforced these standards?
Let me know below in “comments”.
Next post: “ARWR,” Cursed!
The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
Photo Study II
[Post eighteen of thirty-two]
Here we examine the first of our Curse Tablet photos.
From tomographic scans, we assess an intimidating word. That is “ARWR” or “cursed”. This is one of the two words fundamental to Stripling’s conclusion.
“ARWR” Gershon Galil has identified six times on the tablet’s inner face. We will focus on only one.
(Afterwards, click on the underscores to link photos, drawings, charts, etc.)
Figure 7 shows Galil’s drawings of the tablet’s inner symbols.
Our word on the annotated drawing is numbers 25 through 28.
Galil argues that four proto-alphabetic letters spelled “ARWR.” They are “Aleph,” “Resh,” “Wah,” and “Resh”.
Here is what those characters look like:
Tables 2 through 9 of Stripling’s article show tomographic scans of these letters. The Stripling team’s replicating drawing appears next to each.
To study our “ARWR,” do as follows:
Note that the photos of Tables 2-9 mirror the drawings in Figure 7. You must view one in a mirror for them to correspond. Otherwise, they appear backwards.
Now see Table 10. It reveals several photos of “Outer B”, the tablet’s bottom.
Photo # 8 in Table 10 shows a protrusion. Stripling’s team identifies this as the negative of our first “Resh”-Figure 7 #26 and Table 8 (2a and b).
Do you agree?
Note that the photo of this “resh” slants to the right, while the photo of the negative slants to the left. Is this what one would expect of a negative?
This concludes my presentation about our first word, “ARWR” / “Cursed”.
Did you find this easy?
Still, ponder this post carefully.
Read it several times while also viewing the linked photos and drawings. Let it sink in!
Here is another question. Do the Stripling team’s drawings of our “ARWR” reflect the tomographic scans?
Let me know in the comment section below.
Next post: “YHW,” “Yahweh!”
The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
Photo Study III
[Post nineteen of thirty-two]
“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:
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:
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!“
The Mt. Ebal Curse Tablet
Photo Study IV
[Post twenty of thirty-two]
We now look at an extra word and two single letters relevant to a critic’s arguments.
My introduction to them here is superficial. When I discuss a sceptic’s views, I delve deeper.
Our new word is “TMT”, meaning “You will die!”
Galil depicts it in Figure 7 as numbers: 18, 19, and 20.
The phonetic spelling is “Taw”, “Mem”, “Taw”.
Here is how they look:
To see photos and drawings of each, click:
This concludes our proto-alphabetic vocabulary survey.
Our lexicon now includes YHW, ARWR, and TMT, words with heavy meanings.
I now turn to our two solo letters. For simplicity, I examine these apart from the words they help form.
The first I call “Lovely Aleph”. See it as Figure 7’s #21 and as Table 2’s (3a & b).
All I will say is, “What a beauty!”
The second letter, which appears to exude rhythmic motion on the lower tablet, I call “Dancing He.”
View it as Figure 7’s #3 and in Table 3 (4a & b).
See a remarkable negative of it in Table 10, #2.
We now finish our initial canvas of letters and words.
We have learned seven letters: “Aleph”, “He”, “Mem”, “Resh”, “Taw”, “Waw”, and “Yod”.
At first, tackling ancient inscriptions was likely intimidating. In retrospect, you likely see them as straightforward.
As an aside, consider that in short order, first graders learn all 26 letters of our alphabet. Plus, they master a corral of words from their readers. What a wonder!
But we are not yet done. We must review the arguments opposing Stripling’s claims.
Let us get started!
But first, here are some questions. How do you suppose children master the complexities of language? Why does it seem easy for them?
Let me know your response in the comment section below.
Next post: “A Refutation?“
