- Israeli mathematicians and archaeologists say they have found evidence to suggest that key biblical texts may have been composed earlier than what some scholars think.
Using handwriting analysis technology similar to that employed by intelligence agencies and banks to analyze signatures, a Tel Aviv University team determined that a famous hoard of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, dated to around 600 BC, were written by at least six different authors. Although the inscriptions are not from the Bible, their discovery suggests there was widespread literacy in ancient Judah at the time that would support the composition of biblical works.
The findings, released Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an American scientific journal, contribute to a longstanding debate about when biblical texts first began to be compiled: Did it take place before or after the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and the exile of its inhabitants to Babylon?
Interesting article. A little short on details as is common with these sorts of articles. I'd like to read the full study (will post a link to it later--right now I'm posting from work). But just more empirical support for earlier composition of OT texts than often thought. The article focuses on the historical books, but application seems more directly related to me to the Law. Certainly no proof that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, but widespread literacy in such a culture definitely suggests a high value placed on studying the Law as such, and that becomes an important historical fact that needs to be fully weighed and addressed in these debates. You can't have a high cultural value on studying a text that doesn't exist, and the more widespread the importance of studying the text, the more formalized that text needs to be and the harder later redaction becomes. Again, we need to be careful not to overread this, but we can't underread it, either.
