Prof. Gershon Galil from the Institute of Biblical Studies and Ancient History at the University of Haifa recently announced that he has deciphered a 3,500-year-old stone tablet that was discovered in 2010 by archaeologist Eli Shukron in an ancient compound called the "Pillar Temple" in the City of David. According to Galil's translation, the inscription contains a curse upon the governor of Jerusalem at that time. It reads as follows:
“Cursed, cursed, you will surely die;
Cursed, cursed, you will surely die;
Governor of the City, you will surely die;
Cursed, you will surely die;
Cursed, you will surely die;
Cursed, you will surely die.”
The inscription contains 20 words and 63 letters in proto-Canaanite script, called "proto-alphabetic" by some scholars. If the translation is accurate, the stone tablet is one of the earliest inscriptions from Jerusalem and implies that the city of Jerusalem was significant enough at that point in history to have a governor. Furthermore, this inscription is similar to the inscription found on the lead curse tablet from Mt. Ebal, which was announced earlier this year (see link below), and which also dates to the Late Bronze Age, suggesting that written curses were not uncommon at that time.
OFF-SITE LINKS:
- https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2022-07-10/ty-article-magazine/archaeologists-reveal-oldest-inscription-in-jerusalem-a-canaanite-curse/00000181-e899-dace-ab93-f9bb4cee0000
MT. EBAL CURSE TABLET:
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