by Earnest 7 Replies latest watchtower bible
The oldest Hebrew mention of Jerusalem has been found on a rare papyrus from the 7th century BCE, as reported in the Times of Israel of October 26, 2016.
A reference to a consignment of wineskins 'to Jerusalem' appears on a 2,700-year-old First Temple-era scrap believed to have been plundered from a Judean Desert cave.
Earnest, thanks for the link.
Great Post!! Thanks!
If authentic, its an interesting find, however there is some dispute regarding its authenticity. Apparently, ancient papyrus is available and the possibility exists that this document has been forged.
See this report on the document: http://www.livescience.com/56653-hebrew-papyrus-seized-from-looters.html
In part it says:
"There are some palaeographic anomalies and inconsistencies in this papyrus inscription that suggest it may be modern, not ancient," Rollston said.
He added that "the fact that the papyrus itself has been carbon-dated to the seventh century BCE certainly does not mean that the writing on the papyrus is ancient. After all, ancient papyrus is readily available for purchase online, thus, no modern forger worth his salt would forge an inscription on modern papyrus. Rather, he would purchase some ancient papyrus online and then write a text on it. It happens fairly often."
Sometimes even the most authentic-looking scroll can be a forgery. For instance, Live Science recently reported on 70 new "Dead Sea Scroll" fragmentsthat had appeared on the antiquities market over the last 15 years. Scholars have expressed concern that some of the new scrolls could be forgeries, while others could be from looting in the Judean Desert. [See Photos of the Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments]
thanks fulltime!
Thank you for your observations, fulltimestudent.
Christopher Rollston expanded on his reasons for considering the Jerusalem Papyrus a possible forgery in his blog Rollston Epigraphy. However, the Israel Antiquities Authority claim they know where the scroll was originally found and so have no doubt that it's genuine.
What is the actual spelling of the city name on the document ? Jerusalem would not have been the correct spelling at the time.
