This is from the Jerusalem Post, by way of the Jesus Creed —
A breakthrough in the research of the Bible has shed new light on the period in which the Bible could have been written, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE, the University of Haifa announced on Thursday.
Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa recently deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE, and showed that it was a Hebrew inscription, making it the earliest known Hebrew writing.
This breakthrough indicates that at least some of the scriptures were composed hundreds of years before the dates previously believed, and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time. The 10th century BCE was the period of King David’s reign.
Some have argued that the scriptures cannot be as old as the Bible claims because the Jews weren’t able to write Hebrew that early. This discovery proves that Hebrew was written at least as early as the time of David and Samuel — and Samuel is often credited as the author of several Old Testament books.
Now, another cool thing is what the text says,
1 you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].
2 Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]
3 [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]
4 the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.
5 Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.
It sounds very much like the principles found in the law of Moses — and expressing attitudes to the weak and helpless very foreign to the surrounding nations.
