The discovery and reading of an incredible 3,800-year-old inscription has the potential to answer one of archaeology’s most difficult questions. In Abrahamic religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Moses was a Hebrew prophet, most famous for leading the Israelites out of slavery in the Exodus from Egypt and parting the Red Sea. However, there remains a serious debate about whether he was, in fact, a historical figure.
Now, an ancient inscription found in an Egyptian turquoise mine has reignited the discussion. According to Archaeology Magazine, Independent researcher Michael S. Bar-Ron believes this inscription – found on the rock walls of Serabit el-Khadim, a mine in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula – holds the answer. After nearly a decade of study using 3D scans and high-resolution photos from Harvard’s Semitic Museum, Bar-Ron claims to have deciphered two phrases in early Hebrew.
Mr Bar-Ron claims he has deciphered two phrases: zot mi’Moshe (“This is from Moses”) and ne’um Moshe (“A saying of Moses”).
If his reading is correct, these would be the oldest known extra-biblical references to the prophet, predating even the earliest known Hebrew texts and the Phoenician alphabet – one of the first and the ancestor of many modern writing systems, including Greek and Latin.
The inscriptions are part of a larger group of Proto-Sinaitic writings first uncovered by famed archaeologist Flinders Petrie in the early 1900s. His most famous discovery was the Merneptah Stele, an inscription by Merneptah, a pharaoh who reigned from 1213 to 1203 BC, now housed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Scholars believe these inscriptions were etched by Semitic-speaking labourers during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III (around 1800 BCE), making them some of the oldest alphabetic writings on record.
However, Mr Bar-Ron’s interpretation is controversial. It is also important to note that his research has not yet been peer-reviewed, and he acknowledges that more work needs to be done. Nevertheless, his adviser, Pieter van der Veen, has endorsed the findings and encouraged further study.
Thomas Schneider, an Egyptologist at the University of British Columbia, told The Daily Mail that the findings are “completely unproven and misleading,” warning that “arbitrary identifications of letters can distort ancient history”.
According to the Book of Exodus, when Pharaoh ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed in order to reduce the population of the Israelites, who, he believed, might ally themselves with Egypt’s enemies, Moses’ Hebrew mother, Jochebed, secretly hid him in the bulrushes along the Nile River. The Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the infant there and adopted him and he grew up with the Egyptian royal family.
After fleeing Egypt, God sent Moses back to demand the release of the Israelites from slavery. After the Ten Plagues, Moses led the Exodus out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, after which they based themselves at Mount Sinai. Here, Moses received the Ten Commandments. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, Moses died on Mount Nebo at the age of 120, within sight of the Promised Land.
