Origins of Israel’s Scriptures — Writing and Language

Development of Hebrew Alphabetic Writing

c. 1100-800 BC
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Early alphabetic scripts developed into forms used to write Hebrew, making durable records, inscriptions, correspondence, and eventually extended literary works possible.

Full Account

The Hebrew Bible arose within the larger writing culture of the ancient Near East. Alphabetic writing required far fewer signs than cuneiform systems and spread in several related regional forms. Early Hebrew was written in a script commonly called Paleo-Hebrew, closely related to Phoenician. Surviving inscriptions such as the Gezer Calendar, the Samaria ostraca, the Siloam inscription, and the Lachish letters demonstrate that writing was used for administration, commemoration, commerce, and communication. These artifacts do not preserve the original biblical manuscripts, but they establish the material and linguistic environment in which Israelite and Judean literature could be recorded and copied.

Historical Significance

The growth of alphabetic literacy supplied the practical foundation for preserving Israel's laws, poetry, prophecy, royal traditions, and historical narratives in written form.

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