We see TD(L in the received unpointed Masoretic text. But from the Septuagint,
we can be quite sure that the ayin is an archaic ghayin (a letter I will
represent by a small g). So the Bible has TDgL. And what spelling do we see
at Late Bronze Age Ugarit for this same Hittite kingly name? TDgL. That’s
letter-for-letter accuracy, verified by an impeccable non-biblical Late Bronze
Age source.
In Hittite, however, the spelling is Tu-ud-xa-li-ya. Note how the defective
early Hebrew spelling omits all the vowels, including omitting the entire
ending. Also note that the Masoretic pointing of the vowels, done in the
Middle Ages, is wrong (not unexpectedly).
I believe that all mainstream scholars agree with the foregoing analysis. Here
is a typical scholarly comment: “Hittite…included the voiced velar fricative
/ģ/ in their phonetic inventory. And yes, this sound was represented in the
Ugaritic alphabet with the letter ģ; a famous and convenient example is the
Hittite royal name m tu-ud-xa-li-ya ‘Tudhaliya’ = tdģl.” Gary A. Rendsburg,
Aaron D. Rubin and John Huehnergard, “A Proper View of Arabic, Semitic, and
More”, Journal of the American Oriental Society 128.3 (2008), at pp. 537-8.
Note the following:
1. In early Biblical Hebrew defective spelling, most of the vowels in a
non-Semitic name or word will be omitted.
2. The Masoretic pointing of vowels that was done in the Middle Ages has no
credibility as to Late Bronze Age non-Semitic names or words.
3. The Hebrew ayin does not represent a non-Semitic ayin. Here, the Hebrew
ayin is an archaic ghayin that represents one type of heth/X in Hittite.
4. The pinpoint, letter-for-letter spelling accuracy of TD(L in a Late Bronze
Age historical context is truly stunning.
Why do mainstream university scholars persist in trying to tell us that this
admittedly ancient Biblical text is fiction? Not! If you can’t believe
Ugaritic alphabetic spellings of Hittite kingly names, what can you believe?
Jim Stinehart
Shanghai, China (temporarily)
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