On Tue, Apr 9, 2013 at 11:43 AM, Nir cohen - Prof. Mat. <[email protected]>wrote:
> chavoux, jim, > > to the best of my knowledge, the proto-sianic alphabet was invented at > about 2000 bc. all the evidence indicates that it was used mainly > on animal skins. animal skins are not as durable as clay tablets. > > akkadian, yes, was used in the region, but only in political-economical > documents between leaders. not, as far as i know, for any religeous > purposes. > > now, if we assume that the hebrews did keep a written version of their > history and faith, which (so far) is just a supposition, i'd rather suppose > that it was written in proto-sinaic on animal skins than that it was > written > in akkadian. for many reasons, starting with the fact that nobody spoke > akkadian in the region except one or two scribes. > > and then again, it is just a supposition. why dont we leave it until > jim's tablets will be found by the archeologists? otherwise, what > is there to discuss positively? > In this instance, I have to agree with Karl based on probabilities. If a nomadic people did keep any kind of written records, and those records were recorded in cuneiform on stone or clay tablets, after a few decades they would need a camel the size of the space shuttle just to carry the tablets from one oasis to the next. Alphabetical documents written on leather or parchment would have been much easier to transport, as well as much easier to add to as time went along. I can neither verify nor refute Nir's comments about who knew Akkadian, but based on the sheer amount of material, I find it difficult to envision an extended nomadic family unit such as Abram's hauling a truckload of tablets here and there as they followed their flocks. Obviously, others' mileage may vary, and since we're all just educated-guessing here, I don't have a problem with that. -- Dave Washburn Check out my Internet show: http://www.irvingszoo.com Now available: a novel about King Josiah!
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