Derek Lambert, who often interviews academics on historical and archaeological matters related to ancient Judaism and early Christianity, did a full interview with archaeologist Scott Stripling. As laid out in my blog post two days ago, see “Oldest Hebrew Inscription Ever Found in Israel–What We Know so Far?” Stripling announced the discovery of a late Bronze Age curse tablet on Mt Ebal–which he connects contextually to the blessing and cursing traditions now found in Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8. It is an fascianting exchange, between Derek who tends to be skeptical on maximalist claims about composition of the Torah, and Scott who is an evangelical Christian as well as a professional archaeologist. So far as I know this is the most extensive information we have so far, pending the full publication.
Epigrapher Chris Rollston has weighted in providing some wider context for some of the claims made at the press conference. You can read his cautionary blog post here: “The Mount Ebal Lead ‘Curse’ Inscription in Late Bronze Age Hebrew: Some Methodological Caveats.”
Stripling also has a podcast with the Times of Israel you can listen to here–with additional reporting on the find: “Does a Tiny ‘Curse’ Tablet from Mt Ebal Date to the Israelite Settlement?”
Cover Photo: Photo courtesy of Aaron Lipkin – Lipkin Tours, Ltd, Ofra, Israel. Aaron is a tireless promoter of Professor Zertal’s work. His site has many useful resources on a variety of subjects related to the historicity of the Bible.
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