American-Israeli researcher translates 3,800-year-old inscriptions that may predate the Bible by centuries
A researcher may have uncovered the oldest written references to Moses, dating back 3,800 years and hidden in an Egyptian desert.
The two etchings were found at Serabit el-Khadim, an ancient turquoise mining site in the Sinai Desert where Semitic laborers once worked during the Middle Bronze Age. The Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions date back between 1800 and 1600 B.C. They were etched centuries before the earliest parts of the Bible were written between the 10th and 7th centuries B.C.
The two inscriptions, among many at the site, were first discovered in the early 1900s – but they’re now being reanalyzed by an American-Israeli epigraphist named Michael S. Bar-Ron. The expert, who’s also a graduate student at Ariel University, spoke with Fox News Digital about the discovery.
Bar-Ron posits that the inscriptions read “Zot M’Moshe” and “Ne’um Moshe.” The phrases may mean “This is from Moses” and “Declaration of Moses,” respectively. If verified, the inscriptions are the earliest written mention of Moses outside the Bible. The inscriptions also reference El, a deity associated with the Abrahamic God, while censuring the ancient pagan goddess Ba`alat.
If verified, the inscriptions are the earliest written mention of Moses outside the Bible.
