The Writing on the Wall?

The claim of a controversial expert to have deciphered an ancient inscription is met with doubt

You cannot imagine how thrilled I was when I saw the headline “Proof of Biblical Kings of Israel, Judah Deciphered on Jerusalem Rock Inscriptions.” The subtitle read, “Detailed Inscriptions of Eighth-Century BCE Judean King Hezekiah Discovered in Monumental Archaeological Discovery.”

But as I began to read the article, academic skepticism began to deflate my elation. I immediately noted that this announcement wasn’t one of the usual “good news for every holiday” pieces from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Instead, it originated with a University of Haifa professor who had previously been associated with sensational but highly questionable readings of ancient texts.

I continued reading and became increasingly skeptical. The article claimed that an ancient Hebrew inscription that had been deciphered referred explicitly to the digging of the Siloam tunnel (Shiloach in Tanach), providing its exact date. It went on to refer to inscriptions carved in rock walls, both in the Siloam tunnel and elsewhere in ancient Yerushalayim, that described the activities of this great king. These inscriptions had supposedly gone unrecognized until this professor deciphered them.

Read the rest of “The Writing on the Wall?” in Ami Magazine.