Monday, January 18, 2010

They Were Like That for a Long Time


The earliest known example of Hebrew writing, said on I'm not sure what grounds to date to the 10th century BC, has been translated:
1' you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].
2' Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]
3' [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]
4' the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.
5' Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.
Although this is not a passage from any Biblical book we have now, it much resembles a lot of passages. It seems that the ancient Hebrew prophets had been saying this sort of thing for a long time when the Bible was written down.

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