Paleo-Hebrew alphabet

The Paleo-Hebrew script is an old way of writing used in southern Canaan, which includes the areas known as Israel (Samaria) and Judah. It is thought to have been the way the first Bible books were written. This writing looks very similar to the Samaritan script and was called the "Livonaʾa script" in old writings, possibly meaning "Lebanon script."

The first Paleo-Hebrew writing found by scholars was discovered in 1870. Today, fewer than 2,000 of these writings are known, and most have just one letter or word. The oldest examples are from the 10th century BCE.

Like the Phoenician alphabet, the Paleo-Hebrew script is a version of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, which came from the Proto-Sinaitic script. It has 22 letters that stand for sounds, but no signs for vowels. By around the 5th century BCE, this script was mostly replaced by the Aramaic alphabet, which later became the modern Hebrew alphabet. However, the Samaritan script came right from the Paleo-Hebrew without changing.

History

Origins

Main articles: Phoenician alphabet and Proto-Sinaitic alphabet

The Paleo-Hebrew and Phoenician alphabets began after a big change called the Bronze Age collapse. They came from an older writing style called Proto-Canaanite in the 13th to 12th centuries BCE.

The oldest known writing in the Paleo-Hebrew style is the Zayit Stone. It was found on a wall at Tel Zayit in ancient Judea in 2005. This stone has 22 letters carved on one side. It is thought to be from around the mid-10th century BCE. Another old writing piece is the Gezer Calendar, also from about the 10th century BCE.

By the 8th century BCE, the Paleo-Hebrew script began to change and split into different styles used in places like Israel, Judah, Moab, Edom, Phoenicia, and Aram.

Use in the Israelite kingdoms

The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was widely used in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah during the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. But in the 6th century BCE, during a time called the Babylonian exile, people started using the Imperial Aramaic alphabet instead. The Samaritans kept using their own version of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, called the Samaritan script.

The Paleo-Hebrew script changed over time, becoming more like handwriting. Some of the oldest writings show these changes, like the Siloam inscription and many inscriptions from Jerusalem.

Decline and late survival

Further information: History of the Hebrew alphabet

After the Babylonian capture of Judea, some people kept using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet. For example, jar handles from Gibeon from the 6th century BCE have names written in this script.

From the 5th century BCE, the Aramaic language and writing became more common for official uses. But Paleo-Hebrew was still used by some writers.

The Paleo-Hebrew script was used for special or old-fashioned writing for a time. It appears in some old religious texts found near Tel Qumran, dated to the 2nd to 1st centuries BCE. The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was used on many coins from the time of the First Jewish–Roman War and Bar Kokhba's revolt. It was not used by Jews after 135 CE.

Legacy

Samaritan alphabet

Main article: Samaritan alphabet

The paleo-Hebrew alphabet was used by the Samaritans and slowly changed into the Samaritan alphabet. Today, the Samaritans still use this special writing for Hebrew and Aramaic texts. This script has stayed the same for many years and is mostly used for writing books.

Talmud

The Talmudic sages had different ideas about Paleo-Hebrew. Some thought it was the first writing used by the Israelites when they left Egypt. Others believed it was used only after the main writing (the Assyrian Script) was lost. Both groups agreed that Ezra the Scribe around 500 BCE started using the Assyrian script more often for the Hebrew language.

Contemporary use

Today, Proto-Hebrew is rarely used in Israel, but you can sometimes see it in special designs, like on the ₪1 coin and in the logo of the town Nahariyah.

Archaeology

In 2019, the Israel Antiquities Authority found a 2,600-year-old seal with Paleo-Hebrew writing during digs at the City of David. Experts think it belonged to an official named "Nathan-Melech" who worked for King Josiah.

Table of letters

Main article: Phoenician alphabet § Table of letters

The Phoenician and Paleo-Hebrew letters look very similar. Over time, from about 800 BCE to 600 BCE, the writing became more like handwriting. After 500 BCE, different names such as "Samaritan" or "Aramaic" were used for the various forms of the script.

Unicode

Unicode has a special block called Phoenician (U+10900–U+1091F). This block helps write many ancient scripts, including the Palaeo-Hebrew script. It can also be used for other old scripts like Archaic Phoenician, Early Aramaic, Late Phoenician cursive, Phoenician papyri, Siloam Hebrew, Hebrew seals, Ammonite, Moabite, and Punic.