Ever since I discovered him, thanks to You Tube, I am a heavy fan of Israel Finkelstein. As an archeology lover, journalist and a social activist interested in ending the abuse of religion for ethnic supremacism, I immediately focused on his work, enjoying his mischievously polemical style in You Tube debates. May he work and communicate more and long! Aayubovan! (as we say in my language)
Great presentation. Even if there is no evidence of complex literary activity before the 8th century and that a good part of what is written reflects 8th century reality, it is hard to imagine writers recording so many details and with relative precision without written records at their disposal. It is also very hard to imagine the building of fascinating palaces and strong fortresses without some form of writing. No one how smart a writer, how powerful an oral tradition might of how knowledgeable the informants were, no one can simply remember that much and with so much accuracy. Not even a genius! In my opinion, this is one of those examples in which an "argument of silence" is precisely an "argument." Thanks
@4:30 - how to date inscriptions using stratigraphy. @5:14 "until 6, 7, 10 years ago, archeology was not dating inscriptions" (using pottery and radiocarbon method) - WOW. Why not? Was there a resistance among archeologist against radiocarbon methods? Or were pottery styles seen as too unreliable?
The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was in common use in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah throughout the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. During the 6th century BCE, the time of the Babylonian exile, the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was gradually replaced by the use of the Imperial Aramaic alphabet. Aramaic is thought to have first appeared among the Aramaeans about the late 11th century bce. By the 8th century bce it had become accepted by the Assyrians as a second language. The history of Aramaic language, that lasted from the middle of the 8th century BCE to the end of the 4th century BCE, and was marked by the use of Aramaic as a language of public life and administration in the late Neo-Assyrian, existed between 912 and 612 BCE. Aramaean, one of a confederacy of tribes that spoke a North Semitic language (Aramaic) and, between the 11th and 8th century bc, occupied Aram, a large region in northern Syria.
@Ashley Kennedy - I looked up the Samaritan Pentateuch on Wikipedia, under en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan_Pentateuch which says that the Samaritan Pentateuch was written in Samaritan Hebrew and that a first translation was made into Aramaic in the Samaritan Targum.
@@YadinZedek777 - Was the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet really in common use in the kingdom Judah throughout the 8th century BC? @29:56, first Adams says that the first writings and inscriptions in Judah are from the late 8th century BC, then Finkelstein says that much of the writing skills came from the northern kingdom of Israel to Judah in the later part of the 8th century BC, probably with refugees fleeing the Assyrian takeover of Israel. That would put a start of this development around 735 BC. . . . Was the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet gradually replaced by the Imperial Aramaic alphabet only in the time of the Babylonian exile? I would have expected a replacement in the North already in the 7th century, when the North became an Assyrian province and people from other parts of the Empire replaced the deported leadership of the North. But that's a question that could be answered archeologically: are inscriptions, ostraca, seals, in the North from the 7th century BC still in Paleo-Hebrew or already in Imperial Aramaic? Do you know more about which form was more frequent?
@@Achill101 It should be a gradual development. Just the Northern Kingdom’s tradition was almost totally wiped out by Assyrians and plastered over by Judah. Finkelstein is still only speculating on this point.
Could we say that we see the development of writing also in the prophetic writings that have come to us in the bible? We know from the Book of Kings that the Northern kingdom had powerful prophets in Elija and Elischa, but we don't have a Book of Elija or a Book of Elischa. Was writing not yet widespread enough to preserve their sermons and sayings? The first prophets leaving us their written thoughts are Hosea and Amos in the North in the middle of the 8th century BC when writing had become widespread in the North (through Amos was from the South). The first books of prophets in the South like Isaiah and Micha are from times when writing had picked up in Judah after the fall of the Northern kingdom.
Yes, agree. Literature style writing need much extensive infrastructure. Economic, material, educational and readers’ feedback (market). Even with mature literature culture existing within elite circle, without a relatively large audience, nothing would develop, which was the case for several centuries in middle age Europe.
@@jcw8964 - your reply reminds me of Linear B, an old script of the Greek language but used apparently only by administrators of larger palaces. When the larger palaces were destroyed at the end of the Late Bronze Age, Linear B disappeared with them, because THERE HAD BEEN NO LARGE AUDIENCE THAT COULD CARRY ON THE TRADITION. Greece lived through some illiterate "dark" centuries until a new script was developed from the Phoenician alphabet.
Ever since I discovered him, thanks to You Tube, I am a heavy fan of Israel Finkelstein. As an archeology lover, journalist and a social activist interested in ending the abuse of religion for ethnic supremacism, I immediately focused on his work, enjoying his mischievously polemical style in You Tube debates. May he work and communicate more and long! Aayubovan! (as we say in my language)
Another outstanding educational video, thank you.
Great presentation. Even if there is no evidence of complex literary activity before the 8th century and that a good part of what is written reflects 8th century reality, it is hard to imagine writers recording so many details and with relative precision without written records at their disposal. It is also very hard to imagine the building of fascinating palaces and strong fortresses without some form of writing. No one how smart a writer, how powerful an oral tradition might of how knowledgeable the informants were, no one can simply remember that much and with so much accuracy. Not even a genius! In my opinion, this is one of those examples in which an "argument of silence" is precisely an "argument." Thanks
@4:30 - how to date inscriptions using stratigraphy. @5:14 "until 6, 7, 10 years ago, archeology was not dating inscriptions" (using pottery and radiocarbon method) - WOW. Why not? Was there a resistance among archeologist against radiocarbon methods? Or were pottery styles seen as too unreliable?
Samaritan Pentateuch is written in Aramaic.
The Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was in common use in the kingdoms of Israel and Judah throughout the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. During the 6th century BCE, the time of the Babylonian exile, the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet was gradually replaced by the use of the Imperial Aramaic alphabet.
Aramaic is thought to have first appeared among the Aramaeans about the late 11th century bce. By the 8th century bce it had become accepted by the Assyrians as a second language. The history of Aramaic language, that lasted from the middle of the 8th century BCE to the end of the 4th century BCE, and was marked by the use of Aramaic as a language of public life and administration in the late Neo-Assyrian, existed between 912 and 612 BCE. Aramaean, one of a confederacy of tribes that spoke a North Semitic language (Aramaic) and, between the 11th and 8th century bc, occupied Aram, a large region in northern Syria.
@Ashley Kennedy - I looked up the Samaritan Pentateuch on Wikipedia, under
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan_Pentateuch
which says that the Samaritan Pentateuch was written in Samaritan Hebrew and that a first translation was made into Aramaic in the Samaritan Targum.
@@YadinZedek777 - Was the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet really in common use in the kingdom Judah throughout the 8th century BC? @29:56, first Adams says that the first writings and inscriptions in Judah are from the late 8th century BC, then Finkelstein says that much of the writing skills came from the northern kingdom of Israel to Judah in the later part of the 8th century BC, probably with refugees fleeing the Assyrian takeover of Israel. That would put a start of this development around 735 BC.
. . . Was the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet gradually replaced by the Imperial Aramaic alphabet only in the time of the Babylonian exile? I would have expected a replacement in the North already in the 7th century, when the North became an Assyrian province and people from other parts of the Empire replaced the deported leadership of the North. But that's a question that could be answered archeologically: are inscriptions, ostraca, seals, in the North from the 7th century BC still in Paleo-Hebrew or already in Imperial Aramaic? Do you know more about which form was more frequent?
@@Achill101 It should be a gradual development. Just the Northern Kingdom’s tradition was almost totally wiped out by Assyrians and plastered over by Judah. Finkelstein is still only speculating on this point.
Could we say that we see the development of writing also in the prophetic writings that have come to us in the bible? We know from the Book of Kings that the Northern kingdom had powerful prophets in Elija and Elischa, but we don't have a Book of Elija or a Book of Elischa. Was writing not yet widespread enough to preserve their sermons and sayings? The first prophets leaving us their written thoughts are Hosea and Amos in the North in the middle of the 8th century BC when writing had become widespread in the North (through Amos was from the South). The first books of prophets in the South like Isaiah and Micha are from times when writing had picked up in Judah after the fall of the Northern kingdom.
Yes, agree. Literature style writing need much extensive infrastructure. Economic, material, educational and readers’ feedback (market). Even with mature literature culture existing within elite circle, without a relatively large audience, nothing would develop, which was the case for several centuries in middle age Europe.
@@jcw8964 - your reply reminds me of Linear B, an old script of the Greek language but used apparently only by administrators of larger palaces. When the larger palaces were destroyed at the end of the Late Bronze Age, Linear B disappeared with them, because THERE HAD BEEN NO LARGE AUDIENCE THAT COULD CARRY ON THE TRADITION. Greece lived through some illiterate "dark" centuries until a new script was developed from the Phoenician alphabet.