Proto-Canaanite alphabet

Proto-Canaanite is the name given to the

(a) the Proto-Sinaitic script when found in Canaan, dating to about the 17th century BC and later.^[1]

(b) a hypothetical ancestor of the Phoenician script before some cut-off date, typically 1050 BC, with an undefined affinity to Proto-Sinaitic.^[2] No extant "Phoenician" inscription is older than 1000 BC.^[3] The Phoenician, Hebrew, and other Canaanite dialects were largely indistinguishable before that time.^[4]

About 20-25 proto-Canaanite inscriptions are known.^[5]^[6]

Name

Proto-Canaanite, also referred to as Proto-Canaan, Old Canaanite, or Canaanite,^[5] is the name given to either a script ancestral to the Phoenician or Paleo-Hebrew script with undefined affinity to Proto-Sinaitic,^[7] or to the Proto-Sinaitic script (c. 16th century BC), when found in Canaan.^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]

While no extant inscription in the Phoenician alphabet is older than c. 1050 BC,^[12] Proto-Canaanite is used for the early alphabets as used during the 13th and 12th centuries BC in Phoenicia.^[13] However, the Phoenician, Hebrew, and other Canaanite dialects were largely indistinguishable before the 11th century BC, and the writing system is essentially identical.^[14]

Inscriptions

A possible example of Proto-Canaanite, the inscription on the Ophel pithos, was found in 2012 on a pottery storage jar during the excavations of the south wall of the Temple Mount by Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar in Jerusalem. Inscribed on the pot are some big letters about an inch high, of which only five are complete, and traces of perhaps three additional letters written in Proto-Canaanite script.^[9]

Another possible Proto-Canaanite inscription is the Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon, a 15-by-16.5-centimetre (5.9 in × 6.5 in) ostracon believed to be the longest Proto-Canaanite inscription ever found.^[15]

Other inscriptions include the Lachish Dagger, Gezer Sherd, Schechem Plaque, Nagila Sherd, Izbet Sartah Ostracon, Raddana Handle, Revadim Seal, El-Khadr Arrowheads 1-5, and the Ahiram Sarcophagus.^[16]

Table of Symbols

Symbol	IPA	Reconstructed Name^[17]
	/ʔ/	'alp "ox"
	/b/	bayt "house"
	/ɡ/	gaml "throw-stick"
	/d/	dalt "door" / dilt "fish"
	/h/	haw "man-calling"?
	/w/	waw "hook"
	/z/	zayn "weapon" / ziqq "fetter"
	/ħ/	ḥayṭ "fence"?
	/tˤ/	ṭayt "wheel"
	/j/	yad "hand"
	/k/	kapp "palm"
	/l/	lamd "goad"
	/m/	maym "water"
	/n/	naḥš "snake"
	/s/	samk "support"
	/ʕ/	ʿayin "eye"
	/p/	pe "mouth"
	/kˤ/ or /q/	qup "monkey"
	/r/ or /ɾ/	ra'š "head"
?^[a] ^[18]	/ɬ/	?
	/θ/?~/ʃ/	šin? "tooth"
	/t/	taw "mark

^ A glyph for ś has been found in the Canaanite Lachish Comb inscription, though no such glyph has been found in Proto-Sinaitic, and its origin hasn't been discovered.

References

^ Woodard, Roger (2008), The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, p. 4, ISBN 9781139469340.
^ Coulmas, Florian (1996). The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21481-X.
^ Hoffman, Joel M. (2004). In the beginning : a short history of the Hebrew language. New York, NY [u.a.]: New York Univ. Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8147-3654-8. Retrieved 23 May 2017. By 1000 B.C.E., however, we see Phoenician writings [..]
^ Naveh, Joseph (1987), "Proto-Canaanite, Archaic Greek, and the Script of the Aramaic Text on the Tell Fakhariyah Statue", in Miller; et al. (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion.
^ ^a ^b Garfinkel, Yosef; Golub, Mitka R.; Misgav, Haggai; Ganor, Saar (May 2015). "The ʾIšbaʿal Inscription from Khirbet Qeiyafa". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 373 (373): 217–233. doi:10.5615/bullamerschoorie.373.0217. JSTOR 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.373.0217. S2CID 164971133.
^ Golden, Jonathan M. (2009). Ancient Canaan and Israel: An Introduction. OUP USA. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-0-19-537985-3. By the beginning of the second millennium BCE (the late Middle Bronze Age in Canaan), the scribes of Ugarit began to use a new script based on twenty-seven cuneiform characters. The southern Canaanites also developed new scripts of their own, two variations in fact-Proto-Sinaitic and Proto-Canaanite-both of which were also based upon the use of acronyms (Albright 1966; Cross 1967; Naveh 1982). Unfortunately, only a few examples of each have been recovered to date, and the ones that do exist are mostly incomplete and therefore difficult to decipher. As a result, some fundamental questions regarding the time of the first Proto-Canaanite scripts and the origins of the alphabet remain unanswered... Proto-Sinaitic... Today archaeologists know of some thirty to forty Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions that have been found on statuettes and stelae and carved into the rock faces around Serabit el-Khadim... Proto-Canaanite... Further north, another version of this new script began to emerge. Current knowledge of this script, Proto-Canaanite, is based on some twenty-five inscriptions, the earliest dating to the late Middle Bronze Age and the latest appearing at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. These inscriptions, most of which were found in a relatively small area in the southern Shephelah, span much of the second millennium BCE, though there is a notorious fourteenth-century-BCE. gap from which no texts have been found... The earliest known example of a Proto-Canaanite inscription is one word incised on a bronze dagger discovered at Lachish of the MB2 (eighteenth to seventeenth century BCE) (Starkey 1934). At first these inscriptions appeared in rather pedestrian contexts-for example, potsherds from Gezer and Nagila-and may have been used to identify the potter. It is possible that this new script was used more informally at first, while Akkadian remained the official language, which is certainly plausible considering that the new script was more accessible and required less rigorous training. In the thirteenth and twelfth (and possibly eleventh) centuries BCE, Proto-Canaanite inscriptions appear more frequently in the archaeological record, and their distribution is more widespread, though still largely in the south. These include examples from Lachish, Beth Shemesh, and 'Izbet Sartah. The inscription from the 'Izbet Sartah ostracon seems to represent the exercise of a scribe-in-training. On one line appear the letters of the alphabet, but there are several omissions and departures from the order typical of the time, and several odd combinations of signs make portions of the inscription unintelligible (Mazar 1990). By this time, Proto-Canaanite was also used for religious purposes, as indicated by an inscribed ewer found in the Fosse Temple at Lachish (c. 1220 .c.E.), which bears a blessing to a goddess...The latest Proto-Canaanite inscriptions date to the eleventh century B.C.E. Examples from this time have been found at Rapa and Gerba'al, and a group of five inscribed arrowheads was found near el-Khadr, south of Bethlehem
^ Coulmas, Florian (1996). The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21481-X.
^ Woodard, Roger (2008), The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia.
^ ^a ^b Ngo, Robin (5 May 2017). "Precursor to Paleo-Hebrew Script Discovered in Jerusalem". Bible History Daily. Biblical Archaeology Society.
^ Gideon Tsur on the Proto-Canaanite text discovered at Keifa (Hebrew)
^ Milstein, Mati (5 February 2007). "Ancient Semitic Snake Spells Deciphered in Egyptian Pyramid". news.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
^ Hoffman, Joel M. (2004). In the beginning: a short history of the Hebrew language. New York, NY [u.a.]: New York Univ. Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8147-3654-8. Retrieved 23 May 2017. By 1000 B.C.E., however, we see Phoenician writings [..]
^ John F. Healey, The Early Alphabet University of California Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-520-07309-8, p. 18.
^ Naveh, Joseph (1987), "Proto-Canaanite, Archaic Greek, and the Script of the Aramaic Text on the Tell Fakhariyah Statue", in Miller; et al. (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion.
^ "'Oldest Hebrew script' is found". BBC News. October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
^ Simons, Frank (2011). "Proto-Sinaitic – Progenitor of the Alphabet" (PDF). Rosetta. 9: 16–40.
^ "Proto-Canaanite - List of symbols". mnamon.sns.it. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
^ Vainstub, Daniel; Mumcuoglu, Madeleine; Hasel, Michael G.; Hesler, Katherine M.; Lavi, Miriam; Rabinovich, Rivka; Goren, Yuval; Garfinkel, Yosef. "A Canaanite's Wish to Eradicate Lice on an Inscribed Ivory Comb from Lachish" (PDF). Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology. Retrieved 2023-12-13.

External links

Precursor to Paleo-Hebrew Script Discovered in Jerusalem

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[GlyphSl-18] A glyph for ś has been found in the Canaanite Lachish Comb inscription, though no such glyph has been found in Proto-Sinaitic, and its origin hasn't been discovered.

[1] Woodard, Roger (2008), The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia, p. 4, ISBN 9781139469340.

[2] Coulmas, Florian (1996). The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21481-X.

[3] Hoffman, Joel M. (2004). In the beginning : a short history of the Hebrew language. New York, NY [u.a.]: New York Univ. Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8147-3654-8. Retrieved 23 May 2017. By 1000 B.C.E., however, we see Phoenician writings [..]

[4] Naveh, Joseph (1987), "Proto-Canaanite, Archaic Greek, and the Script of the Aramaic Text on the Tell Fakhariyah Statue", in Miller; et al. (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion.

[GarfinkelYetal2015-5] Garfinkel, Yosef; Golub, Mitka R.; Misgav, Haggai; Ganor, Saar (May 2015). "The ʾIšbaʿal Inscription from Khirbet Qeiyafa". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 373 (373): 217–233. doi:10.5615/bullamerschoorie.373.0217. JSTOR 10.5615/bullamerschoorie.373.0217. S2CID 164971133.

[6] Golden, Jonathan M. (2009). Ancient Canaan and Israel: An Introduction. OUP USA. pp. 243–244. ISBN 978-0-19-537985-3. By the beginning of the second millennium BCE (the late Middle Bronze Age in Canaan), the scribes of Ugarit began to use a new script based on twenty-seven cuneiform characters. The southern Canaanites also developed new scripts of their own, two variations in fact-Proto-Sinaitic and Proto-Canaanite-both of which were also based upon the use of acronyms (Albright 1966; Cross 1967; Naveh 1982). Unfortunately, only a few examples of each have been recovered to date, and the ones that do exist are mostly incomplete and therefore difficult to decipher. As a result, some fundamental questions regarding the time of the first Proto-Canaanite scripts and the origins of the alphabet remain unanswered... Proto-Sinaitic... Today archaeologists know of some thirty to forty Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions that have been found on statuettes and stelae and carved into the rock faces around Serabit el-Khadim... Proto-Canaanite... Further north, another version of this new script began to emerge. Current knowledge of this script, Proto-Canaanite, is based on some twenty-five inscriptions, the earliest dating to the late Middle Bronze Age and the latest appearing at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age. These inscriptions, most of which were found in a relatively small area in the southern Shephelah, span much of the second millennium BCE, though there is a notorious fourteenth-century-BCE. gap from which no texts have been found... The earliest known example of a Proto-Canaanite inscription is one word incised on a bronze dagger discovered at Lachish of the MB2 (eighteenth to seventeenth century BCE) (Starkey 1934). At first these inscriptions appeared in rather pedestrian contexts-for example, potsherds from Gezer and Nagila-and may have been used to identify the potter. It is possible that this new script was used more informally at first, while Akkadian remained the official language, which is certainly plausible considering that the new script was more accessible and required less rigorous training. In the thirteenth and twelfth (and possibly eleventh) centuries BCE, Proto-Canaanite inscriptions appear more frequently in the archaeological record, and their distribution is more widespread, though still largely in the south. These include examples from Lachish, Beth Shemesh, and 'Izbet Sartah. The inscription from the 'Izbet Sartah ostracon seems to represent the exercise of a scribe-in-training. On one line appear the letters of the alphabet, but there are several omissions and departures from the order typical of the time, and several odd combinations of signs make portions of the inscription unintelligible (Mazar 1990). By this time, Proto-Canaanite was also used for religious purposes, as indicated by an inscribed ewer found in the Fosse Temple at Lachish (c. 1220 .c.E.), which bears a blessing to a goddess...The latest Proto-Canaanite inscriptions date to the eleventh century B.C.E. Examples from this time have been found at Rapa and Gerba'al, and a group of five inscribed arrowheads was found near el-Khadr, south of Bethlehem

[7] Coulmas, Florian (1996). The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-21481-X.

[8] Woodard, Roger (2008), The Ancient Languages of Syria-Palestine and Arabia.

[biblicalarchaeology-9] Ngo, Robin (5 May 2017). "Precursor to Paleo-Hebrew Script Discovered in Jerusalem". Bible History Daily. Biblical Archaeology Society.

[10] Gideon Tsur on the Proto-Canaanite text discovered at Keifa (Hebrew)

[MillsteinM2007-11] Milstein, Mati (5 February 2007). "Ancient Semitic Snake Spells Deciphered in Egyptian Pyramid". news.nationalgeographic.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2017.

[12] Hoffman, Joel M. (2004). In the beginning: a short history of the Hebrew language. New York, NY [u.a.]: New York Univ. Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8147-3654-8. Retrieved 23 May 2017. By 1000 B.C.E., however, we see Phoenician writings [..]

[healy18-13] John F. Healey, The Early Alphabet University of California Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-520-07309-8, p. 18.

[NavehJ1987-14] Naveh, Joseph (1987), "Proto-Canaanite, Archaic Greek, and the Script of the Aramaic Text on the Tell Fakhariyah Statue", in Miller; et al. (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion.

[15] "'Oldest Hebrew script' is found". BBC News. October 30, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2011.

[16] Simons, Frank (2011). "Proto-Sinaitic – Progenitor of the Alphabet" (PDF). Rosetta. 9: 16–40.

[17] "Proto-Canaanite - List of symbols". mnamon.sns.it. Retrieved 2024-02-05.

[:4-19] Vainstub, Daniel; Mumcuoglu, Madeleine; Hasel, Michael G.; Hesler, Katherine M.; Lavi, Miriam; Rabinovich, Rivka; Goren, Yuval; Garfinkel, Yosef. "A Canaanite's Wish to Eradicate Lice on an Inscribed Ivory Comb from Lachish" (PDF). Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology. Retrieved 2023-12-13.

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