Izbet Sartah Abecedary Ostracon
A schoolboy's alphabet from an Israelite village near Ebenezer
Found 1976 — Moshe Kochavi and Israel Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University) excavation; found by volunteer Aaron Demsky's team member in a silo
Where Izbet Sartah, western edge of the Samaria hills opposite Tel Aphek (Rosh HaAyin) (Israel)
Dates from c. 1200–1000 BCE · Iron Age I · Judges / time of Eli and Shmuel (Samuel)
Now at Israel Museum, Jerusalem
How Izbet Sartah Abecedary Ostracon was found
Recovered from a stone-lined storage pit at a small Iron I village overlooking Aphek. Five lines of letters scratched on a sherd; the fifth line is the alphabet from alef to tav, written left to right, with pe before ayin.
What it is
A potsherd about 15 by 9 cm with 83 letters in the early alphabetic (Proto-Canaanite) script. Four lines seem to be practice scribbles; the last is a complete 22-letter abecedary, one of the oldest known.
Why it matters for the Bible
This is among the earliest writing from an Israelite-type village, showing that people in the hill country could write in the Judges period, which bears on whether early traditions could have been recorded. The order pe-ayin (instead of ayin-pe) is the same unusual order found in some biblical acrostics (Eichah 2–4), suggesting an old local alphabet tradition. The site sits across from Aphek, where the Philistines camped, and is a strong candidate for Even-ha-Ezer (Ebenezer) of 1 Shmuel 4.
The Hebrew word: AH-lef-BAYT
אָלֶף־בֵּית
אָלֶף־בֵּית is pronounced AH-lef-BAYT and means alphabet (alef-bet).
People this discovery connects to
- Samuel — שְׁמוּאֵל (shmoo-EL) — heard by Elohim
Places
- Ebenezer — אֶבֶן הָעֵזֶר (EH-ven hah-AY-zer) — stone of help
- Aphek — אֲפֵק (ah-FAYK) — stronghold, riverbed
Events
Battle of Ebenezer and capture of the Ark (1 Samuel 4:1-11)
Izbet Sartah Abecedary Ostracon in Scripture
1 Samuel 4:1 Israel camped at Ebenezer and the Philistines at Aphek; Izbet Sartah faces Aphek and is likely Ebenezer.
1 Samuel 5:1 One of only 3 verses that name Ebenezer.
1 Samuel 7:12 One of only 3 verses that name Ebenezer.
Questions people ask
What is Izbet Sartah Abecedary Ostracon?
A potsherd about 15 by 9 cm with 83 letters in the early alphabetic (Proto-Canaanite) script. Four lines seem to be practice scribbles; the last is a complete 22-letter abecedary, one of the oldest known.
When was Izbet Sartah Abecedary Ostracon discovered?
It was found in 1976 by Moshe Kochavi and Israel Finkelstein (Tel Aviv University) excavation; found by volunteer Aaron Demsky's team member in a silo, at Izbet Sartah, western edge of the Samaria hills opposite Tel Aphek (Rosh HaAyin).
Where is Izbet Sartah Abecedary Ostracon today?
Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Which Bible verses does Izbet Sartah Abecedary Ostracon relate to?
1 Samuel 4:1, 1 Samuel 5:1, 1 Samuel 7:12.
Related discoveries
- אֶבֶן גְּדוֹלָהBeth Shemesh Iron I Temple and Stone TableA 12th-century shrine with a massive flat stone — the 'large stone' where the ark rested?
- מִשְׁכָּןShiloh Monumental Iron I BuildingEast-west structure on the northern platform proposed as the tabernacle's resting place
- נֻסָּחSamuel Scrolls from Cave 4 (4QSama-c)Fragments of Samuel that preserve readings lost from the traditional Hebrew text
- מִצְפָּהMizpah (Tell en-Nasbeh)Benjamin's gathering place with a great Iron Age wall
- מִשְׁכָּןShiloh (Tel Shiloh / Khirbet Seilun)Iron I storerooms, collared-rim jars, and an altar horn at the home of the Tabernacle
- הַבָּמָה הַגְּדוֹלָהNebi Samwil (Tomb of Samuel) ExcavationsThe hilltop shrine of Samuel — and the search for Gibeon's 'great high place'
Sources
- A. Demsky, 'A Proto-Canaanite Abecedary Dating from the Period of the Judges', Tel Aviv 4 (1977)
- Wikipedia: Izbet Sartah