Gordon Franz has a new article posted in the “Cracked Pot Archaeology” category of his Life and Land blog. His entry entitled “Yahweh Inscription Discovered at Mount Sinai” is an analysis of recent claims by Robert Cornuke concerning an inscribed stone allegedly found near Jebel al-Lawz in Saudi Arabia. Franz includes drawings of the inscription, a link to a video with Cornuke’s presentation, and a careful rebuttal of the reading and authenticity of the inscription.
I won’t repeat Franz’s analysis here, but will only make the observation that there will always be a market for the sorts of things that Cornuke and others like him are selling. Why? Some people (rightly) believe the Bible is a trustworthy historical source. Some people (rightly) believe that scholarship and media are biased against their views. Some people (wrongly) conclude that anything that scholarship and the media dismiss is trustworthy. This leaves a wide open door for charlatans, hucksters, as well as well-meaning but ignorant individuals. The key to success lies not in knowledge of the subject but in an ability to communicate.
I’ve commented previously on Cornuke’s claims here and here.
One thought on “Franz Debunks Yahweh Inscription”
Apart from yielding an unpronounceable word, the script is Old South Arabian. As of now, our earliest OSA inscriptions date to 9th/8th cent. B.C., many centuries after Moses. This makes the association with Mt. Sinai and Moses even harder.