The Hebrew language existed well before then the oldest extant Hebrew language texts are recorded in Phoenician script. Old Hebrew script derived directly from Phoenician, and Christopher Rollston contends that Old Hebrew script did not split off from its Phoenician predecessor until the ninth century B.C.E.

English shares the Latin script with most Western languages finding Latin letters does not necessarily mean that a text is English. Not only can a single language be written in various scripts, but a single script can be used for dozens of languages. In his study, Christopher Rollston distinguishes between purely Hebrew script and other visually similar alphabets while examining relationships between alphabets and languages. Is a text written in Hebrew script necessarily in the Hebrew language? And was the Hebrew language originally written in an alphabet that predates Hebrew script? Christopher Rollston examined four contenders for the oldest Hebrew inscription-the Qeiyafa Ostracon, Gezer Calendar, Tel Zayit Abecedary and Izbet Zayit Abecedary-to explore the interplay between early Hebrew script and language. In the BAR article What’s the Oldest Hebrew Inscription *, epigraphy scholar Christopher Rollston asks a seemingly straightforward question: What is the oldest Hebrew inscription? His examination requires him to address the fundamental questions of epigraphy. Christopher Rollston examines the Qeiyafa Ostracon, Gezer Calendar and other inscriptions in a search for the oldest Hebrew script and language.

Earliest old testament manuscripts