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1
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- I grew up hearing stories
from the pages of the Bible,
2
00:01:40,578 --> 00:01:42,102
but did they really happen?
3
00:01:46,976 --> 00:01:51,023
This question led me to the
ancient lands of the Middle East
4
00:01:51,067 --> 00:01:53,156
searching for
patterns of evidence
5
00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,768
that matched the
Biblical events.
6
00:02:03,732 --> 00:02:07,649
I wasn't prepared for
what would be revealed.
7
00:02:23,708 --> 00:02:27,886
I had been interviewing people
all over the world for years.
8
00:02:27,930 --> 00:02:30,454
Now, it was time
to tell my story.
9
00:02:31,934 --> 00:02:34,763
As a filmmaker,
investigating the Exodus
10
00:02:34,806 --> 00:02:36,765
and the writings of Moses,
11
00:02:36,808 --> 00:02:38,897
I was confronted by
a new controversy.
12
00:02:40,421 --> 00:02:42,510
Most scholars don't think
Moses could have written
13
00:02:42,553 --> 00:02:44,642
the early books of the Bible;
14
00:02:44,686 --> 00:02:48,080
but that is exactly what
the Bible is claiming.
15
00:02:48,124 --> 00:02:51,649
These scholars think that Hebrew,
the language of the Bible,
16
00:02:51,693 --> 00:02:55,697
wasn't even in existence
at the time of Moses.
17
00:02:55,740 --> 00:02:58,917
This is the Moses controversy.
18
00:02:58,961 --> 00:03:01,790
But that is not where
my journey began.
19
00:03:01,833 --> 00:03:05,185
I started this
investigation back in 2002
20
00:03:05,228 --> 00:03:08,188
searching for the path that
Moses and the Israelites
21
00:03:08,231 --> 00:03:11,452
would have taken in their
Exodus out of Egypt.
22
00:03:11,495 --> 00:03:14,542
Either he was
something like that.
23
00:03:16,848 --> 00:03:18,459
- Do what?
24
00:03:18,502 --> 00:03:20,504
What interested me
in the beginning
25
00:03:20,548 --> 00:03:23,159
was that I had heard
of Exodus explorers
26
00:03:23,203 --> 00:03:25,379
claiming to have found
remarkable evidence
27
00:03:25,422 --> 00:03:28,860
of a miraculous sea crossing
where the Bible says
28
00:03:28,904 --> 00:03:33,125
God split the waters to
allow the Israelites to pass.
29
00:03:33,169 --> 00:03:36,128
But brought the water back
down on the Egyptians,
30
00:03:36,172 --> 00:03:38,305
destroying their
chariots and army.
31
00:03:39,697 --> 00:03:42,657
These explorers claim to
have found the remains
32
00:03:42,700 --> 00:03:44,702
of coral-encrusted
chariot wheels
33
00:03:44,746 --> 00:03:47,139
on the bottom of the Red Sea.
34
00:03:50,317 --> 00:03:53,581
There were other Exodus
explorers claiming to have found
35
00:03:53,624 --> 00:03:55,626
the real location of Mount Sinai
36
00:03:57,324 --> 00:03:59,804
with the remains of
altars from the time
37
00:03:59,848 --> 00:04:02,503
when the Israelites
met with God,
38
00:04:04,331 --> 00:04:07,682
and where Moses began to write
the first books of the Bible.
39
00:04:09,727 --> 00:04:12,252
Could it be that after
thousands of years,
40
00:04:12,295 --> 00:04:15,820
the real Exodus story was
finally being discovered;
41
00:04:16,778 --> 00:04:18,823
one of the greatest
stories of the Bible.
42
00:04:20,869 --> 00:04:22,305
- I think the Exodus
story is fundamental
43
00:04:22,349 --> 00:04:25,656
because when you to
understand the Bible,
44
00:04:25,700 --> 00:04:27,963
it's the history of Israel.
45
00:04:31,662 --> 00:04:33,838
Israel has no history
apart from the Exodus.
46
00:04:33,882 --> 00:04:36,841
The Exodus defines
the Jewish people.
47
00:04:36,885 --> 00:04:38,278
It's their self-identity.
48
00:04:39,975 --> 00:04:41,237
The whole understanding
of the Passover,
49
00:04:41,281 --> 00:04:42,847
which throughout
the Old Testament,
50
00:04:42,891 --> 00:04:46,416
you see that the Exodus is
repeated over and over again.
51
00:04:48,070 --> 00:04:50,202
- Who would combine
Passover offering matza.
52
00:04:50,246 --> 00:04:53,118
It's the God who
brought you out of Egypt.
53
00:04:53,162 --> 00:04:55,730
Remember, go back to,
these events happened.
54
00:05:03,041 --> 00:05:05,087
But I also
interviewed scholars
55
00:05:05,130 --> 00:05:08,873
who dismissed the books
of Moses as fanciful tales
56
00:05:08,917 --> 00:05:11,354
about the origins
of the Israelites
57
00:05:11,398 --> 00:05:14,488
not written until
long after the events.
58
00:05:16,054 --> 00:05:18,840
This caused me to put my investigation of the sea crossing
59
00:05:18,883 --> 00:05:21,190
and the journey to
Mount Sinai on hold.
60
00:05:22,844 --> 00:05:25,673
I knew I could not
investigate these events
61
00:05:25,716 --> 00:05:27,892
until I first
determined whether Moses
62
00:05:27,936 --> 00:05:30,939
even had the ability to
write down the details
63
00:05:30,982 --> 00:05:32,244
of the Exodus journey.
64
00:05:35,552 --> 00:05:39,034
This investigation would
reveal one of the most profound
65
00:05:39,077 --> 00:05:42,690
discoveries I have
ever encountered.
66
00:05:42,733 --> 00:05:45,388
- Another one going
along in this direction.
67
00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:53,309
I traveled to some
68
00:05:53,353 --> 00:05:55,267
of today's leading
universities to understand why
69
00:05:55,311 --> 00:05:58,836
mainstream scholars don't
consider these early events
70
00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:01,012
of the Bible to be historical.
71
00:06:05,147 --> 00:06:07,802
Professor William Dever
is one of America's
72
00:06:07,845 --> 00:06:10,544
premier archeologists
who specializes
73
00:06:10,587 --> 00:06:13,547
in the history of Israel
during Biblical times.
74
00:06:13,590 --> 00:06:15,505
Early in his 50 year career,
75
00:06:15,549 --> 00:06:17,681
he witnessed and
actually participated
76
00:06:17,725 --> 00:06:21,337
in a revolutionary change of
attitudes towards the Bible
77
00:06:21,381 --> 00:06:22,991
in the field of archeology.
78
00:06:24,906 --> 00:06:28,170
- I made my early
reputation warring against
79
00:06:28,213 --> 00:06:30,041
traditional Biblical archeology.
80
00:06:30,085 --> 00:06:34,394
People say Dever's the man who
killed Biblical archeology.
81
00:06:34,437 --> 00:06:38,093
No, I only observed its
passing and wrote its obituary.
82
00:06:38,136 --> 00:06:40,356
The fact is that
sort of archeology,
83
00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,794
tryin God to prove the
Bible, wasn't working.
84
00:06:43,838 --> 00:06:46,493
I rebelled against my
teachers when I was young
85
00:06:46,536 --> 00:06:48,973
because I thought there
was much more to learn
86
00:06:49,017 --> 00:06:51,802
with different
approaches to archeology.
87
00:06:51,846 --> 00:06:56,198
Today no one does that kind
of prove the Bible archeology.
88
00:06:56,241 --> 00:06:58,548
Remember the Biblical
writers exaggerate.
89
00:06:58,592 --> 00:07:00,681
Solomon was not quite that great
90
00:07:00,724 --> 00:07:03,597
and David didn't do
all those things.
91
00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:06,817
I don't see Moses as the
founder of Israelite religion
92
00:07:06,861 --> 00:07:08,602
and most scholars don't today.
93
00:07:10,038 --> 00:07:12,606
Professor
Donald Redford has long been
94
00:07:12,649 --> 00:07:15,913
one of the world's most
respected Egyptologists.
95
00:07:15,957 --> 00:07:19,787
He was given the award for Best
Scholarly Book in archeology
96
00:07:19,830 --> 00:07:24,487
for his work Egypt, Canaan,
and Israel in Ancient Times.
97
00:07:24,531 --> 00:07:27,795
He too is very critical of
the early Bible stories,
98
00:07:27,838 --> 00:07:30,232
including the Exodus.
99
00:07:30,275 --> 00:07:35,280
- I would subject the
Biblical one to 15 of Exodus
100
00:07:36,499 --> 00:07:39,023
to the same kind of
historical probing
101
00:07:39,067 --> 00:07:40,895
that any historian will do.
102
00:07:40,938 --> 00:07:42,070
Who wrote this stuff?
103
00:07:42,113 --> 00:07:43,419
For whom did he write it?
104
00:07:43,463 --> 00:07:45,029
When did he write it?
105
00:07:45,073 --> 00:07:47,902
Very important, what
did he know of the topic
106
00:07:47,945 --> 00:07:49,643
he was writing about?
107
00:07:49,686 --> 00:07:53,124
Boy in my research,
Exodus one to 15
108
00:07:53,168 --> 00:07:55,126
comes off very negatively.
109
00:07:56,476 --> 00:07:57,694
- What does negatively mean?
110
00:07:57,738 --> 00:08:01,916
- It does not reflect
almost anything
111
00:08:01,959 --> 00:08:05,354
to do with the
original incident.
112
00:08:09,576 --> 00:08:11,969
Retired university
professor Doug Knight
113
00:08:12,013 --> 00:08:14,450
taught at Vanderbilt's
Divinity School.
114
00:08:14,494 --> 00:08:16,626
He co-wrote The
Meaning of the Bible,
115
00:08:16,670 --> 00:08:20,369
which is used in numerous
colleges and seminaries.
116
00:08:20,412 --> 00:08:22,719
- Did Moses write the Torah?
117
00:08:22,763 --> 00:08:24,765
Frankly I don't think so.
118
00:08:26,027 --> 00:08:27,985
I think it was a product
of a lot of other people
119
00:08:28,029 --> 00:08:31,467
much later than his time.
120
00:08:34,165 --> 00:08:36,428
- Interestingly, these
three leading voices
121
00:08:36,472 --> 00:08:40,084
in the world of archeology,
Egyptology, and Biblical studies
122
00:08:40,128 --> 00:08:41,695
have something in common:
123
00:08:41,738 --> 00:08:44,915
All were raised on conservative
Bible-believing homes
124
00:08:44,959 --> 00:08:46,917
just as I was.
125
00:08:46,961 --> 00:08:50,486
Over time, these
scholars became agnostic;
126
00:08:50,530 --> 00:08:53,358
at least in part because
of the challenges they saw
127
00:08:53,402 --> 00:08:57,449
against the Bible, such as the
lack of supporting evidence.
128
00:08:58,712 --> 00:09:01,018
Was that sort of the
beginning of going from
129
00:09:01,062 --> 00:09:05,109
maybe a fundamentalist
believer to an agnostic?
130
00:09:05,153 --> 00:09:06,850
- Yes, very much so.
131
00:09:08,983 --> 00:09:11,855
This is very personal
that something had been
132
00:09:11,899 --> 00:09:16,207
put over on me and there
was fraudulence involved.
133
00:09:16,251 --> 00:09:18,688
I still feel that way.
134
00:09:20,864 --> 00:09:22,431
- By exploring this topic,
135
00:09:23,780 --> 00:09:25,652
would I follow their same path?
136
00:09:27,218 --> 00:09:30,918
Or would I find answers to my
questions and keep my faith?
137
00:09:42,756 --> 00:09:45,367
My parents met at a Bible
college in Minneapolis.
138
00:09:48,805 --> 00:09:51,373
My mother got her degree
in music and my father,
139
00:09:51,416 --> 00:09:55,638
a decorated Korean war vet,
was studying to be a pastor.
140
00:09:55,682 --> 00:09:58,293
They married and I
was their first child.
141
00:10:00,208 --> 00:10:02,210
On weekends we would
travel to a country church
142
00:10:02,253 --> 00:10:04,734
in Wisconsin to
help with services.
143
00:10:04,778 --> 00:10:07,171
My father, with his
military background,
144
00:10:07,215 --> 00:10:09,652
ended up becoming
a police officer.
145
00:10:09,696 --> 00:10:13,525
My family grew to include
two sisters and a brother.
146
00:10:14,962 --> 00:10:17,791
Every week we attended
Sunday School at church
147
00:10:17,834 --> 00:10:20,924
and would hear a different
story from the Bible.
148
00:10:20,968 --> 00:10:22,143
That would have
been the first time
149
00:10:22,186 --> 00:10:25,233
I learned about
Moses and the Exodus.
150
00:10:25,276 --> 00:10:28,192
I would come to believe that
these stories were true.
151
00:10:28,236 --> 00:10:31,195
As I grew older, I was taught
that Moses was the author
152
00:10:31,239 --> 00:10:33,284
of the first books of the Bible,
153
00:10:33,328 --> 00:10:35,896
also known as the Torah
or the Pentateuch.
154
00:10:37,288 --> 00:10:39,073
That is why what
Professor Doug Knight said
155
00:10:39,116 --> 00:10:42,250
about the Bible not
being written by Moses,
156
00:10:42,293 --> 00:10:45,122
but by multiple authors
hundreds of years later
157
00:10:45,166 --> 00:10:47,168
was troubling to me.
158
00:10:47,211 --> 00:10:49,823
I asked Professor
Dever about this.
159
00:10:49,866 --> 00:10:52,303
Let's talk about how
common the view is
160
00:10:52,347 --> 00:10:55,306
that Moses wrote the Torah
among scholars today.
161
00:10:56,917 --> 00:11:00,224
- I don't think any scholars
would hold that view today.
162
00:11:00,268 --> 00:11:03,184
Even evangelical scholars
163
00:11:03,227 --> 00:11:06,840
make use of the documentary
hypothesis for instance.
164
00:11:06,883 --> 00:11:09,320
Laypeople of course
will believe that
165
00:11:09,364 --> 00:11:12,672
and orthodox Jews will
believe that, orthodox rabbis.
166
00:11:12,715 --> 00:11:15,196
But I don't think any
mainstream scholars
167
00:11:15,239 --> 00:11:17,285
would any longer hold that view.
168
00:11:21,419 --> 00:11:24,161
- Did the skepticism
of Dever and the others
169
00:11:24,205 --> 00:11:27,164
come from a previous
generation's paradigm?
170
00:11:28,688 --> 00:11:32,256
Because there are scholars
with a different view.
171
00:11:33,344 --> 00:11:35,259
I traveled to
Louisville, Kentucky.
172
00:11:35,303 --> 00:11:38,523
I wanted to ask some of the
top evangelical scholars
173
00:11:38,567 --> 00:11:41,265
whether they have abandoned
the thinking that Moses
174
00:11:41,309 --> 00:11:43,137
wrote the Torah.
175
00:11:43,180 --> 00:11:46,140
The question about Moses'
authorship is a question
176
00:11:46,183 --> 00:11:48,185
that I've been investigating.
177
00:11:48,229 --> 00:11:51,536
Do you think Moses authored
the first five books?
178
00:11:51,580 --> 00:11:53,451
- I think it comes
from Moses himself.
179
00:11:55,062 --> 00:11:57,151
- And it comes from the time
period he would have lived?
180
00:11:57,194 --> 00:11:58,326
That's right.
181
00:12:00,807 --> 00:12:03,200
- Professor Peter Gentry
is a leading expert
182
00:12:03,244 --> 00:12:05,159
in the ancient Near East,
183
00:12:05,202 --> 00:12:07,596
working in a dozen
ancient languages
184
00:12:07,639 --> 00:12:11,121
while specializing in Greek
and the Semitic family.
185
00:12:11,165 --> 00:12:14,342
He spent 17 years at the
University of Toronto
186
00:12:14,385 --> 00:12:18,346
in the same department
where Donald Redford taught.
187
00:12:18,389 --> 00:12:21,305
- Many scholars today
are just unaware
188
00:12:21,349 --> 00:12:26,354
of the latest advances in
research on archeology, history,
189
00:12:27,311 --> 00:12:29,226
how the Hebrews
did their writing,
190
00:12:29,270 --> 00:12:31,228
how Hebrew literature works.
191
00:12:33,274 --> 00:12:37,017
All of these things uphold
the claims in the text
192
00:12:37,060 --> 00:12:41,935
and show that the
criteria used to establish
193
00:12:41,978 --> 00:12:44,981
the documentary hypothesis
is completely false.
194
00:12:46,330 --> 00:12:48,768
- Why haven't people
acknowledged that?
195
00:12:48,811 --> 00:12:53,381
- I think if you're going
to be a real scholar,
196
00:12:53,424 --> 00:12:56,776
if you're going to open
yourself to the truth,
197
00:12:56,819 --> 00:13:01,781
we can't just copy what we're
taught by our professors.
198
00:13:02,912 --> 00:13:04,174
We have to investigate
the evidence.
199
00:13:06,220 --> 00:13:08,222
- Could there be evidence
200
00:13:08,265 --> 00:13:11,094
that the majority of
scholars are missing?
201
00:13:13,749 --> 00:13:16,708
The more I thought about
it, the more I realized
202
00:13:16,752 --> 00:13:20,843
that the attack on the credibility of the Bible starts here
203
00:13:20,887 --> 00:13:23,585
with the questions of
who wrote the Bible
204
00:13:23,628 --> 00:13:25,413
and when was it written?
205
00:13:28,372 --> 00:13:33,029
The Exodus includes a series
of fantastic miracles.
206
00:13:33,073 --> 00:13:35,249
It's an account
that tells of God
207
00:13:35,292 --> 00:13:38,034
leading the Israelites
out of Egypt
208
00:13:38,078 --> 00:13:40,820
across a vast wilderness.
209
00:13:43,518 --> 00:13:46,564
Pharaoh's army of
chariots pursues them,
210
00:13:46,608 --> 00:13:48,175
trapping them at the sea.
211
00:13:57,140 --> 00:14:01,536
Then the sea parted, allowing
the Israelites to pass through
212
00:14:01,579 --> 00:14:03,625
but destroying the Egyptians.
213
00:14:07,150 --> 00:14:11,676
The Israelites then went on to
Mount Sinai to meet with God
214
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:14,288
and receive the 10 Commandments.
215
00:14:37,964 --> 00:14:40,880
All this was said to
be recorded by Moses
216
00:14:43,012 --> 00:14:46,363
as an eyewitness
account that had details
217
00:14:46,407 --> 00:14:50,106
of the route out of Egypt,
including camp sites.
218
00:14:51,847 --> 00:14:54,894
To investigate this route,
I would need to look at
219
00:14:54,937 --> 00:14:58,158
the geographical descriptions
and identifications
220
00:14:58,201 --> 00:15:00,160
given in the text
for the journey
221
00:15:01,465 --> 00:15:04,425
because some of these sites
might still be locatable.
222
00:15:05,382 --> 00:15:07,689
But if Moses didn't record this
223
00:15:07,732 --> 00:15:10,257
and it was just a
later invention,
224
00:15:10,300 --> 00:15:12,476
then what would be the point
of searching for evidence
225
00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,305
of the route taken
by the Israelites?
226
00:15:16,263 --> 00:15:17,525
Since the rest of the Bible
227
00:15:17,568 --> 00:15:20,267
is based on the
writings of Moses,
228
00:15:20,310 --> 00:15:23,313
the credibility of the
Exodus and the entire Bible
229
00:15:23,357 --> 00:15:27,665
is directly connected to the
question of Moses' authorship.
230
00:15:27,709 --> 00:15:29,537
Can any of it be trusted?
231
00:15:36,370 --> 00:15:40,243
So it's clear that the big
question in this investigation
232
00:15:40,287 --> 00:15:41,462
needs to be this:
233
00:15:43,507 --> 00:15:47,207
Did Moses have the ability
to write the book of Exodus
234
00:15:47,250 --> 00:15:49,339
as an eyewitness account?
235
00:16:00,481 --> 00:16:03,397
If Moses began writing the
first five books of the Bible
236
00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:06,443
during the Exodus,
when did that occur?
237
00:16:07,705 --> 00:16:10,926
That's a dating question
that brings us back to Egypt
238
00:16:10,970 --> 00:16:13,581
because it supplies all
the archeological dates
239
00:16:13,624 --> 00:16:15,496
for that region of the world.
240
00:16:19,195 --> 00:16:23,112
In a previous film called Patterns of
- The Exodus,
241
00:16:23,156 --> 00:16:26,115
I created a wall of
time to help visualize
242
00:16:26,159 --> 00:16:28,944
the different time periods
I was investigating.
243
00:16:30,946 --> 00:16:33,209
The wall of time allowed
me to simply compare
244
00:16:33,253 --> 00:16:36,560
the events of Egypt's
history on the first level
245
00:16:36,604 --> 00:16:39,868
with events recorded in the
Bible on the second level.
246
00:16:39,911 --> 00:16:42,914
At the bottom was a
timeline of absolute dates
247
00:16:42,958 --> 00:16:45,961
and a movable base to gauge
the events of history,
248
00:16:47,441 --> 00:16:50,487
with great pylons marking
every thousand years.
249
00:16:54,013 --> 00:16:56,493
Over the last century, the
dominant view among scholars
250
00:16:56,537 --> 00:16:59,279
has been the assumption
that if the six steps
251
00:16:59,322 --> 00:17:01,716
of the Exodus happened,
it must have been
252
00:17:01,759 --> 00:17:04,588
during Egypt's new
kingdom at the time
253
00:17:04,632 --> 00:17:09,202
of its most famous Pharaoh,
Ramesses II around 1250 B.C.
254
00:17:10,377 --> 00:17:13,641
This is known as the
Ramesses Exodus Theory.
255
00:17:14,511 --> 00:17:17,210
However, my previous
investigation
256
00:17:17,253 --> 00:17:20,082
highlighted clear Biblical
evidence pointing to
257
00:17:20,126 --> 00:17:24,478
an earlier Exodus state
closer to 1450 B.C.,
258
00:17:24,521 --> 00:17:26,523
rather than 1250 B.C.
259
00:17:27,481 --> 00:17:29,874
The kind of writing
system Moses used
260
00:17:29,918 --> 00:17:33,226
must have been in
place by 1450 B.C.
261
00:17:41,669 --> 00:17:44,454
Throughout history,
all known Torah scrolls
262
00:17:44,498 --> 00:17:48,719
were written in Hebrew, the
language of the Israelites.
263
00:17:50,199 --> 00:17:52,680
One reason mainstream
scholars doubt that
264
00:17:52,723 --> 00:17:55,291
Moses could write the
Torah is that they say
265
00:17:55,335 --> 00:17:57,641
there was no form of
writing like Hebrew
266
00:17:57,685 --> 00:18:00,688
in existence at the
time of the Exodus.
267
00:18:05,823 --> 00:18:08,217
So to establish the
possibility that Moses
268
00:18:08,261 --> 00:18:11,177
could have written the
first books of the Bible,
269
00:18:11,220 --> 00:18:13,701
I would have to identify
a writing system
270
00:18:13,744 --> 00:18:17,052
that Moses could've used
that had these components.
271
00:18:18,749 --> 00:18:21,752
It would need to exist
by the time of the Exodus
272
00:18:21,796 --> 00:18:24,538
because that's when the
Bible says Moses was living
273
00:18:24,581 --> 00:18:27,410
and writing the early books.
274
00:18:27,454 --> 00:18:30,848
It would have to be available
in the region of Egypt
275
00:18:30,892 --> 00:18:33,503
because that is where
the Bible places Moses
276
00:18:33,547 --> 00:18:37,028
and the Israelites in the
centuries before the Exodus.
277
00:18:38,508 --> 00:18:41,250
It would need to be a form
of writing like Hebrew
278
00:18:41,294 --> 00:18:44,123
that Moses could have
used to write the Torah
279
00:18:44,166 --> 00:18:47,300
because that was the language
of the early Israelites.
280
00:18:49,128 --> 00:18:52,348
Patterns are powerful tools
because they demonstrate
281
00:18:52,392 --> 00:18:54,481
a sequence of information.
282
00:18:54,524 --> 00:18:58,006
A sequence is much stronger
than one random piece of data.
283
00:18:58,049 --> 00:19:00,617
I have learned that to
find a pattern in history,
284
00:19:00,661 --> 00:19:03,142
you would need all the
pieces to fit together.
285
00:19:13,152 --> 00:19:14,805
One reason there
is a debate over
286
00:19:14,849 --> 00:19:17,068
whether Moses could
have written the Torah
287
00:19:17,112 --> 00:19:20,376
is because the original
documents have not survived
288
00:19:20,420 --> 00:19:22,770
the many centuries
down to today.
289
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,295
So what are the
oldest copies we have
290
00:19:26,339 --> 00:19:29,559
and how close are they
to the time of Moses?
291
00:19:31,300 --> 00:19:33,824
I traveled to the
Dead Sea in Israel,
292
00:19:33,868 --> 00:19:37,567
where in the 1940s and 50s,
the oldest known copies
293
00:19:37,611 --> 00:19:39,830
of books from the
Bible were discovered.
294
00:19:40,744 --> 00:19:42,964
They were called
the Dead Sea Scrolls
295
00:19:43,007 --> 00:19:44,705
and they were written in Hebrew,
296
00:19:44,748 --> 00:19:46,968
the language of the
early Israelites.
297
00:19:52,843 --> 00:19:56,195
Dr. Randall Price was the
director of excavations
298
00:19:56,238 --> 00:19:58,806
at Qumran for 10 years.
299
00:19:58,849 --> 00:20:03,289
In January of 2017, he was
a part of the discovery
300
00:20:03,332 --> 00:20:05,378
of a new cave at Qumran;
301
00:20:05,421 --> 00:20:07,467
the first new cave
in over 60 years.
302
00:20:07,510 --> 00:20:12,515
- Here we also found
part of a top of a juglet
303
00:20:13,690 --> 00:20:16,780
and of a cooking pot,
indication this cave was used.
304
00:20:17,738 --> 00:20:19,696
They found
the remains of jars,
305
00:20:19,740 --> 00:20:22,786
placed in niches, but the
scrolls had been taken.
306
00:20:23,787 --> 00:20:25,702
They hoped to find more
caves with new evidence
307
00:20:25,746 --> 00:20:27,051
in the years ahead.
308
00:20:28,749 --> 00:20:32,013
I asked him about the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
309
00:20:32,056 --> 00:20:34,842
- Now with the Dead Sea
Scrolls, not only do we have
310
00:20:34,885 --> 00:20:37,279
this history brought to life
311
00:20:37,323 --> 00:20:39,629
with all these
various documents,
312
00:20:39,673 --> 00:20:41,805
but we have every copy,
313
00:20:41,849 --> 00:20:44,504
every book of the Old
Testament except for Esther.
314
00:20:44,547 --> 00:20:46,375
But Esther is mentioned
in some of the texts,
315
00:20:46,419 --> 00:20:49,813
so we know they must've
had it represented.
316
00:20:49,857 --> 00:20:52,686
We have the oldest copies
of the Bible that we know.
317
00:20:57,386 --> 00:20:59,475
The discovery
of the Dead Sea Scrolls
318
00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:03,218
puts the date at around 200
B.C. for the oldest copies
319
00:21:03,262 --> 00:21:06,569
of books from the Bible
that have been found.
320
00:21:06,613 --> 00:21:10,617
If the story of the Exodus
originated earlier than this,
321
00:21:10,660 --> 00:21:13,097
the question is
how much earlier?
322
00:21:19,060 --> 00:21:21,454
If mainstream scholars
don't think Moses
323
00:21:21,497 --> 00:21:23,804
wrote the first five
books of the Bible,
324
00:21:23,847 --> 00:21:25,980
when do they think
they were written?
325
00:21:26,023 --> 00:21:29,244
- My thinking is it was written
during the Persian period,
326
00:21:29,288 --> 00:21:30,550
which would put it probably
327
00:21:30,593 --> 00:21:34,597
at the fifth to
fourth centuries B.C.
328
00:21:34,641 --> 00:21:38,166
So not back
as an eyewitness account.
329
00:21:38,209 --> 00:21:41,212
I don't think so;
there's no evidence for that.
330
00:21:41,256 --> 00:21:43,780
- If the early books of
the Bible weren't written
331
00:21:43,824 --> 00:21:46,914
until this time, then
that's a big problem
332
00:21:46,957 --> 00:21:49,917
for the validity of
the Bible's claims.
333
00:21:54,530 --> 00:21:56,880
A colleague of
Professor Peter Gentry
334
00:21:56,924 --> 00:21:59,579
is Professor Duane Garrett.
335
00:21:59,622 --> 00:22:01,885
He is the distinguished
John R. Sampey
336
00:22:01,929 --> 00:22:05,149
Professor of Old Testament
at Southern Baptist
337
00:22:05,193 --> 00:22:07,064
Theological Seminary.
338
00:22:07,108 --> 00:22:09,937
Professor Garrett authored
Rethinking Genesis
339
00:22:09,980 --> 00:22:12,200
and has written
commentaries in other books
340
00:22:12,243 --> 00:22:14,768
on the development of the Bible.
341
00:22:14,811 --> 00:22:17,161
Do you think that
Moses wrote the Torah?
342
00:22:17,205 --> 00:22:18,902
- Moses did write it.
343
00:22:18,946 --> 00:22:20,556
There are things
in the Pentateuch
344
00:22:21,470 --> 00:22:23,777
such as the death of Moses.
345
00:22:25,039 --> 00:22:27,998
The Pentateuch doesn't claim
that Moses wrote his own death.
346
00:22:28,042 --> 00:22:30,349
I don't think that's a problem.
347
00:22:30,392 --> 00:22:33,830
But if you look at the fact
that the laws are crucial
348
00:22:33,874 --> 00:22:36,224
and are central
to the Pentateuch
349
00:22:36,267 --> 00:22:38,357
and that those come from Moses,
350
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,577
then certainly it is fair to
say that Moses is the author
351
00:22:41,621 --> 00:22:43,362
or the source of the Pentateuch.
352
00:22:43,405 --> 00:22:47,975
- When I was filming William
Dever, he was very adamant
353
00:22:48,018 --> 00:22:50,064
that really no one believes that
354
00:22:50,107 --> 00:22:52,153
Moses wrote the first
books of the Bible.
355
00:22:53,197 --> 00:22:55,199
What would you say to that?
356
00:22:55,243 --> 00:22:57,724
- When you speak of
mainstream scholarship,
357
00:22:58,899 --> 00:23:01,467
it depends upon how
you define the term.
358
00:23:01,510 --> 00:23:04,774
If you define it by a
fairly exclusive club
359
00:23:04,818 --> 00:23:08,387
of university scholars,
basically they're right.
360
00:23:09,605 --> 00:23:11,825
But of course, there are
plenty of evangelicals
361
00:23:11,868 --> 00:23:15,089
who have looked into the
issue and continue to hold to
362
00:23:16,307 --> 00:23:18,005
Mosaic origin for
the Pentateuch.
363
00:23:19,223 --> 00:23:21,400
It just depends on how
you define the term.
364
00:23:29,799 --> 00:23:34,282
In 1979, southwest
of the old city of Jerusalem,
365
00:23:34,325 --> 00:23:37,677
an archeological team
headed by Gabriel Barkay
366
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:41,245
uncovered two tiny
scrolls made of silver.
367
00:23:41,289 --> 00:23:43,204
They fit into an ancient amulet
368
00:23:43,247 --> 00:23:45,946
that was hung around the neck.
369
00:23:45,989 --> 00:23:48,731
When the scrolls were
carefully unrolled,
370
00:23:48,775 --> 00:23:52,605
they revealed Hebrew
writing, including a passage
371
00:23:52,648 --> 00:23:54,433
from the Book of Numbers.
372
00:23:58,393 --> 00:24:02,136
It was the famous blessing
Moses gave to the priest.
373
00:24:03,311 --> 00:24:05,922
The Lord bless
you and keep you.
374
00:24:05,966 --> 00:24:08,838
The Lord make his
face to shine upon you
375
00:24:08,882 --> 00:24:10,623
and be gracious to you.
376
00:24:10,666 --> 00:24:13,408
The Lord lift up his
countenance upon you
377
00:24:13,452 --> 00:24:15,410
and give you peace.
378
00:24:15,454 --> 00:24:17,020
The
wording exactly matched
379
00:24:17,064 --> 00:24:19,675
what is found in modern Bibles.
380
00:24:19,719 --> 00:24:24,027
After testing, it was found to
be the oldest surviving text
381
00:24:24,071 --> 00:24:28,031
of a Biblical passage and
it was dated to 600 B.B.,
382
00:24:28,075 --> 00:24:30,207
which is 400 years earlier than
383
00:24:30,251 --> 00:24:32,819
the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran
384
00:24:32,862 --> 00:24:34,908
and more than 200
years earlier than
385
00:24:34,951 --> 00:24:38,520
when Professor Knight thinks
the first Torah was written.
386
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,176
So I asked him why
he thought Moses
387
00:24:42,219 --> 00:24:43,960
couldn't have written the Torah
388
00:24:44,004 --> 00:24:46,485
back at the time of the Exodus.
389
00:24:46,528 --> 00:24:49,096
- Even though
writing was possible,
390
00:24:49,139 --> 00:24:50,967
most people were illiterate.
391
00:24:53,143 --> 00:24:54,971
Who would have written
it and for whom?
392
00:24:55,015 --> 00:24:59,149
There is no reading public
that's out there waiting
393
00:24:59,193 --> 00:25:00,977
for the next installment.
394
00:25:01,021 --> 00:25:02,892
It was
clear that this issue
395
00:25:02,936 --> 00:25:07,506
of when widespread literacy
was possible is important.
396
00:25:07,549 --> 00:25:09,551
- The context in
which this literature
397
00:25:09,595 --> 00:25:12,946
first came into existence
was in oral traditions
398
00:25:12,989 --> 00:25:16,993
that were being passed on from
one generation to the next.
399
00:25:17,037 --> 00:25:19,822
Stories that you would
tell your children.
400
00:25:22,085 --> 00:25:24,131
They would then
tell their children.
401
00:25:24,174 --> 00:25:28,527
These stories are not unchanging
as they pass on in time.
402
00:25:29,702 --> 00:25:33,009
You embellish, you
enhance, you connect.
403
00:25:33,053 --> 00:25:34,750
Pretty soon you might end up
404
00:25:34,794 --> 00:25:38,885
with a larger saga of materials.
405
00:25:38,928 --> 00:25:43,106
These oral traditions
really are the seed bed
406
00:25:43,150 --> 00:25:46,675
for later on what
became written text.
407
00:25:46,719 --> 00:25:49,199
- The thinking is that
if Moses didn't write
408
00:25:49,243 --> 00:25:52,594
at the time of the Exodus,
then this part of the Bible
409
00:25:52,638 --> 00:25:56,163
and its account of god-given
revelation to mankind
410
00:25:56,206 --> 00:25:59,035
was an oral tradition
and more vulnerable
411
00:25:59,079 --> 00:26:03,300
to changes and exaggerations
with each telling of the story.
412
00:26:03,344 --> 00:26:05,389
If that happened,
it would no longer
413
00:26:05,433 --> 00:26:07,783
be a trustworthy account.
414
00:26:09,002 --> 00:26:12,092
But surely widespread
literacy wasn't required
415
00:26:12,135 --> 00:26:14,224
for Moses to write
the Pentateuch,
416
00:26:14,268 --> 00:26:17,750
since scribes in Egypt
and ancient Mesopotamia
417
00:26:17,793 --> 00:26:21,144
wrote all the time without
a large-reading audience.
418
00:26:22,102 --> 00:26:24,365
However, as I read the
book of Deuteronomy,
419
00:26:24,408 --> 00:26:27,237
I saw that a wider
literacy was essential
420
00:26:27,281 --> 00:26:31,111
for the Israelites to understand
and preserve the revelation
421
00:26:31,154 --> 00:26:34,070
given to them in
the books of Moses.
422
00:26:34,114 --> 00:26:36,595
It recorded that
Moses told the heads
423
00:26:36,638 --> 00:26:39,989
of Israelite households to
write the words of the law
424
00:26:40,033 --> 00:26:42,992
on the doorposts of their
homes and on their gates,
425
00:26:43,036 --> 00:26:45,386
so they could teach
them to their children.
426
00:26:46,692 --> 00:26:49,346
What I know so far
is that the Bible
427
00:26:49,390 --> 00:26:51,392
is claiming that Moses wrote
428
00:26:51,435 --> 00:26:54,613
and that there was literacy
among the Israelites.
429
00:26:54,656 --> 00:26:56,919
We may never know how
widespread it was.
430
00:26:56,963 --> 00:26:58,878
But because of the
perishable nature
431
00:26:58,921 --> 00:27:01,576
of the writing material,
it's not surprising
432
00:27:01,620 --> 00:27:04,100
that we haven't found
much evidence of writing,
433
00:27:04,144 --> 00:27:06,015
including books of the Bible
434
00:27:06,059 --> 00:27:08,365
from the early part
of Israel's history.
435
00:27:11,630 --> 00:27:13,414
If Moses wrote the Torah,
436
00:27:13,457 --> 00:27:18,332
was there a suitable writing
system as early as 1450 BC?
437
00:27:22,249 --> 00:27:25,687
I went to Egypt to meet
Egyptologist David Rohl.
438
00:27:25,731 --> 00:27:28,821
Myth or History,
439
00:27:28,864 --> 00:27:31,562
in which he lays out
evidence for the Sojourn,
440
00:27:31,606 --> 00:27:35,523
Exodus and Conquest
at the earlier date.
441
00:27:35,566 --> 00:27:37,481
I asked David to
help me understand
442
00:27:37,525 --> 00:27:40,136
how writing developed
in the ancient world.
443
00:27:41,355 --> 00:27:43,052
Wow, look at these.
444
00:27:44,314 --> 00:27:46,708
These reliefs are
absolutely perfect.
445
00:27:46,752 --> 00:27:48,188
They're
gorgeous, aren't they?
446
00:27:48,231 --> 00:27:49,493
Yeah, is it a
tomb or a temple writing?
447
00:27:49,537 --> 00:27:51,147
- This is actually a
chapel above a tomb.
448
00:27:51,191 --> 00:27:53,715
The tomb is actually
below us down here.
449
00:27:53,759 --> 00:27:56,675
But what we're standing in
is the chapel above the tomb
450
00:27:56,718 --> 00:27:58,198
and it's covered in hieroglyphs.
451
00:28:01,157 --> 00:28:03,682
This is the cartouche
of the God's Wife,
452
00:28:03,725 --> 00:28:06,728
Amenirdis, A-men-irdis.
453
00:28:06,772 --> 00:28:11,167
You always read hieroglyphs
looking into the animals.
454
00:28:11,211 --> 00:28:13,213
You face towards the
animal like the snake here
455
00:28:13,256 --> 00:28:16,042
and the vulture here so you're
reading from left to right
456
00:28:16,085 --> 00:28:18,653
in this case and then
from top to bottom.
457
00:28:19,523 --> 00:28:21,308
- Is this a story, a narrative
458
00:28:21,351 --> 00:28:23,136
or what does all this mean?
459
00:28:23,179 --> 00:28:25,965
- No, they're spells,
incantations and things like that.
460
00:28:26,008 --> 00:28:28,054
They mention the person
and what she must do
461
00:28:28,097 --> 00:28:30,709
to enter the underworld, to
pass into that other life.
462
00:28:31,884 --> 00:28:33,799
David went
onto explain to me
463
00:28:33,842 --> 00:28:37,106
that writing actually existed
long before the Exodus
464
00:28:37,150 --> 00:28:41,023
in forms such as
hieroglyphics in Egypt
465
00:28:41,067 --> 00:28:44,026
and cuneiform in
ancient Mesopotamia,
466
00:28:44,070 --> 00:28:46,855
which was in the area
of modern day Iraq.
467
00:28:48,378 --> 00:28:51,338
But were hieroglyphics
or cuneiform
468
00:28:51,381 --> 00:28:52,861
a suitable writing system,
469
00:28:52,905 --> 00:28:55,255
that Moses could've
used to write the Torah?
470
00:28:56,996 --> 00:28:59,172
As I thought about
it, the writing system
471
00:28:59,215 --> 00:29:02,262
also had to be simple
enough for the Israelites
472
00:29:02,305 --> 00:29:05,265
to read what was written
as Moses commanded.
473
00:29:07,441 --> 00:29:11,227
Unlike the alphabet, cuneiform
and Egyptian hieroglyphics
474
00:29:11,271 --> 00:29:13,752
had nearly 1,000 signs.
475
00:29:13,795 --> 00:29:15,841
They were so
complicated to learn
476
00:29:15,884 --> 00:29:20,149
that only the scribes, priests
and kings could use them.
477
00:29:20,193 --> 00:29:24,327
In contrast, our alphabet
today has 26 letters.
478
00:29:24,371 --> 00:29:26,547
Imagine how much
harder it would be
479
00:29:26,590 --> 00:29:30,377
to have to learn four of our
alphabets rather than one.
480
00:29:30,420 --> 00:29:33,293
But to learn hieroglyphics,
one would have to learn
481
00:29:33,336 --> 00:29:36,165
the equivalent of 40 alphabets.
482
00:29:36,209 --> 00:29:39,734
That's one thing that made
the alphabet so revolutionary.
483
00:29:40,953 --> 00:29:43,607
With a simple-to-learn
yet powerful alphabet,
484
00:29:43,651 --> 00:29:46,393
it would've been possible
to teach large numbers
485
00:29:46,436 --> 00:29:48,612
of Israelites to read and write.
486
00:29:48,656 --> 00:29:52,834
With a non-alphabetic system,
this would've been impossible.
487
00:29:54,053 --> 00:29:56,882
- In Egyptian scrolls,
they had a list of names
488
00:29:56,925 --> 00:29:59,928
on a and that sort
of thing that went on forever;
489
00:29:59,972 --> 00:30:01,277
hundreds and hundreds of things
490
00:30:01,321 --> 00:30:03,410
that the kid would
have to memorize.
491
00:30:03,453 --> 00:30:04,672
But not with an alphabet,
492
00:30:04,715 --> 00:30:07,806
you can simply use the
26 signs and that's it.
493
00:30:09,024 --> 00:30:11,026
But it
was worse than that.
494
00:30:11,070 --> 00:30:13,768
Hieroglyphics had
symbols for whole words,
495
00:30:13,812 --> 00:30:17,859
parts of words and determinatives that were not pronounced
496
00:30:17,903 --> 00:30:20,731
but were visual
cues for the reader.
497
00:30:20,775 --> 00:30:22,342
I could see how these symbols
498
00:30:22,385 --> 00:30:25,693
would be hard to
learn and hard to use.
499
00:30:25,736 --> 00:30:28,739
In contrast, the alphabet
was based entirely
500
00:30:28,783 --> 00:30:31,917
on the sounds that
each letter stood for.
501
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:34,354
Suddenly writing
became simple enough
502
00:30:34,397 --> 00:30:37,792
for common people to learn
and this is how we continue
503
00:30:37,836 --> 00:30:40,664
to teach reading
and writing today.
504
00:30:40,708 --> 00:30:43,580
Cat.
505
00:30:44,930 --> 00:30:46,583
- For the writer and the reader,
506
00:30:46,627 --> 00:30:48,759
it simplified things greatly.
507
00:30:48,803 --> 00:30:50,283
These were entirely phonetic
508
00:30:50,326 --> 00:30:53,634
and he could actually take
and make his own words.
509
00:30:54,940 --> 00:30:57,420
The ornate
artwork of hieroglyphs
510
00:30:57,464 --> 00:30:59,248
were specially
designed to be used
511
00:30:59,292 --> 00:31:03,078
on grandiose monuments,
not on scrolls.
512
00:31:03,122 --> 00:31:06,212
This is another advantage
for using an alphabet.
513
00:31:07,822 --> 00:31:09,128
- In fact if you're
writing something
514
00:31:09,171 --> 00:31:11,173
like the book of Exodus
or the book of Genesis,
515
00:31:11,217 --> 00:31:13,393
it takes less room to write it.
516
00:31:13,436 --> 00:31:14,481
If it was tried
to be written down
517
00:31:14,524 --> 00:31:16,048
with something
like hieroglyphics,
518
00:31:16,091 --> 00:31:19,007
it would've taken
miles of Papyrus
519
00:31:19,051 --> 00:31:21,227
to write that particular book.
520
00:31:22,532 --> 00:31:25,361
The complex
pictograms of hieroglyphs
521
00:31:25,405 --> 00:31:28,582
were replaced by the
simplified strokes of letters.
522
00:31:30,540 --> 00:31:34,762
The genius of the alphabet
would revolutionize history.
523
00:31:34,805 --> 00:31:37,156
With only a handful of letters,
524
00:31:37,199 --> 00:31:39,288
the alphabet was powerful enough
525
00:31:39,332 --> 00:31:42,509
to express an infinite
number of words;
526
00:31:42,552 --> 00:31:47,427
words for every idea on
every page of every book
527
00:31:47,470 --> 00:31:50,299
found in libraries
around the western world
528
00:31:51,518 --> 00:31:55,783
from children's books to
scientific journals to Bibles.
529
00:31:58,351 --> 00:32:00,048
When I examined the relationship
530
00:32:00,092 --> 00:32:03,182
between the Bible and the
alphabet through history,
531
00:32:03,225 --> 00:32:05,401
I saw that no other
book in the world
532
00:32:05,445 --> 00:32:07,795
was translated
into more languages
533
00:32:07,838 --> 00:32:09,536
than the books of the Bible.
534
00:32:12,974 --> 00:32:16,238
I went to see Hebrew
scholar, Brian Rickett.
535
00:32:16,282 --> 00:32:19,763
He showed me amazingly
complex structures and nuances
536
00:32:19,807 --> 00:32:22,636
in the Torah text that
would require the power
537
00:32:22,679 --> 00:32:25,421
and flexibility of the alphabet.
538
00:32:25,465 --> 00:32:28,772
This is an extremely
539
00:32:28,816 --> 00:32:31,558
well-written, complex document.
540
00:32:31,601 --> 00:32:36,389
It reflects mastery of the
language, linguistic mastery.
541
00:32:36,432 --> 00:32:40,828
A remarkable uniformity
from beginning to end.
542
00:32:40,871 --> 00:32:45,789
It reflects sophistication,
elegance, artistry.
543
00:32:45,833 --> 00:32:48,053
All the kinds of things
you might look for
544
00:32:48,096 --> 00:32:52,013
in a piece of
world-class literature.
545
00:32:52,057 --> 00:32:53,493
The Torah itself has it.
546
00:32:54,494 --> 00:32:56,887
- Every Torah scroll
that has been found
547
00:32:56,931 --> 00:32:59,151
was written in a
Hebrew alphabet.
548
00:33:00,761 --> 00:33:03,372
It was clear that this
would require another step
549
00:33:03,416 --> 00:33:05,722
to look for in my investigation.
550
00:33:05,766 --> 00:33:09,465
If Moses wrote the Torah
and just as importantly
551
00:33:09,509 --> 00:33:12,077
the Israelites were
able to read it,
552
00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:15,210
they would've needed the
power of an alphabet.
553
00:33:16,559 --> 00:33:20,476
The question is was there
an alphabet available
554
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:22,565
at the time of the Exodus?
555
00:33:34,447 --> 00:33:36,492
I went to George
Washington University
556
00:33:36,536 --> 00:33:39,495
to see a professor of
northwest Semitic languages.
557
00:33:39,539 --> 00:33:43,543
I wanted to know more about
why mainstream scholars
558
00:33:43,586 --> 00:33:45,327
doubt that Moses
could've written
559
00:33:45,371 --> 00:33:46,937
the early books of the Bible.
560
00:33:47,982 --> 00:33:49,679
Professor Christopher Rollston
561
00:33:49,723 --> 00:33:53,727
is an expert in the ancient
Semitic family of languages;
562
00:33:53,770 --> 00:33:55,511
one of which is Hebrew.
563
00:33:57,209 --> 00:33:59,646
Do you think that the
Hebrews were in Egypt,
564
00:33:59,689 --> 00:34:02,170
that there was really the story,
565
00:34:02,214 --> 00:34:04,477
the narrative of the Bible
that places them there?
566
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,175
- I believe that
there was an Exodus,
567
00:34:07,219 --> 00:34:10,048
but I think the narratives
grew through time
568
00:34:10,091 --> 00:34:14,661
to become stories almost if
from Homeric proportions.
569
00:34:15,575 --> 00:34:16,880
- Homeric meaning Homer?
570
00:34:16,924 --> 00:34:19,231
- Yes, indeed.
- Okay, alright.
571
00:34:19,274 --> 00:34:23,104
A meaning that there
was some exaggeration?
572
00:34:25,106 --> 00:34:26,673
- That's a term we could use.
573
00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:31,330
I'm a practical
person and ultimately,
574
00:34:31,373 --> 00:34:34,463
I know just as you
do that stories
575
00:34:34,507 --> 00:34:37,640
are told and retold
and told again.
576
00:34:37,684 --> 00:34:42,645
Sometimes the stories grow
and the details change
577
00:34:42,689 --> 00:34:46,258
through the telling in different
times in different places.
578
00:34:46,301 --> 00:34:49,130
The narratives in the Bible
I find to be beautiful,
579
00:34:49,174 --> 00:34:51,263
the narratives about the Exodus.
580
00:34:51,306 --> 00:34:55,093
But the details, I think,
are not always so precise.
581
00:34:55,136 --> 00:34:58,270
But if it's not
accurate, can I really trust it?
582
00:34:59,488 --> 00:35:02,274
Is there a god who
saves the oppressed
583
00:35:02,317 --> 00:35:04,972
or is this more or
less a fairytale?
584
00:35:05,015 --> 00:35:08,236
Some say more and some say less.
585
00:35:09,933 --> 00:35:12,980
When does an evidence for
the earliest keeper alphabet
586
00:35:13,023 --> 00:35:15,722
or script first appear?
587
00:35:15,765 --> 00:35:17,941
- We know the Hebrew
scripture very well
588
00:35:17,985 --> 00:35:22,729
begins about 900 BCE and
it's very distinctive;
589
00:35:22,772 --> 00:35:26,298
it's different from Venetian,
it developed from Venetian.
590
00:35:26,341 --> 00:35:28,735
The Hebrew script is
a distinctive script
591
00:35:28,778 --> 00:35:30,432
and we know it
well from hundreds
592
00:35:30,476 --> 00:35:31,999
and hundreds of inscriptions.
593
00:35:34,654 --> 00:35:35,698
- If the Hebrew script
594
00:35:35,742 --> 00:35:39,137
wasn't available until 900 BC,
595
00:35:39,180 --> 00:35:42,183
some see this as a big
problem for Moses writing
596
00:35:42,227 --> 00:35:46,361
the first books of the Bible
at the time of the Exodus.
597
00:35:46,405 --> 00:35:48,363
This is the first
step of the pattern
598
00:35:48,407 --> 00:35:49,973
that I'm looking for.
599
00:35:50,017 --> 00:35:52,150
What could be the
answer to this problem?
600
00:35:54,064 --> 00:35:56,589
Do you think that it was
an earlier form of it?
601
00:35:56,632 --> 00:35:58,808
A Hebrew form that
Moses could have used
602
00:35:58,852 --> 00:36:00,593
that evolved over time?
603
00:36:00,636 --> 00:36:02,247
- The problem...
604
00:36:02,290 --> 00:36:05,598
The script certainly evolved
during the course of time,
605
00:36:05,641 --> 00:36:09,732
but its evolution
begins around 900 BCE.
606
00:36:09,776 --> 00:36:11,256
- We don't know what he wrote
607
00:36:11,299 --> 00:36:13,910
and he would have written
in Egyptian probably
608
00:36:13,954 --> 00:36:16,826
if he had written, not Hebrew.
609
00:36:16,870 --> 00:36:18,785
- The logic makes sense.
610
00:36:18,828 --> 00:36:21,962
In the standard view, there's
no Hebrew alphabet available
611
00:36:22,005 --> 00:36:23,920
at the time of the Exodus.
612
00:36:23,964 --> 00:36:27,750
So Moses couldn't write the
early books of the Bible.
613
00:36:27,794 --> 00:36:30,405
If that's the case, can
the Bible's accounts,
614
00:36:30,449 --> 00:36:33,278
God acting in history,
really be trusted?
615
00:36:35,018 --> 00:36:37,499
For example, when
the Book of Exodus
616
00:36:37,543 --> 00:36:40,589
says that the sea
miraculously parted
617
00:36:40,633 --> 00:36:42,722
and the people of Israel
went into the midst
618
00:36:42,765 --> 00:36:44,854
of the sea on dry ground,
619
00:36:44,898 --> 00:36:46,595
the waters being a wall to them
620
00:36:46,639 --> 00:36:49,642
on their right hand
and on their left.
621
00:36:49,685 --> 00:36:54,124
Was that something Moses
actually saw with his own eyes?
622
00:36:54,168 --> 00:36:55,648
Or was it just the invention
623
00:36:55,691 --> 00:36:57,867
of somebody writing
centuries later?
624
00:36:59,782 --> 00:37:01,523
These thoughts were
troubling to me.
625
00:37:03,525 --> 00:37:05,962
The reason I cared so much
626
00:37:06,006 --> 00:37:08,487
goes back to how I was raised.
627
00:37:12,969 --> 00:37:16,321
My parents' marriage broke
up when I was really young.
628
00:37:16,364 --> 00:37:18,671
It was extremely painful.
629
00:37:18,714 --> 00:37:20,194
Being the eldest
of four siblings,
630
00:37:20,238 --> 00:37:24,329
I had the responsibility to
watch my brother and sisters
631
00:37:24,372 --> 00:37:25,678
'cause my mom couldn't
be there all the time.
632
00:37:25,721 --> 00:37:28,594
So when we went to the
park or we went sliding,
633
00:37:28,637 --> 00:37:29,638
I was on duty.
634
00:37:30,857 --> 00:37:32,250
That's what happens when
your folks break up.
635
00:37:32,293 --> 00:37:34,469
You end up becoming,
if you're the eldest,
636
00:37:34,513 --> 00:37:36,341
sort of responsible.
637
00:37:36,384 --> 00:37:38,473
I became the man of the house.
638
00:37:42,129 --> 00:37:44,871
My mother, as a single parent,
639
00:37:44,914 --> 00:37:46,438
would read Bible stories to us
640
00:37:46,481 --> 00:37:48,788
every night before
we went to bed.
641
00:37:48,831 --> 00:37:50,529
She put a lot of
faith into the idea
642
00:37:50,572 --> 00:37:52,661
that they were true.
643
00:37:52,705 --> 00:37:55,882
She believed that if God
helped people in the past,
644
00:37:55,925 --> 00:37:57,579
he could help her make it
645
00:37:57,623 --> 00:38:00,713
as a single parent
with four kids.
646
00:38:00,756 --> 00:38:02,541
It was very important to her.
647
00:38:02,584 --> 00:38:03,977
The Bible gave her hope.
648
00:38:04,020 --> 00:38:07,067
She wanted it to be important
to her family as well.
649
00:38:09,852 --> 00:38:12,333
Growing up hearing these
stories from the Bible,
650
00:38:12,377 --> 00:38:15,380
I'd always assumed
they really happened.
651
00:38:15,423 --> 00:38:17,207
They really intrigued me.
652
00:38:17,251 --> 00:38:19,819
But the question is
did I believe this
653
00:38:19,862 --> 00:38:22,561
just because it was
the way I was raised?
654
00:38:23,823 --> 00:38:26,391
If I'd been raised in
another part of the world,
655
00:38:26,434 --> 00:38:29,219
wouldn't I have believed
something altogether different?
656
00:38:33,006 --> 00:38:35,878
Did I believe the Bible
because it was true
657
00:38:37,097 --> 00:38:39,708
or because it's just
what we believed?
658
00:38:45,323 --> 00:38:47,063
While visiting Brian Rickett,
659
00:38:47,107 --> 00:38:49,892
I asked him how emphatic
the Bible's claims are
660
00:38:49,936 --> 00:38:52,286
for Moses writing
its first books
661
00:38:52,330 --> 00:38:54,941
around the time of the Exodus.
662
00:38:54,984 --> 00:38:56,899
- Exodus 17:14.
663
00:38:56,943 --> 00:39:00,512
It says the Lord said to
Moses, "Write in a book.
664
00:39:00,555 --> 00:39:03,732
"Write this in a
book," then it goes on.
665
00:39:03,776 --> 00:39:06,039
When Moses produces the tablets,
666
00:39:06,082 --> 00:39:07,736
God tells him to do that too.
667
00:39:07,780 --> 00:39:09,608
We have references in the Torah
668
00:39:09,651 --> 00:39:10,870
and all throughout the Bible
669
00:39:10,913 --> 00:39:13,786
that describe Mosaic
authorship to the texts
670
00:39:13,829 --> 00:39:16,702
and it claims for itself
that it is the product
671
00:39:16,745 --> 00:39:19,531
of Moses' writing as a result
of what God told him to do.
672
00:39:22,403 --> 00:39:25,493
- I remembered that almost
all of the books of the Bible
673
00:39:25,537 --> 00:39:28,540
reference back to the
writings of Moses.
674
00:39:28,583 --> 00:39:31,673
Jesus talks about Moses
and references Moses.
675
00:39:32,935 --> 00:39:35,895
If Moses didn't exist,
then what does that do
676
00:39:35,938 --> 00:39:38,985
to really the
credibility of Jesus?
677
00:39:39,028 --> 00:39:44,033
- Yes, John 5 provides five
witnesses to Jesus' divinity.
678
00:39:45,383 --> 00:39:47,907
He concludes his argument
by saying this in John 5.
679
00:39:47,950 --> 00:39:50,779
"If you believed Moses,
you would believe me;
680
00:39:50,823 --> 00:39:52,041
"for he wrote of me.
681
00:39:52,085 --> 00:39:54,740
"But if you do not
believe his writings,
682
00:39:54,783 --> 00:39:56,611
"how will you believe my words?"
683
00:39:56,655 --> 00:39:58,831
So there it looks like you
have a definitive statement
684
00:39:58,874 --> 00:40:02,748
from Jesus that Moses
produced the Torah
685
00:40:02,791 --> 00:40:05,664
and he's staking an awful
lot on that reality.
686
00:40:07,883 --> 00:40:09,929
- What Moses himself says
687
00:40:09,972 --> 00:40:12,366
that these things were
given to him by God.
688
00:40:12,410 --> 00:40:13,193
God told me.
689
00:40:13,236 --> 00:40:15,108
God spoke to me.
690
00:40:15,151 --> 00:40:17,153
God commanded this.
691
00:40:17,197 --> 00:40:19,808
- He clearly says that
what he is writing
692
00:40:19,852 --> 00:40:20,983
is what God revealed.
693
00:40:22,507 --> 00:40:26,119
On the other hand, we see that
he undoubtedly had sources.
694
00:40:26,162 --> 00:40:27,860
Moses didn't live in a vacuum.
695
00:40:27,903 --> 00:40:29,383
The traditions and things,
696
00:40:29,427 --> 00:40:32,865
whether passed on orally or
in writing, were given to him
697
00:40:32,908 --> 00:40:35,476
probably by the
Israelites in Egypt;
698
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:37,826
part of the history
he was given.
699
00:40:37,870 --> 00:40:40,873
This formed part of the
basis on which he wrote.
700
00:40:40,916 --> 00:40:42,004
The rest revealed by God.
701
00:40:46,313 --> 00:40:48,446
- If the Bible's
claims are true,
702
00:40:48,489 --> 00:40:50,099
then Moses must have been
703
00:40:50,143 --> 00:40:53,015
at least the primary
person responsible
704
00:40:53,059 --> 00:40:55,496
for writing major
parts of the Torah,
705
00:40:55,540 --> 00:40:58,325
which is the common
assumption of early Judaism
706
00:40:58,368 --> 00:41:01,633
and of Jesus and his followers
in the New Testament.
707
00:41:02,938 --> 00:41:04,897
Once again, Moses
would have needed
708
00:41:04,940 --> 00:41:09,031
a form of writing like
Hebrew by 1450 BC.
709
00:41:09,075 --> 00:41:13,079
Yet this is exactly what most
scholars say doesn't exist.
710
00:41:14,384 --> 00:41:17,475
I was raised in a home that
took the Bible literally,
711
00:41:17,518 --> 00:41:18,867
and you probably--
- I was too.
712
00:41:18,911 --> 00:41:22,567
- Yeah, so the question
is is the Bible
713
00:41:22,610 --> 00:41:26,135
a literal story of
God acting in history?
714
00:41:26,919 --> 00:41:28,486
- It purports to be.
715
00:41:29,748 --> 00:41:31,924
But whether it is or not
is a question of belief.
716
00:41:33,186 --> 00:41:35,493
That's not something
that can be proven.
717
00:41:37,451 --> 00:41:39,932
Proven
is a hard task;
718
00:41:41,499 --> 00:41:45,415
but I'm just asking if there's
good reasons to believe it.
719
00:41:47,374 --> 00:41:49,898
The text is claiming
not only that Moses
720
00:41:49,942 --> 00:41:53,075
wrote these things,
but that God inspired
721
00:41:53,119 --> 00:41:54,903
the very words
that were written.
722
00:41:56,731 --> 00:41:59,299
But if as some scholars
are suggesting,
723
00:41:59,342 --> 00:42:01,910
there are parts in the
Bible that are true
724
00:42:01,954 --> 00:42:04,043
and others that are not,
725
00:42:04,086 --> 00:42:06,872
how could you ever know
which parts to trust?
726
00:42:09,048 --> 00:42:10,745
Believing in the
God of the Bible,
727
00:42:10,789 --> 00:42:14,357
has been the foundation for
my own family for generations.
728
00:42:15,184 --> 00:42:17,099
But what does that faith mean
729
00:42:17,143 --> 00:42:20,059
if it's based on a
mixture of real history
730
00:42:20,102 --> 00:42:22,365
along with legends
and fairytales?
731
00:42:24,063 --> 00:42:26,544
That thought left
me very unsettled.
732
00:42:29,634 --> 00:42:31,026
I knew that if I
was going to deal
733
00:42:31,070 --> 00:42:34,856
with this skepticism concerning
the Bible's integrity
734
00:42:34,900 --> 00:42:39,252
and not live in a conflicted
way, I would need answers.
735
00:42:39,295 --> 00:42:40,645
I couldn't give up.
736
00:42:42,168 --> 00:42:45,563
I would have to continue
with the original question:
737
00:42:45,606 --> 00:42:48,957
Is there any evidence
outside the Bible
738
00:42:49,001 --> 00:42:52,570
demonstrating that Moses
could have written the Torah?
739
00:42:56,138 --> 00:43:00,055
According to the Torah, this
is an eye witness account
740
00:43:00,099 --> 00:43:03,189
of Moses bringing the
Israelites out of Egypt
741
00:43:03,232 --> 00:43:06,105
to Mount Sinai to meet with God.
742
00:43:09,891 --> 00:43:13,025
- It's an amazing experience
that we can't even imagine.
743
00:43:14,113 --> 00:43:15,593
But look at what happens.
744
00:43:17,116 --> 00:43:19,031
God comes down to Mount Sinai.
745
00:43:19,074 --> 00:43:21,642
The people are expecting this.
746
00:43:21,686 --> 00:43:23,992
They were told before
they left Egypt,
747
00:43:24,036 --> 00:43:27,126
Come, God is waiting
for us at Mount Sinai.
748
00:43:27,169 --> 00:43:29,215
He's got something to tell us.
749
00:43:30,869 --> 00:43:32,479
On the morning of the third day,
750
00:43:33,698 --> 00:43:35,743
there was thunder
and lightening,
751
00:43:35,787 --> 00:43:37,832
a thick cloud on the mountain,
752
00:43:37,876 --> 00:43:39,181
and a very loud trumpet blast.
753
00:43:43,098 --> 00:43:46,058
So that all the people
in the camp trembled.
754
00:43:54,501 --> 00:43:57,939
Then Moses brought the people
out of the camp to meet God
755
00:43:57,983 --> 00:44:00,638
and they took their stand
at the foot of the mountain.
756
00:44:03,162 --> 00:44:05,686
Now Mount Sinai was
wrapped in smoke
757
00:44:05,730 --> 00:44:09,037
because the Lord had
descended on it in fire.
758
00:44:12,258 --> 00:44:15,478
The smoke of it went up
like the smoke of
759
00:44:15,522 --> 00:44:17,567
and the whole mountain
trembled greatly.
760
00:44:19,091 --> 00:44:22,224
As the sound of the trumpet
grew louder and louder,
761
00:44:22,268 --> 00:44:26,707
Moses spoke and God
answered him in thunder.
762
00:44:30,102 --> 00:44:34,236
- If you think of it,
Sinai is truly awesome.
763
00:44:35,542 --> 00:44:38,676
Os Guinness is
an author and social critic.
764
00:44:40,068 --> 00:44:43,332
I met him at his office
surrounded by the signed photos
765
00:44:43,376 --> 00:44:45,247
of some of his writing heroes.
766
00:44:46,771 --> 00:44:49,251
He had researched a number
of significant features
767
00:44:49,295 --> 00:44:52,211
having to do with the
events at Mount Sinai.
768
00:44:55,301 --> 00:44:57,651
- At the heart of Sinai,
769
00:44:57,695 --> 00:45:00,698
not just the Great
Constitution, the Covenant.
770
00:45:00,741 --> 00:45:03,875
Not just the great liberation
coming out of Egypt,
771
00:45:03,918 --> 00:45:07,139
but the heart of them all
is the Great Revelation,
772
00:45:08,531 --> 00:45:12,274
whether it's the Lord revealing
himself to Moses alone
773
00:45:12,318 --> 00:45:15,103
at the burning bush or
the Lord revealing himself
774
00:45:15,147 --> 00:45:19,238
to the entire nation
in chapter 19.
775
00:45:20,805 --> 00:45:24,243
Many people don't realize
how extraordinary that is.
776
00:45:24,286 --> 00:45:26,114
You take atheism.
777
00:45:26,158 --> 00:45:29,117
It's humans figuring it all out.
778
00:45:29,161 --> 00:45:30,510
You take Buddhism.
779
00:45:30,553 --> 00:45:33,208
It's humans figuring it all out.
780
00:45:33,252 --> 00:45:37,343
The great difference
in the scriptures,
781
00:45:37,386 --> 00:45:38,779
it's not the ascent of humans
782
00:45:38,823 --> 00:45:42,870
through their thinking to
God, if there is a God;
783
00:45:42,914 --> 00:45:45,220
it's the descent,
the Revelation,
784
00:45:45,264 --> 00:45:48,354
the disclosure of God to us.
785
00:45:48,397 --> 00:45:50,182
That's what's unique about Sinai
786
00:45:50,225 --> 00:45:52,358
and the Jewish and
Christian scriptures.
787
00:45:54,273 --> 00:45:56,144
- Moses came and told the people
788
00:45:56,188 --> 00:45:58,712
all the words of the
Lord and all the laws.
789
00:46:00,279 --> 00:46:02,194
All the people
answered with one voice
790
00:46:02,237 --> 00:46:06,198
and said all the words
that the Lord has spoken
791
00:46:06,241 --> 00:46:07,286
we will do.
792
00:46:13,248 --> 00:46:16,730
Moses wrote down all
the words of the Lord.
793
00:46:24,956 --> 00:46:28,089
- After 3300 years,
an important discovery
794
00:46:28,133 --> 00:46:32,137
shed light on Moses's
ability to write the Torah.
795
00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:37,751
In 1905, the great
pioneer of archeology,
796
00:46:37,795 --> 00:46:40,319
Sir William Matthew
Flinders Petrie,
797
00:46:40,362 --> 00:46:43,844
and his wife, Hilda, went
to the Sinai Peninsula
798
00:46:43,888 --> 00:46:47,065
searching for evidence of
ancient Egyptian activity.
799
00:46:49,545 --> 00:46:51,199
Petrie had already found
800
00:46:51,243 --> 00:46:54,289
the famous Merneptah
Stele, near Thebes.
801
00:46:55,638 --> 00:46:58,816
At the time, it contained
the oldest known reference
802
00:46:58,859 --> 00:47:00,295
to the people of Israel.
803
00:47:01,775 --> 00:47:04,473
It boasted that they had
been subdued by the Pharaohs.
804
00:47:06,084 --> 00:47:09,914
Just 50 miles north west of
the traditional Mount Sinai,
805
00:47:09,957 --> 00:47:14,266
ancient Egypt worked major
copper and turquoise mines.
806
00:47:14,309 --> 00:47:18,531
One of these sites is known
today as Serabit El-Khadim.
807
00:47:21,751 --> 00:47:22,622
The Petries began to discover
808
00:47:22,665 --> 00:47:25,843
many hieroglyphic inscriptions;
809
00:47:27,061 --> 00:47:29,281
then on the walls
of one of the mines,
810
00:47:29,324 --> 00:47:32,675
they saw writing that appeared
different from the rest.
811
00:47:39,204 --> 00:47:41,728
To learn more about
Petrie and his discovery,
812
00:47:41,771 --> 00:47:45,427
I went to the Petrie museum
at University College, London.
813
00:47:52,347 --> 00:47:55,263
Egyptologist Chris Naunton
is the former director
814
00:47:55,307 --> 00:47:59,093
of the Egypt Exploration Society
and the current president
815
00:47:59,137 --> 00:48:02,270
of the International
Association of Egyptologists.
816
00:48:03,402 --> 00:48:05,273
What was unique about Flanders?
817
00:48:06,535 --> 00:48:11,192
- Petrie has a far more
rigorous scientific approach
818
00:48:12,498 --> 00:48:16,241
to the material that
he was excavating
819
00:48:16,284 --> 00:48:19,070
really than anyone had before.
820
00:48:19,113 --> 00:48:22,029
Previously, archeologists
had been drawn to,
821
00:48:23,204 --> 00:48:25,293
treasure is probably
as good a word,
822
00:48:25,337 --> 00:48:27,774
objects which were
very beautiful.
823
00:48:27,817 --> 00:48:32,213
Museum quality was a
phrase that was often used.
824
00:48:32,257 --> 00:48:34,433
Those things were prioritized.
825
00:48:36,348 --> 00:48:39,133
More or less, everything
else, the non beautiful,
826
00:48:39,177 --> 00:48:41,701
non inscribed, disregarded.
827
00:48:41,744 --> 00:48:44,530
Petrie is the first
person really to realize
828
00:48:44,573 --> 00:48:45,705
that there was a huge amount
829
00:48:45,748 --> 00:48:47,837
to be learned from those things.
830
00:48:49,013 --> 00:48:51,450
He is the man to
invent techniques
831
00:48:51,493 --> 00:48:54,453
for gathering that material,
832
00:48:54,496 --> 00:48:57,064
documenting it, and
interpreting it.
833
00:48:58,718 --> 00:49:00,459
Let's just
talk about inscriptions
834
00:49:00,502 --> 00:49:02,548
that he found in Sinai.
835
00:49:02,591 --> 00:49:05,986
- Petrie's work in the Sinai
is incredibly important.
836
00:49:06,030 --> 00:49:09,424
He uncovered a group
of inscribed objects
837
00:49:09,468 --> 00:49:11,165
inscribed with a script
838
00:49:11,209 --> 00:49:15,126
which was unknown
elsewhere in Egypt.
839
00:49:15,169 --> 00:49:18,868
This is the
Proto-Sinaitic script.
840
00:49:20,348 --> 00:49:21,610
Of course, textural material
which Petrie and others
841
00:49:21,654 --> 00:49:23,873
were uncovering in
Egypt was abundant,
842
00:49:23,917 --> 00:49:26,789
but written in scripts which
we're very familiar with.
843
00:49:26,833 --> 00:49:28,052
This was something
very different.
844
00:49:28,095 --> 00:49:30,010
- Wasn't Egyptian.
- Not Egyptian.
845
00:49:31,142 --> 00:49:33,535
This was a new script,
a new language.
846
00:49:33,579 --> 00:49:35,711
Something that would have
very much sat outside
847
00:49:35,755 --> 00:49:37,887
what was well
established as something
848
00:49:37,931 --> 00:49:40,412
Egyptologists knew
about in that valley.
849
00:49:43,241 --> 00:49:46,157
- In 1999, more
inscriptions were found
850
00:49:46,200 --> 00:49:49,160
by Egyptologists John
and Deborah Darnell.
851
00:49:49,203 --> 00:49:52,119
This time in Egypt,
northwest of the ancient city
852
00:49:52,163 --> 00:49:54,992
of Thebes at a place
called Wadi El-Hol.
853
00:49:56,602 --> 00:49:59,518
They were in the same style
as those found in the Sinai.
854
00:49:59,561 --> 00:50:03,087
What date were the
inscriptions at the Sinai mines
855
00:50:03,130 --> 00:50:04,392
and how do we know?
856
00:50:04,436 --> 00:50:06,786
- Both the inscriptions
from Serabit El-Khadim
857
00:50:06,829 --> 00:50:10,050
and those from Wadi
El-Hol are in essence
858
00:50:10,094 --> 00:50:11,617
argued to be Middle Kingdom.
859
00:50:11,660 --> 00:50:13,967
One of the reasons we
do that is because,
860
00:50:14,011 --> 00:50:15,055
for example, at Wadi El-Hol,
861
00:50:15,099 --> 00:50:17,101
the inscriptions
that are closest
862
00:50:17,144 --> 00:50:19,929
are actually Middle
Kingdom texts
863
00:50:19,973 --> 00:50:23,411
and the same is true for
the Serabit inscriptions.
864
00:50:29,330 --> 00:50:31,419
- In the search for a
pattern of evidence,
865
00:50:31,463 --> 00:50:35,293
what I know so far is that
the Petries and others
866
00:50:35,336 --> 00:50:37,947
discovered a new type of script.
867
00:50:37,991 --> 00:50:40,385
It developed during
the Middle Kingdom,
868
00:50:40,428 --> 00:50:43,692
so it would have existed
by the time of the Exodus
869
00:50:43,736 --> 00:50:45,868
and should have been
available to Moses.
870
00:50:47,261 --> 00:50:50,612
This script was found
in the region of Egypt.
871
00:50:50,656 --> 00:50:52,701
It was not Egyptian hieroglyphs;
872
00:50:53,659 --> 00:50:55,748
it was something very different.
873
00:50:57,532 --> 00:51:00,057
These finds match the
first two criteria
874
00:51:00,100 --> 00:51:02,189
of the investigation.
875
00:51:02,233 --> 00:51:03,843
But what about the last two?
876
00:51:04,887 --> 00:51:06,280
Could this new writing
877
00:51:06,324 --> 00:51:09,631
be a type of alphabet
and like Hebrew?
878
00:51:21,078 --> 00:51:23,602
The Sinai mining district
where the Petries
879
00:51:23,645 --> 00:51:25,865
had discovered
this unusual script
880
00:51:25,908 --> 00:51:28,041
was off limits to filming
881
00:51:28,085 --> 00:51:30,391
due to ISIS activity
in the area.
882
00:51:32,176 --> 00:51:36,093
I recreated the setting and
asked Egyptologist David Rohl
883
00:51:36,136 --> 00:51:40,009
to join me and explain the
significance of the inscriptions
884
00:51:40,053 --> 00:51:41,576
that the Petries had found.
885
00:51:51,543 --> 00:51:52,718
- They couldn't read it
886
00:51:52,761 --> 00:51:55,024
'cause it looks like
Egyptian hieroglyphs;
887
00:51:55,068 --> 00:51:56,287
but when you read it,
888
00:51:56,330 --> 00:51:57,505
it doesn't actually
become Egyptian.
889
00:51:57,549 --> 00:52:00,291
It's something quite different.
890
00:52:00,334 --> 00:52:02,162
So they brought an
expert along later on
891
00:52:02,206 --> 00:52:03,642
to read it and it
turned out to be
892
00:52:03,685 --> 00:52:05,122
what we call Northwest Semitic.
893
00:52:06,471 --> 00:52:08,299
- How do you read
something like this?
894
00:52:09,517 --> 00:52:11,650
- This inscription here
you see coming down,
895
00:52:11,693 --> 00:52:13,130
vertical column.
896
00:52:13,173 --> 00:52:15,436
Then the other one going
along in this direction.
897
00:52:15,480 --> 00:52:17,090
So it's like a letter L.
898
00:52:17,134 --> 00:52:19,266
But it's two separate
inscriptions.
899
00:52:19,310 --> 00:52:22,139
The first one is
really important.
900
00:52:22,182 --> 00:52:23,357
The second one is the message
901
00:52:23,401 --> 00:52:25,098
to say please read
the first one.
902
00:52:32,540 --> 00:52:34,673
To learn more
about these inscriptions,
903
00:52:34,716 --> 00:52:36,762
I traveled to Oxford, England,
904
00:52:36,805 --> 00:52:38,764
home to the oldest university
905
00:52:38,807 --> 00:52:40,548
in the English-speaking world.
906
00:52:42,246 --> 00:52:45,336
The Griffith Institute holds
the handwritten archives
907
00:52:45,379 --> 00:52:48,730
of the man responsible
for identifying the source
908
00:52:48,774 --> 00:52:50,123
of these inscriptions.
909
00:52:54,954 --> 00:52:57,652
His name was Sir Alan Gardiner
910
00:52:57,696 --> 00:53:00,002
and he was one of the
world's pre-eminent experts
911
00:53:00,046 --> 00:53:02,048
in ancient languages.
912
00:53:02,091 --> 00:53:04,616
He determined that not
only was this script
913
00:53:04,659 --> 00:53:08,707
made by Semitic people; it was
made up of individual letters
914
00:53:08,750 --> 00:53:12,058
that formed the world's
oldest known alphabet.
915
00:53:15,844 --> 00:53:17,629
The case for
the alphabetic character
916
00:53:17,672 --> 00:53:19,935
of the unknown script
is overwhelming.
917
00:53:19,979 --> 00:53:23,635
The meanings of these names,
translated as Semitic words,
918
00:53:23,678 --> 00:53:26,638
are plain or
plausible in 17 cases.
919
00:53:28,901 --> 00:53:30,294
- There are several languages
920
00:53:30,337 --> 00:53:32,687
in the Northwest Semitic family;
921
00:53:32,731 --> 00:53:36,256
one of which is the Hebrew
spoken by the Israelites.
922
00:53:36,300 --> 00:53:38,780
All of them are very similar.
923
00:53:38,824 --> 00:53:40,652
Since they are all so similar,
924
00:53:40,695 --> 00:53:42,262
some scholars have suggested
925
00:53:42,306 --> 00:53:45,744
that Moses didn't actually
need a Hebrew alphabet.
926
00:53:45,787 --> 00:53:48,312
He could have used one of
the other Semitic scripts
927
00:53:48,355 --> 00:53:49,922
to write the Torah.
928
00:53:49,965 --> 00:53:52,794
The writing could later
have transitioned to Hebrew
929
00:53:52,838 --> 00:53:56,798
around 900 BC when the
Hebrew script developed.
930
00:53:58,017 --> 00:54:00,367
This early alphabetic
script has been given
931
00:54:00,411 --> 00:54:02,630
several names by scholars.
932
00:54:02,674 --> 00:54:05,372
One is Proto-Sinaitic.
933
00:54:05,416 --> 00:54:07,156
Proto meaning first
934
00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:10,464
and Sinaitic meaning
from the Sinai.
935
00:54:10,508 --> 00:54:12,379
Another is Proto-Canaanite
936
00:54:12,423 --> 00:54:15,643
because it later shows
up in the land of Canaan.
937
00:54:17,210 --> 00:54:19,125
Did those inscriptions
give you an idea
938
00:54:19,168 --> 00:54:23,434
of the types of people that
were scratching on these walls?
939
00:54:23,477 --> 00:54:25,087
- They were definitely Semites.
940
00:54:25,131 --> 00:54:27,307
We know that because of
the words that they wrote.
941
00:54:27,351 --> 00:54:30,310
Many of them can be deciphered
and have been deciphered.
942
00:54:30,354 --> 00:54:32,051
Those are Semitic words.
943
00:54:32,094 --> 00:54:35,750
- It seemed this was just
what I was looking for.
944
00:54:35,794 --> 00:54:38,710
But one challenge against
Moses writing the Torah
945
00:54:38,753 --> 00:54:40,712
is the common view
that the Phoenicians,
946
00:54:40,755 --> 00:54:43,105
who lived next to
the land of Israel,
947
00:54:43,149 --> 00:54:46,848
invented the alphabet
around 1100 BC,
948
00:54:46,892 --> 00:54:50,374
long after the time of
Moses and the Exodus.
949
00:54:50,417 --> 00:54:52,593
If this were true,
it would mean that
950
00:54:52,637 --> 00:54:56,380
there was no alphabet
for Moses to use.
951
00:54:56,423 --> 00:54:59,687
The Petries' discovery of
this early Semitic alphabet,
952
00:54:59,731 --> 00:55:03,474
now dated by scholars to the
era of the Middle Kingdom,
953
00:55:03,517 --> 00:55:05,780
clearly challenges that claim.
954
00:55:05,824 --> 00:55:08,740
For many years, the popular
claim in school textbooks
955
00:55:08,783 --> 00:55:10,524
has been that the Phoenicians
956
00:55:12,396 --> 00:55:14,049
basically invented the alphabet.
957
00:55:14,963 --> 00:55:16,138
What's your thoughts?
958
00:55:16,182 --> 00:55:17,270
- In essence, I
think what we can say
959
00:55:17,314 --> 00:55:18,793
based on the
evidence that we have
960
00:55:18,837 --> 00:55:20,404
is the Phoenicians didn't
invent the alphabet.
961
00:55:20,447 --> 00:55:21,840
We certainly know
that's the case.
962
00:55:21,883 --> 00:55:23,798
The Phoenicians didn't
invent the alphabet.
963
00:55:23,842 --> 00:55:26,410
The Phoenicians did
though standardize
964
00:55:26,453 --> 00:55:29,326
the early alphabetic
writing system;
965
00:55:29,369 --> 00:55:31,893
but the alphabet itself
was an innovation
966
00:55:31,937 --> 00:55:34,331
and it was definitely
Semites who invented it.
967
00:55:35,810 --> 00:55:38,378
This would mean
that the world's oldest alphabet
968
00:55:38,422 --> 00:55:43,122
is not Phoenician,
but is actually the Proto-Sinaitic script
969
00:55:43,165 --> 00:55:44,645
found by the Petries.
970
00:55:45,603 --> 00:55:47,082
- What the evidence suggests
971
00:55:47,126 --> 00:55:49,737
is that we have wonderful
Northwest Semitic inscriptions.,
972
00:55:49,781 --> 00:55:52,566
evidence for the Semites
inventing the alphabet.
973
00:55:52,610 --> 00:55:54,742
Evidence for the first alphabet,
974
00:55:54,786 --> 00:55:59,268
a grand of technology that
will from that point on
975
00:55:59,312 --> 00:56:01,227
transform so many things.
976
00:56:01,270 --> 00:56:03,621
- Transforms the world.
- We use it today.
977
00:56:07,015 --> 00:56:09,888
- I am asking the questions
from my own faith.
978
00:56:09,931 --> 00:56:11,846
I wanna know if Moses wrote.
979
00:56:11,890 --> 00:56:15,415
- It's not just a matter
of historical curiosity.
980
00:56:15,459 --> 00:56:17,765
Well Moses wrote these books
981
00:56:17,809 --> 00:56:19,985
and not some anonymous figure.
982
00:56:20,028 --> 00:56:23,510
It is that Moses is
the chosen man of God.
983
00:56:24,685 --> 00:56:27,253
He is the man who spoke God
984
00:56:27,296 --> 00:56:29,298
as a man speaks to his friend.
985
00:56:30,474 --> 00:56:34,782
Moses has great authority.
986
00:56:34,826 --> 00:56:37,872
That is why I think
Jesus and the apostles
987
00:56:37,916 --> 00:56:41,659
when they spoke of
the books of Moses,
988
00:56:41,702 --> 00:56:45,532
they refer to him by name
because he was Moses.
989
00:56:45,576 --> 00:56:47,447
He was this chosen man of God.
990
00:56:53,018 --> 00:56:55,194
- In my search for a
pattern of evidence
991
00:56:55,237 --> 00:56:57,065
showing that Moses
could have written
992
00:56:57,109 --> 00:56:59,241
the first books of the Bible,
993
00:56:59,285 --> 00:57:01,853
the inscriptions found
by the Petries and others
994
00:57:01,896 --> 00:57:04,943
confirm that the
Proto-Sinaitic script
995
00:57:04,986 --> 00:57:07,032
is the earliest known alphabet
996
00:57:07,075 --> 00:57:10,992
and it appeared centuries
earlier than even Phoenician.
997
00:57:11,036 --> 00:57:14,126
An alphabet would make learning
to read and write easy,
998
00:57:14,169 --> 00:57:16,911
allowing the Israelites
to teach their children
999
00:57:16,955 --> 00:57:19,914
the words of God as
Moses instructed.
1000
00:57:21,002 --> 00:57:22,961
This alphabet was Semitic,
1001
00:57:23,004 --> 00:57:26,747
which means that it was in
the same family as Hebrew.
1002
00:57:26,791 --> 00:57:29,968
Therefore, it was a form
of writing like Hebrew.
1003
00:57:31,186 --> 00:57:34,059
This writing existing by
the time of the Exodus
1004
00:57:34,102 --> 00:57:36,714
and in the region of
Egypt could have provided
1005
00:57:36,757 --> 00:57:38,933
the tool needed for
Moses to express
1006
00:57:38,977 --> 00:57:43,198
the nuance and detail found in
the early books of the Bible.
1007
00:57:45,113 --> 00:57:47,507
I was excited to
actually find evidence
1008
00:57:47,551 --> 00:57:50,858
matching all four
steps of the criteria.
1009
00:57:50,902 --> 00:57:52,947
But this brings
up a new question
1010
00:57:52,991 --> 00:57:55,515
about the fourth
step of the pattern;
1011
00:57:55,559 --> 00:57:58,170
an even bigger and
more profound question
1012
00:57:58,213 --> 00:58:01,608
that goes beyond whether
it was like Hebrew.
1013
00:58:01,652 --> 00:58:05,264
What if these inscriptions
weren't just like Hebrew?
1014
00:58:05,307 --> 00:58:07,571
What if they
actually were Hebrew?
1015
00:58:09,007 --> 00:58:12,097
If that were true, it
would be a slam dunk
1016
00:58:12,140 --> 00:58:15,970
for Moses' ability to
write the Torah in Hebrew,
1017
00:58:16,014 --> 00:58:19,496
the language of all
known Torah scrolls.
1018
00:58:20,671 --> 00:58:22,934
Not only that, if it was Hebrew,
1019
00:58:22,977 --> 00:58:26,546
it would show that the
source of the script
1020
00:58:26,590 --> 00:58:27,939
was the Israelites.
1021
00:58:33,161 --> 00:58:35,599
I couldn't get this
idea out of my head.
1022
00:58:37,122 --> 00:58:39,733
Was this script actually
the earliest written Hebrew?
1023
00:58:41,605 --> 00:58:43,389
As I set off to investigate,
1024
00:58:43,432 --> 00:58:46,000
little did I realize
how controversial
1025
00:58:46,044 --> 00:58:47,524
that question would be.
1026
00:58:56,184 --> 00:58:58,143
Could this script actually be
1027
00:58:58,186 --> 00:59:00,537
the earliest form
of written Hebrew?
1028
00:59:01,755 --> 00:59:04,018
This might seems like
a logical question,
1029
00:59:04,062 --> 00:59:06,064
but I was very puzzled to find
1030
00:59:06,107 --> 00:59:09,023
just how controversial
this idea is
1031
00:59:09,067 --> 00:59:11,156
in the world of academia today.
1032
00:59:26,737 --> 00:59:29,304
I went to Israel to meet
with the chair of Egyptology
1033
00:59:29,348 --> 00:59:31,698
at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem.
1034
00:59:32,699 --> 00:59:34,614
Professor Orly Goldwasser
1035
00:59:34,658 --> 00:59:36,834
is one of Israel's
leading experts
1036
00:59:36,877 --> 00:59:39,227
on the formation of
the early alphabet.
1037
00:59:40,141 --> 00:59:41,752
There are some people suggesting
1038
00:59:41,795 --> 00:59:44,145
that this Proto-Sinaitic script
1039
00:59:44,189 --> 00:59:46,626
was early form of Hebrew.
1040
00:59:46,670 --> 00:59:47,584
Have you ever heard that before?
1041
00:59:47,627 --> 00:59:49,629
- Yeah, yeah, this is sad.
1042
00:59:49,673 --> 00:59:50,630
- Sad?
1043
00:59:50,674 --> 00:59:51,500
This is sad?
1044
00:59:51,544 --> 00:59:53,633
- It's not science.
1045
00:59:53,677 --> 00:59:57,855
This is, excuse me for using
the very blunt words here.
1046
00:59:57,898 --> 01:00:01,902
This is disseminating
fake knowledge
1047
01:00:01,946 --> 01:00:03,904
and fake science to people.
1048
01:00:03,948 --> 01:00:05,340
It's not their field.
1049
01:00:05,384 --> 01:00:10,041
You can tell me for example,
any stories in biology,
1050
01:00:11,216 --> 01:00:14,175
mathematics and I will
believe because I don't know.
1051
01:00:14,219 --> 01:00:17,265
Really if my great teacher
Joseph Naveh would be alive,
1052
01:00:17,309 --> 01:00:19,354
I think he would die
again if he moved here.
1053
01:00:19,398 --> 01:00:20,268
- You could hear that?
1054
01:00:20,312 --> 01:00:21,661
- He invented this theory.
1055
01:00:21,705 --> 01:00:23,010
It has nothing to do.
1056
01:00:23,054 --> 01:00:25,143
Hebrew is a kind of dialect
1057
01:00:25,186 --> 01:00:27,232
that developed
Canaanite dialect.
1058
01:00:27,275 --> 01:00:29,495
It developed much later.
1059
01:00:29,538 --> 01:00:32,803
To call this old
Canaanite dialect
1060
01:00:32,846 --> 01:00:34,500
which cannot be identified,
1061
01:00:34,543 --> 01:00:37,242
maybe because the
inscriptions are too short.
1062
01:00:37,285 --> 01:00:40,549
Hebrew, it's opportunism.
1063
01:00:45,250 --> 01:00:46,643
Professor Gentry
1064
01:00:46,686 --> 01:00:49,602
experienced something
different with his professors.
1065
01:00:49,646 --> 01:00:53,040
- Frequently when
we're taught things,
1066
01:00:53,084 --> 01:00:56,435
there's a consensus
among scholars
1067
01:00:56,478 --> 01:00:59,090
that this is the way things are.
1068
01:00:59,133 --> 01:01:01,222
But when you get
out the microscope
1069
01:01:01,266 --> 01:01:04,791
and examine the evidence,
sometimes it doesn't add up
1070
01:01:04,835 --> 01:01:07,228
so it's important
to check things out.
1071
01:01:07,272 --> 01:01:09,361
- Yeah 'cause I
know a lot of people
1072
01:01:09,404 --> 01:01:12,756
can say my professor told me.
- Yeah, that's right.
1073
01:01:12,799 --> 01:01:14,801
- Then his professor
told him, correct?
1074
01:01:14,845 --> 01:01:16,237
- That's right.
1075
01:01:16,281 --> 01:01:19,327
- Then there's the real
question of is it correct?
1076
01:01:19,371 --> 01:01:20,807
- That's right.
1077
01:01:20,851 --> 01:01:24,376
- What would be one example
of a problem you had
1078
01:01:24,419 --> 01:01:27,205
that through diligence
and investigation,
1079
01:01:27,248 --> 01:01:28,946
you were able to
solve for yourself?
1080
01:01:28,989 --> 01:01:31,949
- I think the documentary
hypothesis is one.
1081
01:01:31,992 --> 01:01:33,864
I went to a school
where they taught it
1082
01:01:33,907 --> 01:01:36,388
every day for 17 years.
1083
01:01:36,431 --> 01:01:41,436
I read a book by an Italian
Jew called Umberto Cassuto.
1084
01:01:43,221 --> 01:01:44,701
He wrote a very good book
1085
01:01:44,744 --> 01:01:47,138
criticizing the
documentary hypothesis.
1086
01:01:48,356 --> 01:01:50,837
One day I was at the
University of Toronto
1087
01:01:50,881 --> 01:01:54,623
and my professor was teaching
the documentary hypothesis.
1088
01:01:54,667 --> 01:01:58,323
All I did was very politely say,
1089
01:01:58,366 --> 01:02:00,934
"Have you ever looked at the
book by Umberto Cassuto?"
1090
01:02:01,979 --> 01:02:03,328
The answer I was given was,
1091
01:02:03,371 --> 01:02:07,332
"We don't read books
like that around here."
1092
01:02:07,375 --> 01:02:10,248
That was when I
clued in and realized
1093
01:02:10,291 --> 01:02:11,858
for them it's a faith stance.
1094
01:02:11,902 --> 01:02:13,817
It's not as if
1095
01:02:15,819 --> 01:02:18,169
this is perfect science.
1096
01:02:18,212 --> 01:02:20,345
- In other words,
there was a sense
1097
01:02:20,388 --> 01:02:22,086
that they didn't wanna
hear other information.
1098
01:02:22,129 --> 01:02:23,174
- That's right.
1099
01:02:23,217 --> 01:02:24,131
For me, they were
the fundamentalists
1100
01:02:24,175 --> 01:02:25,959
because their minds were closed
1101
01:02:26,003 --> 01:02:29,267
and they were not
interested in evidence
1102
01:02:29,310 --> 01:02:32,618
that would call their
consensus into question.
1103
01:02:34,359 --> 01:02:37,275
- The issue of this
script being Hebrew
1104
01:02:37,318 --> 01:02:39,364
directly connects
to whether Moses
1105
01:02:39,407 --> 01:02:41,627
could've used it
to write the Torah.
1106
01:02:43,150 --> 01:02:45,805
If one believes that Moses
didn't write the Torah,
1107
01:02:45,849 --> 01:02:48,503
then where does that
thinking naturally lead?
1108
01:02:51,463 --> 01:02:54,161
We both grew up in
families that both believed
1109
01:02:54,205 --> 01:02:57,730
the Bible was a
historical document.
1110
01:02:57,774 --> 01:03:01,386
- My father was a minister,
very conservative,
1111
01:03:01,429 --> 01:03:03,692
southern, small-town churches.
1112
01:03:05,042 --> 01:03:06,347
- Tell me about that.
1113
01:03:06,391 --> 01:03:07,958
You were raised in
a conservative home.
1114
01:03:08,001 --> 01:03:11,700
- We read the Bible literally
and thought that was adequate.
1115
01:03:13,180 --> 01:03:16,009
Then I went to a Bible college
and nothing changed there.
1116
01:03:16,053 --> 01:03:19,883
Then I went to a liberal/protestant theological seminary
1117
01:03:19,926 --> 01:03:22,842
and that was quite
a shock I remember.
1118
01:03:24,365 --> 01:03:26,367
Then I went onto Harvard
and by that time,
1119
01:03:26,411 --> 01:03:28,239
I was moving away from theology
1120
01:03:28,282 --> 01:03:31,503
and into history,
thus into archeology.
1121
01:03:31,546 --> 01:03:34,201
- You were actually a minister.
1122
01:03:34,245 --> 01:03:39,250
- I was a clergyman for 13
years, United Church of Christ.
1123
01:03:40,468 --> 01:03:41,643
- I'm gonna ask you a
theological question
1124
01:03:41,687 --> 01:03:43,515
'cause you have had
quite an arc of a life.
1125
01:03:43,558 --> 01:03:45,343
- I've had an
adventuresome life.
1126
01:03:45,386 --> 01:03:46,474
- You have, you have.
1127
01:03:48,128 --> 01:03:52,480
I'm gonna ask you the most obvious question,
is there a god?
1128
01:03:53,264 --> 01:03:54,961
- I am not an atheist.
1129
01:03:55,005 --> 01:03:57,050
I think that's an
arrogant position.
1130
01:03:58,443 --> 01:04:01,881
I'm an agnostic, which
means I do not know
1131
01:04:01,925 --> 01:04:05,232
and I think that's the only
honest position I can take.
1132
01:04:05,276 --> 01:04:07,887
I'm not going to say
there is or there is not,
1133
01:04:07,931 --> 01:04:09,367
that's a theological issue.
1134
01:04:09,410 --> 01:04:10,498
I'm not a theologian.
1135
01:04:20,117 --> 01:04:23,120
- In these interviews
it was clear to me
1136
01:04:23,163 --> 01:04:25,035
that the more these
scholars doubted
1137
01:04:25,078 --> 01:04:28,516
that Moses wrote the Torah,
the less sure they were
1138
01:04:28,560 --> 01:04:31,519
of even the existence of God.
1139
01:04:34,087 --> 01:04:36,916
I remember going to
church on Sunday mornings
1140
01:04:36,960 --> 01:04:40,702
and hearing the Bible
called the Word of God.
1141
01:04:42,226 --> 01:04:44,445
I was taught that Moses
and other Biblical writers
1142
01:04:44,489 --> 01:04:46,578
were divinely inspired.
1143
01:04:46,621 --> 01:04:48,754
They were chosen
people who wrote
1144
01:04:48,797 --> 01:04:51,452
what they saw and
heard from God,
1145
01:04:51,496 --> 01:04:53,585
so others in the
future could read it.
1146
01:04:55,108 --> 01:04:57,676
Was there a connection
between the Bible
1147
01:04:57,719 --> 01:05:00,070
and the world's first alphabet?
1148
01:05:08,382 --> 01:05:12,169
Early in his career, David
Rohl had uncovered problems
1149
01:05:12,212 --> 01:05:15,694
with the dates given to the
reigns of Egyptian Pharaohs.
1150
01:05:15,737 --> 01:05:19,393
He concluded that Egypt's
dating had been over-exaggerated
1151
01:05:19,437 --> 01:05:21,091
and needed to be revised.
1152
01:05:22,657 --> 01:05:25,834
When this was done, he
began to see evidence
1153
01:05:25,878 --> 01:05:30,491
for the Biblical Exodus emerging
in an entirely new period.
1154
01:05:31,710 --> 01:05:33,625
While most scholars
put the six steps
1155
01:05:33,668 --> 01:05:36,497
of the Exodus in
Egypt's New Kingdom,
1156
01:05:36,541 --> 01:05:39,457
this evidence was in the
earlier middle kingdom
1157
01:05:39,500 --> 01:05:41,850
at a time where most
weren't looking.
1158
01:05:44,592 --> 01:05:47,160
The unexpected result
of David's revision
1159
01:05:47,204 --> 01:05:50,337
of Egyptian history was
that the early evidence
1160
01:05:50,381 --> 01:05:53,601
shifted forward aligning
with the Biblical dates.
1161
01:06:00,608 --> 01:06:02,349
To further explore his theories,
1162
01:06:02,393 --> 01:06:05,004
he traveled into the Sinai area
1163
01:06:05,048 --> 01:06:07,964
were the Petries made
their discoveries.
1164
01:06:14,796 --> 01:06:16,450
He had quickly come to realize
1165
01:06:16,494 --> 01:06:19,627
that placing the early
Israelites in the Middle Kingdom
1166
01:06:19,671 --> 01:06:22,239
could connect them and
their Hebrew language
1167
01:06:22,282 --> 01:06:25,764
with the Proto-Sinaitic
script, which was invented
1168
01:06:25,807 --> 01:06:28,680
in the same time period
and in the same area.
1169
01:06:30,421 --> 01:06:33,206
But the idea of Moses
writing the Torah
1170
01:06:33,250 --> 01:06:37,558
and a Biblical Exodus is
inconceivable to most scholars.
1171
01:06:39,473 --> 01:06:42,650
Yet I had been faced with
this challenge before
1172
01:06:42,694 --> 01:06:45,784
and the solution was
found in a pattern.
1173
01:06:49,570 --> 01:06:52,443
In the search for whether
the Sinai inscriptions
1174
01:06:52,486 --> 01:06:55,489
were actually written in
an early form of Hebrew,
1175
01:06:55,533 --> 01:06:59,276
I would need to answer the
following three questions.
1176
01:06:59,319 --> 01:07:02,409
Do the letters of the
Proto-Sinaitic script
1177
01:07:02,453 --> 01:07:04,629
match the look of Hebrew?
1178
01:07:04,672 --> 01:07:08,067
Is there a connection
and are the inscriptions
1179
01:07:08,111 --> 01:07:10,896
readable as Hebrew,
do they make sense?
1180
01:07:12,245 --> 01:07:14,813
Does the history of
the early alphabet
1181
01:07:14,856 --> 01:07:17,685
match the history
of the Israelites?
1182
01:07:17,729 --> 01:07:19,948
Because if it does,
it would indicate
1183
01:07:19,992 --> 01:07:22,299
they were the ones
responsible for it.
1184
01:07:23,474 --> 01:07:26,564
The first question of
the Hebrew pattern is
1185
01:07:26,607 --> 01:07:29,610
do the letters of the
Proto-Sinaitic script
1186
01:07:29,654 --> 01:07:31,699
match the look of Hebrew?
1187
01:07:42,971 --> 01:07:45,670
Dr. Douglas Petrovich
has long studied
1188
01:07:45,713 --> 01:07:47,759
inscriptions and their meanings.
1189
01:07:47,802 --> 01:07:49,587
He is yet another scholar I met
1190
01:07:49,630 --> 01:07:52,677
who believes Moses
wrote the Torah.
1191
01:07:52,720 --> 01:07:54,722
It appears that
Professor Dever's claim
1192
01:07:54,766 --> 01:07:58,857
that scholars no longer hold
this view was overstated.
1193
01:08:00,337 --> 01:08:03,514
Just like David Rohl,
Dr. Petrovich proposes
1194
01:08:03,557 --> 01:08:07,866
that the early Sinaitic script
is actually the earliest form
1195
01:08:07,909 --> 01:08:11,652
of written Hebrew developed
by the Israelites.
1196
01:08:11,696 --> 01:08:15,482
However unlike Rohl, Petrovich
doesn't see a problem
1197
01:08:15,526 --> 01:08:19,704
with Egypt's dating system,
so he uses the standard dates.
1198
01:08:20,705 --> 01:08:23,273
Petrovich recently
outlined his case
1199
01:08:23,316 --> 01:08:26,580
in his book, The
World's Oldest Alphabet.
1200
01:08:26,624 --> 01:08:30,280
He thinks a key link between
the Sinai inscriptions
1201
01:08:30,323 --> 01:08:32,586
and the early
Israelites is the fact
1202
01:08:32,630 --> 01:08:35,720
that whoever invented the
alphabet borrowed symbols
1203
01:08:35,763 --> 01:08:38,766
from Egyptian hieroglyphs
to make the letters.
1204
01:08:40,072 --> 01:08:44,163
Here's the Egyptian gallery
and we have an artifact here.
1205
01:08:44,207 --> 01:08:45,469
Tell me about this.
1206
01:08:45,512 --> 01:08:47,384
- That's right, this
is from ancient Egypt.
1207
01:08:47,427 --> 01:08:48,733
It's from the Old Kingdom,
1208
01:08:48,776 --> 01:08:50,691
maybe about 400 years
before Abraham lived.
1209
01:08:50,735 --> 01:08:52,650
- It's very old then.
- It's very old.
1210
01:08:54,217 --> 01:08:56,741
- What is the connection
with Egyptian hieroglyphs
1211
01:08:56,784 --> 01:08:59,570
and the oldest alphabet?
1212
01:08:59,613 --> 01:09:01,920
- This is the very
writing script
1213
01:09:01,963 --> 01:09:05,619
that's the basis of the
world's oldest alphabet.
1214
01:09:05,663 --> 01:09:10,320
They were formed from 22 of
these hieroglyphic signs.
1215
01:09:10,363 --> 01:09:12,626
- Are there any of those
examples here on this?
1216
01:09:12,670 --> 01:09:15,063
- Yes, in fact here
is a wave of water.
1217
01:09:15,107 --> 01:09:17,762
When you convert this
into a proto-continental
1218
01:09:17,805 --> 01:09:19,677
alphabetical letter in Hebrew,
1219
01:09:19,720 --> 01:09:21,635
this becomes the M
1220
01:09:21,679 --> 01:09:25,030
because for Hebrews,
water is mayim.
1221
01:09:25,073 --> 01:09:26,553
They see the wave of water,
1222
01:09:26,597 --> 01:09:27,728
they're thinking mayim
1223
01:09:27,772 --> 01:09:29,165
and they pronounce muh.
1224
01:09:32,994 --> 01:09:35,301
- This is were the
alphabet came from,
1225
01:09:35,345 --> 01:09:37,651
but how did it
develop over time?
1226
01:09:40,872 --> 01:09:42,787
When you look at the family tree
1227
01:09:42,830 --> 01:09:44,571
for the beginning
of the alphabet,
1228
01:09:44,615 --> 01:09:47,792
it starts with the
Proto-Sinaitic script
1229
01:09:47,835 --> 01:09:51,839
which when found in Canaan
is called Proto-Canaanite.
1230
01:09:51,883 --> 01:09:54,102
Then in the standard view,
1231
01:09:54,146 --> 01:09:55,974
the alphabet is believed
to have developed
1232
01:09:56,017 --> 01:09:59,282
into Phoenician
hundreds of years later.
1233
01:09:59,325 --> 01:10:02,894
In this view, Phoenician
branches into other scripts
1234
01:10:02,937 --> 01:10:05,984
such as Old Hebrew,
Aramaic and Greek
1235
01:10:06,027 --> 01:10:10,336
continuing on to numerous
alphabets over the centuries.
1236
01:10:10,380 --> 01:10:13,861
But was the first alphabet
related to Hebrew?
1237
01:10:16,255 --> 01:10:18,388
Professor Petrovich
has argued that
1238
01:10:18,431 --> 01:10:20,128
the Proto-Siniatic inscriptions
1239
01:10:20,172 --> 01:10:22,566
were actually an
early form of Hebrew
1240
01:10:22,609 --> 01:10:24,481
and the world's first alphabet.
1241
01:10:24,524 --> 01:10:25,873
What are your thoughts?
1242
01:10:25,917 --> 01:10:27,353
- I wish that it were true.
1243
01:10:28,311 --> 01:10:30,182
I wish that were correct.
1244
01:10:30,226 --> 01:10:32,576
It would be absolutely
fascinating.
1245
01:10:32,619 --> 01:10:35,622
The difficulty with that
is first and foremost
1246
01:10:35,666 --> 01:10:39,713
the script of the
Proto-Canaanite inscriptions
1247
01:10:39,757 --> 01:10:41,498
or the early alphabetic
inscriptions;
1248
01:10:41,541 --> 01:10:44,762
the script is definitely
not the Hebrew script,
1249
01:10:44,805 --> 01:10:45,850
so that's a problem.
1250
01:10:47,199 --> 01:10:48,940
- I could see why it's difficult
1251
01:10:48,983 --> 01:10:52,335
to link Old Hebrew with the
world's oldest alphabet,
1252
01:10:52,378 --> 01:10:54,772
the Proto-Sinaitic script.
1253
01:10:54,815 --> 01:10:57,992
Old Hebrew or Paleo Hebrew,
as it's sometimes called,
1254
01:10:58,036 --> 01:11:00,952
is thought to have
emerged 1,000 years later
1255
01:11:00,995 --> 01:11:02,823
and to have developed
from Phoenician.
1256
01:11:03,998 --> 01:11:05,478
The consensus of scholars holds
1257
01:11:05,522 --> 01:11:08,089
that the very first Hebrew text
1258
01:11:08,133 --> 01:11:10,831
starts with Old
Hebrew by definition.
1259
01:11:12,050 --> 01:11:13,660
- We know the Hebrew
inscriptions well.
1260
01:11:13,704 --> 01:11:17,664
We know the Hebrew script
well beginning around 900 BCE.
1261
01:11:17,708 --> 01:11:19,318
The script of those inscriptions
1262
01:11:19,362 --> 01:11:21,973
is dramatically different
from the Hebrew script,
1263
01:11:22,016 --> 01:11:23,888
dramatically different.
1264
01:11:23,931 --> 01:11:27,283
However, scripts
can look dramatically different
1265
01:11:27,326 --> 01:11:30,808
and still be a part
of the same family.
1266
01:11:30,851 --> 01:11:32,810
One example can
be seen by looking
1267
01:11:32,853 --> 01:11:35,726
at the first verse in
the book of Genesis
1268
01:11:35,769 --> 01:11:37,945
as seen in the Wycliffe Bible.
1269
01:11:37,989 --> 01:11:40,992
It was written in
the English of 1385
1270
01:11:41,035 --> 01:11:43,864
from about 600 years ago.
1271
01:11:43,908 --> 01:11:46,476
Here is the same verse today.
1272
01:11:46,519 --> 01:11:49,957
I was surprised how much
English has changed.
1273
01:11:51,219 --> 01:11:53,047
Furthermore, even
Professor Rollston
1274
01:11:53,091 --> 01:11:55,136
acknowledged that
the Hebrew script
1275
01:11:55,180 --> 01:11:58,923
changed over time
in a later period.
1276
01:11:58,966 --> 01:12:01,621
But if Old Hebrew
evolved over time,
1277
01:12:01,665 --> 01:12:03,580
why couldn't it
have evolved earlier
1278
01:12:03,623 --> 01:12:07,018
from the script that is known
today as Proto-Sinaitic.
1279
01:12:12,240 --> 01:12:13,503
I needed to go back to Israel
1280
01:12:13,546 --> 01:12:16,244
and to the important
Biblical city of Gezer,
1281
01:12:16,288 --> 01:12:18,986
20 miles northwest of Jerusalem.
1282
01:12:20,161 --> 01:12:23,904
It was here that Irish
archeologist Stuart McAllister
1283
01:12:23,948 --> 01:12:25,863
discovered what many
considered to be
1284
01:12:25,906 --> 01:12:29,867
one of the earliest Old Hebrew
inscriptions found to date.
1285
01:12:29,910 --> 01:12:33,697
It was a calendar inscribed
on a limestone tablet
1286
01:12:33,740 --> 01:12:37,701
that included monthly
information about crops.
1287
01:12:37,744 --> 01:12:39,529
I looked at the Gezer calendar
1288
01:12:39,572 --> 01:12:41,226
to compare it to
the inscriptions
1289
01:12:41,269 --> 01:12:43,968
the Petries discovered
in the Sinai mines
1290
01:12:44,011 --> 01:12:46,840
which are from
centuries earlier.
1291
01:12:46,884 --> 01:12:50,714
For many of the letters, you
can see a clear resemblance.
1292
01:12:50,757 --> 01:12:54,282
Some of the letters of the two
scripts are also different.
1293
01:12:54,326 --> 01:12:55,980
But according to Doug Petrovich,
1294
01:12:56,023 --> 01:12:59,723
they aren't as different as
Professor Rollston claims.
1295
01:12:59,766 --> 01:13:02,639
He showed me how each
letter changed over time
1296
01:13:02,682 --> 01:13:05,772
starting with the fifth
letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
1297
01:13:05,816 --> 01:13:07,295
the letter.
1298
01:13:07,339 --> 01:13:10,864
- It starts out as a full
man here, here and here.
1299
01:13:10,908 --> 01:13:15,913
Usually he has both arms up
with right angles at his elbows
1300
01:13:17,175 --> 01:13:18,916
in a pose that we who
live in the United States
1301
01:13:18,959 --> 01:13:21,875
would call the Touchdown Pose.
1302
01:13:21,919 --> 01:13:23,790
This is the touchdown letter.
1303
01:13:23,834 --> 01:13:28,839
This letter makes the H
sound in Hebrew like huh
1304
01:13:30,057 --> 01:13:31,624
and it comes from the
Hebrew world halal.
1305
01:13:31,668 --> 01:13:34,845
That's the word that's
connected to the pictograph.
1306
01:13:34,888 --> 01:13:37,630
Halal means praise.
1307
01:13:37,674 --> 01:13:38,979
- Or hallelujah?
1308
01:13:39,023 --> 01:13:42,026
- The word hallelujah is
based on this very word.
1309
01:13:42,069 --> 01:13:45,986
It's the arms raised
in praise toward God.
1310
01:13:46,030 --> 01:13:48,859
The head is insignificant,
the legs are insignificant.
1311
01:13:48,902 --> 01:13:52,471
Oddly enough, what happens over
time as the letter evolves?
1312
01:13:52,515 --> 01:13:53,820
Here's one leg missing.
1313
01:13:53,864 --> 01:13:55,561
Here's a head that's
been reduced greatly.
1314
01:13:55,605 --> 01:13:57,476
Reduced greatly,
reduced greatly.
1315
01:13:57,520 --> 01:14:01,045
No legs at all here
on Sinai 374, why?
1316
01:14:01,088 --> 01:14:03,613
Because all you need
is the hands raised.
1317
01:14:03,656 --> 01:14:06,572
Eventually they realized we
don't really need the head
1318
01:14:06,616 --> 01:14:08,182
and we don't really
need the legs,
1319
01:14:08,226 --> 01:14:11,316
so that morphs into
what looks like an E.
1320
01:14:11,359 --> 01:14:15,059
If you were to take this
from the Sartah Ostracon
1321
01:14:15,102 --> 01:14:18,062
and turn it 90
degrees to the left,
1322
01:14:18,105 --> 01:14:21,892
it would be the neck of a
person, the left arm of a person
1323
01:14:21,935 --> 01:14:24,460
and the right arm of a
person all pointing up.
1324
01:14:26,287 --> 01:14:27,506
- While the
Proto-Sinaitic letter
1325
01:14:27,550 --> 01:14:30,030
of a man praising may
look quite different
1326
01:14:30,074 --> 01:14:32,772
than the corresponding
Hebrew letter,
1327
01:14:32,816 --> 01:14:35,079
once you understand
how it developed,
1328
01:14:35,122 --> 01:14:37,037
you can see how they relate.
1329
01:14:38,561 --> 01:14:41,607
David Rohl also showed me
how this development happened
1330
01:14:41,651 --> 01:14:43,522
with our modern letter A.
1331
01:14:43,566 --> 01:14:45,089
- I'll give you a good example.
1332
01:14:45,959 --> 01:14:48,092
The bull's head, Aleph.
1333
01:14:48,135 --> 01:14:50,398
It starts life as
an ordinary drawing
1334
01:14:50,442 --> 01:14:52,792
of a bull with two horns.
1335
01:14:52,836 --> 01:14:56,927
As it comes through
Proto-Canaanite into Phoenician,
1336
01:14:56,970 --> 01:15:01,061
it turns to that
shape at right angles
1337
01:15:01,105 --> 01:15:03,411
from the original bull
and it's now become lines
1338
01:15:03,455 --> 01:15:07,024
rather than a very careful
drawing, it's very angularized.
1339
01:15:07,067 --> 01:15:08,373
Then it comes into Greek
1340
01:15:08,416 --> 01:15:11,289
and to our English
language like this.
1341
01:15:11,332 --> 01:15:13,552
It's rotating and it's
changing its shape,
1342
01:15:13,596 --> 01:15:17,077
but you can still see
the original bull's head,
1343
01:15:17,121 --> 01:15:19,166
in the letter A but
it's now upside down.
1344
01:15:20,907 --> 01:15:23,083
But can
these two related scripts
1345
01:15:23,127 --> 01:15:26,260
be considered different
versions of Hebrew?
1346
01:15:26,304 --> 01:15:29,176
It appears that Phoenician
is the one thing
1347
01:15:29,220 --> 01:15:32,049
standing in the way
of making that link.
1348
01:15:35,618 --> 01:15:37,663
How dramatic are the differences
1349
01:15:37,707 --> 01:15:40,318
between Old Hebrew
and Phoenician?
1350
01:15:41,885 --> 01:15:44,844
When compared to Phoenician,
the character of the letters
1351
01:15:44,888 --> 01:15:47,020
looks very similar
to the Old Hebrew
1352
01:15:47,064 --> 01:15:50,154
found by Stuart
McAllister to the point
1353
01:15:50,197 --> 01:15:53,200
where most of the letters
are basically identical.
1354
01:15:55,986 --> 01:15:57,509
It could almost boil down
1355
01:15:57,553 --> 01:16:00,686
to individual styles
of handwriting.
1356
01:16:06,997 --> 01:16:10,348
Israel's preeminent authority
on ancient inscriptions
1357
01:16:10,391 --> 01:16:12,263
was the late Joseph Naveh.
1358
01:16:13,481 --> 01:16:16,963
Dr. Goldwasser was one
of Naveh's students.
1359
01:16:17,007 --> 01:16:20,619
- He was the great
expert of the script.
1360
01:16:20,663 --> 01:16:22,012
- 'Cause I wanna find
out what the truth is
1361
01:16:22,055 --> 01:16:23,317
'cause I've
interviewed some people
1362
01:16:23,361 --> 01:16:25,015
who are saying they
think there's a link.
1363
01:16:25,058 --> 01:16:27,974
I know that Joseph
Naveh, he said something.
1364
01:16:28,018 --> 01:16:31,369
He wrote, "In inscriptions
of the 10th century."
1365
01:16:31,412 --> 01:16:33,850
- 10th century,
remember the 10th.
1366
01:16:33,893 --> 01:16:36,940
In inscriptions
of the 10th century,
1367
01:16:36,983 --> 01:16:41,074
Phoenician, Hebrew
and Aramaic scripts
1368
01:16:41,118 --> 01:16:43,163
are indistinguishable.
1369
01:16:44,469 --> 01:16:47,298
- If Old Hebrew,
Aramaic and Phoenician
1370
01:16:47,341 --> 01:16:50,649
were indistinguishable
in the 10th century,
1371
01:16:50,693 --> 01:16:52,999
is it really proper
to call the script
1372
01:16:53,043 --> 01:16:55,611
Phoenician at that time?
1373
01:16:55,654 --> 01:16:58,657
According to Naveh, it's
only later that this script
1374
01:16:58,701 --> 01:17:01,312
branches into the more
distinct versions.
1375
01:17:01,355 --> 01:17:04,794
In that case, the actual
model for the early alphabet
1376
01:17:04,837 --> 01:17:08,232
would look more like this
with this mystery script
1377
01:17:08,275 --> 01:17:11,670
being the predecessor
of the other three.
1378
01:17:11,714 --> 01:17:16,109
Today, some call this mystery
script early Phoenician.
1379
01:17:16,153 --> 01:17:19,852
Others call it a late
form of Proto-Canaanite,
1380
01:17:19,896 --> 01:17:24,248
but could it actually be
an early form of Hebrew?
1381
01:17:24,291 --> 01:17:28,165
To be clear, Joseph Naveh
held to the same standard view
1382
01:17:28,208 --> 01:17:31,211
as professors Rollston
and Goldwasser,
1383
01:17:31,255 --> 01:17:34,519
that we can't call the early
phase of this script Hebrew
1384
01:17:34,562 --> 01:17:38,175
because Old Hebrew did not
become a distinct script
1385
01:17:38,218 --> 01:17:40,438
until after the 10th century BC.
1386
01:17:42,222 --> 01:17:43,659
- This is worse for your theory
1387
01:17:45,182 --> 01:17:49,665
because Naveh believes the
Hebrew was born even later.
1388
01:17:50,883 --> 01:17:53,712
- Okay, what is called
Old Hebrew came later.
1389
01:17:53,756 --> 01:17:55,366
But the question remains,
1390
01:17:55,409 --> 01:17:58,151
what really was
this mystery script?
1391
01:17:59,109 --> 01:18:01,851
Professor Naveh did
an extensive study
1392
01:18:01,894 --> 01:18:04,070
of six letters from this script
1393
01:18:04,114 --> 01:18:08,074
as it evolved into Phoenician,
Old Hebrew and Aramaic.
1394
01:18:08,118 --> 01:18:11,208
Surprisingly he
said that over time,
1395
01:18:11,251 --> 01:18:14,733
"The Hebrew script preserved
the basic forms of the letters
1396
01:18:14,777 --> 01:18:18,128
"to a greater extent
than the other two."
1397
01:18:18,171 --> 01:18:19,999
Now that is curious.
1398
01:18:20,043 --> 01:18:21,653
Why would Old Hebrew be the one
1399
01:18:21,697 --> 01:18:23,307
to maintain the characteristics
1400
01:18:23,350 --> 01:18:27,224
of the mystery script
better than the others?
1401
01:18:27,267 --> 01:18:29,487
Naveh believed it was
because the Israelites
1402
01:18:29,530 --> 01:18:34,100
were isolated in a mountainous
land steeped in tradition,
1403
01:18:34,144 --> 01:18:36,276
so they didn't change things.
1404
01:18:36,320 --> 01:18:40,759
But if Old Hebrew is the most
similar to the mystery script,
1405
01:18:40,803 --> 01:18:44,067
maybe it's because both
were forms of Hebrew.
1406
01:18:45,633 --> 01:18:47,200
Based on the
thinking of scholars
1407
01:18:47,244 --> 01:18:51,335
like Petrovich and Rohl,
this opens up the possibility
1408
01:18:51,378 --> 01:18:54,773
that Proto-Sinaitic
was merely Hebrew 1.0
1409
01:18:54,817 --> 01:18:57,167
as the earliest form
of written Hebrew
1410
01:18:57,210 --> 01:19:02,215
that later developed into
Hebrew 2.0, the mystery script.
1411
01:19:03,477 --> 01:19:05,523
It was then picked up
by Israel's neighbors,
1412
01:19:05,566 --> 01:19:08,918
the Phoenicians, before
spreading throughout the region.
1413
01:19:10,702 --> 01:19:15,359
It would later develop into
Old Hebrew or Hebrew 3.0.
1414
01:19:18,405 --> 01:19:19,842
Interesting though,
1415
01:19:19,885 --> 01:19:23,193
the idea that some form of
Hebrew writing came first
1416
01:19:23,236 --> 01:19:26,370
is supported by one of the
earliest Jewish historians.
1417
01:19:29,329 --> 01:19:33,159
Eupolemus around 150
BC wrote in his book
1418
01:19:33,203 --> 01:19:35,858
titled On the Kings of Judea.
1419
01:19:37,207 --> 01:19:40,210
Moses
was the first wise man
1420
01:19:40,253 --> 01:19:43,996
and the first that imparted
grammar to the Jews.
1421
01:19:44,040 --> 01:19:47,086
The Phoenicians received
it from the Jews
1422
01:19:47,130 --> 01:19:49,959
and the Greeks from
the Phoenicians.
1423
01:19:51,351 --> 01:19:54,920
- For Rohl and Petrovich,
Moses was the wise man
1424
01:19:54,964 --> 01:19:58,141
who had the ability to
write the book of Exodus
1425
01:19:58,184 --> 01:20:00,796
as an eyewitness account.
1426
01:20:07,324 --> 01:20:09,413
When investigating
the first step,
1427
01:20:09,456 --> 01:20:13,199
does Proto-Sinaitic
match the look of Hebrew?
1428
01:20:13,243 --> 01:20:15,636
I discovered that
there are many letters
1429
01:20:15,680 --> 01:20:18,509
in Proto-Sinaitic
that closely resemble
1430
01:20:18,552 --> 01:20:21,338
those of the mystery
script in Old Hebrew.
1431
01:20:22,818 --> 01:20:25,255
The development of those
letters that aren't different
1432
01:20:25,298 --> 01:20:27,300
can be traced in a logical way
1433
01:20:27,344 --> 01:20:30,390
showing that these
scripts are related.
1434
01:20:31,348 --> 01:20:33,393
Over time as the
script transition
1435
01:20:33,437 --> 01:20:37,876
to the distinct Phoenician,
Aramaic and Old Hebrew styles,
1436
01:20:37,920 --> 01:20:41,097
it was the Old Hebrew
that maintained the style
1437
01:20:41,140 --> 01:20:43,839
of the mystery script
better than the others.
1438
01:20:45,405 --> 01:20:48,887
This supports the idea that
the original Proto-Sinaitic
1439
01:20:48,931 --> 01:20:53,892
was Hebrew 1.0, which then
evolved into Hebrew 2.0 and 3.0.
1440
01:20:57,504 --> 01:21:00,725
I can now move on to the
second step of the pattern
1441
01:21:00,768 --> 01:21:04,424
investigating whether the
inscriptions are readable
1442
01:21:04,468 --> 01:21:08,689
as Hebrew, an idea that is
extremely controversial.
1443
01:21:14,043 --> 01:21:16,436
Rollston says that the words
found in the inscriptions
1444
01:21:16,480 --> 01:21:18,874
are not specific to Hebrew,
1445
01:21:18,917 --> 01:21:22,051
but are common to all
Semitic languages.
1446
01:21:22,094 --> 01:21:23,356
- In other words,
it's not evidence
1447
01:21:23,400 --> 01:21:26,272
for those texts being Hebrew.
1448
01:21:26,316 --> 01:21:29,145
It's evidence for those
texts being Semitic
1449
01:21:29,188 --> 01:21:30,711
and that's all that we can say.
1450
01:21:32,235 --> 01:21:35,064
- But if all the Semitic
languages are so similar,
1451
01:21:35,107 --> 01:21:37,980
then doesn't that also mean
that we can't really say
1452
01:21:38,023 --> 01:21:40,286
that it isn't Hebrew?
1453
01:21:40,330 --> 01:21:43,942
Obviously, some Semitic group
invented the first alphabet
1454
01:21:43,986 --> 01:21:46,205
and why not the Israelites?
1455
01:21:46,989 --> 01:21:48,555
For more than 100 years,
1456
01:21:48,599 --> 01:21:52,298
other scholars have suspected
the Hebrew connection,
1457
01:21:52,342 --> 01:21:54,822
but their ideas never took hold.
1458
01:22:04,397 --> 01:22:05,921
- In the wall.
- David Rohl has worked
1459
01:22:05,964 --> 01:22:07,444
with the Sinai inscriptions
1460
01:22:07,487 --> 01:22:10,273
and disagrees with
Rollston's position.
1461
01:22:10,316 --> 01:22:13,450
He believes they can be
read as uniquely Hebrew.
1462
01:22:15,800 --> 01:22:18,498
Rohl used recognized
letter identifications
1463
01:22:18,542 --> 01:22:21,197
made by previous
scholars for the signs.
1464
01:22:22,372 --> 01:22:24,417
He then sent those
letter interpretations
1465
01:22:24,461 --> 01:22:27,855
to Rabbi Michael Shelomo
Bar-Ron in Jerusalem
1466
01:22:27,899 --> 01:22:31,207
to see if the inscriptions could
be read as Biblical Hebrew.
1467
01:22:34,210 --> 01:22:38,040
- One day David Rohl
just sends me an email
1468
01:22:38,083 --> 01:22:41,608
with a string of letter names.
1469
01:22:41,652 --> 01:22:44,089
I scratch out this
string of letters
1470
01:22:44,133 --> 01:22:47,614
in the modern human characters
that we make use of.
1471
01:22:48,876 --> 01:22:53,620
I look at it for a minute
and I clearly make out
1472
01:22:54,621 --> 01:22:57,494
what the word roots
are; I'm blown away.
1473
01:22:57,537 --> 01:22:58,582
I can read it.
1474
01:22:59,975 --> 01:23:02,455
In other words this is
not the northwest Semitic
1475
01:23:02,499 --> 01:23:03,587
that you're talking about,
1476
01:23:03,630 --> 01:23:06,590
this is the Hebrew
of our ancestors.
1477
01:23:06,633 --> 01:23:11,160
This etching, this inscription
somewhere in the Sinai Desert
1478
01:23:11,203 --> 01:23:14,380
is actual plain Biblical Hebrew.
1479
01:23:14,424 --> 01:23:16,730
- What were some of the things
that were written there?
1480
01:23:16,774 --> 01:23:20,517
- There are things like
instructions, how to use mana.
1481
01:23:20,560 --> 01:23:23,520
In the Bible there's a big thing
about you mustn't store it.
1482
01:23:23,563 --> 01:23:26,262
You have to eat it
when it's given to you.
1483
01:23:26,305 --> 01:23:30,614
This thing says pay attention
to the way you use mana.
1484
01:23:30,657 --> 01:23:32,920
Follow the Father
and his instructions.
1485
01:23:34,052 --> 01:23:35,662
Dr.
Petrovich also agrees
1486
01:23:35,706 --> 01:23:39,579
that these inscriptions are
an early form of Hebrew.
1487
01:23:39,623 --> 01:23:42,626
However, he has arrived at
different interpretations
1488
01:23:42,669 --> 01:23:43,453
than David Rohl.
1489
01:23:44,541 --> 01:23:47,413
Petrovich identifies
words and names
1490
01:23:47,457 --> 01:23:49,633
he believes are uniquely Hebrew,
1491
01:23:49,676 --> 01:23:51,374
as well as Biblical characters.
1492
01:23:54,899 --> 01:23:58,120
One such character had
a son who participated
1493
01:23:58,163 --> 01:24:01,079
in the building of the
tabernacle at Mount Sinai.
1494
01:24:07,999 --> 01:24:11,481
In another inscription from
the minds of Serabit el-Khadim
1495
01:24:11,524 --> 01:24:14,701
he even reads the name Moses.
1496
01:24:16,007 --> 01:24:19,445
What makes interpreting these
inscriptions so difficult
1497
01:24:19,489 --> 01:24:23,493
is that there are only
consonants, no vowels.
1498
01:24:23,536 --> 01:24:26,496
Many of them have no
spaces between words.
1499
01:24:26,539 --> 01:24:30,804
They can be written either
left to right or right to left.
1500
01:24:30,848 --> 01:24:33,546
The true identification
of several of the letters
1501
01:24:33,590 --> 01:24:37,898
are disputed and many are damaged,
making them hard to read.
1502
01:24:37,942 --> 01:24:39,683
That is why many scholars state,
1503
01:24:39,726 --> 01:24:42,512
"We can't read these
inscriptions as Hebrew."
1504
01:24:44,514 --> 01:24:45,732
- Someone's attempt
to state that
1505
01:24:45,776 --> 01:24:47,821
they can not only read
these inscriptions,
1506
01:24:47,865 --> 01:24:50,215
but read names that
we know from the Bible
1507
01:24:50,259 --> 01:24:52,478
or positive that we
have people present
1508
01:24:52,522 --> 01:24:54,524
in these inscriptions
from the Bible.
1509
01:24:54,567 --> 01:24:56,700
It's a difficult thing indeed.
1510
01:24:56,743 --> 01:24:59,094
You have to have evidence
for these proposals
1511
01:24:59,137 --> 01:25:02,401
and it's just not there.
1512
01:25:02,445 --> 01:25:04,534
- Some of my critics such
as Christopher Rollston
1513
01:25:04,577 --> 01:25:07,580
are saying that this could
be any Semitic language.
1514
01:25:07,624 --> 01:25:11,584
There's no way of identifying
as clearly being Hebrew.
1515
01:25:11,628 --> 01:25:15,588
There are several
distinctively Hebrew words
1516
01:25:15,632 --> 01:25:18,591
that are not found in any
other Semitic language
1517
01:25:18,635 --> 01:25:21,246
that are contained in the
15 Hebrew inscriptions
1518
01:25:21,290 --> 01:25:22,900
I've translated.
1519
01:25:22,943 --> 01:25:24,815
The key to
Petrovich's approach
1520
01:25:24,858 --> 01:25:27,992
was to test different
letter identifications
1521
01:25:28,035 --> 01:25:31,865
for those Proto-Sinaitic
letters that are disputed.
1522
01:25:31,909 --> 01:25:34,738
- I was able to try
the different options
1523
01:25:34,781 --> 01:25:37,219
of what all the scholars
have been proposing
1524
01:25:37,262 --> 01:25:39,656
for 100 years or so.
1525
01:25:40,787 --> 01:25:42,006
Through that process,
1526
01:25:42,049 --> 01:25:46,053
I was able to answer
which were correct.
1527
01:25:46,097 --> 01:25:48,012
Because in certain contexts,
1528
01:25:48,055 --> 01:25:50,493
if you took it one
way, it wouldn't work.
1529
01:25:50,536 --> 01:25:52,625
If you took it another
way, it definitely worked.
1530
01:25:52,669 --> 01:25:54,453
In fact, it always worked.
1531
01:25:56,063 --> 01:25:58,065
- When Rohl and
Petrovich assigned
1532
01:25:58,109 --> 01:26:00,807
equivalent Hebrew letters
to these inscriptions,
1533
01:26:00,851 --> 01:26:04,942
they claim they make
sense when read as Hebrew.
1534
01:26:04,985 --> 01:26:09,164
They state they are finding
uniquely-Hebrew words.
1535
01:26:09,207 --> 01:26:11,557
They also claim that
some of the inscriptions
1536
01:26:11,601 --> 01:26:14,734
reference Biblical
characters and events.
1537
01:26:16,823 --> 01:26:18,564
What complicates this issue
1538
01:26:18,608 --> 01:26:20,349
is that there are
different approaches
1539
01:26:20,392 --> 01:26:24,179
in reading the letters produce
different interpretations.
1540
01:26:24,222 --> 01:26:25,745
But the end of the day,
1541
01:26:25,789 --> 01:26:28,922
it's encouraging that there
are at least two possibilities
1542
01:26:28,966 --> 01:26:33,013
that result in meaningful
phrases for these inscriptions
1543
01:26:33,057 --> 01:26:34,972
when Hebrew letters are applied.
1544
01:26:37,061 --> 01:26:40,020
What these inscriptions
might say is something
1545
01:26:40,064 --> 01:26:43,763
I will continue to
investigate in future films.
1546
01:26:46,288 --> 01:26:48,246
People such as
Professor Rollston
1547
01:26:48,290 --> 01:26:51,118
say that it can't be Hebrew
because the Hebrew writing
1548
01:26:51,162 --> 01:26:53,730
didn't exist until
much later in time.
1549
01:26:53,773 --> 01:26:54,948
- That's true.
1550
01:26:54,992 --> 01:26:56,472
He calls this language
northwest Semitic.
1551
01:26:56,515 --> 01:26:58,517
These scriptures are
northwest Semitic.
1552
01:26:58,561 --> 01:27:01,694
But I say it's a matter of history,
not so much of language.
1553
01:27:01,738 --> 01:27:04,697
You could interpret
them as Hebrew
1554
01:27:04,741 --> 01:27:07,309
only if you have the
history to back it up.
1555
01:27:09,311 --> 01:27:12,270
- Because we have a script
that looks similar to Hebrew,
1556
01:27:12,314 --> 01:27:15,795
yet has some uncertainties
with the interpretations,
1557
01:27:15,839 --> 01:27:18,668
the final step becomes
the key to determining
1558
01:27:18,711 --> 01:27:21,714
which Semitic group invented it.
1559
01:27:21,758 --> 01:27:24,674
Does the history of
the early alphabet
1560
01:27:24,717 --> 01:27:27,720
match the history
of the Israelites?
1561
01:27:33,944 --> 01:27:36,425
The hieroglyphic roots
of the first alphabet
1562
01:27:36,468 --> 01:27:39,428
along with the locations
of the inscriptions
1563
01:27:39,471 --> 01:27:42,648
point to Egypt being the source.
1564
01:27:42,692 --> 01:27:45,782
Most scholars believe
that this first alphabet
1565
01:27:45,825 --> 01:27:48,524
developed outta the
elite class of scribes
1566
01:27:48,567 --> 01:27:52,136
who would've been familiar with
using Egyptian hieroglyphs.
1567
01:27:53,529 --> 01:27:56,662
But Professor Goldwasser
has a different idea.
1568
01:27:57,924 --> 01:28:02,451
Your theory is that common
people invented the alphabet.
1569
01:28:02,494 --> 01:28:07,499
- Yeah, my theory is that
I take this great invention
1570
01:28:08,979 --> 01:28:13,897
that change history from the
intelligence of the old world
1571
01:28:14,724 --> 01:28:17,901
to the so-called simple people
1572
01:28:17,944 --> 01:28:21,252
and say my inventor or inventors
1573
01:28:21,296 --> 01:28:26,301
were just people that were
illiterate in any script.
1574
01:28:27,737 --> 01:28:29,739
This gave them the freedom
to invent, you see,
1575
01:28:29,782 --> 01:28:32,916
because their mind was free.
1576
01:28:32,959 --> 01:28:36,267
Nothing was told them you
should do this with this picture
1577
01:28:36,311 --> 01:28:37,399
and that with the other pic;
1578
01:28:37,442 --> 01:28:39,488
they could prepare a new theory.
1579
01:28:43,666 --> 01:28:44,536
People hate it.
1580
01:28:44,580 --> 01:28:46,843
The scholars today even hate it.
1581
01:28:46,886 --> 01:28:48,148
- They hate it?
- Yeah.
1582
01:28:49,889 --> 01:28:50,760
- How dare they.
1583
01:28:50,803 --> 01:28:52,065
- They still write against me.
1584
01:28:52,109 --> 01:28:54,416
It's impossible
that simple people
1585
01:28:54,459 --> 01:28:58,768
invented this very
complex, phonetical.
1586
01:29:01,814 --> 01:29:03,294
It's common sense.
1587
01:29:04,208 --> 01:29:06,906
It's fantastic common sense.
1588
01:29:06,950 --> 01:29:09,909
- Everyone agrees that
whether they were elite
1589
01:29:09,953 --> 01:29:11,607
or from the common class,
1590
01:29:11,650 --> 01:29:14,174
whoever invented
this Semitic alphabet
1591
01:29:14,218 --> 01:29:15,785
had to have been a genius.
1592
01:29:17,003 --> 01:29:18,875
But who would've had the motive
1593
01:29:18,918 --> 01:29:22,531
to write their Semitic
language in this unique script?
1594
01:29:23,706 --> 01:29:26,012
- The book of Genesis tells us
1595
01:29:26,056 --> 01:29:29,755
that the first descendant of
Abraham to arrive in Egypt
1596
01:29:29,799 --> 01:29:34,281
was his great-grandson
Joseph, the son of Jacob.
1597
01:29:34,325 --> 01:29:36,980
Joseph's brothers had
sold him as a slave
1598
01:29:37,023 --> 01:29:40,462
to a caravan of traders, who
brought him down to Egypt.
1599
01:29:42,594 --> 01:29:46,685
With God's help, Joseph
was able to save Egypt
1600
01:29:46,729 --> 01:29:49,209
by warning of a coming calamity.
1601
01:29:50,080 --> 01:29:51,690
Seven years of plenty
1602
01:29:51,734 --> 01:29:55,607
would be followed by seven
years of terrible famine.
1603
01:29:55,651 --> 01:29:58,784
Pharaoh was so impressed
that he puts Joseph in charge
1604
01:29:58,828 --> 01:30:02,266
of preparing for the
famine and makes him
1605
01:30:02,309 --> 01:30:04,877
second in command over
the entire country.
1606
01:30:06,009 --> 01:30:08,490
"Since God has
shown you all this,
1607
01:30:08,533 --> 01:30:12,668
"there is none so discerning
and wise as you are."
1608
01:30:14,626 --> 01:30:18,369
- Joseph was an administrator
over all of Egypt,
1609
01:30:18,413 --> 01:30:20,371
a position that would
have required him
1610
01:30:20,415 --> 01:30:22,721
to read and write hieroglyphics.
1611
01:30:24,114 --> 01:30:26,682
Could your distant relatives,
1612
01:30:26,725 --> 01:30:29,075
the Israelites or
let's say Joseph,
1613
01:30:29,119 --> 01:30:32,427
could they have been involved
with any of this writing?
1614
01:30:32,470 --> 01:30:37,040
- I can write another story
about somebody called--
1615
01:30:38,476 --> 01:30:40,043
- Benny.
- Benny,
1616
01:30:40,086 --> 01:30:43,960
who was also in Egypt and
he was also very clever.
1617
01:30:44,874 --> 01:30:46,484
He sold the hieroglyphs.
1618
01:30:47,616 --> 01:30:51,010
He might have
invented the alphabet.
1619
01:30:51,054 --> 01:30:52,621
This is endless, you see.
1620
01:30:53,839 --> 01:30:56,015
First of all, it's a
little too late already.
1621
01:30:56,059 --> 01:31:01,020
Then how come the inscriptions
in earlier?
1622
01:31:02,065 --> 01:31:04,502
It's not your time
of Joseph or Benny
1623
01:31:04,546 --> 01:31:07,331
or whoever it could be.
- Whoever, yeah.
1624
01:31:07,374 --> 01:31:10,769
Professor Goldwasser is
assuming that these inscriptions
1625
01:31:10,813 --> 01:31:13,032
are earlier than
the time of Joseph
1626
01:31:13,076 --> 01:31:15,861
because she holds
to the standard view
1627
01:31:15,905 --> 01:31:18,081
of the Ramesses Exodus.
1628
01:31:18,124 --> 01:31:20,997
However, my previous
investigation
1629
01:31:21,040 --> 01:31:24,087
had uncovered impressive
archeological finds
1630
01:31:24,130 --> 01:31:27,786
matching Joseph and his
family in the Middle Kingdom.
1631
01:31:28,657 --> 01:31:30,310
These all came from a location
1632
01:31:30,354 --> 01:31:34,010
called Avaris, the
city beneath Ramesses,
1633
01:31:34,053 --> 01:31:36,926
where the Bible places
the early Israelites.
1634
01:31:38,101 --> 01:31:40,973
It was David Rohl
who had first come up
1635
01:31:41,017 --> 01:31:42,192
with these connections.
1636
01:31:43,976 --> 01:31:47,197
Joseph saved the
country from a terrible famine,
1637
01:31:47,240 --> 01:31:49,939
enables his father Jacob
and his entire family
1638
01:31:49,982 --> 01:31:52,419
to settle in the best
part of the land,
1639
01:31:52,463 --> 01:31:53,899
a place called Goshen.
1640
01:31:55,118 --> 01:31:57,294
- Is there any indication
of famines in Egypt?
1641
01:31:57,337 --> 01:32:00,123
- Of course there is, in
many different periods.
1642
01:32:00,166 --> 01:32:02,691
But there's one key period
when we get this massive famine
1643
01:32:02,734 --> 01:32:05,345
which lasts about
seven to 10 years.
1644
01:32:05,389 --> 01:32:07,652
It's the time of the
end of the 12th dynasty
1645
01:32:07,696 --> 01:32:08,871
in the reign of Amenemhat III;
1646
01:32:10,089 --> 01:32:11,961
he's the Pharaoh
of this big famine.
1647
01:32:12,004 --> 01:32:15,138
The reign
of Amenemhat III
1648
01:32:15,181 --> 01:32:19,664
exactly matches the time of
Joseph in the early pattern.
1649
01:32:19,708 --> 01:32:23,276
It was amazing to see how
specific the connection was
1650
01:32:23,320 --> 01:32:27,150
between Amenemhat,
Joseph and the dates
1651
01:32:27,193 --> 01:32:30,980
of the two oldest alphabetic
inscriptions in Sinai.
1652
01:32:32,982 --> 01:32:37,769
- This is the image of the
oldest fully Hebrew inscription.
1653
01:32:37,813 --> 01:32:41,164
There are the letters,
here they are drawn in.
1654
01:32:42,382 --> 01:32:46,169
Here's another image
showing you Sinai 377 here
1655
01:32:46,212 --> 01:32:48,867
in the form of a stellaform.
1656
01:32:48,911 --> 01:32:51,566
It's like a tombstone;
it's rounded at the top
1657
01:32:51,609 --> 01:32:53,524
and goes down straight
on either side.
1658
01:32:55,047 --> 01:32:57,484
It's intricately connected
to another inscription.
1659
01:32:57,528 --> 01:33:00,139
This is Sinai 46 to its left.
1660
01:33:00,183 --> 01:33:01,314
- Are these both?
1661
01:33:01,358 --> 01:33:02,577
In other words, this
is one inscription
1662
01:33:02,620 --> 01:33:05,188
and this is a second one
on the same rock face?
1663
01:33:05,231 --> 01:33:06,711
- On the same rock face.
1664
01:33:06,755 --> 01:33:10,193
We have Sinai 377 and Sinai 46.
1665
01:33:10,236 --> 01:33:12,630
Sinai 377 being in
Hebrew very short,
1666
01:33:12,674 --> 01:33:14,893
very trite inscription.
1667
01:33:14,937 --> 01:33:17,679
Sinai 46, middle
Egyptian inscription
1668
01:33:17,722 --> 01:33:19,637
with the year date at the top.
1669
01:33:19,681 --> 01:33:23,554
Then it reads right to
left in these two rows,
1670
01:33:23,598 --> 01:33:26,644
then in all of these
columns goin' down.
1671
01:33:26,688 --> 01:33:30,909
The date on here is year
20 of Amenemhat III.
1672
01:33:31,910 --> 01:33:33,912
840 BC, 12th dynasty.
1673
01:33:35,131 --> 01:33:38,264
That connects these two
inscriptions in time.
1674
01:33:38,308 --> 01:33:40,005
- To the time of
Joseph and his family.
1675
01:33:40,049 --> 01:33:41,659
- Yes, the time of Joseph.
1676
01:33:44,401 --> 01:33:46,011
What this indicates
1677
01:33:46,055 --> 01:33:47,491
is that the five oldest
1678
01:33:47,534 --> 01:33:50,102
alphabetic inscriptions
that can be dated
1679
01:33:50,146 --> 01:33:53,105
all emerge in the Middle Kingdom
1680
01:33:53,149 --> 01:33:54,672
during the reign
of Amenemhat III
1681
01:33:56,282 --> 01:34:00,112
in a narrow 11 year window
exactly where the pattern
1682
01:34:00,156 --> 01:34:04,595
that David Rohl identified
places Joseph and his family.
1683
01:34:10,645 --> 01:34:13,082
Who do you think actually
was the inspiration
1684
01:34:13,125 --> 01:34:14,561
for this alphabet?
1685
01:34:15,475 --> 01:34:16,781
- I think it has to be Joseph.
1686
01:34:16,825 --> 01:34:19,915
That would be my guess
because of what he was.
1687
01:34:19,958 --> 01:34:21,438
He was the of Egypt.
1688
01:34:21,481 --> 01:34:24,441
He was the most important man
in Egypt after the Pharaoh.
1689
01:34:24,484 --> 01:34:27,400
He was educated, he
worked in the palace.
1690
01:34:27,444 --> 01:34:29,185
He was running the
country virtually,
1691
01:34:29,228 --> 01:34:33,406
so what better person to
invent the Hebrew alphabet
1692
01:34:33,450 --> 01:34:35,757
than the person who was
familiar with the hieroglyphs,
1693
01:34:35,800 --> 01:34:38,760
who knew the Semite people,
who was administering the land?
1694
01:34:38,803 --> 01:34:40,413
He's the the guy
who's most likely
1695
01:34:40,457 --> 01:34:42,285
to be able to come
up with this idea.
1696
01:34:43,503 --> 01:34:46,245
- So who invented
the first alphabet?
1697
01:34:46,289 --> 01:34:50,336
His scholars suggest it may
have been an elite scribe
1698
01:34:50,380 --> 01:34:53,165
or a common miner like Benny.
1699
01:34:53,209 --> 01:34:56,212
But whoever it was, they
would've needed to be
1700
01:34:56,255 --> 01:34:59,606
a Semite familiar
with hieroglyphics,
1701
01:34:59,650 --> 01:35:02,131
motivated to create a new script
1702
01:35:02,174 --> 01:35:04,220
while living in Egypt
at the same time
1703
01:35:04,263 --> 01:35:07,745
as Pharaoh, Amenemhat
III and Joseph.
1704
01:35:09,921 --> 01:35:11,575
- If Joseph for
instance was the person
1705
01:35:11,618 --> 01:35:13,446
who invented this
method of writing
1706
01:35:13,490 --> 01:35:16,232
the Semitic language
as a script,
1707
01:35:16,275 --> 01:35:18,364
Moses would've learnt
not very easily
1708
01:35:18,408 --> 01:35:21,237
and that would've been the
form of writing he would use
1709
01:35:21,280 --> 01:35:24,501
to write the narrative
of the Exodus oourney.
1710
01:35:31,769 --> 01:35:34,903
- With Moses' background
as both Prince of Egypt
1711
01:35:34,946 --> 01:35:38,080
and an Israelite, he
would've most likely known
1712
01:35:38,123 --> 01:35:40,125
about the Proto-Sinaitic script
1713
01:35:40,169 --> 01:35:42,214
that the Petries
later discovered.
1714
01:35:43,215 --> 01:35:44,869
But there's another
piece of information
1715
01:35:44,913 --> 01:35:47,959
that both Rohl and Petrovich see
1716
01:35:48,003 --> 01:35:51,136
connecting the history of
the Proto-Sinaitic script
1717
01:35:51,180 --> 01:35:54,618
and the history
of the Israelites.
1718
01:35:54,661 --> 01:35:57,142
They note that these
types of inscriptions
1719
01:35:57,186 --> 01:36:00,537
end in Egypt around
the time of the Exodus
1720
01:36:00,580 --> 01:36:03,105
and are never seen there again.
1721
01:36:03,148 --> 01:36:06,761
However, inscriptions in
the Proto-Sinaitic style
1722
01:36:06,804 --> 01:36:09,285
do show up afterwards in Canaan;
1723
01:36:10,373 --> 01:36:11,635
that is why one of the names
1724
01:36:11,678 --> 01:36:13,768
of the script is
Proto-Canaanite.
1725
01:36:16,205 --> 01:36:17,641
This just happens to match
1726
01:36:17,684 --> 01:36:20,165
the Bible's account
of the Israelites
1727
01:36:20,209 --> 01:36:22,167
who grew into a nation in Egypt
1728
01:36:22,211 --> 01:36:26,171
and later moved to Canaan,
conquering the Promised Land.
1729
01:36:28,739 --> 01:36:31,307
- Supporting the idea
that the mystery script
1730
01:36:31,350 --> 01:36:35,354
is actually Hebrew and not
Phoenician is the fact that
1731
01:36:35,398 --> 01:36:38,880
when the inscriptions first
show up in the area of Canaan,
1732
01:36:38,923 --> 01:36:42,622
they are actually found in
Israel for several hundred years
1733
01:36:42,666 --> 01:36:44,799
before showing up in Phoenicia.
1734
01:36:51,196 --> 01:36:53,633
The Bible records that
the greatest interaction
1735
01:36:53,677 --> 01:36:57,333
between Israel and Phoenicia,
which is the area of Lebanon,
1736
01:36:57,376 --> 01:37:01,554
was during the rain of King
Solomon in the 10th century BC.
1737
01:37:02,991 --> 01:37:05,776
Solomon was given
the responsibility
1738
01:37:05,820 --> 01:37:09,040
of building Israel's
first temple in Jerusalem.
1739
01:37:10,302 --> 01:37:13,523
To help with this task,
Solomon wrote to King Hiram
1740
01:37:13,566 --> 01:37:16,656
obtaining cedar trees of
Lebanon and craftsmen.
1741
01:37:18,223 --> 01:37:21,792
Intriguingly the oldest
known alphabetic inscription
1742
01:37:21,836 --> 01:37:25,100
from the land of Phoenicia
is found on the lid
1743
01:37:25,143 --> 01:37:28,190
of a sarcophagus named Ahiram.
1744
01:37:29,452 --> 01:37:32,281
Many date this artifact
to the 10th century BC.
1745
01:37:33,499 --> 01:37:36,198
I took note that the
Bible's King Hiram
1746
01:37:36,241 --> 01:37:39,244
at the time of Solomon is
virtually the same name
1747
01:37:39,288 --> 01:37:41,464
as Ahiram on the sarcophagus.
1748
01:37:44,946 --> 01:37:48,036
Could it be that the writing
system of the Israelites
1749
01:37:48,079 --> 01:37:51,691
was shared with Phoenicians
at this very time
1750
01:37:51,735 --> 01:37:54,042
when the scripts were
indistinguishable
1751
01:37:54,085 --> 01:37:57,088
and we find the first
inscriptions in Phoenician.
1752
01:37:58,829 --> 01:38:00,787
Just as Eupolemus
has stated that
1753
01:38:00,831 --> 01:38:03,573
"Moses imparted grammar
to the Jews" and that
1754
01:38:03,616 --> 01:38:06,750
"the Phoenicians received
it from the Jews."
1755
01:38:17,413 --> 01:38:18,936
When looking at the final step
1756
01:38:18,980 --> 01:38:21,765
for whether these
inscriptions could be Hebrew,
1757
01:38:21,808 --> 01:38:24,289
the history of this
script does match
1758
01:38:24,333 --> 01:38:26,596
the history of the Israelites,
1759
01:38:26,639 --> 01:38:29,729
but only if you use the
earlier Exodus date.
1760
01:38:31,166 --> 01:38:33,908
The inventor of the script
was a Semitic genius
1761
01:38:33,951 --> 01:38:36,649
who was familiar with
Egyptian hieroglyphs
1762
01:38:36,693 --> 01:38:38,303
matching the Bible's account
1763
01:38:38,347 --> 01:38:40,958
of Joseph's rise
to power in Egypt.
1764
01:38:41,002 --> 01:38:44,614
This script first shows up in
a very narrow window of time
1765
01:38:44,657 --> 01:38:47,965
during the reign
of Amenemhat III,
1766
01:38:48,009 --> 01:38:51,751
exactly where the early pattern
puts Joseph and his family.
1767
01:38:52,839 --> 01:38:54,885
The script migrates to Canaan,
1768
01:38:54,929 --> 01:38:58,454
matching the Israelites'
journey to the promised land.
1769
01:38:58,497 --> 01:39:01,457
The first inscriptions are
found in Ancient Israel,
1770
01:39:01,500 --> 01:39:05,548
not Phoenicia and curiously,
the first inscriptions
1771
01:39:05,591 --> 01:39:08,594
to show up in Phoenicia are
found on the sarcophagus
1772
01:39:08,638 --> 01:39:12,250
of the king called Ahiram
at the time of Solomon.
1773
01:39:14,209 --> 01:39:16,341
If one considers that
the Bible might actually
1774
01:39:16,385 --> 01:39:20,302
be giving a true account, can
there be any better candidates
1775
01:39:20,345 --> 01:39:23,044
for the ones responsible
for this script
1776
01:39:23,087 --> 01:39:25,263
than the early Israelites?
1777
01:39:25,307 --> 01:39:28,701
They would have had the motive
and ability to develop it
1778
01:39:28,745 --> 01:39:32,096
in time to write the
first books of the Bible.
1779
01:39:40,409 --> 01:39:44,674
So when people see a connection
between the Proto-Sinaitic
1780
01:39:44,717 --> 01:39:48,895
or the Proto-Canaanite
scripts and Hebrew,
1781
01:39:48,939 --> 01:39:51,115
what do you say?
1782
01:39:51,159 --> 01:39:55,293
- I say that what I call science
1783
01:39:55,337 --> 01:39:57,556
and what my teacher taught me--
1784
01:39:57,600 --> 01:39:59,167
- Professor Naveh?
1785
01:39:59,210 --> 01:40:03,736
- Naveh would say that it's
a very bad misleading mistake
1786
01:40:06,130 --> 01:40:10,308
and that the person that writes
it has of course an agenda.
1787
01:40:12,571 --> 01:40:15,531
- On the surface,
mainstream scholars use
1788
01:40:15,574 --> 01:40:18,708
linguistic arguments
to dismiss this idea.
1789
01:40:18,751 --> 01:40:22,494
But there may be a
deeper reason involved.
1790
01:40:22,538 --> 01:40:25,758
What time do you think that
the Exodus would have happened?
1791
01:40:27,238 --> 01:40:30,502
- Most people put the Exodus
in the 13th Century BCE
1792
01:40:31,982 --> 01:40:35,594
from my perspective based
on the data at hand.
1793
01:40:35,638 --> 01:40:39,685
This continues to be the
most convincing proposal.
1794
01:40:39,729 --> 01:40:41,992
- If you want to believe
in historical Moses,
1795
01:40:42,036 --> 01:40:44,690
he would have to have
lived in the 13th Century.
1796
01:40:44,734 --> 01:40:47,693
Whatever it was that happened
in the Exodus period,
1797
01:40:47,737 --> 01:40:50,740
it happened in the 13th
Century, not the 15th.
1798
01:40:51,915 --> 01:40:54,222
- Something that
strikes me as ironic
1799
01:40:54,265 --> 01:40:56,659
is that many
mainstream scholars say
1800
01:40:56,702 --> 01:40:59,357
that the Exodus
that didn't happen
1801
01:40:59,401 --> 01:41:02,752
had to have happened
in the 13th Century BC,
1802
01:41:02,795 --> 01:41:05,059
at the time of Pharaoh Ramesses,
1803
01:41:05,102 --> 01:41:07,061
where there's little
to no evidence.
1804
01:41:08,671 --> 01:41:11,978
I was stumped by this problem
while making my earlier film
1805
01:41:12,022 --> 01:41:15,939
until I was shown the
earlier pattern of evidence.
1806
01:41:15,982 --> 01:41:20,465
It seems this same issue is at
play with the early alphabet.
1807
01:41:21,684 --> 01:41:25,079
- If you're saying basically
that Moses and Joseph
1808
01:41:25,122 --> 01:41:27,168
were actually later in time
1809
01:41:27,211 --> 01:41:29,648
than when this script was
invented for the first time,
1810
01:41:29,692 --> 01:41:32,390
then somebody other than
Hebrews or Israelites
1811
01:41:32,434 --> 01:41:34,697
must've invented it; it
couldn't have been them.
1812
01:41:36,264 --> 01:41:39,180
- The late Thomas Kuhn was
a physicist, historician,
1813
01:41:39,223 --> 01:41:41,312
and philosopher of science.
1814
01:41:41,356 --> 01:41:45,142
He talked about paradigms
in the world of science.
1815
01:41:45,186 --> 01:41:48,580
A paradigm is a pattern
of thinking, a model,
1816
01:41:48,624 --> 01:41:50,408
or school of thought
that everyone
1817
01:41:50,452 --> 01:41:54,238
in a particular field
of study holds to.
1818
01:41:54,282 --> 01:41:58,242
The world of archeology
has its paradigms.
1819
01:41:58,286 --> 01:42:02,159
A paradigm is based on a
set of presuppositions,
1820
01:42:02,203 --> 01:42:06,207
things that are assumed to be
true, and we all have them.
1821
01:42:08,209 --> 01:42:10,689
In the case of
mainstream scholarship,
1822
01:42:10,733 --> 01:42:13,344
their paradigm for the
early books of the Bible
1823
01:42:13,388 --> 01:42:16,695
not being purely historical
seems to be largely based
1824
01:42:16,739 --> 01:42:20,743
on the key presupposition
that an Exodus happened
1825
01:42:20,786 --> 01:42:23,180
at the time of Ramesses.
1826
01:42:23,224 --> 01:42:25,617
It puts the Israelites
too late in time
1827
01:42:25,661 --> 01:42:27,663
to be connected
with the invention
1828
01:42:27,706 --> 01:42:29,882
of the Proto-Sinaitic script,
1829
01:42:29,926 --> 01:42:32,798
which results in the
conclusion that the Bible
1830
01:42:32,842 --> 01:42:35,671
is an untrustworthy
oral tradition.
1831
01:42:36,976 --> 01:42:40,545
Paradigms can blind all of us
from seeing the possibility
1832
01:42:40,589 --> 01:42:43,200
of something new or different.
1833
01:42:43,244 --> 01:42:45,594
But what if the presuppositions
1834
01:42:45,637 --> 01:42:49,163
on which those paradigms
are based are faulty.
1835
01:42:51,600 --> 01:42:54,342
In fact, Thomas Kuhn says
that science doesn't progress
1836
01:42:54,385 --> 01:42:57,040
with a gradual
accumulation of knowledge,
1837
01:42:57,083 --> 01:43:00,130
but instead undergoes
periodic revolutions
1838
01:43:00,174 --> 01:43:03,089
or paradigm shifts
when some new idea
1839
01:43:03,133 --> 01:43:07,746
abruptly transforms the views
of that particular field.
1840
01:43:07,790 --> 01:43:09,313
If it was established that
1841
01:43:09,357 --> 01:43:11,707
the world's oldest
alphabet was Hebrew
1842
01:43:11,750 --> 01:43:15,754
and that Moses did in fact
use it to write the Torah,
1843
01:43:15,798 --> 01:43:18,975
that would change how the
world views the Exodus,
1844
01:43:19,018 --> 01:43:21,847
the Bible, and world history.
1845
01:43:21,891 --> 01:43:26,896
But to do so would require
a major paradigm shift.
1846
01:43:30,378 --> 01:43:33,642
This brings me back
to Flinders Petrie.
1847
01:43:38,299 --> 01:43:42,781
- Petrie is often known as
the father of archeology.
1848
01:43:42,825 --> 01:43:45,610
The techniques he introduced
and his understanding
1849
01:43:45,654 --> 01:43:49,266
and recognition of the importance of gathering all objects,
1850
01:43:49,310 --> 01:43:51,399
that applies to
archeology anywhere.
1851
01:43:52,661 --> 01:43:55,620
Petrie also
had a startling realization
1852
01:43:55,664 --> 01:43:58,623
of what this mysterious
script in the Sinai meant
1853
01:43:58,667 --> 01:44:00,669
for the writing of the Bible.
1854
01:44:03,237 --> 01:44:05,761
Here
we have the result
1855
01:44:05,804 --> 01:44:07,980
at a date some five centuries
1856
01:44:08,024 --> 01:44:11,941
before the oldest Phoenician
writing that is known.
1857
01:44:11,984 --> 01:44:14,683
It finally disproves
the hypothesis
1858
01:44:14,726 --> 01:44:17,773
that the early Israelites,
who came through this region
1859
01:44:17,816 --> 01:44:19,992
into Egypt and
passed back again,
1860
01:44:20,036 --> 01:44:21,951
could not have used writing.
1861
01:44:23,953 --> 01:44:26,782
- If the father of
Egyptian archeology
1862
01:44:26,825 --> 01:44:29,828
is telling us that the
Israelites have the ability
1863
01:44:29,872 --> 01:44:33,745
to write 500 years
before the Phoenicians,
1864
01:44:33,789 --> 01:44:35,965
what has changed since then?
1865
01:44:38,315 --> 01:44:41,710
Is the main change the
paradigm of a generation
1866
01:44:41,753 --> 01:44:44,321
that became skeptical
of the Bible
1867
01:44:44,365 --> 01:44:46,932
because the Ramesses
Exodus Theory
1868
01:44:46,976 --> 01:44:49,065
placed the Exodus at a time
1869
01:44:49,108 --> 01:44:52,416
when there was little to
no evidence to support it.
1870
01:45:02,905 --> 01:45:04,080
I have now found evidence
1871
01:45:04,123 --> 01:45:07,257
for all the steps of
the original pattern.
1872
01:45:07,301 --> 01:45:10,869
This script appears by
the time of the Exodus.
1873
01:45:12,088 --> 01:45:14,351
It did not arise in
antoher part of the world
1874
01:45:14,395 --> 01:45:19,095
like Greece, Persia,
India or China.
1875
01:45:19,138 --> 01:45:23,534
It originated in the region
of Egypt and the Sinai
1876
01:45:23,578 --> 01:45:26,320
where the Bible places
the early Israelites.
1877
01:45:27,886 --> 01:45:30,367
The script is the
earliest known alphabet
1878
01:45:30,411 --> 01:45:33,065
which was needed
to write the Torah.
1879
01:45:33,109 --> 01:45:35,807
Because it was a
Semitic alphabet,
1880
01:45:35,851 --> 01:45:38,375
it was a form of
writing like Hebrew.
1881
01:45:38,419 --> 01:45:40,595
This is all Moses
would've needed
1882
01:45:40,638 --> 01:45:43,815
to write the basic form
of the Exodus account.
1883
01:45:45,556 --> 01:45:49,125
In fact I emailed Professor
Rollston and asked him,
1884
01:45:49,168 --> 01:45:52,694
"For the sake of argument,
if Moses was responsible
1885
01:45:52,737 --> 01:45:54,783
"for writing at least
part of the Torah,
1886
01:45:54,826 --> 01:45:57,873
"in your view could the
Proto-Sinaitic script
1887
01:45:57,916 --> 01:46:01,398
"have been used to
perform this task?"
1888
01:46:01,442 --> 01:46:04,793
Rollston replied, "Yes,
the script that Moses
1889
01:46:04,836 --> 01:46:07,056
"could've used or would've used,
1890
01:46:07,099 --> 01:46:10,886
"would have been Early
Alphabetic, not Old Hebrew.
1891
01:46:10,929 --> 01:46:14,585
"By the way, I believe
that Moses was historical
1892
01:46:14,629 --> 01:46:16,631
"and that he was literate."
1893
01:46:17,936 --> 01:46:21,592
Speaking of literacy, the
use of a simple alphabet
1894
01:46:21,636 --> 01:46:24,856
would've allowed the Israelite
people, young and old,
1895
01:46:24,900 --> 01:46:28,643
to read it, understand
it and preserve the words
1896
01:46:28,686 --> 01:46:32,603
given by God at Mount Sinai
for generation to come.
1897
01:46:34,039 --> 01:46:36,520
Finally the evidence
from all three steps
1898
01:46:36,564 --> 01:46:38,435
of the Hebrew pattern also show
1899
01:46:38,479 --> 01:46:40,698
that it could
actually be Hebrew.
1900
01:46:41,917 --> 01:46:44,223
The letters match
the look of Hebrew.
1901
01:46:45,660 --> 01:46:48,793
Some have interpreted the
inscriptions as readable Hebrew
1902
01:46:50,229 --> 01:46:52,318
and the history of the script
1903
01:46:52,362 --> 01:46:55,713
matches the history
of the Israelites.
1904
01:46:56,932 --> 01:46:59,891
There seems to be no
reason to doubt that Moses
1905
01:46:59,935 --> 01:47:04,940
could have written the Exodus
account as the Bible claims.
1906
01:47:22,131 --> 01:47:24,220
Egyptologist Alan Gardiner,
1907
01:47:24,263 --> 01:47:26,614
the man who determined
these inscriptions
1908
01:47:26,657 --> 01:47:29,007
were the oldest-known alphabet,
1909
01:47:29,051 --> 01:47:32,881
came to an insightful
observation about its origin.
1910
01:47:34,273 --> 01:47:36,841
It has been
universally recognized
1911
01:47:36,885 --> 01:47:39,148
that so simple and
therefore so perfect
1912
01:47:39,191 --> 01:47:42,499
an instrument for the
visible recording of language
1913
01:47:42,543 --> 01:47:44,719
could not conceivably
have resulted
1914
01:47:44,762 --> 01:47:47,069
from one spontaneous
effort of genius.
1915
01:47:50,072 --> 01:47:52,988
The alphabet
certainly was genius.
1916
01:47:53,945 --> 01:47:57,514
Yet as a person
of faith, I wonder
1917
01:47:57,558 --> 01:47:59,516
what if the invention
of the alphabet
1918
01:47:59,560 --> 01:48:02,824
did not ultimately
have a human source?
1919
01:48:02,867 --> 01:48:07,045
Because with no alphabet,
you would have no Bible.
1920
01:48:07,089 --> 01:48:09,308
The evidence appears to
show that this script
1921
01:48:09,352 --> 01:48:13,574
did emerge suddenly in a
very narrow window of time.
1922
01:48:15,140 --> 01:48:19,710
The Bible states that it was
itself divinely inspired.
1923
01:48:20,929 --> 01:48:23,801
Could it be that the
genius of the alphabet
1924
01:48:23,845 --> 01:48:27,675
was also a divinely
inspired gift from God
1925
01:48:27,718 --> 01:48:31,243
given to a particular
people at a particular time
1926
01:48:32,506 --> 01:48:35,204
in preparation for
what was to come?
1927
01:48:35,247 --> 01:48:37,336
The prime purpose
of communicating
1928
01:48:37,380 --> 01:48:39,774
the words of God to mankind
1929
01:48:41,210 --> 01:48:43,038
beginning at Mount Sinai.
1930
01:48:59,054 --> 01:49:00,751
- There Israel encamped
before the mountain
1931
01:49:00,795 --> 01:49:02,448
while Moses went up to God.
1932
01:49:06,452 --> 01:49:10,326
The Lord called him out
of the mountain saying,
1933
01:49:10,369 --> 01:49:13,155
"Thus shall you say
to the house of Jacob
1934
01:49:13,198 --> 01:49:14,852
"and tell the people of Israel.
1935
01:49:16,245 --> 01:49:21,250
"You yourselves have seen
what I did to the Egyptians,
1936
01:49:23,339 --> 01:49:26,124
"how I bore you on eagles' wings
1937
01:49:28,910 --> 01:49:31,303
and brought you to myself.
1938
01:49:33,958 --> 01:49:38,702
"Now therefore if you
will indeed obey my voice
1939
01:49:38,746 --> 01:49:43,402
"and keep my covenant, you
shall be my treasured possession
1940
01:49:43,446 --> 01:49:44,926
"among all peoples;
1941
01:49:46,101 --> 01:49:48,146
"for all the earth is mine
1942
01:49:49,626 --> 01:49:53,412
"and you shall be to
me a kingdom of priests
1943
01:49:53,456 --> 01:49:55,066
"and a holy nation."
1944
01:50:09,385 --> 01:50:12,214
God spoke all
these words saying,
1945
01:50:12,257 --> 01:50:15,652
"I am the Lord; I am your God
1946
01:50:15,696 --> 01:50:18,176
"who brought you out
of the land of Egypt
1947
01:50:18,220 --> 01:50:19,613
"out of the house of slavery.
1948
01:50:38,719 --> 01:50:41,722
"You shall have no
other gods besides me.
1949
01:50:41,765 --> 01:50:44,681
"You shall not make for
yourself a carved image.
1950
01:50:44,725 --> 01:50:47,641
"You shall not bow to
them or serve them.
1951
01:50:47,684 --> 01:50:51,079
"You shall not take the name
of the Lord your God in vain.
1952
01:50:51,122 --> 01:50:54,386
"Remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy.
1953
01:50:54,430 --> 01:50:56,650
"Honor your father
and your mother.
1954
01:50:56,693 --> 01:50:58,739
"You shall not murder.
1955
01:50:58,782 --> 01:51:01,176
"You shall not commit adultery.
1956
01:51:01,219 --> 01:51:02,960
"You shall not steal.
1957
01:51:03,004 --> 01:51:07,051
"You shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor.
1958
01:51:07,095 --> 01:51:10,751
"You shall not covet anything
that is your neighbors'."
1959
01:51:13,841 --> 01:51:18,323
And he gave to Moses the
two tablets of the testimony
1960
01:51:18,367 --> 01:51:20,456
written with the finger of God.
1961
01:51:26,418 --> 01:51:29,683
In the second year,
the cloud lifted
1962
01:51:29,726 --> 01:51:32,033
from over the tabernacle
of the testimony
1963
01:51:35,950 --> 01:51:37,865
and the people of Israel set out
1964
01:51:37,908 --> 01:51:41,172
by stages from the
wilderness of Sinai.
1965
01:51:49,485 --> 01:51:52,880
The law was given to instruct
them how they were to live.
1966
01:51:54,055 --> 01:51:56,535
When the people
repeatedly rebelled,
1967
01:51:56,579 --> 01:51:59,408
it took 40 years before
they could enter the land
1968
01:51:59,451 --> 01:52:02,890
that had been promised to Abraham hundreds of years earlier.
1969
01:52:04,326 --> 01:52:08,069
During this time,
Moses had written down
1970
01:52:08,112 --> 01:52:10,332
all the instructions from God
1971
01:52:10,375 --> 01:52:12,464
as well as the
history of his people
1972
01:52:12,508 --> 01:52:15,380
beginning with the
creation of the word.
1973
01:52:19,733 --> 01:52:22,257
When Moses had finished
writing the words of this law
1974
01:52:23,824 --> 01:52:28,263
in a scroll to its very end,
Moses commanded the Levites
1975
01:52:29,786 --> 01:52:32,093
who carried the Ark of
the Covenant of the Lord.
1976
01:52:32,136 --> 01:52:34,312
He said, "Take this
book of the law
1977
01:52:34,356 --> 01:52:37,141
"and put it by the side
of the Ark of the Covenant
1978
01:52:37,185 --> 01:52:38,403
"of the Lord your God."
1979
01:52:53,592 --> 01:52:54,289
I started
to think about the fact
1980
01:52:54,332 --> 01:52:56,595
that words have meaning.
1981
01:52:56,639 --> 01:52:59,337
In order to preserve
their meaning over time,
1982
01:52:59,381 --> 01:53:02,340
some form of writing was needed.
1983
01:53:02,384 --> 01:53:03,907
We all take it
for granted today,
1984
01:53:03,951 --> 01:53:06,257
but where did it come from?
1985
01:53:08,259 --> 01:53:10,827
Before the alphabet,
only the elite
1986
01:53:10,871 --> 01:53:15,049
had this gift of knowledge,
but then all that changed.
1987
01:53:15,092 --> 01:53:16,920
Now everyone had the ability
1988
01:53:16,964 --> 01:53:19,053
to read with this
simple alphabet.
1989
01:53:20,315 --> 01:53:24,841
This technology hasn't been
replaced in nearly 4,000 years,
1990
01:53:25,886 --> 01:53:28,192
so I continued to wonder.
1991
01:53:28,236 --> 01:53:30,194
Was the alphabet's arrival
1992
01:53:30,238 --> 01:53:33,415
at this time in history
just a coincidence
1993
01:53:37,158 --> 01:53:42,163
or was it the gift necessary
to retain the knowledge of God?
1994
01:55:40,842 --> 01:55:50,845
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