29/07/2025
Bar-Ron, who spent eight years analyzing high-resolution images and 3D scans, suggested the phrase could indicate authorship or dedication linked to a figure named Moses.
According to the Bible, Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, and is famously known for receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. But no evidence of his existence has ever been found.
Other nearby inscriptions reference 'El,' a deity associated with early Israelite worship, and show signs of the Egyptian goddess Hathor's name being defaced, hinting at cultural and religious tensions.
Some scholars have proposed that Amenemhat III, known for his extensive building projects, could have been the pharaoh mentioned in the Book of Exodus.
The language used in the carvings appears to be an early form of Northwest Semitic, closely related to biblical Hebrew, with traces of Aramaic.
Using high-resolution images and 3D casts studied at Harvard's Semitic Museum, Bar-Ron grouped the inscriptions into five overlapping categories, or 'clades,' including dedications to the goddess Baʿalat, invocations of the Hebrew God El and hybrid inscriptions that show signs of later defacement and modification.
Some carvings honoring Baʿalat appeared to have been scratched over by El-worshippers, possibly reflecting a religious power struggle among the Semitic-speaking laborers.
