The Silver Scrolls (Amulets) found in Ketef Hinnom
Written around 600 BCE (pre-Babylonian exile): They are the oldest surviving manuscripts containing biblical text
– Includes variations of the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-26
– Written on small silver sheets or amulets
– Found in a Jewish burial chamber at Ketef Hinnom.
– Original located at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
In 1979 during the excavation of a late Iron Age (seventh century B.C.E.) tomb at the funerary site of Ketef Hinnom outside of Jerusalem, near the valley of Gehenna, archaeologist Gabriel Barkay uncovered two small silver scrolls. They were Amulets used to ward off evil and were kept in cases and worn around the neck. Both of these amulets contain the Aaronic Priestly Blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 (see below). The text is virtually identical to that of the modern Hebrew Bible, emphasizing the continuity of the biblical text.
Description:
Amulet 1 was 1 inch in height and 0.4 inches in diameter; unrolled, the scroll measures 3.8 inches in height and 1 inch in width. Amulet 2 was 0.5 inches in height and 0.2 inches in diameter; unrolled, the scroll has a height of 1.5 inches and a width of 0.4 inches.
The University of Southern California’s Semitic Research Project re-examined the amulets using advanced photography and computer enhancement techniques that made it easier to read the writing and date the paleography with greater certainty. When they finally read the arcane writing, the researchers discovered that the inscriptions, dating between the eighth–sixth centuries B.C.E. contained blessings similar to Numbers 6:24–26. The second scroll contains about 100 words arranged in 12 lines of text. This is the oldest fragment of Scripture known to man, dating back 2,600 years.
The text reads as follows:
“May the Lord bless you and keep you; may the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the Lord turn His face toward you and grant you peace.” (The part in brackets is missing on the amulet.)
What do the amulets of Ketef Hinnom prove? They “preserve the oldest known citations of texts also found in the Hebrew Bible and…the earliest examples of confessional statements concerning Yahweh.” The reference to Yahweh as “Rebuke of Evil.” They confirm the accuracy of the transmission of the biblical text, since they are virtually identical to the words we read today.