Serabit el‑Khadim, Egypt’s sacred turquoise‑mining site in the Sinai Peninsula, has long been recognized for hosting the earliest known Proto‑Sinaitic alphabet inscriptions, etched by Semitic workers under Egyptian rule between roughly 1900 and 1800 BC, according to the Wikipedia entry on Proto‑Sinaitic script.
Independent researcher, Michael Bar‑Ron claims to have identified a striking inscription near “Sinai 357” in Mine L reading “zot m’Moshe,” which he interprets as Hebrew for “This is from Moses,” according to Arkeo News. He spent eight years analyzing high‑resolution imagery and 3D scans of the site, organizing over two dozen inscriptions into thematic groupings, according to Ancient Origins.
Bar‑Ron describes evidence of a religious conflict in the inscriptions—some honoring Ba‘alat (a Semitic form of the Egyptian goddess Hathor) were later defaced by scribes invoking El, the Hebrew God. He explained, “We find worshipful inscriptions lauding the idol Ba’alat, with clearly an El or God‑serving scribe coming in later and cancelling out certain letters, in an effort to turn the message into a God‑serving one,” according to Patterns of Evidence.
Bar‑Ron’s academic advisor, Dr. Pieter van der Veen, supports his reading, saying:
“You’re absolutely correct, I read this as well, it is not imagined!” according to The Sun.
He also reports a second nearby carving that may reference “Moshe”, though its context remains unclear. Bar‑Ron emphasized caution, saying:
“I took a very critical view towards finding the name ‘Moses’ or anything that could sound sensationalist… The only way to do serious work is to struggle to find alternative solutions that are at least as likely,” according to The Sun.
Scholarly Caution and Counterpoints
Mainstream Egyptologists remain skeptical. Dr. Thomas Schneider, a professor at the University of British Columbia, said Bar‑Ron’s interpretation is “completely unproven and misleading,” warning that “arbitrary” letter identifications can distort ancient history, according to The Sun.
Critics argue that Proto‑Sinaitic glyphs are fragmentary and notoriously ambiguous. Some researchers, including David Rohl, note that a few letters resembling “M‑S” could belong to entirely different words, highlighting how easily modern assumptions can cloud interpretation, according to Humble Skeptic.
Why This Matters: Faith, History, and the Exodus
For Catholic believers, the Exodus is central to salvation history. Scripture tells us that Moses led Israel from slavery in Egypt and received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, but archaeology has yet to produce conclusive evidence of Moses’s historical existence.
The inscriptions Bar‑Ron studied mention slavery, overseers, and even a “Gate of the Accursed One,” which evokes the Exodus narrative of oppression and liberation, according to The Sun. A burned Ba‘alat temple nearby, along with references to defaced idols, adds to the picture of a dramatic religious confrontation.
A Word of Prudence for Believers
As Catholics, we embrace such discoveries with hope but also with discernment. The Church teaches that our faith does not rely on physical proof, yet archaeological findings can illuminate the historical backdrop of God’s plan.
Bar‑Ron’s 213‑page study is expected to be released with open‑access 3D models of the inscriptions for scholarly review later this year, according to Humble Skeptic. Whether future peer-reviewed studies confirm or challenge his interpretation, the discussion invites us to ponder the living relationship between Scripture, history, and faith.
As Pope Benedict XVI reminded the faithful, “Faith seeks understanding.” In the stones of the Sinai mines, believers may find a fresh call to seek and discern the hand of God in history.
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