Expert in claim on biblical texts

ISRAELI experts say they have found evidence to suggest key biblical texts may have been composed earlier than when some scholars think.

Using handwriting analysis technology similar to that employed by intelligence agencies and banks to analyse signatures, a Tel Aviv University team determined that a famous hoard of ancient Hebrew inscriptions, dated to around 600 BC, were written by at least six different authors.

Although the inscriptions are not from the Hebrew Bible, their discovery suggests there was widespread literacy in Judah at the time that would support the composition of biblical works.

The findings, released by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, contribute to a long-standing debate about when biblical texts first began to be compiled: did it take place before or after the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and the exile of its inhabitants to Babylon?

In recent years, many scholars have attributed the composition of a group of biblical texts, from the Book of Joshua to the second Book of Kings, to the period after the siege, according to archaeologist Israel Finkelstein, who participated in the study.

That theory holds that the biblical texts were written as a result of the exile to Babylon, when the composers began to think about their past and put history to parchment.

Mr Finkelstein said he has long believed those texts were written in the late 7th century BC in Jerusalem, before the siege. He said the study supports that theory.