Paleo Hebrew Is Probably Not The Script Of Sinai

Being pedantic concerning alphabet preference is unnecessary when it comes to the transmission and communication of Scripture. YHVH is the Creator of alphabets. The Mashiach is the Word Who establishes all language, spoken and written. During the first century while Yeshua taught in the Roman occupied land of Judea, both Hebrew and Greek were considered kosher languages for writing Torah Scrolls. This is evidenced in the manuscripts of Qumran (Dead sea Scrolls), and in the quotes from Torah presented in New Testament Scripture (texts dating approximately between 40 and 110 CE).

Some say, "Paleo-Hebrew" is the only true text of Scripture." Is that true? Answering this question is important because many in the body of believers rest on an intellectual pride of position based on unproven assertions regarding the revelation and transmission of Scripture.
 
This article seeks to address the question of Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew use in the Bronze Age and the likelihood of its use in recording the Torah/Ten Words at Sinai.
 
For the purposes of this article I have qualified the term Paleo with its predecessor Proto, which has less baggage attached to it regarding the misuse of terms and the pseudo-learned approach of many modern “Messianic” and “Hebrew Roots” proponents.

Evidence* for the Order of Proto-Levantine Scripts of the Bronze & Iron Ages:

*The following dates are an approximate (Scholars and archaeologists differ on precise dating)
The following list is from oldest to youngest and is based on archaeological discoveries of inscriptions, artifacts and manuscripts.

1900 BCE Proto-Sinaitic (Ancient Sinai Peninsula)
1700 BCE Proto-Canaanite
1100 BCE Proto-Phoenician
1000 BCE Ugaritic
840 BCE Moabite
700-538 BCE Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew [some evidence suggests the possibility of earlier dating to1000 BCE]
400 BCE – 100 CE Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew Dead Sea Scroll Manuscripts

The traditional (and most likely) estimate for the receipt of the Torah at Sinai is 1300 BCE.

Therefore, based on the archaeological evidence, and the dating of the Exodus, the Torah (inclusive of the tablets/Ten Words) could not have been written in Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew as many suggest.
 
Paleo-Hebrew is at a stretch, dated to 1000 BCE, 300 years later than the Exodus.

The Torah was most likely written in an earlier form of Hebrew that more closely resembled the Proto-Canaanite/Phoenician alphabets.

This puts to rest the false assertions of the endless parade of pseudo-learned, so called, "Messianic" teachers who claim that the only true text of Scripture is the Paleo-Hebrew text of Sinai (which we have established is highly unlikely).
 
The ancient manuscripts (not inscriptions but scrolls) we do have in the Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew script are found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and date between 400 BCE and 100 CE. We do not have a complete Torah text in Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew.

It's equally erroneous to claim, as some do, that a hieroglyphic interpretation of Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew Scripture is necessary for a true understanding.

Proto-Phoenician, Proto-Canaanite, and Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew character alphabets are just that, character alphabets using letters to create words that have meaning based on the combining of letters and not based on the individual pictographic meanings of individual letters within a word.
 
In the case of Scripture, to interpret the sum of a word as a collection of ambiguous pictographic ideas that contradict the meaning of the word itself, is to breed confusion.

Had God intended to convey His Word in hieroglyphics He had an Egyptian set of hieroglyphics to work with which were adjacent to (Though originated centuries earlier), but not the same as the Proto-Canaanite/Proto-Phoenician/Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew of the descendants of Jacob, who had brought the Proto-Canaanite/Proto-Phoenician alphabet with them into Egypt and had carried it in their own dialect (An earlier version of Proto-Hebrew) as a spoken and written language throughout their 400 year sojourn as slaves.

The ancient Scriptural texts we have today, written in both Proto(Paleo)-Hebrew, Post Exilic Hebrew/Aramaic and Ancient Greek are fully reliable.

They're not fully reliable because human scribes are fully reliable but because the Creator of the universe is fully reliable and ultimately responsible for the revelation, impartation, and transmission of Scripture.

Do not be fooled by those who promote teachings using theories that have no factual basis.

Likewise, do not entertain teachers who claim that Scripture in its transmitted languages can't be relied upon “because humans wrote it,” or because some “undiscovered more accurate version (A full Paleo-Hebrew Torah) exists.”

Those who make the aforementioned claims only serve to seed confusion, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. Have nothing to do with them.

Being pedantic concerning alphabet preference is unnecessary when it comes to the transmission and communication of Scripture. YHVH is the Creator of alphabets. The Mashiach is the Word Who establishes all language, spoken and written. During the first century while Yeshua taught in the Roman occupied land of Judea, both Hebrew and Greek were considered kosher languages for writing Torah Scrolls. This is evidenced in the manuscripts of Qumran (Dead sea Scrolls), and in the quotes from Torah presented in New Testament Scripture (texts dating approximately between 40 and 110 CE).
 
Yeshua may well have quoted Scripture from both the Hebrew and Greek language versions of Torah Scrolls (and sometimes an Aramaic translation) depending on the mix of Jews present listening to Him on any given occasion. Evidence suggests that Jews of first century Judea and surrounding areas spoke Hebrew, Greek, and at least three dialects of Post-Exilic Aramaic.
 
Don’t be beguiled by arrogant self-promoting people who claim a unique knowledge of Scripture that only initiates of their teachings have access to. The redemptive revealed message of God is available to all. It’s no secret.

God can be trusted, so trust Him for the inerrancy of Scripture.

In Messiah our King Redeemer and Intimate Friend

-Yaakov Ben Yehoshua 
 
For additional content on this subject please read my brief article titled “A Warning Regarding The Misinterpretation of Pictographic Paleo Hebrew”:
 
https://www.bethmelekh.com/yaakovs-commentary/a-warning-regarding-the-misinterpretation-of-pictographic-paleo-hebrew
 
Copyright 2025 Yaakov (Brown) Ben Yehoshua