Question:
Shalom Kavod Harav,
I have a question about archaeological dating (which, as we know, is notoriously imprecise & often just the archaeologist’s best guess colored by the archeologist’s own bias).
So if, for example, a tablet of writing is dated “circa 2300 BCE,” then (if I’m doing the math correctly) that places it in the Hebrew year 1460, which predates the Mabul (1656) by a couple of centuries.
Is that even possible?
Meaning, is it possible for any of Dor HaMabul’s possessions to have survived & to have survived in good enough condition to read it?
Also, if the tablet is written in ancient Sumerian, then that means it could not have been written prior to Dor HaFlagah, correct? (Because until Dor HaFlagah, everyone spoke 1 language: Hebrew.)
If so, then does the date of that “circa 2300 BCE” tablet need to be moved up to at least post-Dor Haflagah (1996/1764 BCE)?
Ultimately, even when archaeological dating doesn’t extend past 5781 years prior, my question is whether we still need to be careful regarding dating that places items prior to the Mabul (or dating texts in non-Hebrew languages prior to Dor HaFlagah)?
Thank you very much; I really appreciate this wonderful site so much!
Answer:
What you are writing makes a lot of sense to me.
Best wishes
Just so I understand clearly: Is it possible for a tablet or piece of structure to have survived the Flood? We know that bones survived because there are bones (dated from around that time) piled in a way indicative of being swept there all together by floodwaters.
So if there’s a tablet in Hebrew or a part of structure dated pre-Flood, can we accept that? Or is that impossible?
Thank you.
I don’t know.
Best wishes
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