A recently revisited inscription carved into the rock face at Serabit el-Khadim in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula is stirring controversy among biblical archaeologists. Believed to be around 3,800 years old, the text is written in Proto-Sinaitic script—the earliest known alphabet—and is located near a site known as Sinai 357 in the area called Mine L, an ancient turquoise mining zone.
Independent researcher Michael Bar-Ron has spent eight years analyzing high-resolution images and 3D scans of the inscription. He now claims that the text reads “zot miMoshe”, Hebrew for “This is from Moses.” If true, Bar-Ron argues, this would constitute direct archaeological evidence of the historical figure Moses, long debated by scholars and theologians alike.
The site dates back to the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat III, a ruler of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. Some scholars have proposed that Amenemhat III could have been the Pharaoh referenced in the biblical Book of Exodus—the one who pursued the Hebrews during their escape from Egypt. Supporting this theory are other inscriptions found at the same location, which include references to slavery, overseers, violent purges, and workers fleeing, echoing elements of the Exodus narrative.
Still, Bar-Ron’s interpretation is far from universally accepted. Dr. Thomas Schneider, an Egyptologist and professor at the University of British Columbia, cautions against drawing conclusions from such limited and uncertain data. He criticizes what he calls “arbitrary” letter identifications, warning that such speculative readings risk distorting the historical record. “Proto-Sinaitic characters are notoriously difficult to decipher,” Schneider said, adding that without consensus and peer-reviewed confirmation, such claims remain unproven and misleading.
The debate touches on a broader issue in biblical archaeology: the tension between faith-based interpretations and evidence-based scholarship. While some view the inscription as a tantalizing clue worthy of further investigation, others urge restraint and scientific rigor.
For now, the rock face at Serabit el-Khadim offers more questions than answers—and perhaps, still holds secrets waiting to be uncovered.
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