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How the Alphabet Was Born from Hieroglyphs
 To the Asiatics, as they were called, the lush Nile Delta, with its open marshlands rich with fish and fowl, was a veritable Garden of Eden. From earliest times, Canaanites and other Asiatics would come and settle here. Indeed, this is the background of the Biblical story of the famine in Canaan that led to Jacob’s descent into Egypt (Genesis 46:1–7).
By the beginning of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom (a few years after 2000 B.C.E.), the pressure of immigrants on the eastern Delta was so strong that the Egyptian authorities built a series of forts at strategic points to “repel the Asiatics,” as the story of Sinuhe tells us.1
More than a century later, however, Egyptian policy toward the Asiatics changed. Instead of trying to prevent them from coming in, the Egyptians cultivated close relations with strong Canaanite city-states on the Mediterranean coast and allowed select Asiatic populations to settle in the eastern Delta. The last of the great pharaohs of the XIIth Dynasty, Amenemhet III (c. 1853–1808 B.C.E.) and Amenemhet IV (c. 1808–1799 B.C.E.), even established a new town for them.
 The XIIth Dynasty was followed by the much weaker XIIIth Dynasty. Thousands of immigrants from Syria, Lebanon and Canaan then flooded into the eastern Delta, creating the large Canaanite settlement that would become Avaris (modern Tell el-Daba), the capital of the famous Hyksos. The Hyksos were Canaanites who seized power from the Egyptian pharaohs and ruled all Egypt for more than a hundred years (c. 1638–1530 B.C.E.).
 But before this, at the end of the XIIth Dynasty during the reigns of Amenemhet III and Amenemhet IV, Egypt was at the height of its power. A lively trade was conducted with Nubia to the south. Imports from the Levant entered Egypt by land and sea. Gold and precious stones were quarried in the eastern desert. And a large-scale enterprise was regularly conducted to search for turquoise in the high mountains of southern Sinai, at a site today called Serabit el-Khadem.
On this mountain deep in the Sinai desert, prey to merciless winds and scorching heat, are the remains of an ancient Egyptian temple to the goddess Hathor, “The Mistress of Turquoise.” Founded by Sesostris I, the second king of the XIIth Dynasty (c. 1953–1908 B.C.E.), the temple continued in existence, with some interruptions, until the end of the New Kingdom—for about 800 years.
Building on the work of Sesostris I, pharaohs Amenemhet III and Amenemhet IV exploited Serabit’s rich turquoise mines. The precious blue stone was a much-sought-after luxury item in royal circles. No fewer than 28 expeditions to the Serabit turquoise mines are recorded during the reign of Amenemhet III alone.
 To ensure the blessing of the gods, the earlier temple was dramatically enlarged by Amenemhet III and Amenemhet IV. Shrines and numerous commemorative stelae with hieroglyphic inscriptions were erected on the path leading to the temple, especially honoring Hathor, the goddess of turquoise.
Where did all the people who engraved these inscriptions come from? Most were probably from the Delta. The turquoise expeditions to Serabit brought together high officials, scribes, priests, architects, physicians, magicians, scorpion charmers, interpreters, caravan leaders, donkey drivers, miners, builders, soldiers and sailors.
 And many members of the expeditions left inscriptions in the temple precinct. Some contain only a name or a drawing. All sought the blessing of the gods for success in their dangerous enterprise—as well as for a safe journey home. These records also tell us of the hundreds of miners and stone workers active during the mining seasons, as well as those who were engaged in the building projects at the temple.
Were these miners and workmen Egyptian? Canaanite? Both?
 Egyptian society at this time was relatively tolerant, so foreigners were quickly accepted and integrated into Egyptian society, as long as they were not political enemies of the state. Some high officials who left inscriptions at the Serabit temple present themselves as Egyptians, yet they also mention that they are Asiatic in origin or have an Asiatic mother. Despite this ancestry, they consider themselves Egyptian. Only Asiatics who came from outside Egypt are identified as such. Canaanites from Egypt who arrived with the Egyptian expeditions from the Delta were not labeled Canaanites in the inscriptions; they are simply regarded as Egyptians.
On the articleThe article recycles what should be considered an outdated theory. This theory does NOT explain the Bronze Age appearance in Greece of the Linear A and B syllabic alphabets - Linear B is deciphered and was perfectly Greek - or the enigmatic Phaistos Disk. These findings prove that there were MORE than one, probably independent, sources for the alphabet. In addition, unlike the Egyptians, the Hebrews and Phoenecians, the Greeks were the ONLY ones who depicted vowels as well. • • • • • • • How the Alphabet Was Born from HieroglyphsEgyptians such as Thoth had written language based on sound as fare back as 10,700 B.C.You should do a little more research on the origins of Jews before making such claims that are not true.Canaanites had created Celestial alphabet based on sounds around 51,000 B.C. in their ancient capital city state in Anahual: heb; 'The place in the circle of the mist. Ancient Mother land in the valley of Moria mountain.'See :http://osharresearch.blogspot.com/2008/12/wecome-to-osharian-school-of-research • • • • • • • How the Alphabet Was Born from HieroglyphsDear Sir. Khebeded didn't write hieroglyphic inscriptions -the ones with mistakes for (bêt) [house]- by himself: he was a brother of Caananite ruler; his workers did it. So, they knew Egiptian script. The clue is probably in Egiptian pictorial signs which stood for "one letter" - like "a leg" stood for [b]. Canaanites found it hard to use Egiptian script because every pictogram had its own Egiptian name - it was better to invent a script with pictures (even the same or somiliar) called in Canaan • • • • • • • Alice in Wonderland PremiseAt the tower of Babel God confused the laguages of men becasue they all spoke the same language. All the names in the bible up to and around this point are hebrew names ..all having hebrew meaning...you tell me where's your premise? • • • • • • • Alphabet ArticleExcellent article! it completes previous findings in the Sinai, about the southern Palestinian alphabet. An invention, however, is not always unique. Gutemberg invented his printing technique, long after the Chinese did. I believe, this new method discovered by simple workers, used later in the Hebrew language, is the method God inspired to proclaim the truth to the world. What about numerical values ? Original Genesis could have used a still unknown System ? Thank you, Otto. • • • • • • • Phoeniciansinteresting articles but strange declaration about Phoenicians have appeared in Canaan in 12 c.bc? Who lived in Sidon in 3 millenium b.c.? • • • • • • • Orly Goldwasser's articleRay Oliver, nobody heard of you, but about eminent Egyptologist Orly Goldwasser, professor at Jerusalem, Gottingen, Harvard, and College de France, we all heard. If you have some scholarly remarks make them, but your personal and political opinions don't interest the readers. • • • • • • • hyksosThis article states as if it were fact that the Hysos were caananites who ruled Egypt. There is not a single piece of evidence known to mankind that connects the Hyksos and Caananites. It is certainly possible that there could be a connection---and if evidence could be found connecting the two----it could solve many mysteries. But as of right now---the Hyksos were an asian people of UNKNOWN origin and any statement to the contrary is in error. • • • • • • • interpreting shapesThe problem is that all this is entirely circumstantial and based on what relationships the mind can create--whether they are there are not. When I look at the forms, the "mem" looks like a picture of distant desert mountain tops--not water. To me, these forms seem to be some kind of geographic/directional signage/map that nomadic peoples might use to show locations like home ("bet"), river ("nun"), or where animals are ("alef") relative to themselves, not the basis of any alphabet. • • • • • • • alphabet 'invention'Sorry, the alphabet was already invented, both by the Cuneiform users in the east and by the Egyptians. In the late stage of the use of hieroglyphs, the writing was reduced to an alphabet with the addition of a clarifier at the end of each word that identified which word was meant. We do the same thing now with photographs and illustrations to accompany passages. • • • • • • • How the Alphabet was Born!Is it amazing how all of the languages, religions,and cultures came out of Sumeria long,long ago! • • • • • • • Origin of the Hebrew AlphabetIn 1999, Rabbi Marc-Alain Ouaknin wrote a book titled "Mysteries of the Alphabet" that made the same suggestion that the Hebrew alphabet evolved from Egyptian hieroglyphics and he used the inscription on the sphinx statuette as his evidence. Did this author know about Rabbi Ouaknin's book? • • • • • • • language abilityinteresting article, but it is very hard to have an faith in an author who does not know the the difference between bring & take, or that there can not be 2 UNIQUE items the same. • • • • • • • Alphabet ArticleThank you for your excellent article. A couple of quick reflections. There is an argument that mass literacy was not initiated by the alphabet but the printing press. China has mass literacy. As we both have discussed in print, the genius of hieroglyphs is the multilayered semantic-phonetic representation and word-recognizability. Also finds such as the Izbet Sarta Abecedary, where there was an earlier scribal center, suggest that writing, including alphabet, was a specialized technology. • • • • • • • How The Alphabet Was BornThank you for watering the fields. It's tempting to see in the Jehovist narrative of Genesis 2:5,6 an allusion to an autonomous language and myth distinct from Mesopotamian (shrub of the field) and Egyptian (herb of the field) empirical influence; originating in the Sinai desert. On Stela 112 one of Khebeded's companions holds aloft a double-handled jar that is also the Egyptian hieroglyphic for "heart", perhaps signaling their intention to adapt this script to a semi-nomadic life. • • • • • • • Proto-Sinaitic AlphabetExcellent article. Thank your for the detail and depth. Keep up the great work. • • • • • • • Levant- Phoenician alphabetIt is indisputable based on hard archaeolgical evidence that the Phoenicians created the alphabet. Its simple form of language spread quickly throughout the region and world. The Phoenicians are directly traced by DNA to modern day Lebanese along Lebanon's coastal cities of Tyre & Sidon. Archaeology is not a tool for the mish-mash of civilization or for the political appropriation of history and culture. I look forward to critically reviewing and responding to Orly Goldwasser's hypothesis. • • • • • • • Article on Facebook AlphabetWhile the article is worth reading I think it contained too much information for a facebook publication. We use the TMI when we feel someone is taking too much time to tell a story or sharing some news. Thanks for being on facebook. RB • • • • • • • |
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