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The Origins of the West Semitic Alphabet in Egyptian Scripts Scott Morschauser. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. Washington: Jul 2007. Vol. 69, Iss. 3; pg. 546, 3 pgs
The Origins of the West Semitic Alphabet in Egyptian Scripts Scott Morschauser. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. Washington: Jul 2007. Vol. 69, Iss. 3; pg. 546, 3 pgs Abstract (Summary) New Evi- dence for the Origin of the Alphabet from the Western Desert of Egypt, AASOR 59 [2005] 63-124 that the Western Semitic scripts began in the early Middle Kingdom, being the direct antecedents of the simplified writing system that would emerge in the Iron Age.
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GORDON J. HAMILTON, The Origins of the West Semitic Alphabet in Egyptian Scripts (CBQMS 40; Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2006). Pp. xxv + 433. Paper $18.
Hamilton, who was presented with the ASOR Frank Moore Cross Award for 2006 for this work, begins with the acknowledgment that the volume is a delayed publication of his 1985 doctoral dissertation. The wait, however, proves fortunate, since it allowed him to include in his revised thesis the Wadi el-Hôl texts from southern Egypt-much trumpeted as the oldest examples of alphabetic writing discovered thus far. On the basis of these inscriptions, which he dates to ca. 1850-1700 B.C.E., H. agrees with John C. Darnell and F. W. Dobbs-Allsopp ("Two Early Alphabetic Inscriptions from the Wadi el-Hôl: New Evi- dence for the Origin of the Alphabet from the Western Desert of Egypt," AASOR 59 [2005] 63-124) that the Western Semitic scripts began in the early Middle Kingdom, being the direct antecedents of the simplified writing system that would emerge in the Iron Age. More precisely, although it has been recognized since Alan H. Gardiner's discussion of the later Serabit-el-Khadim graffiti ("The Egyptian Origin of the Semitic Alphabet," JEA 3 [1916] 1-16) that some elements were derived from Egyptian prototypes, H. argues that all the Canaanite exemplars can be traced to hieroglyphic and/or hieratic signs. From the supposed pictorial characteristics of his material, the author speculates that the "inventors" of ProtoCanaanite were cattle-herding Semites who "likely lived in, or came into regular contact with the Nile Delta . . . showing a profound attraction towards Egyptian form" (p. 320).
The bulk of this important study is devoted to showing a direct correspondence between the West Semitic alphabet and its proposed Egyptian counterparts. Central to H.'s investigation is chap. 2 (pp. 29-253). Following an examination of the various Egyptian prototypes, each grapheme of the various "Canaanite" scripts is shown and described in exhaustive detail in terms of feature and stance. Subsequently, each individual unit is augmented with a survey of the development of the names of letters and their vocalization, with the author pointing to acrophony, rhyming, and "clipping" as factors in their nomenclature. The chapter also contains summary charts of the ancient Egyptian models and West Semitic derivatives (pp. 259-68), with H.'s findings systematically re-presented in his conclusions (pp. 269-321), supplemented by a lengthy appendix (pp. 323-406). Here H. provides facsimiles of the "best-preserved Proto-Canaanite inscriptions," accompanied by a bibliography, along with the author's own paléographie observations.
This reasonably priced work will be of use to all who are interested in the history of the alphabet, and scholars are indebted to H. for his careful presentation of material that is widely scattered and physically inaccessible. Likewise, some new readings are offered that will prompt discussion among specialists in the field. Yet, despite the author's assertions, many aspects of these texts - including dating, direction of reading, and identification-are extraordinarily tenuous and highly uncertain. As illustration, one need only rum to H.'s discussion of the letter s (*sawt > "thorn"): "One has here ... a single attestation, some of whose features are difficult to evaluate, a possible but still imperfect Egyptian graphic prototype; and just two witnesses to its acrophonic letter name, one of which causes some hesitation, and the other of which appears to have been corrupted through rhyming; and the final reconstruction of which has a less than certain cognate" (p. 126). Although perhaps an extreme case, many of the author's remarks are similarly qualified, so that while he offers that the Proto-Canaanite script is "firmly anchored" in the Egyptian writing system, the number of convincing parallels rests around 30 percent-and even that may be optimistic.
Moreover, some of H.'s methodological assumptions are questionable: especially problematic is the employment of names of letters as clues for seeking a hieroglyphic original. Most blatant is q (pp. 209-21), where disparate figures of baboons-with little resemblance to the Proto-Canaanite sign-are presented as antecedent, "largely because of the almost certain meaning of the acrophonic name of this letter, *çôp-'monkey'" (p. 212). In fact, the isolated drawing of Sinai 376, which seems closest in shape to the prototype, appears quite different in the context of the full inscription (p. 372). Similarly, one should consider that an Egyptian term might well have been behind some of the Semitic designations. Thus, Dal, which the author derives from the hieroglyph for the dual ("these two") (pp. 145-54), indeed has a close, parallel in the Egyptian snylsnw, "two of them/two." Although a "bow" has long been proposed as model for sin - *θaan-, "bow," later "tooth" (pp. 231-44)-another possibility is the "three-pronged reed" (Gardiner Sign List, M2), which appears as a determinative for "lotus," ssn. Instead of the archetypes of the "homed viper" and "curled snake" (phonetically, f and dj) for nûn/*nahas (pp. 154-71), the hieratic for the "negated arms"- (Gardiner Sign List, D35) might provide a closer forebear, in terms of both the shape of the sign and the corresponding sound (n/nn). Another difficulty is that although inscriptions are identified as wholly "West Semitic," "mixed-writing" may be in evidence, with some graphemes maintaining their original value. For example, the reading of the Lachish Dagger (pp. 390-91) is seemingly assured, but the signs look suspiciously like the Egyptian *hr(y)-tp.fdjd with the initial *hr(y) tilted sideways, "May its master/surface endure!" - a perfectly logical desire for a weapon or its owner. Finally, H. generally eschews translation, but some rendering of these inscriptions is required to support the contention that these are texts, rather than just amateurish jumbles of signs. Nevertheless, until a "Rosetta stone" is found by which to decipher "Proto-Canaanite," one can appreciate the author's ingenuity, patience, and persistence in dealing with difficult and frustrating material. Without a doubt, this volume is well worth examining, and H.'s efforts will be a most helpful reference guide and point of departure for future study.
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