Commentary

Over two hundred inscribed objects were discovered during excavations at the site of Tel Arad in the northern Negeb, one hundred and twelve in Hebrew, eighty-five in Aramaic, two in Greek, and five in Arabic; in addition there were thirteen inscribed seals, and nine l mlk seal impressions on jar handles (Aharoni et al. 1975/1981). Though some of the Hebrew inscriptions may date back as far a…