The West Semitic Alphabetic Inscriptions, Late Bronze II to Iron IIA: Archeological Context, Distribution and Chronology

Abstract

The article deals with the chronology and geographic distribution of the Late Bronze II to late Iron IIA alphabetic inscriptions found in the Levant, ca. 1300–800 B.C.E., with an emphasis on the archaeological context. It traces the expansion of the alphabet from its core area in the Shephelah in the Late Bronze age to the rest of the Levant starting in the early Iron IIA, ca. 900 B.C.E., and the parallel development of the alphabet away from Proto-Canaanite.