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Babylonian Cuneiform Tablets c.1800 BC; Biblical Time of Genesis

Babylonian Cuneiform Tablets c.1800 BC; Biblical Time of Genesis

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A Pair of Cuneiform Clay Tablets, Babylonia, c.1800 BC.

 

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A beautiful pair of Babylonian clay tablets from circa 1800 BC, the approximate time period of Hammurabi, and on the Biblical timeline, approximately the time when Abraham died. These clay tablets therefore date from the time period of the foundation of the Abrahamic religions - the time in history where Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, etc, were living, corresponding to the period of the Biblical book of Genesis Chapters 24-37. Abraham lived in the approximate time period and location where these tablets were produced, before he relocated further north to Haran and then Canaan.

These have not been fully translated or published. There is a circa 19th century Arabic note pasted to the edges of both clay tablets, which seems to reference the content of the Cuneiform writing, but we have not confirmed this. Given the provenance, some Biblical association seems at least possible.

The Arabic writing says (roughly): "A year has passed, wearing away life, and that is day 5", and "The months have passed, and the signs were not placed, so they came."

This seems to suggest that these tablets are of a poetic nature rather than the more typical content (inventory lists, taxes, etc) which is of particular interest, especially with the analogy between "year" and "day" which holds particular significance to the text of Genesis, here "عام" and "يوم", and the exegetical context often cited with relevance to Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8.

It's possible that these cuneiform tablets are proverbial in nature, or perhaps apocalyptic or prophetic. However, the Arabic text reads more like a classical Arabic inscription, possibly inspired by or modelled after poetic or proverbial reflections on mortality and time, rather than a direct translation of the cuneiform, as the language on the side isn't particularly similar to the linguistic construction of ancient text, but it could just be an overall sense of the text rather than a word-for-word translation which would seem more appropriate for cuneiform translation.



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Provenance:

Formerly in the pre-1970 collection of Ralph Ewart Ford (1897-1974), a member of the Bibliographical Society and expert on John Bunyan, who had one of the largest collections of English Bibles in England. During the Queen's 1953 coronation, his impressive collection went on a touring exhibition across England, including being shown at the Chapter House at Westminster Abbey. These cuneiform tablets were possibly a part of this exhibition.

That these are a matching pair and have remained together for their entire life is nothing short of remarkable. The Arabic inscription pasted to the side could be indicative that these were found together in the 19th century.

 

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Size: 24 x 28 mm (approx., each)

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