image sourced from original article at A researcher has reanalyzed ancient inscriptions found at Serabit el-Khadim, a turquoise mining site in Egypt's Sinai desert, which may contain the oldest written references to Moses. The inscriptions, dating back between 1800 and 1600 B.C., were first discovered over a century ago but have now been interpreted by Michael S. Bar-Ron to read as 'This is from Moses' and 'Declaration of Moses.' If verified, these would be the earliest known mentions of Moses outside biblical texts, predating the earliest parts of the Bible by centuries.
The inscriptions also reference the deity El and appear to criticize the worship of the pagan goddess Ba'alat, reflecting possible resistance among Semitic workers at the site. Bar-Ron's translation work spanned nearly a decade, and he suggests stylistic similarities point to a common author. His findings will undergo peer review, and he emphasizes the importance of examining the full set of inscriptions for context.
The discovery adds a new dimension to ongoing archaeological searches for evidence of Moses, a figure whose historical existence has long been debated. While the findings are not central to Bar-Ron's larger thesis on leadership in the region, they offer intriguing insights into ancient religious dynamics and the possible presence of Mosaic influence in the Sinai desert.
