Artificial intelligence has shed light on the time of the creation of biblical writings by analyzing the inscriptions on ostrac (clay shards). The computer system has established that the main texts of the Old Testament were created before the Babylonian captivity (the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC), Gizmodo reports.
Modern technologies to travel back in time
Mathematician Arie Schaus from Tel Aviv University notes that the Bible was not created in real time - the texts were not written immediately after the occurrence of any events, and this has long been known. However, the main question facing scholars is: when exactly were the texts of the Old Testament created?
Using machine learning tools, Schaus and her colleagues examined clay shards unearthed by archaeologists in Israeli fortresses. Scientists have tried to determine how many people took part in the creation of the texts applied to the shards, and when this happened.
Everyone knew how to write
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The first major stage of analysis showed that during the era of the Kingdom of Judah, many of the city's residents were literate, and this was fertile ground for the creation of biblical texts. In addition, this period includes numerous ostracas, on which military orders and orders for the supply of goods are written. The inscriptions were made before 600 BC, that is, before the Babylonian captivity.
Comparing the inscriptions on the shards, the scientists used image recognition technologies and digital signatures. According to Schaus, quite a lot of methods for studying handwritten texts have been created recently, and they used specially developed software tools for the most detailed analysis of modern Hebrew texts.
Two centuries earlier
The researchers concluded that everyone in the Israeli army - from soldier to commander - was literate, and this was an unexpected discovery. They also found that parts of the Old Testament were created before 800 BC, much earlier than anticipated.
Ksenia Shestakova