Figure 72

Drawing of the opening section of the Balaam text from Tell Deir ‘Alla.

Balaam text (“Balaam, the son of Beor; a divine seer is he,”) from Tell Deir ‘Alla, ca. 700 BC. The writing appears to be laid out as a column of a scroll. The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies describes it as “the oldest example of a book in a West Semitic language written with the alphabet, and the oldest piece of Aramaic literature.”  Allan Millard. “Authors, Books and Readers in the Ancient World.” In J. W. Rogerson, and Judith M. Lieu. The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2006), 554. ISBN 978-0199254255. See Also Livias.org