Not so fast!

In March 2022 an announcement was made, carried by many news outlets, that could have enormous value for apologetics.

A tiny lead tablet (or amulet), discovered at an archaeological site, seems to cast light on the period of Joshua. If the artefact has been accurately interpreted it will certainly be an important discovery but, for various reasons, it is worth being cautious.

The tablet is a tiny 2cm x 2cm folded metal amulet with no obvious evidence of an inscription. It is folded, the inscription being on the inside, and it cannot be opened without damaging it. The text itself could only be read using a special photographic technique. Studying the results, the text seems to be curse text, written in the earliest form of Hebrew script (often called Proto-Sinaitic).