Amarna Letters from Canaan
Last Sunday, in discussing how old the city of Jerusalem is, we talked about the Amarna Letters and how they date back to around 1400 B.C. These letters address the city of Jerusalem.
Discussion Question: Writing letters or documents of importance on stone or clay tablets was quite common during this period of history. Do you think this had anything to do with the 10 Commandments being written in stone? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”
Exodus 24:12
I have never considered that before why God would have chosen to write on tables of stone. I suppose I just thought it would have been best preserved that way. I am not sure if papyrus and ink were used in Moses’ Egypt or not, but neither of those would have lasted as long. Perhaps official writings were “written in stone.” That must be where we get that saying, that this or that is not “written in stone.” I also wonder if that is one reason why what was declared law by the Medes and Persians could not be changed. Did they write their laws in stone? Just interesting to consider these things in relation to our Scriptures. Thanks for sharing.