Socio-political Gleanings from Northwest Semitic Paleography: The Inscriptions from Tel Reḥov, as a Test Case

Paleographic analysis of inscriptions from the southern Levant can prove enlightening for matters beyond the sophistication of handwriting and scribal activity. The inscriptions from Tel Reḥov are a particularly noteworthy cross section of the epigraphic record in this respect. Even though they are short and almost entirely restricted to the “genre” of nametags, the discernible paleographic data contained within them allows for more robust conclusions about the nature of southern Levantine scribalism and its interconnectedness to various aspects of the Iron Age II socio-political landscape. Furthermore, consideration of these inscriptions’ archaeological and paleographic contexts alongside the material reality surrounding their creation indicates that writing was a constantly evolving tool in the Iron Age II southern Levant.