bIbLICaL arCHaeOLOGy reVIeW 53Sometimes the most powerful written words are the ones
that we don’t see. We wear clothing with tiny printed labels on the interior that
touch our bodies even though we rarely see or read them. We wear necklaces
that often bear the names of loved ones written in miniature letters. Sometimes
these necklaces are lockets that purposefully conceal pictures and written dedi-
cations inside clasped metal cases. Some people tattoo their bodies with letters
that are written in scripts they cannot read of languages they do not speak.
What’s more, many hide their tattoos away from all but their closest friends
and family.
In many cases, such “unseen” words are among the most important, per-
sonal, and meaningful forms of writing we possess. We secure birth certifi cates,
marriage licenses, and passports in safes out of the eyesight of others. Further-
more, each time we put on an article of clothing or an accessory—a watch,Jeremy D. Smoak
UNROLLED SCROLLS. Conservationists Marina Rosovsky, Joseph Shenhav, and David
Bigelajzen of the Israel Museum carefully unrolled these two silver scrolls from Ketef
Hinnom—revealing that the amulets contain writing. Though highly corroded, some of
the writing, including Yahweh’s divine name, was immediately discernible. The West
Semitic Research Project at the University of Southern California helped to further deci-
pher these inscriptions, both of which resemble the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:24–
26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and
be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
The inscriptions date to the eighth–sixth centuries B.C.E.PHOTO © ISRAEL MUSEUM, JERUSALEM, BY NAHUM SLAPAK
the Power of Hidden Writing