The Lachish Ewer: An Offering and a Tribute

Abstract

Joseph Naveh’s Early History of the Alphabet is a magisterial survey. I learned an enormous amount from reading it and even more from auditing the author’s epigraphy class during a year that I spent at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Jerusalem. It is, therefore, a special privilege to present these modest notes on the Lachish Ewer Inscription as an “offering” (mtn) and a “tribute” (šy) to the memory of this outstanding teacher and scholar.