Proto-Sinaitic script is a tantalizing mystery.

• It's important because it is thought to represent the world's first alphabetic writing.
• It's engaging because each letter is a picture.
  Aleph illustrates the horned head of a cow, bull, or ox.
  Dagg depicts a fish. The Philistine god Dagon was half man, half fish. Meta: D fish head and gills. G also gills
  Lamed delineates the staff of law and leadership, the crook of the shepherd who cares for, and protects the flock.
  The crinkled letter Mem looks like waves and symbolizes water.
  Shin (Tann) is interpreted as an archer's bow, a saw-shaped pair of teeth (Hebrew shin), or a pair of breasts (Hebrew shad).

• Proto-Sinaitic is a challenge. The glyphs are an ancient mystery, written in the era of 1800 B.C. They were discovered in 1902, during an expedition led by "Sir William Flinders Petrie which explored temple ruins at Serabit el-Khadim, where copper and turquoise were mined. Although the individual letters depict recognizable objects, the inscriptions written with the letters, remain largely undeciphered.

These mysterious symbols are inscribed on ancient walls, and etched onto sacred devotional items such as the sphinx figurine from Serabit el Khadim. Sphinxes are goddesses of mystery and riddles. What are they saying to us? Here are some proposals:

• Gods in the alphabet. The letters of the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet originated in the nation of Canaan. This article presents the hypothesis that the Proto-Sinaitic / Proto-Canaanite letters and many of the inscriptions pay homage to the principal deities of the Canaanite pantheon and the Mediterranean region.
  1. HATHOR. Cow-headed goddess, with a star-spangled belly. Lady of the House. The first two letters, a bovine head and house reference the goddess Hathor, the cow-headed goddess known as Lady of the House. The taurus-shaped letter 'alp represents Hathor's head. The letter bet symbolizes Hathor's temple, or womb, the house of heaven. Our universe may have been imagined to be one of the stomachs of a giant divine cow.
  2. DAGON - Dagon was a merman god, the consort of Hathor. He had a two=part, L-shaped body. His horizontal lower half was a fish, the upper vertical part was a man. Thus the L-shaped letter gaml represents the body of Dagon. The upright fish is also his symbol. Dagon was the chief deity of the Philistines. When they captured the Israelite ark of the Covenant, they brought their prize to the temple of Dagon. The next day their idol had fallen on its face.
  3. BA'AL. The god Ba'al was the son of Hathor and Dagon. He was the god of the lightning bolts which fix` nitrogen and fertilize the land. He was the god of storms. He accomplished the supreme feat of being resurrected from the dead. The Dj character represents the thunder clouds and the projected lightning. Perhaps the mace-shaped letter represents the huge drumstick which was used to create thunder.
  4. JEHOVAH. This name may originate in letters 5, 6, and 7.
  5. EL. The senior deity El, is represented by the lamed, This letter forms the generic word for god, el.
  6. SHAMASH. The sun god is likely the patron of the letter shin.
  7. ZODIAC. The first eight signs correspond with Taurus, the house of the Spring Equinox, Pisces, and Aquarius, House of Water, and the Sumerian creator god EA.
  The next two letters, the L-shaped letter gaml and the fish-shaped letter dag represent the half-man, half-fish deity Dagon, chief deity of the Philistines. He was the consort of Hathor. The next letters depict Ba'al, the son of Hathor and Dagon. Ba'al was the god of land fertilizing lightning bolts and storms, and was notable for being resurrected from the dead. The next letters Dj, haw, waw, and het may link to JHWH. Both are associated with Asherah, though the Biblical god was opposed to Asherim and worship of Ba'al.

  Bat, Dagon, Ba'al, Shamash, Sin, and El. In particular, the L-shaped letter gaml and the fish-shaped letter dag represent the half-man, half-fish deity Dagon. He was the chief god of the Philistines, who were Sea Peoples, possibly from Crete, who settled in the land of Canaan.

• A bonanza of visual metaphor. Examples include:
  1. PEACE - Calm in the eye of a storm. Contrasts still water with a single ripple to mountain-high waves of an ocean storm. Peace in Proto-Sinaitic is not the absence of conflict, but composure despite chaos.
  2. PEACE - The sword, scroll, leader's staff, and water. A formula for peace is an inspiring caring leader like a shepherd with power to defend (the sword), wisdom (the scroll), and enough liquid resources (water) to meet the needs of the multitudes (water)
  3. PROTECTION - represented by the safety of the walls of a house, and by the bow of the archer who repels invaders at a distance
  4. BLESSING - a tender seedling, and a nursing breast
  5. UNITY - a single thread, two twisted strands, a fabric
  6. LEADERSHIP - the sword, the scroll, the shepherd's staff and the multitudes
  7. LOVE - Beloved. The Egyptian hieroglyph of the plough and feathers. The plough represents the love of the farmer for his land. He works hard, removing rocks and weeds, laboring against the challenge of all kinds of weather. The plough represents the strength passion, and depths of love, how love reaches deep into the heart. Feathers illustrate gentleness, sensitivity, and the way the joy of love makes the spirit soar.
     (Grammatical technicality: MR, the plough means love. II, the feathers indicate the object of the action)
  8. LIFE, AGING, and DEATH. A fiber, twisted strand, a woven tapestry that starts to fray.
  9. NATION - foot and waters representing many standing together, innumerable like the waves of the ocean, or thundering like mighty waters. A strong arm, bicep flexed emphasizing strength of the multitudes.

• A number cipher. Sphinx EA41748 exhibits a witty substitution of an owl instead of a falcon. This simultaneously forms variation of the name of the goddess Hathor, from House of Horus to House of Turquoise, and creates a potential 3-2-1-0 number cipher: three dots, two dots, a tether which joins two into one, and the flat ground, indicating level zero. Egyptian hieroglyphs use ∩ for number 10. This uses union symbol cup ∪ for number 1. Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions are often multi-lingual, humorous, and playfully clever.

• The first Hallelujah. Wadi El Hol 1 may contain the first alphabetic inscription of the Hebrew word of rejoicing and praise, Hallelujah. The letters of the word illustrate several joyous occasions: healing, resurrection, release into freedom, relaxing by a river, and the birth of a child. A decipherment of Wadi El Hol 1 is proposed: Lord of Peace, Hallelujah!

• A Pictographic Epic. Wadi El Hol 1 has an extravaganza of expressive potential.
  1. HEADLINE: "Lord of Peace, Hallelujah!" Rejoice, brothers (Hebrew, achim) of Egypt (Khem)! This multi-layer message is a forwards and backwards play on Hebrew and Egyptian words KHM which interprets to brothers AKHIM, spirits AKH, life anKH, life chai, magic Hka, pharaoh's shepherd staff HKa, and Egypt KHM.
  2. THEME: The theme is peace and unity
  3. PEACE: Illustrated as calm water in the midst of a stormy sea. The idea that nations, and even heaven and earth are joined like brothers. The formula for peace is a leader with a sword of power, a scroll of wisdom, as the shepherd of the multitudes.
  4. PEACE - The sword, scroll, leader's staff, and water. A formula for peace is an inspiring caring leader like a shepherd with power to defend (the sword), wisdom (the scroll), and enough liquid resources (water) to meet the needs of the multitudes (water).
  5. UNITY: complemented by 21 instances of unity, such as a keyhole and open door; head and heart; the head and body, the ruler and a scroll; water and land; mouth, voice, and breath; male and female; fibre, cord, and fabric; head and hair; mother and child, and the combined strength of the people of a nation.
  6. JOY: The word Hallelujah, is written with pictographs that illustrate 7 scenarios of joy, such as healing, release from bondage, divine epiphany, the birth of a child, and resurrection in triumph over death.
  7. TITLES OF GOD: Lord of Peace, Son of God, God of Heavens, God of Gods, Hidden God, God of Tabernacles, Mighty God, and Eternal God.
  8. SAMSON, MOSES, JESUS AND MARY! Samson is strongly depicted. He killed a thousand Philistines with a jawbone of a donkey, had his magic hair shaved, and his eyes put out. He pushed pillars to knock the Philistine temple down. The elements of his story, a jawbone, a bald head, hair, a weeping eye, a man pushing pillars, thunderous vibrations, and a flat tent are depicted. It is even possible to read the name of Delilah, the lover who betrayed Samson, in the space with a double instead of Hallelujah. It creates a scene where he roars her name as he destroys the temple and crushes his nations enemies and himself. Samson would have been a legendary contemporary figure in the time of the inscription, well known to Hebrews and Philistines. Perhaps the Philistines invented the alphabet! This scene of hellish suffering and destruction is the counterpoint to images of joy, healing, resurrection, and heavenly ascension.
  9. MOSES: The centerpiece of the inscription is a human figure with raised arms, a magic staff, and parted waters.
  10. JESUS: The central figure could represent a child in mother's bosom. Three heqa staffs represent three visiting kings. Feet next to water may allude to Jesus' ability to walk on water.
  11. GREATNESS: There are 3 forms of greatness. One is a man knocked on his back, who nevertheless still raises his fist in determination. Another is the small seed that when watered grows into a great tree. It speaks of life and death, spirit and the mundane.
  12. HAPPY UNION: Finally, a happy ending is achieved by linking the end to the beginning. There is a reunion of father, mother, and child to illustrate the overall theme of unity, joy and peace.

      
      Wadi El Hol 1 appears to contain a grand biblical survey and prophecy in the spirit of Isaiah 9:6 and Handel's Messiah: Unto us a child is born, a son is given. His name shall be called Wonderful! Counselor! The Mighty God! The Everlasting Father! The Prince of Peace! It blends Hebrew, Philistine, and Egyptian culture. One can contemplate it at length and find further insight.

      
      

      PROTO-SINAITIC SCRIPT

      THE WORLD'S FIRST ALPHABET?

      Adapted from: Proto-Sinaitic. Omniglot This bostrophodon, zig-zag ox plow arrangement was Inspired by the Egyptian game of Senet. Pawns travel this type of path on their journey across a game board which represents the spiritual challenges of the quest for immortality in the afterlife. In a way, life is like the labor of the ox. Writing the alphabet in this order allows the H characters which represent life and weaving to be adjacent in column 8. HA is the breath and the helix is DNA. This also groups concepts related to perception and the eye: en eye, G guarding, regarding, Water is positioned under the fish. Holy, god, leader are in a column. Fertilizing fish, water, and grain are vertically aligned. The motions of the sun: set, dawn, and vertial horizontal motion are in column 7. The roles of Hathor, sky goddess, roving eye, and guard are column 1. Top row concerns heaven, middle is earthly, and bottom is the underworld with mining, genitals, and moon, sun, and land in the underworld position. THE GODS OF THE CANAANITE ALPHABET The letters of the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet originated in the nation of Canaan. This article presents the 2020 theory of Celeste Horner that the letters of the Proto-Sinaitic, or Proto-Canaanite alphabet and many of the undeciphered Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions pay tribute to the principal deities of the Canaanite pantheon such as Hathor, Bat, Dagon, Ba'al, Shamash, Sin, Tanin, and El. Egyptian gods may also be represented. Wadjet, the projected cobra destroyer protector eye of Ra may be an allusion of Dj, waw, and het. She was the personification of Lower Egypt. She was revered for offering protection to women during childbirth. She was the eye projected from the creator god Atum to search for his lost children, Shu and Tefnut, who got lost in the waters of Nun. When they returned, the tears of joy that he wept became mankind. [Vision - end of days, eye of judgement, firey, fractal tendrils, there, not there, superimposition, we winged eye. EYE OF GOD. deity projected dj ] It looks scary, but it is just a messenger sent to bring lost children back to the Creator who loves and misses them. Dj is distributed, projected. Also prodigal. Judge. DJ = J= Y = sky. YHW. Dig, doggon, dogon, Dj. Sons of Thunder. Magical Mace. Sharur. Visnu. Zeus. D cloud. j lightning jab project. || s bolt closure hieroglyph. z. = egalitarian law. = layers of clouds, waters. Time: Taurus (Hathor - Ha Taur heavenly cow. Pisces, Poseidon. Mother earth married sea second after Uranus. Man fish god Dagon. Also Visnu, man emerging from fish. Aquarius emerges from Pisces. Q is caraffe of water poured by Aquarius. Yamatai. Y sky surrounds M mar sea marine. surrounds T terrain earth. A I approach I one. amor. Sun has two partners, morning and evening star - mother and mate venus. Het could be Hauhet, one of the primordial 8 goddesses (feminine counterpart of Heh) or elements of Egyptian cosmogany. Plurality is indicated by w. Two Ha would be Haw or Hau (Two twisted flax means eternity) + Het = Hauhet. These two characters show the two modes of DNA helix one open for transcription, activated, and coiled. Ha is the sound of breath, the sound of life. H shows channel of the throat. Ha could be Heh, the Egyptian god of Eternity. The twisted flax glyph appears twice in the hieroglyphic term for everlasting or infinite. Heka Magic: He = Ka when read backwards? Pit might reference Ptah (who appears in Sinai 351) Qup, Kheper (Qeper, also in Sinai 351) the scarab headed god of Creation who procreated by union with his shadow (circle budding indicates self-copying. He created mankind from his tears. Interpreted as monkey which also is associated with imitation, monkey see, monkey do) Ras could be Ra, the sun god. Kheper Ra, the dawn sun. sims, Shamash, also the sun Tann could be Tannin or Tanit (Sinai 347, a widely worshipped goddess. Letters spell Ra's tanist? S/sh. Robert Graves The Greek Myths. Tanist is sacrificed. Draft CH 2020-10-25, 10-26 Perhaps Canaanites and Philistines (whose name is ironically synonymous with uncultured boorishness) invented the alphabet. Paleo-Hebrew could have developed shortly after, and moved away from the golden calf icon for the letter Aleph. The modern Aleph evokes the grand acts of Genesis, the diagonal slash representing the separation of the waters of Heaven and Earth. The booth-like Beyt representing the temporary shelters used during the Exodus. Hathor, the goddess of the sky, love, joy, and music, was widely beloved and worshipped in Egypt and around the Mediterranean. She is depicted as a woman with a cow's head or ears, or as a celestial cow with the stars of heaven spangled across her belly. Pharaohs liked to depict themselves as divine children, nursing at her udders. The goddess of sexuality and intoxication, Hathor's temples functioned as sacred brothels with perfumed priestesses of pleasure, dancers, and sistrum playing musical courtesans. In the episode of the wizard Balam and the talking donkey, the Bible relates that rival nations of Israel, unable to win militarily, used the charms of these ladies to distract the men of Israel from their spiritual dedication. This angered their god and caused misfortune. The Bible passage of Exodus 32:19 related that Moses smashed the tablets of the Ten Commandments in fury after some Israelites succombed to temptation and reverted to the worship of Hathor, by engaging in revelry and worshipping the golden calf. This lustrous idol represented the dawning sun, believed to be the son of the cow goddess Hathor, born fresh each morning from her embodiment as the sky. The two faced bovine goddess Bat, was another version of the celestial cow whose ancient origins were rooted in the Paleolithic. The two faces of Bat form the crown of the Narmer palette. Her curled horns form a letter in their own right in several inscriptions. An underworld aspect of Hathor was worshipped by miners in the Sinai desert mountains where the Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions were first discovered. In this setting, she was honored as the Mistress of Turquoise. Hathor also had a fierce, bloodthirsty lion form called Sekhmet that was a devastating agent of destruction, and protectress. Legend says that in this form, unleashed by the god Ra upon the world as punishment for rebellion, she nearly caused the extinction of humanity. Her rampage was stopped after she was tricked into drinking alcohol, disguised as blood. When she awoke, she had changed to a docile bovine form, and was thereafter a benign protectress. Another aspect of Hathor was widely worshipped as a guardian of Birth. Whether a rampaging, blood smeared lion nemesis, erotic divine lover, nurturing, mother bovine, or stalwart, loyal warrior guardian sister, Hathor had many faces. Maid, mother, and crone, she was the Triple Goddess and more. Seven Hathors were believed to determine or represent a person's fate. They are depicted on a beautiful necklace from ancient Egypt. 5500 year old goddess more important than historians thought Dagon, the half-man, half-fish god was the consort of Hathor. His L-shape and fish symbols appear on a number of inscriptions. Dagon is mentioned by name in the Bible in 1 Samuel 5:4. When the Philistines captured the Hebrew Ark of the Covenant, they triumphantly paraded their war-trophy to the temple of their god, Dagon. But overnight, the idol of the mer-man god reportedly broke in two, keeled over, and fell prostrate before the Ark, leaving only his fillet of fish bottom half on the pedestal! Despite this iconoclastic embarassment, Dagon, who may represent the foundational god who first emerged from the waters of chaos has a profound symbology that may link to other aquatic deities. (Could Dagon, also god of grain, be connected to other aquatic deities such as the Sumerian Ea, Greek Poseidon, Aquarius, water-walking Jesus, Water-parting horned, Moses, Water-sleeping Visnu, Water-spewing Quetelcoatl, African Dogon deity, and Japanese Dogu?) * * * Egyptian hieroglyph for the goddess Hathor, House of Horus Primordial Ox / Cow in Avesta The god Ba'al **** The first two letters of the Canaanite alphabet appear to be dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love and joy. She is depicted a a heavenly cow. The stars of heaven were spangled across her belly. She was one of the most highly revered goddesses in the ancient world. Aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, has the form of her bovine head and horns. Hathor's titles included Lady of the House, and House of Horus. The square second letter of the Canaanite alphabet, Beth, represents the house of heaven, of which she was the queen. Gimmel and Daleth, the third and fourth letters depict the L-shaped body of the half man, half fish god Dagon, the consort of Hathor. The god Ba'al was known as the son of Dagon. His signature weapon is a mace, which matches the letter waw. He was called the god of storms, the rider of clouds. Perhaps this is represented by the cloud layer lines of the letter zayin, which could also be his lightning bolt weapon. His castle was on high. His rain was credited for the fertility of the land of Canaan. Drought was thought to be caused when he was temporarily killed by Mot, the god of Death. [MetMuseum] EVOLUTION OF THE LETTER A C. Horner, 2019, 2020 ...modern scholars consider it a sure bet that aleph was the first letter of the original alphabet of about 2000 B.C. How and why aleph was chosen for first place, we will never know... David Sacks (2003). Letter Perfect. The marvelous history of our alphabet from A to Z. (Broadway Books). pg 51. (an informative and entertaining book that I enjoyed very much) Why is A the first letter of the alphabet? It is a mystery. Some suggestions. (Draft CCH 2020-10-20, 2020-10-25) A represents the first act of agriculture. The original letter aleph was a sketch of an ox. The ox, leads the plough, which precedes the planting of seeds, prior to the actual growth of crops.. These were the life priorities of the Bronze age people who created the alphabet. The ox represents the act of ploughing, the first act of agriculture. A is written in the stars -- it traces the angular horns of the constellation of Taurus, the house of the Spring Equinox from 4000 B.C. to 2000 B.C when writing was developed. The Spring symbolizes the beginning of the agricultural year. The letter A started as alef, which depicted the horned head of an ox, bull, or cow. This represents the Age of Taurus (4000 B.C. - 2000 B.C), birth period of alphabetic writing. Taurus and a labyrinthine house may reference the Minotaur of Crete, possible origin of the Sea Peoples who innovated and spread techniques of writing. The Minotaur was a creation of the Greek god Poseidon after whom the Phoenician city of Sidon was named. Legend says that Zeus fancied the daughter of the Phoenician king. He transformed into a bull, and carried her off to become the first queen of Crete. The letter A represents the antecedents of luck and duty. A, depicts the horns of a bovine. An ox was sacrificed and cut in two to cement the oath between two parties. Thus an ox represents prior commitment. Ox bones were thrown like dice for fortune-telling divinations and gambling games. So the ox also represents a foundation of fortune. Oxen were sacrificial animals, and divided in half to execute an oath. Aleph, the ox represents antecedents, the hard work, (atrocities which need to be atoned) and commitments which precede an event. A is the sacrifice, journey away from source. B is the labyrinth that the soul traverses on its way back to heart iB/H. Hathor, whose icon is a cow, a.k.a. Lady of the House, goddess of creation, the beginning of existence. A, 'alp, aleph is Hathor. Bt is the cow goddess Bat, depicted on Narmer palette. Primordial cow Gavaevodata of the Avesta. CONTENTS Discovery of Proto-Sinaitic Symbolism of the Proto-Sinaitic Alphabet Sumerian terms Hieroglyphs which appear in Proto-Sinaitic Hieroglyphic Dictionary - E. A. Wallis Budge | Tifinagh summa samech fish 3MW Context of Proto-Sinaitic discoveries Ancient visual metaphors for love, blessing, protection, and power Curses? Interpretations of Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions CONCLUSIONS References Notes Proposed Translations for Undeciphered Inscriptions Wadi El Hol Inscription 1: LORD OF PEACE, HALLELU! NATIONS OF SISTERS and BROTHERS. ETERNAL GOD OF THE GREAT UNITED NATION OF UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT. Interesting use of several different visual metaphors for unity and peace. Wadi El Hol Inscription 2: THE ANKH OF TANITH. MOTHER. EYE OF HORUS. Breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL HEAVENS OF GOD. OT, haute Omega Tau, complement of Alpha. Divine Feminine. Extolling goddess. Sinai 345 red Sphinx: BELOVED HATHOR Sinai 346 Sphinx: TRIBUTE TO DAGON and MOTHER GODDESS Sinai 347 Weebley.com GODDESS TANITH SPHINX TNT / TFT / TFNT. Letter interpretation has big impact: Tanit changes to Tophet (child sacrifice) or TFNT (first generation goddess in Egyptian pantheon, Shu and Tefnut. The tricky letter in question is the horned viper F hieroglyph. But Nahar is serpent, similar to river. 10 Plagues of Egypt. Death of the First born. Pass thru fire to Molech / Melek king. CCH 2020-6-19)) Sinai 347: Entrance to Mine L, Serabit El Khadim: GOD BLESS THIS MINE / GODDESS HATHOR, FACE OF DAGON Sinai 349 GODDESS ASHERAH line 7 Sinai 349 Sinai 349 Translation Sinai 351 interpreted | Sinai 351: BELOVED LADY (MAHIB BILAAT), LADY (ST) PROTECTRESS (PSH) OF (N) BIRTH (MESH) (N) OF KHEPRE (QP). Beautiful (Nefer) Voice (Hrw) Sinai 353 (345, 349, 350, 351, 352, 353 (Dagon, Shamash, Hathor 2020-4-25), 357) Bible.ca interpretations Torah in Paleo Hebrew font by Jeff Benner Otiot. An introduction to ancient Hebrew letters by Alan Horvath. Glosbe English-Phoenician translation DAILY UPDATE HISTORY / NOTES