________________
ORIGIN OF ALPHABET
by Gardiner and Sethe, in 1916; notwithstanding (3) that many eminent scholars have dealt with this problem and with that of the decipherment of the early Sinaitic inscriptions, and (4) that the majority of the scholars hold the opinion that these inscriptions are couched in a Semitic language and in a script connected on the one hand with the Egyptian hieroglyphics and on the other hand with the North Semitic alphabet, which are both known; (5) in spite, finally, of the discovery (see below) of, and research on the early Canaanite inscriptions and the "missing-link" theory; we
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Phonetic Value 9
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6 5
determinative of goddess
201
Fig 102
1, Gardiner's Sinaitic theory 2, Cowley's decipherment of the Sinaitic script
3, Gardiner's identification of Ba'alat
4. Ugarit signs resembling North Semitic letters
are still in almost the same situation to-day in regard to the decipherment of the early Sinaitic writing, as that so aptly indicated by the creator of the Sinaitic theory thirty years ago in the following statement: "Unfortunately, however, I have no suggestions for the reading of any other word, so that the decipherment of the name Ba'alat must remain, so far as I am concerned, an unverifiable hypothesis" (Gardiner, in "JOURN. OF EGYPT. ARCHEOL.", III/I, January, 1916, p. 15). How different has been the history of the decipherment of the Ugarit alphabet (see below)! The reason for this difference lies mainly in the fact that the early Sinaitic inscriptions do not provide sufficient material for their decipherment any
