One argument skeptics would have regarding the scriptures is that there were no formal writings in the early years of biblical history. I have only heard this a few times in my life, but as I continue in my own life, spiritual walk with the Lord, and continue to learn more about archaeology, I find that this can still be popular argument non-believers would attempt to share in an effort to debunk the scriptures.

In 1975, some 20,000 fragments from 7,000 cuniform tablets of commercial transactions, administrative texts, and royal decrees were recovered from the tell (ruin mound) of the ancient city of the king of Ebla in northwest Syria. These records are dated at the latest to 2,250 BC when the city was destroyed. This is earlier than the Mari texts and predates Abraham by at least a century. Personal names similar to Abraham, Ishmael, and Israel have been found at Ebla, which is evidence of the names being used at the same general time as Genesis (The Lion Concise Atlas of Bible History).

Interestingly enough, for the first 3,000 years, the only two major forms of writings in the ancient near east consisted of Egyptian hieroglyphs and cuneiform. It is believed that Moses is to be credited to the ancient Hebrew as he crafted a new “language” to help teach the jews of his time. Find more information through the links below!

Ancient City Ebla
Moses Controversy (documentary)
Wikipedia
Tablet Photo: By Davide Mauro – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0