Very cool find from some intrepid history diggers in the Holy Land:
A rare inscription paraphrasing part of Psalm 86 in the Greek used in the New Testament has been unearthed by a team of Hebrew University archaeologists working at the Hyrcania Fortress, a Second Temple-era structure situated atop a forbidding hilltop in the Judean Desert, about 17 kilometres southeast of Jerusalem.
The remains of Hyrcania Fortress are among the most desolate and far-flung that you can picture:
The archeologists as part of their recent dig excavated "a deep collapse layer of building stones" in one corner of the site; there they discovered "an elongated hall lined with piers," which they speculated was part of the monastery of the facility from centuries before.
On the "floor" of this dig, the historians found "a sizable building stone … bearing lines of text painted in red." Expert translation revealed that it was a quote from Psalm 86, albeit paraphrased to reflect the New Testament:
While the original lines are "Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am faithful to you," the Hyrcania version reads … Jesus Christ, guard me, for I am poor and needy."
One archeologist called the discovery "truly exceptional" for their clarity and provenance. Another inscription, meanwhile, was recently discovered nearby and "is currently undergoing analysis."
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