This Hebrew ink writing on stone comes from the antiquities market. Its archaeological provenance is unknown (the seller was unable to describe where or when it was discovered), but scholars date it to the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. Its language and content is similar to that of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The writing mentions "Yahweh, God of Israel," "Jerusalem," "my servant David," "the pious ones" (hasidim), "all the nations," "evil," "justice," "chariots," "angels," "Michael," "Gabriel," "three days," "sign" or "signs" and other words and concepts of religious significance. Unfortunately, much of the writing is illegible, so a coherent message cannot be discerned. Enough of the text can be understood however, to know that an important prophecy or revelation is being related by means of the unusual method of ink-writing on stone (stone-etching or carving would be the usual procedure for such an attempt to transmit a message). The stone (called the 'Jeselsohn Stone' because it's owned by David Jeselsohn of Zurich, Switzerland) and its patina has been analyzed by Professor Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv Univ., and no sign of forgery was found. So we have an unclear message that has been preserved for thousands of years that is of high importance firstly, for philology, and secondly, for history of religion.
This book, produced under the auspices of the Society of Biblical Literature, is a grand attempt to get at the meaning of the inscription and consists of eleven chapters by different authors, including one by David Jeselsohn. English versions of the principal editions of the text, which appeared in the journal 'Cathedra' in Hebrew, constitute two of the chapters, "A Hebrew Prophetic Text on Stone from the Early Herodian Period" and "Notes on the So-Called 'Gabriel Vision' Inscription," by Ada Yardeni and Binyamin Elizur and Elisha Qimron and Eliyahu Yuditsky, respectively. There is also a chapter by Israel Knohl of Hebrew Univ., famous for his theory of a suffering, dying and rising messiah among the Essenes before Jesus of Nazareth, wherein the 'Gabriel Revelation' provides additional evidence for that theory. All-in all, this is a volume that will provide much insight into the spiritual ferment of Judaism in Hellenistic times and into understanding the Hebrew language.
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