The Egyptian context of the invention of the alphabet (inscriptions from serabit Al-Khadim and Wadi Al-Hôl)

The article presents the beginnings of alphabetic writing in Sinai (Serabit al-Chadim) in the context of the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing and the subsequent early alphabetic inscriptions from Wadi al-Hôl (Egypt) and Wadi Arava (Israel). In the light of the present state of research it can be concluded that the oldest alphabet (type: abgad) was established by Semites working in the copper mines on the Sinai Peninsula under the rule of Egypt, probably in the nineteenth century BC. Egyptian hieroglyphs had direct impact on the Semitic alphabetic writing. The alphabetic inscriptions in the Wadi al-Hôl and Wadi Arava discovered in recent years turned out to be younger than the Sinaitic inscriptions and are another element in the early development of alphabetic writing.