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Where did the Byblos signs come from, and is the script related to the Proto-Sinaitic and Phoenician alphabets?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·2 answers·0·0 following
Two answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, none is answered yet.

Why it matters

Dunand found about 50 signs similar to Egyptian hieroglyphic or hieratic forms; Hoch derived the set from the Egyptian uniconsonantal signs and a 2021 shape comparison found eight of the twelve most frequent signs close to one⁠[1]⁠[2]⁠[3]. Colless holds that 18 of the 22 Phoenician letters descend from signs of this syllabary, Sass that the resemblances run the other way and the Byblos signs imitate ninth-century letters⁠[4]⁠[5].

Answers 2

Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for
Still possible

History

  1. James E. Hoch: eight of the twelve most frequent Byblos sign types lie within a small graphical distance of an Egyptian…For: Egyptian-derived syllabary, ancestor of the alphabet (Hoch, Colless)
  2. Brian E. Colless: the intermediates between the Byblos syllabary and the linear alphabets are few and obscure, and the proto-alphabet is…Against: Egyptian-derived syllabary, ancestor of the alphabet (Hoch, Colless)
  3. Juan-Pablo Vita: the intermediates between the Byblos syllabary and the linear alphabets are few and obscure, and the proto-alphabet is…Against: Egyptian-derived syllabary, ancestor of the alphabet (Hoch, Colless)
  4. Juan-Pablo Vita: eight of the twelve most frequent Byblos sign types lie within a small graphical distance of an Egyptian…For: Egyptian-derived syllabary, ancestor of the alphabet (Hoch, Colless)
  5. Juan-Pablo Vita: vita and Zamora present the script as one of several local Syro-Palestinian writing experiments existing alongside or…For: Local creation; resemblances to the alphabet are not ancestral
  6. Benjamin Sass: the intermediates between the Byblos syllabary and the linear alphabets are few and obscure, and the proto-alphabet is…Against: Egyptian-derived syllabary, ancestor of the alphabet (Hoch, Colless)
  7. Michael Mäder: eight of the twelve most frequent Byblos sign types lie within a small graphical distance of an Egyptian…For: Egyptian-derived syllabary, ancestor of the alphabet (Hoch, Colless)
  8. Session 1: raised the question, proposed two answers, found three results bearing on its answers and worked on one of its sub-questions
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