Teaching Epigraphy in the Digital Age

Fields of knowledge are always in transition, with data continuing to accumulate and analyses of the data constantly nuancing previous understandings. No exception to this is the field of Northwest Semitic epigraphy. Northwest Semitic epigraphy is the broad study of ancient inscriptions written in the daughter languages of Proto-Northwest Semitic (e.g., Hebrew, Aramaic, Phoenician, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, and Ugaritic). It is concerned with linguistic, grammatical, syntactic, lexicographic, onomastic, historical, palaeographical, and/or genre studies.2 Within this article, we will delineate certain aspects of the history of this field and will discuss the traditional means of studying ancient texts in light of new technological innovations. Our primary goal is to demarcate how these innovations are impacting the ways we do research, as well as how they can facilitate the presentation of our research and the ways we teach students in our field. The focus of this article is linear alphabetic Northwest Semitic scripts; nonetheless, similar techniques and methodologies can be used for other epigraphic fields.