LITERATURE: L. Löw, Graphische Requisiten und Erzeugnisse bei den Juden, 1870, 1871; E. A. Steglich, Skizzen über Schrift und Bücherwesen der Hebrα + ̰8er, etc., 1876; B. Stade, Hebrα + ̈ische Grammatik, i. 23-58, 1879; and the two tables of writing; H. L. Strack, R.E., 2nd ed., xiii. 689 ff.; C. Schlottman, Hb. A., i. 1416 ff.; H. Benzinger, Hebrα + ̈ische Archα + ̈ologie, 1894, §§39 and 40; W. Nowack, Hebrα + ̈ische Archα + ̈ologie, i. 1894, §§52 and 53. Numerous facsimiles of old Hebrew handwriting in D. Chwolson, Corpus Inscriptionum Hebraicarum, 1882. Further A. Merx, Documents de Palℯ+ ́ographic hebraique et arabe, 1894. For Semitic palaeography in general, Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, appearing in Paris (since 1881).

1. Having already (cf. § 4 above) dealt with the question of the age of the use of writing, we must now consider the question of writing materials and the written signs. Regarding the oldest writing materials of the Hebrews clear information is afforded by etymology. Of the two common words for book,

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