Archaeology · 13 · Ezra
A Passover letter that doesn't cite the Bible
Around 419 BCE, a leader named Hananiah wrote to Elephantine with instructions for the festival of unleavened bread. He never refers to a written Torah.
Before scripture, people asked living authorities.
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The letter overlaps with biblical laws but skips key parts and appeals to the Persian king's authority instead. The contrast with the Dead Sea Scrolls, centuries later, shows how dramatically scripture eventually reshaped Judean life.
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 211–213
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