The Los Lunas Decalogue Stone is a huge flat stone on the side of Hidden Mountain, near Los Lunas, New Mexico, approximately 35 miles south of Albuquerque. The stone has the Ten Commandments inscribed on it in ancient paleo-Hebrew script.
In 1996, Professor James D. Tabor of the University of North Carolina - Charlotte interviewed the late Professor Frank Hibben (1910-2002), a retired University of New Mexico archaeologist, "who is convinced that the inscription is ancient and thus authentic. He reports that he first saw the text in 1933. At the time it was covered with lichen and patination and was hardly visible. He was taken to the site by a guide who had seen it as a boy, back in the 1880s."The scholars who have studied this mysterious stone date it anywhere from 500 years old to 3000 years old. That almost assuredly means that the stone pre-dates the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America.
So how is it possible that a copy of the 10 Commandments in the ancient Hebrew language get to North America before Christopher Columbus arrived?
Perhaps the key to this mystery is in studying the Phoenicians.
The “Phoenicians” were THE great seafaring people of the ancient world. Most scholars agree they were originally from the coastal areas of Israel and Lebanon, but they founded a vast array of settlements all around the Mediterranean during the course of their travels. In fact, the great ancient city of Carthage was founded by the Phoenicians. It is historically documented that the Phoenicians got as far as Spain, and many scholars believe that the Phoenicians eventually were able to cross the Atlantic and arrive in North America. If any ancient culture would have been able to cross the Atlantic ocean, it would have been the great seafaring Phoenician people.
So, you may ask, exactly who were the Phoenicians? The Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 A.D.) referred to the Israelites as the “Phoenicians”. It is also a fact that the ancient Hebrew language and the ancient Phoenician language are virtually identical. In addition, if you look at many maps of the ancient middle east, you will see that the great ancient Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon were situated just north of ancient Israel.
Throughout the "Old Testament", the Scriptures speak continually of cooperation between Israel and the cities of Tyre and Sidon. In fact, there is so much there that it would take another full article just to document the scriptural references.
And did you know that the Phoenicians also founded the Etruscan civilization in Italy? Scholars have found that some of those "Phoenicians" actually brought the worship of the Lord with them:
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http://www.british-israel.com/Ancmigr_files/Ancmigr.htm
Early 19th century noted antiquarian scholar, Sir William Betham, studied the Celtic origins of Europe, and his studies of early Italy were published in a two-volume work, "Etruria Celtica." Betham reproduced ancient coins from the kingdom of Utruria, in Italy, known as the Etruscan civilization. Interestingly, several of the Utrurian coins discovered were minted in honor of their deity, which was none other than Yahweh, God of the Hebrews!
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So just how did the 10 Commandments inscribed in the ancient Hebrew language show up in New Mexico? Nobody knows the answer for certain. But it seems that the most reasonable answer is to say that the greatest seafaring people by far of the ancient world, the "Phoenicians", came to North America and brought the covenant of their God with them.
What are your thoughts? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments section, and if you enjoy articles such as this, please subscribe using one of the links on the side of this page.
For more information on the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone, please watch the YouTube clip posted below that we produced on this topic a while back:
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