Arad ostraca

[1] Arad was an Iron Age fort at the southern outskirts of the Kingdom of Judah, close to Beersheba in modern Israel.

[4] Eighteen ostraca consisting mainly of letters addressed to Eliashib were found in a chamber of the casemate wall of the fort.

[6] Since Arad's garrison is estimated to only about 20–30 soldiers, the result supports a high literacy rate for the Judahite kingdom.

[7] The author of the study suggested that the high literacy rate could mean that some Bible books were written before the Babylonian conquest of Judah.

[11] Nadav Na'aman translates the text as follows:[12] To Eliashib: And now, give from the wine 3 bath-jars, for Hananiah commands you to Beersheba with a load of a pair of donkeys.

[20] Ostraca 24 reads as follows: The letter has been interpreted as ordering the commander of the fort to dispatch reinforcements to withstand an Edomite attack.