In a recent discovery scientists unearthed what they believe an earlier form of Hebrew writing, found on a piece of pottery that was discovered in Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Israel’s Elah valley. It was estimated before that Hebrew writing dated back to around the 6th century B.C. The new artifact suggests that the language could go back as far as the 10th century B.C. during the time of King David’s reign.

Portions of the Bible were believed to be only as old as the Hebrew language, and with the new discovery, scientists are having to re-examine the possibility of portions being as old as the 10th century.

The writing discovered more than a year ago was finally deciphered, revealing that the closest match resembles that of the Hebrew writing.

The words written on the pottery were used to describe how the poor, slaves and widows were to be treated, and closely resemble, but are matches to versus from the Bible.

A statement released from the University of Haifa in Israel stated, “It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research,” said Gershon Galil, a professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa in Israel, who deciphered the ancient text.