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Describes and interprets the Phoenician inscriptions found in different places covering the span of entire Mediterranean basin. Range and distribution of the inscriptions; Seafaring culture of the Phoenicians; Study on the Phoenician culture and its influences.

Part I. Explores the Phoenician inscriptions in an area ranging from Mesopotamia to Spain. History of the language; Distinguishing elements from other Semitic languages; Role of the Phoenicians in the development of the alphabet. INSET: Untitled (profiles the author, Donald R. Vance)..

Focuses on the discovery of a royal dedicatory temple inscription in Phoenician script that provides conclusive evidence of the identity of Ekron, one of the five capital cities of the Philistines. Names cited in the five-line inscription on a large block of stone; Discovery made at the thirteenth and final season of the Tel Miqne-Ekron project in Israel.

Discusses epigraphic and paleographic studies of Aramaic, Phoenician and Hebrew inscriptions. Comparative study of inscriptions and scripts; Geopolitical backgrounds; Main lines of development in Aramaic script; Westward spread of the alphabet.