Early history of the alphabet : an introduction to West Semitic epigraphy and palaeography / by Joseph Naveh.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

I. Introduction : 1. Inscriptions and Manuscripts - 2. Epigraphy and Palaeography - 3. The Development of Scripts and Script Styles - 4. Semitic Languages and Scripts -- II. The Rise of the Semitic Script : 1. Ackground : a. Sumerian cuneiform writing - b. Egyptian hieroglyphic script - c. The Hittite "hieroglyphic" script - d. The Cretan script - e. Undeciphered scripts in Syria-Palestine - 2. The Beginnings of the Alphabet -- III. The South Semitic Scripts -- IV. The West Semitic Scripts : 1. The Phoenician Script - 2. The Hebrew Script - 3. The Aramaic Script - 4. Comparative Aspects of the Phoenician, Hebrew and Aramaic Scripts - 5. The Scripts of Israel's Neighbours - 6. The Change from Hebrew to Jewish Script -- V. The Development of the Later Aramaic Offshoots : 1. Aramaic Writing in the Iranian World - 2. The Aramaic Script in the East : a. The South Mesopotamian branch - b. The North Mesopotamian branch - c. The Palmyrene-Syriac branch - 3. The Nabataean Script and the Rise of the Arabic Script - 4. The Jewish Script -- VI. The Antiquity of the Greek Alphabet.