Adolfo Roitman, curator of the "I am Gabriel" exhibit at the Israel Museum, which will run until February 2014, says the Gabriel Revelation stone is the first example of the angel's name appearing in ink on stone, quotes AFP, "although earlier mentions of his name are found in the Dead Sea scrolls."
AFP adds, "The Gabriel Revelation stone is, in a way, like a Dead Sea scroll written on stone and it's unique in that respect," agreed museum director James Snyder.
The artifact, acquired by Swiss collector David Jeselsohn in Jordan in 2000, says AFP, is believed to have been made in an ancient Jewish community on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The tablet is 93 cm (36 inches) tall and dates back to the end of King Herod's reign and the start of the Jewish revolt against Roman rule in the first century of the Christian era.
AFP explains, the text refers mostly to an attack on Jerusalem, contains a possible prediction of a future event and reflects a messianic atmosphere. On the Gabriel stone, the angel announces himself three separate times with the words "I am Gabriel."
Authored by a scribe at a time of possible theological confusion, the result could have been renewed hope for redemption.