Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.
...As yet not satisfactorily deciphered, the small number of different Sinaitic symbols appear to indicate that the writing system was alphabetic rather than ideographic. In 1916 British Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner tentatively deciphered one group of symbols as the name of a Semitic female deity, Baʿalat; this conclusion was based on similarities in letter form between the Sinaitic symbols...
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.