Archaeology

People should be aware that many Hebrew Bible verses were doubted due to lack of outside evidence, and were later substantiated by archaeology.

Accordingly, researchers should have an open mind, viewing obscure verses as being potential pointers to as-yet-undiscovered finds.

Some examples of archaeology corroborating the Hebrew Bible:

1) Before the late 1800s, the Hittites were known only from the Bible, and many critics said that they were fictitious.

In 1876 a dramatic discovery changed this view. A. H. Sayce, a British scholar, found inscriptions carved on rocks in Turkey. Ten years later, more clay tablets were found in Turkey at Boghaz-koy. German expert Hugo Winckler uncovered five temples, a fortified citadel and several big sculptures. Boghaz-koy turned out to have been the Hittite capital city.

2) Until recently, no evidence outside the Bible attested to King David's existence. Many critics questioned his existence. In 1993, an archaeologist named Dr. Avraham Biran and his team, digging at Tell Dan, discovered a black basalt stele, containing Aramaic inscriptions. Two of the lines included the phrases "The King of Israel" and "House of David." This discovery has forced critics to reconsider their view of the historicity of the Davidic kingdom. In 1994 more pieces were found, with inscriptions referring to Jehoram, the son of Ahab, ruler over Israel, and Ahaziah, who was "The ruler over the House of David." Dr. Hershel Shanks of the Biblical Archaeological Review states, "The stele brings to life the biblical text in a dramatic way."

3) At one time the 39 kings of ancient Israel and Judah were known only from the Biblical books. Some critics charged fabrication. But then came to light the royal cuneiform records of many Assyrian kings, mentioning the kings of Israel and Judah, including Omri, Ahab, Jehu, Menahem, Hoshea, Pekah, Hezekiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoram and Jehoshaphat.

4) The Assyrian king Sargon was known only from the Bible account (Isaiah 20:1). This Bible verse was discounted by critics as of no historical value. Then excavations revealed the ruins of Sargon's palace at Khorsabad, with many inscriptions. Sargon is now one of the best known of the Assyrian kings.

5) In 1934-39, excavations were conducted at ancient Mari on the Euphrates River (present-day Iraq). They found that ancient towns were named after the ancestors (Genesis ch.11) of Abraham:

The "city of Nahor" was found near the city of Haran which still exists to this day. Equally clear signs of early Hebrew residence appear in the names of other towns nearby: Serug (Assyrian Sarugi), Terah (Til Turakhi, "Mound of Terah"), and Peleg (Paliga, on the Euphrates near the mouth of the Habur).

6) The critics claimed that the Babylonian captivity never happened.

However, in 1935-38, important finds were made 30 miles from Jerusalem at a site thought to be ancient Lachish. Lachish was one of the cities recorded in the Bible as being besieged by the Babylonians at the same time as the siege of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 34:7).

Twenty-one pottery fragments were found in the latest pre-exilic levels of the site. Called the Lachish Ostraca, they were written during the Babylonian siege. Some of them are exchanges between the military commander and an outlying observation post, vividly picturing the final days of Judah's struggle against Babylon.

Since the 1930s, there has been more unearthing of Babylonian texts which describe the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The historical fact of the Babylonian captivity is now undisputed.

7) The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser the 3rd shows Jehu, king of Israel, bowing before the Assyrian king.

8) Tablets from the time of Tiglath-Pileser state that he received tribute from Jehoahaz of Judah. This is the full name of Ahaz (2 Kings 16:7).

9) A limestone relief from Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh shows the siege of Lachish.

10) The cylinder of Nabonidus, last ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, shows that his son Belshazzar was co-regent with him (Daniel 5; 7:1; 8:1). Scholars had previously scoffed at Belshazzar's very existence.

Archaeological finds, such as the Ugarit documents and those of Nuzu, Mari, Susa, Ebla, and Tel el-Amarna, have repeatedly caused doubters to retract specific claims. The entire social milieu portrayed in the Torah, once criticized as anachronistic, has been shown to be historically accurate, including customs of marriage, adoption, contracts, inheritance, purchases, utensils, modes of travel, people's names and titles, etc. Professor Gleason Archer Ph.D of Harvard University states: "In case after case where historical inaccuracy was alleged as proof of late and spurious authorship of the biblical documents, the Hebrew record has been vindicated by the results of recent excavation, and condemnatory judgment has been proved to be without foundation."

• "Whoever wrote the narrative of Joseph was quite familiar with Egyptian life, Egyptian literature and culture. In particular he was expertly informed concerning the Egyptian royal court" (Prof. Alan Sherman).
• When the French archaeologist Marcel Dieulefoy excavated Susa, he stated that the author of Esther must have been closely familiar with the details of the city and the royal palace, which by 1900 had been buried for 2300 years.
• It was asked how Cyrus' famous proclamation could be dated "the year one" (Ezra 1:1), seeing as it was made in the 21st year of his reign. But then archaeologists found inscriptions stating that when Cyrus conquered Babylon, they began to count the years from that date.
• Some saw as "unlikely" the royal curse in Ezra 6:12 made by Darius. But inscriptions were found in which more terrible curses were proclaimed by Assurbanipal, Sennacherib, Sargon and other kings.
• Some people questioned the narrative of how the Judean king Menashe was captured by the Assyrians. But in the ruins of Kuyundshik was found an inscription by Esarhaddon, enumerating 22 foreign kings that he and Assurbanipal captured, including Menashe king of Judah.
• The destruction of Sennacherib's army at the walls of Jerusalem was denied by some. But then it was found that Berosus and Herodotus both state that Sennacherib's military campaign in Judea ended in plague and defeat. It should not surprise us that the Assyrians themselves didn't record their own losses.
• The existence of the Assyrian king Pul (2 Kings 15:19) was denied. But a tablet, now in the British Museum and dated the year 22 of Darius, states that Tiglat-Pileser and Pul are the same person.
• It was claimed that the camel hadn't been domesticated in Abraham's time. But the Canophorin tablet, dating from 18th century BCE gives a list of fodder for camels and other household animals. And a cylinder seal from Mesopotamia, dating from the patriarchal era, shows riders sitting on camels.
• The term "achol et kaspeinu" ("our money was eaten," Genesis 31:15) is spoken by Rachel and Leah concerning an inheritance from their father Laban. This term is found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Five documents have been unearthed in which 18th century BCE Akkadian marriage contracts use this exact terminology, in the same context.
• The names Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Laban, Balaam and Joseph were used in the Patriarchal period and dropped out of usage thereafter. These names appear in archaeological inscriptions from that period and no later period.
• Joseph is sold for twenty pieces of silver. That was the accurate price of a slave in Joseph's time, and at no other time. Slaves were cheaper beforehand, and they got increasingly expensive later. How would a later redactor know the right price?

The above examples are among many thousands. Dr. William Albright, who was probably the foremost authority in Middle East archaeology in his time, said: "There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament."

And a quote from a researcher named Norman Geisler: "In every period of Old Testament history, we find that there is good evidence from archaeology that the Scriptures speak the truth. In many instances, the Scriptures even reflect firsthand knowledge of the times and customs it describes. While many have doubted the accuracy of the Bible, time and continued research have consistently demonstrated that the Word of God is better informed than its critics.

"In fact, while thousands of finds from the ancient world support in broad outline and often in detail the biblical picture, not one incontrovertible find has ever contradicted the Bible."

And for those who would like a little more:

• The gravesite of Abraham is known to this day, in the Machpelah at Hebron, Israel. National tradition has attested to his existence for 3800 years, and he is described by ancient non-Jewish historians as far back as 2,300 years ago. These include Berosus, Alexander Polyhistor, Melo, Eupolemus, Artapanus, Hecateus, and Nicolaus Damascenus.
• Moses is recorded by ancient non-Jewish writers going back over 2,300 years, including Hecataeus, Strabo, Alexander Polyhistor, Manetho, Apion, Chaeremon, Tacitus, and Porphyry. Non-religious ancient Jewish sources mention him too, such as Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus and Philo.
• Egypt's turmoil at the Exodus is borne out by the Ipuwer papyrus ("Pestilence is throughout the land....the river is blood, death is not scarce...there is no food...neither fruit nor herbs can be found...barley has perished...all is ruin...the statues are burned") (Professor John van Seters, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology no. 50). The Plagues were also described by ancient historians, including Herodotus and Diodorus. The Exodus is mentioned by Strabo, Berosus, Artapanus, Numenius, Justin, and Tacitus.
• Ahab, king of Israel, is identified in the Kurkh Monolith inscription of Shalmaneser the 3rd, which describes the Battle of Qarqar and mentions the "soldiers of Ahab the Israelite."
• Two imprints of the seal of Baruch ben Neriah, a scribe in the time of Jeremiah, were discovered in 1975 and 1996. They read "Of Berachyahu son of Neriyahu the scribe."
• Darius I, king of Persia, mentioned in the books of Haggai, Zechariah and Ezra, is the author of the famous Behistun inscription.
• Esarhaddon, son of Sennacherib, was king of Assyria. His name survives in his own writings, as well as in those of his son Ashurbanipal.
• Hezekiah, king of Judah, is mentioned in an inscription of Sennacherib. A signet-seal was also found bearing Hezekiah's name and title.
• Hoshea, king of Israel, was put into power by Tilgath-Pileser the 3rd, king of Assyria, as recorded in the royal annals, found in Calah.
• Jehoash, king of Israel, is mentioned in records of Adad-nirari the 3rd of Assyria as "Jehoash of Samaria."
• Jehoiachin, King of Judah, was taken captive to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar first captured Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:15). Texts from Nebuchadnezzar's southern palace record the rations given to "Jehoiachin king of the Judeans" (Ya'ukin sar Ya'udaya).
• Johanan was high priest during the reign of Darius II. His name is found in Nehemiah 12:22 and also in a letter from the Elephantine Papyri.
• Manasseh, king of Judah, is mentioned in the writings of Esarhaddon, who lists him as one of the kings who had brought him gifts and aided his conquest of Egypt.
• Menahem, king of Israel, is recorded in the annals of Tiglath-Pileser to have paid tribute to him.
• Omri, king of Israel, is mentioned on the Mesha Stele.
• Pekah, who became king of Israel after assassinating Pekahiah (2 Kings 15:25), is mentioned in the annals of Tiglath-Pileser the 3rd.
• Sanballat, governor of Samaria and the leader of the opposition which Nehemiah encountered during the rebuilding of the walls around the Temple in Jerusalem, is mentioned in the Elephantine Papyri.
• Taharqa, pharaoh of Egypt, is mentioned in 2 Kings 19:9 and Isaiah 37:9. Several contemporary sources mention him and fragments of three statues bearing his name were excavated at Nineveh. He built a temple at Kawa and describes his reign in one of the Kawa stela.
• Tattenai, governor of "Beyond the River" (Ezra 5:6) during the reign of Darius I, is known from contemporary Babylonian documents.