Bible and Archaeology: Both Records Agree

The Reliability of the Old Testament

Lecture Objectives:

This lesson presents evidences that confirm the basic outline of Old Testament history from the Exodus to the time of Christ.

References:

Exodus 19 - Leviticus 27; Numbers 13-36; Joshua 7-15; I Samuel 9-15; I Kings; II Kings 18-25; Jeremiah 25:8-14; Isaiah 44:24-45; Ezra 6:15; Daniel 8, 11.

Questions for focus:

1. Do Moses' laws actually reflect high moral standards? Explain.

2. Why, specifically, did Israel wander in the desert for 40 years?

3. Does Archaeology and Science confirm the fall of Jericho's walls?

4. What is "carbon-14"dating?

5. What is "the period of the judges, of the Kings"?

6. Why did Israel become divided?

7. Name 5 prophets in their chronological order.

GOD'S LAW AT SINAI AND WANDERING IN THE DESERT
1447-1406 B.C.
1. Moses Received God's Law on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19 - Leviticus 27).
  1. These laws present the highest moral standards of their time.
  2. The health laws in the Old Testament show knowledge of medical science only discovered in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
2. Evidence for Location of Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia
  1. Mount Sinai, called also Mount Horeb, was located in the land of Midian. Exodus 2.15; 3.1.
  2. Josephus placed Midian on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqabas in Saudi Arabia (Intern. Standard Bible Encyl., III, 349). Archaeological excavation reveals no Midianite culture on the Sinaitic peninsula, but shows Midianite culture on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba: Frank Cross, "An Interview On Israelite Origins," Bible Review, August, 1992, p. 24-25. Paul the apostle also Mount Sinai in Arabia (Galatians 4.25).
  3. Explorer Ron Wyatt identified Jebel El Lawz, a volcanic mountain in Saudi Arabia as Mount Sinai. It has a large valley of 5,000 acres of grass in front of the mountain peak, sufficient for 3 million Israelites to camp. The Biblical description of boundary marks, an altar, and twelve pillars, and much pottery have all been found at the site (Discovered Noah's Ark, pp. 42-48. See Mr. Wyatt's video of this site).
3. Israel's Sin and Forty Years of Wandering in the Desert. Numbers 13-36
ISRAEL'S CONQUEST OF JERICHO AND CANAAN.
1407-1397 B.C.
1. The conquest of Jericho under Joshua: Book of Joshua.
2. Archaeology and science confirm that Jericho fell as described in Joshua 2-6.
  1. Carbon-14 date of 1410 B.C. confirmed 1407 B.C. Biblical date. Walls show that an earthquake twisted the foundation of the walls forward. Earthquakes are called "acts of God." Houses were built into walls as Joshua 2.15 says. (Bryant Wood, "Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho?" Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April, 1990.)
  2. Joshua chapter 3 says Jericho was destroyed at harvest time. Yet, the Jordan river stopped flowing so that allowing Israel to cross into Canaan. Much wheat conserved in jars were found in Jericho's ruin. Earthquakes at Adyma (Adam), a few miles upstream from Jericho have stopped the Jordan's flow five different times, explaining how God likely stopped the Jordan's water flow. Ibid.
3. Archaeological excavation confirms that all Canaan was conquered during the same period that Jericho fell. Joshua 7.15 (Kathleen Kenyon, Archaeology in the Holy Land, 5th Ed., p.177)
PERIOD OF THE JUDGES
1400-1050 B.C. (Judges, 1 Samuel)
1. For 350 years Israel lived in Canaan as twelve divided tribes, led by "Judges" rather than "Kings".
  1. During these 350 years Israel enjoyed peace when they obeyed God and experienced oppression when they sinned. After Joshua conquered Canaan, Canaanites reentered many large cities and occupied them (Joshua 15.63; 16.10; 17.11; 19.40-48; Judges 1.8; 21, 27-35; 3.3-4).
  2. The Israelites were called "Hebrews" because of their Hebrew language (Genesis 14.13; 39.14,17; 41.12; Exodus 1.15-19; 2.16-13; 3.18; 5.3; 7.16; 1 Samuel 4.69; 13.3,7,19; 14.11,21; 29.3).
2. Historical Proof That the Israelites (Hebrews) Occupied Canaan During the Period of the Judges.
  1. Irdrimi lived with the "Habiru-people" (Habiru=Hebrew) before becoming king. Irdrimi reigned when Pharaoh Thutmose III reigned (Ancient Far Eastern Texts, Princeton Univ. Press, 1969, p. 557). Thutmose III and Amenhotep II encountered and captured Hebrews (Habiru) in Canaan (Ibid, pp.22, 247). Though scholars date these two Egyptian kings in the mid sixteenth century, their carbon-14 related dates indicate that they lived from 1200 to 1110 B.C. during the period of the Judges: See Table B of Lesson 2.
HEBREW MONARCHY
1051-931 B.C. (1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings)
1. Saul was Israel's first King (1 Samuel 9-15) - c. 1051 B.C.
  1. Saul led Israel to fight the Philistines who lived along the coast of Palestine (1 Samuel 14, 17-18, 31). Kings of cities on the coast of Palestine wrote Pharaoh Amenhotep III, requesting aid against the Habiru (Hebrews), who were attacking their cities. (Tel El Amarna Letters, Trans. H. Winckler: Letters 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 65, 67, etc.). Amenhotep III's carbon-14 related date allows him to be, a contemporary of Saul in 1050 B.C. (See Table B).
2. David Replaces Saul as King; Writes Psalms - 1011-971 B.C.
  1. David re-conquered Palestine and made Jerusalem his new capital: 2 Samuel. an Israeli archaeologist just discovered a monument in Syria which refers to the "house of David", confirming David's historical reality (Time, 8-16-93, p.19).
  2. Canaanite king also wrote Akhenaten, son of Amenhotep III seeking aid to fight the Habiru (Hebrews=Israelites). Abdu - heba, the king of Jerusalem, wrote that the Habiru (Hebrews) conquered all of Palestine's large cities including Jerusalem (Ibid, Letters 146, 1457, 154, 170, 179-185).
  3. Akhenaten started a new religion of monotheism in Egypt and composed Psalms of praise to his God, Aten. His Psalms are similar in style to David's Psalms (Cyril Aldred, Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd Ed., II. 2.88-89). Akhenaten's carbon-14 related date allows him to be a contemporary of David: see Table B.
3. Solomon reigned as Israel's richest and wisest king (1 Kings 1-11). Solomon wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon 971-931 B.C.
  1. Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter (1 Kings 3.1). Carbon-14 dating of eighteenth dynasty kings identifies either Pharaoh Ay or Horemheb as Solomon's likely father-in-law.
  2. 1 Kings 11.19 says that Hadad, an Edomite price, married a sister of Pharaoh's wife, Tahpenes. Queen Ty, was wife of Pharaoh Ay (Cambridge Ancient History, op. cit., II. 2.70). Tey may be short for Tanpenes or Teypenes.
THE DIVIDED HEBREW KINGDOM
931-722 B.C. (1 Kings 12.1 - 2 Kings 17; and 2 Chronicles 11-28)
1. Division of the Kingdom: In the reign of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, northern Israel formed a rival kingdom: 1 Kings 12-14.
2. Kings of Judah: Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz
3. Kings of Northern Israel: Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Tiobni, Omri, Ajab, Ahaziah, Joram, Jehu, Jeohohaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, Zecharieh, Shalom Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoshea
4. Prophets: Speaking prophets: Nathan, Elijah, Elisha Writing prophets: Isaiah, Micah, Amos, Hosea, Joel, Jonah
5. Chronology: The history of 1 & 2 Kings, connected to Assyrian history, which is dated by solar eclipses, establishes "the absolute chronology of Palestine" for this period (T.C. Mitchell, Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd Ed., 1982, III. 1.442-446). F. Biblical History of the Divided Kingdom Confirmed by Assyrian history and Archaeological Discovery of 35 Points of Synchronism; See Samples below. 1 Kings 12.1 - 2 Kings 17.
  1. The Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) confirms 2 Kings 3:4-5 about King's Omri and Ahab oppressing King Mesha of Moab (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1986, III. 327-328).
  2. Shalmaneser III of Assyria mentions Israelite kings Omri, Ahab and Jehu and the Syrian kings Hadadezer (Ben-Hadad) and Hazael, all listed in 1 Kings 16 - 2 Kings 8 (Luckenbill, Tran., Ancient Records of Assyria, I.563, 611, 659, 681, 672).
  3. 2 Kings 7.5-7 says Egyptians and Hittites were allies in the reign of King Ahab (874-873 B.C.). But historians say Ramses II united with the Hittites about 1280 B.C. and that the Hittite kingdom disappeared 80 years later (Cambridge Ancient History, II. 2.226-229, 1041). But Ramses II's carbon-14 date is about 950 B.C. (See Table A, Lesson 1). Also, a monument of Ramses II shows Shalmaneser III (858-824 B.C.) side by side with Ramses II indicating Ramses II died in the 9th century, not the 13th (Ancient Near East in Pictures, Ed. J. Pritchard, p. 112).
  4. Tiglathpileser III mentions Azariah and Ahaz, kings of Judah, and also Menahem, Pekah and Hoshea, kings of Israel, and Resin, king of Aram (Syria), confirming 2 Kings 15-17 (Ancient Records of Assyria, I.769-772, 801, 815-16; II.1196).
  5. 2 Kings 17.1-5 states Shalmaneser V destroyed Samaria and deported the Israelites in 722 B.C. Isaiah 20.1-6 says Sargon conquered Ashdod. Ancient Records of Assyria II.30, confirm these Biblical statements. Excavation of Samaria confirms its destruction by the Assyrians (Avraham Negev, Ed., Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, Nelson Pub., 1986, 335-336).
  6. Many ivory plaques found by the excavators of Samaria confirm 1 Kings 22.39; 2 Kings 18.12; 19.36; Amos 1.1; 3.15; 6.4). (T.C. Mitchell, Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd Ed. III.1.507)
  7. 2 Kings 17.4 says Hoshea, king of Samaria, paid tribute to Pharaoh so just before Samaria was destroyed. Archaeologists found a vase of Pharaoh Osorkon II in the ruined palace of Samaria (Ibid). Osorkon's throne name is Sotepenamen (Petrie, History of Egypt, III.248). He is likely Pharaoh So (short for Sotepenamen) to whom Hoshea paid tribute. Carbon-14 dating allows Osorkon II to be contemporary with Hoshea.
THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH ALONE
722-586 B.C. (2 Kings 18-25; 2 Chronicles 29-36)
1. When Assyrian destroyed Samaria and northern Israel, the kingdom of Judah in the south became the only kingdom of Israel.
2. Kings & Prophets of Judah: Kings Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Josiah, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah and Prophets Obadiah, Habbakuk, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Daniel, & Ezekiel.
3. 45 Biblical characters, places & events of this period are confirmed by historical and archaeological evidences: See samples.
  1. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, conquered Lachish and 40 other Judean cities, confirming 2 Kings 18.13-15. He "caged" Hezekiah in Jerusalem, but did not capture him or Jerusalem, confirming 2 Kings 18-19. Sennacherib also named Tirhakah of Egypt and Merodach-Baladan of Babylon, confirming 2 Kings 19.9 and 20.6, 12 (Ancient Records of Assyria, II.142-43, 270-1; 313-15).
  2. The Siloam Tunnel of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20.20) was discovered with a Hebrew inscription dated to Hezekiah's time (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1988, IV.510-511).
  3. 2 Kings 19.37 says Sennacherib's sons Adrammelech and Shgarezer killed him. 2 Chronicles 33.10-13 says an Assyrian king captured Manasseh, king of Judah. Isaiah 20.1-6 predicted an Assyrian king would conquer Egypt. The records of Esharhaddon, king of Assyria, confirm all of these Biblical statements (Ancient Records of Assyria, II.501-2, 580).
  4. Assurbanipal, son of Esarhaddon, named in Ezra 4.10, says Manasseh paid him tribute. Assurbanipal also says he killed Tirhakah, king of Egypt, confirming Tirhakah's existence in Isaiah 37.9 (Ibid, II.771-775, 875-6).
  5. Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, conquered Nineveh, the capital of Assyria in 612 B.C., fulfilling the predictions of Zephaniah 1.1; 2.13-15 and Nahum 2.1-11. Babylonian records confirm that in 609 B.C. Pharaoh Necho joined forces with the Assyrian king Ashur-uballit to fight against Nabopolassar's army, as stated in Jeremiah 46.2 and 2 Kings 23.29-35 (Cambridge Ancient History, 2nd Ed., 1991, III.2.180-182, 230).
  6. Daniel 1.1-5 and 2 Chronicles 36.5-6 report that Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah and exiled Jews in 605 B.C. 2 Chronicles 36.9-10 says Babylon again captured Jerusalem and exiled Jews in 597 B.C. 2 Kings 25.2-25 says Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Babylonian records, the "Lachish Letters," archaeological excavation of Jerusalem and seal impressions of Jerahmeel and Baruch (Jeremiah 36.26) now confirm the Biblical history of these three Babylonian invasions.
THE BABYLONIAN EXILE
605-535 B.C. (2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Daniel, & Ezekiel)
1. The Bible and Babylonian records of the exile.
  1. Jeremiah 25.8-14 predicted that the Babylonian exile would last 70 years. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah in 605 B.C. and Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. Ezra 1-3 says that within a few years the Jews returned and began rebuilding Jerusalem, fulfilling Jeremiah's 70 years prediction (Ibid, pp. 230, 248-50).
  2. 2 Kings 24.15-17 says the Judean king Jehoiachin was exiled to Babylon. Babylonian records name King Jehoiachin and his sons as present in Babylon during the exile (Ibid, III.2.232).
2. The Bible and Babylonian Kings.
  1. Daniel 4 says Nebuchadnezzar boasted of his great building projects in Babylon, was removed from the throne temporarily because of insanity and was urged to be king to the poor if he wanted to remain as king. Inscriptions of Nebuchadnezzar's boasts were found by archaeologists on his excavated buildings. One inscription says he had to leave Babylon for a time because of severe "sickness." His later records tell of a "spiritual revival" he began as a "king of justice" who suppressed bribery and oppression and who helped "the weak, poor, crippled and widowed" (Ibid, III2.236-240).
  2. 2 Kings 25.27 says King Jehoiachin was released from prison when Evil-Merodach, their son of nebuchadnezzar, became king. Babylonian records confirm that he reversed his father's policy when releasing Jehoiachin in 561/562 B.C., causing much opposition among the Babylonians (Ibid, III.2.240-241).
  3. Daniel 5.29-30 is the only ancient history to report that Belshazzar was co-ruler of Babylon and was killed when Cyrus conquered the city. Excavated archives prove Belshazzar was ruling Babylon and was killed when the city fell. His father, Nabonidaas, who did not live in Babylon, has spared.
JEWS RETURN FROM BABYLONIAN EXILE UNTIL CHRISTIANITY
536 B.C.-96 A.D. (2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Haggai,Zechariah, and Malachi)
1. Jewish Freedom Under Cyrus' Decree
  1. Isaiah 44.24-45.13 predicted Cyrus's permission for Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem. Ezra 1 records Cyrus' decree. An inscription of Cyrus says he allowed the captives of Babylon from all nations to return to their lands, reconstruct their temples and worship their own gods (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 316).
2. The Jewish Attempts to Rebuild Their City and Temple.
  1. Ezra 6.15 says the Jerusalem temple was completed by order of King Darius in his 6th year. Olmstead accepted Ezra's book as accurate history and set 515/516 B.C. as Darius' 6th year. Ezra 7 says Artaxerxes authorized Ezra to sacrifice in the temple and to teach God's law. Olmstead dates Ezra's arrival in Jerusalem in 458 B.C. (History of the Persian Empire, p. 143, 304-307).
  2. nehemiah 2 says that Artaxerxes, in his 20th year, authorized Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Olmstead accepts Nehemiah as historically accurate and dates Artaxerxes' 20th year as 446 B.C. (Ibid, pp. 313-317).
  3. Nehemiah 2:19 speaks of Jerusalem's enemies Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, and Geshem, the Arab. Geshem, the Arab is identified in Arabian inscriptions as the governor of Dedan in Arabia in the reign of Artaxerxes I (Ibid, pp. 295, 316). A 407 B.C. papyrus from Elephantine mentions "the sons of Sanballat, governor of Samaria," proving Sanballat was a contemporary of nehemiah (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, IV.320-321).
3. Daniel 8, 11 predicted future Persian and Grecian Kingdoms.
  1. Daniel 11 predicted the fourth king after Cyrus would fight against Greece. Xerxes (486-465 B.C.) was the fourth king after Cyrus who fulfilled the prophecy by invading Greece (History of the Persian Empire, pp. 248-261). Esther married Xerxes and influenced Xerxes to save the Jews from annihilation: see Esther.
  2. Daniel 8.19-22 predicted the Greeks would conquer the Medo-Persians and then divide into four kingdoms. Alexander the Great conquered the Medes and Persians c.330 B.C. After his death in 323 B.C. civil war erupted. In 301 B.C., Alexander's kingdom was divided BORDERinto four as predicted by Daniel: (1)Cassander ruled Macedonia and Greece; (2)Lysimachus ruled Turkey; (3)Seleucus ruled Syria and Babylon; and (4)Ptolemy ruled Egypt and Palestine (New Encyclopedia Britannica, 1991 Edition, 20.270).
  3. Daniel 11.5 predicted that a commander of Ptolemy of Egypt (king of the south) would become the king of the north (Syria & Babylon). Seleucus was one of Ptolemy's generals but later became king of Babylon and Syria (Ibid, 10:618).
  4. Daniel 8.9-14, 23-26 and 11.21-45 predict the coming of Antiochius IV Epiphanes who desecrated the temple in Jerusalem and persecuted the Jews for 2300 days from 169 B.C. until his death in 163 B.C. (I Macabees 1-6).
4. Daniel 2, 7, 9 predict the Roman empire and Christ's kingdom.
  1. Daniel 2.40-44 and 7.23-27 predicted that the Kingdom of Christ would be set up during the fourth world empire. Since Daniel 2.37-39 named Babylon as the first empire, Rome would be the fourth (after the Medo-Persian and Grecian Empires).
  2. Jesus Christ was born in the days of Augustus Caesar (Luke 2.1-2). Augustus was the first Roman Emperor, reigning from 23 B.C. to 19 A.D. (New Encyclopedia Britannica, I.701). During the reign of Tiberias, the second Roman emperor, Jesus Christ declared that his kingdom was near and that it would arrive in the apostles' lifetime (Luke 3.1; Mark 1.15; 9.1).
  3. Daniel 9.25-26 predicted that the Christ would be killed (cut off) and that Jerusalem would be destroyed. After Jesus Christ's death, Nero ordered the invasion of Jerusalem and Vespasian and his son Titus led the Roman armies that destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Books 2-7).
  4. Daniel 7 predicted that the 11th king of Rome (4th empire) would persecute God's saints (Christians). Domitian was the eleventh emperor of Rome (Seutonius, The Twelve Caesars). Domititan declared himself to be a god and killed those who would not worship him, thus beginning a worldwide persecution against Christians ("The Martyrdom of Ignatius," Ante-Nicene Fathers, I.129).

CONCLUSION:

The entire period of Old Testament history is thus confirmed by amazing historical and scientific evidence. Even the Old Testament predictions of future events are fulfilled with remarkable accuracy. Only a few of the hundreds of Old Testament predictions are cited in this lesson. The Bible is truly worthy of acceptance as a reliable source of ancient history.

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