The wording on a folded ancient lead tablet discovered on Mount Ebal has finally been deciphered. It confirms the Bible’s description of this ancient location as the mountain of cursing.
Archaeologists from Israel and America have released a report confirming how the Assyria’s King Sennacherib was able to conquer the small Judean city of Lachish. The interesting battle, recorded in Isaiah, says during his invasion of Judah, the Assyrian King was able to conquer Lachish (Isaiah 36:1-2) and then surrounded the city of Jerusalem where Sennacherib’s representatives taunted the city and Judah’s King Hezekiah with its imminent destruction if Hezekiah didn’t surrender (Isaiah 36:4-24). After King Hezekiah called on God, the prophet Isaiah delivered a prophetic word that King Sennacherib would hear of trouble brewing causing him to withdraw and return to his homeland, which is exactly what happened (Isaiah 37:5-7). The archaeologists released a report on the remains of a massive ramp that the Assyrian army built up to the city’s walls, confirming details of the Lachish’s destruction found engraved on walls in Nineveh, which was then the Assyrian capital. The large wall carving, where Sennacherib brags about his defeat of Lachish, shows a huge ramp had been built up the city’s wall, located …
Oddly, the discovery of a ritual bath, also known as a mikveh, at the Church of Gethsemane (officially called The Church of All Nations and the Basilica of the Agony) may confirm that this is the site of the Garden of Gethsemane that was visited often by Jesus and His disciples The church and associated garden, located outside the walls of Old Jerusalem, is one of the most famous pilgrimage sites in Israel and is typically visited by millions each year. The word Gethsemane means oil press and its location at the base of the Mt of Olives makes sense as the ancient Jews built their oil presses near where the olives were grown to limit handling and transportation. Both Mark (Mark 14:32-42) and Mathew (Matthew 26:36-56) referred to it as Garden of Gethsemane which would suggest the garden contained an oil press. Speaking for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), archaeologist Amit Re’em explains: “Two thousand years ago, it was a field outside the walls of Jerusalem, full [of] olive trees and in the middle of …
After the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Jewish Temple and hauled off tens of thousands of Jews into captivity, the Jews were allowed to return to Judah after the Persians conquered Babylon. The Persian king, Artaxerxes, gave Nehemiah permission to return and rebuild the city of Jerusalem that lay in ruins. It seems that Nehemiah was essentially building what would serve as an outpost and provincial administrative center for the Persian empire, which explains why the Persian King provided material assistance for the rebuilding (Nehemiah 2:1-20). Over 42,000 Jews initially returned to Jerusalem for this rebuilding (Nehemiah 7:66). However, if this was an administrative center for the Persian Empire, one thing that puzzled archaeologists was the lack of Persian artifacts in Jerusalem from this period. But according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) that all changed over the summer when archaeologists found evidence of two Persian royal seals from this period in a dig in Old Jerusalem. Seals were used to authenticate documents and goods. It involved an instrument on which the seal …
The recent sale of an ancient small clay tablet by a Norwegian collector confirms the Biblical record that Ham, one of the sons of Noah, had a son named Cush. The table discovered in the ancient city of Sumeria dates to 3000 BC sold for $235,000 at auction. The seven-centimetre square tablet not only talks about beer making, but has on its top left-hand corner what many believe is the oldest reference to a person’s name — Kushim. Some have even referred to it as the first signature ever discovered. The person’s name has been found on other tablets where he is referred to as a temple administrator. Many believe there is a connection between this name and the Biblical reference to Cush, that was the name given the oldest son of Ham, one of Noah’s three sons who survived the flood (Genesis 10:6). We are told that Cush moved onto the plains of Shinar (Genesis 11:2) that can also be translated Shumer, which is the location of what today is referred to as the …
According to archaeologists working on the site believed to include the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, they found evidence confirming the Biblical record that the two cities were destroyed by sulphur and fire: 23 The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. 24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. 25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. Genesis 19: 23-25 NASV The archaeologists, who have been working on the site for 13 years, reported discovering evidence of intense heat. This included clay and rock that had been turned into glass. This would require a brief burst of heat of between 8,000 to 12,000 degree Celsius. The archaeologists also noted that the destruction took place “in an instant,” and resulted in the stripping of the topsoil. The archaeologists added that “a super-heated brine of Dead Sea anhydride salts pushed over the landscaped by the Event’s frontal shock wave.” It is interesting that even the Biblical …
It was an incredible archaeological find in 1905 and because of it, we know that the Apostle Paul arrived in the city of Corinth some time between May 1st, 51 AD and April 30, 52 AD and he stayed in the city for about a year and a half. In Acts 18:12-17, Luke describes Paul’s visit to Corinth and his encounter with several Jews who were outraged by Paul’s arrival. Luke writes that the Jewish leaders dragged Paul before Gallio who Luke describes as the proconsul of Achaia, covering a region that included Corinth, Delphi and Athens. The Jewish leaders accused Paul of “enticing people to worship God contrary to the law.” Luke writes that this case actually annoyed Gallio who told the Jews that his job was to adjudicate matters of crime, and he was not interested in settling disputes of theology and names (obviously a reference to Paul’s claim that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah). But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a …
Archaeology keeps confirming the Biblical record by not only finding evidence of the good guys, but the bad ones as well. In 1904, archaeologists discovered a seal of Jeroboam II at an archaeological dig in Megiddo located in Northern Israel. Jeroboam II ruled Israel for about 41 years between 786 BC and 746 BC. He was the 13th King of Israel after the nation split apart into the Northern Kingdom, Israel and the Southern Kingdom, Judah. Jeroboam II should not to be confused with Jeroboam, who was Israel’s first king after the separation. The small seal actually did not belong to Jeroboam but rather a man named Shema. The seal reads: “Belonging to Shema, the servant of Jeroboam.” Only the important or the wealthy had seals, and Shema’s description as “servant of Jeroboam” indicated he was a very senior bureaucrat at Jeroboam’s palace in Samaria. Throughout the Bible, the Hebrew word “ebed,” translated “servant” on the seal, was used to describe important government officials as we see it used in 2 Kings 22:12. The description …
Archaeologists working at Atarot, located in Jordan, recently uncovered a large cylinder shaped altar dated to the 9/8 the century BC. It was created by an ancient king of Moab, one of the dreaded enemies of Israel mentioned several times in the Old Testament. Archaeologists believe the altar, found inside an ancient shrine, was used for burning incense. But as they deciphered the seven lines of script written on the altar, they discovered the oldest reference to the “Hebrews” outside the Bible. The inscription is linked to a Biblical battle mentioned in 2 Kings 3. According to the Biblical record, Israel had conquered Moab and were forcing the country to pay an annual tribute to Israel. However, when the Israeli King died (Ahab), the Moabite King decided to take advantage of the political instability to break free from Israel’s control by refusing to make the annual payment. When that happened, the new Israeli King, Jehoram, contacted Judah’s King Jehoshaphat and an unnamed King of Edom to bring Moab to heel. If the King of Moab …
Archaeologists working on the site of the Temple Mount in Old Jerusalem discovered evidence of the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem in 587/586 BC when both the city and the Temple were basically destroyed. The siege recorded in several books of Bible tells how King Nebuchadnezzar also took tens of thousands of Jews into captivity. According to the team, made up of archaeologists from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC) and Israel’s Haifa University, they discovered several evidences of the attack including a layer of ash indicating a massive burning and more importantly Scythian arrowheads that were used by Babylonian soldiers. Since the Babylonian arrowheads were mixed in with the ash it is strong evidence the burning was associated with Babylon’s attack on Jerusalem. They also found evidence of houses being left in shambles which again would be expected after the city was taken. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, UNC professor Shimon Gibson stated: “They (Scythian arrowheads) were fairly commonplace in this period and are known to be used by the Babylonian …
The remains of Lachish an ancient Jewish city is a two-day walk from Jerusalem. Recent discovering at the city have caused major problems for secularist because it is not going along with their preconceived ideas. Secularists basically don’t believe the Bible is true treating it as little more than a collection of myths. It is taken awhile but most secularists finally acknowledged that King David and King Solomon did exist, which is a big step forward because for years they didn’t even believe that. But after repeated archaeological discoveries proved them wrong, they have finally allowed the facts to speak for themselves. So they changed their tune slightly and decided the two existed, but were little more than small village warlords and not the leaders of a formidable kingdom portrayed in the Bible. But a recent discovery at Lachish is putting that notion of a tribal war lord to route. According the Biblical record, Lachish was a major fortified city in Israel during the reign of King Rehoboam. Rehoboam was Solomon’s son (grandson of King …
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