All posts tagged: Bible archaeology

King Jehoiachin’s ration cards discovered at the ancient site of Babylon

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The last few verses of 2 Kings explains what happened to Jehoiachin, the king of Judah after Nebuchadnezzar hauled Jehoiachin and his family into captivity around 597 BC. King Jehoiachin was 18 years old when the Babylonians invaded after Jehoiachin’s father, who was serving as a vassal king to Babylon, decided to rebel and no longer pay tribute (2 Kings 24:1). At this point, Jehoiachin had only been on the throne three months and immediately surrendered to the invaders. Nebuchadnezzar installed Jehoiachin’s uncle, Mattaniah to serve as the puppet king of Judah and renamed him Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:8-17). But while Jehoiachin was in captivity we read that he was treated well by the Babylonians, particularly after Evil-Merodach (also known as Amel-Marduk) became king upon the death of his father, Nebuchadnezzar. Evil-Merodach released Jehoiachin from prison and placed him under soft house arrest and allowed Jehoiachin to eat with the King, treating him better than the other kings taken captive. We are also told that Evil-Merodach gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance. 27 Now it came about …

It’s confirmed: The Moabite Stone does mention King David

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The Mesha or Moabite Stone was discovered in 1868 and is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The monument, which is 3.8 feet (1.15 meters) high, provides a description of the battle, from a Moabite perspective, that King Mesha had with Israel, an event recorded in 2 Kings 3. Discovered 17 miles east of the Dead Sea, the stone was heavily damaged after discovery but not before researchers created a paper mache copy. Since its discovery, the stone has been extensively studied, because of its connection to the Biblical story. Many claimed it actually referred to King David, Jehovah and the altar of David. However, due to the damage, this has been disputed, because in several instances letters were missing, and researchers were left filling in the blanks with educated guesses. There are some archaeologists who don’t believe that King David and King Solomon actually existed, and this stone provided concrete evidence they did. In 2015, researchers from the University of California’s West Semitic Research Project took Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) scans …

Archaeologists discover rare inscription, Jerubbaal, from the time of the Judges

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Israel’s period of the Judges represents arguably the dark ages in Israel’s history. It ranges from the end of Joshua’s rule to the installation of King Saul. It was a time, when Israel was being dominated by foreign invaders resulting in a breakdown in society, where everyone did what was right in their own eyes as the Hebrew people left the worship of God and chased after idols. Judges chapter 2 provides an interesting description of the generation that followed Joshua writing: 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. … In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Though they were experiencing God’s judgment during this chaotic period, at times God raised up leaders, …

Discoveries at the Tel of Dan confirm the Biblical record

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The Tel of Dan is considered one of the great Bible archaeological finds in recent years. Located in Northern Israel, near the borders of Lebanon and Syria, the site has been conclusively proven to be the city of Dan, that represented the main city for the Tribe of Dan, one of the 12 sons of Israel. Before the city was taken over by the Tribe of Dan, it went by the name of Laish (Judges 18:7). When the Tribe of Dan claimed the area, the city was attacked, the inhabitants driven out, and the city was rebuilt and it became synonymous with the tribe. However, through most of its existence, the Tribe of Dan struggled with idolatry and when Israel and Judah were divided into two kingdoms, Jeroboam, the first King of Israel, set up golden idols at both Bethel and Dan (2 Kings 10:29). This was done in an effort to break the ties of the Jews living in Israel to Jerusalem and the Jewish temple. But the excavations at the city of Dan, …

Apostle Peter’s house in Bethaisda discovered?

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Archaeologists working with Nyack College’s Center for the Study of Ancient Judaism and Christianity and Israel’s Kinnert College recently announced they had discovered what was thought to be the Apostle Peter’s home in Bethsaida. What the archaeologists actually discovered was the remains of an ancient Byzantium church that they believe was originally built over top of the birth home of Peter and Andrew, disciples of Christ. Though Peter eventually moved to nearby Capernaum, the Gospel of John reports that he his brother were originally from Bethsaida: 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. (John 1:44 NASV) The archaeological team led by Mordechai Aviam is referring to the Church of the Apostle referenced by a man named Willibald in 725 AD. He was the Bishop of Eichstaett located in Bavaria. During a pilgrimage to Jerusalem he wrote of visiting the Church of the Apostle in Bethsaida while sailing from Capernaum to Kuris on the Sea of Galilee. He noted specifically the church was built over the original home of Peter and …

The Siege of Jerusalem by David Roberts (1764-1864) Source: Wikipedia

Bulla confirms existence of Jerusalem’s false prophet Ben Pashur

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In 2008, Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced a remarkable discovery. While working near a guard tower from the remains of King David’s ancient palace, her team discovered a bulla with the name Ben Pashur inscribed on it. People of importance had seals which they imprinted either on wet clay or wax that would seal an official document verifying its authorship and authenticity. In this case, the seal with Pashur’s name on it had been imprinted in clay. But Mazar was amazed it had survived. The bulla should have dissolved in damp ground surrounding it, but it didn’t. This was because it had been hardened in a fire that undoubtedly destroyed the document that it was sealing, but preserved the bulla. But there was more to this story. In 2006, at this very same location, Mazur’s team had discovered another bulla with the name Yehuchal ben Shelemayahu on it. Similar to Pashur’s bulla it had been fired and preserved as well. Both bullas are in pristine condition and there is no doubt who they belong too …

The Mespotamia Valley where Abraham and Sarah lived before God called them on their journey of faith: Credit: Hassan Janall U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Wikipedia

Faith through doubt: 4,000 year old marriage contract confirms story of Ishmael

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Español: La fe a través de la duda: contrato de matrimonio de 4.000 años de antigüedad confirma la historia de Ismael Though the patriarch Abraham and wife Sarah ended up in the ‘Faith Hall of Fame’ (Hebrews 11:8-11), their lives were far from a perfect display of faith. God had promised Abraham and his wife Sarah a son out of which would come a great nation (Genesis 17). Though they clung to this promise, there were times when they doubted God and took matters into their own hands. One of these moments involved Hagar, Sarah’s personal maid: Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. (Genesis 16: 1-2 NASV) Sarah told Abraham to impregnate her slave who would serve as a surrogate and have a child that Sarah would …

Yet another confirmation of the Hebrews exodus out of Egypt?

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Español: ¿Otra confirmación del éxodo de los judíos de Egipto? When you read of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt in the Book of Exodus, the Bible records the country undergoing ten significant plagues or judgments before the Egyptian Pharaoh finally allowed the Jews to leave. The plagues were catastrophic and some have suggested that something of this magnitude should be mentioned in the Egyptian records. And in fact there is. First we have the Leiden I 344 papyrus on display at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Holland. It presents the Exodus plagues from an Egyptian perspective.  It refers to six of the plagues including the water turning to blood and a massive darkness on the land. However, there is yet a another artifact that supports the Exodus account. It is called the “Ahmose Tempest Stela” or “Storm Stela.” The broken pieces of the stela were discovered between 1947 and 1951.  A stela is an upright slab of rock used to remember or commemorate significant events in a nation’s history. In his article, …