Sunday Sermons
Archaeology and the Old Testament
Archaeology and The Old Testament
The Bible asserts that it contains the truth and is not a collection of myths or uninspired and fallible writings (“All Scripture is inspired of God” 2 Timothy 3:16; “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales” 2 Peter 1:16; “Thy word is truth” (John 17:17; “The sum of Thy word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). In addition, the Bible claims that what it records is not a collection of unknown happenings, but rather, “For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner” (Acts 26:26). The very fact that so many of the events of the Bible took place in the heart of the ancient world, we should not be surprised that there exist other documents or records that endorse what the Bible says happened. In addition, the Bible claims that the human race not only goes back to Noah’s three sons, but also to the original couple, Adam and Eve. If this is true, then other cultures should contain some of the same stories that the Bible contains (Romans 1:18-32). Many critical views about the Bible have been overturned by archaeological discoveries. For example, it was long believed that the Bible was in error when it spoke about the Hittites(Genesis 23:10), however since the discovering of the Hittite library in Turkey (1906 A.D.) this is no longer the case.
Genesis 1-11
The opening chapters of Genesis have been typically accused of being mythical by the critics of the Bible, yet other Creation accounts do exist, which show many similarities with Genesis, but also many differences. For example the Babylonian account describes the creation as the product of a conflict among finite gods. When one god is defeated and split in half, the River Euphrates flows from one eye and the Tigris from the other. These tales display the kind of distortion and embellishment to be expected when the original account (Genesis) ended up distorted in other cultures. The recent discoveries of creation accounts at Ebla, which contain a library of 16,000 clay tablets that predate the Babylonian account by about 600 years, demonstrate that the farther back we go in secular society the closer we get to Genesis. For example, the Elba accounts speak of One Being who created the heavens, moon, stars, and earth. The people of Ebla also believed in creation from nothing (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3).
The Flood: Genesis 6-9
Similar flood accounts are found all over the world. The flood account is told by the Greeks, the Hindus, the Chinese, the Mexicans, the Algonquins, and the Hawaiians, and the basic story is the same. A man is told to build a ship to specific dimensions because God(s) are going to flood the world. He does it, rides out the storm, and offers sacrifice upon exiting the boat. The Deity (-ies) respond with remorse over the destruction of life, and make a covenant with the man. One list of Sumerian kings treats the flood as a historical reference point. After naming eight kings who lived extraordinary long lives, this sentence interrupts the list, “Then the Flood swept over the earth”. There are many good reasons to believe that Genesis contains the true and original flood account. Only in Genesis is the year of the flood given (Genesis 7:6). In fact, Genesis reads almost like a diary or ship’s log of events (Genesis 7:6,11-12,24; 8:3-5,13). The ship described in the Babylonian account was a giant cube which could not have saved anyone, with it turning on every side. However, the Biblical ark was very sea-worthy. Modern stability tests have shown that such a vessel could take up to 200 foot high waves and could tip as much as 90 degrees and still right itself. One former naval architect concluded, “Noah’s Ark was extremely stable, more stable in fact, than modern shipping” (Was Noah’s Ark Stable? Creation Research Society Quarterly, 14, September 1977, David Collins). Another difference between Genesis and the other versions is that in these accounts the hero is granted immortality and is exalted. The Bible moves on to Noah’s drunkenness (Genesis 9), only a version that seeks to tell the truth would include this realistic admission. In addition, there is geological evidence to support a worldwide flood. Partial skeletons of recent animals are found in deep fissures in several parts of the world and the flood seems to be the best explanation for these. This would explain how these fissures occur even in hills of considerable height, and they extend from 140 to 300 feet. Since no skeleton is complete, it is safe to conclude that none of these animals fell into these fissures alive. Yet because of the calcite cementing of these diverse bones together, they must have been deposited under water.
The Tower of Babel: Genesis 11:1-9
There is considerable evidence now that the world did indeed have a single language at one time. Sumerian literature alludes to this several times. In fact, archaeology has revealed that the King of Ur from about 2004-2007 B.C. supposedly received orders to build a great temple tower. Another clay tablet states that the erection of the tower offended the gods, so they threw down what the men had built, scattered them abroad, and made their speech strange.
The Patriarchs
The Mari letters reveal the existence of such names as Abraham, Jacob, and the Benjamites. These letters also support the record of the war fought in (Genesis 14). For example Genesis 14:1 mentions an Amorite king Arioch; the Mari documents render the king’s name “Ariwwuk”. The Ebla tablets (found in Syria) date from the third millennium B.C., and contain the names of the cities Ur, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the personal names, Adam, Eve and Noah. One of the most important contributions of modern archaeology is the information that is given about the laws and customs of the people. For example, Sarah’s actions inGenesis 16:1-3 were a common custom of the time. It was quite common for the man’s wife to take a slave woman and present her to her husband in order to raise up a child for herself. If a man had no son he would normally adopt an heir (Genesis 15:2-3).
Sodom and Gomorrah: Genesis 19
In the Ebla tablets they are mentioned as real cities with which other cities of the time traded. Critics of the Bible for years argued that these cities were mythical and never existed, but recent evidence reveals that all five cities of the plain were in fact centers of commerce in the area, and were geographically situated as the Scriptures say (Genesis 13:10-12). Geological evidence in this area points to tremendous earthquake activity, layers of sedimentary rock have been molded together by intense heat, and various layers of earth have in the past been disrupted and were hurled high into the air. The Bible says, “The Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire” (Genesis 19:24).
King Saul
Saul became the first king over Israel, and his fortress at Gibeah has been excavated. One of the most noteworthy finds was that slingshots were one of the most important weapons of the day. This relates not only to David’s victory over Goliath, but to the reference in Judges 20:16 that there were seven hundred expert slingers who “could sling a stone at a hair and not miss”. Upon Saul’s death, his armor was put in the temple of Ashtaroth (a Canaanite fertility goddess) at Bethshan (1 Samuel 31:10), while Chronciles informs us that his head was put in the temple of Dagon (1 Chronciles 10:10), the Philistine corn god. For years, critics argued that this was a contradiction. However, excavations have found that there are two temples at Bethshan that are separated by a hallway: one for Dagon, and the other for Ashtaroth. It appears that the Philistines had adopted the Canaanite goddess.
King David
The capture of Jerusalem is one of the great accomplishments of David’s reign and is recorded in 2 Samuel 5. In that chapter David says, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites…through the water tunnel” (5:8). A water shaft was actually discovered and is now called “Warren’s Shaft”, from which David’s men could have entered and taken the Jebusite city.
King Solomon
The excavation of the city of Gezer in 1969 ran across a massive layer of ash that covered most of the site. Sifting through the ash yielded pieces of Hebrew, Egyptian, and Philistine artifacts. Apparently, all three cultures had been there at the same time. The Bible reveals that Pharaoh attached Gezer during the time of Solomon, set it on fire, killed the Canaanite inhabitants and then gave the city of Solomon as a wedding gift to his daughter (1 Kings 9:16).
Divided Kingdom Period
Much was learned about this period of time from the excavation of Assyrian palaces. 26,000 tablets were unearthed in the former palace of Ashurbanipal, son of the Esarhaddon who took the northern tribes into captivity in 722 B.C. Several of these records only confirm the Bible’s accuracy. Every reference in the Old Testament to an Assyrian king has proven correct, even kings like Sargon who were previously unknown outside the Bible. His palace has been excavated and there is a wall painting of the battle mentioned in Isaiah 20. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser mentions and depicts Jehu king of Israel bowing down to the king of Assyria. The siege of Jerusalem mentioned in 2 Kings 18-19 is also described in detail. The Sennacherib wrote, “As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke. I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the countless small villages in their vicinity. Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem, his royal residence, like a bird in a cage”. Sennacherib failed to take the city, but he found a way to make himself sound good without admitting defeat. The Moabite Stone is the Moabite account of what happened in 2 Kings chapter 3, and mentioned Omri king of Israel and his son Ahab. King Ahab is also mentioned in Assyrian documents. The Bible mentions that Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, was killed by an usurper, Hazael (2 Kings 8:15). To this the Assyrian records agree, when Shalmaneser III refers to Hazael as, “the son of nobody”. The record says, “Hazael a son of nobody, seized the throne”.
The Captivity
Records found in Babylon’s famous hanging gardens have shown that Jehoiachin and his five sons were being given a monthly ration, place to live and were treated well (2 Kings 25:27-30). The name of Belshazzar caused some people problems, because there was not any mention of this Babylonian king outside of the Bible. However, recent records indicate that Nabodonius appointed his son Belshazzar (Daniel 5), to reign for a few years in his absence. The edict given by Cyrus, recorded in Ezra 1seemed to fit the picture of Isaiah’s prophecies too well to be real, until a cylinder was found that confirmed the decree in all the important details. Thousands of finds from the ancient world support either in broad outline or in minute detail the Biblical account, yet not one contradicts the Bible.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.ch-of-christ.beaverton.or.us
