Archaeological evidences proving the accuracy of the Bible

1 1 Archaeologicalevidences provingthe accuracy of theBibleEGYPT AND THE BIBLE4 TYRE AND THE BIBLE9 BABYLON AND THE BIBLE10 PETRA AND THE BIBLE12 SAMARIA OSTRACA14 CUSTOMS AND LAWS OFNUZI15 evidence OFHEBREW KINGDOMS17 THE POOLS AT SILOAM22 THE MYSTERY OFEBLA TABLETS24 ATRAHASIS EPIC:FLOOD STORY26 GILGAMESH EPIC:FLOOD STORY30 SUMERIAN FLOOD STORY32 SUMERIAN KING LIST33 HAMMURABI CODE OF LAW34 CUNEIFORM TABLETS35 NEBO-SARSEKIM TABLET36 MERNEPTAH STELE38 PHARAOH MERNEPTAH STATUE45 ANCIENT BABYLONIA-NIMRUD48 KING ASHURNASIRPAL II49 SHALMANESER III50 SENNACHERIB KING OFASSYRIA52 SENNACHERIB HEXAGONAL PRISM55 SHISHAK-THE KARNAK TEMPLE56 RAMESSES II59 AMENOPHIS II (THUTMOSE-III)60 MOABITE STONE63 OBELISK OF SHALMANESER66 HOUSE OF DAVID INSCRIPTION68 HOUSE OF YAHWEH OSTRACON69 IVORY POMEGRANATE70 BEERSHEBA HORNED ALTAR72 BIBLICAL SODOM AND GOMORRAH73 LOCATION OF ZOAR78 LACHISH80 LACHISH LETTERS85 THE CYRUS CYLINDER87 AMULET SCROLL89 SEAL-JEROBOAM90 SEAL OF BARUCH91 PONTIUS PILATE INSCRIPTION92 BIBLICAL COINS93 EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHS94 APIS THE BULL GOD95 OSSUARY OF CAIAPHAS,HIGH PRIEST97 OSSUARY OF JAMES100 SAINT PETER'S TOMB101 BURIAL CAVE OF FIRSTCHRISTIANS103 TOMB OF KING HEROD107 EKRON INSCRIPTION110 THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS112 THE ARCH OF TITUS113 THE ARK OF NOAH116 JESUS CHRIST IN HISTORY127 ABRAHAM TAUGHT THE EGYPTIANS130 THE LUCY FRAUD134 HOMINIDS HOAXES138 CARBON-14 DATING142 BIBLICALCHRONOLOGY152 THE ORIGIN OF ALL LANGUAGES162 THE RED SEA archaeology : Ancient CivilizationBiblical archaeology really begins with the Sumerian civilization of about 2500 BC.

2 To date,numerous sites and artifacts have been uncovered that reveal a great deal about the ancientMesopotamian culture. One of the most dramatic finds is theSumerian King List, which dates toapproximately 2100 BC. This collection of clay tablets and prisms is most exciting because itdivides the Sumerian kings into two categories; those who reigned before the "great flood" andthose who reigned after it. The lists are also dramatic because they include the ages of the kingsbefore and after the "great flood," which show thesame phenomenal life spanchanges mentionedin the Bible . Actually, records of a global flood are found throughout most ancient cultures. Forinstance, theEpic of Gilgameshfrom the ancient Babylonians contains an extensive flood on clay tablets in locations such as Ninevah and Megiddo, the Epic even includes ahero who built a great ship, filled it with animals, and used birds to see if the water had receded(see Genesis 7-8).

3 What has been discovered in biblical lands is strongly supportive of the date, over25,000 sites in biblical lands have been discoveredthat verify the accuracy of archaeology : Ancient Law & CultureBiblical archaeology continues with the great military civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia andtheir ultimate impact on law and culture throughout the region. One significant find is theLawCode of Hammurabi, which is a seven foot tall, black diorite carving containing about 300 laws ofBabylon's King Hammurabi (Hammurapi). Dated to about 1750 BC, the Law Code contains manycivil laws that are similar to those found in the first five books of the Bible . Another find at theancient city ofNuzinear the Tigris River uncovered approximately 20,000 clay tablets. Datedbetween 1500 and 1400 BC, thesecuneiformtexts explain the culture and customs of the time,many of which are similar to those found in the early books of the archaeology : Ancient IsraelBiblical archaeology then turns to the evidence for the early Israelites.

4 TheMerneptah Stele(alsoknown as the Israel Stele) is an upright stone slab measuring over seven feet tall that containscarved hieroglyphic text dating to approximately 1230 BC. The Egyptian stele describesthemilitary victories of PharaohMerneptah and includes the earliest mention of "Israel" outside the specific battles covered by the stele are not included in the Bible , the steleestablishes extra-biblical evidence that the Israeliteswere already living as a people in ancientCanaan by 1230 BC. In addition to the Stele, a large wall picture was discovered in the greatKarnak Templeof Luxor (ancient Thebes), whichshows battle scenes between the Egyptiansand Israelites. These sceneshave also been attributed to Pharaoh Merneptah and date toapproximately 1209 BC. The Karnak Temple also contains records of Pharaoh Shishak's militaryvictories about 280 years later. Specifically, theShishak Reliefdepicts Egypt's victory over KingRehoboam in about 925 BC, when Solomon's Temple in Judah was plundered.

5 This is the exactevent mentioned in 1 Kings 14 and 2 Chronicles Egypt, we also discover a wealth of evidence for the early Israelites. TheMoabite Stone(Mesha Stele)is a three-foot stone slab discovered near Dibon ,East of the Dead Sea, thatdescribes the reign ofMesha, King of Moab, around 850 BC. According to Genesis 19, theMoabites were neighbors of the Israelites. The stele covers victories byKing Omri and Ahab ofIsrael against Moab, and Mesha's later victories on behalf of Moab against King Ahab's3descendants (2 Kings 3). TheBlack Obelisk of Shalmaneseris a seven-foot, four-sided pillar ofbasalt that describes the victories of King Shalmaneser III of Assyria. Datedto about 841 BC, theObelisk was discovered in the ancient palace of Nimrud andshows Israel's King Jehu kneelingbefore the Assyrian kingin humble tribute (see 2 Kings 9-10).Biblical archaeology : The House of David and Solomon's TempleBiblical archaeology covering ancient Israeli kings and culture received a huge lift in 1994 whenarchaeologists discovered a stoneinscription at the ancient city of Dan, which refers to the"House of David.

6 "The House of David Inscription (Tel Dan Inscription)is important because it'sthe first ancient reference to King David outside the Bible . Specifically,the stone is a victorypillarof a King in Damascus dated about 250 years after David's reign, which mentions a "king ofIsrael" (probably Joram, son of Ahab) and aking of the "House of David" (probably Ahaziah ofJudah). Another important find is theHouse of Yahweh Ostracon, which is a pottery shard datedto about 800 BC thatcontains a written receipt for a donation of silver shekels to Solomon'sTemple. Writtenapproximately 130 years after the completion of the Temple, this appears to bethe earliest mention of Solomon's Temple outside the and the BibleTheBiblestoriesconcerningtherelatio nship of God'speople with Egypthave been subject to much ridicule. CriticsregardBiblicalstories,suchastheac counts of Joseph and the Exodus, stones of archaeology were silentwitnesses to the dramas of the past, and itwas only after 1799, whenthe RosettaStone was discovered, that the ancientrecords could be deciphered.

7 It took Jean-Fran ois Champollion 20 years to decipher theancient hieroglyphics from the Rosetta Stone. The Stone was unique in that three languageswere inscribed upon it, each telling the same story. The science of archaeology is thus afledgling science, and most of its treasures have only been subject to scrutiny in the last it is possible to not only read hieroglyphics, but also the ancient cuneiform , the ancient relics have succeeded in silencing many of the Biblical critics. Theharmony between Scripture and Archaeological findings has shed new light uponthe thestory of Joseph, it is known that the Semitic Hyksosoverthrew the Egyptiandynasties from the year 1780 BC to 1545 BC, aperiod of just over a quarter of a century. Duringthis time, it would have been possible for a Semiteto reach the position of prestige occupied byJoseph.

8 In recent times, frescoes have been foundin Egyptian tombs depicting fat and thin cows, andinscriptions have been found referring to sevenlean and seven opulent years, making this Biblicalstory more than just a myth. One of the mostexciting stories in Scripture, however,is to Biblical chronology, Moses was bornin 1530 BC, during the reign of Tutmoses I, whoruled from 1532 to 1508 BC. Tutmoses I was thethird pharaoh of the18th dynasty. The firstpharoahwasAmoses 1570 to 1553 BC, followed by Amenhotep 1553 to 1532 BC, who was the father ofTutmoses I. This is the pharaoh who issued the decree that all the sons born to the Israeliteswere to be thrown into the river, but that girls were permitted to live (Exodus 1:22).5 Aaron, the brother of Moses, was born in 1533 BC, prior to the reign of Tutmoses I, and he hadthus escaped the vicious decree. According to Biblical chronology, Moses fled Egypt40 yearsafter his birth in 1490 BC (Remember, we have to calculate backwards, as we are dealing withthe time before Christ).

9 Exodus 2:15 tells us about Pharaoh's reaction:"When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh, and went tolive in Midian" (NIV).It was here, in Midian of Sinai, that the Lord revealed Himself toMoses. Two pharaohs reigned simultaneously during the exile ofMoses. Tutmoses I, who issued the decree to kill the newborn sonsof the Israelites, was the father of Hatshepsut, the princess who isthe most likely candidate for having found Moses in the Nile. It isprobable that Moses grew up as a foster child in the house ofPharaoh. Tutmoses I had no sons, and, upon his death in 1508 BC,Moses could have become the pharaoh, but he declined. Acts 7:20tells us, "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,and was powerful in speech and action."In Hebrews 11:24,we are told, "By faithMoses, when he hadgrown up, refused tobe known as the sonofPharaoh'sdaughter.

10 "After Moses' refusal,Tutmoses II (the husband of Hatshepsut) becamepharaoh, but he only ruled from 1508 to 1504 BC,a period of just four years. Again, Moses couldhave become pharaoh, but again he herself became the next mortuary temple is at Deir el Bahri, and sheruled Egypt from 1504 to 1482 BC; a totalof 22years. The illegitimate son of Hatshepsut'shusband became co-regent together with her. Hewas Tutmoses III, who was favoured by theEgyptian story of Hatshepsut is a sad story. In 1488,six years prior to her death, all official records ofHatshepsut ceased. Her royal wall paintings on6the walls of her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri were defaced, and her statues were this day, only a few small busts have been found. Such drastic action was only taken ifpharaohs were disloyal to Egyptian deities. It is probable that Hatshepsut adopted the Hebrewreligion in 1488, when Egyptian documentation about her ceased.