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ARCHEOLOGY and THE BIBLE

tosca1

Member
Interesting finds that relate to things written in the Bible have been discovered by archeology. And, they're still digging....and still discovering....

Here are some of the discoveries:




King Hezekiah in the Bible: Royal Seal of Hezekiah Comes to Light


The stamped clay seal, also known as a bulla, was discovered in the Ophel excavations led by Dr. Eilat Mazar at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The bulla, which measures just over a centimeter in diameter, bears a seal impression depicting a two-winged sun disk flanked by ankh symbols and containing a Hebrew inscription that reads “Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz, king of Judah.”

Hezekiah, son and successor of Ahaz and the 13th king of Judah (reigning c. 715–686 B.C.E.), was known for his religious reforms and attempts to gain independence from the Assyrians.



In Aspects of Monotheism: How God Is One (Biblical Archaeology Society, 1997), Biblical scholar P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., summarizes Hezekiah’s religious reforms:

According to 2 Chronicles 29–32, Hezekiah began his reform in the first year of his reign; motivated by the belief that the ancient religion was not being practiced scrupulously, he ordered that the Temple of Yahweh be repaired and cleansed of niddâ (impurity). After celebrating a truly national Passover for the first time since the reign of Solomon (2 Chronicles 30:26), Hezekiah’s officials went into the countryside and dismantled the local shrines or “high places” (bamot) along with their altars, “standing stones” (masseboth) and “sacred poles” (’aásûeµrîm). The account of Hezekiah’s reform activities in 2 Kings 18:1–8 is much briefer. Although he is credited with removing the high places, the major reform is credited to Josiah (2 Kings 22:3–23:25).


Hezekiah’s attempts to save Jerusalem from Assyrian king Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 B.C.E. are chronicled in both the Bible and in Assyrian accounts. According to the Bible, Hezekiah, anticipating the attack, fortified and expanded the city’s walls and built a tunnel, known today as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, to ensure that the besieged city could still receive water (2 Chronicles 32:2–4; 2 Kings 20:20).
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org...-bible-royal-seal-of-hezekiah-comes-to-light/
 
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tosca1

Member
DEAD SEA SCROLLS


Archeology has been giving us some evidences that support the historicity of the Bible. It's a very slow process, but rewarding.


One of the most important finds in the field of biblical archaeology is the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 in the Qumran area on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea.
There are approximately 900 documents and fragments that comprise the find. The scrolls predate A.D. 100 and include a complete copy of the book of Isaiah.
The significance of the find is the age of the documents and the astonishing lack of variants to documents that have been most trustworthy such as the Masoretic Text, Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus.
The vast majority of the variants (about 99 percent) are punctuation or spelling errors.

Incredibly, none of the variants changed the meaning of the text, nor did they contain any significant theological differences.


This gives us the assurance that the text we have today in our Bible is the same as the early church had two thousand years ago. No other secular manuscripts can make the same claim.
What are some exciting discoveries in biblical archaeology?
 
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tosca1

Member
THE SONS OF JACOB

The dates for a lot of these discoveries are quite old. This high place discovery below was made in 1976.
Technology was not anywhere like what we've presently got. I suppose analysis of discoveries will go much faster now.


Dan was the fifth son of Jacob and the first son of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid (Genesis 30:1-6). During the period of Judges, the tribe of Dan migrated from their original allotment on the Mediterranean coast to the city of Laish, renamed Dan (Judges 18).[1] The site of Laish/Dan has been under excavation since 1966, directed by Avraham Biran on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The city of Dan is most famous for being the site of one of the high-places set up by Jeroboam, first king of the breakaway northern kingdom, in order to worship the golden calf.


Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in DAN.

1 Kings 12:28-29


That high place has been found and excavated by Biran (Biran 1976). The Dan high place was not only used during Israelite times, but continued as a religious center down to the Roman period.


In 1977, a very important discovery from the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd centuries BC) was made. A dedicatory inscription mentioning Dan was found some 17 meters south of the high place (Biran 1981). For the first time, the Biblical name of the site was found in an ancient inscription and, by association, the name of one of Jacob’s sons.


more.....
https://christiananswers.net/q-abr/abr-a028.html



In any event it is clear that this entire area at Tel Dan was an important Israelite cultic center. Whether it is the beth bamoth referred to in 1 Kings 12:31, as Biran believes, will no doubt continue to be debated by scholars for years to come.
Although the Biblical record is silent concerning the specific cultic acts performed at Dan and does not even specify what use was made of the Golden Calf which Jeroboam made, the archaeological evidence suggests that a large, open-air platform was used, that there were altars, incense offerings, votive offerings involving figurines, and some kind of water purification or libation rituals.1.
Biblical Archaeology: Bonus 32 - High Place of Jeroboam I
 
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tosca1

Member
CRUCIFIED MAN

Just so to be clear, the discovery isn't the remains of Jesus Christ. It gives us a clearer picture though, of the sufferings of a man being crucified.


How Jesus died: Extremely rare evidence of Roman crucifixion uncovered in Italy

Although attested to in scores of historical writings, this skeleton is only the second example providing tangible archaeological proof of the cruel method of capital punishment
How Jesus died: Extremely rare evidence of Roman crucifixion uncovered in Italy
 
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tosca1

Member
KETEF HINNOM AMULETS


Silver scrolls from the 7th century BC, containing aaronic blessings - known as the oldest text of the Hebrew Bible. They are also called, amulets (to ward off evil).



Numbers 6:24–26 contains one of the central passages of Scripture, known as the “Priestly” or “Aaronic” Benediction:

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Evidence for the antiquity of this passage has now been found.


Excavations in Jerusalem in 1979–80 by Gabriel Barkay turned up two amulets dating from the late seventh century BC.1 They were found in the fourth of several burial caves he discovered on an escarpment known as Ketef Hinnom, which overlooks the Hinnom Valley (Gehenna) just opposite Mt. Zion. Each amulet contained a rolled-up sheet of silver which, when unrolled, revealed the Priestly Benediction inscribed on them. The exact Hebrew words (translated into English) are:

May Yahweh bless you and keep you;
May Yahweh cause his face to
Shine upon you and grant you
Peace (Coogan 1995: 45).



Commented the late archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon:

This is now the earliest occurrence of a Biblical text in an extra-Biblical document, significantly predating the earliest of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is also the oldest extra-Biblical reference to YHWH, the God of Israel (1987: 124; cf. King and Stager 2001: 306)


Michael D. Coogan, professor of religious studies at Stonehill College in Massachusetts, similarly remarked that the two amulets are evidence of the antiquity of traditions preserved in the Bible; it also provides indirect evidence, as do the Dead Sea Scrolls and other manuscripts from the Second Temple period, of the accuracy of scribes who for centuries copied sacred texts (1995: 45).


Especially interesting to note is the fact that the words of the blessing, including the sacred personal name of God, were written on silver. This sheds light on Psalm 12:6: “The words of the LORD [= YHWH] are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace...” Barkay’s discovery thus shows this verse to be literally true as well as spiritually..
Associates for Biblical Research - The Blessing of the Silver Scrolls
 
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Altfish

Veteran Member
It isn't exactly revealing is it.
I think even the most ardent atheist will accept that Biblical stories are based on local events.
No one disputes that Crucifixion occurs
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a fantastic relic but prove nothing.
The Royal Seal, ok so King Hezekiah existed

I'm sorry but it is clutching at straws.
 

tosca1

Member
It isn't exactly revealing is it.
I think even the most ardent atheist will accept that Biblical stories are based on local events.
No one disputes that Crucifixion occurs
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a fantastic relic but prove nothing.
The Royal Seal, ok so King Hezekiah existed

I'm sorry but it is clutching at straws.


Separately, no....not revealing.

But cumulatively? As they pile up? Then, they are.

Circumstantial evidences become more powerful and can be conclusive, when there's many of them to reinforce each other!

They become CORROBORATIVE evidences!


here's an explanation of corroborating evidence:


Corroborating evidence (in "corroboration") is evidence that tends to support a proposition that is already supported by some initial evidence, therefore confirming the proposition.

For example, W, a witness, testifies that she saw X drive his automobile into a green car. Meanwhile Y, another witness, testifies that when he examined X's car, later that day, he noticed green paint on its fender.
Or there can be corroborating evidence related to a certain source, such as what makes an author think a certain way due to the evidence that was supplied by witnesses or objects.

Another type of corroborating evidence comes from using the Baconian method, i.e. the method of agreement, method of difference, and method of concomitant variations.

These methods are followed in experimental design. They were codified by Francis Bacon, and developed further by John Stuart Mill and consist of controlling several variables, in turn, to establish which variables are causally connected. These principles are widely used intuitively in various kinds of proofs, demonstrations and investigations, in addition to being fundamental to experimental design.

Corroborating evidence - Wikipedia
 
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sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
Separately, no....not revealing.

But cumulatively? As they pile up? Then, they are.

Circumstantial evidences become more powerful and can be conclusive, when there's many of them to reinforce each other!

They become CORROBORATIVE evidences!

To repeat the point I agree with and which does not prove anything except that in some cases Bible accounts reflect history.

I think even the most ardent atheist will accept that Biblical stories are based on local events.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Interesting finds that relate to things written in the Bible have been discovered by archeology. And, they're still digging....and still discovering....

Here are some of the discoveries:





https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org...-bible-royal-seal-of-hezekiah-comes-to-light/
Finding the seal proves that Hezekiah was likely around or at least an official bearing that name.

It does not prove anything that he may or may not of did in the least that is described in the Bible .
 

tosca1

Member
To repeat the point I agree with and which does not prove anything except that in some cases Bible accounts reflect history.


In some cases......so far, what has been discovered.

Archeology is a slow process. Also, don't forget that some parts of the world are not conducive for archeology at present due to wars.
 

tosca1

Member
Finding the seal proves that Hezekiah was around.

It does not prove anything that he may or may not of did in the least.


We do know Hezekiah was around - we can check the box for that. What he did - well, I don't know if they've already finished everything and packed up. Who knows?
But one thing we do know - Hezekiah from the Biblical narrative existed.
 

tosca1

Member
How do you deal with the clear errors in the Bible? If you are blind to them no one can take your unsupported claim of accumulation seriously at all.


What errors? Can you be more specific?
We can discuss one - but if you're bringing up a lot of so-called "errors," then you should create your own thread. I don't want this thread derailed.

This thread is for discoveries by archeology.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
We do know Hezekiah was around - we can check the box for that. What he did - well, I don't know if they've already finished everything and packed up. Who knows?
But one thing we do know - Hezekiah from the Biblical narrative existed.
You do realize there are a lot of fictional accounts of people with real names?
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
S
Circumstantial evidences become more powerful and can be conclusive, when there's many of them to reinforce each other!
That's not the way that archaeology sees circumstantial evidence.

Any amount of circumstantial evidence raises the balance of probabilities. It cannot produce certitude .....

That's not bad...... it's just increasing the probability beyond possibility.


They become CORROBORATIVE evidences!
No. Circumstantial evidence is not corroborative evidence, only Primary and Direct evidence can corroborate.

That's not bad, since much of our history is based upon 'best guess'. In the UK we held some fairly accurate guesses about Richard III, until recently his body was discovered and excavated in a Midlands car-park! We now have Direct evidence for a number of proposals.

Equally, a lack of archaeology doesn't negate anything. For instance, Nazareth was probably a bustling and busy community in the early 1st century, even though only one building foundation has been found and a number of lamps.
 
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