10 archaeological discoveries that support biblical stories

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Archaeologists, of course, cannot prove that the Bible is completely true, but they often make discoveries that help to better understand or interpret some biblical events. Many artifacts found by scientists actually confirm the events described in the Book of Books.

1. Great Flood

In the scientific community, there is an opinion that the source of the story of the Biblical Flood, most likely, was the destructive flood in Mesopotamia. If this is true, then the scale of such a flood was simply exaggerated in the imagination of the authors of this story. During excavations in 1928-1929 in southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), British archaeologist Leonard Woolley discovered a 3 meter layer of silt dating from 4000 to 3500 BC. in the ancient city of Ur.

Woolley interpreted this as evidence of a biblical flood. Similar evidence has been found in many other places in the region, but dates back to different years. Floods in Mesopotamia were frequent. While there is no archaeological evidence for a planetary flood, there is evidence of catastrophic flooding (or several) in Mesopotamia.

2. Genealogy of Abraham

The story of Abraham begins with how he and his family lived in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, from where he moved to Canaan. In the second half of Genesis, there is a fairly detailed account of the family tree of Abraham, and dozens of names are mentioned. Modern historians believe that Abraham must have lived somewhere between 2000 and 1500 BC. During excavations in Mari, an ancient city on the Euphrates (territory of modern Syria), the ruins of an imposing royal palace and thousands of tablets that were once part of the royal archives were discovered.

After examining the tablets from the archives of Mari, which dates from 2300 - 1760 BC, it was discovered that names were used in this area, found in the genealogy of Abraham. This finding does not support the validity of Abraham's family tree, but it does suggest that the story cannot be entirely fictional.

3. The maid of Abraham

In Genesis, it is said that Abraham's wife Sarah could not have children. She agreed that Abraham should take a second wife, who could give birth to him a son - an Egyptian maid named Hagar. This practice is supported by many texts found by archaeologists. In the "Texts of Alalah" (18th century BC) and even the "Code of Hammurabi" it is said that this was a generally accepted custom.

The Nuzi tablets, which were found in ancient Hurrian excavations in modern Iraq, date from the second half of the 15th century BC. These texts mention that a barren wife could provide a slave for her husband to give birth to a son.

4. City of Sodom

Genesis describes the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the sins of their inhabitants. A group of archaeologists believe they have discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Sodom, located in Tell el-Hammam, east of the Jordan River. The age of the excavated ruins is consistent with the early historical period of the Bible (3500 - 1540 BC). Its location is not the only reason why the ruins were considered the ancient city of Sodom. Archaeologists believe that the city was suddenly abandoned by the end of the Middle Bronze Age, consistent with the biblical picture of the destruction of Sodom.

5. The Silver Scrolls of Ketef Hinnom

The Ketef Hinnom archaeological site is a complex of a series of rock burial chambers located southwest of the Old City of Jerusalem, on the road to Bethlehem. In 1979, archaeologists made an important discovery at the site: they found two silver plates rolled up like scrolls. They were inscribed in Old Hebrew. These scrolls are believed to have been used as amulets and date from the 7th century BC. The texts on these amulets contain the oldest extant quotations from the Torah.

6. Inscriptions Deir Alla

During the Exodus, the Israelites passed through the Sinai Peninsula and reached the kingdoms of Edom and Moab. There is a chapter in Numbers that tells how the king of Moab, disturbed by the presence of the Israelites, asked a prophet named Balaam to curse the people of Israel. About 8 km from the Jordan River, a Bronze Age sanctuary called Deir Alla has been excavated. An ancient Aramaic inscription was found in the sanctuary, which actually contained the prophetic curse of Balaam. The inscription describes a divine vision, anticipated destruction and the punishment for it "malevolent gods".

7. Captivity of the Samaritans

Samaria fell to the Assyrians in 722 BC. Assyrian records state that King Sargon II captured 27,290 prisoners and sent them into exile in various places under the control of the Assyrians, including Halah and Havor. This event is confirmed by the texts of the "Book of Kings", as well as some material evidence. In the Mesopotamian excavations, archaeologists have found fragments of pottery, on the surface of which the names of the Israelites were written.

8. Assyrian invasion

In 701 BC, the Assyrian king Sennacherib invaded Judea. Many cities fell under the onslaught of his army, including Lachish, which is mentioned in the Book of Kings. After the siege, the city was captured by the Assyrians, and several archaeological finds are fully consistent with this event. At the site of Lachish, archaeologists have discovered arrowheads, siege structures, helmets, and a chain that the defenders used against the siege ram. And on the site of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh (northern Iraq), reliefs and sculptures were found depicting the capture of Lachish.

9. End of the Babylonian exile

When the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great captured Babylon in 539 BC, he ordered the release of the Jews and members of other nations who were in captivity. This historical episode is described in the Book of Ezra. There are also other historical documents that describe the policy of Cyrus the Great regarding allowing many of the Babylonians to return to their homeland. One of the most famous of these documents is the Cyrus Cylinder - a small clay cylinder on which Cyrus ordered to knock out in cuneiform a list of his victories and merciful deeds.

10. Herod's palace

Traces of Herod the Great's ambitious building projects are found throughout Palestine. What was believed to be the remains of King Herod's palace was discovered during excavations in an abandoned building in the Old City of Jerusalem, near the Tower of David. The main significance of this find is that it was in this place that the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to death.

And in continuation of the topic, we decided to remember 10 paintings by famous artists on biblical themes.