Archaeological Evidence for the Old Testament (For Polygamy Porter)

[_Jersey Girl]

Previously, Polygamy Porter wrote this in response to the thread "Dating the Gospels":

"Get real Joisie Goil!

Jesus was Amish, and forbade anyone from taking his picture.

Seriously, the photo above is REAL and can be verified.

The entire Bible cannot be verified, so enough of the comparing it to real tangible things like photographs.

Fun with Bible stories: Tell me this, how long did the incest last with Adam, Eve, and their kids? I wonder if Eve slept with Cain or Able? Perhaps Cain was jealous that he was second?

Too bad Jerry Springer wasn't around then.. since they lived well into their HUNDREDS back then, I wonder if one of the first son's had sex with their daughter conceived with Eve?

I dunno, I think Smith was a bit north of where the Garden of Eden is located... then again, none of this happened until after the where kicked out... perhaps it was late fall when they were kicked out and they did head south..."

Jersey Girl: Okay, Porter, you asked me to get real. Here is archaelogical evidence to support the Old Testament. You know, "real" things:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_archaeology

"[edit] Milestones prior to 1914

Biblical Archaeology began after publication by Edward Robinson (American professor of Biblical literature; 1794-1863) of his travels through Palestine during the first half of the 19th century (a time when the oldest complete Hebrew scripture only dated to the Middle Ages), which highlighted similarities between modern Arabic place-names and Biblical city names.

The Palestine Exploration Fund sponsored detailed surveys led by Charles Warren during the late 1860s (initially financed by Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts in 1864 to improve Jerusalem's sanitary conditions), which culminated with the formal publication of "The Survey of Western Palestine" from 1871-1877.

The highlight of this period was Warren's work around the Temple Mount of Jerusalem, where he discovered the foundation stones of Herod's Temple, the first Israelite inscriptions on several jar handles with LMLK seals, and water shafts under the City of David.

1890 Sir W.M.F. Petrie noticed strata exposed by waterflow adjacent to Tell el-Hesi (originally believed to be Biblical Lachish, now probably Eglon) and popularized details of pottery groups excavated therefrom. F.J. Bliss continued digging there in 1891-2.
Subsequent highlights of major sites mentioned in the Bible where excavations spanned more than one season:

1898-1900 F.J. Bliss and R.A.S. Macalister excavated 4 major sites in the Shephelah region of Israel:
Tell es-Safi (probably Biblical Gath)
Tell Zakariya (probably Biblical Azekah)
Tell ej-Judeideh (possibly Biblical Moresheth-Gath or Libnah)
Tell Sandahannah (probably Biblical Mareshah)
1902-3, 1907-9 R.A.S. Macalister excavated Gezer, where the oldest Hebrew inscription (Gezer Calendar) was found on the surface
1902-4 E. Sellin excavated Taanach
1903-5 G. Schumacher excavated Megiddo
1905-7 H. Kohl, E. Sellin, and C. Watzinger surveyed ancient synagogues in Galilee
1907-9 E. Sellin and C. Watzinger excavated Shechem
1908, 1910-1 D.G. Lyon, C.S. Fisher, and G.A. Reisner excavated Samaria
1911-3 D. Mackenzie excavated Beth Shemesh

[edit] Milestones during 1914 - 1945

Following World War I, during the British Mandate of Palestine, antiquities laws were established for Palestinian territory along with a Department of Antiquities (later to become the modern Israel Antiquities Authority) and the Palestine Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem (now named the Rockefeller Museum).

J. Garstang was instrumental in these accomplishments. W.F. Albright dominated the scholarship of this period and had long-lasting influence on Biblical historians based on his analysis of Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery.

1921-3, 1925-8, 1930-3 C.S. Fisher, A. Rowe, and G.M. Fitzgerald excavated Beth Shean
1922-3 W.F. Albright excavated Tell el-Ful (probably Biblical Gibeah)
1925-39 C.S. Fisher, P.L.O. Guy, and G. Loud excavated Megiddo
1926, 1928, 1930, 1932 W.F. Albright excavated Tell Beit Mirsim (possibly Biblical Eglon or Debir--Kirjath Sepher)
1926-7, 1929, 1932, 1935 W.F. Bade excavated Mizpah
1928-33 E. Grant excavated Beth Shemesh
1930-6 John Garstang excavated Jericho
1931-3, 1935 J. Crowfoot excavated Samaria
1932-38 J.L. Starkey excavated Lachish (the excavation terminated when he was killed by bandits near Hebron while on his way to the opening ceremonies of the Palestine Archaeological Museum)
1936-40 B. Mazar excavated Beth Shearim

[edit] Milestones during 1945 - 1967

The Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible manuscripts do not qualify as artifacts representing something mentioned in the Bible, although they are an important testimony to the antiquity of the texts, and the reliable manner in which they were preserved through the centuries.

The first seven scrolls had initially appeared on the antiquities market, but when their enormous importance was recognized, archaeologists eventually found their source in a series of caves above the Dead Sea, and subsequent searches located thousands of similar fragments.

Following the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 and the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948, Biblical Archaeology gained new momentum. The science of archaeology had been digested and refined by new excavators who conducted numerous surveys of smaller sites during the second half of the 20th century, and re-excavations at major sites using modernized techniques.

1948-50, 1952-5 J. Kaplan excavated Jaffa
1954, 1959-62 Y. Aharoni excavated Ramat Rahel
1955-8, 1968 Y. Yadin excavated Hazor
1956-7, 1959-60, 1962 J.B. Pritchard excavated Gibeon
1961-7 K. Kenyon excavated Jerusalem (City of David)
1962-7 Y. Aharoni and R. Amiran excavated Arad
1962-3, 1965-72 M. Dothan excavated Ashdod
1963-5 Y. Yadin excavated Masada
1964-74 G.E. Wright, W.G. Dever, and J. Seger excavated Gezer
This was the first Palestinian excavation to operate as a school by granting academic/college credit.

[edit] Milestones after 1967

Following the capture of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount during the Six-day War, archeologists conducted more extensive excavations within the city limits of modern Jerusalem.

One highlight in particular came from Ketef Hinnom just southwest of the Old City: two small silver scrolls uniquely preserve Biblical texts older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. Both of these amulets contain the Priestly Blessing from the Book of Numbers; one also contains a quote found in parallel verses of Exodus (20:6) and Deuteronomy (5:10 and 7:9). The same verses appear again even later in Daniel (9:4) and Nehemiah (1:5).

1968-78 B. Mazar excavated Jerusalem (southwest corner of the Temple Mount)
1969-76 Y. Aharoni and Z. Herzog excavated Beersheba
1969-82 N. Avigad excavated Jerusalem (Jewish Quarter)
1973-94 D. Ussishkin excavated Lachish
1975-82 A. Biran excavated Aroer
1977-9, 1981-9 A. Mazar and G.L. Kelm excavated Timnah
1978-85 Y. Shiloh excavated Jerusalem (City of David)
1979-80 G. Barkay excavated Ketef Hinnom
1979, 1981-2, 1984-7, 1990-1, 1993-2000 D. Livingston excavated Khirbet Nisya
1981-2, 1984-8, 1990, 1992-6 T. Dothan and S. Gitin excavated Ekron
1989-96 A. Mazar excavated Tel Beit-Shean
1996-2002, 2004-2005 A. Maeir excavated Tell es-Safi (probably Biblical Gath)
1997- A. Mazar excavated Tel Rehov
1999-2001, 2005 R.E. Tappy excavated Tel Zayit (Zeitah)
2005 O. Lipschits excavated Ramat Rahel
2005 A. Gorzalczany and G. Finkielsztejn excavated Nahal Tut

[edit] Confirmed Biblical structures

Gibeon pool (at el-Jib)
Hezekiah's tunnel under Jerusalem
Jericho's walls
A destruction of Jericho's walls dates archeologically to around 1550 BCE at the end of the Middle Bronze Age, by a siege or an earthquake in the context of a burn layer, called City IV destruction. Opinions differ as to whether they are the walls referred to in the Bible. According to a prevailing biblical chronology, the Israelites destroyed Jericho after its walls fell in around 1407 BCE. Originally, John Garstang's excavation in the 1930s dated Jericho's destruction to around 1400 BCE, in confirmation, but Kathleen Kenyon's excavation in the 1950s redated it to around 1550 BCE, a date that most archeologists support. In 1990, Bryant Wood critiqued Kenyon's work after her field notes became fully available. Observing ambiguities and relying on the only available carbon dating of the burn layer, which yielded a date of 1410 BCE plus or minus 40 years, Wood dated the destruction to this time, confirming Garstang and the biblical chronology. Unfortunately, this carbon date was itself the result of faulty calibration. In 1995, Hendrik J. Bruins and Johannes van der Plicht used high-precision radiocarbon dating for eighteen samples from Jericho, including six samples of charred cereal grains from the burn layer, and overall dated the destruction to an average 1562 BCE plus or minus 38 years.(Radiocarbon Vol. 37, Number 2, 1995.)[1][2] Kenyon's date of around 1550 BCE is more secure than ever. Scholars who link these walls to the biblical account must explain how the Israelites arrived around 1550 BCE but settled four centuries later and devise a new biblical chronology that corresponds.
Lachish siege ramp of Sennacherib
Pool of Siloam (unearthed in 2004)
Second Temple (confirmed by Western/Wailing wall constructed by Herod the Great)
Shechem temple (spanning the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age) corresponding to the "House of (the god) Baalberith" in Judges 9
19 tumuli located west of Jerusalem, undoubtedly dating to the Judean monarchy, but possibly representing sites of memorial ceremonies for the kings as mentioned in 2 Chronicles 16:14, 21:19, 32:33, and the book of Jeremiah 34:5

[edit] Artifacts from documented excavations

Arad ostraca (#18 mentions the Temple in Jerusalem)
Balaam texts (ink/paint on plaster found at Deir 'Alla in Jordan that parallels Numbers chapters 22-24)
Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, which depicts Jehu, son of Omri, and also mentions Hazael of Aram/Damascus/Syria (2 Kings 8-10)
Caiaphas (Qafa) family ossuaries (discovered in 1990 at the Jerusalem Peace Forest)
Ebla (Tell Mardikh) cuneiform archives. These include a king of Ebla named Ebrum, who some identify as the Biblical patriarch Eber (or Heber), after whom the Hebrews were named. Also reported are references to people with Semitic names and gods similar to those in the Bible. They are also rumored to contain references to the same five cities mentioned in the book of Genesis: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela/Zoar in the same order as in Genesis 14. The government of Syria continues to withhold complete publication of the texts, and this story remains a rumor. Quoting Paolo Matthiae:
The tablets cover a thousand years before Abraham, and a thousand years, even in the fourth millennium before Christ, was a very, very long time. They tell us much, but what they don't tell us - what they can't tell us - is whether the Bible is true or not. They have nothing to do with the Bible, at least not directly, and what we have here is not a biblical expedition. If we have tablets with legends similar to those of the Bible it means only that such legends existed round here long before the Bible." ( C. Bermant and M. Weitzman, Ebla: A Revelation In Archaeology, Op. Cit., p. 2.)

Ekron inscription (discovered in 1993 at Tel Miqne)
Gath ostracon
Found by A. Maeir while excavating Tell es-Safi in 2005
Incised with 9 letters representing 2 names (אלות ולת) etymologically related to Goliath (גלית)
GBON (גבען) jar handles recovered from the Gibeon pool
Some inscribed "Hananiah" may have been associated with the person mentioned in Jeremiah 28:1
Other incised names on Gibeon jar handles: Amariah, Azariah, Domla, Geder, Hananiah, Neri, Shebuel
Gemariah the son of Shaphan seal impression stamped on bulla
Found during Yigal Shiloh's excavations of Jerusalem in 1983, it probably belonged to the person recorded in Jeremiah 36:10
Hezekiah's tunnel inscription (removed from Jerusalem in 1880)
"House of David" inscription on Tel Dan Stele
It consists of three fragments: the first and largest was discovered in 1993, and two smaller fragments were discovered in 1994.)
Izbet Sartah ostracon; 2 fragments excavated in 1976
5 incised lines of 80-83 letters (readings of epigraphers vary), the last line being an abecedary
Found in the silo of an unfortified village (possibly Biblical Ebenezer 2 miles east of Philistine Aphek) occupied from 1200-1000 BC
See Chapter 3 of In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language (Hoffman 2004) for the linguistic importance of the Hebrew.
See plates in The Text of the Old Testament (Wurthwein 1995) for a facsimile of the ostracon
Jaazaniah, servant of the king (ליאזניהו עבד המלך) striated agate seal with fighting cock icon
Found in Tomb 19 at Tell en-Nasbeh (probably Biblical Mizpah)
Possibly belonged to an army captain at Mizpah mentioned in 2 Kings 25:23
Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Shobi (יהוכל בן שלמיהו בן שבי) seal impression stamped on bulla
Found during Eilat Mazar's excavations of an alleged palace of King David in 2005, it probably belonged to the person recorded in Jeremiah 37:3 and 38:1 (photo published in the August 6, 2005 edition of the Taipei Times)
Kurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III found by J.E. Taylor (British Consul at Diyarbekir) in 1861, which mentions "2,000 chariots, 10,000 foot soldiers of Ahab the Israelite" (incident not mentioned in the Bible)
Lachish ostraca
Most of these terse texts, discovered in the 1930s, depict conditions during the end of the 7th century BCE shortly before the Chaldean conquest.
Letter #3 mentions a warning from the prophet.
Letter #4 names Lachish and Azekah as among the last places being conquered as recorded in Jeremiah 34:7.
Letter #6 describes a conspiracy reminiscent of Jeremiah 38:19 and 39:9 using phraseology nearly identical to 38:4.
Lachish reliefs from Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh (depicting his conquest of it)
Mesha stele
A Moabite inscription discovered at Dhiban, Jordan, in 1868 that mentions an Israelite king, Omri. It also records vessels of YHWH as tribute.
Merneptah stela (Egyptian reference to Israelites in the land of Canaan)
Nabonidus cylinder
A cuneiform inscription found at the Temple of Shamash in Sippara that names Belshazzar as the son of the last king of Babylon
Daniel chapters 5, 7, and 8 name Belshazzar as a king, but that was probably due to Aramaic convention (e.g., the bilingual inscription on the statue of Haddayishi from Gozan calls him a "governor" in Akkadian but "king" in Aramaic); also note that Belshazzar offers third place in his kingdom as a prize rather than second
Pim weights
First specimen found by R.A.S. Macalister at Gezer; many others found since
Inscribed with a previously unknown word that facilitated a better translation of 1Samuel 13:21
Pontius Pilate inscription found in secondary use in a stairway of the Roman theater in Caesarea
"The prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, erected the Tiberium (in honor of Tiberius Caesar)"

Actual text of 3-line inscription (eroded portion in brackets is speculative but undisputed):
TIBERIEUM
[PON]TIUS PILATUS
[PRAEF]ECTUS IUDA[EA]E
Sargon II's Conquest of Samaria inscription (ANET 284) found by P.E. Botta at Khorsabad in 1843: "I besieged and conquered Samaria, led away as booty 27,290 inhabitants of it. ... The town I rebuilt better than it was before and settled therein people from countries which I myself had conquered." (2 Kings 17:23-24)
[Son of] Immer (ליהו [בן] אמר[?]) seal impression stamped on bulla
Found September 27, 2005, while sifting debris discarded from the Temple Mount of Jerusalem in 1999
May be related to a priest serving in Solomon's Temple per Jeremiah 20:1
Tiglath-Pileser III's inscriptions found by A.H. Layard at Nimrud:
ANET 282: "I received the tribute of ... Jehoahaz of Judah" (incident not mentioned in the Bible)
ANET 283: "As for Menahem I overwhelmed him ... I placed Hoshea as king over them." (alternate perspective in 2 Kings 15:19 and 17:3)
Zayit Stone
Limestone boulder incised with a Paleo-Hebrew abecedary and remnants of several other inscriptions found at Zeitah (Tel Zayit) in-situ in a stratum dated to the 10th century BC"

Is that real enough for you?

Jersey Girl

( I would have cleaned up the post after pasting the information here but I'm fairly certain you won't read it so why bother?)

[_Polygamy Porter]

Wow, I guess proof of the Bible is very important to you. Sorry if I offended.

I have seen all of the supposed "evidences". While there are more than the Book of Mormon crowd can offer, which they have ZERO, I am just not interested, as they are not concrete enough. Yeah call me a sign seeker. Whaddever :)

Besides that, god was a mean SOB in the old testament, something I do not admire.

Thanks for posting though.

[_Jersey Girl]

Wow, I guess proof of the Bible is very important to you. Sorry if I offended.

I have seen all of the supposed "evidences". While there are more than the Book of Mormon crowd can offer, which they have ZERO, I am just not interested, as they are not concrete enough. Yeah call me a sign seeker. Whaddever :)

Besides that, god was a mean SOB in the old testament, something I do not admire.

Thanks for posting though.

Porter,

Proof of the Bible isn't of great importance to me. Refuting your blather was the reason I posted this thread. I agree that the God of the Old Testament is mean. You are welcome for the post.

Jersey Girl

[_Polygamy Porter]

So then, what do think about the incest in Adam and Eve's family? I guess god deemed it OK back then?

I believe Hugh Nibley had written that he believed there were people BEFORE Adam... perhaps the idea of incest was TOO CLOSE TO HOME for him?

[_Southern Redneck]

I think the archeology issue is not as important as the Sherlock Holmes issue. If you travel to London they give you tours of the sites associated with the books on him. The specific street corners and roads. His address even exists.

That does not mean he existed does it?

The same can be said for the Middle East. We can show you the temple mount, and the Garden of gethsemane and a hole in the hill where jesus's body was supposedly laid. That, like the London settings, does not give proof to the existance of the Biblical stories.

Archeology can find old scrolls with his story, and I can find first editions of Sherlock Holmes stories.

Archeology is not a way to show if something is positively true. It can only offer evidence. More then that is needed.

Like first hand eyewitness accounts. Mathew, Mark, etc etc are good ones. I'm not sure if there are people who have seen Holmes walking the streets with Elvis. Maybe, but unlikely.

[_Jason Bourne]

How about some proof of Moses, Abraham, Adam, Eve, Isaac, Jacob, the grand empire of David or Solomon?

Jason

[_Gazelam]

The strongest evidence for anything relateing to God is found in simply asking him . That is the whole purpose of the Holy Ghost. Once he testifies of it to you, the rest is much easier.

Nice post Jersey.

[_Guardiands]

"Like first hand eyewitness accounts. Mathew, Mark, etc etc are good ones."

I dunno about you, but I don't really trust eyewitness accounts recorded decades after the event occured. heck, I don't really trust eye witness accounts minutes after events occurred. Then there is of course the debate on if they were eyewitness accounts, I'm fairly certain they were not, but recordings years later of someone else's eyewitness account.

"The strongest evidence for anything relateing to God is found in simply asking him . That is the whole purpose of the Holy Ghost. Once he testifies of it to you, the rest is much easier. "

Why is it easier? Then you're left with the question of "if" you should trust such a metaphysical experience which is very very subjective. Why should I trust mysticism/holy ghost? Why should I sacrifice objectivity for feelings? I feel the LDS church is true. But lately I see no reason why such a "feeling" should be accepted, let alone govern my life.

nah, it isn't easy once you get that witness. Every religion gets that witness for their beliefs.

[_KerryAShirts]

Guardiands:
you should trust such a metaphysical experience which is very very subjective.

Kerry:
As I taught my 2nd graders yesterday, the difference between facts and opinions, this is an opinion.

[_Mephitus]

[quote="Gazelam"]The strongest evidence for anything relateing to God is found in simply asking him . That is the whole purpose of the Holy Ghost. Once he testifies of it to you, the rest is much easier.
quote].

So the best way of knowing something is attempting to have an "emotionaly induced epiphany"?(as PP likes to put it If I recall correctly)

That argument can be used to confirm anything you want from racism, sexism, confirming the correctness of the actions of the nazi's, that the earth is flat, that santa is real, or whatever! Its not something that can be used consistantly on anything at all. If you in fact want to hedge all bets on that, then by my accounts with god(the divine), my religion is correct, and you are a member of one of the worst cults that i know.