Over the years there have been many criticisms leveled against the Bible concerning its historical reliability. These criticisms are usually based on a lack of evidence from outside sources to confirm the Biblical record. Many scholars take the position that since the Bible is a religious book it is biased and cannot be trusted unless we have corroborating evidence from extra-Biblical sources. In other words, the Bible is guilty until proven innocent, and a lack of outside evidence places the Biblical account in doubt.

          This standard is far different from that applied to other ancient documents, even though many, if not most, have a religious element. They are considered to be accurate, unless there is evidence to show that they are not. Although it is not possible to verify every incident in the Bible, the discoveries of archaeology since the mid 1800's have demonstrated the reliability and plausibility of the Bible narrative. The following pages provide just a few examples of how the Bible is accurate historically and how it is verified by archaeological evidence.

REASONS TO BELIEVE         Matt Hennecke - Historic & Archaeological Proofs - 26

          In the Old Testament, in Joshua chapter 6, we have an account of the Israelites defeating the city of Jericho when they came into the Promised Land after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. According to the Biblical account, the Israelites marched around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day they encircled the city seven times. On the seventh time around, the priests blew the trumpets, the people shouted and the walls fell flat.

          The first major excavation of the site of Jericho, located in the southern Jordan valley in Israel, was carried out by a German team between 1907 and 1909. They found piles of mud bricks at the base of the mound the city was built on. It was not until a British archaeologist named Kathleen Kenyon re-excavated the site with modern methods in the 1950's that it was understood what these piles of bricks were. She determined they were from the city wall which had collapsed when it was destroyed!

          The story in the Bible goes on to say that when the walls collapsed, the Israelites stormed the city and set it on fire. Archaeologists found evidence for a massive destruction by fire just as the Bible relates. Kenyon wrote in her excavation report, "The destruction was complete. Walls and floors were blackened or reddened by fire, and every room was filled with fallen bricks, timbers, and household utensils; in most rooms the fallen debris was heavily burnt."

          What caused the strong walls of Jericho to collapse? The most likely explanation is an earthquake. But the nature of the earthquake was unusual. It struck in such a way as to allow a portion of the city wall on the north side of the site to remain standing, while everywhere else the wall fell. Rahab's house was evidently located on the north side of the city. She was the Canaanite prostitute who hid the Israelite spies who came to reconnoiter the city. The Bible states that her house was built against the city wall. Before returning to the Israelite camp, the spies told Rahab to bring her family into her house and they would be saved. According to the Bible, Rahab's house was miraculously spared while the rest of the city wall fell. This is exactly what archaeologists found. The preserved city wall on the north side of the city had houses built against it.

          The timing of the earthquake and the manner in which it selectively took down the City wall suggests something other than a natural calamity. A Divine Force was at work. In the New Testament we read "By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient" (Hebrews 11:30-31).

< This clipping from the Joliet Herald News dated February 22,1990 tells about the excavation of the Jericho site in the 1950s by the famous British archeologist Kathleen Kenyon and a later study of her data by archeologist Bryant G. Wood of the University of Toronto. Mr. Wood says, "Here is impressive evidence that the walls of Jericho did indeed topple as the Bible records". He quotes from the 6th chapter of Joshua about how God told Joshua and his army to march around Jericho once each day for 6 days and blow rams horns, then on the 7th day to march around, blow the horns and shout. When they did so the walls of Jericho fell flat and the Israelites went up over the rubble and into the city and destroyed it.         Kenyon had concluded that the city was destroyed about 1550 BC, before the Israelites came to the area. Wood said however, that extensive ceramic remnants and scientific dating techniques contradict Kenyon's dating of Jericho's fall. He says there is substantial correlation between the archeological evidence and the biblical account.

The story came from World War 1, and involved the British drive against the Turks in Palestine. The story relates how the British were at the ancient site of Michmash, still called that in World War 1. Major Vivian Gilbert recognized the name Michmash and knew that it had some kind of biblical history involving a battle that had been waged and won there.
          The British had scheduled an all-out assault the next day, but that night Gilbert was bugged about where in the Bible Michmash was mentioned, and what was said of it. He finally found the story in 1 Sam 13-14, which relates how Jonathan and Saul were encamped there against the Philistines, and how Jonathan discovered a mountain pass with one half acre of land at the top. The pass and half acre were possessed by the Philistines, but by climbing up to the half acre and fighting there, the superior Philistine army could not overrun the Israelites. In other words, the narrow battle field made it possible for only a few men to fight at one time. With the help of God, Jonathan and Saul used the narrow pass to make short work of the Philistines.

          Gilbert went and woke his general in the middle of the night and showed him the passage, and they proceeded to send scouts out to find the pass. It was there, along with the very same half acre of flat land at the top, and instead of needing an all-out assault, a simple company of soldiers used the hidden pass to rout the Turks.

          Now considering that critics used to hold that David wasn't even a proven historical character, this small insignificant incident lends strength to not only David, his contemporaries, their travels, but also to the Word of God. (See 1 Sam 14:4-5; 12-14 for the biblical story.)

Source: Military History Magazine, March, 1996. 741 Miller Dr. SE, Leesburg, VA. the article about the British / Turk fighting in Palestine during WW1.)

REASONS TO BELIEVE      Matt Hennecke

LUKE: RIGHT OR WRONG
Matt Hennecke

Luke 2:1- 3
Historians once believed Luke recorded these three facts in error. Historians and archaeologists believed that:

1) There had been no census,
2) Quirinius was not the governor of Syria, and
3) Whenever a census was taken, people did not return to their ancestral homes.

Because Luke made these "mistakes", the rest of Luke's writings were considered unreliable and the entire Bible was considered historically inaccurate.

What We Know Today

Archaeological discoveries show that the Romans had a regular enrollment of taxpayers and also held censuses every 14 years. This procedure was begun under Augustus and is what Luke referred to in the second chapter.

Archaeological evidence now shows that Quirinius was governor of Syria during Luke's day. This is based on an inscription found in Antioch which says Quirinius held this position.

A papyrus found in Egypt now shows these directions for conducting a census: "all those residing for any cause away from their homes should at once prepare to return to their own governments in order that they may complete the family registration.. - - "

The accuracy of Luke's historical accounts led W.M. Ramsay to comment: "Luke's history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness.""

Source: St Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen by W.M. Ramsay, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1962 page 81.

PONTIUS PILATE
For the Bible student, the existence of Pontius Pilate is unquestioned. However, his existence was seriously questioned by archaeologists. Until recently the Gospels contained the only known references to his existence. There were some other references, but archaeologists felt these references were based on the Gospel record.

In 1961 two Italian archaeologists excavated the Mediterranean port city of Caesarea which had served as the Roman capital of Palestine. During the dig they uncovered a two-by-three-foot inscription in Latin. Antonio Frova was able to reconstruct the inscription. To his surprise (and that of many other archaeologists) it read: "Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea, has presented the Tiberium to the Caesareans. " This discovery proved the existence of Pilate and supported the Gospel accounts.

PATRIARCHS
The discovery of the Ebla archive in northern Syria in the 1970's has shown the Biblical writings concerning the Patriarchs to be viable. Documents written on clay tablets from around 2300 B.C. demonstrate that personal and place names in the Patriarchal accounts are genuine. The name "Canaan" was in use in Ebla, a name critics once said was not used at that time and was used incorrectly in the early chapters of the Bible.

The word "tehom" ("the deep") in Genesis 1:2 was said to be a late word demonstrating the late writing of the creation story. "Tehom" was part of the vocabulary at Ebla, in use some 800 years before Moses. Ancient customs reflected in the stories of the Patriarchs have also been found in clay tablets from Nuzi and Mari.

THE HITTITES
The Hittites were once thought to be a Biblical legend, until their capital and records were discovered at Bogazkoy, Turkey. Many thought the Biblical references to Solomon's wealth were greatly exaggerated. Recovered records from the past show that wealth in antiquity was concentrated with the king and Solomon's prosperity was entirely feasible. It was once claimed there was no Assyrian king named Sargon as recorded in Isaiah 20:1, because this name was not known in any other record. Then, Sargon's palace was discovered in Khorsabad, Iraq. The very event mentioned in Isaiah 20, his capture of Ashdod, was recorded on the palace walls. What is more, fragments of a stela memorializing the victory were found at Ashdod itself.

BELSHAZZAR
Another king who was in doubt was Belshazzar, king of Babylon, named in Daniel 5. The last king of Babylon was Nabonidus according to recorded history. Tablets were found showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus' son who served as coregent in Babylon. Thus, Belshazzar could offer to make Daniel "third highest ruler in the kingdom" (Dan. 5:16) for reading the handwriting on the wall, the highest available position. Here we see the "eye-witness" nature of the Biblical record, as is so often brought out by the discoveries of archaeology.

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