ARCHEOLOGY CORROBERATES THE BIBLE

See the documentary by Timothy Mahoney, Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus (Virgil Films, 2019) for a well-produced objective film on the scientific archeological examination and biblical text analysis for contending that the Exodus occurred about 200 years earlier (1450-1400 BC) than the traditional time period that scholars estimated at from 1250-1200 BC. The film explores both scholarly sides of the Exodus dating debate, and presents the ”patterns of evidence” for a 200 year earlier dating of the

Exodus (not during the New Kingdom of Rameses II), which explains why traditional scholars find that there was no archeological evidence for the Exodus dating from 1250-1200 BC. Mahoney and his team of scholars concluded that there are convincing patterns of evidence that the Israelites arrived in Egypt when Joseph ruled on behalf of the pharaoh (an Egyptian tomb that may contain the remains of Joseph), the Israelites multiplied in number greatly while in Egypt, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt (mudbricks made by slaves shown in tomb inscriptions), God judged Egypt through the 10 plagues (Egyptian poem referring to plagues in Egypt), the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, and the Israelites conquered the Promised Land of Canaan. See also Timothy Mahoney, Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy. Who Wrote the First Five Books of the Bible?  (Virgil Films, 2019) regarding whether Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible at the time of the Exodus, in the region of Egypt, with the power of an alphabet, and in a form of Proto-Sinaitic/Canaanite script writing like Hebrew. See also Timothy Mahoney, Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle Part 1 (Thinking Man Films, 2021) and  Timothy Mahoney, Patterns of Evidence: The Red Sea Miracle Part 2 (Thinking Man Films, 2021) regarding whether the Red Sea Miracle was a small scale more naturalistic crossing by about 20,000 people that occurred at one of the more shallow lakes closer to Egypt according to the Egyptian View, or was a large scale more miraculous crossing by over 2 million people that occurred farther from Egypt after traveling across the Sinai Peninsula at the deep Gulf of Aqaba north of the Red Sea according to the Hebrew View.

David Rohl, an agnostic Egyptologist and historian, is one of the leading scholars whose interpretation of the Egyptian hieroglyphic text and historical research caused him to conclude the 200 year earlier dating (1450-1400 BC) of the Exodus. In his book, Exodus: Myth or History (St. Louis Park, MN: Thinking Man Media, 2015 and 2020 Kindle version), he fairly presents the traditional scholars’ case and explains their incorrect dating of Ramesses II and the mis-identification of Shishak (a/k/a Shoshenq I who invaded Israel and Judah in about 926 BC, 2 Chronicles 12:1-9) based on an ambiguous hieroglyphic character. This misidentification has caused archeologists to place the Semites arrival in Israel in the Late Bronze Age IIB 1300-1200 BC). As a result, the archeological record provides no evidence of the Exodus events. Rohl Identifies Moses and the Pharaoh of Egypt (Dudimose II). After Rohl places the Israelites, Moses and the pharoah of the Exodus in the correct time period (1450-1400 BC), the archeological evidence at

Jericho, Bethel, Ai, Hazor, Shechem, etc. is consistent with the Biblical narrative of the Israelites temporarily settling in Egypt at the time of Joseph’s rule in Egypt on behalf of the pharaoh, their Exodus from Egypt, their wanderings in the wilderness for 40 years, and their conquest of the Promised Land in Canaan. For example, Joseph’s rule on behalf of the pharoah and the Israelites presence in Egypt are consistent with the ruins of Avaris, Egypt, which is the city beneath Ramesses. The extensive floodings of the Nile River in the time of Amenemhat III is consistent with the timing of Joseph’s rule in Egypt. Pharaoh Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV is the Khenephres that adopted Moses (as recorded by the Jewish historian, Artapanus of Alexandra, Egypt). Dudimose II is Manetho’s Tutimaios, the pharaoh of the Exodus (as recorded by the Jewish historian, Josephus). Israel’s conquest of Canaan under Joshua is consistent with the destruction of cities, including but not limited to, Jericho, Ai, and Hazor in the Middle to Late Bronze Age in about 1404 BC).

The Shrine or Ark of Anubis. Image by Titus
Kennedy

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT AND ANUBIS (Shrine of Anubis). Date: 1400-1300 BC. Discovered: Valley of the Kings, KV62, Egypt. Bible Period: Wandering. Bible Passages: Exodus 25:10-22; Numbers 4:5-6; Hebrews 9:4 The Anubis Shrine or Ark of Anubis was discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun KV62 in the Valley of the Kings and designated Shrine 261. The shrine measures 37 inches (95 cm) long, 15 inches (37 cm) wide, and 21.4 inches (54.3 cm) high in the shape of a trapezoid. It was constructed as a wood chest with a layer of plaster covered in gold leaf, topped with a guardian figure of Anubis in the likeness of a jackal. Two poles were attached to the sides to carry it, and items were placed inside. The chest was decorated with the “djed pillar” associated with the afterlife and the underworld god Osiris, and two hieroglyphic inscriptions invoking Anubis. Inside the chest are four small compartments and one large compartment that contained amulets, statuettes of the god Thoth, a statuette of the god Horus, two shabtis, a clay scepter, and jewels. This Egyptian chest comes from the 1400-1300 BC, approximately 100 years after the Exodus and the construction of the ark of the covenant.

It demonstrates a crafting style used in Egypt that was also employed in the creation of the ark of the covenant. The sacred chest with a guardian on top is seen in Egyptian artwork from at least as early as the reign of Hatshepsut around 1500 BC, and therefore was an object in use in Egypt prior to the time of the Exodus. The biblical ark of the covenant was a chest made of acacia wood and plated in gold, measuring 2.5 cubits long, 1.5 cubits wide, and 1.5 cubits tall (approximately 52 inches long, 31 inches wide, and 31 inches tall or 1.31 m by 79 cm by 79 cm). It had a golden lid top that had two guardian cherubim/angel figures on it, the chest held the significant items of the two stone tablets of the 10 Commandments, the rod of Aaron, and a pot of manna. Similar to the Shrine of Anubis, it was a gold-plated wooden chest holding important items and carried by two poles, which attached to the chest, and was covered in a veil when transported. The two chests were similar in form and construction, and demonstrate that the Israelites were familiar with Egyptian material culture of the 18th Dynasty. However, the biblical ark was not a replica of the Shrine of Anubis or similar objects and the Israelites did not worship Egyptian Gods. But the Israelite craftsmen were able to use their skills and techniques they learned in Egypt to build a sacred ark that had features unique to the worship of the one and only Hebrew God Yahweh and the use of the ark in the tabernacle. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 62-63.

During the periods of Joshua and judges, archaeological artifacts (royal seals, Egyptian and Canaanite documents, religious objects and artwork, etc.) demonstrate conquests of cities in Canaan by people outside of Canaan at the times and places recorded in the biblical books of Joshua and Judges. The book of Joshua states that Joshua led the Israelites in a 5-year campaign that involved the burning of the cities of Jericho, Ai, and Hazor, and the elimination of 31 local kings. However, the Israelites did not take possession of all of the cities and regions of Canaan during Joshua’s campaign. They still needed to establish new settlements. Then during the next 300 years, the Israelites acquired and settled the remaining cities and regions in the time of the judges as recorded in the books of Judges, Ruth, and the beginning of 1 Samuel. Then Canaan became Israel a new nation and the Israelites were no longer nomads. This conquest and settlement of Canaan/Israel occurred during the Late Bronze Age (about 1500-1200 BC) and the beginning of the Iron Age (about 1200-1000 BC). Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 68-69.

JERICHO AND PHARAOH AMENHOTEP III (Scarab of Amenhotep III). Date: 1410 BC Discovered: Jericho, Canaan (Tell es-Sultan). Bible Period: Conquest. Bible Passage: Joshua 6:20-26.  Archaeological artifacts discovered in tombs at Jericho include a near continuous series of Egyptian royal scarabs spanning the 18th century BC to the beginning of the 14th century BC, or from the Egyptian 13th Dynasty to the middle of the 18th Dynasty. These discoveries include a rare scarab of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, one scarab and one seal of her coregent and successor Thutmose III, and two scarabs of Amenhotep III. The two scarabs of Amenhotep III are extremely important because those represent the latest pharaoh attested by artifacts from the Bronze Age city of Jericho. This means that the fall of Jericho occurred during his reign.

Amenhotep III Scarab. Image by Titus Kennedy.

Along with a 15th century BC cuneiform tablet and distinctive pottery found during excavations, including special painted wares, these scarabs suggest that the walled city of Jericho was inhabited from before 1700 BC to around 1400 BC. Then the destruction and abandonment of the city occurred during the time of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, whose reign extended from the 15th to the 14th century BC. One of the two Amenhotep III scarabs is of particular interest. The inscribed, flat side of the scarab contains the cartouche of the pharaoh with his throne name Neb Maat Ra (meaning “the god Ra is lord of truth/justice/order”) and shows extremely fine Egyptian craftsmanship, indicating that it was made in Egypt and imported to Canaan. To the left of the cartouche appears an early form of the Aten sun disk with its outstretched rays, perhaps linking it to the time when the prominence of Aten was emerging in Egypt, and when Amenhotep III was often referred to as “the Sun” in the Amarna Letters. This suggests that the scarab was made before subsequent religious reforms of extreme Atenism or the even later reversion to Amun worship. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 68-69.

Amenhotop III Scarab. Image by
Titus Kennedy.

Fragments of the Tel Dan Stele with the inscription, “house of David.” Image by Titus Kennedy.

Therefore, this Amenhotep III scarab statue discovered at Jericho was made during his reign. This means that the destruction and abandonment of Jericho occurred around 1400 BC, which is also the approximate date according to a chronological analysis of the books of Numbers, Joshua, Judges, and Kings. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 68-69.

THE ROYAL HOUSE OF DAVID (Tel Dan Stele). Date: 900-800 BC. Discovered: Dan, Israel. Bible Period: United Monarchy and Divided Kingdom. Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 3:1-6; 1 Kings 12:19-26, 15:16-22; Psalm 122:5. In the twentieth century, biblical critics claimed that King David never existed and King Solomon was merely a tribal chieftain instead of a king of a vast Jewish kingdom. But in 1993, an Israeli archeologist found a fragment of a stone monument at the site of ancient Dan with inscriptions referring to King David and his dynasty, the House of David. Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 64-67. During excavations at ancient Dan in 1993, fragments of a 9th-century BC Aramean victory stele were discovered at the base of a wall on the edge of a plaza near the main city gate. The Israelites most likely smashed the stele when they regained power of Dan. Written in Aramaic, the recovered stele consists of 3 main fragments comprising 13 lines of text which state the victories of kings of Israel and Judah. On line 9 of the stele the “house of David” (byt dwd) is noted as the original ruling house of the Israelite kingdom. This demonstrates that David was known as the first king of Israel even by the neighboring Arameans, who were enemies of Israel. The stele is the earliest known reference to King David and his House/dynasty. The monumental inscription was carved into basalt and placed at Dan by the Arameans after they conquered the Israelites and subdued the city as early as 870 BC. In 1994, two more chunks of black basalt stone were excavated referring to the house of David.  This phrase “house of David” also appears the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. The inscription “house of David” is extremely significant due to its ancient attestation of David as king of Israel, which was disputed by many scholars prior to the discovery of the Tel Dan Stele. After the Tel Dan Stele’s discovery, the 9th-century Mesha Stele or Moabite Stone that was discovered in 1868 was reevaluated and also found that it, too, had the phrase “house of David” referring to the royal descendants of King David. This is also consistent with the Luke’s New Testament reference that Jesus “was of the House and lineage of David” (Luke 2:4 KJV). Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 64-67; Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 98-99.

KING JEROBOAM (Seal of Jeroboam). Date: 10th century BC Discovered: Megiddo, Israel. Bible Period: Divided Kingdom. Bible Passages: 1 Kings 11:40–12:33; 2 Kings 14:23–15:1; 23:15; Hosea 1:1; Amos 1:1; 7:9-11. In or about 931 BC, Israel divided into two separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah when Jeroboam, the former general of King Solomon, rebelled against Rehoboam, the son of Solomon and next king. Jeroboam ruled the 10 northern tribes, thereafter called the kingdom of Israel, from the city of Shechem. Rehoboam ruled the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, thereafter called the kingdom of Judah, from Jerusalem. During this Divided Kingdom period, Israel was heavily influenced by foreign nations, adopted many pagan deities and practices, and eventually was destroyed and dispersed by the Assyrians in 722 BC. Judah also engaged in polytheism and paganism, but many of the kings followed God and observed the Law of Moses. In 701 BC Assyria attacked Judah, but did not conquer Jerusalem. However, the Egyptians under Pharaoh Necho II controlled Judah briefly, appointing Jehoiakim as king. Soon after, in 605 BC, the Babylonians subdued Judah as a vassal kingdom, then finally destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 587 BC after a rebellion, ending the period of the Jewish monarchy.

Seal of King Jeroboam. Image
by Titus Kennedy.

Biblical skeptics contend that the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah were propaganda written by the Jewish scribes and priests of Judah, who had allegedly invented this new monotheistic religion and imposed it on the formerly polytheistic Israelites. However, the archaeological artifacts from this period are so numerous and verify the biblical narratives that it is unfounded and unreasonable to claim that books such as Kings and Chronicles are propaganda and fake history. For example, a seal with the Hebrew inscription “belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam” was excavated at Megiddo, Israel in the area of the gatehouse or palace of the late 10th century BC where it had likely been kept with other seals for official use. This seal, made of jasper, was decorated with a carved lion and painted on either side of the lion with an ankh and palm tree. Originally it was mounted on a ring of metal. Some scholars opined the seal is from the 8th century BC, but the stratigraphic evidence indicates the seal is from the 10th century BC and the reign of King Jeroboam I, the former warrior who became king (ca. 931–910 BC). Jeroboam son of Nebat, rebelled against King Solomon, fled to Egypt, returned after Solomon’s son Rehoboam was made king, and became the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 108-109.

The Mesha Stele or Moabite Stone.
Image from Wikopedia.org.

MESHA OF MOAB (The Mesha Stele). Date: about 835 BC. Discovered: Dibon, Moab (today Dhiban, Jordan). Bible Period: Divided Kingdom. Bible Passages: Numbers 32:3; 1 Kings 11:7, 16:24-30; 2 Kings 3:4-27, 23:13.  In 1868, the Mesha Stele or Moabite Stone was discovered in Dhiban, Jordan. It is one of the most significant discovered artifacts in the Middle East. It was erected to honor Chemosh, the chief god of the Moabites. It describes how King Mesha of Moab conquered the territory southeast of the Dead Sea that was controlled by the house of David. It also mentions King Omri, one of the most evil and significant kings of the northern kingdom of Israel.

He purchased and made Samaria the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 16:24-30). Chemosh allowed King Omri to repress the Moabites revolt under King Mesha of Moab, because Chemosh was angry at his land of the Moabites.  Chemosh also ordered King Mesha to attack the town of Nebo originally captured by the tribe of Reuben (Numbers 32:3).  This reference confirms Mount Nebo where God showed Moses the Promised Land and it was the place in Moab where Moses died and was buried (Deuteronomy 34:4-6).  In 1994, the Mesha Stele or Moabite Stone was reevaluated and also found that it, too, had the phrase “house of David” referring to the royal descendants of King David. It also states that King Mesha said, “I took the vessels of YHWH (Yahweh, God of Israel) and I dragged them before Chemosh.”  This is one of the earliest references to Yahweh, outside of the Bible. This confirms the Bible’s account of Yahweh the “Creator of heaven and earth” (Genesis 14:19 NIV) and “Chemosh the vile god of Moab” (2 Kings 23:13 NIV). Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 67-68; Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 112-113.

QUEEN JEZEBEL (Seal of Jezebel). Date: 900-800 BC. Discovered: Unknown, Israel. Bible Period: Divided Kingdom. Bible Passage: 1 Kings 16:29-31. A stone seal was found in Israel with the inscription, “belonging to Jezebel” (L’YZBL).  Jezebel means “where is Baal?” and was most likely a royal name. The seal dates to about 900-800 BC when only 1 percent of the seals from this region and period belonged to women. In the Bible during this time period, Queen Jezebel was a daughter of the Phoenician/Sidonian King Ethbaal who married King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 16:31).  Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 118.

Seal of Jezebel. Image by Titus Kennedy.

Bulla seal of Isaiah. Image by Titus
Kennedy.

ISAIAH THE PROPHET’S SEAL (Bulla of Isaiah). Date: 740-686 BC. Discovered: Jerusalem, Israel. Bible Period: Divided Kingdom. Bible Passages: 2 Kings 19:1-7; 1 Chronicles 1:29; Isaiah 1:1, 60:7; Hebrews 11:37. A clay bulla (a lump of clay molded around a cord and stamped with a seal) made from a stamped impression of a signet ring, apparently referring to the prophet Isaiah 740-686 BC, was discovered in the Ophel area of Jerusalem, Israel. It was found in the same archeological layer from 800-700 BC in an area outside a building called the “royal bakery” with the bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah and 32 others. At this location, administrators of the southern kingdom of Israel could have discarded old letters and their clay seals. The bulla appears to read, L-YSAYH[W] NBY[A] (“belonging to Isaiah, the prophet”) in the archaic Hebrew script used during much of the kingdom period. This is the first contemporary archaeological evidence discovered for Isaiah, who was a prophet and spiritual advisor of King Hezekiah. Isaiah ministered during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh from about 760-680 BC. Isaiah lived from about 760-680 and may have been executed during the reign of Manasseh. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 130-131.

THE SIEGE OF LACHISH. (Lachis Reliefs). Date: 700-681 BC. Discovered: Palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh, Assyria. Bible Period. Divided Kingdom. Bible Passages: 2 Kings 18:7-17; 2 Chronicles 32:9; Isaiah 36:1-2. Several years after the Assyrians conquered and disbursed the northern kingdom of Israel in about 722 BC, King Hezekiah of the southern kingdom of Judah stopped being a vassal of, serving, and paying tribute to Assyria. Then King Sennacherib of Assyria and his army started a campaign to conquer Judah in about 701 BC. Sennacherib’s army was able to conquer and destroy the fortified cities and towns of Judah. The most strategic conquered city was Lachish, which Sennacherib commemorated with elaborate stone wall panels with illustrations called reliefs in room 36 of his South-West palace in Nineveh, Assyria. These walls shown on the reliefs were compared to the site of Lachish and matched the walls at the ruined city of Lachish.  Archeological excavations at Lachish also corroborated the reliefs illustrations of the Assyrians’ use of a siege ramp, prolific use of arrows, the fall of Lachish, the torture and execution of men of Judah, and the deportation of men, women, and children. The campaign and conquest of Lachish was also recorded in the official Assyrian records and Old Testament books of Kings, Chronicles, and Isaiah. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 136-137.

Lachish siege reliefs. Image by Titus Kennedy.

Oriental Institute Prism.
Image by Titus Kennedy.

SENNACHERIB AND HEZEKIAH. (Sennacherib Prisms). Date: 691 BC. Discovered: Palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh, Assyria. Bible Period: Divided Kingdom. Bible Passages: 2 Kings 18:13-19:37; 2 Chronicles 32:9-21; Isaiah 36:1-37:38. But Sennacherib was unable to conquer Jerusalem. The Assyrian records dated to about 691 BC in the form of three different baked clay cuneiform prisms (Taylor Prism, Oriental Institute Prism, and Jerusalem Prism) called the Annals of Sennacherib, document eight Assyrian campaigns including one against the kingdom of Judah in 701 BC. The prisms record that Sennacherib and his army were able to conquer 46 fortified cities and deport 200,150 people and animals, the siege of Jerusalem, King Hezekiah, and Judah’s forced tribute payment to Assyria. But the Assyrian records are silent after the siege and forced tribute and do not state that the Assyrians captured Jerusalem. The Old Testament account states that Hezekiah paid the tribute to Sennacherib more than Sennacherib initially demanded (2 Kings 18:14-15), but the Assyrians were unable to conquer Jerusalem because their officers and mightiest warriors died. So the Assyrians returned to Nineveh in shame. Both the Assyrian records and the Old Testament record that thereafter Sennacherib was assassinated and his son Esarhaaddon became king of Assyria (2 Kings 19:37; Isaiah 37:38). Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 138-139; Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 80-82.

PERSIANS CAPTURE BABYLON (Nabonidus Chronicle). Date: 400-300 BC. Discovered: Babylon, Iraq. Bible Period: Babylon and Persia. Bible Passages: Daniel 5:25-6:2, 9:1-2, 11:1. The Old Testament book of Daniel records that the Persians conquered Babylon and killed King Balshazzar, but it does not record any type of battle for the city. Also, Daniel states that Darius the Mede ruled the city of Babylon instead of King Cyrus II the Great of Persia. Cuneiform writings on a clay tablet called the Nabonidus Chronicle and inscriptions on the Cyrus cylinder also state that there was no battle for the city of Babylon and Cyrus did not lead the army that captured Babylon in about 539 BC. Instead, a general from Media led the Persian army that took over Babylon and the general thereafter ruled as the governor of the city from about 535-525 BC. Daniel mentions Darius the Mede as potential candidate for this general that took over and initially governed Babylon. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 162-163.

Nabonidus Chronicle. Image from the
British Museum.

The Cyrus Cylinder. Image from the British Museum.

CYRUS ALLOWS THE EXHILES TO RETURN TO JUDAH (The Cyrus Cylinder). Discovered: Temple of Marduk (Babylon, Iraq). Bible Period: Babylon and Persia. Bible Passages: 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4. After Cyrus II the Great through his general captured Babylon in 539 BC, he issued a decree that the captive Israelites could return to their homelands, receive back their stolen religious objects, and rebuild their temple. The Cyrus Cylinder message was addressed to the Babylonian god Marduck and stated that Nabonidus, the previous Babylonian king, was a religious heretic and enslaved the free people of the city. So the gods chose Cyrus as a champion, liberator, and king of the world. The Old Testament book of Ezra contains essentially the same decree, but it was written to the southern kingdom of Judah and referred to Yahweh instead of Marduk. Cyrus was a religion pluralist and tolerated most beliefs in the Persian empire so long as they did not cause problems for the Persian government or lead to rebellion.  Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 164-165.

DEAD SEA SCROLLS (Great Isaiah Scroll). Date: 300 BC. Discovered: Cave 1, Qumran, Israel. Bible Period: Between the Old Testament and New Testament. Bible Passages: Isaiah 1:1-66:24; 1 Peter 1:23-25. In 1946, Bedouin shepherds discovered scrolls called the “Dead Sea Scrolls” in ancient clay jars in caves by the Dead Sea in Qumran, Israel. The scrolls were dated as early as 300 BC and were most likely written and stored in the jars by the Essenes, a sect of Judaism that withdrew from society and lived in a devout religious community in Qumran. The scrolls contained every book of the Old Testament except Esther. The Essenes may not have regarded Esther as Scripture because it does not mention God and has secular characters.

The Great Isaiah Scroll. Image by Titus Kennedy.

The scrolls date back more than a century before Jesus. Specifically, the Great Isaiah Scroll was the first found manuscript in Cave 1 at Qumran (1 QIsaiah-a) and has been dated to around 300 BC. It was made from 17 pages of parchment stitched together and is a complete copy of all 66 chapters of the book of Isaiah except for a few small damaged areas. In addition, the Dead Sea Scrolls pre-dated the earliest extant Masoretic text (AD 1,000) by more than 1,000 years in the form of the oldest complete Masoretic Hebrew Bible prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Leningrad Codex, which dates to AD 1008. Yet when Masoretic text was compared to the Dead Sea Scrolls, differences in style and spelling in about 5% of the text were noted, but there was no significant difference in substance. Hank Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 10-12; Wegner, A Student’s Guide to Textual Criticism of the Bible, 63-78; Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 234-5. Therefore, the Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrated that the text of the Old Testament was accurately copied over many centuries.

NEW TESTAMENT (Artifacts). Many artifacts demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of the New Testament gospels regarding the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In addition, the discovery of historically early manuscript copies of the gospels confirm the early gospel accounts were from eyewitness testimony. In addition to Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, see Titus Kennedy, Excavating the Evidence for Jesus: The Archaeology and History of Christ and the Gospels, (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2022).

Caiaphas Ossuary. Image by Titus Kennedy.

CAIAPHAS THE HIGH PRIEST (Caiaphas Ossuary). Date: AD 0-100. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels. Bible Passages: Matthew 26:3-68; Luke 3:1-2; John 18:12-28; Acts 4:5-6. From about AD 18 to 36, Joseph Caiaphas was the high priest in Jerusalem that was involved in the plot to kill Jesus, conducted the trial of Jesus, issued charges of blasphemy and treason, and requested that Jesus be executed by the Romans according to the New Testament and Josephus. An ossuary (stone box placed in a tomb that stores human bones) of Mariam, the daughter of the son of Caiaphas found in Elah Valley, Jerusalem, Israel has an inscription stating that the Caiaphas family was a priestly family in the line of Ma’aziah, a priest from the tribe of Levi who was appointed during King David’s reign. Another ossuary found in a first century AD tomb outside Jerusalem dating to before AD 70 contains an inscription, “Yehosef bar Qayafa” (“Joseph, son of Caiaphas”). This inscription corresponds with the New Testament Greek spelling of the Caiaphas family name Kaiafa. The bones of a 60 year old man and five other individuals were inside the ossuary. The name, location, and decorative details of the ossuary indicate it was a burial box of a wealthy and prominent Jerusalem citizen with a family name of Caiaphas. This ossuary most likely contained the bones of Caiaphas, who served as the high priest in AD 35 with Jonathan the son of Ananus. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 164-165; Kennedy, Excavating the Evidence for Jesus, chapter 7. 

PONTIUS PILATE THE GOVERNOR/PREFECT (The Pilate Stone & Ring). Date: AD 26-36.  Pilate Stone Discovered: Caesarea, Israel. Pilate Ring Discovered: Herodium, Israel. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels. Bible Passages: Mark 15:1; Matthew 27:1-26; Luke 3:1-2; John 18:28, 19:1-15.  In AD 26, Tiberius was the emperor of Rome and Sejanus was a commander of the Praetorian Guard. Sejanus accumulated so much power and influence that he effectively ruled the Roman Empire and most likely appointed Pontius Pilate as the fifth governor/prefect of the Judea Province in AD 26. Pilate had at least 6 significant conflicts with the local people, with the last conflict resulting in Pilate’s recall from the province. One of these conflicts was the trial of Jesus in AD 33. Since Pilate as the prefect had the power to sentence to death or acquit, his approval was necessary to execute Jesus. He did not want to cause another conflict, so he agreed to sentence Jesus to death at the request of the Jews. There are two artifacts that confirm that Pilate was the prefect of Judah. The first is the monument stone called the Pilate Stone that had an inscription that dated between AD 26-36. It is a two-by-three foot limestone block that has the Latin inscription, “Tiberium, Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judea … dedicated.”

The Pilate Stone. Image by Titus Kennedy.

View and cross section of the Pilate ring discovered at
Herodium, Israel. Drawing by Rodman. Photo by
C. Amit, IAA Photographic Department.

The second artifact is a copper-alloy Roman-type ring that had the Greek inscription, “Pilato” (Pilatus in Latin). The ring could be used as a stamp on behalf of Pilate. The ring dates from AD 71 or earlier and was found in 1969 in Herodium near Jerusalem in an archaeological layer in a room with other first century AD artifacts and coins of the First Judean Revolt against Rome.

The Pilate Stone and the Pilate ring are very important artifacts that confirm the New Testament. First, they corroborate the biblical account that Pilate was the Roman authority in Judea at the time Jesus was crucified (Mark 15:1; John 18:28). Second, they confirm that Luke accurately recorded that Pilate ruled Judea during the reign of Tiberius Caesar when Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and Caiaphas followed  Annas as the high priest in Jerusalem (Luke 3:1-2). Third, prior to the discovery of the Pilate Stone and Pilate ring, Pilate was only known from manuscript copies of Josephus, Philo, Tacitus, the gospels, Acts, and 1 Timothy. Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 68-70; Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 164-165; Kennedy, Excavating the Evidence for Jesus, chapter 7. 

CRUCIFIXION IN JUDEA (Crucified Man Remains). Date: AD 0-100 AD. Discovered. Givat Ha Mivtar, Jerulaelm, Israel. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels. Bible Passages: Luke 24:36-40; John 19:45, 20:20-29. The remains of two men have been recovered that show the use of nails in crucifixion from AD 0-100 in Judea, Israel.  These artifacts indicate that the men had been attached to a wooden cross by placing nails in the wrists and feet, just as Jesus was. An iron nail about 4.5 inches long (11.5 cm) with wood remnants was still in the heel bone of one of the men. In another more recent find, a nail was found inserted between the bones of the wrist in another crucified man from Judea. Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 194-195; Kennedy, Excavating the Evidence for Jesus, chapter 7. 

Crucified man remains. Image by Titus Kennedy.

Burial bench and tomb of Jesus at the Church of Holy
Sepulchre. Image by Titus Kennedy.

THE TOMB OF JESUS (Burial Bench in the Holy Sepulchre). Date: AD 300-400. Discovered: Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, Israel. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels. Bible Passages: Matthew 27:57-28:7; Mark 15:42-16:8; Luke 23:50-24:12; John 19:38-20:7. The New Testament account of the burial and tomb of Jesus states that Jesus was buried in new tomb just outside the walls of Jerusalem, cut out of rock, a single chamber, with a bench on which to place the body, and large stone seal.

Christians in Jerusalem passed down to subsequent generations the location of the tomb from Jesus’ burial and resurrection in AD 33 until the start of the construction of a church on that site in about AD 326, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 2016 to 2017, there was restoration work at this church to the edicule (small structure or chapel around the tomb) containing Jesus’s tomb that confirmed the single chamber tomb was carved into a limestone hill during the first century. It contains a stone bench consistent with an acrosolium tomb (carved out rock section, usually an arched recess and flat stone bench to lay the body on) from the Roman period, the tomb was originally sealed with a large circular stone, and the Romans built a temple over the site prior to the building of the church. Therefore, there is evidence of the location and type of Jesus’s burial and tomb that dates back to the time of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus. There is no other location of the burial and tomb with as much evidence. Kennedy, Excavating the Evidence for Jesus, chapter 7. 

JESUS’ RESURRECTION SHROUD CONTOVERSY (The Shroud of Turin): Date: AD 33 versus forgery. Discovered: France in the 1350s. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels. Bible Passages: Matthew 27:57-28:7; Mark 15:42-16:8; Luke 23:50-24:12; John 19:38-20:7. The controversy over the Shroud of Turin is whether it is the actual burial cloth of Jesus with imprints of the front and rear images of his body caused by the radiation of his body at the moment of his resurrection versus one of the most ingenious forgeries in history. The shroud made its first appearance in the 1350s in France. In 1356, the original owner died without revealing where or how he acquired the cloth. In 1532, a fire damaged the cloth and patches were added. Since 1578, the shroud has been kept in Turin, Italy.

Full-length negatives of the Shroud of Turin. Images from
Wikimedia Commons.

The evidence supporting the authenticity of the shroud includes:

1. The injuries of the man in the shroud are consistent with a man that was crucified in Roman fashion and correspond to injuries that Jesus suffered to his head, hands/wrists/thumbs collapsed into the palms (and possibly feet) pierced, a wound in his side, legs not broken, purple stains that appear to be blood all over the linen shroud, traces of flogging on the front and back of the body by Roman scourging with a flagrum with two or three leather thongs with a pair of barbed lead balls or sheep bones at the end of each that caused over 100 lash marks in dumbbell shape, and abrasions on the body that could be the result of carrying a heavy wooden cross-bar of a cross.
2. The dirt soil at the feet image section of the shroud is from limestone dirt soil found in or near Jerusalem. This dirt soil is not found in western Europe where critics claim the shroud was created. The pollen preserved in the fibers suggest the cloth originated at or near Jerusalem.
3. The image is barely visible to the eye, and only a rough outline can be seen by standing farther away. However, when photographed and viewed in negative, a clear image appears on the shroud that allows a three-dimensional reconstruction of the man’s appearance. The image even reveals body parts/organs inside the body such as the teeth similar to an x-ray or MRI. The image on the surface of the cloth is no more than two fibrils (filaments or fibers) deep. The image was not painted. Instead, some of the threads were changed to produce the image by some type of radiated energy according to modern scientific tests on the shroud. This radiated image technology was not available at the time the image was made on the shroud either in AD 30 or AD 1260-1390 when critics claim the shroud was created based on carbon 14 testing as stated below. Modern scientists cannot reproduce the same image on a similar shroud type cloth.
4. Potsherds or coins may have covered the eyes that state Pontius Pilate (although misspelled), but the fabric is so coarse and the image is not clear enough so that many sceptics of the shroud doubt this claim can be substantiated.

The evidence against the authenticity of the shroud includes:

1. In 1988, British scientists conducted carbon 14 testing on a piece from the edge of the shroud that dated the shroud to between AD 1260-1390. However, subsequent researchers argue that the sample of the shroud for the carbon 14 test was taken from a part of the shroud that was repaired and not from the original fabric, because there were cotton fibers in the sample that are not in the parts of the shroud that were not repaired and patched.
2. In 2002, the shroud underwent substantial restoration, which included the removal of the repair patches from 1532. Some researchers claim that this process will limit or invalidate any further testing.

Based on the evidence, it is more likely that the shroud is authentic artifact shroud of the crucified Jesus or at least of another crucified man. Walter C, Kaiser, Jr. Editor and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, NIV Archaeological Study Bible. An Illustrated WalkThrough Biblical History and Culture (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 4408-4410; Dr. John H. Walton PhD and Dr. Craig S. Keener PhD Editors and Authors, NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 6603-6036; Doug Powell “Ancient Art of Facts” podcast interview of Gary Habermas, Is the Shroud of Turin Authentic? presented on the Tactical Faith YouTube program, March 16, 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4a4YmAhbsY; www.shroud.com.  See also Shroud of Turin Website www.shroud.com and Turin Shroud Center of Colorado www.shroudofturin.com.

The steps of the Pool of Siloam. Image by Ian Scott
contributed to Wikimedia Commons.

JESUS HEALS BLIND MAN (The Pool of Siloam): Date: AD 30-33. Discovered: Jerusalem, Israel. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels Bible Passages: (John 9:1-7). The apostle John wrote accounts of Jesus healing a man by spitting on the ground and rubbing the clay in eyes of a blind man and telling him to wash his eyes in the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem (John 9:1-7) and healing of a lame man on the Sabbath by telling him to pick up his mat and walk at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:2-14). Until modern times, skeptics claimed there was no archeological evidence of these pools. However, in June 2004, workers in the Old City of Jerusalem discovered the remains of steps on one side of the Pool of Siloam. Archeologists excavated three sets of stairs, each containing five steps, and a pool in the shape of a trapezoid 225 feet wide overlooking the Kidron Valley. Encased in the plaster were four coins of Alexander Jannaeus, the king and high priest of Judea (103 to 76 BC), strongly indicating that the Pool of Siloam was constructed during the reign of the Hasmonean kings’ independent rule of Israel (140 to 37 BC). This pool was supplied water from the Siloam Tunnel built by King Hezekiah of Judah in the eighth century BC (to supply water and withstand a siege from Assyria) from the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Pool of Siloam near the King’s Garden (2 Kings 20; 2 Chronicles 32, Isaiah 37). In 1837, the Siloam Tunnel was discovered. Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 72-75.

JESUS HEALS LAME MAN (The Pool of Siloam): Date: AD 30-33. Discovered: Jerusalem, Israel. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels Bible Passages: (John 5:2-4). The apostle John’s account of the Pool of Bethesda stated the pool was near the Sheep Gate which was surrounded by five covered colonades (John 5:2). In 1956, excavations of the Pool of Bethesda revealed it was a twin basin pool located where John indicated and was bounded on the sides with four colonades and spanned across the middle by a fifth.  One of the basins must have had broad steps with landings at intervals, which would allow the lame man and his bed access to the the pool before Jesus healed him. Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, 75-78.

The Pool of Bethesda. Image by Fallaner from Creative Commons.

Altar to a god or goddess sacred.
Image by Titus Kennedy.

ALTAR TO THE UNKNOWN GOD (Unknown Gods Altars). Date: 100-0 BC. Discovered: Palatine Hill, Rome, Italy. Bible Period: Apostles and the Early Church. Bible Passage: Acts 17:22-34.  In about AD 50, the apostle Paul went to Athens, Greece and reasoned with the Jews, other devout persons, philosophers, and anyone who happened to be present at the synagogue, various marketplace locations, and the Areopagus (a place where people spend time telling or hearing something new). While Paul was at the Areopagus addressing Athenians and foreigners who lived in Athens, he stated, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god. What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-24 ESV). Paul then went on to proclaim that the unknown god was the God of the Bible, they should seek and find God, and that God was not far from them.  Roman alters have been discovered with Greek inscriptions stating dedication to “unknown gods” in the Greek cities (currently located in Turkey) of Pergamum, Miletus, and Phrygia. A first century BC altar was discovered in Palatine Hill in Rome, Italy, which has the Latin inscription, ”whether to a god or goddess sacred” is similar to “unknown god” altar of Athens. Ancient sources and these recently discovered altars confirm that the Paul’s reference to the “unknown god” in Athens was an actual monument and not a made-up hypothetical figure of speech.

The James ossuary was on display at the Royal Ontario
Museum from November 15, 2002 to January 5, 2003.
Image by Paradiso.

JAMES, BROTHER OF JESUS (James Ossuary). Date: AD 62. Discovered: Unspecified tomb, Jerusalem, Israel. Bible Period: Apostles and the Early Church. Bible Passages: Matthew. In 2002, an ossuary called the “James Ossuary” was revealed after an epigraphy (study and interpretation of ancient inscriptions) expert examined and interpreted the Aramaic inscription on the side of the ossuary and translated it as “James son of Joseph brother of Jesus.” The ossuary became famous because it could possibly be referring to the New Testament James, Jesus’ brother. The Israeli government confiscated it under charges of forgery and illegal dealing in antiquities. It underwent an eight year antiquities trial and ultimately the forgery charges were dropped and it was returned to the owner. The ossuary and the inscription were authenticated by many scholars as a first century AD (before AD 70) limestone ossuary and inscription from Jerusalem that mentioned a James, Joseph, and Jesus, but some scholars did not agree it was authentic. A statistical name analysis found that it was probable that the inscription refers to James the apostle and leader of the Jerusalem church, and to his brother Jesus Christ, which makes it the only known first century AD inscription mentioning either James or Jesus.

P52 John Rylands Manuscript fragment.
Image from Wikimedia.

EARLIEST NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPT (P52 John Rylands Manuscript). Date: Around AD 130. Discovered: Egypt. Bible Period: Apostles and the Early Church. Bible Passages: John 18:31-33, 37-38; 1 Peter 1:22-25. The P52 John Rylands Manuscript is a fragment of 5 verses of the John 18 that is about the size of a credit card with writing on both sides. It is the oldest extant fragment of the New Testament dating to about AD 130. Since John was written in Asia Minor before AD 100 and P52 was found in Egypt, it most likely is a first generation manuscript of the Gospel of John. P52 is located in the John Rylands Library of Manchester, England. Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, 60-63; Kennedy, Unearthing the Bible, 234-236.

The doorway to the Jesus’ childhood home that was carved out of the rock in a cave in Nazareth. Photo by Ken Dark. https”//www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-55061233.

JESUS’ CHIILDHOOD HOME. Date: 4 BC-AD 22. Discovered in Nazareth, Israel. Bible Period: Jesus and the Gospels. Bible Passages: Matthew 2:23, 4:13, 21:11; Mark 1:9; Luke 2:39, 4:16 ; John 1:45-46, 18:5, 19:19. Since 2006, professor and archeologist, Ken Dark, from the University of Reading, has been studying the ruins and remains of the first century dwelling beneath the modern-day Sisters of Nazareth Convent in Nazareth, Israel. He concluded that the dwelling is the home of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The house dates back to the first century and reveals the building was carved into a rocky hillside. Dark stated that when he started his investigation, “I didn’t go to Nazareth to find the house of Jesus, I was actually doing a study of the city’s history as a Byzantine Christian pilgrimage centre. Nobody could have been more surprised than me.” Dark’s investigation found that the builder of the house had excellent knowledge of stone-working, which would be expected of someone who would have been called a tekton, the ancient word for craftsman that was used to refer to Joseph in the Bible. Dark concluded that while all these factors do not prove it was Jesus’ home, “this is about as close as we will probably ever get to being able to say it was” Jesus’ home. See Ken Dark’s article, Has Jesus’ Nazareth House Been Found?” in the March/April 2015 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, 54-63. https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/41/2/7. See also see the BBC News Online article by Jo Couzens, ‘Strong Case’ house in crypt was home to Jesus, says archaeologist, November 25, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-berkshire-55061233.

CONCLUSION REGARDING ARCHEOLOGICAL CORROBORATION OF THE BIBLE

In conclusion, although archeological artifacts cannot prove that all the biblical supernatural events, miracles, signs, and wonders occurred, they do corroborate many of the historical biblical accounts. No artifacts have refuted any of the biblical accounts. Since new artifacts are being discovered, we can be confident that they will continue to present cumulative clear and convincing evidence that the biblical accounts are historically true and accurate. In Part 2 of Hank Hanegraff’s book, Has God Spoken?, he utilizes the subacronym SPADE, meaning the archeologist’s spade, and demonstrates that archeology  “documents time and time again,  … the people, places, and particulars found in sacred Scripture  have their roots in history and evidence. As such, what was concealed in soil corresponds to what is revealed in the Scriptures. From steles to stones to the Epic of Gilgamesh, archaeological artifacts cry forth from antiquity: God has spoken-“Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35 NASB). Hanegraaff, Has God Spoken?, Kindle location 252-257.