ntbc.files.wordpress.com · Web viewThe famous walls that surround the Old City today were erected by the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, in the mid-sixteenth century C.E..

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Paul Brandt, [email protected]

Archaeology & the Bible #73

The Old City

New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Jerusalem is the “City of Gold.” This description usually refers to the city’s physical appearance (casting a golden light at dusk due to the unique Jerusalem stone with which its buildings are built).

The heart of the city is the “Old City,” “Ha’ir ha’atika.” As ancient as the walls of the Old City may appear, the Old City is NOT the original city in which King David dwelled. The City of David (Ir David, as it is called today) now being extensively explored and excavated, is to the southeast of the current Old City, although the Temple Mount is part of both cities.

The current Old City encompasses the Temple Mount (known in Hebrew as “Har Ha’bayit,” The Mountain of The House) and its Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall, Kotel Ha'Ma'aravi), as well as the area to its west and north. It is a treasure trove of Jewish history. In the 1970s, archeologists discovered and excavated the wall built by King Hezekiah to protect Jerusalem from the Assyrians, and the Cardo, the famous central road from Roman times. Other archeological sites in the Old City, include Wilson’s Arch and the remains of priestly houses from the era of the Romans.

The famous walls that surround the Old City today were erected by the Ottoman Sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent, in the mid-sixteenth century C.E.. This enormous structure, with its 11 grand gates, encompassed structures from many previous eras in history, including the Temple Mount upon which stands the Al-Aqsa Mosque that was built in 705 C.E.

The Old City is divided into four quarters (Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim - named for their local residents). The Jewish Quarter is the most modern quarter. Most of it was destroyed between 1948 and 1967, after the Jewish population of the Old City was taken captive and driven out of the city by the Jordanian army. During the Six Day War of 1967 (on the 28th of Iyar), the Israeli Defense Force took back the Old City and began rebuilding the Jewish Quarter.

(Jewish Treats of the National Jewish Outreach Program http://njop.org/)

Archaeology & the Bible #74

This summer I was able to see Sennacherib’s Prism at the Oriental Institute of Chicago at the University of Chicago on Chicago’s South Side (visitors should allow time to find street parking). Another visitor was kind enough to pose for the picture below. We did not speak the same language but somehow he very quickly understood what I wanted of him. His hand gives perspective to the size of the prism.

This is the prism on which Sennacherib of Assyria recorded his success against cities of Israel and Judah and his failed attempt to conquer Jerusalem and good King Hezekiah.

Like politicians today, Sennacherib put some “spin” on his official account. His successful attacks on other cities go something like “I attacked. The city was destroyed. I left someone in charge. I moved on to attack the next city.” His report on Jerusalem is something like “I attacked. I went home.”

In 2 Kings 18 & 19 and In 2 Chronicles 32 you can read what Sennacherib left out of his report.

Attached is something on this topic that was sent to you not long ago.

Archaeology & the Bible #75

Evolutionary scientists have long maintained that it takes several million years for wood to become petrified or turned to stone as in the famous “Petrified forest.” In 1995 the magazine Creation published research to show that wood can petrify in a relatively short time. Now a scientific journal, Sedimentary Geology, has published a new study that agrees.

Japanese scientists immersed specimens of wood in hot spring

water. The mineral-filled, hot water stayed at about 122o F. They noted that some pieces of wood

already in the hot spring water looked very much like ancient petrified wood. They compared it to

petrified wood found in Miocene era volcanic ash. Such petrifaction had always been said to take

millions of years. After one year, they removed some of the wood for study. They did the same every

year for seven years, finding that little petrifaction had taken place the first year. But after seven years,

over 38 percent of the wood was petrified. Detailed study of the wood showed that it was petrified in

the same way that the Miocene wood was. In their published paper, they even cited their agreement

with the 1995 Creation article!

The Bible is indeed God’s truth.

http://www.creationmoments.com/

Archaeology & the Bible #76

King David’s Palace Found in East Jerusalem?

December 28, 2005 | From theTrumpet.comDoes an amazing new discovery show that the Bible is supported by science? By Robert Morley

Eilat Mazar, an Israeli archeologist, is claiming to have unearthed, in East Jerusalem, the palace of biblical King David.

Eilat Mazar relates that, although the location of King David’s palace was very elusive, the Bible itself played a significant part in being able to locate it. Ms. Mazar speculated that a previously uncovered and famous stepped-stone structure located below her proposed excavation site was actually part of the Jebusite fortress that King David conquered. Also, in the same area and slightly lower than her proposed dig-site, Phoenician capitals (the tops of Phoenician-made columns) had been previously unearthed. To her, this too suggested that a monumental building may have stood further up the hill.

Combining these two known archeological finds with the Bible’s description, she then theorized where David’s palace would have been built. The Bible indicates in 2 Samuel 5 that when the Philistines came to fight, King David “went down to the hold,” or fortress, to meet them. Ms. Mazar said that, after reading this, she often wondered, “down from where? Presumably from where he lived, his palace” (New York Times, August 5)

According to Ms. Mazar, the area above the fortress ruins and Phoenician capitals was a logical location for King David’s palace because it would have placed it outside the original walls of the cramped city of Jerusalem and on the road to Solomon’s Temple on the Mount.

Within weeks of beginning the dig, Ms. Mazar’s team was uncovering the remains of many rooms. At first, most were more recent Roman structures, like baths and pools, but then, within the boundaries of the limited excavation area, she found the remains of “massive older walls underneath the Roman structure, running toward the rim of the Kidtron Valley” (Washington Post, op. cit.). The size of the walls, which constructed with boulders are on average two yards thick and extend at least 30 yards (Times, op. cit.), give credence to the importance and grandeur of the structure.

Below the walls, they first found 11th-century BC pottery. Then, within one room above the 11th-century fill, 10th-century BC pottery, dating to the time of King David and free from any other material from another period, was found. According to a relative of Ms. Mazar who is also an archeologist, “the sample was among the finest from that time found in Jerusalem” (Washington Post, op. cit.).

Also lending support to the conclusion that this was David’s palace is that up to this point there have been no finds of idolatrous statuettes or ritual crematoria which are found in contemporary Phoenician and Philistine settlements. “Furthermore, the building appears in a time period where such massive constructions were extremely rare and represented the greatest sort of public works” (Canadian Jewish News, op. cit.).

If the massive structure found by Ms. Mazar does prove to be 10th century, Seymour Gitin, director of the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, says it will “demolish the view of the minimalists” who dismiss the biblical accounts of history and religion. It would also discredit the claims of many Arabs, including the late Yasser Arafat, who deny any Israelite links to Jerusalem. It would negate the views of critics who claim there is no evidence of a major Israelite presence during this time period. The Bible’s description of a great, unified and influential monarchy of David and Solomon would also be reinforced.

Archaeology & the Bible #77

Remember that many archaeologists do not respect the Bible and more often than not directly contradict Scripture. Common differences: Did King David even exist? Was Israel under David and Solomon a united kingdom or a weak collection of tribes? With that in mind…

In what archeologist Michael Homan calls an “Indiana Jones moment,” the sun’s rays illuminated an inscription of the Hebrew alphabet on a 40-pound stone, found at the Tel Zayit excavation site. After analysis of the stone, the two lines of incised letters was reportedly determined to be the earliest known specimen of the Hebrew alphabet and an important benchmark in the history of writing. Lawrence Stager, a Harvard archeologist working on other excavations in Israel, says that what makes this find exceedingly rare is that it was found with pottery that “fit perfectly with the 10th century” (New York Times, November 9). Dr. Ron Tappy, the lead archeologist for the dig, is stating that actually “[a]ll successive alphabets in the ancient world, including the Greek one, derive from this ancestor …” (ibid.).

Tel Zayit is thought to be an ancient Israelite border town 18 miles inland from the ancient Philistine port of Ashkelon established by an expanding Israelite kingdom based in Jerusalem. Dr. Tappy says that such a well-developed border town suggested a “centralized bureaucracy, political leadership and literacy levels that seemed to support the biblical image of the unified kingdom of David and Solomon in the 10th century B.C.”

| From theTrumpet.com, December 28, 2005

Paul

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Archaeology & the Bible #78

Within the rediscovered palace of King David, in an uncovered room, dating to the 6th century B.C., a bulla, or seal, was found inscribed with the ancient Hebrew name of Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son of Shevi (Canadian Jewish News, op. cit.). Jehucal is a Judean prince mentioned in Jeremiah 37:3. This fact suggests that the site was an important seat of Judean royalty for four centuries after King David. It also matches the biblical account of the palace being in continuous use from its construction until the

conquest of Judea and Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 604-585 B.C. Several years ago, another royal seal was found in the general region. It showed the name of Gemaryahu, son of Shaphan, who is also mentioned in the book of Jeremiah (New York Sun, August 1).

The seal reads “Belonging to Jehucal, son of Shelemiah, son of Shovi.” His father, Shelemiah, may also be the same man mentioned on another artifact known as Lachish

letter IX which says: “May Yahweh cause my lord to hear tidings of peace! . . . Return word to my servant through Shelemiah giving us instructions as to what action we shall

take tomorrow!”

This is a photo of one of Lachish Letter IV. (I couldn’t find a photo of Letter 9.

Archaeology & the Bible #79

Rolling Stone

In the first century, Jews buried their dead in horizontal shafts dug into walls of underground chambers and a stone was rolled across the entrance. The stone used to secure the cave in which Jesus was buried was a huge rock wheel that would take several men to roll. It is described as a ‘great stone’ (Matt 27:60) and ‘very large’ (Mark 16:4) This picture shows an actual first century tomb and rolling stone. It is beside a road in the north of Israel. The stone is about 4 feet in diameter and nine inches thick.

The following pictures were of a recreated 1st Century tomb at the Explorations in Antiquities Center near Atlanta, Georgia.

In the open position like above, the stone was on a ramp that reclined toward the tomb opening. At the bottom of the ramp near the opening, a piece of stone protruded upward to keep the stone in place. To close the opening, one would roll the heavy stone downhill with just enough speed to get over the stone “stopper”.

Opening the tomb required much more effort because the stone had to be rolled over the stopper (which now served as a lock) and then UPhill onto the ramp. Bottom line: more people were needed to open a tomb than to close one.

Who cares? Well this little detail adds credibility to the description of Jesus’ resurrection. Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus together could have closed the tomb on Good Friday (John 19:38&39). But, the women and, arriving a bit later that morning, Peter and John could not have reopened it! (John 20)

From the day of his resurrection, people have tried vainly to discredit Jesus’ resurrection by claiming, among other things, that the disciples (who had run away in fear the night before) stole the body while the soldiers slept (Matthew 28:13). How could the number of people needed to open such a tomb QUIETLY get past the guards to roll the huge stone over the stone stopper and up a stone ramp without waking even one guard? (Imagine the sound of heavy stone pushed across stone.)

Scripture makes sense. The soldiers were not asleep and the disciples did not move the stone and steal the body of the Son of God. Something supernatural took place: an angel moved the stone and Jesus did the rest. (Matthew 28:2-7)

One’s confidence in the Word of God is not based on archaeological discoveries. Discoveries can help one understand Scripture and can, through the work of the Holy Spirit, help open closed minds to eternal truth.

Archaeology & the Bible #80

Several years ago an early Christian church was discovered in Israel that featured floor mosaics with Christian symbols such as fish and a dedication “to God Jesus Christ”. The church is dated to around 230 AD making it the earliest known Christian church and the earliest inscription referring to Jesus. How beautiful that the designer/artist chose to emphasize the godhead of our Lord!

It is interesting that this church was constructed well before Constantine became Rome’s emperor and his Edict of Milan of 313 AD that give religious freedom to Christians AND to all people of the empire.

Before the Edict of Milan, Christian worship places are very difficult to identify because they usually met in private homes. The Greek word for church – ekklesia, which means “assembly” or “congregation” – referred to groups of Christians. Later the word came to mean the building in which Christians worship.

Some archaeologists believe this church was part of a larger complex of rooms within a Roman army barracks intended for use by Roman army officers! It seems that the Roman centurion believers who met Jesus and Peter were the first of many to come.

BAR September/October 2011

Archaeology & the Bible #81

Cross

It was not uncommon in early Christian churches for the baptistery to be formed in the shape of the cross. This photo is of a church discovered in Laodicea (today in western Turkey) which is mentioned in the New Testament as a center of one of the earliest Christian communities. The church is from the 300s AD and built during the reign of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor. In the early Christian church, the bishop of the area served in Laodicea. In 363 AD clergy from all over Asia Minor gathered at a regional Council in Laodicea to discuss among other topics which books and letters would be included in the Christian Bible. It is certainly possible, even likely that this council was held in this newly discovered church!

The church was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 600s AD.

The baptistery is in the shape of the cross and made of marble. Stepping into water formed in the shape of the cross was and is a great way to emphasize that we are baptized into the death of Christ, buried with Him AND raised to newness of life! Join me in imagining the meaningfulness of Scripture read as early Christians stepped down into a cross dry, dropped below the water and stepped up out of it wet with the water of baptism? Down as into a grave, below water as buried and up again as into new life! Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:3,4 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. - Galatians 3:27

After learning of the emphasis on the Cross among the early Christians, I find myself saddened when entering a modern Lutheran (my denomination) church to find no place for baptism and that the cross has been moved to the side or is absent altogether. Have

we become ashamed of the cross of Christ? I don’t think so and hope not but must wonder about our testimony which can be so different from the early church.

BAR September/October 2011

Archaeology & the Bible #82

Sometimes archaeology confirms biblical details that seem odd to us. For example…

"So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." And they drew near and put their feet on their necks." - Josh 10:24 

"The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool ." - Ps 110:1 (Bible History Online)

A wall relief was discovered of an Assyrian king placing his foot upon the neck of his enemy to symbolize complete submission and defeat of the captured king. This discovery is important in the study of Biblical Archaeology because it confirms the Biblical account to put the neck of an enemy under foot.

Bible-history.com

Archaeology & the Bible #83

A sculptured tablet was found in Nimrud, the capital of ancient Assyria with the likeness of Tiglath Pileser III (also known as Pul). When Tiglath Pileser III ascended the throne of Assyria it was the beginning of the end for the northern kingdom of Israel. The Tiglath Pileser III tablet is an important discovery in Biblical Archaeology because it shows us a portrait of the Assyrian monarch who formed the Assyrian Empire and confirms the Biblical account.

"In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria."  2 Kings 15:29