Bible and Archeology

8/7/2019 Bible and Archeology

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This is a compilation of the 24-part series presented in the Good Newsmagazine over the past several years. This document is only available as an

electronic file. It is not available in print or hard-copy at this time.

The Bible andArchaeology

Sections 13-24

The Bible andArchaeology

Sections 13-24


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Article Reprint Series on The Bible and ArchaeologyThe Good News (ISSN: 1086-9514) is published bimonthly by the UnitedChurch of God, an International Association, 5405 DuPont Circle, Suite A,Milford, OH 45150. 2002 United Church of God, an International Asso-

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Publisher: United Church of God, an International AssociationManaging editor: Scott Ashley Writer-researchers: Jerold Aust,

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Editorial reviewers: John Bald, Bruce Gore, Paul Kieffer, GraemmeMarshall, Richard Thompson, David Treybig, Lyle Welty, Dean Wilson

United Church of God Council of Elders: Gary Antion, Aaron Dean,Robert Dick, Roy Holladay (chairman), John Jewell, Clyde Kilough,

Victor Kubik, Les McCullough (church president), Mario Seiglie,Richard Thompson, Leon Walker, Donald Ward

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Can You Believe the Bible?

William Ramsay didnt set out to prove the Bibles accuracy. Infact, the young Oxford graduate and budding scholar set sail in1879 from England for Asia Minor convinced that, based on his

university studies, the New Testamentand the book of Acts in particularwas largely a hoax. After all, his professors had taught him that the Bible hadbeen written much later than it claimed to be, so its stories had been fabri-cated long after the fact and werent to be taken seriously.

The focus of his work was ancient Roman culture. But the more he duginto it, literally and figuratively, the more he came to see that the myriad oftiny details in the book of Actsplace names, topography, officials titles,administrative boundaries, customs and even specific structuresfit per-fectly with newly discovered historical and archaeological finds. He wasgradually convinced that, to use his own words, in various details the narra-

tive showed marvelous truth.Contrary to all his earlier education, he was forced to conclude that Luke,

the author of Acts, was a historian of the first rank and that not merely arehis statements of fact trustworthy; he is possessed of the true historic sense. . . This author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.

In an outstanding academic career Ramsay was honored with doctoratesfrom nine universities and eventually knighted for his contributions to mod-ern scholarship. He shocked the academic world when in one of his bookshe announced that, because of the incontrovertible evidence he had discov-ered for the truthfulness of the Bible, he had become a Christian. Several ofhis works on New Testament history are considered classics.

When confronted with the evidence of years of travel and study, SirWilliam Ramsay learned what many others before him and since have beenforced to acknowledge: When we objectively examine the evidence for theBibles accuracy and veracity, the only conclusion we can reach is that theBible is true.

The evidence from archaeology is only one proof of Scriptures accuracy,and thats the focus of this series of articles. We offer you a sampling of theevidence thats availabledocumentation showing that details of the people,places and events described in the Bible, many of them mentioned only inpassing, have been verified by archaeologists and historians. Many excellentbooks have been published in recent years that verify the dependability ofScripture, and no doubt more will follow as new discoveries come to light.

What are the implications of this for you? All the evidence in the worlddoes us no good if we are not willing to believe the Bible enough to

put it to the ultimate testthat ofdoing what it tells us to do.James, the half brother of Jesus, reminds us that mere belief is not

enough, because even the demons believe. Instead he tells us we must putour beliefs into action if we are to please God (James 2:19-26).

In The Good News we regularly offer articles such as those in this issueto help build your faith. But be sure that you dont neglect the articles thatshow you how to put your faith and belief into action. God is interested tosee how you respondto the truth He makes known to you. Ultimately that isthe far more important test.

Scott Ashley


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The Downfall of Judah:

Exile to Babylonb y M a r i o S e i g l i en this series The Good News examines archaeo-logical finds that confirm and clarify the historicalrecord of the Bible. Several earlier articles dis-

cussed the time of the divided kingdom of the Israel-ites after they split into the kingdoms of Israel andJudah after the death of King Solomon. Two articles

described the history of the northern kingdomof Israel, and the last issue portrayed the

early years of the southern kingdom ofJudah. We continue with an examination

of the last years of Judah as a kingdom.Around 710 B.C. Judah found itself

in a dangerous position. A decadebefore, Judahs fellow Israelites inthe kingdom of Israel had been con-quered by Assyria. The Assyriansrepopulated the land with othersbrought in from distant parts of theAssyrian Empire.

Judahs territory had been largely

devastated by Assyrian armies.Only a great miracle had saved theinhabitants of Jerusalem from thesame fate that had overtaken theirnorthern cousins.

Meanwhile, more winds ofchange were beginning to stir in theregion. A new power, Babylon, wasrising in the east. Could the tiny,weakened kingdom of Judah surviveits precarious position between pow-erful and warring Assyria, Babylonand Egypt?

The amazing story of Judahs sur-vival is one of the themes of the OldTestament.

Hezekiahs fateful mistake

Soon after Jerusalems miraculousdeliverance from the Assyrians, JudahsKing Hezekiah fell ill. After Godhealed Hezekiah, a Babylonian princesent representatives with a message andgift of congratulations for the monarch.

At that time Berodach-Baladan the son of Baladan,king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Heze-kiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick(2 Kings 20:12).

Hezekiahs response to what he naively inter-preted as a neighborly act of kindness and reconcilia-tion would prove costly in the end.

And Hezekiah was attentive to them [the Baby-

lonian ambassadors], and showed them all the houseof his treasuresthe silver and gold, the spices andprecious ointment, and all his armoryall that wasfound among his treasures. There was nothing in hishouse or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did notshow them. Then Isaiah the prophet went to KingHezekiah, and said to him, What did these men say,and from where did they come to you?So Hezekiahsaid, They came from a far country, from Babylon. . . Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, Hear the word ofthe LORD: Behold, the days are coming when allthat is in your house,and what your fathers have

accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Baby-lon; nothing shall be left (verses 13-17).Although Hezekiah proved righteous and faithful

as king, he foolishly tried to impress his visitors byshowing them the kingdoms wealth and weaponry.The Bible reveals that at this time God withdrewfrom Hezekiah in order to test him, that He mightknow all that was in his heart(2 Chronicles 32:31).God allowed Hezekiah to make this thoughtlessdecision. Thus the setting was established for thefuture Babylonian invasion of Judah and its richcapital, Jerusalem.

Manasseh: vassal of the Assyrians

After Hezekiahs death his son Manasseh inher-ited the throne. It wasnt long before the young kingdeparted from his fathers righteous example andexposed himself as a wicked ruler. Manasseh wastwelve years old when he became king,and hereigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. But he did evilin the sight of the LORD . . . (2 Chronicles 33:1-2).

So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitantsof Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whomthe LORD had destroyed . . . And the LORD spoke to

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The mighty Assyrian king Esarhaddonis depicted as towering over capturedrulers of Egypt and Tyre. Ropes passthrough the lips of both prisoners asthey plead for mercy. A similar fatebefell Judahs King Manasseh, who wastaken away with hooks into captivity.


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Manasseh and his people, but they wouldnot listen. Therefore the LORD brought uponthem the captains of the army of the king ofAssyria, who took Manasseh with hooks,bound him with bronze fetters, and carried

him off to Babylon(verses 9-11).Two Assyrian records corroborateManassehs submission to the Assyrians.The name, Manasseh,king of Judahappears on the Prism of Esarhaddon . . . andon the Prism of Ashurbanipalas among 22rulers who paid tribute to Assyria (The NewBible Dictionary, 1996,p. 724).

The biblical narrative describing KingManasseh as being carried off with hooks(verse 11) refers to nose rings used to leadprisoners by ropes. It was a painful, humili-

ating and degrading punishment for thosewho would defy the mighty Assyrian kings.

Mighty capital of a mighty empire

The Assyrian Empire, with Nineveh asits capital, appeared invincible at the time.James Muir graphically describes thisempire at the time of the prophet Nahum(668 B.C):

Assyrias expansion across western Asiacould be likened to an octopus whose tenta-cles stretched from the Persian Gulf to the

Nile, and whose head was Nineveh. At thattime, Nineveh was considered one of themost beautiful cities in the world. Recently,three of its kings had adorned the city withthe wealth of their conquests and had built

fabulous palaces. These were made of brick,and on the walls of the palaces were exquis-itely crafted bas-reliefs which depicted theirgreat victories. The great walls which sur-rounded the city measured twelve milesin circumference (Archaeology and theScriptures,1965,pp. 182-183).

In spite of Ninevehs greatness, Nahumforetold not only the citys destruction butpredicted that it would never be rebuilt.Behold,I am against you,says the LORDof hosts; I will lift your skirts over your face,

I will show the nations your nakedness, andthe kingdoms your shame. I will cast abom-inable filth upon you, make you vile,andmake you a spectacle. It shall come to passthat all who look upon you will flee fromyou,and say, Nineveh is laid waste! . . .(Nahum 3:5-7).

After its destruction, in 612 B.C,thismighty metropolis of the ancient world van-ished from view. Nineveh disappeared soquickly from sight, according to one author,that when the Greek general Xenophon and

his ten thousand soldiers passed over the sitein his famous reconnaissance of the PersianEmpire, he didnt realize the ruins of Nin-eveh were under his feet. What had hap-pened? When Nineveh was put to the torch,everything was burnt, and gradually what

was left became an artificial mound coveredwith grass (Arnold Brackman,The Luckof Nineveh, 1978,p. 21).

Although few would have believed it atthe time,Nahums remarkable predictioncame to pass just as he had foretold. Nin-eveh was rediscovered only in 1845 byBritish archaeologist Austen Henry Layard.As a result,many treasures from its ruinsadorn the galleries of great museums inseveral countries.

A scribe who made an impressionAfter Assyria fell,Babylon ascended to

rule the region. With the rise of King Neb-uchadnezzar (605-562 B.C), the days of thekingdom of Judah were numbered. Never-theless, God sent faithful messengers towarn the nations leaders to return to worshipof the one true God before it was too late.Nehemiah said later,Yet for many yearsYou had patience with them, and testifiedagainst them by Your Spirit in Your prophets.Yet they would not listen; therefore You gave

them into the hand of the peoples of thelands (Nehemiah 9:30).One of those prophets was Jeremiah,

who lived while the Babylonians werethreatening Jerusalem. His faithful scribe,Baruch,wrote down someof Jeremiahsprophecies.ThenJeremiahcalledBaruchthe sonof Neriah;and Baruchwrote on ascroll of abook, at theinstructionof Jeremiah,all the wordsof the LORDwhich Hehad spoken

Prisoners from Judah play their lyres while guarded by a soldier. This scene from anAssyrian palace is reminiscent of the words of Psalm 137:1-3 describing Judahs cap-tivity in Babylon : By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we rememberedZion.There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors . . . said, Sing usone of the songs of Zion! (New International Version).

January/February 1999 19

Thisimpression from the seal ofBaruch, Jeremiahs scribe, isdramatic proof of the exis-tence of this biblical charac-ter. A fingerprint, possiblythat of Baruch himself,appears on the left side.


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to him(Jeremiah 36:4).Archaeologists recently found a clay

impression from Jeremiahs time bearing notonly Baruchs name, but apparently even hisfingerprint!

Tsvi Schneider, who in 1991 served asassistant librarian at Hebrew UniversitysInstitute of Archaeology, writes about a sealwith Baruchs name on it: The first andbest-known biblical name to be identified ona bulla [a lump of clay bearing a seal impres-sion] is Baruch son of Neriah. Baruch wasthe scribe, loyal friend and political allyof the prophet Jeremiah. The inscriptionis in three lines and reads: Belonging toBerekhyahu/son of Neriyahu/the scribe.Thebulla refers to Baruch by his full given name

. . . Baruch son of Neriah,the seal impres-sion tells us,was a scribe. Four episodes inthe Book of Jeremiah mention Baruch, sonof Neriah the scribe (Biblical Archaeologi-cal Review, July-August 1991, p. 27).

The librarian explains that the namesof three other people from Jeremiahs day,including Baruchs brother, appear in otherclay impressions and seals. It is interestingthat chapter 36 of the Book of Jeremiah alsocontains the names of two other peoplewhose seals have been impressed in surviv-ing bullae: Yerahmeel son of the kingandGemariah son of Shaphan.

The seal of Seriah,Baruchs brother, hasbeen found as well. Seriahs name appearsseveral times in Jeremiah 51 (verses 59-64).The seal reads, in two lines, Belonging toSeriahu/Neriyahu. . . Seriah was thebrother of Baruch, Jeremiahs scribe; bothSeriah and Baruch were the sons of Neriahand grandsons of Mahseiah (Jeremiah32:12,51:59) (Biblical ArchaeologicalReview, p. 30).

These remarkable finds confirm even

some of the tiniest details of the Biblethat four people mentioned in the book ofJeremiah were real people who lived inJerusalem at the time.

The fall of Jerusalem

The Bibles account of the conquest ofJerusalem is also confirmed by Babylonianrecords. First, lets notice the biblical record:And the LORDGod of their fathers sentwarnings to them by His messengers, rising

up early and sending them, because Hehad compassion on His people and on Hisdwelling place. But they mocked the mes-sengers of God,despised His words,andscoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the

LORD arose against His people, till there wasno remedy. Therefore He brought againstthem the king of the Chaldeans [Babyloni-ans] . . . (2 Chronicles 36:15-17).

Then they burned the house of God[the temple],broke down the wall of Jeru-salem,burned all its palaces with fire, anddestroyed all its precious possessions. Andthose who escaped from the sword he car-ried away to Babylon, where they becameservants to him and his sons until the ruleof the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word

of the LORDby the mouth of Jeremiah . . .(2 Chronicles 36:19-21).Jerusalem was actually conquered

twice. The city was first captured but notdestroyed. Later it fell a second time, in587 B.C., when it was destroyed as theBible describes. The city was put to thetorch, its palaces and temple burned andits walls demolished. The Bible faithfullydescribes both defeats but does not specifywhen the city was conquered the first time.

In 1887 several Babylonian tablets, whicharchaeologists call The Babylon Chronicles,were deciphered. They provided dates of thereigns of many Babylonian kings. Moretablets, deciphered in 1956,give the datesof Nebuchadnezzars reign and activities.Regrettably, one tablet is missing that couldaccount for the years 594-557 B.C. Otherthan this gap, the tablets document his reign.

The Archaeological Commentary on theBible explains the significance of the 1956find: Until 1956, the date of the first con-quest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians wasnot known. But in that year, several

cuneiform tablets were deciphered whichgave an exact date for the first conquestin 597 B.C. (1979,pp. 143-144).

Exile to Babylon

Like the Assyrians, the Babyloniansdeported vanquished peoples to maintaintighter control over conquered territories.As their cousins in the northern kingdom ofIsrael fell into captivity by Assyria more thana century earlier, Judahs inhabitants now

were taken to Babylon.The situation seemed hopeless. Judah

was devastated, and the Babyloniansforcibly removed most of its citizens. Yet,in spite of their situation,God through His

prophets encouraged the people not to giveup hope that they would one day return totheir homeland. He not only sent prophets toJudah but to Babylon as well. Men such asDaniel and Ezekiel,who both lived in Baby-lon, spoke of a coming restoration of Judah.

Speaking through Jeremiah, God heldout hope for His people: Thus says theLORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all whowere carried away captive,whom I havecaused to be carried away from Jerusalemto Babylon: Build houses and dwell in

them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Takewives and beget sons and daughters . . . thatyou may be increased there,and not dimin-ished. And seek the peace of the city whereI have caused you to be carried away cap-tive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in itspeace you will have peace . . . After seventyyears are completed at Babylon, I will visityou and perform My good word towardyou, and cause you to return to this place(Jeremiah 29:4-10).

After these encouraging words, the exilesflourished as a community in Babylon. Theywere so successful that after the 70 prophe-sied years of their exile the majority decidedto stay. These circumstances nurtured thegrowth of two large Jewish enclaves in thatpart of the world, one in Babylon and theother in Jerusalem.

Archaeological evidence demonstratesthe kind of favorable conditions that Godpromised Judahs inhabitants in Babylon.In 1933, E.F. Weidner, the Assyriologist,took in hand to look through the tablets andsherds in the basement rooms of the Kaiser-

Friedrich Museum . . . Among this dulladministrative rubbish Weidner suddenlyfound some priceless relics of red tape in theancient world. On four different receipts forstores issued,among them best qualitysesame oil, he came upon a familiar biblicalname: Ja-u-kinuJehoiachin! There wasno possibility of his name being mistaken,because Jehoiachin was given his full title:King of the [land of] Judah. . . Jehoiachin,

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the deposed king of Judah, lived with hisfamily and his retinue in the palace of Neb-uchadnezzar in Babylon. We may concludefrom Weidners discovery that the biblicalaccount in the Second Book of Kings maybe thus supplemented:And for his diet,there was a continual diet given him of theking of Babylon, every day a portion, untilthe day of his death,all the days of his life

(Jeremiah 52:34) (Werner Keller, The Bibleas History, 1980,pp. 303-304).

The Bank of Murashu & Sons

The enterprising inhabitants of Judah,who had come to Babylon as a defeated andcaptive people,were given considerable lee-way by the equally industrious Babylonians.Historian Petra Eisele explains:Althoughnot much is known of the lives of the Jewishexiles in Babylon, enough is known to con-firm their plight was not as harsh as their

slavery had been in Egypt during Mosestime. In Babylon they did not live as prison-ers or slaves, instead as a semi-freepeople. . . After the Persians conquered Babylon in539 B.C. and granted the Jews the right toreturn to their native land, only a minorityof these supposedly poor prisonerstookadvantage of this generous offer. Many didnot want to sacrifice the comforts and richesthey had acquired in this foreignlandand face the uncertainties of going backto their homeland.

As the clay tablets of commercial doc-uments in the fifth century B.C show, evenafter the end of the exile, the Babylonianbanks were firmly in the hands of theJews. There was one Jewish banker whosefirm, Bank of Murashu & Sons, hadgreatly expanded into the real estate busi-ness. It had its headquarters in nearby Nip-pur, and had approximately 200 branchesthroughout the country! (Babylon, quotedin Editorial EDAF, 1980, p. 70).

With thriving centers in Babylon andJerusalem, the Jewish people were better

equipped to survive the conquests of the Per-sians, Greeks and Romans. Several centurieslater, in the New Testament period,theyremained firmly established in Israel.Against all apparent odds, Gods promisethat Judahs inhabitants would not remainin their Babylonian captivity was fulfilled.

As we will also see in future articles,archaeology has discovered much from thisperiod to confirm the biblical record. GN


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The Kingdom of Judah:

Exile & Restorationb y M a r i o S e i g l i ehe Good News has traced the history of the Old

Testament from Genesis through the captivity ofthe kingdoms of Israel and Judah. This series has

shown that archaeological finds have confirmed andilluminated the biblical account. In this issue we pickup the story with conditions and circumstances thatallowed the descendants of the kingdom of Judahto return to their homeland.

Although many of the survivors of the Babylonianinvasion of Judah were exiled to Babylon for 70 years,they were not forsaken by God. In fact, some of thegreatest Bible prophecies were made at that time, notjust to give hope to those suffering captives but tocomfort Gods people throughout the ages.

Daniels astounding prophecies

When Judah was defeated by the Babylonians,Daniel was one of the young princes taken captiveand educated in Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzarscourt. The details of Babylonian customs and its gov-

ernmental system described in the book of Danielfit nicely with historical records and subsequentarchaeological finds.

The New Bible Dictionary says about the book ofDaniel: The author gives evidence of having a moreaccurate knowledge of Neo-Babylonian and early Per-sian history than any known historian since the 6th cen-tury BC . . . He knew enough of 6th century customs torepresent Nebuchadnezzar as being able to make andalter the laws of Babylon with absolute sovereignty(Daniel 2:12-13, 46), while depicting Darius the Medeas being helpless to change the laws of the Medes andPersians (Daniel 6:8-9). Also,he accurately repre-sented the change from punishment by fire under theBabylonians (Daniel 3) to punishment by the lionsdenunder the Persians (Daniel 6), since fire was sacred tothem (1982, p. 263,Daniel, Book of).

During the period Daniel served in Nebuchadnez-zars court,he received a series of prophecies fromGod. These remarkable predictions described the finalyears of the Old Testament era, the Intertestamentalperiod, the days of the New Testament and up to theestablishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.

God revealed to Daniel that four kingdoms would

rule a great part of the world from Daniels time tothe coming of Gods Kingdom. Although parts ofthese prophecies, in Daniel 2-12, are in mostly sym-bolic language, God does reveal the identity of thefour kingdoms.

The first was Babylon, the dominant kingdom ofDaniels time (Daniel 2:37-38). Afterwards wouldcome the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians

(Daniel 8:20) followed by the Greek Empire (verse21). Finally the Roman Empire would arise and defeatthe Greeks and absorb parts of the previous empires(Daniel 2:40; 7:7, 23).

Although this final empire would experience periodicdeclines through the centuries, it would not permanentlydisappear. Rather,at successive intervals it would revivein the form of several incarnations of the Holy RomanEmpire.God revealed to Daniel that the last revivalwould be guided by a world dictator and a religiousleader who would govern with 10 rulers under them.They would rule until the establishment of the Kingdom

of God at Christs return (Daniel 2:41-44; 8:23-26).Prophecy of Babylons downfall

When Daniel received this prophecy,Babylonspower was at its peak. Nebuchadnezzar could boastof his massive building projects that had enlarged andbeautified Babylon. Is not this great Babylon, thatI have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty powerand for the honor of my majesty? he proudly andrhetorically asked (Daniel 4:30). The existence of Neb-uchadnezzars massive building projects is confirmedby archaeology.

Excavators at the beginning of this centuryunearthed some of the remains of this vast city. A his-torian summarizes the finds: In 1899 the GermanOriental Society equipped a large expedition under thedirection of Professor Robert Koldewey, the architect,to examine the famous ruined mound of Babilon theEuphrates. The excavations, as it turned out, tooklonger than anywhere else. In eighteen years the mostfamous metropolis of the ancient world, the royal seatof Nebuchadnezzar, was brought to light, and at thesame time, one of the Seven Wonders of the World,the Hanging Gardens, loudly extolled by Greek trav-

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ellers of a later day, and E-temen-an-ki,the legendary Tower of Babel. In thepalace of Nebuchadnezzar and on theIshtar Gate, which was situated beside it,countless inscriptions were discovered(Werner Keller, The Bible as History,

1980,p. 302).Regarding Nebuchadnezzar, the sameauthor mentions: Hardly any othermonarch in the past was such an assiduousbuilder. There is scarcely any mention ofwarlike activities, conquests and campaigns.In the forefront there is the constant buildingactivity of Nebuchadnezzar. Hundreds ofthousands of bricks bear his name, and theplans of many of the buildings have beenpreserved. Babylon in fact surpassed all thecities of the ancient orient: it was greater

than Thebes, Memphis and Ur,greater eventhan Nineveh (Keller,p. 316).

It seemed impossible for this great cityto be suddenly conquered. Yet Daniel pre-dicted its demise the same night it fell to thePersians. He interpreted the mysterious

handwriting on the wall of the palace andtold the king: Your kingdom has beendivided, and given to the Medes and Per-sians. . . [and] that very night Belshazzar,king of the Chaldeans,was slain. AndDarius the Mede received the kingdom . . .(Daniel 5:28-31).

About 100 years later the Greek histo-rian Herodotus (484-420 B.C.) confirmedDaniels account of the fall of Babylon:The Persians,drawing off the river[Euphrates] by a canal into the lake, which

was till now a marsh, he [Cyrus] made thestream to sink till its former channel couldbe forded. When this happened, the Per-sians who were posted with this intentmade their way into Babylon by the chan-

nel of the Euphrates,which had now sunkto about the height of the middle of a mansthigh . . . The Persians thus entered the city. . . and the inhabitants who lived in the cen-tral part of Babylon were unaware of theenemiespresence due to the great size ofthe city and since they were celebratinga festival. They continued dancing andexchanging gifts until they were suddenlytold of their sad fate. In this manner wasBabylon conquered (History, book 1,paragraphs 191-192).

Cyruss acts foretold

True to Bible prophecy, these eventsoccurred when the 70 years of exile expired.Cyrus the Persian,allied with the Medes,conquered the Babylonian Empire and freedthe descendants of the kingdom of Judahwho had been taken into captivity. Severalprophets foretold the fall of Babylon. Isaiaheven mentioned Cyrus by name years beforehe rose to defeat the Babylonians.

Some 200 years before Cyrus was born,

God said through Isaiah:I am the LORD

. . .who says ofCyrus, He is My shepherd, andhe shall perform all My pleasure,saying toJerusalem, You shall be built, and to thetemple,Your foundation shall be laid

Thus says the LORD to His anointed, toCyrus, whose right hand I have heldtosubdue nations before him and loose thearmor of kings, to open before him the dou-ble doors, so that the gates will not be shut. . . I will give you the treasures of darknessand hidden riches of secret places, that youmay know that I, the LORD, who call you byyour name, am the God of Israel (Isaiah44:24, 28; 45:1-3, emphasis added).

In a day when conquerors were ruthlesswith their captives,Cyrus is known inhistory as a considerate ruler who offeredrelative freedom to the peoples previouslyconquered by the Babylonians.

About a century ago, a clay cylinderinscribed with a decree from King Cyruswas found in the ruins of Babylon. Calledthe Cyrus Cylinder, it is on display in the

The Ishtar Gate, the main entrance into Babylon, built during the reign of the bib-lical King Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.), has been restored in Berlin. Enameledtiles, mythical animals, lions and gods embellish the gate, which was dedicated toIshtar, the Babylonian fertility goddess. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah, destroyedJerusalem and the temple and took the people captive to Babylon, where theyspent 70 years in exile as punishment for their disobedience to God.

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20 The Good News

British Museum. Its language is similar tothe decree given by Cyrus in the Bible. Themain difference is Cyruss use of Babylon-ian wording for God. He declares that hewas liberating the peoples because a partic-

ular Godhad pronounced his name andchosen him in a miraculous way.

Writing from a Babylonian perspective,Cyrus said:Marduk [the Babylonian namefor the chief god] scanned and lookedthrough all the countries, searching for arighteous ruler willing to lead him. Hepronounced the name of Cyrus, king ofAnshan,and declared him to be the rulerof the world . . . and ordered him to marchagainst his city Babylon . . . Without anybattle,he made him enter his town Babylon,

sparing Babylon and calamity . . . I gatheredall their inhabitants and returned them totheir habitations. Furthermore, I resettled . . .all the gods . . . in their former chapelsJ. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts,1969, p. 316).

Return from exile

The biblical version of the decree,recorded in Ezra 1, reveals the prophecysfulfillment: Now in the first year of Cyrusking of Persia, that the word of the LORDbythe mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled,the LORDstirred up the spirit of Cyrus kingof Persia, so that he made a proclamationthroughout all his kingdom,and also put itin writing, saying,Thus says Cyrus king ofPersia:All the kingdoms of the earth theLORDGod of heaven has given me. And Hehas commanded me to build Him a house atJerusalem which is in Judah.

Who is among you of all His people?May his God be with him, and let him goup to Jerusalem which is in Judah,and buildthe house of the LORDGod of Israel (He is

God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoeveris left in any place where he dwells, let themen of his place help him with silver andgold, with goods and livestock, besides thefreewill offerings for the house of Godwhich is in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4).

Josephus, the first-century Jewish histo-rian, records the reactions of the Jews whenCyrus entered Babylon:

This [prophecy] was known to Cyrus byhis reading the book which Isaiah left behind

him of his prophecies; for this prophet saidthat God had spoken thus to him in a secretvision: My will is, that Cyrus,whom I haveappointed to be king over many and greatnations, send back my people to their own

land, and build my temple.This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred

and forty years before the temple wasdemolished. Accordingly, when Cyrus readthis, and admired the divine power, anearnest desire and ambition seized upon himto fulfil what was so written; so he called forthe most eminent Jews that were in Baby-lon, and said to them, that he gave themleave to go back to their own country, and torebuild their city Jerusalem, and the templeof God . . . (Antiquities of the Jews, Book

XI, Chapter I,Section 2).Thus the history of the descendants ofthe kingdom of Judah, the Jews, continuedto be recorded in what would become theBible. However, their brethren of the otherIsraelitish tribes, taken into captivity earlierby the Assyrians,had by now largely losttheir identity in the former Assyrian Empire,just as foretold in prophecy (1 Kings 17).

Persian period:Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther

The Old Testament period ends duringthe era of Persian rule. Several Bible booksaccurately describe the Persian customsof the time. While the books of Ezra andNehemiah relate the return of the Jews tothe land of Judah, the book of Estherrecounts the story of a young Jewish girlnamed Esther who became the queen ofKing Xerxes I.

Nehemiahs story begins with his serviceto the Persian king. And it came to pass inthe month of Nisan, in the twentieth yearof King Artaxerxes,when wine was before

him, that I took the wine and gave it to theking . . . (Nehemiah 2:1). While the title ofcupbearer doesnt sound important today, itwas one of the highest government posts ofthat time.

The International Standard Bible Ency-clopedia explains: [The cupbearer was]an officer of high rank at ancient orientalcourts, whose duty it was to serve the wineat the kings table. On account of the con-stant fear of plots and intrigues, a person

must be regarded as thoroughly trustwor-thy to hold this position . . . His confiden-tial relations with the king often endearedhim to his sovereign and also gave him aposition of great influence (1979,Vol. I,

p. 837, Cupbearer).Archaeologists have discovered a list

of salaries paid to the highest Assyrianofficials. This record reflects the generalvalues of similar posts in the Persianadministration. After the commandinggeneral, the prime minister and the palaceauthority came the cupbearer, who earnedthe fourth-largest salary in the kingdom.

Nehemiah had enough wealth accumu-lated when he arrived as Jerusalems newgovernor that he had no need to tax the local

populace. Indeed he apparently took it onhimself to personally provide for a largenumber of his Jewish countrymen. And atmy table, he writes, were one hundred andfifty Jews and rulers, besides those whocame to us from the nations around us. Nowthat which was prepared daily was one oxand six choice sheep. Also fowl were pre-pared for me, and once every ten days anabundance of all kinds of wine. Yet in spiteof this I did not demand the governors pro-visions, because the bondage was heavy onthis people(Nehemiah 5:17-18).

Queen Esther saves the Jews

Even though thousands of Jews success-fully resettled the territory of the formerkingdom of Judah, many remained dis-persed throughout the chief cities of the Per-sian Empire. The book of Esther gives us aglimpse of the influence the Jewish commu-nity had in the empire between 500 and 450B.C., as well as the problems that influencesometimes engendered.

One of the Persian officials, Haman, com-

plained to the king about the Jews:Thereis a certain people scattered and dispersedamong the people in all the provinces ofyour kingdom; their laws are different fromall other peoples, and they do not keep thekings laws. Therefore it is not fitting for theking to let them remain(Esther 3:8). Andthe king said to Haman, The money and thepeople are given to you, to do with them asseems good to you (verse 11).



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March/April 1999 21

As the book that honors her namerecounts, thanks to Queen Esthers courageand faith, God miraculously intervenedand caused her people to be spared. Thebook of Esther was obviously written by

someone familiar with the proceduresand customs of the Persian court of themidfifth century B.C.

Much archaeological evidence of thisJewish influence has been found through-out the territory of the Persian Empire.Assyriologist Georges Conteau writes:

Hundreds of clay tablets have beenfound dating back to the beginning of thePersian period which deal with a prosperousJewish enterprise,Murashu and Sons.When Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jeru-

salem in 587 BC, he deported some of thenoble families to Babylon, and the Murashufamily was among them.

The family of exiles prospered in the cityof Nippur and reached its maximum influ-ence and wealth under the Persian rule ofArtaxerxes I (564-424 BC) and Darius II(423-405 BC). Many of the documents of thefirm are written in both cuneiform and Ara-maic characters so they can be more easilyunderstood by a wider audience. Most dealwith contracts,payments or rentals (Daily

Life in Babylon and Assyria, 1958,p. 95).We have already seen in this article thatthe Persian customs and history of theaccount of Esther also ring true. Speakingof Esther, The Interpreters Dictionary ofthe Bible notes:The author employs thecustomary formula for the beginning of anhistorical account . . . [and] his references toPersian customs show considerable accurateknowledge . . . More recently cuneiformevidence has been found to show that therewas a Persian official named Marduka(Mordecai) in Susa [Shushan] at the end ofthe reign of Darius I or the beginning of thereign of Xerxes (1962,Vol. II, p. 151,Esther, Book of).

In the book of Esther, Mordecai isEsthers uncle and is a high governmentofficial who is ultimately named as primeminister to the king.

We will continue the story with a fascinat-ing era:the Intertestamental period, the timebetween the testaments, when the eventsdescribed in the books of the Old Testamenthistory were completed but before the eventsthat introduced the four Gospels. GN

ArchaeologyContinued from page 27


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b y M a r i o S e i g l i e

his series has traced the history of the OldTestament from Genesis through the captiv-ity of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah,

describing archaeological finds and historical

accounts that have confirmed and illuminatedthe biblical account. In this issue we showmore evidence that confirms theaccuracy of the Bible accountsby picking up the story with theIntertestamental period: thetime between the testaments,when the events described inthe books of the Old Testamentwere completed but before theevents that introduced the fourGospels.

During this 420 years severalcrucial prophecies were ful-filled, dramatizing the authen-ticity of Gods Word and settingthe stage for another prophesiedevent: the appearance of theMessiah.

The Old Testament comes toa close shortly after the eventsin the books of Daniel, Ezra,Nehemiah and Esther. However,Daniels prophecies continue to forecast events

within the Intertestamental period.Alexander the Great in prophecy

In a vision, God revealed to Daniel that thekingdom to rise after the Persians would be theGreeks under Alexander the Great. Gabriel, theangelic messenger from God, explained to Daniel:The ram which you saw, having the two hornsthey are the kings of Media and Persia. And themale goat is the kingdom of Greece. The largehorn that is between its eyes is the first king. Asfor the broken horn and the four that stood up in

its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of thatnation,but not with its power (Daniel 8:20-21).

The Persian kingdom rapidly came to an endin 333 B.C. when Alexander the Great defeated

the armies of Darius III at Issus. Yet, 10 years later,true to the prophecy in Daniel 8,Alexander unex-

pectedly died and the GreekEmpire divided into four parts,each headed by one of his fourgenerals.

Gods people were miracu-lously saved and liberatedwhen, according to Josephus,Cyrus saw his name and featsprophesied in the Bible. Thewritings of Josephus also

include an account of Alexan-der the Great sparing Jerusalemfrom destruction after he sawhis exploits prophesied inScripture.

When Alexander descendedon the Middle East, it was nat-ural that almost everyoneresisted him. Those who didwere mercilessly trampledbefore him. Neighboring

Phoenicia felt Alexanders wrath when he utterly

destroyed Tyre. It seemed the same fate awaitedrebellious Jerusalem, which had backed the haplessPersians crushed by Alexander at Issus.

Surprising showdown at Jerusalem

Josephus recounts how Alexanders troops sur-rounded the city and readied themselves to attack.Suddenly the city gates swung open, and out camethe high priest with his entourage.

Josephus writes: . . . For Alexander, when hesaw the multitude at a distance, in white garments,while the priests stood clothed with fine linen, and

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The rise of the Grecian empire ofAlexander the Greatwas prophe-sied by Daniel well before Alexan-der rose to conquer most of theknown world of his day.

The Intertestamental Period:

Daniels PropheciesCome to Pass

During this periodseveral crucial

prophecies were ful-filled, dramatizingthe authenticity of

Gods Word and set-

ting the stage foranother prophesiedevent: the appear-

ance of the Messiah.


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the high priest in purple and scarlet cloth-ing, with his mitre on his head, having thegolden plate whereon the name of Godwas engraved, he approached by himself,and adored that name, and first saluted thehigh priest . . . whereupon the kings ofSyria and the rest were surprised at whatAlexander had done, and supposed himdisordered in his mind. However, Parme-nio alone went up to him, and asked himhow it came to pass that, when all othersadored him, he should adore the high priestof the Jews?

To whom he replied, I did not adorehim, but that God who hath honouredhim with his high priesthood; for I sawthis very person in a dream, in this veryhabit [clothing], when I was at Dios in

Macedonia,who . . . exhorted me tomake no delay, but boldly to pass over thesea thither, for that he would conduct myarmy, and would give me the dominionover the Persians; whence . . . now seeingthis person in it, and remembering thatvision . . . I believe that I bring this armyunder the divine conduct . . .

. . . And when the book of Daniel wasshewed him, wherein Daniel declared thatone of the Greeks should destroy theempire of the Persians, he supposed that

himself was the person intended; and as hewas then glad, he . . . bade them ask whatfavours they pleased of him; whereuponthe high priest desired that they . . . mightpay no tribute on the seventh year. Hegranted all they desired . . . (Antiquitiesof the Jews, XI, viii, 5).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes and theabomination of desolation

Thus began the Greek reign over Judea,which would last 150 years. In chapter 11,

Daniel prophesied the changes in fortunethe Jews would know under the Greeks.After Alexander died Judea became partof the realm of General Ptolemy,who gov-erned from Egypt. By and large the periodwas peaceful for the Jews.

However, the intermittent wars betweenthe Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucidsof Syria for complete control of the GreekEmpire came to a head in 198 B.C. In thatyear the Ptolemies saw defeat. Judea thencame under the dominion of the Seleucids.

Shortly after the Seleucid line of theGreek Empire began governing Judea, aking arose who was to fulfill several direprophecies recorded in Daniel. Accordingto historians,Antiochus IV Epiphaneswas the ruler who set up the first abomi-nation of desolation mentioned in Daniel8 and 11.

Daniel 8:8-13 describes this time:Therefore the male goat [the Greek

Empire] grew very great; but when hebecame strong, the large horn was broken

[Alexander the Greatsuddenly died at the

apex of his power], and in place of it fournotable ones came up toward the four

winds of heaven [Alexanders kingdomwas divided among his four top generals](verse 8).

And out of one of them came a littlehorn [Antiochus IV Epiphanes] whichgrew exceedingly great toward the south[Egypt], toward the east [Mesopotamia],and toward the Glorious Land [Judea] . . .He even exalted himself as high as thePrince of the host; and by him the dailysacrifices were taken away, and the placeof His sanctuary [the temple at Jerusalem]

was cast down . . . Then I heard a holyone speaking . . . How long will thevision be, concerning the daily sacrificesand the transgression of desolation . . .?(verses 9-13).

The International Standard Bible Ency-clopedia says of Antiochus Epiphanes:His career with respect to Palestine isrecorded in 1 and 2 Maccabees, andremarkably predicted in [Daniel] 11:21-35 (Vol. I, p. 145, Antiochus IV Epi-phanes). The books of 1 and 2 Maccabees

are not included in the traditional Hebrewcanon of Scripture but are valuable as his-torical accounts. Both books were writtenbefore the birth of Christ.

Antiochuss cruel reign

A brief history of the three years of theabomination of desolation under Anti-ochus Epiphanes is to be found in TheBible Knowledge Commentary:

This part of the vision anticipated therise of a ruler in the Greek Empire whosubjugated the people and land of Israel,desecrated her temple, interrupted her wor-ship, and demanded for himself the author-ity and worship that belongs to God. Hedesecrated the temple and abolished thedaily sacrifice.

Antiochus sent his general Apolloniuswith 22,000 soldiers into Jerusalem on

what was purported to be a peace mis-sion. But they attacked Jerusalem on theSabbath, killed many people, took manywomen and children as slaves, and plun-dered and burned the city. In seeking toexterminate Judaism and to Hellenizethe Jews, he forbade the Jews to followtheir religious practices (including theirfestivals and circumcision), and com-manded that copies of the Law be burned.

Then he set up the abomination thatcauses desolation.

In this culminating act he erected onDecember 16, 167 BC an altar to Zeuson the altar of burnt offering outside thetemple, and had a pig offered on the altar.The Jews were compelled to offer a pig onthe 25th of each month to celebrate Anti-ochus Epiphanesbirthday. Antiochuspromised apostate Jews great reward ifthey would set aside the God of Israel andworship Zeus, the god of Greece. Many in

Israel were persuaded by his promises andworshiped the false god. However, a smallremnant remained faithful to God, refusingto engage in those abominable practices.Antiochus IV died insane in Persia in 163BC (Logos Library System, 1997).

The precision of Daniels descriptionof events of this period (given more than300 years earlier) have led many Biblecritics to redate the book of Daniel to afterthese events took place. They would not

May/June 1999 19

AntiochusEpiphanes, shownhere on a silver coin of hisempire, tried to stamp out Jewish reli-gious practices, abolished the Jerusalemtemple sacrifices and desecrated thetemple by sacrificing swine on the altar.



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20 The Good News

admit that the events had been prophesied.However, thanks to the discovery in 1948of the Dead Sea Scrolls,which includeparts of every Old Testament book exceptEsther, the traditional date of Daniel has

gained additional support.Explains Gleason Archer,professor ofOld Testament and Semitic studies at Trin-ity Evangelical Divinity School: In orderto avoid the impact of the decisive evi-dence of supernatural inspiration withwhich Daniel so notably abounds, it wasnecessary for rationalistic scholarship tofind some later period in Jewish historywhen all the predictionshad already beenfulfilled, such as the reign of AntiochusEpiphanes (175-164 BC) . . . With thewealth of new data from the manuscriptsof the Dead Sea caves, it is possible to set-tle this question once and for all (Encyclo-pedia of Bible Difficulties, 1982,p. 282).

Thanks to this new linguistic evidence,Dr. Archer proceeds to show the accuracyof the traditional dating of Daniel (around530 B.C.).

Jews lose their independenceto Rome

In 164 B.C., with the heroic leadershipof the Maccabean family, the Jews over-threw their Syrian oppressors. For acentury they enjoyed their Jewish indepen-dence under the rule of the Maccabeandescendants. However, in 63 B.C. theRoman general Pompey conquered Judea,making it Roman territory.

Several decades later the Jews wouldsuffer greatly when the Romans choseHerod the Great as king of Judea. Hereigned from 37 to 4 B.C. His last yearsbring the Intertestamental period to a closeand usher in the New Testament era.

Continue reading The Good News forother articles in this series examining howarchaeological evidence confirms theauthenticity of Gods Word.

If you would like to learn more aboutBible prophecy, including the manyprophecies of Daniel that remain to be ful-filled, be sure to request your free copiesof the booklets Is the Bible True?andYou Can Understand Bible Prophecy.Both are free for the asking when youcontact our office in your country (or the

country nearest you) listed on page 2. GN

ArchaeologyContinued from page 27


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he Good News has traced some of the manyhistorical and archaeological findings that con-firm and clarify the biblical record of the Old

Testament, a record that spans some 4,000 years.We continue that survey into the New Testament era.

How much has archaeology confirmed about theNew Testament period? Are the many names men-

tioned in the New Testament real people? Can theirexistence be verified by credible historical evidenceother than the Bible?

Although the time in question is much brieferless than a centuryarchaeology has much to tellus about the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth andHis apostles. As we examine this period, the physi-cal evidence supporting the biblical record multi-plies. Lets begin this fascinating archaeologicaljourney into the New Testament world.

Appropriately, the Old Testament ends with Godspromise to send a messenger to prepare the way for

the Messiah. In Malachi, apparently the last prophe-tic book of the Old Testament to be written, the finaltwo chapters record a dramatic prophecy: Behold,I send My messenger,and he will prepare the waybefore Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will sud-denly come to His temple, even the Messenger ofthe covenant, in whom you delight. Behold,He iscoming,says the LORD of Hosts(Malachi 3:1).

It should come as no surprise that the story flowof the New Testament begins where the last of theOld Testament prophets leaves offwith the arrivalof the messenger foretold by Malachi. This shows

a continuation from the Old to the New Testament,bearing in mind that a few hundred years hadpassed in the interim.

At the beginning of Lukes gospel, an angel tellsZacharias the priest about the fulfillment of theprophecy in Malachi. The messenger prophesiedby God in the Old Testament would be his son John(the Baptist), who would prepare the way for theChrist. The angel told him:Do not be afraid,Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wifeElizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call hisname John . . . He will also go before Him in the

spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of thefathers to the children,and the disobedient to thewisdom of the just, to make ready a people preparedfor the Lord (Luke 1:13,17).

Thus, at the start of Lukes gospel, the stage isset for the first coming of the Messiah.

Herod the mighty kingOne of the first people to appear in the New Tes-

tament account is King Herod. Matthew takes us tothe court of Herod the Great: Now after Jesus wasborn in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herodthe king, behold, wise men from the East came toJerusalem, saying, Where is He who has beenborn King of the Jews? For we have seen His starin the East and have come to worship Him. WhenHerod the king heard this, he was troubled, and allJerusalem with him . . .

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the

wise men, determined from them what time the starappeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said,Go and search carefully for the young Child, andwhen you have found Him, bring back word to me,that I may come and worship Him also(Matthew2:1-3, 7-8).

Was Herod a real figure, and was he the king atthis time? Yes. Secular history and archaeologyhave confirmed his existence and reign beyond adoubt. He is known in history as Herod the Great.Under the Romans this non-Israelite king had ruledthe province of Judea (most of the area of the for-

mer kingdoms of Israel and Judah) for almost 40years when Jesus Christ appeared on the scene.Herod was a great builder and left his name onmany monuments. He was a famous figure inJewish and Roman history.

John McRay, archaeologist and WheatonCollege professor of New Testament, summarizesHerods reign: Archaeological excavations haveuncovered a surprisingly large amount of evidencepertaining to Herod the Great . . . Herod the Greatwas an Idumean who, in 41 B.C., was granted pro-visional rule of Galilee by Mark Antony [the friend

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Jesus Christ:

The Early Years

Although the timeframe is much

brieferless thana century

archaeology hasmuch to tell us

about the life andtimes of Jesus of

Nazareth andHis apostles.


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of Julius Caesar and Cleopatras last lover]. . . In 30 B.C. Octavian (Caesar Augustus)affirmed Herods rule over Judea, Samaria,

and Galilee . . . Herod remained in poweruntil his death in 4 B.C.; thus Christ wasborn in Bethlehem prior to that date(Archaeology and the New Testament,1997,p. 91).

One of the main reasons Herod isreferred to as Herod the Great has to dowith his extensive and exquisite buildingprojects. F.F. Bruce, former professor ofbiblical criticism and exegesis at the Uni-versity of Manchester in England, says,Had Herod done nothing else, he would

have made a secure niche in history forhimself as a great builder (New TestamentHistory, 1972,p. 20).

He is known to have initiated construc-tion projects in at least 20 cities or townsin Israel and more than 10 in foreign cities.Two inscriptions pertaining to Herod havebeen found in Athens. One reads: Thepeople [erect this monument to] KingHerod, lover of the Romans, because of hisbeneficence and good will [shown] byhim. The other said: The people [erect

this monument to] King Herod, devout andlover of Caesar, because of his virtue andbeneficence (ibid., p. 92).

Josephus, a first-century Jewish histo-rian, confirms Herods great constructionprojects outside Israel: And when he hadbuilt so much,he shewed the greatness ofhis soul to no small number of foreigncities . . . And are not the Athenians . . . fullof donations that Herod presented themwithal! (Wars of the Jews, Book I, ChapterXXI, Section 11).

Of his notable building achievementsinside Israel, six are generally acclaimed asthe most notable: (1) his renovation of the

temple and expansion of the temple plat-form in Jerusalem; (2) Herodium, hispalace-fortress near Bethlehem, encased ina manmade mountain; (3) his magnificentpalace at Jericho, equipped with a swim-ming pool more than 100 feet long; (4)Masada, a mountain fortress where he builttwo palaces (the site was later immortalizedas the last holdout of the Jews in defense oftheir country against the Romans); (5) Cae-sarea, a manmade port city built under hissupervision that became the official head-

quarters of the Romans; and (6) Samaria,the capital of the former kingdom of Israel,which he rebuilt and renamed Sebaste.

Of the six, all except Herodium andMasada are mentioned in Scripture.

From studying the remains of Herodsvast building programs, archaeologists andarchitects have nothing but praise for thebeauty, massiveness, ingenuity and practi-cality of his projects. For instance, at thebase of the Temple Mount in Jerusalemarchaeologists discovered, among othermassive foundation stones, one block thatweighed 415 tons. In comparison, thelargest blocks in the Great Pyramid of

Cheops in Egypt weigh only 15 tons, andthe megaliths in Stonehenge, England,weigh only up to 40 tons.

Herod the cruel king

Herod was known not just for his greatbuilding, political and military skills but forhis great cruelty. The Bible gives us an indi-cation of his utter disregard for human lifein its record of his reaction to hearing of thebirth of Jesus.

Having heard that a King of the Jews

September/October 1999 19

The Jerusalem temple was but one of the enormous con-struction projects of Herod the Great. The partial modelabove, from Jerusalems Tower of David Museum, showshow the southwest corner of the temple platform andthe magnificent staircase that provided access to the

temple from the lower city likely appeared in JesusChrists day. Large areas of the platforms massive retain-ing walls are still visible today, most notably at the West-ern Wall, right, now dominated by the Dome of theRock, built by Muslims on the former temple platform.


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20 The Good News

had been born, Herod was greatly disturbedby this potential threat to his power andthrone (Matthew 2:1-3). When his schemeto identify the newborn Messiah failed(verses 7-8, 12), Herod lashed out violently.

Then Herod,when he saw that he wasdeceived by the wise men, was exceedinglyangry; and he sent forth and put to death allthe male children who were in Bethlehemand in all its districts, from two years oldand under [the approximate age of Jesus],according to the time which he had deter-mined from the wise men(verse 16).

The massacre in Bethlehem was notout of character for Herod. A.T. Robertson,chairman of New Testament interpretationat Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,

shows us Herods savagery. Dr. Robertsondescribes Herods cruelty even towardthose in his own family:

Those familiar with the story of Herodthe Great in Josephus can well understandthe meaning of these words. Herod in hisrage over his family rivalries and jealousiesput to death the two sons of Mariamne [hiswife] (Aristobulus and Alexander),Mari-amne herself, and Antipater, another sonand once his heir, besides the brother andmother of Mariamne (Aristobulus, Alexan-dra) and her grandfather John Hyrcanus.He had made will after will and was now ina fatal illness and fury over the question ofthe Magi. He showed his excitement andthe whole city was upset because the peo-ple knew only too well what he could dowhen in a rage over the disturbance of hisplans (Word Pictures in the New Testa-ment, Bible Explorer Software, 1997).

The New Testament description ofHerod the Great is thus confirmed by whathistorians and archaeologists have foundconcerning his rulership, building projects,

political strength and uncontrollable wrathtoward anyone threatening his kingship.

Caesar Augustuss census

Luke, the meticulous historian, intro-duces other famous personages in hisaccount of the birth of Christ. And it cameto pass in those days that a decree went outfrom Caesar Augustus that all the worldshould be registered. This census first tookplace while Quirinius was governing Syria.

So all went to be registered, everyone to hisown city (Luke 2:1-3).

Caesar Augustus, or Octavian, wasJulius Caesars adopted son. He ruled theRoman Empire for 57 years (43 B.C. to

A.D. 14) and established an era of peaceand stability that would facilitate thegrowth of Christianity.

Archaeologists have made greatprogress in discovering how and when aRoman census was taken. Ancient papyruscensus decrees have been found for theyears 20, 34, 48, 62 and 104. These showthey normally took place every 14 years,although local counts at times were takenmore frequently.

A papyrus in the British Museum

describes a census similar to Lukesaccount, taken in 104, in which peoplewere ordered to return to their birthplaces.It reads: Gaius Vibius Mazimus, Prefectof Egypt: Seeing that the time has come forthe house to house census, it is necessary tocompel all those who for any cause whatso-ever are residing out of their provinces toreturn to their own homes, that they mayboth carry out the regular order of the cen-sus and may also attend diligently to thecultivation of their allotments (FrederickG. Kenyon, Greek Papyri in the BritishMuseum, 1907,plate 30).

For many years some scholars haddoubted the Bibles accuracy since theythought Luke had erroneously referred toanother Quirinius who ruled a decade afterChrists birth. But now the biblical accounthas been confirmed by further evidence.

Researcher Randall Price writes:Somerecent archaeological evidence has providednew insights into the time and place of thebirth of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke gives thetime of birth with a specific reference to a

census decreed by Quirinius, the governorof Syria (Luke 2:2). While inscriptional evi-dence reveals that there was more than oneruler with this name,a Quirinius within thetime frame of Jesusbirth has been found ona coin placing him as proconsul of Syria andCilicia from 11 B.C. until after 4 B.C. (TheStones Cry Out, 1997,p. 299).

Josephs occupation in Nazareth

Once Herod died, Joseph and Mary

brought Jesus back to Israel and returnedto their home in Nazareth. Joseph was askilled craftsman who worked not onlywith wood but with stone masonry.

The Greek word tekton, translated

carpenterin Mark 6:3, has the rootmeaning of artisan, that is, a skilledworker who works on some hard materialsuch as wood or stone or even horn orivory . . . In Jesusday construction work-ers were not as highly specialized as intodays work force. For example, the tasksperformed by carpenters and masonscould easily overlap (Richard A. Batey,Jesus & the Forgotten City: New Lighton Sepphoris and the Urban World ofJesus, 1991, p. 76).

Jesus learned the trade from Josephand lived in the area of Nazareth most ofHis life. Although Nazareth was a smallGalilean village of no more than a few hun-dred inhabitants, Joseph and Jesus likelyfound steady work in the city of Sepphorisfour miles away.

About the time of Jesusbirth, HerodAntipasson of Herod the Great and rulerover Galilee who would later order the exe-cution of John the Baptistchose Seppho-ris as his capital. For more than threedecades while Jesus grows up in nearbyNazareth a huge construction project con-tinues, as Sepphoris rapidly becomes thelargest and most influential city in theregion . . . Joseph and Jesus knew of theconstruction of the new capital and wouldhave been acquainted with artisans andother workers employed on the site(Batey, p. 70).

Recent archaeological excavations inSepphoris show it to have been a bustling,prosperous city during the years Jesusgrew up in nearby Nazareth. This historical

record helps us better understand the back-ground of Christs teachings,whichincluded illustrations drawn not just fromfarming and animal husbandry, but alsoconstruction, rulers and nobility, the theater,government,finance and other aspects ofcity life.

In the next article in this series we willcontinue with important background infor-mation that helps us better understand thelife and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. GN


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n the September-October Good News we exam-ined historical and archaeological evidence thathelps us better understand the time in Judea

when Jesus Christ was born and grew up in thehousehold of Joseph and Mary. We continue withthe beginning of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.

After briefly discussing Jesuschildhood, the

Gospels go right into His ministry. According toLuke, Jesus . . . began His ministry at about thirtyyears of age . . . (Luke 3:23).

Archaeologists generally date the start ofChrists ministry to the year A.D. 27. The begin-ning of Jesuspublic ministry, writes archaeologyprofessor John McRay, is dated by synchronisms[chronological arrangements of events and people]in the Gospel of Luke (3:1-2). A date of A.D. 27seems likely . . . The dates mentioned by Luke arerather well established . . . (Archaeology and theNew Testament, 1997,p. 160).

Nazareth, Jesus hometown

At first Jesus Christs ministry centered on thehill country of Galilee and Nazareth,His home-town. So He came to Nazareth, where He hadbeen brought up. And as His custom was, He wentinto the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stoodup to read (Luke 4:16).

During the last century archaeological excava-tions have confirmed the New Testament descrip-tion of Nazareth as a small, insignificant village.The Gospels record that one of the disciples,

Nathanael of nearby Cana, quipped, Can anythinggood come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46). So fararchaeologists have found it to have been an agri-cultural village with wine and olive presses, cavesfor storing grains and cisterns for water and wine.

However, Jesusministry in Nazareth was short-lived. When Jesus entered the synagogue andrevealed He was the Messiah, the townspeoplerejected His message and tried to kill Him. Soall those in the synagogue, when they heard thesethings, were filled with wrath, and rose up andthrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the

brow of the hill on which their city was built, thatthey might throw Him down over the cliff. Thenpassing through the midst of them, He went Hisway. Then He went down to Capernaum . . .(Luke 4:28-31).

The Bible reveals that some members of Jesusown family did not believe in Him and were embar-

rassed when He cast out demons. At one point theythought He had lost His mind. Then the multitudecame together again [seeking healing], so that theycould not so much as eat bread. But when His ownpeople heard about this, they went out to lay hold ofHim, for they said, He is out of His mind. . . ThenHis brothers and His mother came,and standingoutside they sent to Him, calling Him. And a multi-tude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him,Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outsideseeking You.But He answered them,saying, Whois My mother, or My brothers?And He looked

around in a circle at those who sat about Him, andsaid, Here are My mother and My brothers! Forwhoever does the will of God is My brother andMy sister and mother (Mark 3:20-21, 31-35).

Jesus ended His ministry in Nazareth with thewords, Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet isaccepted in his own country (Luke 4:24).

Relocation to Capernaum

Having been rejected in His hometown ofNazareth, Christ moved to Capernaum, one ofthe towns around the harp-shaped Sea of Galilee.

This region had a large population sustained bya thriving agricultural and fishing industry.Their soil, wrote the Jewish historian Jose-

phus, is universally rich and fruitful, and full ofthe plantations of trees of all sorts, insomuch that itinvites,by its fruitfulness, the most slothful to takepains in its cultivation. Accordingly it is all culti-vated by its inhabitants, and no part lies idle (Warsof the Jews, Book III,Chapter III, Section 2). Jesusdrew many of His parables and illustrations fromdaily life and activities around the lake.

The site of Capernaum, which means village

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Early Ministry

Although the timeframe is briefless

than a centuryarchaeology hasmuch to tell us

about the life and

times of Jesus ofNazareth andHis apostles.


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of Nahum, was identified in 1838 and wasextensively excavated during this century.What have archaeologists found?

John Laughlin, professor of religion atAverett College, Danville, Va., participatedin excavations at Capernaum. He com-ments: What is known indicates that atthis time Capernaum was a small village

located on the shore of the Sea of Galileewith a population of probably no morethan 1,000 people. The few architecturalremains indicate the buildings were spa-cious and well constructed of dressedstones and large amounts of plaster. Thissuggests that the village flourished eco-nomically during Jesus time. Its locationon the crossroads of important traderoutes, the fertile lands surrounding it andthe rich fishing available all contributedto its economic development (Biblical

Archaeological Review, September-October 1993, p. 59).

The synagogue at Capernaum

Then He went down to Capernaum,acity of Galilee, and was teaching them onthe Sabbaths . . . Now He arose from thesynagogue and . . . when the sun was set-ting, all those who had any that were sickwith various diseases brought them to Him;and He laid His hands on every one of themand healed them(Luke 4:31,38, 40).

Archaeologists have found at Caper-naum the remains of a beautiful limestonesynagogue dated to the fourth or fifth cen-tury. Yet what caused more excitement wasthe discovery in the 1960s that beneath thisbuilding was the foundation of an earliersynagogue built of basalt, which is com-mon to that area, that apparently dates to

Christs time.The Gospels even include the detail of

who built the synagogue in Capernaum.Now when [Jesus] concluded all Hissayings in the hearing of the people, Heentered Capernaum. And a certain centu-rions servant,who was dear to him, wassick and ready to die. So when he heardabout Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews toHim, pleading with Him to come and healhis servant. And when they came to Jesus,they begged Him earnestly, saying that the

one for whom He should do this wasdeserving, for he loves our nation, andhas built us a synagogue (Luke 7:1-5,emphasis added throughout).

It was a tradition among the Jews tobuild a new synagogue on the foundationof the older one. Pottery found in andunder this basalt floor, explains archaeolo-gist Hershel Shanks, clearly dates thebasalt structure to the first century A.D. orearlier. Since the site of a synagogue rarelychanged in antiquity, this basalt building,

which closely follows the plan of the laterlimestone synagogue, must also be a syna-gogue, and very likely the one in whichJesus preached (Biblical ArchaeologicalReview, November-December 1983, p. 27).

Peters house discovered?

Between this synagogue and the nearbylake, excavators discovered what manybelieve to be the remains of the houseof the apostle Peter. Along with his brotherAndrew, Peter made his living as a fisher-man on the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18).Matthew records that Peter had a house inCapernaum in which Jesus healed hismother-in-law (Matthew 8:5, 14-15).

In 1968 the excavators of the synagogueinvestigated the remains of a nearby octag-

onal structure with mosaic floors. Duringthe Byzantine period such structures oftenwere constructed over what were thoughtto be significant religious sites.

Archaeologists dated the structure tothe fifth century. Beneath it they found anearlier church that they dated to the fourthcentury based on writings and inscriptionson the walls. The central hall of this churchwas part of an earlier house built, accord-ing to the excavators, in the mid-firstcentury A.D. (McRay, p. 164).

The first century house was builtaround two courtyards with the outsideentrance opening directly into one of thecourtyards. A taboun (round oven) wasfound in this courtyard, which indicates itwas used as the main family room. Thesouthern courtyard may have been used foranimals or as a working area. In either sizeor building material, the house is not unlikeall the other houses found in Capernaum(McRay, pp. 164-165).

In other ways, however, the house was

distinctly different. At some point early inits history the houses large center roomhad been plastered, making it the onlyhouse in Capernaum yet discovered to haveplastered walls. The walls and floor werelater replastered twice.

During the mid-first century the potteryused in the room ceased to be of the typicaldomestic variety. Only storage jars and oillamps were found after this point. Thus theuse of the room must have changed fromnormal residential living. More than one

November/December 1999 19

This beautiful limestone synagogue in Capernaum was built in the fourthor fifth century on the foundation of an earlier first-century structure. Theearlier structure was likely the very synagogue in which Jesus Christ taught.


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hundred fifty inscriptions were scratchedon its walls in Greek, Syriac, Hebrew,Ara-maic, and Latin from this time until thefourth century . . .

Sometime after the first century two

pillars were erected to raise the roof of thelarge central room,creating an impressivelyhigh ceiling. The fifth-century octagonalchapel was built with the center of its con-centric walls directly over this room. Evi-dence now available suggests that thischapel was built over a first-century housewhich was set apart in the middle of thatcentury as a public area. It was made into achurch and at some point came to be vener-ated as the house of Peter. It would not be

prudent to apply the data beyond that(McRay, pp. 165-166).

Around the Sea of Galilee

The Gospels record even such detail asmeteorological conditions around the Sea

of Galilee. Now when they had left themultitude, [the disciples] took [Jesus] alongin the boat as He was. And other little boatswere also with Him. And a great windstormarose, and the waves beat into the boat, sothat it was already filling (Mark 4:36-37).

Since most of Christs disciples livedaround the Sea of Galilee, it is not surpris-ing many of them were fishermen. TheGospels faithfully describe the life, workand occasional dangers of fishing in the

lake. Why did dangerous storms sometimesarise on what normally should have been alarge, placid inland lake?

We do not realize, explains biblicalgeographer George Adam Smith, that the

greater part of our Lords ministry wasaccomplished at what may be truly calledthe bottom of a trench,680 feet below sealevel . . . The cold currents, as they passfrom the west, are sucked down in vorticesof air, or by the narrow gorges that breakupon the Lake. Hence sudden storms arise[for] which the region is notorious (TheHistorical Geography of the Holy Land,1931,p. 286).

Some who have doubted the biblical

accounts of sudden storms on the lakehave been caught by surprise. WilliamBarclay notes: Dr. W.M. Christie, whospent many years in Galilee, mentioned acompany of visitors who were standing onthe shore of Lake Galilee, and, noting the

glassy surface of the water and the small-ness of the lake, expressed doubts as tothe possibility of such storms as thosedescribed in the gospels. Almost immedi-ately the wind sprang up. In twenty min-utes the sea was white with foam-crestedwaves. Great billows broke over the tow-ers at the corners of the city walls, and thevisitors were compelled to seek shelterfrom the blinding spray, though now twohundred yards from the lakeside. In less

than half an hour the placid sunshinehad become a raging storm. This is whathappened to Jesus and His disciples oncertain occasions (Daily Bible StudyCommentary, Bible Explorer Software).

Discovery of a fishing boatof Jesuss time

A few years ago archaeologists exca-vated a fishing boat dating to around thetime of Christ.

An example of the sort of boat Jesusand the disciples used was found buriedin mud on the northern shore of the Sea ofGalilee in January 1986, notes archaeolo-gist John McRay. It is the first work boatfound on an inland lake in the entire

Mediterranean area. The boat, datingbetween the first century B.C. and the endof the first century A.D., was excavated thatFebruary and found to measure 26.5 feetlong, 7.5 feet wide and 4.5 feet high. Itwould have accommodated about fifteenaverage-size men of JesusGalilee . . .Originally it had a mast for sailing and twooars on each side. Jesus and his disciplescould easily fit into such a boat and theiruse is mentioned or inferred often in theGospels (McRay, p. 170).

Many details in the Gospels, such asfishing methods and the use of differentnets, reflect an accurate description ofJesustime. When Christ said, The king-dom of heaven is like a dragnet that wascast into the sea (Matthew 13:47), Hewas referring to the most common methodof commercial fishing in His dayusinga seine.

Historian and Jewish fisherman MendelNun, who in 1993 had lived near the Sea ofGalilee for 50 years, writes: The seine, ordragnet, is the oldest type of net. Until

recently, it was the most important fishingmethod on the lake . . . [The parable of thedragnet] exactly fits the function of theseine. It is spread into the sea, then draggedto the shore; in the process all kinds of fishare caught, which the fishermen sitting onthe shore sort out. The badones refer tothe scaleless catfish, forbidden by Jewishlaw and not even offered for sale (BiblicalArchaeology Review, November-December1993,p. 52).

20 The Good News

Jesus Christ spent much of the time of His ministryin Galilee. This view,from the traditional site of the Mount of the Beatitudes near Capernaum,looks south over the Sea of Galilee.


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November/December 1999 21

Matthew 4:18 describes a different typeof net. And Jesus, walking by the Sea ofGalilee, saw two brothers, Simon calledPeter, and Andrew his brother, casting anet into the sea; for they were fishermen.This refers to a cast net, which is used bya single fisherman. It is circular, some 20

feet in diameter, with lead sinkers attachedto the edge.

Like the seine, comments MendelNun, the cast net is an ancient device.Complete cast nets have been found inEgyptian tombs dating to the second mil-lennium B.C. Two kinds were used in theSea of Galilee,one for large fish and theother for sardines (ibid., p. 53).

No wonder this Jewish fishing expertconcludes about the Gospel accounts,

I am continually surprisedat how accurately the NewTestament writers reflectnatural phenomena on thelake (ibid., p. 47).

The wedding in Cana

On the third day therewas a wedding in Cana ofGalilee, and the mother ofJesus was there. Now bothJesus and His discipleswere invited to the wed-ding . . . There were setthere six waterpots ofstone, according to themanner of purification of

the Jews,containingtwenty or thirty gallonsapiece (John 2:1-2, 6).

One of the curious partsof the wedding account isthe mention of large stonewaterpots. In the ancientworld such large containerswere normally made ofpottery or wood. It was anenormous and expensiveeffort to carve large potsfrom stone. Was this aperiod when the puritylaws were enforced to thepoint that these pots werecommon in Israel?

Until recently thisquestion plagued historians of the era calledthe late second Temple period, writesIsraeli archaeologist Yitzhak Magen.Indeed, recent excavations have confirmedthat Jews of all social and economic levelswere deeply concerned with ritual purity inthis period . . . Stone vessels were consid-

ered immune from impurity, and their pop-ularity during this short period providesstrong evidence of heightened interest inritual purity among all Jews . . .

Large vesselssometimes madefrom stone blocks weighing almost 800poundswere manufactured on massiveheavy-duty lathes. Some of these vessels. . . may have been used to store rituallyclean water for washing hands, as illus-trated in the New Testament story of Jesus

transformation of water into wine at Cana,in Galilee . . . Stone vessels have beenunearthed at more than 60 sites (BiblicalArchaeological Review, September-October 1998, pp. 49-50).

Even such incidental details as the largewaterpots mentioned in the Gospels havebeen explained by archaeological findingsand discovered to have been in commonuse at the time.

Jacobs well and Mount Gerizim

So he came to a city of Samaria whichis called Sychar, near the plot of groundthat Jacob gave to his son Joseph. NowJacobs well was there (John 4:5-6).

Jacobs well,explains Professor

McRay, is one of the few sites whoseidentity is agreed upon by Jews,Christians,Muslims, and Samaritans alike. It is stillin use. During annual visits over the pasttwenty years, he adds, I have alwaysfound cold, refreshing water in the well(McRay, p. 181).

Nearby, on the northern top of MountGerizim, archaeologists have found whatappears to be the remains of the temple ofMount Gerizim mentioned in John 4:20.The building was 66 feet long by 66 feetwide by 30 feet high and was in the centerof a large courtyard.

The discovery of this monumentalstructure dating from the Hellenistic periodon Mount Gerizim above Shechem, thechief city of the Samaritans, commentsThe International Bible Dictionary, hasled the excavator to call the complex theSamaritan temple and the unhewn stonehalf cube the Samaritan altar of sacrifice[which present-day Samaritans stillrevere]. The remains of this altar wouldhave been visible to Jesus and the Samar-

itan woman from Jacobs well, as it istoday (Supplement Volume, 1976, p. 361).

So the scene from John 4 of Jesus andthe Samaritan woman, with Jacobs welland the temple of Gerizim as the backdrop,also reflects a historical setting.

Through these archaeological findswe have covered some areas of Jesusearly ministry. In the next installmentwe will continue our study of His lifeand times. GN

This ancient fishing boat, found in the mud of theSea of Galilee in 1986, dates to the time of Christ.The boat is apparently typical of the fishing boatscommonly used at the time and mentioned often inthe Gospels. Several of the disciples were fishermen.


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n the September-October and November-December 1999 issues ofThe Good News, we

considered some of the many archaeologicalfindings that shed light on Judea in the early firstcentury, when Jesus Christ grew to manhood andbegan His ministry. We continue in this issue withother findings that shed light on and confirm the

accuracy of historical details recorded for us inthe Gospels.

While Christs early ministry took place primar-ily in Galilee,His later ministry centered on Jeru-salem. In Galilee, in spite of His many miracles andinspired preaching,He was eventually rejected bymost of the townspeople.

Then He began to rebuke the cities in whichmost of His mighty works had been done, becausethey did not repent: Woe to you, Chorazin! Woeto you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works whichwere done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,

they would have repented long ago in sackcloth andashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable forTyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.And you,Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven,will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty

works which were done in you had been done inSodom, it would have remained until this day(Matthew 11:20-23).

An unusual pool

The Gospels often note that Jesus and His disci-ples traveled to Jerusalem for the biblical festivals

God commanded in Leviticus 23 (Luke 2:41-42;22:7-20; John 2:13,23; 7:1-2, 8, 10,14,37-38).John 5 records an event that took place during oneof these feasts, although it doesnt specify which(to learn more about these biblical feasts, be sureto request your free copy of the booklet Gods HolyDay Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind).

After this there was a feast of the Jews, andJesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jeru-salem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is calledin Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In theselay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame,

paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water . . .Now a certain man was there who had an infir-

mity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lyingthere, and knew that he already had been in thatcondition a long time,He said to him, Do you want

18 The Good News

I

Jesus Christs

Later Ministry

Archaeologicalfindings shed

light on and con-firm the accuracy

of historicaldetails recorded

for us in theGospels.

A pool with five porches? For years critics of

Bible and Archeology

Documents

Transcript of Bible and Archeology