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APOLOGETICS |
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Biblical
Archaeology - Silencing the Critics - Part 4
By Dr. John
Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon |
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Examples of Archaeological Confirmations
As Dr. Edwin Yamauchi points out for Scripture generally, "There
are a number of striking cases where specific passages have been
doubted (it is a rare passage that has not be questioned by some
critic) and have been directly confirmed. There are many more items
and areas which have afforded a general illumination of biblical
backgrounds, making the narratives more credible and understandable." 1
He proceeds to quote the noted scholar D.J. Wiseman, now retired,
formerly Professor of Assyriology at the University of London who
writes:
When due allowance has been paid to the increasing number of
supposed errors which have been subsequently eliminated by the
discovery of archaeological evidence, to the many aspects of history
indirectly affirmed or in some instances directly confirmed by
extra-biblical sources, I would still maintain that the historical
facts of the Bible, rightly understood, find agreement in the facts
culled from archaeology, equally rightly understood, that is, the
majority of errors can be ascribed to errors of interpretation by
modern scholars and not to substantiated "errors" of fact presented
by the biblical historians. This view is further strengthened when
it is remembered how many theories and interpretations of Scripture
have been checked or corrected by archaeological discoveries.2
In the chart below, we consider just a few examples of hundreds
that could be cited. In all the following examples, and many more,
critics doubted what the Bible declared. Allegedly, these places,
people, and things were anachronistic, errors, or myths. The
"scholarly" conclusion was that the Bible was merely a human document
and not very trustworthy. But thanks to archaeology, it was the
authority of the critics that was silenced, not the authority of the
Bible. In contrast to critical views, archaeology has proven the
historicity and biblical time frame of many biblical events like
these.
Archaeological Confirmations
1.Abraham and the patriarchs and the city of Ur (Genesis
11:28-31)
2. Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch
3. The five cities of the plain (Genesis 14:2)
4. Scores of additional biblical cities, e.g.:
Within the past hundred and fifty years however, all of these
cities have been uncovered, some receiving additional archaeological
attention in recent years. The importance of the discoveries is
apparent when we realize that the excavation of these cities, and
dozens more, has produced material that confirms the Scriptures at
point after point.3
5. The use of straw in brick making (Exodus 15:13-18)
6. The general date and route of the Exodus
7. Sennacherib’s failure to capture Jerusalem and his death at
the hands of his own sons (2 Kings 19:35-37)
8. Jehoiachin’s exile in Babylon (2 Kings 25:27-30)
9. The unconquered status of the cities of Lachish and Azekah
(Jeremiah 34:7)
10. Ezekiel’s dating of events by the years "of king Jehoiachin’s
captivity" (Ezekiel 1:1; 8:1ff.)
11. The Psalms of David as a tenth century composition and the
book of Daniel as a sixth century B.C. composition (every chapter in
Daniel but one clearly states this)
12. Nabonidus and Belshazzar (Daniel 5)
13. The time of Nehemiah’s return, and Sanballat and Tobiah as
his enemies (Nehemiah 2:1,10,19; 4:1-3, 7-8; 6:1ff.)
14. The drachma coin in Nehemiah (Nehemiah 7:70)
15. The census at the time of Christ’s birth (Luke 2:1-3)
16. Sergius Paulus, the proconsul of Paphos (Acts 13:6-7)
17. The relationship between Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts
14:6)
18. The district of Macedonia (Acts 16:12)
19. The magistrates of Philippi (Acts 16:20)
20. Herod’s Temple and winter palace (Luke 1:9; Matthew 2:4)
21. The pools of Siloam and Bethesda (John 5:2; 9:7)
22. Peter’s house (Matthew 8:14)
23. Jacob’s well (John 4:5-6)
24. Artemis’ temple, statues, and altar (Acts 19:27-28, 35)
25. The Ephesian theatre and Golden House of Nero (Acts 19:29;
25:10; 1 Peter 2:13) 4
These examples again prove that "archaeological discoveries have
shown that these critical charges and countless others are wrong and
that the Bible is trustworthy in the very statements that critics have
set aside as untrustworthy."5
We only wish space were available to continue our discussion of
showing how archaeology continually confirms Scripture. Indeed by 1958
"over 25,000 sites from the biblical world have been confirmed by some
archaeological discoveries to date."6
Forty years later, the list is longer. But let us refer the interested
reader to the 17-volume survey, Archaeology—the Bible and Christ
by Dr. Clifford Wilson, which brings together over 5,000 facts
relating archaeology to the Bible.7
Dr. Wilson begins volume 17 by stating,
Archaeology is highly relevant for Bible studies, consistently
demonstrating that the Bible is the world’s most accurate history
text-book.... This present volume (and each of the other volumes)
takes its place in offering significant evidence to show how
archaeology illustrates, explains and verifies the integrity and
authenticity of God’s own Word of Truth.
He closes by stating,
It is remarkable that where confirmation is possible and has come
to light, the Bible stands investigation in ways that are unique in
all literature. Its superiority to attack, its capacity to withstand
criticism, its amazing facility to be proved right after all, are
all staggering by any standards of scholarship. Seemingly assured
results "disproving" the Bible have a habit of backfiring. Over and
over again the Bible has been vindicated. That is true from Genesis
to Revelation, as we have seen in this book.
In essence, from the perspective of the hope of biblical critics—if
that hope was to be proved correct—archaeological research has
provided vast opportunities to establish their view of the Bible.
Their belief was that it merely constituted the error-filled writings
of men and was of no particular or lasting spiritual import. Their
hopes have consistently been smashed: the Bible has stood up to the
investigation of a type that has not been hurled at any other
reputable book of history.
We cannot stress this strongly enough: given the thousands of
minute details recorded in the Bible, if the Bible were only
the writings of men, surely archaeology would have proven it by now.
Modern archaeology has thoroughly disproven the Book of Mormon,
as we indicated in our Behind the Mask of Mormonism and as
Mormon experts Jerald and Sandra Tanner have detailed in
Archeology
and the Book of Mormon. 8
Modern archaeology has also corrected the writings of many other
ancient and new texts. But modern archaeology has never corrected the
Bible beyond legitimate adjustments because of new knowledge, such as
translation errors relative to Bible backgrounds and the correct use
of titles of Israel’s neighbors. How do we account for what must be
viewed as a startling fact, apart from the claims of the Bible itself,
that indeed, we have in our possession the literal Word of God?
In conclusion, we cannot but end our discussion by reminding
ourselves of the spiritual implications of biblical archaeology:
The serious investigator has every reason for great confidence in
the reliability of both Old and New Testament Scriptures....
However, the historical material—seen through archaeology to be of
remarkable integrity—is penned by the same men who witnessed and
recorded the miracles and elaborated on spiritual realities. It is
reasonable to believe that they would be as reliable in those areas
as they are in the areas now subject to investigation by
archaeology.9
Notes:
1 Edwin Yamauchi, The
Stones and the Scriptures (New York: J. B. Lippencott, 1972), p.
20.
2 Ibid., p. 186.
3 Joseph P. Free, revised and
expanded by Howard F. Vos, Archeology and Bible History
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), p. 16.
4 Most of these are taken from
Free and Vos, passim, who list them chronologically by subheading,
"Archeological Confirmation Concerning…"
5 Free and Vos, p. 14.
6 Norman Geisler, Christ:
The Theme of the Bible (Chicago: Moody Press, 1969), p. 29n,
citing D. J. Wiseman, "Archeological Confirmations of the Old
Testament" in Carl F. Henry, ed., Revelation and the Bible
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1958), pp. 301-302.
7 Published by Pacific
Christian Ministries, P. Box 311, Lilydale 3140, Victoria,
Australia.100
8 John Ankerberg, John Weldon,
Behind the Mask of Mormonism (Eugene, OR: Harvest House
Publishers, 1996, 2nd
ed.), pp. 282-290; Jerald and Sandra Tanner, Archeology and the
Book of Mormon (Salt Lake City, UT: Utah Lighthouse Ministry,
1969).
9 Clifford Wilson, Rocks,
Relics, and Biblical Reliability (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan/Richardson,
TX: Probe, 1977), pp. 124-125.
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Does Scientific Evidence Today Show
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Copyright 2006, Ankerberg Theological Research Institute
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