Christian Publishing House Blog
Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
The ancient Egyptian equivalent of a “voodoo doll” was to write one’s enemy’s name on a clay statue or pottery vessel and then smash the pot while pronouncing a curse. Archaeologists have uncovered hundreds of ...
Magic represents an expression of the belief that it is possible for man to exert an influence over his fellow human beings or to change the course of events. Witchcraft, the use of occult or supernatural forces to these ends, was practiced over the whole of the ancient world.
The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several fragments, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. It dates from the 6th century BC and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) in 1879.
David P. Wright argues that the Jewish Covenant Code is “directly, primarily, and throughout” based upon the Laws of Hammurabi. In 2010, a team of archaeologists from Hebrew University discovered a cuneiform tablet dating to the eighteenth or seventeenth century BC at Hazor in Israel containing laws clearly derived from the Code of Hammurabi. Is David P. Wright correct, was Moses a plagiarist? Very detailed answer in this article.
Customs and culture in Bible times: beard, burial, child care in a polygamous family, deeds to property, eating:, gifts, hair; head covering, king’s concubines, marriage, mourning, ripping of garments, washing of hands, whitewashing graves, women captives, and so on.
Scholars tend to be cautious when making claims to the point where they are not allowing the evidence to see the light of day to the extent possible. Biblical archaeology has logged many thousands of finds that give us confidence in the historicity of the Bible, the trustworthiness of the Scriptures. Let's not overplay our hand on what biblical archaeology can do, but let's not underplay our hand either.
The Bible does not give us the name of the Pharaoh who began the persecution upon the Israelite people (Ex. 1:8-22) neither the Pharaoh that Moses and Aaron appeared before and in whose reign the Exodus took place. (Ex. 2:23; 5:1)
The Ketef Hinnom silver amulets contain what may be the oldest surviving texts from the Hebrew Bible. The 2004 team described the scrolls as “one of most significant discoveries ever made” for biblical studies. They are one of many archaeological nails in the coffin of the Documentary Hypothesis. Note that all the bold text with footnotes have extensive notes, not just source citations.
Nineveh (abode of Ninus) was the capital of the ancient kingdom and empire of Assyria, which was founded by Nimrod, “a mighty hunter before [meaning in opposition to] Jehovah.”* Together with Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and Resen it constituted “the great city.” (Gen. 10:9, 11-12; Mic 5:6) Nineveh was a “city of bloodshed” (Nahum 3:1), for the Assyrians engage in many wars of conquest and used extremely brutal methods in killing their captured warriors.
Assyria was a military kingdom. Nineveh, the Assyrian capital was a “city of bloodshed” (Nahum 3:1). Assyria becomes the second world power of Bible history in the middle of the 8th century B.C.E. when it subjugated the northern kingdom of Israel, taking Samaria. (2 Ki. 17:6, 13, 18) Just eight years later Sennacherib, Son of Sargon II; the king of Assyria, invades Judah (2 Ki. 18:13).