Christian Publishing House Blog
Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
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).
It does seem reasonable that if there were a Creator, he would reveal himself to his creation, notifying them of his will and Purposes. With the world in the condition it is in, and the imperfection of man, there is little hope outside of the fact that there is a Creator. However, we do not want to set aside all reason and logic, to pacify ourselves with the idea of a Creator, simply for the sake of hope itself. If God did provide a form of communication, we would want to examine the facts honestly, to make sure that it is authentic and inspired.
The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia, dated to about 1754 BC (Middle Chronology). It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code. Some scholars have often been likened the Ten Commandments to the Code of Hammurabi.
The “Habiru” come on the scene in Mesopotamia as agricultural workers, slaves, rebels, mercenary soldiers, marauders, slaves, and so on, which lead them to a marginal and sometimes lawless life on the fringes of society. The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land tells us that, “Once settled, the Habiru served mainly as mercenaries or laborers in their new countries, but they were never considered to be citizens and their status differed from that of the local inhabitants, from whom they usually lived apart in quarters specially assigned to them.”
Just as it is true of Bible critics today, for many years of the 19th-century Bible critics claimed that King Belshazzar, who is named in the book of Daniel, never existed. (Dan. 5:1) It was the common practice then as it is now, even though there have been thousands of archaeological finds that support the Bible, if archaeologists have not found evidence, then a place never existed, or a person never existed. However, that came to an end in 1854 in the case of Belshazzar. Why?
AACCO (Äʹ kō) or ACCHO (KJV) Place-name for famous Mediterranean seaport north of Mount Carmel. Territory was assigned to tribe of Asher, but they could not conquer it (Judg. 1:31). The Greeks renamed Acco, Ptolemaïs. On his third missionary voyage, Paul spent one day in Ptolemaïs (Acts 21:7). The city has a long history documented... Continue Reading →