Muddling Toward Maturity Blog

TOP 10 ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES RELATED TO THE BIBLE

Crossway publishers have published a list of the top 10 archaeological discoveries with a photo and short explanation of each.   The material comes from  the ESV Archaeology Study Bible edited by Dr. John Currid and Dr. David Chapman.  Click here for short explanations of each.

1) Rosetta Stone (1798)

2) Dead Sea Scrolls (1948)

3) Tel Dan Inscription (1993)

4) Ketif Hinnom Scrolls (1979)

5) Moabite Stone (1868)

6) Lachish Letters (1930s)

7) Epic of Gilgamesh (1872)

8) Hezekiah's Tunnel (1867)

9) Crucified Man at Givat Hamivtar (1968)

10) Ugaritic Texts (1929)

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WHAT DID LIFE LOOK LIKE IN FIRST CENTURY NAZARETH?

I appreciate Justin Taylor's post in which he writes:

What did life look like for Mary and Joseph in Nazareth before Jesus was born (probably around 6 B.C.)?

Here are a couple of popular-level options:

You can visit the Nazareth Village in Israel, a living-history town recreated for tourists.

These folks also helped with the reconstructions in The Nativity Story movie—and watching the clip below may be cheaper than flying to Israel! NT Gospels scholar Darrell Bock notes that “the genuine authenticity of the first century was handled very well. They had certain details you would only know if you really had done some work in the first century background.”

Here’s a clip:

 

Me:  I loved this movie.  It's portrayal of village life in Nazareth caused me to change many of my preconceptions.  I appreciated The Nativity so much that I purchased it last year.   That's a rarity for me.  I don't usually buy movies!

GOOGLE TO BRING DEAD SEA SCROLLS ONLINE

Fascinating!  What a  revolutionizing development in the world of scholarship.  Tia Goldenberg's Washington Post article has the details.   (HT: Justin Taylor via Gene Veith).

The scrolls will be available to ANYONE, and for free.  An English translation accompanies the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.  Some sections have been made more legible thanks to high-tech infrared technology.  Read on . . .  

G0BECKLI TEPE: EARLIEST TEMPLE IN THE WORLD (11,500 BC) UNEARTHED BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

Professor Ben Witherington reports:

Klaus Schmidt and his team of Kurdish diggers have uncovered an enormous temple complex that pre-dates the Great Pyramids by some 7,000 years and Stonehenge by at least 6,000 years!  Yes, you heard me right.  The evidence suggests this would have been one of the first substantial buildings built after the last major Ice Age on earth. Klaus in fact calls this whole complex of structures the Rome of the Ice Age.  [more . . .]

JERUSALEM CITY WALL FROM 10TH CENTURY B.C. FOUND

This extraordinary news was announced today.  For details click here.

A section of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem from the tenth century B.C.E. – possibly built by King Solomon -- has been revealed in archaeological excavations directed by Dr. Eilat Mazar and conducted under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  [more . . .]

Jonathan Tobin, editor of Commentary magazine [HT: Jonah Goldberg],  explains  how this new find undermines the attempt of Arabs to deny the historical reality of the ancient Jewish presence in the land of Israel.   Most of us "Bible believers" in America find it incredible that the history of Jewish attachment to the land of Israel could be questioned.  Tobin explains: (my emphases)

The significance of this extraordinary find is that it provides new proof of the existence and power of the Davidic monarchy, the Israelite state that it led, and the more than 3,000-year-old Jewish presence in Jerusalem. These new discoveries, along with those of a previous dig in a different area of the city of David, contradict contrary Palestinian claims that the Jews have no claim to the area. They also debunk the assertions of some Israeli archeologists who have sought to portray the kingdom of David

MOST ANCIENT HEBREW MANUSCRIPT DECIPHERED

Eureka Alert from University of Haifa:  (HT: The Astute Bloggers)

Prof. Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa who deciphered the inscription: "It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research."

A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written. Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa has deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE (the period of King David's reign), and has shown that this is a Hebrew inscription. The discovery makes this the earliest known Hebrew writing. The significance

BEN WITHERINGTON - AMAZING ARCHAEOLOGICAL WORK IN EPHESUS (TURKEY)

Anyone even remotely interested in archaeology will want to become familiar with these fantastic photos of Ephesian terrace houses.   Witherington comments on the light they shed on the Apostle Paul and his ministry.

More . . .

NAZARETH - LATEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL FIND

Dr. Ben Witherington posts of a house dating back to Jesus' time plus additional facts about Nazareth.  Excerpt:

What do we learn about Nazareth of Jesus' day from this find?  Several important things. The find, coupled with what has been found elsewhere in the same vicinity suggests Nazareth was indeed a tiny, out of the way village, with possibly as few as 50 houses. This estimate is based on the tiny findings at the neighboring graveyard. No wonder one of Jesus' potential disciples once asked 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'  Cities, like people, had honor ratings in antiquity, and the honor rating of Nazareth was not even on the chart of top 100 cities,towns, and villages in Israel. A little village set on four acres would not draw much attention.

ARCHAEOLOGY OF CHRISTIAN SITES IN TURKEY

Prof. Ben Witherington recently visited a number of archaeological sites in Turkey.  He offers several posts complete with magnificent photos and commentary on the agora at Izmir (Biblical Smyrna), the archaeological museum at Izmir, the funerary monuments and statues in Hierapolis,  and the Papias Stele.   

 

The memorials (above) are to those who died as gladiators.  Witherington says Hierapolis and Laodicea undoubtedly had its share of such games.

Regarding the agora at Smyrna, Witherington writes:

In the agora there would be the exchange of ideas, not just the exchange of goods.  Consider the story of Paul dialoguing with the Stoics and Cynics in the agora in Athens.  Here the politicians and

PROF. BEN WITHERINGTON REPORTS ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF "LAODICEA"

Fascinating photos and text.  Click here.

BEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL GUIDE TO ISRAEL

Tod Bolen writes:

The best archaeological guide to Israel is now out in its fifth edition.  The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor is the best companion for a trip to ancient sites anywhere in Israel.  The section on Jerusalem is especially lengthy (150 pages in the 4th edition), and the whole is accurate and readable.  Don't expect to find out about hotels or restaurants - this is a guide to archaeological sites only!  The 4th edition came out in 1998, so while I haven't yet seen the new edition, I expect it will have significant updates.  The author has lived in Jerusalem longer than I have been alive.

(HT: Between Two Worlds)