HISTORICAL EVENTS
Whether they are an individual find (an object, inscription, or document) or a large-scale excavation of a site, the example belows have added to our knowledge and understanding of both the biblical world and of Scripture. Archaeology studies human-made artifacts and plants (seeds and pollen) and animals (bones), and the geography and geology of the ancient world’s landscape. It works with documents of all kinds, whether clay tablets, papyri, or other types of historical records. Together, all of these provide much background information of the various cultures that influenced the way the biblical writers saw the world around them and how they responded to and depicted it. Some of the discoveries listed below are discussed in this study Bible, while the reader can find information on others by consulting archaeology reference sources. A list such as this will always be incomplete as archaeology continually makes discoveries.
The Bible as a Whole
Research in geography, natural history, settlement patterns, diet and nutrition, and other scholarly and scientific areas can result in discoveries that reveal new insights into the biblical world.
Old Testament as a Whole
After discovering the first Dead Sea Scrolls during the late 1940s, archaeologists have continued to search for more in the region’s arid caves. The scrolls consist of two types: biblical texts and religious documents. Dating from the first two centuries before the birth of Christ into the first century AD, they show how carefully scribes preserved the biblical text. They have also helped clarify some obscure portions of the biblical manuscripts that scholars have used to translate modern versions of the Bible. The non-biblical scrolls offer clues as to the meaning of some previously puzzling biblical words and show that certain theological ideas were in circulation even before they appeared in the NT, concepts that some scholars claimed to have been invented only after the life of Christ.
The OT has frequent allusions to the world of ancient Egypt. Countless inscriptions and papyrus documents have survived in that land to this day. But through the centuries, scholars could no longer read the hieroglyphs recorded on them. Then Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. As some of his soldiers worked in 1798 to set up a fort, they uncovered a four-foot stone slab known as the Rosetta Stone. It had three inscriptions carved on it, one in Greek and two in different forms of Egyptian writing. Concluding that the Egyptian inscriptions were the same as the Greek text, French linguist Jean-François Champollion began deciphering the Egyptian inscriptions. The ability to read the Egyptian language opened up the history and culture of the ancient civilization, both confirming the biblical history reported in Scripture and revealing new insights into the biblical text.
The people of Mesopotamia developed a form of writing known as cuneiform, meaning “wedge-shaped. The most common writing material was clay, though they also carved cuneiform inscriptions on stone steles and palace walls. The clay tablets excavated throughout the ancient Near East provide valuable clues to the meanings of related Aramaic and Hebrew words appearing in Scripture. In addition, they confirm historical events recorded in the Bible, provide additional information about them, and provide such details of daily life as business transactions, social customs, legal principles and law codes, early science and mathematics, and religious beliefs. Representative examples include:
Excavated in northern Syria, the Ebla Tablets originated in a civilization that existed ca. 2400-2250 BC. Although challenging to translate, they provided more clues to ancient Semitic vocabulary and language development than in translating the Bible more clearly.
Nuzi was a town that existed about nine miles west of the modern Iraqi town of Kirkut. The 4,000 clay Nuzi Tablets record many details of ordinary life, giving us perhaps the best view of what life was like during the time of the patriarchs. Many of the customs depicted in them parallel what we find in the Bible and the rest of the ancient Near East.
The nearly 20,000 Mari Tablets, on the other hand, focus more on the royal family of the wealthy Amorite kingdom situated by the Euphrates River. But they are also essential in studying Amorite personal names, especially what some have called “Yahweh” names. While the documents do speak much about elites, they also contain descriptions of the nomadic peoples of the regions who had customs that echo some of those found in the Bible.
Ugarit was a commercial city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. The Ugarit archives contained documents in a wide variety of scripts and languages. They include myths, economic texts, school exercises, lexicons, and letters, all offering insight into the linguistic, cultural, and religious world of Canaan.
Genesis
Humanity has always wanted to know how life began. Mesopotamia had its own attempt to explain the Enuma Elish. It primarily focuses on how the deity Marduk became head of the gods. Though it parallels Genesis, its creation account is quite different from the Bible. Creation results from a great struggle instead of being effortlessly spoken into existence as in Genesis. The gods make humanity an afterthought to avoid work that they are tired of doing, while biblical creation focuses on human beings.
The Gilgamesh Epic tells of a doomed quest for eternal life. Its most significant interest to Bible scholars is a later addition about a flood told by the hero who survived it. The flood narrative has several parallels to the Genesis Flood account.
In form reminiscent of the genealogy of Genesis 5, the Sumerian King List, also known as the Weld-Blundell Prism, is a list of Sumerian kings who reigned both before and after a “Great Flood.”
The Simmons Ark Tablet from Mesopotamia is the first known extra-biblical mention of animals going two-by-two into an ark as part of a Flood story.
The Akkadian Atrahasis Epic, the Old Babylonian Flood account, also has many detailed parallels to the Genesis narrative.
The Sacred Marriage Cylinder Seal impression, found at Beth Ha-‘Emeq, Israel, dated to 3000 BC, depicts a sacred marriage. It provides insight into some of the symbols and rituals of Early Bronze Age Canaan.
The Beni-Hasan Tomb painting in Egypt illustrates how people from Canaan would have dressed during the period of the biblical patriarchs.
Genesis 14:14 reports that Abraham pursued an invading army to rescue his nephew Lot as far north as Dan, then known as Laish. Abraham would have entered the city at Dan through a monumental arched mudbrick gate. The local inhabitants eventually filled the Middle Bronze Age gate with earth and then buried it, preserving it for 4,000 years. Today, visitors can see what it looked like, just as Abraham would have.
Exodus
In what has been called experimental archaeology, archaeologists seek to replicate an ancient technology or process to determine how people might have once done it. One such project involved making mud bricks as the Egyptians could have manufactured them. It confirmed that adding straw or other organic material to act as a binder was vital for the bricks to have full strength, confirming the Exodus 5 account.
Leviticus
A scroll of Leviticus found at Ein Gedi, Israel, is the earliest known form of the Masoretic text used to translate modern Bibles. Although discovered in a Byzantine-era synagogue, it appears to be a copy of a scroll from the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Numbers
An Egyptian relief of Ramses II’s military encampment at the Battle of Kadesh on the Orontes shows his tent at its center. Since pharaohs were considered the sons of the national god, his tent would have the characteristic of a religious shrine. More traditional shrines were also depicted in the center of camps, paralleling the positioning of the tent of meeting in the Israelite camp (Num. 2:17).
Two tiny silver objects excavated at a site near Jerusalem known as the Ketef Hinnom Scrolls contain a passage resembling that of Numbers 6:24-26, commonly called the high priestly or Aaronic blessing. The inscriptions date to more than 300 years before the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It shows that at least this part of the book of Deuteronomy existed during what scholars call the First Temple period.
A text written on the plastered wall of a building at Deir Alla, Jordan, and ca. 840-760 BC relates a prophecy that later generations remembered as given by the prophet Balaam. Balaam clearly made a strong impact on the history of the region.
Copper or bronze figures of serpents were a common religious symbol in ancient Egypt. Thus, Moses used a symbol that would have been familiar to Israelites who had grown up in Egyptian culture.
Deuteronomy
The Code of Hammurabi is a collection of 282 legal illustrations dealing with commerce, morality, and religion that the king used to show the gods and his subjects that he was a just ruler. Compiled centuries before the time of Moses, many of the examples parallel those in the Pentateuch. They, however, have slightly different standards for the poor and the wealthy, while biblical laws generally avoid such distinctions.
The covenant that God made with the people of Israel follows the pattern of suzerain-vassal treaties of the ancient Near East, especially the ones the Hittites established with other nations. Other examples with strong parallels include the Egyptian-Hittite covenant treaties between Ramses II and Hattusilis III and Tudhaliya IV and Tarhuntassa.
Joshua
The Merneptah Stela records the Egyptian pharaoh’s military conquests in Canaan. He claims, “Israel is laid waste; his seed is not.” Most scholars consider it the earliest known reference to Israel as a national identity or an ethnic group. An artistic depiction of Israel appears on an inscription of Merneptah at the Karnak Temple of Amun.
A Canaanite cultic site at Tel Burna (ancient Libnah), Israel, is 2,700 square feet. Its courtyard contained evidence of sacrificial rites to the god Baal. Interestingly, after Joshua conquered it (Josh. 10:29), it became the property of Aaron and his family, the priestly tribe (Josh. 21:13).
Judges
Judges 16:25-30 records how Samson killed many Philistines by pulling down the pillars that supported the roof of the Philistine temple at Gaza. Excavation of Philistine temples at Tell Qasile and Tel Miqne reveal that they had two central pillars of wood holding up the roof in the main hall. The pillars rested on stone bases and were only six feet apart. A tall man could have pushed or pulled them down, collapsing the structure.
Ruth
A clay bulla (a seal impression on a lump of clay used to authenticate documents or other things) was found on the eastern slope of the City of David. Its paleo-Hebrew script, dated as approximately 2,700 years old, reads, “In the seventh (year). Beit Lehem. For the king.” It is the oldest reference to Bethlehem.
Historical records of rainfall in Moab during recent centuries suggest that the more intense summer heat that often accompanies periods of crop failure west of the Jordan River can cause greater evaporation of the water of the Dead Sea, resulting in adequate rainfall at Moab’s higher elevation. Such may have happened during the lifetime of Naomi and Ruth.
Historical Books: Samuel through Chronicles
Cuneiform records of diplomatic correspondence between Egypt and the many small kingdoms and city-states in Canaan, the Amarna Tablets suggest that a people who might have been Hebrews were active in the area by the early second millennium BC. The documents also give much information on the political and ethnic nature of the land.
The Jerusalem Papyrus, a receipt found in a desert cave in Israel and reading “From the king’s maidservant, from Na’arat, jars of wine, to Jerusalem,” represents the earliest known reference to the city in an extra-biblical text.
Certain scholars have argued that David never existed, explaining that biblical writers invented him to explain how the later kingdom of Judah came into being. But an inscription found at the site of the ancient city of Dan refers to the “House of David.”
Some scholars have argued that no Davidic and Solomonic kingdom ever existed. But the finding of the Khirbet Summeily bulla at a remote site near the border of Philistia and Judah implies that such a kingdom did actually exist. Scribes used such bulla to seal official documents, representing administrative activity.
A palace with adjoining storerooms from the time of David at the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa, a site on the border between Judah and Philistia, also indicates a more prominent administrative presence in the region, suggesting a growing monarchic kingdom. Also, it indicates significant advances in city planning.
Against those who have theorized that Jerusalem was a political and cultural backwater until long after the alleged lifetime of David and Solomon, archaeologists have uncovered increasing evidence of major construction in the city. It includes monumental royal buildings in Jerusalem possibly dating to the time of David, a large First Temple water system, a possible wall of the First Temple, and stone administrative seals recovered below the Temple Mount. In addition, a massive wall from the Canaanite period indicates that Jerusalem had monumental structures even before David captured the city.
The presence of high quality and expensively dyed textile fibers found at Timna in the Arava Valley of Israel shows the high social and economic status of the Edomite miners who would have supplied copper for King David. Copper mining tools dating to the time of David and Solomon found in southern Jordan also support the biblical account of the monarchy’s economic relationship with the area.
The impressive Gezer Palace that some archaeologists have identified as being built during the reign of King Solomon suggests that his kingdom was more extensive than some scholars have been willing to acknowledge.
The Sheshonq Relief carved on the Bubastitte Portal in the Karnak Temple of Amun in Egypt records Sheshonq I’s raid against Rehoboam mentioned in 1 Kings 11:40; 14:25; and 2 Chronicles 12:2-9. A scarab of Sheshonq I, discovered in Jordan, offers further evidence of the Egyptian pharaoh’s raid into Palestine.
The Mesha Stele, or Moabite Stone, depicts Israelite/Moabite relations from the latter nation’s perspective. Besides providing more historical detail than is in Scripture, it has also been found to contain a reference to the “House of David.”
The clay tablets of the Babylonian Chronicles give much extra-biblical information on the siege and capture of Jerusalem.
Found at Arad in Israel, the House of YHWH Ostracon is a receipt for someone’s donation of silver to the Jerusalem Temple. It is the earliest extra-biblical reference to the temple itself.
A shrine in the city gate of Lachish had an altar with the horns cut off and a toilet deposited in the shrine’s holy of holies apparently to desecrate it, suggesting a possible result of King Hezekiah’s religious reforms (2 Kings 18:4, 22; 2 Chron. 29:3).
1 Samuel
Until recently, translators did not know what the word "pim" in 1 Samuel 13:21 meant. But then archaeologists uncovered weights with the term inscribed on them. They realized that the word referred to a unit of weight (about 7.8 grams or .27 ounce), and the passage suddenly made sense.
The Goliath Ostracon from Tell es-Safi found at the site of Gath is the oldest Philistine inscription currently known and contains a name similar to that of the Philistine champion defeated by David, showing that such a name was in use during this period.
The monumental city gate of Gath points to the power of this Philistine city. Gath was one of the five major city-states of the Philistine territory.
2 Samuel
The Pool of Gibeon not only demonstrates the ancients’ ability to construct sophisticated systems but was also the site of a major confrontation during the civil war after the death of Saul (2 Sam. 2:12-17). The large pool was dug into the underlying rock to store water from a spring for the city of Gibeon.
Discovered at the ‘Ain Joweizeh spring cave, Israel, the so-called Absalom’s Pillar is the only known Proto-Aeolic capital that has been found still attached to a pillar. Because ancient architects used it in royal buildings, Absalom apparently used such a type of pillar to indicate that he was a member of royalty (2 Sam. 18:18).
1 Kings
The Iron Age Syro-Hittite Ain Dara Temple in Syria has many similarities to Solomon’s Temple.
To prevent the people of the northern kingdom of Israel from worshipping at the Temple in Jerusalem and perhaps restoring their allegiance to Judah, Jeroboam established rival worship sites at Dan and Bethel. Archaeologists have excavated a large altar at Dan.
2 Kings
The Black Obelisk depicts King Jehu or his representative paying tribute to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III. It is one of the earliest portraits of a Judahite or Israelite ruler.
The Sennacherib Cylinder, or Taylor Prism, a list of the Assyrian king Sennacherib’s military exploits, describes the siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:13-19:35) from his perspective. Notably, he does not mention actually capturing the city, confirming the biblical assertion that the city was spared.
Excavators of the Ophel area between the City of David and the Temple Mount of Jerusalem unearthed a bulla with the inscription “Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah.” Although other artifacts with Hezekiah’s name have turned up in the antiquities market, this Royal Seal was the first found in situ.
The Babylonians took the Judahite king Jehoiachin into exile. Thirty-seven years later, the Babylonian ruler Evil-Merodach freed him from prison. One of the Babylonian Chronicles tablets has a ration list for Jehoiachin.
1 Chronicles
A clay jar bearing the Eshbaal Inscription unearthed at the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa in Israel has in it the same name as one of King Saul’s sons (1 Chron. 8:33). Eshbaal was not a common name in ancient records and inscriptions.
2 Chronicles
The Siloam Inscription found on the wall of what has become known as Hezekiah’s Tunnel records how two teams of workers encountered each other while excavating the water channel. The tunnel itself is an example of the preparations Jerusalem made to protect its water source during any possible siege.
Lachish was the last major fortress to fall (701 BC) before the Assyrians reached Jerusalem. The Assyrian ruler Sennacherib was so proud of his conquest of the heavily fortified city that he had it depicted in friezes on the walls of his palace in Nineveh. The Siege of Lachish reliefs show not only the armor and weapons of the soldiers but also the clothing of the Judahite prisoners.
Ezra
The wording of the Cyrus Cylinder parallels the biblical account of the Persian ruler’s treatment of captive peoples. He allowed them to return to their native lands, restore their places of worship, and follow their religious practices. It also states that he entered Babylon without any battle, similar to the account in Daniel 5:30.
Excavating a large room in Jerusalem from the time of the seventh century BC, archaeologists discovered a black stone seal. The seal had engraved on it the figure of an archer done in Assyrian style. The inscription had the name Hagab, one that appears in Ezra 2:46.
The Elephantine Papyri, documents written by a colony of Jewish mercenaries living on an island in the Nile River opposite modern Aswan, provide insights into customs and religious practices of some Jews during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. They had a temple in which they combined the worship of Yahweh and Canaanite deities. They maintained communication with Jewish leaders in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah
Coins bearing the term “Yahud,” or Judah, offer clues to political developments during the time of the Persian province.
Esther
Reliefs of Persian kings show them extending scepters as described in Esther 4 and 5.
The multilingual Behistun Inscription, besides providing keys to deciphering the Old Persian, Elamite, and Akkadian languages, speaks to the historicity of Darius the Great. It also portrays the victory of Persia over Babylon.
Job
Humanity has struggled with the issue of suffering throughout its history. The ancients extensively wrote about the question in such treatises as the Sumerian “Man and His God: (2000-1700 BC), the Babylonian Job (1500-1200 BC), the Babylonian Theodicy (1400-800 BC), the Egyptian Dispute Over Suicide, and the Akkadian “I will praise the Lord of Wisdom.” The book of Job deals with the problem of suffering and tragedy within the context of God’s character as presented in the rest of Scripture.
In God’s speech to the patriarch (Job 28:1-11), He mentions mining—a high-tech activity of the ancient world. Archaeological studies of the copper mines in the Timna Valley near modern Eilat have revealed how the ancients mined and smelted copper.
Psalms
The Ugaritic Texts and examples of Canaanite poetry have enabled interpreters to understand the words, symbols, and poetic techniques that the biblical psalmists employed more clearly. Reliefs, carvings, and other images portray some of the musical instruments referred to in the psalms. Occasionally, archaeologists find actual examples of such images as “the rider of the clouds,” depicted on the “Baal with Thunderbolt” stele. Occasionally the Dead Sea Scrolls have helped clarify a textual difficulty, such as Psalm 22:16.
Proverbs
The ancient Near East thinkers wrote extensively about wisdom, putting their insights into short, pithy sayings or proverbs. While Mesopotamia wisdom literature generally portrayed life just as it was, such as the Akkadian Counsels of Wisdom (reminiscent to Prov. 2:16-19 and 6:24-26) and the Story of Ahiqar (presenting similar thoughts to Prov. 8:1-36), Egyptian writings focused more on how to use wisdom to advance one’s career and success, especially in the royal court.
Egyptian wisdom literature includes the Instruction of Ptahhotep (2494-2345 BC), the Instruction to King Meri-Ka-Re (2160-2040 BC), and the Instruction of Amen-em-ope 1558-1085 BC). The latter has many parallels to Proverbs 24:23-34. But even though biblical wisdom may echo some themes and sayings of the rest of the ancient Near East, the biblical writers put them in the context of a life obedient to the God of Israel.
Ecclesiastes
Two Mesopotamian works wrestle with ideas dealt with in Ecclesiastes. The Dialogue of Pessimism deals with piety, women, and death—themes appearing in Ecclesiastes. Siduri’s Advice to Gilgamesh presents similar counsel to that in Ecclesiastes 9:7-9, and the Egyptian Song of the Harper (2160-2040 BC) echoes a theme of Ecclesiastes 11:8-10. Another Egyptian treatise, the Dialogue of a Man Tired of Life, explores how to relate to life’s difficulties while uncertain of any future existence. Again, the biblical treatment of such questions is always presented in the framework of Israel’s Deity.
Song of Songs
Romantic poetry was just as popular in the ancient world as it is today, perhaps more so. As archaeologists have translated Sumerian and Egyptian love poems, they have found parallels to imagery contained in the book of Song of Songs. The Sumerian love poem “Bridegroom, Spend the Night in Our House till Dawn” (ca. 2025 BC) remarkably resembles the relationship between the biblical bride and groom.
Isaiah
The Great Isaiah Scroll from the Dead Sea Scrolls collection, copied before the time of Christ and 1,000 years before most of the OT manuscripts that modern versions of the Bible are translated from, demonstrates how carefully ancient scribes preserved the biblical text.
Fragments of an Assyrian victory stele, the Sargon Stela, were discovered at the site of ancient Ashdod. It records Sargon’s defeat of a Philistine revolt in 711 BC. Philistia then became an Assyrian province. The name of the Assyrian ruler himself did not appear in any previously known ancient record. Sargon settled Samaria with exiles from other countries, resulting in a mixed-race population later known as the Samaritans.
Archaeologists who were wet-sifting material in the Ophel area of Jerusalem found a bulla bearing an impression of a seal apparently belonging to Isaiah. They discovered it just a few feet from where an earlier one with the name of Hezekiah had been unearthed.
Jeremiah
The Babylonian Chronicles record the history of the first decade of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. They describe the 597 Fall of Jerusalem.
The Lachich Ostraca consist of 21 dispatches from a military captain to his superiors in Jerusalem. They report on conditions in Lachish during the final Babylonian siege. One letter may allude to the prophet Jeremiah.
The Gedaliah Ben Paschur bulla bears the name of an official of the Judahite king Zedekiah. Gedaliah plotted against the prophet Jeremiah and imprisoned him in a muddy cistern (Jer. 38:1-6).
The Yehuchal Ben Shelamayahu bulla has the clay impression of the seal of another official of Zedekiah who also joined the plot to silence Jeremiah because of the prophet’s urging that Judah submits to Babylon (Jer. 38:1).
Lamentations
Ancient Near Eastern lamentation texts such as the Sumerian Lamentation Over the Destruction of Ur indicate a widespread literary form used to record the destruction of a city, especially if it was considered the home of a deity. The ancients wrote dirges for such cities as Sumer, Ur, Nippur, Eridu, and Urik. Such lamentation poems describe how the gods abandoned them and then invading forces reduced the cities to rubble.
Ezekiel
The Marashu and Sons correspondence of a wealthy merchant family from the Nippur region of Mesopotamia indicates how quickly many Jewish exiles adjusted to their situation and prospered.
In Ezekiel 43:10-11, God asks the prophet to prepare a plan of a restored Jerusalem Temple. The people of Bible times would make models of temples. Archaeologists have found examples molded from clay at Khirbet Qeiyafa that parallels the biblical descriptions of the Jerusalem Temple.
Daniel
Many scholars have argued that the book of Daniel was written long after the events depicted in it, perhaps as late as the second century BC. But an analysis of the Aramaic of the fifth-century BC Elephantine Papyri from Egypt, for example, indicates that 90 percent of the Aramaic words in Daniel also appear in documents dating to the fifth century BC or earlier. The fact that parts of Daniel have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls implies that the text had been in existence long enough to be considered canonical by the time of the Dead Sea people. Thus, it could not have been composed as late as some claim.
The Ishtar Gate, now reconstructed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, is covered with vividly colored glazed tiles and decorated with reliefs of animals. Seeing it, one can understand why King Nebuchadnezzar was so proud of how he had remodeled and expanded the city.
Until 1861, Belshazzar was known only from the Bible. Since then, archaeologists have found 37 known texts attesting to his historical nature, including the Verse Account of Nabonidus, Prayer of Nabonidus, and the Nabonidus Dream Cylinder.
The Belshazzar Inscription (or Nabonidus Chronicle) lists him as coregent with King Nabonidus, who spent about a decade at the Arabian oasis of Tema. It explains how the Bible could thus refer to Daniel as the Babylonian Empire’s “third ruler” (Dan. 5:29).
Hosea
The widespread distribution of household idols found in archaeological digs shows the prevalence of the worship of Baal and other fertility deities and explains why the OT prophets and writers constantly preached against such idolatry.
Hosea protests Israel’s habit of sacrificing in groves (Hosea 4:13). The imagery of sacred trees and groves was widespread in the ancient Near East. References to them appear in literary texts as early as the Gilgamesh Epic. Artists would depict sacred trees in friezes used by Ashurnasirpal II to decorate his Northwest Palace. They appear on seals, tomb paintings in Egypt, and countless other objects.
Joel
Studies of locust invasions in more recent historical periods offer insight into the impact and terror such an event would have had on ancient people in their struggle to survive the loss of their crops. The ancients were always just one harvest away from starvation.
Amos
The prophet Amos dates his prophecy by a particularly notable earthquake that would be long remembered. The Levant is a region of frequent earthquakes, and archaeologists often find physical evidence of such events as they excavate in Israel and nearby countries.
Amos speaks of houses and beds decorated with ivory (Amos 3:15; 6:4), protesting against economic abuse. Archaeologists have recovered such ivory inlays and other wealth indicating artifacts in the region of Samaria. They were so prized that they were imported to Assyria, perhaps as payment of tribute from the northern kingdom of Israel.
Obadiah
The prophet Obadiah condemns the Edomites for taking advantage of Judah’s precarious situation, plundering Jerusalem at least four times. Archaeological evidence indicates an Edomite presence in the Negev during the seventh and sixth century BC, from which they could invade the territory of Judah.
Jonah
Assyrian records record a period of monotheistic worship of the god Nabu starting in 787 BC, followed by a series of calamities, including famine, plague, revolts, and frightening solar eclipses but concluding with what the documents label “peace in the land” in 758 BC. Several of the events took place during the time of Jeroboam II (782-753 BC), the period of Jonah’s ministry (2 Kings 14:23-25). Jonah’s visit to Nineveh may have occurred during this period of religious interest and concern.
Micah
The discovery of the Minor Prophets Scroll at Wadi Murrabba’at has confirmed the antiquity of much of the book’s Masoretic textual tradition.
Nahum
The Babylonian Chronicle describes the fall of Nineveh. Excavation of the ruins of the city itself has found extensive evidence of the city’s violent capture.
Habakkuk
Habakkuk 1:6-7, 15 describes the cruelties of ancient Near Eastern warfare. Although Habakkuk specifically cites the Babylonians, they followed a long tradition of using terror as a weapon. Assyria proudly depicted in friezes decorating their palaces of tortures such as flaying victims alive, impaling captives on poles, putting hooks in their noses, and decapitating them.
The Pesher (Commentary) of Habakkuk from among the Dead Sea Scrolls reads the same as the first two chapters of the Masoretic text.
Zephaniah
Zephaniah 2:4 predicts the fate of the Philistine city of Ekron. Babylonian records report that in 603 BC, Nebuchadnezzar invaded Philistia and captured Ekron. He so thoroughly destroyed the city that its location was unknown until recent archaeological explorations uncovered a stone bearing an inscription with the name of Ekron.
Haggai
Persian records indicate that the empire was undergoing great upheaval during the time of Haggai. As a result, the prophet had to assure the returned exiles that despite such difficulties, if they lived a life of obedience to God’s will, they would find peace and prosperity.
Malachi
The Elephantine marriage contracts offer clues as to how to interpret the references to marriage in Malachi 2:14-16 and whether the marriage imagery also symbolizes religious idolatry.
Malachi 4:5-6 tells that God will send the prophet Elijah before the Day of the Lord (the time of divine judgment). Several non-biblical texts from the Hasmonean period (152-63 BC) allude to the appearance of either Elijah or someone like him in the context of the end of days (4Q558.4, 4Q521, and 4Q382).
New Testament as a Whole
The papyri, the thousands of letters, deeds, bills of sale, marriage contracts, and other documents preserved in the dry climate of Egypt and other deserts of the Middle East give valuable clues as to how the ancients used the words found in the NT and thus help scholars to more clearly interpret the biblical writer’s intent. One collection, the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, named after where they were found in Egypt, mentions a Roman census mentioned in Luke. Most papyri use a Greek-style known as Koine instead of the more sophisticated literary form. The NT employs Koine Greek. Until the discovery of the papyri, scholars assumed that Koine Greek was a special sacred version of Greek instead of the everyday language that it actually was.
The earliest known map of the Holy Land, the Madaba Map Mosaic on the floor of a sixth-century church in Medeba, Jordan, helps locate many NT and early Christian sites and structures.
Gospels
Some historians had questioned whether Pontius Pilate ever existed. But the finding of the Pilate Inscription on a reused building stone in a theater at Caesarea Maritima in 1961 mentions not only his name (Tiberium Pontius Pilate) but also his political office, Prefect of Judea. A ring bearing his name and possibly belonging to a servant has recently surfaced.
Excavations around the Temple Mount revealed the extent of the Roman forces’ destruction when they captured Jerusalem. It shows a literal fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy that not one stone would be left on another (Mark 24:2).
The Arch of Titus near the Forum in Rome depicts the victory of the Romans against the Jewish revolt of 70 AD. One relief portrays Roman soldiers of the Tenth Legion carrying the golden candlestick or menorah looted from Herod’s Temple. It gives us an idea of what the artifact looked like.
The Nazareth Inscription, which dates from the reign of either Augustus or Claudius Caesar, forbids the robbing of tombs. Some have seen it as a reaction to the Christian belief in the resurrection of Christ.
Matthew
The Herodium was a palace-fortress and later the tomb of Herod the Great. Herod built it on a hill about four miles southeast of Bethlehem that he had artificially raised higher; it resembles a small volcano. Archaeologists have found what appears to be the fragments of his tomb that were shattered probably during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans.
Initially constructed by a Hasmonean ruler and rebuilt by Herod the Great, Masada is a fortress perched on a high hill along the Dead Sea. Its palace and other structures show Herod’s great interest in architecture. Archaeologists have found fragments of both biblical and non-biblical scrolls similar to those discovered near Qumran and many coins and inscriptions from the time of Herod, including an ostracon serving as a wine label that bears Herod’s name. Masada was the site of the last stand of one group of Jewish rebels during the First Jewish Revolt.
Although the remains of the present structure may date as late as the fourth or fifth century, the Capernaum Synagogue must have sat on the foundation of the one that existed during Jesus’ lifetime. The more recently excavated Magdala Synagogue clearly dates to the time of Jesus, and He would most likely have visited it. The excavators of the Magdala Synagogue have found new kinds of artifacts in it, such as a stone table with a menorah carved on it.
The “Seat of Moses” excavated in the synagogue at Chorazin, Israel, gives us an idea of what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 23:2. It was a stone seat on which the scribe sat while teaching in the synagogue. The term may suggest that such scribes felt that they had the authority of Moses.
Many scholars believe that the ruins, commonly known as “Peter’s House” in Capernaum, are likely to have been the apostle’s home. If nothing else, the inscriptions on the walls, the pilgrim objects found in it, its layout as a sacred site, and its repeated rebuilding all suggest a long association with his memory.
The Dead Sea Scroll sectarian documents reveal some of the various concepts of the Messiah that were circulating during the time of the birth of Jesus.
Recent examination of a house in Nazareth has led its excavators to suggest it might have been the home of Jesus’ family.
Mark
A papyrus fragment of the Gospel of Mark was reused as part of a mummy mask in Egypt. Dated to AD 80, it offers another bit of evidence that NT documents appeared much earlier after the death of Christ than some have assumed.
The Galilee Boat was discovered buried in the mud along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where it had been preserved. It gives a good idea of the kind of fishing vessel that Jesus and His disciples would have used as they crossed the lake.
The Theodotus Inscription, found in the Ophel region of Jerusalem, describes him as an archisynagogos, or “leader of the synagogue,” a role mentioned in Mark 5:35.
The falling water level of the Sea of Galilee in 2015 revealed a much larger ancient harbor at a site known as Kursi, opening up the possibility that it was the “Land of Gederenes” that Jesus visited during his travels across the lake. Kursi was a Judao-Christian settlement that early Christians made pilgrimages to until destroyed by an earthquake. Archaeologists also found an Aramaic inscription written in Hebrew letters.
Luke
Luke 2:2 states that Quirinius, as governor of Syria, conducted a census that would compel Joseph to go to his hometown of Bethlehem to register for it. Several Quirinius inscriptions in Syria indicate his presence there.
The Caiaphas Ossuary, discovered in an area of first-century tombs of the wealthy, may have belonged to the family of the high priest.
The seven-inch nail embedded in the heel bones of the crucifixion victim from Giv’at Ha-Mivtar, Jerusalem, suggests one way of how the victim would have been brutally positioned during his execution. The forensic evidence of bones found in the tomb indicates he was also nailed through the lower arm, and the legs would have likely been broken as expected to hasten death.
A stone at the Temple Mount inscribed “To the Trumpeting Place” marked where a priest blew a trumpet announcing the beginning and end of the Sabbath.
John
Papyrus 52 in the John Rylands Library is the oldest known Gospel fragment. Some scholars claim that much of the NT was composed long after the time of Christ. Usually dated to AD 125-175, the fragment suggests that NT documents appeared relatively soon after Christ’s death.
Jewish, Samaritan, Christian, and Muslim traditions have identified a specific well located a short distance from Mount Gerizim as Jacob’s Well. It would be where Jesus would have met the Samaritan woman mentioned in John 4.
Archaeologists have excavated the pools of Bethesda and Siloam, places that Jesus visited, as the NT records.
Acts
The Gallio Inscription found at Delphi, Greece, calls the Roman official a” Proconsul,” the same term used in Acts 18:12-14.
Acts 13:7 mentions a Roman official named Sergio Paulus who summoned the apostle Paul because he wanted to “hear the word of God.” Archaeologists have found a Sergio Paulus inscription on the island of Cyprus. It names him as a proconsul, the title given to Sergio Paulus in the NT. Until the discovery of the inscription, some questioned the existence of proconsuls of Cyprus during the time of the apostle.
Archaeologists have found the Bema or Judgment Seat in Corinth. The apostle Paul would have stood before it during his hearing before Gallio.
The Tyrannus Inscription in Ephesus mentions the lecture hall of a teacher where Paul taught after abandoning the local synagogue (Acts 19:9).
Temple Warning Inscriptions uncovered in excavations of the rubble along the base of the Temple Mount announce that Gentiles must not pass that point in the temple or risk their lives. It illuminates the reason behind the charge some Jews from Asia made against Paul in Acts 21:28.
The size of the Theater of Ephesus suggests the size of the mob that gathered to protest Paul’s preaching.
Romans
The Mamertine Prison in Rome graphically indicates the conditions Paul would have had to endure before his eventual execution when he finally reached the great city.
Paul ends the book Romans by sending greetings from several of his associates in Corinth. One of them was an individual named Erastus, a director of public works in the city. Strong evidence suggests that the Erastus Inscription found in Corinth may refer to the apostle’s fellow believer.
1 Corinthians
Slavery was widespread in the Roman Empire. Paul tells believers that they should not become slaves to human beings (1 Cor. 7:23). His statement would have made them think of the various ways a slave could become free (manumission) in their society. One special process might have especially caught their attention. An inscription on the wall of the sanctuary at Delphi records how slaves could be freed through the payment of a price by someone else. Christians had been redeemed by Christ paying the price of His death—a theme throughout the NT.
2 Corinthians
It was a common practice for Jewish religious leaders during the first century AD to send out individuals (shallahs) with letters of recommendation to authenticate their authority to represent such leadership. Until he became a Christian, Paul had been a shallah. The Christian church apparently continued the tradition (Acts 28:21). When the apostle went to the Corinthian church, he lacked such a document and had to defend himself, arguing that the way the Holy Spirit had transformed the believers’ lives demonstrated the validity of his teaching.
Galatians
Wealthy Greco-Roman families would have a paidagogos to oversee their children’s education. Until a child was about 16, he would protect them from danger, teach proper conduct and manners, and supervise homework. Paul used the concept to explain the role of the law. It would lead believers to Christ and show them how to live as sons and daughters of God.
Ephesians
Excavations of Ephesus have revealed the powerful presence of the worship of the fertility goddess Artemis, especially the massive temple dedicated to her. Her cult had become a powerful economic force in the city, explaining its inhabitants’ violent reaction to Paul when he seemed to threaten it. Also, the city was known for written magical spells, known as “Ephesian letters.” Converts to Christianity would naturally destroy any they possessed, no matter how valuable they might be.
Philippians
Inscriptions and other evidence indicate that the inhabitants of Philippi were highly proud of their Roman citizenship. Paul drew on this fact to illustrate the importance of heavenly citizenship and its responsibilities (Phil. 1:27; 3:20).
Colossians
The city of Colossae was about 15 km from the city of Laodicea, and it had an important trade route nearby, but Colossae had been decreasing in commercial relevance. What had not diminished was the strong syncretism present. Paul was probably aware of the mixture between Judaism and Orientalism or Gnosticism in this church and confronted it by sending a letter from Rome. We see this in his use of the word misterion (mystery) applied to Jesus from Colossians 1:26-27 onward.
1 Thessalonians
Evidence from coins and statues indicates that the people of Thessalonica worshipped the mystery religion of Kabiros. It told of a deity who had died, now lived in heaven, and would return to earth one day. Because the cult’s beliefs may have confused Christians in the city about Jesus’ return, Paul had to explain Christian eschatology to them carefully.
2 Thessalonians
When a ruler planned to visit a city or province, the local authorities would announce his arrival, or adventus, beforehand. People would often compare the event to the arrival of a deity and prepare special celebrations. More wealthy cities might erect a new building or mint special coins for the occasion. Paul uses the allusion to highlight Christ’s advent.
1 Timothy
Roman law considered a person a Jew if the mother was one, a practice adopted in rabbinic law. Thus, from a Roman perspective, Timothy was Jewish. Paul and Timothy first evangelized Jews before approaching Gentiles. But some Jews would have been leery of Timothy because of his Gentile father. To allow Jews to be more comfortable toward his fellow missionary, Paul had him circumcised, making him more fully Jewish in their eyes.
2 Timothy
Widespread archaeological evidence of athletic games in the Mediterranean world, including the Olympic Games, reveals the popularity of such sports and explains why Paul would use such imagery and allusions in his teaching.
Titus
Paul, speaking about the difficulties involved in dealing with specific individuals on the island of Crete, cites the Hellenistic poet Callimachus that the islanders were always liars, lazy, gluttons, and brutes.
Philemon
Slave identification tags, chains, statues, and other findings show how widespread Roman slavery was and how it was viewed.
Hebrews
Studies of terminology that the ancients used for Greco-Roman deities help us sense how the book of Hebrews contrasts Jesus with the pagan gods.
The author of Hebrews speaks of Christians running a spiritual race before a “cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1). He used imagery taken from the Greek footraces, part of the pentathlon at the Olympic Games. Because such races lasted longer than most competitions, it required “endurance.” And the “cloud of witnesses” might represent the spectators in the stadium bleachers.
James
Studies of wealth and poverty in the Roman world reveal the social and economic tensions that the early Christians had to cope with. Christian concern and care for others, and even non-believers, set them apart in Roman society and attracted many converts.
1 Peter
The discovery of the 1 Enoch manuscripts in Egypt helps illuminate 1 Peter 3:18-22. They illustrate the concept that Christ’s death and resurrection would have given Him the victory over all evil agencies, including evil angels. Peter thus alludes to ideas that would have been known by many at the time.
2 Peter
Epicureanism, named after the philosopher Epicurus, saw the goal of existence as living a peaceful life based on pleasure. Unfortunately, it gave some an excuse to adopt sensual and even licentious lives. Furthermore, the philosophy taught that the gods were slow in punishing in this life. Since there was not an afterlife, there could be no final divine judgment. The philosophy began to influence some Christians. Peter refutes such ideas in 2 Peter 1:16, 18-21; 2:13-14, and 3:9.
1 John
The apostle opposes certain esoteric religious beliefs that had crept into the church. The teachings found in the Gnostic papyri may represent some of these ideas, and if so, may help us more clearly understand what John was combatting.
2 John
The Didache, a religious document probably dating to the first century AD, treats the questions of how much hospitality to extend to traveling religious teachers and what to do if they presented false doctrines, all in ways similar to 2 John. It shows that the problems were continuing ones.
3 John
Studies of hospitality in the Roman world show its importance in a world with limited facilities for travelers. Early Christian missionaries had few funds to support them, and they could not have survived and spread the teachings of Christ without the aid of fellow believers.
Jude
Christian tradition suggests that several generations of Jesus’ human family participated in church leadership in the Jerusalem area. Early church historian Eusebius (another source for interpreting the archaeology of the early church) cited two documents reporting that the emperor Domitian interrogated two grandsons of Jude because they belonged to the lineage of David. When they demonstrated that they were just poor farmers, he released them, and they were active in the Jerusalem church until the time of Trajan.
Revelation
The magnificent scale of the Altar of Zeus at Pergamon indicates the power and prestige of the god’s worship. Originally a terrace of the city’s acropolis, it has been restored and displayed at Berlin’s Pergamon Museum.
The archaeological excavations of the cities of the seven churches have provided much evidence of their economic, social, and historical aspects, giving clues to understanding the allusions John makes to each city and thus expanding his message.
Graffiti scratched on a wall at Pompeii shows how Romans used numbers to indicate something else, a practice known as gematria. One graffito reads, “I love (a woman) whose number is 731.” Languages in the ancient world often also used letters for numbers. Scholars believe that the numerical value of the letters in the name “Anthousa” added up to 731. Gematria could be used to communicate something that the sender wanted to keep secret to everyone but the target audience. The most famous incidence of gematria in Scripture appears in Revelation 13:17.
A coin of the deified Domitian embossed with seven stars and the emperor’s son sitting on the globe indicates how John took familiar imagery of his time and applied it to Jesus.