The Archaeology Book (Wonders of Creation) 0890515735, 9780890515730

Citation preview

In The Archaeology Book you will unearth: • How archaeologists know what life was like in the past • Why broken pottery can tell more than gold or treasure can • Some of the difficulties in dating ancient artifacts • How the brilliance of ancient cultures demonstrates God’s creation • History of ancient cultures, including the Hittites, Babylonians, and Egyptians • The early development of the alphabet and its impact on discovery • The numerous archaeological finds that confirm biblical history • Why the Dead Sea scrolls are considered such a vital breakthrough Filled with vivid full-color photos, detailed drawings, and maps, you will have access to some of the greatest biblical mysteries ever uncovered. With the enhanced educational format of this book and the unique color-coded, multi-age design, it allows the ease of teaching the fundamentals of archaeology through complex insights to three distinct grade levels. Free downloadable study guide at www.masterbooks.org

RELIGION/Antiquities & Archaeology RELIGION/Christian Education/Children & Youth $16.99 U.S.

ISBN-13: 978-0-89051-573-0

EAN

®

THE

ARCHAEOLOGY

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eveloped with three educational levels in mind, The Archaeology Book takes you on an exciting exploration of history and ancient cultures. You’ll learn both the techniques of the archaeologist and  Level 1 Grades 5-6 the accounts of some of the richest discoveries of the Middle East that  Level 2 Grades 7-8 demonstrate the accuracy and historicity of the Bible.  Level 3 Grades 9-11

BOOK

DAVID DOWN

Ä Ancient Alexander’s Sarcophagus detail

First Printing: February 2010 Seventh Printing: December 2022 Copyright © 2010 by David Down & Master Books®. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, broadcast, stored, or shared in any form whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews For more information write: Master Books, P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638 Master Books® is a division of New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc.

Printed in the China Cover and Interior Design by D. Bogardus Please visit our website for other great titles: www.masterbooks.com ISBN: 978-0-89051-573-0 ISBN: 978-1-61458-157-4 (digital) Library of Congress number: 2010920107 All Scripture references are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted.

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CHAPTER

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4 6 8

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5 7 9

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HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

5

WHAT ARCHAEOLOGY IS ALL ABOUT

6

LAND OF EGYPT

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THE HITTITES

30

UR OF THE CHALDEES

36

ASSYRIA

42

BABYLON: CITY OF GOLD

46

PERSIA

52

PETRA

60

THE PHOENICIANS

70

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

78

ISRAEL

84

GLOSSARY & INDEX

94

OUR BEST-SELLING WONDERS OF CREATION SERIES IS GETTING EVEN BETTER! With this title, the series is being developed in an enhanced educational format and integrated with a unique color-coded, multi-age level design to allow ease of teaching the content to three distinct grade levels.

à Antique monument at the Roman forum

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 Lev l 2 e  Lev 3 vel e L 

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

The Archaeology Book has been developed with three educational levels in mind. These can be utilized for the classroom, independent study, or homeschool setting. For best possible comprehension, it is recommended that every reader examine the text on the yellow background. More skilled readers can then proceed to the gray/blue sections as well. Finally, the most advanced readers may read through all three sections. Look for the following icons and special features throughout the book:

LEVEL ONE

LEVEL TWO

 Text on yellow background

 Text on blue/gray background

 5th to 6th grades

 7th to 8th grades

 The basic level is presented for younger readers and includes the DD’s Journal and Wonder Why segments.

 This middle level delves deeper into archaeological discoveries and issues related to historical concerns, utilizing Words to Know and Reflections.

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why

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These sections uncover the answers to intriguing questions relating to history, archaeology, and discovery.

WHO WHAT WHERE WHY

Each chapter addresses the who, what, where, why, and how of important archaeological and historical information. This information may be found on any level.

HOW

These words found throughout the upcoming chapter present a quick glimpse of important concepts coming up. Utilizing information arising in the chapter, these segments offer questions that probe further into archaeological topics.

LEVEL THREE  Text on white background  9th to 11th grades  This upper level incorporates concepts and theories related to all subject matter included in the text, as well as unique information within the Dig Deeper sections.

NAL FIELD JOUR

dd's

journal

ique own provides un D id av D or h ut A over 40 years of insights into his scovery. archaeological di

This final level takes the reader into controversial and critical issues pertaining to historical accounts, chronologies, dating methods, and more.

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Archaeology: the study of history – the history of the daily life of people and families and countries from hundreds and thousands of years ago.

y g o l o e a h c r A t a h W t u o b A l l Is A r e d n wo

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

Who is an archaeologist?

WHY STUDY ARCHAEOLOGY?

What does the word “archaeology” mean? Where do archaeologists primarily work? Why were ancient cities built on hills? How do archaeologists try and determine how old things are?

Through a method of study, archaeology can show us how people lived and died, and what it was like to live in their cities back then. Archaeology can find information about what they ate, what they wore, what money they used, what their weather was like, if and how they fought with other people, and what form of government they had. By using a method of discovery—excavation and research—archaeologists can answer these and many other questions.

SYSTEM OF DATING Before Christ

BC

Years before the Lord’s birth Anno Domini

AD

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The year of our Lord

Secular scientists often refer to this as BCE (Before Common Era) Secular scientists often refer to this as CE (Common Era)

Á Archaeologists work around the globe in every country and continent discovering clues and details on ancient civilizations.

Á Archaeology Á Strata Á Chronology Á Hieroglyphs Á Dynasty The usual view of archaeology is of an archaeologist down on hands and knees carefully brushing the dust from some fabulous treasure that has just emerged from the earth. Well, occasionally some gold or silver object does come to light, and it is rewarding if it does, but really, that is not what archaeology is all about. The word archaeology is derived from two Greek words: arche, meaning “beginning,” and logos, meaning “word,” and that sums it up—words about beginnings. Archaeologists are digging up the past, reconstructing history, finding out what happened, when it happened, and how it happened, and a piece of broken pottery may tell us more than a golden death mask.

à An archaeologist is a scientist or explorer who uses a methodical process to excavate and study ruins and artifacts from ancient cultures.

 How do archaeologists know what life was like in the past?  What clues can be found, and where do they look for these clues?  Why can a tiny piece of broken pottery tell us more about history than gold or treasure can?

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ies e Israeli Antiquit Th r. ea y y er ev el I excavate in Isra ersees ent body that ov m n er ov g (a y as it Aut hor , and research) h n io at rv se n co s, te t archaeological si a very importan , ah h es ar M at te allocated me a si hronicles ian era. Second C st ri h -C re p e th city in here. I that was fought le att b at re g a es 14 describ of Egypt, a three-week tour on ts is ur to of tion tak e a group bers have the op em m up ro g , ur d of the to thirty el, and at the en e may have up to W . Jordan, and Isra g di e th on s . me as volunteer things every day of of work ing wit h ts lo d fin e w one year, and volunteers in any me, “Did who eagerly ask ds n ie fr e m so t rok en ome I always mee ortant piece of b p im When I return h ry ve a , es “Y erous part g? ” And I reply, eck in that dang n r ou you find anythin y ed sk ri u ery.” ply, “Big deal. Yo ce of brok en pott ie p a pott ery.” They re is t ou ab e all you can tell m the k ey of the world and ott ery of ten holds p ut b , le p eo p e m a bit absurd to so Yes, it does seem to the past.

dd's

journal

ANCIENT CITIES ON A HILL In the pre-Christian era, most cities were built on low hills. In the course of time these hills rose in height. There were no garbage collectors in those days, and banana skins and broken pottery went out the front door onto the narrow lane outside. The road level began to rise until it was level with the resident’s floor.

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When the next downpour of rain occurred, the water poured down the lane and into the house. The remedy was to bring some earth from the surrounding fields and raise the floor level. Sometimes there was a fierce storm, or an earthquake that brought the roof down, or maybe the whole house. There were no bulldozers to remove the wreckage. The man of the house would

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simply level the rubble and rebuild on top. Occasionally an enemy would come and destroy the buildings or set the whole city on fire, as Joshua did at Jericho. In each case the debris was levelled and the new city built on top of it. All this left layers of rubbish on top of the original hill. When it was finally abandoned, this debris could be anywhere up to 98 feet (30 meters) above the original height

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WHY WERE CITIES BUILT ON HILLS? Â It provided an advantage if the city was attacked by an enemy. If the attackers had to scramble up the side of a hill before they tried to breach the wall, it gave the defenders an advantage. Â Palestine can get rather hot in summer and a city on a hilltop would catch the summer breezes. Â There can be heavy rain in winter and a city on a hill was not likely to be washed away. This also was referred to by Jesus when He concluded His Sermon on the Mount by referring to the wise man who built his house on the rock, and the foolish man who built his house on the sand (Matt. 7: 24–27).

of the hill. The final hill is then called a tell, which is simply a mound filled with ancient ruins. And why was the city abandoned? As the sides of the hill did not rise vertically, the area on top was gradually reduced, yet the population kept growing. They ran out of living space. Also, as time progressed, the residents learned to trust more in their armies than in their walls, so by the Roman period most cities were built on the plains.

So when an archaeologist decides to do some excavating, he goes to one of these tells and starts digging down, exposing the successive layers of occupation. It is surprising how these layers, called strata, can be distinguished. It may be necessary to remove the surface accumulation of dirt and debris with a pick, or sometimes even a bulldozer, but when artifacts begin to appear, most of the digging is done with hoes. The debris is collected in buckets, placing any antiquities

or broken pottery in labelled buckets. The labels will indicate where and when the contents of the bucket came from. Spades or shovels are never used, primarily because they are too destructive to the artifacts.

Jesus referred to cities on a hill in His Sermon on the Mount when He said, “A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid…. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matt. 5:14,16

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POTTERY AND ITS SECRETS Pottery is invaluable to the archaeologist for several reasons. Â First, it is plentiful. Everyone had to have pottery: pots, jars, jugs, plates, and other household items. It was just made out of clay so it was comparatively cheap, and there was no alternative. There was no plastic or stainless steel. It had to be pottery. Â Second, pottery was very fragile. A careless kid could easily knock a bowl off the table and break it. Â Third, it was just about immortal. Buried iron will rust, silver could turn to powder, but pottery could be buried 3,000 years and when unearthed is almost as good as when it was buried.

The secret to identification is in the style — the shape, size, and ornamentation. In most of the Middle East, similar styles were the same in most countries. Pottery styles changed from time to time. New fashions came on the market from the potter’s wheel, and everyone seemed intent on having the latest style oil lamp or ceramic jug. The old ones either got broken and the pieces thrown away for the archaeologist to find, or even the good old things got tossed on the rubbish dump. Whichever it was, these pottery pieces hold the clue to the past. So on most digs the workers will find hundreds of pieces of pottery every day, and they all have to be carefully placed in the “finds buckets” and sent for pottery washing. Every piece has to be carefully scrubbed with water and a nail brush, and examined to see if there might be some telltale mark on it, or maybe an inscription.

INTERPRETING FINDINGS Occasionally an archaeologist may challenge the identification or interpretation of the original excavators. He can go to the store rooms and examine the remains to either agree with the first archaeologists or differ from their views. This happened when Professor Kenneth Wood disagreed with the conclusions Kathleen Kenyon had come to about Jericho being uninhabited when Joshua and his army arrived there. He examined the pottery found by her in Jericho and concluded that Kenyon had made a mistake in her conclusions. That is a problem with archaeology. It is not only what you find; it is how you interpret what you find.

Á excavation site of Jericho

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IDENTIFICATION AND LABELING

vel 1 e L  vel 2 e L  el 3  Lev

Usually at the end of a day’s work the archaeologists who can identify pottery styles pour the buckets of pottery pieces onto a table and rake through them to identify the period from which they came. Pieces of pottery from the side of a bowl are usually not much help, but pieces from the mouth of a pot or edge of a bowl may be distinctive. Jug or pot handles may be helpful, as are pieces from the bottom of the vessel. These pieces are then labeled and kept in storerooms for future reference.

 Sometimes broken pottery can be reassembled and glued back together so that the shape and style of the object can be studied. This helps to date and to classify the artifact to certain time periods and cultures.

Á LMLK imprint

WHY WERE INSCRIPTIONS SOMETIMES IMPRINTED ON POTTERY? Lots of jar handles have been found with the letters LMLK imprinted on them. It means “belonging to the king” and indicates it was for some official use. It was used for only a limited period in Israelite history, so when such items are found, archaeologists know from which period they come.

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Archaeologists can look at a variety of clues to help determine how old an artifact may be. From writing on the item to the level of excavation something is found, these and other hints like the shape and kind of pottery will tell archaeologists a lot about the people of that ancient site and their daily life.

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ARCHAEOLOGICAL PERIODS & TRADITIONAL SECULAR DATES

So, as the team working on the dig exposes layer after layer, the time period for each layer can be identified by the pottery styles present in each layer. These layers are allocated time periods, based on comparisons with similar items in Egypt whose dates were once thought to be reliable. Today, additional discoveries from other ancient nations have joined the biblical historical account in showing both biblical and secular archaeologists that these dates are not correct. The global Flood about 2345 BC destroyed everything on earth, so none of the pottery strata indicated on the chart should be assigned a date before that time. Nevertheless, these are examples of pottery and the time periods to which they are traditionally assigned.

1550 - 1200 BC

Late Bronze

2000 - 1550 BC

3300 - 2000 BC

Early Bronze Middle Bronze

MB I

1200 BC - 400 AD

Iron Bronze

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EB I

3300 - 3000 BC

EB II

3000 - 2700 BC

EB III

2700 - 2200 BC

EB IV

2200 - 2000 BC 2000 - 1750 BC

MB II

1750 - 1650 BC

The pottery from this period is rather coarse. Made by hand, it is thick and often not well fired. It sometimes has designs on the outside. This is rather a misnomer because adding tin to copper to make bronze was not invented until the next Middle Bronze period. In this period we find a noticeable improvement in the pottery. The Middle Bronze period ushered in the invention of the fast potter’s wheel. The telltale rings can be seen on the inside of the pottery piece, and the pottery is thinner.

MB III

1650 - 1550 BC

LB I

1550 - 1400 BC

LB II A

1400 - 1300 BC

This period had distinctive color designs on it, which were often simply geometric shapes early on. These developed into much more elaborate paintings of warriors or animals as their skills developed.

LB II B

1300 - 1200 BC

Iron I

1200 - 1000 BC

Iron II

1000 - 400 AD

The Iron Age is usually dated to 1200 BC onwards, not that iron was unknown before then. Even before the great worldwide flood in Noah’s day, Tubal-Cain was “an instructor of every artificer in [bronze] and iron” (Gen. 4:22). In the 15th century BC, Og, king of Bashan, had a “bedstead of iron” (Deut. 3:11).

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WHY STUDY COINS? A coin will probably have some information on it that will reveal the date the coin was issued, but coins were not used until about 600 BC; so anything before then depends on other clues. Sometimes coins were kept until a later period and then dropped, so coins can only tell us the earliest possible date of the layer in which it was found, not the latest possible date.

PROBLEMS WITH THE IRON AGE The following period, Iron Age I, is usually dated to 1200 BC, but here again is a problem for the traditionalists. This is what Finklestein wrote: “The Iron I period again witnessed a dramatic swing in the population of the hill country, this time in the opposite direction .... MB II, Late Bronze and Iron I periods leave two critical questions for which satisfactory answers must be found. Why and to where did over half of the MB II population, i.e., virtually all the inhabitants of the hill country, ‘vanish’? From where did the people who settled the hundreds of sites in Iron I ‘materialize’?”1 And they went. No need to ask where all the Iron Age people came In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, which is in Jerusalem.

(Ezra 1:1-3)

from. The Bible has the obvious answer. This also solves another archaeological problem. Archaeologists have been unable to find much trace of the Persian Period, which in their thinking would have followed the Iron Age. Seals, inscriptions, and artifacts have been found, but there was scant evidence from archaeological strata. The Persian Period should be recognized as the early Iron Age when the Israelites came back from exile.

 Darius I of Persia

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DIFFICULTY IN DATING METHODS A vexing question in archaeology is chronology, or the dates assigned to the strata. The Bible provides very specific information about the past, though there are some minor problems in calculating dates. In the 17th century AD, Bishop Ussher compiled a chronology, based on biblical information, by which he calculated the creation of the world at 4004 BC, making it a neat 4,000 years of history to the birth of Jesus Christ. Not all Bible scholars agreed with his conclusions. One problem is assigning a date to the beginning of the reign of King Solomon of Israel. The length of reigns of the kings of Israel from Solomon to 722 BC, when Israel was sent into exile, are defined in the books of First and Second Kings. They add up to 241 years, but the kings of Judah for the same period add up to 284 years. Then there was the problem of co-regencies. Sometimes a king was crowned before his father died. This happened when Adonijah proclaimed himself king before his father King David died. David promptly crowned his son Solomon as king. It also happened when Hezekiah

Dr. Edwin R.Thiele stated that during “the period under discussion, the years of the kings of Judah were reckoned according to the accession year method, while in Israel the nonaccession-year system was in use.” He claimed that the apparent discrepancies were due to slightly different methods of calculations adopted in the respective countries. Some passages calculated the time periods from the year of accession of a king, while others calculated them from the first complete year of his reign.2

was given only another 15 years to live (2 Kings 20:6). Before his death, Hezekiah apparently crowned his son Manasseh to succeed him.

serious problem is the calculation of Egyptian history, which could be at fault by centuries, and this would be reflected in the archaeological layers in Israel, which are dated by synchronisms It was a bad choice. Manasseh be- with the dynasties and kings of came one of the worst kings Judah Egypt. ever had, but that is irrelevant to the point in question. Was the length of the son’s reign to be calculated from the time he was crowned, or from the time his father died and he actually became king? All these factors have to be taken into consideration. However, these are minor problems. The solution will make a difference of only tens of years. A more

WHY DO SOME HIEROGLYPHS HAVE OVAL RINGS AROUND THE IMAGES?

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Hieroglyphs are ancient writings using symbols as words, sounds, or letters. If you look at the hieroglyphic image above, you’ll notice that several characters are connected within the ring of an oval. Egyptian hieroglyphs began displaying this cartouche (Egyptians’ named it the shenu) during Pharaoh Sneferu’s reign, which lasted from approximately 1875 BC to 1855 BC. What is contained inside the oval that ends with a vertical line is the throne name of a royal Egyptian.

THE PROBLEM WITH EGYPTIAN CHRONOLOGY An Egyptian priest by the name of Manetho compiled a list of dynasties and kings with their lengths of reigns. He lived from 323 to 245 BC during the period of Greek rulers after Alexander occupied Egypt. Ptolemy II asked him to compile a record of Egyptian history. No doubt he had access to inscriptions on the walls of temples, and there would have been much traditional history to which he would have access, but how reliable are such sources? He subdivided the kings of Egypt into dynasties and allocated lengths of reign to the kings and dynasties. A dynasty should be a list of kings who were followed by their family successors, usually sons, but whether from ignorance or some reason we are unaware of, Manetho did not always adhere to this rule. How do we know that they quoted him correctly? We don’t. There are more than a few cases where these A factor that renders Manetho’s records unreliable is that they have not survived to the present time. We only have quotations from later writers to draw on. Josephus in the first century AD quoted passages from Manetho, as did Africanus 3rd C AD, Eusebius 4th C AD, and George the monk. —David Down

writers quote the same passage from Manetho, but their quotations disagree for both the names of the kings and their lengths of reign. But in the absence of alternative information, early scholars accepted Manetho and built their chronology on his records. The result was an inaccurate chronology.

wond

It is now recognized that some dynasties were contemporary with other dynasties. Egypt’s inhabited land is a long, narrow country, and sometimes one king was ruling in the south while another king was ruling in the north. That is not disputed. The only question is how many dynasties were ruling Egypt at the same time. Several scholars have maintained that most of the kings of the Third Intermediate Period, dynasties 21 to 24, were contemporary with other dynasties. The elimination of these dynasties from the sequence of rulers would drastically reduce the dates.

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er Á Gate of Ptolemy II, Philae

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WHY WERE IRON OBJECTS SO HARD TO MAKE?

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In the tomb of the Egyptian boy-king Tutankhamen, usually dated to the 14th century BC, Howard Carter found an iron dagger.

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Such iron probably came from meteorites that had fallen to the earth. Whether people living before the Flood knew how to smelt iron ore or used meteorites we do not know. The problem with iron was the high temperature required to smelt the iron ore. Gold, silver, and copper have comparatively low melting temperatures, but iron requires intense heat to melt it. However, bellows were invented and iron became plentiful in what we call the Iron Age.

BIBLICAL HISTORY & ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION As the archaeological periods of Israel were connected to those of Egypt, it follows that reductions need to be made in the dates assigned to those periods. As currently interpreted, there are glaring discrepancies between Bible history and archaeological interpretations. Dr. Israel Finklestein of Tel Aviv University wrote in The Bible Unearthed,3 “It is now evident that the many events of biblical history did not take place in either the particular era or the manner described. Some of the most famous events in the Bible clearly never happened at all.” Actually the evidence is there, plenty of it, but not in the time frame the archaeologists are looking for it. Get the dates right and there is remarkable agreement between the Bible records and the archaeological evidence.

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The final end of the early Bronze Age civilization came with catastrophic completeness. The last of the Early Bronze Age walls of Jericho were built in a great hurry, using old and broken bricks, and was probably not completed when it was destroyed by fire. Little or none of the town inside the walls has survived subsequent denudation, but it was probably completely destroyed, for all the finds show that there was an absolute break, and that a new people took the place of the earlier inhabitants. Every town in Palestine that has so far been investigated shows the same break. The newcomers were nomads, not interested in town life, and they so completely drove out or absorbed the old population, perhaps already weakened and decadent, that all traces of the Early Bronze Age civilization disappeared.4

The Early Bronze Period should be dated c.2100 to 1405 B.C. All would agree that it should be recognized as the occupation of the land by the Canaanites. The following Middle Bronze Period presents problems. It commences with MB I, which is recognized by archaeologists as a time when a new people occupied Palestine. These new people should be recognized as the Israelites under Joshua. “An absolute break ... a new people ... every town in Palestine...newcomers were

nomads ... completely drove out or absorbed the old population ... ”5 Could we expect to find a more apt description of the Israelite invasion—nomads from the desert who initially were not interested in living in the cities?

Dr. Rudolph Cohen was the Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority up until he retired in 2005. He had excavated in the Negev (southern Israel) for 25 years, so knew what he was doing there. In particular, when Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula after the SixDay War, he excavated at Kadesh Barnea. That was where Moses sent out the 12 representatives to spy out the Promised Land (Num. 13). Two million people would leave lots of evidence that they were there, and Dr. Cohen says he found it. The pottery he uncovered was MB I, and he concluded that it had been left behind by the Israelites who had encamped there. By the Bible chronology that would be about 1445 BC. The following MB II period was the most affluent and powerful period in the history of Palestine. The traditional identification of this period is Canaanite occupation, but why the sudden development?

It is much more logical to ascribe this period to the Israelites.

The answer should be obvious; this was when the Assyrians and Babylonians conquered Israel and Judah and sent them into exile.

Then came the Late Bronze Period. Again, this is traditionally considered to be Canaanite, but once more archaeologists are confronted with a problem. The ne land became denuded of most nze O o r B y l Ea r of its population, and Two I Bronze y EB l archaeologists do not r a E ree know where they went. I nze Th I o r B B y E l Ea r Finklestein wrote, “The r I ze Fou I n I o r B B fortified centers of the hill E Early One country, as well as many of ronze B e B IV l d E Mid the cities of the lowlands, o nze Tw I o r B B e l were destroyed at the end M Midd ee ze Thr of the Middle Bronze I.... In I n I o r B B e M Middl contrast to the extraordinary I One I ronze prosperity of MB II, the Late B MB I e t a L oA Bronze period was characterze Tw I n o r B B L Late ized by a severe crisis in settleA Two B e I z I n o r B ment.... Moreover, those sites L Late B e where occupation did continue B I ze On I n o r B B L Iron frequently shrank in size.”6 wo I N onze T r B IRO n o Ir II ing N O ry Dat e IR t t o P of Chart l dates à See or traditiona p.12 f e Age nz of Bro

BRONZE AGE DATING It became apparent that archaeologists could not simply identify four basic Bronze Age periods. As time went by, people were able to identify some layers within these broad strata, so they were divided. Early Bronze was split into EB I, EB II, EB III. Middle Bronze was subdivided into MB I, MB II, Late Bronze into LB I, LB II, and Iron Age into Iron I and Iron II. These layers were eventually even further subdivided.

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Carbon 14 dating: Also known as radiocarbon dating, this is a scientific process that attempts to date the age of objects once living by measuring the remaining carbon in them. Carbon declines with time in all organic or biological things of years ago.

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 Level 1  Level 2  Level 3

WHY IS CARBON DATING UNRELIABLE?

Suppose a 12-year-old tried to get a driver’s license, giving officials his birth certificate but stating that he was actually 17 years old. The people in the office would note that the birth certificate showed the age of 12, and they would not be very impressed if the boy said, “But if you calibrate my birth certificate so it reads 17 years, then it will support my claim that I am 17 years old.” This is the circular reasoning that scientists use to make carbon 14 dating agree with the dates assigned by the historians to Egyptian history. stable C-2

Living organisms absorb C-14 (radio carbon) during their lifetimes.

A small piece of the fossil is burned and converted to carbon dioxide gas.

unstable C-14

fossil nitrogen

C-14 decays into N-14, emitting an electron. electron

A radiation counter records the number of electrons emitted

à Carbon Dating Process Carbon 14 dating is often quoted in support of ancient archaeological dates. But what most people do not realize is that these dates have to be calibrated to agree with the generally accepted timeline of Egyptian history. Referring to dating methods, it has been stated that as measurements became more precise it “became apparent that there were systematic discrepancies between the dates that were being obtained and those that could be expected from historical evidence. These differences were most marked in the period before

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about the mid-first millennium BC…. Dates for the earliest comparative material available … appeared to be as much as 600 years, or about 12 percent, too young.” 7 Six-hundred years too young! The period before the mid-first millennium BC is the time that Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky and Dr. Donovan Courville claim was erroneously added to Egyptian chronology.

MYSTERY: WHERE DID THE 600 YEARS GO? There is a problem in reconciling the biblical record of the Exodus with the history of Egypt. Most archaeologists assign the Exodus to the 18th or 19th dynasty. But these were the most powerful dynasties that ever ruled Egypt, and there is no trace of any disaster of the magnitude of the plagues that fell on Egypt prior to the Exodus, or the destruction of the Pharaoh and his army in the waters of the Red Sea. So, if the chronology usually adopted for Egyptian history is correct, the biblical record of the Exodus must be discredited. But if the revision of dates proposed by these later scholars is to be accepted, then the Exodus would have occurred after the 12th dynasty ended, and at that time there is abundant evidence for national disaster in Egypt. Where then should 600 years be dropped from Egyptian dates? The Nubian King Tirhaka of the 25th Dynasty came to the throne of Egypt in 690 BC and was contemporary with King Hezekiah of Judah, who reigned from 729 to 686 BC (2 Kings 19:9). These kings were also contemporary with Sennacherib of Assyria (verse 16), who ruled 705–681 BC. So there is no dispute about Egyptian chronology back to these dates. But Pharaoh Merneptah of the 19th dynasty, usually dated about 1236 BC, states on his stele, “Israel is desolate, his seed is no more.” Courville ascribes this to the conquest of Samaria by the Assyrians, and the exile of the ten tribes in 722 BC. If that placement is correct, as seems likely, then instead of ruling in the 13th century BC, Merneptah and his father Rameses the Great must have ruled in the 8th century BC, shortly before Tirhaka of the 25th dynasty. This then would account for the reduction of dates by more than 500 years shortly before 700 BC. It means that dynasties 20 to 23 must be regarded as contemporary with 19 and 24, and the time period of nearly 500 years usually allotted to dynasties 20 to 23 would be dropped from the progressive time scale. A further reduction would result from recognizing that some kings of dynasties 18 and 19 were also contemporary. Radiocarbon dates should not have been manipulated to “agree” with Egyptian history. Egyptian history should have been shortened to agree with the radiocarbon dates for this time, and the corresponding dates assigned to the archaeological strata would be similarly reduced. This results in a close correlation between biblical and secular history.

Á Ramesses II

à Great Sphinx of Giza

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Dynasty: a line of kings descended from one another until there is a revolution, or a palace coup, which starts a new dynasty. The history of Egypt is divided into thirty-one dynasties.

t p y g E f o d n La B I G

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

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Who was most likely the Queen of Sheba who visited King Solomon? What happened to the bodies of the kings buried in the pyramids? Where is the biggest pyramid ever built? Why do contradictions appear between Egyptian and biblical history? How might 15-ton stones have been moved to build pyramids?

Noah had three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth. One of Ham’s sons was Mizraim (Gen. 10:6). After the great flood in Noah’s day and the subsequent dispersal from the Tower of Babel, his family must have migrated to North Africa. Egypt today identifies itself as Misr, which is the singular form of Misraim. There is the Misr Bank, the Misr Travel Agency, the Misr Insurance Company, and many others. It is their national name.

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Á This illustration shows the process of plotting and excavating a dig site.

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ries Chance Discove

hah in dig site at Mares r ou at d ve ri ar e When w charge archaeologist in i el ra Is e th 1, 0 0 Israel in 2 stones on d a half circle of un fo ad h ey th as beneath told me that e to k now what w lik ld ou w ey th d idea to me the ground and unded lik e a goo so It e. er th g di my group to them. He ask ed and I agreed. l of the ere below the leve w e w l ti un n w not ing our way do to this day we do d We started work an , em th th down not hing benea k ept on digging e w stones. There was ut b , y h w or e stones there k now who put th und anyway. , and I turned ro am re sc s er te n lu then one of our lady vo rescued her, and e W e. Suddenly I heard ol h a n w tomb disappeared do bed down into a im cl to find her leg had I e. ol h e th ont nteers to enlarge been placed in fr ad h I ask ed two volu at th e on st at was intact. The erson to enter th p st fir to discover that it e th as w I The as still in place. ,300 years ago. 2 e m so of the entrance w ce la p en le st burial had tak eton had a valuab el sk tomb since the la e al m fe e n Greek five sk eletons. O a silver coin—a as w tomb contained er h e id gs ole finger, and alon . It had a small h h it w ring on her bony e ad tr to st is coin was not ju in from her drachma. But th e it had been a co m ld to at th d ber an de, ere st rung a num w h drilled near the si ic h w on k ec ce round her n dowry—a neck la 22) of coins. (Continued page

EXCAVATION: Digging is not done at random where some object may be protruding from the ground. Â First, the surveyors plot the tell into squares, usually of five meters by five meters in area. Â Leaving a half meter on each side as a baulk (ridge) between squares, the workers then carefully dig down all over that square to a depth of ten to twenty centimeters at a time, carefully collecting any items they find and placing them in a labeled bucket. Â The dirt that has been collected is usually sent for sieving to collect any small items like coins, beads, or other small objects that might have been missed by the diggers.

 It is important that the sides of the square be cut vertically. This exposes the layers of occupation that may have accumulated.  The floor is then swept to disclose any variations such as different colored dirt or nature of soil, which may give a clue to some deposit, and then the team digs down another ten to twenty centimeters.  If an object protrudes from the ground level, it is not dug out and removed. Excavation of that square is continued until that object is finally released from its place so it can be determined which level it came from.

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(Continued

from page 2 1) To me the si gnificance w as the conn a parable Je ection to sus told. “W hat woman ten pieces o having f silver, if sh e lose one pie drachma], d ce [Greek oth not ligh t a candle a the house, a nd sweep nd seek dilig ently till she when she h find it? And ath found it , she calleth neighbors to h er friends an gether, sayin d g, Rejoice w which I had it h me; for I lost ” (Luk e have found 15:8–9). the piece She was not concerned th at she migh bread for he t not have e r household nough mon . This coin w loss would n ey to buy as obviously ot only have p a r t o f s e h n e ti r dowry, an mental valu to lose it. d it s e. It would b e a disgrace for her The lesson Je sus drew fro m the parab there is joy le was: “Lik in the prese ewise, I say nce of the a repenteth” unto you, n gels of God (verse 10). A o v e r o s n I e h si eld that coin nner who the love Go in my hand d has for th , I was remin e lost sinner. ded of

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The history of Egypt is divided into 31 dynasties. The kings of the first two dynasties were buried in mastabas, mud-brick structures beneath which were tomb chambers. King Zoser was the first king of dynasty 3, and he had a vizier (prime minister) by the name of Imhotep who came up with a new idea: he built a mastaba of stones. Not very large

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stones and not very neatly cut, but they were stones and that was a new idea. He then got the idea of adding four more stages onto this mastaba and then two more. It is known as the Step Pyramid of Saqqara. Seneferu was the first king of the fourth dynasty, and he went one better. He built three pyramids, and nobody is sure why. Mendelssohn suggested that the

first pyramid at Meidum collapsed before it was completed, so he then built the Step Pyramid at Dahshur, but that showed signs of cracking under the enormous weight of stones, so he then built the Red Pyramid nearby, but his body was not found in any of them. This seems a plausible explanation, but not all archaeologists agree with him.

Á Step Pyramid of Saqqara

à Red Pyra m

Ä Bent pyramid at Dahshur

id

WHY ARE THERE NO BODIES IN THE PYRAMIDS?

r e d n wo

why

The bodies of kings were all removed by tomb robbers who took not only the treasures that were buried with the kings, but also the bodies to extricate the jewels that were attached to them.

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THE BIGGEST PYRAMID EVER

Á Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) height 481 feet

Seneferu’s son Khufu built his pyramid at Giza on the outskirts of Cairo. It is a huge mountain of some three million stones, some of them fifteen tons in weight. These stones came from a limestone quarry 1,640 feet (500 meters) from the pyramid. They dragged these stones on sleds to the site of the pyramid, but how they got these huge stones up onto the pyramid, which was 479 feet (146 meters) high, is still unknown.

Pyramids of Queens

Valley Temple of Menkaure Valley Temple of Khafre

Á Pyramid of Chephren (Khafre) height 448 feet Á Pyramid of Menkaure (Mycenrinus) height 218 feet

Pyramid of Menkaure

Pyramid of Khafre

Mortuary Temple

Pyramid of Khufu

Queen’s Tombs The Sphinx Temple of the Sphinx

Eastern Cemetery

Valley Temple of Khufu

PYRAMIDS AT GIZA Khufu’s son Kafre built the next pyramid at Giza. It was only slightly smaller than Khufu’s, but still a huge undertaking. Then came Menkaure, whose pyramid was only a quarter of the size of his predecessors’. The workmen who built these pyramids were not slaves. They were Egyptian artisans and peasants who had a good diet, and examination of some of their skeletons reveals that they received careful and skilled medical attention if they were injured in the course of their work.

ANCIENT HUMANS Ancient people were not evolving human beings, but brilliant architects and engineers with intellects superior to our own today. They were descended from Adam, who was made in the image of God. The only reason we can send men to the moon

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The pyramids of the next dynasties were rather shoddy affairs. They consisted of heaps of stones and debris faced with smooth white limestone, but the facing stones have since been removed and used by local builders, and only the heaps of rubble remain.

Á The Antikythera Mechanism artifact has 32 gears.

is because of an accumulation of knowledge, not because of our superior intellect.

ISRAEL IN EGYPT In the 12th dynasty there was a revival of wealth and power. It is traditionally dated to about 1990 to 1780 BC, but some scholars consider that the dates of Egyptian history need to be reduced, and this would bring it down to the time of Joseph. Sesostris I was the second king of this dynasty, and there is much circumstantial evidence to support this identification.

In his book Ten Years Digging in Egypt, Sir Flinders Petrie described how he searched for the burial place of the pharaoh buried beneath the huge pyramid of Hawarra in the Faiyyum. He dug a tunnel in from the side of the pyramid, which was made of mudbricks laced with straw. He wrote:

One of the last kings of this dynasty was a pharaoh called Sesostris III. It would have been he who said to his people, “The children of Israel ... let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us.” (Exod. 1:9-10). He also ordered the killing of the firstborn Israelite babies. He was followed by his son Amenemhet III, and it is under him Moses may have been born. It is significant that we know he had no sons, only a daughter who had no children. Her name was Sobekneferu, and it could have been she who went down to the River Nile to take a bath. She could have been taking a ceremonial bath in the sacred River Nile, praying to the river god Hapi, who was considered the god of fertility in Egypt. She would have been praying for a baby, and when she saw the basket with the baby Moses in it, she would have regarded him as an answer to her prayer. But when Moses was 40 years of age, he slew an Egyptian and was obliged to flee to the land of Midian, where he stayed for another forty years. When Amenemhet died, he was succeeded by his daughter, who died after four years, and that was the end of the 12th dynasty.

“This work was very troublesome, as the large bricks were laid in sand and rather widely spaced; hence as soon as any were removed, the sand was liable to pour out of the joints, and to loosen all the surrounding parts. The removal of each brick was therefore done as quietly as possible, and I had to go in three times a day and insert more roofing boards.... After a further search on all the four sides for the entrance, the masons attacked the sloping stone roof, and in two or three weeks’ time a hole beneath them was reported; anxiously I watched them enlarge it until I could squeeze through, and then I entered the chamber above the sepulcher; at one side I saw a lower hole, and going down I found a broken way into the sandstone sepulcher, but too narrow for my shoulders. After sounding the water inside it, a boy was put down with a rope ladder; and at last, on looking through the hole, I could see by the light of his candle the two sarcophagi, standing rifled and empty. In a day or two we cleared away the rubbish from the original entrance passage to the chamber, and so went out into the passages, which turned and wandered up and down. These were so nearly choked with mud, that in many parts the only way along them was by lying flat, and sliding along the mud, pushed by fingers and toes.”1

 The Pyramid of Amenemhet III at Dahshur

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à Pyramids at Giza

à Step Pyramid of Djoser

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à Dead Sea Scrolls

à Ziggurat at UR

à Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz.

à Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasaga

CLUES TO THE PAST From majestic monuments like the Pyramids of Giza to the precious fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, there are clue to the past all around us. While large ruins like Persepolis are easily seen and studied, some of the tiniest clues reveal the most about these ancient cultures. Whether at sites in modern Israel or the rest of the Middle East, archaeologists continue to find artifacts and sites that confirm the biblical timeline and history revealed in God’s Word.

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD 1. Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt) 2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Babylon) 3. Statue of Zeus (Olympia) 4. Temple of Artemis (Ephesus) 5. Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (Southwest Turkey) 6. Colossus of Rhodes (Island of Rhodes) 7. Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos)

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EVIDENCE OF SLAVE LABOR

There are different opinions of how this first period of occupation at Kahun drew to a close.... The quantity, range, and type of articles of everyday use which were left behind in the houses may indeed suggest that the departure was sudden and unpremeditated.4

In 1890 Sir Flinders Petrie began excavations at a place called Kahun in the Faiyyum Oasis where dynasty 12 built some of their pyramids. He identified the pyramid of Amenemhet III, which was made of mud bricks mixed with straw. That is significant because the Bible says Pharaoh said to the workmen, “Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves” (Exod. 5:7).

Dr. Rosalie David

in Egypt; no evidence that they suddenly left. The reason is that they are looking at the wrong time. By the revised chronology there is compelling evidence to support the Bible record.

In the city of Kahun where the pyramid builders lived, he found evidence of many Semitic slaves. Dr. Rosalie David, author of The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt, wrote, “It is apparent that the Asiatics were present in the town in some numbers, and this may have reflected the situation elsewhere in Egypt... Their exact homeland in Syria or Palestine cannot be determined... The reason for their presence in Egypt remains unclear.” 2 She added, “It is apparent that the completion of the king’s pyramid was not the reason why Kahun’s inhabitants eventually deserted the town, abandoning their tools and other possessions in the shops and houses.” 3 Some archaeologists have claimed that there is no evidence for the existence of Israelite slaves

à Nubian captives in a relief at Abu Simbel

THE TRAGEDY OF TUT

 famous bust of Queen Nefertiti in the Egyptian Museum in Berlin, Germany

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While King Tut’s body was found with a breathtaking collection of golden treasures, the richness of his burial hides a sad and perhaps troubled reign for this famous boy king. After a lot of confusion regarding which royals may have been his parents, it is now commonly thought he is the son of Akhenaten, a pharaoh who was hated by many because he abandoned many of the traditional Egyptian gods in favor of one associated with the sun. This created deep resentment among the priests of the traditional gods, who would have used their power to influence the young king. Recent studies have focused on what or who may have killed the young king, but scholars are still debating that question.

A POWERFUL DYNASTY Hot on the heels of the departing Israelites, the Hyksos invaded Egypt and enslaved the people, rather a fitting punishment for them having enslaved the Israelites. They were driven out by the founders of dynasty 18, which became the most powerful and affluent dynasty that ever ruled Egypt.

the most impressive being at Abu Simbel, which was cut out of the solid cliff face. When the Aswan Dam was built, its rising waters threatened to engulf this temple, so archaeologists and engineers were obliged to cut it in pieces and rebuild it on higher ground. Rameses fought only one battle during his reign. It was at Kadesh in Syria against the Hittites, and he nearly lost that battle.

Female Pharaoh

Prophecy Confirmed

The fifth ruler of dynasty 18 was Queen Hatshepsut. She was only a teenager when she ascended the throne and ruled for 22 prosperous and peaceful years. She built a beautiful temple near Luxor on which she tells of her expedition to the Land of Punt. Nobody can be sure where Punt was, but by the reduced chronology she would have been the Queen of Sheba who came to visit King Solomon in Israel. The visit is described in 1 Kings 10.

Two of the later pharaohs are mentioned by name in the Bible. Second Kings 19:9 says that King Hezekiah of Judah “heard say of Tirhakah King of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee.” Tirhakah was a Nubian king who had occupied Egypt and reigned as a pharaoh of dynasty 25. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra King of Egypt into the hand of his enemies” (Jer. 44:30). Hophra belonged to dynasty 26 and ruled from 588 to 569 BC. As Jeremiah had predicted, he was assassinated by those of his own people who were opposed to him.

Temple Treasure She was followed by Thutmosis III, who became the most powerful pharaoh who ever ruled the land of Egypt. He describes his military conquests in Nubia and Syria. In the Bible he is most likely identified as the Shishak who occupied Jerusalem and took all the treasures out of Solomon’s temple. A relief on the wall of his shrine in the Temple of Karnak depicts the treasures he brought back from his military expedition. The items shown correspond closely with the treasures that would have been in the temple of Jerusalem. The Boy King The best-known king of dynasty 18 was Tutankhamen, whose tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922. The more than 2,000 fabulous treasures found in his tomb are now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, where many of them are on display. Rameses In dynasty 19, the best-known king was Rameses the Great, who built many temples,

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 Temple of Karnak

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Hittites: Some three thousand years ago, the Hittites were the most powerful nation in the Middle East.

The Hittites Egypt is one of the most popularly known ancient empires. But it was not the only one to influence civilizations or challenge explorers and archaeologists. Geographically, the empire of the Hittites extended from the Black Sea in the north to Damascus in the south, and more than a thousand kilometers east to west in Anatolia, now a part of modern Turkey. Militarily, they were a foe to be reckoned with. They were masters of strategy and possessed a large number of light iron chariots that they were able to maneuver skillfully. They learned to ride on horse­back, a skill that was not acquired by other peoples until a later period. In fact, a horse-training manual has been discovered from Hittite excavations, which is considered to be the first such manual ever written. But, at one time, the clues to finding this empire were few and well-hidden among scattered ruins. It took more than one archaeologist to uncover the truth.

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

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Who helped bring the great Hittite civilization back into the light? What vital clue was found that raised so many questions? Where did Charles Texier find the ruins of the lost city? Why did so many scholars scoff when Archibald Henry Sayce stated the ruins were those of the Hittites? How was the issue of the Hittites’ existence finally resolved?

What was found that helped bring to light the empire of the Hittites that some had thought was only myth?  tell  amphitheater

OTHER METHODS OF EXCAVATION Occasionally other methods are used. It may be deemed advantageous to cut a trench in from the side of the tell. This will quickly expose the successive layers of occupation. Professor John Garstang dug such a trench on the edge of Tell es Sultan, the present name for ancient Jericho. Sometimes a shaft may be dug down in some selected square on the top of the tell. Dr. Kathleen Kenyon dug a huge shaft right in the center of Jericho. It is surprising how distinctly the successive layers of occupation can be seen, especially if there has been an earthquake, causing many houses to collapse, or if there has been a fire. It is very important that every layer be identified, especially for chronological identification. The style of pottery found in each layer will give a clue as to the time period of that layer. The Bible says that when David returned to his temporary abode at Ziklag he found that the Amalekites had invaded the town and burnt it with fire (1 Sam. 30:1). Archaeologists found two layers of fire in excavations at Ziklag. It is important that they know which was the layer of ash caused by the Amalekites. Correct identification is sure to correspond with the Bible record. There are other indicative items, and as coins and seals are seldom found because they were of value to the owner, who would not throw them away, archaeologists resort to the most common items found on a dig: pottery. It does not matter if it is a whole pot, oil lamp, jug, or even a broken portion of a pottery vessel, it can give a clue to the time period from which it came. Pottery pieces are identified by the style of the vessel or the clay from which they were made.

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Politically, the Hittites showed themselves to be more astute than any of their neighbors. They had a very humane code of laws, and their women were remarkably free from many of the traditional roles of women. Yet this great nation not only disappeared from history, it was lost and forgotten so completely that historians knew nothing about them. The 1861 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, under the subject “Hittites,” contains just eight and a half lines: HITTITES, the children or descendants of Heth, formed one of the tribes of Canaanites which occupied Palestine before the Israelites. They lived in the mountains of Judea round Hebron, and retained their nationality even after the return of the Israelites from exile. The “kings of the Hittites” are often mentioned in connection with the kings of Syria; and in the days of Joram their alliance with the Egyptians was an object of dread to the besieged inhabitants of Samaria.1

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The Bible contains many references to this people, the word “Hittite” appearing no less than 46 times in the King James Version. We read about them in Genesis 23:3–4 after the death of Abraham’s wife Sarah. “And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the [Hittites]... Give me a possession of a burying place.” When Israel was occupying the Promised Land, Moses was told in Deuteronomy 20:17 of the nations who then occupied it. “The Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” You will notice that not only were the Hittites mentioned here, but they were also placed at the top of the list, and there were some strong and well-known nations listed. An even more significant verse is found in 2 Kings 7:6. Samaria was under siege by the Syrians, but suddenly the Syrians fled in terror, “For the LORD had made

LOOKING FOR THE HITTITES The story really begins in the year 1810 with an incident in the life of a Swiss explorer by the name of John Burckhardt. Burckhardt visited Hamath in Northern Syria and noticed in the foundations of a building some large oblong stones on which were inscribed some strange hieroglyphic writing. It was not Egyptian, but what was it? Burckhardt had no idea, nor did anyone else. It did not fit any known people. In 1834 a French explorer by the name of Charles Texier was traveling through central Turkey in search of the lost Roman city of Tavium. He came to the sleepy village of Boghazkale, made his usual inquiries about ancient ruins, and was told that just up the hill there were plenty. What he saw made him gasp. Here were sculptured stones, deserted streets, and a surrounding wall five kilometers in circumference. It was not Tavium. It was too big for that. But what was it? Who had built and occupied this great city? Texier was led across a valley to a clump of large rocks jutting from the ground. The place was known as Yazilikaya. Engraved on the side of one of the rocks was a line of figures with

peaked hats. What were they? Kings? Soldiers? Gods? Texier was mystified. There was no known nation of antiquity that fit, so he went away baffled. The following year a British traveler, William Hamilton, came to Boghazkale and saw all that Charles Texier had seen. He stumbled across another deserted city known to the Turks as Alacahuyuk. Hamilton was equally perplexed by his discovery. In 1862 a Frenchman named George Perrot came to Boghazkale. Besides the things that his predecessors had seen, Perrot found among the ruins a rock face known locally as the Nishan Tash, on which there was a lengthy hieroglyphic inscription. Perrot, of course, had no way of knowing what was written on the rock, but he too was mystified at this strange writing. In 1870 two Americans, J. A. Johnson and Dr. Jessup, strolling through the bazaar at Hamath, noticed not only the stones that Burkhardt had reported but also three others. Shortly after, another similar stone was discovered in Aleppo. The mystery of the Hittites was getting close to being solved.

the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.” Here, not only are the Hittites mentioned as striking terror into the hearts of the Syrian soldiers, but the Hittites are even placed ahead of the powerful Egyptian Empire. And so, according to the biblical records, the Hittites were an important and powerful nation. Yet they disappeared from the pages of secular history. The story of their discovery has all the drama and suspense of a best seller.

 Yazilikaya

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A VITAL CLUE In 1872 a man of a different character entered the picture. He was William Wright, an Irish missionary who spoke the local language, understood the people, and more importantly, was on good terms with the governor, Subhi Pasha. The governor was an enlightened man, and Wright was able to convince him that the Hamath stones should be removed and sent to the museum at Constantinople for safe keeping. But that was à Ancient Hittite characters when the trouble began. It seems that the local people had a superstitious belief in the stones’ curative properties for eye diseases, of which there were no shortages in the area. When the governor’s men began to chisel the stones from the building, the people protested loudly. The governor, having the military on his side, was finally able to complete the task and remove the stones to his palace. That night, the emotions of the crowd, became frenzied. There was a shower of falling stars that heightened the superstitions of the crowd and they stormed the gates of the palace. If the soldiers had not been there, Wright and the governor would not have lived to see the sunrise. In the morning, the crowd was still there and the governor admitted a delegation to present their complaints. He listened gravely to their objections, especially to their assertion that Allah had shown his displeasure in the display of falling stars. Pointing out the lack of any bad consequences, the governor convinced the crowd to withdraw, and the Hamath stones were

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removed to the Constantinople museum where they are now on display. In 1876 excavations commenced in the ancient site of Carchemish, 100 kilometers northeast of Aleppo near the border between Turkey and Syria. Here were discovered numerous impressive monuments of the same style as had been noted in Turkey, as well as more stones inscribed with the same mysterious hieroglyphic characters. The finds were now coming quickly. From as far away as Smyrna on the west coast of Turkey, inscriptions were found. Still nobody could hazard a guess as to who had been responsible for all these monuments. One thing, however, was very apparent: some great and cultured nation had once occupied this area, and the public was asking the scholars some embar­rassing questions about its identity.

FOUND AT LAST Then in 1880, the archaeological bombshell burst. At a meeting of the Society for Biblical Archaeology in London, a young but well-known Oriental scholar, Archibald Henry Sayce, announced his conviction that all these monuments were to be attributed to the biblical Hittites. The Hittites? The critics went off into peals of laughter. Why, everyone knew that the Hittites were just a figment of biblical imagination, or at best, some insignificant tribe occupying a corner of Palestine at the time of the Israelite invasion. But Sayce stuck to his guns. Already he had done considerable research on the subject and had done some on-the-spot inspections in Turkey. He threw himself into further study. The debate not only heated up among scholars, but was seized upon by the press and the British public, whose imagination has always been easily inspired by archaeological discoveries.

In 1881 a new edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica was published, and this time under the heading “Hittites” there were not eight and a half lines but two whole pages. The article concluded by saying, “We wait longingly for a confirmation of Professor Sayce’s view that the Hittites were the authors of the Hamathite hieroglyphics ... If this be proved ... this wonderful nation steps into a position hardly surpassed by that of any of the nations of the distant East.” Those were almost prophetic words, and only now can we begin to sense their import. Finally in 1884, William Wright published a book, The Empire of the Hittites, in which he presented such a mass of scholarly evidence that there could be no further resistance and the critics had to hide their faces. The Hittites had not only been positively identified, but had taken their place as one of the great nations of antiquity.

Ä The Temple at Boghazkale

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Abraham: Clues to the place known as Ur of the Chaldees were found in the Bible about Abraham. He is a historical figure found at the heart of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religions.

s e e d l a f the Ch

Ur o

When God confounded the languages of the people who were building the Tower of Babel, they abandoned the project and dispersed. One group migrated from Babel and moved further down the Euphrates River, settling in the south of Iraq in what became known as Ur of the Chaldees.

In the writings of the ancient historians, there were no references to Ur of the Chaldees, and so scholars assumed that Ur was non-existent, or was just some obscure village in the deserts of Mesopotamia, Abram being just some insignificant wandering nomad. And so for centuries the existence of Ur was doubted, and certainly its location was unknown. But in 1922 Leonard Woolley commenced excavations at a place called Tell el Maqqaya where there was a prominent ziggurat. It turned out to be Ur of the Chaldees.

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

 nomad  papyrus  tanner  ostraca

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à Steps in the biblical city of Ur

Who were the Sumerians? What were some subjects the Sumerian children studied in school? Where was the royal standard of Ur discovered? Why are archaeologists so excited when they find a cemetery? How did Woolley get his workers to turn in the gold they had been taking?

The discovery of this mysterious civilization highlights how difficult it can be to find and interpret clues in ancient writing. And depending on what type of material these clues are preserved upon, they may or may not stand the test of time to aid in discoveries.

PAPYRUS

Vellum, also referred to as leather, was made from animal skins that were scraped clean and treated for preservation. Cornelius the Roman centurion was told in a vision by an angel to “send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: he lodgeth with Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea” (Acts 10:5–6). A tanner was someone who prepared such animal skins for use. Such a tannery was found on Herod’s hilltop of Masada.

POTTERY

The Phoenicians, now Lebanese, were enterprising traders. They were good sailors, so were masters of the Mediterranean. Papyrus did not grow in Lebanon, but the Phoenicians decided they wanted a share of the market, so they bought the papyrus stalks from the Egyptians and brought them home to Phoenicia, made them into papyrus sheets, and sold them all over the Mediterranean. The main city for this papyrus production was Byblos, from which we get the word “Bible.”

VELLUM

WRITING MATERIALS

People who just wanted to write a receipt or send a love note to a girlfriend were not disposed to pay good money for writing material. The answer was simple: broken pieces of pottery, which were plentiful everywhere. These ostracons, or ostraca, were a good example of recycling a readily available resource.

d 17 group foun y m l e ra Is . They shah in ons on them ns at Mare ti o ip ti r a c v s a c in x e ic our Arama One day in . They had d e ll a c re a they ese ostraca, as who k ept th t n a h rc e m ome only were from s hive. They rc a n a in s l note ers commercia ott ery wash p e th n e h ht w came to lig writing. noticed the

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In the whole of the Bible, there are only four references to Ur of the Chaldees, and all of these refer to the same event — Abraham leaving Ur. Typical of these references is Genesis 11:31 where the Bible says, “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan.” A great clue to the mystery of Ur, but with so few references, it would take archaeological detective work to solve the mystery.

Leonard Woolley was not only an experienced and skillful archaeologist, but he was also very astute in handling the staff that worked with him. This was a much-needed quality for such an undertaking, which at times involved the use of up to 400 workmen. On one occasion, Woolley had his men working in an area that was producing numerous small artifacts such as vases, beads, and bangles. Woolley’s experience taught him that some items of gold should be found, and he suspected that they were disappearing beneath the flowing robes of his laborers. At the next payday, he casually announced to the assembled laborers that he would be offering a cash bonus to any workmen who discovered objects of gold. The price he promised was equivalent to about three times the value of the weight of the gold involved. The incredulous looks on the faces of the men told Woolley that he had guessed correctly. That night, the local goldsmith could not understand why there was such a procession of men wanting to buy back the golden beads and bangles they had previously sold to him. On the next day, it was astonishing how many workmen “happened” to find items of gold in the course of their digging. They brought them to Woolley, and to their surprise, they were paid the promised sum. So the men received their reward and Woolley got his golden beads.

Á Leonard Woolley, on right in photo

ARCHAEOLOGY REQUIRES SELF-DISCIPLINE Leonard Woolley was a man of extraordinary selfdiscipline. In his third year at the site, he excavated an area that proved to be the city cemetery. Now if there is anything that excites an archaeologist, it is the discovery of the cemetery, for this is where the richest finds are invariably made. The dead were buried with their ornaments, weapons, furniture, and other treasures, and the recovery of these items is always rewarding. But Woolley realized that he was excavating a civilization of which virtually nothing was known. Woolley felt that he needed to know more about the people who had lived here before he tackled such an important area as the cemetery. He ordered the disappointed workers to shovel all the earth back into the graves they had begun to open, and he did not return to this area for another four years. When he did, what spectacular finds he made, and he was then well enough informed on his project to adequately assess the value of the finds.

 ancient cups of Ur

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WHO WERE THE SUMERIANS? Ur was the capital city of the people we now know as the Sumerians. They were a highly intelligent and well-educated people. Their arts were well developed and they traded with countries far removed from them. Some semi-precious stones of which their ornaments were made came from the Nilgiri Hills in southern India. Children in school studied advanced mathematics and were able to calculate the square and cube root of given numbers.

TOMB OF A RICH SOLDIER In the pre-dynastic period, before Sumeria became an empire, some very wealthy kings ruled in Ur. In 1927 Woolley began to excavate the cemetery of this period and opened more than 2,000 graves of the common citizens, and 16 royal tombs. The former consisted of a shaft 3 to 10 feet (1–3 meters) deep in which the body was laid wrapped in matting, or enclosed in a coffin of wood, clay, or basketwork. With the body were placed personal belongings such as beads, ear­rings, daggers, and brooches. Outside the coffin were placed food and drink in clay, copper, or stone vessels with weapons, tools, and toilet articles. All this seems to suggest a belief in the future life, although no inscriptions were found expressing such a belief. At least two-thirds of the graves had already been plundered or destroyed. The most spectacular of these tombs was that of “Mes-kalam-dug, Hero of the Good Land.” This title was found inscribed on two golden bowls and

a lamp retrieved from the tomb. Apparently he was not of the royal family, but he was certainly a rich citizen and a brave soldier. This can be gleaned from his title and from the contents of his tomb. They included a copper spearhead attached to a gold shaft, two gold-mounted daggers, and some copper ones, a set of arrows, 50 copper bowls, a gold headdress, and around his waist a silver belt. Many other items were recovered, the most beautiful being a helmet made of beaten gold made to fit low over the head with cheek pieces to protect the face. Woolley said of this, “If there were nothing else by which the art of these ancient Sumerians could be judged, we should still, on the strength of it alone, accord them high rank in the roll of civilized races.”1

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Á Ur, photograph January 17, 2004, the royal tombs, by Lasse Jensen

HUMAN SACRIFICE IN UR The most startling and mysterious aspect of these tombs in Ur was the ritual of human sacrifice that was apparently practiced. Outside the tomb a wide pit was dug, and into this pit a strange collection of people and animals descended. The animals were slaughtered, and the people, apparently voluntarily, because there was no sign of violence, drank poison and lay down and died. The bowl and cups from which the deadly potions were taken were found in one grave. The number of victims varied from six in one case to as many as seventy or eighty in others.

ROYAL STANDARD OF UR The largest of the stone-built royal tombs had been plundered long before Woolley started his excavations, but as the last corner of the empty tomb was being cleared, a loose bit of shell inlay turned up. Carefully the foreman of the dig cleared the dust away, and he laid bare a mosaic in lapis lazuli and shell as seen here. The wooden base was completely decayed, but by pouring hot wax over the exposed pieces, the original design could be preserved. When the whole thing was lifted out and restored, it proved to be of major importance. It became known as the royal standard of Ur, because it was fastened to the end of a pole and was apparently carried in procession, or perhaps even into battle. It was 21.6 inches

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x 8.8 inches (55 x 22.5 cm) in size and it depicted on one side a series of domestic scenes, which give us a splendid understanding of their way of life, and on the other side, a series of military scenes.

à Here is the detailed mosaic known as the royal standard of Ur.

A BIBLICAL CLUE? In the main death pit, Woolley found two small statues of goats standing on their hind legs, with their front legs resting on the branches of a shrub. When this discovery was announced, some were tempted to identify these with the story of Abraham, who found a ram in a thicket when he went to sacrifice his son Isaac. The ram was used as a substitute sacrifice. Since Abraham came from Ur, it was suggested that this incident had been reported in Ur and was commemorated by these statues. But of course the story of Abraham must be dated to a later period than the first dynasty of Ur, and therefore can have no connection with the statues. In any case these were goats, not rams.

à Ram in the Thicket (Mesopotamian, ca. 1900 B.C.). Found in the “Great Death Pit” at Ur. Gold, silver, lapis lazuli, copper, shell, red limestone, and bitumen. H. 42.5 cm.

 Level 1  Level 2  Level 3

Ä Royal tombs, Ur, Iraq, Middle East

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Clay Tablets: Assyrian history was not written in glory on gold or silver. Instead, its history would be found on thousands of clay tablets.

Assyria B I G

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

Who was the last great king of Assyria? What was found in the palace of Ashur-Bani-Pal? Where did Layard learn the Persian language? Why did Layard and Mitford separate for a time? How can some discrepancies in archaeological discoveries be resolved?

It was the adventurous young Englishman, Henry Austin Layard, who was responsible for unlocking the door to the knowledge of Assyrian history, and strange to say, he had no thought of being an archaeologist when he set out for the Middle East. Westminster Abbey in London is where some of England’s greatest are buried, but some notable characters did not make it into the Abbey. Just nearby is Saint Margaret’s Chapel, and on the wall of this chapel is an arresting inscription. It reads, “I pray you, Remember Henry Austin Layard, dis­coverer of Nineveh.” This was not exactly the way Layard would have liked to have been remembered. One famous seal discovered in the 1960s has been suggested in several scholarly journals as belonging to Queen Jezebel, who was married to the king of Israel, Ahab.

Á There are a number of different phases of the Assyrian Empire. It would intermittently rise to power over a large region, or lose and gain power over geographic areas with rivals like the Babylonian empire.

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Seals or seal impressions will likewise be indicative. Seals are mentioned many times in the Bible. Daniel 12:4 says, “Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.” Daniel would not have had a book. Books were not invented until the second century AD. Daniel would have written on a scroll, which he would have rolled up and tied by a piece of string with a knot around it. He would then have pressed a piece of wet clay down on the knot and pressed his seal down on the clay. His seal would have been made of stone, metal, or pottery, and on it would have been inscribed his name and title. The clay would quickly harden and the scroll could not be opened without damaging the seal impression, known as a bulla (pronounced boola).

Á Assyrian period seal

Seals may contain some information about the owner of the seal, which will be indicative. Egyptian scarabs, models of the dung beetle, usually had inscriptions on them that could disclose the Pharaoh under whom it was issued, but seals can be deceptive. They were often kept as heirlooms in a family, so when they were finally discarded they could end up in a stratum that should be dated later than the date indicated by the seal. These are the kinds of clues that helped archaeologists like Henry Layard put dates to their discoveries, and trace back the history and rulers of the Assyrian Empire.

Á assortment of seals and bullae

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As a young man, Layard was trained to be a barrister, but his father had died while he was quite young. Layard received an invitation from his uncle in Ceylon to work with him as a barrister, and this is where fate took a strange twist.

1843 Layard returned to Mosul to begin digging at Nimrud. He had immediate success, and when the great Assyrian reliefs and monuments he unearthed arrived in London, they created an enormous amount of interest.

About the same time, a friend of Layard, Edward Mitford, was also under appointment to Ceylon, and the two men decided to travel together. It was 1839, and the two would travel by land.

THIS TIME IN NINEVEH

When they reached Jerusalem, Layard insisted on going to Petra, the lost city that had only been discovered in 1812. Mitford refused and resumed the journey. Layard managed to catch up with him after his visit to Petra, and they rode on to Mosul. Here Layard got his first glimpse of the Mounds of Kuyunjik. He was consumed with wanting to know what lay beneath those mounds. Soon, floating down the Tigris on rafts, Layard got his first look at the ruins at Nimrud.

PARTING OF THE WAYS They stayed in Baghdad long enough to learn the Persian language and then rode on to Hamadan in Persia. Here they parted ways. Layard never did reach India. Traveling to Constantinople for the British embassy, at Mosul he met the French consul, Paul Emile Botta, who was likewise interested in the mounds of Kuyunjik. Later Botta started excavating there, but with little success. In Constantinople Layard was offered a job in the British embassy, which he accepted. In the meantime, Botta had moved his work to Khorsabad, where he had spectacular success. Layard did not accept the invitation, but he did convince the British ambassador, Sir Stratford Canning, that it was not in the British interests to allow the French to find all the Assyrian winged bulls. Canning gave Layard some of his own private funds, and in

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In 1849 Layard was back in Mosul, and this time he was given permission to excavate at Kuyunjik. He achieved the success that seemed to be denied Botta. He broke into the palace of Sennacherib and found some huge reliefs of the Assyrian siege of Lachish. This siege had been recorded in the Bible in 2 Kings 18, and here he found Assyrian pictures of it. To a Bible-orientated society, this was a sensational discovery. Layard also found the palace of Ashur-Bani-Pal, the last great king of Assyria, and in this palace were found some 10,000 clay tablets and fragments. In 1851 Layard returned to England to enter the world of politics, but the discoveries he had made had opened the door of knowledge to the history of the great Assyrian Empire.

Ä Assyrian cuneiform writing

Perhaps the most important discovery Layard made at Nimrud was a large black pillar on which was depicted a foreign king kneeling down and paying tribute to the Assyrian king. About this time, Sir Henry Rawlinson succeeded in decoding the Assyrian writing, and when the two men read the inscription on the pillar they were electrified to find that the Assyrian king was Shalmaneser III and the prostrate figure was King Jehu of Israel. This was the first time the name of a biblical king had ever been found on a monument, and it is still

the only known monument on which the figure of a king of Israel is depicted. In 1847 Layard returned to London, where he wrote a very popular twovolume book entitled Nineveh and Its Remains.

Á Layard found this important pillar in the ruins of the ancient city of Nimrud, which can be found close to the city of Mosul, in Iraq.

Á clay cylinder

One discovery was of particular importance. It was of a clay cylinder written by a scribe of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Confirming the account found in 2 Kings 18:13–16, the Sennacherib prism says:

You may notice a discrepancy in the amount of silver, so how do we know which is correct? Two similar prisms exist, one in the Chicago Museum and the other in the Israel Museum, and they both state 300 talents of silver. Apparently the scribe who wrote the British Museum copy made a mistake.

The book of Nahum is devoted to the future of Nineveh. The prophet commences by saying, “The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum.” In verse 14 he says, “I will make thy grave; for thou art vile.” Nineveh was to be buried, and that is what happened. The Medes and Babylonians conquered and destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC, and it was never rebuilt. It was soon As to Hezekiah the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke. buried under the sands of time, I laid siege to 46 of his strong cities, walled forts, and to the and nobody knew where it was countless small villages in their vicinity, and conquered until Layard found it. them …. Himself I made a prisoner in Jerusalem his royal Zephaniah also predicted its residence, like a bird in a cage .... Hezekiah himself, doom. “He will stretch out his whom my terror-inspiring splendor of my lordship had hand against the north, and overwhelmed and whose regular and elite troops which he destroy Assyria; and will make had brought into Jerusalem his royal residence, in order Nineveh a desolation, and dry to strengthen it, had deserted him, did send me later to like a wilderness. And flocks Nineveh my lordly city, together with 30 talents of gold, 800 shall lie down in the midst of her” talents of silver, precious stones. (Zeph. 2:13–14). —Sennacherib prism

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Law: The rules of law and justice were important to the Babylonians. These humane laws focused on protection for the most vulnerable.

d l o G f o on: City

Babyl

Babylon reached its greatest glory when the Neo (new) Babylonian Empire was established in the seventh century BC.

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WHO WHAT

Who was Hammurabi? What is the Babylonian account that has many parallels to the biblical Flood account? Where did the descendants of Noah settle after the Flood? Why was the largest ziggurat ever built in Iraq found in such poor condition? How was it that the area of Babylon became destitute?

WHERE After the flood of Noah’s day, people settled in a region of Iraq where they talked of building a tower to reach the heavens. The Bible records this defiant event and states that the place came to be known WHY as Babel. After God confused their language and people with the same language dispersed HOW across the earth, that place eventually took on the name Babylon. Á Round or square? For centuries people have been drawing their concept of what the Tower of Babel may have looked like. Some are round and others are square, though there are no remains of round towers in Iraq. Some scholars think the real tower that the biblical event centered around has been found among dozens of others scattered across Iraq.

So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth and: they left off to build the city.

Gen. 11:8

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THE TOWER OF BABEL After a time, some of Noah’s descendants became restless and migrated down the Euphrates Valley until they came to the land of Shinar. There “they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime [asphalt] had they for morter” (Gen. 11:3).

Perhaps fearful that God would send another flood to punish them for their defiance they said, “Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto Heaven,” (verse 4). There are 34 ziggurats in Iraq. For a long time it was thought that the ziggurat at Birs Nimrud was the tower they built, but while this tower was the best preserved and largest in Iraq, it was not the biggest ever built. Moreover, it is the wrong place. Verse 9 says that it was called Babel. There are no vowels in the Hebrew alphabet, and the consonants BBL have been translated elsewhere in all the Old Testament as “Babylon.” So the Tower of Babel would have been in Babylon, and Professor Kodewey, who excavated Babylon for fifteen years, uncovered the foundations of the largest ziggurat ever built in Iraq. The reason it is not so impressive today is because when Alexander returned to Babylon after his extensive conquests, this tower was in bad condition and he gave orders for it to be demolished and

 Gilgamesh  strata

completely rebuilt. All the bricks from the upper layers were removed, but before they could be re-assembled Alexander died and they were left there for the citizens of the nearby city of Hillah to use in their buildings. Before they could complete their tower the Lord confused their language and “scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth” (verse 8). This is the origin of the nations and their languages as we see them today.

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When I first visited Babylon in a car and house trailer driven from India, I slept overnight in its ruins. My family and I were the only people in the ruined city. Since then the government has turned the area into a picnic ground and built some walls that are supposed to be like Nebuchadnezzar's palace, and many people from Baghdad come there to enjoy themselves playing ball in the park, but no one inhabits the ruins.

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 ziggurat

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WHY DID THE WRITER NOT SIMPLY SAY THEY USED BRICK AND MORTAR? This testifies to the fact that Moses was indeed the author. He came from Egypt, where they used stone for large buildings and lime plaster for mortar. Moreover, the ziggurats, or temple towers, in Iraq are all made of very well fired bricks, and they are stuck together with asphalt that is plentiful in Iraq, which has lots of oil wells, from which asphalt comes.

EVIDENCE OF THE GLOBAL FLOOD About 2,345 years before Christ was born, a global flood engulfed the world, destroying all trace of the civilization that existed before then. Only Noah and his family survived. Evidence for this cataclysmic event can be seen in the geological strata. Evolutionists would claim that these layers were deposited gradually over millions of years. If that were so, they would gradually merge into each other, but that is not the way it is. Most of the layers are clearly defined as though they were suddenly deposited on each other, and that would be the way it would have happened after the Flood.

THE GILGAMESH EPIC

Archaeologists have also found inscriptional evidence to support the flood account. The Assyrian king Ashur-Bani-Pal collected a library of cuneiform tablets in Nineveh. Among them were some tablets called the Gilgamesh Epic. They have striking similarities to the biblical record of the Flood. It is thought the account originates from the Sumerians, a culture from which the old Babylonian culture was formed.

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Tablets one to eight tell of the travels of a mythical figure by the name of Gilgamesh and his remarkable escapades. Tablets nine and ten describe Gilgamesh’s dangerous journey in search of Utnapishtim, the survivor of the Babylonian flood, who would have to be identified with Noah. In tablet eleven, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of the Flood. Here are some relevant extracts from the translation: “Gilgamesh, I will reveal to you a hidden thing and a secret of the gods will I tell you. Shuruppak, a city that you know and which now lies (in ruins) on the bank of the Euphrates, when that city was old

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and there were yet gods within it, the great gods decided to bring on a deluge …. “Lord of Shuruppak, son of Ubar-Tutu, destroy your house and build a vessel. Abandoning riches, do seek out living kind: Despising possessions, preserve what has life: Thus load in the vessel the seed of all creatures …. “When something of morning had dawned, I commanded that the land be assembled ... the boys fetching pitch, while the stronger brought (timber) materials. “I made enter the vessel all my family and kindred; beasts wild and domestic and all the craftsman I made enter the vessel … “For six days and (seven) nights the wind blew, and the flood and the storm swept the land …. And I looked at the sea; there was silence, the tide-way lay flat as a roof-top but the whole of mankind had returned to clay …. “On the seventh day’s arriving, I freed a dove and did release him. Forth went the dove but came back to me: There was not yet a resting place and he came returning. Then I set free a swallow and did release him. Forth went the swallow but came back to me: There was not yet a resting place and he

As the waters dried up, the tides and wind would have swept volumes of mud and sludge across the surface of the earth, depositing them on top of existing layers and burying any forms of life that had been destroyed in the Flood. This accounts for the fossils that can be found in these layers. It also explains what happened to the dinosaurs and other creatures that were drowned and buried at this time.

came returning. So I set free a raven and did release him. Forth went the raven — and he saw again the natural flowing of the waters, and he ate and he flew about and he croaked, and came not returning. “Has ought of living kind escaped? Not a man should have survived the destruction!” 1 Admittedly there are some minor discrepancies, but there are enough similarities to show that they refer to one and the same event. It is worth comparing the above inscription with the Bible record in Genesis 6–8. Genesis 8:4 says that Noah’s ark came to rest on “the mountains of Ararat.” There are two mountains in northeast Turkey that are called Ararat, but they were only given these names in the early Christian era when the Armenians adopted Christianity. They believed the Bible story and so named these two mountains as Greater Ararat and Lesser Ararat, but they are of

volcanic origin and would have been thrust up by volcanic activity after the flood. It has been claimed that the remains of Noah’s ark have been found on the slopes of the greater Ararat, but qualified geologists point out that these are geological formations known as synclines. There are many such boat-shaped formations in various parts of the world. In fact, there are two of them on Mount Ararat itself. This does not discredit the Bible record. It simply means that Noah’s ark has not been found.

 Level 1  Level 2  Level 3

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WHY WAS THE CODE OF HAMMURABI IMPORTANT? After the people left Babel, Babylon lost its importance until the eighteenth century BC when Hammurabi established his authority over the Middle East. Hammurabi had a round pillar made on which were inscribed 282 laws governing his kingdom. They are mostly very good laws, and many of them are similar to the laws given to Moses as recorded in the books he wrote. The pillar was found in Elam by French archaeologists in 1901. They sent it to France and it is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

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à Early Babylonian law

Á The Ishtar Gate is one of the most recognized remnants of the Babylonian civilization. Originally part of the gates of the inner part of the city, only pieces remain scattered throughout museum collections in Europe and the Middle East. The gate was designed with beautiful tile work, featuring dragons, bulls, and other animals.

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The city once was the site of one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. Babylon’s Hanging Gardens were a glorious achievement, now lost to history. Following the conquest of the city and the change in the course of the Euphrates River, the lush and beautiful city fell to ruins. The area is now unfit for agricultural purposes. Â Gustave Dore’s depiction of the fall of Babylon.

DOWNFALL OF BABYLON In 626 BC, Nabopolassar came to the throne, and in 612 BC, in alliance with the Medes, he conquered Nineveh and destroyed it. In 605 BC his armies conquered Jerusalem and sent many captives, including Daniel and his companions, back to Babylon. It was during the siege of Jerusalem that he died and was succeeded by his son Nebuchadnezzar, who made Babylon a city of gold. Predicting its ultimate doom, Isaiah wrote, “Take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!” (Isa. 14:4). Though a ruthless conqueror and a boastful monarch, Nebuchadnezzar seems to have been converted. He wrote one of the chapters in the Bible, telling of his proud boasting and subsequent humiliation, and he wanted everyone to know about it. “Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me” (Dan. 4:1–2).

One hundred and fifty years before Babylon rose to its height, Isaiah predicted its ultimate downfall. “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there” (Isa. 13:19–20). Even after the Persians conquered Babylon, it continued to flourish. Then the River Euphrates, which once flowed through Babylon, changed its course, and the city was ultimately abandoned. Today a salty crust covers the ground and nothing edible grows there. Unlike Nineveh’s ruins, where shepherds feed their flocks, Babylon lacks grass and other edible vegetation, so agricultural animals like sheep cannot graze there. Another biblical clue is revealed as truth.

Á map showing different phases of Babylonian empire

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Persepolis: Building projects in ancient times show the wealth and power of an empire. The city of Persepolis is an example.

Persia Cyrus the Great was the military leader who carved out an empire for the Persians. One hundred and fifty years before Cyrus the Great came on the scene, the prophet Isaiah predicted his conquests. God even refers to him as his anointed, a word meaning Messiah. “Thus saith the LORD to his anointed to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden — to subdue nations before him” (Isa. 45:1). Isaiah added “He shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives” (verse 13).

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

Who was the ruler who led Persia at the time of Esther? What was the significance of rhytons being found by archaeologists? Where is Esther’s body said to be buried? Why was the Hellespont so significant militarily? How did a clay cylinder help confirm a biblical decree?

 Perspolis  Xerxes  Leonidas  Hellespont

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A clay cylinder was found in Babylon that provides wonderful confirmation of the biblical record. It reads: “I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king, legitimate king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad .... I entered Babylon as a friend .... All the kings of the entire world from the Upper to the Lower Sea brought their heavy tributes and kissed my feet in Babylon .... I returned to (these) sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries which have been ruins for a long time .... I (also) gathered all their (former) inhabitants and returned (to them) their habitations .... I endeavored to repair their dwelling places.”1

Another name for the Persian Empire that Cyrus fought to create is the Achaemenid Empire. At one point, this empire would cover well over 3 million square miles over three continents. Â Cyrus cylinder

Á Apadana Palace in Persepolis, Iran

Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC and issued a decree allowing the Jews to return home. The Bible says, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the

Cyrus’s capital city was called Pasagadae, and a tomb there is believed to be where he was buried. There is no inscription on the tomb to confirm this identification, but it is the only tomb there and is most likely the genuine site.

Á Tomb of Cyrus

kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:1–3).

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DARIUS THE GREAT His son, Cambyses, occupied Egypt, but on the way back he died. An impostor now known as the False Smerdis seized the throne, but six months later he was assassinated by one of his generals by the name of Darius. But it was not all plain sailing for Darius. The palace coup seems to have been the signal for revolts among tribes previously subject to the Persians. For the next two years Darius had to wage war against the recalcitrant chiefs, but in this he displayed the qualities that earned him the title of Darius the Great. When he finally brought the rebels to heel, he had the record of how he had overthrown them inscribed on a rock face of the Zagros Mountain near the village of Bisitun. It is known as the Behistun Rock, and it was this inscription that proved to be the key to unlocking the Assyrian cuneiform script. Darius felt the need for a representative Persian city, so he built a magnificent palace and city that became known as Persepolis, or City of the Persians. He seldom occupied this city, finding it more convenient to occupy Ecbatana in Media, or Shushan in Elam. But Persepolis was the pride of the Persians and even today is referred to as the Pearl of Middle East ruins. t Spot s! rough Tigh th g in z e e Squ h this ible to reac s s o p im s a pes that it w wered on ro I had read lo g in e b I y except b went there I n e h w inscription t u ve, b ck face abo d I was able n a e c fa from the ro k c e ro way a crack in th en work my th discovered d n a k c ra e ledge up this c ld grasp th u to squeeze o c I l ti n e u ck face otograph th h p to le across the ro b a as on at yself up. I w rm inscripti and haul m o if e n u c t u ly c immaculate rs . close quarte

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à sunset in Persepolis

XERXES DEMOTES HIS QUEEN At the death of Darius in 486 BC, his son Khshayarsh ascended to the throne. He is known in the Bible as Ahasuerus and to the Greeks as Xerxes. He had to deal with a number of rebellions during his reign. A revolt in Egypt was crushed and, following a disturbance in Babylon about 480 BC, the city’s walls, palaces, and temples were demolished. But Xerxes’ greatest preoccupation was with the invasion of Greece that his father had unsuccessfully attempted. As early as 483 BC he commenced his preparations for the massive campaign and, no doubt to rally support for the campaign and to confer with his leaders, he threw a sumptuous banquet lasting 180 days in his palace at Shushan. At the end of this period a special feast lasting seven days was held for the general populace. The Bible makes a casual reference to the drinks that

were served. “They gave them drink in vessels of gold, (the vessels being diverse one from another)” (Esther 1:7). It would be easy to read this verse without realizing its significance, but a number of these vessels known as rhytons have been found by archaeologists, and no two are the same. At this banquet, a rather bizarre incident occurred. The Bible records the story. “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded ... to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on” (Esther 1:10–11). It was an unprecedented demand, which was an outrage to the modesty of an Eastern woman and one that the king would not have thought of requiring had he not been under the influence of wine. The beautiful queen was shocked at the request. “Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by the chamberlains” (verse 12). This threw the king into a dilemma, and his nobles saw in it a threat to their own domestic authority, so they advised the king to depose Vashti and appoint a new queen. The king acted on their advice. Vashti was deposed and orders were given to round up all the beautiful young women of the realm and bring them to Shushan for Xerxes to choose a new queen. While this was being done, the great Greek campaign got underway. According to Herodotus, 5,283,320 men set out upon the march, besides all the female cooks and soldiers’ women. They left Sardis in the spring 480 BC in an effort to crush the cities of Greece that his father failed to conquer.

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BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE

Hellespont

The ancient Hellespont strait in what is now Turkey was crossed by means of a floating bridge that the engineers erected. The first such bridge was wrecked by a storm, which so infuriated Xerxes that he ordered his men to give the Hellespont waters 300 lashes. The second bridge held and the huge army crossed safely. At the narrow pass of Thermopylae, the invaders were met by a valiant band of defenders under Leonidas, king of Sparta, who had an army of 7,000 men. They put up a heroic defense and, except for a traitor who led a Persian detachment across a mountain trail to attack Leonidas from the rear, might have held the invaders at bay for a long time.

à Hellespont

Leonidas divided his forces to meet the threat, keeping only 1,400 soldiers in the pass. The Spartans fought to the last man, with Leonidas himself falling in the thick of the battle. At Xerxes’ order, he was beheaded and his body impaled. The death of this brave king and his soldiers was a rallying point for the weak and wavering Greek alliances, and served to cement a common desire among them to end the Persian king’s military conquest of their lands. Á King Leonidas

Throughout ancient history, there was a lot of turmoil and conflict among the Greek city-states. A city-state was just a large city that formed a sovereign or independent nation in and of itself. A modern example of a city-state would be Vatican City.

SPARTA

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Among the Greek city-states, Sparta is unique. For a culture dominated by arts and philosophy, Sparta was a city-state built on the principles of warfare, physical strength, and perfection. With weaponry and tactics far superior to its rival city-states, Sparta excelled in the art of war. Its most effective tool was the phalanx, a formation of men that moved in unison, with shields

forming an inpenetrable field, then physically absorbing the motion of the opposing force and pushing the enemy back through sheer strength. Spartan male children began training at the age of 7, beginning a life of virtual segregation among the sexes. At the age of 18 they would become part of the reserves for the Spartan army, and often took part in the hunting and murder of slaves, known as helots, to control through fear. Greed for personal wealth was discouraged. Iron bars were used as currency by the Spartans, who were not allowed to work in commerce or hold wealth in the form of precious metals like silver or gold.

ATHENS BURNS Xerxes advanced on Athens, only to find that most of the Greeks had withdrawn to the Peloponnese Peninsula. Apart from a few who had remained to defend the Acropolis, the city was deserted. The Persians stormed the Acropolis, killed the defenders, stripped the temple of its treasures, and burned everything. But the Persian forces, though invincible on land, were ultimately defeated on the water. The Greek ships gained an unexpected victory at the Battle of Salamis, and Xerxes, deprived of his supplies by sea, was obliged to retreat. The army that he left in Greece was defeated the following year at Plataea, and the dream of the Persian conquest of Greece was shattered.

à Relief of Roman emperor Diocletian begging for mercy from the Persian king Shapur.

HOW A BRAVE QUEEN SAVES HER PEOPLE Back home once more, Xerxes was able to devote his attention to domestic matters, the most important of which was choosing a new queen. His choice was a beautiful maiden named Esther. Unknown to the king, Esther was a Jewess. Esther was crowned queen in January 479 BC. Five years later she would face a deadly test. Xerxes had appointed Haman as an official with far-reaching powers. Citizens were obliged to prostrate themselves before him as he passed. This was nothing new for the Persians, but one prominent citizen in Shushan was Mordecai, a Jew. He regarded this as a form of idolatry, and refused to bow. When this was brought to the vizier’s notice, he was understandably indignant, and disdaining to punish Mordecai alone, persuaded the king to issue a decree to annihilate the entire Jewish population in the kingdom.

Mordecai was Esther’s older cousin, and he pointed out to Esther that the laws of the Medes and Persians were irrevocable, and that the death decree would also apply to her. He advised her to intercede with the king on behalf of the Jews. Esther, realizing that it meant sudden death to enter unbidden into the king’s presence unless he held out his scepter to the petitioner, nevertheless agreed. Three days later, Esther donned her finery and entered Xerxes’ audience hall. It was a tense moment. But, “When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand” (Esther 5:2). Reliefs often depict the king with a scepter in his hand. The king asked what Esther wanted and was willing to give her even half of his kingdom. Esther requested that the king and Haman come to a banquet that she had prepared. The king agreed and at the banquet renewed his offer to give her half his kingdom. Esther merely requested that he and Haman come to another banquet the next day. Haman was flattered to be entertained by royalty, but on the way home he passed Mordecai, who again refused to bow. Haman ordered gallows to be built to hang Mordecai.

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A SLEEPLESS NIGHT FOR A KING The king was unable to sleep, and to pass the sleepless hours he had commanded the court recorder to read to him from the court records. Among other items, the recorder read of a plot to kill the king, which Mordecai had heard of and reported to Esther. The two men had been impaled for their crime. “What honour or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” the king asked the recorder. “Nothing,” he replied. Just then Haman entered. The king asked him how he should honor someone who had found favor with him. Thinking it was an honor for himself, Haman suggested dressing up in royal clothes upon a royal horse, and being led through the city by a prince. Poor Haman. He was obliged to lead Mordecai through the streets of Shushan, but worse was to follow. At Esther’s banquet, the king again asked Esther what she wanted. “Let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we are sold ... to be annihilated,” she pleaded. “Who is he and where is he that would presume to do this?” he demanded, shocked at the thought of losing his beautiful queen. “This wicked Haman,” she replied. Appalled at how he had been duped into signing this death decree, Xerxes strode into the garden. Haman, realizing his predicament, flung himself on Esther’s couch, clutching her robes and imploring for mercy. Just then the king returned.“Will he even assault the queen in my presence?” he asked. At that moment, one of the attendants thought it appropriate to mention the gallows that Haman had erected. “Hang him on that,” the king roared (Esther 7:3–10). So Esther and the Jewish people were saved from destruction. The Jewish people all over the world still celebrate the feast of Purim every year to commemorate this deliverance.

Traditional celebrations like the feast of Purim or the Passover have roots in historical events. What other traditional or religious celebrations can you think of related historical events?

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Xerxes’ own life did not end peacefully. In 465 BC, he was murdered by his new vizier, Artabanus, and his son Artaxerxes took the throne. A few months later, Artaxerxes avenged his father’s death by killing Artabanus in a hand-to-hand fight within the palace. Artaxerxes was the last great Persian king. Some weaker kings followed, but in 333 BC Alexander the Great crossed the Hellespont and defeated Darius III. Two years later Darius was again defeated by

Alexander and shortly afterwards was killed by his own general, Bessus, and the great MedoPersian Empire was incorporated into Alexander’s Macedonian Kingdom.

 Alexander the Great

The palace of Xerxes (shown above) is found in the ancient ruins of Persepolis. Among the broken columns and crumbling stones, archaeologists have found numerous images, but among them, there is only one of a Persian queen (shown at left).

 Level 1  Level 2  Level 3

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Facades: Some of the most incredible and unusual sights of Petra are the facades, or fronts, of buildings literally carved into the stone.

Petra B I G

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

Who was Johann Ludwig Burckhardt? What destroyed many of the buildings of Petra? Where would one find the place known as the “mother of cisterns”? Why were gutters carved on the summit of the Um El Biyyara? How did Petra become a part of biblical prophecy?

Today Petra is described as “the rose-red city half as old as time.” Travelers who went there came back with vivid descriptions of its strange tombs and temples. But when the city was abandoned by its occupants about AD 1200, it was lost and forgotten. Its existence and history was known, but no one knew where it was. That is until the year 1812, and an explorer named Burkhardt. Â A glimpse of the beauty of Petra. Roman historians highlighted the wealth and architecture of the fabled city.

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LEARNING ARABIC Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, November 24, 1784. He was educated in Germany and in 1806 went to England, where he studied at London and Cambridge for three years. In 1809, at the age of 25, he was asked by the African Association in England to explore the regions south of the Sahara. It was the era when Africa was yielding its dark secrets to the West. David Livingstone would not set sail for Africa for another 31 years, and the mysteries of this continent were just being unlocked. It was a dangerous assignment, but the young and adventurous Burckhardt accepted the challenge. As the region to which he would be traveling was a stronghold of Islamic faith, the Association instructed him to first go to Syria and became accustomed to life among Muslims and become familiar with the Arabic language and the Muslim religion. Johann Burckhardt did all that and more. He became so fluent in Arabic that the Arabs could not identify him as a foreigner. He wore Arab dress and went by the name of Shaikh Ibrahim ibn Abdullah.

 Bedouins, nomadic tribes living in tents and shelters like these in the area, were already aware of Petra’s location. They tried to keep the secret of this hidden city, believing it held treasure that they claimed as their own.

BURCKHARDT FINDS PETRA In 1812 Burckhardt set out on his journey to Cairo, intending to join a caravan traveling south. He never did reach his ultimate destination and died in Cairo in 1817, at the age of 33, still waiting for a caravan to cross the Sahara. But it was on his journey from Damascus to Cairo that he made the spectacular discovery of a lifetime. Burckhardt was accompanied by a guide who knew the way, and this guide talked about a strange deserted city hidden away among the rocky hills near Wadi Musa. Burckhardt was eager to visit the place, but his guide insisted that it was off their route and too dangerous. Burckhardt realized that to insist on going that way would arouse suspicion, so he thought of a scheme. He had already learned that Wadi Musa was near Mount Hor, where Aaron had been buried and where his grave is marked by a small Muslim shrine. It was not uncommon for Muslims to make a

vow to sacrifice a goat within sight of this tomb. His guide agreed to his suggestion that they do so. Local peasants guided him to Ain Musa, the spring, where he was urged to make his sacrifice, for the tomb is visible from here. Not about to let the opportunity slip through his fingers, in the village of Elji he employed someone as a guide and to carry his goat to the shrine. Following the wadi down to the entrance to the valley, he noticed the great antiquities but dared not stop to inspect them. Emerging from the siq, the rift in the hills accessing the valley, he was thunderstruck by what he saw. He recorded notes on Petra, but his guide accused him of being a treasure hunter and threatened him. Burckhardt sacrificed his goat and returned to the village. He had seen enough to announce to an astonished world that he had found the fabled Petra.

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THE HISTORY OF PETRA The history of this city has a biblical background. Abraham had a son named Isaac, and Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was a hairy man with red skin. Esau’s condition is known in medical case histories. It is called hypertrichosis and is applied to a child who is born with an excessive growth of hair. In Esau’s case it seems to have been very acute. Later on, Esau occupied the country of Seir (Gen. 36:8), which was probably named after Esau, because Seir means hairy and is a common Hebrew word for goat. Esau was also called Edom, which means “red” (Gen. 25:30). His descendants were known as the Edomites (Gen. 36:9). As Isaac grew old he became blind and decided it was time to bestow the family birthright on his elder son Esau. Rebecca overheard Isaac telling Esau of his plan, and since she favored Jacob she persuaded him to put some goatskin on his hands to make Isaac think he was Esau, and sent him in to Isaac’s room to receive the birthright. The plan worked and Jacob received the birthright. However, Esau discovered the deception and let it be known that as soon as his father died he was going to kill Jacob. Rebecca told Jacob to run to Haran and live with her relatives there. In Haran Jacob married four wives who bore him twelve sons and who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the meantime, his brother Esau left his father’s home and took his family to what we would call southern Jordan today. They became known as the Edomites, and at least some of them occupied the Valley of Petra. When Jacob returned from Haran he “sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom” (Gen. 32:3).

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When the people of Israel left Egypt in the Exodus, they wandered in the Sinai Peninsula for forty years, and then the time came to enter the Promised Land. Their route took them past Edom. Whether the Edomite stronghold in Petra is meant we do not know, but it seems likely that this is where the king of Edom would reside. Moses’ request to the king was reasonable. “Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders” (Num. 20:17). But the request was met with a curt refusal backed up by a display of military power, and Israel was obliged to take the desolate route through the desert to the east. Visitors to Petra today leave Amman by road and travel south. Just outside Amman the road forks. The sign pointing southeast indicated “Desert Road.” The other pointing southwest said “King’s Highway.” The two routes are designated by the same names today as they bore in biblical times. Strange to say, it is still the desert road that most travelers take. Although it is more roundabout, it is fairly level and for modern vehicles is the fastest. The King’s Highway is cut by two steep valleys, which are some 800 meters deep, and this makes progress slow. This, of course, was of little concern to the weary Israelites, who would have preferred it to the scorching desert. But it was not to be, and the discouraged tribes turned eastward.

THE DEATH OF AARON The next incident that is recorded was the death of Moses’ brother Aaron, the high priest of Israel. Moses was instructed to take Aaron and Aaron’s son Eleazar, who would succeed him, to the top of Mount Hor. Here Aaron was stripped of his priestly garments, which were handed on to Eleazar, and then, like a tired warrior, Aaron lay down and died (Num. 20:22–29). So the Israelites went on their way and the Edomites dwelt in security. The entrance to the Valley of Petra is a narrow siq, or ravine, a little over a half a mile (one kilometer) in length and in places only three yards wide (a few meters), with rocky walls that tower nearly 110 yards (100 meters) above the track at the bottom of the wadi, a valley or waterway. It would take only a handful of resolute soldiers to guard the pass.

From the city of Petra one can see a tall, sharp peak known as Mount Hor, and on the crest of this peak is a small white Muslim shrine that is believed to surmount the tomb of Aaron. It was to this place that Burckhardt was going to sacrifice his goat when he discovered the lost city of Petra. But it is unlikely that the site of Aaron’s burial place is authentic. It is even unlikely that this is Mount Hor. If the king of Edom confronted Israel at Wadi Musa, as the village outside Petra is called, then we would expect to find Mount Hor to the east of Petra, rather than to the west as it is today. Moreover, this site is too close to Petra to have allowed the burial party to climb its summit in such close proximity to the hostile king of Edom.

PETRA’S WATER SYSTEM In the valley is a high, flat-topped hill known in Arabic as Um El Biyyara, meaning “mother of cisterns” because of five water cisterns carved into the top. There are narrow rock-hewn steps leading to the summit. On the summit, gutters have been carved to funnel rainwater into the cistern, thus ensuring a plentiful water supply in case of siege. This hill could be the site referred to in the Bible as Sela, which is the Hebrew word for “rock.” The Greek equivalent is petra which likewise means,“rock.”

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à The Monastery

à Colonnaded Street

à Palace Tomb

à Urn Tomb

à The Theater

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à Street of Facades

à Sacrifice place

à The Siq

CITY OF THE DEAD? Because of the number of elaborate tombs, when Petra was first discovered many assumed that it was a city that was never lived in, used only to bury people instead. But this was an important crossroad for many travel and trade routes, and the city was inhabited by thousands of residents over many, many generations. Within its ruins and artifacts are found the influences of various empires and other cultures. An ancient earthquake destroyed many of the buildings, and natural forces continue to weaken and erode the city ruins. The city once had an ingenious and effective system of hydraulic engineering to help with flood prevention, and for water conservation.

à The Treasury

AN AMAZING SIGHT! It is easy to understand how Petra remained “lost” for so long when you see how it was hidden. Most ancient cities follow simple layouts and are located in heavily accessed areas on hills and by the coast where they are easily discovered. Literally carved into the massive reddish sandstone rocks along the slope of Mount Hor in Jordan, Petra is a city with beautifully designed facades unlike any in the world. Ã Obelisk Tomb

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THE EDOMITES The Edomite confidence was misplaced. According to the Bible, their security depended not on natural fortifications, or even on human valor, but on their conformity to God’s will, and when they abandoned their fidelity to Abraham’s God, they forfeited His protection. About 1000 BC, King David of Israel conquered the Edomites, placed garrisons throughout the country and obliged the Edomites to pay tribute to Israel. One hundred and fifty years later the Edomites revolted against Jehoram, king of Judah. Jehoram defeated the Edomites in battle, but the Edomites retained their independence and no longer paid tribute to Israel. In the eighth century BC, war was renewed between the two nations. The word used for rock here is the same Hebrew word And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces. 2 Chronicles 25:11–12

sela and may mean the rocky stronghold in Petra. If so, then it was a long way to be hurled to death, for the sides are almost sheer. There may have been unrecorded factors. Perhaps it was a show of strength to the Edomite people warning them against further insurrection. When the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar marched on Jerusalem in the sixth century BC, the Edomites threw in their lot with the Babylonians. It was a vindictive act on the part of the Edomites, who had much to lose by a Babylonian conquest, and it sealed their own fate as a tribute nation to Babylon. But they seemed willing to forfeit their own independence in order to avenge themselves on the people of Judah. They were filled with glee at Jewish misery, and for this God pronounced their doom.

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PROPHECIES OF PETRA’S DOOM The Jewish prophet Obadiah wrote only one chapter, but the whole of his book is devoted to the doom of Edom. “You should not have gloated over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin. You should not have entered the gate of my people in the day of his calamity… You should not have stood at the parting of his ways to cut off his fugitives,” the prophet complained. Then followed the prediction of Edom’s destiny. “Thus saith the Lord GOD concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle. Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art greatly despised. The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?

against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever” (Obad. 1:1–10). Jeremiah, who lived at the same time, added, “Edom shall be a desolation .... As in the overflow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there” (Jer. 49:17–18). It took a 1ong time for these predictions to meet their full realization, but as with the prophecies of Babylon and Nineveh, the ultimate fulfillment was sure.

Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.... For thy violence Around the third century BC, an Arab tribe called the Nabataeans, probably descended from Ishmael’s eldest son, ENTER THE Nabaioth (1 Chron. 1:29), replaced the Edomites. Whether by NABATAEANS conquest or infiltration is not known, but the Edomites were squeezed out of their rocky stronghold, and we find them living in the Negev south of Judah. About 100 BC, the Maccabean fighter, John Hyrcanus, conquered them and forced them to be circumcised and adopt the Jewish religion. But the Jews soon paid the consequences, for of this line came Herod the Great, who usurped control over the Jewish people and later slaughtered the babies in Bethlehem. The Nabataeans soon made Petra a formidable stronghold and embellished it with a unique form of The sculpture. Temples, tombs, and houses were hewn Arabs thought it out of the soft sandstone rock of the mountainmight contain fabulous side, exposing the beautiful multi-colored treasures and took potshots at it with strata of the rocks. Right where the siq their rifles in the hope that they would opens into the valley, a magnificent split it open and have the priceless rock-hewn temple greets the visitor. treasures come pouring down into It is known to the Arabs today as E1 their waiting hands. But they were Khazneh, meaning “the treasury,” disappointed. It is solid rock and the because at the top is something that only result was to leave this graceful looks like an urn. architecture pitted by rifle bullets.

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At the far end of the valley, a trail winds up the mountainside to a superb temple also cut out of the rock. It is called El Deir, meaning “the monastery.” Some consider these places to be tombs, but they contain stonecut platforms that seem to have been for statues of deities. The Nabataeans practiced idolatry and had two “high places” for worship. One was at the top of a rocky hill, and was cut out of the solid rock. Here are two giant obelisks cut out of the mountaintop. These were fertility symbols. Some authorities consider that the High Place was a center for human sacrifice, but for this there is no evidence. On the contrary, the slab of stone on which the victim was sacrificed seems only large enough to accommodate an animal the size of a sheep or goat. The other high place is constructed out of free blocks of stone and is circular.

WHY DID PETRA’S INFLUENCE COME TO AN END?

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In the fourth century, Christianity became established in Petra. Recently the ruins of a large church were uncovered. In the adjoining monastery some charred but readable scrolls were found. Some of the largest tombs were cleared out and converted into churches. Crosses were carved on the sides of some of the tombs, and Petra apparently became the main city of an area governed by a bishop of the church. But as the trade routes changed, the number of caravans passing through Petra grew less and less and the lifeblood of Petra was drained away.

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In the twelfth century, we have a further brief glimpse of the once fabulous city. The Crusaders erected a fortress on top of the rock behind the Roman temple. When they withdrew, the valley lapsed into silence, interrupted only by the bleating of goats owned by the few nomads that haunted its empty tombs. Bible prophecy had the last say. Petra’s political importance was forever gone.

AFTER THE NABATAEANS When the Romans occupied the Middle East, stories reached their ears of the fabulous riches of Petra, but it was not until AD 106 that Roman armies succeeded in entering the valley. The Emperor Trajan had a well-paved road made through Petra, connecting Syria with the Red Sea. The paving blocks of this road can still be seen in both the Siq and the valley. A victory gate was erected over this road, and part of the arch is still standing. At the north end of this road was a large Nabataean temple built of free blocks of stone. Half of this temple is still standing. Under Roman influence, the architecture of the tombs changed. One huge tomb that is three stories high has a facade imitating a Roman palace.

Petra today seems to be hot, dry, and barren, but the most recent excavations have concentrated on the hill on the south side of the Roman road and archaeologists were astonished to find what amounted to a “paradise” — what must have once been a beautiful garden and pool complex for the enjoyment of luxury living residents, something that is quite different than to what was perceived as dry, dusty Petra.

A large theater was carved out of the solid mountainside. It held about 2,000 spectators, and its tiered seats were carved through many tombs, leaving gaping holes in the hillside. Petra seemed to be riding a new and unprecedented wave of prosperity. The biblical prophecies of doom were forgotten. In 2001 archaeologists discovered a great ceremonial complex with long rows of Nabataean columns topped with exotic Asian elephant-headed capitals, plus a magnificent Nabataean Corinthian columnar edifice as opulent as any that could be found anywhere in the ancient world. Â main avenue of the ancient Nabotean city of Petra

Ä Notice the carved stone steps.

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Biremes: As a culture built around trade by sea, Phoenician biremes, or galley-style ships, once dominated the Mediterranean.

s n a i c i n e o h The P In Assyrian inscriptions the Phoenicians were called Canaanites or Sidonians. Their origins are recorded in the biblical record. “Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth ... the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan” (Gen. 10:1,6). Canaan was the father of the Canaanites, who originally occupied the coastal strip from Sidon to Gaza. Due to later Greek influence they became known as the Phoenicians, and in more recent times they are known as the Lebanese.

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

Who led the capture of Tyre that led to its eventual destruction? What were the prized cedars of Lebanon used for in the Old Testament? Where might Elijah have found enough water to pour on his sacrifice? Why were so many attacks on Phoenicia eventually abandoned? How was the city of Ugarit near Ras Shamra discovered?

 Level 1  Level 2  Level 3

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y h WHY DO WE CALL THE HOLY SCRIPTURES THE “BIBLE”?w The four main city-states of of Phoenicia were Gebal, Berytus (now Beirut), Sidon, and Tyre. Living mostly along the coastal strip of Palestine, the Phoenicians became masters of the sea. Their ships sailed the length and breadth of the Mediterranean, and they became the greatest traders in the Middle East. One of the major commodities they traded in was papyrus sheets from Egypt. In the course of time, the Phoenicians found it more profitable to import the papyrus plants from Egypt, and make the papyrus sheets themselves. The word paper was derived from papyrus. Gebal was the major center for this industry, and when the Greeks came on the scene, they called this city Biblos, which is the Greek word for scroll. The English word Bible is derived from biblos.

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 Tyre

 Baal

 bireme

 Solomon

 Yehovah

 isthmus

Origins of the word Phoenician can be found in an old Greek word for the color purple. Phoenicians sold dyes, among other goods, to Greece and other civilizations in the area. What other things did Phoenician merchants trade?

Á Biremes were powered by sail and by men who manually rowed using long oars. Fast and easy to manuever, the biremes were designed to sail along the rocky coastline, rather than across the open ocean.

 aerial photo of Beirut, Lebanon, showing coastal promenade, lighthouse, Pigeon Rocks, and the urban built-up city

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David’s son Solomon, who ruled from 971to 931 BC, depended on Phoenician skills when he built his magnificent temple in Jerusalem. Solomon wrote to King Hiram saying, “Thou knowest that [there is] not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees [according to] all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat [for] food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year” (2 Kings 5:6b, 10–11).

CEDARS OF LEBANON In the Middle East, cedars from Lebanon have always been prized for building purposes, and in return Solomon was willing to pay nearly 4,400,000 liters of wheat per year, and 4,400 liters of oil. Hiram floated the logs down the coast to Joppa, and from there Solomon had them taken overland to Jerusalem. From the information given by Josephus, it can be calculated that Hiram I ruled from 970 to 936 BC, which agrees with the biblical record.

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WHY WERE WARNINGS OFTEN CARVED INTO ANCIENT TOMBS? In 1921 Pierre Montet commenced excavations at Byblos. On February 16, 1922, a landslide occurred at the site, and a wall of earth slid down over the excavation area. What could have proven to be a disaster turned into a bonus when it was observed that the landslide had exposed some tombs. One of these tombs belonged to Hiram, king of Tyre. A shaft cut into the rock led to a burial chamber that had a quaint inscription carved into the wall. It read, “Attention. Behold you shall come to grief below here.” It was similar to the threat made by several of the pharaohs that was intended to scare off grave robbers. It never did, of course, any more than it frightened the archaeologists. But it was worth a try. What other measures could a dead person take to foil the persistent thieves? And this warning against desecrating the tomb was repeated in an inscription carved into the lid of the coffin. It read, “The coffin which Ithbaal, son of Ahiram, king of Gebal, made for his father as his abode for

eternity. And if any king, or any governor, or any army commander attacks or exposes this coffin, let his judicial scepter be broken, let his royal throne be overthrown, and let peace flee from Gebal, and let a vagabond deface his inscriptions.”

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 tomb of Hiram, king of Tyre.

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PHOENICIAN RELIGION About 874 BC, when King Ahab of Israel married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess of Tyre, she introduced Baal worship to Israel with disastrous results. Baal worship became the predominant religion in Israel. Baal, a Phoenician and Hebrew word meaning “lord,” was the Phoenician weather god. Against this outrage the prophet Elijah raised his voice. “As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1). Before the astonished king could recover, the daring prophet turned on his heels and fled to the brook Cherith, a tributary that flowed into the Jordan. But for three and a half years the pitiless sun blazed down from a cloudless sky as the grass withered, streams ceased to flow, and the country was reduced to ruin. At the end of the

appointed time, Elijah again appeared before Ahab and demanded that a trial of strength be held between the prophets of Baal and Yehovah the God of Israel. The biblical account of what follows is dramatic. Is there evidence of this battle or even the existence of a Phoenician god named Baal?

Á This artifact, discovered near a Kurdish village in Turkey, describes the winning battle of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III against a group of allied enemies, which are listed. Among these is King Ahab of Israel, along with the supplies of chariots and soldiers he provided.

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BAAL IN THE BIBLE Baal is often mentioned in the Bible; and it is tempting to think that the name refers to a single god, but it does not. Baal could have been one of many local gods people were worshipping in connection with aspects of the weather — rain, lightning — or related to the work of caring for or harvesting their crops. Moabites and Canaanites also worshiped deities called Baal. Bel is another form of this title often given to various gods in the region. Ã City of Palmyra

ELIJAH AND THE PROPHETS OF BAAL Elijah proposed that each side build an altar and offer an animal sacrifice on Mount Carmel, and then call on their deities to miraculously consume the sacrifice by fire. The prophets of Baal performed their rituals from morning till mid–afternoon; there was no response from Baal. Exhausted, they retreated in sullen defeat. Elijah then prepared his sacrifice, and to guarantee he was not tricking the people, he had the sacrificial animal and the altar soaked with 12 pots of water. Then he knelt down and prayed a simple prayer.

WATER ON MOUNT CARMEL There is no certainty where all this happened. Mount Carmel is a long mountain range between Haifa on the Mediterranean coast and Megiddo in the southeast, but it must have been in the vicinity of the seacoast because Elijah’s servant saw a small cloud rising from off the sea (1 Kings 18:44). There is another clue from the Bible. Elijah used water to wet his sacrifice. Remember there was a severe drought going on at this time? And where do you find water on the crest of a mountain? There is a church on Mount Carmel with

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“LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel” (1 Kings 18:36). A fierce bolt of lightning flashed from the cloudless sky and not only consumed the sacrifice and licked up the water, but melted the stones of the altar. The people needed no further demonstrations. They took all the prophets of Baal down to the foot of the mountain and slew them. Á a Syrian artifact of Baal

a statue of Elijah standing outside, and just below the church is a well. This unusual source could be where Elijah got his water. There are some other pointers to the authenticity of this story. Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal, suggesting the reason why Baal was not sending a bolt of lightning to consume their sacrifice. He said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked” (1 Kings 18:27).

UNCOVERING A CITY In Syria, not far north of Carmel, is the city of Ras Shamra. Near here in 1928, a farmer was plowing his field when he discovered a large tomb. When archaeologists began excavating, they not only dug out the tomb but also uncovered a whole city called Ugarit. In this city was a temple to Baal and many cuneiform tablets providing information about Baal worship. Significantly, they learned that Baal sometimes cut himself as the prophets of Baal had done on Mount Carmel, and worshipers thought that Baal sometimes took time off to sleep, and on occasions took long journeys away from his temple. Elijah knew what he was talking about when he mocked the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:27: “Cry aloud: for he is a god ... or he is in a journey, or ... he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” Â Crusader Sea Castle, Sidon

EZEKIEL’S PROPHECY TO TYRE The strength of Phoenicia lay not in its military might but in its trade and sea-faring ability.

tress before abandoning the attempt, though some sort of compromise seems to have been reached.

Both Tyre and Sidon had offshore islands, and the inhabitants could regard most threats to their cities with equanimity. If their mainland city was under threat, they could resort to their island city and defy the enemy who could not match their sea-faring ability.

The Hebrew prophet Ezekiel, who lived at this time, spoke of Tyre’s pride and apparent invincibility, but warned that a day of reckoning would come. “They shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water.... Thou shalt be no more: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, saith the Lord God” (Ezek. 26:12b,21b).

Tyre was besieged by the Assyrian kings Esarhaddon and Ashur-Bani-Pal, but neither was able to defeat the Phoenician fleet and capture the island. In 605 BC King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon commenced a thirteen-year siege of the island for-

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ALEXANDER AND TYRE The Persians under Artaxerxes III gained an entrance to Tyre by treachery, but their occupation was short-lived. Then came Alexander the Great. He crossed the Dardanelles in 333 BC and defeated Darius III of Persia in the battles of Granicus and Issus. The coastal cities of west Turkey, containing large Greek populations, readily opened their gates to Alexander. When he reached Phoenicia, the cities of Aradus, Byblos, and Sidon also capitulated. Tyre agreed to submit to Alexander, but refused to allow the conqueror to enter their island city. Alexander determined to make an example of a city that defied his will. Tyre held the upper hand on the sea, so Alexander demolished the buildings of the mainland city and flung the stones into the sea to build a causeway from the coast to the island. But as the causeway neared the island, the water became quite deep, and the building materials were inadequate. Alexander’s soldiers scraped the earth from the mainland city site and threw that also into the sea. Ezekiel had said, “They will lay the stones, timbers, and soil in the waters” (Ezek. 26:12b). At last, the causeway was complete, and with the help of ships from other Phoenician towns and Cyprus, Alexander launched an all-out attack. Once a frontal attack could be made, the outcome was inevitable

 Many Greek reliefs have been formed depicting in graphic detail methods of warfare in those times.

vel 1 e L  vel 2 e L  el 3  Lev

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Alexander the Great’s causeway

Over time the causeway was silted up, turning Tyre into an isthmus.

and the proud island city fell, though the courageous defenders had held the powerful Macedonian army at bay for seven months. Eight thousand men of Tyre were slain in the bitter struggle, and of the remainder, 30,000 were sold as slaves to pay for the lengthy siege.

Tyre

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But what about the prophecy that Tyre would never be found again? A very curious thing happened to Tyre. Through the ensuing centuries, sea currents washed against Alexander’s causeway, but instead of eroding it away, the sea carried silt and rubbish and deposited it against the causeway. The land bridge grew wider and wider until the island virtually became part of the mainland, and present-day Tyre is built on this projection into the sea. It is a prosperous Arab fishing port, and every day fishing nets are spread to dry along the coast.

Lake Tiberias

Alexander the Great used the debris of the abandoned mainland city to build a causeway, and once within reach of the city walls, he used his siege engines to batter and finally breach the fortifications. These would have been in the formSAUDI of ARABIA battering rams or catapults. Gulf of Aqaba

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In the year 1947, one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century was made in the arid wilderness by the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel.

D A E D E H T The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was made not by skilled archaeologists but by Arab Bedouins who tended their flocks in the region. The find was to make sensational headlines in newspapers and scholarly journals around the world, and the results would influence the views of scholars and theologians for decades to come.

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

Who was the first person to write a book of the Bible? What were Hebrew scrolls generally made of? Where were the Dead Sea scrolls discovered? Why was the discovery of the scrolls so significant? How did the scrolls’ discovery help confirm certain biblical passages?

THE ORIGINS OF PAPER Early in history the Egyptians developed their hieroglyphic picture writing. This was either chiseled into stone, written on sheets of papyrus, or written on slabs of wood with a reed brush dipped in carbon ink. The stalks of the papyrus plants were first stripped of their hard outer casing and then cut into thin strips and soaked in water. These strips were laid side-by-side and other strips laid at right angles to the first strips. The whole was then kept under pressure until it dried and the surface was rubbed smooth with a stone. The sheets were often glued together end to end to make a long scroll, which could be rolled up. For a time, because the plant grew so well in Egypt, the Egyptians had a monopoly on the manufacture and use of papyrus materials. But the Phoenicians were the great traders of the Mediterranean, and they soon imported the papyrus stalks from Egypt and made scrolls, which they exported all over the Mediterranean.

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Many ancient civilizations developed their own form of an alphabet, often from earlier sources or other civilizations. How could an alphabet help to make a culture successful?

BEGINNINGS OF THE ALPHABET Because of the large number of characters (up to 750) and the complicated art forms in which they were drawn, knowledge of the Egyptian hieroglyphs was also confined to the scribes and educated classes. When an alphabetic script was invented, however, it constituted a dramatic breakthrough in the art of writing. There is still uncertainty among scholars regarding when and where the alphabet was invented. Very early examples of alphabetic writing were found in the Sinai Peninsula, and some consider that the Phoenicians were responsible. But à Greek one thing is certain: it arrived at the right first letter of this alphabet was aleph and the second time for the writing of the Bible. one was beth. Later, when the Greek alphabet Moses was the first to write a book of the Bible, and he was able to use an alphabetic script. Had he been obliged to write in the Egyptian hieroglyphs to which he had become accustomed in Egypt, his copious writing would have been a Herculean task, and he may never have had time to write all the six long books that are ascribed to him. And even if he had been able to write so much in hieroglyphs, very few of the people would have been able to read the Scriptures for themselves. The Bible would have been a closed book to them. As it was, the Hebrew script was a simple form of writing and almost anyone could learn to read it. This script consisted of only 22 letters. There were no specific vowels, though five of the letters could be used to indicate the presence of a vowel. The

was developed along similar lines, the first letters were alpha and beta, and thus developed the word alphabet. Later still, the Roman alphabet was developed, and it became the basis for the English alphabet, which follows roughly the same order as the original Hebrew alphabet. If you have a King James Bible, you will find these Hebrew letters in Psalm 119. This psalm is a form of Hebrew poetry called an acrostic. In some acrostics, each verse begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Psalm 145 is such a psalm, although in most Bibles the letter N is omitted so this psalm had only 21 verses. However, just recently a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar found this verse in one of the scrolls.

The five chapters of Lamentations are written in acrostic form, each chapter having 22 letters except chapter 3, which has 66 verses, so that each verse commences with the next letter of the alphabet. In the case of Psalm 119, Á Hebrew the first eight verses commence with aleph, the first letter of the alphabet; the second eight begin with the next Á Sumerian letter; and so on through the psalm. Á Phoenician Á Egyptian

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SCROLLS AND SCRIBES Hebrew scrolls were made of vellum, usually calfskin. This was attached at each end to a piece of round wood and rolled from one to the other as the need arose. When Jesus went to the synagogue at Nazareth, “there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias [Isaiah]. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written ...” (Luke 4:17). We can picture Him taking the scroll and unrolling it until He found the passage He wanted, in this case Isaiah 61. Naturally, vellum was not as enduring as stone or baked clay tablets, and with much use it became worn and tattered. Rather than keep a tattered scroll, the Jews burned or buried them, so that none of the original manuscripts written by the prophets exist today. A single page of such a document would be worth a king’s ransom, and we would give anything to have one today, no matter how tattered or torn it might be. But the Jews regarded it as sacrilege to use a badly worn scroll. Copies, however, were made of the sacred scrolls, both to replace worn ones and to multiply copies for many to read. A family that was able to purchase a copy of one or more books of the Bible felt very privileged. But although such copying was done by professional scribes who took meticulous care in their work, it was inevitable that mistakes were made, and such mistakes, when made, would be copied by the scribe who worked from such a manuscript. And so mistakes were perpetuated and added to. Sometimes a scribe would make an explanatory note in the margin, and occasionally such a note

 The architecture of the Shrine of the Book reflects the lid of the clay jars that held the scrolls.

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would be incorporated into the text by the scribe who copied that manuscript. Sometimes a scribe would alter a word to make it more understandable to his readers. In Genesis 14:14 Abraham is said to have chased his enemies as far as Dan. But when Moses wrote this, the city was called Laish. It was not named Dan until long after Moses was dead (Judges 18:29). So some scribe copying the book of Genesis must have thought it would be more meaningful if he wrote Dan. When critics became aware of the discrepancies that existed in different manuscripts of the Bible, they triumph­antly claimed that if such was the case, it was likely that there were many more mistakes in our present Bible. Therefore, they claimed, due to scribal errors, our present Bible may not even resemble the books that were originally written by the prophets and so the Bible is valueless.

DISCOVERY OF THE SCROLLS Since the oldest known manuscripts of the Old Testament were only about 1,000 years old, it was hard to answer the critics’ objections. But then came the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. Muhammad Adh-Dhib was a boy who lived between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. While searching for a lost goat, he noticed a strange hole in the rock face. It seemed to be the entrance to one of the many caves in the area. When he looked in, he saw on the floor of the cave a number of clay jars standing in rows. These jars held a priceless treasure — the Dead Sea Scrolls. After all the scrolls were recovered and eventually sold in 1954, they were purchased for $250,000 and are now kept in the Shrine of the Book at Israel’s national museum.

ANCIENT PRESERVATION Unfortunately, a number of the scrolls had mostly disintegrated due to exposure to the elements. But while remaining scrolls were frayed at the edges, they were fairly well preserved because they had been hidden in sealed caves and because of the hot, dry climate around the Dead Sea. In some cases a whole scroll was preserved. Two scrolls of Isaiah were among those found. One had been written by a very competent scribe but was frayed rather badly round the edges. The other Isaiah scroll was in good condition but had been written by an incompetent scribe. Other scrolls were small pieces, and scholars have had to put them together. This could sometimes be done by matching the shapes of the edges. In many cases, the edges were so badly frayed they could not be matched. In such cases it was often possible to match the wording of the text. DNA matching has been another useful tool in putting the pieces together. Scholars are still trying to match some of the smaller fragments.

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LANGUAGE OF THE SCROLLS Some of the scrolls were written in Hebrew, but most were in Aramaic. These were not two different languages. Aram was the word for Syrian, and Aramaic became the common language of the Middle East, but they were only different dialects of the same language. In the book of Daniel, chapter 2 verse 7 to the end of chapter 7 were written in Aramaic. The rest of Daniel was written in Hebrew. There is not much difference between them. There are slight differences in the style of writing in some of the manuscripts. This has enabled scholars who specialize in writing styles to identify what century they come from. It was on this basis that the first scrolls were identified as being 2,200 years old.

Á jar that the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in

à Isaiah

à Psalms

NOT JUST BIBLICAL TEXTS The scrolls can be divided into three categories: copies of the Bible, commentaries on the Bible, and secular texts. The latter includes the Manual of Discipline for the scribes who wrote the scrolls. There were strict rules of conduct they had to observe. Of the scrolls that have been discovered, there were 15 copies of the book of Deuteronomy, eight of

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à Habakkuk the book of Psalms, and five of the book of Daniel. This indicates the scribes’ preoccupation with the book of Deuteronomy. The Jewish people in that era had profound respect for the writings of Moses. The Gospel stories relate many occasions when the scribes and Pharisees confronted Jesus with their interpretation of the Law of Moses.

WHO WROTE THE SCROLLS? Qumran is an ancient settlement close to the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and for decades scholars have linked the site with authorship of the scrolls. When Qumran was first excavated it was assumed that it had been occupied by Essenes, a strict Jewish sect that existed in Jesus’ day but is not mentioned in the Gospels. Since then some scholars have challenged this theory. They point out that some items found in the excavations were luxurious in nature, and hardly consistent with the simple and rigid life required for the Essenes. There is a watchtower in the heart of Qumran some suggest might be a military outpost. There is no evidence of any sleeping quarters in Qumran, so maybe it was just for defensive purposes. Three female skeletons were found in the Qumran cemetery, hardly consistent with a celibate community, but there are hundreds of burials, and Jewish law forbids further excavations. Even so, most scholars still consider the scrolls to have been written by those who occupied Qumran, and perhaps they slept in nearby caves. They see no reason why the residents should not have good quality pots like those used to store the scrolls. And perhaps the women in the cemetery were pilgrims who had died when they visited the site. The number of scrolls containing the Psalms can probably be attributed to the persecution the Essene scribes experienced. The Psalms contain many wonderful promises to those who suffer persecution.

Ä Qumran ruins

THE BOOK OF DANIEL The writings of Daniel were of special interest to the scribes of Qumran. Their writings reveal an expectation of a last day’s war between the children of darkness and the children of light. Daniel’s prophecies of the ultimate victory of God’s people over His enemies no doubt encouraged them. These copies of the book of Daniel are also highly significant for Bible believers today. Daniel’s prophecies accurately predicted the rise and fall of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Critics who do not believe in Bible prophecy could not deny the fulfillment of these prophecies, so they claimed that the book of Daniel must have been written after these events occurred, about the time of the Dead Sea Scrolls. But if Daniel had been written at that time, the Dead Sea scribes would have known about it. The fact that they had made so many copies of Daniel shows that they regarded it as genuine, written by Daniel before it all happened.

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Following World War II, in 1947 the United Nations began the formation of the modern state of Israel on what was once ancient Jewish homelands.

Israel In the modern nation of Israel, there is an abundance of holy sites. These can be categorized in three ways: places that can be supported by archaeology as being reasonably genuine, those that are doubtful because no positive evidence to confirm or deny them as authentic exists, and those that can be proven to be fake.

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WHO WHAT WHERE WHY HOW

Who was instrumental in building churches that honored Gospel events? What was significant about a man carrying a water pot? Where did archaeologists uncover support for the existence of Pontius Pilate? Why did General Gordon conclude that his site was the true Calvary? How is it that Jesus Christ could be born 4 or 5 BC (“before Christ”)?

Each year thousands of Christians tour sites across Israel that have biblical connections. These include sites related to Jesus Christ — His birth, His ministry, and His death. For centuries the Jewish people had been looking forward to the advent of a Messiah. After their establishment in Palestine, the Messianic prophecies, as they were called, became very specific. In a prophecy that became part of Handel’s Messiah, Isaiah said, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).

Á Praying at the western wall

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In Nazareth is the beautiful Church of the Annunciation, which is supposed to mark the site where the angel appeared to Mary, though there is no way to support this identification. These “holy places” in Israel were not identified until at least 300 years after it all happened. Early Christians were not allowed to build churches, and they were preoccupied with escaping persecution. They knew it had all happened, but they were not interested in knowing where.

à Church of the Annunciation

It was not until the Roman Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion that any attention was given to locations. His was a nominal conversion adopted for political purposes, but his mother Helena became a pious Christian and went to Israel, where she built churches to commemorate the events in the Gospel story. She was dependent on locals to advise her on where it all happened, and there is no way of knowing whether the sites selected were authentic. So it is unlikely that the Church of the Annunciation is in the right place, but it is an impressive church. When it was built, the authorities invited all the Christian countries to send a painting or mosaic depicting their concept of the annunciation. These are now in panels all round the inside of the wall surrounding the church and in the church itself. Naturally, these pictures portray Mary and Jesus as coming from their own cultures, so the European pictures depict Mary and Jesus with European features, and the Asian countries depict them with Eastern appearance.

Á Golden Dome, Jerusalem

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The word simply means someone who is being sent to save a nation or a group of people. For the Jewish people who had suffered WHAT IS A so many generations of persecution and torture, often scattered in lands they could not call their own, the Messiah was expected to free MESSIAH? them from slavery and help establish them as a Jewish nation. The word Messiah is of Hebrew origin and means “the Anointed One.” The word Christ is the Greek equivalent used in the New Testament and also means “the Anointed One.” When Jesus Christ was born, He was named Yeshua, as in Nehemiah 12:26, an adaptation of Yehoshua (Joshua), meaning “Yehovah saves.” This name in Greek is spelled Iesous, and in English Bibles it is Bible prophecy had predicted that this spelled Jesus. Messianic child would be born in Bethlehem. The Bible shares that Joseph and Mary would be the parents of this child. In Greek her name was Mariam, derived from the name of  Church of Moses’ sister Miriam, a very popular Jewish the Nativity, name at this time. However, the couple lived in Bethlehem Nazareth, and that is where they expected the baby to be born. But thousands of miles away in Rome, an imperial decree changed these plans. “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1). Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem, their ancestral town, and here the baby was born. In the heart of Ankara, the capital of Turkey is an ancient building known as “the Temple of Augustus.” In the second century BC, this building was constructed and dedicated to Cybele, the mother goddess of Anatolia. Later it was dedicated to the Roman Emperor Augustus, and on its wall a long inscription records the achievements of Augustus. It enumerates three specific decrees by Augustus: 28 BC, 8 BC, and AD 14. A delay in implementing the decree of 8 BC meant it took effect in time to require Mary and Joseph’s trip during her pregnancy. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is built over a grotto in which the baby Jesus was supposed to have been born. But Luke 2:7 says that Mary “brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for

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them in the inn.” This inn would most likely have been a caravanserai, which was a walled enclosure with rooms around the inner walls for overnight travelers. There were also stables for animals in which there were mangers that could contain hay or water. It was in such a manger that the Lord of glory was laid. It is very unlikely that the grotto beneath the Church of the Nativity was the stable in which the baby Jesus was born, but we do know what the manger looked like. Limestone was plentiful in Israel. Blocks of stone were cut out of the bedrock and a cavity chiseled out of the upper edge.

KING HEROD

à Bethlehem

There is no archaeological or historical record to confirm Herod murdering all the male babies in Bethlehem, but it is consistent with what we know of Herod. He had his brother-in-law, Aristobulus, drowned in his palace swimming pool. He killed the grandfather of his favorite wife, Mariamne, and later killed Mariamne herself. He designated Mariamne’s two sons, Aristobulus and Anthony, as his heirs, but when their half brother Antipater accused them of treachery, he had them put to death and appointed Antipater as his heir. Just before Herod died he had Antipater killed as well.

 Messiah  synagogue  Sanhedrin  ossuary  caravanserai

Ä panoramic view of present-day Bethlehem

à Herod fortified Masada as a fortress, and in 66 AD, a group of Jewish fighters rebelled against Rome and chose Masada as refuge. When the Romans finally breached the defenses, they found most of the inhabitants had set fire to their food and killed one another in mass suicide. Two women and their children hid and told the Romans their story.

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JESUS’ BIRTH We do not know the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ. We do know that Herod the Great died in the year 4 or possibly 5 BC, and as it was he who had tried to kill the baby Jesus, Jesus must have been born before then. The reason that He was born “before Christ” is that it was not until 525 that Pope St. John I appointed an Italian monk named Dionysius Exigguus to draw up a new calendar, which he calculated from the nativity with BC and AD dates. In working back, he made a mistake in his calculations, and by the time this error was discovered it was too late to change the chronological JESUS BEGINS HIS MINISTRY system. So we have this strange idea that Jesus Christ was At the age of thirty, Jesus laid down His carpenter’s born in the year tools and made His way to the River Jordan where 4 or 5 BC. He was baptized by John the Baptist. John chose to take up life in the wilderness of Judea, probably not far from Jericho where he was baptizing those who responded to his appeal for repentance. We do not know exactly where John resided, but his options were limited. Water was a necessity of life so he had to be near the River Jordan or close to one of the few wadis (dry river beds) that flowed into the Jordan when it rained. Jericho is not far from Qumran, where scribes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. The lifestyle

of the Essenes was very similar to John’s, and some scholars are convinced he belonged to their settlement. They daily immersed (baptized) themselves for ceremonial purification. The only difference with John was that he immersed others.

Ä A site commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan

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THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AT THE WELL In John chapter 4, Jesus returned to Galilee from the temple in Jerusalem, needing to go through Samaria. The usual route for such a journey was down to Jericho and along the Jordan Valley. The Samaria route involved going down two steep gorges, as well as passing through Samaritan territory. But there was a woman there who would respond to the words of Jesus, so He needed to go through Samaria. When Jesus offered her living

water, she said, “Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep” (John 4:11). This well is one of the few authentic sites associated with the Gospel accounts. There is only one well in Nablus where this all happened, and it is deep: 35 yards (32 meters), which is a long way to dig down through rock to find water. It is also a long way to lower a water-pot.

 ancient synagogue ruins in Capernaum in Israel

BETHESDA AND CAPERNAUM John 5 records the visit of Jesus to the Pool of Bethesda, which had five porches (arches). Here He healed a man who had been sick for 38 years and was apparently unable to walk. This site has been positively identified. It is located within the present north wall of Jerusalem, and the arches can be seen. There are remains of a Crusader church whose builders recognized this place as the site where this miracle took place. Jesus spent a lot of His time in Galilee, especially at Capernaum, where He performed many miracles, including entering a synagogue and healing a demon-possessed man.

SYNAGOGUE OF CAPERNAUM Today the remains of a synagogue in Capernaum can be seen. It consists of a foundation of black basalt stone, which is very plentiful in the area, and above that the building of white limestone, which would have been transported from elsewhere and consequently quite expensive. The white stones must have been from a later period because some paving stones were lifted and beneath them archaeologists found coins from the fifth century. The black stones may have been from the original synagogue in Christ’s day, but whichever it is, the building is quite imposing and a reminder of this miracle.

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THE SEA OF GALILEE The Sea of Galilee itself is a beautiful sight. No church can be built on the spot where Jesus walked on the water or stilled the waves, so it is all very natural, and we have a good idea as to what the boat in which Jesus rode was like. In 1986, when there had been a low rainfall and the lake level was lower than usual, two men from the Kibbutz Ginosar saw some wood sticking up out of the exposed mud. They reported it to the authorities, who mounted a rescue operation, excavating the wood that turned out to be a fishing boat from the first century, in other words from the time of Christ. Nobody is suggesting that this was the exact boat Jesus rode in, but it is 26 feet (8 meters) long, large enough to hold thirteen men, so it could be the same type of boat.

Early in His ministry, Jesus got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught” (Luke 5:4b). Simon Peter was reluctant. He had toiled all night and caught nothing. He knew that fishing during the daytime was fruitless. He no doubt figured that a carpenter would know nothing about fishing, but out of respect to Jesus he said, “Master, we have toiled

90

all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake” (Luke 5:5–6). This miracle, more than any other, appealed to Simon the fisherman, and he fell at Jesus’ feet acknowledging Him as Lord. Jesus took advantage of this sacred moment to call Peter and the other fishing disciples to leave their nets and follow Him.

s is to our activitie f o e n o d n nds, a s as the the Bible la proportion e to m p a u s ro e g th a r shore I tak e ade on on the othe us boat,” m Every year s v e e J “ G a in ll a E c to at they iberius charter wh lak e from T e th s s ro c at. We as Ginosar bo ccasion I w o e n o n O . ip of the lak e in of the sh ta p a c e th g talk ing to e interestin m o s e m e v and he ga . information at at told me th o b r u o f o The captain done on the is g in h s fi y ve. hardly an unproducti is It . e m ti e bring y lak e in da t s on Galile re a a o b h s g fi e in h th s tt ime d the fi But at nigh e boat s, an th n o s t h g the li att racted to ts ht. two inciden sh every nig re fi a f o re s e n h to T in d me. they at impresse e lak e, and th th e ls n e o g s in m r ld someth lling sto is and he to He told me out Jesus sti th b t a u o ls b e a p s o in ind the G e capta recorded in tt ime. The w . I ask ed th h e ig n im t tt a h r ig u c n red at only oc and both occur of the lak e e of Galilee r k e a n L r o e c t th s n a rms o northe . me that sto lley on the a v e th four meters n to w o e d re g th in f r o height comes roa waves to a e th p u s ip wh

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Ä Sea of Galilee

IN JERUSALEM AGAIN Back in Jerusalem, the disciples asked Jesus about a man who had been born blind. Jesus put mud on the man’s eye and told him to go and wash them in the Pool of Siloam. Until recently, it was thought that this pool was at the outlet of Hezekiah’s Tunnel, but then archaeologists found steps near this exit that were part of a large pool that may have provided a place for the number of worshipers who wanted to purify themselves before going up to the temple. After three and a half years of ministry, Jesus made His last visit to Jerusalem. He knew what awaited Him, but He was willing to sacrifice His life for the salvation of the world. Ã Pool of Siloam

91

 Pots were used to carry water from a well or cistern.

A MAN WITH A PITCHER On the Thursday afternoon when the feast of the Passover should be celebrated, Peter and John asked Jesus where they should prepare for it. Jesus told them, “And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in” (Luke 22:10). The instructions Jesus gave would leave no doubt which man they were to follow. Men do not carry water pots in the Middle East. That is considered a job for women. Unusual circumstances must have made this necessary.

CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION From the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was taken to the palace of Annas and then to Caiaphas, the ruling high priest. These buildings cannot be identified, but recently an ossuary (bone box) with the name of Caiaphas inscribed on it, was found in the Kidron Valley. It contains the bones of the high priest and is now in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. After His condemnation by the ancient Jewish court known as the Sanhedrin, Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. Tradition identifies it with the Fortress of Antonia near the east end of the Via Dolorosa, meaning the Road of Sorrows. This is the route Jesus is supposed to have taken to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, but even if this church does contain the hill called Calvary, the Via Dolorosa cannot mark the exact route. The buildings that line this road are old but not 2,000 years old, and in most places the pavement is meters above the level in Christ’s day. There is no way of knowing where the road was then.

After the Passover time, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, as He often did, and His disciples came with Him. The Mount of Olives is just opposite Jerusalem. From the description in John 18, the brook Kidron Ä Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Cedron) is noted, which is dry except when it rains. The garden that He entered may have been an olive grove because it is called Gethsemane, meaning, “oil press.” This must have been at the foot of the Mount of Olives, but there is no way of knowing the precise spot. A beautiful church is there with a large stone at the place where it is said Jesus prayed, with very old olive trees nearby.

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Archaeology has provided support for the existence of Pontius Pilate. When the theater at Caesarea was being rebuilt, a slab of stone was discovered on which were the words “TIBERIEUM” (a reference to the Emperor Tiberius who was ruling at that time), and “IUSPILATUS” (the preceding letters obviously concerning Pontius Pilate).

à Theater at Caesarea

THE SEARCH FOR CALVARY In Luke, Jesus was crucified at a place called Calvary, a Latin word meaning “skull.” The other Gospels call it Golgotha, the Hebrew word for skull. The traditional site is in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. But in 1882, General Gordon, a devout Christian, visited Jerusalem but was not impressed with the traditional church inside the city walls. Hebrews 13:12 says that Jesus suffered outside the gate. Gordon looked for an alternate site and noticed that the cliff face opposite the northern wall had the appearance of a skull. It is now known as “Gordon’s Calvary.” The site seems to meet expectations. It is outside the city walls and not far from the Sheep Gate through which sheep and goats were taken to be offered in the temple. The location seemed to be supported by a nearby garden in which there was a tomb, as in John 19:41. It has become known as “the Garden

Tomb,” and is favored by most Protestants as the burial place of Jesus. However, two Israeli archaeologists did years of research on the royal tombs in Silwan beside the Brook Kidron, which were dated to the seventh century BC, and they pointed out that the Garden Tomb was typical of this period. Archaeology has been unable to prove or disprove the authenticity of the burial site. There are many so-called holy places in Israel supposed to mark the site where the events of Jesus’ life occurred. Not many of them have so far been proven authentic, but the events themselves surely are. As we have seen many times, the biblical record is reflected in the exciting archaeological discoveries that are made.

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GLOSSARY/INDEX

Cuneiform—a form of writing using a wedgeshaped stylus to make an impression on a clay tablet ...48, 54, 75

Accession year—the year a king actually began his reign ...14

Debris—discarded rubbish ... 8-9, 24, 32, 77

AD—Anno Domini (the year of our Lord)—the years after the Christian era began ...6 Amphitheater—a circle of seats surrounding an area where gladiators fought each other or fought wild beasts ...31-32 Anatolia—mountainous area in central Turkey ...30, 86 Annunciation—an announcement ...85 Armenians—people who live in eastern Turkey and northern Iraq ...49 Artifact—an item from antiquity found in excavation ... 11, 24, 73-74 Asiatic—in Egyptian terms, someone from Syria or Palestine ...28 Baal—a word meaning “lord.” The name of a Phoenician god ... 71, 73-75 Bathhouse—a club where citizens could bathe in cold, warm, or hot water ...32 BC—Before Christ—the years before the Christian era began ...6 Baulk—the vertical ridge left between two excavated squares in the ground ...21 Bedouin—Arabs living in tents with no fixed address ...61, 77 Bulla—an impression made on clay with a seal (plural bullae) ...43 Calvary—Latin word meaning “skull” ...92-93 Carbon dating—calculating the amount of carbon left in organic material that has died ...18 Causeway—a built-up road ...76-77 Centurion—a military officer in charge of a hundred men ...37 Ceramic—something made of pottery ...10 Chaldees—people who used to live in southern Iraq ...36, 38, 51 Chronology—time periods, dates in which events happened ... 7, 14-15, 17-19, 28-29 Cistern—a hole dug in rock to store rainwater ...63, 92

94

Dowry—gift given to a prospective bride at the time of her marriage ...21-22 Dynasty—a succession of kings descended from one another ... 7, 15, 19-20, 22, 25, 28-29, 41 Drachma—a Greek coin worth about a day’s wages ...21-22 EB—the Early Bronze Period ...16-17 Edom—country in southern Jordan ...62-63, 67 Edomites—people descended from Edom, also known as Esau, Jacob’s brother ...62-63, 66-67 Exile—a people sent out of their home country to another country ... 13-14, 17, 19, 32 Exodus—going out, applied to the Israelites leaving Egypt ...19, 62 Golgotha—Hebrew word meaning “skull” ...93 Grotto—cave ...86 Hieroglyphs—Egyptian picture writing ...7, 14, 79 Inscription—writing made on clay, stone, papyrus, or animal skins ... 0, 33, 42, 45, 49, 53-54, 73, 86 LB—the Late Bronze period ...13, 17 Mastabas—mud-brick structures beneath which were tomb chambers ...22 MB—the Middle Bronze Period ...16-17 Medes—people who used to live in northern Iran ...45, 51, 57 Messiah—meaning “Anointed One” and applied to an expected Jewish leader ... 52, 84, 86-87 Millennium—one thousand years ...18 Nabataeans—people descended from Nabaioth who occupied Petra ...67-69 Nomad—a person who lived in a tent that could be moved from place to place ...36 Non-accession year­—the first complete year of a king’s reign ...14 Nubia—a country south of Egypt now called Sudan ...29 Ossuary—a box in which human bones were preserved ...87, 92

Papyrus—sheets of writing material made from the Egyptian papyrus plant ...36, 70, 78 Passover—Jewish ceremony celebrating the Exodus from Egypt ...58, 92 Persia—a country in central Iran ... 13, 44, 52-53, 76

r-right l-left c: center cr: center-right cl: center-left b: bottom

br: bottom-right bl: bottom-left bc: bottom-center tl: top-left tc: top-center

Pharaoh—title applied to many Egyptian kings ... 14, 19, 25, 28-29, 43

Front Cover: Shutterstock.com Back Cover: Shutterstock.com-tr, br; istock.com-bl

Pottery—a vessel made of clay fired in a kiln ... 7-12, 17, 31, 37, 43

Shutterstock.com p.1, p.2, p.4, p.6, p.11-tl, p.12-tl, p.12-cl, p.12-br, p.14, p.15cr, p.19-l, p.19-br, p.22-tl, p.22-23-t, p. 23-l, p.23-bl, p.28bl, p.29-br, p.32-t, p.34-t, p.35-b, p.36-c, p.37-t(2), p.44-br, p.47-br, p.49-t, p. 50-tr, p.52-c, p.54-bl, p.54-br, p.56-bl, p.59-tr, p.59-c, p.60-r (2), p.62-c, p.63-tr, p.63-bl, p.64 (7), p.65-tr, p.65-bl, p.66-l, p.67-cr, p.67-bc, p.69-bl, p.71-br, p.72-t, p.72-b, p.75-c, p-76-tl, p.76-br, p.78-bl, p.79-tr, p.80-br, p.81-l, p.83-tr, p.84-bl, p.85-tl, p.85-bl, p.87-cr, p.88-b, p.89-cr, p.90-91-c, p.91-t (3), p.92-br, p.95-r

Rhyton—a drinking vessel shaped like a human or animal ...52, 55 Sarcophagus—a stone coffin ...2 Scarab—model of a dung beetle with an inscription engraved on it for sealing documents ...43 Seal—an object made of stone, metal, or clay with a name engraved on it used to impress in soft clay ...42-43 Scroll—papyrus or animal skin document rolled up into a cylinder ... 43, 70, 78, 80-82

istock.com p.7, p. 8, p.9-b p.11-cr, p.13-bl, p.15-bl, p.28-cr, p.31-b, p.33-cl, p.37-c, p.51-tr, p.54-tl, p.57-tr, p.58-r, p. 81-cl, p.64cl, p.65-br, p.68-t, p.68-bl, p.69-br, p.74-tr, p.83-bl, p.86-cr, p.86-87-b, p.87-tl, p.92-tl, p.93-c

Siq—narrow valley between two high rock formations ... 61, 63-64, 67, 69

Author Photos p.8-cr, p.21-all, p.37-br, p.53-c (2), p. 54-bl, p.82-r (3)

Stratum—a layer of occupation exposed by excavations (plural strata) ...7, 9, 13-14, 17, 19, 43, 47-48, 67 Synchronism—something happening at the same time ...14 Syncline—a boat-shaped geological formation ...49 Tell—a Hebrew word meaning “ruins” applied to hills on which people once lived ... 7-9, 11, 13, 21, 31, 36, 48

Wikimedia Commons p.10-b, p.11-bl, p.17-cl, p.33-br [Klaus-Peter Simon, 2002], p.38-tr, p.40-tl, p.40-br [Udimu, 2006], p.43-t, p.43-b, p. 56tl, p.63-cl [Uri Juda], p.77-cl [Digital Globe, 2006], p.91-bl Bryan Miller-illustrator p.18, p.20, p.24-t p.26-t, p.26-bl, p.27-t, p.30-cl, p.42-bl, p.46-b, p.47-tl, p.50-bl, p.51-bc, p.70-71-c, p.77-tr, p.79-bl, p.80-cr, p.90-tr David S. Lewis, flickr.com/dslewis p.24-br, p.55-c

Theater—a stage for actors in front of which was a semi-circle of seats ...64, 69, 93

Unwrapping the Pharaohs, Master Books ® p.25-br, p.38-br, p.39-t, p.45-tc

Vellum—animal skin treated to be used as writing material ...80

British Museum p.41-tl, p.49-c, p.74-c

Wadi—a dry river bed, carrying water only when it rained ...61, 63

Superstock.com p.41-b, p.82-cl

Yehovah—a Hebrew name for God, usually spelled Jehovah, but there is no “J” in the Hebrew alphabet ...71, 73, 86

The Complete Works of Josephus, Attic Books p.57-cl

PHOTO CREDIT

dkimages Alistair Duncan (c) Dorling Kindersley p.73-cr

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ENDNOTES Chapter one

Chapter two

1 – I. Finklestein, The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1988), pp. 339-341.

1 – F. Petrie. Ten Years Digging in Egypt (Chicago: Ares Publishers Inc., 1976) pp. 49-50.

2 – E. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1951), p. 23. 3 – I. Finklestein, The Bible Unearthed (New York: A Rouchstone Book, 2002), p. 5.

2 – R. David The Pyramid Builders of Ancient Egypt (London: Guild Publishing, 1986), p. 191. 3 – Ibid. p. 199.

Chapter three 1 – Encyclopedia Britannica, 1861 edition.

4 – K. Kenyon, Archaeology in the Holy Land (London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1965), p. 134.

2 – Encyclopedia Britannica, 1881 edition.

5 – Ibid.

1 – J.B.Pritchard, Ancient Near East (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958), p. 200.

Chapter five

6 – I. Finklestein. The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1988), pp. 339-341. 7 – Cambridge Encyclopedia on Archaeology, p. 424.

Chapter six 1 – D. W. Thomas, editor, Documents from Old Testament Times (New York: Harper and Row, 1958), pp. 20-23.

Chapter seven 1 – J. Pritchard, The Ancient near East (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958), p. 208.

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