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Other Articles on
Archaeology
and the Bible
Archaeology Verifies the Bible as God's Word
Ch. 1 - A Christian Skeptic Discovers God in
Ancient Israel
Ch. 2 - Sir William Ramsay
Defends the New
Testament
Ch. 3 - Was the Jesus of the Bible Fact or
Fiction?
Ch. 4 - Bible Minimalists
Back Again!
Ch. 5 - King David
Was for Real!
Ch. 6 - Archaeological Evidence Verifies
Biblical Cities
Archaeological
Evidence
Verifies Biblical Cities
The Devil's War
Against Biblical Archaeology
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Archaeology Verifies the Bible as God's Word
Archaeological Evidence
Verifies Biblical Cities
Chapter 6
The following is a partial list
of cities mentioned in the Bible that have been verified by
archaeologists. There are hundreds! This means that the Bible
accurately reflects the locations and cities of ancient times.
Arad
Num. 21:1, “When the
Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that
Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against
Israel, and took some of them captive.” [NAS]
Num. 33:40, “Now the
Canaanite, the king of Arad who lived in the Negev in the land
of Canaan, heard of the coming of the sons of Israel.”
[NAS]
“Arad 30 km NE of Beersheba,
excavated from 1962 to 1974 by Y. Aharoni and R. B. K. Amiran.”
(The New Bible Dictionary, Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale
House Publishers, Inc., 1962.)
“The site consists of an upper
mound or acropolis, where excavation has revealed an Iron Age
(post thirteenth century B.C.)” (Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D.,
Harper’s Bible Dictionary, San Francisco: Harper and Row,
Publishers, Inc., 1985.)
Bethel
Amos 7:12-13, “Then Amaziah
said to Amos, ‘Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and
there eat bread and there do your prophesying! [13] But no
longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and
a royal residence.’” [NAS]
“W. F. Albright made a trial
excavation at Bethel in 1927. Albright then mounted a full
excavation in 1934. His assistant that year, J. L. Kelso,
continued the excavation in 1954, 1957, and 1960.” (Achtemeier,
Paul J., Th.D., Harper’s Bible Dictionary, San Francisco:
Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1985.)
Dan
Judges 18:29, “They called
the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who
was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was
Laish.” [NAS]
“The excavation of Dan began in
1966 under the direction of Avraham Biran.” (Horn, Siegfried H.,
Biblical Archaeology: A Generation of Discovery, Berrien
Springs, Michigan: Andrews University, 1985, p. 42.)
“Formerly called Laish, it is
mentioned in the execration texts, the eighteenth-century B.C.
Mari tablets, and the records of the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose
III. It is identified with Tel Dan (modern Tell el-Qadi)
covering about 50 acres in the center of a fertile valley near
one of the principal springs feeding the Jordan River....”
Ephesus
Eph. 1:1,
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the
saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ
Jesus.” [NAS]
“Austrian archaeologists in this
century [20th] have excavated the 24,000-seat theater and the
commercial agora, as well as many other public buildings and
streets of the first and second centuries A.D., so that the
modern visitor can gain some impression of the city as known by
Paul.” (Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D., Harper’s Bible Dictionary,
San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1985.)
Gaza
Acts 8:26, “But an angel of
the Lord spoke to Philip saying, ‘Get up and go south to the
road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.’” [NAS]
Gaza was excavated by W. J.
Phythian-Adams in 1922. (Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D.,
Harper’s Bible Dictionary, San Francisco: Harper and Row,
Publishers, Inc., 1985.)
Gezer
Joshua 16:10, “But they did
not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer . . . .”
[NAS]
R.A.S. MacAlister “directed the
Palestine Exploration Fund for many years and conducted
extensive excavations at Gezer (1902-1909).” (Douglas, J. D.,
Comfort, Philip W. & Mitchell, Donald, Editors, Who’s Who in
Christian History, Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., 1992.)
Hazor
Joshua 11:1, “Then it came
about, when Jabin king of Hazor heard of it, that he sent to
Jobab king of Madon and to the king of Shimron and to the king
of Achshaph.” [NAS]
Jer. 49:28, “Concerning
Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon defeated. Thus says the Lord, ‘Arise, go up to Kedar and
devastate the men of the east.’” [NAS]
“This large Canaanite and
Israelite city in upper Galilee was excavated under Yigael
Yadin’s direction from 1955 to 1958 and from 1968 to 1970.”
(Horn, Siegfried H., Biblical Archaeology: A Generation of
Discovery, Berrien Springs, Michigan: Andrews University,
1985, p. 40.)
Heshbon
Josh. 12:2,
“Sihon king
of the Amorites, who lived in
Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the
valley of the Arnon . . . .” [NAS]
Excavations were undertaken by
Andrews University from 1968 to 1976. (Achtemeier, Paul J.,
Th.D., Harper’s Bible Dictionary, San Francisco: Harper
and Row, Publishers, Inc., 1985.)
Jericho
Num. 22:1, “Then the sons
of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the
Jordan opposite Jericho.” [NAS]
“Jericho was the oldest inhabited
and fortified city ever excavated.” (Horn, Siegfried H.,
Biblical Archaeology: A Generation of Discovery, Berrien
Springs, Michigan: Andrews University, 1985, p. 37.)
Joppa
Acts 9:38, “And since Lydda
was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was
there, sent two men to him, imploring him, ‘Do not delay in
coming to us.’” [NAS]
“During excavations of the site
of ancient Joppa a thirteenth century B.C. citadel gate was
uncovered . . . .” (Achtemeier, Paul J., Th.D., Harper’s
Bible Dictionary, San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers,
Inc., 1985.)
Nineveh
2 Kings
19:36, “So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and
returned home, and lived at Nineveh.” [NAS]
Jonah 1:1-2,
“The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai
saying, ‘Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it,
for their wickedness has come up before Me.’” [NAS]
Excavated in
from 1845 to 1857 by Austen H. Layard. (Douglas, J. D.,
Comfort, Philip W. & Mitchell, Donald, Editors, Who’s Who in
Christian History, Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., 1992.)
Shechem and Joshua’s Altar
Gen. 12:6, “Abram passed
through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of
Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land.” [NAS]
Gen. 33:18, “Now Jacob came
safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan,
when he came from Paddan-aram, and camped before the city.”
[NAS]
“Excavations were carried out at
Shechem, first by Austrian-German expeditions in 1913 and 1914,
and again from 1926 to 1934, under several directors, and then
by an American expedition from 1956 to 1972 . . . . Excavation
of the sacred area revealed a courtyard sanctuary and a later
fortress temple dedicated to El-berith ‘the god of the
covenant.’ This temple, which was destroyed by Abimelech, the
son of the judge Gideon (Judges 9) has provided us with a date
of the Judges’ period.” (Horn, Siegfried H., Biblical
Archaeology: A Generation of Discovery, Berrien Springs,
Michigan: Andrews University, 1985, p. 40.)
“Most recently a structure
identified as an Israelite altar has been excavated on the
northeastern slope of Mt. Ebal. Dating to the 13th to 12th
centuries B.C., considered to be the time of Joshua, the altar
suggests the possibility that it may be the altar built by
Joshua and described in Deuteronomy 27, 28.” (Horn, Siegfried
H., Biblical Archaeology: A Generation of Discovery, Berrien
Springs, Michigan: Andrews University, 1985, p. 40.)
The overwhelming weight of
archaeology confirms that the Bible is the inspired word of God! |
