Archaeology

When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Pieces of the Book of Enoch were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls

And after he had become the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.

So Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.

When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah.

And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters.

So Enoch lived a total of 365 years.

On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A boat shaped mound about 18 miles south of Mount Ararat that some believe is the ark

And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Excavated 1922-1934 by Leonard Woolley; confirmed sophisticated city in Abraham's era

In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Names of Mesopotamian kings (Chedorlaomer, Tidal, Arioch) plausibly verified in cuneiform records

So Sarai said to Abram, “Look now, Yahweh has prevented me from bearing children. Please go to my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Nuzi tablets

Now Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city, Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Hittites confirmed as major Bronze Age power; pre-1906 critics doubted their existence

They also took the livestock and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Beni Hasan tomb painting

So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The store cities named in Exodus are real Egyptian sites

‘May Yahweh bless you and keep you;

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls

may Yahweh cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

may Yahweh lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’

he sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt,” said Balak. “They cover the face of the land and have settled next to me.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Deir Alla Inscription

So when the rams’ horns sounded, the people shouted. When they heard the blast of the horn, the people gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. Then all the people charged straight into the city and captured it.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Kathleen Kenyon's debated dating; Bryant Wood's reanalysis supports Late Bronze destruction matching biblical chronology

So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Khirbet el-Maqatir excavations support a Late Bronze Age destruction at this site

At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword, because Hazor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Hazor destruction by fire

The Israelites put everyone in Hazor to the sword, devoting them to destruction. Nothing that breathed remained, and Joshua burned down Hazor itself.

After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of Yahweh, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The first mention of Israel outside the Bible, as a people in Canaan

The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] On the Tel Dan Stele

Now the Philistines gathered their forces for war at Socoh in Judah, and they camped between Socoh and Azekah in Ephes-dammim.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Khirbet Qeiyafa

Saul and the men of Israel assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah, arraying themselves for battle against the Philistines.

So Joab son of Zeruiah and the servants of David marched out and met them by the pool of Gibeon. And the two groups took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Pool of Gibeon

This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of Yahweh, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Yigael Yadin identified gates with six rooms at all three cities, built to the same plan

Solomon therefore sought to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled to Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, where he remained until the death of Solomon.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Pharaoh Shishak, Sheshonq I, is named on his own victory carving at Karnak, see the Shishak at Karnak Field Notes page

One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The high place at Tel Dan

In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Karnak Temple relief records Shishak's campaign into Israel and Judah

He seized the treasures of the house of Yahweh and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.

and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had conspired against the king and struck him down. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Omri is named outside the Bible on the Mesha Stele and in Assyrian records, see The Mesha Stele Field Notes page

And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Ahab is named outside the Bible on the Kurkh Monolith, see The Kurkh Monolith Field Notes page

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Kurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III

Then Yahweh said to him, “Go back by the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Hazael king of Aram is named in Shalmaneser III's records and on ivory and bronze pieces carried off from Damascus

You are also to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel and Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Jehu is named, and likely pictured, on the Black Obelisk, see the Jehu on the Black Obelisk Field Notes page in 2 Kings

As for the rest of the acts of Ahab, along with all his accomplishments and the ivory palace and all the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Ivory inlays and ink written pottery found at Samaria fit Ahab's ivory palace and the houses of ivory in Amos 3:15

So Ahaziah died according to the word of Yahweh that Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram succeeded him in the second year of the reign of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat over Judah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Jehoram of Israel, also called Joram, is most likely named on the Tel Dan Stele, though part of the name is broken, see the note on 8:28

Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Mesha king of Moab tells how he broke free from Israel

But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

And Jehoram rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Ahaziah of Judah is most likely named on the Tel Dan Stele, though part of the name is broken, see the note on 8:28

Then Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Aramaic inscription that names the House of David

So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.

When you arrive, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go in, get him away from his companions, and take him to an inner room.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Assyrian king’s carving shows King Jehu of Israel, or his messenger, bowing with tribute

So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-hadad.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Ben hadad son of Hazael is named as Bar hadad son of Hazael, king of Aram, on the stone of Zakkur king of Hamath

And Jehoahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And his son Jehoash reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Assyrian stone names Joash the Samarian paying tribute

And Jehoash rested with his fathers, and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A seal from Megiddo belonged to Shema, servant of Jeroboam

Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Seals of his officials and a later burial plaque name King Uzziah, the Bible's Azariah

And Yahweh afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, so that he lived in a separate house while his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Jotham is named as the father of Ahaz on a clay seal impression, see The Seal of Ahaz Field Notes page

Then Menahem son of Gadi went up from Tirzah to Samaria, struck down and killed Shallum son of Jabesh, and reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Menahem of Samaria is named on the Iran Stele of Tiglath pileser III, see the Menahem's Tribute Field Notes page

Then Pul king of Assyria invaded the land, and Menahem gave Pul 75,000 pounds of silver in order to gain his support and strengthen his own grip on the kingdom.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Assyrian records say Menahem of Samaria paid tribute to Tiglath pileser III

Menahem exacted this money from each of the wealthy men of Israel—1¼ pounds of silver from each man—to give to the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria withdrew and did not remain in the land.

Then his officer, Pekah son of Remaliah, conspired against him along with Argob, Arieh, and fifty men of Gilead. And at the citadel of the king’s palace in Samaria, Pekah struck down and killed Pekahiah and reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Pekah is named in Tiglath pileser III's records, see the Pekah and Hoshea Field Notes page

In the days of Pekah king of Israel, Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel-beth-maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the land of Naphtali, and he took the people as captives to Assyria.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Tiglath pileser III inscriptions name Pekah and Hoshea

Then Hoshea son of Elah led a conspiracy against Pekah son of Remaliah. In the twentieth year of Jotham son of Uzziah, Hoshea attacked Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place.

(In those days Yahweh began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah.)

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Rezin of Damascus is named on the Iran Stele and in Tiglath pileser III's records, see the Menahem's Tribute Field Notes page

And Jotham rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David his father. And his son Ahaz reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A clay seal impression reads, Belonging to Ahaz son of Jotham, king of Judah

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. Come up and save me from the hands of the kings of Aram and Israel, who are rising up against me.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Tiglath pileser III tribute list names Ahaz of Judah

And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David, and his son Hezekiah reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Hezekiah is named on his own seal and in Sennacherib's records, see the Hezekiah's Seal Field Notes page

Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Shalmaneser V of Assyria is named in his own inscriptions and in a Babylonian Chronicle that says he ruined Samaria, see The Fall of Samaria Field Notes page

In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Sargon II’s records say he captured Samaria and carried its people away

In the third year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Hezekiah son of Ahaz became king of Judah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A clay seal impression reads, Belonging to Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah

In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Sennacherib says he took 46 walled cities and shut Hezekiah up like a bird in a cage, but he never says he took Jerusalem

So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand from me.” And the king of Assyria exacted from Hezekiah king of Judah eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Lachish Reliefs of Sennacherib

Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Tirhakah is Pharaoh Taharqa of Egypt, known from his own statues and temples and from Assyrian records

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Death of Sennacherib

At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Merodach baladan, Marduk apla iddina II, king of Babylon, is named in Assyrian records and on his own boundary stone

As for the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, along with all his might and how he constructed the pool and the tunnel to bring water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An underground water tunnel and a Hebrew inscription about its digging, about 701 BC

And Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and his son Manasseh reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Assyrian records list Manasseh king of Judah among the kings who served Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal

During Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt marched up to help the king of Assyria at the Euphrates River. King Josiah went out to confront him, but Neco faced him and killed him at Megiddo.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Pharaoh Neco is Necho II of Egypt, named on Egyptian monuments and by the Greek writer Herodotus

During Jehoiakim’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded. So Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years, until he turned and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Nebuchadnezzar II is named on thousands of bricks and records from Babylon, see The Babylonian Chronicle Field Notes page

And Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin reigned in his place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] King Jehoiachin is named on ration tablets from Babylon, see The Jehoiachin Ration Tablets Field Notes page

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Babylonian Chronicle of Nebuchadnezzar

And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it.

Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials all surrendered to the king of Babylon. So in the eighth year of his reign, the king of Babylon took him captive.

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, in the year Evil-merodach became king of Babylon, he released King Jehoiachin of Judah from prison.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Evil merodach is Amel Marduk, king of Babylon, named in Babylonian records and on a vase found at Susa

So Jehoiachin changed out of his prison clothes, and he dined regularly at the king’s table for the rest of his life.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Jehoiachin Ration Tablets

And the king provided Jehoiachin a daily portion for the rest of his life.

Shallum was the father of Hilkiah, Hilkiah was the father of Azariah,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A clay seal of Azariah son of Hilkiah from just before 586 BC, maybe this priestly family

It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An underground water tunnel and a Hebrew inscription about its digging, about 701 BC

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of Yahweh spoken through Jeremiah, Yahweh stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Cyrus the Great of Persia is named on the Cyrus Cylinder and in the Nabonidus Chronicle

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, to fulfill the word of Yahweh spoken through Jeremiah, Yahweh stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to send a proclamation throughout his kingdom and to put it in writing as follows:

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Records Cyrus's policy of returning exiled peoples and rebuilding temples

“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.

Whoever among you belongs to His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

They hired counselors against them to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Darius the Great of Persia is named on his Behistun Inscription and on thousands of Persepolis tablets, see the Behistun Field Notes page

At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, an accusation was lodged against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Xerxes of Persia, called Ahasuerus in Hebrew, is named in his own inscriptions at Persepolis and Van, see the Xerxes Field Notes page

And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Artaxerxes I of Persia is named in his own inscriptions and in dated Elephantine papyri, see the Artaxerxes Field Notes page

and the rest of the peoples whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and elsewhere west of the Euphrates.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Ashurbanipal of Assyria is named on his own prisms, tablets and palace reliefs from Nineveh

At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A Babylonian tablet from 502 BC names Tattenai, governor of Across the River, see the Tattenai Field Notes page

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were deeply disturbed that someone had come to seek the well-being of the Israelites.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Elephantine Papyri

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked us and ridiculed us, saying, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A silver bowl from Tell el Maskhuta in Egypt names Qaynu son of Geshem, king of Qedar, see The Geshem Bowl Field Notes page

At the Sheep Gate, Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests began rebuilding. They dedicated it and installed its doors. After building as far as the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel, they dedicated the wall.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Eilat Mazar dug a tower and wall in the City of David that she dated to Nehemiah's day, see the Nehemiah's Wall? Field Notes page

Next to them, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs. And next to him, Hananiah, one of the perfumers, made repairs. They fortified Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Broad Wall

In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, during the reign of Darius the Persian, the heads of the families of the Levites and priests were recorded.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Elephantine Papyri
• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Darius II of Persia is named in his own records, and Elephantine papyri are dated by his years, see The Elephantine Papyri Field Notes page

In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The palace of Darius and Xerxes at Susa was dug up by French teams, with its glazed brick archers now in the Louvre, see The Palace at Susa Field Notes page

Now there was at the citadel of Susa a Jewish man from the tribe of Benjamin named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A clay tablet names Marduka, an official in the days of Darius or Xerxes, see the Mordecai on a Tablet? Field Notes page

In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the Pur (that is, the lot) was cast before Haman to determine a day and month. And the lot fell on the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Assyrian clay cube from 833 BC calls itself a puru, a lot, the same word as Haman's Pur, see The Pur Field Notes box

And the letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces with the order to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—and to plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Herodotus and clay tablets from Persepolis describe the Persian royal post riders, see The King's Couriers Field Notes box

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. And this man was blameless and upright, fearing God and shunning evil.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A Babylonian poem, Ludlul bel nemeqi, tells of a righteous man who suffered and was healed, see The Babylonian Job Field Notes page

Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A Babylonian poem where a sufferer and his friend take turns talking, like Job and his friends, see The Babylonian Theodicy Field Notes page

“Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook or tie down his tongue with a rope?

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Clay tablets from Ugarit name Litan, the twisting serpent with seven heads, the same name as Leviathan, see the Lotan in the Ugarit Tablets Field Notes page

Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Aramaic Job from Qumran Cave 11, copied in Jesus' day, reads this verse differently, see The Job Targum Scroll Field Notes page

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Aramaic prayer written in Egyptian letters, 300s BC, sounds a lot like Psalm 20:1 to 5, see the Papyrus Amherst 63 Field Notes box

Praise Yahweh with the harp; make music to Him with ten strings.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Lyres about 2500 BC from the royal graves at Ur show the kind of instrument David played, see the Harps and Lyres Field Notes box

How many are Your works, O Yahweh! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Egyptian hymn to the sun disk from Akhenaten's day, about 1340 BC, has lines like Psalm 104, see The Hymn to the Aten Field Notes page

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. Yahweh is faithful in all His words and kind in all His actions.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Great Psalms Scroll from Qumran Cave 11 has the missing N line of Psalm 145 and Psalm 151, see The Great Psalms Scroll Field Notes page

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise— apply your mind to my knowledge—

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Egyptian book of wisdom in thirty chapters, about 1300 to 1100 BC, has many lines like Proverbs 22:17 to 24:22, see The Instruction of Amenemope Field Notes page

Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Egyptian songs sung by a harper, copied in tombs and on papyrus for centuries, from before 1300 BC, tell the living to enjoy today because no one comes back, see The Harper's Songs Field Notes box

Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Old Babylonian tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh, about 1800 to 1700 BC, where a tavern keeper tells Gilgamesh to eat, drink, wear clean clothes and love his wife, see the Siduri Field Notes page

This is Solomon’s Song of Songs.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Four Dead Sea Scrolls of the Song, copied about 30 BC to AD 70; two of them are shorter than the book we have, see The Song Scrolls from Qumran Field Notes box

How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Love songs on papyrus and pottery from Egypt, about 1300 to 1150 BC, where lovers call each other my sister and my brother, see the Egyptian Love Songs Field Notes page

This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Seal impression that may belong to the prophet Isaiah, found near King Hezekiah's seal in 2018

Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Sargon II annals and the Ashdod stele

You counted the houses of Jerusalem and tore them down to strengthen the wall.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Broad Wall

This is what the Lord Yahweh of Hosts says: “Go, say to Shebna, the steward in charge of the palace:

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Tomb inscription of the royal steward

What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?

And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Lachish Reliefs of Sennacherib

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Hebrew Bible scrolls from about 250 BC to AD 70 show the text was copied faithfully for over 1,000 years

who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Records Cyrus's policy of returning exiled peoples and rebuilding temples

as the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the remaining cities of Judah—against Lachish and Azekah. For these were the only fortified cities remaining in Judah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Lachish Letters

So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that Yahweh had spoken to Jeremiah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Bulla of Berekhyahu son of Neriyahu the scribe, Baruch's name and title, see the Baruch's Seal Field Notes box

From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of Yahweh, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Bulla of Gemariah son of Shaphan

Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard that Jeremiah had been telling all the people:

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Bullae of Jucal son of Shelemiah and Gedaliah son of Pashhur

Then all the officials of the king of Babylon entered and sat in the Middle Gate: Nergal-sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-sarsekim the Rabsaris, Nergal-sharezer the Rabmag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Nebo Sarsekim Tablet, a Babylonian receipt of 595 BC naming Nebuchadnezzar's chief officer, see the Field Notes page

and said to him, “Are you aware that Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life?” But Gedaliah son of Ahikam did not believe them.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Baalis king of the Ammonites: a seal impression from Tell el Umeiri in Jordan names a servant of Baalyasha, likely the same king

This is what Yahweh says: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who seek his life, just as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who was seeking his life.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Pharaoh Hophra, called Apries by the Greeks, king of Egypt about 589 to 570 BC, see the Pharaoh Hophra Field Notes box

concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah:

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Babylonian Chronicle of the Battle of Carchemish

The Lord is like an enemy; He has swallowed up Israel. He has swallowed up all her palaces and destroyed her strongholds. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation for the Daughter of Judah.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Four Dead Sea Scrolls of Lamentations, copied about 30 BC to AD 70; 4QLam has 1:1 to 18 and this verse, see The Lamentations Scrolls Field Notes page

The Lord has rejected His altar; He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has delivered the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of Yahweh as on the day of an appointed feast.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Sumerian poems from about 2000 BC that weep over ruined cities like Ur, where the gods leave their own temples, see The Lament for Ur Field Notes box

Yahweh has exhausted His wrath; He has poured out His fierce anger; He has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Burned houses, ash and arrowheads in the City of David from Babylon's attack on Jerusalem, see The Fire of 586 BC Field Notes box

I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Tablets from a village of Judean exiles in Babylonia, 572 to 477 BC, see The Al Yahudu Tablets Field Notes box

“Now say to this rebellious house: ‘Do you not know what these things mean?’ Tell them, ‘Behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, carried off its king and officials, and brought them back with him to Babylon.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The blue glazed gate of Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar about 575 BC, see The Ishtar Gate Field Notes box

They will plunder your wealth and pillage your merchandise. They will demolish your walls, tear down your beautiful homes, and throw your stones and timber and soil into the water.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Alexander built a causeway from the ruins of mainland Tyre, 332 BC, see Tyre and the Causeway Field Notes page

Again the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Masada Ezekiel scroll has chapters 35 to 38, see The Ezekiel Scrolls Field Notes page

Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Eight copies of Daniel from Qumran; one switches to Aramaic right here, see The Daniel Scrolls Field Notes page

the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Bricks stamped with Nebuchadnezzar's name, see Nebuchadnezzar's Bricks Field Notes box

At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne, and surpassing greatness was added to me.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A Qumran scroll about a Babylonian king sick for seven years and healed by a Jewish exile, see The Prayer of Nabonidus Field Notes box

Later, King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he drank wine with them.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Clay cylinders from Ur name Belshazzar as the eldest son of Nabonidus, see Belshazzar's Name Field Notes page

That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Nabonidus Chronicle says Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a battle in October 539 BC, see The Night Babylon Fell Field Notes box

For their mother has played the harlot and has conceived them in disgrace. For she thought, ‘I will go after my lovers, who give me bread and water, wool and linen, oil and drink.’

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Shipping notes for wine and oil from Israel's capital in Hosea's century, with names built on Baal and on Yahweh, see The Samaria Ostraca Field Notes page

And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Hosea in three Qumran scrolls of the Twelve and two Qumran commentaries on Hosea, see The Hosea Scrolls Field Notes page

What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] An Assyrian palace relief from Nineveh shows servants carrying locusts on sticks to a royal feast, see Locusts on a Stick Field Notes box

The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A Hebrew scroll of the Twelve from a Bar Kokhba refugee cave holds parts of Joel from this verse to 3:16, see The Murabbaat Scroll Field Notes page

These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A great earthquake about 760 BC left collapsed walls and fallen pillars at Hazor and other sites, and Zechariah 14:5 still remembered it, see Amos's Earthquake Field Notes page

I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory will also perish, and the great houses will come to an end,” declares Yahweh.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Ivory inlays and ink written pottery found at Samaria fit Ahab's ivory palace and the houses of ivory in Amos 3:15

Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down,” declares Yahweh.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A Babylonian king, most think Nabonidus, carved his picture halfway up Sela, Edom's cliff fortress, after conquering Edom about 553 BC, see The Rock of Sela Field Notes page

This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of Yahweh. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The ruins of Nineveh by the Tigris, across from Mosul in Iraq, with the mounds of its walls and palaces, see The Walls of Nineveh Field Notes page

Harness your chariot horses, O dweller of Lachish. You were the beginning of sin to the Daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Lachish Reliefs of Sennacherib

The lion mauled enough for its cubs and strangled prey for the lioness. It filled its dens with the kill, and its lairs with mauled prey.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] 4Q169, a Qumran commentary on Nahum that reads the lion of 2:12 as a Lion of Wrath who hanged men alive and names Demetrius king of Greece, see The Nahum Commentary Field Notes page

Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her?’ Where can I find comforters for you?”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Babylon's own record says Nineveh was taken in 612 BC, plundered and turned into a heap of ruins, see The Fall of Nineveh Chronicle Field Notes page

Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The temples of Karnak and Luxor still stand at Thebes, the Egyptian city Assyria plundered about 663 BC, see the Thebes Field Notes box

Then Yahweh answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Hinged ivory writing boards from Nimrud in Assyria, about a century before Habakkuk, held wax for writing, see the Writing Tablets Field Notes box

Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors, pouring it from the wineskin until they are drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] 1QpHab, a Dead Sea Scroll that explains Habakkuk 1 and 2, says on this verse that the Wicked Priest chased the Teacher of Righteousness on the Day of Atonement, see The Habakkuk Commentary Field Notes page

The coast will belong to the remnant of the house of Judah; there they will find pasture. They will lie down in the evening among the houses of Ashkelon, for Yahweh their God will attend to them and restore their captives.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Babylonian Chronicle says Nebuchadnezzar turned Ashkelon into a ruin heap in Kislev 604 BC, and the Harvard dig found the burned city, see the Ashkelon, 604 BC Field Notes page

Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says Yahweh.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Darius I's foundation charter from Susa says cedar from Lebanon and gold and silver from across his empire were brought for his palace, in Haggai's years, see the Darius's Building Charter Field Notes page

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying:

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A rock cut monument in the Kidron Valley from around the time of Jesus, linked by old tradition to a Zechariah, see The Tomb of Zechariah Field Notes box

And again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A gold model chariot pulled by four horses from the Persian Empire that ruled in Zechariah's day, see The Oxus Chariot Field Notes box

and also against Hamath, which borders it, as well as Tyre and Sidon, though they are very shrewd.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Alexander's army took Damascus, Sidon, Tyre and Gaza in 333 and 332 BC, moving north to south like Zechariah 9:1 to 7, see the Alexander the Great Field Notes page

When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks Yahweh of Hosts.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Small silver coins of Persian Judah from the 300s BC are stamped Yehezqiyah the governor, using pechah, the same Hebrew word as your governor here, see The Governor's Coin Field Notes page

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Magdala Synagogue

“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Temple stones thrown down in AD 70

So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Shroud of Turin

Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Capernaum Synagogue

As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] House of Peter at Capernaum

So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Shroud of Turin

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Nazareth excavations

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Pilate Stone (Caesarea Maritima, 1961) — limestone block inscribed 'Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea'

Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. And sitting down, He taught the people from the boat.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Galilee Boat

for he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Capernaum Synagogue

as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Magdala Synagogue

Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Shroud of Turin

“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Nazareth excavations

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Dug in the 1800s and 1900s

Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Discovered 2004-2005 below the traditional site; Second Temple period stepped pool

So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Shroud of Turin

along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Caiaphas Ossuary (1990) — ornate bone box inscribed with his name

an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Inscriptions from Rome and Cyprus name members of the Sergius Paullus family

But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Politarch Inscription of Thessalonica

For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Pausanias and other ancient sources confirm altars to 'unknown gods' in Athens

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Stone letter dating Gallio's time as governor of Achaia to about AD 51 to 52

There is danger not only that our business will fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited and her majesty deposed—she who is worshiped by all the province of Asia and the whole world.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Huge theater that held about 24,000 people dug up, plus the foundations of the giant Temple of Artemis

When the men heard this, they were enraged and began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Temple Warning Inscription

For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

When the horsemen arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Herod's harbor at Caesarea, Roman roads like the Via Egnatia and other finds confirm the travel details of Acts

Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church, sends you greetings. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings, as does our brother Quartus.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Paving stone inscription naming an Erastus who paid for the pavement as aedile, a city official

The reason I left you in Crete was that you would set in order what was unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Knossos, the great palace city of Bronze Age Crete, with clay tablets in Linear B, the oldest written Greek

As one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Bronze shields from the cave on Mount Ida where Cretans said Zeus was raised

Slaves are to submit to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] The Gortyn law code, Crete, about 450 BC, the longest Greek law inscription, with laws on slaves, marriage, divorce and family property

As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Augustus' victory monument above Nicopolis, with sockets for the bronze rams of captured warships from the battle of Actium, 31 BC

I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whose father I became while I was in chains.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Marble plaque honoring Pliny the Younger, the Roman who wrote a famous letter asking mercy for a freedman

I am sending back to you him who is my very heart.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A Roman iron slave collar with a bronze tag offering a gold coin for returning a runaway to his master Zoninus

I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A loan contract on papyrus from the Jewish colony at Elephantine, Egypt, about 402 BC, with repayment terms, guarantors and witnesses

By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A stone from the top of the Temple Mount wall with Hebrew words: to the place of trumpeting, found in 1968

A tabernacle was prepared. In its first room were the lampstand, the table, and the consecrated bread. This was called the Holy Place.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome, about AD 81, showing Roman soldiers carrying the temple lampstand, table and trumpets from Jerusalem

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes of the Dispersion: Greetings.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A limestone bone box with the words James son of Joseph brother of Jesus, made public in 2002

Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A pottery letter from about 630 BC in which a farm worker at harvest begs an official to return the cloak taken from him

The church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings, as does my son Mark.

• [ARCHAEOLOGY] Roman tombs under St Peter's Basilica, dug out 1939 to 1949, with a small shrine from about AD 160 that Christians said marked Peter's grave
• [ARCHAEOLOGY] A granite obelisk that stood in the Circus of Gaius and Nero on the Vatican hill, now in St Peter's Square