Proof the Bible is Real - from the Ancient World - Part 5
Real people, real places - Evidence from Archaeology for the reliability of the Bible
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Someone wrote to this web site recently saying
I find it funny that you claim archaeological evidence supports the bible. It’s actually a well known fact that archaeology is the Achilles heel of religion…
They could hardly have been more wrong. In fact there is so much archaeological evidence supporting the historical accuracy of the Bible that our problem has been how to make it easily accessible on these pages. This page is a kind of ‘home page’ for the archaeological evidence - expect us to add more to it as time goes on.
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Proof the Bible is Real - from the Ancient World - Part 4
Background:
Caesarea Maritima (“by the Sea”) is located on the shore in the center of Israel, in the middle between Haifa and Tel-Aviv. It is the site of one of the most important cities in the Roman World, the Roman capital of the province of Judea at the time of Jesus, and a Crusader fortress along the road from Acre to Jerusalem. Today, Caesarea is a large and interesting national park which and a mandatory place to visit while exploring the Holy Land.
History of the place:
Initially, Caesarea was a Phoenician site in the Persian period (6 to 3rd C BC). The Phoenicians, the maritime merchants of the ancient world, used the natural bays and the nearby rivers in order to establish a port, one of many ports that they set up along the shore stretching from Tyre down to Gaza. The city flourished at the Greek period. Later, in the Roman period, King Herod created it into one of the largest cities in the Roman World, and called it after his patron, Augustus Caesar. The site was an important Roman city, and played an important role in the history of Ancient Israel. It later decayed after the Arab conquest, and returned to glory with the Crusaders. After their retreat the city was left in ruins, and its stones were reused in buildings throughout the region.
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Proof the Bible is Real - from the Ancient World - Part 3
The Pontius Pilate Inscription in Caesarea
The Pilate inscription.
Photo:David Makepeace
In the Bible accounts, Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor responsible for ordering Jesus to be put to death. See Matthew’s Gospel chapter 27 verses 1-2, 11-26 and 57-66, Mark’s Gospel chapter 15 verses 1-15 and 42-47, Luke’s Gospel chapter 23 verses 1-7, 11-25, 50-56, and John’s Gospel chapter 18 verse 28 to chapter 19 verse 42.
Until recently, there was no contemporary evidence outside the Bible for Pilate’s existence (although Tacitus, Josephus, and Philo all wrote about him). Then in 1961, Italian archaeologists excavating the theatre at Caesarea found this stone inscription of Pontius Pilate. Coins have also been found dating from Pilate’s rule as governor.
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Proof the Bible is Real - from the Ancient World - Part 2
The Bible is the only ancient, well-organized and authentic framework in which to fit all the facts of history.
The Bible does not record all history. In fact, there are huge gaps in the history contained in the Bible. Yet, without the Bible and what it reveals from prehistory, ancient history and prophecy�which is history written in advance�you cannot truly understand any history. No worldly source can help us as the Bible does!
But what do modern men say about the Bible? Most agree it is a book for the religious, but think its history cannot be trusted.
For centuries, until the so-called Age of Enlightenment�also known as the Age of Reason�the Western world accepted without question the historical accuracy of the account of the Garden of Eden, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, the history of the patriarchs and the Exodus from Egypt.
However, in the 17th and 18th centuries, European intellectuals began to claim that only through human reason could true knowledge be obtained. Rather than the Bible, scientific reasoning became the source of authority�the ultimate judge of all truth. The Bible came under direct attack.
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Proof the Bible is Real - from the Ancient World - Part 1
Is there mention of the Israelites anywhere in ancient Egyptian records?
No Egyptian text mentions the Israelites except the famous inscription of Merneptah dated to about 1206 B.C.E. But those Israelites were in Canaan; they are not in Egypt, and nothing is said about them escaping from Egypt.
(The Merneptah Stele, dated to about 1206 B.C.E. and now housed at the Cairo Museum, offers the earliest historical evidence of a people called Israel.)
Tell us more about the Merneptah inscription. Why is it so famous?
It’s the earliest reference we have to the Israelites. The victory stele of Pharaoh Merneptah, the son of Ramesses II, mentions a list of peoples and city-states in Canaan, and among them are the Israelites. And it’s interesting that the other entities, the other ethnic groups, are described as nascent states, but the Israelites are described as “a people.” They have not yet reached a level of state organization.
So the Egyptians, a little before 1200 B.C.E., know of a group of people somewhere in the central highlands—a loosely affiliated tribal confederation, if you will—called “Israelites.” These are our Israelites. So this is a priceless inscription.
[Check out the website where this was found!]
