How Facts of Archaeology Are Rejected
What men dig up are facts. Facts are fine. But it is the THEORY of how facts are to be understood that is in error. They go to the Philistines to understand the Bible, not to the Bible to understand the remains left by the Philistines.
I am finding that out here first-hand!
What really is the purpose of excavation in Biblical sites today? Is it to find the truth? To confirm and to illuminate the Bible?
"The answer is not so straightforward as it might seem," replies Franken in his book A Primer of Old Testament Archaeology, page 141. On page 142 he writes, "A further trend has been to concentrate on the prehistory of Palestine rather than Old Testament times . . . because it saves the archaeologist the laborious problems of trying to fit archaeology and Biblical evidence together without either losing professional integrity or giving offense to colleagues."
Notice he admits that more and more archaeologists are shying away from excavating anything that might tend to confirm the Bible. Why? Because excavation only results in further confirming the already-established unimpeachability of the Bible. They would rather work with non-Biblical matter so the Bible will not continuously prove them in error.
To justify their preconceived dislike of anything "Biblical," archaeologists have had to discard or gloss over literally thousands of ancient texts and day tablets — explain away or deny the plain evidence before them — actually falsify the original on-the-spot accounts of the digging.
Rejected records include not only carefully preserved annals, but eyewitness accounts of every major Biblical event, including the building of the Tower of Babel and the Exodus!
Eyewitness Account of Building of Babel
The most complete secular record of the building of the Tower at Babel is found in the Akkadian creation epic. This account, like most from ancient pagan sources, is encrusted with myth. But that does not nullify the basic historical evidence contained in the epic. Following are extracts, freely translated, from Ancient Near Eastern Texts, by James B. Pritchard, pages 68-69:
" 'Now, O Lord, thou who hast caused our deliverance, what shall be our homage to thee? Let us build a shrine. . . Brightly glowed his features, like the day: 'Like that of lofty Babylon, whose building you have requested. Let its brickwork be fashioned. You shall name it "The Sanctuary." 'For one whole year they molded the bricks. When the second year arrived, they raised high the shrine equaling a great height. Having built a stage-tower a great height, they set up in it an abode for Marduk, Enlil, and Ea (pagan gods of the Babylonians). This is Babylon, the place that is your home. . .
The account in Genesis describes exactly what is given here — due to the early deception and subsequent worship of pagan gods — the building of a Tower, or religious edifice, and of a city. But as soon as this account was translated, the literary critics seized the opportunity. The Babylonian accounts of creation, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel were interpreted as the originals from which the Genesis account was taken. Then they claimed Moses patterned the law after the set of laws King Hammurabi enacted.
No one questioned whether Hammurabi lived before or after Moses. Or whether Genesis was written before, rather than after, the idolatrous Mesopotamian accounts of creation, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel. A long list of Mesopotamian kings — placed one after another in time order by archaeologists — supposedly proved these Babylonian accounts were as old as claimed. Then came an astounding discovery. Business documents, public monuments, and literary classics were translated, giving proof that certain kings who were supposedly hundreds of years apart were in actuality living at the same time, ruling neighboring city-states, and carrying on trade and diplomatic relations with one another. What were the historians to do? They were trapped by their own misinterpretations!
Wrote Leon Legrain in 1922: "The problem of parallel dynasties is one of the most troublesome for Babylonian chronologists" (Publication of Babylonian Section of University of Pennsylvania, XIII, 17). Weidner of Austria forced the historical world to recognize the problem despite themselves. His famous articles, pointing out that several successive dynasties were in fact contemporary, appeared in 1923 in Archiv fuer Kielschriftforschung (I, 95), and in 1926 in Archie fuer Orientforschung (III, 198).
Saul and David in Archaeology
But the strongest evidence against the modern interpretation of archaeology was discovered by the French at Mari on the Euphrates River. There it was discovered that during the lifetime of Hammurabi — who was mistakenly dated by historians in the time of Abraham — the Benjamites were in control of Palestine and men like David were famous! (See Werner Keller's The Bible as History, pages 49-52).
From the tablets found at Mari, we read these clear words: "The year in which Landulim went to Hen and laid hands upon the territory of the Benjamites," and "The year that ZimriLim killed the Davidum of the Benjamites."
Of course! Under King Saul, a Benjamite, the tribe of Benjamin was dominant. Gentile nations regarded all Palestine as the land of the Benjamites. And David was the greatest of all the generals of the Benjamites (I Samuel 18:7; 21:11). David's fame spread so far and wide that the Gentiles called all the generals of Israel Davidum, or "Davids" — men like David — just as the world's "great" Roman Caesars gave their name to the Kaisers of Germany and the Czars of Russia.
How were the historians and archaeologists to interpret these astounding discoveries? Were they to date Hammurabi properly to the time of Saul and David? Not at all! Rather, they cleverly assumed that Benjamites were in Palestine long before Benjamin was born — that the name of David was famous for nearly a thousand years before David was born! They hoped thereby to keep their interpretations of the king lists and reject the Bible. Human reasoning was used to escape the AUTHORITY vested in the laws of the Bible!
Scholars even claimed Abraham and his ancestors were merely legends.
It is time such nonsense were banished from archaeology and education. It is time that the truth is made plain.
The Ancestors of Abraham!
During the years 1934 to 1939 excavations were methodically conducted at ancient Mari (on the southwestern bank of the Euphrates River near the border of present-day Iraq). What do you suppose they found?
Ancient towns and cities in Mesopotamia were named after every one of the patriarchs — ancestors of Abraham — who lived this side of the Flood!
Recently unearthed records of 3,000 years ago speak of the "city of Nahor" (named after the Old Testament patriarch Nahor) mentioned in Genesis 24:10. It was located near the city of Haran which still exists to this very day! Who said those men are legends?
"Beside the definite location of the patriarchal cities of HARAN and NAHOR in northwestern Mesopotamia, hardly less clear indications of Hebrew residence in this region appear in the names of Abraham's forefathers, which correspond to the names of towns near Haran: SERUG (Assyrian Sarugi), Terah (Til Turakhi, 'Mound of Terah,' in Assyrian times). REU also corresponds to later names of towns in the Middle Euphrates valley. PELEG, for example, recalls later Paliga on the Euphrates just above the mouth of the Habur" (from Unger's Archeology and the Old Testament).
Let the scoffers laugh at these records. Let them call the Bible a book of legends. Their time of reckoning is around the corner and fast approaching! The Bible does not lie.
The Million Men That Disappeared
The skeptics have laughed at the Biblical account of the one-million-man army that perished to the last man (II Chron. 14:8-15). Did real miracles ever actually occur? Has God ever delivered a nation who relied only on Him instead of on their own military strength and scientific armaments?
"And Asa had an army that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin . . . two hundred and fourscore thousand. . . . And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of a thousand thousand [one million troops], and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him . . . And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, THOU ART OUR GOD; let not man prevail against thee.'
"So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his host; and they [Judah] carried away very much spoil."
Did this really occur?
One would hardly expect to discover the full truth of such a catastrophic defeat engraved on the monuments of the defeated. Perchance the defeat is glossed over and made to appear a victory. What do the monuments of Egypt silently utter of this battle?
In Egypt Amenhotpe II was reigning. His authority extended south beyond Napata in Ethiopia (Ancient Records, by Breasted, vol. II, sect. 797). At the beginning of his seventh year the king set out on a grand expedition into Palestine. The Memphis Stella reads: "Year 7, 1st month of the third season, day 25 . . . His majesty proceeded to Retenu (Palestine). . . His majesty reached Shamash-Edom." On the Karnak Stella the next move is also dated: "1st month of the third season, day 26. His majesty's crossing the ford of the Yerset on this day."
Egyptologists, without any authority, alter the text at this point. They substitute "Orontes" for "Yerset" because they think the king had already reached Syria! But he had advanced only one day's march from Edom. He could not possibly have reached the Orontes in North Syria. The text is absolutely correct. One day's march from ShamashEdom northward would have brought the army to the valley of Zephath, which extends from near Hebron to Azotus (Ashdod, which we are now excavating) on the coast.
This is the very geographic area in which the Bible places Zerah. In the valley are located the sites of ancient Mareshah and Moresheth-gath (Micah 1:14). The word Moresheth is the Hebrew equivalent of Amenhotpe's "ford," or "waters of the Yerset." The "Mo" of Moresheth signifies "waters" and "resheth" is derived from the Hebrew root "Yereshah" (see Young's Concordance), of which the Egyptian "Yerset" is the equivalent.
Think what this means. At the time and the place the Bible records Zerah in the Zephath valley, the Egyptian records reveal Amenhotpe II was crossing the same valley's stream, the Yerset. Amenhotpe II is Zerah. Herodotus designates him "king of Ethiopia" in his Persian Wars, book III, 21ff.
But what of the annihilation of the king's army? Let the Memphis Stella relate what befell the Ethiopians: "His majesty crossed the Yerset on dangerous waters" — or, as Drioton translated it: "waters shaking with fury."
"Then he turned about to watch his rear, and he saw a few Asiatics . . . : " Now carefully observe the next line: "Not a single one was with his majesty, except for himself with his valiant arm . . . He returned thence" to Egypt.
Why were the waters of the valley shaking with fury? God was intervening! The king "turned about to watch his rear" because he was terrified at the presence of God. Before the battle was over he was left fleeing alone. His entire army was wiped out to the last man!
To facilitate his escape, he later pounced upon an unsuspecting Asiatic, killed him, took his horses, chariot and possessions, then hurried to Egypt two weeks later in pretended triumph! His claimed booty is found on the Karnak Stella: "List of that which his majesty captured on this day: his horses, 2; chariots, 1; a coat of mail; 2 bows; a quiver full of arrows; a corselet." (Consult Pritchard's Ancient Near Eastern Texts, page 245, and footnotes 8 and 9; also Breasted's translation of the Karnak Stella, section 784)
A striking confirmation of the Biblical record! Amenhotpe II was utterly vanquished by the supernatural intervention of the Almighty. A million troops vanished in the holocaust. Not one remained alive to accompany the king back to Egypt. The Bible is true!
Yes, the Bible Is Supernatural!
You need to know — and know that you know — that the Bible is of God. This world does not know! This world has been willingly deceived by religious and secular leaders — themselves willingly deceived (Rom. 1:21-22) — posing as men of highest education. They are scoffers who teach that the Bible is the work of men — that the Flood and other miracles didn't really happen (II Pet. 3:3-5) — that at best the Bible is only partly true, mixed with error and therefore unreliable. You need to know that it is this false education which has brought the authority of the Bible into question and promulgated the doubt that grips the world today.
It's time you knew that God's Word cannot be broken (John 10:35) — that God's laws stand fast forever and ever (I Pet. 1:23, 25). It's time this world stood aghast at the awesome AUTHORITY of every word of God (Mat. 4:4).
As a participant in the Hebrew Union College Summer Institute on Near Eastern Civilizations, Dr. Hoeh is spending 8 weeks in Israel.
He is engaged in the excavation of the ancient Philistine city of Ashdod (mentioned in I Samuel 5).
The excavation is jointly sponsored by the State of Israel, Carnegie Museum, and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and partly financed by U.S. Aid.