Archaeology Always Proves the Bible

Today, many view religion as outdated. Christianity in North America has been on a steady decline for the past three decades. A report from Pew Research in September 2022 states:

“Depending on whether religious switching continues at recent rates, speeds up or stops entirely, the projections show Christians of all ages shrinking from 64% to between a little more than half (54%) and just above one-third (35%) of all Americans by 2070. Over that same period, “nones” [non-religious] would rise from the current 30% to somewhere between 34% and 52% of the U.S. population.” (Modeling the Future of Religion in America, pewresearch.org)

One reason for this decline is that an increasing number of people question or outright reject the validity of the Bible. Can the Bible be trusted? Is it merely a book of fables? Let’s examine a few examples that demonstrate the historical accuracy of the Bible.

Rich in fantastical stories, the Bible often illustrates the might of the all-powerful God of Israel. The miracles of His guidance and protection towards his people are stories akin to Hollywood movies today. These stories seem to border on the edge of fables and are often not useful in proving the validity of the Bible—after all, many of these events described are unexplainable through natural methods alone. However, the Bible is much more than a compilation of wonderful and fanciful stories. It includes many characters, nations and events that can be scrutinized to reveal its accuracy. Archeological evidence over the years has proven several accounts in the Bible to be historical events. Let’s examine a few of these events and the supporting pieces of evidence.

Nineveh & King Hezekiah  

During the 19th century, the only evidence for Nineveh’s existence was the Old Testament text and a description of the ruins by Xenophon in 400 BC. However, the discovery of a prism containing the Annals of the Assyrian King Sennacherib in 1830 renewed the faith in the historical accuracy of biblical history. Found in Modern day Iraq – the ancient city of Nineveh, the prism describes the victories of King Sennacherib, as mentioned in the Bible.

"As for the king of Judah, Hezekiah, who had not submitted to my authority, I besieged and captured forty-six of his fortified cities, along with many smaller towns, taken in battle with my battering rams…

As for Hezekiah, I shut him up like a caged bird in his royal city of Jerusalem. I then constructed a series of fortresses around him, and I did not allow anyone to come out of the city gates. His towns which I captured I gave to the kings of Ashod, Ekron, and Gaza."

This same victory is described in the book of 2 Kings 18:13.

“…in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.”  

We discuss this evidence more thoroughly in our viewpoint ‘Nineveh and the Archeological Evidence.’ It is also worth noting the existence of King Hezekiah—long thought to be a figure of fiction. The signet ring of Hezekiah was discovered in 2015 at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. The existence of Hezekiah then adds confirmation of his ancestor, King David.

King David

Discovered in 1993, the Tel Dan inscription describes the victory of an Aramean King over the king of Israel and the king of the House of David—King Ahaziah of Judah, the predecessor of King Hezekiah. Not only does this inscription prove the existence of King David but it also identifies him with the Kingdom of Judah. By reason of logic, if King David existed and King Hezekiah existed, then the Bible has proven to be a reliable source of information regarding the genealogy of the kings of Israel and Judah.

But, let's go back even further to the period prior to the establishment of the line of kings. 

Jericho

The story of Jericho, as described by the Bible, has also been a point of contention over the years. Many dismiss the biblical account as being a folklore or religious myth; yet, in 1990, further research into the remains at Jericho put the historical accuracy of the Bible in the spotlight once again.

“A three-foot layer of ash, containing many pottery fragments and mud bricks from a wall, was found at the site, well preserved because it was sealed by sediments that accumulated over the years the destroyed city lay unoccupied. The charred fragments have been dated at 1410 B.C., plus or minus 40 years…

As related in the Bible, the event occurred after spring harvest and the Israelites burned the city. Buried stones, bricks and timbers were blackened from a citywide fire. And excavations uncovered large quantities of grain stored in the ground floors of houses, indicating that the city fell shortly after the spring harvest.” (Believers Score in Battle Over the Battle of Jericho, nytimes.com)

This is a clear recollection of the accounts and timeline mentioned in Joshua 5 & 6, as the children of Israel kept the Passover (which occurred in the spring) in the plains of Jericho before its destruction.

Curses at Mount Ebal

Finally, let’s look at the most recent archeological evidence that supports a biblical event just prior to the fall of Jericho. In 2022, scholars from the Associates for Biblical Research (ABR) announced the discovery of a lead tablet from Mt. Ebal containing what is now described as the oldest extant Hebrew inscription.

“According to the team, the lead tablet contains writing on both its inside and outside. Measuring less than 1 inch square, it appears to have been folded in half after being written…

As translated by the team, the tablet reads:

You are cursed by the god yhw, cursed.
You will die, cursed—cursed, you will surely die.
Cursed you are by yhw—cursed.”

An Early Israelite Curse Inscription from Mt. Ebal? (biblicalarchaeology.org)

This simple lead tablet corroborates the accounts in the book of Deuteronomy, after the Exodus. After Moses replaces the two tablets of stone, God goes on to list the blessings and curses He will pour out on the nation dependent on their obedience to Him. At the conclusion of the list, we read:  

“Now it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.” (Deuteronomy 11:29)

These are not just mere coincidences that keep appearing. The accounts of Nineveh, Hezekiah, King David, Jericho, and the curses at Mount Ebal are but a few examples that have already proved the historical accuracy of the accounts mentioned in the Bible. It is clear that these people existed, and that the accounts of their stories are proven time and time again. Why then, in the presence of hard archaeological evidence, do we keep looking at the Bible's content with such skepticism?