Foundation Topic

The Bible and Archaeology

The earth has preserved many artifacts, which various people have excavated over a number of years. Professionals have a general idea of when these artifacts were made, giving us a rough timeline of their creation history. Does what we find in the dirt confirm or contradict the events we read about in the Bible?

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Short Content

How Does the Bible
Stack Up with Archaeology?

Archaeology is a means of studying the ancient and recent past through the physical remains and artifacts left by people. This discipline helps us rebuild the world that was, by studying the fragments of the past.

The history of the Bible is one area where archaeologists have focused their attention. In many cases the Bible gives a detailed historical account of the lives of the people who lived in Israel and the countries surrounding it. Archaeologists seek to verify these accounts. 

Archaeology can be a great help when studying the Bible for three reasons.

  1. Archaeology helps us see that the Bible documents real history. We find names from Scripture scraped into stones, places mentioned in Scripture buried under years of rubble, and battles documented in Scripture validated by ancient burial grounds.
  2. Archaeology helps us see God’s hand in history. As we discover evidence for God’s real work in the world, like making Jericho’s walls fall flat (Joshua 6), or parting the Red Sea (Exodus 14:29), or defending Hezekiah from the Assyrian army (2 Kings 19), we praise God for intervening in human history.
  3. Archaeology helps us understand the world of the Bible. Archaeology adds color to biblical stories as we discover artifacts from their culture that help us better understand the people, places, and customs written about in Scripture.

Although we do not see archaeology fundamentally as a means of proving the Bible’s reliability, it does, like many other disciplines, provide evidence that affirms our belief that the Bible is true.

Because the Bible is our sole authority, we trust its interpretation of archaeology, and its witness to the events of history. We do not use archaeology primarily to interpret the Bible. We trust the Bible to shed light on our archaeological finds.

Opening the dirt can tell us pieces of our history, but it cannot interpret for us the story of the world.

On the other hand, if we open the Bible, we will read the story of the world through the Author’s lens, and he will also tell us many of the stories behind what we find in the dirt. 

by Bibles.net

RESOURCES

Theme Verse

Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.

PSALM 85:11 NLT

The Bible and Archaeology
Article: 10 Min

Is Archaeology Proving the Bible?

This riveting opinion largely reflects upon the archaeological evidence surrounding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

by Eric Metaxas at Newsweek

Article: 20 Min

10 Crucial Archaeological Discoveries Related to the Bible

by John D. Currid at Crossway

Image

Truth
springs up
from the earth,
and
righteousness
smiles down
from heaven.

Psalm 85:11 NLT
Verse
Luke 19:36-40 NIV

As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Praise & Worship

Holy (Song of the Ages)

by The Worship Initiative feat. Shane & Shane
Verse
Zephaniah 2:4 NIV

Gaza will be abandoned and Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday Ashdod will be emptied and Ekron uprooted.

Quote

The Historical Credibility of the Bible

Much of the Bible, in particular the historical books of the Old Testament, are as accurate historical documents as any that we have from antiquity and are in fact more accurate than many of the Egyptian, Mesopotamian, or Greek histories. These Biblical records can be and are used as are other ancient documents in archaeological work.

Quoted From The Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology | Source
Article: 45 Min

Does Archaeology Support the Bible?

by Clifford Wilson at Answers in Genesis

Books
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