Jericho

Why is Archaeological Evidence Important?

 

Archaeological evidence is important in a very similar way as Non-Biblical Sources are important. They are both looking at ancient historical items that help us corroborate what the bible says. Although they could be categorized in the same topic, we felt they deserved seperate categories since when people think of archaelology they tend to think of digging for precious clay or rock inscriptions or large physical items; that attest to past events we've passed down over generations. Usually people aren't thinking of documents outside of the bible that attest to Jesus, his followers, and the Bible. 

 

We should find archaelogical evidence important because it can show us how different historical people in the bible, did in fact exist, among other things. It attests to the historical reliabilty of everything that is in the bible. This is especially useful for people when people deny the events in the bible as real historical events. 

 

Jericho

 

The Bible has often been accused by some scholars in biblical studies throughout time as being innacurate and unreliable. However, time and time again, we have seen more evidence come over time proving that the Bible is in fact trustworthy. This is why we think it is an important practice in biblical studies to not adhere to ungodly views of the bible or christianity, and instead wait and see, and have faith that God will eventually reveal the evidence we were needing to find in a certain area that caused us doubts. 

 

Many scholars have over the years have insisted that Jericho was not a real place. This was because for the longest time they couldn't find the site where Jericho was and it wasn't until the last a hundred years until they've been forced to change their minds because the evidence shows that it was a real place.

 

Here is why the story of Jericho happened exactly the way the bible tells it:

 

During the excavations from 1930-1936, Garstang found that the walls in the city of Jericho fell completely outwards. This is an important point because the walls of cities do not fall outwards, they fall inwards. This agrees with the biblical account of the story. This is really important because walls do not fall outwards from invaders, this was miraculous!

 

An in-depth analysis of the destruction of Jericho finds that the destruction would have occurred around 1400 BC. This is right when the bible says it had occurred.

 

According to the Bible, Rahab’s house was incorporated into the walls (Joshua 2:15). If the walls fell, how was her house spared? The German excavation of 1907–1909 found that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else. This agrees with the biblical account.

 

After the city walls fell, how did the Israelites surmount the four to five meter (12–15 foot) high retaining wall at the base of the tell? Excavations have shown that the bricks from the collapsed walls formed a ramp against the retaining wall so that the Israelites could merely climb up over the top. The bible claims the Israelites did “go up” over the walls, this is another point the bible agrees with archaeology about Jericho.

 

The Israelites burned the city and everything in it (Joshua 6:24). Once again, the discoveries of archaeology have verified the truth of this record. A portion of the city destroyed by the Israelites was excavated on the east side of the tell. Wherever the archaeologists reached this level they found a layer of burned ash and debris about one meter (three feet) thick.

 

Source: Josh McDowell