Archaeological and historical evidence validating the integrity of Scripture
Some of the information in this section is adapted from Archer’s “Bible Difficulties.”
More than 100 significant archaeological finds in the last 125 years verify the accuracy of the biblical record. There has never been an archaeological find showing the biblical record to be in error. Presented below are a few examples of recent archaeological finds that validate the biblical record:
The Amarna Tablets, discovered in 1988, confirm the disputed biblical account of Joshua’s conquest of Gezer, Ashkelon, and Lachish.
The first (non-biblical) reference to Nebuchadnezzar (verifying that he was an actual historical figure) was found in 1899.
The biblical city of Bethel was found in 1919.
The biblical city of Jericho was found in 1930.
The Mari Tablets were found in 1933. These tablets confirm the existence of the disputed city, Nahor, as recorded in Genesis 24:10.
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947, confirm the accuracy of the Old Testament.
The only lithic (and non-biblical) reference to Pilate was found in 1961.
The biblical city of Nazareth was found in 1963.
The Elba Tablets were found in 1970. These verify the existence of the long-disputed listing of cities Moses recorded in Genesis 14.
The burial chamber of the High Priest Caiaphas was found in 1990. Its contents verified several aspects of the crucifixion story.
The biblical city of Dan was found in 1993.
The biblical city of Hazor was found in 1996.
The first non-biblical reference to David was found in 1976.
The Roman Historian Tacitus affirmed the existence of Jesus, writing that "Jesus was executed under Pilate during the reign of Tiberius and was the head of the Christian movement known as The Way."
The Jewish Historian Josephus affirmed the existence of Jesus, writing, “Jesus was a wise man…who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher…of truth. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. And when upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross…He appeared to them on the third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things…” [Jewish Antiquities, 18.3.3 §63]
The Dead Sea Scrolls also verify the integrity and accuracy of Scripture
The Dead Sea Scrolls are comprised of approximately 830 documents (more than 40,000 fragments) dating from 250BC—65AD. The documents were found in 1947 near the ancient village of Qumran, and are thought to have been written by an isolated Jewish community known as the Essenes. The documents were discovered in a complex of 11 caves. Of the more than 800 documents, 202 are biblical texts; the others are legal and historical documents, poetry, etc. The biblical scrolls include all Old Testament books in the Protestant canon of Scripture (except Esther).
The great question was: What would happen if the Dead Sea Scrolls Old Testament (Cir. 100 BC) was compared to the next oldest complete Hebrew Bible (Cir. 900 AD). The two Bibles were copied in different ways, by different people, more than 1000 years apart—would the text be similar? Careful comparison work was done, and the two Old Testaments were found to be 99+% identical—and the less than 1% variance did not pertain to matters of doctrine, but rather, to variant spelling of proper nouns. This affirms the accuracy and integrity of Scripture.
Additional Historical Support
Slave Commerce: Genesis 37:28 notes that Joseph was sold into slavery for 20 silver shekels. Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen notes that this precisely matches the price of slaves in Joseph’s region during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries BC, as affirmed by documents recovered in Mesopotamia and Mari (modern Syria). Move the story forward 100 years and the price moves to 60 shekels. Move the story forward 200 years, and the price becomes 120 shekels. The Genesis account is exactly right, and could not be a 5th century B.C. work as some suggest.
The Mari Tablets: This collection of legal documents found in Northern Syria date to the early second millennium B.C. These documents note the particular pattern (and stipulations) for oaths, agreements, and treaties made in a specific region, at a specific point in history. This information matches perfectly with the form and structure of the treaties Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob entered into with their neighbors (as described in Gen. 21, 26, and 31). This nullifies the argument that Genesis was written more than a thousand years later than Bible Scholars contend, for someone writing in the 5th or so century B.C. would not be aware of the subtle but important cultural practices and customs noted in Genesis.
Ancient Law: Genesis 49 provides instructions regarding inheritance law. A few hundred years later, Deut. 21:15-17 notes a change in the inheritance law. This matches perfectly with the timeline for changes in law in the Mesopotamian region that historians have validated. It also validates the dates for Moses, Joseph as presented in the Genesis record. It is true that Egyptian writings do not specifically mention the Hebrews, Moses, or the exodus. However, Josephus, citing Egyptian sources, notes that a group of people known as the Hyksos (Egyptian for ‘captive shepherds’) were in Egypt, just as the biblical record notes. That Joseph could rise to power in Egypt is plausible as ancient writings from the region note that an ‘Asiatic’ named Irsu came to power in Egypt during a period of hardship about 1200 B.C. A stele at the Karnak Temple in Luxor notes that in the middle of the sixteenth century B.C., Egyptian rulers in Thebes waged war against ‘Asiatic interlopers.’ Following this conflict, the political environment in Egypt would have been decidedly unfriendly against Semitic people who remained in the eastern delta. This sudden turn of events lays a foundation for the biblical account of the events leading up to the exodus—a new king arose, who did not know Joseph and conscripted the Hebrew people into forced labor.
Leiden Papyrus 348: An ancient Egyptian document, known as the Leiden Papyrus 348, which dates to the time of Moses, notes an order that food was to be distributed to the ‘Apiru who were dragging stones for the great project.’ Apiru = non-Egyptians. This validates the account in the book of Exodus.
The Merneptah Stele (circa 1217 B.C.): This stele commemorates Ramesses II and references the Israelites’ servitude.
Hazor: Hebrew University Professor Amnon Ben Tor found the city of Hazor in 1996. The temple areas had been razed by fire, mud bricks had melted and turned into glass, and statues of Canaanite deities were decapitated and strewn about the Temple. This perfectly matches the account in Deuteronomy 7:5.
Jericho: An Archaeological Review publication noted that “…evidence has shown that fiery destruction did occur at Jericho, in uncanny detail, just as the Bible describes it. The upper med-brick wall of the city collapsed outward, piling up at the base of a lower wall to form a narrow ramp of debris large enough to allow an invading army to clamber into the breach.”
Jesus: The Roman Historian Josephus wrote: “Jesus is widely known as a doer of amazing deeds and a teacher who won over many Jews and Greeks.” The Babylonian Talmud (a compendium of Jewish law and commentary) notes: “On the eve of Passover, Yesju was hanged… because he practiced sorcery and led Israel astray.”
Archeological evidence and ancient historical documents (and steles) verify the accuracy of Scripture. Though many have tried, the Bible has never been proven to be in error.