Biblical archaeology

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

Caves at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden.

Biblical archaeology is an important creation science discipline that substantiates the Bible as a valid historical document, and the Biblical chronology as accurate time-line. Each year new discoveries are made, and creationists are encouraged to keep themselves informed of progress in this field.

Archaeological Discoveries

Dead Sea Scrolls

Main Article: Dead Sea Scrolls

The finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls is considered by many to be the most important archaeological find of the last century. Besides confirming the reliability of the Old Testament and its prophecies as untainted by later church leaders, they have also allowed us a glimpse into the era Jesus was born into, and the society that existed at the beginnings of Christianity.

Temple of Jerusalem

Main Article: Temple of Jerusalem

Not until the time of King Solomon did God permit the construction of a permanent building to be his temple. The first temple was built in Jerusalem in the 10th or 11th century BC by King Solomon. The site was the one purchased for the purpose by King David, the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, on which he built an altar to the Lord. King David’s Altar, Solomon’s Temple, and Herod’s Temple all stood in the same location.

Jericho

Main Article: Jericho

In the 1950's, archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon supervised the excavation of the ruins of the once great city. Her lack of faith in the Biblical account of Jericho was evident in her statement that she believed the 'folk tale' of Joshua's encounter with the city was merely fabricated after the destruction. However, later digs have prompted other archaeologists to come to a bold conclusion: the walls really did fall as told in Joshua 6 .

James Ossuary

Main Article: James Ossuary

A 2,000-year-old box was discovered in October of 2002 that might be the ossuary (“Bone Box”) of James, the brother of Jesus. On the side of the bone box is inscribed in Aramaic: “Ya'akov bar Yosef akhui di Yeshua”, which is translated “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”. As the inscription was the first historic record found of Jesus apart from manuscripts, its authentication could prove to be the most significant New Testament find in modern times.

Synagogue and House of Peter

Main Article: Capernaum

Capernum was a village inhabited from approximately 150 BC to 1100 AD. The ancient ruins of Capernaum have been thoroughly investigated by archaeologists revealing, most notably, an ancient Jewish synagogue and Christian church located at the site of the house of Simon Peter. Although tradition held that the ruins of Capernaum were there on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, it wasn't until 1838 that remains of a synagogue were correctly identified.

King David's Palace

Archaeologist Eilat Mazar has found strong evidence that the foundations of a structure in old Jerusalem, confirmed to date to the 10^th-9^th centuries B.C., are very likely the remains of the palace of King David. Furthermore, the remains match perfectly with the geographic and architectural description of the palace given in the Bible.^[1]

Archaeology Sites

Site	Country	State / Province / Region
Capernaum	Israel
Jericho	Israel
Ephesus	Turkey
Megiddo	Israel	Jezreel Valley
Mount Ararat	Turkey
Mount Sinai	Egypt	Sinai Peninsula
Temple of Jerusalem	Israel
Qumran	Israel

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Archaeologist

An archaeologist is a person who studies the past using scientific methods with the goal of recording, interpreting, and preserving knowledge of ancient and contemporary cultures. The following is a list of archaeologists whose work has played an integral role in Biblical apologetics.

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