✪ "Technically the Arabah is the region from the south of the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. But the term, which means “depression,” is often expanded to cover other areas: (1) the whole Jordan Valley (Jos. 11:2,16; 12:1,3); (2) the area around the Dead Sea (Deu. 1:7; 2:8); and (3) the possessions of the Transjordanic tribes (“The Arabah also, with the Jordan and its banks, from Chinnereth down to the Sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea.” Deu. 3:17)." Ref-1200, p. 45n3.
✪ Aramean = Aramaic = Syria.
✪ "Aramaic was no doubt the spoken language of the Lord and His disciples. It was the source of such words as Cephas, Matthew, Abba (Mark 14:36), and Maranatha (1Cor. 16:22). It is also noteworthy that in the very hour of His agony on the cross, Jesus cried out in His native Aramaic tongue, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why has Thou forsaken Me?’ (Mat. 27:46)." Ref-0075, p. 326. ". . . this suggests that several Greek version of [Matthew and Luke] were current, which party explains some of the differences in the sayings of Jesus common to the first and third Gospels; for in many places where the Greek of these Gospels differs, it can be shown that one and the same Aramaic original underlies the variant Greek renderings." Ref-0239, p. 36. "John (5:2; 19:13, 17, 20; Rev. 9:11; 16:16) uses Ἑβραϊστί in the sense of the Aramaic. So Luke has ἡ Ἑβραϊς διάλεκτος (Ac. 21:40; 22:2; 26:14). The people understood Paul’s Greek, but they gave the more heed when he dropped into Aramaic." Ref-1236, p. 104. "But whatever is or is not true as to the original language of Mark and of Matthew, the gospel story was first told largely in Aramaic. The translation of the Aramaic expressions in Mark proves this beyond all doubt, as "taleiqav, kouvm" by το` κοράσιον, ἐγειρε (Mk. 5:41)." Ref-1236, p. 104.
✪ "the shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic and back again in Daniel are found in the scrolls of Daniel at Qumran, supporting the legitimacy of this feature of the Massoretic text commonly used in English translations." Ref-0005, p. 14. "It should be carefully observed that in Babylon of the late sixth century, in which Daniel purportedly lived, the predominant language spoken by the heterogeneous population of this metropolis was Aramaic." Ref-0005, p. 15. "Kitchen goes on to state, concerning the ‘entire word-stock of Biblical Aramaic’ which is largely Daniel, that ‘nine-tenths of the vocabulary is attested in texts of the fifth century B.C. or earlier.’" Ref-0005, p. 49. Also see Ref-0075, p. 325. "An interesting fragment of Daniel, containing Dan. 2:4 (where the language changes from Hebrew to Aramaic), also comes from this cave [Cave 1 of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran]. . . An interesting fragment containing some of Daniel 7:28, 8:1 (where the language changes back from Aramaic to Hebrew) was found." Ref-0075, p. 363. "Aramaic sections of the Old Testament include two words as a place name in Genesis 31:47; one verse in Jeremiah 10:11; about six chapters in the Book of Daniel (Dan. 2:4b-7:28). If someone looks at a copy of the Hebrew Bible, these sections in Aramaic will appear no different from other parts of the Old Testament. This is true because the Aramaic characters are like those of the Hebrew, or, to be more exact, the square-shaped Hebrew letters are actually borrowed from the Aramaic. . . . The longest Old Testament section in Aramaic begins in Daniel 2:4. The first part of the verse is in Hebrew, and the Aramaic portion starts with the response of the Chaldeans, “O king, live forever!” An interesting confirmation of this linguistic change within the verse has come to light in recent years. The amazing Dead Sea Scrolls have produced a little fragment of this section of Daniel, and in the middle of Daniel 2:4 the Hebrew stops and the Aramaic begins exactly as our text reads two thousand years later. The Hebrew portion of Daniel resumes at the end of chapter 7. This transition of Aramaic to Hebrew is also confirmed by the Dead Sea Scrolls, for of the two manuscripts that have this section, both have the change from Aramaic to Hebrew precisely where our modern text has it!" Ref-0236, p. 28. "The Aramaic tongue is very old and its use as a diplomatic tongue (Isa. 36:11) implies perhaps a previous Aramaic leadership. There was a literary as well as a vernacular Aramaic. The Aramaic portions of Daniel, Ezra, the Targum of Onkelos are in the literary Aramaic." Ref-1236, p. 103. "Aramaic is a cognate language of Hebrew and employs the same letters to form its alphabet." Ref-1308, p. 39. "The OT was written in Hebrew, except for three brief sections (Dan. 2:4–7:28; Ezra 4:8–6:18; and 7:12–26), one verse (Jer. 10:11), and one word (Gen. 31:47) which are in Aramaic." Ref-1363, p. 449.
✪ "When the Jews returned from the Babylonian Exile, they were probably speaking Aramaic rather than Hebrew. This meant that when Ezra, the scribe. . .read the Law. . .it was necessary for the Levites (vv. 7-9) to translate from Hebrew to Aramaic." Ref-0002, p. 28. "This Aramaic is not to be confounded with the later Christian Aramaic or Syriac into which the N. T. was translated. The Aramaic spoken in Palestine was the West Aramaic,8 not the East Aramaic (Babylonia)." Ref-1236, p. 104. "We take it as proved that Jesus and the Apostles, like most of their Jewish contemporaries in Palestine who moved in public life, spoke both Aramaic and Greek and read Hebrew (cf. Lu. 4:17)." Ref-1236, p. 102. "One of the major new influences [on the Jews as a result of the Babylonian captivity] was the Aramaic language, which was destined to replace Hebrew as the national tongue of the Jews. By the time the remnant of Jews returned to Palestine under Zerubbabel (537 B.C.) and Ezra (458 B.C.), they needed interpreters to understand their own Hebrew Bible (Ne. 8:8)." Ref-1331, p. 38.
✪ "One chief difference is that the Aramaic does not use the familiar Hebrew article but employs instead the so-called emphatic state, which is practically nothing more than the syllable a’ added as a suffix to a noun. Furthermore, the Aramaic no longer uses the construct state but substitutes a phrase introduced by an “of,” which is spelled dî in the Aramaic. Furthermore, the waw conversive, so prevalent in the Hebrew, is unknown in the Aramaic. The spelling of words is peculiar, even the sound of the language is radically different from the Hebrew. The familiar Hebrew roots reappear in many instances, but they have an entirely different meaning. In many other instances, of course, the kinship between the two languages is made apparent by the fact that the roots have the meaning that we are familiar with in the Hebrew." Ref-1241, pp. 87-88.
✪ "It is extremely important to note that Biblical Aramaic uses the preposition ל to indicate the direct object, in addition to retaining the cmmon uses for ל (also found in Biblical Hebrew) to express the indirect object, the ethical dative, purpose, and direction. The student of Biblical Aramaic must determine syntactically by the context whether ל is expressing a direct object or an indirect object." Ref-1327, p. 11.
✪ Gen. 8:4
; 2K. 19:37; Isa. 37:38; Jer. 51:27✪ "The King James Version in the two identical passages of 2 Kings and Isaiah change the ‘Ararat’ of the Hebrew to ‘Armenia’. This is undoubtedly due to the influence of the Greek version of the OT, known as the Septuagint, which made this change when the translation was made in about 200 BC. Ararat as a Kingdom ceased to be with the defeat of the Medes around 605 BC. The translators of the OT simply were upgrading the geographical names, but it is puzzling as to why they did not update at the other two verses in Genesis 8 and Jeremiah 51!" Crouse, Bill, The Landing Place, Ref-0003 15(3) 2001, p. 17.
✪ See Ref-0001, p. 184.
✪ "In the Monolith Inscription of Shalmaneser III (858-824 B.C.) his victory over a Syrian coalition of twelve kings at Qarqar on the Orentes River is recorded and “Ahab, the Israelite” is named among the allied leaders. The battle is placed in the sixth year of the Assyrian king and it is stated that he left Nineveh on the fourteenth day of Aiaru (Apr/May) and crossed the Euphrates at its (spring) flood, hence the event at Qarqar is probably to be placed in the summer of 853 B.C. This provides independent confirmation of the rule of Ahab at this time." Ref-0840, p. 248. "Adherents of the Assyrian School, presupposing that the Eponym List is precise, will “fix” Shalmaneser II's (III) accession to the throne at the “Assyrian” date B.C. 859 (or 858). Then, having accepted “A-ha-ab-bu Sir-i-la-a-a” as being Ahab of Israel, they deduce that these two sovereigns engaged one another at the Battle of Qarqar 853 B.C. (or 852) in Shalmaneser's sixth year. Thus, for this school, the term of Ahab's reign is forced to correspond to that year, even though the Hebrew record clearly places him about forty-five years back in time . “Ia-u-a mar Hu-um-ri-i” is also embraced as “Jehu, son of Omri”; hence they compel Jehu to be on the throne in the eighteenth year of the reign of Shalmaneser, about 841 (Assyrian date). But again, this does violence to the Hebrew account which would place Jehu forty-five years earlier. How then does the Assyrian Academy content with and remove this forty-five year excess? They reduce the span by contriving and interjecting a serious of unsubstantiated co-regencies upon the lengths of reign of the Jewish monarchs. . . . Dr. Thiele, for example, proposes nine such overlapping co-regencies. However, of the nine, five are neither mentioned nor demonstrable in the Holy Text." Ref-0186, p. 161. "The story may be improbable given the events that happened during Ahab’s reign. He suffered a three year drought that destroyed most of the livestock in the kingdom. Just a few years before this alleged event at Qarqar took place, Ahab was invaded by Benhadad. In that battle, Ahab was scarcely able to muster 7000 soldiers much less any chariots or horsemen. However, the story is that he sent 10,000 troops and 2000 chariots to this battle at Qarqar. This was no small force, especially considering the large number of chariots." Larry Pierce, "Appendix D: Evidentiallism - The Bible and Assyrian Chronology", Ref-0222, p. D:29. [2008060101.pdf] "Shalmaneser III . . . defeated Damascus and then turned his attention southward to Israel as recorded on the “Black Obelisk” or “Obelisk of Shalmaneser.” This memorial stele was discovered by the pioneer English archaeologist A. H. Layard at Nimrud (biblical Calah) in Iraq in 1846. It records the tribute Shalmaneser received from five different kings. . . . At that time I received the tribute of the inhabitants of Tyre, Sidon, and of Jehu, son of Omri (ANET 281). . . . The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: I received from him silver, gold, a golden saplu bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king, (and) wooden puruhtu (ANET 281)." Bryant G. Wood, Israelite Kings in the Assyrian Inscriptions, Ref-0066, Vol. 24 No. 2 (Spring 2011), 38-42, p. 40. "The inscription [on the Obelisk of Shalmaneser] refers to Jehu as the “son of Omri.” Of course, Jehu was not an actual descendant of Omri, but rather was the one who exterminated Omri’s line in order to become king himself. The word “son” usually means a descendant, but in this case it simply refers to an unrelated successor in office." Bryant G. Wood, Israelite Kings in the Assyrian Inscriptions, Ref-0066, Vol. 24 No. 2 (Spring 2011), 38-42, p. 41.
✪ ". . .Ahaz is mentioned once in the surviving inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser. On a large clay tablet giving a summary of the first 17 years of his reign, the king states that he received tribute from ‘Jehoahaz of Judah’. . .Here Ahaz's full name, meaning ‘Yahweh has possessed,’ is used. This payment was probably made in 734 BC, whereas the one recorded in the Old Testament most likely dates to the following year. . .A clay sealing, or bulla, impressed by the original seal reads, ‘Belonging to Ahaz [son of] Yehotam, King of Judah.’ The inscription thus names two Biblical personages -- Ahaz king of Judah, and his father Yehotam (spelled Jotham in our English tranlsations), also a king of Judah. Presently in a private collection in London, the origin of the bulla is unknown." Ref-0066, Vol. 14 No. 1, Winter 2001, p. 24.
✪ "Six sided clay prism inscribed with an account of the first eight military campaigns of Sennacherib, king of Assyria 705-681 B.C. It was found at Nebi Yunus (Nineveh) by Colonel R. Taylor in 1830. Much of the same text is preserved on a prism (the Chicago Prism) in the University of Chicago. . . . The best known passage in this description states that because Hezekiah . . . had not submitted to the Assyrian ‘yoke’, Sennacherib laid siege to forty-six fortified Judean cities, deported 200,150 people, and invested Hezekiah in Jerusalem." Ref-0843, p. 59.
✪ "A bronze coin of the time of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius A.D. 138-161, minted in Ephesus. The obverse shows the head of the Emperor and the reverse the Temple of Artemis, the principal goddess of the city. . . . The Authorised and Revised Versions of the Bible give the name of the goddess in this passage as Diana (Acts 19:24,27-28,34-35), but this is simply a substitution of the Roman or Latin name for the Greek form Artemis, which is what appears in the Greek text . . . The Greek inscription on the obverse of the coin reads ephesiōn, ‘of [the] Ephesians’, and dis neōkorōn, ‘twice temple keeper’ being a title granted to several cities in Asia Minor which built and maintained temples in honour of the Roman emperor. The ‘twice’ indicates that Ephesus was ‘temple keeper’ also of the Temple of Artemis, a fact referred to in the speech of the town clerk (grammateus) of Ephesus, quoted in Acts . . ." Ref-0843, p. 99.
✪ "[The] Astartu Relief of Tiglath-pileser III . . . [is a carved] . . . stone relief showing Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyrian, 744-727 B.C., in his chariot,a nd above him a fortified city, on a mount or tell, with Assyrian soldiers driving out prisoners and herds." Ref-0843, p. 52.
✪ Babylonian tablet from 17th century B.C. with creation story. Gods rule heaven and earth, man made from clay mixed with blood to take over lesser gods’ chores of tending land. Flood is sent to destroy mankind. One man, Atrahasis, is warned and told to build boat. Loads boat with food and animals and is saved while world perishes. Offers sacrifice to the gods and chief god accepts mankind's continued existence. Ref-0025, p. 61. "Man is made by the goddess Mami, with the help of Enki, by modelling him from clay mixed with spittle, and with the blood of a god We or Weila, otherwise unknown, who is killed for the purpose. The human race is put to work and it multiplies, until the noise disturbs Enlil's sleep. He therefore decides to destroy man and sends first a plague, then a famine, and then a drought, and finally a flood, but each time Enki instructs Atrahasis, who now appears in the story, on how to mitigate the effects of these disasters. He gives him seven days warning of the flood, and tells him to build a boat. Atrahasis builds the boat, loads it with his possessions and animals and birds, and after a banquet embarks and is preserved while the rest of mankind is destroyed." Ref-0843, p. 26. "In general conclusion, a clear deluge tradition existed in Ancient Mesopotamia from very early times, as evidenced by the Ziusudra Epic and the Nippur Tablet, but with time this was corrupted and garbled by polytheistic and mythological superstition, as seen in the Atrahasis Epic. Later still, this tradition was incorporated--rather unconvincingly--into a larger, conflated epic occupied with the afterlife and the netherworld, which we know as the Gilgamesh Epic." Murray R. Adamthwaite "Gilgamesh and the biblical Flood--part 2", Ref-0784, 28(3) 2014, 80-85, p. 85.
✪ "In one of his inscriptions Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 B.C.) mentions receiving tribute from a number of kings including Azariah of Judah. The reference belongs to the third year of the reign of Tiglath-pileser . . . 743 B.C." Ref-0840, p. 249.
✪ ". . . scores of clay bullae (small seals stamped with the sender’s name and attached to documents) were discovered in a room in David’s City that had been burned in the Babylonian destruction of the first temple. Many personal names mentioned in Jeremiah and Chronicles were found including that of “Azaryahu son of Hilkiyahu,” who was a member of the family of high priests who served at the end of the first temple period (1 Chronicles 9:10)." Ref-1326, pp. 52-53.
✪ Cuneiform tablets bought by British Museum in late nineteenth century and translated in 1956. One entry reads: "The 7th year, the month of Kislev, the king of Babylonia mustered his forces and marched to Syria [Syria-Palestine]. He camped against the city of Judah [Jerusalem] and on the second day of the month of Adar he took the city and captured the king. He appointed a king of his own choice there, took its heavy tribute and brought them to Babylon." Ref-0025, p. 233. "This tablet forms part of a series which summarises the principle events of each year. Each annual entry is separated from the next by a horizontal line, and begins with a reference to the year of reign of the king in question, The present tablet, which covers the years 605 to 594 B.C., is of particular interest from the point of view of Biblical archaeology because of the entry for the seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar (598-7 B.C.). The text (lines 11-13 on the reverse) runs ‘[1.11] in the seventh year, the month of Kislimu, the king of Akkad mustered his troops, marched to Hatti-land, (1.12) and encamped against the city of Judah (ālu ia a hu du) and on the second day of the month of Addaru he seized the city and captured the king. (1.13) He appointed there a king of his heart, received its heavy tribute and sent (it) to Babylonian.’ In this passage it is clear from the preceding entries that the ‘king of Akkad’ was Nebuchadnezzar, the ‘Hatti-land’ was Syria-Palestine, and the ‘city of Judah’ was Jerusalem. The text is therefore saying that Nebuchadnezzar led his army to Syria-Palestine, besieged Jerusalem and captured it. . . . the importance of the text is that it fixes the date of the first fall of Jerusalem to 16 March 597 B.C., an event referred to in 2 Kings 24:10-17, which identifies the deposed king as Jehoiakim (or Jehoiachin) and Nebuchadnezzar's nominee as Zedekiah. . . . This document has a tantalizing aspect because it ends with the year 594 B.C., and the next surviving tablet in the series only takes up the story again in 556 B.C., so the Babylonian evidence for the final destruction of Jerusalem, probably in 586 B.C., is lacking." Ref-0843, p. 82.
✪ At Deir Allah, located in the Jordan Valley, a mid-eighth century Aramaic inscription mentioning the biblical prophet Balaam was discovered written in red and black ink on plaster. Ref-0025, p. 164. "Two inscriptions of this kind, ink on plaster, have been discovered recently. One of these is of particular interest. It is an Aramaic text from the plaster of a temple wall in the Jordan valley. The first line reads, “This is the record of Balaam, son of Beor. . . .”" Ref-0236, p. 14. "In 1967, a plaster Aramaic text was discovered in an ancient building in Deir 'All, Jordan. Dated to ca 800 B.C., the inscription reads, “Warnings [Sayings] from the Book of Balaam, the son of Beor. He was a seer of the gods.” It was found a mere 30 miles from the area where Balaam is said to have engaged Israel prior to their crossing of the Jordan River, in the plains of Moab." Bryan Windle, Shackled or Anchored?, Ref-0066 29.3 (2016), 99-104, p. 102.
✪ "This cylinder, one of four bearing the same text found at the four corners of the ziggurat . . . at Ur, is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account of its rebuilding by Nabonidus. . . . Nabonidus . . . concludes the inscription with a prayer to the moon god Sin to whom the ziggurat was consecrated. The prayer is of particular interest since it ends . . . with a plea for the piety of . . . ‘Belshazzar the son first (born) the offspring of my heart (body).’ The reference is, of course, to Belshazzar who figures prominently in the Book of Daniel, where he is described as ‘king’ of Babylonian (Dan. 5:1 etc.). It is clear from other inscriptions that Nabonidus spent several years of his reign in north-west Arabia during which Belshazzar ruled Babylonian in his place, and though he is not included in the king lists he was king in all but name during that time, and the Biblical statement may be understood in that light. The cuneiform texts show that the designation of Daniel as ‘the third ruler in the kingdom’ (Dan. 5:29) makes sense, Nabonidus (in Arabia) being first, and Belshazzar (in Babylon) being second." Ref-0843, p. 80.
✪ "Archaeological digs have unearthed the probably remains of the pools of Bethesda (John 5:2) and Siloam (John 9:7) and have suggested possible sites for the Pavement (John 19:13), which were previously unknown (and unmentioned in the Synoptics)." Ref-1282, p. 206
✪ "The historical city of Bethsaida has been located after 17 centuries. The site for many of Jesus’ miracles, including the feeding of the 5000 and walking on the water, Bethsaida has been sought by many Christian pilgrims. Recent excavations at et-Tell, a large mound a mile and a half from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, uncover a thriving port with city-levels that date back to the time of King David. Religious items for both Yahweh and Baal / Moon-god worship confirm the Bible’s description of Assyrian influences on Israel and Syria. Evidence for the town’s conquest by Assyria also confirms the Biblical account." Ref-0042, January 25, 2000.
✪ In 1982 in Babylonian destruction level of David's City, a cache of 51 small clay "buttons" (ancient seals) were inscribed with names of owners. One seal was that of "Gemaryahu [Gemariah] the son of Shaphan" a scribe who served in the court of King Jehoiakim. Ref-0025, p. 235.
✪ "A papyrus document containing a command in Greek from the Prefect Gaius Vibius Maximus for all those in his area of authority to return to their homes for the purposes of a census (apographēs). This illustrates a situation in the time of Trajan analogous to that described by Luke at the time of the birth of Christ (Luke 2:104) when Augustus . . . decreed that a census (apographēs) should be taken of the Roman world." Ref-0843, p. 95. "When Joseph and Mary headed for Bethlehem to be registered in the empire-wide census, Luke tells us that Quirinius was governor of Syria, under whose jurisdiction Israel would have fallen (Luke 2:2). Unfortunately, the information that can be pieced together from the ancient Jewish and Roman historians lists other men as governors of Syria in the years leading up to Christ’s birth and dates Quirinius’ term of office from A.D. 6 to 9. However, some ancient sources also speak of Quirinius leading military expeditions in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire a decade earlier in a manner most naturally explained if he held some official post in Syria . . . Since various forms of ‘join rule’ were common in the ancient world, it is quite possible that Quirinius was some type of ‘governor’ (the word Luke uses, hēgēmoneuō, is a very general term meaning ‘to rule’ or ‘to lead’) before his more formal, later term of office." Ref-1282, p. 248
✪ "In Eze. 1:1 he describes himself as “among the exiles by the river Chebar” (a canal which is also mentioned in business documents found at Nippur, southeast of Babylon) . . . " Ref-0840, p. 264.
✪ "This small circular lapis lazuli seal is inscribed . . . ‘Chemosh-nathan’, the name of the owner. As a name it follows exactly the same pattern as yhw ntn ‘Jonathan’ where the first element is the name of a god, and the second the verb ‘he has given’. Jonathan probably means ‘Yahweh has given (a son)’ and Chemosh-nathan ‘Chemosh has given (a son)’. Just as Yahweh was the God of the Hebrews, Chemosh (or Kemosh), as is shown by the Old Testament (Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:46) was a god of the Moabites. The seal was excavated at Ur by Sir Leonard Woolley (1880-1960) . . . " Ref-0843, p. 71.
✪ "In 1968, an ossuary of a crucified man named Johanan proved what had previously been doubted: that the Romans actually nailed ankle bones of victims they crucified to the wood of the cross (which seems to be implied by a comparison of Luke 24:39 and John 20:25)." Ref-1282, p. 329
✪ Stone cylinder inscribed in cuneiform which reads in part "I returned to [these] sacred cities on the other side of the Tigris, the sanctuaries of which have been in ruins for a long time, the images which [used] to live therein and established for them permanent sanctuaries. I gathered all their [former] inhabitants and returned [to them] their habitations. . ." Ref-0025, p. 251. "This clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus, king of Persia 549-530 B.C., of his conquest of Babylonia in 539 B.C. and capture of Nabonidus, the last Babylonian king . . . He then describes measures of relief which he brought to the inhabitants of the city, and tells how he returned a number of god-images which Nabonidus had collected in Babylonian, to their proper temples through Babylonia, Assyria and western Iran. At the same time he arranged for the restoration of these temples, and organized the return to their homelands of a number of people who had been held in Babylonia by the Babylonian kings. Though this account refers only to Mesopotamia and Iran it represents a policy which he carried out throughout his newly conquered empire, and the document transcribed in Ezra 6:3-5 authorizing the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple, and the subsequent return of the Jews (Ezra 2) to Palestine, were manifestations of this policy." Ref-0843, p. 83.
✪ "After returning from his successful campaign in Judah in the 21st year (925 B.C.) of his reign, Shoshenq commissioned the Bubastite Portal in the great Temple of Amun at Karnak. On the Bubastite Portal, King Shoshenq I provides a very garbled account of his military campaigns against the kingdoms of Judah and the ten northern tribes of Israel. In his inscription here, Shoshenq I provides a series of enemy name rings around the names of the cities, locations and fortresses that he conquered--or at least claimed to have conquered--in Judah and Israel. . . . enemy name rings 105 and 106 are of particular interest. The British Egyptologists Kenneth Kitchen translates rings 105 and 106 together as the “Heights of David.” If Kitchen is correct, this would be the earliest reference to David which has been found in non-biblical sources. The only other two ancient references to David in non-biblical texts are found on the Mesha Stele and the Tel Dan Inscription, both of which date about 75 years later." Clyde Billington and Bretta Grabau, David’s Fortress at Khirbet Qeiyafa and Shoshenq’s Invasion, Ref-0066, 28.3 (2015), 60-70, p. 65.
✪ See Gary A. Byers, "The Tell Dan Stela", Ref-0066, Vol. 16 No. 4 (2004), p. 121. "More than thirty years ago, Israeli archaeologists commenced a massive dig at Tel Dan, the site of the infamous shrine erected by the apostate king of Israel, Jeroboam. After uncovering the ruins of a cult center including a high place with a huge stepped altar, they came across an inscription carved into a rock that had been used secondarily as part of the protective walls of the city. The inscription, dating from the mid-9th century and written in Aramaic, describes battles waged by an Aramean king against Israel and Judah, which he calls bytdwd, “house of David.” This reference to David by name, along with what may be now regarded as a second reference (see following), places David’s existence on solid, indisputable historical grounds. Despite feeble responses on the part of skeptics who explain the name David in a host of ways so as to relegate it as unimportant, archaeology has provided great opposition to the minimalist school." Eugene H. Merrill, Old Testament Archaeology: Its Promises and Pitfalls, Ref-0785 Volume 13 Number 39, August 2009, 5:20, p. 15. "But the archaeological story of David does not stop with the Tel Dan Inscription. In fact, subsequent to the Tel Dan discovery scholars studying other ancient inscriptions announced additional references to David. Two of these inscriptions are on the Mesha Stela--sometimes referred to as the Moabite Stone . . . André Lemarie, a professor of philology and epigraphy at the Sorbonne in Paris, identified a reference to David in line 31 which reads, “the house [of Da]vid,” with the bracketed portion having been destroyed. . . . Second, Anson Rainey, previously a professor at Tel Aviv University, has not gained scholarly support for the translation of a somewhat obscure phrase in line 12 of the inscription to read “Davidic altar hearth” . . . In Addition, a potential fourth reference to David has been tentative identified in a list of place names carved onto the outer souther wall of the Karnak Temple in Egypt by Pharaoh Shishak (reign c. 945-925 B.C.) in c. 925 B.C. to commemorate a military campaign into the region of Palestine. Part of the inscription in the carving reads, “the heights of Dwt,” with “Dwt” identified by Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen from the University of Liverpool as a likely reference to King David." Michael J. Caba David: Man or Myth?, Ref-0066, Vol. 24 No. 3, Summer 2011, 73-78, p. 74. "Since [the “House of David” inscription] discovery at least two other references to David have also been identified, not to mention a structure in Jerusalem that is likely his palace." Scott Stripling, Beneath the Surface, Ref-0066, Vol. 26 No. 2 Spring 2013, p. 29. "Two experts, André Lemaire, of the Institute of Semitic studies of the College de France, and Émile Puech, Director of Research at the Centr National de la Recherche Scientifique, independently restored and translated bt[d]wd in the Mesha Stela as “House of David.” See André Lemaire, “House of David” Restored Moabite Inscription, Biblical Archaeology Review 20.3 (1994): 30-37, and Émile Puech, La stéle de Dan: Bar Hadad II et la colaition des Omrides et de la maison de David, Revue Biblique 101 (1994): 215-41. Their reconstruction fits the context of the inscription. I do not know of any further updates on this translation." Bryant G. Wood, We Hear You Ref-0066, Vol. 26 No. 4 Fall 2013, 86-88, p. 86.
✪ Death by assassination in 681 B.C. recorded in Babylonian Chronicle: "On the 20th of the month of Tebet, his son killed Sennacherib, king of Assyria, during a rebellion." Ref-0025, p. 271.
✪ "Where would one expect to find these detailed Egyptian historical records that critics say do not record anything about the Exodus? The most likely place would be Rameses, where the Israelites lived during the Sojourn (Gen. 47:11, Ex. 1:11) and where they left from (Ex. 12:37, Num. 33:3-5). Rameses has been excavated from the mid-1960s until the present by an Austrian expedition under the direction of Egyptologist Manfred Bietak. After more than 40 years of excavating, the Austrians have not found a single shred of historical document from any time period, let alone detailed records from the time of the Exodus. The argument is fallacious." Henry Smith, We Hear You, Ref-0066 29.3 (2016), pp. 78-79, p. 78.
✪ In 1996 uncovered stone inscription at Tel Miqne identifying the site as Ekron and listing two if its kings. Ref-0025, p. 226.
✪ "The city of Ephesus itself is given the title Neōkoros, ‘Warden of the Temple’ of Artemis (Acts 19:35). This word literally means ‘temple sweeper’, but came to be given as a title of honour, first to individuals, and then to cities as well. . . . Luke's ascription of the title to Ephesus is corroborated by a Greek inscription which describes this city as ‘Temple-Warden of Artemis’." Ref-0239, p. 84.
✪ "Writing his Epistle to the Romans from Corinth during the winter of A.D. 56-57, Paul sends greetings from some of his companions, and adds: ‘Erastus the City Treasurer greets you’ (Rom. 16:23). In the course of excavations in Corinth in 1929, Professor T. L. Shear found a pavement with the inscription ERASTVS PRO : AED : S : P : STRAVIT (‘Erastus, curator of public buildings, laid this pavement at his own expense’). The evidence indicates that this pavement existing in the first century AD, and it is most probably that the donor is identical with Erastus who is mentioned by Paul." Ref-0239, p. 96.
✪ "This represents a treaty between Esarhaddon, king of Assyrian, 680-669 B.C., and some of his vassals. . . . The interest in this treaty goes further back, however, because in form it partially follows a literary pattern now recognised in several other documents. This pattern is found not only in rediscovered ancient treaties but also in the Bible in the agreements referred to in the Authorized Version English as ‘covenants’." Ref-0843, p. 65.
✪ "Gallio is known elsewhere from the writings of his famous brother Seneca, and his governorship can be dated to A.D. 51-2 by an inscription found in Delphi." Ref-0063, p. 70.
✪ "A few weeks ago, an amazing discovery was made in the ancient City of David in Jerusalem. . . . Famed archaeologist Eilat Mazar and her crew unearthed a 2,600-year-old seal, or bula, bearing the name Gedaliahu ben Pashur, Hebrew for “Gedaliah, son of Pashur.” Gedaliah served as a minister in the court of Israel's King Zedekiah (597-586 B.C.)." -- [Source Presently Unknown] "Two clay bullae (seal impressions) were recently discovered by Israeli archaeologist Eilat Mazar in the City of David, Jerusalem, bearing the names “Yehuchal [or Jehucal] ben Shelemyahu [Shelemiah]” and “Gedalyahu [Gedaliah] ben Pashur.” . . . These tiny clay seals provide striking evidence to the historicity of the people described during a crucial time in Israel’s history." Bryan Windle, Shackled or Anchored?, Ref-0066 29.3 (2016), 99-104, p. 104.
✪ Babylonian account of the Flood. Named after King Gilgamesh who is supposed to have ruled the Mesopotamian city of Uruk around 2600 B.C. Believed to date from 18th century B.C. Man, Utnapishtim, warned by creator god Ea to build boat. Passed safely through the Flood with family, treasures, and living creatures. Boat comes to rest on Mount Nisir in Kurdistan. Utnapishtim sends out a dove, a swallow, and finally raven. When raven doesn't return he leaves boat and offers sacrifice to gods. Ref-0025, p. 64. "One of the great literary compositions of ancient Mesopotamia was the Epic of Gilgamesh, mainly known from copies of the seventh century B.C. found at Nineveh. . . . The eleventh tablet contains the story told to Gilgamesh by Utnapishtim, a hero living in a distant land, of how he gained immortality. He narrates how the gods became angry at the nuisance caused on the earth by men and decided to destroy them with a flood. Utnapishtim was specially favoured by the God Ea, who warned him to build a ship and to bring into it all his family, his treasures, and living creatures of every kind. He does this and so escapes a prodigious storm leading to a flood which destroys all the rest of mankind. The storm ends on the seventh day, and on the twelfth day land emerges from the waters. In due course the boat comes to rest on Mount Nisir (in Kurdistan) and Utnapishtim sends out in turn a dove, a swallow and a raven, only the raven not returning. Finally Utnapishtim emerges from the boat, and offers a sacrifice to the gods. This version, which made a tremendous stir in Victorian England when George Smith announced its discovery in 1872, supplies details about the resting place of the boat and the episode of the birds, which are missing in the Atrahasis Epic." Ref-0843, p. 70. "Did the Hebrew author borrow from Gilgamesh? This has become the standard critical approach, as seen in a simple of books and articles, but there are numerous and decisive objections to this. [Six lengthy reasons are given in the original article, which see.] . . . Hence, on examination, we are forced to conclude that the ‘borrowing’ explanation completely lacks plausibility. There is indeed a superficial similarity in points of detail, but over all the two very different narratives, with two very different sets of theological assumptions and foundations, two different worldviews, and a very different character to each narrative, all combine to force the conclusion that Genesis has no underlying relation at all to Gilgamesh. Superficial similarities do not prove literary dependence." Murray R. Adamthwaite, Gilgamesh and the biblical Flood - part 1, Ref-0784 28(2) 2014, 83-88, pp. 86-87. "In general conclusion, a clear deluge tradition existed in Ancient Mesopotamia from very early times, as evidenced by the Ziusudra Epic and the Nippur Tablet, but with time this was corrupted and garbled by polytheistic and mythological superstition, as seen in the Atrahasis Epic. Later still, this tradition was incorporated--rather unconvincingly--into a larger, conflated epic occupied with the afterlife and the netherworld, which we know as the Gilgamesh Epic." Murray R. Adamthwaite "Gilgamesh and the biblical Flood--part 2", Ref-0784, 28(3) 2014, 80-85, p. 85.
✪ "Shalmaneser apparently refers to the “Hazael” King of Syria mentioned in 2K. 8:15; 10:32; 12:17; 13:7,32; 2Chr. 22:5-7 etc. who ruled during the reigns of Joram, Jehu, and Jehoahaz of Israel and Ahaziah, Athaliah, and Joash of Judah." Ref-0186, p. 162n1.
✪ Tunnel is 1,750 feet long through solid limestone connecting the Gihon Spring with present-day Pool of Siloam. "Researchers in the old City of David believe they may have discovered underground spaces that may have been used as a miqveh (ritual immersion pool) for the special purificiation of the High Priest in the Second Temple era (time of Jesus). Diver's photographs underneath the famous 8th-century B.C. water tunnel location south of the City of David revealed the subterranean spaces. . . Hezekiah's water tunnel was rediscovered in the 19th century when Jerusalem was under the Ottoman Turkish Empire. An inscription left by the original diggers, which described their procedure (as in the Biblical account), was removed and permanently housed in the museum in Istanbul. . . the water did not stream directly from the spring to the tunnel and then to the pool (from where the water was drawn) but followed a long path through underground spaces from the spring to the tunnel. Because the High Priest's purification required a separate, undefilable place, and the biblical text records that the High Priest annointed kings of Israel at this place (1 Kings 1:45), the researchers have conjectured that these spaces may have been utilized for that purpose." Ref-0051, March/April 2002. "Scholars from Hebrew University and the Geological Survey of Israel studied flora samples taken from the plaster that lined the tunnel walls. Using radiocarbon dating, they determined that a wood sample dated to about 800 B.C. and two plant samples dated to 790-760 B.C. and 690-540 BC. A radioisotope study of a stalactite in the tunnel corroborated this date." -- Todd Bolen, BiblePlaces Newsletter, Oct. 21, 2003. "Radiometric tests of the Siloam Tunnel, carried out in September 2003 by researchers from the Hebrew University, the Israel Geological Survey, and UK-based Reading University, have confirmed that it dates back to around 700 BC. A Biblical account credits its construction to King Hezekiah (2K. 20:20; 2Chr. 32:30). In fact, history shows that in 701 BC, in preparation for a potentially disastrous siege by Assyrian King Sennacherib, Hezekiah decided to bring the Gihon's waters into the city." Marion Fishchel, "History Unearthed", Ref-0066, 17:4 (2004), p. 114. "The best known [aqueduct] is the tunnel built by Hezekiah (2K 20:20; 2Chr. 32:30) to connect the Gihon spring with the Pool of Siloam (John 9:7) in the Central Valley. It was dug through 1,749 feet of solid rock beneath the Ophel. . . . An inscription found in the tunnel tells of the midpoint meeting of two teams of diggers that had started from different ends: ?. . . was being dug out. It was cut in the following manner . . . axes, each man towards his fellow, and while there were still 3 cubits to be cut through, the voice of one man calling to the other was heard, showing that he was deviating to the right.’" Ref-1200, p. 50n6. "A six-line inscription (26 x 10 in., 66 x 22 cm., now in the Istanbul Museum) chiseled into the side of the tunnel in Paleo-Hebrew describes how the tunnel was made. It is the largest surviving dedicatory inscription of any king of Judah . . ." Ref-1482, p. 98.
✪ "During Robert Koldeway's excavations at Babylon at the turn of the 20th century, he discovered what archaeologists call the “Northern Palace,” most likely the royal residence of King Nebuchadnezzar. Koldeway found there a number of cuneiform-inscribed clay tablets dating to the years 594-569 BC. They list kings captured from throughout the ancient Near East who were living in the palace and receiving rations of grain and oil from the king. Four of the tablets list rations for “Jehoiachin, king of Judah” and his family. These tablets are today in the Pergamum Museum, Berlin." Bryant G. Wood, "Nebo-Sarsekim Found in Babylonian Tablet", Ref-0066, Volume 20 Number 3, Summer 2007, 66:69, p. 69.
✪ "On the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III the Assyrian king records the taking of tribute from Jehu king of Israel, and in a fragment of his annals dates this event in the eighteenth year of his reign, 841 B.C." Ref-0840, p. 248. "Jehu eliminated Baal worship (2 Kgs 10:18–27), but otherwise his reign marked a decline in the fortunes of Israel. This is most apparent from an Assyrian monument. In the year 841 BC, after Jehu had scarcely taken the throne, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III, the same king who fought against Ahab at Qarqar in 853 BC, mounted another western offensive. This time he defeated Damascus and then turned his attention southward to Israel as recorded on the “Black Obelisk” or “Obelisk of Shalmaneser.” This memorial stele was discovered by the pioneer English archaeologist A.H. Layard at Nimrud (biblical Calah) in Iraq in 1846. It records the tribute Shalmaneser received from five different kings. I marched as far as the mountains of Hauran [i.e. northern Transjordan], destroying, tearing down and burning innumerable towns, carrying booty away from them which was beyond counting. I (also) marched as far as the mountains of Ba’li-ra’si which is a promontory [lit.: at the side of the sea] and erected there a stela with my image as king. At that time I received the tribute of the inhabitants of Tyre, Sidon, and of Jehu, son of Omri (ANET 281). ... The inscription refers to Jehu as the “son of Omri.” Of course, Jehu was not an actual descendant of Omri, but rather was the one who exterminated Omri’s line in order to become king himself. The word “son” usually means a descendant, but in this case it simply refers to an unrelated successor in office." Bryant G. Woods, Israelite Kings in Assyrian Inscriptions, [http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2012/05/22/Israelite-Kings-in-Assyrian-Inscriptions.aspx#Article] accessed 20120628.
✪ City massively destroyed by fire (Jos. 6:24). Fortification walls collapsed at the time the city was destroyed, possibly by earthquake activity (Jos. 6:20). Destruction occurred at harvest time in the spring as indicated by large quantities of grain stored in the city (Jos. 2:6; Jos. 3:15; Jos. 5:10). Siege was short since the grain stored in the city was not consumed. The grain was not plundered, as was usually the case in antiquity, due to Divine injunction (Jos. 6:17-18). Ref-0025, p. 152. "They found collapsed walls, not walls that were broken down from the outside but that had fallen down (Jos. 6:20). The walls had not fallen inward, but outward, creating a ramp of fallen bricks by which the Israelites ‘went up into the city, every man straight before him’ (Jos. 6.20). The unusually large stores of carbonized grain found in the ruins showed that the city had endured only a short siege, which the Bible numbers at seven days (Jos. 6:12-20), and that the grain had been recently harvested (Jos. 3:15). Also, because grain was a valuable commodity almost always plundered by conquering forces, the large amount of grain left in the ruins is puzzling -- but consistent with God's command that nothing in the city be taken except valuable metals to be used for the treasury of the Lord (Jos. 6:24). The city had also been burned, exactly as the Bible records (Jos 6:24)." Scott Ashley and Jerold Aust, "Jericho: Does the Evidence Disprove or Prove the Bible?", Ref-0066, Vol. 16 No. 2 (2003), p. 56. "From 1930 to 1936 an expedition . . . was conducted by Professor John Garstang of the Liverpool University. He wrote a very readable book called The Story of Jericho. . . . on page 20 of his book he claimed that the biblical ‘episodes are confirmed in all the material particulars: the fallen walls have been laid bare, while the burning of demolished buildings is found to have been general and so conspicuous as to suggest a deliberate holocaust.’ Concerning the subsequent uninhabited period he wrote, ‘Our excavations have in fact proved that after its destruction the walled city was not reconstructed, nor was the site more than partially inhabited, for about 500 years.’ . . . In his chapter entitled ‘The city destroyed by Joshua’, Garstang wrote: ‘The main defences of Jericho in the Late Bronze Age [LB] followed the upper brink of the city mount, and comprised two parallel walls, the outer six feet and the inner twelve feet thick. Investigations along the west dide show continuous signs of destruction and conflagration. The outer wall suffered most, its remains falling down the slope. The inner wall is preserved only where it abuts the citadel, or tower, to a height of eighteen feet; elsewhere it is found largely to have fallen, together with the remains of buildings upon it, into the space between the walls which was filled with ruins and debris. Traces of intense fire are plain to see, including reddened masses of brick, cracked stones, charred timber and ashes." David Down, The Story of Jericho, Ref-0784, 20(1) 2006, pp. 87-88. "In the 1930s, British archaeologist John Garstang excavated at Jericho for several seasons. Garstang found local Canaanite pottery from the time of Joshua and evidence for a massive destruction of the city by a fierce fire which left ash deposits up to 3 feet thick." Henry B. Smith Jr., Joshua’s Lost Conquest, Ref-0066, Vol. 27 No. 4 (Fall 2014), 99-103, p. 99. "When a serious analysis of all the [archaeological] evidence is undertaken, the correlations between the biblical account of the destruction of Jericho and the archaeological record are remarkable: The city was strongly fortified (Jos. 2:5,7,15; 6:5,20). The siege was short (Jos. 6:15). The attack occurred just after harvest time in the spring (Jos. 2:6; 3:15; 5:10). The inhabitants had no opportunity to flee with their food supplies (Jos. 6:1). The walls collapsed and were destroyed (Jos. 6:20). The city was not plundered (Jos. 6:17-18). The city was burned (Jos. 6:20). Instead of being an indictment of the Bible, the archaeology from Jericho is a powerful extrabiblical witness to the accuracy of the Conquest narratives." Henry B. Smith Jr., Joshua’s Lost Conquest, Ref-0066, Vol. 27 No. 4 (Fall 2014), 99-103, p. 102.
✪ "The Bible speaks of Jehoash’s military successes against Syria (2 Kgs 13:24) and against Judah (2 Kgs 14:8–14), but nothing is said about a contact with Assyria. That there was such a contact is now known because of a stele found at Tell al-Rimah in Iraq in 1967. The Assyrian king Adad-Nirari III (ca 811–782 BC) led a number of campaigns to the west during the course of his reign. On one of those campaigns he defeated Damascus and then collected tribute from Israel, Tyre and Sidon. On the way home, he erected a monument at Tell al-Rimah commemorating the event. The section of the stele which refers to Jehoash reads: “I received the tribute of Jehoash the Samarian, of the Tyrian [ruler] and of the Sidonian [ruler].”" Bryant G. Woods, Israelite Kings in Assyrian Inscriptions, [http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2012/05/22/Israelite-Kings-in-Assyrian-Inscriptions.aspx#Article] accessed 20120628.
✪ "So what evidence is there for grain storage? The evidence is found throughout Egypt of the 12th Dynasty, including Lahun and down to the Nubian Fort silos in North Africa. In multiple locations large “silos” have been discovered that are typically a series of large square, interconnected room structures where grain is stored. It is likely in these silos that Joseph had grain stored during the reign of Sesostris II, the “Abundance Pharaoh.”" Scott Lanser, We Hear You, Ref-0066, 29.1 (2016), p. 3.
✪ "In his address in 1870 to the newly formed Society of Biblical Archaeology Dr. Samuel Birch was able to identify the Hebrew kings Omri, Ahab, Jehu, Azariah (but see Document 31), Menahem, Pekah, Hoshea, Hezekiah and Manasseh, the Assyrian kings Tiglath-Pileser I and II [now III], Sargon, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, the Egyptian Tirhaka, and the Syrians Benhadad, Hazael and Rezin. This shows the rapid progress of philological study in the decades following decipherment, . . ." Ref-0843, p. 11.
✪ "Archaeologist Edwin Yamauchi points out th elimits of this science when he explains: (1) little of what was made or written in antiquity survives to this day; (2) few of the ancient sites have been surveyed and a number have not even been found; (3) probably fewer than 2 percent of the known sites have been meaningfully excavated; (4) few of these have been more than scratched; and (5) only a fraction of the fraction that have been excavated have been published and data made available to the scholarly world." E. Yamauchi The Stones and the Scriptures, cited by Mario Seiglie, "The Exodus Controversy", Ref-0066, Vol. 16 No. 2 (2003), p. 34.
✪ "To the present, no archaeological discoveries have provided conclusive evidence for the captivity of Manasseh in Babylon (2Chr. 33:10. However, cuneiform sources have preserved a reference to a visit which he made to Nineveh about 678 B.C. at the command of Esarhaddon: I summoned the kings of Syria and those across the sea -- Baalu, king of Tyre, Manasseh, king of Judah . . . Musurri, king of Moab . . . twenty kings in all. I gave them their orders . . . . . . . The name “Manasseh, king of Judah” appears on the prism of Esarhaddon, and also on the prism of Ashurbanipal, as part of a list of twenty-two tributaries of Assyria." Ref-0836, p. 338. "Manasseh is among 22 kings who were obliged to provide building materials for Esarhaddon's royal palace at Nineveh: I called up the kings of the country Hatti and (of the region) of the other side of the river (Euphrates)...Manasseh, king of Judah...[along with 21 other kings], together 22 kings of Hatti, the seashore and the islands; all these I sent out and made them transport under terrible difficulties, to Nineveh, the town (where I exercise) my rulership, as building material for my palace; big logs, long beams (and) thin boards from cedar and pine trees… (ANET 291). Ashurbanipal was intent on subjugating Egypt. In order to accomplish his goal, he conscripted troops from his western provinces, including Judah: (Then) I called up my mighty armed forces which Ashur and Ishtar have entrusted to me and took the shortest road to Egypt and Nubia. During my march (to Egypt) 22 kings from the seashore, the islands, and the mainland [including] Manesseh, king of Judah…servants who belong to me, brought heavy gifts to me and kissed my feet. I made these kings accompany my army over the land—as well as (over) the sea-route with their armed forces and their ships (ANET 294)." Bryant G. Woods, Israelite Kings in Assyrian Inscriptions, [http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2012/05/22/Israelite-Kings-in-Assyrian-Inscriptions.aspx#Article] accessed 20120628.
✪ "The earliest surviving fragment of the New Testament is [a] papyrus containing part of the Greek text of John 18:31-33 and 37. It dates from about A.D. 130. . . . (now at the John Rylands University Library, Manchester)" Ref-0063, p. 130.
✪ "Yet another Corinthian inscription identifies the makellon or ‘meat market’ of the city, to which Paul refers in 1 Corinthians 10:25 (AV ‘shambles’)." Ref-0239, p. 97.
✪ "The agent of this divine punishment was Mesha, king of Moab, when he seized the tribal area of Reuben in ca. 850 B.C. We have two contemporary accounts of Mesha’s devastating conquest, that of Mesha himself and 2 Kings 3. Mesha’s record, the Mesha Stela, also known as the Moabite Stone, is a boastful account of how he took over the area, while 2 Kings 3 tells of the unsuccessful attempts of the Israelites to repulse the invasion and gain back the territory." Bryant G. Wood, God’s Judgment Revealed at Three Cities, Ref-0066, Vol. 27 No. 4 (Fall 2014), 104-108, p. 104. "The inscription correctly states that Gadites settled Ataroth as recorded in Numbers 32:34: And the men of Gad lived in the land of Ataroth from ancient times, and the king of Israel built Ataroth for himself, and I fought against the city, and I captured it, and I killed all the people [from] the city as a sacrifice (?) for Kemosh and for Moab, and I brought back the fire-hearth of his Uncle (?) from there, and I hauled it before the face of Kemosh in Kerioth, and I made the men of Sharon live there, as well as the men of Maharith (Smelik 2000: 137-48)." Bryant G. Wood, God’s Judgment Revealed at Three Cities, Ref-0066, Vol. 27 No. 4 (Fall 2014), 104-108, p. 106.
✪ "This black basalt stela bearing a 35 line alphabetic inscription was first since in 1868 in Dhibān, ancient Dibon, by Reverend F. A. Klein. It was subsequently smashed by local Beduin but a paper squeeze had been taken, and from it a copy of the text was published by T. Nöldeke in 1970 . . . This text begins . . . ‘I am Mesha son of Chemosh . . . , king of Moab’, and goes on to say that Omri king of Israel . . . had oppressed Moab for ‘many days’ and that his son did the same, so Mesha mounted a rebellion, the details of the ensuing war occupying the rest of the inscription. The war of Israel against Moab is narrated in 2 Kings 3:4-27." Ref-0843, p. 51. Ref-0025, p. 171. "The event recorded on the Moabite Stone is that revolt against Israel recorded in 2 Kings 1:1 and 3:4-27." Ref-0075, p. 336.
✪ "The Nazareth Inscription is one of the most powerful pieces of extra-biblical evidence that the resurrection of Christ was being preached right from the beginnings of Christianity. It is a Greek inscription on a marble tablet measuring approximately 24 inches by 15 inches. The exact time and place of its discovery is not known. The text records an abridged decree by emperor Claudius, instituting the death penalty for tomb robbing, a very unusual punishment. This fact clearly proves that the story of the resurrection of Christ was widely known almost immediately after His crucifixion. In other words, the story of the resurrection of Christ must have been a story that was circulated by his Apostles themselves, and it was not a later invention by Christians of the post-apostolic period, as some modern scholars in the past have argued." Jared M. Compton, Is the Resurrection Historically Reliable?, Ref-0066, Vol. 22 No. 4 (2009), 105:108, p. 106.
✪ "[Michael Jursa, associate professor at the Unviersity of vienna, made the discovery. . . . a mundane receipt acknowledging Nebo-Sarsekim's payment of 1.7 lb (0.75 kg) of gold to a temple in Babylon. Dated to the tenth year of Nebuchadnezzar (595 B.C.), eight years before the fall of Jerusalem, the tablet reads in full: ‘[Regarding] 1.5 minas [0.75 kg] of gold,t he property of Nabusharrussu-ukin, the chief eunuch, which he sent via Arad-Banitu the eunuch to [the temple] Esangila: Arad-Banitu has delivered [it] to Esangila. In the presence of Bel-usat, son of Alpaya, the royal bodyguard, [and of] Nadin, son of Marduk-zer-ibni, Month XI, day 18, year 10 [of] Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Reynolds 2007).’ The Hebrew spelling of the name is slightly different from the cuneiform, but there is no question that it is the same person." Bryant G. Wood, "Nebo-Sarsekim Found in Babylonian Tablet", Ref-0066, Volume 20 Number 3, Summer 2007, 66:69, pp. 66-67. "Another official named in Jeremiah 39:3 is also known from cuneiform sources -- Nergal-Sharezer. Jeremiah 39:13-14 goes on to say that he was instrumental in releasing Jeremiah from the Courtyard of the Guard where he was being held as prisoner. Nergal-Sharezer was married to Nebuchadnezzar's daughter Kashshaia and later became king of Babylon (559-556 BC), the Neriglissar of the classical sources (Wiseman 1985: 10-12; Leick 1999; 122)." Bryant G. Wood, "Nebo-Sarsekim Found in Babylonian Tablet", Ref-0066, Volume 20 Number 3, Summer 2007, 66:69, p. 68.
✪ "A Leo Oppenheim lists deliveries of oil for the sustenance of dependents of the royal household in ancient literature and includes specific mention of food for the sons of the king of Judah in a tablet dating from the tenth to the thirty-fifth year of Nebuchadnezzar II." Ref-0005, p. 35.
✪ "In addition to Nebo-Sarsekim, Nebuchadnezzar and Nergal-Sharezer, the name of yet another Babylonian official has turned up in a Babylon text. His name is Nebuzaradan. He played a significant role in the events of 587 BC. Nebuzaradan was a high-ranking military official, called “Captain of the Guard” in the Biblical text, perhaps reporting directly to Nebuchadnezzar. He was responsible for supervising the burning of the city (2K. 25:8-9; Jer. 39:8a; 52:12-13), tearing down the defenses (2K. 25:10; Jer. 39:8b; 52:14), deporting 832 captives to Babylon (2K. 25:11; Jer. 39:9; 52:15,29), plundering the Temple (2K. 25:15; Jer. 52:17-19), and rounding up the Judean officials to appear before Nebuchadnezzar (2K. 25:18-21; Jer. 52:24-27). . . A clay prism found in Nebuchadnezzar's palace, dating to ca. 570 BC, contains a list of court officials. Among them is Nebuzaradan, with the title “Chancellor” or “Chief Baker” (Wiseman 1985:73-75)." Bryant G. Wood, "Nebo-Sarsekim Found in Babylonian Tablet", Ref-0066, Volume 20 Number 3, Summer 2007, 66:69, p. 68.
✪ In 1975, First-Temple burial caves were discovered beneath St. Andrew's Church of Scotland. In 1979, excavation in cave 25 revealed a silver scroll rolled up to form an amulet containing text which is almost similar to Num. 6:24-26. Dating is back to Davidic dynasty and are earliest biblical verses found, predating Dead Sea Scrolls by several centuries. Ref-0025, p. 241. "Of special interest are two small silver scrolls worn as amulets around the neck. One contains the priestly blessing that reads, “May the Lord bless and keep you. May the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and give you peace.” (Num. 6:24-26). The inscription in old Hebrew letters is from the sixth century B.C. and is the earliest known that contains words of Scripture." Ref-0236, p. 16.
✪ Four-sided polished block of black limestone 6.5 feet high extracted in 1945. Carved scenes of Assyrian court with almost 200 lines of cuneiform text. One scene translates "Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri Silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden beaker, golden goblets, pitchers of gold, tin, staves for the hand of the king [and] javelins, [Shalmaneser] received from him.’"Ref-0025, p. 78. However, "The basis of what Thiele stated comes from the inscriptions found on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. We found the following in a Bible dictionary. “The text depicts Shalmaneser’s triumphs over several kingdoms of Syria and the West. Of special interest to Bible students is one panel in the second row in which a bearded Semite bows before the king while his servants present gifts. The text refers to the humble suppliant as Jehu, son of Omri (a name by which all Israelite kings were identified, whether of the Omride dynasty or not) and describes the gifts he brought. The event, apparently from the year 841 BC, gives us the earliest surviving picture of an Israelite and shows how such a person might have appeared to an Assyrian sculptor. There is no evidence, however, that the obelisk was actually depicting the Israelite monarch Jehu.”" Larry Pierce, "Appendix D: Evidentiallism - The Bible and Assyrian Chronology", Ref-0222, p. D:28. [2008060101.pdf]
✪ "Seals of this kind, which were rolled across clay tablets or sealings to leave their impressions, were used in the ancient Near East from the third millennium until Achaemenian times, after which they were largely replaced by stamp seals . . . This example, of chalcedony, . . . is of particular interest because of the inscription in the Aramaic alphabet which reads ḥtm pršndt br ’rtdtn (‘seal of Parshandata son of ’Artadatan’). . . . The name Parshandata finds an exact consonantal correspondence in the name of one of the Persian inhabitants of Susa mentioned in the book of Esther (Est. 9:7) where his name is spelled paršandātā’, Parshandatha in the Authorised Version." Ref-0843, p. 46.
✪ "Peqah's name also appears on a seal. On it a human figure wearing an Egyptian wig, a short tunic and a long mantle faces left. He holds a javelin in his upraised right hand. Engraved behidn the figure are the letters PQH, vocalized Peqah. The area of origin (Nablus) and date of the script suggest that the Peqah of the seal is none other than Peqah, son of Remaliah, of the Old Testament. Peqah no doubt used the seal when he was an officer under Peqahiah." Ref-0066, Vol. 14 No. 1, Winter 2001, p. 25. "In Palestine, one [pot] sherd has been discovered with the name of Pekah, king of Israel about 735 B.C., on it." Ref-0236, p. 16.
✪ "In the New Testament period, churches were primarily associated with houses (Rom. 16:5; 1Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phm 1:2). Called domus ecclesia (Greek “house churches”), a few have been identified in archaeology. This includes Peter’s house-turned-shrine (with the later Byzantine church built above it) at Capernaum (Mark 1:29)." Gary A. Byers and Scott Stripling, Those Indefatigable Byzantines! Ref-0066, Vol. 26 No. 4 Fall 2013, 108-112, p. 108.
✪ "In 1961, a stone tablet was discovered at Caesarea bearing the Latin names of Pontius Pilate and Tiberius, affording archaeological proof of Pilate's existence." Ref-0105, p. 217. "Not until 1961 did inscriptional evidence appear -- at Caesarea Maritimus -- recording that Pontius Pilate was prefect of Judea during the reign of Tiberius Caesar (cf. Matt. 21:2; Luke 3:1)." Ref-1282, p. 329 Pilate's official residence was the Mediterranean seaboard city of Caesarea Maritima. In 1961, during Italian-sponsored excavations at Caesarea's Roman theater, a stone plaque bearing Pilate's name was discovered. The Latin inscription of four lines gives his title as "Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea," a title very similar to that used of him in the Gospels (Luke 3.1). See F00036, p. 24 for a photo of the inscription. "At Caesarea Maritima on the coast of Israel, an inscription which mentions Pilate was discovered during excavations in 1961 on a block of limestone in secondary use in the steps of the Roman theater. The inscription, partially obscured, dates to the first century A.D. and includes this important name and title: Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judea . . ." Titus Kennedy, The Trial of Jesus in Archaeology and History, Ref-0066, Vol. 25 No. 4 Fall 2012, 95-99, p. 97. "Josephus, a prime historical source for first century Judaea Province, records that Jesus was condemned by Pilate to be crucified (Antiquities 18:63-64). Tacitus, a famous Roman historian of the early second century, wrote that Christ (the title for Jesus) was put to death by Pontius Pilate in Judaea during the reign of Tiberius (Annuls 15:44)." Titus Kennedy, The Trial of Jesus in Archaeology and History, Ref-0066, Vol. 25 No. 4 Fall 2012, 95-99, p. 98. "The name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ according to Christian scripture, has been deciphered on a bronze ring discovered some 50 years ago near Bethlehem.The ancient ring was found in the late 1960s during an archaeological dig at the site of the Herodion fortress, built by Herod the king of Judea. His name was deciphered on the ring after it, and thousands of other finds, were handed over to the team currently working on the historical site. Pilate was an infamous Roman governor of Jerusalem in the years 26 to 36 who also allegedly ran Jesus’ trial. After a thorough cleansing, the ring was photographed using a special camera at the Israel Antiquities Authority Labs, revealing the crucial name. The stamping ring bears a picture of a wine vessel surrounded by Greek writing that translated into “Pilatus.” A stamping ring was also a hallmark of status in the Roman cavalry, to which Pilate belonged. Researchers believe it was either used by Pilate in his day-to-day work as governor or by his team to sign his name on official documents. “I don’t know of any other Pilatus from the period and the ring shows he was a person of stature and wealth,” Professor Danny Schwartz told Haaretz. Pilatus, the name linked to Pontius Pilate in the New Testament as the man who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion, was rare in Israel during that era, says Schwartz. It’s also not the first find at the site inscribed ‘Pilatus.’ In the 1960s, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professor Gideon Forester Forster also unearthed a stone decorated with the name.Herodian was built by King Herod and after his death it became a huge burial site, however Roman officials ruling over Judea used the upper tier as their administrative headquarters. Research into the ring was led by Professor Shua Amurai-Stark and Malcha Hershkovitz. They published their findings in the new issue of the Israel Exploration Journal" -- Inscription confirms ancient ring belonged to Pontius Pilate, man who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion -- World Israel News.
✪ "An important inscription from [the Vardar Gate in Thessalonica], which is now in the British Museum, contains the word Gk. politarches, the same term that Luke used to designate the officials (RSV ‘city authorities’) before whom Jason was brought by the Mob (Acts 17:6). Since this word has not been found in Greek literature, its discovery on the Vardar Gate is an important evidence of Luke's accuracy as a historian." Ref-0008, p. 4:838. "Politarch Inscription: A Greek inscription from a Roman gateway at Thessalonica (modern Salonika) in northern Greece (ancient Macedonia). The inscription lists the officials of the town in the second century A.D., beginning with six Politarchs and naming the city Treasurer and the Gymnasiarch (Directory of Higher Education)." Ref-0843, p. 98.
✪ "Shukrun claims his recent discovery is the Second Temple-era pool of Siloam, mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible, both in Nehemiah 3:15 (“Pool of Shelah”) and in Isaiah 8:6 (“waters of Shiloah”). It is also referred to in the New Testament, in John 9:7 (“Pool of Siloam”). By comparing Nehemiah 3:15 and 12:37, it is clear that the “Pool of Shelah,” the stairs that descend from the City of David at the southern part of the Temple Mount, and the kings’ garden were all near each other. Judeo-Roman historian Flavius Josephus also makes frequent mention of Siloam in The Jewish Wars". Marion Fishchel, "History Unearthed", Ref-0066, 17:4 (2004), p. 114.
✪ "Sargon succeeded his brother Shalmaneser V as king of Assyria in 721 B.C., and though in his annals he appears to claim that he conquered Samaria at the beginning of his reign, it is more likely that it was Shalmaneser V to whom this conquest is to be credited. His invasion and siege are referred to in 2 Kings 17:5; 18:0, and when the conquest is attributed to the ‘king of Assyria’, in 2 Kings 17:6 and 18:10-11, sometime in 723 or 722 B.C., this should be Shalmaneser. . . . Sargon is mentioned only once in the Old Testament, Isaiah 20:1, where he is said to have sent Tartan . . . to attack Ashdod, an event which took place in 711 B.C." Ref-0843, p. 53.
✪ "In another text, dated according to the eponym lists in 732 B.C., [Tiglath-pileser III] speaks of the defeat of Rezon. This is probably the same event as that mentioned in 2K. 16:9 . . . " Ref-0840, p. 250.
✪ Contains cuneiform characters including phrase "I am Darius, Great King, King of Kings, the King of Persia." Also mentions Xerxes (Ahaseurus) who married Esther. Ref-0025, p. 59. "It was the daring of the Englishman, Henry Rawlinson, which was responsible for the complete decipherment of cuneiform. At the total disregard of life and limb he copied the trilingual inscription (Old Persian, Elamite, Akkadian) of Darius at Behistun (Bisitun) between 1837 and 1843. Elamite was the language of Susa, and Akkadian was the Semitic language used by the Assyrians and Babylonians. This inscription with reliefs of Darius and his defeated enemies is carved on the sheer face of a cliff. Rawlinson climbed up on the narrow ledge below the inscription. On reaching the recess which contains the Persian text of the record, ladders are indispensable in order to examine the upper portion of the table; and even with ladders there is considerable risk, for the foot-ledge is so narrow, about eighteen inches or at most two feet in breadth, that with a ladder long enough to reach the sculptures sufficient slope cannot be given to enable a person to ascend, and, if the ladder be shortened in order to increase the slope, the upper inscriptions can only be copied by standing on the topmost step of the ladder, with no other support than steadying the body against the rock with the left arm, while the left hand holds the notebook, and the right hand is employed with the pencil. In this position I copied all the upper inscriptions, and the interest of the occupation entirely did away with any sense of danger. [Cited in L. Deuel, ed., The Treasures of Time (New York: Avon, 1961), p. 115.]" Ref-1521, pp. 26-27.
✪ ". . . at one time the name “Sargon” was not accepted as genuine by secular scholars until Paul E. Botta's 1843 discovery of that now celebrated Assyrian Monarch's palace at Khorsabad. Prior to this archaeological find, the only mention of him was by the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 20:1), which of course was not considered conclusive by academia." Ref-0186, p. 179. "Sargon . . . [was] a king of Assyria who is mentioned in Isaiah 20:1, but is not named by any extant classical historian. Jewish and Christian commentators on Isaiah from Jerome until the mid-1800s generally assumed that “Sargon” was another name for some other, known king. Some scholars suggested that Sargon was Sennacherib or Shalmaneser or Esarhaddon, or perhaps that he was a coregent with Shalmaneser. Everything changed when it was discovered that Sargon was a great king who had built a separate palace for himself and left a large corpus of texts in it describing his campaigns." Ref-1508, p. 180.
✪ "This group of bronze scales, stuck together as a result of corrosion in the ground, represents a type of armour well known in the Near East . . . Scale armour is mentioned in the Old Testament where, in the description of the armour of Goliath the philistine giant, the word širyôn, ‘armour’ is qualified as qaśqaśśîm (1S. 17:5), and qas'qas's'i^m is used in a passage in Deuteronomy which distinguishes clean from unclean foods to describe the scales of a fish (Deu. 14:9). There can be little doubt therefore that this passage is saying that Goliath was dressed in scale armour." Ref-0843, p. 57.
✪ In 1975, over 250 inscribed bullae surfaced through an Arab East Jerusalem antiquities dealer. On seal says "Berekhyahu [Baruch] son of Neriyahu [Neriah] the scribe." Ref-0025, p. 235.
✪ 90-foot long mural decorating ceremonial suite in palace of Assyrian king Sennacherib at Nineveh. Mural in British Museum depicts Assyrian camp, their siege of the city, torture of city's inhabitants, and exile of prisoners and their presentation before Sennacherib. Ref-0025, p. 79. "The second book of Chronicles states that when Sennacherib invaded Palestine (in 701 B.C.) he established his headquarters in front of Lachish and that he dispatched his senior officers to Jerusalem from there (2Chr. 32:9). Neither the Old Testament nor his own annals . . . say more about the fate of Lachish, but the long series of reliefs form his Palace at Nineveh illustrate what happened to it." Ref-0843, p. 60.
✪ "Sometimes old finds can yield new information, as was attested by newly discovered references to Scripture on silver amulets from Ketef Hinnom. These amulets are renowned because they are the oldest known copies of Scripture, preserving the priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 (brief description and photo here). Archaeologist Gabriel Barkay dated them to about 600 B.C., before the destruction of the First Temple. Recently, innovative photographing technologies have allowed scholars to see parts of the inscription previously unknown. The new reading of the first amulet includes, “YHW. . .the grea[t. . .who keeps] the covenant and [G]raciousness towards those who love [him] and those who keep [his commandments].” This parallels Deut 7:9, Neh 1:5, and Dan 9:4. The second amulet mentions, “Yahweh, the warrior (or helper) and the rebuker of [E]vil,” which is reminiscent of Zech 3:2. The new readings were published in an article in BASOR 334 (May 2004), and an article about the technologies used was printed in Near Eastern Archaeology 66/4 (dated Dec 2003, but actually printed about Nov 2004)." Todd Bolen, "The Top Five Stories of the Year", BiblePlaces Newsletter, Vol 3, #7 - December 29, 2004 [https://www.BiblePlaces.com]. See 2004122901.htm.
✪ Six-sided clay prism inscribed in Assyrian cuneiform discovered at Sennacherib's palace in Nineveh in 1830 by British Colonel R. Taylor which records: "As for Hezekiah, the Judean who did not submit to my yoke. I surrounded and conquered forty-six of his strong-walled towns and innumerable small settlements. . . He himself I shut up in Jerusalem, his royal city, like a bird in a cage. The warriors and select troops he had brought in to strengthen his royal city Jerusalem did not fight. . .He sent his messengers to pay tribute and do obeisance." Ref-0025, p. 273.
✪ Nearly 3,000 year-old monumental inscription written in Aramaic on black basalt discovered at Tel Dan. Unearthed in 1993/4, describes how Ben Hadad, king of Damascus, is victorious over Ahaziahu (Ahaziah) and Jehoram: "I killed Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel and I killed Ahaziahu son of Jehoram king of the House of David." Ref-0025, p. 170.
✪ "Beginning with A.H. Layard's discoveries in Nimrud, ancient Calah, in Iraq in 1845 we have a considerable amount of information concerning this Biblical king. Layard discovered his palace, the so-called ‘central palace,’ in the center of the tell. . .[including] reliefs. . .covered with inscriptions recording events in Tiglath-pileser's reign. . .There are many scenes depicting Tiglath-pileser himself. . . .Included among the inscriptions on the reliefs are records of Tiglath-pileser's western campaigns and his contacts with the nations of that region, including Israel and Judah. All told, six Biblical kings are named in the records of Tiglath-pileser III (Tiglath-pileser, Menahem, Ahaz, Peqah, Rezin, Hoshea)." Ref-0066, Vol. 14 No. 1, Winter 2001, p. 23
✪ "Even the lecture hall of Tyrannus has a measure of support with several inscriptions containing the name of “Tyrannus” having been discovered, thereby attesting to the use of the name in Ephesus during the first century." Bryan Windle, Shackled or Anchored?, Ref-0066 29.3 (2016), 99-104, p. 102.
✪ "The city of Ur in Southern Sumeria was thoroughly excavated by Leonard Woolley (1922-1934), and it proved to be a large and flourishing city which enjoyed an advanced civilization around 2000 B.C., which would have been precisely Abraham's period. The average middle-class citizens lived in well-appointed houses containing from ten to twenty rooms. Schools were maintained for the eduction of the young, for schoolboy tablets have been discovered which attest their training in reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion." Ref-0001, p. 177.
✪ "A dome shaped stone weight of pink limestone inscribed in Hebrew bq? literally ‘divided’. Exodus 38:26 defines the ‘bekah’ as ‘half a sheqel’, . . . The word also occurs in the account of the finding of Rebecca as a bride for Isaac. Abraham sent his senor servant to northern Mesopotamia where he encountered Rebecca at a well and offered her a gold earring weighing a beqa?, as well as two gold bracelets weighing ten sheqels, to introduce himself to her father's house (Gen. 24:22)." Ref-0843, p. 75.
✪ "This weight of yellow limestone, a sphere with a flattened base, is of a type known from a number of excavated sites in Palestine, and, since the average weight of these examples is 7.82 gm, it could be interpreted as two-thirds of a ‘common’ shekel of about 11.73 gm. The inscription on it simply gives the Hebrew consonants pym (from right to left) and this spelling, vocalised pîm in the Old Testament, is found in a passage in 1 Samuel which describes the Philistine monopoly of metalworking in Palestine in the time of Saul. According to the text there was no smith in Israel, and the Israelites went to the Philistines to have their tools sharpened. The charge was a pîm for the ploughshares, the axes, and three(-tined) forks, the adzes and the setting of the goads (1S. 13:19-21). The pîm here presumably represented that weight in silver." Ref-0843, p. 74.
✪ "Arius, a senior presbyter of one of the twelve ‘parishes’ of Alexandria. . . claimed that the Father alone was really God; the Son was essentially different from his Father. He did not possess by nature or right any of the divine qualities of immortality, sovereignty, perfect wisdom, goodness and purity. He did not exist before he was begotten by the Father, the Father produced him as a creature. Yet as the creator of the rest of creation, the Son existed ‘apart from time before all things’." Ref-0063, pp. 164-165
✪ "One common definition of a species is a group of organisms which can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, and cannot mate with other species. However, most of the so-called species (obviously all the extinct ones) have not been tested to see what they can or cannot mate with. In fact, not only are there known crosses between so-called species, but there are many instances of trans-generic mating, so the ‘kind’ may in some cases be as high as the family. Identifying the ‘kind’ with the genus is also consistent with Scripture, which spoke of kinds in a way that the Israelites could easily recognize without the need for tests of reproductive isolation." Jonathan D Sarfati, How did all the animals fit on Noah's Ark? [http://creation.mobi/article/595] accessed 20110721 "According to the Oxford Dictionary, biologists define a species as “a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.” This is well accepted amongst biologists, including creationist ones. In other words, if two organisms can breed together, they strictly belong to the same (biological) species. However, because of the difficulty of performing hybridization experiments, species names are often given based on appearance (morphology) and so they are often not consistent with breeding barriers (there are many more species names than there are biological species)." Don Batten, Natural Section, Ref-1370, loc. 481. "it seems that Linnaeus initially thought that species were the created kinds, but he later came to realize that the created kinds could include similar species and even genera. . . . The Latin (Vulgate) translation of the Bible, where the Hebrew word for ‘kind’ (min) was translated as ‘species’ (speciem/species), also lent support to the idea, although the word was also translated as genus." Don Batten, Natural Section, Ref-1370, loc. 449-451. "According to recent research, we can identify 1,399 animal kinds, resulting in 6,758 animals total [on the Ark]. Most of these animals would ahve been very small and easily handled." -- How Did It All Fit?, Answers in Genesis News, August 2018, p. 3.
✪ "The chart below summarizes the events and activities which took place during the time Noah was on the Ark, as told in Genesis 7-8. Take note of the number of days given as the total amount of time Noah was on board the Ark with his family and the animals: 364, not 370 or 377, as is usually supposed. Note that this analysis assumes that Noah did not enter the Ark until the rains actually began to fall and the fountains of the deep began to open, pairing verses 7:11 and 7:13 as referring to the same day. . . . it seems obvious to me that Noah spent only 364 days on the Ark with his family and the animals (providing, of course, he entered on the 17th day of the 2nd month, and not seven days earlier, as some theologians interpret. This analysis is based on the Masoretic text." Mark L. Howard, How long was Noah on the Ark? Ref-0784, 22(1) 2008, 62:64, pp. 62-63.
✪ ". . .from knowledge of the fossil record, I estimate that over 75% of the animals which were released off the Ark are now extinct for one reason or other." John Woodmorappe, Letters, Ref-0003 15(3) 2001, p. 51.
✪ ". . .up until the 1858 launch of the Great Eastern [it was] the largest floating vessel known to have been built. Length: 137 m (450 ft.). Width: 23 m (75 ft). Height: 14 m (45 ft). Floor space: 100,000 square feet. Total volume: 1,396,000 cubic feet. Cargo capacity: 15,000 tons." Ref-0028 22(1) December 1999 - February 2000, Ref-0003 8(1):26-36, 1994. "Think of one and a half football fields for the length and a four-story building for the height. . .capable of holding over 500 railroad stockcars inside its hull!. . .the average size for animals is that of a sheep. The Ark was capable of holding 125,280 sheep. . .Only the animals that live on land (mammals, reptiles) or in the air (birds) were to be taken on board the Ark. Ultimately, the number of animals that went on the Ark was about 35,000. A number that would fill approximately 146 railroad stockcars. . .The Bible says they were sent according to their kind. . .From the large Saint Bernard to the diminutive Chihuahua, there are presently 250 types of domesticated dogs living today. There are also wild dogs such as the wolf or coyote. Noah did not need to take every type of dog on board. He only needed a pair of a ‘kind’ of a dog, which was sent specifically by God." William Geating, Noah And His Ark, Ref-0066, Vol. 14 No. 2, 2001.
✪ ". . .the number of actually catalogued fossil species is only about 200,000, ~95% of which were marine invertebrates which Noah was not required to take on board anyway." Ref-0003, 13(2) 1999, p. 27. "Grizzly bears (Ursa arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus) are ecologically isolated most of the year, but can produce fertile offspring when they come in contact with each other. The ability to reproduce in the wild suggests that they are a single kind of animal separated only by their different fur color and other minor physical features that enable them to adapt to different ecosystems. Eastern and western meadowlarks, Sturnella magna and S. neglecta respectively, are classified as different species and provide a good example of behavioral isolation. Eastern and western meadowlarks don’t typically interbreed in the wild, partly because they don’t readily recognize the mating song of the other species and partly because they prefer slightly different habitats. Both species are nearly identical in appearance and are physically capable of interbreeding in the laboratory, and occasionally hybrids between the two species are identified in natural habitats. The potential to reproduce, and the nearly identical appearance and genetic constitution of these two bird species, certainly qualifies them as the same biblical kind, in spite of their classification as different species. . . . recently it has been estimated that 10 percent of all animal species still hybridize (mate with other species, producing fertile offspring) in the wild, and even more when brought into contact with each other in captivity. This evidence indicates that most species had a common ancestor from which similar species have descended. If the Ark had roughly 30,000 animals (less than 15,000 species or different kinds), how could the animals on the Ark produce millions of species within a few hundred, or a few thousand, years after the Flood? Surely this would require a faster evolutionary rate than even the most ardent evolutionist would propose. However, it is not correct to assume that a few thousand species would have produced the millions of species extant (alive) today. There are fewer than 30,000 extant species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and possibly land-reproducing amphibians (many salamanders) that were represented on the Ark. The millions of other species are the invertebrates (>95 percent of all animal species), fish, and a few aquatic mammals and reptiles that survived in the water during the Flood. The processes of speciation discussed above need to only double the number of animal species from 15,000 to 30,000. This is certainly a feasible process based on observable science. . . . Domesticated animals, as examples of genetic potential, do not motivate a scientist to name a new breed of dog a species. However, there is more phenotypic and genetic variation in domesticated animals than there are in many, if not most, wild “species” of animals that were discussed above. The only requirement to be classified as a species, in many cases, is for two populations of animals to be reproductively isolated. Most people would be hard pressed to identify an eastern meadowlark from a western meadowlark, but they are classified as different species simply because they have different mating songs and are reproductively isolated in the wild. Many of these animals are so close phenotypically (in appearance) that only an expert can tell them apart. Even humans have far more phenotypic variation than many animals that are divided into separate species, and scientists are not about to start classifying different ethnic groups of humans as different species." Daniel Criswell, Speciation and the Animals on the Ark, Ref-0959, April 2009, 10:12, pp. 10-11.
✪ "With the evidence given above, I believe we can know the general area of its final berth: the mountainous region south of Lake Van and east of the Euphrates River." -- Bill Crouse, "The Geography of Genesis 8:4," Ref-0784, volume 30(1) 2016, pp. 56-62, p. 53. See 20160308113036.pdf
✪ "The broken tablets of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 32:19) were a witness to the great spiritual defection and breaking of the covenant by the people -- a defection which almost cost them their existence as Abraham's seed (Exodus 32:10; Deuteronomy 9:14). The pot of manna recalled the violations committed against its gathering (Exodus 16:20) and the complaints against its provision (Numbers 11:16). The rod of Aaron was a visible reminder of the treasonous spirit that sought to replace God's appointed leadership (Numbers 16)." Ref-0142, p. 53. "The pot of manna revealed God's loyal love in that He continued His constant care of the nation by giving her ‘daily bread’ until everyone finally reached the Promised Land (Exodus 16:35; Joshua 5:12). Aaron's budded rod was graciously given to validate God's proper priesthood (Numbers 17:5; 18:6-9,23) and to preserve the lives of those who would otherwise have perished for their complaints (Numbers 17:10). Finally, the book of the Law was present with the Ark to testify to every successive generation (Deuteronomy 4:9) that God had chosen the nation not because of anything she had done but because of His own sovereign love and gracious choice (Deuteronomy 7:6-9)." Ref-0142, p. 54. "At the dedication of the Temple of Solomon, when the Ark was brought into the most holy place, there was nothing in it but the two tables (1K. 8:9) and therefore when the Philistines took the Ark, they took out of it the book of the Law, and the golden pot of Manna, and Aaron's Rod." Ref-0849, pp. 6-7.
✪ "There is another aspect to the throne’s presence. The very idea that a throne exists leads to the obvious conclusion that someone will sit on the throne. The ark and mercy seat with its Shekinah glory demonstrated very clearly that God was truly amongst His people. The only reason to change the ark of the covenant to a throne is because there is a change in the personification of God. Jeremiah is telling us that God will someday be here on earth, in person. He will sit on His throne in His Temple." Ref-1383, p. 83.
✪ Josephus says the ark wasn't used in the 2nd temple Ref-0027 5:219. "The fifth division of the tractate Mo'ed in the Mishnah, called Yoma, confirms the Ark's absence from the Second Temple when it explains that the high priest made his offering not at the Ark but upon an ancient rock that protruded through the floor within the Holy of Holies called the ‘Foundation Stone’ (Hebrew, ‘Even Hashtiyah)." Ref-0142, pp. 104-105. "There was no Ark of the Covenant to be put in the Holy of Holies when the Temple was rebuilt and reinaugurated in 515 B.C. They located a foundation stone that remained from the Solomonic Temple and put that stone within the Holy of Holies. On the Day of Atonement they would sprinkle the stone with the Day of Atonement blood. Thus when the Veil of the Temple was torn on the occasion of Yeshua’s death on the cross, what was seen inside would have been just the large foundation stone." Arnold Fruchtenbaum, “Questions & Answers”, Ref-0067, Spring 2008, p. 8. "Josephus records that when Pompey entered the Temple in 63 B.C., he did not find the Ark in the Holy of Holies (Antiquities XIV, IV, 4). Furthermore, it was acknowledged by later rabbis that after the Ark had been taken away by the Babylonians, the only thing that remained in the Holy of Holies was a "foundation stone." On this stone the high priest sprinkled the blood on the Day of Atonement that he formerly sprinkled on the Ark during the days of the first Temple (Mishna Yoma 5:2-3)." William C. Varner, Where is the Ark of the Covenant?, [http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2012/07/where-is-ark-of-covenant.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BibleProphecyBlog+%28Bible+Prophecy+Blog%29] accessed 20120716.
✪ The ark appears to have been sequestered away from the Holy of Holies during the time of corruption preceding the reign of Josiah (2Chr. 35:3). This hints at the possibility that the ark was preserved elsewhere during times of religious crisis to prevent its subsequent capture. "Once the Ark was installed permanently within the Temple, it was not moved except on one occasion -- when King Manesseh placed an idol in the Temple (2 Chronicles 33:7; 35:3)." Ref-0146, p. 381.
✪ Har-Mageddon. The mountain of Megiddo. The west end of the valley of Jezreel guarding Megiddo pass. "The campaign of Armageddon could be identified as consisting of three separate battles (all characterized in Scripture as being like the treading of a winepress) beginnin with the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:12-14), the valley created by the dividing of the Mount of Olives at Christ's return (Zec. 14:4-5). The second battle will take place near Bozrah where Christ will stain His garments with blood when the restored Israelites fail to follow His orders to capture the territory of Edom (Isa. 63:1-6; cf. Ob. 1:15-21). The final battle is in the valley of Jezreel near Megiddo and gives its name to the campaign (Rev. 16:16; 19:11-18). This three-battle scenario is implied by Hindson's explanation that the 200-mile river of blood (Rev. 14:20) is equivalent to the distance between Bozrah and Megiddo (159)." William D. Barrick review of Edward Hindson, The Book of Revelation, Ref-0164, Vol. 13 No. 2, Fall 2002, p. 286.
✪ See Synod of Dort. Teachings of Jacobus Arminius, a pastor in Amsterdam (1588-1603) and professor at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. (1) conditional election based on God's foreknowledge; (2) resistable grace; (3) universal atonement; (4) man cooperates with God in salvation through prevenient grace; (5) a believer may lose his salvation. He interpreted Rom. 7:19 as denoting the unregenerate man (whereas the context dictates that it is Paul describing himself as a mature regenerated believer). "After Arminius’ death, his disciple Simon Episcopius (d. 1643) wrought his master’s doctrines into a system, notably in his Confession and Declaration (1622). This is a treatise in defense of the basic document of the Arminian party, the celebrated Remonstrance of 1610. The chief framer of the Remonstrance was John Uytenbogaert, chaplain to Prince Maurice. Briefly this document states (1) that the eternal decree of salvation refers to those who shall believe and persevere in the faith; (2) that Christ died for all men, though believers only are benefited; (3) that man can do nothing truly good until he is born again through the Holy Spirit; (4) that grace is not irresistible; and (5) that the faithful are assisted by grace in temptation and are kept from falling if they desire Christ’s help and are ‘not inactive.’ These are the Five Points of Arminianism." Ref-1096, p. 264. "The essential work is Roger Olson's Arminian Theology: Myths & Realities. Two other important works are The Transforming Power of Grace by Thomas Oden, and Grace, Faith, Freewill by Robert Picirilli. Oden's Classical Theology is a mine of information from a Classic Arminian viewpoint, although Oden sees himself more in terms of the early Church Fathers than the Arminians of the Reformation period and after. Arminius's works plus many others are available online here: http://evangelicalarminians.org/?q=node/94. The best Arminian blog all-round, in my view, is here: http://arminiantoday.com/" Paul Henebury, private email correspondence of 20120607. "The danger from Arminianism lay not simply in a few particular errors but in its whole tendency. While it claimed to be based upon Scripture the popular strength of its arguments depended on the contention that Calvinistic belief is not reconcilable with human reason." Ref-1302, p. 106 "It is worth noting that the position of Arminius himself was less objectionable than that of his later followers--and he certainly evidenced no animosity toward Calvin, whose writings he esteemed second only to Scripture itself. . . . He held proper views of man’s depravity and inability, and because of this, of the need for supernatural grace to effect salvation. This contrasts with the position adopted by later Arminians . . . " Ref-1363, p. 41. "Studying in Geneva with Theodore Beza, Calvin’s famous successor, Arminius absorbed Calvinism in its most concentrated form," Ref-1522, p. 790. "he began to develop doubts about the doctrine of predestination. Its insistence that God had decided the fate of all men from the beginning of time seemed to Arminius a truly horrible decree, for it held that God had created people knowing that they would sin and that he would duly condemn them. He instead supported the idea of conditional election, by which the conferring of grace is conditioned on whether one accepts or rejects Christ—a decision God can foresee." Ref-1522, p. 790.
✪ ". . . classical Arminian theology is inconsistent in its view of the human will, rather than consistently autonomist. Although Arminianism insists that the human will is at some point independent of God, it nevertheless teaches also that God determined before the foundation of the world which human persons would be created, and that, in creating them, he had exhaustive foreknowledge of what their decisions would be." Ref-1344, p. 274.
✪ "Part of the problem is that God is not truly omniscient in Arminian theology. The Arminian pictures God looking into the future to discover what choices people make. Thus, God learns things by looking into the future that He did not know and gains knowledge." R. Hutchinson, review of Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities, [http://www.amazon.com/Arminian-Theology-Myths-Realities-ebook/product-reviews/B001E95WXQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_3?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addThreeStar&showViewpoints=0]
✪ "You have heard a great many Arminian sermons, I dare say; but you never heard an Arminian prayer -- for the saints in prayer appear as one in word, and deed and mind. An Arminian on his knees would pray desperately like a Calvinist. He cannot pray about free-will: there is no room for it. Fancy him praying, “Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists. Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not -- that is the difference between me and them.” That is a prayer for the devil, for nobody else would offer such a prayer as that. Ah! when they are preaching and talking very slowly, there may be wrong doctrine; but when they come to pray, the true thing slips out; they cannot help it." -- C. H. Spurgeon, Free Will -- A Slave, Sermon No. 52, The New Park Street Pulpit, December 2, 1855. [http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0052.htm] accessed 20100508.
✪ The same ones who are called are also justified and glorified. This contravenes the Arminian understanding of prevenient grace which posits that all men are called by the Holy Spirit, but that only certain ones resist.
✪ "Arminius wrote: “A true believer can either totally or finally fall away from the faith, and perish.” " David S. Ermold, The Soteriology of 2 Timothy 2:11-13 - Part 1, Ref-0785, Volume 14 Number 43, December 2010, 65-82, p. 70.
✪ "Olson uses several comparisons to dispute this. He says it is like a poor man accepting alms from a rich man. (Page 165) These comparisons always break down because they involve a person accepting something he desperately wants, needs, and desires. Like alms for a poor man, food for a starving man, etc. I think we all know people who do not perceive the slightest want, need, or desire for the gospel. Oh, they need it, but they are unaware of that need." Stephen Bang, review of Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities, [http://www.amazon.com/Arminian-Theology-Myths-Realities-ebook/product-reviews/B001E95WXQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_3?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addThreeStar&showViewpoints=0]
✪ See Christ - put on.
✪ "Using only Biblical data and comparing the Persian Kings of Daniel 10:1 and 11:1-4 with the Book of Ezra (Ezra 4:5-7,24; 6:14-15; 7:1-13,29), the conclusion may be drawn that the fourth King of Daniel 11:2 and the “Artaxerxes” of the Ezra passage are one and the same, specifically secular history's “Xerxes I”." Ref-0186, p. 276. "In the 3rd year of Cyrus (Dan. 10:1) Daniel, after 3 weeks' mourning (Dan. 10:2), perhaps on account of this Samaritan opposition to the building of the Temple for which he had so earnestly prayed (Dan. 9:17), had a vision of a man in white from whom he received the revelation contained in “the scripture of truth” (Dan. 10:5-21). “Behold there shall yet stand up three Kings in Persia” after the present King, (1) Cyrus, viz. (2) Ahasuerus (Cambyses), (3) Darius Hystaspes and (4) Xerxes ; and the fourth (Xerxes) “shall be far richer than they all; and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia” (Dan. 11:2), a prediction which refers to the mighty host of 1,800,000 men, with which, as Herodotus tells us, Xerxes crossed the Hellespont, and which he led to disastrous defeat, at Thermopylae and Salamis, in the year B.C. 480." Ref-1299, p. 239. "Artaxerxes is the Greek form of the Old Persian Artaxšaçā, derived from arta (justice) plus khshatra (kingdom), that is, “having a kingdom of justice” or “having just rule.”" Ref-1521, p. 241. "Artaxerxes I was nicknamed by the Greeks “long-armed” (Greek markocheir; Latin Longimanus). According to Plutarch (Artaxerxes 1), “the first Artaxerxes, among all the kings of Persia the most remarkable for a gentle and noble spirit, was surnamed the Long-handed, his right hand being longer than his left, and was the son of Xerxes.”" Ref-1521, p. 241.
✪ Artemis of the Ephesians differs from the Artemis (Diana) of the Greeks (Acts 19:24 describes the Ephesian αρτεμιδος). The Roman Diana -- the Greek Artemis -- was a beautiful virgin huntress, the sister of Apollo. The Ephesian Artemis was a multi-breasted goddess of fertility in man, animal, and nature. The ‘great mother.’ Ref-0100, Tape 17:B.