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Biblical archaeology is the study of investigating and recovering remains of ancient cultures that can confirm, or at least provide new insights into, the biblical narrative. It involves examining architecture, language, literature, art, tools, pottery, and other artifacts that have survived over time. For nearly two centuries, researchers in biblical archaeology have been exploring the Middle East in their efforts to uncover the past. While there have been numerous archaeological discoveries that have significantly advanced the field, some stand out more than others. Examples include the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Tel Dan Inscription, the Caiaphas Ossuary, the Crucified Man, the Ketef Hinnom Amulets, the House of God Ostracon, and the Pilate Inscription. Let’s briefly explore each of these to understand their importance.
Dead Sea Scrolls: Among the most crucial discoveries in biblical archaeology are the Dead Sea Scrolls found in 1947 in the Qumran region on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. This collection comprises around 900 documents and fragments predating A.D. 100, including a complete copy of the book of Isaiah. The significance lies in the age of the documents and the minimal variations compared to reliable texts like the Masoretic Text, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Sinaiticus. Nearly all the variants (about 99 percent) are minor punctuation or spelling errors. Remarkably, none of these changes alter the text’s meaning or introduce significant theological discrepancies. This provides confidence that the biblical text we have today is consistent with what the early church possessed two millennia ago, a claim unmatched by any other secular manuscripts.
Tel Dan Inscription: This stone tablet bears an inscription that marks the first reference to the Da
Vidic Dynasty outside of the Bible. It was erected by Hazael, king of Aram, which is present-day Syria. The inscription makes reference to a military victory and corresponds to the biblical account in 2 Chronicles 22. This inscription dates to the 9th century B.C., thus giving us accurate dating to the Davidic dynasty as well as verifying its existence. This is the only extra-biblical reference to the House of David that has been discovered to date.
Caiaphas Ossuary: An ossuary is a stone or pottery box in which the remains of a deceased person are buried (an ancient casket). The Caiaphas Ossuary bears the inscription “Yeosef bar Qafa” and is dated to the Second Temple period. Yeosef (Joseph) was the son of Caiaphas. This verifies that there was a high priest at the time of Jesus and his name was Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the priest that presided over the false trial of Jesus (Matthew 26:57-67).
Crucified Man: This is the remains of a full skeleton of a man crucified in the first century. The foot bone contains a bent crucifixion nail. There have been those that argued that the crucifixion of Christ was a hoax because that was not a form of capital punishment in Christ’s time. These remains verify that crucifixion was being done and that the crucifixion of Jesus was done exactly as outlined in the biblical narrative.
Ketef Hinnom Amulets: In 1979, two silver scrolls that were worn as amulets were found in a tomb at Ketef Hinnom, overlooking the Hinnom Valley, where they had been placed around the 7th century B.C. The delicate process of unrolling the scrolls while developing a method that would prevent them from disintegrating took three years. Brief as they are, the amulets rank as the oldest surviving texts from the Hebrew Bible. Upon unrolling the amulets, biblical archaeologists found two inscriptions of significance. One is a temple priest blessing from the Book of Numbers: “The Lord bless you and protect you.The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance to you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26). Another significant name is the tetragrammaton YHWH, the Lord’s name, from which we derive the English Jehovah or Yahweh. The amulets precede the Dead Sea Scrolls by 500 years and represent the oldest known instance of the Lord’s name in writing.
House of God Ostracon: Ostraca—inscriptions on pottery—are commonly discovered in archaeological excavations. The House of God Ostracon was unearthed in Arad, a Canaanite city in the Negev. More than 100 pieces of ostraca were discovered and have been dated to the early part of the 6th Century BC. Of particular importance are the mentions of the temple in Jerusalem and the names of individuals recorded in Scripture. This not only aids in dating the temple but also confirms the existence of individuals listed in the biblical text.
Pilate Inscription: This stone tablet was uncovered in Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast. The tablet was found in the Caesarea theater and contains an inscription referencing Pontius Pilate, the procurator of Judea, and the Tiberium, an edifice constructed in honor of the Emperor Tiberius by Pilate. Despite attempts to discredit the biblical account of Pilate’s existence, this tablet explicitly states that it belonged to “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea,” confirming his existence during the time of Jesus, as described in the biblical narrative.
These discoveries are intriguing from an educational perspective and serve to authenticate the historical accuracy of the Bible. However, for believers, such findings should not enhance our comprehension of the Bible’s importance or credibility. The Bible is the inspired Word of God, without error or fallacy, breathed by God to human writers, and is beneficial for instructing and guiding believers in God’s ways: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking.”Training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible requires no corroborative evidence to verify its truth. However, it is noteworthy that no scientific or archaeological discovery has ever disproven a single word of Scripture. On the contrary, numerous findings have confirmed its historical and scientific accuracy.
