Evidence For The Bible
Evidence For Christianity!
A lot of people like to claim that the Bible is a book of fairy tales or lies, that there is no evidence, and that is inaccurate. Biblical archaeology has uncovered some substantial evidence that not only confirms the events but also shows that the Bible is historically accurate. On this page, you will see a list of the most significant findings from biblical archaeologists.
Mesha Stele/Moabite Stone:
The Mesha Stele describes the victories of Moabite, king Mesha over the House of Omri (Israel), it bears the earliest certain extra-biblical reference to the Israelite God Yahweh, and the earliest mention of the "House of David" (i.e., the kingdom of Judah). One of the only two known artifacts containing the "Moabite" dialect of Canaanite languages
It’s also worth noting that outside of this stele and the Bible, we know absolutely nothing about King Mesha.
"Now Mesha the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he used to make tribute payments to the king of Israel of a hundred thousand lambs, and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. However, when King Ahab died, the king of Moab broke with the king of Israel. So King Jehoram left Samaria for battle at that time and mustered all Israel" (2 Kings 3:4-6).
Kurkh Monoliths:
The Kurkh Monoliths are two Assyrian stelae that have a record of the reign of Ashurnasirpal II, and his son Shalmaneser III. It also includes a reference to Israel and King Ahab. The inscriptions say that Ahab of Israel provided 10,000 soldiers and 2000 chariots. This indicates that Israel was a MAJOR military force at the time; It’s also worth noting that some historians claim it could be an error, but the vast majority accept the numbers as correct.
"Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria, and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute" (2 Kings 17:3).
The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser lll:
The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is a black limestone Assyrian sculpture, its main purpose is to commemorate the deeds of Shalmaneser III. However, this is very significant to biblical archeology since it is the earliest know image of a biblical figure. The image depicts Jehu, King of Israel.
"Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head and declared, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anoint you king over the Lord’s people Israel" (2 kings 9:6).
Tel Dan Stele:
The Tel Dan Stele is a particularly important discovery, it mentions that an individual killed Jehoram. The son of Ahab, king of Israel, and the king of the house of David; this is significant for 2 main reasons, the obvious one is that it confirms Davids’ existence. This is also very important because this is one more member of the Messianic bloodline that has been confirmed to exist, adding more and more weight to the overall story of the Bible.
“After this, the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable intestinal disease. 19 Two years later, as his life was coming to an end, his intestines fell out because of his sickness. He died a painful death” -(2 Chronicles 21:18-19).
Merneptah Stele:
The Merenpatah victory stele is a victory stele written by Merenapatah, the son of Ramses II (The Pharoah during the Exodus events). This stele is about the victory over a group of Libyans and their allies. However, the last 3 lines focus on a separate situation. Israel is also mentioned during this. Merenaptah describes the “waste” of Israel’s “seed”. A lot of people think that this confirms the captivity of Israel but, it’s difficult to say 100%. It certainly implies a conflict between ancient Egypt and Israel as well as a victory for the Egyptians.
Alternate theory: Exodus 1:15 refers to a time when the Pharoah has all the firstborn of Israel killed. Oftentimes, they would refer to young children as “seed”. Primitive people saw things in a different light, most agree that it was probably because of the fact that seed represents the earliest stage in a plant’s life cycle. A “waste of Israel’s seed” could be a possible reference to Exodus 1:15
“15 Then the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, 16 When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it’s a boy, kill it, but if it’s a girl, let it live" (Exodus 1:15).
Siloam Inscription:
This inscription describes the construction of the Siloam tunnel or “Hezekiah’s Tunnel.” The Bible talks about this tunnel and it also mentions a story where King Hezekiah blocks off the tunnel to prevent the assertions from laying waste to Israel. "And the rest of the events of Hezekiah and all his mighty deeds, and how he made the conduit and the pool, and he brought the water into the city, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah" (2 Kings 20, 20). "And he took counsel with his officers and his mighty men to stop up the waters of the fountains that were outside the city, and they assisted him. And a large multitude gathered and stopped up all the fountains and the stream that flowed in the midst of the land, saying, "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?" (2 Chronicles 32, 3–4).
Lachish Reliefs:
The Lachish Reliefs are a set of Assyrian palace reliefs narrating the story of the Assyrian victory over the kingdom of Judah during the siege of Lachish. Sennacherib claimed that he destroyed 46 fortified cities and towns of Judah, taking 200,150 captives. It's worth noting that these numbers are seen today widely as an exaggeration. He also claimed that he besieged King Hezekiah of the Judah in Jerusalem "like a bird in a cage."
"Later, when Sennacherib king of Assyria and all his forces were laying siege to Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah king of Judah and for all the people of Judah who were there" (II Chronicles 32:9).
"Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them" (Isaiah 36:1–2).
Azekah Inscription:
The Azekah Inscription describes an Assyrian campaign by Sennacherib against Hezekiah(the king of Judah). It also gives hints about Kings Hezekiah’s stronghold.
"…Ashur, my lord, encouraged me and against the land of Judah I marched. In the course of my campaign, the tribute of the king(s)"
(4) "…with the might of Ashur, my lord, the province of Hezekiah of Judah like..." (5) "...the city of Azekah, his stronghold, which is between my border and the land of Judah..." (6) "like the nest of the eagle?"
(This could be a reference to 2 Kings 18:11-14.)
"11 The king of Assyria took the Israelites to Assyria as captives. He put them in Halah, along the Habor River in Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. 12 This happened because they refused to obey the Lord their God and disregarded the conditions of the promise ] he made to them. They refused to obey everything that Moses, the Lord’s servant, had commanded" (2 Kings 18:11-12).
It also mentions the Philistines, and how King Hezekiah captured them for himself.
"(11)a royal city of the Philistines (Pi-lis-ta-a-a), which Hezekiah had captured and strengthed for himself"
(This could also be a reference to 2 Kings 18)
"8 Hezekiah defeated the Philistines all the way to Gaza and the area around it. He defeated all the Philistine cities—from the smallest town to the largest city" (2 Kings 18:8).
The God “Ashur” is an ancient god that the Assyrians believed in. Interestingly enough Hezekiah did have a tower in his stronghold. (That Tower was discovered recently by a group of Israeli soldiers.) The remains of this tower were found in the biblical location, and we also have writings from Sennacherib that refer to Israel’s “strongholds” in similar locations.
Sennacherib's Annals/Taylor's Prism:
Sennacherib's Annals was a record of several conquests by king Sennacherib. In these records, we find references to Jerusalem and King Hezekiah. Most significantly we find the Assyrian account of 2 Kings 18:13-16
"13 In Hezekiah’s fourteenth year as king, King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them" (2 Kings 18:13).
And on Sennacherib's prism, he says this about Hezekiah:
"As for the king of Judah, Hezekiah, who had not submitted to my authority, I besieged and captured forty-six of his fortified cities, along with many smaller towns, taken in battle with my battering rams. ... I took as plunder 200,150 people, both small and great, male and female, along with a great number of animals including horses, mules, donkeys, camels, oxen, and sheep. As for Hezekiah, I shut him up like a caged bird in his royal city of Jerusalem. I then constructed a series of fortresses around him, and I did not allow anyone to come out of the city gates. His towns which I captured I gave to the kings of Ashod, Ekron, and Gaza."
It's worth noting that not a single time does Sennacherib claim to capture Jerusalem. His story ends off with Israel seemingly on the cusp of defeat, but this boastful king did not want to include that? This is the same king who wrote The Azekah Inscription, where historians (mostly) conclude that he exaggerated the number of people he took captive. This is significant because according to 2 kings 19:6-7 and 19:35-37.
“6 Isaiah answered them, “Say this to your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid of the message that you heard when the Assyrian king’s assistants slandered me. 7 I’m going to put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own country. I’ll have him assassinated in his own country ” (2 Kings 19:6-7).
This is part of a prophecy also found in Isaiah 37.
"35 It happened that night. The Lord’s angel went out and killed 185,000 soldiers in the Assyrian camp. When the Judeans got up early in the morning, they saw all the corpses. 36 Then King Sennacherib of Assyria left. He went home to Nineveh and stayed there. 37 While he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, Adrammelech and Sharezer assassinated him and escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esarhaddon succeeded him as king. (2 Kings 19:35-37).
This is a known historical fact, it is called the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem, but failed to capture it— it is the only city mentioned as being besieged on Sennacherib's Stele, of which the capture is not mentioned. The Assyrian version of this does not mention the mass casualties that the Bible does, but it could be attributed to the same reason this King claimed to have taken captive more people than resided in Israel too.
Hezekiah’s Wall:
Remnants of a wall in Jerusalem, built during Hezekiah's reign to defend from Sennacherib's siege. It was excavated in an old city in Jerusalem.
"And ye numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and ye broke down the houses to fortify the wall" (Isaiah 22-10).
Sargon Prisms:
Sargon the II's Prisms are two Assyrian tablet inscriptions describing Sargon the II's campaigns.
An excerpt of the text is translated below:
"... Philistia, Judah, Edom, Moab ..."
Now the biggest issue we have with these prisms is the fact that they are so damaged. We have partial recreations but nothing significant. The inscription references Philistia, Judah, Edom, and Moab, and it seems to imply that they were Sargon the II’s foes.
“In the year that the supreme commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it” (Isaiah 20:1).
It seems that he was described as a foe by Isaiah as well.
LMLK Seals:
LMLK stands for the Hebrew letters, “lamedh mem lamedh kaph” (למלך). It can be translated as: "belonging to the king". These were seals that were put on pottery during King Hezekiah’s Reign. Historians are still unsure what these seals were used for. They have a few theories, but the most significant one is that the LMLK seals were military rations that were collected as an emergency during a short period preceding the Assyrian invasion by Sennacherib.