Archeology and the Bible

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Archeology and the Bible
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Babylonian Tablet

• A flood story like that of Noah was found, but it
  was hundreds of years older. The rush to explore
  the lands of the Bible was on.

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Stratigraphy

• Stratigraphy maps the strata, or levels, of a
  civilization and settlement on a particular
  mound, often called a tell, meaning ruin.

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Ancient Jericho

• Jericho is the oldest known town in the world
  with towers and walls dating to at least 7000
  years B.C.E.

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Ugarit Ruins

• Left buried in the debris was an entire library
  from the royal palace which has provided us with
  hundreds of texts in a dialect very close to
  ancient Hebrew.

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Archeological Limits

• The literary and religious affirmations of Old
  Testament faith are not open to being believed
  because archeology can support them. Never shall
  we find the truth about Abraham and Jacob from
  archeological remains. Their lives were
  individual and particular, while archeology only
  confirms the general pattern.

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Anthropomorphism

• Anthropomorphism ascribes human shape, form, and
  emotion to a divinity and is characteristic of
  most ancient religions.

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Early Goddess?

• There is even evidence that at one time, perhaps
  due to the mysteries of child bearing, women were
  regarded with great respect, even venerated.

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Numinous

• Infinitely mysterious and ultimately unknowable,
  God, by definition, represents forces beyond
  human ability to emulate or comprehend.