42. 1: Jerusalem, Part 1, pp. So (= Osorkon IV), pharaoh, r. 730715, 2 Kings 17:4 only, which calls him So, king of Egypt (OROT, pp. But, as is usual in biblical archaeology, we can always stay tuned for more discoveries. Those readings, later included in Sixteen, pp. [] kings mentioned throughout the Bible did exist, as confirmed by historians and archaeologists (read this article). Tiglath-pileser III (= Pul), king, r. 744727, 2 Kings 15:19, etc. Although some differences crept in, there is also amazing continuity and accuracy. Thank you for a great update to a well-documented and thought out series of articles. I did not write the title of the article, but the very first paragraph of my article very clearly states that it deals with archaeological evidence for real people mentioned in the _Hebrew_ Bible. I think that's the right solution. This article was amended on 23 June 2023. Is it because the name on the inscription cannot be identified the Akhish in the bible? The same argument supports the authenticity of the Mesha Inscription, in which one can confidently identify the biblical Omri, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, and the biblical aMesha, king of Moab. Lawrence, : The Reign of Ashurbanipal, in CAH, vol. 42. The seal of Jezebel appeared on the antiquities market and was published in 1964, long after correct Phoenician letter shapes were known (She was a Sidonian princess who married Ahab, king of Israel). Its abit annoying seeing this article posted in facebook by people knowing that it promotes the false Shishak/Shoshenq match, though apart from that the article is good. Understanding the Alphabet of the Dead Sea Scrolls In the evening of that royal history, after the sun had set on Israels kingly line, Esther and Mordecai, both of the tribe of Benjamin, warred effectively against Jehovahs enemies. The clearest reference to Jesus is in Tacitus work written around 116 C.E. Esarhaddon, king, r. 680669, 2 Kings 19:37, etc. If I had to base my case upon whether a particular individual named Michael F. really exists solely on the scant evidence available to me, namely his comments here, I would be hard pressed to prove to skeptics who doubt it that he actually does indeed exist. Read all about it at BAR. Although I was not fortunate enough to have been one of your students, long ago I was one of those students who understood what was taught but wanted to know how we knew it was true. And in Luke 3:37, the term the son of God is applied to the thoroughly human Adam. Since Egypt ruled the area where the coffin and accompanying grave goods were found, one must allow for the possibility that the skeleton might conceivably be that of a local official who served the Egyptian government, as the excavation directors have pointed out. Nebuchadnezzar II, king, r. 604562, 2 Kings 24:1, etc., in many cuneiform tablets, including his own inscriptions. _Robin Hood : The Early Poems, 1465-1560 : Texts, Contexts, and Ideology_ (2007), Certainly, we wouldnt argue that there must have been a Hellen because the Greeks claim descent from him. Many well respected scholars have produced other publications in support of this identification. What about cartouches or ring seals that have been found that apparently belonged to joseph during his days as administrator in Egypt? 101103. 103104, which upgrades the strength of the identification from its original level in IBP, p. 235, responding to the difficulty expressed in Oded Lipschits, The Fall and Rise of Jerusalem: Judah under Babylonian Rule (Winona Lake, Ind. . 224230; ANET, pp. Thus the inscribed ossuary is demonstrably authentic, and it suits the Jewish setting of the priestly descendants of Maaziah in the Second Temple period. 142, 145. Thus I have not ignored these inscriptions. The point on which these two statements (in comments 14 and 15) do not overlap, and on which we seem to disagree quite clearly, is whether the biblical narrative can be characterized as folklore. 5. (1 Kings 13:2 mentions a prediction of his birth and name.) The seal is authentic and is from the kingdom of Judah during the time of Jeremiah, matching the setting of the Hananiah ben Azariah (Hananyahu ben Azaryahu) in Jeremiah 28. On the setting, see OROT, pp. Actually, Carol, the article itself, in the BAR magazine, is much more reader-friendly, fun, and visually interesting than the condensed information in the table and endnotes to the identifications that appear above. These numbers are not part of the text itself. Raging Torrent, pp. 110-132) and on David in the Mesha inscription (IBP, pp. There Davids name appears with only its first letter destroyed, and no other letter in that spot makes sense without creating a very strained, awkward reading (Andr Lemaire, House of David Restored in Moabite Inscription, BAR 20, no. On this point I trust the Egyptologists, and prominent among them is Kenneth A. 115117; OROT, pp. 229251. Nebuchadnezzar II, king, r. 604562, 2 Kings 24:1, etc. 314316; ANEHST, pp. 6985, which follows the closely allied readings of Frank Moore Cross and Gotthard G. G. Reinhold. BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, ca. Lawrence Mykytiuk There is also the evidence of the four first-century Gospels and the beginnings, within first-century Judaism, of the faith now called Christianity. Bible says in the book of (Genesis 17:5) "He shall no more be called the Abram, his name shall be Abraham; a father of many generations have I made thee.'' Sarah - The word Sarai means princely and Sarah means queen of princes or mother of princes. I appreciate your reference to the standards I use to evaluate potential identifications. Many thanks for the citation in ZAW, Gene! Less than ten feet away from where this bulla was discovered, at the exact same level, the Ophel Excavation also discovered the royal bulla inscribed, belonging Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah.. Normally, materials from the antiquities market are not to be trusted, because they have been bought, rather than excavated, and could be forged. 89 fig. The inscription on plaster from Tell Deir Alla does not seem to be intended to be historical, but rather, it seems to be a magical and/or religious text. Bible Names - 1000s of Christian Name Meaning and Definitions Therefore, the house of David was contemporary with the Tel Dan stele, and indeed, lasted some 2 or almost 3 centuries _after_ the time when this stele was engraved! - STANDING TALL FOR CHRIST, Researcher Uses Evidence to Confirm Existence of 53 People in the Bible - Patterns of Evidence: The Moses Controversy, Apologetics Hyperlinks - In Search Of A Better Tomorrow, Weekly Apologetics Bonus Links 4/14 4/20 | Apologetics315, http://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=mykytiuk, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/about-the-biblical-archaeology-society/copyright/, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/about-the-biblical-archaeology-society/terms-of-use/, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/about-the-biblical-archaeology-society/masthead/, http://tv.jw.org/#video/VODMovies/pub-ivwx_x_VIDEO, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/50-people-…, http://store.carta-jerusalem.com/hebrew-script/687-understanding-the-alphabet-of-the-dead-sea-scrolls.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sources_for_the_historicity_of_Jesus, https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/c/cyrus_cylinder.aspx, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/reviews/the-historical-jesus-an-essential-guide/, http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/uncategorized/rollston-responds-to-shanks/, http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/lib_research/150/, http://www.biblelandpictures.com/gallery/gallery.asp?action=viewimage&categoryid=&text=, http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200270810, http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-amazing-biblical-archaeological.html#.UxSjTEJdWJU, http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Tacitus_on_Christ.html, http://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/searchresources/guidetospecialcollections/stjohnfragment/, http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID:nmnhanthropology_8133581&repo=DPLA. 10. 140141; Raging Torrent, pp. Although personally I believe that he does, and is present out there somewhere among all of the Michael F.s in the world, I can neither prove nor disprove it with the evidence available to me. One quick question, namely, did you mean to imply that the Cyrus Cylinder mentions the Jews specifically (see p. 45 of article)? 75. . 106107). Still, it is not possible to assign any date (or even a century) to the ezr named in the epitaph above the tomb complex, nor to the ezr named on the square stone plate, therefore this identification has no airtight proof or strong case. . In response to comment 46 by Gene R.: Purdue University, [] on the list. If you are willing to explore the evidences, perhaps you will be able to reach a conclusion that is both well grounded and satisfying to you. No other letter makes any sense in that spot. 37. If, however, you can prove that Robin Hood never existed, please present your evidence to Prof. Ohlgren. Nergal-sharezer (= Nergal-sharuur the Sin-magir = Nergal-arru-uur the simmagir), officer of Nebuchadnezzar II, early sixth century, Jeremiah 39:3, in a Babylonian cuneiform inscription known as Nebuchadnezzar IIs Prism (column 3 of prism E 7834, in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum). 153-196 (44 pages of technical writing). We clearly see from his life in Acts that the name fit, and for whatever reason, Barnabas chose to go by that name over Joses the rest of his life. Daniel, the Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) has already graciously provided free and open access to this article on this web page. 24; Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980), pp. This is the Jesus of the Bible. Lawrence Mykytiuk, thank you for your compilation of this list of 50 Biblical (Old Testament for us Christians) people who have been confirmed by ancient inscriptions. Some scholars do not use B.C., before Christ, simply because they dont happen to believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah). I recall reading an account of a discussion between a female British scholar and several of her colleagues who wished to deny Jesus existence. 9, 16, 24; Third, p. 373 n. 747, 407 and 407 n. 969; ANET, p. 308; D. J. Wiseman, Chronicles of Chaldaean Kings (626556 B.C.) June 22, 2023. Manasseh, king, r. 697/696642/641, 2 Kings 20:21, etc., in the inscriptions of Assyrian kings Esarhaddon (Raging Torrent, pp. [] This is really cool! 119121; Sixteen, p. 43). Tiglath-pileser IIIs stele from Iran, his only known stele, refers explicitly to Menahem as king of Samaria in column III, the right side, A: [line 1] The kings of the land of Hatti (and of) the Aramaeans of the western seashore . There seems to be a point when an old-fashioned name becomes hip, and the time is now for the moniker Ronan. On the last line of the bulla are the letters nby. Also, among the burial places inside that same tomb complex, lying broken into fragments was an inscribed, square stone plate that had been used to seal a burial. If I may add a humorous touch, we must not require ancient birth certificates.. Want more on Biblical figures? I mistrust the scholarly integrity of anyone who claims that it is a fact set in stone. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. If an inscription is known to be authenticthat is, excavated, not sold on the antiquities marketand if it happens to contain enough data in the inscribed piece and in its immediate surroundings in the excavation, then one might be able make a clear, strong identification of someone who is mentioned in the Bible. He remains a candidate. _Illuminated Manuscripts : An Index to Selected Bodleian Library Color Reproductions_ (1977), 178181, no. 142145, line 8, Pl. The seal impression reveals only two marks (traits) of an individual, so it is not quite firm. Kitchen, The Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1100650 B.C.) This seal was published during the 19th century (in 1883 by Charles Clermont-Ganneau), when no one, neither scholars nor forgers, knew the correct shapes of Hebrew letters for the late seventh to early sixth centuries (the time of Jeremiah). See endnote 26 above regarding Sixteen, pp. 265-277) show that I have not simply jumped on a bandwagon, but rather that I have conducted my own analyses. In order to study most of the identifications, you will need to have access to most of the books listed above in the section Symbols and Abbreviations. To do that, you can either spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars or go to a library that has them. 3536. 97, 100101; IBP, pp. But I have decided that he does exist, for why would anyone make him up? Ben-hadad, son of Hadadezer, r. or served as co-regent 844/842, 2 Kings 6:24, etc., in the Melqart stele, following the readings of Frank Moore Cross and Gotthard G. G. Reinhold and Crosss 2003 criticisms of a different reading that now appears in COS, vol. ANEHST Mark W. Chavalas, ed., The Ancient Near East: Historical Sources in Translation (Blackwell Sources in Ancient History; Victoria, Australia: Blackwell, 2006). Several of the leading characters were mentioned by name in historical writings of other nations and cultures that refer to the Iron Age, with no Titans or primeval persons thrown in. and p. 26). The question regarding the graves of Mary and Joseph is a bit like asking why certain shipwrecks have not been found. Some possibilities of this kind regarding the Joseph of the book of Genesis (chapters 37 to 50) are associated with British Egyptologist David Rohl. Lawrence Mykytiuk There is no known inscription from outside the Bible that verifies the existence of Josiah, king of Judah. At one point she almost lost patience (but not quite, being a Brit).and shouted Ye gods! COS William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, eds., The Context of Scripture, vol. The digging season is short, and excavation is painstaking work. Biblical Magi - Wikipedia Greeks, who took pride in their ethnicity, adopted Helln as their ancestor in their myths, which stretched back into time that was literally immemorial, that is, _completely_without_any_historical_record_, making him the grandson of a Titan, no less. The name can be interpreted either as "name of God" or "God has heard.". 585, 2 Kings 25:22, etc., in the bulla from Tell ed-Duweir (ancient Lachish) that reads, Belonging to Gedalyahu, the overseer of the palace. The Babylonian practice was to appoint indigenous governors over conquered populations. p, 42). (JSOT Supplement series, no. An earlier version of this Bible History Daily feature was originally published in 2014. I covered 78 inscriptions from the antiquities market in my published dissertation. Israel Finkelstein and Nadav Naaman; Winona Lake, Ind. Necho II (= Neco II), pharaoh, r. 610595, 2 Chronicles 35:20, etc. As for the time period, disruption of copper production at Khirbet en-Nahas, also in the southern Levant, can be attributed to Sheshonqs army, as determined by stratigraphy, high-precision radiocarbon dating, and an assemblage of Egyptian amulets dating to Sheshonqs time. In Hebrew the name is Yehohanan and is usually translated as "God has been gracious." It is a popular name in the New Testament, given to five different people with varying levels of. A long version of Shalmaneser IIIs annals on a stone tablet in the outer wall of the city of Aur refers to Jehu in col. 4, line 11, as Jehu, son of Omri (Raging Torrent, p. 28; RIMA 3, p. 54, A.0.102.10, col. 4, line 11; cf. mid-fifth century, Nehemiah 2:10, etc. David is still a controversy and even by its own standards was written after the fact. authorship - Who were the 40 men who wrote the Bible? - Christianity Words: 783,137 Letters: 3,116,480 Number of promises that are given in the Bible: 1,260 Commands: 6,468 Predictions: over 8,000 Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140 Number of questions: 3,294 Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1) Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words) Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: "Jesus wept"). See especially RonaldH. Sack, Amel-Marduk: 562-560 B.C. Ada Yardeni Genesis 50: 24-26 Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.