>: It has stood
the test of time.
00:00:06.37\00:00:10.24
God's book, the Bible.
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Still relevant in
today's complex world.
00:00:15.54\00:00:20.48
It Is Written,
sharing hope around the globe.
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JB: This is It Is
Written. I'm John Bradshaw,
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thanks for joining me today.
There are many good reasons
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why you can believe the
Bible; why you can be convinced
00:00:42.87\00:00:46.78
that the Bible
really is the Word of God.
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And today, we're dealing
with one of the great reasons
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that you can be
confident in the Word of God.
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And that reason is archeology.
I'm being joined today by an
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archeologist and a professor in
archeology, Dr. Michael Hasel.
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Dr. Hasel,
welcome to It Is Written.
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MH: Thank you. It's
good to be here, John.
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JB: Thanks for joining me.
Let's talk about archeology
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today, and we're going to get to
the place where we discover why
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archeology is faith building,
or can be faith building,
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for the believer in
Jesus and in the Bible.
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But let's begin by having
me ask you what archeology is.
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I think many of us, we have this
idea of Harrison Ford running
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around with a hat on and
a shovel over his shoulder.
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What is archeology, what
does it do, what's it for?
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What's the
philosophy of archeology?
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MH: It's a good question. I
do have a hat and I do carry a
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shovel when I'm
in the fields, but--
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those are important things--
but it's a lot more than that.
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Archeology is a discipline that
studies basically the peoples of
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the ancient world and tries
to understand how they lived,
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how they
interacted with one another.
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It's a part of anthropology,
the study of people.
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It's part of history, the study
of the history of civilizations.
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And in doing that, we can
understand not only how they
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lived but also understand where
we came from and how life is not
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that much different today.
JB: Is it fair to describe you
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as a biblical
archeologist? MH: Yes, that is.
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MH: Yeah. JB: How
would you describe
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biblical archeology in
comparison to archeology
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as a whole? MH:
That's a very good question.
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I was trained as an
anthropologist and as a
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syro-Palestinian archeologist;
that is, I specialize in the
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Ancient Near East and
particularly in the area of
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Israel, Syria, Jordan,
that part of the Middle East.
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Archeology is global. It
studies civilizations of the
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past all over the world.
You can study the past in China,
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in early Chinese
history; South America.
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Don't ask me questions
about the Incans or the Mayans,
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I don't know a whole lot
about-- we specialize very much
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geographically. So,
when we talk about biblical
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archeology, we're focusing on
the Ancient Near East and those
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periods that interact with the
Bible, and help understand the
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history that the Bible is
speaking about, specifically.
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JB: So, how has
archeology helped us to
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understand the Bible?
Give me some examples.
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MH: The Bible is written over
a huge span of history, giving
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important historical details
about history and about various
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peoples throughout history.
But, one way that archeology
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does help is that the
Bible doesn't necessarily focus
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so much on what people
ate and what kind of houses
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they lived in and what
their civilizations were like.
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It's interested in political
history, religious history.
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It talks about God's
intervention in history,
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through the lives of His people.
What archeology does, it helps
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flesh that out, so to speak, and
gives us a better understanding
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of how people in ancient Israel
lived their everyday lives.
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And helps us understand also
what happened when they went off
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into exile in
Babylon, for example.
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Archeology can help
contextualize things.
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I'll give you one example.
I brought a coin here today.
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This is a coin, a silver
coin. It has a face on it.
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This dates to the time
of the Hellenistic Period.
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This is a coin of
Ptolemy I, the successor of
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Alexander the Great.
Now, what is interesting is,
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this coin was minted in Tyre,
which is located up in Lebanon,
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modern Lebanon today.
The Israelites had to decide
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what kind of temple tax they
were going to take from people
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that were coming to visit
the temple during the festivals,
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during Passover.
We just celebrated
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Easter recently, this
was the Passover time.
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What kind of temple tax.
And they had such an aversion to
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the Roman culture-- because
the Romans were oppressing the
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Israelites during Christ's
time on earth-- that, in fact,
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they didn't want
to use Roman coins.
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They didn't want to use Roman
coinage or accept Roman coinage.
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You remember Jesus went into the
temple one time and overthrew
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the tables of the moneychangers.
Why were they exchanging money?
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Because they only were accepting
a certain kind of temple tax.
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And if you didn't have the right
tax, there were moneychangers
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there to make sure
you had the right tax.
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So what did they choose?
They chose a coin minted in
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Tyre, with a face not of Caesar
on it, because they couldn't
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stand Caesar. They
have a face of Melqart,
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who is the Phoenician Baal.
So they preferred a pagan deity
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like Baal to be on the coins
accepted at the temple over the
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face of Caesar. That
just gives you a glimpse
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into the depth of animosity, the
depth of discomfort they felt
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with supporting the
Roman regime at that time.
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JB: And that's a genuine--
MH: This is a genuine coin
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from that time period.
JB: How hard are they to find,
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or to come across,
today? MH: Depends.
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We worked at a site, at Khirbet
Qeiyafa in Israel, and we found
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over 600 coins in a
period of about seven seasons of
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excavation. Seven
years of excavation.
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But, that was with hiring
an individual with a metal
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detector, who went through our
areas of excavation on a regular
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basis and helped us.
Otherwise, we would have maybe
00:05:54.65\00:05:57.25
missed quite a few of them.
Because some of them are so
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small, they are no larger than
the fingernail on your pinky.
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JB: What's that like, to be
digging around and finding stuff
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that this was used
in the Bible times.
00:06:08.60\00:06:11.03
Somebody may have handed
this to somebody in the temple
00:06:11.03\00:06:13.57
when Jesus was alive.
That's got to make the history
00:06:13.57\00:06:15.77
become very alive.
MH: Well, it's incredible.
00:06:15.77\00:06:18.17
I mean, take
this coin for example.
00:06:18.17\00:06:19.81
This coin could
have been in the pocket--
00:06:19.81\00:06:21.71
if Jesus had a pocket--
or the disciples' pockets,
00:06:21.71\00:06:25.15
as they went around and
bought things in the market
00:06:25.15\00:06:28.42
and so forth. You
know, we live in a
00:06:28.42\00:06:30.35
media-driven world
today, and people want to touch
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and feel and see. Many
times faith is something
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that, well, I can't
see it, I can't touch it.
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Archeology helps
us, I think in one way,
00:06:41.20\00:06:43.93
to get back to the lands
of the Bible, when you find a
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piece of pottery, where you find
a coin, where you find something
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like this for the first time.
It's an amazing experience,
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because you wonder
who held this last.
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Who held this in their hands
3,000 years ago, before this was
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buried in the sands. And
sometimes you even find a
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fingerprint. And our
FBI databases don't go
00:07:01.88\00:07:04.95
back that far,
but if they could,
00:07:04.95\00:07:07.72
whose fingerprint was
that on that piece of pottery.
00:07:07.72\00:07:10.53
It's like reaching back
and shaking someone's hand.
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JB: Archeology has made some
remarkable discoveries that have
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brought to light civilizations
and individuals from the Bible.
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In just a moment we'll
find out about some of those.
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We'll be right back.
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>: Every Word is a one-minute
Bible-based daily devotional
00:07:23.97\00:07:27.61
presented by Pastor John
Bradshaw and designed especially
00:07:27.61\00:07:30.78
for busy people like
you. Look for Every Word
00:07:30.78\00:07:34.25
on selected
networks, or watch it online
00:07:34.25\00:07:36.48
every day on our
website, ItIsWritten.com.
00:07:36.48\00:07:39.35
¤ [rythmic melody]  ¤
00:07:40.32\00:07:43.99
JB: In 1813,
John James Audubon saw
00:07:45.63\00:07:48.80
a flock of passenger pigeons
so large that it took three days
00:07:48.80\00:07:53.00
to pass. But in
1914, the last passenger
00:07:53.00\00:07:56.91
pigeon died in the Cincinnati
Zoo where he'd lived alone in a
00:07:56.91\00:07:59.87
cage for four years.
Now the passenger pigeon
00:07:59.87\00:08:02.84
is extinct. How
is that possible?
00:08:02.84\00:08:05.51
Well, the short story is that
they tasted good and were easy
00:08:05.51\00:08:07.42
to catch, and so today they're
as gone as the dodo and the
00:08:07.42\00:08:10.85
South Island Larving Owl.
Now, you don't want your faith
00:08:10.85\00:08:13.92
in God to end up
like the passenger pigeon.
00:08:13.92\00:08:16.29
In Revelation 3:11, Jesus says,
"Behold I am coming quickly.
00:08:16.29\00:08:20.36
Hold fast what you have, that
no one may take your crown."
00:08:20.36\00:08:23.70
Guard your faith in
Jesus. Don't become spiritually
00:08:23.70\00:08:26.63
careless or casual. Be
sure that every day you
00:08:26.63\00:08:28.90
invite Christ into your heart.
Don't let your faith in Jesus
00:08:28.90\00:08:33.61
become extinct.
00:08:33.61\00:08:35.38
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:08:35.58\00:08:37.45
Let's live today by every word.
00:08:37.45\00:08:39.55
JB: This is It Is
Written. I'm John Bradshaw.
00:08:40.82\00:08:43.15
Thanks for joining me
today. I'm being joined by
00:08:43.15\00:08:45.85
Dr. Michael Hasel,
an archeologist and
00:08:45.85\00:08:47.96
a professor of archeology at
Southern Adventist University.
00:08:47.96\00:08:51.73
Archeology has often
been demonstrated to validate
00:08:51.73\00:08:56.26
the Bible. Dr.
Hasel, how has archeology
00:08:56.26\00:09:01.07
demonstrated the Bible as
a valid and trustworthy book.
00:09:01.07\00:09:04.57
What are some of the big
moments in biblical archeology?
00:09:04.57\00:09:08.68
MH: Archeology is a tremendous
tool because it can go into the
00:09:08.68\00:09:13.11
history of the Bible lands and
look at the civilizations that
00:09:13.11\00:09:18.22
existed at that
time-- look at the people,
00:09:18.22\00:09:20.42
the places, the events.
Archeology is very good at
00:09:20.42\00:09:23.73
giving broader sweeps of
ideas of how people lived.
00:09:23.73\00:09:27.93
Sometimes it's not as good
as dealing with very specific
00:09:27.93\00:09:31.20
events, but we have some
great examples of that as well.
00:09:31.20\00:09:34.14
I'm going to talk
first about civilizations.
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In the 1800s there was great
skepticism about the Hittites.
00:09:36.37\00:09:41.51
The Hittites were a group of
individuals, a group of people
00:09:41.51\00:09:44.65
mentioned in the
Bible over 20 times.
00:09:44.65\00:09:47.48
They're mentioned
in different contexts.
00:09:47.48\00:09:49.12
They're mentioned earlier in the
Patriarchal Period, in the book
00:09:49.12\00:09:51.32
of Genesis, and then they're
mentioned much later in time
00:09:51.32\00:09:54.46
as well. Uriah,
the Hittite, during the
00:09:54.46\00:09:56.42
time of David, for
example, which was many, many
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years later. Who
were these Hittites?
00:09:59.39\00:10:02.40
Well, they weren't mentioned
in any classical sources.
00:10:02.40\00:10:05.20
They weren't mentioned anywhere
outside of the Bible, and there
00:10:05.20\00:10:07.27
were a lot of scholars saying,
You know, this group of people
00:10:07.27\00:10:10.44
didn't exist. This
was an anachronism, a
00:10:10.44\00:10:12.77
mistake that the
Bible writers have made.
00:10:12.77\00:10:15.51
It wasn't until 1906 that
excavations began in central
00:10:15.51\00:10:18.35
Turkey at a site
called Hattusha Bogazkoy,
00:10:18.35\00:10:23.99
was the original name of
the city-- or I should say
00:10:23.99\00:10:26.12
the modern name of the
city-- that archeologists
00:10:26.12\00:10:29.52
not only uncovered the
capitol of the Hittites,
00:10:29.52\00:10:32.96
but they uncovered an archive
of thousands and thousands of
00:10:32.96\00:10:35.56
tablets that demonstrated
extensive language and an
00:10:35.56\00:10:40.20
extensive history and tradition
for the Hittite culture.
00:10:40.20\00:10:43.20
Of course, they didn't
even have to do that in 1906.
00:10:43.20\00:10:45.51
Much earlier, as Egyptian
hieroglyphics were being
00:10:45.51\00:10:49.08
deciphered in the early 1800s,
1822 by Champollion, the French
00:10:49.08\00:10:53.55
archeologist and linguist.
We had also an occurrence,
00:10:53.55\00:10:58.69
an opportunity, to
look at Egyptian texts
00:10:58.69\00:11:01.99
on temple walls and across
the Egyptian empire, one of the
00:11:01.99\00:11:05.93
longest empires that ever
existed, and look at their
00:11:05.93\00:11:08.16
interactions with peoples of
the ancient world, because they
00:11:08.16\00:11:11.87
conducted campaigns and were
very active with other people.
00:11:11.87\00:11:15.60
What we find there-- and I'm
just finishing a book right now
00:11:15.60\00:11:18.41
focusing on the Egyptian
understanding of historical
00:11:18.41\00:11:22.08
geography and Asia--
that we find the Hittites
00:11:22.08\00:11:25.31
mentioned more
frequently than any other group
00:11:25.31\00:11:27.85
of people because they were the
major other empire in the north
00:11:27.85\00:11:31.59
that were vying for control
of the area of Canaan, between
00:11:31.59\00:11:34.59
Egypt and the area of
Turkey, modern Turkey today.
00:11:34.59\00:11:38.29
JB: So here you had people
saying there is doubt about this
00:11:38.29\00:11:41.56
aspect of the
Bible, and therefore doubt
00:11:41.56\00:11:43.50
about the Bible. MH: Right.
00:11:43.50\00:11:45.10
JB: And archeology, many years
later, comes along and says aha,
00:11:45.10\00:11:49.24
here's the evidence
you need. MH: That's right.
00:11:49.24\00:11:51.04
JB: What other aha moments
have there been in archeology,
00:11:51.04\00:11:54.34
as it relates to the Bible?
MH: There was a very early
00:11:54.34\00:11:56.51
excavation in Babylon,
in the early 1900s, and that
00:11:56.51\00:12:00.78
was an amazing excavation
conducted by the Germans.
00:12:00.78\00:12:04.35
They took a huge amount of
material with them, of course,
00:12:04.35\00:12:07.19
to Berlin, and in the Pergamon
Museum today you can see the
00:12:07.19\00:12:09.82
Ishtar Gate that has
been reconstructed there,
00:12:09.82\00:12:12.73
piece by piece. They
discovered not only this
00:12:12.73\00:12:15.83
amazing capitol city but there
was always a big question about
00:12:15.83\00:12:19.70
who the builder of Babylon was.
Babylon's history goes back much
00:12:19.70\00:12:23.24
further than the period of
the book of Daniel and Ezekiel
00:12:23.24\00:12:26.84
and Jeremiah. So,
who was the builder?
00:12:26.84\00:12:30.48
Daniel, in Daniel
chapter 4 verse 30 talks about
00:12:30.48\00:12:32.98
Nebuchadnezzar who is walking
on the walls of his city and
00:12:32.98\00:12:36.18
saying, "Is this not great
Babylon that I've built for my
00:12:36.18\00:12:38.92
honor and power and majesty?"
And so scholars are wondering,
00:12:38.92\00:12:42.09
"How could he make that
remark?" Because actually,
00:12:42.09\00:12:45.29
Babylon had been in
existence for a long time before
00:12:45.29\00:12:48.30
Nebuchadnezzar
was. It would be like
00:12:48.30\00:12:49.76
the mayor of New York
saying, "Is this not New York
00:12:49.76\00:12:52.27
that I've built for
my power and majesty."
00:12:52.27\00:12:54.40
Well, what they discovered
in the excavations were bricks,
00:12:54.40\00:12:59.07
like this one,
thousands of these bricks.
00:12:59.07\00:13:02.01
This is only partial brick, this
is a broken piece of a brick.
00:13:02.01\00:13:05.18
But in this corner
here, we have an inscription.
00:13:05.18\00:13:08.38
And that inscription begins
with the name Nebuchadnezzar.
00:13:08.38\00:13:12.35
Nebuchadnezzar had thousands of
his bricks stamped with a stamp
00:13:12.35\00:13:17.49
that said King Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, the builder
00:13:17.49\00:13:20.93
of the temple of Esagila,
the builder of the temple
00:13:20.93\00:13:23.03
of Ezita. Firstborn
son of Nabopolassar,
00:13:23.03\00:13:26.27
king of Babylon.
Thousands of bricks stamped
00:13:26.27\00:13:28.70
with that, so
there's no question
00:13:28.70\00:13:30.21
anymore that Nebuchadnezzar was
indeed the rebuilder of the city
00:13:30.21\00:13:33.41
of Babylon after the Assyrians
destroyed it around 622 B.C.
00:13:33.41\00:13:38.31
JB: The Bible is very
specific about individuals;
00:13:38.31\00:13:40.85
lots of people
that are named. MH: Yes.
00:13:40.85\00:13:43.08
JB: Paul's writing,
send greetings to this person
00:13:43.08\00:13:45.45
and that person. How
many biblical characters
00:13:45.45\00:13:48.82
do we know of have
existed archeologically?
00:13:48.82\00:13:53.23
MH: It's a very good question.
There are many names in the
00:13:53.23\00:13:55.83
Bible, of course, and for some
of them we wouldn't necessarily
00:13:55.83\00:13:59.03
expect to find
evidence for them.
00:13:59.03\00:14:01.94
But archeology does, and
it's amazing the little things
00:14:01.94\00:14:05.34
that we find.
Sometimes of course, kings.
00:14:05.34\00:14:08.64
We've talked about the coins and
Alexander the Great and various
00:14:08.64\00:14:14.08
emperors on the coins
that are mentioned-- Augustus
00:14:14.08\00:14:17.52
and Tiberius and
others who are mentioned
00:14:17.52\00:14:19.19
in the New Testament. We
of course could expect kings
00:14:19.19\00:14:21.92
to be mentioned in annals also
that are mentioned in the Bible.
00:14:21.92\00:14:24.39
Kings of Assyria, like
Tiglath-Pileser III, and
00:14:24.39\00:14:27.86
Sennacherib and others. I
would say currently we have
00:14:27.86\00:14:31.27
between 70 and 80 individuals
that are mentioned in the Bible,
00:14:31.27\00:14:35.80
that have been confirmed through
archeology to have existed
00:14:35.80\00:14:39.37
in history. JB:
Let me ask you this.
00:14:39.37\00:14:40.71
Some of those are the obvious
candidates, Augustus, Tiberius.
00:14:40.71\00:14:43.88
Are there any among that 80 or
so that are kind of surprising?
00:14:43.88\00:14:47.12
MH: Yes. Absolutely.
Sometimes there are seal
00:14:47.12\00:14:50.95
impressions found
of private stamp seals.
00:14:50.95\00:14:53.79
Jerusalem has been a source
of finding these ancient seal
00:14:53.79\00:14:56.89
impressions. And
we actually have seal
00:14:56.89\00:14:59.16
impressions of some of the
court officials of Jerusalem.
00:14:59.16\00:15:03.80
We actually have, we
believe, a stamp seal of Baruch,
00:15:03.80\00:15:07.84
the son of Neriah the scribe
who, according to the book
00:15:07.84\00:15:10.57
of Jeremiah, was
Jeremiah's personal scribe,
00:15:10.57\00:15:13.11
who wrote much of
the book of Jeremiah.
00:15:13.11\00:15:15.08
Who also was the witness when
Jeremiah went out to buy the
00:15:15.08\00:15:18.91
land during his time in
prison? Why would we have him?
00:15:18.91\00:15:22.62
Well, it was something that
people had records of, and they
00:15:22.62\00:15:25.05
kept records of
these kinds of things.
00:15:25.05\00:15:27.42
One of the
interesting recent discoveries--
00:15:27.42\00:15:29.39
I think it was around
2007-- a scholar from Vienna
00:15:29.39\00:15:34.23
was doing research at the
British Museum in England, and
00:15:34.23\00:15:37.90
was going through some tablets
that had not been published
00:15:37.90\00:15:41.30
or even read before.
And by the way, we have
00:15:41.30\00:15:43.27
thousands of cuneiform tablets
in the basements of museums
00:15:43.27\00:15:46.37
that haven't even been
read, let alone published.
00:15:46.37\00:15:48.94
He was going through these and
all of a sudden on this ancient
00:15:48.94\00:15:51.51
Babylonian tablet he sees
a name there: Nebo-Sarsekim.
00:15:51.51\00:15:55.75
At least, that's
the name that he read.
00:15:55.75\00:16:00.09
And it is mentioned in obscure,
in passing in the book of
00:16:00.09\00:16:03.32
Jeremiah, I
think it's Jeremiah 31,
00:16:03.32\00:16:05.89
where Nebo-Sarsekim is
mentioned with a number of
00:16:05.89\00:16:08.63
different Babylonian officials
who Nebuchadnezzar leaves behind
00:16:08.63\00:16:12.57
to help out with overseeing
Jerusalem in his absence.
00:16:12.57\00:16:16.57
So you have these kinds
of surprise discoveries.
00:16:16.57\00:16:20.71
And what I often tell students
is, we're only beginning to
00:16:20.71\00:16:23.68
scratch the surface. I
mean, archeology is a young
00:16:23.68\00:16:25.88
discipline.
We've only been working
00:16:25.88\00:16:28.38
for a short period of
time. I mean, 200 years
00:16:28.38\00:16:30.75
is not that long. And
the amount of time that goes
00:16:30.75\00:16:33.22
into an excavation, we're
only scratching the surface.
00:16:33.22\00:16:35.99
There's so much
more to be found.
00:16:35.99\00:16:37.33
JB: You've personally dug in
the Middle East how many times?
00:16:37.33\00:16:42.16
MH: I've dug 10 different sites
and I've worked probably 20
00:16:42.16\00:16:45.63
seasons in the field, over 20
seasons in the field, and I've
00:16:45.63\00:16:48.77
directed projects and
I've worked as a volunteer,
00:16:48.77\00:16:51.44
from Cypress to
Jordan to Israel.
00:16:51.44\00:16:53.81
Mostly in Israel, though.
JB: So you've seen a little bit.
00:16:53.81\00:16:56.18
MH: Yes. JB: How
easy is it for somebody,
00:16:56.18\00:16:59.51
do you think, to see that much
evidence and then dismiss the
00:16:59.51\00:17:05.02
Bible as not valid? MH:
You can look at a glass half
00:17:05.02\00:17:08.46
empty and you can
look at a glass half full.
00:17:08.46\00:17:10.99
There are skeptics who would
say, okay, so we have 70 people
00:17:10.99\00:17:14.10
in the Bible. What
about the rest of the
00:17:14.10\00:17:15.83
hundreds that
are mentioned there?
00:17:15.83\00:17:17.73
JB: Is there stuff we've missed,
or that we haven't yet found
00:17:17.73\00:17:22.17
that is
significant? MH: Oh, absolutely.
00:17:22.17\00:17:23.74
Absolutely. JB:
All right, there are
00:17:23.74\00:17:25.07
questions then.
Archeology hasn't proven
00:17:25.07\00:17:27.01
everything. What
have we not so far
00:17:27.01\00:17:29.74
found through
archeology, in the Bible,
00:17:29.74\00:17:33.05
that maybe we should have
or could have or still hope to?
00:17:33.05\00:17:36.62
We'll find out in just a moment.
00:17:36.62\00:17:38.45
¤ [musical interlude]  ¤
00:17:39.22\00:17:41.26
JB: Your Father God,
your creator and originator,
00:17:43.26\00:17:46.46
is also the God of the future.
In His ability to tell us what
00:17:46.46\00:17:49.80
is still ahead, God reminds
us of His sovereignty and power
00:17:49.80\00:17:53.44
over all things. To
help us to trust Him,
00:17:53.44\00:17:56.17
God has provided amazing
evidence of His reliability,
00:17:56.17\00:17:59.57
and the reliability of His Word.
Today I'd like to send you a
00:17:59.57\00:18:03.11
booklet that demonstrates how
God foretold world events with
00:18:03.11\00:18:06.41
absolute accuracy
thousands of years in advance.
00:18:06.41\00:18:10.42
This booklet is
called "Can God Be Trusted,
00:18:10.42\00:18:12.85
and it's absolutely free.
Just call 1 (800) 253-3000, and
00:18:12.85\00:18:17.43
ask for "Can God Be
Trusted." If the lines are busy,
00:18:17.43\00:18:21.13
please do keep on
trying. Or write to
00:18:21.13\00:18:23.60
It Is Written, Box 6,
Chattanooga, TN 37401,
00:18:23.60\00:18:28.20
and we'll mail a free copy to
your address in North America.
00:18:28.20\00:18:31.14
It Is Written is a faith-based
ministry, supported by people
00:18:31.14\00:18:33.54
like you. Your
tax-deductible gift can be
00:18:33.54\00:18:36.18
sent to the address on your
screen, or you can support us
00:18:36.18\00:18:38.81
online at ItIsWritten.com.
Thank you for your continued
00:18:38.81\00:18:42.25
prayerful support.
00:18:42.25\00:18:44.49
JB: This is It Is Written.
Thanks for joining me today.
00:18:45.42\00:18:48.16
Our special guest
is Dr. Michael Hasel,
00:18:48.16\00:18:50.59
an archeologist and a
professor of archeology.
00:18:50.59\00:18:54.56
Dr. Hasel, a moment ago
we alluded to the idea that
00:18:54.56\00:18:56.87
some things,
significant things in the Bible,
00:18:56.87\00:18:59.60
archeology has not
validated, at least not yet.
00:18:59.60\00:19:03.97
So, what are some of those
things that clearly some people
00:19:03.97\00:19:08.74
are troubled by?
MH: In 1992, a book was
00:19:08.74\00:19:11.58
published, "In
Search of Ancient Israel,"
00:19:11.58\00:19:13.35
by a British Old Testament
scholar, Philip Davies.
00:19:13.35\00:19:17.35
It was a very controversial
book, because basically he said
00:19:17.35\00:19:20.69
everything in the Old Testament
was an invented fiction that
00:19:20.69\00:19:24.29
wasn't written until the
time of Alexander the Great,
00:19:24.29\00:19:26.49
in the third, second centuries.
And he said Hebrew was an
00:19:26.49\00:19:30.00
invented language. And
one of the things that he
00:19:30.00\00:19:31.83
argued-- and this is what
makes archeology so important--
00:19:31.83\00:19:34.87
he argued we have no
evidence for David or Solomon.
00:19:34.87\00:19:38.67
These are the
great kings of Israel.
00:19:38.67\00:19:40.78
So he was arguing on
the basis of silence.
00:19:40.78\00:19:43.18
We haven't found these
men in ancient history,
00:19:43.18\00:19:46.11
therefore they didn't exist.
The next year, archeologists
00:19:46.11\00:19:49.72
were working in the northern
site of Tel Dan, the very
00:19:49.72\00:19:53.09
northern city of Israel,
right on the border to Lebanon.
00:19:53.09\00:19:56.56
And as a volunteer was working
in a wall, a piece of stone from
00:19:56.56\00:20:02.36
that wall fell out of the wall,
and on the opposite side of that
00:20:02.36\00:20:05.77
stone, which had been reused as
a building block of a wall, was
00:20:05.77\00:20:09.20
an inscription
written by an Aramean king,
00:20:09.20\00:20:11.87
with his capitol of Damascus,
not even an Israelite king,
00:20:11.87\00:20:14.28
who had invaded
Israel, mentioned in the Bible,
00:20:14.28\00:20:17.75
and had left a stele
commemorating his victory over
00:20:17.75\00:20:21.78
the king of
Israel-- it's broken,
00:20:21.78\00:20:25.79
part of the king's name is
mentioned-- the king of Israel
00:20:25.79\00:20:28.96
and then the House of David.
This is during the divided
00:20:28.96\00:20:32.99
monarchy, when you have
the Northern Kingdom and the
00:20:32.99\00:20:34.73
Southern Kingdom. The
House of David is the way
00:20:34.73\00:20:36.93
the Bible exactly talks and
describes the kingdom of Judah,
00:20:36.93\00:20:41.04
because David was
seen as its founder.
00:20:41.04\00:20:43.84
And so here you have 140
years after David's reign,
00:20:43.84\00:20:48.24
David being remembered
as the founder of a dynasty,
00:20:48.24\00:20:51.65
as of the House of David.
Now, when this was published--
00:20:51.65\00:20:54.85
and it was a major, major event.
00:20:54.85\00:20:56.65
It was made the cover of the New
York Times, it was news all over
00:20:56.65\00:21:00.22
the world-- what
did Philip Davies do?
00:21:00.22\00:21:03.79
He said, well, there
are no vowels in Hebrew.
00:21:03.79\00:21:06.76
You only have consonants, and so
we don't know if the vowel A or
00:21:06.76\00:21:11.43
the vowel I-- we
don't have those vowels
00:21:11.43\00:21:13.30
in Hebrew-- was there.
Maybe there were other vowels.
00:21:13.30\00:21:15.50
Maybe it was O. Maybe
it was the House of Dowd.
00:21:15.50\00:21:18.87
Or some other pronunciation.
Nobody really accepted that
00:21:18.87\00:21:23.41
interpretation among the
scholarly community, and he went
00:21:23.41\00:21:26.98
so far, later in an article, to
say, Well, maybe that artifact
00:21:26.98\00:21:30.65
was a forgery placed
there by the archeologists.
00:21:30.65\00:21:34.06
So some people will go so far
to defend a previous conclusion,
00:21:34.06\00:21:38.16
based on the absence of
evidence, to the point of almost
00:21:38.16\00:21:41.73
absurdity. And
yet at the same time,
00:21:41.73\00:21:45.40
I always remind my students,
the absence of evidence
00:21:45.40\00:21:48.70
is never evidence for
absence. There are hundreds of
00:21:48.70\00:21:51.61
archeologists working in the
field every year, and you never
00:21:51.61\00:21:54.01
know what's going to be found.
JB: What are some other things
00:21:54.01\00:21:57.21
we've missed? What
do we not have evidence
00:21:57.21\00:22:00.08
for? MH: There is no evidence in
00:22:00.08\00:22:03.59
Egypt for a massive
exodus; for 10 plagues;
00:22:03.59\00:22:07.82
for the things that are
such a central core element
00:22:07.82\00:22:11.29
of Scripture. JB:
Okay, what type of
00:22:11.29\00:22:13.50
archeological evidence
might there be for that?
00:22:13.50\00:22:16.77
MH: Well, one would maybe expect
to find some records of Moses or
00:22:16.77\00:22:21.17
Joseph, if Joseph was visier of
Egypt, maybe there would be some
00:22:21.17\00:22:24.61
record of that. Of
Moses, if he was destined
00:22:24.61\00:22:27.81
to be king of Egypt.
Those kinds of arguments have
00:22:27.81\00:22:30.91
been made before. I
deal a lot with Egyptology.
00:22:30.91\00:22:33.88
I just finished a commentary on
the book of Exodus, and I would
00:22:33.88\00:22:36.48
say this: this would be
something that I think is very
00:22:36.48\00:22:39.05
important to keep in mind.
In ancient Egypt, the Egyptian
00:22:39.05\00:22:44.53
military records
never record any defeat.
00:22:44.53\00:22:49.20
They are always victorious.
The Egyptians are always
00:22:49.20\00:22:51.37
victorious. JB: If you look at
00:22:51.37\00:22:53.07
the Arc de Triomphe,
you won't find any mention
00:22:53.07\00:22:55.34
of Waterloo. MH: That's correct.
00:22:55.34\00:22:57.37
So, the Egyptians never lose
a battle, and this is part of
00:22:57.37\00:23:01.88
their ideology, because
their gods are guiding them
00:23:01.88\00:23:04.08
into battle. So, this
was probably one of the
00:23:04.08\00:23:07.85
greatest defeats
Egypt ever experienced.
00:23:07.85\00:23:10.45
There economy was devastated
through the plagues, the
00:23:10.45\00:23:13.29
Egyptian pharaoh was destroyed
in the crossing of the sea,
00:23:13.29\00:23:16.69
most likely. There
were a lot of things that
00:23:16.69\00:23:18.93
happened there, that would
have been very devastating to
00:23:18.93\00:23:20.96
Egyptian ideology, let
alone political history.
00:23:20.96\00:23:25.23
So part of me, as a historian
knowing what I know about
00:23:25.23\00:23:29.04
Egyptian ways of documenting
things, is not that surprised
00:23:29.04\00:23:32.77
that we don't find any
evidence of that event.
00:23:32.77\00:23:35.24
But what I want to come back to
is the Bible, the Bible is not
00:23:35.24\00:23:39.85
that kind of a book. The
Bible doesn't just give us a
00:23:39.85\00:23:42.55
glorified past of
Israel. The Bible tells us about
00:23:42.55\00:23:46.15
Israel's defeats as well as its
victories, both on a personal
00:23:46.15\00:23:49.42
level-- whether it's David's sin
with Bathsheba-- or on a global
00:23:49.42\00:23:54.66
level in terms of a
catastrophe of a lost war.
00:23:54.66\00:23:57.73
And as a historian, that gives
me some level of confidence in
00:23:57.73\00:24:02.50
the Bible as a more authentic
and objective source of truth
00:24:02.50\00:24:07.54
in history. JB:
What do archeologists
00:24:07.54\00:24:09.31
actually find? You're
not finding whole towns
00:24:09.31\00:24:13.11
and a lot of intact artifacts,
most of the time, are you?
00:24:13.11\00:24:16.25
You dig in the sand in Israel--
what do you come across?
00:24:16.25\00:24:19.79
MH: We excavate a very small
portion of a city, that when
00:24:19.79\00:24:22.29
we go and
excavate. Very small portion.
00:24:22.29\00:24:24.89
Let's given an
example. The Harvard excavations
00:24:24.89\00:24:26.90
at Ashkelon. They
excavated there for over
00:24:26.90\00:24:29.30
25 years. They
have excavated less than
00:24:29.30\00:24:31.70
5 percent of the site,
in 25 years of excavation.
00:24:31.70\00:24:35.40
It's one of the best-funded
excavations with hundreds of
00:24:35.40\00:24:39.27
archeologists and
volunteers working in the field.
00:24:39.27\00:24:42.31
We don't even know
how many sites there are.
00:24:42.31\00:24:45.85
Many of them haven't
even been located yet,
00:24:45.85\00:24:47.95
let alone excavated. So
there's this whole series
00:24:47.95\00:24:50.12
of limitations. Once a
site is excavated, where
00:24:50.12\00:24:52.72
we're basing our conclusions
on a very small segment of the
00:24:52.72\00:24:56.26
site-- that all needs to be
published, and publication rates
00:24:56.26\00:24:59.56
are very, very
dismal for archeologists.
00:24:59.56\00:25:02.20
It usually takes 10, 15
years for site reports to get
00:25:02.20\00:25:04.77
published. And
finally, when you come
00:25:04.77\00:25:08.70
through all of that
process-- of excavation,
00:25:08.70\00:25:12.61
analysis of data, publication--
only a small fraction of what is
00:25:12.61\00:25:18.55
actually excavated
has a direct impact on
00:25:18.55\00:25:21.72
understanding the Bible. In
other words, of mentioning a
00:25:21.72\00:25:25.12
name of an individual, or that
kind of a thing, things are not
00:25:25.12\00:25:28.82
preserved in the
ground. Papyrus, in Egypt, yes.
00:25:28.82\00:25:33.46
The Dead Sea Scrolls, because it
was in a very dry climate, yes.
00:25:33.46\00:25:36.16
But in Jerusalem, in
the more fertile areas,
00:25:36.16\00:25:40.44
things deteriorate. We
find a few stone artifacts
00:25:40.44\00:25:43.71
that have writing on them;
we find some cuneiform tablets.
00:25:43.71\00:25:47.41
But in Israel, writing and
written materials are very rare.
00:25:47.41\00:25:51.81
JB: Archeology, in your own
personal relationship with God,
00:25:51.81\00:25:54.82
it has
strengthened your faith in God.
00:25:54.82\00:25:58.45
It has made little
difference, a lot of difference.
00:25:58.45\00:26:00.86
How personally
has it impacted you?
00:26:00.86\00:26:03.36
MH: It's been profound. My
first trip to the Middle East
00:26:03.36\00:26:06.33
was with my father
when I was a teenager.
00:26:06.33\00:26:08.60
I remember being in Jerusalem,
sitting on the Mount of Olives
00:26:08.60\00:26:13.67
and looking over the old city.
And what I had grown up with and
00:26:13.67\00:26:16.71
read in the Bible
suddenly had a context to it.
00:26:16.71\00:26:20.68
And suddenly the Kidron Valley,
and the sheep gate that Jesus
00:26:20.68\00:26:25.51
walked through on His way to the
temple, when He stopped at the
00:26:25.51\00:26:29.02
Pool of Bethesda, and
all of these things began to
00:26:29.02\00:26:31.95
make sense. And,
for a young person,
00:26:31.95\00:26:36.52
it was very life changing.
Maybe that's one reason I became
00:26:36.52\00:26:41.43
an archeologist, I don't know.
But I think, for me, yes it's
00:26:41.43\00:26:44.90
made a huge difference.
You never read the Bible the
00:26:44.90\00:26:47.34
same again, when you
visit the lands of the Bible.
00:26:47.34\00:26:49.87
And when you're
excavating this material,
00:26:49.87\00:26:52.41
the Bible becomes real.
It becomes something that is
00:26:52.41\00:26:55.84
made up of real people,
and it testifies of a God
00:26:55.84\00:26:59.51
that interacts in
history among those people.
00:26:59.51\00:27:02.05
I can see that as a
life-affirming aspect of my
00:27:02.05\00:27:05.75
faith as well, as I see
Him working in my life today.
00:27:05.75\00:27:08.76
JB: Dr. Michael
Hasel, thank you.
00:27:08.76\00:27:10.39
MH: It's good to be here,
John. JB: Let's pray together;
00:27:10.39\00:27:11.79
we have much to
pray about. MH: Sure.
00:27:11.79\00:27:13.06
Yes. JB: Our
Father in heaven, we are
00:27:13.06\00:27:14.83
grateful that You've given
us the Bible, and in addition to
00:27:14.83\00:27:17.37
the Bible, You have given us
solid evidence, good reasons why
00:27:17.37\00:27:21.50
we can believe
Your Word is true.
00:27:21.50\00:27:23.87
Ultimately, we claim
Jesus as our Savior by faith.
00:27:23.87\00:27:28.21
Allow us to be people of faith,
who in the presence of or in the
00:27:28.21\00:27:32.65
absence of concrete evidence, we
can say we believe in the God of
00:27:32.65\00:27:37.02
heaven, for we have the witness
in our hearts that He loves us
00:27:37.02\00:27:41.72
and we love Him.
Guide and bless us.
00:27:41.72\00:27:43.99
Let us be people
of Your Word, I pray.
00:27:43.99\00:27:46.39
In Jesus' name, amen.
00:27:46.39\00:27:49.10
¤ [It Is Written Theme] ¤
Thanks for joining me today.
00:27:49.16\00:27:51.50
I look forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:27:51.50\00:27:53.34
Until then,
remember It Is Written:
00:27:53.34\00:27:56.57
"Man shall not
live by bread alone,
00:27:56.57\00:27:58.64
but by every word that proceeds
00:27:58.64\00:28:01.48
from the mouth of God."
00:28:01.48\00:28:02.78
¤ [Music swells] ¤
00:28:03.14\00:28:06.58