This 2nd video highlights archaeological finds. To catch all the references and other info simply go back through using the pause button where needed. Thanks!
For more extensive articles on biblical archaeology and on biblical locations, visit Ferrell Jenkin’s blog: http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/
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Welcome to 3 M Bible study : archaeological evidence for biblical figures. Like most ancient people generally, most people in biblical history have never been archaeologically found in ancient engravings. Occasionally however,some of them are, and with rulers more likely than peasants to have their names engraved in the rocks, we’ll begin with the Kings and look at a few examples. King David, a key figure in the OT, lived and reigned 1,000 yrs. before Christ, and was the father of a long line of kings in his own bloodline, one of whom was defeated by the king of Aram in the 9th century BC. An inscription from that king was found at Tel Dan in1993. In it, he records his victory over a king of Israel and over a king from the “house of David” thus establishing external archaeological refernce for King David.
We’ll look next at Omri, the wicked father in law of Jezebel, who during the divided kingdom ruled Israel in the north in the 9th c. BC. The B records his reign, the reign of his son Ahab, and the reign of a Moabite king named Mesha, who was forced to pay tribute to Israel. A record from that same Moabite king was found in 1868 in Jordan. The Mesha stele refers to all 3 of these people: Mesha himself, king of Moab; Omri, king of Israel; Omri’s son, king of Israel after him. Another king of the northern tribes that is recorded in tribute payment is Jehu, though this time, the king of Israel is not receiving tribute … he’s paying it to the King of Assyria. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser, discovered in Nimrud in 1846 depicts payment received from lesser vassal kings including tribute submitted from Jehu to Assyria.
A century later, the NK of Israel will be destroyed by the Assyrians and in the south in the reign of Hezekiah, they will almost conquer all of Judah as well. They took the fortifified cities of Judah, and threatened the cap. Jerusalem itself, but did not take it. This is recorded in the Bible, and also in this Assyrian prism, where the invaders commemorate their taking of 46 strongholds, and also of penning Hezekiah in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage, but with no mention of taking the city, which did not happen (cf. Isa. 37.)
The last OT king we will look at is Jehoiachin, who was taken captive to Babylon and who later was released from prison and provided with rations from the Babylonian king. This babylonian chronicle records his being taken away captive, and the Babylonian ration lists record rations provided to Jehoiakin, King of Judah.
Inscriptions of NT figures include Pontius Pilate, the roman governor at the crucifixion of Christ, and the ossuary, or bone box, of Caiaphas , the high priest who counseled the Jewish senate to have Jesus killed. From Acts 13, we have Sergius Paulus, the administrator in Paphos who became a believe. And from the delphi inscription, we know when Gallio was proconsul in Corinth, who Paul stood before in Acts 18. Another interesting engraving is of Erastus of Corinth, quite likely the same Erastus who was both a believer and the city treasurer (or manager) of Corinth, mentioned in Rom. 16 as sending his greetings to fellow brothers in Christ in Rome. For external evidence on Jesus, watch for a separate 3 minute study on the historicity of Jesus. More info @ 3minutebiblestudy.com.
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