James K. Hoffmeie - The Archaeology of the Bible

THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF
THE BIBLE

James K. Hoffmeier

Text copyright 2008 James K. Hoffmeier

This edition copyright 2019 Lion Hudson IP Limited

The right of James K. Hoffmeier to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by

Lion Hudson Limited

Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Business Park

Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England

www.lionhudson.com

ISBN 978 1 9125 5217 7

e-ISBN 978 1 9125 5221 4

First hardback edition 2008

Acknowledgments

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide, www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. UK trademark number 1448790.

Unless otherwise stated, all maps and diagrams by Richard Watts of Total Media Services. Map courtesy of NASA.

Cover image: Sumerian artefact swisshippo / istockphoto.com

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

To Alfred J. Hoerth

Teacher, Colleague and Friend

CONTENTS

I was born in Egypt, not far from the famous Cairo Museum and less than 6 miles (10 km) from the Giza Pyramids, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. My father enjoyed history and archaeology, and so as a child I was taken to wonderful sites from one end of Egypt to another. When I was 10 we visited Lebanon, Syria and Jordan and were able to explore Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, Jerusalem, Jericho and other sites. Early on, no doubt because of my fathers love for the Bible, we would discuss how this site or that object fits into Bible history. These experiences made my decision to study biblical archaeology very easy when the time came to declare a major at university. At Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Alfred Hoerth, to whom this book is dedicated, taught me much that I still value. In particular I learned that archaeology could not so much prove the Bible, as people so often think (although in some cases it confirms the historicity of events or people), as improve it. What Professor Hoerth meant by improve was that archaeology can produce valuable information that improves our understanding of the Bible, making it come alive. This book will survey the Old and New Testaments to introduce the reader to some of the oldest and most recent discoveries that shed light on the Bible.

Many thanks to the Lion Hudson editors for their part in making this volume possible, and to Dr Tite Tinou, Dean of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the Administration and Trustees who gave me a semesters leave to do the research and writing for this book. Hopefully, the data offered in this little book will make the Bible come alive and give the reader greater confidence that its story is rooted in space and time.

Mesopotamian Time Periods

27002400Early Dynastic Period

26502500Ur I Dynasty

21122006Ur III Dynasty

20201595Old Babylonian Period

15951200Kassite Period

910610Assyrian Empire

626539Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) Period

539332Persian Empire

Syro-Palestinian Time Periods

22001800Middle Bronze I

18001650Middle Bronze II

16501550Middle Bronze IIC or III

15501400Late Bronze I

14001300Late Bronze IIA

13001200Late Bronze IIB

12001150Iron Age IA

11501000Iron Age IB

1000925Iron Age IIA

925720Iron Age IIB

720586Iron Age IIC

605539Exilic Period

539332Persian Period

33263Hellenistic Period

14263Hasmonean Dynasty

Roman Period

Egyptian Time Periods

27002190Old Kingdom (Dynasties 36)

21902106First Intermediate Period (Dynasties 711)

21061786Middle Kingdom (Dynasties 1112)

17861550 or 1539Second Intermediate Period (Dynasties 1317)

16481550 or 1540The Hyksos Period (Dynasties 1516)

1550 or 15391069The New Kingdom (Dynasties 1820)

1550 or 15391295The Eighteenth Dynasty

12951186The Nineteenth Dynasty

11861069The Twentieth Dynasty

1069525Third Intermediate Period

Biblical Time Periods

20001700Period of the Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob)

15271407Moses (based on 1447 Exodus) [c. 1350c. 1230based on c. 1270 Exodus]

1447/6Exodus earlier placement [c. 12501270later placement]

14071400Conquest of Canaan earlier placement [12301223later placement]

c. 13801050Period of Judges (based on 1407 conquest) [c. 12001050based on c. 1230 conquest]

c. 1050930United Israelite Monarchy

c. 10501010Saul

1010970David

970930Solomon

967960Solomon builds Temple of the Lord at Jerusalem

Division of the kingdom into Israel (north) and Judah (south)

Israel exiled to Assyria

Sennacherib invades Judah

Deportation of Daniel and friends

Nebuchadnezzar exiles Judah to Babylon Jerusalem and Temple destroyed

Cyrus issues decree authorizing the Jews to return to Jerusalem

Zerubbabel finishes rebuilding the Temple

Nehemiah rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem

Antiochus IV desecrates the Temple at Jerusalem

Roman general Pompey captures Jerusalem and enters the Most Holy Place in Temple

Herod the Great begins rebuilding of the Temple

Jesus is born

3033Public ministry of Jesus

Jesus dies and rises again, Day of Pentecost beginning of the church

The apostle Paul sets out on his first journey