Each year, on an almost daily basis, archaeological discoveries help us better understand the Bible and affirm its details about people, events, and culture.
Below are the top excavation findings reported in 2018 which have increased our knowledge of the biblical world and the early history of Christianity.
10) Biblical “Yerushalayim” inscription on ancient column
Archeologists uncovered an inscription on a pillar in an excavation of an ancient potter’s village, near the western edge of the modern city of Jerusalem earlier this year. The inscription includes the word, “Yerushalayim,” the name of Jerusalem written in Hebrew, and was dated to 100 B.C.
The potter’s village no doubt served the many pilgrims who were on their way to the Temple in Jerusalem, just a few miles to the east. It calls to mind the potter’s field in Matthew 27:7 that was bought by the priests with the money Judas took for betraying Jesus and then returned.
9) Clay pomegranate found at Tel Shiloh
Tel Shiloh, the site where the Jewish tabernacle and the Holy Ark were located between the Israelite conquest and the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, yielded an unusual clay pomegranate in an excavation this year. In the Bible the pomegranate is a common temple decoration (1 Kings 7:18; 2 Kings 25:17), and small pomegranate decorations hung from hems of the robes of the priests (Ex. 28:33).
8) Esarhaddon inscriptions found at the shrine of Jonah
In 2014 ISIS blew up the shrine of the tomb of the prophet Jonah in the Iraqi city of Mosul. The now-destroyed Muslim shrine had been situated on a mound, where archaeologists soon found the remains of a palace of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon. The king’s name is referenced in inscriptions discovered in tunnels ISIS dug into the mound, as the group searched for artifacts to sell on the antiquities market. Today, archaeologists are using these tunnels to investigate the temple remains.
The Old Testament references Esarhaddon when discussing the assassination of his father Sennacherib (1 Kings 19:36–37; Isa. 37:37–38), who was the king who ravaged much of Hezekiah’s kingdom of Judah and unsuccessfully besieged Jerusalem. Esarhaddon himself reigned from 681–669 B.C. Information archaeologists discover in the remains of his palace will tell us more about the latter days of the kingdom of Assyria than of the time of Jonah, who lived almost a century earlier and whose actual final resting place is unknown.
7) Semitic abecedary found in Egypt
Biblical history intersects multiple times with the history of writing, as illustrated by an inscribed piece of limestone discovered in 1995 in a tomb along the west bank of the Nile at Luxor. University of British Columbia Egyptologist Thomas Schneider has deciphered the letters and announced this year that it's an abecedary, a very early version of the Semitic alphabet in ABC order.
The excavated tomb dates back to 1450 B.C., the time of Moses, according to the biblical chronology. It suggests that if “Moses wrote down everything the Lord had said” (Ex. 24:4), he wasn’t the only one writing in a Semitic script in Egypt at that time.
6) Unlooted royal family tomb at Megiddo
A Canaanite tomb excavated at Tel Megiddo in 2016 and announced earlier this year has revealed new information about the inhabitants of one of the most famous and important ancient cities in the region. At the original announcement last March, archaeologists marveled that the 3,700-year-old tomb was still intact and unlooted, yielding the remains of a man, a woman, and a child, all adorned with gold and silver jewelry.
From the tomb, archaeologists expected to learn much more about the Canaanite culture that existed in Israel during the time of the patriarchs. And, indeed, just a few weeks ago it was reported that residue in one of the jugs from the tomb was discovered to be vanilla, which was not thought to have been known nor used in that part of the ancient world at that time. The finding illustrates the robust spice trade of the ancient world.
5) Beka weight from the Temple Mount
An extra-careful processing of archaeologically recovered dirt called the wet sifting process has resulted in many more tiny but significant discoveries in recent years, such as the beka weight announced recently. As explained in Exodus 38:26, the beka was used to measure the half shekel temple tax due from each member of the community.
This tiny weight (5.5 grams or 0.2 ounces) was inscribed with the Hebrew letters spelling beka and was discovered in excavations near Robinson's arch, at the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. It is believed to have been used to weigh the temple tax during the First Temple period.
4) Governor of Jerusalem’s seal impression
In 2017, while cleaning out dust between stones in an ancient Jerusalem wall, archaeologists discovered a biblical title heretofore unattested by archaeology, “governor of the city.” As the dust was carefully sifted, a clay seal impression was recovered. The image on the clay depicted two figures facing each other and the inscription.
The governor of the city, much like a modern mayor, is mentioned in 2 Kings 23:8, where the author lists a man named Joshua as the governor of the city in the days of Hezekiah, and in 2 Chronicles 18:25, where the author notes Amon as governor of the city in the days of Jehoshaphat (NASB).
3) Signature of Isaiah the prophet in seal impression?
Another seal impression surfaced in 2018, this one with the actual name of one of the most important Old Testament prophets, Isaiah. It nearly says “Isaiah the prophet,” but because there’s a letter missing at the end, it’s unclear if it actually refers to a personal name.
One piece of evidence that suggests that the seal impression refers to the biblical prophet is a small piece of clay that archeologists recovered in an area near Jerusalem's Temple Mount. This similar seal impression, which was first found in 2015, says “of King Hezekiah of Judah.” King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah are mentioned in the same verse 17 times in the Bible.
2) The statue head of a biblical king from Abel Beth Maacah
This discovery might have shot to the top of the list if there was some way of identifying who this statue head depicts. But there's no name or inscription. The best clue to his identity is the band around his head, suggesting a crown.
This tiny two-inch sculpture was found in 2017 at Abel Beth-Maacah, a site near the border between Israel and Lebanon, but caught the public’s attention when it was placed on display at the Israel Museum last summer. It dates to the 9th century B.C., so it could depict a king of the northern kingdom Israel, such as Ahab or Jehu. But just as easily it could be King Hazael of Damascus or King Ithobaal of Tyre, the father of Jezebel.
1) Pontius Pilate Seal Ring
The name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator who interrogated Jesus and then ordered him crucified, has turned up for the second time in the archaeological record. The first time his name and title were found engraved in a stone discovered in 1961 in secondary use at Caesarea Maritima. Just a few weeks ago, scientists announced that a seal ring excavated in the late 1960s at Herodium, a desert palace just outside of Bethlehem, also carried the inscription “of Pilates.”
The inscription on the badly corroded ring was finally read using advanced photographic techniques. The copper alloy ring was probably not fancy enough to have actually been worn by Pilate. It was more likely worn by someone who was authorized to act on Pilate's authority and who would use the seal to create official communications.
These discoveries, relatively insignificant individually, join with many other discoveries over the decades to give us a great deal of confidence in the historical details contained in the Bible.
Gordon Govier is editor of ARTIFAX magazine and executive producer of The Book & The Spade radio program and podcast.
A leading conservative, Anis released an open letter on the web. Here’s one important comment:
The Lambeth Conference has been a time of great fellowship and strength; it has also been a time of disunity and conflict. Everything is going fairly well, but I do not believe that there is hope of a solution from this Lambeth conference. However I hope that we would be able to come up with a road map for a final solution of the current crisis.
Back in January, when I was in Cairo, I interviewed Bishop Anis. See below for an edited transcript of his views on outreach to gays, the crisis in Anglicanism, and how the proposed Anglican convenant might help resolve their differences.
Interview with Mouneer H. Anis, Episcopal bishop of Egypt and primate of the Anglican Province of the Jerusalem and the Middle East (including North Africa).
(Cairo, January 2008. Edited transcript.)
What’s your greatest worry concerning Anglicanism?
I am very concerned about the unity among the conservatives and the evangelicals within the Communion. The Communion is in a crisis, and there are many impaired relationships.
We have made ourselves clear, our theological stand very clear many, many, many times. We announced our rejection of the new revisionists way within the Anglican Communion in many occasions and conferences. This time should not be a time for conferences only, but it should be a time when we actually take action. I personally feel that the issue of homosexuality is just a superficial symptom of a very, very deep illness in the core of the Communion.
Is this an illness in Anglicanism or the church on the whole?
The actual problem is crossing [theological] boundaries of the Communion. The Anglican way is Scripture, the authority of the Scripture, and the interpretation of the majority, or the accepted interpretations of the Scripture by the majority, not just one church within the family.
There is an element of interdependence of each church members of this Anglican Communion family. We need to affirm this. We are a communion. We are not congregationalists. We are not a federation. We are a communion. So it tears us more than any other structure.
It’s hard for American evangelicals to understand what you mean by a global Communion. What does this mean to you?
The Communion is one family of several member churches, and we are tied together. There are instruments of unity within our Communion. The Primates meeting is one of the instruments of unity. There are other things that bring us together and unite us together as a body of Christ.
Although we are a communion and we are a body, we recognize other churches and see in them as part of the wider body of Christ. So we don’t think of our self as the only church of Christ, but we are part of the church of Christ.
With this concept in mind that we are one body, we are one communion even if we are separated geographically, but we are one communion. There is a lot we know about each other. There is communication, direct communication all the time. Today I have communication from the East, as east as Singapore, to the west as Latin America. It’s all in my desk, and that is a great experience, a wonderful thing.
Now, two families of this communion, Canada and America, by going beyond the boundaries of our Anglican way, have created severe disunity. Yes, we celebrate our diversity. But we always aware and we should be aware that this diversity is not unlimited. It is a limited diversity.
Some groups will have a different interpretation. As we interpret the Scripture we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit does not work in individual way. He guides the whole church.
It’s not an issue of homosexuality. It is now the issue of Christology. Is Christ divine? Is he the Son of God? Is he our Savior? Is he the only Way or just a way? Is he the Son of God or just a prophet? All these fundamentals are now at stake in several parts in North America. That is a most serious thing.
Many lefty Anglican revisionists use the language of human rights to support their interpretation of the Bible. What is your objection to this approach?
Every human is free to do what he wants as long as he would not break the law of the country where he live or where she live. If we look at these three things – others, self, and laws of the government, should we also say a human can do everything as long as he or she do not break the law of God?
Sin destroys a person because it’s breaking God’s natural law in creation. I am a medical doctor. I can see anatomical complementarity. Each cell makes sense to me in the human body. We cannot just ignore this beautiful, natural architecture and engineering and go a different way. That is God’s law.
Human rights is something that is not imposed by a small group of people on the rest of the world. Human rights is something recognized by all humanity. You are free to dress. You are free to speak. You are free to do your work. You are free to worship. These are things recognized by the whole world.
You cannot just bring a group of people, say that’s a human right, and impose it on the rest of the world. If we said practicing homosexuality is a human right see, how much this will endanger the structure of the society, the natural family, and marriage structure. I cannot call this a human right.
About homophobia, unfortunately this is something always used by revisionists against conservative. Conservatives are not homophobic. I’m not homophobic. If I have gay and lesbian coming to me now, I will welcome them. I will love them the same way I will love a heterosexual. I will pastor to them the same way I will pastor to heterosexual. I recognize that they are human like me.
I recognize that Jesus loves them as he loves me. I recognize that Jesus died for them as he died for me. So from this I will deal with them, I will talk with them. But this does not mean that if I give pastoral care to them is to agree with all what they do.
Suppose I want to do pastoral care for a heterosexual man who has an affair. Should I say to him that’s okay? It’s okay to have an affair outside your marriage? That is not pastoral care. Pastoral care contain encouragement, contain prayer, contain rebuke, contain admonition.
You cannot call me homophobic at all because I am not homophobic
Should non-celibate gays be in church leadership?
Loving practicing homosexuals, gay and lesbian, and caring for them and pastorally caring for them is one thing, and taking them and putting them in church leadership is another thing.
You cannot get someone who breaks the law and take him and elect him as a President of the United States. It’s not injustice, actually, to say, “No, I cannot appoint gay and lesbian in the leadership.” That’s not injustice. That is according to the law and the regulation and the guidance we receive from the Scripture that we should be clear about who will take the position.
So you believe that this includes any position, ordained or church leadership?
Yes. Any leadership. The Bible is very clear that the church should have a say about the life of the person who is going to be ordained, even a deacon. The secular society is putting pressures that [the church] has accepted. But Paul is saying very clearly that we should not conform by the world, and the actual fact, we should transform the world.
What’s happening now is in the church in North America and some parts of the West [wishes] to be relevant to the world. They are allowing the values of the world to become the values of the church, which should be the other way around.
We are not called to be relevant to the world; we are called to be distinct from the world. We are called to be light and we are called to be salt. This is helpful to the world. It hurts. When you shine the light, the light hurts the darkness. That is the church. It should be light, and the light bring love, bring peace, but sometimes it brings admonition.
Are you in favor of creating an Anglican Convenant?
I think the covenant is a very important tool to affirm our interdependence. The liberals want to reduce the covenant. Some “Why a covenant? It’s enough for baptismal vows. If we are baptized that’s enough.”
Not any more.
What is it that’s going to keep the conservatives together because there are so many divisions and factions emerging?
A well-planned conference with a well-planned outcome can bring the conservatives together. If Lambeth Conference does not come out with the idea of the covenant or if many people did not sign the covenant, we as conservatives should sign the covenant together. Then we would be a covenant group, and we can start to think positively about how we can go about the mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Enough is enough. Our energy was drained in these issues of sexuality and all these things. It is a time now to move together to build our churches to bring the gospel to the unreached places, to communicate the love of Jesus to the societies where we live, and not to drain our energy, because that is what the devil want.
We really want to come together. In a way, we are the true Anglican Communion. So we need to strengthen the ties with each other by signing the covenant with each other and thinking what’s our mission for the ten years to come.
