how credible is the bible 07-24-2017 · 7 stephen c. meyer, the signature of the cell, p. 232 8...
TRANSCRIPT
O
ther
pub
licat
ions
that
yo
u m
ay r
eque
st:
W
hich
Day
Is
the
Chr
isti
an S
abba
th?
L
ord,
Wha
t Sh
ould
I D
o?
H
arm
ony
of t
he G
ospe
ls
D
ay J
esus
the
Chr
ist
Die
d
Occ
ult
Hol
iday
s or
G
od’s
Hol
y D
ays—
Whi
ch?
T
he A
ppoi
nted
Tim
es o
f Je
sus
the
Mes
siah
Am
eric
a an
d B
rita
in—
T
heir
Bib
lical
Ori
gin
and
P
roph
etic
Des
tiny
Juda
ism
—R
evel
atio
n of
M
oses
, or
Rel
igio
n of
Men
?
Why
Is
Chr
isti
anit
y F
ailin
g
In A
mer
ica?
The
Col
laps
e of
A
ngel
ican
Chr
isti
anit
y
H
ow C
redi
ble
Is
T
he B
ible
?
by
Dun
can
Mac
Leo
d
© 2
017
Chr
isti
an B
ibli
cal C
hurc
h of
God
P
.O. B
ox 1
442
Hol
list
er, C
A 9
5024
-144
2 w
ww
.trut
hofg
od.o
rg
ww
w.c
hurc
hath
ome.
org
ww
w.a
fait
hful
vers
ion.
org
All
rig
hts
rese
rved
. E
xcep
t fo
r br
ief
exce
rpts
for
rev
iew
pur
pose
s, n
o pa
rt o
f th
is p
ubli
cati
on m
ay b
e re
prod
uced
or
used
in
any
form
or
by
any
mea
ns w
itho
ut t
he w
ritt
en p
erm
issi
on o
f th
e co
pyri
ght
owne
r. T
his
incl
udes
ele
ctro
nic
and
mec
hani
cal
phot
ocop
ying
or
reco
rdin
g, a
s w
ell
as th
e us
e of
info
rmat
ion
stor
age
and
retr
ieva
l sys
tem
s.
All
Scri
ptur
es q
uote
d ar
e fr
om T
he H
oly
Bib
le I
n It
s O
rigi
nal
Ord
er—
A F
aith
ful V
ersi
on u
nles
s ot
herw
ise
note
d.
7 S
teph
en C
. Mey
er, T
he S
igna
ture
of t
he C
ell,
p. 2
32
8 I
bid,
pp.
239
-241
9
Spe
tner
, p. 2
13
10 M
eyer
, p. 1
2 11
Bill
Gat
es, T
he R
oad
Ahe
ad, p
. 188
12
Fra
ncis
Cri
ck, W
hat M
ad P
ursu
it, p
. 138
13
Rob
ert C
arte
r, e
d., E
volu
tion
’s A
chil
les
Hee
ls, p
. 54
14 M
eyer
, p. 1
6 15
Spe
tner
, pp.
120
, 212
64
Con
tent
s In
trod
ucti
on:
How
Cre
dibl
e Is
the
Bib
le?
……
……
……
…..
P
AR
T I
: B
ible
Pro
phec
y F
ulfi
lled
Thr
ough
out H
isto
ry
Cha
pter
1
Egy
pt …
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
C
hapt
er 2
T
he P
hoen
icia
ns …
……
……
……
……
…...
C
hapt
er 3
A
ssyr
ia a
nd N
inev
eh …
……
……
……
……
C
hapt
er 4
B
abyl
on …
……
……
……
……
……
……
…
P
AR
T I
I: T
he B
ible
Sup
port
ed b
y Se
cula
r
His
tory
and
Arc
haeo
logy
C
hapt
er 5
T
he M
igra
tions
of t
he P
atria
rchs
….…
……
….
Cha
pter
6
Isr
ael I
n E
gypt
, Mos
es, a
nd th
e E
xodu
s …
...
Cha
pter
7
The
Col
laps
e of
the
Wal
l of
Jeri
cho
……
….
Cha
pter
8
Isra
el U
nder
Kin
gs D
avid
and
Sol
omon
……
...
Cha
pter
9
Jud
ah a
nd I
srae
l in
Bib
lical
Arc
heol
ogy
.….
Cha
pter
10
New
Tes
tam
ent A
ccou
nt o
f Je
sus
Chr
ist
Sup
port
ed …
……
……
……
……
……
……
.
PA
RT
III
: Sc
ienc
e an
d th
e B
ible
Agr
ee
Cha
pter
11
Bib
lica
l Sta
tem
ents
Now
Sci
enti
fica
lly
P
rove
n T
rue
……
……
……
……
……
……
.. C
hapt
er 1
2
D
arw
inia
n E
volu
tion—
The
Fai
led
H
ypot
hesi
s …
……
……
……
……
……
……
PA
RT
IV
: T
he B
ible
’s I
nter
nal C
onsi
sten
cy
and
Har
mon
y C
hapt
er 1
3
C
onsi
sten
cy o
f Pr
inci
ples
Bet
wee
n
O
ld a
nd N
ew T
esta
men
ts …
….…
……
……
C
oncl
usio
n …
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
.. E
nd N
otes
…
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
……
..
i
1
6
10
13
16
18
27
30
33
37
45
47
55
61
62
18 B
ryan
t Woo
d, “
Did
the
Isra
elite
s C
onqu
er J
eric
ho?”
in B
ibli
cal
Arc
haeo
logy
Rev
iew
, Mar
ch-A
pril
1990
, pp.
49-
56
19 E
ugen
e M
erri
ll, K
ingd
om o
f Pri
ests
, p. 3
10
20 I
bid
21 G
eorg
e R
awlin
son,
Pho
enic
ia, p
. 101
22
Yig
ael Y
adin
, Haz
or, p
. 187
23
Kel
ler,
The
Bib
le A
s H
isto
ry, p
. 225
24
Mer
rill,
p. 4
07
25 J
ames
Pri
tcha
rd, A
ncie
nt N
ear
Eas
tern
Tex
ts, p
. 284
26
Pri
tcha
rd, T
he A
ncie
nt N
ear
Eas
t, pp
. 199
-201
27
Mos
he P
earl
man
, Dig
ging
Up
the
Bib
le, p
. 97
28 S
hapo
ur G
hasa
mi,
“The
Cyr
us th
e G
reat
Cyl
inde
r,”
in H
isto
ry o
f
Ir
an, a
n on
line
arti
cle
that
incl
udes
a 1
912
Eng
lish
tran
slite
ratio
n
by
Rob
ert R
oger
s of
the
full
text
of
the
Cyr
us C
ylin
der.
29
Cra
ig L
. Blo
mbe
rg, T
he H
isto
rica
l Rel
iabi
lity
of t
he G
ospe
ls, p
. 251
30
Cor
neliu
s T
acitu
s, A
nnal
s, p
p. 3
53-3
54
31 C
.D. Y
onge
(tr
ansl
ator
), T
he W
orks
of P
hilo
, p. 7
85
32 F
lavi
us J
osep
hus,
Ant
iqui
ties
of t
he J
ews,
Boo
k X
IV, B
ook
XV
33
Alf
red
Ede
rshe
im, T
he L
ife
and
Tim
es o
f Jes
us T
he M
essi
ah, p
. 182
34
Ibi
d 35
Ibi
d, p
. 852
36
Ibi
d 37
Rob
ert V
an V
oors
t, Je
sus
Out
side
the
New
Tes
tam
ent,
p. 1
14
38 W
illia
m R
amsa
y, S
t. P
aul T
he T
rave
ler
and
Rom
an C
itiz
en, p
. 19
39 I
bid,
p. 2
3 40
Ric
hard
Bat
ey, J
esus
and
The
For
gott
en C
ity,
p. 5
3 41
Ibi
d, p
. 15
42 R
anda
ll P
rice
, The
Sto
nes
Cry
Out
: W
hat A
rcha
eolo
gy R
evea
ls,
p. 3
05
43 R
alph
Mun
cast
er, 1
01 R
easo
ns Y
ou C
an B
elie
ve:
Why
Fai
th M
akes
Se
nse,
pp.
72-
73
44 W
illia
m F
. Alb
righ
t, T
he A
rcha
eolo
gy o
f Pal
esti
ne, p
p. 1
27-1
28
45 N
elso
n G
luec
k, R
iver
s in
the
Des
ert,
p. 3
1
PA
RT
III
End
Not
es:
1 R
ay C
omfo
rt, S
cien
tifi
c F
acts
in th
e B
ible
, p. 1
2 2
Jon
atha
n Sa
rfat
i, “T
he O
rigi
n of
Lif
e,”
in R
ober
t Car
ter,
ed.
,
E
volu
tion
’s A
chil
les
Hee
ls, p
. 84
3 F
red
Hoy
le, C
hand
ra W
ickr
amas
ingh
e, E
volu
tion
Fro
m S
pace
,
p.
24
4 J
ohn
F. A
shto
n, E
volu
tion
Im
poss
ible
, p. 1
91
5 I
bid,
p. 1
90
6 L
ee S
petn
er, N
ot B
y C
hanc
e, p
. 209
63
PA
RT
I E
nd N
otes
: 1
H. L
. Hoe
h, C
ompe
ndiu
m o
f Wor
ld H
isto
ry, p
. 40
2 J
ack
Finn
egan
, Lig
ht F
rom
the
Anc
ient
Pas
t, pp
. 65-
66
3 J
ohn
Urq
uhar
t, T
he W
onde
rs o
f Pro
phec
y, p
. 27
4 I
bid,
pp.
46-
47
5 I
bid,
pp.
31-
32
6 I
bid,
pp.
53-
54
7 J
.C. M
cCoa
n, E
gypt
, p. 5
8
Urq
uhar
t, p.
49
9 G
eorg
e R
awlin
son,
Egy
pt a
nd B
abyl
on, p
p. 3
18-3
19
10 U
rquh
art,
p. 5
3 11
Geo
rge
Raw
linso
n, P
hoen
icia
12
Urq
uhar
t, p.
16
13 R
awlin
son,
Pho
enic
ia, p
p. 2
22-2
35
14 U
rquh
art,
pp. 1
9-20
15
Aus
ten
Hen
ry L
ayar
d, N
inev
eh a
nd I
ts R
emai
ns
16 D
iodo
rus
of S
icil
y, B
ook
II, 2
6 17
Ibi
d, B
ook
II, 2
7 18
Flo
yd H
amilt
on, T
he B
asis
of C
hris
tian
Fai
th, p
. 310
19
Aus
ten
Hen
ry L
ayar
d, D
isco
veri
es A
mon
g th
e R
uins
of N
inev
eh a
nd
Bab
ylon
20
Pet
er S
tone
r, S
cien
ce S
peak
s: A
n E
valu
atio
n of
Chr
isti
an
Evi
denc
es, p
. 94
21 I
bid
P
AR
T I
I E
nd N
otes
: 1
C. L
eona
rd W
oolle
y, U
r of
the
Cha
ldee
s, p
p. 7
8-79
2
Joh
n B
righ
t, A
His
tory
of I
srae
l, p.
90
3 I
bid,
p. 9
2 4
Ibi
d, p
. 93
5 P
aul J
ohns
on, A
His
tory
of t
he J
ews,
p. 2
4
6 J
. A. T
hom
pson
, The
Bib
le a
nd A
rcha
eolo
gy, p
. 49
7
Wer
ner
Kel
ler,
The
Bib
le A
s H
isto
ry, p
. 86
8 K
. A. K
itche
n, O
n th
e R
elia
bili
ty o
f the
Old
Tes
tam
ent,
p. 3
66
9 J
ames
Hof
fmei
er, I
srae
l In
Egy
pt, p
. 98
10 D
avid
Roh
l, E
xodu
s, M
yth
or H
isto
ry, p
p. 1
06-1
08
11 I
bid,
p. 1
10
12 I
bid,
p. 1
17
13 I
bid,
p. 1
37
14 A
lan
Gar
dine
r, T
he A
dmon
itio
ns o
f an
Egy
ptia
n Sa
ge
15 H
offm
eier
, pp.
208
-209
16
Ibi
d, p
. 209
17
Kat
hlee
n K
enyo
n, J
eric
ho 3
, p. 3
70
62
HO
W C
RE
DIB
LE
IS
TH
E B
IBL
E?
In
trod
ucti
on
O
pini
ons
abou
t th
e B
ible
ran
ge f
rom
its
tot
al d
ism
issa
l as
a
coll
ecti
on o
f m
yths
and
fab
les
to t
he r
ever
ent
embr
ace
of S
crip
-tu
re a
s sa
cred
, ine
rran
t, an
d in
viol
ate.
In
secu
lar
acad
emic
cir
cles
, th
ere
are
thos
e w
ho s
ee t
he B
ible
as
noth
ing
mor
e th
an t
he e
ffor
ts
of a
ncie
nt w
rite
rs t
o po
rtra
y th
eir
peop
le a
s G
od’s
“ch
osen
” na
-tio
n,
thus
el
evat
ing
the
Bib
le’s
hi
stor
ical
si
gnif
ican
ce.
Oth
er
scho
lars
, ho
wev
er,
afte
r lo
okin
g ca
refu
lly i
nto
the
Bib
le—
alon
g w
ith t
he h
isto
ry a
nd a
rche
olog
y of
the
nat
ions
and
cul
ture
s im
-pa
ctin
g it
s na
rrat
ives
—ha
ve m
arve
led
at t
he a
ccur
acy
of i
ts p
re-
dict
ions
, th
e cr
edib
ility
of
its h
isto
ry,
and
the
cons
iste
ncy
of i
ts
them
es.
Fo
r pr
ofes
sing
C
hris
tiani
ty,
the
com
pila
tion
of
book
s kn
own
as t
he H
oly
Bib
le i
s pu
rpor
tedl
y th
e ba
sis
for
belie
f an
d do
ctri
nal
teac
hing
. Acc
ordi
ngly
, if
you
cons
ider
you
rsel
f a
Chr
is-
tian,
or
at l
east
a “
belie
ver
in G
od,”
the
nex
t lo
gica
l st
ep i
s to
de-
term
ine
whe
ther
the
Bib
le i
s re
liab
le a
s th
e in
spir
ed W
ord
of
God
. In
deed
, th
e B
ible
is
the
esse
ntia
l fo
unda
tion
on
whi
ch y
our
Chr
istia
n lif
e sh
ould
be
base
d.
B
ut c
an y
ou p
rove
its
vera
city
? M
any
Chr
istia
ns c
anno
t.
The
re a
re h
undr
eds
of p
rofe
ssin
g C
hris
tian
sect
s an
d de
-no
min
atio
ns t
hat
wra
ngle
ove
r do
ctri
nes
and
beli
efs.
The
y ca
nnot
al
l be
cor
rect
in
the
sigh
t of
God
. Fi
ndin
g ou
t w
ho,
if a
nyon
e, i
s tr
uly
righ
t co
uld
be a
hop
eles
s ex
erci
se—
unle
ss w
e kn
ow w
hat
God
Him
self
tea
ches
us.
For
tha
t, w
e ne
ed a
rel
iabl
e so
urce
of
info
rmat
ion
abou
t God
and
wha
t He
actu
ally
teac
hes.
The
re i
s ev
ery
reas
on t
o be
liev
e th
at t
he B
ible
cou
ld b
e th
at s
ourc
e. B
ut r
athe
r th
an a
ssum
e it
s ac
cura
cy a
nd r
elia
bili
ty,
why
not
exa
min
e fo
r ou
rsel
ves
whe
ther
the
Bib
le i
s in
fac
t th
e W
ord
of G
od—
or w
heth
er i
t is
sim
ply
myt
h an
d le
gend
? A
fter
al
l, if
we
are
not
care
ful,
we
coul
d m
ake
the
sam
e m
ista
ke a
s th
ose
who
are
ign
oran
t an
d gu
llibl
e—as
sum
ing
thin
gs t
o be
tru
e th
at i
n fa
ct m
ay n
ot b
e tr
ue.
Shou
ld w
e no
t ra
ther
“pr
ove
all
i
thin
gs”—
refu
sing
to b
elie
ve a
nyth
ing
we
can
not p
rove
?
Man
y pr
ofes
sing
C
hris
tians
ta
ke
for
gran
ted,
w
itho
ut
proo
f, th
at t
he B
ible
is
the
Wor
d of
God
. T
hus,
the
y ha
ve l
ittle
de
fens
e w
hen
assa
ulte
d by
arg
umen
ts a
gain
st th
e B
ible
’s c
redi
bil-
ity o
r cl
aim
s th
at i
t “s
ays
this
” or
“sa
ys t
hat.”
Dou
bt c
an s
et i
n,
and
thei
r fa
ith
may
be
wea
kene
d. I
n so
me
case
s, t
he s
hake
n be
-lie
ver
can
be l
ed i
nto
all
kind
s of
fal
se n
otio
ns—
or w
orse
, in
to
outr
ight
ske
ptic
ism
and
ult
imat
ely
athe
ism
.
But
ther
e is
no
reas
on th
at th
is s
houl
d ev
er h
appe
n.
T
here
are
a n
umbe
r of
sol
id r
easo
ns t
o be
liev
e th
at t
he B
i-bl
e is
in f
act t
he in
spir
ed a
nd r
elia
ble
Wor
d of
God
. For
exa
mpl
e:
1) M
any
of t
he B
ible
’s p
roph
etic
pre
dict
ions
hav
e be
en f
ulfi
lled
in
his
tory
, so
met
imes
cen
turi
es a
fter
the
pro
phec
y w
as g
iven
; 2)
M
any
bibl
ical
his
tori
cal a
ccou
nts
are
veri
fied
by
both
sec
ular
his
-to
ry a
nd a
rcha
eolo
gy;
3) T
he B
ible
is
esse
ntia
lly i
n ag
reem
ent
wit
h th
e pr
oven
fac
ts o
f sc
ienc
e; 4
) T
he B
ible
’s i
nter
nal
con-
sist
ency
and
har
mon
y cl
earl
y po
int t
o its
div
ine
insp
irat
ion.
Whi
le t
hese
fou
r ar
eas
of b
ibli
cal
auth
enti
city
are
not
the
on
ly e
vide
nce
for
the
divi
ne i
nspi
ratio
n of
the
Bib
le,
they
are
am
ong
the
mos
t co
nvin
cing
, es
peci
ally
for
tho
se c
omin
g to
the
su
bjec
t fr
om a
pos
ition
of
unce
rtai
nty.
With
tha
t in
min
d, w
e w
ill
elab
orat
e on
the
se f
our
aspe
cts
of b
ibli
cal
vera
city
.—D
unca
n M
acL
eod
ii
Intr
oduc
tion
Con
clus
ion
In
sum
mar
y, w
e fi
nd t
hat
the
sam
e pr
inci
ples
are
tho
ught
-fu
lly w
oven
thr
ough
out
the
Bib
le—
from
one
end
to
the
othe
r.
Tru
e, s
ome
of t
he s
tatu
tes
God
gav
e to
anc
ient
Isr
ael
cann
ot b
e ap
plie
d by
Chr
istia
ns i
n to
day’
s w
orld
—no
t un
til
Chr
ist
retu
rns
and
sets
up
the
Kin
gdom
of
God
. M
eanw
hile
, as
Chr
istia
ns,
we
shou
ld o
bey
the
“law
s of
the
lan
d” t
hat
are
in h
arm
ony
with
the
la
ws
of G
od. W
e ar
e to
live
by
ever
y (a
pplic
able
) w
ord,
then
, tha
t ha
s co
me
from
God
—as
He
give
s us
the
hel
p w
e ne
ed t
o un
der-
stan
d th
ose
wor
ds.
H
avin
g pr
oven
that
the
Bib
le is
in f
act t
rue
and
that
it
was
in
spir
ed b
y th
e C
reat
or G
od c
an b
e so
mew
hat
dang
erou
s—if
you
fa
il to
act
on
wha
t yo
u’ve
lea
rned
. But
if
you
are
will
ing
to a
pply
w
hat y
ou h
ave
lear
ned,
this
kno
wle
dge
can
be s
upre
mel
y va
luab
le
as p
art o
f th
e es
sent
ial f
ound
atio
n of
you
r fa
ith. W
ithou
t the
sol
id,
depe
ndab
le W
ord
of G
od—
the
Bib
le—
you
can
be l
ed b
y de
ceiv
-er
s to
bel
ieve
a v
arie
ty o
f er
rone
ous
teac
hing
s. B
ut w
ith a
fir
mly
fo
unde
d tr
ust i
n th
e B
ible
as
God
’s w
ritte
n W
ord
to y
ou p
erso
nal-
ly,
you
can
deve
lop
a lo
ving
, tr
ustin
g, o
bedi
ent
rela
tions
hip
with
G
od. I
f yo
u co
ntin
ue to
stu
dy G
od’s
Wor
d an
d in
crea
sing
ly c
ome
to k
now
bot
h w
hat
it te
ache
s an
d w
hat
it do
es n
ot t
each
, yo
u ca
n fu
lfil
l Pe
ter’
s ad
mon
itio
n to
“be
gro
win
g in
the
gra
ce a
nd t
he
know
ledg
e of
our
Lor
d an
d S
avio
r Je
sus
Chr
ist”
(II
Pet
. 3:1
8).
T
he B
ible
sta
nds
prov
en t
o be
tru
e. I
t is
God
’s i
nspi
red
Wor
d to
you
—H
is a
ll-im
port
ant
mes
sage
of
how
to
succ
essf
ully
liv
e yo
ur l
ife.
Wha
t w
ill y
ou d
o w
ith i
t—ne
glec
t it,
or
bene
fit
by
appl
ying
it
in y
our
life?
The
cho
ice
is y
ours
—th
e m
ost
impo
rtan
t ch
oice
you
will
eve
r m
ake!
61
Paul
tel
ls i
n de
tail
how
tho
se w
ho h
ave
died
in
the
fait
h w
ill
be
resu
rrec
ted
to e
tern
al l
ife
as S
piri
t-bo
rn s
ons
and
daug
hter
s of
G
od w
hen
Jesu
s re
turn
s to
the
ear
th.
The
esc
hato
logi
cal
visi
ons
God
gav
e Jo
hn a
lso
agre
e w
ith P
aul’
s te
achi
ng t
hat
the
faith
ful
dead
wil
l be
res
urre
cted
to
eter
nal
life
(R
ev.
11:1
5; 1
4:14
-16;
20
:4-5
).
Pa
ul e
xpla
ins
genu
ine
godl
y fa
ith i
n H
ebre
ws
11,
the
“fai
th c
hapt
er.”
Eac
h ex
ampl
e of
fai
thfu
lnes
s he
cit
es c
an b
e fo
und
in t
he O
ld T
esta
men
t—an
d ea
ch e
xam
ple
of l
ivin
g fa
ith
link
s fa
ith
with
ob
edie
nce
to
God
. Pa
ul,
like
Chr
ist,
clea
rly
equa
tes
godl
y fa
ith w
ith o
bedi
ence
.
Paul
loo
ked
to J
esus
as
God
“m
anif
este
d in
the
fle
sh”
(I
Tim
. 3:
16).
How
the
n ca
n w
e im
agin
e th
at h
e w
ould
dar
e pr
each
an
ythi
ng in
con
flic
t wit
h C
hris
t’s
teac
hing
s?
Cha
pter
Thi
rtee
n
60
PA
RT
I:
B
ible
Pro
phec
y F
ulfi
lled
Thr
ough
out
His
tory
The
pro
phet
s of
the
Bib
le m
ade
coun
tless
pre
dict
ions
for
m
any
natio
ns—
grea
t an
d sm
all,
wel
l kn
own
and
obsc
ure.
In
this
se
ctio
n, w
e w
ill o
utlin
e w
hat
bibl
ical
pro
phet
s ha
d to
say
abo
ut
the
resp
ecti
ve f
utur
es o
f fo
ur o
f th
e gr
eate
st p
ower
s of
the
pre
-R
ome
anci
ent
wor
ld:
Egy
pt,
the
Phoe
nici
ans,
Ass
yria
, an
d B
aby-
lon.
Eac
h in
its
turn
was
the
mos
t pow
erfu
l nat
ion
or e
mpi
re o
f its
ti
me.
CH
AP
TE
R O
NE
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
Egy
pt
H
isto
rian
s ge
nera
lly tr
eat
Egy
pt a
s th
e ea
rlie
st o
f th
e gr
eat
wor
ld e
mpi
res.
But
tho
se s
tudy
ing
its d
ynas
tic h
isto
ry o
ften
ove
r-lo
ok t
he f
act
that
Egy
pt w
as s
eldo
m a
sin
gle,
uni
fied
nat
ion-
stat
e.
Rat
her,
“E
gypt
” w
as u
sual
ly a
fed
erat
ion
of a
uton
omou
s ci
ty-
stat
es lo
cate
d al
ong
the
Nile
Riv
er.1 T
he t
wo
that
gen
eral
ly d
omi-
nate
d w
ere
The
bes
and
Mem
phis
—ea
ch i
n tu
rn b
eing
see
n as
the
“c
apit
al”
or m
ost
pow
erfu
l of
the
cit
y-st
ates
. O
ther
cit
y-st
ates
w
hose
dyn
astie
s ar
e in
clud
ed i
n E
gypt
’s k
ing-
lists
wer
e H
er-
acle
opol
is,
Ele
phan
tine,
A
bydo
s,
Thi
nis,
an
d B
ubas
tis.
Man
y E
gypt
olog
ists
als
o ov
erlo
ok t
he f
act
that
oft
en m
ore
than
one
of
thes
e dy
nast
ies
rule
d at
the
sam
e tim
e in
thei
r re
spec
tive
city
-sta
te
terr
itori
es—
resu
lting
fre
quen
tly i
n dy
nast
ies
who
se t
ime-
span
s ov
erla
pped
.
The
his
tory
of
Egy
pt i
s ty
pica
lly s
een
as s
tret
chin
g ba
ck
thou
sand
s of
yea
rs f
urth
er t
han
it a
ctua
lly
does
. H
isto
rian
Jac
k Fi
nneg
an e
xpla
ins:
“In
the
arr
ange
men
t of
the
se a
nd o
ther
Egy
p-tia
n m
ater
ials
with
in a
fra
mew
ork
of c
onse
cutiv
e dy
nast
ies,
all
mod
ern
hist
oria
ns a
re d
epen
dent
upo
n an
anc
ient
pre
dece
ssor
. T
his
was
an
Egy
ptia
n pr
iest
nam
ed M
anet
ho…
. Ber
osus
of
Bab
y-lo
n w
as p
ract
ical
ly a
con
tem
pora
ry, a
nd t
he t
wo
beca
me
riva
ls i
n th
e pr
ocla
mat
ion
of t
he g
reat
ness
and
ant
iqui
ty o
f th
eir
resp
ecti
ve
land
s.”2 T
o pu
t it b
lunt
ly, M
anet
ho k
now
ingl
y po
rtra
yed
the
over
-la
ppin
g dy
nast
ies
of m
ultip
le E
gypt
ian
city
-sta
tes
as i
f th
ey a
ll ha
d be
en c
onse
cuti
ve,
so a
s to
mak
e E
gypt
see
m m
uch
mor
e an
-ci
ent t
han
it e
ver
was
.
1
It
is
impo
rtan
t th
at w
e un
ders
tand
thi
s fa
ct,
beca
use
we
can
othe
rwis
e be
dec
eive
d in
to t
hink
ing
the
Bib
le i
s in
err
or o
n ch
rono
logy
, w
hen
in f
act
it is
acc
urat
e. E
gypt
is
now
here
nea
r 10
,000
yea
rs o
ld;
it is
not
eve
n 5,
000
year
s ol
d. W
ith t
he k
ing
lists
co
rrec
tly
unde
rsto
od
as
over
lapp
ing
dyna
stie
s,
num
erou
s m
oder
n hi
stor
ians
hav
e re
vise
d th
eir
esti
mat
ed d
ate
for
the
Firs
t D
ynas
ty—
dow
nwar
d fr
om 8
,400
BC
to
abou
t 2,
750
BC
. T
his
corr
ecte
d vi
ew b
ette
r ha
rmon
izes
with
the
bibl
ical
acc
ount
s.
In
man
y ca
ses,
Bib
le p
roph
ecie
s re
gard
ing
Egy
pt d
eal
with
in
divi
dual
ci
ty-s
tate
s—th
e m
ain
two
bein
g T
hebe
s (i
dent
ifie
d by
its
an
cien
t na
me
of
No-
Am
on)
and
Mem
phis
(i
dent
ifie
d as
Pa-
noap
h).
Pass
ages
in
the
Kin
g Ja
mes
Ver
sion
(K
JV)
refe
r to
No-
Am
on s
impl
y as
No,
and
to P
a-no
aph
sim
ply
as
Nop
h. T
hebe
s an
d M
emph
is w
ere
nam
es l
ater
app
lied
to
thes
e ci
ties
by th
e G
reek
s af
ter
the
conq
uest
of
Egy
pt in
330
BC
by
Al-
exan
der
the
Gre
at. E
ven
the
nam
e “E
gypt
” its
elf
is o
f G
reek
der
i-va
tion;
the
orig
inal
nam
e of
the
peop
le w
as M
izra
im.
T
here
are
sev
eral
pre
dict
ions
in
the
Bib
le a
bout
eac
h of
th
e tw
o pr
imar
y E
gypt
ian
“cap
ital
” ci
ties
, T
hebe
s an
d M
emph
is,
as w
ell a
s pr
edic
tions
abo
ut th
e w
hole
land
of
Egy
pt.
T
hebe
s (N
o)
P
roph
ecy—
In E
zeki
el 3
0, G
od i
s qu
oted
as
decl
arin
g th
at
He
will
“ex
ecut
e ju
dgm
ents
in
No”
(ve
rse
14),
“cu
t of
f th
e m
ulti-
tude
of
No”
(ve
rse
15),
and
that
“N
o sh
all b
e to
rn a
sund
er”
(ver
se
16).
Eze
kiel
was
wri
ting
in t
he 5
80s
BC
aft
er h
avin
g be
en t
aken
ca
ptiv
e, a
long
with
the
Jew
s, t
o B
abyl
on b
y N
ebuc
hadn
ezza
r—w
hose
dyn
asty
was
late
r ov
erth
row
n by
the
Pers
ians
in 5
39.
F
ulfi
llm
ent—
In
525
BC
, C
amby
ses,
ki
ng
of
Pers
ia,
“cap
ture
d T
hebe
s an
d po
ured
out
upo
n its
dev
oted
hea
d th
e w
rath
of
his
ins
ane
fero
city
. It
s m
ajes
tic t
empl
es w
ere
cons
umed
with
fi
re;
and
the
pow
er o
f th
e vi
ctor
ious
hos
t w
as b
ent
to o
vert
hrow
, or
mar
, it
s co
loss
al s
tatu
es…
. It
cea
sed
to b
e E
gypt
’s c
hief
cit
y.
The
cap
ital
was
rem
oved
in
turn
to
Mem
phis
, Sa
is,
and
Ale
xan-
dria
….
Yet
, no
twith
stan
ding
its
lon
g de
clin
e, w
hen
the
seco
nd
stro
ke f
ell,
in th
e fi
rst c
entu
ry p
rece
ding
the
Chr
isti
an e
ra, T
hebe
s w
as e
ven
then
one
of
the
wea
lthie
st c
ities
in
the
land
. T
he b
low
w
as d
ealt
by o
ne o
f E
gypt
’s o
wn
prin
ces,
Pto
lem
y L
athy
rus,
the
gr
andf
athe
r of
Cle
opat
ra,
abou
t th
e ye
ar 8
9 B
C…
. It
was
alm
ost
2
Cha
pter
One
teac
hing
s? I
ndee
d, a
car
eful
rea
ding
of
Paul
’s w
riti
ngs
will
rev
eal
that
in
no w
ay d
id h
e pr
each
any
thin
g th
at c
onfl
icts
wit
h th
e te
achi
ngs
of J
esus
.
For
exam
ple,
Pau
l sum
mar
izes
the
Ten
Com
man
dmen
ts a
s th
e la
w o
f lo
ve:
“Bec
ause
it
says
, ‘yo
u sh
all
not
com
mit
adul
tery
, yo
u sh
all
not
com
mit
mur
der,
you
sha
ll no
t st
eal,
you
shal
l no
t be
ar f
alse
witn
ess,
you
sha
ll no
t lu
st,’
and
if
ther
e be
any
oth
er
com
man
dmen
t, it
is s
umm
ed u
p in
this
say
ing,
eve
n by
this
sta
nd-
ard,
‘Y
ou s
hall
love
you
r ne
ighb
or a
s yo
urse
lf’
” (R
om. 1
3:9)
. He
clea
rly
wri
tes,
“C
ircu
mci
sion
[of
the
fle
sh]
is n
othi
ng,
and
unci
r-cu
mci
sion
is
noth
ing;
rat
her,
the
kee
ping
of
God
’s c
omm
and-
men
ts i
s es
sent
ial”
(I
Cor
. 7:
19).
Doe
s th
is a
t al
l so
und
like
Paul
co
nsid
ered
the
Ten
Com
man
dmen
ts o
r th
e L
aw “
done
aw
ay”?
Quo
ting
all
of t
he p
lace
s Pa
ul’s
wri
tings
agr
ee w
ith t
he
teac
hing
s of
Chr
ist
wou
ld m
ake
this
wri
ting
exce
ssiv
ely
long
. If
yo
ur m
ind
is o
pen,
the
abo
ve e
xam
ples
sho
uld
suff
ice.
If
not,
I ch
alle
nge
you
to s
tudy
the
who
le N
ew T
esta
men
t an
d se
e fo
r yo
urse
lf t
hat
ther
e ar
e no
act
ual
conf
lict
s be
twee
n th
e te
achi
ngs
of P
aul
or a
ny o
f th
e ot
her
apos
tles
and
thos
e of
Chr
ist.
In s
ome
case
s an
apo
stol
ic w
riti
ng m
ay g
o in
to g
reat
er d
etai
l on
an
issu
e th
an d
id J
esus
, bu
t su
ch a
mpl
ific
atio
ns i
n no
way
con
stitu
te c
on-
trad
ictio
n.
Fo
r ex
ampl
e, i
n hi
s fa
mou
s “l
ove
chap
ter”
(I
Cor
. 13
),
Pau
l ex
pand
s on
Chr
ist’
s te
achi
ng a
bout
lov
e fo
r fe
llow
man
. T
hen
he s
ums
up b
y re
info
rcin
g Je
sus’
teac
hing
that
the
seco
nd o
f th
e tw
o gr
eat
com
man
dmen
ts i
s lo
ve f
or n
eigh
bor.
He
says
, “A
nd
now
, th
ese
thre
e re
mai
n: f
aith
, ho
pe a
nd l
ove;
but
the
gre
ates
t of
th
ese
is l
ove”
(ve
rse
13).
Isn
’t t
hat w
hat J
esus
was
say
ing
in M
at-
thew
22:
39?
Con
sist
ency
of
Pri
ncip
les
Bet
wee
n O
ld a
nd N
ew T
esta
men
ts
59
anot
her
pers
on,
incl
udin
g th
eir
wif
e or
hus
band
. N
umer
ous
New
T
esta
men
t pas
sage
s te
ach
that
cov
etou
snes
s is
wro
ng (
Rom
. 7:7
; I
Cor
. 6:1
0; I
I T
im. 3
:2).
God
had
com
man
ded
Abr
aham
and
his
mal
e de
scen
dant
s to
be
circ
umci
sed.
In
Paul
’s t
ime,
it
was
a J
udai
c de
cree
tha
t a
Gen
tile
pros
elyt
e to
Jud
aism
had
to
be c
ircu
mci
sed.
Gen
tile
con-
vert
s to
Chr
isti
anit
y, h
owev
er,
wer
e no
t re
quir
ed b
y ei
ther
Pet
er
or P
aul
to b
e ci
rcum
cise
d. W
hy?
Bec
ause
as
Paul
cle
arly
tau
ght,
God
int
ende
d ph
ysic
al c
ircu
mci
sion
to
be o
nly
a ty
pe o
f sp
irit
ual
circ
umci
sion
—a
“cir
cum
cisi
on”
of t
he h
eart
, lea
ding
to
prof
ound
re
pent
ance
of
sin
and
conv
ersi
on.
Paul
wro
te:
“For
he
is n
ot a
[s
piri
tual
] Je
w w
ho i
s on
e ou
twar
dly,
nei
ther
is
that
cir
cum
cisi
on
whi
ch is
ext
erna
l in
the
fles
h; r
athe
r, h
e is
a [
spir
itua
l] J
ew w
ho is
on
e in
war
dly,
and
cir
cum
cisi
on i
s of
the
hea
rt,
in t
he s
piri
t an
d no
t in
th
e le
tter
; w
hose
pr
aise
is
no
t fr
om
men
bu
t fr
om
God
” (R
om. 2
:28-
29).
But
is
ther
e a
corr
obor
atio
n of
thi
s pr
inci
ple
in t
he O
ld
Tes
tam
ent?
Ind
eed
ther
e is
, in
sev
eral
pla
ces.
For
exa
mpl
e, G
od
told
the
Isra
elit
es th
roug
h M
oses
: “T
here
fore
, cir
cum
cise
the
fore
-sk
in o
f yo
ur h
eart
and
be
no l
onge
r st
iff-
neck
ed”
(Deu
t. 10
:16)
. A
dditi
onal
ly, “
And
the
Lor
d yo
ur G
od w
ill c
ircu
mci
se y
our
hear
t an
d th
e he
art o
f yo
ur s
eed
to lo
ve th
e L
ord
your
God
with
all
your
he
art a
nd w
ith a
ll yo
ur s
oul,
so th
at y
ou m
ay li
ve”
(Deu
t. 30
:6).
A
“cir
cum
cise
d he
art”
see
ms
to b
e a
met
apho
r in
bot
h th
e O
ld a
nd
the
New
Tes
tam
ents
for
lov
ing
God
and
bei
ng w
illin
g to
obe
y H
im.
S
ome
have
all
eged
that
the
teac
hing
s of
the
apos
tles
, esp
e-ci
ally
Pau
l, di
ffer
fro
m t
he t
each
ings
of
Chr
ist.
But
the
fol
low
ing
exam
ples
will
sho
w t
hat
Jesu
s an
d th
e ap
ostle
s ta
ught
the
sam
e pr
inci
ples
.
Chr
ist
unam
bigu
ousl
y to
ld H
is d
isci
ples
tha
t if
the
y lo
ved
Him
the
y w
ould
kee
p H
is c
omm
andm
ents
. Jo
hn,
the
“dis
cipl
e w
hom
Jes
us l
oved
,” t
ells
us
in h
is f
irst
gen
eral
epi
stle
tha
t th
e st
anda
rd b
y w
hich
we
(tru
e C
hris
tians
) kn
ow t
hat
we
“kno
w
Him
” is
that
we
“kee
p H
is c
omm
andm
ents
” (I
Joh
n 2:
3). H
e go
es
on i
n th
e ne
xt v
erse
to
call
anyo
ne a
lia
r w
ho c
laim
s to
kno
w
Chr
ist b
ut d
oes
not k
eep
His
com
man
dmen
ts.
Cha
pter
Thi
rtee
n
58
entir
ely
leve
led
to th
e gr
ound
, and
the
wor
ds o
f th
e fo
urte
enth
and
fi
ftee
nth
vers
es [
of E
zeki
el 3
0] f
ound
a c
ompl
ete
fulf
illm
ent.”
3
Mem
phis
(N
oph)
Pro
phec
y—T
he p
roph
et J
erem
iah
mak
es t
he e
arli
est
pre-
dict
ion
abou
t Mem
phis
in th
e cl
osin
g ye
ars
of th
e na
tion
of J
udah
, be
fore
Neb
ucha
dnez
zar
firs
t to
ok m
any
Jew
s in
to c
aptiv
ity t
o B
abyl
on.
In J
erem
iah
46:1
9, h
e sa
ys t
hat
“Nop
h sh
all
be w
aste
an
d de
sola
te
with
out
inha
bita
nt.”
E
zeki
el,
a fe
w
year
s la
ter,
qu
otes
God
as
sayi
ng,
“I w
ill a
lso
dest
roy
the
idol
s, a
nd I
will
ca
use
thei
r im
ages
to c
ease
out
of
Nop
h” (
Eze
k. 3
0:13
).
F
ulfi
llm
ent—
“And
now
wha
t of
to-
day?
So
com
plet
ely
has
the
doom
bee
n ac
com
plis
hed
that
a c
entu
ry a
go [
befo
re 1
925]
th
e si
te o
f M
emph
is w
as a
mat
ter
of d
ispu
te.
Lat
er i
nves
tigat
ions
ha
ve s
ettle
d th
e qu
estio
n, b
ut t
hey
have
als
o ve
rifi
ed t
he t
ruth
of
the
[Bib
le’s
] pr
edic
tion
… [
that
] th
e id
ols
and
the
imag
es a
nd t
he
tem
ples
—th
e ci
ty a
nd a
ll it
con
tain
ed h
ave
pass
ed a
way
.”4
T
he L
and
of E
gypt
Of
the
land
of
Egy
pt i
tsel
f, t
here
are
a n
umbe
r of
pro
phe-
cies
in
the
Bib
le t
hat,
in s
ome
case
s, h
ave
take
n ce
ntur
ies
to b
e fu
lfil
led;
in f
act,
som
e ar
e st
ill b
eing
ful
fill
ed to
this
ver
y da
y.
P
roph
ecy—
In t
he 5
80s
BC
, th
e pr
ophe
t E
zeki
el w
rote
of
Egy
pt: “
It s
hall
be [
beco
me]
the
low
est o
f th
e ki
ngdo
ms,
and
sha
ll
no m
ore
exal
t its
elf
abov
e th
e na
tion
s. F
or I
wil
l m
ake
them
so
few
, tha
t th
ey s
hall
no m
ore
rule
ove
r th
e na
tions
” (E
zek.
29:
15).
T
hus,
Egy
pt’s
day
s of
im
peri
al p
ower
wer
e to
com
e to
an
end.
In
addi
tion,
Eze
kiel
pre
dict
ed t
hat
“the
re s
hall
no m
ore
be a
pri
nce
of
the
land
of
E
gypt
; an
d I
will
pu
t a
fear
in
th
e la
nd
of
Egy
pt”
(Eze
k. 3
0:13
).
F
ulfi
llm
ent—
The
se
long
-ter
m
prop
heci
es—
that
E
gypt
w
ould
det
erio
rate
int
o a
base
and
wea
k na
tion,
and
tha
t no
nat
ive
Egy
ptia
n w
ould
eve
r ru
le t
he l
and
agai
n—ha
ve t
aken
cen
turi
es t
o be
ful
fille
d. N
ebuc
hadn
ezza
r of
Bab
ylon
con
quer
ed E
gypt
soo
n af
ter
conq
ueri
ng J
erus
alem
. A
fter
abo
ut f
orty
yea
rs,
the
Pers
ians
co
nque
red
the
city
of
Bab
ylon
, an
d th
e B
abyl
onia
n em
pire
, in
-cl
udin
g E
gypt
, pa
ssed
int
o Pe
rsia
n ha
nds.
Tw
o ce
ntur
ies
late
r, i
n 33
0 B
C,
Ale
xand
er t
he G
reat
con
quer
ed E
gypt
. T
his
gave
the
3
Egy
pt
land
nom
inal
inde
pend
ence
und
er th
e G
reek
dyn
asty
of
the
Ptol
e-m
ies,
whi
ch e
nded
wit
h th
e de
ath
of q
ueen
Cle
opat
ra—
kille
d al
ong
with
Mar
k A
nton
y by
Oct
avia
n (n
ephe
w o
f Ju
lius
Cae
sar)
in
a b
attle
for
the
rule
rshi
p of
Rom
e.
T
hrou
ghou
t th
is t
ime,
Egy
pt h
ad r
emai
ned
a so
mew
hat
pros
pero
us n
atio
n an
d an
im
port
ant
play
er i
n in
tern
atio
nal
poli
-ti
cs.
But
it
now
bec
ame
a m
ere
prov
ince
of
the
Rom
an E
mpi
re,
and
the
regi
on s
erve
d as
the
“gra
nary
” of
the
empi
re f
or c
entu
ries
. Im
port
antly
, Egy
pt h
ad b
een
rule
d by
for
eign
ers
sinc
e N
ebuc
had-
nezz
ar.
In
638
AD
, th
e fo
rces
of
the
new
Isl
amic
Ara
b em
pire
co
nque
red
Egy
pt a
fter
a l
ong
sieg
e of
the
cap
ital,
Ale
xand
ria.
Si
nce
then
, th
e co
untr
y ha
s be
en m
ostly
occ
upie
d an
d ru
led
by
peop
le o
f A
rab
desc
ent.
A
utho
r Jo
hn U
rquh
art
asks
, “H
ave
the
last
tw
elve
and
a
half
cen
turi
es p
rove
d or
dis
prov
ed t
he S
crip
ture
? H
ere
is t
he a
n-sw
er:
The
re h
as b
een,
as
was
pre
dict
ed,
a co
nsta
nt d
eclin
e. F
rom
th
e ti
me
of t
he B
abyl
onia
n in
vasi
on t
here
was
no
revi
val
of
Egy
pt’s
gre
atne
ss a
nd p
reem
inen
ce a
mon
g th
e na
tions
….
In t
he
Egy
pt o
f th
e Ph
arao
hs, o
f th
e Pe
rsia
n do
min
ion,
of
the
Ptol
emie
s,
of th
e R
oman
Em
pire
, [an
d] o
f th
e M
oham
med
ans,
we
see
a gr
ad-
ual b
ut c
ontin
uous
des
cent
. Aft
er th
e A
rab
conq
uest
the
dege
nera
-tio
n pr
ocee
ded
with
rap
id s
trid
es, t
ill E
gypt
has
bec
ome
wha
t it i
s to
day
[192
5]…
. A
long
tha
t pa
thw
ay o
f th
e pa
st,
ever
ythi
ng t
hat
mad
e th
e E
gypt
ians
wha
t the
y w
ere
[his
tori
cally
] ha
s be
en w
holly
lo
st.”
5
rive
rs d
ry…
” (E
zek.
30:
12).
Ear
lier,
Isa
iah
had
wri
tten:
“A
nd t
he w
ater
s fr
om t
he s
ea w
ill d
ry u
p, a
nd t
he
rive
r sh
all
be p
arch
ed a
nd d
ry.
And
riv
ers
shal
l be
fou
led;
the
st
ream
s of
Egy
pt w
ill l
angu
ish
and
dry
up;
the
reed
and
the
rus
h sh
all
wit
her…
. The
fis
herm
en a
lso
shal
l m
ourn
, and
all
who
dro
p a
hook
int
o th
e N
ile s
hall
wai
l, an
d th
ose
who
spr
ead
nets
upo
n th
e w
ater
s sh
all l
angu
ish”
(Is
a. 1
9:5-
6, 8
).
Cha
pter
One
4
the
apos
tle
Paul
lik
ewis
e em
phas
izes
tha
t th
ere
is o
nly
one
true
G
od.
“For
ind
eed,
eve
n if
the
re a
re t
hose
whi
ch a
re c
alle
d go
ds,
whe
ther
in
heav
en o
r on
ear
th,
as t
here
are
man
y go
ds a
nd m
any
lord
s, s
till
to u
s th
ere
is o
ne G
od t
he F
athe
r, f
rom
Who
m a
re a
ll th
ings
, an
d w
e ar
e in
Him
, an
d on
e L
ord
Jesu
s C
hris
t, by
Who
m
are
all t
hing
s, a
nd w
e ar
e by
Him
” (I
Cor
. 7:5
-6).
2) I
n E
xodu
s 20
:4-6
and
Deu
tero
nom
y 5:
8-9,
we
read
the
co
mm
and
agai
nst
idol
wor
ship
. T
his
com
man
d ap
pear
s se
vera
l tim
es i
n th
e N
ew T
esta
men
t (I
Joh
n 5:
21;
I C
or.
6:9-
10;
Rev
. 21
:8; e
tc.)
.
3) T
he c
omm
andm
ent
proh
ibiti
ng u
sing
God
’s n
ame
in
vain
occ
urs
in E
xodu
s 20
:7 a
nd D
eute
rono
my
5:11
. In
Mat
thew
6:
7, C
hris
t te
lls H
is d
isci
ples
not
to
vain
ly r
epea
t an
y pr
ayer
by
rote
. L
ikew
ise,
Pau
l ad
mon
ishe
s th
e E
phes
ians
to
avoi
d al
l co
r-ru
pt c
omm
unic
atio
n (E
ph. 4
:29)
.
4) T
he s
even
th-d
ay S
abba
th i
s co
mm
ande
d in
Exo
dus
20:8
-11
and
Deu
tero
nom
y 5:
12-1
4. W
e no
te t
hat
Jesu
s ke
pt t
he
Sab
bath
as
an e
xam
ple
for
His
fol
low
ers.
We
read
in
Luk
e 4:
16
that
kee
ping
the
Sab
bath
was
His
cus
tom
. Plu
s, H
e cl
earl
y ar
ticu-
late
d th
at H
e is
“L
ord”
of
the
Sabb
ath
day—
not
Sund
ay (
Mar
k 2:
27-2
8).
5)
To
hono
r on
e’s
mot
her
and
fath
er i
s th
e Fi
fth
Com
-m
andm
ent
(Ex.
20:
12;
Deu
t. 5:
16).
In
Mar
k 7:
9-13
, C
hris
t co
n-de
mne
d th
e sc
ribe
s an
d Ph
aris
ees
for
nulli
fyin
g th
is c
omm
and
by
carn
ally
rea
soni
ng a
roun
d it.
6) E
xodu
s 20
:13
and
Deu
tero
nom
y 5:
17 t
ell
us n
ot t
o co
mm
it m
urde
r. I
n m
any
plac
es i
n th
e N
ew T
esta
men
t m
urde
r is
co
ndem
ned
(I J
ohn
3:15
; Rev
. 21:
8; 2
2:13
; etc
.).
7)
We
see
next
the
com
man
d ag
ains
t ad
ulte
ry i
n E
xodu
s 20
:14
and
Deu
tero
nom
y 5:
18.
Rom
ans
13:8
-9 t
ells
us
that
not
co
mm
ittin
g ad
ulte
ry is
one
of
the
way
s w
e lo
ve o
ur n
eigh
bor.
He-
brew
s 13
:4 te
lls u
s th
at G
od w
ill ju
dge
adul
tere
rs.
8)
The
Eig
hth
Com
man
dmen
t is
aga
inst
ste
alin
g (E
x.
20:1
5; D
eut.
5:19
). T
hiev
es a
re n
umbe
red
amon
g th
ose
who
will
ha
ve n
o pl
ace
in th
e K
ingd
om o
f G
od (
I C
or. 6
:10)
.
9) B
eari
ng f
alse
wit
ness
, or
lyin
g, i
s pr
ohib
ited
in E
xodu
s 20
:16
and
Deu
tero
nom
y 5:
20. I
n R
evel
atio
n 21
:8, w
e re
ad o
f lia
rs
bein
g ex
clud
ed f
rom
the
Kin
gdom
of
God
.
10)
In E
xodu
s 20
:17
and
Deu
tero
nom
y 5:
21,
God
com
-m
ands
us
not
to c
ovet
(w
rong
ly d
esir
e) a
nyth
ing
that
bel
ongs
to
Con
sist
ency
of
Pri
ncip
les
Bet
wee
n O
ld a
nd N
ew T
esta
men
ts
57
.
Rig
ht a
fter
tha
t, C
hris
t ad
ded,
“A
nd t
he s
econ
d is
lik
e it:
‘Y
ou s
hall
love
you
r ne
ighb
or a
s yo
urse
lf.
On
thes
e tw
o co
m-
man
dmen
ts h
ang
all
the
Law
and
the
Pro
phet
s’ ”
(ve
rses
39-
40).
T
he s
econ
d of
the
se t
wo
com
man
dmen
ts i
s al
so f
ound
in
the
Old
T
esta
men
t: “Y
ou s
hall
love
you
r ne
ighb
or a
s yo
urse
lf”
(Lev
. 19
:18)
.
Ano
ther
im
port
ant
prin
cipl
e w
e fi
nd i
n bo
th t
esta
men
ts i
s hu
mili
ty b
efor
e G
od.
Isai
ah 6
6:2
quot
es G
od a
s sa
ying
, “T
o th
is
one
will
I l
ook,
to
him
who
is
of a
poo
r an
d co
ntri
te s
piri
t, an
d w
ho tr
embl
es a
t My
Wor
d.”
Whe
n Je
sus
gave
the
“Ser
mon
on
the
Mou
nt,”
He
bega
n it
with
, “B
less
ed a
re t
he p
oor
in s
piri
t, fo
r th
eirs
is th
e ki
ngdo
m o
f he
aven
.”
T
hose
wit
h th
is a
ttit
ude
of r
ever
ent
hum
ilit
y be
fore
God
w
ill o
f co
urse
be
obed
ient
to H
im. M
oses
told
the
Isra
elite
s in
Ex-
odus
23:
22, “
But
if y
ou s
hall
inde
ed o
bey
His
voi
ce, t
hen
He
will
be
an
enem
y to
you
r en
emie
s an
d a
foe
to y
our
foes
….”
The
sam
e ad
mon
itio
n to
obe
y G
od i
s re
peat
ed c
ount
less
tim
es (
for
exam
ple,
D
eut.
30:2
, 8,
20)
. In
the
New
Tes
tam
ent,
Jesu
s te
lls H
is d
isci
-pl
es,
“If
you
love
Me,
kee
p th
e co
mm
andm
ents
—na
mel
y M
y co
mm
andm
ents
.” H
e sa
ys f
urth
er i
n ve
rse
21,
“The
one
who
has
M
y co
mm
andm
ents
and
is
keep
ing
them
, th
at i
s th
e on
e w
ho
love
s M
e, a
nd th
e on
e w
ho lo
ves
Me
shal
l be
love
d by
My
Fath
er,
and
I w
ill
love
him
and
wil
l m
anif
est
Mys
elf
to h
im.”
Jus
t as
in
the
Old
Tes
tam
ent,
Jesu
s cl
osel
y lin
ks l
ove
for
God
with
obe
di-
ence
to H
im.
A
noth
er i
mpo
rtan
t pr
inci
ple
foun
d in
bot
h te
stam
ents
is
reve
aled
fir
st i
n D
eute
rono
my
8, t
he t
each
ing
that
“m
an d
oes
not
live
by b
read
alo
ne,
but
by e
very
wor
d th
at p
roce
eds
out
of t
he
mou
th o
f th
e L
ord
does
man
liv
e” (
vers
e 3)
. Je
sus
repe
ated
thi
s te
achi
ng w
hen
Sat
an tr
ied
to g
et H
im to
turn
sto
nes
into
bre
ad. “
It
is w
ritte
n, ‘
Man
sha
ll no
t liv
e by
bre
ad a
lone
, bu
t by
eve
ry w
ord
that
pro
ceed
s ou
t of
the
mou
th o
f G
od’
” (M
att.
4:4)
. In
deed
, th
e pr
inci
ple
of
livin
g by
all
of
th
e B
ible
is
co
nsis
tent
ly
taug
ht
thro
ugho
ut b
oth
test
amen
ts.
W
e al
so n
ote
that
eac
h of
the
Ten
Com
man
dmen
ts o
f E
xo-
dus
20 a
nd D
eute
rono
my
5 is
tau
ght
in t
he N
ew T
esta
men
t as
w
ell.
1) T
he F
irst
Com
man
dmen
t is
to
have
no
othe
r go
ds b
e-fo
re t
he t
rue
God
(E
x. 2
0:3;
Deu
t. 5:
6-7)
. In
the
New
Tes
tam
ent,
Cha
pter
Thi
rtee
n
56
prop
hecy
was
a c
ondi
tion
thro
ugh
whi
ch t
hey
actu
ally
pas
sed…
. H
avin
g on
ce b
een
very
pro
duct
ive
and
a m
ain
sour
ce o
f re
venu
e as
wel
l as
sus
tena
nce,
the
fis
heri
es a
re n
ow s
carc
ely
of a
ny m
o-m
ent…
.”6
J.
C.
McC
oan
also
poi
nts
out
that
the
Nile
tod
ay h
as o
nly
two
bran
ches
lef
t in
the
del
ta t
hat
are
at a
ll n
avig
able
—th
e R
oset
-ta
and
the
Dam
ietta
. “T
he f
ive
othe
r co
urse
s of
the
rive
r ha
ve lo
ng
ago
silte
d up
….”
7 M
cCoa
n te
lls
us t
hat
acco
rdin
g to
the
anc
ient
G
reek
his
tori
an H
erod
otus
, the
tw
o th
at a
re s
till
navi
gabl
e ar
e th
e “w
ork
of m
an”
(McC
oan
does
not
cite
exa
ctly
whe
re i
n H
erod
o-tu
s’ H
isto
ries
we
find
thes
e w
ords
).
A
ll of
the
nat
ural
bra
nche
s of
the
Nil
e D
elta
tha
t ex
iste
d in
Isa
iah’
s ti
me
are
toda
y dr
ied
up—
or a
re,
at b
est,
mar
shy
swam
plan
ds!
The
onl
y tw
o br
anch
es t
hat
can
be n
avig
ated
tod
ay
orig
inat
ed a
s ch
anne
ls d
ug b
y m
an.
“Eve
n th
ese
are
acce
ssib
le
only
to s
mal
l to
med
ium
-siz
ed v
esse
ls.”
8
Reg
ardi
ng
Isai
ah’s
pr
ophe
cy
that
th
e “f
ishe
rs
shal
l m
ourn
,” “
Her
odot
us s
ays
that
a c
erta
in n
umbe
r of
the
poo
rer
Egy
ptia
ns ‘
lived
alm
ost
entir
ely
on f
ish.
’ It
was
so
abun
dant
tha
t it
was
nec
essa
rily
che
ap.
The
Nile
pro
duce
d se
vera
l ki
nds
whi
ch
wer
e ea
sily
cau
ght;
and
in L
ake
Moe
ris
the
abun
danc
e of
fis
h w
as
such
tha
t th
e P
hara
ohs
are
said
to
have
der
ived
fro
m t
he s
ale
a re
venu
e of
abo
ve 9
4,00
0 [E
nglis
h po
unds
] a
year
….
The
fis
her-
men
of
Egy
pt f
orm
ed a
num
erou
s cl
ass,
and
the
sal
ting
and
dry-
ing
of f
ish
furn
ishe
d oc
cupa
tion
to a
larg
e nu
mbe
r of
per
sons
.”9
B
ut h
as I
saia
h’s
prop
hecy
of
the
decl
ine
of f
ishi
ng i
n E
gypt
bee
n fu
lfill
ed?
“In
the
decl
ine
of E
gypt
the
fis
h-po
ols
and
thei
r co
ndui
ts w
ere
negl
ecte
d an
d ru
ined
, an
d th
e fi
sher
s la
men
t-ed
, mou
rned
and
lang
uish
ed.”
10
T
hese
fu
lfill
ed
prop
heci
es
rega
rdin
g E
gypt
ar
e on
ly
a sa
mpl
ing—
man
y m
ore
coul
d be
doc
umen
ted.
But
eve
n th
ese
are
suff
icie
nt t
o ca
use
us t
o as
k, I
s th
is j
ust
coin
cide
nce
or l
ucky
gu
esse
s? O
r is
this
fulf
ille
d pr
ophe
cy?
B
ut
wai
t. W
e’ve
on
ly
begu
n to
do
cum
ent
prop
heci
es
mad
e in
the
Bib
le a
bout
anc
ient
gre
at p
ower
s—an
d th
eir
fulf
ill-
men
ts d
own
thro
ugh
hist
ory.
5
Egy
pt
CH
AP
TE
R T
WO
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
The
Pho
enic
ians
The
Pho
enic
ians
wer
e a
loos
e fe
dera
tion
of
coas
tal
city
-st
ates
at
the
east
ern
end
of t
he M
edit
erra
nean
Sea
tha
t in
clud
ed
Sido
n (t
he o
ldes
t, an
d th
e na
me
the
Bib
le s
omet
imes
use
s to
ref
er
to a
ll th
e Ph
oeni
cian
peo
ple)
, T
yre
(the
mos
t po
wer
ful
and
lead
-in
g ci
ty-s
tate
), A
kko,
Byb
los,
Uga
rit,
and
Ber
ytus
(no
w c
alle
d B
eiru
t).
The
ir f
eder
atio
n w
as a
rgua
bly
as m
uch
com
mer
cial
as
poli
tica
l. T
oget
her
they
for
med
the
gre
ates
t m
arit
ime
com
mer
cial
em
pire
the
wor
ld h
ad e
ver
seen
—fr
om a
bout
120
0 to
600
BC
. T
heir
tra
de c
olon
ies
incl
uded
nea
rly
ever
y po
rt c
ity
of t
he M
edi-
terr
anea
n, p
lus
colo
nies
Med
iter
rane
an-A
tlan
tic
wor
ld th
at th
ey h
ad n
ot a
t lea
st v
isite
d an
d pr
obab
ly tr
aded
with
.11
T
he m
ain
Pho
enic
ian
subj
ect
of B
ible
pro
phec
y is
the
city
-sta
te o
f T
yre.
The
re i
s so
me
prop
hecy
abo
ut S
idon
as
wel
l, bu
t w
e w
ill f
ocus
mos
tly o
n th
ose
pred
ictio
ns c
once
rnin
g T
yre.
Tyr
e
Pro
phec
y—T
he b
egin
ning
ver
ses
of E
zeki
el 2
6 fo
rete
ll of
so
me
of N
ebuc
hadn
ezza
r ex
ploi
ts,
whi
ch h
ave
all
been
ful
fill
ed.
How
ever
, so
me
mig
ht q
uest
ion
whe
ther
the
se p
roph
ecie
s w
ere
actu
ally
mad
e be
fore
the
ir h
isto
ric
fulf
illm
ents
. T
hus,
we
will
sk
ip t
hese
ear
lier
ver
ses
and
go r
ight
to
the
long
-ter
m p
redi
ctio
ns,
whi
ch b
egin
in
vers
e 12
: “
‘And
the
y sh
all
plun
der
your
ric
hes
and
mak
e a
pill
age
of y
our
mer
chan
dise
. A
nd t
hey
shal
l br
eak
dow
n yo
ur w
alls
and
des
troy
you
r pl
easa
nt h
ouse
s. A
nd th
ey s
hall
lay
your
sto
nes
and
your
tim
ber
and
your
dus
t in
the
mid
st o
f th
e w
ater
s. A
nd I
will
cau
se t
he n
oise
of
your
son
gs t
o ce
ase;
and
the
soun
d of
you
r ly
res
shal
l be
hea
rd n
o m
ore.
And
I w
ill m
ake
you
like
a ba
re r
ock.
You
sha
ll be
a p
lace
to
spre
ad n
ets
on:
you
shal
l be
bui
lt n
o m
ore:
for
I t
he L
OR
D h
ave
spok
en,’
say
s th
e L
ord
GO
D”
(Eze
k. 2
6:12
-14)
.
6
PA
RT
IV
:
T
he B
ible
’s I
nter
nal
Con
sist
ency
and
Har
mon
y
CH
AP
TE
R T
HIR
TE
EN
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
Con
sist
ency
of
Pri
ncip
les
Bet
wee
n O
ld a
nd N
ew T
esta
men
ts
W
e ha
ve s
how
n in
pre
viou
s ch
apte
rs h
ow B
ible
pro
phe-
cies
hav
e be
en f
ulfi
lled
ove
r th
e ce
ntur
ies;
we
have
als
o co
n-fi
rmed
the
acc
urac
y of
the
Bib
le’s
his
tori
cal
acco
unts
; an
d w
e ha
ve d
emon
stra
ted
way
s in
whi
ch b
iblic
al s
tate
men
ts a
bout
the
ph
ysic
al w
orld
agr
ee w
ith
fact
s of
sci
ence
. B
ut w
hat
abou
t th
e B
ible
itse
lf?
Doe
s it
hold
inte
rnal
evi
denc
e of
its
own
vera
city
?
Man
y ar
e un
awar
e th
at t
he m
ultip
le b
ooks
kno
wn
as T
he
Hol
y B
ible
wer
e w
ritt
en b
y so
me
40 d
iffe
rent
aut
hors
ove
r a
peri
-od
of
mor
e th
an 1
500
year
s. T
his
is s
urel
y a
form
ula
for
a di
sas-
trou
s co
nglo
mer
atio
n of
dis
join
ted
and
cont
radi
ctor
y te
achi
ngs.
Y
et w
hen
the
Scr
iptu
res
are
clos
ely
exam
ined
, w
e in
stea
d se
e a
rem
arka
ble
degr
ee o
f co
nsis
tenc
y an
d ag
reem
ent
as t
o th
eir
con-
tent
and
the
prin
cipl
es th
ey te
ach.
Man
y w
ho a
ccep
t th
e N
ew T
esta
men
t re
ject
the
Old
Tes
-ta
men
t as
no
long
er a
pplic
able
, w
hile
man
y w
ho b
elie
ve t
he H
e-br
ew S
crip
ture
s (O
ld T
esta
men
t) r
ejec
t the
New
. Som
e al
lege
that
th
ere
are
conf
lict
s be
twee
n th
e tw
o. I
n th
is c
hapt
er w
e w
ill
see
that
the
Bib
le is
am
azin
gly
cons
iste
nt in
its
teac
hing
s be
twee
n th
e O
ld a
nd N
ew T
esta
men
ts. W
hile
the
Old
Tes
tam
ent t
each
es m
ain-
ly th
e le
tter
of
God
’s la
ws
and
prec
epts
, the
New
Tes
tam
ent r
aise
s th
e ap
plic
atio
n of
thos
e pr
ecep
ts to
the
spir
itua
l lev
el.
55
T
he D
arw
inia
n th
eory
of
evol
utio
n st
ands
exp
osed
as
the
faile
d hy
poth
esis
of
pseu
do-s
cien
ce t
hat
it cl
earl
y is
—de
fyin
g bo
th r
atio
nal
logi
c an
d es
tabl
ishe
d sc
ient
ific
fac
t. T
he B
ible
tel
ls
us G
od c
reat
ed l
ife,
not
tha
t it
som
ehow
spo
ntan
eous
ly g
ener
ated
an
d th
en “
evol
ved”
int
o ev
er m
ore
com
plex
for
ms.
The
Bib
le a
nd
scie
ntif
ical
ly p
rove
n fa
ct a
re i
n fu
ll a
gree
men
t; b
ut t
he B
ible
doe
s no
t sup
port
wou
ld-b
e sc
ienc
e.
W
hich
will
you
em
brac
e—th
e st
atem
ents
of
the
Bib
le c
or-
robo
rate
d by
tru
e sc
ienc
e, o
r sc
ient
ific
ally
dis
prov
ed t
heor
ies
like
D
arw
inia
n ev
olut
ion,
whi
ch a
lso
cont
radi
cts
Scri
ptur
e?
Cha
pter
Tw
elve
54
mar
itim
e do
min
ance
of
th
e se
as
virt
uall
y un
abat
ed.
It
seem
ed d
urin
g th
at t
ime
that
Eze
kiel
’s p
roph
ecy
was
goi
ng t
o re
-m
ain
only
par
tial
ly f
ulfi
lled
. “S
o fa
r th
e pr
ophe
cy h
ad b
een
ful-
fille
d, b
ut o
nly
so f
ar. T
yre
was
ove
rthr
own
and
spoi
led;
the
nois
e of
her
son
gs h
ad c
ease
d; t
he s
ound
of
her
harp
s w
as n
o m
ore
hear
d (v
erse
13)
; th
e gr
eat
and
joyo
us c
ity w
as a
base
d an
d de
so-
late
. B
ut t
he r
uins
stil
l st
ood.
The
wor
ds w
hich
dec
lare
d th
at t
he
ston
es a
nd t
imbe
r sh
ould
be
cast
int
o th
e se
a, a
nd [
that
] th
e ve
ry
dust
sho
uld
be s
crap
ed f
rom
the
city
’s s
ite, h
ad n
ot b
een
fulf
illed
; an
d it
seem
ed m
ost i
mpr
obab
le th
at th
ey e
ver
wou
ld b
e.”12
The
nex
t st
age
of f
ulfi
llm
ent
of G
od’s
pro
phec
y th
roug
h E
zeki
el w
aite
d ov
er tw
o ce
ntur
ies
for
the
lege
ndar
y “c
onqu
eror
of
the
know
n w
orld
,” A
lexa
nder
the
Gre
at.
Whe
n th
e in
habi
tant
s of
th
e is
land
cit
y of
Tyr
e re
fuse
d to
sur
rend
er t
o hi
m,
Ale
xand
er
mou
nted
a s
ucce
ssfu
l as
saul
t an
d co
nque
red
it—in
itiat
ing
a ne
w
phas
e in
the
fulf
illm
ent o
f E
zeki
el’s
pro
phec
y.
In
his
boo
k P
hoen
icia
, hi
stor
ian
Geo
rge
Raw
linso
n gi
ves
a 24
-pag
e de
tail
ed a
ccou
nt o
f th
e ba
ck-a
nd-f
orth
suc
cess
es a
nd
failu
res
of b
oth
Ale
xand
er’s
for
ces
and
the
defe
nder
s of
Tyr
e du
r-in
g hi
s se
ven-
mon
th s
iege
of
the
city
in
332
BC
. T
he f
ollo
win
g ex
cerp
ts a
re r
elev
ant t
o ou
r di
scus
sion
:
“Ale
xand
er n
ow t
ook
his
reso
lutio
n …
[in
whi
ch]
he r
e-so
lved
on
the
cons
truc
tion
of a
sol
id m
ole—
two
hund
red
feet
w
ide—
acro
ss t
he s
trai
t, fr
om t
he m
ainl
and
to t
he i
slet
, w
here
by
he s
houl
d ac
tual
ly j
oin
it t
o th
e co
ntin
ent,
and
so b
e ab
le t
o br
ing
his
engi
nes
to i
ts w
alls
, an
d to
pre
ss t
he s
iege
in
the
usua
l w
ay.
Hav
ing
requ
isiti
oned
the
ser
vice
s of
tho
usan
ds o
f la
bour
ers,
he
bega
n th
e w
ork
whe
re it
was
eas
iest
, in
the
shal
low
wat
er n
ear
the
shor
e. H
ere
pile
s w
ere
driv
en i
nto
the
soft
mud
whi
ch f
orm
ed t
he
sea
botto
m a
t th
is p
oint
, an
d st
one,
rub
bish
, bo
ughs
of
tree
s, a
nd
wha
teve
r m
ater
ial
cam
e to
han
d w
as p
reci
pita
ted
into
the
wat
er,
from
the
shor
e an
d fr
om b
oats
, to
fill
up
the
inte
rval
s be
twee
n th
e pi
les,
and
mak
e a
soli
d st
ruct
ure.
The
wor
k w
as,
com
para
tive
ly
spea
king
, ea
sy a
t fi
rst,
for
the
wat
er w
as s
hallo
w,
the
shor
e at
ha
nd, a
nd th
e Ph
oeni
cian
shi
ps u
nabl
e to
app
roac
h ne
ar e
noug
h to
do
the
labo
urer
s em
ploy
ed m
uch
harm
. The
re w
as a
ple
ntif
ul s
up-
ply
of m
ater
ials
in th
e ne
ar v
icin
ity, f
or [
the
ruin
s of
the
mai
nlan
d ci
ty o
f T
yre]
… a
nd t
he c
rum
blin
g ho
uses
and
wal
ls w
ere
easi
ly
pulle
d do
wn
and
the
ston
es c
onve
yed
to th
e ed
ge o
f th
e m
ole
as it
ad
vanc
ed…
. T
he f
ate
of T
yre
was
now
cer
tain
….
Ale
xand
er’s
w
orkm
en …
rap
idly
com
plet
ed t
he m
ole,
and
bro
ught
it
up to
the
7
The
Pho
enic
ians
wal
ls o
f th
e to
wn.
Its
tow
ers
wer
e ad
vanc
ed c
lose
to
the
wal
ls,
and
wer
e ar
med
wit
h m
ore
form
idab
le a
nd m
ore
num
erou
s en
-gi
nes.
Oth
er e
ngin
es …
[w
ere
used
] ag
ains
t th
e w
alls
nor
th a
nd
sout
h of
the
mol
e, w
hile
the
mai
n at
tack
was
del
iver
ed f
rom
the
m
ole
itsel
f. E
very
dev
ice
for
assa
ult a
nd d
efen
se k
now
n in
anc
ient
w
arfa
re w
as b
roug
ht i
nto
play
on
both
sid
es…
. A
lexa
nder
, af
ter
one
or t
wo
failu
res,
org
aniz
ed a
gen
eral
ass
ault,
fro
m w
hich
he
antic
ipat
ed s
ucce
ss,
and
whi
ch s
ucce
eded
….
He
then
qui
tted
the
city
, w
hich
was
hal
f-bu
rnt,
half
rui
ned,
and
alm
ost
who
lly w
ith-
out i
nhab
itant
s, c
onte
nt, a
s it
wou
ld s
eem
, with
his
wor
k….”
13
T
he e
xcer
pt p
rese
nted
her
e m
ay i
mpl
y an
eas
y co
nque
st
for
Ale
xand
er’s
arm
y, b
ut R
awlin
son’
s ac
coun
t rev
eals
that
it w
as
an a
rduo
us a
nd c
ompl
ex e
vent
. The
re w
ere
subs
eque
nt i
nvas
ions
, w
ith th
e fi
nal c
onqu
est c
omin
g in
912
AD
. Fro
m th
at ti
me
the
site
fu
lfil
led
the
wor
ds “
like
the
top
of
a ro
ck”
(Eze
k. 2
6:4)
. T
hose
vi
sitin
g th
e si
te to
this
day
stil
l fin
d it
so. C
urre
nt p
hoto
s an
d do
c-um
enta
ry f
oota
ge s
how
fis
herm
en s
prea
ding
the
ir n
ets
upon
the
ot
herw
ise
bare
site
.
Sido
n
Pro
phec
y—W
hile
the
com
plet
e an
d pe
rman
ent d
estr
ucti
on
of T
yre
was
pro
phes
ied,
the
sis
ter
city
of
Sido
n w
as n
ot t
o be
de-
stro
yed.
Eze
kiel
, in
cha
pter
28,
quo
tes
God
thi
s w
ay:
“Thu
s sa
ys
the
Lor
d G
OD
, ‘B
ehol
d, I
am
aga
inst
you
, O
Sid
on,
and
I w
ill b
e gl
orif
ied
in y
our
mid
st…
. Fo
r I
will
sen
d a
plag
ue i
nto
her,
and
bl
ood
into
her
str
eets
. And
the
wou
nded
sha
ll fa
ll i
n he
r m
idst
by
the
swor
d up
on h
er o
n ev
ery
side
. And
the
y sh
all
know
tha
t I
am
the
LO
RD
” (
vers
es 2
2-23
).
F
ulfi
llm
ent—
“No
doom
of
ex
tinct
ion
is
pron
ounc
ed
agai
nst
her.
She
is
to b
e sp
ared
, bu
t sh
e is
to
suff
er.
One
or
two
fact
s fr
om h
er l
ong
hist
ory
will
sho
w h
ow t
he w
ords
hav
e be
en
fulf
illed
. U
nder
the
Per
sian
dom
inio
n, w
hen
Tyr
e w
as d
eser
ted,
Si
don
was
stil
l gr
eat
and
popu
lous
. It
reb
elle
d un
der
Art
axer
xes
Och
us, a
nd, a
fter
a s
ucce
ssfu
l res
ista
nce,
was
bet
raye
d to
the
ene-
my.
Whe
n al
l ho
pe o
f sa
ving
the
ir c
ity w
as g
one,
40,
000
citiz
ens
chos
e to
die
rat
her
than
sub
mit
to
Pers
ian
veng
eanc
e. T
hey
shut
th
emse
lves
up
with
the
ir w
ives
and
chi
ldre
n, s
et f
ire
to t
heir
dw
ellin
gs,
and
peri
shed
am
id t
he f
lam
es.
The
ash
es o
f th
e ci
ty
wer
e so
ld f
or a
n im
men
se s
um. I
t was
soo
n re
built
by
the
citiz
ens
Cha
pter
Tw
o
8
A
noth
er q
uest
ion:
Is
ther
e su
ch a
thi
ng a
s co
ntro
lling
, in
-st
ruct
iona
l inf
orm
atio
n th
at h
as n
o so
urce
? W
hen
a pe
rson
rea
ds a
w
ritt
en m
essa
ge o
r re
ceiv
es i
nstr
ucti
ons,
is
it n
ot c
orre
ctly
as-
sum
ed t
hat
the
com
mun
icat
ion
was
wri
tten
by s
omeo
ne—
i.e.,
a so
urce
? Y
et C
rick
ins
ists
on
rem
indi
ng e
very
one,
“B
iolo
gist
s m
ust
cons
tant
ly k
eep
in m
ind
that
wha
t th
ey s
ee w
as n
ot d
e-si
gned
, but
rat
her
evol
ved.
”12
H
uh?
“T
he o
rder
of
the
nucl
eotid
es o
n th
e D
NA
mol
ecul
e ha
s al
l th
e ch
arac
teri
stic
s of
a m
essa
ge,
lade
n w
ith i
nfor
mat
ion.
A
mes
sage
may
be
pass
ed o
n, b
ut i
n th
e re
al w
orld
, the
re c
an b
e no
m
essa
ge w
ithou
t a
mes
sage
sen
der…
. T
he u
ltim
ate
puzz
le o
f lif
e is
the
orig
in o
f th
e in
form
atio
n up
on w
hich
life
is b
ased
.”13
“Wha
teve
r in
form
atio
n is
—w
heth
er t
houg
ht o
r an
ela
bo-
rate
arr
ange
men
t of
mat
ter—
one
thin
g se
ems
clea
r. W
hat h
uman
s re
cogn
ize
as in
form
atio
n ce
rtai
nly
orig
inat
es f
rom
thou
ght—
from
co
nsci
ous
or i
ntel
lige
nt a
ctiv
ity.
A m
essa
ge r
ecei
ved
via
fax
by
one
pers
on f
irst
aro
se a
s an
ide
a in
the
min
d of
ano
ther
….
Our
ex
peri
ence
of
the
wor
ld s
how
s th
at w
hat
we
reco
gniz
e as
inf
or-
mat
ion
inva
riab
ly r
efle
cts
the
prio
r ac
tivi
ty o
f co
nsci
ous
and
inte
l-lig
ent p
erso
ns.
“W
hat,
then
, sh
ould
we
mak
e of
the
pre
senc
e of
inf
or-
mat
ion
in l
ivin
g or
gani
sms?
The
Hum
an G
enom
e Pr
ojec
t, am
ong
man
y ot
her
deve
lopm
ents
in
mod
ern
biol
ogy,
has
pre
ssed
thi
s qu
estio
n to
the
for
efro
nt o
f pu
blic
aw
aren
ess.
We
now
kno
w t
hat
we
do n
ot j
ust
crea
te i
nfor
mat
ion
in o
ur o
wn
tech
nolo
gy;
we
also
fi
nd i
t in
our
bio
logy
—an
d, i
ndee
d, i
n th
e ce
lls o
f ev
ery
livin
g or
gani
sm o
n ea
rth.
But
how
did
thi
s in
form
atio
n ar
ise?
And
wha
t do
es t
he p
rese
nce
of i
nfor
mat
ion
in e
ven
the
sim
ples
t li
ving
cel
l im
ply
abou
t lif
e an
d its
ori
gin?
Who
or
wha
t ‘w
rote
’ th
e bo
ok o
f li
fe?”
14
[neo
-D
arw
inia
n th
eory
of
evol
utio
n], w
hich
des
crib
es a
n ev
olut
ion
that
co
ntra
dict
s th
e T
orah
’s c
once
pt o
f cr
eatio
n, i
s in
com
patib
le w
ith
man
y sc
ient
ific
obs
erva
tions
.”15
Dar
win
ian
Evo
lutio
n—T
he F
aile
d H
ypot
hesi
s
53
and
Fran
cis
Cri
ck f
irst
dis
cove
red
in 1
953
that
its
mol
ecul
ar
stru
ctur
e w
as w
hat
has
been
cal
led
a “d
oubl
e he
lix”—
look
ing
som
ewha
t lik
e a
long
rib
bon-
shap
ed l
adde
r. T
he “
step
s” o
n th
e la
dder
ar
e co
mpo
unds
th
at
cont
ain
one
of
four
el
emen
ts—
repr
esen
ted
by l
ette
rs.
“Ind
eed,
whe
n W
atso
n an
d C
rick
dis
cov-
ered
the
str
uctu
re o
f D
NA
, th
ey a
lso
disc
over
ed t
hat
DN
A s
tore
s in
form
atio
n us
ing
a fo
ur-c
hara
cter
che
mic
al a
lpha
bet.
Stri
ngs
of
prec
isel
y se
quen
ced
chem
ical
s ca
lled
nuc
leot
ide
base
s st
ore
and
tran
smit
the
asse
mbl
y in
stru
ctio
ns—
the
info
rmat
ion—
for
build
-in
g th
e cr
ucia
l pr
otei
n m
olec
ules
and
mac
hine
s th
e ce
ll n
eeds
to
surv
ive.
“The
DN
A (
deox
yrib
onuc
leic
aci
d) m
olec
ule
is a
pol
ymer
(a
cha
in)
who
se e
lem
ents
(th
e li
nks)
are
nuc
leot
ides
. A n
ucle
otid
e is
mad
e up
of
wha
t is
cal
led
a nu
cleo
side
, w
hich
is
the
mai
n pa
rt
of t
he l
ink,
and
a p
hosp
hate
gro
up, w
hich
ser
ves
as t
he c
onne
ctor
jo
inin
g th
e lin
ks t
o ea
ch o
ther
. The
pho
spha
te g
roup
con
sist
s of
a
phos
phor
us a
tom
joi
ned
with
fou
r ox
ygen
ato
ms.
The
nuc
leos
ide
is a
com
bina
tion
of t
wo
mol
ecul
es.
One
is
a su
gar,
the
oth
er i
s ca
lled
a b
ase…
. The
re a
re f
our
kind
s of
bas
es, a
nd t
here
fore
fou
r ki
nds
of n
ucle
otid
es.
The
fou
r ba
ses
are
aden
ine,
whi
ch w
e de
-no
te b
y A
, th
ymin
e, d
enot
ed b
y T
, cy
tosi
ne,
deno
ted
by C
, an
d gu
anin
e, d
enot
ed b
y G
. T
he n
ucle
otid
es a
re s
trun
g to
geth
er i
n a
long
cha
in w
ith a
mix
ture
of
the
four
kin
ds o
f ba
ses.
The
DN
A
can
carr
y in
form
atio
n in
the
orde
r of
its
base
s.”9
Q
uest
ion:
Doe
s co
mpu
ter
soft
war
e “p
rogr
am i
tsel
f”?
If
not,
then
why
wou
ld a
ny r
atio
nal
pers
on i
mag
ine
in t
heir
wild
est
drea
ms
that
bio
logi
cal
enco
ding
—w
hich
Bill
Gat
es c
alls
“fa
r m
ore
adva
nced
” th
an
any
com
pute
r so
ftw
are—
som
ehow
“o
rgan
ized
itse
lf”
with
out a
ny e
xter
nal a
genc
y be
ing
invo
lved
?
Cha
pter
Tw
elve
52
who
wer
e ab
sent
at
the
tim
e of
the
sie
ge;
but
the
doom
of
suff
er-
ing
stil
l res
ted
on it
.
“Dur
ing
the
Cru
sade
s it
was
ta
ken
seve
ral
tim
es
and
sack
ed. I
t w
as f
irm
ly r
etak
en b
y B
ibar
s, S
ulta
n of
Egy
pt a
nd S
yr-
ia, i
n 12
90. B
ut, i
n ev
ery
com
mot
ion
whi
ch h
as t
roub
led
that
un-
happ
y la
nd,
Sido
n ha
s ha
d he
r sh
are.
It
has
been
the
sce
ne o
f st
rugg
les
betw
een
the
Dru
ses
and
the
Tur
ks,
and
agai
n be
twee
n th
e T
urks
and
the
Fre
nch.
So
late
as
1840
, w
hen
Ibra
him
Pas
ha
was
dri
ven
out o
f Sy
ria,
it w
as b
omba
rded
by
the
com
bine
d fl
eets
of
Eng
land
, A
ustr
ia,
and
Tur
key,
and
cap
ture
d by
Adm
iral
Na-
pier
, whe
n ag
ain
bloo
d w
as s
ent i
nto
her
stre
ets,
and
her
wou
nded
fe
ll in
the
mid
st o
f he
r.”14
Aga
in, w
e m
ust a
sk: C
ould
the
two
quite
dif
fere
nt p
roph
e-ci
es f
or t
he r
espe
ctiv
e “s
iste
r” c
ities
of
Tyr
e an
d Si
don
“jus
t ha
p-pe
n” t
o ha
ve b
een
fulf
ille
d do
wn
thro
ugh
the
cent
urie
s? I
sn’t
it
mor
e li
kely
tha
t th
eir
resp
ecti
ve f
ates
hav
e be
en t
he r
esul
t of
di-
vine
int
erve
ntio
n—th
at w
hat
was
for
etol
d in
the
Scr
iptu
res
was
ac
tual
ly b
roug
ht to
pas
s by
an
all-
pow
erfu
l God
?
The
Pho
enic
ians
9
CH
AP
TE
R T
HR
EE
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
Ass
yria
and
Nin
eveh
Ass
yria
’s k
ings
and
arm
ies
wer
e in
fam
ous
for
thei
r fe
roci
-ty
, cr
uelty
and
out
righ
t bl
oodl
ust.
His
tory
is
full
of a
ccou
nts
of
Ass
yria
n ki
ngs
boas
ting
of t
he u
nspe
akab
le a
troc
itie
s th
ey p
erpe
-tr
ated
on
enem
ies
who
had
dar
ed t
o op
pose
the
m.
Mor
eove
r, t
he
Ass
yria
ns s
aw th
emse
lves
as
the
“mas
ter
race
” of
thei
r ti
me.
The
nat
ion
of A
ssyr
ia (
not t
o be
con
fuse
d w
ith “
Syri
a,”
an
entir
ely
diff
eren
t nat
ion)
was
loca
ted
in M
esop
otam
ia (
esse
ntia
lly
mod
ern-
day
Iraq
), n
ear
the
uppe
r en
d of
the
Tig
ris
Riv
er,
nort
h-w
est
of a
ncie
nt B
abyl
on.
Ove
r a
peri
od o
f ne
arly
tw
o m
illen
nia,
A
ssyr
ia a
nd B
abyl
on v
ied
back
and
for
th f
or d
omin
ance
of
the
Mes
opot
amia
n re
gion
. A
t tim
es t
hey
wer
e m
ore
or l
ess
equa
l ri
-va
ls; a
t oth
er ti
mes
one
dom
inat
ed o
ver
the
othe
r.
T
he l
ast
stag
e of
the
ir r
ival
ry b
egan
in
the
800s
BC
with
A
ssyr
ia o
nce
agai
n st
retc
hing
its
em
pire
acr
oss
Mes
opot
amia
—B
abyl
on t
hen
bein
g on
ly a
pro
vinc
e of
tha
t em
pire
. A
t on
e po
int
in th
e 70
0s, b
ecau
se B
abyl
on h
ad r
ebel
led,
the
Ass
yria
n ki
ng S
en-
nach
erib
w
roug
ht
such
to
tal
dest
ruct
ion
on
Bab
ylon
th
at
he
thou
ght i
t cou
ld n
ever
ari
se a
gain
. But
eve
ntua
lly it
did
.
In 7
21 B
C, i
t w
as A
ssyr
ia t
hat
conq
uere
d th
e te
n tr
ibes
of
the
nort
hern
Kin
gdom
of
Isra
el a
nd r
emov
ed t
he r
emna
nt o
f its
po
pula
tion
to o
ther
loc
atio
ns i
n th
e em
pire
(II
Kin
gs 1
7:18
).
The
n, i
n ab
out
705,
Sen
nach
erib
atte
mpt
ed t
o co
nque
r th
e so
uth-
ern
Kin
gdom
of
Juda
h du
ring
the
reig
n of
its
king
, Hez
ekia
h. T
he
prop
het
Isai
ah g
ives
a d
etai
led
acco
unt
of w
hat
happ
ened
the
re i
n Is
aiah
36
and
37.
Aft
er b
eing
thr
eate
ned
by t
he A
ssyr
ian
arm
y at
Je
rusa
lem
’s v
ery
wal
ls a
nd t
he A
ssyr
ian
gene
ral
Rab
shak
eh m
ak-
ing
the
mis
take
of
taun
ting
the
God
of
the
Jew
s, K
ing
Hez
ekia
h an
d th
e pr
ophe
t Is
aiah
pra
yed
to G
od f
or d
eliv
eran
ce. W
e re
ad i
n Is
aiah
37:
36 t
hat
the
next
mor
ning
185
,000
Ass
yria
n so
ldie
rs
wer
e al
l “de
ad c
orps
es.”
10
chem
istr
y an
d ph
ysic
s m
ade
the
alig
nmen
t of
sub
stan
ces
into
liv
-in
g m
ater
ial
virt
ually
ine
vita
ble
in t
he i
mag
ined
“pr
ebio
tic s
oup”
th
ough
t to
hav
e ex
iste
d in
the
pri
mor
dial
ear
th.
Aft
er a
whi
le,
how
ever
, eve
n K
enyo
n be
gan
to d
oubt
his
ow
n th
eory
, par
tly a
s a
resu
lt of
the
wor
k of
Mic
hael
Pol
anyi
.
“Pol
anyi
arg
ued
that
, in
the
cas
e of
com
mun
icat
ions
sys
-te
ms,
the
law
s of
phy
sics
and
che
mis
try
do n
ot d
eter
min
e th
e ar
-ra
ngem
ents
of
the
char
acte
rs t
hat
conv
ey i
nfor
mat
ion.
The
law
s of
aco
ustic
s an
d th
e pr
oper
ties
of t
he a
ir d
o no
t de
term
ine
whi
ch
soun
ds a
re c
onve
yed
by s
peak
ers
of n
atur
al la
ngua
ges.
Nei
ther
do
the
chem
ical
pro
pert
ies
of i
nk d
eter
min
e th
e ar
rang
emen
ts o
f le
t-te
rs o
n a
prin
ted
page
. Ins
tead
, the
law
s of
phy
sics
and
che
mis
try
allo
w a
vas
t arr
ay o
f po
ssib
le s
eque
nces
, cha
ract
ers,
or
sym
bols
in
any
code
or
lang
uage
. W
hich
seq
uenc
e of
cha
ract
ers
is u
sed
to
conv
ey a
mes
sage
is
not
dete
rmin
ed b
y ph
ysic
al l
aw,
but
by t
he
choi
ce o
f th
e us
ers
of t
he c
omm
unic
atio
ns s
yste
m i
n ac
cord
with
th
e es
tabl
ishe
d co
nven
tions
of
voca
bula
ry a
nd g
ram
mar
—ju
st a
s en
gine
ers
dete
rmin
e th
e ar
rang
emen
t of
the
par
ts o
f m
achi
nes
in
acco
rd w
ith
the
prin
cipl
es o
f en
gine
erin
g.
“T
hus,
Pol
anyi
con
clud
ed,
com
mun
icat
ions
sys
tem
s de
fy
redu
ctio
n to
phy
sics
and
che
mis
try
for
muc
h th
e sa
me
reas
ons
that
mac
hine
s do
…. [
He]
insi
sted
that
livi
ng th
ings
def
y re
duct
ion
to t
he l
aws
of p
hysi
cs a
nd c
hem
istr
y be
caus
e th
ey a
lso
cont
ain
a sy
stem
of
com
mun
icat
ions
—in
par
ticul
ar t
he D
NA
mol
ecul
e an
d th
e w
hole
gen
e-ex
pres
sion
sys
tem
….
“T
o sa
y th
at th
e in
form
atio
n in
DN
A d
oes
not r
educ
e to
or
deri
ve f
rom
phy
sica
l an
d ch
emic
al f
orce
s im
plie
d th
at t
he i
nfor
-m
atio
n in
DN
A d
id n
ot o
rigi
nate
fro
m s
uch
forc
es.
If s
o, t
hen
ther
e w
as
noth
ing
Ken
yon
coul
d do
to
sa
lvag
e hi
s se
lf-
orga
niza
tiona
l mod
el.”
8
D
NA
Inf
orm
atio
n W
ith
No
Sour
ce?
M
ost
peop
le h
ave
som
e id
ea o
f th
e ro
le D
NA
pla
ys i
n de
-te
rmin
ing
how
livi
ng o
rgan
ism
s de
velo
p fr
om c
once
ptio
n th
roug
h bi
rth
and
subs
eque
nt g
row
th t
o ad
ulth
ood.
The
y al
so r
ealiz
e th
at
DN
A p
lays
a p
art
in b
odily
cel
l fu
nctio
ns t
hrou
ghou
t lif
e. B
ut
few
—un
less
the
y ar
e bi
olog
ists
or
have
at
leas
t st
udie
d co
llege
-le
vel
biol
ogy—
have
a c
lear
pic
ture
of
wha
t th
is a
ll-im
port
ant
com
poun
d ca
lled
deox
yrib
onuc
leic
aci
d re
ally
is.
Jam
es W
atso
n
51
Dar
win
ian
Evo
lutio
n—T
he F
aile
d H
ypot
hesi
s
and
com
pute
rs—
plus
tra
inin
g m
anua
ls f
or a
stro
naut
s, e
ngin
eers
, an
d te
chni
cian
s—ne
eded
to p
ut a
man
on
the
moo
n!
Q
uest
ion:
Can
we
get f
rom
the
tiny
amou
nt o
f in
form
atio
n in
the
im
agin
ed p
rim
itiv
e ge
nom
e to
the
exp
onen
tial
ly g
reat
er
amou
nt o
f in
form
atio
n in
the
hum
an g
enom
e by
sub
trac
tion
? R
e-m
embe
r, m
utat
ions
do
not
add
to a
gno
me,
the
y on
ly s
ubtr
act
in-
form
atio
n. Y
et R
icha
rd D
awki
ns, B
ill N
ye, J
erry
Coy
ne, a
nd th
eir
fello
w e
volu
tioni
sts
wou
ld h
ave
us b
elie
ve t
he o
ppos
ite—
that
m
utat
ions
can
som
ehow
adv
ance
a g
nom
e. B
ut i
f yo
u re
mem
ber
your
sec
ond-
grad
e ar
ithm
etic
, su
btra
ctio
n do
es n
ot y
ield
a l
arge
r nu
mbe
r; it
yie
lds
only
a s
mal
ler
one!
Ord
er a
nd O
rgan
izat
ion:
Acc
iden
tal?
All
lif
e fo
rms
have
in
the
nucl
eus
of e
ach
cell
a m
olec
ular
su
bsta
nce
calle
d D
NA
. W
hile
mos
t pe
ople
hav
e he
ard
of D
NA
—in
deed
, it
has
bec
ome
alm
ost
a by
wor
d of
sor
ts i
n ou
r ev
eryd
ay
spee
ch—
few
tru
ly u
nder
stan
d w
hat
it is
, ex
cept
tha
t it
play
s an
im
port
ant
role
in
the
deve
lopm
ent
and
func
tion
of l
ivin
g th
ings
. W
hat
DN
A
in
fact
re
pres
ents
is
a
crit
ical
fe
atur
e of
li
fe—
orga
niza
tion
. B
ut d
o in
anim
ate
elem
ents
and
com
poun
ds s
impl
y “o
rgan
ize
them
selv
es”?
Evo
luti
onis
ts w
ould
hav
e us
bel
ieve
tha
t th
ey d
o.
R
esea
rche
r St
ephe
n M
eyer
ask
s, “
Wha
t ab
out
livin
g ce
lls
and
the
com
plex
mol
ecul
es t
hey
cont
ain?
Doe
s th
eir
orga
niza
tion
deri
ve f
rom
the
phy
sica
l an
d ch
emic
al p
rope
rtie
s of
the
ir p
arts
? D
o th
e ch
emic
al c
onst
ituen
ts o
f pr
otei
ns o
r D
NA
mol
ecul
es h
ave
prop
ertie
s th
at c
ould
cau
se th
em to
sel
f-or
gani
ze?
Are
ther
e ph
ys-
ical
or
chem
ical
for
ces
that
mak
e th
e pr
oduc
tion
of i
nfor
mat
ion-
rich
mol
ecul
es i
nevi
tabl
e un
der
plau
sibl
e pr
ebio
tic c
ondi
tions
? [E
volu
tioni
st]
Dea
n K
enyo
n th
ough
t th
e an
swer
to
thes
e qu
es-
tions
mig
ht w
ell b
e ye
s.”7
T
he
esse
nce
of
Ken
yon’
s ar
gum
ent
was
th
at
law
s of
Cha
pter
Tw
elve
50
Ass
yria
’s F
all P
redi
cted
Pro
phec
ies—
The
pro
phet
Isa
iah,
wri
ting
mos
tly b
efor
e 70
0 B
C, f
orec
aste
d A
ssyr
ia’s
fal
l fro
m w
orld
dom
inat
ion
to tr
ibu-
tary
sta
tus.
“T
hen
Ass
yria
sha
ll fa
ll w
ith t
he s
wor
d—no
t of
a
man
; and
the
swor
d, n
ot o
f m
anki
nd—
and
it sh
all d
evou
r hi
m, f
or
he s
hall
flee
fro
m t
he s
wor
d, a
nd h
is y
oung
men
sha
ll be
com
e tr
ibut
ary.
And
his
str
ongh
old
will
fal
l by
rea
son
of t
erro
r an
d hi
s ru
lers
sha
ll be
afr
aid
of th
e ba
nner
…”
(Isa
. 31:
8-9)
.
It w
as n
ot u
ntil
a c
entu
ry l
ater
, ho
wev
er,
that
Isa
iah’
s pr
ophe
cy r
each
ed i
ts c
ompl
ete
fulf
illm
ent
wit
h th
e fa
ll o
f A
ssyr
-ia
’s c
apita
l, N
inev
eh,
in 6
12 B
C.
In Z
epha
niah
2:1
3, t
he f
utur
e st
ate
of N
inev
eh i
s al
so p
redi
cted
: “A
nd H
e w
ill
stre
tch
out
his
hand
aga
inst
the
nor
th a
nd d
estr
oy A
ssyr
ia,
and
will
mak
e N
ine-
veh
a de
sola
tion
and
dry
like
a w
ilder
ness
.”
In
deed
, so
me
of t
he m
ost
stri
king
pro
phec
ies
rega
rdin
g A
ssyr
ia w
ere
leve
led
agai
nst
its
prin
cipa
l ci
ty,
Nin
eveh
. In
its
da
y, N
inev
eh w
as t
he l
arge
st c
ity i
n th
e kn
own
wor
ld,
with
the
hi
ghes
t an
d th
icke
st w
alls
. Y
et s
kept
ics
once
que
stio
ned
whe
ther
th
ere
had
ever
bee
n an
y su
ch c
ity
as N
inev
eh,
sinc
e fo
r a
long
tim
e th
e on
ly k
now
ledg
e of
it
was
fro
m t
he B
ible
. The
n, i
n 18
48,
Bri
tish
arch
aeol
ogis
t A
uste
n H
enry
Lay
ard
exca
vate
d a
tell
that
ap
pear
ed t
o be
the
rem
ains
of
a gr
eat
settl
emen
t. Su
re e
noug
h, i
t tu
rned
out
to
be N
inev
eh,
as e
vide
nced
by
coun
tles
s in
scri
ptio
ns
foun
d th
ere.
Lay
ard’
s ex
amin
atio
n of
the
site
pro
ved
Dio
doru
s Se
culu
s’ d
escr
iptio
n of
Nin
eveh
’s u
nusu
ally
hig
h an
d th
ick
wal
ls
to b
e ac
cura
te.
In f
act,
they
wer
e “a
hun
dred
fee
t hi
gh a
nd …
th
ree
char
iots
cou
ld d
rive
upo
n th
em a
brea
st.”
15
T
he w
hole
boo
k of
the
pro
phet
Nah
um i
s, a
s th
e op
enin
g ve
rse
tells
us,
“th
e bu
rden
aga
inst
Nin
eveh
.” G
od s
ays
thro
ugh
the
prop
het
that
He
will
des
troy
Nin
eveh
“w
ith a
n ov
erfl
owin
g fl
ood”
(N
ah. 1
:8).
In
vers
e 10
, he
says
its
def
ende
rs w
ould
be
“as
thei
r dr
unka
rds
are
drun
ken.
” In
cha
pter
2,
vers
e 6,
he
pred
icts
: “T
he g
ates
of
the
rive
rs s
hall
be o
pene
d, a
nd t
he p
alac
e sh
all
be
help
less
.” A
nd, “
The
gat
es o
f yo
ur l
and
shal
l su
rely
be
open
ed t
o yo
ur e
nem
ies;
the
fire
sha
ll de
vour
you
r ba
rs”
(Nah
. 3:1
3).
11
Ass
yria
and
Nin
eveh
F
ulfi
llm
ents
—E
xcer
pts
from
sev
eral
acc
ount
s gi
ve u
s de
-ta
ils o
f w
hat
happ
ened
to
the
supp
osed
ly i
mpr
egna
ble
Nin
eveh
. D
iodo
rus
of S
icily
des
crib
es h
ow t
he A
ssyr
ian
king
and
his
arm
y ha
d de
feat
ed t
he a
ttac
king
coa
litio
n of
Bab
ylon
ians
, Sc
ythi
ans
and
Med
es o
utsi
de t
he w
alls
of
Nin
eveh
and
the
n ce
lebr
ated
the
ir
vict
ory
with
dru
nken
rev
elin
g. “
It h
appe
ned
at t
his
very
tim
e th
at
the
king
of
the
Ass
yria
ns, w
ho …
had
bec
ome
elat
ed o
ver
his
past
su
cces
ses,
tur
ned
to i
ndul
genc
e an
d di
vide
d am
ong
his
sold
iers
fo
r a
feas
t ani
mal
s an
d bo
th w
ine
and
all o
ther
pro
visi
ons.
Con
se-
quen
tly,
sinc
e th
e w
hole
ar
my
was
ca
rous
ing,
A
rbac
es
[com
man
der
of t
he r
ebel
coa
liti
on],
lea
rnin
g fr
om s
ome
dese
rter
s of
the
rel
axat
ion
and
drun
kenn
ess
in t
he c
amp
of t
he e
nem
y,
mad
e hi
s at
tack
upo
n it
unex
pect
edly
in
the
nigh
t. A
nd …
the
y w
on p
osse
ssio
n of
the
cam
p, a
nd a
fter
sla
ying
man
y of
the
sol
-di
ers
purs
ued
the
rest
as
far
as th
e ci
ty.”
16
T
he “
over
flow
ing
floo
d” p
redi
cted
by
Nah
um is
des
crib
ed
by D
iodo
rus
in B
ook
II,
27:
“[B
ut]
in t
he t
hird
yea
r, a
fter
the
re
had
been
hea
vy a
nd c
ontin
uous
rai
ns,
it ca
me
to p
ass
that
the
[T
igri
s],
runn
ing
very
ful
l, bo
th i
nund
ated
a p
ortio
n of
the
city
an
d br
oke
dow
n th
e w
alls
for
a d
ista
nce
of t
wen
ty s
tade
s. A
t th
is
the
king
… a
band
oned
hop
e of
sav
ing
him
self
… [
and]
bui
lt an
en
orm
ous
pyre
in
his
pala
ce…
. [H
e] c
onsi
gned
bot
h th
em [
his
serv
ants
] an
d hi
mse
lf a
nd h
is p
alac
e to
the
fla
mes
.”17
The
se
even
ts f
ulfi
lled
the
prop
heci
es c
ited
abov
e fr
om N
ahum
.
How
did
the
pro
phet
s kn
ow a
head
of
time
the
deta
ils o
f A
ssyr
ia’s
dem
ise
and
Nin
eveh
’s f
all?
Did
it
all
happ
en—
just
as
they
had
pre
dict
ed—
by m
ere
“coi
ncid
ence
”?
Cha
pter
Thr
ee
12
cons
iste
d of
org
anic
sou
p.”3
N
ot o
nly
that
, bu
t th
e “s
oup”
wou
ld h
ave
to e
xist
in
one
cont
iguo
us m
ass,
not
div
ided
int
o tr
illio
ns o
f se
para
te b
odie
s, a
s th
e un
iver
se a
ctua
lly
is. W
e ar
e no
t tal
king
“im
prob
able
” he
re; w
e ar
e ta
lkin
g im
poss
ible
!
Fo
r an
yone
who
thi
nks
Hoy
le’s
put
-dow
n of
Dar
win
ian
evol
utio
n is
“re
ligio
n m
asqu
erad
ing
as s
cien
ce,”
eve
n a
curs
ory
exam
inat
ion
of H
oyle
’s l
ife
and
wor
k—w
hile
aw
are
of h
is a
the-
ism
—sh
ould
put
that
pat
ent n
onse
nse
to r
est.
Jo
hn A
shto
n re
info
rces
Hoy
le’s
con
clus
ions
with
out q
uot-
ing
him
dir
ectly
: “T
here
is
no k
now
n pr
oven
mec
hani
sm t
hat
can
expl
ain
all
the
step
s [r
equi
red]
for
a l
ivin
g ce
ll to
for
m f
rom
non
-li
ving
mol
ecul
es (
abio
gene
sis)
, and
sta
tist
ical
ly it
is im
poss
ible
.”4
Sc
ienc
e ha
s pr
oven
tha
t lif
e co
uld
neve
r ha
ve s
pont
ane-
ousl
y ge
nera
ted
from
inan
imat
e m
atte
r. I
t is
not d
oing
so
toda
y; it
ne
ver
has;
and
it n
ever
wil
l. T
he f
irst
of
the
four
inhe
rent
fal
laci
es
of t
he t
heor
y of
evo
lutio
n st
ands
exp
osed
for
the
fal
se,
unsc
ien-
tifi
c, a
nd r
idic
ulou
s id
ea th
at it
is.
Se
cond
-gra
de A
rith
met
ic
T
he f
unda
men
tal
tene
t of
the
the
ory
of e
volu
tion
is
that
li
fe e
volv
ed f
rom
pri
mit
ive
form
s to
hig
her,
mor
e ad
vanc
ed f
orm
s by
a p
roce
ss o
f m
utat
ions
fol
low
ed b
y “n
atur
al s
elec
tion”
—al
l “s
uper
vise
d by
no
one.
” T
he i
nher
ent
prob
lem
with
thi
s id
ea i
s th
at m
utat
ions
do
not
add
info
rmat
ion
to t
he g
enom
e. T
hey
only
ga
rble
or
subt
ract
inf
orm
atio
n. “
Mut
atio
ns d
o no
t pr
oduc
e ne
w,
purp
osef
ul g
enet
ic i
nfor
mat
ion.
”5 Ind
eed,
“T
here
is
no k
now
n ph
ysic
al o
r ch
emic
al m
echa
nism
[th
at c
an]
gene
rate
her
itabl
e va
r-ia
tion
s th
at w
ill
impr
ove
adap
tivi
ty o
r in
crea
se t
he c
ompl
exit
y of
liv
ing
orga
nism
s.”6
W
e ha
ve s
how
n ab
ove
that
life
can
not s
pont
aneo
usly
gen
-er
ate
from
ina
nim
ate
mat
ter.
But
let
us
supp
ose,
for
the
sak
e of
ar
gum
ent,
that
a p
rim
itive
lif
e fo
rm o
f so
me
kind
has
spo
ntan
e-ou
sly
com
e in
to b
eing
. C
lear
ly,
its g
enom
e w
ould
be
quite
sim
-pl
e—pe
rhap
s ak
in t
o a
sing
le p
age
of a
ssem
bly
inst
ruct
ions
for
a
kidd
ie c
ar.
On
the
othe
r ha
nd,
the
geno
me
for
any
“hig
her
ani-
mal
,” a
nd c
erta
inly
for
a h
uman
bei
ng,
wou
ld b
e m
ore
akin
to
mul
tiple
war
ehou
ses
full
of t
hous
and-
page
ins
truc
tion
man
uals
fo
r th
e as
sem
bly
and
oper
atio
n of
all
the
rock
et e
ngin
es, c
ontr
ols,
Dar
win
ian
Evo
lutio
n—T
he F
aile
d H
ypot
hesi
s
49
Hae
ckel
’s d
ay,
to a
lev
el t
hat
coul
d re
solv
e m
any
subc
ellu
lar
com
pone
nts.
”2
Cou
nter
ing
evol
utio
n’s
supp
ositi
on o
n th
e “s
pont
aneo
us”
orig
in o
f lif
e w
as t
he l
ate
Bri
tish
astr
onom
er a
nd c
osm
olog
ist
Sir
Fred
Hoy
le.
Tho
ugh
he r
emai
ned
an a
thei
st t
o hi
s de
ath
in 2
001,
H
oyle
was
hon
est
enou
gh t
o ha
ve c
alcu
late
d (w
ith t
he h
elp
of
mat
hem
atic
ian
and
fello
w a
thei
st C
hand
ra W
ickr
ames
ingh
e) t
he
odds
aga
inst
eve
n an
enz
yme—
a ne
cess
ary
cata
lyst
for
bio
logi
cal
func
tion
in l
ivin
g ce
lls, b
ut n
ot a
n ac
tual
liv
ing
orga
nism
its
elf—
havi
ng o
rigi
nate
d on
ear
th “
all
by i
tsel
f” f
rom
non
-liv
ing
mat
ter.
H
oyle
out
lines
how
they
arr
ived
at t
heir
ans
wer
:
“The
re a
re s
ome
ten
to t
wen
ty d
isti
nct
amin
o ac
ids
whi
ch
dete
rmin
e th
e ba
sic
back
bone
of
the
enzy
me
and
thes
e si
mpl
y m
ust
be i
n th
e co
rrec
t po
siti
on i
n th
e po
lype
ptid
e st
ruct
ure.
The
re
st o
f th
e am
ino
acid
s, u
sual
ly n
umbe
ring
a h
undr
ed o
r m
ore,
th
en c
ontr
ol t
he i
nner
det
ails
of
the
surf
ace
shap
e. T
here
are
als
o th
e ac
tive
sit
es t
hat
even
tual
ly p
rom
ote
the
bioc
hem
ical
rea
ctio
ns
in q
uest
ion,
and
the
se t
oo m
ust
be c
orre
ct i
n th
eir
atom
ic f
orm
s an
d lo
catio
ns.
“C
onsi
der
now
the
chan
ce th
at in
a r
ando
m o
rder
ing
of th
e tw
enty
dif
fere
nt a
min
o ac
ids
whi
ch m
ake
up t
he p
olyp
eptid
es i
t ju
st h
appe
ns t
hat
the
diff
eren
t ki
nds
just
fal
l in
to t
he o
rder
app
ro-
pria
te t
o a
part
icul
ar e
nzym
e. T
he c
hanc
e of
obt
aini
ng a
sui
tabl
e ba
ckbo
ne c
an h
ardl
y be
gre
ater
tha
n on
e pa
rt i
n 10
15,
and
the
chan
ce o
f ob
tain
ing
the
appr
opri
ate
activ
e si
te c
an h
ardl
y be
gr
eate
r th
an o
ne p
art i
n 10
5 . Bec
ause
the
fine
det
ails
of
the
surf
ace
shap
e ca
n be
var
ied
we
shal
l ta
ke t
he c
onse
rvat
ive
line
of
not
‘pili
ng o
n th
e ag
ony’
by
incl
udin
g an
y fu
rthe
r sm
all
prob
abili
ty
for
the
rest
of
the
enzy
me.
The
tw
o sm
all
prob
abili
ties
we
are
in-
clud
ing
are
quite
eno
ugh.
The
y ha
ve t
o be
mul
tiplie
d, w
hen
they
yi
eld
a ch
ance
of
one
part
in
1020
of o
btai
ning
the
req
uire
d en
-zy
me
in a
fun
ctio
ning
for
m.
“B
y it
self
, th
is s
mal
l pr
obab
ilit
y co
uld
be f
aced
, be
caus
e on
e m
ust
cont
empl
ate
not
just
a s
ingl
e sh
ot a
t ob
tain
ing
the
en-
zym
e, b
ut a
ver
y la
rge
num
ber
of t
rial
s su
ch a
s ar
e su
ppos
ed t
o ha
ve o
ccur
red
in a
n or
gani
c so
up e
arly
in th
e hi
stor
y of
the
Ear
th.
The
tro
uble
is
that
the
re a
re a
bout
tw
o th
ousa
nd [
nece
ssar
y hu
-m
an]
enzy
mes
, an
d th
e ch
ance
of
obta
inin
g th
em a
ll in
a r
ando
m
tria
l is
onl
y on
e pa
rt i
n (1
020)20
00 =
1040
,000
, an
outr
ageo
usly
sm
all
prob
abili
ty t
hat
coul
d no
t be
fac
ed e
ven
if t
he w
hole
uni
vers
e
Cha
pter
Tw
elve
48
CH
AP
TE
R F
OU
R
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
B
abyl
on
T
he n
ext
pow
erfu
l em
pire
to
rule
the
civ
ilize
d w
orld
was
B
abyl
on. T
he r
ebel
coa
litio
n th
at c
onqu
ered
Nin
eveh
con
sist
ed o
f M
edes
, Sc
ythi
ans
and,
mos
t no
tabl
y, B
abyl
onia
ns.
Bab
ylon
wen
t on
to
conq
uer
all
of w
hat
had
belo
nged
to
Ass
yria
—pl
us i
t ad
ded
Juda
h, T
yre
and
Egy
pt,
amon
g ot
hers
. U
nder
Neb
ucha
dnez
zar,
th
e B
abyl
onia
n E
mpi
re r
each
ed i
ts h
eigh
t of
pow
er b
etw
een
600
and
560
BC
. The
city
of
Bab
ylon
itse
lf r
each
ed it
s ze
nith
of
mag
-ni
fice
nt s
plen
dor
duri
ng N
ebuc
hadn
ezza
r’s
reig
n.
T
he p
roph
ets
Isai
ah (
wri
ting
abou
t 70
0 B
C)
and
Jere
mia
h (w
ritin
g be
fore
600
BC
) m
ade
pred
ictio
ns a
bout
the
city
of
Bab
y-lo
n th
at t
ook
a pe
riod
of
cent
urie
s to
ful
ly c
ome
to p
ass.
Num
er-
ous
secu
lar
hist
oric
al s
ourc
es c
onfi
rm t
hat
thes
e pr
edic
tion
s w
ere
in f
act
accu
rate
. D
id I
saia
h an
d Je
rem
iah
just
hap
pen
to m
ake
“luc
ky g
uess
es”?
Let
’s r
ead
som
e of
the
ir p
roph
ecie
s an
d th
en l
ook
at t
heir
su
bseq
uent
ful
fill
men
ts.
P
roph
ecie
s—A
pro
phec
y w
ritte
n ov
er 1
50 y
ears
in
ad-
vanc
e ab
out B
abyl
on’s
fut
ure
fall—
and
of s
peci
fica
lly
who
wou
ld
brin
g it
abou
t—is
fou
nd in
Isa
iah
45:1
-2. “
Thu
s sa
ys th
e L
OR
D t
o H
is a
noin
ted,
to
Cyr
us,
who
se r
ight
han
d I
have
mad
e st
rong
in
orde
r to
hum
ble
natio
ns b
efor
e hi
m. A
nd I
will
loos
en th
e lo
ins
of
king
s, t
o op
en b
efor
e hi
m t
he t
wo
leav
ed d
oors
; an
d th
e ga
tes
shal
l not
be
shut
. ‘I
will
go
befo
re y
ou, a
nd m
ake
hills
leve
l. I
will
br
eak
in p
iece
s th
e br
onze
gat
es, a
nd c
ut th
e ir
on b
ars
in tw
o.’
”
Isai
ah a
lso
wro
te:
“ ‘A
nd B
abyl
on, t
he g
lory
of
king
dom
s,
the
maj
esti
c be
auty
of
the
Cha
ldee
s, s
hall
be
as w
hen
God
ove
r-th
rew
Sod
om a
nd G
omor
rah.
It
shal
l ne
ver
be i
nhab
ited
fore
ver,
no
r sh
all
peop
le d
wel
l in
it
from
gen
erat
ion
to g
ener
atio
n; n
or
shal
l th
e A
rabi
an p
itch
his
ten
t th
ere;
nor
sha
ll t
he s
heph
erds
m
ake
thei
r fl
ocks
to
lie d
own
ther
e. B
ut t
he w
ild b
east
s of
the
de-
sert
sha
ll lie
the
re;
and
thei
r ho
uses
sha
ll be
ful
l of
how
ling
crea
-tu
res;
and
ost
rich
es s
hall
dw
ell
ther
e, a
nd h
e-go
ats
shal
l da
nce
ther
e. A
nd h
yena
s sh
all
cry
in t
heir
tow
ers,
and
jac
kals
in
thei
r lu
xuri
ant
pala
ces.
Yea
, he
r tim
e is
com
ing
near
, an
d he
r da
ys
shal
l no
t be
pro
long
ed…
. I
will
als
o m
ake
it a
poss
essi
on o
f th
e he
dgeh
og, a
nd p
ools
of
wat
er;
and
I w
ill s
wee
p it
with
the
bro
om
of d
estr
uctio
n,’
says
the
LO
RD
of
host
s” (
Isa.
13:
19-2
2; 1
4:23
).
13
S
ever
al t
hing
s ar
e fo
reto
ld i
n th
is p
assa
ge:
1) B
abyl
on
wou
ld b
e as
tho
roug
hly
dest
roye
d as
wer
e So
dom
and
Gom
or-
rah—
thou
gh n
ot b
y th
e sa
me
mea
ns, w
hich
had
bee
n fi
re f
rom
the
skie
s (I
sa.
13:1
9);
2) i
t w
ould
bec
ome
unin
habi
ted
and
neve
r re
-oc
cupi
ed (
vers
e 20
); 3
) A
rabs
wou
ld n
ot p
itch
thei
r te
nts
ther
e (v
erse
20)
; 4)
the
re w
ould
be
no s
heep
fold
s th
ere
(ver
se 2
0);
and
5) it
wou
ld b
ecom
e a
swam
plan
d (I
sa. 1
4:23
).
F
ulfi
llm
ents
—B
oth
the
Gre
ek h
isto
rian
Her
odot
us i
n hi
s T
he H
isto
ries
1.1
89-1
91 a
nd t
he J
ewis
h hi
stor
ian
Jose
phus
in
Aga
inst
Api
on g
ive
deta
iled
acco
unts
of
how
Cyr
us f
ulfi
lled
thes
e pr
ophe
cies
thr
ough
his
con
ques
t of
Bab
ylon
nea
rly
two
cent
urie
s af
ter
Isai
ah w
rote
them
. A
ccor
ding
to
Floy
d H
amilt
on,
“Tra
vele
rs r
epor
t th
at t
he
city
[B
abyl
on]
is a
bsol
utel
y un
inha
bite
d, e
ven
[by]
Bed
ouin
s.
The
re a
re v
ario
us s
uper
stiti
ons
curr
ent
amon
g th
e A
rabs
tha
t pr
e-ve
nt t
hem
fro
m p
itch
ing
thei
r te
nts
ther
e, w
hile
the
cha
ract
er o
f th
e so
il p
reve
nts
the
grow
th o
f ve
geta
tion
sui
tabl
e fo
r th
e pa
stur
-ag
e of
flo
cks.
”18
Lay
ard
desc
ribe
s th
e si
te o
f B
abyl
on’s
rui
ns t
his
way
: “T
he g
reat
par
t of
the
cou
ntry
bel
ow a
ncie
nt B
abyl
on h
as n
ow
been
for
cen
turi
es o
ne g
reat
sw
amp…
. T
he e
mba
nkm
ents
of
the
rive
rs,
utte
rly
negl
ecte
d, h
ave
brok
en a
way
, an
d th
e w
ater
s ha
ve
spre
ad o
ver
the
face
of
the
land
.”19
G
od p
redi
cted
tha
t B
abyl
on w
ould
nev
er b
e re
built
or
in-
habi
ted.
In
the
late
190
0s, S
adda
m H
usse
in, w
hile
dic
tato
r of
Ira
q,
mad
e an
abo
rtiv
e at
tem
pt to
reb
uild
and
res
ettle
Bab
ylon
. The
few
bu
ildin
gs h
e m
anag
ed to
ere
ct s
tand
em
pty
toda
y.
Mor
e P
roph
ecie
s—T
he p
roph
et J
erem
iah
also
mad
e pr
e-di
ctio
ns c
once
rnin
g B
abyl
on’s
fal
l. In
cha
pter
51,
God
’s v
enge
-an
ce o
n B
abyl
on i
s pr
onou
nced
. N
ote
espe
cial
ly v
erse
26:
“A
nd
they
sha
ll no
t ta
ke a
sto
ne f
rom
you
for
a c
orne
r, n
or a
sto
ne f
or
foun
datio
ns; b
ut y
ou s
hall
be a
des
olat
ion
fore
ver.
” V
erse
43
tells
us
tha
t B
abyl
on’s
rui
ns w
ould
not
eve
n be
com
e a
tour
ist
attr
ac-
tion,
as
the
anci
ent
ruin
s of
Egy
pt a
nd o
ther
pla
ces
have
: “H
er
citie
s ar
e a
deso
latio
n, a
dry
lan
d an
d a
wild
erne
ss,
a la
nd i
n w
hich
no
man
dw
ells
, nor
doe
s an
y so
n of
man
pas
s by
it.”
M
ore
Ful
fill
men
ts—
The
gia
nt f
ound
atio
n st
ones
hav
e no
t be
en r
emov
ed f
rom
the
rui
ns o
f B
abyl
on.
Pete
r St
oner
wri
tes,
“B
rick
s an
d bu
ildin
g m
ater
ials
of
man
y ki
nds
have
bee
n sa
lvag
ed
from
the
rui
ns f
or c
ities
rou
nd a
bout
, bu
t th
e ro
cks,
whi
ch w
ere
14
Cha
pter
Fou
r C
HA
PT
ER
TW
EL
VE
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
Dar
win
ian
Evo
luti
on—
T
he F
aile
d H
ypot
hesi
s
The
wor
ld o
f so
-cal
led
“sci
ence
”—w
hich
inc
lude
s nu
mer
-ou
s sc
ient
ists
, ph
iloso
pher
s of
sci
ence
, sc
ienc
e w
rite
rs,
acad
em-
ics,
and
man
y w
ho w
ish
to c
onvi
nce
them
selv
es a
nd o
ther
s th
at
ther
e is
no
Cre
ator
God
—ha
s re
ligi
ousl
y em
brac
ed th
e D
arw
inia
n th
eory
of
evol
utio
n as
if
it w
ere
thor
ough
ly e
stab
lishe
d, i
ncon
tro-
vert
ible
fac
t. In
rea
lity
, it i
s no
thin
g of
the
sort
.
The
re a
re s
ever
al i
nher
ent
fall
acie
s on
e m
ust
embr
ace
in
orde
r to
bel
ieve
Dar
win
’s th
eory
of
evol
utio
n:
1)
Lif
e ca
n sp
onta
neou
sly
gene
rate
. It c
anno
t.
2) A
larg
e nu
mbe
r ca
n be
rea
ched
fro
m a
sm
all n
umbe
r by
su
btra
ctio
n. I
t can
not.
3)
Ord
er a
nd th
e in
form
atio
n-ri
ch o
rgan
izat
ion
of c
ompl
ex
chem
ical
com
poun
ds c
an “
just
hap
pen.
” T
hey
cann
ot.
4)
Ins
truc
tiona
l in
form
atio
n, a
for
m o
f “c
omm
unic
atio
n,”
does
no
t re
quir
e a
sour
ce
com
mun
icat
or.
The
fa
ct
is,
no
“com
mun
icat
ion”
eve
r oc
curs
with
out
an o
rigi
nal
com
mun
icat
or
as it
s so
urce
.
The
Law
of
Bio
gene
sis
Rep
eate
dly
Pro
ven
Fr
ance
sco
Red
i an
d L
ouis
Pas
teur
bot
h pr
oved
tha
t lif
e or
igin
ates
onl
y fr
om e
xist
ing
life.
Evo
lutio
nist
s, h
owev
er,
argu
ed
that
Red
i and
Pas
teur
had
onl
y di
spro
ved
the
“spo
ntan
eous
gen
er-
atio
n” o
f m
ice,
flie
s, o
r m
icro
orga
nism
s; t
he t
heor
y of
evo
lutio
n,
they
hel
d, d
ealt
with
the
act
ual
begi
nnin
gs o
f lif
e on
ear
th—
a m
uch
mor
e “s
impl
e” a
nd p
rim
itive
eve
nt,
perh
aps
invo
lvin
g on
ly
the
mer
e al
ignm
ent o
f si
mpl
e co
mpo
unds
in a
“ch
emic
al s
oup.
” co
mbi
natio
n of
car
bon.
’ T
here
was
no
excu
se f
or t
his,
tho
ugh,
be
caus
e li
ght
mic
rosc
opy
had
adva
nced
eno
rmou
sly,
eve
n be
fore
47
T
hese
are
but
a f
ew o
f th
e m
any
bibl
ical
sta
tem
ents
cor
-ro
bora
ted
by s
cien
ce.
In t
he n
ext
chap
ter,
we’
ll ex
amin
e ev
olu-
tion
—a
theo
ry e
mbr
aced
by
scie
ntis
ts a
nd s
cien
ce w
rite
rs th
at n
ot
only
con
flic
ts w
ith t
he B
ible
but
is
actu
ally
dis
prov
ed b
y sc
ienc
e.
As
we
wil
l se
e, t
here
is
no d
isag
reem
ent
betw
een
the
Bib
le a
nd
prov
en f
acts
of
scie
nce;
but
the
re m
ost
assu
redl
y is
dis
agre
emen
t be
twee
n th
e B
ible
and
theo
ries
dis
prov
ed b
y ge
nuin
e sc
ienc
e.
Cha
pter
Ele
ven
46
impo
rted
to
B
abyl
on
at
such
gr
eat
cost
, ha
ve
neve
r be
en
mov
ed.”
20
The
rui
ns o
f B
abyl
on t
oday
are
not
vis
ited
by s
ight
seer
s.
Ston
er a
dds,
“T
houg
h ne
arly
all
anci
ent
citie
s ar
e on
pro
min
ent
tour
ist r
oute
s, B
abyl
on is
not
, and
has
ver
y fe
w v
isito
rs.”
21
The
Bib
le p
roph
esie
d th
at B
abyl
on, t
he m
ajor
wor
ld p
ow-
er o
f its
day
, wou
ld c
ompl
etel
y fa
ll to
rui
n. T
hat
ruin
too
k ce
ntu-
ries
to
com
plet
e, b
ut h
as n
ow b
een
tota
lly a
ccom
plis
hed.
Not
ev
en I
raqi
dic
tato
r S
adda
m H
usse
in,
with
all
his
pow
er a
nd r
e-so
urce
s, c
ould
def
eat
the
prop
heci
es o
f th
e B
ible
. W
as S
adda
m
defe
ated
in
his
effo
rt t
o re
build
Bab
ylon
by
a su
pern
atur
al p
ower
fa
r gr
eate
r th
an h
imse
lf?
F
ulfi
lled
Bib
lical
Pro
phec
ies:
Wha
t D
oes
it M
ean?
We’
ve o
nly
brie
fly
sam
pled
the
mos
t st
riki
ng p
roph
ecie
s co
ncer
ning
pas
t em
pire
s of
the
civ
ilize
d w
orld
. O
ther
pro
phe-
cies
—re
gard
ing
Gre
ece,
Rom
e an
d le
sser
kin
gdom
s an
d ci
ty-
stat
es s
uch
as G
aza,
Ash
dod
and
Ash
kelo
n—ab
ound
in
the
Bib
le.
His
tory
sho
ws
that
tho
se p
redi
ctio
ns w
ere
also
ful
fille
d—so
me
quic
kly
and
som
e ov
er a
lon
g pe
riod
of
time.
Wer
e al
l th
ese
ful-
fillm
ents
jus
t by
“co
inci
denc
e”?
Did
the
bib
lical
pro
phet
s w
ho
mad
e su
ch p
redi
ctio
ns s
impl
y m
anag
e on
e “l
ucky
gue
ss”
afte
r an
othe
r? D
o yo
u re
aliz
e ho
w a
stro
nom
ical
the
odd
s ag
ains
t su
ch
a th
ing
wou
ld b
e?
Som
e ha
ve e
stim
ated
that
a th
ird
of th
e B
ible
is p
roph
ecy.
If
tha
t is
tru
e, a
n ev
en l
arge
r po
rtio
n of
the
Bib
le i
s hi
stor
y. Y
et
man
y sc
hola
rs (
and
even
som
e th
eolo
gian
s) d
ism
iss
the
acco
unts
of
his
tori
cal
even
ts r
elat
ed i
n th
e B
ible
as
myt
hs o
r fa
bles
. In
the
ne
xt d
ivis
ion
of t
his
wor
k, w
e’ll
see
that
muc
h of
the
Bib
le’s
his
-to
ry i
s su
ppor
ted
by w
ritte
n se
cula
r hi
stor
y an
d/or
by
find
ings
in
arch
aeol
ogy.
We’
ll al
so e
xam
ine
the
opin
ions
of
resp
ecte
d sc
hol-
ars
on th
e cr
edib
ilit
y of
the
Bib
le’s
his
tory
.
Bab
ylon
15
PA
RT
II:
The
Bib
le S
uppo
rted
by
Secu
lar
His
tory
and
Arc
haeo
logy
CH
AP
TE
R F
IVE
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
The
Mig
rati
ons
of t
he P
atri
arch
s
For
cent
urie
s, s
chol
ars
disp
uted
whe
ther
the
re h
ad e
ver
been
any
suc
h ci
ty a
s “U
r of
the
Cha
ldee
s,”
whe
re t
he B
ible
tel
ls
us A
bram
gre
w u
p. B
ut i
n 19
29, a
rcha
eolo
gist
C. L
eona
rd W
ool-
ley
unea
rthe
d w
hat
wer
e cl
earl
y th
e re
mai
ns o
f th
is a
ncie
nt a
nd
very
rea
l city
. Thu
s, a
noth
er o
f th
e m
any
obje
ctio
ns to
the
Bib
le’s
ve
raci
ty h
as b
een
debu
nked
. In
his
epi
c ac
coun
t of
the
disc
over
ies
mad
e w
hile
exc
avat
-in
g th
e ci
ty’s
rem
ains
, W
ooll
ey r
elat
es f
indi
ng m
ulti
ple
laye
rs o
f se
ttlem
ent,
show
ing
that
by
the
time
of A
bram
the
city
was
al-
read
y ce
ntur
ies
old.
In
fact
, in
Abr
am’s
day
Ur
was
the
im
peri
al
capi
tal o
f th
e Su
mer
ian
empi
re, w
hich
incl
uded
sev
eral
oth
er c
ity-
stat
es a
long
the
Eup
hrat
es r
iver
. Woo
lley’
s te
am u
near
thed
mul
ti-pl
e sh
rine
s to
pag
an g
ods
wor
ship
ped
by th
e ki
ng a
nd th
e pe
ople
.1 C
aref
ul e
xam
inat
ion
of a
ncie
nt t
exts
and
arc
haeo
logi
cal
evid
ence
yie
lds
ampl
e su
ppor
t to
the
bib
lical
nar
rativ
e ab
out
Abr
am a
nd h
is k
indr
ed m
ovin
g no
rth
from
Ur
to S
yria
n lo
catio
ns
also
men
tione
d in
the
Bib
le.
Con
cern
ing
the
bibl
ical
acc
ount
of
Abr
am’s
fat
her
Ter
ah m
igra
ting
from
Ur
to H
aran
, Joh
n B
righ
t, in
A
His
tory
of
Isra
el,
wri
tes:
“T
o be
sur
e, t
here
is
noth
ing
intr
insi
-ca
lly i
mpr
obab
le a
bout
it.
Ur
and
Har
an w
ere
linke
d by
tie
s of
co
mm
erce
and
als
o of
rel
igio
n. I
n vi
ew o
f th
e fa
ct t
hat
nam
es a
s-so
ciat
ed w
ith th
at c
ult [
of th
e m
oon
god]
are
not
unk
now
n am
ong
the
Heb
rew
an
cest
ors
(e.g
., T
erah
, L
aban
, Sa
rah,
M
ilcah
),
it w
ould
be
rash
to d
eny
that
the
trad
ition
[i.e
., th
e bi
blic
al a
ccou
nt]
may
res
t on
hist
oric
al c
ircu
mst
ance
s. I
t is
not
im
poss
ible
tha
t ce
r-ta
in N
orth
wes
t-Se
mit
ic c
lans
, ha
ving
inf
iltr
ated
sou
ther
n M
eso-
pota
mia
, ha
d su
bseq
uent
ly—
perh
aps
in t
he d
istu
rbed
day
s af
ter
the
fall
of
Ur
III—
mig
rate
d no
rthw
ard
to H
aran
.”2
Reg
ardi
ng t
he p
atri
arch
s as
fig
ures
of
hist
ory,
Bri
ght
goes
on
to
say,
“T
he e
vide
nce
so f
ar a
dduc
ed g
ives
us
ever
y ri
ght
to
affi
rm th
at th
e pa
tria
rcha
l nar
rativ
es a
re f
irm
ly b
ased
in h
isto
ry…
.
16
PA
RT
III
:
Scie
nce
and
the
Bib
le A
gree
CH
AP
TE
R E
LE
VE
N
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
B
iblic
al S
tate
men
ts N
ow
Scie
ntif
ical
ly P
rove
n T
rue
In J
ob 3
8:16
, G
od a
sks
Job,
“H
ave
you
ente
red
into
the
sp
ring
s of
the
sea
? O
r ha
ve y
ou w
alke
d in
sea
rch
of t
he d
epth
s?”
Onl
y in
the
20t
h ce
ntur
y ha
ve o
cean
ogra
phic
exp
lore
rs d
isco
v-er
ed th
at th
ere
are
inde
ed n
umer
ous
scat
tere
d “s
prin
gs”
in th
e bo
t-to
m o
f th
e oc
ean.
In a
dditi
on to
spr
ings
, Psa
lm 8
:8 r
efer
s to
the
“pat
hs o
f th
e se
as”—
curr
ents
in
the
ocea
ns.
Mat
thew
Mau
ry (
1806
-73)
is
con-
side
red
the
fath
er o
f oc
eano
grap
hy.
Aft
er r
eadi
ng i
n th
e B
ible
of
thes
e “p
aths
,” h
e fa
mou
sly
set
out
to f
ind
them
. H
is r
esul
ting
bo
ok o
n oc
ean
curr
ents
—su
ch a
s th
e G
ulf
Stre
am a
nd t
he H
um-
bold
t Cur
rent
—re
mai
ns a
bas
ic te
xt o
n oc
eano
grap
hy s
till u
sed
in
univ
ersi
ties
toda
y.1
T
he h
ydro
logi
c cy
cle
is a
lso
in t
he B
ible
, m
entio
ned
mil
-le
nnia
bef
ore
it w
as e
xpla
ined
by
the
Fren
ch p
otte
r/sc
ient
ist
Ber
-na
rd P
alis
sy i
n th
e 15
00s.
In
Ecc
lesi
aste
s 1:
7 w
e re
ad:
“All
the
rive
rs r
un i
nto
the
sea;
yet
the
sea
is
not
full;
to
the
plac
e fr
om
whe
re th
e ri
vers
cam
e, th
ere
they
ret
urn
agai
n [a
s ra
in].
” In
Am
os
9:6
we
are
told
, “H
e W
ho c
alls
for
the
wat
ers
of th
e se
a an
d po
urs
them
out
upo
n th
e fa
ce o
f th
e ea
rth,
the
LO
RD
is
His
nam
e.”
In-
deed
, “I
f th
e cl
ouds
are
ful
l of
rai
n, t
hey
empt
y th
emse
lves
upo
n th
e ea
rth…
” (E
ccl.
11:3
).
45
T
o su
m u
p th
e op
inio
ns o
f re
spec
ted
bibl
ical
arc
haeo
lo-
gist
s, w
e qu
ote
two
of t
he m
ost
este
emed
aut
hori
ties
of t
he 2
0th
cent
ury.
Fir
st,
Wil
liam
F.
Alb
righ
t: “T
he e
xces
sive
ske
ptic
ism
sh
own
tow
ard
the
Bib
le b
y im
port
ant
hist
oric
al s
choo
ls o
f th
e ei
ghte
enth
and
nin
etee
nth
cent
urie
s, c
erta
in p
hase
s of
whi
ch s
till
ap
pear
per
iodi
cally
, ha
s be
en p
rogr
essi
vely
dis
cred
ited.
Dis
cov-
ery
afte
r di
scov
ery
has
esta
blis
hed
the
accu
racy
of
innu
mer
able
de
tails
, an
d ha
s br
ough
t in
crea
sed
reco
gniti
on t
o th
e va
lue
of t
he
Bib
le a
s a
sour
ce o
f hi
stor
y.”44
Ano
ther
lea
ding
arc
haeo
logi
st,
Nel
son
Glu
eck,
wri
tes:
“It
may
be
stat
ed c
ateg
oric
ally
tha
t no
ar-
chae
olog
ical
dis
cove
ry h
as e
ver
cont
rove
rted
a b
ibli
cal
refe
renc
e.
Scor
es o
f ar
chae
olog
ical
fin
ding
s ha
ve b
een
mad
e w
hich
con
firm
in
cle
ar o
utli
ne o
r in
exa
ct d
etai
l hi
stor
ical
sta
tem
ents
in
the
Bi-
ble.
And
by
the
sam
e to
ken,
[th
e] p
rope
r ev
alua
tion
of b
iblic
al
desc
ript
ions
has
oft
en l
ed t
o am
azin
g [a
rcha
eolo
gica
l] d
isco
ver-
ies.
”45
Ja
ck F
inne
gan
has
publ
ishe
d a
409-
page
boo
k, e
ntitl
ed
The
Arc
haeo
logy
of
the
New
Tes
tam
ent,
cont
aini
ng p
ictu
res,
dia
-gr
ams,
and
str
eet
plan
s of
nea
rly
ever
y pl
ace
men
tione
d in
the
N
ew T
esta
men
t—pl
aces
tha
t ca
n be
vis
ited
toda
y by
any
one
who
ca
n af
ford
it.
Thi
s th
ick
book
can
be
orde
red
from
Am
azon
.com
. It
may
cos
t a
bit
mor
e th
an y
ou c
are
to p
ay, b
ut a
ny g
ood
city
li-
brar
y pr
obab
ly c
onta
ins
a co
py.
T
his
sam
plin
g of
dis
cove
ries
fro
m a
rcha
eolo
gy c
lear
ly
supp
orts
the
bib
lical
acc
ount
. T
o th
ose
with
an
open
min
d, t
hese
ex
ampl
es s
houl
d le
nd c
rede
nce
to a
t le
ast
the
poss
ibili
ty t
hat
the
Bib
le is
in f
act t
he in
spir
ed W
ord
of G
od.
In
Par
t III
, we
will
exa
min
e so
me
of th
e w
ays
in w
hich
the
Bib
le a
gree
s w
ith
the
prov
en f
acts
of
scie
nce—
as o
ppos
ed t
o un
-pr
oven
theo
ries
and
spe
cula
tions
by
scie
ntis
ts.
Cha
pter
Ten
44
Alth
ough
we
cann
ot u
nder
take
to
reco
nstr
uct
the
lives
of
Abr
a-ha
m, I
saac
and
Jac
ob, w
e m
ay c
onfi
dent
ly b
elie
ve t
hat
they
wer
e ac
tual
his
tori
cal i
ndiv
idua
ls.”
3 Su
mm
ing
up t
he e
vide
nce,
Bri
ght
says
, “P
ales
tine
in t
he
earl
y se
cond
mill
enni
um w
as f
illin
g w
ith s
emin
omad
ic c
lans
, ea
ch o
f w
hich
was
hea
ded
by a
rea
l in
divi
dual
, eve
n if
we
do n
ot
know
his
nam
e. I
f th
e pa
tria
rchs
rep
rese
nt s
imila
r gr
oups
, as
ther
e is
eve
ry r
easo
n to
bel
ieve
, it i
s ca
ptio
us to
den
y th
at th
e le
ader
s of
th
ese
grou
ps t
oo w
ere
real
ind
ivid
uals
; th
at i
s to
say
tha
t A
bra-
ham
, Is
aac
and
Jaco
b w
ere
clan
chi
efs
who
act
uall
y li
ved
in t
he
seco
nd m
illen
nium
BC
.”4
The
Bib
le t
ells
us
that
Jac
ob,
the
thir
d pa
tria
rch,
had
tw
elve
son
s, o
ne o
f w
hom
was
Jos
eph,
Jac
ob’s
fav
orite
. T
he t
en
olde
r so
ns w
ere
so j
ealo
us o
f hi
m t
hat
they
dis
cuss
ed d
oing
aw
ay
wit
h hi
m; i
nste
ad, t
hey
sold
him
into
sla
very
to a
car
avan
hea
ding
fo
r E
gypt
. T
here
, Jo
seph
bec
ame
a tr
uste
d st
ewar
d of
the
hou
se-
hold
of
a no
ble,
who
se w
ife
trie
d to
sed
uce
him
. Jo
seph
’s r
efus
al
to d
isob
ey G
od’s
law
inc
urre
d su
ch w
rath
fro
m t
he w
ife
that
she
le
vele
d a
fals
e ch
arge
aga
inst
him
that
land
ed h
im in
pri
son.
A
ccor
ding
to
hist
oria
n P
aul
John
son,
the
acc
ount
of
this
“a
ffai
r” i
s a
key
to e
stab
lish
ing
Jose
ph a
s an
act
ual
figu
re o
f hi
s-to
ry. “
The
re is
no
doub
t ab
out h
is h
isto
rici
ty. I
ndee
d, s
ome
of th
e m
ore
rom
anti
c ep
isod
es i
n hi
s li
fe h
ave
echo
es i
n E
gypt
ian
lite
ra-
ture
. His
atte
mpt
ed s
educ
tion
by P
otip
har’
s w
ife,
who
in
her
fury
at
her
rej
ecti
on b
y hi
m r
esor
ts t
o sl
ande
r an
d ha
s hi
m t
hrow
n in
to
pris
on, o
ccur
s in
an
anci
ent
Egy
ptia
n na
rrat
ive
calle
d T
he T
ale
of
Tw
o B
roth
ers,
whi
ch f
irst
rea
ched
wri
tten
form
in a
pap
yrus
dat
ed
1225
[B
C].
”5 A
mon
g Jo
seph
’s f
ello
w p
riso
ners
are
tw
o fo
rmer
ser
vant
s of
the
Phar
aoh—
his
chie
f bu
tler
and
his
chie
f ba
ker.
J. A
. Tho
mp-
son
tells
us,
“S
uch
title
s as
we
find
in
Gen
esis
40:
2, ‘
the
chie
f of
th
e bu
tlers
’ an
d ‘t
he c
hief
of
the
bake
rs,’
are
wel
l kn
own
as t
he
title
s of
cer
tain
pal
ace
offi
cial
s in
Egy
ptia
n w
ritin
gs.”
6
The
Mig
ratio
n of
the
Pat
riar
chs
17
CH
AP
TE
R S
IX
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
Is
rael
In
Egy
pt, M
oses
, and
the
Exo
dus
Egy
ptol
ogis
ts
(tho
se
who
st
udy
Egy
ptia
n hi
stor
y,
lan-
guag
e an
d cu
ltur
e) a
re b
y no
mea
ns i
n ag
reem
ent
over
the
cre
di-
bilit
y of
the
bib
lical
acc
ount
s of
Jos
eph
arri
ving
in
Egy
pt a
s a
slav
e an
d ri
sing
to
prom
inen
ce;
bein
g jo
ined
by
his
fath
er J
acob
(I
srae
l) a
nd h
is b
roth
ers;
gen
erat
ions
pas
sing
dur
ing
whi
ch t
heir
de
scen
dant
s be
com
e an
ens
lave
d na
tion,
fin
ally
cul
min
atin
g in
th
eir
liber
atio
n fr
om E
gypt
und
er t
he l
eade
rshi
p of
Mos
es.
Man
y di
smis
s th
e en
tire
narr
ativ
e as
not
hing
mor
e th
an l
egen
d, t
houg
h th
ey d
isag
ree
as to
the
tim
e th
e “l
egen
ds”
wer
e w
ritte
n.
A f
ew c
aref
ul E
gypt
olog
ists
, ho
wev
er,
cite
evi
denc
e th
at
such
thin
gs c
ould
in f
act
have
hap
pene
d. A
mon
g th
ings
they
con
-si
der
are
pilla
r-lik
e m
onum
ents
kno
wn
as s
tela
e (p
lura
l of
ste
le:
a st
one
mon
umen
t on
whi
ch a
kin
g ha
s ha
d re
cord
s in
scri
bed
of h
is
conq
uest
s or
acc
ompl
ishm
ents
); r
ecen
t ge
olog
ical
exp
lora
tions
su
ch a
s th
ose
by t
he I
srae
li G
eolo
gica
l Su
rvey
nea
r th
e G
ulf
of
Suez
; E
gypt
ian
arch
aeol
ogic
al s
ites
; an
d w
ritt
en r
ecor
ds o
n m
ate-
rial
s lik
e st
one
and
papy
rus.
In
thi
s ch
apte
r w
e’ll
exa
min
e th
e ev
iden
ce—
and
the
opin
-io
ns o
f sc
hola
rs r
egar
ding
1)
Jose
ph,
and
the
like
lihoo
d th
at h
e w
as s
old
into
Egy
pt a
s a
slav
e an
d ro
se t
o be
num
ber
two
in t
he
king
dom
; 2)
whe
ther
des
cend
ants
of
Jose
ph’s
fat
her,
Isr
ael,
be-
cam
e so
num
erou
s th
at t
hey
wer
e co
nsid
ered
a t
hrea
t an
d w
ere
thus
for
ced
into
sla
ve la
bor;
3)
whe
ther
the
plag
ues
of th
e bo
ok o
f E
xodu
s ev
er o
ccur
red;
and
4)
whe
ther
the
re e
ver
was
an
Exo
dus
of th
e Is
rael
ites
fro
m E
gypt
and
a p
arti
ng o
f th
e R
ed S
ea.
Jo
seph
: L
egen
d or
His
tory
? In
the
boo
k of
Gen
esis
, w
e re
ad t
hat
Jose
ph,
Jaco
b’s
fa-
vori
te s
on, w
as s
old
by h
is je
alou
s br
othe
rs in
to s
lave
ry a
nd e
nded
up
in
Egy
pt.
Aft
er y
ears
in
pris
on,
he w
as e
vent
ually
fre
ed b
e-ca
use
the
king
of
Egy
pt h
ad a
tro
ublin
g dr
eam
tha
t Jo
seph
was
ab
le to
inte
rpre
t.
The
dre
am w
arne
d th
at a
fter
sev
en y
ears
of
abun
dant
gra
in
crop
s th
ere
wou
ld b
e se
ven
year
s of
fam
ine.
The
kin
g pu
t Jo
seph
in
cha
rge
of t
he n
atio
n un
der
him
self
as
vice
roy
or p
rim
e m
inis
-te
r. U
nder
Jos
eph’
s ad
min
istr
atio
n, s
urpl
us g
rain
was
put
int
o
18
Arc
haeo
logi
cal F
inds
Sup
port
ing
the
New
Tes
tam
ent
H
ere
is a
sam
plin
g of
the
cou
ntle
ss a
rcha
eolo
gica
l dis
cov-
erie
s th
at s
uppo
rt th
e na
rrat
ives
fou
nd in
the
New
Tes
tam
ent:
N
azar
eth—
A l
ower
-Gal
ilee
villa
ge w
here
Jes
us g
rew
up
afte
r H
is f
amily
’s r
etur
n fr
om E
gypt
, N
azar
eth
was
loc
ated
jus
t a
four
-mile
wal
king
com
mut
e fr
om S
epph
oris
—th
e bu
stlin
g ca
pita
l of
Gal
ilee
unde
r H
erod
Ant
ipas
, son
of
Her
od t
he G
reat
. Sep
pho-
ris
was
the
site
of
a m
assi
ve u
rban
reb
uild
ing
proj
ect f
ollo
win
g its
de
stru
ctio
n by
th
e R
oman
s af
ter
an
ill-
advi
sed
rebe
llio
n ha
d sp
rang
up
in t
he w
ake
of t
he d
eath
of
Her
od t
he G
reat
in
4 B
C.
Thu
s, a
s ar
tisan
s w
orki
ng i
n bu
ildin
g co
nstr
uctio
n, N
azar
eth’
s pr
oxim
ity t
o th
e ci
ty g
ave
Jose
ph a
nd J
esus
am
ple
oppo
rtun
ities
fo
r em
ploy
men
t.40
A
rcha
eolo
gica
l ex
plor
atio
n of
the
rem
ains
of
both
Sep
-ph
oris
and
Naz
aret
h ha
s be
en o
ngoi
ng s
ince
the
ear
ly 1
980s
. In
th
e tim
e of
Jes
us’
yout
h, t
he “
prox
imity
of
Sepp
hori
s to
the
sat
el-
lite
vil
lage
, N
azar
eth,
mad
e co
ntac
ts w
ith
this
inf
luen
tial
urb
an
cent
er c
onve
nien
t an
d na
tura
l.”41
Thi
s fa
ct s
uppo
rts
the
bibl
ical
na
rrat
ive
that
Jos
eph
and
Mar
y, t
houg
h or
igin
ally
fro
m B
ethl
e-he
m, w
ould
hav
e ch
osen
Naz
aret
h as
thei
r ho
me.
Cap
erna
um—
A c
ity b
y th
e Se
a of
Gal
ilee
men
tion
ed 1
6 ti
mes
in
the
Gos
pels
. We
are
told
tha
t Pe
ter
and
seve
ral
othe
r di
s-ci
ples
of
Chr
ist
wer
e fi
sher
men
wor
king
out
of
Cap
erna
um.
As
Ran
dall
Pric
e te
lls u
s, “
Fro
m t
he p
erio
d of
the
New
Tes
tam
ent
ther
e ha
s be
en u
ncov
ered
[at
Cap
erna
um]
the
evid
ence
of
the
fish
ing
indu
stry
(an
chor
s, f
ishh
ooks
), w
hich
em
ploy
ed t
he d
isci
-pl
es, a
s w
ell
as a
str
eet
and
hous
es c
erta
inly
use
d by
the
m o
n oc
-ca
sion
.”42
A f
irst
-cen
tury
fis
hing
boa
t—“I
n th
e 19
80s,
dro
ught
ex-
pose
d a
wel
l-pr
eser
ved
firs
t-ce
ntur
y fi
shin
g bo
at (
mea
suri
ng 2
6.5
feet
lon
g, 7
.5 f
eet
wid
e, a
nd 4
.5 f
eet
high
) in
the
mud
of
the
Sea
of G
alile
e…. P
ots
and
lam
ps f
ound
ins
ide
the
boat
dat
ed i
t to
the
fi
rst
cent
ury.
Car
bon-
14 t
estin
g fu
rthe
r co
nfir
med
the
dat
ing.
The
de
sign
of
the
boat
was
typ
ical
of
fish
ing
boat
s us
ed d
urin
g th
at
peri
od o
n th
e S
ea o
f G
alil
ee. I
n th
e ba
ck o
f th
e bo
at w
as a
rai
sed
sect
ion
like
the
one
whe
re J
esus
cou
ld h
ave
been
sle
epin
g, a
s in
-di
cate
d in
the
Gos
pel
acco
unts
. The
boa
t co
uld
acco
mm
odat
e fi
f-te
en p
eopl
e in
clud
ing
crew
. T
his
arch
aeol
ogic
al d
isco
very
con
-fi
rms
the
desc
ript
ion
give
n in
the
Bib
le.”
43
New
Tes
tam
ent A
ccou
nt o
f Je
sus
Chr
ist S
uppo
rted
43
“O
n th
e co
ntra
ry,
I be
gan
wit
h a
min
d un
favo
rabl
e to
it
[his
la
ter
conc
lusi
on
that
A
cts
did
inde
ed
cons
titu
te
reli
able
fi
rsth
and
hist
ory]
, for
the
ing
enui
ty a
nd a
ppar
ent
com
plet
enes
s of
th
e T
ubin
gen
The
ory
had
at o
ne t
ime
quite
con
vinc
ed m
e. I
t di
d no
t li
e th
en i
n m
y li
ne o
f li
fe t
o in
vest
igat
e th
e su
bjec
t m
inut
ely;
bu
t m
ore
rece
ntly
I f
ound
mys
elf
ofte
n br
ough
t in
con
tact
with
th
e bo
ok o
f A
cts
as a
n au
thor
ity f
or t
he t
opog
raph
y, a
ntiq
uitie
s,
and
soci
ety
of A
sia
Min
or. I
t was
gra
dual
ly b
orne
in u
pon
me
that
in
var
ious
det
ails
the
nar
rativ
e sh
owed
mar
velo
us t
ruth
. In
fac
t, be
ginn
ing
with
the
fix
ed i
dea
that
the
wor
k w
as e
ssen
tially
a s
ec-
ond-
cent
ury
com
posi
tion
and
neve
r re
lyin
g on
its
evi
denc
e as
tr
ustw
orth
y fo
r fi
rst-
cent
ury
cond
ition
s, I
gra
dual
ly c
ame
to f
ind
it a
usef
ul a
lly in
som
e ob
scur
e an
d di
ffic
ult i
nves
tigat
ions
.”38
“It
is n
ot m
y ob
ject
to
assu
me
or t
o pr
ove
that
the
re w
as
no p
reju
dice
in th
e m
ind
of L
uke,
no
faul
t on
the
part
of
Paul
; but
on
ly t
o ex
amin
e w
heth
er t
he f
acts
sta
ted
are
trus
twor
thy,
and
le
ave
them
to
spea
k fo
r th
emse
lves
(as
the
aut
hor
does
). I
sha
ll
argu
e th
at th
e bo
ok w
as c
ompo
sed
by a
per
sona
l fr
iend
and
dis
ci-
ple
of P
aul,
and
if t
his
be o
nce
esta
blis
hed,
the
re w
ill
be n
o he
si-
tatio
n in
acc
eptin
g th
e pr
imiti
ve t
radi
tion
that
Luk
e w
as t
he a
u-th
or.”
39
A
fter
hav
ing
pers
onal
ly s
een
the
regi
on a
nd e
xper
ienc
ed
the
topo
grap
hy o
f th
e la
nd,
the
loca
tions
of
the
nam
ed c
ities
and
to
wns
, an
d th
e pr
evai
ling
win
ds a
nd c
urre
nts
as d
escr
ibed
by
Luk
e, a
ided
by
his
know
ledg
e of
his
tori
cal r
ecor
ds, R
amsa
y ca
me
fina
lly t
o th
e co
nclu
sion
tha
t A
cts
did
in f
act
cons
titut
e no
t on
ly
relia
ble
hist
ory,
but
wha
t he
ter
med
“hi
stor
ical
wor
k of
the
hig
h-es
t or
der”
—co
mpa
rabl
e ev
en t
o th
at o
f gr
eat
anci
ent
hist
oria
ns
like
Thu
cydi
des.
Tho
ugh
it is
n’t
clea
r th
at R
amsa
y ca
me
to s
ee
the
Bib
le a
s th
e in
spir
ed W
ord
of G
od,
it se
ems
he d
id a
t le
ast
beco
me
a be
liev
er i
n th
e ac
cura
cy o
f th
e B
ible
’s h
isto
ry. H
e ev
en
wen
t on
to w
rite
sev
eral
oth
er h
isto
ric
wor
ks a
bout
Pau
l and
oth
er
earl
y C
hris
tian
not
able
s.
T
hese
exa
mpl
es f
rom
sec
ular
his
tory
cle
arly
sup
port
the
ve
raci
ty o
f th
e N
ew T
esta
men
t ac
coun
ts o
f th
e lif
e of
Chr
ist
and
the
wri
tings
of
His
fol
low
ers.
Cha
pter
Ten
42
stor
age
duri
ng t
he g
ood
year
s so
it
wou
ld b
e av
aila
ble
duri
ng t
he
lean
yea
rs,
thus
sav
ing
man
y fr
om s
tarv
atio
n. T
his
of c
ours
e m
ade
Jose
ph s
omet
hing
of
a na
tiona
l her
o.
Dur
ing
the
fam
ine,
whi
ch a
lso
incl
uded
Can
aan,
Jos
eph’
s fa
ther
, Ja
cob,
sen
t th
e te
n br
othe
rs (
but
not
the
youn
gest
, B
enja
-m
in)
to b
uy g
rain
in
Egy
pt.
As
the
offi
cial
in
char
ge o
f di
stri
b-ut
ing
the
food
res
erve
s, J
osep
h (w
hom
the
y di
d no
t re
cogn
ize)
w
as th
e on
e hi
s br
othe
rs h
ad to
dea
l with
to p
urch
ase
grai
n.
Eve
ntua
lly,
Jac
ob h
imse
lf a
nd t
he e
ntir
e ex
tend
ed f
ami-
ly—
sons
, th
eir
wiv
es,
and
his
gran
dchi
ldre
n—se
ttle
d in
Egy
pt i
n th
e no
rthe
aste
rn N
ile d
elta
reg
ion,
the
“Lan
d of
Gos
hen.
” Fo
r pu
r-po
ses
of s
heep
her
ding
(th
e Is
rael
ites’
mai
n oc
cupa
tion)
, thi
s w
as
the
“bes
t of
the
land
” (G
en. 4
7:6,
11)
. C
ould
thi
s “s
tory
” ha
ve a
ctua
lly
happ
ened
? M
inim
alis
ts
(tho
se w
ho a
ttrib
ute
min
imal
or
no h
isto
rica
l va
lue
to t
he B
ible
) di
smis
s th
e en
tire
acc
ount
in
Gen
esis
as
“his
tori
cal
fict
ion”
or
outr
ight
fab
rica
tion
by w
rite
rs i
n C
anaa
n ce
ntur
ies
late
r—th
ough
w
ith
no a
gree
men
t am
ong
them
as
to h
ow m
uch
late
r. B
ut t
here
ar
e se
vera
l E
gypt
olog
ists
who
sho
w t
hat
Gen
esis
37-
50 c
onta
ins
info
rmat
ion
abou
t pl
aces
and
cus
tom
s th
at n
o fi
ctio
n w
rite
r fr
om
cent
urie
s la
ter
in P
ales
tine
coul
d ha
ve k
now
n ab
out o
r go
tten
cor-
rect
. Let
’s lo
ok a
t wha
t a f
ew o
f th
em h
ave
to s
ay.
His
tori
an W
erne
r K
elle
r in
The
Bib
le A
s H
isto
ry p
ublis
hed
an il
lust
ratio
n of
an
Egy
ptia
n to
mb
carv
ing
in w
hich
a d
igni
tary
is
bein
g in
stal
led
into
off
ice.
Acc
ordi
ng t
o K
elle
r, “
Jose
ph’s
ele
va-
tion
to b
e vi
cero
y of
Egy
pt i
s re
prod
uced
in
the
Bib
le e
xact
ly a
c-co
rdin
g to
pro
toco
l. H
e is
inv
este
d w
ith t
he i
nsig
nia
of h
is h
igh
offi
ce,
he r
ecei
ves
the
ring
, Ph
arao
h’s
seal
, a
cost
ly l
inen
ves
t-m
ent,
and
a go
lden
cha
in.
Thi
s is
exa
ctly
how
Egy
ptia
n ar
tists
de
pict
thi
s so
lem
n ce
rem
ony
on m
ural
s an
d re
lief
s. A
s vi
cero
y,
Jose
ph r
ides
in
Phar
aoh’
s ‘s
econ
d ch
ario
t.’ T
hat
coul
d in
dica
te
the
peri
od o
f th
e H
ykso
s [t
he n
on-E
gypt
ian
“she
pher
d ki
ngs”
] at
th
e ea
rlie
st…
. T
he f
irst
cha
riot
bel
onge
d to
the
rul
er,
the
‘sec
ond
char
iot’
was
occ
upie
d by
his
chi
ef m
inis
ter.
”7 hist
oric
al f
amil
y of
19
Isra
el I
n E
gypt
, Mos
es, a
nd th
e E
xodu
s
a m
an n
amed
Ter
ah o
nce
exis
ted
in a
nd a
roun
d U
r th
is s
ide
of
circ
a 20
00 B
C; h
e an
d th
ey m
oved
on
nort
hwes
twar
d [t
o H
aran
in
nort
hern
Syr
ia],
and
the
n hi
s so
n A
brah
am a
nd f
amily
mov
ed
sout
h in
to
Can
aan;
af
ter
thre
e ge
nera
tion
s th
e la
tter
’s
grea
t-gr
ands
on (
Jose
ph)
coul
d ca
re f
or th
e gr
oup
in T
hirt
eent
h/Fi
ftee
nth
Dyn
asty
Egy
pt in
the
Eas
t Del
ta.”
8 Ja
mes
K. H
offm
eier
add
s, “
I co
ncur
wit
h K
itch
en t
hat
the
wei
ght
of t
he E
gypt
olog
ical
dat
a, w
hen
thor
ough
ly e
xam
ined
, le
nds
cred
ibil
ity
to t
he e
ssen
tial
his
tori
city
of
the
[bib
lica
l] n
arra
-tiv
es…
.”9
The
clin
cher
, how
ever
, may
be
the
wel
l-do
cum
ente
d w
ork
by E
gypt
olog
ist/a
rcha
eolo
gist
Dav
id R
ohl
entit
led
Exo
dus:
Myt
h or
His
tory
? In
his
boo
k, R
ohl
desc
ribe
s in
det
ail
the
impo
rtan
t ex
cava
tions
mad
e in
the
198
0s i
n th
e ea
ster
n N
ile d
elta
reg
ion
by
an A
ustr
ian
team
hea
ded
by M
anfr
ed B
ieta
k. A
ccor
ding
to
Roh
l, he
re a
re s
ome
of B
ieta
k’s
asto
undi
ng f
inds
: “I
n th
e ci
ty o
f A
vari
s—at
the
str
atig
raph
ical
lev
el o
f it
s fo
unda
tion—
the
Aus
tria
n ex
cava
tors
unc
over
ed a
n un
usua
l bui
ld-
ing,
to
the
wes
t of
the
mai
n m
ound
(T
ell
A)
in a
n ag
ricu
ltura
l fi
eld
whi
ch t
hey
desi
gnat
ed ‘
Are
a F.
’ A
few
fee
t be
low
the
pl
owed
sur
face
, th
ey c
ame
acro
ss t
he f
ound
atio
ns o
f a
larg
e vi
lla
laid
out
in th
e gr
ound
pla
n of
a n
orth
Syr
ian
dwel
ling
…. T
his
for-
eign
des
ign
sugg
este
d to
Man
fred
Bie
tak
that
its
ow
ner
was
fro
m
Syri
a, w
hich
of
cour
se w
as th
e ho
mel
and
of A
brah
am a
nd h
is d
e-sc
enda
nts…
. [H
isto
rica
lly]
, th
is w
ould
hav
e be
en t
he h
ouse
of
Jaco
b, c
onst
ruct
ed u
pon
his
arri
val
in G
oshe
n in
Yea
r 2
of t
he
[bib
lica
l] f
amin
e….
“Som
e tim
e la
ter
… a
muc
h gr
ande
r re
side
nce
was
con
-st
ruct
ed o
ver
the
Mit
tels
aal
Hau
s [t
he G
erm
an n
ame
for
the
type
of
hou
se J
acob
had
liv
ed i
n].
Thi
s m
ansi
on—
it ha
s be
en r
efer
red
to a
s a
‘sm
all
pala
ce’—
is m
uch
mor
e E
gypt
ian
in c
hara
cter
, bui
lt
for
a pe
rson
of
high
sta
tus,
with
all
the
trap
ping
s of
wea
lth a
nd
pow
er…
. T
his
impr
essi
ve b
uild
ing
is f
ront
ed b
y a
port
ico
of
twel
ve [
the
num
ber
of th
e tr
ibes
of
Isra
el]
woo
den
colu
mns
….
dem
olis
hed,
lea
ving
onl
y th
e sh
adow
of
the
villa
in
its f
ound
a-tio
ns a
nd J
osep
h’s
hous
e bu
ilt o
ver
it on
the
fam
ily p
lot.
Her
e, i
n
20
Cha
pter
Six
that
rig
hteo
us m
an,
for
I ha
ve s
uffe
red
man
y th
ings
tod
ay i
n a
drea
m b
ecau
se o
f H
im.’
”
T
he p
oint
her
e is
this
: If
the
exec
utio
n of
Chr
ist h
ad s
imp-
ly b
een
fabr
icat
ed,
it w
ould
see
m l
ikel
y th
at t
he p
art
abou
t Pi
late
be
ing
relu
ctan
t to
car
ry o
ut t
his
one
exec
utio
n co
uld
have
bee
n le
ft o
ut.
Pila
te w
as n
otor
ious
for
unj
ustl
y ki
llin
g sc
ores
of
Jew
s,
so w
hy b
othe
r to
hig
hlig
ht h
is h
esita
tion
in t
his
case
unl
ess
the
stor
y re
ally
hap
pene
d?
F
inal
ly,
we
have
add
ition
al c
orro
bora
tion
of t
he a
ccou
nt
of C
hris
t’s
cruc
ifix
ion
from
(of
all
pla
ces)
the
Jew
ish
Tal
mud
: “I
t w
as t
augh
t: O
n th
e da
y be
fore
the
Pas
sove
r th
ey h
ange
d Je
sus
…
beca
use
he p
ract
iced
and
ent
iced
Isr
ael
to g
o as
tray
….”
37 T
he
pass
age
also
cla
ims
that
for
for
ty d
ays
a he
rald
wen
t ar
ound
try
-in
g to
fin
d an
yone
who
mig
ht w
itnes
s in
Jes
us’
favo
r, y
et n
o on
e w
as f
ound
. T
his
part
see
ms
unlik
ely,
sin
ce t
he B
ible
tel
ls u
s th
at
Chr
ist’
s tr
ial
and
cruc
ifix
ion
all
took
pla
ce i
n le
ss t
han
24 h
ours
. In
fac
t, w
hat
the
auth
orit
ies
actu
ally
did
was
to
sear
ch f
or w
it-
ness
es a
gain
st J
esus
—bu
t as
it
turn
ed o
ut,
even
the
ir f
alse
wit-
ness
es c
ould
not
get
the
ir c
onfl
ictin
g st
orie
s st
raig
ht.
We
shou
ld
not
be s
urpr
ised
, ho
wev
er,
that
the
Tal
mud
oft
en c
onfl
icts
wit
h th
e sc
ript
ural
acc
ount
.
The
Boo
k of
Act
s C
orro
bora
ted
In
the
lat
e 19
th c
entu
ry,
a sk
epti
cal
Bri
tish
sch
olar
nam
ed
Wil
liam
Ram
say
set
out
to i
nves
tiga
te t
he v
erac
ity
of L
uke’
s bo
ok e
ntitl
ed “
Act
s of
the
Apo
stle
s.”
Ram
say’
s ap
proa
ch w
as t
o re
trac
e th
e st
eps
supp
osed
ly
take
n by
Pa
ul
on
his
jour
neys
th
roug
h A
sia
Min
or (
mod
ern
Tur
key)
at
a tim
e lo
ng b
efor
e pa
ved
road
s w
ould
not
icea
bly
alte
r th
e la
ndsc
ape
from
wha
t it
had
bee
n in
Pau
l’s
day.
He
was
exp
ectin
g to
fin
d ob
viou
s di
scre
panc
ies
betw
een
loca
tion
s an
d pl
ace
nam
es i
n A
cts
and
the
geog
raph
ic
real
ity—
and
poss
ibly
eve
n pr
ove
that
Pau
l co
uld
neve
r ha
ve g
one
whe
re L
uke
said
he
wen
t. H
ighl
y in
flue
nced
by
the
“Tub
inge
n T
heor
y” (
whi
ch h
olds
tha
t m
ost
bibl
ical
boo
ks a
re c
ompo
site
s of
w
ritin
gs b
y m
ultip
le a
utho
rs p
enne
d lo
ng a
fter
the
eve
nts
they
de
scri
be),
Ram
say
star
ted
out
belie
ving
tha
t th
e bo
ok o
f A
cts
had
actu
ally
bee
n w
ritte
n in
the
sec
ond
cent
ury
(lon
g af
ter
Paul
and
L
uke
had
died
), p
roba
bly
by m
ultip
le a
utho
rs.
He
did
not
begi
n w
ith a
n at
titud
e re
ady
to s
ee A
cts
as r
elia
ble
firs
than
d hi
stor
y.
41
New
Tes
tam
ent A
ccou
nt o
f Je
sus
Chr
ist S
uppo
rted
The
cha
ract
er o
f th
e H
igh
Pri
ests
dur
ing
the
who
le o
f th
at p
erio
d is
des
crib
ed i
n th
e T
alm
ud i
n te
rrib
le l
angu
age…
. It
dese
rves
no-
tice
that
the
spec
ial s
in w
ith w
hich
the
hous
e of
Ann
as is
cha
rged
is
tha
t of
‘w
hisp
erin
g’—
or h
issi
ng l
ike
vipe
rs—
whi
ch s
eem
s to
re
fer
to p
riva
te i
nflu
ence
on
the
judg
es i
n th
eir
adm
inis
trat
ion
of
just
ice,
whe
reby
mor
als
wer
e co
rrup
ted,
jud
gmen
t pe
rver
ted,
and
th
e S
heki
nah
wit
hdra
wn
from
Isr
ael.”
34
“T
he n
ames
of
thos
e bo
ld,
licen
tious
, un
scru
pulo
us,
de-
gene
rate
son
s of
Aar
on w
ere
spok
en w
ith w
hisp
ered
cur
ses…
. [W
e] c
an u
nder
stan
d ho
w a
ntith
etic
in
ever
y re
spec
t a
Mes
siah
, an
d su
ch a
Mes
siah
as
Jesu
s, m
ust h
ave
been
to A
nnas
. He
was
as
reso
lute
ly b
ent
on H
is d
eath
as
his
son-
in-l
aw,
thou
gh w
ith h
is
char
acte
rist
ic c
unni
ng a
nd c
ooln
ess,
not
the
has
ty,
bluf
f m
anne
r of
Cai
apha
s.”35
The
bru
tal n
atur
e of
Pil
ate
and
the
who
lesa
le c
orru
ptio
n of
th
e Je
wis
h re
ligi
ous
lead
ersh
ip a
re v
erif
ied
by th
e N
ew T
esta
men
t ac
coun
t of
Jes
us’
deat
h. O
n th
e ni
ght
of H
is b
etra
yal
and
subs
e-qu
ent
moc
k tr
ial
by t
he S
anhe
drin
, H
is c
apto
rs t
ook
Him
fir
st t
o A
nnas
, th
e ex
-Hig
h P
ries
t—an
obv
ious
bre
ach
of p
roto
col.
For
an
y of
fici
al t
rial
by
the
Sanh
edri
n, C
aiap
has,
as
the
curr
ent
Hig
h Pr
iest
, w
ould
be
requ
ired
to
pres
ide.
36 W
e re
ad i
n M
atth
ew 2
6 th
at C
aiap
has
dem
ande
d th
at J
esus
tell
whe
ther
or
not H
e cl
aim
ed
to b
e th
e M
essi
ah,
the
Son
of G
od.
Jesu
s an
swer
ed,
“You
hav
e sa
id it
. Mor
eove
r, I
say
to y
ou, i
n th
e fu
ture
you
sha
ll se
e th
e So
n of
man
sitt
ing
at t
he r
ight
han
d of
pow
er,
and
com
ing
in t
he
clou
ds o
f he
aven
.” T
hen
Cai
apha
s ri
pped
his
ow
n ga
rmen
ts,
say-
ing,
“H
e ha
s bl
asph
emed
! W
hy d
o w
e ne
ed a
ny m
ore
witn
esse
s?
Beh
old,
you
hav
e ju
st n
ow h
eard
His
bla
sphe
my.
Wha
t do
you
th
ink?
” T
hey
answ
ered
, “H
e is
des
ervi
ng o
f de
ath!
” (v
erse
s 63
-66
).
Si
nce
the
Rom
ans
did
not
perm
it t
he J
ews
to c
arry
out
ex-
ecut
ions
the
mse
lves
, th
ey t
ook
Jesu
s to
Pila
te—
who
aft
er q
ues-
tioni
ng H
im c
oncl
uded
tha
t he
cou
ld f
ind
no f
ault
wor
thy
of H
is
deat
h. A
s w
e ha
ve s
een,
Pila
te h
ad n
o sc
rupl
es a
gain
st u
njus
tly
killi
ng J
ews.
So
we
mig
ht w
onde
r w
hy h
e w
as s
o he
sita
nt t
o ex
e-cu
te J
esus
if
he t
houg
ht H
e w
as i
nnoc
ent.
Pila
te e
ven
cere
mon
i-ou
sly
was
hed
his
hand
s be
fore
the
cro
wd
as i
f to
abs
olve
him
self
of
the
guilt
for
Jes
us’
exec
utio
n. P
erha
ps M
atth
ew 2
7:19
sug
gest
s an
ans
wer
: “N
ow a
s he
sat
on
the
judg
men
t se
at,
his
wif
e se
nt a
m
essa
ge t
o hi
m,
sayi
ng,
‘Let
the
re b
e no
thin
g be
twee
n yo
u an
d
Cha
pter
Ten
40
this
new
Egy
ptia
n-st
yle
resi
denc
e, J
osep
h—kn
own
to t
he E
gyp-
tian
s as
the
gre
at v
izie
r A
nkhu
—w
ould
hav
e re
ceiv
ed p
etit
ione
rs
and
offi
cial
s w
hen
he w
as r
esid
ing
in h
is n
orth
ern
resi
denc
e.”10
T
hrou
ghou
t thi
s pr
ojec
t, B
ieta
k’s
team
fou
nd o
nly
foun
da-
tions
of
build
ings
bur
ied
in f
arm
fie
lds.
But
as
Roh
l te
lls u
s,
“[E
noug
h] r
emai
ned
to w
ork
out
wha
t ha
d on
ce s
tood
the
re.
The
ex
cava
tions
exp
osed
a l
arge
, al
mos
t sq
uare
bas
e of
mud
bri
cks,
at
tach
ed t
o th
e fr
ont
of w
hich
was
a s
mal
l ch
apel
. B
ieta
k de
ter-
min
ed th
at th
is b
ase
once
sup
port
ed a
mud
-bri
ck p
yram
id. T
his
in
itse
lf w
as r
emar
kabl
e be
caus
e, f
or th
e pe
riod
of
phar
aoni
c hi
stor
y up
to th
e N
ew K
ingd
om, p
yram
ids
wer
e th
e ex
clus
ive
prer
ogat
ive
of k
ings
and
thei
r qu
eens
. No
offi
cial
or
com
mon
er h
ad e
ver
been
gr
ante
d a
pyra
mid
to h
ouse
his
mor
tal r
emai
ns. Y
et h
ere,
the
high
of
fici
al w
ho h
ad l
ived
in
the
Are
a F
pala
ce h
ad b
een
give
n ju
st
such
an
hono
r. T
his
mar
ked
the
man
out
as
som
eone
ver
y sp
e-ci
al.”
11 R
ohl s
ums
up th
e fi
nd a
nd h
is c
oncl
usio
ns: “
To
me—
and
I ho
pe t
o yo
u—th
is a
ll po
inte
d to
war
ds o
ne c
oncl
usio
n. W
ithou
t se
arch
ing
for
it …
and
, it
has
to b
e sa
id,
with
out
real
izin
g it
…
the
Aus
tria
n ar
chae
olog
ical
mis
sion
at
Tel
l ed
-Dab
a ha
d fo
und
the
lost
cit
y of
the
Isr
aeli
tes
loca
ted
at t
he h
eart
of
the
bibl
ical
la
nd o
f G
oshe
n. T
hey
had
unea
rthe
d th
e ho
use
of J
acob
and
the
pa
lace
of
the
vizi
er J
osep
h w
ith it
s tw
elve
-col
umne
d fa
çade
rep
re-
sent
ing
the
twel
ve s
ons
of J
acob
. T
hey
had
foun
d tw
elve
mai
n to
mbs
in
the
pala
ce g
arde
n, o
ne o
f w
hich
was
a p
yram
id t
omb
with
a c
olos
sal c
ult s
tatu
e of
its
occu
pant
, whi
ch o
nce
stoo
d in
the
chap
el a
ttac
hed
to t
he t
omb.
The
y ha
d di
scov
ered
tha
t th
e bu
rial
ch
ambe
r ha
d be
en a
cces
sed
in a
ntiq
uity
via
a tu
nnel
and
the
enti
re
cont
ents
—in
clud
ing
the
body
—re
mov
ed.
The
tom
b ha
d no
t be
en
plun
dere
d, b
ut n
ever
thel
ess,
it w
as e
mpt
y. T
he c
olos
sal c
ult s
tatu
e ha
d be
en s
mas
hed
into
pie
ces
and
part
s ha
d ro
lled
into
the
tunn
el.
Thi
s st
atue
had
bee
n m
ade
in th
e ro
yal w
orks
hops
of
Am
enem
hat
III,
in w
hose
tim
e th
ere
had
been
a p
rolo
nged
fam
ine
caus
ed b
y a
seri
es o
f hi
gh N
ile i
nund
atio
ns.
The
cul
t st
atue
rep
rese
nted
an
Asi
atic
off
icia
l w
ith y
ello
w s
kin
and
spor
ting
an A
siat
ic t
hrow
st
ick
as h
is s
cept
er. H
e ha
d fl
ame-
red
hair
. And
he
wor
e a
coat
of
man
y co
lors
. Sh
ort
of f
indi
ng a
nam
e on
the
mis
sing
par
t of
the
st
atue
, I c
ould
onl
y co
me
to o
ne c
oncl
usio
n…. [
Thi
s] c
ompl
ex i
n T
ell e
d-D
aba
Are
a F
was
the
hom
e an
d to
mb
of J
osep
h—th
e A
si-
atic
viz
ier
fam
ous
for
his
mul
tico
lore
d dr
eam
coa
t an
d th
e m
an
21
Isra
el I
n E
gypt
, Mos
es, a
nd th
e E
xodu
s
who
bro
ught
the
Isr
aelit
es i
nto
the
land
of
Gos
hen—
the
fore
igne
r w
ho h
ad s
aved
Egy
pt f
rom
the
gre
at f
amin
e an
d w
ho h
ad b
een
rew
arde
d by
Pha
raoh
wit
h a
mag
nifi
cent
pyr
amid
tom
b in
the
he
art o
f th
e A
siat
ic c
ity o
f A
vari
s.”12
Isra
el’s
Ens
lave
men
t, M
oses
, and
the
Exo
dus
Aft
er t
he d
eath
of
Jose
ph, a
new
kin
g ar
ose
in E
gypt
who
“k
new
not
Jos
eph”
(E
x. 1
:8).
Mea
nwhi
le,
Jaco
b’s
desc
enda
nts,
th
e “c
hild
ren
of I
srae
l,” h
ad b
ecom
e so
num
erou
s th
at t
hey
wer
e se
en a
s a
pote
ntia
l th
reat
; th
us, t
hey
wer
e fo
rced
int
o sl
ave
labo
r.
To
save
her
bab
y fr
om a
n ed
ict
that
had
gon
e ou
t to
kil
l al
l m
ale
Isra
elite
chi
ldre
n, M
oses
’ m
othe
r ha
d hi
s ol
der
sist
er w
orke
d it
out s
o th
e da
ught
er o
f Ph
arao
h w
ould
ado
pt h
im a
nd b
ring
him
up
as h
er o
wn.
Rea
chin
g ad
ulth
ood
as a
n “E
gypt
ian
prin
ce”
who
kn
ew h
is I
srae
lite
heri
tage
, M
oses
def
ende
d a
fello
w I
srae
lite
from
an
Egy
ptia
n at
tack
er b
y ki
llin
g th
e at
tack
er. M
oses
the
n ha
d to
fle
e w
hen
he f
ound
out
that
Pha
raoh
wan
ted
him
dea
d.
anot
her
on E
gypt
, ea
ch o
ne w
orse
tha
n th
e la
st, u
ntil
the
who
le l
and
was
ess
entia
lly
a de
vast
ated
rui
n. F
inal
ly,
afte
r th
e de
ath
of a
ll th
e fi
rstb
orn
chil-
dren
of
Egy
pt, P
hara
oh p
ract
ical
ly b
egge
d th
em to
leav
e.
How
ever
, no
soo
ner
had
Phar
aoh
sent
the
Isr
aelit
es a
way
th
an h
e ag
ain
chan
ged
his
min
d an
d le
d hi
s ar
my
afte
r th
em. T
he
Egy
ptia
n ar
my
over
took
Is
rael
in
a
loca
tion
wer
e th
ey
wer
e he
mm
ed in
bet
wee
n th
e la
nd a
nd th
e R
ed S
ea—
havi
ng n
o w
ay o
f es
cape
. But
God
par
ted
the
sea
and
the
Isra
elit
es w
alke
d ac
ross
on
dry
land
. W
hen
the
hors
emen
of
Egy
pt t
ried
to
purs
ue t
hem
ove
r th
e no
w-o
pene
d dr
y-la
nd p
ath,
the
sea
’s w
ater
s re
turn
ed,
drow
n-in
g th
e en
tire
Egy
ptia
n ar
my
and
dest
royi
ng th
eir
char
iots
. D
id t
hese
eve
nts
actu
ally
hap
pen
the
way
the
Bib
le t
ells
us
? M
inim
alis
ts,
of c
ours
e, d
ism
iss
the
who
le n
arra
tive
as
fict
ion
or l
egen
d. B
ut c
aref
ul,
open
-min
ded
anal
ysts
say
, “N
ot s
o fa
st.”
A
s w
e w
ill s
ee,
man
y pa
rts
of t
he s
tory
que
stio
ned
by s
kept
ics
actu
ally
fit
with
kno
wn
fact
s ab
out
the
land
, th
e pe
ople
and
cus
-to
ms,
and
the
times
.
Cha
pter
Six
22
pass
tha
t du
ring
the
tim
e th
ey w
ere
ther
e, t
he d
ays
wer
e fu
lfil
led
for
her
to g
ive
birt
h.”
Aug
ustu
s re
igne
d as
Rom
an E
mpe
ror
from
31
BC
to
14
AD
. H
isto
ry r
emem
bers
his
adm
inis
trat
ion
as h
avin
g be
en c
om-
pete
nt a
nd r
elat
ivel
y ju
st. A
ccor
ding
to
the
Jew
ish/
Gre
ek p
hilo
so-
pher
and
his
tori
an P
hilo
, du
ring
the
rei
gn o
f A
ugus
tus
“no
one
dare
d to
mol
est t
he J
ews.
”31
T
he s
ame
cann
ot b
e sa
id f
or H
erod
“th
e G
reat
,” R
ome’
s ap
poin
tee
to t
he k
ings
hip
of J
udea
. W
e le
arn
from
Jos
ephu
s th
at
Her
od w
as n
ot e
ven
ethn
ical
ly J
ewis
h, b
ut a
ttain
ed t
he t
hron
e by
a
mix
ture
of
polit
ical
int
rigu
e, m
ilita
ry f
orce
, and
out
righ
t tr
each
-er
y. J
osep
hus
depi
cts
Her
od a
s a
high
ly c
orru
pt d
espo
t w
ho r
ou-
tinel
y co
urte
d th
e fa
vor
of t
hose
in
pow
er,
betr
ayed
the
tru
st o
f as
soci
ates
, an
d as
cend
ed
to
poli
tica
l pr
omin
ence
vi
a m
urde
r (i
nclu
ding
the
mur
der
of m
any
of h
is o
wn
fam
ily m
embe
rs).
It
was
thu
s th
at H
erod
bot
h us
urpe
d an
d m
aint
aine
d po
wer
ove
r th
e Je
ws
in a
tyr
anni
cal
reig
n th
at s
tret
ched
fro
m 3
7 B
C t
o 4
BC
—a
few
mon
ths
afte
r th
e bi
rth
of C
hris
t.
Shou
ld w
e be
sur
pris
ed, t
hen,
tha
t H
erod
ord
ered
the
kill
-in
g of
all
baby
boy
s up
to th
e ag
e of
two
in B
ethl
ehem
aft
er h
ear-
ing
of th
e bi
rth
of J
esus
, who
m th
e vi
siti
ng “
wis
e m
en”
wer
e ca
ll-
ing
“Kin
g of
the
Jew
s”?
The
inc
reas
ingl
y m
ad H
erod
had
nev
er
allo
wed
any
one
to l
ive
who
eve
n se
emed
to
thre
aten
any
of
his
ambi
tions
—an
d he
cer
tain
ly w
as n
ot a
bout
to s
tart
.32
T
iber
ius,
suc
cess
or t
o A
ugus
tus,
app
oint
ed P
ontiu
s Pi
late
to
be
proc
urat
or o
f th
e R
oman
pro
vinc
e of
Jud
ea i
n 26
AD
. Pi
-la
te’s
adm
inis
trat
ion
is t
hus
char
acte
rize
d by
Alf
red
Ede
rshe
im:
“Ven
ality
, vi
olen
ce,
robb
ery,
per
secu
tions
, w
anto
n, m
alic
ious
in-
sults
, ju
dici
al m
urde
rs w
ithou
t ev
en t
he f
orm
ality
of
a le
gal
pro-
cess
, an
d cr
uelty
—su
ch a
re t
he c
harg
es b
roug
ht a
gain
st h
is a
d-m
inis
trat
ion.
If
form
er g
over
nors
had
to s
ome
exte
nt r
espe
cted
the
relig
ious
scr
uple
s of
the
Jew
s, P
ilate
set
the
m p
urpo
sely
at
defi
-an
ce; a
nd th
is n
ot o
nly
once
but
aga
in a
nd a
gain
….”
33
Pon
tifi
cate
for
nin
e ye
ars,
[A
nnas
] w
as d
epos
ed a
nd s
ucce
ed-
ed b
y ot
hers
, of
who
m t
he f
ourt
h w
as h
is s
on-i
n-la
w C
aiap
has.
New
Tes
tam
ent A
ccou
nt o
f Je
sus
Chr
ist S
uppo
rted
39
deat
h by
the
pro
cura
tor
[gov
erno
r] P
ontiu
s Pi
late
in
the
reig
n of
T
iber
ius.
Thi
s ch
ecke
d th
e ab
omin
able
sup
erst
ition
for
a w
hile
, bu
t it
brok
e ou
t ag
ain
and
spre
ad,
not
mer
ely
thro
ugh
Juda
ea,
whe
re i
t or
igin
ated
, bu
t ev
en t
o R
ome
itsel
f….”
Tac
itus
goes
on
to d
escr
ibe
in g
risl
y de
tail
the
hide
ous
way
s in
whi
ch N
ero
pun-
ishe
d pe
ople
for
the
“cr
ime”
of
prof
essi
ng C
hris
tiani
ty.
Not
e th
at
Tac
itus
spea
ks o
f C
hris
tian
ity i
n ve
ry n
egat
ive
term
s. H
e hi
mse
lf
was
cer
tain
ly n
o ad
voca
te o
f th
is “
abom
inab
le s
uper
stiti
on.”
30
A
noth
er e
xtra
-bib
lica
l w
rite
r th
at m
enti
ons
Jesu
s is
the
Je
wis
h hi
stor
ian
Flav
ius
Jose
phus
. A
t th
e be
hest
of
Rom
an a
u-th
oriti
es,
in a
bout
94
AD
he
wro
te A
ntiq
uiti
es o
f th
e Je
ws.
In
Boo
k 20
, C
hapt
er 9
, se
ctio
n 1,
he
give
s an
acc
ount
of
the
illeg
al
exec
utio
n of
Jes
us’
half
-bro
ther
Jam
es i
n w
hich
he
also
men
tions
Je
sus
Him
self
. “F
estu
s [t
he f
orm
er R
oman
pro
cura
tor,
men
tione
d in
Act
s 24
-26]
was
now
dea
d, a
nd A
lbin
us [
his
new
ly a
ppoi
nted
su
cces
sor]
was
but
upo
n th
e ro
ad;
so h
e [A
nanu
s II
, th
e H
igh
Prie
st]
asse
mbl
ed th
e Sa
nhed
rin
of th
e ju
dges
, and
bro
ught
bef
ore
them
the
bro
ther
of
Jesu
s, w
ho w
as c
alle
d [t
he]
Chr
ist,
who
se
nam
e w
as J
ames
, an
d so
me
othe
rs…
. [A
nd]
whe
n he
had
for
med
an
acc
usat
ion
agai
nst
them
as
brea
kers
of
the
law
, he
del
iver
ed
them
to b
e st
oned
….”
Jesu
s ha
d be
en b
orn
duri
ng th
e R
oman
dom
inio
n ov
er H
is
birt
hpla
ce, J
udea
. Any
stu
dent
of
the
hist
ory
of R
ome
can
find
the
accu
rate
ly r
ecor
ded
nam
es,
date
s, a
nd p
lace
s re
lati
ng t
o th
e im
-po
rtan
t ev
ents
in
the
long
his
tory
of
the
mos
t ex
tens
ive
and
pow
-er
ful
empi
re o
f th
e an
cien
t w
orld
. For
our
pur
pose
s, t
he m
ost
im-
port
ant
nota
ble
peop
le i
n th
e lif
e of
Chr
ist
are
all
know
n fr
om
docu
men
ted
hist
ory:
Em
pero
r A
ugus
tus
Cae
sar
and
his
succ
esso
r T
iber
ius;
Her
od t
he G
reat
and
his
son
s, k
ings
of
Jude
a an
d G
ali-
lee;
Pon
tius
Pila
te, R
oman
pro
cura
tor
of t
he p
rovi
nce;
and
Ann
as
and
Cai
apha
s, t
he H
igh
Prie
sts
appo
inte
d by
Rom
e w
ho t
ried
and
co
nvic
ted
Jesu
s.
W
e re
ad o
f C
hris
t’s
birt
h in
Luk
e 2:
“N
ow i
t ha
ppen
ed i
n th
ose
days
tha
t a
decr
ee w
ent
out
from
Cae
sar
Aug
ustu
s th
at a
ll th
e [R
oman
] w
orld
sho
uld
be r
egis
tere
d [f
or ta
x pu
rpos
es]”
(ve
rse
1). C
ontin
uing
in v
erse
s 4-
6, “
And
Jos
eph
also
wen
t up
from
Gal
-il
ee,
out
of t
he c
ity
of N
azar
eth,
int
o Ju
dea,
to
the
city
of
Dav
id,
whi
ch i
s ca
lled
Bet
hleh
em,
beca
use
he w
as f
rom
the
hou
se a
nd
linea
ge o
f D
avid
, to
reg
iste
r hi
mse
lf a
long
with
Mar
y, w
ho w
as
betr
othe
d to
him
as
wif
e, a
nd w
as g
reat
wit
h ch
ild.
And
it c
ame
to
Cha
pter
Ten
38
By
the
time
Mos
es w
as b
orn,
the
dyn
astie
s w
ith w
hom
Jo
seph
had
fou
nd s
uch
favo
r ha
d di
ed o
ut a
nd b
een
repl
aced
. It
w
ould
thu
s be
und
erst
anda
ble
if s
uch
late
r ki
ngs
view
ed t
he I
sra-
elite
s as
a t
hrea
t—es
peci
ally
aft
er t
hey
had
beco
me
so n
umer
ous.
In
fac
t, M
oses
was
bor
n du
ring
the
tim
e w
hen
the
Isra
elite
s ha
d be
com
e so
num
erou
s th
at a
n ed
ict
had
gone
out
to
kill
all
mal
e H
ebre
w b
abie
s at
bir
th.
His
mot
her
and
sist
er h
atch
ed a
plo
t by
w
hich
Pha
raoh
’s d
augh
ter
wou
ld a
dopt
him
as
her
own;
she
gav
e hi
m t
he n
ame
Mos
es,
a na
me
with
Egy
ptia
n et
ymol
ogy,
and
br
ough
t him
up
as a
“pr
ince
” in
her
hou
seho
ld.
But
fin
ding
the
y co
uld
not
easi
ly r
educ
e Is
rael
’s n
umbe
rs
by i
nfan
ticid
e, t
he n
ew P
hara
oh p
ut t
hem
to
wor
k as
sla
ves
build
-in
g hi
s st
ore
citie
s, P
ithon
and
Raa
mse
s. T
he i
dea
was
to
keep
th
em to
o bu
sy to
be
able
to m
ount
any
sor
t of
rebe
llion
. A
t th
is p
oint
, D
avid
Roh
l fi
lls u
s in
with
som
e im
port
ant
deta
ils:
“Acc
ordi
ng t
o th
e R
oyal
Can
on o
f T
urin
, N
efer
hote
p re
igne
d fo
r el
even
yea
rs a
nd t
wo
mon
ths.
He
was
suc
ceed
ed b
y hi
s br
othe
r Si
hath
or
who
m
anag
ed
just
th
ree
mon
ths
on
the
thro
ne.
The
n ca
me
the
thir
d br
othe
r—K
hane
ferr
e So
bekh
otep
IV
—id
entif
ied
by A
rtap
anus
as
Mos
es’
step
fath
er.
Now
thi
s al
l fi
ts r
athe
r ne
atly
wit
h th
e bi
blic
al n
arra
tive
. If
we
com
bine
tha
t na
rrat
ive
with
the
dat
a fr
om t
he R
oyal
Can
on w
e ge
t th
e fo
llow
-in
g ti
mel
ine.
“Thr
ee y
ears
pas
s; S
obek
hote
p II
I di
es a
nd i
s su
ccee
ded
by N
efer
hote
p. I
t is
dur
ing
his
rule
in
Upp
er E
gypt
(M
emph
is
sout
hwar
d) t
hat
Mos
es i
s bo
rn i
n A
vari
s, w
here
an
inde
pend
ent
line
of r
uler
s ex
ists
, an
d w
here
the
Heb
rew
boy
is
fort
uito
usly
ad
opte
d by
the
loc
al k
ing’
s da
ught
er.
The
chi
ld s
pend
s hi
s fi
rst
few
yea
rs o
f li
fe i
n th
e pa
lace
at
Ava
ris
befo
re t
he l
ocal
kin
g’s
daug
hter
is
mar
ried
to
Sobe
khot
ep I
V, t
he y
oung
er b
roth
er o
f th
e U
pper
Egy
ptia
n ki
ng,
Nef
erho
tep.
Sob
ekho
tep
has
succ
eede
d to
th
e th
rone
fol
low
ing
the
elev
en-y
ear
reig
n of
his
eld
est
brot
her
and
the
thre
e-m
onth
rei
gn o
f hi
s m
iddl
e br
othe
r, S
ihat
hor.
By
Isra
el in
Egy
pt, M
oses
and
Exo
dus
23
now
Mos
es is
aro
und
ten
year
s ol
d an
d co
ntin
ues
his
educ
atio
n in
th
e pa
lace
of
his
new
ste
pfat
her,
Kha
nefe
rre
Sobe
khot
ep I
V.”
13
Mea
nwhi
le,
the
Isra
elit
es’
prim
ary
task
as
slav
es w
as t
he
mak
ing
of b
rick
s fo
r co
nstr
uctio
n. S
ome
have
won
dere
d w
hy
stra
w w
as s
uch
an i
mpo
rtan
t in
gred
ient
in
the
mud
bri
cks
the
Is-
rael
ites
had
to p
rodu
ce. I
nves
tigat
ors
have
fou
nd t
hat s
traw
, whe
n m
ixed
with
mud
, rel
ease
s hu
mic
aci
d, w
hich
mak
es t
he b
rick
s up
to
thr
ee t
imes
str
onge
r th
an o
nes
mad
e w
ithou
t st
raw
. T
hose
m
ade
with
out
stra
w a
lso
tend
ed t
o lo
se t
heir
sha
pe a
nd f
all
apar
t m
ore
easi
ly.
A w
all
pain
ting
foun
d in
the
tom
b of
an
Egy
ptia
n no
blem
an n
amed
Rek
hmir
e de
pict
s th
e m
ulti-
step
, lab
or-i
nten
sive
pr
oces
s of
bri
ckm
akin
g as
it w
as d
one
in th
e m
iddl
e of
the
seco
nd
mill
enni
um B
C, w
hen
the
Isra
elite
s w
ould
hav
e su
pplie
d m
uch
of
the
labo
r.
E
vide
nce
for
the
Pla
gues
In
180
8—ye
ars
befo
re t
he R
oset
ta s
tone
pro
vide
d th
e ke
y to
dec
iphe
ring
Egy
ptia
n hi
erog
lyph
ics—
Gio
vann
i A
nast
asi
dis-
cove
red
a pa
pyru
s (i
nscr
ibed
in
hier
ogly
phic
s) i
n th
e ar
ea o
f M
emph
is,
Egy
pt,
that
con
tain
ed e
yew
itnes
s ac
coun
ts o
f pl
ague
s to
o si
mila
r to
thos
e de
scri
bed
in th
e bo
ok o
f E
xodu
s to
be
coin
ci-
dent
al. A
fter
bei
ng p
urch
ased
fro
m A
nast
asi
in 1
828,
the
pap
yrus
sa
t in
a m
useu
m i
n L
eide
n, N
ethe
rlan
ds,
for
deca
des
until
H.
O.
Lan
ge a
nd A
lan
Gar
dine
r tr
ansl
ated
it in
190
9. T
he c
ompl
ete
hier
-og
lyph
ic t
ext,
with
Gar
dine
r’s
Eng
lish
tran
slat
ion,
exp
lana
tion
and
com
men
tary
, can
be
purc
hase
d fr
om w
ww
.am
azon
.com
. A
few
exc
erpt
s fr
om G
ardi
ner’
s tr
ansl
atio
n sh
ould
suf
fice
to
pai
nt a
pic
ture
tha
t w
ell
supp
orts
Mos
es’
acco
unt
in E
xodu
s (l
iste
d by
pap
yrus
num
bers
):14
2:
10 “
The
riv
er is
blo
od. M
en s
hrin
k fr
om ta
stin
g.”
7:
20 “
All
the
wat
ers
in th
e ri
ver
wer
e tu
rned
to b
lood
.”
Not
ice
that
th
e au
thor
do
es
not
say
the
rive
r m
erel
y “l
ooke
d lik
e” b
lood
. H
e sa
ys i
t ha
d lit
eral
ly b
ecom
e bl
ood.
How
m
any
times
in
hist
ory
has
any
rive
r ev
er t
urne
d to
blo
od—
by a
ny
caus
e? C
ompa
re t
his
with
Exo
dus
7:20
: “A
nd h
e lif
ted
up t
he r
od
and
stru
ck t
he w
ater
s th
at w
ere
in t
he r
iver
….
And
all
the
wat
ers
in th
e ri
ver
wer
e tu
rned
to b
lood
.”
8:1
“No
frui
t nor
her
bs a
re f
ound
. Oh,
that
the
eart
h w
ould
ce
ase
from
noi
se a
nd tu
mul
t be
no m
ore.
”
Cha
pter
Six
24
CH
AP
TE
R T
EN
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
New
Tes
tam
ent
Acc
ount
of
Je
sus
Chr
ist
Supp
orte
d
Man
y sk
eptic
s di
smis
s th
e G
ospe
l ac
coun
ts o
f th
e lif
e an
d te
achi
ngs
of J
esus
Chr
ist a
s ha
ving
bee
n fa
bric
ated
cen
turi
es a
fter
H
is t
ime
by l
eade
rs o
f th
e so
-cal
led
“Chr
istia
n m
ovem
ent.”
In
the
past
, suc
h sk
epti
cs e
ven
deni
ed t
hat
ther
e ha
d ev
er b
een
a hi
stor
i-ca
l Je
sus
of N
azar
eth—
until
the
ove
rwhe
lmin
g bu
lk o
f co
rrob
o-ra
ting
evid
ence
mad
e th
em lo
ok q
uite
foo
lish.
Lat
ely,
it
has
been
mor
e fa
shio
nabl
e to
all
ege
that
sin
ce
Jesu
s an
d H
is f
ollo
wer
s w
ould
hav
e be
en o
nly
illite
rate
trad
esm
en
and
coul
d no
t po
ssib
ly h
ave
wri
tten
the
bibl
ical
boo
ks b
eari
ng
thei
r na
mes
, the
se b
ooks
wer
e pr
obab
ly n
ot w
ritte
n un
til c
entu
ries
la
ter
by p
eopl
e ot
her
than
thos
e af
ter
who
m th
e bo
oks
are
nam
ed.
How
, th
en,
can
we
beli
eve
muc
h of
the
New
Tes
tam
ent?
Is
ther
e an
y su
ppor
t fr
om o
utsi
de s
ecul
ar s
ourc
es f
or t
he N
ew T
esta
men
t ac
coun
ts o
f th
e lif
e of
Chr
ist a
nd th
e w
ritin
gs o
f H
is f
ollo
wer
s?
A
ccor
ding
to
Cra
ig L
. B
lom
berg
, th
e an
swer
is
an e
m-
phat
ic y
es.
Aft
er e
xten
sive
ly q
uotin
g m
any
of t
hese
sou
rces
, he
su
ms
it up
: “C
ombi
ning
the
evi
denc
e of
the
se v
ario
us G
reco
-R
oman
wri
ters
, on
e ca
n cl
earl
y ac
cum
ulat
e en
ough
dat
a to
ref
ute
the
fanc
iful
not
ion
that
Jes
us n
ever
exi
sted
, w
ithou
t ev
en a
ppea
l-in
g to
the
test
imon
y of
Jew
ish
or C
hris
tian
sour
ces.
”29
A
n ex
ampl
e of
the
sou
rces
Blo
mbe
rg c
ites
was
one
of
the
mos
t tr
uste
d co
ntem
pora
ry R
oman
his
tori
ans,
Cor
neliu
s T
acitu
s,
who
was
a m
embe
r of
the
Rom
an S
enat
e af
ter
havi
ng s
erve
d in
se
vera
l of
fici
al R
oman
pos
ts.
Abo
ut 1
15 A
D,
Tac
itus
wro
te T
he
Ann
als,
a h
isto
ry o
f th
e ac
ts o
f th
ose
empe
rors
who
had
suc
ceed
-ed
Aug
ustu
s C
aesa
r up
to
and
incl
udin
g N
ero—
a pe
riod
spa
nnin
g th
e ye
ars
14-6
9 A
D.
Muc
h of
wha
t T
acit
us i
nclu
ded
cam
e fr
om
his
pers
onal
exp
erie
nces
(he
was
bor
n in
57)
, and
his
ear
lier
mat
e-ri
al w
as d
raw
n fr
om t
he a
rchi
ves
to w
hich
he
had
acce
ss a
s an
of
fici
al.
alre
ady
hate
d by
the
peo
ple
for
thei
r cr
imes
. T
his
was
the
sec
t kn
own
as C
hris
tians
. The
ir f
ound
er, o
ne C
hris
tus,
had
bee
n pu
t to
37
last
tim
e be
ing
in 5
86 B
C, w
hen
Neb
ucha
dnez
zar
took
Jer
usal
em
and
dest
roye
d th
e T
empl
e. T
he y
ears
608
-538
BC
com
pris
ed t
he
70-y
ear
Bab
ylon
ian
exile
of
the
Jew
s. I
n 53
9 B
C, C
yrus
of
Pers
ia
conq
uere
d th
e ci
ty o
f B
abyl
on,
as p
roph
esie
d in
Isa
iah
45:1
-2,
inco
rpor
atin
g B
abyl
on i
nto
the
Pers
ian
Em
pire
. A
yea
r la
ter,
in
fulf
illm
ent
of I
saia
h 44
:28,
he
gave
by
decr
ee p
erm
issi
on t
o th
e ex
iled
Jew
s to
ret
urn
to P
ales
tine.
In 1
879,
arc
haeo
logi
st H
orm
uzd
Ras
sam
was
exc
avat
ing
the
foun
datio
ns o
f th
e te
mpl
e of
Mar
duk
in t
he r
uins
of
Bab
ylon
w
hen
he u
ncov
ered
a c
ylin
der
(sub
sequ
ently
nam
ed t
he C
ylin
der
of C
yrus
) w
hich
pro
ved
to c
onta
in t
he t
ext
of t
his
part
icul
ar d
e-cr
ee o
f C
yrus
—th
us v
alid
atin
g th
e bi
blic
al a
ccou
nt.28
Bec
ause
of
its p
rofo
und
impl
icat
ions
, a
copy
of
this
dec
ree
is o
n pu
blic
dis
-pl
ay a
t the
Uni
ted
Nat
ions
hea
dqua
rter
s in
New
Yor
k.
Cha
pter
Nin
e
36
9:23
“T
he f
ire
ran
alon
g th
e gr
ound
. T
here
was
hai
l, an
d fi
re m
ingl
ed w
ith th
e ha
il.”
Not
ice
Exo
dus
9:23
-25:
“A
nd t
he L
OR
D s
ent
thun
der
and
hail,
and
the
fir
e [l
ight
ning
] ca
me
dow
n to
the
gro
und.
… A
nd
ther
e w
as h
ail,
and
fire
min
gled
with
the
hail,
ver
y gr
ievo
us, s
uch
as th
ere
was
non
e lik
e it
in a
ll th
e la
nd o
f E
gypt
sin
ce it
bec
ame
a na
tion.
And
the
hai
l st
ruck
thr
ough
out
all
the
land
of
Egy
pt,
all
that
was
in th
e fi
eld,
bot
h m
an a
nd b
east
. And
the
hail
stru
ck e
ve-
ry h
erb
of th
e fi
eld,
and
bro
ke e
very
tree
of
the
fiel
d.”
9:11
“T
he la
nd is
not
ligh
t.”
Com
pare
Exo
dus
10:2
2: “
And
the
re w
as a
thi
ck d
arkn
ess
in a
ll th
e la
nd o
f E
gypt
.”
2:13
“H
e w
ho p
lace
s hi
s br
othe
r in
the
gro
und
is e
very
-w
here
.” 3:
14 “
It i
s gr
oani
ng t
hat
is t
hrou
ghou
t th
e la
nd,
min
gled
w
ith la
men
tatio
ns.”
N
otic
e E
xodu
s 12
:29-
30: “
And
it c
ame
to p
ass
at m
idni
ght
the
LO
RD
str
uck
all
the
firs
tbor
n in
the
lan
d of
Egy
pt f
rom
the
fi
rstb
orn
of P
hara
oh t
hat
sat
on h
is t
hron
e, t
o th
e fi
rstb
orn
of t
he
capt
ive
that
was
in th
e pr
ison
, als
o al
l the
fir
stbo
rn o
f liv
esto
ck…
. A
nd t
here
was
a g
reat
cry
in
Egy
pt,
for
ther
e w
as n
ot a
hou
se
whe
re th
ere
was
not
one
dea
d.”
The
abo
ve i
s a
sam
plin
g of
the
bib
lical
pla
gues
on
Egy
pt
as d
escr
ibed
in th
e Ip
uwer
Pap
yrus
. The
rem
aind
er o
f th
e te
xt p
er-
tain
s ch
iefl
y to
the
cond
ition
s in
the
land
and
in s
ocie
ty a
s a
dire
ct
resu
lt of
thos
e pl
ague
s an
d th
e lo
ss o
f E
gypt
’s s
lave
pop
ulat
ion—
the
Isra
elit
es a
nd t
he “
mix
ed m
ulti
tude
” (p
roba
bly
also
sla
ves)
th
at le
ft w
ith th
em.
C
ross
ing
the
Red
Sea
Aft
er f
inal
ly b
eing
for
ced
to r
elea
se t
he I
srae
lite
s fr
om
bond
age,
the
eve
r-de
ceitf
ul a
nd v
enge
ful
Phar
aoh—
upon
hea
ring
th
at t
he c
hild
ren
of I
srae
l ha
d ta
ken
a ro
ute
by w
hich
the
y w
ould
be
hem
med
in
betw
een
the
land
and
the
sea
—de
cide
d to
pur
sue
them
with
his
arm
y. H
e w
as i
nten
t on
sla
ught
erin
g th
e un
arm
ed
form
er s
lave
s. W
e re
ad i
n E
xodu
s ch
apte
r 14
tha
t ju
st w
hen
it lo
oked
lik
e Ph
arao
h’s
arm
y w
as a
bout
to
clos
e in
on
them
, G
od
part
ed t
he s
ea s
o Is
rael
cou
ld w
alk
acro
ss o
n dr
y la
nd.
Whe
n Ph
arao
h’s
arm
y tr
ied
to f
ollo
w, t
he w
ater
s re
turn
ed—
and
Phar
aoh
Isra
el in
Egy
pt, M
oses
and
Exo
dus
25
and
his
entir
e ar
my
wer
e dr
owne
d.
Tho
se w
ho d
eny
the
bibl
ical
nar
rati
ve c
laim
tha
t th
e ar
ea
whe
re t
he I
srae
lites
cro
ssed
was
no
mor
e th
an a
mar
shy
swam
p-la
nd b
etw
een
a co
uple
of
lake
s in
the
eas
tern
del
ta.
Whi
le i
t is
tr
ue t
hat
the
Heb
rew
yam
sup
h ca
n be
tra
nsla
ted
“Sea
of
Ree
ds,”
th
e tr
ansl
atio
n “R
ed S
ea”
is a
lso
cons
ider
ed le
gitim
ate.
Acc
ordi
ng
to J
ames
Hof
fmei
er,
“the
Red
Sea
has
ret
reat
ed f
rom
its
anc
ient
sh
orel
ine
by f
ive
hund
red
met
ers…
. G
eolo
gica
l, oc
eano
grap
hic,
an
d ar
chae
olog
ical
evi
denc
e su
gges
ts t
hat
the
Gul
f of
Sue
z [i
.e.,
the
Red
Sea
] st
retc
hed
furt
her
nort
h th
an i
t do
es t
oday
and
tha
t th
e so
uthe
rn B
itter
Lak
e ex
tend
ed f
urth
er s
outh
to th
e po
int w
here
th
e tw
o co
uld
have
act
ually
bee
n co
nnec
ted
duri
ng t
he s
econ
d m
illen
nium
. T
his
linki
ng m
ay h
ave
stoo
d be
hind
the
Heb
rew
na
min
g th
e la
ke y
am s
uph
as w
ell a
s th
e R
ed S
ea, t
o w
hich
it w
as
conn
ecte
d.”15
M
oreo
ver,
“sa
lt-t
oler
atin
g re
eds
and
rush
es,
call
ed h
alo-
phyt
es, d
o th
rive
in s
alt m
arsh
are
as.”
Als
o, th
e re
mai
ns o
f m
arin
e lif
e ha
ve b
een
foun
d in
bot
h L
ake
Tim
sa a
nd i
n th
e B
itter
Lak
es,
show
ing
they
wer
e on
ce p
art
of a
n ex
tens
ion
of t
he G
ulf
of S
uez,
(i
.e.,
the
Red
Sea
).16
W
hat
does
thi
s te
ll us
abo
ut w
here
the
Isr
aeli
tes
cros
sed?
It
tel
ls u
s th
at t
hey
wer
e no
t m
erel
y sl
oggi
ng t
hrou
gh m
arsh
land
, bu
t w
ere
conf
ront
ed w
ith a
n im
pass
ible
sea
—w
hich
the
y co
uld
have
nev
er c
ross
ed w
ithou
t th
e m
irac
ulou
s in
terv
entio
n of
God
. T
here
may
wel
l ha
ve b
een
reed
s by
the
sho
re o
f th
is s
ea, b
ut t
hat
does
not
mea
n it
was
a f
resh
wat
er la
ke o
r m
arsh
. B
ut w
as P
hara
oh’s
arm
y re
ally
dro
wne
d? R
emai
ns h
ave
been
fou
nd i
n th
e ar
ea—
still
und
er w
ater
—of
the
wre
ckag
e of
ch
ario
ts, i
nclu
ding
one
enc
rust
ed w
heel
of
a ch
ario
t cle
arly
iden
ti-
fied
as
bein
g E
gypt
ian,
sti
ll on
its
axle
stic
king
up
alm
ost v
ertic
al-
ly. R
abbi
Mic
hael
Roo
d pr
esen
ts a
vid
eo o
n Y
ouT
ube
entit
led
“A
Roo
d A
wak
enin
g” i
n w
hich
the
se r
emai
ns m
ay b
e se
en,
still
un-
der
wat
er a
t th
e ap
prox
imat
e si
te o
f th
e Is
rael
ites’
cro
ssin
g. A
re
thes
e th
e re
mai
ns o
f P
hara
oh’s
cha
riot
s? S
ee t
he v
ideo
and
dra
w
your
ow
n co
nclu
sion
s.
Cha
pter
Six
26
they
had
jus
t do
ne t
o L
achi
sh (
II C
hron
icle
s 32
:9-1
0) a
nd s
ever
al
othe
r Je
wis
h ci
ties
if H
ezek
iah
didn
’t s
urre
nder
. Hez
ekia
h pr
ayed
to
God
for
del
iver
ance
, an
d G
od r
espo
nded
by
send
ing
an a
ngel
w
ho k
illed
185
,000
Ass
yria
n so
ldie
rs w
hile
they
sle
pt.
T
he P
rism
of
Senn
ache
rib,
als
o ca
lled
the
Tay
lor
Pris
m,
cont
ains
Sen
nach
erib
’s b
oast
ful a
ccou
nt o
f hi
s si
ege
of J
erus
alem
. It
rea
ds,
“Hez
ekia
h hi
mse
lf I
mad
e a
pris
oner
in
Jeru
sale
m,
[at]
hi
s ro
yal
resi
denc
e, l
ike
a bi
rd i
n a
cage
….”
26 I
mpo
rtan
tly,
wha
t is
lef
t ou
t by
Sen
nach
erib
is
that
he
neve
r co
nque
red
Jeru
sale
m a
t al
l. B
ut th
is is
not
at a
ll un
expe
cted
, sin
ce n
o A
ssyr
ian
king
wou
ld
easi
ly a
dmit
failu
re o
r th
e un
expl
aine
d lo
ss o
f an
ent
ire
arm
y. I
n-te
rest
ingl
y, S
enna
cher
ib d
oes
deta
il h
is t
rium
ph o
ver
Lac
hish
—as
if
it
was
Ass
yria
’s o
nly
sign
ific
ant
vict
ory
of t
he d
ay.
Mos
he
Pear
lman
com
men
ts o
n th
e w
riti
ngs
on t
his
pris
m:
“Wha
t m
ade
this
fin
d es
peci
ally
im
port
ant
was
tha
t fo
r th
e fi
rst
tim
e a
deta
iled
te
xt w
as a
ccom
pani
ed b
y ev
en m
ore
deta
iled
bas
-rel
ief
illu
stra
-tio
ns w
hich
evo
ke t
he v
ery
atm
osph
ere
of t
he b
iblic
al b
attle
-fi
eld…
. Se
nnac
heri
b an
d hi
s gl
eam
ing
coho
rts
did
inde
ed c
ome
dow
n on
Jud
ah li
ke th
e ‘w
olf
on th
e fo
ld’
in th
e ye
ar 7
01 B
C, a
nd
dest
roye
d m
any
‘str
ong
citie
s,’
thou
gh n
ot p
erha
ps f
orty
-six
, as
he
cla
imed
. T
he o
ne c
ity h
e so
ught
to
subd
ue,
but
faile
d, w
as J
e-ru
sale
m,
the
capi
tal
of J
udah
, w
here
kin
g H
ezek
iah’
s sp
irit
of
re-
sist
ance
was
muc
h st
reng
then
ed b
y th
e to
ugh
advi
ce o
f th
e pr
oph-
et I
saia
h. D
oubt
less
he
[Sen
nach
erib
] w
ould
hav
e w
ishe
d th
e ce
n-te
rpie
ce o
f hi
s w
all d
ecor
atio
ns to
hav
e de
pict
ed th
e fa
ll o
f Je
rusa
-le
m.
Inst
ead,
jud
ging
by
the
prom
inen
ce g
iven
to
[the
bat
tle f
or]
Lac
hish
, th
is m
ust
have
bee
n th
e sc
ene
of t
he f
ierc
est
figh
ting,
an
d he
evi
dent
ly r
egar
ded
its c
aptu
re a
gain
st s
tubb
orn
defe
nse
as
his
mos
t out
stan
ding
vic
tory
in th
is la
nd.”
27
T
he p
oint
her
e is
tha
t Se
nnac
heri
b hi
d th
e fa
ct t
hat
he
fail
ed to
take
Jer
usal
em, y
et h
e w
ent t
o gr
eat l
engt
hs to
em
phas
ize
his
capt
ure
of L
achi
sh—
whi
ch p
reci
sely
cor
robo
rate
s th
e bi
blic
al
acco
unt!
Foll
owin
g hi
s fa
ilur
e at
Jer
usal
em,
Senn
ache
rib
retu
rned
to
Ass
yria
and
was
eve
ntua
lly k
illed
by
two
of h
is s
ons.
His
yo
unge
st s
on,
Esa
rhad
don,
asc
ende
d to
the
thr
one.
The
bib
lical
ac
coun
t of
Sen
nach
erib
’s a
ssas
sina
tion
(II
Kin
gs 1
9:35
-37)
is v
er-
ifie
d by
Esa
rhad
don’
s ow
n re
cord
s.
A
noth
er c
entu
ry o
r so
pas
sed.
The
n, t
hree
dif
fere
nt t
imes
Ju
dah
was
con
quer
ed b
y B
abyl
on a
nd h
er i
nhab
itant
s ex
iled—
the
Juda
h an
d Is
rael
in B
iblic
al A
rche
olog
y
35
Ass
yria
n ru
lers
. Je
hu w
as a
lso
one
of I
srae
l’s
king
s, r
ulin
g fr
om
abou
t 841
to 8
14 B
C, w
hen
the
natio
n w
as u
nder
trib
ute
to A
ssyr
-ia
. B
oth
Om
ri a
nd J
ehu
are
men
tion
ed s
ever
al t
imes
in
Scri
ptur
e,
and
the
obel
isk
clea
rly
valid
ates
thei
r bi
blic
al h
isto
rici
ty.
A
noth
er a
rcha
eolo
gica
l fi
nd—
at t
he s
ite o
f M
egid
do,
in
the
Nor
ther
n K
ingd
om—
cam
e du
ring
a d
ig b
y th
e G
erm
an O
rien
-ta
l So
ciet
y in
the
ear
ly 1
900s
. T
he f
ind
was
an
agat
e se
al,
whi
ch
incl
uded
a H
ebre
w i
nscr
iptio
n in
dica
ting
that
it
belo
nged
to
an
offi
cial
of
Jero
boam
II’
s ad
min
istr
atio
n. A
s th
e ei
ghth
kin
g of
Is-
rael
, Jer
oboa
m I
I w
as a
pro
min
ent r
uler
of
the
Nor
ther
n K
ingd
om.
He
is m
entio
ned
num
erou
s tim
es i
n th
e O
ld T
esta
men
t (I
I K
ings
14
; etc
.).
II
Kin
gs 1
5:17
-20
tells
us
that
Kin
g T
igla
th-p
ilese
r (P
ul)
of
Ass
yria
se
t ou
t to
co
nque
r Is
rael
bu
t w
as
pers
uade
d by
M
enah
em,
king
of
Isra
el,
to i
nste
ad a
ccep
t ex
tens
ive
trib
ute.
Ac-
cord
ing
to E
ugen
e M
erri
ll, t
he “
anna
ls o
f T
igla
th-p
ilese
r” v
alid
ate
the
Old
Tes
tam
ent r
ecor
d an
d re
adil
y “a
ttes
t to
Men
ahem
’s e
ager
-ne
ss to
pay
trib
ute
to T
igla
th-p
iles
er in
ord
er to
mai
ntai
n hi
s po
si-
tion
in S
amar
ia.”
24
T
he c
ity
of S
amar
ia,
Isra
el’s
cap
ital
, ev
entu
ally
fel
l to
the
A
ssyr
ians
. A
thr
ee-y
ear
sieg
e w
as i
nitia
ted
unde
r Sh
alm
anes
er V
(I
I K
ings
17:
3-6)
, bu
t th
e ac
tual
fal
l of
Sam
aria
was
ove
rsee
n by
Sa
rgon
(m
entio
ned
inci
dent
ally
in
Isai
ah 2
0:1)
. W
hile
ear
ly a
r-ch
aeol
ogic
al w
ork
had
yiel
ded
litt
le i
nfor
mat
ion
on A
ssyr
ia’s
co
nque
st o
f Sa
mar
ia,
a di
scov
ery
in 1
843
has
help
ed t
o va
lidat
e th
e bi
blic
al a
ccou
nt.
Am
ong
the
ruin
s of
wha
t la
ter
prov
ed t
o be
Sa
rgon
’s
pala
ce
at
Dur
-Sha
ruki
n (n
ow
Kho
rsab
ad,
Iraq
),
the
Fren
ch a
rcha
eolo
gist
Pau
l E
mil
e B
otta
dis
cove
red
insc
ript
ions
re
cord
ing
Sarg
on’s
m
any
conq
uest
s.
One
of
th
e in
scri
ptio
ns
stat
es,
“In
my
firs
t ye
ar [
as k
ing
of A
ssyr
ia]
I be
sieg
ed a
nd c
on-
quer
ed S
amar
ia…
. I
led
away
27,
290
pris
oner
s.”25
Sar
gon’
s ac
-co
unt
of h
is o
vert
hrow
of
Sam
aria
clo
sely
mat
ches
tha
t of
the
Bi-
ble,
onc
e ag
ain
subs
tant
iatin
g its
aut
hent
icity
.
Aft
er c
onqu
erin
g an
d de
port
ing
Isra
el f
rom
its
hom
elan
d,
Ass
yria
eve
ntua
lly
turn
ed i
ts a
tten
tion
to
Juda
h. B
y th
is t
ime,
a
new
Ass
yria
n ki
ng,
Senn
ache
rib,
had
com
e to
pow
er.
The
yea
r w
as a
bout
700
BC
, an
d H
ezek
iah
was
kin
g of
Jud
ah.
Beg
inni
ng
with
II
Kin
gs 1
8:17
and
con
tinui
ng t
hrou
gh a
ll of
cha
pter
19,
we
read
how
Sen
nach
erib
’s g
ener
als
cam
e to
the
wal
ls o
f Je
rusa
lem
, bl
asph
emed
God
, an
d th
en t
hrea
tene
d to
do
to J
erus
alem
wha
t
34
Cha
pter
Nin
e C
HA
PT
ER
SE
VE
N
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
T
he C
olla
pse
of t
he W
all o
f Je
rich
o T
he b
ook
of J
oshu
a re
coun
ts i
n de
tail
how
God
tol
d Jo
sh-
ua t
o ap
proa
ch t
he c
ity o
f Je
rich
o. T
he I
srae
lites
wer
e to
mar
ch
arou
nd th
e ci
ty o
n se
ven
succ
essi
ve d
ays.
On
each
day
the
prie
sts
wer
e to
blo
w t
rum
pets
(ra
ms’
hor
ns).
On
the
seve
nth
day,
whi
le
the
horn
s w
ere
soun
ding
, th
e w
hole
arm
y w
as t
o sh
out
loud
ly.
The
wal
l of
the
cit
y w
ould
the
n fa
ll d
own
and
the
Isra
elit
es c
ould
st
orm
the
city
and
con
quer
it.
The
Isr
aelit
es f
ollo
wed
God
’s i
n-st
ruct
ions
, and
the
city
fel
l exa
ctly
as
prom
ised
(Jo
shua
6:3
-20)
. A
rcha
eolo
gist
s ex
amin
ing
the
site
hav
e in
deed
fou
nd t
he
rem
ains
of
a fa
llen
city
wal
l at a
ncie
nt J
eric
ho. U
nlik
e ot
her
citie
s w
ith f
alle
n w
alls
—w
here
suc
h w
alls
had
fal
len
inw
ard
due
to b
e-in
g sm
ashe
d fr
om o
utsi
de—
Jeri
cho’
s w
all
had
fall
en o
utw
ard,
as
if it
had
bee
n kn
ocke
d do
wn
from
insi
de. C
ould
this
be
a cl
ue th
at
it di
d no
t fal
l by
the
usua
l mea
ns?
Ern
st S
ellin
and
Car
l W
atzi
nger
con
duct
ed t
he f
irst
maj
or
arch
aeol
ogic
al e
xcav
atio
n at
the
Jer
icho
site
bet
wee
n 19
07 a
nd
1911
. T
hey
date
d th
e re
mai
ns o
f “C
ity I
V”
as b
eing
Lat
e B
ronz
e A
ge (
c. 1
550-
1200
BC
), d
urin
g w
hich
tim
e Je
rich
o w
as s
uppo
s-ed
ly u
nocc
upie
d.
In 1
930-
36,
arch
aeol
ogis
t Jo
hn G
arst
ang
exam
ined
the
ru
ins
of th
e w
all a
nd c
oncl
uded
that
it w
as in
deed
the
one
we
read
of
in
the
book
of
Josh
ua.
He
notic
ed s
omet
hing
ext
raor
dina
ry,
unlik
e w
hat
was
fou
nd a
t re
mai
ns o
f w
alle
d fo
rtif
icat
ions
els
e-w
here
: A
t ot
her
dest
roye
d fo
rtif
icat
ions
, w
alls
had
alw
ays
falle
n in
war
d, a
s w
ould
be
expe
cted
whe
n th
ey w
ere
batte
red
from
the
ou
tsid
e.
At
Jeri
cho,
ho
wev
er,
Gar
stan
g fo
und
wal
ls
that
ha
d st
rang
ely
falle
n ou
twar
d. G
arst
ang
wro
te a
det
aile
d ac
coun
t of
his
disc
over
y; a
fter
sig
ning
it
him
self
, he
had
tw
o of
his
cow
orke
rs
witn
ess
and
co-s
ign
the
repo
rt—
beca
use
he w
as s
ure
that
ske
ptic
s w
ould
oth
erw
ise
doub
t his
fin
ding
s.
In th
e la
te 1
950s
, ano
ther
arc
haeo
logi
st, K
athl
een
Ken
yon,
re
gist
ered
her
dis
sent
to
Gar
stan
g’s
conc
lusi
on t
hat
the
rem
ains
co
rrob
orat
ed t
he b
iblic
al a
ccou
nt.
Ken
yon
held
tha
t th
e re
mai
ns
shou
ld b
e da
ted
as b
elon
ging
to
the
Mid
dle
Bro
nze
Age
—ar
ound
15
50 B
C. A
t tha
t tim
e, th
e ge
nera
lly a
ccep
ted
date
for
the
Exo
dus
(for
tho
se w
ho b
elie
ved
it ha
d ev
er h
appe
ned)
was
som
etim
e in
th
e 12
00s
BC
. If
Jer
icho
’s w
all
had
falle
n 30
0-pl
us y
ears
bef
ore
27
the
Exo
dus,
it
clea
rly
coul
d no
t ha
ve r
esul
ted
from
Jos
hua’
s at
-ta
ck.
Ske
ptic
s se
emed
to
have
won
the
con
trov
ersy
—th
at i
s,
until
199
0, w
hen
Bry
ant
Woo
d re
-exa
min
ed t
he r
emai
ns,
espe
-ci
ally
the
pot
tery
sha
rds
on w
hich
ear
lier
dat
es f
or t
he s
ite
had
been
bas
ed.
Bri
ngin
g hi
s ex
pert
ise
to b
ear
on t
he s
hard
s fo
und
at
the
site
, W
ood
dete
rmin
ed t
hat
they
wer
e in
deed
fro
m t
he L
ate
Bro
nze
Age
(ra
ther
tha
n th
e M
iddl
e B
ronz
e A
ge,
as K
enyo
n ha
d co
nclu
ded)
. L
ike
Woo
d, G
arst
ang
had
also
fou
nd b
i-co
lore
d po
ttery
le
gitim
atel
y da
ted
as L
ate
Bro
nze
Age
. K
enyo
n w
as n
ot p
rivy
to
wha
t G
arst
ang
had
foun
d, a
nd s
he h
ad n
ot f
ound
thi
s ki
nd o
f po
t-te
ry i
n th
e ve
ry l
imit
ed a
rea
(tw
o 26
-ft.
by 2
6-ft
. squ
ares
) sh
e ex
-ca
vate
d. H
er d
atin
g, t
hen,
was
bas
ed o
n w
hat
she
did
not
find
, ra
ther
than
on
wha
t she
did
fin
d. W
ood
also
fou
nd b
i-co
lore
d po
t-te
ry s
hard
s fr
om t
he L
ate
Bro
nze
Age
, as
wel
l as
sca
rabs
(be
etle
-sh
aped
am
ulet
s w
orn
arou
nd t
he n
eck)
with
the
nam
es o
f E
gyp-
tian
king
s w
ho r
eign
ed m
uch
late
r th
an th
e 15
50 B
C d
ate
favo
red
by K
enyo
n.
To
sum
mar
ize:
All
sch
olar
s ag
ree
that
“C
ity
IV”
(the
Jer
i-ch
o of
the
per
iod
in q
uest
ion)
was
vio
lent
ly d
estr
oyed
. T
he o
nly
maj
or d
isag
reem
ent c
once
rns
the
date
of
the
rem
ains
. St
ill,
each
of
the
arch
aeol
ogis
ts w
ho e
xam
ined
the
re-
mai
ns—
incl
udin
g K
enyo
n—fo
und
evid
ence
that
cor
robo
rate
s th
e de
tails
of
the
acco
unt i
n th
e B
ible
of
Josh
ua’s
con
ques
t. G
arst
ang,
as
we
saw
ear
lier,
not
ed t
hat
the
wal
l ha
d fa
llen
outw
ard,
unl
ike
the
wal
ls o
f an
y ot
her
conq
uere
d ci
ty e
xcav
ated
by
arch
aeol
o-gi
sts.
He
also
fou
nd s
hard
s of
bi-
colo
red
potte
ry d
atin
g fr
om t
he
Lat
e B
ronz
e A
ge, w
hich
Ken
yon
late
r ov
erlo
oked
. Bot
h G
arst
ang
and
Ken
yon,
how
ever
, fo
und
mul
tiple
jar
s of
sto
red
grai
n, m
uch
of it
cha
rred
by
fire
—co
nfir
min
g th
at th
e co
nque
st o
f Je
rich
o w
as
righ
t af
ter
the
spri
ng h
arve
st a
nd t
hat
the
city
was
sub
sequ
ently
bu
rned
. Ken
yon
wri
tes,
“T
he d
estr
uctio
n w
as c
ompl
ete.
Wal
ls a
nd
floo
rs w
ere
blac
kene
d or
red
dene
d by
fir
e, a
nd e
very
roo
m w
as
fille
d w
ith f
alle
n br
icks
, tim
bers
, an
d ho
useh
old
uten
sils
; in
mos
t ro
oms
the
falle
n de
bris
was
hea
vily
bur
nt,
but
the
colla
pse
of t
he
wal
ls o
f th
e ea
ster
n ro
oms
seem
s to
hav
e ta
ken
plac
e be
fore
the
y w
ere
affe
cted
by
the
fire
.”17
B
ryan
t W
ood
sum
mar
izes
the
way
s in
whi
ch t
he a
ccou
nt
Cha
pter
Sev
en
28
CH
AP
TE
R N
INE
__
____
____
____
____
____
____
_
Juda
h an
d Is
rael
in
Bib
lical
Arc
heol
ogy
Kin
g So
lom
on d
ied
arou
nd 9
30 B
C.
Bec
ause
of
his
sins
, G
od to
ok m
ost o
f th
e ki
ngdo
m f
rom
his
son
, Reh
oboa
m, a
nd g
ave
it to
a f
orm
er o
ffic
ial
who
had
yea
rs e
arlie
r lo
st f
avor
with
Sol
o-m
on—
Jero
boam
, th
e so
n of
Neb
at.
I K
ings
12:
1-24
rel
ates
how
R
ehob
oam
inc
ited
the
nort
hern
tri
bes
into
reb
elli
ng a
gain
st h
im
by t
hrea
teni
ng t
o sa
nctio
n an
eve
n he
avie
r yo
ke o
f op
pres
sion
th
an h
is f
athe
r ha
d. J
erob
oam
, the
lead
er o
f th
at r
ebel
lion,
qui
ckly
be
cam
e ki
ng o
f th
e ne
wly
for
med
Nor
ther
n K
ingd
om—
whi
ch,
cons
istin
g of
ten
tri
bes,
fro
m t
hat
tim
e w
as c
alle
d Is
rael
. Thi
s le
ft
Reh
oboa
m w
ith o
nly
Juda
h, a
por
tion
of B
enja
min
, an
d m
ost
of
Lev
i—ca
lled
the
Sout
hern
Kin
gdom
or
Juda
h.
Fo
r th
e ne
xt 2
30 y
ears
, th
e tw
o di
stin
ct k
ingd
oms
ofte
n fo
und
them
selv
es a
t w
ar w
ith o
ne a
noth
er.
Skir
mis
hes
ofte
n re
-su
lted
in v
ario
us b
orde
r ci
ties
chan
ging
han
ds.
C
once
rnin
g th
e pe
riod
of
the
two
sepa
rate
kin
gdom
s, a
nu
mbe
r of
arc
haeo
logi
cal
find
s le
nd c
redi
bili
ty t
o th
e bi
blic
al a
c-co
unts
. O
ne s
uch
find
is
calle
d th
e M
esha
Ste
la,
also
kno
wn
as
the
Moa
bite
Sto
ne. I
t con
tain
s th
e ac
coun
t of
Mes
ha, k
ing
of M
o-ab
, an
d hi
s re
belli
on a
gain
st I
srae
l. M
esha
’s r
ebel
lion
is r
ecor
ded
in I
Kin
gs 3
. In
ver
se 2
7, w
e ar
e to
ld t
hat
Mes
ha o
ffer
ed h
is s
on
as a
sac
rifi
ce t
o th
e M
oabi
tes’
god
in
orde
r to
obt
ain
deliv
eran
ce
from
cer
tain
def
eat b
y th
e ar
mie
s of
Isr
ael,
Juda
h, a
nd E
dom
. The
st
ela
subs
tant
iate
s th
e bi
blic
al a
ccou
nt o
f M
esha
’s s
acri
fice
of
his
son.
Unt
il th
is s
tela
was
fou
nd,
mos
t sc
hola
rs h
ad q
uest
ione
d th
e ac
cura
cy o
f th
e bi
blic
al a
ccou
nt, b
ut n
ow th
ey h
ave
no e
xcus
e.
33
this
day
. “A
gig
antic
dam
blo
cked
the
riv
er A
dham
i in
She
ba,
coll
ecti
ng t
he r
ainf
all
from
a w
ide
area
. T
he w
ater
was
the
n le
d of
f in
can
als
for
irri
gatio
n pu
rpos
es,
whi
ch w
as w
hat
gave
the
la
nd i
ts f
erti
lity
. Rem
ains
of
this
tec
hnic
al m
arve
l in
the
sha
pe o
f w
alls
ove
r 60
fee
t hi
gh s
till
defy
the
san
d du
nes
of t
he d
eser
t….
She
ba w
as t
hen
the
Lan
d of
Spi
ces,
one
vas
t fa
iry-
like
sce
nted
ga
rden
of
the
cost
liest
spi
ces
in t
he w
orld
….
Tha
t w
as u
ntil
542
BC
—th
en t
he d
am b
urst
. T
he i
mpo
rtun
ate
dese
rt c
rept
ove
r th
e la
nds
and
dest
roye
d th
em.”
23
Cha
pter
Eig
ht
32
in th
e bo
ok o
f Jo
shua
is c
orro
bora
ted
by th
e ev
iden
ce f
ound
at t
he
rem
ains
of
Jeri
cho:
The
city
was
str
ongl
y fo
rtif
ied
(Jos
h. 2
:5,
7, 1
5; 3
:15;
5:
10).
The
at
tack
oc
curr
ed
just
af
ter
harv
est
tim
e in
th
e sp
ring
(Jo
sh. 2
:6; 3
:13;
5:1
0).
T
he i
nhab
itant
s ha
d no
opp
ortu
nity
to
flee
with
the
ir
food
stuf
fs (
Josh
. 6:1
).
T
he s
iege
was
sho
rt (
Josh
. 6:1
5).
T
he w
alls
wer
e le
vele
d, p
ossi
bly
by a
n ea
rthq
uake
(J
osh.
6:2
0).
T
he c
ity w
as n
ot p
lund
ered
(Jo
sh. 6
:17-
18).
The
city
was
bur
ned
(Jos
h. 6
:20)
.18
T
he o
nly
maj
or d
isag
reem
ent
amon
g an
alys
ts,
then
, is
on
the
date
. T
he p
repo
nder
ance
of
arch
aeol
ogic
al e
vide
nce
favo
rs a
da
te f
or t
he r
emai
ns o
f Je
rich
o of
app
roxi
mat
ely
1410
BC
. T
he
Bib
le a
nd w
ritte
n hi
stor
y in
dica
te a
dat
e fo
r Is
rael
’s E
xodu
s fr
om
Egy
pt a
t app
roxi
mat
ely
1480
-145
0 B
C. S
ince
the
conq
uest
of
Jer-
icho
was
40
year
s af
ter
the
Exo
dus,
a 1
410
date
for
the
fall
of J
er-
icho
cer
tain
ly f
its
wit
h th
e B
ible
’s n
arra
tive
.
The
Col
laps
e of
the
Wal
l of
Jeri
cho
29
CH
AP
TE
R E
IGH
T
____
____
____
____
____
____
___
Is
rael
Und
er K
ings
Dav
id a
nd S
olom
on
T
he B
ible
tel
ls u
s th
at d
urin
g th
e re
ign
of K
ing
Dav
id t
he
exte
nt o
f Is
rael
’s r
ealm
str
etch
ed f
rom
the
Red
Sea
in E
gypt
to th
e E
uphr
ates
Riv
er (
I C
hron
. 18:
3). B
ut m
inim
alis
t sch
olar
s qu
estio
n w
heth
er D
avid
eve
r ex
iste
d an
d re
lega
te t
he B
ible
’s a
ccou
nts
of
him
to
the
real
m o
f m
ytho
logy
(su
rpri
se,
surp
rise
). P
lus,
the
y do
ubt w
heth
er I
srae
l’s
terr
itory
was
eve
r th
at e
xten
sive
.
An
arti
cle
in B
ibli
cal
Arc
haeo
logy
Rev
iew
(M
arch
-Apr
il
1994
) re
port
ed a
dis
cove
ry b
y a
team
und
er A
vrah
am B
iran
at t
he
nort
hern
site
of
Tel
Dan
, ne
ar M
t. H
erm
on.
The
re t
hey
foun
d an
in
scri
ptio
n in
sto
ne m
entio
ning
bot
h th
e “K
ing
of I
srae
l” a
nd t
he
“Hou
se o
f D
avid
.” T
his
insc
ript
ion
was
dat
ed a
s be
ing
from
the
80
0s B
C. I
n ad
ditio
n, th
e na
me
of D
avid
is m
entio
ned
on th
e M
e-sh
a St
ela—
the
so-c
alle
d M
oabi
te S
tone
. W
ho k
now
s ho
w m
any
sim
ilar
find
s w
ill b
e m
ade
that
sho
uld
even
tual
ly p
ut t
o re
st t
he
dism
issi
vene
ss o
f di
sbel
ievi
ng s
chol
ars?
Acc
ordi
ng t
o th
e In
tern
atio
nal
Stan
dard
Bib
le E
ncyc
lope
-di
a (v
olum
e II
, p.
915
), d
urin
g th
e tim
e of
Dav
id a
nd S
olom
on
ther
e w
as a
pow
er v
acuu
m i
n bo
th E
gypt
and
Mes
opot
amia
tha
t en
able
d th
e ne
w K
ingd
om o
f Is
rael
to
thri
ve a
nd e
xpan
d. T
o th
e no
rth,
“A
ssyr
ia h
ad e
nter
ed t
hen
a pe
riod
of
decl
ine,
pri
mar
ily
beca
use
of d
iffi
culti
es w
ith
the
Ara
mae
ans…
.”19
To
the
sout
h, th
e de
clin
e of
Egy
pt b
y So
lom
on’s
tim
e is
illu
stra
ted
by t
he f
act
that
Ph
arao
h Si
amun
, w
ho r
eign
ed f
rom
978
to
959
BC
, ga
ve h
is
daug
hter
to
Solo
mon
in
mar
riag
e—“a
con
cess
ion
alm
ost
with
out
para
llel
in E
gypt
ian
hist
ory
sinc
e it
was
a c
andi
d ad
mis
sion
to
the
wor
ld o
f E
gypt
’s w
eakn
ess
and
conc
iliat
ion.
Nor
mal
ly,
Egy
ptia
n ki
ngs
took
for
eign
pri
nces
ses
but
did
not
give
up
thei
r ow
n da
ught
ers
to f
orei
gn k
ings
.”20
Hir
am, K
ing
of T
yre,
Fri
end
of D
avid
and
Sol
omon
Add
to th
ese
fact
s Is
rael
’s a
llia
nce
wit
h th
e Ph
oeni
cian
s—th
e m
ost
pow
erfu
l se
afar
ing
mer
cant
ile e
mpi
re o
f th
at p
erio
d. I
n-de
ed,
the
com
bina
tion
of I
srae
l’s
land
dom
inat
ion
coup
led
with
th
e se
afar
ing
empi
re o
f th
e P
hoen
icia
ns (
led
by t
he c
ity-
stat
e of
T
yre)
pro
duce
d a
form
idab
le e
cono
mic
and
pol
itica
l uni
on. H
isto
-ri
ans
agre
e th
at t
he r
eign
of
Hir
am o
f T
yre
was
the
“go
lden
age
”
30
of P
hoen
icia
n hi
stor
y—ju
st a
s th
e re
ign
of S
olom
on w
as t
he p
in-
nacl
e of
Isr
aelit
e hi
stor
y.
A
fter
pro
vidi
ng m
ater
ials
and
ski
lled
lab
or t
o D
avid
for
th
e bu
ildi
ng o
f hi
s pa
lace
, Hir
am d
id th
e sa
me
to S
olom
on f
or th
e bu
ildin
g of
the
Tem
ple
for
God
. In
I K
ings
5:1
2 w
e re
ad t
hat
Hi-
ram
and
Sol
omon
“m
ade
a tr
eaty
.” T
his
trea
ty h
ad lo
ng-t
erm
ben
-ef
its,
as w
e re
ad o
f in
lat
er B
ible
pas
sage
s. N
ot o
nly
did
Hir
am
and
his
craf
tsm
en h
elp
build
the
Tem
ple,
the
Pho
enic
ians
joi
ned
Isra
el
in
othe
r ve
ntur
es.
Acc
ordi
ng
to
hist
oria
n G
eorg
e R
awlin
son,
“th
e T
yria
n m
onar
ch e
nter
ed i
nto
a cl
ose
mar
itim
e al
lianc
e w
ith h
is I
srae
litis
h ne
ighb
our,
and
eng
aged
with
him
in
join
t com
mer
cial
ent
erpr
ises
of
the
mos
t luc
rati
ve c
hara
cter
.”21
I K
ings
9:2
6-28
tel
ls u
s th
at S
olom
on a
nd H
iram
bui
lt a
flee
t of
mer
chan
t sh
ips
to g
o on
joi
nt v
entu
res
to f
ar-f
lung
cou
n-tr
ies
to t
rade
for
val
uabl
e m
erch
andi
se.
From
the
his
tory
of
the
Phoe
nici
ans
alre
ady
quot
ed,
we
know
tha
t th
ere
was
har
dly
a pl
ace
in th
e kn
own
wor
ld w
here
Pho
enic
ian
ship
s ha
d no
t al
read
y vi
site
d fo
r tr
ade
purp
oses
.
We
are
told
in
I K
ings
9:1
5 th
at a
mon
g So
lom
on’s
bui
ld-
ing
proj
ects
wer
e H
azor
, Meg
iddo
, and
Gez
er. W
hat h
ave
arch
ae-
olog
ical
exc
avat
ions
of
thes
e si
tes
yiel
ded?
Arc
haeo
logi
st Y
igae
l Y
adin
wri
tes
this
abo
ut h
is d
ig a
t H
azor
in
the
1950
s: “
Wha
t I’
m
abou
t to
say
may
sou
nd l
ike
som
ethi
ng o
ut o
f a
dete
ctiv
e st
ory,
bu
t it
’s t
rue.
Our
gre
at g
uide
was
the
Bib
le…
. T
his
was
the
rea
l se
cret
of
our
disc
over
y of
the
Solo
mon
ic p
erio
d.”22
Yad
in e
vent
u-al
ly e
xcav
ated
the
site
s of
all
thre
e of
the
citi
es m
entio
ned
abov
e.
At
each
one
he
foun
d th
e sa
me
arch
itect
ure
now
ref
erre
d to
by
arch
aeol
ogis
ts a
s “S
olom
onic
”—w
ith m
agni
fice
nt, o
rnat
ely
deco
-ra
ted
polis
hed-
ston
e bu
ildin
gs w
hose
gra
ndeu
r ce
rtai
nly
sugg
ests
th
e pr
ospe
rity
of
Solo
mon
’s ti
me
as d
escr
ibed
in th
e B
ible
.
Acc
ordi
ng to
Scr
iptu
re, a
hos
t of
king
s an
d di
gnita
ries
vis
-ite
d So
lom
on d
urin
g hi
s ea
rlie
r ye
ars—
som
e to
hea
r hi
s re
pute
d w
isdo
m, s
ome
to s
ee t
he g
rand
eur
of h
is r
ealm
. One
, who
vis
ited
for
both
pur
pose
s, w
as t
he Q
ueen
of
Sheb
a. M
any
scho
lars
rel
e-ga
te t
he s
tory
of
her
roya
l vi
sit
to m
yth.
Aft
er a
ll, w
here
was
thi
s pl
ace
call
ed “
She
ba,”
any
way
?
Rec
ent
disc
over
ies
poin
t to
wha
t is
now
Yem
en,
sout
h of
Sa
udi
Ara
bia,
as
the
loca
tion
of t
his
once
-pro
sper
ous
king
dom
. W
erne
r K
elle
r te
lls
us t
hat
the
area
was
not
alw
ays
barr
en a
nd
dry;
in
fact
, th
e re
mai
ns o
f a
larg
e da
m c
an s
till
be
seen
the
re t
o
31
Isra
el U
nder
Kin
gs D
avid
and
Sol
omon