the tower of babel

    MANY SECULAR SCHOLARS THINK THE TOWER OF BABEL STORY IN GENESIS WAS COMPOSED DURING THE HEBREW EXILE IN BABYLON BUT OTHER SCHOLARS GIVE EVIDENCE GENESIS CONTAINS HISTORY 

    Genesis 10:8-12 gives the extent of Nimrod's empire. Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore, it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD." And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh in the land of Shinar. And from that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Ninevah, Rehoboth-Ir and Caleh, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city. According to Genesis Nimrod was closely associated with the cities Babel and Erech, the biblical name of Uruk. 

   Professor Douglas N. Petrovich and Egyptologist David Rohl have noted that the city of Eridu was also called Babel in ancient times. Eridu is believed by scholars to be the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia according to the Sumerian King List. (1) A massive platform was constructed in Eridu that was not finished and then abandoned. Hundreds of years later another king placed a temple on the site. This platform is thought by Professor Petrovich and Rohl to be the remains of the tower of Babel mentioned in Genesis. (2) A king called Enmerkar, is traditionally called the founder of Eridu, (Babel). Rohl notes parallels between Enmerkar and Nimrod. Both Enmerkar and Nimrod were noted hunters. The suffix for kar at the end of Enmerkar's name means hunter. The rendering in Hebrew would be Nimru the hunter. Nimrod as grandson of Ham belongs to the second generation after the flood according to the Bible. This is also true of Enmerkar who is recorded as the second ruler of Uruk (Erech in the Bible) after the flood in the Sumerian King List. Both men ruled over their empires in the land of Shinar. (3)                                   Josephus writes, "Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of God. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand.  He persuaded them not to ascribe it to God, as if it was through His means they were happy, but to believe it was their own courage which procured that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, to bring them into a constant dependence on his power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if He should have a mind to drown the world again; for he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach; and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers!" (4) Egyptologist Rohl notes, a Sumerian tablet called "Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta," speaks of a golden age of man, "Once upon a time, ...there was no fear, no terror. Man had no rival, ...The whole universe, the people in unison, to Enlil (The Lord of Heaven) in one tongue gave praise." (5) This is similar to Genesis 11: 1-2, "Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there." According to both accounts all the people were united in the past with one language and one religion. Enmerkar (Nimrod) in the Arratta tablet, brings a new goddess for the people to worship to rival Enlil (The Lord of Heaven). It seems the Sumerians resented Enlil for causing the flood and began to worship other gods. (6) 

     Genesis 11: 4-9, And they said, "Come let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach unto heaven, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the earth." And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the LORD said, "Behold they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they begin to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. "Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So, the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth. Rohl notes "I think we can begin to see a fascinating sequence of historical events here leading us from the antediluvian age of a supreme God to the realities of the post-flood era and a multiplicity of city-state deities."(7)

    NOTES: (1) Gwendolyn Leik, Mesopotamia The Invention of the city, p.3; (2) Professor Douglas N. Petrovich, Academia EDU, Identifying the Tower of Babel, 10-3-23; Also, David Rohl, Legend The Genesis of Civilization, p.223; (3) David Rohl, The Genesis of Civilization, p.215; (4) The New Complete Works of Josephus, Translation by William Whiston, Antiquities, chapter 4, 2, p.56, (5) David Rohl, Legend The Genesis of Civilization, p.218, (6) p.220a, and (7) p.221.

    THE HIERATIC PAPYRUS FROM THE MIDDLE KINGDOM OF EGYPT CONTAINS THE NAMES OF HEBREW SLAVES

    The Hieratic Papyrus dating from the 12th to 13th Dynasties of Egypt contain 95 entries of slave names. Egyptologist William C. Hayes published his translation of this papyrus and identified 30 of the names as non-Egyptian. Some of the non-Egyptian names on the list are either identical or similar to Hebrew names in the Old Testament. A female name of Menahem is present along with Issachar, Ashra, and Shepra which is similar to Shiphrah the Hebrew Mid-wife in the book of Exodus. One of the most common titles of slaves from Canaan was "Household Servant" which would have been Joseph's title when he was working for Potipher, captain of Pharaoh's guard in Genesis. This papyrus also mentions the main prison in Egypt was located at Thebes 400 miles south of the Delta. Royal officials under arrest were probably placed there along Joseph in the Genesis story. (1) Few scholars today doubt that the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt. This is not the kind of story that people would makeup. (2) However, most scholars think the Middle Kingdom is too early for Hebrew slaves to be in Egypt.

     NOTES: (1) Condensed from "The Bible and Spade series: Joseph in Egypt," Author Charles Aling PHD, March 15, 2010. (2) John Bright, A History of Israel, Fourth Edition, p.120-121, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, London.                                                                  

    ADMONITIONS OF AN EGYPTIAN SAGE GIVES AN ACCOUNT OF THE EXODUS FROM THE EGYPTIAN POINT OF VIEW: TRANSLATION BY DOLLINGER

Admonitions of an Egyptian sage otherwise known as the Ipuwer Papyrus has been dated by most scholars to the end of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. (1) The reason for the collapse of the Middle Kingdom is a mystery. In the papyrus a man named Ipuwer addresses someone called the "Lord of All." Some scholars think the "Lord of All" is a Pharoah, but Enmarch admits in the Middle Kingdom this was the name of a god. (1) Ann Habermehl states "Because many scholars do not believe the Exodus happened, they do not believe this papyrus describes the Exodus, or believes it describes real historical events at all." (2) Critics have said there are disparities in the text such as Asiatic's arriving in Egypt instead of leaving, and some have called it poetry. Habermehl and other scholars have said it describes chaotic events in Egypt after the Israelites left Egypt. After the loss of Pharoah and his army and the Israelites left, law and order broke down and foreigners invaded Egypt. (3) I have provided a condensed comparison of the text with the account in Exodus. There are direct parallels between the manuscript and the Book of Exodus. Ipuwer writes as if these events have just happened.

Section 1: Lo, the virtuous man goes in mourning of what has happened to the Land. Lo foreigners have overrun the whole of Egypt. Towns are destroyed and upper Egypt has become a waste.

Exodus 10:7, "Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?"

Section II: Lo, poor men have become owners of wealth, and he who could not make sandals for himself is now a possessor of wealth. The robber is a possessor of riches and a plunderer.

Exodus 12:36, Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Lo, (Hearts) are violent, pestilence is throughout the land, blood is everywhere, death is not lacking.

Exodus 9:2, Behold the hand of the Lord will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks.

Exodus 9:15, "For by now I had put forth My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence," ...

Exodus 12:12-13, "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike down all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; (the Egyptians worshiped animals) and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments- I am the LORD. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you and no plague will befall you, to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

Lo, many dead are buried in the river, and the poor man is full of joy. Men are few and he who places his brother in the ground are everywhere.

Exodus 12:30, And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was no home where there was not someone dead.

Lo, the poor man complains, "How terrible! What am I to do?" lo, the river is blood. yet men drink of it. Men shrink from human beings and thirst after water.

Exodus 7:17-18, Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord, Behold I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in My hand, and it will be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul; and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.

Section III: Lo, the desert is throughout the land, the nomes are laid waste, and Barbarians from abroad have come to Egypt. All is ruin.

Lo, Laughter is perished and is no longer made; It is groaning that is throughout the land, mingled with complaints. 

Lo, ... because of the noise, noise is not... in years of noise there is no end of noise.

Lo, great and small say; "I wish I might die." Little children say: "He should not have caused me to live."

Lo, trees are felled, and branches are stripped off.

Exodus 9:24-5, So there was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. 

Exodus 9:29, And Moses said to him, "As soon as I go out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD; the thunder will cease, and there will be hail no longer, that you may know that the earth is the LORD'S."

Exodus 9:31, Now the flax and the barley were ruined.

Section V: Lo, cakes are lacking for most children, there is no food...The nobles are hungry and perishing. Lo, the hot-tempered man says, "If I knew where God is, I would serve him."

Lo, all the animals their hearts weep; cattle moan because of the state of the land. 

Lo, roads are watched, and the paths are ambushed, men sit in the bushes until the traveler comes in order to plunder his burden...He is attacked with a stick and murdered. 

Exodus 10:15, For they (the locusts) covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus, nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt.

Section VI: Lo, scribes are killed, and their writings taken away. Woe is me because of the misery of this time.

Section VII, Behold, fire has gone up on high, and its burning goes forth against the land.

The King has been overthrown by the rabble. Behold now the land begins to lose its kingship. Behold the Residence is afraid because of want, and (men go about) unopposed to stir up strife. Behold the judges of the land are driven out throughout the land... and are driven out of palaces.

Exodus 9:24, So there was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail....

Exodus14:27-28, So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state at daybreak, while the Egyptians were fleeing right into it; over their chariots and their horsemen." And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharoah's entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained.

The remainder of the papyrus mentioned that foreign trade collapsed along with the Egyptian state. Egypt descends into anarchy.

Section X: Lower Egypt weeps; The king's storehouse is the common property of everyone, and the entire palace is without its revenues.

Section XV: "How comes it that everyman kills his brother?" The troops whom we have marshaled for ourselves have turned into foreigners and have taken to ravaging.

Section XVII: If men call to... them who break into tombs and burn the statues... The corpses of the nobles... of directing work. 

      A Pharoah named Dudimose I may be Tutimaos  in whose reign according to the Egyptian priest Manetho, the Hyksos conquered Egypt. He and the remaining kings of the thirteenth dynasty may have ruled as vassals of the Hyksos. (4) Manetho also recorded: " Tutimaos In his reign for what cause I know not, a blast of God smote us; and unexpectedly from the regions of the east, invaders of an obscure race marched in confidence of victory against our land. By main force they easily seized it without striking a blow; and having overpowered the rulers of the land. They burnt our cities"... (5) Manetho and Ipuwer seem to be referring to the same event. As Habermehl said since many scholars don't think the Exodus happened at all or the way the Bible describes it, they usually explain away the evidence. 

      NOTES: (1) Willems, The First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom, 2010, p.83; William Kelly Simpson, The Literature of Ancient Egypt, p.188, Yale University Press/New Haven, London; (2) Enmarch Roland, (2011) "The Reception of A Middle Kingdom Poem: The Dialogue of Power and The Lord of All." Collier M. Snape, S. (eds); (3) Ann Habermehl, "The Ipuwer Papyrus and The Exodus," In J. H. Whitmoor (ed), Proceeding of the Eighth International Conference on Creationism, (Pittsburg, 2018) p.1-6; (4) Jack Finegan, Archaeological History of the Ancient Middleast, p.252, 1996, Westview Press Inc. Barnes and Noble Books; (5) Manetho, Aegyptiaca, p.79.

      THE LOST CITY OF AI HAS BEEN FOUND.                                                                                                                                                 

      Joshua 7 and 8 recount the FIRST AND SECOND battles of Ai. Et-Tell has been accepted as the default site of Ai since W.F. Albright's article on the subject in 1924. (1) Et-Tell, however, fails to meet the biblical criteria for the city. Joseph Callaway, who excavated at Et-Tell from 1964- 70 concluded: "Ai is simply an embarrassment to every view of the conquest that takes the biblical and archaeological evidence seriously." (2) But what if they were looking at the wrong site? What if Et-Tell is not the city of Ai that Joshua and the Israelites conquered?

   When Edwin Robinson explored the area in 1838, the local people pointed to a different site- Khirbet El-Maqatir as Ai. (3) Between 1995 and 2017 the Associates for Biblical Research (BibleArchaeology.org) excavated at Khirbet El-Maqatir and meticulously uncovered a fortified settlement from the time of Joshua that had been destroyed by fire. Archaeologists Gary Byers, who served as the administrative director of ABR's excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir says there are three ways we can know that this is the site of Joshua's Ai: It has the right stuff in the right place at the right time. (4)

   In order to identify the site of the ancient city of Ai from Joshua's day a number of biblical criteria need to be met relating to geography and topography. It must:

1. Be adjacent to Beth Aven. (Joshua 7:2)

2 Be East of and near Bethel. (Joshua 7:2; 12:9)

3. Have an ambush site between Bethel and Ai (Joshua 8:9,12)

4. Have a militarily significant hill north of Ai where the Israelite army camped. (Joshua 8:11)

5 Be close to a shallow valley north where Joshua and the decoy force could be seen by the king of Ai. (Joshua 8:13-14)

   The late Dr. David Livingston identified Bethel as modern El-Bireh. Building on his work, archaeologists Dr. Bryant Wood convincingly argued Bethel is indeed modern El.-Bireh and Beth-Aven is modern Beitin.  Only Khirbet El-Maqatir  satisfies all of the above criteria. (5) Geographically, it lies due east of Behel/El Bireh and only 1 mile southeast of Beth Aven/Beitin. Today, one can see how the battle unfolded by looking at the topography around Khirbet El-Maqatir. North of the site is the highest hill in the region, Jebel Abu Ammar, where Joshua's main force encamped. Between it and Khirbet El-Maqatir is a shallow valley where the king of Ai could see the Israelite decoy force coming to battle. Immediately west of the site is the steep valley of the Wadi Sheban in which Joshua's ambush force hid.

   In Addition to being in the right place, the site of Ai must also have the right stuff. Specifically, it must:

1. Have fortification walls (it is called a "fortified place" in (Joshua 8:1-2).

2. Have a main gate facing north (implied in Joshua 8:11).

3. Be a relatively small site (Joshua 7:3; 10:2).

4. Have evidence of the presence of women. (Joshua 8:25)

    Excavations at Khirbit El-Maqatir have revealed a small border fortress dating to the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Although only about 2.5 acres were inside the foundation of the fortification, walls on the north and westside were found to be 13 feet wide. On the north side of the fortress, a four-chambered gate was unearthed. Two of the gate's socket stones were discovered in the gate passageway and others were found nearby. (6)

The Bible describes the presence of women at Ai in Joshua 8:25, which would initially seem a strange thing at a border military fortress. However, archaeological evidence of this came in 2009 when an infant burial jar was discovered at Khirbet El-Maqatir with the child's remains scattered around the jar. The typology of the offering vessels and the burial jar itself suggest that the infant was buried sometime around 1500 B.C. Interestingly, there are the remains of a Byzantine monstery at Khirbet El-Maqatir. The Byzantines often built their churches upon biblical sites and may built the one here to commemorate the Israelite victory over Ai.

    The biblical date for the conquest and the battles of Ai would be 1406 B.C. (near the end of the Late Bronze Age I period). This deduced from a straightforward reading of a number of passages dating the Exodus to 1446 B.C: I Kings 6:1, Judges 11:26-27, Acts 13:19-20 and the number of generations listed in I Chronicles 6:33-38. (7) Therefore, any candidate site for the biblical city of Ai that Joshua's army defeated must meet the following criteria:

1. Evidence of occupation during the 15th century B.C.

2. Evidence of destruction by fire in the 15th century B.C. (Joshua 8:19; 8:28).

    Excavations at Khirbet El-Maqatir revealed ample pottery dating to the Late Bronze Age I, much of which had been refired in a site-wide conflagration. This is consistent with a site that had been destroyed by fire as described in Joshua 8:28: "So Joshua burned Ai and made it forever a heap of ruins, as it is to this day." (8) Three Egyptian scarabs were found at the site, including two from the period of the fortress: one dating to the Middle Bronze III period (ca. 1650-1485 B.C.) and another rarer scarab dating to the 18th Dynasty, likely in the reign of Amenhotep II (ca 1455-1418 B.C.). This second scarab was discovered in situ in a sealed locus, providing a terminal date for the fortress toward the end of the 15th century B.C. Archaeologist, Dr. Scott Stripling concludes: "The two scarabs synchronize with the ceramic analysis and provide firm dates for the operation of the fortress. It now seems clear that the small fortress, likely the Ai of Joshua 7-8, was constructed during the Middle Bronze Age boom and was violently destroyed near the end of Late Bronze Age I. (9)

    SUMMARY

    In the absence of any ancient inscription identifying a site, scholars are left to match the archaeological remains with what is known about a place from history. In the case of Ai, the only ancient text with information about the site is the Bible and Khirbet El-Maqatir is the only site that meets all of the biblical criteria. It has all the right stuff at the right time. Rather than being an "embarrassment," correctly identifying Khirbet El-Maqatir as the site of the city of Ai that Joshua defeated demonstrates the historical reliability of the biblical account of the conquest in the 15th century B.C.

    NOTES: 1. William F. Albright, "Ai and Beth Aven," Pp. 141-49 in Excavations and Results at Tell el-Ful (Gibeah of Saul). The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 2, ed. Benjamin W. Bacon. New Haven CT: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1924. (2) Bryant G. Wood, "The Search for Joshua's Ai." In Critical Issues in Early Israelite History, edited by Richard S. Hess, Gerald A. Klingbeil, and Paul J. Ray Jr, 205. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns 2008. hhtp://www.biblearcheaology.org/file.axd?file=The+search+for+Joshuas+Ai.pdf, (Accessed March 28, 2019). (3) Todd Bolen, "Khirbet el-Maqatir." Bible Places. https://www.bibleplaces.com/maqatir/ (Accessed March 28, 2019). (4) Gary Byers in a personal email to the author. March 5, 2019. (5) Bryant G. Wood, (see NOTE 2) 210-240. (6) Bryant G. Wood, "Excavations at Khirbet el-Maqatir: 1995 to 2000 and 2009 to 2011." Associates for Biblical Research. April 4, 2012. http://www.biblearcheaology.org/post/2012/04at-Khirbet-el-Maqatir-1995-to-2000-and-2009-to2011.aspx (Accessed April 2, 2019). (7) A good summary of the verses that point to an early date for the Exodus (and by implication the conquest 40 years later) in the 15th century B.C. can be found in the following episodes of Digging for Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxXXTGDy40&t=1312s and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-mUoS5RBU&t=1379s In addition, these episodes of Digging for the Truth highlight the archaeological evidence for an early Exodus/Conquest: https://www.youtube.com.watch?v=iPYkoKyRfKw&t=1s and https://www,youtube.com/watch?vXpRUe6-tkzO&t=20s (8) Scott Stripling, "2014 Excavations at Kh. el- Maqatir: A Proposed New Location for Ai and Ephraim." Associates for Biblical Research. March 9, 2015. http://biblearchaeology.org/post/2015/03/Excavations-at-Kh=el-Maqatir-A-Proposed-New-Location-for-Ai-and-Ephraim.aspx (Accessed March 2019). (9) Ibid.

  EGYPTOLOGIST DAVID ROHL IDENTIFIED THE STANDING STONE AT SHECHEM AS THE CULTIC STONE ERECTED BY JOSHUA

  Joshua 24: 20-27, verse 20, Then Joshua said: "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you." 21, And the people said to Joshua, "No but we will serve the LORD." 22, And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses." 23, "Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel." 24, And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God and we will obey His voice." 25, So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. 26, And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the Law of God; and he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. 27, And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be for a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us; thus, it shall be for a witness against you, lest you deny your God." (1) The Joshua stone stands in front of a Bronze Age fortress temple excavated by archaeologist Sellin, who found it destroyed by fire. This matches the story in Judges 9:46-47 where King Abimelech set fire to the temple at Migdol Shechem killing a thousand people inside.

    NOTES: (1) David Rohl, Pharaohs and Kings, p 320-323, and 323-325 

Archaeologist Erez Ben Yoseph has excavated several seasons at Tima in the southern desert of Israel. It had been thought the large copper production in the Timna valley was produced by ancient Egypt. New carbon dates show the peak of production points to the 10th century B.C, the time of Solomon. Erez Ben Yoseph discovered a "substantial defensive system," and evidence of a "sophisticated and well organized" production of copper. The site indicates a highly complex and centralized society produced at least a hundred tons copper in this location. This settlement is not different from other sites in the area and seems to show copper production in the desert was on a massive scale that only Egypt or Assyria could maintain. The area at this time however was inhabited by highly skilled craftsmen and the elite of Edom. Edom was an older kingdom than Israel and Genesis 36: 31-43 gives a king list of that kingdom. The bible states that Edom was eventually conquered by King David. 2 Samuel 8: 14, And he put garrisons in Edom.  In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David and the Lord helped David wherever he went. Israelite control of Edom continued through the reign of Solomon. Erez Ben Yoseph stated that fish from the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean were move by caravan down to Timna, along with meat and grain, showing that the workers were well fed. The bible states that Solomon was importing a large amount of gold and silver into his kingdom. 1 Kings 10: 28-29 states that Solomon was importing and exporting horses and chariots to kings of the middle east. He must have been exporting large amounts of copper as well, which would have been the secret of his great wealth. Copper was the petroleum of the ancient world. Copper was used to make bronze weapons, hoes, sickles, cookware, dishes, saws, chisels and knives. Even after the kingdom of Israel split in two, Judah continued to control Edom until the reign of Jehoram. 2 Chronicles 21: 10, So Edom revolted against Judah until this day. Edom may have been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar after the fall of Jerusalem.

     NOTES: from the Bible and Back to Solomon's Era: Results of the First Excavations at "Slaves Hill" site 34, Timna Israel, (Basor 376, 2016, 169-198,) Erez Ben Yosef, 

      THE KURKH STELA MENTIONS THE ISRAELITE KING AHAB

      The Kurkh Stela was found by a British archaeologist George Taylor in Kurdistan in 1861 and donated to the British Museum in 1863. The inscription gives an account of the campaigns of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III. Among his conquest's, Shalmaneser forces the Hittites of Carchemish to pay tribute. He also subdued several kingdoms mentioned in the Bible, Hamath and Aram Damascus. In 853 B.C. at the battle of Qarqar, Shalmaneser faced a coalition of 12 kings among who was Ahab king of Israel. " I destroyed, tore down, and burned down Karkar... (Its King) brought along to help him 1,200 chariots, 1,200 cavalrymen, 20,000-foot solders of (Hadadezar) of Damascus; 700 chariots, 700 cavalrymen, 10,000-foot solders of Irhuleni from Hamath; 2,000 chariots, 10,000-foot solders of Ahab the Israelite...from Ammon all together these were twelve kings. They rose against me for a decisive battle. I fought with them with the support of the mighty forces of Ashur (The chief god of Assyria) ... and I did inflict defeat on them... I slew 14,000 of their soldiers with the sword...I spread their corpses everywhere...During the battle I made their blood flow...The plain was too small to let all their souls descend into netherworld. The vast field gave out when it came to bury them. With their corpses I spanned the Orontes (river) before there was a bridge. Even during the battle, I took from them their chariots, their horses broken to the yoke." (1) Although the battle of Qarqar is not mentioned in the Bible, it shows that Ahab was a powerful king who fielded the second largest army and over half the chariots in the alliance against Assyria. Also, Shalmaneser's account of the battle may not be completely reliable. Like most kings in the ancient world, he claims victory, but his army did not advance any further and he had to return in 849 B.C. and 846 B.C. to fight again. There is also no mention of tribute. On the Kurkh Stela, Ahab has an alliance with Aram Damascus. This truce must have been temporary in order to fight the Assyrians since the Bible records frequent warfare between Aram Damascus and Israel. Ahab also officially sanctioned the worship of the storm god Baal in Israel. 1 Kings 16: 30-32, "And Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him. And it came about, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians and went to serve Baal and worshiped him. So, he erected an alter for Baal, in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria." This event caused a crisis as God brought about a severe drought through His prophet Elijah the Tishbite. Ahab and Jezebel retaliated by tearing down the alters to God and killing many of His prophets. In 1 Kings 19: 14, Elijah called for a contest between God and Jezebel's 450 prophets of Baal to bring down fire from heaven. After Elijah won the contest and slays Jezebel's prophets, he prayed and brought an end to the drought and God orders him to anoint three men to complete the destruction of the Baal cult in Israel. 1 Kings 19: 15-17, And the LORD said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. And it shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death."  After Elijah pronounces judgment on the house of Ahab, he repented, the only king of the northern kingdom of Israel that we know of to do so. 1 kings 21: 27-29, And it came about when Ahab heard these words, that he put on sackcloth and fasted, and he lay in sackcloth and went about despondently. Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, "Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son's days."  

      NOTES: (1) James B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East Volume 1, An Anthology of Texts and Pictures, p.190, Sixth Year, According to the Monolith-Inscription.                       

     THE MESHA STELE BROUGHT NEW LIGHT TO AN INCIDENT IN 2 KINGS                                                                                                                                               

  The Mesha Stele was discovered in Dibon Jordan 1868 and has been dated to about 840 B.C. The stone was written in the Phoenician Alphabet and is closely related to the Hebrew language. On the stone the king of Moab tells the story of how Chemosh god of Moab was angry with his people and allowed them to be conquered by Omri king of Israel. His account parallels the story in 2 Kings 3:4-28. 2 Kings 3:4, "Now Mesha King of Moab was a sheep breeder, and used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 2 Kings 3:5, But it came about, when Ahab died the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel." The king of Moab carved on the stone how he captured several cities of Israel during his rebellion and slaughtered the inhabitants. 2 Kings 3:6-7a, And King Jehoram went out of Samaria (His capitol city) at that time and mustered all Israel. Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah saying, "the king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go up with me to fight Moab?" And he said "I will go up." The kings of Israel and Judah form an alliance against Moab and invade their land.

Mesha king of Moab attacked the camp of Israel and Judah. 2 Kings 3:24, But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites arose and struck the Moabites, so they fled before them; and they went forward slaughtering the Moabites. The Israelites invaded Moab and began burning their cities. When the Israelite and Judah coalition arrived at the city of Kir-hareseth, the battle was going against Mesha king of Moab, in desperation, he sacrificed his son to the god Chemosh. 2 Kings 3:27, Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and went to their own land. King Mesha states on the Moabite stone that the King of Israel invaded his land but that his god "Chemosh drove them out." The two accounts tend to complement one another although King Mesha doesn't mention the sacrifice of his child. After the child sacrifice the Moabites apparently fought harder and drove the Israelites out of his country. Moab remained independent of Israel.

      NOTES: Translation of the Moabite Stone by Alviero Niccacci, From his article "Stele Of Mesha and the Bible: Verbal System and Narrativity" in Orientalia Nova Series, vol 63, no.3 (1994) pp.226-248;

   SARGON II'S SUBJUGATION OF JUDAH

    The picture shows Sargon II and his son Sennacherib to the left. Both of these Assyrian kings had extensive contact with the southern Hebrew kingdom of Judah.  In the Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II, he records "Palace of Sargon appointee of the god Enlil, priest of the god Assur, chosen of the gods Anu and Enlil, strong king, king of the world, king of Assyria, king of the four quarters (of the world), favorite of the great gods, just shepherd, whom the gods Assur (and) Marduk choose and whose fame (these gods) exalted to the heights; the strong man who is clad in awesome splendor (and) whose weapons are raised to strike down (his) enemies; the valiant man who since the (first) day of his reign has had no ruler who could equal him and no one who could over power (or) rival (him); (who) ruled all the lands from the east to the west, from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun and governed the subjects of the god Enlil; experienced hero, to whom the god Nudimmud (Ea) granted superior strength (and) at whose side (the god) made (his) irresistible weapon beautiful;  the pious prince who met Humbanigas, king of the land of Elam, (in battle) on the outskirts of (the city) Der (and) brought about his defeat; who subjugated the land of Judah, whose location is far away;" (1) Judah had been a vassal of Assyria since time of Tiglath-Pileser, but after his death, it broke away and was independent for a time. After the fall of Israel, a large number of refugees fled south to Jerusalem and after the death of Ahaz king of Judah, his son Hezekiah inherited the throne. There is no mention in the Bible or Assyrian records of a military campaign against Judah but after the fall of Samaria, Hezekiah probably saw the writing on the wall and began paying Sargon II tribute again. Assyrian records show an unnamed king of Judah paying tribute in 716 B.C. and a second letter in 715 B.C. mentioned the king of Judah sending troops to support Sargon's army on campaign. It is also possible that Hezekiah visited Sargon's new capitol Khorsabad in 706 B.C. (2) As far as we can tell Hezekiah was a loyal vassal of Assyria until Sargon's death in 705 B.C. Sargon was killed in battle in Tabal (modern day Turkey). The Eponym Chronicle states "705 (B.C.) the king marched against Gurdi the Kulummaean, the king was killed; the camp of the king of Assyria was pl(undered); on the 12th of AB (late July), Sennacherib became King." (3) Sargon's sudden death shocked the inhabitants of the Assyrian empire and revolts broke out everywhere. Hezekiah chose this moment to win independence for Judah. Babylon, Judah, Tyre and parts of Philistia all rose up against Assyria. Merodach-baladan a ruler in Babylon, sent an embassy to Hezakiah in 2 Kings 20:12-19 and may have concluded an alliance against Assyria. Sennacherib gathered an army and attacked Babylon first, winning a quick victory there in 704-703 B.C. (4) It wasn't until 701 B.C. that Sennacherib was able to return to the west with his army. He defeated Phoenicia first, swept down the coast against Philistia and after his victory there finally turn towards Judah. 2 Chronicles 32: 2-8, Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, He decided with his officers and his warriors to cut off the supply of water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him. So many people assembled and stopped up all the springs and the stream which flowed through the region, saying "Why should the kings of Assyria come and find abundant water?" And he took courage and rebuilt all the wall that had been broken down, and erected towers on it, and built another outside wall, and strengthened the Millo in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in great number. And he appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square of the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, "Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude that is with him; for the one who is with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah. GO TO SENNACHERIB'S CAMPAIGN IN 2 KINGS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF HIS ARMY

   NOTES: (1) Grant Frame, The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II, King of Assyria, (721-705), p.322, EISENBRAUNS, UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA; (2) Josette Elayi, Sargon II King of Assyria, p.54, SBL PRESS, ATLANTA; (3) Sarah C. Melville, The campaigns of Sargon II King of Assyria, p.187, 2016 University of Oklahoma Press, Norman; (4) Josette Elayi, Sennacherib, King of Assyria, p.72, SBL PRESS, ATLANTA.                                     

    A NUNBER OF SCHOLARS HAVE NOTED PROBLEMS WITH THE CONVENTIONAL CHRONOLOGY OF ANCIENT MIDDLE EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY

In the 1993 book Centuries of Darkness scholars Peter James, Nikos Kokkinos, Robert Morkot, and John Frankish pointed out serious problems with the accepted chronology of the ancient world. These scholars show dating issues with The Dark Age of Greece, the Hittite empire, empty years of Nubian history along with a multitude of other anomalies from the ancient world. A wide range of evidence seems to point to the chronology of Egypt as the problem. The solution is a substantial shortening of Egyptian chronology would solve many of these problems and eliminate some of the dark ages of the ancient world. If Egyptian chronology is wrong the walls of Jericho fall centuries before Joshua gets there and the civilizations of Greece and the Hittite empire disappear and then magically reappear after centuries of darkness. The evidence for the empire of David and Solomon is also dated to a later period or said not to exist altogether. Egyptologists are reluctant to admit that anything could be wrong and since all ancient middle eastern cultures are dated by Egyptian chronology these dark ages continue to exist. (1) Many scholars have sought a solution to this problem including John J. Bimson. James B. Reilly, David Rohl, Donovan Courville, Immanuel Velikovsky and more recently Timothy Mahoney with his excellent "Patterns of Evidence" video series. (2)

    NOTES: (1) Peter James, Centuries of Darkness; (2) Timothy Mahoney, Patterns of Evidence, The Exodus.