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ARCHAEOLOGY SUPPORTS
THE NEW=20 TESTAMENT=20

Anonymous=20

(Investigator 25, 1992 July)=20


INTRODUCTION

About 50 non-Jewish kings and rulers mentioned in the Bible have = during the=20 past century had their existence independently confirmed from = inscriptions,=20 tombs, monuments, etc. Hundreds of geographical locations referred to in = Scripture have also been identified. Hundreds of historical events = narrated by=20 the Bible writers have been verified. In the present discussion, = however, I=92ll=20 focus on findings relevant to the New Testament.
 
  =

MINISTRY OF JESUS

The Gospel of Luke says that Jesus was born during a census by = Quirinius,=20 governor of Syria. (2:2) However, the only Quirinius known to historians = until=20 recently conducted a census in 6 AD. This was nine years after the death = of=20 Herod the Great in 4 BC.
 =20

[Since writing this Anon has argued for Jan/Feb 1 BC as the date of = Herod's=20 death and 2 BC for Jesus' birth=97See Investigator No. 81. = Ed.]


Jesus, however, was born when Herod was still alive. Some = defenders of=20 the Bible tried to solve the problem by assuming that Quirinius was = governor of=20 Syria twice. The correct answer now seems to be that there were two = prominent=20 men named Quirinius. An ancient coin has been discovered with the name = of a=20 Quirinius who was proconsul of Syria and Cilicia from 11 BC until Herod = died.=20 (McRay 1991)=20

What about the census itself which forced Joseph and Mary to go to = Bethlehem?=20

Luke wrote:
 =20

"a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should = be=20 enrolled."Ancient papyrus census forms have been discovered = confirming=20 that a census was scheduled every 14 ears. A census form in the British = Museum=20 has been dated to 104 AD. There is nothing yet from 90 AD or 76 AD but = forms=20 have been discovered dated at 62, 48, 34 and possibly also 20 AD. The = census=20 which affected the birth of Jesus should therefore have started about 10 = BC=20 although it may possibly have taken several years to reach and involve=20 Palestine. The 10 BC date was two years after the appearance of = Halley=92s comet=20 and so we might speculate that the comet was the "star of Bethlehem" but = that is=20 another story.=20

Luke wrote:
 =20

"And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city." (2:3)


That such was the procedure in a Roman census is firmed by = British Museum=20 papyrus 904 from 104 AD:
 =20

"Gaius Vivius Maximus, Prefect of Egypt [says]: seeing that the = time has=20 come for the house to house census, it is necessary to compel all those = who for=20 any cause whatsoever are residing out of their provinces to return to = their own=20 homes, that they may both carry out the regular order of the census and = may=20 attend diligently to the cultivation of their allotments."


Jesus, according to Luke, grew up in Nazareth. Skeptics have = argued that=20 there was no Narareth in the 1st century. Neither Josephus nor the = Talmud nor=20 the Old Testament nor the New Testament after book of Acts mention = Nazareth. One=20 argument was: "The mistake of inventing a town named Nazareth was an = attempt to=20 make sense of the word Nazarene by a non-Jewish writer." (Investigator = 1992=20 January p. 32)=20

Excavations by Belarmino Bagatti in 1955 below the Annunciation = Church and=20 the Church of Saint Joseph in Nazareth revealed pottery dating from the = Iron Age=20 (900-600 BC) to about 500 AD including 1st century Roman pottery. = Twenty-three=20 ancient tombs 180 metres north, west and south of the Annunciation = Church=20 indicate the limits of ancient Nazareth. The Nazareth of Jesus=92 time = was an=20 agricultural village with many wine and olive presses, cisterns for = storing wine=20 and water, and caves for storing grain.=20

Jesus, according to Luke 3:1-2, began his public ministry:
  =

"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius = Pilate=20 being governor of Judea=85and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene in the = high-priesthood=20 of Annas and Caiaphas=85"


Tiberius became joint emperor with Augustus in 12 AD and sole = emperor in=20 14 AD. The "fifteenth year" was therefore either 26/27 AD or 26/29 AD. = In 1961=20 an Italian expedition discovered a stone at Caesarea with the words = "Pontius=20 Pilate, Prefect of Judea."  The only "Lysanias" known for centuries = was a=20 local ruler from 40-36 BC=97a generation before Jesus lived. An = inscription,=20 however, has now been discovered from the reign of Tiberius which refers = to=20 Lysanias as tetrarch of Abila (near Damascus Syria). The existence of = Annas and=20 his son-in-law Caiaphas is not in dispute=97the latter having been high = priest=20 from18-36 AD.=20

At the start of his ministry Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist = at=20 "Bethany beyond the Jordan". (John 1:28) There is still dispute=20 concerning the exact site of this Bethany. As regards John the Baptist = he has=20 long been considered a member of the Essene sect of the Qumran = community. This=20 is the community from which the Dead Sea Scrolls originated. Much of = this,=20 however, is again uncertain since Qumran now appears to have been a = fortress and=20 not a religious community. John=92s diet of "locusts and wild honey" was = not=20 unique since the Cairo Damascus Document mentions locusts as food.=20

During the early days of his ministry Jesus lived in Capernaum = (Mathew 4:13;=20 Luke 4:31)=97perhaps in the house of Simon Peter. (Matthew 14-16; Mark = 2:1) =20 Jesus, according to the Bible, taught and healed in the Capernaum = synagogue.=20 (Mark 1:21; 3:1-5; John 6: 59)=20

The remains of a limestone synagogue in Capernaum date back to the = 4th=20 century. However, under the four corners are the 1.2 metre thick, black, = basalt=20 walls of a much older synagogue. In 1981 a basalt cobblestone floor was = found=20 and under this some 1st century pottery. Clearly, the basalt = walls=20 could be the remains of the synagogue where Jesus preached and healed!=20

Even more startling is the possibility that the house of Simon Peter = where=20 Jesus lived has been found as well!  Twenty-six metres south of the = synagogue are the remains of an eight-sided 5th century = building with=20 a mosaic floor. In 1968 excavators discovered multiple levels of = occupation=20 underneath. The findings included the remains of a 1st century house of=20 basalt=97same material as the synagogue=97of thin walls which could have = supported a=20 roof of branches but not a masonry roof nor a second story. (Mark = 2:4)  In=20 the mid 1st century the central room (6.1 x 6.4 metres) was = plastered=20 over at which stage also the pottery changed from domestic variety to = storage=20 jars and oil lamps. Over 150 inscriptions were scratched on the walls=20 including=97according to some publications=97the name "Peter".=20

Jesus performed his first alleged miracle at Cana of Galilee. (John=20 2:1-11)  Josephus, the 1st century historian, wrote that he made = Cana his=20 headquarters just before the Jewish/Roman war. There has been much = debate=20 regarding where Cana was situated. It=92s now fairly certain that = ancient Cana is=20 Khirbet Kana 14 km north of Nazareth. The site hasn=92t been = archaeologically=20 excavated but pieces of Roman earthenware typical of the time of Christ = have=20 been found there.=20

During his Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:
 =20

"=85if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be = restored?"


Can salt become non salty? Albert Barnes, a Bible = commentator,=20 explained:
 =20

"In eastern countries, however the salt used was impure, mingled = with=20 vegetable and earthy substances; so that it might lose the whole of its=20 saltness, and a considerable quantity of earthy matter remain. This was = good for=20 nothing, except that it was used, as it is said, to place in paths, or = walks as=20 we use gravel."


At Gergesa (=3DGerasa? =3DGadara?) on the eastern side of the Sea = of Galilee=20 Jesus is said to have transferred the demons from two demoniacs into a = herd of=20 swine which then rushed off a cliff into the Sea. (Matthew 8:28-34; Luke = 8:26-39)  Again, some critics concluded that Gergesa did not exist. =

There is only one spot on the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee = where a=20 cliff rises above the sea. The place is called El Koursi. The excavation = of a=20 church built about 585 AD was started here in 1971.=20

About 270 metres away is an unexcavated mound covering an ancient = village now=20 called Tell el-Kursi. Nearby also are tombs. (Luke 8:27) The three = different=20 names for the location of the event present a problem. Gerasa, now = equated with=20 Jerash in Jordan 59 km southeast of the sea, and Gadara, at modern Umm = Qeis in=20 Jordan 8 km southeast of the sea, are both too far away for the herd of = swine to=20 have "rushed" into the sea. A possible answer is that the area = controlled by=20 Gerasa and Gadara extended to the Sea of Galilee at Gergesa.=20

The existence of the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed a cripple = has been=20 questioned. It=92s now known that there were two pools starting 90 = metres north of=20 northern wall of the Temple Mount. Their sizes were 65 x 58 metres and = 53 x 50 x=20 40 metres. The Copper Scroll from Qumran (written c. 50 AD) has a list = of places=20 in Jerusalem and includes "Beth Eshdathayin" which may mean "House of = the Twin=20 Pools".=20

Skeptics often point to an apparent contradiction in the reports of = the=20 healing of a blind man at Jericho. Luke (chapter 18) says it occurred = when Jesus=20 was approaching (or entering) Jericho whereas Mark (chapter 10) says = Jesus was=20 leaving Jericho. Excavations have shown that the centre of Jericho = varied by=20 several kilometers in its history. It=92s probable that Jesus was = leaving one part=20 of Jericho and entering another.=20

How was Jesus heard when addressing large crowds?  He probably = chose=20 open areas with natural sound amplifying properties. In one instance = Jesus spoke=20 from a boat to crowds on a beach. (Matthew l3; Mark 4)  R J Bull = and B C=20 Crissler explained:
 =20

"Among several coves near Capernaum, there is one that has recently = been=20 found to have just such sound characteristics of a natural amphitheater. = Acoustical tests have been carried out on this site to show that a great = multitude of some five thousand to seven thousand people, = assembling=20 there, could indeed have both seen and clearly heard a person speaking = from a=20 boat located at a spot near the cove=92s center."


Tests were done near Capernaum by puncturing balloons out on a = rock in=20 the sea and on the shore and measuring the decibels electronically at = various=20 distances inland. At about 50 to 100 metres inland balloons punctured at = sea=20 were louder than balloons punctured on the shore! It was estimated that = 5,000 to=20 7,000 people could have clearly watched and heard Jesus speaking = offshore.=20

In 1968 in a 1st century tomb near Mt Scopus (Jerusalem) = were=20 found the bones of a crucified man. Two nails (compare John 20:25) were = used for=20 the hands - one nail driven into each wrist - and a single nail was used = for the=20 two heel bones which were positioned so that the left heel overlapped = the right=20 heel. [The picture is here deleted]  Also two Dead Sea texts have = been=20 published which use the phraseology of Acts 5:30: "hanging on a tree."=20

The tomb of Jesus was probably on the site where the Church of the = Holy=20 Sepulchre became located. Tombs at that time were two-chambered with the = 2nd room the burial chamber behind the first. A rolling stone = sealed=20 the entrance of the first room. The fact of two-chambered tombs may = explain some=20 of the alleged contradictions in the four resurrection reports of the = tour=20 Gospels.=20

The Shroud of Turin (in which the dead Jesus was allegedly wrapped) = is now=20 known to be of 14th century origin. (Investigator No. = 3)  The=20 Bible says nothing about any 5 metre long shroud but does mention "linen = cloths"=20 (plural) in John chapter 20.=20

What about the "many bodies of the saints" which were raised and = "went into=20 the holy city" at the time of Jesus=92 death? (Matthew 27:51-54) This = passage was=20 difficult to translate and a wrong impression has been given in many = Bible=20 versions. What apparently occurred is that an earthquake threw dead = bodies out=20 of their graves and it was observers of this event who "went into the = holy city"=20 and reported it. Similarly an earthquake at Popayan (Columbia) during = Easter=20 Thursday, 1983, led to "corpses bursting from their tombs". Also in 1976 = an=20 earthquake in Guatamala uncovered a number of coffins!=20

Earlier this century an inscription found in Nazareth was published=20 containing a decree probably from Emperor Claudius (41 =96 54 AD) that = graves=20 should remain intact and anyone violating a burial place be executed. = Some=20 scholars believe that this decree was made because of the rumours that = the body=20 of Jesus was stolen. However, the only evidence to date that Claudius = knew about=20 Christianity comes from 2nd century Roman historian Suetonius = who=20 mentioned that Claudius expelled Jews from Rome because of riots over a = certain=20 "Chrestus". "Chrestus" may have meant Christ and the expulsion (about 50 = AD) is=20 referred to in Acts 18:1-2.=20

In 1970 John Allegro (1923-1988) brought out a book The Sacred = Mushroom=20 and the Cross. In it he argued that Jesus never existed in real life = but was=20 dreamed up by people under psylocybin=97the hallucinatory ingredient of = certain=20 mushrooms. Allegro worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls 1953-1970. Already in = 1956 he=20 had tried to connect Jesus with the Essene sect who, 100 years before = Jesus, had=20 a leader they called "son of God". (Baigent & Leigh 1991) Virtually = everyone=20 has now rejected Allegro=92s: "trac(ing) the source of Christianity to = an edible=20 fungus."  Basically the New Testament supplies too many links with=20 established history for the story of Jesus to be entirely myth. And as = the=20 decades pass and archaeology progresses the links are increasing in = number!=20
 
 

MINISTRY OF PAUL

Let=92s move now from the ministry of Jesus to the ministry of Paul. = Acts 18=20 says: "Gallio was proconsul of Achaia." For a long time there was no = evidence of=20 any "Gallio". However, a stone from a wall of the Temple of Apollo (in = Greece)=20 has been discovered with a copy of a letter from Emperor Claudius which = read in=20 part:=20

"Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus,=85Lucius Junius = Gallio, my=20 friend, and the proconsul of Achaia=85"


The inscription has been dated to 52 AD.=20

Acts 19:24 mentions "Demetrius the silversmith". Inscriptions in = Ephesus to=20 silversmiths have been discovered and even the name "Demetrius" but not = yet the=20 Demetrius of the book of Acts.=20

Iconium (modern Konia) is 240 km south of Ankara in Turkey. A careful = reading=20 of Acts 14:1-11 reveals that Luke implied that Iconium lay outside of = Lycaonia=20 (a region of the province of Galatia). The Wycliffe = BibleCommentary has=20 these conments:
 =20

"Other writers of about Luke=92s time placed Iconium in the = district of=20 Lycaonia. Many scholars assumed at this point that Luke was inaccurate. = Ramsey=20 tells how this reference caught his attention and how careful = examination=20 vindicated Luke=92s statement. This was the beginning of Ramsey=92s = change in=20 attitude towards Acts, and he became one of the most vigorous and = learned=20 proponents of the accuracy of the book."


In his ministry Paul bypassed Amphipolis and Apollonia (Acts = 17:1)=20 although they were significant cities. In Acts it=92s repeatedly = suggested that=20 Paul sought out places with a Jewish population and synagogue. The = implication,=20 then, is that these two cities didn=92t have a synagogue. The = implication to date=20 seems confirmed since both have undergone extensive archaeological work = without=20 remains of synagogues being found.=20

The "Areopagus" (Acts 17:19) referred to the governing body of the = city of=20 Athens. The word also means "Mars Hill" which is probably the location = where=20 juries heard trials during the time of Paul. One man who believed = Paul=92s message=20 was a member of the Areopagus named Dionysius. According to Eusebius = (264-340=20 AD) Dionysius became the first Bishop of Athens and was martyred during = the=20 persecution by Emperor Domitian about 40 years later. Further = confirmation of=20 Dionysius is, however, not yet available.=20

Romans 16:23 mentions "Erastus, the city treasurer". The man=92s name = was found=20 on a limestone paving slab dug up in three pieces in 1928, 1929 and 1947 = in=20 Corinth. The slab when translated from the Latin read:
 =20

"Erastus in return for his aedileship laid (the pavement) at his = own=20 expense."


An "aedile" was an official elected in a Roman colony who managed = the=20 upkeep of, and revenue from, buildings and other property. They also = served as=20 judge especially in financial and commercial litigation. We can conclude = that=20 the Erastus named on the slab is the same as the Bible one = because:
  1. The pavement was laid at the right time, about 50 AD;=20
  2. "Erastus" was an uncommon name and hasn=92t been found elsewhere = in=20 Corinthian excavations;=20
  3. The position of "aedile" was uncommon.
For decades many critics of the New Testament claimed Luke was = wrong in=20 referring to officials in Thessalonica as "politarchs". (Acts 17:6) An=20 inscription on a stone (now in the British Museum) from the Vadar Arch = starts=20 off:=20 "In the time of the Politarchs=85"


At least 32 inscriptions using the term are now known. Scholarly = debate=20 has shifted from whether Politarchs ever existed to when the office = began!=20

Philippi being apparently called "the leading city of the district of = Macedonia" (Acts 16: 12) has raised questions since it certainly = wasn=92t the=20 "leading city". In 168 BC Macedonia was divided into four districts. = Philippi=20 was in the "first" district but it was not the capital there. Yet = similar=20 phrasing as in the Bible has been found on ancient coins. The answer = seems to be=20 that the Greek text was difficult to translate but could be translated:=20
 =20

"a city of (the) first district of=20 Macedonia."
 =20

IMPLICATIONS

McRay (1991) concludes:
 =20

"=85the results of archaeological excavations help to restrain the=20 imaginations of scholars who would mythologize the New Testament... =
The=20 mythological presuppositions of Rudolf Bultmann regarding the Gospel of = John are=20 no longer so compelling." (p. 18)


How does this effect the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible?=20 According to Koch (1980):
 =20

"The term inerrant means that God=92s Word speaks the truth in all = its parts=20 without contradiction or error." (p. 14)


If perhaps 100 persons out of about 3,000 mentioned in the Bible = have=20 been proven to have existed can we predict that the Bible is correct = with the=20 other 2,900? What about geographical locations? Luke in the book of Acts = mentioned over 100 and apparently might be 100% right. But there are = sti1l=20 hundreds of places mentioned in other parts of the of the Bible which = haven=92t=20 been found. Furthermore, being correct in geography and biography would = not=20 assure accuracy in other categories such psychology, astronomy, biology, = futurology, etc. We would have to examine Bible statements in a range of = subjects - especially statements where the Bible is in conflict with = other=20 opinion - and find out which side is right. If after all this research = we find=20 that the Bible never seems to lose then the theory of Inerrancy may need = to be=20 taken seriously!=20

As regards archaeology we=92ve barely scratched the surface. Mounds = covering=20 ancient deserted towns are called "Tells". Such mounds number about = 10,000 in=20 the Levant and Mesopotamia and thousands more in Turkey and Greece.=20

According to MoRay:
 =20

"only about two hundred of the approximately five thousand sites in = the=20 Holy Land have been excavated. As of 1985 about ten thousand sites in=20 Mesopotamia were officially listed as possibilities for excavation."=20 (p.22)


Obviously many opportunities for confirming or refuting (!) = statements in=20 the Bible lie ahead.
 =20

REFERENCES

Baigent, M and Leigh, R 1991 The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception Jonathon = Cape=20 Britain pp. 45-56
Brown, R E 1983 Recent Discoveries and the = Biblical World=20 Glazier USA
Bull, R J and Crisler B C Come See the Place: The Holy = Land=20 Jesus Knew USA
Koch, Rev. C I 1980 Let The Word Speak Lutheran = Publishing=20 South Australia
McRay J 1991 Archaeology & The New Testament = Baker Book=20 House USA
 =20

This website has hundreds = of articles=20 about the accuracy of the Bible
www.adam.com.au/bstett/