The Top 5 Bible Discoveries Of 2022
It’s that time once again when we reflect on some of the most remarkable discoveries in the fields of biblical archaeology and scholarship that happened over the past year. As COVID-19 restrictions continued to be relaxed, the surge of finds carried on as scholars and archaeologists got to work at both excavations and in the library to uncover information that further revealed the world of the Bible and its peoples.
Here are our top 5 Bible discoveries of 2022:
1. A 3,300-year-old burial cave from the reign of Rameses II was found on an Israeli beach
Hajor, CC BY-SA 1.0 <https://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-sa/1.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
During building work at Palmachim National Park, south of Tel Aviv in Israel, a trove from the era of Rameses II (circa 1279–1213 BCE) was revealed. Rameses II is believed by some to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus. The group of archaeologists found a vast array of items, including intact pottery and bronze spearheads, dating to the Late Bronze Age (circa 1550–1200 BCE). The finding is significant in that it will help scholars understand burial customs in Israel during this early period, which might correspond to a time around the Exodus, if the Rameses II dating is accepted.
2. Linear Elamite has been deciphered
Frank, Carl (1881-1945), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Linear Elamite was one of the scripts used in Elam (located in the far west and southwest of modern-day Iran) during the Bronze Age and provides us with an account of the Elamite language. Even though the Elamites were considered Semites by the writers of the Bible (Genesis 10:22), the language is in fact not Semitic and is most probably a language isolate. Now, an international team claims to have deciphered the language, with implications for reading future lost texts that might reveal more about the Elamites, their culture, and relations with surrounding peoples.
3. Archaeologists reconstructed biblical wars using Earth’s magnetic field
Space Travel Blog / Rute Marta Jansone, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Ruins are ubiquitous in Israel. But who destroyed what when is less clear. A new geomagnetic technique determined by the Earth’s own magnetic field is letting scientists identify remains of conflicts described in the Bible. It turns out many battles mentioned in the biblical text were historical events, providing a better understanding of the wars surrounding the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
4. Rare ivory fragments have been found in Jerusalem
Example of similar ivories from Megiddo. Deror Avi, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
A cache of ivory pieces has academics rethinking Jerusalem’s position among ancient capitals. These First Temple (circa 1000–586 BCE) ivories are the earliest found in Jerusalem and are seldom uncovered at other sites. Around 1,500 ivories were dug up from the City of David’s Givati Parking Lot. This finding might be proof of the biblical account of the fame of Jerusalem during the Iron Age (circa 1200–539 BCE).
5. The oldest known Palaeo-Hebrew text has been discovered
stadler, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.Org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
A small curse inscription on a doubled-over lead tablet might be the oldest Hebrew text ever discovered and may reference the name of God. The engraving in Hebrew is composed of 40 characters and is older than any recognised Hebrew from ancient Israel. A peer-reviewed article will be published early in 2023 by the team.
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Roger D. Isaacs is an independent researcher specializing in Hebrew Bible studies and the author of two books, "Talking With God" and "The Golden Ark". Isaacs' primary research site was the archives of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, where he is a member of the Advisory Council. He also conducted research at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Studies, as well as digs, museums, and libraries in many countries, including Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, and England.
The Pool Of Siloam, Where The Bible Says Jesus Healed A Blind Man, Will Be Open To The Public For The First Time In Nearly 2,000 Years
The Pool of Siloam, which the New Testament Bible says is where Jesus healed a man who was born blind, will be fully excavated and open to the public for the "first time in modern history," Israeli authorities said.
According to MailOnline, the public has been unable to visit most of the religiously significant site for approximately two millennia. The pool was destroyed and covered after the First Jewish–Roman War 70 years after the birth of Christ. A small section of it has been accessible for several years, however, the New York Post reported.
But, in the coming months, an excavation will completely expose the ancient pool, allowing visitors to view it as part of a tourist route, the Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation said in a statement provided to Insider.
Located in the southern part of Jerusalem's City of David, an important area for studying biblical archaeology, the Pool of Siloam was first constructed some 2,700 years ago, the statement said. It underwent multiple stages of development and reconstruction in its history, per Israeli authorities.
The pool originally functioned as part of Jerusalem's ancient water system, later becoming a site of religious significance for ancient Jewish people. Religious pilgrims used it as a "mikveh," or a ritual bath, to cleanse themselves before visiting the holy Temple, according to the statement.
It later took on a religious significance for Christians too. According to the Gospel of John, the fourth of the four New Testament narratives, a blind man gained sight after Jesus told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam.
The Pool of Siloam was destroyed and covered around 70 AD by the Romans, per the Los Angeles Times, and it was only rediscovered many years later in 2004. A water company carrying out infrastructure work for a sewage pipe accidentally discovered steps to the pool, Israeli authorities said in the statement.
An excavation commenced, and the Israeli Antiques Authority uncovered steps on three sides of the pool, the LA Times said.
Moshe Lion, Jerusalem's mayor, described the Pool of Siloam in a statement as "a site of historic, national, and international significance."
He added: "After many years of anticipation, we will soon merit being able to uncover this important site and make it accessible to the millions of visitors visiting Jerusalem each year."
The Church And Anti-Semitism
Workers remove notes from the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, September 9, 2015. Workers on Wednesday cleaned out the cracks and made room for more paper notes that Jews believe are notes to God, ahead of the Jewish New Year that starts on September 12. | (Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad)
Over the centuries, Christians have been responsible for many crimes and evils committed against Jews, from malicious accusations to forced conversions to expulsions and massacres. While the Church has been culpable for some of the violence, instigated by friars, preachers, and church leaders, there is more to the story.
For example, during the First Crusade, a widespread outbreak of anti-Semitic massacres occurred when mobs in Germany attacked Jewish communities. They were motivated by a fanaticism and a need to finance their journey to the Holy Land. Although the Crusade had been called by the Pope, the attacks on the Jews were condemned by the entire Church hierarchy. Some bishops offered Jews refuge in surrounding cities, while others sheltered them in their own palaces, though not always successfully. Others bought off the marauding crusaders with silver.
After the First Crusade, Popes Gregory X and Benedict XIII declared that Jews were not enemies of Christians and that their lives and property were to be respected. In his preaching during the Second Crusade, Bernard of Clairvaux explicitly condemned the attacks on the Jews during the First Crusade.
Later, when the Black Death struck Europe, rumors began to circulate that the disease was caused by Jews poisoning the wells of Christians on orders from a Spanish rabbi. Once again, violence against Jews broke out. Hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed. In the city of Strasbourg, before the plague had even reached the city, 900 Jews were herded into a synagogue that was then burned to the ground.
Again, bishops attempted to stop the violence. Some protected the Jews in their own palaces, and Pope Clement VI issued two papal bulls refuting the idea of well poisoning by pointing out that the Jews were dying of plague just like the Christians. Although the Church in the Middle Ages was guilty of anti-Semitic acts, particularly at a local level, many secular authorities and mobs also targeted the Jews as convenient scapegoats in times of crisis.
In Protestant history, Luther’s vicious tirades against the Jews are well known and were used by Hitler to justify the Holocaust. Though Luther’s comments are inexcusable, two factors should be considered. First, Luther was initially friendly to the Jews because he thought that with his restoration of the Gospel, they would convert to Christianity. When they didn’t, he became bitter and turned against them. By this point, he was an old, sick, and frankly cranky man. He tended to attack anyone who disagreed with him with a venom similar to that he poured out on the Jews. In other words, his vicious attacks were not exclusively aimed at Jews.
Second, unlike Hitler, Luther saw the Jews not as a race but as a religion. He was fine with Jews who converted, unlike Hitler who defrocked Lutheran pastors with Jewish ancestry. It is thus more accurate to label Luther as anti-Judaic rather than anti-Semitic. None of this, of course, excuses Luther’s vicious and horrible words. It does, however, put them in context.
Not all Protestants shared Luther’s attitudes. The Reformed tradition tended to be friendlier to Jews than Luther. Calvin did not distinguish between the Old Covenant with Israel and the New Covenant, though he shared in the negative attitudes toward the Jews that were common in his day. However, his successor Theodore Beza argued for a future restoration of Israel, an idea that spread to Britain via the Geneva Bible. This idea led many Anglican and Puritan leaders to urge Christians to love and minister to the Jews rather than hold them in contempt. As a result, both England and America had far less anti-Semitism than was common across much of continental Europe.
Dutch Calvinists also welcomed the Jews, for a variety of reasons, including opposition to Spain and covenant theology. Likewise, as a persecuted minority religion, the Huguenots were supportive of the Jews. Centuries later, Dutch Calvinists such as Corrie Ten Boom and Huguenots in France such as the Trocmés continued to live out these commitments by saving Jews from the Holocaust.
Though Christian churches and Christian individuals have been guilty of anti-Semitism, the record is better than skeptics and popular history suggest. Whenever churches have stood up for the Jews, the degree of anti-Semitism in that culture has been far less. Today, as anti-Semitism once again rears its ugly head, the Church should take the lead in opposing this evil and supporting the value and dignity of our Jewish neighbors.
Originally published at Breakpoint.
John Stonestreet serves as president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. He’s a sought-after author and speaker on areas of faith and culture, theology, worldview, education and apologetics.
Glenn Sunshine is a professor of history at Central Connecticut State University, a Senior Fellow of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and the founder and president of Every Square Inch Ministries. He is a speaker, the author of several books, and co-author with Jerry Trousdale of The Kingdom Unleashed.
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