Many scholars believe that the Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings. is simply a mixture of folklore and bad theology assembled long after the events supposedly took place. Thus, they assume, biblical history bears little resemblance to actual events. This assumption took another serious hit in recent months when archaeologists from three countries announced evidence that points to the existence of the biblical kingdom of Edom.
Many scholars believe that the Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings. is simply a mixture of folklore and bad theology assembled long after the events supposedly took place. Thus, they assume, biblical history bears little resemblance to actual events.
This assumption took another serious hit in recent months when archaeologists from three countries announced evidence that points to the existence of the biblical kingdom of Edom— precisely when and where the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. says it was, and contradicting the common belief that this kingdom didn't exist until two centuries later.
The kingdom of Edom, mentioned throughout the Old TestamentThose books that make up the Hebrew Bible generally accepted by Christians, Jews and to some extent Muslims. It contains a threefold division: the Law (the five books of Moses), the Prophets and the Writings., is described as existing in what today is southern Jordan. The Edomites and Israelites were enemies, almost constantly in conflict.
The BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. shows Israel interacting with Edom after the Exodus in the 15th century B.C. The Edomites were descendants of Jacob's brother Edom or Esau, who lived a few centuries earlier. Yet many scholars have not accepted Edom as coming on the scene until the eighth century B.C. at the earliest.
In recent years, however, a team of archaeologists led by Russell Adams of Canada's McMaster University, Thomas Levy of the University of California at San Diego and Mohammad Najjar of the Jordanian Department of Antiquities excavated at Khirbat en-Nahas in Jordan, in what would have been Edomite territory in biblical times.
When they dated their finds using high-precision radiocarbon-dating methods, the results, as they described them in the British journal Antiquities , "were spectacular" (quoted by Michael Valpy, "Archeologist Unearths Biblical Controversy," The Globe and Mail [Toronto], Jan. 25).
The dating showed that the copper mining and smelting site was first occupied in the 11th century B.C. and a protective fortress was built in the 10th century B.C. The evidence clearly supported the existence of an Edomite kingdom 200 years earlier than BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. critics assumed it came into being.
The dates also provide powerful evidence for the existence of the Edomite kingdom precisely at the time King DavidKing of Israel, killed the giant Goliath with a sling and stones, a man after God's own heart, only turned from God in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5), had an affair with Bathsheba, Messiah would come from line of David, main author of Psalms and highly musical. and his son Solomon reigned over Israel. BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. scholars have long believed DavidKing of Israel, killed the giant Goliath with a sling and stones, a man after God's own heart, only turned from God in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5), had an affair with Bathsheba, Messiah would come from line of David, main author of Psalms and highly musical. ruled ca. 1010-970 B.C. The dates from the Khirbat en-Nahas fortress correspond nicely to DavidKing of Israel, killed the giant Goliath with a sling and stones, a man after God's own heart, only turned from God in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5), had an affair with Bathsheba, Messiah would come from line of David, main author of Psalms and highly musical.'s reign, a time during which he conquered the Edomites and "put garrisons in Edom . . . and all the Edomites became DavidKing of Israel, killed the giant Goliath with a sling and stones, a man after God's own heart, only turned from God in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5), had an affair with Bathsheba, Messiah would come from line of David, main author of Psalms and highly musical.'s servants" (2 Samuel 8:14).
Referring to this conflict, Professor Adams observes: "This battle between the Israelites and the Edomites, although not possible to document, is typical of the sort of border conflicts between Iron Age states. And the evidence of our new dates at least proves that it may, in fact, be possible to place the Edomites in the 10th century or earlier, which now supports the chronology of the biblical accounts.
"It is intriguing that at Khirbat en-Nahas, our large Iron Age fort is dated to just this period, suggesting conflict as a central concern even at a remote copper-production site" (quoted by Valpy, The Globe and Mail ).
Many scholars who reject the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. argue that the emergence of the regional kingdoms mentioned in the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. didn't take place until much later, and DavidKing of Israel, killed the giant Goliath with a sling and stones, a man after God's own heart, only turned from God in the matter of Uriah the Hittite (1 Kings 15:5), had an affair with Bathsheba, Messiah would come from line of David, main author of Psalms and highly musical. and Solomon, if they existed at all, were nothing more than minor tribal chieftains.
Yet again, the archaeological evidence dug from the ground is proving those critics wrong.
