03

(see a member of the office staff for the online directory logon and password)

RELIABILITY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

PART II

Lecture Objectives:

This lesson presents evidences that confirm the basic outline of Old Testament history from the Exodus to the time of Christ.

References:

Exodus 19 - Leviticus 27; Numbers 13-36; Joshua 7-15; I Samuel 9-15; I Kings; II Kings 18-25; Jeremiah 25:8-14; Isaiah 44:24-45; Ezra 6:15; Daniel 8, 11.

Questions for focus:

1. Do Moses' laws actually reflect high moral standards? Explain.
2. Why, specifically, did Israel wander in the desert for 40 years?
3. Does Archaeology and Science confirm the fall of Jericho's walls?
4. What is "carbon-14"dating?
5. What is "the period of the judges, of the Kings"?
6. Why did Israel become divided?
7. Name 5 prophets in their chronological order.

GOD'S LAW AT SINAI AND WANDERING IN THE DESERT
1447-1406 B.C.
1. Moses Received God's Law on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19 - Leviticus 27).
  1. These laws present the highest moral standards of their time.
  2. The health laws in the Old Testament show knowledge of medical science only discovered in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
2. Evidence for Location of Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia
  1. Mount Sinai, called also Mount Horeb, was located in the land of Midian. Exodus 2.15; 3.1.
  2. Josephus placed Midian on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqabas in Saudi Arabia (Intern. Standard Bible Encyl., III, 349). Archaeological excavation reveals no Midianite culture on the Sinaitic peninsula, but shows Midianite culture on the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba: Frank Cross, "An Interview On Israelite Origins," Bible Review, August, 1992, p. 24-25. Paul the apostle also Mount Sinai in Arabia (Galatians 4.25).
  3. Explorer Ron Wyatt identified Jebel El Lawz, a volcanic mountain in Saudi Arabia as Mount Sinai. It has a large valley of 5,000 acres of grass in front of the mountain peak, sufficient for 3 million Israelites to camp. The Biblical description of boundary marks, an altar, and twelve pillars, and much pottery have all been found at the site (Discovered Noah's Ark, pp. 42-48. See Mr. Wyatt's video of this site).
3. Israel's Sin and Forty Years of Wandering in the Desert. Numbers 13-36
ISRAEL'S CONQUEST OF JERICHO AND CANAAN.
1407-1397 B.C.
1. The conquest of Jericho under Joshua: Book of Joshua.
2. Archaeology and science confirm that Jericho fell as described in Joshua 2-6.
  1. Carbon-14 date of 1410 B.C. confirmed 1407 B.C. Biblical date. Walls show that an earthquake twisted the foundation of the walls forward. Earthquakes are called "acts of God." Houses were built into walls as Joshua 2.15 says. (Bryant Wood, "Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho?" Biblical Archaeology Review, March/April, 1990.)
  2. Joshua chapter 3 says Jericho was destroyed at harvest time. Yet, the Jordan river stopped flowing so that allowing Israel to cross into Canaan. Much wheat conserved in jars were found in Jericho's ruin. Earthquakes at Adyma (Adam), a few miles upstream from Jericho have stopped the Jordan's flow five different times, explaining how God likely stopped the Jordan's water flow. Ibid.
3. Archaeological excavation confirms that all Canaan was conquered during the same period that Jericho fell. Joshua 7.15 (Kathleen Kenyon, Archaeology in the Holy Land, 5th Ed., p.177)
PERIOD OF THE JUDGES
1400-1050 B.C. (Judges, 1 Samuel)
1. For 350 years Israel lived in Canaan as twelve divided tribes, led by "Judges" rather than "Kings".
  1. During these 350 years Israel enjoyed peace when they obeyed God and experienced oppression when they sinned. After Joshua conquered Canaan, Canaanites reentered many large cities and occupied them (Joshua 15.63; 16.10; 17.11; 19.40-48; Judges 1.8; 21, 27-35; 3.3-4).
  2. The Israelites were called "Hebrews" because of their Hebrew language (Genesis 14.13; 39.14,17; 41.12; Exodus 1.15-19; 2.16-13; 3.18; 5.3; 7.16; 1 Samuel 4.69; 13.3,7,19; 14.11,21; 29.3).
2. Historical Proof That the Israelites (Hebrews) Occupied Canaan During the Period of the Judges.
  1. Irdrimi lived with the "Habiru-people" (Habiru=Hebrew) before becoming king. Irdrimi reigned when Pharaoh Thutmose III reigned (Ancient Far Eastern Texts, Princeton Univ. Press, 1969, p. 557). Thutmose III and Amenhotep II encountered and captured Hebrews (Habiru) in Canaan (Ibid, pp.22, 247). Though scholars date these two Egyptian kings in the mid sixteenth century, their carbon-14 related dates indicate that they lived from 1200 to 1110 B.C. during the period of the Judges: See Table B of Lesson 2.
HEBREW MONARCHY
1051-931 B.C. (1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings)
1. Saul was Israel's first King (1 Samuel 9-15) - c. 1051 B.C.
  1. Saul led Israel to fight the Philistines who lived along the coast of Palestine (1 Samuel 14, 17-18, 31). Kings of cities on the coast of Palestine wrote Pharaoh Amenhotep III, requesting aid against the Habiru (Hebrews), who were attacking their cities. (Tel El Amarna Letters, Trans. H. Winckler: Letters 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 65, 67, etc.). Amenhotep III's carbon-14 related date allows him to be, a contemporary of Saul in 1050 B.C. (See Table B).
2. David Replaces Saul as King; Writes Psalms - 1011-971 B.C.
  1. David re-conquered Palestine and made Jerusalem his new capital: 2 Samuel. an Israeli archaeologist just discovered a monument in Syria which refers to the "house of David", confirming David's historical reality (Time, 8-16-93, p.19).
  2. Canaanite king also wrote Akhenaten, son of Amenhotep III seeking aid to fight the Habiru (Hebrews=Israelites). Abdu - heba, the king of Jerusalem, wrote that the Habiru (Hebrews) conquered all of Palestine's large cities including Jerusalem (Ibid, Letters 146, 1457, 154, 170, 179-185).
  3. Akhenaten started a new religion of monotheism in Egypt and composed Psalms of praise to his God, Aten. His Psalms are similar in style to David's Psalms (Cyril Aldred, Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd Ed., II. 2.88-89). Akhenaten's carbon-14 related date allows him to be a contemporary of David: see Table B.
3. Solomon reigned as Israel's richest and wisest king (1 Kings 1-11). Solomon wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon 971-931 B.C.
  1. Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter (1 Kings 3.1). Carbon-14 dating of eighteenth dynasty kings identifies either Pharaoh Ay or Horemheb as Solomon's likely father-in-law.
  2. 1 Kings 11.19 says that Hadad, an Edomite price, married a sister of Pharaoh's wife, Tahpenes. Queen Ty, was wife of Pharaoh Ay (Cambridge Ancient History, op. cit., II. 2.70). Tey may be short for Tanpenes or Teypenes.
THE DIVIDED HEBREW KINGDOM
931-722 B.C. (1 Kings 12.1 - 2 Kings 17; and 2 Chronicles 11-28)
1. Division of the Kingdom: In the reign of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, northern Israel formed a rival kingdom: 1 Kings 12-14.
2. Kings of Judah: Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham, Ahaz
3. Kings of Northern Israel: Jeroboam, Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Tiobni, Omri, Ajab, Ahaziah, Joram, Jehu, Jeohohaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, Zechari

Main Page ∞ Announcements ∞ Beliefs ∞ Groups ∞ Leadership ∞ Ministries ∞ Online Tools ∞ Contact Us ∞ Online Directory ∞ Live Streaming

Last modified: December 07, 2005