Evidence for the Old Testament
The events of the Old Testament took place a long time ago, but all this time later, there is still a lot of evidence to consider.
8 min read
Summary
- The Old Testament mentions many historical events and people that can be verified by other sources.
- Time and time again, the Old Testament has been called historically false, but it keeps getting proven right as more discoveries come to light.
- Most historical objections to the Old Testament are just that there is no evidence for this or that event or person, which is never very surprising, since we are talking about things that happened over 2000 years ago.
- The place where Sodom and Gomorrah stood shows evidence of destruction by astounding heat, and there are still sulfur balls nearby that have been preserved in water.
- There is evidence for the plagues on Egypt. An ancient Egyptian official wrote about the river being blood, the barley being destroyed, every man burying his brother, etc.
- Even objections that seem to have something to them have been cleared up. For example, it might seem that the king of a certain land at a certain time was not who the Bible mentioned, but then it is discovered that the one the Bible mentioned was coregent with the king whom historical study had already found.
Historically Accurate or Inaccurate?
It is important to consider whether the Bible has a pattern of either reliable or unreliable reporting of history. After all, why believe a source that is untrustworthy about small things when it comes to miracles? And why disregard a trustworthy source when it makes miraculous claims?
The first thing those new to the topic should know is that the historical record is scant. Only a miniscule portion of writings, monuments, etc., have been preserved from thousands of years ago. Nevertheless, archeology has led to the discovery of many ancient artefacts which support the historical reliability of the Old Testament.
Much has been made of assertive but baseless claims about Israel and its history: that there never was a King David, that the great exodus from Egypt never happened, that worship of God (Yahweh) only developed much later in Israel's history, etc. Often, these have been arguments from silence, saying that if these things truly happened, there would be plenty of evidence (over 2000 years later). Nevertheless, in some cases, just such evidence has been found—e.g., the mention of the House of David was found on what is called the Tel Dan Stele1. It is a monument that was set up by an enemy of Israel which was bragging about victories over Israel.
In the following examples, I intend to show the reader (who should also do some research with links provided) first that the Old Testament is certainly not only a book of fairytales but includes real history; second, that even the stories which include miracles should not be dismissed; third, that even small tidbits that did not need to be included have sometimes been verified; and finally, that some of the most disputed and mocked events and details recorded in the Old Testament are actually easily defensible.
An Ordinary Old Testament Event Verified
Hezekiah's Tunnel
As just one example of an archeological discovery tied to an event in the Bible, the Bible says that one King Hezekiah built a tunnel to divert water flowing to the upper outlet of the Gihan spring when Jerusalem was going to be besieged2. In 1880, just such a tunnel was found by a truent boy, with a very old inscription (dated to the 8th century BC). The story is quite interesting, which you can investigate further below. This alone shows that the Bible is not a book of complete fairytales.
Evidence for a Miraculous Event
Sodom and Gomorrah
While we cannot revisit the time of Abraham and Lot, we can see evidence of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah that remains to this day.
“Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens.” Genesis 19:24
When nuclear bombs are set off, they can melt sand into a glass called trinitite. This requires an extraordinary high temperature. Fascinatingly, trinitite was discovered on some of the bones at pottery at the ancient city identified as Sodom. Furthermore, there are skeletons that have been partially disintegrated.
“Human skeletons are complete up until about halfway up the backbone, and then there’s just a scorch mark, and there’s nothing on the top of the body,” John Bergsma said.3
Even balls of sulfur can still be found and set alight! They have been preserved in nearby water.
For reference, the atheistic explanation for this destruction is an asteroid exploding above the ground (which happened in Siberia last century, causing tremendous destruction on a vast scale).
Now if this event was unrelated to God but was written about by an historian as a natural event, there is no question that most atheists, scientists or not, would naturally conclude that the historian was telling the truth about this incredible event. Therefore you must ask yourself: how sure am I God does not exist? and if there is a chance this all really happened, what if he expects me to search more for him?
The Small Details
Some details the authors of the Bible did not have to include can be verified all these years later. For example, Jeremiah mentioned an official in Babylon, the Chief Eunuch, and an old tablet was found to be a receipt of his (the Nebo-Sarsekim tablet).4 This is evidence that the stories were not invented far later, as many claim, since there are details which only someone really in those situations would be likely to include. They do not really matter to the later reader, who is not familiar with the exact situation and all the people involved.
Common Historical Objections
The Exodus
It is commonly believed that the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt is clearly mythical and has been disproven by historical knowledge.
The book of Exodus claims to contain a historical record of the escape of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. But historians and archaeologists have been unable to verify any of the events described in the book. No known Egyptian records refer to the biblical Moses, the devastating plagues God supposedly inflicted on the country, the escape of the Hebrew slaves, or the drowning of the Egyptian army. Further, White tells us the records contained on Egyptian monuments show that the pharaoh ruling at the time of the alleged escape of the Jews was certainly not overwhelmed in the Red Sea. (Some Reasons Why Humanists Reject The Bible, American Humanist Association5.)
The reality is that there is some significant evidence for the events surrounding the exodus, and there is no evidence which rules it out.
The Ipuwar Papyrus
These are direct quotes from an Egyptian official, discovered on an ancient papyrus:
Indeed, the river is blood, yet men drink of it. Men shrink from human beings and thirst after water.
Indeed, everywhere barley has perished.
The land is without light.
Indeed, men are few, and he who places his brother in the ground is everywhere.
There is even more than this. You can see a side-by-side comparison of the portions of the papyrus that match up to statements from the bible in Plagues of Egypt: Proved?.
The Soleb Inscription
Nomads who worship Yahweh are mentioned in an inscription on an ancient Egyptian temple.
Amenhotep II
Despite many scholars claiming that if the exodus happened, it must have happened later, and that Ramesses II is the only possible pharaoh, by taking the Bible seriously, it is clear that the pharaoh must have been Amenhotep II. Some key facts about him are: his successor was not his firstborn son, because he died mysteriously; he was not the firstborn of his father;6 his father reigned for more than 40 years (rare); and the dates of his reign match the date calculated using the dates in the Bible.7
The Flood
Belshazzar
Belshazzar was king, contrary to sceptics' claims. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZYaJtaRr-U
Resources
Video: 20 Archaeological Finds for the Old Testament (with Titus Kennedy)
Article: Top Ten Discoveries in Biblical Archaeology Relating to the Old Testament, by Bible Archeloegy Report.
Podcast Show: Digging for Truth Podcast
Footnotes
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20 Archaeological Finds for the Old Testament (with Titus Kennedy)—Tel Dan Stele. (YouTube video) ↩
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2 Chronicles 32:2-4, 30. 2 Kings 20:20. (Bible references) ↩
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https://relevantmagazine.com/current/science/experts-find-compelling-evidence-that-sodom-was-destroyed-by-an-atomic-bomb/ ↩
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Nebo-Sarsechim Tablet Confirms a Biblical Babylonian General by Warren Reinsch. (article) ↩
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Some Reasons Why Humanists Reject The Bible. (article) ↩
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The Exodus Pharaoh EXPLAINED!. (YouTube video) ↩