The Bible is archaeologically interesting not merely for what it says but also for what it doesn’t say.
For example it’s there is no mention of writing in the Book of Genesis.
The Hebrew words for writing, book or document never appear in this book.
When Abraham purchased a burial cave from Ephron the Hittite, the price and bargaining process are outlined in detail in Genesis 23.
The account concludes:
“Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying,
Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.” (Genesis 23: 10-11)
The reason Ephron makes this declaration in front of his people is there is no written contract, only a public assembly of witnesses to the oral transaction.
So the arts of reading and writing were absent, or at least uncommon, in the Judean Hills of Israel at the time of the patriarchs.
This corresponds with what archaeologists know about the spread of the written word which seems to have occurred only later, and predictably in urban centers.
The first mention of writing in the Bible occurs in the Book of Exodus 17:14, when Moses is told to record the defeat of Amalek “in a book.”
Below, the Ephron bargaining scene from the Abraham Tapestries of Henry VIII. Woven as a 10-piece set in Brussels in the early 1540s, they are now in the Royal Collection at Hampton Court Palace.
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Before debating free will, you have to start with the Calvinist view of God.
In Calvinism, God doesn’t merely permit or allow events to happen—He decrees them.
That distinction changes the entire debate over predestination.
This video illustrates how biblical archaeology works by examining a clay seal dated to the 8th century BC and attributed to the prophet Isaiah. It was produced by the Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology (http://www.armstronginstitute.org) and narrated by Stephen Flurry.
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PHILISTIA
The biblical story of Samson pulling down temple of the Philistines seems to be the stuff of legend.
See below the famous painting by Antonio Joli that immortalizes the Samson story.
For many decades, skeptics pointed to the story of Samson and Delilah, along with other stories such as David and Goliath, to demonstrate the obvious unreliability of Scripture.
But archaeological investigation in the territory of Israel once ruled by the Philistines—this land was called Philistia— casts new light on these biblical episodes.
In the mid-1990s, archaeologist Aren Maeir in the Philistine area of ancient Gath found an ostracon—a piece of pottery with writing on it.
Dated to the 10th century B.C., it contained two names ALWT and WLT which are etymologically related to the name Goliath.
No one is saying it’s the same Goliath. Maeier’s point is that Goliath seems to be a Philistine name that can be connected with the biblical Goliath’s own city of Gath.
Moreover we have examples ...
Archaeology and the Bible
My conversation with Marissa Streit https://www.prageru.com/videos/dinesh-dsouza-on-the-biggest-archaeological-evidence-for-the-bible
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