One of the things making Biblical faith unique among world religions is its grounding in verifiable history. The Bible doesn’t tell “once upon a time” fairy tales. It tells of people and places that can also be found outside of the Bible. Archaeology is packed full of evidence that strongly supports the Biblical narratives. I’d like to describe just a few of those findings, in hopes that they will bring you the same awe-filled wonder that they have to me.

Note, though, that archaeological evidence rarely, if ever, provides 100% proof beyond all doubt. Any particular interpretation of the building remains, burial sites, and pottery shards always faces the possibility of being overruled by a later finding.

That doesn’t negate the value of these excavations, however. The cumulative effect of multiple discoveries consistent with the Bible is still enlightening. It will continue to be so even if one or another occasionally undergoes revision. Christians need not be afraid that some one great expedition will suddenly undermine the entire Bible (although, there are those who keep hoping for such an occurrence 😔).

Let’s look at some of the more valuable finds correlating with three areas of the Biblical narratives: the Exodus from Egypt, the kingdom of Israel established in Canaan (now Palestine), and Jesus’ life and resurrection.

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Exodus

The story of the Exodus as told in the books of Exodus (naturally!), Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy is central to both Jewish and Christian history. To the Jews, it is the birth of their nation, celebrated with events like Passover for well over 3000 years. To Christians, it is also the preparation for Jesus, with significant parallels to our own faith journey.

Scholars debate two main chronologies for this epic event: an early date (~1446 BC, 18th Dynasty, aligned with 1 Kings 6:1) or a late date (~1260–1200 BC, 19th Dynasty under Ramesses II). Evidence is stronger in some areas for the early date when aligned properly. A primary reason for the later date is the mention of “the land of Rameses” in Genesis 47:11. Rameses is also said to be the starting point of the Exodus in Exodus 12:37 and Numbers 33:1-5. However, these references could be the result of a later editor using the new name of Rameses when the older name of Avaris went out of use ¹. There are articles you can read for further research here, here, here, here, and here. This article from the website Associates for Biblical Research is especially informative.

In any case, here are a few samples of the more interesting evidence:

• Excavations in the Nile Delta region that the Bible calls “Goshen” show the city of Rameses built on top of the older city of Avaris. The Avaris layer has houses built in the same design as those of Israelites in Canaan afterward. Very intriguing is a tomb containing the remains of a statue of a Semitic man wearing a multi-colored robe. I have to doubt whether Joseph’s robe-of-many-colors (Genesis 37:3-4, 23-24) was still in existence throughout his days in Egypt. But maybe the story was memorable enough to influence the statue’s creator?
• The Brooklyn Papyrus 35.1446 (13th Dynasty, ~1800–1740 BC) lists 95 slaves in the household of noblewoman named Senebtisi. Notice that these dates are 400 years or so before the early Exodus date of 1446 B.C. Almost half of the names listed are Semitic or Hebrew in origin. This indicates that interaction with Semitic peoples was well established in Egypt by the time of the Exodus.
• The Tomb of Rekhmire (15th century BC) shows slaves making bricks in the manner described in the Bible (Exodus 1:12-14, Exodus 5:4-9). Other documents have been found describing overseers charged with workers and a quota of bricks to be completed. Those documents also mention the use of straw as a component of those bricks.
• There is disagreement about the exact route of the Exodus. This article gives an excellent summary of the different possibilities. After all, a nomadic people, even a large group of them, does not leave behind a lot of physical evidence of their campsites, especially not any that can last for centuries. But it is telling that enough of the places mentioned in the Bible can be located to give scope for discussion beyond “somewhere out there”.

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Israel in Canaan

The next evidence to consider corroborates the history of Israel as they entered Canaan and become a nation. This history covers almost 1500 years up to the birth of Christ. Among the many archaeological discoveries matching Biblical history, these are a few of my favorites.

• Jericho, where “the walls came tumbling down” as the first city conquered by Joshua on his entrance into the Promised Land, has substantial archaeological support. This article is the best I found at correlating all of the information. Debate is strongest on the dating: When did the Israelites arrive, and was it at the time of the destruction found at Jericho? The answers line up best with the early-Exodus dates above, not so well with the late Exodus. Otherwise, many points about the destruction fit quite precisely with the Bible’s description of the event.
• The Merneptah Stele, an inscription from 1208 B.C. is the earliest extra-biblical mention of “Israel” as a people in Canaan. This stele, or engraved stone monument, was erected by the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah to commemorate his military victories. Among the nations he was proud of defeating was Israel. This indicates that Israel must have been a force to be reckoned with in Canaan by 1200 B.C. That is something that makes sense with an early Exodus 250 years previously.
  • Canaan is captive with all woe.
    Ashkelon is conquered, Gezer seized,
    Yanoam made nonexistent;
    Israel is laid waste, bare of seed,
• Another reference to Israel by a conquering enemy is the Tel Dan inscription. This one is an Aramean king gloating over his defeat of the “king of Israel” and the “king of the House of David.” The inscription does not specify clearly, but 2 Kings 8:28-29, 2 Kings 10:32-33, 2 Kings 12:17-18 all show the Aramean king Hazael getting the best of the Israelites as predicted by 1 Kings 19:15-17.
• Sennacherib’s Prisms are multi-sided columns engraved with stories of the Assyrian king’s military campaigns in the early 700’s B.C. Those campaigns include the siege of Jerusalem during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah (2 Kings 18-19).
  • Of interest, though: The Bible tells the end of the story, where God killed off Sennacherib’s army without allowing him to conquer the city. Sennacherib went home unsatisfied, with less than total victory, only to then be assassinated by his sons. The prisms leave that part out (We mustn’t make the king look bad!), but they significantly also contain no mention of conquering Jerusalem. They speak only of besieging it.
• Speaking of Hezekiah, he had done something very wise in preparation for that siege. He built a tunnel to route water from the Gihon Spring outside the city to the Siloam Pool inside the walls. This ensured that there would be water to outlast a siege. You can still tour the tunnel and pool today.

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Jesus

Our final stop on the archaeology tour is with Jesus and the New Testament. The Gospels are not the only written records of His life. There are writings from people hostile to the Christians, that nevertheless confirm that Jesus was known to be a miracle worker, that He was executed, and that He was worshipped by His followers who were convinced He had risen from the dead.

• Jocephus was a first-century Jewish (non-Christian) historian who wrote extensively about all things Jewish. The most relevant to this article is called the “Testimonium“. It includes the following paragraph. Note that some doubt that a non-Christian would have written so favorably. A proposed reconciliation is that Josephus was recording what Jesus’ followers thought, not necessarily what he himself believed.
  • About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. And when, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them, spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.
    • In another place, Jocephus documented James, the brother of Jesus, and his martyrdom. Along with the Testimonium, we are reading extra-Biblical documentation of the main points of the Gospel.
• Other written documentation of Christians from hostile sources includes letters from Pliny the Younger exchanged with Roman Emperor Trajan in about 100 A.D., and a section of the Annals written by Roman historian Tacitus at about the same time.
• Ossuaries are carved boxes used to hold the bones of the deceased. During the time of Jesus, standard practice was to bury the dead in a sealed tomb first. But then, about a year later, when the flesh had disintegrated and only bones were left, those bones were collected into an ossuary as their final resting place. Many ossuaries have been found in the Holy Land, including one labeled for the high priest Caiaphas who presided over Jesus’ trial. But the most interesting is one labeled for “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus“. Now, those are three common names. But listed together? And identifying the deceased as the “brother of” anyone, when siblings were not usually listed? Very interesting!

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Shroud of Turin

Now, for my favorite evidence of all: the Shroud of Turin. The 14-foot-long, 3.5-foot wide strip of linen cloth is breath-taking. It displays the image of a crucified man matching the exact, unique wounds specific to those described in the Biblical accounts. There are many, many articles discussing this most-researched of artifacts. This one is a good start for your own study. The most comprehensive collection of all the research is probably here. Here are a few of the Shroud’s unique features:

• There are signs of scourging, of a crown of thorns, and of a spear wound to the side.
• There are blood stains soaked into the fabric (blood type AB).
• The image is a photographic negative. In a picture taken with an old-fashioned non-digital camera, the negative film shows a positive image with much more visible detail.
• The image is not made with paint or pigment of any kind. No liquid penetrates the fabric; no powder clings to the surface.
• The image is very shallow, less than 4 microns ² below the surface. (Four microns is about the thickness of a spider web filament, or a quarter of the thickness of a human hair.)
• The image shows the full body, even the parts that would not have touched the fabric. It has a 3-D effect, with high points like the nose being more prominent while even low points are visible.
• Some of the pollens and limestone dust found on the Shroud are unique to the Palestine area.
• There appear to be coins covering the eyelids to hold them closed. On high magnification, those coins have been argued — with much debate — to match one used in Judea during the time of Pilate.
• The closest that researchers have come to explaining the image is a very specific burst of UV radiation that affected the fabric. Such a burst could not have had any heat that would have actually burned the cloth, and must have emanated in all directions to picture both the front and back of the body.
  • No one knows of any natural event, nor any technology available to a Medieval forger, that could have caused this kind of radiation.

The provenance of the Shroud is excellent back to the 1300’s. A detailed history is available here. Pre-1350, the history is not as clear or well-documented, but here is a plausible sequence of events. Carbon-14 dating done in 1988 gave an age only to the 1300’s, matching the best provenance.

However, that dating has objections: The small sample of fabric tested was cut from an area that is known to have been patched in Medieval times, and is near the scorch marks from a fire in 1532. (That fire is responsible for the dark lines and splotches on either side of the image.) New testing done in 2005 using “wide angle x-rays” to look for specific properties of the linen fabric returned an age consistent with the 1st century.

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Bottom Line

The Christian faith does not stand or fall based on any specific archaeological evidence. But Christianity is unique among world religions in the fact that this kind of evidence can even be discussed. Can you imagine any other sacred writing being subjected to this level of scrutiny? The Bible welcomes it!

God is real enough to leave His fingerprints on history. He is strong enough to withstand all our skepticism and doubts. And He is patient enough to wait as we find and learn to read the clues He has left for us.

1. A similar update shows in Genesis 14:14. Abraham is said to have gone “as far as Dan”, even though the place was called Laish at that time. It was not renamed to Dan until much later.
2. Micrometers, or millionths of a meter