Proof written in Stone

                                               Solid Evidence

                                                                  Tattenai the Governor

Is there archaeological evidence supporting the Bible record?

In 2014 an article in the magazine Biblical Archaeology Review addressed the question: “How many people in the Hebrew Bible have been confirmed archaeologically?” The answer given: “At least 50!” One man who did not make the list in that article was Tattenai. Who was he? Let us review his brief role in the Bible record.

Jerusalem was once part of a vast Persian Empire. The city lay in an area that the Persians called Across-the-River, that is, to the west of the Euphrates. After conquering Babylonia, the Persians released Jewish captives and authorised them to rebuild Jehovah’s temple in Jerusalem.   (Ezra chapter 1 verses 1 to 4)

Enemies of the Jews, however, opposed the project and used it as a pretext to accuse the Jews of rebelling against Persia.   (Ezra chapter 4 verses 4 to 16)   During the reign of Darius I (522-486 B.C.E.), a Persian official named Tattenai led an inquiry into the matter. The Bible calls him “the governor of the region Beyond the River.” —  Ezra chapter 5 verses 3 to 7.

A number of cuneiform tablets bearing the name Tattenai have survived as part of what may have been a family archive. The tablet that links one member of this family to the Bible character is a promissory note dated to the 20th year of Darius I, 502 B.C.E. It identifies a witness to the transaction as a servant of “Tattannu, governor of Across-the-River” —the same Tattenai who appears in the Bible book of Ezra.

What was this man’s role? In 535 B.C.E., Cyrus the Great reorganised his dominions into provinces, one of which was called Babylon and Across-the-River. The province was later split into two parts, one of which was simply called Across-the-River. It included Coele-Syria, Phoenicia, Samaria, and Judah and was likely ruled from Damascus. Tattenai governed this region from about 520 to 502 B.C.E.

After travelling to Jerusalem to investigate the accusation of rebellion, Tattenai reported to Darius that the Jews claimed to have received authorization from Cyrus to rebuild Jehovah’s temple. Investigations in the royal archives substantiated that claim.   (Ezra chapter 5 verses 6, 7, and 11 to 13 also chapter 6 verses 1 to 3)   So Tattenai was ordered not to interfere, and he obeyed. —  Ezra chapter 6 verses 6 and 7 and verse 13.

To be sure, “Tattenai the governor of the region Beyond the River” merits only a footnote in history. Note, though, that the Scriptures mention him and apply to him exactly the right title. That fact gives us yet another bit of evidence that archaeology repeatedly supports the Bible’s historical accuracy.
==========================================================================================================================

                                                                          Pontius Pilate

The Pilate stone is a damaged block (82 cm x 65 cm) of carved limestone with a partially intact inscription attributed to, and mentioning, Pontius Pilate, a prefect of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26 to 36. It was discovered at the archaeological site of Caesarea Maritima in 1961. The artefact is particularly significant because it is an archaeological find of an authentic 1st-century Roman inscription mentioning the name "[Pont]ius Pilatus". It is contemporary to Pilate's lifetime, and accords with what is known of his reported career. In effect, the inscription constitutes the earliest surviving, and only contemporary, record of Pilate, who is otherwise known only from the New Testament and the Jewish historian Josephus and writer Philo, and brief references by Roman historians such as Tacitus.

The Pilate stone is currently located at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
==========================================================================================================================

                                                       Was Belshazzar King of Babylon?

Critics of the Bibles accuracy once said that Belshazzar King of Babylon at the time of it's destruction by the Persian armies never existed.

But a variety of ancient cuneiform texts were found in the early 1900s which also mentioned Belshazzar, including a tablet from Erech in which both he and his father Nabonidus were jointly invoked in an oath, suggesting that both had royal authority.

Remarkably, this also sheds light on a small detail in the text—why King Belshazzar only offered Daniel the third highest position in the kingdom:   Daniel chapter 5 verse 7   Since Nabonidus remained alive until even after Babylon fell, this means that Belshazzar was more like a co-regent, ruling at the same time as, and under the authority of, his father. So Nabonidus was in the ‘number one’ position, while Belshazzar was actually second. This explains why Belshazzar could not offer to Daniel the second spot in the kingdom. Third place was the highest position available!

=====================================================================================

                                                            Tomb of Joseph Caiaphas

Israeli archaeologists have discovered the family tomb of Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest who presided at the trial of Jesus and delivered Him to the Romans to be crucified.

Buried in an ancient cave on the outskirts of Jerusalem, the family's bones were sealed in ornate and elaborately carved ossuary's, ceremonial boxes used widely by the Jews of the late first century.

=====================================================================================

                                                   Did John the Baptist Really Exist?

The Gospel accounts mention a man called John the Baptist, who preached in Judea regarding God’s Kingdom. Is the Bible’s record of this man accurate?  Consider:

● The Bible says: “John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying: ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’”  (Matthew chapter 3 verses 1, 2) Can this statement be confirmed by secular sources? Yes.
The first-century historian Flavius Josephus described a man named “John, surnamed the Baptist,” who “exhorted the Jews to lead righteous lives,” to practice “piety towards God,” and “to join in baptism.”—Jewish Antiquities, Book XVIII.
● The Bible relates that John reproved Herod Antipas, who was district ruler in Galilee and Perea. Herod was nominally a Jew professing to be under the Law. John criticized Herod for marrying his half brother’s wife Herodias.   (Mark chapter 6 verse 18)   This detail likewise finds support outside the Bible.
Historian Josephus said that Antipas “[fell] in love with Herodias” and “brazenly broached to her the subject of marriage.” Herodias accepted and left her husband to marry Antipas.
● The Bible reports that “the people of Jerusalem and all Judea and all the country around the Jordan were going out to [John], and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.”—  Matthew chapter 3 verses 5, 6.
Josephus likewise supports this detail, writing that people came in “crowds” to see John and that “they were aroused [or, uplifted] to the highest degree by his sermons.”
Clearly, the first-century historian Josephus viewed John the Baptist as a real person. It is clear from Josephus writings that John the Baptist not only existed, but he carried out all the actions attributed to him in the Bible.

=====================================================================================

             The Bible proved to be accurate and correct yet again.

When put to the test of both science and Archaeology and Bible critics, the Bible always proves to be correct and an accurate record of history. Because the Bible is correct and trustworthy in these small matters, then it is fair to assume that the Bible can also be trusted as an honest guide to understanding the nature and divine purposes of Jehovah.  Titus chapter 1 verses 1 and 2.

 

Picture 1 above:  The Pilate stone.

Picture 2 below:  An ossuary used to inter the bones of a deceased person.