Palestine and Syria. Some 600 datable sites have been excavated in these areas. Much of the information obtained is of a general nature, supporting the Bible record on a broad basis instead of specifically relating to certain details or events. As an example, in the past, efforts were made to discredit the Bible’s account of the complete desolation of Judah during the Babylonian exile. The excavations, however, collectively substantiate the Bible. As W. F. Albright states: “There is not a single known case where a town of Judah proper was continuously occupied through the exilic period. Just to point the contrast, Bethel, which lay just outside the northern boundary of Judah in pre-exilic times, was not destroyed at that time, but was continuously occupied down into the latter part of the sixth century.”​—The Archaeology of Palestine, 1971, p. 142.

Beth-shan (Beth-shean), an ancient fortress city that guarded the approach to the Valley of Jezreel from the E, was the site of major excavations that revealed 18 different levels of occupation, requiring digging to a depth of 21 m (70 ft). (DIAGRAM, Vol. 1, p. 959) The Scriptural account shows that Beth-shan was not among the towns originally occupied by the invading Israelites and that at the time of Saul it was occupied by the Philistines. (Jos 17:11; Jg 1:27; 1Sa 31:8-12) The excavations in general support this record and indicate a destruction of Beth-shan sometime after the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant. (1Sa 4:1-11) Of particular interest was the discovery of certain Canaanite temples at Beth-shan. First Samuel 31:10 states that the Philistines put King Saul’s armor “in the house of the Ashtoreth images, and his corpse they fastened on the wall of Beth-shan,” while 1 Chronicles 10:10 says “they put his armor in the house of their god, and his skull they fastened to the house of Dagon.” Two of the temples unearthed were of the same time period and one gives evidence of being the temple of Ashtoreth, while the other is thought to be that of Dagon, thus harmonizing with the above texts as to the existence of two temples in Beth-shan.

Ezion-geber was Solomon’s seaport city on the Gulf of ʽAqaba. It is possibly the present-day Tell el-Kheleifeh, which was excavated during 1937-1940 and produced evidence of a copper-smelting site, copper slag and bits of copper ore being found on a low mound in that region. However, the original conclusions of archaeologist Nelson Glueck concerning the site were radically revised by him in an article in The Biblical Archaeologist (1965, p. 73). His opinion that there had been a blast furnace system of smelting employed there was based on the finding of what were thought to be “flue-holes” in the principal building excavated. He now has come to the conclusion that these holes in the building’s walls are the result of “the decay and/​or burning of wooden beams laid across the width of the walls for bonding or anchoring purposes.” The building, previously thought to be a smelter, is now believed to be a storehouse-granary structure. While it is still believed that metallurgical operations did take place here, they are not now considered to have been of the dimensions previously conjectured. This underscores the fact that the meaning ascribed to archaeological findings is dependent primarily upon the individual interpretation of the archaeologist, which interpretation is by no means infallible. The Bible itself mentions no copper industry at Ezion-geber, describing only the casting of copper items at a site in the Jordan Valley.​—1Ki 7:45, 46.

Hazor in Galilee was described as being “the head of all these kingdoms,” in Joshua’s time. (Jos 11:10) Excavations there showed that the city once covered some 60 ha (150 acres), with a large population, making it one of the major cities of that region. Solomon fortified the city, and the evidence from that period indicates it may have been a chariot city.​—1Ki 9:15, 19.

Jericho has been subjected to excavations during three different expeditions (1907-1909; 1930-1936; 1952-1958) and the successive interpretations of the findings demonstrate again the fact that archaeology, like other fields of human science, is not a source of positively stable information. Each of the three expeditions has produced data, but each has arrived at different conclusions as to the history of the city and particularly as to the date of its fall before the Israelite conquerors. At any rate, the combined results may be said to present the general picture set forth in the book Biblical Archaeology, by G. E. Wright (1962, p. 78), which states: “The city underwent a terrible destruction or a series of destructions during the second millennium B.C., and remained virtually unoccupied for generations.” The destruction was accompanied by intense fire, as is shown by the excavated evidence.​—Compare Jos 6:20-26.

In Jerusalem in 1867 an old water tunnel was discovered, running from the fountain of Gihon back into the hill behind. (See GIHON No. 2.) This may illustrate the account of David’s capture of the city at 2 Samuel 5:6-10. In 1909-1911 the entire system of tunnels connected with the Gihon spring was cleared. One tunnel, known as the Siloam Tunnel, averaged 1.8 m (6 ft) in height and was cut through rock for a distance of some 533 m (1,749 ft) from Gihon to the Pool of Siloam in the Tyropoeon Valley (within the city). It thus seems to be the project of King Hezekiah described at 2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chronicles 32:30. Of great interest was the ancient inscription found on the tunnel wall in early Hebrew monumental script describing the cutting of the tunnel and its length. This inscription is used for comparison in dating other Hebrew inscriptions found.

Lachish, 44 km (27 mi) WSW of Jerusalem, was a principal fortress protecting the Judean hill country. At Jeremiah 34:7 the prophet tells of Nebuchadnezzar’s forces fighting against “Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left remaining, against Lachish and against Azekah; for they, the fortified cities, were the ones that remained over among the cities of Judah.” Excavations at Lachish produced evidence of destruction by fire twice within a period of a few years, believed to represent two attacks by the Babylonians (618-617 and 609-607 B.C.E.), after which it lay uninhabited for a long period.

In the ashes of the second burning were found 21 ostraca (pieces of pottery inscribed with writing), believed to represent correspondence shortly before the destruction of the city in Nebuchadnezzar’s final assault. Known as the Lachish Letters, these reflect a period of crisis and anxiety and appear to have been written from remaining outposts of Judean troops to Yaosh, a military commander in Lachish. (PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 325) Letter number IV contains the statement: “May Yahweh cause my lord to hear this very day tidings of good! . . . We are watching for the signals of Lachish, according to all the indications which my lord hath given, for we cannot see Azekah.” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J. B. Pritchard, 1974, p. 322) This remarkably expresses the situation described at Jeremiah 34:7, quoted earlier, and indicates that Azekah had already fallen or at least was failing to send out the fire or smoke signals expected.

Letter number III, written by one Hoshaiah, includes the following: “May Yahweh cause my lord to hear tidings of peace! . . . And it hath been reported to thy servant, saying, ‘The commander of the host, Coniah son of Elnathan, hath come down in order to go into Egypt; and unto Hodaviah son of Ahijah and his men hath he sent to obtain [supplies] from him.’” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J.B. Pritchard, 1974, p. 322) This portion could well represent the fact of Judah’s turning to Egypt for help, as condemned by the prophets. (Jer 46:25, 26; Eze 17:15, 16) The names Elnathan and Hoshaiah, occurring in the complete text of this letter, are also found at Jeremiah 36:12 and Jeremiah 42:1. Other names in the letters also occur in Jeremiah: Gemariah (36:10), Neriah (32:12), and Jaazaniah (35:3). Whether they represent the same individual or not cannot be said, but the coincidence is notable in view of Jeremiah’s being a contemporary of that period.

Of special interest is the frequent use of the Tetragrammaton in these letters, thus manifesting that at that time the Jews had no aversion to the use of the divine name. Also of interest is a clay seal impression found that refers to “Gedaliah, who is over the house.” Gedaliah is the name of the governor appointed over Judah by Nebuchadnezzar after Jerusalem’s fall, and many consider it likely that the seal impression refers to him.​—2Ki 25:22; compare Isa 22:15; 36:3.

Megiddo was a strategic fortress city commanding an important pass to the Valley of Jezreel. It was rebuilt by Solomon and is mentioned with the storage and chariot cities of his reign. (1Ki 9:15-19) Excavations at the site (Tell el-Mutesellim), a 5.3-ha (13 acre) mound, uncovered what some scholars (but not all) think were stables capable of caring for some 450 horses. At first these structures were credited to Solomon’s time, but later scholars redated them to a later period, perhaps the time of Ahab.

The Moabite Stone was one of the earliest discoveries of importance in the area E of the Jordan. (PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 325) Found in 1868 at Dhiban, N of the Arnon Valley, it presents Moabite King Mesha’s version of his revolt against Israel. (Compare 2 Ki 1:1; 3:4, 5.) In part the inscription says: “I (am) Mesha, son of Chemosh-[. . .], king of Moab, the Dibonite . . . As for Omri, king of Israel, he humbled Moab many years (lit., days), for Chemosh [the god of Moab] was angry at his land. And his son followed him and he also said, ‘I will humble Moab.’ In my time he spoke (thus), but I have triumphed over him and over his house, while Israel hath perished for ever! . . . And Chemosh said to me, ‘Go, take Nebo from Israel!’ So I went by night and fought against it from the break of dawn until noon, taking it and slaying all . . . And I took from there the [vessels] of Yahweh, dragging them before Chemosh.” (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J. B. Pritchard, 1974, p. 320) Thus the stone not only mentions the name of King Omri of Israel but also, in the 18th line, contains God’s name in the form of the Tetragrammaton.

The Moabite Stone also mentions numerous places referred to in the Bible: Ataroth and Nebo (Nu 32:34, 38); the Arnon, Aroer, Medeba, and Dibon (Jos 13:9); Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, Jahaz, and Kiriathaim (Jos 13:17-19); Bezer (Jos 20:8); Horonaim (Isa 15:5); Beth-diblathaim and Kerioth. (Jer 48:22, 24) It thus supports the historicity of all these places.

Samaria, the strongly fortified capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, was built on a hill rising some 90 m (295 ft) above the valley floor. Proof of its strength to resist long sieges, such as those described at 2 Kings 6:24-30 in the case of Syria, and 2 Kings 17:5 in the case of the powerful Assyrian army, is evidenced by the remains of sturdy double walls, at some points forming a bulwark 10 m (33 ft) wide. The stone masonry found on the site, considered as of the time of Kings Omri, Ahab, and Jehu, is of splendid workmanship. What appears to be the palace platform measures about 90 m (295 ft) by about 180 m (590 ft). Large quantities of ivory pieces, plaques, and panels were found in the palace area and may relate to Ahab’s house of ivory mentioned at 1 Kings 22:39. (Compare Am 6:4.) At the NW corner of the summit a large cemented pool was found, measuring some 10 m (33 ft) in length and about 5 m (17 ft) in width. It could be “the pool of Samaria,” in which Ahab’s chariot was washed of his blood.​—1Ki 22:38.

Of interest were 63 potsherds with ink inscriptions (ostraca) considered as dating from the eighth century B.C.E. Receipts for shipments of wine and oil to Samaria from other towns show an Israelite system of writing numbers by use of vertical, horizontal, and slanted strokes. A typical receipt reads as follows:

These receipts also reveal a frequent use of the name Baal as part of the names, about 7 names including this name for every 11 containing some form of the name Jehovah, likely indicating the infiltration of Baal worship as described in the Bible account.

The fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the existence of pits of bitumen (asphalt) in that region are described in the Bible. (Ge 14:3, 10; 19:12-28) Many scholars believe that the waters of the Dead Sea may have risen in the past and extended the southern end of the sea for a considerable distance, thus covering what may have been the sites of these two cities. Explorations show the area to be a burned-out region of oil and asphalt. Concerning the matter, the book Light From the Ancient Past, by Jack Finegan (1959, p. 147), states: “A careful survey of the literary, geological, and archeological evidence points to the conclusion that the infamous ‘cities of the valley’ (Genesis 19:29) were in the area which now is submerged . . . and that their ruin was accomplished by a great earthquake, probably accompanied by explosions, lightning, ignition of natural gas, and general conflagration.”​—See also SODOM.

Relating to the Christian Greek Scriptures. The use by Jesus of a denarius coin bearing the head of Tiberius Caesar (Mr 12:15-17) is confirmed by the finding of a silver denarius coin bearing the head of Tiberius and put in circulation about the year 15 C.E. (PICTURE, Vol. 2, p. 544) (Compare Lu 3:1, 2.) The fact that Pontius Pilate was then Roman governor of Judea is also demonstrated by a stone slab found at Caesarea bearing the Latin names Pontius Pilatus and Tiberieum.​—See PILATE; PICTURE, Vol. 2, p. 741.