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The Bible stands the Test of Time

Yes, real people!

Just imagine that in, say, 2,500 years' time, a receipt was discovered of something you had recently bought from a shop, identifying what you bought, who you were and the exact time you undertook the transaction. A snapshot in time, preserved over thousands of years, so that a future generation could say with certainty that you actually existed. The Bible is a unique book. Of all the billions of people that have ever existed on earth, the Bible mentions a very small number that have formed part of the backcloth to the Almighty's purpose. An increasing number of those we read about in the Bible are being identified as real people who lived long ago, with snapshots in time unearthed by painstaking efforts of the archaeologist's trowel and brush. To dismiss the Bible as unreliable myth and fantasy is common these days, but that is an attitude of mind not based on the facts, and therefore ignorant of the implications of what is being unearthed. The purpose of this magazine is to underline the reliability of God's Word, and give confidence in its teaching.

Here are three examples of relatively obscure individuals whose existence has been shown to be factual.

Nebo-Sarsekim - Nebuchadnezzar's Chief Eunuch

In 2008 a cry of joy rang out in the research rooms of the British Museum, as a scholar realised he had unearthed an amazing find when translating a tiny clay tablet.

• Clay Tablet

The tablet had been found in the late 19th century, and had been in the possession of the museum since the 1920s, along with some 130,000 similar tablets.

This particular tablet concerned a transaction that a Babylonian official had undertaken when transferring 1.5 minas (0.75kg) of gold to another person. The exact time of the transaction was given as the 18th day of the 11th month of the 10th year of Nebuchadnezzar 's reign; that is in the year 595 BC. But more importantly, the name of the person making the transfer was Nebo-Sarsekim, and his title was Nebuchadnezzar's chief eunuch. In ancient times eunuchs were the men who were promoted as the king's chief administrators, powerful men executing the King's will in the realm.

The cry of excitement related to the realisation that the very same man is mentioned in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, where he describes the scene he witnessed. Here are mentioned the Babylonian officials present in 586BC when Jerusalem was besieged and finally taken af ter the rebel l ion of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. Notice how exact Jeremiah is when he records these terrible events, and notice the name in bold. If Nebo-Sarsekim was the chief eunuch, it is not surprising that he would be present:

"And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah's eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon."

• Jeremiah 39.2,3 NIV

This is how Irving Finkel, assistant keeper in the Museum's department of the Middle East, described the significance of this discovery:

"This is a fantastic discovery, a world class find. If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole narrative (of Jeremiah) takes on a new kind of power."

We wholeheartedly agree with his assessment!

Balaam son of Beor - the fallen prophet

In the Book of Numbers chapters 22 to 24 we read about the activities and prophecies of a prophet called Balaam son of Beor, who was a sort of mercenary hired by Balak king of Moab around 1400 BC. He was prepared to take money for his predictions and prophecies and was clearly expected to give favourable answers to his pay-masters. He was the man who beat his donkey, which then turned round and rebuked him for his cruel t y (see Numbers 22.22-32).

Balaam was hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel, who the Moabites perceived as a threat to them, just before Israel entered the Promised Land. The whole account of Balaam does not show him in a good light, but when he tried to carry out his prophetic cursing mission, the only words which came out of his mouth were those of blessing for Israel, rousing the anger of Balak. He was moved by the Spirit of God every time he prophesied, and God prevented him cursing Israel. Baalam eventually came to a sticky end, paying for his wickedness. But was he a real person? Did the prophet Balaam son of Beor, who we read of in the Book of Numbers, actually exist? Again the answer is, yes he did.

In 1967, at a place called Deir 'Alla in the kingdom of Jordan, about 8 kilometres east of the River Jordan near the Jabbok tributary, a most significant inscription was discovered. An excavation revealed a collapsed multiple-chamber structure that had been destroyed by an ancient earthquake. In the eighth century BC, Deir 'Alla was a large city, possibly even a centre of religious instruction. On the walls of a room in one building that may have stood near a temple, a scribe had copied the text of an important religious manuscript.

• Picture from bible.ca

Within four red frames (see above) were ancient texts with some illustrations. These texts were the visions and prophecies of the Prophet Balaam son of Beor who had lived centuries before. Three times in the first four lines of the text his name is mentioned as Balaam son of Beor, unmistakably the same man that we read of in the Bible. Interestingly, and in support of the argument that the texts themselves are preserved from an earlier era, they reveal references to names used for Israel's God before the time of Moses, "elohim", "el" and "shaddai" (God and God Almighty).

The inscriptions, written in ink on plaster with a nib, were displayed on the walls and have been dated to the eighth and ninth centuries BC, with the inscriptions themselves dated on the basis of laboratory tests, to about 800 BC. The plaster inscriptions are on display in the Archaeological Museum in Amman, Jordan. Here then is an external reference to biblical Balaam – clear evidence that he existed.

Pelatiah - a wicked prince in the time of the Prophet Ezekiel

Just to the south west of the old city of Jerusalem at a site called Ketef Hinnom, on the ancient road leading south to Bethlehem, excavations dating from 1975 have revealed many interesting finds. But one of particular interest can be linked to a high official of the kingdom of Judah in the time of Zedekiah, called Pelatiah. A sensational discovery was made which has been described as 'an archaeologist's dream'. When excavating many tombs in this dig, an untouched repository was uncovered with all of its original contents intact. Most such tombs had long ago been looted of their contents, but not this one.

Professor Patricia Smith of the Hebrew University, who studied the repository's human remains, identified at least 95 individuals. A rock layer had collapsed many centuries ago which had hidden the contents from tomb raiders. It was the oldest such tomb ever discovered with the contents intact and was contemporary with Solomon's temple, called the first temple period. So everything within the tomb related to the time of the Kings of Judah, before 586 BC, when the kingdom of Judah came to an end.

One of the articles found in the tomb was an official's seal made of brown limestone, inscribed with the abbreviated Hebrew name "Palta" and decorated with a lotus bud. The name on the seal was, of course, mirror-wise, so that when used it showed the name of the official correctly on a document's soft clay seal. Experts say the full name of the abbreviation would have included the name of a god. In Israel's case of course, like so many biblical names, it is the name Yahweh which is included. Thus the full Hebrew name is "Pelatyah".

It seems highly likely that the Pelatiah, a wicked government official referred to by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 11.1), is the very same man who used this seal. The period is right, the place is right, and the title is right. He was an active high official of the king during the time of Ezekiel the prophet. The sudden death of Pelatiah (Ezekiel 11.13) occurred whilst Ezekiel was uttering one of his prophecies. How appropriate that he would be buried together with his personal official seal.

What is the lesson for us? Never doubt the accuracy of God's Word, even in its smallest detail!