Is the Bible a historical text? To prove the historicity of any text, that text must pass the “external test”. The external test is one of the three tests that a text must pass to be reliable. Two other tests for validation of a text are “bibliographic test” and “internal test”.
The bibliographic test examines whether the manuscripts of the Bible are reliable or not.
The internal test looks at the information provided by the biblical writers.
The external test verifies the historical accuracy of the Bible by examining external information such as archaeological evidence and non-religious sources.
The Old Testament and the New Testament pass all three tests. However, this article will focus solely on the extrinsic test, given that its purpose is to demonstrate the validity of the Bible as a historical text.
Many biblical and secular archaeologists have researched and worked on archaeological digs related to information found in the Bible. The information in the Old Testament corresponds to the customs of the ancient world.
The Nozite Tablets, discovered through archeological excavations before World War II, provide information about the custom of the “servant heir” mentioned in Genesis 15:2-5.
And Abram said: “O Lord, since I am childless and the one who inherits my wealth is Eliezer of Damascus, so what can you forgive me?” And Abram said: “You have not given me a child, so a servant in my house will be my heir.” Then the word of God was revealed to him that: “This person will not be your heir, but a son of your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” And he took him outside and said: “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you really can count them.” Then he said to him: “So shall your offspring be.”
The custom of “servant’s heir” is introduced by Abraham in relation to Eliezer, where if the master had no children, his oldest servant could inherit the master’s entire inheritance.
Nuzi tablets also refer to the custom of right of precedence that arose between Jesus and Jacob. “Jacob answered: ‘Sell me your right of preemption first'” (Genesis 25:31). It also contains information about the daily occurrences of people who had household idols, as mentioned in Genesis 31:19 (ibid.).
In 1993, another set of ancient tablets was discovered, now known as the Mari Tablets. These tablets date back to 1800 BC and contain government records and conversations of King Zimri-Lim (ibid.).
The Mary tablets contain information consistent with the patriarchal customs mentioned in Genesis. There is a reference to the city of Nahor (which is believed to be named after Nahor in Genesis 11:24) and a reference to the “habiri” people who are the Hebrew people mentioned in the Bible (ibid.).
Third, the Merniptah Tablet is written in hieroglyphic script and records information about the conquest of the Israelites by the Egyptian pharaoh, which is “the earliest reference to Israel in secular sources and indicates that by about 1230 BC, the Hebrews were already in the Promised Land. They lived” (ibid).
The Ebna Tablets, which were discovered between 1964 and 1970, also confirm and establish the historical accuracy, accuracy and validity of the Old Testament. The Moabite stone discovered by archeological digs confirms the rebellion mentioned in 2 Kings 3, where the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel after the death of Ahab.
Can archaeological evidence of the Bible be found?
Archeology has also shown that the cities mentioned in the Old and New Testaments are accurate. Cities such as Haran, Hazur, Dan, Megiddo, Shechem, Samaria, Shiloh, Jazeer, Gibeah, Beth Shams, Beth Shan, Beersheba, Lachish, Jericho, Jerusalem, and Babylon are all correct geographical markers for the events described in the Bible (ibid. Source).
In addition to this large amount of historical biblical evidence, archeology has also found the tomb tablets of King Uzziah, Hezekiah’s tunnel, the cylinder of Cyrus the Great, and Shishak’s attack on Judah in favor of the historical accuracy and accuracy of the Bible (same source).
In addition, the New Testament is also known to be historically accurate through archaeological excavations and secular sources. Archeology has discovered many places mentioned in the New Testament, such as the Pool of Siloam, the Pool of Bethsaida, Jacob’s Well, Cana, Bethlehem, Capernaum, Crazin, Nazareth, and where Pontius Pilate lived in Jerusalem during Jesus’ ministry.
Many of the cities where Jesus taught, performed miracles, and passed through still exist in the Middle East today and have been rigorously tested for historical validity. Each of these cities have been identified as the correct geographical landmarks, and the route of Jesus’ ministry has been found to correspond exactly to what is recorded in the New Testament (same source).
Luke, the author of the Gospel, is also known as an outstanding and accurate historian. Critics have tried to downplay Luke’s information in his Gospel narrative; However, Luke is known as an accurate scholar and historian of the life of Jesus Christ (same source).
In addition to New Testament writers, many secular writers have also mentioned the life of Jesus. Some of these secular writers include: Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Josephus Flavius, Babylonian Talmud and Lucian of Samosata. Each of these secular writers recorded information about Jesus that was consistent with the Bible.
Tacitus mentions the crucifixion of Jesus in his Chronicles and the Babylonian Talmud, Pliny in his letters and Lucian in his book On the Death of Peregrine discuss the worship performed by the early Christians and how they viewed Jesus, and Josephus Flavius confirms the resurrection of Jesus (same source). ).
Josephus Flavius also mentioned in the Antiquities of the Jews information about Herod, Pharisees, Sadducees, High Priests, Roman rulers as well as John the Baptist, Jesus Christ and Jacob by name. These secular writers had no reason to lie, because none of these people were supporters of Christianity.
Today in the article : Is the Bible Considered a Historical Text? We reviewed useful information about the Bible and the way of Jesus. If you wish, you can view other articles of Ali Vahidi about Christianity
