Essay About Much Evidence And Providing Information

The Bible as History
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The Bible as History
The question of whether the Holy Bible is an actual historical account of what
happened since the beginning of humanity, or merely stories that man has come up with
over time has long been considered. Many choose to believe the Bible literally and take
everything word for word. Others believe the stories in the Bible are a way of showing
Gods love for us, but think of them as stories and lessons on how to follow the “way of
God.” Others think the stories in the Bible are false, and have no basis in truth at all.
Some people want to have a clear picture of what early Palestine was like without ever
having reference to the Bible, and “this may be an equally one-sided approach as using the
Bible [as] complete factual history” (Porter 16). More and more archaeological digs are
uncovering tangible evidence that some of the stories in the Bible actually do have a
factual basis. Most people are still undecided, as there hasnt been much evidence found
supporting that either side of the argument has a strong lead over the other. “Previous
generations of scholars often linked archaeology very directly with the Bible: they spoke
of Biblical Archaeology and saw it as a means of establishing the credibility of the
Scripture” (Porter 16). The Bible is a historical account, in some areas, because there is
proof. In other aspects, however, the Bible may turn out to be just stories.
Archaeologists undergo many excavations in the Palestinian area, because this is
where most of the stories in the Bible took place. Many books and inscriptions have been
uncovered providing information on events and people both Israelite and Non-Israelite
alike (Porter 16). Several buildings, pottery, tools, and weapons have revealed what the
daily life of the Palestinians may have been like. Archaeology has also confirmed many of
the sites referred to in the Bible (Porter 17). Even though there have been various
excavations of possessions of the Israelites, most of these are not from the setting of early
Israel. Most civilizations have records of how they developed, and in this case, the
Hebrew Bible is the only account of the Israelite civilization (Porter 17).
In addition to the remains of ancient civilizations, the digs have earthed agricultural
information and the layout of towns (Porter 17). “Sometimes findings will directly
illuminate the Biblical text” (Porter 18). One example of a “historical correlation with the
Bible,” was the discovery of a weight labeled “pim” which has helped scholars
understand 1 Samuel 13:21 which is the only verse in the Bible containing the term. They
concluded that “pim” was a size of weight probably used as a method of payment.
Another artifact from this region are carved ivories dating back to 800 B.C. found
at the royal palace of Sumaria, the capital of the north king of Israel. In a passage from 1
Kings 22:39 there is a reference to the “ivory house” of King Ahab (Porter 18).
Discoveries have also been made at a “popular site of Israeli religion” and there have been
excavations of the only known temple and “cult objects” from the era of David and
Solomon (Porter 19).
Another find by archaeologists is a painting of a half nude female figure with the
inscription “Yahweh or Samaria and his Asherah.” This was excavated from the eighth
century site of Kuntillet Arjud. The significance of the painting is still undecided. It may
reflect the continuing worship in Israel of Asherah, the great Canaanite mother goddess.
This would have been in spite of the official state religion which recognized Yahweh as the
one and only God (Porter 20).
Through all of these uncovered artifacts from the Israelite nation, many of the
names, places, and events that are named in the Bible are proved. The Bible may not just
be a persons stories, but an actual historical account of the history of the world. There
are many huge gaps in the stories that still have nothing backing them up, but, there is
plenty more searching that still can be done.
Another way of approaching the Bible as history is concerned less with the specific
stories, and more with the material as a whole (Porter 20). Many scholars consider the
Hebrew Bibles interpretation of Israels history a “reflection of a concern to understand
the nations destiny, and to preserve Israels unity and identity in light of the crisis brought
about by the exile” (Porter 20). Other scholars believe that it is impossible to know
exactly what happened through the course of Israels history, and believe that the Bible
has just as many inaccuracies as other ancient writings. Determining which parts of the
Bible may be factual and separating