Joshua 8:30 states, “Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel,”. Until 2019, we had no solid proof to support this verse. However, The Jerusalem Post reported that in 2019 an expedition was led to sift through the material discarded from previous excavations on Mount Ebal. Among that discarded material was found a tablet. That tablet has now undergone x-ray tomographic measurements. The results of that have given us archaeological proof for Deuteronomy and Joshua.
X-ray Tomographic Measurements
X-Ray Tomographic Measurements are completed by taking cross-sectional images of an object or body using X-rays. The results are read by measuring the decrease in intensity along a series of linear paths, according to X-ray Computed Tomography (CT). If you have ever had a CT scan, you have seen this technology at work. The only difference is in this case the images were taken of a tablet, instead of a human body. That is not unusual. This technology has often been used on inanimate objects, according to Wikipedia. The results of x-ray tomographic measurements being used on this ancient tablet are world-changing. The results gave us archaeological proof for Deuteronomy and Joshua.
Archaeological Proof for Joshua
As stated by The Jerusalem Post, this tablet was found in a pile with the discarded matrix of two structures. The previous archaeologist, Adam Zertal, considered those structures to be altars. This gives credence to Joshua 8:30.We now know that there were indeed altars on Mount Ebal.
The altars that were found date from the Late Bronze Age II and Iron Age I. Most scholars agree this is the time Israel evolved from its Prenational form, according to BiblicalStudies.org. That means the dating of the altars aligns with the time Joshua would have been building them. This proves that Mount Ebal was considered a holy site where people built altars during the time ancient Israel was establishing itself as a religion and nation. Therefore, it is likely that Joshua did build an altar there, as the Bible says. The dating also makes this the oldest Hebrew inscription, by at least 200 years.
Archaeological Proof for Deuteronomy
However, the archaeological proof for Deuteronomy and Joshua does not end there. The tablet had a curse written on it. The curse reads, “You are cursed by the God YHW.” This gives support to Deuteronomy 11:29. The verse reads, “When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses.” This curse was found on the exact mountain G-d told the Israelites to proclaim their curses upon. Therefore, the verse in Deuteronomy gives an accurate description of where and how ancient Israelites performed their rituals.
Thus, this discovery proves the Biblical text is an accurate history of how the people of ancient Israel lived. We now have archaeological proof that backs up the Torah’s description of how and where the early religion operated. This is an amazing discovery! It also gives hope we might find further scientific proof for The Torah.
Click here to read more about recent discoveries in religious studies. Also, please read my book.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In