Alright, as promised, the article regarding the date of Sodom and Gomorrah is here. In my previous post, I showed the true Biblical date for the Exodus. Now, using the true chronology, I can show that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah happened near 2260 BC. If the Judges and Acts chronologies are used, then the Exodus happened c. 1639 BC. In the Bible, Abraham was 75 when he left Heron, this migration was about 645 years before the Exodus. So 1639 BC + 645 years = 2284 BC. Abe was 99 when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, so 2284 BC -24 years = 2260 BC. According to early Bronze Age pottery and early Bronze Age tools, the original date given for the destruction was in the mid 2300's BC. But now, some are saying that because Sodom and Gomorrah practiced isolationism, the date could've been as far as 100 years later. This would be in agreement with the Judges and Acts chronology of the Exodus. Therefore, the two cities were indeed destroyed in the mid 2200's BC. More specifically, 2260 BC. The two cities match the date of destruction, method of destruction, location, and description the Bible gives with the archeological record.
http://www.bibleplaces.com/numeira.htm
http://www.theology.edu/abraham.htm
Monday, May 6, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Objections to the Conquest of Canaan
Alright, for my first post I'm going to talk about the conquest of Canaan by ancient Israel. The Bible records a conquest of the land of Canaan by the Israelite nation shortly following the Hebrew exodus. The cities that were said to be destroyed have been found, and the destruction of those cities all took place in the Middle bronze age, or more specifically, around 1600 BC. For an example, Jericho was Carbon dated, and is said to have fallen anywhere from 1617 BC-1530 BC(1*). But the most popular date for the Conquest is c. 1400 BC. Biblical skeptics have used this dating error to discredit the Bible's authenticity since the 1950's when Jericho was excavated by Kathleen Kenyon, who placed the destruction in the middle 1500's BC. The Bible says that 480 years before King Solomon's reign, the Hebrew exodus took place (see 1 Kings 6 :1). By using this Chronology, we can say that the exodus was near 1447 BC, and the Conquest was 40 years after the exodus, so the Conquest was c.1407 BC. This obviously creates an error between the date of archaeology, and the date the Bible gives us. So how, you may ask, can the gap be bridged? Some people have tried to bring the date of the Middle Bronze age closer to 1400 BC(3*), but this contradicts the carbon dating of the Jericho. The true answer lies in the principle of "Unreckoned Time". This principle is used in some bible chronologies. Not using unreckoned time will leave the date of certain kings' reigns overlapping each other. Unreckoned time is time that was not counted for as a result of sin. When a Israel was under servitude to other nations, the time wasn't counted in the main chronologies. Please look at Acts 13(if you don't have a Bible, google it). The chronology in Acts say that Solomon reigned 611 after the exodus, but 1 Kings says that the exodus was 480 years before Solomon! This is a deference of 131 years! In Judges, and 1 Samson, there is a total of 131 years listed when israel was under servitude to other empires or nations. Therefore, it's evident that when israel was in servitude, the time wasn't counted in the main chronology. This puts the date of the conquest at 1599 BC(2*). This date is in agreement with all of the other cities destruction dates, except for the Tel identified as Ai. This chronology also shows that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed c. 2250 BC(I will discuss this in a future article). Ai is identified as et-Tel. Et-Tel, however, was destroyed in the early bronze age, several hundred years before 1600 BC. I believe that et-Tel is not the true location of Ai. It contradicts the Bible's description and location of the city, as well as some ancient historians location given for Ai(3*). I encourage you to read my sources, as they give a much more detailed description of why the recent finding of Khirbet Nisya is the real Ai.
1* Dating of Jericho
2* Unreckoned Time (The reign of Solomon as described by this site was found using Unreckoned Time)
3* True Ai, and the Attempt to bridge the gap.
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