Many believe that the biblical story is pure fiction. But today there are many archaeological finds and scientific research findings proving that many of the situations described in the Bible had real reasons.
1. Creation of the Ark
In 2014, four physics students from the University of Leicester decided to test the plausibility of the instructions for building Noah's ark given in Genesis. They wanted to find out if an ark measuring 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high could actually float. The unit of measure for “cubit” is approximately 48 cm, which means that the ark must be 145 meters long, 24 meters wide and 14 meters high. Small modern cargo ships are of similar size.
The Bible claims that the ark was made of gopher wood, but no one knows what kind it is. It is assumed that this is a kind of cypress; therefore, it was his students who took it for their calculations. Since an empty cypress ark would weigh about 1.2 million kg, calculations showed that a box-shaped vessel could carry almost 51 million kg of cargo.
Since it was written in the Bible, “each creature in a pair” was taken on board the ark, it was calculated that 35,000 pairs of different animals could fit on board the Ark (animals that could survive on their own during the Flood were not counted).
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2. Jezebel Power
The insidious Jezebel is often mentioned in the Book of Kings. In the ninth century BC, she married the king of Israel Ahab, although she was a Phoenician worshiping the deity Baal. According to the Bible, Queen Jezebel wanted to convert the Israelites to her religion and was willing to kill the Jewish prophets in order to do so. Jezebel stamped Ahab on various documents that contributed to the introduction of the new religion. This did not go unnoticed, the cup of patience overflowed and the queen was thrown out of the window to be eaten by the dogs.
Historians have long assumed that Queen Jezebel could have made laws in Israel herself, independent of Ahab. Confirmation of this can be found in a stone seal discovered in Israel in 1964, which depicts a double cobra, Horus the falcon and a winged sun disk, which, according to the Old Testament, was interpreted as a sign of royal power. A number of scholars suggest that it was the personal seal of Jezebel, but the authenticity of the seal has not been confirmed.
3. The Jewish high priest Caiaphas
Caiaphas, who was mentioned in the Gospels of John, Matthew, Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles, was the high priest of Judea. It was he who presided over the trial of Jesus and made the decision on his execution. In 1990, workers who were working to widen the road to Jerusalem stumbled upon an ancient cave in which 12 ossuaries - boxes with the bones of the dead - were buried. One of them bears the inscription “Joseph, son of Caiaphas”. In another of the boxes, the bones of a 60-year-old man were found, which roughly corresponds to the age of Caiaphas at the time of his death. Archaeologists also noted that 43 bronze coins from the 1st century were kept in one of the ossuaries.
4. Siloam font
The Gospel of John tells the story of how Jesus restored the sight of a blind man by anointing his eyes with clay and then washing it off with water from the font of Siloam. This basin was the main water reservoir in Jerusalem during the Old Testament, but was destroyed by invaders several centuries before the birth of Jesus. The baptismal font was later restored, but there was no evidence that it existed in the first century. However, the font of Siloam was found exactly where it was mentioned in the Gospel of John. In 2004, workers who were trying to restore a damaged sewer line discovered steps leading to a pool. Archaeologists have unearthed the trapezoidal basin itself, about 69 meters long. The pool may have been used for ritual bathing, swimming, or providing the city's residents with fresh water.
5. The house where Jesus grew up
While some people still claim that Jesus never existed, others claim that Jesus was actually born around 4 BC and was raised in the Jewish faith in Nazareth. Archaeologist Ken Dark believes he found the first century home that Jesus lived in as a child. In 1880, the nuns first discovered an ancient stone dwelling built into a hillside.
Artifacts found in the house led archaeologists to assume that a Jewish family lived there. For example, limestone pots were used mainly by Jews because limestone was considered especially pure. Also surviving is a sixth-century Scottish text describing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, including a visit to a church in Nazareth, which was once the home of the Lord as a child. Although the house was abandoned during the first century AD, Dark claims that during the Byzantine period, when it was decorated with mosaics, it was considered the home of Jesus. The Byzantines also built a church near the house, which was burned down in the 13th century.
6. Wall of King Solomon
In 1 Kings it was said that King Solomon built a wall around Jerusalem. In early 2010, eminent archaeologist Eilat Mazar announced that this wall had been found, along with other defensive structures that were dated to the era of Solomon, namely the 10th century BC. The wall, about 70 meters long and 6 meters high, was located approximately where the city limits of Jerusalem were at that time. Mazar's team excavated parts of other defenses in the area, including a watchtower.
7. Copper mines
According to the Bible, King David fought with the Edomites. Many scholars believe that the biblical conflict was exaggerated because Idumea and ancient Israel (or Judea) were not advanced enough to raise large armies for war. However, in 1997, archaeologists exploring the territory of Idumea (present-day southern Jordan) found evidence of a fairly advanced society, whose main occupation was copper mining and military build-up. It turned out that there were dozens of copper mines in the region. Based on the age of the pottery found in these mines, it was established that they were actively used during the time of King Solomon. This lends credence to the Book of Genesis, which says that the kings of Edom had previously ruled over Israel.
8. Wall of Nehemiah
The wall of Solomon around Jerusalem has already been mentioned. But in the history of the city there were such turbulent times that this wall was rebuilt several times, which was also mentioned in the Bible. In the sixth century BC, Babylon conquered Judea and the Jews were sent into exile. Persia later defeated Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. The book of Nehemiah tells of how Nehemiah mobilized the Jews to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem in just 52 days. In 2007, Eilat Mazar claimed that her team had discovered a 5-meter-wide wall of Nehemiah while excavating what they believed was King David's palace.
9. Citadel of Spring
During nearly 20 years of excavations in the city of David, archaeologists found in 2014 the Citadel of Spring, a massive 18th century BC fortress that guarded Gijon from invaders in ancient times. The walls of the tower were 7 meters thick, and a fortified passage led to the Gikhon spring.
10. Hometown of Goliath
Although no one has discovered a huge skull with a sling stone wound in it, archaeologists believe they have found Goliath's hometown of Gath between Ashkelon and Jerusalem. During the excavations of Gef, archaeologists discovered a 3,000-year-old horned stone altar in excellent condition, similar to those described in the books of Kings and Exodus. However, the altar of the Philistines has two horns, while the biblical altars have four, so there is still controversy over the find. The Philistines are a people that lived around Gath during the 10th and 9th centuries BC, during the era of David and Solomon. Aspects of this culture have been fairly accurately described in the Bible.