November 2024: Jericho in Archaeology: The Problem & the Solution

Are you ready to see the Bible to come to life in archaeology?

Following on the heels of the compelling evidence we have seen for Israel in the wilderness, we now come to the beginning of the Conquest of Canaan.

This month we discuss Jericho, where the Bible says walls fell down around an inhabited city, which was then burned by Joshua and his men. After this time, the text indicates that it was not rebuilt for some significant period of time. All of this should not be hard to find in archaeology.

Once again, the Bible runs into trouble at the traditional dates. No walls, no burning, not even a city—nothing at all is present in archaeology at Jericho within the traditional timeframe. This leads to some troubling questions. Could the biblical tale actually be just invented "history" or even "propaganda" for the nation of Israel?  ...