Jenek Documentary Analysis

The Gibeonites, along with three other cities heard about the conquests of the Israelites. To preserve their lives and cities, they came to Joshua and the Israelites. They presented themselves as travelers from afar and into a pact with them that secured their safety. Upon reaching the cities, Joshua realized that they had been deceived. The Gibeonites secured their lives and safety, but became menial servants in their lands. When neighboring kings heard of the treaty, they became angry at Gibeon. They formed a plan to attack Gibeon out of revenge. Learning of this, Gibeon sent for Joshua’s help. He arrived and with his army, the kings were defeated and killed. Joshua commemorated the victory with a song.

The books of both Joshua and Judges provide an oversight into conquest and occupation of the Promised Land. Initially, when God promised Abraham land for he and his descendants it seems all that is required of the Israelites is to comply with the covenant (Tullock & McEntire, 2012, p. 96).

Written nearly 2 ½ thousand years ago, the ancient Hebrew Bible provides the fundamental basis for modern monotheistic religion. It is a well-known fact that the origins of both Christianity and Islam – two of the most widespread and influential religions in human history – can be traced back to ancient Judaism. However, with the rise of modern archaeology, historians have uncovered evidence that calls into question the historical authenticity of many stories recounted in the Old Testament. Did Joshua really knock down the walls of Jericho by shouting and blowing on ram horns? Was Noah really able to build an ark large enough to house that many animals at the age of 500? The answer: probably not. Then again, historians should not be assuming

Moses: The Holy Land is important to my faith because it contained two former Jewish temples. However, all that remains of the second temple is the western wall, called the Wailing Wall. Additionally, the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim mosque, now sits where the temple previously stood. The Cave of the Patriarchs, where Abraham was buried, is also located in the Holy Land.

After the death of Moses, Joshua, Son of Nun, was chosen to be the next prophet by God. Joshua was tasked with the challenge of leading the Israelites into their promised lands. One reason that this was such a challenge was because other people, the (IDK) were already living there. God said that he too, would help the Israelites obtain the land. In order to inquire more about these peoples, Joshua sent spies across the river, into the land, and asked them to report back to him. When the spies came back, they tell Joshua the, people in Jericho (the promised land) were gravely afraid of the Israelites. With this good news, Joshua was ready to begin his quest across the river leading the Israelites. In order for the Israelites to cross safely,

Luke was a physician and historian who had many writings and documents. In each one, he interviewed eyewitnesses and held thorough investigations. A.N. Sherwin White researched Luke’s work and studied his sources. White found that Luke’s sources spread across thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine islands; yet, not a single flaw was found in Luke’s information. Luke’s use of primary resources also makes his writings more accurate and believable. Archaeologist Sir William Ramsay sought to disprove Luke’s teachings. He spent twenty-five years in the Holy Land participating in archaeological digs and retracing Paul’s travels. Ramsay could not disprove Luke. Another archaeologist and professor at JHU, William F. Albright, declared the Bible a reliable source of History after participating in his own research. The Bible also has texts that are scientifically accurate. In one text the shape of the earth was described as round even though most people at the time believed the earth was flat (Job 26:10). Another text says that God hangs the earth on nothing, leaving it unattached in space (Job 26:7). This is an indication of gravity long before it was discovered. The studies of modern archaeologists and the scientific accuracy of the Bible proves the Bible’s

In 1870, Sir Charles Warren happened to be exploring in the Lebanon region on the summit of Mount Hermon and found the ruins of a temple believed to belong to Baal. Similarly, this could be relevant to the Bible’s stating they

Early Biblical archeology focused on finding the monumental things that pointed directly to the Biblical text and ignored the everyday things. Their goal was to find the holy grail. King and Stager changed that goal, they began to focus what everyday life looked like to discover what life was like in Biblical times. Archeology of Ancient Israel gives us the context in which the people of the Biblical text lived, allowing us to grasp the meanings of the text. The Biblical text does not deceive you, however they will not use it as a source. Archeology cannot bear the burden of proving the Bible since it is not meant to do that. Their working assumption is that the Biblical text is only reliable if other archeological proof shows up which includes

  One  of  the  many  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  Bible  is  Jericho.  Jericho  was  excavated  by  archaeologist  John  Garstang  and  Walter  Garstang  who  dated  the  destruction  of  Jericho  to  1400  BCE  based  on  the  type  of  pottery  that  was  similar  of  Cyprus  pottery,  however,  when  Kathleen  Kenyon  excavate  she  dated  the  time  of

The archaeological evidence as described above proves that these theories are not applicable anymore. The lion stamp impressions have just not been seen in the right context because of the general assumption that Judah was devastated and

I can only imagine how Joshua felt as he got up that first day without Moses to lead the people. How the people felt as they stared across the Jordan at the land they were going into and its inhabitants. Fear, excitement, sadness, regret, doubt they were probably all there in equal measure. In the midst of this mix of feelings God speaks to Joshua and tells him to be strong and courageous and to keep the law and that He will be with them.

Disobedience, Deliverance, Destruction. After the death of Joshua, the men of Judah and Joseph conquered their territory and drove out the Canaanites, being obedient, but all the other tribes did not. This signified a lack of trust in the Lord to fight their battles and was disobedient. Destroying idols was a part of the covenant and most of Israel did not do this and God cursed them. Because they had not destroyed the Canaanites, they would forever be in tension with them. The Israelites repented of their sins, but the curse still was in place. One generation after the death of Joshua did not know the Lord and was disobedient. This also shows that the previous “faithful” generation did not properly teach their children and therefore failed

Another major challenge against Christianity is that the documents are contradictory and were written decades after the events (Ford, 2015). In reality, the documents are not contradictory, they are merely different versions of the same event. The natural differences in the documents don’t mean that they are contradictory. The personal touch of each author is responsible for the slight variations in the document. When taken as a whole, all the documents on one event has the same overall plot. For example, Christ’s resurrection is reported in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and evidently there are several discrepancies among the four accounts. Matthew claims that the women came to tomb as it “began to dawn,” while Mark and Luke claims that the

Archeologist and historians are able to trace back to when some of the earliest Christian writing was written that correlates with the Bible, such as the Dead Sea scrolls, can be traced back to between 400-300 BC. Understanding the context of where a text comes from and what period it was written in, often give us a unique insight on the pieces of literature and allows us to interpret it correctly. Nevertheless, it may help us also understand other writing that seems to be written about the same story or ones that appear to be similar. While we examine the Quran, we are able to see that there is some evidence indicating the use of some Bible stories, which were first recorded within the Old Testament. The interesting fact is that most of

Archaeology has verified that the bible is true but how? First, archeology has confirmed the biblical stories are true and not myths, as the world believed, because of ancient sites and civilizations discovered. Second, manuscripts that were found and translated has shown people today how the people back in the bible lived and worked. Last but not least, archeology has shown where major events, like battles, have gone on and during what year, they happened. According to Archeology and the Old Testament, the book of Judges took place around the Iron Age period, which was 1200 – 586 BC. Excavations have provided some useful information about daily life in ancient Israel during Judges, including the land, climate and people.