What gets lost in the din of
competing narratives between Jewish and Arab claims to the land known as Israel
is the historicity of the holy books these groups cite as evidence that God is
on their side.
To this point, Israel's
Communications Minister Tzachi Hanegbi recently made headlines by stating that
Israel's right to the land comes from the Bible and is morally based.
The problem with such claims is
that everyone, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Atheists and followers of Zeus base
their beliefs on such moral imperatives. As such, perhaps a respite from the
ceaseless quote-mining of holy texts that all too many people use as a basis
for making a point about a contemporary issue is in order.
But what good is the Good Book if
it can't be used to prove that God is pro-minimum wage, pro-life or pro-Israel?
Let's let archeology, a truly
independent source of historical information, answer that one…
Indeed, it's been a great few
months for biblical archaeology. Long before the establishment of modern
Israel, the land was drenched in blood and the relics of human history.
Archeologists, occasionally and inadvertently aided and abetted by greedy
antiquities thieves, have been diligently examining fossils, physical remains,
rock layers and even starlight across the Middle East. Their attempts to gauge
the historical accuracy of the Bible have yielded a treasure trove of new
discoveries.
On March 12, the Associated Press
reported that Iraqi archaeologists believe that the recent inscriptions and
engraved bulls and lions discovered under a destroyed shrine in Mosul, Iraq,
have revealed part of the palace of an ancient Assyrian king with connections
to the biblical account.
These treasures, found amidst a
network of ISIS tunnels, are approximately 2,700 years old and were discovered
under a site traditionally thought to hold the tomb of the biblical
prophet Jonah.
According to Iraqi archaeologist
Layla Salih, in the tunnels she discovered a 'marble cuneiform inscription of
King Esarhaddon thought to date back to the Assyrian empire in 672 BCE.'
Chapters 18 and 19 of the biblical
book of II Kings describe Sennacherib’s unsuccessful attempt to conquer
Jerusalem. Upon his return to his palace he was murdered by two of his sons,
who then fled, leaving Esarhaddon to take over the kingdom.
Sounds like a Game of Thrones
prequel.
And here's something that former
real estate mogul and current President of the United States Donald Trump could
appreciate. In January, archeologists excavated a grand prehistoric structure
dating back to King Solomon's era that affirmed Old Testament accounts of
Israel. Identified as an advanced military fortification, this site, located in
southern Israel, has long been associated with the legend of King Solomon’s
mines. Dating techniques indicate that the structure is about 3,000 years old,
exactly the period during which the stories attributed to King Solomon took
place.
According to Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef,
one of the research teams' leaders, this archeological find confirms the Old Testament
accounts: 'Our new discoveries are in complete accordance with the description
of military conflicts against a hierarchical and centralized society located
south of the Dead Sea.'
While biblical texts contain no
specific mention of mines in the context of King Solomon, it does boast of
extraordinary wealth.
Chapter 10:14 of the
biblical book of Kings I reads: “Now the weight of gold that came to
Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of
gold, Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice
merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the
country.”
Trump Tower in New York looks like
an abandoned horse stable in comparison.
Finally, as I am contractually
obligated to keep this report shorter than the Dead Sea Scrolls, German and
Egyptian archaeologists discovered a massive statue of what they believe is the
Ramses II, the Pharaoh who ruled when God brought the Jews out of slavery.
Nearly 3,000 years after his great
reign, parts of a massive 8-meter (26 foot) quartzite rock statue was found
buried face down in the mud of suburban Cairo. The discovery was made near
where a sun temple founded by Ramses II once stood.
Although it is a point of
contention among historians and there's no actual physical evidence, many
believe he could be the pharaoh in the Old Testament's Book of Exodus who
enslaved the Israelites.
As you can see, archeology doesn't
claim to corner the market on truth. Its great contribution, however, is to
test, reject and revise theories and hypotheses, by way of experimentation and
the discovery of new evidence.
In contrast, a purely faith-based
approach to debating the Arab-Israeli conflict is a surefire way to ensure
stale, unimaginative consensus. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said: 'A foolish
consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and
philosophers and divines.'
Based on the last century or so of
unremittent bloodshed, we may want to consider following the evidence, wherever
it may lead, instead of continuing to follow our hearts, which has only led to
pain, suffering and resignation.