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The Stones Cry Out: Archaeology and the Jewish Connection to the
Land
.
God
placed His name upon the Land and marked it as His own. Then He gave it to
Abraham’s posterity in an everlasting covenant. Those footsteps on the land
4,000 years ago are forever seared into Israel’s soil. There the Jewish people
bled, toiled and grew deep roots. Even during the periods when they were
forcibly exiled, they yearned to return to the land of Zion. The historic
attachment to their homeland continues to be affirmed in their songs, prayers —
and in Israel’s ancient stones. Strong archaeological evidence continues to
agree with the historical and biblical record - the ancient stones seem to have
a voice of their own. Israel belongs to the Jewish people.
by:
Kathy DeGagne, BFP Staff Writer
The
Jewish connection to the Land has ancient roots, first birthed when Abraham
came to the place where God led him, and then thoroughly established the moment
Joshua and the Children of Israel set foot on Canaan’s soil.
God
placed His name upon the Land and marked it as His own. Then He gave it to
Abraham’s posterity in an everlasting covenant.
Those
footsteps on the land 4,000 years ago are forever seared into Israel’s soil.
There
the Jewish people bled, toiled and grew deep roots. Even during the periods
when they were forcibly exiled, they yearned to return to the land of Zion.
The historic attachment to their homeland continues to be affirmed in their songs, prayers — and in Israel’s ancient stones.
Archaeological
Evidence
The
Palestinians have spent decades trying to erase Israel’s historic connection to
the Land and attempting to assert their sovereignty with war and acts of
terror.
Though
the international community has swallowed the false Palestinian narrative — hook,
line and sinker — the archaeological evidence of its Jewish ownership is being
unearthed in every corner of Israel.
Jews
were here for 4,000 years; they settled from the Negev in the south to Mount
Hermon in the north, and from the Golan to the Mediterranean.
They
built their homes and their synagogues and left their indelible mark in the
ground.
Maybe
a desire to affirm the Jewish right to the land explains why so many Israelis
are eager to participate in Israel’s archaeology digs.
Ordinary
citizens, school-age children and Israel’s young soldiers get involved in the
process of excavating sites with the encouragement and oversight of the Israel
Antiquities Authority (IAA).
Ordinary
Israelis just out for their daily walk have uncovered many significant finds — not
so surprising when you consider the remains of ancient civilizations lie just
beneath their feet.
Under
Jerusalem
Nowhere
in Israel is that wealth of archaeological evidence more pronounced than in
Jerusalem.
Recently,
archaeologists working in the City of David uncovered an ancient thoroughfare
called the Pilgrimage Road, a wide-stepped limestone staircase ascending to the
Temple Mount from the Pool of Siloam.
Thousands
of Jewish pilgrims from the first century AD flocking to Jerusalem for the
three great pilgrimage feasts ritually washed in the pool at the base of the
City of David, then made their way up the road to worship at the Temple.
Beneath
the Pilgrimage Road is a massive drainage channel, discovered after the Pool of
Siloam was unearthed.
Rebels
of the Jewish Revolt (AD 66–70) went underground and hid in this drainage
channel as Roman soldiers sacked Jerusalem.
From
the drainage channel and the road, archaeologists unearthed an oil lamp, a ring
inlaid with a blue stone, a decorative table in fragments, a golden bell that
had fallen from the hemline of a priestly garment, cooking pots, stone vessels,
a table used to measure liquids and a child’s drawing of a menorah
(seven-branched candelabra).
Thousands
of coins inscribed with the words “For the freedom of Zion” were also
discovered, a moving testimony that the inhabitants of Jerusalem still hoped
beyond hope that they would be victorious in defending their homeland against
the Roman legions.
Ze’ev Orenstein,
director of International Affairs at the City of David Foundation, said, “These
findings show that the connection between the Jewish people and the ancient
City of Jerusalem is a matter of fact and not a matter of faith.”
Sealing
the Deal
Other
discoveries in the City of David are rather smaller but no less impressive.
An
extensive collection of tiny clay bullae (seal impressions) that seal official
documents have been found in the excavations.
In
the spring of 2019, a 2,600-year-old bulla inscribed with the name
“Nathan-Melech, Servant of the King” was discovered in the excavations of the
old Givati parking lot in the City of David.
Nathan-Melech
was an official who served King Josiah, and his name is found in the Bible in 2
Kings 23:11.
It
is just one of the many bullae from the First Temple period (1000–587 BC) that
have been unearthed in the vicinity and are inscribed with the Hebrew names of
court administrators from the kingdom of Judah.
The
fact that the personal seal of a court official to King Josiah has been brought
to light is of immense importance to the truth of the historic Jewish narrative
in the Land.
Sifting
the Soil
A
Second Temple coin from the Jewish revolt against the Roman legions
Although
archaeologists aren’t allowed to dig on the Temple Mount,
the
Muslim Waqf (religious authority) illegally removed massive amounts of earth
from the Mount and dumped it in the Kidron Valley.
Archaeologists
believed the discarded soil contained too many important artifacts from the
First and Second Temple periods to just let it lay in a heap.
They
were right. Volunteers and archaeologists of the Temple Mount Sifting Project
have recovered over half a million artifacts to date.
Some
notable finds include a 2,700-year-old First Temple clay seal inscribed with
the name of a priestly family mentioned in the book of Jeremiah, 6,000 coins
from the Second Temple period and stunning geometric stone floor tiles that
paved King Herod’s Temple Mount.
Though
many archaeologists are leery of promoting a national narrative with their
work, the ancient stones seem to have a voice of their own.
Who
owns the Holy Land?
Strong archaeological evidence continues to agree with the historical and biblical record. Israel belongs to the Jewish people.
Bridges For Peace: Christians
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