The Jerusalem Files (Biblical Archaeology) | 8-19 min

Need evidence for the Bible? Let’s go to Jerusalem! This video series contains short biblical archaeology lessons based around the city of Jerusalem. Join us as we travel around the city looking at some neat archaeological finds!

Hezekiah’s Broad Wall (8 min)

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Isaiah 2:10 and Nehemiah 3:8 both make references to Jerusalem’s “Broad Wall.” It turns out you can find sections of this wall exposed in the old city of Jerusalem. Join us as we look at archaeological evidence the remains provide and how they show evidence for the Bible!

MAPS & PHOTOS:

CREDITS: Assyrian Empire map by Ningyou, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=600659 | Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5

David’s Tomb (18 min)

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Just outside of the old city to the south lies the city of David. Go a bit further and you will find a peculiar area that’s often ignored between the Gihon spring and the Pool of Siloam. This site has gone through many changes throughout history after being visited by plunderers, conquerors, and builders. But there is evidence that this was the royal graveyard, also known as the Tombs of the Kings in the Bible. Join us as Michael explains what this site would have looked like, where King David would have been buried, and how this relates to evidence for the Bible.

DRAWINGS & PHOTOS:

CREDITS: Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5 | Simon Lee, James Coleman, and Tanner Mardis on Unsplash.com | Drawings of T1 tomb and original excavation from The City of David: Revisiting Early Excavations by Raymond Weill and L.-H. Vincent. | Photograph of inside of T1: Zorn, J. R. (2012). Is T1 David’s Tomb? Biblical Archaeology Review38(6), 45–52, 78

Ketef Hinnom: Valley of Hinnom, the Silver Scrolls (14 min)

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Gabriel Barkay used student volunteers to help him dig in the valley of Hinnom in 1979. Not expecting to find anything, he kept sending one of the volunteer children back into a cleaned out tomb hoping to get some peace. It turns out this child’s boredom lead to one of the biggest accidental discoveries in recent history: the silver scrolls? Join us as Michael explains what makes this discovery so valuable to our faith as Christians.

PHOTOS:

CREDITS: Photograph of Gabriel Barkay by אסף אברהם – אסף אברהם, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60474671 | Detailed drawings of silver scrolls from Bible and Spade, Spring 2006 Issue, Associates for Biblical Research, https://biblearchaeology.org/research/divided-kingdom/3567-the-blessing-of-the-silver-scrolls | Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5

The Trumpeting Stone (8 min)

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When visiting the old city of Jerusalem you might hear claims that there never was a Jewish Temple on the temple mount. However, there is archaeological evidence that says quite the contrary. One of these is the trumpeting stone, a place where one was instructed to blow the shofar to announce the beginning of shabbat. Join us as Michael goes through the evidence at the southwest corner of the temple mount.

PHOTOS:

CREDITS: Thumbnail photograph by Megs Harrison on Unsplash | 19th century photograph of Robinson’s Arch, unknown author, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10039534 | Artistic reconstruction of Robinson’s Arch by Водник at ru.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7560698 | Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5

The Isaiah Seal (4 min)

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Dr. Eliat Mazar is a renowned archaeologist whose discoveries helped uncover the biblical record under Jerusalem. One of those discoveries was a bulla, also known as a clay seal that would have been used to seal letters. Hundreds of bullas have been found and they typically carry the symbol and name of the writer (such as a king, official, or scribe). This particular bulla was found on the south side of the Temple Mount and provides evidence of one of the most famous old testament prophets.

PHOTOS:

CREDITS: Photograph of Dr. Eliat Mazar by Alexander Schick via Biblical Archaeology Society: https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/remembering-eilat-mazar/ | Isaiah Seal images and Dr Mazar’s publication of her findings: Mazar, E. (2018). Is This the Prophet Isaiah’s Signature? Biblical Archaeology Review44(2), 64–73,92. https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/44/2/7 | Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5

The Beautiful Gate (13 min)

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In Acts 3 Peter and John meet a lame man at the Beautiful Gate. You can still see where this gate stood today. Join us as Michael takes the opportunity to dig a little deeper into the story of the lame man, and how this location provides some interesting considerations for this story in Acts 3.

SEE ALSO: Hope turns to Joy! A theatrical presentation on Acts 3 & 4.

CREDITS: Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5

The Baptisms Of Pentecost (7 min)

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Acts 2:41 tells us that three thousand people were baptized following Peter’s sermon at the Temple Mount. That’s a lot of people! The traditional theory is that these new believers travelled a ways from the Temple Mount to get baptized in the river. However, archaeology reveals to us some very interesting facilities located on the south side of the Temple Mount that would have accommodated such a number of baptisms.

CREDITS: Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5 | Thumbnail photo by zhang kaiyv on Unsplash

Hadrian’s Inscription at the Double Gate (7 min)

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Before the Dome of the Rock we see today, there was another temple built on the Temple Mount aside from the Jewish Temple. This temple was built by the romans and for a long time there was no archaeological evidence besides a few historical records. However the modern walls of the Temple mount give us a clue.

PHOTOS:

SOURCE LINKS:

CREDITS: Statue of Jupiter photographed by Biser Todorov, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73898497 | Manuscript background photograph by Mark Rasmuson on Unsplash | Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5

Garden of Gethsemane (10 min)

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The Garden of Gethsemane lies outside of the old city towards the lower side of the Mount of Olives. The modern garden you can visit today is much smaller than it was in the first century but the olive industry is still alive and well. There are a few trees in this garden that might have been saplings at the time of Jesus 2,000 years ago! Join us as Michael explains the historical and spiritual significance of the garden.

PHOTOS:

CREDITS: Olive press diagram by פרנקל רפי – פרנקל ר., בית בד קדום, ספריית אדם ועמלו, מוזיאון ישראל, תל-אביב, 1986, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18576259 | Screw olive presses by a.froese – alte Olivenpresse, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58368912 & Alain Muller – https://www.flickr.com/photos/alainmuller/10850185236/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36077848 | Modern olive press by I, China Crisis, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4528510 | Olive press disk by Giancarlo Dessì, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1416627 | Hematidrosis by Saugato Biswas, Trupti Surana, Abhishek De, Falguni Nag – CC licence]the image hematidrosis case report, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33584837 | Stock Music provided by mv_production, from Pond5