The geneaology of Christ makes bold claims about human history. So too, do the other books of the Bible:
Tiny tablet provides proof for Old Testament
The sound of unbridled joy seldom breaks the quiet of the British Museum’s great Arched Room, which holds its collection of 130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets, dating back 5,000 years.
But Michael Jursa, a visiting professor from Vienna, let out such a cry last Thursday. He had made what has been called the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years, a discovery that supports the view that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact.
Searching for Babylonian financial accounts among the tablets, Prof Jursa suddenly came across a name he half remembered – Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, described there in a hand 2,500 years old, as “the chief eunuch” of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon.Prof Jursa, an Assyriologist, checked the Old Testament and there in chapter 39 of the Book of Jeremiah, he found, spelled differently, the same name – Nebo-Sarsekim.
Nebo-Sarsekim, according to Jeremiah, was Nebuchadnezzar II’s “chief officer” and was with him at the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC, when the Babylonians overran the city.
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“This is a fantastic discovery, a world-class find,” Dr Finkel said yesterday. “If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power.”
It is however a bit sobering to read the passage which this artifact refers to:
Jeremiah 39, The Fall of Jerusalem
Jeremiah 39
The Fall of Jerusalem
1 This is how Jerusalem was taken: In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. 2 And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. 3 Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came and took seats in the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sharezer of Samgar, Nebo-Sarsekim [a] a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officials of the king of Babylon. 4 When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. [b]
5 But the Babylonian [c] army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 6 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. 7 Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon.8 The Babylonians [d] set fire to the royal palace and the houses of the people and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. 10 But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: 12 “Take him and look after him; don’t harm him but do for him whatever he asks.” 13 So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon 14 sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his home. So he remained among his own people.
15 While Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him: 16 “Go and tell Ebed-Melech the Cushite, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. 17 But I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. 18 I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the LORD.’ ”
We have in the assyrian language confirmation of Jeremiah. We have artifacts in the Hebrew language which also confirm Jeremiah. The following artifact was a very powerful evidence for me personally: JEREMIAH’S SCRIBE – “BARUCH”
In 1975, a collection of nearly 250 clay seals
were found about 44 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
These small lumps of clay that are impressed with a
seal, in ancient times served as an official signature
for an individual. The clay seals were then attached
to documents to identify the sender. Amazingly,
among the seals that were found were the names of
three Biblical figures mentioned in the 36th chapter
of the book of Jeremiah.
The first clay seal is impressed with the following
inscription:
Berekhyahu son of Neriyahu the scribe
This is the seal of Baruch son of Neriah who was the scribe to the prophet Jeremiah. Baruch’s full name must have been Berekhyahu. The suffix (yahu)
in the ancient Hebrew language is a form of Yahweh (God). The name Baruch means “the blessed.”
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A second clay seal has been found that was impressed with the name of the scribe Elishama. It reads as follows: ‘Elishama’ servant of the king
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The previous passage also mentions another scribe, Gemariah the son of Shaphan. His clay was found in 1978. The inscription reads: “Gemariah, son of Shaphan”
Thank you Salvador for posting this astounding archeological find, sobering as it is by implication. It is the mercy of God that archeological artifacts often correspond to direct references in Scripture.
This year July 24th is the annual fast over the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, which is Tisha B’Av (9th day of the month of Av). For those who may not be aware, there are massive foundation stones of the outer wall of the Temple compound from the days of Solomon (c 1000 BCE) still in place and visible today. The Israel Antiquities Authority has also uncovered piles of stones from the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD and left them where they were found, which to me is a haunting reminder of Christ’s prophecy that not one stone would be left on another, but would be torn down. Messiah wept over Jerusalem’s fate, but did nevertheless hold out a promise that Jerusalem would repent, crying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of YHWH,” Matthew 23:19. We too, through repentance, have hope as well.
Best Regards.
Hyperbole alert?
Yes, this is an interesting and heartening find, but surely not “The greatest in 100 years”. There’s got to be a lot bigger finds than confirming the name of one minor official, surely!
Although a little “on the fringe”, I like all the stuff uncovered by Simcha Jacobovici and related in the “Exodus Decoded”, including, possibly, images of Moses at the parting of Red Sea on Mycenaean tombstones! (If you can get past the recent nonsense about the “Lost Tomb”).
http://www.theexodusdecoded.com/simcha.jsp
I vote for the discovery of King Solomon’s gates at Hazor, Megido, and Gezer.
I enjoyed the recent discovery of the mosaic of two fishes found @/near Megiddo where they were building a prison.
I attended Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue last week. Part of todays planned lesson is YirmaYahu(Jerimiah) 1:1 – 2:3.
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel+beyond+politics/Megiddo+Prison+dig+yields+rare+3rd-4th+century+Christian+structure+9-Nov-2005.htm
All the best with the new site.
Please Note:
ATTENTION! YOUNG COSMOS HAS MOVED!
Salvador