Jerusalem Jones

There’s more archaeology being undertaken in Israel and its territories today than in any other location on earth. And yet, the origins of biblical Israel are as murky as ever. Where did the Israelites come from? And when did the Israelites as a people come into existence? Can the biblical record be read as historical, when it declared that they came from Egypt in a mass exodus? Did they drift in from some other location, perhaps as pastoral nomads? What’s the skinny on the origins of Israel? Find out, right here, right now!

Can archaeologists with spade in hand verify the biblical version of the conquest of the land of Canaan by the great ancient Israelites commander, Joshua? That at least was the goal of many of the pioneers of biblical archaeology. After thousands of years it looks like the battle for Jericho isn't over yet.

Anyone who visits Egypt is likely to come face to face with perhaps the greatest pharaoh who ever lived, Ramses II. Was this the pharaoh of the Israelite exodus? When exactly did the Israelites leave Egypt, and were they ever in Egypt to begin with? These are the questions on which serious archaeology is asked to comment. Of course the archaeology of Egypt has yielded a rich treasure-trove of artifacts. But where is the evidence of Israelites having lived in Egypt for some four centuries, as the Bible relates, prior to their exodus, and where is the evidence for Moses?

Can the science of archaeology confirm the earliest stories of the Bible? Can we prove that Abraham existed? What about Moses? Were Israelites ever Egypt at all? These are just a few of the questions addressed in Episode One of this new series on biblical archaeology. Let's have a look at the “founders” of biblical archaeology, going back to the nineteenth century, and recognize how these “diggers in the dirt” changed forever the way we approach “holy writ.”