Jericho already in ruins when Joshua came?

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MaryRegina124

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A new Bible Study started at our church is stating that Jericho was already in ruins when Joshua came upon it. Does anyone know of the details of the archeology that states this? When does the archeology say that Jericho was put into ruins, and what is the margin of error?

Any comments or enlightenment?
 
Most studies these days tend to “disprove” the Bible rather than actually study the Bible.
 
That sounds about right for this particular “Bible Study”. The moderator started out by stating that Genesis was a myth. She may be a good presenter, but lacks substance. I am much more impressed with “the Great Adventure” Bible series by Jeff Cavins, and by Steven Ray’s Study of the Gospel of John.
 
MaryRegina124 said:
A new Bible Study started at our church is stating that Jericho was already in ruins when Joshua came upon it. Does anyone know of the details of the archeology that states this? When does the archeology say that Jericho was put into ruins, and what is the margin of error?

Any comments or enlightenment?
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It’s my understanding that the city of Jericho was destroyed and rebuilt several times including before Joshua. However it was standing when Joshua got there.
 
If the teacher’s claims directly contradict the text being studied (and Jericho in ruins definitely contradicts the account, especially the bit about Rahab’s house being built right into the wall, and lowering the men out the window and such) then I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask the teacher to document her claims. If she’s not willing to take the plain meaning of an ancient text at face value, why should you take her word at face value?

Margaret
 
It sounds like a bad “Bible study” to be in. Either protest or drop the class.
 
MaryRegina124 said:
A new Bible Study started at our church is stating that Jericho was already in ruins when Joshua came upon it. Does anyone know of the details of the archeology that states this? When does the archeology say that Jericho was put into ruins, and what is the margin of error?

Any comments or enlightenment?
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RESPONSE:

Yes. That’s pretty much the current archeological findings.

From Wikipedia

“Archaeological evidence indicates that in the latter half of the Middle Bronze Age (circa 1700 BC), the city enjoyed some prosperity, its walls having been strengthened and expanded.[15] The Canaanite city (Jericho City IV) was destroyed c.1550 BC,[16][17] and the site remained uninhabited until the city was refounded in the 9th century BC.”

Note: According to biblical chronology, Joshua would have been there about 1400 BC so it was inhabited.

(15) Scneller, 1994, p. 138.
(16) Is Bryant Wood’s chronology of Jericho valid? The Biblical Chronologist Volume 2, Number 3.
(17) Radiocarbon Vol. 37, Number 2, 1995.

If you would be interested, you might want to check your library forThe Bible as History by Werner Keller (2nd edition).
 
JP_Marat said:
RESPONSE:

Yes. That’s pretty much the current archeological findings.

From Wikipedia

“Archaeological evidence indicates that in the latter half of the Middle Bronze Age (circa 1700 BC), the city enjoyed some prosperity, its walls having been strengthened and expanded.[15] The Canaanite city (Jericho City IV) was destroyed c.1550 BC,[16][17] and the site remained uninhabited until the city was refounded in the 9th century BC.”

Note: According to biblical chronology, Joshua would have been there about 1400 BC so it was inhabited.
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Don’t you mean UNinhabited? 1400 BC is later than 1550 BC.

I doubt if the sun stood still either.

Archaeologist Bill Dever, has said: if you want a miracle, here’s your miracle: Joshua destroyed a city that wasn’t even there.
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
Don’t you mean UNinhabited? 1400 BC is later than 1550 BC.

I doubt if the sun stood still either.

Archaeologist Bill Dever, has said: if you want a miracle, here’s your miracle: Joshua destroyed a city that wasn’t even there.
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RESPONSE:

Mea culpa. I meant it wasn’t inhabited or was uninhabited at the time Joshua was supposed to have been there.

As I recall, Galileo shared your doubts about the sun. Look at the trouble that landed him in!😦
 
JP_Marat said:
RESPONSE:

Mea culpa. I meant it wasn’t inhabited or was uninhabited at the time Joshua was supposed to have been there.

As I recall, Galileo shared your doubts about the sun. Look at the trouble that landed him in!😦
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No, that’s not what landed Galileo in trouble, for this theory was brought forth by a Father Capernicus decades earlier. What landed the good Galileo in trouble was the claim that you can’t trust the Bible (paraphrasing).

So, how sure are achaeologist of this deduction? If I recall, there were about 7 or 8 cities on the site of what was Jericho. Many cities, many destructions. The carbon dating, not an exact science, is it that accurate?
 
JP_Marat said:
RESPONSE:

Mea culpa. I meant it wasn’t inhabited or was uninhabited at the time Joshua was supposed to have been there.

As I recall, Galileo shared your doubts about the sun. Look at the trouble that landed him in!😦
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Some of the Bible is not literally true.
 
Jericho and its environs are one of the oldest and most studied continuously inhabited areas of the middle East. My college archeology professor spent a great deal of his life there. The interpretations of findings at various layers that have been excavated are hotly debated, and it would be a real stretch to make any definite pronouncement about any bible event based on that research, so anyone who claims to do so is using a lot of latitude and speculation.

When it comes to a bible study the instructor would be well to stick with solid Church interpretation, which does not by any means require a strictly literal view. Someone stuck to the literal view only is handicapped and denies the deeper spiritual senses of scripture.
 
puzzleannie said:
Jericho and its environs are one of the oldest and most studied continuously inhabited areas of the middle East. My college archeology professor spent a great deal of his life there. The interpretations of findings at various layers that have been excavated are hotly debated, and it would be a real stretch to make any definite pronouncement about any bible event based on that research, so anyone who claims to do so is using a lot of latitude and speculation.

When it comes to a bible study the instructor would be well to stick with solid Church interpretation, which does not by any means require a strictly literal view. Someone stuck to the literal view only is handicapped and denies the deeper spiritual senses of scripture.
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RESPONSE:

Please provide your professor’s name.
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
I think there is some truth in all of the Bible, but it is NOT a history book.
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RESPONSE:

Unquestionably there is some historical truth in the Bible. Yes. It is not a history book. It is more of a collection of Jewish folklore, legends passed orally for hundreds of years and sometime quite embellished with each retelling.
 
JP_Marat said:
RESPONSE:

Unquestionably there is some historical truth in the Bible. Yes. It is not a history book. It is more of a collection of Jewish folklore, legends passed orally for hundreds of years and sometime quite embellished with each retelling.
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JP, you’ve just opened up the entire Bible to your personal interpretation.

If Jericho was in ruins before Joshua and Company arrived, then this would represent a complete distortion of the Truth, not merely a fictional fairy tale to teach a nice “God is good to those who follow Him” lesson.

What about the plagues that God, through Moses, unleashed on Egypt? What about the miracles that Elijah and Elisha performed?
 
NotWorthy said:
JP, you’ve just opened up the entire Bible to your personal interpretation.

If Jericho was in ruins before Joshua and Company arrived, then this would represent a complete distortion of the Truth, not merely a fictional fairy tale to teach a nice “God is good to those who follow Him” lesson.

What about the plagues that God, through Moses, unleashed on Egypt? What about the miracles that Elijah and Elisha performed?
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RESPONSE:

Insight comes slowly. But then it comes all at once, doesn’t it.

And it’s not a “personal interpretation.” It’s the facts of history and the recognition of error and contradiction.
 
JP_Marat said:
RESPONSE:

Insight comes slowly. But then it comes all at once, doesn’t it.

And it’s not a “personal interpretation.” It’s the facts of history and the recognition of error and contradiction.
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Is carbon dating considered a “fact of history”? I seem to recall some cowboy boots that were 10,000 years old according to carbon dating.
 
NotWorthy said:
Is carbon dating considered a “fact of history”? I seem to recall some cowboy boots that were 10,000 years old according to carbon dating.
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RESPONSE:

Really? Then lets see your evidence for that assertion. Or is this just a wild claim?
 
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