The site 7 miles from Jerusalem which archaeologists say is King Herod's tomb
DISCOVERY OF HEROD'S TOMB
It is quipped that the Bible is the worlds best-selling, least read book. And even when read it is probably little believed, its stories being consigned to the fable and myth department ! What’s not generally known is how over the last several decades this ancient book has been quietly and consistently vindicated by archaeological finds. Probably the Dead Sea Scrolls have had the greatest Biblical impact. They have provided Old Testament manuscripts approximately 1,000 years older than our previous oldest manuscript. The Dead Sea Scrolls have demonstrated that the Old Testament was accurately transmitted during this interval. In addition, they provide a wealth of information on the times leading up to, and during, the life of Christ. These scrolls were uncovered back in 1945 when a young goatherd discovered caves overlooking the Dead Sea, and throwing a stone inside the mouth of one, heard the sound of breaking pottery. Inside the caves were several clay jars filled with ancient manuscripts, these were the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Also several man-made monuments mentioned in the Bible have been unearthed over the years, often the archaeologists using the Biblical text to help locate these treasures. Some of the more notable are the palace at Jericho(Judges3:15-30), the East gate of Shechem(Judges9:4;46-49),the Pool of Gibeon(2Samuel2:12-32),the Pool of Heshbon(Song of Songs7:4),Hezekiahs water tunnel beneath Jerusalem(2Kings20:20),the house of Peter at Capernaum(Matthew8:14-16)…
And now Professor Ehud Netzer from the Hebrew University at Jerusalem has dug up the final resting place of Herod the Great. Herod of course is infamously remembered by Christians as the despot who ordered the slaughter of the Innocents in his frenzied efforts to kill the infant Jesus. Historians had believed that the King was buried somewhere in the vicinity of the hill called Herodium,but despite years of excavation nothing had been discovered up to this. The sarcophagus when found was broken into pieces probably by Jews rebelling against Rome in A.D.66,who would have regarded Herod as the Empires puppet King. So another historical piece is slotted in to confirm the accuracy and veracity of the Bible, encouraging those of us who have this book on our shelves to read it afresh and take it as seriously as it deserves.
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a colt just before his arrest and trial, he was greeted by crowds of people shouting and praising God: “God bless the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God!” The religious leaders, the Pharisees became disturbed by the tumult and admonished Jesus to command his followers to be quiet. Jesus answered, “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the stones themselves will start shouting.” Today it seems the stones are still shouting, reminding a deaf world of the immutable and irrepressible Word of God.
Gerard O'Shea
2 comments:
Biblical archaeology has always fascinated me,and this Herod tomb find seems to be the genuine article. Refreshing to read the authentic after the Cameroon debacle of late,but guess which one gets the most media attention ?
Not only is there no evidence that there was ever an Abraham, but no evidence that a nation of Jews was ever in, let alone dramatically escaped from, Egypt, and no evidence that there was ever a Solomon or a great Jewish kingdom with a spectacular first Temple.
There is absolutely nothing in the Bible that could not have been know or invented by a goat herding Jewish scribe familiar with the many common mythical Gods that preceded their own writings. Man invented God not the other way around. After the Bible the Jews still thought the world was flat, had never heard of China, South America or even germs.
But you don't have to go as far as the Middle East. Just take a drive to Newgrange. Does the existence of a passage tomb automatically mean there is a God called Daghdha?
Henry De Butler
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