The Fall of Jericho: The Archaeological Evidence

Was the city of Jericho destroyed as written in the book of Joshua? Expedition Bible has released a DVD, “Jericho Unearthed,” in which archaeologists discuss the arguments in favor and against the destruction of the city by Joshua and the army of Israel.

The web page of Expedition Bible describe the DVD as follows:

The battle of Jericho is one of the most enduring biblical stories. The description of the “walls falling down” is among its most well-known accounts. Yet, the most famous excavation of this ancient site, carried out in the 1950's under the direction of Kathleen Kenyon, claims that there wasn’t even a city at Jericho—much less city walls—at the time when Joshua supposedly conquered it.

What are the implications of the battle of Jericho being disproven? Wouldn’t the Bible be demonstrated untrustworthy? Couldn’t it be argued that the Jewish people have no more right to the land of Israel than anyone else? The implications really are staggering!

For more than fifty years scholars have built a wall of doubt against the historical accuracy of the Bible using Jericho as one of its cornerstones. It’s time to face those challenges head on! It’s time to determine whether or not the conclusions of modern scholarship stand in light of the evidence or if those arguments don’t in fact collapse like Jericho’s walls.

Join us, as we return to the site of one of history’s most important battles in order to explore the crucial question relating to Joshua’s conquest: Did the walls of Jericho really come tumbling down? Find out here in this episode of Expedition Bible.

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them” (Joshua 1:6).

Watch the DVD online by clicking here and then decide for yourself whether the archaeological evidence negates or confirms the fact that the city of Jericho was destroyed just as it was described in the book of Joshua.

HT: Todd Bolen

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Jericho, Joshua

The City of Jericho and Tuberculosis

Archaeologists and medical researchers are examining human bones found by Kathleen Kenyon at the site of the ancient city of Jericho in order to develop treatments for tuberculosis.

According to a news report published in the Guardian, a group of Israeli, Palestinian, and German researchers, will be using the results of the work of British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon in the old city of Jericho to conduct their research. In her excavations, Kenyon found bones from thousands of humans; some of these bones are 8,000 years old.

When researchers studied these bones, they discovered many of them had lesions, indicating that many of the inhabitants of Jericho suffered from tuberculosis.

In jest, the writer of the news report wrote that the walls of Jericho may have come down, not with a trumpet blast, but with an epidemic of coughing.

Tuberculosis can be a very infectious disease. People become infected with prolonged contact with people who are infected with the disease. The disease can also be transmitted by eating meat if the cattle is infected with TB. In the case of Jericho, one wonders how the disease originated among the city’s population.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, Jericho, Tuberculosis