Biblical Archaeology Archives

Paul D. Weaver, Faith-Affirming Findings

Weaver, Paul D. Faith-Affirming Findings: 50 Archaeological Discoveries that Validate the Historicity and Reliability of Scripture. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel Academic, 2026. 360 pp. Hb. $46.99 Link to Kregel Academic

Paul D. Weaver (PhD, Baptist Bible Seminary) serves as Associate Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary. His 2018 doctoral dissertation was entitled “From Archaeology to Exegesis: Archaeological Discoveries of Ancient Corinth and the Exegesis of First Corinthians.” Weaver edited the Learn the Word Bible Survey series and hosts the Bible and Theology Matters podcast.

In the forward and acknowledgments to the book, Weaver states that the goal of Faith-Affirming Findings is to provide “careful and accurate description of discoveries found throughout the land of the Bible” (17) and that the book is self-consciously “biblical archaeology” (19). In addition, the book has an apologetic agenda, as implied by the title. The discoveries included in the book are “particularly relevant to the preacher, teacher, and Bible study leader” (27). Weaver says, “these discoveries will strengthen your beliefs and affirm your faith in the historicity and reliability of scripture” (27).

The introduction begins by defining some important terms. By “biblical archaeology,” Weaver means he is interested in the archaeology pertaining to the biblical texts. There are many locations in Israel and Turkey that are well excavated and important, but not useful as background for the New Testament. There is far more archaeology that pertains to the world of the Bible, but not necessarily to particular texts.

Weaver suggests that biblical archaeology sheds light on the cultural and historical setting of the Bible. This includes people, places, and things mentioned in the Bible. This will contribute to the overall historical reliability of scripture. There are some limitations to biblical archaeology. He suggested archaeology cannot prove crucial, theological claims of the Bible. Christian faith requires belief and trust that archaeology cannot provide (22).

Since archaeology requires interpretation, Weaver’s introduction also provides a few pages outlining the controversial minimalist/maximalist debate with respect to biblical archaeology. Minimalists assume that “the Bible is guilty until proven otherwise” (23). It presumes there are historical errors or mythological elements in the text since the writers were driven by an agenda. Maximalists, on the other hand, assume the Bible is historically reliable: “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” (25). Weaver is clear: “I am in unabashed maximalist” (25). This is a brief overview of a debate among archaeologists, and it is good that Weaver states his position. However, the complexity of this debate is often the subject of entire books, and there is often a wider range of views than either minimalist or maximalist.

The book is divided into five sections. First, four chapters on the pre-kingdom. Second, Weaver devotes twelve chapters to discoveries pertaining to the kingdom, beginning with the House of David Stele and ending with Sennacherib’s Prism. In the third section, 11 discoveries from the exile and post-exilic period. From Nebuchadnezzar’s tablet through a chapter on biblical names found on seals and bullae. The fourth section collects twelve discoveries from the gospels, including the Jerusalem temple to the “crucifixion heel.” The final section of the book covers the apostolic era (the Book of Acts and beyond). These eleven discoveries begin with the politarch inscription (Acts 17:6) and conclude with the John Rylands fragment (p⁵²), an early witness to the Gospel of John. It is not surprising that, given the topic of his dissertation, there are four chapters that focus on Corinth (Acts 18). Two chapters on Gallio (one on the bema seat and one on the Delphi inscription), a chapter on the Isthmian Games, and one on meat markets.

Each chapter follows the same general outline. The chapter begins by listing the relevant Scripture and then a brief description of the discovery. He then describes the artifact or site and provides a longer section on its significance for understanding specific biblical texts. Each chapter concludes with the location of the artifact (museum, etc.). Weaver some bibliography “for further study.” These are generally solid academic works, although I do notice quite a few Biblical Archaeology Review articles. If you are a BAR subscriber, these articles are available in their archive. Finally, each chapter ends with a QR code that links to a specific Faith Affirming podcast on YouTube. The book is illustrated with over 100 full-color photos.

Conclusion. On several occasions, I have presented a “top 10 archaeological finds” list for pastors and laypeople, covering both the Old and the New Testaments. My goals were similar to Weaver’s, although our lists differ slightly. I understand that selecting fifty examples evenly split between the Old and New Testaments is challenging. Informed readers will protest that Weaver has omitted some obscure site or find that they think is “the most important thing ever.” But consider Weaver’s goals. These are faith, affirming fines. Although I might want to see a longer chapter on the Dead Sea Scrolls or the importance of Arad (one of the highlights of my Israel tours—for me), Weaver has selected his fifty examples because of his apologetic interest.

The book is well written and illustrated and will be useful to pastors, teachers, and laypeople interested in the archaeology of the Bible. Weaver provides sufficient footnotes and a bibliography to point readers to more detailed and professional studies of these important finds and sites. Although it can be read from beginning to end, readers are encouraged to read sections that interest them (or randomly flip through the book and look at the pictures!) This will be an excellent resource for anyone who wants to understand the Bible in its historical and cultural context.

NB: Thanks to Kregel Academic for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work

Free eBook from Biblical Archaeology Review

Biblical Archaeology Review is giving away a copy of their ‘Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries in exchange for your email address. Follow the link and sign up for the BAR daily emails and you will get a link to the book in PDF format, easily read on any platform. I saved the file right to my Dropbox and opened it on my iPad and opened it with the Kindle Reader, although it will open with many other PDF readers.

The “top ten” articles are drawn from past issues of BAR and are accompanied by a number of illustrations (both B&W and color). Some of these illustrations are better than others, I presume that the better photographs are from more recent articles (such as the Tel Dan inscription). The book is 148 pages, each article is 10-12 pages long. In a few cases, the original sidebars are also included. Since the articles are from the BAR magazine, they are written for the non-specialist. (This book looks alot like the older “Best of BAR” series.)

As for the list of Top Ten archaeological discoveries, it is mixed list. The Nag Hammadi library is first on the list, a worthy inclusion. But the book omits the Dead Sea Scrolls. At first I thought this was because the discoveries were all after 1974 (when the Biblical Archaeological Society was founded), but the Nag Hammadi library was discovered in 1945, the same time as the Dead Sea Scrolls. I think that the mosaic from Sepphoris on the cover of the book is beautiful, but I am not sure it rates the top ten.

For the cost of your email address, this is good book to download. Everyone will disagree with about any “top ten” list, at least this one is free.

Book Review: Fant and Reddish, Lost Treasures of the Bible

Fant, Clyde E. and Mitchell G. Reddish. Lost Treasures of the Bible: Understanding the Bible Through Archaeological Artifacts in World Museums. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2008. 471 pages, 12 color plates, Pb. $28.00. Link to Amazon

This book is something of a guide to biblical antiquities, which are housed in major museums around the world. As such, it is a “greatest hits” of archaeology, illustrating the history and culture of the Bible. Some are completely contextual (creation and flood myths), others bear directly on the text of the Bible (Hezekiah’s tunnel inscription or Caiaphas’s Ossuary). All of the entries in the book are housed in museums, but that does not make them easy to find. Fant and Reddish provide a very helpful index sorted by museum. If one were going to visit the British Museum, for example, the index would provide a nice list of“must-see” items for the student of the Bible. The entry for the artifact provides locations in the museum as well as item number to assist a visitor (or museum guide) in finding the artifact.

There are ten categories of artifacts, arranged roughly chronologically from Creation Myths to the Roman period. The last category is entitled “Sensational Finds: Genuine or Forgery” and really only includes three recent and well-known forgeries (the James Ossuary, the Ivory Pomegranate, and the Baruch Bulla). Each entry has the item name, a category (clay tablet, seal, wall relief), and a list of basic facts, including provenance and current location, including the museum item number where available. A black-and-white photograph accompanies nearly every entry. Fant and Reddish then provide several paragraphs of description of the item, often including the circumstances surrounding the original find. Finally, every entry includes a section on the artifact’s biblical significance. Many of these artifacts are documents, including cuneiform tablets and ostraca. In most cases, key selections from these documents are provided in translations from ANET or COS.

Fant and Reddish dismiss so-called “scholars who twist the data to ‘prove’ the Bible” (xviii). This is a fairly clear dismissal of “biblical maximalism,” but may be more aimed at the sorts of popular books and websites that claim to have found Pharaoh’s chariots or some other spectacular find. While distancing themselves from this sort of popular sensationalism, they do provide a rather friendly list of artifacts that are extremely complementary to the text of the Bible. Even where there is opportunity for taking a “biblical minimalist” position, they usually reject it outright or simply state that there is no evidence for the more negative view. For example, the Enuma Elish is not a source for the creation story of Genesis (p. 6), and the narrative of Sargon II’s birth is not the source for Moses’ birth narrative (although they do state that the author used “elements common to various legends” to “creatively tell the story of the birth of Moses,” p. 49).

In the explanation of the artifacts, Fant and Reddish often report the circumstances of the find. These are interesting to me personally, since many of the major finds housed in museums come from a time when archaeology was wilder and edgier. Archaeologists of the nineteenth century, such as Charles Warren, Charles Clermont-Ganneau, or Leonard Wooley, lived in a time when one could buy a mummy’s head on the streets of Cairo or completely expose a mound searching for tombs stuffed full of treasures. Those days are gone (thankfully, these men also did a great deal of damage), but there is a sort of swashbuckling romance to the story of the discovery of the Moabite stone, for example.

The book covers excellent items, but there are a few oddities. The Epitaph of Uzziah (140-2) is clearly Hasmonean and likely has nothing to do with Uzziah. The plaque was found in the Russian Orthodox Monastery on the Mount of Olives, not a cave, dating to the 8th century B.C. There is one unprovenanced seal (Shebnayau, 142-4), a category that could be greatly expanded. But an unprovenanced seal or bulla is an invitation for forgery! Occasionally, the authors include long texts from the Bible, which are not particularly helpful (Ezra 5:2-6:12, more than a full page!) I am not sure that statues of Alexander the Great and the Roman emperors qualify as “lost treasures” since these are apt to be well displayed. In addition, including Trajan seems to “go beyond” the Bible. Likewise, the inclusion of the Winged Victory of Samothrace (a location Paul may not have visited) and the Corinthian synagogue inscription (as late as the 5th century A.D.!) These two items are important, but tangential to the theme of the book.

Conclusion. This is an excellent book for general readers interested in archaeology as background for the Bible. Whether it is used in conjunction with a visit to a major museum or not, Lost Treasures provides the reader with good descriptions of the most important artifacts, illustrating the world of both the Old and New Testaments.

NB: Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work. This book is now print-on-demand.