Impeccable Details - How Every Word in Scripture is Reliable

As we’ve already seen, the Bible has been consistently confirmed by the study of history and archaeology. The more we look into ancient cultures and historical records, the more we see just how accurate the Bible is. As the well-known archaeologist Nelson Glueck said, “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries.”

Did you see that? According to Glueck, knowledge of God’s Word has actually led to amazing discoveries in archaeology! It’s no wonder than that another archaeologist (Thomas Levy) has said that he does his archaeological work “with a trowel in one hand and a Bible in the other”.

People, Places and Kingdoms in the Bible

Over and over again, the Bible has been proven correct. Sometimes, specific details from the Bible have been preserved. Other times, simple mentions of events and characters in the Bible have been found in ancient records. Even these simple confirmations show the remarkable accuracy of the Bible. Here are just a few of these:

1. A fortress belonging to Israel’s ancient enemies - the Amorites - was found with written records inscribed on its walls. One section of the wall speaks of a man named “Balaam, the son of Beor, prophet of the gods.” Of course we know him as the wicked prophet who had a conversation with a donkey.
2. David was long thought to be a mythological figure of Jewish legend - kind of an Israeli King Arthur. Up until recently, he was only known from the pages of Scripture. But now, David is known from no fewer than three ancient inscriptions.
3. The nation of the Hittites were thought to be an imaginary group of people that was made up for the Bible’s stories. For a long time there was no historical evidence of any ethnic group known as Hittites. But one hundred years ago, the remains of the Hittite culture and kingdom were unearthed - confirming that the Bible wasn’t inventing history, but recording it as it happened.
4. 2 Chronicles 12 tells of Jerusalem being plundered by an Egyptian king named Shishak. An inscription at the ancient Egyptian temple in Thebes mentions Pharaoh Shishak and his invasion of Judah during the reign of king Rehoboam.
5. 2 Kings 3 tells of the revolt of Moab against the Northern kingdom of Israel. This event has also been discovered inscribed on an ancient Moabite stone, called the Mesha Stele.
6. An Assyrian monument pictures the Israelite king Jehu kneeling before the Assyrian king and paying tribute to him
7. Hezekiah’s Pool of Siloam has been unearthed. What we see in the ground is exactly what is described in the Bible.
8. A clay inscription found in Ninevah describes the unsuccessful siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians.
9. A clay cylinder from the ancient empire of Persia records King Cyrus’ decree to allow all foreign exiles in Persia to return to their own homelands and even rebuild their own temples.

We now have evidence from archaeology that the ancient civilizations and cultures mentioned in the Bible actually existed and had cultures and customs exactly like the Bible describes. Here are just a few of these cultures that we now know about from archaeology:

1. Ancient Chaldeans
2. Hittites
3. Edomites
4. Assyrians
5. Canaanites
6. Philistines

The list of Biblical cities that have been discovered is enormous. Here are just a few of these - remember that these were cities that were first known to us in the Bible, and then discovered later:

1. Abraham’s city of Ur
2. The ancient city of Jericho
3. Haran (founded by Abraham’s father)
4. Gibeah (where King Saul lived)
5. Beth Shemesh (saved from the Ammonites by King Saul)
6. Shiloh (Israel’s first “holy city”)
7. The ancient city of Samaria (the Northern Kingdom’s capital)
8. The five cities of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath)

Many of the characters mentioned in the stories of Scripture have also been found in ancient records outside of scripture.

1. At least three ancient pharaohs named in the Bible are known from Archaeology. (Shishak, Necho, and Hophra)
2. Eight of the kings of Northern Israel are known by name in ancient records
3. Six of the kings of Judah are known by name
4. Seven high-ranking Israelite officials named in the Bible are also known by name outside of the Bible.
5. Five kings of Assyria are also named in ancient artifacts...including king Sargon who was once thought to be imaginary by secular historians.
6. All of the Babylonian kings mentioned in Scripture are also known by name outside of Scripture.

Events in Daniel, Discovered in History.

There are so many more discoveries that could be added to these lists! But let’s move from names and places to specific historical details recorded in one book - the book of Daniel.

Over and over again, Archaeology has proven the book of Daniel to be accurate in amazing detail. This is important because many skeptics are trying to claim that the book of Daniel was written 400 years after Israel’s time in Babylon. But these “long lost details” that we see written in the book - details concerning Babylon’s history and culture - prove that the book was written as the events actually occurred.

Belshazzar’s Party

The fifth chapter of Daniel tells the story of King Belshazzar throwing a drunken party the night that Babylon fell. The king saw a hand appear out of nowhere and write a message on the wall. Terrified, the king called Daniel to interpret the message...which prophesied of the kingdom being handed over to the Medes and Persians. After Daniel read the writing on the wall, Belshazzar tried to promote him to the third place of authority in Babylon. But that very night, the Medes and the Persians overthrew Babylon and absorbed the kingdom into their own empire.

We do know from history that the Persians invaded Babylon and conquered it. But most secular historians used to laugh at the story in Daniel 5. They claimed that there is no record of Belshazzar ever being king. We know that Nabonidus was king of Babylon when it fell to the Persians - but historians found no evidence that his son, Belshazzar ever ruled. Because of this, the Bible was once again declared to be inaccurate.

But Bible-believers had to wait for the archaeology to catch up with what they already knew!

We have only recently discovered that King Nabonidus was a devout pagan that would go on religious pilgrimages for long periods of time. While he was away, he would leave the kingdom in the hands of his son, Belshazzar. So the two of them were ruling as king together. We see this historical fact mentioned in Daniel 5:16, where Belshazzar tried to make Daniel the third ruler in Babylon. This makes perfect sense now...if Belshazzar himself was only the second ruler in Babylon (after Nabonidus, his father), then the best that he could offer was third place!

King Darius

When the Persians began to invade Babylonian territory, King Nabonidus left the city of Babylon in the hands of his son and led his army out to meet them in battle. After what must have been a fierce fight, Nabonidus’ forces were crushed, and the Persians took control of the Babylonian empire.

The Persian army was made up of two groups of people: the Medes and the Persians. The Medes were an ancient culture who were slowly being assimilated into the larger and more powerful Persian kingdom. Together, the Medes and the Persians were being led by King Cyrus the Great - a Persian.

During the battle with the Babylonians, one of Cyrus’ generals distinguished himself above the others. As a reward for his service, Cyrus gave this general - a Mede named Darius - the kingdom of Babylon. After the victory, Darius and his soldiers marched to the Babylonian capital to claim his prize. He arrived the very night of Belshazzar’s party and took the throne without another fight.

Notice what Daniel 5:31 tells us, “And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.” This is exactly the way it happened, Darius was literally given the kingdom of Babylon by King Cyrus! He ruled Babylon as a province under the authority of the king of Persia.

The Return of the Captives

Now we know that Darius and Cyrus ruled together: Darius reigned over Babylon, and Cyrus reigned over all the Persian empire...including Babylon. This is an important fact, and it will shed light on Cyrus’ decree to allow the Israelites to go home. Remember this point: the first year of Cyrus' reign over Babylon was also the first year of King Darius.

Daniel was quickly promoted in Darius’ administration. He became one of the three highest-ranking officials, and the Bible even says that Darius was thinking about making Daniel his second in command (Daniel 6:3). We know that the other officials didn’t like this idea, and began their plans to get him out of the way.

During this time, Daniel found the book of Jeremiah and began reading it. He found Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years of captivity. That prophecy must’ve stunned him, because it had been seventy years exactly since Jerusalem fell. (At this point Daniel was an old man. He had served as a leader in Babylon since he was a young boy.) When he saw that he was in the very year God said He would bring the Israelites home, Daniel must’ve connected that with 2 Chronicles 6:38 - where Solomon called these future captives to repent and pray toward Jerusalem. And so, Daniel began to pray with his face toward his old home.

In Daniel 9:1-4 we read: “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king (Notice that he was made king) over the realm of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession…”

Now we know why Daniel was praying in his window when the jealous officials had him arrested...he was praying in repentance for his people! This was the very first year that Darius was king over Babylon - which we know was also the first year that Cyrus was ruling over the region.

Now look at the results of Daniel’s prayer:
Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, (which was the very year that Daniel was praying) that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom…
Cyrus proclaimed freedom for the Jewish captives and even funded the rebuilding of the temple!

Daniel’s prayer in the province of Babylon affected the Jewish people all across the Persian empire. God’s people were released from their captivity the very same year that Daniel began to pray and repent on their behalf! Amazing!

Isn’t it awesome how the Bible and archaeology work together and confirm each other? So far, everything we’ve looked at has been Biblical truth verified by historical fact.

Now let me suggest a theory:
We know that Daniel was quickly promoted by Darius and was well-known in Babylon.
We know that King Darius retained a working relationship with King Cyrus as one of his subordinates.
We also know that Darius issued a proclamation that went out into all the Persian empire after Daniel was rescued from the lion’s den (although it only carried authority in the region of Babylon).

Here is the text of Darius’ decree, from Daniel 6:25-27:
“Then King Darius wrote:

To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth:

Peace be multiplied to you.

I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel.

For He is the living God,

And steadfast forever;

His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed,

And His dominion shall endure to the end.

He delivers and rescues,

And He works signs and wonders

In heaven and on earth,

Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Here’s my thought: What if Daniel’s rescue from the lions and Darius decree praising God was what actually influenced Cyrus to investigate the God of the Israelites? It wouldn’t take him long to find the prophecies of Jeremiah and Isaiah - specifically naming Cyrus as the king to release the Israelites. Could it be that God actually used the jealous officials and the lion’s den to influence His people’s freedom? We can’t know for sure, but that definitely sounds like the God I serve!

So then, after we’ve looked through world history and archaeology for three posts, what have we found?
The Bible has never been contradicted by any archaeological find.
Ancient history actually confirms Scripture in great detail.
The best argument skeptics can produce against the pages of Scripture is an argument from silence.
But new discoveries are constantly removing these areas of “silence” in archaeology and producing more evidence that the Bible is reliable! Rest assured of this - you can always trust the your Bible says!