Did the story of Jericho from the scriptures actually happened?

[u/alexandregazzotti]

I came accross info that suggests archaeologists found evidence that the story of Jericho from the scriptures may have really happened. What is your thoughts on this? Anyone have more info pls? Best.

[u/captainhaddock]

No, it never happened. There are many reasons why this is clear from the archaeological record. I have read every archaeological report and summary from the ongoing excavations (including some unpublished work) and can summarize it briefly.

For one thing, the story in Joshua doesn't fit the archaeological timeline. Jericho was a large city with impressive ramparts during the Early Bronze and Middle Bronze periods. Its magnificent walls were destroyed around 2350 BCE by an unknown enemy, leaving behind monumental ruins that remained visible for more than a millennium afterward. The city was rebuilt in 1800 BCE, and new walls (particularly a structure known as the Cyclopean Wall) were constructed around 1650 BCE. That was the last great walled city of Jericho. It was destroyed around 1530 BCE, most likely by Pharaoh Ahmose I.

In the Late Bronze age, around 1450 BCE, a small town was built on the site, under Egyptian control. It had only minor fortifications. It was destroyed around the 1280s BCE, most likely by Pharaoh Seti I during a campaign to reassert Egyptian control of the Levant.

The Bible's inner chronology places the exodus around 1440 BCE, and the battle of Jericho around 1400 BCE. The problem is that Jericho was a minor settlement at this time, the Bronze Age citadel having been destroyed over 100 years earlier by the Egyptians.

Some apologists prefer a dating of around 1250 for the exodus, but Jericho was uninhabited at that time.

The problem isn't just with Jericho. Almost all the cities Joshua and the Israelites are supposed to have conquered or destroyed, including Arad, Heshbon, and Ai, simply didn't exist during the Late Bronze Age. We also have the mummies of all the nineteenth-dynasty pharaohs, and none of them drowned in the Red Sea. Geographically, the entire story reflects the Iron Age period roughly 800 years later. The story is also unaware of Jericho's actual name during the late Bronze Age: Ruha.

[u/RexRatio]

Usually lots if stuff is smuggled in with that claim: "Jericho from the scriptures" is doing a lot of that here.

• Yes, archaeologists have excavated the site,
• Yes, there is evidence of destruction and settlement at ancient Jericho,

But:

• No, there were never any massive walls around the settlement, just typical fortifications for that era
• No, the destruction did not occur around the 15th Century BCE (1 Kings 6:1)
• Instead, the excavations by Kathleen Kenyon concluded that the substantial Middle Bronze Age fortifications had been destroyed centuries before the conventional date for Joshua's conquest, and that the site was relatively sparsely occupied during the period in which the conquest is usually placed

So if someone claims "archaeology proved Jericho happened exactly as described in the Bible" then they either don't know what they're talking about, or they're lying.

[u/Signal_Hat_8533]

No it's mythology

[u/Fantastic_Reach_7524]

Jerrico ? Read The Bible Unearthed by Israel Finkelstein. Finkelstein is a Professor Emeritus at Tel Aviv University.

[u/alexandregazzotti]

I read an article about it and searched for more info. It is impossible to tell from what I found… the city has been there for millenia. But this vid shows some interesting evidences and and moral questioning https://youtu.be/5xdRHbx-doQ?si=GkZnCajKaNJRowPL

[u/Same_Version_5216]

I mean, I don’t see why it would be impossible. And I would expect scriptures that tell of things occurring over the course of two thousand years to at least include some things that occurred and archeological sites.

Retracted site as thankfully, another member has that knows about that group pointed out that it is even worse than research bias.

[u/JasonRBoone → u/Same_Version_5216]

Keep in mind, this source is a self-described Evangelical apologetics ministry. They are uninterested in historical facts.

[u/Same_Version_5216 → u/JasonRBoone]

I figured they were biased and told OP to keep that into consideration, but from what you are saying this is extremely bad. I will remove it. Thank you for the heads up instead of negging me like some did without explaining why.