Archeologists Dug Up A 3,100-Year-Old Artifact That May Prove The Existence Of A Biblical Figure

On a taxing day in 2019, a group of archeologists is finally on the verge of getting their payoff. They’ve been excavating a site in southern Israel, but now all the hard work is close to bearing fruit. In the ground beneath them is a special container. And with a little analysis, the researchers will come to believe that this object may represent hard evidence that a certain figure from the Bible really existed.

Historical epicenter

The experts that day had been working at a spot in the Shahariya Forest, which itself sits in the Judean Foothills. This whole region is of central historic and religious importance, as it’s mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament. You can imagine, then, how exciting any new archeological discovery from around there truly is.

Broken jug

On this occasion, the researchers had found an old, fragmented jug lying beneath the surface. To the untrained eye, perhaps, this discovery wouldn’t seem so earth-shattering, but the experts knew different. So, they analyzed it in greater detail and soon reached a wild conclusion. This thing was definitely worth paying attention to!

Ancient origins

When they attempted to date the pot, the researchers discovered that it was phenomenally old. According to Smithsonianmag.com, it came from around the year 1100 B.C., which had an interesting implication. This meant it traced back to the same period when a particular book of the Bible was written.

Mysterious period

The biblical text in question is the Book of Judges, which historians claim depicts events from around 1200 to 1050 B.C. Given the timescales involved here, learning about such a period is really quite difficult. So, if this jug in the ground can help to shed light on that time, then it really is something special.

Khirbet al-Ra‘i

The site where the archeologists had been working is called Khirbet al-Ra‘i, and it reportedly stretches out across roughly four acres. This is by no means the biggest site around, but it’s nonetheless proving to be extremely important. Given the wider region where it sits, though, that maybe isn’t too surprising. The area has a mind bogglingly rich and fascinating history, after all.

Linked to the Book of Judges

The jug found at the site appears to link the region with the Book of Judges. This is an important collection of writings from the Old Testament, which is thought to have been compiled some time around 550 B.C. This was during the period of the Babylonian Exile, when many Jews were forced to leave Israel by the Babylonians.

Punishing the Canaanites

Given this context, then, the Book of Judges is largely focused on how foreign powers were influencing Israel. The text posits that this situation was occurring because inhabitants of the land were worshipping deities of a people known as the Canaanites. In response, the Hebrew God punished them by allowing their land to fall to foreign invaders.

Biblical cycle

The Book of Judges is defined by a repeated rise and fall in the fortunes of Israel’s people. The citizens will experience a time of hardship under foreign occupation, but they will then ask for God’s aid. The Lord responds and helps them, and the cycle resets and continues.

Military leaders

Contrary to the title of the biblical text’s title, the story’s focus wasn’t on judges as we might think of them. Instead, they were actually sort of military leaders. This is reflected in the Hebrew term used to describe them, which is shofet. According to Encyclopedia Britannica. this more accurately translates to “ruler,” rather than “judge.”

Trying to free Israel

The Book of Judges, then, tells the story of these leaders, who were known to be charismatic figures. The individuals apparently aimed to free Israel from its foreigner occupiers, so they were obviously considered to be pivotal figures of the society. And that’s reflected in the central role played by them in the text.

Inscribed tabler

The judges were revered as the figureheads of the land of Israel. We can see this attitude expressed in a quote inscribed on an ancient tablet, which was uncovered back in 1929. The scribe in this case proclaims the importance of them, writing, “Our judge, above whom there is no one!”

Chosen by God

Judges weren’t elected to power, nor were they selected on the basis of familial bonds. These individuals were instead said to be chosen by God himself, who’d select them on the basis of their leadership skills. Apparently, it was a judge’s job to mend the people of Israel’s relationship with the Lord.

Keeping people in line

The thing that most characterized the judges was their personal charm, which they would utilize in order to hold sway over people. In this way, charisma could be viewed as a sort of spiritual power to be wielded by the judges. It also ensured that they were able to keep people in line.

Only focused on a few Judges

Many people held the role of a judge at different points in time, though the Book of Judges itself is only concerned with a select few. These include figures like Deborah, Barak, Samson and Gideon. And it was thanks to them that the citizens of Israel were able to overcome their foreign oppressors.

Deborah the seer

Deborah is one of the more notable judges who is mentioned in the biblical text. She was a “seer” – someone with an ability to see the future. Deborah also engaged in poetry, could interpret dreams and apparently possessed a charm that seemed to have been gifted to her from God.

Gideon ruler of Israel

Aside from Deborah, Gideon is a leader who features prominently in the Book of Judges. He is said to have become a judge following a visit from an angel who’d been sent by God. Apparently, it was the Lord’s wish that Gideon rule over the people of Israel and help them drive away their foes.

Formiddable leader

If his name is anything to go by, Gideon may have been a formidable judge. Translated from Hebrew, the name means something like “destroyer” or “mighty warrior,” though another translation is “feller of trees.” Aside from that, though, Gideon has also been mentioned in the Bible as a prime example of a faithful individual.

Uncertain accuracy

Gideon occupies a prominent role in the Book of Judges, but we can’t exactly say how accurate the text’s description of him is. The same goes for the wider details contained in the text, as genuine archeological evidence from the period when it was written is lacking. Things may now have changed, though!

Proof of his existence

The jug that experts uncovered in southern Israel in 2019 may represent genuine evidence of Gideon’s existence. If that’s the case, then it would be the first discovery of its kind. Basically, the artifact dates back to the time when he was active, and it bears some script on its surface. Experts think this says “Jerubbaal,” which was a nickname for Gideon.

Jerubbaal

Speaking to The Times of Israel, an expert from George Washington University explained that this translation of the text on the jug is probably accurate. Christopher Rollston told the newspaper in July 2021, “The reading [Jerubbaal] is the most logical and reasonable reading, and I consider it quite definitive. I would hasten to add that this script is well known and nicely attested, so we can read it with precision.”

A little skepticism

On the other hand, historian Michael Langlois was more reluctant to jump to conclusions. From his point of view, the writing on the jug isn’t entirely clear to read, so it should be treated with skepticism. He said, “The inscription is fragmentary, which calls for caution.”

One of the biggest finds

In any case, the discovery of the jug represents progress in an archeological project that has been taking place since 2015. It is being led by people from the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Though this particular item may be up there with the best finds in all that time.

Returning to the area

The Khirbat er-Ra‘i site has actually been subject to archeological probes since the 19th century. Back then, experts from Britain were behind the work. But in 2015 it was decided by an entirely different team to go there and start working again. They clearly understood how important the area was.

Old storage jug

The jug pretty much justifies this decision, as it could be a really important discovery. It has a roughly one-liter capacity and the item looks like it may once have been used to hold special liquids. According to the experts, it could have stored oil, medicine or maybe even perfume back in its day.

Dated 1050 B.C.

Thanks to modern testing techniques such as radiocarbon-14 dating, the archeologists reportedly managed to trace the jug back to the year 1050 B.C. Moreover, analysis of its make-up led to the conclusion that it had been created in the same region where it was found. It’s clear, then, that a lot of information can be figured out with these sophisticated analytical methods.

Investigating the ink

The researchers don’t have the ability to figure absolutely everything out, though. There are still things left open to interpretation – like the ink used on the jug. It’s been suggested that this substance was made from iron oxide and black ash, which would align with other discovered artifacts from the same era. Having said that, such a theory hasn’t been confirmed, according to The Times of Israel.

Broken long ago

The limited information researchers have to work with means that it’s quite challenging to create a rounded story of the jug. One idea about the item, though, is that it was broken before being discarded. The container was found in several pieces inside some sort of storage unit, so it seems to have been swept up after being fragmented.

Further investigation

Despite the more ambiguous aspects of the jug and its history, research has told us some things. When George Washington University’s Christopher Rolsto examined it, he could draw on his expertise as a language and inscription expert to formulate his own thoughts about the object’s history. Specifically, these related to the letters on its surface.

Precursor to Hebrew

The letters on the jug look and sound quite like Hebrew. But in actual fact, the alphabet isn’t from that language. It’s actually an alphabet from which Hebrew would evolve in the preceding centuries. Hebrew can trace its evolution back to this other text, so we can say that they’re similar – but not the same.

Canaanite and Egyptian influence

Hebrew University of Jerusalem professor Yosef Garfinkel elaborated on the language seen on the jug in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. He told the newspaper in July 2021, “The alphabetic script was invented by the Canaanites and the Egyptian influence right about 1800 B.C. They continued to use this script, which evolved from Egyptian Hieroglyphs in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age I. The Hebrew and Phoenician scripts were developed only in the middle of the tenth century B.C.”

Gideon's legacy

What about the inscription itself, though? Why is it important that it says “Jerubbaal?” Well, experts Garfinkel and Sa‘ar Ganor explained, “The name... is familiar from biblical tradition in the Book of Judges as an alternative name for the judge Gideon ben Yoash. Gideon is first mentioned as combating idolatry by breaking the altar to Baal and cutting down the Asherah pole. In biblical tradition, he is then remembered as triumphing over the Midianites, who used to cross over the Jordan to plunder agricultural crops.”

A common name

The archeologists went on, “According to the Bible, Gideon organized a small army of 300 soldiers and attacked the Midianites by night near Ma‘ayan Harod. In view of the geographical distance between the Shephelah and the Jezreel Valley, this inscription may refer to another Jerubbaal and not the Gideon of biblical tradition. Although the possibility cannot be ruled out that the jug belonged to the judge Gideon. In any event, the name Jerubbaal was evidently in common usage at the time of the biblical judges.”

Shedding new light

If this jug really is linked to Gideon, then it would be an unprecedented development. Hard evidence from the biblical judges’ era is almost unheard of, so that’s why the inscription on the jug has caused such a stir. It’s a discovery that might finally shed light on an otherwise murky history!

Truthful text

How historically accurate the Bible is has been subject to scholarly debate for a long time. But this jug might just confirm the existence of Gideon, which would imply the Book of Judges is in some way truthful to reality. That’s an important discovery, in that it backs up the Bible as being a somewhat trustworthy source.

Protecting his memory

Even if the jug didn’t belong to the judge Gideon himself, the item is still important. It might simply be evidence of people from that time passing on stories with the help of objects. Maybe the inscription on the cup was a way of protecting the memory of Gideon and passing it on to future generations.

A transition of cultures

Aside from everything else, the jug and its inscription have helped experts gain an insight into how language spread around the region all those thousands of years ago. In an article in The Times of Israel, the inscription is described as “a textual bridge for the transition from the Canaanite to the Israelite and Judahite cultures.”

No inscriptions from this region

Michael Langois told the newspaper, “For decades, there were practically no inscriptions of this era and region. To the point that we were not even sure what the alphabet looked like at that time. There was a gap. Some even argued that the alphabet was unknown in the region, that there were no scribes, and that the Bible must therefore have been written much later.”

Learning the evolution of language

Discoveries such as this jug are so valuable in helping historians to figure out what was going on in Israel at the time when the Old Testament was being put together. In this specific case, we can catch a glimpse of how language was preserved as eras and civilizations evolved and changed. Yep, it’s a telling discovery!

More to uncover

Reflecting on the jug and its implications, Langlois concluded, “These inscriptions are still rare, but they are slowly filling the gap. They not only document the evolution of the alphabet, they show that there was in fact continuity in culture, language and traditions. The implications for our understanding of biblical history are vast – and exciting!”