Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW017136S
|
00:19 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written.
00:21 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me. 00:24 As you read the Bible, you read some of the great 00:26 stories of all of history. 00:29 Accounts that God has placed into the Bible for us to learn 00:33 not only their history, but to understand the heart of God, 00:35 the love of God, and the plan of salvation. 00:38 And as we read the Bible, we read simply some 00:42 mundane information about everyday life. 00:44 But, rightly understood, that mundane information 00:48 shines a bright light onto the lives of Bible characters, 00:52 the culture and the environments from which they sprang, 00:55 and help us understand in greater depth 00:58 the great themes of the Bible. 01:00 Well, today to that end, I have come to the 01:02 Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum 01:04 on the campus of Southern Adventist University, 01:06 and my special guest today is Dr. Michael Hasel, 01:09 a professor of Near Eastern studies and archaeology. 01:12 Dr. Hasel, thanks for joining me today. 01:14 >>Michael Hasel: It's great to be with you, John. 01:15 >>John: Now, I don't mean to be disparaging. 01:16 And I talk about mundane details about everyday life. 01:19 But we read about people who were shepherds. 01:22 They herded sheep. 01:24 We read about people who were farmers; 01:26 perhaps they grew crops. 01:29 What about some of these details can 01:32 help us really understand the Bible in a greater way, 01:35 and in a way that grows our faith in the Bible? 01:38 >>Michael: Well, to me this is what makes archaeology 01:41 such a relevant thing for the Bible. 01:42 We have these 66 books of the Bible 01:45 that give us this grand scope of history 01:47 going through from the beginning of earth's history 01:50 all the way to the end. 01:51 And yet, many times the details: 01:54 the details of how people lived, what they ate, 01:56 how they prepared their food, 01:58 what kind of houses they lived in, 01:59 all of those kinds of things, are mentioned in passing 02:02 but they're not really the main focus of what 02:04 the Bible writers are interested in. 02:06 One of the things that we have to remind ourselves is: 02:08 they lived in a very different kind of world 02:10 than many of us do, at least in the western world. 02:12 They were, they were agricultural people. 02:15 Agriculture was a major part of, of their way of life. 02:17 >>John: Let me ask you something about the, the, the signs, 02:20 the discipline of archaeology. You're an archaeologist. 02:23 You, you dig in Israel, you've dug in other places, 02:26 um, I'd like to think that most of your work is, is 02:32 unearthing temples, gates, great streets, cities, 02:39 but I think the reality for archaeologists 02:42 is that a lot of the time you're finding scraps of pottery, 02:46 and what sort of things might you find in the field 02:51 that somebody like me wouldn't realize is actually of great use 02:54 to an archaeologist? >>Michael: Right. 02:56 >>John: What would some of those things be? 02:57 >>Michael: Well, we find, we find, like you said, 02:58 we do find temples. We do find palaces. 03:00 Those are always the highlights. Whenever we find a big building, 03:03 it's, it's, it's a great thing. 03:05 But we're also interested in household archaeology; 03:07 how people lived in their everyday lives. 03:10 And, and we excavate those houses. 03:11 In the last several years I've been working 03:13 at a site called Lachish, or Lachish, 03:15 and we have been digging a row of houses right next 03:18 to the palace, or the major, uh, building of that time. 03:21 And, and, and the materials that we find in there 03:24 give us an insight into how people lived. 03:26 Let me give you a couple of examples. 03:27 >>John: Sure. 03:28 >>Michael: Um, 03:31 this is a very heavy, I'll let you hold it in a minute, 03:35 a very heavy piece of basalt. This is a volcanic rock. 03:38 It comes, actually, from the northern part of Israel, 03:40 um, up near the Sea of Galilee, which was a very volcanic area. 03:45 And this was what the ancients used, this heavy rock 03:48 with this coarse area, to, um, to grind their grain with. 03:53 And so, you know, you, you have a, you have, uh, 03:57 an under part here, and you're moving back and forth, 04:00 and this is what you use to make your flour 04:02 so that you can make your bread every day. 04:05 Um, just feel the weight of that. This is, 04:07 this is not something that's... >>John: Oh yeah. 04:08 Yeah, that's real heavy. >>Michael: ...that's light. 04:09 But because of the porous nature, 04:12 it really allows the grinding of those grains down 04:16 to something that, that can be edible 04:18 and can be put into bread. 04:20 >>John: So let me ask you a question. 04:21 This seems to answer the question-- 04:22 well, really, this, this is an 04:24 everyday stuff-of-life item... >>Michael: Right. 04:27 >>John: ...that you might find. 04:28 How do you know that that's what this was used for? 04:30 >>Michael: Well, you, you know this because of the shape of it. 04:33 It's been shaped, it's been, it's been carved 04:35 so that it nicely fits into a human hand like this. 04:38 And then you can see the bottom of it 04:40 is, is often very smooth from, 04:42 from that grinding that has taken place over time. 04:45 You see a rock like this and you know this is, this is manmade. 04:48 This is something that they've taken and shaped. 04:50 And that's when a rock, for an archaeologist, 04:52 becomes an artifact. >>John: Right. 04:53 >>Michael: Before that time, 04:54 it's simply a rock, and geologists study those. 04:57 But, but as soon as you have something 04:59 that's been formed by human hands and used as a tool, 05:02 which this was, 05:03 then it's something much more significant. 05:05 >>John: In endeavoring to understand the culture, 05:06 the life and the times of the people who lived way back then, 05:09 it seems to me that, 05:10 almost anything you find is valuable. 05:12 I know that we've had discussions before 05:14 and you've talked about how, how, how bones 05:16 that have been found, just bones, discarded bones, 05:20 told a lot and gave a lot of information... 05:22 >>Michael: Absolutely. 05:23 >>John: ...that became very useful. 05:24 >>Michael: Every bit of information that we can gather, 05:26 much of it is left behind, much of it is garbage 05:29 or things that people didn't want anymore. 05:31 But they all give us a glimpse into what people did, 05:34 how they lived back then. 05:35 The bones can give us information about the diet 05:38 of the ancients, uh, what kind of things they ate. Um... 05:42 >>John: And therefore who they were. 05:43 >>Michael: And who they were, 05:44 exactly, because... >>John: Jews would leave 05:45 different bones behind 05:46 than non-Jews, for instance. >>Michael: That's right. 05:47 We've, we've dug at a number of Judean sites where we have found 05:50 not a single pig bone after digging for seven seasons, 05:53 and, and digging 30 percent of the site. 05:55 Whereas the Philistines had 15 to 30 percent 05:58 of the remains that are found at Philistine sites are pig bones. 06:00 We also know today that the pigs that are in Israel, 06:03 there have been studies done of these ancient pigs 06:06 and their, their species, that they were coming 06:09 from Europe, and that fits very well with the Philistines, 06:12 who are also coming from Greece and from that area. 06:14 So they were introduced, not by the Israelites, not by locals, 06:18 but they were brought from the outside in. 06:20 >>John: Now, is there a story in the Bible 06:22 you think'd be great to look at? 06:24 Maybe it continues something relatively everyday, 06:28 sort of mundane, but, but, 06:31 in archaeology we've been able to learn more about these 06:35 cultural practices that shine a light on, 06:37 our understanding of the Word of God. 06:39 Where would we begin? 06:40 >>Michael: Well, there's many, many places we could go to, 06:42 but as I think about rural lifestyle 06:44 and especially agricultural lifestyle, 06:45 I can't help about, think about the story of Ruth and Boaz. 06:49 >>John: Okay. 06:51 >>Michael: And, uh, that, that great little book of Ruth 06:52 that's found, um, in the Old Testament 06:55 is a, is a, is a glimpse into the ancient world 06:59 and the period of the Judges, 07:01 and it gives us an understanding of what life was like. 07:03 Now, the setting is the city of Bethlehem, 07:06 the town of Bethlehem. 07:08 It's the same place, uh, that, that David would later be born. 07:11 In fact, Ruth is David's great-grandmother. 07:15 And then later on, of course, this is where Jesus 07:17 would be born as well. So this, that's the setting, 07:20 and it's still a rural community today. 07:21 You can still see the shepherds 07:23 out in the fields with their flocks, and 07:25 you can still see agriculture taking place there today. 07:27 >>John: Ruth, chapter 2, I'm going to read a little passage. 07:33 See if you can comment on this. 07:34 >>Michael: Sure. 07:35 >>John: Part of the book of Ruth, you know, 07:36 for those of us who have been raised in a modern world 07:39 and we've been raised in cities and so on, 07:41 it, it, it's hard to even make it compute. 07:43 You really must try to understand 07:46 the cultural milieu. >>Michael: Sure. 07:47 >>John: So let me read this. 07:48 Ruth, chapter 2, starting in verse 2. 07:50 "Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, 07:53 Let me go now to the field, and glean ears of corn 07:56 after him in whose sight I shall find grace. 08:00 And she said unto her; Go, my daughter. 08:02 And she went, and came, 08:03 and gleaned in the field after the reapers." 08:06 Now, that's just an everyday sort of occurrence. 08:08 What does archaeology help us understand about that? 08:13 >>Michael: Well, I think to understand the, 08:17 the setting of all of this, 08:18 and to go back to that setting again, um, we have, 08:22 we have some, some grain here. 08:26 >>John: Now, that's not corn. 08:27 >>Michael: This is not corn, no. 08:28 >>John: And that's because? 08:29 >>Michael: Because the, the King James Version, of course, 08:32 was translated in 1611 in Britain, and Britain, 08:35 the term "corn" was the generic term that was used for "grain." 08:39 That's, that's, uh, it, it means "grain." 08:41 And if you know the Hebrew, it simply means "grain." 08:44 So they used "corn." 08:45 It's not maize, because maize is a New World product that, uh, 08:48 that comes from the Aztecs and the Mayans and so forth. 08:51 >>John: So this was wheat. 08:52 >>Michael: So this was wheat. 08:54 Barley and wheat, 08:55 they would, they would take in the fields. 08:56 And this is how it grew, as it grows today. 08:59 And, uh, they would, they would harvest it, they would cut it. 09:02 We find the sickles still in the field, uh, 09:04 not in the field, sometimes in the homes. 09:07 The sickles that were used for this, sometimes they're made, 09:10 uh, from actual iron blades in later periods. 09:12 In earlier periods they were actually made from stone blades 09:16 that were found in that context. So they would cut them down, 09:19 and then they would gather them up like this. 09:21 And then the process at that point would be to separate, 09:25 of course, the kernels from everything else, 09:28 and they would then throw, throw these up in the air 09:31 and allow the chaff, after, after they, they, uh, 09:34 would go over it with, with, with a heavy, 09:37 uh, piece of, of, uh, wood that had stone in it, 09:41 to kind of separate all this stuff out. 09:44 They would then throw it up in the air, 09:45 and the chaff would fly away, 09:47 and the kernels of grain would drop down, 09:49 and they would have a nice pile of, of whole kernels, 09:53 that then they would have to grind into flour. 09:55 >>John: Um, using one of those. 09:57 >>Michael: Using one of these grinders. 09:58 And I've, I have another one here I want to show you 10:01 that was found. >>John: How old is this? 10:02 >>Michael: This is probably dating to the eighth century. 10:05 Uh, this is the time period of Isaiah and, um, and Amos, 10:10 who were also, Amos came from very close by, 10:13 from Tekoa, very close by to Bethlehem. 10:16 So in this case, this is a much smaller 10:18 stone that was used to grind. 10:19 Sometimes these smaller, uh, items were used for, 10:23 not so much for grain, but for fruits and that kind of thing, 10:26 to, to, uh, to use that. 10:28 And you can see the beautiful decorations here. 10:30 This is the same material. It's made out of basalt. 10:32 It's not as coarse basalt as we had before. 10:35 But it's still the same material and weighs a lot. 10:38 >>John: And once again, 10:39 archaeology bringing into clearer focus 10:41 the ordinary lives, the daily details of those people 10:44 who lived so long ago, the people of whom we read, 10:47 about whom we study in the Word of God, 10:50 real people who lived real lives. 10:52 Back with more in just a moment. 10:54 ♪[Middle Eastern instrumental music]♪ 11:01 >>John: It's a subject that is talked about much, 11:02 studied often, and you want to know what the Bible says 11:06 about the temple in scripture. 11:08 To find out, receive today's free offer: 11:10 "Rebuilding the Temple." 11:12 Call 800-253-3000. 11:15 Or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 11:19 What does the Bible say about the temple and its services? 11:22 Get today's free offer: "Rebuilding the Temple." 11:25 800-253-3000, 11:27 visit us at iiwoffer.com. 11:31 >>Announcer 1: Have you ever struggled 11:31 to say no to temptation? 11:33 You're not alone. Everybody has at some point. 11:36 But there is hope. 11:38 "Taking a Stand" 11:39 is a five-part series presented by Pastor John Bradshaw 11:42 that will help you win your spiritual battles. 11:44 >>Announcer 2: To order your copy of "Taking a Stand" on DVD, 11:47 call 1-888-664-5573, 11:51 or download it from our web store at 11:53 www.itiswritten.shop. 11:56 Discover powerful ways you can live 11:58 a victorious Christian life. 12:01 >>John: This is It Is Written. 12:02 I'm John Bradshaw. Thanks for joining me today. 12:05 Today my guest is Dr. Michael Hasel, an archaeologist. 12:08 I'm at the Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum 12:11 in Collegedale, Tennessee. 12:14 Dr. Hasel, there's something I want to ask you about. 12:16 Here in 1 Samuel, chapter 2, I'm going to read in verse, uh, 19: 12:20 "Moreover, his mother made him a little coat, 12:24 and brought it to him from year to year, 12:26 when she came up with her husband 12:27 to offer the yearly sacrifice." 12:29 So Hannah was making Samuel a coat every year. 12:34 As he grew, he'd need a new one. What was involved in that? 12:38 >>Michael: Well, it was, it was a very involved process, 12:40 very different from us going to a store today 12:43 and simply buying something, buying a piece of clothing. 12:45 Uh, we have some interesting artifacts here. 12:48 The first thing, of course, that they had to do 12:51 was to get the wool from a sheep. 12:54 And, um, of course, 12:56 they didn't have to kill the sheep necessarily to do this. 12:58 They could shear the sheep and, and, and get the wool, 13:01 uh, in, in, in different times of the year. 13:04 And they would take that wool, of course, 13:06 and then once they had the wool, 13:08 they would take an artifact like this. 13:11 This is a, they could get any stick, 13:14 and they would put what is called a spindle whirl 13:16 on the bottom of it. 13:18 Spindle whirl, this doesn't really fit very well, 13:21 but normally it would fit very nicely. 13:23 And then they would spin that spindle whirl. 13:25 That the weight of this would allow them to spin it 13:27 very nicely around, and they could take strands of that wool 13:31 and make it into yarn, or make it into, uh, 13:36 material that they could use for weaving. 13:38 The next part of that process, after they were done 13:42 making the strands, was they would use a loom 13:45 that has, also, loom weights at the bottom. 13:48 These, uh, would, would, these weights at the bottom 13:52 would hold down the strands of cloth in the vertical position, 13:57 and then they would bring the other cloth across and slowly, 14:02 they would slowly begin to weave that back and forth. 14:06 And in time this all would create either a nice new carpet, 14:12 a part of a tent, or, uh, in the case of Samuel, his mother, 14:17 uh, she could construct a very nice, 14:19 or weave a very nice piece of clothing for him every year. 14:22 >>John: Now, from an archaeological perspective, 14:24 I doubt very much that too many full looms have ever been, 14:27 uh, excavated. 14:28 So what do archaeologists find that talks of this? 14:31 >>Michael: In this, uh, particular case what we find 14:34 in the heartland of Israel in not-so-dry regions is, 14:39 uh, we find the actual loom weights. 14:41 Uh, this last summer we were excavating a series of houses, 14:44 and we found in one area, in one house, 14:47 we found 58 of these loom weights. 14:50 So we knew there was a loom there at some time. 14:52 We didn't find any cloth. 14:54 The, uh, the wood of the loom had already 14:56 disintegrated over the last, uh, it was about 14:59 the, the, the room dated to 2700 B.C. 15:03 uh, about 2,700 years ago, about 700 B.C. 15:05 And so you have, though, the remnants of what could survive. 15:09 And these loom weights, uh, they're made out of, uh, clay, 15:13 they would be baked, uh, in the destruction debris 15:17 and would be preserved as a result of that. 15:18 >>John: So who would have made this? 15:20 Would it have been Hannah herself? 15:22 Would it have been a servant? 15:23 Who would use a loom like that? 15:25 >>Michael: Well, it probably would have been Hannah herself 15:28 from the context we have in the biblical passage. 15:30 But we really don't know for certain. 15:32 Um, the womenfolk were normally the ones that would do 15:35 kind of the household activities of this type. 15:37 And, uh, Hannah very well may have been the person to do that. 15:41 >>John: Which is interesting you say the women, 15:43 because then we have the story of Joseph's coat, 15:48 who it appears, uh, that was made by his father. 15:51 And he would have used something much like this. 15:53 >>Michael: Oh, yes, 15:54 he would have used something very similar to this. 15:56 Of course, Joseph lived about 15:57 700 years before the time of Samuel, maybe 750 years. 16:01 So again, this is a, a kind of lifestyle, 16:05 a kind of way of life that would have gone 16:08 for hundreds of years through the ancient Near East. 16:10 And it's interesting, with Joseph, we have, uh, we have a, 16:13 uh, tomb painting called the Beni Hasan tomb painting, 16:16 which shows Asiatics coming to trade in Egypt. 16:20 And they're dressed in, in, in very colorful clothing, 16:24 which seems to mirror the kind of clothing that Joseph was 16:27 given by his father. So it's another one of those 16:29 corroborating facts that we have from, from history. 16:32 >>John: Magnificent. Thanks for that. 16:34 The Bible, a living book, a dynamic book. 16:37 Archaeology bringing to life the times, the daily lives, 16:41 the personalities of the Word of God. 16:44 Don't go away. We'll be back with 16:46 more in just a moment. 16:48 ♪[Music]♪ 16:50 >>Announcer 3: In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says, 16:53 “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, 16:56 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'” 17:00 "Every Word" is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 17:03 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw, 17:05 and designed especially for busy people like you. 17:08 Look for "Every Word" on selected networks, 17:11 or watch it online every day on our website, 17:13 ItIsWritten.com. 17:15 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 17:18 Watch "Every Word." You'll be glad you did. 17:20 Here's a sample. 17:24 ♪[Upbeat music]♪ 17:29 >>John: One day Jesus was asked 17:31 to heal the desperately ill servant of a certain centurion. 17:34 Before Jesus got to the man's house, 17:36 the centurion sent word telling Jesus not to come. 17:38 He said, "You don't even need to come here. 17:40 Just say a word, and my servant shall be healed." 17:44 He explained that as a man in authority, 17:45 he knew that when he gave orders, they'd be carried out. 17:48 He said, "I believe that when You say something, 17:50 Your orders will be carried out too." 17:53 Jesus was impressed. 17:54 The Bible says He marveled, and said, 17:56 "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." 18:00 Luke 7, verse 9. 18:01 The man had total confidence that if Jesus spoke, 18:04 what He said would happen. Now, that's faith. 18:07 Have that sort of real faith today. 18:09 Believe that when Jesus speaks, and He speaks in the Bible, 18:13 you can expect what He says to happen. 18:17 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 18:19 Let's live today by every word. 18:25 ♪[Middle Eastern instrumental music]♪ 18:34 >>John: Thanks for joining me today on It Is Written, 18:36 where my guest is archaeologist Dr. Michael Hasel. 18:41 Dr. Hasel, today we're talking about archaeology 18:43 and everyday life in the times of the Bible. 18:46 And if you'll allow me, there's a question I want to put to you, 18:49 because this has intrigued me. 18:51 I'll read the passage; you'll know why. 18:53 2 Kings, chapter 4, starting in verse 8: 18:56 "And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, 19:00 where was a great woman; 19:02 and she constrained him to eat bread. 19:04 And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, 19:06 he turned in there to eat bread. And she said to her husband, 19:10 Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, 19:13 which passes us by continually. 19:15 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; 19:19 and let us set him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, 19:21 and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he comes to us, 19:24 that he shall turn in there." 19:25 What were houses like back then 19:28 that this family could just decide to make him 19:30 a chamber? Whether that's a room or a lean-to, 19:34 I don't quite know. 19:35 Tell me about what houses were like 19:37 back in the time of the prophets. 19:40 >>Michael: It's very interesting. 19:41 The way houses were built is a very typical style 19:45 for Israelites. 19:47 It's, uh, it's a different style than you have 19:49 in other surrounding cultures. 19:50 It's not a Canaanite house; it's not an Egyptian house; 19:53 it's not a, the Israelite house was a very, very 19:56 singular type of architecture. 19:58 And there's been a lot of discussion 20:01 in the scholarly community about why they had these kind of, 20:04 what we call four-room houses or pillared houses. 20:07 Uh, normally it would have four different rooms, 20:10 often in the basement, or not the basement, 20:13 but the first floor you would have cattle or sheep and goats. 20:17 It would be kind of like a barn. 20:19 Um, in the back areas you would have storage areas, 20:22 uh, and so forth. 20:24 And then you'd have an upper floor as well. 20:26 So whether this was something that was added 20:28 as an upper floor, um, 20:29 or whether this was added onto, I, I think maybe 20:32 what the Bible's talking about, 20:34 knowing the architecture of that time, 20:35 is that maybe they added a room above, perhaps, for him. 20:40 Uh, these houses were occupied by, 20:43 a nuclear family but also by extended family. 20:46 >>John: So how many people would you have typically in a home? 20:47 >>Michael: It depended, but you could have as many as 20:50 10 to 15 people in a home of 900 to 1,000, 20:54 maybe 1,200 square feet. 20:56 >>John: That's not real big to have 10 or 15 people. 20:59 >>Michael: No, it's not. 21:00 >>John: Now, let me ask you this, then: 21:01 Did, was there a, 21:03 did these homes differ based on the standing of the individual? 21:09 Was it common to find humble dwelling for the humble folks, 21:12 much larger place, did it work like that? 21:15 >>Michael: There was some of that as well, yes. 21:18 And depending on also where in the city it was located, 21:20 if it was a city house or if it was out in the country. 21:22 But the style was very much the same, many times, 21:26 in terms of those four rooms. 21:27 Um, and some of the rooms were simply divided by pillars. 21:30 It wasn't really divided by a wall, let's say. 21:34 The material that was used for them was quite, quite extensive. 21:37 >>John: Yeah, what, what were they, what were they built from? 21:39 >>Michael: They were built from stone primarily, 21:41 that were then plastered on the outside, or even, um, 21:45 either with mud, or with actual plaster lime from, from, 21:49 uh, from limestone, limestone plaster. 21:52 And to construct a house that had 21:54 those four rooms at the bottom, 21:56 plus a roof area with perhaps rooms above, 21:59 you're talking about a construction that would involve 22:02 470 tons of material. 22:05 >>John: That's a heavy house. 22:06 >>Michael: This is a heavy house. 22:07 This is not the kind of houses we build here in North America. 22:10 We're just framing up 2x4s or 2x6s, 22:13 and then putting drywall on it. 22:15 This was solid, solid houses. 22:17 And we find stairs going up to what 22:21 presumably would be a second floor. 22:22 Many times we only find the, 22:24 the, um, the foundations of these homes. 22:27 Uh, but we find the staircases that go up to them. 22:30 We find collapsed ceilings, and we find the materials that were, 22:32 that were there. 22:33 So we have huge storage jars, 22:35 many times they're lined up in these houses, 22:37 that would have had olive oil in them, 22:39 or, or perhaps, uh, uh, grape juice 22:42 or wine or something of that nature. 22:43 So we have, we have, again, uh, done a lot of analysis and, 22:48 and looked at the way people lived, and they had, 22:51 they had comfortable homes. 22:52 >>John: Now, these jars that are discovered in archaeological 22:56 ruins, I understand you found some of those, 22:58 and these are genuine ancient, what were they used for? 23:03 >>Michael: Well, they were used to, uh, 23:04 contain all kinds of things, uh, often water or oil. 23:11 Olive oil, of course, was produced 23:13 very extensively in the Mediterranean world, 23:15 still is today. 23:16 >>John: This one here, how old is this, and what is this? 23:18 >>Michael: This, this is dating to about the eighth century, 23:20 about 750 B.C. or so. 23:22 So this would date to the time of Isaiah and Amos and, 23:25 and Hezekiah the king, 23:27 during Sennacherib's famous campaign that he took, 23:29 the Assyrian king. 23:31 And I love this, this particular artifact, 23:33 because it has a spout over here on this side. 23:36 This is a spout where you can actually pour out material. 23:39 Uh, and it has, it's designed in such a way where you can put 23:42 a little tiny dipper juglet like this inside the spout, 23:46 and just kind of, it hangs out there as kind of a little 23:49 resting place for it. 23:50 This is a little measuring cup. 23:52 So if you have a large jar, 23:54 sometimes there's jars even larger than this, 23:56 rather than picking up the whole thing 23:58 and accidentally spilling olive oil in your fire and creating, 24:01 burning the whole city down, 24:02 or something like that, you can just take your little dipper jar 24:05 dip it in, maybe on a string or something, 24:08 dip it in, bring out a little bit, 24:10 and this just take it, take it, 24:12 a little bit, this little dipper juglet, and do that. 24:15 So this is a very typical Israelite artifact 24:18 that we find from that time period. 24:20 And it, it just is an amazing piece. 24:24 We find the dipper juglet separately. 24:25 Uh, two summers ago we actually found them together, 24:29 very much like this. They were crushed, 24:31 but perfectly restorable, uh, 24:33 on the level that Sennacherib destroyed. 24:36 >>John: When you find something like this, for me, 24:38 for the non-archaeologist, 24:40 it just kind of lights me up and brings the Bible to life. 24:44 This is really real, 24:45 and these were real people living real lives. 24:46 What did it do for you after you've been digging in the 24:50 Middle East for years and years? 24:51 >>Michael: I still get excited. I still get excited. 24:54 Somebody made this 2,700 years ago. 24:57 Somebody, uh, cooked with it, prepared for their families. 25:01 Um, there were children running around in the house. 25:04 Uh, you know, it, it, it really to me brings the Bible to life 25:08 in an incredible way, 25:10 in, in a sense that, you know, these were, like you said, 25:14 real people, and, uh, we can touch and taste and feel 25:20 the material that they lived with. 25:22 >>John: Archaeology bringing to life the Bible. 25:26 My encouragement to you is that the Bible comes alive 25:29 in your life. 25:30 Archaeology isn't given to us simply so that we can see 25:33 how people lived 2,800 or more or less years ago, 25:37 but so that the Bible can come to life, be real, be accessible. 25:42 And it's real when it's read and believed and leaned upon. 25:48 There were Bible figures or people living among them, 25:52 handling these very artifacts. 25:54 Today, we can handle the Word of God, 25:57 and it can be alive and real for us. 25:59 ♪[Middle Eastern instrumental music]♪ 26:06 >>John: It's a subject that is talked about much, 26:08 studied often, and you want to know what the Bible says 26:11 about the temple in Scripture. 26:13 To find out, receive today's free offer: 26:16 "Rebuilding the Temple." 26:18 Call 800-253-3000. 26:20 Or visit us online at iiwoffer.com. 26:25 What does the Bible say about the temple and its services? 26:28 Get today's free offer: "Rebuilding the Temple." 26:30 800-253-3000, 26:32 visit us at iiwoffer.com. 26:36 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 26:38 exists because of the kindness of people just like you. 26:41 To support this international, life-changing ministry, 26:44 please call us now at 800-253-3000. 26:49 You can send your tax-deductible gift 26:50 to the address on your screen. 26:52 Or you can visit us online at itiswritten.com. 26:55 Thank you for your prayers and for your financial support. 26:58 Our number again is 800-253-3000, 27:03 or you could visit us online at 27:04 itiswritten.com. 27:06 >>John: Dr. Michael Hasel, 27:08 thank you so much for joining me today on It Is Written. 27:09 >>Michael: It's a privilege. 27:10 >>John: It's a joy to see the Bible come to life. 27:13 It really is. Let's pray together. 27:15 Our Father in heaven, 27:16 we thank You today that Your word is living, 27:20 it's dynamic, it, it is alive. 27:23 And I pray that it would be alive in our lives. 27:26 There is somebody right now participating in this prayer 27:30 who needs the touch of God in her or his life, 27:34 who needs the power of Your Word to flow through that life 27:38 and that experience. 27:40 We thank You for a Savior who lived, who breathed, 27:44 who died, and who is soon to return to this earth 27:48 and take us home. 27:49 Let that day come soon, we pray, in Jesus' name, 27:53 amen. 27:56 Thanks so much for joining us today. 27:58 I look forward to seeing you again next time. 28:00 Until then, remember: 28:02 "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 28:06 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 28:10 ♪[Theme music]♪ |
Revised 2022-09-27