- Series:God’s Design, Transcript English
1 Kings 9:15
“And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.”
Secular archaeologists usually assume that the historical statements found in Scripture are overstatements or simply incorrect. It was with this attitude that archaeologists approached the ruins of Hazor to see if they could tell whether Solomon actually did add to the wall of Hazor and build other structures there, as the Bible says. Hazor was an important city on the primary military and trade routes between Israel and Phoenicia, Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Hazor had been destroyed by Joshua when Israel took possession of the Promised Land. Over the following centuries, the site began to be inhabited by Israelites. By Solomon’s time, the city reached a size of about 10 acres and was home to between 800 and 1,000 people. Archaeologists found that sometime during the reign of Solomon, the city wall was expanded, doubling the size. Other buildings also were added at this time. Excavations show that at Solomon’s time the city was prosperous. The city’s six chambered gate is typical of the gates Israel built at this time. Gates of the same design also exist at Megiddo and Gezer, two other cities named as being fortified by Solomon, according to the same verse that mentions the fortification of Hazor!
Again, the Bible has been vindicated as presenting accurate history. We can be equally sure that the Bible’s account of creation is accurate because the Bible is God’s Word.
Prayer:
Dear Father, I thank You that Your Word is trustworthy in all things, for it tells me of my salvation in Jesus Christ. Amen.
Notes:
“Solomon’s City Rises from the Ashes,” Biblical Archaeology Review, 3 4/99. Aerial view of Tel Hazor. (PD)
