The Significance of Archaeology in Interpreting Jesus and Gospels

This essay delves into the significant role archaeology plays in interpreting the historical context surrounding Jesus and the Gospels. It highlights how archaeological findings validate biblical records, aid in the interpretation of challenging passages, and underscore crucial geographical information. Examples such as the destruction of the Temple, the death of Saul, and the synagogues of Galilee are examined to demonstrate archaeology's contribution to understanding the historical accuracy of biblical accounts. The essay also addresses specific instances, like the pool of Bethesda and Jewish cultural practices, where archaeological evidence supports or clarifies details within the Gospels. While acknowledging the limitations of archaeology in proving specific events or theological statements, the essay concludes that archaeological discoveries significantly enhance our understanding of the cultural and historical setting of the Gospels, prompting scholars to reconsider their interpretations.

Running head: HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
Historical Jesus to Written Gospels
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1HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
Archaeology is the “science of the treatment of the material remains of the human
past”1. It first started as a search for the treasure present in the different parts of the earth as
many ancients were known to have their wealth buried along with them. Gradually, it evolved
as a science. The very first excavations of the “Bible lands” including the Mesopotamia,
Palestine, Egypt, Babylon etc. were all carried out by the end of the very century. It is
archaeology that is very closely linked with the history of mankind and history is irradiated
by it. With the same, being a written word of God himself, the Bible is referred to as a
historical book and it is through archaeology that it is illuminated. This paper is going to
elaborate on presenting a brief about the value of archaeology in the historical interpretation
of Jesus and the Gospels. It will also shed light on the value of archaeology in studying and
understanding the Bible and on the New and the Old Testaments.
Importance of archaeology in bible
The archaeological findings have done a significant deal in validating the historical
records of Bible. It has helped in the interpretation and translation of Bible passages and
world that are very hard for understanding and decipher. With the same, it highlighted the
important geographical information present in the Bible while these information could be
very easily missed because of the lack of understanding about its importance. It is also to note
that as per Conway, “Bible is not a complete record”2. Not each and everything that has
happened to the people of God is recorded other than only the significant events. It is
archaeology that has provided all the supplementary information and details to the Biblical
record. It is to mention that in Matthew 24:2, Jesus Christ had told his disciples that “not one
stone from the Temple would be left on top of another, everyone would be thrown down.”3
1 Murphy, Patrick J., and Fred Porcheddu. "Amateur Error, Templar Terror, and MR James's Haunted
Whistle." Philological Quarterly 92.3 (2013): 389.
2 Conway, Des G. The Event Manager's Bible 3rd Edition: The Complete Guide to Planning and
Organising a Voluntary or Public Event. Hachette UK, 2014.
3 Tagawa, Kenzo. "People and Community in the Gospel of Matthew." New Testament Studies 16.2
(1970): 149-162.

2HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
This prediction was fulfilled in the 70 AD, when the Romans were successful at destroying
the Temple buildings. The archaeological excavations in the year 1968 have exposed the
huge numbers of the Temple stones. Archaeological discoveries shows the events and
characters that are described and mentioned in the Bible are accurate document.4 It shows that
the events and the characters that are described here are all facts. It shows the integrity and
the authenticity of the historical components of Bible. Some of the examples to mention in
this context are the death of Saul, David living with the Philistines in the Philistine town, the
battle against the Abner in the Gibeon etc. According to Samuel 31:8, Saul died on Mount
Gilboa as the Philistines cut off his head and then, put his armour in Ashtoreths Temple and
hung his body with the body of his sons on Beth Shan wall. The Ashtoreths at the wall of
Beth Shan have excavated and exposed the life time of Saul. Also, at the time of reign of
Saul, David was his enemy and therefore, he was compelled to flee off. According to
Lemche, “he went to Achish, king of Gath. Achish gave David the town of Ziklag (1 Samuel
27:6) and it remained in the hands of the kings of Judah from then on.”5 Furthermore, the
excavations at the Gibeon have also exposed a wide pool which was cut into rock within the
city. The archaeologists have found out that it was in the David’s time when it was used and
was most likely to be the pool of Gibeon. It is where the men of David and Joab fought
against the men of Ishbosheth and Abner.
Synagogues of Galilee
The archaeologists form Israel in the Northern Israel have exposed the ruins of rural
synagogue that is dated back to 2000 years ago. The remaining of Synagogue were found at
the time of archaeological dig at the Tel Rekhesh present near the Mount Tabor. It was an
ancient Jewish village. These findings have lend much weight to the New Testament
4 Younker, Randall W. "The Bible and Archaeology." The Symposium on the Bible and Adventist
Scholarship. 2000.
5 Lemche, Niels Peter. "David's Rise." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 4.10 (1979): 2-25.

3HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
narrative that Jesus Christ have visited in the villages present in the areas for preaching. As
per Meyers, Kraabel and Strange, one of the archaeologist have led the dig and as per him,
the synagogue was built in between 20 and 40 AD and at the same time, was used for about
hundred years6. There was no other rural synagogues that have been found from that time. He
opined that “this is the first 1st century synagogue in rural Galilee of the first century.” The
synagogue was about sixty feet wide and about seventy nine feet long with the basalt
cobblestone floors and basalt walls. According to Magness, “it was built by a Roman
centurion who "loved" the nation of Israel.”7 Jesus Christ had already predicted about the
downfall of the Capernaum and today, it is the basalt building stones that are lining the shore
of Sea of Galilee. Until this finding, the synagogues as known as the “Second Temple
Period” after when the Jewish temple stood in the Jerusalem and it have been found only in
the parts of urban centers.
Evidence of crucifixion
Just a few years ago, there were archaeologists who were exploring caves present in
outside of the Jerusalem and they found a finding of lifetime, that is, a burial cave from the
ancient era that contain the remains of a crucified person. It is only the one in a long series of
findings that revers the scholarly consensus that was a century old. It held that the gospels are
completely proclamation and they contain very little, but real history8. It was the remains that
belong to a person who was executed during the first century A.D. and it is since the time of
Jesus Christ. Notwithstanding this fact, it is also to mention that there were different scholars
who have doubted about the significance and authenticity of the biblical account of the burial
of Jesus Christ. They claimed that the crucified criminals were all tossed in a huge grave and
6 Meyers, E. M., Kraabel, A. T., & Strange, J. F. (1972). Archaeology and Rabbinic Tradition at Khirbet
Shema ‘: 1970 and 1971 Campaigns. The Biblical Archaeologist, 35(1), 2-31.
7 Magness, Jodi. "The Pottery from the Village of Capernaum and the Chronology of Galilean
Synagogues." Tel Aviv 39.2 (2012): 110-122.
8 Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 1: The
Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). Vol. 1. University of Chicago Press, 2018.

4HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
were then demolished and eaten up by the wild animals. However, the man (the person whose
remains were found in the burial cave) was buried in the same manner that the Bible says
Jesus Christ was buried. With the same, apart from this, there is a physical evidence from the
skeleton as well. The shinbones of the man appeared to have been broken as well. It further
confirms the claim that John wrote regarding the practises of Roman executioners. They used
to break the legs of the crucified criminals for hastening the death and this something that,
according to Bible, Jesus was spared9.
Furthermore, one of the other part of the Gospel of John that archaeology has very
recently confirmed is the story of the healing the lame man by Jesus Christ present in John 5.
In this, John have described about the 5 sided pool inside the Sheep Gate present in Jerusalem
where the lame man come for being healed10. As there are no other documents of antiquity
that have mentioned about the existence of such a place, the scholars have always been
argued that John have simply invented the place by himself. However, as per Thompson,
when the archaeologists decided of digging the place where as per John, the pool was located,
they exposed a real five-sided pool and upon that, it was also containing the shrines to ‘Greek
Gods of healing’. So, it is clear that it was not the imagination of John.
Jewish Culture and the places that Jesus visited
Archaeology have showed once and for all that the places and people that were closets
to Jesus were all highly Jewish. For judging by the bone findings, the Galileans did not eat
pig. For judging by the limestone jugs, it is to state that the Jewish used to store the liquids in
the vessels that were complied with the strictest purity laws of Jewish. The archaeological
findings have portrait that Jesus Christ as a Jewish, used to preach to the other Jews. It is also
to note that there has been several disagreement regarding the site at which Jesus Christ fed
9 Bordes, Stephen, et al. "The clinical anatomy of crucifixion." Clinical anatomy (2019).
10 Thompson, Robin. "Healing at the Pool of Bethesda: A Challenge to Asclepius?." Bulletin for Biblical
Research 27.1 (2017): 65-84.

5HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
the 5000 people. With the help of archaeology and the information that it provided, it seems
to have taken place in the eastern side of a lake present at Bethsaida-Julias. It is due to the
fact that after the feeding, Jesus Christ and his followers or disciples crossed over the sea and
then landed at a town called Gennesaret. The archaeological evidences have shown that there
were likely to be a total of two Bethsaides- the “Bethsaida-Julias (Luke 9:10) and Bethsaida
in Galilee (John 12:21).” According to Humble, “Bethsaida-Julias was originally just called
Bethsaida, but was raised to the status of a city and renamed by Herod Philip11. It lay on the
northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. There is evidence that the modern es-Saki lagoon may
have once stretched up to the site of Bethsaida-Julias making it virtually on the shore of the
Sea.” The es-Saki lagoon appears to become a part of one of the deltas and also, because of
the helps of archaeological findings, it has been found that during the time of Jesus, the
Jordan River entered into the Sea east of its current point of entry. It is likely that the
Bethsaida in Galilee was located at the el-Araj. Also, it is to mention that during the time of
Jesus Christ, it would have been located on the western part of Jordan and this is why, it
would have been politically separated from the Bethsaida-Julias12. In the right of the recent
archaeological findings, after Christ fed the 5000 people, he told his followers to move on
ahead in the boat to Bethsaida as per Mark 6:45. However, it is unlikely that Bethsaida is
Bathsaida-Julias as of the fact that they were already there as per Luke 9:10-17. Hence, Jesus
must have been considering to the Bethsaida in Galilee. Moreover, it is also to note that as
per the archaeological evidences, Jesus went to live in Capernaum. In the New Testament, it
has mentioned the teachings of Jesus in Synagogue as per Mark 1:2113. The archaeological
11 HUMBLE, WHYDIDPP. "CHAPTER FOUR WHY BETHSAIDA? WHY DID PHILIP PICK THIS
HUMBLE VILLAGE TO BUILD HIS NEW CITY NAMED JULIAS? FRED STRICKERT." A Festschrift
in Honor of Rami Arav:“And They Came to Bethsaida…” (2019): 44.
12 ARIEL, DONALDT. "CHAPTER FIVE A MINI-HOARD OF TIBERIAS COINS FROM EXCAVATIONS
AT ET-TELL (BETHSAIDA)." A Festschrift in Honor of Rami Arav:“And They Came to
Bethsaida…” (2019): 62.
13 Ong, Hughson T. "Jesus’ Social Network as Evidence for the Gospel as Good News." Is the Gospel
Good News? 8 (2019): 83.

6HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
excavations at the sites of Capernaum have proved the first century synagogue where Jesus
Christ taught.
Hence, from the above analysis it can be concluded that the efforts of the
archaeologists have fetched fruit. It is for the information that they have recovered from the
study of earth that has helped the human beings in filling up their knowledge and
understanding gaps about the background of Jesus, Gospels and Bible as a whole.
Archaeology is a very valuable tool that helped in the Biblical studies. It has allowed people
to gain a complete appreciation about the Biblical records. It has also highlighted some
significant geographical information present in the Bible. All these information and data
could easily be missed due to the shortage of understanding about its importance. The
archaeological findings have done a significant deal in validating the historical records of
Bible. It has helped in the interpretation and translation of Bible passages and world that are
very hard for understanding and decipher. However, it is also to state that archaeology will
never be successful in proving the historicity of some specific events that are recorded in the
Gospel, and also, much less to create the theological statements of John on the basis of the
verifiable data, some of its findings have thrown much light on the cultural and historical
setting of the Gospel, and as such, they have also caused several different scholars in
rethinking the ways in which the message of John must be interpreted. Hence, it can be stated
that archaeology is a significant source of data and information for Biblical study and it
cannot be overlooked. The evidences that it provides contributes to the Biblical study in
several ways.
References:

7HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
ARIEL, DONALDT. "CHAPTER FIVE A MINI-HOARD OF TIBERIAS COINS FROM
EXCAVATIONS AT ET-TELL (BETHSAIDA)." A Festschrift in Honor of Rami
Arav:“And They Came to Bethsaida…” (2019): 62.
Bordes, Stephen, et al. "The clinical anatomy of crucifixion." Clinical anatomy (2019).
Conway, Des G. The Event Manager's Bible 3rd Edition: The Complete Guide to Planning
and Organising a Voluntary or Public Event. Hachette UK, 2014.
HUMBLE, WHYDIDPP. "CHAPTER FOUR WHY BETHSAIDA? WHY DID PHILIP
PICK THIS HUMBLE VILLAGE TO BUILD HIS NEW CITY NAMED JULIAS? FRED
STRICKERT." A Festschrift in Honor of Rami Arav:“And They Came to
Bethsaida…” (2019): 44.
Lemche, Niels Peter. "David's Rise." Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 4.10 (1979):
2-25.
Magness, Jodi. "The Pottery from the Village of Capernaum and the Chronology of Galilean
Synagogues." Tel Aviv 39.2 (2012): 110-122.
Meyers, E. M., Kraabel, A. T., & Strange, J. F. (1972). Archaeology and Rabbinic Tradition
at Khirbet Shema ‘: 1970 and 1971 Campaigns. The Biblical Archaeologist, 35(1), 2-31.
Murphy, Patrick J., and Fred Porcheddu. "Amateur Error, Templar Terror, and MR James's
Haunted Whistle." Philological Quarterly 92.3 (2013): 389.
Ong, Hughson T. "Jesus’ Social Network as Evidence for the Gospel as Good News." Is the
Gospel Good News? 8 (2019): 83.
Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine,
Volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600). Vol. 1. University of Chicago
Press, 2018.

8HISTORICAL JESUS TO WRITTEN GOSPELS
Tagawa, Kenzo. "People and Community in the Gospel of Matthew." New Testament
Studies 16.2 (1970): 149-162.
Thompson, Robin. "Healing at the Pool of Bethesda: A Challenge to Asclepius?." Bulletin
for Biblical Research 27.1 (2017): 65-84.
Younker, Randall W. "The Bible and Archaeology." The Symposium on the Bible and
Adventist Scholarship. 2000.