Is the Book of Judges Really History? (Conclusion)
The book of Judges’ historicity is crucial in determining the validity of Israel’s…
UNEARTHING TRUTH WITH RANDALL PRICE
Is the Book of Judges Really History? (Part 2)
The reluctant judge Gideon is one of the Bible’s most well-known and colorful characters…
Is the Book of Judges Really History? (Part 1)
he book of Judges spans approximately 300 years (ca. 1365–1065 BC) and opens with the Israelites, settled in Canaan…
Discovering the Danite Migration
Apostasy ran rampant within Israel during the difficult days of the judges when “there was no king in Israel…
Judging the Book of Judges
The book of Judges chronicles cycles of Israel’s discipline and deliverance as the Israelites settled in the land of Canaan…
When Joshua Conquered Hazor
Joshua conquered the Canaanite city of Hazor during his northern campaign (Josh. 11:10–11)…
The Witness of Joshua’s Altar
Joshua built an altar to the Lord on Mount Ebal as a place of worship and witness (Josh. 8:30–31). He constructed…
Archaeology and Jericho (Conclusion)
Previously, we looked at two of four issues (the ban and morality) that clarify God’s controversial actions in the…
Archaeology and Jericho (Part 3)
God commanded Joshua to destroy the Canaanites and conquer Jericho. This account has sparked ethical debates…
Archaeology and Jericho (Part 2)
One of the best-known accounts from Scripture is the miracle of the walls that came tumbling down…
Archaeology and Jericho (Part 1)
Bible critics love to attack the conquest of Jericho. Disproving or questioning its historicity undermines Israel…
A Reminder to Remember
It has been said, “We are what we remember,” and “What we remember affects who we are and what we experience in life.”…
Let’s Make a Deal
In 1963 the American television game show Let’s Make a Deal came on the air. It became famous for awarding prizes based on choices the contestants made…
From Snake to Savior
One of the most dramatic events in the Israelites’ wilderness wandering involved the fiery serpents in Numbers 21. The difficult journey bypassing…
An Ancient Witness to the Messiah
Many people wonder what the ancient Hebrews thought about the coming of the Messiah. Some see the…
Balaam: Fact or Fiction?
As Moses and the Israelites camped on the Plains of Moab, Moabite King Balak devised a plan to defeat them. Knowing he could…
God’s Alarm System
Alarms call us to action. We have fire alarms, weather alarms, alarm clocks, and personal electronic devices with alarms. During biblical times, Israel also sounded an alarm…
One of the Oldest Blessings in the Bible
In Numbers 6:22–27 the Lord told the high priest how to bless national Israel: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make…
The Strange Story of the Scapegoat
A strange ceremony is recorded in Leviticus 16:7–10 as part of the observance of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)…
Are God’s People Really Distinct?
When I was a child, the most memorable instruction my father gave me was “Don’t do as I do; do as I say do!” After I became…
Why Animal Sacrifice?
In our modern world, many condemn animal sacrifice. In Florida, a religious group was sued for practicing it. The plaintiff defined sacrifice as “to unnecessarily kill…
The Priests: Keeping Israel Holy
Ancient Israel’s three great offices were prophet, priest, and king. Of these, the most enigmatic to people today is that of priest…
The Sanctuary’s Sweet Cover-up
Many people today use diffusers to disperse essential oils into the air to promote physical health and freshen a room…
The Altar of Sacrifice
Most people today are familiar with the concept of blessing. But they know little about the idea of sacrifice, particularly on an altar…
The Lamp of the Lord
The menorah was an important component of the Tabernacle. It had two purposes: to furnish light and to remind all Israel that God is light…
God’s Home on Earth
When God exiled man from the Garden of Eden, humanity no longer had access to God’s presence. This access was not restored until the Lord prepared a…
All That Glitters Is Not God
The incident of the golden calf looms large in Israel’s history. Moses’ long stay on Mt. Sinai convinced some Israelites that…
Archaeology and the Ark
The Ark of the Covenant was largely introduced to people outside biblical circles through the Hollywood movie…
The Big Ten
Many people are familiar with Cecil B. DeMille’s film The Ten Commandments. In a famous scene, Moses receives the Ten Commandments on stone tablets…
Did Moses Write the Torah?
The Bible says explicitly Moses wrote the Torah. Exodus 24:4 states, “Moses wrote all the words of the LORD”…
What’s in a Name?
When Moses encountered God for the first time, he asked Him, “When I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you..
Casting Down Serpents
Exodus 7:8–12 records the account of Moses’ and Aaron’s first miracle before Pharaoh: turning Aaron’s staff (a symbol of authority) into a serpent that swallowed those produced by Pharaoh’s magicians…
Why Would God Harden a Heart?
Exodus 4:21 records a statement God made to Moses: “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will…”
How Do We Know the Exodus Happened?
“The actual evidence concerning the Exodus resembles the evidence for the unicorn,” declared Pennsylvania State University Jewish Studies Professor Baruch Halpern.1 The ancient Israelites created…
Joseph in His Egyptian Context
Some Bible critics claim Joseph was the invented hero of an Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) literary drama written years after the purported event. But ancient Egyptian records support the biblical account…
Archaeology on the Back of a Camel
When I was a student at the Hebrew University, Professor Avraham Malamat told our class no camel bones had ever been found from the time of the Patriarchs. The problem, as the professor saw it, was that…
What If Abraham Had Never Existed
“Abraham never existed, but his cousin did!” said one of my professors during a graduate course on Israel’s early history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He believed Abraham and all the…
United Hearts, Divided Tongues
Some people claim the biblical story of the Tower of Babel is merely a folk tale to explain the formation of different languages. But archaeology supports the Bible. Before the Tower of Babel…
The Identity of Nimrod
Archaeological excavations in ancient Mesopotamia reveal striking parallels between the Bible’s King Nimrod and the ancient Semitic ruler Sargon the Great, thus confirming the biblical king’s historicity. The Old Testament mentions Nimrod four times, calling him…
Noah’s Ark—Fact or Fiction?
About 20 years ago, the news media reported on the search for the remains of Noah’s ark. In an interview on the subject, a professor of Old Testament at a liberal Christian university quipped that…
How Long is Wrong?
Secularists and Bible critics often attack the Bible’s credibility due to its record of long lives before the Noahic flood. They claim such life spans are unrealistic and result from the incorporation of mythology into the biblical record.
God’s Guardians
Biblical cherubim are heavenly creatures that act as God’s guardians. Archaeologists have discovered in Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) iconography and architecture cherubim-like figures that mirror their biblical function and help us visualize what they may look like.
The Fall: Mythology or History?
The book of Genesis records the fall of man—the event where humanity rebelled against God and thus exchanged an innocent nature for a sinful nature, immortality for mortality. Archaeology reveals that…
Creation Calling
The people of Israel bequeathed to the world the revelation of God through the Bible. In this revelation, the creation account in Genesis takes center stage and is recorded as a matter of protohistory. It was an accepted fact…
Worship in the New World
For most people, the world of the Bible is an unfamiliar, alien realm. But for Bible-believing Christians, it is like the pleasant home of well-known friends. Beginning where the Bible begins, with the book of Genesis, I’d like to take you…