My copy of James Michener’s The Source is long-gone, as is
my memory of many details from the 1960s novel. But I do remember that as the
archaeologists in the story excavated layer after layer of soil from a hilltop
in
A historical novel about archaeology can be interesting. But the real thing, especially if it’s biblical archaeology, can be absolutely intriguing.
A recent item on Internet International News, dateline Jerusalem, noted that a stone tablet, about the size of a legal pad and containing 15 lines written in ancient Hebrew, gives an account of repairs made to Solomon’s Temple. The information contained on this sandstone tablet is similar to the biblical record in 2 Kings 12:1-16, which gives a description of temple repairs made some 2,800 years ago during the reign of King Joash.
In the account recorded on the stone, the king tells priests to take “holy money . . . to buy quarry stones and timber and copper and labor to carry out the duty with faith.” And if the work is completed well, the inscription ends, “the Lord will protect his people with blessing.”
Carbon dating confirms the writing as 9th century B.C. Microscopic flecks of gold on the surface of the stone, not a natural part of it, suggest that they could have been deposited there as the result of golden objects being burned, such as happened when Solomon’s Temple was burned by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Possibly more study will reveal the degree of significance of this sandstone relic.
Bits and pieces of history in the form of ancient artifacts are visible, touchable reminders of the past. If they’re biblical artifacts they might take on added interest as they flesh out a Bible account of some incident or add a little local color or human interest.
Our faith is not wishy-washy enough to need a
We live in the present. We look to the future. And knowing about the past helps us keep our sense of direction.