Changes

=== Historicity of Jericho's Conquest ===

=== Historicity of Jericho's Conquest ===

Jericho was found and excavated in the beginning of the 20th century, in modern day Tell es-Sultan. In perfect correlation with the biblical account, the city was completely destroyed in an immediate invasion. The destroyed city of Jericho included collapsed walls and everything that the biblical account described. The first man to date the destruction of Jericho was [[John Garstang]], whom put its destruction at about 1400 BC,<ref>Garstang, John. "The Story of Jericho: Further Light on the Biblical Narrative." The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 58.4 (1941): 368-372.</ref> paralleling and confirming the chronological placement in history where the destruction of Jericho would be put. Later excavations by Kathleen Kenyon challenged Garstang's dating, and re-placed the destruction at about 1550 BC,<ref>Wright, G. Ernest. "The First Campaign at Tell Balâtah (Shechem)." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (1956): 9-20.</ref> which placed doubt on the biblical narrative. The third contribution to the dating of Jericho's destruction was made by the prominent scholar [[Bryant Wood]], whom argued that the destruction of Jericho should be placed back to 1400 BC, in coordination with the initial conclusions of John Garstang.<ref>Wood, Bryant G. "Did the Israelites conquer Jericho? A new look at the archaeological evidence." The Biblical archaeology review 16.2 (1990): 44-59.</ref> Wood argued this because he believed the pottery at Jericho dates to the LB I, as well as the scarab evidence for dating the sites destruction. In Jericho, several scarabs were found that post-date 1550 BC, including a scarab from the reign of Hatshepsut, a scarab from the reign of Thutmose III, and two from the reign of Amenhotep III, suggesting continuous occupation after 1550 BC in Jericho.<ref>Garstang and Garstang, The Story of Jericho, p. 126.</ref> The only aspect of Jericho that seems to contradict a destruction at 1400 BC is the radiocarbon dates derived from Jericho, which place its destruction around 1550 BC. There may exist a problem with radiocarbon dates however, as radiocarbon dates before 1400 BC in Egyptian locations are known to have offsets of about 150 years on average early.<ref>Bietak, Manfred. "Radiocarbon and the date of the Thera eruption." Antiquity 88.339 (2014): 277-282.</ref><ref>Bietak, Manfred, et al. High and low chronology. Vol. 37. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2007, p. 2</ref> Taking the radiometric offset of 150 years into account, and applying a 150-year offset to the 1550 BC radiometric dating of Jericho's destruction, the destruction of Jericho conveniently returns to about 1400 BC, in confirmation that the biblical book of Joshua was penned at about 1400 BC.

Jericho was found and excavated in the beginning of the 20th century, in modern day Tell es-Sultan. In perfect correlation with the biblical account, the city was completely destroyed in an immediate invasion. The destroyed city of Jericho included collapsed walls and everything that the biblical account described. The first man to date the destruction of Jericho was [[John Garstang]], whom put its destruction at about 1400 BC,<ref>Garstang, John. "The Story of Jericho: Further Light on the Biblical Narrative." The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures 58.4 (1941): 368-372.</ref> paralleling and confirming the chronological placement in history where the destruction of Jericho would be put. Later excavations by Kathleen Kenyon challenged Garstang's dating, and re-placed the destruction at about 1550 BC,<ref>Wright, G. Ernest. "The First Campaign at Tell Balâtah (Shechem)." Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research (1956): 9-20.</ref> which placed doubt on the biblical narrative. The third contribution to the dating of Jericho's destruction was made by the prominent scholar [[Bryant Wood]], whom argued that the destruction of Jericho should be placed back to 1400 BC, in coordination with the initial conclusions of John Garstang.<ref>Wood, Bryant G. "Did the Israelites conquer Jericho? A new look at the archaeological evidence." The Biblical archaeology review 16.2 (1990): 44-59.</ref> Wood argued this because he believed the pottery at Jericho dates to the LB I, as well as the scarab evidence for dating the sites destruction. In Jericho, several scarabs were found that post-date 1550 BC, including a scarab from the reign of Hatshepsut, a scarab from the reign of Thutmose III, and two from the reign of Amenhotep III, suggesting continuous occupation after 1550 BC.<ref>Garstang and Garstang, The Story of Jericho, p. 126.</ref> The only aspect of Jericho that seems to contradict a destruction at 1400 BC is the radiocarbon dates derived from Jericho, which place its destruction around 1550 BC. There may exist a problem with radiocarbon dates however, as radiocarbon dates before 1400 BC in Egyptian locations are known to have offsets of about 150 years on average early.<ref>Bietak, Manfred. "Radiocarbon and the date of the Thera eruption." Antiquity 88.339 (2014): 277-282.</ref><ref>Bietak, Manfred, et al. High and low chronology. Vol. 37. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2007, p. 2</ref> Taking the radiometric offset of 150 years into account, and applying a 150-year offset to the 1550 BC radiometric dating of Jericho's destruction, the destruction of Jericho conveniently returns to about 1400 BC, in confirmation that the biblical book of Joshua was penned at about 1400 BC.

==See also==

==See also==