Bible Studies
The Biblical City of Lachish
Series: Additional StudiesIntroduction:
1. As most of you know I recently participated in an archaeological dig at the biblical city of Lachish. 2. Many of you have been significantly interested, asking questions, following our posts on Facebook and expressing your desire that I make a presentation about the experience.Discussion:
I. General information about Lachish.A. Tel Lachish is a large mound of some 18 acres in size.
1. A Tel is an artificial mound covering the ruins of various levels of ancient cities all built on the same site.
2. Although there is disagreement about the actual dates of some of the levels, a broad outline is below.
Level I 450-150 B.C.
GAP—mound deserted
Level II 700-586 B.C.
Levels III, IV 900-700 B.C.
Level V City of David and Rehoboam 1000-900 B.C.
GAP—mound deserted 12th-11th centuries
Level VI 1300-1225 B.C. Late Bronze
Level VII 1450-1350 B.C.
Level VIII 1567-1450 B.C.
B. It is located in the Shephelah region of Israel between Mount Hebron and the Mediterranean coast.
C. It is 30 miles SW of Jerusalem, midway between Jerusalem and Gaza.
D. Of the ancient cities of Judah it was second only to Jerusalem in importance.
E. Lachish is now an Israeli National Park.
F. There are three sources of information about Lachish.
1. Biblical sources.
2. Non-biblical sources.
3. The archeological site itself.
II. There have been three previous archaeological expeditions at Tel Lachish.A. The first involved 4 seasons of work between 1932 and 1938 led initially by James Leslie Starkey. After Starkey was murdered by Arab bandits. Olga Tufnell continued the work.
B. In 1966 and 1968 Yohanan Aharoni worked the site for Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University.
C. Between 1973 and 1994 David Ussishkin and his team from Tel Aviv University and Israel Exploration Society excavated the site.(Professor Ussishkin visited during our work.)
D. It should be recognized that this is a large site and different teams have concentrated attention on different areas of the site.
E. The discoveries from these excavations have been remarkable, contributing not only to an understanding of the history of Lachish, but to the field of archaeology itself. (Time will not allow us to address this any more than to make this observation. Suffice it to say this is a significant site.)
F. Our expedition was the fourth of its kind.
1. It was led by Professor Yosef Garfinkel of the Institute of Archaeology Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Professor Michael Hasel of the Institute of Archaeology Southern Adventist University. Along with Professor Martin Klingbeil also of Southern Adventist University.
2. There were between 90-100 volunteers on the site working in three groups: A, B, C.
3. Our group numbered 13 all associated with Florida College in one way or another. We were in group B and overseen by Professor Garfinkel.
4. Other groups were from Hebrew University, Southern Adventist University and Virginia Commonwealth University.
III. The biblical history of Lachish. Joshua RehoboamAmaziah Hezekiah Jeremiah Nehemiah ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1400 900 (d761) 701 586 444 all dates B.C.A. The first biblical reference to Lachish is in Joshua 10.
1. Lachish was one of the cities conquered by Joshua.
2. Japhia, king of Lachish was allied with the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth and Eglon to go against Gibeah who had made peace with Joshua.
3. All five of these cities were Amorite at the time.
4. Joshua defended Gibeah and the Lord rained hailstones on the five-king Amorite alliance. The sun and moon stood still until they were defeated.
5. The five kings were captured in a cave at Makkedah and later killed.
B. The next mention of Lachish is in the days of Rehoboam and the divided kingdom. 2 Chron. 11:5-12 tells how Rehoboam fortified a number of cities during his reign. The city of Lachish was one of these.
C. The next mention is in the days King Amaziah who fled to Lachish after a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem. He was pursued to Lachish and was killed there (2 Kings 14:17-21; 2 Chron. 25:27).
D. The next mention is during the days of King Hezekiah.
a. 2 Kings 18 and 19 tells how Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded the fortified cities of Judah in the days of Hezekiah and conquered Lachish.
b. Micah 1:13 calls on Lachish to harness the horses to their chariots in light of God’s coming judgment upon their rebellious acts.
c. Sennacherib decorated his palace in Ninevah with an alabaster bas-relief showing “Lakisu” under siege.
d. Additonal references to Sennacherib’s invasion are found in 2 Chron. 32; Isa. 36 and 37.
e. Hezekiah prepared Jerusalem by fortifying its walls. He also built the water tunnel.
f. Sennacherib’s forces beseiged Jerusalem. Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed and the Lord responded. Sennacherib’s forces were turned away from Jerusalem when the angel of the Lord struck dead 185,000 in the Assyrian camp.
g. Sennacherib said he had shut up Hezekiah like a bird in a cage. His statement is on the Sennacherib Prism in the Oriental Institute in Chicago.
E. Lachish is mentioned again by Jeremiah (34:7) observing that Jerusalem, Lachish and Azekah were the only fortified cities left after the Babylonian invasion, under king Nebuchadnezzar.
F. Neh. 11:30 mentions that sons of Judah lived in Lachish after the return from the Babylonian exile.
IV. My personal reflections on the 2014 dig.A. Where we stayed. Kidma Youth Village. A camp designed for activities for youth. We stayed in a dormitory type setting.
B. Schedule.
1. Israel is 7 hours ahead of us.
2. We were scheduled to work Sunday through Thursday, with Friday and Saturday off. Used these days to travel to other sites.
3. The Sunday schedule. Began work at 1 p.m. until 8 p.m.
4. Monday through Thursday. Got up just after 4 a.m., loaded buses with water, food, etc. Left at 4:50. The bus ride was 20 minutes to the dig site.
5. Upon arrival at the Tel walked approximately ¾ mile up hill to the dig site. Sun was just beginning to come up.
6. Gathered tools: picks, brushes, trials, shovels, buckets, wheel barrows, etc.
7. Coffee break, breakfast, watermelon break.
8. Worked until 1 p.m.
9. To Youth Village for lunch.
10. Break.
11. 4:30 washed pottery. Professors “read” the pottery.
12 .6 -7 lecture presentation.
C. Work is difficult. Cleared site of brush. Cleared top soil. Moved deeper and deeper layer by layer. Set up sunscreen on second day. Hot – 90+F. Dry. It does not rain in Israel in the summer. We worked on the north side of the Tel near the well.
D. All special finds documented. Elevations are kept regarding locations of special finds. Floor levels, architecture, etc.
E. Some of the things we found.
1. Pottery—mostly from late and middle bronze age—Joshua and Judges.
2. Some pottery from Cyprus indicating relationship with other peoples.
3. Sling stones.
4. Grind stones.
5. Bones.
6. Pottery with burned seeds inside. Dateable with C14.
7. Bronze statue of Baal.
8. A piece of gold jewelry.
9. An Egyptian scareb.
F. The dig was to last 6 weeks. We were there the first two. After the third week, due to the political situation the dig was shut down. Lachish is located mid-way between Jerusalem and Gaza (about 30 miles from each).
G. If you are interested in learning more. Search the internet. Visit the site Luke Chandler’s blog site. Visit Ferrell’s travel blog. Visit my Facebook page. Visit the sites of Institute of Archaeology Hebrew University Jerusalem and Institute of Archeology Southern Adventist University.
Conclusion:
1. Archaeology is a fascinating field. 2. Especially as it relates to biblical history. 3. Archaeology can provide confirmational and supportive evidence to the biblical accounts. 4. Sometimes the evidence seems uncertain even contradictory to the biblical account. 5. Archaeologists can dig up evidence, but the evidence needs to be interpreted. As is the case in all scientific investigations, caution needs to be exercised in the interpretations of the evidence.
