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53 People In The [Hebrew] Bible Confirmed Archaeologically, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This is a list, with end-note documentation, of 53 people in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament who are strongly identified in published inscriptions of known authenticity, in most instances from during or quite close to their lifetimes. It includes people from ancient Egypt, Moab, Aram-Damascus, the northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah, Assyria, Babylonia, and Persia.

The intent is to include only well-grounded, strong identifications that can be trusted.

Mykytiuk's publications firmly reject the haphazard, "flying by the seat of the pants" approach of numerous online lists which are created without explicit criteria or by suspect use of …

Eleven Non-Royal Jeremianic Figures Strongly Identified In Authentic, Contemporaneous Inscriptions, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Using established criteria, this article identifies nine persons mentioned in the book of Jeremiah and two high priests in 1 Chronicles, all of whom were contemporaries of Jeremiah. These persons are identified with virtual certainty in inscriptions of known authenticity contemporaneous with that prophet. Some these inscriptions came to light as recently as 2005 and 2008.

Authentic bullae from excavations in the City of David refer to several Hebrew people named in the Bible. These are: Gemaryahu the king’s minister and his father Shaphan the scribe, Yehukal the king’s minister and his father Shelemyahu, Gedalyahu the king’s minister and his …

Strengthening Biblical Historicity Vis-A`-Vis Minimalism, 1992–2008 And Beyond. Part 2.3: Some Commonalities In Approaches To Writing Ancient Israel’S History, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

This series of articles covers scholarly works in English which can, at least potentially, be associated with a generally positive view of biblical historicity regarding periods preceding the Israelites’ return from exile. Part 2 covers works that treat the methodological issues at the center of the maximalist–minimalist debate. Parts 2.1 and 2.2 selectively survey the works of 24 non-minimalist scholars during two decades. In the absence of consensus, this article analyzes the works in Parts 2.1 and 2.2, tracing elements of approach that are held in common, at least among pluralities of non-minimalists (possible majorities are not noted). The first …

Sixteen Strong Identifications Of Biblical Persons (Plus Nine Other Ids) In Authentic Northwest Semitic Inscriptions From Before 539 B.C.E., Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Research Publications

This revised conference paper presents the strongest results of the author's published dissertation as corrected and updated in a journal article published in 2010 and as updated using a 2011 essay. In Northwest Semitic inscriptions which are known to be authentic, using sound protocols, one can identify with certainty at least ten persons from before the Persian era who are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Another six such persons can be identified with virtual certainty, for a total of sixteen strong identifications (IDs).

Five other authentic inscriptions offer an additional seven IDs which, while not quite certain, are at least …

Strengthening Biblical Historicity Vis-À-Vis Minimalism, 1992-2008, Part 1: Introducing A Bibliographic Essay In Five Parts, Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Research Publications

This is the first in a series of five articles which cover one aspect of a debate in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. In question is the historical reliability of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Historical/biblical minimalism, the side in the debate which finds the Hebrew Bible almost completely unreliable as a source for history, has already received substantial bibliographic treatment. Therefore, this series attempts to provide balance by covering the literature in support of historical reliability.

These articles focus not on modern histories of ancient Israel, but rather, publications related to the historicity of the non-miraculous assertions and …

Corrections And Updates To "Identifying Biblical Persons In Northwest Semitic Inscriptions Of 1200-539 B.C.E.", Lawrence J. Mykytiuk

Libraries Research Publications

This article does two things. First, it corrects things in the book, Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200-539 B.C.E. (2004), abbreviated IBP below:
• Regarding potential forgeries, the article applies the principles for treatment of unprovenanced inscriptions set forth in Christopher A. Rollston, “Non-Provenanced Epigraphs II: The Status of Non-Provenanced Epigraphs within the Broader Corpus of Northwest Semitic,” Maarav 11 (2004): 71–76.
• It disqualifies proposed IDs in eight (8) inscriptions that are forgeries or probable forgeries, notably including the two bullae frequently attributed to the biblical Baruch.
Second, it evaluates 32 proposed identifications (IDs) of biblical …