Archaeologists have discovered the secrets of a Biblical city that lay in the “Promised Land” where the Israelites settled after Moses led them out of Egypt.
The Israel Antiquities Authority recently announced its findings from Zanoah, a site mentioned in the Old Testament. Stone walls, pottery and other artifacts dating back more than 3,200 years were found.
The Bible tells us that the Israelites reached the Promised Land, also called Canaan, around 1406-1407 B.C.E. after wandering in the desert for 40 years.
The team also found a broken pot handle with the name of a king mentioned in the Bible on it, further supporting the Biblical story of Moses.
Archaeologists have discovered ancient artifacts that may coincide with Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Researchers have found retaining walls for agricultural terraces, used to create flat areas for planting and protect steeper ground from erosion.
The Israel Antiquities Authority recently shared its findings from Zanoah, mentioned in the Old Testament, revealing stone walls, pottery and other artifacts dating back more than 3,200 years
The Exodus story is spread throughout the Bible books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
It begins with the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. Pharaoh agrees to release them after he has overcome ten terrible plagues. Moses leads them through the miraculously parted Red Sea.
When they reached the Sinai Peninsula, according to Scripture, they traveled to Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments.
The group then moved to the southern border of Canaan, but because they were too afraid to enter, God sentenced them to spend decades in the wilderness.
After the Israelites had spent several years in the oasis of Kadesh-barnea, they traveled to the eastern border of Canaan, where Moses died and was buried on Mount Nebo.
In the following book of Joshua, Joshua takes over the leadership of the Israelites and leads them to the Promised Land, across the Jordan River, and captures Jericho. Zanoah is also mentioned in the book of Joshua.
Joshua 15:34,56 describes the borders and cities within the tribal territory of Judah as they entered the Promised Land, which includes Zanoah.
Archaeologists have also found well-preserved pottery complete with an LMLK stamp on the handle of the pot, which is very rare in the foothills of Judah. These markings are ancient Hebrew seals meaning “of the king.”
The sherd had a broad rim with three concentric bands in a grid pattern and was decorated with a rope
Archaeologists have discovered several stone walls in the ancient city
Researchers excavated the area in 2019, but their findings were released findings in March.
The team discovered walls made up of rows of large, white stones. They believe these were retaining walls for agricultural terraces. These were used to create flat areas for planting and to protect steeper ground from erosion.
Pottery was also recovered, including one with a stamp on the handle that read “of the king.” This was in honor of King Hezekiah’s reign in Judah in 701 B.C.
The life of Hezekiah is described in the Bible book of 2 Kings, chapters 18-20.
In 2 Chronicles it says that the king reopened Solomon’s Temple. This temple was known as ‘the First Temple’ and was built on the site where God created Adam.
Hezekiah also destroyed the bronze serpent image that God had commanded Moses to make. This image is mentioned in Numbers 21:8-9: ‘And the Lord said to Moses, Make a serpent image and set it on a pole.’
The Biblical story of Moses begins with the Israelites being enslaved in Egypt, before Pharaoh – forced by 10 terrible plagues – agrees to their release and Moses leads them through the miraculously parted Red Sea
Fragments of pottery were scattered across the landscape, about 20 percent of which dated to the time when the Israelites were said to have arrived after 40 years of wandering in the desert. The rest were made over the next 900 years.
A decorated fragment of a cosmetics bowl made of white limestone.
“It has a wide rim decorated with three concentric bands separated by openings: the outer and inner bands are narrow and feature rope decoration, while the central band is wide and has an interrupted grid pattern,” the researchers said in the study.
Other finds included bowls and jugs, one of which had perforations indicating it had been used as a lantern. Metal objects were also found.
However, the researchers did not indicate when the jewelry was made, only that it was bronze jewelry, such as a ring and an earring fragment.
Other remains of people who once lived in the region include iron tools, nails of various sizes, and bronze strips used to weld iron.
‘While it is likely that some of the finds came from the ruins and were washed down the slope over the years, most of the finds, especially those from the early Byzantine period, relate to agricultural activities carried out on the slopes,’ the researchers said.
They added that the large number of finds indicates the importance of the site and ‘highlights its potential significance.’