The Top 2 Archaeological Finds of All Time

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone, which Napoleon's troops found in 1799, was really the first and greatest archaeological find because on it were three languages: Demotic (which is a more modern type of Egyptian) Greek, and ancient hieroglyphics.

The languages were translations of one another. Because we knew the Greek, we were able to translate the Egyptian hieroglyphics. That opened up Egypt which was very important for our study of Israel because the Israelites were in Egypt for four hundred years.

This preservation, I put in the lap of the Holy Spirit who preserved the text through scribes and men who love the Word.

Dead Sea Scrolls

The second greatest find was the Dead Sea Scrolls. They confirm the Scriptures that we have and how the Holy Spirit preserved our Scriptures in the Old Testament throughout time.

If you were to talk to some of the great scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls, like Emanuel Tov, he would say that the differences between the Dead Sea Scrolls and what we use—the Biblia Hebraica—are minimal, just ifs, ands, and buts.

ESV Archaeology Study Bible

The ESV Archaeology Study Bible roots the biblical text in its historical and cultural context, giving Bible readers a framework for better understanding the people, places, and events recorded in Scripture.

There is nothing theologically or historically different between the Scriptures and the Dead Sea Scrolls—which date back to the third century BC, 2,300 years ago.

This preservation, I put in the lap of the Holy Spirit who preserved the text through scribes and men who love the Word.

John D. Currid (PhD, University of Chicago) is the Carl W. McMurray Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies in Jerusalem, Israel, and serves as project director of the Bethsaida Excavations Project in Israel (1995-present). He lectures and preaches worldwide.

10 Crucial Archaeological Discoveries Related to the Bible

John D. Currid

April 26, 2018

While archaeological findings don’t prove the truth of Scripture, they do have the potential to enrich our understanding and draw us into the world of the biblical writers.