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Basis for Believing the BibleThe Watchtower—1952 | November 1
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of Artaxerxes (probably Artaxerxes III, who began reigning about 474 B.C.).d He claims some of the prophecies of Daniel were pointed out to Alexander the Great when he entered Jerusalem in 332 B.C.e The book of Daniel is found in the original copies of the Septuagint, which was translated from Hebrew into Greek during the third and second centuries B.C.f A fragment of the book of Daniel was found with the recently discovered Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah, which the radiocarbon clock has allowed Biblical scholars to date in the second century B.C.g So the book of Daniel existed during that second century, it had been copied, it was well known enough to be accepted into the Bible canon, it had been translated as a part of the famous original Septuagint, and was associated with the venerated scroll of Isaiah. It could not have been a recent writing by an impostor of that second century, known by everyone as a book that was a stupid hoax. Also, the first book of Maccabees, which is almost contemporary with the events of the second century related in it, not only presupposes the existence of the book of Daniel but actually betrays acquaintance with it. (Compare 1 Maccabees 2:59, 60 with Daniel 3:26, 27; 6:22.) This proves Daniel must have been written long before, and had become established as an authentic record. In all the above the evidence is overwhelming. Just as Daniel was delivered from the lions’ den, so the book of Daniel has been delivered from the liars’ den!
SOME TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE FOR THE BIBLE
17. Whom may we properly associate with the higher critic?
17 We have gone into some detail on the book of Daniel because it has been at the center of the higher critic’s target, and in turning back the fiery darts aimed at it we quench some of the higher critic’s hottest missiles. His attacks on the other parts of the Bible can be similarly withstood. Actually, these hypercritical skeptics and doubters are camp followers of the agnostics and atheists. They appear to be first cousins of the former and second cousins of the latter. They certainly seem to speak the same language. But the speeches of all three classes are vain and empty, and archaeology has voided many of the arguments they aim at God’s Word. Though not having space to present more archaeological details, we do offer as interesting testimonial evidence of the Bible’s accuracy a few statements by archaeologists and other scholarly sources.
18-20. What interesting statements are made concerning (a) the Hebrew Scriptures? (b) the Bible as a whole? (c) higher criticism?
18 Here are two statements concerning the Hebrew Scriptures. “I do not think it will be long possible, even if it is now possible, for us to deny the remarkable accuracy of detail in the narratives of the Old Testament. Incidents hitherto regarded as legend, have been proved historical by recent discovery. . . . There is actual history at the back of all of the narratives.”h “It is therefore legitimate to say that, in respect of that part of the Old Testament against which the disintegrating criticism of the last half of the nineteenth century was chiefly directed, the evidence of archaeology has been to re-establish its authority, and likewise to augment its value by rendering it more intelligible through a fuller knowledge of its background and setting. Archaeology has not yet said its last word; but the results already achieved confirm what faith would suggest, that the Bible can do nothing but gain from an increase of knowledge.”i
19 Following are some statements relating to the Bible as a whole. “No major contention of Scripture has been proved unhistorical.”j “Archaeology contains irrefutable proofs of Biblical statements. Detailed accounts of almost innumerable discoveries dug up by pick and spade from ancient tombs and buried cities in Bible lands ably support the Scriptures.”k “This writer once thumbed through the book of Genesis 1-50 and mentally noted that each of the fifty chapters are either illuminated or confirmed by some archaeological discovery—the same would be true for most of the remaining chapters of the Bible, both Old and New Testament.”l Concerning the wealth of archaeological findings as they relate to the Bible, one archaeologist said: “In the bewildering mass of all this evidence which together would weigh so many tons that the figure, if computed, would appear fabulous, there is not one word, one testimony, or one fact that has contradicted or disproved a single line of the Holy Bible.”a
20 Three final quotations relate to higher criticism. “The asserted historical inaccuracies in Daniel are not statements which are disproved by history, but only statements which have seemed difficult to harmonize with the meager accounts of secular historians. The asserted historical inaccuracies have, moreover, been steadily diminishing before the increasing knowledge of the times of Cyrus. . . . The growth of our knowledge of this period shows how cautious one should be in doubting the historical accuracy of the Biblical records.”b “During the last ten years the science of Biblical archaeology has shown Bible criticism to be unsound in its premise and wrong in its conclusions.”c “One of the most brilliant modern archaeologists, representing one of the greatest universities in the world, said in Iraq: ‘I was brought up a “Higher Critic”, and consequently disbelieved in the actual truth of the early narratives of the Bible. Since then I have deciphered thousands of tablets, and the more I learn, the more I believe the Bible to be true.’”d
21. What better testimonial evidence for the Bible is there?
21 All of this testimonial evidence for the Bible’s truthfulness is a welcome confirmation of faith, but in view of much better testimonial evidence it is not required by true Christians. That better testimony we have in Jesus’ prayerful expression to Jehovah: “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17, NW) Archaeology is required by some to provide a basis for their belief in the Bible. But there is a better basis than that.
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Legal Papers in Cookie JarThe Watchtower—1952 | November 1
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Legal Papers in Cookie Jar
● The ancient people of Israel may not have kept their housekeeping money in the teapot or in a clay piggy bank, but they did keep important legal documents and manuscripts in what looked like a cookie jar. One of these jars has been received at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. It had been put together like a jigsaw puzzle from over 100 fragments found in the Dead Sea Scroll cave. . . . Mention of the custom of putting legal documents in jars occurs in the Bible, Jeremiah 32:14, where the prophet charges Baruch, “Take these deeds, this deed of purchase which is sealed and this deed which is open and put them in an earthen vessel that they may continue many days.” Description of the jar is reported to the American Schools of Oriental Research by Dr. Carl H. Kraeling.—Science News Letter, March 22, 1952.
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