ISRAEL - Rewriting the History of Biblical Era?

New research from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uses C14 dating of preserved organic samples taken from one of two ancient fortresses in the Arava in southern Israel. The findings suggest they were built by the biblical kingdom of Israel almost 2,800 years ago, and not by the Assyrian empire decades later.

With no systematic data or information to rely upon, the consensus among scholars was that the fortress, built over a perfect square measuring 100 meters (328 feet) per side, was erected at some point in the late Iron Age, the scholar explained, referring to the period between 1200 and 586 BCE.

Archaeologists use different methods to date sites, including stratigraphy, historical sources, and material culture, which entails elements such as architectural style and artifacts. Scientific methods, such as radiocarbon analysis, provide independent dating to compare with the more traditional methods.

“Why Israel? Because most scholars are of the opinion that during this time period, Israel regained hegemony over the region, as documented also in the biblical narrative and based on archaeological evidence,” said Dr. Doron Ben-Ami, a senior researcher at the IAA.

“Our research fills in some of the void in the historical and geographical setting of this time period,” Ben-Ami said. “The Kingdom of Israel dominated the two [directions] out of the Arava Valley with these two fortresses, Hatzeva in the northern part and Kheleifeh in the southern part.”

-www.timesofisrael.com, 16 May 2026

Commentary: The Times of Israel’s headline, “How ancient seeds are rewriting the history of biblical-era trade with Arabia,” is presumptuous. Why? Because the Bible does not need to be rewritten. It is not archaeology establishing the truth of the Bible, but rather the Bible confirms true archaeology.

(See Unearthing the Bible, Item #2365, $22.99.)