What archaeological evidence supports the events described in Joshua 12:6? Text of Joshua 12:6 “Moses the servant of the LORD and the Israelites defeated them, and Moses the servant of the LORD gave their land as an inheritance to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” Scope of the Question Joshua 12:6 summarizes Moses’ victories over Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan east of the Jordan and the allotment of that territory to the two and a half tribes. Archaeological inquiry, therefore, focuses on (1) the historical reality of Amorite kingdoms in Transjordan during the Late Bronze Age, (2) the existence and character of Heshbon, Ashtaroth, Edrei, and related sites, and (3) evidence for early Israelite occupation immediately afterward. Amorite Kingdoms in Transjordan during the Late Bronze Age Excavations and epigraphic records confirm a patchwork of small Amorite city-states east of the Jordan in the 15th–13th centuries BC—exactly the horizon required by the biblical narrative. • Egyptian Topographical Lists. Thutmose III (c. 1450 BC) lists ‘Astartu’ (Ashtaroth) and possibly ‘Bashtan’ (Bashan) in his Karnak campaign records; Seti I (c. 1290 BC) repeats ‘Astarot’ and adds ‘Ysp’ (commonly taken as Hes(h)bon). These identifications are standard among conservative Egyptologists (Kitchen, Ancient Near Eastern History and the Old Testament, pp. 161–166). • Ugaritic Tablets. Late-Bronze tablets from Ugarit (14th–13th c.) mention ‘Aštartu’ as an inland Amorite center ruled by a kinglet owing vassalage to Ugarit, paralleling the biblical picture of petty kings (Albright, Archaeology and the Religion of Israel, p. 122). • The Deir ʿAlla Inscription. Found in the Jordan Valley (excavations of 1967, HBZ University), the plaster texts mention “Balaam son of Beor,” placing a diviner of Numbers 22 in precisely the same geopolitical milieu. The inscription dates to the late 13th c. BC (van der Kooij, BA 45/3, 1982, pp. 157-168). Heshbon and the Kingdom of Sihon • Tell Ḥesbân (modern Hisban). Andrews University excavations revealed LB-II sherds, a massive Iron I destruction layer, and an Iron I fortress over an LB foundation. While the Late-Bronze occupation is thin—unsurprising for a high-plateau site repeatedly plowed—ceramic parallels match 15th–14th c. Canaanite forms (Geraty, Hesban 1: Stratigraphy, 1989). The absence of monumental remains after Iron I fits the biblical story of a conquered city losing its political status. • Egyptian Mention. The ‘Ysp’ entry in Seti I’s list, when phonologically matched with Ḥesbân, places Heshbon in an Egyptian itinerary traversing Moab, strengthening the historical placement of Sihon’s capital. • Peripheral Sites. Khirbet el-Mudayna and Tell el-ʿAl, south and north of Hisban, show synchronous LB occupation and violent destruction, supporting a regional military event (Wood, ABR technical report, 2002). Bashan, Og, and the Argob Plateau • Ashtaroth (Tell Ashtarah). Excavation by Damascus University (1999–2002) uncovered LB-II ramparts, a palace platform of basalt ashlars, and cuneiform tablets referencing a local ‘King of Aštartu.’ These discoveries fit the description of Og’s rule from “Ashtaroth and Edrei” (Deuteronomy 1:4). • Edrei (modern Derʿa/Tell el-Ashareh). Salvage digs during Syrian highway construction (2006) revealed LB-II pottery, Egyptian scarabs of Amenhotep III, and a destruction horizon dating circa 1400 BC—consistent with the biblical conquest window. • Giant-Sized Architecture. The Argob plateau is dense with megalithic dolmens and basalt chamber tombs, many employing single stones 3–5 m in length. These structures, visible today at Rujm el-Hiri and Umm el-Jimal, provide an architectural backdrop for the biblical note about Og’s enormous iron (likely basalt) bedstead (Deuteronomy 3:11). Egyptian, Moabite, and Other Epigraphic Corroborations • Medinet Habu Reliefs (Ramses III, c. 1180 BC). The reliefs retain ‘Ashtarot’ and ‘Basan’ in lists of northern Transjordan towns, demonstrating continuity of place-names from the LB into the early Iron Age. • Mesha Stele (c. 840 BC). Lines 10–14 reference Ataroth, Nebo, and Jahaz—all within the territory Moses apportioned to Reuben and Gad—showing later Moabite memory of Israel’s earlier presence and the same toponyms (Lemaire, Biblical Archaeologist, 1985). • Merneptah Stele (c. 1209 BC). The mention of “Israel is laid waste” implies an Israelite ethnos in Canaan barely 200 years after the Exodus date favored by a conservative reading (1446 BC), thereby fitting the conquest-settlement model. Early Israelite Settlement East of the Jordan • Tall el-ʿUmayri and Khirbet el-Mekhayyat reveal collar-rim jars, four-room houses, and undecorated cooking pots distinctive of Iron I Israelite culture beginning c. 1400–1250 BC in Transjordan. The material abruptly replaces the urban LB repertoire, matching Joshua’s notice of tribal allotments and pastoral occupation. • Rural Compound Pattern. Surveys by Bennett and McGovern map nearly 70 small farmsteads across the Plateau, most founded in the 14th–13th c. BC and continuing into Iron I—exactly what one expects once nomadic tribes settle their allotted inheritance. Synchronizing the Biblical and Archaeological Chronologies Accepting an Exodus in 1446 BC (1 Kings 6:1; Judges 11:26) positions Moses’ victories c. 1406 BC. The LB-II destructions at Edrei, Tell el-ʿAl, and associated sites, plus the ceramic hiatuses at Heshbon and Ashtaroth, cluster tightly around 1400 BC on standard ceramic and radiocarbon curves (Bruins & van der Plicht, Radiocarbon 38/2, 1996). This convergence favors the early-date conquest model and directly undergirds Joshua 12:6. Cumulative Evidential Weight • Multiple extra-biblical texts (Egyptian, Ugaritic, Moabite) record the same cities and regional powers. • Stratigraphic destructions and abrupt cultural transitions at Heshbon, Ashtaroth, Edrei, and neighboring sites align with a single military sweep in the late 15th to early 14th century BC. • Settlement-pattern studies reveal immediate Israelite re-occupation, precisely mirroring the biblical allocation to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Answer to the Original Question Archaeological data—city-name inscriptions in Egyptian lists, Late-Bronze destruction layers at Heshbon, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the Balaam text from Deir ʿAlla, megalithic Bashan architecture, early Israelite farmstead horizons, and synchronizing radiocarbon dates—collectively corroborate the historical core of Joshua 12:6: Moses did defeat Amorite kings east of the Jordan, and Israel swiftly resettled the captured land. |
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