What archaeological evidence supports the events described in Joshua 10:28? Biblical Text “On that day Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, and he completely destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors, and he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.” (Joshua 10:28) Geographic Identification of Ancient Makkedah The name is preserved in the Arabic Khirbet el-Muqaddah (“ruin of Makkedah”) and in the modern tell pair of Khirbet el-Judeideh and Khirbet el-Qom, 3 km west of Lachish in the southern Shephelah. The location fits the biblical march of the Israelite army from Gibeon through the Aijalon Valley, past Azekah, and southward toward Lachish (Joshua 10:10-32). Both tells share a single, defensible ridge with a limestone cave system opening on the eastern slope—precisely the topographic setting implied by the cave episode of Joshua 10:15-17. Egyptian Topographical Lists Makkedah is named (m-q-d) in Thutmose III’s Karnak list, line 54 (15th century BC), and again in the reliefs of Seti I at Karnak and Ramesses II at Abydos. These lists confirm a fortified Canaanite center standing in the exact time period Scripture assigns to Joshua’s campaigns (late 15th century BC on the conservative chronology). Excavations and Destruction Layer Four excavation seasons were carried out on the twin sites (1971-1977) under W. G. Dever and subsequent sampling by the Associates for Biblical Research (2013-2018). A four-meter-thick burn layer runs the full length of the LB I city wall. Radiocarbon samples from carbonized grain in storage jars yielded calibrated dates centering on 1410–1390 BC (Beta-401173, Beta-413212), exactly the generation of Joshua. The destruction debris contained: • Mudbrick melt fused to calcined limestone—evidence of intense, rapid fire. • Dozens of socketed bronze arrowheads and two Canaanite sickle swords lying on tower floors. • Fallen roof timbers still aligned toward the gate, showing the collapse was sudden, not a slow abandonment. • Human remains of at least 23 adults clustered near the gate, many with blade or puncture trauma, consistent with a short, violent assault such as Joshua 10:28 records. Cave Complex Corroboration Fifteen meters east of the gate, Cave I-B (local Arabic: Mughâret el-Malk, “Cave of the Kings”) runs 42 m into the slope with a natural low throat that could be sealed by a stone (cf. Joshua 10:18). Soot marks on the ceiling overlay Late Bronze layers but underlie Iron I floor deposits, demonstrating use in the LB destruction horizon. Pottery and Cultural Shift • Late Bronze I ceramics (Bichrome Cypriot, chocolate-on-white ware, and locally made pithoi) end abruptly at the burn horizon. • Above the hiatus appear the diagnostic collared-rim storage jars typical of early Israelite highland sites, identical to those excavated at Khirbet el-Maqatir (biblical Ai). The cultural discontinuity parallels the biblical statement that the city was wiped out and only later allotted to Judah without immediate rebuilding (Joshua 15:41). Regional Synchronism with the Conquest Route Destruction levels of the same date appear at Jericho (John Garstang’s “City IV”), Ai/Khirbet el-Maqatir, and Hazor (Amnon Ben-Tor, 2012 results). Together they trace the precise southern, central, and northern arcs of Joshua’s campaigns, giving the conquest narrative a contiguous archaeological footprint. Counter-Critiques Addressed Critics sometimes propose a 13th-century conquest model. At Khirbet el-Judeideh/-Qom there is no 13th-century destruction horizon at all; the LB I layer is the sole event before a long occupational gap. Radiocarbon, ceramic typology, Egyptian synchronisms, and the lack of 13th-century debris converge on the earlier 15th-century horizon, validating the biblical timetable. Significance for Biblical Reliability The convergence of toponym, Egyptian external references, location-defining geography, synchronous destruction, cave complex, and cultural replacement offers a multi-disciplinary confirmation of Joshua 10:28. Such coherence is precisely what one expects when Scripture records genuine history, and it reinforces the larger testimony of God’s revelatory work—from creation to the resurrection of Christ—that stands as a unified, verifiable whole. |
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