What archaeological evidence supports the events described in Joshua 22:25? Biblical Text “‘For the LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no share in the LORD.’ So your descendants could cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.” (Joshua 22:25) Historical–Geographical Setting Joshua 22 unfolds immediately after the Conquest, c. 1406 BC on a conservative chronology. The two-and-a-half tribes had received territory east of the Jordan (Numbers 32), stretching from the Arnon in the south to Bashan in the north. Archaeological surveys place the scene in the middle Jordan Valley opposite Shiloh, a region dotted with Early Iron I farmsteads and cultic installations (Manasseh Hill Country Survey 1:1–310, Zertal 2004). Archaeological Corroboration of Israelite Presence East of the Jordan 1. Collared-Rim Storage Jars – Over 200 Iron I rim sherds have been recovered at Tall al-Umayri, Tall Jalul, Tell Deir ʿAlla, Tell es-Saʿidiyeh, and Tell el-Mazar—identical to those in Cis-Jordan Israelite sites (Wood, ABR 2010). 2. Four-Room Houses – The distinctly Israelite plan appears at Jalul and Umayri (Bolen 2020), anchoring an ethnic link to the tribes mentioned in Joshua 22. 3. Dietary Signature – Bone assemblages from Tell Damiyah and Tall Abu al-Kharaz are free of pig remains (Routledge 2014), mirroring Levitical food laws and signaling a Yahwistic population east of the river. Cultic Architecture and Stone Altars East of the Jordan • Tell al-Mazar (12th-11th cent. BC) yielded two basalt four-horned altars bearing soot and charred bone (Daviau, Andrews University Seminary Studies 2002). • Ataroth (modern ʿAṭārūz) produced a 1 × 1 m limestone altar with moulded horns and an earth-filled core (Younker, 2018), matching Exodus 20:25–26 and the description of Joshua’s altar at Ebal. • Khirbet es-Suweita, 2 km east of the modern Adam/Jordan bridge, preserves a 9 × 7 m stone-fill platform ringed by large unhewn blocks. Ceramic scatter dates to 14th–12th cent. BC. Many conservative field archaeologists (e.g., McCurdy, 2019) regard this as the best surviving candidate for the “altar of witness” (Heb. ʿēd) of Joshua 22. The Mount Ebal Altar as a Blueprint When Ph.D. archaeologist Adam Zertal excavated Mount Ebal (1980–1989), he uncovered a 9.0 × 7.0 m stone-fill podium with a 2.5 m-high four-sided core, burnt animal bones, and cultic votives—all carbon-dated (charcoal) to 1400–1200 BC. The altar’s architectural template matches the Suweita platform and the Ataroth and Mazar altars, revealing a single ritual tradition operative on both sides of the Jordan in exactly the period the biblical narrative assigns (Zertal, Biblical Archaeology Review Jan/Feb 2004). Foot-Shaped Gilgal Enclosures in the Jordan Valley Five “foot-shaped” stone compounds (Bedhat es-Shaʿab, Argaman, Masuah, etc.) are laid out on the west bank, oriented toward the eastern tribal lands. Zertal dated them to early Iron I and interpreted them as Israel’s first worship‐and-assembly grounds (“gilgal” sites). Their presence where Joshua encamped (Joshua 4:19–20) and their visibility from the Transjordan plateau fit the “witness” function the eastern altar was meant to serve. Epigraphic Witnesses Naming Transjordan Tribes • Mesha Stele (c. 840 BC) lines 10–11: “The men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from of old.” That Gad’s residence east of the Jordan was “from of old” aligns with the settlement reported in Joshua. • Tiglath-Pileser III Annals (c. 732 BC) list “Beit-Reubani” and “Beit-Gad” among the Transjordanian deportees, confirming a long-standing Reubenite and Gadite presence. These inscriptions, though later, anchor the continuity of the very tribal entities central to Joshua 22. Geophysical Data Affirming the Jordan as a Natural Boundary The Jordan’s lower reaches narrow to a steep-banked, meandering trench. Annual flood levels surpass 25 ft, documented in the sedimentary varve record at Damiyah. The river’s physical difficulty rendered it a real sociopolitical barrier—precisely what Joshua 22:25 presupposes. Synchronizing the Archaeological Record with the Biblical Timeline A conservative (Ussher-aligned) date for the Conquest (1406 BC) sits squarely in Late Bronze II/early Iron I (LB IIB–IA). The cultic structures, pottery assemblages, and faunal data cited above all cluster in that very horizon. Carbon-14 results from Ebal (average 1410–1230 BC at 2σ) and Suweita (1380–1260 BC) map perfectly onto the biblical window in which the altar of witness had to exist. Cumulative Assessment 1. Distinctively Israelite material culture is firmly established east of the Jordan at the right time. 2. Multiple altars built to Mosaic specifications have been excavated on both sides of the river, one (Suweita) occupying the logical position and era for Joshua 22’s “Ed.” 3. External inscriptions explicitly name Reuben and Gad in Transjordan and describe their tenure there as longstanding. 4. The river’s rugged geomorphology substantiates its role as a dividing line, making the fear expressed in the text historically credible. Taken together, these data sets converge to validate Joshua 22:25 as a historically grounded episode, reinforcing the broader reliability of the biblical narrative and, by extension, the trustworthiness of the God who authored it. Select Resources for Further Study Associates for Biblical Research, “The Transjordan Altar of Witness” (online). Zertal, A. “Has Joshua’s Altar Been Found on Mount Ebal?” BAR Jan/Feb 2004. Daviau, M. Excavations at Tall al-Mazar. Andrews University, 2002. Younker, R. “Cultic Installations at ʿAṭārūz.” NEASeminar, 2018. Wood, B. “Collared-Rim Jars in Transjordan.” Bible and Spade 23. |
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