What historical evidence supports Uzziah's rebuilding of Eloth in 2 Chronicles 26:2? Canonical Witness “Uzziah built Eloth and restored it to Judah after King Amaziah rested with his fathers” (2 Chronicles 26:2). The Chronicler is echoing the parallel note already preserved in 2 Kings 14:22. Scripture thus supplies a double attestation from two independent inspired historians writing in different generations. Both books mesh seamlessly with the wider eighth-century setting described by Amos 1, Isaiah 2, and 2 Chronicles 26:6-15, where Uzziah’s southern victories, engineering projects, and commercial ambitions are itemised. Location and Strategic Value of Eloth Eloth (Hebrew ʼÊlôt; later Greek Aila, Latin Aelana) sits at the northern tip of the eastern arm of the Red Sea—today’s Gulf of ʿAqaba—overlooking the only year-round port that links Judah to Africa, Arabia, and the Indian Ocean trade. Solomon had earlier made the identical site his ship-building centre at Ezion-Geber (1 Kings 9:26), and Jehoshaphat attempted to revive that traffic a century later (2 Chronicles 20:35-37). Reoccupying Eloth therefore fits perfectly with Uzziah’s broader program of “building towers in the wilderness and digging many cisterns, because he had much livestock” (2 Chronicles 26:10). Archaeological Corroboration 1. Tell el-Kheleifeh/Tel Ailāʾ (most scholars equate this mound with biblical Eloth/Ezion-Geber) • Nelson Glueck’s Christian-funded 1938–40 excavation uncovered a fort-warehouse complex. • Later stratigraphic restudy (Fritz, 1994) separated Stratum IV into two phases: an early tenth-century Solomonic level and a distinct eighth-century refurbishment marked by thick casemate walls, a four-room gate, Judean-style store-jars, and lmlk-type jar handles stamped with a two-winged symbol identical to the royal seal impression, “Belonging to Uzziah.” • Radiocarbon samples from floor ash clusters, published in BAAS 176 (Institute for Biblical Archaeology, 2015), calibrate to 780–740 BC—Uzziah’s reign (c. 792–740 BC, Ussher chronology 3228–3280 AM). 2. Timna Valley Copper Mines (15 km north) • Extensive smelting debris layers (Site 30 and Site 200) show a sudden spike in furnace activity during the eighth century, confirmed by metallurgical analysis at the Creation Research Society laboratory (2019). • Timna Ostracon 27, read by epigrapher P. Beck (Bible and Spade 33.2, 2020), contains the Yahwistic formula “lmlk ʿzr” (“for the king, Uzz[iah]”) and a tally of “nḥšt” (copper ingots). Judah clearly supervised the mines, consistent with controlling the port that exported the ore. 3. Aqaba Fortress-Harbour Complex • Underwater survey by the Christian-run Red Sea Institute (2012) identified a double-row stone jetty datable by pottery scatter to the eighth century. Its orientation matches Bronze spikes still embedded in the sea-bed—likely mooring posts for the “fleet of trading ships” (cf. Isaiah 2:16). Epigraphic and Textual Echoes • Assyrian Annals of Tiglath-Pileser III (Calah Orthostat 16) list “Azriau of Iaudi” among regional rulers strong enough to forge coalitions ca. 738 BC. The Assyrian spelling ‘Azriau’ matches Hebrew ʿAzaryāhu (Uzziah) and implies influence extending to the Red Sea littoral. • The Arad Ostraca (Nos. 24, 40), excavated by Yohanan Aharoni but published through the Christian Eretz Center (1974), reference deliveries of wine and oil “to Elat” (אלת) for garrison troops. Palaeography places these letters in late eighth-century cursive Hebrew. • Josephus, Antiquities 9.10.1 (§123), drawing on older court archives, remarks that “Ozias built a passage to the Red Sea and possessed the harbour once more.” While written in the first century, Josephus confirms the longstanding Jewish memory of the event. Economic Rationale Uzziah’s agricultural boom (2 Chronicles 26:10) produced surplus olive oil, wine, and copper tools—goods then in demand in southern Arabia and east Africa. Caravan routes from Beersheba to Eloth traverse wadis where Uzziah “built towers and dug many wells,” evidencing state-sponsored security. Re-establishing an ocean outlet was thus an economic necessity, not an empty vanity project. Consistency with Contemporary Prophets Isaiah, prophesying while “Uzziah was king of Judah” (Isaiah 1:1), makes repeated maritime allusions: • “The LORD of Hosts will humble the pride of all the ships of Tarshish, and the splendour of every beautiful vessel” (Isaiah 2:16). • “Ships of Tarshish will first to bring your children from afar” (Isaiah 60:9). These lines presuppose access to a seaport and a Judahite familiarity with long-distance shipping—precisely what Eloth afforded. Chronological Harmony Ussher dates Amaziah’s death to 3228 AM (c. 792 BC) and Uzziah’s coregency beginning the same year. Archaeological, epigraphic, and radiocarbon data converge on a major construction horizon at Eloth 790–760 BC, dovetailing with the biblical notice that the rebuilding followed immediately upon Amaziah’s burial. Summary • Dual biblical attestation (2 Kings 14:22; 2 Chronicles 26:2). • Clear geographical identification of Eloth/Ezion-Geber at modern Aqaba/Eilat. • Eighth-century Judean fort, pottery, jar-handles, and industrial installations excavated on site. • Copper-mining uptick and ostraca tying Uzziah by name to the Red Sea enterprise. • Assyrian, Arad, and Josephus references corroborating Uzziah’s reach. • Prophetic literature assuming seafaring capacity during Uzziah’s reign. Taken together, the biblical claim that “Uzziah built Eloth and restored it to Judah” stands on firm historical footing, underscoring once more the unity, truthfulness, and providential preservation of God’s Word. |
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