Biblical Tradition and the Archaeological Record

John Bimson / David Livingston
Canaanite Cities Conquered by Joshua, According to the Bible Was There a City at the Site at the End of the Late Bronze Age? Was There a City at the Site at the End of Middle Bronze II? Was the Middle Bronze II City Surrounded by a Wall? Was the City Destroyed at the End of Middle Bronze II?
Jericho No Yes Yes Yes
Ai a)Khirbet et-Tell
.... b) Khirbet Nisya 		No
No 		No
Occupation of uncertain extent indicated by recent excavations 		Inapplicable
Unknown as yet 		Inapplicable
The site was abandoned at the end of MB II, possibly indicating a destruction
Gibeon - El-Jib No Yes Not discovered Abandoned (The Bible does not record a destruction - Joshua 9:27)
Hebron No Yes Yes Yes
Hormah/Zephath (Tell Masos) No MB II city of uncertain duration Yes
Arad a)Tell Arad
........ b) Tell Malhata 		No
No 		No
Yes 		Inapplicable
Yes 		Inapplicable
Yes
Debir (Khirbet Rabud) Yes Occupation indicated by surface finds ? ?
Lachish Yes Yes Yes Yes
Hazor Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bethel a) location of Beitin or
.......... b) location of Bireh 		Yes
Surface surveys discovered no LB pottery 		Yes
MB II pottery in surface surveys 		Yes
? 		Yes
?
The chart above summarizes a great deal of information.
Column I lists Canaanite cities mentioned in the Bible as having been conquered by the invading Israelites. In three cases - Ai, Arad, and Debir - there are two candidates for each of these Biblical sites.
Column II indicates that at only 4 of these sites, at most, were there cities at the end of the Late Bronze Age.
Column III looks at the situation at the end of Middle Bronze II. Here we find that at only two sites were there no cities - Ai (Khirbet et-Tell) and Arad (Tell Arad). However, these are not important from our author's viewpoint because, according to them, these were not Biblical sites of Ai and Arad; Bimson and Livingston believe the alternative sites listed (Khirbet Nisya and Tell Malhata) are the remains of these Biblical sites.
In summary: According to conventional views, the chart reveals a basic inconsistency between the situation at the end of the Late Bronze Age and the Biblical acount of the conquest in Canaan, while the situation at the end of the Middle Bronze II is consistent with the Biblical account.
[BAR Sep/Oct 1987, p. 53, article `Redating the Exodus', p.40-53]
In revised view the chart fails to account for the time of the conquest of Canaan during the time of Joshua, where the EBIII and MBI periods meet, see Here!

Destructions
How does one distinguish during archaeological digs destructions from demolitians, say in order to make room for a new or larger building like family homes, public buildings, etc.? More info on this question may help to clarify numerous destruction layers at some sites and perhaps show that they were not all due to enemy actions. Please enter a short not for input in the guestbook and elaborate more in a subsequent e-mail.

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