BOA Question: Can you defend the truthfulness of the Biblical story of Joshua’s conquest of Jericho?
Joshua 5:13-6:27 ESV
20 So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city
Joshua 6:20 Christian Standard Bible
20 So the troops shouted, and the rams’ horns sounded. When they heard the blast of the ram’s horn, the troops gave a great shout, and the wall collapsed. The troops advanced into the city, each man straight ahead, and they captured the city.
What happened to the fallen mud bricks?
https://biblearchaeology.org/research/chronological-categories/conquest-of-canaan/3625-the-walls-of-jericho
Excavations at the outer (lower) fortification wall by the three major expeditions to Jericho. At the north end (numbers 1-5), a portion of the mud brick wall (red) atop the stone retaining wall survived, demonstrating that the city wall did not fall in this area. Nothing remains of the mud brick city wall at other points investigated, showing that it had collapsed everywhere else (numbers 6-13). Remnants of the collapsed city wall (red) were actually found still in place in three places at Jericho: number 11 (German excavation), number 12 (Kenyon’s excavation), and the 1997 Italian-Palestinian excavation extending Kenyon’s south trench at number 8.
The German excavation of 1907-1909 found that on the north a short stretch of the lower city wall did not fall as everywhere else. A portion of that mudbrick wall was still standing to a height of 8 ft (Sellin and Watzinger 1973: 58). What is more, there were houses built against the wall!
Biblical Sites: Three Discoveries at Jericho
The phrase “fell down flat” is translated from two Hebrew words: נָפַל (nâphal – to fall) and תַּחַת (tachath – bottom or below). Thus, a literal understanding would be that the wall fell below itself. Excavations at Jericho have revealed that this is precisely what happened.
https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/bgw-before-italian-west-balk.jpg
Archaeologist, Dr. Bryan Wood points to collapsed mud bricks from the city wall that fell to the base of the retaining wall at Jericho. Photo Credit: Associates for Biblical Research
Email to Associates for Biblical Research:
From: Ed Householder
Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2024 3:04 PM
To: comments@biblearchaeology.org comments@biblearchaeology.org
Subject: Jericho fallen mud bricks
“Kenyon’s work was the most detailed. On the west side of the tell, at the base of the retaining, or revetment, wall, she found, fallen red bricks piling nearly to the top of the revetment. These probably came from the wall on the summit of the bank [and/or]…the brickwork above the revetment (Kenyon 1981: 110).
In other words, she found a heap of bricks from the fallen city walls! The renewed Italian-Palestinian excavations found exactly the same thing at the southern end of the mound in 1997.”
My Question: In the article referenced above, the pile of mud bricks that Kenyon found is mentioned.
Can you please explain where those mud bricks are today?
Thank you,
Ed Householder
The Answer:
Dear Mr. Householder,
I got a quick and short reply back from Dr. Wood regarding your question. I’ll share it here:
Dear Scott,
The actual bricks were excavated away. The proof of their existence is what can be seen in the balk.
B.
I’ve attached a photo of Dr. Wood pointing out the bricks in the balk that he speaks of in his comment. The portions of the bricks that may have been loose at one time were “excavated away” and likely disintegrated. The other image was one Kathleen Kenyon had included in her papers on Jericho, although she never produced a final report. So, yes, there are still mud bricks in the balk at the site of Jericho, but they are not loosely strewn about for us to pick up and examine.
I hope you find this helpful.
Scott Lanser, President
Associates for Biblical Research