Okay, let's try this again.
The May Awake! introduces an eight-part series entitled "The Bible, A Book of Accurate Prophecy," beginning with Part 1: "I Shall Make a Great Nation Out of You." It's purpose is to present evidence of fulfillment of prophecy, showing how they "bear the hallmark of divine inspiration." The problem is, however, that the evidence presented often are isolated historical nuggets, excised from the larger, complex and sometimes contrarian landscape. Bible history didn't unfold in a vacuum; there were other kings, nations, tribes, wars and alliances going on all around them and any recorded account has to fit chronologically into this larger environment.
What follows is my attempt at the article in order to tease out what I hope is a more complete picture. I'm not a scholar and any comments are welcome. My information is from the Oxford History of the Biblical World ("OH") and Smith's The Early History of God ("EH")
Three Outstanding Prophecies [Article subheading]
Prophecy 1 : "I shall make a great nation out of you [Abraham]."
Fulfillment : The article refers to the establishment of the nation of Israel via Abraham's son Isaac and grandson Jacob. To support this, it refers to 17 kings of Israel from the Abrahamic genealogy that are also cited in "independent, non-Biblical sources" (16). Later, on page 18, six of the 17 kings are named: Ahab, Ahaz, David, Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Uzziah.
Analysis : The earliest of those kings, David, probably ascended to the throne around the beginning of the first millennium BCE, the rest considerably later, thus placing them 1000 years or more after Abraham. Moreover, finding these names in secular sources proves only that there were Israelite kings with those names, not that the intervening events in Genesis actually happened or their relationship with Abraham or anything about his existence. In other words, the discovery of 17 corresponding names is not evidence of the prophecy's fulfillment.
Admittedly, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Yet there are bigger problems with a literal historical interpretation of the Abrahamic narratives. OH notes that "there are many reasons to be skeptical of these narratives as historically accurate accounts" (36), detailing several--their origination within an oral tradition, duplicate and sometimes triplicate accounts, multiple literary styles, inconsistencies in content and anachronisms. It concludes: "Accurate historical documentation was thus not a defining element in … these stories. Any attempt to make use of this material in reconstructing the prehistory of Israel requires great caution" (37).
Prophecy 2 : "Your [Abraham's] seed will become an alien resident in a land not theirs, and they will have to serve them…But in the fourth generation they will return here." Gen. 15:13, 16.
Fulfillment : The article identifies the four generations enslaved in Egypt as Levi, Kohath, Amram and Moses, who led the Exodus in 1513 BCE. To support this, Awake! draws on OT Professor James Hoffmeier's claims that "Semites were allowed to enter Egypt with their herds during times of famine" and "Egyptian sources confirm that forced labor was imposed on foreigners…during the general period when the oppression of the Israelites occurred" (16, 17).
Analysis : Both of Hoffmeier's observations are correct. But his statements are about Egyptian practices in general, not about the Israel tribes in particular. OH notes: "No direct connection can be established between the Exodus events and any of the historically attested Asiatics in Egypt" (103). Moreover, even a conservative scholar like Hoffmeier is at odds with the Society's early, Biblical-based date of 1513 BCE for the Exodus.
Prophecy 3 : "I will give to…your seed…the entire land of Canaan." --Gen. 17:8.
Fulfillment : To support this, the article cites the following: (1) The ruins of Hazor, burned in the 1400's BCE, a date that correlates with the Society's own timing of Joshua leadership of Israel into Canaan. (2) The city of Gibeon, the inhabitants of whom sued for peace with Joshua and became drawers of water. Researchers have found that ancient Gibeon was, in fact, blessed with an abundant water supply. (3) Discovery of names of Biblical characters in various forms, including 17 kings mentioned earlier. (4) The Merneptah Stele, wherein Israel is mentioned by name, dated to 1210 BCE.
Analysis : First, the fact that Gibeon had plenty of water is not proof that the Israelites conquered the land as described in the Bible. At best, it indicates that the writer of the conquest narratives was familiar with the city of Gibeon. That's all.
As far as Hazor goes, archeologists have found a destruction layer matching what might be expected when an invading peoples overthrow another. What Awake! fails to mention is that the Bible credits Joshua with capturing 30-odd cities, of which only 20 have been discovered. Out of those, only Bethel and Hazor even begin to match up with the kind of evidence supporting a violent invasion by an outside peoples within the necessary timeframe. The remaining 18 show either no evidence of an invasion, or no evidence of any occupation at all within the right timeframe.
Further complicating matters are discoveries over the last 40 years or so that blur distinctions between Israelite and Canaanite culture between the late Bronze to early Iron Age (1500-1000 BCE). EH argues that Israelite culture and language was so close to Canaanite so as to be nearly indistinguishable, which would hardly be the case had they been Egypt-dwellers for four centuries previously, as the article contends. This suggests a history more prolonged, interconnected and complex than the Joshua conquest narratives would indicate. Nevertheless, that they were somewhat distinct from the Canaanites, at least by the late 13 th century, is seen by their identification on the Merneptah Stele.
The Merneptah Stele is an inscription made by Pharaoh Merneptah in 1210 BCE, boasting about conquering various Canaanite cities and Israel, which he supposedly "laid waste." Interestingly, the Israelites are shown dressed and groomed exactly as the Canaanites (which lends credence to EH's assertion of common culture). Awake! asserts that the occurrence of Israel on this stele "further support[s] the existence of this nation" (18), yet the hieroglyph used for Israel means "rural or tribal entity," as OH puts it (124), not the hieroglyph for nation or city-state, which is used for the Canaanite cities. The sign used for Israel "signify[ed] nomadic groups or peoples without a fixed city-state home, thus implying a seminomadic or rural status for Israel at that time," notes OH (97).
In conclusion, the article claims that the Bible's rich details allow us to "cross-check the Bible against non-Biblical sources, thus helping us to confirm the fulfillment of Bible prophecies" (18). Yet this is really not the case. The historical facts the article relies on are general, at best, indicating only the author(s) were familiar with the customs and geography, and don't offer any real proof that the actual events prophesied occurred, and especially not within the chronology offered by the timeline shown in the article.
