After the 40 years spent in the desert and the death of Moses, the leadership of the Hebrew people was passed to Joshua who was tasked with the conquest of Canaan in order to settle the twelve tribes of Israel in the land promised to Abraham.
Let us look at the continuation of the historical and biblical chronologies (for earlier dates, refer to the previous articles since Adam):
year 2454 (1306 BCE): date of the Exodus from Egypt
year 2455 (1305 BCE): camp of Kadesh-Barnea; beginning of the 40 years in the desert
year 2495 (1265 BCE): death of Moses (5 Adar)
year 2495 (1265 BCE): beginning of the conquest of Canaan (after Passover 2495)
year 2495 (1265 BCE): fall of Jericho and Ai; Joshua's altar on Mount Ebal
After the conquest of Ai, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal, the hill that borders the city of Shechem (biblical Sichem, roman-time Neapolis and modern-day Nablus) to the north. Shechem is bordered by another hill to the south, Mount Gerizim, which is sacred to the Samaritans.
This was a particularly important ceremony that Moses had commanded Joshua to perform, after crossing the Jordan, because it established the wandering Hebrew "tribes" as a "people", the people dedicated to the service of God as the Bible says:
"And it shall be when you are passed over the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. And there, shall you build an altar unto the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall lift up no iron tool upon them. You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of unhewn stones; and you shall offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord your God. And you shall sacrifice peace-offerings and shall eat there; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God. And you shall write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly."
And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke unto all Israel, saying: "Keep silence, and hear, O Israel; this day you are become a people unto the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 27:4-9)
In 1982, Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal believed he had discovered the remains of this historic, and very ancient, altar on a northeastern slope of Mount Ebal. This news caused a sensation because it proved the biblical narrative of the book of Joshua.
His main arguments in favor of this archaeological discovery are the following:
the total complex covers about 12 dunams with the shape of a "sandal", typical of this period of Joshua and found in other altars especially in the Israelite camp of Gilgal, in the Jordan Valley
the complex is surrounded by an enclosure of low stones, therefore not intended for defense but for the delimitation of areas, as between the sacred and the profane
the central structure covers about 4.5 dunams and contains a large altar on a raised central platform (about 4 meters high from the ground), typical of a sacrificial area; the platform is also large, about 7 x 9 meters, suitable for large ceremonies
the entire central structure (including the altar itself) is made of unhewn stones, with no mark of iron instruments upon them, as commanded by Moses; access to the platform (the "bamah") is by a ramp rather than by stairs; this allowed the High Priest to descend from the platform backwards, without turning his back on the sacred place (the altar of sacrifices)
On either side of the ramp are square-shaped enclosures, with smaller terraces (in blue in the diagram above), to surround them; inside these enclosures, archaeologists have found many ashes and burned animal bones; two analyses have been carried out on these bones: first, with carbon-14 dating, which confirms the period of Joshua around 1200 BCE; second, the animals used were only of three types (goat, lamb, calf) and all were male and all were young; This is in full accordance with the divine commandment concerning the sacrificial animal, of the "kosher" type and to be males less than a year old: "And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: Take a goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both of the same year without blemish, for a burnt offering." (Leviticus 9:3)
Another piece of evidence was later found on the site: two Egyptian scarabs bearing the seal of Ramses II. This pharaoh reigned from 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE, therefore after the Exodus from Egypt in 1306 BCE. It is certain that these two seals were recovered by the Israelites after their entry into Canaan in 1265 BCE. Because, at the time of Joshua's conquest, Canaan was still composed of small independent city-states under Egyptian rule. Let us also note that Ramses II made several campaigns in Canaan before the arrival of the Israelites in the region. And, despite his long reign, this pharaoh ceased all campaigning in Canaan after Joshua's arrival! Thus, strangely enough from a historical point of view, during the reign of Ramses II, Egypt lost control of Canaan without war nor battle. Only the Bible can explain this circumstance.
I hope that this article on the theme "the Bible is true" was of interest to you. Do not hesitate to send me your comments, while waiting for a next biblical episode proven by history and archaeology.
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Albert Benhamou
Private tour guide in Israel
February 2025
