By Aaron Earls
When fighters for the terrorist organization ISIS destroyed numerous biblical archaeological sites in Iraq, they unknowingly unearthed evidence supporting Old Testament accounts.
Previously archaeological teams stopped digging under certain sites in Iraq, such as the traditional tomb of Jonah the prophet, for fear of destroying them.
When ISIS fighters took over Mosul and other Iraqi areas in 2014, they had no such qualms. They demolished the tomb of Jonah and dug tunnels looking for buried treasure or artifacts they could sell to finance their terrorist operations, according to the UK Telegraph.
Once the Iraqi army rooted out ISIS earlier this year, archaeologists began checking the historic sites to see how much damage had been done. They made some startling discoveries.
Tunnels dug by the terrorist group revealed a previously untouched Assyrian palace in the ancient city of Nineveh and several inscriptions that corroborate biblical accounts.
An article in Iraq magazine, an archaeology journal published by Cambridge University, examines previously discovered artifacts from the site and those unearthed by ISIS.
Inscriptions found in the old city of Nineveh give an order of Assyrian kings that matches perfectly with the biblical order.
- Sargon II (Sargon in Scripture): Isaiah 20:1
- Sennacherib: 2 Kings 18-19, 2 Chronicles 32, Isaiah 36-37
- Esarhaddon: 2 Kings 19:37, Isaiah 37:38
- Ashurbanipal (also known as Asnappar, Osnapper or Asenaphar): Ezra 4:10
Other inscriptions confirm biblical references to the city of Calah (Genesis 10:11-12) and the methodology of resettlement used by the Assyrians (Ezra 4:10).
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Aaron Earls
Aaron is the senior writer at Lifeway Research.
