The Bible Unearthed (The Documentary)

The Bible Unearthed does something which has never been done before: it reveals a still-unraveling revolution of what we know of the society, the history, and the men who wrote the Bible.

(ALEXANDRIA, Egypt) - “Prof. Israel Finkelstein & Neil Silberman, Two of archaeology’s leading scholars shed new light on how the Bible came into existence. They assert, for example, that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never existed, that David and Solomon were not great kings but obscure chieftains and that the Exodus never happened.”

For the first time, the true history of ancient Israel as revealed through recent archaeological discoveries-and a controversial new take on when, why and how the Bible was written. In the past three decades, archaeologists have made great strides in recovering the lost world of the Old Testament. Dozens of digs in Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon have changed experts’ understanding of ancient Israel and its neighbours- as well as their vision of the Bible’s greatest tales.

Yet until now, the public has remained almost entirely unaware of these discoveries which help separate legend from historical truth. Here, at last, two of archaeology’s leading scholars shed new light on how the Bible came into existence. They assert, for example, that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob never existed, that David and Solomon were not great kings but obscure chieftains and that the Exodus never happened.

They offer instead a new historical truth: the Bible was created by the people of the small, southern nation of Judah in a heroic last-ditch attempt to keep their faith alive after the demise of the larger, wealthier nation of Israel to the north. It is in this truth, not in the myths of the past, that the real value of the Bible is evident.

The Bible is both a religious and historical work, but how much is myth and how much is history? When and why was the Old Testament written, and by whom? What do contemporary archaeologists know about the Patriarchs? The Exodus? The Conquest of Canaan? Kings David and Solomon? Where do the people of Israel originally come from? Why were the historical accounts of the Bible written down?

A masterful archaeological and biblical investigation, The Bible Unearthed visits digs in Egypt, Jordan and Israel – including Megiddo, the cradle of biblical archeology, where 7,000 years of history have been excavated.

This far-ranging exploration of biblical history also makes use of archival footage of previous archaeological excavations, maps, biblical illustrations and computer animation, revealing ancient architecture, cuneiform tablets and other rare artifacts.

Based on the best-selling book (The Bible Unearthed) by prominent Israeli archeologist Israel Finkelstein & coauthored by American historian Neil Asher Silberman, this enthralling documentary features interviews with archaeological specialists and biblical scholars from all over the world, including experts from the Louvre, the Museum of Cairo, the Museum of Jerusalem, and the British Museum.

The Bible Unearthed does something which has never been done before: it reveals a still-unraveling revolution of what we know of the society, the history, and the men who wrote the Bible.

Dr. Ashraf Ezzat is an Egyptian medical doctor whose passion has always been writing. He says of all the human-related studies, he finds himself attracted to history. Ashraf stresses that history helps us understand change and how the society we live in came to be.

He says Egyptology holds a special place in his heart, for Egypt is where the human conscience sprouted. In ancient Egypt all things civilized began to evolve.

"I write articles and share posts of interest to me and hopefully to a lot of people." Dr. Ashraf Ezzat says you can drop him a line any time at: amenhotep.55@gmail.com "I like to exchange knowledge and experience, I think that`s what Blogging is all about."

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Dan Jones February 1, 2012 7:50 am (Pacific time)

I am overwhelmed by the humility of these guys. How grateful we are that they are doing what no one has ever done before! Now playing at a theatre near you!

Anonymous January 31, 2012 8:00 am (Pacific time)

Copernicus' hyptheses/theories, as taught by most leading western universities from my experience going back to the 1960's, was in effect a huge paradigm shift away from religious dogma that allowed for new thinking to be received in that stifling environment. Galileo was a beneficiary of Copernicus' methodology of re-evaluating the obvious. And obviously, religious ideology has not been damaged to any significant degree, just old ways of thinking were/are, which is easily exposed by those who argue over lost points. By the way it is the American educational system that put men on the moon and developed the tech to allow one to write negative comments on this site about that educational system. Haha. It's just so funny when you libs attack America, while using what we provide you.

The only point I was making about Copernicus was that his ideas were unproven speculation and it took Galileo and his telescope to prove them. BTW Galileo did not follow Copernicus' methodology because Copernicus had none. Most of Galileo's methodology he invented himself which is why he is widely regarded to be the father of experimental, particularly mathematical, science. He also leaned heavily on both Tycho and Kepler.

Anonymous January 30, 2012 1:51 pm (Pacific time)

Copernicus was speculation? My God you are such a dumb shit Johnson. I can see King's stupidity, it's genetic, but at least you finished some lower division courses didn't you? You are an absolute nut case, all of you simply cannot deal in real documented facts. Hey Johnson, so your occupy losers have certainly gone to the dark side as we all predicted. Soon the body count will be going up, so why not join them and provide your leadership? Stupid piece of shit!

With your American education, I'm not surprised at the shallowness of your knowledge.

Richard Berendzen writes in Man Discovers the Galaxies: “Copernicus and Ptolemy basically differed on only one topic; the arrangement of the solar system. By philosophy, religion, motivation and approach, Copernicus was a conservative. His scientific terminology and constructions were almost identical to Ptolemy’s. Even though his model carried profound implications, it was more a revision of Ptolemy’s scheme than a fundamental shift in thinking.”

Arthur Koestler, in his study of the period The Sleepwalkers (Copernicus, Tycho, Kepler and Galileo), pointed out that Copernicus increased the number of epicycles in the Ptolemaic system from 40 to 48.

Kepler said: “Copernicus tried to interpret Ptolemy rather than nature.” There is no evidence to show that Galileo actually read Copernicus’ book.

Astronomer Robert H. Baker in his textbook Astronomy wrote that “In the Copernican system the sun was stationary at the centre. Around it the planets revolved uniformly in circles, including the earth and it attendant, the moon. Epicycles were therefore still required….The new theory was supported at the outset by no convincing proof; its greater simplicity in representing celestial motions was the only argument Copernicus could offer in its defense. Moreover, it seemed to be discredited by the evidence of the celestial bodies themselves, as Tycho presently discovered.”

As I said: speculation, until Galileo came along with his telescope in 1610 six decades after Copernicus book, Revolutions was published.

Anonymous January 29, 2012 6:21 pm (Pacific time)

Daniel Johnson you familiar with Copernicus? Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe.

DJ: Yes, but it was only speculation until Galileo and his telesocpe.

Scott Ashley January 29, 2012 7:39 am (Pacific time)

The book on which this documentary is based was published a decade ago. Few professional Middle Eastern archaeologists agree with Finkelstein's conclusions. Its major themes have bend debunked by discoveries in several major excavations since then. Don't be taken in by this sort of nonsense.

Ralph E. Stone January 29, 2012 7:07 am (Pacific time)

"The Bible Unearthed" is further evidence of what scholars have known for years. That is, to insist that every single word in the Bible is literally true borders on the absurd. The Bible was written over thousands of years by hundreds of different authors, and edited various times by other people. I believe some of it is allegory, some is history, some is legend, some is myth. Certainly, the Bible is very valuable in a cultural sense, showing how people felt about things in those days, showing how little human nature has changed in all these years. And parts are great literature. The Bible is full of inconsistencies, ambiguities and contradictions. The earliest, most reliable, most authentic copies we have are translations of translations, copied over and over by hand over several centuries. Thus, I don't believe we can say the Bible is the Word of God, undoubtable, that every passage has one obvious meaning that is clear to all of us. And there are many versions of the Bible. There is the "Old Testament" based on the Jewish Tanakh. Then there are the the twenty-seven books collectively called the New Testament, originally written in Greek. The Catholic Bible includes additional books which the Protestant Bible does not. Some Protestant Bibles have a separate apocrypha. There are also various translations of the Bible in the English language: the Catholic translation; the New American Bible; and Protestant translations of the Christian Bible, like the King James Version, the New Revised Standard Version, and the New American Standard Bible (seen as fairly literal translations (or "word for word"), whereas translations like the New International Version and New Living Translation attempt to give relevant parallel idioms. All this is a recipe for error. But I am sure the fundamentalists will label "The Bible Unearthed" blasphemy.

Daniel Johnson January 29, 2012 12:21 am (Pacific time)

A good start. The world is dominated by the three Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. "Bible Unearthed" was reviewed in detail in “False testament: archaeology refutes the Bible's claim to history” by Daniel Lazare in Harper's Magazine. Mar. 2002: pp. 39f

In other words, if Abraham never existed, the whole religious underpinning of Western and Islamic societies vanishes. It’s the equivalent of virtually everyone believing that the earth was the centre of the universe in the 16th century until Galileo pointed his telescope at the night sky.

See also my book review of Tom Harpur’s Pagan Christ here The whole Jesus myth is actually a story that goes back to the Egyptians with Osiris as the first “Jesus” character.

steve January 28, 2012 8:27 pm (Pacific time)

preposterous human convention-but understandable coming from salem

Stephen January 28, 2012 1:40 pm (Pacific time)

54 years old and I have researched the Bible since I was a child. It is impossible to know 100% of the truth, who wrote and I am sure it has been bastardized over the centuries by the elite, but I believe the true spirit of the Creators words live within the Bible. About 10 years ago, I had a epiphany I wont forget. Remember the book of Job? God allowed satan to mess with Job, but God would NOT allow satan to touch Jobs soul. I think its the same way with the Bible. The Bible can go thru much, but God wont allow the spirit of His words to be messed with, all we have to do is ask. Proverbs: Seek wisdom, wisdom will be given without reproach. Without reproach means you have to give nothing in return, you dont need a pre-requisite, you dont have to go to church etc. Just ask..Its so beautiful. p.s. scripture thought for the day. The only time Jesus got angry was when he turned over the tables of the money changers.(bankers) My kinda guy...They killed Him for it, and its still going on to this day. I am surprised they havn't killed Ron Paul yet. Then again, let Dr. Paul say its the 'rothchild zionists', and that will get him dead real quick.

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The Bible Unearthed (The Documentary)

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