BiblicalInsights.net

In the March/April issue of Biblical Archeology Review, there was an article titled, Archaeology Confirms 50 Real People in the Bible. A feature of BAR is “how many.” How many people in the Hebrew Bible have been confirmed archaeologically? The answer is 50!
Kings of Judah confirmed through archeology include: David, Hezekiah, Uzziah, Ahaz, Manasseh and Jehoiachin. Kings of Israel that have been confirmed through archeology are: Ahab, who angrily called the prophet Elijah “Thou troubler of Israel” (1 Kings 18:17), Omri, Jehu, Joash (short for Jehoash), Jeroboam II, Menahem, Pekah and Hoshea. That’s a total of fourteen kings!
Foreign kings are also mentioned, including: Sennacherib (Assyrian ruler who shut up king Hezekiah “like a bird in a cage” mentioned on Sennacherib’s prism), Tiglath-pilesar III, Shalmaneser V, Sargon II and Esarhaddon, all Assyrian kings mentioned in the Bible. Adrammelech, the son and assassin of Sennacherib has also been confirmed.
Babylonian monarchs mentioned in the Bible include: Nebuchadnessar (destroyed Solomn’s Temple in 586 B.C. and took the Jews to Babylon for 70 years captivity), Merodach-baladan II, Evil-merodach and Belshazzar. Belshazzar is featured in the book of Daniel and Daniel read the mysterious handwriting on the wall to him.
Persians kings mentioned in the Bible and corroborated by archeology include: Cyrus II (Cyrus the Great who issued the decree allowing the Jews to return to Palestine (written on the Cyrus Cylinder), Darius I, Xerxes, Artaxerxes I and Darius II. Xerxes plays a prominent role in the Book of Esther where he is called Ahasuerus. Xerxes is Greek and Ahasuerus is Hebrew.
Egyptian rulers include: Shishak, So, Tirhakah, Necho II and Hophra.
Mesha from Moab is mentioned in 2 Kings 3:4-27.
Rules in Damascus include: Headadezer, Ben-hadad, son of Hadadezer, Hazael, Beh-hadad, son of Hazael and Rezin.
In the Southern Kingdom, there were royal officers and priests that have been confirmed through archeology. These include: Hilkiah (priest during Josiah’s reign), Shaphan (scribe during Josiah’s reign), Azariah (high priest during Josiah’s reign), Gemariah (official during Jehoiakim’s reign), Shelemiah, (father of Jehucal the royal official-Jeremiah 37:3), Jehucal or Jucal, (official during Zedekiah’s reign), Pashhur, (father of Gedaliah the royal official), and Gedaliah, (official during Zedekiah’s reign).
This completes the list of 50. The list shows that Bible history is real/authentic. The list helps to verify the truthfulness of the Bible. Contrast this information about the Bible with the Book of Mormon which is not verfied by a single historical fact and you can see that the Bible is the more reliable and trustworthy document.