PROFESSOR ANDRE PARROT, THE WORLD FAMOUS FRENCH ARCHAEOLOGIST HAS SAID, “How can we understand the Bible unless we see it in its proper chronological, historical and geographical settings?” Archaeology not only confirms but also illuminates the historical situations out of which the Old Testament and the gospels grew. I think you will be interested in seeing how modern they were centuries before the Christian era, and how fitting the title, “Nothing New Under the Sun”.
It was Solomon who said in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “Whatever has been is that which will be; And whatsoever has been done is that which will be done. And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, Lo, this is new? It was already in existence in the ages which were before us.”
Abraham was born in Ur of the Chaldees and lived there until he was about 50 years old. Then with his father Terah, his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, they moved to Haran and remained there until Terah died. Yahweh said to Abram in Genesis 12:1-4, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee; And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great: — And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
Because we believe the United States is one of the great nations promised to Abraham’s seed, this becomes our history. Just at the time the higher critics had about convinced everybody that Abraham was just a legendary figure, the archaeologists began proving the Bible to be true. Thousands of our books have become worthless and ancient history had to be rewritten.