Produced by the James Hardy Archeological Research Center, an Affiliate of the Union Museum of History and Art and in support of The Explorer’s Club of New York
While growing up in the deep south I would occasionally hear that scientist were against religion. Science tried to prove the Bible was not right. Archeology is a science and the archeologist was wrong as was the geologist. Then I moved to Saudi Arabia and the new employees were told that if we went camping and started looking for artifacts or rocks or anything else we are not to dig. Artifacts may be used to prove the Koran was wrong. This has now changed.
Over the years the archeologist has dug in the mid-east and specifically the Holy Land. Instead of refuting or proving stories in the Bible are not true, the archeologist has uncovered and excavated sites that materialistically prove many of the places in the Bible existed. History unites with faith. Science meets theology. Documents such as the Dead Sea Scrolls that have been interpreted provide written historical proof of many of the stories in the Bible. The Biblical archeologist, the Biblical scholar and the theologian are now on the same plane and organizations such as The Biblical Archeological Society have formed and the world can read what is being uncovered. Saudi Arabia has greatly expanded its archeological knowledge and excavations have uncovered a rich heritage thousands of years old that is only just now coming to light.
An example of how the archeologist/scholar can expand the understanding of the civilized world follows:
One story I heard as a child that came from the Bible was Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple. Since it came from the Bible it was expected to be accepted and there need not be any further explanation. This happened but there were questions in the back of my mind as I wondered about the entire story. Then the archeologist/scholars added to the story.
Dr Jodi Magnus, Professor or of religious studies at the University of North Carolina and author of several books on the Archeology of the Holy Land, talked about Jesus and the money changers in her video series, “The Holy Land Revealed”. It could be asked as to why there were to be money changers at the temple.
There was a half shekel temple fee to be paid by all Jews during major holidays in ancient Judea. The shekel was the coin used in Jerusalem as well as Tyre (formerly Phoenicia and today Lebanon) and Carthage. The Tyre Shekel was a pure .4 oz of silver and was used as both a coin and a weight for commerce. This coin was the only coin accepted as payment for the temple tax. The Jerusalem shekel was not pure silver and was prone to being counterfeited. Neither the silver content nor the weight for commerce could be trusted. The leaders of the temple wanted the Tyre coin.
The worshippers now had to have their coins changed and this could lead to fraud or unscrupulous exchanges as the money changers would charge additional exchange fees or modify the actual weight of the Jerusalem coins. The high priests also received a percentage of the money that the money changers received. Additionally, the commotion and noise due to the atmosphere of the money lenders and the selling of animals for sacrifice made it difficult for the worshippers to pray in a respectful and worshipful manner. This desecration of the temple infuriated Jesus so much that he cast them out of the temple and thus deprived the temple leaders of money and threatened their wealth.
Religious scholars have added to the story by speculating exactly where the incident actually happened. The temple of Soloman was a large structure and to simply say that this story happened at the temple leaves much physical area for this to have occurred. The scholars believe that the incident actually happened at Solomon’s Porch which was located on the outermost part of the east side of the temple.
The archeologist also added to the story. They found a Greek inscription from 20 B.C. It was discovered at the Court of the Gentiles, which warns non-Jews not to go any further into the Temple, on fear of death. This underscores the deep importance held by the Jews for the Temple of Soloman.
Forty years following this incident and the subsequent death of Jesus, Rome invaded to put down a Jewish revolt. Unfortunately, they leveled the temple and it was never rebuilt. Dr, Magnus goes into detail in her lecture series about the temple and the old city of Jerusalem and what the archeologist have uncovered.
The story of Jesus and the Money Changers has received much more detailed explanation from the work of the Archeologist and the Scholar. Archeological work on the site of Soloman’s Temple has ceased as this is now the location of the Temple Mount where the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, both Islamic structures, are located.
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