The largest collection of Biblical artifacts is in the Midwest, the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.

The first thing you may appreciate is there are bathrooms in the basement. Upon entering, go behind the staircase on your right, and descend the steps to find the facilities.

The University of Chicago was founded (and funded) by John D. Rockefeller, the oil baron. He spent millions digging up artifacts all over the Middle East, and floated much of it back to Chicago. The collection contains over 300,000 items. If you see items with a headphone icon, the numbers starting with a 2 are of Biblical interest.

Note this is a secular museum run by the University of Chicago. Displays are not designed to
emphasize Christianity, and the audio guides on the religious significance does not come from a conservative Christian point of view.

In future years, expect traffic and security to increase as the Barack Obama Presidential Library will open nearby.

NOTE: Displays, exhibits, and presentation order is subject to change by the Oriental Institute at any time.

The Cleveland Public Library contains an ancient peace treaty cone from Uruk/Erech, and the archaeologist’s note states “Erech is the city mentioned in the Biblical book of Genesis 10:10”

Genesis 10:8-10 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. 10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar

Abraham was born in 2166 BC, and 75 when he left Ur, making the year 2091 BC. The artifacts you see here would have been from around the time of Abraham.

Genesis 11:31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

The Amarna Letters are a collection of 380 clay tablets from the Office-House of Letters of Pharoah at Amarna, Egypt, now mostly in the British Museum. Conservatives believe that the Exodus was in 1446 BC, while liberal scholars believe that “if” there was an Exodus it was several centuries later. From a conservative date, these letters would be in the time of the early Judges.

Amarna letter 289 is from the King of Jerusalem to Pharoah complaining Labayu gave some of the land of Shechem to the “Habiru.” Many other Amarna letters refer to these Habiru. The word ‘Habiru’ refers to a fugitives or refugees, so while one can’t definitively say all Habiru are Hebrews, it is possible from a conservative date for the Exodus, that some Habiru were Hebrews.

Why is Shechem important to a Bible student?

Genesis 12:6-8 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said , Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8 And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

 

During the time of the Amarna letters – Gideon’s son Abimelech tried to set himself up as king.

 

Judges 9 1 And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying , 2 Speak , I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.

Halfway down on the right. Hammurabi’s code is divided into 12 sections, and consists of 282 laws. Some claim Moses just borrowed from Hammurabi, so the Mosaic Code rather than being God-breathed is nothing special. Both the Mosaic Code and the Hammurabi Code impose the death penalty for adultery and kidnapping. Hammurabi’s code however imposes the death penalty for many more offenses and has some blood guilt – “if builders house collapses and kills owner’s son—builder’s son executed” Deuteronomy 24:16: Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.”

Also, Hammurabi commands mutilation for many offenses including if a slave disrespects his master. Moses says “an eye for an eye” – only in cases of intentional mutilation, limiting the damage.

Behind the Hammurabi Code, this brick features the inscription, “Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, provider for Esagila [temple of Marduk] and Ezida [temple of Nabu], eldest son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon.”

2 Kings 24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

Located on your left, halfway down the hall.

 

Gilgamesh was King of Uruk, and the earliest account of his tale is dated around 1800 BC. Some argue the Epic was source material for Moses.

In the Epic, Gilgamesh finds Utnapishtim, who was told by a god to build a boat to survive a global flood that killed all of mankind. The flood was caused by mans’ sins, there was only one door in the boat, and the boat was covered in pitch. At the end of the flood, they released birds to find land, landed on a mountain, and sacrificed animals. It is possible that this was written by someone who could have met Noah – Noah did live for 350 years after the flood. (Genesis 9:28), even during the time of Tower of Babel and Nimrod (founder of Uruk).

It is interesting the similarities between Genesis and the Epic. But given problems with the boat dimensions (as shown at Ark Encounter), it appears the Epic borrowed from Genesis.

Located near the Epic of Gilgamesh. Who forged a document using someone else’s seal in the Bible?

 

1 Kings 21:7 And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise , and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry : I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

Formerly at eye level, these are now above the right wall, near paintings depicting what an aerial view of Babylon might have been.

These glazed lions were part of the Ishtar Gate. Babylon, at the time of the fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judaea had about 200,000 inhabitants, joined by 10,000 Jewish captives. 2 Kings 24:10-16 tells about Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem. “And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. “

The ten thousand captives would have joined the 200,000 people of Babylon in 600 BC.

Psalm 137: 1,8,9 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. …O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. 9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

 

Daniel and his three friends would have been marched as captives through the impressive Ishtar gates.

 

Daniel 1:1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; 6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

Welcome to part of Sargon’s throne room – the complete room was as big as a football field. Look to the left for a diagram, and in the center for sample flooring.

Archaeologists were often allowed to keep half of what they uncovered. Recently ISIS destroyed four similar giant lamassu in Ninevah.

Isaiah 20:1 – In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it;

 

Sargon – was the Biblical writer mistaken?

 

“For many years, skeptics insisted that the biblical writer must be mistaken. After all, many inscriptions and archaeological finds from the Assyrian Empire had been found, yet not a single one of them mentioned the Sargon of Isaiah 20. In fact, a well-known list of Assyrian kings conspicuously omitted Sargon (Wilson, 1999, 3:78). But in 1843, Paul Emile Botta dealt the deathblow to this argument. Acting on information he had received about the small village of Khorsabad, Iraq, Botta began searching for ancient bricks with cuneiform writing on them. Not only did he find a rich cache of such bricks, but he also stumbled upon one of the most magnificent finds in archaeological history. Occupying the entire side of a hill, buried under centuries of dirt, stood the remains of King Sargon’s palace. This palace was of such size that it has been described as “probably the most significant palace the world has ever seen, covering an area of more than twenty-five acres.” Among the ruins, Sargon left numerous inscriptions detailing his military conquests. Not the least among those inscriptions was a particularly revealing inscription discussing his actions against Ashdod, the very city mentioned in Isaiah 20:1.”

 

Kyle Butt, M.Div., as published in Apologetics Press

 

http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=13&article=852

On the right side of this room near the Lamassu – the bearded figure is Sennacherib. In the next gallery you will see why he is one of the most interesting Biblical figures.

Past the palace walls in the corner on the left are two amazing finds of Biblical significance.

Black Obelisk of Shalmanezer

This is a full-scale replica of the original that is in the British Museum. Shalmanezer was an Assyrian king. On one side, 2^nd row, is Jehu, with his attendants, bowing down paying homage and tribute.

The cuneiform (wedge-shaped writing system) underneath the carving says “Tribute of Yahua, house of Omri”. It was discovered in 1846, and was the earliest Biblical figure confirmed outside of the Bible. The full text is dated to 841 BC and says:

“The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri: I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king [and] spears.”

Interestingly, the only carving we have an Israelite king, comes from a pagan source. This is because Israelites were forbidden from making images.

Exodus 20:4 – Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:

Why did Jehu need to pay tribute? He started out well, but did not finish well.

2 Kings 10:30-31 – And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

Mordechai, Daniel, and the 3 Hebrews would bow to God but could stand before any King. Those who fail to bow to God, will be someone’s slave.

One of the most valuable artifacts in the entire Oriental Institute, is this record of Sennacherib of Assyria (Jonah and Nahum prophesied much about Assyria). This is one of 5 prisms (another is in British Museum) but unlike the Black Obelisk – this is an original. II Kings 18, Isaiah 36, and 2 Chronicles 32 all record the account that this prism tells.

Isaiah 36 Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.

2 And the king of Assyria sent Rabshakeh from Lachish to Jerusalem unto king Hezekiah with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field.

In the British Museum is a massive carving of the siege of Lachish. Siege ramps are still visible in Israel near the ruins of Lachish.

3 Then came forth unto him Eliakim, Hilkiah’s son, which was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, Asaph’s son, the recorder.

4 And Rabshakeh said unto them, Say ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?

5 I say, sayest thou, (but they are but vain words) I have counsel and strength for war: now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?

6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.

7 But if thou say to me, We trust in the Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar?

This is a reference to Hezekiah removing the “horned altars” – we’ll see one in the next hall.

8 Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.

Deuteronomy 17:16 forbad multiplying horses

9 How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?

10 And am I now come up without the Lord against this land to destroy it? theLord said unto me, Go up against this land, and destroy it.

11 Then said Eliakim and Shebna and Joah unto Rabshakeh, Speak, I pray thee, unto thy servants in the Syrian language; for we understand it: and speak not to us in the Jews’ language, in the ears of the people that are on the wall.

12 But Rabshakeh said, Hath my master sent me to thy master and to thee to speak these words? hath he not sent me to the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you?

13 Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and said, Hear ye the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.

14 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.

15 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

16 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;

17 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

18 Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, the Lord will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

20 Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

21 But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

22 Then came Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, that was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.

Isaiah 37:1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.

Why didn’t Hezekiah do this earlier?

35 For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake

36 Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

El is a generic name for god, like Allah in Arabic, or God in English.

The God of Israel revealed His name as יהוה  / YHVH (LORD in the KJV).

Before you are the idols talked about in Hosea 8:4 “of their silver and their gold have them made them idols”.  On the right is Baal. I Kings 18:21 tells of Elijah on Mount Carmel, “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

Interestingly, the name Elijah (El-Jah) means (remember Hebrew is right to left) YH (Jehovah) is the EL (God).

To the left are female fertility statues, 3,000 year old proofs that the Israelites disobeyed God, as Exodus 20:4 records: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Many Canaanites sought fertility from idols, but in Genesis 30:22, God opened Rachel’s womb – not Baal. 1 Samuel 1:5 records the Lord had shut up her womb. When God gave Hannah a son, she named him Samuel, as 1 Samuel 1:20 recounts Because I have asked him of the Lord.

Solomon & Ahab had thrones of ivory coated in gold

I Kings 10:18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.

As did Ahab, I Kings 22:39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did , and the ivory house which he made , and all the cities that he built , are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Sometimes the intact altar is on loan – this one appears to be a “destroyed altar”

Now Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places 1 Kings 3:3

Unlike a “Biblical” altar:

Exodus 27:2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.

God did not want altars everywhere, only in Jerusalem –  and Sennacherib noticed Hezekiah took away the bad altars and destroyed them like this one.

2 Kings 18:22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the Lord our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?