Archaeology Confirms Book of Genesis on Israel’s Arch-nemesis, the Edomites
(Worthy News) – A new international study of copper mining technology in the Arava Valley uproots long-held biases against the Bible’s nomadic Edomites and turns them from simple tribesmen into hi-tech engineers of an 11th century BCE “Copper Valley.”
In the just-published PLOS One article, “Ancient technology and punctuated change: Detecting the emergence of the Edomite Kingdom in the Southern Levant,” a team of scientists headed by Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Erez Ben-Yosef of the Central Timna Valley Project and Prof. Tom Levy of the Edom Lowlands Regional Archaeology Project, illustrates how the far-reaching Edomite mining network experienced a huge technological jump in the late 10th century BCE.
This technological leap marks the emergence of biblical Edom and helps solve a tricky verse in Genesis, according to a Tel Aviv University press release. The roots of the Edomite kingdom corresponds to a verse from Genesis 36:31, which describes an early, pre-10th century BCE Edomite kingdom: “…the kings who reigned in Edom before any Israelite king reigned.”
“Using technological evolution as a proxy for social processes, we were able to identify and characterize the emergence of the biblical kingdom of Edom,” said Ben-Yosef. “Our results prove it happened earlier than previously thought and in accordance with the biblical description.” [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]