 Destruction
of Canaanites
 in
Deuteronomy 7:2; 20:17, God commanded Israel to utterly destroy the Canaanites.
Excavations in the
ruins of Gezer, Kiriath-sepher, and other Canaanite cities, show the
shameful and loathsome
degradation of the Canaanite religion and civilization. It
caused archaeologists
to wonder why God did not destroy them sooner than He did.
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Canaanite
Oppression
A
plaque of the 12 century B.C. was found in the ruins
of Megiddo representing the
Canaanite king receiving
Israelite captives. (Judges 4:3)
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Deborah's
Victory
In
1937, in the ruins of Megiddo, The Oriental Institute found, in the stratum
belonging
to the 12th century
B.C.,
indications of a tremendous conflagration, on top of the layer
of Canaanite relics,
evidence of a terrific defeat for the Canaanites at that time, which
was the time of Deborah
and Barak. (Judges 4:23,24; 5:19).
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Hidden
Grain in Gideon's Time
Between
1926-1928, at Kiriath-sepher, Drs. Albright and Kyle found some of these
grain pits. (Judges
6:2-4, 11)
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Abimelech's
Destruction of Shechem
Between
1913-1914 and 1926-1928, Dr. Sellin found, in the ruins of ancient
Shechem, evidence of
Israelite occupation that had been destroyed about the
12 century B.C.;
and in this layer he found the ruins of a temple of Baal, believed
to have been the very
same temple mentioned in Judges 9:4.
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Burning
of Gibeah
Between
1922-1923, in the ruins of Gibeah, Dr. Albright found a layer of ashes
of
a fire of the 12th
century
B.C.
It is believed to be the same fire in
Judges 20:40.
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Shiloh, Saul's House
in Gibeah, Temples of Ashtoreth and Dagon, The Watercourse
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Shiloh
In
I Samuel 1:3; II Samuel 6:15; Joshua 18:1; Jeremiah 7:12-15, Shiloh is
indicated to
have been an important
city from Joshua to David (1400 -1000 B.C.), and then
to have
been destroyed. A Danish
expedition between 1922-1926, found sherds of
1200-1000 B.C.,
with indications of Israelite culture, and no evidence of later
occupation till about
300 B.C.
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Saul's
House in Gibeah
In
1922-1923, Dr. Albright found in Gibeah, in the stratum of 1000 B.C., the
ruins of a
fortress that is believed
to be the same house. (I Samuel 10:26).
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Temples
of Ashtoreth and Dagon
Between
1921-1930, in Bethshan, the University Museum of Pennsylvania found,
in the stratum of 1000
B.C., the ruins of temple of Ashtoreth, and one of Dagon,
which are believed
to be the same temples in which Saul's head and armor were
put. (I Samuel 31:10;
I Chronicles 10:10)
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The
Watercourse
The
watercourse (II Samuel 5:8) by which David's men gained entrance to Jerusalem
was found in 1866,
by Warren of the Palestine Exploration Fund
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