The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-02-19
" Testimony of the Modern Archaeological
Explorations to the Credibility of the
Hebrew Scriptures"

delivered lecture before the Young Mems
Hebrew Association of Louisville, KY. on
the above subject. The discourse ia repete
with interesting facts and cogent reasoning,
aud iadeqd so excellent every way, that we
wish We could fnd room for the whole of it.
We give such extracts as our space admits
Gentlemen of the Young Mems Hebreu
Association-AIlow me first to express my
thanks for the courtesy and for what / re-
gard as the high compliment of this invita-
ton to address you on the subject thst claims
our attention this evening, namely: the re-
markabIe results of the recent explorations
in the seats of ancient empire in Egypt, Pal
estine, Babylonia and Assyris, in confrma.
ton of the credibility of those wonderful an
cient historic records of your race, which you
and l alike reverence as above all compsTi-
son in dignity and value with any secular
historic books of the world.
The skepticism of this century has asssiled
the credibiity aud historical value of thesa
records with perfect tempest of keen and
relentless criticifm, and has proclaimed as
the result that they have no claim to be his
torical at all, but are mythical, legendary,
fabulous and allegorical. | regard it, there
fore, as one of the most remarkable interpo-
sitions of Providence in the interests of truth
and religion that just as the skepticism of the
age has proclaimed these sacred writings un-
historical, and therefore the system of reli.
gion founded upon them false, God lifts the
cover from the sepulchres in VII ch the an-
cient civilizations, contemporary with that
described in these sacred records, stood in
intimate relation, and behold secular records,
which had been for ages lain hidden in an
unknown language, and pictorial histories
which had been literally buried are exposed
for the first time after twenty-five centuries
to the gaze of the men of the Nineteenth
century. The voices from hundreds of mon
uments, from basso-relievo frescoes in pal
aces, from monumental obelisks, from huge
sarcophsgi from sculptures and paintings,
| from terra Gotta, books, and from bricks that
no fire could destroy, as the voice Of one
risen from the dead, cries out in testimony
to the historical credibility of these sacred
records in rebuke aud derision of the airy
speculations and crude theories of the learned
skeptical criticism.
/ begin these illustrations with merely 8
reference to the remarkable confirmation of
the account given by Moses of the repeople-
ing Of the earth after the food. Among the
more recent explorations on the lower Eu-
pirates are found bricks Of the ancient cities
stamped each with the name Of the monarch
who built these great structures, and other
monumental records that date back OF least
to period earlier than Abraham, from which
it is demonstrated that the brief account
given by Moses of the founding of the king
dom and city of Babylon first aud next the
bulldog of Nineveh and other cities by par
ties that event out, or we're driven out of
Babylon, is the true history. And further,
that the founders of Nineveh were Shemites
of different race from Babyloniaps. This
is the more noteworthy because difficulty
had always been found in reconciling this ac-
count with that commonly received on the
authority of ancient traditions. But the re-
Gently recovered monuments demonstratsthat
the statement of Moses 10 every respect is
true and the common opinion erroneous
| One of the maiu results Of the recent Meso-
potamian researches is the utter exploding Of
all the old theories, and demonstrating that,
just as Moses declares, there was an early
Babylonisn kingdom, of q race entirely dig.
tinct from the Assyrian, which fOurished for
centuries before there was any Assyrian
kingdom -wherea1 formerly the antiquarians
would have it tina; Assyria was the original
seat of empire, aud that Babylon was built
by an Assyrian monarch, who conquered the
whole country on the lower Elphrates.
It is still more striking evidence Of the
credibility of the Mosaic history that the
great ethnographic chart-thst list of hard
names of the tenth chapter of Geneais--is in
tull accord not only with the records of the
monuments, but With the last results of eth
nographic science, which hos been prosecuted
with such brilliant success in this century.
When, after immense labor, this ecience
has, from an investigation Of languages and
types of mankind, and every sort of record,
made its analysis, it classif 8 the races into
the triple divisions Of Semitic, Aryan and
Turaniau in accord with the grouping of
Moses in his great E!hnographic Chart,
three thousand years ago. may allude, in
passing, to another remarkable testimony of
the explorations in Mesopo,amia, to an event
in the life Of Abrsham, the account of an in
vasion of Palestine and the sacking of Sodom
and the cities of the plains, by ChedOrlaomer,
King of EIam, and his allies or dependents
in Babylonis, showing that at this time the
power had passed out Of the hands of Baby.
lon into the hands Of the monarch of Fan in
the East. Now it is stated in an inscription
of Assur-baui-pal, that 1856 years before
his own capture of Susa, the King of Elan
had conquered Babylonia. From Babylon
ian inscriptions it is shown that this King Of
Elan, Kudur-Mabula, or Chedorlaomor car.
ried his conquests to the weas and took to
himself the title "Ravager of the West," OF
" "Rsvsger of Syria, "a title which is found
upon his bricks. 1t is evident, therefore
that at just the period recorded by Moses, all
the circumstances and this record 90 to
show that such an invasion did occur, thus
confirming tkis account as a true history.
But there is also remarkable confrmstory
testimony in the recent explorations in Pales.
tine, especially at Jerusalem, that wonderful
city standing now upon the ruins Of at leaa,
ten different Jerusalems that have previously
been built, destroyed and rebuilt on that
rock promontory projecting between the val.
ley of Hiunom and the valley of Jehoshs.
phat. For it must be remembered that be.
tween its first siege by Joshua, $500 years
ago, and its last, 535 years ago, Jerusalem
has sustained in all no less than twenty
seven sieges, and in at least third Of these
the city was laid waste.
Now in the explorations Of Capt. Wilson
Warren and others they have sunk a shaft
through the immense mass of debris accumu-
j