Maarten van Heemskerck – Prophet Isaiah predicts the return of the Jews from exile

Secular critics often question the prophetic books of the Old Testament.  A primary charge is that they could not have been written by actual prophets in the claimed time periods because accurately predicting the future is impossible.   Rather, the books were forged at later dates by unknown authors after the supposed prophesies had already occurred.  But what does the evidence tell us?

Isaiah

Isaiah is one of the most important Old Testament books because it contains such clear and compelling prophecies about the future, especially regarding the coming Messiah.  In fact, Isaiah is often called the “fifth gospel” because of its clear Messianic message and content.

Interestingly, a clay bulla was found in Jerusalem that clearly contains the name “Isaiah” and appears to refer to him with the word “prophet.¹”  This bulla was found among 33 others, including one that refers to King Hezekiah, one of the kings to whom Isaiah was an advisor.²   In addition, the archaeological layer in which they were found dates to the 7^th or 8^th century BC, exactly at the time of Isaiah’s ministry.³  With this bulla, we have a reference to Isaiah, his role as prophet, and a connection to Hezekiah, all at the exact time period described in the biblical writings.

Jeremiah

The discovery of “Lachish Letters,” dating to ~600 BC, validate numerous stories contained in the Bible.  The letters describe conditions and events in Judah just before the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah and Jerusalem in 587 BC.  They record at least three events from the war that are also described in the Bible, including a conspiracy against the Hebrew king Zedekiah, a diplomatic mission to Egypt, and the fact that Lachish and Azekah were the last Hebrew cities to fall before Jerusalem.⁴

The first letter mentions the name “Jeremiah” and the third letter mentions a warning from “the prophet.”  The seventh letter appears to name the prophet as Jeremiah, but the writing is too faded to be certain.  However, Jeremiah was the only active prophet in Judah at this time, so that interpretation seems justified.⁵  Within these letters, we have verification of multiple Bible stories and the identification of the prophet Jeremiah, all within the same time period and context as described in the Bible.

The book of Jeremiah repeatedly mentions a man named Baruch, the son of Neriah, who served as Jeremiah’s scribe and helper.  Archaeologists have discovered a clay bulla from ~600 BC with the inscription “belonging to Baruchyahu son of Neriah the scribe.⁶”  The suffix “-yahu” means “blessed of Yahweh.”  Consequently, the bulla effectively translates to “belonging to the scribe Baruch, blessed of Yahweh, and son of Neriah.”  While not direct evidence of Jeremiah, the inscription does prove the existence of his scribe at the correct time period, just as the Bible claims.

Daniel

Daniel is one of the Old Testament’s most important books and contains a host of future prophecies, including some about the coming Messiah.  The conservative view is that it was written by Daniel in ~530 BC.  The critical view, however, contends that Daniel was written by an unknown author in ~170 BC.  This perspective is taken, in part, to explain away many of the prophecies as occurring “after the fact.”  While historical analysis cannot tell us for sure when and by whom Daniel was written, it can give very clear indications.

First, we have to recognize that Daniel has proven to be a reliable book historically.  This fact argues for an early composition, near the time of the events described.  Daniel accurately reflects Babylonian history in the 6^th century and gives a correct picture of Nebuchadnezzar’s building projects.⁷

Ironically, one of the most common historical attacks against Daniel’s accuracy and early composition is now one of the strongest arguments in favor of the book.  Daniel’s description of Belshazzar as the king of Babylon was considered a clear error by critics for many years, with no other known references to Belshazzar existing.  However, the discovery of the Nabonidus Cylinder and an ancient cuneiform text called the Verse Account of Nabonidus reveal that King Nabonidus went on a long journey and left the nation under the control of his first-born son, Belshazzar.⁸  This fact also explains why Belshazzar, in the book of Daniel, can only award up to the third place of authority in the kingdom to whomever interprets the handwriting on the wall (because his father and he are first and second).⁹  Since the person of Belshazzar seems to have been lost to history after ~450 BC, Daniel’s mentioning and correct describing of him require an earlier composition date.¹⁰

Daniel’s story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to worship the image of Nebuchadnezzar was proven plausible with the discovery of the Babylonian Letter of Samsu-iluna.  This 6^th century document (consistent with an early composition of Daniel) commands that those who have committed blasphemy against the gods be thrown into a kiln and burned.¹¹

There is a host of literary evidence that points to an early composition date for Daniel.  The 6^th century Old Testament book of Ezekiel mentions Daniel three times.¹²  The apocryphal books of First Maccabees and Baruch both mention Daniel and were written in the 2^nd– and 4^th– centuries BC, respectively.¹³  Daniel is included in the Septuagint, which may have been completed as early as the 3^rd century BC.  A copy of Daniel dating to the 2^nd-century BC was found among the dead sea scrolls in Qumran.¹⁴  This finding makes a ~170 BC composition practically impossible since it likely does not provide enough time for the book to have been recognized as scripture, copied, and distributed.

Another powerful evidence of Daniel’s early composition comes from the respected Jewish historian Josephus.  He records in his Antiquities of the Jews that Alexander the Great spared Israel (which he did) after Jewish rabbis showed him prophecies in Daniel that referred to him.¹⁵  Since Alexander the Great’s reign was in ~330 BC, Daniel must have been written far earlier.  The mountain of evidence in favor of an early date for Daniel not only supports the conservative view, but greatly increases the prophetic credibility of Daniel.  If it was written early, then the prophecies it makes about the upcoming centuries cannot be brushed aside and must be taken seriously.

Speaking of Daniel’s prophecies, none is more impressive than his accurate description of when the coming Messiah would be executed.  Logic and Light has described this prophecy in detail elsewhere.  Suffice it to say that Daniel correctly foretold the timing of Christ’s execution ~500 years in advance!

Conclusion

Critics love to attack the prophetic books of the Bible because, they believe, it is impossible to foretell the future.  Unfortunately for them, the facts of history support the existence of these prophets and early dates for the composition of their books.  These facts, in turn, argue that there is an eternal God ultimately behind the writing of the Bible!

Notes:

• Kennedy, Titus. Unearthing the Bible.  Harvest House Publishers 2020.  130-131.
• Pgs. 130-131
• Pgs. 130-131
• Pgs. 148-149.
• Pg. 149
• Pgs. 146-147.
• McDowell, Josh. Daniel in the Critics Den.  Here’s Life Publishers, Inc 1979. Pg. 11
• Kennedy, Titus. Op Cit. Pgs. 160-161.
• Pg. 161
• McDowell, Josh. Op Cit. Pg. 14.
• Kennedy, Titus. Op Cit. Pg. 155.
• McDowell, Josh. Op Cit. Pg. 27.
• Pgs. 28-29.
• Pg. 26
• Pg. 31