Hazor (Hatzor)
Key to Israel’s Territorial Claim and Bible Authenticity
Excavations of Tel Hazor located in Israel just north of the Sea of Galilee. Note the six-chambered gate in the lower right built by King Solomon around 950 B.C., and the casement wall perpendicular to it (see I Kings 9). Beneath the protective roof archaeologists are excavating Canaanite ruins of the 15-14 century B.C.
Were the descendants of Israel really enslaved in Egypt for 400 years? Was there truly a deliverer named Moses who led a nation (The Exodus) of millions out of Egypt and into 40 years of wandering through the Sinai desert? Did Joshua conquer the inhabitants of the Promised Land which is now modern-day Israel?
Of course, you would say (if a Christian or Jew); that’s what the Bible teaches, so I believe it.
Scripture provides us a ton of information on these questions, down to the most minute details. Problem is, the Bible seems to be the only source to support these claims. Vast archaeological chronicles from that period obtained from Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and Babylonia are completely silent. It’s as if Israel never existed as a people-group, let alone conquered the land of Canaan.
Palestinians claim descent from the Jebusites, whose capital city is modern-day Jerusalem. Jews assert that King David conquered the Jebusites and made Jerusalem his capital several hundred years after Joshua had occupied most of the territory; Palestinians posit there is no evidence (outside the Bible) that a Jewish king named David existed*, or that Joshua led a conquest.
Spring of 2011 I made my third pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This trip a little-known archaeological site was on our schedule, Tel Hazor. A few miles north of the Sea of Galilee our bus headed west on a narrow, winding road and parked at the entrance of Tel Hazor. We were the only tour group at the site; my expectations were immediately lowered. Things began to pick up as we entered the 14th century B.C. ruins through a six-chambered gate. Our guide explained that this was one of three gates built by King Solomon for fortified cities that housed his chariots; the other two chariot-cities with six-chambered gates are Megiddo and Gezer. Having already seen the six-chambered gate at Megiddo, I Kings 9:15 came alive: “Here is the account of forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.”
But a much bigger surprise awaited me under the structure within the Canaanite ruins (I took this picture (below) on my trip to Hazor in 2015).
Remnants from the great fire inflicted by Joshua on the Canaanite “Long Temple” in the “upper city”. The layer of dark char, a burn line visible throughout the excavation, dated at 1233 B.C., is the remains of the massive wooden temple structure; the fractured basaltic blocks in the foreground are strong evidence of a conflagration that exceeded 2000 degrees F!
So, what might be so significant about this temple fire? Perhaps some passages found in the Book of Joshua will provide clues.
“So, Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all its kings. He left no survivors.” (Joshua 10:40)
“When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to (all the kings and kingdoms in the surrounding area - my paraphrase). They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots – a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore…to fight against Israel. (Joshua defeated the enemy at the “Waters of Merom”, then marched ten miles to the southeast to the city walls of Hazor) “At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king (Jabin) to the sword. (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms) …and he burned up Hazor itself.” (Joshua 11:1-11)
Hazor may very well provide the evidence needed to support Joshua’s conquest of the Holy Land, and thus, modern Israel’s claim to this territory. But there is a small problem. Bible scholars are divided between two time periods for the Exodus, 1446 B.C. (High Date) and 1290 B.C. (Low Date); the Conquest of the Promised Land would have begun 40 years after the Children of Israel departed Egypt, either 1404 or 1250. Also, the Bible relates two different accounts concerning the defeat of a king named Jabin and the burning of his city, Hazor. The Joshua account is found in Joshua Chapter 11; the Deborah – Barak story is in Judges Chapter 4. Carbon 14 dating places one of the Hazor fires at 1233 B.C.
As is often the case, the Bible speaks and archaeologists scramble to validate the scripture. I always side with the accuracy of scripture, trusting that one day scientists will gather more corroborating evidence. At least two major fires have been documented in the Hazor excavations, the 1233 B.C. fire and another a century or two earlier. Joshua burned all the enemy chariots, so one might assume these Canaanite chariots were made of wood, just prior to the coming Iron Age (this would seem to favor a ‘high date’ for Joshua’s battle. The chariots in Deborah’s story were made of iron, not wood; they got stuck in the mud and were rendered useless, because of the rains sent by God to help Israel prevail. “Jabin” is a name for a line of Hazor rulers, just like “Pharaoh” was a kingly title in Egypt; it is perfectly logical for both Joshua and Deborah to fight against a king named Jabin.
April 2020 I will make my fifth pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I can’t wait to see what new evidence might have been uncovered when I again visit Tel Hazor.
* The Tel Dan Stele, discovered in northern Israel in 1993 and inscribed in the Aramaic language, bears the only known extrabiblical reference to the existence of King David. The stele, commissioned by Hazael, king of Aram in 841 B.C., reads: ”and I killed Ahaziahu son of Jehoram king of the House of David”. This demonstrates that ancient kings recognized the Davidic Dynasty over Jerusalem and by implication validates the historicity of David himself.
