Page 17 - Doctrine and History of the Preservation of the Bible revised

remarkable accomplishment. The tunnel is probably the only biblical site that has not changed its
appearance in 2,700 years.

The Story of Hezekiah’s Tunnel in Jerusalem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QAW5k_bCB0

Hezekiah’s Tunnel in Jerusalemhttps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI3t80ZSg6M

Second Chronicles 36:23 and Ezra 1 report that Cyrus the Great of Persia, after conquering Babylon,
permitted Jews in the Babylonian Captivity to return to their homeland. Isaiah had even prophesied this
(Isa. 44:28). This tolerant policy of the founder of the Persian Empire is borne out by the discovery of a
nine-inch clay cylinder found at Babylon from the time of its conquest, 539 BC, which reports Cyrus’s
victory and his subsequent policy of permitting Babylonian captives to return to their homes and even
rebuild their temples.

James the brother of Jesus was martyred in AD 62. A mid first century
AD chalk ossuary discovered in 2002 bears this inscription: “James, son
of Joseph, brother of Jesus” (“Ya’akov bar Yosef akhui di Yeshua”)
The ossuary has provoked controversy as the inscription was originally
suspected of being a forgery. However, two eminent paleogrophers
confirmed it authentic in 2012. New Testament scholar Ben
Witherington states: “If, as seems probable, the ossuary found in the
vicinity of Jerusalem and dated to about AD 63 is indeed the burial box
of James, the brother of Jesus, this inscription is the most important
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extra-biblical evidence of its kind.”

In 1961, an inscription was found which confirms not only the rule of Pilate
in Judea but also his preference for the title ‘Prefect’. In Latin, the
inscription (dated to c AD 26-37) reads:

TIBERIEUM IUS PILATUS ECTUS IUDA. The original wording was:
TIBERIUM [PONTIUS] PILATUS [PRAEF] ECTUS IDU [AEA]
Translated, this reads: “To Tiberius – Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.”

In 1968 when building contractors unexpectedly uncovered an ancient burial site containing about 35
bodies. One tomb contained the bones of two generations of a family who lived in the century before
the time of Jesus. One member of that family was Yehohanan, who was between 24 and 28 years old
when he died. He had been crucified. His bones were discovered in an 18-inch-long limestone ossuary
(or bone-box), and a seven-inch nail had been driven through the heel bone of his left foot. Fragments of

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