The field of archaeology has been vital in establishing the accuracy of Scripture. The Biblical names of places and people have been documented on clay tablets and stone monuments. Pottery fragments, jewelry, and statues, as well as ruins of cities and homes, have verified the culture of Biblical peoples. And most recently, discoveries of flour residues on “Stone Age” tools, probably used for grinding, are overturning the evolutionary pre-conception that early man was mainly a carnivore in a hunter-gatherer society, 1 and supporting the Bible’s report of farming having existed from the beginning (Genesis 4:2). As time goes on and archaeologists unearth more artifacts, the Bible is proven correct over and over again. But has anything been found to substantiate the Biblical creation account?
In 1974, archaeologists discovered a library of clay tablets in Syria that date to the final years of the Ebla Kingdom, around 2300-2250 BCE. The 17,000 tablets and fragments found thus far are written in Paleo-Canaanite, which is amazingly akin to Hebrew. Many of them contain stunning similarities to names, places, and historical events found in Genesis.2
One of the Ebla tablets contains a creation story that has some similarities to Genesis. Previous to this find, scholars thought the creation account was strictly oral until it was added to Genesis during the time of Ezra. Yet this and other evidence suggest that the information in the early chapters of Genesis was likely compiled by Moses from clay tablets brought from the Fertile Crescent by Abraham.3
Archaeological discoveries are giving us many good reasons to accept the veracity of Biblical history. But can we be sure that the creation account should be read as a historical narrative? A statistical analysis of genre in the Bible, performed by Dr. Steven W. Boyd, suggests it should be. By comparing the grammatical structure of the Hebrew in passages of poetry and prose, Dr. Boyd found that the type of verbs used for poetry and prose differed. When he applied his findings to Genesis 1:1-2:3, he found the verb structure consistent with that of a narrative; thus, the passage was meant to be read as a “concise report of actual events.”4
Archaeology continues to confirm the historical accuracy of Scripture, but we also have this assurance for believing the creation account: “For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.” (Psalms 33:4 KJV)
Complete article (see online article for sources)
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
God directed exactly what went into the Bible, man was just a tool. The historical events are true events, the prophesies are truth and the teachings are truth. If these were not true, than the entire Bible is a lie.