The Sons of Jacob

Over the last 40 years a variety of discoveries have been unearthed confirming the Biblical story of Jacobs' sons.

During the period of the Judges, the tribe of Dan, Jacob's fifth son whose people were referred to as the Danites, migrated from their original inherited settlement on the Mediterranean coast to the city of Laish, later renamed "Dan". This site has been under excavation since 1966 on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The city of Dan is best known for being the site of one of the high places established by Jeroboam, who was the first king of the northern kingdom just after the time of it's division. This site was intended for the worship of the golden calf and was discovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 1976.

In 1981 a dedicatory inscription mentioning Dan was found approximately 17 meters south of this high place. For the first time, the Biblical name of the site was found in an ancient inscription as well as the name of one of Jacobs' son.

Jacob's seventh son, Gad, occupied the central area of Transjordan and his tribe was found to be mentioned in the famous "Mesha Inscription" found at Dhibon in Jordan. The inscription from this Moabite king Mesha stated, "And the men of Gad had dwelt in the land of Ataroth from the old."

Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, was by far the best known as he is remembered for talking his brothers out of killing Joseph in favor of selling him to the Ishmaelite traders. His tribe became the greatest of the Israelite tribes and it was granted the largest allotment of the promised-land. It was from Judah the Messiah descended.

When the kingdom divided, the southern kingdom was known as "Judah" and kept it's name (Judah-Judea) all the way up until 135 AD. As a result of such a long tenure, the name has turned up in a variety of inscriptions the oldest is of two references to "Ahaz", king of Judah from the time of about 780 BC. One of the inscriptions is on a clay sealing that reads, "Ahaz (son of) Jotham King of JUDAH." The second inscription is in a building of the Assyrian king, Tiglath-pileser III, from Calah (Nimrud) Iraq. It says king "Jehoahaz (Ahaz) of JUDAH" paid tribute to the Assyrian king.

There are numerous other references to Judah occurring all throughout the Assyrian period. The Babylonians recorded the fall of the "city of JUDAH" to Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC and the issuing of rations to Judean captives, including Jehoiachin. In addition, discoveries of a letter written in 407 BC from Elephantine to Bagoas, governor of JUDAH, as well as Yehud (Judah) coins dating around 380 BC and Yehud seals covering the first four centuries BC.

References:
House of David Restored in Moabite Inscription, Biblical Archaeology Review, 1994, 20/3 Strata, Biblical Archaeology review, 1997, 23/2 City of the Golden Calf, Bible and Spade, 1976 5:22-27 To the God who is in Dan, Temples and High Places in Biblical Times, pp. 142-151 Babylonian and Assyrian Historical Texts, 1969, pp. 265-317, 556-567 Material Culture of the Land of the Bible in the Persian Period of 538-332 BC, 1982, Warminster: Aris & Phillips Recent Discoveries and Research on the Conquest, Archaeology and Biblical Research 4, pp. 104-110, 1991 Mesha, King of Moab, Bible and Spade 9, pp.55-64, 1996 The Historicity of the Joseph Story, Bible and Spade 9, pp.17-28 Genesis Judges I Kings Joshua

Creation application: It's frustrating to learn of such discoveries only then to find out the various evolutionary-backed mediums chose not to promote such Biblical confirmations as it was in violation of their ideologies.