urnishing a broad
historical background, has established the possibility of the principal
events recorded in the biblical narratives being correct. It is silent
concerning the events themselves, and, therefore, neither confirms nor
discredits them.

A few cases there are, especially in connection with questions of
chronology, where archaeology has modified and corrected biblical
statements. According to the inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser, for
example, Menahem of Israel paid tribute to the Assyrian king in B.C.
738, and there is reason for believing that this tribute was paid near
the beginning of Menahem's reign for the purpose of securing the good
will of Assyria. In 734 or 733 Pekah is said to have been slain and to
have been succeeded by Hoshea. Now, according to the Old Testament,
Menahem reigned ten years; his son, Pekahiah, two years, and Pekah
twenty years, a total of thirty-two years. Even if we assume that the
tribute was paid by Menahem during his last year--which is not at all
likely--there would remain twenty-two years to be provided for between
738 and 734 or 733. Evidently, the Old Testament figures are too high.
A similar case is found in connection with events that took place only
a few years later. In 2 Kings {156} 18. 10 the statement is found that
Samaria was taken in the sixth year of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Then,
verse 13 states that in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib,
king of Assyria, came against Jerusalem. The date of the capture of
Samaria is definitely fixed by the Assyrian inscriptions. The city
fell either in the closing days of B.C. 722 or the opening days of B.C.
721. Assuming that it was 722, the fourteenth year of Hezekiah would
be 714. But Sennacherib did not become king until 705, and the attack
upon Jerusalem was not made until 701. Here, again, the biblical
account seems to be inaccurate.

In many other cases, however, remarkable confirmations are seen. There
are many persons and events mentioned in the Old Testament which are
referred to also in the inscriptions. Think of the long list of
Babylonian and Assyrian kings named in the Old Testament; Amraphel,
king of Shinar, at one time considered a mythical figure, is shown to
have been one of the greatest generals, wisest administrators, and
fairest lawgivers among the early kings of Babylon. Sargon, whose very
existence was once doubted, has in defiance risen from the dust. In
these and numerous other