There seems to be a lot of debate back and forth about the lack of historical evidence for Jesus. I’m just wondering how much evidence there is outside the bible for some of the other major figures.
Well, for the latter biblical figures, there is plenty of evidence.
Cyrus, Darius, Nebuchadnezzar, the later kings of Judah, etc. have all been confirmed historically.
David has been mentioned in a find (an inscription mentioning “the house of David” was found), but no direct evidence of him personally, or any earlier biblical figure is known to exist (outside of the bible itself, of course).
Zev Steinhardt
We have evidence of some of the Israelite kings, also. For example, from the Moabite Stone:
While Israel wasn’t “utterly perished forever”, King Omri is mentioned.
Chekmate,
I believe there may be some evidence for some of the other biblical “miscreants” 
I heard somewhere that a fair discussion of the historical John the Baptist can be found in Meier’s A Marginal Jew v. 2
Isn’t the Pharaoh of Exodus Ramses? Isn’t he pretty well estabished as historical fact?
It is not like you can go to the county courthouse and look in the records. 
& :eek:
Well, the Exodus itself has never been verified historically, so it doesn’t really matter.
There were Pharaohs in Egypt, no doubt.
If the Exodus story is true, there was a Pharaoh then as well, no doubt.
However, since the Pharaoh of the story is not named (indeed, none of the Pharaohs in the Bible until Pharaoh Necho in II KIngs are mentioned by name [and, I’m not sure if that’s a proper name or a title]), there is no way to be sure.
In short - yes, there was a Pharaoh named Ramses. However, stating that he was the Pharaoh of the Exodus is not proven (the movie The Ten Commandments notwithstanding).
Zev Steinhardt
Apart from the engraving refering to the house of David mantionned above, there’s also assyrian annals mentionning the king of Israel Achab.
There’s no mention of Salomon outside of the Bible, and there’s no evidence that Moses ever existed.
Apart from the engraving refering to the house of David mentionned above, there’s also assyrian annals mentionning the king of Israel Achab.
There’s no mention of Salomon outside of the Bible, and there’s no evidence that Moses ever existed.
Many of the Roman officials mentioned in the New Testament are probably confirmed (like, say, Caesar Augustus), though I don’t know all the names and cites involved.
I do know that just a few years ago a grave was found marked “Joseph, son of [or family of] Caiaphas” . Joseph Caiaphas was the high priest at the time of Jesus’s crucifixion. While it’s possible this grave is that of his son or father, it’s still pretty strong independent evidence for his existence.
The concept of “original sin” proves that Adam & Eve existed. Or does the concept of “original sin” depend on whether Adam & Eve existed.
[sup]nevermind[/sup]
Well, Cecil covers the question about the Pharaoh of the Exodus here. And I might note that we should keep in mind that some biblical figures, divinely aided or not, might be composites of several people, and/or could have events attributed to them that have been exaggerated or misrecorded through the ages.
I wonder…if civilization fell today, would, few hundred years from now, inhabitants of what was once the United States would tell stories of the legendary Ben Jefferson, who, after failing to reach a peace agreement with English Emperor George I, led the Americans in revolt against their cruel oppressors, even swimming across the Delaware river alone to single-handedly vanquish the Bavarian mercenaries who had kidnapped his lover, Martha Hemmings.
Ranchoth
I vote that Ranchoth’s post be deleted, on the grounds that too many American high school students will believe it and create a groundswell for a Summer, 2004 historical docudrama blockbuster.