How Archaeology Helps You Understand the BibleSample

Ebenezer, a Hebrew Word That Means “Stone of Help”

Many of us first encountered the Bible in Sunday school, where we learned stories such as Adam and Eve, Moses at the Red Sea, David and the Giant, and Jonah and the Whale. We were taught what the Bible says—but not always how to read it for ourselves.As a teenager faithfully doing my daily “quiet time,” I started to notice that some things I’d learned didn’t quite match what Scripture actually said. That realization led me deeper—beyond flannel board stories—to ask better questions about the Bible’s context, language, and history.

In Scripture, the prophet Samuel sets up a stone and calls it Ebenezer, meaning “stone of help” (1 Samuel 7:12). The stone stood as a witness to God’s faithfulness, celebrating the Israelites’ triumph over the Philistines and reminding them that their help came from the Lord alone. In a similar way, studying biblical archaeology has become an ebenezer for me—something that helps me see God’s Word more clearly by grounding it in real places, real people, and real history.

Responsible archaeology isn’t about collecting ancient treasures—it’s about understanding the lives, beliefs, and cultures of those who came before us. Biblical archaeology, which focuses on the lands and history found in the writings of ancient Israel, doesn’t exist to “prove” the Bible (which doesn’t need proving), but to help us understand it more faithfully.

My biblical archaeology studies at Harvard and subsequent digs in Israel taught me how physical artifacts connect modern readers with ancient writers by revealing details of human life in the ancient Near East that might otherwise be forgotten. Holy Scripture is God-breathed, and its truth stands apart from any artifact. In fairness and humility, we can say that languages and histories are often unknown to the modern reader and worshiper. But archaeology can serve as a “stone of help” by bridging the gap between the ancient world and today’s reader—helping us see the text through ancient eyes instead of modern assumptions.

As you pause to reflect on your own time in Scripture, consider this: what stories have you filled in with your own experiences and assumptions? Are you willing to examine both what you were taught to believe and what you are now learning, to see whether those ideas align with what the Bible actually says?

Prayer: Lord, help me read Your Word with fresh eyes and a heart shaped by Your unchanging truth.