An archaeological discovery made in the Middle East may validate the accuracy of a prediction made by Old Testament prophet Zephaniah, the Sunday Express reports citing Tom Meyer of Shasta Bible College in the United States.
The prophecy in question predicted the destruction of the Philistine city of Ekron in the 7th century BC at the hands of Babylonian invaders who then proceeded to besiege and then destroy Jerusalem, as is described in the Bible.
In 1996, Meyer said an Israeli archaeologist named Trude Dothan "was excavating what she thought to be the famous Philistine city of Ekron but still couldn't prove it".
"Then, after 14 seasons of excavation, the archaeologists stumbled upon something unexpected, for the first time ever in archaeological history, they discovered a monumental inscription that names a biblical city and its kings in situ (in its original position) and in a destruction layer that can be dated", he said. "Dating to around 690 BC, the Ekron Inscription itself is complete and contains five lines of 71 letters written with a Phoenician influence".
As Meyer pointed out, however, the "destruction layer" where the archaeologists discovered the inscription dates to about 603 BC "which is when the city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as Zephaniah predicted some 40 years beforehand".
"Though it took around 2,600 years to correctly identify the Philistine city of Ekron and prove that the city was indeed destroyed by the Babylonians around 603 BC as Zephaniah the prophet predicted, this one-of-a-kind discovery once again validates the Bible's historical accuracy", he remarked.
And while the newspaper pointed out that "whether the inscription proves the Old Testament prophet right or simply proves the city was destroyed might be a matter of personal belief", Meyer further insisted: "In every case where the historicity of the Biblical account can be tested, the Bible has demonstrated again and again to be historically accurate".
