Have Any Likenesses Been Found Of Persons Named
In The Bible?
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Many of the people mentioned in the
Bible are confirmed in sources outside the Bible. In the case of royalty,
many times a likeness of the individual has been recovered. Over 50
persons named in the Old Testament are known outside the Bible, and we
have likenesses of 12 of them. Some 27 people named in the New Testament
are known from other records, with six likenesses surviving (four of them
Roman emperors).
Based on current knowledge of Biblical and Egyptian chronology, the
best candidate for the pharaoh of
the Exodus is Tuthmosis III, who ruled 1504-1450 B.C. We have many records
from his reign, as well as this statuary (see photo) of the pharaoh
himself.
Likenesses have also been found of these Biblical
figures:
- Shishak, the Egyptian king who plundered the Temple during the reign
of Rehoboam (1
Kings 14:25-26).
- Jehu, king of Israel, who took power in a bloody coup; the only
surviving likeness of a king of Israel or Judah (2 Kings
9:1-10:36).
- Hazael, king of Aram, enemy of Israel (1 Kings 19:15, 17; 2
Kings 8:7-15, 28-29; 9:14-15; 10:32-33; 12:17-18; 13:3, 22, 24,25; Amos 1:4).
- Tiglath-Pileser III, king of Assyria, who invaded Israel (2 Kings 18:19, 29; 16:7, 10; 1
Chronicles 5:6, 26; 2 Chronicles
28:20).
- Sargon II, king of Assyria, who defeated Ashdod and
completed the siege of Samaria and took Israelites into captivity (Isaiah 20:1).
- Sennacherib, king of Assyria, who attacked Judah but was unable to
capture Jerusalem (2 Kings
18:13-19:37).
- Tirhakah, king of Egypt, who opposed Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:9).
- Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who succeeded his father Sennacherib
(2 Kings
19:37).
- Merodach-baladan,
king of Babylon, whose messengers Hezekiah showed the royal treasury,
much to the indignation of Isaiah (2 Kings
20:12-19).
- Xerxes I, king of Persia, who made Esther his queen (Esther; Ezra 4:6).
- Darius I, king of Persia, who allowed the returning exiles to
rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra
4:24-6:15; Haggai 1:1, 15). Also
see: Have archaeologists found the tomb of Darius? [answer]
- Augustus,
Roman emperor, 27 B.C.-A.D. 14, when Jesus was born (Luke 2:1).
- Tiberius, Roman emperor, A.D. 14-37, during Jesus' adulthood and
crucifixion (Matthew 22:17, 21; Mark
12:14-17; Luke 3:1; 20:22-25; 23:2; John
19:12,15).
- Claudius, Roman emperor, A.D. 41-54, who ordered the Jews to leave
Rome (Acts 11:28; 17:7; 18:2).
- Herod Agrippa
I, ruler of Judea, A.D. 37-44, who persecuted the early church (Acts
12:1-23;
23:35).
- Aretas IV,
king of the Nabateans, 9 B.C.-A.D. 40, whose governor in Damascus
attempted to arrest Paul (2 Corinthians
11:32).
- Nero (referred to as Caesar in the New Testament), Roman emperor,
A.D. 54-68, who Paul appealed
to (Acts 25:11,12,21;
26:32; 28:19; Philippians
4:22).
[ If
this information has been helpful, please prayerfully consider a donation to help
pay the expenses for making this faith-building service available to you
and your family! Donations are tax-deductible. ] Author: Bryant
Wood of Associates for Biblical
Research
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