It depends on what exactly you consider “bias”. You and I, all of us, are biased to some degree; not only in religious matters. The important thing is to be aware of our own bias. Even academic research begins with a previous hypothesis and everything is interpreted according to the prevalent paradigm. But hypothesis have to be tested, and the paradigm is subject to change if enough evidence against it accumulates.

HOW EXCAVATIONS IN JERICHO CHANGED THE PARADIGM

In the case of what is popularly known as “biblical archaeology”, at the beginning archaeologists were basically trying to shed more light on the biblical world. The reliability of the Bible was taken for granted. But things changed considerably in the 1950s, with Kathleen Kenyon’s works in Jericho. Long story short: she analized the layers of the city that corresponded to the 13th century b.c.e., because then is when Israelites are suppossed to have arrived to Canaan. But she found no evidence of the conquest of the city. Not only that, but in the 13th century, the city was in ruins, since it had been destroyed by an earthquake more that 200 years before and wouldn’t be rebuilt until about the year 1100 b.c.e. Since then, Bible historicity has been discredited among a good number of researchers and the most popular tendency is considering that Bible narratives are myths with nothing to do with real events.

Since all started in Jericho, when it was stablished that the city had been destroyed in the Bronze Age, too early to fit the Bible, it would be highly interesting to check how it was destroyed according to those archaeologists. I guarantee that it is worth it.

THE DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO ACCORDING TO ARCHAEOLOGY

Among the ruins of the city in this layer, a large amount of stored grain was found, as we can see in the picture. This suggests two things: that when the city was destroyed by an earthquake, it was in a state of siege, and also that the siege and the earthquake happened in the time of the harvest.

Also, the containers for the grain were practically full. This means that the siege hadn’t lasted very long, just a few days, when the city was destroyed.

Jericho was at the top of a hill surrounded by a wall, and there was another wall around the base of the hill, surrounding the humble area. So, when the walls collapsed, the debris filled the moat, which allowed the besiegers to go up to the city. But that army did something unusual: instead of sacking the city and its abundant grain, they completely destroyed the city and burned it.

Another detail is that there was a small section of the wall that didn’t collapse, in the northern part of the exterior wall, the wall around the humble part of the city.

Then, according to archaeological evidence, the city was in ruins for about 500 years.

But, alas, this has nothing to do with the Bible, since Israelites are suppossed to have arrived to Canaan about two centuries after these events.

THE DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE

However, there are quite a few similarities:

In what part of the year did the Israelites arrive at the area of Jericho, according to the Bible narrative?

Joshua 3:14 So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), 16 the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.

 

Was the city besieged? For how long?

Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; no one went out and no one came in. 2 The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the valiant warriors. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days. 4 …on the seventh day… 5 the wall of the city will fall down flat.

 

How were he Israelites able to enter the city?

Joshua 6:20 So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat.

 

Was the city on a plain, or did the Israelite soldiers have to go up?

Joshua 6:20 …and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.

 

Did the Israelites sack the city and its grain? Did they set it to fire?

Joshua 6:21 They utterly destroyed everything in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. .…24 They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it.

 

Was there a section of the wall that did not fell down in the Bible narrative?

Joshua 6:22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the harlot’s house and bring the woman and all she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” 23 So the young men who were spies went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and all she had; they also brought out all her relatives and placed them outside the camp of Israel.

 

So, the house of this harlot hadn’t been destroyed. Where was this house?

Josuah 2:15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.

 

So, the prostitute lived on the wall, evidently the exterior wall that surrounded the humble part of the city, but the section where she lived didn’t fall down.