Joseph in Egypt

One of the more interesting developments in modern scriptural studies is how many scriptural scholars have in recent times come to dismiss the Bible as an historical document. And yet, with every passing year the fruits of archaeology seem to undercut the current wisdom as the evidence increasingly supports the historical accuracy of the Bible. For example, many scholars have gone so far as to deny the reality of the Exodus event, and with that the very presence of the Hebrew people in Egypt. And now these poor scholars must explain away the fact that archaeologists have recently discovered ancient coins bearing the image and name of Joseph, son of Jacob. The coins also bear the date of the time when Joseph was thought to live. The story, reported in Cairo's Al Ahram newspaper, was covered by the website of Archaeology Daily News. Here it is in its entirety:

Archaeologists have discovered ancient Egyptian coins bearing the name and image of the biblical Joseph, Cairo's Al Ahram newspaper recently reported. Excerpts provided by MEMRI show that the coins were discovered among a multitude of unsorted artifacts stored at the Museum of Egypt.

According to the report, the significance of the find is that archaeologists have found scientific evidence countering the claim held by some historians that coins were not used for trade in ancient Egypt, and that this was done through barter instead.

The period in which Joseph was regarded to have lived in Egypt matches the minting of the coins in the cache, researchers said.

"A thorough examination revealed that the coins bore the year in which they were minted and their value, or effigies of the pharaohs [who ruled] at the time of their minting. Some of the coins are from the time when Joseph lived in Egypt, and bear his name and portrait," said the report.

The discovery of the cache prompted research team head Dr. Sa'id Muhammad Thabet to seek Koranic verses that speak of coins used in ancient Egypt.

"Studies by Dr. Thabet's team have revealed that what most archaeologists took for a kind of charm, and others took for an ornament or adornment, is actually a coin. Several [facts led them to this conclusion]: first, [the fact that] many such coins have been found at various [archaeological sites], and also [the fact that] they are round or oval in shape, and have two faces: one with an inscription, called the inscribed face, and one with an image, called the engraved face - just like the coins we use today," the report added.

For more information on this archaeological find, click here.

Just one more wonderful discovery, and I'm certain we can look forward to more in the future.