{"id":9048,"date":"2024-01-12T10:33:07","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T15:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=9048"},"modified":"2024-01-12T10:33:07","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T15:33:07","slug":"israeli-researchers-use-earths-magnetic-field-to-verify-biblical-event-in-the-book-of-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/01\/israeli-researchers-use-earths-magnetic-field-to-verify-biblical-event-in-the-book-of-kings.html","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Researchers Use Earth’s Magnetic Field to Verify Biblical Event in the Book of Kings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"israeli
@stateofisrael\/Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers at four Israeli universities have corroborated the occurrence of an event described in the Bible\u2019s second book of Kings, the conquest of the Philistine city of Gath by Hazael, King Aram, using a \u201cbreakthrough\u201d technology based on measuring the magnetic field recorded in burnt bricks.<\/p>\n

The discovery, achieved by scientists from Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, and Ariel University in Samaria, will make it possible for archaeologists to identify burnt materials discovered in excavations and estimate their firing temperatures. They wrote in the journal PLOS ONE, <\/em>\u201cOur findings are important for determining the intensity of the fire and the scope of destruction in Gath, the largest and most powerful city in the land at the time, and also for understanding construction practices in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applying their method to findings from ancient Gath (Tell es-Safi, located between the cities of Ashkelon and Beit Shemesh in central Israel), the researchers validated the biblical account: \u201cAbout this time. Hazael King of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem\u201d (2 Kings 12, 18). They explain that, unlike previous methods, the new technique can determine whether an item such as a mud-brick underwent firing even at relatively low temperatures, from 200\u00b0C and up. This information can be crucial for correctly interpreting the findings.<\/p>\n

Clays are rich in magnetic-iron minerals, depending on the local geology. Yet, it is common to all iron-bearing clay minerals that, when they are heated to temperatures starting from about 150\u00b0C and up to 700\u00b0C, they are transformed into stable ferrimagnetic minerals such as magnetite, maghemite, and hematite.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Israel (@stateofisrael)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n