Confirmation of Shiloh Biblical Narrative

Found in this article about a "five line ostracon from Izbet Sartah was recovered from an Early Iron Age grain silo at the
site." (and see here):-

The  first  line  of  the  text  tells  of  the  advance  of  a  group  of  people  from Shiloh  to  a  field at Aphek. Since  they came  from what is known biblically  to have been an Israelite site,  it is  reasonable  to identify  this group as  Israelites. This identification is confirmed by the  fact  that  the  text was  found at a  site which  is  Israelite  in  terms of  location and archaeology, as well as by  the contents of  the fourth line of  the  text.

The second line identifies a second party as Kittim, or Sea Peoples, which  historically included  Philistines.  Because  of  the close  correspondence  of  these  two  groups  and  their  actions  to  the events  described  in  1  Sam  4,  this  text  thus  far  already  provides presumptive  evidence  that  it  refers  to  the  same  events  as  those described  in  that  biblical  passage.  According  to  the  rest  of  the second  line,  these  Kittim  took  away  some  unnamed  object,  presumably  the  Ark  of  the Covenant  according  to  biblical  parallels, and took it  to a series of sites. Three of  those sites are named in  this line,  and  two  of  them  are  also  recognizable  in  the  narrative  of 1  Sam 5.

The  short  third  line  provides  the  name  of  another place,  this being  the site  to which  the Ark was returned when  it came back  to Israelite  territory  according  to  1  Sam  6.  The  fourth  line appears  to refer  back  to  events  contemporary with  those  narrated  in  the  first line.

Taken together, these contents of this text correlate quite directly with those described in 1 Sam 4-5-6.


Photo source.

Additional view here. And here.  And a rejoinder. But more.

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