Joel Kontinen
A recent paper in the American Journal of Human Genetics prompted the popular press – and to some extent the science publications as well – to try to discredit the Bible.
Science came up with this headline:
“Ancient DNA counters biblical account of the mysterious Canaanites.”
But then someone obviously read a few Old Testament verses and the text was amended:
“This story and its headline have been updated to reflect that in the Bible, God ordered the destruction of the Canaanites, but that some cities and people may have survived.”
The study compared the genomes of 5 ancient Sidonians to 99 present-day Lebanese people and concluded that they were closely related.
This is how The Telegraph interpreted the results:
“The ancient Canaanites were not wiped out, as the Bible suggests, but went on to become modern-day Lebanese, a study has found.”
However, perhaps they should have checked their facts. The Bible does not say that the Canaanite were wiped out or even expelled from Israel:
“Nor did Asher drive out those living in Akko or Sidon or Ahlab or Akzib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob. The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out.” (Judges 1:31 – 32, NIV).
The popular media are fighting a battle that they have already lost.
Archaeology confirms that the Bible is true.
It tells us of of real people, real buildings and places as well as things like earthquakes that happened exactly when the Bible says they happened.
Sources:
Graham, Chris. 2017. Study disproves the Bible's suggestion that the ancient Canaanites were wiped out The Telegraph (28 July).
Wade, Lizzie, 2017. Ancient DNA reveals fate of the mysterious Canaanites. Science (27 July).
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