The Archaeologist Who Risked Everything to Uncover Biblical Truths

Syria, 1978, the archaeological site of Mardikh. Giovanni Pettito, an expert in ancient languages, was hunched over a makeshift table under a canopy, his face reddened by the sun, trying to decipher a line of cuneiform on a broken clay piece. Suddenly, a group of Syrian police officers entered the excavation site. "Are you Giovanni Pettito? Come with us," they ordered. Confused, he followed. They demanded he pack his things and took him to Damascus Airport. Giovanni was expelled from the country.

What was the crime of such an archaeologist and scholar?

At a press conference sometime earlier, Giovanni announced intriguing and unique findings discovered at the excavation site he was overseeing. A city named "Ebla" was located there about 3,900 years ago. The city's king was named "Eber," a name reminiscent of Eber, Noah's great-great-grandson, who lived around the same time. Archives from the city mentioned names we recognize from the Torah, like Noah, Jubal, Bilhah, Abraham, Jacob, and others, as well as Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bera, king of Admah.

Some claimed that the Academy of Shem and Eber, where Jacob studied on his way to Haran, was in this city, which is geographically located precisely on the route between Israel and Haran.

This was a significant issue for the Syrian authorities. Although Muslims ostensibly believe in the Bible, anything reinforcing the "Zionist entity's" historical connection is problematic and severe. The typical solution was to expel the expert and bring in an "authorized" expert who would be warned not to find any ties to the Bible...

The Syrian newspaper "Tishreen" published an interview with Dr. Afif Bahansi, who claimed that the biblical connection was a Zionist fabrication imposed on Pettino. "Ebla will continue to provide contrary evidence." Biblical Archaeology wrote in March 1979, "It is clear to us that through anti-Zionist political pressures, Syria is attempting to influence the scientific interpretation of the Ebla tablets," while Syrian scholar Dr. Sabah Kabbani told an interview in the same issue: "This matter is important to us because of the declarations of Mr. Begin and the Likud party. Mr. Begin tries to use the holy Bible as a real estate title. He claims the West Bank and might also claim Syria." The authors of the book "Ebla: An Archaeological Enigma" stated that "since Dr. Bahansi's intervention, references to Hebrew or biblical connections in the printed research of the archaeological mission have significantly decreased."

Opponents of the faith and its deniers, whether they are non-believers altogether or fanatical Muslims, will continue to deny reality. And if you come across any denial of the Torah stories, don't be surprised. Here's an example of how it works in practice...