Archaeology and the People of the Bible: Exploring the Evidence for the Historical Existence of Bible Characters

by Titus Kennedy

Real People. Real Discoveries. Real Evidence.

Did the people named on the pages of the Bible really exist? Who were these kings, generals, priests, administrators, prophets, governors, and scribes? Archaeological discoveries continue to provide ancient attestation for those named in the Bible, showing the historical reality of their existence.

Archaeology and the People of the Bible is a comprehensive and up-to-date resource on discoveries that demonstrate the existence of figures who appear in the Bible, including David, Hazael, Isaiah, Sargon, Jehoiachin, Belshazzar, Ahasuerus, Jesus, Caiaphas, Erastus, James, and more. You’ll find
 entries addressing more than 130 people in the Old and New Testaments who are mentioned in archaeological inscriptions and ancient manuscriptsmore than 200 photos and illustrations of archaeological discoveries that confirm the historicity of these individualsa rating for and information about each person, indicating how clearly archaeological evidence supports their historical identification 
With clear writing, straightforward organization, and numerous references to ancient sources and discoveries through the ages, Archaeology and the People of the Bible is a vital guide for anyone who desires to better understand biblical archaeology and history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Christian, Religion, Faith, Archaeology

352 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2026

Reviews

[Tammy]

I was really excited to start this book because I thought it would be more integrated, however, it’s more of a reference book. So for me that made it hard to read because it was just person after person on a couple of pages describing their archaeological discoveries that validate what the Bible says about.

It’s a great book. I’m glad to have it to be able to look back and see different people as I study the Bible and how they fit into the bigger picture. I would encourage anybody to look through it as a resource for sure.

It’s way more like a dictionary or an encyclopedia. You use it for reference, but not necessarily for pleasure reading.

I did learn some things as I read some more of the outside biblical connections. I did appreciate the pictures. It really did bring some of the archaeological fines, more to life.

[Emily]

(I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.)

I was so excited to find this book from Harvest Apologetics!

This title goes throughout the whole bible, Old and New Testaments, and lists the individuals mentioned, offering historical evidence for their lives outside of scripture.

This title has so many cited sources and would be an excellent resource for anyone looking to go deeper into biblical history or apologetics surrounding any specific bible character. For each person’s entry, there is lots of detail and context, along with photos of artifacts corresponding to that individual when possible.

Such a helpful resource! I know I’ll go back to this title again and again.

Highly recommend!

[Tina]

For anyone who has ever wondered if the Bible is anchored in real history, this book is a must read. It goes through the Old and New Testaments, and lists each person and the book of the Bible where they are mentioned. It is a great reference book with many cited sources. Each entry names the person, the time period in history, the geographical area found, the name and pictures of the sources, background and context in which the story of the person is mentioned, and a identification rating based on the strength of the source. There is both a table of contents and an index in which to find the people of the Bible. This book is a great companion to the Bible and so many of its stories.

[Ryan Hillis]

Overall a good but Archeology info than people of the bible.

[William Barrick]

Every book I have read by Titus Kennedy has proven to be of great value to my understanding of the contributions of archaeology to the biblical text. In Archaeology and the People of the Bible 124 individuals named in Scripture (87 in the Old Testament, 37 in the New Testament) find varying degrees of confirmation in archaeological finds. One to six pages discuss the biblical record and the archaeological evidence for each person. Color photographs of some items appear with these discussions to introduce readers to the evidence involved. The individuals are introduced chronologically (beginning with Danel and ending with Bernice II). Kennedy carefully considers the degree of confirmation suggested by the evidence for each individual. "The classification of each person as firm, probable, tentative, or speculative is based one evaluation with the five categories of information and the assessments of various scholars, whether or not the provenance of the discovery can be traced" (p. 14). An appendix of archaeological periods and an alphabetical index of personal names conclude the volume. I highly recommend this volume to every student of the Bible no matter their level of education or biblical knowledge.

[Erin Wallace]

This was a handy reference text. I was able to use it alongside my Bible for a little archaeological insight to my reading.