» Time Magazine: A Boost for the Book of Jeremiah

By confirming the historical accuracy of a tiny detail, a two-inch clay tablet long in the possession of the British Museum has given ammunition to those who believe that the Bible -- specifically, in this case, the book of the prophet Jeremiah -- is history. That, at least, is what the believers are claiming.

The tablet itself is certainly genuine. On July 10 the Museum announced that a Viennese expert working his way through thousands of similar clay documents in its possession translated one dating from 595 B.C that described a gift of 1.7 lbs. of gold to a Babylonian temple by a "chief eunuch" named Nabu-sharrussu-ukin.

A museum official called it "a world-class find." What makes the ancient but seemingly mundane receipt significant is that the book of Jeremiah in the Hebrew Bible (or Old Testament) mentions the exact same official -- though under a different transliteration, Nebo-Sarsekim, and a different title, chief officer, as accompanying the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar when he marched against Jerusalem in 587.

According to some experts, that proves that whoever wrote Jeremiah wasn't making it up.

I've always had an unexplainable interest in Biblical archaeology and this story seems to confirm why. While there seem to be a number of people who believe that scientific discovery threatens the relevance of the Bible, it seems to be quite the opposite when you start digging around ... so to speak.