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== Asal-usul dan sejarah ==
Pada tahun 1868, Charles Warren mengidentifikasi Tell es-Sultan sebagai situs Jericho.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZNAVBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA122|title=Archaeology in the 'Land of Tells and Ruins': A History of Excavations in the Holy Land Inspired by the Photographs and Accounts of Leo Boer|last=Wagemakers|first=Bart|date=2014|publisher=Oxbow Books|isbn=9781782972464|page=122ff|language=en}}</ref> Ekskavasi di situs kuno [[Yerikho]] oleh John Garstang selama enam tahun pada tahun 1930-an, melaporkan bahwa "kota itu dihancurkan oleh api".<ref name=garstang>Kutipan dalam bahasa Inggris dari Garstang: “In a word, in all material details and in date the fall of Jericho took place as described in the Biblical narrative. Our demonstration is limited, however, to material observations: the walls fell, shaken apparently by earthquake, and the city was destroyed by fire, about 1400 B.C.” (“Jericho and the Biblical Story,” Wonders of the Past, Wise, New York, 1937, p. 1222).</ref> Kathleen Kenyon yang melakukan penggalian pada tahun 1950-an menemukan suatu lapisan abu dan bekas-bekas kebakaran setebal satu meter pada strata kota ini pada masa kehancurannya.<ref name=kenyon>Kutipan dalam bahasa Inggris: “The destruction was complete,” Kenyon reported. “Walls and floors were blackened or reddened by fire . . . In most rooms the fallen debris was heavily burnt . . .” (“Excavations at Jericho,” ''Palestinian Exploration Quarterly'', 1955, p. 370).</ref> Sepotong batu bara dari bekas kebakaran kota telah diteliti dengan metode karbon-14 dan menghasilkan tarikh sekitar 1410 SM.<ref name=ucg>[https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/the-bible-and-archaeology-archaeology-and-the-book-of-joshua-the-conquest The Bible and Archaeology: Archaeology and the Book of Joshua—The Conquest]. Mario Seiglie. United Church of God Beyond Today. UCG.org / Good News. 29 Jul 1997.</ref> Bryant Wood melaporkan adanya timbunan bahan makanan dalam jumlah yang tak lazim yang ditemukan dalam reruntuhan Yerikho - sesuatu hal yang aneh, karena biasanya para penyerang suatu kota akan menjarah bahan makanan, tetapi di Yerikho malah dibiarkan terbakar dalam jumlah sangat besar, yang mengindikasikan kesesuaian dengan perintah kepada orang Israel untuk tidak mengambil, bahkan membakar, semua bahan makanan di kota itu.<ref name="wood_56">Kutipan dalam bahasa Inggris: “The most abundant item found in the destruction apart from pottery,” says Wood, “was grain . . . In her limited excavation area, Kenyon recovered six bushels of grain in one season! This is unique in the annals of Palestinian archaeology. The presence of these grain stores in the city is entirely consistent with the Biblical account. The city did not fall as a result of a starvation siege, as was so common in ancient times. Instead, the Bible tells us, Jericho was destroyed after but seven days (Joshua 6:15, 20). Successful attackers normally plundered valuable grain once they captured a city. This of course would be inconsistent with the grain found here. But in the case of Jericho the Israelites were told that ‘the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction,’ and were commanded, ‘Keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction’ (Joshua 9:17-18). So the Israelites were forbidden to take any plunder from Jericho. This could explain why so much grain was left to burn when [the city] met its end” (Biblical Archaeology Review, March-April 1990, p. 56).</ref> Selain bahan makanan, juga ditemukan banyak sekali pecahan tembikar yang terbakar, yang rupanya merupakan wadah bahan makanan tersebut, dan coraknya hanya muncul dalam periode 1450-1400 SM, sehingga Wood menyimpulkan bahwa kehancuran kota Yerikho pada akhir Zaman Perunggu I (sekitar tahun 1400-an SM) sesuai dengan catatan ayat ini.<ref name="wood_57">Kutipan bahasa Inggris: “Despite my disagreements with Kenyon’s major conclusion, I nevertheless applaud her for her careful and painstaking field work . . . Her thoroughgoing excavation methods and detailed reporting of her findings, however, did not carry over into her analytical work. When the evidence is critically examined there is no basis for her contention that City IV [the level corresponding to a violent destruction and burning of the city] was destroyed by the Hyksos or Egyptians in the mid-16th century B.C.E. The pottery, stratigraphic considerations, scarab data and a Carbon-14 date all point to a destruction of the city around the end of Late Bronze I, about 1400 B.C.E. Garstang’s original date for this event appears to be the correct one!” (Biblical Archaeology Review, March-April 1990, p. 57).</ref> Majalah ''Time'' menyatakan bahwa bukti-bukti ini tampaknya benar-benar meyakinkan.<ref>Time magazine menerbitkan sebuah artikel mengenai kesimpulan-kesimpulan mengenai kesimpulan-kesimpulan terbaru tentang kota Yerikho, bukti-bukti itu sedemikian tampak menyakinkan sehingga para penulisnya berkomentar “Score one for the Bible” (Michael D. Lemonick, Time, March 5, 1990, p. 43).</ref> Wilson dalam ''New York Times'' mendaftarkan bahwa studi sisa-sisa tembikar, skarab raja Mesir, penanggalan karbon-14, aktivitas gempa bumi di daerah itu dan bekas-bekas tembok yang runtuh menghasilkan bukti yang impresif bahwa kota berkubu tersebut dihancurkan pada Zaman Perunggu Akhir, sekitar tahun 1400 SM.<ref name=wilsonnytimes>[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/22/world/believers-score-in-battle-over-the-battle-of-jericho.html John Noble Wilson, ''Believers Score in Battle Over the Battle of Jericho'']. New York Times 22 Feb 1990.</ref> Tiga [[:en:Scarab (artifact)|''scarab'']] (suatu jimat/''amulet'' Mesir yang berbentuk kumbang ''[[Scarabaeus sacer]]'' dan bertulisan, sering kali ditulisi nama seorang Firaun) memuat nama firaun [[Thutmosis III]] (1504-1450 SM), [[Amenhotep III]] (1384-1349 SM) dan [[Hatshepsut]] (1503-1483 SM), serta satu meterai segel bertulisan Tutmose III, ditemukan dari sebuah makam di bagian barat laut Yerikho. Pekuburan di luar Yerikho telah menghasilkan serangkaian skarab Mesir dari abad ke-18 SM sampai abad ke-14 SM, menunjukkan bahwa kota itu terus dihuni sampai abad ke-14 SM dan setelah itu tidak lagi.<ref>[http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/05/01/Did-the-Israelites-Conquer-Jericho-A-New-Look-at-the-Archaeological-Evidence.aspx Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho? A New Look at the Archaeological Evidence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722084959/http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/05/01/Did-the-Israelites-Conquer-Jericho-A-New-Look-at-the-Archaeological-Evidence.aspx |date=2018-07-22 }} - by Bryant G. Wood PhD - May 01, 2008.</ref>
== Lihat pula ==
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