Key Finding

Archaeological evidence shows no signs of the widespread destruction and foreign conquest described in Joshua. Instead, early Israelite settlements appear to have emerged from within Canaanite society.

Archaeological Evidence

Jericho (Tell es-Sultan)

Archaeological
No significant Late Bronze Age (c. 1550-1200 BCE) settlement or fortifications.
Earlier Middle Bronze Age city destroyed c. 1550 BCE, possibly by Egyptians.
Site largely unoccupied during the supposed time of conquest.
Source: Kathleen Kenyon, Digging Up Jericho: The Results of the Jericho Excavations (1957).

Ai (Khirbet et-Tell)

Archaeological
Major Early Bronze Age city, destroyed c. 2400 BCE.
Site was desolate for over 1000 years.
Small, unfortified Iron Age I village (c. 1200-1050 BCE) built on ruins, but no evidence of conquest.
Sources: Judith Marquet-Krause (1933-1935) (Syria 1935), Joseph Callaway (1964-1972) (BASOR 1976).

Hazor

Mixed Evidence
Major Canaanite city, destroyed in the 13th century BCE (c. 1250-1200 BCE).
This destruction is later than the traditional biblical timeline for Joshua.
The identity of the destroyers is debated among scholars.
Source: Yigael Yadin excavations, 1955-1969. (Hazor I, 1955 Season)

Settlement Patterns

Survey Data
~300 new highland villages established 1200-1100 BCE
Material culture shows Canaanite continuity, not foreign introduction
Gradual, peaceful agricultural development
Source: Israel Finkelstein surveys, 1980s-1990s. (The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement)

Egyptian Control

Historical
Egypt controlled Canaan during both proposed conquest periods
Amarna Letters document Egyptian oversight (14th century BCE)
No Egyptian records mention Israelite invasion
Source: Amarna Letters

Merneptah Stele

Inscriptional
Dated 1208 BCE - mentions "Israel" already in Canaan
Describes Israel as people group, not political state
Places Israel among other Canaanite entities
Source: Cairo Museum stele JE 31408

Scholarly Consensus

"…the external material evidence supports almost nothing of the biblical account of a large-scale, concerted Israelite military invasion of Canaan, either that of Numbers east of the Jordan, or of Joshua west of the Jordan."
William G. Dever Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona Who Were the Early Israelites and Where Did They Come From? (2006)
"Following seventy years of intensive excavations in the Land of Israel, archeologists have found out: The patriarchs' acts are legendary, the Israelites did not sojourn in Egypt or make an exodus, they did not conquer the land. Neither is there any mention of the empire of David and Solomon, nor of the source of belief in the God of Israel. These facts have been known for years, but Israelis are a stubborn people, and no one wants to hear it."
Ze'ev Herzog Professor of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University The New Yorker (2020, quoting Herzog)
"In the [Biblical] text, you have the story of the Israelites coming from outside, and then besieging the Canaanite cities, destroying them and then becoming a nation in the land of Canaan, whereas archaeology tells us something which is the opposite. According to archaeology, the rise of early Israel is an outcome of the collapse of Canaanite society, not the reason for that collapse."
Israel Finkelstein Professor of Archaeology, Tel Aviv University The Archaeology of the Israelite Settlement (1988)
"There is no reason to accept that Joshua's conquest ever happened in anything like the form described in the Bible."
Baruch Halpern Professor of Jewish Studies, University of Georgia The First Historians (1988)