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U.S. Archeologist Traces Bibilical Incident to Negev Source

August 9, 1954
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Dr. Nelson Glueck, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, of Cincinnati, and noted archeologist, has traced to its source in the Negev Desert the trail of destruction left by Chedorlaomer, a king who battled against the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah–as told in Genesis–until defeated by a force of 318 men led by Abraham, about 2,000 years before the Christian era.

Dr. Glueck has been continuing this summer his archeological studies in the Negev area, which he began several years ago. He has found ruined Bronze Age sites which he believes to have been destroyed during Chedorlaomer’s expeditions to the area.

“The evidence I find in the Negev now, ” said Dr. Glueck, “Is pretty good substantiation of the story told in Chapter XIV of Genesis. It proves the remarkable memory of the historians who passed on the biblical stories verbally for at least 1,000 years, until the written version of the Bible was set down. “

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