Over 40 years ago I published “Samson’s Removal of Gaza’s Gates,” Journal of the Near Eastern Archaeological Society 8 (1976): 83–93. Prof. Stan Swinney and I worked on the research for this article a mere four years into my first full-time teaching post in Denver, CO. We intended to publish a series of articles we had researched together—all of them dealing with miraculous events in Scripture. Stan taught in the field of science and had background in the aeronautics and space industry. My task involved the exegesis of the biblical text together with research in the available archeological data. Stan’s assignment provided us with the scientific data necessary to explain the supernatural nature of the biblical miracle under investigation. Unfortunately, my departure from Denver Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary two years later put an end to our series of projects. At the time, we were starting our investigation of Jericho’s walls and their collapse.
In 2012 my studies regarding Samson and his removal of Gaza’s gates became the core illustration for a lecture on biblical exegesis in that year’s Shepherds Conference held at Grace Community Church and The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, CA. My lecture title: “Accuracy Matters When Souls Are at Stake: Interpreting the Word with care and precision.”
Recently a follower of my website contacted me via email to ask where he might find my original article on this topic. Thanks to his request, I’m now making the article available as a download below. In addition, links follow for downloading both my lecture notes and PowerPoint for the 2012 Shepherds Conference session.
Samson’s Removal of Gaza’s Gates (JNEAS article)
Accuracy Matters When Souls Are at Stake (2012 Shepherds Conference lecture notes)
Accuracy Matters When Souls Are at Stake (2012 Shepherds Conference PowerPoint)