Why were the higher critics silenced about the Israelites using straw to make bricks?
The higher critics were silenced when archaeologists, working in the Middle East as far back as the 1920s or 1930s, discovered that ancient peoples did indeed make bricks with straw. Straw served as part of the binding material. This archaeological evidence confirmed the biblical account, and the critics had no rebuttal.
Les explains that the higher critics scoffed at the idea of using straw to make bricks, asking who had ever heard of such a thing. However, archaeologists—though often agnostics or atheists—reported findings that aligned with Scripture. As far back as the 1920s or 1930s, archaeologists from Europe working in the Middle East found that the ancients did make bricks with straw, which was part of the binding material. Thus the critics were silenced, and the Word of God is very, very true. This also explains why the Israelites had to gather straw themselves while maintaining their quota.