How do we know ancient Egypt was wealthy and powerful? King Tut’s coffin has 2,500 lbs of gold – shows significant power and resources The Roman Colosseum Governments can organize massive money, resources and people into a single project.
Could a poor tribe of farmers and shepherds have built something like this? WHAT EXAMPLES OF WEALTH AND POWER DID DAVID’S KINGDOM LEAVE BEHIND?
This is the problem. In archaeology, David’s kingdom is remarkable for its absence.
David with later?
lifetime, or much much or lifetime,
Problem The
during his his during
Israel/Judah form form Israel/Judah
ingdom in in ingdom k a Did The “Problem” with King David
Many scholars doubt the Bible’s version of his life: • No mention of David/Solomon outside Bible text • No physical evidence of any central gov’t in Israel or Judah during early 10th century BC (David’s time) • No evidence society was literate during 10th century BC. – Able to record history, keep records, write psalms or religious texts? • Therefore: David & his dynasty were myths; Neither he nor any kingdom existed in that period 1993/94: The Tel Dan inscription
Mentions “House of David” in 9th century BC The “Problem” with King David
Denial of David, Stage 2 David & his dynasty were fictitious; David existed, but only as a local chieftain/judge.
Still no evidence of any kingdom in Judah during David’s time (early C10 BC).
The biblical history is fiction.
Khirbet Qeiyafa (2007-2013)
Khirbet Qeiyafa
ca. 20 miles SW of Jerusalem
It site on the border of Judah and the Jerusalem Philistines.
Kh. Qeiyafa This is where David and Goliath fought.
1 Samuel 17:1 – 3 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
Khirbet Qeiyafa Azekah
Socoh
Carbon-14 tests and pottery both date the city to late 11th century BC (Saul) or early 10th century BC (David)
* Nearly 6 acres
* Room for up to a few hundred inhabitants Massive fortifications: casemate city wall Some stones weigh around 8 tons each • 2 gates face highways to Philistia (west side) and Jerusalem (south side) The western gate
3 4
1 2 The southern gate (with Elah valley) * Each gate leads into an open plaza.
The southern gate and the gate plaza
• 2 gates
• Each gate leads into an open plaza.
• Large fort (“palace”) in center Central Fortress from David’s Time • City has a ring of houses, buildings attached to city wall.
• Casemates are back rooms for each house/building.
• No street, alley separating private homes from public walls.
6 7 8 9 10 This urban plan is only found around Judah
n
Beersheba
Tel Beit Mirsim
Tel en- Nasbeh Rich destruction layer from early 10th century (David’s time)
What did we find?
This may be the oldest Hebrew inscription yet discovered. A large number of storage jars, locally made
More than 600 jar handles with “finger” impressions
Early administration?
Judahites, Canaanites, Philistines Who lived there?
1. Typical Judahite architecture & urban planning
2. Cooking habits: a. no pig bones (unlike Philistine and Canaanite sites). b. baking trays (which are not known in Philistine sites).
3. Storage jar handles similar to those of later Judah 3,000 year-old baking tray for making pita bread 4. Hebrew (?) inscription; Semitic language, not Indo-European like the Philistines
5. Evidence of Israelite/Judahite worship practices Physical Evidence of David’s Kingdom • Central authority with urban planning for cities (not villages) • Fortified, defined borders • Evidence of literacy • Administration and record keeping (marked pottery) • Evidence that Judah had centralized authority – a kingdom – in early 10th century BC, just as Bible says. Three religious rooms were excavated We found three “cultic” rooms - not buildings.
This contrasts Canaanites and Philistines who used dedicated temples for their worship and rituals.
The Bible suggests what have at Kh. Qeiyafa may have been typical during the late Judges/early kingdom years. The Bible shows 3 basic stages of Israelite religious practice
First Stage • Tabernacle at Shiloh from Israel’s entry to land until death of Eli and High Priestly line (early C14 to early C12 BC) Second Stage • Tabernacle destroyed. Worship/objects scattered among several locations. • Blending of religious locations and private property. Third Stage • Worship centered at Temple in Jerusalem • North (Israel) developed variant practice divided among two religious centers (golden calves at Dan, Bethel) 1 Samuel 3:1-5 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD in the presence of Eli… At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place… and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down… Decentralized worship in the late Judges/early Kingdom period (11th and early 10th centuries BC)
1 Samuel 7:1 The men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill… From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years…
2 Samuel 6:10-11 David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household. Cultic Room near Southern Gate
Standing Stones
Offering table Libation Vessel and a basin Libation Vessels
Tel Qiri Basalt Altar At Canaanite and northern Israelite sites, we’ve found many human figurines and images associated with worship.
We’ve found *no* figurines or images at Khirbet Qeiyafa. (Judah observing the biblical ban on images?) 1. Bench
2. Standing stone
3. Offering table
4. Libation vessel
5. Three iron swords Three iron swords Weapons Displayed in Religious Rooms The Priests of Nob
1 Samuel 21:6ff The priest gave [David] the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence… Then David said to Ahimelech, “Then have you not here a spear or a sword at hand?” … And the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the Valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it.” Three religious rooms were excavated Why does Kh. Qeiyafa have multiple religious rooms?
In a small site like Qeiyafa, why not just one? Two of the religious rooms are located adjacent to a gate plaza. Kh. Qeiyafa - southern gate and gate plaza
The western Iron Age gate plaza
Gate Plaza Plaza was for public use but walls partitioned public plaza from access to private homes.
S Two “building models” found in shrine near the main city gate
stone
pottery Boxes used to keep symbols of gods, often made in the shape of a building (temple)
Ashkelon Middle Bronze Age The Ceramic Shrine
1. Three birds on the 1 roof (partly broken). 2. Twisted rope above the opening, Imitating textile 2 (curtain/veil). 3 3. Roof beams
4. Two pillars on each side of the door
5. Lions on each side of the door 4
5 The Roof The stone shrine (only one known to date) Three aspects 3
1. Proportions of the door (1:2)
2 2. Recessed doorframe
1 3. Roof beams Proportions of the door
Door size: 10 by 20 cm. 1 same proportion in doors of Second Temple (Jesus’ time) Recessed doorframe
The doorway is decorated with three recessed frames.
This was a widespread 2 feature of temples from Mesopotamia (Syria, Babylon, Assyria) Iron Age ivories decorated with triple recessed window- frames Solomon, we have a problem. Description of temple in 1 Kgs 6: 31, 33
For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were one-fifth of the wall. So for the door of the sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive wood, one-fourth of the wall. (NKJ)
For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.[a] … So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, four-sided each. [a] - Meaning of Heb uncertain
Harvard’s Semitic Museum reconstruction: Notice the recessed doorframe, like the Qeiyafa shrine 3 3. Roof beams Seven groups of roof beams, three planks in each. “Triglyphs”
Athens Acropolis: Triglyphs on the Parthenon, Built almost 500 years later than Khirbet Qeiyafa To Sum Up Khirbet Qeiyafa
1. Physical evidence of David’s kingdom. 2. Illuminates religious practice in decades before Solomon’s temple. 3. Clarifying our translation of Hebrew re: Solomon’s construction in Jerusalem? In Three Weeks… Lachish