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Did David and Solomon Exist?

If you are wondering what all the discussion is regarding the existence of David and Solomon and what the Monarchical period might have looked like, this is a good place to start.

Eric Cline has the featured article on Bible and Interpretation, entitled Did David and Solomon Exist? He takes the reader through the current evidence and discussion behind the question. Here's a sample:

So, did David and Solomon exist? It is fair to say that they most likely did, at least if the Tel Dan Stele with its mention of a Davidic dynasty (Beit David) is any indication. However, the jury is still out as to how important they actually were, how large their empires were, and whether the biblical traditions and stories concerning the two men are essentially correct or were concocted later, either in the time of Josiah in the seventh century BCE or even after. Although David and Solomon have successfully overcome the sabotaging nihilism of the 1990s and the early part of the new millennium, the debates about them are still ongoing, with new discoveries impacting the debate as well as benefiting biblical archaeology as a whole.

The article offers a great deal of insight into the discussion and debate in scholarly circles. It is well worth your time, so read up...

[HT: Jim Davila]

Kirbet Qeiyafa Inscription.

Here's a news clip about the discovery of Kirbet Qeiyafa and the pottery inscription that is the center of much discussion - not only scholarly, but also politically.

For more background, go here and here.

[HT: Jim Davila]

Ancient Israel and the Afterlife.

Stephen L. Cook, professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament at Virginia Theological University, posted an essay on his blog, entitled Funerary Practices and Afterlife Expectations in Ancient Israel. It was an article that first appeared in the online journal Religion Compass last year.

As the title implies, it is an exploration of the funeral practices of the Ancient Israelites and what kind of light they shed on the concept and expectations they held about the afterlife. Here is the abstract from the essay:

Ancient Israel was thoroughly familiar with existence beyond death. Individual personalities survived the death of the body, most Israelites believed, albeit in a considerably weakened and vulnerable state. The ensnaring tentacles of Sheol constantly threatened the living-dead, but the fortunate among them were able to use the power of kinship bonds to keep Sheol’s threats at bay. The traditional ties of lineage and kin-bonding, according to biblical Yahwism, were an actual way for the living-dead to pull themselves back from death’s devouring suction. Ancient Israel’s funerary practices and afterlife expectations are greatly illumined by recent archaeological studies and by a new comparative model that draws on data gleaned from African ethnography.

This fascinating essay is a good introduction to the scholarly debate surrounding the ideology of the resurrection and the afterlife in Ancient Israel. Well worth the time to read and digest...

Khirbet Qeiyafa Slideshow.

Yosef Garfinkel and Saar Ganor have posted the slideshow from their 2008 ASOR presentation on Khirbet Qeiyafa [HT: Chris Heard]. If you are wondering what the interest is all about, Heard summarizes it nicely:

The identification of the site as Sha‘arayim seems quite likely now, completely independent of anything learned from the ostracon. (Or maybe not; see Todd Bolen’s take on the issue.) The site’s occupation in the first half of the ninth century also seems quite likely. Reports of the “low chronology’s” death may be greatly exaggerated, or premature, but Khirbet Qeiyafa must surely influence our picture of 10th-century Judah. Let us not overstate the case: what we (the interested public) know of Khirbet Qeiyafa at this point hardly “proves that David killed Goliath” or anything of that sort. However, Khirbet Qeiyafa does counterbalance the increasingly common portrayal of 10th-century Judah as a cultural backwater.

Khirbet Qeiyafa.

Late this last week, various news sources began picking up a story about the discovery of a ostracon, or an inscribed piece of of pottery, found an archaeological dig at Kirbet Qeiyafa, which appears to date from around the 10th century BCE. This from the New York Times article:

Overlooking the verdant Valley of Elah, where the Bible says David toppled Goliath, archaeologists are unearthing a 3,000-year-old fortified city that could reshape views of the period when David ruled over the Israelites. Five lines on pottery uncovered here appear to be the oldest Hebrew text ever found and are likely to have a major impact on knowledge about the history of literacy and alphabet development.

The five-acre site, with its fortifications, dwellings and multi-chambered entry gate, will also be a weapon in the contentious and often politicized debate over whether David and his capital, Jerusalem, were an important kingdom or a minor tribe, an issue that divides not only scholars but those seeking to support or delegitimize Zionism.

Only a tiny portion of the site has been excavated, and none of the findings have yet been published or fully scrutinized. But the dig, led by Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, is already causing a stir among his colleagues as well as excitement from those who seek to use the Bible as a guide to history and confirmation of their faith.

“This is a new type of site that suddenly opens a window on an area where we have had almost nothing and requires us to rethink what was going on at that period,” said Aren M. Maeir, professor of archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and the director of a major Philistine dig not far from here. “This is not a run-of-the-mill find.”

And this little a bit further in...

A specialist in ancient Semitic languages at Hebrew University, Haggai Misgav, says the writing, on pottery using charcoal and animal fat for ink, is in so-called proto-Canaanite script and appears to be a letter or document in Hebrew, suggesting that literacy may have been more widespread than is generally assumed. That could play a role in the larger dispute over the Bible, since if more writing turns up it suggests a means by which events could have been recorded and passed down several centuries before the Bible was likely to have been written.

I highly recommend that you read the article in its entirety. While at this time the dating seem promising, the extrapolation of what this all could mean for the scholarly discussion of the historicity of Israel, as well as the form in which traditions were passed along, will be interesting to follow. If you want to read more, and see some photos of the pottery find, here you go.

'Oldest Hebrew writing found near J'lem' [Jerusalem Post]

Have Israeli archaeologists found world's oldest Hebrew inscription? [AP/Haaretz.com]

'Oldest Hebrew script' is found [BBC]

Archeologist finds 3,000-year old Hebrew text [CNN.com]

You can also find a few additional links, including some nice photos of the ostracon and the excavation site at BiblePlaces Blog here, here, and here.

The History of Israel.

The latest edition of Biblical Archaeology Review is on its way, but until then BAR has posted a few of the lead articles, written by Israeli scholar Anson Rainey, on their website in their entirety:

Inside, Outside: Where Did the Early Israelites Come From?

Shasu or Habiru: Who Were the Early Israelites?

If you're interested in having your thinking stretched a bit about the historicity of the nation of Israel, these articles may be a good starting point for study. If you're looking for something a bit deeper, you may want to check out Philip R. Davies' newest work, Memories of Ancient Israel: An Introduction to Biblical History - Ancient and Modern. [The book just showed up at my house today, so I'm looking forward to diving into it soon. Perhaps more to come...]