Uncovering History - The City Of David

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And David said on that day: ‘Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites, and getteth up to the gutter, and [taketh away] the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul–.’ Wherefore they say: ‘There are the blind and the lame; he cannot come into the house.’ 2 Samuel the wondrous archaeological finds in Jerusalem’s City of David, the YouTube video “City of David - Clip 1“ above by Roots4U showed the recently discovered palace of King David, and the ancient water system below ground which may have been utilized by David to conquer the Jebusite city before it became known as Jerusalem.

Discussing these recent City of David (Ir David) archaeological excavations, The Trumpet’s Stephen Flurry was interviewed December 7th on the John Batchelor Show about ”… the discovery in 2008 of a sealed tunnel that may have been used in the tenth century BC to allow David and his army to conquer the Jebusite fortress. Re the discoveries in the City of David. 2 Samuel 5:8.”  Batchelor’s MP3 interview began with Mr. Flurry who said that several students from Ambassador College helped with the excavations, many of the finds confirming the Bible’s written record!  TheTrumpet.com website reported other exciting finds as well, including the discovery “Nehemiah’s Wall Found in Jerusalem” (November 2008 magazine issue). Another article asked the question … ”Did King David Conquer Jerusalem Using This Tunnel? (See video clip above)

Roots4U’s City of David - Clip 2 walked through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, visited the Pool of Siloam, and viewed the recently discovered drainage channel used by Jews to escape Jerusalem during the onslaught in 70 A.D.

The Washington Post December 2nd carried a report by Scott Wilson “A Dig Into Jerusalem’s Past Fuels Present-Day Debates” (including an informative graphic and photograph) which noted that archaeologist Eilat Mazar said that

…”I excavate with the Bible in one hand,” she said during a recent tour of the site, fenced off and mostly covered in preparation for the rainy season. “But I do not give up even the least bit of technical excavation or research.” … “Mazar began digging in February. Within weeks, she had uncovered the remains of rooms — including pools probably used as ritual baths — from a Roman dating to the time of Herod, in the 1st century B.C. Those rooms rested on bedrock in places, leaving little underneath to use in evaluating her finds…” Read the whole article

More historical finds in the City of David have been highlighted at the Shalem Center’s website.  A Shalem Center press release on October 30th announced: ”Newly Discovered City of David Tunnel Suggested to be the “Tsinnor” Mentioned In King David’s Conquest of Jerusalem“.  Mazar’s work has been in conjunction with The Shalem Center and the Ir David Foundation and under the academic auspice of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

   “…An opening to the tunnel was accidentally discovered at the end of January this year during the excavations of Area G. Layers from the end of the First Temple period (7th-6th century B.C.E) covered the entrance. The expedition measured and investigated only 50 meters of the tunnel with the short time remaining in the excavation season. The tunnel is just wide enough to allow one person to pass through. The tunnel continues onward towards the north and the south, but its continuation is currently blocked by debris and fallen stones. In order to excavate the continuation, proper reinforcements need to be constructed.
   The walls of the tunnel are composed partly of unworked stones, while other parts simply use the bedrock. The walls follow a natural cavity in the bedrock that goes along the upper part of the eastern slope of the City of David. In the 10th Century BC, the Large Stone Structure was built over the tunnel, which was identified by Dr. Mazar as King David’s palace (2 Samuel 5:11).. The already existing tunnel was integrated into its construction and was probably used to channel water to a pool located on the palace’s nearby southeast side…” Read the whole article

The City of David website linked an article about Mazar’s work from the 2005 New York Times: “Digging Deep for Proof of an Ancient Jewish Capital”

The Jerusalem Post also reported about era water tunnel found in J’lem“, and another from September 25th: “Archeology: Dr. Eilat Mazar: The Bible as blueprint”

Finally, Roots4U’s “City of David - Clip 3” included a music interlude - a visit with the “House of Harrari - Maker of  Levite Made Biblical Harps”,  like the kind that King David might have made. Mr. Harrari explained how the harps were made, while Mrs. Harrari played a harp and explained some of the background about worship during Temple Times.

With thanks to Kesher Talk’s “Davidca“, the John Batchelor Show, the “Roots4U” videos on YouTube. Previous post “Archaeology, People, Tradition, and the Bible - The Priestly Line“

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