In the Footsteps of King David

May 14, 2018
Was there a historical basis for the Bible’s account of the life of King David? Garfinkel (Dance at the Dawn of Agriculture), head of Hebrew University’s archaeology institute, and his colleagues Ganor and Hassel insist that there was, pointing to their discoveries while excavating the city of Khirbet Qeiyafa in Israel’s Elah Valley. While this volume accessibly details what was found, it is unlikely to sway many skeptics: the authors conclude that their finds, which include olive pits used for radiometric dating of the site and other artifacts (such as stone and pottery vessels—one boasting a rare inscription—and Egyptian scarabs) dating back to when David supposedly lived, have “provided archaeological evidence corroborating historical memories from the time of King David.” The parts of the book that are not detailing the archaeological findings summarize the sometimes-conflicting biblical tradition regarding David’s life and past archaeological study of the region; much space is devoted to condemning biblical minimalism (the view that the Bible is not a legitimate source of historical information) in ways that even open-minded readers are unlikely to find persuasive, for example, calling scholars’ questioning of the historicity of biblical writings about David “surprising” given his “centrality... in the biblical story.” A less biased and more cautious approach to the authors’ unquestionably remarkable finds would have served lay readers better.

May 15, 2018
Scholarly account of an important recent archaeological find in Israel.Garfinkel (Archaeology/Hebrew Univ.; Dance at the Dawn of Agriculture, 2003, etc.) takes the lead among a trio of authors involved with the project to excavate Khirbet Qeiyafa, a site in the Elah Valley of Israel. The site is set squarely in the area believed to have once constituted the Kingdom of Judah, and it has been dated to the late 11th/early 10th century B.C.E., making it contemporaneous to the life of King David. Khirbet Qeiyafa has yielded a number of fascinating and important finds, including an inscription that scholars have concluded is the oldest written example of the Hebrew language. Beyond historically meaningful discoveries such as these, however, the authors assert that Khirbet Qeiyafa has a great deal to teach regarding the life and times of ancient Judah and even about the historicity of biblical accounts regarding the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The authors especially take issue with the "minimalist" school, which theorizes that the Hebrew Bible histories were written in the Persian or Hellenistic periods and largely fabricate or re-create a mythical history of the Israelites. Garfinkel and his colleagues argue that Khirbet Qeiyafa stands as evidence to the contrary and that the "excavations have thus provided archaeological evidence corroborating historical memories from the time of King David and have prompted renewed debate among scholars concerning the quantity and quality of historical information preserved in the Bible." The authors go so far as to assert that Khirbet Qeiyafa is in fact the biblical city known as Shaaraim, which is mentioned three times in the scriptural account. This is a worthwhile work on a number of counts. Though sometimes a bit technical, the book is a fascinating glimpse into the methods, rigors, and rewards of archaeology. On another level, the authors add to a larger conversation about the historicity of the Bible while describing a find of true significance.An engaging glimpse into the ancient past.

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June 1, 2018
As recently as 2007, evidence for the kingdom of David in the early tenth century BCE, where biblical scholarship places it, was scant. That year, the excavation of Khirbet Qeiyafa, a large, well-preserved, long-unoccupied site a day's walk west of Jerusalem, began. Located in the Valley of Elah, where the Bible says David fought Goliath, by 2011, it had been confidently dated to precisely the right period (key to dating were olive pits). The place had been a walled city with, the evidence showed, commercial, military, and cultic functions. Other gods than YHWH evidently were worshipped there, and a miniature temple presaging the first great Jerusalem temple was found. That the city was a purely Jewish community, however, an utter lack of pig bones confirms. In chapters about tenth-century BCE urban planning, the artifacts found, and the inscriptions unearthed, and more, the three leaders of the project clearly and succinctly present what Khirbet Qeiyafa has thus far revealed. With 104 informative illustrations, this is an armchair archaeologist's delight.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)