King David and Israel

"In 2007 a fortified city from the time of king David was discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa. The site was dated to king David's time by archaeologists from accurate radiometric measurements. The fortress was located in the Elah valley where biblical tradition places the combat between David and Goliath. The fortress sits on the ancient border between Israelite and Philistine territory. This area was only important militarily in the 10th and 9th centuries B.C., after which the border shifted further south to the city of Lachish. This shows that the writers of the books of First and Second Chronicles were using accurate historical information." (1)

The discovery of this fortress challenges the ideas of earlier scholars who didn't believe the biblical record. Those scholars thought that king David never existed until July 21, 1993, when an inscription was found at Tel Dan in northern Israel. This inscription proved beyond doubt that a king named David founded a dynasty in Israel. (2) "Archaeologists also concluded that the fortress at Khirbet Qeiyafa was inhabited by the people of Judah. In 2012 an inscription with the name Esbaal was found at the site. In the Bible, Esbaal was a son of Saul and a rival of David. In the 10th century the name Esbaal was common in Israel but disappears in the following centuries." (3)

"Scholars have identified this area as 'Pas-Dammim,' which in Hebrew means 'border of blood,' mentioned in 1 Chronicles 11:13. (4) Archaeologists have proposed the name of the site as 'Shaaraim,' which is mentioned in the Bible three times in Joshua 15:35–36, 1 Samuel 17:52, and 1 Chronicles 4:31–32. (5) Shaaraim in Hebrew means 'two gates' and indeed the fortress has two gates. The site shows evidence of a strong centralized state, and a large number of weapons were found there. (6) This evidence shows that in the 10th century a kingdom was founded that ruled over the hill country of Judah just exactly as the Bible says."

Some scholars make light of the description of the bronze armor that Goliath wore in 1 Samuel 17:5, saying that the passage describes a Greek warrior centuries later and such armor didn't exist in David's time. However, Goliath's name has been found on a piece of pottery at the city of Gath — the city where the Bible says he was from — and a bronze breastplate found in a tomb 700 miles north of Greece in 2023 is dated to three centuries before David's birth. Experts say this armor must have belonged to an elite warrior. (7)

Yosef Garfinkle, Saar Ganor, Michael G. Hasel, In the Footsteps of King David, Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City, (1) p20, (2) p26, (3) P124-125, (4) p20, (5) p165, (6) p202-203; (7) Archaeology News, Archaeologymag.com.

Amos 9:7 declares: "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt and the Philistines from Caphtor?" Caphtor has long been thought to be the island of Crete and has now been confirmed by DNA evidence. "A key study in a 2019 paper from Science Advances by researchers from the Max Planck Institute analyzed genome-wide DNA from 10 individuals buried at Ashkelon (a major Philistine city on the southern coast of Israel). These samples support a migration from the Aegean area or broader European gene pools with the strongest from the island of Crete." So basically, the Philistines were early Greeks.

David was a mercenary of the Philistines for over a year when he was being hunted by King Saul, according to 1 Samuel 27:2: "So David arose and went over, he and the six hundred men who were with him, to Achish the son of Maoch king of Gath." "The Ekron inscription written by a Philistine king called Achish confirms Achish was a royal Philistine name. This discovery makes the Philistine king of Gath plausible rather than invented." David living among the Philistines would have learned their strengths and weaknesses, enabling him to defeat them when he became king. His connections with the Philistines would also lead him to have a royal bodyguard of men from Crete and Philistia when he became king. In 2 Samuel 8:18, David placed his officers over the "Cherethites and Pelethites." When his own Israelite soldiers wavered during a rebellion with David's son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:18; 20:7), these Philistine warriors remained fiercely loyal to him. (Grok A.I.)

2 Samuel 8:3–4: "Then David defeated Hadadezer the son of Rehob king of Zobah, as he went to restore his rule to the river (Euphrates). David captured 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers..." "And when the Arameans came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 Arameans..." (9–11) "Now when Toi king of Hamath heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, Toi sent Joram his son to greet David and bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer had been at war with Toi. And Joram brought him articles of silver, gold and bronze. David also dedicated these to the LORD..."

In a probable inscription of Toi on a temple in Aleppo, he calls himself "Taita the Hero" and records temple dedications and rules to worship a Hittite Storm God. "More of his inscriptions are found in the Aleppo-Hamath region of Syria. The Kingdom of Hamath is well-attested in the Assyrian period. Scholars such as Charles Steitler (2010) and Gershon Galil have proposed this identification based on onomastic (name) similarities, historical context (a kingdom encompassing Hamath and the political situation involving conflicts with Aramean powers like Zobah)."

"The mention of Assur (Assyria) as an enemy in Psalm 83:8 (a Psalm attributed to Asaph, a contemporary of David): 'Assyria also has joined with them, they have become an arm for the children of Lot' (supporting Moab and Ammon). The Psalm describes a coalition of neighboring peoples (Edom, Moab, Ammon, the Philistines and Tyre) plotting against Israel. This fits the pattern of David's wars against Aramean (Syrian) coalitions, Ammonite, and others. Assyria also could have loosely allied with Aramean groups in upper Mesopotamia." (Grok A.I.)

Archaeologist Erez Ben-Yosef has excavated several seasons at Timna in the southern desert of Israel. "It had been thought the large copper production in the Timna valley was produced by ancient Egypt. New carbon dates show the peak of production points to the 10th century B.C., the time of Solomon. Erez Ben-Yosef discovered a 'substantial defensive system' and evidence of a 'sophisticated and well organized' production of copper. The site indicates a highly complex and centralized society produced at least a hundred tons of copper in this location."

The Bible states that Edom was eventually conquered by King David. 2 Samuel 8:14: "And he put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became servants to David and the Lord helped David wherever he went." Israelite control of Edom continued through the reign of Solomon. Erez Ben-Yosef stated that fish from the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean were moved by caravan down to Timna, along with meat and grain, showing that the workers were well fed.

The Bible states that Solomon was importing a large amount of gold and silver into his kingdom. 1 Kings 10:28–29 states that Solomon was importing and exporting horses and chariots to kings of the Middle East. He must have been exporting large amounts of copper as well, which would have been the secret of his great wealth, along with the caravan trade. "Copper was the petroleum of the ancient world. Copper was used to make bronze weapons, hoes, sickles, cookware, dishes, saws, chisels and knives." Even after the kingdom of Israel split in two, Judah continued to control Edom until the reign of Jehoram. 2 Chronicles 21:10: "So Edom revolted against Judah until this day."

1 Kings 11:4, 11–13: "For it came about when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods... So the LORD said to Solomon, 'Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.'"

After Solomon's death the kingdom split in two — the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. 1 Kings 12:28–30: "So the King (Jeroboam) consulted and made two golden calves, and he said to them, 'It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.' And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan."

2 Chronicles 12:2–4, 9: "And it came about in King Rehoboam's fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people who came with him from Egypt were without number; the Lubim, the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. And he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem... So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's palace. He took everything; he even took the golden shields which Solomon had made."

The Kurkh Stela was found by British archaeologist George Taylor in Kurdistan in 1861 and donated to the British Museum in 1863. The inscription gives an account of the campaigns of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III. In 853 B.C. at the battle of Qarqar, Shalmaneser faced a coalition of 12 kings, among whom was Ahab king of Israel:

"I destroyed, tore down, and burned down Karkar... 2,000 chariots, 10,000-foot soldiers of Ahab the Israelite... from Ammon all together these were twelve kings. They rose against me for a decisive battle. I fought with them with the support of the mighty forces of Ashur... and I did inflict defeat on them... I slew 14,000 of their soldiers with the sword... I spread their corpses everywhere... During the battle I made their blood flow... Even during the battle, I took from them their chariots, their horses broken to the yoke." (1)

Although the battle of Qarqar is not mentioned in the Bible, it shows that Ahab was a powerful king who fielded the second largest army and over half the chariots in the alliance against Assyria. Ahab also officially sanctioned the worship of the storm god Baal in Israel. 1 Kings 16:30–32: "And Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him... he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians and went to serve Baal and worshiped him."

This event caused a crisis as God brought about a severe drought through His prophet Elijah the Tishbite. After Elijah won the contest on Mount Carmel and slew Jezebel's prophets, he prayed and brought an end to the drought. God then ordered him to anoint three men to complete the destruction of the Baal cult in Israel. 1 Kings 19:15–17: "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place."

After Elijah pronounced judgment on the house of Ahab, Ahab repented — the only king of the northern kingdom of Israel that we know of to do so. 1 Kings 21:27–29: "And it came about when Ahab heard these words, that he put on sackcloth and fasted... Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, 'Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but I will bring the evil upon his house in his son's days.'"

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III was discovered at Nimrud in 1846 by archaeologist Austen Henry Layard and donated to the British Museum. The Black Obelisk lists a number of kings bringing tribute to Shalmaneser III, among whom was Jehu king of the northern kingdom of Israel. The inscription reads: "The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri; I received from him silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with painted bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king and spears." (1) The image shows king Jehu kissing the ground in front of Shalmaneser III, dated to 841 B.C.

Elisha the prophet anointed Jehu to be the Lord\'s avenger for the murder of His prophets and for the murder of Naboth. Providentially, the kings of Israel and Judah met Jehu at the very place where Jezebel had Naboth killed. (2) Jehu\'s coup succeeded, and he assassinated both kings of Israel and Judah. He also had the seventy sons of Ahab killed and wiped out the Baal worshipers in Samaria. 2 Kings 10:31–33: "But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam... In those days the LORD began to cut off portions from Israel; and Hazael (King of Aram Damascus) defeated them throughout the territory of Israel."

Jehu failed to seek God and became a vassal of Shalmaneser III to obtain help against Hazael. Shalmaneser's annals report his campaign against Damascus in 841 B.C.: "I fought with him and inflicting a defeat upon him, killing with the sword 16,000 of his experienced soldiers. I took away from him 1,121 chariots, 470 riding horses as well as his camp. He disappeared to save his life (but) I followed him and besieged him in Damascus, his royal residence... At that time, I received the tribute of the inhabitants of Tyre, Sidon and of Jehu son of Omri." (3)

The Mesha Stele was discovered in Dibon, Jordan in 1868 and has been dated to about 840 B.C. "The stone was written in the Phoenician Alphabet and is closely related to the Hebrew language. On the stone the king of Moab tells the story of how Chemosh god of Moab was angry with his people and allowed them to be conquered by Omri king of Israel." His account parallels the story in 2 Kings 3:4–28.

2 Kings 3:4–5: "Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and used to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. But it came about, when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel." The king of Moab carved on the stone how he captured several cities of Israel during his rebellion and slaughtered the inhabitants.

The kings of Israel and Judah formed an alliance against Moab and invaded their land. When the Israelite and Judah coalition arrived at the city of Kir-hareseth, the battle was going against Mesha king of Moab. In desperation, he sacrificed his son to the god Chemosh. 2 Kings 3:27: "Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and went to their own land." King Mesha states on the Moabite stone that the king of Israel invaded his land but that his god "Chemosh drove them out." The two accounts tend to complement one another, although King Mesha doesn't mention the sacrifice of his child.

The northern kingdom abandoned the God of Israel and hoped that Assyria would be her savior, but Assyria instead was destined to become her destroyer. God, having compassion for His people, raised up one last great king, Jeroboam II. 2 Kings 14:26–27: "For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel, which was very bitter; for there was neither bond nor free, nor was there any helper for Israel. And the LORD did not say that He would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, but He saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Joash." Assyria went into a temporary decline, which allowed Israel to recover its fortunes. Jeroboam II restored the territory of Israel from Damascus to Hamath the old boundaries they had under Solomon. Israel had 41 years of prosperity under Jeroboam and God sent the prophets Hosea and Amos to them, but they did not respond to God\'s grace with repentance. (1)

According to the prophet Amos, the wealth and prosperity of Jeroboam II's reign produced a self-indulgent ruling class that oppressed the poor. Amos 2:6–7 spoke against greed and sexual immorality. Amos 3:9–10: "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst. They do not know how to do right, declares the LORD, those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds." Amos 6:1–7: "Woe unto those who are at ease in Zion... who recline on beds of ivory and sprawl on their couches, who drink wine from sacrificial bowls... therefore they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles."

After years of disorder, Assyria had a new and powerful king, Tiglath-pileser III. Tiglath-pileser boasted: "As for Menahem I overwhelmed him like a snowstorm, and he fled like a bird, alone, and bowed to my feet. I returned him to his place and imposed tribute upon him, gold, silver, linen garments with multicolored trimmings." (2) 2 Kings 15:19: "Pul king of Assyria came against the land and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver so that his hand might be with him to strengthen the kingdom under his rule." (3) A thousand talents of silver would be well over a billion dollars today. After Menahem\'s death Israel went into a downward spiral and several more of its kings were assassinated until Hoshea became king in Samaria. Tiglath-pileser states "They killed Pegah their king, and I placed Hoshea (as king) over them. (4)

After Tiglath-pileser's death most of his subjects revolted. 2 Kings 17:3–6: "Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant and paid him tribute. But the king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea, who had sent messengers to So, king of Egypt and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria as he had done year by year; so, the king of Assyria shut him up and bound him in prison. Then the king of Assyria invaded the whole land and went up to Samaria and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into Exile." The Babylonian Chronicle and the Bible agree that Shalmaneser took Samaria. The Chronicle states "He (Shalmaneser) ruined Samaria. (5) In 722 B.C, the Year Samaria fell, Shalmaneser V died suddenly whether natural causes or assassination we do not know.

Sargon II came to the Assyrian throne and also took credit for capturing Samaria: "I besieged and conquered Samaria, led away as booty 27,290 inhabitants of it. I formed from among them a contingent of 50 chariots and made the remaining inhabitants assume their social positions. I installed over them an officer of mine and imposed upon them the tribute of the former king." (6) Elayi said the most logical interpretation of the data is Shalmaneser V besieged Samaria for three years. Assyrian records state Samaria fell in 722 B.C., but Shalmaneser must have died before he could deport the population. The Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II record he spent 721 in Assyria consolidating his power as the new ruler. In 720 B.C. Israel joined with Arpad in a new rebellion against Assyria, in which Sargon defeated them and recaptured Samaria a second time. Sargon deported its people and then turned Israel into an Assyrian province. (7) The kingdom of Israel ceased to exist.

In the Royal Inscriptions of Sargon II, he records his campaigns and boasts of having "subjugated the land of Judah, whose location is far away." (1) Judah had been a vassal of Assyria since the time of Tiglath-pileser, but after his death it broke away and was independent for a time. After the fall of Israel, a large number of refugees fled south to Jerusalem, and after the death of Ahaz king of Judah, his son Hezekiah inherited the throne.

It is also possible that Hezekiah visited Sargon\'s new capitol Khorsabad in 706 B.C. (2) Assyrian records show an unnamed king of Judah paying tribute in 716 B.C. and a second letter in 715 B.C. mentioned the king of Judah sending troops to support Sargon's army on campaign. As far as we can tell, Hezekiah was a loyal vassal of Assyria until Sargon's death in 705 B.C. Sargon was killed in battle in Tabal (modern-day Turkey). The Eponym Chronicle states: "705 (B.C.) the king marched against Gurdi the Kulummaean, the king was killed; the camp of the king of Assyria was plundered; on the 12th of AB (late July), Sennacherib became King." (3)

Sargon's sudden death shocked the inhabitants of the Assyrian empire and revolts broke out everywhere. Hezekiah chose this moment to win independence for Judah. Babylon, Judah, Tyre and parts of Philistia all rose up against Assyria. Sennacherib gathered an army and attacked Babylon first, winning a quick victory there in 704–703 B.C. (4) It wasn't until 701 B.C. that Sennacherib was able to return to the west with his army. 2 Chronicles 32:2–8: "Now when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem... he spoke encouragingly to them, saying, 'Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the multitude that is with him; for the one who is with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.' And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah."

See, Sennacherib's campaign in Second Kings.

Greek and Roman writers described the ancient wonder of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but they wrote many centuries after the time of Nebuchadnezzar whom they claim built them. Neither the Jews exiled in Babylon nor the Greeks in the army of Alexander the Great ever mentioned the Gardens when they passed through the city. Nebuchadnezzar was a great builder of temples and the city of Babylon, but he never hinted at building a garden. Archaeologists, after centuries of digging in and around Babylon, have found no trace of the Gardens.

Dalley notes "That some ancient writers confused Sennacherib with Nebuchadnezzar and sometimes mistook Nineveh for Babylon." (1) She stated that Sennacherib built a palace and a garden and went into great detail about its construction. (2) Sennacherib wrote: "I made them wonders," and called the area around the palace "a wonder for all peoples." He named his palace "Unrivaled Palace" and boasted of his engineering works that brought water to his garden:

"I Sennacherib, leader of all princes, knowledgeable in all kinds of work, took much advice and deep thought over doing that kind of work... I created clay molds as if by divine intelligence for cylinders and screws... in order to draw up water all day long... I raised the height of the surroundings of the palace to be a Wonder for all Peoples. I gave it the name Incomparable Palace. A high garden imitating the Amanus mountains I laid out next to it with all kinds of aromatic plants, orchard fruit trees, trees that enrich not only mountain country but also Chaldea, as well as trees that bear wool, planted within it." (3)

Although the Bible does not mention the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, it does refer to Sennacherib's garden. Isaiah 10:18–19: "And He will destroy the glory of his forest and of his fruitful garden, both soul and body; and it will be as when a sick man wastes away. And the rest of the trees of his forest will be so small in number that a child could write them down."

In the 1993 book Centuries of Darkness, scholars Peter James, Nikos Kokkinos, Robert Morkot, and John Frankish pointed out serious problems with the accepted chronology of the ancient world. "These scholars show dating issues with the Dark Age of Greece, the Hittite empire, empty years of Nubian history along with a multitude of other anomalies from the ancient world. A wide range of evidence seems to point to the chronology of Egypt as the problem. The solution is a substantial shortening of Egyptian chronology would solve many of these problems and eliminate some of the dark ages of the ancient world. If Egyptian chronology is wrong the walls of Jericho fall centuries before Joshua gets there and the civilizations of Greece and the Hittite empire disappear and then magically reappear after centuries of darkness." (1) Many other scholars have sought a solution to this problem, including John J. Bimson, James B. Reilly, David Rohl, Donovan Courville, Immanuel Velikovsky, and more recently Timothy Mahoney with his excellent "Patterns of Evidence" video series. (2)

I think the Libyan dynasties sometimes called the Libyan anarchy appear to be one of the major problems with the Egyptian record. When the Nubian king Piye invaded Egypt, he found four Pharaohs ruling the country along with numerous lesser kings. (3) This would indicate to me there were at least four dynasties ruling Egypt for a time and also a 5th power ruling at the city of Sau and the western Delta. (4) Egyptologist Morkot states much of Dynasties 21 through 24 are obscure. (5) During the time of Sheshonk III, some of his reign is undocumented and the area of Thebes was in rebellion for a time. (6) The Nubian king Piye left most of the Libyan pharaohs and kings in power after they summitted to his lordship. Egyptologists John Baines and Jaromir Malek state "that during the Nubian period these kings remained largely independent," and their map of this period shows a number of possible power centers. These scholars think there may have been as many as six Libyan dynasties ruling at the same time.

1. The 22nd dynasties located at Tanis.
2. Dynasties 22–23, princes of dynasties.
3. Great chiefs of the Ma.
4. Realm of the west at Sais.
5. The Herakleopolitan territory.
6. The Hermopolitan territory, along with disputed territories. (7)

When Sennacherib met the Egyptian army at the battle of Eltekeh, he stated he fought "a confederation of Egyptian kings along with the king of Kush." He said, "I captured alive many of the Egyptian charioteers along with many princes of Egypt." (8) These men were probably sent to Assyria shortly before the calamity that struck his army (See Sennacherib\'s campaign in Second Kings and the Destruction of His Army). Esarhaddon lists 20 kings in Egypt after its conquest, and he left most of these Libyan kings in charge when he left Egypt. Morkot identifies some of these kings. "Nekau ruler of Memphis and Sau along with Pakrur of the city of Per-Soped in the eastern delta, a son of a chief of the Ma. Also, well-known names of Pharaohs Pedubast of Djanet and Sheshonq of Djedu along with a number of kings who can\'t be identified." Many kings and pharaohs of Libyan Egypt seemed to be ruling at the same time. (9) Herodotus said "Egypt was divided into 12 districts with 12 kings ruling Egypt just before one of these men Psamtik defeated the rest and united the country." (10) I think the Libyan period may have been much shorter than Egyptologists suppose. The Assyrians called Egypt at this time "A broken reed which would pierce your hand if you leaned on it." Divided Egypt quickly fell under the domination of the competing empires of Nubia and Assyria.