Another archaeological discovery has been made in Jerusalem which supports the narratives of the Bible. The Bible relates that Kings David and Solomon had major kingdoms (indeed, empires while they were allied to Tyre and Sidon), and that Jerusalem was a major walled city in their time. The biblical minimalists (people who deny that the Bible is true or the inspired word of God) have not believed the Bible’s claims. The minimalists have been proven wrong once again.
A newly-discovered fortified wall in Jerusalem dates to the tenth-century BC, and it was found with an accompanying room and tower. This has been dated to the century when David and Solomon ruled over the United Kingdom of Israel. Inscriptions found on pottery indicate that Jerusalem was, indeed, a royal city at that time as some of the inscriptions bore the Hebrew phrase “For the king” or “for the chief…” Obviously, if large pottery containers were inscribed in Hebrew for the use of a king, there had to be a Hebrew-speaking king ruling over the ancient fortified city of Jerusalem at the time the Bible says Kings David and Solomon were reigning there. This also confirms that Hebrew-speakers (i.e. the Israelites) were ruling the walled city of Jerusalem at that time. The second link also notes the discovery indicates that “Jerusalem was home to a strong central government that had the resources and manpower needed to build massive fortifications in the 10th century B.C.” That is exactly what the Bible records as happening at that time!
Previous archaeological discoveries have also supported the Bible’s ancient narrative accounts. As the first link below puts it: “archaeological discoveries have recently been coming in fast and furious proving the veracity of the Biblical account of history.” It also notes the newly-discovered wall “testifies to relatively advanced engineering capabilities.” This is attested to in I Kings 5:18 as it records that the Israelite artisans of King Solomon and the artisans of Tyre combined their skills in building Solomon’s building projects.
There is one other biblical account that does need to be considered. II Samuel 5:6-10 and I Chronicles 11:4-9 record that Jerusalem was a fortified Jebusite city before King David’s soldiers seized control of it. The inscriptions on the discovered pottery jars are in Hebrew so it clear the discovered fortified wall was in place while the Israelites ruled the city. However, since II Samuel 5:6-10 records that the Israelites seized Jerusalem by clever infiltration instead of brute force, the previous Jebusite walls would not have been torn down as the Israelites took control of the city. It is not clear to me if the discovered wall was totally built by the Israelite Kings or whether it included parts of earlier walls that passed from Jebusite control to Israelite control when King David took and occupied the city.
Several readers brought this story and these links to my attention, and I am passing them on to all readers so all of you can have your faith strenghthened by the news of this discovery. The final link below shows photos of the walls, and you can see that they are both substantial and impressive!
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136130
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/22/israeli-archaeology-digs-proof-bible/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+foxnews%252Fscitech+%2528Text+-+SciTech%2529
Photos at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136130
