MembersArchaeological Find Confirms David’s War against Edom

Like so many other biblical stories, King David’s spectacular defeat of the Moabites, as told in 2 Samuel 8, was seen by many scholars as a flamboyant myth.

By Tsvi Sadan |
THE FORTIFIED WALL of Timna
THE FORTIFIED WALL of Timna dates back to the time of King David in the 10th century BC Photo: Facebook CTV

Archaeologists of the minimalist school, which asserts that the Bible cannot be considered reliable evidence for what happened in ancient Israel, have argued for decades that David was a fictional figure.

 

But that changed when his name surfaced in Tel Dan in the 1990s. Unable to deny David’s existence, these same experts insisted instead that he was nothing more than a local warlord ruling a small area around Jerusalem.

 

In their book David and Solomon – Between Myth and Historical Reality (2006), leading archaeologists Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman argued that connecting Solomon to the Timna copper mines in the south of the country is “a delusion that springs from wishful thinking based on the biblical story that has no real archaeological evidences.” In 2006, archaeologists still believed that the Timna copper mines predated Solomon by some 200 years.

 

But a recent find is...

Israel Today Membership

Become a Member

  • Read all member content

    Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel.

  • Get exclusive in-depth reports from Israel

    Connect with Israel, right from your home.

  • Lift up the voice of truth and hope

    Support Jerusalem-based Zionist journalism.

Already a member? .