This lecture began with a background of the early settlements of Jerusalem. The main settlement factors include water (Gihon Spring), agriculture, and communication and trade (the Watershed Highway). This was during the Bronze Age when literary evidence came from the Bible, however, Jerusalem in its earliest was mentioned in non-Biblical texts such as the Execration Texts as well. These were texts that had the name of enemies written on them and then they were crushed in order to ritually curse the enemies. Such texts give us non-biblical evidence of Jerusalem (“Rusalimum”) as a city prior to Israelite occupation. Similarly, the Amarna Tablets were letters that were written from rulers in Canaan and Syria asking for financial help and protection from the Egyptians. Besides these non-biblical texts that serve as evidence of Jerusalem’s existence, fortifications such as the Pool Tower from the East and the “Fountain Gate” mentioned in Nehemiah are archaeological evidence of the city’s existence pre-David.
The discussion then shifted into biblical accounts of Jerusalem, with the earliest being “Abraham and Melchizedek” from Genesis 14: 17. In this text Jerusalem is referenced as Salem which comes to be associated with Jerusalem over time. Additionally, the biblical text of Joshua is mentioned for providing possible evidence that there were two kings before David’s rule. In Joshua 10 its mentioned that the Israelites wiped everyone out, but in another book of Joshua this claim is completely contradicted since it’s stated that the people of Judah were not able to drive out the Jebusites. Additionally, the book of Judges states that the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. This provides three different accounts of how the Israelites got to Jerusalem: conquest, immigration, or always there based on mixed ethnic origins.
David’s Jerusalem
This lecture focused on the archaeological evidence that has led scholars to question the existence of David and the fact that the David’s existence can only be accepted if one believes the texts of the Bible. Archaeological evidence was not found until the 19th century in the Tel Dan inscription. The Tel Dan inscription was an Aramaic inscription that bragged about all the people David conquered and demonstrates that there were people who considered themselves the people of the House of David. In addition to the Tel Dan Inscription are the “Millo” and “the stepped stone structure.” The “millo” used to be a step structure of the city of David and appeared to be a sort of retaining wall above the Gihon Spring. The “stepped stone structure” has been speculated to have supported the upper structure of David’s palace. These two structures as well as the Houses of Ahiel and Bullae are all archaeological findings that have characterized the beginning of the Iron Age and what was thought to be the time of King David.
So far in the class Professor Cargill has clearly provided two different sources of evidence in order to make his claims about early Jerusalem. Though some may serve as contradictory, a lot of it makes sense. At first I was a bit overwhelmed with the immensity of the information being taught, however, this balance of archaeological and literary evidence makes the topics much easier to understand. Additionally, it sparks one’s thoughts regarding which piece of information one thinks is the most valid in proving the occurrence of a specific event or the existence of a person.
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