In the Footsteps of King David: Revelations from an Ancient Biblical City
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The remarkable excavation of a previously unidentified city in Israel from the time of King David, shedding new light on the link between the bible and history
King David is a pivotal figure in the Bible, which tells his life story in detail and gives stirring accounts of his deeds, including the slaying of the Philistine giant Goliath and the founding of his capital in Jerusalem. But no certain archaeological finds from the period of his reign or of the kingdom he ruled over have ever been uncovered—until now.
In this groundbreaking account, the excavators of Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Valley of Elah, where the Bible says David fought Goliath, reveal how seven years of exhaustive investigation have uncovered a city dating to the time of David— the late eleventh and early tenth century BCE—surrounded by massive fortifications with impressive gates and a clear urban plan, as well as an abundance of finds that tell us much about the inhabitants. Discussing the link between the Bible, archaeology, and history In the Footsteps of King David explains the significance of these discoveries and how they shed new light on David’s kingdom. The topic is at the center of a controversy that has raged for decades, but these findings successfully challenge scholars disputing the historicity of the Bible and the chronology of the events recounted in it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
