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I mentioned in a recent roundup the strange quirk of publication timing that saw three of my articles published in one week. None of the three are about biblical archaeology or geography, but all are subjects I’ve been studying for some years, and all are very important to me. (Might that go without saying?) I’ll introduce the first one today, and save the second and third for the coming weeks.

My article on “The Date of the Davidic Covenant” was published in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (65.1). In this article, I argue that the Davidic Covenant was made with David early in his reign. This may sound obvious to one reading the narratives of 2 Samuel (where it occurs two chapters after his coronation in Jerusalem) or 1 Chronicles (also early in the narrative), but I haven’t been able to find one scholar in the last thirty years who has defended that view.

The chronology of David’s life was flipped in a proposal made by Eugene Merrill in the 1980s. He argued that since the rule of Hiram king of Tyre only overlapped with the final years of David’s life, he must have built David’s palace in those final years (2 Sam 5). Since the palace was built before the ark was transferred to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6), and the ark was transferred before the eternal covenant was made with David (2 Sam 7), all of these events occurred within a few years prior to David’s death. This quickly became the consensus view among conservative historians and commentators.

My article challenges this view by showing two things. First, the biblical text demands that the palace-ark-covenant events occurred early in David’s reign. It is not just one or two indicators, but multiple indicators that all consistently place these events soon after David conquered Jerusalem.

Second, I explain that the only evidence that provides the dates for Hiram’s reign is found in Josephus, a historian who lived 1,000 years later. I try to show why this data is insufficient to overturn the testimony of the biblical text.

I will be interested to see if my argument is deemed persuasive by the experts in the field. In circulating an earlier draft, I received positive feedback from Eugene Merrill and several other scholars.

Why does this matter? And why am I so passionate about it, particularly when teaching a course on the Psalms? The first thing is that I want to interpret the biblical text accurately. Second, I believe that it affects how you read David’s writings. If David received God’s promise to raise up a son to reign on his throne near the end of his days, he had relatively little time to reflect on that covenant. But if he was promised an eternal dynasty early on, it is most reasonable to expect that he wrote songs about his coming son and for his coming son. This chronology is an important basis for seeing a significant messianic component in many Davidic psalms, including Psalms 2, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 69, 101, 109, 110, 144, and others.

Members of ETS can view the entire issue online here, and others can view my article via my Academia page (or with this direct link).

Comments are appreciated, either here or by direct correspondence.

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An ancient stone weight dug up in Jerusalem has been found to be far heavier than the amount written on its surface, leading archaeologists to assume it was used to cheat in trading.” The discovery was presented at a conference in Jerusalem on Thursday (video in Hebrew here).

A report has recently been published on the overt and covert involvement of Israelis in archaeological research in the West Bank between 1948 and 1967.

Work has begun to renovate the bridge leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount.

A new app allows visitors to explore the archaeological remains of the Church of the Glorious Martyr recently excavated near Beth Shemesh. The latest issue of BAR has more information about the church, and Owen Jarus provides a summary.

Archaeologists working in Saqqara used ancient Egyptian technology to raise a sarcophagus to the surface (3-min video).

Archaeologists announced the discovery of a settlement in Alexandria dating back to the 2nd century BC, including a sculpture of Alexander the Great.

“One of the most important religious centers of the ancient world, the city of Akhmim in southern Egypt is presented in the exhibit Akhmim: Egypt’s Forgotten City, currently on display in the James Simon Gallery of the Berlin State Museums.”

The “wine of Lebanon” mentioned by the prophet Hosea was famous in antiquity. An article in The Ancient Near East Today describes some new archaeological evidence for the production of Phoenician wine.

The skull of a woman who underwent the world’s first brain surgery will be reconstructed using a beeswax technique.

Norwegian authorities “confiscated approximately 100 antiquities from the extensive collection of Martin Schøyen which Iraqi authorities believe were illicitly removed from their country.”

On Sept. 19, Yosef Garfinkel will be speaking in the next Friends of ASOR webinar on the topic of “David, Solomon, and Rehoboam’s Kingdom—The Archaeological Evidence.”

On Dec 1, Andrea Berlin will be speaking in the BAS Scholars Series on “The Rise of the Maccabees:What Archaeology Reveals About Antiquity’s Last Independent Jewish Kingdom.”

This week’s program on The Book and the Spade: Ashkelon basilica, Sussita theater, missing walls, with Clyde Billington.

Lois Tverberg takes a Hebraic look at the gospel and its surprising bearers.

“For the Jewish New Year, Joan Nathan composes a dish that pays tribute to foods that the biblical Canaanites might have eaten.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Agade, Arne Halbakken, Ted Weis, Alexander Schick

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The Iron Age gate at Megiddo often associated with Solomon has been reconstructed. This is particularly helpful because the Chicago expedition in the 1930s had completely removed one side of the gatehouse, making it difficult for visitors to visualize.

The following photos are provided courtesy of the Jezreel Valley Regional Project. A recent article on this gate and its predecessors and successors was published in 2019 by the Tel Aviv journal: “The Iron Age Gates of Megiddo: New Evidence and Updated Interpretations,” by Israel Finkelstein, Matthew J. Adams, Erin Hall, and Eythan Levy.

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The sign in front of the gate reads as follows:

Reconstruction of the Israelite Gate.

The Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Israel Antiquities Authority have begun reconstruction of the gate from the time of the kings of Israel.

During the 1930s the western part of the gate was removed by the University of Chicago expedition in order to excavate beneath it.

We are currently reconstructing the gate and restoring it to its previous condition. After reconstruction is complete visitors will pass through the ancient gate on their way to tour the site.

The work is expected to take eight months.

We apologize for the temporary inconvenience and ask that you walk carefully on the authorized path.

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Two discoveries were announced this week that will both likely make the “top 10” list for 2021: a Jerubbaal inscription and a city wall of Jerusalem. Those will summarized at greater length here tomorrow and Monday.

Archaeologists have discovered remains of an uneaten pig in a house in the City of David dating to about 700 BC. The underlying journal article is here.

Two coins from the First and Second Jewish Revolts were discovered in an archaeological survey in eastern Benjamin. The survey report was published in the Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin.

Week 2 has concluded at the Tell es-Safi/Gath excavations, and Aren Maeir is faithful as always to post updates and photos. The most recent is here.

Eve Harow interviewed Aren Maeir on the Rejuvenation podcast.

Gordon Govier reviews the discoveries and developments in biblical archaeology this summer on The Book and the Spade podcast.

Once again, Bryan Windle has a post that you could adapt for a lecture or lesson, with his Top 10 Discoveries Related to Abraham.

“In ‘Legend of Destruction,’ Gidi Dar’s new film about the destruction of the Second Temple, artists David Polonsky and Michael Faust faced a serious challenge: make an animation movie composed entirely of still paintings. It took them eight years to complete” (Haaretz premium).

Glenn Schwartz believes that “the world’s first fully developed alphabetic writing arrived on the scene some 500 years earlier than what archaeologists have long believed.” Christopher Rollston offers his reflections.

New release: Ramat Raḥel VI: The Renewed Excavations by the Tel Aviv–Heidelberg Expedition (2005–2010). The Babylonian-Persian Pit, by Oded Lipschits, Liora Freud, Manfred Oeming, and Yuval Gadot. Save 30% with code NR21.

Excavation of the second Khufu Boat has concluded, and final restoration work is now being done at the Grand Egyptian Museum.

David Ian Lightbody writes about the origin of the cartouche in Old Kingdom Egypt.

Italian authorities have recovered 782 ancient artifacts stolen by a Belgian art collector.

“The Colosseum Archaeological Park reopens the House of the Vestal Virgins to the public fully on 6 July following an extensive restoration that began in 2013.”

The Museum with No Frontiers has launched a new website.

Here are some recent episodes on Digging for Truth:

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Ted Weis, Arne Halbakken, Steven Anderson, Charles Savelle, Roger Schmidgall, Explorator

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“Scientists have reconstructed the Eastern Mediterranean silver trade, over a period including the traditional dates of the Trojan War, the founding of Rome, and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.”

A survey has located 11 new hills around Gobeklitepe, and a major study will be released in September. Tourism officials are referring to the area as “12 hills” and the “pyramids of southeast Turkey.”

An excavation of an underground complex in the Western Wall Tunnels is a candidate for an international award.

“For the first time, a large, commercial flour mill has joined scientists and other experts to revive the lost varieties of wheat of the Land of Israel.”

The oldest living olive tree is 3,000 years old and located on the island of Crete.

Carl Rasmussen explains, with photos, how the Lycian League was a model for the United States.

The first issue of the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology is a special issue on “State Formation Processes in the 10th Century BCE Levant”, edited by A. Faust, Y. Garfinkel and M. Mumcuoglu. All 16 articles may be downloaded for free.

The SBL website has an updated list of works in their ANE Monographs series, all available for purchase or free download.

New release: The Archaeology of Daily Life: Ordinary Persons in Late Second Temple Israel, by David A. Fiensy

Cyndi Parker’s course on historical geography is now available on BiblicalTraining (free with registration).

Danya Belkin writes about 11 adventures in Israel, including rappelling, parasailing, wakeboarding, snorkeling, and camel riding.

HT: Agade, Joseph Lauer, Arne Halbakken, Charles Savelle, Explorator

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A number of lectures related to the archaeology of Jerusalem have now been posted from the Cambridge Symposium held in March 2019.

The official title of the gathering was “The Ancient City of David: Recent Archaeological Exploration of Jerusalem. An Academic Symposium co-organized by Megalim: The City of David Institute and Von Hugel Institute of St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge.”

I’ve organized the available recordings in chronological order by topic. The lectures range in length from 13 to 45 minutes, with most approximately 25 minutes.

Jerusalem in the Old Testament era:

Ronny Reich: The Controversy over Jerusalem’s Fortifications in the Middle Bronze Age

Gabriel Barkay: An Egyptian Temple in Canaanite Jerusalem?

Dan Gil: The Enigmatic Subterranean Waterworks of Biblical Jerusalem

Hagai Misgav: Considerations in the Publication of Epigraphical Finds: The Bulla of “Isaiah the Prophet” – A Case Study

Jerusalem in the New Testament era:

Eyal Meiron: Were the Remains of the Seleucid Akra Fortress Found in Jerusalem?: An Alternative View

Nahshon Szanton: The Dating of the Stepped Street in Jerusalem in Light of the New Excavations in the Tyropoeon Valley

Ronny Reich: Jerusalem as a Pilgrimage City in the Early Roman Period

Avi Solomon, Joe Uziel and Tehillah Liebermann: Jerusalem as Seen from Above – and Beneath – Wilson’s Arch in the Early and Late Roman Period

Hillel Geva: The Upper City in Second Temple Period Jerusalem on the Eve of the Roman Destruction

Additional lectures:

Yosef Garfinkel: The Enigma of the United Monarchy in the 10th Century BC: A View from Hurvat Qeiyafa

Moran Hajbi: A Recently Discovered Monumental Structure from post-70 AD and the Pre-Aelia Capitolina Period at the Stepped Street Excavations in the City of David

Gabriel Barkay: Highlights from the Temple Mount Sifting Project in Jerusalem

HT: G. M. Grena

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