Shaarim

Khirbet Qeiyafa, recognized by the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel, Author Abraham Greitzer אברהם גרייצר
(CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

Originating late in the 11th Century BC, the archaeological site known as Khirbet Qeiyafa controls the entrance to Israel’s Elah Valley, and is thought to be the biblical city of Shaarim (“Two Gates”) [1][2].

Shaarim

Shaarim was one of three anchor cities during the early reign of King David, the other two being Jerusalem and Hebron.

The layout of Khirbet Qeiyafa is similar to that of Beersheba, Beth Shemesh, Tell en-Nasbeh, and Tell Beit Mirsim (all in the Kingdom of Judah) [3][4][5][6].  Two defensive walls surround the city, with houses incorporated into these walls.

The age of Khirbet Qeiyafa was established through radiocarbon dating of olive pits found there.

The artifacts uncovered include carved animal bones, pottery, a bronze ax and arrowheads, iron daggers and swords, scarabs, beads, and seals.

Centralized Administration

The scale of construction at Khirbet Qeiyafa suggests conscription of manpower for public works by a central authority.

Numerous storage jars with finger impressions may have been used as a tax collection system, with a certain percentage of agricultural products due the government.  While King David is not referenced by name, this, too, suggests a centralized administration.

Religion

Significantly, the religious objects discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa do not include human or animal figurines.  This supports the argument that the site was Hebrew, i.e. monotheistic (not Canaanite or Philistine, i.e. pagan).

Models of the Temple of Solomon were found which shed light on certain details of temple construction difficult to ascertain from the biblical text alone.

Literacy

Both an inscribed jar and an ostracon (potsherd with writing) were found at Khirbet Qeiyafa, suggesting that literacy was more common than previously thought.

Oral tradition — reliable as it was — need not have been the only source for historic events in the Bible.  Such events could have been recorded as they occurred, and passed down until finally included in the Bible.

The assertion that the Bible is untrustworthy since it was written generations after the events described, is greatly undermined by this.

Evidence for King David

Although an absence of evidence is not actually evidence of absence, minimalist archaeologists at one time discounted the Bible and disputed the existence of King David.

Today, the extra-biblical evidence for King David, and the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel, includes the following:

• inscriptions by the kings of Assyria and Babylon;
• an inscription by Mesha, the king of Moab;
• an inscription from Tel Dan referring to the “House of David” [7];
• inscriptions by Shoshenq I/Shishak, Merenptah, and other Egyptian pharaohs; and
• correspondence from el-Amarna in Egypt.

Once again, the Bible has been proven true.

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[1]  Garfinkel, Josef, et al, In the Footsteps of David,  London, Thames & Hudson Publishers (2018).

[2]  Wikipedia, “Khirbit Qeiyafa”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khirbet_Qeiyafa.

[3]  Wikipedia, “Beersheba”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beersheba.

[4]  Bible Places, “Beth Shemesh”, https://www.bibleplaces.com/bethshemesh/.

[5]  Wikipedia, “Tell en-Nasbeh”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_en-Nasbeh.

[6]  Wikipedia, “Tell Beit Mirsim”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_Beit_Mirsim.

[7]  Biblical Archaeology Society, “The Tel Dan Inscription:  The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible”, 9/5/23, https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story/.

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