City of Dovid

This morning we started with Dovid. After a very hearty and delicious breakfast, we made our way to Kever Dovid. This is in the Old City and is believed by some to be the place where Dovid is buried. Now, according to the Navi, Dovid is buried in the City of David, which is now located outside the Old City’s walls. Nevertheless, since Jews have been praying at this specific location in the merit of Dovid, this site is a special place to daven.

From there it is a five minute walk to the City of David. We are studying about Dovid in Navi and it was special to see his stories come to life. As we entered the city there is a sign above that says City of David in Ktav Ivri, which is Ancient Hebrew writing. We were able to read it since we completed a unit on this writing in Jewish History.

The City of David is a treasure trove of archeological finds dating back to Dovid’s day and further on in history. Yoni explained to us about archeologists. There are some who are biblical minimalists, meaning they downplay and are quiet about the archeological finds that connect to Tanach and call them coincidences. There are others who are biblical maximalists, and connect all finds to Tanach as proof that the stories are real.

We will let you decide for yourself. Read about what amazing finds we saw today.

1. A very large structure was found in the City of David. This is what is believed to have been Dovid’s palace. In this large area are columns that were found with Phoenician design on them. Some might say, well that is proof it is not Dovid’s palace. He was not Phoenician. Open up a Navi to the book of Shmuel and you will read that Dovid outsourced his palace work to Chiram the King of Tsur. Guess where Phoenicians come from? Yes, you are correct.

2. In another area clay stamps were found in tact with the names of the scribe on them. When the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, they burned the city and homes to the ground. Guess what happens to clay when it is burned? It turns to pottery. Now, those seals had actual names written on them. The names are Gedaliah and Yehuchal. Now open a book of Yirmiyahu and you will find those names and they were advisors to the last King of Yehuda, Tzidkiyahu. Do you believe that is a coincidence?

3. This find might be the most interesting and unique that we heard about today. There was a supporting wall that was found close to the palace. What type of people would live near a palace? We guessed family members or servants. Well, actually it is believed to be wealthy people. Remember real estate is all about location, location, location and what better location than near the king. Well, a sign of wealth in ancient times was indoor bathrooms. After the bathroom toilet was found a special archeological scatologist, who studies fecal matter (we kid you not) was called in and found raw meat among the remains. Now, why would raw meat be such an amazing find in the City of Dovid? Well, let’s go back to the Tanach and read about the destruction of the First Temple. There was a famine going on in the city and many people had no food. Our guess is that this rich man had meat, but refrained from cooking it so the smell would not arouse his neighbors. Sound possible to you?

4. The most amazing archeological find are the water tunnels. During the time of King Chizkiyahu, the Assyrians were coming to lay a siege around Yerushalayim. Chizkiyahu was worried about the people having enough water. He devised a way to divert the water from the outside to the inside by diverting a spring. He had his workers begin to chisel out tunnels. Two groups began on different ends under the city and chiseled their way to meet each other. It was a tense time and they worked round the clock to meet. Meet they did and the tunnels worked. Not only did they work then, but they still work now. Into these tunnels we walked for about 20 minutes. It was amazing to walk through these tunnels and think about the men who created them. Yes, we did get wet, but it was worth it. Oh, do you want to know where to read about this archeological find? Open up the Book of Chronicles.

Now, that we have shared just four amazing archeological finds, it is your turn to decide what you think. We can surely say that this trip to the City of David has cemented and validated our belief in the truth of the Torah and G-d’s words.