The David Inscription

2 Samuel 2:4a
“And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.”

There are two major schools of thought among biblical archaeologists. Many archaeologists go about their work with the goal of providing background to biblical accounts with their finds. But another school, called “minimalists”, refuse to accept anything the Bible says unless they find solid evidence for it.

For example, minimalists argued for years that David never existed except as a mythical figure. They even went so far as to argue that Jerusalem wasn’t even a city at the time David was supposed to have lived. However, in 1993, archaeologists made a huge contribution to this debate. While cleaning up an excavation at the biblical Dan, one of the team members noticed an inscription on a stone that was sticking out of the ground. It turned out to be part of a victory monument erected by an Aramean ruler celebrating a victory over Israel and possibly Judah. It is written in the type of Hebrew letters used before the destruction of the first temple in 586 BC. It boasts of the victory over a king, whose name is missing, but mentions the “House of David/King of Israel.”

Believers don’t need such evidence to know that the Bible is trustworthy, even when it talks about historical events. However, now there can be no question that David was a real person.

Prayer:
I thank You, Lord, that the history reported in Your Word is accurate, for it also records the history that saves me. Amen.

Notes:
Biblical Archaeology Review, March-April 1994, pp. 26-39, Herschel Shanks, “‘David’ Found at Dan.” Photo: The Tel Dan inscription in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Courtesy of Yoav Dothan. Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2.