The Real King Solomon's Mines

2 Samuel 8:14a
“And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants.”

There is a school of biblical interpretation that does not consider the Bible divinely inspired. For example, they say that the Bible’s description of David’s conquests and Solomon’s wealth and greatness were written down many centuries after they lived. The stories had been verbally passed down, getting wildly exaggerated through the years. When they lived, Israel and Edom were little more than a few small, insignificant tribal villages.

Over the years, various archaeological finds have challenged this view in support of the biblical account. New findings have again supported the biblical history. Scripture describes David’s conquests as having included Edom, which became a servant state to him. In the 1930s, the famous pioneer Holy Land archaeologist Nelson Glueck claimed to have discovered King Solomon’s mines in what was the northern part of Edom. Now more complete excavations have been done in the northern part of Edom near the claimed mines and have revealed that there was extensive copper production taking place in the area. What’s more, artifacts and several dating methods have left no doubt that copper production was taking place at the site during David’s and Solomon’s time.

As we’ve often said, we don’t believe the Bible because of scientific proof of its truth, but we do expect it to be accurate.

Prayer:
Father, do not allow those who doubt Your Word to fool Your people. Convince them of the truth of Your Word. Amen.

Notes:
Science News, 11/22/08, p. 10, Bruce Bower, “David, Solomon may have been kings of copper.”