Page 24 - Holyland Magazine - 2018 Edition

King David’s legacy lives
Digging deeper – archeology testifies to God’s word
Reuven Doron
The City of David rediscovered
Recognized as one of the most intensely
excavated and exciting archeological sites in
Israel, the City of David is not only an eye-
popping active site with constant activity
and fresh discoveries, it is also a political hot the city became the focal point of great events, (including the Pool of Siloam mentioned the
spot. Why?
The biblical City of David made its appearance
with instant drama and clashing of swords
when young King David led his troops in a
daring attack against the Jebusite mountain
fortress of Zion. And as the story unfolds, the
excitement never ended, it only got buried
for a couple thousand years while the land of
Israel laid dormant and neglected during the
historic period which Bible prophecy calls
“The times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24).
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Found 46 times in the Bible as the “City
of David,” the ancient site spans biblical
history starting from David’s conquest of the
pagan fortress (2 Samuel 5), to the birth of
the Messiah (Luke 2). Also named Zion and
Jerusalem at different times and occasions,
shaping world history over the centuries.
The City of David excavations stretch along
a narrow ridge running south from Temple
Mount (Mt. Moriah of Genesis 22) over what
became an Arab neighborhood following
Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.
However, leading archeologists, starting from
the 1800s, recognize the site as the original
urban core of ancient biblical Jerusalem and
the capital of Israel.
Main street, 1st century BC
Vigorous excavations, which started nearly
150 years ago by a British delegation
and continue today by teams of Israeli
archeologists, have revealed several
water tunnels (including the one dug by
King Hezekiah), public pools, ritual baths
Old and New Testaments), a large structure
which is believed by some to be King David’s
palace, and a number of seals including
those bearing the names of Yehuchal Ben
Shelamayahu and Gedaliah Ben Pashchur,
both of them Judean government officials
mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah.
As City of David researchers have noted,
“This is the first time in the annals of Israeli
archaeology that two clay bullae (seals)