(The altar area in the center of this photo is where
the House of David Inscription was discovered)
Click on photo to enlarge it
Few modern Biblical archaeology discoveries have
caused as much excitement as the Tel Dan inscription. Also known as the “House
of David” inscription, it was discovered in 1993 in Tel Dan, then being excavated
by Israeli archaeologist Avraham Biran.
The broken and fragmentary inscription commemorates
the victory of an Aramean king over his two southern neighbors: the “king of
Israel” and the “king of the House of David.” The king boasted that he, under
the divine guidance of the god Hadad, vanquished several thousand Israelite and
Judahite horsemen and charioteers before personally dispatching both of his
royal opponents. It is generally believed that the stela recounts a campaign of
Hazael of Damascus in which he defeated both Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of
Judah.
The tablet is not only the first corroboration of that
epic battle, described in 1st Kings, but it is also the first mention outside
the Bible of the House of David, and thus of King David himself. King David ruled
from 1010 to 970 BC over a kingdom that stretched from Egypt to Mesopotamia.
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