Jayco

Thanks for the link, Toto. :wave:

Also, what do you guys think of this exchange I had:

Person 1: There is historical evidence that points to the Kings David and Solomon, not to mention the Jews in exile, and also the independent city of Jericho. There. Some. And your welcome.

Me: Care to enlighten us with evidence of those assertions?

Person 1: There is a basalt stele in northern Israel that was erected by an Aramaean king that has inscribed in "House of David". [1]
There have been excavations, such as the one at Hazor, which archaeologist Ammon Ben-Tor, Amihai Mazar, and William G. Dever have attributed to have been erected in the era of Solomon. [2] The city of Jericho has been confirmed by archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, after she uncovered a destruction level of the wall. [3]

On [1], what are the indicators of a basalt stele inscribed with "House of David" would be literal evidence for King David? Is there something special about basalt inscriptions? Or perhaps for literacy reasons? Also, I've read that the translation is even at dispute.

On [2], is this accurate?

On [3], this most vague, but off-hand, is the biblical Jericho synonymous with the present Jericho?

Roland

Read two books: The Bible Unearthed by Finklestein and Silberman, and Out of the Desert? by Stiebing Jr. Both demonstrate that many of the cities Joshua supposedly conquered were either uninhabited or nonexistent at the time. In fact, some of the sites show evidence of habitation only in the Iron Age, not the Bronze Age in which the exodus and conquest are set.

Minimalist

Dever has recanted. The final straw seems to be recent C14 studies which have confirmed the Low Chronology outlined by Israel Finkelstein. What was asserted to have been 10th century is now re-dated down to the 9th century. Dever also asserts that based on inscriptions found in Judaea that the early Israelites were not monotheistic. This has gotten him in a lot of trouble with the fundies. See "Did God Have A Wife?"

There could still have been a "House of David"....just as there was a House of Omri." But David was a minor chieftain of a poverty stricken little hill town rather than some kind of great empire-buiding king.

There is no evidence at all for a Solomon.

Lugubert

The fragmented inscription doesn't include a title for the (proposed) David. Even if read "house of David", that David could have been anyone (but I admit that the emphasis seems to be on rulers).