Archaeologists have found evidence of an event described in the Bible. Israeli archaeologists have described new discoveries made during excavations in the City of David, the historical district of Jerusalem, which helped to identify the connection between it and the event mentioned in the Bible.
This information was reported by Pnas, reports URA-Inform. .
Archaeological work carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority along with Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute has found connections between the narratives in the Bible and actual archaeological finds in the City of David.
Published in the scientific journal PNAS, the research results provide new understanding of the history of Jerusalem in biblical times.
Archaeological work carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority, together with Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute, has discovered a connection between the stories in the Bible and the real ones archaeological finds in the City of David.
Published in the scientific journal PNAS, the research results provide new understanding of the history of Jerusalem in biblical times.
In particular, scientists have reconsidered the scale of the expansion of Jerusalem, including during the reigns of Kings David and Solomon. This had to be done because, as part of the research, it was possible to find several ancient buildings and accurately date them.
So, sections of the city walls and royal palaces were excavated. Dating has shown that Jerusalem only expanded significantly to the west during the reign of King Hezekiah, about 2,700 years ago.
Until now it was believed that the city grew due to the influx of refugees during the so-called period of Assyrian exile. New finds indicate that the city expanded its territory towards Mount Zion in the ninth century BC during the reign of King Joash, that is, about 100 years before the period of the Assyrian exile.
Excavations have also shown that the eastern wall of Jerusalem is older than previously thought. It was believed to have been built by King Hezekiah, but new discoveries date it back to the reign of King Uzziah. And this king and his deeds are described in the biblical text. Thus, a passage from the Bible reads: «And Uzziah built the towers in Jerusalem… and strengthened them». Thus, the excavations proved that the event described in the Bible could actually happen.
«Until now, many researchers assumed that the wall was built by Hezekiah during his rebellion against Sennacherib (king of Assyria) to protect Jerusalem during the Assyrian siege. It is now obvious that the wall in the eastern part of the City of David was built earlier, it was part of the construction during the reign of King Uzziah», — said study co-author Professor Yuval Gadot.
These findings have the potential to reformulate traditional ideas about the development of Jerusalem and stimulate further research into biblical narratives in the context of archaeological data.
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