pre & post david.

Going to be short and sweet! Working on our first paper, and so far I've been pretty unsuccessful. So... here goes!

Jerusalem pre-David:

-A place of settlement: basically because of the water, agriculture, and the highway.
-Claims made in the Bible: many claims are backed up by scientific evidence. But at the same time, there's claims that prove the Bible wrong. Maybe the truth lies somewhere in between?
Examples:
-Hieroglyphics found on clay dolls: names were found inscribed on clay dolls, which seemed to be a sort of voo-doo type doll. The dolls would be broken in hopes of "erasing" the people or places whose names were written. Rusalimum, meaning Jerusalem, was found inscribed on one doll. This closely connects with the Hebrew tradition of not saying the personal name of god, and not being able to erase god's name once written.
-A gate found near the Gihon: shows evidence of gate protecting the spring. Usually ancient artifacts can be found near water since it is essential to life.
-The book of Luke: Luke mentions historical times and figures from Jerusalem, which not only makes him sound credible, but also gives leads to the ancient city. For example, he mentions the Tower of Siloam.
-Amarna letters: the rulers of Jerusalem were writing to the kings of egypt, pleading to be considered. Basically saying "help me!" because they felt so powerless.
-The book of Joshua: leads to say that the conquest of Jerusalem left everyone dead and the whole city wiped out. However, there are some textual conflicts that lead to different conclusions.

Jerusalem post-David:

-David was considered "a man after gods own heart." Even though he was sometimes ruthless, he was seen as benevolent.
-The city was located south of the Temple Mount.
-The existence of David is still controversial, many are in denial of him ever living.
-Essentially, there is no mention of David living except in the Bible.
-However, there have been findings that refer to the House of David, regardless of whether he existed or not.

km.