A Biblical History of Israel by Iain Provan & V. Philips Long & Tremper Longman III

Author:Iain Provan & V. Philips Long & Tremper Longman III [Provan, Iain]
Language: eng
Format: azw
ISBN: 9781611643923
Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Published: 2003-09-29T16:00:00+00:00

Was David a Historical Person?

Did David exist? Was he historical? Not so long ago, increasing numbers of scholars, though far from a majority, were voicing the opinion that David did not and was not. Perhaps the most oft-repeated dictum comes from P. R. Davies, who opined in 1994 that “King David is about as historical as King Arthur.”117 In a book published the year before, J. A. Soggin, after noting that neither David nor Solomon find mention in extrabiblical texts of the ancient Near East, mused, “So is it possible that the reference to David and Solomon and to their empire is simply a later, artificial construction, tending to glorify a past which never existed to compensate for a present which is dull and gray?”118

In one of the more telling ironies of recent years, at just about this time the now-famous Tel Dan Stela was discovered, the first and largest fragment in 1993 and two further fragments in 1994.119 What made the find so spectacular was that David (actually the “house of David”) was mentioned in an ancient text outside the Bible for the very first time, or so it seemed at the time; since the discovery, two other possible references to David have been proposed, one in the long-known Mesha Stela (Moabite Stone)120 and another in the topographical list of Shoshenq I of Egypt.121 The most significant sections of each of the three inscriptions have been read as follows:

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