United Monarchy?

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United Monarchy?

• Kings David and Solomon

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Traditional Chronology Iron I (1200-1000 BC)
The Period of the Conquest and the Judges Iron
IIA (1000-925 BC) The Period of the United
Monarchy, that is, the time of David and
Solomon Iron IIB (925-720 BC) The Divided
Monarchy Israel in the north with its capital at
Samaria Judah in the south with its capital at
Jerusalem Iron IIC (720-586 BC) The Northern
Kingdom of Israel is no more the Southern
Kingdom of Judah continues until the Babylonians
destroy it in 586 BC.
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• The Biblical Texts (1 Samuel 1 Kings)
• (All these texts are part of the Deuteronomistic
  History.)
• 1 Samuel
• 1 Samuel 16-31 Saul and David (from Davids
  anointing to Sauls death)
• 1 Samuel 16. 1-13 David is anointed
• 1 Sam 17.40-51 David and Goliath
• 1 Sam 30.1-7 the death of Saul.

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Location of the David and Goliath Encounter (1
Samuel 17.40-51)
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• 2 Samuel
• 2 Sam 2.1-4 David consecrated king at Hebron,
  the most important city in Judah
• 2 Sam 2.8-11 Ishbaal king over Israel (over
  Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim,
  Benjamin) from Mahanaim in Transjordan
• (Heb. Ish-bosheth pious scribes substituted
  the word bosheth, meaning shame, for the name
  of the Canaanite god Baal, which can also mean
  lord.)
• 2 Sam 2.11 David was king in Hebron over the
  house of Judah
• 2 Sam 2.13-3.1 War between Israel and Judah,
  that is, between the House of Saul and the House
  of David
• 2 Sam 5.1-5 David is anointed king of Israel
• 2 Sam 5.2-12 David captures Jerusalem
• 2 Sam 6.1- The Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem

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Mahanaim (?) in Transjordan.
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• 1 Kings
• - 1 Kings 1.28-40 Solomon is consecrated king at
  Davids nomination
• - 1 Kings 2.1-11 Davids testament and his
  death
• - 1 Kings 3.1-7.51 Solomon marries Pharaohs
  daughter, the building of his palace, the
  Temple of Yahweh, and the wall surrounding
  Jerusalem
• - 1 Kings 8 The Ark brought to the Temple
• 1 Kings 9.15-24 Forced labour for Solomons
  building program the Temple his own palace the
  Millo the wall of Jerusalem Hazor Megiddo and
  Gezer, etc. (see especially 1 Kings 9.15-19).
• 1 Kings 10.1-13 the Queen of Sheba visits
  Solomon
• 1 Kings 10.26-29 Solomons chariots
• 1 Kings 11.14-25 Solomons foreign enemies
• 1 Kings 11.26-40 The revolt of Jeroboam
  (against Solomons son Rehoboam)

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• 1 Kings
• - 1 Kings 11.41-43 The end of the reign of
  Solomon
• - 1 Kings 12 Political and Religious Schism
  Jeroboam king of Israel and the setting up of the
  two golden calves at Bethel, just to the north of
  Jerusalem.
• Now two kingdoms Judah in the south with its
  capital at Jerusalem
• Rehoboam, a son of Solomon, is King of Judah.
• Israel in the north with its capital at Shechem
  Israel separated from the House of David
  (under the Omrides, the capital will later be
  transferred to Samaria)
• Jeroboam, a former servant of Solomon, is King
  of Israel.

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• 1 and 2 Chronicles
• Chronicles a summary of divine history
• the Chronicler wrote during the Persian period
  (539-332 BC)
• dependence upon the Books of Samuel is clear in
  the narration of Sauls demise and Davids reign
  (1 Chr 10-29)
• dependence upon the Books of Kings is
  unmistakable in the narration of Solomon and the
  Judahite kingdom (2 Chr 1-36)
• the United Monarchy (1 Chr 10-2 Chr 9)
• the Chronicler has access to other biblical
  sources as well as non-biblical ones
• the Chroniclers problem was how to reconcile
  all these sources..

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• The Iron IIA Period (1000-925 BC) Conventional
  Chronology (see Textbook, p. 122)
• See Textbook, pp. 101-139.
• The Age of David and Solomon
• The Traditionalists assume the historicity of
  all, or most, of the biblical accounts relative
  to David and his son Solomon
• Finkelstein and Mazar much of the narrative
  regarding David and Solomon can be read as
  fiction and embellishment by later writers
• The Minimalists David and Solomon purely
  legendary figures.

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• Finkelstein
• - A view from the center
• Accepts the historicity of both David and
  Solomon
• rejects a 10th century United Monarchy
• however, he posits a 9th century united
  monarchy, in the north
• a monarchy ruled by the Omrides (Omri and his
  son Ahab 882-851 BC) from Samaria (1
  Kings16.23-24).

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• Finkelstein
• The kingdom of David and Solomon a modest one
• Archaeology and Jerusalem the capital of the
  supposed United Monarchy
• Megiddo (1 Kings 9.15 and 9.19) a Solomonic
  city chariots and horses
• Dug by the Univ. of Chicago, Y. Yadin (soundings
  only), and now Finkelstein and Ussishkin
• - Its location
• Hazor (1 Kings 9.15) Y. Yadin and now Amnon
  Ben-Tor
• Its location
• Gezer Macallister Seger Dever and Ortiz
• Six-chambered gates at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer

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17
The Jebusite City that David Conquered Artistic
Reconstruction.
18
A Reconstruction of the Jebusite Wall of
Jerusalem before its capture by David.
19
Stepped Structure City of David (10th century
B.C.?)
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Aerial View of the Site of Megiddo.
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Megiddo Reconstructed Plan.
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Megiddo artistic reconstruction.
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Megiddo Archaeological Remains of the Stables.
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26
Hazor Upper City.
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• Megiddo and Yadins interpretation of its
  buildings during the Iron IIA period
• Canaanite Megiddo destroyed by David
• its palaces
• its stables
• Yadins opinion on the site became the standard
  theory on the United Monarchy.

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• Finkelstein finds fault with the Conventional
  Theory on Megiddo
• The problem relative to the city gate at Megiddo
  and similar gates at Hazor and Gezer
• the problems with Yadins interpretation of the
  stratigraphy, chronology, and biblical passages
  on Megiddo
• And Dever and the dating of the six-chambered
  gate at Gezer
• Material in the Books of Kings not put in
  writing no earlier than the 7th century BC
• See especially Textbook, p. 112 relative to
  Finkelsteins problems with the conventional
  theory on Megiddo.

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• Finkelsteins Alternative Theory
• The two sites related to the Omride dynasty (9th
  century) ruling from Samaria, its capital in the
  highlands
• Samaria
• Jezreel
• Radiocarbon dating relative to the transition
  from the Iron I to the Iron II period
• that transition traditionally dated to ca.
  1000-980 BC (conventional dating)
• new dating to ca. 920-900 BC (low chronology)
• a difference of ca. 100 years
• the case for Tel Rehov
• they were probably built by Ahab
• Megiddo palaces date to the time of the Omride
  dynasty
• Assyrian inscriptions, Mesha/Moabite
  Inscription and inscriptions of Hazael of
  Damascus attest to the power of Israel in the 9th
  century
• if there was a United Monarchy it was the Omride
  dynasty ruling from Samaria.

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• The Tel Dan Inscription
• - From the 9th century BC
• The mention of House of David in the
  inscription
• David and Solomon historical figures

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Tel Dan Inscription with phrase House of David.
35

• Finkelstein
• Why project these late-monarchic images back into
  the early history of Israel?
• See Textbook, p. 116.

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• Mazar
• The search for David and Solomon
• Skepticism!
• the kingdom not mentioned in any written sources
  outside the Bible
• Jerusalem, its capital, was either unsettled or
  comprised of a small village in the 10th century
• literacy hardly attested
• population sparse
• no evidence for international trade
• biblical texts motivated by theological and
  ideological concerns intending to glorify a past
  golden era in the history of Israel
• Mazar thinks that the deconstruction has gone
  too far.

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• Mazar
• Iron Age Chronology
• Conventional and Modified Conventional
  Chronology (see Textbook, p. 122)
• Iron IIA (1000-925 BC) Conventional
  Chronology
• from a material point-of-view
• significant change in material culture
  expressed particularly in the production of
  pottery
• new style of pottery new forms and the
  appearance of red slip and irregular
  hand-burnished wares
• Finkelstein suggests lowing the date of this
  pottery by 75-100 years (Low Chronology)
• thus, first Israelite state documented in the
  archaeological record was northern Israel under
  the Omrides of the 9th century BC
• a deconstruction of the traditional view.

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Iron II Pottery Collection.
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Iron II Pottery.
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• Mazar
• Why this Low Chronology?
• destruction, probably by Hazael, King of
  Damascus, of royal enclosure at Jezreel must be
  dated to the end of the Omride dynasty in ca.
  840/830 BC
• the pottery from this destruction must be dated
  to this time
• but same type of pottery found in nearby Megiddo
  in buildings traditionally attributed to Solomon
• this is one of Finkelsteins reasons for
  lowering the date of the Megiddo buildings to the
  9th century BC
• Mazar but similar pottery found at Jezreel in
  construction fills below the foundations of the
  royal enclosure
• this pottery probably associated with an earlier
  town or village
• such a pre-Omride occupation could date to the
  10th or early 9th century BC
• suggestion that throughout much of the 10th and
  9th centuries the same type of pottery was in
  use
• the buildings at Megiddo could have been built
  by either Solomon or by Omri or Ahab.

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• Mazar
• The case of Arad in the northern Negev (see
  Textbook, pp. 120-21)
• Stratum XII at Arad (earlier than Sheshonq
  I/Shishak raid in ca. 920 BC
• Finkelsteins Low Chronology cannot be
  accepted since it creates unresolved problems in
  the study of the Iron Age
• on the basis of archaeological research at
  Hazor, Jezreel, and Tel Rehov, Mazar sees the
  need to modify the Conventional Chronology
• thus, his Modified Conventional Chronology (see
  Textbook, p. 122)
• in his view, Iron IIA is dated from 980 to
  840/830 BC
• the result is that both the United Monarchy and
  the Omride dynasty are included in the Iron IIA
  period.

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• Mazar
• - Sheshonq Is raid and the Inscription telling
  about it
• Raid dated to ca. 920 BC
• 1 Kings14.25-28 mentioning this event
• the sites mentioned in the inscription
• was the Solomonic kingdom the one that Sheshonq
  raided?
• if it happened after Solomons death, does this
  indicate that the Egyptian Pharaoh was taking
  advantage of a weak period in the time of the
  emerging Israelite state?
• route of the raid
• was there destruction of the sites mentioned in
  the inscription?
• sites such as Tell el Hama, Tel Rehov, Megiddo,
  and Taanach
• the date of the raid as an important
  chronological anchor, one that negates the Low
  Chronology of Finkelstein.

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• Mazar
• Jerusalem of the Iron I-II Period
• D. Ussishkins suggestion that Jerusalem not
  settled in the 10th century
• Finkelstein sees Jerusalem as a small village in
  the 10th century
• the location of Jerusalem prior to its expansion
  in the 8th century BC
• the ridge on which it was located
• in its entirety it was ca. 12 hectares (30
  acres)
• but city of David traditionally located on the
  southern segment of this ridge, occupying ca. 4
  hectares (10 acres)
• the Stepped Stone Structure dated on the basis
  of pottery to no later than the 12th-11th
  centuries
• could it have continued in use during the
  alleged time of David and Solomon?

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The Jebusite City that David Conquered Artistic
Reconstruction.
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Stepped Structure City of David (10th century
B.C.?)
48

• Mazar
• Eilat Mazars excavations to the west and close
  to the Stepped Stone Structure
• revealed a monumental building
• was this building supported by the Stepped Stone
  Structure?
• Eilat Mazar suggests the identification of this
  building with that of the palace of David of 2
  Sam 5.11
• another possibility for its identification is
  the fortress of Zion mentioned in Davids
  conquest of the city (2 Sam 5.7, 9) an
  hypothesis only

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Eilat Mazars Excavations in Jerusalem (in what
was the City of David?).
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• Mazar
• The location of the temple and palace that
  Solomon supposedly built?
• under the present Temple Mount and Dome of the
  Rock?
• Solomons Jerusalem would have been ca. 12
  hectares in size with monumental buildings and a
  temple
• if Solomon is removed from history, who would
  have built the Jerusalem Temple
• it existed prior to the Babylonian conquest of
  586/87
• there is no textual hint of an alternative to
  Solomon for its building
• the plan of that Temple is well known from
  tripartite buildings of the region from the 2nd
  millennium to the 8th century BC
• parallels from Tell Tayinat and Ain Dara of
  northern Syria
• Solomons palace similar to others in the region
  from the period in question

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Solomons Temple Plan (?).
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Mazar - See Textbook, p. 129, for Mazars
summary relative to Jerusalem of the time of
Solomon.
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• Mazar
• Yadins Position on Megiddo, Hazor, and Gezer
• Megiddo stables built by Solomon (1 Kings
  9.19)
• Megiddo as an unfortified city with two palaces
• Megiddos six-chambered gate
• Yadin and Solomonic architecture (see 1 Kings
  9.15)
• the case of Hazor
• Finkelstein palaces city built by Ahab while
  the stable city built by Manasseh in the 8th
  century BC
• Mazar 10th century date is the correct one for
  the palaces city
• it ought to have had a monumental gate
• the stable city would fit the time of Ahab
• in summary, Yadins position concerning
  Solomonic architecture at Megiddo, Hazor, and
  Gezer might be correct.

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• Mazar and Demography and Literacy
• - Arguments against the United Monarchy
• Low settlement density and lack of ubanization
  in the 10th century BC
• a gradual increase in settlement from the Iron I
  to the 8th century
• 20,000 people in Judah in the 10th century
• population in the Israelite territories between
  50 and 70 thousand
• sufficient for an Israelite state in the 10th
  century.
• Literacy
• dearth of inscriptions dating to the 10th
  century
• does this mean a lack of literacy and the
  unlikelihood of a central administration and thus
  no state?
• but the Kingdom of Israel in the north of the
  country in the 9th century and very few
  inscriptions
• perhaps perishable materials used for writing?

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• Mazar
• Israels Neighbours in the 10th century
• The Philistines
• Philistia not conquered by David
• according to recent archaeological research at
  such sites as Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron (Tel
  Miqne), and Gath (Tell es-Safi) were Philistine
  ones in the 10th century
• Edomites
• Lots of discussion as to when an Edomite state
  emerged
• most would say in the 8th-7th centuries at the
  time when the Assyrians were in control of
  Transjordan
• some evidence for early copper mining at Feinan
  in western Edom
• no support for David conquest of the Edomites.
• Moabites and Ammonites
• little evidence of states of Moab and Ammon in
  the 10th century, that is, early Iron II period.

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Philistine Pottery.
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• Mazar
• Tyre and the Phoenicians
• Bible mentions relations between Solomon and
  Hiram, King of Tyre
• the land of the Phoenicians actually formerly
  called Canaanites
• evidence for international trade and the
  Phoenicians were the merchants of the
  Mediterranean
• Phoenician pottery found at Israel sites from
  the Iron Age however, mostly from the north of
  the country or in what will become Israel
• little evidence of trade with Judean sites.

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• Mazar
• Arameans/Neo-Hittites
• no archaeological support for the Bibles
  assertions of Davids wars in Syria
• some archaeological support for the small
  Aramean kingdom of Geshur located to the NE and E
  of the Sea of Galilee
• the sites of Tel Hadar dated to the 11th or
  early 10th century BC - and Bethsaida fortified
  in the 10th century have been excavated in the
  area.

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Mazar - Conclusions (Textbook, pp. 138-39).