Late last year Donald Trump declared that the US would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.
For many tourists to the Holy Land this seemed fairly uncontroversial. Given that this is the location of the Israeli Parliament, many visitors always assumed Jerusalem was its capital. However, in practice Tel Aviv has been the internationally recognized capital with diplomatic missions located there. Trump’s plan to move the American embassy has created real friction on the ground.
Clouding the view
Sadly, the politics of Jerusalem, and the various evangelical views on the place of the land in the promises of God, have soured or clouded some of the remarkable archaeological work unfolding there. For some critics of the State of Israel anything found in Jerusalem is dismissed as part of an Israeli plot to affirm their right to the land. Some pro-Arab observers are led to affirm a minimalist view of the historicity of the Bible.
There was never an exodus, no David and no united monarchy centred on Jerusalem. Attempts to justify these biblical stories are dismissed as Zionist attempts to erase the history of Arab presence in the land. Discoveries that endorse the historical existence of David or Solomon are supposed to justify contemporary Israeli policies of settlement.
Highlights
The present political circumstances are in danger of belittling the profound archaeological finds that have emerged in recent years. Here are some highlights:
The Gihon Spring and Hezekiah’s Tunnel fit with what we read in the Bible about the diverted water course in preparation for the Assyrian siege (2 Chronicles 32). Excavations around the spring have now exposed a significant fortification from ancient Israel’s First Temple period. An accompanying inscription from the tunnel engineers themselves (c.721 BC) was discovered long ago and removed to Istanbul.
Siloam pool
The spring water from Hezekiah’s Tunnel empties into a Byzantine period pool but recent archaeological work following an accidental discovery by workmen in 2004 has now uncovered a large ritual bathing pool from the Roman period. This would have been the Siloam Pool at the time of Jesus (John 9).
At the site of what is now called the ‘City of David’, archaeologists have been excavating a major stone structure, originally 60ft in height. Its constant reuse over time has made its original builder a matter of some guesswork, but carbon dating of associated remains from 1,000 BC makes this a suitable candidate for David’s palace (2 Samuel 5). Who knows what may yet emerge in excavations?
Seals
In 1975 a small stamped clay seal was found in Jerusalem bearing the name of Baruch son of Neriah the scribe (Jeremiah 45.1). Since then, excavations have yielded seals of various government officials including Jehukal son of Shelemiah (Jeremiah 38.1) and Gedaliah son of Ahikam (2 Kings 25.22). In 2015 a seal bearing the name of King Hezekiah himself was found by Eliat Mazar in a Jerusalem excavation.
Around the temple
Extensive excavations at the southern end of the Temple Mount have revealed various finds associated with the Temple at the time of Jesus, including a warning sign restricting the access of non-Jews and a marker for the blowing of the Shofar horn as a call for the people to worship.
More recently, an entire roadway has been excavated that led up from the Siloam Pool to the Temple area. In 2011 excavator Eli Shukrun found a tiny ball of pure gold in this road’s drainage channel. X-ray showed a golden clapper inside. It turned out to be a bell with a hoop to attach it to a garment. The artefact fits the description of golden bells attached to the High Priest’s robe (Exodus 28.33-35).
These are just some of the discoveries, large and small, emerging from excavations in Jerusalem. Sadly, they may not receive the media attention they deserve because of the political climate. But, whatever the current controversies, the archaeological investigations continue to build a picture of ancient Jerusalem that fits the biblical period. Whatever confidence we lack in engaging in political debate does not undermine our confidence in a trustworthy Bible.
