There seems to be a new spirit abroad – a kind of faith induced anti-rationalism, perhaps even the looming the prospect of a new closure of the Western mind. In an age of growing religious fundamentalism and biblical literalism the findings of biblical archaeology present an interesting anomaly, and possible antidote.
Take, for example, the sweeping conquests of King David over the Philistines and Canaanites, recorded in great detail in 2 Samuel 8, 10 and 12. Evidence of violent destruction unearthed at such famous sites as Meggido and Tell Qasile (modern Tel Aviv) seemed to confirm this narrative.
However, more careful reanalysis of pottery, architecture and radiocarbon datings reveal that Philistine life in the southern coastal plain and Canaanite life in the northern valleys of Palestine continued uninterrupted well into the tenth century BCE, almost a century after the so called expansion of the united monarchy. Neither is there any evidence from this period of Jerusalem’s emergence as the capital of a powerful empire. So what happened to King David?
The search for the truth behind the Bible text is the theme of the distinguished Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein and his collaborator Neil Silbermann (henceforth F&S). In this, their most recent work they review the implications of the extensive new archaeological findings in Israel over the last decade. A case in point is the pharaoh named Shishak, who in the Bible is reputed to have destroyed Jerusalem in the reign of King Rehoboam, grandson of David (1 Kings 14:25-26). A relief discovered in Karnak does indeed record the exploits of a pharaoh with a similar sounding name (Sheshonq I) who destroyed numerous Canaanite settlements. New excavations to the north of Jerusalem do indeed reveal the destruction of those settlements named in the Egyptian relief, but in the early tenth century well before the time of Rehoboam! Even more intriguing is that the settlements destroyed are in the heartland of Saul’s power base and there is no mention of Jerusalem. The conclusion of F&S is that the focus of Sheshonq’s campaign was the hub of Saul’s ‘kingdom’, which was probably a significant highland chiefdom, in contrast to ‘the dimorphic bandit chiefdom to the south’, i.e. the territory of David, where there were no settlements of any significance. As a city Jerusalem just didn’t exist! It seems David was no more than a petty bandit chieftain.
Accumulating cycles of oral tradition are exaggerated and transformed according to ‘successive layers of political and theological interpolation.’ This is not a natural process but a manipulative one, culminating in a monopolistic view of history which, written over two centuries after the events, now goes by the name of Deuteronomistic: F&S describe it as an ‘aggressive and uncompromising ideology not evident in earlier traditions, advanced through the zealotry of holy war.’ A feature of this vision was the promotion of the Davidic dynasty and the cult of the god of Judah based in Jerusalem. A parallel theme was the vilification of the Omride dynasty and the Kingdom of Israel for apostasy from this ‘true God’. The Bible hardly mentions Omri, yet, apart from being the first biblical figure to have extrabiblical verification, it was he who created the first recognisable kingdom in the area. His was a powerful state centred on Samaria with lavish building projects in a recognisable architectural style, a court with a hierarchy, literary class and professional army. It’s just that all its attributes were transferred to the kingdom of Judah!
Archaeology reveals there was a united monarchy, but it was ruled by the Omrides, not the Davidides, and its capital was Samaria, not Jerusalem.
The scale of this Deuteronomistic deception is breathtaking: probably the first case of identity theft in history. As F&S conclude, ‘The ‘Court History’ of David thus offers a whole series of historical retrojections in which the founder of the dynasty of Judah in the tenth century is credited with the victories and the acquisitions of territory that were in fact accomplished by the ninth century Omrides.’ Perhaps only the word ‘chutzpah’ can describe such audacity.
The trigger for this literary activity seems to have been Judah’s becoming an Assyrian vassal state, some two hundred years after the time of David. Far reaching changes then began to take place which saw a prosperous kingdom emerge and with it the creation of the ideology of a Davidic Kingdom. Ultimately, the story would be given an eschatological twist with the murder of King Josiah – the great Deuteronomistic hope – at Megiddo or Armageddon: a name which haunts us still.
One final irony. Much of the deconstruction of David’s history, which typifies the work of F&S, has grown from the new archaeological discoveries made possible by the annexation of the West Bank: the ideological legitimation of the state of Israel has been undermined by its political expansion. Cynics might say that the banditry now going on there is the real legacy of the historical David. How strange that such an iconic figure should turn out to be little more than what we would now call a terrorist!
Dominic Kirkham reviews David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silbermann. Simon and Schuster (New York), 2006. 352 pages. Hbk. £13.44. ISBN: 0743243625.