The City of David
Biblical Israel Ministries & Tours (BIMT) is all about teaching the Bible in the context of the land of Israel and other biblical countries (Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy). There are over 100 biblical sites in Israel alone that have been excavated. We visit the City of David today in Jerusalem.
Below you will see one of our latest YouTube Bible teachings. The first excavations of the City of David goes back into the late 19th century. People like Bliss, Robinson, Parker, Warren, Schick, and Dickey (and others) all participated in exploring ancient Jerusalem. These men were the pioneers of archaeology here. More recently, Israeli archaeologist such as Shiloh, Mazar, Reich, Shukron, and Ben-Ami have exposed many ruins from biblical times.
In this visit, we will see together what is believed to be David’s palace. Elat Mazar (grand daughter of archaeologist Benjamin Mazar) is the one who defines this massive ruin on the crest of the City of David as the palace. Below the palace is Area G. Primarily excavated by the late Yigal Shiloh (he died in 1986) in the 1970s & 80s, many Iron Age structures have been found here. Back in the summer of 1982, I had the opportunity to dig here myself for close to five weeks. In that season of digging, we uncovered the “Burnt House” as well as “Ahiel’s toliet” (this square stone with a hole in the middle of it dates to the 7th-6th century BC).
We also walk through the famous Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This was a 1,720 foot tunnel chiseled out of bedrock sometime between 705-701 BC. This tunnel was to bring water from the Gihon Spring safety into the city (see 2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32). The Gihon Spring (where Solomon was brought into kingship (1 Kings 1-2) still flows through the tunnel today. We walk through the tunnel with flashlights and water shoes.
“The excavations at the City of David date back over 100 years. Throughout the many seasons of digging, many interesting things have been discovered. This includes David’s palace, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and even Ahiel’s toilet.”
