Kings David and Solomon: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence

Kings David and Solomon: Chronological, Historical and Archaeological EvidenceThe David and Solomon's kingdoms are no longer considered as historical by minimalist archaeologists. According to Finkelstein and Silberman, for example, authors of The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, at the time of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, Jerusalem was populated by only a few hundred residents or less. Some Biblical minimalists like Thompson go further, arguing that Jerusalem

The David and Solomon's kingdoms are no longer considered as historical by minimalist archaeologists. According to Finkelstein and Silberman, for example, authors of The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts, at the time of the kingdoms of David and Solomon, Jerusalem was populated by only a few hundred residents or less. Some Biblical minimalists like Thompson go further, arguing that Jerusalem became a city and capable of being a state capital only in the mid-seventh century. Likewise, Finkelstein and others consider the claimed size of Solomon's temple implausible. A review of methods and arguments used by these minimalists shows that they are impostors for writing history. The historical testimonies dated by a chronology anchored on absolute dates (backbone of history) are replaced by archaeological remains dated by carbon-14 (backbone of modern myths). The goal of these unfounded claims is clearly the charring of biblical accounts.