(B1) What was Left Untold about Ancient Jerusalem

[Applause] Professor OD liit from the Department of archaeology and ancient NE Eastern cultures at T Aviv University is inviting you to join him to a journey following those who composed the historical descriptions in the Hebrew [Applause] Bible the untold story of the kingdom of Judah Part B in sight in mind but far away in time The Untold stories of ancient Jerusalem chapter one what was left Untold because it was self-evident to the authors and readers of the biblical descriptions about ancient Jerusalem The anle Story begins with the descriptions about ancient Jerusalem these descriptions were written

by writers from Jerusalem who lived in jerus Jerusalem they were written for those who lived in the city and visited it and knew it well there was no need to explain much or go into detail when this description mentioned well known and familiar places buildings Gates or sections of the wall and there was certainly no need to explain or go into detail when mentioning the temple or the king's Palace important component of the landscape that surrounded Jerusalem were also familiar and well known and there was no need to elaborate on their location or characteristics there

was no need from The Writer's perspective to burden the readers with everything they already knew it was also impossible to alter the description of or be purposefully inaccurate about all these since any change exageration or inaccuracy would be immediately noticeable to the readers who knew for example that the gon spring was downhill from the city and that the temple was up heal from it they knew very well that the Kidron Valley is the eastern border of the city and they knew where the toms of the House of David are located the geography of Jerusalem has

not changed and the landscape around the city remain part of the memory surrounding the city throughout its years of existence Central buildings and prominent objects within the city also remained in the memory of those who lived in and visited it and it was not necessary to elaborate much when these prominent elements in the landscape and the city were mentioned in the his toric descriptions the these things were self-evident for the contemporaneous generation the problem lies with readers of later generations who are already far away from the Jerusalem of the days of the first and second

temple and were no longer previe to the sequence of memories on which the historical descriptions were based it is no longer clear to us that the king Palace is located above the house of urya the hittite and his wife bacheva and that the temple stands at a higher altitude than the king's Palace we no longer know all the gates of first temple era Jerusalem the towers on the wall the location of the House of heroes or the house of Heroes of David which was a symbol in the landscape of Jerusalem even during the Persian period

50 years and more after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the end of the judahite independence we don't even know the location of the conduit of the upper pool which is on the main road to the foolers field as described in 2 book of Kings 18 verse1 17 or the location of the garden of usza where according to the second book of Kings chapter 21: 18 and 26 the last kings of Judah were buried that is those who had the privilege of being buried therefore I want to dedicate the first chapter about the

story left Untold by the biblical authors to the omissions regarding Jerusalem since they were clear and self-evident to the authors and readers of these descriptions some of these details are also known to us but others are not but let's start from the beginning and in an orderly fashion Jerusalem is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible from the Book of Joshua to the book of Chronicles 667 times as we know the city is not mentioned in the pentet except for a few hints apparently inserted very late in the books of Joshua Judges and Samuel Jerusalem is mentioned

as a foreign city a jebusite one until its conquest by David we shall explain on it later the name Yus appears in these books 41 times in 25 cases it is used in reference to the one of the ancient peoples of Canan but 16 times Yus is mentioned as the ancient name of Jerusalem or as a collective name for those who settled there before it was conquered by David the name city of David is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible 44 more times and in total the city is mentioned in the entire Old Testament under its

various names 711 times to these mentions one must add had the many unique names and titles given to the city mainly in the prophetic literature and the pros the Psalms among them the name Zion ton stands out appearing the Hebrew Bible 154 times notably however only four of these mentions are in the historiographical descriptions and even there Zion Is Us usually used only in context that doubtfully preserve Ancient Memories likely having been influenced by the prophecy and poetry of later periods that is it is it is a name unique mainly to the prophetic literature and

biblical poetry which accounts for about half of its appearances 40 mentioned in the book of Isaiah and 36 in the Psalms where is it is hardly mentioned in the historiographical literature we'll talk about it later in the deistic histography Jerusalem is mentioned 157 times apart from the ideological references to the city the myth associated with it and the mentions of its being chosen by God being the seat of the Kings and the location of the temple the question arises what do we actually know from the biblical descriptions of Jerusalem what exists within these descriptions that

can teach us about the city itself especially if we look for the information about the ancient period in the history what was actually told in these stories about Jerusalem an examination of the references to Jerusalem in the biblical historiography reveals that they contain little information about the geography of Jerusalem and the nearby area the city is above the gon spring so it should not be surprising that the mentions of the gon spring always involved a descent for example in the first book of Kings chapter 1 verse 33 it is said and the King said to

them take with you the Servants of your lord and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule and bring him down to gon end of quote following this the kidon river marks the eastern border of the city a reality that is clear to anyone who knows Jerusalem and reads the descriptions for example in the first first book of Kings chapter 2: 36 and 37 I'm quoting then the king send and summoned shimi the son the and said to him build yourself a house in Jerusalem and dwell there and do not go forth from

there to any place whatever for on the day you go forth and cross the brook of Kidron know for certain that you shall die your blood shall be upon your own head and of quot the Milo a term likely borrowed from the Assyrians refers to the stone basee of the palace or The Citadel in the upper part of the city of David it was much clearer to the ancient readers than to us what the description in Samuel 5 um verse 9 meant According to which I'm quoting David dwelt in the stronghold or Palace or place

of Refuge or we'll talk about it the mitsuda in Hebrew and called it the city of David and David built the city roundabout from the Milo inward in addition the ancient residents of Jerusalem also knew exactly what was meant by the description of the place where King yehoash was murdered according to the second book of Kings chter 12 verse 20 I'm quoting his servants arose and made a conspiracy and slew Yash in the house of Milo on the way that goes down to Sila end of quote in all historical accounts the construction of the palace

the temple and the city wall is attributed to Kings David and Solomon apparently these buildings were well known in the landscape of Jerusalem to everyone who lived in and visited the city even during much later periods up until its destruction by the Babylonian i s did they look exactly like this as early as the days of the founding Kings where they built exactly like that even in the days of David and Solomon having neither changed nor developed sins it is possible to accept the descriptions of these buildings as they are attributing their construction to David

this approach is supported for example in the comment written in the second book of Samuel 20:3 According to which David came to his house at Jerusalem or in the more detailed description in chapter 5 verse 11 According to which kiram king of th sent Messengers to David and cedar trees also carpenters and Masons who built David's David the house in the first book of Kings chapter 7 verse one on the other hand the building of the palace is attributed to Solomon I'm quoting Solomon was building his own house 13 years and he finished his entire

house and of quot the construction of the palace is attributed to Solomon also in other stories associated with his time such as for example the story of the pharaoh's daughter being brought to Jerusalem in the first book of King Kings CH 3:1 I'm quoting Solomon made a marriage alliance with farar king of Egypt he took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of yah and the wall around Jerusalem the same reality is described also in the first book of Kings chapter 9

verse1 15 and this is the account of the forc labor which King Solomon leid to build the house of yah and his own house and the Milo and the wall of Jerusalem end of quote the king's Palace was below the temple therefore naturally the movement from the temple to the Palace is described as descent Jeremiah 36:12 for example and the movement from the palace to the temple is described always as aent like in second book of Kings chapter 20 ver eight thus for example after the Rebellion against Queen atalia the description in second book of

Kings chapter 11 verse 19 is I'm quoting they brought the king down from the house of yah marching through the gate of the gods to the King's house and he took his seat on the throne of the Kings and of quot to the writers and readers of this description the geographical logic was self evident and they also knew the Palaces mentioned in it furthermore the palace and the temple were clearly in the higher part of the city and from the roof of the palace David could see Beva urya the he's wife bething in her own

house in According to second book of Samuel 11: 2 the built in ttention in the story is is the knowledge that Beva became pregnant for David and David's attempt to get urya her husband to sleep with her in order to cover it in light of this I assume that all the residents of Jerusalem understood the emphasis on the verb y go down which recurs four times in the story in which urya refuses to go home and stays in the king's Palace and we can see it in verses 8 to 10 the instruction of the king

Toya is go down to your house and wash your feet urya didn't agree and I'm quoting but urya slept at the door of the King's house with the Servants of his Lord and when they told David that urya didn't go down go down to his house David said toia have you not come from a journey why didn't you go why didn't you not go down to your house and of Court it is quite clear that the home of B and urya was below the king's Palace I suppose that the geography of Jerusalem added an important

Dimension to the understanding of the story from the its beginning when David noticed Beva bething through its end when David realized that urya would not agree to come down to his house this of course initiates the second part of the story and ultimately leads to the death of Ura the heti on the battlefield in service of David's Army furthermore many of the gates and Towers in Jerusalem's wall and in the temple were also mentioned in the biblical descriptions although in most cases without additional details that could Aid in the identification or provide clues about their

function which must have certainly been known and clear to the residents of Jerusalem in the first temple era that's for example in the second book of Kings chapter 14 verse 13 relates that Yash king of Israel captured AIA king of Judah the son of Yash son of aazia at betes and came to Jerusalem and broke down the wall of Jerusalem for 400 cubits from the Ephraim gate to the corner gate such a long section of a wall apparently in the northern part of Jerusalem was certainly familiar to the city's res residents for them this description

was clear and understandable perhaps at later time they could even identify the repairs that had been made to the bridged wall moreover additional gates are mentioned that are also known to us thus for example with the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem the The Escape of King sedekah and his men is described in second book of Kings chapter 25:4 as Happening by the way of the gate between the two Walls by the King's Garden and from there Eastwood apparently through the kidon towards the araba at the same time as the Prophet Jeremiah was trying to leave Jerusalem

towards the north it is said in Jeremiah 37 verse 13 that he was captured at the Benjamin gate and with the conquest of the city it is said in Jeremiah 39:3 that all the princes of the king of Babylon came and set in the Middle Gate so we have the gate between the two walls the Benjamin gate and the gate which is the mill gate it is also known from Jeremiah 19:2 that there was another gate in the western part of the city since this verse describes God's instruction to the prophet and I'm quoting go

out to the Valley of the son of hom gab benom at the entry of the poer gate and Proclaim there the words that that I tell you and of quot additional towers and gates are frequently mentioned in prophecies and stories thus evidently everyone who lived in and knew Jerusalem was clear about what the Prophet Jeremiah meant in his future vision of places Towers Gates valleys and streams we can only recognize a few of these the description in Jeremiah 31: 38 to 40 is a good example of the wealth of familiarity with Jerusalem and the author's

ability to use this familiarity to convey a message a message that he wanted to the the description he wrote and we don't understand it all the time anyone who read the descriptions and knew like the author Jerusalem of that time was able to understand the description and the messaged in embedded in it from the distant of the years and without this intimate acquaintance with Jerusalem large part of the text remained obscure and incomprehensible I'm quoting behold the days are coming says yah when the city shall be rebuilt for yah from the Tower of Kanan El

to the corner gate and the measuring line shall go go out farther straight to the hill GB and shall then turn to Goa the whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes and all the fields as far as the brook kidon to the corner of the House of the horse gate towards the east shall be sacred to yah it shall not be uprooted or overthrown anymore forever end of quote clearly the walls and Gates of Jerusalem were repaired renovated continue to develop and underwent changes over the years some of these changes are attributed to

specific Kings such as the note added to the end of the description of the days of King yotam the son of UAH in the second book of Kings chapter 15 verse 35 According to which he build the upper gate of the House of yah in Isaiah 22 verses 9 to 11 the prophet describes changes that were made to the city and its fortifications apparently during the days of aaz and Hezekiah Kings of Judah and in this case too it is clear that everyone who lived in the city at the time knew and understood exactly what

was being discussed the references are much less clear for those who live far in time and place and I'm quoting and you saw that the brdes of the city of David were many and you collected the Waters of the lower pool and you counted the houses of Jerusalem and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall you made the reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool but you didn't look to him who did it or have regard for him who planned it long ago end of quote similarly the location

of neighborhoods in Jerusalem was also clear at that time the bi the Bible descriptions were written thus for example contemporaneous readers would understand the location of the house oful the prophetes who according to the second book of Kings chapter 2 2:14 I'm quoting dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter H or the garden of uza first referenced in the days of King mashe as the site where the kings of the House of David were buried it is said in the second book of Kings chapter 21 verse 18 that I'm quoting mashe slept with his fathers

and was buried in the garden of his house in the garden of usza and of quot and there is also the son Amon who also was buried there according to verse 26 finally notably that there are many other places that are described offhandedly as the writers assume their location to be known and clear leaving us with no idea what they are referring to thus for example the arrival of the Assyrian army to Jerusalem as Des described in the second book of Kings chapter 18 verse1 17 and the same in Isaiah 36:2 according to the former

I'm quoting and they went up and came to Jerusalem when they arrived they came and stood by the conduit of the upper pool which is on the road to Fuller's field we know know where it is all this information is fascinating raw material for for modern historians and archaeologists who can offer constructions of the stories left Untold by ancient historiographers attaining new insights to help complete these short undetailed descriptions all of these reconstructions undertaken today with complex research tools lead to hypothesis that are uncertain regarding matters that were visible clear and known to the generation

that lived when the descriptions were written for now let's examine one example of many which shows how many different texts can be combined into very complex restored historical picture try to follow me in this path nayah 3 verse 16 in describing the construction of the sections of the Jerusalem wall in the days of nemiah mentions three Central and important places that were well known back in the days of the first temple perhaps even in the very early history of Jerusalem and Judah and were also famous landmarks during the Persian period in the days of the

return to Zion hundreds of years later I'm quoting after him Nea the son of auk ruler of half district b t donated for the repairing the wall to a point opposite the toms of David to the artificially made pool and to the house of the Mighty Man end of quote the wall was built along a route that included these three places the toms of David the artificially made pool and the house of the Mighty Man all three of which are good examples of an untold story simply because the things were so clear and well known

to those who knew Jerusalem lived in it or visited it and made a pilgrimage to it that there was no need to describe them in detail to explain anything about them today scholar Scholars dispute the location of the tombs of David on the basis of the Yun Toms that were found under the ancient Palace in the city of Samaria which were proposed to be identified with the toms of the Kings from the omai dynasty the Kings of Israel and based on the existence of TOMS all over the ancient near East within Royal Palace complexes my

teacher nadav Aman has suggested that the practice of burying Kings in their houses that is under their palaces was common and accepted in his opinion the palace also o served as the burial place for the kings of the House of David until the last kings whose Graves were moved to the Garden of usza the mention of the artificial built pool near the tombs of the Kings from the House of David can be tied to two other places which are mentioned in the previous verse in the list of nemiah 3:1 15 I'm quoting the wall of

the pool of sh of the King's Garden and of quot the pool of shellak and the King's Garden are probably also mentioned in the night tour that Neah made and according to the description in neiah 2:14 he also passed through I'm quoting the fountain gate and the King's pool apparently on the Eastern Slope of the city if this King's Garden mentioned here is also the King's Garden that is mentioned in the second book of King chapter 25:4 as well as in Jeremiah 25 verse seven as the place through which king sedaya and his men fled

towards the araba we read it before and is the garden that was planted downhill from the Kidron then it can be identified as the garden of uza which according to the second book of King chapter 21:8 was the garden where King manhe was buried I'm quoting again and manhe slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house in the garden of the king in the garden of usza the location of the garden outside the walls of Jerusalem explains the various texts which refer to the Kings who preceded Hezekiah who were all

buried in the city of David and to the kings of Judah from Hezekiah on onward in whose in their final deistic formulas the city of David is no longer mentioned hezekiah's B places unknown since all that is written about it in his finalistic formula in the second book of Kings chapter 20 verse 21 is and Hezekiah slept with his fathers there is no definite information about hezekiah's burial place and it remains unclear whether he was the last to buried in the tombs of the House of David which were inside the city or the first to

be buried in the garden of uza outside the city of Jerusalem this change in the bual place of the davidic Kings should be tied to the words of the Prophet Ezekiel who came from the jerusalemite Priestly family and was deported during yin's exile to Babylon in Ezekiel 43: 7 to9 very harsh things were said of the Judean King's burial places proximity to the temple and I'm quoting and he said to me son of a man this is the place of my throne and the place of my of the SS of my feet where I will

dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever and the house of Israel shall no more defile my Holy Name neither there nor their kings by their harlotry and by the dead bodies of their kings by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorpost with only a wall between me and them they have defiled my Holy Name by their Abominations which they have committed so I have consumed consume them in my anger now let them put away their Idol and the dead bodies of their kings far from me and I

will dwell in their midst forever end of quote ezekiel's words appear to indicate that priests who served in the temple criticized its proximity to the Palace the residence of the kings of Judah and also the likely burial place as only a wall stood between them this description offers a glimpse into the struggle between the Royal house and the priests in the temple it might also reveal the criticism that the priest had of the King's Way of Life as well as the priest perception that the king's breel in the palace leads to impurity which affects the

temple as well even if this criticism had an effect and from the time of Hezekiah or the time of man the burial place was moved to a new site outside the walls of Jerusalem the tombs of the First Kings of Judah remained in the palace thus ezekiel's words Echo the Priestly criticism about the impurity that the bodies of the Kings brought to the temple which stood adjust to the Palace accept the proposal of nadav Nan According to which after all the kings of Judah from the first king in the 10th Century BC to aaz in

the 8th Century BC were buried in the palace within the city limits and near the temple it was King Hezekiah who moved the Judean King's burial site to a new location outside the walls of Jerusalem he did this on account of the warnings and perhaps also saw the pressure of the Temple's priests who believed that the burial in the palace had made the nearby Temple impure if we accept this conclusion it can shed new light on hezekiah's religious policy and the processes of the formation of the dronom mistic ideology after all according to the book

of Kings Hezekiah initiated a cultic reform perhaps moving the royal burial place outside the city might have been a part of this reform this is only one example of an untold story in our attempts to reconstruct this story from within the Silence of those who wrote the description and didn't need to mention that things that were clear and understandable to them this reconstruction can also relate to the many dozens of f Tom found around the city of Jerusalem from the 8th through the 6th centuries BCE where the elite families of Jerusalem were buried always outside

the city's borders the impurity of the Dead surrounded the living City in the next chapter we move to the ancient periods in the history of Jerusalem regarding which The Silence of the authors resulted from their own lack of information we will try to understand what they knew what they reconstructed from the reality they knew in the Jerusalem of their own time and projected onto the distant past and perhaps also complete some information from the knowledge we possess [Applause] today