The new King David exhibit (video, photos)

The Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem has opened a new exhibit, In the Valley of David and Goliath, featuring artifacts from the Khirbet Qeiyafa excavations. I worked with this dig from 2009 to its conclusion in 2013. The discoveries are illuminating the culture and political situation in Southern Canaan during the earliest days of the Israelite/Judahite kingdoms.

The time of David, around 1000 BC, has until recently been problematic in archaeology for a lack of finds. The Khirbet Qeiyafa excavations changed this equation with abundant discoveries illuminating many aspects of life and faith in that period. It is the first fortified city we have found in Judah that dates specifically to the time of the biblical kings Saul and David.

This short video explains the importance of the excavation results and the aims of the exhibit. It is worth watching.

Here are photos of the new exhibition:

Discoveries from Khirbet Qieyafa on display at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem. The displays from left to right: a standing stone (massebah) with offering table for worship, a group of chalices, shrine/temple models, and other religious/cultic finds including a basalt altar. (Credit: Oded Antmann)

Model of a typical residential building in Khirbet Qeiyafa.  (Credit: Oded Antmann)

Examples of storage vessels from Khirbet Qeiyafa. We found hundreds of these jars and/or their stamped handles. (Credit: Oded Antmann)

Cooking ware and flint knives from Khirbet Qeiyafa. (Credit: Oded Antmann)

The Bible Lands Museum is dedicated to understanding and appreciating the history of the Bible and the Ancient Near East. Most of its permanent displays are the private (and extensive) collection of Dr. Elie and Batya Borowski. I visited this museum for the first time in the summer of 2016 and enjoyed the experience. An informative English-language tour was included in my admission price. I look forward to visiting again, especially if the David and Goliath exhibit is still running in June of 2017. It is located next to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

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