By Galit Lev-Harir

New research has led TAU archeologist Prof. Israel Finkelstein to make a startling announcement which, if true, could change our entire grasp of Biblical history. The Bible holds that King David was a fearsome warrior who united the provinces of Israel and Judah in the 10th century BCE, and that his son, Solomon, was a great builder who fortified cities, established palaces, and erected the First Temple. In the Bible, their combined reign - identified by scholars as "The United Monarchy" - is presented as the golden age of early Israel. Prof. Finkelstein's research, in contrast, suggests that the Bible greatly exaggerates the two leaders' achievements and that the remains which are currently attributed to Solomon should actually be attributed to the 9th century king Ahab.

Decorated vessel from the red-brick city layer at Megiddo

The problem, says Prof. Finkelstein, is one of assigning the correct date to archeological remains. One key site is Megiddo, the ancient city in northern Israel which Christians believe will be the location of Armegeddon. When Prof. Yigael Yadin, one of Israel's most prominent archeologists, excavated Megiddo in the 1960s, he noted that its four-entryway gate bore a striking resemblance to those found at sites in Hazor and Gezer. According to the Biblical verse I Kings 9:15, all three of these cities were built by Solomon. Thus, he dated all three locations as belonging to the 10th century BCE.

"Indeed, it seems there is no example in the history of archeology where a passage helped so much in identifying and dating structures in several of the most important tels in the Holy Land as has I Kings 9:15," stated Prof. Yadin in 1970.

Prof. Finkelstein, however, is cautious about assigning a date based solely on Biblical testimony. He questions how other scholars can reach a conclusive decision in the absence of physical evidence.

"No inscriptions for this period were ever discovered at Megiddo, Hazor or Gezer," says Prof. Finkelstein. "In fact, out of all the remains found at those three sites, there is not a single chronological anchor (that is, an artifact carrying an absolute date) which would date the assemblage uncovered with it to the 11th-9th centuries BCE."

Even more importantly, Prof. Finkelstein found that the conventional dating of Megiddo presents several archeological contradictions. First, such a dating suggests that monumental building activity began in early Israel during the 10th century BCE, but that other manifestations of advanced public administration - such as monumental inscriptions, administrative ostraca, and inscribed seals - were not introduced until the 9th century, one hundred years later. Such a phenomenon may be theoretically possible; however, in most other ancient regimes, monumental building activity and other displays of advanced public administration went hand in hand.

Second, the conventional dating indicates that the Israelites were the first people in the region to develop a nation-state. David's empire is thought to have been established in the 10th century, whereas rulers in neighboring Moab and Damascus did not consolidate their kingdoms until the 9th century. "Again," admits Prof. Finkelstein, "this is possible, but unlikely."

Opponents of Prof. Finkelstein claim that the ashlar palaces found at Megiddo were constructed by Solomon. Counters Prof. Finkelstein, "these structures contain numerous similarities to palaces in Northern Syria which are attributed to the 9th century."

Remains of the ashlar palace at Mediddo

These and other contradictions led Prof. Finkelstein to conclude that the palaces at Megiddo were both built and destroyed in the 9th century BCE. However, Prof. Finkelstein's co-director at the Megiddo excavations, TAU's Prof. David Ussishkin, holds a slightly different view. Excavations which Prof. Ussishkin and his team conducted at nearby Jezreel confirm that Megiddo's ashlar palaces existed and were destroyed in the 9th century. Yet Prof. Ussishkin maintains that the palaces may indeed have been built during King Solomon's reign.

With regard to the four-entryway gate at Megiddo, research that Prof. Ussishkin conducted in the 1980s led him to conclude that the gate should be attributed to the 9th or 8th century and not to Solomon's time.

This summer, Profs. Finkelstein and Ussishkin, in cooperation with Prof. Baruch Halpern from Pennsylvania State University, will conduct further excavations at Megiddo which may possibly help resolve the dating issue.

New Lyrics?

Remains of the "stables" at Mediddo

Jews worldwide sing about the glory of the United Monarchy in the popular song "David, Melech Yisrael, Chai Chai v'kayam" ("David, King of Israel, lives forever and ever"). Does Prof. Finkelstein's research mean that history will need to be rewritten? Not according to TAU Biblical historian Prof. Nadav Na'aman.

"Historians realize that Solomon's greatness was only partly due to his role as a builder," says Prof. Na'aman. "More significantly, Solomon was revered as a wise king and judge - aspects of life which cannot be determined from archeological remains."

"However," cautions Prof. Na'aman, "Prof. Finkelstein's research is extremely important in terms of understanding what actually occurred at Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer."

Prof. Na'aman notes that archeological data often conflict with the view of history presented in the Bible. "Archeologists have not found any evidence supporting the Exodus from Egypt or Joshua's campaign at Jericho. Moreover, the Bible says that Solomon built walls around Jerusalem, and no such walls have ever been found."

Prof. Na'aman explains that the Bible is an important historical guide, but that it cannot be relied upon as a single and totally reliable authority. "We don't know who wrote the Bible or when it was written," says Prof. Na'aman. "If the passages in I Kings 9:15-19 were recorded several hundred years after the fact, then the descriptions may in fact be more similar to the architecture of the time it was written than to the architecture of the United Monarchy."

Prof. Na'aman's research has also illuminated several discrepancies posed by the conventional dating of Megiddo. "The conventional view," he explains, "proposes that the United Monarchy was a period of grandeur and renaissance and that it was followed by a hundred years of diminished activity. This is contrary to all other historical experience, in which splendor comes at the end of a long period of development."

A Media Sensation

Prof. Finkelstein's research has gained wide media coverage on European television and in major publications such as Time Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. Furthermore, his findings have caused other archeologists and Biblical scholars throughout the world to reexamine their own work. Even Prof. Finkelstein's opponents realize the great value in his research. Acknowledges Prof. Amichai Mazar, Head of the archeology institute at the Hebrew University, "Archeologists have been looking at things the same way for 150 years. It's good that someone comes along and shakes us up."