Lecture 4

We began our lecture with a discussion about the existence of King David. Many scholars questioned whether he existed because there had been no archeological evidence to back up the claims made in the bible. When the Tel Dan inscriptions, there was evidence that a group of people existed that referred to themselves as the House of David. Later we shift to talking about construction and how it revolved around water. The closest water source was the Gihon Spring and the Warren shaft was built to access the water. However, there are doubts as to whether the shaft was used for the this purpose. There is also an argument whether the shaft was cut or was it naturally formed.

Next we moved onto the anointing of Solomon as the new King. The coronation ceremony that took place involved the future king riding on a donkey heading to  the Gihon spring. This process is later referenced in Matthew 21 to describe the march of Jesus from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, passing through the Gihon spring. The reference demonstrated the importance of the spring and the claim that was being made that he was the next King of the Jews.

We finished the lecture with a discussion about the Ark of the Covenant. To the ancient nomadic Jews, it was a portable shrine and throne for God. Exodus 22 described the Ark in detail. It is said to contain the broken pieces of the 10 Commandments and possibly the Mana eaten by the Jews as the trekked through the desert after their exodus from Egypt. The Ark is moved to Jerusalem under David's orders as he tries to build a temple for God. King Solomon, David's son is the one who ends up constructing temple to house the Ark and in doing so makes the Temple a sacred place.