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Where Did Goliath’s Head Go?

Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. Many are probably not aware, however, of what happened next. That was the subject of James Hoffmeier’s recent lecture at the Bible and Archaeology Fest. “Exploring David’s Strange Antics after Defeating Goliath” looked specifically at 1 Samuel 17:53-54.

1 Samuel 17:53-54 (ESV) “And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.”

If these verses are not baffling, remember that David had not yet conquered Jerusalem (he would do that after he became king, in 2 Samuel 5). The other difficulty here is the phrase, “he put his armor in his tent.” Presumably the “he” is David, “his armor” refers to Goliath’s gear, but whose tent is involved? Some think it is the tent of David (see the translation of the NIV), others think it is the home of David (“tent” being used elsewhere of one’s home), and an intriguing suggestion is that it is the tent of Yahweh (but that requires changing the text).

Hoffmeier’s lecture gave a tour of tents in the Ancient Near East, including those of Ramses II and Sennacherib. Kings Thutmose III and Sargon II are recorded as having plundered the tent of their enemies. Hoffmeier suggested that this statement indicates that David took Goliath’s tent and weapons back to Bethlehem.

As for Goliath’s head, did David store it in his refrigerator for a few years until he conquered Jerusalem? Probably not. While some scholars view this statement as an anachronistic error, Hoffmeier has identified a number of ancient scenes where conquerors carried off the heads of the defeated, tying them to their chariots or garden trees. Heads were often displayed as warnings to potential enemies. Perhaps, then, David had it in his mind to conquer the Jebusite stronghold already as a youth, and he took Goliath’s head to serve notice to Jerusalem that they were next.

Ashurbanipal after capture of Babylon, tb112004733ddd

Assyrian relief depicting Ashurbanipal’s army after capture of Babylon, c. 650 BC. Relief now in British Museum. Notice the pile of heads in the upper center. This same king put a hook in Manasseh’s nose and hauled him off to Babylon (2 Chr 33).

I found Hoffmeier’s lecture enjoyable and his ideas provocative. This is a difficult problem, and I find his solution preferable to the alternatives. My comments here are an unofficial record (I may have made a mistake in my note-taking), but you can read some of his findings in his article, “The
Aftermath of David’s Triumph over Goliath,” in Archaeology in the Biblical World, Spring 1991, pp. 18-23.

Hoffmeier is, of course, best known for his work in Egypt, and he has written a couple of excellent books on the subject of historical and archaeological evidence for the Israelites in Egypt:

One on his works on my shelf that I have not yet had time to read is The Archaeology of the Bible, published in 2008.

Tagged Jerusalem, Lectures, Shephelah

Weekend Roundup

Last week I noted an article on the Nahal Yehudiyeh. The author, Shmuel Browns, has a website with an expanded version of the article, plus many other interesting articles and beautiful photos. I particularly like his shot of the Dead Sea sinkholes.

A team of archaeologists has created an online map of Israeli excavations in the West Bank. The project won an award last week from ASOR. You can search sites by period, type, or keyword.

Greece is planning to restore the theater of Dionysius at the foot of the acropolis. This theater was first built in the late 6th century BC.

Google is planning to make a virtual copy of the collections of the National Museum of Iraq, to be online early next year. This is good news, since the three official “re-openings” never included entrance to the public and only 8 of the 26 galleries have been restored.

The most famous place in Israel for hummus is Abu Ghosh. Now the owner of the Abu Ghosh
Restaurant is planning to break the record by making a four-ton vat. Come hungry.

HT: Explorator

Theater of Dionysius, Athens

Tagged Dead Sea, Greece, Resources

Photos from Israel in 1948

About a year ago, Life Magazine made its archive of 10 million photos available online. Ben Atlas has sifted through the collection and pulled out images related to Israel in 1948, particularly the War of Independence.

LIFE in Israel in 1948 – Part 1

LIFE in Israel in 1948 – Part 2

LIFE in Israel in 1948 – Part 3

This is a fantastic collection that proves the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

You can search the archive yourself with Google if you add “+source:life” to your search. So, for instance, you might try these searches:

Jerusalem in 1940s (176 images)

Palestine in 1940s (200 images)

Israel in 1940s (200 images)

The story of the birth of modern Israel is one of the most remarkable tales of the 20th century. There are many books on the subject, but one I have enjoyed several times is O Jerusalem, a classic which is also available in audiobook format (22 CDs for $20 from Amazon). I listened to the book this summer and profited greatly.

HT: David Reagan

Tagged Resources

Omrit Excavations 2009

I was invited this year to attend the Bible and Archaeology Fest in New Orleans. This was the 12th annual series of lectures sponsored by the Biblical Archaeology Society. While most professors and graduate students attend the annual professional meetings of SBL and ASOR, this series is targeted toward those with a high level of interest but who have less training. Many of the lecturers commented that they enjoy the conference so much because the attendees are so highly motivated. I certainly found that to be true, and I personally enjoyed the conference. The presenters were all first-rate. They were articulate, well prepared, and engaging. All of them illustrated their lectures with visual aids. I can recommend the series to you without hesitation or reservation. I didn’t agree with everything the lecturers said, but my thinking was never unprovoked. Hopefully some of that will come up in a short series I hope to post here.

I’ll start the series with the presentation on the 2009 excavations of Omrit, given by Co-Director, Dan Schowalter. I noted Omrit here recently when the archaeologists made public their theory that the Omrit temple, and not the one at Caesarea Philippi (Banias), should be equated with King Herod’s imperial temple.

In excavations since 1999, archaeologists have identified three successive temples at the site. The first, dubbed the “Early Shrine,” was built not earlier than 50 BC and probably went out of use not later than 20 BC. Schowalter suggested that the builders of Temple Two were unaware of the Early Shrine until they began construction. They thought the Early Shrine was a tomb and so they left unguentaria behind, but the excavators think they were incorrect in their identification.

Temple One is credited to King Herod, and the archaeologists believe this is the temple that Josephus mentions as being near Paneion (Caesarea Philippi; Ant. 15.10.3). Built in 20 BC, this temple was much more impressive in construction than the Early Shrine. For reconstruction diagrams, see this page at Macalester College’s website.

Temple Two was an expansion, built c. AD 80, which included a colonnade and staircase. The columns were about 30 feet (10 m) tall, and niches (for statues?) flanked the monumental staircase.

This temple may have been destroyed in the earthquake of AD 363.

In the future, archaeologists would love to discover the ancient name of the site. A Greek boundary inscription with the name of Emperor Diocletian (late 3rd century) was broken off and the city name was not preserved.

Survey work in January 2011 will benefit from last summer’s grass fire. The site is much larger than the temple area and includes an acropolis which is elevated above the temple site.

The government has proposed plans that would provide parking and an access path to the site.

Currently, it’s a challenge to find by car and impossible to arrive by bus.

Some of the impressive architectural pieces from the temple will be part of a new display in the Biblical and Archaeology Wing of the Israel Museum, slated to open next summer.

For a few photos of the temple, see this previous post.

UPDATE: I’ve been asked about the date and time of the next Bible and Archaeology Fest. If it
follows the pattern of previous years, it will be November 19-21, 2010 in Atlanta.

Tagged Excavations, Galilee, Lectures

Beirut, As It Was

One of these days I’m going to get to Beirut, Lebanon. Until then, I’m going to imagine that it looks just like this.

Beirut and St. George’s Bay, probably in 1920s

J. L. Porter visited the city in the 1870s and wrote about it in The Giant Cities of Bashan and Syria’s Holy Places: “The site of Beyrout is among the finest in the world. From the base of Lebanon a triangular plain juts into the sea, and round a little bay on its northern shore nestles the nucleus of the city, engirt by old walls and towers. Behind the city the ground rises with a gentle slope, and is thickly studded with villas of every graceful form which Eastern fancy, grafted on Western taste, can devise; and all embosomed in the foliage of the orange, mulberry, and palm. In spring time and summer Beyrout is beautiful. The glory of Lebanon behind, a mantle of verdure wrapped closely round it, fringed by a pearly strand; in front the boundless sea, bright and blue as the heavens that over-arch it. Such is Beyrout” (282).

The photo and quotation are both taken from the Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-10591).

Tagged American Colony Photos, Lebanon

Favorite Water Hike: Nahal Yehudiyeh

One of my favorite hikes in Israel is along the Nahal Yehudiyeh in the Golan Heights. You have to swim, and in non-summer months the water is a bit chilly. But it’s an exciting hike in many ways.

Arutz-7 has a story which includes the details you need to know before you go. One sample:

Hiking the upper section of Nahal Yehudia is considered to be appropriate for good hikers who can swim, as there are a couple of places where you have to climb down the rock face with the help of handholds or a ladder into a deep pool that you have to swim across. Note that you must start out on the well-marked trail by noon.
The hike starts above the wadi on the red trail, walking through a deserted Syrian village of basalt field stones built on the remains of an earlier Jewish town from the Roman-Byzantine period.
Remains of a wall have led archaeologists to suggest that Yehudia is Soganey, one of the three fortresses (the other two are Gamla and Sele’ukya) in the Golan built by Josephus at the time of the Roman Revolt.

I don’t know how easy it is to find any more, but a great resource for adventures like these is the book by Joel Roskin, Waterwalks in Israel (Jerusalem Post, 1996).

Nahal Yehudiyeh waterfall

UPDATE: The author of the article, Shmuel Browns, has commented below. Take a look at his website for a more comprehensive article and photos.

Tagged Galilee, Tourism