Israeli archaeologists discover fabrics dating to time of David and Solomon

Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University have discovered artifacts dating back to the time of David and Solomon, the school announced this week.

Tiny pieces of fabric, seeds and leather are among the 3,000-year-old artifacts that the excavation team unearthed, the university said Wednesday in a news release.

The fabrics were a particularly important discovery, the school said, as they provide the first glimpse into what Holy Land inhabitants wore during that time period.

“No textiles have ever been found at excavation sites like Jerusalem, Megiddo and Hazor, so this provides a unique window into an entire aspect of life from which we’ve never had physical evidence before,” Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef, who led the excavation team, said in a statement.

The archaeologists were digging at copper mines in the Timna Valley, which some believe to be the location of King Solomon’s mines. The university said the desert climate of southern Israel helped preserve the artifacts, which included scraps of bags, tents, ropes and clothing.

In a statement, Ben-Yosef said the broad collection of textile fragments helped illustrate the society of the Edomites, who are believed to have worked in the mines.

The Bible says the Edomites were Esau’s descendants and often sparred with the Israelites.

Among the discoveries were intricately decorated “luxury grade fabric,” which Ben-Yosef said would have been worn by the skilled craftsmen whose duties involved smelting copper from ore.

“If a person had the exceptional knowledge to ‘create copper,’ he was considered well-versed in an extremely sophisticated technology,” Ben-Yosef said in a statement. “He would have been considered magical or supernatural, and his social status would have reflected this.”

The university said the excavation team also discovered linen, which was not produced in Timna and suggests the Edomites had likely set up trade networks. The team also discovered grain and fruit seeds, and modern advances will allow them to reconstruct wine typical of that period.

Artifact in New York Confirms King David’s Life

An artifact on display in New York confirms the authenticity of King David and delivers a blow to those who want to claim that the Old Testament is false and he never existed.

“The most popular legends about David are the creation of generations who lived long after him,” wrote Jacob Wright of Emory University in an online article. “David’s slaying of Goliath, his exploits in the court of Saul, his relationship to Jonathan and Michal, his fate as a fugitive, his military triumphs abroad, his affair with Bathsheba, his civil war with Absalom, his succession by Solomon—all these colorfully depicted episodes were created by later generations of writers.”

However, the Tel Dan Stela, a 9th century B.C. stone slab with Aramaic text that is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art proves the people who want to deny the existence of King David are wrong.

“In the 19th century, the Mesha Stela (also known as the Moabite Stone) was discovered in Jordan, and references ‘the house of David,’” Henry Smith, Jr, Director of Development for the Associates for Biblical Research, stated. “This important discovery is often ignored or dismissed by liberal scholars and skeptics across the board. Further, Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen has identified an inscription in the Temple of Amun at Karnak that he believes reads ‘the heights of David.’”

“The Tel Dan Stela not only mentions the ‘house of David’ as well, but is a hostile witness to David’s historicity,” Smith added. “That is, it was inscribed by enemies of Israel from Aram. Further, it shows that kings who were enemies of Israel from later periods after David’s death recognized that the kings of Israel were of David’s lineage.”

Are You the “Real Deal”? (Pt. 2)

David was well aware of his own failures and he grieved over them!  He hated the weaknesses of his own flesh and despised himself for giving in to them.  But one thing he could not and would not do is to deny who he was in God.  If there was one thing he was sure about – it was his identity and the anointing that was on his life.  God had ordained him in his youth to be a king and a king he would be!  Though the world, the flesh, the devil and all of hell had tried to remove David’s God-given purpose, they could not!

Saints of God, the enemy of your soul is after your very identity in these last days!  Do you remember when Jesus asked the disciples, “who do you say I am”?  Every single religious authority had challenged Jesus’ very identity.  In fact, they crucified Him for telling the truth of Who He really was!  If those who said they loved him didn’t know who He was, then how could the world be expected to?  Only by divine revelation of LOVE can any of us love the other as Jesus commanded.  Continue reading

Pillar Near Bethlehem Linked To King David or Solomon

An Israeli tour guide discovered a pillar thinking he had made a major discovery only to find that the government had been hiding its existence for years.

The pillar is believed to be 2,800 years old and could be a landmark in mapping Old Testament locations. Archeologists believe that the pillar could connect Israel today with Judaism’s historical roots. Continue reading

Stella’s Voice Girls Present The Harsh Truth

It was a powerfully hard night on Grace Street as Philip Cameron and the girls from Stella’s Voice presented testimonies that forced everyone to confront the reality of human trafficking and orphans in Moldova.

One of the girls, Veronica, shared her testimony in Romanian while one of her Stella’s Voice sisters translated for those in attendance. Her tears needed no translation as they melted hearts of those who saw the pain that is inflicted upon a young girl made to feel worthless by those who should love her the most.

By the end of her story, she shared the way Jesus transformed her and how appreciative she was of those who have welcomed her. Continue reading