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.

Jim Bakker Show Welcomes Adventurer Bob Cornuke

The Jim Bakker Show brings guests from all walks of life that are biblical seekers of the truth. We are so excited to announce a new guest Tuesday, July 28th! Writer, lecturer, biblical adventurer and President of Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration, Bob Cornuke, will be joining us for a very special live taping.

With experience as a former police investigator, SWAT team member, International explorer, lecturer and biblical investigator, along with  a Ph.D in Bible and theology, Bob has authored nine books. He has appeared on National Geographic Channel, CBS, NBC’s Dateline, Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, ABC, History Channel and Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

Mr. Cornuke has participated in over fifty expeditions around the world searching for lost locations described in the Bible. His latest book relocates the site of Solomon’s temple completely off the temple mount and places it in the city of David.  This research effort is astounding Bible students world wide.

This is sure to be an amazing show full of biblical information on important locations all over the world.  We hope you can join us here at Morningside!  Don’t forget, if you’re unable to join us in the studio, you can view all of our tapings on our live stream!

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.”

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