| − | In 1993 and 1995 archaeological excavations at Tel Dan, in northern Israel, at not far from the beginning rise of the Mt.Hermon and the tributaries leading to the Jordan river, pieces of potsherd were found bearing an Aramaic inscription commemorating the fall of the city at the hands of the Aramaeans, the king most probably being Hazael. A heated arguement had been in the forefront for years with many scholars believing the references in the Bible to "House of David" were anachronistic emenating from later times, particulary after 586 B.C. and read back into early biblical accounts. The arguement is now swinging in favor of the Biblical data, largely due to the "Tel Dan inscription", which has been dated by archaeological and epigraphic (script) analysis to the years 870-750 B.C. The inscription, below, follows with the word referring to the "House of David" (the dynasty of David) in both English and Hebrew (pertinent part). Hazael, king of Aram, claims to have killed Yehoram son of Ah'av, king of Israel, and Ahazyahu, the son of Yehoram, king of the "House of David": | + | In 1993 and 1995 archaeological excavations at Tel Dan, in northern Israel, at not far from the beginning rise of the Mt.Hermon and the tributaries leading to the Jordan river, pieces of potsherd were found bearing an Aramaic inscription commemorating the fall of the city at the hands of the Aramaeans, the king most probably being Hazael. A heated argument had been in the forefront for years with many scholars believing the references in the Bible to "House of David" were anachronistic emenating from later times, particularly after 586 B.C. and read back into early biblical accounts. The argument is now swinging in favor of the Biblical data, largely due to the "Tel Dan inscription", which has been dated by archaeological and epigraphic (script) analysis to the years 870-750 B.C. The inscription, below, follows with the word referring to the "House of David" (the dynasty of David) in both English and Hebrew (pertinent part). Hazael, king of Aram, claims to have killed Yehoram son of Ah'av, king of Israel, and Ahazyahu, the son of Yehoram, king of the "House of David": |