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Goliath lived in the Philistine city of Gath. In 2005, during excavations at Gath (modern day Tell es-Safi) headed by [[Aren Maier]] at [[Bar-Ilan University]], a Semitic inscription was found dating from the 10th-9th centuries BC, bearing a name was found on a pot that highly resembles 'Goliath'.<ref>Maier, Aren. "An Iron Age IIA Proto-Canaanite, Philistine Inscription and Other New Finds From Tell es-Safi-Gath." Un trabajo presentado en el Encuentro Anual de las American Schools of Oriental Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 8 (2005).</ref> Whilst this was not the biblical Goliath, this discovery affirmed that people in Gath during the biblical timeline of David's battle with Goliath did in fact have the name Goliath and names like Goliath, which would not have been known to later authors. Aren Maier notes "What this means is that at the time there were people there named Goliath... It shows us that David and Goliath’s story reflects the cultural reality of the time."<ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9997587/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/scientists-find-goliath-inscribed-pottery/#.WPaBTIjyvIU Scientists find 'Goliath' inscribed on pottery]</ref> This astonishing discovery provided a historical and cultural background for the story of David's battle with Goliath, and established that the narrative was based in history -- a fact that is very rare for ancient texts.
Goliath lived in the Philistine city of Gath. In 2005, during excavations at Gath (modern day Tell es-Safi) headed by [[Aren Maier]] at [[Bar-Ilan University]], a Semitic inscription was found dating from the 10th-9th centuries BC, bearing a name was found on a pot that highly resembles 'Goliath'.<ref>Maier, Aren. "An Iron Age IIA Proto-Canaanite, Philistine Inscription and Other New Finds From Tell es-Safi-Gath." Un trabajo presentado en el Encuentro Anual de las American Schools of Oriental Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 8 (2005).</ref> Whilst this was not the biblical Goliath, this discovery affirmed that people in Gath during the biblical timeline of David's battle with Goliath did in fact have the name Goliath and names like Goliath, which would not have been known to later authors. Aren Maier notes "What this means is that at the time there were people there named Goliath... It shows us that David and Goliath’s story reflects the cultural reality of the time."<ref>[http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9997587/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/scientists-find-goliath-inscribed-pottery/#.WPaBTIjyvIU Scientists find 'Goliath' inscribed on pottery]</ref> This astonishing discovery provided a historical and cultural background for the story of David's battle with Goliath, and established that the narrative was based in history -- a fact that is very rare for ancient texts.
=== David's Kingdom ===
In 2007, Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman published a book titled ''David and Solomon: in search of the Bible's sacred kings and the roots of the Western tradition''<ref>Finkelstein, Israel, and Neil Asher Silberman. David and Solomon: in search of the Bible's sacred kings and the roots of the Western tradition. Simon and Schuster, 2007.</ref>, arguing that David did not rule over the great kingdom ascribed to him in the Bible, but rather was a highland chieftain ruling over a small, agrarian society. A number of scholars followed their interpretations, however as recently as 2008, a considerable amount of archaeological finds have been brought forth to challenge their claims, and in fact establish the great kingdoms of David and Solomon.
Most prominent of these, are excavations of the Judahite city of Khirtbet Qeiyafa lead by [[Yosef Garfinkel]] between 2008-2016. Radiocarbon dates have established a dating for the city of Khirbet Qeiyafa between 1020-980 BC,<ref>Garfinkel, Y., and Katharina Streit. "Radiometric Dating of the Iron Age City." Khirbet Qeiyafa 2 (2014): 2009-2013. pg. 368.</ref> during the rule of David. Khirbet Qeiyafa was a major fortified city, that had two gates. All sites up until that time only had one. Secondly, there was a major administration at Khirbet Qeiyafa that stretched over 10,000 square feet, and the site was built of over 200,000 tons of stone.<ref>[http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/khirbet-qeiyafa-and-tel-lachish-excavations-explore-early-kingdom-of-judah/ Khirbet Qeiyafa and Tel Lachish Excavations Explore Early Kingdom of Judah]</ref><ref>[http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/biblical-shaarayim-khirbet-qeiyafa-second-gate/ Biblical Sha’arayim: Khirbet Qeiyafa’s Second Gate Discovered]</ref> This city revealed that that kingdom of Israel at the time was nothing less than a true kingdom, and cast serious doubt on Finkelstein and Silberman's claims. Yosef Garfinkel, director of excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, says "Some scholars view King David’s kingdom as a simple agrarian society, sparsely inhabited, with no fortified cities, no administration and no writing… These scholars find it very hard to accept the new discoveries at Qeiyafa, which have completely dismantled these hypotheses."<ref>Garfinkel, Yosef. "The birth and death of biblical minimalism." Biblical Archaeology Review 37.3 (2011): 46-53.</ref> Khirbet Qeiyafa has been identified with the biblical city of Shaaraim because of its two gates. 'Shaaraim' means 'two gates'.
More recently, excavations in southern Israel at the Timna Valley lead by [[Erez Ben-Yosef]], from 2013 and currently ongoing, have also seriously damaged these claims by the Finkelstein, Silberman and their followers. This site dates to the time of David, and primarily during the reign of Solomon. In the Timna Valley, several key findings have been made. One was the discovery of foreign fabrics, which revealed that Israel at the time had complex trading networks.<ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/where-solomon-mined-3000-year-old-fashion-collection-unearthed/ Where Solomon mined, 3,000-year-old ‘fashion collection’ unearthed]</ref> Secondly, the Timna Valley is a copper-rich site, and it has been revealed its copper-production in antiquity reached its height dating to the time of Solomon,<ref>Ben-Yosef, Erez, Dafna Langgut, and Lidar Sapir-Hen. "Beyond smelting: New insights on Iron Age (10th c. BCE) metalworkers community from excavations at a gatehouse and associated livestock pens in Timna, Israel." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 11 (2017): 411-426.</ref> producing an industrial level of copper to fuel nothing less than a kingdom. This revealed that the kingdom of Israel during the reign of David and Solomon was definitely an overwhelming regional power at the time, with an empire resembling that as described in the biblical narrative. Erez Ben-Yosef, director of excavations at the Timna Valley decided that based on these results he had acquired, "The historical accuracy of the Old Testament accounts is debated, but archeology can no longer be used to contradict them".<ref>[http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/king-solomons-mines-israeli-archaeologists-say-fortified-trading-post-a-sign-of-his-wealth-power/news-story/6c19bf80a0d6cb2110200a6b74a25fb9 King Solomon’s mines: Israeli archaeologists say fortified trading post a sign of his wealth, power]</ref> David ruled over a kingdom, and a kingdom would need its king.
== References ==
== References ==