Tribute to the Biblical Archeologist Who Found King David’s Palace

There was a time when critics argued that the Old Testament’s King David was never a real person, that his story was just too full of fantastic deeds and trials to have been anything other than fables.

The Cistern mentioned in Jeremiah 38 (Photo by Quin Hillyer).

Then, according to my friend and colleague, Quin Hillyer, in 2005 Israeli excavationist Eliat Mazar “discovered, on a ridge running southward from the Temple Mount, what is almost certainly the palace or fortress of the biblical King David, along with later discoveries of other treasures that essentially confirm the veracity of some Old Testament accounts.” Among those others is the pit into which the Prophet Jeremiah was thrown, according to Jeremiah 38. (See the accompanying photo)

Mazar died in May and Quin’s tribute reinforces the reality that archeology continues to be the best friend of those who view the Bible as likely the most authoritative source about the people, places and events of the ancient Middle East.