David and the Water Tunnel

Archaeologist Eilat Mazar, who has been excavating in the ancient City of David, has discovered a tunnel built thousands of years ago. According the her report, it is possible that this tunnel was the same tunnel used by David and his men to conquer the city of Jerusalem. The tunnel was uncovered in the ancient City of David, just outside the Old City and across the street from the Dung Gate.

According to Mazar, “there is a high probability that the tunnel is the one referred to as the ‘tsinor’ in the Biblical story of King David’s conquest of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6-8; 1 Chronicles 11:4-6).”

Mazar also said that “the new discoveries in the excavations in the City of David illuminate the ancient history of Jerusalem and the reality described in the Bible.”

Read the report of Mazar’s discovery by clicking here.

Recent archaeological findings have amazed students of the Bible. Although many people still deny the historical reliability of some of the events mentioned in the Bible, archaeology little by little is demonstrating that the events mentioned in the Bible are not the result of creative writing in the post-exilic period.

Those who have adopted a minimalist approach to the history of Israel are running out of arguments to deny the basic historicity of the facts mentioned in the books of Samuel and Kings. What else do they need? One of these days archaeologists many find in the City of David a document that actually mentions David. We already have one or two, but these were found someplace else. Will that convince the skeptics? Probably not!

Related posts describing the work of Eilat Mazar:

Nehemiah’s Wall
Gedaliah ben Pashhur
David’s Palace Discovered
Shelemiah the son of Shevi

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

Tags: Archaeology, David, Eilat Mazar, Tsinor, Water Tunnel,