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A unique building model from the early tenth century BCE, excavated at Khirbet Qeiyafa, Israel, presents new data on royal construction in the days of David and Solomon. A combination of triglyphs and a recessed doorframe appears on the model facade. This indicates that aspects of royal architecture typical of the Iron Age Levant, known archaeologi...
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... the Iron Age, recessed doors can be found simultaneously in all types of construction: temples, palaces and tombs. 1 The recessed wall is a similar phenomenon, used quite extensively in monu- mental architecture of the ancient Near East. It too appeared for the first time as early as the fifth millennium BCE in the temple of Layer XIII at Tepe Gawra of the Ubaid Culture of Mesopotamia (Tobler 1950: fig.12, pl. ...
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... Layer XIII at Tepe Gawra of the Ubaid Culture of Mesopotamia (Tobler 1950: fig.12, pl. XXXIX). Many later examples are known from the fourth, third, second and first millennia BCE. One example of a recessed wall, designated by the excavators as a 'rabbeted corner', was unearthed at MB Ashkelon near the city gate (Stager, Schloen and Master 2008: fig. 14.12). Recessed walls were found at LB Hazor in three large public buildings: two in area A and one in area H ( Yadin et al. 1989: pl. XXXIX; Ben-Tor 2008: 1770). The recessed wall, however, is apparently a different architectural tradition: recessed doorframes and recessed walls were not necessarily constructed in the same buildings. ...
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... we present three examples of recessed openings 3. Royal tombs 5 and 12 at Tamassos, Cyprus. -Two stone façades of burial chambers in these tombs, dated to the eighth-seventh centuries BCE, were built with recessed doorframes (Buchholz and Untiedt 1996; Walcher 2005). Tomb 5 includes a representation of wooden beams protruding below the roof ( fig. 11). These resemble the triglyph motif on the Khirbet Qeiyafa stone model, located in exactly the same position below the roof, albeit presented more schematically. As early as the late nineteenth century CE it has been suggested that these tombs were intended to imitate wooden construction (see discussion in Shiloh 1979: 43 and n. ...
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... However, verse 2 mentions four (not three) rows of pillars. The Khirbet Qeiyafa stone model exhibits seven groups of roof beams, each formed by three adjacent planks. This suggests that the biblical text is describing 15 rows of TRIGLYPHS AND RECESSED DOORFRAMES roof beams, each formed by three adjacent planks, as attested by the triglyph motif. Fig. 12 He made the porch of columns, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and a porch was in front of them, and columns with a canopy was in front of them. Fig. 12. Cross-section of Solomon's 'House of Lebanon' palace with side-walls, four rows of pillars and 45 planks in keeping with the biblical text. This is a novel suggestion that ...
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... This suggests that the biblical text is describing 15 rows of TRIGLYPHS AND RECESSED DOORFRAMES roof beams, each formed by three adjacent planks, as attested by the triglyph motif. Fig. 12 He made the porch of columns, fifty cubits long and thirty cubits wide, and a porch was in front of them, and columns with a canopy was in front of them. Fig. 12. Cross-section of Solomon's 'House of Lebanon' palace with side-walls, four rows of pillars and 45 planks in keeping with the biblical text. This is a novel suggestion that runs counter to all previous reconstructions. 1 Kings 7:4 and 7:5 mention íéô÷Ë ù, a term of unclear meaning; these were arranged in three rows of three, yielding a ...
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... ² ÷þñáé ('dis- tricts'). The Hebrew word in this case was úåaeçî. This is clearly another example of ae and å combined to create the letter ç. Indeed, various scholars noticed this type of scribal error, known as 'ligatures', in which two letters were combined to create another letter (see, e.g., Weiss 1963;Tov 1992: 249). As is evident in fig. 13, the written forms of these two words bear a strong resemblance. From a chronological point of view this similarity did not exist during the Iron Age, when the Phoeni- cian/Palaeo-Hebrew alphabet script was used, but fits the Jewish script of inscriptions of the Hellenistic period (Naveh 1982: 113). In the Septuagint the term äaeçî was ...
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... used. Indeed, the phenomenon of the ç appearing like the combination of two other letters is specifically mentioned in Tractate Shabbat 12:5: 'or if he intended to write a heth and wrote two zains'. In this example the effect is created by writing the letter ae twice, but if one writes ae and å one after the other the same effect is created ( fig. 13). According to this new reading, 1 Kings 7:4 should be translated as: 'And the lintels were organised in three rows, and doorjamb to doorjamb three times'. For the usage of the term äaeåaeî in the context of recessed doorframes in the description of the temple, see ...
Citations
... Schmitt, who worked extensively in the genre (e.g., Schmitt 2009;, expanded his work from places of worship to a broader regional portrait of the religions of ancient Palestine/Israel in the Iron Age, distinguishing cultic territorialities in a synchronic fashion (Schmitt 2020). In addition to a study of the profile of deities, Schmitt also integrated architectural remains as "images" (Schmitt 2009; 130; see Schmitt 2001), a strategy also used by other scholars (Schroer 2007;Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013;Prokop 2020). This refocusing from images to artifacts also applies to other subjects. ...
The article presents the genealogy and maps Iconographic Exegesis or Biblische Ikonographie. From social-material lenses, it addresses the foundation and development of the perspective, often construed as the explanation of the Bible with contemporary pictorial material. Starting with Othmar Keel and the Fribourg Circle's works and reaching scholars from other academic environments, such as South Africa, Germany, the United States, and Brazil, the paper describes the transformation of the perspective from research interest to research circle and its formalization as a subspecialization within Biblical Studies. The outlook highlights commonalities and particularities of the perspective and its enabling factors and comments on its characterization and definition.
... These objects have received much attention and have been studied extensively over the years. There are several monographs dedicated to the systematic presentation of the various relevant items (Bretschneider 1991;Muller 2002Muller , 2016Katz 2016), as well as numerous articles devoted to the presentation of a specific object (see, for example, Kletter et al. 2010;Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013. ...
The Parokhet, or sacred curtain, was an important item of cultic paraphernalia in the ancient Near East. It is known from the Sumerian and Akkadian texts, the biblical tradition, the Second Temple in Jerusalem, Greek temples, and synagogues of the Roman and Byzantine eras, and is still in use today. We suggest that such a sacred curtain is depicted on several of the miniature clay objects known as portable shrines. In Egypt, thanks to the dry climate, a miniature curtain of this kind has indeed been preserved in association with a portable shrine. Depictions of shrines on Egyptian sacred barks also include life-size curtains.
... The stone model is a carved box, 21 cm wide, 26 cm long, and 35 cm high. Figure 6 shows the object's façade after reconstruction (Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013, 2016, pp. 37-46, 2018. ...
... We do not accept the traditional interpretation of the term slaot as side chambers. The Khirbet Qeiyafa stone building model clearly indicates that these are wooden planks organized in groups of three, like the triglyphs of Classical architecture (Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013). ...
1 Kings preserves a long and detailed description of the construction of a temple and palace in Jerusalem by King Solomon in the 10th century BCE. Previous generations of scholars accepted this description as an authentic account. Accordingly, much literature on this text and the relevant archeological discoveries has accumulated. Since the 1980s, skeptical approaches to the early part of the Kingdom of Judah, the biblical text, and the archaeological record have been expressed. Some scholars doubt whether any temple at all was constructed in Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. In the last few years, the picture has been changed by new discoveries from two Judean sites: a building model of the early 10th century BCE from Khirbet Qeiyafa and an actual temple building of the 9th century BCE from Motza. In this article, we present the history of research, some aspects of the biblical text and the contribution of the new discoveries. These enable us to place in context both the biblical text and the building it describes.
... Another key issue here involves the similarities Garfinkel and Madelene Mumcuoglu (2013;2015: 74-87, 166-82) sug- gested between the two model shrines discovered in Building 10C and the biblical descriptions of Solomonʼs palace and temple (1 Kgs 6-7; 2 Chr 3-4). Attempts to find parallels between the difficult-to-comprehend biblical descriptions of the palace and temple and the buildings and artifacts discov- ered in the Syrian-Palestinian arena were made since the begin- ning of modern archaeological research, and many works have been written in an effort to reconstruct the two Jerusalemite buildings. ...
The article critically examines the argument that Khirbet Qeiyafa was a Judahite stronghold established by king David. Detailed analysis of the published reports do not disclose any findings that connect it to either Jerusalem or the Judean and Benjaminite highlands in the 10th century BCE. On the contrary, the site conducted ramified commercial relations with districts located throughout the Land of Israel and beyond. It is evident that Khirbet Qeiyafa is connected neither to the emergence of the kingdom of Judah nor to king David, and should be studied in the context of the Shephelah, the district in which it is located.
... Additional cultic activity was identified in the areas around this room. Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013;. Traces of red paint are visible on the exterior. ...
... This motif appeared as early as the 5 th millennium BCE in the temple of Layer XIII at Tepe Gawra (Ubaid Culture), dated to ca. 4500 BCE. Many later examples are known from the 4 th to the 1 st millennium BCE (Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013;. This list includes well-known sites such as Tepe Gawra, Khafajah, Tell Asmar, Tell Brak, Ur, Mari, Alalakh, Tell Tayinat and Persepolis. ...
... Preliminary results are sometimes presented as articles in scientific journals. Ganor 2008b, 2012b;, 2011b, 2012bGarfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013;Garfinkel, Ganor and Mumcuoglu 2015). A final excavation report on the seasons of 2007-2008 appeared a year after we concluded the field work . ...
... A number of articles have been published on various aspects of the cult at Khirbet Qeiyafa (Garfinkel 2009b;Garfinkel, Ganor and Hasel 2012a;Garfinkel 2013;Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013;Garfinkel, Ganor and Mumcuoglu 2015). ...
In 2007 the name “Khirbet Qeiyafa” was still unknown both to professional archaeologists and to the public. In 2008 Khirbet Qeiyafa became world-famous. This spectacular success is entirely due to the figure of King David, who is so well known from the biblical tradition but is a very elusive figure from the archaeological or historical point of view. Nowhere else had an archaeological layer that can be related to this king been uncovered, not even in Jerusalem. For the first time in the archaeology of Judah, a fortified city from the time of King David had been exposed.
The date of the site was obtained by accurate radiometric measurements conducted on short-lived samples of burned olive pits. The location in the Elah Valley, just one day’s walk from Jerusalem, places the site in the core area of the Kingdom of Judah. Moreover, it is exactly in this area and this era that the biblical tradition places the famous combat between the inexperienced and anonymous young shepherd David and the well-equipped giant Philistine warrior Goliath. Khirbet Qeiyafa has become the point of contact between archaeology, biblical studies, ancient history and mythology.
The fieldwork at Khirbet Qeiyafa lasted seven seasons, from 2007 to 2013. This book, written at the end of the excavation phase, summarizes the main results, supplies answers to various issues concerning the site that have been raised over the last few years, and presents a comprehensive interim report. We are using this opportunity to discuss various methodological issues that relate to archaeology and the biblical tradition, and how to combine the two.
... A carved stone temple model from Khirbet Qeiyafa is decorated with triglyphs and a recessed doorframe. This is the earliest known example of this elaborate royal architectural style, typical of the Iron Age and previously known from temples, tombs, and carved ivories (Garfinkel and Mumcuoglu 2013). The latter examples date from the 9th to 7th centuries BC, but it has now become clear that 882 Y Garfinkel et al. this style, including the triglyph motif of classical Greek architecture, developed some 150 yr earlier than previously thought. ...
Seventeen samples of burnt olive pits discovered inside a jar in the destruction layer of the Iron Age city of Khirbet Qeiyafa were analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating. Of these, four were halved and sent to two different laboratories to minimize laboratory bias. The dating of these samples is ~1000 BC. Khirbet Qeiyafa is currently the earliest known example of a fortified city in the Kingdom of Judah and contributes direct evidence to the heated debate on the biblical narrative relating to King David. Was he the real historical ruler of an urbanized state-level society in the early 10th century BC or was this level of social development reached only at the end of the 8th century BC? We can conclude that there were indeed fortified centers in the Davidic kingdom from the studies presented. In addition, the dating of Khirbet Qeiyafa has far-reaching implications for the entire Levant. The discovery of Cypriot pottery at the site connects the 14C datings to Cyprus and the renewal of maritime trade between the island and the mainland in the Iron Age. A stone temple model from Khirbet Qeiyafa, decorated with triglyphs and a recessed doorframe, points to an early date for the development of this typical royal architecture of the Iron Age Levant. © 2015 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.
The form of the Greek temple responded to multiple purposes, influences and concepts, although one of these, that of offering, deserves more attention than it has received to date. The fundamental status of offering for Greek religion and its societal expression resulted in sanctuaries being choc-a-bloc with all manner of dedications, some of which represented the finest displays of artistic merit, workmanship, materials and cost that could be afforded. Indeed, as is well known, much of the Greek art on view in modern museums originally had the status of offerings made for dedication in sanctuaries. While it is true that some scholars of religion have noted that temples too were offerings, amongst other things, the implications have generally gone unnoticed. After reviewing the various functions of temples, this essay identifies nuances of offering in their plan, size, elevation, architectural elements, ornamentation and quality. This helps us to appreciate temples as cultural manifestations akin to everything else in the sanctuaries. As works of architecture the form of the Greeks’ temples responded to multiple issues (construction, precedent, influences and so on), but now we can see how their visual treatment subtly and yet eloquently reflected their very nature.
The excavations at the site of Khirbet Qeiyafa, the results of which have been published in recent years, shed new light on the formation of Judah’s state structure and the united Kingdom of Israel under David (or perhaps even a miniempire) as a whole. The artifacts found here testify to a powerful and well-organized state structure formed during the time of King David, with all the basic attributes inherent in it, as the Bible tells us. The author of the article pays special attention to the interpretation of the name ’Išba‘al (literally “man of Ba‘al”; alternative vocalization and interpretation: ’Ašba‘al, i.e., “Ba‘al gave”), attested in one inscription written from right to left in Canaanite script on a ceramic shard from a vessel from Khirbet Qeiyafa (the turn of the 11–10th centuries BCE), in a broad theological context. The author admits that in theophoric Judahite and Israelite names attested both in the Bible and in epigraphy — including the inscription from Khirbet Qeiyafa — of the period of Judges and the united Kingdom of Israel (at least under Saul and David) the component Ba‘al, literally “Lord,” was used to refer to the God of Israel, not to a Semitic pagan deity. It also implicitly suggests that already at the dawn of Jewish history, pious people sought to avoid pronouncing the Name of God, the Tetragrammaton, “in vain”.
The historical King Solomon has been discussed and debated by many scholars over the years. It is interesting, however, to see that the historicity of the city list of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer has been accepted by traditional and more radical scholars alike, who have suggested historical contexts in the 10th, 9th, or 8th century BCE for it. In this article we examine the list from a primarily literary point of view, placing it in the broader context of royal ideology in the ancient Near East and arguing that it may preserve memories of great cities from the Canaanite era.
